Twilight stared at the human, bewildered. Too much was going on at once. All of this was happening too fast. She closed her eyes and shook her head momentarily.

"You mean to tell me.. That you think your family is cursed, and that's what brought you here?" Twilight asked. She watched the human walk around the pickup several times, examining it.

"That's the theory." He opened the driver-side door to see bloodstains across the bench seat. He shut the door.

"What I would have to do to get this running and driving again is another question..." Jared walked to the front of the truck, reaching into the grill he toggled the latch. It didn't open until he brought his fist down on the middle of the hood, where it sloped to the grill. The sound of the latch releasing was masked by the 'THUD' of the sheet metal meeting his hand. He lifted the stiff hood open and looked inside. Dusty, but clean. Hoses and belts seemed cracked and rough, but not quite dry rotted. Jared sighed.

"What do you think?" She asked.

"I think I wish I had all your people's magic bullshit. I'd find a way to magic my stuff back to pristine rather than having to work for it." Jared sighed, leaning on the radiator support as he looked at the motor. "But things aren't that easy. Nothing in life is free, as soon as I have my stuff fixed I need to figure how to pay the princesses back for letting me use the hangar..."

"Jared, the hangar is yours. They gave it to you as a gift, bills paid, in good faith." Twilight replied, somewhat dumbstruck at his outlook.

Jared slowly turned to face her. "Why..? I didn't earn it. Any of it. Someone had to pay for that. They had to work and by the sweat of their brow, they paid for where I am. That's not right."

"So pay it forward. Do good with the gift given to you and help others instead of trying to pay an individual back directly for a gift." Twilight replied.

Jared was silent. "I never thought of it that way." He said after a few minutes of quiet. He gently rested his hand on the driver’s side fender. The truck was slowly enveloped in a magenta glow. Jared stepped back, recoiling his hand. He quickly whipped his head around to face Twilight. Her eyes were screwed shut as she concentrated. Grime and moss slowly receded from the steel. Dust lifted from the motor and interior. Cracks slowly crossed the windshield, removing the massive hole in the windshield. The glass turned clear and the paint’s luster came back to life. The cracked and destroyed battery slowly returned to it’s original state.

“What are you doing?!” Jared asked. He could clearly see what she was doing to the truck. He wanted to know why, more than anything. The truck slowly lifted to its ride hight as the tires filled with air and the cracks in the rubber disappeared.

As the truck began to look brand new, Twilight collapsed to the dirt floor. Jared rushed to her, kneeling to pick her up. She breathed heavily, but steadily. Her heart was racing.

"Twi..."

Jared groaned as he lifted her 250 pound form off the ground, and set her in the cab. He shut the door, rushing to the driver’s side. Jared stepped on the clutch, pumped the gas twice, and wrapped his fingers around the keys dangling from the ignition.

“Hope this works...” He breathed. He turned the key, barely touching it, and the truck roared to life. Jared chuckled at first, then laughed. He jumped out of the cab, quickly locking the front hubs. He then jumped in, threw the pickup in 4 High, and shifted into second gear. He slowly let out the clutch as he stepped on the gas pedal, rolling out of the shed. He navigated the pickup back towards the ruins, around the edge of what appeared to be a deep canyon. He guided the truck around the edge of the chasm and as he drove around the hole, he spotted the end of a drawbridge. Using the cartoon logic, the edge of the Everfree would be facing away from the drawbridge. Jared didn’t even think about the river crossing in Season one...

He drove in 3rd gear, doing about thirty miles per hour. He crushed branches and small trees as he bounced along through the underbrush. Spotting what looked like a break in the trees up ahead, he held on and sped up. He realized the moment he broke through the thick trees that it was a swift moving river. The 35 Inch tires were sunk to the upper rim, the water coming up the fenders.

“Shit.” Jared shouted, turning downstream and nearly flooring the gas. He kept the RPMs high as the truck trudged downstream and across, making the 50 second crossing feel like a lifetime. Jared stopped the truck when they’d climbed back up the opposite bank. He let out a high and loud “WOO HOO!” As they cleared the rapids. Water dripped from the doors, steam poured out from every crevasse on the truck as the water burned off the hot engine and exhaust. He pulled open the ashtray and pushed the cigarette lighter in for several seconds. With his free hand he pulled a Red from the pack rolled in his sleeve, and lit it with the lighter. Trying to calm the shakes, his hands shook violently with adrenaline and fear.

“Not even back from the dead an hour and I almost drowned you.” Jared laughed, rubbing the dash gently.

He dropped the truck back into gear and re entered the monotony of bouncing through the trees. After a short time, the trailblazing ended when he found a dirt path. Jared stepped on the gas, grabbing the next gear as he sped up to 45. Roaring past trees, bushes, and wildlife, he saw the sky begin to lighten, and spotted green grass ahead. Jared grinned madly as the truck broke into the clean grass. He slowed as he crested grassy hills, stomping on the clutch to shift the transfer case into 2 High. He drove the truck straight for his hangar, about 500 yards away from the point he’d exited the forest. Once he reached the hangar, he was about to shut off the truck when a thought came to his mind.

He’d just have to walk to town to get her checked out.

The 351 Windsor growled as he pushed the pedal to the floor again, heading for the town. He rolled his window down and cracked the wing window as he sped towards the town. He slowed once more as he entered the settlement, doing about 25 until he reached the library.
Jared shut off the truck and leapt from the cab. He ran around to the passenger side, hefted Twilight out of the seat, and threw her over his shoulder. He stumbled to the front door of the library, falling into it as he turned the handle. Jared yelled out as he entered,

“SPIKE! WE NEED THE... Princess.”

The princesses were already in the library, sitting around a table, sipping from what looked like teacups. Celestia and Cadence were seated, Luna stood beside them as if she’d just arrived.

“Fantastic. Twilight passed out after doing a bunch of magic, and I need to talk to you.” Jared clapped his hands, walking forward as he interrupted the princesses conversation, Twilight thrown over his shoulder. They looked at each other, Celestia rushed to the unconscious form of Twilight. Jared set her down as gently as he could on the floor, the princess kneeling over her. She touched her own horn to Twilight’s, a brilliant white light flashed for split second, much like a camera flash.

Twilight sat up with a start. She was panting as she looked around. Jared knelt by the pony, putting a hand on her back.

“Now what’d you go and do that for...” Jared said softly.

“Figured... I’d been given enough gifts, I might as well follow my own advice...” Twilight replied as she tried to calm her breathing. “Did it work?”

“Yeah it worked.” He laughed. “Are you alright?”

“She needs rest.” Celestia spoke, almost harshly.

“I’ll be fine, I’m going to go... Lie down..” She slowly made her way to the stairs, wobbling as she stepped slowly, one stair at a time.

“Now, I need to talk to you.” Jared addressed Celestia. He slowly stood to his full height, placing his hands on the hips of his belt line. “I spoke with a certain spirit of chaos.”

Celestia’s eyes grew as Discord materialized beside the human. Jared continued to unfalteringly meet her gaze. She could feel herself almost shrinking behind the stare.

"And it's time to remember where your traditions come from."

“And we have quite a few things to discuss.”

Author's Note

Sorry for the fast-paced garbage chapters lately, I’m not doing so hot right now. Thanks for sticking with me!