Canterlot City (The Human One) was very alike with its Equestrian counterpart. Like the Pony capital, the city was large and industrious. Past the High School and the urban settlement was a much more populated city with large, akin to cities like New York, or Chicago. But he farther one went into this territory, the less appealing it became. Clean windows and well kempt buildings gave way to run down apartment complexes with cracked windows, accompanied by a foul smell that permeated the air.
In one such apartment building, there was an apartment that was being rented. On the chipping walls were an array of posters, ranging from depictions of heavy metal bands, to cartoon and video game posters.
The main room was a mess. Dirty clothes lay on strewn about, some lay on the floor, while other articles were thrown on furniture and decorations. A wrinkled shirt lay strewn upon a small weight set that was covered in dust.
Decorating the floor was an assortment of empty alcohol bottles of all sorts. Positioned in front of the TV, in the center of the room was an two seat leather couch. As the television played very old cartoons, a young man lay on the couch long ways, with his feet lying on the right armrest.
Jaybird, or Jay to those who knew him well, lay on the couch staring up at the ceiling, with a burning cigarette in his mouth. He had a light blue complexion, and long shaggy maroon hair that lazily hung off his head. He wore a pair of ripped black jeans, and a black long sleeve shirt with an intricate white design on the center of the front. Revealed by the rolled up sleeve on his left arm was a tattoo of a grinning cartoon skull. Assorting the rest of his skin was a variety of small hairline scars and cuts. Somewhere as new as the day before, while others had healed years ago.
Jay’s eyes darted to the left as he turned to face the TV. Woody Woodpecker was in the process of trying to eat a black, and the cat was trying to do the same to Woody. As the cat tried to cut off Woody’s head with a large cleaver, Jay let out an energetic laugh. As he did, the nearly burned out cigarette fell into his open mouth. The burning ash singed the young mans mouth, causing him to let out a quick yelp. The tobacco fell further down his throat, and he started hacking and coughing, trying to spit it out. It was all for naught though, as he accidentally swallowed the death stick. The moment it went into his stomach, his eyes widened and he sat up strait.
“Shit…that was like America’s Funniest Home Video’s quality right there! I can’t believe no one recorded that!” said the young man. He coughed once more, before quickly jumping to his feet.
“Welp! That was the sign I needed! Let’s do this thing!”
Jay stood up, and went to the messy dinning table, and retrieved a brown satchel. He had stored the bag with specific items months ago, and hadn’t touched it since. He quickly slumped it over his shoulder, and made his way towards the door, leaving the TV on as he left. As he exited the apartment, he didn’t bother locking the door, or even shutting it. He wasn’t coming back.
‘Free giveaway!’he thought with a chuckle. ‘Everything must go!’
As he exited the apartment, he ran a hand over his greasy unkempt hair. “I’m finally doing this,” he said to himself. He turned left and started making his way down he sidewalk.
‘But I gotta do one thing first.’
The Blue Stallion was a small bar located in a much better maintained part of the city. It being a Friday night, the bar was packed, mostly with the younger crowd. Up beat pop music was playing in the background. A TV in the corner broadcasted sports as neon lights illuminated the rest of the bar.
In a booth near the entrance, jam packed together were seven young women; Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer. Smiles were printed on each girls face as they all enjoyed their drinks. In front of Sunset sat a Moscow Mule, which she had yet to touch.
“Aw come on Sunset!” said Rainbow as she rested an arm around Sunset’s shoulder. Rainbow Dash already seemed to be getting drunk. “It’s your big twenty-one, you gotta have at least one-no, two drinks!”
“I will, I’m just…I’m wondering why they had to call it a Moscow MULE of all things,” replied the stone cold sober Sunset.
“What do you mean?” questioned Twilight as she adjusted her glasses.
“Well, back in Equestria, Mule is kind of used as a derogatory slur,” explained Sunset.
“Is it as bad as N-“ before Rainbow could finish and/or realize that she shouldn’t finish that sentence; Sunset put her hand over Rainbow’s mouth.
“Not quite, but please don’t say that one either!” replied with Sunset with a forced smile.
“I…I was gonna say…Nincompoop…” said Rainbow with an embarrassed look on her face. Everyone at the bar looked at her with a weird look. Rainbow rested her head on the table. “I’m not racist,” she muttered.
“It’s all right Rainbow, it’s just the alcohol talking,” said Applejack.
“Hopefully!” chirped Pinkie Pie, causing the whole group, including Rainbow to start laughing. When they finally worn themselves out, Rarity gestured to Sunset’s drink with her hand.
“Come on Sunset, you must try it! Let us know what you think!”
“Hmm, alright,” conceded Sunset as she leaned over and put her lips around the straw of her drink. She took a gentle sip and let the taste dance on her taste buds before she took a longer sip.
“That is good!” she said.
“Welcome to the club!” cheered Rainbow. All the girls took a drink.
“Let’s let the good times roll!” yelled Pinkie.
Jay stopped and looked up at the glowing blue sign. ‘The Blue Stallion’ it read. Jay smiled as he remembered the ‘good’ times he’d had at this bar. He’d been coming there since he was seventeen. That was when things had started to…go downhill.
Jay shook his head. He didn’t need to think of such things! After tonight, all his problems would be over! So, he might as well enjoy himself, right?
Jay strode into the bar with a smile on his face. He sat down at the only available bar stool, and slammed his hand on the bar so hard it caused everyone near him to jolt in surprise. The bartender approached him.
“Hey Jay, back again I see? What can I get you?”
“Give me a strait Bushmills on ice if you please!” replied Jaybird. The bartender nodded, and went to pour the drink. He then placed it down on a napkin in front of Jay. The young man quickly downed the whole glass in one gulp. It was no easy feat, but years of heavy drinking had warped his taste buds to savor the flavor.
“Another!” requested Jay.
“Geez, Jay,” said the bartender as he grabbed the glass, putting it away and getting a clean one. “You might want to slow down, eh?”
“Yep yep yep, give me another!” replied Jay, as his hand tapped on the bar as fast as a woodpeckers beak. The bartender readied another drink, and gave it to Jay, who once again gulped the whole thing in an instant.
“One more, one more!” requested Jay in all of his manic energy.
“Jesus Christ Jay, maybe slow down a bit? You know it’s all gonna hit you at once, don’t you?”
“Come on, just one more, ONE more, and I’m done!” promised Jay as he made an ‘X’ over his heart with his finger. Begrudgingly, the bartender honored his patron’s request, and filled one more glass for the young man. This time, Jay took it a bit slower, but still finished the drink in less than thirty seconds.
“Are you okay, man?” questioned the bartender as he placed both hands on the bar table.
“I am. I really am! I’m having…a good day!” replied Jay, smiling.
“Really? It’s been a while since you’ve had one of those, hasn’t it?”
“Indeed it has!”
It was then that Jay felt the full effects of the drinks, as his head felt lighter than air. He chuckled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a fifty-dollar bill. He slapped it on the table, and stood up from his seat, swaying as he stood.
“Keep the change!” he said as he started to walk away.
“Um…thanks Jay. See…see you around.”
Jay stumbled making his way towards the door. As he started to pass the last booth, he heard his name being called.
“Jay? Jaybird?”
The young man turned his head to the right to see who it was that had addressed him. But at that exact moment, he was shoved to the side, landing with his hands on the nearest booth table. He turned his head to see a much larger man walking towards the door.
“Watch where you’re going you Emo Fag!” said the man. Instantly Jay’s mood turned sour. He gripped the table he had caught himself on so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He clenched his teeth tightly and sent a death stare to the back of the man’s head as he left the bar.
Jay thought about grabbing the nearest shot glass and throwing it at the back of the man’s head, but even in his drunken haze, thought better of it.
‘I can’t…can’t have anything go wrong…not tonight.’
Instead of making a scene, he muttered a simple “Douchebag” under his breath.
“Are you alright?”
Jay cast his blurring vision up towards the table he leaning on, to see seven about his age. In fact, after a few seconds, he recognized them as people he had gone to school with.
‘Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle and…Sunset Shimmer, the demon turned angel,’ he thought. Of all of them, she was the one he remembered the most. She ran the school with a grip of terror for half of high school. She even turned the entire student body into mindless zombies. Jay remembered that. The complete loss of control, viewing the world through the eyes of a body he could no longer control. Everyone else seemed to have moved on and forgotten about it, but for Jay…it was one of his strongest memories.
‘But hey,’he thought with a slight bit of contempt. ‘She’s changed, hasn’t she? She’s a good person now. A lot better than I’ll ever be.’
“O-oh hey guys,” replied Jay, rubbing his eyes. “Howsh everyone doing?” he asked with slurred words.
“Um…we’re fine,” replied Fluttershy.
“That’s good, I’ll see you later,” he said as he got up to leave, preparing to just do the deed and be done with it. But before he could get more than two steps, he heard Sunset speak to him again.
“Are you doing alright Jay? We haven’t seen you since graduation, but we’ve heard…things,” she asked with concern. He stopped walking.
‘It seems her reputation has become cleaner than mine. At least I never tried to take over the world. I’ve done some stupid shit…but at least I was never Evil.’
He turned to face the group, with a smile on his face.
“You know what? I am doing GREAT! The best I’ve been in years!” he replied in earnest.
“Then why are you getting drunk, alone in a bar?” questioned Pinkie Pie, who was shushed by Rarity.
“I’m just…celebrating…how…happy I am?” he replied, sounding unsure. “Anyway, it was great seeing you guys again, but I’ve got stuff to do,” he said as he turned to leave.
“Have a good night!” he said as he stumbled out of the bar. Sunset’s concerned gaze followed him as he left, before she heard Twilight calling her name.
“Sunset? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied as she turned back to face the group. “He doesn’t look like he’s doing very well though, despite what he said.”
“Indeed, he looked quite a mess,” commented Rarity.
“Well, it’s not like it’s any of our business,” said Rainbow Dash. “Besides, he was always kind of a weirdo. Remember that time he freaked out in History Class?”
“That doesn’t mean we should ignore him if he’s hurting,” replied Sunset.
“Yeah, we always help people when they need it!” asserted Applejack.
“Yeah, yeah you’re right,” conceded Rainbow. “But should we really follow him? I mean he might just want to be left alone.”
“Maybe, but it might be a good idea to at least check on him,” said Fluttershy.
“Are you okay with that, Sunset?” questioned Twilight. “I mean this is your birthday celebration.”
“I think we should. Let’s get the tab,” replied Sunset as she reached into her purse. Rarity put a hand on her shoulder.
“I’ll pay for your drinks darling. It is your birthday after all.”
“Thanks Rarity!”
The group quickly settled their tab, and hurried out the bar. They looked both ways down the street, but didn’t see any sign of Jay.
“He couldn’t have gotten far, he could barely walk strait!” said Rainbow Dash.
“Should we split up?” questioned Pinkie.
“I don’t know if it’s quite that serious,” replied Twilight.
“Hey what’s that?” shouted Pinkie, pointing to a nearby bridge. The girls all turned to look where their friend was pointing. In the distance, it looked like there was a person on it.
“Is that…a person?” questioned Applejack.
“Hold on, I have an incredibly convenient pair of binoculars!” announced Pinkie, as she pulled the device from her purse. She began adjusting the binoculars, and searching to get the person in her line of vision.
“Ah, I see them now, OH SHIT!”
“What is it Pinks?” asked Rainbow.
“You know how we were trying to find Jaybird? Weeellll, I found him.” The girls quickly looked to where Pinkie was now pointing. On the ledge of the bridge was the drunk young man they had been looking for. He was tying something ropelike to his neck.
The girls quickly sprinted as fast as they could towards Jay’s location. When they did, they could see that he had what appeared to be a rubber cord, a bungee cord to be exact. It was tied to the bridge, and the other end was wrapped around Jay’s neck.
Jay took one final swig out of he flask he carried in his pocket. Draining the last bit of alcohol, he chucked the flask into the air. He then made his way to the very edge, preparing to jump. But before he did, he heard his name being called.
“JAY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” He turned to see the six girls from the bar, starring up at him with horrified expressions.
“Oh, h-hey burls, girls! I’m a…I’m gonna jump off this bridge with a bungee cord around my neck!”
“Why?!” questioned Rarity.
“Oh, well you kn-know, I was thinking about the funniest way I could kill myself, and I thought…oh, bungee cord! That’s fffunny! I go down, my neck snaps, and my body gets bounced and yanked around like a yo-yo! Isn’t that hilarious!” Jay let out a manic, drunken laugh.
“Th-that’s not funny,” said Pinkie Pie, with a hand raised to her mouth. “And I think EVERYTHING’S funny!”
“Jay, whatever’s bothering you, it doesn’t have to end like this!” called Twilight.
“That’s right! We can help you!” shouted Sunset.
“Ha!” mocked Jaybird. “I knoooww the only tt-reason you want to save me is so you don’t have a death on your conscious! But it’s…it’s ok, you, don’t worry about it! It’s not your fault, this is, this is just me ok? I absolve you of your sins, in the name of the daddy, the zombie, and the holy whisky!” Jay made a cross gesture with his hands, before turning back to the edge.
“Rainbow Dash, is there any way you can make it up there with your super speed?” asked Sunset.
“Maybe,” replied Dash. “But I’d have to act perfectly, if he noticed before I reached him, he could just jump. And he’s standing on a pretty small part of the ledge. This is a dangerous situation no matter what.”
“I could try using my magic,” suggested Twilight.
“That’s probably our safest bet,” said Sunset. “We’ll try to distract him, while you get in close to catch him.” Twilight nodded, and slowly started moving into the range she needed to be able to catch him.
The girls started trying to talk to Jay, causing him to turn to face them. But even in his drunkenness, he could see Twilight making her way towards him. It was now, or never. The pleading words of the girls drowned out, and the world went silent and calm, as he closed his eyes. He fell back, with his arms outstretched.
A jolt went through each of the girls’ hearts as they saw their former classmate fall. Twilight sprinted at full speed now, reaching out for him with her magic. Rainbow used her super speed to try to make it to him as well. But even as fast as she was, and as powerful as Twilight was, they weren’t as quick as the few seconds it took for Jay to fall the full distance.
The snap of his neck mixed with the snap of the bungee cord. The girls screamed as it thundered in the air. Time slowed. When Jay’s body went as low as it could, it shot back up in the air, rising high above the bridge, before it came down again, and repeated itself in a macabre cycle.
A little too late, Twilight reached the body, and used her magic to keep Jay’s body still. The girls ran up to join her, all of their faces reflecting the shock and terror they felt.
“Applejack, give me a boost!” yelled Rainbow. Applejack nodded, and latched her hands together. Rainbow put her foot on her friends hands, and the farm girl launched Rainbow high enough that she could reach the bungee cord. Gripping the line with one hand, she used the other to reach into her pocket, and pull out a small pocketknife. She set to work cutting the cord. When it did, Jay’s body, still in Twilights magic, was lowered to the ground, slowly and gently. Twilight then used her magic to lower Rainbow Dash to the ground. The girls then gathered around Jay’s body.
“SHIT!” cried Rainbow Dash. “Why the Hell would he do this?”
“Is…he…d-dead?” asked Fluttershy, almost too soft to hear.
“He has to be,” replied Sunset, as she kneeled down beside the corpse. She took two fingers, and put them to the part of his neck just under his ear, to feel his pulse.
A jolt of energy ran through sunset as thousands of images went through her mind in the matter of seconds. The jolt caused her to fall back onto the ground. A surge of different emotions resonated in her heart, and a ringing went through her ears, as she stared, wide eyed at Jay’s body.
“-unset! Sunset!” Sunset was literally shaken from the chaos in her head. She looked, to see her friends all staring at her with concern.
“Are you alright, Sunset?” asked Pinkie.
“Yeah, we heard you scream!” said Pinkie.
Tears came to Sunset’s eyes, as she processed not only the death she’d just witnessed, but also what she had just felt and seen in her mind. Confused, Sunset could say only one thing.
“W-w…what just happened?’
Author's Note
A new story, trying to get back into the writing gear. I've been busy with work though, so I don't have nearly as much time to write as I used to.
Remember, I work on tips: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/CrackerHumps
https://ko-fi.com/crackerhumps
