The room was silent as all its inhabitants stared at me, their expressions ranging from shock to surprise to awe.I waited for what felt like hours or even days for one of them to break this bond-less silence. I glanced past Twilight, who looked not upset but more disappointed, but I did not have much time as the silence was finally broken.
"That was. So cool," Rainbow Dash said in excitement.
"What a doozy," Pinkie Pie said.
"Sweet, Celestia. I didn't know humans could use magic," Applejack said.
"They can't. A normal human shouldn't be able to. Why didn't…" Twilight said before she was cut off.
"But he just did Twilight," Rarity said.
"Could it be that he isn't a normal human?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah, maybe Fluttershy's, right? I mean, he don't look like any human I've heard about nor what I've seen in pictures," Applejack said.
"Why don't we ask him," Rarity said.
All of them turned to look at me as if looking for an answer that I only partially knew myself. I knew that Arora had told me I would have come back looking different. Still, he didn't say anything about gaining magical abilities akin to unicorns but more on the physical side, which was obvious by looking at me.
"I am human. Before coming here, I couldn't use any form of magic," I said.
"If that's true, why can you use magic now?" Applejack asked.
"I don't know. When I woke up in the forest, I looked like this," I said as I gestured to my body. "And I accidentally used a spell."
"So, you made something levitate when you woke up?" rarity asked.
"Well, Actually, no, I may have frozen the ground," I said with a sheepish smile.
"You did what? Twilight asked.
"It was only temporary. The ground unfroze after a few minutes," I said.
"That's not ugh. That's not what I mean. You froze the ground and used one of the hardest schools of magic in all of Equestria by accident," Twilight said as her brows started to lower.
"Yes and no. Yes, I froze the ground, but as to it being an accident, I don't think so," I replied.
"What do you mean?" Rarity asked.
"Well, from what I noticed, my hands only start to freeze stuff when my emotions flair up badly or when I think of the cold," I said.
The moment I finished my sentence, I blinked for only a moment, and in that time, Pinkie Pie disappeared from view. I looked around for a moment before I felt weight on my shoulders, and Pinkie Pie's head appeared upside down, less than an inch away from my face.
"Think of the cold. I want a snow cone," Pinkie Pie said as she shook my face.
"Pinkie!" Spike yelled as he held up two fingers.
"Oh, sorry. We want snow cones," Pinkie Pie said.
Pinkie Pie continued to shake my face before a lavender aura engulfed her. Pinkie Pie was yanked into the air before being gently placed back down beside Applejack with a small frown.
"Pinkie, not now. Jack, why did you keep this a secret from us? From me?" Twilight asked.
"Cause, for one, I knew from my book here that humans can't use magic in this world. Secondly, I didn't know how all of you would react, and I wanted to be able to control it just a little bit before showing you all," I replied.
"So, you went off of what a book told you. Man, you're as big of an egghead as Twilight," Rainbow Dash said.
"Hey!" Twilight said.
"So, do ya have any idea how you became magical?" Applejack asked.
"I have no idea. Like I said, when I woke up, this blue aura was coming from my hands," I replied.
"Well, it makes no sense. You look different from any other human, and you can use magic. What makes you so different?" Twilight said.
"I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe how I got heremade a difference," I said.
"Maybe," Twilight said.
"Well, Jack's way of arriving is much different from most other human recollections of the matter," Rarity said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, for one, most people either fall asleep and awake here, or a bright light takes them. You touched a pendent with the princess and got taken here looking like that," Rarity replied.
"Oh, Rarity might be right. Twilight, have you looked into Jack's pendant?" Fluttershy asked.
"I have been trying for the past week, and I have found nothing on it. Almost like I'm on a wild goose chase," Twilight said.
"Well, it is the best we have to go off of right now," Rainbow Dash said.
"I'm not one to agree with Rainbow Dash often, but she is right. It is the best we have right now," Applejack said.
"I know it's just nothing like this has ever happened before," Twilight said.
"Try not to overthink it too much, Twilight dear, you might hurt yourself," Rarity said.
As the room started to quiet down, I looked at my hands before turning to look at Stonehenge. Looking at the stone golem, he stared back down at me as I played the memory of when I got the pendant. I felt the feeling of opening the box and rubbing my hands on it, as well as the shock I first felt when I touched it.
"Oh no," I said under my breath.
"Come again, Jack?" Applejack asked.
"Oh no," I said as I raised my hands to my head.
"Jackie?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"OH, NO!" I yelled.
"Jack, what is it?" Twilight asked.
"When I first touched the pendant, there was ashock when I touched it, and that is whenthey started to move," I said.
"Told you it was the pendant," Rainbow Dash said.
"Oh, hush, now you,"Applejack said to Rainbow Dash.
"Well, if what Jack said is true, could the pendant be what brought him here and allows him to use magic?" Rarity asked.
"It is entirely possible, but until we know what the pendant is and where it came from, we have no idea. The most we can do is make an educated guess on this unknown and say it is a possible magical artifact that somehow made its way to Jack's world," Twilight said.
The room fell silent again before Spike pushedpast everyone, walking to the front.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, just how many spells do you know, Jack?" Spike asked.
"Just the freezing spell and telekinesis," I responded.
"If you were able to do the freezing spell when you woke up, how did you learn telekinesis," Spike asked.
"Well, I learned it by reading, practicing when no one was around, andwatching Twilight use her magic," I replied.
"Wait, you learned by watching me?" Twilight asked.
"Well, yeah, watching you helped, but I am still weak with it as I can barely lift anything, and it tends to give me a headache," I said.
"that's cool and all, but what are we supposed to do now?" Rainbow Dashed asked.
"Well, this was supposed to be just about Stonehenge and his uniqueness, but it kind of spiraled in a different direction," I said as I rubbed my hand on the back of my head.
"Well, I got one more question for you, Jack?" Applejack asked.
"Uh, sure, ask away,"I replied.
"Are you hiding anything else?" Applejack asked.
The moment the question was asked, I felt a deep knot in my stomach and the feeling that I wanted to vomit. Of course, I had more. There was so much more that I wanted to tell, especially to Twilight, but I just couldn't. I just didn't have the strength to do so.
"Jack?" Twilight asked.
I looked at Twilight and her vibrant violet eyes. I saw myself in then and the thing I had become. The lying dead man. It was not who I wanted to be, but they shouldn't know yet.
"Jack, you can tell us. You can tell me," Twilight said.
"I know…" I said as my voice trailed off.
I wanted to say it, I wanted to scream it, but this knot, this pit, this hole in my heart, pulled my voice deeper and deeper. If it could still beat, I would have had a heart attack by now, but it was still as freshly fallen snow.
"… and I do have more…" I said as I continued my sentence.
The weight of it all was starting to become too much when I felt gentle pats on my back. Looking, I could see Stonehenge doing his best to comfort me or, at the bare minimum, allowing me to it wasn't long before my glaze fell back onto Twilight and her worried look.
"… but as much as I want to tell you. All of you, I can't. Just not yet," I said as my lungs felt empty, as if there was no air inside them at all.
A feeling of wanting to vomit intensified as looks were exchanged around the room. A few worried looks towards me before Rainbow Dash spoke up.
"And why is that?" Rainbow Dash asked.
I looked into my hands at what she said. Why can't I tell them? Why wouldn't my mind let me? It was simple: just tell them you're dead. My mind wandered before I felt warmth on the side of my right leg. Looking down, I could see Twilight was just looking at me.
What bit of upset she once had was replaced with a weak but warm smile that concealed concern. Her smile brought me back down a little, and the hole in my heart shrank. Sighing, I turned back to the group.
"Cause I don't think I'm ready to face it myself. I just don't have the strength to do so yet," I said, hanging my shoulders low.
Some part of me felt mildly better knowing I had finally at least said something, even if it wasn't fully out. Looking over the reactions, Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked like they were trying to come up with their next questions. Fluttershy and Rarity looked concerned, and Pinkie Pie's hair looked less poofy. Spike had disappeared from my sight, so I could not gauge his reaction, but I didn't have the time to look for him as the silence was finally broken.
"Jack, I know it may be crossin' a line, and I apologize and promise that if you can't answer it, I'll stop asking until you're ready, but I need to know. Was what happened to you before you got here related to your friends? Did they do something to you that you're not telling us?" Applejack asked.
My mind was flooded with the memory of what had happened: the pain, the betrayal, the cold. That unrelenting cold that I was forced and failed to endure in nothing but a forest isolated to my dying mind. It was overwhelming as tears started to fall down my face while my hands became ice cold.
"Jack! It's okay. Just breathe, please," Twilight said as she started to rub the back of my leg.
Twilight's voice brought some calm to my mind, but it was akin to setting anchor in a near bottomless sea in a wild storm. I kept my hands together, as even in this state, I knew the dangers of my hands at that moment, and I did not want to damage anything. The sound of hoofsteps approached from my other side. It was Fluttershy.
"He's having a panic attack. Help sit him down. Can one of you get some water," Fluttershy said as she looked at others.
"I'm on it," Pinkie Pie said as she saluted and darted out of the barn.
Fluttershy and Twilight helped lower me to the ground as I continued to keep my hands together. As I was finally on the ground, I just sat there and looked at the ground and waited for this to stop.
As I sat there, hoofsteps and talking continued around me. They were talking about something, but I couldn't understand them. It was as if my mind was purposely filtering them out. The one thing that my mind could not filter out was the gentle rubbing I felt on my back from Fluttershy and Twilight.
The sound of running hoof steps came running towards me as Pinkie Pie set a glass of water down in front of me before backing up. I stared at the glass momentarily before reaching out my still-glowing cold hands. Upon reaching the glass, I plunged the tip of my pointer finger inside before quickly pulling it out.
The voices around me stopped as the water began to freeze solid. Slowly, the ice moved down the water before finally stopping at the bottom of the glass. The moment it reached the bottom,my hands stopped glowing, and the cold finally left talking around me continued, but I could actually understand them again.
"Woah, that froze in a matter of seconds," Rainbow Dash said.
"I've never seen elemental magic this potent before. At least from somepony that barely properly understands it," Twilight said.
"Well, I must say, Applejack, why didyou ask Jack that question? It seemed highly inappropriate," Rarity asked.
"I wanted to know more about his situation andtry to piece together what might be going on," Applejack responded.
"I'm with Applejack on this one. Even if it wasn't appropriate to ask, we got a response that answered that something did happen. We just don't know what it was, and now we can do our best to help him with what little information we have," Rainbow Dash said.
"I agree with Rainbow Dash. A reaction like this only happenswhen something traumatic or extremely stressful happens," Fluttershy said.
"So, we have to help turn that internal frowny face into a happy face?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Kinda. We can help and support him, but it will be his own process and journey," Fluttershy responded.
As the group had their conversation about me, my breathingstarted to slow down as I stopped crying. My mind was no longer focused on what had happened but onwhat was happening now and what they were saying about me. They had no idea what was going on. I barely knew what was happening, but they were still willing to help me.
Looking up, I noticed that theyhad stopped talking as most of them were staring at me. Looking even more up, I could see Stonehenge peering over me with Spike on his head. I could still feel the rubbing on my back, knowing that it was both Fluttershy and Twilight.
"Jack, are you all right, dear?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry you all had to see that," I said.
"Oh, it's fine, Jack. It's okay to have emotions," Fluttershy said.
"Still, it doesn't feel right that you all had to see that," I said.
"Jack, it's fine. No one is mad at you, just concerned," Twilight said.
"Hmm, fine," I said with a weak sigh.
As I sighed, Applejack approached me slowly with a worried look on her face. Once she was about a foot from me, she let out a sigh and started to speak.
"Jack, I want to apologize," Applejack said.
"What for?" I asked.
"For making you upset. It was in no way my intention to do so, and like I said, I am sorry for doing so," Applejack said.
I was dumbfounded by what she said. Was she really blaming herself for my emotional outburst? I mean, she is a little to blame, but this was more of a ticking time bomb than anything. It was bound to have happened with or without her saying anything.
"Applejack, look, there is no need to apologize in this matter," I replied.
"What?" Applejack asked with a look of confusion on her face.
"I don't blame you, Applejack. This was bound to happen anytime, and I know that we will have to cross this road again, but this time, you just gave it a little nudge," I replied.
"Well, all righty then," Applejack said.
"But just one more thing, please, and this goes for all of you. I said as I looked around the room, "Please try not to bring up how I got here,at least for now. We'll cross that bridge when we have to. Oh, and try to keep Stonehenge a secret. The less people know, the better."
The nods of agreement came from everyone in the room save for Twilight, who was just staring at me as if she wanted to say something but refrained from doing so. I was going to say something when my thoughts were cut off.
"What now?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well, I don't know about all of you, but I'm going to be taking my leave now. I'm going to go fine, sweetie bell, and head to the spa. Oh, and Spike, would you be a dear and stop by later? I have a friendship letter for Celestia," Rarity said.
"Anything for you, Rarity," Spike said. The sound of his voice was softer than normal.
Rarity started to make her way out of the barn, her frame disappearing behind the door. Rainbow Dash began to take flight slowly as her left wing still looked a bit stiff.
"I'm heading out too. I need to get home and rest my wing," Rainbow Dash said before flying through one of the barn windows.
Standing up, the bone in my leg creaked as Fluttershy and Twilight rose to their hooves. I felt a little worn out, like I had just run a marathon, and at this point, I wanted to go home and speak with Twilight. Turning to look at Twilight, she also looked a bit warn out.
"Twilight, can we head home?" I asked.
"I was just about to say the same thing. Yeah, we can go home," Twilight responded.
"Well, if ya'll are leavin',' I'm gonna help clean up the fair. Take care,"Applejack said as she walked out of the barn.
I waved Applejack goodbye as the sound of hooves landing on the floor echoed in the barn. Pinkie Pie was bouncing right toward Fluttershy.
"Come on, Fluttershy, let's get something to eat," Pinkie Pie said as she bounced up and down next to Fluttershy.
"Okay, but before we go," Fluttershy said before turning to look at me. "Jack, promise me that if you feel dizzy or have difficulty breathing, you'll find a safe place to calm down," Fluttershy said.
"Okay, Fluttershy, I promise," I said.
Nodding, Fluttershy and a still-bouncing Pinkie Pie exited the barn, leaving Twilight, Spike, Stonehenge, and I alone. Looking down at Twilight, her eyes were darting back and forth as she mumbled to herself.
"Twilight?" I said as I tapped Twilight on her back.
"Huh. Oh yeah, let's go," Twilight said as she turned to look at Stonehenge and Spike. "Come on, you two were going home."
"Okay," Stonehenge said.
"Sure thing, Twilight," Spike said.
Spike jumped off Stonehenge's shoulder, landing on the wooden floor before running to Twilight. Stonehenge stood as the ground was again shaking from the weight of his stone body.I walked over to the barn doors, pushing them open as everyone stepped out of the barn and into the sunlight before we started to make our way home.
As we walked home, the silence was thick. No one wanted to say a single word as we contemplatedwhat had happened. Five minutes into our walk home, I looked at Twilight to try to read her face and see if she was reacting to what had happened.
Her purple face held a low frown, and tears were in the corner of her eyes like she was about to start crying. I decided I would have to be the one to 'melt this ice,' as it seemed that she was lost in her own mind as well.
"Hey, Twilight?" I asked.
"Yeah?" Twilight responded weakly, sounding a bit distant.
"Why were the fish's grades bad?" I asked.
"Why?" Twilight asked as she raised her eyebrow.
"Cause they were below sea level," I said.
I looked at Twilight's face for a response as I saw the wheels in her head turn. The moment the joke clicked,she started to laugh weakly at the nerdy joke while Spike shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't get it," Spike said.
"that's cause you're not a big nerd," I said as I looked at Twilight.
Twilight stopped laughing before she turned to look at me with her brow furled and a cute, angry face. "I am not a nerd."
"You kinda are," I said, giving her a playful wink.
"Iam not," Twilight said, no longer sounding as upset as she had been.
"Yeah, you are. You got the joke. But don't beat yourself up over it. We like you as your nerdy self," I said, giving her a thumbs-up.
Twilight's brow raised as she looked at me with that cute smile, like what she was worried about had suddenly disappeared. Seeing that shelooked like she was doing better lifted my spirits.
"Jack?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Thank you, and I'm sorry," Twilight said.
"You're welcome, but what are you apologizing for?" I asked.
"I'm sorry, but for a moment, I was looking at you as a different person, and that was wrong of me to do so. It was just that you were different, and I didn't know how to react, but now I know that you are still you," Twilight said.
"Twilight, I understand, and it is my fault more than anything. I should have told you from the very start, and I still want to tell you more, but I was scared. I still am. I've been forced to change so much in so little time I'm… I'm still adapting," I said.
"While yes, I agree that you should have told me from the start, but your appearance doesn't change who you are or who you were. You just look different while having new, unique traits. How you react to had how you got here is up to your mind," Twilight said.
"I don't know. Two weeks ago, I would only have nervous breakdowns over upcoming exams and school stress, but never like that," I said.
"I see. I can relate to that kind of stress, and I agree thatwhat happened was not normal stress. That was more akin to something like …," Twilight said as she trailed off.
I looked down at Twilight's face, and her eyes widened at what she was thinking before finally returning to normal. She noticed I was looking at her and gave me a sheepish smile.
"What was that?" I asked.
"What? Oh, it was just a thought that popped into my head. You don't have to worry about it," Twilight responded.
"Uh-huh," I said without pushing the matter any further.
A sharp gust of wind blew past all of us. The exposed parts of my skin felt the wind, causing me to shiver. Looking at Twilight and Spike, they were unaffected by the chilly air that had just blown by us.
"God, so cold," I said.
"Yeah, it is getting colder out, and even Spike and I will have to start putting on warmer clothing soon," Twilight said.
"Wait, you guys have winter clothing?" I asked.
"Sure, we do.I wear a scarf and boots," Twilight said.
"And I get to wear my cozy hat," Spike said.
"Maybe I should talk to Rarity about making me something a bit warmer," I said.
"Oh, she would probably be happy to do so, and I think she still has your measurements, so we or I can ask her sometime before it snows," Twilight said.
When Twilight finished her sentence, I could see the library coming into view andfelt a sense of happiness and security wash over me. We were almost home, and I could speak to Twilight without ponies being able to listen.
"Almost home. It's been a long day," Twilight said.
"I agree with you. I just want to lie beside the warm fireplace," I said.
"Speaking of which, Spike, can you light the fireplace when we get inside?" Twilight asked.
"Sure thing, Twilight," Spike said.
Spike ran inside as Twilight and I waited for Stonehenge to sit under his awning. He crouched down before sitting on the ground, but before Twilight and I could walk away, Stonehenge reached over and patted me on the head. Twilight chuckled before he stopped, allowing me to step back.
"let's go inside," Twilight said.
"You don't see me protesting," I said.
Twilight opened the door and held it open, allowing me to walk inside. The warm air blasted me in the face, and I felt tingles as it engulfed me completely. Twilight closed the door behind me as I entered the libraryto prevent any of the warm air from escaping.
"So much better," I said.
Turning my head, I looked toward the freshly lit fireplace. Walking over, I felt the heat grow as I neared before finally arriving and lifting my hands towards the fire. Feeling the heat on my palms, I stood there, letting my body warm up as the sound of hoofsteps approached me from behind.
"Enjoying the heat?" Twilight asked.
"It feels so good," I said with a smile anda fake whimper.
"Yeah, it does feel good," Twilight said as she walked beside me.
We stood there in silence as we felt the heat and watched the fire dance randomly. I was the first to look away from the fire, and I stared at Twilight,who had her eyes closed, enjoying the heat.
As I stared at Twilight, an idea came into my mind that would help me with my magic. Ask Twilight if she would be willing to train me and show me how to use magic properly orat least get me started. If she said yes, she could help me controlit, and if she said no, I couldgo back to doing it on my own.
"Hey, Twilight, feel free to say no, but can I ask you a favor?" I asked.
Twilight's eyes opened as she turned to look at me," What's the favor?"
"Well, the idea just came to my mind, and as I said, you are more than welcome to say no, but would you possibly, maybe, please teach me how to use magic properly?" I asked.
The moment I asked Twilight, her eyes widened at the idea of her training me. She brought her right front hoof to her chin, rubbing it as she thought of the idea before finally sighing.
"Well, I could possibly teach you how to use magic, but I don't know. My only experience is with colts and fillies. But I don't exactly know if your magic is the same as unicorn magic. But to be fair, it did look pretty similar, save for that ice spell you used," Twilight said.
"Wait, what do you mean 'save for that ice spell?'" I asked.
"Well, it was unicorn magic, I'll give it that, but the speed atwhichit froze the water was astonishing, quicker than anormal user of elemental magic but still slower than anaccomplished user,"Twilight said.
"And why is that an issue?" I asked in confusion.
"a unicorn's magic can either bevery heavily specialized or a bit between. A good example would be if aunicorn were a miner. They would find knowing spells to assist in mining easier than a spell to help plantsgrow. Although many spells are so widely used, they don't fall under any branches like telekinesis," Twilight said.
"What do you fall under, Twilight?" I asked.
"Well, if you want to be technical, I fall under specialized, but I'm a bit different than most specialized ponies," Twilight replied.
"How so?" I asked.
"Well, I am specialized in magic itself. I have an easier time learning most spells than others because that is what my talent is and what this cutie mark symbolizes," Twilight said as she pointed to the stars on her hips.
"Yeah, I have no idea what a cutie mark is," I said.
Twilight gasped at what I said, feeling like I was missing out on extremely basic knowledge. I shrugged my shoulders in response before Twilight sighed.
"It is a physical and symbolic symbol that appears when a pony learns what they are good at and wants to do in life. For example, if a pony likes to play music and wants to play music for as long as it can, a symbol of an instrument will appear," Twilight sighed.
"So, you get a picture of what you're good at on your hip?" I asked.
"Yes, but we can go into even more detail when we start learning," Twilight said.
"Wait, does this mean?" I asked.
"Yes, I will train you in magic, but I will also go over stuff other than magic since it might help you understand this world better," Twilight said.
A feeling of happiness and excitement washed over me. Without a thought, Ipulled Twilight in for a hug. Twilight seemed shocked at first, but she put her arm around me not long afterand returned the hug.
"Thank you so much," I said, letting go of the hug.
"It's no problem," Twilight said with a flustered face.
The sound of footsteps running down the stairs caused Twilight and meto look up. It was Spike who ran down the stairs with a piece of paper and quill, looking like he was in ahurry. Once at the bottom of the stairs, he made a beeline toward the front door.
"Where are you heading, Spike?" Twilight asked.
"I wantto get to Rarity's and back before sunset, so I have to hurry," Spike said as he opened and slammed the door behind him.
I turned to look at Twilight, who had done the same with me, as we both shrugged at each other at Spike's antics. I felt a wave of tiredness suddenly hit me due to my very long day, but before I could make my way down to my room for a nap, I had one more thing to ask Twilight.
"So, when do you want to start training?" I asked.
"We can start tomorrow," Twilight replied.
"That works. I think I'm going to take a nap. Wake me if you need me," I said as I turned towards the basement stairs.
"Okay, have a nice nap. Now, where is that quill and parchment?" Twilight asked.
As I reached the door, I opened it and slowly descended to my room. Walking into my room, I made my way to my bed, snuggling under the covers as my heavy eyelids started to drop, taking me into the land of sleep.
I felt a light shining on my eyelids and a different kind of softness beneath me. When I opened my eyes, I saw I was back in my old room, in my old skin. Panic and the urge to vomit set in as I realized where I was.
"Please, not again," I whimpered.