A trip to the land where equines rule Chapter 3: New Clothes, Parties, and Races, What the Hell is going on?

Story by Jake Shadow Wolf on SoFurry

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#3 of A trip to the land where equines rule

Chapter 3 in my MLP story and things start to get interesting.


I woke up the following morning to the feeling of someone, or something nuzzling my neck. At first I thought it was my dog and I was back home, that maybe it had all been a dream then I heard a very horse like snort and sighed. I opened my eyes and glanced over my shoulder at Big Macintosh who seemed to be pressed against me unintentionally. I slipped out of the bed and stretched wincing as I pulled the burn on my chest then walked downstairs. Granny Smith was sitting in her rocker watching Apple Bloom who was groaning about having class in about an hour or two. I looked up and realized that it was just barely sunrise and mumbled "How long did I sleep?"

Apple Jack walked up with her hat on, and a lasso over her shoulders and said "About seven or eight hours. I expected you to sleep in longer and Big Macintosh to be up by now. What the hay did you do to my brother?" I blinked and said "I woke up being cuddled by him. Other than that I didn't do anything." Apple Jack stared at me at a loss for words while Apple Bloom burst out laughing. After a few minutes Big Macintosh came running down the stairs and stopped dead when he saw me. He blushed slightly and said "Sorry bout this morning, you were just really warm."

I stared at him along with Apple Jack, whose jaw had dropped, and Apple Bloom, who was laughing her rear end off. I gently nudged Apple Bloom who stopped laughing and said "It's ok Big Macintosh, I understand." I shrugged and said "We'll worry about why you were cuddling me later. Well, I guess we should get to work, unless you guys don't plan on getting a crop today?" That spurred Apple Jack into motion because she harnessed herself up to a wagon and started out into the orchards. I sighed and followed along behind her as Big Macintosh did the same and Apple Bloom waited for Scootaloo to show up on her scooter.

We walked into the first set of trees then I watched as Apple Jack kicked one of the trees starting to fill her cart with apples. I walked over to a tree across from her then shrugged to myself and punched it. I winced slightly at the pain in my hand, but suddenly apples started falling from the tree as it shook. I stared at it and saw a bruise on the trunk then mumbled "What the heck? I couldn't do that back home." I rubbed the tree's trunk and watched as it healed from the blow I'd just landed on it then started to gently lob the apples into Apple Jack's cart. However I overestimated the distance and force required, and ended up throwing the apples into the tree she was bucking causing them to explode and coat her in apple juice.

She looked over at me with a surprised expression and said "Why'd you do something like that?" I blinked and said "It overshot the cart; I guess I don't know my own strength." She slowly nodded then tossed an apple at me with her teeth I watched it fly through the air almost as if it was in slow motion then snagged it and took a bite. She stared at me then said "Well, I'll be. I didn't expect anyone to move that fast. The apple was about to hit you and you just grabbed it out of the air like there was nothing to it. How'd you do that?" I stared at her over the half eaten apple then lowered it and swallowed with a simple "What do you mean?"

She glared and said "I'm serious. You just snagged that apple out of midair like it was travelin' no faster than a pony walks. How'd you do that?" I shrugged and said "I saw the apple coming toward me and just grabbed it. I didn't realize you threw it that hard. Then again, it seemed almost as if the apple was moving in slow motion when I watched it, and my hand was moving at normal speed." Apple Jack shook her head and said "Whoa there cowboy, your hand wasn't moving at regular speed. Your hand was moving three times as fast as I'd seen it do earlier. Also that apple was travelling at a pretty good pace, I was trying to get you back. You sure you weren't doing anything special?"

I thought about it for a good five minutes or so then said "Not really, the only thing I did was tossed the apples." Apple Jack stared at me a while then said "Well I guess if you don't know how ya did it, ya don't know. Let's get back to work." I nodded and picked up the apples then piled them on her cart, which she promptly took back to the barn as I started kicking and punching a few more trees, causing the apples to fall down like a fresh spring rain. After about ten minutes my knuckles, and the bottoms of my feet, were raw and bloody. I fell to the ground panting as Apple Jack walked up dragging three carts behind her.

She looked from me to the apple trees then back and said "Looks like ya over worked yourself, partner." I smiled at her from my spot on the ground and said "I wanted to pay you guys back for taking care of me the last two days." Apple Jack just shook her head and said "Dear Celestia, cowboy. You don't know when to quit? We didn't expect you to pay us back at all, let alone work yourself back into the ground for us. How're you supposed to get better if you keep pushing yourself?"

I grinned at her and said "Easy, if I push myself that means my limits have been set to a new standard. My knuckles and feet might be bloody now, but in a day or two they'll be all healed up and I can do twice the work I did today." Apple Jack shook her head then started tossing the apples in the carts muttering about stubborn cowboys. I laughed and asked "Hey Apple Jack, what gave away the fact I was a cowboy." She glanced at me as she set another apple in the carts and said "First off your attitude is a lot like mine and Big Macintosh's, second you know how to sweet talk a girl yet be firm. Third, only a cowboy or cowpony would stand up to the apple family in quite the way you did. Last but not least, you managed to have a down home accent without really trying, which is hard for most city folks."

I shrugged and said "I spent a lot of my life in the city, but always feel most at home on a farm, though where I come from I prefer ranching." She stared at me confused and I said "Working with animals in a farm like setting. Farms are great, but ranches are better. Then again, since all the animals we consider ranch animals back home are actually sentient here, I guess ranching wouldn't be as fun." She stared at me lost and I said "Horses and Cows aren't as smart where I come from, as they are here. Though I sometimes wonder if we humans don't delude ourselves into thinking they're not very smart."

Apple Jack nodded and said "I sometimes wonder about things like that too, although not about ponies and cows. I was thinking more about rabbits and squirrels. Speaking of which Fluttershy should be over to make sure the varmints don't attack the tree's again. You want a lift back to the barn, since the carts are full, and you really can't work much more." I smiled and said "Sure Apple Jack, I'd love a lift. Seeing as how I don't think it'll be very easy for me to walk with my feet as they are." Apple Jack just sighed and walked over then bent down and pulled me onto her back I slowly shifted so I was comfortable then said "Sorry about putting you out like this Apple Jack. I hate relying on others."

She let out a soft whinny of irritation and said "Gosh darn it, ya need to stop thinking like that. It's alright to rely on people. I mean if you don't, how're you ever going to get anythin done? Heck I was the same way come Apple Bucking Season, but Twilight and the others showed me just how wrong I was. Now I guess it's my turn to show you." She walked over to the cart and I slid off her back into it as she harnessed up then started back for the farm. It took about twenty minutes to head back, when it should have only taken ten, because of my injuries. As soon as we arrived Nurse Redheart rushed over and started checking me over. She tsked over my injuries then looked at me and said "Looks like I'll have to put you back in bed." As she said that I glanced at my hands and noticed that the scrapes had healed a little bit and had a fresh layer of skin over them.

I glanced at my feet and saw they were the same way then mumbled "What the hell? I don't understand why my body is healing so fast." Nurse Redheart heard what I said and started studying my wounds then asked "They were worse than this?" I nodded and said "Yeah, they were deeper, there was less skin, and they were bloodier." She slowly nodded and mumbled "That is strange." Suddenly she smiled at me and said "Well if you're healing so quickly, you'll probably be up and about in no time." I nodded and closed my eyes just reclining on the apples. Suddenly I heard someone saying "Watch out, fastest flyer in Ponyville coming through!" I opened one eye and saw a rainbow colored blur flying at me, so I instinctively rolled out of the cart onto the ground swearing in a multitude of languages.

The rainbow colored blur slammed into the apple cart and knocked it on its side then stopped dead and said "Dang it, that trick didn't go anything like I expected." I slowly pushed myself up, then got up to my feet and yelled in her face "WHAT THE HELL KIND OF BONEHEAD WOULD DO SOMETHING THAT NOT ONLY PUTS THEMSELVES IN DANGER, BUT ALSO ANYONE WHO GETS IN HER WAY!!!!" I took a deep breath to continue when Apple Jack coughed softly and said "Jake, I think you need to calm down." I nodded and let out a soft sigh then waited for the young rainbow colored horse in front of me to let me know why she did that.

The girl took a deep breath then said softly "First off, the name's Rainbow Dash, creator of the sonic Rainboom, and fastest pony in Ponyville." I sighed and said "Nice to meet you Rainbow Dash. I'm Jake, the guy you bloody well tried to kill just now," sarcasm, followed by anger creeping into my voice as I continued speaking. Apple Jack elbowed me and said "Now be nice Jake. Rainbow didn't mean to hurt anyone. She was just practicing a new trick." Rainbow started to nod with Apple Jack, then seemed to get defensive and said "What were you doing sleeping on one of Apple Jack's carts, anyway?" I blinked slightly taken aback then said "My hands and feet were bleeding so Apple Jack let me ride them back to the barn."

Rainbow Dash let out a very unladylike snort and said "A likely story. If that's the case why aren't your feet bothering you right now, and why do your 'hands' just look like they're covered in scars?" I followed her eyes to my hands then shrugged and said "I guess my body healed itself a lot quicker than I thought. Why, do you think I'd lie about that?" Rainbow Dash studied me then said simply "I'm just saying you're not hurt right now. However if you're so worried that you might be lying, it makes you seem pretty suspicious." I glared at her and said "If you're going to call me a liar, then say it to my face. Otherwise you can take me at my word." She thought about it then turned to Apple Jack and said "Hey AJ, were his 'hands' and feet bleeding earlier?" Apple Jack nodded and said "Yep. Kinda surprised me, cause he was helping me apple buck and over did it."

Rainbow stared at me a bit then said softly "Alright, you win this round. Doesn't mean I accept everything you say. How'd you get here? Why were you helping AJ harvest the apples? Most importantly, what's with your superior attitude?" I glared at her and said "The first one is none of your business. The second one is I was repaying a debt to the apple family. The last one, I don't have a superior attitude. I just think you're an arrogant mule. No offense." Rainbow glared at me then replied sarcastically "Oh none taken. You know it's not like I'm never called it. I actually consider it a term to describe how cool I am."

I stared at her a few seconds then burst out laughing and held up a hand for a high five and said "Nice one fly girl, nice one. I gotta give you props for the sarcasm in that one." Rainbow stared at me a few seconds then gave me a hoof to hand high five and said "Thanks. I kinda expected you to be a bit madder when I gave as good as I got." I smirked and said "I don't take it offensively when people give it as good as they get it. I actually have to give you props for that one, because your sarcasm was grade a." Rainbow stared at me a bit then said "I guess you're not so bad. Want a race?"

I thought about it for a bit then said "Once I get my clothes from Rarity, sure." She stared at me and said "You let Rarity make your clothes?" I slowly nodded and she said "Oh god. Excuse me while I go make sure she keeps your stuff cool." Then she zoomed off. I turned away from where Rainbow had just been to see Apple Jack staring at me with a surprised expression. I blinked at her and said "I know I'm good looking, but seeing as you've seen me multiple times that can't be why I'm getting that look." Apple Jack continued to stare a little bit then said "You're the first person to ever get along with Rainbow at their first meeting. How'd ya do it?"

I thought about it for a bit then said "In all honesty Apple Jack, I just let out my more...arrogant attitude. Rainbow didn't like it too much, however when I went back to the attitude you're more used to she decided she preferred that. So she tried to become friends rather than constantly clash with me." Apple Jack stared at me then said "I'm starting to think you could give Twilight a run for her money in the smarts department." I blinked and said "I'm not so sure about that. Twilight tends to aim for the higher intellectual arts, while I prefer to aim at doing work with my hands, or the creative arts." Apple Jack stared at me and said "Higher inteli what? What exactly are the creative arts?" I sighed and said "The higher intelligent Arts. Meaning she prefers to act like a scholar. While I prefer the creative arts, such as writing, sculpting, and carving things. I mainly do that when there isn't any work to be done."

Apple Jack nodded understanding things a lot better with that little bit of explanation then said "So what makes you say you aren't so much of a scholar?" I shrugged and said "I prefer to spend my time spinning stories, and working out in the fields over sitting in a room reading books and studying histories." Apple Jack slowly nodded and said "I can agree with the last part. I hate having to read when I could be out helping clean up the fields, or baking some new treat with the farm's apples. Heck I don't know that many ponies that would want to be reading a book when they could be doing something else, well 'cept for twilight. Now I see why you say she's more of a scholar than you." I nodded and yawned then got up and said "How about we take a walk into town and see how Rarity's coming along with all those outfits I asked for?"

Apple Jack nodded and motioned for me to lead on then the two of us started into Ponyville. As we walked Apple Bloom suddenly ran and caught up to us with a simple "I gotta get to school, and I felt like walking with yawl." Apple Bloom glanced at me and asked "So Jake, why you headed to town with my big sis?" I just smiled at her and said "I need to get my clothing from Rarity. If I don't then I'm going to feel really, really, awkward as time goes on. I know you ponies aren't big on clothing but, well I don't have hair covering me protectively." Apple Bloom studied me a while then smiled slightly and said "I see what ya mean. I guess it would help if you had something to wear besides your skin."

I nodded and glanced at Apple Jack who had a suspiciously serious face and wouldn't look at us. I also noticed she refused to stare at me very long and would occasionally shake her head as if pushing away things she didn't want to think about. I shrugged and brushed it off deciding I was being too paranoid and started a discussion with Apple Bloom about how to get her cutie mark. She argued with me regularly on it, however eventually she conceded I had a few good points after mumbling something about me being more stubborn than Big Macintosh and Apple Jack together. I chuckled and waved her off as she ran to school then dropped back to walk alongside AJ who was looking up as if she expected trouble. I coughed softly and she looked at me questioningly.

I smiled and said "Copper for your thoughts?" She snickered and said "My thoughts are worth a lot more than copper." I shrugged and said "Fine, a couple pounds of silver for your thoughts?" She smiled at that and said "I'm just amazed no one's come up to bug us yet. I was expecting at least a few ponies to walk up and ask questions, I guess twilight convinced the town you're nothing to worry about." I snorted at that and mumbled "Maybe, but I kind of doubt it. I get the feeling someone or something is going to cause today to be one hell of a day." Apple Jack just shrugged and said "Maybe, but we don't know anything so might as well relax and wait to see, right?"

I grinned and said "Exactly, if all you do is stress out then life becomes no fun. Life isn't fun then why are we going through it?" Apple Jack nodded and said "Also if ya stress too much, then all you're gonna do is make whatever your current job is, a lot harder." I nodded and said "I'm amazed someone as young as you has such a strong work ethic, unless of course I'm wrong and you aren't that young." She glanced at me and said "Well how old are you?" I smiled and said "Twenty, which means I just passed adulthood where I come from. Though, I've had the mind of an adult sine I was a child thanks to all the reading I did and the situations I grew up with."

Apple Jack stopped and studied me a while then said "I'm about eighteen years old. Probably a little older, since Apple Bloom is going to be seven and I was twelve when she was born. Twilight and the rest of our group are the same age. If you want to get really technical I was five when I got my cutie mark, so I'd be thirteen or fourteen. However I assume you're going off the year you were born." I nodded slightly surprised that the girls were so much older than I'd thought. I figured they were only about twelve or thirteen, however it started to make sense when I thought about how rarity had her own business, twilight ran the town library, and Rainbow Dash worked for the weather department. I sighed and mumbled "Oh yay, this makes life so much better."

AJ looked at me questioningly and I said "Sorry my mind wandered over some stuff for a little while there. Could we please go back to what you were saying?" She shrugged and said "Well, The entire gang is technically adults, especially when looked at it from an age stand point, though Pinky and Fluttershy make me wonder at times. Pinky makes me wonder because she acts just like a young filly when things go wrong and Fluttershy because of her shyness. It's hard to see them as adults at times." I snorted softly at that and said "I guess we'll have to see on that, won't we?" She nodded and the two of us started walking again, both off in our own little worlds. Suddenly I heard someone say "Watch out!"

I instinctively pushed Apple Jack to the left then rolled to the right, slamming directly into a Pegasus who shook her head and said "Sorry, I guess I wasn't paying that much attention. I didn't realize I wasn't going to hit you guys if you didn't move." I stared at her and realized she was a bit cross eyed. I shrugged as I dusted off and said "No big, everyone's ok, right?" She nodded as I helped her get back to her hooves then flew off. Suddenly a bright pink party ran up and blew a god damn party streamer in my face. I flinched back reaching for a knife I didn't have then stared at her and said "Really, really?" She smiled and let it fall then said "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! You're new to town. We've got to have a party!!!" then ran off without another word.

I blinked as Apple Jack said "That was Pinky Pie. If you couldn't tell, she's the most fun and party loving pony out there." I nodded and said "I could kind of tell on the party part. Anything else I should know about her?" She shrugged and said "If Ditzy Doo doesn't tell everyone about you, she sure as sugar will." I sighed and mumbled "Oh yay, better get my clothes fast then." She nodded in agreement and the two of us started running for Rarity's place.

As soon as we got there the door opened and Rarity and Rainbow Dash pulled us inside. Rarity started talking really fast and excitedly while Rainbow Dash just shrugged at me as if to say 'She's been like this for a while.' Apple Jack waited about five minutes then said "Rarity, Rarity, um RARITY!!!!! Slow down. We can't understand a word your saying when you're talking so gosh darn fast." Rarity took a deep breath to calm herself then said "The outfit I made is just as Jake asked, but it came out better than I expected. I think a little of my magic may have even rubbed off onto it."

I blinked and asked "Then why were you spazzing so much?" Rarity stared at me then said "That was not 'spazzing'. Ladies do not 'spaz'. We get overly excited, but we do not spaz as you put it. I was just amazed that I managed to make something that I'm sure you will love. Now I guess we'd better go to the fitting room so you can try it on." I nodded and politely followed the three of them upstairs to Rarity's work room where I blinked as I saw six manikins standing and staring at me with their blank faces. They were all human shaped, and about as tall as I was. I glanced at Rarity questioningly and she said "I had one of my friends make them after I got your measurements. She was more than happy to do it when I said they were for a new customer."

I nodded then walked over to the first of the manikins which had a completely black outfit on it. I slipped on the shirt first then stretched out as I felt it fit my form perfectly and blinked as the fabric seemed to move with me. It was a simple t shirt, but I had no idea what kind of cloth Rarity used in it, or how she managed to make it fit me so perfectly, while not restricting my movement at all. I moved my arms a few times then pulled on the pants and did a few kicks trying to see if they impeded my movement at all. When they didn't I grinned and did a quick jump into the air then yelped as my head hit the ceiling. I fell flat on my back and curled in a ball swearing up a storm then looked at Rarity, who was holding up a pair of sneakers that fit my description perfectly.

I completely ignored my aching head and swiped them then pulled them onto my feet and sighed softly at the feeling of them. I smiled at her and said "Thanks Rarity, you completely passed my expectations." She smiled brightly and said "Thank you for giving me such a challenge Jake. I hope you liked the colors I picked." I slowly glanced at the other four outfits and snickered to myself as I replied "They'll do just fine." The other sets were Dark Blue, Red, Dark Green, and a brilliant White that burned my eyes if I stared at it too long, and a silver one that looked like it was meant for special occasions. I blinked and said "I'm guessing the silver one is so I can meet Princess Celestia?" Rarity nodded and said "Yes Twilight told me how you plan on speaking with her so I believed it wise to give you clothing for the occasion."

I nodded and stretched out then took the other five outfits and folded them up before laying them down on the back of a normal manikin for this world then glanced at Rainbow and asked "Want to race? I want to see how much working on Apple Jack's farm today helped me get back toward being in shape." Rainbow nodded and the two of us walked outside then we both crouched and Twilight walked up. She glanced at us and asked "What's up guys?" I smiled at her and said "Race. Want to be the announcer?" She nodded and said "Sure. You guys ready?" We nodded and she said "Ready, Set, GO!" Rainbow took off like a bullet shot out of a gun.

I took one step forward then felt as if my body was weightless as I charged down the road jumping over the occasional pony that got in my way completely focused on reaching Apple Acres since that's where Rainbow Dash and I agreed to make the finish line. As I continued down the road I noticed I had Rainbow Dash on my left and she blinked as she saw me keeping pace with her. She glanced back then glanced at me again and said "How're you keeping up with me, you can't even fly!" I shrugged and kept running the grinned at Rainbow and picked up the pace starting to gain on her.

We ran another five minutes then the gate of Apple Acres came into view with Twilight, Apple Jack, Rarity, and a Pegasus with pink hair was sitting and watching us. I picked up the pace and gained another few inches on Rainbow then reached my hand out and entered the farm with her nose right behind me. I fell flat on my face and laughed softly as Rainbow said "NO FAIR!!!! You guys saw, he had to be cheating." Rarity blinked and said "No Rainbow, his entire body crossed the finish line ahead of you." I chuckled softly and said "Looks like I'm faster than the infamous Rainbow Dash." Apple Jack looked at me and said softly "Don't kick a girl when she's down." I glanced at Rainbow and said "Though I bet you weren't at your best." Rainbow saw I was offering a chance to keep her pride and said "Yeah, but you're not to bad yourself. You must be a top racer where you come from."

I shook my head and said "Not really, I actually tend to not compete back home." Rainbow Dash stared at me and said "Why not, you seem to be awesome at racing." I shrugged and said "I've just never been that interested in competing, though it was fun. Maybe we can race again some time." She nodded then glanced at everyone and saw the pink haired Pegasus. She coughed softly and said "Anyway, I guess I should probably introduce everyone. You already know Apple Jack and Rarity, I guess you know Twilight, and Apple Jack said you met Pinkie Pie, so the only one left is Fluttershy." She pointed at the pink haired Pegasus and said "This is Fluttershy. Fluttershy this is Jake." I blinked and smiled politely then said "Nice to meet you Fluttershy." Fluttershy smiled at me and said "Hi, nice to meet you too."

I blinked as a little rabbit poked its head out from behind Fluttershy and studied me. I blinked then said "Who's your friend, Fluttershy?" She followed where I was looking then smiled and said "Oh that's Angel." I grinned and said "Nice to meet you Angel. You're a very beautiful bunny." Angel preened a little at that then proudly hopped up on Fluttershy's back. I glanced at Twilight who was studying me as if she was completely surprised I'd been able to heal so fast, and that I'd kept up with Rainbow Dash. I glanced at her and asked "Something on your mind?" She shook her head and looked at me then said "No just slightly surprised, I mean you're completely different from how you were when you first got here."

I shrugged and said "I dunno, maybe it's you girls, or maybe it's just the fact it's a change in scenery. Whatever the cause I feel a lot better than when I first got here." Twilight nodded then Apple Jack sighed and said "Guess we better head to sugar cube corner." I raised an eyebrow when they mentioned sugar cube corner, since I hadn't heard of it before and Rainbow Dash said "I'll go tell Pinky we're on our way." Then she vanished in a rainbow blur. Apple Jack, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, and I all followed her at a slightly more sedate pace. I walked alongside Twilight talking about different books and authors with her then mentioned the fact that I was a writer myself. She asked me if I could write her a story and I readily agreed then the two of us started forming the story as we walked.

Suddenly out of nowhere a purple blur dropped down and smacked me in the face. As I started to get up I heard a voice yell "TWILIGHT WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT GUY!!!! WHY'D YOU LEAVE ME AT THE LIBRARY?? WHAT ARE YOU NOT TELING ME!!" Twilight blinked slightly taken aback as I picked up the figure sitting on my face and stood up holding what appeared to be a large lizard by its tail. It turned and looked at me then said "What's the big idea holding a dragon by his tail?" I laughed and said "How about you stop yelling at my friends and I agree to set you down?"

He glared at me a while then said "Fine, deal." I set him down and he let out a small burst of fire causing me to jump back and kick him in the stomach causing him to let out another burst of flame. I glared at him and said softly "I know I didn't mention not blasting me with fire, but it was implied." He glared at me a few minutes letting out small puffs of flame then turned and stormed over to twilight and hopped onto her back. Twilight proceeded to chew us both out. I hung my head in shame and the dragon just glared at me then said "Spike you need to learn to stop jumping to conclusions." Spike snorted and said "It seemed a lot like he was trying to romance you."

I blinked and said "Not really, I was just helping get the foundation for the story she asked me to write. Also if you want to talk about me when I'm right here, why don't you ask me my intentions?" He stared at me a bit then we started walking onward in silence. After a bit I fell behind to start talking with Apple Jack and Fluttershy. I got into a slightly heated debate with Fluttershy on how to properly take care of some animals and Apple Jack suddenly broke in with a "You seem to have had your hand in just about everything Jake. Care to explain how?" I slowly started telling them about my work with the local pound back home, growing up on a small farm, and living in the city as well as growing up in a family that loved to read.

Fluttershy blinked and said "Wow...I didn't expect anyone to have such a huge history." I shrugged and said "It's nothing really. Can we let it go?" Fluttershy and Apple Dash quickly agreed then stopped and said "Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner!" I slowly looked past them at a tall building shaped like a cupcake and mumbled "So this is Sugar Cube Corner. Nice place." Fluttershy nodded then she, Apple Jack, Twilight, and the dragon walked inside with me torn between running and walking in. Finally I sighed and followed them inside only to blink as I realized the entire room was dark.

I blinked and said "Hello?" Suddenly the lights flicked on and the Pink horse from earlier burst out and said "SURPRISE!" I had to refrain from jumping out of my skin, then smiled politely and said softly "Hello miss, Pinkie Pie. Isn't the point of a welcoming party to make someone feel welcome not surprise them?" She grinned and said "Yeah, but it's more fun this way, now LET'S PARTY!" I blinked and watched as she started dancing around then I was suddenly dragged from group to group and made to dance with all sorts of people, or in this case ponies, I didn't know. Eventually I was dragged away by Apple Bloom, and her two friends who introduced themselves as Sweetie Bloom and Scootaloo. Then went on to explain they were the cutie mark crusaders.

I laughed at that and asked what a cutie mark was and they explained it to me. I listened to the explanation and nodded my head slowly as I listened then asked a few other questions before I was saved by Apple Jack via a lasso. I smiled in thanks at them and spent the rest of the party surrounded by her, and her friends. I tried my best to make all six of them laugh and told them everything I could about back home. As the day wore on people started to head off to their homes until it was just the seven of them and me. I found out the purple lizard was actually a baby dragon named Spike.

Eventually everything wore down and the seven of us discussed where I'd be staying. Apple Jack offered to keep me at the farm but I explained how I was tired of putting her family out and she sighed then said there'd always be a place at the farm. Rainbow Dash sighed and pointed out that since I couldn't fly I couldn't really stay on the clouds, so her house was out. Fluttershy felt bad about any of the animals being stuck outside so she couldn't offer me a place to stay, so it came down to Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. I told Pinkie Pie no because the cakes had two colts they were taking care of, and she had to worry about her pet alligator, who'd gummed my ankle earlier, so it came down to Rarity and Twilight.

Spike argued against me staying with either, but they ignored him. I smiled slightly at them and said "Well, I'm always after a good book to read, so you think I can stay at the library with you and Spike?" She smiled and said "Sure, the library gets a bit lonely with only Spike and Owloicious to keep me company. I guess we'd better head to the library though, since the cakes probably want to get to sleep." I nodded and the two of us headed out after bidding everyone else farewell. We walked to the library in companionable silence for a while then bid each other goodnight after entering the library. I plopped down and started reading a book on magic while Spike and Twilight headed to bed. After about half an hour I headed upstairs and passed out on a bed and fell into a deep, much needed sleep.