Jason awoke as the morning sun illuminated his face through the small window on the wall. He rotated himself on the too-small bed and rested his feet on the ground, taking a quick glance around the small room he inhabited. The bed was comfortable, despite it's small size and he had slept better than he had in months. He lifted himself off the soft mattress and made his way over to the neatly folded clothes positioned on a chair in the corner of the room.

He donned his shirt and trousers and began his morning stretches. It was a routine he had begun in boot camp. His DI's would run the platoon through a quick set of stretches in order to expedite their waking process, however Jason took the exercises to heart, realizing the effectiveness of the slight exertion and their ability to work the remaining fatigue from his well rested body.

He was half-way through a deep calve stretch when he heard a light knock on the door. With a sigh he stood and moved to the door. As he opened it, he was greeted by the small purple dragon he had met the day before.

"Good morning, Spike. I'm surprised you're up this early." Jason said with a small yawn. The dragon had interrupted his morning routine and he could still feel the edges of sleep in his mind.

"Early?" Spike chuckled, "It's almost ten o'clock!"

Jason was shocked. Ten O'Clock?!? How did I manage to sleep so late? I mean yeah the bed was comfy, but still I haven't overslept so much since I was stateside!

"Aaanyway," Spike continued, noticing the humans surprise. "I've got lunch cooking. I know it's a little early, but seeing how you missed breakfast I thought you might appreciate it."

"Right...yes, thanks Spike. Sorry for being so rude, It's rare I get a chance to sleep in."

Spike smirked. "We tried to wake you a couple of times, but I guess you didn't notice. Anyway the food'll be ready in a few minutes."

Man, I was racked the fuck out! Despite Jason's sleep-anywhere ability, he was notorious for being a light sleeper. It didn't take much to wake him and it had been a small nightmare when he had to share rooms with people who snored.

"Thanks Spike, give me a couple minutes and I'll be right out."

"No problem! I'll be in the kitchen." Spike turned and left as Jason closed the door. Alright, first order of business: get a hold of an alarm clock. Jason thought to himself as he put on his boots and socks. He left the blouse on the chair and left the room.

He found Spike in the kitchen, transferring what appeared to be macaroni and cheese to a pair of plates. He picked them up and turned towards the table, noticing Jason as he carried the food to the dining area.

"You know, Twilight seemed kinda down when you wouldn't wake up. I've never seen her like that before. She even woke up early hoping to speak with you before she left." Spike said as he placed the plates on the table. "She's taken a liking to you faster than anyone she's ever met, even faster than the other girls." He sat on one of the chairs and began eating.

The feeling's mutual. Jason thought with a smile as he sat opposite Spike and picked up a fork. He scooped up some of the pasta and gave it an experimental nibble. "Wow this is really good! Thanks Spike, I don't think I've ever had mac and cheese from scratch before." Jason said before shoveling a large pile into his mouth. As he chewed a thought creeped into his mind.

"Hey Spike, I hope you don't mind me asking, but how can you even eat this? Dragons don't really exist where I'm from, but we do have some stories. Dragon's are almost exclusively depicted as carnivores if my memory is correct. Don't know if that has any basis in reality, though. Call me curious."

Spike looked at him in surprise. "Well, yeah we do usually prefer meat, but when we're young we can eat a lot of other stuff. I don't really know too much about it, other than what Twi's told me, but I think once we reach a certain age our bodies can only really digest meat. It's kinda weird, I know but I think us kids can get what we need from a wider range of foods." His eyes glazed over slightly. "Like gemstones! Oh man, if there's a gem in sight get outta my way or I might run you over to get to it!"

"So you never have a craving for meat?" Jason asked between bites.

"I don't think so. I've never tasted it, so I don't really know. Hopefully I won't start changing anytime soon, I don't think the ponies around will like it too much if I start going around eating animals. Oh man, I don't think I'll be able to handle Fluttershy's response to that!" Spike responded with a shiver.

"I know what you mean." Spike looked at him quizzically. Jason swallowed before he continued. "You see, us humans are traditionally omnivores, meaning we eat both vegetables and meat."

Spike was surprised at the revelation. "So you guys eat animals normally? How do you manage to feed an entire planet?"

"Well, we do it out of necessity, We require at least a little animal protein in our diets. As such, we have developed a form of...I guess you could say farming to keep the animal population level while feeding the population." Jason decided to keep the fact that meat was delicious out of his explanation.

"So you need meat to stay healthy? Wow...um I'm not really sure how I can help. Fluttershy keeps pretty good tabs on the local animals so she would notice If a couple went missing."

"That's what I thought... What about fish?"

"Hmm... Well, there's a lake just outside of town. Fluttershy goes down there every once in a while if there's a problem, but she tends to leave it alone." Spike thought a moment. "I know there's a couple of older folks around here that enjoy catching them for fun. You might be able to talk some of them into loaning some of their stuff to you."

"Thanks Spike, that helps a lot. I'll be sure to cook 'em well outta town so the smell doesn't disturb anyone." I'll have to talk to Flutters. She's not going to like it but I need to tell her before she freaks out and begins an investigation to track down the lost fish. Maybe Twi can help a bit, she's far closer to her than I am and I'm sure she'd be willing to talk with her. Of course I'm going to have to tell Twi about my dietary needs first. He wasn't really looking forward to it, but it was something he needed to do.

"So anyway, where's Twilight? I'm kind of surprised she's not here this morning." Jason said before taking the last bite of his pasta.

"Oh there were a few errands she had to run today. She left around nine so she probably won't be back for another couple of hours."

"Ah, Ok. Well in that case I think I'll go for a quick walk if you don't mind. Twilight showed me a lot of the important places around town yesterday, but there's still a lot I haven't seen so I wouldn't mind exploring a bit."

"Great! I was just about to start cleaning anyway." Spike stood and gathered up the plates before taking them to the sink. "You're kinda the talk of the town right now, by the way. Your arrival wasn't exactly subtle and a bunch of ponies have been stopping by to ask Twi about you."

Jason chuckled, slightly bemused that someone like him had become some kind of celebrity. "Heh, sounds like I might get a little more attention than I was expecting. Thanks for the heads up."

"Don't mention it." Spike said as he began rinsing the dishes.

Jason made his way back to his room and put on his blouse. He grabbed his cover and was about to leave when a thought crossed his mind. He walked over to the corner where the rest of his gear lay and began rummaging through one of the pouches. Come on, don't be broken. He thought to himself as he found what he was looking for. He pulled out the iPod and gave it a quick look over. Jeez I guess these Otter Boxes really work! Cracks were spider-webbed across the screen but other than that the device was largely intact.

He usually didn't carry more than he needed, but the audio player had proven invaluable during the long periods of boredom between his duties.

OK, time for test number two. He lightly pressed the power button on the top and watched the music player jump to life. He had learned quickly to power the thing down completely whenever he wasn't using it. More than once he had been left staring at sand because the battery died in his pocket. Still, a month is a long time for a device to just sit there, as such when the menu finally loaded it revealed less than twenty-percent battery life remained.

Jason sighed. Damn. I'll have to see if Twi can work out some kind of electrical miracle and get this thing charged.

The earbuds, he found, had fared far worse than the player. The left speaker was completely crushed, leaving nothing but a sad plastic husk. The right ear was still somewhat intact, though he could see a couple cracks on the plastic around the speaker. He plugged the jack in and put the speaker in his ear while choosing a random song to see if they still worked. The music wasn't as clear as it used to be, and without the other earbud he could only hear certain parts of the melody.

Jason sighed and turned off the device. Well, something's better than nothing. he thought as he removed the earbud and stuffed it, along with the ipod, into his pocket.

He collected his cover and began heading towards the door of the library.

"Spike! I'm headed out!" Jason called while opening the exit.

"OK! See you later Jason!" Spike called from somewhere upstairs.

Jason stepped out the door, letting it close behind him. He inhaled deeply the midday air before beginning the exploration of his new home.

Jason spent a good two hours wandering around the town. A few of the ponies he met were rather eager to make his acquaintance, asking the usual "What are you? Where are you from? How do you manage to stay standing upright?". A majority of the ponies, however, merely eyed him with caution and kept their distance.

He was following a winding road alongside the small stream that ran through the town when he came across an earth pony attempting to hang a somewhat large sign on what appeared to be a sawmill. He was having a heck of a time trying to keep the advertisement in place while fumbling with the hammer and nails that would secure it to the building.

"Here, let me help you with that." Jason said cheerfully as he approached the stallion. He hefted the sign into place and motioned towards the sand colored stallion for the hammer.

The pony cautiously handed Jason a couple of nails and the hammer. He put one of the nails into his teeth and flipped the hammer into position. Using friction to hold the sign in place, he quickly positioned the nail and with a few deft strokes of the hammer sent it home against the wood. He adjusted his arm on the sign and quickly drove the second nail into place.

He inspected the sign quickly, ensuring it was squared away and took a moment to read the advertisement. The sign simply read "Planer's Carpentry and Sawmill." Satisfied with his work, he turned toward the stallion and returned the hammer.

"There you go, that outta do the trick." Jason said as the stallion took the hammer. "You must be Planer, nice to meet you. I'm Cpl. Sinder." Jason said and extended his hand for a shake.

Planer gave jason an appraising look as he took his hand. "That I am, a pleasure to make your acquaintance Cpl. Sinder." They released their grasp and Planer smiled. "I dare say I ain't ever seen anypony hang a sign that quick. A unicorn, sure but never anypony with just their hooves! Normally I have to get somepony else to help whenever a shopkeep wants a sign hung, and even then it takes us a good fifteen minutes to get the job done!"

Jason chuckled lightly. "Yeah well, these hands make this kinda job pretty simple." He said with a shrug.

"I noticed, say how good are ya with smaller things? Makin' chairs and the like." Planer asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Well, as long as I know what the measurements are and there are the right tools available, I should be able to make 'em without too much trouble. Why?"

The stallion's excitement visibly grew. "Well, ya see I've got this pretty big contract lined up. The spa's lookin' ta get a bunch of lounge chairs made up for 'em. Normally I could take care of em no problem, but the deadline's comin' up and I'm a bit behind. Ya seem like ya have the know-how and ability to make a couple of 'em. I'd be more than happy to pay ya for yer efforts."

Jason's ears perked up at the mention of payment. "Sure, I'd be willing to help you out. Just let me know what I need to do."

"Follow me and we'll get ya situated!" Planer said as he entered the building, Jason close behind.

The interior of the sawmill was surprisingly well lit. Jason quickly glanced around the building and noticed many different pieces of machinery as well as multiple walls covered with various woodworking tools. He was surprised at the number of powered saws and lathes that lined the far wall.

Jason spoke up. "If you don't mind me asking, how do you keep all these saws powered? I don't see anything like a generator in here."

"Generator? Nah these guys are all water powered! Got a couple water wheels on the river that give these babies all the juice they need. Here, follow me and I'll show ya what you'll be makin'." Planer walked over to one side of the building. Five lounge chairs sat in a row next to a lathe. "Here they are, watcha think? Think ya can make one?"

Jason glanced over the construction of the chairs. They were a fairly simple design. The triangle frame was made up of cut 2x4's, while 1x4's were used for the seats and back. They weren't exactly luxury dining chairs, and Jason knew he could make one fairly easily.

"Sure, I can make these without a problem. How many do you need?"

Planer nearly bounced with excitement as he spoke. "Well I need fifteen total, but as ya can see I'm already a third the way done. I'd say if ya can pump out five or six more, then I'll be able to get this contract done by tomorrow!"

"I can do that." Jason said with a nod. "Do you have the measurements and a sketch written down somewhere I could use as a reference?"

"Right over here, Cpl. Sinder." Planer responded, motioning towards a set of diagrams on the wall.

"Jason's fine." he said as he got to work.

Jason's pockets jingled as he made his way back to the library. It had taken nearly six hours to get the job done, in that time he had managed to complete seven chairs, and Planer had finished three of his own. Planer had excitedly handed over a bag of gold coins, overflowing with gratitude at Jason's assistance.

"There's seventy-five bits in there for ya. Don't ya go spendin' it all in one place now, ya hear? and if you're ever in need of work, stop on by. I'd be more than happy to pay ya for more work like that!"

Jason of course had no idea how much seventy-five bits was worth, but didn't bother asking the carpenter. I'll ask Twilight when I get back. I suppose money is something I probably should've asked about sooner. Jason thought as he walked through the darkening streets. It was nearing 20:00 and the sun was beginning to set behind the trees.

He was nearing the town center when he heard something eerily similar to music he heard back home.

Is...Is that dubstep? Jason thought as he began searching for the source of the music. He quickly found the building from which the sound was emanating and gave the door a quick knock. He liked what he heard and was hoping to meet whoever was causing the racket.

He waited a minute or so before a gray mare with wadding stuffed into her ears opened the door. She was turned away from him and was shouting into another room.

"Vinyl do turn that down! We have a guest!" There was no response and the volume did not decrease.

The mare sighed and turned her head towards Jason. She jumped in surprise when she saw the human but quickly regained her composure. "Ah! You must be the human the town has been buzzing about!" She stepped outside and closed the door behind her, muffling the music and making it easier to hear. She pulled the wadding from her ears before continuing. "I'm dreadfully sorry about that racket. Vinyl has a big show coming up and has been writing new music."

"That's quite alright. My name's Cpl. Sinder, and actually that music is what brought me here. You see, we have music that is extremely similar where I come from and I was curious as to what was making it. Do you think it would be alright if I spoke to Vinyl, miss...?"

"Oh! Where are my manners? My name's Octavia, lead cellist for the Canterlot Grand Symphony."

Jason's eyes widened in surprise. "A cellist? Really? How do you hold... you know what, never mind. I'm surprised you ponies have such a wide variety of music! Honestly I'm kind of surprised you even have music, nonetheless an entire symphony!" He stated, impressed.

"Why wouldn't we have music? Do you think we're uncultured?" Octavia asked, somewhat irritated.

"No no no, not at all! You could say I'm still very new to your culture in general. In fact, this is the first I've heard music in Ponyville."

"I'm sorry, that was rather short of me." Octavia said. "I'm sorry this noise Is the first taste of Equestrian music. In fact hold on. Let me go get my instrument and I'll give you a demonstration of what real music sounds like." She entered the building and Jason waited. He was excited, he hadn't heard live music in quite a while. At least music that wasn't some kind of rock or metal.

Octavia emerged, towing a wheeled cello case behind her. "Here, follow me. Let's find somewhere away from this racket."

Jason followed her through the town streets. The sun had set and there were various streetlights illuminating their passage. Octavia eventually stopped under one of the lights, there was a small bench sitting next to the light pole.Jason could still hear the distant thumping of the bass, but it was far quieter.

Jason took a seat and observed Octavia as she pulled the instrument from it's case and rosin'd up her bow. She set a small up a small folding music stand and placed a single piece of sheet music upon it. She read off the song's title and composer, names that Jason forgot nearly immediately, and began slowly running her bow across the strings.

It was a beautiful piece, conveying gentle emotions contrasted by swelling crescendos. Jason was amazed at the skill Octavia displayed as she drew gorgeous sounds from the instrument. It was a fairly short piece, but it ended well and left Jason with a good sense of satisfaction at the music's conclusion.

"That was beautiful, Octavia. Thank you for sharing it with me. I can see why you're the first chair." Jason said with a smile.

"You flatter me Jason, but thank you for the compliment."

"May I?" Jason asked, gesturing towards the instrument.

Octavia was somewhat hesitant, yet her own curiosity got the better of her and she carefully handed the instrument to the human.

Jason had played the cello himself all throughout high school. It was a secret he kept to himself when he joined the Corps, however his parents had encouraged him to try out the instrument. He had attended multiple lessons and had gotten fairly decent at managing the instrument, though it had obviously been years since he had laid eyes on one.

The scale of the instrument was a little smaller than the one he had used before, however it was still large enough for him to handle easily. He experimented with his hand positioning and carefully played a couple of scales before beginning a piece he had memorized for an audition. He fumbled with a few parts, his fingers lacking the dexterity they once possessed, however his performance was more than adequate to demonstrate his own proficiency.

He finished the piece and Octavia gave him a light applause. "Thank you for that, Jason. It isn't often one gets to hear music of another world. That was quite nice."

Jason chuckled. "Now who's the flatterer? Please, I know that wasn't nearly up to your standard."

"You're too modest." Octavia stated in a mock scolding tone. "That was far better than most of the ponies I know. Heck, you could probably make it into the symphony with skills like those!"

"No, no. I'll leave the music to the professionals. I'm just a Marine trying to figure this place out." Jason said with a light chuckle. "Thanks for the compliment though. Anyway, do you think we could head back now? I would still like to speak with Vinyl."

"Oh! Sure, I guess I kind of distracted you from the reason you knocked on our door. We can head back now." She quickly returned her instrument to its case before leading the way back to her home. Jason followed closely, passing the time with idle chatter as they walked.

It wasn't long before the thumping bass returned to Jason's ears. As they approached the house he noticed Octavia growing more and more distressed.

"Something wrong, Octavia?" Jason asked.

"It's that blasted music. You wouldn't believe how annoying it gets after living with it for years. Just once I'd like to get a normal nights sleep without having to plug my ears." She was understandably frustrated. She glanced at him apologetically. "Sorry you have to listen to it."

Jason chuckled. "It's fine. In fact that music is what brought me to your home. You see, where I'm from that kind of music is actually extremely popular. I couldn't tell you the size of the fanbase that has formed around that particular genre, nonetheless the many other sub-genres that it has given birth to." He rubbed the back of his head gently. "Heck, even I'm a fan to a certain extent."

Octavia raised an eyebrow. "So you didn't knock on our door to complain about the volume?"

Jason couldn't help but laugh. "No, not at all! What gave you that idea?"

"You wouldn't be the first." She shuddered slightly. "Or the last."

They finally arrived at the musician's home. Octavia pulled out some wadding and stuffed it into her ears before she entered, gesturing towards Jason to follow her.

As he stepped into the house, he was immediately assaulted by the decibels emanating from Vinyl's room. The volume was high outside, sure but the inside was on a completely different level. The walls shook with the beat and Jason couldn't help but cover his ears to protect his sensitive eardrums. He followed Octavia into what appeared to be the living room.

The room was filled with electronics. Large speaker stacks lined the walls along with expensive-looking amplifier rigs and lighting systems. Countless chords ran along the floor, linking the many speakers to a single control panel in front of the room's fireplace.

Behind the controls stood a white unicorn. Her mane was a deep blue streaked with lighter sky-blue accents. She wore sunglasses and headphones, and seemed to be completely concentrated on the panel situated in front of her. Her head bobbed in time with the beat as she used some magic to adjust one of the sliders on her mixer. What that did, Jason couldn't tell through the deafening din that was starting to give him a headache.

Jason could see Octavia shouting but couldn't hear her over the music. The DJ obviously couldn't either as she continued to fiddle with her mixer. Octavia huffed in frustration and made her way over to Vinyl, using a hoof to shake her back to reality.

Vinyl started and removed her headphones, while using magic to turn the volume down to a more reasonable level. "'Sup 'Tavi? Sorry, I was really into this new set I've been workin' on."

"We've got a visitor." Octavia said flatly, gesturing towards Jason. He slowly removed his hands from his ears, trying to adjust to the volume of the music.

Vinyl removed her sunglasses, revealing the lavender eyes that sat behind them. Her eyelids widened and she quickly turned the music off completely. "Oh man! Why didn't you say something sooner!" she moved past Octavia and walked to where Jason stood. She looked up into his face and grinned. "Name's DJ Pon-3, pleasure ta meet ya." She extended a hoof in greeting.

Jason took the hoof and gave it a shake. "DJ Pon-3? I thought it was Vinyl."

The unicorns grin widened. "Sorry, Pon-3's a stage name. I guess you've been talkin' with 'Tavi here then?"

Octavia spoke up. "For around forty-five minutes. If you would turn down the music you would have known he was here."

Vinyl looked at her friend apologetically ."Heh, sorry I guess I was a little more in to the groove than I thought." She turned her attention back towards Jason. "So, what exactly are you?"

"I'm Cpl. Jason Sinder. A human just trying to meet some of the ponies around town."

"Well, you've met the town's musical experts." Vinyl chuckled, walking back toward her mixer. "What brought you to our humble abode?"

"Actually it was the music you were playing. You see, where I'm from dubstep's actually pretty popular. I guess you could say I was drawn to what I thought was familiar." Jason said with a small shrug.

"Well if ya like it, wanna hear a song?" Vinyl said, her excitement showing. "I'm just about done with it and it would be awesome to get your opinion."

"Er, sure I guess. Do you think you could keep it down a little though? I don't think I'd be able to hear anything other than the wobbles at the volume you were playing before."

"Aw, you're no fun. Fine." Vinyl replaced her glasses and headphones before manning her position behind her panel. Octavia rolled her eyes and walked to Jason's side, pushing the wadding deeper into her ears. "Hold onto your hooves Jason, It's about to get loud in here!" Vinyl said while adjusting a few of her sliders and pressing the play button.

The music started quietly, the samples playing an easy melody while the percussion built to an ever increasing climax. Jason felt himself begin bouncing to the beat. Man, she's really good. I haven't been this into a song since that concert back in J-ville. The beat continued to grow, Vinyl's head bobbing as she worked her magic. Jason watched as she slowly raised a hoof into the air. The song was becoming increasingly frantic and was coming to a head when Vinyl brought her hoof down onto a large button in the corner of her mixer.

The walls began shaking as the bass speakers came to life. Jason's heart was pounding and he could barely contain himself as the rhythm pounded in his head.

The song finally came to a conclusion and Jason felt slightly out of breath, his adrenaline started ebbing off and he gave the DJ an approving nod.

"That was awesome! I haven't lost myself to a song like that in a long time."

Vinyl smiled and removed her headphones. "Glad you liked it. I'm plannin' on premiering it in Manehatten in a couple days."

"The crowds' gonna love it, I can promise you that. Hey, I've actually got some music from my own world here, If you want to give it a listen."

Both of the ponies looked at him in surprise as he pulled the iPod out of his pocket. "Sorry, the headphones are a little messed up, but one of em still works."

"Let me see the jack." Vinyl said, curious.

Jason shrugged and walked over to the DJ, unplugging the earbuds and handing them to her.

She quickly examined the jack. "I might just have something that'll work, hold on." She moved over to a box at the corner of her stand and began searching through the many cables that were inside.

"Aha!" she exclaimed and pulled a double sided cable from the box. She tossed Jason the cable. "See if that fits."

He examined the cable. It looked like a standard 3mm headphone jack and he slid it into the ipod's port. Satisfied, he handed Vinyl the device and took it toward one of the amplifiers, plugging the other end of the cable into one of the countless jacks on the front. She turned a dial and the amplifier sprung to life.

She nodded and returned the ipod to Jason. "Let's hear some of this alien music of yours."

Jason turned on the ipod and quickly selected a song. She outta like some Ephixa Jason thought to himself as he pressed play and cranked the volume.

It didn't take long before Vinyl's head was bobbing to the fast beat that emanated from her speakers. Hardstyle was by far Jason's favorite kind of electronic music, and from the looks of it Vinyl was really getting into it.

"That was incredible!" Vinyl panted. The intense music had affected her in ways Jason wasn't expecting. He noticed her tail twitching and a blush forming on her cheeks.

"You OK there Vinyl?" Jason asked.

"Oh man, that was intense! You humans know how to make some music!"

Jason chuckled. "I've actually got some stuff on here for you too, there Octavia."

Octavia raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Let's hear it then."

Jason quickly found where he kept his classical music on the device. He selected one of Beethoven's symphonies and set the ipod on top of the amplifier, letting the music play. Octavia's eyes drifted closed and she began swaying in time with the music. Jason turned and found a seat on the couch. Vinyl followed and sat next to him.

"She seems to be enjoying it." Vinyl observed, commenting on her companions aloof demeanor. "I tell ya, you guys know how to write some songs!"

Jason chuckled. "Yeah, there are some people with real talent where I'm from."

"Can I buy that from you? It'd be awesome to use some foreign reference and get some samples."

Jason was hesitant. "I'm not sure how long it'll be useful to you. It's almost out of battery power."

"Not a problem." Vinyl said, tapping her horn. "I know a few electricity spells that can charge it up without an issue."

"I don't know..." Jason still wasn't sure. Yeah, he needed the money, but he didn't really feel like parting with the device.

"I'll give you a hundred bits for it."

Jason was shocked. He'd just spent six hours doing carpentry and had only made seventy-five. He still had no idea what money was worth, but it seemed like quite a hefty amount.

"Uh...sure. Why not." Jason finally relented. He could tell the unicorn wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Great!" The DJ smiled widely. "Let me go get your money."

She walked out of the room. Jason looked over to Octavia. He noticed that her tail had begun twitching slightly, and her complexion was starting to take a slightly reddish tone. He didn't say anything and the mare remained in a trance as Vinyl returned with a pouch in her mouth. She handed Jason the purse, which he hefted before slipping it into his pocket.

"A pleasure doing business with you!" She stated.

The music came to an end and Octavia shivered. She turned to face him and opened her eyes half-way. She slowly sauntered her way over and sat on the other side of the couch, facing him. She leaned her chest on his shoulder and began trailing a hoof across his chest.

"That was amazing, Jason" Octavia said, her voice taking on a sultry tone.

"Erm...I'm glad you enjo..." He was cut off suddenly when Octavia leaned forward and planted a passionate kiss on his lips.

Jason's body spasmed and he quickly pushed the mare back, breaking her kiss.

"Hey now, hold on a minute. I'm already in a relationship!" He glanced over at Vinyl to see that she now wore the same half-lidded gaze that was present on Octavia's face.

He looked back to Octavia and saw her eyebrow raised slightly above her sensual eyes.

"So?" She asked quietly. Her hoof trailed down from his chest and rested on his groin.

"OK THEN! TIME FOR ME TO GO." He said as he quickly rose, knocking the mare against the armrest. He turned to the couch. "A good evening to you, ladies." He quickly turned and exited the house.

"Jason, wait!" He heard Octavia call as he closed the door behind him and began quickly walking toward the Library.

What was that all about. Jason thought, his heart racing a mile a minute. The coins jingled in his pocket as he kept a brisk pace. Are relationships not sacred to ponies? They didn't seem to care at all! Shit, maybe they don't...maybe I'm the asshole. His pace slowed at the thought. Maybe I should ask Twilight... Fuck, If relationships work the same way they do at home that might piss her off...But if they don't I need to apologize...FUCK.

Jason continued arguing with himself the entire walk home. as he approached the tree he came to a final decision. I need to talk to Twilight about it. Hopefully she can understand my predicament. He opened the door to the library and stepped in, closing the portal behind him. He glanced at the clock. Damn, I didn't know it was that late! He refrained from announcing his arrival and instead made his way toward the kitchen.

As he crossed the main study area, he found Twilight asleep on the couch, a book propped open in front of her chin. He smiled and reached out a hand to awaken her, then hesitated. Instead he kneeled down a planted a light kiss on her forehead.

Twilight stirred and slowly opened her eyes. She glanced towards Jason and sat up. "Jeez, what took you so long?" She stretched quickly before throwing her arms around his shoulders and embracing him. "You had me worried."

Jason chuckled softly. "You were waiting for me?"

She leaned back and looked into his eyes. He could see the worry that was still present within hers. "Of course i was. I was beginning to think something terrible had happened to you."

He leaned in and kissed her. Just a light brush of the lips before pulling back and responding. "Twilight, you of all people should know that I can take care of myself." he said quietly.

She giggled softly. "I know, I know. Still, a mare can worry about her stallion, can't she?"

Jason smiled and tightened his embrace. "Of course she can." He released her and stood, walking into the kitchen and returning with a couple glasses of water. He handed her one before sitting next to her. Twilight leaned against him, enjoying the contact as she sipped from her glass.

"So what, pray tell, have you been doing all this time? I was expecting you back hours ago."

"I've been working."Jason said as he reached into his pockets and removed the two pouches of coins he had earned. He handed Twilight the purses. She was astonished at the weight of the bags and raised an eyebrow toward him.

"How much is in these?" She asked, hefting the two pouches in her hooves.

"A hundred and seventy-five bits." Jason responded, curious at her reaction.

Twilight's jaw literally dropped. "175 bits!?" She exclaimed. "That's almost a week's worth of work! What in Equestria have you been doing to make so much money?"

Now it was Jason's turn to be astonished. "I..I just did some work at Planer's shop! I made some chairs for him...Oh and I sold my iPod to Vinyl."

"What's an iPod?" Twilight asked.

"It's a little device used to store and play music. She offered me a hundred bits on the spot when I played her some music from my home."

Twilight looked a little hurt. "I wish you would have shown me it sooner, I would have loved to listen to some of it."

Nice going dumbass, way to think with your wallet instead of your head.

"Sorry, Twi. I honestly wasn't expecting to sell it but Vinyl's offer kinda struck me flat-footed."

Twilight sighed. "That's alright, Jason. I'm sure I'll be able to hear Vinyl playing it at night."

"Actually, there was something else I needed to talk to you about." Jason could feel his insides beginning to twist. He did not want to have this conversation, but he needed to.

"When I was at Vinyl and Octavia's house, I was trying to get to know them a little better. I played Octavia a song on her cello and played them some music from the ipod. All of a sudden they started getting...affectionate. Octavia even kissed me."

Twilight giggled. "My, aren't you the mare's stallion. Not even a day on your own and you've already got girls falling for you."

Jason was surprised, to say the least. "Wait, you're not mad?"

Twilight leaned away from him and looked at him quizzically. "Why would I be?"

"Erm...Well other mares are trying to go after your boyfriend, that doesn't upset you at all?"

She was still confused. "Why would that make me upset? Isn't that how it is where you're from."

Jason shook his head. "Not at all. It's not uncommon for situations like this to be devastating for relationships."

"Why? Are girls really that selfish where you're from?"

"No, not selfish. That's just the way things are."

"How do you maintain a steady population if each stallion only gets one mare?"

A sudden realization dawned upon Jason. Throughout Jason's entire tour yesterday, and his exploration today a vast majority of the ponies he had met were female. In fact, apart from Planer, everypony he had met today was a girl.

"Twilight, what's the average ratio on boy to girl births here in Equestria?"

That question only piqued her curiosity more. "Only about one in every five births is a stallion, but what does that have to do with this?"

"Everything." Jason sighed. "You see, back on Earth the births are about fifty-fifty to boys and girls, meaning that, for the most part, our relationships are monogamous."

Sudden realization flowed through Twilight. "So you thought you were being unfaithful when Octavia approached you?" Twilight began giggling again. "Hah! Boy I bet you were uncomfortable in that situation!" Twilight suddenly took on a serious tone. "Wait, what did you do when that all happened?"

Jason shook his head. "I got out of there as quickly as possible."

"Jason!" She chided him. "You have no idea how insulting it is to be rejected like that! You need to go and apologize!"

"I know, I know." Jason said in defeat. "I'll do it first thing tomorrow morning. But I'm kinda tired right now. Planer worked me hard today and I'm a little burned out by that whole situation. I could really use some sleep."

Twilight sighed and leaned against him again. "I'm sorry Jason, I know you're still trying to adapt to this new world. I shouldn't have snapped at you. It's just that it's extremely bad manners to act like that."

"I don't blame you. If I saw someone react to a girls advances like that back home, I'd be pretty upset too." Jason gave a soft chuckle. "Besides, I'm still with you. And that's not something I would set aside so easily." He leaned over and kissed her, this time a bit more passionately.

He broke the kiss after a few seconds before saying, "we should probably get to bed, probably going to have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Yeah, probably for the best. Spike told me about your conversation this morning. A meat eater huh? We're going to need to talk to Fluttershy about that."

It's like she knows what I'm going to say before I do. "Yeah, that and the apology."

They stood together, but before they parted Twilight reared up on her hind legs and wrapped her forehooves around his neck, planting a light kiss upon his lips.

"Goodnight, Jason." she whispered.

"Goodnight, miss Sparkle." He responded before planting a kiss of his own on her lips.

She lowered herself to the ground and made her way to the stairs. Jason watched as she walked, his eyes drawn to her smooth flanks that rotated as she moved.

She glanced back at him and he looked away quickly, a blush forming on his cheeks. She smiled as she disappeared up the stairs.

Jason shook his head and made his way toward his room. As he entered, he noticed a small red alarm clock on the center of his bed. He chuckled and picked up the clock, setting the alarm for 7:30 before setting it on his nightstand. He undressed and folded his clothes. Before setting them down however, he picked up the skivvy shirt and gave it an experimental sniff. I really need to find a way to wash these. Or better yet I should talk to Rarity about getting more clothes. He sighed and set the shirt upon the rest of his uniform.

He slipped under the covers on his mattress and let his mind run through the day's series of events. There's still quite a lot I need to learn about this place He yawned.

Quite a lot indeed.

Author's Notes:

Sorry this one took so long guys. I type as inspiration strikes and when time allows, but I will try to update this as frequently as possible without taking away from the quality of the content.