Chapters My little pony: The Urchin and the Princess
Disclaimer: I do not own my little pony, and I thank Lauren Faust for creating something that actually is level headed, and does not talk down to others or pander to anyone's whims. Thank you Lauren Faust.
From what I've seen about a lot of the brony fanfics here, most of the "human to the mlp world" thing is done with brony fans. I'm going to go for where mlp doesn't even know in this sort of earth.
Chapter 1
POW! A medium sized human was tossed into a dirty bedroom, as he went into a roll before banging the back of his head against a set of heated pipes. Immediately siting up as he gripped the back of his skull in pain, he stared up bitterly at his step father. The man gripped a bottle of liquor, as a lit cigar hung from his lips ideally. Spitting on the boys leg, he growled "And next time maybe you won't talk back to me, you worthless piece of trash" the man stated in a raspy voice.
Getting no response from the boy, he slammed the door as the room shook from the tiny impact.
The boy tenderly rubbed the back of his skull, as the sixteen year old grumbled "Damn bastard". Kicking the bed stand with a free foot, he sighed as he got himself to his feet. Dusting himself off from the verbal abuse, he thought over his situation. Life sure as hell had been good for him ever since he had been adopted five years ago.
Jack Conner's life sure was going places!
Going over to the mirror, he stared into the reflection. Amongst the status of rich, average, and poor; he had to say he ranked at piss poor so he didn't look very presentable. His messy black hair partial covered his hetrochromic eyes, a forest green and aqua blue eye glared back at him. Near his lips, was a scar from where he had been punched for trying to help a kid from being bullied. You try and do a good thing, and look what happens.
A black hoodie and white t-shirt, adorned his somewhat muscular build, as he dusted off his faded demine jeans and white sneakers. Running a hand through his hair, he glanced over at where his step dad had left him. In this life, there was only one thing he had to remind himself to every day; expect the worse, and then you can only be surprised. That's what his step dad told him before sucker punching him in the gut.
Trudging himself over towards the window, he glanced outside at the "beautiful" New York City, Manhattan. Opening the window, he leaned against the edge as he felt the nigh air hit his face, comforted by the pleasant breeze. Looking up, a mischievous smirk etched over his features as he climbed out of his window, and up the grated steps towards the roof top.
"May as well do some free running, since Jim's probably drunk" Jack smirked as he observed the next five rooftops across from him. Kneeling down low, he remarked "Three, two, one. GO"! Counting down, he rushed off at a quick pace! Seeing a set of pipes and some containers; Jack leaped and hoisted himself up before jumping from one pipe to the next, legs touching each like a recruit at boot camp had to go through the tires to learn effectiveness.
Going into a roll, Jack continued to run as he vaulted himself across a six feet gap, going into another roll as he continued to run. This was one reason he liked New York: The parkour and free running challenges was endless! Apart from getting into fights with local punks, it was the only other way to really burn off his anger towards Jim whenever he got smacked around.
As he continued to make his way to the last roof top, he halted as he stared down at the city below him. Staring down, he felt his chest tighten at the sight of a couple. A tall, handsome looking dude in a letterman's jacket, with a skimpy and tight looking cheerleading girl. Watching them curiously as they sat at a park bench, Jack watched as the guy whispered something into the girl's ear. This caused her to laugh, before she started to make out with him on the spot.
"Humph" he huffed in annoyance, as he felt slight envy at seeing something he had never experienced before in his life. Then again, who would want to be with someone like him? He was abrasive. Sarcastic, hot headed; he looked and smelled like trash. Someone would have to be blind, deaf and dumb to even want to consider being with him.
Realizing he was complaining, he scolded himself as he turned away from the sight. Staring up at the moon, he realized that there were a lot of stars out tonight. He had never really been a big believer in things that didn't make a lot of sense, or things that were somewhat...magical? He needed living proof if he was going to believe in something. Still, he didn't know why as he stared up at the stars above, he sighed as he started speaking a desire.
"I don't know if the whole "wishes on stars things" is true. Probably is a load of crud" he muttered aloud shaking his head. Staring up once more, he sighed as he said "But, from what I understand I guess I don't really have much to lose huh". No one was really watching, and if he could relay how he felt from the side that he rarely brought out anymore, maybe he'd feel better.
"I...errg…I wish for friends" he started off. That was one thing he lacked now, since he had lost contact with any old friends ever since what had happened five years ago. So, having friends again...being he could rely on, talk to, and trust. That would make him happy. Not done, he continued "And…I wish to be with someone special who is..somehow able to look past all this and..like me for who I am I guess".
Having spoken his wihs aloud, he waited a few moments as he expected to see a shooting star. And yet, nothing happened. Feeling like an idiot for even having done such a thing, Jack let out an angry sigh as he kicked a beer bottle aside as he shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets. "Stupid waste of time, can't believe I just did that" he grumbled as he slowly made his way back towards his "home".
Little did he know, he would be getting his wish in the most unexpected way, and from the most unexpected friends…?
====Meanwhile, at the same time in another universe====
"No, no, no this simply won't do. Perhaps abit of…No that's not good! What about abit..Aggrh, no" an eloquent voice spoke aloud as dresses went flying. Emerging from behind a curtain, a melodramatic unicorn sighed in exasperation as she plopped onto her bed. "Oh it's no good! I can't find something perfect to wear" she complained aloud as she realized she had landed on her mane. "Oh dear" she softly spoke as she quickly sat up and used her magic to restyle her purple mane, sighing as she stared out the window.
In this land of Equestrian, a world dominated by ponies of all types; Earth, Unicorn, and Pegasi; one unicorn had attempted during the Galloping Gala to get together with the "Prince of her dreams". Rarity stared up at the ceiling ideally, as she recalled her feeling of happiness when she was certain that she had, discovered her "love". Prince Blueblood seemed to be everything he appeared to be at first; handsome, suave, and attentive. At least, that's how she pictured he would be in her head.
In reality, he was a self-centered, narcissistic, arrogant jerk who didn't even give her two thoughts! The nerve of that stallion! Letting out a huff of annoyance at thinking of her prince, she had realized that night he wasn't her prince. That meant he was still out there, waiting to be found by her!
Excitement raced through her, as she sat up. "Perhaps he's already here, within ponyville. I just need to pick him out" she thought with glee, before deflating just as fast. If that was the case, then she was certain she would have found him a long time ago to look in the most obvious of places. Putting a hoof to her chin, she mused "Hmm let me think…Ooh! Perhaps this"!
Rushing behind her curtains, she reemerged moments later dressed in a violet dress, with a bow tie on the back of it. "Too much" she asked herself as she stared in the mirror, admiring her appearance. "Ha, I think not" she laughed as she turned to go outside as she let out a gasp before tripping. "Oof, what sort of klutz would leave a…book" she said aloud as she gently picked up a thick, purple leathered book. "What is this thing doing here" she demanded as she stared at the cover; another book of spells that…
"Oh right" she said aloud, now remembering. After the Blueblood debacle, she had asked Twilight for a book of spells that she could use to locate her true love. Rarity of course hardly believed in such things as using spells to find her love, but she had been quiet depressed despite trying to appear that it was no big deal. "Hmm.." she mused as she looked outside at the happy residences of Ponyville, feeling a twang of envy at the sight of a few couples hugging one another lovingly.
"Perhaps..One spell. Wouldn't hurt anyone" She admitted aloud as she opened and flipped through the book. She was not Twilight to where her magic was anywhere near as strong as hers, but her magic was powerful enough she believed. As she stopped her hoof on a page, she sighed as she closed her eyes and started to activate the spell as she silently wished to herself. "I wish to locate my heart's desire, I wish to be with one that can show that he cares and…and that he loves me with his heart" she softly thought.
As it felt like the spell was about to work.
RARITEEEEEEE!
Gasping as she lost focus, she stared at the front door with annoyance as she trotted and opened it; not surprised to see the energetic Pinkie Pie. "Hello Pinkie Pie, what can I do for you" Rarity asked, masking her irritation for feeling that her spell was about to work.
"Hiya Rarity! Do you wanna go hang out? Whatcha doing right now? I bet its super cool" Pinkie grinned, as she continued to go on to tell about how they should have fun since Rarity had been cooped up inside all day. Notching her dress, she grinned "Oooo, nice dress! What's the occasion"?
Blushing, Rarity said "Ahh, eerr..no occasion. Iiii..Just felt like wearing this today" she spoke, hiding her disappointment as she trotted alongside Pinkie, saddened that her spell hadn't worked. "Perhaps I'll never find any pony for me" she said softly to herself.
=========================================
"And I want this shipment delivered within the hour, I don't want anyone to suspect a thing" growled Chen as he grabbed his henchmen by the shirt collar and tossed him aside. "Alright people, load up the last of the diamonds on the truck; we're outta here" he called out.
Jack watched the gang silently from behind a dumpster, as the cool air of the night blew through his hair. He had left his house a while ago, and whilst walking around downtown, he had overheard transportation of false diamonds that were made to look authentic and worth millions. They were apparently the best fake ones in the business. What really was the real money was the actual diamond which sat upon a crate in the alley that was a good five feet away from Jack.
"Heh, if I can get that; I'll be able to get myself outta this dump" he grinned to himself. There were about twenty gang members, and what kept Jack alerted was the MAC 11 Uzi's that they were carrying. Really though with the amount of crud he had to put up with, he really didn't care. Some would call him brave or stupid even.
Tiptoeing towards the diamond, he smiled as the soles of his sneakers allowed himself to remain silent, as he gently reached with an outstretched hand towards the diamond, its beauty shinning in the moon light as he licked his lips with anticipation. Now directly behind the crate, he carefully reached up as he grasped and pulled the diamond towards itself. Staring in awe at its beauty, he grinned "I'm rich". Pocketing it, he turned as he slowly started to sneak when...
Bad luck seemed to catch up to him, as he accidentally stepped on to a bottle, shattering it! "HEY YOU" a voice screamed. Panic rushing through him, Jack leaped to his feet as he started to run down a side street through another alley.
"STOP THE BOY" Chen shouted, as he fired a few bullets at the feet of his men, causing them to jump as they began to pursue Jack!
"Oh crap" Jack shouted, as he leaped over some trash cans; kicking them towards the henchmen to slow them down. Watching as it hit the men, he noticed a chain link door ahead. Sliding himself through it, he gasped as he felt his foot was stuck in the door!
"Get out of. Oh" he gawked as suddenly the men came, and tried to open the door, whilst one grabbed his foot and tried to pull him back! "Break it down" one shouted, as Jack kicked "Let go of me" he shouted as he kicked himself free and kept running. Hearing the door kicked open, he looked up as he noticed a clothes line, as well as ahead a large gap that lead to the lower streets. Rushing up some old boxes, Jack leaped as he grabbed the clothes line and went soaring across the gap!
Going into a roll, his momentum crashed him against the wall, as the adrenaline kept him moving. As he rushed for an opening, he blinked as a Garbage truck parked in his way. Crouching down, he scrambled under the large truck, and out onto the other side as he remarked "Got to do better than that"!
Getting up, Jack gasped as some men came out of nowhere from ahead as one of them grabbed him by the shoulders, and kneed him hard in the gut. Feeling the wind sucked out of him, Jack collapsed to his knees gasping in pain as he looked up as the men sneered down at him. "You thought you could rob me and live? You're a fool boy" Chen sneered, as the short black haired, beady eyed boss emerged as he said "Once you're dead, I'll just relive you of what's m…what the hell"!
A bright light enveloped Jack, as he got to his feet in fear; staring down at his hands in shock as he observe the purple light the enveloped them. What was happening? Letting out a scream of shock, the light intensified as Jack felt himself falling as he knew no more…
My little pony: The Urchin and the Princess
Disclaimer: Do not own MLP. If I did, I'd probably screw it up ^_^
Chapter 2: Entering a new world
Swirling lights and images flashed through Jack's mind as his eyes remained shut. He didn't want to open them, not out of fear of wondering where the heck he was; but out of the nauseous feeling that was within his stomach. Whatever had just happened to him; he felt like he was going to throw up! "Ugggghhh" Jack groaned aloud in pain as could feel warm sunlight hit his face. Shaking his head, he thought to himself "I need to get up".
"Aww, but the grass feels too comfortable" another side of him complained. "Screw you, I'm deciding what I do…wait, why am I arguing with myself" he thought. Opening his eyes slowly, Jack winced as he raised a hand to block the sunlight out of his eyes as he inhaled the morning air. The lush trees swayed in the…wait sec, trees? There were no trees in alleyways.
"Where the hell am I" Jack spoke aloud as he slowly sat up, wincing at the sick feeling. The last thing he had remembered was that he had stolen a diamond that was worth a few billion dollars, and was running away from gangster. Then there was a flash of light and…nothing. What had happened after he had taken the light? Remembering the diamond, he smiled lightly as he reached into his pack and removed it; as he held it up to the sun so he could admire it in the light.
Tossing it up and down lightly, proud of his theft; he remarked "Oh your defiantly going to get me towards living the high life, after I sell you to the right bidder". He sure was going to…going to… Remembering that he was supposed to figure out where he was, Jack slowly glanced around as he could see was in a forest. How did he get out in a forest? Crossing his arms, he mused "Perhaps I passed out and someone put me here or…or I got robbed and was dumped in central park…"
No, that was stupid. This defiantly wasn't central park, since he could see no buildings at all. Getting to his feet, Jack dusted himself off as he scratched his head. "Well, at least this place is nicer looking then home" he commented on the forest natural beauty. He could get used to being around someplace like this. Noticing a small path beset before him, he smiled as he started to follow it. "Well, wherever I am; I'll just follow this road and locate whoevers around".
As he walked, thoughts rushed through his mind. What was that purple light that engulfed him? It was a weird, tingly feeling that shot up through his body and it felt…well, comforting in some way. He didn't know why, but that's just how it felt at the time. Now he felt sick from whatever had happened to him" he thought as he gripped his stomach to keep himself from upchucking.
As he reached the outskirts of the forest, he smiled as he could see the exit ahead. "Great" he smirked, as he rushed towards the exit. He was eager to know if he was even in the same state. For all he knew, he could have been unconscious for days and be like on the other side of the U.S.! Reaching the exit, he blinked as he could see what looked like a town up ahead. Civilization! Awesome! Feeling like everything was going to be okay; he started to approach the town. As he got closer and closer, apprehension crept within him. This apprehension slowly shifted to worry and then to outright fear as he caught sight of the town's citizens.
Hiding behind a tree, Jack stared out at the inhabitants as he couldn't believe his eyes. Rubbing them, he remarked "I gotta be seeing things, th..This just isn't possible" he said slowly as he watched the exchange between a two four legged Equidae'd creatures. Wide eyes, manes, long tail, and…and wings and…a horn…it…
"No…no way" Jack stared, his eyes continuing to widen in a mixture of awe and fear. Horses…this entire town, were filled with horses. Or ponies. He couldn't tell. Jack knew horses had black, brown, and white fur but…these horses were all sorts of colors. Red, blue, green, yellow…what was with all the vibrant colors? It was completely unnatural and…and weird!
Some of them had wings, and horns…that meant that they were…umm. Putting a hand to his head, he tried to remember what they were called as he snapped his fingers. Pegasus and unicorns! That was it! But those things were myth, legend…freakin fairy tale crap! Was he in a storybook, or was he dreaming? He was defiantly thinking about voting for dreaming! Reaching up, he pinched himself.
"Ow" he grunted, as he rubbed his cheek. He felt pain so; did that mean he was not dreaming? Grunting, he wasn't satisfied as he slapped himself harder. He definitely felt that, so he knew he wasn't dreaming. Laughing weakly, he remarked "Oh man, he was in a town that was completely run by ponies! Ponies! Squinting his eyes, he couldn't see a single human in sight. A few of the ponies were wearing hats, or doing occupations that humans did. Perhaps that light had sent him into an alternative universe or world...
"Theirs other ideas…maybe I'm just crazy, or I'm on something really strong" he grunted, remembering how he had snuck a few beers last night. Sighing, he put a hand to his chin as he thought "Whatever the reason or how I got here, I need to find a way to get back to New York..or at least somewhere where humans reside".
Hearing a groaning sound, he blinked as he held his gut as he blushed lightly at the sound of his stomach growling. "First, I need to get some food" he thought. No sense worrying on an empty stomach. Spotting a stand of apples being sold, Jack smirked as he thought "Well, let's see if I can get some grub". Going behind a tree, he stared at the stand as he saw no one was operating it, apart from the two stallion's chatting in front of it.
Diving behind one tree to the next, Jack smirked as he let out a tiny gasp as one pony looked in his direction. Hiding, he peeked out to see that the stallion had glanced away again. Grinning, he dove behind the apple stand as he reached up slowly with an eager hand, as he gripped an apple. Snatching it outta sight, he brought it up to his mouth as he sniffed. Apples usually don't have much of a scent on first impression but this…wow! It smelled incredible.
Taking a bite, Jack sighed as he leaned against the stand as he thought "It's like the fruit of the freakin gods"! It was surprisingly filling, then again considering how he hadn't eaten in a good awhile, anything would taste good. He defiantly had to come back and get another sometime. As he finished it off, he decided one more wouldn't hurt.
WHAP! Jack froze as he felt a strong pressure grab his hand out of midair. A strong force yanked him up into sight, as he collided against the table as he stared at whatever had grabbed him. Eyes widening, he stared as a pony, wearing a cowgirl's hat; blonde mane in a pigtails style and orange fur stared back at him in equal shock. Judging from the look on her face, she was trying to determine what he was.
"What in sam hill are you" She spoke, a southern twang evident in her voice. Applejack had been running her stand, had stepped away for a moment when she noticed something snatch an apple from behind her stand. Not about to let some pony bum a free apple, she grabbed the..claw…thing and ripped it up, but..She didn't expect to see..see…whatever it was she was looking at. No hooves, its mane was extremely short, no fur or tail. It was wearing clothes…what was this thing?
"It spoke" Jack thought, terror racing through his mind as he tried to think of an explanation of how it was able to talk. Perhaps it was radiation, or this world allowed other ponies to talk. Or maybe he was just crazy. Gasping as he felt the ponies grasp on his hand tighten, she spoke "I'm not quite sure what you are, but I'm not about to let an apple thief just run away". Oh that did it, he had to get away! B..but how!
Staring at the other stallions, which were looking at him apprehensively, a devious idea came to mind as he thought to himself "Need a way out". Pointing behind Apple and the stallions dramatically, his eyes widened as his mouth gapped before shouting "What the hell is that"! Right when the ponies looked in that direction in shock, Jack smirked as he made his move. Ripping his hand free from the ponies grasp, he snatched an apple as he leaped over the stand and started running toward the town. "Suckers" he shouted, grinning!
"Why you good fer nothing" Applejack swore, growling that she had been tricked like that. Leaping over her stand, she gasped as she her one of her back hooves caught the edge of the table, causing her to go tumbling into the two stallions; ending up with a pony pile comprised of groaning, and pain.
Seem's running blind into town wasn't the smartest thing he had ever done, as ponies immediately began to point at him. What is that thing? Is it dangerous? What if it's a monster? Putting a hand to his chin, as the ponies were staring at him with a mixture of awe and fear; he thought "Maybe I should go out and say I'm a monster. Scare a few of em away". This was quickly stifled as he heard an angry shout from behind him. "Some pony grabs that thief" the cowgirl pony shouted as she was now charging towards him.
AJ had no idea what that thing was, but is sure as heck wasn't gonna make a fool outta her and get away with it! Spotting Dash up in the skies patrolling, she shouted "Hey Dash! Catch that thing"! She wasn't about to let some apple theft get away from her!
"Oh crap" Jack shouted at seeing the steaming cowpony, as he turned and started rushing through town! Charging straight ahead towards a group of ponies huddled in fear as he approached, he smirked as he saw one of em lower its back down as he covered his head in fear. "Perfect" Jack shouted as he leaped! Using his momentum, he landed a foot on the back as he used the boost to shoot himself up into the air.
This proved fatal on his part as something came flying outta nowhere, and collided with him; picking him up in mid-air.
Dash had been patrolling the skies that day, and practicing her speed. Nothing too special. When she started to hear shouting coming from the town below, the last thing she expected was to see some weird looking creature; running away from an enraged Apple Jack! When she heard for her to catch the thing, she smirked confidently as she zoomed in low and caught the thing in one of her hooves. (A/N:I don't know how they can catch things with hooves. It's cartoon logic, go with it O_O )
"Alright punk! You'd better apologize to my friend before I make you" a voice demanded angrily. Staring at what had caught him, he blinked as he found himself staring at a rainbow marred, and blue furred Pegasus. From how she spoke, she defiantly seemed the athletic type of pony. If she we're human, she'd probably be someone he might get along with.
Rainbow Dash looked the weirdo up and down. Defiantly wasn't a pony, had fingers or claws kinda like spike; but that was where any similarities ended really. It was like a furless monkey!
Realizing she was still flying straight ahead; Jack's eyes averred around as he looked for an escape route of some kind. Spotting it, his look of fear turned into arrogance as he flashed a cocky grin. "You know what" he spoke to the Pegasus.
Dash blinked in surprise, her confidence briefly stifled as she didn't expect the thing was capable of speech. "What" she demanded, her confidence returning just as fast. She raised a brow as the thing cocked a thumb up.
"Head's up" Jack answered simply, as he watched the Pegasus look up in confusion just in time to slam into a clothesline. Feeling her release him, Jack reached out a free hand as he gripped a clothesline and yanked. Feeling himself go down flying as he held on, he couldn't help but laugh at the adrenaline that the situation was providing him. Letting out a Tarzan call; he froze in terror as he could see he was heading straight towards a wall!
"Oooooohhhh Craaaaaaaaaaaaap" he shouted as he quickly swung himself around to his back would take the full blunt of the force! The momentum that carried him, smacked him against the wall with a thud! Letting go of the clothesline, Jake groaned as landed on his knees. "Oww…okay…I'm gonna feel that one later on" he grunted in pain as he raised his head, shaking it in pain. Man, maybe he just shouldn't have gotten out of bed today. He probably wouldn't even be in this situation!
"Their he is! Don't let him get away" Applejack shouted to Rainbow Dash, who had managed to untangle herself from the clothes! Now their we're two pissed off ponies who most likely wanted to wring the human's neck! AJ narrowed her eyes as she swore "Your gunna pay for that earlier".
"OOoo, that was not cool! No pony does that to me and gets away with it" Rainbow Dash declared as she spotted the thing! Whatever it was, it just humiliated her on the spot with that cheap ploy! It was so payback time!
"Not you two again" Jack swore as he got back up, and released he was on a side street! Rushing through the side street at high speed. Glancing at the flat walls, he looked up and noticed a high fence up ahead as well as a flag pole near the wall. Getting an idea, Jake jumped up, and kicked off the wall towards the other one. Kicking off that, he repeated the process until he reached the flag pole. Grasping it, he started to swing in a vertical movement as he heaved himself over the fence and back into the streets as he collided with another pony!
Twilight Sparkle was doing some shopping for more books, as she felt that she needed to expand her knowledge on spell casting. In fact, she had been looking through her library on spells that were strong enough to breach other universes, if such things even existed. As she trotted happily down the street, she blinked as she heard yelling coming from near the town square. "Huh, I wonder what's going..OOf" she gasped as something collided with her.
Groaning, she sat up rubbing the side of her head to see something was lying on her stomach. Staring hard at the short manned creature; her eyes widened as it slowly got up and she caught sight of the bipedal creature that. Was clothed, had a small mane and..its eyes were two different colors! What was this strange creature?
Jack blinked as he stared back at a multi purple manned…unicorn? "Time and place, time and place" Jack spoke aloud as he quickly got to his feet. Seeing that he had made her drop her books, he frowned as he thought "Well that was kinda dickish of me". Just as he was about to offer to pick them up for her, the familiar shout of the tomboy pegasus, and cow girl pony filled his ears. "Sorry" Jack shouted back to the unicorn as he took off running once more!
Twilight blinked in surprise as she saw Dash and AJ go running past her, chasing after the strange looking creature. "Girls" she asked aloud in shock. Quickly picking up her books with her magic, she put them into her knapsack as she started to run after the two.
"Don't they ever give up" Jack shouted aloud, as he could see a small market set up, with ponies shopping all over. "Maybe I can lose them in the crowd" Jack thought as he rushed towards into the market. As he approached the ponies, Jack shouted "OUTTA THE WAY"! Receiving shock stares, Jack rushed through the crowd. "Scuse me, gotta go..Ow..watch it! I don't like it when..oof! Stupid little" he grumbled aloud as he spun around ponies, leaped over stands and continued to bump into ponies.
Pinkie Pie hopped happily through the streets, giggling as she thought "Heh heh, where's a good hiding spot? Maybe I should hide in a barrel? No, too easy. How about behind a stand…or in a mail box! Oo that sounds fun and challenging" the energetic pony giggled as she stared around at the others around her. Rarity and her were playing a game of hide and seek for old time's sakes. Rarity was it! Soooo, now she had to find her.
"OOo, how bout a…WhooooAAAAAAAoooAAAAAAA" she gasped as she was sent into a cartoonish spin as something rushed past her at high speed. Surprised by the sudden movement, she giggled aloud; pleased by the sudden spin as she slowly came to a stop; her eye's spinning in a cartoonish manner. "Heh heh, that was fun" she announced as she spotted Jack running! "Ooooo, whose that? He looks funny! I bet he's alotta fun" she smiled as she started to hop after him; failing to notice her friends run past her.
Seeing the exit to the town, Jack let out a groan. He had only been here for five minutes, and already he had gone and pissed some people off..or ponies off. Something's for him never changed! Getting out of town was his best option for now. He had to lay low, maybe find a way to sneak back in at night and get some more of…Oof!
He let out a gasp a certain, grey furred; blonde Pegasus crashed into him. Being into a roll, Jack groaned as he landed on his back. "Three times in one day, what are the odds" Jack muttered as he sat up scratching the back of his head as she found himself staring at..Eyes that were looking in two different directions. "Uhhhh.." Jack stared as he looked at her in confusion. He was even more confused when the Pegasus reached into her bag, and stuffs a muffin into his teeth.
She then grinned silly like before flying up into the air. Watching her go, Jack took the muffin out as he called "Uhhh…thanks"? That certainly was nice of her…she seemed abit off though?
There's that critter!
Ooo, you're going down weirdo!
Wait, don't hurt it! I need to find out what it is!
Heh heh, we're chasing a funny looking monkey!
"Not again" Jack shouted, as he quickly got back up and ran out into the forest! Great, out here again in some unknown location. Well, town was no better but at least the place was civilized. Or at least he thought it was until he found himself being chased by some of its residents. Ducking behind some of the trees, he watched as the ponies continued running up the path past him.
"Girl's, what's going on here? What was that thing" Twilight asked in exasperation as she trotted up to three of me. All she had planned for today was to go out, and shop for some new book of spells. The last thing she expected to do today was to be chasing some bipedal creature around town. Noticing the enraged looks on AJ's and Dash's faces, Twi raised a brow as she asked "Umm, are you two alright"?
"Alright? Oh I'll be alight as soon as I get my hooves on that apple thief! He went and stole a couple apples from my stand earlier today, and when I went to grab him; the whole stand collapsed" she grunted as she kicked some dust aside aggravated. Usually she was a very mellow pony that was until something tried to steal from her and try and get away with it. Staring at the ground, her anger subsided as a part of her tried to reason. "Maybe it was starving, and just ran when you got angry" she thought. "Well, he still should have payed for those apples" she thought back.
"That stupid monkey thing made me look like a foal when it tricked me into flying into a clothesline; blinding me and sending me sprawling" Dash admitted, though she wasn't about to admit that she flew into the clothesline herself. She had a reputation to keep up after all. Whilst she was mad at whatever it was that ran, she had to admit it was pretty athletic. Those we're some sick move it was pulling for something that had no wings! "Doesn't mean that I like it" she quickly corrected.
"What are you ponies talking about? I think that the monkies alotta fun" Pinkie giggled as she trotted up to the group. She couldn't help but wonder what is was though? Hmm..It had no tail, wings. Its mane was messy and black, whilst it wore multiple clothes over tan skin. Ooo! Ooo, its eyes we're two different colors! Like a cat! That was silly! Maybe it was a large cat with no whiskers, fur or claws?
"Fun or no fun, it needs to take responsibility for stealing property" AJ informed as she kept a sharp eye out for any sign of the thing. If it was in this forest, it wouldn't get very far! She'd find him! Walking forward a few feet, she spoke "Spread out and look around, I'm sure he's here".
Watching the ponies from a safe tree, Jack slid down the tree trunk, as he spoke "Not likely country pony. I'm not that easy to catch". So, they had names? Well, he shouldn't be surprised really with that since this place was defiantly a society of some kind. Smiling, he remarked "Just gotta sneak away for a while, find a way back home and…".
He was cut off by a cry of pain, as he looked around widely for the source of pain. "Where's that coming from" Jack asked to himself. Hearing the cry again, he started to follow the source of it as he said softly "Keep calling out loud, I'll find whatever you are". Spotting a small clearing beyond a group of bushes, he started to make his way through them.
Fluttershy winced as she looked down at her reddened hoof. Fluttershy had been gathering some flowers here in the woods, when she noticed that a weakened tree branch that was about to fall on a family of moles. Feeling her animal protective instincts kick in, she rushed in and saved them; but her hind leg was caught under the trunk. She didn't dare move it, as she was afraid that it would cause more pain to it; but she couldn't go anywhere!
So, she resorted to calling out; hoping that some pony would be nearby to help her out. Wincing as she felt the pain increase, she bit back tears. Well, as long as the moles were safe; it was worth it. She just had to find a way to get herself out now. Hearing something rustle in the bushes, she looked up as she sighed in relief. Some pony had found her! "Oh thank you so much, I don't know what I'd do if you…you".
She was rendered speechless as an animal that she had never seen before stepped into view. Observing its odd appearance; she thought "I wonder what it is". Was it dangerous? Maybe it wasn't here to help her. Maybe it had come here to eat her! Eeping in fear at this thought, she closed her eyes as she looked away; praying that if there was anything decent in this dangerous animal; that it would make it quick!
Jack stared in surprise at the flinching, pink marred Pegasus as he noticed its leg trapped under a large branch. Noticing her whimpering state, and how she was now hiding her head under her hooves; he sighed as he stepped up to her. She was obviously trapped, and in a lot of pain from the branch. Even if she was afraid of him, right thing to do would be to get the branch off of her. Leaning down, he gripped the side of the heavy branch; as he hefted it off of her. "Grrrrrrrrr" he grunted as moved it off. Seeing her still in fear, he sighed as he muttered "Well, theirs my good deed for the day". Hearing someone approach, he snapped "So much for karma" as he rushed into the bushes ahead.
No longer feeling pain, Fluttershy blinked as she slowly opened her eyes. What had happened? Seeing her leg was now free, she gasped lightly as she saw the branch had been moved off of her and the creature was no longer in sight. Coming to the easy conclusion, she slowly smiled. "That was awfully nice of it,…Oh I shouldn't have been so afraid of it" she said softly as she heard her friends approach.
"Oh where has she gone? I told her that this game wouldn't be a lot of fun in my good dress, and I told her to let me go home and change at least; but did she listen? No, she did not" Rarity sighed as she shook her head to the side. Pinkie had been missing for a while now, and apparently forgot to tell that you could hide anywhere! That made finding her a lot more difficult since she could be anywhere at all.
Rarity had been wandering around for a while now, and hadn't payed attention to where she was going. Now she was outside of town at a cliffside, where below the sea raged. Smiling lightly, she breathed "Well, at least it is a rather lovely day out" she admitted as she tried to reason with herself. Inhaling the afternoon sea air, she stared out over the ocean.
It certainly looked beautiful on a day like this. The sea was boundless after all. Just like love. Realizing she was thinking of that subject again, she blushed lightly as she started speaking aloud. "Well, I'm not to say I'm desperate for love; I'm just saying it would be a nice thing to have in my life. After the disappointing truth of Prince Blueblood; perhaps I should start searching around Equestrian for any pony that is…similar or seems like a good choice".
She wasn't selfish…well, not completely selfish. She'd settle for a countrified pony with buck teeth, acne and… Making a face at the image, she said "Okay, maybe not any pony". Now she was sounding shallow. Beauty after all wasn't just based on outward appearance. "Although in my experience, it helps" she thought to herself. The most handsome of ponies can sometimes turn out to be a complete jerk after all.
Now the pony she was searching for. Why he had to have some good qualities, and not just appearance wise! Oh no, there was much more to it than that. Let's see…outspoken, that was a given. She didn't want to be with some pony who didn't speak his mind. Brave!Oh yes, he defiantly had to be brave in the face of great danger! Maybe educated! Playful or perhaps even bit mysterious. She did like stallions that were a mystery! It added more attractiveness to him!
As she continued to list the qualities of what sort of stallion she would like to date in her head, Rarity was interrupted as suddenly something came running out of the bushes and collapsed onto its knees. She couldn't get a very good look at it, but from the way it was hunched over ad how it was pantin loudly; it seemed a lot like a wild dog creature. "St..stay back" Rarity shuddered as being eaten by a wild dog was the one way she didn't want to go! However, watching where she was stepping probably would have been the smart thing to do as she suddenly tripped and fell backwards screaming down the side of the cliff wall.
Freefalling in fear, she reached out with a free hoof as she grasped a large pointy rock as she held on for dear life! Griping it, she gaped as she struggled to hold on, but found it difficult. Whilst she was one of the many beautiful types of unicorn in Equestrian, that didn't help much in the strength department. "OH, this isn't good! Please, some pony help" she called out, resorting to shouting. Perhaps her voice would be carried far enough for some pony to come to her air.
But, maybe she could get herself out! She was only a few inches away from the cliff edge! Attempting to reach up with a free hoof, she it turned out to be much harder then it appeared. "Oh I can't reach it" she complained as her free hoof fell backwards. "Please, I need help" Rarity insisted!
Almost immediately after her call, something loomed down over her at the edge of the cliff. The sunlight shrouded the person's appearance so she couldn't make out what it was, but it was shaped in the form of that wild dog! Had it come to finish her off? Tensing up in fear, the last thing she expected was for it to reach down with an extended hand.
"Grab on" It shouted, its abit gruff but young. Rarity stared at the hand in shock. It wanted to save her? But, why? Wasn't it here to eat her alive? "Do you wanna die or something? Take my hand" the creature demanded, impatience crept into its voice.
Feeling her own ire rise, she shot back "I lack the strength to reach you with my other hoof".
"So you would rather drop to your death, then try and lift your hoof? That's pretty pathetic" the dog snorted in annoyance.
That last statement did not sit well with Rarity. She was NOT pathetic! She would prove it! Feeling strength she did not know she possessed, she reached up with her free hoof and took his hand. The creature grunted as he pulled, and she found herself having to use her own strength to help herself up! She..She was really put off that this creature would save her like this, as she made it back up. Panting, she looked down at her dress. It was now completely dirty, and covered in mud! Ruined! But…at least she was alive.
"Thank you for saving my li…" Rarity stated to say as she could now see what it was that had saved her, causing her to stare. IT wasn't a dog that much was certain. Its hair was a complete mess. Cheeks we're covered in dirt and it wore strange clothes that she didn't think was made in Equestrian style. But the most alluring feature was his eyes. One was an aqua blue, the other a forest green. It was completely mismatched and went against what Rarity liked since she preferred order and neatness, and yet. This was interesting.
"Wow.." she gaped, not knowing what else to say. The creature looked at her apprehensively, looking offended.
"What? I got something on my face" it asked, not liking being stared at like he was some kinda freak.
"Oh no, I simply.." Rarity started to say when suddenly they were attacked! Or he was attacked in this case.
The creature gasped as suddenly a rope was tied around his waist, completely trapping him. Immediately the creature got up as he tried to struggle and breaks himself free; but that only made the rope tighter. Turning around, it let out oof as it was bucked in the chest and onto his back as he hit the ground hard; the force knocking him out.
"That'll teach you" Rainbow Dash snorted as she smirked proudly at her task. She said she'd get back at it, and she did!
"Finally got him roped, and when he wakes up he's gonna answer some questions" Applejack said, as she came in holding the end of the rope that tied up the creature. Staring at Rarity, she gasped "Rarity? Are you alright? It didn't hurt you did it"? She was surprised by the burst of anger on Rarity's usual delicate features.
"Why did you do that? Whatever it was, it just saved my life" Rarity shouted angrily! Taking a furious step towards the two as the others came to join, she said "I almost fell off this cliff, but this thing pulled me up and saved me when it could have killed me! Now, you just went and knocked out the…the…" She paused as she looked down at the unconscious being and asked what every pony had been asking all day.
What is it anyway?
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…
Chapter 4: First day in Ponyville.
"What"?
That was the first word that entered back into Jack's mind as he felt himself reenter the world of reality. Though considering the life that reality had presented to him so far, he somewhat preferred dreaming. It might sound cowardly, but he did like dreaming; or at least lucid dreaming in particular. When his mind went into that state, he was basically god in his own world. He could do whatever he wished, with no consequences for his actions.
Jack didn't wasn't to reopen his eyes and wake up, but he knew that he had to. Sighing, he slowly reopened his eyes..and found himself looking into a smaller pair of eyes; staring back at him. Blinking at the green orbs that looked into his multicolored ones, he became aware of the fact that a tiny unicorn with a white coat, and mixed violet mane was looking at him. "What" Jack asked roughly, not liking being stared at?
Sweetie Belle realized she was doing wrong, as she climbed off of the guest bed, and watched as the human sat up, ruffling his tiny mane with an aggravated expression. "So you're a hu..human" Sweetie Belle asked, trying to say the word as it slipped off of her tongue oddly. What a funny name for a creature.
"That's right, I am...and I don't like when little ponies stare at me like I'm some kinda freak" Jack grunted to the unicorn, as he got up; scratching his neck.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. I've just never seen anything like you before" Sweetie Belle apologizes, lowering her eyes saddened. Becoming excited a few moments later, she smiled as she let out a barrage of questions, questions like "So what do you do for fun? Do humans read a lot? Do they like to dance? What kinda homes do humans live in"?
Jack couldn't help but roll his eyes at her questions. Hard as it was to believe, but he had been a kid once, so curiosity was a common thing amongst them; even amongst different species he supposed. What was it though with kids being attracted to the unknown, and possibly dangerous? Chuckling lightly, he looked around at where he was as realized he was in the guest room of Rarity's lavish home. After Rarity had dragged him here, he had passed out on the sofa outta exhaustion. Rarity musta moved him in his sleep.
"Where are my clothes" Jack asked as he noticed that apart from his briefs that his clothes were missing. A sudden blush appeared on his face as he remembered he had gone to bed with them! Did that mean that Rarity had gone and..AGH!!
"Rarity wanted to give you new ones, over there" Sweetie Belle pointed politely as she watched the human strode over towards the garments that lay on the chair neatly. As he picked them up, she asked curiously"Do humans always wear clothes? We ponies usually wear them for big parties and such".
"Yeah, we need em to keep warm and to…coverare assets" Jack said, choosing his words carefully, ignoring Sweetie's confused expression. However the next statement, he choose not to in a fit of annoyance as he stared down at what he been presented to him as clothing. "What..the hell…is this" Jack growled, as he stared down at a long sleeved, white collared shirt, a black vest with decorative patterns, light brown pants with black boots, and a band. It looked like royalty crap!
"By the way umm, I'm Sweetie Belle, it's nice to meet you" she smiled as she held out a hoof to shake the humans…hand. Whilst most ponies would be afraid, or put off by a human; she was more curious eager to meet one and wanted to know a lot about him.
Brought out of his annoyance for a moment, Jack looked down at the hoof as he smiled lightly. "Heh, Jack" he responded simply as he gently shook her hoof. This smile faded as the door opened, and in trotted the diva Rarity.
Rarity smiled as she was just going to check on Jack, and see if he liked his current home style since she wanted to be certain that he was comfortable. Opening the door, she froze too see he was half naked; his chest and legs exposed. All save for the briefs he was wearing. Having remembered that humans usually always wore clothes, she coughed to regain her composure. Clearly he wasn't used to doing so all the time. "Good morning Jack, I hope you slept well the other night" she hummed cheerfully. Spotting Sweetie Belle, Rarity shooed "Scoot along Sweetie, give Jack some space".
Sweetie looked annoyed that she had to leave cause she wanted to know more about Jack, but consented as she left.
"Ah, yeah I did" Jack admitted as he stared back at the bed he had slept in. Looking back at Rarity, he asked "Have you seen my other clothes? I can't seem to find them?". That is, he was more comfortable wearing something from home rather than whatever this…princely crap she gave him.
"Oh those old things, there in your hands. Aren't they lovely?" Rarity beamed, her eyes gleaming as she awaited his approval. She had worked long and hard on that outfit, something suitable for her savior. "And soon to be prince" she gushed to herself.
"These were my old clothes? She altered them without my consent?" he thought angrily, glaring down at the clothes in slight disgust. "Err, these are quite umm..magnificent" Jack lied through his teeth, forcing a faux smile.
"Well go on, and try them on" Rarity insisted eagerly.
"Bossy aren't ya" Jack thought to himself as he went into the next room and changed. Emerging several moments later, he put a hand to his head in annoyance. She had wanted him to use all of the clothes, so he had also tied his slightly long hair into a small pony tail to help keep his hair outta his eyes. "Ugggh" he thought, trying to not show annoyance. She had brought him in, so least he could do was show…a little respect. The most uncomfortable part was the sleeves. They were way to damn tight.
Rarity was the complete opposite however, as she had to force herself not to swoon at the sight of him. "Oh, why didn't I come in wearing my dress" she thought annoyed with herself. He looked like a prince in that outfit! The prince that she had been looking for all her life! Smiling warmly, she complimented "Well, don't you look handsome". She had to force herself to not giggle as she could see a light blush emerge on his cheeks, as he averted his eyes away.
"Ah, thanks" Jack grunted uncomfortable as he muttered "What is your game"? Why couldn't she simple have made simple clothes, and not something showy? He wasn't royalty for god sakes, and he didn't want to be! Royalty in his opinion, was for the stuck up, arrogant pricks that think their better then everybody else just cause they have money and status. Last thing he wanted was to become one of those pricks.
"Now be especially careful not to get any dirt on those clothes, be sure to iron it out and..." Rarity stated, going into detail on how to take care of the clothes she had given him.
"And trying to tell me what to do" Jack thought as he didn't like how she was trying to implicit whatever she wanted or liked onto him. "I got it, I got it" waved Jack, trying to end this conversation.
"I see you've met my sister, she's quiet the rambunctious one" Rarity smiled, as she noted him looking at himself in the mirror. "Ahh, so handsome" she thought lightly.
"So stupid" Jack thought irate as he especially didn't like the band she gave him. He looked like a tool! Shaking his head, he thought "I'll make some adjustments to this once I'm away, that is if I can get away from her for a while". "Uhh yeah, she's real great" Jack muttered, rubbing his forehead.
Rarity smiled as she could stare at what he wore all day, but that was not to be as she noted what time it was. "Oh dear, I'm late" she gasped as she quickly rushed downstairs to get her things. Retrieving a basket, she explained hastily "I need to run out and do a few errands, I'll be back in a few hours. Make yourself at home". Without another word, she rushed out the door.
Watching her leave, Jack looked down at Sweetie Belle to see her putting on a pack, and getting ready to leave. "Where are you going" he asked curiously.
"I'm gonna go and play with Scootaloo, do you wanna come along" she asked sweetly.
Shaking his head, Jack said "Nah, think I'll just hang here for a while". Watching her nod as she left, he looked around at his current residences. "Now what" he thought annoyed that she left him with no information about the town, nowhere to really go or what to do. Heck last night on the way here, all she did talk about was herself. That was egotistical!
Knock! Knock!
Hearing knocking at the door, Jack raised his brow curiously as he approached and opened it; expecting to see Rarity back having forgotten something. Instead, it was Applejack! Not expecting her, Jack asked "Errr, can I help you"?
Applejack smiled warmly, and had to suppress a laugh at the sight of Jack in his new clothes. Apparently Rarity had made him something that screamed "I'm royalty, respect me"! Though the look on Jack's face said "I hate these clothes, please let me wreck them". "Just the human, I was lookin for" AJ smiled.
Jack crossed his arms as he remarked with heavy sarcasm "Not looking very hard, I am the only human in this town at the moment".
AJ chuckled as she said "That's true, so I was figuring you could start paying me back for the damages you caused the other day". Seeing the look of surprise on his face, she chuckled "I am entitled to call on it whenever I want after all".
Nodding, Jack shrugged "Yeah, sure...but first". Removing the black vest, he gripped the sleeves of the white collared shirt and with a grunt, ripped the two sleeves off; making it into a sleeveless buttoned shirt. Taking the band out that kept his hair into a ponytail; he smiled as he felt like his old self. "Needed to do that" he informed the earth pony.
AJ on the other hand was abit miffed at this, as from the detail he could tell Rarity had worked hard on making that shirt for him. But at the same time, she could understand since she had chosen what to make for him, rather than ask him with he wanted. Rather than lecture him, she decided to leave that to Rarity as she nodded "Whelp, let's get moving; I'll tell you abit about Ponyville whilst we mosey along".
Crossing through the town of Ponyville, Jack could see the ponies from yesterday were abet calmer, though still wary and keeping their distance from him. Clearly they thought that he was dangerous. "Not that I can blame em, I did stir up quiet some trouble" Jack thought somewhat proud of himself. Still despite his tough front that he put up to show he didn't care if they were afraid of him, deep down he was abit hurt that they would mistrust him in such a way. "Looks like they're still nervous" Jack noted to AJ as they passed through the square.
"It's only natural. They've never seen a human before so they don't know if you're friendly or not. We could change that if you want. Have you spoken at a conference so the mayor can announce that you're friendly" AJ offered to the human.
"Maybe, I don't know" Jack responded unsure.
Deciding to try and lighten the mood, AJ commented "Well they won't think your all bad". She then grinned, nudging Jack "S long as you don't get into any more trouble".
"Hey, I don't get into trouble...I make trouble" Jack retorted, with a slight smile. Passing through the woods with AJ, he went quiet again as he went into thought about what Twilight had said, about their being princesses here. "Hmm, so the princesses must be the matriarchs in charge of this world. I wonder if I could get an audience with them. I mean, perhaps they have the power to help get me home after all"?
Reaching a hand into his pocket, he froze as he felt something. Reaching out, he smiled lightly as he removed the diamond from his fiasco. Yeah, he had to get back to earth! With this thing being worth a couple billion, he could probably start up a company of some kind and make billions more, go to another country, and travel the world. Whatever he wanted! He wasn't gonna accomplish any of that whilst he was here. "Wouldn't that make me a hypocrite? Become a douchey rich guy" Jack thought before snorting "I wont let the money change me".
"Whelp, here we are. Sweet Apple Acres" Applejack announced!
Snapped out of his thoughts, he quickly put the diamond away as he observed the country land before him. Hundreds of apple trees spread out as far as the eye could see a small home with a red barn, fields; everything that screamed farm country. "And I gotta work here for the day huh"Jack thought ideally. Well, he was no stranger to getting dirty. He did a couple of construction jobs for pay back in New York, so this was no big deal really.
"Before we get you working, lemme introduce you to mah family" Applejack smiled, as she leads Jack towards the house. She could tell just by looking at him that he wasn't very enthusiastic about branching out, and meeting her family. He would most likely change his mind once he met them though.
As Jack approached the front door, he was about to reach for the handle when suddenly the door slammed open, and a tiny missile crashed into his gut; knocking the wind outta him! Lying on his back, Jack grunted as he sat up angrily, about to tell off the punk that cheap shotted him. Instead, he found himself staring at a tiny filly with a yellow coat of fur, and red mane with a big bow.
"AJ was right, you are funny looking" Apple bloom giggled at the expression on his face. Seeing how confused he looked, she apologized "I'm sorry I ran into you like that. I was testing out some skates to see if that was my cutie mark" she smiled sheepishly as she pointed to the skates on her hooves. "I guess that wasn't mah hidden talent" she smiled weakly.
"Hidden talent" he thought as he found this down to earth pony interesting. Watching her get off, he got up as he dusted himself off. "You have a determined look from what I can see. What I can see is that I'm sure you'll get your umm…cutie mark sooner rather than later" he encouraged. Watching her become excited at this, he chuckled lightly as he shot a look at AJ. "Kids huh" he shrugged.
"I think I know what you mean" AJ chuckled as she said "This here's mah little sister Apple bloom".
"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jack" she smiled as she reached up with a tiny hoof to shake his hand. \
Granny Smith blinked as she walked out, and noticed Jack. Smiling, she stared up at the human as she hummed "Hmmmm". Noticing the strange look he was giving her, she smiled "I think I remember hearing stories at one point when I was a filly about humans".
"This here's Granny Smith" AJ remarked, watching as the two shook.
That caught Jack off guard. Stories? But, how could they have heard of humans when he was the first to arrive here in Equestria…or…maybe he wasn't.
Hearing new trotting, Jack turned around, looked up and found himself starting chest to face with a large patch of red fur. Looking up, he gasped to see a large stallion with an orange mane looking down at him. He wore a saddle, and had a straw hanging from his mouth.
"And this here's Big Macintosh" AJ introduced, done with introductions.
Jack stared up at the stallion with a slight bit of awe. Despite being around the same height, Big Mac gave off vibes of being someone who could easily trounce Jack in a fight. Blinking, Jack coughed as he said "Umm, nice to meet you". He wouldn't admit that he was intimated though.
"Likewise" Macintosh replied simply. Looking at Applejack, he asked "So he'll be helping me in the field today"? He wanted to make sure that he had it right before he took Jack to help him out.
"That's right" Applejack confirmed as she trotted up to explain to Jack. "You're gonna be helping Macintosh plow the fields, so we can make room for more Apple trees to grow. The fields are pretty large, so you'll take one half whilst Macintosh takes the other". Noticing that he was sweating from the light heat, AJ smiled "One moment". Rushing away, she returned moments later with a black cowboy hat, with a white stripe running across the brim.
Taking the hat, Jack looked out across the fields. They were huuuuuuge! He figured that this was gonna be anything but easy, and honestly he hadn't expected easy when he first came here. Putting the hat on, he nodded thankfully to AJ as he thought "Sooner I get this outta the way, sooner I can find out from uuh…twilight…yeah! Twilight if there was a response from the princesses".
"And I must say he does look rather handsome! His roughish features seem to increase his attractiveness tenfold! He looks like a noble pony or a prince" Rarity went on as she trotted alongside Twilight. The two had met up in the market as Twilight was shopping for more books. Whilst Rarity continued to go into detail on how she made the outfit for Jack, she failed to notice the grim features on Twilight's face.
"To top it all off, he…I'm sorry, is something wrong" Rarity asked, now noticing as they stopped at a bench.
"I received a response and.. Princess Celestia and Luna are both rather..distrusted on the matter of Jack being here" Twilight admitted. Looking at Rarity, she explained "They informed me that we need to keep an eye on Jack incase he does something dangerous".
"Dangerous? Whatever do you mean" Rarity asked, now becoming concerned.
"Amongst the human race, they're has been a lot of..ugly history. They're not like us where they can't seem to get along with each other, and have fought over trivial matters. Whilst we are certainly not perfect, and the Princesses do not wish to judge him based on his race; they said we should be wary of him".
Rarity seemed to take offense to this, as she stomped her hoof stating "I don't believe you. If he was anything like you told me of his kind, then he wouldn't have helped me".
"I'm not saying he is like all humans Rarity, I'm just saying that we need to keep an eye on him, that's all" Twilight tried to explain so her friend wouldn't become upset. Twilight actually liked Jack. From first impression, he seemed alright if abit sarcastic, blunt and..rather withdrawn about his feelings since when Pinkie had tried to look at that golden watch he had, he withdrew and became hostile.
"Well, I think it's a silly thing but if the princesses ask of it, then I shall keep an eye on him" Rarity haughtily responded, wondering how Jack was doing at the moment.
"Huff…huff….huff…huff" Jack panted, as he removed his cowboy hat and whipped the sweat from his hair. He had removed the shirt a while ago, and had opted to finish the task bare chested; sadly exposing a few scars from his abusive life style. Luckily, he was away from Macintosh and the others so he wouldn't have to answer any questions about them.
"All…done" he panted as he looked up at the sun. It was probably around threeish if the sun moved in the same manner as earths did. Since he couldn't push it in the same manner as a pony using his chest, Jack had to use it pushing against the side of it. So it had taken longer than what a pony could do, but it was still done.
Slowly putting the sleeveless shirt back on, he reached up and rubbed his lip; feeling a light bump. Remembering the scar he had received earlier; he thought as he rolled his eyes "The ponies here probably don't get a lot of scars so I probably look stereotypically "evil".
"Mighty fine job you did" Macintosh complimented as he walked alongside Jack back towards the house. As Jack gave him a weary smile, Macintosh smirked as he put a hoof around his shoulder and pulled him in; messing up his tiny mane". This got a laugh from Jack, who reached up and returned the gesture.
"Heh, from the impression you gave me you seem like the serious type" Jack chuckled, as he noted the stallion.
"Only when workin, otherwise I'ma pretty laid back" Macintosh smiled as he looked over at where AJ approached.
Applejack stared in shock at how Jack had managed to pull off plowing his half of the fields by himself. That defiantly paid back his debt. "Well, you two looked like you worked up a sweat. That pretty much kicked off whatever debt you owed" she smiled. Handing Jack some apple cider, she smiled "Little reward for your hard work".
"Thanks" Jack rasped, his throat parched as he drunk greedily. Feeling a tug on his pant legs, he looked down at Apple bloom as she was giving him a pleading look. "What's up" he asked her lightly.
"Do you wanna come with me to the clubhouse? Maybe you could help me get mah cutie mark" she smiled eagerly as perhaps Jack could assist since he was really strong, and even if not he seemed like alotta fun from how her sis described him the first day she saw him.
Jack really did want to go and find Twilight and find out what she had discovered about weather or not he could get home, but he also wanted to make a good impression with the ponies here…or at least an impression that said "I'm not a monster". Smiling lightly, he said "Sure thing kid".
Waving goodbye to AJ for now, Jack was led by the eager filly into the woods, to a small tree house that looked surprisingly big enough for him to fit into. As he stepped inside, he was surprised to see Sweetie Belle, and another pony there. An orange Pegasus, with a wavy purple mane. Spotting him, she trotted up to him as a wide grin split her face.
"It's you" She grinned, surprised and glad to see Jack.
"Huh" Jack responded, confused.
"I saw you yesterday running through town, doing all those cools flips and moves! You even were able to keep up with Rainbow Dash! You're awesome" she complimented with a grin.
Despite Jack's persona to not let anything get to him, he couldn't help but feel a slight blush appear on his cheeks as he scratched the back of his head with nervousness, as he meekly laughed "Heh, I'm hardly awesome kid. As for yesterday, I was just trying to keep myself from getting caught". Reaching down, he introduced "Jack".
Scootaloo looked at the hand, before high hooving it "Scootaloo" she returned smiling. Looking at the other two, she asked "Is he here to help us earn are cutie marks"?
Jack let out an aggravated sighed. He had been hearing constantly about these cutie marks as he voiced "Can someone explain to me what the big deal is with this earning cutie marks thing" he asked. He was answered as Apple bloom turned around, showing her blank flank, "There's nothing their" he answered, raising a brow as one ponies like Twilight, or Rarity he had noticed cutie marks.
"We haven't earned our cutie marks. Cuties marks are supposed to represent are special talents and what we'll be able to do later in life" Apple bloom answered. Lowering her head, she said "We don't have any cause we haven't discovered are hidden talents yet, so that's why we formed the cutie mark crusaders. Doing all sorts of things till we discover are cutie marks". The other two agreed, nodding.
"You let some symbol decide what your special talent is, or what you're going to do with your life" Jack asked, surprised that it sounded simple.
"Yeah, why not" Scootaloo asked.
Crossing his arms, Jack asked "What if you weren't satisfied with your cutie mark? Like its saying that's your hidden talent or destiny and you wanted something else"?
"How could you want something other than your destiny" Apple bloom asked.
Shaking his head, Jack thought to himself "Their simple creatures so I guess I shouldn't argue really".
Sweetie Belle noticed the look he was giving, as she asked "Do humans get cutie marks"?
Jack shook his head, as he took a seat. "No, humans don't get them. It's...more difficult to discover are hidden talents on what we're going to do with are lives. Our talents don't appear in the form of symbols, or cutie marks. For us, we…, well we just discover it when it comes to us or when we seek it out. Kinda like what you girls are doing, but for us it's not as obvious".
"I think you have a special talent for being a hero" Sweetie Belle smiled, as she said "After all, you did help my sister". Noticing the shy blush, she giggled "Why are you blushing"?
"I'm no hero kid, far from it. I'm not a Samaritan that goes around saving lives" Jack disagreed as he thought of how he had to survive in New York. "You wouldn't think so highly of me if you knew" he thought. Shaking his head, he said "Enough of that, what did you girls plan on doing to get your cutie marks".
"Follow me! I'll show ya" Scootaloo smirked, leading them outside. Ordering Jack to wait where he was, Scootaloo lead the others behind a tree where a duffle bag awaited.
Jack crossed his arms, as he leaned against the clubhouse. Hearing an arrestment of zipping, he blinked as the three reemerged; wearing belts with hooks coming out of them. Raising a brow, he said "Ahh…hmmm". Kinda reminded him of when he tried crazy, irresponsible things when he was their age. Looking up, he noticed the wire line that led down towards the bottom of steep hill that led deeper into the forest.
"We're gonna do some zip lining! I'll bet that's our talent" Apple bloom grinned as the trio climbed up the tree to reach the zip line. Looking down at Jack, she called "Just stay there and watch, alright"?
"Are you sure you kids know what you're doing? I don't wanna be held responsible if something happens to you" Jack called up to them. Watching them give various responses on how they'll be fine, and how nothing can go wrong; he rolled his eyes thinking "Kids". Yeah, when he was that age he thought he was invincible too. Growing up gave him a different perspective of things.
Hooking their hooks to the wire, they started to go one at a time. Jack had to admit that it did look rather fun! Perhaps he should give it a try! But that changed as he froze in fear as he watched Sweetie belle go, as the hook started to break whilst she was in mid zipping. "Shit" Jack swore as he broke into a run as he rushed under the zip line to catch her.
Sweetie Belle let out a gasp, and then followed with a swift shriek as the zip line broke. Hearing her name being called by her scared friends, she fell a good twenty feet and was about to hit the ground when something caught her, and went into a roll. Looking up, she gasped to see Jack had caught her; bringing her to his chest so he could absorb the blow.
Jack let out a gasp as he had caught her whilst on the edge of the hill, as he went into a roll. Rolling downhill whilst holding onto the unicorn, Jack's sleeveless shirt became caked with mud, his expensive pants and boots with grime as he rolled into a tree trunk, letting out a hiss of pain as he stopped. "OWwwwwww" he hissed as he shook his head. The fiasco over, he looked down at Sweetie Belle as he asked "You alright"?
Sweetie Belle looked up, smiling widely at the amazing feat he had done. "Wow! That was amazing"! Reaching up, she hugged the human around the neck. "Thanks for saving me" she smiled grateful.
Jack smiled weakly, as he responded simply "You're welcome". Getting up, he set Sweetie Belle down as he asked "Are you hurt"?
Shaking her head, she said "Nope, thanks to you. Are you sure saving others isn't your hidden talent"?
Jack was about to retort when suddenly he was surrounded by the other two filles who were now barraging him praise, and questions. Shaking his head, he smiled weakly. It was alright he guess to have somewhat of a reputation. Perhaps it would be a good opportunity to get in front of others and tell what he was? Maybe he should take up AJ's advice and talk to the mayor so he can introduce himself to the town? "Hey, do you think I could talk to Applejack, so she can…" he started.
WHAT IS THIS?
Jack froze, as he looked up blinking as Rarity came approached through the bushes. "What's she doing here" he said to himself. What was she so worked up about though? She was staring eyes wide, and mouth gaped at him? Amusing he had seen him rescue her sister, he blushed as he said "It's not a big deal really; I was just in the right place at the right time and..."
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YOUR OUTFIT" Rarity shouted in anger. This morning, she had presented him with a clean, pressed lovely looking outfit that was fit for a prince. That was six-seven hours ago! Now, the outfit looked like gutter trash, the sleeves missing, and his hair a mess, the boots and pants in grime…and the shirt was splattered in mud.
Jack stared as he realized he hadn't seen her rescue Sweetie Belle. "Well, let me explain. You see.." he started but was once again interrupted by Rarity.
"I made that outfit especially for you, and you've trashed it" Rarity shouted angrily at him as she stomped her hoof at him. She couldn't believe Jack! She had made that outfit for him so he would be happy, and he had gone and wrecked it! "What happened to the sleeves" she demanded, wanting to know.
"Well, I ripped them off, but I.." Jack stated, now starting to get annoyed with her interrupting.
"You ripped them off? Why" Rarity gaped with anger. How could he? Those were the best part of the shirt, made extra fluffy for warmth!
"They were too hot for me, and I..."
"AND NOW YOU'RE COMPLETELY DIRTY"!
"I had just gone and saved…"
"AGGGG! I went through all that trouble to please you, make you a handsome outfit to show you that my appreciation and this is how you thank me! Those clothes you were wearing were completely dirty, and looked like they needed some fixing up! And this is what you do? You hoodlum" She shouted, letting her feelings for him, and her emotions starting to get the better of her.
"Yeah, well I never asked for your charity, or your pity! You go and try dressing me up for something that you want, and don't even ask how I feel? I'm not a freaking prince! For that matter, here! Take this princely crap" Jack shouted, now angry himself! Ripping off the remainder of his shirt, he threw it into the mud before spitting on it.
"AGG! How dare you" Rarity glared heated.
"Forget this place, and forget you! I'm outta here" Jack snarled, as he turned and stomped away!
"FINE" Rarity shouted back angrily, turning on a hoof and leaving as the remaining filles watched sadden as the two left.
Chapter 5: Apologies and introduction
"I can't believe her" Jack growled angrily, as he stomped his way through the woods; brushing past thick branches as he forcefully shoved obstacles out of his path. Staring at a tree trunk, he narrowed his eyes furiously at the trunk. Closing his knuckles, he punched at the trunk hard in a fit of anger, caring not that it brought a stinging pain to them. Turning away, he thought about the injustice of Rarity. He had done a good thing! He had saved her sisters life, and she wasn't even grateful for that!
What, did he have to bend over and kiss her hooves? Pfft, he'd rather eat his own briefs. She had been completely ungrateful, not caring he had saved her sis; all Rarity cared about was that stupid prince outfit she made for him!
"It's abit chilly" he realized as he started to hug his arms. Maybe ripping his shirt off hadn't been the smartest thing he had ever done. Then again, he was angry and wanted to hurt her since she had hurt him…calling him a hooligan and then…then..
Not realizing where he was going, he paused as he stood still in a small clearing. What if she was right? What if he really was…? As he thought this, he failed to notice that a tiny bit of grey energy had started to encompass his boots. But it disappeared just as fast as it had appeared as he thought "No! She's wrong! Rarity doesn't know a damn thing about me"!
Feeling confident again, he went to continue when he heard a rustling behind him. Whirling around, his fist up; he paused as a tiny deer fawn stepped into the clearing, looking at him curiously. Surprised by the fawn's appearance, he noticed the tiny antler stubs on its head as he thought "I didn't figure they had deer here either". He didn't want to deal with this, so he stubbornly grunted "Go on! Get"!
Turning, he continued to walk. He didn't know where he was going, but it was far away from Ponyville! That was good enough for him! As long as he didn't see that stuck up, pampered, annoying, diva unicorn again; he was happy. Looking back, he could see the fawn still following. Ignoring it, he walked..and walked…walked…IT WOUDNT GO AWAY!
"Can't you take a hint? Get lost" Jack demanded, whirling around to face the fawn. Jack hesitated as he saw the fawn lower its head saddened. "What am I doing? I'm taking my anger out on the little guy" Jack thought, scolding himself lightly. Rolling his eyes, he walked up to the fawn as he kneeled down to its level. "Hey, I'm sorry alright. I'm just a little stressed at the moment..." he apologized to the little guy.
That was good enough for it, as the fawn leaned forward and gave Jack's cheek a lick. "Heeey, I'm not a salt cube" Jack staggered back, not able to hold back a laugh from the friendly creature. Reaching over, he gave it a pet. "Friendly huh" he asked lightly. From first impression, one would not think that Jack was an animal lover, but that was kinda the opposite since when he was a kid he liked to hang out around animals. Why didn't he consider the ponies animals? Well, they were but…they could talk; so they don't count!
He was surprised as the fawn then started poke him, as he rushed past Jack and started beckoning for him to follow. Looking around, Jack shrugged "Alright, why not? I really don't have anywhere to go so lead the way little guy".
"Rarity? Wh..What's up" Twilight asked, surprised to see an enraged Unicorn on her door step. She had just finished talking with Applejack who wanted to surprise Jack, by having him speak and introduce himself to the town; and Twilight had taken the liberty of writing him some notes so he wouldn't feel so self-conscious. Just as she was about to go and seek out Jack, Rarity came stomping in.
"Ugg! The nerve of that boy! I go to all that trouble, and what does he do" Rarity complained as she shook angrily. Jack had completely ruined a good vision she had of him as a prince, sweeping her off her hooves and dancing at the Galloping Gala. That had been replaced as she didn't see a handsome, heroic prince. She saw a punk!
"Calm down Rarity" Twilight urged as she attempted to calm her friend. Obviously something had gone wrong with Jack, and she wanted to know what it was. Using her magic to pour some tea for Rarity, she smiled "Start over and tell me what happened".
Sighing, Rarity took a gentle sip as she sat down on the chair. "Well, I noticed Jack's raggy looking clothes, and I wanted to do a nice thing and make them into something better. So, I broke them down and recreated them into something much nobler. I thought he looked great in it! Yet when I went to go see him later, it was anything but noble looking. In a few short hours, Jack had trashed the outfit I had gone through a lot of trouble to make for him".
"Well that doesn't sound very nice" Twilight mused, as she drunk.
"All I wanted from him in return for what I did was to show a little consideration towards how I felt. I did what I did just to make him happy, and he stepped over my feelings" Rarity sighed, as her anger deflated; replaced by sorrow.
Twilight put a hoof to her chin as she thought over what Rarity was saying. From the impression Jack gave, maybe he didn't like what Rarity had done? Like he didn't like to be surprised and put into something that he wasn't conferrable wearing. "Oh, that means Im no better since we set up everything with the mayor for him to introduce himself" Twilight thought guilty as she then thought determined "After this, I'll tell him and won't lie".
"Well, did you ask him what he would like to wear, or consider how he felt" Twilight asked carefully, getting a confused look from Rarity.
"Ahh, who lives here" Jack asked as the fawn had led him to a tiny cottage in the middle of nowhere, and it was completely surrounded by animals of all kind. Immediately, they rushed up to him; some staring at him curiously, others climbing onto his shoulders. Not used to this, entire he smiled weakly "Ahh, a little personal space guys"?
When he didn't receive an answer, he thought "Well that's good. Talking ponies is one thing; if all animals are capable of speech then I really would need to watch what I say". The animals beckoned him to the door as the fawn from before gave him a gentle nudge, indicting for him to knock on the door. Knocking slowly, he was surprised to see Fluttershy answer the door.
Fluttershy stared back with a mixed expression of shock and amusement at all the animals scurrying around him. "Heh heh, I never took you for an animal person Jack" she smiled warmly to him, not noticing his blush from the compliment.
"Theirs alotta things you don't know about me" he shrugged indifferently. Lowering his head, he sighed as he said "I don't know you that well, but can I talk to you about something…". Looking away, he blushed "There was an….incident with Rarity. We had a fight".
Fluttershy gaped as she said "Oh you poor dear! Come inside, and tell me the whole thing" As she did so, she looked at the fawn as she smiled "It's alright Kira, come on in too". Kira the fawn smiled, as she frolicked inside as she went next to Jack as she rubbed the side of her cheek against his leg. "It seems she likes you" giggled Fluttershy.
"Ahh, I guess" Jack blushed as he sighed "I had just finished doing some work for Applejack, and I saved Sweetie Belle from getting hurt when they had attempted to earn their cutie mark". Seeing the look of horror on Flutter's face, Jack urged "It's alright; she's safe". Sitting back as he started to pet Kiras head, he said "Rarity came, and didn't even give me a chance to tell her as she started screaming at me! Accusing me of ruining her clothes she had made for me, and got all pissy".
Starting to get angry, he clenched his fist as he grunted "I then ripped off what was left of the shirt, and stormed off angrily. She was trying to change me into something I'm not"!
Fluttershy blinked. She was about to ask if Jack had been abit harsh when that comment came up. "What do you mean? Change you into.."
"When I put that outfit on, I felt like she was expecting me to act differently, to talk differently to do..everything differently just to suit her wants. I felt like she was using me, and I do not like to be used" Jack admitted as he looked up at Fluttershy. "She had no right to go and change my clothes into something that suited her" he sternly pointed out
"I am not a rich boy, so I don't know how to act like one, and I'm not a prince! I'm far from it" Jack snorted, as he looked down at his feet. "She didn't even ask how I felt about it, just through it on saying "You're gonna be like this".
Fluttershy took all this in. Jack had apparently thought Rarity was using him to please a vision or dream she had, and that wasn't fair to him. It also wasn't fair to him to go and do something without asking his permission. Even if Rarity had done wrong, so did Jack. Destroying something she had worked hard on for him wasn't a very nice thing to do.
"Whilst it umm, wasn't nice of Rarity to go and change your clothes, it wasn't nice of you to destroy hers" Fluttershy softly explained.
"Say what? I was just showing her how I felt! She went and.." he started but was interrupted.
"Did you consider how she would feel? You did both good and bad, saving Sweetie Belle yes. She did wrong yes, but so did you by ruining something she put a lot of care into. I know Rarity, and she musta put a lot of work into that outfit for you. You could have told her the truth about it, and I'm sure she would have changed it back" Fluttershy explained.
"No, I was just…I mean" Jack shuddered, trying to think of a returning argument to defend himself. Yet, nothing came to mind. What was wrong with him? Why he was now starting to feel guilty? Looking at his feet uncomfortable, he said "Well, maybe I umm..lost my temper and should have..controlled it better". Kira stared sadly, not wanting to see Jack sad as she laid her head in his lap.
Fluttershy smiled at the cute scene, as she explained "Rarity seems to care an awful lot about you, since you saved her and she was just showing her friendship and appreciation by making that outfit for you. Perhaps she had gone abit over the top, and should have asked you what you wanted; but it's really the thought that counts since she really wanted to make you happy".
"She's right...you didn't show any real appreciation. Perhaps being honest with her upfront would have prevented all this. It might have hurt her, but at least she would have known. And…ripping it up wasn't the umm...nicest thing to do" he lectured himself, the guilt having gotten to him. "I…I don't know what to do" he admitted to Fluttershy.
"Perhaps apologize and tell her how you really felt" Fluttershy offered, liking the hopefully expression on Jack's face. Watching him pet Kira as he got up, he approached her shyly as he fidgeted in front of her.
"Ahh, well…thank you for listening Fluttershy, you're an umm…uhh" he said, trying to find the right words. He gasped in shock as he was pulled into a hug by the Pegasus as she hugged him against him with her hooves and wings.
"You're welcome Jack" Fluttershy softly grinned as she released him, watching him head towards the door.
"But I was just trying to do a nice thing for him! Honestly, I didn't know that he didn't like it cause…I didn't ask him" Rarity realized as she suddenly remembered the uncomfortable look on his face, observing what he was wearing with a mixture of contempt and disgust.
Noticing her friends distraught look, Twilight asked "He wasn't happy with it was he"?
"No...he wasn't and I either didn't notice or…didn't care because I was too caught up in what I wanted or what I was thinking of" Rarity admitted to Twilight. Rarity had wanted something simple: A handsome knight in shining armor to come to be with her, and then Jack appeared out of nowhere. So, she thought to dress him in what she thought was suitable, not even considering if he would be upset by the notion.
Twilight trotted up to her friend, as she sympathetically remarked "Maybe Jack grew up in an environment where he developed distaste for what you like Rarity. I have to give him credit since from how he acts, he was raised somewhere rough but hasn't let that completely rule his life, nor what he has experienced. That's a good trait to have, and…what if he felt you were trying to change him"?
Rarity gasped as she immediately protested "I wasn't trying too…too." Did she attempt to change Jack? She had wanted her knight, her prince and was expect…Oh dear; she had been trying to change him! That wasn't right! What if some pony tried to force her into acting or looking different then she was already?
"Rarity" Twilight asked, seeing she was looking down at her hooves. She appeared to be deep in thought, as Rarity looked up determined. "I need to apologize to Jack. I went and did something like this, and I didn't even thank him for saving my little sister". Trotting past Twilight, she smiled at the unicorn. "Thank you twilight" she smiled thankfully.
Twilight smiled back in return to the unicorn, glad she was no longer upset and going to make things right with Jack. Hopefully he would do the same with Rarity. "Anytime Rarity" she nodded. Watching as Rarity turned and left, Twilight wondered to herself "Hmm, I wonder where Jack is anyway"?
"When I see her, I'll tell her that I'm sorry and we'll work through this" Jack said determinedly as he walked through the town square. He had been walking all over looking for Rarity, and was abit lost. Kira had led him back through the woods towards Ponyville, so now he was searching for Rarity. Whilst he was determined to make this right, he was also nervous as hell since he was now solo without any of his friends here to help him out.
"Darn it, where's her house again" Jack grumbled to himself as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. As he was about to go and look again, he gasped as the world went black as some ponies hooves covered his eyes from behind. "Guess whoooooo" a cocky voice called out. Recognizing it, he smirked "Is it the pony who I owned last time"?
"Hey, you didn't own me" Rainbow Dash smirked, letting go and giving him a playful poke. Seeing his face, she asked "What's with the look? What are you doing"?
"I'm looking for Rarity, I need to..." he started to say but was cut off by Dash placing a hoof over his mouth, stopping his next word.
"Heard what happened, you're looking to apologize to her, she's over their" Dash pointed out. She pointed to the unicorn who was sitting on a bench, looking around for Jack. As Dash watched Jack go, she smirked as she beckoned to the other's as they emerged from out of hiding so they could get a better look and watch the two.
Jack blushed as he looked at the elegant unicorn, as his prideful side was attempting to make him pull out of doing this. Jack Conner apologized to no o.. "Oh shut it" he told himself, knowing that sure as hell wasn't true and that was merely his pig headed pride attempting to speak for him. Why was he getting so nervous all of a sudden? As he stepped in front of Rarity, he noted her shyness. "Err, hey" he spoke awkwardly to her.
"He..Hey" Rarity responded back. The others had said Jack was around in this area, and to wait at that spot. But how would they know he would be their? She was about to come to a conclusion when Jack showed up. "Ahh, sooo umm" Rarity blushed, as she tried to apologize to Jack. Usually in something like this, she would let the other apologize. Not this time, she was going too!
"Look, I'm just gonna get this off of my chest alright" Jack sighed as he sat down next to her. Looking at her, he said "I'm sorry I ripped up your outfit. You worked really hard on this to...make me happy, and I didn't show appreciation for that and...I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings". Inhaling, he thought "Finally got that outta the way".
Rarity then blurted out "I should have asked you before changing your clothes like that, and I didn't even thank you for saving Sweetie Belle, so...Im sorry I didn't consider how you felt".
Staring at his feet, he attempted to chuckle as he remarked "Heh, I guess we both mucked up didn't we"? Now looking into her eyes, he remarked "Good to see we can both look past our pride when we know we're wrong huh"?
Giggling, Rarity nodded "Yeah, I guess so". Scooting over to him, she pulled him into a hug. "Really, I'm sorry and…you say you're not a hero, but I think you are. You saved both me and my sister so…really, thanks". Noticing him blushing, she smirked as she asked playfully "Why are you blushing". She had to fight the urge to burst out laughing as his blush deepened.
"It's uhhh...kinda hot out, and the sun's really hitting my cheek since Im more sensitive tooo light then you ponies" Jack lied badly thorugh his teeth, not liking being put into this position. Hearing collective assortments of giggles, he whirled around behind him and his eyes widened as he spotted the rest of the mane cast smirking at his position. "Son of a..they set this up! They did this on purpose" he thought annoyed. As he was let go, he shook his head chuckling as he announced "We're cool now".
"Indeed" Rarity giggled as she said "Here". Reaching behind some bushes, she handed Jack a new pair of clothes, similar to his old ones as she said "I thought it would be a way of err...apologizing to you".
Jack smiled widely; glad to have his old clothes back and cleaner. "Heh, Thanks a lot" he grinned as he said to the other ponies "Ahh, so apart from setting this all up for us to apologize; what are you all doing here anyway"?
Twilight stepped forward, as she gave a slight cough. "Well Jack, I was wondering if you would be interested in telling the town about yourself"? Seeing the skeptical look on Jack's face, she said "Well, what I mean is that would you be willing to talk at a press conference since not all of ponyville knows about you"?
Jack stared at Twilight hard, as he said "You went and set something up without asking"?
"I...I didn't think about it at the time, since well...I thought you'd be alright with it. You don't have to of course if you don't want to" Twilight blushed as she apologized to the human. Seeing him shift his feet, she blinked as she was asked about the princesses. "Oh, Princess Celestia and Luna should be arriving sometime tonight, they wish to meet you".
Jack blinked as he thought "Hmm, let me think here. Well, if I go and do this I can show the town that I'm not all bad. Aw, but that'll diverge any fun towards causing abit of mischief and chaos". Another part of him argued as he blinked "Where did that come from"? Shaking his head, he said "Ahh, sure I'll umm..go and talk". That seemed to be the magic word, as he was suddenly being gently nudged towards the town center.
"Excellent, every pony is waiting" Twilight smiled, grateful that Jack was willing to talk. She had a set of notes he could use to help if he was in a jam.
Jack blinked as he was given advice from each of the mane cast, as he could see the large crowd in front of a large stage. "Heh heh, say something funny to start off! Best be honest about yourself. Umm, maybe show that you're umm..humble. Pfft, catch them off guard with confidence. Be eloquent and graceful on your approach! Don't be afraid, no pony here will hurt you".
"So as you can see, that's why we…oh, here he is now" The mayor smiled as she watched with slight awe as the teenager staggered as he was pushed up onto the stage. She truly had never seen such a creature before, and that's how most of the town felt as it seemed there was a mixture within the crowd of curiosity and awe of ponies who wanted to know what he was like, whilst the other side was with confusion and fear as they wanted to flee thinking he was dangerous.
Jack looked back at his friends, as Twilight smiled caringly, handing a set of notes to him. Looking out into the crowd, he suddenly felt extremely claustrophobic. He was so not used to having an entire town staring at him like he was some sorta freak of nature. Gulping, he approached the mayor as she shook his hand before stepping back to let him stand in front of the podium.
Stepping up, Jack looked out at the crowd as he gulped. Looking down at the cards, he said "Oh furred sentient"? Looking over at Twilight with a raised brow, she smiled sheepishly as she shrugged. "Oh forget this" Jack grumbled as he placed the cards down. Addressing the crowd, he said "Alright, I'm gonna blunt with you all. I'm well aware that I'm the only human in this town, and so I'm gonna set the record straight. For those of you who are quivering in fear thinking that I'm gonna devour you, or destroy your homes…" He paused as a mischievous smirk etched his features, as he remarked "I'm actually a messenger here to tell you all that I'm a member of an advanced alien race that is coming to invade pony Ville so we can conquer and rule the world".
Snorting at the look of fear on their faces, he smirked "Joking"! Coughing, he said "But seriously, I'm not here to cause any trouble, so uhh if you have question then ask now or forever hold your peace". Staring over at a bookish looking pony with thick glasses, Jack said "Yeah"?
"Ahh, ahem. Does your kind always wear clothing" he asked?
"Starting off with the award questions huh" Jack thought rolling his eyes. Shaking his head, he said "Yes, we always wear clothing as its necessary in order for us to maintain are body temperatures at a neutral level, since we don't have the pleasantries of fur keeping us warm". Blinking, he watched as a gray Pegasus with a blonde mane and...weird eyes raise a hoof. "Err, yes" Jack asked.
"Muffin" she asked simply?
Put off by the unusual response, Jack stuttered "Uhhh, sure"? His response was the Pegasus flying up and stuffing a muffin into his mouth. Staring, he slowly removed it as he watched her fly back into the crowd as he silently chomped at the muffin. "She's pretty derpy" he thought. Looking around at raised hooves, he pointed to a blue stallion. "Yes" Jack asked.
"Are you humans strong" He asked, as amongst other male ponies this incited a slew of comments or questions as they looked at one another, wondering what this creature was capable of.
Crossing his arms, Jack answered "If we wanna be strong, we can be. We don't start off strong however, so we have to work are way up in order to get strong". A final hoof raised up, as it came from a filly wearing a diamond tiara. "Are all your kind as ugly as you" she asked nastily. This caused murmuring amongst the crowd, some disapproving, others wondering the same.
"Well, I can tell some ponies gonna be an ice queen by the time she hits high school" Jack thought silently as he answered "We don't all look the same. Some are better looking than others, some are not. Ugliness is not in a mirror however, it's in greed, corruption or meanness of spirit if you wanna be simple".
Answering a slew of more question, Jack was thankful when the crowd dispersed one by one, making it simpler to breathe. "Thank god" he thought silently as he noticed it was almost nightfall. "Hey Jack" a certain pink pony giggled as she bounced up to Jack. "Seriously, she's like a cartoon character" he thought, amazed at her. "What is it" he asked. He then noticed that the others were gone.
"Can youuuu head over to Twilights in about thirty minutes, we have something to show you" Pinkie grinned as she hugged the surprised human, and bounced away out of sight.
"You didn't even give me a chance to respond" Jack protested lightly as he sighed. Heading over towards a bench, Jack sat down as he was glad everything had been cleared up today. Last thing he needed was more trouble to head his way. It seemed trouble was gonna head his way weather he liked it or not as he could hear footsteps approach from behind.
"Kinda boring isn't it" a casual voice called out as a teenage boy around Jack's age hopped down onto the bench next to him. He was wearing a plaid shirt, with a poka dotted vest with green jeans and blue shoes. His hair was a grayish tint, and the most surprising features of this guy were his red eyes. Staring at Jack, he smirked "I gotta say, you really surprised me dude. What with being all nice and polite to these ponies when you really don't oh em a thing".
Jack blinked as he got up in shock. What the? Where had this guy come from! He thought there wasn't any other humans in ponyville, so who was he? Seeing how calm he was, Jack stated at him silently.
"Pfft, what's with the weird look? I got something on my face" he smirked at Jack.
Jack gasped as he stared at the human...at least he thought he was a human. He had never seen a human dress in such bizarre fashion, or with red eyes. "Then again, I don't exactly look normal myself" he reasoned. "Who the hell are you" Jack asked sternly as he thought he was the only human in this town.
The guy raised his hands in slight defense. "Chill man, I'm just dropping by to say hello. Heard there was another human in town, and I figured I'd say hi to him myself before I headed back to my home". Reaching out a hand, he smirked "Names Sid Crodien".
He was bold; he had to give him that. Jack looked down at the hand, as he slowly reached out and took it as he suddenly felt a strange surge shoot through him. "Huh" he thought as he said "Ahh, Jack Conner" he responded simply.
Sid smirked as he said "Heh, heard about you. Troublemaker and Savior of ponyville. That's kinda a weird title to hold insist it? Then again, I'm abit weird myself". Seeing his expression, Sid smirked "I've lived here for about five years now, and have been living in a secret location within the Everfree forest. I came across some old spells and bada Bing, bada boom; I managed to learn some tricks to keep myself off the radar from these ponies".
"And you never thought about going home" Jack asked, surprised that human had been able to learn magic. This was amazing! He never even knew humans were capable of magic, and yet this guy claimed he could do it without as much as a hint of trouble. Heck, he musta been able to do magic. How the hell else would none of the ponies know about him? He didn't know why he was suddenly becoming so trusting of this guy, was it because he was a human too?
"Heh why should I? I don't have a home back on Earth. This is my home now! My playground to do whatever I want" he smirked as he snapped his fingers as a cola bottle appeared in front of Jack "Cola" he offered.
"Ahh, thanks" Jack stared, as he was amazed at this revelation. This was someone who could help him! If he knew how to use magic, and how to get back home; he could help Jack. Not to mention, it was someone like him! Oh this was perfect! "If you know how to do magic, then you might be able to help me" Jack urged, with awe at Sid.
"I may…but not tonight cause I don't feel like it, and I'm tired" Sid yawned as he smirked "If you ever get bored of hanging with these goody two shoes ponies, try hitting me up some time and we'll have some fun. Oh but, please don't mention me to the ponies, I kinda wanna keep my identity secret". Getting up, he said "It was good to meet ya Jack, I think things are gonna be interesting with you around". Casually walking away, he snapped his fingers as he suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke but not before saying "See ya". Had Jack managed to see Sid's face, he would have noticed it curl into a sinister sneer as his red eyes flashed as it filled with a slight tint of yellow.
"Did that just happen" Jack asked aloud as he slowly approached Twilights home in confusion. Had he really just met another human? As he knocked on Twilights door, he blinked to see it was open as he stepped inside, as the lights turned on and all thought of the other human had left Jacks mind as he fell onto his ass in shock!
Chapter 6: Hot tempered party
SUUURPRIIIIIISEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
"WHAT THE HELL" Jack screamed, falling onto his rear as everything became bright in an instant. Hearing an assortment of cheering mixed with laughter, he looked to see that Twilight Sparkles library was covered in an assortment of party decorations. The mane cast, along with Spike cheered for Jack's arrival as well as a large group of other ponies from the conference. Looking around at the food, presents and games; he found himself flustered and put off guard. Getting up, Jack had completely forgotten about the encounter with the strange human as he blushed lightly "W..what is this"?
"What is it? It's a party for you silly" Pinkie giggled, hopping in front of Jack and putting a party hat on his head before hopping back.
Jack became silent as he looked down. "Y..you put on a party for me" he asked. These ponies they…went to all this trouble…for him?
"Course we did, it's the best way of saying that we're glad to have you here" Applejack smiled, as her friends nodded in agreement.
Jack remained silent as he tried to control his emotions. It had been a long time since anyone had thrown him a party, and he was honestly touched by the kind gesture. He had a reputation of keeping it cool though, so he swallowed whatever "over the top happiness" he had within him, as he looked up with a small smile, commenting "…thank you".
Entering into the room, he looked around in a mixture of awe and amazement. The ponies sure went above and beyond the call of duty whenever it came to throwing a party. In fact, they seemed kinda similar to how humans threw parties. Cept for teenage humans, it usually involved opening a keg of alcohol and involving some underage drinking. That's how Jack used to party until about a year ago when he was fifteen.
Someone he knew in the neighborhood, was throwing a party when their folks were outta town. He snuck into the party, and had a couple of beers. Sadly, the alcohol affected his judgment and made him into a bit of an ass, since he remembered that he was constantly throwing up, and tripping over his own feet. Someone he dragged him and tossed him into the bathtub so he could sober up. Unfortunately, the cops had shown up and started to arrest anyone who was drinking underage. Luckily, he had managed to climb out a window and sadly fell..straight into a dumpster. He laid there for a few hours before the cops had left, and he made his way home.
After that little incident, he hadn't had a single alcoholic beverage. "These ponies have it all" Jack thought with slight envy, approaching the fruit punch bowl. No alcohol, no illegal substances. This world was so perfect, that it didn't need to rely on illegal drugs to help one relive themselves of stress. "Lucky ponies" Jack muttered aloud.
"Sooo, what do you think? We got ice cream, cookies, lemon drops, brownies, cupcakes, sugar coated buns, candy" Pinkie rambled, having bounced out of nowhere, as she started to list all of the types of food and beverages they had.
"Whoa whoa slow down" Jack smiled sheepishly! Was Pinkie Pie just on an all happy, all sugar diet? It would certainly explain how cheerful she was, and how she was always bouncing all the time. Shrugging, he said "I'm probably just gonna give the brownies a try" he shrugged casually. Whilst he did like sweets, he preferred to keep the consumption of sweets to a minimal. Popping a small brownie into his mouth, he immediately thought "Well, their brownies certainly taste the same as ours".
Jack's eyes shot open in shock, as he suddenly felt a rising heat, erupting from his throat that burned as if he had just swallowed a gallon full of hot sauce. Sweating nervously, as he could see the faces of ponies who were struggling not to laugh; he couldn't hold it back as he opened his mouth and a slew of fire erupted. "SPICY" he shouted in alarm, as he panicky looked around for something to cool his throat, feeling like it was now on fire!
Staggering over to the punch, he dunked a cup as he attempted to pour it down his throat to sooth the spiciness. All he felt was a coolness on his short, as he opened his eyes to see a hole in the cup that had made the punch spill over his white hoodie. Hearing the laughter of the others, he looked around confused as he tried to register what had happened.
"Ha ha! Oh Celestia, the dribble glass plow. Gotacha Jack" Rainbow Dash cracked up, causing more laughter amongst the ponies, as Dash grinned at Jack; showing she had been the perpetrator behind that little prank.
Jack quickly downed fruit punch through a glass that wasn't pranked, as he panted and tried to catch his breath from the spiciness. Panting, he glared at Dash as he attempted to laugh it off. "Ha ha, I'm laughing" he muttered sarcastically. Blinking, he thought "What's with me"?
Usually whenever it came to being pranked, Jack was a really good sport. When he was eight, his buddy Kent had pranked him on April 1st by setting up a bucket filed with chocolate milk to soak Jack, when he had attempted to walk into Kent's room. Jack had at first appeared angry, but then grinned as he tackled Kent and started putting Chocolate milk into his hair. This should have been nothing, and yet he strangle felt..defensive…more defensive than he should have been.
"It's no big deal" he told himself, harmless fun. Chuckling weakly, he passed by the ponies, feeling uncomfortable as he spotted Twilight. Smiling, he thought "At last". "Hey Twilight, when are the princesses supposed to arrive" he asked. He had a lot of questions for them. So far, he had been enjoying himself but so far, if he wanted to go back..he'd like to know if he could.
Twilight smiled as she said "They should be arriving sometime within the next hour". Noting the impatient look on Jack's face, she had a feeling that he was rather eager to discuss how to get home, or at least how Equestria worked.
"Hey Jack, come over an bob for apples" AJ called as she wanted Jack to have his luck at the game, as Lyra and Bon Bon finished up.
Approaching, Jack felt something knick against his head a she turned in the direction of where it came from, not noticing a strange liquid being poured into the water. Turning back, he shrugged "Huh, guess it was nothing". Staring into the water at the apples, he plunged headfirst into the water and moments later emerged with a red apple in his mouth, as he grinned victoriously. Notching the ponies laughing, he asked "What"?
Staring back into the water, he gasped as he could see his jet black hair had been dyed an ocean blue. His hair! His jet black hair was now blue! Looking down at the floor, he struggled to keep his anger in check. This was not cool!
Feeling his cheeks flush with embarrassment, he was handed a towel by AJ who was struggling to control her giggling.
"Hehheh, oddly enough you look more natural with blue hair rather than black" AJ grinned through her laughter, as she failed to notice the flash of anger directed at her by the human.
"He..heh" Jack laughed weakly, now becoming annoyed. Dyeing his hair like that was a really dirty move on their part he felt, as he usually wasn't one to be caught off guard and hum… "It's just pranks you sensitive moron" he scolded himself.
Walking away from the punch bowl, he looked over at one pony who caught his eyes. She had a rocking mane, with a mixture of blue and teal. She was a unicorn as evident from her horn. She had white coat, and a similar blue/teal colored tai. Her most distinguishing features however were her shades. She was from the looks of things, scratching things up. "Wonder if you can request anything" Jack thought as he approached her. "Heya" he spoke politely to the DJ.
"What's up" Vinyle grinned as she high hoofed the human.
"Not a lot, are you taking request" Jack asked as he wanted to see what if he could try singing something from when he was a kid. Receiving a nod, he looked over at behind where Vinyl took songs. A small portable computer with list of songs were displayed on a small monitor. Seeing a microphone, Jack spoke "Kryptonite". Watching it flip through stations, he smiled as he saw it halt on Kryptonite by Three doors down.
"Yeah, that's the one" he smirked, as he asked for a microphone. When Vinyl nodded, she started to play the song. As he heard the familiar 90's song begin to play, Jack looked up as he noticed the ponies dancing halted as they started to hear this song they had never heard of before. The beat was apparently pleasing to them, as some started to go along with it; liking the drum's mixed with electric guitar.
Approaching the crowd, Jack looked into the mike as he counted to himself as he waited for it to reach the starting point, as he began to sing.
=Kryptonite=
"I took a walk around the world to ease my trouble mind, I left my body lying somewhere in the sands of time" Jack begun, getting the attention of the ponies in the room as they stared at this stubborn, sarcastic, and abit rude human; not expecting him to have a good singing voice.
"I watched the world float to the darkside of the moon..I feel there's nothing I can doo…yeaaah" Jack shrugged as he bopped his head up and down at the beat, inciting his friends to follow suit in a way as he started to snap his fingers with what he heard.
"I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon…After all I knew it had to be something to do with you. I really don't mind what happens now and thennnn" he dragged off as Jack's legs started to move with the song, whatever anxiety and defensiveness he was feeling starting to leave him. For the next line, he pointed at the mane six.
"As long as you'll beeee my frieeend at the ennnddd" he smirked as the song kicked up. As the drum solo kicked in, the ponies were now much more into it, some of them jumping up and down, others stomping their hooves along with the song. Jack leaped into the air, as he shouted "If I go crazy then will you still call me superman If I'm alive and well, will you be there holding my hand I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might Kryptonite".
Pleased at the sight of his friends dancing, Jack glanced over at Vinyl as he noticed her bopping her head, grinning at the song as she high hooved Jack, who smirked back in response. Eyeing Rarity, he smirked as he noticed her starting at him. No doubt she was impressed by his dancing skills!
Rarity was listening, and watching in amazement at Jack's singing, so put off by it as she was stunned as he suddenly danced up to her, and gently pulled her up in front of every pony with him as he heard him sing "You stumbled in and bumped your head, if not for me then you'd be dead I picked you up and put you back on solid ground". Being twirled into place as he gently released her, she found herself blushing immensely as she murred to herself "Oh my..", not knowing that was not meant as a love statement.
Repeating the song, Jack smiled as he back flipped in mid air, amazing the ponies as he did a chinese jump up kick, landing on his feet as the song came to an end.
Rubbing the back of his head as he handed the microphone back to Vinyl, he thought "Well, that went well". Going to meet his friends, he was immersed by comments and praise. "Heh, it's just a little song I remember from when I was a kid" Jack admitted sheepishly. He had to admit that it really felt good to cut loose and have some fun. Forgetting all about the misplaced anger from earlier, he blinked as he saw a huge cake get pushed out of nowhere.
"Cake for the party guest" Pinkie giggled, as she presented the vanilla cake, with pink frosting. Pushing Jack up to it, she grinned "Blow out the candles".
Nodding, Jack inhaled as he blew away; existing sting the flames. "What the" he thought in surprise as he saw the candles suddenly relight themselves. Staring oddly, he blew once more as the candles once more went out and once more came back on. Getting annoyed now, he inhaled a lot of his breathe before releasing only..for it to come back. Hearing snickering from the others, he glanced over at Pinkie.
"Relighting candles, classic" she grinned at Jack.
"Hehheh…" he chuckled feeling the defensiveness anger come back. Shaking his head, he blinked as he wondered what was wrong with him. Five minutes ago, he was dancing and having the time of his life. Now he was getting annoyed with them over harmless pranks. "Humph" he huffed as he looked over at AJ who was challenging other ponies to arm wrestling..or was it hoof wrestling. Getting a competitive look in his eye, he thought "Let's see how strong country girl is".
"Yo AJ, I'll take you" Jack smirked as he sat down at the table where AJ had just finished Rainbow Dash. Hearing a collective Oooo from the crowd, Jack shot them all a cocky smirk as he noticed AJ's look.
"What! Get outta town. If I couldn't beat Applejack, then what makes you think you can" Rainbow Dash asked, as she poked Jack in the shoulder smirking.
"I'd listen to Dash if I were you Jack. Maybe amongst humans your one of the strongest, but I don't know if they can match up to a pony in strength" AJ commented, crossing her arms as she grinned playfully at the human.
"I don't know if I can win, then again I don't know if I'll lose. Only one way to find out you know" Jack shot back, as he placed a hand onto the table and locked it in place as he looked at AJ who was staring at him with a mixture of skepticism and amusement. "Hey, we don't have to do it if you don't want..I can understand if you're scared". That touched a nerve as he saw AJ's competitiveness come back full streak.
"Ah ain't scared of nothing. If you think you can go hoof to hoof with me, then by all means let's get it on" AJ declared as she locked her hoof around Jack's hand. As they readied, she smirked "On three. One…two…THREE"!
Jack grunted as he put his full force into his arm, as he found himself…surprisingly holding his own for a few moments since it was clear that he stood no chance against AJ in the strength department. As his arm was slammed down, he shrugged "As I thought, I stood no chance".
AJ was surprised. Surprised that Jack had last a few moments since he wasn't a pony, and since it was clear he was weaker than her, but what surprised her most was his graciousness when he lost. "Well, I'm surprised you last against me, and I'm glad you didn't get upset" she smiled honestly at the human.
Eying over at the dart board in the corner, he smirked "I can win at darts however. I'm strong for a human, but I can defiantly beat any pony here in a game of accuracy. Anyone wanna try me"?
"Oh yeah? Any pony huh? You think you can tango with me" Dash remarked, as she stepped up in front of Jack. Going past him, she smirked "I happen to be an expert when it comes to darts, so you'd best back out now".
"I prefer action over talk in a competition that I know I can dominate" Jack responded as he stepped up next to her, as he plucked out a dart. Staring at Dash, he said "How about we make things abit interesting? Whoever wins gets big badass points"?
"Your on "Dash shot back.
Twilight chuckled as she whispered to Fluttershy. "Its like looking at Dash competing against Dash".
"Heh heh, they sure are competitive" Fluttershy agreed.
"Me, he was referring to me" Rarity thought alluringly. When Jack had sprung out during the dance, and started to dance with her she felt like she was in her fantasy world. Dancing with her love, as they celebrated being in one another's presences. She had to admit, she was quiet literally swept off her hooves by his dancing; but was pleased by it. She became upset when the dance ended and Jack started to participate in the party games.
"Boom baby" Jack laughed, pumping his fist into the air as he landed up near the bull's eye on his first shot. Crossing his arms, he eyed over at Dash.
"Hows this? Oh yeah" Dash shot back grinning, as her dart landed in the outer rim of the bull eyes. Getting another shot, she tossed her dart into the air cockily as she shrugged "This is too easy". Tossing it, she gasped as her cockiness got the better of her and she missed the target all together.
Jack on the other hand was in his element, as he thrusted the dart and shot a victorious smirk as it landed and got himself badass points! "Hooooo yeah "laughed Jack as he jumped into the air in victory. Turning next to Dash, he smiled as he stuck out a hand. "Good game" he said to her good naturally.
Dash hated losing. It made her feel like a failure at times, but when she saw him stick his hand out to shake her hoof, she smiled modestly as any annoyance left as fast as it had appeared. "Good game" she admitted to him.
"Ummm, we have umm..presents here for you" Fluttershy softly spoke to Jack, getting his attention as he approached. Looking down, she said "I umm...well, got you or umm...well..". Realizing he was staring, she said "I'm sorry, I..". She was cut off by any further stuttering as Jack hugged her, causing a tiny eep and light blush to etch across her cheeks.
"You don't have to be so shy around me, he spoke simply to her" Jack said, smirking as it was he who made her blush this time, and not the other way around like it had been the last few times. Turning to the presents, he thought "Last time I got presents was...hmm, maybe a few years ago? Wow, time really does fly bye". Ripping off the wrapping, he was surprised to see a tiny V shaped necklace, that was embedded around a red casing. "Huh, from Fluttershy" he asked aloud, as he turned to smile at her.
She smiled back as she explained "It stands for valor, since you're a really brave human. Heh heh, it's almost as if your purposely seeking adventure at times. So I thought it was appropriate".
"Thanks Flutter" Jack smiled at her, before commenting to himself "Huh, seeking adventures? Maybe I should do that from now on". As he went through the rest of the gifts, he suddenly felt hungry. Remembering the cake, he turned as he went to go and grab a slice.
Unfortunately, it was at this exact moment that Spike had chosen to play with a remote controlled car that Pinkie had gotten Jack, and he was letting Spike use it. Spike accidentally drove it in front of Jacks path, as he realized what was about to happen, Spike gasped in shock. "Jack, watch ou.." Spike called out.
"WHooooAAAaaaaa" Jack shouted, eyes wide as Spike had accidentally hit the accelerate on the car to hard that Jacks foot landed on it, and the momentum of the car sent him forward as he went and landed face first into the cake. The entire room became silenced by this spectacle as the ponies watched Jack slowly lift his face out, frosting dripping from his cheek as his face had become plastered with vanilla frosting. A snort came from one of the ponies, as suddenly it caused a chain reaction of laughter amongst the ponies at the party. They pointed and laughed at the hilarious spectacle.
"Wh..what just happened" Jack thought, his mind still catching up with what had occurred. Wiping the frosting out of his eyes, he looked around slowly at the sight of the ponies laughing hysterically, some of them pointing at him as they held their guts to try and contain themselves. Humiliation and anger mixed within Jack, as he winced at the laughter of all these strangers. Staring over at his friends, he thought "Their not laughing, they'd support m..oh".
They too couldn't stop themselves from laughing, as Jack glared not wanting to show how hurt he was. He was took a step forward to yell, when Pinkie trotted up and slapped him playfully on the back at how fun he was; unaware of how he felt. This mixed with the frosting that had dripped onto the floor, caused him to trip and fall forward to the floor; inciting more laughter from the ponies.
Crraaaaaaaaaaaaaack.
Jack froze, suddenly ignoring all else that occurred within the room as he heard the distinct crack of something he held dear to him break. "No...Nonono..please no" he begged internally. With a shaky hand, he gently reached into his pocket and removed the golden chain he kept so dearly from his pocket, as he slowly popped open the watch. Blinking at the shards of glass falling from where it had broken, he stared emotionally at the picture.
With how Jack appeared or came off as, self confident, strong, sarcastic it would think that whatever it was; it certainly wasn't something of any important sentiment.
Instead, what laid within was a picture. A pair of humans stood in front of sleek aircraft carrier on a bright sunny day at an airport. A tall man, in his mid thirties, with a black hair, in a crew cut hair style, green eyes; dressed in military fatigues was standing beside a tiny boy with similar black hair, heterochromic eyes, wearing a white t-shirt with blue overalls. The man was hugging the boy, who looked around six as the boy was happily hugging the man back. At least he was as a small shard of the glass had slight ripped the pic, barely making the man's face recognizable.
Finding himself slowly shaking, Jack stood up slowly as he kept his head low; wanting to hide the tears of frustrated anger; as he thought "How could they...it's all...all I have left of him and they wrecked it..". The irrational side of him wanted to stand up and start trashing the party, make them feel the sorrow he was feeling. But no, no way was he gonna sink to that level and act out like a baby!
Instead, Jack turned without a word swiftly as he opened the door, forgetting to pick up the picture in his emotional state That got the attention of his friends, as they noticed him leaving
"Jack? Hey Jack where ya going" Pinkie asked, barely catching the frown on his face. Her friends followed suit in calling after him.
Rarity blinked as she looked down on the ground to see the broken remains of what Pinkie had wanted to see, noticing the picture as she approached and noticed its state. As she picked it up, she realized who the boy was as she looked back up in time to see the door slam shut; as Jack left. "Jack..." Rarity spoke softly, realizing that the innocent pranks had gone too far.
They had little time to reflect this however, as suddenly the room glowed with a mixture of white and blue as a brilliant beam of light emerged within the middle of the party. The light slowly faded as it revealed two tall creatures. One of them had fur that was pure white, whilst the other was a night blue. They resembled both unicorns, and Pegasus as the alicorns stared around the party at the guest who bowed their heads in respect at the sight of them. As Celestia stepped forward, she smiled "I was informed that a human was here, and he wished to speak with us".
Twilight blushed embarrassed, by the fact that the pranks had driven their friend away and now Jack wasn't here to greet them as she stepped forward to explain herself.
"Son of a bitch" Jack swore, as he kicked at a stand; knocking over some fruits as he wiped off the last of cake from the party. Trudging through the night miserably, he blinked as he kicked at a few more things. He was angry. He was angry at everything, and everyone. Himself, his friends...everyone.
He was angry with himself for allowing his emotions to get the better of him, and not enjoy himself at the party. He usually was good at controlling his emotions and yet it felt like they had been given a..push if that was the appropriate choice of words into becoming much more emotional.
He was angry with his friends, for damaging the only thing he had left of his father. When his father died five years ago, that picture was the only thing that reminded him of his dad and he treated it with care and respect everyday..it was precious to him. They had the nerve to damage it!
Growling, he sat down in a huff at a bench as he felt like he wanted to just disappear and leave. To hell with Equestria, and to hell with the ponies! "You don't really mean that" he told himself as he lowered his head in shame. Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack and everyone else. They were his friends. How could he even think those things?
"Hey, are you alright kid" A voice called out to Jack, causing his head to snap up as he caught sight of Sid staring at him with what appeared to be mock concern. Sid approached as he sat down next to Jack on the bench, as he laid his head back casually. "Saw what they did to yah through the window, real friends you have there" Sid smirked at Jack.
"They were just...harmless pranks...and I never asked for your opinion" Jack grumbled, as he did his best to ignore the other teen. Staring away, he muttered "What do you want anyway"? t
"I stopped by to see if you were alright. After all, humiliating you like this isn't what I call a friendly thing" Sid snorted, as he snapped his fingers; causing a cigar to appear as he took a puff from it. Making it vanish, he said "Here's the deal, these ponies have done you a great injustice. Hurting you, and making you feel like crap. Embarrassing the shit outta ya. Tell me, have you ever heard the old saying "An eye for an eye"?
Jack stopped as he looked up, and as he said with wonder "What are you saying"?
"I'm saying that I'm bored right now since everything here is so orderly, I think throwing in a little chaos will help lighten things up and at the same time help get abit of retribution for ya for what they did" Sid shrugged as he clapped a hand on Jack's shoulder. Giving him a grin, he asked "What'd ya say to a little misconduct"?
Jack was tempted to tell this guy to go jump in a ditch and die, but when Sid placed his hand on Jacks shoulder he felt...compelled to go along with what this guy was saying. Hell, it could be fun to cause some trouble as he did many times when he was much younger. He was feeling particularly vengeful tonight as a slow smirk etched over his face, as he glanced at Sid.
"What'd you have in mind"?
Royalty meetings, and Apologies
Jack was in his own little world.
The skies were a vivid forest green, with waves of blue swaying bye with an almost angelic hum that accompanied the waves. A small chunk of rock floated in the middle of the empty space, boundless and alone. The house resembled that of a Washitsu, Japanese styled home. Within the home sat crossed legged, dressed in Japanese samurai attire was Jack; his hair slightly longer and tied into a long ponytail. Sitting in front of him was an herbal tea set, as he gently sipped in solitude.
Jack sighed as he gently sipped the tea. This was defiantly enjoyable. Ever since he had managed to get to Japan, things had gone great for him! He had managed to use the diamond he had stolen from those mobsters; he now was able to go wherever he wanted. So he chose Japan, cause he had never been and well that was one place he wanted to go to; more so than Ireland. Now he had his own home, living on his own terms and finally was away from his asshole step dad. Yep, life was grand.
Smirking, he looked over himself at his blue garments, black pants and sandal as he smirked "Heh, I even look cool". Whenever he had been on YouTube back in New York, he watched alot of Japanese films and had sort of a..Well fascination for them. So, now he sorta looked the part!
Blinking, Jack stared out the windows as he had been sitting there for...how long now? He didn't know but the green skies were certainly an amazing sight. Wait, green? That wasn't right. The skies were supposed to be blue. Whoever heard of the sky being green? Well of course, he saw it whenever he left his home...home..
Speaking of which, when did he buy this home? How long had he lived in Japan now? What city was he in? Getting up, he slowly walked towards the front door as questions plagued his mind. How did he manage to even get to Japan? He had traded the diamond when he..he...when did he trade in the diamond? As he opened the door, Jack gasped as he stepped back; blinking several times as he stared down at the empty void.
"This..this isnt...I must be..." Jack stuttered as he looked up and suddenly, as if the barrier that had been blinding him, smothering him on his view of what was real and not real; collapsed all at once.
"I'm dreaming" Jack stated as he walked back into the house, as he sat back down and tried to remember what had happened last. He was at a party, he got mad and left and...and then what had happened. He couldn't remember! Did he fall asleep when he left the party?
"Hmm hmm, this is quite a lovely home you've created for yourself" An otherworld voice chuckled out of nowhere.
"Heh heh, tis an interesting world that suits thy taste" another voice chortled, alerting the human as he looked around in disbelief in shock. Where was that voice coming from?
Jack blinked as suddenly a two bright spheres of lights spun into existence out of nowhere in front of him as he staggered backwards, shielding his eyes from the lights in shock. As the light intensified, he grunted "WH...What's going on"? The light seemed to radiate off a powerful heat, causing Jack to fall backwards onto the hard wood floor as he stared up at the spheres of light as they slowly vanished. Blinking mouth gaped, his eyes widened as two tall pony figures appeared from the light. They appeared to be of the same race, since them both had horns, wings and...Long flowing manes and tails.
One of them had a rainbow mane and tail, with cream white fur as she bore a crown. Her violet eyes danced with amusement as she looked down at the shaking human, who looked no doubt intimidated by her appearance.
The other's mane and tail, was a deep blue, that sparkled and shined as her ocean blue fur shun lightly as she raised a brow at the humans appearance. The humans clearly looked more sophisticated since the last time she saw them. She had a similar crown on her head.
"..the hell" Jack gasped up at the two. He had never seen ponies like this before. Unicorns, Pegasus but..what were these? Jack watched as the two looked at one another smirking, as they erupted into giggles. This rubbed him the wrong way, as Jack narrowed his eyes and grunted "What are you two laughing about huh"? He wasn't about to go and be mocked by two weird looking ponies.
"Hmm hmm, tis amusing that for one who pride's one being tough; Thou certainly changes tunes when comes across something thy has a hard time believe in" Luna chuckled as she trotted up to the human, and leaned down to him as she came face to face with him. Watching as he attempted to look tough, she broke that when she gave him a kiss on the forehead; just to mess with him; as she laughed at watching him back up on his rear. It seemed that ever since she came back from the moon, she had become quiet the prankster.
"Gaaah, what the hell? Who are you two" Jack demanded, as he pointed at them in anger; caught up in his emotions as he failed to notice the crowns on their heads.
"Pardon are intrusion, but we figured since we haven't properly met before; the best way to meet you was in your dream" Celestia smiled warmly as she stepped forward and introduced herself. "I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria; and goddess of the sun" she beamed. They had arrived last night to see if Jack was at the party Pinkie had set up, and yet he had left right after their arrival.
"I am Princess Luna, ruler of Equestria as well, and goddess of the moon" Luna bowed her head to the human.
"Oh shit, these two are..uhh...oh crap" Jack gulped as he realized these were the two he had been trying to meet this entire time! The two that could help him get back home, and decide his fate! Gulping, he stammered "Ahh, I uhh..I didnt..". He was surprised as Celestia stepped forward, and patted his head reassuringly.
"You certainly have quite a lounge Jack. Heh heh, much different from the last group of humans that had been here a long time ago" Celestia smiled as she noticed Jacks shocked look. Grinning, she nodded "Yup, humans had been here before. Perhaps before you ask your questions, you would care to hear"?
Jack nodded, as Celestia smiled "Long ago, this land was called Pony land and the ponies were much simpler. There were no cities, only towns. A small group of children, much younger then you had arrived to save the ponies from an evil entity called Tirak".
Jack listened to the tale of Megan, Molly and Danny, the ponies, the Rainbow of light, and how Pony land was. As the tale wrapped up, Jack blinked as he heard how eventually the children had grown up, had left and the magic of the Rainbow of light had split and ended up within two ponies; Luna and Celestia; transforming them the powerful beings they were today as they assumed responsibility over the sun and moon. He learned how the ponies had relied on Megan and the others for leadership but they decided they needed to rely on themselves in order adapt and move on. However not all was well, as tension rose between Unicorns, Earth ponies, and Pegasus as they wished to live on their own terms alone and in separation. However, they eventually found unity amongst one another when they discovered a new land that they decided to call Equestria, where they would be ruled over by a fair and just pair of royal sisters.
"Wait, this place wasn't so perfect? Ponies had problems amongst one another" Jack asked, not able to believe what he was hearing. This place seemed so…so..perfect! Ponies not fighting, getting along and living in a peaceful society. It was everything that humans wanted. World peace, unity, and no wars! "So you were a lot like humans at first but were able to learn how to get along…too bad we can't do the same" Jack grumbled as he stared down at the ground in annoyance.
"Have faith dear Jack, for although thou's race has many problems and which leads to much conflict, thy race shall eventually be led to an era of peace and prosperity" Luna smiled encouragingly to the human as she approached him. "Thou represent much struggle amongst humans I am led to believe" she asked kindly.
"That's putting it lightly, and you ponies aren't exactly perfect. My "friends" proved it last night" Jack snarled lightly to himself as he remembered how their pranks had caused him to break the last thing he had of his father, how they had laughed cruelly at his pain. He hated his friends. He hated that town. But mostly., he hated himself for allowing him to trust them.
"Ahh yes it is a tradition amongst some ponies to prank newcomers in good fun, and to help strength a bond but perhaps they had gone too far as…" Celestia drifted off as she recalled spotting the broken remains of the necklace that contained the picture.
"I'm usually really good a taking pranks, and I laughed at a few of em but..I don't know I felt really defensive that night; like they were meaning to actually hurt me or something. Then they make me break my dad's necklace, and laugh about that. That was going too far" Jack snorted, wanting to stay mad at them as he sighed bitterly. How could he face them, knowing they had mocked what he held dear to him?
"After the party, I stormed out and went for a long walk…" Jack lied, not wanting to tell the two princesses about his encounter with Sid. They didn't seem to notice as he snorted "How can I face them after what they did"? He became silent as he stared off into space sadly, finding it difficult to cope with. When his old friends moved away, he had none and had been alone for so long. He had thought had found new friends that he could count on and yet. And yet..
He said nothing as Celestia approached and softly spoke "As wondrous as friendships are, there are always problems as not all friendships are perfect. Even building up on trust there can be complications. However, I'm certain that your friends didn't mean it when they laughed. After you left, they're spirits lowered greatly". Seeing the shocked look on Jacks face, she smiled "They care about you Jack, and I could hear how sorry they were for what happened. Perhaps you should give them another chance"?
They had been sorry? He didn't expect that..after everything that had happened.
"They laughed at what I held dear..they" Jack said weakly as he tried to justice his actions, but was interrupted.
"Did they know it was dear to you? Did you tell them" Celestia asked with an edge to her voice.
That deflated any argument..he hadn't told them because he didn't want them to know. He didn't want them to know, out of fear of thinking they think he was some kind of wimp. "I didn't want them to know cause…I was afraid..they'd umm..judge me as some sort of wimp" Jack admitted downcasted.
Luna approached as she seemed to drop her Canterlot speaking voice for a more ordinary one. "I was afraid myself when I came back on Nightmare Night, the ponies reined in fear and I was afraid they were judging me for the misdeeds that had turned me into Nightmare moon. Whilst some ponies did, a few saw past all that and offered friendship to me despite my worries and constant fears. Had it not been for them, I might not have become more open about how I feel. How can they know how you feel if you don't tell them"?
Jack became silent once more, as he was left deep in thought. He never told them how he felt, because he kept shaking it off. He would hide his feelings from them, and cause he didn't explain about what the necklace was; all he said was it was important. Even if it had been damaged, he could see that it had been an accident and it hadn't been their intent to make him upset. They were sorry!
"I..don't know.." Jack softy let out, as he stared at the table at his feet. His thoughts were interrupted as he could feel a high flowing wind, sweep all around him. Looking up at Celestia and Luna, he could see them slowly vanishing. "Wait, where are you going" Jack called out to the two, not wanting to be alone as he realized that…isolating his feelings behind a wall of sarcasm was making him alone.
"Think about what we said Jack, we shall meet again" Celestia and Luna called out as their bodies' glowed blue and white. The light blazed and increased greatly as it started to approach Jack.
Jack raised his hands to protect his eyes as the light became so blinding, that he disappeared within it as he was enveloped…
"WHOA" Jack shouted as he sprung up, panting heavily as sweat poured down his brow. Shaking his head slowly, he breathed as his eyes slowly adjusted and things came into view as he realized where he was. "I'm back in the guest room of Rarity's home" he spoke to himself, as he looked around slowly. How did he get back their? What did he do last night? He..he…why couldn't he remember? Groaning, Jack rubbed his forehead as he thought "Why can't I remember anything..".
His thoughts were interrupted as his bedroom door opened, and in popped the head of Sweetie Belle as she spotted the sleepy Jack. Her features split into a wide grin as she hopped up onto the bed and tackled Jack in a hug around his neck. "Hiya Jack! Slept well" she giggled as she hopped down.
Jack was surprised by this, as he stuttered out "Why'd you do that"?
"You saved me silly! You're a hero" Sweetie Belle grinned as she said "I wanted to thank you for that! It was so awesome how you came out of nowhere whilst I was falling, caught me and went into a roll! It was fun! Dangerous and abet scary, but really fun"! Noticing the sweat on his face, she became concerned as she asked "Did you have a bad dream".
Thoughts going to Celestia and Luna, Jack lied "I..I guess I did". Blinking as he suddenly thought about last night, he asked "Ahhh, where's your sister"? He kinda hopped Rarity didn't tell Sweetie Belle anything about last night since he really didn't want to look like a wimp in front of a little kid. "She's a friend, why not tell her since she won't judge" A part of him argued. "Shut up" he thought back angrily, as he shoved the lecture back away.
"Rarity fell asleep downstairs on the couch, she was really exhausted since she didn't go to her room at all. She musta been cause she was out at that party for a long time" Sweetie said, crossing her hooves as she looked down.
"Looking for me, she was out looking for me" Jack mumbled quietly to himself. He couldn't believe it! Why would she… "Because she's my friend" he muttered again, touched that she would do such a thing for him.
"Huh? Whatcha saying" Sweetie asked curiously as she stared at the mumbling human.
"Ahh, nothing..anyway ah..what's up" dismissed Jack as he stared at the little unicorn. Noticing how shy, and detached she suddenly became; he asked "Is everything alright"?
Sweetie Belle gulped nervously as she confessed "Well umm...today is umm..show and tell at..at school. I don't really have anything to umm..show and tell to the class, but I was wondering if you…well if you wanted to umm.."
"You wanted to know if I could agree to come with you, and be paraded around in front of all your classmates" finished an extremely blunt Jack as he crossed his arms raising a brow, a hint of amusement in his voice. From what she had seen whenever they talked, she knew that he didn't like to draw attention to himself and usually kept out of the way of others. "Heh, she must really like you if she wants to go to the trouble of asking" Jack mumbled to himself.
Watching her flinch, he smiled as he kneeled down next to her. "Well..best get to um..being more open about my feelings" he thought as he pulled her into a gentle hug. "Sure thing kid, it would be good for both of us really. Me for getting to know the residents of ponyville better, and you for having something to show at show and tell" Jack remarked with a joking tone in the last thing he said, as he playfully messed up Sweetie Belles mane; inciting a laugh from her.
"Heh heh, you're funny! This is gonna be so cool! C'mon, let's go now! I want to meet up with Apple bloom and Scootaloo" Sweetie giggled as she rushed out of the room.
"Wait up" Jack called after all as he scratched the back of his head. She was full of energy that one. Nowhere near as Pinkie.
Ten minutes later, Jack was accompanying Sweetie Belle, Apple bloom and Scootaloo towards their school house, as the three chatted endlessly with one another on how exciting the escapade was. Jack was barely listening to be honest as he was focusing on well..wondering how he was gonna handle being around so many kids at once. Heck it wasn't that he was terrible with kids..or not that terrible really, but its just also he had to worry because these kids were also ponies.
He couldn't exactly say whatever the hell he felt like, since he was also gonna be in the presences of a teacher. Rolling his eyes, he chuckled "Heh, I sure gave some of my teacher's hell back when I was still in school". Yeah, after he went to live with his jackass step dad, well maybe not immediately after; he would go around and get himself in too detention constantly.
"Whoa! Look at that" Scootaloo gasped, forcing Jack out of his thoughts as she pointed at the disaster sight in Canterlots market.
Jack gasped as he stared in shock at the mess. Tables, and stands had been tipped over; spilling what occupied them. Food was smeared and scattered all over the nearby windows, with a huge amount of soapy water having completely soaked the ground; causing a lot of ponies to trip. A butt had been spray painted onto a wall, proclaiming unearth it "PONZES STINK"! A giant, paper matched of what appeared to be a dragon; had been replaced with various limbs of random animals. Finally, a broken piano had smashed on top of a statue of Princess Celestia.
"What in Equestria happened" Apple bloom gawked as she stared over at the others. "This wasn't like this the other day. Sumthin musta happened last night! Pranksters I bet" she declared determined.
"Some of these pranks aren't very nice though. I mean wrecking a statue of the Princess, or replacing a paper matches limbs with other animals" Sweetie admitted, staring lightly.
Jack meanwhile was staring hard at the disaster sight, eyes widened as he thought to himself "Wait…I left the party last night, I…I met Sid! Yeah, I remember I met him and then…then…what happened? Did..did I do this? How could I have? I would have remembered it all" Jack told himself insistently as he stared in slight sorrow at the disaster sight as he watched the ponies that were running the market, cleaning it up miserably. "Poor ponies" he mumbled as they passed by. That musta been really..
"So Jack, what happened last night" Apple bloom asked curiously, snapping Jack out of his thoughts. They really had to hurry it up since they were running late for school.
"I'm sorry..what" Jack asked, as he stared down at the earth pony. Nervousness crept into his voice, as he hoped she hadn't asked what he thought she asked.
"Well, when Applejack got home last night, she was really upset since she said you went and disappeared from the party they had thrown for you. Said you were really upset about sumthin" Applebloom admitted. Noticing the uncomfortable look on his face, Apple bloom figured she had hit the nail right on the head as she continued "Why'd you leave the party last night Jack"?
That got the attention of the other two, as they stared up at Jack innocently; wondering the same thing as Jack gulped. This wasn't good. He remembered the dream with Celestia and Luna, how they said that they wouldn't know unless he told how he felt. He could probably manage that with the girls sure..probably. But not with kids! There was some sort of unspoken rule between kids and teenagers. Teenagers had to make it appear that they were confident, cool and didnt look like a wimp. That's what he was gonna look like if he relayed how he had been hurt last night!
Crossing his arms, he lied "I…I felt tired and..and I had to go". He hoped that they would drop it at that, but he knew that was a no go when Apple bloom raised a brow as she shook her head disappointed.
"Lying isn't a very nice thing to do Jack" Apple bloom stated, not knowing she had hit a nerve. She wasn't willing to give up on the spot since her stubbornness pushed her into finding out what it was, yet she stopped when she saw his angry face.
"Alright, I am lying. Truth is, I don't want to talk about it; so please drop it" Jack responded bluntly, not looking to share his problems with them. Seeing their hurt looks, he sighed as he said "It's really personnel to me, and I don't feel ready to share it".
Scootaloo smiled, as she said "It's alright Jack, you can tell us if you want and when you're ready". Though it was obvious through her tone that she really wanted to know now, since well it was common for kids or anyone really. If someone has a secret, they want to know what it is so they can find out what the suspense is all about. Sadly, these kids were gonna be disappointed.
Shaking his head, Jack froze at the sound of multiple laughter as he slowly looked up and blinked as he spotted the school house. The red building sported a flagpole, a tower with a bell that rung to mark the start and end of classes, and a picture-sign on the lawn with an open book and the silhouettes of two rearing fillies It looked like a typical school house, as it was surrounded by fillies and foals rushing giggling towards the door way.
As Jack followed the Cutie Mark Crusaders towards the schoolhouse, he wondered to himself weather or not things would go as smoothly as he hoped it would…
Rarity was the last to enter Twilights library, barely acknowledging Twilight as she passed by as she was still wrapped in her own thoughts on what had occurred the other night.
What was supposed to be a night of fun, and thrills turned sour when Jack had left with a rather distraught look on his face. It didn't look like he had fun with the pranks that he fell for. Whilst it was traditional to prank new ponies, it was done all in the name of good fun to show how glad they were to have them here. It had never been done with a human before, so they had no idea what was going to happen that night.
Looking up, Rarity bit her lip as she saw all her friends, with similar looks of depression as what happened sunk in. They had really hurt their friend, why? Not from the pranks, though it didn't help. What had hurt him were the pieces of what the broken necklace that Twilight was holding as she showed it to the others.
"What is it" Rainbow Dash asked, as she hadn't gotten a good look at it the other night. The other ponies gathered around, as they stared down at the picture of what seemed to be an adult human, and next to him a smaller, very familiar human. "Is that..Jack" Rainbow Dash asked, staring at the boy.
"Ah think so, and that must be his dad I'd be willing to bet" Applejack mused, as she looked up. "Jack did seem rather protective of this didn't he" she asked. Receiving nods, she said "I don't understand, why he would..".
"Perhaps where he's from, his father is very far away. Living in another town, or city" Twilight logically stated as she explained "My parents still live in Canter lot, so I haven't seen them in a while myself. Maybe he misses his dad".
"Hmm, when he slipped and fell, Jack musta thought we were laughing at him for breaking his necklace. Bu..but we were laughing with him, I didn't that he would be hurt like this" Fluttershy spoke softly, as she brought up an interesting point to the others. Jack must have gotten upset because he thought they were laughing at him for breaking something that was important to him, and he thought that they hadn't taken his feelings into consideration.
"OOoo, I feel awful. If had known that necklace was so important to him because of this, then I wouldn't have come up with the pranks at the risk of breaking it" Pinkie cried out, shocked that she had gone and hurt her friend in such a manner. Looking up, she said "This is awful, we need to find Jack and apologize"!
"But we don't know where he is, and.." Twilight started to point out when Rarity interrupted.
"I think he's taken my little sister to school" Rarity spoke up softly, getting their attention. Continuing, she stated "I usually accompany Sweetie to school, and perhaps Jack did that too since when I woke up late, Sweetie was already gone; and she wouldn't have gone by herself" Rarity stated, as she thought back to how she and the others went looking for Jack last night but didn't find him. "Maybe, he came back and took her to school" Rarity suggested, hoping that was the case.
The others seemed to accept this notion, as Rainbow Dash spoke "We should apologize to him once he comes back, and do something else for him umm…". Getting an idea, she said "Hey Twilight, do you think maybe you could fix his necklace with your magic"?
Twilight beamed at this, liking the notion of being able to fix it when Rarity interrupted "I shall do it, it looks abet worn and I could make it more new for Jack so that way he'll know that we wanted to make it better for him". Receiving nods, Rarity sighed as she said "Once Jack comes back, we'll all apologize for last night's events and let him know that we'll take his feelings into consideration in the future".
"Ahh, as you all know I'm a..Jack. It's nice to meet you all" Jack bowed his head, as he stood in front of the class. Miss Cherrilee was suspired by his appearance, but glad as she saw this as an opportunity for the class to learn abit more about humans, so she allowed him to stay. Receiving a combined hello from the class of foals and fillies, Jack rubbed the back of his head as he was asked a series of questions on what he liked to do, what humans ate, and why humans had small manes.
"Curious much" Jack whispered to himself, as he rolled his eyes as he answered their questions slowly. However one question made him pause as a foal named Pipsqueak spoke up.
"Excuse me Mr. Jack, but what's your special talent" He asked innocently, wanting to know what cutie mark Jack had. That was something others had on their minds as well, they leaned forward in anticipation on what this human's talent was.
"I…well umm" Jack crossed his arms, as he stared down at his feet. That was a good question. What was his special talent in life? However, he supposes he should give them an answer as he snapped his fingers. "I suppose my special talent is my sharp tongue" shrugged an indifferent human as he chuckled at the confused looks on their faces, all but Cherrilee who was shaking her head in amusement. "Heh, you know it's bad when your acknowledging that you're a smart ass" Jack chuckled to himself as he said "But for humans it hard. When we think that we've found something we've always wanted, or gone through hardships to accomplish a goal; we think "Hey, maybe I should try something else, or I wish I had done this. It's hard for us to be sat fisted with what we've done since we always want to change in life".
"That sounds really difficult Jack, how do humans ever get things done when all their thinking about is doing something else, or wanting something else" Cherrilee asked from her desk.
"That's a mystery that even I don't know" Jack grinned jokingly, as he scratched the back of his neck. Continuing to answer their questions with patience's, he smiled as his turn was done as he went to go and sit down in a chair that the teacher had set up as he watched the next pony go up. Suddenly, something wet and slimy smacked against the side of his head. Feeling the coldness, he though "Huh"? as he saw it was a spitball shot from… He stared as he spotted Diamond Tierra and Silver spoon snickering cruelly as Silver held a small spit shooter.
He gave them a hard stern glare, but quickly shifted into a smirk as he watched Apple bloom shoot a spitball into Silver's mane, enticing a shocked cry which caused her to blush in embarrassment at her snickering classmates.
"What goes around, comes around" Jack chuckled as he watched Silver spoon give Apple bloom a nasty glare.
Jack let out a sigh as he opened the door to Rarity's home, eager to go and lie down after a long day of being at school. A rest would do him a world of good, since he wanted to go out and do more later since he separated from the kids after they went off to go and search for more things they could do to earn their cutie marks, and Jack really wasn't in the mood to do so. So as he stepped inside, the last thing he expected to see was all six of his new friends as they gave him a sad look.
Silence followed afterwards as no one said as word, obviously the events of the night before playing in their heads as they wondered how should respond to one another. Rolling his eyes, Jack chooses to break the ice as he said "Hi…". Receiving an assortment of hellos, he crossed his arms "So, what's all this about? I win the lottery or something"?
Rarity could see past his jocularity, that he was still upset as she trotted up in front of Jack as she stared into his eyes. Pulling out from behind her back the necklace, she gently placed it in Jack's hand as she stepped back to observe his reaction, silently praying that he liked what she had done.
To say Jack was stunned was an understatement as he looked down with awe at his necklace, hardly recognizing it. It had been spruced up to a obsidian black, with a red strip surrounding it that seemed to shine brightly off any reflection of light; and when Jack opened it he saw the same picture but now guarded by beautiful glass, rather than the smudged one that he was used to. Looking up slowly, he said "Yo…you fixed this up…for me"? He had wondered where his necklace had gone since he had no idea where it went and was surprised by its reappearance.
"Jack…we're all awfully sorry for what happened my dear. This necklace, this picture is very dear to you and our pranks last night caused us to thoughtlessly break it" Rarity spoke softly, sadness in her eyes.
"Jack, if we were going to far last night, then why didn't you tell us to stop" Rainbow Dash asked, as she wanted to know what kept him from speaking up.
Jack became silent as he admitted "It would have been pathetic for me to..to ask you to stop, since I figured every pony went through this and I didn't want to seem like I couldn't handle it, and..".
"If you're hurting Jack, you need to tell us. That's what friends are for! We can't read minds, and holding back makes things worse for both you and us, since it makes it appear that you don't trust us at all" Applejack explained.
"Umm..I think I saw some tears and..and we didn't mean to make you so upset" Fluttershy apologized, as she stared awkwardly at her hooves.
Finding it strange to see them all apologizing, Jack said "I don't understand, why are you…".
"Because you are our friend Jack! Friends aren't supposed to make their friends sad" Pinkie said determined as she trotted up to him, the other's following. Looking down, she said "It was traditional for ponies to prank one another in good fun to show how much we were glad to have you with us, and I guess it went too far since…what happened with your necklace breaking".
"We meant no disrespect Jack, and we hope you can accept are apologies" Twilight smiled lightly. "It doesn't matter to us weather your or a pony or not a pony, you our are friend and..we don't want to lose your friendship" Twilight admitted, smiling weakly.
As Jack sat there, staring at the ponies he thought back to what Celestia and Luna had said to him, what he had heard from the kids. What they said to him had wisdom, and they were trying to convince him to forgive and forget; but that was something he had to decide! A part of him wanted to believe them right there on the spot, to trust them without thought but..look where that had gotten him! He didn't trust them immediately upon first meeting the ponies sure, but he did learn to trust them when he spent time with them. They truly seemed apologetic, and although he could forgive them..that didn't mean he was going to trust them.
Crossing his arms, he snorted "Do you really think this is gonna make it all better? A few "I'm sorry, a hug and expecting happy ending"? No. That's not how things works. In the life I've lived, I usually give them one shot and if they turn out to not be who I thought I was…I'm not even to acknowledge their presences.
Watching the pony's expression mix with shock at what he was saying, he grunted "I can forgive you for the pranks last night as they were unintended to go so far, but this…" He pointed down at his newly crafted watch as he shook his head "This is not something I can forget so easily, and be willing to be friends again". Suddenly, he found himself unable to stop, becoming more suspicious as he accused"This was nothing more then an attempt to guilt me for my justified anger, wasn't it"? Before the ponies could erupt into protest, he raised his hand as he sighed "I treated you all as friends, if you wish for that to resume then best work to re-earn my trust, otherwise…I've got nothing to say to any of you".
With a snort, he turned on his heels and left them in silence.
For the next few days, Jack seemed awfully quiet and didn't seem as talkative towards his friends. He would wake up and eat in silence around Rarity, but be talkative with Sweetie Belle. He would do some volunteer work for Applejack in silence, yet he would communicate with Big Macintosh. It seemed that he was simply back to where he had been with his "friends" before, complete strangers and keeping his distance.For some of the town's ponies who noticed or observed his sudden change in attitude towards the ones who introduced him to the town, they had been surprised by Jack; expecting him to accept their apologies since it had seemed so simple.
But humans were much more complex it seemed, that it would take more than a simple sorry to make everything better again. No, in order to be friends again; they would need to reach out and start over. But it seemed that something was keeping them from making an approach towards Jack, for fear of him snapping at them, or rejecting their offered friendship.
Over the last few nights, Jack found himself approached by Sid, the magic endowed human. Sid would offer to take Jack around town, cause some minor mischief like spray painting some walls, wrecking some stands; heck last night they had replaced the water fountain supply with cola. The first time, Jack wasn't interested in pranking but now he was more inclined to do it willingly. Nothing too serious though, just minor stuff. It had been funny so far. He found himself trusting Sid more and more as they spent more time hanging out, maybe because he was a human, or because he was also a human and therefore easy to relate to..If you took out the whole "being able to use magic thing that is".
Jack sat in Ponyville square, on his own today, watching the other ponies trot by ideally, as he let out a tiny chuckle at the sight of the fillies and foals, dunking their faces head first in cola fountain and drink as he snorted "That stuff has defiantly gotta be dirty by now". Lying backwards on the bench, he stared up at the sun as he flinched at the brightness. That was probably one similarity between Equestria and Earth: Both suns were bright as hell.
"Heya Jack" a cheerful voice spoke up.
Sitting up, Jack looked around for the source of the voice; yet he could see no one in sight. Looking down, Jack was surprised to see Spike looking up, waving with a slight smile. Sighing, Jack patted the bench spot next to him; as he watched the dragon hop on up. Jack hadn't really spent a lot of time with Spike really since he had been going from one place to the next with the Mane 6. No, that wasn't true…he hadn't done it since he had assumed that since Spike was a dragon; that he was cruel and vicious on the first time he met him.
That was completely biased, since Spike was actually a really nice guy..err..dragon. So, he probably didn't fit into the stereotype of kidnapping princesses, and placing them in tall towers. "Though I swear if he did kidnap a princess, and then place her in a castle; I think i'd freak if I went to rescue the princess and only found a Toad that said "Sorry Jack, but your princess is in another castle". I always hated that asshole Toad, to the point where Id wanna…whoops getting off topic" he thought.
Shrugging, he smiled as he offered Spike a high five. "Spike, what's up" Jack asked casually.
Spike smirked as he high fived the human, finding him really laid back. Spike had actually kept away from him for abit, since he had noticed that Jack had kinda acted rude when he first arrived, and was..well abit intimidated by that him not being a creature of Equestria. But then after what had happened at the party, or what he had heard; he figured maybe he could use a friend! Heck, he was the only dragon in town, so that was something that he could relate to with Jack. "Not a lot, I just wanted to come and see how you were doing" Spike smiled, as he noticed Jack giving him an odd look. "What" Spike asked curiously?
"I just can't believe it" Jack chuckled, putting a hand to his head. Staring down at confused dragon, Jack smirked, pointing at the dragon "You are completely different from how dragons are described in fantasy book".
"Fantasy books? There's fantasy books about dragons? I don't get it. Why would there be since dragons are obviously real" Spike asked rubbing his head, not understanding.
Pointing at the dragon, Jack retorted "Here there real maybe, but where I'm from; dragons are make believe stuff. In some books, dragons are stereotyped as cruel, vicious and wanting to destroy. That's a pretty biased view from what I see" Jack commented.
Spike crossed his arms, rolling his eyes thinking "Oh brother, and here I was hoping that dragons were portrayed as heroes where Jacks from". Shaking his head, he said "No offense, but your world sounds kinda boring. I mean, no magic, no talking ponies..No dragons". Throwing his arms into the air, he exaggerated "How do you humans manage to go through each day without getting bored senseless. It sounds like there's not even any adventures where you're from".
"Oh they're adventures alright. We usually just don't take the leap to go for them, or don't know where to find them. Sooo, we resort to making one up". Noticing the determined look on Spikes face, Jack raised a brow as he asked "What's with the face".
Spike placed a claw into his hand palm as he said "I got it! I have an idea for an adventure, for something that we can do! Getting up, he said "You like exploring or doing active stuff right? Well why don't we head towards the outskirts of town and dig up some jewels"!
Jack stared at the dragon, in disbelief. Dig up jewels? Granted, jewels were nice to have and if he could get back to earth somehow, he'd be freaking rich; but that was it? "Ahh, no offense but is that all? Just digging for jewels because it doesn't sound very adventurous to me".
"They're the possibility of being attacked by moooonnnssters" Spike smirked, waving his digits eerily, adding a spooky effect towards them. He knew he had already won as he watched Jack look very interested now, getting to his feet.
"Monsters huh? Well, I do need something to let out some pent up stress" Jack said, a tiny smirk etching his features as he cracked his knuckles, eager for some action. Looking at the little guy, he asked "What's so special about these jewels? Do they have magical properties? If so, maybe I could learn how to use magic". Now that sounded interesting! If he knew magic, heck who knew what he could accomplish!
Spike shook his head, as he said "Their not really worth a lot, and really are just ordinary jewels to be honest". Hearing Jacks last statement, he stated "CA..can humans even use magic?".
"Huh, I don't know; I mean even if they could where would your magic come from? You don't have a horn" protested Jack, pointing up towards his hair before smirking.
"That's why I would use my hands. Magic is supposed to…eerr, well should come out of..hands" Jack commented, as he stared down at his palms; imagining lighting shooting out of the tips of his fingers like they did whenever he had a lucid dream. Those were the most fun!
"Well then, let's get going right now; I'm eager for some action" Jack chuckled as he followed the leading dragon.
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"I don't get him Twi, I really don't" Rainbow Dash said in an annoyed tone. She was pacing back and forth in Twilights library, as Twilight watched the aggravated Pegasus. Clearly the business with Jack was really getting to her. Twilight would be lying if she said it wasn't affecting her too, but it was. Rainbow Dash stopped, as she turned around and exasperated "We apologized to him, and that wasn't enough! Why?!"
Twilight placed a hoof to her chin, as she thought "Well from what I gather, it's going to take more than an apology to make things right. From where Jacks from, things are more complex and therefore harder to solve problems with an "I'm sorry. That, or maybe Jack is simply more complex himself, so we'll need to try something else then an apology".
"Well that's really lame. I mean, what else can we do" Dash pouted, plopping down on a chair. She was bummed not only from Jack announcing that an apology wouldn't go, but because she didn't get a chance to race and hang out with him. Heck, she had been looking forward to seeing what he was capable of in an agility course since that seemed to be a specialty of his! Now she wasn't gonna be able to get that chance with him upset.
"Maybe you should just go over their" Twilight suggested, still working up on a plan on what she and Jack could do to spend time together. She had admittingly expected Jack to come back after abit when he left to say he didn't mean what he said,but when he didn't that got Twi thinking that they were the ones that needed to make things right! "Hmm, what could he like that we could do together..hmmm" Twi thought.
"What do you mean? Just go over that just like that" Rainbow Dash snorted, finding that way too easy. "And what then" Dash insisted, wanting to see if Twi was serious or not.
"Well, whatever you wanted to do with him; ask if he would like to do it. You'd be able to re-earn his trust faster and that way you'd become friends again" Twilight insisted, as she suddenly got an idea! Jack was really skeptical and supposedly fascinated with magic; or at least that's the impression that she got from him when they first met! Perhaps she could ask him to participate in some magical experiments! Attribute increasing, transformation, personality change; that would certainly be a way to past the time and who knows! He might find it fun!
"I need to ask him that the next time I see him" Twilight thought, suddenly becoming excited as not only was it an opportunity to find out more about humans, but it would be a good way to re-earn Jack's trust!
"So you're saying that I should just fly out there, go looking for Jack and ask him if he wants hang again" Rainbow asked skeptically. Putting a hoof to her chin, she shrugged lazily "Meh, why not! Better than just sitting around here and doing nothing all day"! Turning to face the window, she smirked "Then I'm outta here! If you see Jack stop by; tell him that I'm looking for him"!
With a zoom, she soared out of Twilights window.
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"C'mon Jack, they're around here somewhere! We just need to dig em up" Spike grinned excitedly as he looked around at the landscape of boulders, and dirt. Examining the ground closely, he said "For unicorns they can look through the earth and see them, or use their horns to track the jewels, but for dragons we can feel them by the vibration stuff they give off. Hmm..Let's see here" Spike thoughtfully mused, pressing his claws against the dirt.
"Yeah, yeah..Jack muttered absent-mindedly as he dug around at the dirt bored. This was Spikes idea of an adventure? Pfft, not exactly what Jack had in mind for one! Heck, sure it had been fun to come out here on the outskirts of town, but this wasn't what he had in mind for adventuring. Kicking at some dirt, he decided to see if he could find out if Spike was any fun. "Soo Spike, have you ever done anything uhh..crazy" Jack asked bluntly.
Spike blinked as he looked up thoughtfully as he smiled "Well, there was this one time where I thought I was gonna be replaced by Twilight with her pet owl". As Spike told about what happened, what his plan was and what he had dressed up as; He was surprised to see Jack snort with laughter. "Huh? What? What's so funny" Spike asked in a mixture of confusion and aggravation.
Jack shook his head as he said "Y..you actually dressed up in a cape, top hat and for effect; added a twirly mustache"? Snorting, he smirked "Next thing you know, you'll tell me that you tied your girlfriend to the rail road tracks, whilst a train is speeding down it at a hundred miles an hour". Realizing his confused expression, Jack explained "The stuff you wore sounded like something from my world; a character named Snivley Whiplash; old timey villain that did stereotypically villainous things".
Spike blinked as he glanced up and imagined Rarity being in that situation. Her tied to a rail road track, calling for help as Spike charges to the scene; in his knightly form, as he bravely defeated Snively Whiplash. Leaning in for a kiss, he grinned lightly as he thought of the heroic dream of him saving Rarity as he smirked "Heh heh, that does sound kinda nice actually".
Jack reached down to grab a pointed rock, but froze as it felt..leathery. "The hell" Jack mused as he gripped the earth, and pulled up as he yanked up something through the dirt and found himself staring into the yellow eyes of a…muscular dog like creature. It had large muscles; bore a dirty green vest and pants as it snarled at Jack for holding its ear. Sweating, Jack chuckled nervously as he tried "Err…sorry"?
BIFF! OOF!
Jack was sent flying backwards, landing with a grunt on his back, as he rubbed his cheek. "Well now, that wasn't very nice" Jack muttered as he got to his feet. Blinking, he stared as suddenly from the ground popped up two more of this dog like creatures, all similarly muscular and ugly looking. "Err, Spike what are these things" Jack asked as he backed up, narrowing his eyes.
Spike stared as he backed up next to Jack, as he stuttered "Di..di..di..Diamond dogs"!
Jack raised a brow, as he pointed "You kidding me? These guys are the diamond dogs"? Looking them up and down, he noticed their dog like feature and how whilst they appeared strong; he knew that appearances could be deceiving. Him for example could to these guys appear to be a weak, inferior creature that can't possibly defend itself from them. That's probably what they were thinking since they kept glancing at one another; chatting amongst themselves.
A slow smirk etched Jacks features as he cracked his knuckles, suddenly feeling an urge to get the blood pumping. "Best way..a good ol fashion brawl" Jack smirked as he lunged at two of them; nailing one in the jaw with a right hook, and his buddy with a back handed fist. Wincing, he grunted "Ooh, you guys have rough skin; but I can tell that hurt you more than it hurt me"!
"Jack! What are you doing" Spike demanded, surprised by Jacks rash actions as he rushed next to him.
"What's it looking like I'm doing? I'm burning off my anger by taking it out on these assholes! Looks like their faces got beat with the ugly stick" Jack taunted, knowing that would rile up the dogs as they slowly started to surround the two. Shifting into a fighting stance, Jack beckoned with his fingers "Come get some...".
One of them charged at Jack like a rapid dog (pun intended); with a murderous glint his eye as he reached for the scrawny creature! It was surprised as it lunged at it, as it leaned back; avoiding a slash across its chest as it whirled around and kicked the dog in the back; sending it sprawling to the ground!
"Hoo boy" Jack laughed, whirling around in time to see one of the dogs take a wild swing at his head! Ducking under the swing, he used the dog's momentum against him as he smacked his arm away from himself as Jack brought his knee up and with a grunt, nailed the diamond dog in the chest. He watched with satisfaction as the creature let out a moan of pain, gripping his gut from where all the wind had been sucked out of. Nodding, Jack then grabbed the dog by the neck as he reared his fist back and socked him one in the chin.
Shaking his fist, Jack grunted "Oh damn, your skin is tough". He let out a gasp of surprise as suddenly he was grabbed from behind, and lifted up in a bear hug as he squirmed to get himself free. Grunting, Jack remarked "Yeah, real tough getting me in bear hugs! Can't fight me like a man..or a dog? Or whatever"! Looking ahead, he flinched as a dog was about to lunge and bite at his neck! "Oh crud" Jack thought, eyes widening.
Spike however who had been both shocked, and filled with awe at the moxie that Jack was displaying; decided he wasn't gonna let his friend handle this alone. Leaping into the air, he used the edge of his tail to drill against the diamond dog's back. Watching as the dog yelped in pain, he whirled around growling to face Spike who let smirked cockily, inhaling and exhaled a spew of green fire; scorching the dog's chest!
Jack felt the dog's grip loosen as he ducked, and watched the other dog sail overheard and bite his buddy in the neck; causing the scorched dog to let out a higher shout of pain. Smirking, he delivered a leg sweep to the dog's ankle, sending the two sprawling on top of one another. Whirling around to face two more, Jack smirked as he shouted "Pile on"! Tackling the two to the ground, he went into a roll as he got back up and pumped his fist into the air. "That's right! That all you got"!
Spike meanwhile was on the run as the one he burned was chasing him straight towards another whose back was turned. Getting an idea, he kicked at the dog's hind leg, forcing him to turn around just in time! The one chasing Spike yelped as he collided with his buddy, getting a laugh from Spike, apparently the enthusiasm that Jack had was spreading out towards him! "This is great" He grinned, not able to stop himself.
"C'mon, can't we just talk about this" Jack mock pleaded as he defended himself from a dogs swipes with a thick stick he had picked up, as he used it to block and deflect the dog's wild attacks. Jack may not be a resident of this world, but he could clearly see that the dog wasn't too smart for someone so big. "Following the "strong but dumb" routine I take it" Jack grinned, watching as the creature fumed with anger as he let out a mighty roar and slashed through Jack stick. Jack leaned back and received a slice through his hoodie, as he looked down and thankfully didn't see blood.
As Spike rushed next to Jack, Jack glanced down at the little guy. "Hey Spike, how much more of the shooting fire can you do" he asked, or more was asking how powerful he could make it.
"I can make it pretty powerful but I don't want to lose control" Spike retorted as the two watched as the dogs slowly started to circle the two of em. "Why Jack, do you have an idea" he asked.
Jack glared at the dogs with a cocky smirk, as he whispered "I think I do. However you turn up the power of your fire breathes, does so now and is ready to unleash it". As the dogs moved in closer, Jack eyed Spike as he watched Spike inhale a huge amount of breathe as he held it in, looking at Jack for confirmation and watched as..Jack loosened one of his shoes?
The dogs looked at one another in confusion as they snarled. Whatever plot the human was trying to pull, they weren't about to be fooled again and made out to be losers! Leaning back, the dogs lunged at the two; ready to pummel them!
"Now" Jack thought as he leaned down and gripped Spike, as he tossed the little guy into the air above him. Using his free foot and hands, he punched and kicked away at the dogs that attempted to lunge at him, as he suddenly balanced himself on his hands as he raised the foot with the loosen shoe into the air, making sure that Spike was falling back down; somehow his breathe still being held. Catching him with him on the ball of his shoe, he started to spin himself in place, moving his hands to keep himself spinning, shouting "Go for it"!
Spike burped as he let out a torrent of green fire, spewing around; nailing all the dogs that were attempting to attack them; causing them to scattered back in fear and pain. Spike awed in shock as he finished spewing fire as he watched the dogs grip their burnt, and some flaming chest in pain, collapsing to the ground. "That was Jack's plan" Spike thought, thinking about how nuts and..and cool it was!
Apparently having had enough of being humiliated by a little dragon, and a human; the dogs yelped as they turned tail and scattered away from the boys, leaving them in silence as naught but the blowing wind comforted them. They slowly looked at one another. As if reading each other's minds, their blank expressions shot into cocky grins, letting out a cry of victory! "WOO HOO! Yeah! That's right" Jack laughed, jumping up and down at how much of a rush that was!
"That was awesome! I can't believe we did that! The plan of yours was completely nuts, but it was completely cool at the same time" Spike grinned widely, still having a hard time believing that they were both alive and having pulled off something so cool! Blushing, he remarked "I had no idea I could really increase my power in my fire that much too actually hurt those dogs".
"Heh, looks like you were a lot tougher then you thought huh little guy" Jack grinned, giving Spike an encouraging pat on the back. As Jack was about to ask exactly how he had been able to hold in the fire without throwing it all up, he was surprised as suddenly a powerful gust of wind shot by him, causing Jack to raise his hands to shield himself from unexpected wind. Looking around rapidly, he blinked in shock as he watched as ascertain rainbow manned Pegasus landed in front of him.
"Heh Heya Jack" Rainbow Dash grinned, deciding to go for the upbeat and cheerful approach as she noticed the look of surprise on his face, shift into awkwardness. "Oh great, still upset. Hmm, maybe I should back out I mean..this…wait, what am I saying! I'm Rainbow Dash! I can do anything I set my mind too" she thought determinedly.
Jack kept his arms crossed as he stared at the Pegasus. "What do you want" he asked bluntly, gasping as Spike rushed past him to greet Dash.
"Rainbow Dash! You missed it! Jack and I fought off a gang of diamond dogs! It was so cool! They were coming at us from all sides! But we kicked their butts, like this" Spike grinned excitedly as he started punching and kicking at the air as if he was hitting some targets.
"What? There was a fight just now and I missed it all? Aww Celestia that sucks! I shoulda been here earlier" Rainbow Dash pouted, upset that she had just missed a throw down.
Shrugging, she smiled "Aw well; I managed to find you Jack and that's all that matter" she smiled lightly as she trotted up towards him, eager to tell him of her idea. She froze as suddenly he snorted, and turned away. "Oooo you won't be mad for long "she thought smugly, as she said "Jack, I came to find you because I wanted to see if you wanted to be in a race that I managed to set up for just the two of us in Ponyville square"?
"A race in ponyville? What kind" Spike asked, speaking up as Jack raised a brow at Dash's eagerness.
"Heh, only the most awesome race you'd ever get the opportunity to be in! It's filled with set up traps to keep ones adrenaline pumping, and requires more agility then speed; something that Mr. Human here seems to aspire in" Dash grinned, noticing him look away. Shrugging, she said "What'd you say Jack? Are you up for a race"?
"As tempting as that sounds I'm gonna say no" Jack shrugged indifferently, turning his back on Dash. It defiantly appealed to his competitive side, and he did like anything that kept him moving; but he didn't know if he could trust Dash enough yet for something like this. However, all doubt seemed to throw out the window on what she said next.
Narrowing her eyes in frustration, Dash rolled her eyes as she thought "Darn it! He's so stubborn. Alright then, if I can't appeal to his competitive side, guess a wound to the pride will do". Shrugging, she lazily commented "Hey, it's cool. If you're scared, and know that you obviously wouldn't stand a chance against me then I wouldn't blame you. I'd be scared of me". She smirked as she saw him flinch, knowing that she had hit the right spot.
Jack slowly turned to face her, any sense of reason been tossed aside and replaced by a senseless need to protect his pride; as he retorted with a low, annoyed tone "Come again"?
"Oh you heard me. But hey! It's completely cool. I don't blame ya for being scared, since it's obvious that you wouldn't win in any sort of contest against me" Dash continued on, baiting Jack as she knew she was defiantly getting under his skin.
Now Jack was getting angry, as he felt his temper rise. He wasn't about to let himself be talked down to by a rainbow styled pony! Storming up to her, he retorted "I could handle anything that you throw at me Rainbow Dash, anything at all. If you think I'm just gonna sit here and let you talk down to me like this; you're sorely mistaken. You wanna race me so badly, fine"! Poor sucker had no idea he had just been played..
Rainbow Dash couldn't hold back a grin, as she remarked "Awesome! I hope your prepared to eat my dust Jack, because dust is all your gonna see when we race". She then spat into her hoof, as she offered to shake Jacks hand in a sign of hard core competiveness.
"Humph" Jack smirked back with eagerness to prove her wrong, as he spat into his hand and shook her hoof tightly. "I really do hope you realize what you've gotten yourself into Dash" he said low as he watched her nod.
"Heh, alright then…lets head there right now" She laughed as before giving a chance for Jack to speak, she flew up into the air and under him and Spike; bringing them onto her back as she zoomed off at high speed towards Ponyville. "Hoooooldd onnnn" she called up to them playfully, as she started to do barrel rolls whilst soaring through the air; surprised at how well she could handle herself with the extra weight of a human.
Jack himself was surprised by how agile she was, and how athletic she could be to pull something like this! If this was how she could handle things when she wasn't competing, he could only wonder what she was like whenever she was racing! Probably fast, aggressive and cocky as well. "Kinda like me really, cept I'm better" Jack thought to himself with a slight snort, shaking his head in exasperation.
Landing in Ponyville, Jack stumbled off of Dashes back; as his balance slowly returned. She defiantly did live up to the name Rainbow Dash after all. Looking up at her, he commented "Not bad". That got back at her, as he noticed her mood shift to prideful, as he smirked at the retaliation.
"Say what? Not bad eh? Oh you'll see more then not bad once we start through this" Rainbow Dash dramatically announced as she pointed out over towards the obstacle course she had set up. It involved climbing up a large rope ladder, hopping over a high fence and crawling through tire tubes, scaling up a wall whilst logs were tossed down from above, then sliding down a huge slide whilst sliding to avoid bumping into some hard cushioned dodge balls and finally ending it with; jumping over a high gap and through a ring of fire! "If you wanna get through this course, you'll need style, endurance, radicalness, and awesomeness" Rainbow Dash declared cockily.
"Aren't those last two the same thing" Jack asked ideally, raising a brow at Dash's sheepish grin.
"Maybe to someone who isn't that awesome" Dash playfully jabbed, knowing she got Jack who glared at her.
What Jack didn't realize was that Dash had gone around, and asked if the others wanted to watch her and Jack go through this course, and race to get to the finish as fast as possible. A small crowd had already gathered on the side of this makeshift obstacle course, as the rest of the mane six moved into the crowd; spotting Dash and Jack exchanging banter.
"Alright then Jack, are you ready to lose" Dash commented, as he pointed at her wings. "To make this fair since you don't have wings, I won't use mine; I'll still beat you even without them though" she grinned at him.
"Humph, losing the wings is a mistake that will cost you once I leave you in the dust" Jack retorted as stepped up to the starting line confidently. Leaning down, he grunted as he stared at Dash who did the same. This would probably be his one shot in showing her up on who exactly was the best when it came to some things, so it was probably best that he didn't blow it.
"Ready to go? On three! One! Two…" Dash paused for dramatic affect as she looked over at how determined Jack appeared a fire in his eyes as he nodded slowly. "Three" she grinned as the two shot off like a pair of bullets! Dash grinned as she rushed towards the ropes, lunging at it as she wrapped her hooves around the rope, and started to pull herself using naught but her hooves.
Hearing the cheering of the crowd sent shivers down Jacks spine, as he was reminded that they were being watched and that if he didn't want to go and make a fool outta himself; he had to be ready for anything that Dash through at him. Leaping at the rope, he locked his legs around the bottom and his hands around the top as he used his own body weight to pull himself up rigorously, thinking about how he was gonna celebrate his victory upon winning, glancing up at how high the rope was.
Dash smirked as she managed to get herself up first to the top and vaulted herself over the high wall, going into a roll and took off into a hard trot towards the next objective, already having the time of her life in this awesome race!
Jack reached the top, as he hurled himself over; going into a roll as he spotted the tire tubes and Dash already inside. Diving into the tubes, Jack grunted as he started to quickly crawl on his hands and knees in an attempt to get through as quickly as possible, letting out a light swear as he staggered and almost tripped himself up. Recovering, he glanced at the other set of tubes across at the equally determined Rainbow Dash, apparently having it in her head that she was gonna beat him. "Heh, not likely" he snorted.
Dash grunted as she felt herself get caught for a moment, as she muttered "No way, I'm not gonna lose like this"! Putting in more pressure and more, she forced her way through as she went into a gentle roll; shaking her head in exasperation. "Hah hah" Dash grinned as she scrambled towards the wall, finding Jack already making his way up.
Jack grunted as he climbed up the sides, as he muttered to himself "Huh, I was expecting something more challenging than this, but this is much easier than I expected" Jack smirked to himself, finding that he was having fun testing himself by scaling up this mighty and high wall. However, he failed to notice the two burly stallions above that were lifting up heavy logs and…tossing them down? "Son of a bitch" Jack swore as he tossed himself aside, feeling the breeze shoot by as a log almost hit him.
Dash smirked as she climbed upwards, leaping from one side to another. "Better hurry Jack, or you'll get left beehiiinnnd" Dash called in a sing song voice; finding this way too easy even without wings. She had to admit she didn't think Jack would last this long since he didn't seem like the endurance type. Guess he proved her wrong.
Jack heard her taunting as he shook his head. "I aint gonna lose" he shouted determined as he lunged himself upward, leaping from one gap to the next of the wall as he ducked his head down, and pressed himself against the wall whenever a log came down. As he reached the top, he vaulted himself over the wall and found himself going down a long slide! "WHooooooooooaaaaooooo" Jack shouted, as he underestimated how high up he had scaled!
Dash had to suppress a giggle out of fear of it affecting her coolness as she instead used a whooping of laughter, as she called over to Jack. "Best not get to comfortable" she grinned as she pointed back up at the top of the slides to two unicorn stallions, who lifted up..large..red..dodge balls and kicked them down after the two!.
Realizing he was a sitting duck, Jack gasped as he turned back around and started to maneuver himself to try and get himself out of the way of the balls. Dodging the first one, feeling the wind fly by, he sighed with relief as he thought that if he kept up his speed and distance, he could beat Dash still! However what he didn't realize was that although the balls were meant to go around rapidly in all directions, one came straight towards him deliberate as if it was being controlled".
Dash spotted this, as she panicked "Jack look out"!
Hearing Dash call his name, Jack slowly turned around in time as his expression shifted to shock as..POW! "Aaaaggg" Jack gasped as at the force that the ball was rolling down, and being how it was two times his size; it smacked into him and sent him into a spiral as he slipped off the edge of the large slide; a good thirty feet above ground as Jack let out a moan of pain.
"W..what the…no.." Jack thought in horror as he realized what was happening. He was going to die!
"JACK" Dash shouted in worry, as she leaped into the air and zoomed down towards him; watching with horror as he was about to hit the ground. Glaring, she gritted her teeth as she zoomed under Jack and, caught him just in the nick of time. Whipping sweat from her brow, she turned and gave Jack a weary smile. "You alright" she asked lightly, wondering if Jack was hurt
Leaning up, Jack stared at her as realized that she had him dead to rights! He was gonna appear extremely ungrateful with her if he didn't trust her since..she did just save his life! You couldn't get any more trustworthy then that so he didn't have a choice. Plus, he did have fun with racing her and she didn't set up that last part or at least he thought she didn't since if she had; then she'd a gone ahead and kept racing. He'd probably survive a fall like that…probably. Sitting up, he said "Rainbow Dash…thank you…" he spoke simply, his thoughts going back to the race as he wondered why that ball had come straight after him like that.
"Just being awesome" she smirked, rubbing a hoof against his hair playfully.