Frozen souls

Chapters

Chapter : Prologue
Chapter 2: Forest and a castle
Chapter 1: Awakening
Chapter 3: A Savor
Chapter 4: A Cozy Little Town
Chapter 5: Party, Pancakes, and Headaches
Chapter 6: Shopping and Singing
Chapter 7: Sisterhooves Fair day Part 1
Chapter 8: Sisterhooves Fair day Part 2
Chapter 9: Magic Training
Chapter 10: All Aboard
Chapter 11: Half the Truth
Chapter 12: Sleepless in Canterlot
Chapter 13: The Outcast
Chapter 14: The Storm Inside
Chapter 15: Farm Boy Cattle Girl

Chapter : Prologue

The hot steam filled the bathroom air slowly as I turned off the heat. Stepping out, my mind raced today as today was the start of the camping trip that my friends were making me go to. I was short on supplies and had less than three weeks to plan, but I would make do. Given the short notice, I was lucky that my manager approved my time.

I grabbed my hanging towel and quickly dried my feet so I would not leave the floor as wet as I was. I tip-toed over to the door, cracking it to allow the steam to exit. With the steam quickly leaving the bathroom, I continued to dry myself off. Once thoroughly dried, I placed my towel on its hanger before putting on my underwear.

I saw myself in the mirror, a pale white redhead who did not look like he had gotten out enough. I picked up my hairbrush and began to straighten my hair, using the handsome devil in front of me as a guide. Once I finished styling my hair, I grabbed the grey sweatpants and a black shirt hanging on my bathroom door.

I adored my slim but slightly toned body with the clothing I had picked out before exiting the bathroom and entering my room. My backpack, laid out on my bed, was already filled with the items I thought I would need, at least for the first few days. I sat next to the pack and put a pair of socks on my feet when I heard my door open.

“Are you almost ready for your trip?” my mother asked with a look of sadness mixed with joy. Looking at her, she was dressed in a white sweater and jeans, her long blonde hair pulled back.

“Just about, but are you doing okay? I asked, studying her face as she thought of the question. A few moments passed as we looked at each other's faces before she finally responded.

“I am okay. I’m just a little worried about your camping trip, that’s all.” my mother said as she looked out my open window.

“I’m going to be okay. It is just a camping trip with Alex, Jane, and Walter. I should be back before Dad's birthday if that’s what you're worried about,” I said as she continued to look out the window.

“It's not that I feel bad about your camping trip. You barely had time to get everything in order on such short notice. I just don’t know,” my mother said with a worried look, knowing I had to reassure her that I would be fine.

“I’ll be fine. It’s not the first time they have done something like this, and it won’t be the last, but if it makes you feel better, I promise I’ll come home if anything pops up or changes or goes wrong. I said, looking at her to see if her expression would change.

“I hope you’re right,” mother said, a weak smile plastered across her still-worried face.

“Hey, I’m only wrong about 20% of the time, but I’m not done getting ready, and they should be here in around 15 minutes,” I said, giving her the biggest smile I could muster. Looking at my face of optimism, she sighed.

“I know, I know. Still, just try to be careful and find me before you leave. I have something for you,” my mother said before quickly turning away and leaving my room.

After she left, I continued to get ready, ensuring I did not forget anything I needed. After spending 10 minutes double-checking everything, I grabbed my bag and went to the living room, where I found my coat hanging next to the door. I grabbed the coat, checked my pockets for my winter hat and gloves, ensuring they were there, and placing them on the couch.

Once finished, I went to look for my mother to see what she had to give me before the camping trip. Before arriving at her bedroom, I looked over the house and heard a noise from within. I knocked on the door, waiting for a reply, and I did not have to wait long.

“Come in,” my mother said as I slowly opened the bedroom door. Walking in, I found her sitting on her bed, looking at an old wooden box that looked to have a sun on the lid. As I was looking at the box, she held her hand up, gesturing for me to sit next to her. Obliging, she began to speak to me.

“I know I don’t talk about your father all that often, and I was going to wait until his birthday before giving this to you, but I think you should have it now just in case you don’t make it back in time,” my mother said as she handed me the little wooden box.

I took the wooden box from her hand and slid my hand across the top, feeling the little sun. Once I had gained the courage to open the box, I noticed three things that stood out. The first, on the opposite side, where the sun would be, was a waxing gibbous moon. The next thing I noticed was that the cloth inside was half dark blue, and the other half was a resounding white. And finally, the last thing I noticed was the gold pendant in the middle.

Looking over the pendant, I could see a sun on top and a moon on the bottom. In front of the little Sun and moon looked to be two horses, both with wings extended and little horns. I reached out to grab the pendant when I felt a shock from my fingertips. Recoiling in pain, I pulled my hand back slightly as the shock spooked me, but the moment I returned to my senses, I took the pendant in my hand.

“What is this?” I asked as I continued to examine the little gold pendant. My mother sighed as I continued to look at the pendant.

“It belonged to your father, and I couldn’t get him to open up about it either. I know he got it from his mother and aunt and wanted me to give it to you if anything happened to him.” My mother said with a sigh.

“Can I wear it?” I asked, turning to look at her with curiosity filling my eyes. She sighed and nodded her head in approval.

I placed the pendant around my neck and adjusted it so it would fit. Standing up, I approached her vanity counter to look at the necklace. Upon seeing myself and the pendant, it looked natural, like it was always meant to be there. I turned to look at her when she finally spoke.

“It looks good on you, just like it did on your father,” my mother said as tears formed in her eyes. Rushing over to her, I knew I had to confer with her.

“Please don’t cry. It is a beautiful gift, “I said, pulling her into a hug and wrapping my arms around her. I could feel her arms wrapping around me as we sat and enjoyed each other's company when I heard a noise from my pocket. I pulled back to see Alex calling, and I answered.

“Dude, we will be there in 2 minutes. Please try not to keep us waiting like last time,” he said. I could hear Jane and Walter talking in the background but could not determine what they were saying.

“Yea, yea, yea, I’ll be out as soon as I can,” I said as I hung up the phone before looking at my mother. She gave a weak smile and began to speak.

“Well, you better get your winter clothing on. I am going to stay here and regain my composure,” my mother said, no longer looking at me. I reached in one final time, hugging her.

“I love you so much,” I said while tightening my grip.

“I love you too, sweetheart,” my mother said weakly. Letting go, I made my way out of her bedroom, walking toward the living room while stuffing the pendant under my black shirt.

Arriving back at the couch, I put on my winter coat before walking next to the door where my boats were. Picking up the boots, I put them on my feet. Hearing a car horn, I put on my hat and gloves before walking back to the couch, grabbing my backpack in one hand, and walking out of the door.

Walking out the door, my senses were blasted by the cold air hitting me in my face. I looked over the driveway and saw Alex’s dark blue van sitting. I made my way to the driver's side window, giving Alex a weird face in repones; he gave me the bird. Laughing, I opened the back car door and sat beside Walter as Alex started to speak.

“God, what took you so long? We have been waiting here for like seven years. I can see my beard starting to grow,” Alex said with a shit-eating grin. I laughed in response.

“Man, you must have some mermaid magic if your beard is coming in less than two minutes,” I said, with my own shit-eating grin appearing on my face. Walter let out a sigh.

“Ladies, both your beards are beautiful. Now let's get this show on the road.” Walter said, Jane, snorting in response. Alex gave Jane the side-eye with her snort, backed out of my driveway, and started to drive. When I finally decided to say something.

“So, is this campground you found this year good? I still think you would have been better off returning to the one we found last year,” I said while looking at Alex for a response.

“Yeah, this one should be amazing. Jane and I could check it out before the snow started to fall. I must say it is better than the one we found last year,” Alex said. He looked over to Jane, who looked like she was about to faint, and gave a weak nod in approval.

“Are you doing okay, Jane? It looks like you're about to pass out. Are you sure you're fine to be camping, especially in this cold?” I asked, worried. Jane gave another weak nod.

“Yes, I’ll be fine. My job had me working late, and when I came home, I could not sleep because somebody wanted to snore all night,” Jane growled, looking at Alex.

“Hey, it’s not my fault I hit my nose while packing our stuff,” Alex said playfully, sounding hurt. Jane studied Alex's face before speaking again.

“But like I was saying, I didn't get much sleep, so as soon as we get the tents set up, I’m going to take a nap while you guys continue to set the camp up,” Jane said, yawning and resting her head on the shoulder rest.

“how long should it take us to get there?” I asked Alex, who was trying to focus on the road ahead of him.

“It should take us about 15, maybe 25 minutes, depending on how quickly we can get out of town and how the roads are. But for now, let's be quiet and give Jane some quiet time so she doesn't yell at us anymore,” Alex said, while Jane gave a weak smile.

Looking at Walter more closely, I could see he had headphones on and a light redness around his face, and he appeared to be texting someone. I am not thinking anymore about it. I remember the pendant around my neck, pulled it out, and noticed something weird. Looking at the pendant, I saw that the sun and moon had moved slightly. Not overthinking it, I reasoned it was battery-powered and that the static shock I felt must have made it move a bit.

I Placed the pendent back under my shirt, not paying any more attention to the sun or moon. I pulled out my phone and began scrolling through social media while Alex drove and Jane rested her eyes.

~~~~>><<~~~~

We had left town around five minutes ago, and the air in the van was stagnant. No one said a word. Alex focused on the road while Jane had her head in her left hand. Looking over to Walter, he had stopped texting 10 minutes ago and was looking out his side of the window.

It had come so soon that I felt the van shift its weight as it turned right into the woods, and I saw that we were going down a path. Not paying any mind to the occasional bumps of the dirt road, I looked out my window to see if I could see any that would catch my eye. I kept staring for what felt like minutes when I finally thought I saw something.

I thought I saw some tires sitting behind some trees. I don’t believe I would have seen it if it wasn’t for one of the bumps. I thought it might have just been my imagination, so why would someone else be out here? Maybe this place was not as remote as Alex had thought. This makes me believe we still should have gone to the place from last year.

It was not long after that the van started to slow down, and I looked out the driver's window. I could see a little clearing slowly coming into view, but I could not see how the ground looked from the back seat. Slowly, Alex pulled the van to the side of the dirt road and began to talk.

“Ok, this should be the place. Let's split up duties. Jack, can you find a decent place for us to place the tents? Jane and I will start unpacking the tents, and Walter, you look over our food situation and start making dinner,” Alex said, looking at the back seat.

“That should be fine,” I Said as I grabbed my bag in one hand and exited the van. As I closed the door, I snickered to myself, thinking I had gotten the easiest job of all of us. I turned my way to the campground when a blast of cold air hit me in the face.

As I made my way to the clearing's entrance, all I could think about was how cold it was and that we would need to get the tents and a fire going as soon as possible. Once I was in the clearing, all I could see was broken trees littering the ground and medium-sized rocks lying all over it. Thinking to myself that this place was horrible, I heard footsteps behind me and began to speak.

“ Man, this place looks like a tornado went through it. Are we sure…” was all I was able to say as I felt pressure in my leg and the worst pain I had ever felt in my life.

Looking down to where the pain was coming from, all I could see was a black folding knife logged in my shin, blood flowing out. I then turned to see who had done this to me when I was kicked in the back of my good knee, causing me to throw my bag as I fell to the ground. I landed on my side and rolled onto my back to see who was attacking me.

Looking up, all I could see was this bald guy who couldn’t have been older than 50 standing above me with a shit-eating grin on his face. The man looked behind him and made a waving gesture, and what I saw next made my heart sink in fear. Alex, Jane, and Walter all approached the man and stood behind him.

“What the fuck is going on?” I asked while grunting my teeth in pain. Alex, Jane, And Walter were all silent, looking at me, when the man cleared his throat and began to speak.

“Revenge and betrayal, my dear boy, and all so fun, all so entertaining,” the man said, his smile not leaving his pale face. I had no idea who this man was. Why did he want revenge? I had to ask.

“Who are you? I have never seen you before in my life. Why would you want revenge on me? I asked, looking at his face as he thought of a good answer for me before breaking the silence.

“Oh, my name is not that important, for what a waste of time it would be to tell my name to someone who’s is already dead. And I don’t want revenge on you, my dear boy. You're nothing more than a message, payback meant for someone else.” the man said, his eyes looking into mine, not blinking. Wanting to look away, I looked at the three behind him.

“What about you three, huh? What is your goal with this? What did I ever do to you all that caused this?” I yelled. Jane looked away, and Alex looked like he was about to start speaking when the bald man cut him off.

“Oh, these three, I offered them riches and power more than anything you could have provided in your shorter-than-expected life, speaking of the which. The man said before turning to look at Alex, Jane, and Walter before continuing.

“If you three want what was promised, you need to play your part in this play. Strip him of anything that would protect him from this lovely weather. The man said before looking back at me.

Walter was the first to step forward, followed by Alex, and then lastly Jane. I tried to crawl away, but they could walk faster than I could. When they finally caught up to me, Jane tried to grab my gloves, but I tried to fight back, causing a swift punch to the side of the head by Alex.

Dazed, I could only watch as they stripped me of my Gloves, jacket, boots, hat, and socks, leaving me in nothing but my shirt and sweatpants. As I came to my senses, I saw all three of them walking to the van, leaving me and the bald man alone. The smile finally left his face as he began to speak to me for the final time.

“I want you to know this is nothing personal, but you must take responsibility for your family's actions,” the man said before finally starting to walk away. The anger, the rage, was all I could feel as I saw him walking away.

“fuck you, fuck you all,” I yelled, gritting my teeth as the tears fell from my eyes. I saw the man enter the van where I had been sitting not long before.

I watched as the van turned on and began to dive away as quickly as it had arrived. My mind raced on so many thoughts in such a short time. The only thing that managed to drive me back to reality was the sharp pain in my leg.

Looking down, I could see that I was still bleeding from the knife logged in my leg. That was when I remembered my bag. They did not take it as I crawled over to the bag and began to look through it.

Inside the bag were flint and steel. Getting my hopes up, I noticed that the flint was shattered, basically dust at this point, and with all this snow on the ground, it would be hard to replace it. I continued to look, shoving a compass, a deck of cards, a flashlight, my water bottle, and 3 MREs to the side when I found what I was looking for.

I pulled a small med kit out of the bag and began to look for the items I would need to stop or at least slow the bleeding. Looking through the med kit, I pulled out a bandage roll and some gauze. Grabbing the gauze, I stabilized the knife so it would not move, and I began to use the rolling bandage to apply pressure.

Once I was finished with my wound, I could see that I was still bleeding and that I didn't have the supplies to fix it. I placed the med kit back in the bag, grabbing the compass as I stood up, applying pressure to the leg, causing me to squeak in pain. Biting my tongue, I looked at the compass. Knowing that town was north of where I was, I began to walk.

~~~~>><<~~~~

With each step forward, I could feel the knife in my leg and the coldness of the wind and snow on my hands and feet, but all I could do was take one step at a time. I knew that I would survive this and get payback for those basters who did this to me. I knew I would survive this cause I made a promise to my mother that I would be back for dad birthday, and I kept my promises, especially to her.

I had been walking for what felt like hours, but I knew it had been less than 15 minutes. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. I could feel my heart rate racing, but that was what I expected from what had happened. I looked at my feet and noted discoloration and blisters starting to appear on the edges. Knowing it was the start of frostbite, there was little that I could do other than keep walking forward.

As I kept walking, all I could think about was the knife in my leg and the faces of my friends who had betrayed me. I could see the face of the man; his smile was unempathetic as if he had done it before. Who am I kidding? He probably has done it before. And finally, I could see my mother's warm face, weak smile, and tears running down her cheeks.

~~~~>><<~~~~

Each step I took brought great pain with it, not only from the knife but from my feet. As I walked, I could see the frozen skin on my fee chip and crack. My hands were not looking any better. I could see the blisters on my knuckle and my pocket being no help to the cold.

As I continued walking, I swear I could see something following me out of the corner of my eye, but every time I looked for it, it vanished. With each step I took, it became clearer every minute I walked, coming more and more into view. I could tell it was feminine in shape, but that was all I could discern.

As I continued walking, I momentarily stopped to catch my breath, and the shape finally appeared. It was my mother dressed in the same clothing that she was wearing when I had left the house. I gasped, wondering what she was doing out here.

“M-M-Mom, what a-a-are you doing h-h-hear,” I asked as I shivered through my words. She gave me another weak smile, pointing at her neck, and walked behind a tree. Quickly, I followed her to find that she was no longer there.

“Fuck i-i-I’m hallucinating,” I said to myself as I resumed my walk toward town.

~~~~>><<~~~~

I could no longer feel the cold as I walked forward; each step brought nothing but pain. The pale skin on my hands and feet had turned grey not long ago, but I had to keep walking. I had to keep my promise to my mother. That was all I could do, all that was keeping me going, all that was keeping me alive.

I could still see it. My mother's hallucination was still following me as I walked. Every time I looked at her, she would point to her neck and hide behind a tree, only to reappear further up. Every time she appeared, my dive to see the real her again gave me strength.

As I kept walking, something finally came onto the horizon, giving me hope. It was the town. I could see the buildings through a few of the trees. If I had to say I was five minutes away from living through this, I would see my mother again, and I would get payback for what my ‘friend’ had done to me. I picked up the pace, wanting to reach town as quickly as possible when it happened.

I tripped, falling face-first into the cold snow below. Looking at my foot, I saw what had tripped me: a large tree branch under the snow. I tried to stand back up but couldn’t as much as I tried. I just couldn’t. Thinking quickly, I crawled to the nearest tree and wanting to use it to prop myself up, but no matter how hard I tried, all I could do was rest my back on the tree.

As I sat there, all I could do was cry, cry cause I had broken my promise to my mother. Cry cause my friends had betrayed me and left me to die. And lastly, because I was going to die alone frozen in the woods. I was a 19-year-old kid who had barely started his life and was going to die before I had a chance actually to live it.

As I sat there crying to myself, my breath became more and more shallow as I saw her again. The hallucination of my mother walking towards me, the weak smile still on her face. I was happy to see her. At least I would be able to see my mother one last time before passing.

She came ever closer, kneeling beside me, but instead of pointing her neck, she pointed to mine. My eyes widened as I remembered what was around my neck, and my blood-coved frostbitten hand slowly made its way to the golden pendant around my neck. Pulling it out of my shirt, I noticed that the sun and moon had moved again. Rubbing my blooded finger over the two horses, they started moving quicker. Thinking I was hallucinating again, I dropped the pendant as my arm flopped to my side.

Looking back to where my mother was kneeling, I gave her one more smile as I closed my eyes, wanting the last thing I saw to be her. When I closed my eyes, I could see a bright flash enveloping my vision, and a sense of weightlessness overtook me. I thought I had finally passed.

I don’t know how long I sat floating, but the feeling of gravity hit him when I fell. I felt the back of my body hit something, and then what sounded like papers flew through the air. The next thing I heard was a blood-curdling scream and the sound of movement. I did not care as I took my last breath, knowing nothing could be done for me anymore, thinking of the last thing I saw. My mother smiling at me.

Author's Note

I hope you all like it and what is to come

Chapter 2: Forest and a castle

Pain was the first thing I felt when my body finally decided it was time to bring me back from the world of unconsciousness. The pain was unbearable. It felt like a house had run over me, only for a stampede of elephants to tap dance over me.

But what was worse than the pain was the heat. The heat had only started a moment after I had woken up. My head was on fire, and the heat was worse than the pain. It felt like my head was trying to turn into a puddle. And at that moment, it was focused on my head.

I tried to open my eyes but only cracked my right slightly open. It was dark out. I could see the tops of trees, most covering the sky, only a few allowing the stars to break past. I couldn’t move my head, no matter how hard I tried. I just lay there looking at the occasion twinkle through the trees.

On occasion, I would hear the occasional twig snap, but for the most part, I was left alone. I wanted to sleep, but with the pain and the heat, I was wide awake. The one saving grace is that it felt like the heat was starting to move from the top of my head to the middle.

Trying to look with my one good eye, I could see my nose broken. It looked pushed in and bent to the side. I tried to speak.

“Ahh… Ahhh… Ahh,” I said. I tried to speak but could feel my jaw, unable to move properly. I had probably fractured or dislocated it when I felt the heat on my nose and left eye.

I felt a force on my nose like somebody was pulling and yanking wildly, trying to straighten it. I opened my left eye as I felt my nose pull before finally hearing a loud. *pop*.

Looking back at my nose with both eyes, I could see it had been straightened. It looked like it had never been damaged. I could feel the heat then move down to my jaw.

“Ahh... ahh… ahh” was all that came out of my mouth as the heat intensified on my jaw.

I could hear snapping as if my jaw were broken and moved slightly with each twist and pull. Tears flooded my eyes. I had never broken a bone before, and if this was what it was like, I felt bad for those who had. With one loud crack, I could feel my jaw finally finding its place.

“AHH FUCKING FUCK” I Yelled into the night air as I moved my sore jaw.

I lay there, tears still falling down my face. The heat had yet to move anywhere else when I realized. My head was no longer in serious pain. It was sorer than anything, especially my jaw.

I tried to move my head, but every time I tried, all I would feel was pain and an itch, like my body wanted to listen, but it was unable to do it. All I could do was wait for the pain to subside when I finally felt the heat start moving down to my neck.

“No, no, no!” I said as the heat finally made its way down to the middle of my neck.

With an incredibly loud *Crack*, I could feel the bones in my neck start to move back and forth, trying to align themselves, cracking each time they moved. The pain was awful. My bones moved and twisted as if they had a mind of their own. No matter how badly I cried out in pain before, with a final pop, the heat lessened, and I could feel my neck again.

I lay there again, my neck sore; the heat was giving me a moment to rest before it would move. The pain that I had gone through was nothing like I had experienced before. I could feel the muscles in my neck again, so I raised my head to look at the rest of my body. I knew that what I had just gone through was the easy part.

My body was best described as broken. My Abdomen was deformed beyond belief, my chest was caved in, and my ribs were most likely broken. My arms were broken and dislocated, with my right hand folded flat against the top of my arm with the palm facing the sky. My left arm was bent backward at the elbow while my hand had a few broken fingers, but what stood out was the giant hole where I had been impaled on the broken glass.

Looking at my lower body, my Pelvis was as deformed as my chest, bulging out where it should not. My left leg looked bent and as broken as my arms, save for my leg bone, which had pierced the skin. My right leg, on the other hand, had nearly been ripped off at the knee, and all that was holding it onto my body was what looked to be muscle and a bit of skin, although my foot looked to be in decent condition.

Panic set over me as I realized that the heat would be moving soon and with how my neck and head had gone. I knew that I was going to experience some of the worst pain that I would ever have felt. And on that queue, the heat started to move to my chest.

“Oh god, please, no more!” I said to myself as the heat engulfed my chest, my cries of pain unheard.

My ribs started to wiggle as if they were made of worms straining and fixing themselves, popping and cracking each time they moved, pushing against the skin of my chest. Once my ribs finished, I could feel my spine start to realign itself with my neck, each vertebra moving it, twisting as it did.

As I lay, I wondered why this was happening when I remembered what Aurora said to me about my body fixing itself and that as long as it wasn’t gone, my body could repair. Obviously, he forgot to mention the pain as a side effect and what a side effect it was.

“Aurora, you son of a son, tell a person next time! You bastard!” I yelled as I felt my last spinal vertebra realign.

The heat gradually lessened momentarily, giving me enough time to look over my chest. Looking over my chest, I saw it seemed as good as new. However, I could not lift my shirt to see if I had any scars or basic skin damage.

As I had finished looking over my chest, I could feel the heat move to my right arm. The bone cracking and popping began again as it fully engulfed my arm. What was worse was that either I was getting used to it, or my chest was a lot more painful.

I could feel my shattered arm bones fuse as my arm joints relocated themselves back into their sockets. My hand un-flattened from my arm as the few broken fingers I had popped back into place.

Once it had finished, I could move my arm and hand again. As I moved my arm, I could hear cracking from the joints as it moved. Clenching my fist, I used my newly unbroken hand to prop up myself slightly and slowly.

I propped myself up and felt the heat move to my left arm. As it reached my elbow, I could see the bottom part of my arm move slowly as it lined itself up with the upper part, ensuring it was not twisted before I heard a quick *crack*.

I saw my arm fling itself forward as quickly as it could, leaving me in tears. I looked at my hand as the heat finally reached it. Quickly, the broken fingers straightened and repaired, allowing movement, and leaving the gaping hole in my hand. Slowly, I watched as the skin and muscle began to fuse with each side, leaving my hand normal with no scars.

“Well, that's good. At least I won’t have to get cosmetic surgery, just therapy.” I said to myself, looking at my hand while weakly chuckling.

As I planted my other hand in the dirt, lighting the load on my right, I felt the heat pass through my chest as it reached my pelvis. As the heat intensified, bones moved and aligned themselves. The pain had been worse than my chest. Was my pelvis really that broken? As I was thinking, I felt a lightning bolt of pain surge through my body when a familiar coldness filled my hands.

My hands slid out from under me as I fell back onto my back, causing my sore back to scream. Adjusting my hand, I picked myself back up, looking at where my hands had been previously. There were small patches of ice covering the floor. I then looked at my left hand only to see a fading light blue glow emanating from it.

Looking at my hand, I knew I would have to deal with it later. Now, I have to focus on my body. As I put my hand back on the ground, I felt the last bit of my pelvis align, and the heat and pain lessened, leaving only my legs as the heat gave me no time for rest, moving to my left leg.

The bottom upper part of the leg began to snap and creak as the bones fused back together. When it reached my knee, I saw my knee bone moving from behind my knee before resting in its normal place. As the heat finally made its way to the bone that had pierced my skin, I saw it slowly recede into my leg as the hole it had made slowly fused with the rest of my skin.

My foot had been broken in half horizontally. Luckily, it did not pierce the skin. As the heat engulfed my foot, I saw the foot snap back into place, snapping and cracking as the foot straightened itself. With My left leg finished, I knew all that was left was my nearly severed right leg, which I knew would be the worst.

“OK, Jack, you can do this. You’ve done the rest. You can do this,” I said, trying to prepare myself for what was about to happen.

I propped myself up and allowed myself to sit. I raised my hand not to touch the ground, as I did not want to fall on my back again. I felt the heat leave my left leg, slowly moving through my pelvis to my right leg when I finished. I chewed on the side of my check in preparation.

When the heat finally reached my leg, it grew worse than before. I clenched my fist as the pain started to take over my leg. Tears began to fall on my face again as I watched my nearly severed leg slowly move, being pulled by the few strands of skin and muscle. Looking back at my hands to distract me, I could see them glowing bright blue.

“OH, SWEET MOTHER OF GOD, THE PAIN!” I yelled in the darkness around me.

Looking back at my leg, I saw it was almost done pulling itself, as it stopped when both muscles and bones touched. Slowly, I saw the muscles fuse back together, and the muscle strands began to attach like a web from each end, pulling each closer. Once the muscle had finished, the skin was next, and I saw the skin slowly stitch together, covering the muscle under it.

Once my leg had finished, I fell back onto my back, giving my mind a moment to rest from what had happened. As I lay there, my hands still held above me, I could see the blue glow. What was it? As I watched my hand, I saw the glow start to dim before fading again, allowing me to let my arms fall to the ground as the heat finally faded away.

“Oh, finally.” I sighed with relief.

My body was sore, but at least I didn’t look like abstract art anymore. Raising my body, I decided to get a feel for my surroundings before I planned my next move. Looking around, I saw that I was in another forest, and the smell of early autumn filled the air.

Looking behind me, I saw my backpack hanging on a branch about fifteen feet away, above eye level. It looked beat up—not as bad as I had been, but still bad. One of the arm straps was missing, leaving only one.

Limping over, I pulled it free-swinging onto my back like it was originally a single-strap bag so I would not have to adjust it whenever I moved. Looking around again, I knew I had to get moving to find some kind of shelter and water.

Pulling my compass out of my bag, I saw a large crack in the glass. Still usable, I decided to walk south until something caught my eye.

As I stepped through the forest, I wondered about all that had happened that day. First, my betrayal and murder, meeting Aurora, being sent back to my dead body, walking up in a world of colorful talking horses and ice coming from my hands, running from said horses, saving a horse, and falling off a mountain. Lastly, my body repaired itself like it was made out of clay.

Looking down at my hands, I wondered what that blue glow was. It looked like the glow from Aurora and that one orange unicorn. But it looked unrefined, like they had had it all their life, and I was just now using it for the first time.

Looking at my hand, I tried to make a glow appear, focusing all my willpower on my hands. But all that happened was a weak blue glow fading as quickly as it had arrived. I tried focusing my willpower again with the same results: a quickly fading blue glow. I sighed in frustration.

“Oh, come on, you made me fall on my back when I didn’t want to. Now I want to see a glow, and you're shy.” I said, looking at my hands.

Lowering my hands back down to my side, I thought of the ponies I had seen. I had seen three types of ponies—ones with horns on their head, ones with wings on their sides, and ones with neither wings nor horns. Was that all the ponies that lived in this world, or could there be even more ponies out there?

As I thought about the ponies, I remembered what one of the ponies called me: human. I could feel my eyes widen. Did that mean there were other humans here? I didn’t see any in the hospital or while running through the castle.

I sighed again as I would have to worry about others when I could figure out where the nearest civilization was. Even if it did have ponies, I believe they would know what a human was, and I would be able to get help. Or at least as much as a talking corpse should be able to get.

~~~>>><<<~~~

I had been walking for who knows how long, but it was enough for the sun to have started rising. But that did not mean much because who knows how long I had been unconscious.

Normally, I would listen to music while I walked, but humming to myself to help pass the time was all I could do. On the bright side, if I had listened to music, I would not have heard what was in front of me. The sound of rushing water.

Lifting my head, I looked up to see a clearing in the forest where I could see a small river flowing. Picking up my pace, I exited the forest to see that it was not a clearing but an intersection where the river spit to the sides of the forest.

I walked over to the water, dipping my hands in the water, filling the coldness of the water wash over my hand. Cupping my hands together, I raised both with water, filling my hand and bringing it to my mouth. I began to drink the water, my dry mouth quenched by the liquid, for I didn’t believe I had any water since yesterday.

I continued drinking water when I remembered the bottle in my bag. Taking off the bag, I grabbed the metal water bottle and looked over it. Luckily, it had a few small dents but no holes. I slowly dipped the bottle in the flowing water and filled it. I thought of why I had brought the bottle. I wanted to try melting and purifying snow and filling the bottle that way, but this works fine.

“Ok, that should do it,” I said before lifting the bottle out of the water and placing it back in my bag.

Placing the bottle back onto my back, I began to look around. The river stretched and bent in each direction. Looking at the forest on the other side of the river, it looked wilder than the one I had just come from. Looking past the tree line, I could see a few stone pillars sticking out of the forest. If I had to say, it would be about a 20-minute walk from where I was.

If I wanted to cross the river, I would have to swim across it, as it was too deep to walk. Taking off my bag again, as I did not want the inside to get wet, I held it above my head as I walked into the water and began to swim across.

The current was decently strong, especially for just one hand, but it was a quick swim for the most part. When I emerged from the other side of the river, I would have said that I was dragged about ten feet down the river, noting that would have put me off track from where I was heading.

Looking closer at the trees, I could see they were covered in vines and thick vegetation around the base of the trees, looking more like a jungle than a forest. Looking past the tree line, I could see more trees, only even more densely packed together. As I looked, I took a deep breath and began walking to the stone pillars.

Within my first few steps inside the forest, the ambiance changed. It no longer felt peaceful like it did beforehand. It felt more chaotic as if the forest had a mind of its own. With every step I took, I felt like something was watching me, just behind a tree or above me, and I hated this feeling.

I had been walking for a moment when I came across a path that looked like it had been used a few times. Stepping out of the tree line, I saw that the path led to where I was heading. Within the distance, I saw a large stone building.

“Just my luck a way to where I’m going,” I said.

Looking down the other way, the path bent and curved before disappearing behind more trees. I turned and began walking to the large stone building, still feeling watched like prey.

I continued down my new path. The stone building came into view more and more. It looked like a castle but was not in as good of shape as the one I fell from. I walked silently for a few minutes when I heard a twig snap behind me.

Turning my head to look at the source of the noise, my eyes widened at what I saw. Three wolves were behind me, but they did not look like any wolves I’d seen. These were made out of wood.

“What the?” was all I could say when the wolves started sprinting at full speed at me.

At the sight of the three wooden wolves sprinting at me, I put the pedal to the metal and started sprinting down the path. I could hear the wolves behind me pick up their pace as I ran to the stone building.

With every step, I could hear the growling behind me. I was being hunted, and I was getting sick of my life being in danger so much. Looking back, I saw that the wolves were closer than before, one on the verge of pouncing.

Stepping to the side, I saw the wolf fly past me and landing on the side of a tree, shattering itself into pieces, allowing me to run past it. Looking back at the other two, I saw they had slowed down a bit, but why? I saw the shattered wolf rejoin its pack on the chase for me.

Looking back at the castle, I saw I was getting close to about one more minute of sprinting and would be there. I saw that the castle and a wooden door were slightly cracked open like someone had been through recently.

As I finally reached the door, I slid past the slight crack and slowly pushed it closed. The wolves were relentless. They slammed against the door, trying to force it open, but I stood my ground and kept the door shut with all my might.

After several minutes of the wolves trying, I felt the door finally stop being pushed on. With a howl, I heard the wolves' footsteps as they walked away. Sliding against the door, I sighed with relief.

“I think I hate forests now,” I said as I rested my head against the door.

Looking at the room before me, I saw a long hallway with multiple doors leading to different rooms. Large stone pillars separated the rooms, and small metal torch holders hung on the wall beside the doors. The hallway looked old and falling apart. The roof had caved in, allowing the sun to illuminate it. Broken stones covered the floor, while what appeared to be foliage covered the walls.

Looking past the hallway, I saw two flights of stairs, each leading a separate way before merging onto a single walkway. Above the stairwell, I saw two worn-out banners, one with a sun and a white pony and the other with the moon and a dark blue pony. Looking at both, I saw that they had wings and horns.

“Man, I don’t think anyone has been here for years,” I said as I continued to look around the room.

I stood up, using the door to prop myself up, before walking slowly around the hallway. This place was abandoned by whoever lived here, but that did not mean I was alone. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the knife that I had placed in it, unfurling it as my only protection if something wanted to hurt me.

Walking into the first room, I saw what looked like a library with at least a few hundred books lining the shelves. Looking at the books closer, I could see that some of them were damaged and on the verge of falling apart. Light shined through the trough door, along with a large broken window on the other side of the room.

After leaving the room and walking to the next room, I saw that it appeared to be a large common room. Glass walls lined both sides of the room, allowing as much light as possible to enter. In the middle of the room appeared what looked like a holder of some kind, with five metal arms around it and a large stone sphere in the middle.

“Wow, fancy,” I said.

I looked at the middle stone holder again before turning and exiting the common room and turning my attention to the last room on the right. When I entered the room, it was dark except for the light coming through the door. From what I could see, it appeared to be a kitchen.

Reaching into my backpack, I pulled out my flashlight and tried to turn it on, but when I did, no light came on. Turning the flashlight around, I could see that the bulb on the inside had been broken, as shards of glass filled the inside where the bulb went. Sighing as I knew I didn’t have a spare, I began to work on the flashlight.

Turning off the flashlight, I unscrewed the top and dumped the glass to the side as I unscrewed what was left of the bulb from the flashlight. I placed the broken flashlight back in my bag and turned my attention back to the room.

Looking at what I could see, it was primitive, not something I would have seen in modern times but more medieval. Most of the stoves were made of clay, and the metal there was rusted as if it had not been used in a long time. In the middle of the room, a large stone table was probably where whoever lived here had their means prepared.

Exiting the room, I looked across the hallway and saw that I only had two rooms, one across from the kitchen and one across from the library. As it was closer, I turned my attention to the room across from the kitchen. Walking across the hallway, I came to the wooden door.

As I opened the door, it became apparent that this was a food storage room. Empty boxes and cloth bags with faded pictures of produce were all that remained in the room. Although any food that had been ravaged and rotted away long ago. Shutting the door, I turned my attention to the last room.

Open the last door. I got my hopes up high, but upon opening the door, I saw it was just an empty room with no windows or anything of interest.

“Probably just another storage room,” I said as I turned to exit the room.

Exiting the room and stepping outside the door, I felt my left foot give out from under me, sliding as a piece of rock flew out from under me. I began to fall to my side and started looking for something to help stop my fall; quickly, I grabbed one of the metal torch holders as the knife fell from my hand.

My fall stopped for a moment, but the sound of a *click* as the torch holder leaned slightly forward. Regaining my balance, I looked at the torch holder as the clicking sounds could be heard through the wall. Letting go of the torch holder, I could see a gear at the base where it connected to the wall.

As I stared at the torch holder, I heard the clicking stop before the large pillar that had separated the two rooms on the left started to slide down the wall. As the pillar slid down the wall, I could see a final door start to appear. All that remained once the pillar had slid down was the door behind it.

The door looked different from the others. It looked taller, almost as tall as the main door. Looking at the door closer, I could see that they were made of what was now rusted metal. Walking, I placed my hand on the door, only to fall apart in a mix of red dust and sand. I coughed as the dust filled my air, and I waved my hand to move the dust out of my way.

As the dust slowly fizzled out, I was left with a stairway leading deeper into the castle. Looking at the stairwell, I could see two flights of stairs: a normal one and one that looked like it was made for something bigger. The stairwell was also aligned with glowing gems that provided decent illumination for the stairs.

“Woah,” I said as I stared down the stairs.

I picked up the knife that had fallen from my grip when I almost fell. Turning around, the stairway curved down as a light blue came from the gems. Walking to the edge of the stairs, I felt curiosity as I looked down the stairs. What was down there? Why was this place hidden? I had to know.

As I took my first step down the stairs, each step brought me closer to whatever was down there. Each step took me lower and lower. Walking down, I noticed that the stairs were slightly smaller than my foot, so I had to focus on not slipping as I held the wall for balance. The glowing blue gems were beautiful. They almost looked like sapphires, but their shapes were different.

As I arrived at the bottom, I saw the room was pitch black. Knowing that my flashlight was out of order, I looked around momentarily before my gaze landed on the blue gem above me. Reaching up, I took the gem in my hand and started pulling to unwedge it from where it sat. The gem came out from its socket with a final pull and glowed in my hand.

I began to explore the room slowly, as the gem’s light only went so far, if I had to say, about seven feet. As I walked around the room, I realized it was some sort of ancient laboratory. Books were Scattered all around the room, some open, some closed. Walking closer to the books, I noticed one that stood out: a book with a golden cover on a wooden book stand.

Walking closer to the book, I saw large rocks at the edge of the light. Once I reached the book, I held the gem closer to it; it looked pristine, with no scratch or hint of age showing on it. Looking closer at the book, I saw the title, reading it aloud.

“’ Royal Book of Magic, Magical Artifacts, and Creatures’ sounds fancy,” I said as I went to pick up the book, noticing my hands were full.

Placing the knife back in my pocket before moving my hand to the book. Upon picking up the book, I saw my left handshake as it started glowing vibrant blue. Fear quickly set in, and I was worried that the book would have just become a big ice cube. But the book did not freeze; the blue glow from my hand started to wash over the book.

I watched as the book slowly levitated into the air, and my left hand continued to glow. Finally, my hand stopped glowing, and the book fell. Looking over the book, it looked the same, but it was giving off a familiar energy. Picking the book back up, my hand did not glow, nor did the book react.

When I opened the book to the first page, there was a picture of a sun and moon intertwined. Turning to the next page, it was empty, with nothing inside. Blinking, I turned the pages to see the same empty pages as the first. As I flipped through the pages, I noticed that no matter how deep I went, the book width did not change, like I was stuck on the first few pages.

“What the hell,” I said under my breath as I closed the book and placed it into my bag.

Why was the book empty? Why did my hand glow but not freeze this time? I would have to ponder these questions once I found someone who could help me.

I turned my attention to the Rocks just at the edge of the light. Walking closer, more rocks filled my vision. Upon nearing what could be the center, I could see a sphere suspended in the middle. Walking ever closer, I could see symbols carved into the sphere. Symbols that I did not understand.

The sphere was white, with a thin piece of gold metal surrounding the base. I raised the gem to eye level and looked at the sphere closer, feeling a surge of electricity shot from it.

My right hand began glowing vibrantly as I was forced to drop the gem on the ground. Without my control, it started moving toward the sphere. I attempted to use my left hand to stop by my right, but as my left hand neared the sphere, it joined my right hand.

As both my hands touched the sphere, a surge of energy drained from me as the blue glow from my hand intensified. Looking at the sphere, I could see the symbols start to glow brighter and brighter as my energy was drained.

“Let go of me,” I yelled as I tried to pull away from the sphere.

As I tried to pull away from the sphere, I could feel the drain slowly fade as the grip the sphere had on me lessened. With one final tug, the sphere let go of me, allowing me to regain control of my hand. I tried to grab the glowing gem on the floor, but the sphere released a wave of energy, blasting me away and leaving it under the sphere.

As I flew through the air, I landed in the stairwell that I had come down as my left leg was forced on the edge of the larger stairs, causing the bone to snap. I screamed in pain as I looked over my leg.

“Ahh Fuck not again!” I Screamed as I held the base of my leg.

Noise filled the room, and I could hear the rocks around the sphere begin to move. I watched as the rocks scattered around the room started to roll under the sphere. Slowly, the rocks began to form some kind of shape and build up into the sphere, with what appeared to be large vines coming from the sphere.

While watching, I felt something move in my backpack. I opened my bag and saw the golden book bouncing around as a light glow came from it. Taking the book out, I saw it open on its own. The book opened to a random page, and ink began to fill the page.

*Rock Golem*

Race: Artificial life

Size: 10 Feet

True name: “Metamorphic Construct”

Strengths: Size, strength, high physical defense, and bipedal body structure.

Weakness: Size, magical Core, speed, and magical weakness.

Rock golems are an artificial race that first came into being over one thousand years ago. They are comprised of igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic rocks and magical plants extruding from the golem's core.

Rock golems are considered highly unintelligent but loyal creatures who bond with those they deem worthy or are magically bound to.

Rock golems are commonly used for manual labor, such as farming or transportation. Due to their larger size and strength, the royal guard uses them to protect high-value areas on rare occasions.

***

When I finished reading, I could feel the bone in my leg as I placed the book back in my bag. Then, I felt something land on my chest with a thud. Looking at my chest, I could see that it was the gem.

*Thud*

Looking into the darkness, I could see nothing, as the only light that had been in the room had been given back to me. Panic set in as I knew something was now with me.

“U-u-uh, hello,” I said into the darkness.

*Thud*

*I mean no harm,” I said, still with no answer.

*Thud*

“P-P-Please don’t hurt me,” I said.

*THUD*

Covering my face with my hands as I shook with fear as the thing drew ever closer to me. What was it going to do to me? As I was cowering, I felt the heat that had plagued me last night starting to form where my leg bone had broken. I grinding my teeth in pain as the heat swelled in my leg.

*THUD*

I could hear it right before me; I could only wait. I couldn’t even run away because my leg was still broken. I was at the mercy of whatever this thing wanted to do to me, and if what that book said was true, I couldn’t even use the knife for protection cause this thing was just one big rock.

I waited for what felt like hours as nothing happened. Lowering my hands from my face and opening my eyes, I could see a bulky pair of legs made of vines and the rocks that had covered the room previously.

Grabbing the gem, I raised it as the figure came into more view. Its torso was about six feet wide if I have to say. The hands comprised four digits and a base, and the arms were marginally thinner than the body. But I could not see the face head as the light could not make it that far.

I could see the “golem” shift its weight as it lowered its body, allowing its head to shine in the light. Its head was made up of a large pile of small rocks. Two black holes with what appeared to be glowing blue orbs made up the eyes. They shifted, looking over my body as it lowered itself.

As it finally lowered itself to eye level with me, I could see it studying me before turning its head to look at my broken leg. It started to reach its hand out to me, grabbing my chest as it began to speak.

“Hurt,” the Golem said in a low voice.

It picked me up slowly and gently, holding me in one hand as my legs dangled. Slowly standing back up, exiting the dark room, and moving back toward the surface, all I could do was wait.

Author's Note

Woo chapter 2 I just want to say I had a blast writing this one and if you have any question on the chapter let me know. I love interacting with ya’ll

Chapter 1: Awakening

~~~~>>> Dr. Doppler<<<~~~~

“Paperwork: Why is it always paperwork?” I said to myself as I had just started filling out the paperwork from today's incident. I mean, how was I going to write it? Not every day does a human appear out of nowhere, let alone in the middle of Celestia’s daily royal court.

I straightened my wings, allowing them to stretch before placing them back onto my side. My mind could not clear itself of what had happened today and how bad the human looked. Closing my eyes, I could still see him lying on the pile of papers.

As I thought about it, it only made things worse. Usually, when a human appears, they appear alive, not like something akin to freezer burn with a metal toothpick inside. From what I heard from some of the nobles, the weirdest part was that he looked happy as he drew his last breath.

I know that freezing is not as painful as burning to death, but at least burring to death is quicker, just the thought of knowing you're going to die. I couldn’t think about it for long; It would have driven me crazy.

I had to get the paperwork done, or the head of staff would be on my plot. Unfortunately, I heard my door opening, a white aura around the handle, and one of the worst ponies I could have seen stepped in. A white unicorn male, Dr. Term

“I hear you got stuck with a unique case, Doppler. It’s not every day a human dies in the middle of the royal court,” said Term, his grey eyes filled with humor and curiosity. I looked up at him, annoyed that he could be enjoying this.

“I don’t see what the big deal is. It is just a human, a dead human at that.” I said, emphasizing my annoyance on the matter. Looking at Term, I could see a questioning look on his face, as if he were shocked at what I had said.

“Don’t see the big deal. Do you not realize that this is a human? We are talking about one of the rarest species in all of Equestria. I mean, they aren’t even native to this world. They show up out of nowhere. Do you even know how many are here? Term said. His eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his skull.

“Last I heard, it was about 1000 humans,” I said, looking at Term. Looking back down at my paperwork, I could hear him begin to talk again, annoying me as he did.

“That’s correct. Do you know how many ponies there are in Equestria? Almost 2.5 billion, which means that for every one human, there are at least 2.5 million ponies... they are nobility when they arrive,” Term said as he slammed his hoofs on my desk, causing me to jump slightly.

“Okay, I get it. You're excited, but he is dead, no longer breathing; his soul left him, and now all there is a slowly decaying corpse in the morgue. What would you want me to do with that? I know I want to get my paperwork done as soon as possible,” I asked angrily, my ear twitching. Term rolled his eyes as he began to speak.

“Come down to the morgue with me and see if Embalmer has found anything unique about his physiology or anything with that knife they found in him. It would help you with your paperwork if Embalmer found anything.” Term said, trying his best to keep a straight face.

“Fine, but only if it will help with my paperwork,” I said, placing my quill beside my paper. I slowly stood up from my seat, shaking the numbness off my legs from sitting too long before I walked around my desk right behind Term.

“Lead the way,” I said as Term smiled and began trotting through my open door and down the hall. I followed quickly behind him, not wanting him to get there before me.

~~~~>>><<<~~~~

“Ugh, why does your office have to be so far away from the morgue?” Term said; I chuckled in response.

“Oh, hush now, you big foal; we’ll be there any second now, so stop your complaining,” I said as we turned the corner and saw the morgue at the end of the hall. Clearing my thoughts, I looked at Term.

“I told you, but I’m laying out some ground rules before we enter. First, neither one of us will touch the body, only Embalmer. Second, we are there to get more information for my paperwork; anything else is not as important. Got it?” I said, looking at Term.

“Fine, I got it, but you’re no fun,” Term said, lowering his head as he spoke.

Looking back at the door, I saw Term’s white aura on the handle as the door slowly opened, and we were both hit with a blast of frigid air.

The air in the morgue was colder than usual, about 10 degrees colder than normal. I looked to the middle of the room and saw Embalmer with the human cut open down the middle. Embalmer was too focused on the inside of the human to notice that we had entered, so I decided to gain her attention.

“You know, you really should figure out what is going on with the temperature in the room. It feels like I am going to become an icicle,” I said with a cheeky grin.

I heard a startled noise coming from Embalmer's direction. The light brown unicorn mare lifted her head, her face covered in a mask and goggles, and placed her scalpel into a metal tray next to the human. She stepped away from the human as a light brown aura appeared on her mask and goggles, pulling them to the side.

“For Celestia's sake, you nearly gave me a heart attack. Doppler, Term, what can I help you with today?” Embalmer said, looking at me. As I was about to speak, Term cut me off.

“My goodness, why is it so cold here today?” Term said as a bit of mist left his mouth. Wondering the same thing, I waited for Embalmer to respond.

“I have no idea. It started about an hour after the human arrived. I think the frost enchantment in the room might need to be redone, but it is so hard to find any pony that is good with ice magic nowadays. We have to get this room reenchanted at least once a month,” Embalmer said as Term to speak again.

“Well, I know that pure elemental magic is a rare study for most unicorns due to its difficulty and unpredictability regarding the chosen element.” Term said before, both began looking at me, probably looking for the opinion of a pegasus.

“Don’t look at me. While we have basic control over the weather, we move things along quicker than they would have. The only ice magic that tends to be used nowadays is lowering the ambient temperature, allowing the water in rain clouds to freeze, and come down as snow,” I said as Embalmer’s eyes lit up at the words coming out of my mouth.

“Could a pegasus do it on a smaller scale, like a small morgue scale?” Embalmer asked, looking at me, her eyes widening at the possible solution to her problem. Shaking my head, I responded.

“Unfortunately, no, that kind of magic would not work on a scale this small. Also, it is meant for the weather, so it would not be as potent here.” I said, causing Embalmer to sigh in defeat before returning her gaze to myself and Term.

“I know you two didn't come here to discuss ice magic, and I have a good guess on why you made your way down here,” Embalmer said as she turned her head back to the human body lying in the middle of the room. I could see the human’s exposed ribs as he lay there.

“Were you able to find anything out of the normal while you were poking around in there?” I asked while pointing to the human. Embalmer turned to the human body and began to speak.

“I found a few things that stood out to me,” Embalmer said as her horn started to glow. She picked the scalpel up in her magic and pointed it at the human's bare skin as she began to speak again.

“For the most part, he died of hypothermia. As you can see, his skin is abnormally pale, almost as white as fresh snow. Then you have his extremities.” Embalmer said as she moved her scalpel from the human's bare white skin to the almost pitch-black hands.

“As you can see, his hands and feet no longer match the same color as his body, which I could only assume to be frostbite as it matches most of the characteristics, other than the lack of blisters and the speed at which it turned black,” Embalmer said as she moved the scalpel down to his feet. Before she could continue, Term began to speak.

“The lack of blisters could be because he is a human who knows how the cold affects them and why the speed of the skin change on his hands would be important?” Term said, looking at the human’s hands.

“From what I can determine from a past unlucky human that went through something similar with our weather that lived was that blisters are common, and the blacking of the skin takes around ten days on a live human, and he took less than six hours, and he is dead,” Embalmer said as the scalpel floated into the air. When a thought came to my mind

“Could it be possible that whatever magic brought him here could have accelerated the frostbite?” I asked Embalmer as she turned to look at me.

“It is possible, but I have no idea now as his body has not been scanned for any magical residue, and the specialist from Manehattan won’t be here till tomorrow. But back to the body,” Embalmer said as she pointed the side of the human's head.

“As you can see on the right side of his head, there appears to be some bruising akin to blunt force trauma. Whoever did this to him had him dazed for who knows how long,” Embalmer said as Term interrupted her.

“Why would you say that someone did this to him?” Term asked with a questioning look on his face. Embalmer moved the scalpel down to his right leg to where a gaping hole was.

“As you can see right here, there is a stab wound on his right leg. Looking at it, he was stabbed by someone else. By the angle and depth, I found the knife in his leg.” Embalmer said as she moved her scalpel above the gaping hole in the human's leg.

“So somepony tried to murder him by dazing him and then stabbing him in the leg?” Term asked, a look of horror on his face.

“Not exactly; from what I could tell, the human was able to slow the bleeding but not stop it and was able to walk a decent distance with the knife in his leg, wanting to survive, but ultimately, the blood loss and the quick build-up of hypothermia his what did him in,” Embalmer said as she lowered the scalpel back down to the metal tray.

“Dear Celestia, that sounds like a terrible way to go out,” I said, turning to look at the human again as Embalmer started speaking again.

“From what I can tell, due to the hypothermia and the shock from the blood loss, he was more than likely out of his mind, hallucinating for a decent amount of time before dying,” Embalmer said.

I thought that was probably what the nobles said: he smiled when he died. The poor human perhaps saw something that made him happy one final time. My train of thought was interrupted by term as he began to ask another question.

“Why is his cut down the middle, and what is that golden pendent around the human's neck?” term asked, looking at Embalmer for a reply.

“I had to check for any damage to his organs. As for the pendant, I tried to remove it, but it would not budge. No matter what I did to it, it would not move; I was able to get a picture of it though,” Embalmer said, a smile slowly building on Terms face as his horn started to glow and an aura appeared around the pendant.

“Here, let me try,” Term said as he tried to lift the pendant off the Human’s head, but the pendant would not budge. I turned my gaze, Looking angrily at Term.

“What did I tell you? We are here to ask questions, not touch. Now let go of the damn human's pendant,” I yelled at term as his horn stopped glowing and the pendant fell onto the human's neck. Term quickly looked to the ground, and a look of enlargement appeared on his face.

“Is there anything else I can help you two with today?” Embalmer asked as she approached a counter with two drawers on each side. I cleared my voice, shaking the anger I had used on Term off.

“Could I get a copy of your findings and the photo you took of the pendent for my paperwork?” I asked Embalmer as she opened the drawer. Sighing, she responded.

“Yes, that should only take a few minutes. If you would like to wait a moment, I will get that for you,” Embalmer said as she looked through the drawer for her paperwork when I heard Term behind us. Not wanting to look at him, he began to speak.

“So, what did you do with the items found on the human?” Term asked Embalmer as she continued to look through the drawers.

“I put his clothing, his bag, and the knife in a bag and placed that bag in the cabinet in the corner of the room. A guard should be coming to grab it any moment now to investigate the matter. Now, would you two be able to help me? I seem to have misplaced the human’s file,” Embalmer said as she continued to look.

Walking over, Term and I assisted Embalmer in searching for the human’s file. We searched for minutes before Term interrupted the nice silence. Sighing loudly, he began to speak.

“Sweat, Celestia. How hard is it to find a report?” Term sighed, causing Embalmer to let out a light laugh. I chose to ignore him.

As we were looking, I could have sworn I heard movement behind us, but I did not think of it as it could have been the guard that Embalmer had said was coming. As I heard the cabinet door open, I realized I had not heard the door to the morgue open.

I looked over to Embalmer and Term and saw they had also stopped searching; looking at each other, we all nodded and began to turn around to the sound of the noise.

~~~~>>>Jack<<<~~~~

Everything was cold. I couldn't feel the ground under me; I felt weightless like I was in the vacuum of space. I tried to open my eyes, but all I could see was blackness when I did. It was emptiness; no, it was more than emptiness. It was nothingness.

As I looked down, I could see my body; I was naked. Quickly, I moved my hands to try and cover my decency. I could feel the blood rushing to my face when I finally remembered what had happened to me.

I could feel the blood leave my face as it settled in the pit of my stomach. I had died. I wanted to vomit, but the feeling eluded me. Looking around, I wanted to know where I was.

I had heard different interpretations of the afterlife, but most sounded pleasant, overly warm, or just nothingness, no continuation, no more thinking, just nothing. But only some were true, as I was still thinking, just floating through nothing. I had to say something; maybe someone would hear me.

“Hello, can anyone hear me?” I yelled into the void, but I was only met with silence. I was alone in the dark, floating.

As I floated through the void, I could only think of what had happened to me. My deepest thoughts were forced to relive my death and the moment leading up to it. Who was that man? What did he promise my “friends,” and what did he mean I had to take responsibility for my family's actions?

Could he have meant my father? I barely knew my father. He died when I was four, but as far as my mother had told me, he was a good man who brought the best out in most. If it were my father, what could he have done that could have led to this? To that forest, to that man, to that unbearable cold, to my death.

As I continued to think, something caught my eye. It was the golden pendant that Mom had given me. I don’t know why I didn't notice it beforehand, probably because I was too flustered being naked. As I took the pendant in my hand, my vision was engulfed in whiteness.

As the whiteness faded, my heart sank to its lowest point. I was back in the forest. The snow still covered the ground, and the trees blocked all the littlest of light that could squeeze past.

Looking down, I could see that I was still naked, but what was weird was that I could feel the wind and the snow, but I couldn’t feel the cold around me. It was like I was standing in a firm, wet flour. Not wanting to think about it, I looked around for anything that would catch my eye, and as I turned around, I saw something.

A body. As I walked closer, the sound of snow crunching under my feet, the body became clearer and more recognizable. I was only five feet away when I realized the body was me. Walking ever closer, I arrived at the dead version of me.

Crouching down, I looked myself over. I looked awful. I could see how pale I was; I was almost as white as the snow around my body. Looking at my leg, I could see the knife impaled in my leg. Lastly, I could see I was smiling, and as I thought about why, I remembered the last thing I saw—my mother when the silence of the wind was broken.

“Unfair, is it not?” a male voice said behind me.

Quickly turning around, I saw a pale man who appeared to be in his late forties. He was dressed in a black suit with a red tie. His hair stood out the most; it was pitch black, but occasionally, it would twinkle like a stair in the midnight sky. As I stood there, only one thought came to my mind.

“Who are you?” I asked, looking up at the man as I crouched on the ground next to me. Looking down at me, the man smiled.

“I am Aurora. And I am here to offer you a deal, Jack,” Aurora said, looking at me. I was surprised he knew my name.

“How do you know my name? And what deal could you want to make?” I asked, looking at Aurora.

“I Have been watching you for a long time, Jack, and I must say what happened to you was not right. It should have never happened, so I am here to offer you a second chance.” Aurora said, the smile leaving his face. He looked at me for a response.

“Wait, wha…” I said as my mouth hung open. Was what he was saying there? Could he really be offering me another chance at life? I was so lost in thought that I barely heard him chuckle.

“Yes, Jack, I can return your soul to your body,” Aurora said. I could feel a smile form across my face, and I could live again. I wouldn't be trapped here with my dead body frozen in the woods. But before I could continue celebrating, Aurora spoke.

“I must warn you. Your body will still be, for the most part, dead. I can send the soul back, but there is little I can do to bring your body back to life.” Aurora said the words, shocking me as he spoke them.

What could he mean he couldn’t bring my body back to life? What would happen if I said yes? Would I be in the body of a corpse that would just rot away slowly? What would happen if I said no?

“What do you mean you can’t bring my body back? If I said yes, I won’t live long. I would just rot away until there was nothing left of me,” I said, looking at Aurora.

“I can promise you that you won’t rot away, decay, or even smell of death,” Aurora said, shifting his weight as the snow crunched beneath him.

“How can you promise me all that that’s not how reality works! Dead things rot and decay. It is how things work, and if you didn’t realize already, I’m dead!” I yelled at Aurora as tears began to form in my eyes.

Aurora pulled what looked like a handkerchief out of his suit pocket and held it in his hand. A bright green light appeared around the handkerchief, which began to float through the air before it finally stopped in front of my face.

The handkerchief floated before me like it was being suspended on a string. It took me a moment to realize that Aurora wanted me to take it. He probably saw the tears forming in my eyes.

As I took the handkerchief in my hand, the green light vanished, and the handkerchief had weight again, falling to the side of my hand. I brought the handkerchief to my eyes, wiping the tears away.

“Magic, my dear boy, it is everywhere around us, and I can use my magic to ensure you do not decay or rot away. I can make it so your body will repair itself as long as your soul still lives. But still, there are limitations to my magic,” Aurora said.

Was what he said true? Was magic really real? I had just seen it with my own eyes, but if what he said was true, why would there be limitations to magic?

“What do you mean by limitations?” I asked as I finished with the handkerchief, holding it at my side. Aurora looked down at the snow between us as he spoke.

“My magic can only repair what is there. If your arm vanishes, it is gone; whether it is burned to ash or vaporized away, it won’t return. But it can be repaired as long as the basic outline is there.” Aurora said.

“And if I say no,” I asked, wondering what would happen if I refused the offer.

“Well, if you refuse, you move on to an afterlife. Personally, I don’t know, which I have never been.” Aurora said, looking back at me, trying to read my face. But before I could answer, I had two more questions.

“Are there any side effects to placing a soul back into its body? Will I have a hard time moving my body? Will I look different?” I asked Aurora. Looking at Aurora's face, I saw he thought about my questions before speaking.

“I have no idea what will happen to you when I place your soul into your body. You could look the same as when you died or have a different hair color. For all I know, you could even start growing scales and breathing fire. All I know is that your soul is every soul's unique.” Aurora said.

As I considered what I had heard from Aurora, I wondered if I should. I remembered my options, and my mind drifted to my mother. And that is when I realized. The man who killed me said something about my family. Did that mean he was also after Mom, or was he just after me? God, I was so selfish about me that I forgot my mother.

I turned to look at the man who had been watching me. I looked at Aurora, and I saw that he had a look of concern on his face. He had to know if my mother was all right or safe.

“Aurora, I have one final question before I decide: who was the man that got me killed, and is he after my mother?” I asked, panicking about my mother. Aurora sighed as he spoke.

“I have little knowledge of the man that murdered you. He hides his tracks well. All I know is that you were his only target. Your mother seems to be fine at the moment. But I suspect that will change when she hears of you and your friend's disappearance in the coming week.” Aurora said his voice was light but heavy, like a ton of feathers.

I was glad to hear that my mother was safe, but what did he mean about me and my “friends” disappearing? They drove away; they didn’t disappear. And last I knew, I died five minutes away from town. I knew it wouldn’t be long before a search party found my body.

“What do you mean that we disappeared 'cause my body should still be in the forest and my “friends” dove away with the man? Why would you think they disappeared?” I asked Aurora.

“I do not know where you’re the man and your friends are. All I know is that they are no longer in your world. As for you, all I know is that when you died, your body ended up in another world to which I do not know.” Aurora said, his words cutting deep.

What did he mean by saying that my body was in a different world? Was it that bright light I saw when I took my last breath? Where did the others go? Where was my body? There were so many questions for a man who could answer none. So many questions, so few answers. But I did have an answer to the question that was before me.

“I’ll do it. I want to go back.” I said, looking at Aurora, a smile appearing on his face.

“Excellent, my dear boy, now this shouldn’t take too long,” Aurora said, his voice starting to crack, clapping his hands together.

Aurora’s hand began to glow the same green as the handkerchief. He pointed the palms of his hands to me, and the same green glow surrounded my body. I felt weightless, like when I arrived. I looked down to see that my body was gone, replaced with what appeared to be a light blue orb, something like a wisp from folklore.

Looking back at Aurora, I could see that he was looking at the ground as the light from his hand glowed ever brighter. Looking closer, I could see teardrops falling from his face. Why was he crying? Was he in pain? Looking slightly past Aurora, I could see the world start fading into the emptiness that it was before.

Only Aurora and I remained floating in nothingness when the world finally faded. Aurora looked different and more disheveled. The suit he had been wearing was replaced with a grey shirt and jeans. If I hadn’t known any better, I would think he had put up an act when talking to me.

“Please stay safe and enjoy your new life. I will always be watching my …” Aurora said, his voice still cracking under his breath. It did not sound the same as it had beforehand but sounded familiar, although I couldn’t place my nonexistent figure on it.

I was blasted away from Aurora at a fast speed. The last thing I saw from him was him on his knees, holding his face as his form slowly faded away.

I flew through the nothingness of the void for what felt like hours; I could only watch as close in the distance would appear and fade before I was blinded by so many colors and lights all webbing around each other while as quickly as they arrived, it faded.

My spirit orb slowed down as a new world formed before me. It looked quite different than anything I had ever seen, with so much color as the landscape changed and shifted before me. As I flew, my vision landed where I assumed I was going.

It looked like a thin but tall mountain, its peak above the clouds. As I flew closer, I saw that a castle and a small city hung off the mountain, its color-drenched in the background of the setting sun behind it.

Looking beneath the castle, I saw a large forest with a river flowing through it. Next to the forest was a small town that looked cozy. Finally, my vision faded as I neared the mountain city, and all I was left with was a cold feeling.

~~~~>>><<<~~~~

I felt my body slowly waking up, gathering my strength. I felt numb, like a full-body experience of an arm falling asleep. It felt weird; I couldn’t move my body, no matter how hard I tried.

I could hear voices around me; I couldn’t tell how many there were. My hearing and vision were only starting to come back. This was good because Aurora did not say how long it would take to return. Surely, it meant my other senses would soon follow, if not as slowly behind them.

I felt a pull on my neck while waiting for my body to regain itself. My neck and head were pulled into the air but were let go quickly as I heard a voice yelling louder than the other had been. I could only make out a few words.

“What … you… questions… go … pendant,” an older-sounding voice said, anger flaring in his voice. I could only hear snips of what they were saying, but at least I could understand them without a language barrier.

As I lay there waiting for my body to awaken, I could hear more and more of what the voices in the room were saying. As the voices spoke, I heard a woman say something that piqued my interest.

“... clothing, his bag, and … in a bag and placed that bag in the … in the corner of the room. A … should be coming to grab it any … now for their … into the matter. Now, would you … be able to help me? I seem to have misplaced … file.” The woman's voice said.

As the woman stopped talking, I opened my eyes. Everything was blurry initially but soon cleared as I stared at the ceiling. As I lay staring, the numbness that had plagued my body started to fade away. I could feel the tips of my fingers again and the back of my arms.

Slowly and shakily, I tried to raise my hands to look at them. It took me a moment to do so, but I nearly gasped in surprise when I did. My hands were pitch black, like I had dipped them in black paint, and my arms were as white as freshly fallen snow. Aurora said I might look different, but this was new. I slowly raised my head to try to see the rest of my body, but what I saw made me feel numb again.

I was cut down the middle. I could see my ribs exposed to the air. I looked like a frog on a dissection table. As I looked, I realized that I was not in any pain. My hands slowly made their way up, and I began to rub the exposed ribs. It was a weird feeling as my fingers slid across the ribs. It wasn't painful, just weird,

Looking past my ribs, I could see a few organs. My lungs expanded with each breath, but they looked slower. I then saw my heart. Looking at it, I could tell it was not beating; it lay still and motionless, but what happened next surprised me.

The skin, so precisely peeled apart, slowly began to fuse back together like someone was sipping me up like a jacket. The inside of my chest felt warm for a few seconds after my chest was sealed. As I ran my hand over my chest, I noticed that there wasn’t even a scar. It was like it was never there, to begin with.

I slowly raised the upper part of my body and looked at the rest of me. I was still as white as snow, save for my feet, which matched the color of my hands. Looking at my leg, I could see the stab wound from where the knife had punctured me, leaving nothing but a hole in my skin. I heard the shuffling of paperwork next to me, and what I saw was surprising.

I was looking at three colorful ponies. One was white, and something resembling a horn stuck out of its head. Looking to his right, a second pony was there. This one was dark blue with wings that hung on his sides. The last was brown with a horn like the first, although smaller than the other two.

I wonder what they were doing. They appeared to be looking through cabinets, trying to find something, when I heard the white sigh in anger.

“Sweat, Celestia. How hard is it to find a report?” the white unicorn spoke. Causing a feminine chuckle from the brown unicorn.

I could not believe it, talking ponies and ones from mythology, no less, standing before me. After what felt like minutes, I turned my gaze from the three ponies and began to look around the room. I was in a morgue on what appeared to be an autopsy table. That would have explained the cut in my chest, but why, if this was a morgue, why wasn’t it cold? It felt more average than anything.

I continued to look around the room before my gaze leaned to the corner. It appeared to be another cabinet, only larger than the others. As I looked at it, I remembered what was said about items being placed in a cabinet in the corner of the room. I believe my clothing and bag had been placed there.

I slowly moved my legs off of the autopsy table and gently lowered my legs to the ground. I tried to apply weight to my legs, but they slightly wobbled, not having been in use for how long I was dead.

Slowly, my legs stopped wobbling, and I could support my weight. But with every step, I could feel the hole in my right leg. Looking at it, I could see it was still there. It hadn’t healed like the hole in my chest had, maybe because I got it when I was still alive. I would have to worry about it later; I had to get my stuff right now.

I made my way to the cabinet. It was slightly smaller than I was. Upon opening it, I saw a clear bag with what appeared to be my clothing, bag, and something else. I grabbed the bag, feeling the contents inside. I closed the cabinet, turning around to see all three ponies staring at me, each with a different expression.

“Uh… hello,” I said, fear filling my voice as I looked at the three ponies before me.

The brown unicorn screamed as she fainted, falling to the ground hard. The blue pegasus looked at the brown unicorn and then me. Fear filling his eyes, he grabbed the unconscious unicorn and began to speak.

“Term Follow me!” The blue pegasus yelled as he and the brown unicorn flew through the doors at the room's entrance. The white unicorn ran quickly behind them, leaving me alone in the room.

I did not expect that reaction, but about 10 minutes ago, I was a dissected corpse; I would have had the same reaction. Heck, I’ve seen horror movies before where a corpse comes back from the dead and attacks. I don’t blame them for running; it was probably scary as hell.

I was alone in the room, looking down at the bag. I began to look through it, and it held my clothing that I had died in the right pant leg covered in dried blood. When I opened my bag, from a glance, it did not look like anyone had touched the inside of it.

As I set my clothing and bag on the table where I had been lying, I could feel one last item in the bag. Looking at the bottom of the plastic bag, I saw the knife, the same knife used to stab me, the same knife that the man had used to kill me.

Looking at the bottom of the bag, I felt nothing but rage and hate. My body shook at the sight of it. The thing used to kill me!

As I stared at the knife, I felt a coldness in my hand that I had never felt before. I pulled my view from the knife to see that the plastic bag had nearly been covered in ice. I dropped the bag in shock, and as it fell to the ground, it shattered, allowing ice shards and the knife to cover the ground.

“What the fuck!” I said to myself as my body continued to shake at what had happened before looking down and back at my hands, only to realize that I was still naked.

Panicking, I grabbed my clothing and placed it on myself. Luckily, it did not turn to ice. Turning my attention back to the knife. I had a war with myself, whether to take it or leave it. I thought for a long moment when I heard a noise outside the door. Looking down, thinking “fuck it” to myself. I grabbed the knife quickly, placing it in my pocket before I went to check the noise.

As I made my way to the door. I could hear the noise from outside. It sounded like it was coming from the right. I opened the door and looked down the right hallway, seeing a group of armor-clad ponies running in my direction.

I did not know their intention; they were most likely guards at the castle I saw on my way here, which meant I was probably in the castle as well. Looking in the other direction, I saw the hall was empty. I did not know what these guards wanted from me.

Panic set over me. I didn’t know if they wanted to capture and dissect me again. Maybe they wanted to keep me in a cage to experiment on me. Or put me back to rest; not wanting to find out, I ran in the other direction down the empty hall. As I was halfway down the hall, I heard one of the guards yell.

“Stop!” a gruff male voice yelled at me. But I was no longer listening. Panic had fully set in, and I continued to run.

I had made it to the end of the hall when I felt a pull on my leg. Looking down, I could see a light orange aura around my left pants leg. I was slowly being pulled towards the group of ponies. Looking at the group, I saw they had stopped running and were waiting next to a unicorn with its horn glowing the same color as the aura around my leg.

“No, no, no, “I said to myself as I was dragged closer and closer to the ponies.

Looking at my leg, I waved my hand through the aura, frantically trying to find a way out. I moved my hand through the aura, which felt like thicker water. When I was about ten feet from the crowd of armored ponies. I almost gave up when I felt the coldness in my hand come back.

Not thinking, I passed my hand through the Aura, causing it to freeze, stopping the pull on me. Looking at the group of ponies, I saw that the unicorn had fallen backward into the group. Looking back at my leg, there was a light orange ice shackle around it.

“What the?” One of the guards spoke, looking at the unicorn.

Not one to waste my chance, I got back on my feet and continued my escape from the guards. It wasn’t long before I heard what sounded like hooves behind me.

The guards continued to chase me through what looked like a hospital, but at the moment, I wasn’t sightseeing; I was running for my life... un-life. As I ran, I saw new ponies appear in the way; some had horns, some had wings, and some had neither, and as I ran, they would either move out of the way for the chase or quickly hide in a side room.

Every once in a moment, I would hear one of the guards tell me to stop or that I was making it worse for myself, but I was too panicked to listen or respond. I had dug my hole deeper, and if I could, I would not be the one buried in it.

As I ran through the hallways, dodging ponies that got in my way and the guards trying to catch me, I finally saw an exit at the end of the hall. I didn't want to waste my opportunity, so I bolted for it, slamming my way through.

I was blinded by sunlight shining through windows just outside the door. Looking around, I saw that the décor had changed. It was no longer a hospital; it looked much more formal, but I did not have time to take in the story. I was still being chased.

I turned left and continued to run down this new set of hallways, my bare feet smacking on the glossy floor as I ran. It wasn’t long after I heard the doors to the hospital barge open, and the group of guards that had been chasing me resumed their pursuit.

I continued to run from the guards as more showed up and continued to give chase. Looking back, I saw that around twenty ponies were chasing me. At that point, I knew the ass-whooping I would get if I were caught would be legendary. As I thought, one of the guards started to yell at the others.

“It's heading to the throne room. Protect the princesses,” a female guard said as she flew through the air behind me, followed by another guard speaking.

“This is your last chance to stop peacefully, human!” a guard yelled.

I was still panicking, but I knew I had to respond. Maybe if they heard me, they would stop chasing me.

“Sorry, no, can do. I have no idea what you all plan to do to me. For all I know, you all will dissect or experiment on me,” I yelled.

“We mean you no harm,” another guard yelled. I Turned my head to look at the guards.

“If you meant me no harm, then wh…” was all I could say as I tripped and began to tumble.

I had not been looking where I was going, and a female pony had walked out from behind a corner and had stopped, frozen in fear. We tumbled for a moment before I heard a crash, and I felt sunlight on me, a sharp pain in my hand, and weight on my leg.

Looking at my hand, I saw that it was impaled on a sharp piece of glass. Looking down, I saw a light blue pony hanging onto my leg. She did not have a horn or wings and was dressed in what looked like a housekeeper’s outfit.

“d-d-don’t let go,” she said. I could hear fear in her voice as she clenched my leg even harder.

Looking at my hand, I could see the glass starting to break. I knew the glass would break soon, and we would fall if nothing could be done. Looking at my hands, I tried to make that coldness come back to my impaled hand. Maybe if I froze the glass, it would stop breaking, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t freeze the glass. Looking down at the pony, I knew I had to do something. I thought for a moment before an idea popped into my mind.

“Trust me,” I said as I grabbed the pony with my non-impaled hand.

The pony fought for a second before quickly giving up. I placed her on my arm. I could feel her shaking as I prepared myself, knowing I only had one chance to save her.

I began to swing back and forth, gaining momentum as I heard the glass continue to break with each swing of my body. With one final heave, I threw the pony through the window, hearing a crash and multiple groans when I did.

I didn’t have a chance to celebrate what I had done when the glass finally broke from my hand. I could feel the pull of gravity on me as I started to fall.

“Fucking hell!” I yelled as it fell through the air.

Everything was in slow motion. Looking up, I saw the pegasus that had yelled about princesses trying to fly, but her right wing looked bent like it had been injured; probably, when I threw the pony through the window, it got her. It looked like she was trying to fly to me, but she couldn’t control herself and barely hovered in place. A grey aura surrounded her as she was pulled back through the window.

Turning my gaze, I looked towards the approaching ground. I could hear so many thoughts in my head; they were overwhelming. Finally, I saw stars in my vision, and whiteness took over. I began to faint. The last thing I heard was trees snapping.

Author's Note

Fun fact about last chapter the MREs that are in Jack’s bag are menus 11,18,19 cause there my favorate

Also also thank you for reading I appreciate it and I hope to post more soon

Chapter 3: A Savor

We ascended the stairway slowly. With each step, I squirmed as the golem held me in one hand, and the heat in my leg intensified. I could feel the bone moving on its own again, trying to line itself up with the other half of my bone.

I looked at the golem, and I must say this thing was tall. I could tell it would tower over me quite a bit, even if I weren't being carried. Its grip was tight, but not tight enough to hurt me, just enough to hold me. As we ascended, I could feel the warm autumn breeze start to wash over me, carrying with it the scent of fallen leaves. It felt good.

The light slowly appeared behind me as we continued up the stairs. Turning my head to look towards the light, I was blinded as my eyes tried to adjust to the difference in lighting. As we stepped through the large doorway, my eyes finally adjusted, allowing me to see that we were back in the large hallway I had been in beforehand.

The golem momentarily looked around before walking to the door leading into the common room. The golem opened the door and crouched down slightly as the door was too small for him. The golem carried me to the middle of the room before lowering me next to the stone holder.

“Easy, Easy,” I said as the golem placed me on the floor.

The golem let go of me, releasing its grip on my torso, when a loud pop came from my leg. I sighed in relief as the leg finally fixed itself, leaving only the soreness behind. Looking at the golem, I could see it standing over me before it crouched down to sit. It observed me for a moment before speaking.

“No broke.” The golem said cocking his head to the side.

“Uh yeah, my leg is all fine now,” I said as I lifted my leg into the air and bent it.

The golem leaned in closer as if to study my leg. It began to reach out to grab my leg. Surprised by its sudden action, I pulled my leg back, causing the golem to pull its hand back quickly. Looking at me, the golem shifted its body from my sudden movement.

“Sorry, you startled me a little. “I said, looking up at the golem.

“Scary?” The Golem asked, causing me to look at it in surprise.

Standing up, I slowly began to walk over to the golem, one step at a time. This thing was big and strong. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing in case I somehow made it mad. As I was within arm's reach, I slowly raised my hand and started patting him on the arm, realizing that this thing wouldn’t harm me, at least not on purpose.

“Easy there, big guy, there's no need to be upset. You startled me, not scared me. Do you have a name, something that I can call you?” I asked, causing the golem to shake its head.

“I no name,” it said, causing me to frown.

“What do you mean you have no name? Everyone has a name,” I said, looking at the golem.

“Maker and master, no name.” the golem said.

I thought to myself momentarily, as I knew I couldn’t call it Golem or it anymore; it was probably rude. A few names, like Stone, Bolder, or even Fred, came to mind. But ultimately, none of them fit the golem I was staring at. Eventually, one came to mind that reminded me of my world—one of the wonders of the world—Stonehenge.

“Hey, buddy, if you want a name, I can give you one,” I said, causing the golem to look at me, the blue flames widening its eyes.

“Name?” The golem asked, tilting its head to the side, causing me to smirk a bit.

“Yeah, I think I’ll call you Stonehenge from now on. It’s a special place from where I am from,” I said.

I looked at Stonehenge as it looked at its own hands, clapping them together like a happy child before raising its Right hand. I watched it slowly glide above my head, and I froze momentarily as Stonehenge gently patted me on the head. With each pat, I could feel the strength behind the gentleness, a reminder of its immense power. It was as if he could force his hand down at any moment, and I could look like a blueberry pancake.

“I, Stonehenge,” he said, patting me like a dog.

“Easy there, big guy. I know you are happy, but my leg still hurts a bit, so go easy on me.” I said as Stonehenge began to pat me less.

As I looked at Stonehenge, the setting sun blinded me. It was about to be dark out in a forest filled with wood-made wolves, and who knew what else could be lurking around? I would need to make a fire for us so we could have some way to protect ourselves or at least be able to see what was coming. I say we only had an hour or so to prepare.

We would need wood, a new flint for my broken flint, and steel. I saw a few dead-looking trees during my chase with the wood wolf. I could have Stonehenge carry the wood while I searched for a flint, but that would involve leaving the castle and entering the danger-filled forest again.

Looking over to Stonehenge, I could see that he was starting to pick up on my worry, which caused him to stand. He began to walk over to me, worried about my worry about the situation. With each step he took, I could feel the ground shake.

“Why worried?” Stonehenge asked me.

“Because the sun is setting, and we need to start a fire to stay safe, and we need wood and a special black rock called a flint, both found in the forest outside, and I don’t have a good track record with forests right now,” I said as I paced around, panicking. The thought of going back outside filled me with dread.

Stonehenge looked at me momentarily before grabbing me by the chest again, causing me to squirm. He crouched through the small door and carried me back into the hallway. Grabbing me with both of his large hands, he began to raise me over his head before gently placing me on his back. As I held onto his back, I felt little platforms start to form on his back, allowing me to stand and look around without using great effort to hold on.

“Safe,” Stonehenge said as he turned his head to look at me.

“Safe,” I said as I felt Stonehenge move toward the castle door.

Upon arriving at the door, Stonehenge began to pull the door, opening it as the view of the forest came more into view. When the door was fully open, Stonehenge began to walk through the threshold of the forest, making me hold onto him tighter.

“Okay, okay, I saw a dead tree about five minutes away from here. Just follow the path and look out for big boulders or gravel. That is where we have the best chances of finding some flint.

Stonehenge nodded as he slowly began to walk down the path. With every step he took, I saw the ground shake below him. I still felt like I was being watched but more Cautious, as if Whatever was watching me was also watching Stonehenge.

We walked for about two minutes when I saw some broken rocks lying on the side of the path just ahead. Tapping on Stonehenge’s shoulder to get his attention, I pointed at the stones lying on the side.

“Those rocks are a good start for what we are looking for. When we get close, put me down so I can look over them. Then, just please make sure to watch so nothing gets me.” I said as Stonehenge gave a little nod in response.

As we neared the rock, Stonehenge raised his arms to grab me and put me on the ground. As he grabbed me, I was quickly placed on the ground beside the rocks. Walking over to the rocks, I looked through them for the peace of flint I needed. I spent a good five minutes looking through leaves and wrong rocks before finding a piece big enough to stick on the steel without it breaking. I placed it in my bag, away from anything that would break it this time.

Turning back to Stonehenge, I saw him staring off into the distance. Walking closer, I tapped him on his leg, signaling I was done. Looking closer at the bushes, I saw something inside as he began to lower himself and grab me again. I was placed on his back as he slowly began to back away from whatever was in the bushes.

“Are you okay?” I asked Stonehenge.

“Bad kitty,” Stonehenge said as the bushes continued to shake.

As Stonehenge backed away, I saw a male lion walking out of the bushes. The lion's size was massive—it had to be as tall as me. It had bat ears, wings, and what looked like a scorpion's tail. I watched as it looked both of us over before roaring louder than any lion I’d heard and walked away, probably realizing that if it wanted me, it would have to fight Stonehenge.

“Big Kitty,” I said under my breath as Stonehenge walked away.

Once Stonehenge felt safe, he slowly turned around, his eyes scanning the surrounding area for any signs of danger. We continued down the narrow path toward the old, dead tree I had spotted earlier. As we walked, the vibrant autumn leaves gently floated down from the trees. It would be beautiful if it weren’t for the constant danger this place was putting me in.

As we neared the thin, dead tree, I saw it was dried out despite the humidity in the air. At about 20 feet tall, give or take, it was twice the size of Stonehenge. There were no leaves or branches on the tree. Looking at Stonehenge, I pointed at the tree, and he nodded in response.

“Okay, Stonehenge, break it and grab as much as you can carry,” I said.

I watched Stonehenge Walk over to the tree before he started to push on it. I watched as I heard the tree begin to bend, and the wood started to snap at the base. I knew that Stonehenge was Strong, but wow, and to think he gently carried me up that stairway.

With one final push, the tree started to fall. The sound of wood splintering as it did filled the air as it landed with a loud thud. I watched Stonehenge walked over to the bottom of the tree, picked it up with a grunt, maneuvered it so that it was under his arm, and started dragging it back down the path to the castle.

“Ha. Man, you just grabbed all of it,” I laughed.

As we continued back to the castle, I noticed that it was starting to dimmer faster than expected, and then what was possible, like the sun, was being pushed down before schedule. I estimated the sun would set at this rate in less than ten minutes. That meant we had to return to the castle and start a fire in less than ten minutes or be caught in the dark. If I had a heartbeat, it would be racing.

I waited as Stonehenge walked slowly to the castles. As time passed, the ambient light around us diminished even more. I would need Stonehenge to stay outside for a moment and break the tree up to have fuel for the night's fire.

“Ok, Stonehenge, when we get to the castle, crouch down a bit so I can just jump off, then after that start to break the tree up a bit so we can burn the wood tonight, you understand, big guy?” I asked.

“Turn tree little,” Stonehenge responded.

“Yeah, turn tree little,” I said as we neared the castle.

Once we were at the castle door, Stonehenge bent down, allowing me to jump off him. Landing on my feet, I sprinted into the castle's library, grabbing the glowing gem out of my bag and using it to try to find the most damaged book. One, I found a book that was damaged beyond repair. I took it to the common room, setting the gem aside. I opened the book and tore out blank and faded pages, stacking them to allow me to make a fire.

Grabbing the flint and steel from my back, I began striking them together as sparks flew. I felt the ground shake behind me as I saw Stonehenge set a pile of broken logs beside me as I continued to strike the flint and steel together. With one final strike, I saw some start to come from the paper. Setting the flint and steel down, I blew gently on the paper as a few flames grew.

Grabbing a few sticks, I set them slightly above the little fire, adding wood chips to help it grow. After minutes of watching the fire grow, I could see that it was stable enough to add a log or two.

Walking over, I grabbed the flint and steel along with the glowing gem and placed them in my bag before walking over to the log pile and grabbing a few more logs. I put the logs in the fire, watching the flames engulf them.

“There we are, a nice fire to help ward off anything that tries to wander too close. I hope,” I said as I smacked my hands together.

As I looked into the fire, I heard a noise coming from my stomach, along with a little bit of pain. I was hungry, and I guess I still had to eat even though I was not alive. Reaching into my bag, I pulled out one of my MREs. Looking at the cover, I saw that it was a beef patty. Grabbing my water bottle, I tore open the MRE and followed the directions.

Inside the MRE were a beef patty, tortillas, cheese spread, cheesy potatoes, and a Cookie. Dumping them all onto the floor, I grabbed a beef patty and cheesy potatoes and placed them into the heater, pouring water and propping on a rock as it started to heat.

As I waited for my food to cook, I began to think over my long day. I had been up since the middle of last night and was tired, but I had not had a moment to rest. I woke up as a crash test dummy, walked around for hours, was chased by wood wolves exploring the castle, and got my leg broken. Making a new friend, naming said friend. And our little wood and stone trip. I was sitting and toning down a bit, and everything felt a little heavy.

I looked into the fire as its lights danced wildly and aimlessly. I turned my attention to Stonehenge, sitting on the opposite side of the fire, watching it intently. What was he thinking about? Maybe I could use this time to get to know him better.

“You doing okay, Stonehenge?” I asked.

Stonehenge did not look up from the fire as he spoke, “Fire Dancing.”

“Yeah, it is,” I said as I looked at the fire before speaking again. “So, what is your story? You said you had a Master. Who were they, and what happened?” I asked.

Stonehenge looked up momentarily as his eyes moved slowly from side to side before speaking, “Made to be obedient, made to serve, made for moon.”

“You were made for the moon, or someone called moon?” I asked.

“Nether,” Stonehenge said as his eyes returned to the fire. “She was Sun's sister.”

“So, your Master, were the sun and moon?” I asked as I grabbed my freshly heated beef patty and started to eat.

“Just moon,” Stonehenge said.

I thought for a moment, as I knew I had seen the sun and moon somewhere when it hit me. When he said sun and moon, did he mean the two ponies with horns and wings I had seen on the banners in the hallway? Was his Master the blue one?

After finishing my patty, I turned to my cheesy potatoes. Looking back at Stonehenge, he was no longer looking into the fire but out at the broken glass windows. Turning my head, I saw the beautiful, bright, and vibrant moon.

“Was she your creator or just your Master?” I asked as I took a bite of my potatoes.

“Just Master,” Stonehenge said as he continued to look at the moon.

“If she was your Master, why aren’t you with her anymore?” I asked.

“Master sent away,” Stonehenge said.

“Where did she go?” I asked as I placed the finished potatoes next to me.

“Moon fight sun. Sun sent moon away,” Stonehenge said.

“Your Master was sent away,” I asked as I looked out the window at the moon.

“Yes,” Stonehenge said as he looked towards me.

“Well, if your master is gone, how did I find you downstairs in the darkroom?” I asked.

“I remember not,” Stonehenge said before raising his hand to his core before speaking again, “blasted by bolt. Core fell, bright light shoots to sky, everything faded.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. How long were you down in the darkroom?” I asked.

“I no know,” Stonehenge said as he lowered his hand from his core, resting it on the ground beside him.

“All I found was your core down in the dark room. What made you wake up then? I asked as I grabbed my cookie and began to eat it happily.

“Woke to new magic flowing, I bound to new master,” Stonehenge said as he pointed to me.

I choked on my cookie, coughing at what I heard from Stonehenge. What did he mean by a new master? What did he mean by new magic? I knew that freezing stuff had to have been magic, but for him to say he was bound to me that I was his new master, I couldn’t believe it.

“M-M-Me, your master,” I stuttered in disbelief at Stonehenge as he nodded in agreement.

“Master now,” Stonehenge said, still pointing at me.

I panicked for a moment. How could I be his master? I am or was just a human. I didn’t need a servant, some guard, or whatever he could be. All I needed was a friend, someone who would try to kill me intentionally. All I needed was someone who could watch my back and someone I could do the same. Even if he was bound to me, I wanted him to be my friend.

“Look, Stonehenge, I don’t want to be your master; I want to be your friend. I need someone who I can trust, someone who can look out for me, and someone who I can do the same. I know you said we were bound, but that doesn’t mean I’m not your master and you're not my servant or whatever; I want you to be my friend,” I said as I put my hand up to shake his hand.

Stonehenge looked at his hand for a moment before raising it and grabbing it with two fingers before speaking, “Friends.”

Letting go of his hand, I sat back down, adding a few logs to the flame and letting it grow slightly. I looked down at my hands and thought briefly about what Stonehenge had said about magic. I closed my eyes as I pictured the glow and the coldness. Opening my eyes, I saw my hands glowing the light blue. My hands felt cold momentarily before fading slightly as the light dimmed away.

As the light dimmed, I felt my bag bounce again, like it had when Stonehenge started to wake up. I opened my bag and saw the book glowing light blue like my hands. Opening the book, it did not open to any detailed page like before but to a glossary. The glossary had four index pages: Stone Golems, Unicorn Magic, Elemental Magic, and Winter’s Grasp.

“Magic” was all I could say as the pages turned to the magic section.

~~~~~

Magic

Description magic is the baseline for our world, as every living creature has some form of magic inside them. Still, unicorns and some other species can manipulate that magic.

Unicorn magic is usually grown through training, practice, and focus as one ages. Magic can be used in many ways, from moving objects to teleportation. The only limit to one's magic is one's natural baseline and the amount of effort given.

Although, as said before, some species other than ponies can manipulate magic like unicorns, more cannot. Below are known species that do and do not use unicorn magic.

Known magic using species.

Unicorns

Alicorns

Discord

Changeling

Known non-magic using species.

Earth ponies

pegasus ponies

buffalo

griffins

dragons

humans

~~~~~

“Humans don’t have magic,” I said as I looked at my hand.

If that was true, then what was I doing when I froze stuff or when I woke Stonehenge? Was I still human? I mean, I had the form of a human, but all the things that I could do, I knew I was dead. As far as I knew, even a dead human shouldn't be able to do magic, so what am I? My eyelids felt heavy.

I rubbed my fingers on my eyes before speaking, “God, this is all too much for how long I’ve been awake.” Turning to Stonehenge, I pointed at the logs, saying again,” I'm going to sleep now. Please ensure the fire doesn’t go out, and if anything happens, wake me up, or we'll take turns when you want to sleep.”

“No Slumber,” Stonehenge said.

“Well, okay, try not to hurt yourself while I rest, big guy,” I said.

Stonehenge nodded in response as I lay down on the stone floor, feeling the warmth of the fire next to me. My eyelids felt heavier than stones. As they slowly closed, everything went black, and a sense of sleep finally washed over me.

~~~~>>><<<~~~~

As my mind came to, I saw a light shining on my eyes and felt a softness beneath me. Feeling the ground, I felt cloth on my hands, and as I opened my eyes, I could see I was back in my room. Looking at my hands, I noticed they were no longer pitch black but a warm flesh color.

Jumping out of bed, I ran to my bathroom, turned on the light, and looked in the mirror. I was no longer a pale snow white, and my hair was no longer silver but red again. I looked like me—like a normal human.

“Was it all just a dream?” I said as I continued to look at myself in the mirror.

Pulling myself away from the mirror, I left my room and looked out my window. No snow was on the ground, but green grass and blooming trees; it was spring. Looking toward the driveway, I saw my mother struggling with groceries.

“Mom,” I said as I watched for a moment. She appeared to be struggling with the groceries and would need help.

I turned around and opened my door, running downstairs to the front door. Before opening the door, I put on a pair of shoes, allowing the warm breeze to wash over me. I ran over to my mom, who was losing her grip on catching a bag full of food.

“I got you, Mom,” I said, looking at her as she smiled warmly before speaking again. “You should call me next time. I am more than willing to help.”

“I'm Sorry, sweety. You were asleep when I left, and I didn’t want to wake you, " my mother said.

“It's fine. I said I had to wake up at some point. I was having the wildest nightmare,” I said as I turned away from my mother and started to walk back toward the house door.

“I know, Jack. I want you to know I love you and want what's best for you, so please stay safe with your rock friend,” my mother said.

I froze momentarily at what she said, and a cold breeze flew past me. Turning around, I could see that my mother was gone, and dark storm clouds were in the air, dropping snow on the ground. Dropping the grocery bag on the ground and sprinting back to my door as the snow fell harder.

When I arrived at my door, it was stuck closed as I desperately tried to pull it open. As I pulled on the door with all my might, I failed to notice the footsteps behind me. Finally, I opened the door and found the snow cover clearing where my camping trip had taken me. Not wanting to go into the door, I turned around to see the bald man standing behind me.

“Sorry, dead man, nothing personal,” the bald man said as he kicked me in the gut, forcing me through the door before shutting it.

I was back in the one place I didn’t want to be, where everything went down and where I was left to die. Why did it have to be here? Why this fucking forest? Why was I back here?

I walked over to one of the fallen trees and leaned against it before falling to the floor. I brought my hands to my eyes and started to cry, letting the cold air blast my body as the tears fell from my face. As I cried my heart out, I heard footsteps in the snow walking towards me. I did not even bother looking up from my hands, figuring it was some other thing to teach me as I cried.

“P-Please st-o-op I-I can’t d-do this any-m-more,” I pleaded, my voice cracking from my crying.

The footsteps stopped for a moment before a firm but caring, feminine voice spoke to me. “Then wake up, little one.”

I felt a burning sensation in my chest. It was hot, like a fire had been placed on my chest, burning it away. My eyes still closed in pain; I grabbed my chest, feeling around before I found the source of the heat, only to find the pendant burning my hand when I touched it.

“Make it stop, MAKE IT STOP!” I yelled as I felt the coldness in my hands return as everything became brighter.

~~~~>>><<<~~~~

“Ahh fuck!” I yelled as I quickly raised my torso, grabbing my chest and breathing.

The pain from the pendant was no longer there, so I sat there, allowing myself to relax from the nightmare I had just had. As my breathing slowed, I saw the sun rising over the horizon. Looking to my right, I could see the fire and Stonehenge sitting behind it, looking at me, tilting his head.

“Friend, okay,” Stonehenge asked.

“Yeah, I think I had a nightmare. God, it was so vivid, like I was actually there,” I said as I rubbed my face.

Dropping my hands to my side, I looked where I had stopped to see small patches of ice covering the floor. I probably froze the ground when I was having my nightmare. Standing up, making sure not to slip on the ice patch on the floor, I looked at the fire. It was small but still going as I added more logs from the much smaller wood pile.

“How was last night after I fell asleep? Did anything happen?” I asked Stonehenge.

Stonehenge shook his head before responding, “Quiet, but you moved in sleep like in pain.”

“Yeah, like I said, I had a really bad nightmare,” I responded.

“Nightmare?” Stonehenge asked.

“Yeah, a bad dream. I saw my mother, but that was short-lived, as she disappeared, and I was taken back to the place that led to me coming here,” I said.

“Where chest stopped beating?” Stonehenge asked.

My eyes widened at what Stonehenge said. How did he know that I was not alive? How long did he know? It was probably when he was carrying me from downstairs. I knew I didn’t look normal, but still, I could just say I had a bad skin condition.

“How did you know?” I asked.

“When awoken, no beat come from friend,” Stonehenge said.

“Ha, so you knew from the start,” I said as my shoulder lowered.

“Yes,” Stonehenge said cocking his head to the side.

I thought to myself what this meant. As far as I knew, the only people who knew of me being dead were those three ponies and maybe the guards who had chased me. Although I could assume that if those guards were anything like a military, it was probably being kept secret, but that is only an assumption. Stonehenge knows about me, and I want to keep my condition secret. I don’t want anyone to know unless they need to.

“Okay, Stonehenge, I trust you, but I want you to promise me that you won’t tell anyone about me being well dead. I want to be able to tell them unless something bad happens to me, and they need to know; then you can explain, okay,” I said.

“Okay, me not say anything,” Stonehenge said.

“Good, good, thank you, big guy,” I said as I breathed a sigh of relief.

I looked at Stonehenge for a moment before returning to the fire. I had known him for a day, and I was having him keep this secret, but to be fair, I did trust him with my life last night, and I know he doesn’t talk very well. Maybe he could keep this a secret.

“Okay, what should we do today,” I said aloud.

Stonehenge surged, his shoulders being no help. I thought of what we might need today. Wood was no issue at the moment, thanks to last night, but I need to head back to that river and top off my water supply. And with Stonehenge, nothing should bother us, but we will be a little slower.

Food was also a worry now. I only had two days left of food, so finding something edible would also be a priority. Lastly, there was the matter of where the rest of the path would take us. Would it just be a meaningless path, or would it take us out of the forest or lead us to civilization? Would we even have enough time for all that today?

“Okay, first things first, we must figure out food and water. I entered the forest through a river on the edge of this forest that covers water but food. I did not see anything edible, but at the same time, I had not been looking. So, the plan is to head to the river and get water while looking for food,” I told Stonehenge.

“Go to river and look for food,” Stonehenge mimicked to the best of his ability.

“Yes, also, if we have time, I want to go the other way in the path to see if we find anything notable,” I said.

“Okay,” Stonehenge responded.

“Okay, let's start our day,” I said as I started to walk to the door.

As I entered the hallway, I could feel the ground shake as Stonehenge crouched under the door. Once Stonehenge was in the hallway, we made our way to the door opening, allowing the sunlight to rest upon us.

“Carry?” Stonehenge asked me.

“Not yet, bud. I’ll stay near, and if anything happens, I'll yell for you to pick me up,” I said.

Stonehenge nodded as I walked down the steps leading to the path. The river was about an hour down the path with Stonehenge and a 2-minute walk from the path. As I stepped on the path, Stonehenge followed close behind, ensuring I was in Range if he needed to grab me.

~~~~>>><<<~~~~

We had been walking quite a bit. Things had been going pretty smoothly besides a couple of weird noises. We were almost there, and there were no signs of anything edible, just trees, vines, and leaves. Looking to my left, I could see the clearing I had seen yesterday starting to form.

Looking at the density of the tree line, I could see that Stonehenge would not be able to fit past the trees because they were so densely packed. I know he was strong enough to push a dead tree down, but the trees were alive, and there were too many of them. I could fit, although anything slightly bigger than me would be able to fit as well, and if I wanted the water, I would have to go alone.

“Okay, Stonehenge hears the deal. You won’t be able to fit, and there are too many trees to push down, so I’m going to have to walk alone for a moment,” I said.

“Safe?” Stonehenge asked.

“Oh, probably not, but if I see anything, I’ll run away, or if I must, I’ll use this to defend myself,” I said as I pulled out the little pocketknife.

“Too small,” Stonehenge responded as he began to look around before walking to a tree, pulling on a branch, ripping it off, rubbing his hand across the bark, stripping it of its leaves and stray branches, and bringing it to me, holding it in front of my face.

“Uh, thanks, big guy,” I said as I took the tree branch in my hand.

Looking over the tree branch, I saw it had more range than my pocketknife. The tree branch also had more weight; it was similar in size to a baseball bat, so if I swung it at something, it would still do some damage.

“Okay, it should take me a few minutes to walk to the river, fill my bottle, and walk back, so stay here. I’ll be back soon,” I said.

Stonehenge nodded as I turned away and walked into the tree line. As I walked away from Stonehenge, I felt the safety he brought, leaving only to be replaced with the unknowing uneasiness as I was alone for the moment in case anything happened.

I kept looking over my shoulder as I walked. The feeling of being watched had returned, and not wanting to find out what it was, I picked up the paste and walked faster, pushing plants and low-hanging leaves out of my way. It wasn’t long before I arrived at the clear, seeing the clear water gently flowing.

Placing the branch to my side, I pulled out my water bottle and filled it as air bubbles exited it. As the water filled slowly, I waited impatiently to return to Stonehenge as soon as possible. As the bubbles slowed to a stop, I pulled the bottle out of the water, allowing it to drip before placing it in my bag and turning around, only to be pushed onto my back.

“fuck’ was all that I was able to say as one of the wood wolves pounced on me, only giving me enough time to hold it back slightly.

I fought the wolf as it tried to bite me in the face, snapping as it inched closer. I looked at the branch next to me, realizing I had to use both hands to stop the wolf from gaining ground. I watched as the wolf inched closer and closer; it was slightly stronger than me and would be on my face soon.

“Get off me fucker!” I grunted as it continued to inch closer.

I felt helpless, as all I was doing was delaying the inevitable. All I could do was hold this thing back, and I was failing. As the wolf neared my face, its hot breath hitting me in the face, a last-ditch idea came into my head.

“Come on,” I said as I tried to focus energy into my hands, trying to make the blue aura appear.

The wolf snapped closer; less than an inch from my face, I could see its woold teeth clearly as it snapped and snarled at me.

“Think cold thoughts,” I said to myself as images of cold things popped into my mind, like ice cream, ice burgs, and snow. As I thought, one thing finally came to mind: the forest.

As I thought about the cold forest, I felt the wolf's teeth scrape my nose, and the coldness in my hands started to flow. I watched as the wolf began to slow down, and a layer of ice started to cover the wolf. In one last desperate attempt, the wolf lunged towards me, its mouth wide open, as it froze just inches away from my face.

I stared at the frozen wolf for a moment before I eased my grip as the coldness from my hand slowly went away before speaking, “Oh, thank god.”

As I breathed a sigh of relief, I pushed the wolf off me, allowing it to fall on its side. Standing up, I walked over to the stick and picked it up before returning to the tree to start walking back toward where Stonehenge should be waiting.

As I walked, the feeling of being watched left me, making me think that the wolf had started to follow me when I left Stonehenge. It was weird that there were at least two more, but that wolf was alone, so where were the other two? Not wanting to think about it, I continued back toward Stonehenge.

As I exited the tree line, I saw Stonehenge, about 15 feet away, sitting on the path. Waving at him, I saw him stand up and walk towards me. As he neared, I felt the sense of security return to me.

“Man, it is good to see you, Stonehenge,” I said as he walked closer, looking over me.

“Okay?” Stonehenge asked.

“I’m fine, just a little beat up, but you should see the other guy,” I responded.

“Other guy,” Stonehenge asked as he cocked id head to the left.

“One of the wood wolves, but as of right now, he is on ice, so to speak,” I responded.

“Safe?” Stonehenge asked.

“I don’t know. Last I saw, there were at least three, and I only fought one, so there are at least two more somewhere near,” I responded.

The moment I finished my sentence, as if on cue, I heard a feminine scream come from down the path where the path cured behind some trees, followed by the sound of wolves howling. I turned my gaze to Stonehenge before looking back toward the path, realizing someone could use some help.

“Okay, big guy, we got to help whoever that could be. I’m going to run ahead and try to catch up as soon as possible,” I said as I turned away and started to run down the path towards where the scream had come from, the branch in my hand.

As I neared the corner, I could hear a struggle near as I turned my head to see Stonehenge a bit away. Turning the corner, I watched two wooden wolves trying to attack a small lavender pony. One was on top of her as the other circled them, waiting for an opening.

“NO, NO, NO!” the lavender unicorn said.

Running up to the wolves, I yelled, “Get off of her!”

Surprising them, I swung the branch like a baseball bat, knocking one to the side as I kicked the other wolf off the lavender pony. Looking at the pony, I saw that she had a horn at the top of her head, surrounded by dark purple hair with pink and darker purple stripes.

I watched as both wolves returned to their feet, preparing to pounce as I felt the ground shake. Stonehenge had finally arrived, turning the corner. Turning back to the wolves, I saw them weigh their options before tucking their tails and running away. Looking back at the unicorn, I could see she was tuned by what had happened.

“a human in the Everfree,” the unicorn said as she turned to look at Stonehenge before speaking again, “And a golem.”

“Uh yeah, the human can understand you,” I said as she turned back to me.

Shaking her head, she began to speak,” Oh, sorry, I was deep in thought. What is a human doing in the Everfree forest? Who are you.”

“My name is Jack Marrow. I appeared in this world and ended up in what you call the ‘Everfree forest,” I said as she looked at Stonehenge.

“What about the golem?” the Lavender unicorn asked.

“Oh, him. His name is Stonehenge. I’ll explain his story later. Now, it’s my turn to ask who you are? " I asked.

The lavender unicorn slowly rose to her feet. She was much smaller then, at about four feet. As she finally stood, she looked at me and then at Stonehenge, thinking for a moment before sighing.

The unicorn turned back to me, clearing her throat before speaking, “My name is Twilight Sparkle.”

Author's Note

Yep it chapter 3 is here I hope y’all enjoy I’ll say Stonehenge was one of my favorite ideas for this story I have big plans for him

Also if ya’ll saw there were at least two more entries in Jacks magic book. Personally, I don’t think I’m going to be putting journal entries like that in the story too much just feels clunky.

Doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop writing them. I just have a different idea for them.

Chapter 4: A Cozy Little Town

I stared at the lavender Unicorn momentarily, my mouth slightly agape. What kind of a name was Twilight Sparkle? I watched as the unicorn studied me, trying to determine my next motive.

“Twilight?” I said.

“Yes?” Twilight tilted her head to the side with a questioning look.

“Sparkle?” I said.

Twilight's brow narrowed at me as she started to speak again, “Yes, that is my name. I know most humans have simple names, but my name is my name.”

Looking to the ground, I kicked the dirt before speaking, “Sorry, I just never heard a name like that before.”

“Apology accepted. Now, what is a human doing in the Everfree forest with a large golem?” Twilight asked.

I stared at Twilight for a moment, realizing that I couldn't tell her the full story of my death and the fall. I could probably get away and tell her what happened after I fell and healed from meeting Stonehenge.

“Well, I woke up in a forest in the middle of the night, not knowing where I was, so I started to wonder throughout the night into the day when I found a small river drank from it and saw a large stone structure and decide to cross the river to head to the shelter when…” was all I was able to say when Twilight decided to cut me off.

“You went to the castle of the two sisters? I was going there due to a surge of magic from yesterday. What happened when you got there?” Twilight asked, wide-eyed and mere inches from my face.

I pushed her down slightly as I continued speaking, “Anyways, after I entered the forest, those wooden wolves chased me to the castle, where they tried to get in but gave up. After that, I explored some of the castle before I stumbled on a secret door.”

“Wait, I’ve been there a few times. I didn’t find any secret door,” Twilight scoffed.

“Well, it wouldn’t be a secret door if you could find it easy,” I said smugly.

The unicorn sat back and crossed her arms in slight anger before speaking, “Well, how did you find it then?”

“Oh, I tripped, and as I tried to stop myself from falling, I caught a candle holder that opened the door,” I said.

“So, you found it by accident?” Twilight asked, her eyebrow raised.

“Yep,” I said as the unicorn judged me slightly.

“Where did the door lead then?” Twilight asked.

“Oh yeah, I found a stairway going down with these glowing gems lining the wall. Walking down, I found this old room. I don’t know if it was a laboratory or something else, but I found Stonehenge’s core,” I said as I pointed at Stonehenge and started speaking again. “When I got near his core and started to look over it, I was forced to grab it before being pushed back.”

Twilight's mouth was left wide open at what she heard before she shook her head and began to speak,” Wait, are you telling me that you accidentally woke up and bound yourself to a golem?”

“Uh yeah, to be fair, I had no idea what he was then. I only found out what he was because of the book I found down there, and even then, the book was blank before I was forced to touch his core.” I said as Twilight's eyes widened, and I realized I had probably said the wrong thing.

The unicorn started to bounce around happy as she squealed, “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!”

“You good,” I said sarcastically as the unicorn turned to face me.

“You found a book; let me see, let me see,” Twilight said, grinning ear to ear inches from my face again.

Pushing her away again, I started to dig in my bag for the book as I spoke, “Okay, fine, but you have to learn some personal space.”

Twilight grinned as I dug in my bag. I found the golden book and pulled it out. Pulling it out, Twilight's pupils grew twice their size before her horn started to glow a lavender color, and the book flew out of my hands towards her. Once the book was in front of her, she tried to open it, but it did not.

No matter how hard she tried, she could not open the book. Sighing in defeat, she began to ask, “Why can't I open it?”

“I don’t know. I was able to open it last night,” I said while shrugging my shoulder.

“Okay, then you try,” Twilight said as the book flew back to me.

I watched the book fly back towards me, stopping a few inches before me. As I took the book in my hand, the lavender glow around it faded, allowing gravity to return, exactly what happened when I met Arora. I pulled gently on the cover as the book opened to the glossary section but with two new sections. Telekinesis and unicorns. I was too busy with the book to see Twilight Walk up beside me.

“Why are you able to open it and not me?” Twilight said as she slumped beside me, crossing her arms.

“Here, now that it is open, you can try reading it,” I said.

“Oh, that's true. Let me try now,” Twilight said.

Her horn started to glow as the lavender glow returned around the book. The moment the book was lifted out of my hand, it slammed shut, causing Twilight and me to jump slightly as the glow around the book faded, allowing it to fall to the floor.

“This is the first book I've ever seen that doesn’t want me reading it.” Twilight whimpered.

“Hey, it's all right. There is a first for everything. I don’t even know how any of this works. This is only my second or third day here. All this is new to me,” I said as I picked up the book, putting it back in my bag, and got on Twilight's level.

Twilight looked at me before speaking, “Were you able to find anything else while you were down there?”

“Uh, unfortunately, I could not find anything when I got pushed back. I was dazed, and by the time I regained my sense, that stone, Mother grabbed me and took me to a common room.” I said.

“So, you and Stonehenge spend the night in the castle in the Everfree forest?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, I didn’t know where a town or anything was, and with how dangerous this forest is, I figured it was the best place to stay, especially at night,” I said.

“That was an accurate assumption. This place does get more ...er... free at night.” Twilight said.

“So, what do you plan to do now that you know where the surge of magic came from?” I asked at twilight.

Well, I will probably return to Ponyville and document what you said. What are you two going to do?” Twilight asked.

I looked over to Stonehenge, who shrugged his shoulders. I returned my gaze to Twilight and started to speak, “Honestly, I don’t know. We were just out there to get water and find food, but I haven’t found anything remotely edible, so I don’t know now.”

“Well, I can’t have you starving and freezing in some old castle. How about you two come to my place until you can get your bearing in Equestria .” Twilight said.

My mouth was wide open before I shook my head and responded, “Wait, what are you saying?”

“I’m inviting you and Stonehenge to my home. I have a spare room for guests, which is not being used, although Stonehenge will have to stay outside. He is too big to fit my home,” Twilight replied.

“Wait, are you sure I don’t want to impose?” I said.

“Yes, it is the least that I can do; you did save me from those two Timberwolves,” Twilight said with a big smile.

“Well, thank you, Twilight. I promise to repay you whenever possible, but can you lead the way? I have no idea which way to go,” I said as I walked over to Stonehenge.

“Follow?” Stonehenge asked.

“Yep, follow me, and at Twilight, she is going to lead us out of this forest, and we'll try to stay near just in case,” I said.

I walked back over to Twilight, whose mouth widened in shock, wondering what was happening. I began to speak: “Are you okay?”

“D-D-Did, he just speak,” Twilight asked with a shocked expression.

“Yes, why is it a problem?” I asked.

“Well, he is larger than most pebble golems, and they don't speak, at least none in Equestria,” Twilight said.

“Well, that might be your problem. He is not a pebble golem. The book said he is a stone golem.” I said.

“No, no, no, that’s not possible,” Twilight said as she whispered under her breath.

“Why is it not possible?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, a book I have on extinct creatures said the last stone golem to exist did so over seven hundred years ago when an evil unicorn killed the last one and experimented on its core, and the methods to make one were lost over nine hundred years ago,” Twilight said as she looked towards Stonehenge.

“Last?” Stonehenge said as he pointed at himself.

“I think so,” Twilight said.

Stonehenge fell onto his knees as Twilight, and I bounced a few inches in the air. As we landed, I saw Stonehenge staring blankly at the ground, not moving. Walking over, I patted him on his hand, attempting to reassure him that he was okay.

“Alone,” Stonehenge said.

“Not alone. You got me, and I’ll try my best to ensure nothing happens to you,” I said as I glided my hand across his in a comforting way.

“Friend,” Stonehenge said.

“Yeah, bud, we're friends,” I said.

In a split second, Stonehenge picked me up and brought me to his chest in his best attempt to hug me. I squirmed in his hand until he decided that he had enough and put me back on the ground.

“Give me a warning next time, buddy,” I said as I took a deep breath and cracked my back.

Turning back to twilight, I saw her smiling warmly, proud of how I had handled that situation. Walking back over to her, I looked at her for a moment before sighing.

“That was nice of you,” Twilight said.

“He is my friend. I didn’t want him to be upset; I know it's not over anyway. He is going to have this looming over him from now on. I just want him to know that he is not alone,” I responded under my breath, so Stonehenge did not hear me.

“Still, I think it is sweat. I might be able to make a friendship report out of it.” Twilight said.

“Friendship report?” I asked.

“Yes, I study friendship and report it to my teacher, Princess Celestia,” Twilight responded.

“Interesting, your teacher is a princess?” I asked.

“Yes, I have been her student since I was a filly and enrolled in Celestia School for Gifted Unicorns, but I can save that story for when we're on our way to town. You two probably want to get out of the Everfree,” Twilight said.

“Yes, please,” I said.

“ Are you two ready to go? You didn't leave anything important at the castle,” Twilight asked.

“Nope, just a broken tree, some sticks, and some ashes from a campfire,” I responded.

“Okay then, let's get moving,” Twilight said as she began to walk down the path.

I gestured for Stonehenge to follow and followed closely behind Twilight before speaking. “Just as a heads up, Stonehenge doesn’t move quickly, so it might be a slower trip than normal,” I said.

“I figured as much. I’ll make sure he can keep up,” Twilight said as she guided us down the path.

~~~~>>><<<~~~~

We had been walking for a decent amount of time as the forest started to get less thick with vegetation. Twilight had asked me a few more questions about the castle and dark room, and I tried to answer them.

She also explained her story of how she enrolled in Celestia School for Gifted Unicorns and how, during the entrance exam, she had hatched a baby dragon and adopted him. She also told me about how she moved down from a city called Canterlot and made five friends and how she writes reports on what she and her friends learn.

“So, anyway, what is the name of this town you're taking us to, and what should we expect from the others there?” I asked.

“It's called Ponyville, and I can’t speak for the ponies that live there. They are all unique in their own way, and you'll have to see them to believe them.” Twilight said as she trotted her way down the path.

“Do any humans live there?” I asked.

“Unfortunately, no, most of them live in Canterlot. The fact that humans are so rare here has given them a unique status in this world. I even expect you to be swarmed when we get to town, considering you are one and, well, your unique look or, at the bare minimum, a lot of stares,” Twilight said.

“Wow… wait, what do you mean by unique look?” I asked Twilight.

“Well, some humans have been known to be pale, but your ghost is white save for your hands and feet. If you don’t mind me asking, why do you look like that?” Twilight asked.

If my heart could beat, it would be pounding right now. I had to come up with a quick but harmless lie. As I thought, I remembered what I told Stonehenge and what I would tell others if they asked.

“It is a skin condition I have acquired when I woke up. My body is white while my hands are pitch black,” I lied.

“Fascinating. I have never heard of any human going through that, but magic can be volatile sometimes,” Twilight said.

As we walked, I could see the edge of the forest start to appear. Looking through the trees, I could see an open meadow before a town with hay roofs started to appear. It looked like the cozy little town I had seen when my soul was flying to my body. I looked at the little village before Twilight started to talk again.

“Okay, before we walk out, I have a favor to ask of Stonehenge,” Twilight said as she stopped walking and turned to Stonehenge.

“Favor?” Stonehenge asked.

“Yes, I know it will be hard, but I would like to keep the fact you’re a stone golem a secret, at least for now or until I can introduce you to my friends so they can help us, but until then, try not to talk while anypony is nearby,” Twilight said.

“Okay,” Stonehenge responded.

Twilight nodded in response before pointing at me with her hoof, “Try not to stand out all that much and try to stay near me so you don’t get lost.”

“Okay, I will try my best,” I responded.

“Okay, let's go,” Twilight said.

Twilight started to walk out of the forest, prompting me to follow her into the meadow. As I stepped out from the trees, the sun hit me, and my body's warmness radiated over me, giving me a shiver.

As we continued to follow twilight, Ponyville came closer to view. Being closer to the town, I could see lower white clouds dotted through the sky and ponies walking and flying around the outskirts of the town. Some even began to turn their attention to us, probably wondering what was happening.

As we finally reached the outskirts of Ponyville, I looked at Twilight as she gave me a reassuring smile before she kept her pace, leading me and Stonehenge through Ponyville.

“Remember, stay near me, and I’ll show you around and where you will be staying,” Twilight said.

“I know. Follow the line leader and do what she says,” I said jokingly.

“Well, first things first, lest start with the town square,” Twilight said.

As Twilight led me through Ponyville, I looked around at the buildings that padded the town. Most of them looked quite similar in structure: very light tan walls with brown support accents and what looked to be hay roofs. Although there were a few outliers, most were the same. Some were larger, and some were smaller, but all looked like they were based on the same plan.

“Hey, Twilight, I got a question,” I said.

“What is it?” Twilight asked as she turned her head to look at me.

“Why do all these houses look the same? Is it for simplistic reasons?” I asked.

“Well, back in the day, Ponyville was founded by Earth Ponies, none of which had magic or flight, so the way they could build homes was limited. So, when more ponies started to move here, they followed the home trends, save for a few innovations on their parts. Although not every home looks the same, they are more unique or are businesses that are also homes like mine,” Twilight explained.

“What, you own a business? I thought you were a student.” I asked.

“Well, I am kind of both. Actually, I am a student, yes, but I also run the place I live,” Twilight said with a sheepish smile.

“Well, what business do you own then?” I asked.

“You’ll see in a bit. OH… we’re about to get to the town square,” Twilight said as she made a right turn.

I saw a large open space on my right. As we turned the corner, it was the town square. Upon first glance, I could see what looked like a farmers’ market full of stalls trying to sell stuff. The second thing I noticed was all the ponies there. There were so many of them, and they all looked different in their own way. Some had wings and were flying, some had horns, and some had none.

“Woah,” I said as I took in my new surroundings.

“Hmm, it's a little busier than normal, but that should stop me from the tour of Ponyville, " Twilight said.

“So many people er… Ponies,” I said.

“What? You're not shy, are you?” Twilight asked concerningly.

“No, it’s just that I grew up in a very small town. Only about five hundred people live there, and I can see that it is nowhere near that many here. So many ponies in one place. It's just surprising.” I said.

“Oh, I can see that could be a bit overwhelming. You’ll get used to the busyness here soon,” Twilight said with a smile.

“Yeah, you're right, although that might take a while. Now lead the way, line leader sparkle,” I said.

“Hey, That Tour guide Sparkle,” Twilight said while chuckling and walking towards the marketplace.

As we walked closer to the market, we started to hear stares and whispers from the ponies around us. I couldn't figure out what most of them were saying other than ‘human’ and ‘Golem.’ I looked around at all the stalls. Some had food, and some had gems and other knickknacks. I then watched as Twilight stopped and turned to me.

“This is the Ponyville marketplace. While not everything is here, you can find a wide variety of items and food,” Twilight said.

“Cool, I just got to know why everyone is staring at me?” I asked.

Twilight looked around for a moment, looking at everyone before turning back to me and speaking, “I told you humans are rare here. They are more than likely a little curious. Oh, that reminds me. One of my friends has a stall nearby. Let's go say hi and introduce you.”

“Okay, lead the way,” I replied.

Twilight started to walk again, and I followed closely behind her as the stares and wisping continued in Stonehenge's and my direction. As we walked, I looked at items in some of the stalls. There were baked goods like pretzels and loaves of bread, gems, and paintings. When I was finished, I could hear a high-pitched voice in the crowd getting louder.

“Oh no, and I just had everything cleaned,” Twilight said.

“Wait, what?” I replied.

We stopped for a moment as the voice got loud and louder before I was able to start making out what they were saying.

“What’s everypony looking at,” the voice said.

I watched a bouncing pink pony bounce in and out of the lane before finally making her through the road and out into the open. Looking at her, her hair was poofy and wild, and her violently blue eyes stared at me before she gasped. I was about to say something when I watched her bounce back into the air and dash away, leaving a puff of dirt behind her.

“Twilight, what was that about?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” Twilight responded with a coy smile.

“I’ll see what? What am I going to see Twilight?” I asked.

“Don’t worry. Everypony new here goes through it, but that's all I’m going to say, so come on, we're almost there,” Twilight responded as she started walking again.

I looked back and forth between where Twilight was walking and where that pink pony had been before I started to follow Twilight again. We walked as the crowd continued to stare before I finally saw something that caught my eye. It appeared to be two golems standing next to a stall, each holding boxes. Looking closer, I could see they were smaller than me but bigger than the ponies and looked smoother than Stonehenge.

Looking at the stall, I saw a bunch of apples of varying varieties and what looked like apple-themed treats lying on the counter. There were two ponies at the stall with no horns nor wings; one looked smaller than most of the others, maybe a child. The smaller one was yellow with crimson-red hair, and the other one was Orange with blond hair and what looked to be a cowboy hat. Both were staring at me.

“Applejack, how are you doing today?” Twilight asked.

Applejack looked back between Twilight and me before speaking, “I’m doin’ mighty fine, Twi, and if you don’t mind me askin' who your new friends are.”

“This is Jack Marrow. He is a human who saved me from a small pack of Timberwolves inside the Everfree Forrest, along with his golem Stonehenge,” Twilight said.

Applejack's expression changed in a matter of seconds after hearing what Twilight said, like she almost couldn’t believe what she had heard. She turned her eyes and narrowed them at me like she was looking deep into my very soul. I did not back down; I kept my gaze on her before she finally started to chuckle.

“Ha, sorry for starin' partner. I just had to see your character, and if what Twi said is true, then that makes ya better than most humans here,” Applejack said.

“Why does that make me better than most humans?” I asked.

“Well, from what I’ve heard, most humans are either so stuck up and pretentious or so indifferent to us pony folk most won’t even take the time out of their day to interact with anypony. Now you seem like you got a good head on your shoulder. Don’t go around treat anypony less 'cause they're not like ya,” Applejack said.

“Yes, ma’am, you don’t have to tell me twice. My mother taught me to treat others how I would want to be treated, “I said.

“Sound, lady. My sister Apple Bloom knows a few fillies that cause use that lesson right Apple Bloom.” Applejack said.

The little yellow pony, who I now had a name I could use, raised her head over the counter and spoke, “Yes, but I think they ain’t gonna listen; they're too stuck up to know.”

“I know, but still. Anyways, what are you doin’ with Jack Twi?” Applejack asked.

“I am showing him around Ponyville, so he knows his way around town. After that, I invited him to stay at my place to repay him for saving my life, " Twilight responded.

“Okay, if that's what y’all are doin,’ where do y’all plan on goin’ next,” Applejack asked.

“Oh, I'm probably going to take him to Carousel Boutique and introduce him to Rarity and see if we can get him a change of clothing,” Twilight said.

“Okay, good luck with that y’all. Say bye, Apple Bloom,” Applejack said.

“Bye, Twilight, Jack, and Mr. Golem,” Apple Bloom said.

Twilight started to walk away as I waved goodbye to Applejack and Apple Bloom, while Stonehenge and I began to follow Twilight away from the marketplace. As we followed, the density of ponies lessened as we exited the marketplace and re-entered the town square. As I looked around, I saw a large building in the middle of the town square that looked to be about four stories tall and generally bigger than every other building.

“What is that building, Twilight?” I asked as I pointed out the building.

“That is town hall. That is where the mayor works,” Twilight responded.

“Okay, cool. It looked bigger than most buildings, so I was wondering,” I said as I continued to stare at the building.

We walked for a few moments before I heard what sounded like screaming coming from the sky. Looking up, I saw a cyan horse falling from the sky, and she was falling in my direction.

“Look out below,” the cyan pony said as she crashed into me, sending us both to the ground with a thud.

My head was spinning for a second, but I was reviled when I did not feel the heat or any major damage done to me. I stared into the sky before saying, “Ow.”

Twilight ran up to me, shocked, before she started to speak, “Jack, are you okay.”

I gave a small thumbs up and a slight nod in response to her question. Feeling the weight on my chest, I raised my head to see the cyan Pegasus lying on top of me, her eyes still spinning from the fall.

“Rainbow dash, what in Celestia are you doing?” Twilight asked the cyan pegasus.

Rainbow Dash raised her head off my chest, shaking it a moment before turning to Twilight to reply, “Oh hey, Twilight, I was just testing a new move for the Wonderbolts when I kinda sorta lost control and fell.”

“Look, as much as I like laying on the ground, can you get off me, please?” I said.

“Oh, sorry,” Rainbow Dash replied as she flapped her wing and started to rise off my chest before stopping and staring at me before speaking again, “Wait a minute, you’re a human. What is a human doing in Ponyville, and why do you look so… so… cool?”

“Rainbow, please get off of him,” Twilight said.

“Oh yeah,” Rainbow Dash said as she flapped her wing again, rising above my chest and floating next to Twilight.

“Thank you,” I said. Not wasting a moment, I rose to my feet and started dusting the dirt off me.

“Twilight answers the question, what is an egghead like you doing with a Human and a golem? I thought you were going to the Everfree forest,” Rainbow Dash said.

“I am not an egghead, and I did go to the Everfree forest today. That is where I found Jack, or should I say he and the golem saved my life,” Twilight responded.

“The Human… ER Jack saved your life?” Rainbow Dash asked, dumbfounded.

“Yes, I was being attacked by a group of Timberwolves when Jack came in and kicked them off of me before his golem scared them off,” Twilight responded.

“So cool, but uh, why does he look like that?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight was about to say something, but I waved her off before telling my lie alone: “It is a skin condition I got when I came here. As for my clothes, I had a few run-ins with those timber wolves on my own.”

“Yes, I have been showing him around Ponyville, and we were on our way to Rarity to introduce Jack to her and see if she could make him a change of clothes,” Twilight said.

“Okay, well, you three have fun with that. I’m going to keep on practicing my new trick. I want it ready to show the wonder bolts. See you two later at the ---, " Rainbow Dash stopped herself from saying the last word before flying off at a fast speed.

Twilight and I stared in the direction Rainbow Dash flew towards before I broke the silence. “What was that about?”

“Oh, it's just Rainbow being Rainbow, but let's keep walking. We are almost there,” Twilight replied.

The three of us resumed our walking as Stonehenge and I followed Twilight once more. We walked for what seemed like a few minutes before a blue and pink building came into view. The building was what one could say was unique, as the bottle looked normal, while the top looked like, well, a carousel. As we walked closer, I could see the name of the building, ‘Carousel Boutique.’

“Is this the place you were talking about?” I asked.

“Yes, this is where Rarity lives. Let's go inside. Stonehenge, you stay out here,” Twilight said.

Twilight's horn started to glow, and the door handle glowed lavender as the door was pushed open. As Twilight and I stepped inside, we could hear two sets of voices talking on the other side of the room. Looking in that direction, I could see a white unicorn with purple hair and a yellow pegasus with pink hair.

“Oh, thank you for helping Fluttershy, dear,” the white unicorn said.

“Oh, it was no problem, Rarity. I don’t mind helping,” Fluttershy said.

“Oh, still, it was nice to have you around. Will you be going to the ---?” Rarity said before she was cut off by Twilight coughing.

“Hi, girls, what Are you two up to,” Twilight asked.

“Oh, Twilight, you know it’s rude to sneak up on a lady. Fluttershy was helping me model a new dress and --- Oh My Celestia, is that a human!” Rarity said as her eyes widened.

“Yes, he is. His name is Jack Marrow. He saved me from a pack of timber wolves in the Everfree Forest, and I invite him to stay with me until he can get situated in Equestria,” Twilight said.

“Oh my, how Generous of you.” Rarity said as she turned to look at me before gasping and speaking again, “Oh my, what are you wearing, dear?”

“Oh, uh, these are the clothes I was wearing when I got here. They have definitely seen better days,” I said with a slight chuckle.

“Jack, I simply can not have you walking around looking like you lost a fight with thorn bush. Come, come,” Rarity said.

I looked toward Twilight, and she gave a reassuring nod of approval before I turned back to Rarity and began to walk toward her. As I approached Rarity, I Saw Fluttershy sheepishly sneak toward Twilight, hiding behind her and watching me. I watched as the Rarity horn started to glow a light blue as a measuring tape and a notepad flew off of a desk.

“Okay, you can stop there. Just hold still while I take your measurements,” Rarity said.

I watched as the measuring tape flew around me and started to Warp around my body as Rarity tried to get my measurements. I turned my head to see that Fluttershy was no longer hiding behind Twilight but was standing meekly to the side.

“What’s your name?” I said, looking at Fluttershy, attempting to break the Ice.

“I’m Fluttershy,” Fluttershy said.

“I’m sorry. Can you please say that again?” I asked,

“ I’m Fluttershy,” Fluttershy said.

“Oh, don’t mind her. She gets like this around new people,” Rarity said.

“Oh, it’s fine. My mother was a lot like her, although she had a challenging time even leaving the house without having a panic attack, so I understand,” I said as I gave my best smile to Fluttershy.

“Oh, how dreadful. Did she have any friends that could help her? What about your father,” Rarity asked

“Other than me, she had one. I don’t know what happened to my father, but mother's friend isn’t around very… oh no,” I said, stopping in my tracks.

“what's wrong?” Twilight asked.

“I just realized that my mother is all alone now. I’m not there to help her anymore,” I said weakly.

“You can go sit down now, darling. I got all I needed from you,” Rarity said as the measuring tape floated away.

“Oh, are you alright?” Fluttershy asked, no longer whispering.

“Yes, I’ll be fine. I know she is all right, but still, I know I’ll probably never see her again,” I said as I walked to the wall and sat against it, as Twilight and Fluttershy walked next to me.

“Oh, don’t say that everything is going to be okay,” Fluttershy said as she nuzzled my arm gently.

“Fluttershy is right, and don’t worry, as I said, I’ll help you get used to Equestria,” Twilight said as she nuzzled my other arm.

“Thank you all I do appreciate it,” I said weakly.

Rarity walked up to us and began to speak, “Your new clothes will be ready in about an hour, darling, so feel free to relax as I work my magic.”

“Thank you, Rarity. I hope it’s not any trouble,” I said.

“Oh, it’s nothing, it's just a simple set of clothing, like I said, no more than an hour,” Rarity said.

“Well, now that we have some time, can I ask you something?” Twilight asked.

“Depends on the question,” I responded.

“What did you do before coming to Equestria?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, that's simple. I was in college attempting to get an education in musical education, " I responded.

“Wait, do you know who to play music?” Twilight asked.

“I know a few instruments like the guitar, banjo, the piano, and the drums,” I said.

“Oh, um, what’s a guitar?” Fluttershy asked.

“Wait, you guys don’t know what a guitar is,” I asked.

“No, what is it?” Twilight responded.

“You all know what a banjo is, right?” I asked.

“Yes, it is somewhat popular in Appleloosa,” Twilight said.

“Well, think of that, but all wood and a different shape. If you have a piece of paper, I can draw one for you,” I said.

Twilight's horn started to glow as a piece of paper and quill floated out of her bag and onto the floor in front of me. I grabbed the quill and began to draw a rough sketch of what a guitar looked like, from the shape to the metal strings. When I finished, I moved my arms out of the way to show Twilight and Fluttershy.

” This is a guitar,” I said.

“It certainly looks unique,” Fluttershy said.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Twilight responded.

“That's upsetting to hear it’s my favorite instrument; I wish I could play it again,” I said.

Twilight's horn began to glow as the paper and quill were picked up into the air before Twilight started to speak, “Do you mind if I keep this picture you drew?”

“Sure, but why?” I asked.

“Oh, it's a picture of something new from another world. Who wouldn’t want this?” Twilight said as the quill and drawing of the guitar flew back into her bag.

Fluttershy rose to her hoofs and, before speaking, “I have to go feed my animals. It was nice to meet you, Jack, and I hope you feel better soon. Welcome to Equestria.”

“Okay, oh, and look out for the golem on your way out, Fluttershy,” Twilight said as Fluttershy walked away.

“I will thank you, Twilight,” Fluttershy said as she walked out the door.

“What now,” I asked.

“Oh, I have a few more questions for you,” Twilight said as he pulled out a notepad.

~~~~>>><<<~~~~

“Thank you again, Rarity,” I said as Twilight and I walked out of Rarity's door.

“It was no problem, dear, and goodbye Twilight. I will see you later.” Rarity said.

“Bye, Rarity, see you later,” Twilight said.

As we walked onto the dirt, I could see that the sun was finally setting on this busy day. I looked down at my new dark red shirt and black pants Rarity had made for me. What was cool, though, was she saw my lack of shoes and made me a simple pair of sandals. I then turned my attention to Stonehenge, who was sitting next to Carousel Boutique, looking at his thumbs.

“You ready to go Stonehenge?” I asked.

Stonehenge nodded and rose to his feet slowly. I looked at Twilight, wanting to know what was next on our to-do list.

“What's next, Twilight?” I asked.

“I say we head to my home so you can unpack and unwind a bit,” Twilight said.

“Sound nice to me,” I said.

Twilight began to lead Stonehenge and me away from the town square and towards the side of town. As we walked, I saw the sun moving quicker and quicker as it was setting. I was still surprised by how quickly the sun went from shining to setting so quickly here, but then again, I was in another world with talking ponies and magic, so the sun seemed a little quicker and normal.

As we walked, I saw Twilight look back at me occasionally as if she were making sure I was still following her. It wasn’t long before I noticed a large tree come into view, and we were walking directly towards it. As we approached, I saw a sight that gave the name of the tree away: ‘Golden Oaks Library,’

“You live in a library?” I asked Twilight.

“Yes, I have been living here for over a year now, and it has everything I need, although it could use a few more books,” Twilight said as we continued to walk towards the library door.

“So, you’re a bookworm,” I joked.

“Well, yes, for lack of a better term, but it's better than being an ‘egghead,’” Twilight responded.

“That’s fair,” I said.

As we walked to the door, Twilight turned to Stonehenge and began to speak to him.” Okay, Stonehenge, you’ll have to stay out here tonight. I’ll try to figure out something for you tomorrow.” Twilight turned to me and then started to speak again.” Oh, and Jack, can you open the door for me, please?”

“Sure thing, Twilight,” I said.

I turned to the door, taking the handle in my hand as I pushed it open with a slight creek from the door. The lights were off, and I could barely see into the room. As my eyes adjusted to the dark, the light quickly turned on, and I was slightly blinded.

Before my eyes adjusted, I heard multiple voices yelling in unison. “Surprise.”

Chapter 5: Party, Pancakes, and Headaches

“Surprise” was all I heard as multiple voices yelled in my direction.

As my eyes adjusted to the sudden change in light, I saw a large group of ponies. Some had party hats, and some had streamers. I was dumbfounded at what I was seeing, all the ponies staring at me.

“What is this?” I asked.

“It’s a party, silly,” said a pony who suddenly appeared behind me.

I turned around to face the pony, only to find that it was the same bright bubble gum pink pony that had run away from me earlier. She was bouncing up and down with excitement as I stared at her.

“My name is Pinkie Pie,” Pinkie Pie said.

“Jack marrow. Are you the one who planned this?” I asked.

“Yes, I sure did,” Pinkie Pie replied.

“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, more surprised than anything, but why?” I asked.

“Because I’ve never seen you before, and I know everyone that lives in Ponyville,” Pinkie Pie said.

“How did you know where I would be staying? I only saw you once, and you practically flew away,” I said.

“Oh, that was easy. All it took was talking to Applejack, and she spilled the beans in less than five minutes flat,” Pinkie Pie said.

“I’ll have to thank her later. So, what is there in the way of food? I’m quite hungry.” I said.

“The food and drinks are over there,” Pinkie Pie said, pointing at a table before speaking again. Have fun, Jack; this party is for you.”

I watched as Pinkie Pie turned away from me and disappeared into the crowd of ponies that had started to intermingle with one another. However, some did occasionally look my way. I turned to look at Twilight when I saw the bags, including my backpack, be pulled from me, and levitated into the air.

“Go have fun, Jack. I put your bag in the spare bedroom, and I’ll show you after the party.” Twilight said as she started to walk away.

I watched as Twilight walked away, and I turned to look at all the ponies. There were so many colors; it was like looking at a more advanced rainbow, but my mind was set on one thing and one thing alone: food. Looking over to where Pinkie Pie had pointed, I saw a large table with a bunch of treats set out, so I began to make my way over.

As I began to walk towards the food table, I saw a few ponies staring at me, but at this point, I was used to it. As I squeezed my way past some of the ponies, I could see what was on the tale come more and more into view. As I arrived at the table, I saw the wide variety of food laid out, but two things caught my eye over the others: the apples and the cookies.

There were so many red and green apples, and they all looked so vibrant, like they had been specifically grown to be colorful. Picking up one of the red apples, I brought it to my mouth and took a bite.

It was one of the best apples I had ever had. The flavor was so rich and powerful that it was like all the other apples I had ever had were just pure imitations of what this was. But as I was enjoying the apple with a smile on my face, I heard a slight chuckle behind me.

“I see you like the apple Sugarcube,” the southern voice said.

Turning around, I saw a familiar face and cowboy hat. It was Applejack, and she was wearing a smile with what appeared to be pride on it. As I finished chewing, I ready myself to speak.

“It’s so good. I’ve had apples before, but none in my life have been as flavorful as these,” I said.

“What, the apples in your world not as good?” Applejack asked.

“Nowhere near as good as these. Where are they from?” I asked.

“Oh, they came from my family's farm, Sweat Apple Acres,” Applejack responded.

I took another bite of the apple and pointed to it as I spoke. “Man, I was going to give you some crap about Pinkie Pie, but I’ll let you off the hook for now. You, apple, just saved your behind sister.”

“Oh, she told you, huh?” Applejack asked.

“Yep, but I forgive you, water under the bridge,” I responded as I finished the apple and tossed the core into a trash bin.

“Well, that's good to hear, Sugarcube. I hope you enjoy your party. Welcome to Ponyville,” Applejack said as she turned away and started to speak with another pony.

Turning back to the food table, I went over to the other thing that had piqued my interest: the cookies. There were a few to pick from, like oatmeal, raisins, and my favorite, chocolate chip. I did not get the cookie that was in the MRE last night because I got distracted, so I was not going to watch this opportunity.

Picking up the chocolate chip cookie, I brought it to my mouth, hoping it would be as good or better than the apple. I took a bite. The moment I took the bite, my body felt different, almost warmer than it had been just a moment ago. It did not bother me like the normal heat. It felt more comforting than anything. Other than the sudden warmth, the cookie tasted good, not as good as the apples, but still good.

After I finished the cookie, I turned away from the table to look at the room. Some groups had already started forming and were speaking with one another, gauging this was a good time to introduce myself to everyone.

~~~~>>><<<~~~~

I spent the last hour introducing myself to a wide range of ponies. Most were nice and gave out somewhat weird names like ‘Sunny Rays,’ ‘Charged Up,’ ‘Derpy Hooves,’ and ‘Rare Find.’ Others would stare at me and watch, maybe because I was a human, and the stereotypes I had heard earlier probably didn’t help.

Looking around the room, I could see that a few ponies had started to leave. Others stayed in their little groups, chatting among themselves. But as I looked around, I accidentally bumped into a light-brow earth pony. As she turned to look at me, I could see that her hair was a light blonde, and her eyes were a baby blue.

“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to bump into you,” I said.

“It's fine, Hun’ how are you liking your party?” the brown pony said.

“Is it good, Miss…?” I asked as I waited for the pony to respond with her name.

“it’s Wolfsbane. What’s yours?” Wolfsbane asked.

“I am Jack Marrow,” I responded.

“Ah, it's so good not to be the new one in town anymore,” Wolfsbane said.

“Oh, so you are new as well?” I asked.

“Yep, I have been here for a little over a week now,” Wolfsbane responded.

“Oh, what brought you to Ponyville?” I asked.

“I’ve been on the road for a while now, and I thought this was a good place to find work,” Wolfsbane responded.

“Oh, so where did you find work then?” I asked.

“I sure did. I found work at Sweat Apple Acres. It feels so good to be back on a farm. What’s your story, Hun’?” Wolfsbane asked.

“Oh, I woke up in a forest, explored a bit, got chased to a castle, and found and bonded to a large golem. I spent the night in a castle earlier today, looking for food and water. I came across Twilight and saved her from a pack of Timberwolves, and after that, she invited me to stay here,” I said.

I watched as Wolfsbane processed the information I told her, and her face went from shock to horror to surprise. I laughed a little bit as her sudden face changed before she shook her head, regaining her composer.

“Well, that sounds like an exciting first day,” Wolfsbane said.

“You have no idea,” I said with a chuckle as I thought about everything I hadn’t told her.

“So anyways, what is your first plan of action for tomorrow?” wolfsbane asked.

“I have no idea. I’ll see what Twilight wants to do, and then after that, I might explore Ponyville a bit and get my baring a bit better. Oh, I also got to take care of my golem and see if I can keep him out of the elements a bit better.” I responded.

“That sounds like a busy day,” Wolfsbane said.

“Yes, but the past few days have been,” I said.

“Well, I’m going to head off now. It was nice to meet you, and if you're ever near Sweat Apple Acres, stop by and say hi,” Wolfsbane said.

“Okay, well, you have a nice night. Get home safe,” I said.

“Thank you,” Wolfsbane said.

I watched as Wolfsbane turned around and started to walk towards the. As she opened the door to let the light out and the darkness in, she turned back to me and smiled at me. Only as she did so did I look at her eyes, and they looked more yellowish. I closed my eyes and shook my head, thinking it was my imagination and tiredness.

When I opened my eyes, I saw that Wolfsbane was gone. Looking around the room, I could see that it was certainly emptier than it had been at the start of the party. Most of the ponies had started to leave and overhear their conversations. Most had to wake up early for work or other obligations.

Walking back to the snack table, I saw it had been picked clean, save for an apple and a few sugary treats. Picking up the apple, I took a bite before turning around to look for Twilight.

Scanning the room, I quickly found Twilight. She was on the other side of the room, sitting with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and a little lizard. The little lizard was purple and green with a little head crest on the top middle of its head. I decided it was the right time to see what Twilight was up to.

As I walked over to Twilight and her friends, I watched as even more ponies started to leave, disappearing into the night. As I walked closer, I could hear the tail end of Twilight and her friends' conversation.

“I still have a hard time believing that he saved you from Timberwolves, darling,” Rarity said.

“it’s the truth. He kicked one and hit the other with a big stick, and as the wolves were about to attack again, his golem came in and scared them off. If they had even been a minute late, I probably wouldn’t be here,” Twilight said.

“Why didn’t you use your magic Sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

“The wolves surprised me and caught me off guard. By the time I came to my senses, one was already on top of me,” Twilight responded.

“Oh, I think it might be best to stay out of the Everfree for a while,” Fluttershy said.

“No kidding, ever since Luna came here for nightmare night, that place has gotten a bit wilder,” Twilight said.

As I walked closer, the group started to turn their heads to face me. They studied me for a moment before Pinkie Pie began to speak.

“Well, if it isn’t the Human of the hour, how did you like the party?” Pinkie Pie asked.

I looked at the seats around me, noticing that they were all full, so I lowered myself to the floor. As I did so, I spoke, “It was good. I met a lot of other ponies, and I even found someone new in town like me.”

“Oh, you must be talking about Wolfsbane, “Applejack said.

“Yeah, it was Wolfsbane. She said that you gave her a job at Sweat Apple Acres,” I said.

“I sure did. The farm is growing, so I thought I could use some help with some of the labor,” Applejack said.

As I talked with Applejack, I noticed the little lizard stand up from where he had been sitting. I watched as he walked up to me, studying me as he did so. I watched as he stopped a few feet away from me, and I stared at him in somewhat awkward silence.

“what’s up, little lizard?” I said as the little lizard continued to stare at me.

“I’m not a lizard; I’m a dragon,” the little dragon said in a childlike voice.

“Oh, sorry, what’s up, little dragon?” I said, which caused a laugh from Rainbow Dash and Twilight.

“Nothing, just looking at you. All the humans I’ve seen don’t look like you. Oh, and the name is Spike,” Spike said.

“Oh well, I woke up like this. I used to have more of a complexion and red hair.” I said.

“Do you know what caused it?” Spike said as he took a step back.

“I have no idea but Twilight, and I think it might be magic from how I got here,” I said.

“And what were you doing when you arrived?” Spike asked.

I was taken aback for a moment. None of them had asked me how I got here. What should I tell them? I have no memory. Or should I tell them a heavily edited story of what had happened to me, leaving out the knife and my dying? Should I show them the pendant?

“Oh well, that is a hard story to tell, Spike,” I said.

“Oh, sorry for asking. You don’t have to tell if it's hard on you,” Spike said.

“It's fine. I knew it would have to get brought up sometime. Do you all want to hear how I got here?” I asked.

I turned to look at the girls sitting in front of me. All nodded in agreement as I explained how I had gotten there.

I explained to them how I had woken up that day and gotten ready for the camping trip and the conversation with my mom. I then told them about Alex, Jane, and Walter and how they had picked me up and taken me to the camping spot. I then told them about the bald man and how he had ‘stunned’ me and how my ‘friends’ had joined him and left me to freeze in the snow. I then told them how, after I spent some time walking, I looked at my pendant only to pass out and wake up in Equestria, living out my death.

As I finished my story, I could see that all the girls and Spike's mouths were wide open in shock. The moment was silent as I allowed all of them to let my mostly true story sink in. Rainbow Dash was the first to break the silence.

“Man, that sucks,” Rainbow Dash said.

“How awful,” Fluttershy said.

“Wow,” Spike said.

“What meanies!” Pinkie Pie said.

“I agree. What terrible people to do that to someone,” Rarity said.

“a bunch of low-level varmints,” Applejack said.

Twilight sat there for a moment, her eyes darting back and forth before she finally started to speak. “Can we see the pendant?”

I nodded in agreement as I dug under my shirt for the pendant. As I grabbed it, I raised it from my shirt, allowing the group to see the golden pendant. They all leaned closer and looked closer at it.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, darling. You said you said it was your father's?” Rarity asked.

“Uh yeah, my mom said it was my dad’s,” I replied.

“Can you take it off, dude? I want a better look at it,” Rainbow Dash asked.

“No, I can’t. I have already tried,” I replied.

“What do you mean you can’t take it off?” Twilight asked.

“I mean, I am unable to take it off. It is like it is glued around my neck,” I responded.

“Well, maybe you ain’t trying hard enough, “Applejack said as she stood up and walked closer to me.

As Applejack approached me, she grabbed the pendant and began to pull. All she did was struggle, as the pendent did not budge one bit as she pulled on it. With one final tug, she turned to Rainbow Dash.

“Come help me with this, Rainbow,” Applejack said.

“Sure thing,” Rainbow Dash replied.

I watched as Rainbow Dash started to fly over to me and Applejack and began to help Applejack pull on the pendant, with the same results as when it was just Applejack, except that they were just dragging me around the room by my neck now.

“I don’t think this is working,” I said as I felt my back slide on the wooden floor.

“Girls, please stop,” Twilight said.

The moment Twilight said something, Applejack and Rainbow Dash let go of the pendant, allowing me to sit up and catch my breath. Twilight stood up and began to walk towards me, taking a closer look at the pendant and studying it in closer detail.

“Sun and moon, Two ponies. Hmm, you said your father owned it, right?” Twilight asked.

“That is what my mom said. Why?” I asked.

“Well, whatever it is, it is very old. It has the sun and moon and two alicorns, more than likely Celestia and Luna, “Twilight said.

“What is something like that doing in his world?” Applejack asked.

“I have no idea. I’ll have to do some research whenever I get a chance, “Twilight said.

“So, we’ll have to wait for an egghead like you to figure this out?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yes, you’re going to have to be patient, Rainbow,” Twilight said slightly sternly.

“Okay, well, if that’s all said and done, I’m going to head home. I've got to wake up early to practice with Apple Bloom for the sister hooves social next week,” Applejack said.

Rarity stood up and stretched her legs before speaking, “I must leave as well. I have to get Carousel Boutique for an upcoming order. Oh, and for Sweetie Bell, of course.”

“Have a good night, girls,” Twilight said.

“see you guys later,” I said.

As Applejack and Rarity walked out the door, I turned to look at the other three, who had not left yet. Rainbow Dash hovered next to Fluttershy, who had not moved an inch since I had walked over. As Rainbow Dash landed next to Fluttershy, she started to speak.

‘Come on, Fluttershy, I’ll Walk your home,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Oh well, thank you, Rainbow Dash. Twilight, Jack, and Spike, may you all have a wonderful night.” Flutter shy said.

“Thank you, Fluttershy. You two get home safe,” Twilight said.

Fluttershy stood up from the small seat and walked over to Rainbow Dash, who was waiting at the door for Fluttershy. As Fluttershy walked up to Rainbow Dash, they exited the door and entered the darkness. I then turned my attention to the last one, Pinkie Pie.

“Well, Jack, I really, really hoped you liked your party, and I can’t wait to see you again sometime,” Pinkie Pie said as she bounced her way to the door.

“Thanks, Pinkie Pie. It was fun. See you later,” I said as she bounced her way out the door, leaving just me, Twilight, and Spike.

We all sat there for a moment, looking around the empty room and enjoying the silence. Twilight was the first to begin to move as she began to walk around looking at the mess that had been left.

“Well, let's get this place cleaned up before we head to bed,” Twilight said.

Her horn began to glow as a pair of empty plates hovered and floated toward the kitchen. Standing up, I started to grab a few leftover trash items, tossing them into the nearest trash bin. Spike walked over to the snake table and began to pick up the leftovers, taking them into the kitchen as Twilight walked out.

“Jack, I'll show you to your room once we finish that. It should not take too long; they didn’t make too much of a mess,” Twilight said as they continued to help clean the mess.

“Okay, Twilight,” I responded.

We spent the next five minutes cleaning the room. Like Twilight said, most ponies did not make much of a mess. As I threw away the last bit of trash, I heard a stumble and Twilight sigh. I turned to see Spike on the floor, yawning with his eyes drooping.

“Looks like someone is tired,” Twilight said with a light chuckle.

“I am not,” Spike replied, followed by an even bigger yawn.

“Go lay down, Spike. I’m going to show Jack to his room, then I’ll come lay down,” Twilight said.

“Okay,” Spike said as he stood up and began to climb the stairs, disappearing at the top.

Twilight turned to me with a smile on her face before she started to speak, “he’s so cute when he’s like that. Anyways, let me show you your room.”

Twilight turned around and began to walk towards a door, open it, and walk down. I followed her to the door and saw a staircase with two doors, one at the bottom and one halfway down the stairs on the left. I watched Twilight enter the room on the left as I made my way down the stairs before entering the room.

As I entered the room, I could see that it was simple in nature. There was a dresser, a mirror, a ceiling light, a twin-sized bed, and a head-high window that led outside. My bags and backpack were lying on the bed.

“This is where you’ll be staying,” Twilight said.

“Cool, I can work with this,” I said.

Twilight turned around and walked toward the door. With a yawn, she started to speak, “Sleep well, Jack. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“You too, Twilight,” I said as Twilight closed the door. The sound of her footsteps started to ascend the stairs before finally disappearing.

I walked over to the bed and looked at the bags before me. Picking up the bags of clothing, I began to search for some pajamas or something I could use as pajamas. As I looked, I found the two things I would use: a pair of light gray shorts and a baby blue shirt.

Taking the shirt and shorts out of the bag, I removed my clothes and paused momentarily to look in the mirror. I looked so different from what I had a few days ago, and this was the first time I could actually see the full extent of what others could see.

I rubbed my hands over my pale white skin, knowing this was what I looked like now. I stopped when my hands got to my Right leg. The hole where the pocketknife had been was still there. It had not healed like the rest of me had. I could still see the red inside of my leg.

“Damn,” I said.

Morbid curiosity overtook me, and I lifted my pointer finger to the hole before pushing it in. It did not hurt, but I really did not like the feeling. It felt numb, more than anything, but in the back of my mind, I just hated it.

Pulling my finger out of my leg hole, I could see that it was still dry and had nothing on it. Sighing, I turned to the clothes I had picked and placed them on my body, ensuring the shorts hid the hole.

Once I was dressed, I looked at the clothing on the floor. I didn't want to make a mess, so I picked up the discarded clothing, folded them, and placed them on the dresser. I then turned to the bags on the bed and moved them to the floor at the end of the bed, realizing that I would have to sort them better tomorrow. Lastly, I moved my backpack to the mirror using the side to hang it.

“That should do it,” I said before a yawn left my mouth involuntarily.

Realizing that it was probably time to lie down, I walked to the middle of the room and pulled the light cord, allowing the room to be bathed in darkness. I then made my way blindly over to the bed, pulling the cover to the size as I plunged myself into the softness of the bed before pulling the cover over me.

I looked out the little window to see the night sky, with its vibrant stars. As I stared, something else caught my eye. It was Stonehenge, also staring at the night sky. A smile crossed my face as I thought of the golem and everything I could do to get him accustomed. But that would have to wait as I felt the wave of sleep start to pass over me, forcing my eyes to shut.

~~~~>>>><<<<~~~~

I awoke to the sun shining through the window onto my face. I raised my hands to block the sunlight so I would not be blinded. After a moment of blocking the light, my arm grew tired. I lowered my hand, raised the upper half of my body, and started to look around the room.

It was the same room as last night. I raised my hands to wipe away the sleep from my eyes as I heard footsteps above me. Thinking for a moment, I realized that it was either Twilight or Spike walking around.

Lifting the sheets off me, I stood off of the bed as the bones in my legs creaked and popped from using them. As I stood up, I felt the weakness of my knees as I made my way to the door.

When I opened the door, it was dark except for the light shining from the window. I turned to look upstairs to see that the door was shut. Twilight must have shut it when she went to bed. I climbed the stairs to the top door before pushing it open, allowing more sunlight to blast me in the face.

Once my eyes adjusted again to the light, I stepped into the main room to find that it was empty. I looked around for a moment before hearing noises from the kitchen. Walking toward the kitchen, I noticed the smell of what smelled like pancakes filled the air becoming more vivid as I stepped through the doorway.

As I stepped through the doorway, I saw Spike with his head on a table. I turned to my right and saw Twilight's glowing horn as she flipped a pancake with her floating spatula. She turned her head to look at me and smiled.

“Well, well, well, look who’s up,” Twilight said.

“Hi, Twilight, what are you making? And what time is it?” I asked.

“I’m making some blueberry pancakes. And it's 8:30 a.m.,” Twilight replied.

“Too early,” I said as I walked over to the table and joined Spike with my head on the table.

“You said it, man,” Spike said.

“Oh, hush now, you two; you know what they say about how the early bird catches the worm,” Twilight said.

“Well, the late worm misses the bird,” I replied as Spike gave a weak chuckle.

“What did you never wake up this early before you came to Equestria?” Twilight asked.

“Nope, the earliest I would wake up was about 10 a.m., but the normal was 11 a.m.,” I responded.

“Then why are you up? Then, did we walk too loudly,” Twilight asked.

“Now, the sun woke me up,” I replied.

“Well, look on the bright side; you have a full day for what we have planned,” Twilight said.

“Boo, pun boo,” I said.

“Oh hush, now it's funny,” Twilight said.

The Twilight Horn glowed slightly brighter as the forks and plates filled with pancakes floated to the table, landing in front of Spike and me and in front of an empty seat. Twilight walked over and took the empty chair as Spike lifted his head and grabbed a fork.

“So, what is the plan today?” I asked as I took the fork into my hand and plunged it into the pancake.

Twilight chewed for a second before she swallowed and began to speak. “I want to get a large awning for Stonehenge so he is not exposed to the elements too much. After that, you can do whatever you want,” Twilight said.

“Cool,” I said as I stuffed a piece of pancake into my mouth.

“So, besides the sun waking you up, how did you sleep?” Twilight asked as she paced another piece of pancake into her mouth.

“I slept better than I did the previous night,” I responded.

“I bet. Sleeping on a stone floor is worse than a soft bed.” Twilight said.

“Naw, that wasn’t the reason,” I said.

“Then what made you sleep better last night?” Spike asked.

“Cause I didn’t have a nightmare last night,” I replied.

“You had a nightmare your first night. Man, you can’t catch a break.” Spike said.

“What did you dream about?” Twilight asked.

“My mom, the man, and the place where my friends left me crying,” I responded.

“I’m sorry to hear,” Twilight said.

“That wasn’t all. As I was crying, I heard a voice I never heard before telling me to wake up.” I said.

“Well, if it was in your dream and it was a voice you never heard, it was probably Princess Luna,” Twilight said.

“Princess Luna?” I asked.

“Yeah, Princess Luna, the princess of the night, dreams, and the one who raises the moon,” Twilight said.

I choked on my pancake for a moment at what she had said. ‘The one who raised the moon,’ what did she mean by that, and if Luna rose the moon, which rose the sun? Was it this Celestia I had heard about?

“You want to run that one by me one more time, specifically raises the moon part,” I said as I placed my fork next to the plate.

“Oh, yeah, that’s right. From what I heard from your world, the sun and moon rise and lower themselves on their own. It's so unnatural,” Twilight said with a shiver.

“And raising the sun and moon with magic is,” I responded.

“Maybe not to you, but for us, we use magic to do everything from changing the season and weather to raising the sun and moon,” Twilight said.

“It's true they have a weather factory where they make clouds, rain, snow, and rainbows,” Spike said.

“Sorry for my skepticism, but this is all so hard to believe. Like you said, in my world, everything works on its own for the most part,” I said.

“And traveling to another world is more believable?” Twilight asked.

“No, kinda. In fairness, I don’t really have a choice but to believe I’m in another world, but the weather I have to see to see to believe,” I replied.

“Well, you’ll see when we're out. The Pegasus have a small storm planned for later tonight,” Twilight said.

“Is that why you want to get the awning for Stonehenge?” I asked.

“I have been hearing that name a lot, and I have to ask, who is Stonehenge?” Spike asked.

“It’s a golem outside the library,” Twilight responded.

“We have a golem!” Spike yelled as he jumped out of his chair and ran to the front door.

The sound of the front door opening and shutting rang through the house. I chuckled, stood up, picked up the plate and fork, brought them to the sink, and started to wash the plate, trying not to make a mess for Twilight. Twilight's horn glowed as hers and Spike’s plate floated to the sink.

“I got it, Twilight. When do we plan on leaving?”

“Thank you, and sometime within the hour,” Twilight said as she turned and walked out of the kitchen.

I turned back to the plates and forks and washed them with soap and water. Soon after washing the plates, I placed them on a little drying rack to dry properly. Turning to the main room, I walked in and saw Twilight looking through the bookshelves looking through the book.

As Twilight looked through the book, a thought that I had not realized crossed my mind. I had not washed myself in over three days and probably did not smell that good. I realized I needed to clean myself before putting on anything new.

“Hey, Twilight,” I said.

“Yes,” Twilight said.

“Do you mind if I take a shower before we go?” I asked.

“Sure, feel free to. The bathroom is right down that hallway, the first door on the right,” Twilight said as she pointed to a hallway on the right.

“Thank you, Twilight,” I said.

“No problem. Oh, and the extra towels are under the sink,” Twilight said.

“I turned back to the stairs that led to the room I had stayed in, walking back to them. As I walked down the stairs, I entered the room and reached the end of the bed, where I hand-put my clothes. Picking up the bags, I looked through them for what I would wear after my shower.

After looking through the bag, I found a black pair of boxers, black pants, and a dark blue shirt. Lifting them, I walked back over to the stairs and ascended them. As I reached the top, I saw that Twilight had found a book and was reading it while Spike was nowhere to be found. He was probably outside bothering Stonehenge.

I turned to the hallway Twilight had pointed at, walked down it, and entered the first door on the right. Opening the door, I was met with the sight of a small bathroom with a counter sink with a mirror atop, a toilet, and a beige bathtub with a shower head atop, along with curtains.

I closed the door behind me and put the clothes I had picked out on the sink. Then, I started to undress myself, allowing my clothes to fall to the floor. Pulling the curtain to the side, I entered the bathtub and fidgeted with the shower handles. With a twist of the handle, the water started to flow out of the shower head, and drips of water began to tap over my body.

Sliding my hands over my body, I looked to the side, where I saw a shampoo, conditioner, and a bottle of liquid ‘coat’ soap. Picking up the ‘coat,’ I looked over, realizing that this was as close as I was going to get to normal body soap.

Squirting the soap into my hand, I stepped back a bit so the water wouldn’t hit me directly. I started to rub the soap on my body. As I rubbed my body, soap suds began to form as I rubbed the soap over my body. Once I felt my upper body was soaped up enough, I moved lower, rubbing my legs, crotch, and butt with the soap.

After rubbing the soap on my body, I stepped fully back into the water, allowing the suds to wash off of me and flow down the drain. Looking at the shampoo, I realized I would leave them alone for now as I didn’t want to mess with that and that while I was out, I would see if we could get more for me.

Standing there, I let my mind wander briefly as I looked at my hands. For a moment, I thought of magic and the blue glow, but a moment was all that was needed for my hands to start glowing. As the water drops hit my hand, they froze, becoming more akin to hail falling into the tub.

Panicking for a moment as I didn’t want the tub to be filled with the ice drops, I thought for a moment. In my panic, my mind flashed through some of the things I had seen yesterday before finally stopping on Twilight using magic to make stuff hover.

The moment my mind landed on Twilight, the taps of ice and water stopped, and my mouth was agape at what I was seeing. A weak blue glow surrounded the water; my hand felt heavy, and my mind lighter. With a sharp stinging, my hand stopped glowing as the water fell with a large splash. Luckily, none of the water left the tub.

“God, my head,” I said as I grabbed my pounding skull.

“What was that?” Twilight yelled.

“Uh, nothing, just some water,” I yelled back.

“Okay,” Twilight yelled.

Letting go of my head, I turned the shower off as I stood there air drying. Pulling the shower curtain to the side, I leaned over, opened the sick cabinet, and grabbed the top towel. Looking over the towel, I saw it was dark blue and slightly bigger than a normal towel. Wrapping it around me, I began to dry myself off as the sharp pain in my head started to fade.

“I need to get this under control. Maybe I can ask Twilight if she has any books on magic.” I whispered to myself.

I rubbed the towel over my head as I felt the wetness in my hair diminish. As I finished with the towel, I looked for a place to put it before I turned my attention to a towel rack with two towels, one green and one purple, on it and two empty spaces. Shrugging my shoulders, I hung my towel next to the others.

Turning to my clothes, I picked up the underwear and put my leg through one of the leg holes before doing the same with the other leg, sliding them up my legs and over my pelvis. Next, I grabbed the pants, doing the same as I had done with the underwear. Firstly, I grabbed the shirt, throwing it over my head as I pushed my arms through the sleeves and my head through the headhole as the shirt formed around my torso.

“Ah, feels so much better,” I said.

Looking down, I still had the problem of the used clothes. Looking around the bathroom, I did not see a hamper, which kind of made sense cause, from what I could see, ponies don’t wear clothes all that much. Shrugging, I figured I would just take them to the other dirty clothes in the spare room.

Opening the door, I exited the bathroom and into the hallway before walking toward the main library room. When I entered, I saw Twilight lying down, reading a book as she held it in the air with her magic. The sight of it caused a light to throb in my head. As I stood there, Twilight looked up at me with a smile.

“Ah, look who’s clean. What do you have there?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, these are my dirty clothes. I didn’t see a hamper, and I was going to put them with my other dirty clothes in the spare room,” I responded.

“Ah, okay. That’s right. Humans wear clothes all the time. We might need to get you a basket for your used clothes,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, I’ll be ready to get that awning when I get back upstairs,” I said.

“Okay,” Twilight said as she closed her book.

Walking to the stairs, I descended them back to the spare room, where I followed the clothes and placed them with the other dirty ones. Turning around, I walked over to the mirror, grabbing my backpack before returning to the stairs.

As I reached the top of the stairs, I saw Twilight waiting next to the door, looking out the window at Spike and Stonehenge. As I walked closer to Twilight, she turned to look up at me.

“Ready?” Twilight asked.

“As ready as I can be,” I said.

Chapter 6: Shopping and Singing

Stepping outside, I felt the heat of the sun as it warmed my pale skin. The cool autumn breeze followed, carrying the smell of dew and leaves. The sound of birds chirping tickled my ear. It made waking up this early almost halfway worth it.

Looking to my right, I saw Spike and Stonehenge with each other. Stonehenge was sitting, holding his hands out as Spike used him as a makeshift jungle Jim as he jumped from one hand to another. Looking at Stonehenge's face, I could see a smile, as if he was also enjoying the company. The sound of Twilight closing the door behind her snapped my back to reality.

Twilight turned to see what I had seen just a moment ago. A smile crept over her face as she began to speak. “All right, you two. Fun and games have to wait; we have plans.”

“Aw, come on, Twi, five more minutes,” Spike said, slightly upset.

“I'm Sorry, Spike. We have to go shopping, plus you have been playing for nearly an hour, " Twilight responded.

“Please, Twilight,” Spike begged.

Twilight was about to say something before I tapped her on the shoulder and pointed at Stonehenge with a smile. A moment of thought came from Twilight before the sparks connected, and she smiled.

“We have to go, but if you want to, you can play Piggie back,” Twilight said.

“I ride on your back all the time, Twi. Why are you offering that to me now?” Spike asked.

“Well, who said I said you could ride on MY back,” Twilight said, looking at Stonehenge.

Spike looked back and forth for a worrying time before the expression on his face lit up like a Jack-o-lantern as he began to speak, “Really, Twilight.”

“Yep, and Jack gave his permission, so all I ask is that you stay safe up there and don’t fall, please,” Twilight said as she walked over and nuzzled Spike.

I walked over to Stonehenge and started to talk with him. “Look at you, big guy, already making more friends, and this one wants to play piggie back, so can you make sure he stays safe and doesn’t fall.”

With a nod, Stonehenge began to stand up from where he had been sitting. Once fully stood up, he lowered his hand palm to the ground, offering it to Spike. Spike quickly ran and jumped onto Stonehenge's hand. Stonehenge then raised his hand up to his shoulders, where he placed Spike as a little handle formed, allowing Spike to hold on better.

“How is it up there?” Twilight yelled.

“So cool, I can see our house from here,” Spike yelled back.

“No surprise, you're right next to it. You can say that when you are down the street,” I yelled.

Twilight chuckled before she turned and started to walk towards the market. “Come on now, gang, we have stuff to do.”

Without missing a beat, Stonehenge started to walk forward, following Twilight as Spike looked all around in excitement. Not wanting to get left behind, I moved my feet out, pacing Stonehenge while catching up with Twilight.

“So where are we heading first? I asked.

“First things first, we are going to the marketplace to see if anypony has a large tarp. Then, after that, we’ll have to find some large poles to hold the tarp so he can sit under it,” Twilight responded.

“Is that all?” I asked.

“For the most part. Why was there anything else? Twilight asked.

“Can we see if we can get some shampoo and conditioner for me? I didn’t want to mess with yours while I was in the shower,” I replied.

“We can look while we’re there. You know you could have used mine. I don’t mind. Plus, it is important for your hair too…” was all Twilight could say before Spike cut her off.

“I can see our house from here,” Spike yelled with glee.

Twilight's brow sank, and I laughed in amusement at Spike's antics, turning to look at Spike and Stonehenge. As I was looking, I remembered that Twilight and I had not told Spike what Stonehenge was.

“Twilight?” I whispered.

“Yes, what is it?” Twilight responded.

“Should we tell Spike about what Stonehenge is?” I asked.

“Maybe I’ll think about it when we’re out shopping,” Twilight replied.

“Okay, also, while my mind is on it, when do you want to tell your friends? I’m guessing the five you were with at the party are your close friends.” I said.

“Good guess, yes, they are, and when we all have time and can go to a private area to tell them where they can… react with space,” Twilight said.

“Okay, just let me know when you want to do it. I want to be there to explain to them how I found him,” I said.

“Okay, I will,” Twilight replied.

Looking up, I could see the beautiful blue sky in all its glory. A few white clouds parted the sky, unmoving. A few pegasus were flying around the sky, looking like they were doing something. As they flew, I watched an orange pegasus fly over to one of the clouds I had been watching and poked it, causing it to pop like a balloon into white particles.

I was decently surprised at what I had just seen. The cloud popped like a balloon. Even in my world, if something like a plane touched a cloud, it would just move through it. Maybe Twilight was right. Perhaps they control the weather, but I would have to wait and see for the sun and moon. I heard a small chuckle next to me as I looked up, knowing it was Twilight.

“Told you,” Twilight said smugly.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you were right. I was wrong. You know you’d be the same if you were in my world,” I responded.

“No, I would probably be much worse. You're taking it better than most do. It usually takes most humans months to accept that they are in a new world. You, on the other hand, are taking it in stride. It's good to see,” Twilight said.

“To be fair, I did freak out big time when I first woke up,” I said as I thought about waking up in the morgue with my chest cut open.

“I know waking up in the dark and stumbling into the Everfree sure does accelerate the process,” Twilight responded.

“Yeah. Oh, and don’t forget being cased my Timberwolves,” I joked.

“Hey, I had to deal with them, too. Come to think of it, they were acting more aggressively than normal.” Twilight said.

“What do you mean? Do they not normally act like that?” I asked.

“No, most of the time, they go for the smaller, much more helpless creatures. They usually only attack larger things in self-defense or if they are intruding on a hunt.” Twilight said.

“Then why would they try to attack you or me?” I asked.

“I don’t know. It is quite likely they had no idea what you were and thought you were prey. Which also might explain why they attacked me for getting too close to their hunting ground,” Twilight responded.

“Well, that might explain it. Man, they thought I was prey,” I said.

“These things happen… I think... oh look, we're almost there,” Twilight said as she pointed ahead.

Looking forward, I could see the stalls of the marketplace and the bustling of ponies walking between them. There were fewer ponies than there were yesterday, probably because it was still early in the morning.

Twilight was the first to enter the marketplace, followed by me, Stonehenge, and Spike. Twilight looked back and forth at the stalls before one caught her eye. Looking at the stall, I saw a red pony with black hair and what looked like cloth and tarps of all shapes and sizes lying on the counter.

Twilight's eyes darted, looking at the section of cloth and tarps on the counter. The red pony noticed Twilight looking, walked over to Twilight, and began introducing himself.

“Hello, I can help you. Are you looking for anything specific?” the red pony asked.

“Uh, yes, I am. I’m looking for a large tarp or awning, something around fifteen by fifteen feet,” Twilight said.

“Oh, that is quite large. What do you need it for?” the red pony asked.

“Well, I want to keep my golem out of the elements a bit better,” Twilight said.

“Oh well, then you won’t find anything that large out here. I place the smaller stuff on the counter. The bigger stuff is under the stall,” the red pony said.

The red pony walked behind the stall, ducking his head under as he grabbed much larger items behind the stall. With a few loud huffs, the red pony placed some large cloths on the table.

“Okay, I got a seven by seven, a ten by ten, an 18 by 18, and a 25 by 25,” the red pony said as he waved his hoof out to his stock.

“How much is the 18 by 18?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, with the cost of materials and labor, I'm going to say about 45 bits.” The red pony said.

“Well, that’s not too terrible,” Twilight said as she pulled a small brown pouch out of her bag and pulled out forty-five gold coins.

The Red pony cleared the table save for the large Tarp we had just bought as Twilight placed the coins on the countertop. Twilight then used her magic to pick up the tarp and floated it to Stonehenge. Stonehenge looked at it for a moment before he realized she was holding it out for him to hold and quickly grabbed it.

“Thank you for your business,” the red pony said.

Twilight turned to me as she started to speak,” Okay, all that’s left now is some poles and your cleaning supplies.”

“Okay...which way is that?” I asked.

“It's this way,” Twilight said as she turned away and started to walk.

I followed Twilight as she walked through the marketplace, looking for another stall. It wasn’t long before we stopped again in front of a stall selling cleaning products. Twilight and I walked up to the stall and started to look at the shampoos and conditioners.

“What do you think of this smell?” Twilight said as she used her magic to hold a shampoo.

Giving it a sniff, I noticed that it smelled like blueberries, which I did not like. " No, not that one,” I said.

“Okay, how about this one,” Twilight said as she raised another one to replace the one I had rejected.

Sniffing it, it gave off the scent of roses. I kind of liked it. “That one is a maybe leaning on yes. Let's see if anything else catches my eye,” I said.

“Okay,” Twilight said, setting the shampoo on the side.

Looking through the bottles, picking them up, and sniffing them, I found a few that I liked and a few that I did not, but none of them screamed out to me. I picked up an orange bottle and brought it to my nose, sniffing it, only to be met with the smell of pumpkin pie.

The wires in my brain froze as I sniffed it again. The smell was beyond wonderful. It was like the smell of fall but amplified to the max. I knew at that moment that this would be the one I would get.

“Twilight, I would like to get this one, please,” I said as I held the bottle out for her to sniff.

Twilight leaned over and sniffed it before speaking, “Oh, I like that one as well. Let's see how much it costs.”

Twilight and I walked over to the pony who was running the stand. She was a dark blue unicorn with cyan hair and focused on reading what looked like a newspaper. Twilight cleared her throat, causing the unicorn to drop her paper.

“Sorry about that. My name is Aroma Fragrant. How can I help you today?” Aroma asked.

“My name is Twilight, and this is Jack. We would like to know how much this shampoo and conditioner are,” Twilight said as she hovered the shampoo and conditioner in her magic.

“Oh, that would be five bits separate or nine bits together,” Aroma said.

“we’ll get them together,” Twilight said as she pulled the coin bag back out, pulled out nine bits, and handed them to Aroma.

“Thank you for your purchase. I bet you'll enjoy the smell,” Aroma said with a smile.

“Oh, there, not for her; they are for me,” I said as I grabbed the shampoo and conditioner and placed them in my backpack, causing Aroma’s face to shift in shock.

“A human using one of my shampoos is an honor, Mister Jack,” Aroma said as the shock left her face and was replaced by excitement.

“Oh, it's no issue, Miss Aroma. I liked the fall smell,” I said as I put my hand behind my head and rubbed it.

“Well, just let me know if you ever need it refilled, Jack,” Aroma said.

“Will do,” I said as Twilight and I walked away.

We were no more than twenty feet from the shampoo stall before Twilight started to laugh. I looked at Twilight, who was still laughing at the interaction, causing me to sigh in embarrassment.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, but that was kinda weird,” I said.

“I told you yesterday you’re a human. Some ponies are going to treat you differently, Mister Jack,” Twilight said as she whipped a tear from her eye.

“Okay, enough laughing at the Awkward experience. Let's go find some poles for the tarp,” I said.

“Oh, that one is easy, and it’s next to Applejack’s stall,” Twilight said as she finished laughing at my expense.

“Lead the way,” I said as I let my shoulders fall.

Twilight started to walk again, occasionally giving off light chuckles. As we walked, I turned to Spike and Stonehenge, who were following Twilight. Looking at Spike, I could see his head darting back and forth as he looked at all the stalls and ponies.

“You doing good up there?” I yelled.

“I sure am, “Spike yelled back.

“Okay, well, when you want down before we get done, tap Stonehenge on the side of the head and let him know you want down,” I yelled.

“Okay, but I’m staying up here the whole time,” Spike yelled back.

I shrugged my shoulder and turned back to look at Twilight, who was, in turn, looking up at me. She had a slight smile on her face as she turned her attention back to lead us to the next stall.

It wasn’t long before Applejacks and the stall where we were heading started coming into view. As we walked closer, I could hear a familiar sound starting to come into earshot. It sounded like the plums and picks from the south, something I knew how to play. It was a banjo.

As we walked closer to the two stalls, I could see Applejack busy selling a basket of apples to a light purple pony. If I remember correctly, she was at the party last night. I think she said her name was Berry Punch. The two pebble golems were there as well, along with another pony sitting behind Applejack. Looking at this guy, he was bright red and bigger than most, and he was playing the instrument that I was hearing.

Looking at the stall next to Applejacks, another large brown was not as big as the large mother Huber behind Applejack but still on the larger side. Behind him were poles of various materials and sizes.

“Okay, this shouldn’t take but a moment. Here are five bits,” Twilight said as she pulled out five of the gold coins and placed them in my hand before speaking again. “You can look around while I get the poles. Stonehenge, can you please follow me for a moment?”

Stonehenge nodded as he and Twilight walked over to the stall, and Twilight began to converse with the brown pony. The sound of the banjo continued to tickle my ears as I was instinctually drawn to Applejack’s stall. Walking up to the stall, Berry Punch grabbed her basket of apples in her mouth and walked away. Applejack saw me approaching and gave me a warm smile.

“Well, well, well, if it ain’t the new human in town. What can I do for you, Jack? Are you here for some Sweet Apple Acre apples? Applejack asked.

“Maybe Twilight gave me five of these to spend. But what really drew me was the thing that that guy behind you is playing,” I said.

“You mean big Macintosh and his banjo?” Applejack asked.

“Well, yeah. Believe it or not, I am actually musically inclined. I was even going to school for it, and the banjo was one of the instruments I played,” I responded.

“You can play the banjo?” Applejack asked.

“Well, yes, and a few more, even one you have never heard of,” I said.

“Well, Sugarcube, that's amazing to hear. Do you have any songs you can play off the top of yer head?” Applejack asked.

“I got one or two if you or Big Macintosh don’t mind,” I said.

“None at all. I always wondered what human music sounded like.” Applejack said as she turned to Big Macintosh and started to talk to him. “Big Mac, let the Jack have a go at the banjo.”

“Okay,” Big Macintosh said as he stood up and placed the banjo back on the seat where he had been playing.

Walking over, I took the banjo in my hand. Looking over it, it appeared to be slightly smaller, but it was something that I would still be able to play. Sitting in the chair, I plumed a few cords, ensuring it was tuned.

As I was checking the banjo, Twilight and Stonehenge walked over. Stonehenge was holding a set of four poles, two of which were longer than the other two. Along with Twilight and Stonehenge, a small crowd had begun to form as they realized they would hear human music.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked.

“Jack gonna play a human song,” Applejack replied.

“A human song!” Twilight said excitedly as she pulled out a paper and quill, ready to document the words.

“Are you all ready?” I asked.

“Sure am,” Applejack said.

“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh replied.

“Ready,” Twilight responded.

The crowd cheered, and my mind raced through a few songs before landing on one I had heard that resonated with me. As I began to plum and pick the cords, my hand started to play.

~~~~>>><<<~~~~

(The Lone Prairie)

~~~~>>><<<~~~~

As I finished the song, my voice stopped, and the tune from the plums and picks of the cords faded. I looked up at all the faces staring at me. Most of their mouths were agape at what they had heard.

Twilight and Applejack were among the few with their mouths open. Looking closer at their faces, I could see a look of sadness. They stared at each other as I stared at them before turning back to me and breaking the awkward silence.

“Jack?” Applejack said.

“Are you okay?” Twilight asked.

I was taken aback by what they asked, and I gave my mind a moment to process what they had said. As thoughts flooded my mind, I wondered why they would ask me that. Was it because of the song?

“I’m fine,” I said.

“Are you sure, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why do you all ask?” I asked.

“Because that song was on the sadder side,” Twilight responded.

“It is? I’ve never thought about it that way,” I said.

“Really?” Twilight asked.

“Well, yeah, I know the lyrics are on the darker side, but that is just the nature of the song,” I responded.

“Well, pony folk songs aren’t like that for the most part,” Applejack said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Most pony music comes from the here and now and from emotion and soul,” Twilight said.

“Hmm. Human music is like that, too, but many of ours focus on the past and now, along with emotion and soul,” I said.

“Still, to have a song so dark and sad can be quite upsetting, “Applejack said.

“Maybe, but you all might not realize that my world can be dark and sad. People hurt each other for fame, power, and wealth. Even your best friends will betray you and leave you, too...” I sighed, stopping myself from saying the final word as I rubbed my hand over my right leg.

Looking up at Twilight and Applejack, I could see they were looking down at the ground. They had probably realized they had been reminded of what I had told them last night. Thinking to myself that I couldn’t just let them mope about it.

“But…,” I said, causing Twilight and Applejack to look up as I started to finish my sentence,” But there is still good in my world. The generosity and niceness of some people. The warmth and love of those who actually care about you. Just because my world is dark and sad doesn’t mean there isn’t light and happiness. We just have to look harder for it.”

As I spoke, the light in Applejack’s and Twilight’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. I could see smiles creeping across their faces as if the sadness I had just plagued them was already gone.

“That's good to hear that even in a world like yours, there is still niceness to be found,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, Jack, but next time, try to play a more cheerful song,” Applejack said.

“I can try, but no promises,” I chuckled as I stood up and placed the banjo back onto the seat.

“Come on, Jack, we have to leave now,” Twilight said as she turned and hugged Applejack before speaking again. “It was good to see you again, Applejack. Oh, and while It's on my mind, I want to tell you and the girls something in private sometime after the sisterhooves social.”

“Okay, Twilight. Y’all have a nice day and stay safe during the storm,” Applejack said.

“Wait, before we go. I have a really important question for Applejack,” I said as I pointed a finger at the sky.

“What do you need, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

“How much do you charge for an apple,” I replied.

“Uhm… a bit per apple. Why? Applejack asked.

“Can I buy four of them?” I asked.

“You sure can just place the coins on the counter,” Applejack said.

Walking over to the counter, I placed four of the five coins Twilight had given me on the corner of Applejack’s stall. The moment I put the final coin down, four apples landed on the counter, ready to be picked up. Looking up, one of the pebble golems had a few apples in their hands. Picking up the apples, I waved at Applejack in appreciation and walked back over to Twilight.

“Why did you buy apples?” Twilight asked.

“I figured it would be a good snack for you, Spike, and me,” I replied.

“Why did you get four, then,” Twilight asked.

“Save it for later,” I replied.

I held two apples out in my hand for Twilight to take and for her to give to Spike. Twilight's horn glowed as the apples were lifted from my hand. One floated in front of her, and the other flew up to Spike, who snatched it like a little gremlin. Once Spike had his apple, Twilight began to lead the way as she took a bite of her apple. Following her example, I started to follow her as I bit into my apple.

We all walked silently for a moment as we enjoyed the sweet apples I had bought. Walking, we exited the town square. I looked over to see that Twilight was nearly finished with her apple. With one final bite, she finished her apple and turned to me with a smile.

“Thank you for the apple, Jack. It was really good,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, they are,” I said with my mouth still full of apples.

“So, what do you plan to do after we put up the awning, and you're free to do whatever?” Twilight asked.

“Well, you said that it is going to rain later. I might just stay inside and read about this world,” I responded.

“Oh, sounds relaxing. What topics do you want to read about?” Twilight asked.

“Magic, specific unicorn magic,” I replied.

“Well, I have a few books on that, but why do you want to know about unicorn magic?” Twilight asked.

“Well, my world never had anything like it, so I want to know as much as I can about it,” I lied.

The real reason I wanted to know more was to see if I could better control the magic in my hands. Knowing the basics, I knew I could control it better and not have the chance of freeing anything on accident.

“Okay, learning about something you don’t know is always good. When we get back to the library, I’ll show you where I keep basic books on the history of magic,” Twilight said.

Twilight began mumbling to herself as she thought about books she wanted to show me. I looked down at her as she mumbled with a smile, which only made me feel worse. This small pony was giving me her trust, and I was lying to her, and for what reason? To protect myself?

Would she be scared of me if I told her I was a magic-wielding human? Would it be worse if she found out I was dead? Would she kick me and Stonehenge out? Would she call that princess and have me experimented on? I just don’t know, but from what I can tell, she seemed open during the two days I spent with her. She was treating me like we were lifelong friends. Maybe that was common here. I was so deep in thought that I barely fell the hoof, pointing me in my leg.

“Jack, are you okay? You seem out of focus?” Twilight said.

“Oh, sorry, I was deep in thought. I guess I spaced out,” I responded.

“Oh, it's fine. It happens to me all the time. Anyway, we're back home,” Twilight said.

Looking straight ahead, Twilight was right. We were indeed back at the library. Looking over to my right, I saw Twilight walking over to Stonehenge. He held out his hand and held the large items we had bought. Using her magic, she took the items from Stonehenge.

“Thank you, Stonehenge. And can you please let Spike down? He has been up there long enough,” Twilight said.

Stonehenge nodded as he raised his hand to his shoulder. He grabbed Spike in his large hand and gently brought him down to the ground. Once Spike was on the ground, he looked around briefly before focusing on Twilight.

“Aw, come on, Twi, you could have left me up there.” Spike pouted.

“Sorry, Spike, but with the storm starting soon, I want you inside so you don’t catch a cold,” Twilight said as she nuzzled Spike’s head.

“Okay, fine, but try not to take so long,” Spike said as he tried to hide his embarrassment from Twilight’s affection.

Spike walked into the library as Twilight set the items on the ground. She began looking over the ground next to her home as she planned what to do. I took the opportunity to walk next to her.

“So, what's the plan?” I asked.

“Well, I plan to use three spells to set this up. The first will be a fusion spell to bind the poles to the ground and the tarp. Next, I plan to use a reinforcement spell on the poles and the tarp. And lastly, a detection spell for if anyone tries to mess with him, we will know as soon as possible,” Twilight responded.

“Okay, sounds like a plan. I wish I could help you,” I said.

“I know, but this requires unicorn magic, and humans don’t have any,” Twilight said.

“Yeah,” I said.

“Okay, stand back now. I don’t want to accidentally hit you,” Twilight said.

Nodding in response, I took a step back, making sure that I was out of the way. Twilight horn began to glow as the poles and tarp floated off the ground again. The poles floated into a square-like pattern as the tarp unfolded and laded at the top of the poles. Twilight horn glowed slightly brighter as the tarp and pole fused into one.

Twilight’s horn stopped glowing as bright as she finished fusing the poles to the tarp before it glowed brighter than it had, even when she was fusing the poles and tarp together. She huffed and grunted before the horn dimmed again, and she sighed and panted. She loved the new awning to the ground, where she lowered the poles into the ground, fusing them to the ground.

Twilight's horn stopped glowing for a moment before a faint glow encased the awning before disappearing. Once she was finished, she lowered her head and started to catch her breath. Worried, I walked over to check on her.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, I just have to catch my breath. All those spells took it out of me, especially the reinforcement spell.” Twilight responded.

I stood by Twilight as she panted from the strain of using her magic. It wasn’t long before she stopped panting and raised her head as she looked at her work. With a weak smile, she turned to Stonehenge.

“It's all done. You should be a bit better protected from the weather in there,” Twilight said.

Stonehenge looked around to make sure that the coast was clear before he started to speak.” Thank You, Sparkle.”

“You're welcome,” Twilight Said.

Stonehenge walked over to the newly made awning and looked over it before crouching and sitting beneath it. Stonehenge gave a thumbs up to Twilight as I felt a bit of coldness on my neck.

Reaching up to cover my neck, I felt a bit wet, so I Turned my attention to the sky. Deep grey clouds filled half of it and were coming closer. I tapped Twilight's shoulder and pointed to the sky, and she gave a surprised expression.

“It looks like it is here a bit early and just in time, too. Let's head inside.” Twilight said.

“Say no more. Stonehenge, stay dry.” I said.

Stonehenge gave another thumbs up as I felt more water drops hit my back. Twilight and I made a break for the library door as the water drops became more frequent. Twilight used her magic to open the door and bolted inside. On the other hand, I was not as fast, and the moment I ran through the door, my back was wet.

“Aw, man,” I said.

“What is it?” Twilight asked.

I turned around to show Twilight the wetness on my back before speaking. “I got attacked by the rain.”

“Well, you certainly are drenched. Sit next to the fireplace. I’ll have Spike light it so that you can dry off,” Twilight said as she started to walk away.

“Before I do that, can I look for one of the books that go over magic?” I asked.

“Okay, the magic section is over there,” Twilight said as she pointed towards a few shelves of books before speaking again, “but try not to pick out anything that seems too advanced.”

As Twilight walked away to find Spike, I walked over to the shelves that Twilight had pointed out. Nearing the shelves, I looked over the book for any that might help me. A few beginner books stood out, like ‘A Filly’s/Colt’s Guide to Magic,’ Magic and You,’ and ‘How to Use Your Special Gift.’

Grabbing all three books, I was about to Turn away when a final book caught my eye: Elementals of the Elements.’ Taking the book off the shelf, it was thicker than the other three, and I turned it over to look at the back to see what it was about.

Upon looking at the back of the book, I noticed that it claimed to cover the basics of elemental magic, such as Fire, water, air, and Earth magic. It also covered slightly more advanced stuff, like cold and plant magic.

“This is exactly what I needed,” I said aloud.

“What is?” a voice said near my feet.

I jumped slightly at the sound of the voice, causing me to look down to see Spike standing there with a confused look on his face.

“God, Spike, please don’t scare me like that,” I said.

“Oh, sorry, I was just wondering what you were talking about,’ Spike said.

“I asked Twilight if I could read some books on magic, and she agreed, so I was just looking over them,” I said.

“That is cool. Well, Twilight sent me in here to light the fireplace so you can dry your back off, so I’m going to do that now.” Spike said.

Spike then turned around and walked over to the small fireplace in the corner of the room. Upon arriving at the fireplace, he set a few logs inside before he breathed a light green fire onto them, catching them on fire immediately. The fire bellowed and grew, spreading as he stopped and became a bright orange.

“There we go, all done. Now I get to read my comic books,” Spike said.

Spike wattled to the staircase on the side of the room and climbed it, disappearing at the top. I made my way closer to the fireplace, feeling the heat from the fire grow as I approached it. Moving to the floor, I placed the book beside me and raised my hands near the fire as I listened to the tips and taps of raindrops on a few of the windows. As I listened to the raindrops, the sound of footsteps or hoofsteps came closer as Twilight walked beside me.

“So, what did you choose?” Twilight asked.

“Just these four?” I said as I unstacked the four books and laid them flat on the floor.

“Hm. These three look fine,” Twilight said as she pointed to the three beginner books I had picked out before pointing to ‘Elementals of the Elements.’ “This one, although it is a basic book, goes over a really challenging magic subject. Are you sure you want to read it as well?”

“Uh, yeah, I would like to read it, even if it is difficult. I felt drawn to it, so I might as well, and if I do find it too hard to understand, I’ll put it back,” I said.

“Okay, if you say so. You know I think I’ll join you in reading. I still have to look into your pendant,” Twilight said.

“Hey, you're more than welcome. The fire is toasty, and the rain is tapping, perfect for reading.” I said.

Twilight’s horn glowed as ten books flew out from the bookshelves and floated next to her as she lowered herself onto her stomach. With a sigh, she pulled the top book in between her front leg and started reading it. I grabbed ‘A Filly’s/Colt’s Guide to Magic’ and started to read it.

~~~~>>><<<~~~~

Reading the last words of ‘Magic and You,’ I closed the book, setting it atop the other two. I had spent the better part of the last few hours reading the three books. My back had dried a few hours ago, and the sound of rain continued to tap on the windows as what little light that passed through the clouds had started to dim. Looking at the clock that hung near the entrance to the kitchen, it said it was 6:30 PM.

The sound of a page-turning tickled my ear as I turned to look at Twilight. She was on her final book of the ten she had pulled down. I knew I was an average reader, but Twilight blew that out of the water. If I had to say, she only had a few pages remaining.

While Looking at Twilight, the smell of mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes filled the air. About an hour earlier, Twilight had asked Spike if he could make dinner for the three of us, saying he was a better cook than she was, and from the smell of it, by the time Twilight finished her book, Spike would call us in to eat.

Looking to my left, I saw the ‘Elementals of the Elements.’ I have not had the chance to read it yet, but I would probably take it down to my room and read it privately. Looking at the other three, I thought about what they had informed me.

Firstly, they informed me of the history of magic and some known species of magic users, like the Royal Book of Magic, Magical Artifacts, and Creatures’ told me. They next told me that magic must not be used lightly and must be welded with knowledge and focus. It is both a tool and an aspect of oneself, both formless and whatever the user wants it to be.

The last things that the book went over were the overuse and the overuse of magic. Overusing your magic can cause confusion, headaches, tiredness, and, in rare cases, unconsciousness. Underuse of magic can vary in effect, as magic build-up can cause random effects, but on the bright side, magic build-up only happens after a few weeks of non-magic use.

Standing up, I stretched the muscles in my legs as I looked down at Twilight, who had noticed that I had stood up. She smiled at me before turning back to finish her book, and I grabbed the three books to return them to their shelves. Walking closer to the shelves, the smell of what Spike was making grew more potent.

Reaching the shelves, I put the three books back where I had found them as the sound of footsteps came from the kitchen door. Turning to look, I could see Spike in the doorway with a soup spoon.

“Dinners ready. Let's eat,” Spike said as he returned to the kitchen.

“Finally, I’m so hungry, and it smells so good,” Twilight whimpered as she closed her book.

Walking towards the kitchen entrance, I waited for Twilight as she put her book away before speaking. “Come on, let go.”

Twilight walked past me as her horn stopped glowing, and all the books had been put away. I followed closely behind her and entered the kitchen, where I saw Spike stirring a soup pot. Next to Spike were three bowls: one large, one normal, and one small. Spike then ladle some soup into each of the three bowls, filling them respectfully. Twilight grabbed the normal-sized bowl, and Spike grabbed the small one, leaving me with the large one.

Walking over to the counter, I grabbed a spoon and the bowl and made my way to the table, where I set the bowl down and took my seat. The sound of a spoon scraping glass as Spike ate his portion quickly.

Twilight grabbed her spoon and her magic before eating the soup. Her eyes lit up a bit as she took another bite. I took my spoon and plunged it into the soup, grabbing some vegetables and liquid, bringing them to my mouth, blowing on them, and eating them.

As the soup filled my mouth, my taste buds were assaulted with the taste of vegetables, most paying their part, save for the taste of mushrooms, which left an earthy aftertaste. As I took my next bite, I heard Twilight clear her voice.

“So, Jack, did you learn anything about magic,” Twilight asked.

“a little bit from what I read, it went over the basics of magic use,” I responded.

“That’s good that you learned something. Were you able to read ‘Elementals of the Elements,’” Twilight asked as she took another bite of the soup.

“No, I wasn’t, but I think I might take it to the spare room to read to bed,” I replied, filling my mouth with soup.

“Okay, just make sure not to damage it. It is the only copy I have. Also, you know you can call it your room because you are welcome as long as you need, so think of it as your room,” Twilight said.

“Sorry, Twilight, it is just my manners talking because it is going to take a moment to think of it as my room,” I said.

Twilight was about to say something when Spike cut her off, finishing his soup as he spoke,” Why do you say that, dude?”

“Well, because a few days ago, I had a room I spent my whole life in. It will be a few days before my brain fills in the gaps,” I said as I took the last few bites of my soup.

“So, what you’re saying is that the new setting takes time?” Spike asked.

“Pretty much,” I replied.

Looking across the table, I could see Twilight finish her food as she left the spoon in her bowl. Look at the three bowls. I stood up and grabbed my bowl.

“I’ll do the dishes. But someone else will have to manage the leftovers,” I said as I grabbed spikes and Twilight’s bowls.

“I’ll handle that, Spike, go relax and thank you for marking dinner,” Twilight said as she stood up.

“Yeah, thanks, Spike. It was delicious,” I said as I turned on the water in the sink.

“It was no problem, guys,” Spike said as he stood up and walked out of the kitchen.

Twilight's horn glowed as she pulled out some tupperware and poured the soup into it. I scrubbed the bowls and spoons with soapy water as she set the metal soup pot in the sink. I started to wash the metal pot as Twilight placed the soup into the fridge.

“So, were you able to find anything on my pendant in those books you read?” I asked.

“No, but that is just the start of research into your pendent. Depending on what it is, it could take weeks of study, if that,” Twilight said.

“Well, don’t push yourself on my behalf. There are just some things in life that don’t have an answer.” I said as I set the pot on a drying rack.

“Trust me, I know,” Twilight said with a sigh.

“That sigh tells a story you’re going to have to tell me sometime,” I said as I dried my hand and faced Twilight.

“Maybe, maybe. What do you plan to do now that you read your books?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know. what time is it?” I asked.

Twilight stuck her head out to look at the clock before saying, “It's 7:13.”

“I don’t know. I think I may just head down to the spa… my room and start reading ‘Elementals of the Elements’ till I fall asleep,” I said.

Twilight smiled at me, correcting myself before speaking, “Well, Spike and I will be up until nine, so if you need us, just come back up.”

“Okay, twilight, have a nice night,” I said.

I turned and left the kitchen as Twilight flowed behind me. I grabbed my bag and ‘Elementals of the Elements’ and looked up the stairs. I could see Spike reading a comic book by the name of ‘Power Ponies.’ Spike noticed me walking towards the basement door and lowered his comic book slightly.

“Are you going to bed?” Spike asked.

“No, I'm just heading to … my room, and I'm going to read until I fall asleep,” I said.

“Okay, cool. Have a nice night, Jack,” Spike said.

“Thanks. I hope you have a good night as well,” I replied as I opened the door leading down to my room.

Walking down the stairs, I came to my bedroom door; turning the doorknob, I opened the door. Walking into my room, I turned on the light in the middle of the room as I put the book on the dresser and sat on my bed.

Sighing, I began to dig through the bag, looking for the apple I had put in earlier. Finding the apple, I pulled it out of the bag and sat there for a moment before standing up and setting it on the wooden floor in the middle of the room. Taking a few steps back, I started to concentrate.

I focused on my hand and the apple, imagining it floating in the air without being touched. My hand started to glow blue, and the apple was engulfed in the same blue. Slowly and shakily, the apple began to float a few inches off the ground, and it felt like I was lifting a dumbbell with my mind.

Taking a breath, I let the apple fall a few inches to the floor, putting my hands on my knees to catch my breath. Now I knew how Twilight felt with the awning, and this was just an apple. I could only imagine the skill she has with magic.

After a few minutes of breathing, I Sighed as I raised my hands to try again, and both the apple and my hands glowed blue. The apple slowly started to rise off the ground, save for maybe an inch higher, before I would have to let go and take a breath again.

The process would repeat multiple times as I lifted the apple with my magic, each time going slightly higher as my mind got used to it before I was forced to take a breath. It wouldn’t be long before I could hold the apple at chest height, although I could only move it a few inches before I had to lower it back to the ground.

I did have to stop not long after getting it to chest height, as my mind was so drained and exhausted that I nearly passed out standing up. Sighing, I set the apple on the dresser and undressed myself before redressing in a plain shirt and shorts.

I thought about grabbing the ‘Elementals of the Elements’ book but knew I was too tired. Walking to the middle of the room, I turned the light off, walked over to my bed, and got under the covers. As I lay there, the sound of the rain hitting the little window, it was not long before darkness enclosed my vision, and I went to the realm of dreams.

Author's Note

I have been wondering what to do with these author notes, and I think I will use them for a bit of behind-the-scenes. This chapter took me the longest to write out of all the last chapters, as I had a bunch of different ideas for it that didn’t work out or will be brought up at a later time.

Also, I wrote a bunch of bloopers, but my favorite was an alternate from when it started to rain and Twilight ran inside. I had a good laugh at the thought of Jack diving into the tree house, but I came to the conclusion that it did not fit very well. Below is the scraped line.

‘I, on the other hand, dived through the window and landed face-first on the wooden floor.’

That is all I have for y’all. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below. I try my best to answer them.

-Void Hollow =) :heart:

Chapter 7: Sisterhooves Fair day Part 1

“Are you ready, Twilight?” I asked.

“Almost… and... ready,” Twilight said as she finished her book.

Twilight closed her book and used her magic to make it float back to the shelf from which she had gotten it. Standing up, she stretched her back legs as popping came from her knees before she started to walk towards me.

I stood next to the door, waiting for her to reach me. I was dressed in a green sweater with black plants. I had been in Equestria for over a week now, and as time passed, it got colder outside, although none of the ponies wore anything for warmth, probably due to all the fur they had.

“Man, you're walking slow. We'll be late for the sister hooves social,” I said.

“Well, my legs are asleep. I forgot to move them while I was reading,” Twilight said.

“You could have stopped five minutes ago,” I said as I opened the door for Twilight.

“I was almost finished with the book. Why would I stop when there are only ten pages left,” Twilight said as she walked out the door.

“Because we have places to be and people to talk to. The book can wait, and I know your big brain could pick up where you left off easily,” I said as I stepped outside and closed the door.

I felt a sharp coldness on my hand as a gust of wind blew across it. Turning around, I could see Spike playing with Stonehenge as Spike jumped and climbed over Stonehenge.

“Well, thank you for saying my brain is big, but it still hurts to leave a book unfinished, especially given how close I was to the ending,” Twilight said.

“No problem, ya big nerd,” I said with a slight chuckle.

Twilight made an angry face for a second before sighing with a smile as she turned to face Stonehenge and Spike. “Are you two ready?”

“Of course, Twilight, we have been waiting on you two,” Spike said as he jumped from Stonehenge's hands.

“Well, we're ready now, so let's get walking,” Twilight said.

“Okay, Spike said.

Stonehenge stood up, ensuring he did not hit his head on his awning. As he stood, the ground shook beneath us as his heavy body rose from the ground, but at this point, the three of us were used to it.

Spike climbed onto Twilight’s back as the four of us started walking towards Sweet Apple Achers. As we walked, I thought about how I would explain how Stonehenge was different to the girls when Spike broke the silence.

“So, Twilight, why are Stonehenge and I going with you and Jack to the sister hooves social?” Spike asked.

“Well, it isn’t really the Sister Hooves social that we are going to. Well, we are, but it's more of what's after that we need you and Stonehenge,” Twilight responded.

“And what would that be?” Spike asked.

“You’ll have to wait until the others are available. Jack and I made sure they would be available after the event,” Twilight responded.

“Aw, come on, Twilight, you know I hate waiting,” Spike said.

“I’m Sorry, Spike, but it is something that all of you need to be there to see,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, little man, you have to…” was all I could say as I felt a force on my back.

Falling onto my stomach and then my face, as myself and whatever hit me slid across the dirt before finally coming to a stop. As we stopped, the weight on my back stayed there as a voice came from where I had been hit.

“JACK! Rainbow Dash!” Twilight yelled.

The sound of hoofsteps ran over to check on me and the pony, who I quickly concluded was Rainbow Dash. A groan came from my back as the weight shifted slightly, and I just lay there, letting my body sit for a moment.

“Rainbow, what are you doing?” Twilight said.

The groans stopped as Rainbow Dash started to speak, “I was on my way to the sister hooves social when my wing cramped up, and I lost control.”

“Are you okay?” Twilight asked.

“Well, my wing is a bit sore, but as for the fall, I had a pretty soft landing,” Rainbow Dash responded.

“I wonder why,” I said as the dirt slightly muffled my voice.

The weight shifted off me as Rainbow Dash spoke, “Sorry, dude.”

“It’s fine, “I said into the dirt before raising my head and spitting some of it out of my mouth.

“Are you okay, Jack?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said as I stood up, dusting the dirt off of me.

I looked over myself. I was covered in dirt that I was able to dust off slightly. Luckily, nothing was torn or broken, just dirty. Looking at Rainbow Dash, she seemed mostly fine except for her right wing, which was stretched slightly.

“Man, dude, you can take a beating,” Rainbow Dash said.

“I know, but getting crashed into twice in the span of a little over a week still sucks,” I said.

“Hey, like I said, it isn’t my fault this time. I got a cramp,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Never blamed you. Now I know we all have a place to be, so let's get walking,” I said.

“He is right. We shouldn’t be too late, and the other shouldn’t have to wait too long,” Twilight said.

The five of us resumed our walk. Rainbow Dash had joined us, remaining landbound until her wing relaxed. Twilight and she conversed as we walked, and I thought again of Stonehenge and what I would tell the others.

The easy part would be telling them how I found Stonehenge and what he was. The hard part would be explaining how I woke him up and using magic to do so. Should I tell them that I was magical or that I was dead so soon?

I had been practicing some magic the past week when I was alone in my room, but what would they think? Would they think I am a freak? Should they know I am not what I seem to be?

As my mind flooded with thoughts, I looked at Twilight, who had noticed I was staring at her and smiled at me. At that moment, in that smile, I knew I could trust her and her friends with the knowledge of my magic. But I did know, whether for selfish reasons or for some other fact, I knew that I should not burden them with the fact that I was a corpse. I knew it was lying, but I just couldn’t do it, not now, at least.

“Hey, look, we're here,” Spike said.

Looking around, I noticed that the scenery had changed from a small rule town to an apple tree forest. I had been so deep in thought that I had failed to notice. I could see a crowd of ponies gathered in the distance with what looked to be tents and concession stands.

“Hey, we are just in time for the contest to start. And to think you thought we would be late,” Twilight said.

“Well, in my defense, we did leave later than I would have liked, and it didn’t help that I became an earthworm with how much dirt I ate when she crashed into me,” I responded as I quickly pointed at Rainbow Dash.

“Hey, like I said, it wasn’t my fault,” Rainbow Dash said as her face reddened.

“Enough, we are here now, so let's enjoy the show,” Twilight said.

“Fine,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Okay,” I replied, playfully sticking my tongue out at Rainbow Dash.

“Okay, let's meet after the final contest. Jack, go get lost and have some fun. Stonehenge, please follow me,” Twilight said.

“Okay, see you all in a bit,” I said as I started to walk off.

“Wait, one more thing,” Twilight said.

“What is it,” I said as I turned back to look at Twilight.

“Here are a few bits in case you get hungry,” Twilight said as ten bits came flying at me.

“Thank you, Twilight,” I said as the bits landed in my hand.

“No problem, Jack. See you in a little bit,” Twilight said as she and the other three walked away.

I turned around and walked into the crowd of ponies, curious to see what they were watching. As I walked closer, I could see that the crowd was watching what seemed to be a pie-eating contest between what looked to be six teams of two. The team consisted of a single adult pony and a child pony, and if the name of the contest meant anything, they were most likely sisters.

Looking at the teams, I saw a few ponies I had seen around town, but I knew at least two. Applejack and Apple Bloom sat at one of the booths as they scarfed down pie after pie, and from what I could see, they were ahead of the other groups by at least two pies with only thirty seconds left on the board.

Watching these ponies scarf down pie after pie, splattering it everywhere as the clock ticked down, was fun, if not mildly disgusting. As pie chunks flew around the air, another group was closing on Applejack and Apple Bloom. Their two-pie lead became one as two purple ponies started to pick up the pace. As the announcer began to count down.

“Three!” the announcer said.

The two purple ponies were only a few bites away from being neck and neck with Applejack and Apple Bloom.

“Two!” the announcer said.

The two purple ponies increased their speed even more as Applejack and Apple Bloom pushed themselves harder.

“One!” the announcer said.

With one final push, Apple Bloom tried to scarf down a pie but was not fast enough.

“Times up! And our winners are Amethyst Star and Dinky Doo, with a close victory,” the announcer said.

When the winners were announced, Apple Bloom's face held a sad expression. Applejack cheered in happiness for the winners. The crowd joined Applejack in cheering their victory before the contestants started to walk off to the next contest. As Applejack and Apple Bloom left the stage, they were joined by a white unicorn child with pink and purple hair.

As the crowd started to disperse, I wondered If I should head to the next contest or try to find something to eat. As I thought of my next plan, I felt a tapping on my left leg. Looking to my left, I was surprised to see Wolfsbane poking my leg, and she had yet to notice that I had seen her.

“Can I help you, little lady,” I said as I tried my best to surprise Wolfsbane.

Wolfsbane's pokes became a solid punch as I succeeded in surprising her, causing my leg to go numb for a second. As she realized what she had done, she had an angry look on her face.

“Jack, what the buck was that for?” Wolfsbane asked.

“Ow. I thought it would be funny, which it was. Ah,” I said as I rubbed where she had hit me.

“It was not,” Wolfsbane said.

“Was, too,” I said.

“Was not,” Wolfsbane said.

“Was, too. Also, what did you need?” I asked.

“Hmm. I’m off work, and I was going to see if you want to get anything to eat at the food stall over there,” Wolfsbane said as she pointed to a stall with some tables around it.

“Sure, why not. I got a few bits to spend,” I said.

“Good, come on,” Wolfsbane said as she started to walk towards the stall.

Shrugging my shoulder, I followed her to the stall, getting in line with the others. I looked at the side menu, wondering what I wanted to get to eat, seeing stuff like sandwiches, salads, soups, and some fried items when Wolfsbane cleared her throat.

“So, what are you going to get?” Wolfsbane asked.

“I don’t know. I think I may get some nachos. What about you?” I asked.

“Either a salad or the soup,” Wolfsbane responded.

“Both sound good,” I said.

After I spoke, the two ponies in front of us were handed their food and moved out of the way, allowing Wolfsbane and me to order our food. Stepping forward, I looked at the menu for the price of the nachos and saw they were five-bit and another bit for extra toppings.

“What can I get for you two?” the stall owner asked.

“I’ll get a carrot salad,” Wolfsbane said.

“And I’ll get some nachos with extra jalapenos,” I said.

“That will be three bits for the salad and six for the nachos with extra jalapenos,” the Stall owner said.

“Okay, here you go,” I said, laying the six bits out.

“Here,” Wolfsbane said as she placed her three bits on the counter beside mine.

“Thank you. I’ll go get your food,” the stall owner said as he grabbed our bits and walked away.

We stood there watching the stall owner work with two cooks as they prepared our order. Wolfsbane’s food was the first set out, followed shortly by mine. Wolfsbane was about to grab her plate when I picked our orders up and started walking towards the table.

“Hey, I could have done it,” Wolfsbane said.

“I know, but it is a lot easier for me to do it for both of us,” I said.

As I arrived at the table, I set Wolfsbane’s salad on one side of the table before walking to the other side and taking a seat. Wolfsbane took her seat and, without hesitation, started to devour her salad. Not wanting to be left behind, I began to eat my nachos, allowing the heat of the jalapeño to wash over me with each bite. It wasn’t long before Wolfsbane finished her food, followed shortly by me.

“Man, you were hungry,” I said as I felt sweat from the heat.

“I’m always hungry. I have a very high metabolism. You, on the other hand, look like you're in a bit of pain.” Wolfsbane said with a giggle.

“Yeah, those jalapenos were no joke, but I felt worse heat,” I said.

“Ha. I bet. So, I do have to ask, how are you enjoying Ponyville?” Wolfsbane asked.

“I am still getting used to it. Some days can be calm, and others can be hectic. But I have been getting help from Twilight,” I said, but even I could tell there was some weakness in my voice.

“That’s good to hear, but I know there's a but from the sound of your voice,” Wolfsbane said.

“Well, I have been keeping stuff from her that she should know, but I just haven’t told her… Or have the stomach to do so,” I said.

“Well, as I see it, you should tell her what you can, but you should also know that not everything needs to be known. Sometimes, the best you can do for someone is not saying anything. Trust me, I know.” Wolfsbane said.

“Yeah, but It just leaves this pit in my stomach. She has given me so much, and I want to tell her, but I don’t know if I’m ready,” I said.

“Then wait till you are ready. She's a good pony, and she will understand.” Wolfsbane said.

“Yeah. Maybe. Let's change the subject. You have been in Ponyville longer than me. How has it been treating you?” I asked.

“Well, I think I told you at the party I have been working on sweet apple acres,” Wolfsbane responded.

“You did, but you never told me what you do,” I said.

“Oh, I help with pest control. The apples have come into a bit of a pest problem during the nights. Applejack and Big Mac work early in the morning, and Apple Bloom has school, so I was hired to stay up into the night to try to deter the pests.” Wolfsbane said.

“Hmm, if you don’t mind me asking, what kind of pest are they?” I asked.

“Oh, they are nasty little things called boar squirrels,” Wolfsbane said.

“Boar squirrels?” I asked.

My mind was flooded with images of squirrels fused with boars and the unholy amalgamation that could come from them. I knew both were considered pests, at least on earth they were.

“Yeah, boar squirrels. Think of an animal that has the body, face, and appetite of a boar with the arms, tail, size, and climbing ability of a squirrel.” Wolfsbane said.

“Wow, that duo does not sound very good,” I said.

“It isn’t, and the worst thing is that they are nocturnal and live in packs,” Wolfsbane said.

“Well, why don’t you guys find where they are nesting and evict them?” I asked.

“We have tried, but these pests hide well, so not even I can find them,” Wolfsbane said.

“That sounds bad. Wait, why are you awake if you have to work through the night? Shouldn’t you be asleep?” I asked.

“Yeah, I should have been to bed at least an hour ago, but I knew today was the sister hooves social, and Applejack said that you were coming, so I thought I might say hi to the other new guy before heading to bed,” Wolfsbane said with a yawn.

“What time do you have to be up,” I asked.

“Up at nine, work at ten,” Wolfsbane responded.

Thinking of what time it was. I knew we had left at around 12:10 p.m., and it had taken us about 20 minutes to get here. I knew that the first event was supposed to start at 12:30 p.m. I know I saw the tail end of it, and who knows how long I had been here. I concluded that it was one or somewhere close to one.

“You should head to bed now if you want to sleep for a full eight hours,” I said concernedly.

“I know, and I am. It was good seeing you, Jack…” Wolfsbane was about to finish her sentence, but she sniffed the air. “Or should I call you Jack-O-Lantern?”

With a laugh, Wolfsbane turned and started to walk away as she walked towards what looked like a red barn in the distance. Turning away, I realized I had no idea where anyone was but could at least see a crowd sitting on bleachers in the distance.

Walking towards the crowd, I saw many talking amongst themselves or looking at an obstacle track. The track had a variety of obstacles, such as foot tires, mud pits, and boxes, with a few ponies waiting at the start line. As I neared the bleachers, I heard a voice above me.

“Jack up here,” Twilight said.

Looking up, I could see Twilight looking over the edge of the bleachers before returning to her seat, leaving me knowing where she was. Reaching the other side, I looked at where Twilight had called me. I saw Twilight with Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Spike near the top.

Looking over the bleachers, I saw a set of stairs in the middle that led up to where the group was sitting, which I made my way to. Arriving at the stairs, I ascended them to the row where the group sat. Squeezing past some ponies, I arrived at the group when Pinkie Pie pounced on me, latching onto my sweater.

“O.M.C Jack, I haven't seen you since your party. How are you?” Pinkie Pie asked.

Pulling Pinkie Pie off of me, I sat her on the bench. “I’m doing fine, Pinkie Pie. I'm a little sore but overall fine. Wait, where is Rarity?”

“Oh, um, we haven't seen her,” Fluttershy responded.

“Makes sense. This type of event is so not up her stile,” Rainbow Dash said.

“I hope she still comes to the thing that Jack and I have to tell you all,” Twilight said.

“What is that about anyways?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yeah, Twilight, we all know the best surprise is a surprise party. Is it a surprise party?” Pinkie Pie asked as her body started to twitch.

“No, it is not a surprise party, and why are you twitching?” Twilight asked.

“Been twitching all day. I think it might be because of your surprise,” Pinkie Pie said.

“Well, it is something you would never expect,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, it is a surprise for all of you,” I said as I quickly glanced at Twilight without her noticing.

“Oh look, it's starting,” Spike said, pointing at the start line.

As the ponies started to line up at the start line, a very old green pony and Big Mac took to the stage near the start line.

“Is this thing on? I don’t think this thing is on,” the green elder said as Big Mac whispered into her ear before slapping the microphone.” Now for the event, Y’all have been waitin’ fer. The sister soc… the socialhoove… you know, the big race!”

“We have five teams this year for the event, so all y’all head on out to the finish line, you here!” the elder pony said as Big Mac whispered in her ear again. “The start line! That's what I said.”

The five groups of sisters finished populating the start line as Applejack and a white child unicorn lined up with her. Where was Apple Bloom, and who was the white unicorn?

“What is Sweetie Bell doing with Applejack?” Rainbow Dash said.

“I don’t know. From what Applejack told me, Apple Bloom was looking forward to the sister-hooves social. Why would she be doing it with Sweetie Bell?” Twilight said.

“I know that's really weird,” Pinkie Pie said.

“Who is Sweetie Bell?” I asked.

“It is Rarity’s little sister,” Fluttershy said.

As we discussed the matter, the elder Pony started counting down while rocking back and forth in a rocking chair.” On your marks… get set.” The elder pony was about to finish her countdown when she poked herself in the eye.” Go-O-o-O. “

The ponies started to run past the start line, past the first obstacle, a mud pit. Most of the racers passed the mud pit without problem, including Sweetie Bell, but Applejack, who fell into the mud pit, went under the surface.

Sweetie Bell ran back to check on Applejack, but Applejack managed to pull herself out of the mud on her own. Applejack was covered head to hooves in mud, including her cowboy hat.

Applejack and Sweetie Bell both sprinted to the next obstacle, stacked boxes. Applejack managed just fine, but Sweetie Bell struggled a bit, which Applejack assisted her before they moved on to the next obstacle.

The next obstacle was pies. As Applejack and Sweetie Bell ran over to the pies, another group struggled to eat theirs. When Applejack and Sweetie Bell arrived, Applejack slammed her foot on the table, throwing the pies into the air. As the pies flew, they devoured them in one bite and moved to the next obstacle.

“WOOO! Pies,” Pinkie Pie shouted as her body twitched.

Next looked simple: hay bale pushing. Applejack and Sweetie Bell started to push the hay bale, passing another group as they pushed it to its destination, then moving to the fourth obstacle.

Moving to the fourth obstacle, there were grapes and what looked to be a grape vat. Arriving, Applejack flung the grapes inside before bouncing Sweetie Bell into the vat. Sweetie Bell started squashing them, turning them into grape juice, and filling a glass jar. Once the glass was full enough, Applejack brought the jar to a wooden stool, and Sweetie Bell jumped out of the vat and caught up with Applejack, moving on to the fifth obstacle.

“Come on, Applejack,” Rainbow Dash cheered in excitement.

The fifth obstacle was apple catching. As Applejack neared the apples, she launched them all into the air. Sweetie Bell held up a basket, catching all of them save for one, which she kicked into the basket before running to the final obstacle.

The final obstacle was egg balancing. As Applejack and Sweetie Bell exited the hen house, they balanced a single egg on their noses before finally placing it in a basket full of other eggs and making a mad dash to the finish line.

“You got this girls!” Twilight yelled.

As Applejack and Sweetie Bell ran, another team of two pink ponies ran past them, taking the lead. As they neared the finish, both teams jumped over a wooden fence. With one final jump, both teams landed on the ground, causing the finish line to be blocked from sight.

“Come on. Come on,” I said with my fingers crossed.

As the dust settled, we could see who had won the race. It turned out to be the two pink ponies. Applejack and Sweetie Bell, who had landed in front of the finish line. A crowd came and cheered and took the two pink ponies away. Applejack and Sweetie Bell stood up and, from the looks of it, began to speak with one another.

“So much for Applejack winning,” Rainbow Dash said as she crossed her arms in disappointment.

“Oh, hush now. Let’s go get Applejack, and then we can find Rarity,” Twilight said.

“Well, we won’t have to look for long,” Pinkie Pie said as she pointed to Applejack.

Applejack’s hat had fallen to the ground, revealing a white unicorn horn. That wasn’t Applejack. It was Rarity under all that mud. Rarity shook off all the mud as if on cue, revealing her white fur and blue hair as a pony emerged from the first mud pit. As the pony ran up to Sweetie Bell and Rarity, the mud fell off, revealing it was the real Applejack.

“Come on, everypony, let’s go and congratulate the second-place winners,” Twilight said as she stood up and walked towards the stairs.

“Just so you all know, I totally knew the whole time,” Spike said as they jumped up to follow Twilight.

“As if Spike, I saw the look on your face,” Rainbow Dash said as she joined the line.

“Come on, you two, we don't want to keep everyone waiting,” Pinkie Pie said to me and Fluttershy as she bolted toward the rest of the group.

“You can go first,” I said as I stood to the side.

“Thank you, Jack,” Fluttershy said as she walked past me.

I followed Fluttershy down the benches as we regrouped with the others who had just started to talk to Applejack and Rarity.

“Congratulations on second place, Rarity and Sweetie Bell,” Twilight said.

“Thank you, Twilight dear,” Rarity said.

“Yeah, Congratulations and whatever. What the heck was that about?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Oh, that was just some sisterly bonding. Just with one not knowing who the other one was,” Applejack said.

“No, seriously, what was that about?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Hmm, well, if you must know, Sweetie and I got into an argument, and she was upset with me, so with the help of Applejack and Apple Bloom, I made it up to Sweetie,” Rarity responded.

“Yeah, it was awesome. Rarity really made it up to me,” Sweetie Bell said as she ran up to Rarity hugging her.

“Woo sister bonding celebration,” Pinkie Pie said as a bunch of confetti appeared out of nowhere.

“Where did that come from?” I asked.

Twilight shrugged her shoulder at me before speaking to the group, “That will have to wait, Pinkie. Now that we are all here, we can discuss a unique matter.”

“Where did it come from?” I whispered under my breath.

“What is it, Twilight?” Fluttershy said.

“Not here. We have to go to your barn, Applejack,” Twilight said.

“Why, what's in my barn, Twi?” Applejack asked.

“you’ll see. Do the girls have somewhere to go while we speak?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah. Girls, head over to your clubhouse for a bit,” Applejack said.

“Yes, sis,” Apple Bloom said.

“Yes, Applejack. Love you, Rarity,” Sweetie Bell said.

Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell started to run off into a set of trees, disappearing the farther they went. Twilight led the group towards Applejack’s barn, where I guessed she had taken Stonehenge. It wasn’t a long walk, but the others looked like they were not enjoying the anticipation as we approached the bar entrance.

“Come on, Twilight, what is it?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight cracked the barn door open as she stepped inside, “Come take a look.”

The girls and Spike stepped inside one by one before I was the last one outside the barn. Stepping inside, I looked around to see Stonehenge sitting in the middle of the room and the looks of confusion on everyone's faces.

“Uh, Twi, it's just Stonehenge,” Applejack said.

“Is this some kind of prank? Cause If it is, it's not that good,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Not a very good surprise,” Pinkie Pie said.

As the girls and Spike started to bicker, I walked over to Stonehenge and held my fist out. “How are you doing, big guy? You're fine with them.”

Stonehenge made his own fist, tapping mine gently as he responded, “I good. they good?”

The room fell extremely quiet as the group looked in shock, mouths agape, at the fact that Stonehenge had just spoken. Stonehenge waved at them as they continued to look in shock before Rarity broke the silence.

“D-D-Did it just talk?” Rarity asked.

“Yes, he did,” I replied.

“But pebble golems don't talk. Or at least none I’ve worked with have,” Applejack said.

“That's cause he is not a pebble golem. He is a stone Golem,” Twilight said.

“A stone golem?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yes, a stone golem, the ancestors to Pebble golems. A sentient artificial Species thought to have gone extinct over seven hundred years ago, but Jack found Stonehenge and bounded to him in the Castle of the two Sisters,” Twilight said.

“What do you mean he found him? We have been there so many times. Why did we never find him?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Well, I found him in a secret basement laboratory after accidentally discovering a really well-hidden door. “I said.

“You found him on accident?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, yes,” I said.

“Wait, wait, wait, you're telling me you two are bonded?” Applejack asked.

“Yes, they are Applejack. Why?” Twilight replied in my steed.

“Well, if he is anything like my pebble golems, he would have needed to be bonded with the help of a unicorn or a magical tool. How did you bond with him, Jack?” Applejack asked.

The room fell quiet as everyone stared at me, looking for an answer. Pinkie Pie’s body twitched like she was on a jackhammer. I pulled my bag to the side and pulled out the ‘Royal Book of Magic, Magical Artifacts, and Creatures.’

“I found this in the castle basement before I woke up Stonehenge,” I said, holding it in the air.

Rarity’s horn glowed as her aura engulfed the golden book, taking it out of my hand. As the book stopped in front of the group, Rarity tried to open the book like Twilight had tried to do last week, but just like Twilight, she could not. Pinkie Pie’s twitching intensified even more.

“Why can’t I open it?” Rarity asked.

“Cause you're not trying hard enough,” Rainbow Dash said as she grabbed the book from Rarity.

Rainbow Dash tried and failed to open the book, followed by Applejack and Fluttershy's attempts. Spike watched in awe, and Pinkie Pie just twitched. Twilight just stared at me. They finished with the book lying on the barn floor.

“Ugh, why can’t we open the book?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“And what does it have to do with Stonehenge?” Applejack asked.

I stared blankly at Stonehenge as I tried to mentally figure out the best way to tell them. The sound of Twilight's voice brought me back to reality.

“Jack, you can tell us. Please,” Twilight said as she continued to stare at me.

“Promise you won’t think I’m weird,” I said.

“I promise Jack you're okay to tell us. Right?” Twilight said as she turned to look at the others.

The others gave quick nods of approval as Stonehenge nudged me slightly forward. Sighing as the butterflies in my stomach flapped their wings violently as I prepared myself for what came next.

“It okay,” Stonehenge said.

I turned my attention to the book lying on the floor and raised my right hand. Looking at the book, I thought about it flying into my hand without me walking over to pick it up. My hand started to glow blue as the book was engulfed in my magical aura, floating off of the ground and into my right hand before the aura disappeared. The room fell silent again, and Pinkie Pie stopped twitching.

“Jack,” Twilight said softly.

Author's Note

This one was a little more straightforward than the last chapter. Honestly, this chapter was supposed to be much longer, but then I thought to myself that the idea of them finding out that Jack can use unicorn magic should be explored in more detail, and I didn't think the chapter should be too long for what I wanted to go into so Part 1 >=).

Also, I must say again, and I will always say thank you for reading my story. It means the world to me that you all take the time out of your day to read. Feel free to ask questions. I will try my best to answer.

-Void Hollow =)

Chapter 8: Sisterhooves Fair day Part 2

The room was silent as all its inhabitants stared at me, their expressions ranging from shock to surprise to awe. I waited for what felt like hours or even days for one of them to break this bond-less silence. I glanced past Twilight, who looked not upset but more disappointed, but I did not have much time as the silence was finally broken.

“That was. So cool,” Rainbow Dash said in excitement.

“What a doozy,” Pinkie Pie said.

“Sweet, Celestia. I didn't know humans could use magic,” Applejack said.

“They can’t. A normal human shouldn’t be able to. Why didn’t…” Twilight said before she was cut off.

“But he just did Twilight,” Rarity said.

“Could it be that he isn’t a normal human?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah, maybe Fluttershy’s, right? I mean, he don’t look like any human I’ve heard about nor what I’ve seen in pictures,” Applejack said.

“Why don’t we ask him,” Rarity said.

All of them turned to look at me as if looking for an answer that I only partially knew myself. I knew that Arora had told me I would have come back looking different. Still, he didn’t say anything about gaining magical abilities akin to unicorns but more on the physical side, which was obvious by looking at me.

“I am human. Before coming here, I couldn’t use any form of magic,” I said.

“If that’s true, why can you use magic now?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t know. When I woke up in the forest, I looked like this,” I said as I gestured to my body. “And I accidentally used a spell.”

“So, you made something levitate when you woke up?” rarity asked.

“Well, Actually, no, I may have frozen the ground,” I said with a sheepish smile.

“You did what? Twilight asked.

“It was only temporary. The ground unfroze after a few minutes,” I said.

“That’s not ugh. That’s not what I mean. You froze the ground and used one of the hardest schools of magic in all of Equestria by accident,” Twilight said as her brows started to lower.

“Yes and no. Yes, I froze the ground, but as to it being an accident, I don’t think so,” I replied.

“What do you mean?” Rarity asked.

“Well, from what I noticed, my hands only start to freeze stuff when my emotions flair up badly or when I think of the cold,” I said.

The moment I finished my sentence, I blinked for only a moment, and in that time, Pinkie Pie disappeared from view. I looked around for a moment before I felt weight on my shoulders, and Pinkie Pie's head appeared upside down, less than an inch away from my face.

“Think of the cold. I want a snow cone,” Pinkie Pie said as she shook my face.

“Pinkie!” Spike yelled as he held up two fingers.

“Oh, sorry. We want snow cones,” Pinkie Pie said.

Pinkie Pie continued to shake my face before a lavender aura engulfed her. Pinkie Pie was yanked into the air before being gently placed back down beside Applejack with a small frown.

“Pinkie, not now. Jack, why did you keep this a secret from us? From me?” Twilight asked.

“Cause, for one, I knew from my book here that humans can’t use magic in this world. Secondly, I didn't know how all of you would react, and I wanted to be able to control it just a little bit before showing you all,” I replied.

“So, you went off of what a book told you. Man, you're as big of an egghead as Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Hey!” Twilight said.

“So, do ya have any idea how you became magical?” Applejack asked.

“I have no idea. Like I said, when I woke up, this blue aura was coming from my hands,” I replied.

“Well, it makes no sense. You look different from any other human, and you can use magic. What makes you so different?” Twilight said.

“I don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe how I got here made a difference,” I said.

“Maybe,” Twilight said.

“Well, Jack's way of arriving is much different from most other human recollections of the matter,” Rarity said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, for one, most people either fall asleep and awake here, or a bright light takes them. You touched a pendent with the princess and got taken here looking like that,” Rarity replied.

“Oh, Rarity might be right. Twilight, have you looked into Jack’s pendant?” Fluttershy asked.

“I have been trying for the past week, and I have found nothing on it. Almost like I’m on a wild goose chase,” Twilight said.

“Well, it is the best we have to go off of right now,” Rainbow Dash said.

“I’m not one to agree with Rainbow Dash often, but she is right. It is the best we have right now,” Applejack said.

“I know it's just nothing like this has ever happened before,” Twilight said.

“Try not to overthink it too much, Twilight dear, you might hurt yourself,” Rarity said.

As the room started to quiet down, I looked at my hands before turning to look at Stonehenge. Looking at the stone golem, he stared back down at me as I played the memory of when I got the pendant. I felt the feeling of opening the box and rubbing my hands on it, as well as the shock I first felt when I touched it.

“Oh no,” I said under my breath.

“Come again, Jack?” Applejack asked.

“Oh no,” I said as I raised my hands to my head.

“Jackie?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“OH, NO!” I yelled.

“Jack, what is it?” Twilight asked.

“When I first touched the pendant, there was a shock when I touched it, and that is when they started to move,” I said.

“Told you it was the pendant,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Oh, hush, now you,” Applejack said to Rainbow Dash.

“Well, if what Jack said is true, could the pendant be what brought him here and allows him to use magic?” Rarity asked.

“It is entirely possible, but until we know what the pendant is and where it came from, we have no idea. The most we can do is make an educated guess on this unknown and say it is a possible magical artifact that somehow made its way to Jack's world,” Twilight said.

The room fell silent again before Spike pushed past everyone, walking to the front.

“So, if you don’t mind me asking, just how many spells do you know, Jack?” Spike asked.

“Just the freezing spell and telekinesis,” I responded.

“If you were able to do the freezing spell when you woke up, how did you learn telekinesis,” Spike asked.

“Well, I learned it by reading, practicing when no one was around, and watching Twilight use her magic,” I replied.

“Wait, you learned by watching me?” Twilight asked.

“Well, yeah, watching you helped, but I am still weak with it as I can barely lift anything, and it tends to give me a headache,” I said.

“that's cool and all, but what are we supposed to do now?” Rainbow Dashed asked.

“Well, this was supposed to be just about Stonehenge and his uniqueness, but it kind of spiraled in a different direction,” I said as I rubbed my hand on the back of my head.

“Well, I got one more question for you, Jack?” Applejack asked.

“Uh, sure, ask away,” I replied.

“Are you hiding anything else?” Applejack asked.

The moment the question was asked, I felt a deep knot in my stomach and the feeling that I wanted to vomit. Of course, I had more. There was so much more that I wanted to tell, especially to Twilight, but I just couldn’t. I just didn’t have the strength to do so.

“Jack?” Twilight asked.

I looked at Twilight and her vibrant violet eyes. I saw myself in then and the thing I had become. The lying dead man. It was not who I wanted to be, but they shouldn’t know yet.

“Jack, you can tell us. You can tell me,” Twilight said.

“I know…” I said as my voice trailed off.

I wanted to say it, I wanted to scream it, but this knot, this pit, this hole in my heart, pulled my voice deeper and deeper. If it could still beat, I would have had a heart attack by now, but it was still as freshly fallen snow.

“… and I do have more…” I said as I continued my sentence.

The weight of it all was starting to become too much when I felt gentle pats on my back. Looking, I could see Stonehenge doing his best to comfort me or, at the bare minimum, allowing me to focus. But it wasn’t long before my glaze fell back onto Twilight and her worried look.

“… but as much as I want to tell you. All of you, I can’t. Just not yet,” I said as my lungs felt empty, as if there was no air inside them at all.

A feeling of wanting to vomit intensified as looks were exchanged around the room. A few worried looks towards me before Rainbow Dash spoke up.

“And why is that?” Rainbow Dash asked.

I looked into my hands at what she said. Why can’t I tell them? Why wouldn’t my mind let me? It was simple: just tell them you're dead. My mind wandered before I felt warmth on the side of my right leg. Looking down, I could see Twilight was just looking at me.

What bit of upset she once had was replaced with a weak but warm smile that concealed concern. Her smile brought me back down a little, and the hole in my heart shrank. Sighing, I turned back to the group.

“Cause I don’t think I’m ready to face it myself. I just don’t have the strength to do so yet,” I said, hanging my shoulders low.

Some part of me felt mildly better knowing I had finally at least said something, even if it wasn’t fully out. Looking over the reactions, Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked like they were trying to come up with their next questions. Fluttershy and Rarity looked concerned, and Pinkie Pie’s hair looked less poofy. Spike had disappeared from my sight, so I could not gauge his reaction, but I didn’t have the time to look for him as the silence was finally broken.

“Jack, I know it may be crossin' a line, and I apologize and promise that if you can’t answer it, I’ll stop asking until you’re ready, but I need to know. Was what happened to you before you got here related to your friends? Did they do something to you that you're not telling us?” Applejack asked.

My mind was flooded with the memory of what had happened: the pain, the betrayal, the cold. That unrelenting cold that I was forced and failed to endure in nothing but a forest isolated to my dying mind. It was overwhelming as tears started to fall down my face while my hands became ice cold.

“Jack! It's okay. Just breathe, please,“ Twilight said as she started to rub the back of my leg.

Twilight's voice brought some calm to my mind, but it was akin to setting anchor in a near bottomless sea in a wild storm. I kept my hands together, as even in this state, I knew the dangers of my hands at that moment, and I did not want to damage anything. The sound of hoofsteps approached from my other side. It was Fluttershy.

“He’s having a panic attack. Help sit him down. Can one of you get some water,” Fluttershy said as she looked at others.

“I’m on it,” Pinkie Pie said as she saluted and darted out of the barn.

Fluttershy and Twilight helped lower me to the ground as I continued to keep my hands together. As I was finally on the ground, I just sat there and looked at the ground and waited for this to stop.

As I sat there, hoofsteps and talking continued around me. They were talking about something, but I couldn't understand them. It was as if my mind was purposely filtering them out. The one thing that my mind could not filter out was the gentle rubbing I felt on my back from Fluttershy and Twilight.

The sound of running hoof steps came running towards me as Pinkie Pie set a glass of water down in front of me before backing up. I stared at the glass momentarily before reaching out my still-glowing cold hands. Upon reaching the glass, I plunged the tip of my pointer finger inside before quickly pulling it out.

The voices around me stopped as the water began to freeze solid. Slowly, the ice moved down the water before finally stopping at the bottom of the glass. The moment it reached the bottom, my hands stopped glowing, and the cold finally left them. The talking around me continued, but I could actually understand them again.

“Woah, that froze in a matter of seconds,” Rainbow Dash said.

“I’ve never seen elemental magic this potent before. At least from somepony that barely properly understands it,” Twilight said.

“Well, I must say, Applejack, why did you ask Jack that question? It seemed highly inappropriate,” Rarity asked.

“I wanted to know more about his situation and try to piece together what might be going on,” Applejack responded.

“I’m with Applejack on this one. Even if it wasn’t appropriate to ask, we got a response that answered that something did happen. We just don’t know what it was, and now we can do our best to help him with what little information we have,” Rainbow Dash said.

“I agree with Rainbow Dash. A reaction like this only happens when something traumatic or extremely stressful happens,” Fluttershy said.

“So, we have to help turn that internal frowny face into a happy face?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Kinda. We can help and support him, but it will be his own process and journey,” Fluttershy responded.

As the group had their conversation about me, my breathing started to slow down as I stopped crying. My mind was no longer focused on what had happened but on what was happening now and what they were saying about me. They had no idea what was going on. I barely knew what was happening, but they were still willing to help me.

Looking up, I noticed that they had stopped talking as most of them were staring at me. Looking even more up, I could see Stonehenge peering over me with Spike on his head. I could still feel the rubbing on my back, knowing that it was both Fluttershy and Twilight.

“Jack, are you all right, dear?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m sorry you all had to see that,” I said.

“Oh, it’s fine, Jack. It's okay to have emotions,” Fluttershy said.

“Still, it doesn’t feel right that you all had to see that,” I said.

“Jack, it’s fine. No one is mad at you, just concerned,” Twilight said.

“Hmm, fine,” I said with a weak sigh.

As I sighed, Applejack approached me slowly with a worried look on her face. Once she was about a foot from me, she let out a sigh and started to speak.

“Jack, I want to apologize,” Applejack said.

“What for?” I asked.

“For making you upset. It was in no way my intention to do so, and like I said, I am sorry for doing so,” Applejack said.

I was dumbfounded by what she said. Was she really blaming herself for my emotional outburst? I mean, she is a little to blame, but this was more of a ticking time bomb than anything. It was bound to have happened with or without her saying anything.

“Applejack, look, there is no need to apologize in this matter,” I replied.

“What?” Applejack asked with a look of confusion on her face.

“I don’t blame you, Applejack. This was bound to happen anytime, and I know that we will have to cross this road again, but this time, you just gave it a little nudge,” I replied.

“Well, all righty then,” Applejack said.

“But just one more thing, please, and this goes for all of you. I said as I looked around the room, “Please try not to bring up how I got here, at least for now. We’ll cross that bridge when we have to. Oh, and try to keep Stonehenge a secret. The less people know, the better.”

The nods of agreement came from everyone in the room save for Twilight, who was just staring at me as if she wanted to say something but refrained from doing so. I was going to say something when my thoughts were cut off.

“What now?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Well, I don’t know about all of you, but I’m going to be taking my leave now. I’m going to go fine, sweetie bell, and head to the spa. Oh, and Spike, would you be a dear and stop by later? I have a friendship letter for Celestia,” Rarity said.

“Anything for you, Rarity,” Spike said. The sound of his voice was softer than normal.

Rarity started to make her way out of the barn, her frame disappearing behind the door. Rainbow Dash began to take flight slowly as her left wing still looked a bit stiff.

“I’m heading out too. I need to get home and rest my wing,” Rainbow Dash said before flying through one of the barn windows.

Standing up, the bone in my leg creaked as Fluttershy and Twilight rose to their hooves. I felt a little worn out, like I had just run a marathon, and at this point, I wanted to go home and speak with Twilight. Turning to look at Twilight, she also looked a bit warn out.

“Twilight, can we head home?” I asked.

“I was just about to say the same thing. Yeah, we can go home,” Twilight responded.

“Well, if ya’ll are leavin',’ I’m gonna help clean up the fair. Take care,” Applejack said as she walked out of the barn.

I waved Applejack goodbye as the sound of hooves landing on the floor echoed in the barn. Pinkie Pie was bouncing right toward Fluttershy.

“Come on, Fluttershy, let's get something to eat,” Pinkie Pie said as she bounced up and down next to Fluttershy.

“Okay, but before we go,” Fluttershy said before turning to look at me. “Jack, promise me that if you feel dizzy or have difficulty breathing, you’ll find a safe place to calm down,” Fluttershy said.

“Okay, Fluttershy, I promise,” I said.

Nodding, Fluttershy and a still-bouncing Pinkie Pie exited the barn, leaving Twilight, Spike, Stonehenge, and I alone. Looking down at Twilight, her eyes were darting back and forth as she mumbled to herself.

“Twilight?” I said as I tapped Twilight on her back.

“Huh. Oh yeah, let's go,” Twilight said as she turned to look at Stonehenge and Spike. “Come on, you two were going home.”

“Okay,” Stonehenge said.

“Sure thing, Twilight,” Spike said.

Spike jumped off Stonehenge's shoulder, landing on the wooden floor before running to Twilight. Stonehenge stood as the ground was again shaking from the weight of his stone body. I walked over to the barn doors, pushing them open as everyone stepped out of the barn and into the sunlight before we started to make our way home.

As we walked home, the silence was thick. No one wanted to say a single word as we contemplated what had happened. Five minutes into our walk home, I looked at Twilight to try to read her face and see if she was reacting to what had happened.

Her purple face held a low frown, and tears were in the corner of her eyes like she was about to start crying. I decided I would have to be the one to ‘melt this ice,’ as it seemed that she was lost in her own mind as well.

“Hey, Twilight?” I asked.

“Yeah?” Twilight responded weakly, sounding a bit distant.

“Why were the fish’s grades bad?” I asked.

“Why?” Twilight asked as she raised her eyebrow.

“Cause they were below sea level,” I said.

I looked at Twilight's face for a response as I saw the wheels in her head turn. The moment the joke clicked, she started to laugh weakly at the nerdy joke while Spike shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t get it,” Spike said.

“that’s cause you're not a big nerd,” I said as I looked at Twilight.

Twilight stopped laughing before she turned to look at me with her brow furled and a cute, angry face. “I am not a nerd.”

“You kinda are,” I said, giving her a playful wink.

“I am not,” Twilight said, no longer sounding as upset as she had been.

“Yeah, you are. You got the joke. But don’t beat yourself up over it. We like you as your nerdy self,” I said, giving her a thumbs-up.

Twilight’s brow raised as she looked at me with that cute smile, like what she was worried about had suddenly disappeared. Seeing that she looked like she was doing better lifted my spirits.

“Jack?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Thank you, and I’m sorry,” Twilight said.

“You're welcome, but what are you apologizing for?” I asked.

“I’m sorry, but for a moment, I was looking at you as a different person, and that was wrong of me to do so. It was just that you were different, and I didn’t know how to react, but now I know that you are still you,” Twilight said.

“Twilight, I understand, and it is my fault more than anything. I should have told you from the very start, and I still want to tell you more, but I was scared. I still am. I’ve been forced to change so much in so little time I’m… I’m still adapting,” I said.

“While yes, I agree that you should have told me from the start, but your appearance doesn’t change who you are or who you were. You just look different while having new, unique traits. How you react to had how you got here is up to your mind,” Twilight said.

“I don’t know. Two weeks ago, I would only have nervous breakdowns over upcoming exams and school stress, but never like that,” I said.

“I see. I can relate to that kind of stress, and I agree that what happened was not normal stress. That was more akin to something like …,” Twilight said as she trailed off.

I looked down at Twilight's face, and her eyes widened at what she was thinking before finally returning to normal. She noticed I was looking at her and gave me a sheepish smile.

“What was that?” I asked.

“What? Oh, it was just a thought that popped into my head. You don’t have to worry about it,” Twilight responded.

“Uh-huh,” I said without pushing the matter any further.

A sharp gust of wind blew past all of us. The exposed parts of my skin felt the wind, causing me to shiver. Looking at Twilight and Spike, they were unaffected by the chilly air that had just blown by us.

“God, so cold,” I said.

“Yeah, it is getting colder out, and even Spike and I will have to start putting on warmer clothing soon,” Twilight said.

“Wait, you guys have winter clothing?” I asked.

“Sure, we do. I wear a scarf and boots,” Twilight said.

“And I get to wear my cozy hat,” Spike said.

“Maybe I should talk to Rarity about making me something a bit warmer,” I said.

“Oh, she would probably be happy to do so, and I think she still has your measurements, so we or I can ask her sometime before it snows,” Twilight said.

When Twilight finished her sentence, I could see the library coming into view and felt a sense of happiness and security wash over me. We were almost home, and I could speak to Twilight without ponies being able to listen.

“Almost home. It's been a long day,” Twilight said.

“I agree with you. I just want to lie beside the warm fireplace,” I said.

“Speaking of which, Spike, can you light the fireplace when we get inside?” Twilight asked.

“Sure thing, Twilight,” Spike said.

Spike ran inside as Twilight and I waited for Stonehenge to sit under his awning. He crouched down before sitting on the ground, but before Twilight and I could walk away, Stonehenge reached over and patted me on the head. Twilight chuckled before he stopped, allowing me to step back.

“let's go inside,” Twilight said.

“You don’t see me protesting,” I said.

Twilight opened the door and held it open, allowing me to walk inside. The warm air blasted me in the face, and I felt tingles as it engulfed me completely. Twilight closed the door behind me as I entered the library to prevent any of the warm air from escaping.

“So much better,” I said.

Turning my head, I looked toward the freshly lit fireplace. Walking over, I felt the heat grow as I neared before finally arriving and lifting my hands towards the fire. Feeling the heat on my palms, I stood there, letting my body warm up as the sound of hoofsteps approached me from behind.

“Enjoying the heat?” Twilight asked.

“It feels so good,” I said with a smile and a fake whimper.

“Yeah, it does feel good,” Twilight said as she walked beside me.

We stood there in silence as we felt the heat and watched the fire dance randomly. I was the first to look away from the fire, and I stared at Twilight, who had her eyes closed, enjoying the heat.

As I stared at Twilight, an idea came into my mind that would help me with my magic. Ask Twilight if she would be willing to train me and show me how to use magic properly or at least get me started. If she said yes, she could help me control it, and if she said no, I could go back to doing it on my own.

“Hey, Twilight, feel free to say no, but can I ask you a favor?” I asked.

Twilight’s eyes opened as she turned to look at me,” What’s the favor?”

“Well, the idea just came to my mind, and as I said, you are more than welcome to say no, but would you possibly, maybe, please teach me how to use magic properly?” I asked.

The moment I asked Twilight, her eyes widened at the idea of her training me. She brought her right front hoof to her chin, rubbing it as she thought of the idea before finally sighing.

“Well, I could possibly teach you how to use magic, but I don’t know. My only experience is with colts and fillies. But I don’t exactly know if your magic is the same as unicorn magic. But to be fair, it did look pretty similar, save for that ice spell you used,” Twilight said.

“Wait, what do you mean ‘save for that ice spell?’” I asked.

“Well, it was unicorn magic, I’ll give it that, but the speed at which it froze the water was astonishing, quicker than a normal user of elemental magic but still slower than an accomplished user,” Twilight said.

“And why is that an issue?” I asked in confusion.

“a unicorn’s magic can either be very heavily specialized or a bit between. A good example would be if a unicorn were a miner. They would find knowing spells to assist in mining easier than a spell to help plants grow. Although many spells are so widely used, they don’t fall under any branches like telekinesis,” Twilight said.

“What do you fall under, Twilight?” I asked.

“Well, if you want to be technical, I fall under specialized, but I’m a bit different than most specialized ponies,” Twilight replied.

“How so?” I asked.

“Well, I am specialized in magic itself. I have an easier time learning most spells than others because that is what my talent is and what this cutie mark symbolizes,” Twilight said as she pointed to the stars on her hips.

“Yeah, I have no idea what a cutie mark is,” I said.

Twilight gasped at what I said, feeling like I was missing out on extremely basic knowledge. I shrugged my shoulders in response before Twilight sighed.

“It is a physical and symbolic symbol that appears when a pony learns what they are good at and wants to do in life. For example, if a pony likes to play music and wants to play music for as long as it can, a symbol of an instrument will appear,” Twilight sighed.

“So, you get a picture of what you're good at on your hip?” I asked.

“Yes, but we can go into even more detail when we start learning,” Twilight said.

“Wait, does this mean?” I asked.

“Yes, I will train you in magic, but I will also go over stuff other than magic since it might help you understand this world better,” Twilight said.

A feeling of happiness and excitement washed over me. Without a thought, I pulled Twilight in for a hug. Twilight seemed shocked at first, but she put her arm around me not long after and returned the hug.

“Thank you so much,” I said, letting go of the hug.

“It's no problem,” Twilight said with a flustered face.

The sound of footsteps running down the stairs caused Twilight and me to look up. It was Spike who ran down the stairs with a piece of paper and quill, looking like he was in a hurry. Once at the bottom of the stairs, he made a beeline toward the front door.

“Where are you heading, Spike?” Twilight asked.

“I want to get to Rarity’s and back before sunset, so I have to hurry,” Spike said as he opened and slammed the door behind him.

I turned to look at Twilight, who had done the same with me, as we both shrugged at each other at Spike's antics. I felt a wave of tiredness suddenly hit me due to my very long day, but before I could make my way down to my room for a nap, I had one more thing to ask Twilight.

“So, when do you want to start training?” I asked.

“We can start tomorrow,” Twilight replied.

“That works. I think I’m going to take a nap. Wake me if you need me,” I said as I turned towards the basement stairs.

“Okay, have a nice nap. Now, where is that quill and parchment?” Twilight said.

As I reached the door, I opened it and slowly descended to my room. Walking into my room, I made my way to my bed, snuggling under the covers as my heavy eyelids started to drop, taking me into the land of sleep.

~~~~>>><<<~~~~

I felt a light shining on my eyelids and a different kind of softness beneath me. When I opened my eyes, I saw I was back in my old room, in my old skin. Panic and the urge to vomit set in as I realized where I was.

“Please, not again,” I whimpered.

Author's Note

Hello everyone, chapter eight is here, and boy, it is a doozie. As I said in the last chapter, I felt like the concept of them finding out should be more detailed. However, if I had put it in the previous chapter, I would have had to sacrifice details, and no one would want that. If I hadn’t sacrificed detail and kept these together, I felt it would have been too long to be approachable, so parts one and two.

Now, I know this one had its emotional beats to leave you with a quote that some will understand, and some may take a moment. “There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.” ― Laurell K. Hamilton.

-Void Hollow =)

Chapter 9: Magic Training

Jack<<<

The very early morning light shined on my face as I tried to rub the tiredness from my eyes. I was sitting on the floor next to a window when Twilight pulled out a chalkboard and placed it in the middle of the room facing toward me. She started to use her magic to untie and hang diagrams behind the board.

“Do we really have to start this early?” I asked.

“Hey, you asked me to teach, and I pick the time when we start,” Twilight responded.

I groaned as I looked at the clock, seeing it was 6:30 A.m. I had gotten little to no sleep last night, as whenever I passed into the world of darkness, I would be taken back to my old room and forced to experience that same nightmare over and over again, save for the voice that had woken me the first time. The voice was no longer there, and I was left in the forest until I could wake up on my own.

It had gotten to the point last night that I woke up nearly freezing my bed into an ice cube a few times. Luckily, it never came to that point. After waking from that nightmare for the final time, I decided to stay awake and lay in my bed, but even that was short-lived as after what felt like 5 minutes of letting my brain unwind, Twilight barged into my room and forced me to where we are now.

“So tired,” I said.

“Hush, I’ll be ready in a moment,” Twilight said.

Twilight's horn began to glow as she levitated a piece of chalk to the board and started to write. The unmistakable sound of chalk on the chalkboard filled the room, sending a slight shiver down my spine. Once Twilight finished, she stepped aside, revealing that she had written ‘Magic 101.’

“‘Magic 101?’” I read aloud.

“Yes, we will be going over the basics of magic, which, yes, I know you have read some of the books, but this will be more detailed than what you read in the books,” Twilight said.

“That seems like a lot,” I said, a little worried.

“No, and yes. There is a decent amount of information, but if you're worried that we won’t have enough time today, we will. We got up nice and early,” Twilight said with a smile.

“Yeah, don’t remind me. what's first on the basics?” I asked.

Twilight's horn glowed as she pulled one of the diagrams from behind the board. She placed it on the right side of the board. It had two pictures on it. One was a picture of a regular unicorn horn, while the other was what looked to be what was inside the unicorn horn. The horn was comprised of three layers. one outer layer, which you could see normally. A middle layer that I had no idea about, and finally, what looked to be a layer of bone.

“Okay, let’s start with anatomy and how a unicorn uses magic. First, we will begin with the outer layer of a unicorn's horn,” Twilight said as she used the chalk to point at the outer layer. “This is what you typically see because it is the only part you can see. For the most part, it is made out of Keratin and can range in sizes.”

“Wait, what do you mean it can range in size? For the most part, everyone I have seen has pretty similar horns,” I asked.

“Well, while yes, this size is common, the length of one horn can be affected by one of two things. First is genetics, and what genes your parents carry are passed on during birth, and horn length is considered a repressive trait. Next is magic capability. How much magic you can use can also affect horn size,” Twilight said.

“Okay, that makes sense. I kinda would like to see a unicorn with a longer horn now,” I said.

Twilight rolled her eyes before returning to the board. Pointing at the middle layer as, she started to speak,” This is the core of the horn, and it may be smaller than the outside, but this is where the magic comes from. It is composed of a semi-hard material found in most magical creatures.”

“What do you mean by most?” I asked.

“Well, there is you and possibly your pendant for one, and the other is the changelings. Twilight said as she used the chalk to draw a rough sketch of a horse-like bug. “Changelings are a bug-like race that feeds on love and transforms it into magic.”

“God, I hope I never have to meet one of those change-things. I really hate bugs. I’ve Been sent to the hospital over them way too many times,” I said, as my body shivered involuntarily at the thought of them. The mere mention of bugs sent a chill down my spine, and I could feel my skin crawling.

“Wow, that seems unlucky,” Twilight said.

“I know, for some reason, I only get bit by the really venomous ones,” I said.

“Well, we’ll have to keep an eye out with your luck, anyways,” Twilight said as she turned back to the board. “The last bit of the horn will be this little nub of bone where everything grows off of. It’s probably the least fascinating part, but it is still part of the autonomy.”

“Hmm. What happens if a horn is damaged? Will a unicorn still be able to use magic?” I asked.

“That is a good question, and the answer depends on where the horn was damaged. If it was only damaged on the outer layer, say it got broken at the very tip, it might be uncomfortable, but it will eventually heal back to normal.” Twilight responded.

“But what about the core? What happens when that is damaged or breaks?” I asked.

“Well, if it is slightly damaged, it will still be able to heal, but it will take some time with some nasty side effects like headaches, difficulty, and pain while using magic, and possibly magic build-up. If the core is broken, all the side effects still occur but are heightened to an extreme and even more magical inclined ponies it can cause…” Twilight said as she stopped speaking before leaning and looking me dead in the eyes and whispering.” Death.”

Twilight leaned away from me, allowing what she had just said to me to set in. I reached for the pendant resting against my chest, feeling its cool surface beneath my fingers, thinking about magic cores and their frailty. If this pendant was indeed the source of my magic, if it was my magical core, I had to protect it at all costs. As the tension in the room slightly faded, Twilight cleared her throat.

“Speaking of magical build-up, let's go over the underuse and overuse of magic,” Twilight said.

Twilight’s horn started to glow again as she lifted the anatomy diagram and placed it back behind the board. She then grabbed another large piece of paper and put it where the last one had been. It looked to be a picture of a brown male unicorn split down the middle with the left side horn glowing wildly, and on the right, he seemed almost exhausted.

“Woah, he looks like he has seen better days,” I said.

“Yes, he has. You see, that magical core we went over is like a muscular battery. Overusing magic is like using all your energy to strain a muscle, while not using magic is like overcharging a battery to the point where it goes…” Twilight said as she waved me closer before loudly yelling, “POP!”

“YOU CAN EXPLODE!” I yelled in response, feeling a bit frightened at the thought of popping like a balloon.

“No. Yes. Maybe. Ugh.” Twilight said as she rubbed her face before pointing to the right side of the diagram. “Looking on the right, we can see that he is showing signs of overuse of his magic. This one is the simplest of the two because it is just overusing your magic, which can cause headaches, tiredness, and the inability to use magic due to strain. The good thing is that it only really lasts a few hours. Some rest and relaxation and it is like new.”

“But what about going, you know? POP!” I asked.

Twilight shook her head in mild disappointment before turning to the left side of the diagram. “Underuse of magic is a very dangerous thing. The effects are so random that it’s practically impossible to be able to define. You could turn into a sewing needle, make nearby ponies talk backward, or even, yes, explode,” Twilight said as she huffed, using what air in her lungs to give the few examples.

“Dang. The book I read didn’t give any examples. It did give a time frame for it, though. It gave a time frame of about two to three weeks. Does that sound normal, or should I know a different time frame?” I asked, wondering if I needed to know if the book was correct.

“Yes, that does sound right for the average unicorn, but a unicorn with higher magic capacity, or even an alicorn, would have to use their magic more often than that. Like me,” Twilight said, blushing while trying to hide a bit of embarrassment in her voice.

“That makes sense, with you being specialized in magic. Oh, by the way, what’s an alicorn? I don’t think I have really seen one of those yet. Are they rare, or are they like humans who don’t live in Ponyville?” I asked.

Twilight's mouth was left agape at what I had just asked, and once again, I felt like I was missing out on what I could tell from Twilight, which was exceedingly common knowledge. As Twilight stared at me, I gave a sheepish smile and shrugged my shoulders as she shook her head and regained her composure.

“They are some of the rarest ponies in all of Equestria. There are only three known alicorns in Equestria. They are all princesses, and one is my mentor and teacher. You have two of them around your neck,” Twilight said as she shook her head in even more disappointment.

“Oh, so an alicorn is a pony with a unicorn horn and wings,” I said.

“Well, yes, but that is really just an oversimplification of what they are. They are some of the smartest, most powerful, and influential ponies,” Twilight said.

“What makes them so powerful?” I asked.

“They have some of the most powerful pony-based magic with the ability of flight, and let's not forget their life span,” Twilight said.

“Life span?” I asked.

“Yes, life span as in, as long as nothing physically hurts them, they are immortal,” Twilight said.

“Immortal as in live forever immortal?” I asked.

“Indeed, my mentor and teacher, Princess Celestia, has been ruling for over 1000 years,” Twilight responded.

“One thousand years of ruling. Seems rather lonely,” I said.

The idea of living for several hundred years seems both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, extending life would bring vast knowledge and experience. On the other hand, it would mean being a constant as time continues to flow, watching everyone you know fade away before your eyes and being left with nothing but their memories.

“If you're worried about her, she is not alone, at least not anymore. Her sister, Princess Luna, is with her,” Twilight said.

“Hmm, well, that seems better than going through eternity alone,” I said.

“Yes, but let's get back to the subject. I would like to finish at 11 so we can practice some spells,” Twilight said.

As Twilight used her magic to hang and grabbed a new diagram, I looked at the clock and saw that it was 9:33 AM. We had been at this for over three hours. As Twilight hung up her final diagram, a sound came from the top of the stairs, and Spike descended them, rubbing his eyes. Twilight looked surprised to see Spike.

“you’re up early,” Twilight said.

“I know I would have slept later, but while tossing and turning, I found a quill in my bed poking me. What are you guys doing,” Spike asked.

“Oh well, Jack and I are going over the basics of magic. We were about to move on to the next lesson,” Twilight said.

“Sounds kind of boring,” Spike said.

“Maybe to you, but we find it very interesting. Right, Jack?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, but I would like to set the record straight, you did drag me up here,” I said.

" Hmm, oh, you being here reminds me. Can you send this letter to Celestia, Spike?” Twilight asked as she used her magic to pull a scroll off one of the shelves.

“Sure, but what is it?” Spike asked.

“Oh, well, it’s about Jack informing her about him,” Twilight responded.

“You’re letting the princess know I’m here? Did you write about my magic?” I asked, a bit worried.

“Yes, I did. She should know. I even wrote about the pendent to see if she knows about it. You should be fine, Jack. At most, she will just want to speak with you,” Twilight said with a sheepish smile.

I thought about it for a moment. Celestia is someone that Twilight spoke highly about and someone she trusted. If I were to return to the castle, how would I be treated, and would Celestia do something to me? Ultimately, I would put my faith in Twilight. If she said I would be fine, then I would be fine.

“Okay, Twilight. If you think this is right, I trust you,” I said with a weak smile.

“Thank you, Jack. You ready, Spike?” Twilight asked.

“Yep,” Spike responded, grabbing the letter from Twilight.

Spike held the scroll to his mouth before blowing his green flames on it. The scroll burned away in a matter of seconds, leaving behind nothing but smoke and sparkles before even that vanished. Spike then turned to look at Twilight.

“Is there anything else that you need, Twi?” Spike asked.

“If you want, you can look at the books returned and see who is overdue,” Twilight said.

“Okay, I’m on it,” Spike said.

I watched Spike walk over to the door, stopping to the right of it before tugging on the wall. As Spike tugged, he opened a secret door that had about fifteen books inside of all different sizes. Spike grabbed a few of the books and walked to a desk with a large book. As he reached the desk, he placed the books down and looked through the big book, occasionally looking at one of the smaller books.

“Okay, let's get back to the final thing I want to go over,” Twilight said as she turned to look at the board again.

“What is it? Is it more anatomy or something that I need to look out for?” I asked.

“Well, kinda. It is your connection to magic,” Twilight said.

“What do you mean? Is it like how you explained it yesterday? I asked.

“Yes, but I want to go over one’s connection to magic and what makes it unique to that magic user,” Twilight said as she used her magic to pull out two small red balls, placing them between her and me. “Go ahead and use your magic to make the one closer to you float.”

“Okay, I’ll try,” I said as I raised my hand, allowing it to glow blue as the ball floated about five feet off the ground.

“Good. Good, now it's my turn,” Twilight said as her horn glowed light purple before the ball started floating next to mine. “If you look, you can see some major differences between mine, one being the color. We both have different-colored auras. Then, you have the texture of the aura. While most look the same, some are unique to the user. If you were to look at Rarity’s magic, you would see it sparkles more like gemstones in the light.”

As I focused on keeping the ball afloat, I looked at Twilight’s and my magic. Hers was more refined than mine, with little sparkles that kind of matched her cutie mark. On the other hand, Mine looked denser but did not sparkle like Twilight’s. It seemed to have what looked like ice dust flowing through it.

“I see what you mean. Ours look so different,” I said.

“Yes, they do, but that is not all. They can also have unique textures, like feeling like water or having smells like apple pie. That is how most differ when they all look similar. Here, feel mine,” Twilight said as she brought the ball closer to me.

I reached out with my left hand, making sure no magic was flowing through it before plunging it into Twilight’s aura. It did not feel like the aura I had felt when that unicorn grabbed my leg when I woke up. Her aura felt smoother, like my hand was encased in sparkly silk. Bringing my head lower, I gave it a sniff to find a hint of lavender, but not enough to notice if I had not been looking for it. This got a chuckle from Twilight.

“What?” I asked.

Oh, nothing. Bring your ball closer to me. I want to see if it feels as unique as it looks,” Twilight said as she gestured for it to come closer.

Focusing, I slowly moved the ball closer to Twilight, making sure I did not accidentally hit her. As the ball stopped in front of her chest, she gave a proud smile to me.

“Okay, just keep it still for a second,” Twilight said.

Twilight lifted her hoof, plunging it into the aura around the ball, and left it there for a few seconds before letting off a shiver. As she took her hoof out of the aura, she shook it a few times before returning it to the floor.

“How did it feel? I asked with a bit of concern.

“It was cold, very cold. It was like stepping in a pile of snow,” Twilight said.

“Hmm, what does it smell like?” I asked as I raised the ball closer to her face.

“Hold on, give me a moment,” Twilight said as she brought her face closer to the ball, sniffing and raising her head again. “It smells like freshly fallen snow.”

“Really. Let me smell,” I said.

I pulled the ball from Twilight and brought it to my face before giving it a sniff. My nose was filled with the smell of what Twilight had described. It was like I had taken a deep breath in the middle of a blizzard. An image of the forest popped involuntarily into my head, but I shook it away as quickly as it appeared.

“I see what you mean. It is… familiar,” I said as I lowered the ball away from my face.

“Here, let's take a break. I don’t want you over-using your magic,” Twilight said.

I shrugged my shoulder and slowly brought the ball back to where I had picked it up. Twilight did the same thing, albeit much faster than me, before turning her attention to Spike. As she walked closer, she arrived to his left. Spike turned to look at her.

“How is it coming along, Spike?” Twilight asked.

“It’s going fine so far. We only have one book due today, and Cheerilee has it,” Spike said as he wrote in the big book.

“Oh, what book does she have checked out?” Twilight asked.

“Some cheesy romance novel called…” Spike said as he looked deeper into the book before leaning back out. “’ Living High, Loving Low.’”

“Wow, that’s some cheddar,” I said as I took the right side of Spike.

“Well, book returns aren’t due till noon. what time is it?” Twilight asked.

I leaned back to look at the clock before saying,” It's 10:42.”

“See, she has an hour and a half to get the book here,” Twilight said.

“Yeah. Well, with that done, I’m going to make some lunch. What do you guys want?” Spike asked as he got up and started walking towards the kitchen.

“How about something simple like a salad,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, a salad is fine,” I said.

“Okay, salad it is. Do you like croutons, Jack?” Spike asked.

“Yeah, there, fine,” I responded.

“Okay, I will be out in a bit,” Spike said.

Twilight's face held that of slight disgust, almost like she was gagging,” Sweet Celestia, how can you like hard bread in your salad?”

“What? They're fine. You're just overreacting a bit,” I responded as Spike started to walk toward the kitchen, rolling his eyes.

As Spike entered the kitchen, the sound of the door opening caught mine and Twilight's attention. We turned to look at a Dark pink earth pony with light pink hair and three flowers for her cutie mark that were slightly blocked by a pair of bags. The pink pony was the first to speak.

“Sorry, am I late to return a book?” the pink pony asked as she pulled a book out of her bag.

“Not at all, Cheerilee. I’ll go ahead and take that,” Twilight said as magic engulfed the book and was lifted away from Cheerilee.

“Woo. What a relief! I thought I was going to be late,” Cheerilee said as she looked around the room before speaking again. “I'm sorry. Did I interrupt something?”

“Oh, uhh. I was just practicing tutoring magic with my friend over there,” Twilight said as she pointed to me, and her horn began glowing.

Twilight levitated the book over to the desk where Spike had been sitting, placing it with all the others. As she put down the book, Cheerilee let out a gasp of surprise as she noticed that I was in the room.

“So, this is the human I have been hearing about. What's your name?” Cheerilee Asked.

I walked a bit closer and held my hand up to introduce myself,” Hello, my name is Jack Marrow.”

Cheerilee held out her hoof and took my hand, shaking it as she started to speak,” Oh, what manners. It is nice to meet you, Jack. As you probably heard, my name is Cheerilee.”

“Well, it is nice to meet you, Cheerilee,” I said as I let go of her hoof, allowing both appendages to relax.

“So, Jack, if you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing in Ponyville? Are you just sightseeing, or did you get lost? Or did you get sent here by one of the other humans?” Cheerilee asked.

“Oh well, none of that,” I replied, causing Cheerilee to become confused.

“Wait, what? What do you mean by none of that?” Cheerilee asked.

“Well, I live here, I’m not sightseeing, and I wasn’t sent by any human. Heck, I haven’t even seen one,” I responded.

“So, you’re not from Canterlot?” Cheerilee asked.

“No, I have only been here a little over a week, and I have been in the Everfree and Ponyville,” I replied.

“Really, what were you doing in the Everfree?” Cheerilee asked.

“Well, I woke up in a nearby forest and kind of wandered into it, and after about a day, I found Twilight and the big pebble golem outside,” I said as I gestured over to Twilight.

“Is what he's saying true, Twilight?” Cheerilee asked as she turned to look at Twilight.

“Well, he left out the part about saving my life, but overall, yeah, that sounds about right,” Twilight said as she walked to the chalkboard. Her horn glowed, and the chalkboard was pushed back into the closet.

“Really, a human…er... Jack saved your life?” Cheerilee asked, a bit surprised.

“you’re not the first to react like that,” Twilight said.

“Well, not many humans would do something like that. You know, come to think of it, you look different from any of the humans I’ve seen on the field trips, I take my fillies and colts to see in Canterlot,” Cheerilee said.

“Well, you see, Cheerilee…” Twilight said before I held my hand up so I could explain it.

“The reason I look different is… we don’t know,” I said, my face holding a cheeky smile.

“Wait, what? Cheerilee asked, the confusion in her voice apparent.

“Yeah, we suspect it might be because of how I got here, but that is based on theory. A magic theory,” I said.

Cheerilee shrugged her shoulders before speaking,” Fair, I have heard wilder things come from my students.”

“Wait, you’re a teacher? So cool, what do you teach?” I asked.

“Oh, um, I am a general education teacher. I teach Colts and Fillies history, math, science, and other basic stuff. Why do you ask?” Cheerilee asked.

“Well, because before coming to Equestria, I was going to school to become a music teacher,” I responded.

“Really, how close were you to finishing your education,” Cheerilee asked.

“Well, I had about a semester remaining, but that was mostly just filler to get my required amount of classes to graduate,” I responded.

“Why would they make you take filler classes? My classes were all about teaching and child management,” Cheerilee said.

“Well, for some reason, human schools require a certain number of ‘points’ to get a degree,” I responded.

“Did you do your internships?” Cheerilee asked.

“Yes, I did, but unfortunately, all my proof is back where I came from,” I said.

“Well, that is unfortunate but not too alarming. Just send a letter to the Ponyville school board and say what happened. They might be able to work with you. Celestia knows we need a new music teacher,” Cheerilee said.

The sound of the closet door shutting made Cheerilee and I turn to look at Twilight, who had just finished cleaning the room from our training session. Twilight had a smile on her face as she walked over to us.

“Well, we can work on that after lunch,” Twilight said.

“Yes, well, I have to run. I have other errands and tomorrow's lesson plans to finish. It was nice seeing you, Twilight, and good luck, Jack,” Cheerilee said as she turned and started to walk away.

As Cheerilee walked through the door and disappeared outside, I felt tingles in my stomach as nervousness and excitement flowed through me. If what she had said was possible, I could become a teacher and teach little ones the joys of music. I turned to look next to me at twilight.

“I can feel butterflies in my stomach. There is still a possibility of me teaching here,” I said as my body jittered with excitement in my voice.

“I can tell. I haven't seen you this excited at all. Why are you this excited about teaching?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know. The reason is rather weird. Are you sure you want to hear it?” I asked.

“Jack, of course, I want to hear. No matter how silly or weird it might be, it is still why you choose to go down the path to who you are,” Twilight responded.

“Well, you know how there is no magic in my world?” I asked as Twilight gave a little nod in agreement before I continued to speak. “Whenever I heard music in my world, I always felt this little spark in the core of the song, and whenever I tried to talk about it, people would always say it was just my imagination, or I was just ‘feeling’ the music too much. So, the reason I wanted to become a teacher was to show people that little spark of, well, magic in music.”

“That doesn’t sound weird. It sounds like you have a connection to music. Do you still feel that ‘spark’ whenever you hear music since coming to Equestria?” Twilight asked.

“Oh yeah, all the time, whether it’s the ponies singing when we are shopping, the birds tweeting, or even you are humming when you’re reading a book. The only difference is that it is much stronger now,” I responded.

“Stronger? What do you mean by stronger? Twilight asked.

“Like the power behind a song, the music has more of a connection to the world. It is as if there was nothing for it to grab onto in my world while here it can actually take root,” I responded.

“Hmm. Well, with what you said, that doesn’t surprise me because ponies have been known to break out into musical numbers,” Twilight said.

“Musical numbers? Like with song, dance, and music?” I asked, a little dumbfounded at what I heard.

“Yes, there is magic baked into this world, so everything we do has some form of magic, even singing and dancing,” Twilight said.

I was about to say something when Spike walked out of the kitchen carrying two salad plates. The salads looked identical, save one had croutons, and one didn’t. Spike handed me the salad with croutons, which caused Twilight to make her gagging face again before she took the other one in her magic.

“Nasty,” Twilight said as she started to walk towards the kitchen.

“They're fine. Oh, in my world, they used to have so many flavors of them,” I said.

“La, la, la. Not listening,” Twilight said as she entered the kitchen, causing Spike and me to laugh as we followed her in.

As we entered the kitchen, I felt a shiver run down my spine, like I was being watched. Shaking this feeling, I noticed a fresh newspaper on the counter. When I looked closer, I noticed that the main article discussed yesterday's race and included a picture of the two pink ponies. Shrugging, I took my seat, but before I could start eating, Spike held his hands to his mouth before letting out a loud burp.

Spike burped a puff of green fire, and smoke came out of his mouth. However, that did not last long, as a scroll formed from the ashes and smoke and landed in the middle of the table. Twilight did not waste any time taking the scroll and opening it.

“I didn't think I would get a response this soon,” Twilight said as she started to read the scroll.

“What does it say?” Spike asked.

“Oh, it says,” Twilight said as she read the scroll aloud for Spike and me.

Letter<<<

My dearest and most faithful student, Twilight.

Thank you for informing me of your new and very unique friend, Jack. I cannot say that I have ever seen or heard a human using magic. I would very much like to meet Jack in person along with his pendant as soon as possible. I know today is too short of notice, so I would like to ask that you and Jack come to Canterlot tomorrow.

Attached to this letter are two first-class round-trip train tickets. I hope to see you and Jack tomorrow.

Princess Celestia

Jack<<<

As Twilight finished reading the letter, she pulled out a pair of gold train tickets and set them on the table. I felt a little nervous that I was being summoned to speak with the ruler of this land, and I had been here less than two weeks. Twilight looked slightly panicked, even though she said it would most likely happen.

“You were right. She wants to meet me,” I said as I took a soft bite of my salad.

“Finish your salad quickly. We have to prepare,” Twilight said as she started scarfing down her salad.

“Twilight, slow down. You have all day to prepare,” Spike said.

Twilight started to chew slowly before lifting her head from the plate, “You’re right, Spike, but Jack, after we finish, I want us to get ready for tomorrow. I want you to have a good impression on Celestia.”

“Okay, we will, but these croutons are giving me a bunch of work,” I said as I put one of the croutons in my mouth, causing Twilight to gag and Spike to laugh.

Celestia<<<

“Sister, are you sure?” Luna asked me, a look of worry on her face.

“Yes, Luna, I want to see if what you and Twilight have said is true,” I said as I looked out the palace window towards Ponyville.

“I never saw his face. It was only a feeling. And the power his body held. what will you do if it is true?” Luna asked.

“I don’t know. But that pendant was his, but Jack was not his name. I don’t know,” I said.

“Last time this Jack was here, he had a quarter of the royal guards chasing him down the halls,” Luna said.

“Yes, speaking of which, can you do me a favor, Luna? Can you please inform the guard that no one from the guard or any other staff is to speak about what happened? I don’t believe he has told Twilight yet, and if it is not him, he should be the one to tell her, not the brashness of the guard,” I said.

“Yes, sister, what will you be doing in the meantime?” Luna asked.

“I must think. Telling them tomorrow was not for them. It was for me,” I said.

“Yes, well. I shall inform the guard, and then I shall retreat to my quarters. Good morning, Celestia,” Luna said as she started to walk towards the throne room doors.

“Good night, Luna,” I said as I continued to look toward Ponyville.

Author's Note

Hello, Hello, Hello. Chapter Nine is here, and I must say that this chapter felt pretty normal to write. There wasn’t much in the way of bonus or extra stuff as what came to mind for non-spoiler stuff I was able to write hassle-free. But for the spoiler stuff (you’ll have to wait and see)

-Void Hollow =)

Chapter 10: All Aboard

The sound of frantic hoof steps filled the treehouse as Spike and I watched, standing next to the door as Twilight ran around, panicking. She ran back and forth from the bookshelves to her bag next to the door, packing various items, from papers and quills to giant encyclopedias on magic and humans. Seeing her like this did not raise my hopes for meeting Celestia.

I was already ready, as I had my bag packed with what I deemed necessary. Inside my backpack was the glowing gem along with a change of clothing in case my clothes got dirty, or we had to stay in Canterlot, as well as three books. One was a fiction storybook called ‘Attack of the 40-foot Hummingbird’, while the other two were ‘The Royal Book of Magic, Magical Artifacts, and Creatures’ and ‘Elementals of the Elements.’

“What if we need more paper? Or maybe another encyclopedia? Spike, can you get me ‘Humans Vol 21,’” Twilight said as she continued to walk back and forth.

“Is she always like this?” I asked Spike.

Spike shrugged his shoulders as he turned his head to look at me. " It is only this bad for getting ready. Once she's on the train, she will calm down a bit more.”

“Should we step in? I don’t think she and I will need all this,” I asked, a bit worried.

“Yeah, let's stop her before she makes me carry a heavy book for no reason,” Spike responded.

Spike and I approached Twilight as she looked around for a book. As we approached, I reached out and tapped her on her side, causing her to jump in the air in surprise. As she landed, she turned to look at us.

“Spike, Jack, don’t startle me like that. I’m still getting ready. Speaking of which, Jack, are you ready?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, Twilight, I am ready, and I think you are too,” I responded.

“No, no, no, still so much to pack,” Twilight said as she tried to turn away before Spike began to speak.

“Twilight, calm down. You have nearly packed up half the library. You don’t want to be late for the train ride, right?” Spike asked.

“Yeah, Spike. At this rate, and with your heavy bag, you're going to be walking slower than Stonehenge. We have enough, so you can relax on the packing,” I said.

“I just want you to be prepared to meet Celestia. Even though she is nice and perfect, she can be intimidating the first time you meet her,” Twilight said.

“I believe you, but I don’t think we’ll need ‘Humans Vol 21’. We have about ten minutes before we leave to meet the others at the train station. Let's make sure we are only packing what we need,” I said.

I turned to look at Twilight's bag. It was stuffed to the brim, and it looked like it was about to explode. Walking over to the bag, I turned to Twilight and gestured for her to come over. As she walked over, I crouched down to the bag, preparing myself to unpack.

Twilight used her magic to open the bag before asking,” Okay, what should we take out first?”

“First things first, let's remove all the encyclopedias to help with the weight,” I responded.

Reaching into Twilight’s bag, I tried to pull out two thick and very heavy encyclopedias belonging to the ‘humans’ volumes. Grunting in surprise at the weight, I pulled them out and set them to the side of her bag before taking a moment to catch my breath. Spike walked over and started to drag them to where they belonged.

“Thank you, Spike. Okay, those Bricks of Books are out. What's next? We could put half of these scrolls and quills back. As it stands, we probably won’t use that much,” I said as Twilight and I looked into the bag, seeing a pile of scrolls and quills.

“Hey, you never know when you need to write,” Twilight replied.

“Yes, but there are like forty scrolls and twenty quills in here. We're meeting the princess, not writing a book about meeting the princess,” I said as I pulled out half of the scrolls and quills, setting them next to the bag.

“he’s right, Twilight. Last time, we barely used an eighth of the scrolls and quills you took last time,” Spike said from across the room.

“Humph, fine, but I think that should be fine,” Twilight said as she used her magic to close her bag.

“I agree it looks a lot less heavy, but I didn’t see much in the way of self-entertainment. Are you not going to pack a book or two for the train ride?” I asked.

“Oh yeah, hold on one moment, let me see,” Twilight responded before turning to the bookshelves.

Twilight made her way to the bookshelves to look through the books she wanted to take for the train ride. I turned my attention to the scrolls and quills on the floor, picking them back up and walking them over to the desk so as not to leave a mess. As I set the scrolls and quills on the desk, the sound of Twilight's bag opening filled my ears. I turned to see that she was no longer looking at the books.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Twilight said.

“Sounds good. Let's start walking,” I said.

“Wait before we go,” Twilight said as she turned to look at Spike.” Spike, I have Applejack coming over at six. If Jack and I aren’t back by then, she said you could spend the night with her. I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning if we aren’t back.”

“Okay. Wait, what about Stonehenge?” Spike asked.

“Applejack said he can stay in her barn. Just take him with you if you leave. Oh, and make sure to lock the door when you leave as well,” Twilight said before turning and walking out the door.

“See you when we get back, Spike,” I said as I turned to the door.

“Bye, Jack. Good luck, Spike said.

As I exited the library, the cold fall air filled my lungs as the sun hit my face, momentarily blinding me. I turned to my right to see Twilight talking with Stonehenge as she looked like she was explaining something to him. Walking over, I caught the tail end of the conversation.

“… Spike and Applejack to the barn from a few days ago,” Twilight said.

“Why leaving?” Stonehenge asked.

“Because Princess Celestia has requested to speak with Jack,” Twilight replied.

Stonehenge shifted at the sound of Celestia's name before standing up, speaking as he did,” I go to. I protect friend.”

“Wait a second, big guy. It is just going to be Twilight and me for now. We only have two tickets, and I think you might have difficulty fitting on the train,” I said.

“Need protecting,” Stonehenge said, pointing at me.

“I know, but I have Twilight, and you trust Twilight to help me if I need it, right?” I asked.

“Hmm. Right,” Stonehenge said before turning to look at Twilight. “Protect friend. Please.”

Twilight was stunned for a moment before looking Stonehenge dead in the eye with a serious face and speaking, “Stonehenge, I promise you that Jack will come back unharmed.”

Stonehenge narrowed his eyes and looked into Twilight's eyes as she remained stone-faced. After what felt like minutes, Stonehenge let out what looked like a sigh before returning to his awning.

“Promise accepted,” Stonehenge said as he sat back down under his awning, shaking the ground.

Twilight let out a sigh of relief before turning to me, " Come on, Jack, the train won’t wait forever.”

“Okay, Twilight. See you, big guy,” I said as I waved him goodbye.

Stonehenge waved back before I turned to Twilight, who was standing waiting for me. I walked over to her as we started to walk down the dirt road toward the edge of town, where I assumed the train station was located.

“So, Jack, I was so busy packing my stuff I never got to ask you what you were bringing," Twilight said.

“Oh, just some books and a change of clothes in case mine get dirty or we have to stay the night,” I replied.

“Is that all?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t own a whole lot of stuff that isn’t broken or not needed, so I pretty much took what I own. Oh wait, I did forget I was taking my glowing gem,” I said.

“Glowing gem? I didn’t know you had one of those,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, I found it in the castle, but I never really had a reason to talk about it. I’m just bringing it, just in case,” I said.

“You know I can make light with my magic,” Twilight said as her horn quickly started to glow brightly before fading again. “And technically, you can, too.”

“I don’t know that spell. I only know the freeze spell and telekinesis,” I responded.

“Well, you know the basics of magic, so when we get a chance, we can go over some of the widely used spells,” Twilight said.

“Whenever we have time, but I don’t think we are going to get much of a chance to do so today,” I said.

“Hey, you never know. Celestia might be done with you quickly. The train ride is only two hours, so that is 4 hours on the train, which hopefully lets us get back with some daylight,” Twilight said.

“What if we have to stay the night?” I asked.

“Well, we’re set here, so if we do have to stay, I’ll show you around the castle,” Twilight responded.

“Yeah, that would be nice,” I said.

My mind flashed to when all those guards were chasing me. I did not really get much of a chance to look around as I was just dodging from hallway to hallway. I really hope that none of the guards will want to do that again or that no one will say anything. My only hope was that because I was being requested by Celestia, that would mean none of them would want to hurt me.

“Oh, there's the station,” Twilight said, and her voice caused me to snap back to reality.

The train station looked to be on the smaller side. It was only a small building with an outdoor staging area, and a pair of train tracks next to it. Other ponies seemed to be waiting next to the tracks, while the others were in the middle of the staging area, and they looked like they were talking with each other. Pinkie Pie was the first to notice us as we started walking up to them.

“Look, they are here,” Pinkie Pie said as she pointed toward Twilight and me.

The girls stopped their conversation and turned to look at Twilight and me, as Rarity was the first to start speaking, “You two took your time. Nearly fashionably late.”

“Oh well, we would have been here sooner, but Twilight wanted to be prepared,” I said, causing Twilight to make a quick giggle in response.

“Sounds about right. The last time we had to leave for Canterlot, she nearly packed her house,” Applejack said.

“Hey, it’s not Twilight's fault. She just has a harder time letting loose and going with the flow,” Rainbow Dash said as she hovered on her back like she was floating in the water.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up, everypony, but when stuff happens, you can’t be too prepared,” Twilight said as she held her nose up in the air.

I rolled my eyes before looking at the tracks. “When will the train be here?”

“Only a few more super quick minutes, that’s what the train clerk said. I think,” Pinkie Pie said as she scratched her chin and narrowed her eyes.

“Oh, Applejack, I can’t thank you enough for agreeing to look after Spike and Stonehenge. I would have asked you, Fluttershy, but I don’t know how well you could accommodate Stonehenge,” Twilight said.

“It's all right, Twilight. I will say Applejack was probably better because my cottage can handle a baby dragon just fine but not very well to Stonehenge’s stature,” Fluttershy said.

“I do agree with Fluttershy. I can house Stonehenge in my barn just fine, and I know that Apple Bloom likes havin’ Spike around, although I did tell Apple Bloom the rest of the Crusaders could also spend the night,” Applejack said, causing Twilight to chuckle.

“Well, you sound like you got your hoof full. But like I told you yesterday about Jack and me if we get done soon enough. Well, you’ll know if not; I’ll be there to pick him up in the morning,” Twilight said when the sound of a train whistle caught everyone's attention.

A pink steam train quickly pulled up next to the staging area before slowing and coming to a stop. As the train doors opened, a few ponies exited the train and started to head toward the inside of the train station. As the crowd dispersed, an older-looking brown pony with greying hair and what seemed to be a train worker's uniform stepped out onto the staging area.

“Next route, Ponyville to Canterlot. Please have your tickets ready to board. The train will be departing in ten minutes,” the train worker said.

“Just in time. Do you two have your tickets?” Rarity asked.

“Yes, I have them right here,” Twilight responded as she used her magic to pull out the two tickets from her bag. She held one of the tickets in front of her while she held the other one in front of me to grab. “Here's yours, Jack.”

I grabbed the ticket from her magical grasp, responding as I did so, “Thank you, Twilight.”

“Enough, dilly dally, you two. Ya’ll got a train to catch,” Applejack said as she motioned for us to get walking.

“Bye-bye. Have a safe ride, you two,” Pinkie Pie said.

“See you girls later. Come on, Jack, we got a train to catch,” Twilight said as she started to walk toward the train worker.

“Okay, I’m coming. Bye, everyone,” I said.

Turning to follow Twilight, we made our way to the train worker, where a line had formed from the other ponies that had been waiting for the train to arrive. We stepped to the back of the line. The line slowly started to move forward before it was Twilight's turn to get her ticket checked by the worker. She held out her ticket, and the worker used his magic to stamp the ticket as he started to talk to Twilight.

“don’t see many of these tickets. Are you on royal duty, miss?” the train worker asked.

“What do you mean? Is it not a first-class ticket, Mr.…?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, you can call me Ironbark Express, ma’am, and this is definitely first-class, but it is better as it is royal first-class. You can see the princess's signature,” Ironbark responded.

“Let me see,” Twilight said as she held her ticket up closer to her eyes.

I did the same thing as Twilight, and I brought the golden train ticket closer to my face to see it better. Then I noticed what seemed to be golden ink with a P.C. cursive signature on the bottom right.

“Hmm, she sure does want to meet you, Jack,” Twilight said as she stepped to the side for me to get my ticket checked.

“I can tell,” I said as I stepped forward and handed Ironbark my train ticket, which caused a bit of shock.

“Two royal tickets in one day. You two must be important, especially a human like you, Jack, was it,” ironbark said as he stamped my ticket with his hole punch.

“Uh, Jack is right, and why do you say that?” I asked, a bit worried.

“Well, not many humans travel out this far, let alone using a royal ticket. You must be pretty important back in Canterlot,” Ironbark said.

“Not really. Technically, she is more important than I am, or at least I believe so,” I said as I pointed at Twilight, who was now standing on the steps of the train door.

“Very humble of you, sir. Well, you are free to board. Royal first class is to the left, near the front of the train. Enjoy your ride,” Ironbark said.

I shrugged my shoulders and started to climb the train steps before turning to my left to catch up to Twilight, who was halfway down the section's train cart. Catching up to Twilight, we walked through the different train cart sections as we made our way to royal first class. As we walked through the carts, the room seemed to get fancier and fancier, and I seemed to be getting multiple ponies staring at me. It was not long before we finally reached the door for royal first class.

Opening the door and stepping inside Twilight and, I gasped at what we saw. The room was much larger and fancier than what we had seen in the regular first class. It held a self-service bar stocked to the brim with fancy-looking alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks with a bar counter and six bar seats. Across from the bar were two large and one normal flat seats that almost looked like beds. The first large one was pure white, and the other was dark blue, and lastly, the normal one was light pink. In the far-right corner of the room was a door that I believed led to a restroom.

“Woah, this place is fancy,” I said as I walked closer to the bar.

“You aren’t kidding. Look at this place. This must be where Celestia and Luna ride for train trips,” Twilight said as she walked beside me.

“Hmm, I'm just going to say it now: we should probably avoid the larger seats and stick to the bar seats,” I said as I placed my bag down next to one bar seat.

“Probably the best idea. Wait, what's this,” Twilight said as she found a note left on the bar counter addressed to her and me.

“It looks like a letter. What does it say?” I asked as I leaned in closer.

Twilight opened the letter and started to read it before speaking, “It’s from Celestia. She says that we are free to take from the bar but does not recommend drinking any alcohol.”

“Well, that's nice of her, though I probably wouldn’t have touched the alcohol even if I could. Not much of a drinker,” I said.

“All that’s good, but aren’t you just barely old enough to drink?” Twilight asked.

“Yep, I’m twenty-one,” I responded.

Twilight was about to respond when a voice came over through the intercom above the door we had just walked through,” Attention, all passengers. The next stop is Canterlot. We will now be departing. Please enjoy your ride on the Friendship Express.”

The sound of the train horn blew as the train started to move very slowly. Twilight, not wasting the opportunity, ran over to the cabin window and opened it before sticking her head through the window. Curious, I walked over to see her waving to the rest of the girls, who were all waving back. Not wanting to miss out, I walked over to the next window, did the same as Twilight, and waved the rest goodbye.

Slowly, as the train started to pick up speed, it started to leave the station, and we continued to wave goodbye. As the train began to go faster and as we left the station, the others started to get smaller and smaller before finally fading from view. We pulled both our heads back inside the cabin, shutting the windows behind us as I turned and walked back over to the bar seat where I had placed my bag and sat down.

“What do we have to do now? What, two hours before we get there?” I thought aloud.

“Well, you have your book, right? Just read one of those,” Twilight replied as she took a seat next to me.

“I definitely could,” I said.

I started to reach for my bag before I realized something very important. We had been so busy yesterday getting ready that we had never sat down and worked on my letter to the Ponyville school board, and Twilight had all the supplies on her to let us get it done.

“You know, I just thought of a better idea that we can both do,” I said, catching Twilight's interest.

“Oh, and what could that be?” Twilight asked.

“We could work on the letter to the Ponyville school board about me becoming a music teacher,” I responded.

“Sure, might as well we will have plenty of time to write it now,” Twilight said.

Twilight used her horn to open her bag, pulling out a scroll, and placing it between us. Next, she pulled out a quill and placed it above the scroll. I thought of what we could write to try to convince them.

“Okay, what should we write first?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, how about this,” I said as I took the scroll and started to write.

Taking the quill, I started to write the start of the letter, introducing myself and giving my name and species. After that, I wrote down why I was writing them, about wanting to be a teacher but not having proof of my training. Raising the quill, I let Twilight look over the start of the letter.

“Not bad, not bad. Next, you should probably go over the qualifications even if you don’t have proof. You should be able to say at least what they are,” Twilight said as she pointed to the middle of the paper.

“Yeah, that would probably be the best idea,” I said as I grabbed the quill and started to write.

Taking the quill to the middle of the scroll, I started to write about my school teaching and the years I had gone through my classes. I also mentioned my time with my internships and the amount of qualifying hours I had done. Lastly, I brought up extra skills that were not required in my world for the degree but were good to know in case of emergency, like first aid / CPR.

“And there we go,” I said as I set the quill back down before asking. “how’s that?”

“Let me look,” Twilight said as she leaned over to read the scroll. As she read, she let out a little gasp before turning to me. “I didn’t know you knew first aid.”

“Yeah, to be fair, I have never actually had to use it here yet. It’s a skill that I hope I don’t have to use very much unless it is for simple stuff like small cuts or bruises.” I responded.

“I understand, but still now, I know. Anyway, you should probably close out your letter.” Twilight said.

“Right, what is the best way to close out a letter?” I asked myself.

“Just thank them for reading and considering the letter and that you hope to hear back with a response soon,” Twilight responded.

“Yeah, that will work,” I said as I started to write one last time.

Bringing the quill to the paper, I thanked them for reading and considering why I was writing them. I then closed out the letter with hopes of hearing from the school board very soon. Signing my signature in the bottom left, I raised the quill from the scroll, placing it back down.

“Good. Now let's double-read the letter to see if we need to fix anything,” Twilight said as she started to read the letter aloud. “Dear Ponyville School Board….”

~~~>>>Jack’s letter<<<~~~

Dear Ponyville School Board.

My name is Jack Marrow, and I am a human new to Equestria. I am writing after being recommended to do so by one of your schoolteachers, Cheerilee. I am writing because before arriving in Equestria, I was aspiring and learning to become a music teacher with barely a month of extra credits to pass. Unfortunately, I have no proof of my classes and internships due to my sudden relocation, but I will review them.

Before arriving, I had over 118 credits and over 650 hours of internships over four years. I was taught the education process, the basics, and advanced materials during these four years. In extra credit, I was taught how to be First-aid and CPR-ready.

Finally, I would like to thank you for reading and considering what I have written. I hope to hear back quickly and in a timely manner regarding your consideration.

Sincerely, Jack Marrow.

~~~>>>Jack<<<~~~

“…Marrow. Yeah, that seems about as good as it will get. I don’t know what else you could add,” Twilight said as she slid the scroll away.

“Me neither. We should probably put it somewhere safe where no one can touch it or where it can get messed up. Too bad we didn’t pack any envelopes,” I said.

“Well, you could place it in one of your books at least until we find an envelope. That way, it doesn’t get bent,” Twilight said.

“Not a bad idea. Let me grab one,” I said as I reached down and grabbed my bag.

Bringing the bag up, I opened it and felt around the bag until I felt the unmistakable feeling of a book. Pulling it out, I saw it was ‘The Royal Book of Magic, Magical Artifacts, and Creatures.’ Looking down at the book, I realized it was probably the best one I could have grabbed, as it basically had its own locking system. Opening the gold book, I placed the scroll inside before closing it and putting it back into my bag.

“Woo, now, that’s done. I’m going to read one of my books till we arrive,” Twilight said as she pulled out one of her books and began to read.

I stood up and stretched my legs before speaking,” I’m going to grab something to drink behind the bar. Do you want anything while I’m back there?”

Twilight looked up from her book at the drinks on the wall before speaking, “Can you get some of that cherry soda?”

“Sure,” I said as I walked behind the bar.

Looking over the drinks, I grabbed Twilight's cherry soda, then looked over the rest before landing on an orange soda. Turning around, I grabbed two cups from under the bar and poured both the cherry and orange sodas into the cups before I realized I could not find any ice, only ice trays. Thinking for a moment, an idea came to my mind.

Grabbing one of the ice trays, I walked over to the sink and filled it with water. After filling the tray, I brought my right hand up and looked around, allowing it to glow blue before plunging the tip of my finger into the water. Quickly, the water froze, leaving nothing but ice cubes.

“Innovative,” Twilight said with a proud smile on her face.

“I’m a walking ice maker,” I joked as I walked over to the drinks and placed a few ice cubes inside before placing Twilight’s cup in front of her.

I dumped the rest of the ice in the sink and returned the ice tray to where I had found it. I grabbed my drink and walked back to my seat. Sitting back down, I took a sip of the orange soda, letting the carbonation burn for a second before swallowing it as I reached for my bag and grabbed ‘Attack of the 40-foot Hummingbird.’

~~~>>><<<~~~

Turning to the next page, I was so enthralled with my book that I did not realize how long I had been reading. As I started to read the next page, I was startled by a voice coming over the intercom. It was the same voice that we had heard when the train started.

“Attention fillies and gentlecolts, if you look out your window, you can see that we are less than a few minutes away from our destination. We recommend that those departing be ready with your luggage and thank you for riding on the Friendship Express,” the voice from the intercom said.

“Oh, we're here,” Twilight said as she closed her book and placed it back into her bag before standing up and walking over to the window.

I closed my book and put it back into my bag before standing up and grabbing the two empty cups. Walking back behind the bar, I started to wash and dry the cups before placing them back where I had found them. Going back around, I joined Twilight at the window to look at the fast-approaching mountain city. It looked the same as it did when I first saw it when I was nothing but a soul returning to my body.

“Almost there,” I said, feeling butterflies in my stomach from what I was approaching.

“I know. are you ready?” Twilight asked while looking up at me.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said, my voice sounding weaker but not too noticeable.

We watched as the train entered the outer layer of Canterlot. It then started to go down a straight path and began to slow down. It was not long before the screeching of train wheels was heard before the train came to a stop, blowing its whistle as it did. Looking out the window again, you could see the train station with ponies waiting outside.

“Come on, Jack,” Twilight said as she levitated her bag onto her back before walking to the cabin door.

“Right behind you,” I said as I walked right behind her.

As Twilight opened the cabin door with her magic, we walked out into the first class, where a few ponies were grabbing their belongings while others were still sitting. I continued to get stares from those who were still sitting as we made our way to the next cabin door. Walking by those who were grabbing their belongings, we opened the cabin door before exiting the train.

“Watch your step, Jack,” Twilight said as she walked down the train’s boarding and exiting stairs.

“Thanks,” I said, taking one step at a time before my feet reached the ground.

Feeling the solid ground on my feet, I took a deep breath of the fresh air before speaking,” Ah, fresh air.”

Twilight sighed before poking me in the leg, “Come on, we have somewhere to be.”

“Okay… how do we get there?” I asked as I shrugged my shoulders.

“Come on, I’ll lead the….” Was all Twilight could say before a deep voice interrupted her.

“Twilight Sparkle. Jack Marrow,” the loud, deep voice said right behind us.

Twilight and I turned around to look at the voice's body. Upon turning around, we were met with three guards standing in golden armor. An older male grey unicorn with grey hair stood in the middle group. To his left is a much younger-looking female pegasus with green fur and blue hair who looked familiar, like I had seen her before. And to the right was a red earth pony with black hair. I felt a pit in my stomach looking at them.

“What is the royal guard doing here?” Twilight asked herself.

“No idea,” I whispered under my breath.

“My name is Knight Commander Battleborn,” Battleborn said before pointing to his right.” This is Knight Hidden Mist,” then he finally pointed to his left.” That is Corporal Thistle’s Thorn. We are here to escort you and … Jack to see the princess. Princess orders.”

Twilight was taken aback in surprise before asking, “Why would Celestia send guards to escort us?”

“No idea, ma’am. She just said you two needed an escort. Now, if you don’t have any more questions, I would like to get this show on the road,” Battleborn said.

Twilight’s brow furled before she finally spoke, “None at all. Lead the way, commander.”

The three guards nodded before Battleborn started to walk away while Hidden Mist and Thistle’s Thorn waited for Twilight and me to start walking. Once Twilight and I began to walk, the three guards made a triangle formation around us with Battleborn in front, Thistle’s Thorn on the left, and Hidden Mist on the right.

As we walked down the streets, I noticed that the buildings were very different from those in Ponyville. They looked much sleeker and glossier, as if made of porcelain. The ponies that we walked by also looked fancier than almost any pony I had seen in Ponyville, with the exception of maybe Rarity, as most were dressed in suits, dresses, and hats. But what surprised me with how many times I had heard it, I had yet to see a single human.

“Man, not a single human in sight,” I said.

“That’s cause most humans don’t leave their gated community near the castle. You might be able to see one once we get near,” Hidden Mist said.

“I'm not going to lie. Most humans here seem kind of pompous,” I said, a little upset.

“Are they not like that where you're from,” Thistle’s Thorn asked.

“Well, some are, but most aren’t. Most are just people living life as each day goes by. How many humans live here?” I asked.

“a little over nine-hundred-fifty. Leaving the other fifty or so in different spots in Equestria,” Hidden Mist responded.

“Only one thousand humans. You weren’t kidding when you said humans were rare,” I said, looking at Twilight.

“I’m never wrong about my facts. You make one-thousand-one,” Twilight said with a bit of pride in her voice.

We continued to walk towards the ever-enlarging castle. I looked to my left to look at Thistle’s Thorn to try to remember where I had seen her from. Looking her over, I did not see anything that looked out of the ordinary until I landed on her right wing. The feathers looked slightly bent while the wing was not fully touching her side, like what you would see with a normal pegasus.

As I continued to look at the wing, I realized who I was staring at. This was one of the guards that had been chasing me when I first got here. She was the one who got injured when I threw the maid, saving her life. She was the one who tried to save me as I started to fall from the mountain. And now she wasn’t saying anything of that matter as she escorted Twilight and me towards the castle.

“Small world,” I whispered to myself.

“What was that?” Twilight asked.

“Nothing, just talking to myself,” I responded.

We walked for a few minutes before finally arriving at the castle gate. As we approached, the gate opened, allowing us to walk through before closing behind us. Continuing, we made our way past multiple guards, who all looked at me with side eyes as we made our way to the castle door. Two guards held the door open as we approached the castle doors, allowing us to enter.

“Thank you,” Twilight said as she walked inside.

“Thanks,” I said as I entered the castle.

Looking around, the castle looked very much the same as it had been when I had been running around the hallways. However, now I would have the opportunity to actually look at the décor as Battleborn started to lead the way again.

“Almost there, you two,” Battleborn said.

As we continued to walk, Twilight whispered to me, “Are you nervous?”

I gulped my fear before looking at her and responding, “A little bit. I am meeting a ruler, after all.”

“Well, when you meet her, make sure to give her as much respect as you can. Oh, and make sure to bow when you first see her,” Twilight whispered.

“Okay,” I whispered back.

With every step we took, the pit in my stomach grew more and more with each step. The hallways seemed to be full of guards, all giving me funny looks, but it was not long before we finally made it to a very long hallway with a very large door in the middle. Battleborn stepped to the side, nodding at both Hidden Mist and Thistle’s Thorn.

“we’re here. You two stay out here. I’ll notify the princess,” Battleborn said as he cracked the door before walking inside.

I stood there nervously when Twilight walked up to my side before speaking, “Remember, Jack, take deep breaths and show respect. She is a nice pony, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Thanks, Twilight,” I said as Battleborn stepped out of the doors.

“She is ready to see you two,” Battleborn said as he stepped out of the way of the door.

“Ready?” Twilight asked.

Letting out a sigh, I responded, “Ready.”

Author's Note

Howdy ya’ll, chapter ten is here for all of you to read, and nothing about the chapters behind the scenes was too interesting other than I got really sick while writing it. With the changing of the seasons and it starting to get much colder outside, I managed to catch a bug, not the bug, but a bug but I was still able to write. Not for as long, but still able to write. But I want to say that if I ever get sick where I can’t and have to delay, I will let you all know in two ways. One is a blog post, and the other is a comment under the most recent chapter.

Stay warm

-Void Hollow =)

Chapter 11: Half the Truth

The sound of the large doors being pushed open filled the hallway. I watched two guards struggle slightly to push the door open. Peering inside, I could see the room was brighter than any other room or hallway I had seen in the castle, and I could see nothing other than what seemed to be two thrones at the far end of the room. There appeared to be a pony sitting on one of the thrones, but I could not make out any features as they were too far away.

As the doors finally were pushed open far enough so that someone could walk through them, Twilight and I were gestured to start walking inside the room. Twilight began to walk inside the room, and I stood motionless for a moment before working up the courage to follow Twilight inside the bright room.

Stepping inside, my eyes started to adjust to the extra light in the room as Twilight, and I approached the pony on the throne. As we walked closer, I could begin to make out the features of the pony. She was much larger than any pony I had seen so far, even bigger than Applejack’s brother. She looked to be as tall as me, if not taller. Her fur was as white as I was, and I was as white as snow. Her hair was not hair as it looked more closely to what you see in the northern lights on Earth.

We walked for a moment before coming to the foot of the stairs leading to the princess's throne, which the princess was sitting on. Twilight stopped and lowered the upper half of her body to the ground, bowing to the princess. I dropped the upper half of my body. I waited, staring at the ground, half expecting my heart to beat before she finally spoke.

“You may rise, Twilight Sparkle and Jack Marrow,” Celestia said.

Twilight and I raised our bodies at the sound of Celestia’s firm yet gentle voice that echoed a power I had only heard once. Raising my head and looking at her, I saw she was now standing. Looking at her this way, I could tell she was as tall as me. As I and Twilight waited for her to continue, she let out a small chuckle.

“So, this is the special human I have heard about. I must say you look unique. What is your name?” Celestia asked.

“Um, uh, J-Jack Marrow, ma’am,” I said nervously.

“Jack Marrow,” Celestia said, pausing for a moment before continuing. “What a wonderful name.”

Twilight cleared her throat, catching both mine and Celestia’s attention, “Princess, I know you wanted to see Jack, but I have to ask. Why did you send the royal guard to escort us?”

Celestia let out another small chuckle before answering Twilight, “Jack is a very special individual, yes. I wanted to ensure that nothing happened to him on your way here. And those three who escorted you two will play a bigger role, which I’ll explain in a moment.”

“Okay, well, that makes a little more sense,” Twilight said.

“Well, first things first, why don’t you two tell me how you met each other and how Jack ended up living with you, Twilight?” Celestia asked.

“Well, it all started when I woke up in a random forest. I wandered around for a few hours before I ended up in the Everfree forest,” I said as Celestia let out a gasp.

“How awful. That area is quite dangerous,” Celestia said.

“Yes, I am aware now, but when I entered the forest, I did so because I saw a stone structure. After entering the forest, I was chased to the stone structure, which turned out to be the ruins of the castle of the two sisters,” I said.

“Yes, it was mine and Luna’s old home. It is good to see that it is still being of use one thousand years later,” Celestia said.

“It was very helpful to my survival. After I entered the forest, I was chased by a pack of Timberwolves. I escaped them and found my way into the castle. After calming down a bit, I explored the rooms in the main hallway. When exiting the last room, I tripped and accidentally discovered something,” I said, causing Celestia to shift her weight.

“Oh, and what did you find?” Celestia asked.

“He found a secret room in the castle,” Twilight said with excitement.

Celestia turned to look at me in confirmation, and I started to speak, “She is right. I found a secret room and descended until I reached a hidden laboratory, I think,” I said.

“Did you find anything in this laboratory?” Celestia asked.

“I found two things of great note. One was a stone golem who I accidentally bonded to and named Stonehenge,” I responded.

“A stone golem,” Celestia said in surprise. “And I thought they had gone extinct a long time ago. Where is Stonehenge now?”

“Right now, he is either at the library or with Applejack and Spike,” Twilight responded.

“I see. Well, that does not change much. Anyways, what else did you find in the secret room?” Celestia asked.

“Well, I found this,” I said as I reached into my bag and pulled out ‘The Royal Book of Magic, Magical Artifacts, and Creatures.’

Celestia’s eyes widened as she looked at the book. I held it in the air for her to see before she started to speak, “May I see the book?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied.

Celestia’s horn started to glow golden as the book was taken from me. It flew through the air before stopping in front of Celestia. She looked over the book before she did something that I did not expect. She opened the book and began to read its contents before closing and bringing it back to me, which I grabbed and looked over.

“No fair,” Twilight whispered to herself.

“Tell me. What happened when you found the book, Jack?” Celestia asked.

“Well, when I touched the book, my magic flared up, which it absorbed. Now, occasionally, it will have random information I have seen, like spells and creatures,” I responded.

“I see. Well, you may keep the book for now. I wonder how filled it will become. Now, please continue your recollections,” Celestia said.

“Okay, um. After finding the book and Stonehenge, I built a fire and fell asleep. The next day, I was going out to look for food with Stonehenge and heard a scream. Running to the scream, I found Twilight being pinned down by the same Timberwolves that had chased me. So, I attacked both before Stonehenge scared them off,” I said.

“What were you doing in the Everfree alone, Twilight?” Celestia asked a bit more sternly.

“Oh, I was tracking the magical disturbance that happened when Jack woke up Stonehenge,” Twilight said as she tried her best to avoid eye contact with Celestia.

“I do applaud your curiosity, but please try not to do anything like going into the Everfree alone again, Twilight,” Celestia said.

“Yes, Princess Celestia,” Twilight said as she looked at the ground.

“Back to the point. You saved Twilight’s life, and she invited you to stay with her,” Celestia asked, looking at me.

“Yes, Princess Celestia,” I responded.

“I see. Twilight, can you please leave the room? I need to speak with Jack alone for a moment,” Celestia said.

Twilight looked up wide-eyed before speaking, “Wait. Are you sure, princess?”

“Yes, Twilight, it will be, but a moment I will let you know when you can re-enter,” Celestia responded.

Twilight turned to walk away before stopping to speak to me. " You’ll be fine; I'll see you in a bit.”

Twilight walked towards the door we had used to enter, passing through it as the guards stationed at the door followed her out. As the door closed, I turned to look at Celestia, who almost had a slight shift in her aura as the pressure in the room changed. She was staring at me, unblinking.

“Jack, I have to give you my sincerest thanks for saving Twilight. Along with the maid from two weeks ago. That being said, I have to ask. Does she know yet?” Celestia asked.

My mind raced for a second before I realized she was more than likely one of the first to know I was dead. “She knows that I have a secret. She just doesn’t know what it is.”

“Secrets hold more hurt than the truth. Why not tell her the truth?” Celestia asked.

“And tell her what? That I am dead. That she has a corpse living with her. That I have been lying to her face for the last two weeks,” I said as tears started to form in my eyes.

Celestia blinked in surprise, almost like she didn’t expect what I said before she spoke softly, “I…How…how did it happen?”

I wiped the tears from my eyes as I began to speak, “I was betrayed by my friends when a man offered them power. I was stabbed, beaten, and left to freeze all alone.”

Celestia looked at me with curiosity in her eyes before speaking, “And you know this killed you?”

“Yeah, my heart stopped beating when I woke up in that morgue and saw it as still as a stone with my very eyes,” I responded.

Celestia narrowed her eyes and started to walk down the stairs. " Is that your only proof?” she asked, stopping at the foot of the stairs.

“no. I was told I was dead by the man who let me come back,” I replied as I stared at Celestia’s hooves.

“And what was the name of this man? And how do you know he was not lying,” Celestia said as she took a step closer.

“His name was Arora, and what does he gain from lying to me? Especially about being dead.” I asked as I felt a bit of anger starting to well up in my throat.

Celestia looked visibly shocked at the name I had said, almost like she knew him, “T-There are many reasons to lie, whether to cause harm or to protect oneself or those they care about. Jack, are you sure you met Arora?” Celestia said as she came closer to me, stopping about a foot away from me, her eyes wide in anticipation of my answer.

“That was the name he gave himself. Why do you know him,” I asked curiously as I shifted my weight from how close Celestia was to me.

Celestia's eyes darted back and forth as if she were thinking of an answer, “May I see your pendant, Jack?” Celestia asked, attempting to change the subject.

Not wanting to push the ruler of this land, I reached under my shirt and pulled out the golden pendant. Holding it in the air, Celestia looked it over, inspecting every angle and observing all nooks and crannies. As she looked it over, I could see her breathing intensifying before she finally took a step back.

“Where did you get this, Jack?” Celestia asked with a hint of anger in her throat.

“My mother gave it to me. She said it belonged to my father. It is the only thing I have of his, and now it stuck to me,” I responded.

Celestia took another step back in surprise, and what anger she had faded away before she spoke softly, “I see. How well did you know your father? What was his name?”

“I didn’t know him very well; I was too young when he vanished. My mother told me his name was Revontulia, and from what I heard, he was an adventurer and a man who fought for those who could not.” I replied with a bit of sadness.

“You said, vanished. What do you mean by that?” Celestia asked.

“Truth be told, we… I don’t know. I was told that he went out one day and never came back,” I responded.

Celestia looked towards the window before turning back to me, “If you don’t mind, can you take the pendant off so I may hold it?”

“I wish I could, but no one has been able to take it off, not even me,” I said as Celestia raised one eyebrow.

“May I try?” she asked.

“Sure, but I don’t know…” was all I could say before I felt a pull on my neck.

Celestia's horn glowed before she gave the pendant a small tug as it released itself from around my neck. I watched in shock as it floated toward Celestia, stopping as she placed it in her hoof. I grabbed my chest where the pendant had been a moment ago. How was she able to do that?

“Surprised?” Celestia asked.

“How did you do that?” I asked as she held the pendant out for me to grab.

As I reached out to grab it, she pulled back before speaking softly,” Not with your hands. With your magic.”

Holding out my hand, it started to glow blue as I grabbed my pendant in my magic and brought it to my hand. As it landed in my hand, I looked over it, contemplating if I wanted to put it back on. Taking a deep breath, I put the pendant back around my neck, letting it dangle freely.

“It looks good on you,” Celestia said.

“Uh, thanks. I didn’t think I could use magic without the pendant,” I said as I looked down at the pendant.

“Why did you think that?” Celestia asked.

“Well, we all thought that it allowed me to use magic. We thought it was a magic core,” I responded.

“It is no such thing. Only those born with cores or the manipulation of primal forces can make this type of magic,” Celestia said.

“How can I use magic then?” I asked, unsure about my physiology.

Celestia stared at me before shaking her head, “You were either born with it, or you are akin to a changeling.”

“I’m just a human. How could I be born with magic? My world has none,” I asked.

“Hmm, the real question you should ask is, are you fully human,” Celestia said.

When those words left Celestia’s mouth, I felt a pair of shackles lifted from me, only to be replaced by another. I had spent my entire life not needing to answer this question, but now I am being forced to ask this question. Am I human?

“What? How… I was born a human?” I asked.

“One is human, one is not. Do you know whether your mother or father is actually a human?” Celestia asked.

“I don’t know,” I said, feeling like my head was going to burst.

I thought about my parents. My mother was always there for me, but at the same time, she hid herself from the world and had roots on earth. She had family that I had actually seen. But my father, I barely knew anything about him. He vanished before I could make memories of him. The only thing I had of his, Celestia knew about it, and she obviously knew who Arora was.

My mind flashed to meeting Arora, how he seemed to know me, and how he seemed to break down as our time went on. I thought about the last thing he said to me: 'Please stay safe and enjoy your new life. I will always be watching my.’ My what? What was I to him? Why was he so concerned with me? Why did he lie to me? What did he say?

My mind flashed back to Arora saying his goodbyes, and I focused closely on his lips, trying to read them. The more I concentrated, the more I felt a familiar pressure welling up in my chest. The memory replayed in my mind over and over, making me feel like I was watching the same movie for hours, even though it was only a few seconds in reality. As I watched his lips for the last time, I finally understood what he had said in those final moments.

“He called me son,” I said as the feeling in my chest intensified.

“So, it is true,” Celestia said to herself.

I grabbed my chest as this familiar pressure welded up inside, but there was no heat like what had happened to my limbs. If I had thought better, I would have said that I was having a heart attack, but if I had to better describe it was like a heart attack in reverse. With a sense of anticipation coursing through me, I gently moved my trembling right hand and rested it on my chest, just above the spot where I had seen my heart two weeks ago. I closed my eyes, holding my breath, and waited for the familiar sensation to return.

“Good, let it happen, Jack. Everyone's heart has to beat sometimes, even if it is not as fast as the others,” Celestia said.

I looked down at my chest and finally felt something I had not felt since waking up here. I felt a single heartbeat and only a single heartbeat as I felt a wave of energy, a wave of life. I had nearly forgotten the feeling. I was not a walking corpse. I was alive. With this feeling, I let a stream of tears run down my face as this sudden realization was given to me.

“I’m alive,” I said in shock.

“Yes, Jack, you are alive. You have always been alive,” Celestia said.

“But if I’m not dead, then what am I? Am I a monster?” I asked as I wiped tears from my eyes.

“No, no, no,” Celestia said as she stepped closer, putting a hoof on my shoulder. “The way I see it, you are you. Whether dead or alive, you will always be you, and nothing can change that.”

“Yeah, you're right. That doesn't solve a few things,” I said.

“And what would those be?” Celestia asked as she put her hoof back down.

“Is this why I look so different compared to all the other humans? I know I used to look a lot like them when I was back in my world,” I asked.

“More than likely, yes, and what is worse, I don’t expect this to be the end. More likely, your body is reacting to the ambient magic along with your own magic, which is causing your body to change.

“So I’m gonna turn into a pony?” I asked, a bit worried.

“A pony? No, not fully. I expect you to keep most of your human features, like your hands, but with pony accents like fur, among other things. It is too early to tell,” Celestia said.

“I see so half human half pony look,” I said.

“Yes. Do you have any more questions?” Celestia asked.

“Yeah. I have been beaten and broken so many times, but I have been able to heal from even the most lethal wounds, save for where I was stabbed. Why is that?” I asked, and a look of surprise appeared on Celestia’s face.

“Let me see the wound! Now!” Celestia said with a stern and demanding tone.

Not wasting any time, I pulled the right side of my pants down, exposing the hole in my leg for Celestia to see. It looked a little smaller than what it had been earlier today. She leaned in closer, looking at the hole in my leg as her horn started to glow golden. The hole began to glow gold for a moment before stopping, and Celestia leaned back, sighing as she did.

“You may pull up your clothing. The wound will heal… eventually. You are lucky, Jack. If your physiology were not constantly healing, your leg would have become infected by now. I need to know what the weapon that did this to you looked like,” Celestia said.

I pulled up my pants before responding to Celestia, " It was a pocketknife. What's wrong with it?”

“What color was the blade, Jack? Do you still have it,” Celestia asked. A look of worry was on her face.

“It was silver, but I noticed that its reflection looked like a rainbow in the sunlight. But I don’t have it on me anymore. I buried it a little over a week ago. Too many bad memories,” I said as Celestia's look of worry lessened slightly.

“Jack, I applaud you for burying it. I need you to have Spike send it to me as soon as possible. That is a dangerous weapon that must be scrapped and repurposed,’ Celestia said.

“Okay, I’ll try to do that when Twilight and I get home. Also, why is it so dangerous?” I asked, not realizing it was more than a knife.

“It is a knife if that is what you are wondering. But what it is made of is the terrifying part. It is made of a rare metal that is able to store magic. It is called core steel. The more magic stored, the more damage it can cause. With enough magic, you could hurt or kill an alicorn,” Celestia asked.

“I see. Wait, you're telling me that someone came from Equestria to stab me with a rare metal? Why would they leave it,” I asked.

“That's what scares me. It takes a lot of power to do what they did. I will have the guard look into this. You said you had a second question. What was it?” Celestia asked.

“Yeah, I have to ask princess. How do you know, Arora? And why am I able to heal like this?” I asked.

“Well, for your healing, that is because of your father and his lineage. Only fire, magic, and or magical weapons are able to weaken, hurt, and or kill truly. As for how I know your father, I knew him from the day he was born to the day he…,” Celestia paused for a moment to look down before looking back to me. “To the day he left.”

“I see. Why did he leave,” I asked Celestia.

“He said he wanted to explore and see things not seen before. Seeing you, I know he got what he wanted,” Celestia said, her voice hinting at a mixture of pride, joy, and sadness.

As I stood there and thought of what Celestia had said, I felt that I was not getting the full truth about that matter. Whether it was why my father left Equestria or what my father's true relationship was with Celestia. Her explanation was sincere, yet her carefully chosen words hid some of the truth. I only had some pieces for this puzzle, and I knew that the rest were not all on the table, at least not yet.

“Do you have any more questions, Jack?” Celestia said softly.

“Should I tell Twilight?” I asked in response.

Celestia thought for a moment before responding, “That choice is yours to make. Is it easy to tell her that you’re not dead, but you're a hybrid of a human and a pony?”

“I’ll have to think about it. That was all my questions. Do you have any for me, princess?” I asked.

“I do, but I believe they can wait for now. The others must be in suspense for us to finish. I have news for you and Twilight, so Let’s have the others join us,” Celestia said as her horn started to glow.

I heard the doors opening across the room as I turned to look at the glowing gold doors. The door swung open with what looked like very little force on Celestia’s part. As the door came to a fully open state, Celestia’s horn stopped glowing, and a familiar purple mare popped her head out from the side of the door. The three guards were the next ones to stick their heads out as Celestia gestured for all of them to come inside.

Twilight was the first to re-enter the throne room in a light jog to get to us as quickly as possible. Battleborn, Thistle’s Thorn, and Hidden Mist entered the room next, with Battleborn at the head of the group and Thistle’s Thorn at the rear, walking towards us. Twilight made it to us, standing by my side before pulling me down.

“How did it go?” Twilight whispered.

I looked down at Twilight's smiling face, and a wave of warmth washed over me before I responded, “I’ll tell you in a bit. The princess has something to say.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Twilight whispered.

Battleborn, Thistle’s Thorn, and Hidden Mist finally made it to the rest of us. As they stood in a single formation, they bowed toward the princess before raising their heads, waiting for Celestia to speak.

Well, now that we are all here, I have an announcement to make,” Celestia said as she paused to look at Twilight and me. “Twilight and Jack, as of officially today, there will now be forty guards stationed in Ponyville.”

“What? Why do there need to be guards in Ponyville? Twilight asked abruptly.

“Well, due to the recent news of Jack and for overall safety and security, along with the Everfree being so near, I decided it was best to station guards in the area. They will be leaving for Ponyville with you and Jack tomorrow,” Celestia said.

“Why do you want them leaving with Jack and me? and who will be in charge of the guard in Ponyville?” Twilight asked with a dumbfounded look on her face.

“Well, Twilight, I want you to officially announce it to Ponyville, and don’t worry. I have already sent a letter to Mayor Mare. She should be getting the stage ready for you. As for who is in charge, that will be Battleborn,” Celestia said as she gestured to Battleborn.

“It is an honor and a privilege, ma’am,” Battleborn said as he saluted.

“What about the other two? What will they be doing?” I asked.

“Both Hidden Mist and Thistle’s Thorn are working directly under Battleborn to help organize the guard. They were chosen by both me and Battleborn,’ Celestia said.

“Where will the guard live? There aren’t many places for them to make home,” Twilight asked.

“Well, as a temporary solution, and because it will be close to where their normal station will be, they will be staying in the basement of the town hall. Once construction is finished, the barracks will be located near the eastern clock tower,” Celestia said.

Twilight looked back and forth between the guards, Celestia, and me before asking,” Is there anything else that we should know?”

Celestia looked at me before shaking her head as she spoke, “That was all. You and Jack are free to leave. I must speak with the guards now. One of the guards at the doors will show you to your room.”

“Okay, princess. Come on, Jack, let’s go,” Twilight said as she began to walk to the door.

I made a quick turn to look at Celestia, who met my gaze before I turned to follow Twilight out of the room. We made our way to the entrance of the throne room, where we found a guard waiting for us.

“Follow me to your room,” the guard spoke in a deep voice.

“Yes, sir,” I said.

“Lead the way,” Twilight said.

The guard turned as he started to walk through the hallways, leading Twilight, and me. As we walked, I looked out the window and noticed that the sun was a bit lower than it was when we entered the throne room. As we walked, I felt a tapping on my leg, and I knew Twilight wanted my attention.

“Yes?” I asked as I turned to look at the purple unicorn mare.

“So, what did you and Celestia talk about?” Twilight asked.

“Well, we talked about how I got here as well as my pendant,” I responded.

“Did she know what it was?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, she did. She even took it off,” I said.

Twilight's face lit up along with her horn as she tried to pull the pendant off, only to find that it was stuck again. “Oh, come on, I thought you said she took it off?”

“She did, but I put it back on,” I replied.

“Why would you do that?” Twilight asked.

“Cause it is one of the only things I have of my father, Ar…,” I said before quickly correcting myself. “Revontulia.”

“What a weird human name. what does it mean?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know. Actually, I think it might have been a foreign name,” I replied.

“Did you talk about,” Twilight said as she leaned in closer and whispered. “You know what?”

“We did, but I’ll wait till we are in the room to explain everything. I don’t want ponies able to hear so freely,” I responded.

“That is… a good point. We should be near the lodging area, or at least if I remember correctly,” Twilight said.

“You are correct, miss Twilight. Just two more rights, and we will be at your room,” the Guard said.

As we turned the corner into a slightly larger hallway, I felt a strong breeze on my back from the autumn air. It did not feel as cold as it had earlier. I turned my head to look where the breeze was coming from. As I turned my head and saw it, my eyes widened in surprise at what I was seeing.

It was where my chase around the castle ended two weeks ago when the maid and I crashed into each other and ended up dangling for her life. Where I saved the maid and indirectly injured Thistle’s Thorn, only to fall into the forest below. As the memory faded again, Twilight turned to look at the broken window.

“What happened there?” Twilight asked, causing the guard to turn his head.

“It was an accident a few weeks ago. somepony crashed through the window,” the guard replied.

“Are they alright?” Twilight asked.

“Last I heard, they were doing just fine,” the guard said, shooting a quick glance toward me before looking back toward where we were walking.

“That's good to hear, right Jack,” Twilight asked, looking towards me.

“Better than the alternative,” I said.

We continued down the path before making another right turn. As we turned, we walked past another guard, and I could see all the doors. Most were cracked open, allowing me to look inside. Inside each room, there was a large bed, a couch, and a desk. As we followed the guard, he took us to the end of the hall before pointing to one of the rooms on the right.

“That will be your room tonight. If you have any questions, head back to the guard stationed over there. Enjoy the rest of your day,” the Guard said as he turned to walk away.

Twilight and I turned and entered the corner room on the right. It was like all the other rooms I had seen, with a large bed with a bunch of pillows, a long couch, and a desk, although it did look a little larger on the inside. There was a door in between the couch and the bed, which led to a small bathroom.

“You want the bed? I’ll take the couch,” I said as I walked over to the couch.

“Are you sure? I don’t mind sleeping on the couch as well,” Twilight asked, walking towards the end of the bed.

“It’s fine. Just toss me one or two of those pillows, and I’ll be fine,” I said as I took off my backpack and set it at the end of the couch.

“Okay, here you go,” Twilight said as she lifted two of the pillows with her magic and levitated them over to me.

I took the pillows out of Twilight’s Magic and placed them on the other side of the couch where I would be lying my head. Once I had placed the pillows down, I heard the door close and the sound of a mattress. Turning to look, I could see Twilight lying at the edge of the bed, looking at me.

“Okay, Jack, the door is shut. It’s time to explain what happened,” Twilight said as she pulled out one of the scrolls and quills from her bag.

“Okay. Well. I,” I said as I paused.

“Come on, Jack, I won’t judge,” Twilight said as she smiled.

“Well, I’m… I’m half pony,” I said.

The room fell silent as Twilight’s magic stopped working, allowing the quill to fall on the bed as she stared at me unblinkingly. We stared at each other, not breathing, before Twilight finally took a long and deep breath. I braced myself for what was about to happen as Twilight's reaction came to full steam.

“YOU’RE A HALF WHAT!” Twilight yelled.

Author's Note

Hey guys, first things first, I want to say thank you so much for reading. I appreciate it. Leave a comment; it makes my day.

Okay, as for the chapter, I want to say that I have had this planned for a while, and yes, Jack is alive. Go back and re-read some of the past chapters. There are a few hints there, along with some hints toward him being a half-pony. And if anyone asks I just want to say that he is not going to turn into a pony. That is not my MO with this story. He may get pony-like features *Hint*hint*, but he is not going full pony.

Anyway, with all that said, I want to wish everyone who celebrates it a Merry Christmas and those who do not have a happy holiday. To everyone, stay safe and stay warm.

-Void Hollow =)

Chapter 12: Sleepless in Canterlot

Silence filled the small guest room as Twilight stared at me unblinkingly and in a bit of shock. I had just told her what I had learned earlier from Celestia. I was not fully human. I was a hybrid of a human and some kind of pony. Celestia did not specify what kind of pony my father was, and when I saw him, he was in a human form, so I was also in the dark about it.

As we stared at each other, Twilight finally shifted her weight before letting out a sigh. Her horn started to glow again as she picked up the quill back in her magic, hovering it above the scroll before finally speaking.

“Tell. Me. Everything.” Twilight said in a low and slightly menacing voice as she narrowed her eyes.

I sighed, knowing what I was getting myself into, as I started to speak, " Like I said a moment ago, I’m half pony.”

“I know you just said that. What I want to know is how long you've known. Which of your parents is the pony? Is that why you look like that? What kind of pony? Was this the secret…” was all Twilight could say before I cut her off.

“Twilight, please, only one question at a time,” I said as I held up my hand.

“Okay, fine. how long have you known?” Twilight asked.

“Well, I just learned about it when speaking to Princess Celestia. I had no idea until she told me,” I responded.

“How did Celestia know?” Twilight asked.

“She knew my father. And before you ask, I have no idea what the relationship is. All I know was that she knew him,” I said.

“She knew Revontulia?” Twilight asked as she continued to write down what I was saying.

“Revontulia is not his name. Or at least not his pony name. His real name is Arora,” I said.

“I have heard that name before. I just can’t remember where,” Twilight said as she rubbed her head.

“You have heard of him?” I asked.

“I think. I saw that name in an old book back home. I just can’t remember what book, though,” Twilight said as the memory eluded her.

“I see,” I said as I rubbed the back of my head.

“Okay, back on topic. It's because your father is a pony. The reason why you look like that?” Twilight asked.

“Yes and no. Celestia said that the magic in both the world and me is slowly making me turn into a cross-between,” I said as I rubbed the skin of my arms.

“What do you mean by a cross between?” Twilight asked.

“Celestia said that I’ll have somewhat of the same body structure, but I will develop stuff like fur and other stuff, but she said that it is too early to tell,” I said.

“Do you know what type of pony your father was? Was he an earth pony, pegasus, or unicorn?” Twilight asked.

“I was never told, but I did see him use magic, and I can use magic, so I would go with a unicorn,” I responded.

“Wait, you saw him? Where?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, I saw him. He was in a dream-like realm of the forest that I wandered before arriving. He did not tell me who he was until he broke character, but not before lying to me,” I said, a little upset that Arora had done all that.

“That is weird. Why would he lie to you, especially about something like this?” Twilight asked.

“I have no idea. The closest I got was from Celestia. She said, ‘There are many reasons to lie, whether to cause harm or to protect oneself or those they care about,” I said.

“To be fair, you did the same thing when you lied about your magic,” Twilight said.

“Hey, I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you,” I said.

“Sure,” Twilight said with a slightly sarcastic tone. “Anyways, does being half pony affect your… secret?”

“Kind of,” I said as I signed to myself.

“Do you still not want to talk about it?” Twilight asked, a little worried in her voice.

“I want to, I really do, but I’m still not ready. It does not change what I went through,” I said before putting my hands to my face to rub my eyes.

“I won’t push it, Jack, but do know that you can always talk to me,” Twilight said.

“I know Twilight, and I will. You’ll be the first to know,” I said as I lowered my hand from my face to look into Twilight's purple eyes.

We sat there just staring into each other's eyes for a moment before Twilight looked down at her scroll, rolling it up and putting it and the quill back into her saddle bag. As I watched, I heard a loud grumble from my stomach, letting me know it was requesting food.

“Well, from the sounds of that, you must be hungry,” Twilight said as she looked back at me.

“Yeah, we didn’t eat today, remember,” I said as I leaned back on the couch.

“Well, maybe…” Twilight said before another loud grumble came from her stomach. “… we should get some food.”

“Yeah. Do you know where we can get food?” I asked as I stood up from the couch.

“I sure do. The mess hall shouldn’t be too far away,” Twilight said as she slid off the bed.

I walked over to the wooden door and pulled on the handle, opening it for Twilight to pass through. With a smile, Twilight trotted through the door as I followed her, closing the door behind me.

“Thank you, Jack,” Twilight said as she started to lead the way like always.

“No need to thank me. It’s just proper manners. Also, do you know what they serve in the mess hall?” I asked as Twilight shook her head.

“No. They make a random assortment of food depending on the day,” Twilight said.

“Hopefully, they have something good to eat,” I whimpered, holding my hand to my stomach.

Twilight and I made our way down the hall past the guard who was stationed at the corner of the hallway. We continued down the next hall before we had to make another turn. As we went down the next hall, I noticed a cart on the left side of the hall with a very familiar-looking blue mare pushing it. Looking closer, my heart rose and sank as this was the mare I had saved when we crashed out the window.

Twilight and I continued to walk. I did not think the mare had noticed that I was approaching as she was looking down at her cart. As we walked closer, she looked up, and I could see her pupils visibly shrinking as her mouth opened in surprise. She looked at me for a moment before she turned away from me and looked down at her cart with her eyes closed.

Twilight and I walked by her, and Twilight looked at her before looking at me and shrugging. As Twilight continued to walk, I stopped and looked down at the blue mare, who opened her eyes again and looked up. She looked at me before I gave her a smile and a wave before I walked away to catch up with Twilight. As I caught up with Twilight, she turned to me and started to speak.

“That was weird,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, it was, but to be fair, I’ve noticed that all of you are a bit weird,” I responded.

“You're one of us now, and so are you, too. But that’s not what I mean. It looks like she saw a ghost,” Twilight said.

“I don’t know. Maybe she gets like that around humans,” I lied as I shrugged my shoulders.

“Maybe still a bit weird, though,” Twilight said.

“What can you do?” I asked.

Twilight and I continued our walk to the mess hall without any more weirdness, save for the occasional look from one of the guards. The sun looked even lower than it was when I had seen it on the way to the room. As we turned the final corner, we came face to face with large wooden doors in the middle of the hallways. The doors were smaller than the throne room doors but still larger than a normal door.

“we’re here,” Twilight said as she walked towards the doors.

“Thank goodness,” I said as I followed Twilight.

Twilight and I pushed on the doors with some force, allowing them to open. As the doors opened, we saw a quite large dining hall with many tables and benches lining the middle and many groups of ponies sitting, talking with others, and eating various types of food.

On the left side of the dining hall was an area with food and plates and a small line of ponies waiting to get the food. If I had to compare it to anything, it would be something you would see in a fancy school. A few ponies wearing chef’s hats were finishing putting what looked to be pies in a small dessert area before they went through a pair of double doors leading into a kitchen area.

“Oh hey, look, the line is small. Let's grab a plate and get in line,” Twilight said as she started walking toward the mini buffet.

I followed Twilight toward the little buffet as she grabbed a plate in her magic and mine in my hands. I looked over the food laid out by the chefs. There was a build-your-own salad area, a bunch of fruits, the soup of the day, which was carrot ginger soup, and other desserts, and there were a bunch of sandwiches. Most of the sandwiches I couldn’t eat due to them being, I assumed, inedible to me, like daffodil and wheatgrass.

I grabbed the soup, some toast, an orange, two grilled cheese sandwiches, and a chocolate chip cookie. Twilight grabbed two daffodil sandwiches, an apple, and a muffin. As we finished grabbing our food, we walked over to one of the tables that didn’t have many ponies nearby, placed our plates down, sat next to each other, and began to eat.

Twilight took a deep breath after taking a bite from one of her sandwiches and whispered,” I still can’t believe what you told me.”

“Like I said, that’s what Celestia told me, and I can see it. I mean the magic, the white skin, I don’t know,” I responded as I dipped one of my sandwiches in the soup.

“Yeah,” Twilight said as she took another bite.

“Hey, if Celestia is having you announce the guards, should you have a speech ready?” I asked.

“Yes, I should. Shouldn’t I? I'll work on it when we get back to the room. It shouldn’t take too long,” Twilight responded.

“What will you say?” I asked.

“Oh, something simple. I should probably just announce it properly. Most probably won’t have much issue with it as it comes from Celestia, and with some of the weird things that happen in Ponyville, some will be relieved,” Twilight responded.

“What of those that will have an issue?” I asked.

“Well, I can’t think of many. Most will just be ponies resistant to change, and even then, they will come around in time,” Twilight replied.

“here’s hoping,” I said as I took the second bite of my soup-covered sandwich.

~~~~>>><<<~~~~

The sound of the mess hall door shutting behind Twilight and I filled the hallway for a moment before it fell silent again. We had finished our food a while ago, but we were just now leaving the mess hall. The hallways were quieter than I had thought they would have been, but the sun had just started to dip behind the horizon. Each day, it felt like the night was coming earlier and earlier. I shrugged my shoulders and put my hands in my pockets as we walked.

“That was a good meal. I’m so glad they had daffodil sandwiches today. They are my favorite,” Twilight said.

“The soup was pretty good. But the real star of the show was the cookie,” I said as I closed my eyes to think of the taste of that cookie again.

“Was it really that good?” Twilight asked.

“The only bad cookie is a hard or burnt cookie,” I replied as I opened my eyes back up.

Twilight shook her head in amusement as we continued to walk back to our room. We walked back down the same path that we had taken to get to the mess hall. As we walked down the same hall where we had seen the maid, she was no longer there. She had probably moved to a different hall at this point, which was probably good because I didn’t want another awkward situation.

We continued on our way before we finally reached the hall, where the guard was stationed on the corner. Walking past the guard, I could see that it was a new one. It was not hard to believe that the last guard had been switched out. As Twilight and I approached our door, I noticed that it was slightly cracked open. This was weird because I had been the one to close the door.

“that’s weird,” I said as I approached the door.

“What is it?” Twilight asked.

“The door is cracked open. I shut it when we left,” I responded.

“Oh, don’t be so paranoid. It was probably one of the guards or one of the maids. If it was a guard, they probably noticed that we were gone, and if it was a maid, they probably realized that someone was staying in the room if they saw our bags,” Twilight said as she walked past me, pushing open the door.

“Well… fair point. It's still weird to leave the door open and not shut,” I said as I walked in and closed the door behind me.

“They probably didn’t realize. Not the end of the world,” Twilight said.

Twilight walked over to the bed, grabbing her saddlebags in her magic. She took them over to the desk at the side of the room. Once at the desk, Twilight pulled the chair out and sat on it. She pulled out a bunch of scrolls and a quill and neatly organized them before turning to look at me.

“I’m going to work on my speech. Try to keep yourself busy for an hour or two,” Twilight said as she turned back to her scrolls.

“Okay, well, I’m going to take a shower,” I said.

“Okay, try not to freeze the water,” Twilight said with a light chuckle.

I Rolled my eyes before walking over to my bag, taking out the fresh pair of clothes, and then walking over to the bathroom. Entering the bathroom, I closed the door behind me and set my clothes on the sink. As I placed the clothes on the sink, I heard a light thud near my feet. Looking down, I could see that it was an envelope with ‘to Human’ on it.

Bending down, I reached for the envelope, grabbed it in my hand, and started to look over it. It was a plain white envelope, save for the words on it. The letter looked to be as good as new. Thinking to myself, I realized that whoever had come into our room must have left this for me to find. Sliding my finger, I ripped the envelope open, took out the letter, and started to read it.

~~~~>>>??? Letter<<<~~~~

Dear Human.

I am terribly sorry, but I do not know your name. But I must thank you for saving my life. I do not want to write this, but I find it is the only way I can. Seeing you in the hallway earlier today, I realized that I do not have it in me to do so in person, so this is the next best thing I can think of. I know it is a bit cowardly, but this is the only way I can do this.

When you and I fell out the window, my heart sank as I realized that I was dangling from a human. I am confident to say that 97% of the humans in Equestria would have let me fall to save themselves. When you grabbed me, I thought you were just trying to make me let go and I fought before I accepted that I was going to die. But you are one of the different ones. You saved my life and allowed yourself to fall to what I thought at the time was your death. I do not know nor care how you survived, but I am just glad that you did.

Like I said, I want to say from the deepest part of my heart, thank you for saving my life. Because of you, I was able to go back home to my little filly, and because of you, she gets to grow up having a loving mother. Her name is Quills, in case you were wondering. Because of you, I still get to live my life, and although it is not flashy or exciting, I get to live it.

Thank you, human.

Blue Lavender.

PS I will try to figure out your name.

~~~~>>><<<~~~~

Tears dripped onto the letter as I finished reading. I wiped my eyes as I set the letter back in its envelope and placed it on my fresh clothes before rubbing the palms of my hands in my eyes. As I pulled my hands down, I looked in the mirror. Inside the mirror, I saw my reflection with my snow-white skin and long, light silver hair. I stared at myself for but a moment before speaking to myself.

“You did good, Jack. You did good,” I said as I looked at myself.

Pulling myself away from the sink, I turned and walked over to the shower. As I reached the shower, I stepped in, pulled the curtains shut, and turned on the hot water. As hot water washed over me, I looked to the right to see the soap and shampoo. Grabbing the soap, I stepped partially out of the water and lathered up my body, covering it in suds fully before stepping back into the water.

After putting the soap back on the shelf, I grabbed the shampoo. It looked to be honey-infused. I squeezed some into my hand and put the bottle back before rubbing the soap into my scalp. I rubbed the shampoo in for a few minutes before I ran my head under the water, allowing the shampoo to wash out of my hair.

Once the soap was out of my hair, I stood there, allowing the warm water to wash over me as I let my thoughts drift aimlessly and allowed myself to relax. After a good five minutes, I collected my thoughts and turned off the water. Once the water had stopped, I pulled the curtain to the side, grabbed one of two hanging towels, and wrapped it around my body.

I rubbed the towel over my body as I dried myself off before I stepped out of the shower. Once out of the shower, I walked over to the sink and moved the letter to the side, making sure not to get it wet. I grabbed a pair of underwear and stepped into them. Once my underwear was on, I grabbed my pants and did the same before I moved onto my shirt. Sliding my arms through the armholes, I squeezed my head through the top of the shirt as I pulled it on, allowing it to rest comfortably over my torso.

I turned to look at myself in the mirror to make sure that I looked presentable. Pulling myself from the mirror again, I grabbed the letter along with my dirty clothes and stuck the letter in the middle of the dirty clothes before I exited the bathroom.

Walking back into the room, I could see that Twilight was still hard at work on her speech. Not wanting to bother her, I walked over to my bag and placed my dirty clothes and the letter inside. As I began to zip my bag back up, I heard Twilight shift in her chair. Turning to look at her, I could see that she had turned to look at me.

“All done?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, I’m all done. What about you? How is the speech going?” I asked in response as I put my bag back on the couch.

“Well, I’m still working on it. I’d say I’m about one-third of the way done,” Twilight replied.

“Well, if you're not done, I’m going to go take a walk and see if I can get some fresh air,” I said as I walked towards the door.

“Okay, try not to get lost,” Twilight said as she turned back to her speech.

“I won’t,” I said as I opened the door.

Stepping outside, I closed the door behind me quietly to avoid disturbing Twilight. Turning away from the door, I started to walk down the hallway back to where the guard was stationed. As I approached the guard, I could see that they had been switched out again. Standing there was a dark brown pegasus stallion who turned to look at me. I stopped to ask a question.

“Excuse me,” I said as the guard nodded at me before I continued. “Is there anywhere that leads outside? I want to get some fresh air.”

“Yes. Walk down that hallway, make a left, continue down, then make a right, and then another left,” the guard said as he pointed down the hallway before speaking again. “It should take you to the west side of the royal garden.”

“Thanks,” I said as I turned away from the guard.

I walked down the path that the guard had given me, making my first left down the hall. Turning down the hallway, I was met with more of the lodging rooms. Most of the doors were cracked open, save for one, which was closed. As I walked by, I could hear some light movement coming from the room.

Guess Twilight and I aren’t the only ones staying,” I said under my breath as I continued down the hallway.

As I approached the end of the hallway, I made a right and saw that it had changed a bit. There were no longer any room doors, which were replaced with windows on the left and a white wall with paintings and flowerpots on the right.

As I walked down the hallway, I looked out the window. I could see that the sun had completely vanished over the horizon, and a light blue stretched across the sky. Looking slightly down, I could see the garden the guard had been talking about, which was quite large. Looking at what I could see of the garden, I could see a few trees and a small path with lit lanterns and benches lining it. The path led to a small set of stairs, which in turn led to the door I was walking to.

Coming to the end of the hallway, I turned to my left and walked to a set of double glass doors. Pushing open the doors, I stepped out onto a terrace, feeling the cold fresh air wash over me as the door shut behind me.

“Feels good,” I said to myself as I started walking down the small stairs.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I took a deep breath and stepped out onto the stone pathway. Walking down the path, I looked at some of the trees with little to no leaves and plants before coming to a stop at one of the benches with a lantern next to it. I looked at the bench for a moment before I sat down and allowed myself to take in the peacefulness.

As I sat there, I realized how quiet the garden was. There was no sound of crickets chirping or any life from a pony. The only sound that I was able to hear was the gentle wind blowing past my ear. I closed my eyes, leaned my head back, and enjoyed the air.

I sat there for some time, enjoying the night air, when, out of the howling of the wind, I could have sworn I heard a voice behind me in the bushes. Standing up, I walked behind the bench and started to push my way through the bushes. As I made my way closer, the voices began to become clearer.

“Hurry the hell up. We can’t have anyone see us,” a female voice said.

“Fuck off. I don’t see you helping,” a male voice said.

“I’m on lookout. Also, watch your tone in front of him,” the female voice said.

“No one comes out here this late, and like he’ll care about language,” the male voice said.

Finally, I made my way through the bushes enough to see, and I was shocked at what I saw. I saw two humans in red robes standing in front of a marble statue of, well, I didn’t know what. It had two mismatched horns, a thin body, lion and bird arms, lizard and goat legs, and a pair of mismatched wings. It looked like it was trying to block something with a look of mild fear.

The two humans in red robes I had heard speaking were standing in front of the statue. One was on his knees with his arm in the air and a small candle in front of him, while the other had her back to the statue with her arms crossed, holding a lantern and looking around. I watched in curiosity at what they were doing.

“The dagger,” the male said as he opened his right hand.

“Fine,” the woman said as she pulled a small dagger off her hip and handed it to the man on his knees. “Here you go.”

“Good. Just a little blood,” the man said as he raised the dagger to his finger.

With a swift flick of his wrist, the man made a cut along the tip of his ring finger. The man did not yell or scream nor try to stop the bleeding as he lowered it to the ground and started to draw on a scroll. As the man drew, the woman watched him, no longer looking out for anyone.

As the man lifted his hand from the scroll, he raised the dagger above his head, and the woman took it from him and placed it on her belt once more. The man then raised the scroll above the candle, illuminating it. The man had drawn a circle with eight arrows pointing out from the center, with three on the left and right and one from the top and bottom.

The man moved the corner of the scroll into the candle fire, allowing it to burn as he began to chant,”. nus gnitsal reve ruoy rednu esir ot snamuh dna llaf slamina esoht tel dna erom ecno egami ruoy ni edam eb ot dlrow eht wollA .drol niaga nekawA.”

As the man finished talking, the scroll finished burning away, leaving both humans standing there. The man pulled out a white cloth and wrapped it around his finger before picking up the candle and blowing it out. The woman dimmed her lantern before putting it out, leaving them in the dark.

“Come on, let’s go before we’re seen,” the woman said.

“Fine by me,” the man said as he rose to his feet.

As they started to walk in the opposite direction, I pulled my head back slightly as a gust of wind blew through the bushes, rustling them. The woman turned back to look at the bush I was under before shrugging her shoulders, and both she and the man disappeared into their own bushes.

I was left alone once again. I took one more quick look at the statue before I pulled myself out of the bushes and back onto the path next to the bench where I had been sitting. Having enough of my ‘fresh air,’ I walked back down the path toward the west side garden entrance.

Entering the castle into the warmer air, I started to follow my steps back to the room. Walking down the hall with the windows, my mind replayed what I had just seen. Two people in robes, a strange incantation, and a strange statue. It was almost like I had just seen a cult. I was so deep in thought that as I turned the corner, I was abruptly taken out of my train of thought.

*CRASH*

I was lying flat on my face as I had tripped over something or someone. As I raised my head, I heard a groan coming from behind me. Turning my head, I turned to see an orange pegasus mare with black hair with a few dark red streaks running down it. Her red eyes were spinning in a daze. I rose to my feet and walked over to her to see if she was okay.

“Are you okay?” I asked as I lowered myself down a bit.

The mare’s eyes stopped spinning and locked onto me as she spoke, “Yes, I am quite all right. Why were thou not looking where you were going? Thou humans are usually more perspective.”

“I’m so sorry. I had a lot on my mind, and I was heading back to my room, and I didn’t see you,” I responded as the mare rose to her feet.

“It’s quite all right. Wait, thou said you were heading to your lodging. What is a human doing staying in the palace when the human settlement is next to the castle?” the mare asked.

“I don’t live in the human part of the city. I live in Ponyville, miss,” I responded.

“Oh yes, where are thy manners? Thine name is Crimson Dust,” Crimson Dust said as she lowered her head before raising it. “What is thou name, human?”

“Oh, I am Jack Marrow,” I responded as I lowered my head in respect.

“Ah, finally, a human with proper manners. Tell me, Sir Jack, you look different from any human I have seen before. Why do you look as pale as Somepony, who is in shock?” Crimson Dust asked.

“Oh…um… we think it is caused by magic,” I half lied.

“My, to think magic could do that,” Crimson Dust said as she took a deep breath through her nose. As she took that deep breath, her eyes widened, her pupils shrank, and her ears flapped up and down.

“Are you okay? I asked.

“Yes, I am quite all right,” Crimson Dust said as she shook her head.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Crimson Dust, but I’m going to head back to my room. Sorry for crashing into you. Enjoy your night,” I said.

“Yes, Jack Marrow, human of Ponyville, it was quite enjoyable speaking with you as well. I hope we are able to do so again soon. I must leave as well to speak with the princess of the night. Fare thee well, and good day,” Crimson Dust said as she started to walk away.

I shrugged my shoulders as I turned around and started to walk down the hallway again. As I walked, my mind again drifted back to the two humans and their weird behavior. I thought to myself that I should tell Twilight or one of the guards. Turning to the right, I could see the guard at the end of the hallway.

Walking to the end of the hall, I walked past the guard who had been changed yet again and walked towards my room. Arriving at the door, I turned the knob and pushed it open. Walking into the room, I did not see Twilight, but I did hear the shower running in the bathroom.

“She must be taking a shower,” I said to myself as I walked over the couch.

I took a seat on the couch and laid on my back while I waited for Twilight. I waited for a while before the shower finally stopped. I must have arrived, as she had just gotten in the shower. I waited another few minutes as Twilight dried herself before the doorknob to the bathroom glowed light purple. Twilight exited the bathroom with a towel covering her hair. As she exited the bathroom, she turned to look at me in surprise as she spoke.

“Jack, your back. How long have you been back?” Twilight asked.

“I have been back for a little bit,” I responded.

“That’s good. How was your walk?” Twilight asked.

“Weird,” I replied.

“Weird? What do you mean by weird?” Twilight asked.

“I think I saw a cult,” I responded.

Twilight let out a sigh as she walked over to the bed and laid back down at the edge before speaking, “All right. Explain.”

I spent the next 40 minutes explaining twice to Twilight what had happened since I had walked into the garden, heard the voices, walked through the bushes, the robed humans, the statue, and finally, the burned drawing. As I explained to Twilight, the moment I mentioned the statue, she had a serious look on her face.

“Jack, are you sure you saw what you saw? Especially that statue,” Twilight asked.

“Yes, I’m 100% sure,” I said.

Twilight’s horn glowed, and a quill and scroll floated toward me, “Can you draw that symbol you saw?”

“Yeah, sure,” I said as I took the quill and scroll.

I stood up and walked over to the desk, where I started to draw. I drew the circle in the middle before I moved on to the eight arrows pointing in each direction. Once finished, I lifted the quill and raised the scroll up to Twilight, who took it in her magic and started to look over it.

“I don’t think I’ve seen this before. I’ll have to tell Celestia before we leave tomorrow,” Twilight said as she set the paper down on the desk and rubbed her eyes.” We should probably head to bed.”

“Yeah, I’m tired. Can you pass me a blanket?” I asked.

Twilight stepped off the bed as her horn glowed, and one of the many layers of her blankets came floating at me. I grabbed the blanket in one hand as I moved my backpack to the floor and laid on the couch, tucking myself in to ensure I was warm. I turned to look at Twilight, who was already under her covers, ready for slumber.

“You ready? Twilight asked.

“Yeah,” I responded as the light turned off, leaving us in the dark.

I lay for a moment before the weight of the day rested upon my eyes, forcing them shut. In a matter of moments, I felt the march of sleep approaching me as my mind drifted off into slumber.

~~~~>>><<<~~~~

As I lay there, my mind came back to me as the shine of sunlight fell on my face. As I lay, I realized that I was no longer lying on a couch. I was lying in a bed. My eyes immediately shot open as I realized my suspicions were right. I was no longer in a castle. I was back in my old room yet again for the same nightmare.

“Fuck!” I said as I rose from the bed.

I walked over to the window and saw my mother again. That was the only saving grace of this nightmare. As I watched my mother, I looked down to see that I was whiter than what I had been back home. I was not as white as normal but still paler. As I observed my body, something different finally happened than all the other times I experienced this nightmare. There was a knock at my bedroom door.

I slowly turned to look at the door. The knocking had stopped for a moment before it started back up again. Slowly, I walked over to the door, and the knocking continued. When I finally reached the door, I just stood there looking at the knob of the door. I did not know what was on the other side, and I didn’t think I had a choice in the matter.

Raising my hand, I slowly grasped the knob of the door and slowly twisted it before I heard a little click. I gently pulled the door open, only to be met with darkness. I stepped back and watched this darkness before a blue hoof stepped through. Next, a long unicorn horn passed through the darkness. Finally, a face passed through the darkness.

“Good evening, young one,” the Mare said.

She pulled the rest of her body through the darkness, revealing that she was an alicorn, just like Celestia. Her mane looked like the stars in the night sky, occasionally twinkling. She was not as tall as Celestia. I was even taller than her.

“Who are you,” I asked.

“I am Princess Luna, and I am here to help,” Luna said.

“Princess Luna? Help?” I questioned before the name finally clicked. “Wait, I have heard of you. Twilight said you’re the princess of the night, dreams, and the moon.”

“Quite good. I see staying with Twilight Sparkle has broadened your knowledge. That makes this a little easier,” Luna said as she started to look around my room.

“What did you mean by here to help,” I asked.

“Jack Marrow, thou has been having nightmares almost every night since thou has arrived. I have seen what happened and where thou ended up. That frozen forest,” Luna replied as she walked past me to look out the window.

“And you’re here to stop them?” I asked as I sat on my old bed.

“No, I cannot do that,” Luna replied as she turned to look at me again.

“Wait, what? I thought you said you were going to help,” I said, a bit of anger in my voice.

“Thou misunderstands. I am here to help, but I cannot make the nightmares cease. The trauma you hold in your soul prevents it. Only thou can end these nightmares,” Luna said as the sky in the wind started to darken and drops of snow began to fall.

“What?” I questioned as I watched the snow fall through the window. “What do you mean my soul prevents it?”

“The mind and soul are intertwined. When one suffers, the other follows,” Luna responded.

“But what can I do to stop it?” I asked.

“You take one step at a time and learn to let your soul heal,” Luna responded as my door slammed open, revealing that darkness yet again. “Right on, cue.”

The darkness shifted and twisted, getting lighter and lighter as trees formed in the background. The ground was covered in snow and stumps. It was the place of my literal nightmares. It was the forest yet again, yet it felt different than all the other times. Luna gestured towards the door for me to walk.

“What if I’m not ready?” I asked, feeling a bit nauseous.

“None are. Yet we all must walk the path eventually,” Luna replied as she walked through the door.

I stood there for quite some time, just looking at the doorway to the frozen forest. Time seemed to stand still as I felt the pull of the door and the forest. Eventually, with all the will I could muster, I began to move my feet. Each lift of my legs felt heavier and heavier, like the heels of my feet were made of bricks. Stopping in front of the door, I paused again before I finally walked through the door.

The sound of snow being crushed under my bare feet filled the air, and the chill from the snow covered my feet. Luna was standing to the side, watching as I looked around, feeling the ice-cold wind on my face.

“There, happy?” I asked as I brought my arms to my chest to help preserve heat.

“Tis the first step of many. But what draws you here?” Luna asked.

The moment Luna asked the question, I heard footsteps crushing the snow behind us. Turning to look at the sound, I was horrified at what I saw. Standing before Luna and me were Alex, Jane, and Walter, and behind them was the bald man. All their faces were shrouded in shadows, preventing us from seeing them.

“Luna, I think this is enough,” I said as they all started approaching me.

“Jack!” a whispered voice said from the sky.

The ground began to shake as I tried to run away, but I was unable to move. Looking down, I could see that my feet were entirely covered in snow, which prevented me from moving as the four faceless figures continued to walk at me.

“Jack!” the voice said again, sounding more familiar.

The ground shook again as the sky started to turn black, causing Luna to speak, “Seems we are out of time tonight. We will continue again another.” Luna said as she unfurled her wings and began to fly.

“Luna, please stop them,” I said as I tried to pull my legs free.

The floor and trees around me started to disappear as the earthquakes continued. Alex, Jane, and Walter all disappeared, leaving me and the bald man alone yet again as he managed to outpace the darkness. As he approached me, he dug in his pocket, pulled out that pocketknife, and undid it. As he was a foot away, he raised the knife and started to plunge it down. All I could do was close my eyes and cover my arms in suspense.

“PLEASE NO!” I yelled as I felt my body shake.

“JACK!” Twilight yelled.

Chapter 13: The Outcast

I felt my body shake as it moved back and forth slightly with the pressure of a hoof on my arm. I could feel the firmness of the couch I was lying on. My consciousness slowly returned to me as I kept my eyes closed. I could tell that there was light on the other side of my eyelids. Listening, I could hear panicked breathing beside me.

“Jack,” Twilight said in a worried tone as she continued to shake me.

I opened my eyes, and the light shining through one of the windows blasted them. The shaking in my arms stopped as my eyes adjusted to the light. Looking around, I could see Twilight standing over me, looking worried and relieved that I was now awake. I sat up slightly, rubbing my eyes as Twilight started to speak.

“Jack. Thank Celestia. You're awake,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, I’m awake,” I said tiredly as I finished rubbing my eyes before turning to Twilight. “Why were you shaking and yelling for me?”

“Wait, you don’t know,” Twilight asked as she stepped a bit closer.

“Know what? What happened?” I asked as I pulled the blanket off my body, exposing it to the room air.

“Jack, you were yelling and shaking in your sleep. It almost looked like you were crying as well,” Twilight said.

I raised my right hand to my face and felt a bit of wetness under my eyes. She was right. I had been crying in my sleep, which meant that I had also been yelling. My mind went back to what I had dreamt with Princess Luna and the forest. I wiped the under part of my eyes with my sleeves.

“Sorry about that. I had a really bad nightmare,” I said as I moved my body and placed my feet on the floor.

Twilight moved to sit next to me on the couch. “Why are you saying sorry? You did nothing wrong.”

“I didn’t wake you?” I asked, looking towards Twilight.

“No, Jack, I’ve been awake for an hour. I went and told Celestia what you saw last night,” Twilight said.

“You did? What did she say?” I asked.

“Well, she said that she would have the guard look into it. She is also going to have the statue moved out of the garden in an attempt to prevent more … incidents,” Twilight said, pausing for a moment before quickly continuing.” I also showed her that drawing that you said they drew.”

“Did she know what it was?” I asked as I rubbed the back of my hands.

“no. She said she had never seen it before,” Twilight responded.

“Weird,” I said, rubbing my eyes again.

The room fell silent again before Twilight started speaking,” So you said you had a nightmare? What was it about?”

I sighed as I began to speak,” I was back in my old room when I heard a knock on my door. I opened the door to find darkness, which Princess Luna stepped out of.”

“Luna was in your nightmare?” Twilight asked, mouth a bit agape.

“Yeah, she had me follow her, and we ended up in a snow-covered forest,” I responded.

Twilight fell silent, looking at the ground before speaking,” Was it the forest your ‘friends’ left you in?”

I shook my head, letting her know she was correct, "They were there, too, but I couldn’t see their faces. They were approaching me, and I couldn't move. My feet were stuck in the ground.” I decided to leave out the part with the bald man nearly stabbing me.

“I’m sorry to hear Jack. If Luna was there, she must be trying to help,” Twilight said as she put her hoof on my arm.

“that's what she said,” I said before changing the subject. “Anyways, what time are we leaving?”

“We have to be at the train station in an hour. We should leave here soon,” Twilight said as she stood up.

“Okay,” I said.

I stood up, stretching my arms as I did before turning back to look at the couch I had slept on. The blanket I had been lying on was halfway down, and it was all wrinkly. Not wanting to leave a big mess for the cleaning crew, I picked up the blanket and started to fold it. Folding it neatly, I placed it in the middle of the couch before [picking up the pillows I had used and put them on top.

I picked up my backpack and made sure it was properly zipped up before I threw it on my back. Grabbing my shoes from the side of the couch, I sat back down and slipped them on my feet. Once the shoes were on my feet, I looked up to see that Twilight had nearly finished packing the mess that she had made on the desk last night.

I sighed, leaned back on the couch, and closed my eyes as I waited. Images of my still-fresh nightmare flashed into my head. The blank faces of my ‘friends’ and the bald man, along with the knife. My body shuttered at the images as I remembered to send the knife to Celestia later. I then felt a slight nudge on my knee, and I opened my eyes to see it was Twilight, who was all packed and ready.

“Ready?” I asked.

“Yeah, let’s get going,” Twilight responded as she started to walk towards the door.

I stood up from the couch and followed Twilight towards the door. As we exited the room, I turned to shut the door but was stopped by Twilight as she began to speak.

“Leave the door wide open so housekeeping can see that the room is empty and dirty quickly,” Twilight said.

“Okay,” I responded, turning back around and following Twilight.

We walked through the castle's many hallways, passing many guards and the occasional other guests. Most every pony gave me looks as we walked by, which I should have been used to at this point, but it just weirded me out. Twilight must have noticed as she started to speak.

“I would have thought you would have become more accustomed to everyone staring at you by this point,” Twilight said.

“It is still all new to me,” I said.

“I hear you. When the girls and I saved Equestria from Discord and his chaos, we would get hounded nonstop. For somepony, like Rainbow Dash or Rarity, it must have been nice, but for the rest of us, not so much. Especially Fluttershy,” Twilight said.

I was a bit dumbfounded by what I heard before I shook my head and started to speak. “You have saved Equestria?”

“Oh yeah, once, or twice. With the help of the others,” Twilight said nonchalantly.

“You have to tell me how,” I said as we turned down the hallway towards the front door.

“Hmm, maybe later,” Twilight said as we both stopped in front of the castle exit.

The guards looked at us before moving to push the castle doors open quickly. With light pushing, they were able to open the doors, allowing the sunlight to shine through. As they came to a stop, Twilight and I walked through the door, and they shut the doors just as quickly.

Standing at the top of the courtyard stairs for a quick moment, I could feel the slightly cold air on my face, along with the fresh air. It was warmer than it had been the past week but still a bit nippy. Twilight started to walk down the stairs, causing me to follow closely behind her.

The courtyard looked quite busy, with many carriages and wagons, guards, fancy-looking ponies, and a couple of other species, like what I could only assume could be a Griffen. There were still no humans in the crowd, and I thought that the only ones I would see were the ones from last night. However, I did not have much time to sightsee, as Twilight was on a straight path to the castle gate.

“No time to sightsee, come on, Jack,” Twilight said as she continued to walk.

“Right behind you,” I said as I picked up the pace.

We made our way to the castle gate, where a unicorn guard was stationed. The guard looked us over a few times before his horn started to glow brown as the gate pulled open. As the gate opened, Twilight and I Stepped out onto the busy cobbled streets of Canterlot. We walked across the streets dodging other ponies before pausing as we decided our way to the train station.

“Which way should we go?” I asked, looking at the road and the many pathways and alleyways.

“let's just continue down the street. We should walk by the human settlement so you may get to see another human,” Twilight responded.

“Okay, sure, let's get walking then,” I said as we both started walking down the street.

As we walked down the street, I noticed that we were in front of a bunch of businesses. Some were restaurants that looked very busy, with a lot of ponies in suits and dresses eating. One of the stores seemed to be a clothing store with really fancy clothes that seemed nice but did not look as good as the ones I had seen Rarity make. The last and most predominant stores seemed to be souvenir stores selling a wide variety of nick-nacks.

“They sell a lot of stuff in front of the palace, don’t they?” I questioned to myself aloud.

“Well, duh, it is a major tourist attraction. Many of these places pay a premium to be here,” Twilight responded.

“I get that, but wow. You would think that with all the competition, there wouldn’t be so much, but wow,” I said, walking past a group of ponies that had stopped to stare at me.

“You see how busy it is, right,” Twilight said as she gestured to all the ponies around us before continuing. “I’m having to actually make sure I don’t trot into somepony.”

“Man, for a Tuesday, you think it wouldn’t be so busy,” I said as I dodged another pony.

“a large majority of high-class ponies here don’t really work, so they have plenty of free time. The others are most likely tourists looking to see the castle, the human settlement, the princesses, or maybe even a human. Lucky for them, you mostly qualify,” Twilight joked.

“Har, Har. Very funny,” I said.

“It was, wasn’t it,” Twilight said as she turned her head to the left, and her eyes widened. “Jack, look, it’s the human settlement.”

I turned my head to my left and was slightly underwhelmed at what I was seeing. It was a large brick wall with a large golden gate blocking one side from the other. Inside the gate, I could see a bunch of fancy-looking homes. Some were stylized to look like the fancy homes that you would have seen back home, while others seemed to take on a mixture of human and Canterlot homes.

Looking even closer, you could see a few humans going about their normal everyday lives. Some seemed to be in fancy suits, while others seemed to be in more formal attire but still nicer-looking. While there were so few humans, I could see a few families walking down the road with younger-looking children following them. Seeing the children made me wonder if they were born here or if they woke up here. A shiver ran down my spine as I didn’t want to think about what it would mean to wake up here at that young of an age.

“Wow, not as nice as you all made it out to be,” I said as I crossed my arms.

“Speak for yourself. Very few ponies are actually allowed entry,” Twilight said.

“So, who all have been in there?” I asked.

“The princesses and their personal guard, for one, and diplomatic emissaries requested by the human leader,” Twilight said.

“Human leader?” I asked.

“Yes, he is a rich and powerful man named Adrian Static,” Twilight said.

“Hmm. Have you ever been in there?” I asked.

“Well… no. I came close once when I was supposed to attend a meeting with Celestia with the humans, but it was later canceled,” Twilight said.

“Unlucky. Why was it canceled?” I asked.

“I don’t really know. All I was told is that Adrian canceled the meeting at the last minute due to an incident, and that was a few days before I moved to Ponyville,” Twilight responded.

“Uh, that seems weird, but things do...” was all I could say as I heard a shop door open and a shop bell ring, followed by a loud thud.

Looking to my right, I saw that Twilight was on her butt, while rubbing her head as she had crashed into someone. Looking at who she had crashed into, it was a human male with brown hair. The male was on the younger side. If I had to say, he had to be between the ages of 18 and 20. He was slightly overweight, wearing a black suit, and was gripping his upper leg as he looked to be in mild pain.

“What the hell is wrong with you, dumb horse? Can't watch where you're going,” the human said in a British accent as he rubbed his leg.

I felt a bit of anger well up in my throat at what he had just called Twilight as I clenched my fist.

“I’m … I’m…,” Twilight stuttered as I could see tears start to form in her eyes.

“you’re wha, wha, what? Sorry?” the human asked disrespectfully as Twilight shook her head in agreement, too choked up to continue as the human continued to speak. “Well, apology not accepted, you stupid pony. God, if you hadn’t hurt me, I would be laughing at you right now. So fucking stupid.”

I couldn’t take it anymore as I pushed my way between Twilight and the human, crouching down to check on Twilight. "You, okay?” Twilight shook her head in disagreement. “Here, I’ll take care of this.”

“Oy, new dude. Out of the way. I’m not done yelling at the dumb purple horse,” the human said as I stood up to face him, causing him to be taken aback by my appearance. “What the hell is wrong with you? You albino or something?”

I clenched my fist as I looked him in the eyes and spoke, “First things first, her name is not the dumb horse. It's Twilight Sparkle. Secondly, you are going to apologize to Twilight for all the messed-up shit you said.”

The human stared at me before bursting out into laughter. He laughed for a minute before wiping his eyes as he started speaking, “Good one, new guy. Now out of the way before I think you're serious.”

I did not waver my gaze as I looked him in the eyes, “Oh, I am very serious. Apologize to Twilight now!”

The human’s face shifted from that of amusement to one of anger as he started to yell, “Like hell, I will. What are you gonna do if I don’t?”

“I am going to make that ‘pain’ you felt a whole lot colder if you don’t. Oh, and trust me, there is nothing you can do to hurt me,” I said as I readied myself.

The human looked back and forth before looking me dead in the eyes as he spoke in anger, “Dumb horse and fucking albino freak!”

The human immediately tried to throw a haymaker, but he either had never fought or was just too sloppy. Ducking backward as the human stumbled forward off balance, I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt with my right arm and lifted him off the ground, holding him above my head. He grabbed me by the wrist with both of his hands as he struggled in an attempt to get me to release him. As we stood there, I barely noticed the mist coming out of both of our mouths, as if it felt colder around us.

I started to raise my left arm, making a fist as I did before it was caught and held down. Looking away from the human, I could see that Twilight was holding my arm down and shaking her head.

“Jack, he is not worth it,” Twilight said as she continued to look up at me with the tears still in her eyes.

I let out a sigh before I turned back to the human and lowered him to the ground before pushing him away, “She’s right. You're not worth it. Now go away before I change my mind.”

The human took a step back, his face red with both anger and embarrassment as all the ponies around us stared at him. “Fuck you. You freak. Wait till my father hears about this,” the human said as he stomped away toward the human settlement gate.

I shook my head at the Snoddy rich boy human before I turned my attention to Twilight, who was still holding my left hand. Crouching down, I made sure she was okay, “Hey, are you okay?”

Twilight did not respond, but she pulled me closer and started to hug me with a surprising amount of force. I sat there for a second before I wrapped my arms around her, rubbing her back like she did for me last week. Ponies around us avoided looking at us as she hugged me. She stayed there for a while before pulling back and staring at me.

“Feel better?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she responded weakly.

“Good,” I said as I helped Twilight to her hoofs. “That’s good. We have to get going now. We don’t want to be late for the train ride.”

Twilight nodded as we started to walk down the street once more, bobbing and weaving through the groups of ponies on the sidewalk. As we walked, I could hear Twilight's occasional sniffle, and every time she did, I felt my blood boil. I don’t know what is wrong with the humans here, but from all the stories and seeing firsthand, the humans who lived there were messed up.

As we walked further from the castle and human settlement, the crowd of ponies seemed to thin out. It never fully dispersed, and I continued to get started as we walked closer to the train station.

Turning the corner of one of the streets, we encountered a very busy station. The station was packed to the brim with guards, all dressed in armor, some gold and some black. Most of them were loading the back of a cargo freight cart with their equipment while the rest were loading personal belongings into freight carts for the rest of the guard. In the middle of all this organized mess was Battleborn, Thistle’s Thorn, and Hidden Mist. Thistle’s Thorn and Hidden Mist seemed to be barking orders at the others while Battleborn watched.

As we approached the station, Battleborn seemed to notice us. He turned to look at us, causing Thistle’s Thorn and Hidden Mist to take notice as well. Battleborn had a lowered brow before he noticed Twilight's still slightly teary eyes.

“We were about to send a search party out for you two. What happened to her?” Battleborn asked.

“We were on our way here, and she accidentally walked into a human, and he went crazy on her, yelling and calling her a bunch of inappropriate names,” I said as Twilight nodded in agreement.

“I see. Was that all that happened? What happened to the human?” Battleborn asked.

“Well, not standing for it, I stepped in front of them and told the human to apologize, but he got even angrier and threw a punch at me,” I said.

“He did, but you don’t seem hurt,” Thistle’s thorn said.

“I was able to dodge it pretty easily. I think that was the first time he threw a punch. The guy set himself off balance, and I picked him up and was about to give him the consequences of his actions before Twilight stopped me,” I said as I looked down at Twilight.

Hidden Mist turned to Twilight with a mild look of disappointment as he spoke, “Why did you stop him? Too many of them treat us like that. I would have loved to see the look on the human’s face.”

Twilight shook her head in response to Hidden Mist’s comment before speaking, “I told him he wasn’t worth it, and it would have just caused even more issues later.”

“Good choice, Miss Sparkle. Good choice, thinking with your noggin,” Battleborn said.

“Thank you, Captain,” Twilight said.

“Still think you should have given him a whopping,” Hidden Mist said, pointing to me. “I mean, if he is willing to do that to someone as close to the princess, imagine what he would have done to a regular citizen.”

“I don’t think he knew who I was, but I really don’t think he would have cared,” Twilight said.

“Oh, to be a fly on the wall when Celestia learns what happens,” Thistle’s Thorn said, a devilish smirk forming on her face.

“Yes, well, you two board that part of the train,” Battleborn said, pointing to a specific freight cart as he continued. “You two’s cabin will be the first door on the left.”

“Thank you, Captain,” I said as Twilight, and I started to walk to the train before we were stopped.

“Oh, and human. Keep surprising me. I like it,” Battleborn said as he turned his attention back to managing the guards.

“Yes, sir,” I said.

Walking toward the train, I noticed that it was not the same train we had ridden to Canterlot on. It looked more worn and experienced but still well taken care of. It probably explained why we were not heading back to first class.

Arriving at the train door, Twilight and I climbed the stairs, followed by Twilight. Upon entering the train, I saw a few guards with bags of luggage on the far end of the cabin, but Twilight and I paid them no mind as we entered our designated area. It was on the smaller side, with two larger and smaller seats sitting across from each other, along with a small wooden wall table in the middle.

Twilight walked in, putting her bag on the ground next to the door, and took the longer seat, lying on her stomach. I followed her and took the smaller seat, placing my backpack next to me on the floor. Twilight's horn glowed, and she closed the door to the small cabin room. When the door was closed, I leaned forward putting my elbows on the desk and rubbed my eyelids. I could feel Twilight staring at me.

Twilight was the first to speak, clearing her throat as she did, “Jack?”

“Yeah, Twilight,” I responded, lifting my fingers from my eyes.

“You know, when we get home, you have to put a bit in the swear jar. Also, thank you,’ Twilight said as she made a weak smile and a very light chuckle.

My mind did not register the first part of what she had said only that she had thanked me, “You don’t have to thank me. If it had been any of your other friends, I think they would have done the same. Well, maybe not Fluttershy.”

“Yeah. She would have given him more than likely a stern talking to. Applejack or Rainbow Dash would have definitely hurt him,” Twilight said.

“Man, I could only imagine Rainbow Dash crashing into someone on purpose. I can still taste the dirt,” I said, causing Twilight to chuckle.

“You big worm,” Twilight joked.

“The bookworm is calling someone else a worm. You ever hear about the pot and the kettle,” I said.

Twilight's face hardened a bit, but as she was about to respond, a loud screech came from above me, causing both of us to jump in surprise. Looking up, I could see a small, slightly busted intercom.

As we started in at it, a voice sounding like Battleborn’s voice came through with a bit of static behind it,” Attention all guards, attention all guards. We will now be departing for Ponyville. Enjoy the two-hour rest because we have a lot of work to do when we arrive.”

After the speech ended, another loud screech came through the intercom for half a second before it shut off. The train started to move, jerking Twilight and me forward a bit, causing Twilight to be pushed into her seat and me into the table. Pulling my chest out of the table, I rubbed it and looked out the window to see the station slowly starting to move away from us.

“That was uncomfortable,” Twilight said as she unwedged herself.

“My ribs…,” I said in slight pain before pausing for a moment before speaking again, “wait, you said swear jar?”

“I’ll show you later. Now I’m going to practice my speech, and you're going to be the audience,” Twilight said as she used her magic to pull a few scrolls and place them on the table.

“What don’t I get a choice in the matter?” I jokingly asked.

“Nope. Anyways, let me start,” Twilight responded, looking at her scrolls. “Fillies and gentlecolts…”

~~~~>>><<<~~~~

Leaning back in my chair, I looked out the window to see empty fields and a very small town in the distance. The train was less than five minutes away from Ponyville, and Twilight had just finished repeating her speech for the seventh time in a row. I told her it was fine after the third time, but she had insisted.

“Hey, I can see Ponyville in the distance,” I said as my view was blocked by purple hair.

“Let me see,” Twilight said as she looked out the window.

“You sound excited,” I said.

“of course, I am. I get to see the girls, Spike, and my books,” Twilight said as she turned her head to look at me.

“Yeah, that does sound nice. I wonder how Stonehenge behaved while we were gone,” I said as I leaned back in my chair.

“He probably did fine. I mean, he doesn’t really do much. Save for when you and, oddly, Spike is around,” Twilight said as she sat back down.

“Hey, Stonehenge and Spike are becoming friends. It will be good for both of them,” I said, still watching Ponyville get closer.

“Yeah, and to be fair, Spike is going to get bigger someday, and they may have size in common,” Twilight joked.

I laughed at Twilight’s joke as I continued to watch Ponyville as we approached. Slowly, I could see the color of the cozy little town come into view. I could even see our home standing taller than most other homes near the edge of town. Nearing the edge of town, the ponies and their colorful bodies became more pronounced as we finally approached the station.

Slowly but surely, the train began to slow down, and the screech of the train breaks drowned out most of everything else. As we pulled into the station, I held the table to give myself support. With a slightly louder screech and a mildly strong jerk, the train came to a complete stop. I stopped grabbing the table as Twilight rose to her hoof.

“Come on, grab your stuff,” Twilight said as the intercom made the same loud screech from two hours ago.

“Attention all guards, Battleborn speaking. Exit the train and start unloading. I want to be fully set up under the town hall by nightfall. Twilight Sparkle and Human, you may exit the train and head to the town hall,” Battleborn said as the intercom made its loud noise as it shut off.

“I have a name, you know,” I said as I stood up from my seat and grabbed my bag off the floor.

Twilight and I exited the cabin and made our way off the train. Stepping outside, I could see that the guards were already in the process of unpacking. We had been here for less than five minutes, and they moved that fast. A small crowd formed around the station with ponies watching the guards unpack their equipment. Hidden Mist made an announcement to the crowd.

“If you would like to know what is happening, please go to the town square for more information,” Hidden Mist said.

With Hidden Mist's announcement, the crowd started to disperse a bit as some of the ponies began to walk toward the town hall. Twilight and I walked out of the staging area onto the dirt road, and we both started to walk toward the town square. As we walked down the dirt road, I heard a familiar equant voice.

“Twilight, Jack, you're both back,” Rarity said as she approached Twilight from her right.

“Sup,” I said.

“Rarity, it’s good to see you. What are you doing?” Twilight asked as Rarity started to walk next to us.

“Oh, I’m on my way to get you and Jack so we could head for the town square. The others are waiting, and Mayor Mare said the princess was sending somepony to make an announcement on her behalf,” Rarity said before pausing for a moment and looking at Twilight. “you’re the one the princess sent. Ugh, I should have known.”

“Yes, I have a speech ready. And no, I will not tell you ahead of everypony you’re going to have to wait,” Twilight said with a light chuckle.

“So heartless to one of your friends,” Rarity said as she paused, putting one of her hoofs on the top of her head before sighing and returning to Twilight's side.

“you’ll know In a few minutes,” Twilight said as Rarity let out a gasp.

“Twilight dear, why are your eyes a bit swollen? Were you crying earlier?” Rarity whispered in her best attempt not to embarrass Twilight.

“Oh, um yeah, I’ll tell you a bit after the announcement,” Twilight responded.

“Uh, you sure, Twilight?” Rarity asked, a bit worried.

“Yeah, it’s fine. I’ll tell you after the announcement,” Twilight repeated herself.

Rarity slowed down a bit and looked at me. She started to mouth silently to me, “What happened?”

I shook my head in response and mouthed back, “I would tell you, and I know you're worried I will explain later.”

Rarity sighed and returned to Twilight's side as we entered the outskirts of the town square. There was a large crowd waiting in front of a medium-sized stage with a tan pony standing next to the podium on the stage. In the far right of the crowd, I could see Stonehenge and his very large figure acting like a beacon. Spike was on his right shoulder while I could only see the top of the hairs of the other sticking out of the crowd.

Twilight, Rarity, and I made our way around the crowd to find them talking among themselves. The ground shifted as Stonehenge was the first one to know that we were approaching from his blindside, almost like he knew we were there. The others, noticing Stonehenge, looked over at us.

“Well, look who’s finally back,” Rainbow Dash said with an amusing smirk.

“Twi, Jack, you’re both back. How was Canterlot? Did ya’ll have a good time?” Applejack asked.

“It was alright. Not the best trip, but not the worst,” Twilight responded.

“It was fine,” I responded as well.

“So, um, Jack, what did the princess want with you?” Fluttershy whispers, barely audible with the crowd.

“Yeah, what did Celestia want? Other than you know what,” Rainbow Dash asked abruptly.

“Sorry, rainbow, but you’re gonna have to wait till after Twilight makes her speech, and we're in a more private area with not so many ponies,” I said.

“Boo,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Twilight is the one speaking today. Oh, what is it? Did Celestia finally agree to International Cupcake Day,” Pinkie Pie said as she put on a party hat with a cupcake on it.

“Pinkie, no, nothing like that. I’m going to head to the stage now. Jack, hold my bag for me, please,” Twilight said as she placed her saddle bag in my hands before walking away.

Twilight made her way up the stage and began speaking with Mayor Mare for a few moments. The rest of us just watched until Rarity leaned over to me. As she was about to speak, Mayor Mare walked away from Twilight toward the stand and started talking to the crowd.

“Good evening, fillies, and gentle colts. I am sure most of you are wondering what is going on. It is with great pleasure that Princess Celestia has made major changes to Ponyville. I will now hand the stand to Twilight Sparkle, who has more information from Celestia,” Mayor Mare said as she stepped to the side of the stand.

“Thank you, Mayor Mare,” Twilight said as she walked up the stand, clearing her throat. “Fillies and gentlecolts, thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to listen. As of today, the royal guard will have a station in Ponyville.”

A quiet murmur spread in the crowd as the ponies whispered among themselves at what they had heard.

Twilight waited for a moment for the whispers to slow before speaking, “Yes, as of today, you will see the royal guard patrolling the streets of Ponyville. Some of you may be asking why we need guards in Ponyville. The answer is with all the recent weirdness and with Discord’s escape and reimprisonment. Along with the Everfree forest being so close, celestial has deemed it necessary for safety.

The crowd's whispers picked back up at the mention of this Discord individual. Twilight waited again for the whispers to die down before continuing.

“I am sure you all may be wondering who is in charge of the Ponyville royal guard. Although they are not here with us and are currently in the process of unloading the guard's equipment, I will still inform you of all of their names and ranks. First, we have Knight Commander Battleborn, who is the main leader behind the Ponyville guard. Then we have Knight Hidden Mist and Corporal Thistle’s Thorn, who work under Battleborn to stage the guards.” Twilight said as she gauged the crowd's reactions.

I felt a nudge on my leg as Twilight looked over the crowd. Rarity was standing next to me, looking up at me and attempting again to learn what made Twilight cry. Leaning down, I whispered in her ear.

“I know you're worried, but you have to wait. Twilight will more than likely invite everyone back to the library to explain,” I said as Rarity let out a sigh and Twilight started to speak again.

“The royal guard will be temporarily located in the basement of the town hall. This is only temporary, as they plan to build proper guard barracks on the east side of town just past the bridge leading into town between the clock tower and the Everfree. Do any of you have questions regarding the guard?” Twilight asked the crowd.

The crowd looked among themselves, waiting for someone to raise their hand and ask a question. Twilight was looking over the crowd and was about to let everyone know they could leave when a blue unicorn raised her hand.

“Yes, Minuette?” Twilight asked, pointing to the raised hoof.

“How many guards will be in Ponyville now?” Minuette asked as she lowered her hoof.

“Ah yes, there will be forty guards. Forty-three, if you count the three, I told you about. Any more questions?” Twilight said as she looked around the crowd for more questions, but none raised their hoofs. “That is all I have for you today. Thank you, everypony.”

Twilight took a step back from the stand as the crowd started to disperse. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash went over to the small set of stairs as Twilight walked off them. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie began to follow Twilight to the rest of us. As they approached, Applejack started to speak.

“Mighty fine speech, Sugarcube,” Applejack said.

“Thank you, Applejack. Are you all free right now? I want to go over our trip with you all,” Twilight asked as the group nodded in agreement. Okay, let's go to the library.”

One by one, everyone started to follow Twilight down the dirt road. I paused for a moment to see a few guards carrying items in magic to the town hall. My attention was brought back by Stonehenge picking me up in his hand, allowing me to sit in his palm as he did the walking, letting my legs dangle freely in the air.

It wasn’t a long walk before the treehouse came into view. As the girls approached the door one by one, they entered the library. Stonehenge used his other hand to grab Spike and set both of us down in front of the door before he walked over to his awning. Spike ran inside, leaving me the last one to walk in the door yet again.

Walking inside, I closed the door as Twilight walked over to me and whispered to me, “I’m gonna tell them. Is that all right?”

“Yeah, it's fine. They already know about the magic they can know about this,” I responded.

“What are you two whispering about? Just tell us already,” Rainbow Dash said as she flew closer to us.

“Yeah, don’t keep us in suspense,” Pinkie Pie said.

Twilight looked back at me before letting out a sheepish smile, “Well…”

Chapter 14: The Storm Inside

The room fell silent. The shocked faces of the girls and Spike surrounded Twilight and me. Twilight had spent the last 20 minutes going over our little trip to Canterlot, and she had just gotten to the point where I had told her that I was not fully human. Mouths we left agape at this sudden news.

“From what we know, his mother was a human. As for his father, eh, not so much,” Twilight said.

The girls and Spike were processing the information. You could see the metaphorical wheels turning behind Applejack’s and Rainbow Dash’s eyes. Pinkie Pie’s eyes were rolling in her head like wheels. Fluttershy looked confused more than anything, and Rarity was lying on a maroon couch that had appeared out of nowhere. Spike had a look on his face that told us that he was not understanding.

I sat back at the desk and waited for them, or at least most of them, to be able to process what Twilight had said. Twilight, on the other hand, was standing in the middle of the room, waiting awkwardly with that sheepish smile she wore in situations like this. I watched as the wheel behind Applejack’s eyes stopped spinning as she cleared her throat.

“So, yer tellin’ us that Jack is half pony? That would explain the looks and magic. But how is that even possible?” Applejack asked.

“Yes, it’s true he is half-pony. We don’t know how he got to Jack’s world. We know that his father took a human form and gave his mother a fake name. A while after Jack was born, he disappeared without a trace,” Twilight responded.

“Is it true what you said, that he is still changing?” Fluttershy asked in her low voice.

“That is what Celestia said to me. Something about me both being transformed by my magic and the ambient magic around us all,” I responded.

There was a bit of silence before Rainbow Dash started speaking, “So, is he going to turn into a pony like us?”

“No, no, no. Celestia said that he is going to keep his overall shape, but he is going to develop some pony-like features. What those features are, we have no idea, along with how long it is going to take. We are basically at the mercy of magic right now,” Twilight responded.

“Is that the real reason why the guard moved in?” Applejack asked.

“No, not the main reason, just one of them. As I said, Celestia felt that with the Everfree and all the weird stuff happening in the last few weeks, she wanted to move the guard down here. Jack was the last straw… so to say,” Twilight responded.

“Hmm, makes sense,” Applejack responded.

The room fell quiet for a moment, so I turned away from everyone and started to look around the desk. I was looking for an envelope for the letter to the Ponyville school board that was still in my book. My search managed to catch everyone's attention as Twilight leaned over to me.

“What are you looking for?” Twilight asked.

“An envelope for my letter,” I responded.

“Top-right drawer,” Twilight said.

Nodding, I pulled open the drawer, finding small stacks of envelopes hidden inside. Pulling two out, one for my letter and one for the pocketknife, I would have to dig up later. I placed both envelopes on the desk as I reached into my bag and pulled out ‘The Royal Book of Magic, Magical Artifacts, and Creatures.’

“What is he doing?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“He wants to become a music teacher for the Ponyville schoolhouse. He doesn’t have proof of his education, so he wrote a letter to the Ponyville school board to see if there is a solution,” Twilight responded.

“Well, that's good to hear. Bout time somepony with proper training that can help Cheerilee and get the fillies and colts singin’ again,” Applejack said.

“I know hearing the fillies and colt sing brings joy to my big love drum,” Pinkie Pie said.

I opened ‘The Royal Book of Magic, Magical Artifacts, and Creatures’ and pulled out my letter. But as I did, I noticed something very particular. A copy of my letter had been saved inside the book. I did not have time to ponder this discovery as Rarity started speaking.

“So, Twilight dear, I think it is time to discuss why your… eyes are… swollen,” Rarity said.

“What's wrong with her…” Rainbow Dash said, squinting her eyes to look at Twilight’s eyes. “Hey, you're right. They are a bit swollen.”

“Let me see,” Spike said as he ran up to Twilight, trying to get a closer look. “Twilight, what happened? Were you crying? Jack, do you know?”

I sighed as I closed ‘The Royal Book of Magic, Magical Artifacts, and Creatures’ and set the letter on top of the envelope. Turning to look back at the rest of the group, Twilight was surrounded by the others as they all tried to look at her slightly swollen eyes. Twilight did not look like she was enjoying the lack of personal space.

“Everypony,” Twilight said, trying to get the attention of the others.

No one was listening to Twilight's plea for personal space as they continued to look into her eyes. Stepping up, I tried to get the attention of the others.

“Guys,” I said in an attempt to get their attention, but none of them acknowledged me.

Twilight's horn started to glow before two flashes of purple light filled the room. Twilight disappeared from the middle of the group, causing slight surprise to both the others and me. Looking, it took me a moment to find that she was now standing next to me, and it did not take the others long to figure it out as well.

“Everypony, please. Jack and I will explain what happened. Just give us a chance to speak,” Twilight said.

Looks were exchanged around the room before the others walked a bit closer and waited for Twilight and me to tell our story.

Twilight let out a small sigh before she spoke, “It started when Jack and I were on our way to the train station. It was busy, and we were walking in front of the human settlement. As we walked, a human exited one of the stores, and I did not see him in time, causing me to walk into him.”

“So, you hit your noggin on a human?” Applejack asked.

“Yes, but that wasn’t what made me cry,” Twilight responded, pausing for a moment.

“Well then, what got you so upset?” Rarity asked.

“When I walked into the human, he got very angry and started yelling at me even when I tried to apologize. He just called me mean names like ‘dumb’ or ‘stupid’ horse,” Twilight responded.

Looks of shock and a bit of anger filled the room. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Spike all looked red in the face, while Fluttershy and Rarity looked surprised. Pinkie Pie’s mane looked like it had deflated a bit.

“What big meanies,” Pinkie Pie said.

“Twilight, that’s terrible,” Fluttershy said.

“you two said it. I think I might need to head down to Canterlot to have a quick word,” Rainbow Dash said, her face as red as one of the streaks in her hair.

“I’m coming too,” Spike said, a bit of black smoke billowing from his nose.

“Count me in as well. What did this no-good varmint look like?” Applejack asked, her face also red as the apples she sells.

“Guys, please. I don’t need you all getting into trouble for my stake. I already had to stop Jack from doing something,” Twilight responded.

Hearing what Twilight had said, the group started to calm down before turning to look at me for my side of the story. I walked back over to the desk and sat down, ensuring I was at eye level with everyone as I started speaking.

“When that man started to yell at Twilight, I stepped in between him and her, and I gave him her name and demanded that he apologize to her for the things he said. He thought I was a new human and told me to step aside so he could keep yelling at her. When I said no and reinforced my demand, he called her name again and called me an ‘albino freak,” I said, pausing as I noticed a bit of mist coming out of my mouth.

“What did you do next?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“He tried to swing at me, but I dodged it and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. As I was about to… you know, Twilight stopped me, telling me that he was ‘not worth it,’ which he wasn’t. So, I pushed him away from us, and he scurried off to the human settlement,” I responded, a bit more mist leaving my mouth as I spoke.

“Is that true, Twi,” Applejack asked.

“He left off the part about swearing, but yeah, it's true,” Twilight responded.

“Why did you stop him, Twilight? Jack is a …er, mostly human. He could have got away with it,” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Because even with him looking human, it would just draw more attention to him. Even him standing up for me has more than likely put a spotlight and wondering eyes on him,” Twilight responded.

“I… can’t argue with that, but it still doesn’t feel right just to let someone talk to you like that,” Rainbow Dash said as she crossed her arms.

“I know, but it was my decision,” Twilight said as she walked away from my side.

Applejack let out a sigh as she took off her hat in frustration, “Twilight, I ain’t gonna lie. I respect your decision, but I still think Jack should have knocked him upside the head.”

“Well, too late now,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “let's change the subject. I want to put that past us now. Did anything interesting happen while Jack and I were gone?”

Hearing that, Pinkie Pie’s mane puffed back as she started to bounce up and down, “Oh, oh, oh, after you two left, Applejack picked up Spike and the Crusaders…”

Knowing this was probably the best time, I grabbed one of the envelopes, placed it in my back pocket, and took the moment Pinkie Pie told her story to step outside. Feeling the crisp air on my skin, I walked over to Stonehenge’s awning. Walking up to Stonehenge, he was leaning back, looking toward the sky. As I walked closer, he instinctively looked toward me.

“Hello,” Stonehenge said cocking his head to the side.

“Hey, Stonehenge. You doing okay?” I asked as I walked a bit closer, and he nodded in agreement. “Can you do me a favor, big guy?”

Stonehenge cocked his head to the side again, “What need?”

“Do you remember that knife that I had you bury a week ago?” I asked.

“Yes,” Stonehenge said as he lifted his arm, reviling the patch of slightly loose dirt that had hidden the pocketknife.

“Can you dig it up for me? I need to send it away to be destroyed,” I asked.

Slowly, Stonehenge moved his left arm and started scraping his fingers at the dirt. Slowly, the dirt began to part into small clumps, rolling away from where he was digging. He kept pushing the dirt away before finally stopping and starting to raise his arm, revealing the pocketknife. He moved his hand, raising it above me. I raised my arm, allowing him to drop the knife into my hands.

The moment the knife was placed in my hand, it felt heavier than it had the last time I had held it. It looked the same, save for the small coating of dirt that muddled the pocketknife's redwood cover. My hands trembled as I raised the knife closer to my face and unfolded it, allowing the silver blade to show its rainbow reflection one last time.

Pulling out the envelope, I folded and placed the ill-fated blade inside. Bringing the envelope to my mouth, I sealed the blade inside as I let out a sigh of relief that I would no longer have to worry about it, that it was no longer going to be my problem anymore. I was so deep in thought I was taken aback by the slight nudge on my back. Turning to Stonehenge, he was pointing at the door to the library.

“Oh yeah. Can’t ponder anymore, can I?” I said as I walked back to the door.

With a slight nod in agreement, Stonehenge leaned back against the library’s outer wall as I walked back over to the door. Pushing the door open, I could still hear Pinkie Pie talking about what had happened yesterday with almost everyone to the point of some mild annoyance.

“Oh, oh, and then there was cupcake batter all over the wall and then…,” Pinkie Pie said before Rainbow Dash cut her off.

“Okay, Pinkie, I think she gets it,” Rainbow Dash said as she rubbed the temples of her head.

Twilight turned her head to look at me, noticing the second envelope. She tilted her head to the side and asked,” What do you have there?”

Catching the others' attention, I looked down at the envelope, raising it close to my chest as I responded,” Oh, this is something Celestia wanted me to send to her.

“What is it, darling? Is it a fancy gemstone?” Rarity asked, enthusiasm in her voice.

“No, no, nothing like that,” I responded.

“What is it then,” Fluttershy asked in her sweet and soft voice.

“You all remember that bald man that ‘injured’ me before coming to Equestria?” I asked, getting multiple nods of agreement before continuing. “Well, when they left me, they left a piece of very rare metal behind that comes from Equestria.”

“From Equestria? How is that possible? You're saying that a human came from Equestria to hurt you and trick your ‘friends’?” Twilight asked, a look of surprise on her face.

“That is what Celestia said. She seemed surprised as well,” I responded.

“What kinda’ metal is it?” Applejack asked.

“Core steel, if I remember right,” I said as I walked closer to Spike.

“Core what,” Rainbow Dashed asked as she floated closer to try to get a better look.

“Core steel. Apparently, it is able to store magic, but it is very dangerous. At least that is what Celestia said,” I responded as I rubbed the hole in my leg through my pants.

“Can we see it?” Twilight asked.

“Sorry, Twilight, Celestia said as soon as possible. You’ll have to ask her the next time you see her,” I said, knowing well what Celestia was going to do to the knife before turning to Spike. “Can you do the honor, Spike?”

“I sure can,” Spike responded.

I handed the envelope to Spike, who in turn held it up to his mouth before letting a puff of green magical fire engulf the envelope. Within a few seconds, there was nothing but ash that flew away in the air. Feeling better knowing the knife was now gone, I turned away from Spike towards the girls.

“Well, now that that’s done, does anyone know the address to the Ponyville school board?” I asked, wanting to send my other letter out.

“Just send it to town hall. Their offices are on the second floor,” Rarity said.

“Really? Last I heard, they were still next to the schoolhouse. When did that change?” Applejack asked.

“Oh, last month, if I remember correctly. One of the letters about Sweetie Belle’s grades was accidentally sent to the boutique,” Rarity responded.

“Ah, I see,” Applejack said.

Walking past the girls, who had quickly changed the subject away from the first envelope, I arrived at the desk. Grabbing the second envelope, I looked at the desk again, pulled out a stamp with Celestia on it, and stuck it to the envelope before grabbing the quill that was sitting on the desk and writing ‘Townhall: Ponyville school board. Return address: Golden Oaks Library.’ Lifting the quill from the envelope, I grabbed my letter and put it inside before properly sealing it.

Walking back over to the door, I cracked it open and found the metal mailbox hanging next to the door. Opening it, I placed the letter inside before closing the door once more. Turning back around, I saw the girls standing in a circle, still talking amongst themselves, while Spike was at the top of the stairs leaving the room.

Deciding to do the same, I walked over to the desk. I grabbed my bag, throwing it over my shoulder, and the golden book before walking towards the basement door. Opening the door, I stepped inside and reached to close the door, but before I could, I saw Twilight staring at me. She gave me a wave and smile before turning back to her friends.

Closing the door, I descended the stairs to my room on the left. Opening the door, I was met with slight darkness as I used my magic to pull the string in the middle of the room, turning on the light. Walking into the room, I just realized how barren it felt. It was just a bed, a small dresser, a small hamper, and a mirror.

“Man, this place is empty. I need to find a way to jazz this up a bit,” I said as I walked around the room, imagining what I could do to spice it up a bit.

I imagined a few paintings or posters, if they have them, filling up some of the space on the walls, giving it more color. Next, I looked at the empty side of the room half of the room and thought of what I could put over there.

“a bookshelf?” I said as I rubbed my head before remembering that I lived in a library. “No, I can just walk upstairs for that. Maybe a desk or a sofa would work.”

I thought about the sofa and having another comfortable place to sit in my room for either me or if someone else wanted to hang out. Then I thought about the desk and being able to work on stuff without having to sit on the floor to write something.

“Probably best to get both. Maybe the sofa in the corner and the desk on the wall near the door,” I said as I looked at the barren wooden floor. “Hmm, maybe a rug or some carpet would help as well. Do they even have carpet here now that I say it?”

I realized that in all my time here, I had yet to see anyone selling carpet or been anywhere that had carpet. The most I had seen were rugs of multiple sizes. Paying it no mind, I set my book on the dresser and threw my bag on my bed without looking. The bag bounced off my bed before bouncing back and landing with a. *THUD*

Looking back, I could see my bag was on the floor, with some of its contents spilling out. The clothing was partially sticking out, while the glowing gem, the broken flashlight, and ‘Elementals of the Elements’ were sprawled across the floor.

“Ah, just my luck,” I said as I bent down to pick up the mess.

I grabbed the broken flashlight, held it in my hand, and wondered to myself if Twilight could possibly be able to fix it or if she would be interested in a human version. Next, I picked up the glowing blue gem and held it in my hand before shoving it into my pocket. Next, I moved to the bag, picked it up, and the clothes drooping out of it. I pulled the clothes out of the bag and grabbed the letter that was in the middle, setting it in one of the dresser drawers before tossing the clothes in the hamper. Setting the bag on the dresser, I bent down and picked up ‘Elementals of the Elements.’

“Man, I still haven’t had a chance to read this. I've been so busy,” I said to myself as I walked over to my bed and sat down.

When I opened the book, the first thing that popped out was the warning text, ‘ Danger, not for beginners.’ Shrugging my shoulders, I turned the page to the contents and chapters to see if I could find anything that would catch my eye. The book was split into five different sections, each one different from the others, along with sub-sections. Looking over the sections, there was heat/fire, water/ice, earth/life, air/electricity, and radiant/umbral.

“Woah,” I said aloud.

Looking over the contents, I decided that if I were to start, I would probably best start in something I at least had a basic ability to use. Looking over the water/ice, they were split into their respective categories, so I did not pay much attention to the water spells and focused on the ice spells.

Looking at the ice spells, I could see that Winter’s Grasp, the spell that was in the royal book and the only ice spell that I had been using the past few weeks, was in the book. Knowing that I already knew how to use it, I looked for another spell that seemed easy to use. Looking over them, one did catch my eye, a spell called ‘Cold Rune.’ seeing that it was on Pg47, I quickly turned to the appropriate page and started reading.

Looking over the page, it seemed this spell was meant to store the cold and release it slowly into the ambient air, slowly making it colder. The spell seemed to be on the easier side to perform, as it only required something to write with, something to write on, and the ability to use Winter’s Grasp. All the spell seemed to be was drawing a symbol and then using winter’s grasp to store the chill.

Standing up, I walked over to the dresser and opened the bottom drawer to find a quill and a few scrolls that Twilight had let me borrow. Grabbing three of the scrolls and a quill, I walked back over to my bed and started to sketch the symbol that was depicted in the book. It was two circles with a six-tipped snowflake.

“Not much of an artist am I. Hopefully, I don’t need an art degree,” I said to myself as I sketched the symbol on the three papers.

Looking at all of the papers, I picked out the best-looking one and picked it up, holding it in the air as I allowed my hand to start glowing blue. Slowly, I moved my hand to the paper, allowing it to touch the symbol. After a moment of not reacting, the paper froze down the middle vertically, tearing it in half as it did.

Sighing, I walked over to the small hamper, grabbed one of my dirty shirts, and placed it on the ground next to my bed, knowing that I could allow the paper to melt on it. I grabbed the worst-looking paper and attempted to use my magic again. The moment I touched it, there was a slightly longer delay before the paper froze again, this time on the horizontal level. Tossing the paper on top of the other, I grabbed the last paper remaining.

Holding the paper up in my left hand, I let my right hand start to glow as it slowly reached the paper. I closed my eyes as I touched the paper and waited. After a few moments of waiting with my eyes closed, I felt a cold breeze on my face and hands. Sighing in defeat, I opened my eyes, expecting to see another frozen paper, only to find the paper still intact but now glowing a dark blue as a chilling mist poured out of it.

I felt an extreme amount of pride and joy in what I had just done. I had used another spell, and although it seemed to be an easy one, I still felt giddy about it. I waved my hand at the still-flowing mist, feeling the cold air on the tips of my fingers.

“Ha, ha, yes, woo, I made a mobile A\C,” I said as I moved my hand back and forth through the mist.

Setting the misting paper to the side, I grabbed the book, feeling pumped up, and turned back to the table of contents to try another spell. Looking at what caught my eye, I found a spell by the name of ‘snow.’

“Snow, that’s a weird name for a spell. I wonder what it does?” I questioned myself as I turned to Pg 55 and began reading.

Looking over the spell, it seemed that it would allow you to materialize snow by will alone. All it needed was Winter’s grasp, which was starting to seem like the baseline for ice spells. It also seemed a strong mental image of what kind of snow you wanted was also required. Anything muddling the mind would cause it not to work as well, if not at all.

“Ok, here goes nothing,” I said as I started to focus on my hand and the image of snow.

My hands started to glow their normal blue as I imagined the white, fluffy, and cold snow in the palm of my hands. As much as I tried, nothing seemed to appear, just the cold air still blowing past my no longer glowing hand into the room. Shaking my hand, I allowed it to glow once more in my second attempt, but no matter how much I focused, nothing seemed to appear.

Attempt after attempt, fail after fail, I continued as the floor cracked above me from the movement above and as the room got colder and colder from the paper. Nearly ready to give up and try a new spell, I gave it one final try. Holding the palm of my hand up as it started to glow once more, I closed my eyes and allowed my mind to wonder as it had done so many times before.

The cold air on my fingertips, the wind blowing on my body, my mind pulled me deeper and deeper until the memories of that god-forsaken place. The forest, the snow lining the floor as more fell. Heavier and heavier, the weight of the white fluffy powder falling from the grey storm cloud above. My skin feeling the claws of the frostbite as I walked through the forest. The snow stealing the heat from my body as I walked, melting slower and slower with each step. The cold blanket starting to form on me as my breath slowed to my assumed last.

“NO! No. No…,” I said to myself, my voice shaking from the memories.

Clenching my fist, I took my hands to my head as I tried to shake the images from my mind before falling to the floor. Holding the palms of my hand to the ground, I forced my eyes to part slightly in an attempt to see, only to be met with the blurriness of tears. Closing them again, I placed my forehead on the ground as I lay on my stomach, my palms facing the ceiling in defeat.

As I lay there, my mind slowly recovering, I could feel the room getting even colder as I felt a very small bit of water on my neck. Thinking I was still imagining, I ignored it before once again returning to my wallowing. Then, I felt another on my arm. As my mind registered the second drop, another and then another fell onto my body with increasing speed.

“What the?” I questioned myself as I raised my head from the floor.

Opening my eyes, I could see snowflakes falling from above me as they were starting to make a very thin blanket on the floor. Pushing the top of my body up, I looked towards the ceiling, where I was met with a dark grey cloud, taking up most of the ceiling. Snow fell from the cloud at a moderate pace, building more and more around me.

“Oh shit!” I said as I jumped to my feet in surprise at what I was seeing.

Looking at the cloud closer, I felt a bit of pride and a mix of fear. Pride for making a snow cloud and fear for what Twilight was going to do to me when she found out. Thinking back to the book, it only said that there was a bit of snow, not a snow cloud.

I raised my hand towards the cloud, expecting my hand to pass through it like air, but it stopped almost immediately when I touched it. Poking the cloud, it felt hard to describe. It was almost as if the air was pushing back at me with solid force. An idea popped into my mind. Wanting to test something, I grabbed parts of the cloud with both hands firmly before lifting my legs off the ground.

Bending my knees, I felt the force of gravity on my body, but my arms felt strained as I held my body in the air. Looking up, I could see that I was holding onto the cloud like makeshift monkey bars. Looking down, I could see my snow-covered floor, the thin blanket now even thicker. While looking down, I finally felt my hands pass through the cloud, and the full force of gravity pulled me down hard and quickly.

“Crap!” I said as I flew down.

My knees slammed to the floor, causing a bit of pain to shoot up my body. Falling to my right side, I rubbed both of my knees in an attempt to make the pain subside quicker, feeling the wetness of the snow on my right side. Slowly, as the pain dimmed, I stopped rubbing my knees and pushed myself back up to a sitting position.

Looking around the room, I could see a good two and a half inches of snow on the floor. Even more panic set in as the snow continued, and the thought of Twilight freaking out became more and more prevalent.

“Okay. That’s enough,” I said as I jumped to my feet and tried my best to wave my hands through the cloud in an attempt to disperse it.

With little to no luck in my attempt to remove it, I thought about what could be done. I remembered seeing a pegasus popping a cloud like a balloon the other day, and I hoped that Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash had not left yet. Running to the door, I pulled the door open with some resistance from the snow on the floor before running up the stairs.

When I reached the top, I pulled the door open with a bit of force to find that most of the girls had left. Twilight and Rainbow Dash were at the door, waving Applejack goodbye.

“Bye, Applejack. See you tomorrow,” Twilight said as she waved Applejack goodbye, not seeming to notice me.

“Rainbow Dash, I need your help!” I yelled across the room before I started to descend back down the stairs again.

The sound of the door closed, followed by Twilight yelling back, “Jack, wait!”

Not listening, I continue down the stairs at the sound of hoofsteps running to the door behind me. Turning the corner to my room, I waited for Twilight and Rainbow Dash to descend the stairs. The sound of hoofs stepping down the stairs ended as Twilight turned the corner into my room.

“Jack, what is…going…? Twilight stuttered as her mouth was left wide open.

“Holy Celestia…,” Rainbow Dash said as she hovered above Twilight with her mouth agape as well.

“Jack, what did you do?” Twilight asked as she continued to stare at the cloud.

“I was practicing a few spells when this happened,” I responded as I gestured to the cloud. “I saw a pegasus pop a cloud the other day. Do you think you can do the same, Rainbow?”

“Can I? I know I can,” Rainbow Dash responded.

Rainbow Dash quickly and gracefully flew up to the cloud. As she hovered in front of it, she brought her hoof to it and started to push on it. The cloud began to disperse with little resistance, and the snow stopped falling from the ceiling. All that there was left was the snow still piled on the ground.

Pushing the snow around with my feet, I looked towards Twilight. She was still in disbelief at what she had seen, and I started to speak, “So uh, um, how are we going to clean this up?”

Without looking at me, Twilight’s horn started to glow as the window above my dresser was pulled open. The snow then began to glow light purple as it was lifted into the air, slowly pushed through, and left outside to melt. Rainbow Dash floated above me as Twilight slowly turned her head towards me.

“That's about all we can do right now. Everything will just have to dry off. Jack, what were you doing to cause this? You said that ‘spells’ as in plural ‘spells’?” Twilight asked, still a bit panicked.

“Yeah. As I said, I was just practicing my magic reading ‘Elementals of the Elements,’ and I managed to do another spell. I got excited and picked out another called ‘snow,’ which was only supposed to materialize it, not cause it to snow,” I responded.

“What was the other spell?” Rainbow Dash asked, a bit worried.

Walking over to bed, I found the still glowing rune on the paper and held it up for both of them to see. " This is a cold rune. It stores cold magic and releases it slowly.”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash stuck their hoofs out and held them in front of the rune before shivering and pulling away in unison. Twilight brought her hoof to her chin as she thought.

“So, how do you turn it off?” Twilight asked.

A look of shock formed on my face as I did not know how to answer, “I uh… don’t know.”

Twilight shook her head as she used her magic to pull the spell book off my bed and started looking through it. Rainbow Dash, still hovering, shrugged her shoulder and flew to the door.

“I’m heading out Twilight. Talk to you later, snowcolt,” Rainbow Dash said as she exited my room.

“Bye,” I said as I waved Rainbow Dash goodbye.

“Bye, Rainbow. Ah, here we go. It says just touch it with Winter’s grasp, and it should turn off,” Twilight said as she lowered the book from her face.

“Okay, let's try that then,” I said as my hand started to glow blue.

Slowly, I touched my glowing hand to the glowing rune. Nothing happened for a moment as I took my hand from the rune before the glow from the rune faded away, and the coldness stopped flowing out. Sighing in relief, I set the paper on my damp bed and turned toward Twilight.

“Thanks, Twilight. I was panicking for a second there. I thought my room was going to be flooded. I don’t know how I can make it up to you,” I said.

“Yeah, well, I have an idea,” Twilight said as she looked at me with a stern voice.

“Y-yes,” I asked, a bit of fear in my voice.

“While your room dries off, I want you to reorganize the fiction and nonfiction sections by alphabetical order,” Twilight said with her arms crossed.

“Uh, okay, anything else?” I asked, a bit shocked at the light punishment.

“You can no longer practice ice magic in your room without supervision. We got lucky Rainbow Dash was still here,” Twilight said in her still stern voice.

“Yeah, we were. I could only imagine the damages,” I said in agreement.

“Oh, it would be awful. Now get your hiney upstairs while I make sure the sheet gets dry,” Twilight said as she used her magic to strip my bed.

Not wanting to dilly-dally, I exited the room and climbed the staircase to the library. Walking past the fireplace, I found myself at the arguably large fiction and non-fiction section.

“Well, Jack, look at the bright side. Twilight didn’t hear you swear,” I said to myself as I pulled the first book of many off the shelf.

Author's Note

Hey guys, long time no author note I think the last time I did one of these was over a month ago, and the reason I did not do them on the last two was one reason. I forgot, too. :twilightsheepish:

Anyway, it feels good to flush out Jack’s spells a bit more, even if they are more ice ones, it feels good. I think the next spells he learns will be more ‘normal,’ but I think I need to figure out what is ‘normal.’

Oh also I have something planed coming up soon as for what it will be that will be a surprise. :yay:

One last thing, thanks for reading. It still means the world to me that over 1k people have read my little story. To be honest, I didn’t think I would get even half of that, and my mind was still blown away. Leave a comment, and if I can, I will respond or at least like it if I can’t.

-Void Hollow =)

Chapter 15: Farm Boy Cattle Girl

The chilled, very morning air filled my lungs as each step shook the tiredness from my bones. The birds chirped and tweeted their little songs as Twilight, Spike, Stonehenge, and I walked down the mostly empty street. Spike was once again riding on Stonehenge as the ground shook with each step he took. The sun had just started to peak over the horizon with a pink hue.

“Why do we have to be up so early again?” I asked as I walked with my eyes half closed.

Twilight had waken us all up way earlier than normal, making sure to rush us out the door. In my sleep-deprived haze, I had failed to actually listen to why we were leaving so early. All I knew was that we were heading to Sweet Apple Acres to assist Applejack with something.

“Again. Weren’t you listening the first time?” Twilight asked a hint of frustration in her voice.

“No,” I replied bluntly, rubbing the bags under my eyes while yawning.

“Um… okay...” Twilight stuttered a bit at my honest answer before regaining her composure. “We are on our way to help Applejack with the final section of her acre before winter officially starts.”

“Ahh, and how are we gonna help?” I asked as I lowered my hands from my eyes to look at Twilight.

“Oh, Applejack, Big Mac, and I will get the apples down from the trees while you, Apple Bloom, and Spike pick up any strays that don’t land in the baskets. Stonehenge will help the pebble golems carry the apples to storage,” Twilight responded.

“Hmm, but why do we have to be up so early?” I asked, a bit frustrated.

“Apple Bloom has school in a few hours, so they have to start early,” Twilight responded before turning to look at me. “You went to bed at a decent time. I don’t see why you're so tired. Unless… are you still having nightmares?”

“…yeah…” I said under my breath.

It barely felt like I had gotten any sleep last night. It was the same nightmare, but when I got out of bed, the door to the forest was already open. Luna was no longer there, at least in sight. It always felt like I was being watched while I was in the nightmare. Even when I finally walked through the door, it still felt like I was being watched.

“Was Luna there again?” Twilight asked.

“I didn’t see her, so I don’t think so,” I responded.

“Ah… well, just because you didn’t see her doesn’t mean she wasn’t there,” Twilight said.

“What do you mean?” I asked as I tilted my head slightly to the side.

“Oh, well, she looks over all dreams and helps as many as she can. You’ll probably see her again soon if the nightmares keep up,” Twilight replied.

“Ah, I see. How many ponies are in Equestria, by the way?” I asked, wondering how many dreams Luna truly looked over.

“Well, that is a tricky question. Some jump to the conclusion of 2.5 billion, while others put it in the ballpark of 1.75 billion to 2 billion. Truth be told, with how large Equestria is and, how many small towns there are littering the land, and how unprotected they are. It can be hard to tell,” Twilight responded.

“Unprotected?” I asked, confused.

“From what I know, it certainly has gotten better in the last hundred years. It used to be towns of hundreds that could be wiped out by roaming wild creatures and animals. Two hundred years ago, a small town could have been wiped out by a powerful hydra, a raging Ursa Major, or even manic maniacs with lofty ambitions. Sweet Celestia, I still remember reading about one village,” Twilight responded with a shiver.

“What village?” I asked, wanting to know what she was talking about.

“Back around 300 years ago, there was a small mining town. Appleloosa was the closest large city nearby, about eight hours away. The small town was called ‘Iron Hoof.” If I remember right, there were at least 200 ponies that lived there,” Twilight said.

“What happened to them?” I asked.

“Well, the short answer is they all, well, you know,” Twilight said as she paused for a moment before moving her hoof under her neck and continued walking.

“What’s the long answer?” I asked.

“Well, truth be told, no pony has any ideas about what happened. When the biweekly shipments stopped coming from the town, a group of ponies went to find out what had happened to the town. What they found well…,” Twilight said as she paused.

“What did they find?” I asked wanting to know.

“They said that the town had been attacked. Apparently, there was dried blood and rotting bits, broken windows, and smashed doors in every house and on the streets of the town. They later found a mass graveyard outside of the town. It was filled with ponies, from young fillies and colts to elders nearing their eighties,” Twilight said in a low voice.

“Wait, how did they know the ages if they were buried?” I asked, wanting to know if there was an answer.

“The grave markers they found. All were made, and 199 were found in the graveyard. One pony survived and dug graves for everypony else, with care given to four, in particular, two graves for a ‘mother’ and ‘father’ and one larger grave that held two twin fillies. Due to no names being on the grave markers and being at a time when documents were shoddy at best, no pony knows who survived the attack to dig the graves or what happened to them,” Twilight said, her ears flapping down.

“Wow,” I said as I put my hand behind the back of my head.

“Yeah…” Twilight replied.

“Well, what changed?” I asked.

“What?” Twilight asked in response.

“How has it gotten better to live in the smaller towns?” I asked.

“Oh well, the guard has gotten more advanced and more distributed throughout the land, and although they might not be everywhere, they can get places much faster. Then you have the fact that ponies are getting better at protecting themselves. Whether through magic, speed, or overall brute strength, they have been getting better. Even a few rare humans live outside of Canterlot like you,” Twilight responded.

“Will anything happen like that to Ponyville?” I asked, a bit worried for our safety.

“No, no, no, we should be fine. Ponyville has been around longer than most of those off-the-path towns. Also, for some reason, most wild animals seem to be drawn to the Everfree and tend to stay there unless provoked to an extreme. Even chasing Manticores will stop at the edge of the forest,” Twilight responded.

“Well, that's reassuring,” I said as I rubbed my arms, feeling more awake as we reached the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres.

The four of us made our way up the main path toward the barn next to Applejack’s home. As we made our way up, I noticed that the apple trees that had been bearing ripe, fresh apples almost a week ago were barren save for the leaves. As we reached the farm's gate, I could see the Apples, Wolfsbane, and their pebble golems busy preparing for the harvest. Applejack, feeling the footsteps of Stonehenge, turned to look at us.

“Howdy, ya’ll. You're right on time. We’re almost ready to get this harvest underway,” Applejack said with more energy than I would have had all week.

Wolfsbane seemed to notice me and held a look of joy on her face, almost like an excited puppy, as she ran up to me, tackling me to the ground as she did. “Jack, it’s good to see you,” Wolfsbane said before looking at my face. “Why do you look so tired?”

“I didn’t get the best sleep last night,” I said, rubbing the back of my head before wrapping my left arm around Wolfsbane's neck. “It's good to see you, too.”

Twilight tiptoed behind me as she lowered her head to speak, " Jack, I didn’t know you knew Wolfsbane.”

“Oh yeah, I met her at the party Pinkie Pie threw for me. Then I got to see her when you left me alone at that sister’s festival,” I said as I gently pushed Wolfsbane off me and stood to my feet.

“Sister hooves social,” Apple Bloom interjected before running away.

“Anyways, yeah, he’s really cool and a human. Plus, he’s new, just like me. That’s three for three,” Wolfsbane said as she stood to her hoofs.

“Yes, well, he can be very ‘cool,’” Twilight said with a little giggle with her awful attempt at a pun.

I shook my head in mild disapproval before turning to Applejack, “Is Wolfsbane helping as well?”

“Naw, she was just helping till y’all arrived. She already did her job today,” Applejack responded.

“Yep, little to no varmints tonight as well. Not gonna lie a tad borin’,” Wolfsbane said as she let out a little yawn.

As Wolfsbane let out her little yawn, I couldn’t help but notice her teeth. For the most part, they looked like normal ponies, save for her canine teeth. They seemed to be more developed than most of her other teeth and slightly pointier than the rest. But my little observation was cut short as Wolfsbane’s mouth closed.

“I’m going to go make myself sum’ supper. See the rest of y’all later. Bye, Jack,” Wolfsbane said as she gave me a wave.

Waving back, I watched Wolfsbane walk away before disappearing behind Applejack’s barn. Turning back to the rest of the group, Spike was no longer on Stonehenge's shoulders and was standing behind Twilight. Apple Bloom and Big Mac were both setting out baskets for us to take with us.

“So, how are we going to go about this?” I asked as I watched Applejack push a few more baskets forward.

“we’re gonna split into three groups,” Applejack said as she pushed a bundle of baskets toward me as she continued. “Twilight and Spike are gonna take the left side of the final acre. Big Mac and Apple Bloom will take the right. Jack, you and me will be takin the middle. Stonehenge will help my golems with the heavy liftin.’”

Bending down, I picked up the baskets with both of my hands, feeling the light but durable material that they were made of. Twilight used magic to pick up a few while giving Spike a few to carry. Apple Bloom and Big Mac had already started making their way to their acre section.

“let's get a move on,” Applejack said as she poked the back of my legs with her hoofs.

“Okay, okay, lead the way. Have fun, Spike. See you in a bit, Twilight,” I said as I started following Applejack.

“See ya, Jack,” Spike said as he started to walk towards Twilight’s and his section.

“Have fun, Jack. Try not to overwork him, Applejack,” Twilight said as she watched Applejack and I continue on our way.

“No promises,” Applejack yelled back, hopefully joking.

Applejack and I walked away from the front of her lovely-looking home into the semi-dense apple tree farm. As we walked by, red apples lined the trees with baskets beneath them, making me realize that this was going to take a while. While looking at the apples, a thought popped into my mind. How did they pick apples if they didn’t have any hands or fingers? I know Twilight had magic, but how did an earth pony like the Apples get their apples down?

“Hey, I got a question for you, Applejack,” I said as we continued to walk.

“What’s yer’ question?” Applejack asked.

“How do you get your apples down? I know Twilight has magic and can get them down that way. But what about you and Big Mac?” I asked.

Applejack let out a laugh before responding, “Well, you're gonna find out how in a moment. Now I got a question for you.”

“Shoot,” I responded.

“How are you liking Equestria?” Applejack asked with a hint of genuine curiosity.

“Oh, it’s beautiful here. More scenic than my old home. But the humans are meaner,” I responded.

“Oh, and how so?” Applejack asked.

“My old home was, for lack of a better term, flat,” I responded.

“Oh, I always thought that your world was like ours, just without magic,” Applejack said.

“Well, it can vary from flat lands to mountains. It was just where I lived, an agricultural hot spot,” I said as we walked closer to the edge of the acre.

“Oh, you did. Did you do any farming?” Applejack asked enthusiastically.

“No, I didn’t really do any farming. My grandpa owned a farm, though, and I would visit him in the summer, but I never really got to help with that,” I responded.

“So, you’re a city colt with some country roots,” Applejack said.

“You could say that,” I laughed as we reached the edge of the acre.

“Set your baskets under that tree over there, and we can get started,” Applejack said, pointing to a tree that didn’t have any baskets beneath it.

Walking over, I looked at the other trees as a guide and saw that the baskets were lined up, one on each side of the tree. Grabbing one of the baskets, I placed it in front, behind, to the left and right of the tree, making it look like all the others. Turning around, I watched Applejack walk to one of the trees in preparation.

“So, how do you plan on getting these apples down?” I asked as Applejack turned her back to the tree.

“Like this,” Applejack responded as she kicked the tree with her two hind legs, making a loud thud.

As the tree shook, the apples started to fall from the tree one by one, filling the baskets. As the apples fell, some bounced out of the basket and landed on the green grass next to it.

“Now it’s your turn to get what bounced out,” Applejack said.

“Wow, humans just pick them, not kick the tree to get them down,” I responded as I walked over and started to pick up what was on the ground.

“Really?” Applejack questioned, hesitating for a moment before continuing. “You commented that the humans are meaner here. What do you mean by that?”

“Well, back home, people weren’t the nicest, but they didn’t usually yell at you. Plus, all the stuff I keep hearing about them from others. Then, all the ponies say I act differently from the other humans, like saving Twilight’s life in the everfree. Everyone seems so surprised that I even did that,” I responded as I picked up the last apple.

“Well, to be honest, sugar-cube, you’re the only human I’ve, and some of us have ever met. Most of us hear stories about ya’ll but never get to see ya.’ That leaves expectations. Ones that you don’t meet for all the right reasons,” Applejack said as she walked over to another tree, giving It a kick.

“Well, that’s at least good to hear. Still, I don’t see why they act that way,” I said as I walked over to start picking the next set of apples.

“Well… you did say that you were only half human. Maybe that also explains why,” Applejack said, kicking another tree.

I shook my head in disagreement as I spoke, “I don’t think so. I mean, don’t ponies have some bad apples?”

“I mean, we do. But our mean ain’t the same as a human mean,” Applejack responded, walking over to the next tree.

“Still, you have them. Heck, if someone like my mother came here, she would be more like Fluttershy than even me,” I said, putting an apple in a basket.

“I don’t rightfully know then, sugar cube. Do you miss her?” Applejack asked, pausing to stare at me.

Caught off guard, I paused to think before responding, “Every day. She probably thinks that I am missing or even dead. If I could, I would tell her that I was safe and sound so she would worry less.”

“I can relate to ya.’ I lost my ma and pa at a young age. I would give a whole lot to see them just one more time,” Applejack said with a heavy sigh while kicking a tree.

With a bit of mutual respect and sorrow, we continued to work our way through the acre, with Applejack kicking the trees and me picking up the wannabe escapees. With each tree, the sun started to get brighter, shining down on us. We talked about the smaller stuff, like Equestria and her farm, which reminded me of the varmints that the Apples were dealing with.

“Hey, applejack?” I said with a questioning tone.

“Yeah,” Applejack responded.

“I was talking to Wolfsbane the other day, and she said that you all had been dealing with some pests. How has that been going?” I asked as I picked up an apple.

“it’s… it’s going,” Applejack replied with a sigh.

“What do you mean?” I asked, tossing an apple in the basket.

“Well, we done and lost around 10% of this year's apples. Even one of the chickens was taken,” Applejack responded.

“That sounds bad. Is Wolfsbane being any help with them?” I asked.

“of course she is. If it wasn’t for her, those numbers might be doubled or tripled,” Applejack responded.

“Does she really stay up all night just to take care of them?” I asked.

“Well, the boar squirrels are mostly nocturnal, so she kind of has to. But from the looks of it, she doesn’t seem to mind all that much. It almost seems like she prefers it even,” Applejack replied.

“Does she live on the farm or close by?” I asked.

“Well, we are letting her stay in one of the few guest cabins we have. They’re not big by most cases, but for one pony, there enough to live pretty good,”

“Where are the cabins at? I might want to visit her sometime,” I asked.”

“Oh, there is a little path that leads to them behind the barn. The cabins are about a minute's walk,” Applejack replied as she kicked another tree.

“Does that, you know…hurt?” I asked as I leaned down to pick up an apple.

“Apple bucking, no, of course not. It is just like stomping on the ground,” Applejack replied.

“Huh. It looks like it would hurt,” I said.

“Nah, don’t hurt one bit. You wanna give it a try?” Applejack asked cocking a smile as she stepped to the side of one of the trees.

Walking up to the tree, I looked it over before looking at Applejack. "You sure? Aren’t we on a time frame?”

“It’s fine. We're making good time anyway. One tree won’t hurt all that much,” Applejack said.

Standing in front of the tree, I looked at it before turning my head to Applejack again. “I just kick it, right?”

“Yep, just get it at the base,” Applejack replied.

Looking down, I readied myself as I planted my feet firmly on the ground while bending my knees. In one quick action, I moved my right leg, allowing the side of my foot to connect with the tree. This caused the tree to shake a bit and my heel to hurt, but no apples fell. Bringing my foot down, I couldn’t put much pressure on it, but enough to still walk.

“You good?” Applejack asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied, keeping a straight face as I felt the unbearable heat starting to accumulate in my heel.

“You sure? You don’t seem to be putting much weight on that foot of yours,” Applejack said, coming a bit closer.

“Yeah, just a bit of pain. It will be gone in a moment. Although it might end up a bit sore,” I said, knowing full well that soreness was a side effect of the heat.

“Okay, well, step aside so I can get that tree out of the way,” Applejack said as she walked even closer to the tree.

“Wait, hold up. I want to try something before you do,” I said as I raised my hands.

“Oh, and what would that be?” Applejack asked, raising her left eyebrow.

“Well, if a kick didn’t work, I want to try a punch and see if that works,” I responded as I turned to the tree.

“Fine. But this is your last try before we have to get back to work,” Applejack said, stepping back again.

Nodding, I raised my hands up as the heat in my heel subsided, leaving me with a bit of soreness. Throwing the punch, it connected to the base of the tree, causing it to shake a bit more than if Applejack had kicked it. One by one, the apples fell to the waiting baskets below. Lowering my hand, I felt a bit of soreness, but nothing like my heel had been.

“Woah,” I whispered to myself.

“Woah, Nelly, remind me not to get into a hoof fight with you,” Applejack said as she approached the tree and looked at the apples.

“Oh, you would still win. Not much of a fighter,” I said as I started walking over to pick up the apples that had bounced out.

“I know. Still, you’d probably give me a run for my bits,” Applejack said as she walked over to the next tree. “Okay, let's get back to it.”

“How much longer do you think it will take us?” I asked.

“Oh, no more than an hour left. Knowing twilight, she and Spike are already done and waitin’ for us. Why, what do you got waitin’?” Applejack responded.

“My bed and the mail,” I responded.

“What, do you got in the mail?” Applejack asked.

“A response letter from the Ponyville school board, remember?” I questioned Applejack’s memory.

“Oh yeah. Eh, you've got plenty of time. Mail doesn’t usually start getting delivered until 9 AM, " Applejack said.

“Still, my bed calls to me,” I joked, causing Applejack to roll her eyes.

~~~~>>><<<~~~~

With a final kick, the final section of our part of the acre came to a close. The apples fell to the baskets and the ground, and Applejack let out a satisfied sigh. I began to pick up the final apples from the grass, and Applejack started speaking.

“Woah. Don’t it feel good to be finished? " Applejack said as she removed her cowboy hat, exposing her golden blonde hair to the chill air.

“Yes, it does. So, what are we going to do with all these baskets?” I asked as I leaned down, picking up a few apples.

Applejack put her cowboy hat back on and responded, “The golems will get that. Let's head back.”

As Applejack started to walk away, I tossed the last apple into a basket. Breaking into a light jog with my still sore heel, I caught up to Applejack as we both made our way out of this ‘apple field.’

As we walked through the field, one of Applejack’s pebble golems passed us with a large box on its back filled about halfway with apples. Watching it for a moment, I saw that as it walked, it would pick up a basket and dump the contents into the large box before setting it down and moving on to the next.

“Huh, they seem useful to have around,” I said as I turned my head back to Applejack.

“Oh, you have no idea. They are as dumb as a box of rocks, but ever since we got them last year, they have been so much help with the manual labor. Especially for the hard-to-carry things that basically need those finger things or magic,” Applejack said, making a quick gesture to my hands.

“Yeah, these things are pretty useful,” I said as I wiggled my fingers next to her face.

“Hey, cut it out,” Applejack giggled as she swatted my hands away.

“Okay, okay,” I said as I lowered my hands.

Slowly but surely, we exited the apple field to find Twilight and Spike sitting on the grass next to Applejack’s barn. Spike was on his back looking at the clouds, while Twilight was looking down, reading a book. As we approached them, Spike turned his head and noticed us.

Sitting up, he tapped Twilight on her side, getting her attention as he spoke, “Twilight, look, Applejack and Jack are done…. The Jacks are done.”

Twilight raised her head from her book with a warm smile as she started to speak. " Are you two done?”

“Yes, Surrey. Are Apple Bloom and Big Mac done yet?” Applejack asked.

“Well, from the looks of it, they just got done, too,” Twilight said cocking her head to the side and looking at the trees.

Applejack and I turned around to see Big Mac and Apple Bloom walking out of the apple fields. With so much energy, Apple Bloom ran up to Applejack, stopping right in front of her.

“Applejack, Applejack! Can I go bowling with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo after school?” Apple Bloom asked, jumping up and down.

“Well, I don’t see why not. Please stay out of trouble,” Applejack said.

“Yay,” Apple Bloom said as she ran off to her house, quickly going inside before exiting just as quickly with her saddlebags before running down the dirt road. “See ya’ll later.”

Turning to look at Twilight, she looked up at me with that same warm smile as I spoke, “Is Stonehenge sill out?”

“Yeah, he should be done soon. Sit next to me as we wait,” Twilight said as she tapped the grass next to her.

Walking over to Twilight, I brought myself to the soft grass beside her. With that warm smile, Twilight turned her attention back to her book as Spike returned to cloud-gazing. Applejack and Big Mac started to take stock of what the golems had brought in so far, boxing and preserving them for the upcoming winter.

We waited for around 30 minutes as Stonehenge and the pebble golems walked in and out of the apple fields carrying large boxes of apples. With his larger stature, Stonehenge had a harder time fitting through the trees, but due to his more profound strength, he could carry three of the boxes in one hand, allowing him to get more in one go. I began to lay on my back using Twilight’s side as a makeshift pillow.

As I lay there listening to Twilight’s breathing as I faded in and out of reality, the golems started to finish. Applejack and Big Mac began to slow down, boxing the apples. Stonehenge made his way over to the rest of us. The ground shook normally as he stood looking down at us.

“We go?” Stonehenge asked, kneeling slightly.

“Yeah, we can go now,” Twilight responded as she shifted her weight string me back to reality.

Lifting my head, Twilight used her magic to put her book back into her saddlebag as she stood up, stretching her legs. Spike quickly hopped to his feet before running over to Stonehenge, who eagerly picked him up and put him on his shoulder. Standing to my feet, I stretched and let out a yawn.

Applejack walked over to us as we readied to leave, “ya’ll heading out?”

“Yeah, it seems like the best time to head home. See you tomorrow at Sugar Cube Corner,” Twilight said as she hugged Applejack.

“See ya’ll tomorrow,” Applejack said before releasing Twilight and turning to me. “See ya later, Jack, and good luck with the school board.”

“Thanks, Applejack,” I said as we started to walk away.

Slowly, we made our way off the apple farm, watching the rustic countryside disappear behind us, only to be replaced by the small town in front of us. As we walked, we passed by the schoolhouse, where young fillies and colts entered past Cheerilee, who greeted them with an energetic smile.

Continuing our way home, I saw the familiar gingerbread house. I had learned that Pinkie Pie lived and worked under two ponies, a husband and wife called the Cakes, who were expecting in the next month or two. The place sold both hand or ‘hoof’ made candies and baked goods.

Walking past, I saw the treehouse come into view. As we approached, I saw a grey pegasus pony with golden hair flying clumsily toward the front of the treehouse before crashing into the wall face first. Picking up the pace, Twilight, and I both ran up to the wobbly pony, only to find that it was the pony with the cross eyes I had seen at my party.

“Derpy, are you okay?” Twilight asked concerningly.

The grey Pegasus rubbed her head for a moment before looking at Twilight. " Oh, hi, Twilight. What are you doing here?”

“Derpy, I live here,” Twilight responded with less concern and a more deadpan tone.

Derpy looked at the tree house for a moment before turning back to us. " Oh yeah, sorry, but I’m looking for a…,” she paused for a moment, digging in her back, before pulling out a letter and squinting her eyes. “A Mack…no Back…uhh Rack.”

“Would it be for a Jack?” I asked.

“Uhh … m-maybe,” Derpy responded.

“I’m Jack,” I said.

Derpy looked at the letter and then back at me a few times before smiling, “Oh, hi Jack, long time no see. I got a letter for you,” she said as she held out the letter for me to take.

Taking the letter in my hand before Derpy started to stretch her wings and began to take flight once more. Giving us a wave goodbye, she flew off as gracefully as a feather caught in the wind.

“So who is it from?” Twilight asked, trying to stretch her neck to see the letter better.

Looking down at the letter, I read that it was from the ‘Ponyville school board.’ Feeling my breathing increase, I quickly tore open the letter and began to read it quickly. They thanked me for reaching out and told me to come to the town hall on Monday to discuss a possible solution with the school board.

“What does it say?” Twilight asked on the tips of her hoofs, trying to read the letter.

“It’s from the school board. They want to meet with me on Monday,” I responded as I handed the letter to Twilight.

She looked over the letter before saying, “This is good. This is what you wanted.”

“Yeah, but I need to look presentable. You think Rarity can make me a suit and tie?” I asked, a bit panicked.

“She would be more than willing to help you. We can head there tomorrow before heading to Sugar Cube Corner, " Twilight said as she pushed open the door.

“Yeah, okay, yeah,” I said, frazzled with a mixture of happiness and fatigue.

“Yes, no rush. We have four days tomorrow, plenty of time to get ready,” Twilight said with a smile.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I said as I started to pace around the room.

“When am I not? What are you doing,” Twilight asked as she watched me walk in a large circle.

“Thinking,” I responded as I continued to walk.

“Well, try not to wear yourself out,” Twilight said as she started to look over my organization from yesterday.

I continued to spend the rest of the afternoon pacing around the room, playing the possibilities in my head. If this worked out, it would be a dream come true. It also meant that I would be getting paid, and I could finally pay back Twilight for all she had done for me. I had to make sure I nailed this.

Author's Note

Hey guys, how are you doing this bi-weekly update? First, I wanna say the hardest thing about the story so far is when it comes to the seasons, not like show seasons, but actual seasons. I always wonder what I should do, whether to follow the main show as best as possible or deviate a bit. Cause most of the time, the show takes place during mid spring, other than a few episodes

Love you all. Leave a comment.