Desolation

Chapters

The Human in The Woods
A Past Life Forgotten
Welcome To Ponyville
Kindness
The Dream

The Human in The Woods

The pitter patter of raindrops hitting leaves and splashing down into puddles filled the ears of Private Cobalt and Captain Silvermane as they trotted into the dark forest that rested a few miles outside of Canterlot. Neither Stallions said a word, but from what they had witnessed on patrol, they didn't know what to expect. It wasn't until the smell of burnt wood and ash that Private Cobalt, the youngest of the pair, spoke up.

"Sir? Are you sure we are going the right way?" Private Cobalt asked nervously. He wore heavy metal armor and unfortunately not much besides his own voice could be heard over the sound of heavy rain pouring down from the sky above.

"Positive. Didn't you hear the explosion? Besides, we are close. I can sense it." Responded a much more experienced and matured royal guard.

Not long before the two ponies decided to investigate, a massive boom echoed for miles out. It could not have been mistaken for thunder. A blinding flash followed by the earth-shattering explosion was enough to warrant an investigation from the guards.

Both ponies were unicorns thankfully. With the help of magic, they lit the way through the pitch-black forest. They walked towards the source of the unsettling cacophony. The forest outside of Canterlot wasn't known for being that dangerous, in comparison to the Everfree that is. But regardless, both guards had their eyes peeled and readied their weapons as they heard a slight groan from a few meters ahead.

"Captain, I think somepony is over there." The inexperienced stallion stated and pointed towards the darkness ahead of them.

"Stay put, ill check it out." The larger unicorn responded and walked through the bushes and thickness of the forest until he came out the other side into a small clearing. A large crater greeted him a few feet into the clearing. The intense smell of burnt wood and grass filled the Captain’s nose. "Is anypony here?" He called out loudly.

His ears perked up as he heard a faint, barely audible groan. He directed his light at the source and nearly recoiled at what he saw lying ten feet from him. For a moment, he stood there in shock. Was this what caused the incredible explosion?

His eyes scanned the strange creatures body. It seemed to be bipedal and had almost no fur, besides the top of it's head. The weirdest detail he noticed however, was the fact that it wore clothes. He figured that was also because of the lack of fur. It’s peach colored skin was coated in dirt, blood, and soot.

His examination of the creature was cut short by another weak groan. "Can you hear me? Are you hurt?" It was a foolish question, considering that he could see cuts and bruises all over the creature's arms, legs, and face.

He leaned in closer and stared as he gently tapped its arm, being careful as to not harm it. The injured creature shifted slightly as its eyes slowly began to open.
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Pain was all Jacob felt as he found himself falling into the darkness. It was though he was on fire as he crashed and tumbled through every branch in his path before clipping his leg and splashing into a puddle of mud.

Wheezing heavily, he tried to sit up, but the immense amounts pain prevented him from trying more than once. Blood began to ooze from the countless cuts that littered his body. Breathing over the weak pained sob became almost impossible.

His eyes were barely able to stay open as he desperately tried to call out for help, but not a single word could escape his mouth. Everything felt fuzzy. His entire body seemed to lose all feeling. It became harder and harder to think clearly. Banging his head nearly a dozen times on the way down made sure of that as an awful headache had taken effect. Luckily, he was alive. Now that was the most important thing. The second was to get help, but in his current state he was lucky enough to be able to keep breathing.

What happened... Where am I...? He thought to himself as he felt rain drops splash over his face and entire body. What's going on...?

He tried one last time to sit up and was quickly matched with a nearly unbearable pain splitting up his back and then entire body as he fell back into the mud. For a good five minutes, he laid there silently. His slow, staggering breaths the only sound besides the calming sound of falling raindrops around him. It was almost peaceful, if it weren't for the fact that the immense pain he felt began to return. He wanted to scream out, but couldn't. All that escaped his mouth was a small groan.

That's when he heard a voice. Two of them in fact. He couldn't make out what they were saying and he tried to keep his eyes open, but he couldn't fight back the urge to escape the pain, if only for a few hours of unconsciousness. Everything seemed to fade as he struggled to stay awake. He heard the voices a few more times, drawing closer.

The barely conscious boy felt a large warm mass gently touch him. Using what little strength, he had left, he opened his eyes. It was a strenuous process that left him nearly exhausted.

Jacob slowly shifted his gaze up towards a massive wall of gray and yellow, almost blinding him from the powerful light shining in his face.

"Can you understand me?" A deep, almost authoritative voice asked.

His eyes focused up at a larger set of deep blue eyes looking down at him. Naturally he glanced at the rest of the massive figure standing beside him and if he had the strength to he would have reeled back in shock.

The looming figure seemed to resemble an armored equine. It had large horn that protruded from its head. Its facial features are what surprised Jacob the most. The large eyes the creature had unnerved him greatly. He seemed calm and collected. He had never seen an animal look so... Human. The only thing that seemed more confusing was the voice. Where did it come from? His eyes flicked towards the left, and then the right, but there was nobody else in sight.

“Did you hear me?" The voice questioned softly.

Jacob's body tensed up as he heard the massive equine speak to him. There was no point denying that the creature spoke. It was just him and the unicorn. His heart began racing as he shakily moved his head in response. The act of shifting his head caused a bolt of pain to travel down his spine and forced a weak groan to escape his lips.

The unicorn let out a relieved sigh. "Good, at least you can understand me. You're hurt. Just stay calm. I'm going to help you, okay?" He asked and leaned in a little closer to the boy.

There was nothing more the human could do. He had no energy to spare. Jacob could feel a warm tear drop down his cheek, before he found himself slowly lifted off the ground. His body was covered in a bluish aura. For a moment, the aura slowly faded and his body fell a few inches before being caught again in the magical aura. “Odd... Don't worry, you're going to be alright." The stallion said reassuringly, but the wounded boy was already out cold.

The large pony walked at a brisk pace and nearly caused the younger guard to jump in surprise. "Captain Silvermane! So, what was it-" The Private winced and took a step back as he saw the creature being held beside the captain.

"We can find out what he is once he isn't on the brink of death. The princesses will want to see him, I'm sure of it. There is no time, meet me back at the castle." With a loud pop the stallion, along with the wounded creature were gone.

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"The doctor said he should be fine. He just needs rest, princess.” Captain Silvermane informed as he and a taller mare, white and majestic, walked into the infirmary.

"Then there is good news after all. Where did you find him, captain?" The mare questioned and carefully peeked past a drawn curtain, seeing the form of a bipedal creature under a blanket.

"About a mile west into the forest, your majesty. I haven't seen anything like him before." He admitted, hoping that the princess might be able to identify the creature.

"In the forest," The mare repeated and turned her attention back to the tired stallion. "And private Cobalt?"

"I dismissed him a few hours ago. I hoped today was a good learning experience if anything else for him."

"Indeed," Celestia turned to the upright stallion. "Get some rest captain, you've earned it."

Silvermane raised a hoof to object, but he quickly realized that the creature was in safe hooves. Instead, he gave a small nod and bowed his head. "Of course. Good night Princess," The stallion turned to walk off, a small frown on his face as he took a last glance at the infirmary. "I did all I could do. He'll be fine." He told himself.

Celestia sat down and watched as a doctor, brown in color trotted back into the room with a clipboard and quill. "Good evening Princess. You spoke with the captain?" He asked curiously and opened the curtain and began to unravel a bandage on the creature's head.

The princess got a long look at the alien creature. Her expression was one of curiosity and intrigue. The possibility of him being a minotaur was out the window. In truth, she had not seen anything quite like it before. His face was covered in cuts and bruises. The dark brown hair held clumps of dirt and grass. If it weren't for the clothes the being wore, she would have guessed it was a wild animal. The sharp canines caught her attention, as well as it's nimble fingers that seemed to twitch every few seconds.

"I did indeed. Doctor Warm Heart, would you be able to identify this creature?" Celestia asked as the stallion began to rewrap a fresh gauze overtop the slightly scabbing flesh of the unconscious boy.

"I've treated ponies, griffons, yaks, minotaurs, and even a dragon in my life. But I have never met a creature like him. Oddly enough, his body is quite resistant to magic. Unfortunately, that is why I must use more traditional medicine," Warm Heart explained and began to gently wipe dirt off the boy’s face. "I'm sure the captain told you, but I believe this... colt, will be okay. A broken wrist, sprained leg, and a few dozen cuts. I'd guess he had quite a painful fall."

Princess Celestia glanced to the side, noticing a small bag slumped against the wall near the bed. "Was this with the boy?" She inquired.

"Yes, Princess. I peeked inside, hoping to find a clue to where it was from, or maybe something to help identify what exactly he is. No luck sadly," The doctor let out a small sigh. "Just clothes."

“In any case, if you would be so kind, I would like him moved to somewhere more welcoming as soon as possible. After all, I have a feeling we are just as alien to him, as he is to us." Celestia said, her eyes scanning over the boy's unconscious body once more, before settling back on the doctor.

“Of course. It will be done Princess.”

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The human felt at peace. The aching soreness in his body seemed to have died down considerably. He was confused, however. His body seemed to be sprawled out on a lavishly soft bed. The sun peeked through a set of soft pink curtains to let him know it was now daytime. Birds could be heard chirping from outside. A peaceful breeze gently blew the curtains in the light wind.

Curious to where he was, the human carefully slumped out of the bed and stretched his legs. For a moment, he had to hold the bed for support. A soreness shot up his legs and into his lower back. he had to take careful steps to ensure he wouldn't find himself face first on the stone floor. Slowly but surely, he made his way to the window and glanced outside. What he saw was a beautiful landscape stretching as far as the eye could see. Mountains seemed like hills from the distance he was from the ground.

Jacob stepped back and blinked a few times, "Where am I..?" He questioned out loud and looked around the impressive room he stood in. The room was big enough to be a small house. Extravagant rugs covered most of the floor. Painstakingly crafted furniture was placed around the room. Even extremely detailed paintings were hung along the walls. He was impressed, but immensely confused. He remembered the events that felt like they happened only mere hours ago.

“Focus...” He told himself and returned to the window. The groggy human let out a sigh, his brain crammed with so many thoughts. “The forest. I was in a forest…” Images of the dark gray sky flashed around inside his head; the sounds of howling echoed as if they were all around him. The boy’s mind felt fuzzy. concentration seemed impossible and even attempting proved tiring. Questions about his location, or how he got there were quickly dumbed down into things he felt should have been second nature to know by heart.

“Jacob. My name is Jacob,” He foolishly spoke out to himself. His light blue eyes glanced out to face the brightly lit sky. Puffy clouds floated calmly across the calming light blue sky.

As the human let his mind wander, Princess Celestia slowly made her way through the massive halls of the castle, deep in thought. Only a day previous she had laid eyes on a creature she had never seen the likes of before. Unfortunately, he was not in any condition to speak. When she had visited him in the infirmary it was clear that he was severely injured. The doctor did very good work tending to the creature's wounds from what she had witnessed. After a day of rest, she hoped that he would awaken.

She stopped right outside the door to the guest room, usually reserved for foreign diplomats, and other very important guests. Princess Celestia slowly and carefully opened the door. If he was still asleep, she didn't want to wake him. However, once she quietly walked inside, she saw that the creature was awake and standing near the window. Her sudden appearance seemed to go completely unnoticed by the creature.

She relaxed her posture ever so slightly as she caught sight of the boy. She carefully walked towards him. The human backed away from the window as a heavy breeze blew past.

The only thing he was sure of is that he wasn't home. Far from it. Before he could think of what he should do, he heard a soft, almost motherly voice from behind. "Ah. Good. You're awake."

Jacob quickly turned to face the voice and felt his blood run cold. Standing mere feet from him was a massive white furred mare. His eyes focused on the long sharp horn protruding from her head. His heart began to race as he saw that she was looking at him, her face full of curiosity.

"I trust you aren't in any more pain?" She finally asked and took a step back, seeing the nervous expression on the creature’s face.

For nearly a minute he just stared, before gulping and taking another step back directly into the wall. "N-not really..." He stuttered out, his eyes not leaving the mare that seemed to radiate an unexplainable power.

“I am certain you have many questions." Celestia smiled as he spoke. She had been afraid for a moment that the creature wouldn't understand her. “Please, take a seat.”

Jacob just slowly nodded. This isn't happening... This isn't possible... He thought to himself, heart still pounding in his chest. He followed the mare towards the bed and sat down as she smiled warmly at him. "W-What are you?" He asked, looking at her long flowing mane.

The question confirmed her suspicion. The young creature wasn't from Equestria. She turned to face him. "I am a pony. An alicorn specifically." She unfurled her wings for a moment. "I believe introductions are in order. I am Princess Celestia. What is your name?"

The teenager was a little hesitant to respond, but eventually muttered, "Jacob."

"Jacob," She repeated. "If you don't mind me asking in return, what are you?" The elegant mare asked back.

Jacob's eyes slowly trailed off towards the floor. Was he the only one here? The thought was terrifying. He was further from home than he could even imagine. "Human." He said in a near whisper.

Princess Celestia could see the confusion on the young human's face and gently spoke, "I admit I have never met a human before. I understand that this all must be hard for you. If you would wish to-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the human looked up at her. "What happened?" He asked.

Celestia wasn't at all surprised by the sudden outburst. She knew that would be his next question. "Two of my guards found you in the woods two nights ago. You were very hurt," She explained. "You were then brought to the infirmary. Once the doctor was sure you would be alright I had you brought here to rest." She slightly frowned. "That is all I know I'm afraid."

The mare held back just one little detail. The massive explosion leading to the humans hard landing in the forest. But she figured that she would tell him at a later time, after all, he had been through so much, the last thing she wanted to do was confuse, or frighten him further.

"Oh," Jacob mumbled and looked at the princess. "Where am I?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"You are in the country my sister and I rule. Equestria." Princess Celestia responded calmly and gently.

For a few seconds Jacob stood there quietly. His brain working overtime to piece everything together. Ponies seemed to rule this world, or at least this country. Not only that, but he was speaking to their leader. A loud growl from his stomach interrupted his thoughts, however.

"You are hungry, correct? Breakfast is currently being prepared. I would like you to accompany me to the dining room if you wouldn't mind?" She asked with another small smile.

Both out of hunger and curiosity the human nodded, his expression changing from cautious, to a much calmer one. He knew that he wasn’t in any position to refuse. "Sure."

The mare gave him another kind smile and a moment later she was leading Jacob out of the room and into the halls of the castle.
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Jacob had to admit, the castle was truly massive. His eyes wondered, taking in every detail he could. The ceiling reached nearly forty feet above him and the walls were a light purple. Portraits of ponies and brilliant stain glass windows lined the halls. It was impressive to say the least. Almost everything, even the seemingly endless red carpet he walked on seemed regal in one way or another.

Princess Celestia giggled softly as she turned to face the human, who was severely lagging behind her. He wasn't the first to be distracted by the elegance of the castle, and he would not be the last. The shocked and amazed look on the young human's face brought an amused smile to hers. "If you would like a tour after breakfast, that can be arranged." She said to Jacob, who was nearly twenty feet behind.

"This place is huge." He stated simply and walked back to the princess. Celestia couldn't disagree of course. Without her to guide him he would no doubt have gotten lost in the maze-like halls. Her wing gently tapped his shoulder as she began to walk again.

"Very. Come along Jacob. We aren't far." She announced and made sure to glance behind her to ensure the human wouldn't get left behind.

He silently nodded and followed behind her. Large armored stallions patrolled the halls. A small detail Jacob quickly noted was that a few of the armored ponies seemed to have cat like eyes and sharp fangs hanging out of their mouths. The sight of the armored equines were intimidating. Most of them were either his height, or a few inches shorter. Each and every one of them momentarily stopped and bowed before the Princess as they passed.

It was a decent walk from the guest room, but five minutes later they approached a large door that was guarded by two stoic looking stallions. Jacob couldn't help but avert his eyes as he noticed the armored ponies emotionlessly staring at him.

Once they turned their attention to Princess Celestia they bowed and opened the door without even touching them. Their horns seemed to light up as the large doors opened. Jacob then realized that what he had witnessed was magic. He had trouble processing it for a few moments. His eyes glanced over to the Princess’ wings and he knew that some of the equines must be able to fly as well as use magic.

Talking ponies... Huge castles... Magic...? What’s next...?

Jacob meekly followed in behind the majestic mare as he felt the stallions stare at him, before they closed the door behind them.

"You may sit wherever you like." Celestia said with a smile as she watched the human look around.

Inside was a large wooden table. Enough to fit two dozen people, or ponies in this case. On both ends, there were larger cushions on the floor. He simply took the nearest one and nearly jumped in surprise as the cushion vanished, only to be replaced with a comfortable looking seat. The larger mare sat down to his right at the head of the table. “My sister should be here any minute." Celestia said to him.

Before he could nod in response, an almost deafening crack filled the room and a blinding light caused him to cover his eyes. "Good morning, sister." Celestia greeted, unphased by sudden appearance of a slightly smaller mare.

Jacob looked at her, still in a state of surprise. Her fur was dark blue, and her mane and tail seemed to reflect the nights sky. It was almost hypnotic. His eyes wandered towards her flanks as he examined the strange marking. It seemed to be a moon. He didn't have much time to look as he realized staring at her hindquarters might send the wrong message. Thankfully, she didn't seem to notice.

"Good morning. Our guest seems to be hearty and whole." She commented sleepily and smiled. "I take it you had pleasant dreams?"

For a moment Jacob had trouble remembering if he had dreamt at all. Flashes of a calming tide rolling in on the beach visualized inside his head. His mental image was so clear that it was as though he could close his eyes and be there. The light blue sky was cloudless, and the sun shined down at him. Something about the odd memory felt alien to him. This wasn't a normal occurrence for him. He could tell. “I think I did actually.” Jacob admitted.

"Very good. My name is Luna, what is yours?" She asked curiously and took her seat at the other end of the large table.

"Jacob." He looked over to her, then back at Celestia. The fact that a Princess was speaking to him so casually was a bit alarming. He could not help but think how odd it was that he was sitting there, between the rulers of a country where magic was real and was populated by talking ponies. What was even more intriguing to him was the fact they both had genuinely friendly smiles on their faces, as if they were truly interested in him.

"It's good to meet you. It was quite a task to insure you slept well, after all-" Princess Luna saw his confused look and giggled. "Forgive me, it slipped my mind. You aren't from Equestria. It is my duty to make sure my subjects, as well as guests, have pleasant dreams. It’s quite the task, but I do like to believe that I do a good job.”

“You do a wonderful job, sister.” Celestia said politely.

Is she saying she went inside my dreams...? How is that even possible?

"You got rid of my nightmares?" He asked for confirmation.

"I did indeed." She said with a smile.

The more that Jacob thought about nightmares, the more his mind felt fuzzy and vacant. Faintly he could hear the howls again. They were unnerving and it took a great effort to drag his attention back to reality.

From behind he heard a pair of doors open. A large assortment of food was rolled out, accompanied by three ponies in cook uniforms. With incredible speed. the platters were placed onto the table, along with plates and utensils. They all floated over so quickly that Jacob nearly flinched as a plate landed gently in front of him. He just sat back and watched in amazement as the three ponies finished setting the table and bowed before trotting back to the kitchen.

He turned back around and watched as Princess Luna and Princess Celestia lifted the covers off the platters and a mouthwatering scent filled the room. The smell of fresh pancakes and muffins caused his stomach to rumble in anticipation.

Almost a surprising amount of food was lifted from the platters and placed on his plate. "I hope the castle hasn't been too overwhelming?" Luna asked curiously.

"I've never seen anything like it before." He admitted and looked as his glass began to fill with orange juice seemingly by itself.

This magic stuff is so strange...

"Sister, would you mind giving Jacob a quick tour around the castle after breakfast?" Princess Celestia asked as she took a sip of juice.

"Well, I suppose I could stay up for a while longer. I wouldn't mind at all. That is, if you would like that?" Luna questioned the human as he carefully plucked up a muffin.

"I guess so. If you aren't busy." He responded and took a small bite of the warm, moist cinnamon muffin.

"Oh, don’t you worry about that. I can make time." Luna said happily and made her plate.

As they began to eat, the human couldn't help but wonder why he was having trouble focusing. A nagging feeling in the back of his mind kept reminding him that he had to get back home. Faintly he could picture the outline of a house. The details were impossible to make out. His brain felt empty. A barren wasteland of nothingness. Fog seemed to cover up everything inside his mind.

A few more muffins met their fate in the hungry teenager’s stomach before he felt as though he couldn't eat another bite. During the meal he had not said a single word. For the most part, this was because after the first bite he realized just how ravenously hungry he was. Another reason for his silence was a nagging thought that had grabbed hold of his attention. After a few minutes, Jacob glanced up from his almost cleaned plate and noticed Princess Celestia looking at him. "What is on your mind?” She asked with a little bit of concern in her voice.

Something about the way she asked made him feel like she pitied him. He hated the feeling. So much so that he shifted uncomfortably. Jacob sat up straighter and opened his mouth to speak but found himself having trouble working out what he wanted to say. "I... Can go home... Right?"

Both the princesses shared a look for a moment, almost like they were waiting for the other to respond first. Eventually Celestia cleared her throat. "We will do everything in our power to make sure you return home. You have our word."

It wasn't enough to make him feel much better, but he settled with a weak nod. He didn't want to dwell on the fact the Princess herself didn't give him a straight 'yes' or 'no' answer. Almost on cue the ponies returned and gathered every dirty dish on the table, bowed, and left once again.

The princesses stood up and Luna stepped closer to him. "Are you ready to go, Jacob?" She asked.

"Yeah. I am."

A Past Life Forgotten

Soon enough Princess Luna and Jacob were back in the maze-like halls of the castle. Every now and again she would point out where other halls would lead or would explain some of the massive stain glass windows. Most would depict historical events.

"Do you wish to see the throne room?" Luna suggested, seeing the human's dwindling interest.

"Throne room?" Jacob perked up. His curiosity got the best of him.

More and more guards seemed to be stationed as they neared their destination. Something about the lack of emotion in the stallions seemed to make them look even more threatening. A mental note was made in the human's head to try to avoid eye contact.

They all bowed before the lunar Princess and stepped aside as she strode into the gigantic room, seemingly hesitant to let the human in. He looked up at the massive ceiling and then down the long red carpet that lead to the two thrones. One was fittingly made specifically for Princess Celestia, and the other for Luna. The craftsmanship was unsurprisingly top notch.

Jacob's eyes were drawn towards a large window. It depicted a historic event, like most of the others. Most that he was shown were self-explanatory. the founding of Equestria, the first royal gala, but this one caught his attention.

"What... Is that?" He asked and walked towards it, seeing a dark, almost distorted equine being blasted with a jet of colors. Below it, the moon, with the mare's head etched into it.

Luna followed him towards one of the close to home hitting windows and let out a saddened sigh. "I had hoped you wouldn't notice that one." She admitted.

"Why?" He examined it closer. "Is there a reason why that... Thing... Is getting turned into the moon?" He questioned.

"That thing... Was me." She answered weakly.

His eyes quickly shot to the floor, as if he were embarrassed of what he had asked. "Why were you being blasted to the moon?" He rephrased.

"Many years ago, I let my jealousy get the best of me. I had become something evil, a walking nightmare." She said, shame sprinkled over top every word.

He stood there quietly for a moment. It was easy to tell how sad she was by talking about her past. Jacob decided not to question her about that. "If it was such a bad time... Why is this one still here? Every other mural seems so... Happy."

"So I never forget." Princess Luna said and looked down for a split second, before glancing behind the human.

“Forget…” Jacob found himself repeating under his breath.

Much to the human’s surprise, a large guard wearing an armor style that differed from the others he had saw walked into the mighty throne room. The armor itself was purple with golden patterns across it. The disciplined looking stallion walked tall with a stern expression and a confident stride. "Your majesty," he bowed before Princess Luna. "Princess Celestia requires your presence." He spoke, holding the same neutral expression all the other guards held while they stood at attention.

"Naturally," She let out a quiet sigh and turned to face Jacob. "I apologize for cutting the tour short. Captain, I trust you will get Jacob to his room?"

The stallion nodded. "Of course, Princess." He looked down slightly at the human.

"Farewell, I will see you soon Jacob." She smiled and walked off, leaving the large stallion with the human.

"I see you made a full recovery." He stated as he looked him over. The stallion’s violet colored eyes examined him closely, causing a slight bit of discomfort for the teenager.

Jacob took a single step back. Something about the stallion seemed familiar. The English accent was a noticeable difference from everyone else he had met so far. “Do... I know you?" He asked.

"We have met, yes. Captain Silvermane, at your service." The stallion responded and bowed his head slightly to the human.

Jacob quickly followed behind the stallion as he began to walk. He could swear he heard rain, and the stallion's voice in his head.

Don't worry, you're going to be alright.

“You're the one that saved my life, Aren't you?" The human finally asked.

"Well, Doctor Warm Heart saved you. I just brought you here." Silvermane humbly responded

There wasn't much Jacob could offer besides a simple, “Thanks.”

"It wasn't a problem. Am I correct to assume you do not live around here?" He asked curiously.

"Nowhere near here." Jacob flatly responded, unable to force himself to say that he had to be from another planet.

"I'm sure you'll be home soon enough. Princess Celestia seemed determined to make that happen." The Captain commented.

"What happened to me, Captain?" The human asked. He was almost desperate to be told what he wanted to hear. Maybe this was still a dream? Maybe there was an explanation to how he woke up in an entirely different world. At the very least, if the one who saved his life could confirm what the Princess had told him, it would be enough tide his confusion back. For the time being.

"Well, two nights ago, myself and a recruit heard a very loud explosion. As you can imagine, we decided to investigate what had created the sound. We found you laying in a crater not long after," The large gray stallion rubbed his chin for a moment. "To be honest, I’m shocked you survived a fall like that. You weren't in any state to be moved all the way to the hospital. I teleported us to the castle’s infirmary. Doctor Warm Heart took it from there. From what I was told your body was extremely resilient to magic, I noticed when I tried to lift you. The doctor had to use more traditional methods to heal you. Two days later, here we are."

"An explosion?" Jacob asked.

"Yes. We had heard it from about a mile away. We are unsure what had caused it, but what matters is that you survived. Here we are." The stallion stopped in front of the large wooden door that lead to the room Jacob had woken up in.

"If you need anything, guards are stationed all over. They will help you. Perhaps we will meet again. Farewell Jacob."

"Thanks again, Captain."

The stallion just smiled and turned to walk off. From Jacob figured, it was only ten, maybe eleven in the morning. He walked back inside the room and sat on the massive bed and looked at the wall. "I am really in a castle with talking ponies." He said to himself in amazement.
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The minutes seemed to pass by as he sat and thought. He didn't expect to be home by sundown. Even he knew that the Princesses were just as confused as him to why he was here. Maybe a few days, or weeks, and he would be back home with his family.

Family

That's when it hit him. He couldn't even remember his family. Tears swelled in his eyes as he felt even more helpless. The realization finally sank in. He knew that staying positive was going to be a challenge. The best way he could try to get into a better mindset was to distract himself with another task. With that in mind, he decided to freshen up while he waited for the princess to return. He walked out into the bathroom and stared at his reflection in the mirror. His face was coated in small cuts and bruises. His skin was slightly tinged in places due to dried dirt and thick brown hair was all over the place. It was the perfect time for a shower.

Not even the soothing sound of running water and the comforting warm water was enough to wash away the creeping thoughts of fear and hopelessness. After cleaning himself inside the pony sized shower, Jacob found himself pacing around the large room deep in thought.

"This is real... How do I get out of here? There must be a way back. There has to." He groaned loudly and leaned against the wall, his eyes trailing down to the floor. A small knock at the door stole his attention soon after. He quickly walked over and opened it to see Princess Celestia smiling down at him.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything?" The royal mare asked curiously, as if she respected the young human’s privacy.

"Not really. I was just thinking about... Stuff." Jacob responded while trying to summon a small smile.

"I understand. You have been through a great deal in just a few hours. I do have news however."

The human's heart skipped a beat as he heard those words. This could be the news he had been waiting for. He could be on his way home any second now! "You do?" He asked eagerly.

"I do indeed. If you would be so kind and come with me. Oh, and bring your bag."

Jacob rushed towards the bed and retrieved his bag and looked at the princess. "What's the news?"

Celestia gently closed the door as they both began to walk down the massive maze-like halls. "My very close friend, and former student has agreed to let you stay with her for the time being. Until my sister and I can find a way to send you home."

Jacob’s small smile instantly turned into a disappointed frown. He was taken completely off guard and felt even more helpless. "Oh. Great." He sighed heavily. The disappointment in his voice wasn’t masked whatsoever.

"I promise we will send you home Jacob. It just will take some time. Do you understand?" The princess asked softly.

"Yeah.... I understand." He responded dryly. “Why can't I just stay here?”

“My sister and I still have our royal duties Jacob. As much as we would enjoy your company, I believe that with our schedules, you would feel as though we were neglecting you.”

For Jacob, the princess might as well just have told him that she would rather dump him on someone else's doorstep. Not that it really mattered. He couldn't care less exactly where he was if the princess would keep her promise to send him back home. That small glimpse of hope didn't much improve his mood.

Celestia knew that there was nothing else she could say to change the humans current disposition so she decided that it would be best to change the subject to try to lighten the mood. Before she could speak however, the teenager spoke up.

"Who is your student anyway?" Jacob questioned in a monotone and frankly uninterested tone.

"Of course. Forgive me. Her name is Twilight Sparkle, she is the Princess of Friendship." The mighty white mare mentally scolded herself for not realizing that the human would have no clue who she was referring to.

"Princess of Friendship?" The human repeated slowly. "Wait, you mean, she is a Princess... And she... Spreads friendship?"

"I suppose that is an accurate description." Celestia responded politely.

He watched as two guards up ahead began to open a pair of large double doors. Like pretty much everything else in the castle, the doors were huge. As was the balcony on the other side. Easily two dozen people, or ponies, could fit comfortably on the dangerously high up ledge. The fear of heights was the last thing on Jacob’s mind, however. From the beautiful blue sky descended a carriage, hauled through the air by two masculine pegasus ponies. With perfect precision, the two ponies landed on the stone floor of the balcony, followed by the wheels of the carriage. The hoof of the regal white mare gently scooted Jacob back away from the large pegasus ponies so that she could greet the passenger inside the carriage.

The Princess of Friendship… Might as well have a princess of ‘love’ too while they are at it...

The door of the carriage opened and a purple hoof stepped out, followed by the entire body of another alicorn, much like Princess Celestia, but much smaller in size. A smile was plastered on her face as her eyes flicked over to the human. The smile unnerved Jacob, but he just decided to play along and gave a forced smile back. Both Celestia and Twilight walked back towards Jacob, the Princess of Friend quickly reached a hoof out towards the human.

“It's great to meet you Jacob! My name is Twilight Sparkle.” Her excitement was not returned by the human, and the mare could instantly tell that something was wrong.

Hesitantly the human shook the mare's hoof, giving a small nod in response to her greeting. Princess Celestia cleared her throat and smiled towards Twilight Sparkle. “Twilight, if I may have a word with you privately? We won't be but a moment Jacob.”

The young human watched as the mares walked off back into the castle. His interest instantly spiked and he knew that whatever the princesses had to discuss, it involved him. He decided it would be best to not think about what the two mares were talking about.

The two pegasi who were harnessed to the carriage stared blankly, emotionlessly, not even giving Jacob a passing glance as he walked past them and packed his bag into the carriage. The carriage itself seemed much roomier that it looked from the outside. The teenager had just finished stowing his backpack when he heard the princesses return.

“-I understand perfectly. I won't let you down princess!” Twilight Sparkle declared confidently.

“I have no doubt in that, Twilight. Farewell you two,” Princess Celestia started and smiled towards Jacob. “I will keep you updated on my progress Jacob, don't worry.”

“If you say so, Princess. Thanks for letting me stay here for a little while.” The human said quietly.

“It wasn't a problem at all. I should let you two on your way.”

Twilight Sparkle climbed into the carriage and waved. “I'll write to you when we arrive!” She happily announced.

"Very well, I will anticipate your letter. Farewell Jacob, I hope to hear from you soon.”

In response, the human nodded and climbed inside the carriage. A bright violet aura gently closed the carriage door just as he proceeded to sit opposite from Twilight, who was happily beaming at him. An awkward silence broke out for a few moments until the sudden jolt of the carriage caused the slightly nervous human to speak up. “How far is wherever we’re going?” Jacob asked weakly, all the while his eyes couldn't help but fixate on the approaching thousand-foot drop.

“Ponyville isn't too far by carriage. I'd say about an hour depending on the weather,” The nervous look on the human’s face didn't go unnoticed by Twilight. “Are you afraid of heights?” She asked curiously.

“I'm scared of falling to my death… Are you sure this thing is safe?” Jacob asked, quickly turning his attention to the purple alicorn.

“I'm positive! I don't blame you for being a little hesitant. Flying is always a little frightening for the first few times. I hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions?”

"What kind of questions?” The boy asked suspiciously. His eyes quickly widened as he felt his stomach drop. The carriage had taken into the air. The sudden force of lift off was shocking to say the least, however Twilight Sparkle hardly seemed to notice.

“Oh, just a few basic questions," The mare said off-hoofedly and pulled out a notepad and quill. "We can stop anytime if you don’t feel comfortable. I know this all must be a lot to get used to.”

Jacob took a quick glance out the carriage window to see the streets and rooftops of buildings far below. Seeing how there wasn’t much to do while trapped inside the flying compartment, he gave a small nod, silently hoping none of the questions got too personal. “I don’t remember much right now… Anything important, I mean.”

Twilight nodded and seemed to read off a pre-written list of questions. “That’s okay! First question, this one is a two-part question. Where did you come from? I mean, Princess Celestia mentioned that you came from a place called “Earth”. But I have never heard of it.”

For a few seconds Jacob simply stared at the seat and seemed to completely zone out before his eyes glanced back towards the eagerly awaiting mare. “I'm not from here at all. Earth is my home, but if you’ve never heard of it...” the human let out a weak sigh and rested his head against the wall.

Twilight momentarily looked disappointed in the response she had gotten. She knew that she had unknowingly struck a nerve. She proceeded to casually cross out most of the follow up questions to avoid making the human even more uncomfortable. “I was going to ask if you had magic on your world?”

“I am pretty sure there is no such thing as magic back home. Not like the kind here.” Jacob muttered, watching as Twilight held her quill in a violet aura, gingerly writing down on her parchment.

“Interesting. I'm sure there are plenty of similarities between our worlds. Oh, this is just so exciting! But you mentioned that you are having trouble remembering your home. Is there anything specific you can tell me?”

Jacob stared at the concerned looking mare for a few seconds and shrugged weakly. “I don’t know how much is different yet, besides the fact where I live, we don’t have princesses, castles, or anything like that.” the teenager turned away from the alicorn and stared outside, watching the mountains grow further away by the second.

“Oh, fascinating!” Twilight looked into Jacob’s face, clearly noticing the discomfort in it. She set her notepad aside. “We can maybe continue the questions later. If it helps in any way, once you are done healing, the chances of your memory returning are actually quite high. You suffered a very serious injury.” Twilight said reassuringly.

“Thank you,” Jacob said, turning to face the mare for a moment to show that he appreciated her decision to pause the interview. “I hope so…”

Deep down Jacob felt terrified by the fact that he had hurt himself bad enough to lose his memory, but Twilight Sparkle seemed like someone who knew what she was talking about. He didn't take her words to heart but kept them safely stuffed to the back of his mind. The fuzziness inside his brain allowed him to doze off into a near unconscious state of thought. His brilliant blue eyes lazily drifted towards the ground a mile below, watching the patches of forest pass.

What if I’m stuck here forever? This could still be a dream. What if I’m dead?

Visions of lightning and large yellow eyes filled his head, as well as the booming thunder, mixed with the cacophony of snapping tree branches. The dizziness returned, almost giving Jacob the feeling of vertigo, as if he were plummeting towards the ground. Everything felt so familiar. The human knew that the slight pain he still felt across his body was caused by whatever he faintly remembered.

Jacob nearly snapped out of his trancelike state as he felt Twilight Sparkle tap his leg with her hoof. He quickly turned to face the mare as she motioned towards the window. “Just thought I would warn you; we are landing in about ten minutes. You okay? You’ve been a statue for the past half hour.”

In response, the teenager just sighed. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.” He muttered, deciding on telling the mare what he thought she would want to hear. His hope was to avoid another full conversation.

“Alright. Just wanted to make sure. I really think you're going to like Ponyville. Once you get some friends, this whole situation will be much easier for you. I'm hoping that’s the case anyway.” Twilight told him. Although, she could tell he wasn't paying attention.

Twilight Sparkle may have not had much experience speaking with humans, or reading their expressions, but she could tell herself for certain that the teenaged boy was feeling discomfort. Physical as well as mental she figured. His eyes seemed to flicker rapidly as rows of trees and the occasional river or pond passed half a mile below. He was deep in thought once more.

Welcome To Ponyville

The last ten minutes of the flight seemed to drag on longer than Jacob could have thought possible. The swaying of the cabin along with the patches of green passing was starting to lull him to sleep. It wasn't until he felt a sudden jolt that he realized that they were preparing to land.

Descending was just as uncomfortable as takeoff. The teenager felt his grip on the seat tighten as the rapidly approaching village grew closer. From the looks of it, the architects that built the town were in love with beige colored material and thatched roofing. The dirt roads that littered the street weren't too populated, leaving Jacob to believe that Ponyville was in fact a pretty small and quiet town.

Jacob rested his head on the seat and waited for the butterflies in his stomach to settle. Just as takeoff had been a little disorientating, the landing’s sudden lurch gave him the same unsettling feeling. Although, the knowledge that he was safe back on the ground quickly overpowered his discomfort. A few quiet seconds passed before the two side doors of the carriage opened up and allowed him to disembark. His feet impacted the dirt less than a second later.

“Here we are! Home sweet home,” Twilight announced and floated Jacobs bag over to him. “For the first time flying, you took it pretty well.”

In the corner of his eyes the human could see a few ponies stop walking and stare over in his direction. The instant he turned to face them however, they rushed off in a near trot. Jacob felt a few eyes on his back, but forced himself to focus on Twilight.

“I guess. I hope I don't get used to it.” The human responded and grabbed his bag by the handle. His attention was seemingly drawn to the large tree that loomed a few stories over them. For a split second he thought that Twilight was joking, until he saw her walk towards a large red door built into the tree itself. Near the door a large sign read ‘Golden Oak Library’. With a polite smile she opened the door and motioned for him to enter first.

Still believing that this was a prank, Jacob wandered into the hollowed out oak tree and instantly found himself rubbing his eyes in disbelief. The interior was deceptively large compared to what he saw on the outside. The most eye-catching thing, besides the wooden equestrian head placed on a table in the center of the room, was the odd number of books the lined shelves built into the walls. Before Jacob had the opportunity to question why Twilight would live in a library, he heard a young sounding voice call out from another room. “Twilight? You’re back already?”

A moment later the human felt his blood run cold. A bipedal dragon slowly entered the room. The sudden appearance of a creature that he believed could roast effortlessly caused Jacob to back up a few steps and stare at the surprisingly unthreatening looking purple dragon. However. it didn't take longer than a few seconds to realize that the dragon didn't have plans to burn him to a crisp, considering the fact he was wearing an apron and clutching a broom in both hands.

“Yep! This is Jacob. Jacob, this is Spike.” Twilight introduced and smiled towards both of them.

The purple dragon looked up at the human and smiled. “Nice to meet you!”

“Er.. Yeah, same here.” Jacob responded, mentally kicking himself for his slightly awkward response.

Although Spike’s smile was genuine, Jacob found it slightly unnerving. Thankfully after a few moments the dragon turned his attention over to Twilight. “I'm going to get back to sweeping, Twi.”

"Alright Spike, thank you. Well, that was Spike! Are you alright?" Twilight asked as she saw the teenager cautiously watching the drake walk off.

"I didn't know dragons were real... What if he accidentally burns down the town or something?" Jacob questioned and looked back towards the princess of Friendship.

Twilight couldn't help but giggle at the human's ignorance. "Of course dragons are real! And I assure you, Spike won't do anything like that. He is only a baby dragon after all." She said as if Jacob was supposed to have known. "Anyway, I'll show you to your room."

"My room? I get a room?" The teenager asked as he began to follow Twilight.

"Of course. I'm not going to make you sleep on the floor! Watch your step." She warned and opened a small door that lead to stairs that descended into darkness.

Twilight casually flicked a switch and the entire stairwell erupted with light. The two made their way down the steps. Jacob felt his eyes glued to the strange objects up ahead of them. Beakers, vials, strange chemicals and even a chair with straps were visible as they reached the basement. A few rows of bookshelves clung against the walls, as well as a couple of framed pictures.

Twilight walked him into a decently sized guest room and smiled. "I'll let you unpack and get everything situated. Dinner will be ready in an hour or so."

Jacob couldn't help but feel appreciative, especially for having a roof over his head. Even if it wasn't home. "Thank you." He said as Twilight trotted off back upstairs to leave him alone.

The young man walked forward and tossed his bag onto the spacious bed and rubbed his chin. "I can't let myself get too comfortable here. But for now, I might as well make the best of this."

For the next five minutes Jacob unloaded his bag and began to neatly fold his other set of clothes and place them in a small dresser near the bed. A spare pair of clothes, including what he was wearing, an empty water bottle, and a crumbled piece of paper... He didn't have much. Curiously he began to unfold it as a slight movement stole his attention. Jacob turned just in time to see Spike slowly walk inside the room and look up at him.

"Hey, um, Jacob, right?" He asked with a small smile.

"Yeah. What's up?" Jacob asked back and tossed the piece of paper onto the dresser.

"Just wanted to say hi. So... Where are you from anyway? Canterlot? Manehatten?" The drake asked curiously.

For a few seconds Jacob stared in silence, before he broke out with a small sigh. "Let's just say I'm not from around here and leave it at that."

"Oh. Alright," Spike mumbled, clearly a tad disappointed, but he kept his small smile. "Maybe I could show you around town? Twilight is making dinner tonight, and we have a while if she doesn't set the library on fire."

"What do you mean by that? Does she not normally do the cooking?" Jacob asked as he stretched his back and glanced down at Spike.

"That's usually my thing. Not that I like to brag, but I make a mean spaghetti and hayballs." He stated proudly and grinned.

"Well, I guess there is nothing better to do. Might as well get used to this place. Ponytown, right?"

"Ponyville. Well come on then!" Spike dashed out of the room and up the basement steps.

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................

The relaxing breeze in the crisp Autumn air was greatly appreciated by the human as he and Spike walked out of the large library. From first glance, it appeared the town was nearly completely empty. Spike was confused by this, but Jacob knew exactly why they were all alone. The very moment he had stepped out of the carriage with Twilight Sparkle everypony's eyes were glued to him. A mixture of shock and fear plastered to their faces. It wasn't an easy thing to forget, that's for sure. At a subconscious level, It hurt him. Bringing fear into the hearts of dozens was something that Jacob was by no means proud of. However, there was nothing he could have done to prevent it. Spike was none the wiser to this. The human was quite skilled in hiding his emotions from others when he felt the need.

The architecture was something Jacob had not seen in person before. Wooden cottages with thatched roofs seemed to be the style that these ponies were accustomed to. Every home had its shutters shut and Jacob could swear he heard doors lock and deadbolts click.

"This is weird. Kind of reminds me of when Zecora first came to town..." Spike mumbled to himself and took a quick glance of the human behind him before the realization hit him.

To the drake, it was very frustrating to witness again. Spike knew that it would be a few days at the most and the townsponies would see that Jacob wasn't a big scary monster. At least, he hoped that would be the case.

"I didn't know this was a ghost town." Jacob stated dryly, growing tired of the awkward silence.

"Sorry Jacob, I didn't know everypony would be... Like this." Spike said sincerely and looked up to the human.

"Don’t worry about it. Let's just get going." Jacob responded shortly and looked towards a strange building that seemed to be made of gingerbread. Even the roof was frosted.

Spike quickly decided that Sugarcube Corner would be their first stop. If anypony would be able make the human's first day memorable, it was Pinkie Pie. From the looks of it, the bakery was empty as well.

"Let's head on inside. I know Pinkie will want to meet you!" Spike said with a small chuckle.

"Pinkie? She would? Well, if you think that's where we should go." The teenager responded quietly.

"I do, just... Expect... Just be ready for anything." Spike advised and walked into the rather unique, and delicious looking building.

Jacob let out a weak sigh and followed the dragon inside the bakery. Instantly the smell of fresh baked goods, namely muffins and pie, greeted them both.

The interior of the bakery wasn't too much different from what Jacob had been expecting. Lots of colorful creations lined the shelves. They all looked rather impressive. Although Jacob didn't particularly have a sweet tooth, he knew that whoever created the sugary treats had a talent in it. He trailed Spike to the counter and watched as he hopped up to ring the bell that sat on the countertop.

Before Jacob had the opportunity to blink, a flash of pink swept in from seemingly nowhere. Almost instantly a very bubbly pink mare stood behind the counter, beaming widely and bouncing in place.

"Spike! The usual? Double chocolate cupcake with gems sprinkled on-" The mile-a-minute speaking mare stopped and looked up slightly to the confused and almost horrified human. "You must be the new pony that everypony was whispering about! They seemed real excited to meet you. They were in a hurry to leave... But wait! You aren't a pony!"

Jacob just stood in shock of the impossibly hyper and overly joyful mare as she grinned up at him.

"He is a human, Pinkie. Right Jacob? Oh, and yes please!" Spike happily answered.

"Yeah. I am." Jacob eventually said and looked back to Spike. The wide smile the mare sported was beginning to make him feel uncomfortable.

The pink mare slid open a drawer near the counter and pulled out a large cupcake, completely coated in chocolate frosting. She then sprinkled a few small, shiny gemstones on top. "There you go! Did you want anything Jacob?" Pinkie Pie inquired politely.

"No thanks. I'm not really into sweets." He responded and watched as Spike happily grabbed his treat and walked towards a table.

"Not into... Ahahah! Good one Jacob! I can see you're a jokester, like me! Anyway, it's great to meet you! My name is Pinkie Pie. But my friends just call me Pinkie. I already know we are going to be great friends! I can't wait to throw you a surprise welcome to-" Pinkie quickly covered her mouth with both hooves before sniggering. "You didn't hear that! Anyway, I hope you enjoy it here!"

With that, Pinkie casually bounced out of the room, humming to herself while Spike began to dig in. Jacob just shook his head and walked back to Spike. He sat down on the other side of the table and rested his elbows on the table.

"Is Pinkie Pie always so..."

"Unpredictable? Energetic? Excitable? Yeah, pretty much." Spike laughed and took a large bite out of his cupcake and chewed the gemstones loudly. "Mmm.. This hits the spot. Want some?" The drake offered, presenting the half-eaten treat.

"I'm good. Didn't you want to wait until dinner? I mean, Twilight is cooking, isn't she?"

"She is. But I’m hungry now. Besides, there is never a bad time for cupcakes! Especially with gems sprinkled on top!" Spike retorted, licking some frosting from his lips.

“You said it, Spike!” Pinkie Pie shouted from behind the counter.

The human's eyes rolled as he glanced out the window to his left. The streets had begun to repopulate with dozens of colorful ponies. He wondered if they would scurry away the moment he left the bakery.

"How long have you lived with Twilight?" Jacob eventually asked.

"Since the day she hatched me," Spike replied happily and licked his lips clean of tiny fragments of gem and some more traces of chocolate frosting. "We have only lived in Ponyville for about three years though."

Jacob raised an eyebrow and looked back towards Spike. "Wait... She hatched you?"

"Yeah! She did. How long have you been in Equestria? Princess Celestia said you were new, but she really didn't go on much about it." Spike responded honestly, smiling up at the curious human.

"About two days. What else did she say about me?" Jacob curiously prodded.

"Not much really. Just that you needed somewhere to stay. And that you got really hurt. And... Yeah. Pretty much it. Let's go head back to the library. We can continue the tour after supper." Spike happily said and stood up.

"Lead the way then, Spike." The slightly anxious human mumbled.

The journey back towards The Golden Oaks Library was much different from what Jacob had expected. The townsfolk took one glance at him, and then at the smiling drake. Instead of running indoors or screaming over dramatically, they just watched. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. To make matters worse, the sound of whispers infiltrated Jacob's ears. The feeling of being the center of attention, as well as the subject to hushed conversation made the pit in his stomach deepen.

Spike wasn't oblivious to the fact the human behind him was beginning to feel uneasy. The best he could do was distract him from the locked eyes and hushed voices.

"Do you like board games? I mean, we have tons of them. We could play some later if you want?" Spike smiled weakly up at the human.

"No thanks. I’m not really into board games..." Jacob mumbled in response, his eyes trailing to his feet.

“Oh, okay then. How about-” The drake was interrupted as a flash of blue swept past and stopped directly in front of them.

Standing tall and proud, Rainbow Dash looked up at the human, then back down at Spike. "So... This is what everypony is so freaked out about? I don't see the big deal. You don't seem like a monster that would eat all the foals in town."

Spike blinked a few times and saw the confused look on Jacob, and Rainbow Dash's faces. "Ponies are saying that?" Spike asked flatly.

"Well, Rose did. But you know how she is. Anyway, I'm Rainbow Dash, element of loyalty, and the coolest, most awesome pony in Equestria!" The multi colored mare introduced.

The mare’s seemingly arrogant attitude was almost entertaining to Jacob. He couldn't help but crack a small smile. “If you say so. I'm Jacob. Wait, what do you mean by ‘the element of loyalty’?”

Rainbow Dash seemed shocked by the human's reaction. But her opportunity to explain her most prized title was too good to pass up. “Well, you see, my friends and I are the elements of harmony. I'm loyalty. We kick evil’s butt wherever it rears its ugly head! I mean, we are kind of a big deal.”

“There's more to it than that Rainbow…” Spike muttered and rolled his eyes. “Twilight can tell you all about the elements, considering she is one.”

“So, you're basically like a superhero?” Jacob curiously asked, unknowingly stroking the cyan mare’s ego further.

“The superiest of heroes! Ehhhh… Good point Spike. Twilight can give you the boring details. I got some stuff to take care of. See you around Jake. You too Spike.” With a flash, the mare was gone and was soaring into the sky.

“Yeah, that was Rainbow Dash. You alright?” Spike asked the human while he watched the mare vanish into the sky.

“Your friends are really strange.” Jacob commented.

“Heh, I guess you could say that! Anyway, let’s get back to the library.”

With nothing other than a small nod, the two resumed their trek back to the mighty oak tree that stood taller than nearly every other building in town.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...............................................................................................

Jacob didn’t consider himself of connoisseur of Equestrian cuisine by any means. He had to admit that the addition of hay in the main course was unnecessary. Not in a million years did he expect himself to eat what Twilight Sparkle called a “hay burger”. To be polite, he forced himself to swallow the extremely unpalatable food down.

Twilight was beaming, seemingly very proud of the meal she had made. Spike mowed through his food within minutes and rushed off to wash his dishes. Once it was just him and Twilight, she cleared her throat and looked towards him.

“How was the grand tour?” Twilight asked, giggling as she wiped her muzzle with a napkin.

“It was fine, I guess. We didn’t really explore that much. Just the bakery and that area.” Jacob admitted.

“So, I take it you met Pinkie?” The alicorn questioned.

Jacob’s blue eyes trailed off, taking in the scenery of the Library-turned-home. Even the small dining room had shelves built into the walls. Naturally, most of the books were related to cuisine.

“Yeah, I did. She was… Interesting,” The human answered, glancing up from his nearly clean plate. “Is it normal for everyone to hide and gossip when someone new comes to town?”

“Of course not! I’m sorry to hear that… I take full responsibility. I should have made it a top priority to have told everypony that, well… That you would be coming. I hope they didn’t upset you?” Twilight said, genuine concern in her voice.

Jacob shrugged and slouched in his seat. “I mean... It’s whatever.” He sighed, glancing over as Spike walked back in and snatched his plate to wash.

“It’s not “whatever”, Jacob. Everypony, and everyone is welcome here. I don’t want you to think that this is a town of bigots, or anything like that. I apologize for not warning everypony-” Twilight quickly stopped herself, feeling as though she was only making it worse.

“A warning, huh?” Jacob muttered and stood up, turning away to offhandedly glance at a shelf of books nearby. “I guess I’m an alien here… Kind of makes sense.”

“You don’t need to try and make this seem right. It isn’t. Tomorrow, let me make it up to you. I will show you the best Ponyville has to offer, as well as introduce you to my friends. I’m sure you will love them. You’ve already met one of them, after all!” Twilight offered, standing up and walking to the human’s side.

“Two, actually. We came across Rainbow… something…” Jacob trailed off, trying to recall the egotistical mare’s name.

“Oh! You met Rainbow Dash! Guess we can cross two names off the list! Did you two hit it off?” Twilight prodded, smiling widely up at the teenager.

“I mean, I guess so. She seemed okay. Oh, that reminds me… She mentioned something about the Elements of Harmony?”

Twilight giggled to herself, nodding her head. “That does sound like her. She has a habit of making that her go-to when introducing herself. I’m sure she gave you the “we kick evil’s butt wherever it rears its ugly head” spiel?”

“Uh… Yeah. That’s pretty much exactly how she described it. So, you and your friends are heroes?” Jacob asked, only half interested, but that was enough to warrant his attention.

“I don’t really want to conflate what we are and what we represent… But in a way, yes. You see, my friends and I represent harmony. There are six of us. Laughter, generosity, loyalty, honesty, kindness, and magic.” Twilight Sparkle explained.

For a few seconds Jacob just stared, before blinking and nodding his head for her to continue. “Okay…”

“It all started a few years ago, when I first met my friends,” Twilight resumed, floating over a large tome and flipping through the pages. “I think a good place to start is where the elements of Harmony came from, and why they were originally discovered.”

The human let out a weak sigh, almost instantly regretting bringing the topic up. He was greeted with a scribble of what seemed to be a tree. Five large branches sprouted out, each holding what seemed to be a gem. A large star was centered in the trunk, all the branches connected to it. The teenager slowly glanced back towards the eager alicorn, knowing that he was in for a very long, very dreary story.

“It all started over a millennium ago…”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………............................................................................................

Jacob couldn’t tell if it had only been twenty minutes, or a few hours. Princess Twilight Sparkle seemed to want to read through the entire book she had opened, as well as chime in with stories of her and her friend’s exploits. From turning bad guys into stone, to banishing the representation of evil out of Princess Luna, it seemed as though Jacob was in some kind of fantasy land. In any case, the sound of Twilight closing the heavy book woke the human out of his zoned-out state.

“That about covers it! It is a lot of information to take in. Any questions?” The alicorn asked, the book vanishing with a poof of magic.

“That… Discord guy. If he was such a pain, why not just keep him as a statue? You said he nearly ruined this whole place.” Jacob muttered, standing up out of the chair he had plopped into to stretch his legs.

“You see, if it is possible to reform one of our foes, we will do our best to do so. Sometimes all anypony needs is friendship. Discord was one of those cases,” Twilight responded, glancing out towards the window to see the sun was starting to set. “Heh… Took a tad bit longer than I expected.”

A small yawn escaped the human lips. Although he didn’t do much to warrant physical exhaustion, he still had quite a busy day. A lot was still on his busy mind. His attention briefly turned towards Twilight. “I think I’m going to go lay down,” He murmured and began towards the basement doors. “Oh, and… Thanks for dinner, and well, letting me stay here.” Jacob added.

“It’s not a problem, Jacob. Sleep well! Tomorrow I’ll be sure to change your opinion of Ponyville.” The mare said sincerely.

The teenager smiled weakly, gave small wave, and headed off down into the dimly lit basement. Although he was tired, his brain had gone into overdrive. It was surreal. He was in a world that magic was commonplace. The mare he was sharing a home with was a Princess, and the barer of a magical artifact that had the power to literally save the world. He felt like he was either in an extremely weird dream, or had gone insane. He wasn’t sure which would be better.

He slowly walked through the laboratory, taking a few glances at the beakers and colorful liquids that filled them. Deep down he was afraid, yet, desperate to remember how he got himself into such a crazy predicament. Part of him figured knowing nothing would be better than knowing at all. Once again, he found himself giving up. It destroyed his motivation to try, when his brain refused to cooperate with him.

Once inside his room, he flicked on the light switch and watched as the room lit up. Jacob kicked off his shoes and went to look in his bag for something more comfortable to sleep in. A small piece of paper, the one he had tossed aside a few hours previous laid upon the dresser. Hastily, he picked it up and unfolded the thick crumpled paper. The moment his eyes scanned to paper, he felt his heart racing. Jacob felt himself nearly forgetting to breath as his bright blue eyes absorbed every piece of information from the paper that they could. It wasn’t just a thick piece of paper. It was a photograph that had been carelessly folded up, and tossed aside hours previous. The photo itself seemed familiar, yet completely alien to him at the same time. It was a portrait, taken in front of a house. What had surprised him the most was the obvious tear in the picture. A third of the photograph had been ripped off, leaving only two figures in the picture. One of them, Jacob recognized as himself. He was smiling happily, beaming up at the camera. The version of himself had to be only ten years old, if that. The happiness displayed in the picture made him feel even more horrible. Tears swelled in his eyes as he looked at the figure that stood beside his younger self. It was a woman, in her mid-thirties. She had a beautiful smile, the same dark brown hair and blue eyes Jacob had. There was no doubt in his mind at what he was looking at.

“Mom…”

Author's Note

Not too proud of this chapter, to be honest. I may go back and rewrite if necessary

Kindness

Jacob had trouble falling asleep at first, but eventually even the image that was burnt into his retina couldn’t prevent him from dozing off. The calm darkness that surrounded him allowed him to relax his mind. Moments before he drifted off, everything seemed to feel normal again. His busy mind had been flushed, allowing the tension to momentarily melt away. It was only temporary, of course. The faint sound of wind blowing outside was all that he needed to pass out completely.

Hours passed as the teenager slumbered. His brain didn’t waste energy creating a lively dream world for him to explore, nor did it allow him another attempt at digging for answers. Instead, he just slept peacefully. Around him the world went on. Birds began to chirp as the sun was risen. The lack of a window provided him a valid reason to sleep in.

By the time the human awoke, it was nearly half past nine. Jacob’s bare feet gently landed on the wooden floor as he dragged himself out of bed, rubbing his eyes with his hands. The anxiety that had been banished the night before returned with a vengeance. It took a lot out of him to get up and walk into the bathroom.

He stared at his reflection for a few moments, straightening his frazzled hair and pressing his finger against a bruise that was already seeming to heal to the point of fading away completely. It was odd to imagine that just a day previous he had woken up in this world.

A part of him wondered if he would be looking at himself the same way if he were back home. He shuffled out of the small bathroom and began to get dressed again, finding out that his one spare set of clothes had gotten muddy and were now covered in dried mud. Once he allowed himself to fully wake up, he wandered out of the room and up the stairs towards the main floor of the library.

“Good morning! Sleep well?” Twilights voice greeted him as the teenager stretched his back.

“Yeah, I did. Thanks.” He responded, watching as Spike passed him holding a feather duster in one hand.

“That’s great! Spike made eggs and toast if you’re hungry. I have to run an errand. If you’d like we could also visit the rest of my friends along the way?” The mare asked curiously.

“Sure.” Jacob bluntly replied, indifferent to the idea.

Twilight smiled and summoned a small piece of parchment in her magic, scribbled a few words down, and nodded. “Alright! I’ll be ready in a few minutes!” The alicorn announced.

With a quiet yawn, Jacob took a seat and began the process of filling his near empty stomach. The human watched as Spike set down the duster and approached him. There was a silence for a few moments before the dragon spoke up.

“Are you nervous?” Spike asked cautiously, taking the human by complete surprise.

“About…?” Jacob retorted, coming off a little more defensive than he had expected.

“I mean, yesterday you seemed upset. Everypony was staring at you and talking about you.” Spike said, unaware of the candor of his statement.

Jacob simply shifted uncomfortably in his chair, his mood deflating to an all new low. “Yeah. They were.” He muttered, his voice barely audible.

“Sorry! I just meant that well… Things will get better! When everypony sees that you’re with Twilight they won’t think you’re that scary.” Spike quickly added.

Although Jacob felt a little defeated by the reminder that he was an alien in this world, he could tell the dragon didn’t mean anything by it and tried to summon a weak smile. “Hopefully.”

Spike nodded slowly and scampered off to dust off the book shelves in the other room, leaving Jacob alone with his thoughts. As he sluggishly devoured his breakfast he couldn’t help but notice the faint sound of howling and barking in his head. His heart began to race as visions of large glowing green eyes surrounded him. They grew closer and closer as lightning struck nearby. The flash of bright white light revealed the silhouettes of large, jagged quadruped creatures hunched over him. Just as they were about to bare down onto him, Jacob heard a voice pull him back into reality.

“-Just about ready! You may have gotten the wrong impression of Ponyville, but I'm sure I can change your mind!” Twilight happily said as she walked into the room, floating the teenager’s empty dish up causing it to vanish with a pop.

Jacob glanced over to the alicorn and silently nodded, shuffling towards the door, his heart still racing.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The day was sunny, and the wind was calm. As far as heat went, it was very mild. Jacob stuck close to the Princess as they walked down the street. Twilight wasted no time and began to point out places of interest to the human, who was only half paying attention. “Over there is the schoolhouse. Spike already took you to Sugarcube corner… Have you seen Town Hall yet?”

“Town Hall? No, I haven’t.” Jacob admitted, hands in his pockets as he gazed towards a large three-story building that stood near the center of the square the Princess led him to. The building was taller than every other structure he had seen so far, besides the tree house turned library. Groups of ponies wandered passed, giving a courteous nod to Twilight, a few even bowing their heads as they passed.

“I'm still not used to being bowed to… I mean, I’ve only been a princess for a few weeks,” Twilight whispered to the human as they continued passed the large building. “Speaking of Sugar Cube Corner, I have to quickly speak with Pinkie. Would you want to-”

Before Twilight could finish her sentence, Jacob spoke up. “I’ll wait outside. Look around a little bit.” He quickly said, not really wanting to deal with the ultra-hyper mare this early in the morning.

Twilight raised an eyebrow in response but shrugged it off. “That’s fine. Don’t wander off too far. Ponyville is small, but you could still get lost.” The alicorn smiled warmly at the human as they continued towards the appetizing looking bakery.

There were a few moments of silence as they walked before Jacob decided to ask the mare who he was staying with a question of his own. “You’re sure that you don’t mind me staying with you and Spike? I mean, you have your own lives and stuff.” There was still a bit of discomfort that he felt with the whole situation. Jacob didn’t exactly feel like the Princess of Friendship was bothered by him, but the knowledge that he was her responsibility just didn’t sit well with him. She still felt like a stranger. Less so than the moment he met her the day before, but still someone who was completely different from him both personality wise and physically.

“Really, Jacob, I am completely fine with looking after you until the Princesses find a way to take you home. You aren’t a burden if that’s what you’re thinking,” Twilight responded kindly and turned back to look at him. “I really do want to help you, so don’t feel like you’re keeping me from other things.”

Jacob didn’t feel like her response was condescending or a lie in any way. One small discomfort was lifted, but many more continued to itch at him. Mainly, the major gap in his memory. It was irritating to say the least, but he agreed that time might be the best solution to remembering. At least for now. A small smile formed on his face as he looked back at the Princess and kept walking.

“Thanks. I don’t know… I guess I just don’t like feeling like I'm someone else’s problem. I’ll do my best to pull my weight. Chores and stuff, if that’s okay?” Jacob offered, feeling as though that was the least he could do for having a roof over his head for the time being.

“That is very kind of you Jacob. Unfortunately, a lot of things don’t get done around the Library like they used to. Being a Princess has more duties than I expected... And with the chest-” Twilight trailed off for a moment but continued. “Spike has been helping around a lot more than he used to have to. Perhaps if you’d like you could help him to keep the Library looking tidy? It is still the only library in Ponyville after all.”

Jacob was slightly confused by whatever 'chest' Twilight had mentioned but decided not to bring it up. “Yeah, I can do that. No problem.” He said, feeling his mood brighten up a little more as within a minute of speaking with Twilight he felt like less he wouldn’t be dead weight.

“Thank you very much Jacob. That is very nice of you. Here we are. I’ll be right back!” Twilight happily said and trotted into the bakery.

The human nodded his head and glanced up at the bright blue sky, looking off into the distance to see the large mountaintop castle that he had woken up in just a day previous. He wondered if at that very moment Princess Celestia was making progress on sending him home. The sound of hooves clopping was instantly drowned out by a large snapping noise and an annoyed groan.

“Dagnabbit! Ah knew Ah shoulda replaced that blasted wheel…” A nearby voice said, catching the teenager’s attention instantly. A bright red apple rolled along the ground and came to a rest at his foot. Jacob gazed to the left to see an orange furred mare with green eyes and a yellow mane looking upset and annoyed at a nearly tipped over cart at her hooves. The contents of the cart, ripe red apples, rolled out onto the ground, at least three dozen of them.

Jacob bent over and grabbed a few, shyly walking towards the mare as she began to collect the fallen produce and refill the cart. “Now Ah gotta rewash all them apples, as if Ah didn’t have enough on mah plate already.”

“Hey, uh, you dropped these.” He said, feeling himself growing uncomfortable rather quickly as the mare looked up at him.

For what seemed like a full minute only amounted in a few silent seconds of the two staring at each other, both equally confused by each other’s appearance. Jacob, for obvious reasons, and the mare, because of her country girl accent and her cowboy hat. The mare cleared her throat and quickly changed her expression from one of confusion, to a friendly smile. “Well, thank ya kindly. You new ‘round here?” The mare, an Earth pony, Jacob noticed, asked curiously as she began to load the crippled cart.

“Yeah… Yeah, I'm new.” Jacob responded, watching the cowpony quickly salvage her produce and glare at the broken wheel that rested on the ground.

“Well, Ah’m Applejack. Pleasure to meet ya, and thanks for helpin’, awfully kind of ya. Say, what’s your name anyhow?” Applejack inquired, turning to face the human that stood before her.

Before he had a chance to respond, Twilight came walking back out of the Bakery. “Okay, Jacob, I’m ready if you are- Oh! Hey Applejack! I see you met Jacob! I'm showing him around and introducing him to the girls. It’s only his second day in town.”

Applejack’s eyes lit up slightly as she nodded her head happily. “Oh really? Well, welcome to Ponyville, partner. Ah hope everypony’s been givin’ ya a warm welcome. Hmmm… Ya’ll already met Pinkie? If not, Ah’d at least give him a heads up.”

Twilight giggled and nodded her head. “Already taken care of AJ. Oh my… Here, let me help.” The alicorn offered as she noticed her friend’s damaged cart. Her horn lit up in a bright magenta aura of magical energy as the broken wheel seemed to repair itself and snap back into place on the cart, looking good as new.

“Although Ah coulda fixed it mahself… Ah appreciate it Twi. Ah’ll let ya’ll get back to your grand tour of Ponyville. See ya’ll around,” Applejack said with a happy chuckle, turning back for a split second. “Oh, here’s a lil somethin’ for the help.” Jacob hardly had time to react as one of the few clean apples was thrown at him and onto his hand.

“Er- Thank you, Applejack.” Jacob said with a small smile, seeing the mare tip her hat and walk off, harnessed to the cart.

“What luck, that saved us some time. She’s the element of honesty by the way, in case you forgot.” Twilight reminded, smiling as she and the human began their trek once more.

“Huh? Oh, I uh... No, I totally remembered. Two left huh?” Jacob quickly piped up, taking a bite of the juicy apple before scratching the back of his head.

“Yep! Rarity and Fluttershy. They are nearby so this shouldn’t take too long. I can tell this is a little difficult, but I believe that meeting as many ponies as you can will help you adjust better. You’re doing really good so far, leaving your comfort zone.” Twilight complimented, getting a genuine smile from the teenager as they left the center of town and near the outskirts, which only took about four minutes of walking. Jacob didn’t need a prompt from Twilight to let him know they had arrived at her next friend’s home. All three of her friends so far had been flamboyant in one way or another.

There was so much pink. Some purple here and there. What caught Jacob’s attention wasn’t just the bright colors of the building, it was the total opposite of what he had seen in town. It strayed as far from traditional as seemed possible. Near the top of the structure was a carousel. Jacob knew instantly that there was no way the pony named ‘Fluttershy’ lived there. Twilight took the lead and knocked on the door, giggling as Jacob craned his next to gaze up at the unique building.

“Coming!” A voice sang out from inside, followed by the sound of scrambling hooves and falling objects. A moment later the door swung open and Jacob saw a bright white unicorn with curled purple hair step outside. “Twilight! How nice of you to visit! Hello? Who’s this?” The mare’s beautiful blue eyes, not to his surprise, zipped towards Jacob.

“Good morning Rarity, ahem.” Twilight gently nudged the human’s leg and gave an encouraging smile.

“Huh? Oh… Uh, hello. I'm Jacob. Nice to meet you.” The teenager greeted, feeling like an idiot, but it seemed to have made Twilight happy.

“Oh! Don’t tell me this is our newest resident? You have been the talk of the town, even the girls at the spa yesterday seemed to-” Jacob caught a brief glare coming from Twilight, shooting right at Rarity in a way that got her to instantly trail off. “Forgive me, I didn’t mean to make you think there was gossip! My name is Rarity, and I'm delighted to make your acquaintance, darling. Come in, both of you! I may be a little tied up with work, but there’s always time to meet with my friends.”

Twilight and Jacob both entered the home. The human’s eyes were assaulted with bright, pompous displays of bright pink. Scattered along the edges of the room they stood in were mannequines wearing different suits and dresses that were fitted to be worn on ponies, something that slightly surprised Jacob. Large amounts of fabric, measuring tools, colorful outfits, and a sewing machine made apparent that Rarity was a fashion designer, or a seamstress at the very least.

“I was just showing Jacob around, introducing him to the girls. And yes, before you ask, he has met Pinkie.” Twilight said as Rarity lifted a hoof to interject.

Rarity’s turned to face Jacob, but she did not look at his face. Rather, his clothes. The unicorn smiled and blinked a few times. “Darling, please do not tell me those are your only clothes?” The mare said, tutting a few times as she observed the few small holes in the fabric.

“I mean… I have another pair... Just have to wash them. Well, technically only one pair of underwear…” Jacob muttered, not sure whether to feel insulted, or just confused by the sudden question.

“Two pairs of clothing? I’m sorry Jacob, but that will not do. Would you be so kind to stand still for a moment?” Rarity said, floating over a tape measure and a note pad. “Also, is this underwear as the name implies? To be worn under your shirt or pants?”

“Er- under the pants. It’s fine, really. You said you were busy and two pairs is fine.” Jacob responded uncomfortably.

“Oh, nonsense! Not only do you need an expanded wardrobe, this will be an exciting new endeavor. Yes, darling, just hold that pose for a moment!” Rarity smiled happily as Twilight watched on in a mixture of confusion and entertainment.

“What- Hey, what are you doing?” The human asked in surprise as the mare began to measure his arms and his legs. He was impressed to how fast and precise the mare was with the tape measure. In less than ten seconds, the deed was done.

“Rarity, I know your heart is in the right place, But Jacob is still getting used to well, everything.” Twilight put lightly, looking back towards Jacob, who at this point was starting to feel a little overwhelmed by the whole ordeal.

“I suppose I let my excitement get the better of me… I apologize Jacob. But I assure you it would be no problem at all! A friend of Twilight’s is a friend of mine! So, tell me, what are your favorite colors?” Rarity asked, examining his body once more and muttering things like, “Denim… cotton… Oooh, can’t forget socks!” Taking notes as she did so.

Jacob opened his mouth to speak but found himself unable to properly answer the question. “Socks? Uh.. I… Favorite colors… Um… Black? Blue…” He muttered.

“It shall be done! By tomorrow I will have new clothing ready for you, darling.” The white mare casually said, floating her small notepad away.

“I uh... don’t know what to say… Thank you.” Jacob said with a small shrug.

“Don’t thank me yet! I’ll get right to work- It was very nice of you two to drop by! Ta-ta!” Rarity quickly, yet politely, ushered them back towards the door and closed it behind them.

Jacob crossed his arms and thought for a moment. “Twilight… You have really odd friends.”

“I wouldn’t say that. They are more… Unique,” She giggled a little. “I had a feeling Rarity might like you when I noticed you wore clothing. But while we are on the topic-”

The human’s eyes widened as he quickly interjected, knowing exactly where Twilight was going. “Human’s always wear clothes.”

“Say no more, I won’t pry any deeper. If you’re ready we could go stop by Fluttershy before we head back?” Twilight offered, noticing the human’s thoughtful expression.

“I actually think I need a walk. Just… Have a few things to think about.” Jacob said weakly, turning his head towards the woods. He perked up slightly as he swore he heard a whisper in his ear. It was so faint he thought he was imagining it.

“Oh, I see. That’s okay, would you like to be alone for a little bit?” Twilight asked softly and watched the human’s eyes wander as more and more thoughts were almost visible swimming through his head.

“Huh? Yeah, just… give me twenty minutes… I’ll come back to the Library.”

The alicorn seemed a bit hesitant but nodded her head, understanding the feeling of having too much on her mind to deal with at once. “You know the way?”

Jacob’s response was a quiet nod as he watched the Princess give him a look of concern but turn to walk away back towards Ponyville. For a few seconds the human stood and silently stared into the dense tree line, an odd mixture of curiosity taking over. He couldn’t explain what it was, but it felt like something was watching him. That was a feeling he felt back in town, but here he was all alone.

There was a sudden crackle of a twig snapping, not too far ahead of him two large glowing objects stared directly at him, before fading away into the dark green foliage. Chills shot down his spine, and his heart started to beat faster and faster. Part of him wanted to run, but the other wanted him to investigate. Jacob took a slow inhale and pushed his way through the bushes and into to forest.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The moment he stepped into the forest, the light nearly vanished. The sky above was replaced by the thickness of the treetops. The teenager’s senses seemed to sharpen within a few seconds to every faint sound nearby. The sounds of birds chirping vanished and was replaced by near silence, broken by the occasional twig snapping or the sound of distant howling.

“What am I doing? This is so dangerous…” Jacob found himself muttering under his breath, but his legs seemed to be on autopilot. He swore he could hear his heart racing, even over the sound of his feet rustling through leaves. For a few minutes he silently walked deeper into the forest, the light fading to almost black and a thin layer of fog slowly forming around him. “Just head back, this isn’t-” The human gasped in surprise as his foot got caught against a large root, sending him to the ground with a loud groan.

Although slightly scrapping his elbows, Jacob was unharmed from the misstep. As he began to pull himself up a sudden feeling of dread washed over him, the strength of it was nearly debilitating. Through the fog Jacob began to see a few large figures moving around, as if to circle him. As quickly as he could, the human forced himself up and watched as the figures seemed to become more numerous with every pass. His heart was beating out of his chest, forcing him to begin to pant. Sweat began to drip from his face and fear began to stiffen his body in place.

The creatures, which seemed larger than most ponies Jacob had seen, stopped at once. One by one pairs of large, glowing green eyes began to stare at him. They were behind him too, he could tell. The human felt the urge to scream, but nothing escaped his mouth besides a near inaudible whimper. His legs were like boulders, holding him in place as he watched the creatures slowly walk closer as a pack, surrounding him. From behind the thin layer of fog Jacob noticed more details of the creatures, and they did not make him feel any less afraid. Large chunks of wood seemed to protrude from the creatures, some resembling jagged wooden horns. Their claws were each the size of Jacob’s hands as well as razor sharp. Equally terrifying were their fangs, each like sharpened spears ready to tear into flesh. The creatures were wolves… But their entire bodies seemed to be made of wood- the sight alone was enough to turn the teenager into a shivering mess.

Time seemed to slow down as the nearest wooden wolf lunged forward towards him, his legs finally unfrozen in time for him to narrowly avoid being tackled to the ground by the massive beast. Without thinking, Jacob took off running through the gap the wolf had made through the circle of its pack. Adrenaline pumped through the human’s veins as he sprinted as fast as he possibly could, his peripheral vision completely blurred as he turned back, unable to see if he was being chased. Ten seconds later loud howls rang out from behind him, as if the wolves purposefully gave him a head start. The teenager pushed his way through large bushes, feeling himself get a few painful cuts, but only focusing on getting as far away from the giant canines as possible.

Within a minute his lungs began to burn, and he could hear the barking and snarling growing closer. Jacob knew he couldn’t keep running forever, especially in the opposite direction of town. He jumped over logs and large rocks, hoping that his maneuvers would further the gap between him and the massive creature. Because of the fog, the teenager couldn’t see the ground more than five feet ahead of him, which prevented him from spotting a steep drop that lead into a small clearing.

He lost his footing and tumbled down the hill, somersaulting and feeling his head get pressed into the dirt. The shock of what was happening prevented him from crying out in pain. Everything seemed to flash before him, the foggy sky, then the dirt, over and over again. His legs slammed into a protruding rock and his momentum caused his body to launch outwards. Jacob landed in the grass with a dull thud. He was unconscious the second he hit the ground. Without having any idea what was happening, he felt as if he were drifting away.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

For a while, everything was calm and peaceful. Jacob felt as though he was floating. There was no pain and his mind felt relaxed. The ground under his feet began to distort and his surroundings vanished in a cloud of smoke. He watched his body fade away until everything came rushing back with the power to throw him to the ground. His hands instinctively reached out for something to grab, settling on a rusty railing that creaked the moment he had rested his weight upon it. A sharp exhale escaped the teenager as he opened his eyes and watched a sprawling forest materialize before him. The sky instantly went from calm to a navy blue, the clouds a dark gray. Rain poured down from above, creating a mist from the intensity. Jacob felt his body sway and struggle to stay balanced as he held the railing. It took a moment for him to realize where he was, but the instant he understood, his heart sank.

He was standing on an old, rundown structure. An early 20th century water tower that seemed to struggle to even stay standing. Memories flooded him even more than the forceful rain assaulting him from seemingly everywhere. Jacob recoiled and leaned against the empty water tank, fearfully quaking as he heard thunder booming in the distance, bright flashes of lightning striking nearby.

Voices infiltrated his ears from every direction, forcing the confused teenager to cover his ears as tight as he could. His brain felt like it was melting, every voice that forced its way into his ears made his legs feel weaker by the second. Everything was coming back to him as he felt tears begin to blur his vision as he was unable to resist the voices that continued to bring everything rushing back. The jumbled-up mess of voices seemed to pause for a split second, allowing a woman’s voice to clearly speak.

Just talk to me. You can’t keep this up, it isn’t healthy. Please just look at me!

Jacob found himself short of breath, his entire body felt like it was shutting down as memories began to drown him. He was crying, face down in a pillow, and then he was packing a backpack. He was back at the water tower, curled up and sobbing into his arms. Hardly anything was coherent enough for him to try to focus on finer details. Everything moved so fast. Everything seemed to vanish in a puff of black smoke, his body lurched forward to cling onto the railing of the water tower. For a split second he had seen it, the moment he decided to run away. The forest below began to darken, the treetops turning from green to a foreboding black. The thunder grew louder as a powerful wind nearly forced him to tumble over the railing. A flash of lightning revealed the silhouette in the corner of his eye. The teenager shakily turned around, watching as the figure walked closer. Dark hair blew in the wind and he could feel an odd calmness begin to return. The rain turned into a light drizzle, the powerful breeze dying down as the sun began to poke out from behind the dark clouds. Jacob watched as the figure was brought into the light, but it was the last person he had expected to see standing before him. It was himself.

Jacob looked at the clean and unharmed version of himself as it walked closer and leaned against the rail near him. It didn’t seem to pay him any attention for a few seconds, until it spoke up. “You heard it then? Her voice?”

The human looked over, his eyes wide as he cleared his throat and weakly nodded his head. “Was it… Was it her?” Jacob found himself asking, looking down at the ground below and feeling a pit in his stomach.

Although he could not see it, Jacob knew that his double was nodding its head. A wave of guilt swept over him as he craved to hear more. He wanted to hear the voice again, he needed to. The human felt a hand on his shoulder and found himself averting his eyes back towards his copy.

“I know this is confusing and that you want to know more but… It’s going to take time. You are wondering who I am?” His double asked, seemingly reading his mind. “I’m you.”

Jacobs head was buzzing with questions, all of them answered a few seconds later when his personified thought continued to speak. “Before you ask, no, I don’t know anything you don’t. I think it is obvious where we are. We came here a lot before we woke up in that forest. The old water tower not too far from our house. It’s one of the only places where we could escape the real world and our problems.”

“Yeah… It’s all fuzzy. Why am I remembering this? I want to remember mom. I want to remember how we ended up in… Equestria. How am I even talking to you- I mean, me?” Jacob piped up, his annoyance clear.

“Princess Luna mentioned her ability to enter dreams. Maybe magic has something to do with it?” His subconscious offered, to which Jacob nodded as he had also figured magic must have been the explanation. “Guess we should be happy the fall only knocked us out.”

“Wait… we, I mean, I… Remember other things. But, mom. Home…” Jacob trailed off, knowing that the duplicate of himself would be able to finish the rest.

“That’s obvious, isn’t it? Something or someone doesn’t want us to remember them. But it isn’t working as well as they want to. We remembered her voice. We are where we were before everything went black. And yes, I think you’re right. The picture. It reminded us of her.” The other human said, once more knowing what Jacob was going to say before he said it.

“I think… That stallion. The one that saved me, he said that for some reason we aren’t affected by magic…” Jacob muttered.

“He said we are resistant to it, yeah. You think that maybe its magic that locked our memories away? That could be… Something fishy is going on. For now, I think all we can do is wait and hope more memories come back.”

“Wait? We cant just sit and hope that-” The sky above began to darken once more as powerful winds nearly swept Jacob off his feet. He braced himself as massive glowing green eyes surrounded him, his lungs short of breath as the human felt the ground wobble under his feet. “W-What’s happening?!”

There was no response. The other Jacob was gone, leaving the teenager alone to face the horrific weather. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, hearing steel twisting and bending. Everything began to spin. Even through his sealed eyelids, Jacob could see the bright flashes of lightning. Thunder nearly deafened his hearing while the structure he stood on began to wobble violently. A yelp of fear escaped his lips as he lurched forward, feeling the water tower tilt and launch him over the railing. He grabbed for anything to prevent him from falling, but it was no use. The adolescent let out a scream as he forced his eyes open just in time to see the cold, wet ground rapidly approach. Everything seemed to fade away as he splashed into the mud, the only thing left in sight was the ominous pairs of radiant green eyes.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Jacobs eyes opened, and he sat up quickly, panting in both sudden pain in his lower back and his legs, but also from the nightmare he had just had. He fell back onto his back, tears of pain swelling in his eyes. It took him a minute to remember where he was. He had fallen down the steep hill, no doubt injuring himself bad enough that there was no way of climbing back up. There was also the concern of the wolves still waiting for him. How long had he been unconscious? Minutes? Hours?

Jacob was becoming extremely dizzy. The mixture of pain and fear was fogging his senses. He tried to calm himself down and think of a way to get back to Ponyville, but his thoughts were interrupted by a very loud whine near his body. Using some of the remaining strength he had, Jacob glanced towards his right side to see a large wooden creature a few feet away, squirming in what seemed like agony. The human gasped in shock and recoiled further away the injured wooden wolf and watched as it kicked its legs and let out agonized whining. From what Jacob figured, the wolf must have tumbled down the steep slope as he did. There was no telling how long it had been trapped in the small clearing. Jacob glanced back upwards from where he had fallen, seeing the thick fog above him. It didn’t reach all the way down into the clearing, but it made searching for an easier way out much more difficult.

No matter how terrifying it was, Jacob found himself feeling bad for the injured creature as it writhed in pain. He didn’t even know a creature made of wood could feel pain, but he was in a world full of magic after all. A few pieces of its wooden exterior had been shattered and destroyed, but a large glowing orb-like object was still intact. The beast’s eyes, which were bright green like the others, began to fade away. It was dying.

Jacob couldn’t bring himself to watch the creature suffer, no matter how hostile it may be. He crawled forward and picked up the orb. He felt an odd warmth in his hand. He was holding the creature’s life source, whatever it was. The adolescent spotted a large hole in the wounded animal’s chest and pushed the orb inside of it as hard as he could, feeling the magical orb seemingly snap into place. Instantly every piece of timber that lay strewn across the grassy floor began to rise and rebuild itself into jagged shapes of wood and lodge themselves back into the creature’s body. The whining began to die down as right before his very eyes, the wooden animal began to heal itself.

Jacob crawled backwards away from the wolf as he watched the creature’s eyes slowly light back up as it carefully got up onto his wooden paws. For a few silent moments the wolf, which stood over Jacob, stared directly at him, unblinking. “P-Please… Don’t hurt me…” The human muttered.

The creature took a step closer and buried its head into the human’s chest, almost in an affectionate sort of way. Although still afraid, Jacob felt as though the strange animal had known what he had done. It’s eyes slowly faded from a bright green, to a calmer blue. It sat down and looked around, gazing upward at the dirt slope and whining at the human, who slowly slumped down onto his arms. “Yeah. We’re trapped down here. I'm not climbing back up like this…” Jacob mumbled, gazing upward.

The wooden wolf slowly walked closer and sniffed the human, nudging him with his muzzle and causing Jacob to wince. Many small slivers got caught in his arm. He let out a loud exhale and tried his best to stand upright, but the adrenaline was now wearing off and the pain from his injuries began to overwhelm him. His lower back and both legs felt banged up, and he was starting to feel as though he was going to faint. Not only was the pain in his lower body starting to become overwhelming, but the exhaustion was beginning to set in. The creature that stood before him whined loudly and forced its head under Jacob’s legs, standing back up with him on its back. Jacob wanted to resist but found himself too tired to even try. It took everything in his power to keep his eyes open as he mumbled, “Ponyville.” As if the creature could understand.

With speed that caused Jacob’s body to bounce painfully against the sharp wooden creature’s back, the wolf began to run towards the steep hill, no doubt planning on carrying both of them out of the small clearing. Fearing that the steep incline would cause him to tumble off the back of the creature, Jacob tried to yell. “Wait… Don’t…”

The two words seemed to fall on deaf ears as the creature hunched over and began to run at a speed that made Jacob feel as though he was going to get thrown off and into the grass. His hands wrapped around its wooden neck and he braced for what was to come. Jacob felt his body lurch back as the wolf’s wooden claws sank into the dirt and he began to climb the slope. At any moment, the human feared that he would lose his grip and fall off, but he forced himself to maintain a strong hold, even if it meant that he grew weaker by the second. The 50-foot incline felt like a mile to the exhausted human. He wasn’t sure if the wolf had trouble climbing, or it was his constant fear of falling backwards that seemed to make the short journey feel like an eternity. With a sudden lurch forward, Jacob’s stomach impacted the jagged wood of the creature’s back with enough force to knock the wind out of him. Without taking any time to rest, the creature continued to run, the human on its back struggling to stay awake.

The heavy panting and heavy sounding steps of the wooden beast was the only thing ringing in the human’s ears as he kept his eyes closed and tried to ignore the pain that was growing stronger by the second. More and more Jacob were regretting his decision to step foot into the forest. The realization that he could have died was setting in, making his stomach feel uneasy, but that was in part due to the violent shaking under him. He imagined how he had just narrowly avoided being torn to shreds by more than a dozen murderous wolves. His fuzzy thoughts were interrupted as the wolf skidded to a halt, a loud roar ringing in the human’s ears.

Jacob forced his eyes open and looked up to see a massive brown creature looming over he and the wooden wolf. It was a bear, easily 8 feet tall and looking enraged. Jacob tried to cover his face and neck for protection, but his body refused to cooperate. Under him, the wooden beast quickly turned to run away, forcing Jacob’s weakening grip to break and send him to the ground with a dull thud. His blue eyes gazed upwards to see the bear lower back onto all fours and growl at the wolf as it tried to rush back to his side in an almost protective manner. Knowing it was no match for the bear, the canine fled, leaving Jacob laying on his back looking fearfully up at the bear as it leaned down to sniff him. “Please…” Everything began to fade away as he swore he could hear an almost angelic voice echo around him.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

All around him the sound of rainfall was replaced with birds chirping, critters squeaking, and the sound of little claws on a wooden floor. Jacob’s body felt sore, but the pain was beginning to die down considerably. His eyes lazily opened, revealing that he was inside a medium sized living room, laying on a green couch. His arms and legs had a few bandages wrapped around his deep cuts and scrapes. A few birds fluttered passed his head and rested on a nearby windowsill, looking right at him before chirping intelligently to each other and flying outside.

His eyes trailed to the ground, noticing the green wooden floor and silky looking blue rug that sat beneath the couch he lay upon. A small squirrel approached him, lifting a small acorn over its head up to him, as if to offer it to him. The teenager weakly waved his hand and shook his head in response, letting out a heavy exhale. Many of the birds who were looking over at him began to chirp louder. It almost seemed like a greeting. Jacob slowly forced himself into a sitting position, perking up slightly as he heard an angelic hum from the next room over.

“I’ll be right back Angel. I am just checking up on our guest.” The voice was the same he swore he heard before he blacked out. A moment later the human watched as a butterscotch yellow furred pegasus trotted into the room, her cyan blue eyes looking up at him. Jacob was a little surprised by her appearance. Her pink mane and calm, caring eyes made him feel as though he was perfectly safe. The mare walked closer, turning her attention to his bandages momentarily. “How are you feeling?” She delicately asked.

“Not too good, but much better than before.” The human muttered, watching the mare smile towards him at his response.

“I'm so happy to hear that. You were very hurt… If Harry hadn’t found you…” The mare trailed off, looking a little fearful.

“H-Harry? All I remember was… A bear…” Jacob felt a cold chill travel down his spine as a large brown furred ursine wandered in through the front door on all fours. The human perked up and tried to stand up but found the sudden rush of blood to his brain disorienting.

“It’s okay! Harry might be big, but he is a sweetheart! We were actually out collecting berries when he scared that big nasty Timber Wolf away.” The pegasus glanced towards the bear as he sat down and affectionately patted her mane and smiled towards the human. Jacob couldn’t muster more than an awkward smile and weak hand gesture in return.

“Timber Wolf… That’s what they’re called… It...” The teenager hesitated to say that the creature saved his life. What would the mare think if he had told her that one of the murderous canines had turned good and rescued him? Jacob took his time standing up as carefully as he could, using the couch for support. A yelp escaped him as Harry took a step forward and held him steady.

“Oh my,” The mare said, blinking a few times and covering her mouth with her hoof for a moment. “Forgive me for asking… But what were you doing in the forest? You did know dangerous creatures live inside, right?”

Jacob sighed and plopped back down onto the couch, noticing the intense look of curiosity on both Harry and the mare’s face. “I mean… Yeah, I kind of figured that one out…” He said, coming off ruder than he intended.

“Sorry! I was just curious. Everypony knows to avoid the Everfree if they can help it, especially if they don’t have anyone to come with. You are very lucky something worse didn’t attack you…” the pegasus said ominously, Harry nodding in agreement to her left.

“No, it’s okay… I guess it was stupid of me to leave Twilight… I doubt she expected I would leave the trail.” the human looked towards the window and winced, noticing the sun was beginning to set.

“Twilight? Oh! You must be Jacob?” The butterscotch colored pony asked with a friendly smile.

“Yeah, I am. I said I’d only be gone for a little bit, but I must have been out for a few hours… You’re Fluttershy, right?” The human asked for confirmation, seeing the mare nod in response.

“It is very nice to meet you, Jacob. Twilight stopped by to tell me she was introducing you to our friends a few minutes before we had left to gather berries. Do you feel ready to walk? I don’t want you to get hurt even more…” Fluttershy asked, genuine concern in her soft voice.

“I think I will be okay. I might need help finding my way back.” Jacob admitted, feeling slightly embarrassed to ask for help.

“I’d be happy to take you back to the Library. It isn’t a problem.” The mare added, noticing the teenager’s doubt in his expression.

“Thank you. Both of you, I mean… I don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t find me…” Jacob muttered, letting out a sharp exhale as Harry gave him a painful side hug and then wandered back out the front door.

Fluttershy simply smiled and offered the human her hoof. He took it, feeling her gently pull him back to his feet and act sort of like a crutch for him to let the pain in his legs settle for a few moments. “We can go as slow as you need, Jacob.” She kindly told him as he began to walk towards the door.

“I think I can walk by myself.” Jacob said, both to sound confident, and not feel like he was relying on the mare to step forward. His legs felt like jelly and his knees seemed to want to give out each slow step he took, but after a few steps he was able to walk unassisted.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I did use a bit of herbal cream my good friend Zecora gave me to try and help with your legs. It will take a few more hours for it to heal your legs completely.” Fluttershy nervously said, as if Jacob might be offended by the idea of her using medicine on him while he was unconscious.

“Herbal cream?” Jacob repeated, a little hesitant to believe some sort of cream had been able to fix his legs. From the pain he had felt before he passed out, he figured he had sprained his ankle, or even fractured something. Then again, this world did have magic.

Fluttershy simply nodded her head, staying close to the teenager’s side in case he was to lose balance. “Zecora is a very dear friend and assured me that this was the strongest she had. I wasn’t sure if you were in any condition to be carried to the hospital.” The mare said, carefully opening the door and allowing Jacob to exit first. Many of the critters inside squeaked and waved their little paws at him, while the birds continued to chirp loudly amongst themselves.

Fluttershy’s home was near the forest, but from the looks of it, she was nowhere near the dangerous part that had seemed to grow dark as night the moment Jacob had stepped foot inside. Her yard was well-kept but very clustered at the same time. Many bird feeders and bird houses were strewn across the property, while a few burrows made by small creatures were noticeable within mounds of dirt near the outskirts. Jacob even noticed a raccoon with a cast on his front left paw give Fluttershy a friendly wave as they passed. There was no doubt in his mind that Fluttershy was some sort of animal caretaker, perhaps a veterinarian? A small bridge that stood over a slow flowing pond lead to the end of her property and back onto the trail towards Ponyville. Jacob felt a sense of guilt that made his stomach feel as if it was in knots. Twilight was no doubt worried sick about him. Only a day with her and he had probably made her think that he was lost somewhere.

“We aren’t very far from town. Please stay close, just in case.” Fluttershy said cautiously and began to walk alongside the human down the dirt path. Her light cyan eyes glanced up at the teenager as he seemed to stare at the dirt, not a word leaving his mouth as they walked in silence.

Jacob felt like an idiot the more he dwelled on his mistake. He should have turned back the moment he realized the danger he was walking into. He could have been torn to shreds or fallen to his death. Never in his life, that he could remember, had he ever been in so much avoidable danger. He bit the inside of his cheek and bitterly glared up ahead at the trees, hands in his pockets and the knots inside him tightening.

Within ten minutes he saw the familiar buildings he had spotted hours ago. Jacob felt both relieved and extremely nervous to be back into town. No longer was he in danger of being attacked by wooden monstrosities, but he would now have to answer to his guardian to why he was missing for hours. Twilight would surely not be too upset with him?

The streets weren’t as crowded as they were when he had left with Twilight, and the sun began to set. “I must have been out for a while…” He said under his breath.

“You were. Almost seven hours… But that was a good thing. It would have been very painful to feel the cream take affect for the first few hours…” Fluttershy said, looking up towards the humans nervous face.

The library had come into view and Jacob let out a small sigh under his breath. Doing his best to block out the stares he was receiving from the few ponies still wandering the streets, he strode forward towards the door and opened it. The moment he had opened the door he was nearly face to face with Twilight Sparkle. Her expression was hard to tell exactly what she was thinking or feeling. For a few silent seconds her purple eyes pierced him, but she didn’t look upset. She let out a relieved sigh and tried to smile. “I… Where were you?” The mare asked, while her expression quickly went from relieved to upset.

“I uh... got... lost.” Jacob muttered, unable to look into her eyes as he imagined how much she must have been worrying while he was gone. It was as though Fluttershy was no longer there. Jacob took a step inside, noticing Spike glancing at him from the other end of the room. He hoped that his injuries weren’t to obvious. Jacob craved to just slink off downstairs and be alone, but he knew that he wouldn’t be let off the hook.

“-Thanks so much, Fluttershy.” Twilight’s voice brought the human out of his slight daze. The smaller and meeker mare assured Twilight that it had not been a problem, wished her and Jacob a goodnight, and turned to leave. The front door gently closed, but the outburst he expected didn’t come. Twilight just stared at him, her expression hard to make out, but Jacob knew that it wasn’t anger. “If you’d have gotten seriously hurt or worse, it would have been all my fault. I knew I should have told you the dangers of the forest. I should have expected that you would-“ She trailed off, noticing that the teenager was simply biting the inside of his cheek and staring at her hooves.

“Yeah,” He muttered, trying to stand upright to hide the fact he still limped ever so slightly. The last thing he wanted to do was disclose what exactly had happened, fearing that Twilight would be even more upset or worried. “I won’t do it again.”

“I hope not. Princess Celestia trusted me to keep you safe until she and Luna can find a way to take you back home. I need you to promise me you won’t do anything else like this. I knew I shouldn’t have let you wander off… I knew it…” She paced around him, making him feel even smaller than he already did.

Jacob nodded his head, which wasn’t enough to satisfy her. “I promise.” He finally said, her ears perking up to hear his near inaudible voice.

“Thank you. Spike just made some-” Twilight stopped as she watched the human turn away and start towards the basement.

“I’m not hungry...” He whispered, slinking down the steps and closing the door behind him. That was very true. Although he had hardly eaten anything all day, at the moment he felt sick to his stomach.

The short walk to his bedroom felt like an eternity. He kicked his shoes off in frustration, sliding his shirt off and looking at the few small bandages on his chest and stomach. His body was still quite sore, and Jacob had no issue plopping his body onto the bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. Occasionally he glanced over at the photograph laying on the bedside table. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness and he could faintly make out the two silhouettes on it. He wished desperately that he could somehow enter the picture, as if that would fix everything. Jacob felt sick at the thought. What had happened between him and his mother? Why would he have left her? Just the thought of being back home with her, wherever that was, brought a sense of excitement to him, followed by disappointment as he realized he was still laying alone in his bedroom. Alone…

The Dream

The next morning Jacob awoke feeling almost as good as new. Most of the bruises were gone, and he no longer felt as stiff and weak as he did last night. The soreness was going to last a while. He carefully washed up, not wanting to test just how healed he was at the moment. His bandages were a little bloody, which he assumed was from the back of the wooden wolf he had ridden, or from the fall. The cuts were all healed, and his face looked much better after a shower. It would take a while to get used to the much smaller shower space, but the warm water felt wonderful washing away the dirt and grime off of his body.

Still feeling guilty about last night, Jacob tried to make it up to Twilight. Once redressed, having to reuse his just barely cleaner clothes, he walked upstairs and saw Twilight looking over a letter. She smiled towards him, which made his guilt rise up again. “I was just about to go check on you. You were asleep for a long time but Fluttershy told me about what had happened. I'm just so happy you’re okay… Timber Wolves… I should have remembered. I would have never-”

“It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t the wolves that did the damage… I fell. I feel fine now though.” Jacob said, scratching the back of his head.

Clearly noticing that Jacob still felt bad about yesterday, Twilight continued. “Enough about all of that. I ran into Fluttershy about an hour ago on my way to see Pinkie and she asked me to ask you if you would like to stop by for some tea sometime?” Twilight beamed up at the human, who looked a bit taken aback.

“Tea? I mean… Sure? Did she say why?” Jacob questioned, watching Twilight float her letter onto a nearby table as she walked towards a small box.

“Well, she knows that you don’t know many ponies and would love to know more about you. I was a little surprised myself when she asked me. She is usually very shy…” Twilight floated up the box and placed next to Jacob on a chair. “Rarity also stopped by to bring the clothes she made. She seemed very pleased on how they turned out.”

Jacob opened up the box and found a small letter on top of a folded shirt. He plucked it up and read it.

“Dear Jacob,

let me just say this was a wonderful experience and I do hope these are to your liking! If you ever need any more clothing made I would be more than happy to whip up anything you need. Do not hesitate to ask!

-Sincerely, Rarity

Jacob set the letter down and blinked a few times, an enormous amount of affection bubbling inside him for Rarity. He unfolded a shirt and felt the soft cotton. He held it up to his chest, seeing that it was exactly the same size as the tattered shirt he currently wore. He excused himself and rushed back downstairs to change. He unfolded three pairs of jeans and five shirts each a different color. Black, blue, red, green, and white. Not only that, he found a few pairs of underwear as well as white cottony socks. Jacob stared for a moment, immensely grateful for what Rarity had done for him. Then again, she was the Element of Generosity. He discarded his filthy and torn clothes and wasted no time getting dressed in the brand-new ones. He went with the blue shirt and stuffed the rest of the clothes in a nearby dresser.

When he got back upstairs, Spike and Twilight turned to him. “Nice clothes.” Spike said, giving him a thumbs up.

Twilight nodded in agreement and smiled. “Rarity does amazing work. Now, Jacob, you offered that you would help out around the library.”

“Yeah, what’s up?” Jacob asked, looking over to Spike, who had grabbed a duster and began dusting the lower shelves.

“I have to go head out for a bit. When I was out earlier I heard some ponies mention something about a miracle tonic and I would bet anything it’s those two brothers, Flim and Flam… Could you just help Spike out with his chores? Thank you.” Twilight smiled up at the human and trotted out of the library.

“Who are Flim and Flam?” Jacob asked Spike, who was frowning slightly.

“These two con artists. They almost made Applejack lose her farm a few years back,” Spike said, not noticing the teenager’s raised eyebrows. “Anyway! Since this is a library and ponies like to check out books, maybe you can put all the returned books on the shelves? I'm just dusting for now.”

“Sure thing.” Jacob walked towards a small cart with about two dozen books on it. For a moment, he pondered just how odd it was that they spoke English in Equestria, but just as quickly he decided that it wasn’t worth much thought.

It was very easy work, especially since Jacob was tall enough to reach all of the shelves, something Spike happily commented on. “Maybe you can do the higher shelves from now on! I hate having to get the ladder! Speaking of which- Mind giving me a lift?” Jacob nodded and bent down to pick the dragon up and allow him to dust the top shelves. The human was surprised how deceptively heavy the little dragon was.

Every bookcase held different types of books. One held books on magic, another fantasy stories. It took little more than five minutes until Jacob finished. Spike had completed his dusting off the shelves and was sitting on a chair, kicking his feet out absentmindedly. “Say, I already did the dishes, and Twilight’s probably going to be gone a while… Want to play a game? Maybe some Ogres & Oubliettes? I don’t really have anyone to play it with…”

“Ogres and… What?” Jacob stood in front of the dragon, who seemed a bit embarrassed.

“It’s a really fun and amazing adventure game but- eh… Never mind. Um, I forgot you don’t like board games and stuff. I’ll find somepony to play with some day…” The young dragon frowned in disappointment.

“I mean… For the most part I don’t, but if you wanted to show me what it’s about?” Jacob asked, stunned as Spike sped from the room with remarkable speed and returned holding a large box that was nearly half his size. The teenager watched as Spike clambered up onto a chair and placed the box down. He opened it up and pulled out a map, sheets of paper, dice, and a folded-up screen. Jacob couldn’t quite remember the name, but he swore it was nearly identical to a game he had heard of back home.

In an ominous tone that was clearly rehearsed, Spike said, “In a world where evil reigns supreme, a small band of warriors stands tall against the darkness… This is… Ogres & Oubliettes!”

Jacob slowly walked over to the table and looked down at the beaming dragon, and then at the sprawled-out game pieces. “Looks like a kind of a complicated game?”

“Oh, it is. Don’t worry, I’ve read the instructions a few times and I’ve already made my character. I am a powerful wizard by the name of Garbunkle!” Spike plucked up a small game piece with a drawing of a wizard version of himself and placed it near the board. “There’s so many options… Do you wanna be a wizard too? Or maybe a warrior? A bard?” Spike suggested, looking through a few of his papers to find a character sheet.

Although not fully interested, as the game itself looked like a huge investment of time, Jacob tried to find enjoyment out of letting Spike decide for him what his fictional character would be. Eventually they settled on a pegasus knight named Sir Kester. He was an eye-patch wearing batter-worn stallion that Spike had plenty of fun drawing on a piece of parchment for Jacob’s game piece. The teenager couldn’t help but smile a bit at how much fun Spike was having brainstorming ideas for their campaign.

“Hmmm… Maybe… A squid- but, hear me out, but he’s also an evil wizard!” Spike and Jacob exchanged a look and shook their heads. “Nah, hmm... You have any ideas?”

Jacob glanced down at a few adventure booklets and picked one up, skimming the first few pages of it. “How about an evil monster tries to steal the worlds magic, but we have to stop them?” He suggested, handing it over to Spike, surprised on how quickly this game was starting to sound fun.

Time seemed to pass very quickly as the both of them discussed a possible bad guy for their campaign. They decided on an evil alicorn king named Ander. He was a black and red stallion as well very large and very nasty. Spike had just as much fun drawing the scowling villain as he had setting up game pieces. Spike proudly took the role of Dungeon Master, which was good since Jacob knew next to nothing on how the game really worked. The dragon did not mind in the slightest taking on the responsibility of telling the story as well as playing as a character alongside Jacob.

In just under two hours, Sir Kester and his magical companion Garbunkle had accidentally burned a tavern to the ground, been attacked by a cockatrice (something Spike made sure to tease Jacob about as he had to push Sir Kester’s turned to stone body back to town) and were declared heroes of a small village that was suffering frequent bandit raids. Jacob definitely saw the appeal and wasn’t surprised why Spike was so excited to have somebody to play it with. Just as they had rolled to see if they would receive a bounty of gold for a reward, a voice caused them to jump in surprise.

“Sorry it took so long. Applejack sorted everything out. I'm just glad that-” Twilight stopped and looked down at the game sprawled across the entire table and then smiled. “Well, looks like you two are having fun.”

“Yeah! Jacob and I just fought off like twenty bandits and I turned one into a slug! And just a little bit ago-“Jacob recoiled in surprise as Spike let out a loud belch and a green flame nearly charred his game piece. A scroll appeared in his hand and he opened it, before glancing up at Jacob. “it’s for you.”

“For me?” The human asked in confusion, accepting the scroll. His eyes widened as from the first few words he knew this letter was from Princess Celestia.

Dear Jacob,

I do hope that you are finding Ponyville to your liking. I believe that you will be much happier in Ponyville where you can make friends, rather than waiting in the castle for my sister and I to find out a way to take you back home. As the situation currently stands, I am looking into research from an old acquaintance. We believe that we might be able to find more information on the subject of teleportation to another planet. If you would be so kind to disclose a description of your world for Spike to send back it will make the search for it much easier for my sister. Once we confirm that magical travel from distances this great is safe and once we locate your planet we will do what we can to ensure you return home safely.

As this type of magic has not been thoroughly tested, I will not give an exact date to when we can expect to take you back to your world. Also, although I have allowed Twilight Sparkle to take responsibility as your guardian for the time being, and she has no doubt already spoken to you, I advise that you do not stray into the Everfree alone again. There are more than just Timberwolves to worry about, and your safety is our highest priority.

Sincerely yours, Princess Celestia

Jacob glanced at the parchment for a few moments, unsure if he should feel excited, or disappointed. Princess Celestia seemed to have at least have a sort of plan. A plan that could take an unknown amount of time. Twilight, who had evidentially read the letter from the right of him, floated a new piece of parchment up for him and a pen. He smiled in appreciation and thankful he remembered images of the Earth that he saw in school, did his best to draw the planet, as well as each of the continents. It looked like a very unprofessional rendition of a world map. His art skills weren’t amazing, but he hoped that it was enough to get the idea of what they were looking for. He wrote a small thanks and promised he wouldn’t wander off into the forest again, before rolling up the parchment and allowing Spike to magically transport it back to Canterlot.

“Thanks, Spike,” Jacob said and stood up, his eyes suddenly drawn to a small poster on the wall between the magic and fantasy bookshelves. From where he stood it looked like a small chest. “What is that?” The teenager asked, walking a bit closer to it as Spike began to clean up the game pieces and papers.

“Oh! That’s the Chest of Harmony. The girls and I, well, mostly I, have been trying to figure out how to open it. You see, it will not open by magic. It requires Keys…” Twilight trailed off and tapped her chin.

“One Key for each of you?” The human asked, noticing that there were six key holes on the picture.

“That is what we think. For now, we have to wait and see if these keys will ever present themselves… Anyway, thank you for helping Spike tidy up.” Twilight said, smiling up at Jacob.

“It’s the least I could do,” Jacob said awkwardly. “Thanks again for letting me stay here.”

Twilight Sparkle raised her hoof in an “It’s nothing at all.” Sort of way and offered to make them lunch. Spike happily accepted the offer before Jacob could respond. Knowing that he had a bit more time to kill, Jacob decided that he would try to make his living arrangement a little more comfortable. He returned to his bedroom, and gathered his filthy clothes, noting the awful smell emanating from them. With the help of Spike, they fashioned a small laundry line behind the library between two trees.

“Twilight could clean your clothes in an instant.” Spike insisted to him, but Jacob figured that Twilight was already doing enough for him to be getting on with. Jacob filled up a small barrel with soap and water and cleaned off the clothes he had brought with him and then hung them up to dry. By the time they had reentered the library, Twilight had already set lunch out. It was much more appetizing than most of the other meals he had eaten thus far, mostly because of the lack of hay. Grilled cheese was something he was very fond of.

The afternoon was still relatively young, and Jacob didn’t have any intentions of going out exploring Ponyville. His mood was too good to risk ruining it due to ponies gawking at him like he were an animal in a zoo. Twilight soon noticed he was skimming the shelves he had helped restock earlier that day. Jacob had no trouble believing that Twilight had read every book in the entire library, and she seemed overjoyed when he had told her he had no idea what kind of book he would be interested in. “Oh, there are so many options. I'm sure you would love Daring Do, or maybe you’re interested in magic? You told me there isn’t magic where you live. Or maybe,” She floated a massive hard cover book and dropped it into his arms. “You can never go wrong with history!”

In the end, Jacob agreed with Twilight and brought the large tome down to a comfy little chair. History usually wasn’t one of Jacob’s favorite subjects, but he couldn’t deny he was a bit curious about the world he was temporarily living in. As it turned out, the extensive history of Equestria was much more interesting than the story Twilight told him about the Elements of Harmony. In fact, it read much like a fiction novel from back on Earth. Magic and evil villains seemed to be casually mentioned in nearly every page. Jacob ended up flipping through the pages, occasionally catching names such as Tirek, Grogar, and even caught a picture of a very angry looking unicorn named Sombra. He learned not only were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna extremely powerful ponies, but they were ancient. They were more than a thousand years old.

Time passed very fast, perhaps even faster than when he and Spike delved into their fantasy world. Just as Jacob turned to a page that showed a very large, goat-like creature, seemingly made of all sorts of different animal parts, Twilight’s voice caused him to perk up. “Sorry to interrupt you Jacob, but Spike is nearly done with dinner.”

“No, no. It’s fine.” He said, closing the massive book and standing up. Twilight seemed immensely pleased that he had been absorbed in one of her favorite books. He gave her a small smile and headed into the kitchen.

By the time the sun had been lowered, Jacob felt rather tired. Due to the slight soreness still in his legs and arms, he assumed this was due to his body healing. Before he could excuse himself to return to his room, Twilight asked him if he were willing to continue the interview that had been cut short on the flight to Ponyville, and feeling much more comfortable on the ground, he accepted.

As best as he could, he answered her questions. The teenager couldn’t help but become greatly amused when he did his best to explain some of the technology he could remember back at home. Equestria, no doubt due to the fact they had an abundance of magic, was not as technologically advanced as Earth. Twilight’s eyes seemed to light up when he explained what cars were, and when he tried to tell her what an airplane was, she was astonished.

“Of course, you say humans do not have wings. It’s only natural that air travel would have to be done in another way… Oh this is wonderful. These ‘cars’, would you say they are motorized carriages?” Twilight asked, quickly writing everything down.

“Yeah. I mean, you have lots of things here that we used to have. Not many countries where I come from still build castles. Lots of cities have massive skyscrapers. You know, tall buildings.” Jacob explained.

“Oh yes, we have those as well! Manehattan for example has plenty!” Twilight happily responded. “This is so fascinating. Without magic and an innate ability to fly your world seems to have built machines to make life easier.”

Jacob gaped at Twilight for a moment, wondering if Manehattan was just some sort of odd coincidence. Eventually he nodded. “Pretty much, yeah.” The human turned to Spike, who had decided to join in and listen to the interview.

“Is it really hard not having magic and stuff sometimes?” Spike asked curiously, leaning in his chair.

“Not really. Lots of humans are really smart and stuff is always getting better.” Jacob went on to explain to the best of his knowledge how fast technology seemed to evolve. He offhandedly mentioned that his kind had traveled to the moon in a rocket, something Twilight reacted to so excitedly that Jacob flinched in his seat. Once she had calmed down and Jacob had told her that he had no idea how rockets worked, she sat her quill down and looked over her pages of notes.

“Thank you so much, Jacob. Ponykind can learn so much from your world,” She said happily. “As could humanity learn from us!”

“If I told everyone I knew about magic and talking unicorns and dragons when I got home I might be sent to a madhouse, but I see what you mean.” Jacob said back, grinning a little.

Spike let out a yawn and announced he was going to bed, and Jacob decided it would be a good time for him to sleep as well. He bid both of them a goodnight and walked downstairs into his room. He took off his shoes, pants, and shirt before crawling into bed. The day hadn’t been nearly as bad as the others had been so far. As he drifted off to sleep he hoped that tomorrow would be even better.

In no time at all, Jacob dozed off and was quickly thrown into a dream that felt so real he thought that he was wide awake. He stood on an odd grid-map and looked up to see Spike looming over him, holding a 20-sided dice. “Will you return home, or be stuck here forever? That’s a tough one! You’ll need at least a 15 for that!” With an evil grin, the 100-foot-tall dragon rolled the gigantic bolder size dice. Jacob yelled in shock and ran as fast as he could, but he seemed to be running in place. Spike’s evil laughter echoed around him as he looked back just in time to see the dice land on him, smashing him down against the map. “Bad luck! Looks like you rolled a 1. Sorry Jacob! Looks like you’re going to be here forever!”

The human let out a fearful scream as the dice was lifted off of him, but his body was grabbed tight in Spike’s claw, but when he looked up Spike was almost unrecognizable. His face was covered in dark shadow and seemed to be a dark crimson color. The silhouette of two large horns were seen on the dragons head and from the darkness the teenager saw his eyes glow a bright yellow. “W-What are you doing! Let me go!” He yelled in vain, thrashing helplessly as he was lifted high into the air above Spike’s mouth.

“If you say so!” His voice had gone odd. It was raspy and cruel. Jacob felt his heart racing in his chest as he was dropped. He fell and fell. The human feared he was about to be eaten, but he found that he was not falling onto a massive tongue, but rather falling through the clouds. The only light he could see was from the flashing of lightning in the distance. He had to be hundreds of feet up, falling to his doom. He screamed as loud as he could, begging in his mind that he would wake up. He pleaded to nobody in particular that he would be woken up before he hit the ground. The trees below grew closer and closer. He was going to get impaled by branches and even if he did not get run through by large wooden spikes, he would hit the ground with enough speed that he would most certainly die.

The air was knocked out of him as he smashed through branches and was assaulted by a face full of leaves. He felt his skin get deeply cut by the jagged pieces of wood that jutted out, but his body hardly slowed. His legs hit a large branch and his body was sent summersaulting down to the ground. With a loud CRACK! He slammed into the mud, feeling the disgusting liquid splatter all around him. The pain he felt was just as real as he could have ever imagined. He was not sure how he was alive, but he knew at once when he tried to push himself up, his wrist was broken. An immense pain in his right leg let him know that something was either sprained or broken there as well. He attempted to sit up, but something pushed him back down into the mud. At first, he feared that whatever had pushed him was going to hold his face in the mud, but he soon found that he was able to move. There was no sound, but Jacob knew that something or someone was with him.

“Perfect…” The same raspy voice muttered, and Jacob found himself looking up to see a pair of yellow glowing eyes looking down at him. His mouth opened but no words came out. A massive shadowy figure stood over him. Lightning cracked in the sky above, momentarily outlining the robed figure just long enough for Jacob to see whoever it was, they were four-legged like a pony. He tried to get up again, but the pain was way too much for him. The human could do nothing but watch as the creature lowered towards him and placed a hand on his head and an even greater pain shot through him. He wailed in agony and fell back down into the mud. His head felt as though it would explode and when he weakly looked up, everything began to lighten. The rain turned into a pitter patter, the dark clouds turned very light grey. The sky was now a bright blue. The immense pain in his body faded and Jacob heard gentle hoof steps grow closer to him as he sat up, still shaking with terror.

“Jacob! are you okay?” A much more welcoming voice asked. Jacob shakily looked up to see Princess Luna stepping towards him. He nodded, unable to stop himself from continuing to shiver. “I apologize for my late arrival. Are you sure you are alright?” She asked, trotting up towards him.

“I… I don’t know... What... What just happened?” He asked, unable to prevent himself from continuing to pant.

“A nightmare. Take it slow, Jacob.” She spoke softly, her eyes full of concern. There was something else in her expression… Shock. He had tried to stand up but was still much too shaky to do much.

“It... It felt so real… Where are we?” Jacob muttered, looking up towards the princess.

“If I am not mistaken, this is the forest where Captain Silvermane found you,” The Princess answered, glancing up towards a mountain not too far in the distance. “I do not take it that this is a recurring dream?”

“N-No,” Jacob was sure that his nightmare had just shown him how he arrived in Equestria. At least, his crash landing. He couldn’t get the yellow eyes out of his head. Something about them seemed to linger on his mind. “Thank you… For saving me.”

“As I told you, it is my duty. Think nothing of it, Jacob. I know my sister wrote you a letter,” Luna said, watching as Jacob carefully stood up and leaned against a tree. “Thank you for that drawing of your planet by the way, that will make my search much easier.”

“That’s good… Sorry to ask... But… Do you think that it is going to take a long time to find it?” Jacob asked, hoping that he did not sound desperate.

“Honestly, I do not know. There are quite literally billions of planets and I admit I am not very experienced in searching for other worlds with my magic. However, with your assistance in providing a visual representation, combined with Star Swirls research I would hope it would not take too long. I do not want to give a time frame but end up disappointing you. You also have to understand that my sister and I have other responsibilities.” She said kindly.

“I understand. Sorry to be giving you both so much extra work…” Jacob said in a near whisper, glancing at the ground.

“Don’t be silly, Jacob. You are doing no such thing. I do hope you are enjoying the company of Twilight Sparkle and her friends?” The mare said, clearly seeing the current subject was very touchy to the still shivering human.

“I am, yes. They are all very… nice.”

“I am glad to hear it,” Luna said with a giggle and looked towards the now clear sky. “I believe that things here are now under control. If these nightmares persist I will be here to end them. Rest assured, my sister and I will also continue our work. In the meantime, try to not dwell on your situation. There are many things I learned in my banishment. One of them is to appreciate the company of friends…”

Jacob simply nodded his head and watched the princess spread her wings. “I’ll try, Princess” He said, watching as she smiled at him and took off into the sky, vanishing with a pop. For a few moments he stood there in silence, thinking about what had just happened. The pain he felt was real, as was the terror. Never in his life had he remembered a dream so real, besides, perhaps the one he had just the other day after falling down the hill. The sky above began to fade away, and the feeling in his body did too. In an instant his eyes opened, and he was greeted with the near pitch darkness of his room. He sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes for a moment before looking at his feet. Princess Luna advised him not to dwell, but a reoccurring thought kept creeping into his mind. Those glowing yellow eyes.