July 13, 2020
Friendship Express: On route between Manehatten and Ponyville
Oni-Hime watched the landscape of Equestria pass her by. The trip from the Eastern Continent to Equestria had been the most fun she had in a while. While her fellow elements were of little appeal to her, she had already met several outsiders that had caught her interest. From the sexy Griffoness in Griffonstone to the macho earth pony stallion in Manehatten, it was becoming very hard to focus on her mission. She very well might have abandoned her mission entirely if it weren't for one thing. Despite being 415 years old, she didn't look any older than a school filly. This childish appearance was off-putting to anypony she would try flirting with, to say the least. A few decades ago, her size wouldn't have been a problem, but it would seem that tastes among the outsiders had changed since she last visited civilization. As it stood her Yūwaku no noroi (Seduction Curse) only worked on those who already had some attraction to her, even if it was only on the subconscious level.
"I wonder what this human will be like," the demonic pony thought to herself.
Apart from Morte, Blutknochen hadn't allowed any of the Elements to see the comatose human that had been recovered from the experiment. She knew from the stories she'd heard that humans were a kind of ape, but she knew little else. She was still with her mother during Blutknochen's last successful experiment and had only ever seen objects pulled from his less successful ones.
Golden Oak Library
Jack was pleasantly surprised how quickly the town had gone back to normal after the parasprite attack. Sure, there was still a ton of repair work left to do, but for the most part, everyone seemed to be going about their day as if the attack never happened. A guard unit had dropped off his prescription earlier that morning, and currently, he was on his way to return a book on common animal diseases that Fluttershy had borrowed from Twilight a few weeks ago. This was one of several errands he had agreed to run for his adoptive mother by the end of the day. As he walked up to the Library's entrance, he couldn't help wondering what strange thing would happen next.
After knocking on the door, he heard Spike answer from the other side. "Just give me a few seconds, I'll be right there!"
After a delay of about two minutes, the door opened, and the purple dragon walked out. "Oh, hey, Jack. What brings you here today?"
"Just returning this," the human answered as he handed the book to Spike.
"Thanks, I'll tell Twilight you dropped by to return it when she gets back," Spike said as he quickly snatched the book.
"What's got you in such a hurry?" Jack asked before Spike could close the door.
"Twilight left me with a ton of chores to do," the dragon explained. "I wish I had time to hang out, but I really need to get back to them."
"I get it. I'm doing some chores for mother as well," Jack replied as a thought occurred. "Hey, why don't we help each other out. That way, we can do our chores and hang out."
"That's a great idea!" Spike exclaimed with a grin.
Ponyville Station
The Friendship Express slowly entered the station. Once the train came to a stop, the ponies on board began to flood onto the platform. Among them was the Oni-Hime. As the pink demon pony got off the coach, she immediately set eyes on a porter moving a crate of cider toward a freight train.
"Kon'nichiwa, mister!" she greeted as she made her way up to the porter.
"I'm in the middle of something right now," he grunted. "Go bother somepony else."
The demon pony moved to where she was almost rubbing against the stallion. "Come on. Surely you can spare some time for me?" she pouted.
"Listen, kid, I don't have time to help you!" the porter said, looking her in the eye. "Beat it!"
"Kanpekina!" Oni-Hime thought as her eyes glowed hot pink. "I'm a little lost. Could you please help me?"
"I just told you I'm busy!" the porter growled. "If you need help, go to the visitor center across the street."
"I don't understand why this isn't working. I used to be able to get any stallion I wanted to do what I want. I could even get some of the mares to do things for me," the demon pony thought. "It can't be that I'm not attractive, can it? My body hasn't noticeably aged in almost 60 years."
"Come on, kid, leave me alone," the porter said.
"Gomen'nasai," Oni-Hime said as she ran off.
Golden Oak Library
"So, what do we need to do first?" asked Jack as Spike put the returned book back on its shelf.
"Twilight wants me to catalog all the book returns and put everything back on the shelves," Spike explained. "Let's see here, Common Diseases in Animal Companions, checked out by Fluttershy June 23 at 1:34 PM, returned July 13 at 11:28 AM."
"Where are the others?" Jack asked.
"In that bin by the door," Spike said as he pointed to a green bin.
"All right, let's see here," Jack said as he walked to the bin. "Obscure Legends Volume 7: Humans, checked out by Lyra Heartstrings June 13 at 8:51 AM, returned July 13 at 10:47 AM."
"Lyra? That's unusual; she usually rechecks that book out right after returning it," Spike noted as he walked to the bin.
"It doesn't really look all that long," Jack replied.
"She's read it at least a hundred times now," Spike explained. "She's obsessed with human myths."
"That's actually kinda unsettling," Jack said.
"I'm surprised you haven't met her," Spike said as he pulled out the next book. "I'd have thought she would have jumped at the chance of meeting you."
"Maybe she's been busy?" Jack offered.
"Well, she is on the council," Spike replied. "Let's see here, The Best Party Ever, checked out by Pinkie Pie June 17. at 4:20 PM, returned July 13. at 4:20 AM."
They continued cataloging books for 15 minutes and decided to pick up birdseed for Fluttershy next.
Outside of Ponyville Station
Oni-Hime walked out of the station, feeling annoyed that her power wasn't working. Looking across the street, she spotted the visitor center and made her way over. Walking inside, she found a mare working at the front desk.
"Excuse me, miss?" the demon pony asked.
"Hello there, young filly," the receptionist said. "How may I assist you?"
"I'm looking for somepony," Oni-Hime said.
"Is it somepony who works here?" asked the receptionist.
"I don't think so," Oni-Hime admitted.
"I can't help you find an individual pony, but you might have more luck checking the registry at the Town Hall," the receptionist explained.
"Where's that?" the demon pony asked.
"It's in the center of town," the receptionist said as she reached into her desk. "Here, take this map."
"Arigatou," Oni-Hime said with a bow.
Ponyville Market Place
Jack and Spike were currently bartering with a middle-aged shop keeper for five large bags of birdseed. The keeper in question had grown used to taking advantage of Fluttershy's kindness and ripping her off.
"Well, I'm not Fluttershy, and I say 50 bits per bag is a rip-off," Jack said.
"20 bits per bag, that's fair," Spike added.
"What if I knock it down to 45?" the shop keeper asked.
"Do I look like knocking the price down by 5 bits will get me to buy it?" asked Jack in indignation.
"All right, all right," the shopkeeper said. "35 bits, final offer."
"Deal!" Jack said as he forked over the bits.
"Pleasure doing business with you!" the shop keeper said as Jack and Spike walked off. "Foals these days. They're becoming even harder to rip off than their parents." He muttered to himself after the two were out of earshot.
"What should we do next?" Jack asked Spike.
"Twilight needs some more quills," Spike said. "Quills and Sofas is just across the street from here."
Ponyville Town Hall
Oni-Hime had made her way to the town hall and was currently on her way to the registry.
"Where are you going, young filly?" asked a blue mare.
"To the registry," Oni-Hime responded.
"Do you have permission?" asked the mare.
"Permission?" the demon filly asked.
"Yes, you need to tell the mayor who you're looking for and get permission to enter the registry," the mare responded.
"I didn't know that," Oni-Hime responded.
"Don't worry about it," the mare said warmly. "Would you like me to take you to the mayor?"
"Hai, that would be a lot of help," Oni-Hime said politely.
The mare led Oni-Hime down the hall to the Mayor's office.
The mare knocked on the door, "Miss Mayor, there's somepony here to see you."
"Come in," Mayor Mare said from behind the door.
The blue mare brought Oni-Hime inside the office and then left to go about her business.
"What can I help you with?" the Mayor asked, looking up from her paperwork.
"I would liken to enter the registry," Oni-Hime answered.
"Who are you looking for?" asked the mare.
"The human," Oni-Hime answered.
The mare gave her a skeptical look. "And what is your relationship with him?"
"He's an old friend of mine," the pink filly lied.
The Mayor raised her brow a bit. "Really, well, I can't just let you in to go look for "the human." What's his name?"
"Well I… his name… his name is…" Oni-Hime stuttered.
"If you don't know who you're looking for, I can't help you," Mayor Mare explained.
"Oh, come on," Oni Hime said as her eyes began glowing. "Surely, you can make an exception."
Mayor Mare looked at her, completely unphased. "The answer is no."
"I understand," the demon pony said as she turned to walk out the door. "What's going on here? I know my power doesn't usually work on mares, but I haven't been able to get it to work on anypony here."
Quills and Sofas
"So, this store exclusively sells quills and sofas?" Jack asked Spike as they browsed through the store's selection of quills.
"Yeah, why?" asked Spike.
"No reason particularly, it just seems like an oddly specific combination," Jack replied as he looked at a quill made from an egret feather.
"Yeah, but it seems to work for them," Spike said.
"I can see that," Jack said as he looked around at all the ponies in the store.
"That should be enough," Spike said as he grabbed a few quills. "Now, I just need to buy some groceries, and I'll be done!"
"That's great," Jack said. "But why don't we go do Fluttershy's gardening first. That way, we don't have to worry about anything spoiling."
"Good idea," the dragon chirped.
Ponyville Town Square
Oni-Hime glumly walked out of the Town Hall. "I don't understand. Am I doing the spell wrong, or am I just not attractive to these ponies?"
Feeling a little hungry, she made her way across the street to Sugar Cube Corner. Once inside, she sat down and ordered a blueberry cupcake. While she was waiting, she saw five colts sitting around a table.
"I'm telling you that none of the fillies will pay any attention to us because of Jack," said Snips.
"I don't get it," said Snails. "How could Jack be keeping them from paying attention to us."
"It makes perfect sense to me," said a grey pegasus with no cutie mark. "My brother is always talking about how mares are more interested in foreign stallions."
"Is that really how it works, Rumble?" asked a short blank flanked pinto colt with a British accent. "I mean, I'm from Trottingham, and I'm not really all that popular either."
"Maybe it's because they think he's cooler, Pip," said a grey blank flanked pegasus. "I mean, I can't be the only one who'd never even heard of a human before he showed up."
"Exactly my point, Featherweight," said Snips.
"Human?" thought Oni-Hime.
"What exactly are we supposed to do about it?" asked Pip. "If they like…"
"Excuse me," Oni-Hime interrupted. "I couldn't help noticing you were talking about the human."
"Even more proof," Snips said bitterly. "The only time fillies want to talk to us is to ask about Jack."
"Gomen'nasai," Oni-Hime fake sobbed. "I didn't mean to make you angry."
"Look what you did, Snips," said Rumble.
Once she had their full attention, Oni-Hime unleashed her curse, "I don't suppose you, strong, handsome colts would be willing to help a poor lost filly out?"
"I'd love to!" all the colts said at once.
"Subarashī!" Oni-Hime exclaimed. "So, my power works on foals, but not on adults."
"What do you want us to do?" asked Featherweight.
"First, I'd like your names," Oni-Hime said.
The five colts quickly introduced themselves, and Oni-Hime got to work acquiring the information she desired.
"Could one of you explain why none of the older stallions seem to have any interest in me?" she asked.
"Because that would be…" Pip started.
It would be ille…" Rumble interrupted.
The five colts all tried to answer her question but ended up constantly interrupting themselves until it broke out into a fight.
"I'm trying to talk here, eh!" said Snails as he pushed Snips away from the table.
"Quit interrupting," Featherweight said as he tried to do the same to Rumble and Pip only to end up falling out of his chair.
As the fight got increasingly physical, Cup Cake got out from behind the counter to prevent the colts from causing any damage. "You colts should be ashamed of yourselves fighting like that. Your parents will hear about this."
"Colts," Oni-Hime called as she moved toward the door. "Maybe we should take this somewhere else?"
"Right away err…" started Snips.
"Oni-Hime," the demon pony said.
The pink filly led the colts outside and began questioning them. "This time, answer my questions one at a time," she said before pointing to Pip. "Pip-Chan, why aren't the older stallions showing me any interest in me?"
"Because it's a crime for adults to be special someponies with foals," the pinto colt answered.
"That would explain why my power doesn't work on them," Oni-Hime realized. "My childish body is making them fear arrest. The law must have been passed several decades ago for it to be enough to prevent my spell from working."
"You should be careful," said Rumble. "My parents are always telling me that it's dangerous to talk to adults I don't know."
"Naze? Why?" asked Oni-Hime.
"Because they might be foal-fiddlers," Rumble answered.
"I see…" Oni-Hime replied. "This could be useful," she thought. "Arigato, Rumble-Chan. Thank you," she said with a smile.
"Oh…um… your welcome," Rumble blushed.
"Alright then," Oni-Hime said as she pointed to Featherweight. "What can you tell me about the Human, Featherweight-Chan?"
"You mean Jack?" the skinny pegasus asked.
"Hai, I do," the pink filly answered.
"He moved to Ponyville about a month ago because his family was killed by a plague, and he takes pills for some kind of medical condition," Featherweight answered. "But other than that, I don't really know anything about him."
"Interesting," Oni-Hime said before pointing to Snails. "What about you, Snails-Chan?"
"Well, I know he doesn't eat ponies, eh," The orange unicorn said dopily."
"I guess I'll have to be more direct," Oni-Hime thought as she pointed to Snips. "Do you know where he lives, Snips-Chan?"
"Well yeah, he lives with Fluttershy in the cottage by the forest," Snips answered.
"Dōmo arigatōgozaimashita!" she exclaimed before blowing the fat foal a kiss and rushing off, leaving him a blushing mess.
The other colts gave Snips jealous glares and muttered about how it should have been them.
Fluttershy's Cottage
20 minutes later
Oni-Hime made her way up to the isolated cottage. There didn't seem to be anyone home, but she decided to knock just to be sure. After waiting for thirty seconds, nobody answered. As she turned to leave, she heard voices from behind the house.
"I never knew weeding was so easy."
"That's because you're doing it wrong. You're supposed to pull up the roots, not just the stem."
The demon filly slowly made her way to the backyard and hid in a bush. Peering through the branches, she spotted a baby dragon doing gardening with a creature the likes of which she'd never seen.
In only a few moments, she had put two and two together. "That must be the human." As she continued to watch, one thought came to her mind, "He will be mine!"
Author's Note:
Had a bit of writers block for a while, but I managed to get it out on time.
Note: Winter Wrap Up will not be the focus of the next chapter as that would require a significant timeskip. Instead I will be doing another original chapter and Winter Wrap up will be moved to season 2.
Next Time: Jack travels to Canterlot at the request of Princess Celestia where the council comes to a final decision about how to integrate him into Equestrian Society.