And Then There was Jason

Jeffrey paced back and forth, a creeping sense of dread sinking into his heart. The press conference had be put together in only a few days time, and now he was beginning to wonder if it was a good idea. Jason and Chrysalis had been very persuasive, but there was a lingering sense of doubt in his mind. Could the world handle it?

He cast a glance over at Jason, finding himself rather jealous of the man's calm. Jason had, much to Jeffrey’s annoyance, refused to wear anything formal. He had, thankfully, dressed himself in something a little less...scruffy. He still wore jeans, though this pair was much nicer, sporting a tri-diamond pattern on the right pocket. His hoodie had been replaced by a black shirt, covered by a hunting jacket.

Jason looked over at Jeffrey, giving a confident smile. He had been fiddling with the device on his watch. It was vaguely familiar, but Jeffrey couldn’t figure out why. “Just relax man, it’ll be fine.” He pushed away from the wall, running a hand through his hair. “It’s just a press conference.”

“Yeah, just a press conference,” Jeffrey repeated, giving Jason a glare. “We can’t all be as cool headed as you.”

“Cool headed?” Jason laughed, stepping up to the curtain. “Nah, I’ve just been in worse situations.” He parted it ever so slightly, peeking out at the crowd. “You gotta wonder, what do they think they’re gonna find out about? It’s not everyday a toy maker holds a press conference outside of a con.”

“If you’re asking what I said this was going to be about, I told them Hasbro had something planned that would shake up the world of toys.”

Jason snorted, looking over his shoulder. “Well, that's certainly one way of putting it. Things are gonna get pretty heated for a while.”

A pair of technicians walked into view, making a beeline for the men.“I think that's a vast understatement.” Jeffrey sighed, allowing one of them to equip him with a headset. “You're effectively going to piss off everyone with any sort of view on the planet.”

Jason shrugged, waving off the other technician. “They’ll get over it. Better we do it now, then having to learn the hard way.”

Jeffrey raised his eyebrow. “And what would that be?”

“Ever see Avengers? Picture that, but with a crazy woman putting the sun out.”

Once Jeffrey was outfitted with his headset, the technicians scurried off. The two men fell into a pregnant silence. Jeffrey incessantly checked his watch, the LED screen telling him they still had about five minutes before the conference began.

When they reached two minutes, a clipboard carrying woman sporting a headset strode over to them. Jason eyed her passively, noting the distracted look on her face.

“We have a minute until you go on.” The woman passed Jeffrey a bottle of water, almost snatching it away after he took a few sips. “Are you ready Mr.Parker?”

Jeffrey groaned internally, taking his place at the podium. “As I’ll ever be.” The woman nodded, hastily requesting Jason step back and out of sight. He begrudgingly complied, stepping off the stage and leaving Jeffrey alone at the podium.

Taking a deep breath, Jeffrey pushed down his doubts. All he had to do was introduce Jason, and he would do all the talking. He made a show of patting down his suit, using the banal task to clear his mind. The clipboard woman counted down, nodding as the curtains opened, exposing him to the audience.

A few camera flashes caught his eye and Jeffrey threw up his best smile. “Good evening everyone, it’s always nice to have such a turnout.” Someone dragged his attention to one of the TV cameras. “I know it’s odd for a toy company to hold a press conference, but I assure you, what we have tonight will more than explain our actions.” He turned towards the stage, clearing his throat. “I’d like to turn the stage over to my associate, a Mr. Jason Hughes.”

Jeffrey took a step back, the crowd giving a half hearted clap. Jason walked onto the stage, regarding the audience rather passively. A few strides brought him up to the vacated podium, though he did not speak. Jason placed his hands on the object in front of him and with a heave, pushed it off the stage.

Ignoring the startled gasps of the crowd, he moved to sit down, ice forming under him, taking the shape of a chair.

“So, I can only imagine what you think of me at the moment,” Jason spoke, his voice carrying across the room. “I can’t imagine any of you know who I am, maybe a few of you watching on T.V do, but that's not a lot.”

Jason scanned the faces in front of him, pleased to see that he had their attention. “My name is Jason Hughes, and eighteen years ago, I went missing at an anime convention.” He leaned back, crossing his legs. “As it stands, I was removed from this world and put into another. One we humans know as ‘Equestria.’”

“What?” A reporter heckled from the crowd. “As in ‘My Little Pony’?”

“Yes smartass.” Jason gave the man a flat look, tapping his fingers on his armrest. “That's exactly where I went. Now, may I continue or are you going to keep interrupting me?” This seemed to quiet the heckler down, and Jason resumed his speech. “But, I don’t expect you to believe me. I’m just a Living Man looking motherfucker, who am I to any of you?” He smirked, ignoring the glare clipboard woman was shooting him from off stage. “So, I brought someone with me to impress upon you the truth. Twilight, if you don’t mind.”

A burst of purple light exploded next to him, getting more than a few screams from those in attendance. Those frightened screams were soon replaced with gasps of awe. Standing next to Jason was Twilight Sparkle, in the flesh. It was noted by those who knew the show, however, that was very far removed from the mare they had watched years ago.

Twilight now stood at least six feet tall, her mane and tail waving as though in wind. Her eyes held much more experience, a glint of curiosity shining within. Her most distinguishing feature was a rather ugly scar running across her throat.

Princess Twilight Sparkle spread her wings, trotting to the edge of the stage. Dozens of cameras flashed, and suddenly, all eyes were trained on her. “Greetings humanity, I am Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship.” Her lips parted in a sincere smile. “It is a pleasure to finally speak to you, face to face.”

Jason rose up, placing his hand on Twilight’s side. “So, you’ll all be taking the pretty pony princess’ word for it.” He patted Twilight’s back, smirking at the heckler from before. “So yeah, My Little Pony. Deal with it.”

The room exploded into a cacophony of noise, the reporters clamoring to have their voices heard.

“Mr. Hughes, how did you get sent to Equestria?”

“Are you declaring war?”

Jason whistled as loud as he could, quieting the room back down. “I realize this is a nuke as far as news goes, but let's have it sink in for a while ya?” Jason winked, his smirk growing. “I’ll give it about... a week. Then we’ll have another press conference. You guys can ask all the questions you want then.” Jason touched two fingers to his forehead, giving a salute before both he and Twilight blinked out of existence.