August Rush's Log Entries

I've given it some thought over the past few days of whether or not I should write anymore. Especially after what went down last time. But, I feel obligated to continue. I hadn't written about the other ponies I had met after stopping by Sugarcube Corner for the first time.

Besides, I hardly doubt that I'll 'suffer' if I don't solve out this problem... Wait. What problem? What problem am I facing right now? Besides the fact that I'm still here, in this world. Is that it? Do I have to figure out how to get back home? No. That doesn't make any sense. He said that it involved Twilight... Now I'm really confused. I don't have a problem with Twilight and she doesn't have a problem with me. Or so I think. But, if she did have a problem with me, why does she still seem delighted that I'm here? In Equestria?

What is this problem?

...

And so it begins...

...

Twilight had introduced me to her friends at Sugarcube Corner just a few weeks ago and ever since they've been the greatest friends I've come to known. Twilight and the others left after a brief introduction and a few incredible cupcakes, for they all had work to do. Before she left though, she asked,

"August, since everypony has to leave so early, even though they've all just met you, why don't you tag along with one of them?" Twilight nudged against me, an almost eager push. "You could get to know them a lot better if you did. It might help you get used to being here."

"Alright." I swallowed hard. I had only just met them and still felt uncomfortable even though they let me join into their group without hesitation. It was odd. It was nothing I had ever experienced before. To just be accepted after a brief minute, not knowing who I was. WHAT I was before...

After a few hesitations, I finally worked up the courage to ask the orange pony that was just leaving.

"Ahem... Ughhh.. hi." I stammered a bit, but it could've come out worse. She turned away from walking out the door to greet me.

"Well, howdy. August raght?" (I don't how to write in her southern accent so I'm trying my best here.) I nodded and gave a half smile.

"Twilight said that I.. ummm.. should 'tag along' and... maybe help...?" She cocked her head to the side, eyes narrowed, then frowned. I knew that I was showing off my anxiety but I couldn't help it. I mean, I barely knew her.

"You alraght, sugarcube?"

Sugarcube? Nicknames? WE ONLY JUST MET!

I winced at the sudden pain in my head.

"Ugghh... yeah. Fine, just fine," I rubbed my head with my hoof. "Just nervous... and have a bit of a headache now."

"Well, ya don't hafta be nervous 'round me. I'm the friendliest pony here!" She smiled and held out her hoof. I shook it. "Names Applejack, and if ya want to lend a hoof, just follow me." I smiled and began to feel a little more comfortable.

(Good,) I thought to myself, (this is going good so far...)

We walked together out of Sugarcube Corner, past the buildings, carts, and shops and continued to walk down a dirt path. It was great day, that day. Warm, the sun shining, obscured a little, though for the path was bordered with trees on both sides. The birds chirped away as Applejack and I walked together.

Applejack. Really the first one I officially met of Twilight's friends. She was, again, orange with blond hair and always wore what I think as a cowboy hat, similar to those back home. She also had a physical feature about her that I became very interested in. It was that she had three red apples on her flank. In fact, most, if not all, of the ponies I had seen or met had a picture of something on their upper hip. I didn't know what to make of it. I had to stop and ask.

"What is that?" Like an idiot, I pointed at her.

"Better watch what yer pointin' at..." She said, eyes glaring. My cheeks became incredibly warm and I know, now, that I was blushing at her remark.

"Ughhh.. no, no.. no. I.. I.."

"Listen, is that s'posed to be the beginnin' of a pickup line?"

"No... no. That's not wh..."

"'Cause, I'm not that kind'a pony."

"Applejack! No! I didn't mean.... No! I meant that! Those apples, there!" I was completely red faced now, and sweating. It was the most awkward thing I had ever experienced in my entire life.

"Oh!" She looked down at the apples then back up at me. She laughed. "Whoops! Sorry there, sugarcube!" She also became red, but acted nothing of it as she continued laughing. I chuckled a little, still a bit embarrassed and bright red from the last few seconds. Applejack stopped her laughing after a few more moments.

"Why, that's mah cutie mark!"

Excuse me?

"A what?"

"Cutie mark. You don't know what a cutie mark is?" I shook my head and stared blankly at her, frowning. She frowned back at me. "Yer an odd feller, aren't ya...?"

I shrugged at her remark. She didn't know who I was. She didn't know that I was human; that I wasn't from her world. I knew exactly what she meant.

Again with the different planet theory, huh?

(Knock that off! Yes, I still don't exactly know what this place is, so I'm calling it a planet for the time being! What would you have me call it?!)

...Good point...

"Also looks like you don't have one yerself."

I stared down at my own flank. She was right. It was bare. Nothing of an image was present. Just.....fur. I wasn't sure what to make of it. Most of the ponies had one. Why didn't I? Was it because I was human?

"A cutie mark appears when we find aur special talent in life." Applejack adjusted her hat atop her head.

"Hmmm...... odd." I looked back up at Applejack. "Wonder when I'll get mine."

"Still strange, though. You lookin' as old as you might be, without a cutie mark." Applejack eyed at me. "Where did you say you were from?"

"Ugghhh...." I gulped. I still didn't have a story of where I had come from. Saying 'Chicago' was probably a bad idea. These ponies looked like they new their kingdom, inside and out. I just pointed off in the direction as I did for Twilight. "Ugghhhh.... back that way...?"

Applejack put on a confused face. I swallowed again. Hard.

"Out far....?"

"......Quite..." She stared at me, her eyes burning into my very soul.

"Fillydelphia?"

"Yes that's it!," I acted as though relieved. "I'm sorry. My head is just not cooperating with me today." I rubbed my forehead, trying to hold back an awkward smile.

"Hm. Well, that's a long distance for somepony just walkin' all the way to Ponyville."

Oh great, here we go again...

We continued walking down the path again.

"Why did'ya come all the way to Ponyville anyway?"

(Great, I don't have a story for that either!)

Should've thought it through, dip****

(Shutup!)

"Well,..um.... I was just came to visit Twilight," I bit my lower lip. "For a while..."

"Oh well, that's kind of you. Though, Twi hasn't mentioned you before."

"We... we went our separate ways a long while back." I stared straight head at the last statement, trying not to make eye contact with her. But, I knew she was eyeing me.

"Oh, ahhhh get it." I took a quick glance at her. She winked at me. My jaw dropped, realizing the state of the gesture.

(Great. First she thinks I was hitting on her, now she thinks I was in a relationship with Twilight. Just great!)

Least somebody gets it...  Oop, least somepony gets it...

I rubbed at my forehead, once more,

We didn't speak the rest of the way down the path. We eventually came to a clearing that opened up to an open gate that held a sign that read, 'Sweet Apple Acres'. There was a beautiful red barn, a large house, some sheds, and farming equipment scattered around.

"Well, here we are!" Applejack gestured towards the aforementioned barn.

"Just what kind of things do you farm around here?" I wasn't stupid. I knew right off the bat that it was a farm. There was a large amount of farmland around and, duh! The barn!

"Celery, carrots, and apples." Applejack lead me towards the barn. "Wait here." She said, then disappeared inside.

At the time, I didn't know what she wanted me to do. If she wanted me to farm, in what way you did so, I probably wasn't going to be very good at it. I lived in the city. There weren't many farms there or even around the area. Green land, in particular, was far from Chicago.

Applejack returned rather quickly from inside the barn with a few baskets. She laid two down beside me.

"Could'ya carry those for me?"

"Certainly." I threw them upon my back, stacking them inside each other.

"Well, you must know Twi if yer talkin' like that." She laughed.

(Again? What's wrong with the way I talk?)

I rolled my eyes.

"What are we doing anyway?" I was still hooked on the whole 'farming' idea. She smiled, almost devilishly.

"Applebucking..."

Huh?

(What?)

"Excuse me?"

Applebucking. Well, by Applejack's definition, it meant bucking apples off trees. To me, after a few long hours, hard work. After filling a few baskets and saying farewell, I continued to find the other ponies I had met at the cake shop.

(Hm. Actually, I thought I saw one of them stay behind. Maybe she works there?)

A good place to start.

I made it back into town and saw Twilight sitting at a small table outside. I smiled and walked up to her.

"Hey Twilight!" She looked up from the book she was reading.

"Oh hi, August," She smiled back at me. "How are things going? Getting used to being here?"

"Sort of. I helped out Applejack buck apples. That's exhausting." I let out a sigh and sat down in an open chair across from her. She laughed.

"Yeah, it is. I was sore for a week after my first time bucking."

Bahahahahahaha!!

(What are you laughing at?)

Er... em.... no..nothing.....er...haha..

Twilight took a sip of her tea that was sitting next to her book. "What are you doing now?"

"I was just on my way back to Sugarcube Corner. I thought I saw one of your friends stay behind."

"You mean Pinkie Pie?"

Oh gosh.

"Ughhh... yeah. Pinkie...?"

"I'd be careful if I were you," Twilight gave me a worried look. "She's a little..... well she's nuts." Twilight laughed.

"Oh, that's just what I need.," I said, sarcastically.  I got up from the chair. "I'll see you later." I turned from her and started off towards the shop.

"August," I stopped. "Come back to the library when you've had enough of her." Twilight chuckled.

"Library?"

"Home. The tree." She smiled.

"Oh...oh-okay."

Home. She said home. Wow.

I was just a stranger. Stranger still, saying that I was once human. She didn't say that I was nuts, didn't say I was creepy, weird, insane. Nothing like that. She just brought me back to her home. Invited me in. Told me to stay the night. Took care of me. And now.... after a day, one day, of being here, telling me that her home was also mine. Incredible... Just.... Wow...

Now you're starting to see it.

(Would you...! You're... You're ruining the moment!)

I walked away and into Sugarcube Corner. There were a few ponies inside, enjoying a treat and a conversation, some ordering goods at a counter. It was a good place to start. I decided to step in line and ask the blue colored pony that worked behind it. When it was my turn I asked,

"Yes, hello. I'm August Rush. I was wondering if a certain pony named 'Pinkie Pie' worked here."

"Why, hello there August! I'm Mrs. Cake. Pinkie is just 'round the corner. Hold on a second."

What's with all these weird names?

(Do we really need to get into this discussion?)

It was just a question, calm down.

Mrs. Cake quickly returned along with a pink colored pony.

(That's gotta be her.)

What was your first clue? The pink?

She walked around the corner of the counter. She was indeed pink; fur and mane both, and had three balloons as her cutie mark.

"Hi there! I'm August. I was here before with Twili..." I was interrupted by a sudden burst of energy.

"HII'MPINKIEPIE!YOUWEREHEREBEFOREWITHMYGOODFRIEND,TWILIGHT!THAT'SGREAT!WE'REGONNABETHEBESTOFFRIENDS! Huuuuuuuuuuuuuu! ISHOULDTHROWYOUAWELCOMINGPARTY!"

(...)

Holy s***....

I stood there, wobbling, trying to keep my balance, my ears ringing and my head starting to swim. The noise had come all at once and caught me way off guard. I dizzily looked around the shop. Most of the other ponies were shaking their heads, their hooves over their ears.

(What, they couldn't have warned me?)

I wouldn't have...

"Umm.. Tw..Twilight said.. I should help?"

"Hey, yeah! That's a great idea! Let's bake some cupcakes! And I'll show you to mix 'em up and frost 'em and..."

She kept on going but most of it was just gibberish. She lead me behind the counter into the next room which happened to be the kitchen. The room smelled entirely of baking goods and was so heavenly I started to drool a little. I'm actually surprised I didn't faint, with my head and ears still recovering mixed in with the scent. Upon most of the counters were a variety of bowls, mixers, spoons, and measuring cups; all covered in a fine layer of flour. It was an...... organized mess.

"Let's get to it!," She quickly started to wash a bowl in the sink located away from the center countertop. "I was just about to start a fresh batch!"

I smiled, remembering the times I used to cook for my family. My dad.... well there's really no need for explanation why he didn't. And my mom.... busy as she was, didn't have time to cook anything. I would come home from school everyday, get any of my homework done that I hadn't finished at school, and start on making dinner. I tried to cook something different every night. Usually, it was some sort of chicken with rice, corn, and green beans. Other times I made soup, or omelets. I liked my own cooking and so did the rest of family. I didn't bake anything though. I never made any kind of desert or treat. Just something I didn't consider important at the time.

"That's good. I've never made cupcakes before." Pinkie let out a gasp when she returned the now clean bowl to the countertop.

"Really? Never?" I shook my head.

"I've made other things, but never cupcakes."

"Well, that's about to change!," She put on a huge smile. "Right! First, we need sugar."

I spotted a bag in one of the corners of the kitchen. I threw it up on my back and then onto the counter. Pinkie ripped it open, and started to pour it into the bowl. She filled the bowl to the brim with sugar then just threw the empty bag behind her onto the floor. I cocked an eyebrow.

"That's a lot of sugar."

"Yeah! They need to be this sugary sweet!"

"Geez, that's enough sugar to kill a diabetic with one bite!"

"What's a diabetic?" I gave her a blank stare.

"You haven't heard of a diabetes before?" She wrinkled her nose and shook her head.

"Sounds silly!" Pinkie put back on her smile and went to one of the cupboards behind her.

Never heard of it? Do they just not have it in their world? Do they have different diseases here? Pinkie came back to the counter with other ingredients. "August! Could you get out some eggs?"

Chickens turned red after that one.

(Really?)

Covered in flour and sugar, I left Sugarcube Corner feeling a little woozy. After a day of applebucking, baking, and Pinkie's randomness, I was wore out. It was dusk when I returned to the library...........home. I opened the door to find Twilight levitating different books around the room. She'd look at one, shake her head, then move on to the next. To describe the picture in one word: Peculiar.

"Is reading all that you ever do?" I asked. Twilight turned to see me.

" Oh, hey!" She levitated the books back onto the shelves. She walked over to me, noticing my fine layer of flour. "Looks like you had your hooves full today." She chuckled.

"Yeah. I'm exhausted." Twilight smiled.

"Well, why don't you go wash up. There's a bath just 'round the corner there."

"Ok. Thank you." She nodded.

I left Twilight and went around past a sort of different rooms until I saw the bath and entered the room, shutting the door behind me. I turned on the hot water and climbed in, letting the tub fill up around me. It felt so good. The steam and the hot water released all the tension and stress of the day. It was so relaxing. I could've fallen asleep there. After awhile, I decided to officially wash up. I scrubbed of the caked on batter and flour and washed my hair. Stepping out I emptied the tub and found a towel hanging up to dry myself off with. I hung back up the towel and left towards the main foyer again. Twilight was at the same table we were at the previous night. She noticed me as I entered the room.

"Come." She said.

I hesitated but, headed over to her and sat down anyway. We sat for a few minutes in silence. She had gotten out the sheet of paper from last night too and had a quill ready. I raised an eyebrow.

"We're doing this again?"

"I wanted to ask you if you were up for it first..."

I looked down and stared at the table. I thought about for at least ten minutes. Twilight didn't seem to mind that I took a long while. She knew that this was still hard to take in.

"Ok. Fine," I finally looked back up at her. "I'm ready." She nodded.

"Now........ where should I begin?"

I reached out with my hoof and touched hers. She looked up from her paper and at me.

"Anywhere..."