The Urchin and The Diva

Chapter 3: Interactions

"Ah say we lock em up and throw away the keys!

"Right after I buck him one in the eye"!

"Oh umm..aren't you two being abit judgmental"?

"It truly is a fascinating creature. I don't think we should lock it up".

"It's alotta fun! We should throw it a party! Not lock it up"!

"Enough" Rarity snapped angrily, stomping her hoof loudly to get the attention of the other ponies. She glanced down silently at the unconscious creature that lay on the sofa, on the first floor of Twilight Sparkle's home. After he had been knocked out, the group had snuck it back into town; waiting until it was night so no pony would see him being snuck back. The group was now discussing what was to be done with it. Some wanted it locked up, some were indifferent; and some were interested.

"Have you all forgotten that had this..thing had not been at the cliff's, that it wouldn't have caught me? That I wouldn't even be here" she demanded angrily! Even if it was weird looking, and had an attitude based on the first encounter she had seen from it; it had saved her life when it could have left her! If it truly was dangerous then why would it have saved her? "I owe this creature my life, and I will not see my savior thrown into a prison" Rarity swore loudly.

"Rarity, had this thief not gone and caused a ruckus in town and surprised you; then you wouldn't have gone over the cliff to begin with" Applejack tried to reason as she glared down at the thing. "Heck if it had just stopped running, then I wouldn't have had to chase it and."

"You would have been able to beat the stuffin out of him" Rarity asked, raising a brow as she said. Opening her mouth to reason that it was probably afraid, she blinked when she noticed what Pinkie was doing.

"It sure is silly looking" Pinkie giggled as she rubbed her hoof around its forehead, as she asked "It looks like it has a mane, but it's really, really short". Lifting its back up, she said "And no tail either! It's like a tailless, furless monkey". Opening one of its pupil's she looked into it, as she smiled "Hellooooooooo". She received no response as she put a hoof to her chin as she tried to think of a way to wake it up.

"Pinkie, that's not very nice" Rarity insisted as she trotted next to the creature, shooing Pinkie away from it. Staring down at it smiling, she said "You had no reason to save me…well maybe a small reason" the diva smiled lightly to herself, as she continued "What I just wanted to say was thanks for saving my life, I really appreciate it". She reached down as she gently ran a hoof through its mane, blinking in shock as she could see how dirty it was!

"Ech, dirt" she complained as she removed a tissue from a nearby box and whipped her hoof.

"Well..I guess I can kinda forgive you for the humiliation you caused me back in town" Rainbow Dash grunted, reluctantly. She then quickly raised a hoof "ONLY because you saved Rarity's life". Crossing her hooves, she sighed "Otherwise, I'd deck you one".

Pinkie smiled as blinked and trotted back over to the monkey, as she blinked and noticed a something shinny coming from its pocket. Grinning lightly, she smiled "OOoo". Anticipation started to slowly rise within her at the shiny object; she slowly reached down towards it. Gently gripping the end of what seemed to be a chain, she started to slowly take it out. Giggling, she smiled "I wonder what it is..".

At that moment, Jake chose to open his eyes; consciousness drifting back to his mind as he tried to register what had just happened to him. "The hell? Where am I…last thing I remember…I ran through a town of ponies, pissed a couple of em off, and saved a unicorn…course that musta been a dream. Yeah, that's right! I'm back in the familiar, crappy apartment with…Oh".

Jack froze as he locked eyes with a pink pony, with an extremely messy mane. She stared back, equally shocked as Jack slowly looked down and saw her hoof was in his pocket! "What the hell" Jack shouted angrily, as he squirmed to shove this pony away only not able to move his wrist. Sitting upright, he snarled at the pink pony. He wasn't about to let some horse touch his keepsake. Scaring her back, Jack blinked as he looked down to see wrist was tied, and that he was bonded by a rope. Then as he struggled and started to ramble, one thought went through his head. The thought that whilst externally he wished that it was not true, and none of it was real, internally he knew it to be so:

That wasn't a dream…

"Where am I? What are you all? Where's the..oof" Jack rambled as he was silenced by a hoof being placed on his chest to silence him. Looking up at who did it, he gulped as he realized it was the cowgirl pony from earlier. "Ahhh…" he trailed off, as he realized that he was now at the mercy of these ponies. His inner little boy snorted at the sight of these "girly creatures", mocking "What are they gonna do? Put me in a dress? Apply make up? Force me to attend a tea party"?

His older, rational side knew better however since they had chased him all over town; probably intending on beating the crud outta him for what he had done. He wasn't about to show he was afraid in front of these ponies. Putting on a stern face, he grunted "So you caught me? If you intend on torturing me, and sacrificing me to you god then best get to it". Fully aware that they were a "mostly" civilized society; he had to suppress a snort of laughter at the sight of their expressions.

AJ shook off the weird statement it said, as she poked him in the chest. "Alright ya theif! We've got you here, and you're gunna answer our question's weather ya like it or not? You will answer everything honestly, or else…" She started to say that they would turn him over to the royal guard, when she was surprised to see it give a defiant look

"Or what" Jack shot back; unwilling to show he was afraid. Jack prepared to get yelled at some more, but was surprised when she stepped back and the purple unicorn he had bumped into earlier stepped forward. From the look she gave, he could only guess she was here to play peacemaker. Watching as she slowly surrounded him, taking in his appearance; Jack got impatient as he grunted "What?

Realizing she was staring, Twilight smiled weakly "I apologize for staring but, I've simply never come across an animal like you before? A bipedal organism, able to stand on two feet. Lacking any sort of fur to keep itself warm, so it relies on clothes. An extremely short mane, no wings or horn. Both of its eyes are a different color...".

Jack rolled his eyes at this, as he could only guess that this girl was the brainy type. "This "it" has a name you know? Jack Connor" he said simply as he watched her eyes widened even further. "Yes, my kind has names; shocking isn't it" he sarcastically remarked.

"Hey, their's no need to be rude, she's just trying to find out about you" Rainbow Dash shot back at the weirdo.

Jack glared at her, as he remarked "I can be as rude as I want! I'm in some weird world, surrounded by ponies that shouldn't even exist and being threatened by them! How would you react in my situation"?

"Then why did ya go and start robbing me, breaking mah stand" Apple jack said, wanting an answer.

"I was hungry, and didn't know how to pay for anything here since I doubted that this place takes dollar bills" Jack said as he attempted to defend himself. Receiving a death glare from AJ, Jack flinched as he said "Alright, maybe I was hasty at the time and wasn't thinking about anyone else. I hadn't eaten anything all day because my step dad hadn't…" He froze as he noticed the curious looks on their faces.

"What do you mean? Doesn't your folks..." AJ started to say, but was cut off as Jack snapped angrily "That's none of your business". Why would he relay his story to them? Sighing, he said "So, what do you intend to do with me then? Lock me up forever"?

"No one's going to lock you up, we just want to know about you" Twilight said calmly as she used her magic to undo his bonds. "I trust that you won't try any of those moves you were doing earlier to escape" she asked.

"I know that…you must be tired and restless but please just cooperate. I promise that we'll see that your well taken care of" Rarity smiled to the creature, watching as it stared at her in disbelief. It had a look that said "I don't trust you". Well, she trusted it! After all, it had saved her life!

Rubbing his wrist, he stared at Twilight. From what he could see, she seemed to be the studious, bookworm type. "You're placing a lot of trust in something that isn't a pony" Jack said as he sat their staring at her. "That can be dangerous" he warned as he laid his head back. "So c'mon, let's get this Q and A over with" he muttered

Twilight sighed as she said "Alright, what are you

"I'm a human" Jack answered as he watched Twilight's expression become calculating. That response immediately got a slew of reactions and questionable looks on their faces. What was a human? Was it dangerous? We're their more of them?

Fluttershy approached Jack curiously as she looked him over, as he watched her cautiously. "Well, you have a rugged look on you. But, I'm willing to give all new animals a chance. I wonder what you eat though"? Getting that out of her system, she pulled Jack into a light hug; not noticing the intense blush that etched over his face.

"Let…go" Jack said sternly, trying his damnest to hide any uncomfortable tone out of his voice. Watching as Fluttershy let out a light eep before stepping back, he grunted as he dusted himself off.

What was a human? Twilight had never heard of a human before! This was unacceptable! She knew her library of books by heart, and had never seen anything mentioned about humans. She highly doubted that only one existed. Wherever he was from, there must be many humans! That was an idea. Coughing, she asked "Alright then, where are you from"?

"Manhattan, New York" Jack answered, but was caught off guard when the pink pony bounced in front of him. "Someone's on a 24/7 sugar rush I take it" he thought silently.

"SoOoooo Jack! What do you like to do? Do you like parties? I think parties are alotta fun! It'll turn that grumpy face upside down" she giggled as she grabbed the sides of his cheeks and moved them up to resemble a smile. Becoming thoughtful, she said "So you're from Manehattan".

Pushing her hooves away, Jack stared "No, I'm from Manhattan".

"But I thought it was called Manehattan" Pinkie responded, looking confused.

Feeling irked at this pony, Jack resorted to sarcasm. "Noooo, its man".

Mane.

Man.

Mane.

MAN!

MANE

MAN!

MANE!

…Mane.

Man.

Mane!

Man!

MANE!

MAN!

MANE!

"It's called Manhattan, and that's final" Pinkie said, stomping her hoof in exasperation. She failed to notice the light grin on Jack's face, who was struggling not to laugh.

"Okay you win, it's called Manhattan" he chuckled. He had to admit that this pony was pretty funny. Whenever he went to internet café's, he would watch animes that usually stared energetic, silly protagonist.

"Heeeeeeeey, you tricked me silly" Pinkie giggled, as she playfully reached over and messed up Jack's hair; getting a laugh from him. Mission accomplished for her! She got him to laugh! That what she always did strive for, to make ponies; or humans in this case laugh to let em know that they had a friend! Oh yeah, she was so looking forward to being Jack's friend!

Jack stared at the pink pony in amusement, as he slowly paused as the other Pegasus approached. She seemed more the shy type from how she wasn't able to look him in the eye. It seemed that they were slowly becoming more comfortable to approach him. Staring at her, he looked down to see her leg was okay. Sighing, he was relived as he smiled "Your leg's alright, good. When I helped you out back there, I thought that you would be in pain still. Seems like I came round at the right time" he shrugged.

Fluttershy smiled thankfully, as she said "I'm umm…sorry that I was afraid of you at first. I didn't know what you were and I thought that you were going to..umm..eat me". She stared in surprise as she watched the human let out a laugh.

"Do I even look like I'm capable of eating any of you" he asked, chuckling. These ponies had quite the imagination to think that he would even be capable of eating them. Staring back at the studious pony, he said "Yes, I'm from Manhattan, New York. One of the many cities in the U.S.A.". Receiving a stare from the name of such a place, Jack sighed as he went into a small explanation of the U.S.A. "I can't remember off the top of my head how many humans they're in total on Earth, but there's a lot since it's the dominating species" he explained.

Twilight had become fascinated with what she was hearing. A planet called Earth that was populated by these humans and was dominated by them! She had resorted to using an empty book to write down what she heard, as she then had to know something else. "Wait, what about ponies? Surely you have ponies on Earth" she inquired.

"Well, yeah we have ponies. Their just..not as advanced as they are here" Jack explained, as he tried to fish for the right words to use. When he was met with silence from the ponies, he decided to be blunt. "The ponies we have can't talk, can't use magic or fly; and only come in the fur colors of black, white and brown".

"Say what? That sounds really boring" Dash grumbled; making a face at such a boring place. "Your planet doesn't exactly sound fun. I guess that can be overlooked as long as you humans are friendly right? Well, the rest of you anyway"?

Rarity let out a huff, as she trotted next to Jack and placed a hoof on his shoulder. "I think you're not giving Jack here enough credit. After all, I think he's proved his kindness when he saved me. Perhaps abit rambunctious maybe, but I bet that he's really friendly".

Jack seemed to hesitate at that, as he said "Err…yes, we're umm..really friendly". Self-preservation entered his mind as he really didn't feel like talking about the evil of humanity and how that even though they were all human; that wasn't enough. No, they had to persecute one another just for being different. If he explained all that, they would think that he was like that!

"No magic? How on ever do you get through the day" Rarity asked; shocked that magic didn't exist where Jack was from.

That also didn't sit well with Twilight. She herself was having an awful hard time believing that this place didn't have any magic at all. If that was so, then how did they become so advanced according to Jack? Perhaps magic had existed at one point, but simply disappeared! Maybe it even still existed! "If your society doesn't operate on magic, how do you operate" Twilight asked, as she turned to a new page to write on.

"Ingenuity, good old fashioned American ingenuity. We rely on technology to help advance us, into making our lives easier" he explained. Seeing a light grin appear on AJ's face, he narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you smiling bout" he asked.

"Sound's a lot like a place where only Earth ponies exist. No magic, just working with what you got. If it's as advanced as you say it is, and then it must be an impressive sight" AJ complimented the human. Noticing the slight flush appear on his face, she chuckled to herself. For someone that gave off the presences of being tough, and cocky; he sure crumbled under a little praise.

"Umm, what is this..place anyway" Jack asked, having to know where he was. Receiving an explanation; he thought "Ponyville? That's an original name…Equestria? I'm not on just another planet; I'm in a different universe"! Shaking his head; he thought "Ask something else to help get your mind off this misery".

"Ahh…err, what are your names anyway" Jack asked, as he realized that they hadn't even introduced themselves in the whole time he had been there.

Rarity decided to introduce herself first, as she trotted in front of Jack and bowed her head, whilst sticking out a gentle hoof. "I am called Rarity, a pleasure to meet you Jack" she diplomatically introduced herself.

"Ahh, charmed" Jack tried as he slowly shook her hoof. She seemed abit like one of those diva's that he had seen a lot going into clubs, on TV, or on the internet. The really, rich; stuck up type that he loathed and yet she was attempting to make friends with him. Well, he couldn't go and judge this one since she seemed to be going out of her way to make friends.

Applejack smiled lightly as she approached Jack. "Name's Applejack, owner of Sweet apple acres" she introduced, swiftly shaking his hand. Smiling, she said "Best apple growers in all of Equestria". As she stopped shaking his hand, she said "Sorry that I came at you like that. I guess ah lost control of mah temper".

"Well, umm..sorry I stole from you" Jack apologized in return, rubbing the back of his head weakly. Though, he usually didn't lower himself to apologizing; he supposes it was only fair if he returned it to her.

AJ grinned in response, remarking "Gooood, you can make up for stealing and breaking mah property by working a day on at Apple Acres".

Watching her walk past him, Jack stared mouth gaping. "That little! She tricked me"! She apologized to guilt him into apologizing, just so she could get him to work for her!

However, he wasn't able to hold onto his annoyance for long when suddenly the pink pony bounced in front, and around him grinning "I'm Pinkie Pie! We so have to throw you a party"!

"Umm…why" Jack asked, wondering whether she was crazy or not.

Pinkie looked at Jack as if that was the silliest thing she had ever heard. "Why? Cause we gotta! You're new here and it's a great way to introduce you to the town. You'll love it, I promise".

"Considering how well they reacted when I was running around town, I doubt that" Jack thought to himself as he said "Well, umm..maybe"? He didn't know for sure if he'd be up for a party since he didn't like to draw attention to himself.

Grinning, she looked down at the chain that seemed to be attached to a golden sphere in his pocket as she said "OOoo, what's that"? When she reached for it, she was surprised at how fast Jack's mood shifted to dark as he snapped "Don't…"

Fluttershy came up to him next, as she blushed "Umm…I'm...Im Fluttershy..hi". The way he snapped at her earlier made her shyer then usual. He was a new animal on Equestria, and she really wanted to get to know this new animal'; but didn't want to make him mad.

"Wow, she really is timid" Jack thought somewhat sympathetically. Sighing, he stretched out a hand as he remarked "We got off on the wrong foot, Hi Fluttershy". He was surprised when she took his hand and pulled him into another hug; apparently happy at this. Blushing again, as he noticed the other ponies attempting to not giggle; Jack said "Ahh..err…please no hugging".

As he was let go, he watched as the Rainbow styled Pegasus trotted up in front of him. "Heya! Rainbow Dash is the name, adventuring my game" she boasted cockily. She had to admit that the moves Jack was pulling off earlier to escape were pretty slick. She didn't really see a need to learn em, but she they looked sorta fun. Maybe they could teach each other something?

Jack reached out a hand to shake her hoof, but was surprised when she high hooved his hand. Not able to stop a grin, he had to admit she seemed a lot like him. Cocky, daring, adventurous; kinda like a female, pony version of him. Yeah, they'd probably get along well. "Heh, had to live up the name Dash I take it"?

"That's right! I aim to be the fastest flyer in all of Equetria" she grinned.

Twilight finally stopped in front of Jack, as she coughed nervously. "Well, introductions are in order. I know you probably didn't get a very warm welcome, but let me be the one to say welcome to Eqeuestria. I'm Twilight Sparkle". Shaking his hand, she observed as she thought "Kinda like with Spike, but without claws".

Speaking of Spike, the baby dragon entered Twilights home as he called out "I'm home! Twilight, did you hear about the strange creature that caused a ruckus in town today? What do you think it w…" the dragon announced loudly, freezing on the spot as he locked eyes with Jack. However rather than succumb to what most of the ponies did when they panicked; Spike instead rushed up to Jack as he looked over him. "Cooooooool" he said slowly with awe.

Jack meanwhile, was struggling to remain calm. Their…was a dragon…talking to him. "Dragons…this world…have dragons…." He said slowly. Talking ponies that could fly and use magic that was one thing. Dragons…that was medieval crap! "Okay, I'll bite…this place has dragons…" Jack said slowly, as he waved "Hi. I'm…Jack".

"Heya Jack, I'm Spike" Spike grinned at the human.

"Dragons huh…Next think you'll be telling me that this place has Griffons too" Jack remarked sarcastically to the other ponies.

"Actually, it does" Rainbow smirked in response.

"I WAS JUST KIDDING" Jack insisted, feeling this was highly unfair! What in the world did he do to end up in this situation? As he tuned out the ponies who were explain to Spike what Jack was, he thought "I need to find out how I got here, and how to get out. As interesting as this is, I'd rather be in a place where I wasn't stared at like some kind of freak". Coughing loudly, he said "Alright, I need to know; how'd I get here"?

The ponies looked at each other, as Rarity asked "Well...I was…attempting to cast a spell too..umm..bring a…friend to this world…It had to be a some pony I had never met". She couldn't just tell this creature that she had attempted a love spell to seek out her true lov…wait…maybe it had worked.. D..did that mean that..this creature was supposed to be her love? That was impossible! Firstly, they weren't even the same species! Secondly, it was..everything she wasn't! He was cocky, adventurous, loud mouthed from what she had heard from the others; dirty looking…

"I see..err…I kinda…uhh..." he trailed off as he looked away not wanting them to see his embarrassment. "Well, in my world theirs things called…wishing umm..stars. Make a wish on em, they come true. Stuff like that. I had umm..wished to get out of the cesspit I was living in".

The other ponies stared in a mixture of confusion, and pity as Twilight said "Wish...like a magic star? Aha! I knew that some sort of magic existed" she smiled confidently! Putting a hoof to her chin, she said "Perhaps that your wish entwined with Rarity's; and thus it created a pocket hole in time and space; which brought you here"? It was only a theory of course, but better than nothing. Looking at Jack, she said "I'm sorry, but if you wanted to go back; I don't know if there is even a way back".

Jack stared mouth gaped as the reality of the situation hit him! He was stuck in a world that was completely different from earth, with little to no chance of ever getting home!No, no, no! This couldn't be! How was he going to survive? Lowering his head in shame, he said "I…I don't know what to do". He was at a lost…

Hearing scribbling, he looked up to see Twilight give a letter to Spike, who shot green fire at it; causing it to vanished into thin air. "What did you just do" Jack asked, as he noticed the determined look on the unicorns face.

"I sent a letter to the Princesses to inform them of you being here. We'll find a way to help you get home. I promise" Twilight smiled, giving him a pat on the back. Crossing her hooves, she said "In the meantime, we'll need a place for you to stay".

"I would like to umm...extend the offer to allow you to stay at my home whilst we…find a way to return you to yours" Rarity offered a she smiled weakly to Jack. She wanted to get to know this creature, and see what it was like. Pointing at the sky, she said "It's almost dark sooo..a umm..nice place to sleep would be acceptable, and I have an umm…"

Jack watched her trail off as more questions entered his head. Princesses? There was royalty in this world? He had to admit that Rarity gave off the edge of being royalty. These questions had to wait, as he said "Well, as long as I'm stuck in this world; I suppose a place to crash would be…alright" he said, trying to brush it off like it was no big deal.

"Splendid" Rarity beamed as she boldly trotted over to Jack, and led him by his hand towards the door. "Let's not waste another moment, and be off. I'll see you all tomorrow! Let's give Jack a warm welcome then" she smiled.

"What the hell have I gotten myself into" Jack thought, rolling his eyes as he was dragged out the door…