Homesickness

     Princess Celestia had taken Brenda to a private bedchamber just down the hallway from hers.  Brenda had trotted around the room, marveling at all the decorations and asking how long she was going to be a guest in the castle, but also protesting what she felt was unfair punishment from the Alicorn, who tried to reason with and comfort her.

     "Brenda, I assure you, this is for your own good.  I know you probably hate me for having taken you from your husband, but your attitude toward him must change -- I hear you have been married to him for more than 20 years, so please explain to me why it is that you treat him so unfavorably," the Solar Princess stated calmly.  Brenda was laying on the bed as the Alicorn stood attentively a short distance away, her gaze never leaving the zebra's face.

     "But -- I don't see how I am treating him unfairly --" Brenda began, but was immediately cut off.

     "I shall use my magic to look through your memories to see what you have been doing to him over the years."  Celestia lit her horn and enveloped her golden aura around Brenda's head, delving into her mind and examining a great many memories.

     "It would appear you have misjudged him, Brenda.  Your memories are tinted by your expectations of your husband -- always expecting him to be able to do more than he is capable of.  Your disappointment at his inability to satisfy you has given way to your maltreatment of him.  Truthfully, Brenda, your willingness to take advantage of his kindness has led to your contempt for it -- and his attempts to please not only you but your children as well have led to your complete mistrust in him.  I have looked into his mind and I have seen what he has done in the past -- but he is remorseful for those actions and is trying to make amends for his past transgressions.  The fact that you continue to look for ulterior motives behind his actions speaks volumes about your lack of confidence in him, which has led to your continuous poor attitude towards him."

     Brenda was left aghast at these revelations, her mouth hanging open.  She tried to say something in defense of her actions, but every time she opened her mouth in an attempt to rebut the Princess' statements, nothing came out.  She repeatedly opened and closed her mouth several times as she started and stopped her train of thought.

     "It would appear to me that you have a great deal to think about, Brenda.  Please consider what I have told you over your sleep tonight -- I shall have my sister watch over your slumber to ensure no bad dreams come to you tonight," the Alicorn said softly.

     "How long am I going to be stuck here?"

     "We shall see, Brenda.  We shall see."  The Solar Princess took her leave, closing the door behind her.  Brenda turned over on her bed, weeping silently, her mind racing with thoughts concerning what she had been told.

Have I really been that mean to him?  Has he really only just been trying to be nice?  Doesn't she understand or appreciate my concerns?  Why isn't she punishing him?  This isn't fair!

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     The sun's light streaming in through the guest room window woke me -- the air was a little chilly, but it felt almost invigorating.  As a pony, my sleep had been rather sound, even though my dreams were perhaps a little hazy.  I trotted to the stairs and headed down to greet Spike and Twilight, who were eating breakfast.  I hadn't bothered to brush my mane and tail, so I looked a little unkempt.

    "Nice of you to join us, sleepyhead!" the librarian giggled as I made my way to the table.

    "I didn't know what you wanted for breakfast, so I made a few hay pancakes for you," Spike offered, grinning slightly.

    "Thanks, those will be just fine," I replied as I took a seat at the table.

     "No problem, Mike," he chuckled.

    "You know, you might want to be careful about what you say when you're sleeping," Twilight offered, blushing ever so slightly.  She appeared to be trying to stifle her giggling, but wasn't succeeding at it.

     "I don't talk in my sleep -- at least, not as a human.  My wife does, though -- what did I say?" I asked as I watched the librarian and her assistant start chuckling.

     "Well, Michael, let's just say you really like me," Twilight offered, though she was clearly on the edge of falling into all-out laughter.  I narrowed my eyes at her in my annoyance.

     "Yeah, I do like you, Twilight -- but why do you find it so funny?"

     "Well ... I could tell you ... but ... I'm not going to!" she said as she lost her battle to control her laughing.

     "... Whatever," I grumbled, exhaling sharply through my nostrils.  "So what are we doing today?"

     "I would like for you to show me what you know about that ... vehicle out there, the one Princess Celestia made for you," the lavender mare stated as she regained her composure.  "I will need to take notes on it and I want a full demonstration of what it can do."

     "Sounds good.  Let me fetch the keys and we can get started on it."  I concentrated on where the keyfob would be and teleported it to a point a few feet in front of me, levitating it in my aura.  Twilight let a low whistle escape her lips when she saw me do this.

    "Michael, that's some advanced magic you just used -- I was unaware you were capable of something like that," she stated in surprise, impressed with what was, for me, a rather mundane use of my magic.

    "Why so surprised?  That was nothing special," I stated matter-of-factly.  I half-chuckled at her reaction as I trotted outside to inspect the car, though it was a little more difficult to get a good idea of what it looked like from a pony's perspective.  The librarian and her dragon assistant followed me outside.  Once we were standing by the driver's side of the car, I showed them how the key fob worked, opening the doors with my telekinesis, inserting the key into the ignition and staring up the vehicle.  I gave them a demonstration of certain things the car was capable of doing, though for Twilight to hear her voice coming from the speakers was a little disconcerting.  Spike thought it was kind of cute.  When I mentioned the car could teleport, Twilight expressed great surprise, so I illustrated the process by having the car teleport us to Canterlot Castle.

     The car's teleportation took Twilight by surprise as we appeared outside the main entry gate.  The vehicle was quickly surrounded by a phalanx of royal guards, their weapons drawn and ready for any attack.  Twilight, Spike, and I exited the vehicle and soothed the ruffled feathers rather quickly, explaining what it was and where we'd come from.  Some of the guardsponies were suitably impressed, a few requesting a closer inspection of the vehicle's interior.

     "Since we're here, Twilight, I'd like to check on my wife and see how she's doing," I stated optimistically.

     "I'll have a few words with Princess Celestia, Michael," the librarian offered before trotting over to the guards and asking permission for an audience with her mentor, which they gladly gave.  They also suggested Spike and I accompany her for that audience, whereupon I requested they guard the vehicle and prevent anypony from trying to move it.  They grudgingly agreed, though they informed me that such menial tasks were not in their job description.  I locked the vehicle with the keyfob inside, hoping that this would be sufficient, then trotted to the left of Twilight with Spike walking on her right as we made our way to the throne room.

     "There's something I wanted to tell you, Twilight," I said brightly.  I was nearly beaming just trotting next to her as we made our way through the castle.

    "Hmm?  What would you like to say?" she asked, somewhat puzzled.

    "I just wanted to tell you how happy it makes me to be trotting next to you," I offered cheerfully.  "In fact, it's all I can do to keep from bouncing like Pinkie Pie when I'm next to you!"

    "Um, Michael, shouldn't you be telling these things to your wife?" she asked, her voice sounding somewhat troubled.

    "You have no idea of what the past 20 years have been like for me, Twilight.  The way I feel when I'm near you -- I haven't felt that way in a very long time," I replied, the cheerfulness fading from my voice.  I glanced at her, though she still appeared to have a light blush on her cheeks.

    "Then why are you still married to her?  If you wish to leave her, why don't you?"

    "It's not that simple, Twilight.  We had certain obligations which kept us together, even though our love for each other died a long time ago," I replied flatly.

    "But you claim you still love her!" she exclaimed in disbelief.

    "There are differing levels of love, Twilight -- my love for her is a familial one, not a romantic one.  I would daresay that my love for you falls under the latter category, even though you barely know me -- truth be told, in a way I kind of feel like I know you quite well, though that puts you at a distinct disadvantage," I responded.

    "How can you say that?  How do you know me?"

    "Did you see the camera I came through?  I suppose you might know your adventures and exploits have been chronicled on a children's television show, though that might be going a little far -- you're the main character in that show --"

    "What do you mean by that?  Please explain how this is possible!" she demanded stridently, now standing still and staring straight at me.

    "Back in my home world -- the portal I was pulled through -- a television set -- there's a program called 'My Little Pony : Friendship is Magic' --"

    "Television?  Program?" she asked, giving me a very puzzled look.

    "It's hard for me to explain it in terms you might understand, Twilight.  Let's just keep on going, I believe I might be able to give you a better idea sometime later on," I sighed.  "How much further to the Throne Room?"

    "We're fairly close," the mare offered.  Spike had been giggling during our exchange, but regained his composure as we trotted to the grand double doors leading to the throne room.  She talked to one of the guards, who then announced our arrival to the Solar Princess, who beckoned us to face her.

    "Twilight, my faithful student!  A pleasant surprise indeed!  Michael, Spike, thank you for coming.  What is the nature of your visit?"

     "I have come to check on my wife, your Majesty," I stated reverently, bowing before the Alicorn.

     "Michael showed us his car's ability to teleport, so he brought us here," Spike noted.

     "Michael, I will have a guard escort you to the room your wife is currently staying in.  Please keep in mind that your visit will have to be fairly short, as there is still much for her to do and learn before she can return to you," Celestia noted.

     "Yes, your Majesty.  Thank you."  I was then assigned a royal guard escort, who led me down the hallway to a guest room.  I saw Brenda laying on the bed and trotted over to her.

    "Hey, Brenda, how are you being treated so far?" I asked.  She turned over to gaze at me.

    "I've only just spent the night here, Mike -- I'm supposed to be having breakfast pretty soon, I guess.  Have you come to take me back home?"

    "I'm afraid I can't do that, at least not yet anyway.  The Princess says you have to stay here for awhile longer," I replied flatly.  I glanced around the room, noting the decorations.  "They've put you up in a pretty nice setup here."

    "Yeah, this bed is really comfortable -- best sleep I've had in years!" she chuckled.  "I just hope we can get this over and done with quickly -- I wanna go home!"

    "You mean, back to Earth?  Or back to Ponyville?  Or where?" I asked, a puzzled expression on my face.

    "Earth, of course, you idiot!  What do you think I meant?" she asked harshly.

    "I'll check with the Princess on that -- you remember, she said we can't go back until she determines a safe universe to send us to -- which will most likely not be the one we left behind.  I'm sorry to say this, Brenda, but I don't think we can ever go back home."  I sighed in resignation, noting that the prospect of not being able to return home left me feeling a bit depressed as well.  "But if it's any consolation, I think we can make lots of new friends in Ponyville -- or perhaps we can go to another city in Equestria if Ponyville's not to your liking."

    "What?  What do you mean we can't go back home?  My babies!  I miss my babies!  I wanna go back home!  Mike!  Please!" she said tearfully.  I climbed onto the bed with her and held her in my forelegs, trying to comfort her.  "Mike!  I wanna go home!" she said, her sadness causing her to start crying.  "I didn't know when we came here we wouldn't be able to go back!"

    "I didn't either, Brenda, but I was willing to accept such a possibility.  I'm sorry you could not -- look, I'll see if I can persuade the Princess to find a way to send us back," I said, still holding her close to me.  She buried her head in my neck, her tears wetting my coat.  I held her close to me for a good long while until the Princess showed up.

    "Michael, what's wrong?" asked the Alicorn, an expression of concern on her features.

    "Brenda wants to go home, your Majesty," I replied matter-of-factly.  "She had no idea this was a one-way trip.  If you could, we would greatly appreciate it if you could find a way back for us."

    "As I stated before, Michael, I will look into that possibility, though again, I make no guarantees.  I am sorry if this news disappoints you, but you made your choice and must face the consequences of it, harsh as that may sound.  Consider it an opportunity to make a new life for yourselves and establish new friendships," she stated optimistically, smiling serenely.

     "I WANNA GO HOME!!" Brenda wailed, fresh tears trickling from her eyes.