Chapters Second ChancesBy Hero541
“What is it?”
“Ah’m not too sure on that one, Pinks.”
“Where’d it come from? Did it just fall out of the sky?”
“What a ridiculous notion, Rainbow. How could it just fall out of the sky?”
“Fine, Rarity. What do you think happened?”
“Well…. I’m not too sure.”
Josh heard voices that seemed distant and loud. His head was throbbing, a feeling he was pretty used to by now, but still could incapacitate him from time to time. Damn , he thought, what a wild night last night. That’s the last time I mix gin and blow at the same time... . He opened his eyes slowly and looked around. To his left was a medium-sized barn, bright red with white trim, a lavender roof, and an apple-adorned weathervane on top. To his right, acre after acre after acre of apple trees stretched before his eyes. What the fuck? he thought, Did that crazy bitch drop me off in fucking Kansas or something? He sat up and rubbed the back of his head, the pain growing slightly more intense as he moved.
“Look, girls. It’s getting up!”
“Can’t be too hurt then, I suppose.”
Josh stood and turned towards the voices he heard behind him. Initially, he stared at eye-level, expecting to see what he figured would be (judging from the voices) four girls looking at him. However, he saw no such thing, till he looked down. The shock of what he saw next made his brain nearly explode, and he fell to the ground once more.
“What the fuck is this?! What’s going on here?!” he shouted.
Before his eyes were six ponies, each about three feet tall and each brightly colored. Two of them had small horns on their heads, and two of them were floating in the air, flapping a small set of wings on their back. The last two looked somewhat ordinary, despite the fact one of them was wearing a brown Stetson hat.
“Whoa there, feller,” said the one in the hat, an orange pony with three red apples on her flank, “we’re not gonna hurt you or anything.”
“How’d I get here?! Where is here?!” Josh shouted, scooting back from the ponies before him.
“We should be the ones asking you how you got here” said one of the winged ponies, swooping down to face Josh, her cyan fur and bright rainbow mane almost hurting his eyes, “Why’re you on AJ’s farm?”
“Rainbow!” shouted the purple horned pony, stepping forward to push the winged pony out of the way, “There’s no need to be like that. I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why it’s here.” She paused. “You do have an explanation, don’t you?”
Josh couldn’t handle it anymore. The confusion about his surroundings, the horrible headache he had, coupled with the brightly colored mares that surrounded him became too much. His head started to swim, and he passed out once more, darkness overtaking his mind as he saw the bright colors fade from his vision.
“Quick! Get him inside!” was all he heard from the orange pony as he slipped into unconsciousness once again.
*****
Josh stepped off the stage into the back room, sweat dripping from his brow, his hat completely askew. He had just had yet another successful show in Los Angeles, and was ready to head back to his room for the night, excited by what could be awaiting him once he got there. As he walked back, he turned to see three hulking security guards holding back a large crowd of his fans, all of whom were yelling and clamoring to see and hold their idol, all the time yelling, “Xploshun! Xploshun!”
Josh simply smiled and waved to them, receiving an excited yell from the crowd. He continued back to his room and walked in to see his agent, Liam, standing near the door.
“Well well, Xploshun,” said Liam, handing Josh a water bottle and sitting down on the nearby couch, “yet another successful show.”
“When have we ever had a bad one?” asked Josh, taking a sip from his water bottle and leaning against his dressing room counter.
“Not one that I can remember,” replied Liam, smirking at his client, “but there’s still time to have one. You’ve still got at least ten more shows to do this month.”
“Fuck. That’s right.” Said Josh, scowling, “Where am I next? Portland or some shit like that?”
“I’d think you’d be happy to go home.” said Liam, his smirk dropping a little.
“If there’s one place I’d like to avoid sometimes, it’s Oregon. I left that shithole for a reason, you know.”
“I’m well aware.” said Liam, standing to face Josh, “All to become the next big dubstep sensation, right?”
“Damn straight.”
Liam’s smirk returned once more, and he walked towards Josh, placing his hand on his shoulder. He was unbelievably glad to have someone like Josh to represent. In just a year, they had risen steadily higher and higher, till even greats like Excision, Datsik, and Nero had to admit, they were facing some pretty steep competition in Xploshun.
“Tell you what,” said Liam, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a tiny bag filled with what looked like chalk, “go out and have a good time. Relax, cut loose a little, and enjoy yourself for a bit. We don’t have to leave for Portland for awhile anyway.”
Josh looked at the little bag and the white powder inside. He smiled devilishly.
“Aww, Liam,” he said, feigning choking back tears as he took the baggie, and opened it up, smelling the contents, “you shouldn’t have.”
“You’d be surprised how easy it is to find the good shit here.” said Liam, taking out a small mirror from his blazer, “There’s practically a dealer on every corner in this godforsaken town.”
Josh nodded and pulled out a hundred dollar bill from his wallet. He placed some of the white substance on the mirror, using his credit card to pull it all into a straight line. Then, he rolled the bill into a small tube, put it to his nose, and bent down to snort the cocaine on the mirror. It burned heavily as it entered his nose, but soon, a feeling of absolute ecstasy washed over him.
“Tonight is gonna be a goooooood night.” He said, turning towards the door, ready for the after-party coming soon.
Chapter 3: Who Are You All?
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Josh, for the second time in recent memory, awoke with a headache that threatened to split his skull. That was one fucked up dream he thought, scratching his head and rising up from his laying position. He opened his eyes for the first time since getting up and looked around the room. Everything within seemed to be smaller than the objects in a normal house. The dresser, the vanity, even the doors were smaller. It was almost like he was in a dollhouse.
Josh rose out of bed, glad that the ceiling wasn’t low enough to hit his head on, as he previously suspected. He walked around the room a little, taking in his rather unusual surroundings. He heard what sounded like hooves against wood, and turned to the door. As he did so, the orange pony with the hat from before opened it up and stepped inside. Josh, who now realized he either wasn’t dreaming, or it was still going on, stumbled backwards a little.
“Whoa now,” said the orange pony, raising a hoof to attempt to calm down the startled human, “we don’t need you collapsin’ again. You’ve already done that twice today.”
Josh, unsure of what to say, or how to say it, simply opened and closed his mouth several times, before he finally spoke.
“Y…you’re…a…p-p-pony.” he said, pointing at her, absolute confusion flooding his mind.
“That I am.” replied the mare, walking a little closer to Josh and smiling, “The name’s Applejack. What’s yours?”
Josh stammered a little, confusion stealing his words. Applejack continued to smile up at him as he fumbled with his speech, unable to determine if it was a good idea to speak to this mare or simply remain quiet.
“J-Josh. My name’s…Josh.” he finally managed to say.
“Well, pleased to meet ya, Josh.” said Applejack, reaching out a hoof once more for him to shake.
Josh hesitated a little, then slowly reached his hand out, took the orange hoof, and gently shook it.
Applejack smiled wide as he broke the handshake.
“Glad we got that out of the way!” she said excitedly, stepping back from Josh.
Josh stood once more, looking down on Applejack from his vantage point. She stared up at him, her bright green eyes almost piercing into his soul, and an almost sickeningly sweet smile etched across her face. For awhile, human and pony simply looked at one another, the former with a mix of fear and confusion, the latter almost with excitement.
“Where am I?” asked Josh finally, breaking eye contact with Applejack and looking around once more.
“Sweet Apple Acres, of course,” she replied, happily sweeping her hoof across the room as if to present it to him, “Provider of the best apples this side of Equestria!”
Josh paused his looking around the room and once again stared at the orange pony before him, confusion etched across his face.
“Equestria? What the fuck is Equestria?”
Applejack looked a little taken aback at his sudden use of profanity.
“There’s no need for language like that.”
Josh inwardly frowned at Applejack. Who was she to tell him what he could and couldn’t say? Did I really just get corrected by a fucking redneck pony? However, he quickly realized that he wasn’t going to get any answers by being an ass and decided not to voice his thought.
“Sorry. What is Equestria, then?” he said, removing the profanity this time and rolling his eyes.
Applejack’s eyes shone with confusion, and she tilted her head.
“What?” asked Josh, glaring a little at the pony, “I really don’t know.”
“Where’re you from?” asked Applejack.
Josh thought about it. He wasn’t sure how to phrase the truth to her, and even more unsure if she’d believe him. Might as well give it a shot .
“I’m from a place called America. More specifically, Oregon.” he answered, praying that’d satisfy the mare’s question, “Now, it’s your turn. What’s Equestria? Is that where I am now?”
Applejack still wore a confused look as another pony walked in through the door. This one was a bright red stallion, big and muscular, with a big green apple half tattooed on his flanks.
“Hey, AJ. Granny Smith wanted to know if ya’ll…”
The pony trailed off at the sight of Josh standing there. For awhile, the two simply stared at each other, one sizing the other up. Neither one of them said a single word as they simply continued to give one another a thorough once over. Finally, Applejack broke the silence.
“Mac, this here’s Josh. Josh, this’s my big brother, Big Macintosh.” she said, gesturing between the pony and confused human.
It took awhile, but eventually, they both reached out a forelimb and acknowledged each other.
“Nice ta meet ya, Josh.” said Mac, an uneasy look still painting his crimson face.
Josh simply nodded, and looked between the two ponies. Applejack was still smiling up at him, while Big Mac was simply staring again. For fucks sake thought Josh, could at least one of you answer my goddamn question?
“So,” said Applejack, breaking the long and awkward silence, “would ya’ll care to stay for a little breakfast?”
Josh looked to Applejack once more, noticing her smile was becoming a little more forced with every minute the silence persisted. Nobody (or pony) seemed to be ultimately comfortable with the situation at hand.
“I think I’m good.” Josh said, attempting what he thought was a friendly smile, “I just need to find a way to get home. More than likely, it’ll just be better if I leave.”
“You sure, sugarcube?” asked Applejack, concern etched across her face.
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure.”
“Well,” said Applejack, scratching the back of her head nervously with a hoof, “if you’re certain...”
Josh simply nodded, and both ponies parted to allow him to walk through the small door. Josh ducked down so as to avoid hitting his head, and made for the nearest exit. He didn’t care anymore what this Equestria was, or how he got here, or any of that shit. He just wanted to get home. He had no idea how he was gonna do so, but the sooner he started looking for a way out, the sooner he could leave.
He made it down the stairs to the living room of the farmhouse, and looked around. It was a rather small area, then again, everything was smaller here to him. There was little in the way of furnishings, but what was there seemed sturdy and well built. Amazingly, not once did the thought cross his mind as to why these ponies had a house, complete with bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and other human amenities. He also didn’t give two shits.
As he made his way to the door, he heard the sound of hoofsteps coming towards him, figuring it was either Applejack or Big Mac coming down to see him off, he turned to at least thank them for their momentary hospitality. However, when he looked down, all he saw was a small yellow filly with a strawberry mane that had a giant pink bow in it.
“Hey there!” said the filly, smiling hugely up at Josh and holding out her small hoof, “You must be that nice fella my sister and her friends found this morning.”
Josh looked down at the tiny pony, who still had her hoof outstretched and a giant smile on her face.
“That I am.” he said, kneeling to grab the filly’s hoof in his own hand, gently shaking it.
“Do ya’ll got a name?” asked the pony, lowering her hoof and still smiling at Josh.
“Yeah. It’s Josh. Who’re you?”
“I’m Apple Bloom!” she happily said, turning to see Applejack and Big Mac come down the stairs and join her in the living room.
“Do all of you have a name associated with apples or something?” asked Josh, looking to the blonde maned orange mare once again.
“Well, yeah. I suppose we do.” Applejack chuckled.
Josh rolled his eyes a little, standing up and preparing to leave once more.
“By the way,” he said over his shoulder as his hand reached for the door, “thanks for the bed and stuff.”
“Wait!” shouted Apple Bloom.
Josh, now pretty annoyed with the tiny yellow pony, turned once more to look down at her.
“Yes?” he said, patience of any kind failing to enter his voice.
“Aren’t ya’ll gonna stay for breakfast?” she asked, her eyes growing wide and her lower lip quivering in a pouty way.
Josh almost got diabetes right there from the cuteness of the look on the filly’s face. He tried his best to ignore her, but
“What’re you doing?” he asked, trying to look away, to no avail, “Stop doing that!”
Apple Bloom persisted still, actually managing to become cuter somehow. After what seemed like an eternity of her looking at him, he broke.
“Fine,” he sighed, “I’ll stay for breakfast.”
Apple Bloom’s face changed once more to its original look of pure happiness, and she ran into the kitchen, calling as she went, “Hey! Granny Smith! Set another place for Josh!”
Josh looked to Applejack and Big Mac, both of whom were snickering silently.
“Does she do that to everyone who comes into this goddamn house?” he asked, walking up to the two ponies and frowning slightly.
“You should count yourself lucky.” said Applejack, beaming up at him as they made their way into the kitchen, “Most ponies can’t even take a second of that before they break!”
Chapter 4: How Do I Go Home?
Second ChancesBy Hero541
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.”
Chapter 5: What Do I Do Now?
Second ChancesBy Hero541
A long silence followed Twilight’s words. Rarity, Twilight, and Spike all looked towards Josh, awaiting his reaction that promised to be unhappy. Josh simply stared at the purple unicorn, allowing her words to sink in slowly.
“I was told that you could help me.” he slowly said, glaring daggers at the pony before him.
“W-w-well,” stammered Twilight, he ears flattening against her skull again and crouching down in fear, “I-I’m afraid I j-j-just don’t know how. Something like that takes a lot of magic power and a specific spell. I don’t know the spell though.”
“Can you learn it?” asked Josh, trying and failing to keep his voice in check.
“I don’t know…” she said, crouching even lower and closing her eyes as she saw the large human begin to become more enraged, “I don’t even know where you came from. If I could use the spell, I wouldn’t know where to send you. You could easily end up somewhere besides home, maybe even somewhere else in Equestria.”
Josh could hold in his rage no longer.
“YOU’VE GOTTA BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!” he shouted, causing both Rarity and Spike to jump in surprise and Twilight to cover her eyes with her hooves.
“I’m s-s-sorry.” she stammered, fear enveloping her words.
“Sorry doesn’t send me home!” he yelled, glaring at Twilight once more, “Sorry doesn’t fix this fucking mess I’m in! Your sorry doesn’t mean a goddamn thing to me! It’s of no fucking use, and neither are you!”
Josh strode towards the door and threw it open, ducking out and slamming it behind him, leaving Rarity and Spike to console Twilight, who had begun to cry.
“I s-s-said I’m s-sorry.” she wailed, her tears falling freely as Rarity rubbed her back and looked towards the door.
Josh stormed through the town, his rage at an all-time high. How the fuck am I gonna get home now! he thought, failing to notice the ponies all around continuing to stare as he walked by. He figured it was now safe to say he was well and truly fucked. Stuck in a pony-filled world, no way to get home. These ponies didn’t even know about electronic music!
“Josh!” he heard a voice behind him, but refused to turn around and acknowledge who it could be.
After a few seconds, Rarity galloped up and stood in front of him, blocking his path.
“I suggest you get the fuck out of my way, Rarity.” he snarled, glaring at the white unicorn before him.
“How can you be so rude to somepony!” she shouted, pointing a hoof towards him, “Twilight said she was sorry, and all you did was yell at her! You are a complete ass, you know that?”
“Applejack told me Twilight could help me!” he yelled back, pointing in the direction of the farm he came from, “Do you have any idea how important it is that I get home?!”
“I understand you’re frustrated,” said Rarity, her voice becoming calm as she allowed her own anger to dissipate, “but that’s no reason to yell at somepony. Applejack should know that there’s magic even Twilight doesn’t know. If there was any way I could help you, I’d be glad to do so.”
Josh felt his own anger start to recede a little. Did she really just say that she wanted to help him out? After what he just did? Who was she to be so forgiving? Why was she so forgiving?
“That’s nice of you, Rarity,” he said, calming down more and more gradually, “but I just wanna go home, and if you can’t help me do that, then I’m afraid there’s not much more you can do.”
“How about some lodging?” she asked, pointing to a tall, carousel themed building about one hundred feet away, “If you’re going to be here longer than you thought, you’ll need a place to stay.”
Josh looked towards the building. Very little surrounded it, besides a tree to the right and a few vendor’s tents behind. Thought it was two stories tall, it still seemed rather small.
“Thanks,” he said, continuing his walk down the street, “but you wouldn’t want me around your house. I just need a way home, not a place to stay.”
“I can’t stand the thought of you wandering around the streets all alone.” she said, making a pouty face in his direction, “Please? I promise you the utmost privacy. I just want you to be safe, as long as you’re here.”
Josh turned back to look at the unicorn mare. He could see she was serious, and was trying to make the same face Apple Bloom had made that morning when he was at the farmhouse. It wasn’t as cute as the filly’s try, but it was enough.
“Fine.” he finally said after a minute of staring at those watery blue eyes, “But it isn’t permanent. As soon as I can find a way home, I’m out of here.”
Rarity smiled again, and the squeaky noise sounded. As she grabbed his hand in her magic once more, he thought silently to himself One of these days, I’m gonna find out what that noise is.
Second ChancesBy Hero541
“Sweetie Belle! I’m home, dear. And I have a guest with me!”
Josh plodded along behind Rarity, the over-eager unicorn pulling him inside her home, almost causing him to hit his head on the way in. He looked around as Rarity busied herself with something in another room. The main room he stood in was filled with mannequins in the shape of ponies, as well as shelves filled with all different colors of fabric. A large chest stood in the corner, three diamonds gracing it’s lid. He walked over to it and lifted it to peer inside. It was filled to the brim with gems of all shapes and sizes, a sight that made Josh’s jaws almost hit the floor.
“Where’d you get all these gems?” he asked, picking up a large red one to examine it more closely.
“I found them, of course.” she replied, trotting into the room once more and levitating some thread and a needle towards her with her magic, “It’s part of my special talent. That’s why I have three diamonds as my cutie mark.”
“Cutie mark?” Josh inquired, placing the gem back in the box and closing the lid, “What’s a cutie mark?”
Rarity looked at him, confused.
“You don’t have one?” she said, pointing to her left flank where, sure enough, three blue diamonds stood out amongst her pure white fur.
“People in my world call those tattoos.” he said, walking over to a nearby couch and sitting down, “I’ve never been one to want to get one though.”
“Ooohhh. How fascinating!” Rarity exclaimed, placing her thread and needle down on a nearby table, “How does one get a tattoo?”
“Well, how’d you get your… cutie mark?”
“I had to discover my talent and purpose in life before I could get mine.” she said, crawling up on the couch next to him and sitting on her haunches, “That’s what a cutie mark is. It’s a representation of what we’re supposed to do in life.”
“Interesting.” said Josh, looking to the unicorn’s flank once again, “In my world, tattoos are just something someone can get. Some of them have a kind of sentimental value, but others are just the result of a drunken mistake made one night.”
Josh smiled a little as he said that, thinking about his agent, Liam, and the tattoo he has that they’re never supposed to mention.
“That is truly fascinating.” said Rarity, looking off into the distance, allowing the idea of a tattoo to sink into her purple-maned head, “Oh, Sweetie Belle. Come meet our guest.”
Josh looked towards the staircase and saw a little white unicorn filly round the corner. Her mane and tail were curly and poofy, a vibrant and beautiful mix of pink and purple swirls. She looked towards Josh, her jade green eyes shining with excitement at the prospect of meeting someone new.
“Josh,” said Rarity, getting down and sauntering over to her sister, “this is my little sister, Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle, this is Josh. He’ll be staying with us for a little while.”
Sweetie Belle walked up to the large human seated on the couch, jumped up, and stuck out her little white hoof for him to shake it. He smiled at the little filly, and grabbed her hoof, as he had done with Apple Bloom that morning, and gently shook it.
“It’s nice to meet you, Josh.” exclaimed Sweetie Belle, jumping down and turning to face the human once more, “Maybe later I can bring over Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, and you can meet them too!”
“Now, Sweetie,” said Rarity, “I’m sure Josh would simply like some peace and quiet while he’s here.”
“They can be quiet!” Sweetie said, turning to her sister, “We Crusaders can be as quiet as a mouse. Hey, maybe we can get our cutie marks in that!”
With that, Sweetie Belle dashed out the front door, slamming it hard on the way out. Rarity winced a little as the sound rang throughout the boutique. Josh just continued smiling, a little glad to have seen such a cute little creature.
“Sorry about that,” said Rarity, picking up her needle and thread as well as a pair of red reading glasses, “Sweetie and her friends mean the best, but sometimes they can be a little overeager.”
“That’s fine.” Josh said, continuing to smile, “I had a little brother who was the same way. We were all that age once before, right?”
“I suppose.” Rarity chuckled, glad to see Josh didn’t mind her little sister.
As Josh sat on the couch, he felt a pang of guilt hit him. These ponies were unbelievably accepting of him, more so than any human he knew. Without question, they took him in, fed him, and gave him a place to stay and be safe. And yet, with all they had done for him already, all he had done so far was treat them like shit. Especially Twilight… Josh strode towards the door, opening it and ducking down.
“Where are you going, dear?”
“I kinda owe someone an apology.” he said, feeling guilt tugging away at his heart.
Rarity simply stared at him, then nodded, smiling, and turned back to her work.
“Lunch will be ready soon, dear. I hope you’ll make it back in time for that.” she said, as Josh walked out the door and several rolls of fabric levitated towards her.
*****
Twilight sat in her room upstairs in the library, still crying a little. Nopony had ever yelled at her like that before, let alone call her “fucking useless”.
“Come on, Twilight.” said Spike through the door, gently knocking on it, “I know you’re upset by what that guy said, but you can’t just close down the library because you’re sad.”
Twilight didn’t answer him. It wasn’t just that he had yelled at her and called her useless. Somepony needed her help, and she couldn’t do anything to help them. Maybe she was useless…
“Who’s knocking now!” yelled Spike, storming down the stairs towards the front door, “Can’t they read that the library’s closed?”
Twilight heard the sound of the door opening, and what sounded like muffled arguing between Spike and their visitor. She couldn’t hear too well, but the voice did sound terribly familiar.
“I’m not here to cause trouble.”
“That’s weird, cause you kinda did already.”
“I was out of line. I know that.”
“Yeah, just a little.”
“Be as hostile as you want, Scaly. I’m just here to see Twilight.”
“What for? Didn’t you say she was useless?”
“I did. But people say a lot of things when they’re angry. I didn’t mean to be that way.”
As Josh finished his last sentence, he looked up to the staircase to see a little purple head poke around the corner. Instantly, a wave of guilt washed over him as he saw her violet eyes were puffy and red. She trotted a little further down, fear and trepidation in her face as she looked towards the human.
“Twilight, I…” he trailed off, unsure how best to phrase what he wanted to say, “I was… out of line. I had no right to yell at you like that. It’s not your fault that you don’t know how to send me home. And you’re definitely not useless.”
She simply looked towards Josh, the human now staring at the ground in shame, his hands behind his back.
“You really hurt me.” she said, walking down to stand in front of him, “What you said, it hurt a lot.”
Josh knelt down so as to seem less intimidating.
“I know… I just… I’m frustrated, ya know? How would you feel if you were just dropped in some world where you didn’t know anything, including how you got here, and then found out you can’t go home yet?”
“Not the best…” she replied, rubbing her forelegs together nervously.
“That doesn’t mean what you did was right!” called Spike, running in front of Twilight.
“I’m not saying that.” said Josh.
“Then what are you saying?” asked the baby dragon, glaring at Josh.
“I guess… that I’m…” he stalled, “sorry.”
He hung his head, not looking at the dragon or pony before him. Suddenly, he heard hoofsteps approach him, and felt something wrap around his back. When he looked up, all he could see was Twilight’s indigo, purple, and pink mane flowing down the unicorn’s back and he felt her hooves wrap around him and squeeze a little. He hesitantly returned the unexpected embrace, wrapping his arms around her soft, lavender body and giving a gentle squeeze before releasing quickly.
“You’re a good guy.” said Twilight, finally breaking the hug, and stepping back, a smile on her face, “And, you’re very brave to have come here and apologize to me.”
Josh felt his heart melt a little as he stared into those big, purple eyes. Twilight smiled back at him as he stood up to leave.
“Well, I’m glad I got that out of the way.” he said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
“I promise, Josh.” said Twilight, walking towards one of her bookshelves, “I’ll do everything in my power to find you a way home. No matter what it takes.”
Josh smiled at Twilight, a little surprised she had forgiven him so quickly, much less agree to still help him. He nodded, then looked to Spike, who had his arms crossed in protest.
“And I’m sorry to you too, Spike.” he said, “I shouldn’t have used that kind of language around you.”
Spike looked up to Josh, his gaze softening a little at the sight of the human.
“Aww, it’s okay.” he said, giving Josh’s leg a little punch, “Like I said, it’s not like I haven’t heard it before.”
Both of them looked to Twilight once more, who smiled, the squeaky noise sounding.
“Am I the only one who can hear that noise or something?” inquired Josh, looking all around for its source.
“What noise?”
Josh shrugged. Maybe he was going crazy. He turned to leave, ducking down and heading out the door. He felt good, glad that both Twilight and Spike had been so forgiving. He put his hand in his pockets, feeling his iPod in one, and a small plastic baggie in the other. At first he was a little shocked the baggie was still there, convinced that that skank had probably taken it after he passed out. However, he smiled and pulled the baggie out, examining its powdery white contents.
“Well,” he said, smiling a little, “looks like I can still enjoy myself a little while I’m here.”
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Josh, after leaving Twilight’s library, walked back to Rarity’s house for lunch, a slight bounce in his step at knowing that not only was someone looking into how to send him home, but, while he was here, he still had a few bumps left to entertain himself.
“How was she?” asked Rarity as he entered the door, gesturing for them to go downstairs.
“She’d been crying a lot.” he replied, thinking back to the look on Twilight’s face as she walked down the stairs, “But, she at least accepted my apology. She’s beginning to work on how to send me home as we speak.”
“That’s wonderful, dear!” exclaimed Rarity, levitating a large bowl of soup in front of Josh.
Josh looked at the metal bowl in his hands. It was a large mixing bowl, much like the ones his mom had used for making cookies and things of the like. He looked to Rarity, who had a small bowl of her own in front of her.
“Hehe, sorry.” she said, blushing a little, “The bowls I normally use are probably too small for you. That’s the largest one I had.”
“It’s okay.” replied Josh, sitting down at the small table, “I’ll just have to get used to the fact that everything in this world is smaller than in my world. I do have to admit though, having to duck through every doorway will probably get old after awhile…”
Rarity smiled and sat next to him. The two ate in a rather companionable silence for awhile, but eventually, Josh began to ask questions. It turned out that Rarity was a dress maker, to which Josh asked what that had to do with her cutie mark. She said that she had the ability to not only find gems, but also to incorporate them into her designs, one of the reasons her shop was so well known across Equestria.
“I’ve made ensembles for some of the highest of the high up in the Canterlot elite.” she said, beaming with pride.
“Canterlot?” inquired Josh, long finished with his lunch and now simply conversing with the white mare.
“It’s the capital city of Equestria.” she simply said, levitating both empty bowls from the table to the sink and washing them, “That’s where Princess Luna and Princess Celestia live.”
“So, you live under a monarchy?” he asked, standing up and walking towards her.
Rarity stopped washing and blinked.
“Why, yes. I suppose we do.” she said, unable to mask the surprise in her voice that Josh understood the differences in governmental rule.
“I studied history and government a lot when I was in school.” he said, leaning up against the wall closest to the staircase.
“So, how did you end up becoming a DJ?” she asked, finishing the dishes and turning to him.
“I’m not a DJ anymore.” he said, his voice rising a little, “I’m a producer.”
“There’s a difference?”
“Yes. There is. DJ’s just play the music. Producers make it so the DJ’s can play it. At least, that’s always what I’ve been told.”
“Interesting.” said Rarity, placing a hoof to her chin in contemplation over his words, “Wait! Where are you going?”
Josh had turned and begun walking up the stairs, headed for the front door. Rarity galloped up after him.
“I’m headed out for a little bit. You know where I can find a good bar around here?”
“Well, there’s the Frosty Mug near the outskirts of town.” replied Rarity, a confused look covering her face, “But, it’s only 2:40 in the afternoon!”
Josh just smiled at the mare as he headed for the door.
“It’s never too early to start drinking for me.” he said, ducking down and heading out, ready to look for the pub, and leaving behind a very confused and worried Rarity.
*****
Being as it was only late in the afternoon, the Frosty Mug wasn’t overly crowded. A few old codgers sat in a corner, complaining about whatever came to their minds (mostly how kids today are too lazy, or have it too easy). As they talked, the bar owner, Frosty Mug himself, sat at the counter, levitating a glass and using a rag to clean it out. It’s times like this that made Frosty wish something exciting would happed for once. Sadly, it seemed that his wish may not come true, and he had simply to wait till the afternoon and evening rush hit.
Just as he let out a wistful sigh, the bar door creaked open and in walked a tall creature with short hair on his head, wearing a dark shirt and pair of pants. Frosty simply stared at the creature as it walked up to the far end of the counter and sat down, looking around. As it spotted Frosty, a small smile crept onto it’s face.
“You the bartender?” it asked as Frosty trotted over to investigate.
“That I am.” replied the brown unicorn, one eyebrow turned up as he looked this strange thing up and down, “Can I get you anything?”
“What’ve you got?”
“Pretty much anything you want.” replied Frosty, gesturing behind him to all the bottles filled with different colored liquids.
“I’ll take a gin and tonic.” said the creature.
“One gin and tonic, coming up.”
Frosty mixed the drink and placed in front of the creature, who happily scooped it up and took a sip. As it lowered the glass, a disgusted look came across it’s face.
“You call that gin?” he said, setting the glass back down, “I’ve had water harder than that.”
Frosty simply picked up the glass and rag in his magic once more and smiled.
“You’re not from around here, are you?” he asked, continuing his usual habit.
“What gave it away?”
“Heh. Just a thought.”
The creature took another sip of his drink, then answered.
“No, I’m not from around here.”
“Where are you from, anyway?”
The creature stopped to think a minute, piecing together its response.
“Even if I were to explain it to you, you might not understand.”
“Fair enough.” replied Frosty, setting the one glass down and picking up another, smiling.
For the next hour or so, Frosty simply stayed near this strange creature, the two chatting idly. It turned out that the creature’s name was Josh, and he was a human music producer.
“What’s that, like a DJ or something?”
“No.” replied Josh, unable to keep the annoyance out of his voice.
Frosty was about to ask the difference when another mare burst in the doors, drifting over to the counter.
“Afternoon, Rainbow.” said Frosty, greeting the mare with a smile, “Hard day at work?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.” said the polychromatic mare, plopping down in a seat next to Josh, “And it doesn’t help that Derpy can’t seem to stay out of our way when she’s delivering mail, messing up two hours worth of work!”
Rainbow had been so frustrated and was so focused on venting to the barkeep, that she didn’t immediately notice the human she was sitting next to. It wasn’t till she got her usual drink and began to relax that she even looked over to him.
“Hey,” she said, swiveling in his direction, a smile gracing her lips, “I remember you. You’re that guy we found in Applejack’s front yard this morning!”
Josh turned and immediately recognized that rainbow mane and tail. The pony held out her hoof.
“I’m Rainbow Dash.” she said, still smiling up at Josh.
“Josh.” he simply said, turning away and ignoring her attempt at friendliness.
Dash looked slightly taken aback. She simply stared at Josh for a minute, her head cocked in confusion.
“You okay?” she asked, taking a sip from her drink.
“Well, I would be if I weren’t sitting next to the pony who rushed me and made my head spin so badly that I passed out. Again.”
Dash gave a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of her head with a hoof.
“Yeah, hehe. Sorry about that.”
Again, Josh said nothing, instead continuing to stare at the bar or playing with his drink. Rainbow Dash looked towards Frosty, who had a rather nervous look on his own face. He looked to Josh once more, contemplating what to say next.
“So, Josh,” he began, hoping to end the awkward silence that existed between Rainbow and the human, “You were telling me that you’re a music producer.”
Josh looked up to the barkeep, well aware of what he was trying to do. Normally, he would have either told both of them to fuck off, or at least gotten up and left. However, he didn’t feel in the mood to do either of those, so he decided to humor him.
“Yes, I am.” he said, eliciting a rather shocked expression from Rainbow and a relieved one from Frosty.
“That’s really cool!” exclaimed Dash, restraining herself from jumping up out of her seat in excitement.
Over the next few hours, Dash and Josh ordered more drinks and talked. Josh explained what he did for a living, pulling out his dying iPod and playing some songs for her. She loved what he played, finding herself entranced by the heavy, toxic beat. She even squealed in delight when he played the song “Malevolent” by Invader! once the drop came and a mechanical growling issued forth from the device.
More and more patrons continued to enter the bar, causing the noise level to grow a little. Frosty was busy making sure everyone was taken care of, leaving Rainbow and Josh to their own.
“… so you have to move the clouds around in the sky to produce the weather?” asked Josh, taking a sip of his fourth gin and tonic.
“Yup.” replied Dash, looking towards the bar once again, “We get the order directly from Cloudsdale, then we move the clouds wherever they need to go. It’s not always the easiest of jobs, but it’s one of the most important. Not as important as raising and lowering the sun and moon, though.”
“You guys have to raise and lower the sun and moon too?” inquired Josh, genuinely fascinated by how the weather worked in this world as compared to his own.
“No, we pegasi don’t do that. That’s up to the Princesses. They’re the only ones with magic strong enough for something like that.”
Josh simply stared, open mouthed at the pegasus before him, barely comprehending what she’d said.
“What?” she inquired, “Doesn’t it work like that where you’re from?”
“Fuck no!” said Josh, finally able to find his words, “Where I’m from, the clouds and stuff just produce and move on their own. Same with the weather. And the sun and moon raise and lower on their own.”
Now it was Rainbow’s turn to gawk at Josh, unable to believe what he’d just said. The human smiled as he saw the pony’s jaw hang in amazement.
“That’s gotta make life a whole lot easier.” she said, leaning back a little, imagining life where everything moved on it’s own. However, that quickly brought her thoughts to the Everfree Forest, and she shuddered at the thought of that place.
“Well well,” they heard Frosty say over the now growing din all around, “That’s somepony you don’t see around here very often.”
Both Josh and Rainbow turned to see a cream colored unicorn with a shaggy, yet flowing blue mane and tail standing in the doorway, a nervous look on her face. Her crimson-magenta eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets, and her knees were shaking slightly. In her magical grip were some flyers, which she began handing out to everypony she approached.
“Huh.” remarked Rainbow, turning back to her drink, “I don’t’ think I’ve ever seen Vinyl in here before.”
“Who’s that?” Josh asked, not taking his eyes off the unicorn, who had just been turned down by someone at a table.
“Vinyl Scratch.” said Frosty, returning to where Rainbow and Josh were seated, “She’s a local music producer, much like yourself. However…”
“However what?” Josh pressed.
“Her shows she puts on aren’t known to be all that good." finished Rainbow, taking a sip from her drink,"She tries her hardest, but…”
Rainbow trailed off, but Josh didn’t notice. He looked at Vinyl’s flank and saw her cutie mark: two connected eighth notes. Surely, that must mean she has some kind of musical talent, and if she was a producer, that could mean she knows something about electronic music. Josh’s heart leapt at the thought, and he got up from the bar.
“… Octavia says she’s well on her way though… Hey. Where are you going?”
Josh barely heard Rainbow call after him as he approached the unicorn mare still handing out her flyers.
“You there.” he said, walking up to her as Rainbow floated behind him, nearly crashing into him as he stopped, “You’re name’s Vinyl Scratch, right?”
The unicorn turned and looked up into Josh’s face.
“That’s me. Can I help you with something?”
“Yes. You can. My name’s Xploshun.” he said, referring to his stage name for the first time since he arrived in Equestria.
“Xploshun? I thought you said your name was-woah!”
A small crash echoed through the bar as Josh pushed Rainbow away, causing her to fly into a shelf.
“I’ve heard you’re a music producer and you’ve been putting on some shows.” he continued as if nothing happened.
“Well, yeah. I kinda have…” said Vinyl, looking down and away from Josh.
“I’m a producer myself, and I’d love to come see you sometime.” he said, trying his best to smile warmly at her.
Vinyl looked up to Josh, a look of surprise painting her face.
“You would?” she asked, cocking her head to the side while her eyes shone with excitement.
“Of course.” said Josh, continuing to smile at the obviously nervous pony, “Are those flyers for your next show?”
“Yeah, they are.” said Vinyl, levitating one in front of Josh, who took it and examined it.
“… This all sounds good. Tomorrow at 9?” he said finishing reading the flyer and looking to the unicorn once more.
“Yeah!” she said eagerly, nearly bouncing in the air at the prospect of having another producer see her perform.
“I’ll be there then. And Rainbow here’ll join me.”
Josh heard a loud “WHAT?!” from beside him as Rainbow finally got up from the mess on the floor.
“That sounds awesome!” said Vinyl, beaming at Josh, the squeaky noise sounding again, “See you tomorrow then!”
Vinyl bounced away as Rainbow flew up and rejoined Josh, punching him in the shoulder.
“Did you just say I’m going to that show with you?!” she yelled, glaring daggers at the tall human.
“Yes, I did.” he replied simply, massaging his shoulder, “And you’re going. You owe me after you made me pass out this morning.”
Dash just grumbled and crossed her forelegs over her chest. As she did so, Josh turned to leave.
“Aren’t you gonna pay for your drinks?” she called after him.
Josh almost forgot. He turned back to the bar and reached in his back pocket for his wallet, happy to find it still there and with money in it. He pulled out a 10 dollar bill and handed it to Frosty.
“That should cover it.” he said, preparing to turn back once more.
“I can’t accept this.”
Josh winced. He hadn’t even thought about what they use for currency here. He turned back to Frosty, a nervous smile painting his face.
“I need bits.” said Frosty, handing back the bill.
“I don’t have any of those.”
“Hmm… Well, I suppose I could allow you to open a tab. Just so long as you pay it back eventually.”
Josh nodded happily, figuring he’d be long gone by the time he needed to pay back the bill. Frosty took out a notebook from his pocket and began scrawling something on the page as Josh turned to leave.
“Come by Rarity’s at 8. I need to go and get ready.” said Josh to Rainbow, passing by the pegasus without a single glance.
“How’re you gonna do that?”
Rainbow never got her answer as Josh exited the pub, a smile on his face at the prospect of the next night. He was gonna make good use of that bump he had left in the baggie.
Chapter 8: I'm Gonna Save This
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Rainbow cantered up to Carousel Boutique slowly, dreading what she was about to do. In her head, she knew she should have told him there’s no way in Tartarus she would go to Vinyl’s show. Not even Pinkie Pie would go to those shows! However, no matter how much she didn’t want to be in this position, here she stood, right outside the boutique. Here goes nothing she thought, raising her hoof and gently knocking on the door.
“Coming!” chimed Rarity, and soon the sound of her hoofsteps were present.
Rarity opened the door to see a very hesitant looking Rainbow Dash standing outside.
“Oh!” exclaimed the unicorn, leaning out the door and looking around for anypony else, “Hello, Rainbow. What can I do for you?”
“Is Josh here?” asked the colorful pegasus, rubbing her forelegs together.
“Right here.”
Rainbow looked past Rarity and saw Josh standing there, a small smile gracing his face. His pupils were rather small right now, though it was fairly bright in the boutique, so she simply wrote that off to the light. He was dressed in a long blue shirt that had a headphone logo on the front. His jeans were baggier than normal and rode low on his hips, his fabric belt hanging loosely to the side, barely holding up his pants. On his head, he wore a black baseball cap similar to the one Rainbow owned, only it had a flat bill.
“What exactly are you two doing tonight?” asked Rarity suspiciously as Josh walked past her and through the door.
“We’re going to see Vinyl Scratch’s show.” said Josh, turning back to Rarity as Rainbow raised up in the air, “That’s why I had you make these clothes for me. I needed something to wear to this thing tonight.”
“Oh. Okay then.” Rarity slowly replied, watching as Josh and Rainbow walked away, “What time will you be back?”
“Don’t know. Don’t wait up for me though.”
“Alright then.” said Rarity, slowly closing the door.
Josh walked, while Rainbow floated near his eye level, her fluttering wings making a soft whoosh noise as they cut through the air.
“So,” said Rainbow, eager to break the silence between them, “what’s with that name you told Vinyl last night at the bar?”
“You mean Xploshun?” he asked, smiling as the name graced his lips again, “That’s my stage name. My agent said that if I wanted to make it anywhere in the world of dubstep, I needed a stage name. Something harsh and awesome, like the music itself.”
“Oh.” said Rainbow, understanding sinking in.
The two of them talked for a little while longer as they walked towards the town center. Upon arriving, they saw the place was pretty deserted. Only about twenty-five or thirty ponies milled about, most looking bored, a few even in an almost zombie-like trance of exhaustion. Josh and Rainbow walked through the gathered crowd, headed for the stage at the center of the area.
“That’s it?” asked Josh, looking at the stage.
There wasn’t much to see. The platform was only raised about five feet off the ground. On its surface was a small setup with a turntable and two subwoofers. A small soundboard sat next to the turntable, and, from what Josh could tell, pretty much everything was running off this one device. Two larger speakers sat to the side, but they were still barely taller than the table itself. A few lights stood on posts all around the stage, each one pointing down to the turntable and soundboard, right where Vinyl would be standing. Josh was so mesmerized by the setup, that he never saw Vinyl approach he and Rainbow.
“Hey guys!” she cheerily called, causing only Rainbow to turn around.
Rainbow nudged Josh, breaking him from his trance and forcing him to turn and see Vinyl.
“Hey Vinyl.” Rainbow said, rather weakly, “You ready for the show?”
“To be honest, Rainbow, I’m actually pretty nervous right now.” confessed the unicorn, rubbing her forelegs together nervously, “But Tavi says I’ll do just fine.”
“We think you’ll do great. Don’t we, Xploshun?” said Rainbow, looking towards Josh.
He said nothing and simply nodded at Vinyl, eliciting a large smile from her.
“Well, it’s almost time to go on. See you guys when we get to an intermission!”
Vinyl dropped her purple sunglasses over her eyes and took off towards the stage, leaving Rainbow and Josh to simply stare at each other, both thinking the same thing: What have I gotten myself into? Vinyl galloped up to the stage, and took her place behind the turntable.
“What’s up, everypony!” she yelled through the microphone, causing a high pitched squeal of feedback, “You guys ready to lose your minds?!”
A few ponies cheered, while the rest simply politely stomped their hooves. Vinyl levitated a record to the turntable and placed it gently on, starting a heavy thumping bass beat that barely made the stage it was on shake. She began to scratch the record back and forth for awhile, distorting the sound, but not achieving much else. This went on for about a half-hour, moving from one song to the next till Vinyl had to switch the record. The sound quality was off too, almost like one of the speakers wasn’t working.
Once the last song was done, she levitated the record off, placing it back in her box before addressing the crowd.
“I hope you can all stay excited, everypony!” she said, eliciting a few small cheers once more, “We’re gonna take a short intermission, then we’ll get back to it.”
Vinyl stepped off the stage, panting a little and running to find Josh and Rainbow. Eventually, she saw them in the crowd and ran over.
“Hey!” she called to them, causing both to turn around and face her, “How was that for you?!”
“That was… good, Vinyl.” said Rainbow Dash, scratching the back of her neck nervously, “Really good.”
“You think so? Cause I thought that they weren’t really getting into it at first, but I’m pretty sure more ponies were cheering when I got off the stage!”
I can only imagine why thought Rainbow Dash, looking down towards the ground. The two ponies talked for a little while, the whole time Rainbow giving Vinyl false praise while the cream colored unicorn soaked it up. Neither one of them even noticed that Josh was no longer standing near them.
*****
Josh couldn’t take much more of this. Vinyl was making a mockery of electronic music, and he was hell-bent on saving this show if it was the last thing he did. He slowly snuck up to the stage, approaching some of the ponies who were working with the equipment.
“Which one of you is in charge of the setup here?” he demanded, racing up to the group.
“That’d be me.” said a gray pegasus stallion with a white mane and a wall socket for a cutie mark.
“Do you have any idea what the fuck you’re doing?” said Josh, as calmly as he could muster.
The pegasus looked taken aback by Josh’s use of profanity, but responded, “Of course I do!”
Josh looked at the setup and all the wires leading to the soundboard. A lot of wires were either not in the right place or not even plugged in. Clearly, this was why the audio quality had been shit the entire night. The left speaker was unplugged from the soundboard.
“How in the fuck do you forget to plug in the goddamn speaker?!” he said, more to himself than anypony around him.
Frantically, he began checking wires and plugging things in the proper place. None of the worker ponies even tried to help him or get near him, as he sat there, mumbling profanity and fixing the mistakes. After a few minutes, he stood up and walked in front of the soundboard, moving every slider as high as it could go.
“Hey! It’s not supposed to go that high!” called one of the workers, a crimson mare with a straight pink mane.
“Trust me. I know what I’m doing.” said Josh, looking around the setup, “Do you guys have a smoke machine or anything like that?”
Everypony gathered near him just exchanged glances with one another, some choosing to just stare at Josh. He facepalmed at the sight of the confused ponies.
“Is there any way I can get some kind of fog on this stage?” he asked through his frustration.
“I can maybe grab a cloud and use that.” said a green pegasus, waving her hoof around.
“Fine.” said Josh, pointing to the pegasus, “Spread it thin. It has to just roll right off the stage. What about lights? You have any strobes?”
Again, blank stares. He facepalmed once more.
“Okay then.” he growled through his hand, “Can any of you unicorns make a very fast flashing light?”
Several raised their hooves. Josh pointed to three of them.
“One of you stand behind me. The other two need to go to the ends of the stage and stay there. Activate your lights once the music starts. They need to flash for less than a second, got it?”
The three unicorns nodded and took their places. Josh turned back to the turntable. He unplugged it from the soundboard and pulled out his iPod, praying it had enough battery to last for one more song before it died…
*****
“… and I thought that last song was pretty solid, if I do say so myself.”
“Mhm”
Rainbow sat on her haunches, her concentration long gone from having to listen to Vinyl. It was only just now she turned to notice that Josh wasn’t there anymore. As Vinyl continued to babble on, Rainbow floated up to look for the human, but to no avail. How could I lose somepony who’s three feet taller than me?
“Hey,” said Vinyl, taking a break from patting herself on the back and looking around her, “where’s Xploshun?”
As she said his name, a sound like a bomb going off echoed throughout the area, making everypony jump.
“What in Celestia’s name was that?” yelled Rainbow, sticking a hoof in her ear.
“Hey, who’s that on the stage?” she heard somepony call.
Looking up to the stage, she saw a dim light from behind the platform illuminate, casting a silhouette of a tall being.
“Is that Josh?” she said, unable to see properly.
“What’s up, Ponyville?” a voice called through the microphone, making everypony look towards the darkened stage, “You ready for a little XPLOSHUN?!”
As Josh said the last word, the settled fog on the stage dissipated a little as a giant fireball shot up in front of the stage. The light from the fire illuminated his face, which had an excited, almost devilish smile on it.
“It’s time for me to show you ponies what real electronic music is all about!” he shouted, hitting play on his iPod for the song “Lightbringer” by Far Too Loud. In mere seconds, a heavy synth track began, followed by a minor bass drop that shook the stage. Strobe lights flashed behind and to his right and left, making his heart race and a chill run up his spine. The song built more and more, the bass becoming heavier and heavier, exciting him further. He raised his hands in the air, feeling the drop coming, savoring the few moments before it hit.
“BRING THE NOISE!” he screamed, and threw his hands down in perfect time with the drop, a feeling of ecstasy washing through his body as the bass shook the stage.
He felt the music in his very veins, and began dancing and rocking to the beat. He was truly in his element now. Nothing else mattered to him, except the pure waves of pleasure that rocked his very soul. He raised his hands and pointed to the crowd, who was also beginning to lose their minds. Gesturing for more from them, he almost completely lost it once he heard them scream even louder in delight at the performance before their eyes.
His eyes rolled back in his head and he looked to the sky, another drop coming and pushing him further into a realm of nirvana. Eventually, he looked out to the crowd once more, seeing more and more ponies in the square. In the middle of it all, he saw a rainbow pegasus rocking and going crazy, completely lost in the music, the strobe lights playing off her mane, making it almost glow. With one final low rumble of the bass, after what seemed like an eternity, the song came to its end. Josh broke out of its euphoric trance it put him in and looked to the crowd, smiling.
“And that’s how it’s done!” he yelled one last time into the microphone, before dropping it and simply walking offstage.
“That was so awesome!”
Rainbow flew out of nowhere, grabbing the sweaty human and hugging him tightly. Josh returned the gesture in kind, still coming off the high of both his cocaine and the performance he just finished.
“I sure hope Vinyl took some fuckin' notes on that.” he said, panting and smiling at the rainbow pegasus, “That’s how you do a good show!”
Little did either of them know that Vinyl wasn’t there any more. She had left right after seeing Josh take the stage and begin his performance.
Chapter 9: Late Night For Me
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Josh sauntered up to the Frosty Mug pub for the second time this week. The adrenaline still rushed through his veins after his performance. It felt good to be able to do that again, stand there and feel the music flow through him as the crowd practically begged for more. If he had to be honest with himself, he was surprised that the ponies there had taken to the music so quickly. These creatures certainly were strange…
Josh walked into the pub and was immediately greeted by Frosty.
“Another gin and tonic for you?” asked the bartender unicorn, levitating a glass and two bottles from the shelf.
“Not tonight. I’ll take a boilermaker.” said the human, seating himself at the bar in front of Frosty.
As the unicorn busied himself with the drink, Josh looked to his left and saw a yellow pegasus mare with a long flowing pink mane and tail looking away from him. He wasn’t sure how, but he knew he recognized her from somewhere.
“Hey there.” he said as his drink arrived, “You look awfully familiar.”
The mare turned to face Josh apprehensively. Her teal eyes were filled with worry and fear at the sight of the tall human next to her. She said nothing at his words, simply looking down and all around, occasionally stealing a glance at Josh.
“You’re one of the ponies who found me yesterday morning.” he said, the revelation hitting him as he dropped the whiskey into his glass of beer.
She again said nothing, still avoiding eye contact with Josh and hiding behind her mane. Josh took a large swig of his drink, still disappointed that the alcohol here seemed so diluted.
“I’m Josh.” he said, holding out his hand to the mare, “What’s your name?”
“I-I’m Fluttershy…” she mumbled, her wings pressing tighter against her body at the sight of his hand.
“You’ll have to talk a little louder than that if you want me to hear you.” he said, dropping his arm.
“M-my n-n-name’s Fluttershy…” she murmured, slumping down further on the barstool.
“One more time.” said Josh, turning his ear closer to the pegasus.
She simply squeaked a little and almost seemed to shrink. Josh leaned away from her, afraid he’d said something wrong in the time he’d been sitting next to her.
“I… I’m sorry. Did I say… something wrong?” he inquired, concern painting his face.
“Naw,” said Frosty walking back over from helping a customer, “That’s just Fluttershy. She’s a sweet pony, but not the best at meeting folks sometimes.”
Frosty turned to Fluttershy, “It’s okay, dear. Josh here’s a good guy. He’ll be nice to you. I promise.”
At those words, Fluttershy raised her head a little and peered at Josh from behind her mane. The human smiled sweetly at her, holding out his hand once more. Slowly, she raised her own hoof, and Josh gently grabbed it, shaking it delicately.
“So, Fluttershy,” continued Josh, turning to his drink once more, “what do you do around here? Wait, let me guess.”
He craned his neck a little and looked at her flank, seeing three butterflies for her cutie mark.
“You’re some kind of bug catcher, right?”
“N-No.” she finally stammered out, rising up a little, “I’m j-just an animal caretaker. P-ponies bring me their animals if they’re sick or n-need g-grooming and I do that for them.”
“Ah.” said Josh, showing genuine interest in the pegasus’ job, “So you’re like a veterinarian then?”
“Oh no.” Fluttershy said, finally perking up some more, her words becoming clearer, “We already have a vet here. I’m just there for short-term care.”
“Interesting. Do you have any pets yourself?”
Fluttershy spent the next half-hour telling Josh all about her pets she had at her cottage. The whole time, he simply sat there, his head resting on his hand, a bemused smile on his face as the once-shy pegasus before him talked on and on about her animals. It was cute, how she was getting more and more excited to tell him all about them.
“…then there’s Angel Bunny. I found him when he was just a baby, and took him in. He’s probably the closest to me of all the animals.”
A satisfied smile came to Fluttershy’s face as she looked towards Josh.
“That’s a lot of animals.” he remarked, not taking his eyes off Fluttershy.
“It’s a lot of work to keep them happy,” she said, turning to the bar again, “but it’s all worthwhile in the end.”
“Fascinating.” said Josh, signaling for another drink from Frosty.
“What do you do?” asked Fluttershy, peering at Josh’s leg to see if he had a mark.
“I’m a music producer.” he replied, making a depth charge with his new drink and taking a large gulp, “I make electronic music.”
“Oh.” remarked Fluttershy, her eyes wide, “You mean like Vinyl Scratch?”
Josh cringed a little at hearing that name. What she played on that stage tonight can hardly be considered fucking music he thought.
“No. Not like Vinyl. She’s got the makings of a DJ, but she needs to be just that. Leave the producing business to professionals. The last thing the world of electronic music needs is another wannabe trying to make their way and embarrassing us all.”
His harsh words made Fluttershy look a little uneasy. She turned to the bar again, not all that eager to resume the conversation. Even Josh had to admit that his words were rather tough on the budding DJ, but it needed to be said. She just wasn’t good enough to be putting on shows like that yet.
“Didn’t she have a show tonight?” asked Frosty sauntering back over to the two at the bar, wiping down another glass.
“She did.” said Josh, taking another large gulp of his drink.
“How’d it go?” inquired the barkeep.
“Well, it wasn’t all that great. Her timing and tempo were pretty off. The equipment wasn’t even hooked up right, and the effects she tried were pretty shitty. Eventually, I fulfilled my duty as a producer and saved that show before it completely nosedived into the ground. I got that place jumping like you wouldn’t believe. Vinyl oughta thank me for saving that little debacle.”
“That’s interesting.” said the unicorn, “She came in here a little earlier. Looked like she’d been crying a bit.”
*****
Josh slowly made his way to the darkened boutique. Gently opening the door, he silently ducked into the shop and made his way across the room towards the staircase. As he did so, he heard a small mumble nearby and turned around.
“…mm… Welcome to Carousel Boutique…”
Looking closer, he made out the shape of Rarity asleep in a comfy chair near the window. The moonlight played off her coat, making the already white fur appear almost silver. She was wrapped in a pink bathrobe, curlers in her mane and tail, and was fast asleep. Josh smiled at the cute sight.
“Rarity.” he whispered, walking towards the sleeping unicorn and gently shaking her.
She awoke with a small start, turning on the nearby lamp. Looking up, she saw Josh and broke out a sheepish smile.
“Were you waiting up for me, Rares?” he asked, still smiling down at her.
“I just wanted to make sure you got home alright, dear.” she said, yawning and rubbing her eye with a marshmallow hoof.
“Well, I’m home now, so you oughta get to bed, okay?”
“Right,” said Rarity, slowly making her way off the chair, and putting on her slippers, “I’ll see you in the morning then, darling.”
Josh followed Rarity up the stairs, watching as the mare slipped into her own room before he entered his. He turned on the light and looked around. Rarity had managed to enlarge the bed for him to fit comfortably, and it was graced with fresh sheets and a comforter. Upon those sheets and comforter, lay a small white unicorn filly.
“Sweetie Belle?” said Josh, a little louder than he meant to.
The little filly lay curled up on his bed, her tiny body rising and falling with each silent breath. A small, peaceful smile graced her face and she was mumbling.
“… gotta wait for… Joshie… wanna say… good night…”
The cuteness and peacefulness of the scene was too much for Josh. He couldn’t disturb the little filly, who was already far away in her own little dream world, which she had entered waiting for Josh to return home for the night. Silently, he walked towards Sweetie Belle, and gently stroked her mane, causing her to shift a little in her sleep.
“Night, Sweetie Belle.” he whispered, watching the smile on her face grow and her little body to curl up even tighter.
Carefully, he turned off the light, and closed the door, making sure to not wake Sweetie Belle. Slowly, and with a smile on his face, he made his way downstairs again.
“The couch does look pretty comfy anyway.”
Chapter 10: It's Not My Fault
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Josh awoke in the morning, glad to finally be able to wake up without his head hurting. However, his back ached like no other. He felt a small weight crawl onto his chest and opened his eyes to see Sweetie Belle sitting there.
“Morning, Sweetie.” he said, yawning and stretching his arms above his head.
“Hey Joshie!” she said, smiling at him, her jade eyes shining, “Sorry I fell asleep in your bed last night…”
Josh stroked her mane gently, smiling back at her.
“It’s okay. The couch was plenty comfortable anyway.” he lied.
Rarity’s couch was, as everything in this world was to him, rather small. It was so small, that only his torso and thighs could fit on it, leaving his legs dangling and his head resting on the arm. This, as one could imagine, wasn’t the best for his back. It took him hours to finally be comfortable enough to get to sleep. However, he was so enamored by the sight of Sweetie Belle curled up on his bed last night, there was no way he was gonna wake up the sleeping filly, even if it meant he would be more comfortable.
“Oh good,” said Rarity, walking up to check on Josh and her sister, “you’re awake. Breakfast will be done momentarily.”
Josh nodded, then grabbed Sweetie Belle in his arms, slowly sat up, and placed her on the ground. She turned and smiled at him before darting off down the stairs to help her sister. Josh twisted his back to the left and right, feeling his spine pop several times, relieving some of the pressure. After awhile of shaking off his drowsiness, he stood and headed down the stairs.
“Sorry about Sweetie Belle.” apologized Rarity, setting several plates down on the table as well as some silverware, “I should have checked to see where she was before I waited for you.”
“It’s fine, Rarity, really.” said Josh, waving his hand dismissively, “If I had a dollar for every time I’ve ever had to sleep on someone’s couch…”
Rarity stopped what she was doing and looked to Josh.
“What’s a dollar?”
“Nevermind.” said Josh, rolling his eyes, as several serving trays full of food were placed on the table.
“Would you like some coffee, dear?” asked Rarity, levitating out a cup for herself as well as the coffee pot, “I made it fresh!”
“Afraid I can’t have coffee.” said Josh, grabbing the nearby bowl of eggs, and serving Sweetie Belle, “Caffeine doesn’t agree with me real well.”
“Very well then.”
After a few minutes, Rarity sat down with the two of them and began eating. They talked about Rarity’s day, which seemed to consist of more orders to fill than she knew what to do with, as well as making Josh another set of clothes, and Sweetie Belle relayed her plans to spend the day with her fellow Crusaders.
“Scootaloo thinks we need to try being stunt ponies,” she said through a mouthful of food before swallowing, “… But I think we ought to try bird watching!”
“Do you like bird watching?” asked Josh, taking a sip of his orange juice.
“Well… it’s a lot less dangerous than her idea.”
Josh stifled a laugh, and looked to Rarity who almost did a spit-take.
“Just be careful then, I suppose.” he said, watching the mare regain her composure and swallow her coffee.
A knock came from the front door.
“Who could that be this early in the morning?” asked Rarity, getting up to go answer it.
Josh and Sweetie Belle chatted a little as Rarity left, Sweetie telling Josh all about the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She had just started telling him about the time they went on a zip-line, when Rarity answered the door.
“Oh, hello Octavia. What can I do for you?”
“Where is he?!”
“What’re you doing?”
Josh and Sweetie looked up in time to hear frantic hoofsteps coming down the stairs and watched as a gray mare burst into the room. Her mane was sleek and black and she wore a pink bowtie and white collar. She looked around the room for a second before her gaze singled out Josh.
“YOU!” she yelled, charging him.
The mare stood on her hind legs and swung her left hoof at Josh, connecting with his chin, and dropping him to the floor from his chair.
“MOTHER FUCKER!” he yelled, rubbing his chin and looking back up at the gray earth pony who was rearing back for another blow.
Rarity came rushing in, grabbing the gray pony’s hoof in her magic and pulling her away from Josh. The human was standing at his full height now, his eyes burning with fiery rage at the mare who struggled to release herself from Rarity’s magical grip. Sweetie Belle was under the table, frightened by the sudden change of events, and was screaming loudly.
“Let me go, Rarity!” yelled the gray mare, struggling and glaring at Josh, “This bastard needs to be taught a lesson for what he’s done!”
“Fuck off, lady!” yelled Josh, taking a step towards the mare, unable to control his anger now, “What the fuck did I do to you?”
“Why don’t you ask Vinyl?!” she retorted, giving up her struggle and watching Josh with malice in her eyes.
“What’re you, her crazy bitch bodyguard or something? I oughta send you to a fucking glue factory!”
“ENOUGH!”
Both Josh and the mare looked towards Rarity, whose eyes gleamed with anger. Sweetie Belle still sat under the table, tears streaming from her beautiful eyes. Rarity took her magical grip off the gray mare’s hoof and used it to now grab Sweetie Belle, gently shushing her and taking her upstairs.
“Neither one of you move, understood?”
Both begrudgingly nodded, still glaring at each other. Rarity carefully guided her sister up the stairwell and sent her outside, telling her to go find Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. Maybe seeing them would make her feel better. Sweetie Belle agreed, then trotted off to find her friends as Rarity closed the shop door and made her way back downstairs.
When she reached the bottom floor again, she looked between the gray mare and Josh, unsure what to do now.
“Josh,” she began, drawing the human’s attention away from the other pony, “I’d prefer if you not use foul language such as that around my little sister.”
“What the fuck do you expect?” he retorted, throwing his hands up in frustration, “This crazy bitch just runs in and…”
Rarity cut him off, looking towards the gray mare.
“And, Octavia, I’d like to know why you rushed into my home and assaulted my guest.”
“This ass humiliated Vinyl last night!” she yelled, pointing an emphatic hoof at Josh, “She came home in absolute tears from her show and told me everything. He showed her up, stole the spotlight and made her look like a fool!”
“She should be fucking thanking me and kissing my goddamn feet!” said Josh, glaring at Octavia, “I saved that travesty of a performance last night. If I hadn’t gotten up there and done what I did, she’d look like even more of a fool now because nobody would’ve stayed around to hear that shit she calls music!”
Octavia took another step towards Josh, her eyes beginning to well up with tears.
“Do you have any idea how long it took me to get her to actually do that show?” she yelled, her voice shaking as she began to cry, “She’s never been confident in herself. It was a miracle that I even got her to hand out flyers for it! Then, here you come along and give her a feeling of hope, only to shatter it by upstaging her! How do you think she feels right now?”
Josh looked away from Octavia, determined not to let her tears get to him.
“It’s not my fault that she’s not a good producer.” he said simply, trying his best to ignore the sniffling of the mare behind him.
“How dare you!” yelled Octavia, resisting the urge to hit him again, “Who’re you to judge her?”
“Bitch, I’m one of the most famous music producers in North America!” he shouted back, turning to face Octavia once more, “I’ve had more songs go to number one than any other EDM artist! I’ve got millions of fans all around the fucking world! My last album sold more copies than any other dubstep album in history! So, keeping all that in mind, let’s just assume I kinda know what the fuck I’m talking about!”
“That’s enough, Josh.” said Rarity, rubbing her temples with a hoof, “You’ve made your point.”
“Apparently I haven’t.” he said, watching as angry tears rolled down Octavia’s cheeks.
“Octavia, I suggest you leave. The situation here isn’t going to get any better with you two yelling at each other.” said Rarity, looking cautiously back and forth between both the mare and the human.
“I’m not going anywhere till he apologizes for what he did.”
“Then I guess you’d better set up shop here too, cause I don’t have to be sorry for shit. Maybe Vinyl should apologize to me for assaulting my ears with that fucking noise she calls music.”
Octavia looked to Rarity, who gave her a look of concern. Unable to take much more, Octavia turned and galloped up the stairs, tears streaming down her face, and slammed the front door shut. An uneasy silence fell across the room. Slowly, Rarity trotted up to Josh and faced him.
“I know you’re an adult,” she began, her eyes becoming slightly watery, “and I cannot make you do anything you don’t want to. However, I think it’d be a good idea if you simply apologized to Vinyl. I think the last thing you want to do is leave here with ponies feeling ill towards you.”
Josh didn’t answer the mare, simply choosing to stare at her. After a few uncomfortable seconds, he turned and made for the stairs.
“Where’re you going?” asked Rarity after him, picking up his chair in her magic and righting it.
“To the bar. Don’t wait up for me.”
Rarity winced as she heard the door slam upstairs. A few tears fell from her eyes to the wooden floor. Hopefully, with time, she thought, picking up the plates from breakfast and levitating them to the sink, he’ll do the right thing .
Chapter 11: I Really Can't Have Coffee
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Josh walked through Ponyville, still fuming over the events that had just transpired. Sure, he’d been a little harsh about Vinyl (that was the anger talking) but that didn’t give that crazy bitch the right to just run in and punch him like that. With any luck, talking to Frosty or anyone else in the bar would help him feel better.
“Well, Ah’ll be. Long time no see, stranger!”
Josh turned to the source of the voice, and saw Applejack trotting up to him.
“How’re ya’ll doin?” she asked, smiling widely up at the human.
“I’ve been better…” said Josh, thinking back to just a few moments ago.
“Well, that’s too bad.” replied the orange pony, her smile fading a little, “Anything Ah can do to help?”
“Probably not, AJ. Sorry.”
Josh turned back and began to continue his walk towards the pub. Applejack galloped after him, catching up to him and falling in step with his strides.
“Ah was just about to head over to Sugarcube Corner and see Pinkie.” she said, “She said she’s got some kind a new treat over there and wanted me to drop by and try one.”
Josh said nothing to that, simply continuing his walk.
“Pinkie Pie’s treats can make anypony have a good day.” she continued, peering up at Josh, “Maybe it’ll help put you in a better mood.”
Josh still said nothing, but stopped and stared at the farm pony. If she had any idea how his morning had started, she might think twice about even talking to him, let alone offering to take him to get sweets. However, as Josh looked at her, that sweet, genuine smile on her face got to him, and he relented.
“Sure,” he sighed, causing Applejack’s already wide smile to become even wider, “I’ll go with you AJ.”
*****
In only a few minutes, Applejack and Josh stood outside the cake-like building that was Sugarcube Corner. If Josh didn’t know any better, he wouldn’t be surprised to see a few ponies gnawing on the sides of the sweets shop. The entire thing looked like a giant gingerbread house, complete with two large cupcakes on the top. Atop the highest cupcake sat three giant candles which were lit, a nice touch, if he had to say so himself. From the outside, he could smell the sweet aroma of sugary baked goods.
As they walked in, Josh noted that the shop was fairly busy, considering it was still kinda early in the morning. A blue mare with kind eyes and a swirly pink mane and tail wearing an apron was helping a small line of customers with their purchases at the counter, while a yellowish-orange stallion trotted back and forth from the kitchen to the front. Both immediately took notice of Josh once he walked in with Applejack and momentarily lost their train of thought.
However, they recovered quickly and traded places, with the mare now going back and forth between the kitchen and the counter, and the stallion manning the counter.
“They seem a might busier than usual today.” said Applejack, voicing Josh’s original thought, “Ah wonder where Pinkie is?”
As she said those words, a pink blur shot across Josh’s field of vision, causing him to turn around quickly. Upon seeing nothing behind him, he returned to his original position, only to see a bright pink mare with a poofy pink mane and tail standing in front of him, smiling widely. The unexpectedness of her appearance caused him to jump back in surprise, bumping into a lavender unicorn who had just walked in.
“Hi there!” said the mare excitedly, bouncing in place in front of Josh, “I’m Pinkie Pie! Who’re you?”
Before Josh could recover enough to answer, Pinkie cut him off.
“Wait, I know you! I mean, I don’t know you, but I kinda know you. Then again, I can’t really say I know you yet. But I still know you a little!” she said, hopping like a rabbit with coffee, “You’re that guy who showed up on Applejack’s farm! It’s great to see you when you’re not all passed out and stuff like before! Do you do that a lot?”
“Do what a lot?” asked Josh, turning around to apologize to the pony he bumped into.
“Pass out, silly.” said Pinkie, giggling a little and resuming her bouncing.
Josh didn’t answer as he turned and saw Twilight rubbing her head.
“Sorry, Twi.” he said, looking down at the lavender unicorn.
“No worries… Oh, hey Josh.” she said, looking up at him and smiling, “Applejack’s here too?”
“Ah told Josh about Pinkie’s new treats, and he figured he might come along and try em with me.” said Applejack, glancing between Twilight and Josh.
“That’s what we’re here for too.” called Spike from on Twilight’s back, “Pinkie told us about them yesterday.”
“Well, ain’t that just dandy?” exclaimed Applejack, looking to Pinkie and smiling, “Now all we need’s Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow and we’ll be all set!”
“I wouldn’t expect Rarity, if I were you.” said Josh, “She’s had a bit of a hard morning.”
“That’s terrible! Should I throw a party to cheer her up? That’s what I’ll do! It’ll be a ‘Sorry You Had a Bad Morning, I Hope This’ll Help, Pinkie and Your Friends Are Always Here For You Party’!” shouted Pinkie, drawing the attention of everypony nearby in the store.
“Pinkie!” called the stallion at the counter, “could you please keep it down a little? We just got the foals to sleep, and we don’t need them waking up.”
“Oops.” said Pinkie, stopping her bouncing, “Sorry Mr. Cake.”
The party pony gestured to Twilight, Spike, Applejack, and Josh to follow her into the kitchen. They all did so, Josh sticking to the ponies as if being around them somehow disguised him. Once in the kitchen, Pinkie busied herself with a tray in the oven as the others stood around, eagerly awaiting what she had for them.
“I give you a new special recipe I’m trying out called ‘Pinkie Pie’s Super Duper Spectacular Extra Wonderful Breakfast Cookies!”
Presenting the tray to the assembled ponies, dragon, and human, each one began to salivate. Pinkie set the tray down and picked up a spatula in her mouth, pulling off each cookie and placing them on a large cooling rack. Cookies from earlier sat on a lower part, and everypony and Josh grabbed one. Josh took a big bite of one, savoring the incredible treat. Everypony let out a collective sound of approval, causing Pinkie to beam with pride.
“Pinkie,” said Spike dreamily, “these are unbelievable!”
“You’ve certainly outdone yourself this time, Pinkie.” said Twilight, her eyes closed as she enjoyed her cookie.
Applejack said nothing, merely nodding in approval.
“I’ve gotta admit,” said Josh, finishing his treat, “these are awesome! Mind if I try another?”
“Be my guest!” she said, gesturing to the rack.
Josh and everypony else reached for a cookie, taking a bite of their own simultaneously and savoring the flavor. Josh noted the sweetness and chewiness of the treat, as well as a slight bitterness that followed after swallowing a bite. It was kind of familiar, yet he couldn’t quite pinpoint it…
Suddenly, his stomach rumbled violently, causing everypony to stop what they were doing and look at him. He felt as if his guts were gonna drop right out of his body, and he immediately searched for a bathroom.
“You okay, Joshie?” asked Pinkie, noticing the panicked look on his face.
“Bathroom… NOW!” he said, his eyes becoming wild.
Pinkie pointed to the room behind her, and Josh darted towards it, slamming the door behind him. What happened next was so unholy and disgusting, that it’s better to not be described in this text. However, it can be said that Josh nearly sent all his internal organs into the toilet with the violent method in which his bowels were voided.
“Joshie…” Pinkie called hesitantly, “You gonna be okay?”
“Pinkie… what the fuck… did you put in those… cookies?” he said.
“Um, let’s see…” said the pink pony, sticking out her tongue and looking up to the ceiling, “milk, sugar, eggs, coffee, flour…”
“You put… coffee in them?” he called, nearly ready to pass out from the smell in the bathroom.
“Well, yeah. That’s why they’re breakfast cookies.”
“I… can’t have caffeine…” he said, “It’s a n-natural d-diuretic. It fucks with… m-my digestive system!”
“… Oh.” Pinkie said simply.
Everypony in the room looked towards her, and she smiled, the squeaky noise sounding.
“Seriously! What the fuck is that noise?!” screamed Josh from the bathroom, continuing to void his innards.
Chapter 12: I'm Not Drunk Yet
Second ChancesBy Hero541
For the rest of the day, Josh lay on Rarity’s couch, a large glass of water nearby, and the feeling like his insides were on fire still nagging at him. He quickly left Sugarcube Corner (after three hours in the lavatory) and returned to the boutique. Rarity had still been a little upset by the events that occurred that morning, but told Josh to lay down somewhere and rest. Her only comment after he told her what happened was, “I guess you really can’t have coffee, can you?”
Josh wasn’t sure what time it was at the moment, but he knew it must be getting a little late. Rarity walked into the living room, her tiny red work glasses balanced atop her snout and a tired look in her eyes.
“Finished.” she proclaimed, plopping down in her chair, “At least, for today.”
Josh looked up, having not even heard the mare enter, and smiled at her.
“Long day?” he inquired, sitting up on the small couch for the first time in hours.
“Like you would not believe.” answered the white unicorn, rubbing her temples with her hooves and removing her glasses.
Rarity proceeded to tell Josh all about her day, how a customer came in very irate that her order was just barely slightly off color from when she picked it out. Rarity pointed out to the mare that that was the color she had chosen when asked, and did warn her that it was a bit obtrusive. The customer looked offended at that, and stormed out of the shop, refusing to pay for the gown.
“Probably better I just not do business with those kind of ponies, yes?” she said, looking to Josh for confirmation.
Josh just nodded his head in agreement. An uneasy silence hit the room as Rarity and Josh looked each other in the eyes, both thinking about the events from earlier that morning.
“I’m… sorry about this morning.” he started, sinking down a little on the couch.
“I appreciate the apology,” said Rarity, sitting back in her chair a little more, “but I’m hardly the one you need to say sorry to.”
“I’m not gonna apologize to Vinyl. After she sent out her little bully to beat me up like that, there’s no way she’s getting a ‘sorry’ from me.”
“That’s not what I was going to say, dear.” said the unicorn, “I meant you might want to apologize to Sweetie Belle.”
Josh winced a little as he thought back to the morning, how she’d been so scared, she’d hid under the table and cried. Though he was known to be sort of a jackass from time to time, he couldn’t stand the sight of a child upset. Especially not one like Sweetie Belle, who he’d been steadily getting closer to over the course of the last few days.
“… Yeah.” he replied simply, unable to make eye contact with Rarity.
As they sat there, the front door opened, and Sweetie Belle walked in. She walked into the living room and immediately saw Rarity, who she smiled at. However, when she saw Josh, she became rather apprehensive.
“Sweets… come on over here Sweets. We need to talk. Please?” he said, afraid that the little filly would run off.
Rarity took that as her cue to leave, and walked out, hugging Sweetie Belle as she went. Sweetie turned back to Josh, still a little afraid of the tall human sitting on the couch.
“Sweetie Belle,” he began as she nervously trotted over to him, “I’m really sorry about all that this morning. I didn’t mean to scare you or anything like that.”
“Y-you were really s-scary.” said the little filly, trembling a little.
Josh’s heart couldn’t take much more of seeing her afraid. He got off the couch and knelt on the ground, carefully scooping Sweetie Belle up in his arms and peering into her big green eyes.
“I know I was scary, Sweets.” he continued, gently cradling the filly in his arms, “And I should know better than to act like that, especially around a filly like you. I promise, I won’t ever be loud or use foul language like that around you again, okay?”
As he finished his sentence, Sweetie Belle’s eyes lost their fearful look, and she smiled at Josh.
“Okay.” she said, reaching up and wrapping her tiny hooves around his neck and hugging him tightly.
Josh returned the embrace in full measure, gently squeezing the unicorn filly. Slowly, he reached a hand under her warm little belly and began to tickle her, causing her to giggle uncontrollably in his arms. He laughed along with the tiny pony, watching as she tried to use her hooves to push his hand away. Eventually, she jumped down and began to run around the room, Josh playfully chasing after her. Rarity stood in the entryway to the living room, tears in her eyes and a smile on her face as she watched the tall human catch up to Sweetie Belle, scoop her up once more, and hug her tightly.
*****
A week and a half passed by with little incident. Rarity was getting more and more busy as the days went by, and Josh pretty much stayed out of her way. Twilight came around from time to time, keeping Josh informed on what was going on with trying to send him home. Pinkie Pie felt bad about making Josh sick with her cookies, so she baked him a special batch without coffee in them, which Josh heartily enjoyed every morning. All throughout this time, Josh would go to the Frosty Mug during the day, making small talk with the bartender or any of the other patrons, and order as many drinks as he could, occasionally managing a small bump or two of coke in the bathroom to keep himself feeling a little normal.
Right now, he stood near Rainbow Dash’s cloud home, watching the cyan pegasus do all sorts of tricks. Every now and then, he’d see an impressive stunt she’d done and clap a little. At this point, she was trying to make what she called a “Sonic Rainboom”.
“How do you even make one of those?” asked Josh, watching the pegasus dart around, trying to gauge her speed.
“If I get flying fast enough, I can break the sound barrier and make a giant rainbow explode out from where break I through.”
“Sounds like the most colorfully destructive thing of all time.” said Josh, trying to imagine what it would look like.
“It’s the most awesome move ever! I’m the only pegasus to ever be able to do it.”
Josh was about to say something when he heard someone shouting behind him.
“What was that?” he asked, turning to see the source of the noise.
Peering into the distance, he saw a lavender unicorn galloping towards he and Rainbow at full tilt. In only a few minutes, Twilight stopped in front of the pony and human, gasping hard as she tried to catch her breath.
“Jo…Josh… I… have… news… for…you…” she said between gasps, reaching a hoof to her chest.
“You okay Twi?” asked Josh, looking at Rainbow as the polychromatic mare swooped down and patted Twilight on the back.
“I’ll… be… fine… Just…” she inhaled sharply, doing her best to regain her ability to form a coherent sentence.
“Jeez, Twilight,” said Rainbow, continuing to comfort her friend, “you’re really out of shape. You may wanna get a little more exercise and cut down on eating so many of Pinkie’s treats.”
Twilight glared at Rainbow as Josh snickered a little. After a few more minutes, Twilight regained the ability to breathe, and looked to Josh.
“I have… great news for you, Josh.” she said, still a little out of breath.
“And that would be?”
“I’ve… found a way… to… send you home.”
Josh simply stared at the unicorn mare, her words slowly sinking in.
“Y- you have?” he stammered excitedly, his eyes growing wide.
“Uh huh. You see, I can’t learn the spell to do it. That requires a lot of magical power, which I don’t really have.”
“Okay.” said Josh, prompting Twilight to explain further.
“However,” she continued, a smile coming across her lips as Josh leaned in closer to hear her, “Princess Celestia has all the magical power we’d need to get you home!”
Josh felt his hope die a little. Only the princess who ruled their world could send him back? What were the odds she’d even agree to do that?
“That’s… great, Twi.” he said, scratching the back of his neck nervously, “But, I somehow doubt the princess of Equestria would agree to send me home.”
“All I’ve gotta do is send her a letter explaining the situation.” said Twilight, her smile never faltering, “After all, being the princess’ personal protégé has its benefits. You can be home in no time at all!”
Josh looked to Twilight once more, that sweet smile making him feel warm inside. He was finally gonna do it. He could go home…
Without warning, he reached out and picked up Twilight, hugging her tightly and swinging her around.
“I’m gonna go home! I can’t believe this! Thank you, Twilight! Thank you so so much!”
He blushed and placed her back on the ground. She was unsteady from the spinning and the loss of the ability to breathe once more, and stumbled around before collapsing to the ground, a smile on her face.
“Well,” said Rainbow, landing on the ground next to Josh, a smile on her face while her ears lay flat against her skull, “I
Josh looked towards the pegasus as Twilight got up once more. He felt a sudden pang of guilt hit him as Rainbow’s eyes began to glaze over.
“Hey Dash,” he said, smiling at her, “I don’t think I’m ready to leave just yet. I still need to say my goodbyes to everypony, especially Sweetie Belle and Rarity. I figure that’ll take me at least a week or so…”
Rainbow beamed up at him, “But what about your tour you said you were on back home? Don’t you still have that to do?”
Josh thought back to the tour. He’d been gone almost two weeks now. Liam was a great agent, but even with as good as he was, there was no way he could keep people excited for a tour if the star didn’t show up.
“That tour was probably cancelled a long time ago.” he said, waving a hand dismissively, “I’m in no rush.”
Rainbow smiled at him again, unfurling her wings in excitement.
“Tell you what Dash,” he said, turning and walking away, calling over his shoulder, “meet me at the bar in about an hour. I’m gonna go back to Rarity’s and let her know the good news. Once I meet up with you, we’ll celebrate a little.”
*****
Rainbow Dash was a fucking lightweight. Josh had gone to the boutique to tell Rarity the good news, then let her know he was going to the bar with Rainbow. Upon his arrival at the pub, the pegasus insisted on playing a drinking game with him. They had only had four shots of tequila each, and Rainbow was already slurring her words and talking nonsense.
“So, I told her,” slurred the pegasus, her eyes beginning to droop a little as she looked to the human, “There’s no way you can clear all those clouds faster than me. But, she did it. So now I owe her 100 bits…”
Josh simply looked at the drunken pony before him, resisting the urge to laugh as she swayed back and forth on the stool. Besides the fact the alcohol was so diluted to him, he was also much larger than Dash, making his tolerance greatly higher than hers.
“Rainbow,” he said, looking into her droopy magenta eyes and placing a hand on her shoulder, “you’re drunk. You may wanna head home and sleep this off.”
“I’m… fine.” said Rainbow, lazily knocking his hand away with a hoof, “I just need to take a little nap…”
Rainbow slumped on her stool, then collapsed to the floor, snoring loudly as she hit the ground.
“She’s fuckin trashed.” said Josh as Frosty walked over, a giant smile on his face.
“Heh. She’s not much for the harder stuff, so I’m surprised she didn’t get drunk earlier.” remarked the unicorn, swabbing out another glass as usual, “If I may ask, what’s the occasion that called for a game like this?”
“I can finally go home.” said Josh, turning back to the bar.
“That’s great! Congratulations!” said the barkeep, eyeing Josh, “I suppose that means you’ll be paying your tab then?”
Josh felt his heart drop into his stomach a little. He hadn’t even thought about his tab before now. All he had to ever do now was walk into the bar, and Frosty would fetch a drink for him without a second of thought. He hadn’t had to drop a single bit for alcohol since he got here, even covering a few other patrons to the bar who he liked to talk to from time to time.
“You can pay, can’t you?” asked the bartender, raising an eyebrow.
“Well… I don’t exactly have a job while I’m here…” said Josh, looking anywhere but at the unicorn cleaning out the glass.
Josh figured he’d have been long gone before now, so the tab hadn’t bothered him too much.
“That’s too bad.” replied Frosty, picking up another glass and beginning to swab it out, “I was hoping to get some payment for all the drinks I’ve been giving you.”
Josh shrank again as Rainbow continued to snore from the ground, mumbling a little in her sleep.
“Tell you what,” said Frosty, setting his glass down that he’d been swabbing, “I like you Josh. You’re a good guy, and you always manage to strike up great conversation. I’ll make you a little deal.”
Josh looked up to the unicorn, listening intently to his words.
“We’ll play a little drinking game of our own. Sound fun?”
Josh smiled devilishly. Frosty looked like he could handle a fair bit of liquor himself, but he still had no chance of being able to beat Josh.
“I think I can do that.” said the human, eyeing the bartender, “So, what’re we drinking?”
Frosty laughed a little, “Not we, my friend. You. You’ll be the one drinking here.”
Josh looked confusedly at the unicorn.
“I’m not like Rainbow. She’s a good girl, but doesn’t use her head real well. I know for a fact that your tolerance level will be much higher than mine. I’ll be more of a referee in this little game.”
“What’re you gonna do? Feed me a shit-ton of drinks till I pass out or something?”
“Nope.” said Frosty, reaching under the counter and pulling out a large bottle full of red liquid, “Just three.”
He handed the bottle to Josh, who read the label.
“Dragons Fire?” he asked, handing it back to the bartender.
“Yup. It’s made with actual dragons fire. That’s the nice part about having Spike around here. I get a free supply of it whenever I want.”
Josh eyed the bottle, watching Frosty open the top of it and inhale deeply, savoring the smell.
“If you can take three shots of this stuff and not pass out,” said Frosty, levitating out three shot glasses, “I’ll forget your tab. Plus, I’ll let you have anything you want here for free, anytime you want.”
Josh fought the urge to giggle like a school filly. What a moron he thought, watching Frosty pour out the three shots, I’ve already got this in the bag . He’d win the game for sure, plus he’d get anything he wanted from then on free of charge. He may have to stay a little longer than a week.
“However,” continued the unicorn, breaking Josh from his vision of victory, “if you fail, I’ll make sure that you pay me back every last bit you owe me. Got it?”
Josh nodded and picked up the innocent looking little glass.
“Cheers, Frosty.” he said, and downed the shot quickly.
A feeling of burning shot from his mouth, down his spine and through his entire body. He winced and slowly blinked his eyes as the alcohol hit his tongue. Looking to Frosty, he saw a smile creep across the barkeep’s face.
“You ready to give up yet?” he said smugly, picking his glass back up to clean it out.
Josh swallowed before answering, “No way.”
As the alcohol hit his stomach, he felt the effects almost immediately. The room was beginning to get blurry already, and his head was swimming. He looked towards the second shot, determined to win. Slowly, he threw it into his mouth, the horrible burning coming back as soon as it entered. Upon swallowing the red fluid, his head swam even more and things were moving painfully slow.
“If you quit now,” said Frosty, eyeing the now inebriated human before him, “I’ll cut what you owe me in half.”
“N-no fffuckin way.” slurred Josh, fumbling for the third shot.
The glass seemed to be getting farther away from him as he reached out to it. After a few seconds of fumbling for it, he finally grasped it in his hand and prepared for the worst. He threw it into his mouth quickly, downing it as fast as he could. He hiccupped, a small spurt of fire exiting his mouth.
“There,” he slurred, wobbling dangerously, “I won your fffuckin…”
He passed out almost instantly, sliding off the stool and joining the snoring Rainbow Dash on the floor.
Chapter 13: I Don't Wanna Do This
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Cold and wet. That’s what Josh was when he was jolted awake by Rarity.
“What the hell?!” he shouted as Rarity levitated the bucket down to the ground and glared at Josh.
“You are an idiot!” she shouted as the soaked human slowly sat up on her couch.
“How long was I out?” he asked, rubbing his temples and closing his eyes from the now unbelievably bright lights.
“Do you remember what I asked you to do when you left here?” she inquired, not taking her eyes off Josh, “Do you?!”
Josh thought through his headache, trying to remember back to anything Rarity might have said before he left for the bar. Then, realization hit him, and he felt his heart shoot down into his stomach.
“I was supposed to get Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo from school, wasn’t I?” he asked, shrinking down from the enraged glare of Rarity.
“Yes! You were! And because you didn’t show up to grab them like you promised me, they stood out there for three hours waiting for you! Cheerilee and Big Macintosh had to cancel their date until Twilight arrived to pick up the children!”
Josh felt horrible. Not only was the headache he had developed from this hangover killing him, he’d let down his favorite little filly. Again.
“I’m sorry, Rares.” he said, his head drooping, “I wasn’t really planning on getting drunk when I went to the bar. By the way, how’s Rainbow?”
“She’s no worse for the wear, but that’s not what’s important.” Rarity pulled out a large piece if paper from out of nowhere, “Frosty gave me your bill. How’d you manage to rack up fifteen-hundred bits on your tab?!”
Josh felt like his body might implode from how much he was slumping now. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t a great idea for him to go to the bar every day like that. Especially when I couldn’t get drunk off the alcohol there…
“It’s a long story. One that I don’t really have time to explain.”
“Well, I’m afraid I don’t have that much to cover you, nor do I plan on covering you for this.” said the mare sternly, “You’ll have to find a way to get that money, otherwise you’ll never be able to go home.”
Josh looked to his right and saw Twilight standing there, a fearful look on her face. She avoided eye contact with the hungover human at all costs, not wanting him to become enraged again.
“F-Frosty told me to k-k-keep you here till y-you’ve paid him back.” she stammered, beginning to crouch down, awaiting Josh’s anger.
However, it never came. Josh simply sighed, and patted Twilight on the head, trying his best to be comforting.
“It’s not your fault, Twi.” he said, looking away from both mares, “I kinda dug my own grave on this one…”
“How do you intend to pay for all this?” asked Rarity, her voice becoming more steady as she calmed down, “I can’t imagine too many places around here would want to give you a job.”
“I’ll think of something.”
As the words left his lips, the front door opened and Octavia sauntered in. She wore a smug smile on her face as she looked towards Josh.
“What’re you doing here?” he asked, anger starting to build in his words as the mare walked up and stood in front of him, “Don’t you have someone to go beat up because Vinyl’s upset?”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” she replied, her violet eyes boring into his blue ones.
“Can I help you, Octavia?” asked Rarity, not able to disguise her annoyance at the sudden appearance of the gray mare.
“No,” she said, not looking at Rarity, “I’m here to help him.”
Josh, Twilight, And Rarity all exchanged confused glances at those words. Octavia never broke her gaze off the human, nor did her smug smile falter.
“And how do you intend to do that, if you don’t mind my asking?” inquired Josh.
“I’ll be more than willing to pay for your rather large expenditures at the pub.” she said, walking back and forth in front of Josh, Rarity, and Twilight, “if you’ll do a little work for me.”
“Don’t plan on it.” said Josh, glaring at the mare.
“I think you may want to reconsider that offer.” she replied, stopping and smiling at him once more, “You’ll be hard pressed to find a job for yourself here, no matter how famous you may think yourself to be.”
Josh had to fight the urge to wrap his hands around the gray mare’s throat and squeeze.
“Your fame here amounts to nothing, and, despite the fact that everypony seems to know you, that doesn’t mean they’ll hire you to work for them. For all I know, they may not even pay you for your time! However, I’m not like them. I’d be more than willing to pay your debts, as long as you work for me for awhile.”
Josh was about to retort, when he thought about her words. True, he was very well known around here. However, that was more for his size and difference in species than any of his music. As far as he knew, there wasn’t too much of a calling for a music producer in this town, and his size would probably intimidate ponies too much for him to be able to get a job anywhere. If Octavia was offering him a job, he’d probably better take it, no matter how demoralizing it might seem.
“What did you have in mind, if you don’t mind my asking?” he said slowly, staring at the mare.
Octavia’s smile widened, “You say you’re a great music producer. ‘Millions of fans all over the world’ and whatnot. I’d like to see you put your money where your mouth is, if you had any money.”
“What’re you saying, Tavi?” asked Twilight.
“If he’s so good at making music, then he should have no problem spreading that ability to others, right? Teach Vinyl how to be as good as you.”
Josh’s eyes widened at her words, “No! No fuckin' way! I’m not gonna do that! I refuse to do that! Make me eat dirt, or drink my own piss, but don’t make me do that!”
“What’re you so afraid of, ‘Xploshun?” she snickered at his stage name, “Don’t think you’re up for the challenge?”
“I’m not afraid of shit!” he yelled, making sure Sweetie Belle wasn’t around, “But I refuse to help her!”
“Why? What would it hurt?” asked Octavia, sitting on her haunches and glaring at Josh
“It’s not as simple as teaching someone how to be good. The most important things, like personal style and general understanding of the genre, have to be learned all on your own! I can’t just teach Vinyl how to be a good producer! It’s something she needs to discover for herself.”
“Well,” said Octavia, standing up and walking closer to Josh, “after that little incident where you showed her up and ruined her show, she hasn’t even wanted to think about music. She’s so afraid of her own failure that she’s almost completely given up on the one thing she wanted to do more than anything.”
Josh looked away from Octavia. Tears were starting to well up in the corners of her eyes, and he didn’t want to see that.
“It’s either this, or you’d better start job hunting. Frosty’s a good stallion, but he’s been known to find… alternative ways to get his payment.”
Octavia turned and began to walk away, leaving Josh to contemplate her words. Teach Vinyl… he thought, going over his choices in his mind. The problem was, there weren’t many choices….
“Fine.” he finally relented, making Octavia turn back around and look at him, “I’ll help Vinyl.”
“Excellent!” said Octavia, clapping her hooves together, “I’ll let her know she’ll have a new mentor. Show up bright and early tomorrow. Oh, and Josh?”
Josh peered at the mare, unable to disguise the malice in his eyes.
“Don’t cross me or Vinyl again, understood?”
With that, Octavia strode out the door, leaving the room eerily silent. After a few minutes, Josh stood and headed for the stairs.
“Where’re you going, darling?” asked Rarity apprehensively.
“To bed.” he replied over his shoulder, “If I’m gonna get up early in the morning, I’ll need to sleep off this hangover.”
With that, he headed to his room, leaving the two unicorns downstairs to glance nervously at each other. Tomorrow was gonna be a long day. He could feel it.
Chapter 14: Let's Get This Over With
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Josh stood outside a door which had a treble clef molded into the woodwork. He had awoken at about 4 this morning, unable to sleep because of the massive headache left from his hangover. Rarity got up about two hours later and made sure to prepare a nice breakfast for the human, knowing he’d need the energy. Thankfully, for Josh’s sanity, Sweetie Belle wasn’t too upset at him for not picking her and Scootaloo up the day before, merely disappointed that she hadn’t been able to spend some time with him on the way home from school. That was at least one bit of a silver lining to what he figured would be an awful day.
After awhile of preparing himself mentally, he sighed. There was no way around this and he knew it. Slowly, he raised his arm and knocked. No voice sounded inside, but he heard hoofsteps echo across a wooden floor. In a few minutes, the door opened, and Octavia stood there, peering up at Josh with that same pompous smile as yesterday.
“Oh good,” said the gray mare, her violet eyes shining with malice, “you’re here. Come inside. I’ll fetch Vinyl.”
Josh ducked inside and reluctantly followed the pony into the living room. Looking all around, he saw that the house was lavishly decorated. A medium-sized couch sat in the center of an ornate rug with two rather plushy chairs on either side. To the left of the overall setup was a music stand and several books of sheet music as well as what could only be Octavia’s cello.
“Come along now.” said the mare, breaking Josh away from the sight of the posh living room, “We’ve haven't any time to waste.”
Josh continued following the mare into the stairwell. She stopped suddenly, almost making him run into her rump. Turning around, she looked him in the eyes, her own violet orbs boring into his very soul.
“I’ll tell you when your time is up. Understand?” she said.
Josh nodded in agreement, “I get it. Just go get her already.”
“If you make her upset or mistreat her at all during your little lesson, I’ll see to it that Frosty beats the money you owe him out of your sorry hide.” she said, glaring at him, “Don’t even think about saying something you might regret.”
Josh said nothing, instead choosing to give the mare a heavy glare. She smiled at his lack of words, then turned back to the staircase.
“Vinyl!” she called, “Your new instructor is here! Come on down and meet him, dear.”
“Okay, Tavi. I’ll be right down.” came the reply, albeit a hesitant one.
Josh heard the sound of a bed creaking, a door open, then slow hoofsteps of a pony who really didn’t want to be up at this time.
“You’ve told her that it’s me, right?” he inquired, awaiting the sight of the unicorn.
“Of course not.” replied Octavia, not looking at Josh.
Josh felt his stomach drop, “What?! Why?!”
“There’s no way she’d have agreed to this if I’d told her it was you.” she said, turning back to the human and giving him a stern look, “It took me long enough to simply get her to agree to allow a mentor to teach her!”
Josh had no words to say to the cellist as he looked up, praying that Vinyl’s reaction wouldn’t be too bad. Absolute fear gripped his heart now. If Vinyl figured out it was him who’d be helping her, she’d probably refuse to even listen to Octavia, leaving Josh with no hope of returning home now. As his mind raced, he saw the cream colored mare round the corner. Her crimson-magenta eyes looked in his direction, then froze upon his tall form.
A long, uncomfortable silence followed for a few seconds, as human and pony exchanged glances, the former being one of nervousness, the latter one of shock. After awhile, Octavia cleared her throat loudly, breaking the silence.
“Ahem, Vinyl, dear,” she said, stepping back from her position and standing next to Josh, “this is your new instructor, Josh.”
Josh only managed a weak wave and smile as Vinyl peered down at him from her position atop the stairs. Suddenly, her eyes became angry, and tears began to form at the corners. She ran away down the hall, beginning to sob.
“Vinyl! Wait!” called Octavia, galloping up the stairs.
She turned back to Josh for a second, “Don’t move from here.”
Josh watched the gray mare run up the stairs and heard a door slam as Octavia disappeared around the corner. Soon, Josh heard Octavia stop and knock on what must be Vinyl’s door.
“Vinyl, dear. Please come out and let’s talk.”
“NO! Go away, Tavi!”
“Vinyl, you agreed to this, remember?”
“You never told me that it was him! I’m not working with him!”
Josh felt a pang of guilt hit him hard. He thought Vinyl had just sent Octavia to pick on him for doing what he did that night. He had no clue that she was actually this upset by it. Remembering Octavia’s threat, he remained downstairs, but still called up to the mare.
“Uh… Octavia?”
“What?! What could you possibly need, Josh?!”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Yes. Just stay down there. You’ll only make matters worse.”
Josh didn’t reply to that, simply choosing to ignore Octavia and quietly make his way upstairs. As he reached the top, he heard Vinyl’s door open, and saw Octavia’s black tail disappear through it before it slammed shut once more.
As quietly as he could, he made his way towards the small door. Upon reaching it, he stood close and listened to what they were saying. He heard Vinyl sobbing, which almost broke his resolve.
“How could you, Tavi?! Do you have any idea what he did to me that night?!”
“Vinyl, I’m well aware, but-“
“I can’t even go into town without hearing how much of a failure I am compared to him! He absolutely humiliated me! I’m the laughing stock in Ponyville!”
“Vinyl, I know some ponies have been less than forgiving, but you need to be able to move on from that and continue doing what you love. Who cares what they think?”
“That’s easy for you to say! Did you ever have anypony come and completely upstage you, make a fool out of you, then insult you to everypony they talk to?!”
“Well… no.”
“Then you have no bucking clue what I’m going through, and don’t try to pretend like you know what’s best for me.”
Vinyl broke into fresh sobs, making Josh lose what little restrain he still had on his mind. As he raised his hand to knock on the door, it opened, and Octavia walked out, stopping once she saw the human standing there.
“I told you to stay down there!” she shouted, glaring at him as he stepped back from the misty-eyed mare.
“I know you did. But, I need to talk to Vinyl.”
“What makes you think you’ll be able to make her listen to you if she wouldn’t listen to me?” said Octavia, her voice shaking slightly.
“Just give me a chance.”
Octavia wiped her eyes with a hoof, stopping a tear from rolling down her cheek.
“You’ve got five minutes. Use it wisely.”
She stepped aside and allowed him to enter the small room. Vinyl lay on her bed clutching a pillow, her eyes puffy and red and her blue mane disheveled. She looked over to see Josh duck in, and threw her pillow at him.
“Get out of here, asshole!” she yelled.
In a year, he’d become quite used to pillows being thrown at him by angry women. He expertly dodged it, making for a small chair in the corner. Vinyl threw another pillow, this one meeting its mark and hitting him in the head. He didn’t even flinch as it hit him, instead grabbing the chair, turning it around and sitting down. He fixed his gaze on the still crying mare, trying his best to look sympathetic and caring.
“I said get out!” she screamed, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks, matting the fur on her face.
“Listen, Vinyl-“
“Fuck off! I don’t wanna hear anything you have to say!”
The unicorn slid off her bed onto the floor and made for the door. As she reached the threshold, it slammed shut.
“TAVI!” she wailed, pounding on it’s surface and trying to force it open with her magic, “Let me out now!”
“Not a chance, Vinyl.” replied Octavia, who was obviously keeping the door shut with her body.
Vinyl pounded on the door for a few more minutes before slumping to the floor. She began to sob once more, her hooves over her eyes and her ears pressed flat against her skull. The sight broke Josh’s heart, and he rose from the chair to join Vinyl on the floor. As he sat down, Vinyl turned away from him, tears still trailing down her face.
Carefully, Josh reached out his hand and placed it on her shoulder, not expecting to comfort her at all with this gesture. She batted his hand away.
“Don’t touch me.”
“I’m trying to be a little comforting here.”
“Comforting?”
Vinyl stood, turning back to Josh, an angry look painting her face. She glared daggers at the human.
“What could you possibly do to comfort me?!” she yelled, stepping forward a little, “You r-r-ruined me! I c-can’t even show my face around town anymore! All I hear about is how you’re the best DJ ever, how I’m a f-failure and I s-shouldn’t even have my c-cutie mark.”
She broke down in fresh sobs, her entire body quivering. Josh leaned forward, wrapping his arms around the crying mare, pulling her close and gently rubbing her back. Vinyl continued to cry, hitting his back with her hooves and trying to push him away, to no avail.
“I-I s-s-said don’t t-touch me!”
“I’m sorry.” he said simply, squeezing the mare softly, “I’m so so sorry.”
“You’re sorry d-doesn’t do a thing for m-me!” she shouted, still trying to escape his grip.
“I know. I just… want you to at least know that I’m sorry. If there was any way I could take back what happened, I would. I can’t stand the thought that I hurt anyone in this town, especially someone just trying to live out their passion.”
After a few minutes, Vinyl stopped trying to get Josh to let go, and simply collapsed, laying her head on his shoulder and continuing her sobs. Josh just held the mare close, unable to believe that she’d finally submitted to his embrace, which was good, because he didn’t know how much more of her assault his back could’ve taken.
“I promise, Vinyl,” he said, letting go and looking the mare in her puffy, watery eyes, “I’ll never do anything like that to you or anyone again. I was way out of line in my actions. What I thought was best for you, was just my selfishness shining through. I’m more sorry than you could ever know.”
Vinyl stared at Josh with pained, watery eyes.
“You really really hurt me, you know that?”
“I know, Vinyl. That’s why I’m so sorry.”
Vinyl wiped her eyes with a hoof. She peered back at Josh, pushing part of her matted mane out of her eyes.
“So, you’re gonna help me now? Why?”
Josh paused before replying. He couldn’t tell her the truth, that if he helped her, Octavia would pay off his debt so he could return home. Then she’d never listen to him.
“I owe you for what I did. It wasn’t right, and I wanna make it up to you. I’ll do my best to teach you everything I know.”
Vinyl stared at Josh, a little hope shining through her gaze.
“However,” he continued, “I’ll need your word that you’ll trust me, no matter what. It won’t be easy, and there’ll be some things I can’t teach you. But, I’m still gonna give it my all, till you’re the best producer in all of Equestria.”
Vinyl smiled a little at his words.
“Okay.” she said after awhile, peering into Josh’s eyes, “I give you my word. There’s just one question I have.”
Josh said nothing, prompting her to continue.
“What’s your name? Your real name?”
Josh smiled at the unicorn, “It’s Josh. Josh Daniels.”
“Okay then, Josh.” she replied, holding out her hoof, “I can’t wait to get started tomorrow.”
Josh shook her hoof, then rose and knocked on the door.
“Octavia,” he called to the mare on the other side, “We’re good in here. You can open up the door.”
It swung open and Octavia looked between the two of them. Her face held a relieved look.
“We’re gonna get started tomorrow. I think if there’s one thing Vinyl needs before we get down to business, it’s some rest.” he said to Octavia, walking out the door and facing the cellist.
Vinyl smiled at Josh, then carefully shut her door once more.
“That’s not part of our agreement, Josh.” said Octavia, following the human as he headed for the stairwell, “I’ll tell you when you’re done for the day.”
“She’s in no shape to get started right now. Even if I had any clue what I was gonna start with to teach her, there’s no way she’d be able to pay attention.”
Octavia huffed, “Ugh. Fine. However, don’t think you’re off the hook. You’re still in my employ.”
“How could I forget?”
Octavia opened the front door and allowed Josh to walk out into the bright Equestrian sun.
“Be back here, same time tomorrow. Got it?” she said, watching Josh walk away.
Josh simply nodded, then headed for the boutique. As he walked away, he heard the door close to Octavia’s house, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out the baggie of coke he’d managed to make last all this time. It was empty now. He’d run out of blow, and he knew that soon, the symptoms of withdrawal would begin to manifest themselves.
He cursed a little. One time, he’d tried to get clean, only to get hit hard by the effects of withdrawal. He just hoped the dreams this time would be less haunting and vivid…
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Josh awoke. It was night time. Bright red and blue lights flashed all around him. He stood from his position laying on the hard concrete and looked around. Police cars and ambulances filled the street, their lights flashing.
However, as Josh quickly realized, there was no one anywhere nearby. He began to walk down to the center of where all the police cars were gathered, the lights playing off everything nearby, making them flash an eerie red color. As he reached his destination, he saw what looked like a rather gruesome car wreck. One car was almost entirely wrapped around the other’s front fender. As Josh looked towards the wreck, his mouth agape, he heard a soft moan from one of the cars.
Rushing forward, he peered in the broken window. It was completely dark inside, but he could still make out the figure of someone trapped inside as the flashing lights played through the opposite side.
“Hold on!” shouted Josh, praying the person was okay, “I’ll get you out! Just hold on, okay?”
Josh rushed around to the other side of the car. He pulled with all his might on the handle, trying to force the door open. After a few more tugs, the door opened, and the moaning figure slumped out. Josh reached in and carefully pulled the limp figure out, laying him down on the ground face first. Unable to think of what to do, he began calling for help.
“Someone! Anyone!” he called, running around a little, “Please! Help us! We need help! Please!”
“J-Josh…”
Josh turned back to the man on the ground, rushing forward and kneeling next to him.
“Don’t worry, man. I’ll get you help, somehow. Just hang tight, okay?”
“W-why… w-why d-didn’t you w-watch w-what was h-happening?”
Josh, who had been looking around frantically, turned and stared at the man. What’s he talking about? he mused. Slowly and carefully, he turned the man over, gasping and jumping away from him. A hand shot to his mouth as he peered into a face almost completely identical to his own, except it was bloodied and bruised.
It was the face of his brother, Richard.
“Y-you k-killed me.” Richard stammered out, pointing a shaky hand at Josh.
“N-No!” said Josh, stammering himself, “I didn’t know! He just came out of nowhere!”
“Just couldn’t l-live without y-your drugs that d-day, could you Josh?”
“I didn’t even have that much!”
“It was enough.”
Josh knelt next to his brother’s form, burying his face in his hands, tears beginning to flow.
“I-I’m s-s-sorry, Richard. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I l-loved you more than a-anything.”
Suddenly, the lights flashing all around seemed to melt away. Josh removed his hands from in front of his face. All around him was darkness. He stood and looked around. Everything was gone, the police cars, the lights, Richard, even the street. Josh turned once more, screaming in fear as he saw Richard standing before him.
“You’re the reason I’m dead, Josh!” yelled Richard, reaching out and grabbing Josh’s throat, picking him up off the ground, “It’s all your fault! You took away my life and my happiness, and now I’m gonna repay the favor!”
Josh’s eyes widened in fear as Richard pulled out a large knife, rearing back his arm before plunging it into Josh’s stomach.
*****
Josh screamed as he awoke, shooting up in his bed. He was shaking and had broken out in a cold sweat. Another withdrawal dream he thought, trying his best to calm himself down. It was the same dream he’d had last time he’d tried to get clean, one that haunted him every time he stopped using. Closing his eyes, he could still see Richard’s bloody, enraged face.
He peered out the window, watching Luna’s bright and beautiful moon shine through. Memories came flooding back to him, memories of the crash, the hospital, the funeral. He choked back tears as he envisioned his brother’s fiancée, Brittany, dressed all in black, sobbing uncontrollably as the love of her life was lowered into his grave. She told Josh she didn’t blame him, but that offered him no sense of comfort. Just because she didn’t blame him, that didn’t mean he didn’t blame himself.
As he prepared to lay back down he heard a small voice call to him from out of nowhere, making him jump.
“Josh?” said the little voice.
Josh looked over the edge of his bed, seeing three pairs of eyes peering up at him. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had been having a sleepover at Rarity’s that night. They must have heard him screaming and come to investigate.
“Oh. It’s just you three.” he said, his heart rate gradually slowing, “You should be in bed right now. What’re you doing up?”
“We heard you screaming,” said Scootaloo, “and we wanted to make sure you were okay. What happened?”
“Nothing Scoots.” replied Josh, ruffling the pegasus filly’s mane, “Just a bad dream. You three need to get back to bed now. I’ll be fine.”
“Ya don’t look fine.” said Apple Bloom, hopping up on the bed, “Ya look like ya’ll are shakin. Are ya cold?”
“I am. But, like I said, I’ll be fine. Just get back to bed, okay?”
“We don’t wanna.” said Sweetie Belle, as she and Scootaloo joined Apple Bloom on the bed, “We wanna stay in here and make sure you’re okay!”
With that, all three fillies reached out their tiny hooves and embraced him, holding his cold, quivering body tightly. Josh, who never could have seen this coming, sat stunned for a few seconds. He wanted to tell them to leave, to get back to bed and leave him be for the night. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. His body and his heart were both being warmed by this sudden embrace.
Josh could hold it back no more. He felt tears trail down his face as he returned the loving gesture, pulling the three fillies close. These three little ponies cared more for how he felt than for their own need for rest. They genuinely wanted him to be alright, to feel better, to feel loved and cared for. Soon, his whole body was quivering as he openly sobbed in front of the fillies.
“Why’re you crying, Joshie?” asked Sweetie Belle, looking up to Josh’s face.
“G-girls,” he stammered, pulling from the embrace and looking at all three ponies, “I-I’m real sick. I’ve been sick for a long time.”
“Can’t ya just take some medicine for it? I’ll bet that’ll clear it right up.” said Scootaloo, smiling wide.
“There’s no medicine that can cure me, I’m afraid.” he replied, “Only time, a lot of patience, and a bit of suffering are gonna help me.”
“Ya’ll don’t gotta do it alone though, right?” asked Apple Bloom.
Josh smiled wide as he looked upon the little yellow filly before him, “No, Apple Bloom. I don’t.”
“Then the Cutie Mark Crusaders are gonna help make sure you feel all better!” said Sweetie Belle, excitedly waving her tiny hooves in the air.
Josh wiped the tears from his eyes and pulled all three girls in close for one more hug. They settled around his body in bed, each one staying as close to him as they could. Josh lay his head down on the pillow, hearing the soft breathing of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all around him. A smile crossed his face as he reached out to Sweetie Belle, lightly stroking her mane as she drifted to sleep, a smile on her face. Recovery isn’t gonna be a cakewalk he thought to himself as he felt sleep overtake him once more, but at least I’m not in this alone.
Chapter 16: Let's Begin, Shall We?
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Josh sat in front of Vinyl, his iPod blaring out music while he discussed the differences between dubstep and moombahton to the unicorn. He’d been helping Vinyl for a week now, and she was showing a fair bit more potential than before. At first, Josh had no idea what to start with as far as teaching the pony about electronic music. She hadn’t heard of any of the kinds of music he mentioned as they began, but now she was getting a feel for the differences.
It turned out, Vinyl had worked at a radio station before she’d moved in with Octavia. The job paid pretty well, and she definitely loved playing the music for the station’s broadcasts. Because of that, she decided to try and become a producer. However, her understanding of how a song is structured and composed was fairly limited, making it hard for her to get patterning and beats down just right. Eventually, she had to move in with Octavia, as she couldn’t really support herself, not being able to do many performances.
Josh first addressed the issue of the differences in types of electronic music. His iPod, which had died long ago, was still on his person most of the time. Vinyl had used her magic to enchant the device, allowing its battery to never die. By using it, Josh could not only discuss with Vinyl the differences in types of songs, he could provide examples as well.
“So, you see,” he said, the latest song fading away, “moombahton is a more animalistic style of music. However, it’s still just a subset of dubstep. Does that make sense?”
“If it’s a subset, why does it have a different name?” inquired the unicorn, her head cocked in confusion, “Wouldn’t it just be easier to call it dubstep?”
“The whole reason it’s called something different is because a few guys didn’t want their music to be called something as mainstream as dubstep.” he replied, readying the next song to play, “They got all butthurt and made up their own name for it. That’s what I’ve always been told, at least.”
“Do you think of it as dubstep?”
Josh thought about it for a moment. He’d made some moombahton stuff in the past, and he didn’t see much of a difference apart from the more aggressive growls and synth in it.
“I suppose…” he said, trailing off in thought.
“Can I ask you a question?” asked Vinyl, peering at Josh, who was deep in philosophical thought about what he believed about dubstep and moombahton.
“You just did.” he chuckled, abandoning the thought for the moment.
“How’d you get to know all this stuff? I mean, you said nopony taught you how to make music.”
“That,” he began, scratching the back of his head, “is a very long story. One I’m afraid we don’t have time for today.”
Vinyl opened her mouth to protest, but as she prepared to speak, Octavia walked in the room.
“Josh,” said the gray mare, smiling at both of them, “your time is up. You may leave now.”
Josh acknowledged Octavia’s words, getting up and placing his chair back to its original place on the wall.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Vinyl.” he said, turning to head down the staircase.
“Wait!” she called after the human, trotting up to face him.
“Can I help you?” he asked, a little impatiently.
“I was wondering… if you’re free at some point tonight…”
Vinyl rubbed her forelegs together nervously, not looking at Josh. If he were to be honest with himself, he found the sight rather cute as the unicorn tripped over her words.
“W-would you like to hang out with me at the l-lake?”
“Vinyl, you cheeky little pony,” he said, smiling at the unicorn mischievously, “are you honestly asking your instructor out on a date?”
“Wha-No!” she said, flushing bright red, raising her hoof in defense, “I just… I really wanna… It’s nothing like…”
Josh knelt down so as to seem less intimidating to the flustered pony, “I was just kidding Vinyl. Calm down. I’d love to hang out with you at the lake tonight.”
Vinyl flushed even redder, but still peered at Josh past her blue mane, “You would?”
“Of course!” he replied, smiling at Vinyl warmly, “I’d just like to know where that came from all of a sudden.”
“Well,” said Vinyl, her blush dying down a little, “we’ve been meeting every day for a week now for lessons. I just figured you might wanna see me for once and not have to teach me something.”
Josh stood once more, not taking his blue eyes off Vinyl’s crimson-magenta ones.
“Makes sense to me. What time do you wanna meet up?”
“How about… 7:30.” said the mare, smiling widely, “Should I meet you at the boutique?”
“No, I’ll come here and get you. It seems more… appropriate that way.”
“O-okay!” said Vinyl, smiling a toothy smile, the squeaky noise occurring once more.
“Am I the only one who can hear that noise or something?” he inquired, looking all around for the source.
“What noise?”
“I swear to God! I’m not crazy!” he said, his eyes widening, “I know I keep hearing a noise!”
Vinyl just laughed at him, rolling on the floor and clutching her gut. Josh initially glared at the mirthful unicorn, but soon, he found it impossible not to laugh himself. Turning, he walked down the stairs and out the front door, headed back to the boutique. All he had to do now was wait for 7:30 to roll around so he could meet his "student" for a night at the lake.
*****
“… so, he wakes up and says ‘Why does my back hurt so much?’,” said Josh, as both he and Vinyl were nearly rolling with laughter, “and I just didn’t have the heart to tell him he got that giant tattoo. I let the girl he took home that night do that for him. She almost laughed him out of the room once she saw it!”
At that, both human and pony completely lost it, heaving with laughter and mirthful tears streaming from their eyes. After a few minutes, Vinyl regained enough control to be able to talk.
“Th-that’s j-just cruel.” she said, wiping her eyes with a hoof.
“It was pretty damn funny though.” replied Josh, sitting back up, wiping grass off his back.
“I could only imagine! I’ll bet you get involved in all kinds of stuff like that when you’re on the road, huh?”
Josh’s smile slipped a little as he thought about the things he’d done in recent years. At the time, it was all fun and games, but now, it seemed foolish and cruel. All the hearts he’d broken, all the people he’d conned into giving him anything he’d wanted. A wave of guilt hit him as he thought about his past.
“You okay?” asked Vinyl, peering closer at Josh’s face, which had changed expressions rather quickly, “You look like you’ve got something on your mind.”
“I’m fine.” he replied simply, looking out towards the water, watching the sun setting beyond the mountains, making the lake glow a brilliant gold color, “Just thinking about home.”
“What’s it like where you’re from?” asked Vinyl, sidling closer to Josh.
“It has its nice points. A lotta beautiful places all around. It always did rain a lot though.” he said, thinking back to his life in Oregon.
“I love the sound of rain. It’s really soothing sometimes, ya know?” said Vinyl, thinking about the sound of rain.
“It can be. Till you realize it’s been raining for the past 24 hours and it shows no sign of letting up.” replied Josh, chuckling a little.
Vinyl giggled slightly at that. The two then sat in a companionable silence for awhile, one thinking of the other.
“Ya know,” began Vinyl, Josh turning his head towards her, “you never did answer my question this morning.”
“What was that again?”
“How do you know so much about electronic music if you were never taught by anypony?”
“A lot of what I know comes from personal experience.” he said, staring back into the sky, “My style isn’t something I was taught. I just developed it over the course of a few years. The same goes for my knowledge of the genre. It wasn’t ever something I could be taught.”
“How’d you even get started doing this?”
“Well,” he began, his gaze remaining on the sky, “I had a friend who worked at a rave club. He’d said they were in need of a new DJ, and I loved music like that, so I applied to work there. After awhile of being everyone’s go-for, I was allowed to DJ a party one night. I immediately fell in love with it.”
He smiled a little, thinking back on that first dance he ever covered before continuing, “I loved it so much, I decided I’d figure out how to make that kind of music. I had saved up a bunch of money and used it to buy everything I needed, from a controller to a mixer and speakers. From there, I started developing my music and worked the underground for awhile.”
“Is that how you got so famous?” asked Vinyl, listening intently to Josh’s story.
“Pretty much. I got my first record deal from there, then, next thing I knew, I was featured on every major electronic music site and page. Almost overnight I became a dubstep sensation. The rest is history from there, I suppose.”
Vinyl stared at Josh, her mouth agape. He turned his gaze towards the mare, smiling as she looked away, blushing bright red.
“That’s really cool.” she said simply, shifting away from Josh slightly, “I wish I had a cool story like that.”
“You’ve got more potential than you can imagine, Vinyl.” said Josh, grabbing the unicorn’s chin and forcing her head up to look into her eyes, “One day, you’ll have a story like that to tell. I promise.”
“Y-you really think so?”
“Absolutely.” he replied, smiling warmly at Vinyl, “I made it my mission to make you great, and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna fail at that now.”
Vinyl smiled at Josh. For a few minutes, they found themselves lost in each others eyes, unable to look away from one another. Josh couldn’t help but notice how beautiful Vinyl’s coat looked as the bright orange sunlight played off it, making her glow a vibrant color. He felt himself gravitating towards her, bringing his face closer to her own. Vinyl's eyes fluttered closed, awaiting the feeling of his lips against hers…
That sensation never came. Josh pulled away slowly, hearing a small whimper escape the mare as he did so. When she opened her eyes once more, it was to see him looking away and blushing. She smiled at the sight.
“Hey, Josh.” she said softly, standing up.
“Yeah?”
“Last one in the lake’s a rotten dragon egg!”
With that, Vinyl sped off, kicking sand up behind her and into his face. He spluttered as it hit him. Soon, he heard splashing and sloshing, and opened his eyes to see Vinyl in the water, sticking her tongue out at him.
“No fair!” he shouted, removing his shirt and taking his things out of his pockets, “You surprised me!”
“Poor sport!” the unicorn called back, beginning to backstroke across the water.
Josh looked to his left and noticed a tire swing. He ran over to it and placed his foot into the tiny rubber circle, taking careful aim near Vinyl.
“GERONIMO!” he yelled, swinging in a wide arc, landing in the water and causing a huge splash.
He shot to the surface, looking for the unicorn, who seemed to have disappeared. As he turned to look for her, a pair of hooves pressed on his shoulders, forcing him underwater. He grabbed one hoof and pulled its owner under with him. Upon resurfacing once more, he heard laughing and saw Vinyl right in front of him, a huge smile on her face. The two played and splashed for another few minutes, both wearing huge smiles as they enjoyed the water and each other’s company.
After awhile, both agreed that it was probably a good idea for them to head home for the night. Josh collected his things after Vinyl dried him off with her magic. He walked the unicorn mare home, talking and laughing with her the whole way. Octavia yelled at him once Vinyl was inside the house, saying how stupid it was for him to allow her friend to get in the water like that and risk getting her sick. Josh simply apologized to Octavia, saying it’d never happen again.
From there, Josh made his way back to the boutique, turning back to the house once more. He saw Vinyl standing at her bedroom window, waving at him. Josh returned the gesture, and continued back towards Rarity’s place. He was tired and cold, but also happier than he’d been in a long time. I don’t know that I ever want this feeling to end he thought as he made his way down the street.
Chapter 17: I Have A Gift For You
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Over the course of the next week, Vinyl had shown marked improvement. She now understood the differences in the music styles, and her compositions were nearly flawless. Josh felt she was ready for work on some equipment type stuff. There was only one problem: she didn’t have much in the way of equipment.
Josh sat in the Carousel Boutique, thoughts racing through his head as to what he could do to combat this issue. Sweetie Belle sat curled up on his lap, sleeping peacefully as he lightly stroked her curly mane. He figured that none of these ponies would even know how to spell synthesizer, let alone have one. They probably didn’t have a jogwheel controller with faders and storage tracks either, and he knew they didn’t have computers either. Kinda hard to have one if there’s no internet connection…
Rarity walked into the room, spotting Josh.
“Hello, darling.” she said, smiling at him.
Josh shushed her, pointing to the sleeping filly on his lap.
“Oh,” whispered Rarity, putting a hoof to her mouth, “my apologies.”
“It’s okay. She had a hard night last night. Couldn’t stop having nightmares, so I picked her up and held her for awhile till she was able to calm down. Still didn’t sleep real well though.” said the human, peering down at the little unicorn in his lap.
“Dear, you need your sleep as well.” said Rarity, placing a hoof on her sister’s, “You can come get me if you ever need her to calm down. You get up so early in the morning now…”
“It’s fine Rares, really.” he said, smiling at the mare, “I don’t wanna trouble you if I can handle it.”
“It’s no trouble at all, darling. You need me at all, don’t be afraid to grab me.”
Josh smiled at Rarity, and the mare returned it. They both sat in silence for awhile, watching Sweetie Belle’s tiny body move up and down with each breath.
“So,” said Rarity, walking over and laying on the couch nearby, “how’re things with Vinyl going so far?”
“She’s showing some serious improvement as of late. It’s incredible how much better she’s gotten so quickly. I think she’s ready for the hardware type stuff now.”
“Hardware?” Rarity asked quizzically, raising a questioning eyebrow.
“Yeah. Like controllers, monitors, loaded tracks. All the same kind of stuff I use back home.”
“Darling, I think you’ll be hard pressed to find things of that nature here.”
“Yeah. I know. I’ve been trying to find a way to get what I need, but there just doesn’t seem to be anything I can do.”
Josh lost himself in thought once more. He knew that Vinyl had a turntable at least, but that’s about all it was. There was no kind of faders or anything on it he could use to really play with the sound when he wanted to. If only he could just somehow trade it out for something else…
“You know, dear,” said Rarity, rising from the couch and heading for the stairs, “if I were you, I’d go see Twilight. She’s unbelievably smart, and an excellent problem solver. If anypony would be able to help you, it’d be her.”
With that, Rarity made her way up the stairs, headed for her inspiration room. Josh mulled over her words. Twilight was smart, that was for sure. However, he somehow doubted she’d know what half the stuff he’d say is. I’ve got nothing to lose though he thought, continuing to stroke Sweetie Belle’s soft mane.
*****
“I’m not allowed to send you home. You know that, right?”
“That’s not why I’m here. Can I come in? I need to talk to you.”
Twilight stepped out of the way, allowing Josh to duck in and enter the library. The unicorn closed the door behind him, then walked out to face the human.
“What can I help you with?” she asked, trotting over to a nearby cushion and patting the one next to her.
“I’m wondering if you can help me get some stuff.” said Josh, walking over and sitting next to Twilight on the small cushion.
“I can certainly try. What is it you need?”
Josh bit his lip, “I need you to try and help me get some sound equipment. It’s for Vinyl. She’s doing absolutely fantastic right now, and I think she’s ready to move on to the hardware side of things.”
“Doesn’t she already have some stuff you can use?” Twilight asked, cocking her head in confusion, “She is a DJ after all.”
“The stuff she uses is… not all that great. I can’t really work with what she has right now. That setup really needs an upgrade.”
“Okay. So what do you need exactly?”
“Well,” said Josh, thinking back to his home studio, “I need a controller pad with good jogwheels, faders, and loaded track sets. I’ll also need a good pair of DJ headphones, preferably ones that can handle a lot of bass. Oh, and I’ll need a good computer tower that has at least two monitors and some production software. Plus, a few speakers and things like that.”
Twilight simply stared at Josh. He could have sworn he heard her brain break as her gaze stared right through him. That was about the reaction he expected.
“I don’t even know what half of that is.” she said, finally finding her voice.
“I figured that’d probably be the case.” he said, a little disappointment entering his voice.
“I’m really sorry, Josh.” she said, placing a hoof on his shoulder, “I wish I knew what to do. But, I can’t just find all that stuff here.”
“It’s okay, Twi.” said Josh, disheartened at the thought that he’d failed, “It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have expected any of you to even know what that stuff is.”
As he walked towards the door, he thought about how he’d never be able to let Vinyl experience what he had back home. The excitement of creating dubstep, setting up everything perfectly, watching it all fall in place. At this point, the last thing he wanted to do was let down the cream colored unicorn…
“Unicorn.” he said, an idea dawning on him.
He turned back to Twilight, “Can unicorns transform things with their magic?”
“Well, yeah.” she said simply, “We can. Why?”
“Maybe, and this is a bit of a long shot, but you can probably just transform some things into what I need.”
Twilight bit her lip, “I probably could. There’s just one problem.”
“What’s that?”
“I can’t transform it if I can’t envision what I’m making.”
Josh’s shoulders slumped once more. Of course, it would probably help to be able to see what you’re making. He sighed, racking his brain for anything that could be done…
“Twilight,” he finally said, unable to think of anything, “this isn’t just for me. It’s for her, so she can move up to the next level. I promised to make her the best, and I’m gonna stick to that promise.”
Twilight smiled at Josh, walking up to him and standing up on her hind legs. She wrapped her forelegs around his midsection, hugging him tightly.
“You really care about her, don’t you?” she said, peering up at him from her position.
Josh said nothing, simply nodding at the lavender unicorn wrapped around his chest.
“If that’s the case, then I’ll do my absolute best to help you. I promise.”
Josh felt a lump build up in his throat as Twilight returned to four legs, still smiling at him. He quickly suppressed the urge to cry, turning to the door and opening it.
“You’d better come with me. We’re headed to Octavia’s house.”
*****
Josh and Twilight stood in the small shed behind Octavia’s house. It was almost completely empty, save for a work table at the far end. Twilight questioned if the building was too small, but to Josh, it was perfect. His studio back at home wasn’t really much bigger than this space anyway.
Once they had arrived at the home, Josh told Octavia their plan to create the equipment they needed for Vinyl. At first, Octavia doubted they’d be able to create everything they mentioned, but Twilight said she could establish a mental connection with Josh and use his image to make it all. Upon hearing that, Octavia agreed to let Josh use the shed as a studio, pointing out that she never went out there anyway. She also agreed to distract Vinyl and give them enough time to work.
“You sure you’re okay with this Twi?” he asked, looking to the lavender unicorn stood beside him, “I can only imagine this’ll take a lot of magical power to do…”
“I’ll be fine.” she said, smiling at Josh once more.
“Thanks again for this, Twilight. It means a lot.”
“If it’s for you and Vinyl, I’m happy to help. Now, shall we get started?”
Josh nodded, then knelt down to be at eye-level with Twilight.
“Now remember,” she said, sitting on her haunches, “it’s important that you not take your eyes off of mine. For the connection to be established and the image transfer to be successful, we need absolute focus.”
“Got it.” he said.
“You ready?” asked Twilight
Josh nodded, then stared into Twilight’s violet eyes. Her horn began to glow as he did so, and a strange sensation filled his head, one that oddly felt like fingers prodding his brain softly. For some time, the feeling persisted, causing Josh to squirm slightly in discomfort. Thankfully, Twilight was quick in her work, and before too long, the odd sensation had begun to subside.
“Think of what you need now and I’ll transfer the images into my own head.” Twilight said, her eyes still locked on Josh's.
The young producer began to think of his home setup, all the equipment he used and needed. The prodding sensation in his head soon returned as Twilight began pulling the images away from his mind. He could almost feel them being copied and pulled out as he struggled to maintain constant eye contact with the lavender unicorn. Twilight’s horn glowed brighter as she pulled out everything she could. Finally, with a relieved sigh, the glow died down and she broke eye contact with Josh.
“You get it all?” he asked, blinking rapidly to moisturize his eyes.
“I think so.” she replied, sticking out her tongue and probing her brain for the images.
She turned to face the table at the far end of the shed. Powering up her horn, she focused on the image in her mind. Soon, the table was enveloped in a purple aura and began to shift and change. In the next few moments, a soundboard and mixer sat where the table used to, its buttons and jogwheels emitting a bright blue light.
Josh walked up to the table, smiling at the familiar sight. He turned the synthesizer attached to the board on and heard a bass kick emanate from the device. Pressing a few buttons, he halved the speed of the beat several times, before dropping the frequency. He then turned a knob on the top, causing it to begin to make a wobble sound. A huge smile came across his face as he heard the familiar noise issue forth.
“This is perfect, Twi!” he said, turning the device off and turning back to the unicorn.
She beamed with pride at her accomplishment.
“There’s more where that came from too!” she said, turning back to the table and setting back to work.
*****
“Where are we going, Josh?”
“Just be patient, Vinyl. And no peeking!”
Vinyl sighed as she followed behind Josh, who was leading her by her hoof, blindfolded. She’d spent the majority of her day shopping and spending time with Octavia, an activity she enjoyed from time to time, but one which Tavi made unbearable by forcing Vinyl to stop at almost every shop they came across. Once the two friends had returned home, Josh showed up out of nowhere and said he had something to show Vinyl. From there, he’d placed this blindfold over her eyes and was now leading her to… Celestia knows where.
“Is the blindfold really necessary?” she asked, walking awkwardly as Josh held her front hoof.
“It is if you wanna be surprised. We’re almost there. Don’t worry.”
Vinyl heard the sound of a door opening as Josh pulled her along. They walked a few more feet before stopping on a hard wooden floor.
“Okay, you can take off the blindfold now.”
Vinyl removed the obstruction and looked around the room. Directly in front of her was a new soundboard and mixer, as well at a small, single record turntable. Along with that, there were two bright glowing monitors up above the whole setup, all or which wired into a large gray tower underneath which hummed softly.
“Welcome to your new production studio, Vinyl.” said Josh, smiling at the unicorn mare whose mouth hung agape.
“How… what… why… I-I can’t believe this!” she stammered, rushing forward to examine everything before her eyes.
“Twilight and I got it all set up for you while you and Octavia were gone.” said Josh, watching as Vinyl began playing with knobs and pressing buttons, “It all runs on it’s own. No electricity required! Plus, it’s got all the amenities a dubstep producer could ever want.”
Vinyl hardly heard Josh begin to explain what everything was. She was to enthralled that somepony had cared enough to do something like this for her. She looked to Josh, tears of happiness pricking the corners of her eyes as he pointed to different things on the controller.
“… and these are jogwheels. They’ll be something we’ll work with later-whoa!”
Out of nowhere, Vinyl rushed forward and hugged Josh tightly, tears of happiness falling from her eyes.
“Thank you so so much, Josh!” she said, peering up at him with watery crimson-magenta eyes, “You don’t know how much this means to me!”
“It was nothing, Vinyl.” he said, smiling at her, “Really.”
“It’s not nothing, Josh. Nopony’s ever done anything like this for me. Other than Tavi, no others have even given me a legitimate shot!”
Josh returned Vinyl’s embrace, “Well, then thank God I’m not like most ponies, I guess.”
Vinyl giggled at that, nuzzling Josh’s chest as happy tears began to fall from her eyes. As the two held each other for awhile, Octavia peered through the door, a smile on her face as she looked at Vinyl. For the first time in what seemed like forever, she saw a genuine look of happiness upon her friend's face, a sight which warmed her heart immensely. She silently left the two to their business as they broke apart and Josh continued explaining the setup to Vinyl, the cream colored mare hardly able to hold back her excitement the entire time.
Chapter 18: Don't Be Afraid
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Sweetie Belle and Cheerilee stood outside the Ponyville schoolhouse. Sweetie kept looking all around for a figure coming to get her from school. Rarity should have been there about a half-hour ago…
“Where could she be?” mused the filly, turning to look at Cheerilee.
“I’m not sure, Sweetie. It’s not like her to be this late.”
As both ponies stood there, a voice called from the distance. Both Cheerilee and Sweetie Belle looked and saw a tall figure running up to the school.
“Joshie!” called Sweetie, rushing forward towards the human.
“Hey Sweets!” he said back, scooping the filly up as she reached him, tickling her belly and making her giggle loudly.
“You must be Josh.” said Cheerilee, walking out to address the human and carrying Sweetie Belle’s saddlebags, “I’m Miss Cheerilee, the instructor here.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Cheerilee.” said Josh, setting Sweetie Belle down and shaking the teacher’s hoof.
“Where’s Rarity? I was under the impression she was going to be the one getting Sweetie Belle today.” said Cheerilee, giving Josh the saddlebags.
“Rarity’s been so busy at the shop. When I got home from my lesson with Vinyl this morning, she was fast asleep. I took her to her room and told her to rest.”
“I can only imagine how much business she’s doing right now, what with the Gala coming up and all…”
“Exactly. So, since I didn’t have anything else to do today besides help Fluttershy clean out her shed, I figured I’d come get Sweets here and take her home.” he said as Sweetie Belle nuzzled his leg.
“Makes sense to me.” said Cheerilee, “Although I was always told that Fluttershy never allows anypony into her shed.”
“That’s for a reason. That place was a death trap when I got started. It’s all good now though.”
“Very well then.”
Cheerilee looked to Sweetie Belle, “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay Sweetie Belle?”
“Okay Miss Cheerilee!”
With that, Josh picked up the little filly, placing her on his back so her back hooves rested on his shoulders. He waved goodbye to Cheerilee before heading off for the boutique. As he walked, Sweetie Belle told him all about her day at school.
“… and Miss Cheerilee said that my report was the best out of the group!”
“That’s great, Sweets!” he exclaimed, feeling her tiny hooves wrapped around his neck, “You need to thank Twilight for helping you out with that once you get the chance.”
“Okay!” said the little filly.
“How’re the other Crusaders doing?” asked Josh, “I haven’t seen them around for a little while.”
“Apple Bloom’s been working on the farm a lot. Applejack keeps her pretty busy. And Scootaloo’s been working with Rainbow Dash learning how to fly.”
“That’s interesting.” said Josh, reasoning that that must be the cause of a sudden lack of the rainbow maned pegasus, “I didn’t know that Rainbow was working with Scoots.”
“Yeah. For a little while now. It’s nice that Scootaloo has a big sister now, but…” Sweetie Belle trailed off.
“Something wrong, Sweets?” asked Josh, stopping and placing the filly in his arms.
“I just… really miss them sometimes. We’d always go out every weekend and crusade for our cutie marks. But now…”
“Sometimes friends get busy like that, Sweets.” said Josh, smiling down at the little unicorn in his arm, lightly stroking her mane, “It doesn’t mean they don’t love you any more or anything like that.”
“I know. I just really wanted us to find our special talents together.” she said.
“You really want that cutie mark, huh?”
“Every colt and filly in our class has theirs except us. It kinda hurts sometimes to see that somepony else figured out their talents and here we are, still blank flanks.”
Sweetie Belle’s face fell and she looked down at her hooves. Josh grabbed her little chin and forced her to look into his eyes.
“Just because you don’t have your cutie mark yet doesn’t mean you’ll never get it. And it doesn’t mean you’re not special either. You’re more special to your sister and I than you could ever know.”
Sweetie smiled and reached her head up, nuzzling Josh’s neck.
“I know. It’s just really important for ponies to have one.”
“Well, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret.” said Josh, peering around playfully, “But you can’t tell anyone, okay?”
Sweetie nodded, listening intently. Josh leaned in close to her ear.
“I don’t have a cutie mark either.” he whispered.
“You don’t?!” said Sweetie Belle, covering her mouth with a hoof.
“Nope.” replied Josh, placing Sweetie Belle on the ground.
He raised one leg of his shorts, showing that there indeed was no mark there.
“How do you know what you’re supposed to do if you don’t have a cutie mark?” asked Sweetie as Josh covered his leg once more.
“I just figured out what I was good at and wanted to do. I didn’t need a mark on my leg to tell me that.”
“Does anypony in your world have a cutie mark?”
“Well,” he said, “some people can have a mark on their leg. Most of the time, though, it’s either a birthmark or a tattoo.”
“What’s a tattoo?”
“It’s a… aren’t we getting a little off topic here?” he said, resuming his walk with the filly in tow.
“Sorry.” said Sweetie Belle, falling in step with Josh as best she could.
“It’s okay. So, you don’t know what your talent is?”
“Not really.”
“I know you’re good at singing. I’ve heard you sing once or twice before. Maybe you ought to give that a shot.”
“B-but, I’m afraid to s-sing in front of other p-ponies.” she said, her ears flattening against her skull.
“There’s nothing wrong with that, Sweets. Everyone gets scared sometimes. Just don’t let that fear get in your way of doing what you’re good at.” said Josh, stopping once more and picking up Sweetie Belle
“That’s easy for you to say.” said Sweetie, begrudgingly, holding her pink and purple tail in her hooves as Josh cradled her, “It’s your job to perform on front of others.”
“I’ve never told you about the first time I performed in front of a big crowd, did I?” he asked.
Sweetie Belle shook her head and looked intently at Josh, awaiting the story.
“Well, it was about four or five years ago.” he began, sitting down on a nearby park bench, Sweetie perched on his leg, “I had been making music for a little while and had performed at small clubs and such. One day, I got asked by a label manager to do a performance before another performer went on. I had heard of the guy before, and I knew he was really good, so I agreed to go on before him. I had my set all ready to go and everything when I looked out and saw how many people were at the show. There must have been about 1,000 people at this thing.”
“I was really scared once I saw all those people out there. I knew they’d all be watching me perform, and I was really worried that I’d mess up in front of all of them and make a fool of myself. I almost pulled out of the show at the last second!”
“So, what happened after that?” asked Sweetie Belle, leaning in close, listening intently.
“Well, I just had to be confident in myself. I knew my music was solid, and even if I did mess up once or twice, it’d still be an awesome show. I went out there that night and had one of the best times of my life. If I’d let my fear get the better of me, I wouldn’t have ever been as successful as I am now. I may not even be here.”
Sweetie sat, her mouth agape, in awe of Josh’s courage that night.
“That’s incredible!” she exclaimed, waving her hooves in the air, “I didn’t know you were so brave!”
“Anyone can be brave like that, Sweets.” he replied, smiling at the excited filly, “Even you. You just have to have confidence in yourself. Just tell yourself that you’ll do well, and you will. I promise.”
“I think I can do that. I’m still not so sure I’m ready to perform or anything like that just yet…”
“Tell you what Sweets,” said Josh, placing Sweetie Belle on her back once more and continuing his walk once more, “if I ever do a show around here, I’ll bring you up onstage with me, so you can see how much fun I have when I’m up there. It’ll show you that I’m not scared, and that you don’t have to be either. Does that work for you?”
“Yeah! I hope you do a show soon then!”
Josh smiled as the filly bounced up and down on his back. He saw the ice cream parlor come into view soon. He felt a few of the bits Fluttershy had given him for helping her out jingle in his pocket. Aw hell he thought, making for the tiny shop, Why not?
*****
Rarity awoke, yawning and stretching her hooves. It had been a crazy busy week at the boutique and it felt good for her to finally rest a little. After all, she’d missed a lot of sleep the last few days…
She walked down the stairs, just in time to see Sweetie Belle dart into the shop, giggling and running about as Josh chased her.
“Are you two just now getting home?” asked the fashionista as Josh stopped for a second to rest.
“Yeah.” he said, panting a little as Sweetie Belle ran and hid behind a pony mannequin, giggling all the while, “I got some bits from Shy today for helping her with that shed, so I decided to take Sweets here out for some ice cream.”
Josh darted forward, grabbing Sweetie Belle as she began to run away. She giggled even louder as Josh scooped her up and tickled her little white belly. Rarity smiled at the adorable sight. Josh didn’t know it, but Rarity truly wished he could stay here forever, if only to allow her the pleasure of a sight like this every single day.
Chapter 20: I've Got A Lot Of Work To Do
Second ChancesBy Hero541
The next week for Josh was the most hectic he’d experienced since coming to Equestria. He knew what songs he was going to do (they were all on his everlasting iPod), but now he had to set up the entire event pretty much by himself. The mayor had cleared him to do the performance, but he now had to find a crew to set up the stage, including all the equipment, speakers, and lights. He felt like his head was going to explode from all this stress.
There was one bit of silver lining to all this though, and that was that he still got to see Vinyl pretty much every day. She would come out to the shed/studio and bring Josh something to eat. They would just sit and talk from there, mostly about whatever was going on with Octavia or Rarity and Sweetie Belle. From time to time, Josh would play a song for her, showing her how he set up everything, and allowing her to try her hoof at playing it. At first, she’d get a little flustered at trying to keep up with the beat and mix the song as well, but she could now do so at a pretty basic level with no problem.
Twilight and the others would even stop by as well to see their human friend. All had agreed to help in any way they could, which Josh soon realized he may need to take them up on that offer.
“Hey, Rainbow.” he said one day after completing another song for the setlist, “can I ask you something?”
“Sure, Josh. What ya need?” she asked, setting down her book she'd been reading.
“I’m really short handed to get this whole thing set up.” said Josh, absentmindedly fiddling with a knob on the mixer, “Do you think there’s any way I could get you and the other girls to help me out?”
“Are you kidding? We’d love to help you! You ought to know that!”
“I just didn’t want to bother you guys is all. I know you’re all pretty busy.”
“Josh,” said Rainbow, smiling at the human, “it’s not a problem at all. We’d do anything for you. You know that.”
Josh smiled back at the multicolored mare. In a matter of only a few hours, he was sitting down with Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow and assigning them duties for the show.
“Rarity, since you have a pretty discerning eye for detail, I’ll have you hook up all the equipment. Don’t worry,” he reassured the mare, seeing the look of concern on her face at his words, “I’ll give you a set of instructions for how it all goes together. Applejack, you’re pretty strong, so I’ll probably have you help move equipment around and get it set in the right place. You think you could talk Big Mac into helping too?”
“He’d be happy to, sugarcube.” replied Applejack with a smile.
“Okay then.” Josh continued, “Twilight, I’ll let you handle the lights and stage effects. Once I’m set up and have everything running, I’ll rehearse the set a little and you can sync up everything then. Pinkie, you can help with decorations, since I know that’s your forte.”
“Okie dokie loki!”
“Rainbow, you can help mount lights and anything higher up on the stage. And Fluttershy…”
All eyes fell on the shy pegasus. She hid behind her mane a little as Josh’s gaze went to her.
“You can… set up floral decorations!”
“Y-you really need floral decorations for something like this?” she asked.
“Sure. It adds a nice touch of color to the stage that I can’t achieve with lights and things like that.”
“O-okay. If you’re sure…”
“I am.” he said, smiling warmly at her.
“Thanks again everyone for helping me with this.” he said, addressing the assembled ponies, “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“No problem, Josh.” said Rarity, walking up to him and embracing him, “Anything for you darling.”
With that, every other pony stood and joined Rarity, each one hugging Josh tightly. He choked back tears as he felt them all around him, holding him lovingly. This is gonna be the best show ever .
*****
Josh stood before the nearly completed stage, a smile on his face. In one week, he’d managed to get every song he wanted done, and now was overseeing the progress of the physical setup. He’d had a group of unicorns come by one day and move all the equipment he needed out of the shed with their magic. Applejack insisted that he allow earth ponies to do it instead, saying it’d get set up faster that way. Josh pointed out to her that, though it may be faster to allow earth ponies to do it, he’d rather it arrive at it’s destination safely than quickly.
“Rainbow!” he called to the pegasus, who was helping hang the large floodlights up above the equipment platform.
She swooped down towards him.
“You need somethin, boss?” she asked, saluting him.
“Yeah. Could you go check and make sure Derpy Hooves didn’t break anything while she was moving the speakers? I think she dropped a sub earlier, and I just wanna know if I need to fix it or not.”
Rainbow nodded, then flew away to check the speakers on the side of the stage.
“My my. It seems like you have every pony in town working on this little show.”
Josh turned to see Octavia making her way to stand next to him. She had become much less hostile towards Josh in recent weeks, not even yelling at or threatening him once she heard he was doing this show without Vinyl.
“Pretty much. I’ve needed all the help I can get.”
“And you didn’t ask me to assist you? I’m a little insulted.”
“Heh. Sorry, Octavia. I didn’t know you were so eager to help out.”
“At least things seem to be running smoothly.”
“Yeah.”
The two simply stood and watched as other ponies worked on setting up the stage, some hanging lights, some setting up decorations, and some taking a break to chat for awhile.
“Vinyl told me about how you stood up for her the other day.”
“She did?” asked Josh, turning to face Octavia.
“Yes, she did.”
The two just stared at each other for awhile, Octavia wearing a grateful smile all the while.
“You have no idea how much that meant to us both.” she finally said.
“It was nothing.” replied Josh, turning back to the stage, “I was just doing what any friend would have done.”
“It was everything to her.” said Octavia, turning to the stage as well, “She thinks the world of you, you know.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“It almost makes you want to stay here instead of going home, doesn’t it?”
Josh said nothing to that. He hadn’t thought about going home in a long time. For him, right now, this place was home. However, the more he thought about it at that moment, the more he began to wonder what had happened in the time he’d been gone. One thing bugged him slightly about the whole thing though: he wasn’t all that homesick.
Sure, when he’d first landed in Equestria, he wanted nothing more than to return to his life, to the fame and debauchery that came with his job. But being in this world had changed his views. He genuinely felt guilty for the things he’d done in the past, the lives he’d probably ruined or broken beyond repair. By going home, he could probably continue from where he’d left off, but that didn’t change the fact that he still had the ghosts of his past to haunt him day and night. But here, in this beautiful and magical place, he could start fresh, make a better name for himself…
“I’ll see you, Octavia.” he said, walking away from the mare, “I’ve gotta go check the progress of everything.”
“Josh,” called the mare, making Josh stop and turn around to her once more, “I… I didn’t mean to upset you with what I said just now. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Tavi. You didn’t upset me. You just… gave me something very important to think about.”
With that, he turned and continued towards the stage. The most important thing to think about he thought.
*****
Josh stood up on the stage for the show, his headphones to one ear, listening to his songs and playing with the mixer to achieve different effects. He was bobbing his head and swaying to the beat as he twisted dials and turned knobs. He was so heavily invested in what he was doing, that he never saw Vinyl walk up onto the stage and stand behind him, watching as he played with the mixer. The unicorn reached out a hoof and tapped the small of his back. Josh stopped the track and turned to face his “student”.
“Hey, Vinyl.” he said, setting down his headphones, “I didn’t even see you there. How’re you doing?”
“I’m good.” replied the mare, smiling at him, “How about you? You think you’re ready for tomorrow?”
“I’d certainly like to think so.” he said, “At this point, the only thing I can see as a potential issue would be if the stage were to collapse on me during the show.”
Vinyl giggled at that. Josh smiled at her. She was kinda cute when she did that.
“Well, let’s hope that doesn’t happen.” she said.
“Thanks, Vinyl.”
"I just dropped by to say good luck tomorrow.” she said, blushing a little, “Not that I won’t see you tomorrow or anything…”
“You not coming to the show?”
“I’m coming. I just don’t really know how much of a chance I’ll get to actually talk to you tomorrow is all. I imagine you’ll be pretty busy.”
“Yeah. Probably pretty busy.”
“I guess I’ll let you get back to it then.” she said, turning to leave.
“Hold up!” called Josh, making Vinyl stop and turn around.
“Yeah?”
“I was kinda hoping you’d wanna stay for a quick lesson.” said Josh, gesturing behind him, “Since it’s all set up and everything.”
Vinyl beamed at him, “Sure! I’d love to.”
The two of them walked back to the mixer and took their places. Vinyl stood in front of the board as Josh stood behind her.
“What’re you doing?” she asked, peering at him, “Aren’t you gonna mix this one?”
“Not tonight, Vinyl.” he said, loading up a song on the monitor, “I’m gonna help you in a different way this time. You ready?”
“I think so. I still don’t know what you’re…”
She was cut off as he grabbed her right hoof gently in his hand. She blushed hard at his touch.
“You trust me, right?” he asked, preparing to start the song.
“Of course.”
“You know I’d never steer you wrong, right?”
“Yes, Josh. I trust you. I don’t know what that has to do with this though.”
“Just trust me, and you’ll see. Put the headphones to your left ear. Let me take care of the rest once the song starts, okay?”
She nodded, placing one speaker to her left ear. The music began, a simple bass kick and snare beat with a synth lead in the highest register. As it started up, Josh began to move her hoof all around, making her push buttons and turn knobs to make different effects. She smiled wide as the sound fluctuated from her touch and movements, feeling the music flowing through her body and soul. Soon, she found herself in a trance as the bass and synth ensnared her, sending a euphoric feeling flooding though her mind.
After awhile of losing herself in the sound of her own mix, the song ended, and she came back to reality. She stepped away from the mixer, still feeling the effects of the music. It was only then that she noticed that Josh wasn’t holding her hoof anymore. She turned and looked to see him standing behind her, leaning against a wall, a smile on his face as he looked at the stunned unicorn.
“Whe-when d-did you…”
“When I saw you were starting to get into it more. I can always tell when someone is beginning to lose themselves in the music.”
“So… that means that I…” she stammered, realization washing over her.
“That’s right.” he said, walking towards her, “You successfully mixed your first solo song.”
Vinyl smiled wider than ever before, the squeaky noise sounding. She jumped onto Josh, tackling him to the ground. They both laughed as they went down, Vinyl hugging Josh tighter than she ever had so far. As Josh lay on his back, she climbed up onto his chest, still laughing excitedly at the thought that she just mixed her own song. Eventually, they stopped laughing and simply chose to stare into each other’s eyes.
“Thank you, Josh.” she said, resting her head on his chest as he stroked her blue mane gently, “For everything you’ve done for me. You have no idea what this means.”
“It was my pleasure, Vinyl.” he said, feeling her soft mane beneath his hand, “I’m glad I could help you.”
Vinyl looked up and into his eyes once more, focusing intently on the beautiful blue orbs which twinkled softly in the stage lights. He stared back at her crimson-magenta eyes, feeling himself being drawn closer and closer to her by the incredible sight. Slowly, Vinyl made her way up his chest, till their faces were only inches apart.
“Perhaps it's time for me to properly show you just how much I appreciate everything you've done for me." she said, her eyes fluttering closed as she moved her face closer to his own.
With that, the distance between their mouths was finally closed and their lips met. Josh, who already had a hand on Vinyl’s head, pulled her in closer, passionately kissing the beautiful unicorn on his chest. Both human and pony savored this wonderful moment, praying it would never end. Wave after wave of warmth and happiness shot through Josh’s body as he felt Vinyl’s tongue caress his own, making his brain shut down momentarily.
After what seemed like an eternity, they broke the kiss, looking into each other’s eyes once more.
“Vinyl… I-“
She placed a hoof to his mouth, smiling sweetly at him.
“You don’t need to say anything, Josh. I think that little moment there said it all.”
“I was gonna say that I want you onstage along with Sweetie Belle and all the others tomorrow.”
“Why?”
“I want you to see what things are like from my perspective up there. I want you to see how much I get into it and how much the crowd gets into it.”
“I think I can do that.” she replied, scooting up his chest further and nuzzling his neck.
She planted small kisses all around his neck and settled her head under his chin, her eyes closed and her forelegs wrapped around her new coltfriend. Josh held her close, occasionally planting a small kiss on the top of her head. They simply lay there till the force of sleep overtook them, and they drifted off in each other’s loving embrace.
Chapter 21: Time To Have Some Fun
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Josh sat behind the stage, hearing the cheering of the large crowd of ponies waiting outside. The feeling of butterflies in his stomach, though nothing new, was a sensation he hadn’t felt in a long time. But now, he felt it. He began to wonder where the others were when he heard a voice call to him form nearby.
“Joshie!”
Josh turned to see Sweetie Belle run up to him excitedly. He smiled wide as she reached him and he picked her up, standing and swinging the little filly around. She giggled loudly as he did so.
“Hello, darling.” said Rarity, walking up to Josh, followed by all the others, including Fluttershy.
“Uh… Fluttershy,” said Josh, placing Sweetie Belle back on the ground and looking towards the yellow pegasus, “I don’t know that you’ll wanna be back here. Things can get pretty… rowdy.”
“I’ll be okay, Josh.” she said, smiling at him, “I can handle it… I hope…”
“Ya think ya’ll are ready to go?” asked Applejack, looking past the curtain to the crowd outside.
“I’d certainly like to think so.” replied Josh, “Has anyone seen Vinyl?”
“I think she was on her way up here when I saw her.” said Twilight, looking around for the cream colored unicorn.
“She’ll be here soon I’m sure.” said Rainbow, floating just above everypony.
As the words left her lips, Josh felt and saw a pair of hooves reach around his body from behind him and quickly turned around. Vinyl stood before him on her hind legs, a giant smile on her face.
“Hey there, beautiful.” he said, wrapping his arms around the unicorn, “Good to see you again.”
Vinyl giggled and leaned in for a kiss. As their lips met once more, the gathered ponies shared a collective “Aww”. Once they broke the kiss, Vinyl laid her head against her coltfriend’s chest, hearing his soft heartbeat.
“Good luck tonight, baby.” she said, a giant smile on her face, “I can’t wait to watch you.”
“I’ll be glad to have you back there with me.”
Josh and Vinyl released one another, and Josh turned back to Sweetie Belle.
“Hey Sweets,” he said, kneeling down and smiling at her, “It’s gonna get pretty loud up on that stage, okay? If you feel like you don’t wanna stay up there at any time, you don’t have to.”
“I’ll be okay, Joshie.” replied the filly, smiling up at Josh.
“Okay. Just making sure.”
He ruffled her mane a little, then turned in time to see Pinkie walk up the stage.
“Wow, Pinks. You really outdid yourself this time.” he said, looking the party pony up and down.
She wore a bright pink and neon green skirt, with fuzzy pink and green boots on her hooves. All around her neck and legs were glow stick rings, all of different colors. She also had a large pink whistle draped around her neck.
“This is one of my special party dresses!” she exclaimed, turning so everypony could see the entirety of the ensemble, “I didn’t think the green would go with the pink at all, but it worked out pretty well!”
“You look great, Pinkie.” said Josh, smiling at the pink pony as she beamed with pride.
“It’s almost time for you to go on, I believe, dear.” said Rarity, opening up the curtain.
Josh nodded, then rushed out between the cloth. Upon doing so, the crowd roared with excitement. There must have been almost 1,000 ponies there tonight. Josh ran around the stage for awhile, psyching himself and the crowd up, yelling, gesturing for more from them. As he did so, everypony backstage walked out and stood behind him.
“How you ponies doing tonight?!” he yelled into the microphone next to his equipment setup.
A loud roar answered him. Ponies were jumping around, screaming, going crazy, all waiting for him to begin the show.
“You guys think you’re ready for the XPLOSHUN?”
As he said the last word, a fireball shot up from in front of the stage, illuminating Josh’s face with a bright orange glow. The crowd roared one more at the sight.
“I’ve got a special treat for you guys tonight.” said Josh, looking behind him momentarily, “You’re gonna get a double dose of awesome tonight. Not only are you gonna hear my mixes, but you’re also gonna get a shot of the one and only, DJ PON-3, Vinyl Scratch!”
The crowd roared once more as Josh looked back to Vinyl and saw a shocked look on her face.
“Let’s spin this!”
A heavy kick and snare pattern blared through the speakers and Josh peered back behind himself to his stunned marefriend.
“Come on, babe.” he called over the beat, gesturing for her to stand next to him.
“I…I don’t know, Josh. I don’t think I’m ready for this just yet!” she called back, her ears pressed against her head.
“Vinyl,” he said, walking away from the board and kneeling down in front of her, “you’re more than ready. I can’t think of anyone more qualified than you to join me at the board.”
She bit her lip and looked into his eyes, fear marking her face. He gently took her hoof in his hand, staring into her crimson-magenta orbs.
“Do you trust me?” he asked, not taking his eyes off her.
“Y-yes. I trust you.”
“Do you trust that I won’t ever ever let you fail, no matter what?”
“I-“
“Vinyl,” he said sternly, “do you trust that I won’t let you fail?”
Vinyl stared into his eyes, seeing the sincerity marking them. A wide smile covered her face as she looked at her coltfriend.
“Yes.” she finally said, “I trust that you won’t let me fail.”
“Good, then you’ll need these.”
He reached out his hand and presented Vinyl’s black rimmed purple sunglasses. She took them, her eyes glazing over and a smile forming on her face. She hugged her coltfriend tightly.
“Then let’s get going. We’ve got a show to do.” he said.
Vinyl put her glasses on, and they rushed out to the board, preparing to add more to the beat.
“Just follow my lead, okay?” said Josh over the sound.
Vinyl nodded as Josh moved quickly, halving the second bass beat and lowering the pitch to make it rumble. He turned a knob to make it wobble, then began to change the speed and tone, spinning the jogwheel on his side to lower the pitch. Soon, he could feel the beat flowing around him, through him, and he looked to Vinyl.
She stood nervously watching him, unsure of what to do. Josh smiled at her, gesturing to the board.
“You know what you can do. This is no different from last night. Don’t be afraid.” he said, lowering the wobble bass.
Vinyl nodded, then turned back to the board. She twisted a few knobs, beginning a medium pitched synth sound. From there, she manipulated the sound with a few twists and turns of the knobs. A smile spread across her face as she fell in rhythm with the beat, moving and swaying with the music.
“Let’s up the ante a little here.” said Josh, loading another track on the opposite board.
Quickly, he moved the fader over to the other side, beginning the song. A quick synth track began, followed by several other noises. Josh looked to Vinyl, gesturing for her to make the first move. She pressed a loaded track button, making a short vocal clip play. Soon, she was feeling the music again, losing herself in its hypnotic sound.
“There you go, Vinyl!” shouted Josh over the beat.
She never even heard him as she began to drift away in the music. The bass echoed throughout her body, making her fall in time with its beat. Soon, she was manipulating the song like she’d been doing this for years. When the drop came, she felt a wave of ecstasy wash over her. Truly, she was in her own zone now.
The two producers stood on the stage, both lost in the music, both feeling their very essence pour out onto the board, turning knobs, pressing buttons, and manipulating sounds. Behind them, everypony gathered was dancing like they never had before, each lost in the music as well. Even Fluttershy was in a trance from the beat. Sweetie Belle danced and watched as Josh and Vinyl worked their electronic magic.
Josh gestured for more from the crowd, the entirety of which was going crazy. They yelled and cheered as the music flowed all around them, making them move in time with the beat. Occasionally, Josh would peer over at Vinyl, only to see her with a giant smile on her face, completely entranced by the beat. Over the course of the next hour, they both had the time of their lives. Neither one wanted this incredible feeling to end.
*****
Josh stood in the middle of Ponyville central, talking to several ponies after the show. It had been the best night he’d ever had in his life, made even better by the fact that he had Vinyl by his side through the whole show. He was so unbelievably proud of the unicorn for finally conquering her fear and performing with him. And, right now, they were both off talking to their new found fans.
“Well,” said a nearby familiar voice, “that certainly seemed to go well.”
Josh looked to his left and saw Octavia walking up to him, a sly grin on her face.
“It went better than well. That was easily the best show I’ve ever done.”
“Vinyl was absolutely incredible up there. I’ve never seen her so happy in all my life.”
“She did an unbelievable job.” said Josh, looking lovingly at Vinyl, who was a few feet away talking to some other fans, “She really did.”
“I figure I ought to let you know,” said Octavia, drawing Josh’s attention back to her, “I’ve paid your bar tab in full. Frosty was glad to finally receive his money.”
“Oh.” said Josh, the smile slipping off his face a little, “That’s… great, Tavi. Thanks for that.”
“Something wrong?”
“Well, I…”
Josh cut off as he thought about Octavia’s words. He finally had the chance to go home now, but did he really want to? He was happier here than he’d ever been back home, with a sort of family that loved him and had cared for him, and a beautiful girl to be with. What did his world even have to really offer him anymore? Though he was famous and had fans all over where he came from, he knew they didn’t truly care for him like the ponies here did.
Here, it didn’t matter to anyone whether or not he was famous, because they cared for him no matter what. Back home, without his fame, he was just another face in the crowd, a nobody to those around him. Back home, whether he wanted to admit it or not, his life had been one of sadness and loneliness. What reason did he even have to return?
“I don’t know if I’m quite ready to go back just yet.” he said turning back to the gray mare.
Her smile widened as she peered into his eyes, seeing the sincerity in them. Slowly, she walked forward, standing up and embracing him.
“I was hoping you’d say that for awhile now.” she said, hugging him tightly.
“I was always under the impression you’d want me gone by the time this was all said and done.” said Josh as Octavia
“At first, perhaps I did.” she said, looking to Vinyl laughing with her fans, “But you make Vinyl so happy. I’d hate to see one of you without the other at this point. It just seems natural that you’d remain together.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without her.” said Josh, a dreamy look crossing his face.
“Well, I’d better go.” said Octavia, turning and walking away, “I’ll let you and your marefriend enjoy some time together.”
As she said those words, Josh turned to see Vinyl running up to him. She leapt up and Josh caught her in his arms.
“Baby, that was so awesome!” she said, planting kisses all over his face and nuzzling his neck, “Thank you for letting me do that with you. It means so much!”
“Anything for you, Vinyl. I was planning on having you come up there with me the whole time. I wanted it to be a surprise though. You did an unbelievable job!”
“Oh, darling!” called Rarity, walking up with the others in tow, “You two were absolutely fantastic up there!”
“Yeah! I normally don’t like music like that, but that was a lot of fun!” said Twilight, a glow stick wrapped around her neck.
“Same here, Sugarcube.” Applejack said.
“Hey, has anypony seen Fluttershy?” asked Rainbow, flying up to look for the timid pegasus.
Almost on cue, they heard someone nearby yelling very loudly.
“YEAH! WOOHOO! I LOVE DUBSTEP!”
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and nearly collapsed laughing at what they saw. The yellow pegasus was being held high in the air by a few other ponies, cheering and yelling wildly as she was carried away.
“I’m surprised that’s not Pinkie up there.” said Vinyl, wiping away a mirthful tear from her eye with a hoof, “Seems like her thing.”
As Josh and the others still chuckled at the sight, he felt a tug on his pants leg. Looking down, he saw Sweetie Belle’s smiling face looking back up at him.
“Hey there, Sweets.” he said, bending down to pick up the little filly, “Did you have a good time?”
“Uh huh.” she said weakly, a large yawn escaping her.
Sweetie had been bouncing around the stage next to Josh the whole time, cheering and dancing. Eventually, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had joined her up there and the three of them danced their little hearts out. Josh had even picked them up individually and placed them on his shoulders or Vinyl’s back while they mixed the songs. Every time, they would squeal with delight and wave to the crowd.
Now, however, they were tired from all their dancing and partying and were more than ready for some sleep. Apple Bloom walked up and got on Applejack’s back, while Scootaloo was with Rainbow Dash. As they took their places both began to drift off to sleep, their little eyelids fluttering closed.
“Just look at the little darlings.” said Rarity, grabbing Sweetie in her magic and placing the tired little filly on her own back.
“They’re all plum tuckered, I reckon.” said Applejack, smiling at the sight of her little sister on her back, “And for good reason. Ah’ve never seen anypony have so much fun in all my life.”
“Not even Pinkie?” asked Josh.
“Everything’s fun for Pinkie. That pony lives in a perpetual state of fun.” said Rainbow.
Josh smiled at that, looking all around for the pink pony. He was sure he'd seen her around there after the show ended...
“Well, we’d better head home, I suppose.” said Twilight, turning and heading for the library, “It’s getting late and I need some sleep.”
“Same here, plus Ah’ve gotta get this one in bed.” said Applejack, heading for the farm.
Everypony congratulated Josh and Vinyl once more for a successful show, then headed off for their respective homes. Josh turned to his unicorn mare, who smiled widely at him.
“You were great out there, baby.” he said, laying on the ground so Vinyl could lean against his chest, “I’ve never seen anyone handle their first show with that much poise in all my life.”
“Well,” she said, snuggling close to him, “it helped that I had somepony as awesome as you right next to me the whole time encouraging me. You have no idea what that meant to me, baby, to know that somepony out there had enough faith in me to let me take control like that.”
"Of course I had faith in you, Vinyl. How could I not?"
"I love you, Josh. I love you more than words can ever say."
Josh's eyes widened at her words. It'd been a long time since he'd heard those words genuinely said to him. This pony
"I love you too, Vinyl. I really really do."
They kissed once more, both feeling a warmth shoot through their bodies as their lips touched. Josh held the unicorn close, stroking her mane gently as she laid her head on his chest once more. He knew he'd have to get up soon and walk her home, but that could wait. For now, they both just wanted to sit and enjoy one another. If I feel as good as I do now every night, I’ll never leave this place he thought as he stroked his marefriend’s soft mane gently, relishing the feeling of her soft, warm body pressed against his own.
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Over the course of the next few weeks, Josh and Vinyl were never apart for long. If one was around anywhere in Ponyville, the other was never far behind. Both were happier than they could possibly imagine. Octavia always welcomed Josh warmly now whenever he came to the house to see Vinyl, always seeing what their plans were for the day.
“Well, I’ve been saving up some money for awhile, and I’ve gotten us a pair of tickets to go to Canterlot today.” he said one day when the gray mare asked.
“That sounds lovely!” she said as Vinyl descended the stairs, “It’s been a long time since you’ve been to Canterlot hasn’t it Vinyl?”
“We’re going to Canterlot today?!” asked the unicorn excitedly.
“Yup. I’ve got two lovely little tickets here for you and I to head over there for the day. Sound fun?”
Vinyl answered him by leaping into his arms and planting little kisses all around his face. Josh laughed at his marefriend’s exuberance. In no time, they were both on the train headed to the capital city of Equestria, chatting idly in their train car.
“What’re we gonna do in Canterlot?” asked Vinyl, peering out the window as the countryside sped by.
“I was thinking we could spend a little time in the market. From there, we can get some lunch, then head over and see the castle for a bit.”
“How’re we gonna get access to the castle?” asked Vinyl, looking skeptically at Josh, “Don’t you have to have an appointment just to look at the front gate?”
“Twilight sent a letter to the princess saying we’d be in Canterlot today, and she offered to clear us to spend some time there for awhile.” said Josh, smiling at his confused marefriend.
“You collaborated with Twilight for this?”
“Well, I may have mentioned it in passing once…”
“How long have you been planning this?”
“Just a little while.”
Josh smiled at Vinyl, who got up and walked over to snuggle up to her coltfriend.
“Thank you for this, baby.” she said, wrapping her forelegs around his chest and squeezing him tightly, “I love you.”
“I love you too, Vinyl.” he said, kissing the top of her head as she relaxed against his chest.
*****
The day had been absolutely perfect so far. Josh and Vinyl realized how quickly word can spread in Equestria once they stepped into the market square. Ponies all around began recognizing them, talking about the show they’d done a few weeks ago and asking for autographs. Josh, who was used to that kind of attention, simply smiled and signed whatever they asked. Vinyl, however, was shaking so much from excitement that she couldn’t really focus her magic that well, and messed up a few of the autographs, to which the recipient would squeal in delight nonetheless.
After their walk through the market, they’d gone to a nice lunch at a small café near the castle. Vinyl kept on talking about how she couldn’t believe that she’d actually gotten to sign autographs for ponies, and began asking Josh for advice about how to do it perfectly. He just smiled at her and talked a little about some of his past experiences with fans. The unicorn listened intently to her coltfriend talk about some of the times he’d signed for people. Josh, for good reason, chose to omit the stories in which he’d signed a girl’s chest.
Now, they were walking thorough the Canterlot Castle Sculpture Garden, taking in the beautiful sight of the sculptures.
“Ooh.” said Vinyl, running over to inspect a sculpture of a pony playing a violin, “This one looks just like Tavi!”
“Yeah, it kinda does.” noted Josh, a little off put by the uncanny likeness to the gray mare.
“Look at this one!”
Josh turned to see Vinyl staring up at a tall statue of what looked like a snake with the head of a pony and a body formed from almost every other kind of animal. It had a look on its face of absolute fear. Josh stared at the statue, unable to look away from the strange figure. He never saw Vinyl run off to see the other sculptures.
“This thing sure is weird.” he said out loud.
“That’s not very nice. I never said anything about you. ”
Josh jumped a little, looking around for the source of the voice.
“Over here, pretty boy. Look at the statue .”
Josh looked back to the statue in front of him. It was indeed a single, solid statue. Yet somehow, there seemed to be something weird about it…
“There you go .” said the voice once more, “You’ve found the right one. Congratulations. ”
“Who’re you?” asked Josh, staring up at the tall creature, “Or better yet, what are you?”
“I’m the one and only Discord, spirit of chaos and disharmony .” said the voice, “And you must be Josh Daniels. Or should I call you Xploshun? ”
“How do you know my name?”
“You’d be surprised what I know about you, Josh. I know what you did before you came here, all the lies you’ve told, all the hearts you’ve broken. You’ve spread an awful lot of chaos in your own world, haven’t you? You’re a man after my own heart. ”
“H-how can you know all that?” asked Josh, stammering a little as he felt his heart sink.
“I always watch your world, Josh. It does me good to see a little chaos going on from time to time. Warms the soul .”
“What do you want, Discord?”
“Just to help you out a little .”
Josh waited for Discord to continue, but the creature never did.
“What can you possibly help me with?” he asked, glaring at the statue.
“I can help you return to your old life. To your own world, where you’re banging a different girl every night and waking up in the morning with a hangover that would kill a lesser man .”
Josh said nothing to that. Memories of his past flashed through his mind at Discord’s words. He quickly suppressed them.
“I don’t do that anymore.”
“Why? Because you’ve found the love of your life? It’s disgusting. You’re not even the same species as her. ” said Discord.
“That doesn’t mean anything.” Josh retorted, thinking about his marefriend, “I don’t look at her as a pony. I look at her as the one thing in my life that means most to me.”
“And how many girls have you said that to before you’ve used them? ”
“I’m not using Vinyl! I love her more than anything!”
“You’re using her as an excuse to stay in a world not meant for you! This place is one of love and harmony, and you, a cynical, lying, cheating, philandering human dare to think you’re worthy of living here, let alone finding somepony to love?! ”
Josh was about to shout back at Discord, when a thought crossed his mind. This place was one of peace and love, and his past was the exact opposite of those virtues.
“What if your little marefriend found out the truth about your past? Would she continue to love you? Would she truly want to stick by your side once she learns what you’ve done on earth? There’s no way she could trust you not to do the same thing you’ve done to so many other girls, and break her heart chasing after another .”
Josh looked to the ground, his mind racing. How would Vinyl react if she learned what he’d done in his past? Would she really want to stay with someone who she has to worry might break her heart?
“What would you suggest I do then?” he finally said, looking back to Discord.
“Leave this world. Go back to your own and pick up from where you left off. Hell, go get wasted and get a good old-fashioned lap dance. That always eases the pain. ”
“I can’t just leave everyone here." said Josh, images of his friends in Ponyville flashing through his mind, "Vinyl aside, there’s Rarity and Sweetie Belle and all the others. What do I do about them?”
“What difference does it make? How many other girls have you left crying and broken-hearted in a hotel room, wondering where they went wrong in the whole thing. If you truly love this mare, you’ll take my advice and leave before you add her to the list of those you’ve damaged. ”
Josh was about to reply when he heard Vinyl calling to him.
“Think about what I’ve said here, Josh .” said Discord, “Arrivederci .”
Josh turned in time to see Vinyl walking up to him, a wide smile on her face.
“Try and keep up, slowpoke.” she joked.
“Sorry about that, babe. I just got distracted by this statue is all.”
“That’s okay. Come on! We’ve got a lot more of the gardens to see!”
Vinyl grabbed his hand in her magic, pulling him along excitedly. Josh followed along with her, but was unable to force Discord's words from his mind. As Vinyl pulled him along, all he could hear was Discord's pompous voice still echoing in his head.
*****
Later that night, Josh had a lot of trouble sleeping. Though he’d had a wonderful time in Canterlot with Vinyl today, he couldn’t shake Discord’s words from his head. Vinyl would still love me if I told her about my past, wouldn’t she? Memories of girls crying and yelling at him for using them flooded his mind. He knew in his heart of hearts that he could never do that to Vinyl, but would she know that?
He knew all too well the things he’d done wrong in his life, all the hearts he’d broken and people he’d stepped on. Vinyl had once been one of those, and he was determined not to let that happen ever again. However, he kept thinking about the last thing Discord had said:
“If you truly love this mare, you’ll take my advice and leave before you add her to the list of those you’ve damaged .”
Josh loved Vinyl more than anything in the whole of Equestria. Whenever he held her or kissed her, his heart soared. He’d never do anything to hurt her ever again. And yet, when he’d first met her, he’d done just that. True, Vinyl had forgiven him of that, but could she be forgiving once she learned that she was far from the first person he’d hurt?
His mind raced, battling with his love for Vinyl as well as his want to protect her from the truth of what he’d done before. After awhile, he got up to and snuck outside, wanting to take a walk. Maybe that would help clear his mind.
*****
The streets of Ponyville were peacefully quiet as Josh made his way through them. In his mind, he was battling with what to do. If he left, he would hurt Vinyl and every other pony a lot. However, if he stayed, he risked doing the same thing. What do I do? he thought, his mind racing with the thought of the repercussions of either choice Either way, I’m hurting someone .
For another few hours, he trudged through Ponyville, thinking about Vinyl and how much he loved the cream colored mare. In his mind, all he could think about was everypony rejecting him if they knew the truth of what he’d done before he came here. At the same time, he kept seeing their sad faces and crying eyes once he’d left. He was almost dreading how close he had become to everypony here in his time among them. But, he had become close to them, and he knew there was no way he could trade his friendships with everypony here for anything in the world.
Josh noticed Twilight's library nearby, and remembered back to the first time he'd even interacted with the lavender mare. Even then, he'd hurt somebody. Though he was still conflicted in his mind as to what to do, he began to realize what the right thing to do here was. It'd just be better this way he thought, sadness filling his heart as he picked up a pebble and tossed it at the window.
“Spike!” he called, hoping he didn’t wake up Twilight as well.
Miraculously, the baby dragon appeared at the window, rubbing his little eyes and looking down to Josh. He jumped down and made his way out to the balcony nearby.
“Josh? What’re you doing? It’s three in the morning…”
“Sorry Spike. I just… I need you to do something for me. Can you take two letters for me?”
“Sure. Who’re they for?”
“I need one for Vinyl first. I’ll tell you what to say with that one.”
“Okay. What about the other?”
Josh felt himself choke up as he spoke. It hurt him so much to have to say it. He didn't want to say it. The human closed his eyes, feeling tears starting to roll down his cheeks as he thought about what he was about to do.
“I… I need one f-for Princess Celestia. T-tell her that I’m.. ready to go home now.”
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Vinyl awoke from the bright sun shining in through her bedroom window. She sat up in her bed, yawning and stretching her hooves. Yesterday had been an awesome day, even though Josh had seemed a little off on their train ride home. She simply attributed that to his lunch not agreeing with him, perhaps. A smile formed on her face at the thought of seeing him again today.
She loved Josh more than anything in all of Equestria. Every day she with him was the best day she could have ever asked for in her life. It made her feel so blessed to have a special somepony like him, one who, every dingle day, would hold her and kiss her and tell her that he loved her. Vinyl didn’t know what she’d ever do without him in her life.
Vinyl made her way downstairs, hoping that Octavia had begun making breakfast. As she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, she saw Octavia standing in the doorway chatting with the gray and blonde mailmare, Derpy Hooves. Shortly after Vinyl made it to the ground floor, Derpy flew off and Octavia walked in with a scroll in her mouth.
“Isn’t it a little early to be getting mail?” asked Vinyl as Octavia set the parchment down.
“It says here it’s for you.”
Raising an eyebrow, Vinyl levitated the scroll over to herself and unrolled it.
“It’s from Josh. Why would Josh send me a letter?”
Slowly, Vinyl began to read the letter
Dear Vinyl, These last few weeks have been the most wonderful time of my life. Never have I been so in love with someone, and even less have they loved me back just as much. It is because of my love for you that I’m doing what I will do today. The action I take this day will hurt us both, I know it will. I’m hurting as I think about it right now. However, I’m doing this as a way to protect you from future heartbreak, should it ever occur. Today, I will be leaving the world of Equestria and returning to my own. I have made the decision to do this with a heavy heart. I truly do love you Vinyl, but you can find someone much better than me to be with. The truth is, I don’t deserve to live in such a perfect world, to call this land home.
You and I will hurt a lot for awhile, and it won’t be easy to recover from. However, I know that you are a strong enough and loving enough mare that you will be alright. Again, I love you Vinyl. I’ll never forget you for as long I live. Sincerely, your friend for life, Josh Daniels
Tears streamed down Vinyl’s face as she finished the letter. How could he just leave? Had she done or said something wrong to him? Did she move too fast in the relationship? Why did he say he didn’t deserve to live in Equestria? If they were having problems, why didn’t he approach her to talk about them?
Vinyl turned around as she heard Octavia walk back into the room.
“Vinyl, dear. Breakfast is… Vinyl, what’s wrong?”
Vinyl levitated the letter to Octavia, struggling to hold it in her magic as she shook from her crying. Octavia finished the letter, then looked to Vinyl once more. Her own violet eyes were filled with tears as she glanced at the unicorn.
“W-why?” asked Octavia, her voice shaking heavily as she felt the tears begin to flow from her eyes.
Vinyl merely shook her head, then collapsed to the floor, sobbing heavily. He was going to leave. Just like that, he was going to leave, and she’d never see him again. Octavia soon walked up to Vinyl, lay down next to her, both of them heaving as tears rolled down their cheeks. All Vinyl could do as she sobbed was wonder, where had she went wrong?
*****
Josh wandered through Canterlot castle. It was still rather early in the morning, and he hoped that Celestia was done raising the sun. As much as it hurt him to do this, it had to be done. Discord had been right, he was using Vinyl as an excuse to stay in a world he wasn’t meant to be in. In his mind, he would always be faithful to the cream colored unicorn, but he knew better than anyone that old habits die hard.
Plus, why would she stay with him once she knew about his past, about all the wrong he’d done, all the hearts he’d broken, all the hurt and pain he’d spread…
Josh approached the end of the long hallway where two giant doors stood. Outside their gilded surface, two unicorns stood, covered in the gold armor of Princess Celestia’s guard. They stared at Josh as he approached, their spears crossed over the entrance.
“The princess sees no one this early in the morning.” said the left guard, not looking at Josh.
“I have an appointment.”
“What’s your name?”
“Josh. Daniels. I had a letter sent to her very early this morning. She said to come to Canterlot as fast as I could.”
The guards didn’t move for a moment as they processed his words. Finally, after a few seconds, they pulled their spears back and opened the doors with their magic. Josh nodded at them both as he walked into the large throne room. Princess Celestia sat at the very back, reclining on her regal throne.
“Hello, Josh Daniels.” she said as he made his way forward, “You arrived much earlier than I thought you would.”
“I left as soon as I got your reply this morning.”
“I figured you must have.”
Celestia climbed down from her throne and met the human halfway. She looked at him with warm, caring eyes, smiling. Her gold crown and cuirass glinted in the morning sun pointing towards Canterlot. She was about Josh’s height, her horn making her just a few inches taller. Josh was surprised he’d actually found a pony who could match his eye level.
“Your message said you’re ready to return home.” said the alicorn, peering into Josh’s face, “Is this true? Are you truly ready to leave Equestria?”
“No. I’m not.” said Josh, an image of Vinyl passing through his mind, making a lump form in his throat, “But, it’s better if I go before I hurt someone I care about again.”
“The unicorn, Vinyl Scratch?”
“How’d you know?”
Celestia smiled, “Twilight has told me all about you and Vinyl. You two seem so happy together, so carefree. And you, Josh, are a very different man from when you arrived in this world.”
Josh thought back to when he first woke up in Equestria. Applejack and the others had been the first to greet him, showed him an unbelievable amount of kindness, and he’d treated them horribly. He’d just wanted to go home, back to doing what he did best. He never cared about anyone’s feelings here, never wanted to make friends or even be around these ponies.
Now, however, he always loved seeing them. Any time he’d pass by one of them in town, he’d go out of his way to spend some time with them. Vinyl was the love of his life, but he loved each and every little pony here. A tear rolled down his cheek as he thought about how much they’d be hurting once they realized he was gone. Especially little Sweetie Belle…
“I am different.” he said simply, not looking at the Princess, “I can take that home with me now, live my life differently. I can be a better man than I was before. I just wish I didn’t have to leave everyone here behind. I… I love them all, s-so much.”
Josh heaved as the feeling of sadness washed over him, making him collapse to the ground and cry. Princess Celestia knelt and placed her forelegs around the sobbing human, embracing him lovingly.
“I can tell that this hasn’t been an easy decision for you to make, and you’re coming to me with a heavy heart.”
Josh simply nodded, still quivering.
“I j-just don’t wanna hurt them anymore. I don’t deserve to be in this beautiful and peaceful world. They do, but I’m hardly worthy. I’m a goddamn pockmark here.”
“WAIT!”
Josh and Celestia looked to the giant doors towards the sound of the voice. Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, and Vinyl all rushed in. They stopped short of the princess and human, except for Vinyl who ran right up to Josh.
“J-Josh,” she said, looking up at him with tear filled crimson-magenta eyes, “Why’re you l-leaving? D-don’t you love me anymore?”
Josh looked into her swollen eyes, feeling tears return to his own.
“I’ll never stop loving you, Vinyl. You’re everything to me. It’s because I love you that I’m leaving. I’m protecting you.”
“From what?! From the stares and whispers I’ll get for being seen with somepony who isn’t even the same species as me?!”
“No, baby. That’s not-“
“Then tell me! Tell me why you’re leaving me!”
Vinyl pounded the ground, tears flowing from her eyes fast. Josh couldn’t look at her, instead choosing to look at the ground as he spoke.
“Because I don’t want to hurt you again. I don’t deserve to be in this world with you. This place is too wonderful for a creature like me to taint it.”
“I forgave you for all that! You know that!”
“I just don’t wanna risk doing it again, okay?!”
Vinyl looked taken aback. Josh had never raised his voice at her.
Unable to say anything more, he turned to the princess once more. As he did so, Rarity rushed up behind him.
“W-what about us, Josh?” she asked, tears pouring from her eyes, “Did you even think about how we’d feel?”
Josh said nothing to that. He held back his tears once more, looking over his shoulder.
“Tell Sweetie Belle that I’m sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye and that I love her.”
“You’re ready?” asked the princess.
“… Yes. I’m r-ready.”
Vinyl screamed and lunged forward, grabbing Josh’s leg.
“P-please.” she said weakly, holding his leg tightly, “Please. Don’t l-leave m-me. I-I love you so much. D-don’t leave me.”
Josh tried to ignore the crying mare, but to no avail. He knelt down and held her, stroking her mane softly as she cried into his shoulder.
“I n-need you, Josh. Please don’t go. I c-can’t be without you!”
“I love you more than I can ever say Vinyl. I’m saving you a lot of trouble by doing this. I’m so sorry it has to end like this. I really am.”
He motioned to Twilight, who was crying along with everypony else gathered. She grabbed Vinyl in her magic and slowly pulled her away from Josh.
“NO!” she yelled, kicking furiously, “Please! Don’t go!”
Princess Celestia looked to Josh once more. The human nodded his head, and her horn began to glow with a bright
Vinyl, who was in the middle of the group of ponies, collapsed and sobbed. Everypony gathered around her and held her, each one crying along with the unicorn. None of them could believe it. Josh, who they had all loved so much, who they had seen and cared for for the last few months, was gone. And, as far as they all knew, they’d never see him again.
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Josh felt himself moving at an unimaginable speed. His entire body was being pulled along through some sort of light portal, headed back to earth. Just as he thought he could take no more, he was thrown out of the portal, landing hard on his back in a large field. He groaned in pain as he hit the ground, rolling over onto his stomach to take the pressure off his aching back. All around him, the world was spinning crazily, causing him to feel incredibly nauseous as he lay there.
“What the hell was that?”
He jumped hard at the sound of a voice nearby. Standing up, he began to hear the sound of someone running towards him.
“What’re ya doin on my farm?” he heard the voice call out.
“I… I just… woke up here. I’m not a threat, I swear. I’m not armed or anything.”
Josh turned to see a large man in blue overalls running up to him, shotgun in his hands and ready to go. Josh raised his hands in the air upon seeing the gun. As the man reached Josh, he lowered the gun and looked him up and down.
“How’d ya get here, son?” he asked, not taking his eyes off Josh.
“I think that even if I were to explain it to you, you wouldn’t believe me.” Josh said, lowering his arms.
“Well, okay then.” said the man, one eyebrow raised, “What’s your name?”
“I’m Josh. Josh Daniels. And yours?”
“Name’s Otis.”
“Well, Otis, it’s very nice to meet you.”
“Pleasure’s all mine, I suppose.” said Otis, reaching out his hand and shaking Josh’s.
The two just stood there for a few more minutes, an awkward silence falling between them.
“Do you have a phone I can borrow?” asked Josh finally, breaking the silence, “I have someone I need to call for a ride.”
“Sure. It’s right inside the kitchen to the left of the stove.”
“Thanks, Otis.”
With that, Josh made his way for the small farmhouse nearby. He stopped next to Otis for a second.
“If you don’t mind my asking, where am I exactly?”
“Just outside of Manhattan, Kansas.”
“Really? That’s interesting.” said Josh, continuing his walk to the farmhouse.
*****
Liam Kensington sat in his office, a frown on his face. Josh had been gone for two months now, and it seemed like he may as well just give up hope of finding the guy. All he’d heard was that Josh had been taken to the hospital, then that he’d just mysteriously disappeared without a trace. As expected, Liam had to postpone the tour till Josh could be found, but eventually it had to be cancelled after a week. That had frustrated him to no end, and he was still fuming about it.
He’d lost his superstar, the best dubstep producer in the world. If only there was some clue as to where Josh had gone or what had happened to him. Search parties had looked all around for him, but hadn’t found a trace of the guy. Liam breathed a sigh of relief for one thing however: they hadn’t found his body floating down a river at least.
Liam jumped as he heard his cell phone go off. He pulled out the device and looked at the number. It was from out of state, but he didn’t recognize it right away. Letting out a sigh, he answered.
“I think you’ve got a wrong number, man.”
“Liam. It’s me. Josh.”
Liam froze as he heard those words and that voice. Unable to believe his ears, he almost dropped the phone in shock.
“J-Josh? Is that really you man?”
“Yeah, it is. I kinda need a ride. Think you can get one for me?”
“S-sure. I’ll head out as soon as I can. Just stay there, alright?”
“No problem. See you soon.”
“That I will.”
Liam hung up and simply sat there for awhile. He couldn’t believe it. Xploshun was back. He was truly back. Liam would get on a plane as soon as he could, but first, he had a few calls to make.
*****
Josh set the phone back down and walked into the small living room, sitting down on a nearby couch. As he did so, Otis’s wife, Martha, walked in carrying a tray with some food and drinks on it.
“Would you like some coffee, sug?” she asked, setting the tray down on the coffee table in front of Josh.
“That’s okay. I can’t drink coffee. Caffeine doesn’t like me very much.” he replied, picking up a piece of toast and
“Okay then. You need anything though, don’t be afraid to ask me, alright?”
“Thanks. Will do.”
Martha smiled at him before sitting down in a chair next to Otis.
“So, Josh,” said Otis as Josh began to eat, “Where’re you from exactly?”
Josh chewed and swallowed before answering, “Los Angeles. Before that, Oregon.”
“Oregon?” asked Otis, smiling and looking at Martha, “Martha here’s from Oregon.”
“Where’d you live there?” asked Martha.
“Albany. I was born in Oregon City though. What about you? Where in Oregon did you come from?”
“I’m from Sheridan myself.” she replied.
“Really?” asked Josh, setting down his toast, “I dated a girl from there once.”
“That’s great! Who was she? I may just know her.”
“Her name was Jessica. Jessica Adams.”
“Hmm… that name does sound a little familiar…”
Josh, Otis, and Martha talked for at least another two hours, mostly about what Josh did for a living and what it was like in Los Angeles.
“So, you just sit down at a computer and make music with some kind of software?” asked Otis, almost stunned that someone could do that.
“Pretty much.” replied Josh, “I was on tour for a little while.”
“You’re not anymore?”
“No. I kinda… haven’t been around the area for a little while.” said Josh, images of Equestria flashing through his mind.
“Where’ve you been then?” asked Otis as Martha got up and went into the kitchen.
“I’m not exactly sure.” said Josh, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, “But I do know that it was awesome.”
A dreamy smile shot across Josh’s face, causing Otis to laugh a little at his expression.
“I’d know that look anywhere.” said Otis, winking at Josh, “You met a girl, didn’t you?”
Josh felt a lump form in his throat. The night he and Vinyl had first kissed flashed across his mind, and he felt a warm sensation flood his body. He remembered holding the beautiful unicorn all night, stroking her soft blue mane, seeing that calm loving smile on her lips as they met his own…
“I did.” he said simply, fighting back his tears once more.
“What happened then?” asked Otis softly, reading the change in expression on Josh’s face.
“I… I fell in love with her. She’s my world, the very thing that I awoke for every day. She means everything to me. But…”
Josh trailed off, feeling the tears trying to force their way out.
“But what?” asked Otis.
“But, she can do much better than me. I don’t deserve to be with someone that special.”
“I can tell that you’re a guilty man, Josh.” said Otis, standing and walking over to Josh, “You’ve got a lot of ghosts that haunt you. But, I can also tell that you’re sorry for those ghosts.”
Josh looked up to Otis, who smiled down at him.
“Did this girl love you Josh?” he asked, placing a hand on Josh’s shoulder.
“Y-yes. She loved me.”
“She loved you unconditionally?”
“Yes.”
“Then those ghosts don’t matter. Your guilt don’t matter. If you didn’t deserve to be with her, then why’d she fall in love with you?”
Josh said nothing to that, instead choosing to stare at the floor. He thought about Otis’s words. Vinyl truly did love him, he knew it. And obviously she thought he was worthy of her love, because she stuck with him no matter what. Otis patted Josh on the shoulder, then left the room, allowing Josh to think about what he’d said.
Chapter 25: I Didn't Mean To Hurt You
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Rarity slowly made her way back into the boutique, the fur on her cheeks matted from her own tears. She couldn’t believe he was gone. He was really gone. What was she going to tell Sweetie Belle?
“Hey Rarity,” said the filly, walking out of the back room, a confused look on her face, “Where’s Josh? I went to look for him this morning and he wasn’t in his room.”
Rarity felt her heart skip a beat. There was no way to do this that wouldn’t devastate her little sister, and she knew it. It didn’t help that she was losing her own composure as well.
“Well, Sweetie,” she began, her voice shaking, “Josh has… gone home.”
“Gone home?” asked Sweetie Belle, cocking her head in confusion, “Is he gonna come back and visit at least? I still wanna see him.”
“I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible, Sweetie.” said Rarity, her voice breaking.
“W-why?” asked Sweetie, her eyed starting to water.
“He… his world is far away from ours. It’s not like he could j-just walk back here. We don’t even know how he got here to begin with.”
“B-but… d-doesn’t he love us anymore?”
Rarity lost it at that and scooped up Sweetie in her forelegs, collapsing to the ground and holding her sister close.
“H-he still loves us, Sweetie. H-he said to tell you that he l-loves you very much, and he’s s-sorry he didn’t say goodbye.”
“I… I… I want my Joshie back!” yelled Sweetie Belle, quivering in Rarity’s embrace as she held the filly close, “I w-want him to h-hold me and p-play with me again!”
“I’m so sorry Sweetie. I… I want him back too. I really really do.”
The two sisters just sat on the floor, crying and holding each other, both wanting their human to come back. Sweetie Belle eventually sobbed herself to sleep, and Rarity, who was already exhausted, joined her on the floor. As Rarity drifted off, she prayed and hoped that a miracle would occur that would bring Josh back to them.
*****
Princess Celestia walked through the castle grounds, headed for the sculpture garden. She had allowed the unicorn Vinyl Scratch to stay in the castle for awhile, mostly because there was no way she could make a trip back to Ponyville in her distraught state. Twilight and the others had left earlier that morning, allowing the princess some time to look into what could have made Josh change his mind so quickly. Something seemed amiss to the regal alicorn about this whole thing.
Josh had been so happy in Equestria. What could have possibly made him want to leave behind all the ponies he’s come to love more than anything? Celestia remembered that he and Vinyl had been in the sculpture garden yesterday, and she knew full well what lurked in that very garden. She made her way to the draconequis statue to have a word with the spirit of chaos.
“Discord!” she shouted as she approached the hodgepodge creature, “You and I need to have a word.”
“About what, my dear Celestia? ” asked Discord.
“The human Josh Daniels came to me this morning, saying he wanted to go home. However, I know full well that he was happy here, and had no inkling to leave before today. Did you have something to do with this?”
“So, the guy took my advice. Good.” he sneered, “Glad I could help him out .”
“You told him to go home?”
“I merely gave him a little push in the right direction. You can’t honestly tell me that you agreed with him being here, Celestia. That man has spread more chaos in his own world than even I have here! ”
“That’s hardly relevant, Discord.” said Celestia, glaring at the statue before her, “Nopony besides you, my sister, and I know what he’s done in his past, and you know full well that he hasn’t done the same thing here.”
“But how long before he would have done it again, Celestia? You should know better than anypony that old habits die hard .”
“He’d found love! The unicorn, Vinyl Scratch, was the love of his life, and you convinced him that he didn’t deserve her love!”
“He doesn’t deserve it. A creature like that, trying so hard to erase his mistakes and make a new name for himself. He can lie to himself and everypony around, but eventually they’ll all know the truth of what he was. I know you do, Celestia .”
“And yet, he changed. Despite all the wrong he’d done at home, all the people he’d hurt and the cynicism he’d learned from his actions, he still changed here. He found somepony to love him, no matter what, and he’d found a wonderful group of friends who cared for him.”
“Disgusting. Friendship is magic, right? What a sickening thought .”
With that, Celestia turned around, headed back to the castle.
“Where’re you going, my dear princess? ”
“Back to the castle. I have a unicorn to console, and an explanation to give her.”
“Do you think for a second that she’ll listen to you right now? ”
“Yes, she will.” said Celestia, not looking back to the draconequis, “And I know one thing more: Everypony, no matter what they’ve done or who they were before, deserves a second chance.”
Chapter 26: I'm Done Lying
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Josh sat on the plane, staring at the seat in front of him with his head resting on his hand. Liam was in the back of the plane on the phone, calling everyone he could think of to tell them that Xploshun was back. As they flew, Josh’s mind constantly drifted back to Equestria, back to the ponies he’d met and the experience he’d had. How was he going to explain to Liam what had happened to him? He had no idea.
“Well,” said Liam, walking back and sitting down next to Josh, “I’ve put in all the calls I can. Not only will the whole world of dubstep soon know that its king is back, but I even got you a nice press conference tonight. I know it’s a bit early for that, but I wanna get you back out there as soon as I can.”
Josh simply grunted in acknowledgement and continued to stare at the seat. He didn’t really care about getting back on his feet right now. His heart was still hurting, and he kept seeing Vinyl’s beautiful face appear in his mind. He saw all the fun he’d had with Sweetie Belle and the others. He saw the night of the performance when everything seemed so perfect…
“Hey!” he heard Liam call, “Are you even fucking listening to me?”
“Oh. Sorry, Liam.” he apologized, “I’m not feeling all that well right now.”
“Well, you’d better start feeling better quick. We’ve gotta get your story straight as far as what happened to you. Everyone’s gonna want an explanation as to where your sorry ass went for two months.”
Josh again answered him with silence. He couldn’t tell Liam the truth. If he did, no doubt he’d be thrown in a nuthouse. He had to make something up, something convincing.
“What do you know about what happened to me before I disappeared?” he asked, raising up and looking at Liam.
“Well, all I know was that you went to the hospital the morning after the LA show. They just said you’d disappeared when they tried to revive you on the table.”
“Okay then.” said Josh, thinking hard, “Did they release why I was in the hospital?”
“Just said there’d been an accident.”
“We’ll say that I lost my memory after the accident and I just ran out. I’ll fill in the rest of the details from there if necessary.”
“Works for me. Just one question.”
“Sure.”
“What exactly did happen to you?”
Josh paused. Part of him wanted to just say it all, to tell Liam how he’d met the most wonderful mare and found a kind of family in the ponies of Equestria. He wanted to shout it to the whole world.
“I’ll tell you once we get there.”
*****
Josh had to give Liam props on this one. Not even four hours ago had he made his calls, and he had managed over one hundred reporters and columnists in for the conference. Every one of them was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Josh, all chatting about what could have possibly happened that he would disappear for so long. Meanwhile, Josh and Liam sat behind the small stage, awaiting their call to go out.
“I’ll get things started with opening statements,” Liam said, peering out at the gathered crowd, “then, you just answer their questions from there. Sound good?”
“Let’s just get this done. I’m jet-lagged as all hell right now.”
With that, both men walked out onto the stage, camera bulbs flashing all around as they took their seats. Reporters were already yelling questions at them, only to receive a small smile and brief response.
“Alright,” said Liam through the microphone on the table, “if everyone can take a seat, we’ll get this thing started.”
Everyone gathered took a seat, most visibly upset that they had to wait to ask their questions.
“Good. Now, let me start by saying how happy I am that Josh is finally back with us.” he turned to Josh, “You have no idea how much we all missed you, and we can’t wait to get things rolling again. Starting by continuing your last tour where it left off!”
Josh saw a few reporters begin writing on their notepads.
“So, without further ado,” said Liam, raising his arms out to his sides, “Let’s get this bitch started!”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than every reporter began shouting once more. Josh pointed to one and the others quieted down.
“Josh, what happened to you the morning of the accident?”
“Well,” Josh began, looking to the reporter, “I lost my memory a little. From there, I made my way out of the hospital and across the country.”
“Do you have anyone that can confirm your statements?”
“Not here at this very moment.”
The reporter jotted down something in his notebook as Josh called on another one.
“When did you recover your memory enough to come back?”
“Just this morning.”
“That fast, huh?”
“I guess.” replied Josh lamely.
“You don’t seem very sure of yourself on this.” said the reporter, raising an eyebrow, “How do we know you’re telling us the truth?”
“Were you there for everything that happened to me?”
“No.”
“Then I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it.”
The reporter huffed a little and slumped back down in his chair. Josh called on yet another reporter.
“I have a report here that states you were taken to the hospital for a heart condition.” she said, waving it around, “It says here that you had a massive amount of cocaine in your system. Have you been abusing drugs, Mr. Daniels?”
Liam turned white and peered at Josh. The producer felt his heart skip a beat at her words. Almost instantly, memories from his recovery period in Equestria flooded his mind. He had to hold back tears as he remembered the first night he had withdrawal dreams, how the Cutie Mark Crusaders had stayed with him all night, comforting him. From there, he remembered how, whenever he would become irritable and cranky, all he needed to do was see the sweet innocent face of Sweetie Belle and he was instantly better.
“It’s true.” he said, making Liam turn even whiter, “In the past I have abused cocaine. I’m not gonna deny it. However, I’m clean now, and have no intention of going back to that stuff.”
“Do you honestly expect us to believe that?”
“Believe whatever you want. I’m not gonna deny the things I’ve done wrong in my life. But, I know that there’s good things in there mixed with all the shit.”
“And what would that be?”
Josh could take no more. He wanted to walk off that stage, to go and sulk in his studio. Images and memories were racing through his mind, all of them containing the smiling faces of the ponies he loved so much and missed now more than ever. He pulled out his iPod, remembering his first lessons with Vinyl. Hitting the home button on the front, he almost broke down right there.
Looking back up at him from the device was a picture of himself and Vinyl in Ponyville. Their lips were pressed together in a kiss, both wearing a huge smile as they embraced each other lovingly. What have I done?
“Mr. Daniels? You were just about to tell us all the great things you’ve done in spite of your mistakes”
Josh broke from his reverie. He could hold back no more. It was all too much.
“You’ve all asked what happened to me? You wanna know the truth, the whole, unbiased, complete truth? Well, allow me to be the first to say that I’m not gonna lie about this anymore.”
Liam looked at Josh again.
“What’re you doing?”
“The truth is, I was admitted to the hospital for a drug overdose.” he continued, standing up and ignoring Liam, “I’d been partying all night and had used cocaine. I don’t remember much after my heart started to fail. I do remember what happened to me once I woke up though.”
He began to walk around the stage, the reporters eyes all zeroing in on him as he moved, “I met a group of ponies. They said I was in a land called Equestria. I tried to find my way home, just so I could return to what I thought was my perfect little life. However, every attempt I made was quickly thwarted and I thought I’d be trapped there forever. All I wanted was to get out of there so badly.”
Every reporter as well as Liam sat dumbfounded, unable to comprehend what Josh was saying right now. Josh continued without noticing them.
“But, I met one pony in particular. A DJ named Vinyl Scratch. At first, we didn’t really get along, but as time went on and I helped her live out her passion for music, we grew to love each other. I was happier than I’ve ever been in my whole life. Finally, I had someone I could love who loved me back just as much.”
“I thought I’d just stay in Equestria forever,” Josh felt himself begin to cry once more, “but I was tricked, fooled into thinking that we’d be better off without each other. I… I left Vinyl and all the others, thinking I was doing the right thing by going away. After all, what place does a lying, cheating, philandering human like me have in a world as wonderful as Equestria?”
Tears began to stream down his cheeks as he heard Otis’s words from that morning in his head.
“Then those ghosts don’t matter. Your guilt don’t matter. If you didn’t deserve to be with her, then why’d she fall in love with you? ”
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life. I’ve used and stepped on many people, lied and cheated and stolen from those who considered themselves close to me. However, those all pale in comparison to what I did just this morning.”
He paused, unable to regain his composure and collapsing on the stage, heaving as he cried.
“I-I left them! I l-left them all! The p-ponies who l-loved me, c-cared for me, and took me in with no questions asked. I abandoned them, all because I was worried how they’d think of me once they discovered the truth of what I’ve done in my life. I threw away the opportunity to remain happy for the rest of my existence. But worst of all, I… I left her.”
Not a word was spoken by anyone as Josh lay on the ground sobbing. Some reporters even had a few tears in their own eyes as they were moved by the emotional scene before them.
“I’m sorry, Vinyl!” he said quietly, his body heaving, “I’m so sorry. I’ve m-made the worst mistake of all time! I let my own fear get the better of me. I want to b-be with you just one m-more time. I wanna hold you and t-tell you how m-much I love you.”
As those words left Josh's lips, a bright light filled the room and the producer jumped up from the ground. The light swirled all around, making a loud whooshing noise. Everyone looked away till a loud pop sounded and the light dissipated. The room shared a collective gasp at the sight before them.
A regal white alicorn wearing a gold tiara on her head and a gold cuirass on her chest stood before them. Her violet eyes scanned the room, searching for someone. Once they settled on Josh, she smiled. She walked towards him and stood before the surprised human, glancing deep into his eyes. After some time of standing there, silently greeting her human friend, she wrapped her large white wings around him, embracing him.
“P-Princess Celestia?” he stammered as she stepped back from the human.
“I’m glad to see you again, Josh. It’s been far too long. I have somepony else here with me as well.”
Princess Celestia stepped back, revealing the presence of another pony. She was a cream colored unicorn with beautiful crimson-magenta eyes and a shaggy yet soft blue mane and tail. On her flank was a picture of two connected eighth notes. Josh fell to his knees, a look of disbelief on his face as the pony ran towards him, tears streaming from her own eyes.
“Vinyl…”
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Vinyl rushed forward and leapt at Josh. The human caught her in his arms, holding her tightly and crying. She planted little kisses all over his neck and face, tears falling from her own eyes as she did so.
“I’m so sorry, Vinyl.” said Josh, holding his marefriend close as she continued kissing him, “I made a horrible mistake. I’ll never leave you like that again.”
“J-Josh. I was so scared that I’d done something wrong!”
“You could never do anything wrong to me, baby.” said Josh, looking into Vinyl’s eyes and smiling, “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have listened to Discord. He just convinced me that you didn’t need me, that you could do much better than me and that if I stayed, I’d hurt you again.”
“Baby, I don’t want better than you. I just want you. I’ll always want you.”
The two shared a passionate and loving kiss, relishing the feeling of being with one another again. Princess Celestia smiled warmly at the sight of the two lovers embracing once more, and the gathered crowd let out a collective “aww”. Josh could have sworn that he even heard a few people begin applauding and cheering him on. Behind them, Liam sat stunned at the sight before his eyes.
After awhile longer, Josh rose to his feet, looking around the room at the gathered reporters.
“Josh,” said Princess Celestia, smiling between he and Vinyl, “you have changed so much in only a few months. When you came to my kingdom, you were angry and cynical. You were lost in a world of loneliness and misery, though you believed your life to be perfect. However, the love of the ponies you became friends with, as well as the love of this mare, has transformed you. Your past, though marred by your actions, could never make them turn you away.”
“I know that now, Princess.” he said, tears of joy at seeing Vinyl once more still falling from his eyes, “And that’s something I’ll never forget again.”
“I must confess a truth to you.” said the Princess, “I was the one who brought you to Equestria.”
Josh stared at Celestia for a second, trying to process what she had just said.
“I saw how your life was, and I took pity on you.” she continued, “I thought that by bringing you to Equestria where you could know true love, you would change. I’m glad to see I was proven right.”
“Princess, thank you for what you did.” said Josh, smiling down at Vinyl once more, “Because of you, I found Vinyl. I found friends like I’ve never known before. That means more than I could ever say.”
“Everypony deserves a second chance, Josh. No matter what they’ve said or done before, they can still redeem themselves.”
Josh turned back to Liam, who had stood up and still had his mouth agape.
“Liam,” he said, smiling as his agent stepped towards he and Vinyl, “this is Vinyl Scratch. She’s the girl I met while I was away. Vinyl, this is my agent, Liam.”
“It’s nice to meet you!” said Vinyl, standing and hugging Liam, who slowly returned the embrace.
“So, Josh,” he said as Vinyl got back down and smiled at him, “this is your… girlfriend then?”
“I know what you’re gonna say, Liam. Yes, she’s a pony. However, I love her more than anything in the world.”
“Well,” said Liam, a small smile forming, “if you’re happy, then… I can’t really judge you, I suppose.”
Josh hugged Liam, “You have no idea how much that means to me.”
“So, I assume you’re going to return to, what was it you said it was? Equestria?”
Josh turned back to the Princess. She smiled warmly at the happy human and pony.
“If that’s what you want to do, then I’ll gladly take you and Vinyl back there.”
“Princess, there’s not a place anywhere I’d rather be than Equestria.” he said, kneeling down and holding Vinyl close again.
“Wait!”
One of the reporters stood up and called to Josh, who glanced up.
“Yes?”
“What do we say has happened to you?” asked the reporter.
“Tell everyone that Xploshun is retiring here and now. Tell them that I still love them though, and that they’re the best fans in the world. I’ve got an opportunity to return to a place I never should have left to begin with, to a girl I wanna be with for all of my life, and I’m not gonna pass that chance up. That’s what you tell them.”
With that, he looked to the Princess and smiled.
“Hold on tight.” she said, her horn glowing.
The bright light filled the room once more, wrapping the princess and the two lovers in its embrace. A loud pop sounded, the light died, and all three were gone. They were on their way back to Equestria.
*****
Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Spike, and Octavia all stood around in the regal throne room at Canterlot Castle. They had all been called together by Princess Celestia, who said she had something to cheer them up. It had only been a day since Josh had left for home, and they were all still feeling the pain of losing him. Each one was thinking about how he’d just left, leaving behind only good memories and a longing for him to return.
Princess Celestia walked into the throne room, smiling at each pony gathered there. Slowly, she made her way to them.
“I know you’re all still pretty upset that Josh left so suddenly.” she said, seeing each pony’s dejected look, “So, I went out and found something that I think you’ll all enjoy.”
She looked behind her and nodded. As she did so, a nearby guard began motioning for someone to come inside. Vinyl appeared in the doorway first, a huge smile on her face. Following behind her, as tall as ever, wearing a giant smile of his own as everypony’s expressions changed almost instantly, was a familiar looking human.
“JOSHIE!” yelled Sweetie Belle, rushing out to meet Josh.
Josh ran forward and scooped up the little filly in his arms, cradling her, tickling her little white belly, and holding her close. She cried tears of joy into his chest. Soon, every other pony in the room was surrounding Josh, each one hugging him, laughing along with him, and crying tears of joy at the sight of him. Tears also flowed from his own eyes as he embraced them all.
“Oh, Josh.” said Rarity, tears streaming as she wrapped her forelegs around his neck and hugged him tightly, “Don’t ever leave again. Please don’t ever do it again.”
“I promise, Rares.” he said, hugging the mare back.
Finally, Octavia walked up to him, her eyes filled with a mix of anger and happiness. She stood on her hind legs and punched him hard in the face, collapsing him to the ground.
“Tavi!” shouted Vinyl rushing in front of Josh to defend him, “Don’t hit my coltfriend!”
“It’s okay, baby.” said Josh, rubbing his jaw, “I kinda deserved that one.”
“You ass!” shouted Octavia, tears flowing freely, “You made Vinyl cry again! Y-you just l-left her and… and everypony else! H-how could you?!”
Josh leaned forward and hugged Octavia tightly, allowing her to cry on his shoulder.
“Shhh. It’s okay, Tavi.” he said, rubbing her back gently, “I’m back, okay? I’m not going to leave you or Vinyl or Sweets ever again. I promise.”
Octavia responded by hugging him back, clutching him tightly. Over the course of the next few hours, everypony continued to cry, laugh, and celebrate the return of the human they all loved so much. Josh felt a warmth shoot through his body every time somepony walked up and hugged him or smiled at him. This is what it is to truly be loved he thought.
Eventually, everypony began to make their way to the train station, ready to head for home. Josh and Vinyl found their own seat and sat together, happiness flooding their bodies as they snuggled close on the train.
“So, what do you wanna do tomorrow?” asked Vinyl her head resting on Josh’s warm chest.
“I’m not sure.” he replied, smiling and stroking her mane, “But I do know one thing.”
“What’s that baby?”
“We’ve got all the time in the world to figure it out.”
Vinyl smiled at him and he leaned in to kiss her. The train rolled down its tracks, Josh looking out the window at the beautiful scenery speeding past, all of it painted by a stunning orange glow from the sunset. He had his marefriend next to him, his friends all there for him, and he had his whole life left to live with Vinyl. His mind was at ease now, his past no longer would haunt him or the beautiful unicorn he was in love with. Everything, as far as he was concerned, was now perfect, and he didn’t see that changing any time soon.
Chapter 2: How Did I Get Here?
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Josh’s head was swimming like crazy. All round him, everything was blurred, from the clock on the wall, to the girl in bed next to him. He had just finished having yet another one-nigh-stand with some skank he picked up after the show. Most people would give anything for the kind of life he was living. But to the young producer, it was nothing more than simple routine at this point.
“Hey there, handsome.” she said, turning to him, and tracing his smooth chest with a finger, “How was that for you?”
“Not too bad,” he replied, smirking as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a long drag on it, “Then again, everything’s better when you’re high as fuck like we are.”
She half-giggled, half-snorted, and rolled back over and grabbing the mirror on the bedside table that still had a little blow left on it. Snorting deeply, she shouted as the drugs hit her nose.
“Fuck! Mother fucker! Goddamn, that one hurt.” she yelled, laying back down, a little blood trailing out of her nose.
“Take it slow there.” said Josh, handing her his cigarette to take a drag on it, “Don’t wanna overdo it.”
“You’d be surprised how much I can handle.” she replied, blowing a little smoke in his face as she exhaled.
Josh simply smiled a little. He’d heard that one before, from almost every easy girl he’d managed to pick up after his shows. After he left his room, he went to mingle with his fans a little, signing autographs (there’s always some crazy, over-caffeinated slut who wants him to sign her boobs), and talking with all kinds of people. All the while, however, he was searching for some loose chick to take out for a sex-filled night. He found just that in this rather wanton young woman, whose name he seemed to be having a hard time remembering.
They talked for a little while, but Josh was far from new to this kind of girl. He could sense that she was pretty desperate for some action, and he was all too willing to provide whatever excitement she craved. However, he figured he ought to tease her just a little, so they went out for drinks and did a few lines, the whole time she kept insisting that they go back to his room. Once Josh felt he’d had his fun, he was more than willing to get the ball rolling. And get it rolling they did.
They had completely skipped the foreplay, and just gone right to fucking like wild animals. Josh had no idea that a woman could be that flexible, or that loud. Now, however, after three rounds and a few more lines, Josh and his lover were pretty well spent, and all they wanted to do was just lie there. Well, she did, at least.
“Where’re you going?” she asked, watching as Josh crawled out of the bed and got dressed.
“Gotta go. I’ve got shit to do today. Thanks for the helping of pussy. I’ll be on my way though.”
“You’re just gonna leave me?!” she yelled, just missing his head with a pillow thrown at him, “You fucking piece of shit!”
Josh simply stared at the girl, slight confusion in his eyes. Didn’t she realize what this was? Was she stupid or something? This wasn’t meant to last. It was just a little stress relief for him, and a chance for her to say she fucked Xploshun.
“I figured you knew this was just a one-time thing.” he said, placing his hat back on his head, covering his short brown hair.
“I thought I felt something between us! Is this your sick fucking idea of fun?! To just use random women for sex and then leave?!”
Josh laughed out loud upon hearing her angry words. Did she seriously think he cared about her? Was she naive, or just stupid? She meant no more to him than the gum on the bottom of his shoe. The only thing that mattered to him was his music and the other wonderful things that came with that (two of which were poon and drugs).
“What are you, some lovestruck little teenager? You’re no different that any other fuckin' slut I’ve banged so far. This couldn’t last even if I wanted it to, and believe me, I'm not in any hurry to see you again any time soon. You should just count yourself lucky I won’t make you pay for all that blow I had that you used up last night. In fact, I-“
He cut himself off. His heart was racing, for some reason, and it made his already swimmy vision blur even worse. Josh staggered a little, hitting the bedside table and knocking everything off it. His eyes grew wide as he realized what was happening to him. He looked to the girl in the bed, darkness beginning to overtake his mind.
“H-hospital...” was all he said as he collapsed to the floor.
*****
“Clear the halls! We’ve got a patient coming through!”
Five nurses were all crowded around a speeding gurney as it burst through the ER doors, all talking loudly, instructing those around them what to do.
“Get a heart monitor and an IV in him, stat!”
“We need to get him stabilized now!”
“He’s going into cardiac arrest!”
A doctor rushed into the brightly lit room as everyone was bustling about, frantically trying to save the young man on the gurney.
“What’re we looking at?” asked the doctor, reaching for a nurse nearest him.
“Male, 25. Has no history of any sort of heart condition, but he’s got so much drugs in his system, it’s a wonder he isn't dead right now.”
“Possible overdose?”
“I would imagine.” replied the nurse, lowering the clipboard she was holding, and looking at the patient on the table.
After about five minutes, Josh was completely hooked up to everything they could get him on, from a heart monitor to a respirator, and the doctor was simply watching to make sure nothing went wrong.
“This young man’s lucky to be alive.” he said, more to himself than anyone else in the room, which was still in quite a
Almost as soon as he said those words, the heart monitor flat lined.
Acting on instinct, he looked to the wall, and the defibrillator.
“Grab that defib!” he shouted, grabbing a set of gloves from nearby and putting them over his hands, “HURRY!”
In an instant, he had the paddles out and charged, ready to go.
“Three…two…one…CLEAR!” he shouted, hitting Josh’s lifeless body with a burst of electricity.
The young man’s body jolted upwards, but the monitor didn’t change. The doctor swore, and hit him with the electricity again. Once more, the body jolted, but no change. Two more times, he blasted him with electricity, to no avail. Almost ready to give up, he tried one more time.
“Three…two…one…CLEAR!”
A brilliant burst of light filled the white room, making everyone turn and look away from the bright blast. The doctor was thrown across the room as the light swelled and began to pulsate gently. After about a minute of the intense and unexpected show, it dimmed and all was normal once more. Only one thing was out of place from before: Josh was no longer on the table.
*****
It was night time in the land of Equestria. Luna’s bright beautiful moon floated in the night sky, bathing Sweet Apple Acres in its silvery glow. Applejack lay sound asleep in her bed, dreams of applebucking shooting through her mind. All was peaceful and calm. All was normal.
Suddenly, a bright light burst onto the farm, pulsating and creating brilliant shadows of everything around it. It lingered for only a minute, then quickly dissipated. Though it was brief, it was enough to rouse Applejack and Big Macintosh, both of whom groggily got up and stepped outside their bedroom doors.
“What in tarnation was that?” asked AJ, grabbing her hat and heading downstairs to the screen door.
“No idea.” replied Big Mac, yawning as he stumbled behind his sister, “Think it’s some sort of unicorn prank?”
“I don’t think so.” said the orange earth pony, squinting at the point where the light came from, "Ah can't imagine even a prankster would be up this time of night."
As she drew closer to the spot, something came into view. However, her vision was so blurry, she couldn’t quite make out what it was. At first, it looked like a rather small fallen tree, but she realized that would be ridiculous. They never planted trees this close to the barn. It wasn’t till she saw it move slightly that she realized she simply couldn't write it off as an illusion.
She ran closer to it and began to inspect this odd form. What she saw was a tall creature with short brown hair on its head, a hairless body, and pale skin. It was unconscious, but was shifting around, as if in a dream.
“By Celestia…” said a wide-eyed Applejack, looking down at Josh’s unconscious form laying on the ground.
Chapter 19: Watch What You Say
Second ChancesBy Hero541
Josh and Vinyl walked through town. They had decided to take a break from lessons today, as Vinyl was really getting the hang of the equipment. The first time she tried to use anything, she’d made a noise at such a high frequency that it shattered the window in the shed. Since then, she’d managed to make her first bar of a song. Now, the two of them were simply strolling through town, window shopping as they went along.
They entered Sugarcube Corner at about noon, both very hungry for lunch. As they sat down at a nearby outdoor table, Pinkie Pie bounced out of the store wearing a bright white and pink apron.
“May I take your… Oh, hey Joshie! Hey Vinyl!” she said, smiling at the two patrons.
“Hey Pinkie,” said Josh, smiling at the exuberant party pony, “How’re you doing?”
“I’m great! The Cakes are away on business to Canterlot today, so I’m running the shop for a day! It’s been really fun.”
“Have you had much business yet today?” inquired Vinyl.
“Not yet. But, the lunch rush’ll be here soon enough. I’ll have my hooves pretty full for a while…”
“You need any help Pinks?” asked Josh, looking to Vinyl, “Vinyl and I can help you out if you need us to.”
“I’d love the help! I’ve already got Applejack coming over a little later to lend a hoof too. It can be like one big work party! Maybe I can get Twilight and Spike and Fluttershy…”
Pinkie trailed off, beginning to name pretty much every singly pony in Equestria, leaving Josh and Vinyl to just stare at her. Eventually, she seemed to remember that she had two customers sitting before her.
“Oopsie. Sorry.” she said, pulling a notebook and pencil out of the apron and giving them a sheepish smile.
*****
After a delicious lunch consisting of hay fries (which Josh had taken a liking to) and a daisy sandwich, Josh and Vinyl walked back into the store to see Pinkie. She was in the kitchen, mixing up some batter for cupcakes.
“Okay, Pinkie. We’re ready whenever you need us.” said Josh.
“Okie Dokie Loki! Here. “ she handed them two aprons, “You may want these.”
“Uh, Pinkie?”
“Yeah Joshie?”
Josh simply held the tiny apron up to his body, showing that there was no way in hell that it would fit him.
“Uh…” Pinkie said, examining the small garment against the tall human.
Vinyl snickered at the sight.
“Here.” she said, grabbing the apron in her magic.
Vinyl’s horn glowed as she focused on the apron. Soon, it was enlarging itself to fit Josh’s body.
“Wow,” he said, taking it back and examining it, “I didn’t know you knew any enlarging spells, Vinyl.”
“That’s just a standard spell a lot of unicorns can use. It helps sometimes to be able to enlarge or shrink things.”
Josh tied his apron just as Applejack walked in the kitchen.
“I’ll be!” she exclaimed, walking forward to greet the human and unicorn, “I didn’t know ya’ll would be helpin out me and Pinkie today.”
“We took the day off from lessons and came down for a little lunch. Pinkie mentioned she could use the help, so we volunteered for a little while.” said Josh, handing Applejack her own apron.
“Sounds good to me!” said the orange earth pony, “We need all the help we can get.”
“Here they come, everypony!” Pinkie called from the front.
In only a few minutes, Pinkie, Applejack, Vinyl, and Josh were each bustling about at a frantic pace in an effort to keep up with the large flow of customers. Josh and Vinyl handled taking orders outside, while Pinkie and Applejack alternated between the front counter and kitchen. Most ponies by now knew Josh and greeted him warmly as he took their orders. A few foals out with their parents even greeted him by his pet name of “Joshie”, which seemed to be sticking rather well between Pinkie and Sweetie Belle.
Over the course of an hour or two, business again died down to its previous state. Despite that fact, Josh and Vinyl remained on duty, taking the orders of a few customers outside. As Josh headed out the door once more to check on customers, he was stopped by two mares and a stallion walking by.
“Hey! You’re Xploshun, aren’t you?” called the stallion, a large gray one with a blue mane and tail.
Josh turned at the sound of his stage name to see the three ponies walking up to him, each with a huge, excited smile on their respective faces.
“That’s me.” said Josh simply, “Can I help you?”
“We just wanted to say that show you did that one time was totally awesome!” exclaimed one of the mares, who had a red coat and light pink mane.
“Well, thanks for that,” said Josh, “but I really shouldn’t have done what I did. It kinda... hurt somebody.”
Almost on cue, Vinyl walked out of the confectionary, headed towards Josh.
“Pinkie said that she and Applejack could handle the shop for the rest of the day.” she said, “We can go.”
“What’re you hanging out with this loser for?” said the other mare, one with a green coat and black mane.
“Excuse me?” said Josh, turning back to the trio of ponies before him.
“I asked what you’re doing hanging out with this pathetic loser of a DJ.”
Josh felt a rage build in his mind as Vinyl pressed her ears flat against her skull and backed away from the group. He looked to the mare to see a single tear roll down her cream colored cheek.
“I don’t appreciate you talking to my friend like that.” he said, trying with all his might to resist the urge to yell at the three ponies standing in front of him, “And I certainly don’t appreciate you doing it directly in front of me.”
“Huh?” said the stallion, looking taken aback, “Did you just say she’s your friend?”
“Yes, I did. And I’ll guarantee you that she’s one hundred times the DJ you’ll ever be. You have no idea what she's capable of, and I don’t see you up on a stage busting your ass to entertain people. Therefore, you have no right to talk about her abilities when you probably don’t even have the testicular fortitude to showcase your own.”
Josh was shaking with anger, holding back the urge to be profane in public. He glared daggers at the three ponies before him, obviously beginning to intimidate them, as they were now doing the same thing as Vinyl.
“Now, I’d suggest you get out of here. I’m not afraid to start shit in public with anyone, least of all a few ponies who don’t have any respect for someone who works harder than anyone to do what she loves. But first, I want to hear you apologize to Vinyl.”
He turned to the unicorn behind him, his eyes softening as she met his gaze.
“S-sorry V-Vinyl. W-we didn’t really mean that. Honest.” said the green mare, not taking her eyes off of Josh’s large form.
“Let’s get the buck outta here!” said the red mare, and all three ponies turned tail and ran away from the shop.
Josh was still shaking from anger as he watched them run away, the stallion stumbling a little before rejoining the two mares. What fucking right do they have to judge Vinyl? he thought, They have no idea how hard she’s been working these past few weeks! They haven’t seen the leaps and bounds she’s made in that time! They haven’t heard any of what she’s made, yet they stand there, right in front of me, and insult her!
As he continued to fume, he turned back to Vinyl and peered down into her face. Her eyes were still pouring tears, but she had a huge smile on her face.
"Are... you okay, Vinyl?" he asked, concerned.
She walked forward and stood on her hind legs, wrapping her forelegs around his midsection and holding him tightly.
“Th-thank you, Josh.” she said through her tears, “Thank you so much for that.”
Josh hesitated for a second, feeling Vinyl's tears penetrate his shirt as she pressed her head against his chest. Eventually, however, he smiled wide and returned her embrace in full, resting his head on top of hers just to the right of her horn.
“You're an incredible producer, Vinyl.” he said, rubbing her back as she cried into his chest, "One day, they'll see that, and nobody'll ever talk to you like that again. I promise."
“YAY! WOOHOO! Way to go, Joshie! You tell those meany mean pants ponies!”
Josh looked back to the door of Sugarcube Corner and saw Applejack and Pinkie smiling down at him, the excitable pink pony jumping up and down in glee. Applejack tipped her hat to him as Pinkie continued yelling praises of the human. After a few moments, he and Vinyl separated and looked at each other.
“You wanna head back?” said Josh, pointing in the direction of Octavia’s house, “I’ll bet by now Tavi’s figured out we’re not at the house.”
“Sure.” said Vinyl, wiping her eyes with a hoof and taking her place beside the human.
*****
Josh and Vinyl arrived at the front door of Octavia’s house, both stopping and looking at each other.
“I hope you had a good time.” said Josh, looking down into Vinyl’s crimson-magenta eyes, “I know that what those ponies said probably didn’t help the situation…”
“I had a great time, Josh. I really really did.” she said, smiling widely up at him, “Nopony’s ever stood up for me like that.”
“Not even Octavia?”
“Tavi’s never around when ponies say things like that to me. Plus, she just has a way of... making the situation worse.”
Josh thought back to when the gray mare rushed into Rarity’s home and punched him in the face. That little incident certainly didn’t help the situation, that’s for sure…
“Well,” said Josh, rubbing the back of his head nervously, “I guess this is goodbye for now.”
“At least till tomorrow.” said Vinyl, giggling a little.
“HEY!”
Both Josh and Vinyl jumped at the sudden shout from nearby. Two colts ran up to them, one short, with a dark blue coat and a yellowish mane, the other taller, with a light orange coat and dark teal mane.
“Oh, hello Snips. Snails. Can we help you?” asked Vinyl, watching the two colts as they stopped in front of her and Josh.
“Aren’t you Xploshun?” asked Snips, trying to catch his breath.
“Yes, I am. Can I help you?”
“Yeah!” said Snails goofily, “We want you to do another show!”
“Another show? Like a music show?”
“Yeah! We thought your last one was totally awesome, and we were wondering if you’d do another one!” said Snips.
“Well…” said Josh, trailing off
He looked at Vinyl, silently wanting to get her opinion on the idea. Her face had fallen a little.
“Sorry, guys.” said Josh, looking back to both the colts, “I’m afraid I’m not comfortable doing another show. The last one I did wasn’t exactly the best thing to do at the time.”
Both colts groaned in disappointment. Josh felt a hoof touch his arm and looked to Vinyl.
“Are you not going to do one because of me?” she asked.
“Well… kinda.”
“For the record, I don’t mind if you do one at all. In fact, I’d kinda like to see you perform a little myself. I didn’t stay around for long the last time, and I’d love to see you onstage.”
“You sure Vinyl?” asked Josh, a nervous look painting his face, “If you’re at all uncomfortable, I don’t wanna make you feel worse.”
“Go for it, Josh! Give them the best show they could ever ask for!”
“Okay then.” he turned back to Snips and Snails, “Looks like you two’ll get your show after all.”
“Yes!” they shouted in unison, “We’ll get as many ponies as we can to come and see it too! There’s been a lot of others that wanna see you do it again.” said Snips.
“Okay then. You two go do that.” said Josh, smiling at the two colts.
“When should we tell everypony to come?” asked Snails.
“How about… two weeks. I’ll need a lot of time to get everything ready between now and the show.”
“Sounds good to us!” they shouted.
They took off like bullets, heading into town to tell everyone they could about the upcoming performance.
“They certainly seem excited.” said Josh, watching them run off.
“They’re the town fanboys. You should’ve seen them when Trixie came through here last time.”
Both Josh and Vinyl jumped once more as Octavia rounded the corner of the house, a smile on her face.
“Did you two have a good day in the town?” she asked, opening the door.
They both nodded. Vinyl followed Octavia inside, stopping in the doorway.
“I guess I probably won’t see you tomorrow then.” she said, a little sadness in her eyes, “You’ll probably be busy getting ready for the show and stuff.”
“Well, considering you have the only studio capable of making music around here, I think I’ll see you at some point tomorrow.”
They smiled at each other once more before Vinyl said goodbye to Josh and closed the door. Josh made his way back to the boutique, a smile painting his face as he thought about how the day had gone. Then, as he walked away from the house, he looked back to the shed. Fuck he thought I’ve got a show in two weeks .
