Disclaimer: I do not own MLP: Friendship is Magic. That belongs to Hasbro and the genius that is Lauren Faust… and I make no money off of this.
Jarrad awoke an undetermined amount of time later. He slowly opened his eyes and winced. He had been dreaming; dreaming that he was home. He had vague visions of him being in his own bed and in his own room. He heard sister banging hard on the door, getting him to wake up and get ready because she needed a ride somewhere. He had rolled over to check his phone when the alarm went off, but it never told him the time. It looked distorted, but he didn't think anything against it. When he walked out the door to use the bathroom and suddenly found himself in his martial arts dojo fully dressed in his Gi, he knew this was a dream. He awoke to find himself still inside the small hut he now shared with Zecora. Lying on his back he heaved a sigh and ran his hand through his hair.
"Well, too much to hope this was a damn dream." He spoke. He still hadn't fully accepted the fact that he was in a new place, that while he wasn't dead and gone, he was unable to see his family again. As his mind worked and cogs cranked a thought occurred to him, and it scared him more than anything: Even though he had trouble with his family, a great deal of it in fact, would he survive being alive but being gone. To 'quit cold turkey' as it were? He felt an inhuman chill race up his spine. It was too much, even for him.
'I wonder what they're doing now, maybe planning my funeral or something?' he thought to himself. The thoughts weighed heavily on him; a fairly familiar feeling. He felt lethargic and listless, signs of his depression acting up again.
"Maybe that's why I reacted to Zecora that way," he thought aloud. He knew his depression altered his way of thinking, made things seem worse than they actually were or made him ignore things he didn't need to. It varied depending on what caused it, but he had dealt with it enough times to recognize the signs within himself. He knew he needed meditation, it generally helped him, but he couldn't bring himself to do it just yet. Right now, he just wanted someone, anyone, to talk to… so where was Zecora?
"Zecora! Hey, Zecora," he shouted. He got no response.
Muttering a few curses he got up, his body protesting greatly as he pushed himself out of bed. It felt stiff, sore, and unused. Even bending over caused some discomfort, not only in his joints but also in his tendons. Given the circumstances, a walk or jog to get warmed up was in order.
"Feels like I ain't stretched in weeks."
Upon stepping out of bed," he flinched as he put weight on his foot; he recalled his bandage and injury and grumbled.
Walking was a bit difficult with his injured foot. He made due, but there was a distinct limp in his step. He hoped that would go away soon… having a pimp-limp didn't look all that attractive to him. Searching the hut, in an attempt to get a better feel for his current residence, he stumbled on some clothes that Zecora had left for him. They were very… African looking in appearance. Given the circumstances Jarrad wasn't about to complain. There were a pair of leather sandals made in his size with wraps that went up his shins, more like leather greaves than sandals, really. A makeshift pair of underwear designed for… support and covered by a leather tunic with old designs and symbols similar to Zecora's cutie mark. There was a…vest or muscle shirt of some kind. It looked as if he had warpped more bandages around his body, but it was made of a comfortable cloth rather than leather like everything else. The piece de resistance was a pair of leather straps that went over his hands and forearms and wrapped around them, and a loose leather choker with a small pendant in the middle. It looked like a cross of some sort with a ruby at its center. Jarrad may not have been one for jewelry, but he figured he'd wear the whole thing, if only to humor Zecora.
"Well, at least I won't be flappin' in the breeze anymore." His voice became very aristocratic for a moment, "Goin' in the starkers just isn't for me or anyone."
While he took time to put on the clothes, struggling to deal with the straps and ties over his bandaged body, he examined his new physique. His body was more muscular and defined than before, the fat that had plagued him for years was gone, for the most part. His legs looked more powerful, almost like a seasoned runner. His arms the same, he could make out the divets and dips his muscles took, flexing what he could to see the extent. He looked town his torso to see, as much as he could through the bandages, that his pectorals and abs were even more defined. He still had some level of love handles and didn't look as…cut as someone like Tony Horton or Tony Jaa, but he still had a far level of fitness than years long past.
"Heh… if only Paul could see me now." He spoke aloud, saddened further by the thought of losing a chance to see his friends as well. He wondered for a moment what they were doing, before crushing the thought and moving on; living in those memories wouldn't help him now.
While donning the makeshift clothing a note fell from the tunic. Jarrad bend down to examine it. It was from Zecora explaining where she had gone. Apparently, while on an herb hunt for him in Everfree Forest Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy had all come running up to her in a fright. They had found Twilight the next day and had been told the story of her summoning experiment. They wanted to talk to Zecora not only to get her to help Twilight, but to also to warn her to be on the lookout for some kind of "hairless monkey". Twilight was in a tremendous amount of pain, but she said something about a "hairless monkey" thing and that it was very dangerous.
Spike still had yet to return so there was no way of reaching Celestia within a week, given the regular mail system. So, while Rarity cared for Twilight, Rainbow Dash had gone ahead to talk to Celestia and warn her about the possible threat. Zecora went both to help Twilight and get a feel for where everyone was at. If she could ease him into the conversation then maybe it wouldn't be so bad introducing him to the others. Celestia, on the other hand, posed a problem.
Jarrad's mind was racing with possibilities. He started his speculations on the basis that Lauren Faust's show was very true to the characters here. After much deliberation, he decided that he was going to be in some trouble.
"However the hell she knew the characters or made them aside," he mused as he began pacing nervously, completely forgetting about his foot injury, "that's a whole argument I don't even wanna fucking touch; this could be a problem. If I run into Celestia, what the hell is going to happen?" he began to pontificate, "She's the goddess so she wants to do what's best for all, but she's also Glenda the Good Witch… she's Dumbledore even. She fucking schemes and puts everyone else in her own little chess game… how's she going to react to me? I mean, she knows I need to be alive, that's definitive, so I'm safe in that regard I suppose. If she knows anything about the Nexus, which I'm pretty sure she does, then she knows how badly I'm needed. But, what does she know about humans? If she thinks we're some kind of "great evil" then what's she going to do to me? And if she considers me a threat, then is there some way she can make use of me and still take my freedom? And hell, if she does something is there anything I can do to stop her?"
Jarrad wracked his brain trying to figure something out. In the end, he came up with nothing. His only conclusion was that he did not have enough evidence to form a proper theory. Everything he had was nothing more than pure conjecture and speculation; not any of it had any real basis going. However, it was driving him up a wall. His mind was racing with all the possibilities, none of them good. If Twilight and the others found out about him before Zecora had a chance to talk to them then what was going to happen? Would he be trussed up like a thanksgiving turkey and brought to Celestia on a silver platter? Did he even have the ability to fight them if they did… or even worse, fight them and keep from hurting them if their intentions were simply misguided? He even wondered if he was able to properly judge their intentions.
It frustrated Jarrad to no end, so much so that in order to let out his frustration he slammed his fists down on the table in front of him. He expected the table to hold the force of the blow; it did not. The table shattered into four or five pieces with some falling directly to the ground and others scattering across the room. Given that it did not hold his weight and bounce him back like he expected, added to the obvious fact that he had just broken someone's table irritated him even more. He was about to punch one of the walls to excise his frustrations when he finally came to his senses.
"What the fuck am I doing?" he asked. He wanted to berate himself, to be angry and upset, to harm himself for his stupidity. However, he recognized it a simply an old habit he had yet to drop: self-flagellation. He was still frustrated, but he knew letting it out like this wasn't going to help anything. He let his body go limp and tried to breathe to calm himself. He focused his conscious thought on the movement of his breath in and out of his body. He was still angry and upset, but he had better control over himself and his actions. He had already acted like a petulant child, in his opinion, and he wasn't about to do it again.
"And now I have to replace that damn table… fan-fucking-tastic," he lamented aloud.
"Well ah'll be bucked Zecora, I thought you was jus' yankin' my chain when you said he wernt' happy 'bout bein' here," said a southern thick voice.
Jarrad whirled to see the two of the Mane Six, Pinkie Pie and Applejack, standing in the doorway along with Zecora and Big Mac. Feeling apprehensive and a little scared Jarrad dropped down a bit and assumed a very loose defensive stance. It was more a prep moment for him, simply to be ready in case something happened and bring his full focus on the moment. He highly doubted he could do anything at the moment, especially against Big Macintosh, but he wasn't about to be caught off guard if he could help it.
"Zecora, please explain," Jarrad's voice was full of trepidation.
"Jarrad, you will be fine, I've been talking with these ponies and they believe it is time." spoke Zecora softly.
"Forgive me if I'm not exactly receptive to the idea." Spoke Jarrad as calmly as he could. He was amazed at his ability to seem cool and collected when he really just wanted to run as fast as his legs would carry him, "And besides, if ya wanted to talk, why'd ya bring him? Ya don't bring someone as big as he is to "talk" without saying something loud and clear, no offense."
"We don' mean ta' scare ya. We jus' don' wanna have ya gettin outta control. Ya scared Twilight perty bad a few days ago." Big Mac answered. He knew where Jarrad was coming from; you don't bring somepony as big as Big Mac to negotiations without saying something loud and clear: don't fuck around.
"Well she scared the hell outta me screamin' at the top'a her lungs…and whattya mean 'a few days ago'? Zecora, how long have I been out," asked Jarrad.
"I found you in the Everfree Forest five days past, since we last spoke another two days have passed." answered Zecora.
"So I've been here almost a week," he thought aloud, his eyebrow raising. Zecora nodded.
"Listen sugar-cube, we don't wanna cause ya any harm, hear? We just wanna figure out a little 'bout ya." Spoke Applejack softly
Jarrad wanted to hold his stance or bolt. Every instinct he had was telling him to run as fast as his legs could carry him, but that damn logical mind of his told him doing so would be very counterproductive. First and foremost he had no knowledge of the area; running into it would be very silly. Second, if he ran, that would look bad to the others and would cause him more trouble. And third, he knew this was going to happen at some point, at least he had an opportunity to do and it now in a controlled environment. He dropped his stance and put his back to the wall of the "hut" then slid down onto his butt.
"Fan-fucking-tastic… alright, fine, ask your questions and I'll answer them the best I can," he spoke solemnly.
"Aww…come on, there's no reason to be such a mean grumpy Mcmeaniepants," Pinkie Pie lamented.
"My apologies Miss Pie, but I'm not exactly in the mood to get visitors. This is all happening WAY too fast for my comfort level," answered Jarrad
"Wait, how do you know my name? I've never met you before, and I would remember meeting as weird and awesome looking as you," Pinkie jabbered on.
"Zecora," Jarrad asked, "how much about me and Earth have you told them?"
"I gave them the overall explanation, the main difference between this and your nation," spoke Zecora
Jarrad nodded, trying to figure out the best way to approach this. "Alright, I guess being blunt is the best option. To put it simply I know a great deal about all of you because you're all not real, you're all part of a cartoon series where I come from," he said.
"Wait, I feel real. I mean, I'm as real as anypony else here. See, I can feel, I can see, I can even taste cupcakes with hot sauce on them, so I have to be real," Pinkie pulled on separate parts of her body after each statement to try and emphasize her "realness", "I'm as real as anypony else here."
"Yeah, what do ya mean we're not real," asked Applejack. Mac stood as still and silent as he usually did, although this time he simply trying to take everything in and process it.
Jarrad sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "Without getting into a fuck ton of pontification and ontological arguments about what is really "real" and what is not, for the sake of argument, you guys don't exist as I do in my world. In my world you guys are cartoons, fast moving drawn pictures that tell some kind of a story. How close that story is to real life I have yet to see; but I'm assuming that the show's creator knows a great deal about this world. She's gotten it right thus far, with as little as I've seen. Quite frankly, I don't know the full story behind it, but I know she has somehow taken this world and made a cartoon out of it."
"So, what do ya know about us all," asked Big Mac, his curiosity getting the better of him.
Jarrad heaved a sigh, they were going to be here a while, "First and foremost Zecora, apart from being a zebra, doesn't come from this particular land. While it might simply be another part of Equestria or somewhere else entirely, I don't know, that's never been explained. She has a great knowledge of herbs and healing ointments not readily available her simply for the fact that she isn't from here. She also, and this is a guess, practices meditation. Am I right so far?"
Zecora's nod signaled him to continue. Jarrad went onto explain what he knew about them from the series, starting with the Elements of Harmony and the defeat of Nightmare Moon, going into the Grand Galloping Gala. He attempted to add as much detail as he could based upon speculation, things such as Pinkie Pie's clairvoyance and Big Macintosh's personality; things that had not yet been explained simply for the fact that there wasn't a large amount of backstory on him as well as some other characters. "So…how close am I?" finished Jarrad.
Applejack's mouth hanging mouth was all the answer he needed.
"Then I guess it's safe to say what I know about you guys from the show is accurate here. That's good, that at least gives me a starting point for and it makes speculation a hell of a lot easier," he thought aloud.
"Speculation about what?" asked Big Macintosh.
Jarrad contemplated for a moment, should he really tell them? He hadn't even meant for anyone to hear him in the first place. How would they react to his perspective on Celestia? "Do you really want to know," he asked.
"Eeyup." replied Big Mac.
Jarrad chuckled, hearing one of his favorite lines from one of his favorite ponies, "Alright, here it is; I'm worried about meeting Celestia."
"Wait, why are ya worried 'bout that sugar-cube," asked Applejack, "Meetin' Celestia's really gonna help ya out with tha magic 'n everythin' isn't it?"
"Guys, quick question, what do you have in the way of mythology in this world?" asked Jarrad, he needed to work his way into the explanation.
"Well, we don't have much, but a lot of it involved Celestia and Luna creating Equestria. How they created ponies and all other creatures in the world, then their rise to power to help rule over all the ponies they had made. What's really fun is all the fun and parties they had. Ponies have been so awesome since those two stepped into power," Pinkie said in one breath. Applejack and the others were slightly surprised at her overall knowledge of the mythos of Equestria.
"So… is that the stuff you guys learn in school?" asked Jarrad
"Yep, that and a lot of other things about Cutie Marks… and that ugly boring stuff like writing, reading, and *gag* math." lamented Pinkie, sticking her hoof down her throat to emphasis.
"And what about history, where does your history begin, with the birth of pony kingdom as you know it; with Celestia, I mean?" asked Jarrad
"Yeah, it's a lot like that sugarcube… but why do ya keep askin' these questions?"
Jarrad's look darkened, "Zecora, how much of what they learn is true? How much is left out?"
Zecora frowned and looked away, almost in shame.
"That's the reason I'm speculating. I'm going to meet Celestia, being the Nexus it's inevitable. What I've been wondering is simply what kind of person she is," Jarrad explained.
"So, what do ya think? Ah mean, with as powerful as she is, wouldn't that help yah," asked Applejack, voice uneasy.
Jarrad closed his eyes, attempting to find the proper words to voice his opinion. He desperately wanted to be tactful about this, but there was simply no getting around it. He heaved another sigh. "In the myths of my world, old gods were powerful beings who could control the world on a whim. They could not just make it rain and storm but shine light and wonderment all over the land. Each god was responsible for a particular "thing", which encompassed other ruling bodies. There was a god for the ocean and all water in general. There was a god who assisted in the dead in the afterlife. There were even gods for things like war and love. However, these gods were not kind and benevolent. They were stupid, arrogant, and perfect examples of humanity. They did stupid and pigheaded things in the name of getting back at one another for one petty thing or something else. They were more like bickering children than rulers of the world and masters of the universe. They even had battles that raged across the cosmos for sometimes nothing more than minor transgressions. There's a very old saying in my world "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely." When a being has that much power then things can go catastrophically wrong. Quite frankly, I don't trust her as far as I can throw her and I haven't even met her. I don't know what she's going to do with me; she's as much an unknown to me as I am to every one of you. My overall fear is that, for the sake of the world, she is going to use me, not help me," Jarrad's explanation over it left all jaws on the floor.
The only person who wasn't completely blind-sided on this was Zecora, only because of the fact that she was able to see Earth before. Their myths and legends she knew, for the most part. She had a far better perspective than the others.
Applejack was the first to respond, about as well as Jarrad assumed she would. "Who the hay to ya think' ya are," she seethed, "Ya jus waltz on in here without sayn' so much as a 'How d'ya do?' an' start talkin' 'bout Celestia like she was gonna hog-tie ya and throw ya to the wolves. What gives ya the right?" Jarrad face became blank. Big Macintosh tensed up a bit; he could tell that this could get ugly. Jarrad managed to keep his cool and held his fist up then lifted one finger.
"First: I didn't waltz in here. I was fucking DRAGGED from my own world after I DIED! I didn't have a goddamn choice in the matter, and I sure as hell woulda chosen to stay fucking dead if I had!" The next finger went up, "Second: I didn't say one goddamn thing about Celestia 'hog-tying an' throwin' me to tha wolves'. I said I didn't know her and I didn't fuckin' trust her! You asked for it so don't get pissy with me when I give ya an answer ya don't fuckin' like! God fucking forbid I say a DAMN thing about your goddess and ruler simply 'cause I fucking can!" The third finger, "Finally: I have the RIGHT to say whatever I want about whomever the fuck I want because, unlike some people I can name, I'm a free thinking individual who has a mind of his own. THE RIGHT I HAVE IS THE SAME GODDAMN RIGHT OF EVERY SENTIENT BEING IN THIS REALITY; YOU GOTTA PROBLEM WITH IT THEN YOU CAN GO FUCK YOURSELF!"
Big Mac was not about to stand for someone talking to his sister like that. He reared his forelegs ready to charge. "TRY IT ASSHOLE! YOU AIN'T GONNA WALK AWAY FROM IT I PROMISE THAT!" shouted Jarrad, reared in a tighter practiced stance. He knew he probably wouldn't walk away from it either, but he was angry. This whole thing was getting to him a lot more than he originally thought it would. Of course, them pressing one of his big red flashing buttons didn't help either.
"WAAAAIIITTT!" Pinkie Pie jumped in between them, and with incredible balance, was on her rear legs standing almost as tall as Jarrad with her forelegs out between them trying to form some kind of barrier, "Guys, seriously, this isn't how you welcome someone new to Ponyville."
The sheer randomness of that one comment stopped all motion as Pinkie looked toward Applejack and Big Macintosh, "You guys need to calm down with all this. We have a guest to Ponyville who's never dealt with the Princess before. No need to get all angry and grumpy over someone with a new opinion. That's what makes life fun, right?" Applejack and Big Macintosh seemed to calm at her comment. It wasn't what she said, but exactly the fact that she said it that caused the room to stop. The tension in the room dissipated as she dropped down and bounced up to Jarrad.
"And you," she spoke, poking her hoof into his chest. Jarrad was a bit unnerved just for the fact that he was about to get a lecture from someone who's head was barely at his chest, though that was when she was on all fours, "You need to not get so grumpy all the time. The frown looks like it was etched onto your face from the moment you were born. OH, I know! Once we're done getting Twilight back on her feet we're going to throw you a party to introduce you to all the ponies in Ponyville. That'll get that frown upside down into a smile."
The fact that Pinkie's face managed to turn completely upside down and into a smile further unnerved him.
'She's so fucking RANDOM!' a voice in his head shouted.
Jarrad nodded in acquiescence. He knew getting on Pinkie's bad side wasn't a good idea, "Party of One" had shown that fairly quickly.
"Oh, and can ya cut down on that foul mouthiness? I really don't think Mrs. Cake would like me using up all her soap on your dirty little filth mouth, 'kay?" asked Pinkie. Once again, Jarrad only nodded. She'd do it, he knew that much.
Finally finding his tongue once more, "My apologies. I don't mean to upset anyone…but I only use that kind of language when I REALLY want to get a point across. I promise to watch myself from now on."
"Pinkie Promise?" asked Pinkie, her hoof on her chest.
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, and stick a cupcake in my eye." Jarrad recited.
His ability to recite it could not have made Pinkie happier, if gigantic smile and shining eyes were anything to go by. In a way the smile was infectious, Jarrad did start to feel a little better having her around. But something was bothering Jarrad, something felt wrong, then it hit him.
"Wait, what did you mean by helping Twilight back on her feet?" asked Jarrad
The room became solemn once more. He knew it must not be good.
"When Twilight Sparkle summoned you to this place, she acted with great haste. But she never fully understood the spell, so she is not doing all that well. Her magic was taken from her by force to compensate, thus her magic is now leaving her for an undesired fate," answered Zecora.
"Wait, what? Run that by me again?" asked Jarrad
"When she summoned you to here, her magic was not ready for something so severe. She simply did not know the power needed for the spell, thus she was frightened and scared for her life, forcing her body to go through great strife. The veins in her that conduct magic through her body, they have been snapped and broken oddly. The only way to help her plight is for you to be her "white knight"," explained Zecora.
"So, let me see if I get this; the "veins" or pathways conducting magic through Twilight's body are busted, and you want ME to do something about it?" asked Jarrad, pointing at himself.
Zecora nodded in the affirmative.
"Pardon my language, but I've been a Nexus for less than a week and have only spent about three hours conscious, so how the fuck am I supposed to help her?" asked Jarrad sardonically.
"Your instincts. All Nexi have the knowledge of the past, through time it will forever last. If you can harness this ancient knowledge in some way, it will help Twilight to be healed on this day." Spoke Zecora.
"…so I know how to help her without really knowing how to help her," asked Jarrad, his voice conveying his lack of faith, "Yeah, that sounds completely plausible."
"Jarrad, magic knows exactly what it needs to do. If you can move magic through the body of the mare, then it will help her and those who care. All you need to do is make the magic flow through her body once more; doing so will allow her pathways to be fixed as it moves from her core."
Jarrad stared blankly. He was skeptical to say the least. How could he simply walk up and help Twilight by making magic move? He had never even seen magic move in his life. He didn't know what he was doing. He remembered an old friend once telling him, 'No matter what, you just gotta get up and do it.' "Alright, let me make sure I got this. I need to go to Twilight and somehow "touch" the magic in her, the magic she innately carries. By doing so, if I can get it flowing, then I can get her body back in working order and it can repair itself. Or, to put it better, I'm activating her bodies' own self repair "system", is that right," asked Jarrad
Once again Zecora nodded and smiled at his clarification, "Once you touch her magic will take care of the rest, in a way, think of this as your first test."
Jarrad ran a hand through his hair. The logical side of his mind was telling him to simply forget about it, he didn't have the necessary skill. However, the same part of his mind had a thought; he was in Equestria, in what should be a cartoon. Magic was something real here, rather than simply some abstract concept used to explain a world that wasn't explainable.
His eyes widened and unfocused as he examined the possibilities. The rules were different, up could be down, and down could be right, for all he knew. He was operating on a set of rules that were, more than likely, useless. He figured that his best bet at this point was to trust someone who knew far more than he did at the moment; it hit him then. Beginner's Mind, this was it. At this point he had to focus as much as he could on the idea that he could do something, rather than he could not do it, like a beginner. He had to try and forget everything he learned about the world from his classes and from his parents; he was in a place where what he would think was wrong could be exactly right.
His decision made he turned to Zecora, ready to trust her, "Alright, how do I prep for this? I mean, what do I do, exactly?"
"Meditation will allow you to touch magic. If you can do so in your own body and soul, then you will be able to help the foal."
"Foal? Nobody said anything about a foal," Jarrad looked suspiciously at them.
"Um… well, it looks like Twilight summoned you here without proper know how of the spell. I mean, she knew all the words and symbols and all that stuff, but she made the mistake of bringing you her without knowing exactly what she was doing," Pinkie Pie nervously laughed, her hoof on the back of her neck feeling embarrassed for her friend.
Jarrad stared blankly for a moment, then started to chuckle mirthlessly, this situation just got more hilarious by the second, "So I'm helping the person who brought me here because they really didn't know what they were doing in the first place. Yeah, this is gonna be fun. Alright, tell me what I'm looking for when I meditate."
The shake of Zecora's head told him to be ready for bad news. "I cannot say. Magic is different for each Nexus, the way magic embodies itself will change depending on the corpus. It all depends on you. But you will know what you need to find, it will be buried deep in your mind."
"You mean, like my subconscious? Like I'll know what I'm lookin' for on instinct or somethin'," replied Jarrad.
"Exactly. When you have found touched the magic flowing through you, you will know exactly what to do."
" m'kay, so do I need to do it here and now?" asked Jarrad, his hands motioning to the room.
"While that would be the fastest, it will not be best. There is a place here in Everfree, a leyline of magic you will see. It is there you must find the path to your magic with your mind." She answered.
Jarrad heaved a sigh, a habit he seemed to be building around them, before motioning toward the door, "Let's go."
Nodding in agreement Big Macintosh, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie followed Jarrad and Zecora out of the hut. Jarrad limped closely to Zecora, attempting as best he could to ignore the pain in his foot. It wasn't excruciating, but if felt like his leg was being stretched too far every time he walked. He didn't know that gash was that bad, but he was feeling it then. They trekked further and deeper into the vast expanse of the forest, moving at a much slower pace than Jarrad was comfortable with. He wanted to just go and get this over with, but he knew they were walking….no, trotting slowly so that he could keep up. It bothered him a great deal the further they went on, aggravating his own insecurities and guilt complexes. He remained silent a majority of the way through, not wanting his own problems to weigh down the rest of them.
"So, what's it like where you come from?" asked Pinkie out of the blue.
Jarrad jumped a bit. So focused was he on Zecora and himself that Pinkie asking him the question jolted him back to his surroundings. Needless to say, it took him a few seconds to respond; the others seemed to notice his intense focus.
"What do you want to know?" asked Jarrad. He'd indulge her, it'd make the time go by, and keep him out of his own head.
"Well, what kind of people are there, what are hou-mans like, your family, things like that." Pinkie jabbered on.
Jarrad stopped for a moment. He wanted to figure out a nice way to put it, a kind way to tell Pinkie exactly what his world was like. He might have been upset and angry, at himself and his situation, but seeing Pinkie, he knew he couldn't hurt her purposefully. She had a childlike innocence that never seemed to be broken, more so than the rest of the cast, he couldn't summon in him enough of a bastard to hurt that purposefully. However, he wasn't going to out and out lie to her, not if he could help it.
"Pinkie, my kind has lost their way. We've been able to build towers and monuments taller than mountains. Giant buildings of metal, iron, and steel stretching as far as the eye can see. We've been able to bend some elements, such as fire and water, to our will. Even lightning, or a tamer version of it, is harnessed for our own pleasure. We have taken over nearly every single part of the world that we live in and "civilized" it. There are no other creatures on the planet apart from us with our sentience. Some come close, but even then, it's still no contest. We have control of the world and we know exactly how it should work," he elaborated, his voice heavy.
"Then why do you sound so down about it?" asked Pinkie
"Because, even though we seem to think we know exactly how EVERYTHING in our world works, we have no clue what we're doing," Jarrad came to a stop, "Pinkie, look around you. Look at the forest, the skies, the clouds, the birds and animals, even the feel of this place. Take it all in for a second."
Attempting to follow him she did so, she didn't know where he was going, but she felt a point coming on. She immersed herself in the sounds and smells of it all, the fresh air, chirping birds, the feel of the grass beneath her hooves. Even being a forest of ancient power and possible evil, it still held majesty and respect.
"Now, picture it gone. No, picture it burned to the ground and stomped on. Picture stone pathways made of concrete and mortar. Picture buildings being raised in place of this forest; tall buildings made from science and homage's to human progress. Picture all of the animals hunted down and killed simply because they have decided to make their homes there; no longer being hunted simply for food, but being brought to the very edge of extinction and beyond simply because we, the most sentient race, have decided to make our home there. And finally, if you can, I want you to realize that all of this destruction and carnage was caused in sake of one thing: progress."
Pinkie's face took on a look of abject horror. She had pictured it, or at least as much as she could, and she was scared and rather confused. "But, why would they do that? What would possess them to," She asked.
Jarrad continued walking, "My kind has taken to thinking that because they are sentient and no other creature is that they have the right to do whatever they want, it's damn disgusting if you ask me. They build monuments that show their stupidity and rake down forests, killing wildlife all for the sake of progress. However, on the other hand, some of my kind attempts to stop this cycle, but their methods are crude and baseless. They bomb buildings, destroy offices, and have even killed innocent people, sometimes all for a belief that is not their own. And don't even get me started on beliefs and religions, that's when things get really nasty. The best way I can sum it up is simply that people don't bother to truly THINK anymore. It's all about progress and one sided advancement, coupled with "in the now" thinking. They don't plan for the future anymore, simply hoarding and trying to live now with no thought to tomorrow." Jarrad paused for a moment in his rant, attempting to collect his thoughts, "Pinkie…if you don't mind, I'd like to hold that discussion for another day, I can't even begin to get into all the problems in any logical way, there are too many to mention and they're starting to get jumbled together and my mind isn't working the way it should right now."
"Why's that," asked Pinkie, having moved right next to him.
"Too much happening too soon. I haven't had time to digest everything that's going on here." He looked solemn, starting to stare into the sky. His mind was like that; too much happening and it went into overdrive, near destroying any way of communicating his ideas in a succinct manner. Pinkie frowned a bit, but accepted the situation. Applejack, on the other hand, couldn't let something fall.
"What do ya think'll happen to 'em?" asked Applejack, her curiosity getting the better of her.
Jarrad stared at her for a moment, slightly offended at her not letting it fall, but he decided to answer anyway, "We'll die, simple as that. We won't take the planet with us, that's for sure, and I'm not arrogant enough to believe something as such. It's been through a lot worse than us over the years. We'll die, and the world will just keep spinning, simple as that."
"What if they do start to, ya know, "think" again?" asked Applejack.
That gave Jarrad pause, "To be honest, I've haven't the damndest idea."
"Well, what about your family? I mean, you miss them a lot, right?" asked Pinkie, her mood soured a bit.
Jarrad didn't answer. He had enough with the questions and simply wanted to make it to the leyline, heal Twilight, and then try and sort out everything. The others seemed to take his silence as a refusal and did not question him further. The rest of the trip continued in a rather uncomfortable. Sometime later they entered a small clearing in the forest; Zecora spoke to break the silence.
"We're here. Jarrad you must follow me with haste, everyone I'm sorry but you need to stay here and wait. We should return soon." Zecora spoke, stopping them in their tracks. Jarrad nodded almost solemnly. He followed Zecora further in for a moment before turning back to the others.
"To answer your question Pinkie: yes, I do miss my family. But they probably miss me more. Before I got dragged into this I was killed…pointlessly." With that Jarrad turned once more and walked further into the forest. He didn't bother to look back at the others, but if he had, he would have seen the looks of sadness and depression on their faces.
"AJ, I… I don't wanna do this anymore." Spoke Pinkie quietly, her eyes fell to the ground, tears dancing on the edges of her vision.
"I know sugarcube, but we gotta. Remember what she said, this is fer his own good and fer everypony else here." AJ spoke, her foreleg around Pinkie's neck attempting to console her.
A few tears fell from her eyes. If there was one thing she hated doing it was keeping secrets and lying to her friends.
Following Zecora further and further Jarrad began to feel a certain… thickness to the air. It was slightly oppressive, as if some unseen force was pressing down on him harder and harder the further he went in. The best he could describe was it was like trying to move through thicker and thicker Jello.
"Zecora, what in the hell's goin' on here?" asked Jarrad hesitantly
"The feeling of the leyline. In this place magic is strong and thick, but do not worry, if you keep moving it will do the trick." Zecora walked with confidence. She didn't seem at all bothered by the change in the air.
"Damn Zecora, don't ya feel that?" asked Jarrad
"Indeed, I do feel it. But as a servant of Gaia, my exposure to magic has been much higher. I can simply move quicker, because it is a sensation with which I am very familiar."
Jarrad shrugged and forced his way further and further through trees and over fallen logs. Given his injury it was now even more difficult for him to keep up. Zecora didn't seem to mind keeping the slow pace, or if she did, she never showed it. Eventually they reached a point where the trees stopped and the setting sun bathed their destination in a brilliant hue of red and gold.
Jarrad stared in awe at the edifice before him. It was old, very old. It had been worn down over the years and the forest seemed to have reclaimed much of it. Vines and moss had all but overtaken the giant structure, and much of what had been in the construction had simply worn away leaving only ruins. However, Jarrad would recognize it anywhere.
"Zecora, the leyline is in the old castle of the Royal Sisters? The place there the Elements of Harmony were held?" asked Jarred
"Yes. In this place the magic of Gaia is strong; here will be the easiest place for you to bond. Once we enter the heart of the leyline, you will be able to feel magic twist and twine. Once we are done here, then Twilight and the others will have nothing to fear." She lectured, leading him under a great stone archway.
From what Jarrad could guess this was the original entrance to the palace. It was connected directly to the forest itself and decorated pathways lined it from all sides. Stone statues, or whatever was left, were sprinkled here and there along the path. Hedgerows had become unmanageable and were now deformed and twisted. They had even begun to grow over and break the cobblestone path that led to the formal entrance of the castle, rather than this outer one.
Even with the degradation and decay the castle still seemed to speak to him. Even he could sense the raw potential in this place. He could guess there was a reason why not only did the Royal Sisters make their home here millennia ago, but also why the Elements of Harmony were stored here. He had seen old castles back in his world, heard of their coldness, the ghosts speaking and often screaming from the past. Each castle had a severe amount of unrest within it, imprints left from lost souls unable to fully move on in one life, leaving pieces of their anger and sadness behind.
Anyone entering a castle could feel this anger and the general sense of unrest upon entering. What struck him the most was that Jarrad felt none of that here. In a way, it disturbed him more than if he had felt the anger from old spirits here. This was, as far as he could tell, a place where a battle between two gods took place. The sheer amount of power generated by these two should have left some kind of an imprint of anger here, yet he felt none of that. Just an overwhelming feeling of peace. Of course, this didn't stop his cynicism.
"Huh, I guess the whole Harmony bit wasn't just for shits and giggles." He thought aloud.
"Come again?" asked Zecora.
Bringing himself back to the present, and attempting to keep from walking into something, Jarrad clarified. "This place literally feels harmonious. I would expect something with so much history, the possible strife and bloodshed, hell even the location of this place, to feel cold and haunted. Like the imprints of people long since dead feeling restless and angry. But there's none of that here, it literally feels like… well fuck, like Harmony."
"Do you believe the Royal Sisters, in all their wisdom, would pick a place that had a chance to be sinister?" asked Zecora, as if it were obvious.
Jarrad shrugged. He honestly hadn't thought about it, but he was glad regardless. He felt safe there, even in the middle of this vast expanse of forest. It was as if the castle, sensing his unease, had made itself feel more comfortable for him. He wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth and kept trekking along with Zecora, until he found himself in a large chamber. The roof had fallen in long ago, giving way to the now darkened night sky. Upon initial inspection Jarrad couldn't hope to make out what the room was so long ago, the time and decay had seen almost all indicators gone from sight. However, toward the back of the room, in the center line, were two thrones. They sat atop an ascending staircase that ended in an arched "dent" in the back of the room. Both opposing in design and color, one set next to the other, and each having one symbol on top as a dead giveaway.
"We're in their old throne room, aren't we?" asked Jarrad
Zecora nodded in affirmative.
Jarrad himself couldn't explain exactly why he said what he did next, "And let me guess, the leyline and my meditation point is right there between those two thrones. And, of course, between those two thrones is a symbol that symbolizes the opposing yet joined nature of the sun and the moon, of light and dark, similar to the yin yang symbol, right?"
Zecora's eyebrow rose, "Yes."
Jarrad facepalmed, "Always the corniest shit."
Zecora's look told him one thing: don't say that again.
"Sorry, sorry. Not meant to offend," Jarrad sighed, "Let's get this over with."
Jarrad moved up toward the thrones and hobbled up the stairs, "Never thought to build a handicap ramp, did they? Nope, gotta make the guy with the gimp move like everyone else."
Zecora couldn't be mad at him, she herself had a chuckle at his complaint.
Upon reaching the top Jarrad looked down to see exactly what he expected to find. Two Alicorns weaving into one another and around each other in a long circle; almost like dragons they looked, rather than simple equine creatures. Their horns finally met in a splendor of light and color, as if their connection was the primordial point and power of creation. Jarrad figured this point of light was exactly where he needed to sit, at least, what would be the corniest thing possible. He figured it was his best bet for that very reason.
Moving into position wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing for him, but he managed. He was even able to find himself able to move into a full lotus position, rather than sitting Indian style as he had done before. Moving his hands into what he knew as the Cosmic Mudra he relaxed his body as best he could and attempted to focus solely on his breathing.
Now, as anyone who has made it a habit to meditate can tell you, starting out is probably the hardest part. The mind is simply running all over the place thinking about one thing or another. The more you attempt to focus the more it seems as if you're being pulled into another train of thought. The key, ironically enough, is to simply let this happen. It seems counter intuitive if you are aiming to focus but it is, quite frankly, the will to keep your mind steady that causes these issues. If you allow the mind to simply do what it does then you will come back to your breathing. It simply takes practice over time but you get it eventually. That was where Jarrad was having trouble.
His mind was running all over the place after everything that had been happening. His mind would wander to thoughts of his family and what they might be doing, to his current situation, to simply him being a bit…upset at his apparent inability to find what he was looking for. He even had a moment of sheer awe at his ability to keep still for so long. A little while longer and his efforts bore fruit.
During one of his calm periods he began to feel a beat of some sort. It was faster and more erratic than his heart beat, almost a constant drum beat. 'Dum-dum-dum-dum' 'Dum-dum-dum-dum' again and again it went. He focused all his concentration on that beat and was rewarded further with a new feeling in his body. It was similar to feeling blood flow but far less subtle. He tried to picture what it looked like, the veins flowing through his body the same was his blood would. He pictured himself standing stock still in his mind's eye, with each beat lighting the inner workings of the body in his vision. It solidified almost against his will and gave him something to "look" at. Focusing even further he found the source of the 'beats': wheels. Well, wheels wouldn't be the correct word, more spirals that could be considered wheels from the proper perspective. He was suddenly reminded of the Chakras of ancient Hindu Text; this was the magic his body possessed and the form it showed him. These wheels he could touch and see were the very thing controlling his magic.
He envisioned them stretching throughout his body, from the crown of his head down to the soles of his feet, touching his joints and hips, with the largest wheel in the center of his abdomen. One was over his heart and another on the opposing side; there were even two on his hands, forearms, and elbows. There were more than he had originally thought, but each one seemed to be smaller and smaller the further it went down, with the largest concentration at the end of his appendages. The motion of the wheels, the Chakras, was steady. Something told him that he needed to make them move even faster, a compulsion he couldn't quite get the source of.
He envisioned each Chakra moving faster and faster, spinning with greater purpose. Each one was cast into overdrive and the beating his was hearing became faster and faster until it was drowned out as one long hum; almost as a humming bird's wings. He willed them to move faster and harder, driving his magic through his body with greater speed. His focus was too drawn to the chakras, so much so that he didn't notice any change to his own physical body. Sweat poured off as if he was under a waterfall, his breathing was becoming faster and deeper, seemingly trying to force the air from his lungs as powerfully as it could.
A hoof to the head brought him back to the real world.
Landing on his side his conscious mind was now working and trying to get himself to breathe regularly once more. His body was covered in sweat, his hair matted, and his clothing slightly uncomfortable. It was almost as if his body had run two or three miles while he was just sitting there and doing nothing. He was slightly amazed at the fact that he hadn't even noticed the changes.
"Jarrad! Jarrad, get up," shouted Zecora, scared he had overexerted himself too soon.
Groaning Jarrad was able to get his breath back under control after a few minutes. He sat up and looked at Zecora. "Holy shit. That was un-fucking-belivable." He smiled. He had never seen or felt anything like it before. He realized that he was running on sheer instinct, almost a childish curiosity guiding him, and everything else simply followed. If he could, he would have kept going. It felt better than anything he could describe. He felt overall healthier than any time he could remember. In so many words his level of homeostasis was now at a higher than ever before. Moving his legs to try to stand he noticed something; his leg and foot no longer hurt. Curious and excited at the possibilities he sat back down and took off his bandage as fast as possible.
The sandal sat next to him, discarded, as he examined his leg. The area of injury was now light pink flesh. It looked new, almost a slight scar, and maybe even a stretch to call it that. He moved the leg around again and again, attempting to feel something wrong with it, not believing that it was real. "Zecora, what did I do?" asked Jarrad
"Something I did not foresee. You have not only touched your magic as we planned, but you now have the ability to control it in hand." She spoke, eyes wide, having a hard time believing it herself.
"What? What do you mean, 'controlling it,'" he asked.
"When a magic user begins to learn, to control the flow of magic is a talent they MUST earn. If they are able to control how fast or slow magic moves through their body, they will be able to learn more of their own magic and keep their control from being shoddy," She lectured.
Jarrad stared at his hand. The image of the Chakras was burned into his mind. As an experiment he attempted to make the one on the palm of his left hand move faster. The result was instantaneous; a soft red glow engulfed his hand moving outward, pushing dust and air way with it. He moved his hand in the air and the glow followed, almost like a small torch, lighting up him and Zecora. "Holy shit. This is just… whoah," He couldn't form the proper words.
"Take time to explore your power at another date, we need to get back to Ponyville before Twilight falls to a terrible fate," Zecora interrupted his childish whimsy.
Being brought back to the present moment he focused on her. The determination in her eyes told him one thing: this wasn't the time for fun. They needed to leave; now. He nodded to her and put his sandal back on. He took a few moments, however, to remove the bandaging on his chest. The wounds on his upper body were gone as well. "Okay, I'm liking this more and more." He chuckled. He saw Zecora moving down the stairs and decided to go after her. He couldn't resist a little more experimentation. He still wanted to see exactly what this new sense of his body could bring him. He envisioned the Chakras in his legs and core and started spinning them faster and found his legs moving even harder. He sped past Zecora and was almost at the entrance to the castle before he realized he had gone so far so fast. In an instant the possibilities were in his thoughts: could he be stronger as well as faster, how strong and fast could he be, what about other magic? He couldn't help it; he started to get giddy with the excitement.
Zecora caught up with him only seconds later, but she was running full gallop. He knew he needed her to lead the way, so he followed as closely as he could without going further. After a bit of work and experimentation he found a speed that worked for him and kept him just a little behind Zecora. It may have taken them half an hour to reach the castle on foot; it only took them five or ten minutes to reach the others.
"So…who's taking the lead back to Ponyville?" he asked, jumping from the bushes.
A/N: Alright, so, first and foremost I apologize. I looked at the date for my first chapter and realized that it had been a month since upload and I needed to upload something. The reason is that I ended up getting to about 30 pages on MS Word and thought I was only two thirds done, so rather than a long update and super long chapter I decided to split it up. I took about 15 of those pages worked them out and sent them to my informal beta nobodyreallyimportant E/N: hi! to take another look into them. So, much appreciated on the assist.
Oh, and some real life stuff got in the way too, but that's not exactly "news". I'm almost done, obviously, with the next chapter, so it shouldn't take as long to get more work in this one.
