Twilight walked out ahead of the Wanderer, with Spike perched on her back. "Twi, are you really sure about this?" the dragon asked. "I mean, I don't really like the looks he's giving me." Spike turned around to see the Wanderer shoot him a gaze of what looked to be a warning and curiosity mixed in... somewhere.

The dragon snapped his head back around forwards as Twilight continued. "Spike, you heard him talk about where he's from. He's probably just never seen a dragon before, or maybe he's just being careful. To him, everything here is an unknown, and therefore, potentially dangerous."

"Come on, have you seen the looks?! I think he could kill a timberwolf with that!"

"Spike!" Twilight hissed, trying to keep the conversation quiet.

"What? Seriously, he could out-stare Fluttershy's Stare!"

"I know you're not too comfortable now, but come on, Spike, if he gets to know you, then you won't have anything to be afraid of, right? Celestia told me that he can't even use magic yet. Do you really expect something that bad to happen? Besides, he's giving me a chance to study him and I want to learn as much as I can about where he's from."

"He called it a wasteland, Twilight," Spike deadpanned. "That should be enough."

"Well, maybe somepony wants to know how it got like that," she retorted.

Just as Spike was about to say something else, a shadow cast itself over them and drew Twilight's gaze. When she turned her head, she saw her castle lying before her.

\\\\\\//////

Jason was practically speechless at the sight. In front of him was what looked like a massive... tree, made out of giant purple crystals. Every surface shined boldly in multiple directions, and the spotless surfaces stretched outwards, giving shape to the structure. Atop the expanse of snaking crystals were walls of a building that shot upwards even further. Along certain parts, balconies could be seen being supported and covered by railings that looked to be made of pure gold. Finally, at the top of the structure, was a star that resembled the symbol on the side of Twilight Sparkle's hind legs.

With a quick motion, the Wanderer looked back at Twilight with a mixed feeling in his gut. 'The Hell is this?' he thought to himself. 'Did she make this? Is this what magic can do?'

While he thought this, Twilight continued her walk, moving ahead of him and up to the massive doors at the top of a golden staircase. She unlocked them and turned back to Jason. Turning back, she saw the stallion standing stock still a ways back. "Um, you can come inside now."

The Wanderer looked back at the pony before him as her horn glowed. Jason noticed that the doors gave off the same aura. As he processed this, he walked forwards into the massive structure, scoping out the interior. The main hall stretched at least another hundred meters ahead into a massive room with tall thrones, each with a symbol on it. Jason tilted his head and looked up and around to examine the perfectly cut crystal walls that beamed brilliantly. The ceiling reached almost out of view. He continued down a red carpet, almost tripping over the feel of fabric.

As he spotted four doors along the walls before him, two on each side, Jason stopped walking for a second to look around the massive entrance.

Twilight was trying to open one door on the left side with the purple glow. "Come on," she strained, just as the door swung open. Twilight peered inside, then motioned with one of her forelegs inside with a smile. "Here's your room," she added.

Jason looked inside and dropped his jaw a bit more as he examined the interior. It had a matching crystallyne theme that went with the rest of the castle, except much smaller. The ceiling could actually be seen, peaking at about three meters above the floor. To the left of the door was a massive bed covered with a plush, thick, green fabric that looked as though it was made of clouds. The bed itself lay within a frame of wood that was carved from a deep brown wood, which looked as though it was still growing, inside the room. Beside the bed was a large chest that had a key placed atop it, with a golden frame that stood out from the solitary purple of the box beneath it. At the far end of the room was a table with two chairs and two doors that each had a key inside their locks, ready for use. Overall, the room reminded him of his home in Megaton, only built to perfection with crystals. He looked back to see the pony smiling at him, while Dogmeat was busy with staring at the dragon. "Thanks," he stated simply as he entered.

The Wanderer made his way over to the chest and tried to get the key off the top of it. He tried to move it with his nonexistent hands, before deadpanning at the object and resorting to grabbing it with his mouth and raising his right foreleg. With some effort, he slipped the key into a pocket by his shoulder for the moment. Jason then moved his foreleg forwards to open the box, and once that was done, he propped the top of it against the wall before moving his bags around. With some struggle, Jason managed to move them to his front, slipping them off into the box.

One of the straps took the Stetson with it, causing the Wanderer to reach for the hat as it fell. He held it carefully between his forelegs before slowly placing it atop his head with a heavy sigh.

\\\\\\//////

Twilight watched the small display with both intrigue and embarrassment. It was interesting to see how the Wanderer was able to move the bags without a clip or trying to move anything with magic. At the same time, however, it was a bit like watching a foal with the way he handled his Stetson between his hooves, even though he was a unicorn. "You really don't know how to use magic?"

The Wanderer turned around to face her as he pushed the hat down firmly onto his head. "Yeah. Guess I never got around to it."

Twilight felt a poke by her side and looked to Spike, who was staring at a statue-still Dogmeat. "Twi," he started, "can I go somewhere else?"

The alicorn sighed. "Sure, Spike. Try to be careful, though."

As she finished, the dragon ran off into the depths of the castle, leaving the alicorn and dog to stare at each other. The dog then barked twice.

Just as Twilight was about to walk away, the Wanderer came out of the room. "I hate to ask so early, but can we start learning about how I'm supposed to use magic?"

Twilight gasped. "Yes! I know just the place we can practice!"

"Lead the way."

Twilight smiled at the unicorn as she turned around and began to move towards the main door. "Spike!" She called. "I'm going to town with the Wanderer! We'll be back soon!"

With that, the alicorn, the unicorn and his dog all exited the front door to the estate.

\\\\\\//////

The three walked along the path to the treeline of the Everfree Forest for a few minutes in silence before one of them broke the tension. "Can I ask you something real quick?" the Wanderer asked.

Twilight turned back to the unicorn. "Um, sure? What is it?"

"That dragon, or whatever it is, back when you saw me in that alley, what's the deal with it?"

"Oh, you mean Spike?" She said with a smile. "I hatched him from an egg a few years ago, actually. It was when I first became Princess Celestia's student."

"Do we have anything to worry about him?"

"Oh, not at all. He's harmless. You know, he was actually saying that you were giving him some funny looks on the way to the castle."

"Sorry about that, but where I'm from, it pays to be careful about what you don't know. Especially small scaled creatures."

"Do you not have dragons?"

"Only in mythology."

"Interesting..." Twilight pondered.

"Well, thanks for letting me stay in your castle, or whatever that is. It's been a while since someone offered a helping... uh..."

The Wanderer paused, looking as though he were thinking of the right word.

"Hoof?" Twilight offered.

"So that's what they are..." he muttered to himself.

"Don't worry about it. I just want to make sure that you have a safe time here in Ponyville," she added with a smile.

"Thanks anyways. By the way, what was with you finding me in the alley earlier?"

Twilight's pupils shrunk as a bead of sweat started to form on her brow. "Um, well... I kinda, saw you talking with Applejack and I wanted to make sure that I introduced myself before you could..."

"Wander off?" The Wanderer offered with a smirk.

Twilight chuckled a bit. "Good one. Actually, I want to ask something too."

"Shoot."

"What was with those bottle caps you tried to pay her with?"

"Where I'm from, we use caps as currency instead. Since there's no way to manufacture any more than there are now, some merchants a few decades ago thought they'd be a great way to make sure we don't have any kind of inflation while rebuilding the Wasteland."

"Wow... Can you tell me about this 'Great War' sometime? I've never heard of some war that's lead to leaving an entire country like a Wasteland."

"Maybe some day." The Wanderer stated flatly. "When you're ready."

"What does that mean?" Twilight asked, turning to face him.

"It means we're at the forest," he deadpanned, pointing a hoof to the trees before them. Twilight turned to see the trees that marked the edge of the Everfree Forest looming before them. Before she could say anything, the Wanderer moved next to her. "Let's go for it," he said before walking right through some of the bushes, with Dogmeat following full of enthusiasm.

Twilight watched them go further into the thicket before realizing that she was lagging behind, and shooting off to catch up.

\\\\\\//////

When the three emerged from the thick foliage of the Everfree's entrance, Jason looked into the clearing and saw a hut that was made out of a tree, which was decorated by painted wooden masks out in front of it. Twilight walked out in front of him and went for the wooden door. She raised a hoof to knock on it, but stopped when she saw a note taped to its surface.

Jason walked next to her to hear her read the note. "'My friends who may find this, I am leaving for my homeland for a while to catch up with relatives and to trade some notes of mine with my brother. I will be back in the next two moon cycles. Take care. Zecora.' That's weird, she usually rhymes her words when she talks."

Jason looked at the piece of paper that Twilight held in her magic. He noticed something hidden on the opposite side of the paper. "There's something written on the other side."

Twilight looked at him before flipping the note over and reading the new lines of text. "'If you are wondering why I did not rhyme the previous lines, then you haven't heard that I don't need to keep that up with everything I say in general, especially in what I write.' Huh."

Twilight levitated the note back onto the door and then turned to the Wanderer. "Well, looks like we've got this area to practice on our own."

"Why did you want to take me here in the first place?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's just that when I was trying to improve my magic a few months ago, Zecora helped teach me some breathing and concentration techniques that worked wonders. I thought that, if she helped teach you those exercises, then you'd be able to learn magic faster."

"Don't worry, I'm a fast learner. Now, what should we start with?"

Twilight beamed for a second before taking a few calming breaths, motioning her forelegs towards her and then away from her. Jason looked to his side to see Dogmeat not present. He turned to look for his companion before finding him sniffing at the edges of the hut, so he turned back to Twilight to see her bring several rocks and twigs towards him. She dropped the objects between them and spoke to Jason. "Alright, our first lesson is the most basic of techniques, levitation. This requires a low level of focus and concentration, and it's often the most used spell by all unicorns to do mundane things like chores or eating and such. I think that since you're... how old?"

Jason tapped his chin in deep thought, remembering back to his time in the Vault, and his last birthday. "Twenty. Going on twenty-one soon."

"Really?" Twilight blinked in surprise. "When?"

"Uh... July 13th?" Jason said, praying that they shared the same calendar system.

"Oh, that's just a few weeks away! Congratulations!"

Jason sighed in relief while thanking every deity ever recorded by anyone ever. "Well, I'll consider this an early birthday gift, I guess."

"Great! So, the first thing you should do, is take some deep breaths. Calm yourself and your magic before we start."

Jason nodded to Twilight and began to inhale slowly. As he did, thoughts ran through his mind, like how he was going to try and fit in with the world around him now, and what he would do to pay back the money he already owed. When he exhaled and eyed the rocks and sticks before him, he allowed those thoughts to be pushed back again.

"Good," Twilight commented, watching his motions. "Now, I want you to visualize the objects in front of you. Focus on nothing but those objects, right there."

The Wanderer again found himself going back to previous thoughts, like how he would keep his equipment in shape without proper replacement parts here in Equestria, what he would do with his caps, and on how the sticks and stones before him reminded him of all the graves he had visited in his travels. Once more, he pushed those thoughts out of his head and focused on the objects before him.

"Alright, some progress, I see." Twilight said with a smile. "Now, here comes the moment of truth. Try and put some images to mind, like picking up the rocks and sticks. Think of the use of magic like an extension of yourself. Just reach out and grab them."

Jason thought back to when he first arrived in Equestria when she stated this. He remembered leaving the Everfree Forest with Dogmeat as he played a song on his Pip-Boy. Just as the two were going to walk along a path, he had focused on turning one of the Pip-Boy's knobs and saw a flash of brown light highlight the device before the desired effect came to him. The Wanderer focused on that memory, trying to recreate the sensation as he stared at the pile of assorted junk before him.

As the Wanderer narrowed his eyes, the sticks and stones started glowing a faint brown. Both him and Twilight almost went slack-jawed when the pile was lifted into the air in a half-second and came together into a singular mass before him. The unicorn blinked in surprise a few times before realizing the sensation of using magic. 'Like having an invisible set of arms,' he thought to himself. 'I wonder if I could use my old weapons like this...'

With that thought, Jason rearranged the sticks into a rifle's shape and moved on to focusing on how to grip certain parts of it. Seconds later, the collection of rocks and sticks looked like a large club, held like the hunting rifle he was thinking of. 'Feels just like it. Yeah, this should work with my weapons, if I practice enough.'

Twilight walked over to him with a wide smile as he released his hold on the mass of debris. "That was great! You've already got the gist of levitation down in almost no time at all! It almost looks like you've known how to use magic!"

"I've gotta admit, it felt... almost natural."

"That's what you've been missing as a unicorn for so long. And now that you've got that down, we can start focusing on how far you can take it."

"Yeah, I'd like to see how far this can go, too." Jason then looked behind Twilight. "Now I have a quick question about this forest."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Are there wolves that are made of tree bark in here?"

"You mean timberwolves? Yes, there are, but why would you-" Twilight stopped mid-sentence as she realized the purpose of the question. She turned around slowly to look at the situation that the Wanderer had just mentioned: a timberwolf was sniffing at Dogmeat's backside, which in turn was sniffing the timberwolf's as they walked around in a circle.

"Just making sure I wasn't on any sort of hallucinogen, thanks," Jason deadpanned lightly, before he saw Twilight's pupils shrink to pricks as she stared at the wolf.

\\\\\\//////

Twilight looked on in terror as the timberwolf and the Wanderer's pet sniffed at each other. She looked to her right and saw that the Wanderer was just watching the two with some degree of fascination. "So," he asked, "are they poisonous?"

Twilight blinked a few times before shifting her gaze towards the Everfree creature in question. "... no, they're not, but they are highly territorial and travel in large packs... so I think we should get out of here very soon."

The Wanderer nodded before raising a hoof next to his mouth. "Dogmeat!" he called. "Here, boy, we're leaving!"

Twilight turned to him with a shocked expression before shooting her sight back towards the timberwolf. Much to her surprise, the Wanderer's dog simply ran up to his master's side, while the Timberwolf merely stood where it was and barked amicably towards the two. The Wanderer's dog barked back before the Timberwolf turned towards the bushes and vanished into the darkness of the forest, rustling the foliage.

The alicorn turned back to see the Wanderer and Dogmeat looking at her with a shared look of confusion. "Are you alright?" the Wanderer asked.

"How... they... Timberwolf... what?" She managed, pointing to the empty space where the creature stood before.

"You said we should get out, right? So let's go."

Twilight blinked a few times before simply nodding, being thankful for the sudden drastic change in the behavior of the wildlife. The three made way for the path to the exit of the forest as the Sun began to shade the sky in an orange cloak, its descent making their time consumed apparent.

\\\\\\//////

Jason watched on as Twilight once more opened the massive doors to the castle as he continued to think about his progressing situation.

"Twilight?"

The princess turned around in the middle of the opening.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to say thanks, again, for letting me stay here." Jason stated, raising a hoof to rub the back of his head. "Back where I'm from, the only way someone would offer this is if they have something to get out of it, like caps or labor."

Twilight smiled at him.

"Don't mention it."

As she began to turn around once more, Jason had a quick thought.

"By chance," The Wanderer started, "do you have any books I could read about Equestria? You know, some studying?"

Twilight froze mid-step as he finished voicing his question. Slowly and steadily, Twilight turned around to greet Jason's sight with one of the most... abundant smiles he had ever seen.

"You can bet your hat I do!" She beamed before taking off into the massive building.

Jason shrugged before going inside and closing the large doors as Dogmeat scurried off towards their room. The Wanderer looked up and around the empty foyer of the castle for a few seconds before a large flash popped a few feet in front of him. When the flash died down, Twilight was standing and smiling with a mountain of books in pristine condition.

"I have all kinds of things that you can study into! There's Equestrian History and Folklore, ancient struggles of the first Tribes, 1001 uses of magic, Scholar's Edition, and of course, Equestria 101: The Outsider's Tips to Trade and Travel! So, which subject do you want to look into first? Magic, History, or fundamentals of Equestria?"

The Wanderer stared at the mass of information before him before blinking a few times as he weighed his options.

"Hmm. I think I'll just... take them all for now. Is that okay?"

Twilight's jaw almost dropped to the ground before she smiled widely and flared her horn up once more. In a flash, the books vanished.

"Okay, what is that you keep doing?" Jason asked.

"You mean the teleportation spell?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.

"So that's what it is? Huh. Never cared for teleporting, really."

"Why not?"

"Takes the fun out of the journey."

"Oh, right. Still, they're all in your room, next to your bed on a shelf."

Jason nodded before he began to trek towards the door to his quarters.

"One more thing," Twilight stated, "great job today, with the practice. Do you want to try something new tomorrow, or just keep focusing on that?"

"Actually, I'd like to try something else, yeah." Jason stated as he passed through the opening to the room. "Good night, Miss Sparkle."

"Good night, Mister Wanderer."

With that, Twilight vanished in a flash as Jason shook his head with a chuckle.

"Teleporting. Who needs it? Friggin aliens."

Jason closed the door behind him as he examined the room once more. Dogmeat was propped on the massive bed, curled up on a large pillow. To the side of the bed, along the wall, were all the books that Twilight had brought down to him from... somewhere. Again, he found himself as an astute observant of magical practice in this new world. He shifted his gaze to the chest where he had placed his belongings earlier. Instead of reaching with his mouth, however, Jason focused on his magic once more, and watched with a smug look as the key levitated from his sleeve and into the lock on the chest.

As the lock clicked open, the smile on Jason's face vanished. He lifted the top of the chest and looked inside of the space within, easily finding the bags that held all of his belongings. With a thought, he levitated the bags out of the chest and walked with them to the table on the far side of the room. Jason placed the first bag on the surface as the other two were hung on the chair opposite of him. The Wanderer tried to sit down on the chair for a moment, shuffling awkwardly as his backside refused to abide to his demands. He responded by simply moving the chair out of the way as he laid the contents of the bag out before him.

Jason examined the spread of the weapons from his travels, stopping his gaze on the closest to him, the 10mm Pistol. With his magic, Jason grabbed onto the handle of the gun and slowly lifted it beside his face. He examined the weapon closely, as if for the first time, all the while feeling the cold metal in his non-existent grip. Jason imagined using his left hand to cock the weapon, and then began to focus on that. As he did, a blob of brown-tinted energy began to form around the back of the gun, and for the first time in a while, Jason heard the familiar click of the 10mm Pistol.

The Wanderer lowered the weapon back onto the surface of the table as he continued to examine the rest of the objects that were poured out in front of him. The Tesla Cannon stuck out vividly amongst the crystalline and wooden features of the room, drawing Jason's gaze over to it. Jason stared at it for a moment, simply shaking his head at the device before another idea came to mind. He looked back at the chest on the other side of the room and walked over to it, Tesla Cannon in tow. When he came up to the wooden box, he deposited the massive weapon inside of its bounds before turning back to the remaining weapons.

After a trip to the other side of the room once more, Jason laid out most of the contents of all of his bags onto the table, including the three 5mm ammo boxes which he repuropsed as containers. The first had all of his Caps, the second with most of his ammo, and the third he checked to ensure that it still contained all of his Stimpacks. Thankfully, nothing was lost in his transition of worlds. With a thought, Jason began to separate some of the Stimpacks and spare ammo for his smaller weapons into their own little pile. The rest of his belongings (save for one bottle of Vodka), including the Caps, were all put into their respective bags and then into the chest. The box was then shut and locked as Jason examined the small necessities he had arranged for himself.

In the stand-alone pile were 5 Stimpacks, 48 rounds for the 10mm, 12 rounds for the .44, the respective weapons, all 60 of his Bobby Pins, and the Power-Fist. Jason eyed the weapon carefully, mentally calculating all of the dimensions of the hydraulic device as he examined it, convinced that it looked smaller for some reason. Eventually, Jason just shrugged it off and brought all of the assorted items towards the final bag. Before he could fill the bag, however, Jason looked inside and saw a large set of faded numbers staring back at him. The armored suit with the label "101". Jason stared at the suit for a moment before simply placing all of the items above it, sealing the bag, and hanging it on the chair beside him.

The Wanderer yawned slowly and silently as he approached the large mattress. Jason raised a hoof to its surface and felt it sink slowly into its mass. Before it could sink too far in, however, Jason lifted himself onto the bed with a heave and plopped himself onto the soft surface. With a sigh, Jason allowed his form to sink as he took in how soft the bed actually was. After a moment, Jason felt the rim of his Stetson brush the back of his neck. Jason rose up and picked up the hat with his magic. As he placed the hat on a space atop the chest, Jason shifted the covers with his hooves and dug himself into the cool fabrics that pelted his senses with pleasant sensations.

Jason looked over towards the shelf of books next to him and decided to do some reading before he would sleep. He picked a book at random before grabbing it with his magic and pulling it close to his face as he propped himself on a few pillows. The Wanderer settled in place as he examined the book before him, challenging his intellect, daring him to dig into the contents within.

"Alright books," Jason whispered with a smirk, careful to not wake Dogmeat, "time to learn. Let's start with this. 'Anatomical Terminology: First Edition.' Bring it on."

Author's Notes:

Dear God above, I've rewritten this chapter like 73 times trying to figure out what the sh!t I should do with these characters. I can already imagine the middle arc all the way to the ending, the conflict I want Jason to face with the other elements, the issues, but no way I can just freaking connect him to the situation. Also, I can't rhyme, so I had to make a bullsh!t excuse for Zecora not being there, sorry. Also sorry about how I said there would be more character intros and there weren't any really, but I'm working through the kinks.

More issues with family business, like how all but one of my parents' employees just quit after 5 years of service for almost no reason whatsoever. We just gave them Christmas bonuses and brought them on cruises, you know, nothing to actually worry about when looking for another job, so yeah.

This chapter was terrible, but the next will be far better! Hopefully.

Edited by Jack Kellar

Also looking for anyone who would be willing to draw a cover for the story if you have time or would like to. Just saying.

Also, going to start writing for my Destiny story soon. Expect the first chapter by the end of next week, but the rest of the story won't be able to progress until I actually play the rest of the game, sorry.