bleak/reverse

Chapters

Prologue - A Week to Remember
Day 1 - It Must Be Magic
Day 2 - How To Smile
Day 3, Part 1 - A Dashing Display
Day 3, Part 2 - Summer "Fun"
Day 4, Part 1 - Night on the Town
Day 4, Part 2 - Little Secrets

Prologue - A Week to Remember

This was me.

That antisocial, awkward lowlife, living in a home all to myself. A home totally devoid of life, except for mine. In fact, you probably can't even call it a life; I spend every minute of every day sitting here, in this lifeless shelter of walls, waiting for the day that I become old, decrepit, and get moved to a little village filled with other old, wrinkly meatbags.

Do I have a job? No, and I don't need one. My parents gave me all their money in their will. They were very rich, you see. It's a real shame that they both died in a boating accident. Their bodies are somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Anyway, combine that big load of cash with the fact that the home I'm living in is being paid for by my (also very rich) uncle, and I'm set for life. At least, that's what you'd think, anyway.

In the long run, does being set for life even mean anything if you're just living in solitude? Sure, I go outside, I take a few walks, I try to get into small talk with people, but none of that seems to have a long-lasting effect on my social life. In the end, I'm still totally alone, here. No friends, no family except an uncle who doesn't even want to speak to me and lives states away, and no pets. In fact, the only reason why he paid for the home was because my parents asked him to, in the event that they should pass away. My uncle would only agree to pay for the house if I didn't keep any pets, since he believed that animals make life unstable over time. I never quite understood why he had such harsh feelings towards animals, but I respected his requirement nonetheless. After all, better to live alone in a home than live alone on the streets.

You know who I talk to everyday? No one. No one except myself. I'm the only one there for me, and I'm the only one who doesn't seem to have a real life.

When I go for my walks, I notice the people look happy. They look like they're enjoying theirselves. They're usually accompanied by another person, or with a dog. That's a life.

I don't have any friends, and probably never did, considering they all left me, left me to rot in this tiny little area, a long road with a row of homes to its left, and a field to its right, and a hill at the intersection. I call this road "The Lonely Road".

Over the hill is a chicken farm. Two large hen houses with deplorable metal roofs and wooden blue walls. Of course, it smells horrible. The stench often spreads to the exterior of most of the homes on the Lonely Road. It gets so bad that I sometimes cancel my walks because of it. I wish they'd just shut them down.

Actually, that makes me think...what the hell is it even there? There's plenty of empty fields where they could have been instead. Why were they built here, in an already terrible place to live? Is it just a further "ha, ha" from the people who ruined my life? That, I'll never know.

Anyway, yes, where was I? Ah, yes, I remember now. I was supposed to be talking about that...event, so to speak. That event that sort of changed my life, I guess. Saying it changed my life is a bit of a stretch though, because like everything else that rarely happens here, it didn't have much impact. After all, I'm still stuck here, in his foul-smelling, friendless hellhole with no one to accompany, and no one to be accompanied by. I was not alone for about a week, and if my uncle found out what happened, he'd cut off the house payments right then and there. But the things they said to me, the things they taught me...they were invaluable lessons. They'll stick with me until the day I die, which will probably be within the walls of this very home...actually, no, it's not a home. It's a prison. I can't move out, mainly due to the fact that I'm saving all of my parents' money. At first, I thought I would have ended up using it at some point for something really important, but I didn't. I knew if I moved somewhere, my uncle wouldn't pay, and all that money would be gone eventually. Sure, I could afford food to last me a lifetime, but not when combined with paying for a home, electricity, water service, Internet...you get the idea.

Do I wish I could have went with them? Yes, I do. Very much. But I know that will never happen. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if they never came back. I get the feeling you already know who "they" is. After all, there's a whole cult or something filled with people who know what "they" are. In that case, I feel no need to explain who "they" are. I will, however, tell you how "they" entered and left my life in a flash. Grab a drink and take a seat, because you're gonna be here a little while.

Day 1 - It Must Be Magic

So, there I was, living another bland, self-recycling 24 hours. It's the fourth year of my solitude in antisocial, odor-filled hell. I got back from the store after picking up some groceries. I treated myself to some Cheesecubes. As you'd expect, they're crackers shaped like cubes which taste like cheese, real good stuff. As I finished storing my food, I decided to scroll through the television channels (Yes, I have cable, though I rarely watch anything since there's nothing good on anymore.) and see if I could find a movie somewhere. As expected, no films were on (Except an ABC Family airing of Pulp Fiction, but who the hell is going to watch an awful censored version of that?) and I switched off the TV.

I had a DVD player, but I rarely bought movies as I wanted to save as much of my parent's money as possible for important things, such as food, gas, electricity, etcetera. My DVD collection had around under ten titles, all of which I had seen probably seen at least twenty times. I was hungry and I wanted to heat up some macaroni and cheese, so I decided I would pop in a DVD just for the satisfaction of having background noise in the home. Background noise helped me feel less secluded.

I went into my room, opened the door leading into my tiny yet cluttered closet, and checked the shelf with the DVDs. "Hmm...A Clockwork Orange? No...or maybe...Goodbye Uncle Tom?" As you might guess, I had a rather...uncommon taste in films. Before you ask, no, I was never shown Clockwork Orange as a kid. Goodbye Uncle Tom was given to me last year as a hurtful prank by an ex-friend. The title made it seem like the departing of a family member, so that kind of piqued my curiosity. However, I also immediately thought of the character Uncle Tom from Uncle Tom's Cabin, so that raised my interest even more. But when I saw the movie, it wasn't about family or Uncle Tom's Cabin at all; and no, I will not explain what it truly is about. You can find out yourself, not that I'm suggesting you do, anyway. Some things are better left unknown.

After standing there deciding which film to choose as my background noise, I eventually settled on The Shining. I don't know why I picked it, considering I had seen it around four times already. Then again, I always had a soft spot for that film, since it reminded me of my innocent childhood. It was the one movie that scared me as a child.

My childhood...when my parents were alive. When everyone seemed to care about others. When you'd go outside, and someone, somewhere would tip their hat and say "Good morning to you, sir or madam". I miss those days.

So, anyway, I put the DVD in the player, and the movie starts. As the opening flyover scene plays (along with that creepy music) I take my dinner out of the microwave, and place it at the dinner table. After my parents died, I was always the only one sitting at the end of the table, one hundred percent of the time. I took my time, slowly stabbing my fork in the tiny, curved noodles as I stuck them within my mouth, chewed for a few seconds, and swallowed them. They tasted very bland, but that's because macaroni and cheese has been my dinner for the past seven months. Before that, I had chicken fries dipped in ranch. Everything gets old after a while.

As I took the last bite, I heard an odd, explosion-like sound from outside. It wasn't the movie, I had seen it so many times that I knew almost every sound effect in its entire runtime. It didn't concern me very much, honestly. Nonetheless, I got out of my chair, went out my front door, and took a quick look around. It was just after sunset, it was a little harder to see what was going on. I looked for the obvious; fire and smoke. Couldn't see any, so I turned around to walk back inside. "Must have been some fireworks or something," I groaned to myself. Since I had nothing better to do, I sat on the couch and decided to watch The Shining. It was at that scene where Jack is at his interview for the caretaker job in the Overlook hotel. I just sat there, and watched the film all the way to the end credits. It was nice reliving a childhood memory again, I should do that more often. It was around 8 P.M. by the time the film ended, so I shut off the television, laid on the couch, and tried to fall asleep.

Some hours later, I was woken up by a repeating, quick-paced knock on my door. I checked the clock on the wall. Who the hell would be knocking on my door thirty minutes shy of midnight? For good measure, I retrieved my dad's pistol, which he had kept for self defense. It was already loaded. I didn't have a legal license to wield a gun, but I didn't care. If this freak was gonna try to break into my home, he'd have a lot of regrets coming his way.

I slowly approached the door, and yelled "Who is it?" to the person outside. To my mild surprise, a female voice answered my call.

"Hello sir, we were wondering if you could help us with a problem we're having at the moment..."

My suspicions were pretty high at this point. There was more than one person? I responded with "Who are you and who's with you?" and kept a firmer grip on my pistol.

"Right, of course. Let me introduce myself. I'm Twilight Sparkle, and the mares accompanying me at this moment are Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy, We're lost, you see."

I was catching onto the fact that this was nothing more than a cheap prank by some scumbag fellow-teenagers who I probably don't care for associating myself with.

"Go away," I yelled. "I don't like jokes."

"But, sir, this isn't a joke."

"Okay, prove to me that you really are who you say to be, then!"

Right as the last word left my lips, I heard my door open. I jumped backwards and pointed the gun straight out in front of me, gripping the handle with both hands. What I saw was completely unbelievable. There stood the purple unicorn herself, Twilight Sparkle. My head suddenly felt warm with panic as I realized I was pointing a weapon with the power to kill, straight at a talking cartoon horse...that is, assuming she and the five other girls behind her weren't hallucinations. I pointed the gun down toward the floor, inches away from my feet. That probably wasn't a good idea as I could have easily shot myself, but at the time I wasn't thinking clearly.

"Stay there," I told the four-legged party of six. "I'll be right back." I instantly broke into a sprint as I dashed into my parent's bedroom, opened the gun safe (Entering the code was not a big time-killer, as I had it memorized) and gently set the weapon in there, closed the safe's door, locked it, and sprinted back to my front door, hoping to see the ponies still standing there. To my half-relief, they were still present. But to my half-fright, I feared that I was becoming a schizophrenic. Twilight gave me an odd look as she saw I was panting from the brief jog I had. It didn't take long for me to cool down, and the conversation with the otherworldly animals continued.

"So," Twilight said. "I take it you're the owner of this home?" I responded with an emotionless "I guess you could say that, yeah." as I thought of how the explosion sound from earlier could be tied with this...projection of ponies. No, it couldn't be a projection, because Twilight (I'm assuming it was her, anyway, since from what I remember from the show she was the most skilled with magic) opened my freaking door.

"You seem like a trustworthy gentleman," said Twilight, as she went on to briefly explain why she and the others were even here. "So do you mind if we stay here for a little bit while we try figure out how to get back to Equestria? You see, something went wrong with a teleportation spell I was practicing, and...well, now we're here, in...what's this place called?"

"Earth", I replied. "You're on the planet Earth, but if you're asking about a specific place, well, you're at what I call the Lonesome Road."

"I see," Twilight replied in a generic tone. "Are you the only one who lives here?"

"On the Lonesome Road? No, there's a few other homes on this street that are occupied."

"I meant in this specific home."

"Uh, yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Because from what I'm seeing, you're taking this matter quite well, far better than anyone else would, I'm sure. That's why we need to stay in your home specifically, with nobody but you."

I was a bit flattered, since I'm not usually complimented on how well I take news. In fact, I was never complimented on anything until just then.

"Well, yeah, I guess you can stay here if you want to, but you guys gotta promise to not ransack through my stuff, okay?"

"Sure, we won't, right girls?" Twilight's call was met with various responses, such as "Oh c'mon, I'm Rainbow Dash! I'm sure my flying skills alone are cooler than anything this guy has", "Of course, I mean, i-if that's okay with you", and "I won't cause any trouble, and that's a Pinkie promise!".

And with that, the four-legged party of six made their way into my boring, lonely home. A land of hardwood flooring, beige walls, and solitude. Yeah, perfect place to crash for a while. I watched how they entered my home. Twilight casually trotted in with a face showing relief and gratitude, the blue pegasus with the rainbow mane (I'm assuming that one was Rainbow Dash, I hadn't seen the show in about a year so I couldn't quite recall the names of the characters) casually flew in with a bored, mildly disappointed expression. The one with the cowboy hat (Applejack, I think) entered in the same manner as Twilight. The pink one with the fluffy mane (Pinkie, duh) hopped in with a glad, cheerful smile on her face. Rarity had this snobby, "Oh my God, what is this filthy trash pit?"-type of look on her face and walked in a bit faster than the others. Fluttershy was the last one to come in, she wouldn't even look at anyone directly and she slowly, carefully stepped indoors and into the living room where the rest of the party was.

Once the party reunited in my living room, Twilight cleared her throat, and spoke. "Thank you very much for letting us stay within your home, mister...?"

"Stephen", I replied. "Also, you're all welcome, feel free to make yourselves comfortable." And with that, Rainbow crashed into the middle of the couch that I slept on every single night, Fluttershy flew over to then landed onto the other end of that same couch, and Rarity sat on the end across from Fluttershy. Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie still stood on the floor.

There was a bit of an awkward silence for thirty seconds. I broke the ice by asking my newfound guests if they'd like a bite to eat. Most of them replied "No", but Applejack said she could use a snack. From what I remember, in the show, Applejack enjoyed eating...well, apples. Guess what I didn't have to serve? Apples.

As I went into my kitchen to suggest Cheesecubes, I heard the television turn on. "Whoa, Stephen, you have a working TV!" Rainbow exclaimed. I guess that remark she made earlier was simply a prideful lie. She apparently knew how to work the remote, as I could see her surfing through the channels. The rest of the party turned their vision to the screen. Rainbow ended up turning the channel to...ABC Family, which apparently aired Pulp Fiction right after it ended at around 11:00 P.M., I think. Thanks to commercial breaks, it was still somewhat early on in the film. It was the scene where Jules "interrogates" Brett. Since this is ABC Family, I knew they censored it to the point of being virtually unwatchable. I'm not exaggerating, your infant could watch it and be fine in his adulthood. I had a pit in my stomach as I anticipated how Jules' famous "English" line would be ruined.

"English, lovey duck-fur! DO YOU SPEAK IT?!"

And just like that, as the (very un-Samuel L. Jackson-sounding) dubbed voice blurted out that line, the whole room erupted into laughter. Even Twilight chuckled a bit, and Rarity went "Ha, ha!". I don't think I can describe how hard Pinkie laughed. I even chuckled a bit. Man, I hate television. I returned to my original intentions and asked Applejack if she wanted to try my Cheesecubes. She replied by asking if I had any apples, but I replied with a steady "No". She accepted the Cheesecubes.

As I poured the Cheesecubes into a bowl, I could hear the party enjoying the film on screen, exchanging excited comments and guesses as to what would happen next. I guess they don't have movies like this over in...Equestria, I think it was called. I set the filled bowl in front of Applejack, who was now sitting on the couch between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. She thanked me for the snack, and I proceeded to pull out a chair from the dinner table and set it close to the main couch. I sat in the wooden chair, and watched the (butchered) film with them. "How are they going to ruin Brett's death," I thought to myself.

"...And I will strike down upon thee with GREAT vengeance and fuuurious anger, those who attempt to POISON and DESTROY my brothers. And you will KNOW my name is the LORD...when I lay my vengeance upon thee."

Guess what? The gun Jules points at Brett was digitally removed, so instead he was pointing his index finger at Brett. It then cut to the shot where Jules would say "Does he look like a bitch?", but instead the dubbed voice said "Let's scramble, Vince!". The look on Jules' face, combined with the pathetic dubbed voice (which I'm sure the party could tell it was dubbed) made the six ponies burst into laughter. It was the funniest thing they had seen in a while!

We sat down and watched the whole movie. We had a good laugh. Unnecessary censorship always gave me a nice laugh attack. Hearing Jimmie say "deceased brown man storage facility" was enough to get my sides aching. Once the movie ended (at close to 2 in the morning) the party all found places to sleep. Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Rarity all slept on the couch, and Applejack and Pinkie slept in the king-sized bed in my parent's bedroom. Twilight, however, wasn't quite ready for a good night's rest yet. She was still standing in the living room. I yawned as I sat in the uncomfortable wooden chair. There was nowhere else to sleep aside from the floor. Twilight started walking toward me, and we had a quick conversation.

"Stephen, I just wanted to thank you again for helping us. If you weren't so kind as to let us stay here, I don't know where we'd be right now. I'm going to practice various spells that I researched prior to this event, and I will practice them every day until I'm sure we can get back, and then we'll be out of your hair."

"I don't mind if you're in my hair or not, in fact, it's boring as all hell in this place. I think you guys arriving here made it a hell of a lot funner."

"We're not here for fun, Stephen. We're here to stay and try to leave as quickly as possible."

My heart sank a little bit, as she once again pounded the idea of solitude into my brain. I was beginning to enjoy the company of the party, I didn't want them to leave so soon. "Okay, then. Do whatever you need to, I suppose."

"I will."

As she was turning around to walk back to the bedroom, I spoke up again. "I just have one question for you; why do you need to go back , anyway?" I sounded like a weirdo.

"Because we have friends and family back in Equestria, Stephen. Why do you ask?"

"Well....uh...." I was frozen by my poor social skills. I didn't feel prepared to tell her that I had no friends and was desperate for company.

"No, wait, don't tell me. I already know the answer."

"You do?" I asked, with the innards of my body chilling at her reply.

"Yes. You just want a friend, don't you?"

I was amazed, how did this little unicorn know my feelings? Was it a lucky guess? Was it...magic? I oh-so-desperately wanted to know, so I asked her "How did you find that out?"

Twilight didn't respond, then she formed a slight grin which she had a little trouble hiding, and walked into the bedroom to study her spells, I guess. I suppose I would try to make the best of each day they were here, even if it wasn't for very long. I didn't want to be alone again. I could have tried to befriend those otherworldly beings, hell, maybe they'd choose to stay here or something! But then I remembered my uncle monitored the bills for the house, I don't know why he did, but he just did. If he saw a sudden increase in costs, he'd get suspicious. And if he got suspicious, I could kiss his financial support goodbye. Plus I also remembered that the party had friends and family in Equestria. But yet, at the same time, I didn't want to be alone...maybe they'd let me go with them? But then what would my uncle think? What if he started a search for me? But then again, why should I care what he thought? I'd be in Equestria, living with...people. I wouldn't be alone, and at the time, friendship was top priority for me. I just hoped that if they did end up leaving without me, we'd at least be friends.

That's all I wanted. I just wanted to have someone to talk to, care about, laugh with, play with, bond with, you get the idea.

Since it was past midnight (2:47 A.M., specifically) it was currently the second day of their stay. I'd be getting up four hours and thirteen minutes later, and I'd have to wake up the party...except for Twilight, since she probably stayed up the whole night.

Day 2 - How To Smile

The previous night, I actually found a place to sleep; on the carpet in my (bedless) room. I had a spare blanket, so I used that to keep me warm thought the night.

I was in a deep, peaceful sleep.

But all that changed when the digital clock on my phone reached 6:00 A.M.

I heard "BOMB! BOOOOMB!!" and then jolted awake in a cold sweat. My phone's alarm was going off.

"BOMB! BOOOOMB!!" I quickly regained my senses and scrambled to get a grip of my phone. Once it was in my grip, I pressed the on-screen button labeled "STOP". With my heart beating fast, I ran to the living room, then the bedroom to check if anyone was woken by the hostile alarm. Thankfully, no one was awake yet, so I could have the liberty of waking them up in a somewhat gentle manner.

Wait a minute...something wasn't right here. I couldn't see Pinkie Pie. She wasn't in the bed. Oh damn, she was already awake, wasn't she? Where could she have gone off to?

Right then, my heart started beating a little faster than normal as I searched for the hopping pink joy-giver. I dropped to my knees and looked under the bed. She wasn't there. I got back up to my feet and went into the bathroom (which was in the bedroom, it was a few feet away from the bed) and opened the shower curtain. She wasn't there (but if she was, I'd have a lot of explaining to do. My mind was still a bit fazed from being jolted awake after four hours of sleep) so I went back out and ran to the living room. Was she on the big couch with Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy? No. Was she anywhere in the living room? No. I ran back to my room, and opened the door leading into the empty closet. No sign of Pinkie. I was starting to get really worried at this point. If I couldn't find Pinkie anywhere, they would think I've done something to her. I opened the door leading to my garage, and got in my parents' van, on the off chance that she somehow found the van and slept in it or something. She wasn't there. I shouted "Goddamn it!". I leaped out of the driver's side (the door was open) and I slammed the van door. I ran back in the house, and checked the last place I thought she could've been in; the pantry. I sprinted to my kitchen, and nearly skidded as I forced myself to stop right in front of the pantry door. I took a quiet breath, and touched the metal knob with the palm of my hand, and surrounded it with my fingers. I twisted the knob to the left, and slowly opened the door.

I saw Pinkie in there, happily munching on a cannoli she had found. My heart beat at a normal pace again. It took me all of four minutes to find the cheery pink pony enjoying her snack. I had never seen someone enjoy a food so much. As I was calming myself down, she swallowed the bite she took and acknowledged my presence. "Hey Stephen!" she said, enthusiastically but at a normal volume. "What'cha doing up so early?"

I stammered and sputtered for a second or two as I was trying to find the right words to say. I hadn't engaged in this sort of conversation (or any conversation, for that matter) in years. "I always get up at this time," I said. "What about you?"

"Oh, I was hungry, so I got up about ten minutes ago, and got myself a snack! Man, these things are good, what are they?"

"They're cannolis. Pretty good, huh?"

"Very, very good! They're more than good, they're great, great, GREAT! Man, they don't have stuff like this in Equestria! Where'd you get these?"

"From the store. Well, a store in my town, anyway."

"That sounds like a really, really, REALLY awesome place! Can we go there today?"

"Well, Pinkie, I thought you guys were gonna try to focus on getting out of here?"

"Well, we were, but I bet we can have some fun while we're here! Let me go wake the girls!"

"No, Pinkie, they can't all come along, they'll attract atten-" Before I could finish my warning, Pinkie dashed off to the bedroom and woke Twilight and Applejack. Then she bounced to the living room and jolted Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy out of their rest. All she had to say to them was "WE'RE GOING TO THE STORE!". I could see Twilight walking out of the bedroom, rubbing her right eye with her hoof. "Pinkie, what are you talking about?" She said, with a hint of irritation in her voice. "There's no stores around here, and we don't need to go to one."

Pinkie practically teleported to Twilight and held the half-eaten cannoli in her face. "Stephen told me he got this delicious cannoli from a store!"

"A...cannoli?" Twilight was puzzled. Her slight annoyance became interest. "They have different food here, too?"

"Yeah," I said. "I tried to tell Pinkie to not wake you guys up, since I was going to."

"Well," Twilight said. "I'm not going anywhere, I fell asleep at three in the morning last night while I was studying. I need to spend all day studying and practicing if we're even gonna have a chance at getting back home. You and the others can go if you want, though."

Defeated, I sighed. "Pinkie, do you want to go to the store?" I didn't have to worry about her attracting much attention; My local Wal-Mart had the most boring and uninterested customers on the planet. They were practically robots. Sure, if the whole party went, we might get some unwanted witnesses, but only Pinkie was coming along, so there wasn't a big risk of attracting attention. I knew this because I walked in one time and blared "Big Booty Bitches" out of my phone speakers. No one even glanced. I guess they're the embodiment of the emotionless, thoughtless stoic I was going to become.

As for Pinkie's response to my question, she hopped up and down with a big smile on her face and shouted "YEEEESERRONI!". I grabbed the keys to the van, and began walking through the hallway where the door to my garage was. I notioned Pinkie to follow my lead. Before I disappeared from the view of those in the living room, I told them "We'll be back in a bit, don't get into any trouble!" I went out to my garage with Pinkie close behind. I opened the door to the front passenger's side of the van and she just jumped into the seat. I closed her door, and got in the driver's side.

"Alright, Pinkie, all I ask is that you at least try to refrain from making a lot of noise, okay? Driving a vehicle takes a lot of patience and silence."

"I dunno what driving or vehicles are, but okay!" She said that with the most pleased and giddy smile on her face.

"Oh, you need to put on your seatbelt." I reached over to her chair, grabbed the seatbelt, and put it in the compartment thingy where it locks into place. To my slight curiosity she didn't ask me what a seatbelt was. I just assumed she had been on a roller-coaster or something. I buckled my safety belt and revved up the engine. I grabbed a tiny remote with a rectangular button on the center. It had three tiny buttons on the top and bottom of the rectangle button. I simply pressed the rectangular button and the large garage door opened. When the iron door was completely out of the way, I set down the remote, grabbed the driving wheel with both hands, pressed down on the gas pedal and accelerated out of my home and onto the driveway. Once the van was on the street, I grabbed the remote again and pressed the rectangular button, closing the garage door. I put down the remote (In case you're wondering, I always set it in the little storage bin in the door. I think every van has one) and drove down toward the entrance of the Lonesome Road. At the intersection, I turned right. I was headed for town. Pinkie was looking out the window, taking in the sights of this new world she was staying in for a bit.

After a few minutes, we reached the town - Loomsville, it was called. The name matched the atmosphere and appearance. As we were at a traffic light, I looked out my window and saw someone get stabbed in the shoulder by a thug right outside a bank. I'm at least glad Pinkie didn't see that, since she was too busy staring at "Winson's Law Firm" outside her window. Someone as happy and innocent as she is shouldn't ever have to see something which was a common sight for me whenever I went into town. It took a few more minutes for us to get to the Wal-Mart.

Once I found a parking spot (Unfortunately the only one I could find would force us through a two minute long walk) I got out of the van, as did Pinkie. We made the long damned hike to the front doors of the building, which I nicknamed "The Brick Mansion of Unwanted Goods and Antisocials". Once we were inside, I grabbed a nearby shopping cart and began walking forward, pushing the cart with Pinkie bouncing at my side. She seemed absolutely amazed at the size of the building. "It's even bigger than Celestia's room!" She exclaimed. It did make me feel a bit happy to see her so ecstatic over something as simple as a shop. I guess Equestria doesn't have supermarkets.

"So, Pinkie," I spoke. "What are you looking for?"

"More new snacks!" She replied. I didn't know what they served over in Equestria, so I don't know what other new foods she could have found. I replied back with "Well, let's try walking through some aisles and seeing what we can find." as I scrolled by the aisles with Pinkie bouncing next to me. We saw the snack aisle, and immediately Pinkie dashed into it. I was surprised by her sudden movement, and I ran (still pushing the cart) right to her.

"Oh! Oh! Stephen, what's "Apple Bites"? I bet Applejack would love those!"

I had barely caught up to her by the time I heard her ask that. "They're little crunchy chips that taste like apples. You know what, let's get a pack for her." I grabbed a bag of the Apple Bites and dropped it in the cart. Pinkie continued hopping down the aisle as I followed close behind.

"What about...Oh! How about "Veggie Rolls"? What could these be? Are they little rolls filled with tiny veggies?" I swear, Pinkie's logic was so laughable, but in a good way. It reminded me of my imagination when I was a child.

"They're actually tiny rolls of chips filled with sauce of varying flavors, mostly broccoli and radish." Those chips were absolutely disgusting. I could tell they weren't a hit with the crowd, either, seeing as the spot on the shelf where they were was completely stocked with bags of them. Take my word for it, nobody wants vegetable-flavored sauce in a chip.

"They sound kind of nasty! I think I'll pass." Pinkie continued her half-aerial travel down the primitive, concrete floor within the Brick Mansion. I kept to the ground as I followed her.

Pinkie spotted something that I just knew she'd want; Chocolate Squares. From what I remember from the show, Pinkie enjoyed sweets. I heard her squeal in excitement upon spotting a pack of the snack.

"Stephen, could we get these too? I love, love, LOVE chocolate!" I replied with a simple "Sure, Pinkie". The pack of the snack went in the cart. Just then, I remembered something I really needed; I had to get food for the party. Horses don't eat meat, and aside from the macaroni, cannolis, and snacks, there was only meat in my kitchen. I don't think the party would want to eat nothing but macaroni 'n cheese for a whole week.

"Alright, Pinkie, I just remembered that we needed some fruit for the rest of the girls, so let's check out the fruit aisle." She said "Sure" in a happy, excited tone as she bounced at my side, following me to the "Tiny Jungle of Fruits". Once we were there, I grabbed one of those plastic bags that you're supposed to place the fruits in, and loaded it up with apples, oranges, bananas, and pears. I wanted to cover all the bases as I didn't know what specific fruits the party enjoyed, aside from Applejack. I knew she loved apples. Now it was time to head for the checkout.

"Good morning, sir," The (female) cashier said with a straight face as I placed my goods on the conveytor belt. "Please enter your PIN number in the device, here." I quickly typed my PIN as she was bagging my items. The groceries were then loaded into the cart. They cost $18.59 in total. I paid for them with actual cash. "Thank you for shopping at Walmart," she said. I thought "Yeah, whatever, bitch. You're just happy that you get your pay." to myself whilst storing my wallet back in my pocket. Pinkie, however, aptly and politely responded with "You're welcome!". The cashier didn't respond. What a bitch.

Anyway, we walked out the doors of the Brick Mansion, and I threw the bags into the seat behind Pinkie's. I didn't bother putting the cart in that little cart storing section they have in the parking lots. Other people didn't seem to care, so why should I be any different? It's not like actually doing what the store wants you to do benefits you in any way.

So, as we were driving home, we had to stop at a red traffic light. At that moment, Pinkie wanted to make some idle chatter. She was unusually calm this time around. What, did the thought of how the Veggie Rolls could taste make her feel nauseous?

"Stephen, I got a question."

"Sure, Pinkie. What is it?"

"Do you think I'm fun?"

I was a little taken aback by this question. It came off as kind of a personal question, for her at least, since I thought she probably wanted to know if I saw her as a pleasure to be around.

"Well, yeah, of course I do. What makes you think I don't?"

"I was just wondering, I saw the people in that store didn't seem very happy, one of them even looked at me and he looked kind of annoyed! Am I annoying, Stephen?"

"Absolutely not, Pinkie. I think you've made today a lot more interesting, in fact, maybe even more enjoyable than any day I've had recently. If other people think you're a nuisance, that's their issue for not seeing someone for who they really are." I felt a tiny, tingling sensation of pride as I said that. It wasn't often that I could give life advice to someone.

"You know, Stephen, I think you're right. Thanks!" She reached over and gave me a hug on my arm. My heart skipped a beat.

I was hugged.

Someone gave me a hug.

I hadn't been hugged in so many years. It felt like being hugged for the first time, and by a cheerful, adorable pink horse who I thought only existed in a cartoon, no less.

That made me realize something though...they were from a cartoon. A cartoon that perhaps millions of people watch and cherish. And the world and characters within it actually exist. How the hell was this possible? Was it some scientific accident that they came to be? Did the cartoon come first?...or did the ponies?

Is the show even just a simple fictional cartoon? How could I have not thought of this before? I chalked it up to being immersed in the current task of having to take care of them. Nonetheless, they existed, and I had to let them stay in my home, and help them get back home. They couldn't stay on this miserable Earth. There was one thing that made me feel a little comfort, though; I managed to have some bonding time with at least one of them. I went out with her and got some food for us. That actually made me feel...good. It warmed my heart a little bit...

No, could it be? Have I...rediscovered friendship? After all that betrayal, heartbreak, and abandonment...could I have found an honest person to look to? Someone to look forward to speaking with? Someone to play with? Someone to cry on? Someone to cherish?

Why, yes. Yes I did.

But only for a week.

One goddamned week.

It's true what they say, the good things don't stay for a while. I felt a lingering sensation to ask Pinkie a personal question.

"Hey, Pinkie?"

She looked to me with a smile. "Yeah, Stephen?"

"Do you consider me a...uh..."

"A what? A "yuh"? Why, no! That's just silly!"

"I mean, do you consider me a...a friend?"

"Of course I do! You're helping us get back home, and you're taking care of us! You're a great friend!"

I felt more warmth reach my chest. I could feel my shattered heart being slowly repaired. "Yeah...thanks, Pinkie." I flashed a happy grin as I said that. "You're welcome!", she said with the corners of her mouth pointed up.

The traffic light went green. I pressed down on the gas petal. After a minute, we had finally got out of town and were minutes away from the Lonesome Road. I got the remote, opened the garage door by pressing the same button as earlier, set down the remote, grabbed the bags of groceries, stepped out of the van, closed the door with my foot, and walked into the garage as Pinkie followed close by. I set the bags down for a second to open my door. I could hear some yelling inside. Oh damn, I bet they got into trouble. I don't have anything too valuable, so I doubt they could've broken anything important. I grabbed the bags again and walked inside. Once I was in the hallway, Pinkie stepped inside the home. I walked to the kitchen and set the bags there. I walked back down the hallway, closed the big garage door (There was a panel on the wall with a button that closes and opens the door) and shut the door leading into my home. Now, it was time to go see what this fuss was about. I went into the bedroom, and I could see Rainbow Dash and Rarity bickering about something. I also noticed there was some steam in the air as if someone ran a hot bath. The carpet also felt wet. Oh, great, I think I know where this is going.

I heard Rainbow Dash shouting. "...But I didn't do it, I wasn't even in here!"

Rarity started getting visibly annoyed. "Rainbow Dash, a lady needs to remain clean at all times! I'm not familiar with how they operate things around here, you can't blame me for accidentally flooding the bathroom! I could have sworn the bath was shut off was I was stepping out. I don't appreciate you trying to push the blame on me, considering you were in here as I was stepping out!"

"Rarity, I DIDN'T run the bath! You had to have left it running by accident, maybe while you were leaving, you hit it with your hoof or something and accidentally turned it on!"

"I didn't even feel anything touch any of my hooves! Maybe you turned it on by accident while draining the tub!"

"Who said I went to drain the tub?! I'm not a tub-drainer-for-hire! Do you see this cutie mark? What's on it? A cloud and a rainbow lightning bolt! NOT a bathtub!"

Of course. I had a minor flood to clean up, woohoo. The entire tile floor in the bathroom was soaked, and most of the carpet by the bathroom door was seriously drenched. It was around 7:30 A.M. by the time me and Pinkie returned. I was sure it would have been 7:30 P.M by the time I had finished drying everything. Keep in mind, there were also some objects on the floor in there, such as scales, stools, rugs, toilet paper rolls...you get it. As I let out a heavy sigh, I heard Pinkie bounce to my side. She lent a caring hoof onto my leg. She wanted to reassure me that this mess could be done quickly, and to keep a smile on my face, because frowning gets you nowhere. Smiling and keeping your head up helps you feel much more confident. I can do this.

Pinkie grabbed some towels. I guess she wanted to help, too. Rainbow let out a sigh, and grabbed some towels as well. Rarity made a remark along the lines of "We caused this mess, we'll clean it up" then grabbed the oldest and most worn out towel she could find. I guess she didn't want to possibly ruin such fine towels that I could get from any store for five bucks? I was still thankful that they were pitching in, nonetheless.

one hour and thirty minutes later

Well, I don't know how we did it, but we did it. We dried the whole floor, the carpet, the scales, everything. The toilet paper rolls couldn't be salvaged, though. Thankfully, I had an extra pack in a cabinet.

"Well," I said. "Good job, girls! You really helped me a lot with this mess. If you didn't help, I'd probably still be working here. Thanks a bunch."

"You're welcome!" said Pinkie with an adoring smile. She was happy to have returned the favor for someone who helped her and her friends survive here by giving them a place to stay.

Rainbow said "Anytime, I just hope Rarity doesn't have another germ-fit." as she flew back out to the living room.

"No problem, dear. Very sorry for troubling you with this mess," said Rarity. "I surely hope you can forgive me."

"It's not your fault, Rare," I said. "Just be a little more careful next time."

And so, the rest of the day was spent lounging around, making idle chit-chat with the party. I had gotten to know quite a bit about Equestria that day, such as how Twilight once overpowered some monster called an Ursa Minor, though she didn't overpower it per-se; She just put it to sleep and sent it back to the forest it came from. Apparently Twilight also had a brother, whom was married. Lucky him. I also learned that if it had not been for Twilight, this evil queen named Chrysalis would have taken over the town where the marriage was being held. It seemed that Twilight was the biggest hero and perhaps the leader of the party. After all, she was the mare who knocked on my door.

We spent the rest of the day (By the time the talks finished, it was about 2 P.M.) surfin' the television channels. "Meet the Robinsons" was on, so we watched that. Pinkie and Rarity had a good cry, and everyone except Rainbow was deeply moved by the ending. Perhaps Rainbow had seen a film like this before?...

...Then it hit me.

What if she went through the same thing Lewis did?

What if Rainbow Dash was an orphan?

It's a question I would surely have to get the answer to, but not today. After "Meet the Robinsons" ended, Twilight resumed studying. The rest of the party and myself just continued finding movies to watch all day long. It was boring, but tolerable. Tomorrow would come, and I knew just who I'd spend that day with; Rainbow Dash.

Day 3, Part 1 - A Dashing Display

I was in a deep, comfortable sleep.

As usual, I wasn't dreaming. It was only blackness.

Then the small hand on my phone's digital clock finally pointed to six.

"BOMB! BOOOMB!!!!"

I need to remember to change that to something else. To this day, it's still the same annoying damn tone. I always give myself a mental note to change it, but it ends up being pushed to the back of my mind by other things. As I slowly got to my feet, albeit wobbling a bit, I forgot what I meant to do that day...Oh, yes, I was supposed to hang with Rainbow. Her reaction to the end of last night's film puzzled me. It could have just been part of her nature, but I still wanted to know for sure. After all, it was day three of their stay.

Rainbow was sleeping on the living room couch, and she was the only one sleeping there. I took a peek in the bedroom; everyone else had slept in the bedroom. That bed is pretty big.

I quietly and slowly walked over to Rainbow and gave her a light nudge on the shoulder. She wouldn't budge, so I nudged a little faster and a little harder. Still asleep, she yawned and smacked her lips, then rolled over onto her other side. I get the feeling she won't get up easily.

I suddenly got an idea. A wonderful, horrible idea.

I went back to my room, and grabbed my phone. I then went back to Rainbow Dash, turned the phone's volume to half of its full blast, held the phone directly above her, and...

"BOMB! BOOOMB!!!"

Jesus, that thing is still loud even when the volume's turned down. As expected, Rainbow woke up, in a cold sweat. She sprang up in the air, landed on the couch on all fours, and hopped around in 360-degrees, as she went "WHO-WHAT-WHY". I had to hold back chuckling. I'm such an asshole.

"Rise and shine, Rainbow."

"What makes you think you can just make someone wake up whenever you want them to?! You scared the hell out of me!" Odd, I didn't know ponies knew what hell was, unless she was quoting a film she saw.

"Well, I always get up at this time. Besides, you say you're the coolest thing ever, right? This should be a breeze."

"Oh...Ooooooh! So this is a test, huh? Psssh, that's barely what I call a "test", Stephen."

"Oh. I'm assuming you won't consider my other challenges to be "tests", either. Or is that just another way of saying you are scared?"

"Me? SCARED?! HA, HA, HA! That's the funniest thing I ever heard! In that case, what other "tests" have you got for me? I can handle anything!" I had her right where I wanted her. I already foresaw "challenging" her to a variety of basic tasks, then taking a walk or two with her, then finally asking her the "big question" I had planned.

"Anything, Rainbow?"

"Anything. You name it."

"Okay then. I challenge you, the great, awesome, stupendous Rainbow Dash..."

"To...what?"

"To...spending at least two hours outside, with me as your guide." Right then, she groaned.

"...Seriously?"

"It's harder than you think, Rainbow."

"Alright, if you say so. You're on, pal!"

"I'm not competing in anything. This is all about seeing if you can last in a portion of my daily life."

"Ha, I bet I can."

"Let's prove it, then." Before leaving, I left a note saying where me and Rainbow had gone, and why.

We went to the garage. I pressed the button on the wall, the same one I pressed last time. I left the big, metal door leading outdoors open. I had to, seeing as I was too lazy to go in the van and get the remote, plus it more convenient to just walk straight into the garage as opposed to having to unlock the front door. I walked down the driveway while Rainbow flew by my side, headed to the same destination I was; The intersection of the Lonesome Road. The chicken farm wasn't reeking as badly as usual that day, but its smell was still ever present. As we walked closer to the intersection, Rainbow asked me what the smell was. Of course, I explained to her about the sad, decrepit tin henhouses beyond the hill which we would be facing upon reaching the intersection. She simply replied with "Huh". I guess that didn't faze her too much.

Once we got to the intersection, I started walking toward the aforementioned "Hill of Hell". Rainbow followed suit. I scaled up the hill. It was hard to hold my footing, but that's natural when walking up a slanted surface. Rainbow didn't have this issue, seeing as she just flew up. She made it to the top around twenty five seconds before I did.

"So...that's the chicken farm, huh?" She asked.

"Yeah, it is," I responded, in a slightly worried tone. "Don't go down there, I think that's someone's property."

Rainbow laughed a bit. "Psh, you really think I wanna go there? In that dump? No thanks!" Funny thing is, the smell actually was chicken dump.

I cleared my throat, and begun to speak of her first "challenge". "Alright, Rainbow. Your first challenge is..."

Rainbow stared at me in silence and boredom. What difficult, stupendous challenge did I have in store for the great Rainbow Dash?

"...To fetch the mail."

Rainbow stood frozen. I think she was getting ready to have a heart attack. From laughter. What could be so challenging about checking the mail? Absolutely nothing, and that was exactly the point. At least, it isn't challenging if you're a human, and possess fingers and opposable thumbs, you see.

Of course, the inevitable happened. She dropped onto the grass, rolling around in laughter. It didn't occur to me to warn her not to roll around on the top of a hill. She could...

"HAHAHAHAAAAAAAH!!"

...Roll her way down. Now was my chance for revenge; I could have laughed right back, but I didn't. I didn't want to be giggly and cheerful at someone else's expense, so I slowly walked my way down the hill, and went toward her. She was laying on her back, in embarrassment and shame. Once I reached Rainbow, I extended my hand toward her. She groaned, grabbed it, and we lifted her up.

"Now, are you ready to get the mail?" I asked.

"Yeah, I guess." And with that, we went back on the street, and went the left way (If you're standing right in front of the intersection, it's the right way) as we traveled to the miniature house-looking thing where the locked mail storage compartments were. I grabbed my compartment's key, and Rainbow took it with her teeth.

"Which one's yours?" She asked. I was half-surprised that she didn't ask about the key. I pointed to my compartment, and she stuck the key in here (If you were facing the compartment, she'd be standing sideways) and let go of it. She stood there for a second, thinking about what to do. She didn't have magic, so she couldn't use that to turn the key. She tried standing on her hind legs, putting her forehooves on both sides of the key, and turning it clockwise. Once she heard the "click", she stood back to her regular stance, grabbed the key with her teeth again, and pulled it out. She then proceeded to look through my mail.

"Hmm...invitation to the "Car of the Week" club..."Diet News Weekly"...most of this is trash, Stephen...oh! Hey, I think I found something private! "Hot Young Mares Daily"!"

I wasn't fooled one bit. "Rainbow, I'm not subscribed to things like that."

Rainbow laughed as she closed the compartment's door. I walked over and locked it, then stored the key in my pocket. We sat outside the "House of Unimportant Letters".

"Well, Rainbow Dash, you completed your first challenge. Congratulations."

"That wasn't so hard! Definitely not what'd I call a challenge, anyway."

"That's right. I decided to start you off with something easy-peasy, but I can assure you your next challenge won't be such a breeze."

"And just what is my next "challenge"? Squeezing lemons? Ha!"

"No, but you're close."

"Squeezing...oranges?"

"No."

"Squeezing...that?" She pointed to the front of my shorts.

"Um, no. You have a dirty mind, Rainbow."

"Haha, I'm just kidding. Please, do you really think I would do that?"

"Well, I don't know you very well, so...possibly."

"Psssh, I'm not that kind of mare! You're a funny guy, Stephen. Mind if I call you Stevie?"

"Sure, I don't mind."

"Alrighty, Stevie. What's the next challenge?"

"Squeezing your heart out..." Rainbow looked a bit puzzled, yet seemed like she was going to laugh. "...By washing my van."

Rainbow's look of comedic delight excelled upon hearing that. I was surprised she didn't become annoyed at that. I know I would have been. I hated washing my van. The damned hose would always stop spraying every few minutes. After traveling on foot (Or for Rainbow, by wings) for a few minutes, we made it back to the garage. I got in the van, started it up, and moved it to the driveway. After I parked it there, I got out, shut the door, and went to turn on the hose. After I finished turning the knob, I grabbed the hose and dropped it on the driveway, right in front of where Rainbow was standing.

"Um...what do you expect me to do with that?"

"I expect you to complete your challenge. This should be easy too, right?"

"Do you think I need a little garden toy to clean stuff?" She scoffed. "Here, let me show you how it's REALLY done."

How, I say HOW in the hell was she be able to clean the exterior of my van without a hose? Well, she had her own way of doing so, and it quite possibly, aside from the actual ponies existing themselves, may be the most surreal thing in existence. She flew up, almost like a rocket, toward the sky. "This is for the guys back home!", she said. I could see her zooming all over the place. The draft from her speedy flying was pushing the clouds to this one area; It was straight above my van. A few seconds later, it started raining, in that specific spot, straight on my van. I then realized the clouds she moved were rain clouds. The weather in my area was pretty weird. Some clouds were average, some were gray rain clouds, you get the idea.

"Well...uh, that was quite...interesting." I was half-impressed and half-amazed. I didn't think it was even possible to move clouds.

"Impressed? I know. You can thank me for saving you one more use of that flimsy hose."

"That was just one of the more...surreal things I've seen recently."

"Ha, you think THAT'S cool? Buddy, lemme show you what else I can do!" Rainbow flew like a rocket and ended up at the top of the hill. It took her all of five seconds to go from my driveway to there. From what I could see, she wiped her hooves on the ground, went into a crouching stance, then sprang up into the air, soaring through the sky like a bullet. I watched her fly right down the Lonesome Road. She went so fast that she flew right past the electrical plant which was in the distance. She turned around and flew right back this way, going past the chicken farm in about six seconds, then turned around again. As she flew right above the center of the Lonesome Road, I saw an amazing explosion of reds, blues, greens, and the other colors of the rainbow. She left a trail of these colors right behind her as she rocketed into the distance, far beyond the electrical plant. I stared at the visual spectacle for what felt like hours. It couldn't believe it. My mind was totally blown upon seeing that. I snapped back into my senses, and expected to see Rainbow approaching me.

Turns out, she wasn't there. I couldn't see her anywhere.

"Oh, shit," I whispered to myself as my thoughts immediately turned toward finding Rainbow Dash. I seriously hoped that nothing bad happened to her. I ran down the Lonesome Road as I called out for Rainbow. I got no response. I ran a bit faster, and called for Rainbow again, louder than before. Still no response. I continued running down the road, and practically screamed her name. No response, again. I skidded and immediately turned around, heading toward the hill. I broke into a sprint and hurriedly scaled the hill, and called out for Rainbow. When I was responded with the anticipated silence, I yelled and swore profusely many, many times. Where the hell did she go? Maybe as she was turning around, she crashed into the electrical plant? What if she was electrocuted? What if she was dead?

I slid down the hill and ran to my driveway, got in my van, and jammed the key in. As I was getting ready to drive off and search for Rainbow, I looked in the passenger's seat.

"Gotcha. Gotcha, Stephen! You bought it hook, line, and sinker!"

Ah, there she was, waiting for me to start a wild goose chase for her and laughing as soon as I turned my head toward her. I was a bit too petrified to laugh, and I felt a little cross with her for scaring me so badly and merely laughing at it. I just stared wordlessly at her as I removed the key and left the vehicle. Rainbow came out soon after and followed me back indoors.

"Oh, c'mon, Stephen. It was only a prank!"

I just focused on walking to the pantry and grabbing a snack. "You kind of scared the shit out of me."

"Gee, sorry, I didn't expect you to react so badly...well, okay, maybe a little, but I just wanted to see how you'd react if one of us went missing. We've only known each other for a few days, but you were so panicky."

I couldn't find anything I had an appetite for. "I'm just not used to having company, that's all."

"Oooor you're not used to having someone to talk to or bond with, am I right?"

I closed the pantry door. "...Agh, yeah, you're right."

Rainbow lent a hoof on the back of my leg. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Stevie. I won't do it again, alright?"

"Alright. And also, thanks for, uh, washing my car."

"No problemo, buddy!"

"Oh, Rainbow, I've got one more question."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Are you an orphan, by any chance?"

"Haha, no! What gives you that idea?"

"Oh. I kind of thought you were, just judging from how you reacted to the ending of that movie last night."

"Ahaha, Stevie, don't worry! I'm just not into movies like that."

"Alrighty, that's a relief to know, then. See you later."

"You too." Rainbow went into the pantry to look for a snack. As for me, I walked into the bedroom. The rest of the party was there, sitting on the bed, and all except Twilight were discussing random topics. Everyone greeted me upon entering, and I greeted back. Twilight looked at me.

"I got your note," said Twilight. "So how'd it go?"

"It went fine, mostly."

Day 3, Part 2 - Summer "Fun"

There I sat, bored as a prisoner stuck within a stone cube.

There I sat, just thinking, "When will Twilight finally figure it out?"

There I sat, just thinking, "When will Twilight and her friends leave?"

There I sat, just thinking, "When will I be alone again?"

Who was I going to get to socialize with next? Probably Fluttershy, maybe Applejack, possibly Rarity.

"Hey Stephen," called out Rainbow. "There's a really funny movie on, wanna watch it with us? And by us, I mean everybody except Egghead, of course!"

Oh, of course. Waste another day in front of the television. God, I hated that thing, why didn't I just get rid of it? Naturally, I was somewhat curious as to what film they were watching. So naturally, I asked.

"What's it, Rainy Day?"

I heard Rainbow and Pinkie giggle.

"It's called...TWILIGHT!" Rainbow, Pinkie, and even Applejack laughed their asses off. I think that was the true reason why Twilight Sparkle wasn't up for TV that night...

"I love this channel," said Pinkie. "It's so funny!"

"Hav'ta agree with ya there, Pinkie," chimed in Applejack. "It's like we're watchin' ah'n endless stream of comedy gold!"

"No thank you, but hey, it's a nice, sunny day outside, how about we get a little fresh air?"

"Aww, but I wanna finish watching the funny movie!" Pinkie certainly wasn't coming along.

"Stephen, dear, there's really no reason to head outside at the moment! We just need Twilight to concentrate on her studying, and all we need to do is stay here until she's got a solution." Well, Rarity was staying, too.

"Eh, I think I'll pass, Stevie." No Rainbow, no awesomeness.

"Um, I wouldn't mind coming along, I mean, as long as it's safe..." Ha, I've got Fluttershy on my side.

It was AJ's turn. "Eh, I'll come along too, ah could use a little fresh air...where are we goin', anyway?"

"We're headed to the pool."

"A pool...?" Fluttershy looked a little anxious. "I don't have to s-swim or anything, right...?"

"Well, you can, like, get a tan or something. Swimming is fun, though."

Fluttershy nodded in a manner that suggested she didn't have a real answer. She was gonna come along. So was Applejack.

And so, out the door we went, into the van, and off to the pool. When we got there, just before I stepped out of the vehicle, Fluttershy had a question.

"Um, Stephen?"

"Yes, Fluttershy?"

"I, uh, need to tell you something..."

My stomach felt a little warm with worry. I hoped she wasn't going to tell me that she needed pads or something, because even if cartoon ponies actually need that, I don't have them.

"What is it?" I responded.

"Well, um, I'm...scared of pools."

"And why is that?"

"Because I can't swim, you see..."

"So? Just kick back on one of the seats or something, you don't have to actually swim." Fluttershy looked a bit relieving upon hearing that, so she responded with "yay" and went out the van. I followed suit.

The actual pool was located right outside the guest house, so it was available for anyone to enjoy. It was fenced in, and you had to have a key to open the front gate thing. If you didn't have the key, you weren't going swimming.

Anyway, we were within the fences, and then that's the time that Applejack tells me she needs a bathing suit. How the hell was I supposed to provide that? Animals don't even wear anything. So I tell her, "Well, Applejack, I guess you'll have to go skinny-dipping today."

My remark was met with "Huh? Skinny-dipping? What's that?"

"Just swim without a special suit or anything. Hell, I could go swimming in these shorts and T-shirt." Applejack replied with "Alrighty then" and she went to the other side of the pool, then dived in. I was stricken with uneasy feelings, seeing as the deep end, the area she dived into, was 8 feet deep. So, I yelled out to her.

"Hey, AJ, be careful over there, okay? It's 8 feet deep!"

"Duh, ah know how ta read!" She used her hoof to point to the sign that said "8 FT", while she used her other hoof to keep herself afloat whilst slowly kicking her legs underwater...at least, I think that's how they do it.

Still uneasy, I slowly took a seat on a nearby chair, keeping my attention focused toward Applejack. If she suddenly went down under the surface, I was gonna make a mad dash to the other side, dive in, and try to get her out. Of course, I thought of what poor Applejack must have been thinking; "Why am I swimming alone? This isn't fun, why is he staring at me like that?" I was snapped out of my train of thought by Applejack yelling out to me.

"Ah, Stephen! Wanna'h join in? The water's warm!"

Sure, why not? She seemed like she was a decent swimmer anyway, I probably had nothing to worry about in the first place. "Of course," I answered. I got up out of the plastic chair about walked down the steps leading into the shallow end. "Water's warm" my ass. My legs pretty much froze and then the rest of my body as I waded further in. That's how it is when you haven't been in the waters for a while, though.

"Agh, it's so damn cold," I complained. Applejack swam over here, doggy-paddling, and splashed water onto my face. Keep in mind I didn't go underwater yet so my head wasn't "toasty". So, the water felt so damn cold that it stung. I didn't want to start a splash war, so I didn't retaliate.

"Aww, c'mon, Stephen! Ya gotta have ah little fun, now!"

"Can you at least wait for me to get warm? I'm freezing my ass off, I haven't been here in a while." Also, for a summer's day, the temperature wasn't exactly "hot as hell". It was moderately warm, but not enough to keep me hot.

"Ah, alrighty then. No need tah be a spoil sport over it, though!" She turned over on her back and started paddling with her feet, away from me, leaving me alone.

Alone...I'd be alone in four more days. Alone again, no one to talk to, no one to care about, no one to have fun with, no purpose. I swear, it almost reminds me of when my girlfriend d-

"STEPHEN!"

That sounded like Fluttershy. What the hell was going on? I jolted out of my train of thought to see...

Oh fuck.

It was Fluttershy at the deep end struggling to keep above the surface.

"FUCK, FLUTTERSHY!" I screamed. Applejack was at the shallow end trying to get to her as fast as she could, but she wasn't fast enough. I knew I was a good swimmer, and I had to think quick.

I made a minor leap in the air then did front crawl strokes as fast as I could, hoping so badly to reach Fluttershy before she lost it and went down.

I got there, and she wasn't there. She was floating down, and her mouth was open. I took a quick breath and went under the surface, kicking my feet and reaching out my arm to grab hers. I caught it, then started upwards toward the surface. I made it above the surface, and with the unconscious Fluttershy in tow, I placed her on her back on the concrete above the pool and lifted myself out of the water, and I was on my knees, straight above Fluttershy.

She was clearly unconscious; She might've drowned. The only thing running through my mind then was "Fuck, fuck, fuck, what do I do, FUCK!". I didn't know exactly how to do CPR, but only what I saw in that scene from Jurassic Park, where Tim gets electrocuted. So, without a second thought, I pressed down on her chest multiple times, and locked my lips around hers, and blew into her mouth. I kept doing this over and over several times and I wasn't seeing a response. What remained of my heart was starting to crumble and crumble with each passing second. My denial of her death was getting weaker. I had to save her, goddamn it. I had to save her. So, I kept pressing on her stomach and kept blowing the air into her mouth.

No response.

I had to do it at least one more time. So I did.

Pressed down on the stomach with my arms three to five times. No response.

Locked my mouth around hers, and blew. No response.

At that point, I was ready to just fucking cry. Another girl, a sweet, well-meaning, innocent girl, was gonna die because of me.

Thirty seconds later, she coughs.

She freaking coughs, opens her eyes, asks herself where she is.

I feel like laughing from joy because a repeat of the worst event of my life was prevented, but I had to hold it in or else she would have thought I was laughing at her plight.

"FLUTTERSHY! STEPHEN! YA'LL OKAY?!" Applejack ran over to us as fast as she could.

"Y-yeah," said Fluttershy. "I think, anyway..."

I responded to AJ with a nod.

"Stephen, what happened?" Fluttershy asked, with fear in her voice.

"You almost drowned, I saved you," I responded. "you lived because I gave you CPR."

"I...I almost...died?" She asked, quite worried. She was beginning to hyperventilate. I rested a calm hand on her arm to assure her that everything was okay now.

"Almost...yes. However, you didn't. You're here now, and you're breathing, and you're talking."

"And...I'm alive because of...you?"

"Yeah."

She slowly got up to her hooves, and gave me a strong, yet tender hug. It almost reminded me of the way my girl embraced me.

"Th-Thanks, Stephen..." She was sobbing, and her voice was breaking.

"Hey, it's alright," I told her as I patted her back in further reassurance. "Everything's okay, now. We don't have to worry about anything anymore." We continued hugging for a few more minutes as I comforted her. "But if you don't mind me asking, how did you fall in, anyway?"

"We-well, Applejack went under and you wer-weren't helping her, and I thought she was drow-drowning so I went to see if I could help her mysel-elf...but she was j-just swimming underwater..."

I knew it.

She DID almost die at my hands.

Another innocent girl who could have ended up like my girlfriend, and all because of me. I had to get my mind off that for now, though; I needed to get Flutter and AJ out of here.

"C'mon, Fluttershy. Let's go home." We went out the front door (Applejack followed suit) and got back in the van, and drove home. It was only about 12 PM now and I already wanted the day to be over. From now on, so long as they're under my care, the girls are staying out of the water.

Day 4, Part 1 - Night on the Town

So, after the pool incident, we stayed indoors all day. I just let them do whatever they wanted, such as if they wanted to watch movies and the like. Twilight spent the rest of the day studying for that spell they were relying on to escape. Anyway, on day 4, nothing special really happened until about 7 PM, when it was almost dark. The sky was shrouded in clouds which were colored a cold periwinkle of desolation. These clouds looked exactly like the clouds I saw the day I lost my girl, forever.

I need to get that off my chest later, but for now, let's get the day's main event out of the way; The drive we took. I wanted the girls to see more of the area I lived in, as I hoped it'd at least entertain them to see more of the world that they never knew existed, even though they all wanted to get back to their own land. I just wanted them to enjoy the time they spent here and to make up for yesterday's very extreme mishap. We were going to take a drive to Downtown Loomsville, which, in my opinion, looked dazzling at night. It gave off that perfect industrial feel. It made me think of a visually appealing Blade Runner-style city. I knew they'd get a kick out of it.

So, the clock reached 7:15 PM, we all got in the van. We all know where we're going, and so everyone buckles up and off we went.

"Oh boy, I can't wait to get there, Stevie! How long's it gonna take us to see this big lighty place, huh, huh, HUH?" Aah, Pinkie. Always being one to chime in at the first chance she gets.

"Well, usually when I have to go there, it takes about an hour," I answered. "There's quite a few highways we gotta get past."

"From the description you gave us," said Twilight, "It does seem like a pretty interesting sight. Just try to make sure nobody gets killed."

"Ah highly doubt that'll happen, sugar cube," AJ butted in. "Stephen here oughta protect us real good, right, Stevie?"

Not even bothering to glance at the others and keeping my vision fixed to road, I responded with a generic "Of course, AJ". After that rather quick conversation, there was silence, other than clearly audible humming from Pinkie. I decided to turn on the radio.

"Fearless people

Careless needle

Harsh words spoken

And lives are broken..."

Fuck.

Not this song, no, no, no. It was "Prayer for the Dying" by Seal.

I fucking hated that song. I heard it on the same fucking station on this same fucking day, exactly one year ago.

It was the day I was drained of all emotion except sadness, and the day I felt the most pain I ever did since losing my parents; I lost the one woman I loved and cared for. I wish I didn't say those things to her, those horrible, horrible things...if I didn't, it wouldn't have happened.

I wanted to turn it to a different station, but I found myself unable to. I just kept driving...while lost in my thoughts and regret. I accidentally swerved by some dick in a Jeep, and Rainbow had to relay it to everybody. "Hey, Steven almost got hit that guy's...uh, vehicle!" I got chastised and told to be careful, and AJ remarked to Twi with "Ya' know, I think ya were on ta somethin' earlier..."

Twilight, in a "Of course this shit was gonna happen"-kind of tone, replied with "Yep."

Pinkie chimed in. "Hey, Stephen, this song is really sad." I was too immersed in my thinking to process what she said, and it took me about 10 seconds to respond. "I know" was all that escaped my lips. I slowly reached over to the knob to turn the radio channel.

"If I didn't care

Would it be the same

Would my every prayer begin and end with just your name

And would I be sure that this is love beyond compare

Would all this be true

If I didn't care for you..."

"If I Didn't Care" by The Ink Spots. Didn't care too much for that song, to say the least. The radio was really hating me that day. I scrolled through some more.

"Come up to meet you

Tell you I'm sorry

You don't know how lovely you are

I had to find you

Tell you I need you

Tell you I set you apart..."

"The Scientist" by Coldplay. Agh, it reminded me too much of the horrible day. "Just stop, stop with the sad songs!" I yelled to myself. I muted the radio. Didn't really help matters, since the rest of the song was playing in my head.

"Stephen, what's wrong?" Asked Rainbow. She actually sounded a bit concerned. That was a first.

"Nothing, I'm fine. You don't need to know about it."

"Know about what?" Asked Twilight.

"Come now, Stephen. Is there something bothering you?" chimed in Rarity.

"No, nothing at all. I just...uh, really don't care for that type of music, that's all." Twilight responded with "Well, alright" in a suspicious tone. I cleared my mind and focused on the task at hand; Getting to Downtown Loomsville with me and the girls alive and well. We were only 20 minutes into the trip, had a long way to go still. Twilight, AJ, Rarity, Pinkie, and Rainbow all sat in the back seats (there were three rows of back seats, so a total of six people could sit back there) while Fluttershy sat in the front, I think because she felt close to me for saving her life yesterday...even though I was the one who caused her near-death experience by not paying attention. I still felt horrible for it.

It was silent again. The "back-seat five" bided their time by watching out the windows, not really seeing much since it was pretty much pitch-black out there. Rainbow remarked that "we must be in Silent Hill". Jesus, how much pop culture was she picking up on?

Fluttershy was mostly quiet. She was in the front seat, so she could see more since I had the lights on the front of the car turned on. Most of the sights from here was just the darkness surrounding the highway, until we got to Downtown Loomsville. It felt like an eternity, but we finally reached our destination.

"Oh my," Rarity said. "Look at all the lights!"

Everyone in the car, sans me, said "Oooooh!". Well, they were getting a kick out of the place, at least.

"Well, well, well, Stevie! You were right, this place IS cool!" I impressed the great Rainbow Dash, that's gotta count for something.

"My my my, we must be in quite the extravagant city! It looks so dazzling!" If only Rarity knew how wrong she was. Aside from the way the place looks at night, there's nothing of special importance here.

The best way I could describe the way the place looked at that time is this; Streets littered with yellowlish street lights, mixed with car lights, and mixed with neon restaurant and store signs. We drove through the place for a while, and the whole time, everybody marveled at those damn combinations of lights. Even Fluttershy thought the sights were pretty spectacular. It was probably unlike anything they've ever seen.

About 30 minutes after we got there, we went back home. The trip back was mostly filled with conversation amongst the girls about the sights they just witnessed, with the occasional "Thank you, Stephen" slipping out, to which I replied with "You're welcome".

Later on, Twilight noticed I was mostly silent throughout the drive back. Well, everyone probably noticed, but Twilight was the first one to say something about it.

"Are you okay, Stephen?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"You're being unusually quiet. Does this have something to do with the radio thing from earlier?"

"Twilight, please stop asking about it."

Twilight's eyebrow raised. "Why is that?"

I couldn't respond. Everyone was quiet, and all eyes were fixed on me.

"Stephen, you can tell us. We're your friends, right?" Rainbow's words gave a chill down my spine. Friends...that word felt new and out of the blue. Friends were something I didn't have for such a long time. I...I had friends. Goddamn, I actually had friends.

Real, true, pure friends.

So I said, "Of course you are. You all are."

"So, in that case, could you tell us what's bothering you?" Twilight asked.

"..."

"What?"

"Well, Twilight, it had a big impact on me. I don't want to talk about it."

"Talking about it will make you feel better."

"Really?"

"Really. I promise."

"...Well...okay. I'll tell you in private when we get home."

"Alright."

The remaining time spent of the trip back home was silent.

Day 4, Part 2 - Little Secrets

It was ten minutes shy of midnight; The only light source was the pale, hopeless, florescent blue light of the kitchen. They were gonna be gone in less than a week. Why should I have been happy at all? I was going to be alone again, and to top it off, it was the one-year anniversary of my girl's passing. Worse yet, I had to recall it, verbally, mentally, and emotionally.

I stood at the kitchen sink, resting on my elbows as my arms crossed each other. I only wanted to tell one of them about it, and it was the one who gave me that odd, yet comforting feeling on their first day; None other than Twilight. So, I stood there, waiting for her. I knew that what I was about to tell her might change her opinion of me, for better or worse. Same with the others of the group, since she would relay it to them.

Didn't take her very long to show up, ready to listen to what happened that fateful day. Makes me wonder if she was expecting this. Maybe she's been through something like this before.

"So, you really want to know?"

"I'd like to, yes. I always try to help those in need as best as I possibly can."

I took a deep breath and released a heavy sigh. Recalling...no, reliving what happened one year ago was going to be painful. If I didn't tell her, though, then they'd keep bugging me about it.

I tried beginning the story. "Alright then...well..."

I stood there for a minute, still thinking of how to say it. I took another deep breath and let out another sigh, as my brain raced to come up with a way to get out what needed to be said.

"Alright...so, one year ago today, something happened that...uh...changed my life. It changed me for the worst, because my life was, in my opinion, as perfect as it could possibly get. It was a negative change, a change I didn't want, a change that nobody in their right mind would ever desire. I lost my parents way back before this happened, so all I had was the woman I loved, she was my sweet. She loved me back, we did everything together. When she was sad, I was sad. We made each other feel better in more ways than one, y'know...anyway, a few months in, she tells me that she's been...forgetting things. Just simply forgetting, like she couldn't remember anything we did the week before. At first I thought she had something like Alzheimer's, but then she also told me that she had been feeling less energetic and outgoing. I could notice that one, I didn't think it was anything too serious, though."

I took another deep breath, let out another sigh. In the corner of my eye, I noticed Twilight was listening very carefully, even leaning closer just to hear what I had to say. I continued on.

"A few days pass, and she's sick. Nothing too serious, she got better the next week...only to turn around and become ill again. I was starting to panic a bit, I wanted to take her to a doctor. She wouldn't let me, though. She said it'd be "too painful for me and you"...it wasn't until later that I found out what she meant by that. The next day, I try calling her, and she doesn't answer the phone. I dialed her two more times, no answer. I got in the van and drove straight to her house. The front door was locked, her parents weren't home. I kicked the door right down and I ran in, screaming for her name. My gut was filled with a flinch-worthy feeling of anxiousness and panic mixed into an emotionally draining cocktail. I ran to her room, and she was passed out, face down on the floor. I get her into my van, and I went to a doctor. They told me to wait outside. Few hours later, the doc asks me if she had been experiencing anything abnormal recently. I told her about the sickness, the lack of energy, all those things. They were going to check her for A.I.D.S. Since you probably don't know, it's a virus that kills most of the people infected by it."

I chuckled softly to myself as I could already picture what I was going to say next. It was almost like some sort of sick, twisted comedy. Twilight had a slight, but visible frown on her face, but she was still immersed in the story. I continued.

"Anyway, right then, I remembered what she said about a trip to the doctor being too painful; It was then that I realized that my intimate encounters with her may have led to her death. I never got myself checked for any life threatening diseases and such. I got checked, and through some miracle pill that only worked for men, I was cured. I wish I could have said the same for my girl. All I could think about at that time was the fact that she was dying from A.I.D.S., because of me. I was blinded by love to the point where I killed it. Few days later, I get a call from the doctors telling me that she's only got a few hours to live. I get right down to the hospital, and I make a sprint to her room. She was lying there, on what was going to be her deathbed. She held my hand as I held hers. I got on my knees, cried, and told her "I'm sorry" more times than you could count. She never responded, but continued to grasp my hand. My face was buried in her arm. I looked up and her eyes were closed, never again would they open."

At this point, I was holding back sobbing. My voice was starting to crack. Twilight told me that if I wanted to stop, then I could. I was already too far into the story to even consider stopping it, so I continued.

"On the drive back home, I heard those songs. Those songs on the radio from earlier today that I didn't like, remember? Their lyrics were stuck in my head, repeating themselves like a painful drum of guilt. Perhaps someone up above knew of my guilt and punished me with music. A week later, they held her funeral. I didn't attend because I was too ashamed. After all, I was the one who killed her. I contemplated various suicide methods. Couldn't drown myself, as I never had a tub deep enough for that. I didn't have a rope or a tree to hang one on. Cutting my wrists would have taken too long. In my eyes, a criminal should pay up as fast as he can. I chose the next best punishment for my horrible crime; Sheltering myself away from the world. I stopped talking to everyone, I asked my rich uncle to pay for my house and things so that I wouldn't have to deal with as much of the outdoors or other people, and I have been letting myself rot in here since then, since that day, that horrible day...when I killed the woman I loved."

Twilight stood there, completely awestruck, yet with a look of sadness and extreme pity on her face.

"So, that's it. Now you know why I am the way I am. If you think I'm some evil killer now, then good. Just get out of here as fast as you can and leave me to perish, let me have the punishment I deserve."

Twilight simply walked up close to me, and gave me a warm, comforting hug. I returned the favor.

"It wasn't your fault," she said. "Bad things like this happen to everybody at some point. You didn't do it on purpose...but I'm so sorry that she's gone, and that you're feeling like this...you're a good man, Stephen. You don't deserve this."

"I do, though. She died because of me."

"But you didn't do it on purpose. You didn't even know...I just don't want you to feel like you're going to hurt yourself even more, because of that. You've done so much for us. You're our friend."

"You won't be here to witness me anymore, soon. There's no point in caring about how I feel, for I am a shell of what was once a man."

Twilight didn't respond. She just kept up the warm embrace. It felt so comforting yet bittersweet; comforting because it reminded me of how my girl hugged me, and bittersweet because I knew in less than a week, they'd be gone, and I'd never see them again. But I knew that I deserved it. that I deserved to be alone for the rest of my days. Because in the end, she did die, and it was all my fault.

From that point on, I desperately wanted them to hurry up and leave, so they wouldn't stall my punishment any further. They don't deserve to be in a world where I am alive.

My girl is in heaven, and I'll be in hell. No amount of so-called reassurance from a group of talking cartoon horses are going to change that.