Second Chances

Second Chances
By Hero541
Chapter 4: How Do I Go Home?

Never in his life had Josh realized all the different things one could make with apples. Before him lay apple fritters, apple tarts, apple strudel, apple pie, baked apples, apple cinnamon crisp… and of course, apple juice and apple cider. His jaw hung slightly as he took it all in. In all the confusion he was dealing with, what with being in a strange world filled with talking ponies, (who could apparently build, cook, and grow produce like humans) he hadn’t realized that he hadn’t eaten. His stomach rumbled loudly, and he looked around the table at everyone seated.

“Well,” said Granny Smith, looking at Josh happily, “don’t be shy, young’n. Dig in!”

Josh happily obliged, grabbing the nearest plate of apple tarts he could see and placing several on his plate. In minutes, he was gorging himself on everything he could see, while the entire Apple Family just stared at him, some with excitement, some with apprehension, and Granny Smith in particular with nothing more than blissful ignorance. Josh didn’t notice, or even care. He’d never been this hungry before, and it felt great to be able to finally get something in his aching stomach.

“Nice to know you’re not afraid to eat a little.” said Granny Smith, smiling at Josh as the human shoveled more food into his maw.

Josh paused for the first time since he began eating, and noticed all four ponies looking at him. He quickly swallowed, and spoke.

“It helps when you haven’t eaten in a while.” he said, wiping his mouth.

“That’d explain why you’re wolfin’ it down like a parasprite.” said Applejack, biting down on a fritter.

Josh, who had begun drinking his apple juice, almost did a spit-take at those words.

“Like a what?” he spluttered, trying not to choke to death from the sweet drink entering his trachea.

“It’s an annoying little pest around here that eats everythin’ it sees.” replied Big Mac, reaching for another bite to eat, “One’s bad. A swarm of em could eat their way through all of Equestria.”

There it was again. That name... What could it be?

“What exactly is Equestria?” he asked, almost forgetting his food as the question plagued his mind once more.

“Well,” began Applejack, swallowing her bite of fritter, “That’s where we are.”

“So, everything around here is Equestria?” asked Josh , “Even this farm?”

“Eeyup.” replied Big Mac simply.

“Right now, we’re on Sweet Apple Acres,” Applejack continued, “just about two miles from Ponyville. It’s a nice little town, that Ponyville.”

“Do you think anyone there will be able to send me home?”

Applejack put a hoof to her chin in contemplation.

“Maybe Twilight Sparkle. She’s one of the most powerful unicorns in all of Equestria. Other than Princess Luna and Celestia, of course. Though technically, they’re not really unicorns…”

Applejack trailed off, but Josh had heard enough. He stood from the table, causing everypony to look to him once more.

“Thanks, you guys.” he said, turning to walk away, “That’s all I needed to know. Ciao.”

“Do ya’ll need help? I could take you to Ponyville!” called Applejack after him, rushing out to see Josh.

“I think I’ll be alright.” he replied, reaching for the door, “All I’ve gotta do is find this... Twilight Sparkle, right? Shouldn’t be too hard.”

“You sure, sugarcube?” asked the orange pony, removing her hat and looking at him with concern.

“I’m a big boy, AJ.” he said, patting her on the head, “I can take care of myself.”

Josh opened the door and turned to leave, when he looked down and saw a white pony with a curly indigo-purple mane looking at him, her hoof raised in midair as she had clearly just been preparing to knock on the door. Through her dark mane, Josh could see a small horn poking up.

“Oh!” exclaimed the rather surprised unicorn, taking a step back from Josh, “You’re the last thing I expected to see when I came to Applejack’s door. Nice to see you’re feeling better.”

She smiled sweetly up at him, her blue eyes filled with excitement at the prospect of meeting a new person.

“Are you Twilight Sparkle?” asked Josh, unable to take his eyes off her horn.

“What?” said the unicorn, pointing a white marshmallow hoof to herself, “Me? No, I’m afraid I’m not. My name is Rarity. What’s yours?”

“Josh.” he begrudgingly replied, preparing to walk past her and head in the direction of Ponyville.

“That’s a nice name.” said Rarity still smiling at him sweetly.

Josh didn’t even thank her for the compliment. He simply nodded, and ducked down, stepping out the door and into the bright morning sun. He made it halfway to the farm’s gate, when he heard Rarity call after him.

“Wait!” she said, galloping over to stand in front of him once more, “If you don’t mind my asking, darling, what exactly do you need Twilight for anyway?”

“I was told she could send me home.” he simply replied, turning once more towards the gate.

“Would you like me to show you to where she lives?” called Rarity, causing Josh to stop once more.

Now, he was definitely getting annoyed. He just wanted to tell her to fuck off, that he could find this pony on his own and didn’t need help. However, as he thought about it, he didn’t even know where Ponyville could be. AJ had said it wasn’t too far off, but he still wasn’t quite sure where it was. And, even if he got there, there’d be no guarantee that any other ponies would be willing to help him.

“Sure.” he called over his shoulder, continuing his walk once more, “Just don’t slow me down. I’ve got a time table to keep here, and I can’t afford any more delays.”

Rarity galloped up next to him, smiling as the two walked away from the farm and headed for the little town.

*****

Josh didn’t know how much more of the talkative unicorn he could take. For the love of God, he thought, inwardly cringing as Rarity continued talking about her little sister, Will you please shut the fuck up!

“And, of course, she just had to reorganize my inspiration room. However, it all worked out for the better, as I was able to create the perfect new line. It’s called “Full Spectrum Fashions”! Catchy, wouldn’t you agree, darling?”

Josh, for what seemed like the hundredth time today, simply grunted in agreement. He hoped that would silence the unicorn at last, but that hope was quickly extinguished.

“Oh dear.” she exclaimed, face-hoofing a little, “I’ve been talking so much about myself, I didn’t even ask anything about you!”

Josh simply peered at Rarity out of the corner of his eye. At least I’ll get the chance to fucking talk a little.

“What do you want to know?” he asked, not taking his eyes off the road before him.

“Hmm…” thought Rarity, peering up in thought, “Oh! What is it you do for a living?”

Josh smiled a little and said, “I’m a music producer.”

“Ooooo.” said Rarity, her eyes widening a little, “How exotic. What kind of music do you produce, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Electronic music. Mostly dubstep.”

“Dubstep?” mused Rarity, looking confused, “What’s dubstep, exactly?”

That made Josh stop walking and look at the mare traipsing along beside him. Did they not have electronic music in this pony-filled world? Did they even have music?

“It’s…” he paused, trying best to find a way to phrase what dubstep was.

To him, it was more than just music. It was a way of life, the one thing that made him get out of bed some mornings. Whenever he would listen to it, he completely lost himself in it’s heavy, hypnotic trance and the world around him seemed to melt away. But how do you phrase that to a pony who doesn’t even know what it was? He put his hand in his pocket to contemplate a proper response, when he felt it: his iPod.

With a type of giddiness he hadn’t felt since he was a child, he pulled it out and examined it. At least that bitch in the hotel didn’t steal this he thought, unlocking it and opening up to the song list.

“What’s that?” asked Rarity, looking at the shiny object in Josh’s hand.

“The one thing I can use to tell you exactly what dubstep is.”

Finding a song he liked, he unplugged the ear buds attached to it, and hit play. The piece started off slow, and he felt his body begin to move with the beat as it blasted through his speaker. Looking down, he saw Rarity had a look on her face that was a mix of confusion and pain. In only a matter of seconds, the drop came, bringing with it a heavy, syncopated chorus of almost animal-like electronic rumbling and the occasional growl of a mixer.

“Well,” said Rarity, flipping her ear with a hoof, “that was rather… harsh.”

“That’s the idea.” he replied, placing the device in his pocket, glad to be able to hear his music again.

“And you make that kind of music?” she asked, concern etched across her face.

“Been doing it for years. I was supposed to continue my latest tour this week, but I ended up here somehow. That’s why I’ve gotta be home as soon as possible.”

“Well, if anyone can help you return, I’m sure it’ll be Twilight!”

“Good.”

As Josh looked ahead, he saw a small town start to come into view. That must be Ponyville.

“Almost there.” said Rarity, beaming towards the small village, “Just a little while longer.”

At that, Josh picked up his pace slightly, all too eager to find this Twilight Sparkle and return home to continue his tour. Rarity had to canter to keep up with the human now, whose long legs allowed him to walk a little faster than the unicorn. In no time at all, they were entering the small town of Ponyville.

The town was very true to it’s name. Everywhere Josh looked, he saw colorful coated ponies walking, sitting, chatting, and tending stalls and stores. For a while, he simply took in his surroundings, unable to believe his eyes. Several of the tiny creatures even stopped to look at Josh, no doubt sharing his look of confusion. At one point, a small blue winged filly with a white mane pointed to Josh and said, “Look mommy! What’s that?”

The filly’s mother, who had a soft pink coat and long blue mane, simply put her wing over the curious child and pushed her along, looking confusedly towards Josh.

“This way, darling.” said Rarity, grabbing his hand with her magic and pulling him away from the crowd of ponies now assembling to see this strange new creature that had entered their town.

Josh looked to his hand and saw the light blue glow around it. He attempted to shake it off, but found he couldn’t move it. It wasn’t till he looked to Rarity and saw the same color surrounding her horn that he made the connection. She dragged him through the town, trying her best to ignore the stares she was beginning to get as Josh trailed behind her. After what seemed like an eternity, they stood in front of a giant tree, one which had windows and lanterns all around it, as well as a balcony. A sign out front had a giant picture of a book on it.

“Here we are.” chimed Rarity, releasing Josh and walking towards the door. Josh followed suit, and watched as Rarity knocked on the little wooden structure.

“Coming!” said a cheery voice from inside.

In no time, the door opened, and revealed a lavender unicorn who had a long bluish mane that contained one drawn out pink and purple streak going through its length.

“Hello Rarity.” said the unicorn, smiling at her friend, “What can I… help…you…with…”

She trailed off as she noticed the tall human next to her alabaster friend. He simply stared down at her, waiting to be invited inside. The unicorn eyed Josh rather cautiously, her pupils dilating and her ears pressing flat against her skull.

“Twilight, dear,” said Rarity, breaking the silence at last, “This is Josh. Josh, this is Twilight Sparkle.”

“Ch-charmed.” said Twilight, still not taking here eyes off the human before her.

“Ahem.” Rarity cleared her throat, “May we come in? Josh needs to talk with you about something you can help him with.”

Her trance seemingly broken, Twilight shook her head slightly.

“Oh! Of course! Sorry. Come on in and make yourself at home.”

Twilight stepped aside and both Rarity and Josh walked in, the tall human ducking down to not hit his head. The inside of the tree was filled with shelf after shelf after shelf of books. In the center stood a wooden bust of a stallion warrior, and off to the side, Josh could see a staircase that led upstairs.

“Is this a library or something?” Josh asked, walking over to a shelf and thumbing through the small tomes.

“That it is!” replied Twilight, happily, “The only library in Ponyville. And I get to live here!”

Josh heard what sounded like a small squeak toy as he turned to look at Twilight’s beaming face. As he did so, something small, purple, and scaly descended the staircase.

“Hey, Twilight,” said the creature, holding two books in his tiny claws, “Which book was it Cloud Chaser wanted?”

“I think she wanted them both.” replied the unicorn, “Just put them on the layaway shelf for now. I think Blossomforth said she’d stop by soon and pick them up for her.”

The creature nodded, then turned and caught sight of Josh. They locked eyes and simply stared at one another for a while, both books falling from the scaly creature’s hands.

“Oh, where are my manners?” said Twilight, face-hoofing, “Spike, this is Josh. He’s the creature Applejack called us out to investigate this morning. Josh, this is Spike. He’s my assistant here at the library.”

Not a word was spoken between the two. They simply continued to stare at one another, both almost transfixed by the other. Finally, after what seemed like an agonizing eternity, Josh spoke and broke the uncomfortable silence.

“What are you?”

Spike stared for a second more before shaking his head and saying, “I’m a dragon. What’re you?”

“I’m a human.” replied Josh not taking his eyes off the small dragon, “You seem kinda small for a dragon. Aren’t dragons supposed to be huge and fucking shit up all over the place?”

“Josh!” exclaimed Rarity, taken aback by the sudden use of profanity, “Watch your language! Spike is a baby dragon.”

Corrected by a pony?! Again?! And this one’s doing some kind of shitty Audrey Hepburn impression!

“It’s okay, Rares.” said Spike, looking over to the mare with an airy expression on his face, “It’s not like I haven’t heard it before. You have no idea what Twilight’s like when she gets frustrated.”

Everyone in the room now looked to the purple unicorn, who blushed and smiled weakly. Again, a sound like a squeak toy rang out.

“What was that?” asked Josh, looking around for the source of the disturbance.

“What was what, dear?” said Rarity.

“The…” Josh trailed off. It was no use.

“Nevermind.” he said, looking to Twilight, “Can you help me or not?”

“I don’t even know what you want.”

“I need to get home. I’m not sure how I got here, or why, for that matter, but I just need to go home. I’ve got a lot more stops on my tour right now, and I can’t afford to wait anymore. I should be on my way to Portland right now, and Liam’s gonna be pissed if I don’t get back soon. So, I just need you to use whatever freaky magic you can to get my happy ass outta here.”

Twilight bit her lip and looked up to Josh, a slight twinge of fear in her eyes.

“That all makes sense.” she said, nervously scratching the back of her neck with a hoof, “And I’m flattered you came to me for something like this. But…”

“But what?”

Twilight looked cautiously towards the tall human standing before her, trying to find the best way to phrase what needed to be said. Finally, she just sighed and spoke.

“But… I’m afraid… I don’t know how to send you home.”