OTR: Escapeby The King of HeartsChaptersEscapingFriendsReminiscence Everypony's Favorite UncleA... New ExperienceThe Better Kind of CheatingDown to the WireDesperationIf this is the End, It's the best Place I've ever been.TreacheryChet's Lil ChapterEscaping//// Off the Record: Escape //// Escaping //// Two weeks had passed, and Alex had done just about dick all, sitting in his childhood home, and feeling sorry for himself. He had bounced from angry, to sad, to depressed, and then back to angry, it was a vicious cycle. However, while all of this was going on, Alex had been slowly studying up for his exams, which he promised his uncle he would take, in order to finish his high school. However, after about fifteen minutes of skimming over the material he would be tested on, he realized that he knew it all. And that was no exaggeration. Between his time with Twilight, and his conscription into the changeling army, he had more or less picked up on incredibly advanced stuff, which made these tests look like a third grade multiplication exam. If there was one thing he was happy the Changelings had, it was their surprisingly advanced technology. So much of their lives revolved around advanced machinery, that everypony in the kingdom was practically a genius. So, by simple association with those guys, his IQ went up fifty points. So, while that was great and everything, it always dragged his mind back to Equestria, and back to Rainbow Dash. He wasn’t naïve, he knew that she would be the focus of his mind for years to come… perhaps even the rest of his life. No one comes back from a betrayal of this magnitude. Especially when it’s slapped in their face. “I hate this.” Alex grumbled, his stomach tying itself in painful knots once again. He had no idea where his life was going to go after this point. Looking up at the clock on the wall, he frowned at the time. Seven-thirty. His tests were the day after next, and the time just wasn’t passing quickly enough. Although he had no idea what he was going to do after the tests were done… Well, he’d cross that bridge when he came to it. Standing up and stretching, he decided to give the books a break. They weren’t really furthering his at this point anyway. “I need a drink,” He mumbled, walking to the front door, and grabbing his coat and keys. There was a bar a little further in to town, Bob’s, which was the central watering hole for the entire town. It had originally been built as a more of a mom and pop pub, where the farmers would come after a day of hard work, and get spend all their money getting drunk in a relatively quiet place, well, unless a game was on. But—after a few years, it started to catch on with a younger crowd, and started getting packed full of kids every Friday and Saturday. So, seeing the possible profit, the owner of the bar, Bob, spent a lot of money adding a dance floor, building a stage for live music, and modernizing the theme of the entire place, to a much more sleek and clean look. Alex had only been twice with his girlfriend at the time, but, beyond that, he was in Equestria. “Hey, Chet,” Alex said in to his phone, as he got in to the car his uncle had lent him, “I’m going down to Bob’s.” “Aren’t you supposed to be studying, kid?” Chet asked, his mouth full of something crunchy, “If you fail, I’ll have your hide!” “You don’t need to be such a hard-ass about it,” Alex sighed, wishing that his uncle would step back from his life every now and then. “You’ve been gone a year!” Chet retorted, swallowing and clearing his speech, “And your dad would kick your ass himself if he were around to do it!” Alex sighed again, with a much sadder tone than his last one. “Geez,” Chet said back, feeling bad for going where he had with the conversation, “Look, just don’t be out too late. You know that those tests are important.” Alex remained silent as he pressed the speaker button, and placed the phone on the dashboard, so he could drive without the worry of handling the phone. “If you’re confident, go out and have fun,” Chet said finally, after a brief pause, “God knows you’ve been a sad sack the last two weeks.” “I know,” Alex said simply, his mind more focused on the road now, “I promise I’ll perk up at some point.” “I sure hope so!” Chet laughed, “Find some pretty young thing, and take her back home with you.” Alex was about to reply, when he heard a voice on the other end of the phone line. “What did you just tell him to do?” “Uh, nothing!” Chet answered quickly, as the sound of the phone being wrestled away from him was heard. “Alex! What is Chet telling you to do?” The voice of Chet’s fiancé, Tammy, said, “Don’t you go doing anything like that so soon after a breakup!” “He needs a rebound!” Chet argued some distance away from the receiver of the phone. “Okay, thanks! Talk to you guys later!” Alex said loudly in to the speaker of his phone, as he tapped the hang-up button. “Christ.” Alex exhaled, shaking his head and thinking some happy thoughts, “I need to stop being such a bitch.” ”But you are a bitch!” And his forced happiness was gone, like tears in the oven. “Hello, Dax.” Alex said out loud, “Nice to hear your voice, again.” ”I’ve always been here, baby. Just keeping quiet.” “That’s such a surprise, considering how much you love the sound of your own voice,” Alex said, looking around him, to make sure there were no drivers around him staring at the guy talking to himself. ”Have you heard our voice? We sound—well, I sound sexy! It’s the confidence.” “Why are you talking to me?” Alex asked, looking upward slightly, as if he were looking at Dax, “I thought we became the same person back in Haven Station, but you seem to keep popping up.” ”I heard we were going to pick up chicks!” “That’s not going to happen,” Alex shook his head, “I just need something to take my mind off of… well, you know.” Dax seemed to be satisfied at that moment, and didn’t speak up again. The rest of the drive was uneventful, as Alex made his way to the bar, and stopped in the closest parking spot he could, which wasn’t very close, considering it was a Saturday night. Alex hadn’t exactly thought this through. It was gonna be packed, and he would probably know a person or two in there as well, who would no doubt harass him with questions about where he had been… “Fuck it!” Alex said, grabbing his phone just in time to feel it vibrate. It was a text message from his uncle. CHET: U kno wut 2 do!!!! Alex frowned and shook his head, as the phone shook again. CHET: ;) ;) ;) “That man needs to grow up,” Alex laughed, cracking a smile for the first time in days, “He texts like a fourteen year old girl.” Shaking his head, he set his phone to silent, and went in to the bar, no wanting to be engaged in an argument with his uncle about proper text etiquette. It was a shame, only a few minutes later, he got another text that would have radically changed his decision to spend time at this bar. //// An hour had passed, and Alex had so far gone unnoticed by anyone in the bar, while simultaneously being able to get a lot of alcohol in to his system. And man! Did it ever make all the bad feels go away! “What would you like?” The cute blonde waitress asked him, as he sat alone in a slightly quieter section of the bar. “Do you have hard ap-apple cider?” Alex asked, hiccupping mid-sentence, “I love that stuff!” “Is that a flavor of Mike’s?” She asked, scratching her ear, “I’m afraid we don’t have it though.” “Well shit!” Alex laughed, tossing his arms up in a drunken manner, wrinkling his nose at the cute girl, “Have you lived here long?” “Actually…” She said, looking around the room for a moment, “We went to school together.” “Really?” Alex asked, almost feeling the words slip out of his mouth, “I don’t remember anypony as pretty as you!” “I’m Stella,” She said, pointing to her nametag, “And… did you just say anypony?—“ “Stella?!” Alex asked in a drunken shock, “You used to be really fat! Everyone called you Fatty Magoo!” “Yeah…” She said awkwardly, not really surprised at his lack of a filter, “At least I wasn’t the aluminum monster, right?” “Mhmm.” Alex said, nodding a little too much. “So, what happened to you?” She asked after a moment of silence between them, “Where did you go?” “A magical place,” Alex said, his eyes half closed as he frolicked in the happy memories he had from Equestria, “Way better than here! I mean, my parents were dead! It cheered me up a whole lot!” “I’m so sorry about that, by the way,” She cut in, sitting across the table from him. “That’s fine,” Alex shrugged, “It’s been like, four years! I’m over it.” She furrowed her brow, “It’s been like, a year and change, Alex.” “Oh!” Alex said, embarrassed that he had slipped up, “Yeah! I mean… It feels like it’s been four years!” “It must have been tough,” She said, reaching across the table and placing her hand on his, “I’ve gotta get back to work, but if you stick around for a little bit, I’ll come have some drinks when I finish my shift, okay?” “Sure!” Alex agreed happily, “I’ll be—Um, I’ll…” She gave him an expectant look. Alex felt the alcohol literally evaporate from his system, as he was brought back down to earth. Then, immediately after, he lose all control of his voice. ”Actually, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I just got out of a relationship.” “Oh, I’m sorry,” She said, smiling sweetly, but slightly disappointedly, “if you change your mind at all, the offer still stands.” ”I appreciate that.” As soon as she walked away, Alex felt nothing but anger well up within him. “What the hell!” Alex yelled/whispered, “She was crazy hot! And she wanted—“ ”Dude! She used to be fat! Gross!” “Are you fucking serious?” Alex growled. He knew that Dax was a part of him. That was the truth. But there was no denying that she was bang-able, regardless of how she used to be. ”I’m just giving you shit! I stopped you because we still love Dash.” His reply had started funny, but ended was a punch to the stomach. “I could have still done it—“ ”Do you want to cry during sex? Because that’s how you cry during sex.” How was it, that the evil- well, dark side, of his soul was the one talking sense to him right now? Wasn’t he the one that was supposed to be full of bad ideas? The one pushing him to do all the bad stuff in life, like indulging in some twenty year-old! But no. He’s more broken up about Rainbow Dash than Alex was. ”No I’m not. You and I miss her just the same.” God that was harrowing. “H-how did you get rid of all the...” ”Dunkieness?” “Yeah.” Alex nodded, upset that he had been robbed his moment of bliss. ”Magic! Alex exhaled, and looked at the last bit of beer in his glass, figuring that he might as well finish it off. It wasn’t like he had enough money to get to the plastered point he was just at. He probably couldn’t call that girl fat again if it saved his life. “We should go home, we can come back for this chick in a few weeks.” “Yeah…” Alex grumbled, “Am I good to drive?” ”Just fine.” Reaching in to his wallet, Alex opened it and threw a crumpled up twenty on to the table. “Is that you, Alex?” A voice called from across the bar, as a large guy walked inside, “It’s me! Chris!” Alex exhaled, “Well shit.” “I haven’t seen you in ages, buddy!” The massive guy said, taking a seat across from Alex at the table, “Looks like you’ve been drinking a whole lot.” “Just a few,” Alex said, looking at the five empty bottles, while silently wondering why they hadn’t been cleared from the table, “They don’t really get to me though.” “After that much, huh?” Chris said, gesturing to the waitress behind him for another of what Alex was having, “So! There’s only one reason a man drinks that much, Alex.” Yeah, it may have been obvious that he was going through a breakup, but it didn’t really matter at this point to him what it looked like. “Why are you trying to talk me up so much?” Alex asked, raising an eyebrow, “Gonna laugh at me for losing Dash?” “Sarah?” Chris repeated, before Alex caught himself. “I called her Dash—whatever.” He said, growling at the repeated breakup-centered conversations he was being dragged in to. “Anyway, I just wanted to say that I’ve been there dude,” Chris said, sitting back and relaxing, “Need a wingman to pick up a new chick? Because Fatty Magoo’s been talking about you a lot recently.” “I… Already had that conversation with her,” Alex said, closing his eyes and shaking his head, “It’s too soon.” “Got it!” Chris said, putting his hands up defensively, “Give it a little time. I respect that.” “What’s with you?” Alex asked the muscled blond jock, “Last time we talked… we weren’t exactly seeing eye to eye.” “I was a dick, plain and simple,” Chris said, casually smiling as he leaned forward in the chair, “To be honest… My little brother was getting picked on by a kid that’s graduating this year. I went to beat the shit out of him, but found that me and him had way too much in common. It was an eye opener…” “Well…” Alex continued awkwardly, “I hope he stopped picking on your brother.” “Oh I told him I’d kill him if I heard another peep.” Chris laughed, thanking the waitress for the beer she had just brought him, “So, how long are you back for?” “In a couple of months I’ll have to leave for a little bit…” Alex sighed, feeling bad in just how final this plan was to him, “But then I’ll be back permanently. It’s just a little business I have to take care of with Sarah.” “Well, it’ll be good to have you around!” Chris smiled, reaching across the table and patting Alex on the shoulder, “Everyone went off to school in different parts of the country, but I was too stupid to get in to any schools.” “Don’t feel too bad,” Alex said reassuringly to him, “I don’t even have my high school.” “Yeah, well, your parents died half way through the second semester of classes,” Chris said, “You have good reason to be behind.” “Yeah… I guess,” Alex nodded, “But! On Monday, I’ll have the two tests written, and I can move on with my life.” “Are you going to be heading to university?” Chris asked, having no clue what kind of marks Alex had been getting while he was a student. “No, I don’t think I need to,” Alex said, knowing that he was going to be asked why, so he made up a lie in the meantime. “Did your parents leave you money?” Chris asked, answering the lie before Alex had to explain it. “Yeah,” He nodded, “I can just put it in a high interest account, and live off the money it makes.” “And with a house in your name, plus a couple of cars… You’re really set up.” Chris concluded, nodding in approval, “Lucky bastard.” “Well, terrible circumstances led me to where I am, but I could be in worse places, I guess.” Alex laughed, having a good moment for the first time that night, “Well… I think I’d better get home.” “On a Saturday?” Chris asked, “It’s so early! Why not drink a little more? We can get to know each other a little better!” “I don’t know…” Alex said awkwardly, not especially wanting to stick around, as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed the button, “I’m just really… Uh oh.” “What is it?” Chris asked, seeing all the color drain for Alex’s face, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Alex swallowed hard, as he read the messages over, and then over again, each time his stomach got tighter, and his frown grew. “Are you okay dude?” “I need to go home.” Alex said, standing up suddenly, “Look, we’ll do this again. I promise.” Jotting down his number on a napkin, Alex slid it over to Chris. “Text me.” Alex said, grabbing his coat and heading out the door. //// Alex knew it wasn’t safe, but the road was empty, and he simply couldn’t take his eyes off of the texts he had been sent by Chet, just after he had left for the bar. CHET: U need 2 tell ur friends 2 be quiet!!! Now, that one would have scared Alex more than anything, because he had been alone in that house. He would have just called the police, had he not gotten another message from Chet a minute after that. CHET: NICE!!!1!!!! This message confused the shit out of Alex, because he had no clue what he, or his house guests had done to earn so many exclamation marks from his uncle. But, finally, the message that both haunted him, and gave him a massive amount of relief, was the final one. CHET: Alex, this is Tammy. I understand that you’re going through a breakup, but there is no need to have five naked girls just walking around in your house at once! Please tell them to put some clothes on. And I hope they aren’t prostitutes, because the strange colors of their hair would lead me to that conclusion. It only took him a moment to work out that message. Five girls. With colorful hair. Naked in his house. “Please don’t be ponies…” Alex whined, almost wishing that he was instead being robbed by naked girls in wigs. Shaking his head once again, he floored the gas, and rode off in to the night. //// Alex saw that the lights to his house had indeed been turned back on, and that there were also voices coming from the inside. Voices that he recognized… Putting a key in the door, he turned it, and held his breath. The moment the door was open, he could see five stunning women, with a collection of hair colors, ranging from Pink, to Purple, and finally, to Blonde. His question was answered. “Is that you, Alex?” The excited girl with pink hair asked, bouncing up and down in her seat, causing her chest to bounce in unison, “I sure hope so! What are you wearing?” “Clothes… Pinkie,” Alex exhaled, as her smile grew even more, and she jumped up and threw her arms around him, “Why are you guys here?” “Because you’ve been gone for almost two months!” Twilight said angrily, “You said a week or two!” “We need your help dealing with those dark sides, Alex!” Rarity scolded, shaking her head, “How selfish can you be?” “Ah’ think you need to stop thinkin’ ‘bout yer’self!” Applejack scolded, crossing her arms over her ample breasts. ”Would you look at all the tits!” Alex bit his lip. For the first time tonight, he agreed with Dax. “You guys need to put clothes on…” Alex said breathlessly, savoring this moment, no matter how short it would be, “I can’t concentrate with all the... the…” ”Nipples!” “Nipples!” Alex repeated, realizing just how well it summed up his difficulties. The girls all look to him with raised eyebrows. “Um, h-how did you get here?” Alex asked, walking past them and in to the kitchen, “I thought only I could cast the spell home.” “Well, to be honest…” Twilight said shyly, “I watched you do it, after you went to the train station.” “You were spying on me?” Alex asked, opening and rummaging through counters so it would sound like he wasn’t just hiding from their gorgeous bodies. “Just in case we needed to come get you!” Twilight said, “And it looks like we did!” “It’s only been two weeks here, you know,” Alex said a little angrily, considering that it was his first time home in years, “That’s a little unfair!” “You can come back as long as you like, when we’re not facing the end of the world, Alex!” Twilight shot back, “It’s irresponsible to neglect Equestria, because you were betrayed!” Alex didn’t answer. “Your world will be here forever, Alex,” Rarity said, “Ours might not be, if we don’t fight for it right now!” “Equestria comes first!” Applejack finished firmly. “She was Equestria!” Alex shouted, coming around from the corner, his eyes bloodshot, obviously from tears, “What the hell do I want to do with a place, that breaks my heart every time I think about anything that happened there?” The girls were all silent. “Every moment of my four years there, were filled with one thought in my mind! Her!” Alex continued, “None of you realize just what I lost when I found out about Speed, and what she had been doing with him!” Again, silence. “Maybe this will give you all some inkling.” Alex spat, digging in to his pocket, and throwing a small cloth box on to the only open couch cushion, next to Fluttershy. Reaching over, she fumbled with the new appendages that were her fingers, as she opened it up, to reveal a beautiful ring, with a large diamond resting in it. “Oh Alex…” Fluttershy squeaked, trubg her best not to cry over this loss of his. “You were going to ask her to marry you?” Twilight asked breathlessly, looking up at Alex and biting her lip at the tears running down his cheeks, “I… We didn’t know.” “Just give me a few minutes,” Alex sighed, walking past the living room, “Why don’t you guys put some clothing on, and we can get back to talking about Equestria. Follow me up the stairs.” While the tone in the room was overall horrible, Alex had a hard time staying sad, when five naked girls, all of whom had never walked on two legs for more than a few moments, all tried to walk up a set of stairs. “Put an arm on the rail!” Alex said from the upper floor, as they all complied, and hugged the rail in order to keep balance. “How on earth did you guys even get inside, and on to the couches?” Alex asked, wondering what kind of spectacle that had been. “We walked on all fours!” Pinkie beamed, “But it wasn’t very comfortable with my butt in the air like that!” “And,” Twilight managed, between incredibly shaky steps, “When we remembered you describing how you walked here, we all gave it a try… but sat down as soon as we could.” “Woah!” Applejack called, falling backwards, and taking Rarity and Fluttershy back down the stairs with her, while Twilight and Pinkie completed the climb. “Now I have to start again!” Rarity whined, “We should have brought Spike! He walks like this all the time! And he’d carry me!’ “Quit yer’ whinin’,” Applejack groaned, getting back on her feet, “Gotta get back on the horse an’ try again!” Helping Twilight down the hall a little further, Alex pointed out his parent’s room, and showed her to the closet. “In there is everything you guy’s will need to get dressed,” Alex said, opening the closet door and revealing his mother’s massive wardrobe, “Just get Rarity to pick out what looks good together.” “Okay,” Twilight nodded, before giving him a sad look, “Look, about what I was saying—“ “Don’t worry about it,” Alex shook his head, “I need to protect Equestria. You’re right.” “Thank you.” She smiled sweetly, placing a hand on his cheek, “You can come home once this end of the world business is over with. I promise.” Alex smiled back to her happily, before giving her a confused look. “Where are Spike and Alpha?” Alex asked, surprised that they hadn’t been brought along, “We kept them in Ponyville just in case,” Twilight explained, “They can reach us if there’s an emergency.” “Makes sense,” Alex nodded, “Anyway, I’m going to go freshen myself up with a quick shower. We can go over all this Equestria business when we’re all dressed and cleaned up.” “Okay,” Twilight nodded, as Alex headed for the door of the attached bathroom, “Hey Alex…” He turned to her and give her an expectant look. “I’m really sorry about Rainbow Dash.” Twilight frowned. He said nothing, as he walked in, closed, then locked the bathroom door. //// Friends//// Friends //// Alex sat on the couch, rubbing his temples in a vain attempt to escape the pain of his now throbbing head. Once the girls found his mother’s clothing, they went crazy, each finding an outfit that more or less fit their personalities. Alex was sure that Applejack would have no problem finding an outfit, but Rarity might have an issue or two. Still, while all of this was going on, they were continuously pounding on the floor above them, as they freely changed outfits in front of one another. It was loud, and it pounded on his poor head. Still, through the pain, he couldn’t help but laugh at the strange circumstances he was in at the moment. If fourteen year old him were here, he would be going absolutely nuts with all the nude talent in the house right now. But, here he was, in his twenties, and not giving a crap about it—well, maybe he gave a little crap. He was sure that each of the naked girls would pop in to his head at one point in the future, putting him in to an uncomfortable situation. Checking his phone, half an hour had passed since he sent them up there, and he decided that he would probably want to order some food for them to eat, since nothing was in the house. Luckily, Alex was on the ball, and remembered that the girls weren’t meat eaters. He wasn’t sure how he would explain to them that they had just eaten one of the many beasts they lived with back in Equestria. So, that was that. He ordered four large cheese pizzas, fully expecting Pinkie to do something terrible with at least two of them. “Alex!” Pinkie called from up the stairs, “Can you help me down?” Sighing, he stood up and headed for the staircase, curious as to the outfit Pinkie had chosen from his mother’s wardrobe. Meeting her gaze at the top of the stairs, he was impressed that she had found some pink at all. She wore a simple white t-shirt, with a pink zip-up hoodie, and a pair of white short shorts. “So… how do you get down these things?” Pinkie asked, one again holding on to the railing, while she tried to take a step down, before chickening out and stepping back. “Here, let me help you,” Alex said, running up to the top and picking her up, bridal style, “This will save us a lot of time.” “Ooooh!” Pinkie giggled, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck, “Nopony’s ever treated me this way!” “No problem, Pinks,” Alex smiled, carrying her to the bottom of the stairs, and setting her on the couch that sat along the window, “How are the other girls doing? Almost done?” “I think so!” She said, sprawling out on her back and relaxing, “Go check on ‘em!” Figuing that might speed things up, Alex turned to the staircase and made his way back up, and walked down the hall to their new change room. “How are you guys doing?” Alex asked, opening the door, and instantly turning beet red at the sight he was presented with. “Why are Fluttershy’s so much bigger than mine?” Rarity almost whined, as she handled the bare chest of her pink haired friend, “And they’re so soft!” And his nose bled. //// After taking the fastest, and coldest shower of his life, Alex jumped out, and was happy to see that the girls were no longer in the room. Thank Celestia. Any more of their… exploration would lead to a likely messy situation. Stepping out of the room, Alex was unable to hold back his laugher, and he saw all of the girls lined up at the top of the stairs, deathly afraid of collapsing down them. “I’ll carry you guys down.” Alex smiled, as each of the girls gave him a smile and a ‘thank you.’ Walking up to Rarity, he carefully wrapped one arm around her back, and one around the back of her knees, before swiftly picking her up. She was wearing, of course, an elegant purple dress, along with some very done-up hair. He was surprised at how well her fashion sense carried over into the real world, but, was not at all surprised that she chose his mother’s nicest outfit to wear casually. “You’re a true gentlecolt,” Rarity said politely, wrapping her arms around him just as Pinkie had. Placing her down on the seat next to Pinkie, Alex headed back up for his next customer, Applejack. “Thank’ya kindly!” Applejack smiled, as he carried down the blond bombshell. She was wearing a plaid red and green shirt, with a jean jacket, and incredibly short blue jean shorts. Needless to say, she looked damn good in them. Setting her next to Rarity, at the end of his couch, and repeated his step with Twilight. “I’m surprised how difficult I find it to master walking as a biped!” Twilight said, examining the ceiling as he carried her down, “I never seem to have that much trouble with it when I’m a pony!” “Dash had some trouble when she was here,” Alex reminisced, earning a sad look from Twilight, “But she was running in a day, no problem.” “Well… Out of all our friends, I think she’s pick it up fastest,” Twilight said, nodding as she was placed down on the large chair that used to belong to Alex’s father. As Alex turned and started heading back up, he heard the door be knocked on. “Oh. That’s the food,” Alex said, taking a step down before Pinkie spoke up. “I’ll get it!” She said, jumping up from her seat, and shuffling carefully to the door. Shaking his head, Alex decided to grab Fluttershy quickly so he could deal with the pizza guy. Only problem was, he was moving a little too fast, and jolted Fluttershy in to his chest, as she gave out a nervous ‘eep.’ “Oh, I’m sorry!” Alex said, relaxing himself, and putting her at ease, “I didn’t mean to scare you!” Fluttershy only blushed heavily, as she kept both hands crossed over her chest, afraid to make contact with his body. Alex reached the bottom step just in time for Pinkie to open the front door. “Heya!” She smiled excitedly, as the young guy made eye contact with Alex, and his arms full of beautiful girl. “Um… I have four cheese pizzas…” He mumbled, looking around the room in awe. “Do you want to be my friend?” Pinkie asked, moving her face to within an inch of the acne-covered teenager, “I don’t have any friends here yet!” “Sure!” His voice cracked, as her face lit up in surprise that it had been so easy. “Yeah!” She beamed, wrapping her arms around his neck, and pressing her body against his, “My first- well, second human friend!” “Uhhhh,” His voice creaked, as he awkwardly hugged her back, not giving a second thought to her ‘second human friend’ line. “How much do I owe you again?” Alex asked the guy, looking over Pinkie’s shoulder, with Fluttershy still in his arms. “Thirty two… twenty five,” He said though the still crushing grip that he hoped would never end. “That’s the money next to you, Pinkie,” Alex said, gesturing to the shelf next to the door, as he carried Fluttershy to her designated seat in the room, and placed her down carefully. “Oh!” Pinkie said, snapping back and breaking his heart, “Here you go! Keep the change!” The broken heart of the small man was mended the moment he noticed that she was giving him two fifty-dollar bills, “Oh! Thank you very much!” “Any time!” He said, lifting the pack of pizzas off the ground next to him, and handed it to Pinkie, “Here’s your food.” Pinkie greedily took the boxes out of his hand once the smell made its way to her nostrils, “Thanks! See’ya!” Slamming the door closed, Pinkie hurried the food over to the coffee table in the middle of the living room, and with surprising skill, managed to not trip and splat cheese all over the place. Opening the first box clumsily with her index finger and thumb, she final reached her goal. The delicious pizza she had been dying for since… well, since she found out that food was at the door about two minutes ago. Looking up at Alex expectantly, she gave him the widest eyes she could, waiting for his approval to start eating. “One second, Pinkie,” Alex laughed, running to the kitchen and grabbing a stack of plates out of the cupboard, along with a jug of orange juice, and some cups. He was surprised that he was able to balance it all in his arms. Running back in to the room, he handed each girl a plate, and then places all of the glasses next to the food, which he promptly filled—Unfortunately, they were all still looking a little lost, when it came to the use of their hands and fingers. “How much more do I need to do for you guys…?” Alex asked, frowning, just as he sat down, “You know what? I believe in all of you! You guys can work this out!” They all shot him a dirty look. “I just carried you all downstairs,” Alex said, smirking as he kicked back and placed his feet on the stool in front of him, “I didn’t ask you guys to wait on me like this when I first came to Equestria.” “Ah’suppose,” Applejack sighed, not happy feeling this useless, “Well Pinkie! Show us how it’s done!” “Yes Pinkie,” Rarity nodded, smiling to herself, “Please show us how one would eat on earth.” “I’d be happy to!” Pinkie smiled, instantly burying her face in the pizza, as she grabbed a slice with her teeth, and pulled it up and away. Then, she proceeded to place it on the plate in front of her, “Easy peasy!” Alex wasn’t sure if he should laugh, or tell her how she really needs to do it. “Who’s next?” //// The past fifteen minutes had been filled with the girls all fumbling to get themselves situated with their food. But, all in all, it worked out well enough. Alex only had to show them the proper way to eat three or so times, by laying the pizza flat on his open hand, and bringing just the tip of the slice in to his mouth. They had insisted that they just burry their face in it, but he told them it was insulting on earth to not eat the customary way. Yeah, it was a lie. But, the last thing he needed was his uncle walking in to see five women all eating with just their mouths. He’d think Alex was in some kind of creepy role-play that involved the most beautiful women he had ever seen. “So,” Alex said, relaxing as they all made their way through the food in front of them, “You all came to take me back?” “You can’t say no to all of us, Alex,” Rarity said, shaking her head with a smile, “Besides… there was another reason that we came and found you.” “Rarity!” Twilight said quickly, her voice in a hushing tone, before looking back to Alex with a nervous smile on her face, knowing that the secret was going to come out now, regardless. “As if we won’t tell him!” Rarity said back, “Keeping it from him would only make things worse!” “Ah’ don’t know…” Applejack said, on the fence of telling him whatever the secret was. Pinkie was uncharacteristically quiet during the argument between the friends. “I don’t know if he can handle it!” Twilight argued, talking as if Alex wasn’t even there. “He’s right here!” Fluttershy spoke up, silencing her friends, “You’re being very inconsiderate by talking this way…” “What’s going on with Dash?” Alex asked finally, giving a thankful smile to Fluttershy, “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what you’re talking about.” Twilight bit her lip and sighed, “She’s being inducted in to the Wonderbolts next week.” “We all decided to go and support her, as her friends,” Rarity said softly, making sure her tone was apologetic, incase Alex was upset with the news, “And we wanted you to come with us.” Alex didn’t answer. He simply placed his hands together, and held them to his mouth. “We all know what’s going to happen once Dash becomes a member of the Wonderbolts, Alex,” Twilight said, scratching the back of her head, “We won’t be able to get an audience with her without a massive amount of effort to put in.” “All of us want to talk to her, at least one more time,” Fluttershy said, “It’s hard not to take sides… but I still care about Dash.” “Me too.” Rarity added. “Ah’ owe her another conversation mah’self,” Applejack added. Pinkie sighed loudly, obviously filled with conflict over the topic, as, apparently, she had been the hardest hit by Rainbow Dash’s betrayal, aside from Alex. “You still haven’t told us if you want to go, Pinkie,” Twilight said, raising an eyebrow at the pink haired girl. “I… I don’t know.” Pinkie said, her happy mood from the pizza now all but gone, “I just don’t think I could face her.” No one knew why she was so reluctant. All of Dash’s old friends seemed willing to at least give her one final send off, regardless of the mistakes she made. But, Pinkie had been hit so hard by this, that it confused all of them deeply, including Alex. Even he figured that she would have been the first to forgive the mare. “Why is it so hard for you?” Alex spoke up, surprising them all with his curiosity on the topic, “You’re Pinkie. I couldn’t see you staying mad at anyone, or anypony.” She sighed. “You know,” Pinkie said, tilting her head, “I always held Dashie in such a special place in my mind.” Pinkie fought back the urge to cry again, as she had so many times since this revelation. “It might sound dumb… But I always looked up to her,” Pinkie continued, her hair almost losing its volume as she spoke, “Whenever I looked at her, I always saw a dedicated pony that would rather lose her wings, than hurt her friends.” The lack of her usual tone and expressions was enough to put a pit in all of their stomachs. “But, not only did she betray Alex… but she did it eleven times!” Pinkie exclaimed, looking to Alex, and frowning, “I lost my faith in the world when I found that out… If Dashie, the most loyal of loyal-ist ponies could do something like that, then what could everypony else do?” The silence that followed in the room was truly horrible. They were all silenced by Pinkie’s speech, each pondering what she had said, and just what it meant. Dash had deceived all of them, and then lied to not only them, but Alex as well. It was… unforgivable. Even Rarity, the one who had been the largest advocate for seeing Dash off, was reconsidering her position on whether or not she would be going to the ceremony. “I’ll go.” Alex said, snapping every gaze from the room to him. “Are you sure?” Twilight asked, “I mean, she—“ “I know what she did,” Alex said in a thick tone, as he finished the last piece of crust from his plate, “But I was too scared to confront her.” Alex stood up and walked past the girls to the large window facing the street, and opened the curtains. He looked outside, and shook his head at just how… dark this world was. It sounded terrible, but he hated it here. Equestria had become his home over the past four years, and he wanted nothing more than to move back, and have everything be okay with Rainbow Dash. But, unfortunately, with that mare being ruined, it was enough for him to despise that world too. So, what were his choices? Stay here, live a boring life while hiding his magic, and knowing that in thirty years, all of his friends in Equestria will be dead. Or, go back there, live in constant reminder of what he lost, and be sad forever? Well… he would likely find another mare to care about. Pinkie would probably be a lot of fun. Shaking his head, he was thinking it over too much. “Honestly… the last few weeks, all I’ve been thinking about it my future,” Alex sighed, “All the shitty stuff I have to face from this point on in my life, whether I go back to Equestria, or stay here. But, maybe… maybe I should just take this one step at a time.” “That’s a good idea,” Twilight nodded, standing up and joining him next to the window, “Don’t make yourself sick over all of this. Take it one step at a time, and we’ll all be right there with you.” “You bet we’ll be!” Pinkie smiled, jumping up from her seat, and joining them. “You’ll have Spike and I as well.” Rarity nodded, standing as well. “Couldn’t get rid of us if ya’ tried.” Applejack smiled, following suit with the others. “Please don’t try, though.” Fluttershy giggled, not wanting to be the only one sitting, as she joined them at the window. “Although, we may be a little biased,” Twilight said, wrapping her arms around giving him a friendly hug, “We think Equestria is a pretty good place to live in.” Alex closed his eyes and smiled, as all the rest of the girls laughed and joined in to the group hug. He had made some of the best friends of his life in Equestria, and they were all here, rooting for him during this terrible time in his life. How could he ever consider staying on earth? “I love you guys.” Alex said softly, a smile now across his lips, as they all ‘aww’d’ in response. "We love you too, Alex!" Pinkie beamed, wrapping her arms around the group even tighter. Opening his eyes, Alex noticed something strange in the window of his uncle’s house. There was a silhouette in the upper level bedroom. Narrowing his eyes, he could only shaking his head at the figure, his uncle, who had been watching them through binoculars. But, upon seeing that he had been noticed, put them down, and started giving a mixture of waving, and thumbs up-ing. Smirking, Alex replied by casting a quick spell, pulling the curtains back over the window. //// Across the street, Chet could feel his chest fill with pride. If Alex’s father were alive to see him now, he’s no doubt be feeling exactly the same way. After all, when anyone related to you was getting in to six-ways with girls like that, you get a little cooler just by association. He couldn’t wait to go to the bar tomorrow night and talk it up to all his friends. //// Reminiscence Reminiscence //// Reminiscence //// The night had progressed quickly from eating, to watching a movie. Something that simply captivated the girls. They had all been to the movie theater in Ponyville, but it seemed that Equestria was lagging behind Earth in the special-effects department. So, because the night was so young, and he was sure that the girls would be up for a late night, he decided to pop on some super hero movies, knowing that as far as contemporary films went, they would be well rounded, and easy to watch for them. They were all enthralled by the cool story lines, the epic battles, and surprising amount of character development. However, Twilight was forced to point out many scientific impossibilities they were using in these films, especially without magic around to be used as an explanation for some of them. Still, despite her cheerfulness during their dinner, Pinkie had once again found herself feeling sad. Something that didn’t go unnoticed by Alex. He knew that Pinkie and Dash had been close, but the other girls were taking it so many times better. They were all still happy, joking around, and even mentioning Dash in various stories during their conversations. But, Pinkie was only silent. The exact opposite of her usual demeanor. However, the night moved on, and so did the films they were watching. And, before any of them knew it, they were falling asleep in their places on the various couches and chairs. So, after about twenty minutes of zero activity, Alex decided that it would be best for him to turn everything off, and get some sleep himself. He wasn’t sure what kind of day he would be having tomorrow, and whether or not he’d be going back to Equestria. Standing up, he walked over to the massive television, and pressed the power button, covering the room in darkness. Then, with the light from his phone screen, he grabbed a couple of blankets from the hallway cupboard, and laid them out just well enough that he could stretch three between all the girls. Finally, he walked in to the kitchen, and turned the dimming light up a couple of notches, bathing the entire lower floor in a soft light that would help them see if they needed to get up for any reason. With that, he headed up the stairs silently, and went in to his room, ready for a night fraught with indecision, and inability to sleep. Getting in to his bed, he listened to the silence, and took a moment to appreciate the calm time he was currently experiencing. There had been so much pain, angst, and whatever else, that he hadn’t had a single moment like this. One where he knew that he was cared for, and that no matter how bad things got, no matter how bitter the endings with one chunk of your life, there is always a bright spot. No matter how adjusted to the dark your eyes are. You just need to sit in the darkness long enough to see it. But just because there was a bright spot of light, that didn’t mean that he would be over the pain he had been caused any time soon. Alex was interrupted by a sudden knock at the door. “Uhm,” Alex coughed, sitting up and turning on his bedside lamp, “You can come in.” The door opened slowly, and Alex wasn’t able to make out the person… but he could see the color of her eyes. They were bright blue, and that meant Pinkie. Which, after everything, made the most sense. “Hey, Pinkie.” Alex said, smiling at her softly, dampening her out-of-character tepidness, “You want to talk?” “Um… If that’s okay! I mean, if you’re trying to sleep, then I’ll—“ “Don’t sweat it,” Alex said, removing the blanket and sitting up on the side of his bed, “You can sit down.” “Thanks,” She smiled gratefully, taking him up on his offer and sitting down next to him. “You want to talk about Dash?” Alex asked softly, his heart wrenching at the use of the name. “Yeah, if that’s alright with you…” She said quickly, not at all wanting to put him in an uncomfortable, or sad mood. “You sound like Fluttershy, Pinkie,” Alex laughed, expertly hiding the pain in his chest, “I’m here to help if you need me.” “But- but that makes me sound like such a jerk!” Pinkie squeaked, “You got it way worse than me, but I’m such a mess!” “I don’t think I did get it worse, Pinkie,” Alex said, shaking his head softly and giving her a reassuring smile, “I may be in love with her, but you trusted her just as much as I did.” A pause of indecision followed, leading Alex to wonder just what it was she was going to say to him. “If- if the situation was right… would you ever take her back?” Pinkie asked suddenly, shifting the conversation away from how she was feeling, “Even if she begged you?” “Why are you asking…?” Alex began, before understanding her reasoning for asking the question. Pinkie hadn’t shifted the conversation away from herself at all. She wanted his opinion on her betrayal. She knew he was angry, and that he had cried over it. All of the girls downstairs knew those things. But, none of them knew what was deep down. What he would do in a very possible situation like that. “Honestly?” Alex asked, playing it over in his mind… her crying, and begging him to take her back. Telling him that she needed him, and that she’d be miserable for the rest of her life without him, “I couldn’t.” Pinkie didn’t respond. The sadness on her face told him everything. “Not in a million years could I take her back as a lover,” Alex shook his head, closing his eyes and focusing on the prevention of tears for a moment. “But, as a friend…” Alex trailed off, biting his lip as he opened his eyes, “Maybe.” That was where Pinkie’s expression changed. Her frown vanished, her eyes opened up a little more. She wasn’t smiling. But there was a level of hopefulness in her demeanor. “I cried myself to sleep every night for the past… however long,” Alex continued, opening up for the first time on this subject, “I’ve told so many people that I would never talk to her again, and that I hated her… but, it’s just not how I operate.” “You couldn’t hate her?” Pinkie asked. “Never.” Alex smiled, growing a small, but fond smile as he looked down at his bed, “I don’t even know how much blame I can put on her, really.” “Alex, you shouldn’t fool yourself,” Pinkie said quickly, knowing the path he was going down in his mind all too well, “What she did… to him and you? It was terrible. She deserves a lot of blame.” “I’ve never seen you so serious,” He laughed, still staring at the covers, “But you’re right. I know that I was gone… and to be looking for me, while going off on these secret rendezvous with that Speed guy… It just sounds impossible. A part of me just can’t accept it, I guess.” “But even knowing all of that, how could you not hate her?” Pinkie asked, this being such a vital question to her. “She held my hoof through the hardest times of my life,” Alex explained, losing all self-control, “Getting used to Equestria, when we saw Luna’s husband die, when I was trapped in stone… and even when I was being controlled by the changelings. She was there for me… she fought so hard for me. I guess that just makes me realize that I wasn’t the most important thing to her.” Pinkie sat in silence, waiting for him to continue, but he simply didn’t seem to. “Alex?” She finally asked, placing a hand on his face, and pulling lightly toward herself. When he finally relented, and looked to her, she felt all of his pain through his expression. His cheeks were stained with tears, as they had been every night since he got back. Scooting closer to him on the bed, she comfortingly grabbed his hand with hers, and gave it a few reassuring squeezes. “I’ll talk for a little bit, okay? I’ll tell you why this has been so hard for me.” Alex nodded, sniffing, and wiping his cheeks of with his free arm, as he listened intently. “I cared about Dashie so much,” Pinkie said softly, “The two of us spent so many amazing times together…” Alex knew that Dash and Pinkie had a good friendship, but it sounded like it was so much much stronger, when coming from Pinkie like this. It was something he hadn’t at all realized. “From the first day Dashie moved to Ponyville, I knew she was special,” Pinkie explained, “She came to Sugarcube Corner, and told Mr. Cake that it was her birthday, and her first day in town—she was looking for a small cake to celebrate it by herself in her new house, because Fluttershy wasn’t around yet. But! She was trying to sound so cool while she was doing it.” As hard as it was hearing about the old Dash, the one he fell for… He still loved hearing every word about the naïve, big headed mare. “So, naturally, I offered to take her out!” Pinkie giggled, brightening the mood in the room greatly, “She didn’t have anypony else to have around, so, she had no choice! And that was the beginning of one of the best days of my life.” “How come I never heard about that day from her?” Alex asked, tilting his head. “I think… It’s because it mattered a lot more to me, than it did to her,” Pinkie tried to explain, before realizing how bad that sounded, “But I mean, she couldn’t have known.” Alex had no intention of interrupting her now. “Well, let’s just say that it had been a hard week… I lost a friend.” Pinkie explained, scratching the back of her head, avoiding detail on that topic, “So, when I was finally back to work after it, I was a bit of a sourpuss. I moped around the bakery for a few days, and was being so bad, that I was driving away customers!” “But…?” “But! When I first saw Dashie in that store, trying to look tough so she could hide how scared she was… Something inside of me popped! I wanted nothing more than to make her day.” Pinkie said with a smile, “So! I told her that I’d take her out, and give her a super-memorable birthday!” “Was it?” Alex asked, already knowing the answer. “Well, I exploded cake batter all over her body, she got tangled up in a bunch of balloons and their strings, sang her four songs about her lack of friends… but then! During the tight rope act I was doing, I fell off! And she had to catch me! …But, well, after she caught me, she couldn’t stop us, and we crashed in to a pig pen.” Pinkie giggled, remembering the day with so much fondness, “But… even with so much going wrong, do you know what she did?” “What did she do?” Alex asked, feeling his own chest lighten at the happy story. “After all that, she just laughed,” Pinkie smiled, her eyes lit up as if she were there again, “Not once had a pony been happy after so many screw-ups! But, I mean, I think she could see something was wrong with me… Maybe Mr. Cake told her, I’m not sure. But, for a pony to go out on her own birthday, and put up with all that just to make me smile? That’s a really special pony, Alex.” He only nodded. “After that, Dashie told me that she had an amazing day, and told me that we should hang out again! It was exactly what I needed to get out of my funk…” She said, her voice hardening once again, “Exactly what I needed…” Alex watched as Pinkie’s face darkened once again. “I needed that win so much… and she gave it to me,” Pinkie said solemnly, “That was the moment I decided that she would be my new best friend.” Pinkie shifted uncomfortably, while Alex could feel trembling in her hand that was holding his. “And while she may have never looked at me quite the same way, I always looked up to her so much.” Pinkie continued, “Dashie was the cool big sister I could always depend on, that would protect me from anything. She was truly my best friend... Even if I wasn’t her best friend in return. But I was okay with that!” Alex wasn’t sure if her story was going to make him cry again. “But, after putting so much stock in her, and committing myself to loving her like I would Maude, or any other member of my family—“ Pinkie stopped to sniffle, as her own eyes started to fill, “She-well… she might as well have died right there. B-because I l-l-lost a sis-ter.” Pinkie was now broken down. Alex finally understood the extent of damage that had been done to his friend. “I’m so sorry, Pinkie,” Alex said, wrapping his arms around her neck, and pulling the crying girl in to his embrace. She was gone. Lost to the extreme level of emotion that was assaulting her senses. So, Alex did what any friend would do. He held on to her, and gave her his shoulder to cry on. And she cried harder than he had ever experienced from anyone else. It was truly harrowing. However, the busy day, along with all the stress she was feeling at this moment, mixed together to make her incredibly drowsy. And, after about ten minutes of silent tears, Pinkie finally fell asleep in his embrace. So, seeing that she was out cold, Alex tucked her in to his bed, and silently moved across the hall to the guest bedroom. While it had been such a sad, sad night… Alex couldn’t help but be happy that he was important enough to someone, that they would bear their soul to him so much. He had bonded with her on a new level, and as long as he lived, he was going to try and make her smile whenever he could. If only there were some way to change the past… All this pain would stop. Everypony's Favorite Uncle//// Everypony’s Favorite Uncle //// Alex yawned loudly, being torn from his slumber by the rising sun shining in his eyes. He wanted to teleport himself right up to Canterlot and yell at Celestia to keep it down for a few more hours, so he could get some more sleep. But, with the painful brightness on his face didn’t go anywhere. So, rolling over and escaping it’s grasp, Alex opened his eyes, to the high definition that was his world. “Oh right…” He mumbled, remembering coming home, and then studying for his exams… what else had happened? Anything notable? Nope. Nothing he could think of. Perhaps he should have wondered why he was in the guest bedroom, or who was sleeping in his bed. Or even if he had seen several naked girls recently. But, he simply didn’t. Closing his now shadowed eyes, Alex drifted back in to the peaceful world of slumber, leaving earth, and all of its problems behind for a few more hours. His pain was still completely centered on Dash. And nothing made him forget about the terrible times, like dreaming of the good ones. //// A few more hours had passed, and Alex was awoken to the sound of clattering below him. Someone was in his house! “Ah’ reckon he’ll love it!” An extremely familiar voice said from below. The girls! From Equestria! Alex had completely forgotten about the five girls that had teleported across dimensions to follow him home. They were all now downstairs, probably bringing about the end of the world as he knew it... But, they were pretty smart, as far as ponies went. So… maybe he could get just a little more shut eye, and they could take care of themselves. The doorbell rang. “Oh, I’ll get it.” Rarity said politely, as the sound of a chair dragging across the floor was heard, and then followed by something that sounded like a person tripping over their inexperienced legs, “Oh, this dress was simply a terrible idea for mobility.” Alex wondered who would be at the door at the tender hour of seven-thirty in the morning on a Monday. But, again, those girls were smart. They could take care of this person, just as they would take care of any annoying neighbor in Ponyville. “Hello?” Rarity asked, after opening the door. “Howdy,” A confident, and very smug sounding voice said from the door, “Name’s Chet. I’m Alex’s uncle.” “My goodness!” Rarity said, he voice quite elated, “It’s a pleasure to meet you! You simply must come in!” Alex scowled. What was that son-of-a-bitch doing here? Sticking his nose where it didn’t belong! That’s what! “Where is Alex? I need to speak with him a bit,” Chet said, his voice quiet, as he examined the talent Alex had brought home with him. “Up in his bedroom,” Fluttershy said. “Thanks!” Chet said, as he was heard walking up the staircase, before turning for a moment “Uh… Did Alex let you wear that clothing?” “It’s Alex’s moms,” Twilight explained, “We were naked, and had nothing to wear.” “Got it,” Chet smirked. Alex could just picture the look on his face. His smirk was almost audible. He couldn’t wait for Chet to come to his room so he could give him shit for barging in like this. But… Alex wasn’t in his room. He had let Pinkie sleep in there. “Shit!” Alex said, rolling off the bed, and thudding on to the floor. He tried to get his pants on as quickly as possible, but was too late, as Chet opened Alex’s bedroom door. “Alex?” Chet’s voice called in to the room across the hall. “Hey!” Pinkie responded, sitting up from the bed, wearing nothing, and only being covered by the blanket, “Who are you?” “I’m Alex’s uncle! And I’m looking for--” Chet began slowly, before Alex busted out of the quest room. “I’m here! I was letting her sleep in my room because we were together last night and—“ Alex stammered, before backing up, “I mean, I was comforting her! And then—“ “I’ve ‘comforted’ plenty of girls in my time, Alex,” Chet smiled, winking. “He sure did comfort me!” Pinkie beamed, “It didn’t take too long though.” “He’s only a man,” Chet said, knowing that Alex did nothing, but was still playing it up to annoy him, “Lasting long doesn’t run in the family.” “Shut it!” Alex shouted, was a single crack in his voice, “Downstairs!” “Oh, yes ma’am,” Chet said, throwing his hands in the air, as if surrendering, “You’re the lady of the house, after all!” Alex huffed, as Chet walked back down stairs. “Sorry about, that,” Alex said, before taking off after his uncle. Pinkie could only giggle to herself. She could see where Alex got his attitude from. His uncle acted so much like him. It was cute, finally seeing him be embarrassed by those kinds of actions. “Breakfast is ready, Pinkie!” Twilight called from down the stairs. Looking at the clothing she had discarded last night, she wondered if putting them on was the right thing to do. Yeah… Yeah. Wait. No? No! That’s right. No! Naked was just fine. “Pinkie, don’t forget to get dressed!” Alex called, knowing the girl too well. “Aww…” She needed to learn the rules of this place. //// Sitting down at the table, Alex and Chet were served breakfast by the girls. It was something that truly terrified Alex. Was he going to die along with Chet after eating today? “So,” Chet said, placing his hands together, “Where did you all meet?” “Don’t worry about it.” Alex said instantly, “Why did you stop by?” “Well…” Chet began, letting it pass for now, “I wanted to know how well your studying has gone. Are you ready for the exams?” “Yeah, I think so,” Alex nodded, smiling, truly confident in his abilities, “I’m surprised how much I remembered.” “You have all the equations memorized and everything, right?” Chet asked, “Because you start in a just a little over an hour.” “Seriously?!” Alex said, pulling his phone out of his pocket, and, sure enough, the reminder was there. “I thought it was way later today!” Alex stammered, “We need to go!” “Well, we can eat.” Chet said, looking at the strange color of oatmeal they had been served, as he wrinkled his nose and looked to Alex. Alex only shook his head slowly, giving a scared look toward his own plate. “Say, sweet heart,” Chet said to Twilight, “What is this?” “Toast!” She smiled, sounding a little too much like Sweetie Belle in her tone. “I told her she shouldn’t cook in this world,” Rarity said, “it comes out worse than my sisters cooking.” “Hey!” Twilight said, before looking at the toast she had made, and frowned, “Well… I do better as a pony.” “Where did you guys say you met again?” Chet asked, as confusion riddled his face at their strange conversation and food preparation. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” Alex deflected instantly, “Just… I’m just not hungry.” Chet shook his head at the avoidance, but had to agree with Alex on getting away from the food. “We had better go, now that I think about it.” He said nervously, backing away from the table, “Alex?” “Right behind you, Chet,” Alex nodded, standing up and joining him, as they awkwardly, and silently, slid to the door. “How long’ll you two be?” Applejack asked, “Because we have somewhere to be.” “Is it that soon?” Alex asked incredulously, “I mean… Didn’t you say ‘next week’?” “Well… it was three days from now,” Twilight said, scratching her head, “We’ve been here about twelve hours. So, that times four is two days.” “But it’s at noon,” Applejack pointed out, “So, that adds one more hour?” “But we still need to take the train to Manehattan,” Twilight explained, “That’s a few hours itself. So… We need to leave in maximum, five hours.” “I need some help on what you guys are talking about here,” Chet said, curious as to why they were talking about two amounts of time to the same event. “It’s tough to explain,” Alex said, putting on his jacket, “Don’t worry about it.” That was the last time he would be hearing those words from Alex. Chet was going to get to the bottom of this mystery. “Are you girls coming?” Chet asked, grinning inwardly. “We sure are!” Pinkie called from the top of the stairs, as she expertly ran down them, eliciting jealously from her friends, “I wanna see more of this world!” “B-but…” Alex whined, as he made eye contact with the bubbly pony-person, and knew that he stood no chance, “Ugh. Fine.” “Yay!” She shouted, grabbing the glass of toast of the table and downed it in a single gulp, and then following it with a strangely happy statement, “Wowie! That was the worst thing I’ve ever tasted!” “Just grab some shoes from the closet there,” Alex pointed, to the sliding mirrors next to the door, “My mom had a lot of pairs you can use. We’ll have to take two cars though…” “Don’t worry,” Chet shook his head, “I can fit you all in to the van.” “Van?” Alex asked, never remembering Chet to be a van driver. “Well, really, it’s a mini-van.” Chet explained, “It’s telling of my soul.” Alex scoffed at the bullshit comment his uncle had made, “And what does it tell you about your soul?” “Well, think about it.” Chet said, “What do you say about a guy who drives a hummer, or a motorcycle that makes way too much noise?” “Uhh…” Alex said, scratching his chin. “He has a tiny…?” Chet began, raising his eyebrows. “Penis?” Alex asked, his eyes shifting uncomfortably at the crazy conversation he was having. “Exactly!” Chet said, nodded, “So, by that logic, what’s the opposite of a big, obnoxious hummer?” “A… fuel economic mini-van?” Alex asked, figuring that was the answer Chet wanted. “Bingo!” Chet nodded, “So, if hummers equal small penises, what do mini-vans equal?” “Big penises!” Pinkie interjected, as Alex clamped his eyes closed. “Just right, dear,” Chet smiled, smirking to Alex, “I like your friends.” “I don’t even know that I like them,” Alex said, finally cracking a smile at Pinkie’s attitude. “Hey!” The five girls said at once. “You sure have it tough, kid.” Chet laughed, walking out the door, “I’ll get the van over here.” “You two are so much alike!” Twilight laughed, as she finally managed to get her second lace up boot on, “He’s just like you!” “It’s quite nice to see a little more of you,” Rarity smiled, wearing a pair of slip-ons, to compensate for her easy to trip in dress, “It’s… telling of your soul.” They all burst in to laughter at the throwback. “He reminds me of Dax,” Fluttershy said. “Hey, yeah!” Applejack agreed, “That’re annoyin’ the same way!” “Applejack!” Rarity hushed, as Alex laughed. “That’s the best description I’ve ever heard of him,” Alex laughed, happy that they were comfortable enough to make fun of his uncle so quickly. ”Chet’s awesome! I love that guy!” Alex just shook his head, as the badass sound of a mini-van pulling up to his house was heard. “Remember guys,” Alex said quickly, “Try to keep Equestria talk to a minimum. Especially when I’m in that test!” “What are we supposed to say then?” Twilight asked. “Just fake it! It’s easy!” “What’s a mini-van?” Pinkie asked instantly. “What’s a hummer?” Twilight asked. “Are they carriages?” Rarity asked, looking out the door at the vehicle rolling over to them. “How in tarnation does that thing move?!” Applejack said walking a step out the door and gawking at the big red vehicle. “Oh no…” “Come on you guys! Alex has a diploma to get!” Chet called from his vehicle. “Ladies first,” Alex gulped, as they all carefully, but better than before, walked out on to the driveway, then stopped at the door, which for some reason wasn’t just opening for them. “Oh,” Alex said quickly, running past them and sliding the door open, “Let me help you guys in.” Jumping inside, he took each of their hands and helped them inside, and to their seats, buckling each of them as he went. “Alright!” He said finally, jumping to the front seat and fastening his own seat belt, “Test time!” Chet had thought the odd attitude of the girls was cute at first, but it genuinely looked like they had trouble doing basic movements, like opening a car, stepping up in to them, and buckling themselves in. What was he missing here? As they started traveling, Alex looked back at the distressed faces they were making the movements the van was making, stopping, and starting, and speeding up, then stopping… It was probably just a little too different from a train for them. Giving them a hopeful look, they all took it to mean that he needed them to stick it out. So they did. The drove in silence for a few more minutes before something started to bother Alex. Something his uncle had told him made no sense. And, the more and more he thought about it, the more it bugged him. “Chet,” Alex finally said, as his uncle briefly looked at him before looking back to the road, “How the hell is a big penis because of a mini-van telling of your soul?” //// “Good luck Alex!” They all called, as Alex stepped out of the van and turned around. “Where are you guys going?” Alex asked, hoping that the girls would be able to fool Chet in to thinking that they were perfectly normal humans. “Just to the diner,” Chet gestured with his head, “We can kill a few hours talking, I’m sure.” The tone on his final words gave Alex pause. But, before he could say anything, Chet pulled away. Alex just grumbled to himself, as he turned around and headed for the school. He wished he was going with them. All of the excitement was with them. Not in some stupid test. Besides. He knew that Chet was going to bombard them with questions… whatever. They could make it up. Here was sure. //// “So, girls!” Chet said, as they all took their seats at a large circular table, “Tell me how you all met Alex!” “He saved our lives!” Pinkie spoke out, before putting her hands over her mouth. “Pinkie!” Rarity hushed once again. Oh yes. This was going to be a fun conversation. A... New Experience//// A… New Experience //// After entering the school, Alex was directed to the principal’s office to get his test papers. Since he was a special case, and wasn’t in any of the assigned classes, he had to write in a special room, where he would be monitored by Tammy, his uncles Fiancé. And, wanting to waste no time, he asked to have the test as quickly as possible. It was when it arrived, however, when it broke his spirit. Alex grumbled at the sheer amount of work he had been handed, and expected to do. It was piles, upon piles of paper, which seemed to have absolutely no end to them whatsoever. But, as the time progressed, he fought with the desire to go back to sleep, and managed to dig himself out from under the massive amount of paperwork. It was the most satisfying feeling he had ever felt, when he reached the final question of the test. But, the question itself on that paper was long. It was longer than anything he had ever seen in his life. His brain couldn’t even begin to comprehend how so many symbols, numbers, and what he assumed was some alien language, could fit on to a single piece of paper. It was ridiculous. But, pressing the button on his calculator, he began. He would have this thing conquered before you could say ‘tzatziki!’ Well, in Alex’s case, it takes about a two hundred tries to say it right. So... He’d have it done in the time it takes to say ‘tzatziki’ two hundred times? //// The girls were all feeling the pressure Chet was putting on them, as he tried to pry out just where Alex had been for so long, and what had happened that led to his break-up with Dash. So far, they were changing subjects, throwing up roadblocks… Pinkie even drank a massive milkshake in two gulps, so she could belch, and cut Chet off midsentence. “There are better than the one’s back home!” Pinkie beamed, surprisingly keeping the secret under wraps, “Can I have another one?” “Sure thing,” Chet smiled, gesturing to the usual waitress, Rosie, to grab Pinkie a refill, “So! Back to the topic at hand! Where did you all say you lived?” The girls were once again silent as he asked this question. None of them daring to explain what ‘Ponyville,’ or ’Equestria,’ was to him. They’d all be sent to some hospital, and thrown in the psych wards! Well, that’s what Alex told them anyway. “Alex said he went to Washington, after meeting that Sarah girl, right?” Chet tried to fill in the blanks, having no information to go on. “Yes!” Twilight nodded instantly, happy that he had named a place from this world, instead of asking a question they could never answer, “We… are from Washington!” “Sure are!” Applejack agreed instantly, “Love that Washin’ton!” “Washington.” Rarity agreed, nodding slowly. “Okay… well, you kinda sound like you’re lying,” Chet said, knowing the smell of bullshit from a mile away. “Eheh… well—“ “Breakfast is served,” Rosie, their waitress said, carrying a tray with several plates on it, as another waitress walked behind her with the other two plates, “Who had the pancakes?” “Those are mine!” Rarity said, raising her hand. They were her favorite breakfast food, and she was excited to try them in a different world. “Who had the salads?” She asked, “I got three. Two leaf, and one fruit.” “Ah’m fruit,” Applejack said, as she was given her food. Then, Twilight and Fluttershy raised their hands, getting the other two sets of salad, which just left two plates, both covered in every kind of breakfast food one could imagine. “And the Lumberjack breakfasts are for you two?” She asked, glancing uneasily between Chet and Pinkie, “You sure hun’?” “Sure am!” Pinkie nodded, excited herself to see what a breakfast on earth would be like. “So am I,” Chet laughed, as he was given the massive plate of food, “Besides, I think I can finish whatever she doesn’t eat.” “You’re gonna die young, Chet,” Rosie jokingly-warned him, giving Pinkie her plate. “As long as I die happy, right?” He laughed, grabbing a piece of bacon and munching it down, “Good as always!” Feeling her heart flutter at the mention of delicious food, Pinkie followed suit, and lifted the red strip off her plate carefully with her thumb and index finger. Lifting it to her nose, she gave it a careful sniff, and wasn’t at all put off by the smell. In fact, it smelt really good! So, wasting no more time, Pinkie placed the entire thing in her mouth, chewed it slowly, making sure to savor every little bit of artery blocking grease, before swallowing, and growing the biggest smile she had yet to make on earth. “Wow! This stuff is amazing!” Pinkie beamed, looking around the table, “You guys have to try this!” Giving the food an odd look, it only took Twilight a few moments to remember a conversation she had had with Alex some time ago, back when he first moved to Ponyville. He had asked if ponies were omnivores. It was a scary question to be asked, as ponies were strictly vegetarian. She had then learned that humans were meat eaters. Something that freaked her out a little bit. But, here she was now, and she had to somehow tell Pinkie that she had eaten pig. “I… uh… think you and I should go to the bathroom, Pinkie,” Twilight said uneasily, as the pink haired girl gave her a tilted head, “I hate being alone, you know?” “Sure thing Twilight!” She beamed, jumping up from her chair and waiting patiently. “We’ll be right back,” Twilight laughed uneasily. Leading her away, the two went in to the bathroom, and, once checking to make sure they were alone, Twilight locked the door. “What’s wrong Twilight?” Pinkie asked, now concerned that something was gravely wrong, “Is this an emergency?!” “Not really, Pinkie,” Twilight said uneasily, scratching the back of her head, “You just… Um, should stop eating that red stuff.” “But it’s so good! I wanna eat it for the rest of my life!” Pinkie said, feeling her mouth water at the thought of it once again. “Pinkie, it’s just… not something you should be eating, okay?” Twilight said, not wanting to break her little heart. “Why not?” Pinkie asked, huffing as she gave Twilight a strong frown, “Just tell me!” “It’s meat, Pinkie!” Twilight exhaled loudly, “I’m pretty sure, by the distribution of fat, and muscle, that you just ate fried pig.” The frown on Pinkie’s face expanded further than Twilight ever thought she would see. It went down, and down, until her face simply looked terrifying, instead of sad. “I a-ate, meat?!” Pinkie asked, her voice ragged, and troubled to a point that scared Twilight, “I- I-“ “It’s not so bad, Pinkie,” Twilight tried to calm her down, “Everypony- er, everyone here eats it all the time. I just thought you’d want to know.” “B-b-but…” Pinkie stammered, “We don’t have it in Equestria! And I wanna keep eating it!” “I know this is hard, but—“ Twilight began, before shaking her head and looking at her friend, “What did you say?” “How am I ever supposed to go back to eating veggies!?” Pinkie asked, “Oh well! I’ll just have to enjoy it while I can!” Twilight felt her jaw hit the floor as Pinkie unlocked the bathroom door, and skipped her way back out to the table. “Oh no!” Twilight heard from the dining room, as she darted out from the bathroom to see what had happened, throwing her shock aside. “What’s wrong?” Twilight asked, seeing nothing terrible enough to warrant yelling over. “The girls ate the rest of my cooked pig!” Pinkie whined, as she looked to the three girls, who were now all wide eyed, and disgusted with themselves. “Beg your pardon?” Rarity asked, praying that she had misheard Pinkie, “Did you say… that I just ate meat?” “Ah’ knew it was too good to be true…” Applejack grumbled, throwing the rest of the strip of bacon back on Pinkie’s plate. Strangely, Fluttershy wasn’t freaking out over the revelation, and they all made eye contact with her, when they realized that she didn’t start crying, and even kept chewing, and swallowed her piece. “Are… you okay, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, mystified that she was still in once piece. “Oh yes,” She nodded with a small smile, “I catch and feed fish to small animals all the time! From what I understand, pigs aren’t smart here, just like the fish in our hometown. Where’s the harm?” “Ah’ can’t say ah’ agree with ya’,” Applejack said, understanding her mood now, “But it tastes good enough to make me wanna.” “I’ll have to pass on anymore myself,” Rarity said, pushing the plate back to Pinkie’s spot. Looking at the mound of food, Twilight couldn’t help but ask. “How much of that food is made of meat, exactly?” She asked, bracing herself for what she was sure would be a terrible answer from Chet. “Uh… meat?” Chet asked, still lost as to how these girls were so clueless, when they seemed to be smarter than your average six-way participant, “Well, there’s the bacon, the ham, sausage, the egg if you count it, and… oh! Get this! The house special that you've all been munching on is hash browns with actual horse steak! Cool huh?” It was almost as if silence had fallen over the world, as the girls looked at the plate, each with a uniquely horrified face. But, out of all of them, Pinkie was the worst. And for the first time the world, she uttered the sad, and disgusted words, “I’m not hungry anymore…” //// Alex sighed, finally finishing the final question on his exam. He was home free! Ready to head back, check on Equestria for a little bit, and then, well, whatever happens, happens. “Done!” Alex announced triumphantly, relaxing back, as Tammy walked over and picked up the large booklet leafing through it to make sure he didn’t miss a question. “Very good, Alex,” She smiled, “Just one more!’ “I know I know, I’m really smar—wait, what?” “That was just the math test,” She smiled, walking to the back of the room, “This is your science test.” The slapping sound that was made when the book made contact with the table was loud enough to elicit a tear from Alex. So much more work. So, so so so much more work. “Good luck!” Alex felt like he needed to yell. Did anyone here even know who he was? Alex? The awesome hero of Equestira? That guy who has so much power, that he’s able to literally control the entire world? No. They had no idea who he was. In this world, he was just a turd that had to write his high school exams… It actually kinda felt nice. Looking up to the clock, Alex felt his breath catch in his chest. It had already been two and a half hours? He needed to leave in that long from now! He was going to need some help finishing this test in time… … … Magic spell to talk to Twilight telepathically? //// Author's Note Sorry, would have had a bit more, but, well, time constraints. Sorry. The Better Kind of CheatingAuthor's Note Again, sorry if there is a plethora of errors. I haven't had much time to write the last couple weeks. The Better Kind of Cheating //// The Better Kind of Cheating //// “Are you girls sure you’re done eating?” Chet asked, looking back and forth between the five girls, all of whom had been quite quiet for the last little bit, while he awkwardly ate his food, and then proceeded to awkwardly eat their food too. “Yeah, there must have been something bad in the dinner we ate last night,” Twilight explained for them, knowing none of her friends were in a talking place. “Well, you mind then…?” He asked, slowly reaching for her leftover salad. “Yeah, no prob—“ ”Hey, Twilight!” Twilight’s face contorted in to confusion, as she looked behind her for the source of the voice. “You okay?” Chet asked, looking behind her as well, “Did someone throw something at you or something?” “Oh, no…” She mumbled, looking back to Chet, “I must’ve just—“ ”Twilight!” “What?!” She shouted, as every person in the diner looked to her worryingly. “Are’ya okay darlin’?” Applejack asked. “I think she needs some air, to be honest,” Rarity exhaled, “Why don’t you come outside with me, Twilight?” “Uh… yeah…” She mumbled, blushing as she got out of her seat with Rarity, and carefully walked to the exit. “What in Celestia’s name is going on with you?” Rarity asked, as the two reached a nice and quiet spot out the back of the restaurant. “I’m hearing a voice in my head!” Twilight said, “If we were in Equestria, I’d just think it was a spell!” ”It is a spell Twilight! It’s Alex! And I need help with this test!” “You have got to be kidding me.” She grumbled, as Rarity gave her a concerned look. “What is it?” She asked. “It’s Alex, he’s asking me to help him with his test.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Well I hope you tell him that he needs to pass himself!” Rarity said, shaking her head, “I can’t believe he’d even try to ask.” ”Please Twilight! We don’t have much time left!” “If you think I’d help you, you’ve got another thing coming!” Twilight said, scoffing rather rudely. ”It’s already been three hours! That only leaves two! And I need time to get the spell to cast!” “Well- That’s not important here!” Twilight answered, “If you thought you could ask me to help you cheat, then you must now know me very well!” ”Come on Twilight! Haven’t I been cheated on enough? Isn’t it my turn to do some cheating? Twilight was shocked at his statement, “Did you just use Dash’s cheating on you, as an excuse to get me to help you cheat on a test?” “He did what?” Rarity asked, wishing she could hear the other side of the conversation. ”And now, if I’m ever going to be able to confront her, I need your help! Besides, remember that time I did that one thing for you?” “What one thing?” Twilight asked, just loud enough for some passerby’s to give her an odd look, “I’ve done so much for you! You stayed in my house, I fed you, I taught you magic!” ”Yeah… But! I saved Equestria that one time. “Oh, how did I know you’d throw that in my face?” Twilight shouted, “You save the world one time, and we never get to hear the end of it!” ”Well, have you ever saved Equestria?” “Would you just stop?” Twilight huffed, rubbing her temples, “Fine! What do you want to know?” ”Great! Which one of these is gold? Ag? Or Au?” “Au,” Twilight answered instantly, “What’s next?” ”That’s it, thanks! Twilight felt the spell cut out as Alex left her alone. “Are you kidding me?” Twilight asked no one, as she half expected an answered from Alex. But, there was nothing. “What did he want to know?” Rarity asked, “You weren’t talking for very long.” “Let’s go back inside…” Twilight grumbled. //// “Done!” Alex announced proudly, smacking the book on to the, “High School! No problem!” “Well, we still need to grade this,” Tammy said, lifting his booklet and leafing through it, “Hmm.” “Lots of correct answers?” Alex asked, leaning back and kicking his legs up on to his desk. Tammy wanted to give him shit for acting so full of himself, but every answer he had written in the first couple pages of the multiple-choice portion of the test was right. And, the answers on his math test had all been more or less correct, assuming his long-form answers weren’t all wrong. “A lot of them are, yes.” Alex just smirked and winked, as she looked up from the pages. “You act so much like Chet,” She chuckled, placing the books on her desk, “Alright, you’re free to go.” Hopping up, Alex held out his hand proudly, which she promptly took, and shook. “It might be a little early, but congratulations. You’re done school. Well, high school anyway.” She smiled, leaning back on her desk, “Why don’t we have a party tonight at Chet’s place?” “I might not be around,” Alex said, scratching the back of his head, “I have to go see… Sarah.” “Oh,” Tammy said quickly, “Well, maybe tomorrow, or later this week then?” “Definitely,” Alex smiled, “Thanks for the help with this.” “No problem!” She smiled, walking him over to the door, “If you plan on moving on to any universities, just let me know. I can write a very good recommendation.” “Wouldn’t it look bias?” Alex asked. “They don’t know who I’m banging,” She shook her head. Alex grimaced at the mental image. “Whoops!” Tammy giggled, “I guess Chet’s been rubbing off on me.” “Well, with that wonderful thought in my head, I think I should go meet him at the diner,” Alex said, backing out from the room. “Tell him I’ll be home by five, tops.” Tammy said, holding the door open for him, “Have fun seeing Sarah again.” “I won’t…” Alex mumbled, walking down the hallway toward the exit. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said that…” //// “Oh!” Chet said, standing up, “Alex just texted, he’s done.” “So, we can finally go home?” Pinkie asked, “My bum is all sore from this sitting.” “Sorry about that,” Chet said, standing up, and dropping a hundred dollar bill on the table, “There really isn’t much else to do in this town, besides going to the big dance club.” “Dance club?” Pinkie asked, standing up hopefully, “What kind of dancing do they do there?” Chet frowned, “You know, lots of sweaty people grinding all over each other.” “That sounds terrible!” Pinkie said, wondering what kind of dancing that even was. “Well, It’s my job to tell you how immoral it is,” Chet said, leading the pack to the entrance, “But god knows that I’d be there if I was your age.” “This place sounds so… depraved.” Rarity whispered in to Fluttershy’s ear, as they followed in the back of the group. “Equestria has lots of stuff like that!” Fluttershy responded, knowing just as well as all her friends that there were perverse places in their world too, “They’re not so different here.” “Well, I was always try to… put those places out of my mind,” Rarity acknowledged, “Celestia know’s I’ve never been to places like that.” “They’re not as bad as they sound.” Fluttershy answered, as Rarity gasped loud enough to get everyone’s attention. She just laughed at her gullible friend. “Shame on you!” Rarity giggled, embarrassed that she had fallen for such an obvious ploy, “I’d never be able to look at you the same way!” After making sure that they all got in to the vehicle properly, Chet got himself in to the front seat of his van, and started it, making his way over to the school, so he could pick up Alex, and get him wherever it was that he needed to be in an hour or so. Still, these girls were a mystery to him. As normal as they seemed to be, they were absolutely abnormal. From making strange references, to falling over as if they had never walked before. Then, to top it all off, they acted like Alex was the greatest guy on earth. Something had to be off for that to be the case. “So!” Chet announced, “I think it’s time you all came clean to me!” They were stunned in to silence. “You guys aren’t from around here,” Chet continued, “None of you could give me a definitive answer about what schools you went to, or where you grew up!” “Well, it’s complicated...” “You guys are hiding something,” Chet said in the most nonthreatening tone he could, “And while I’d normally have no place prying like I am, when it comes to Alex, and his wellbeing, I have to know.” Again, there were no words exchanged. “And I know he sure as hell won’t own up to it,” Chet said, looking back to the scared girls, “So? Any of you want to speak up?” They all felt him come to a hard stop in front of the school, only a few blocks away from their previous destination. “Well—“ Twilight began. “Hey guys!” Alex said happily, opening the door and jumping in to the passenger seat in the front of the van, “I passed those tests for sure!” No one said anything to him. He got panicked expressions of the girls, and a stern expression from Chet. “What?” He asked. “Your uncle’s just been wondering where we’ve been spending the last year…” Twilight said, as Alex sighed loudly, and thumped his head against the rest. “You don’t wanna let it go?” Alex asked hopefully, as Chet shook his head seriously. “Well… sorry about this,” Alex said, instantly turning the keys in the ignition to off, and then tapping a finger to his uncle’s head. “What are you—“ Chet fell back on his seat passed out. “What did you do?” Twilight gasped, pulling herself forward and inspecting his passed out uncle. “I just used a little knock out spell,” Alex said, rising his hands defensively, “He’ll be fine in two minutes, and won’t remember a thing.” “What do we tell him?” Fluttershy asked. “He fell asleep waiting for me to come out from the school,” Alex explained, “I’m guessing he ate a lot of food. He always gets drowsy after that.” “You’ve been doing a lot of cheating today, Alex.” Twilight sighed, happy to be out of the uncomfortable situation. “I just want to get Equestria over with, you know?” Alex said, “So, let’s get back to my house, so we can get the flip back there. I wanna just... fly around a bit.” “Well, we need your uncle to get—“ “Chet, wake up!” Alex shouted, as his uncle shot up from his relaxed position, “My tests are done you sleepy bastard!” “Oh, really?” He groggily, looking around the van while trying to situate himself, “How did… how’d you do?” “Good,” Alex smiled, “I’ll tell you all about it on the way home.” “Sounds like a plan to me,” Chet nodded, as he started the van, and pulled out form the school parking lot. Alex felt a little guilty for what he had done… but really, what else was there? Chet wasn’t stupid. He knows there’s something very wrong with the story he’s been fed… But as long as he could keep lying to him, or avoiding the point, it would all be fine. When the day comes that Alex has to tell the truth, Chet will wish he had been kept in the dark, that’s for sure. “Oh, and Tammy said she’d be done at five.” Alex said, looking up at his uncle. “Nice and early,” Chet smiled, “Thanks for letting me know.” “No problem.” ///// Down to the Wire//// Down to the Wire //// The drive back home was awkward. Between Chet’s embarrassment over falling asleep at the wheel, and Alex’s somewhat visible guilt for knocking him out, every person in the car felt each agonizing second pass as they headed back to Alex’s house. “So, what are your plans, now that you’re finished with school?” Chet asked, looking from the road to Alex for a moment, before returning his focus to driving. “Well, I’m not exactly the university type, I don’t think,” Alex said, knowing that he could never return to a life of school five days a week… or work, for that matter, “Maybe just relax for a little bit. Mom and dad left me plenty to live off of.” “Well, you could put a bunch of that in to tuition for some agriculture courses,” Chet suggested, “Then, you could spend another chunk of the money buying up some more land. Maybe start growing and selling some vegetables, or livestock! Then use the leftover cash to supplement your income.” “You’ve thought a lot about this, haven’t you?” Alex laughed, knowing that his uncle wasn’t the type to look this far in to the future, “Or maybe it was Tammy?” “Well, a bit of both.” Chet laughed, looking over his shoulder to the girls in the back, who were all looking a bit more apprehensive than anything else, “You girls okay?” Twilight looked at the clock on the front of the van, and was honestly shocked at how much of their time had vanished, while they waited for Alex to complete his test. By her measure, Dash would be having her ceremony in no more than a couple hours Equestrian time. “We’re fine!” Fluttershy answered, not wanting their silence to be telling of Alex’s impending departure, but, perhaps that secret had already been told. “I don’t think agriculture is my thing, Chet,” Alex continued, uncomfortably moving the conversation on, and trying to shift it to a more comedic one “I’m more of a… hooker type. You know, just invite some lonely ladies back to the house, and have them pay me tons of money to please them.” “You do know what kind of ladies you’d find in that job, right?” Chet asked, shaking his head at Alex’s bullshit, “Not the kind of ladies you want to be pleasing.” “Well, maybe I’ll be a professional magician,” Alex furthered, not letting on just how possible that job could be, “Do parties for kids and stuff.” “Alex, unless you can make money appear in thin air with that magic of yours, you’d be shit outta luck with that job too.” Chet concluded, as Alex just sighed and leaned back. The mood had certainly lightened, as they reached the final leg back to their homes. But, it was still a long leg. And it was something that made each of them nervous. “How are we doing for time?” Alex asked, not giving enough information for Chet to piece anything together. “Twenty minutes?” Twilight said, giving as safe an answer as he could. “Oh good,” Alex said, trying his best to cover himself up, “I’d hate to miss the show.” “You don’t need to bullshit me, Alex,” Chet said suddenly, as every pair of eyes in the car shot to him, “You’re leaving again, right?” “What?” Alex asked, exhaling quickly, “What gave you that idea?” “Little things here and there,” Chet shrugged, “The girls at breakfast, or… lunch, were giving each other all sorts of whispers while they thought I wasn’t listening.” “What are you talking about?” Rarity asked, laughing, as if to throw him off at her strange reaction. “I can’t tell you how many times I heard you all saying that you ‘needed to get back.’” Chet continued, ignoring Rarity, “So, at this point, I guess I’m not going to be getting any truth out of it from you all.” Alex was afraid that the spell he had used on Chet had affected Chet a little too much, as he was no longer asking about their destination, but was still bringing it up quickly. “All that I ask, Alex,” Chet exhaled, “Is that you come back more often than once a year! Jesus Christ, I thought you were dead, you know that?” Alex didn’t have an answer for Chet. “I may have hidden it pretty well, but you have no idea how relieved I was when I saw you a couple weeks ago,” Chet sighed, knowing that bearing his soul was the only way to get Alex to take him seriously, “You’re all I have left in this world for family. And if you’re out- god knows where, screwing around, and doing dangerous shit... what do you think you dad would do to me?” Alex looked up from the floor to make eye contact with Chet. That last line made it all so much clearer to him. “Your mom, and your father—my brother, left you in my hands. I know you’re a grown man. I know that you’ve got to find your own way… But if you go out and kill yourself, then how would I ever live with myself?” Chet asked, as he took his foot off the gas, and rolled to a stop in front of Alex’s house, “I just- I need you to tell me that you’re safe. That you’re being careful!” Alex opened his mouth, before closing it a moment later. “Well?” “I… I try my best Chet,” Alex managed, his voice obviously strained, “But I’d be lying if I told you that I wasn’t getting in to trouble.” Chet closed his eyes and dropped his head back on to the rest of his seat, those were not the words he wanted to hear. “But let me tell you right now,” Alex said, hoping to calm Chet’s fears, “These girls in here with us, they try their very best to keep me safe when I get in to tough spots.” “We sure do!” Pinkie exclaimed, a bright smile on her face. “He does his best, and we do ours.” Applejack added. Chet opened his eyes, and gave a small smile that Alex could see. “He’s like a brother to us,” Fluttershy added, her tone conveying her sincerity to them all. “He’s helped me, with more problems than I can count!” Rarity said. “We all owe him our lives.” Twilight finished, as Chet’s face showed just a hint of confusion. “Your lives, huh?” Chet asked, turning his head to Alex, “Well, I guess that’s better than nothing.” “Its way better than nothing,” Alex smiled, reaching his hand out to his uncle, “Thank you.” “You sure you don’t wanna tell me where you’re going?” Chet asked, much more playfully. “You couldn’t believe me if I told you,” Alex shook his head with a smile, as Chet took his hand, “But, maybe I can give you a taste.” Chet only tilted his head, as he felt something heavy in his hand suddenly. “Come on girls,” Alex said, retracting his arm, and opening the door, “We have to hurry.” Chet just watched in bewilderment as they all filed out of the van, and headed back toward the house. He was about to look at what had seemly appeared in his hand, when Alex turned around and got his attention just before closing the door. “Take that to the jeweler in town,” Alex smiled, beaming at his ability to be sharing Equestria with his uncle in this small way, “That should answer a question or two about where I’m going.” Before he could say anything to Alex, the door was closed, and he was jogging to catch up with the girls who were all congregated at the front door. And, once Alex had the entrance unlocked and opened, they followed him inside, and closed the door behind them. Finally, taking his eyes off the door, Chet opened his palm, and looked down in a mixture of confusion and shock. In his hands was a clear, multi-colored jewel, which was about the size of a golf ball. Depending on how he looked at it, the color was displayed differently. From above and below, each color was visible in strips, from left to right, starting at red, and finishing at purple. But, if he looked at it from the left or right side, the diamond was black, as it was a mixture of every color. Finally, if he rotated the black side ninety degrees along the smooth circle, the diamond was clear, as if there was no color at all. “What the hell is this thing?” Chet asked, trying to remember just how Alex had slipped this in to his hand, because from how he recalled, it just appeared. There was no way Alex could have put it there in any way shape or form. But, knowing that Alex wanted to be left in piece, Chet decided to take his advice and go back in to town. He was curious as to what this stone was made out of, and if it took a jeweler to tell him just what it was, then his interest was piqued. Maybe it was from… Africa? //// “Are you guys ready?” Alex asked, having walked right through his house to the back yard where they wouldn’t be seen by anyone, “If you wanna have a snack, or pee, now’s the time.” “No time,” Twilight cut in, “When we get to Equestria, we’ll have a little over an hour to get to Manehattan.” “How is that possible?” Rarity asked, “It’s an overnight trip!” “I was expecting Alex to be done way faster!” Twilight argued, “But don’t worry, I’ll be able to teleport us to Canterlot from Ponyville, and we can take the bullet train there in about forty minutes.” “Uh… Twilight?” Alex asked. Ignoring him, she continued, “From there, we can probably run there in just under a half an hour. I wouldn’t be able to teleport us from there. I don’t know the town well enough.” “Twi?” Alex asked again, only to be ignored. “And then, assuming we aren’t stopped by jerky security, we will have five or ten minutes to have a short conversation with Dash.” She finished, “So? Let’s go already!” Alex just cocked his eyebrow, and nodded. “Okay, you win!” He laughed, not bothering to tell her his secret, “Everyone place a hand on me.” Following his instructions, each girl placed one hand on various parts of his chest and back, as Alex reached his own arm out, and summoned a spell he had never had a chance to practice. Princess Celestia had once told him that he would need to master the usual teleportation spell, but on top of that, think about his home, his family, and earth in general. Once that was done, he would be able to force the spell to take him to that place. So, to get from earth to Equestria, Alex just had to imagine all the feelings he had felt when he was in a particular part of that world. So, he thought of his anxiety, his fear, his desperation… and an overwhelming sense of love. These mix of things only game in to place one time in his life while in Equestria. And they were in Manehattan, in the days before Alex rescued Dash from the Wonderbolts. Instantly, the ground started to shake, as a series of sparks starting firing from his index finger. Alex exhaled sharply, as he felt the massive amount of energy start to backlog in his body. He simply wasn’t able to focus all the energy properly. “Are you okay, Alex?” Twilight asked, as the spell started to sputter, “Are you able to do this?” Throwing caution to the wind, Alex forced as much energy through his arm, while sending the remainder back to his forehead, but without his horn there to protect him. The shaking intensified, as the last of the spell was cast, and they were all engulfed in a light coming from the ground. “Alex!” Fluttershy shouted, seeing the blood start to run from his eyes and nose, “You need to be careful!” “Just…. A little more!” Alex shouted, making sure they weren’t only half sent because the spell destabilized. Finally, the ground opened up, and they all fell in to the blinding light. //// Before any of them knew what was happening, they were thrown in to a wall filled with lockers, as they were spit out of a glowing hole, and thrown across a massive room, obviously built to accommodate the changing of upward of a hundred ponies. It took them all a minute to situate themselves, as they were now in a new, colorful world, in the form of ponies. “Is everyone alright?” Twilight groaned, rolling over herself, and looking to her heap of friends around her. “Yeah…” Pinkie coughed, shaking standing up. “I believe so,” Rarity said rather coherently as she also regained her footing. “Ah’m just gunna lay here a moment,” Applejack said, wobbling her hooves around to make sure they were still working. “I’m okay,” Fluttershy said calmly, standing up next to Rarity. “Alex?” Twilight asked, looking to his still collapsed form, “Alex?!” He didn’t respond as the girls all rushed around him. His face was stained with blood that had come from his casting the spell, and it made all of them panic. None of them even knew if he was alive. Placing a hoof on his neck, Twilight exhaled in relief as she turned to her friends and nodded, “His heart is beating.” “Can’t you heal him?” Pinkie asked Twilight, as the purple pony sighed. “I’m not able to cast that kind of magic. It falls under chaos, not harmony.” Twilight explained, having no idea what she could do for her friend, short of taking him to a hospital. “I believe this is my department,” Rarity said, stepping past Twilight and beginning to cast a spell she had been practicing for the last couple of weeks, “Since I accepted Avarice, I’ve been able to use all sorts of spells! It’ll only take a moment!” Rarity leaned down toward Alex’s collapsed form, and slowly worked the spell out of her horn, and over his head, making sure none of the magic went to waste. As she did this, Twilight looked around the room and contemplated where it was that he had sent them. “I don’t think any locker rooms this big are in Ponyville,” Twilight spoke aloud, standing up and looking for some kind of marker to tell her where they were. “Haven’t we been here before?” Pinkie asked, looking around herself. “Yeah!” Applejack agreed, “Ah’ know ah’ve been here before!” “I feel the same way…” Twilight muttered. From the end of the room, just around a wall, they all heard the door open, and somepony start yelling. “Get changed! Everypony else is out there already, and you just got out of bed! You’d better be out there in two minutes!” The voice shouted, as the door closed, leaving the pony to walk through the small hallway. As she turned the corner, they all remembered where it was that they were. “Y-you guys?” Rainbow Dash said, seeing her friends gathered in the change room, with Alex collapsed on the ground, being tended to by Rarity, “Alex?!” Forgetting her friends, she sped past the group of them and gasped at the bloody sight on the ground. “What happened?” Dash asked quickly, her voice full of panic and worry, “Is he okay? Did he hurt himself? Is he dead?!” Each girl felt the raw emotion coming off of their friend, which only made their hearts break a little more for the situation she was in. “He’s fine.” Rarity said, backing off from her spell. “He’s not bleeding anymore… He should—” “Dash…?” Alex asked, opening his eyes, “I guess I got us to Manehattan after all.” “Are you alright?” She asked, getting down on her knees to be closer to him, “I- I mean… I didn’t expect to see you here.” Alex’s head may have been spinning like crazy, but this was sobering him up fast. And while he had been expecting a rush of anger, and resentment toward her, seeing her there, standing over him with such concern for his wellbeing… it just made him hurt. It felt like he had been punched in the chest. The mare who cared for him so much, would forever be out of his reach. His head started to spin. All of this was too much. He couldn’t keep his thoughts straight, as his eyes started to blink erratically, and with increasing length. “I’m sorry, Alex.” Was all she could say, as he forced his eyes open for another moment. “I-I still love you, Dash.” He said, tears replacing the blood in his eyes, “I m-miss… I miss—” His eyes closed once again, as he passed on in to the much more peaceful world of slumber. //// Desperation//// Desperation //// “I can’t do this.” “You need to stop being a pussy.” “I think I’ve earned the opportunity to be upset!” “Because god knows that you’ve been a rock for so long, right?” “Just look at her!” Dax shouted back, his attitude in a place Alex had never seen before, “She’s just as fucking beautiful as the last time we saw her!” Upon passing out in the Wonderbolt change room, Alex was brought to his magic mind-room, where he was able to converse with his alter-ego freely, in an endless black space that either of them could manipulate freely. Something that annoyed him, as he wished to return to the living world as quickly as possible. “You need to calm down,” Alex said coolly, trying his best to get a look at Dax’s face, as he looked away from him, “Geez, I didn’t know you were the crybaby in my head too.” “I can be whatever you make me,” Dax growled, turning around showing his truly upset mood to Alex in the form of puffy eyes and stained cheeks, “I’m what you suppress, you idiot!” Alex scowled and sat back in a chair that appeared behind him, “What is that supposed to mean? You and I both know that I cried a lot over that mare.” “Not enough, bucko!” Dax shot back, forcing himself to return to his usual, dick-like attitude, “You’ve been head over hooves for her since the day you met her, and you know it!” “Head over hooves?” Alex asked, scoffing, “Since when did you start talking so much like a pony?” “You’re more pony than human now, Alex.” Dax said, before shaking his head and returning to the issue at hoof, “H-how is this even happening right now? Why would you want to shut out these feelings?” “Maybe it’s because I’m just a strong person,” Alex said, shrugging. “Oh come off of it,” Dax said, approaching Alex and tapping his hoof against his chest, “This isn’t about being strong!” “If you’re what I suppress, maybe you’re just the weak one, and I’m the strong one.” Alex said again, only further upsetting his dark side. “You’re strong?” Dax asked, his rage growing to a new point, “So how about this?” In front of the two of them, Dax constructed an image in their mind of Rainbow Dash and Speed, savagely going at it on a bed. It was gut wrenching for both of them to see, and Alex put an end to the image as quickly as he could. “Why are you trying so hard to set me off?!” Alex shouted, feeling every emotion inside of him start to bubble over the surface. “Because I wanna know what the hell is wrong with you!” Dax shot back. Standing up from his seat, Alex determinedly stomped toward Dax, and unleashed true anger on him. “You’re me! Don’t act like you don’t know!” Alex shouted, relieving Dax of some of the suppressed emotion, “What do you expect me to do when I look at Dash? Cry? Break down and show her what she did to me?” “Well—“ “There is nothing in this world that I want more than that mare. You and I both know that we considered forgetting everything, and just living with her!” Alex shouted, throwing his arms in the air, “Jesus, I wish that I was weak enough to just let it go! But every single day for the rest of my life, it’d be there. Her screwing that guy would be in the back of my mind, festering to the point that I have a stroke, or fucking kill myself!” Dax knew all of this, and only frowned. “So! When I come face to face with this mare, who betrayed me beyond comprehension, I should show all of those emotions to her? I should take the future that I’ll never have with her, and shove it down her throat, to the point that it destroys her too?” Alex was seething, he was at this breaking point he had never truly experienced before, and it was horrifying, “But, despite it all, I still love the shit out of her! So! Maybe if I act strong, if-if she sees me keeping face… then, well, then maybe it’ll make things easier for her…” Silence hung in the air between them, as Alex closed his eyes and forced himself to not cry again. “Thank you.” Dax said simply. Alex didn’t respond. He just looked down at the ground. The sprawling blackness. “So, do you want to go back?” Dax asked, content with the amount of release Alex had had, “Because we can take our time in here if you like. I slowed things down for us.” Alex considered the proposal for a moment, before he had to stop himself and talk to Dax for a moment. “You can do that?” Alex asked, sitting back down on his chair, “How much magic do you know that I don’t?” “Plenty,” Dax shrugged, unsure himself how he had a stronger grasp of chaotic magic than Alex, “But I suck at your happy-magic. So I guess it makes us even.” The two sat in silence, as their minds both wandered parallel to one another. However, as they did this, it became apparent that neither of them needed to be silent. “I guess we can hear each other, huh?” Alex asked, as Dax nodded to him, “We might as well bounce off each other a little bit.” “It’s a lot like talking to yourself, you know,” Dax pointed out. “Maybe. But, I think it’ll make things easier,” Alex sighed, leaning back in his chair, and placing his legs on a new foot stool. Dax nodded and took a similar position, in a recliner that appeared under his butt, kicking up the leg rest to accommodate his pony body. “It’s funny, isn’t it?” Alex started them off, thinking back to the days when he was still under the influence of the changelings, “After all that time, when we thought we were keeping that terrible secret from her… she was doing all of those things behind our back.” “Well, we knew it was happening the first time,” Dax said, right next to Alex in his memories, “The changeling spell over us almost broke when the scout told us what was happening.” “They had to drag us back to the hive because we were losing our mind!” Dax laughed, before going quiet, “God, if only we had broken free, we could have stopped it.” “All of this would have been avoided,” Alex exhaled, closing his eyes and trying to remember the day once again, “I wish we could go back and just kick that kid’s ass for taking her away from us.” “Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Dax said quickly, pointing to Alex with a stern look on his face, “We do not need a temporal paradox.” “I know,” Alex sighed, having seen enough Star Trek to know what happens when you muck with time, “If I go back and kick Speed out of town, then Dash will never cheat. But, if she never cheated, then I’d never have a reason to go back and get rid of Speed. So, if I never go back, then no one will get rid of Speed, and she will cheat, leading me to go back, and get rid of him, but then I don’t go back because she didn’t, and… boom! Paradox all over my face.” “My head hurts,” Dax complained, having only barely understood Alex’s explanation, “But. You’re right.” “I just wish that I could see that Dash again, you know?” Alex muttered, “The one who hadn’t cheated, the one who spent all her time looking for me… How could she have changed so much?” “Couldn’t go see that one either,” Dax said quickly, squashing his hopes, “If you went back, she’s remember that. You’d have an ever more complicated time explosion then.” “I know. I am you, after all.” Alex said, still loving the idea, “If only we could just bang her, then wipe her memory.” Alex laughed for a moment, but froze. Both of them sat up and made eye contact at the same time. “We could do that.” Dax said. “We could do that shit out of that.” Alex reiterated, “If we wipe her memory, we could go see her at any point before Speed, and have a fresh, unspoiled Dash.” “You make that sound so terrible.” Dax winced, “But… Christ if it isn’t a good plan.” “Do you have the spell to do it?” Alex asked hopefully, his mind now dead-set on this plan, “Tell me you can take me back in time.” “You know I do,” Dax said, standing up, “I can even do you one better.” //// In a blinding explosion of magical energy, Alex found himself inside of the barracks in Ponyville, right next to his locker in the change room. “Why are we back here?” Alex asked, unlocking his slot, “All I have in here is my armor.” ”Wouldn’t it be more fun to surprise her in this?” Alex thought about it, and had to admit that it would be fun to reveal himself as the armored pony once again. He did love the dramatics of it all. “You win,” Alex smirked, as he grabbed the suit, threw it on the floor, and placed his hooves in their slots, before cast a quick spell beginning the suit-up process. The metal clanked its way up each of his legs, and made its way to his midsection, which was promptly covered itself. The process continued until the final pieces slid over his eyes, completely masking his identity from anypony that didn’t know him. Which, in the past, was everypony. ”God damn we’re cool in this shit.” “Really, really, really cool.” Alex nodded, walking over to the mirror and inspecting himself, “I’d bang me.” ”I wouldn’t” “Hey…” Alex said, noticing the strange hanging in the air, “Isn’t everypony missing us at the stadium?” ”Things have been slowed down a ton. Think… a month to one second.” “So…” Alex began. ”They won’t even notice us gone.” “Good.” Alex said, “The last thing I need is to miss that ceremony.” “You sure do care a lot about seeing her.” “You know.” Alex said simply, “If I’m strong, maybe it’ll help us both move on.” ”And moving on for you, is going back in time and having your way with her in the past, and then erasing her memory?” “It was your plan too,” Alex shook his head, “We’ll worry about the repercussions when the time comes.” ”You’re the boss.” “Dang flipping right I am.” Once again, Alex was surrounded by the blinding light that came with magic of this caliber, and watched in awe as the entire world rewound in front of him, as a pace that was truly staggering. He watched both him and Dash, among others, come in to the change room several times, before the building was promptly deconstructed around him, and he was left standing in a field with the sun and moon circling through the sky fifty times a second, as the ground was filled with snow, then golden foliage, then green once again, as the spell slowed, until it finally stopped, just after winter had ended more than a year ago. “And finally…” Alex said, holding his breath, as his body vanished from Ponyville. //// Author's Note Alrighty, next chapter will be longer. But might take a little bit. You know... Destiny and everything. If this is the End, It's the best Place I've ever been.//// If this is the End, It’s the Best Place I’ve ever been //// Alex felt a rush of energy pass though his body as he reappeared in a mangled and destroyed town. One that had obviously been flattened by a massive amount of water recently. In fact, it was the place Alex had first come in to contact with Rainbow Dash after he had been taken hold of by the Changelings. They had dressed him in their high-tech armor, and sent him to stop her from obtaining the Esuna-spell, that was capable of freeing Alpha from his stone imprisonment. He had been tasked with this mission to destroy the dam, and destroy the town. However, something inside of him, he liked to think it was his amazing heart, forced him to stop and instead damage the dam first. It had been enough to trigger a large scale exodus from the town, and when all was said and done, the only ponies that had been in danger, he saved. So, for what it was, Alex had been very happy with the turnout of the mission, despite his stealing from Dash, and deeply hurting her feelings in the process. It was something that always irked him, how he had done that to her. It was one of the factors that drove her in to the arms of speed. Something that he would never be able to forgive himself for. But, according to his own surveillance at the time, Dash had vanished for hours after the failure of her mission, and wasn’t seen by anypony until the official cleanup was called for, and she began that process. So, deciding that this would be the best time to find her, Alex brought himself here. And, as long as he was careful, he wouldn’t be seen by anypony. “Hey mister!” Alex almost jumped out of his golden armor as a very young earth-pony boy walked up behind him and tapped the metal on his side. “Geez, kid!” Alex said, feeling like a complete idiot for being exposed like this, “What do you want?” “My house got washed away… and I was wondering if you could help me find my sister’s doll!” He explained, simply melting Alex’s chocolaty heart with his plea, “She’s real sad right now, and I think this would cheer her up!” “Hmm…” Alex said, tapping his chin, “Where was your house?” Around them was nothing but rubble, and Alex knew that he would have no luck finding the missing item in the mess. So, if he was going to do a little more time traveling, what would be the damage? “You’re standing right on it!” He said happily, “I think you’re even standing in my—well, what was my room.” Alex looked around his feet, and was oddly surprised to see a lack of destruction immediately around him. It was as if the entire house had been picked up by the rush of water, and carried away to be destroyed somewhere else. “You’re taking all of this pretty well,” Alex observed, knowing that he would have been a crying mess at that kid’s age if something like this had happened to him, “Why aren’t you crying?” “Well, I was… But my dad told me that I needed to be strong for my mom and my sister! And that they’d feel better if I helped keep them strong,” He explained, proud that somepony was impressed with his grown-up attitude. “Was there anything you wanted from your room?” Alex asked, feeling that the kid deserved something for himself too. “Well, actually,” The child began, “I’d rather you got my mom’s book of photos. They’re all she has left of my grandma.” “Jesus kid…” Alex winced, shocked that he was getting more upset than this rock of a child, “That’s—“ “Oh! And my dad’s engagement ring for my mom!” He spoke up instantly, “She always kept it away so it wouldn’t get scratched, or worn! My dad saved for years, while working three jobs to support her, because she broke her leg and couldn’t work for a long time!” “Okay, I get it!” Alex bellowed, as he exploded in a bright light, vanishing from sight, leaving the boy bewildered. Only a moment later, another, massively stronger light appeared in front of him, as his entire house was fazed in to existence. His jaw was only just able to hit the ground when Alex stepped out, and give the kid the best no-thumbs thumbs-up he could. “I got it just before the water washed it away,” Alex said, walking past the kid, “Take care of your mom and sister.” Before the boy could thank him, Alex was gone. Well, he wasn’t really gone. He just cast an invisibility spell. But he thought it looked way cooler to just vanish. “Thanks mister!” The boy shouted over the howling wind, “I’ll go tell my mom and dad!” With that, Alex watched the kid run off to find his family. Now, Alex just needed to find his. //// Stealthily, Alex moved his way through the town, making sure to not draw attention to his invisible self, as he looked for Rainbow Dash. It was a much harder task than he had anticipated it to be. He must have been over the destroyed town five or six times, and had seen nothing of her. He had seen the royal guard, the various displaced families that he forced himself to not help, and even a few aid workers. But, no Rainbow Dash. Where could she have possibly gone? Alex wondered to himself. She came for the spell that would have freed him from his stone imprisonment, but, it had been stolen away from her. So… if she were anywhere, she would be looking for another copy of the spell, in a place he had not yet checked. The library. Zapping himself to that location, Alex appeared on a large cliff, looking down on the rubble of what once was the largest library in the region. But, now, it was nothing more than a mass of wood and paper. It was the kind of thing that would take years off of Twilight’s life… Good thing he wasn’t Twilight. After a few moments of scanning, Alex finally made contact with a cyan rump that was sticking in the air, as the owner of said rump dug through piles of soaked wood, pulling out every book she could find, despite all of them being completely waterlogged. It broke Alex’s heart to see her trying so hard in vain. She had been so close to a victory, only to have it be snatched away, by him. Silently teleporting himself closer, and taking care to keep himself invisible, Alex winced at the sight he was presented with on the mare. Her arms were ripped apart from digging through the soaking wet rubble. She was bleeding enough to make Alex truly uncomfortable, and she wasn’t showing any signs of slowing down. On top of that, her mane was slicked against her coat with mud, and her eyes were puffy. She had been crying. Seeing all of this made Alex realize just how much she had put in to looking for him when he was turned to stone. She was never the type to take loss well, whether it be a race, or a loved one. And here she was, at her core, still being Rainbow Dash. Refusing to give in. Kicking the world in the face, even though she was just a speck on its surface. She would fight until she died, or she won. Alex was pulled from his train of thought as Dash pulled her arms out of the rubble, and smashed them on a massive plank in front of her, covering it in her blood. “This isn’t fair!” She shouted, her tears once again running down her cheeks, “I was so-- close!” She hit the plank of wood again, smashing it in half and sending splinters flying around her. Collapsing, she rolled on to her back and wrapped her dirty, and matted wings around her body, only leaving her face exposed to the sky, as she pressed her damaged hooves to her face and sobbed. “Oh Dash…” Alex muttered, having no control over himself at that point. “W-who’s there?!” She said, sitting up, fearing that one of her subordinates would see her out of uniform, and in this hysterical state. But, there was nopony. She was alone. “Who…?” She said again, before her breathing became short, and painful once again, as she bit her lip to keep herself quiet. Dropping her head once again, she inspected her hooves, and exhaled weakly, regretting her lack of control. She was going to have to see a doctor about this. It was the kind of thing that was prone to get infected, and would likely lead to getting her taken off of work for a while. And that was something she simply couldn’t risk. Shakily, she stood up on her legs, and spread her wings. She wouldn’t be able to walk in this condition, and was thankful to be a pegasi at this moment more than anything else. Spreading her wings, she gave a few powerful flaps, and gained an initial burst of movement, but, the coat of mud on her wings made it impossible to keep altitude, and after only a few seconds of flight, she fell to the ground, throwing her already mangled arms out in front of herself, deciding that two broken legs was better than slamming her head in to a pile of destroyed building. Closing her eyes, she waited for the impact of the ground to hit her… But, by some grace of Celestia, it never happened. She was kept suspended in the air. Slowly opening one eye, she realized that she was being held in a magical field. Snapping them both open, she came face to face with the same armored pony that had done this to her. The same guy who had taken her spell away, and had put her in this terrible position. “You!” She shouted, fighting frantically to break out of the spell so she could show him what she does to ponies that keep her from her goals, “You son of a bitch! Let me go so I can kick your ass!” Alex actually felt happy to see her so fired up, so soon after she had been breaking down. “Let me heal your wounds,” Alex said in a deep voice, as his levitation spell turned in to a healing spell, quickly pulling out more splinters than he could count, so the flesh would be able to heal without wood in the way, “You need to calm down.” “Calm down!?” She shouted, secretly happy to have the burning pain gone from her arm, “You took away almost a year of work! A-and you took away something much more important than that with it!” Alex hated this. He needed her to be on his side again. “I’m going to put you down, but you can’t attack me, okay?” Alex asked. Dash responded by trying to attack him, despite the magic preventing her. “Okay, one more time!” Alex said, shaking her up and down a few times, eliciting a deep growl from the blue girl, “Will we behave?” She scowled as she reluctantly nodded. “Thank you.” Alex said, placing her down on the ground, and carefully stepping back, as to avoid her wrath, should she change her mind. “Why are you here?” She asked, fighting every urge to put him in his place, “Have you come to give me the spell?” “I think you and I should go somewhere more… private.” Alex said, not wanting anypony to see him out of his armor, besides her. “What? Do you plan on exchanging the spell for sex?” She scoffed, “I’ll find another spell, thanks.” That one hurt. “No… It’s nothing like that.” Alex shook his head, exhaling and stepping toward her once again, “There is something I need to tell you about Alex.” Dash went wide-eyed. How did he know about that? Alex’s turning to stone wasn’t exactly news in Equestria… But, obviously, it had gotten around somewhat. “What about him?” Dash asked, giving this mysterious golden pony a look over, “Tell me, and then I’ll decide if I’ll go with you.” “Please?” Alex asked, growing nervous that he’d be spotted, and mess up the future somehow, “I don’t have much time.” “Where are you going to take us?” Dash asked, looking around the completely destroyed town and frowning, “It’s not like we have anywhere to go.” Walking to within an inch of her, Alex slowly raised a hoof to her cheek and stroked down it softly, earning a hard look from her, as she clearly disapproved. “I’ll take care of that.” //// The next thing Dash knew, she was standing in her living room, back in Ponyville. “H-how do you know where I live?!” She demanded, backing away from his proximity, as she darted her gaze around the room, “Have you been spying on me?” “Dash, you brought me here,” Alex said, his voice no longer masked, “This was my home for months.” Narrowing her gaze, she took a step toward him. She knew that voice anywhere. “Dash, it’s me.” Deciding that the retraction of the helmet would take too long, Alex undid two clasps on the base of his neck, and pulled the helmet off of his head. Dash gasped. His mane was matted down with sweat, he had massive bags under his eyes, and he was smiling the same way he had the last time she spoke to him. “Oh my god…” She muttered, closing the distance between them, and instantly inspecting his face, by pulling on his cheeks, and separating his lips, to see inside his mouth, as if it could tell her something, “You even have the scar from a thousand years ago…” Alex instinctively rubbed his cheek, where his element had pierced his cheek after the battle between Nightmare Moon and Princess Celestia. “Only one pony has this face, Dash,” Alex smiled brightly, his own heart racing at seeing this mare once again, “And I’ve missed you so much.” Wasting no more time, Alex pressed his lips to hers, and shared in a kiss that he had been without for weeks. One that he was sure he’d never feel again. It was amazing, but… truly harrowing. This experience was gone from his life. All he was doing now, was exploring an echo of the past. One that he was going to enjoy every second of. Dash made no fight to separate the two of them. Even though she had an endless list of questions in her mind, they could wait for this glorious moment to end. She had spent so many hours ordering her soldiers around, that she had almost forgotten what it felt like to be taken over. The way he smoothly pushed toward her, forcing her to lose just an inch of ground to him… it was exhilarating. She’d boss him around for the rest of their lives. But, as long as he was willing to take charge over her in these situations, she would be more than satisfied. Finally pulling back from her mouth, Alex couldn’t help but smile at the bewildered face she made, as her mouth still hung open an inch. “I’ve missed you, Colors.” Alex said, fighting back the urge to cry in front of her. “I’ve missed you more.” She said quietly, “Where- or, how did you get out of the stone? And what are you wearing?” “That’s a complicated question to answer,” Alex said, sitting down on her couch, “There’s a lot to explain, and I don’t think you’ll exactly like the answers I give you.” “Alex, you’re home.” She said, joining him in sitting, as she leaned her head on his shoulder, “I don’t give a crap how you did it.” Alex wasn’t sure if he should tell her the truth, or make up some kind of lie. It wouldn’t matter in the end either way, as he was going to erase her memories. She would be a blank slate in a few hours no matter what. On one side, he could tell her everything. That he’s from the future, and that she had broken his heart to pieces, sending him in to such a terrible state, that he went back in time, just so he could feel her touch before she lapsed in to Speed. He could tell her that this was going to be his final moment with her… but, wouldn’t that just make this trip a pity party? On the other hoof, Alex could tell her that he was free, that they were going to be together forever, and that he wanted her to marry him. She could enjoy every moment of this time with him, and then wake up in base camp in a few hours, with no recollection of any of it. “Alex?” Dash asked, worried at his silence, “Are you okay?” After all this thought, all he truly wanted from her, was pity. He wanted nothing more than for her to apologize. He wanted to be able to accept that apology, and move on with life with her next to him. “I’m not… I’m from the future, Dash.” Alex said, moving his gaze to the floor, afraid of what she might say. “The future?” Dash asked, completely thrown off balance by his statement, “W-what do you mean? Why would you come back in time to steal my spell?” Alex wasn’t sure what she meant for a moment, before he realized that she was confusing him, with the changeling controlled version of himself that she had just encountered. “Oh, no,” Alex shook his head quickly, “The one who took your spell is me, but it’s me from this time. Right now, I’m not trapped in stone anymore. I’ve been replaced with the changeling we met at Haven Station.” Dash rubbed her forehead, only being pushed further and further away from making sense of all of this. “I didn’t come back to explain the situation you were in, Dash,” Alex said, reassuringly smiling to her. “Well, why did you come back then?” She asked, deciding to move past the insanity of his story, and get to the meat of the issue. “I- well, I came to see you.” Alex said quickly, and very unconvincingly, “I figured you were lonely back here… so I came to see you.” “Alex, that is the worst lie you’ve ever told me,” Dash said, her heart jumping at how natural their interaction still was, “You may have been gone for a year… but I know you.” Alex laughed, while readjusting himself to have her rest her head on his shoulder. “I’m lucky to have somepony that knows me so well,” Alex said, hiding his real feelings behind the euphoria she had also set in him. “So… if you’re from the future, are you going back?” She asked, holding her breath, praying for some kind of ‘no’ from him, “Like, how long do I get to spend this time with you?” “A few hours, and I have to go,” Alex said sadly, sharing her emotion in that sense, “I need to see you in the future.” “I hope I’m not jealous about you hitting on past me!” Dash giggled, missing the grim look that Alex let slip, “Actually, I think I’d be okay with it. I mean, in the future, I must know how lonely I was…” Alex looked at the clock, and felt his heart sink at just how fast time was passing them by. He had already lost almost an hour of the four he had budgeted for himself. He losing what little time was left for the two of them. Of course, this trip truly had nothing to do with sex. At this point, he was overwhelmed by nothing more than her presence. He could sit next to her for the rest of their time together, and he would be just as fulfilled. Sitting herself up from his shoulder, Dash winced as her muddy hair stuck to him. “I… think I need to take a shower,” Dash mumbled, looking over her truly filthy body, “Digging around in that rubble did a number on me.” “Oh,” Alex said, trying to hide his disappointment, “Well, I don’t have long, so could you try to be quick?” “You aren’t going to join me?” Dash asked, raising an eyebrow as she got herself off of the couch, and looked at his stunned expression. “Oh. Are you sure?” Alex asked, as Dash gave him the most dumbfounded look. Stepping toward him, she whispered in his ear, “Alex. I’m in heat. It’s happening here, or the shower.” ”Holy shit dude. I’ve missed this so much. So so so so so much.” //// Two hours later //// It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that they ‘spent’ the afternoon together. The two had truly let out all of their frustrations in the hours past, and had finally calmed down to the point that they were doing nothing more than holding one another in her bed. It was one of the best moments in either of their lives. “How much longer do we have?” Dash asked in to his chest, not daring look at the clock. Alex opened his eye, and glanced at the wall mounted clock. “An hour.” Alex sighed, his voice cracking slightly at the terrible truth, “Can we just… stay like this? “Of course, Spot.” She said softly, leaning forward and kissing him softly on the nose. Alex tightened his grip on her, and pulled her directly in to him. Her warmth was something he’d never forget. Not for the rest of his lonely life, would he forget this moment. The moment where he said goodbye to Rainbow Dash for the final time. It was getting to be too much for him. The bliss of her presence wasn’t able to trump the deepening sadness in his core. He was even starting to quiver slightly, and Dash was picking up on it. After a few moments, it had started to raise an important question in her mind. From Alex’s passing remarks of herself…well, her future self. It didn’t sound like that version of her, had any idea that Alex had come back. Why would that be? But, more importantly, should she bring it up, considering the insignificant amount of time he had remaining? “When was the first time you realized you were interested in me?” Alex asked, catching her off guard with the odd question. Dash opened her mouth to reply, but caught herself, as she wasn’t entirely sure what the answer was. “Because the more I think about it, for me, it was as soon as I forgot your name,” Alex said, separating from her enough to look down and make eye contact with her, “My first night in Equestria.” “You were in to horses that quick?” Dash asked coyly, smirking at him, “Weirdo.” “The personality.” Alex smiled, “Where’s the fun in a girlfriend if she doesn’t kick your ass a little bit?” “I agree with that one,” She laughed, “You may act tough, and always be the one saving me… But you and I both know who the real boss is.” “No arguments,” Alex said, reaching forward to kiss her quickly, as he pressed his question once again, “So? When did you first know that you liked me?” Dash had never really considered the question. She had thought Alex was cute from the moment he found them in the Everfree forest during their battle with Nightmare Moon. But, what was the first moment that she had considered him boyfriend material? “Was it on the hillside?” Alex asked, remembering the place that they had originally reconciled their differences, and made friends, “The first time we had a civil conversation?” “No.” Dash shook her head, when the moment finally came to her, “It was when you covered my house in garbage, to be honest.” Alex narrowed his gaze to her. “Are you joking right now?” He asked carefully, half-worried that she might smack him over the incident once again, as she had then. “When you put yourself in front of that cart, and saved Big Mac from… well, whatever would have happened, I saw what kind of guy you were.” She smiled, shrugging and biting her lip a little, “Is that good enough?” “But, you were furious!” Alex laughed, “I didn’t think there was a positive thought in your mind for weeks after that!” “Well, I was mad.” Dash agreed, “But once it wore off, I realized that I would have done the same thing.” “But you still wouldn’t talk to me?” Alex asked, remembering that they hadn’t made up for a short period after that. “I had my pride, Alex,” Dash explained, shaking her head at the foolish attitude she had just two years ago, “I know better now. The next guy who covers me in garbage will be forgiven immediately.” The two had a laugh, but quickly degenerated to silence once again. Alex was enjoying every second of his time, and Dash was starting to pick up on it to the point that it was bothering her. “So… how does it go when you finally come back to us?” Dash asked carefully, hoping not to elicit a negative response for her prying, “Is there a big romantic exchange between us? “Well, there is one between you and that Alpha guy from Haven Station.” Alex said, as she recoiled. “Does he take advantage of me while in your form?!” She asked instantly, hating every little bit of that possibility, “Does he hurt any of us?” “Oh, no!” Alex retracted quickly, “He actually lives with Twilight now…” Dash was lost at first, but after recalling the exchange between Alex and Alpha before, he seemed like he at least had a shred of honor in him, as he released Dash before she was taken to the Changeling hive. “Is he the same tough-guy?” Dash asked, feeling a little ashamed that she was gossiping at a time like this. “No.” Alex said somewhat grimly, recalling the way he was treated at the hooves of the Queen, “When he failed that mission at Haven Station, he was taken by the queen, and broken… He’s a much more docile pony now. “That sounds terrible.” Dash said, feeling pity for the stallion who once tried to enslave all of her friends. “I think he and Twilight are gonna hook up pretty quick too,” Alex whispered, as if somepony could hear them, “They have a lot more in common than I realized.” “Well, you don’t need common ground to have a relationship,” Dash said quickly, as a few examples came to her mind, “Spike and Rarity, for example.” “They have plenty in common,” Alex replied, “They both really love Rarity.” Dash let out a loud, but short ‘Ha’ that she had tried to hide, resulting in an awkward snort. Which, in turn, led to her and Alex laughing over that instead. Neither of them were even truly sure why they were laughing at something like this. But, it just kept coming out of them. He would feed off her reaction, and she would do the same. It was a short reprieve from the loneliness they were so used to. When the two finally calmed down, Dash decided to move the conversation in the same direction. “Since you vanished, I always find myself thinking back to my days at the Wonderbolt Training Center,” Dash said, unable to hide her smile at the fond memory, “Did I ever tell you how happy I was when you fell out of the sky that day?” “You told me.” Alex said, rubbing her cheek with his hoof, “It was the best, and worst days of my life, while I was trying to get you out of there.” “Worst?” Dash asked, recoiling slightly and giving him a dangerous look. “Well, I was told I’d never see you again, I was thrown around, beaten up, kidnapped, and dropped out of a blimp.” Alex listed, as Dash started to look satisfied with his answer, “But, it was the best day of my life, when I half-assed my flying ability, and wound up crashing in to you.” “Just let me say, when you called me Rainbow Dash for the first time on that field, I would have jumped your bones right there.” She chuckled, “I was so happy to have you back.” “Like now?” Alex asked. “You have no idea,” She said, her voice cracking slightly, “I don’t think I could ever emphasize how hard this past year has been.” “It’s terrible for me too, Dash,” Alex said, sighing, “Stealing all of your victories from you, breaking your heart again, and again.” “You don’t have any choice,” Dash said, “So I forgive you.” The two reminisced for what seemed like hours, as they went over every romantic moment, every adventure, and even the times they wanted to kill each other. Every second that they had spent together in the past was precious to them. Every interaction was bliss. They equally longed for the days of the past, but they both knew they were gone. The only difference between them, was that one was hopeful for the future, while the other was in a terrible state of fear over it. After they had finished their reminiscence, they had fallen in to a sort of silence. Dash was just enjoying his warmth. Alex was fretting, and she could tell. Seeing the odd expression plaguing his face, Dash decided to strike conversation up once again, not wanting to waste another moment in silence with him. “You know, sometimes I look at myself in the mirror, and I wonder just how I got to where I am now,” Dash said, wondering how many time she had wanted to talk about this with anypony, “I was the lazy weathergirl of Ponyville… and now, technically, I have control over half of the Canterlot guard.” “It’s funny, the things you do for the ones you love,” Alex smiled, as she blushed, “I mean, I froze myself in stone for a year.” “Now, I’m running around all over the world, looking for a miracle spell that will break you out,” Dash sighed, “And maybe it’s just me, but I kinda get offended when somepony tells me to slow down… don’t they get that I’m trying to save you?” “Well, you said it yourself, Colors,” Alex smiled, “You were the lazy pony. The jump from that, to the work-crazed mare is a big one. They don’t want you to burn yourself out.” “Well… do I?” Dash asked hopefully, “I mean, I know I rescue you, but when I was digging through the rubble of the library, I felt like I was going to break down.” “You spend every minute of the next two years looking for me,” Alex half-lied, “You’ll come close to a cure three of four more times before you beat me—well, the armored me. And in all that time… you don’t falter once.” Dash looked at him carefully. There was something behind those words. His eyes were telling her that something was off. “What’s wrong?” She asked, catching him off guard in a bad way, “I’m not blind Alex. Over the last few hours, every time we bring up the future, or you and I… You get this look in your eye. You look like somepony got murdered.” Alex didn’t answer her. He didn’t want his last moments with her, to be this conversation. “You’re doing it again!” She said, looking around, before making eye contact with him again, “Celestia! I mean, if you don’t tell me, I’m going to be going crazy over the next two years, while I wait for you to explain this shitty future to me!” Alex visibly frowned this time. “Wait…” She stopped, her gaze falling from his eyes, and she tried to work out another problem in her head, “In two years, future me knows that you come back here, right? Future me would know that you come back to here, because she’d remember it happening to her, wouldn’t she?” Alex exhaled, as he slowly shook his head ‘no.’ “Why not?” Dash asked, seeing the sad look still riddling his features, “And why are you acting so sad? I don’t—Wait. I’m not dead, am I? Alex, do I die? And that’s why you came back to see me?” Alex laughed softly at her worry, his expression still hard as stone, “No, Dash. You don’t die.” Exhaling in relief, she moved on in her questioning, “So what then? Because you look terrible! Like, what? Did I fuck some other guy or something?” Dash laughed as she asked the question, but Alex seized up when he heard it. And she noticed. She gave him a serious look, as she closed her mouth. The look exchanged between them was truly terrible, as she finally reached where he was at. “A-Alex… What do I do?” She asked, her breathing now shallow, and panicked. He didn’t answer her, as he began gathering magic in his horn. “Alex!” She shouted, seeing him begin casting a spell, “Stop! You—You need to answer me!” “I’m so sorry, Rainbow Dash.” He said softly, leaning toward her. “No! You need to stop!” She shouted, backing away from him on the bed, until she was able to step on to the ground, “I’m not stupid! You’re going to erase my memory!” Alex didn’t respond, as he climbed out of the bed himself. “You need to hear me out!” Dash shouted, as he continued walking toward her, “Please!” Alex stopped, it killed him, but he would let her speak her mind. “Alex, I need to remember this conversation!” She said desperately, her breathing ragged, and her eyes watering, “I-If I’m going to do something stupid, and screw up our relationship, I need to know! So I can stop it from happening!” “It doesn’t work that way, Dash,” Alex said sadly, “It’d rip the world apart if you did it.” “B-but… H-how could I ever do something like that to you?” She asked, biting her lip, “I couldn't imagine myself with anypony else, ever!” “I couldn’t picture it either,” Alex coughed, his own eyes tearing up, “And I don’t know what I’m going to do without you, Dash.” She didn’t respond, as she raised a hoof to her eye, and caught the first tears to make their way down her cheeks. “That’s why I did this,” Alex managed, his throat closing up itself, as he approached her, “One final night, with the mare who could never hurt me.” Dash was reduced to a quivering pile, collapsed on the floor, as Alex reached her, and knelt down himself. “I love you more than anything in this world, Dash.” Alex said softly to her, bumping the side of his head against hers, “And right now, this moment with you… Will be the happiest moment in my life. Being next to the mare I love, before she could ever hurt me.” Looking up from the floor, she gained enough control over herself to ask him one final question. “When do I do it?” She asked, knowing it didn’t matter if she knew. “In a few hours.” Alex answered softly, as her face went from sad, to horrified, “You’re going to help set up a bunch of temporary houses for the ponies who lost their homes to the flood. You’re going to drink a little too much… and with that on top of your heat, you’ll give in to him.” With surprising clarity, and drive, Dash spoke up once again. “No.” She shook her head, looking in to his eyes, “I’m not going to do it.” “You don’t have much say in the matter, Dash,” Alex said, appreciating the effort she was making, “It happens. History says it happens.” She shook her head determinedly. “Time isn’t my boss, Alex.” He wished that he could trust her. He wished that she could win this battle. “I love you, Colors,” Alex said, his voice cracking, as he readied the spell once again. “When you get home, Alex,” Dash said, running a hoof down his cheek, “We’ll be together again. I promise.” She leaned in, and kissed him. And then, the afternoon was forgotten. Alex had never come home, and Dash had collapsed in the ruins of the library, as far as she could remember. It killed Alex to see her be so sure of herself. But, it was just the mare she was. ...Funny thing though, Dash was a stubborn mare. Maybe even more so than Alex knew. Treachery//// Treachery //// “Are you sure you want to see this?” “It’s the end of an era, Dax,” Alex mumbled from his hidden location, just a short distance away from where Rainbow Dash was mingling with a few of the guys from town, as she liberally drank what he assumed was hard cider, “Maybe this’ll be the closure I need.” “That’s not closure, Alex. That’s torture.” “Maybe.” He sighed, falling silent as he continued watching his girlfriend. She had moved from place to place during the party, talking to various people, and Alex held his breath every time she was approached, ready to meet the face of the man who ruined his life. ”Do not kill him!” Alex narrowed his eyes, both he and Dax knew that killing this guy wasn’t an option, and wouldn’t be attempted under any circumstance. “Why does she keep scratching her leg?” “Are you still on about that?” Alex groaned, rolling his eyes at the trivial complaints of his alter ego, “I may have dropped her in the library rubble a little too hard or something. Gave her a splinter.” “Because she is really going at it” “Just leave it,” Alex shook his head, as he moved a little closer to the tree line, “Is that the guy?” “That guy’s orange, Dash said he looked a lot like you.” “Yeah… And I guess she would know, wouldn’t she?” Alex sighed, sitting down and looking at the ground. “Look, I say we should just go home. We know what happens, and we know there’s no fixing it “Don’t tell me what to do.” Alex sighed, “You’re just as curious as me. Literally.” ”Yeah, but I’m sick of suffering. The sooner we go home, the sooner we move on with our lives.” “You talk about us like we’re two separate people.” Alex said, “I will move on with my life.” ”Whatever you say, champ.” Alex looked from his place of wallowing, and felt his heart race as he lost contact with Dash. She had gone off someplace else… and it was right in line with her first time with this guy. Should he leave it? Go home now and finally, for the first time in weeks, give up? “I’m going to follow her,” Alex said, standing up and casting a spell that would make him a little less noticeable to the ponies he would pass. “What are you hoping to find, huh? Do you think you’re going to see her in that bedroom, telling him that she’s taken, and that she’s not interested? That’s not how it goes! You’re going to follow her, you’re going to see Speed and her get it on, and worst of all! You’re dragging me along, so I have to have my heart break over it too! Just. Go. Home.” “How did you end up in my head anyway?” Alex asked, as he walked toward the street he had just seen her standing by, “I thought the two of us merged at Haven Station.” Dax didn’t answer him. “What? You’re shy all of the sudden?” Alex scoffed, running as quickly as he could, cross-checking the streets for any sign of her as he ran, “I never did piece together just how you weaseled your way back in to my mind a few weeks ago.” “We both know the answer to that question, Alex.” “Do we?” Alex asked, continuing his pursuit, “I don’t think we do!” ”Don’t make me answer it for you! You’re already losing your mind over Dash.” “Out with it!” ”No!” “Yes!” ”NO!” “Just friggin’ do it!” ”Jesus, I never came back, okay?” “What are you—“ “You made me up, Alex! I only came back, because you wanted somepony to talk to!” “What? No!” Alex said, stopping in the street, determined to have this conversation first, “When I was a human, you sobered me up so I didn’t bang that chick! And you used the spells that brought me back in time!” “Quit playing stupid! You were scared, and alone, so you decided to have company from the one person who knew you best. Dax. You cast all of those spells yourself, you chose not to fuck that chick. But guess what! This voice that you’re hearing right now, is just you, Alex. You’re talking to yourself. “That’s not…” Alex began, before stopping dead, “Tell me that’s not true.” “You needed somepony to tell you what you were doing wrong, and what the right choices were.” “But… I ignored you all the time.” Alex mumbled, “Why would I make all this up?” “You needed a friend, Alex. But now it’s time for both of us to move on with our lives.” “Don’t say that,” Alex shook his head, “I can’t give up on her like this. Not yet.” There was no response for him. “Dax? …Dax!” Alex shouted, as he was once again, left without a reply, “Fuck!” Levitating a massive piece of rubble from the street, Alex was about to throw it against a light post, when he caught a glimpse of a rainbow tail, entering a house at the end of the road, about a minute away from him. “Sorry, Dax.” Alex said, breathing deeply, “I know you wanted to go home… but that’s not why I came here.” Alex walked slowly down the road, as he headed for the temporary barracks that had been laid down for Dash to work from. Glancing at clock that still hung from above a shop door, Alex nodded to himself. This was it. He would be receiving intel at any moment from his changeling scouts that Dash was doing this. And, he’d do nothing about it. Alex opened the door. //// Two years later //// “Jesus Christ!” Alex shouted, jolting up from his place on the floor, his eyes running with tears as looked around the change room, “I-is anypony still here?” “Alex!” Pinkie shouted, jumping up from her place on one of the many benches, “You’re awake!” “W-what happened? Where is everypony?” Alex asked blinking rapidly, “I-I need… I have to…” Before he could get out another word, Alex ran to a nearby toilet stall and proceeded to throw up the contents of his stomach. “Are you okay?!” Pinkie asked, rushing to his side, as she carefully brushed his mane away from the toilet bowl, “Do I need to take you to the hospital?!” “I… ugh… I need to find Dash.” Alex said slowly, shaking his head, “I need to reverse a spell I cast on her.” “When did you cast a spell on her?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head, “Is it bad?” “It was about two years ago,” Alex explained, “I just erased a memory… And I’d like to try and put it back before she becomes a Wonderbolt.” “Well, the ceremony’s been going on for a little while now..,” Pinkie said, looking over her shoulder and listening to the loud cheers coming from down the hall of them, “It might be too late.” “What?!” Alex said quickly, stumbling to his feet and shaking his head, “I need to talk to her! Before everything is finished!” “You’re in no state to get yourself there!” Pinkie said worriedly, as she braced herself against him, to keep him from falling over. “Man… this time stuff is the worst,” Alex groaned, squinting one eye as he summoned enough concentration to pass a spell through his body, and calm his stomach, “Let’s go. I need to talk to her…” “Um… okay?” She said, recoiling back at his breath, “You might wanna eat a mint though.” Raising a hoof to his mouth, he exhaled and instantly inhaled. “Oh, gross,” He winced, levitating some conveniently placed mouth wash over and poured it in his mouth, whished it around, and spat it out in a sink, “That should be better.” “And now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for! I’d like you to all join me in welcoming our newest Wonderbolt-to-be, Rainbow Dash!” “Shit—“ Alex said, casting yet another spell, “I’ll just port myself out there. Can you make it to the stands yourself?” “Sure can!” She beamed, as his spell surrounded his body, “Don’t cry in front of everypony though! “God, I hope I don’t.” Alex said, just before he vanished from the room. //// Rainbow Dash glanced over her shoulder as she approached the podium, where she would finally fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a Wonderbolt for the second time, hoping to see Alex come running out the door to stop her. But, he did not. It was strange, the number of ponies that would show up just to see a small event like this. The stands were full, and they were all cheering louder than they had the last time she was in this position. “Rainbow Dash,” Spitfire said, joining her on the field as they walked toward the podium, “I’m happy to see that you finally came around.” “Well… I wouldn’t exactly say that I came around,” Dash sighed, not having the same level of enthusiasm that Spitfire had, “But I’m sure this will be a new chapter in my life…” “Are you okay?” Spitfire asked, as this was the first time she had seen her since the last time they stood in this stadium together, “You look like you’re going to be sick.” “I’m fine,” She said simply. Shrugging, Spitfire headed ahead, and stood on the podium. Reaching the small stairway up to the stage, Dash stopped, and looked up to the ponies in front of her. At the microphone, stood her old enemy Comet, who Dash had long since forgiven. Behind her, was Ramsley, their old friend. And around him, were various Wonderbolt’s, all of which were standing ready to welcome her in to their ranks. Looking over her shoulder one final time, she sighed, and reached her first leg up to step on the stage. “Oh shit!” A voice said from above her, as Alex appeared a few feet above her, and dropped right on to her body, sending the two rolling a few feet in opposite directions on the field. Alex and Dash both groaned as they each got situated, and stood up from their place on the ground. “Again, Alex?” She asked, grunting as she stretched out her back, “What is with you, and falling on me in this place?” “Sorry…” Alex answered, rubbing the back of his head, “But I did it for a good reason.” “Is this a joke…?” Comet asked, as Ramsley held back his laughter, “Did you come to steal her from me again?” Alex ignored Comet, as he walked toward Dash. “I owe you something, Rainbow Dash.” Alex said, walking toward her, and silently looking over her body, appreciating just how good she looked, considering the horrible circumstances, “Something I took away from you a couple of years ago.” Once again, his horn began to emit a blue light, as she felt a pit grow in her stomach. A part of her could remember that spell… and it scared her. As if the last time she had seen it, she was terrified. The blue energy started to expand from his horn toward Dash, where it did nothing more than surround her head, and then dissipate, its job complete. “What did you do?” Dash asked, not feeling any kind of change within herself. “Two years ago, you were digging in that destroyed library, looking for a spell to free me from stone,” Alex explained, as realization dawned on her face, “I came to see you.” Dash felt her air catch in her throat, the entire day came back to her. “After I passed out in the change room, I used a pretty powerful spell to send myself back in time,” Alex explained softly, as everypony in the stadium watched on in confusion, “I spent a final night with you, before… before all of this happened.” Dash’s eyes filled with tears as the massively memorable moment came back to her. Seeing him for the first time, the wild sex, the reminiscence of their past, and finally, the realization of why he had been there in the first place… She even remembered the promise she made him, to never betray him... But something was wrong. “After I spent that afternoon with you, I followed you to the barracks, and saw you with Speed.” Alex coughed, trying to hold his composure, “After that… I came back.” “Alex… W-wait. You need to stop talking for a second! Something isn’t right!” Dash said instantly, “Something’s wrong with… with my head! I can remember something—something else! And my leg is so itchy!” Alex gave her a weird look as she shook her head rapidly. “Dash, what’s wrong with you?” Alex asked, approaching her carefully, until she suddenly collapsed on the ground, convulsing, “C-Colors!” Laying on the ground, she wore an expression of pure agony, as her mid-section seized off the ground, and hung in that position for what seemed like a painfully long time. “Dash?!” Alex said again, as he was quickly surrounded by Spitfire, Comet, and Ramsley, “Dash! Answer me!” ”You son of a bitch!” Suddenly, everypony was thrown backward by an explosion of dark energy centering in Dash’s body, as her chest dropped back to the ground, after another moment, and she started to get herself back up off the ground. Alex was up in an instant, as he watched Dash stand herself back up, while this dark energy rippled off of her body. “Dash?” Alex asked carefully, as he stepped toward her. Opening her eyes, she revealed her glowing red eyes to Alex, and the audience behind her. “You ruined everything!” She shouted, flaring her glowing wings and beating them powerfully a few times, creating impossibly large gusts of winds that blew toward him, “She was almost broken!” Alex stood his ground against the mass of wind, as he recognized her symptoms instantly. “You’re her dark side…” Alex growled, furious that she would be intervening at a time like this, “Don’t do this right now! I’m just trying to say goodbye to you, Dash!” “My name isn’t Rainbow Dash.” She spat, “You should call me… Treachery.” “Look— we don’t need to do this right now!” Alex repeated, his heart racing, “I know you’re supposed to come out so she can face you, but—“ “Shut up!” She shouted, watching as ponies all around, including their friends, raced to Alex and Treachery, “We’re going to have a moment alone, Spot.” Her wings began to glow, as chaotic magic exploded from the tips of her feathers, surrounding them in a black bubble that locked them both inside, and kept the outside out. “Do you have any idea how much damage you’ve done?!” She shouted, not giving him time to adjust to their situation, “I almost broke her! She almost accepted me!” Trying his best to catch up with the situation, Alex gave her a puzzled look, “How on earth could she not accept you? She cheated on me eleven god-damn times! I saw it happen the first time! You should be plenty accepted right now!” “How dunce are you?” She growled, pacing in a small circle, “Do you still not understand?” “I’ve got no friggin’ clue!” Alex shouted at her. Treachery didn’t answer him, she just stood in place, furiously itching one of her legs, with the other one. “Okay okay, what the hell does her leg have to do with anything?” Alex asked, just shrugging and giving her a look of disbelief, “Because everypony keeps talking about it, and it seems pretty important!” “That day that you came back… two years ago!” She began, turning around, “She got the better of you.” “What…?” Alex asked, lost as to how that could be possible, “How could she have possibly ‘gotten the better of me?’” “When she- well, I realized that you were going to erase my memory… So, I jumped off the bed, right? To get away from your spell, right?” She asked, approaching him slowly, “Did you see what else I did?” Alex had no answer for her, as he gave her nothing more than a worried look. “I managed to grab a container of itching powder from my days of pranking that was in a small box, just under the bed.” She explained, as a bottle appeared in front of her with the word ‘itch’ drawn across the front, “And while you were getting yourself out of bed, I dug a terrible scratch in my leg with my hoof.” Alex winced, what had she done? “Then, I poured it all over the cut, thinking of nothing but cheating on you,” She continued, a dirty smirk on her face, “Celestia, did it burn… and it didn’t stop itching for weeks. It was pure genius.” “What?” Alex asked, having no clue where she was going, “How is that…? What?” “It all happened so fast. The idea, the execution… I have to say, she shocked me when she pulled it off. I mean, creating a mental association between cheating on you, and an itch on her leg. And not only did it burn the link in to her mind, it also wasn’t the kind of thing that’d be erased when you wiped her mind. Heh, I got a lot smarter when I started commanding a unit, Alex.” “She did all of that?” Alex asked in disbelief, his mouth hanging open, “That’s… that’s impossible! How could she ever—“ “Well, I got the idea from a Daring Do story,” Treachery explained, “She had a chunk of memory erased by an evil spirit in the center of a temple, but thanks to several injuries she had sustained on her way in, they sparked the memories she needed when she came across the traps that had hurt her once before, on her way out! She taught me that there's more than one way to remember something.” “That’s insane,” Alex said, shaking his head, “She’s just a fictional character!” “Nonfiction, actually,” She chuckled, before moving back to the topic at hoof, “Anyway, I took a chance on it, and apparently, it worked like a charm! Because every time I even think about hurting you, my leg gets so fucking itchy, that I almost rip the skin off!” “So, she had an itchy leg while she was banging Speed?” Alex asked, as rage continued to flow through him toward her dark side, “What the hell does that have to do with anything?” Treachery rolled her eyes. This was taking too long. She needed to wrap things up for him. “I’ll start from the beginning.” She exhaled. Rolling her head around her neck, and cracking it several times. “I manifested two years and nine months ago. You had been sealed in stone for just under three months, and Rainbow Dash was a very sad pony.” Treachery said, walking next to Alex, and brushing his cheek with her forehead, “So, enter me. I appear one night, while Dash is at home feeling sad for herself. And, being the reasonable pony I am, I lightly explained what I was, and what she needed to do. But, she apparently didn’t want to be told that she wasn’t loyal!” “Knowing her, she wouldn’t take it well.” Alex nodded, unsure if he should pull away from her affection. “So, she fought me, told me she’d never betray her friends, even if her life depended on it,” Treachery scoffed, stepping away from Alex, “So, I had no choice, but to take control of the little thing, and make her forget that I ever appeared.” “And lead her to have sex with Speed?” Alex asked, unsure if he’d be able to blame her anymore for what she had done to him, “I thought our chaotic sides were still essentially us! Dash would never do this herself! So how could you?” “Because she forced my hoof!” Treachery shouted, “This world is going to end if you’re short an unlocked Element of Harmony! I can’t take that chance!” Alex wanted to argue, but her priorities were in the right places… “So, when I started to influence her in the first few months, I tried to get her to just bang one guy. Get drunk, do her thing, and she’d accept me.” She continued, giving Alex a semi-upset look, “But guess how that ended!” “She wouldn’t do a thing.” Alex said, with a measure of pride. “She loved you so god damn much, that I couldn’t get her to look at anypony else, let alone have sex with them!” She continued, having paced around in the same small circle about a million times at this point, “So, when that Speed kid started hitting on her so much, I decided to put everything I had in it! Everything lined up for me. Her heat cycle, all the alcohol… but before the night could come for him to take us to bed, you showed up.” “I did.” Alex said softly, completely bewildered. “And when you did, whether you meant to or not, you reinforced her feelings for you so so so much, that when the time came, she told Speed to go home, and never touched him! Not once!” “But I saw the two of them!” Alex argued, mystified that she was trying to convince him otherwise, “They were in bed, together!” “You only saw what I wanted you to see. Chaotic magic is powerful! And I made sure that anypony who ever tried to look to the past for answers, would see her and Speed in bed.” She spat, walking up to him, “When she blew off the best chance I had at conquering her, I rewrote her memories, so she would be convinced that she cheated on you. Not once, but eleven times! But you know what really amazed me? Really, truly, amazed me?” “What?” Alex bit. “In her heart… Deep down, as far as you can dig, she never considered herself to be treacherous. Not. Even. Once. She is truly the embodiment of both loyalty, and stubbornness.” Treachery growled, “But nothing matters now anyway! Because she remembers everything that really happened with Speed!” “And what does she remember, Treachery?” Alex asked, hoping to Celestia that she was going to say what he thought, “What was she going to tell me?” “That she never cheated on you! It was all one huge lie that I orchestrated to save the world!” She shrieked, black magic flowing from her eyes and wings, “There! Are you happy?!” “You have no idea,” Alex laughed, as a massive smile grew on his face, “You have no. Fucking. Idea.” Her expression was a hard one to read. But looking at her so much, Alex found one last question floating in his head. “How does she remember kicking Speed out? How did she overcome you wiping that memory from her head?” Alex asked, before realizing that he had just cast a spell that would remove any kind of tampering to her brain, “Oh.” “Yes.” She growled. “Oh.” “Well, I’m going to be one hundred percent honest,” Alex laughed uncontrollably, “I’m not sorry I did it.” “I’m going to have to find another way to do this then, Alex.” She said, stepping back from him. “What did you have in mind, sweet heart?” Alex asked, unable to stop himself from smiling, despite the anger she was showing. “Well, why don’t we take a look at what we have?” Treachery asked, “We have a mare that needs to betray somepony… And I think breaking you in half would fill her right up with guilt for betraying you!” Dark tendrils shot from her wings and grabbed him by each leg, and his neck. “Any last words, Alex?” She asked, walking toward him, as the dark lines of energy shook him slightly. Alex didn’t answer. He just couldn’t himself unable to stop smiling. “What’s your problem?!” She demanded, as Alex tilted his head as much as the tendril would allow, “W-why are you so happy?” “You know why.” Alex said simply, drilling in to her with his insanely happy expression. The spell weakened for a moment, before the mare regained her composure, and tightened it once again. “You aren’t going to hurt me,” Alex said, never feeling the magic tighten to a deadly point, “Although I love the tentacles. We could do some freaky stuff with these.” “Just- just shut up!” She said, unable to let herself hurt him, but also unable to let him go, “I have to save the world! I... I have to...” “You need me in that mix, babe.” Alex said arrogantly, “Can’t save the world if you kill an element.” “B-but! I have to do something, here!” She shouted, “I’m not going to let you go until I figure out how to do it!” Alex sighed, she was serious. And he knew that he couldn’t break out of pure chaotic magic like this. That wasn’t his department anymore… If only— ”Okay! Fine! I’ll come back out! I know this magic like the back of my hoof!” Alex felt a presence he hadn’t felt in years. One that he hadn’t even felt while he was talking to himself over the past few days. ”I’ll take things from here, ya' pussy.” Alex closed his eyes, and was surrounded by the same dark energy as Treachery. “No!” She shouted, watching as Alex once again took the form of his own dark side. Opening his eyes once again, they glowed a bright green, truly telling her that she was no longer dealing with Alex. “Dax…” Treachery said, taking a step back, but taking care to not break her spell on him, “I-I thought you and Alex were the same pony now! You can’t just be popping up again!” “Well, he’s been so messed up in the head over the past few weeks, I’ve kinda been separated a little bit... If you ask me, I think he's a little insane!" He laughed, rolling his neck, cracking it several audible times, before he gave her a confident smirk. "But don’t you worry baby, I’ll be here as long as you need me.” Dax said, ripping the tendrils holding his arms and legs in place with no effort, and dropping to the ground, “I liked the choking, by the way. We should be writing all of this fetish stuff down.” Not answering, she threw several spells toward him, each one bouncing off his body, with no effect. Something she knew would happen, but it certainly didn’t stop her from trying. “You can’t beat paper with paper, sweetheart,” Dax said, backing Treachery to the edge of her barrier spell, “So stop trying.” “I need her to accept me!” Treachery shouted, “If she doesn’t now, she never will! Please don’t stop me!” “It’s cute that even after all the amazing stunts you’ve pulled off, with the itchy leg, and truly remembering not to cheat on me… That you’re still so naïve.” He laughed, as she gave him a truly horrific expression. “Excuse me?” She demanded, no longer backing up, as she approached him with fire in her eyes, “What did you call me?!” “The dark, almighty version of Rainbow Dash herself… You know, it almost makes sense to me,” He laughed, “Did you ever consider trying to go back and talk to her yourself? Or did you just keep trying, and trying to break her, but never, ever succeeding?” She opened her mouth, but didn’t answer. Closing the gap between them, Dax ran a hoof across her cheek, causing her to inhale slightly, just as she would have in any normal circumstance. “You’re still Rainbow Dash,” Dax whispered in her ear, as he suddenly, but lightly, bit the base of her right ear, causing her to almost lose her balance, “So go and talk to yourself. Because if she can hear me right now, then she knows it’s time… And if there are still any problems, I’ll make sure to do a little more than nibble.” Taking a step back, Dax gave her a serious look. “Do this for me,” He said, as his eyes started to flicker, and mix with the color blue, “Do this for us, Rainbow Dash.” Treachery gave them a bewildered expression, as she felt a pressure in her heart relieve. All that fighting Rainbow Dash had been doing on the inside, even when her mind was erased, and she had no idea Treachery existed… she still fought her with everything she had. But, that had suddenly changed. “Thank you.” She said, before pushing herself in to Dax, and sharing a kiss with the other chaotic entity. It was… exactly the same as it would have been if it were just Alex and Dash. Treachery fell silent for a second, as her eyes closed and her magic vanished from around her. “Take your time,” Alex said softly, sitting down in the grass, as Dash stood frozen. //// “I’m sorry,” Treachery said, feeling immeasurably guilty for having done this to herself, “I- I went about this the wrong way… I almost ruined everything we had with Alex.” “I know why you did it,” Dash returned softly, comforting herself with her soft tone, “I drove you to it. If I had just accepted you, none of this would have happened.” Treachery didn’t answer, as Dash approached her, and smiled reassuringly. “I betrayed him the moment I let my pride stand in front of you,” Dash continued, feeling truly stupid for being such a difficult case, “And because of that, well, I get it now.” “You finally accept me?” Treachery asked hopefully, feeling the depths of Dash’s heart open up. “Yes.” //// “How are we going to get them out?” Rarity asked, trying her best spell on the wall in an attempt to smash it open, “My new magic won’t even dent it!” “It looks like things might be getting better in there?” Twilight said, her eyes pressed against the barrier, trying to make out what the vague sillouettes were doing through the rather opaque surface, “What happened to her anyway?” “She just exploded in to a big ball of black!” Pinkie alliterated, jumping as high as she could to emphasize her statement, “Then she surrounded it all!” “Do you think it could be N-Nightmare M-M-Moon again?” Fluttershy stammered, praying that it wasn’t the case. “Dear, how many times must I explain this?” Rarity rolled her eyes, “That poor soul is gone from this world. She’s inside of me now. Fluttershy only let out a tiny, ‘eep.’ “Ah’reckon this wall could be kicked in if Big Mac were here!” Applejack sighed, still nursing her sore leg from a failed barrier bucking, “Tuh’day’s it’s lucky day is all!” “Wait!” Twilight said, “Look! There’s a light inside!” All of the friends instantly were pressing their faces to the spell, each one wanting to see what was happening, as soon as it happened. “What’s going on?” Fluttershy asked, hoping that there wouldn’t be something terrible coming out of the bubble. “I don’t know…” Twilight murmured, as the light began to expand from the center, and start to head outward, “But maybe we should back up a bit.” Fluttershy and Rarity took no time following suit, but Pinkie and Applejack were a little too engrossed in the activity to let go. “Uh, girls?” Twilight spoke up. “Shh, Twilight! The light is almost here!” Pinkie said excitedly, as Applejack only responded by waving her hoof. And, after a few more seconds, the two got their wish, as the light reached the wall, and promptly melted it, sending the two nosy parkers face first in to the ground. “You two,” Twilight shook her head, as she looked up from the ground, to see Alex and Dash in the middle of the circle, engaged in the very same kiss they had once shared on this field, almost four years ago. “Wait, what’s happinin’ now?” Applejack said, looking at them from the ground. “I do believe we’ve missed something…” Rarity said slowly. Pinkie, surprisingly, had nothing to say. She simply looked… hopeful. //// When the two separated from their embrace, Alex and Dash were one again face to face, both Treachery and Dax gone from sight. “I told you I wouldn’t do it, Alex.” Dash said, tears flowing freely down her cheeks, “I told you that we’d be back together when you got home.” “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you Dash…” Alex said, unsure if the wetness on his cheeks was from his own tears, or hers, “How could I ever believe that you’d do that to me? You must be so—“ “Shh.” She said, placing a hoof on his lips, “It doesn’t matter at all. All of this is behind us now.” Alex just nodded, as she removed her arm from his cheek. But, looking past her midsection, Alex got an idea… “So… You’ll never, ever cheat on me?” He asked. Dash instinctively twitched her leg. “Oh, god that’s is adorable.” Alex said, smiling uncontrollably, “How did I never notice you do that before?” “It got to a point that it didn’t stop itching…” She said sadly, before she began beaming once again, “I just got used to it.” “Well, if there’s one thing, out of all of this that I need to say to you…” Alex sighed happily, lightly touching his snout to hers, “Thank you for being so much stronger than me… even after I gave up on you, you kept fighting for me.” “You’d do the exact same,” Dash exhaled, nuzzling in to his neck for a moment, “And… It’s half my fault it happened in the first place.” “Shh.” Alex said simply, resting his chin on the top of her head, as she almost desperately cuddled his neck, “Let’s just worry about right here, right now.” For the first time since he had come back from his capture at the hooves of the Changelings, she had no weight on her chest. Speed was a distant, and happily forgotten moment in her life at this point. She was truly free to be with Alex once again, and wasn’t ever going to let something come between them. “I love you.” She whispered, “Even after I ran away, and you went back home… I never stopped. Not for a second.” “I’m glad.” Alex sighed happily, reluctantly pulling away from their embrace, “Because I have a very important question to ask you.” //// Chet's Lil Chapter//// Chet’s Lil’ Chapter //// “Where did you say you got this, again?” Jackson, the town jeweler asked Chet, as he carefully examined the stone he had been handed a few minutes before. “Uh… I found it in the attic of my house,” Chet lied quickly, “I think it belonged to my dad.” Silence fell in the room for a few minutes as the gem was examined further. The only noses Jackson made were the odd ‘hmm,’ or ‘ahh.’ Chet was very curious as to what he was going to be told. Alex insisted that this would answer some questions about what he had been doing for the past year. So, all that Chet hoped, was that this wasn’t a blood diamond or something, because that would be a shitty thing to hear right before the weekend. “Well, to be perfectly honest,” Jackson said, removing his eye piece and giving Chet a truly dumbfounded expression, “This diamond shouldn’t exist.” “It’s a diamond?” Chet asked instantly, “How did all those colors get in there?” “That’s a very good question,” Jackson nodded, “It’s not impossible to find a diamond that’s yellow, or red… But this is truly incredible. Was it ever treated in some kind of lab?” “Like I said, it’s been in my attic for probably forty years,” Chet shrugged, pretty confident that Alex hadn’t given him this as a sign of him hanging out in a diamond coloring store. “Well, this is natural then,” Jackson exhaled, rolling the diamond along it’s circular edge as he watched the colors change, “But you don’t quite understand, Chet. This is bigger than any stone I’ve ever seen.” “What would a thing like that be worth?” Chet asked idly, not truly intending to sell it. “Well, just let me preface this explanation by saying that a few months ago, a one hundred and twenty carat diamond was sold at auction for a cool thirty five million dollars.” He said, as Chet felt his jaw hit the floor. “How much bigger is that than mine?” He asked, “Mine must at least be a hundred, right?” “This one would at to be at least, two hundred carats.” Jackson said frankly, “And the case of diamonds, price increases exponentially.” “I should have worn a diaper today,” Chet muttered, before shaking his head and returning to the question at hand, “So, what would that fetch?” “Anywhere from… fifty, to two hundred million I’d say,” He said, placing the stone back in Chet’s hands, “But that doesn’t count the color.” Chet was a bit conflicted now… he wasn’t sure if he didn’t want to sell it anymore… He had obviously been grossly unaware of diamond prices before this moment, and millions of dollars would be a nice thing to have. “This amazing coloration, should it be proven to be natural, and not machine made… would probably put you in the neighborhood of a billion dollars.” Jackson finished, leaning back in his chair and placing his hands behind his head. “I… Don’t know how to respond…” Chet muttered, frowning at the stone now in his hand, “W-what should I do with it?” “Don’t tell a soul that you’ve got it,” Jackson laughed, “People would literally kill you for that stone.” “Huh… Well, where in the world do you think this was found?” Chet asked, hoping to shed some light on Alex’s whereabouts. “Like I said, Chet,” Jackson shrugged, “That thing shouldn’t exist. It’s an impossibility. The fact that you have it proves that it was found, but, I’m confident that a diamond of that brilliance will never be found again, in the history of the world.” “Well, thanks, Jackson.” Chet said, even more bewildered than he had been before he came in, “I guess… I’ll go home and think things over.” “A word of advice, Chet,” Jackson said quickly, as his friend turned to leave, “Don’t put it up on eBay. Come back to me if you ever wanna sell it, and I can help you set something official up.” “And what would you price be?” Chet asked expectantly. “In this case? One percent?” He said, figuring that ten million dollars would be the least Chet could do.” “We’ll see, buddy.” Chet laughed, as he walked out of the office. “But seriously, man!” He called out the door after him, “You should probably sell it!” Chet wasn’t in the mood to laugh at this moment. He was just trying to piece together what this meant. How did Alex get his hands on a gem worth a billion dollars? Where the hell did he get it from? And was he allowed to sell it, and never have to work again? ////
Escaping//// Off the Record: Escape //// Escaping //// Two weeks had passed, and Alex had done just about dick all, sitting in his childhood home, and feeling sorry for himself. He had bounced from angry, to sad, to depressed, and then back to angry, it was a vicious cycle. However, while all of this was going on, Alex had been slowly studying up for his exams, which he promised his uncle he would take, in order to finish his high school. However, after about fifteen minutes of skimming over the material he would be tested on, he realized that he knew it all. And that was no exaggeration. Between his time with Twilight, and his conscription into the changeling army, he had more or less picked up on incredibly advanced stuff, which made these tests look like a third grade multiplication exam. If there was one thing he was happy the Changelings had, it was their surprisingly advanced technology. So much of their lives revolved around advanced machinery, that everypony in the kingdom was practically a genius. So, by simple association with those guys, his IQ went up fifty points. So, while that was great and everything, it always dragged his mind back to Equestria, and back to Rainbow Dash. He wasn’t naïve, he knew that she would be the focus of his mind for years to come… perhaps even the rest of his life. No one comes back from a betrayal of this magnitude. Especially when it’s slapped in their face. “I hate this.” Alex grumbled, his stomach tying itself in painful knots once again. He had no idea where his life was going to go after this point. Looking up at the clock on the wall, he frowned at the time. Seven-thirty. His tests were the day after next, and the time just wasn’t passing quickly enough. Although he had no idea what he was going to do after the tests were done… Well, he’d cross that bridge when he came to it. Standing up and stretching, he decided to give the books a break. They weren’t really furthering his at this point anyway. “I need a drink,” He mumbled, walking to the front door, and grabbing his coat and keys. There was a bar a little further in to town, Bob’s, which was the central watering hole for the entire town. It had originally been built as a more of a mom and pop pub, where the farmers would come after a day of hard work, and get spend all their money getting drunk in a relatively quiet place, well, unless a game was on. But—after a few years, it started to catch on with a younger crowd, and started getting packed full of kids every Friday and Saturday. So, seeing the possible profit, the owner of the bar, Bob, spent a lot of money adding a dance floor, building a stage for live music, and modernizing the theme of the entire place, to a much more sleek and clean look. Alex had only been twice with his girlfriend at the time, but, beyond that, he was in Equestria. “Hey, Chet,” Alex said in to his phone, as he got in to the car his uncle had lent him, “I’m going down to Bob’s.” “Aren’t you supposed to be studying, kid?” Chet asked, his mouth full of something crunchy, “If you fail, I’ll have your hide!” “You don’t need to be such a hard-ass about it,” Alex sighed, wishing that his uncle would step back from his life every now and then. “You’ve been gone a year!” Chet retorted, swallowing and clearing his speech, “And your dad would kick your ass himself if he were around to do it!” Alex sighed again, with a much sadder tone than his last one. “Geez,” Chet said back, feeling bad for going where he had with the conversation, “Look, just don’t be out too late. You know that those tests are important.” Alex remained silent as he pressed the speaker button, and placed the phone on the dashboard, so he could drive without the worry of handling the phone. “If you’re confident, go out and have fun,” Chet said finally, after a brief pause, “God knows you’ve been a sad sack the last two weeks.” “I know,” Alex said simply, his mind more focused on the road now, “I promise I’ll perk up at some point.” “I sure hope so!” Chet laughed, “Find some pretty young thing, and take her back home with you.” Alex was about to reply, when he heard a voice on the other end of the phone line. “What did you just tell him to do?” “Uh, nothing!” Chet answered quickly, as the sound of the phone being wrestled away from him was heard. “Alex! What is Chet telling you to do?” The voice of Chet’s fiancé, Tammy, said, “Don’t you go doing anything like that so soon after a breakup!” “He needs a rebound!” Chet argued some distance away from the receiver of the phone. “Okay, thanks! Talk to you guys later!” Alex said loudly in to the speaker of his phone, as he tapped the hang-up button. “Christ.” Alex exhaled, shaking his head and thinking some happy thoughts, “I need to stop being such a bitch.” ”But you are a bitch!” And his forced happiness was gone, like tears in the oven. “Hello, Dax.” Alex said out loud, “Nice to hear your voice, again.” ”I’ve always been here, baby. Just keeping quiet.” “That’s such a surprise, considering how much you love the sound of your own voice,” Alex said, looking around him, to make sure there were no drivers around him staring at the guy talking to himself. ”Have you heard our voice? We sound—well, I sound sexy! It’s the confidence.” “Why are you talking to me?” Alex asked, looking upward slightly, as if he were looking at Dax, “I thought we became the same person back in Haven Station, but you seem to keep popping up.” ”I heard we were going to pick up chicks!” “That’s not going to happen,” Alex shook his head, “I just need something to take my mind off of… well, you know.” Dax seemed to be satisfied at that moment, and didn’t speak up again. The rest of the drive was uneventful, as Alex made his way to the bar, and stopped in the closest parking spot he could, which wasn’t very close, considering it was a Saturday night. Alex hadn’t exactly thought this through. It was gonna be packed, and he would probably know a person or two in there as well, who would no doubt harass him with questions about where he had been… “Fuck it!” Alex said, grabbing his phone just in time to feel it vibrate. It was a text message from his uncle. CHET: U kno wut 2 do!!!! Alex frowned and shook his head, as the phone shook again. CHET: ;) ;) ;) “That man needs to grow up,” Alex laughed, cracking a smile for the first time in days, “He texts like a fourteen year old girl.” Shaking his head, he set his phone to silent, and went in to the bar, no wanting to be engaged in an argument with his uncle about proper text etiquette. It was a shame, only a few minutes later, he got another text that would have radically changed his decision to spend time at this bar. //// An hour had passed, and Alex had so far gone unnoticed by anyone in the bar, while simultaneously being able to get a lot of alcohol in to his system. And man! Did it ever make all the bad feels go away! “What would you like?” The cute blonde waitress asked him, as he sat alone in a slightly quieter section of the bar. “Do you have hard ap-apple cider?” Alex asked, hiccupping mid-sentence, “I love that stuff!” “Is that a flavor of Mike’s?” She asked, scratching her ear, “I’m afraid we don’t have it though.” “Well shit!” Alex laughed, tossing his arms up in a drunken manner, wrinkling his nose at the cute girl, “Have you lived here long?” “Actually…” She said, looking around the room for a moment, “We went to school together.” “Really?” Alex asked, almost feeling the words slip out of his mouth, “I don’t remember anypony as pretty as you!” “I’m Stella,” She said, pointing to her nametag, “And… did you just say anypony?—“ “Stella?!” Alex asked in a drunken shock, “You used to be really fat! Everyone called you Fatty Magoo!” “Yeah…” She said awkwardly, not really surprised at his lack of a filter, “At least I wasn’t the aluminum monster, right?” “Mhmm.” Alex said, nodding a little too much. “So, what happened to you?” She asked after a moment of silence between them, “Where did you go?” “A magical place,” Alex said, his eyes half closed as he frolicked in the happy memories he had from Equestria, “Way better than here! I mean, my parents were dead! It cheered me up a whole lot!” “I’m so sorry about that, by the way,” She cut in, sitting across the table from him. “That’s fine,” Alex shrugged, “It’s been like, four years! I’m over it.” She furrowed her brow, “It’s been like, a year and change, Alex.” “Oh!” Alex said, embarrassed that he had slipped up, “Yeah! I mean… It feels like it’s been four years!” “It must have been tough,” She said, reaching across the table and placing her hand on his, “I’ve gotta get back to work, but if you stick around for a little bit, I’ll come have some drinks when I finish my shift, okay?” “Sure!” Alex agreed happily, “I’ll be—Um, I’ll…” She gave him an expectant look. Alex felt the alcohol literally evaporate from his system, as he was brought back down to earth. Then, immediately after, he lose all control of his voice. ”Actually, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I just got out of a relationship.” “Oh, I’m sorry,” She said, smiling sweetly, but slightly disappointedly, “if you change your mind at all, the offer still stands.” ”I appreciate that.” As soon as she walked away, Alex felt nothing but anger well up within him. “What the hell!” Alex yelled/whispered, “She was crazy hot! And she wanted—“ ”Dude! She used to be fat! Gross!” “Are you fucking serious?” Alex growled. He knew that Dax was a part of him. That was the truth. But there was no denying that she was bang-able, regardless of how she used to be. ”I’m just giving you shit! I stopped you because we still love Dash.” His reply had started funny, but ended was a punch to the stomach. “I could have still done it—“ ”Do you want to cry during sex? Because that’s how you cry during sex.” How was it, that the evil- well, dark side, of his soul was the one talking sense to him right now? Wasn’t he the one that was supposed to be full of bad ideas? The one pushing him to do all the bad stuff in life, like indulging in some twenty year-old! But no. He’s more broken up about Rainbow Dash than Alex was. ”No I’m not. You and I miss her just the same.” God that was harrowing. “H-how did you get rid of all the...” ”Dunkieness?” “Yeah.” Alex nodded, upset that he had been robbed his moment of bliss. ”Magic! Alex exhaled, and looked at the last bit of beer in his glass, figuring that he might as well finish it off. It wasn’t like he had enough money to get to the plastered point he was just at. He probably couldn’t call that girl fat again if it saved his life. “We should go home, we can come back for this chick in a few weeks.” “Yeah…” Alex grumbled, “Am I good to drive?” ”Just fine.” Reaching in to his wallet, Alex opened it and threw a crumpled up twenty on to the table. “Is that you, Alex?” A voice called from across the bar, as a large guy walked inside, “It’s me! Chris!” Alex exhaled, “Well shit.” “I haven’t seen you in ages, buddy!” The massive guy said, taking a seat across from Alex at the table, “Looks like you’ve been drinking a whole lot.” “Just a few,” Alex said, looking at the five empty bottles, while silently wondering why they hadn’t been cleared from the table, “They don’t really get to me though.” “After that much, huh?” Chris said, gesturing to the waitress behind him for another of what Alex was having, “So! There’s only one reason a man drinks that much, Alex.” Yeah, it may have been obvious that he was going through a breakup, but it didn’t really matter at this point to him what it looked like. “Why are you trying to talk me up so much?” Alex asked, raising an eyebrow, “Gonna laugh at me for losing Dash?” “Sarah?” Chris repeated, before Alex caught himself. “I called her Dash—whatever.” He said, growling at the repeated breakup-centered conversations he was being dragged in to. “Anyway, I just wanted to say that I’ve been there dude,” Chris said, sitting back and relaxing, “Need a wingman to pick up a new chick? Because Fatty Magoo’s been talking about you a lot recently.” “I… Already had that conversation with her,” Alex said, closing his eyes and shaking his head, “It’s too soon.” “Got it!” Chris said, putting his hands up defensively, “Give it a little time. I respect that.” “What’s with you?” Alex asked the muscled blond jock, “Last time we talked… we weren’t exactly seeing eye to eye.” “I was a dick, plain and simple,” Chris said, casually smiling as he leaned forward in the chair, “To be honest… My little brother was getting picked on by a kid that’s graduating this year. I went to beat the shit out of him, but found that me and him had way too much in common. It was an eye opener…” “Well…” Alex continued awkwardly, “I hope he stopped picking on your brother.” “Oh I told him I’d kill him if I heard another peep.” Chris laughed, thanking the waitress for the beer she had just brought him, “So, how long are you back for?” “In a couple of months I’ll have to leave for a little bit…” Alex sighed, feeling bad in just how final this plan was to him, “But then I’ll be back permanently. It’s just a little business I have to take care of with Sarah.” “Well, it’ll be good to have you around!” Chris smiled, reaching across the table and patting Alex on the shoulder, “Everyone went off to school in different parts of the country, but I was too stupid to get in to any schools.” “Don’t feel too bad,” Alex said reassuringly to him, “I don’t even have my high school.” “Yeah, well, your parents died half way through the second semester of classes,” Chris said, “You have good reason to be behind.” “Yeah… I guess,” Alex nodded, “But! On Monday, I’ll have the two tests written, and I can move on with my life.” “Are you going to be heading to university?” Chris asked, having no clue what kind of marks Alex had been getting while he was a student. “No, I don’t think I need to,” Alex said, knowing that he was going to be asked why, so he made up a lie in the meantime. “Did your parents leave you money?” Chris asked, answering the lie before Alex had to explain it. “Yeah,” He nodded, “I can just put it in a high interest account, and live off the money it makes.” “And with a house in your name, plus a couple of cars… You’re really set up.” Chris concluded, nodding in approval, “Lucky bastard.” “Well, terrible circumstances led me to where I am, but I could be in worse places, I guess.” Alex laughed, having a good moment for the first time that night, “Well… I think I’d better get home.” “On a Saturday?” Chris asked, “It’s so early! Why not drink a little more? We can get to know each other a little better!” “I don’t know…” Alex said awkwardly, not especially wanting to stick around, as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed the button, “I’m just really… Uh oh.” “What is it?” Chris asked, seeing all the color drain for Alex’s face, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Alex swallowed hard, as he read the messages over, and then over again, each time his stomach got tighter, and his frown grew. “Are you okay dude?” “I need to go home.” Alex said, standing up suddenly, “Look, we’ll do this again. I promise.” Jotting down his number on a napkin, Alex slid it over to Chris. “Text me.” Alex said, grabbing his coat and heading out the door. //// Alex knew it wasn’t safe, but the road was empty, and he simply couldn’t take his eyes off of the texts he had been sent by Chet, just after he had left for the bar. CHET: U need 2 tell ur friends 2 be quiet!!! Now, that one would have scared Alex more than anything, because he had been alone in that house. He would have just called the police, had he not gotten another message from Chet a minute after that. CHET: NICE!!!1!!!! This message confused the shit out of Alex, because he had no clue what he, or his house guests had done to earn so many exclamation marks from his uncle. But, finally, the message that both haunted him, and gave him a massive amount of relief, was the final one. CHET: Alex, this is Tammy. I understand that you’re going through a breakup, but there is no need to have five naked girls just walking around in your house at once! Please tell them to put some clothes on. And I hope they aren’t prostitutes, because the strange colors of their hair would lead me to that conclusion. It only took him a moment to work out that message. Five girls. With colorful hair. Naked in his house. “Please don’t be ponies…” Alex whined, almost wishing that he was instead being robbed by naked girls in wigs. Shaking his head once again, he floored the gas, and rode off in to the night. //// Alex saw that the lights to his house had indeed been turned back on, and that there were also voices coming from the inside. Voices that he recognized… Putting a key in the door, he turned it, and held his breath. The moment the door was open, he could see five stunning women, with a collection of hair colors, ranging from Pink, to Purple, and finally, to Blonde. His question was answered. “Is that you, Alex?” The excited girl with pink hair asked, bouncing up and down in her seat, causing her chest to bounce in unison, “I sure hope so! What are you wearing?” “Clothes… Pinkie,” Alex exhaled, as her smile grew even more, and she jumped up and threw her arms around him, “Why are you guys here?” “Because you’ve been gone for almost two months!” Twilight said angrily, “You said a week or two!” “We need your help dealing with those dark sides, Alex!” Rarity scolded, shaking her head, “How selfish can you be?” “Ah’ think you need to stop thinkin’ ‘bout yer’self!” Applejack scolded, crossing her arms over her ample breasts. ”Would you look at all the tits!” Alex bit his lip. For the first time tonight, he agreed with Dax. “You guys need to put clothes on…” Alex said breathlessly, savoring this moment, no matter how short it would be, “I can’t concentrate with all the... the…” ”Nipples!” “Nipples!” Alex repeated, realizing just how well it summed up his difficulties. The girls all look to him with raised eyebrows. “Um, h-how did you get here?” Alex asked, walking past them and in to the kitchen, “I thought only I could cast the spell home.” “Well, to be honest…” Twilight said shyly, “I watched you do it, after you went to the train station.” “You were spying on me?” Alex asked, opening and rummaging through counters so it would sound like he wasn’t just hiding from their gorgeous bodies. “Just in case we needed to come get you!” Twilight said, “And it looks like we did!” “It’s only been two weeks here, you know,” Alex said a little angrily, considering that it was his first time home in years, “That’s a little unfair!” “You can come back as long as you like, when we’re not facing the end of the world, Alex!” Twilight shot back, “It’s irresponsible to neglect Equestria, because you were betrayed!” Alex didn’t answer. “Your world will be here forever, Alex,” Rarity said, “Ours might not be, if we don’t fight for it right now!” “Equestria comes first!” Applejack finished firmly. “She was Equestria!” Alex shouted, coming around from the corner, his eyes bloodshot, obviously from tears, “What the hell do I want to do with a place, that breaks my heart every time I think about anything that happened there?” The girls were all silent. “Every moment of my four years there, were filled with one thought in my mind! Her!” Alex continued, “None of you realize just what I lost when I found out about Speed, and what she had been doing with him!” Again, silence. “Maybe this will give you all some inkling.” Alex spat, digging in to his pocket, and throwing a small cloth box on to the only open couch cushion, next to Fluttershy. Reaching over, she fumbled with the new appendages that were her fingers, as she opened it up, to reveal a beautiful ring, with a large diamond resting in it. “Oh Alex…” Fluttershy squeaked, trubg her best not to cry over this loss of his. “You were going to ask her to marry you?” Twilight asked breathlessly, looking up at Alex and biting her lip at the tears running down his cheeks, “I… We didn’t know.” “Just give me a few minutes,” Alex sighed, walking past the living room, “Why don’t you guys put some clothing on, and we can get back to talking about Equestria. Follow me up the stairs.” While the tone in the room was overall horrible, Alex had a hard time staying sad, when five naked girls, all of whom had never walked on two legs for more than a few moments, all tried to walk up a set of stairs. “Put an arm on the rail!” Alex said from the upper floor, as they all complied, and hugged the rail in order to keep balance. “How on earth did you guys even get inside, and on to the couches?” Alex asked, wondering what kind of spectacle that had been. “We walked on all fours!” Pinkie beamed, “But it wasn’t very comfortable with my butt in the air like that!” “And,” Twilight managed, between incredibly shaky steps, “When we remembered you describing how you walked here, we all gave it a try… but sat down as soon as we could.” “Woah!” Applejack called, falling backwards, and taking Rarity and Fluttershy back down the stairs with her, while Twilight and Pinkie completed the climb. “Now I have to start again!” Rarity whined, “We should have brought Spike! He walks like this all the time! And he’d carry me!’ “Quit yer’ whinin’,” Applejack groaned, getting back on her feet, “Gotta get back on the horse an’ try again!” Helping Twilight down the hall a little further, Alex pointed out his parent’s room, and showed her to the closet. “In there is everything you guy’s will need to get dressed,” Alex said, opening the closet door and revealing his mother’s massive wardrobe, “Just get Rarity to pick out what looks good together.” “Okay,” Twilight nodded, before giving him a sad look, “Look, about what I was saying—“ “Don’t worry about it,” Alex shook his head, “I need to protect Equestria. You’re right.” “Thank you.” She smiled sweetly, placing a hand on his cheek, “You can come home once this end of the world business is over with. I promise.” Alex smiled back to her happily, before giving her a confused look. “Where are Spike and Alpha?” Alex asked, surprised that they hadn’t been brought along, “We kept them in Ponyville just in case,” Twilight explained, “They can reach us if there’s an emergency.” “Makes sense,” Alex nodded, “Anyway, I’m going to go freshen myself up with a quick shower. We can go over all this Equestria business when we’re all dressed and cleaned up.” “Okay,” Twilight nodded, as Alex headed for the door of the attached bathroom, “Hey Alex…” He turned to her and give her an expectant look. “I’m really sorry about Rainbow Dash.” Twilight frowned. He said nothing, as he walked in, closed, then locked the bathroom door. ////
Friends//// Friends //// Alex sat on the couch, rubbing his temples in a vain attempt to escape the pain of his now throbbing head. Once the girls found his mother’s clothing, they went crazy, each finding an outfit that more or less fit their personalities. Alex was sure that Applejack would have no problem finding an outfit, but Rarity might have an issue or two. Still, while all of this was going on, they were continuously pounding on the floor above them, as they freely changed outfits in front of one another. It was loud, and it pounded on his poor head. Still, through the pain, he couldn’t help but laugh at the strange circumstances he was in at the moment. If fourteen year old him were here, he would be going absolutely nuts with all the nude talent in the house right now. But, here he was, in his twenties, and not giving a crap about it—well, maybe he gave a little crap. He was sure that each of the naked girls would pop in to his head at one point in the future, putting him in to an uncomfortable situation. Checking his phone, half an hour had passed since he sent them up there, and he decided that he would probably want to order some food for them to eat, since nothing was in the house. Luckily, Alex was on the ball, and remembered that the girls weren’t meat eaters. He wasn’t sure how he would explain to them that they had just eaten one of the many beasts they lived with back in Equestria. So, that was that. He ordered four large cheese pizzas, fully expecting Pinkie to do something terrible with at least two of them. “Alex!” Pinkie called from up the stairs, “Can you help me down?” Sighing, he stood up and headed for the staircase, curious as to the outfit Pinkie had chosen from his mother’s wardrobe. Meeting her gaze at the top of the stairs, he was impressed that she had found some pink at all. She wore a simple white t-shirt, with a pink zip-up hoodie, and a pair of white short shorts. “So… how do you get down these things?” Pinkie asked, one again holding on to the railing, while she tried to take a step down, before chickening out and stepping back. “Here, let me help you,” Alex said, running up to the top and picking her up, bridal style, “This will save us a lot of time.” “Ooooh!” Pinkie giggled, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck, “Nopony’s ever treated me this way!” “No problem, Pinks,” Alex smiled, carrying her to the bottom of the stairs, and setting her on the couch that sat along the window, “How are the other girls doing? Almost done?” “I think so!” She said, sprawling out on her back and relaxing, “Go check on ‘em!” Figuing that might speed things up, Alex turned to the staircase and made his way back up, and walked down the hall to their new change room. “How are you guys doing?” Alex asked, opening the door, and instantly turning beet red at the sight he was presented with. “Why are Fluttershy’s so much bigger than mine?” Rarity almost whined, as she handled the bare chest of her pink haired friend, “And they’re so soft!” And his nose bled. //// After taking the fastest, and coldest shower of his life, Alex jumped out, and was happy to see that the girls were no longer in the room. Thank Celestia. Any more of their… exploration would lead to a likely messy situation. Stepping out of the room, Alex was unable to hold back his laugher, and he saw all of the girls lined up at the top of the stairs, deathly afraid of collapsing down them. “I’ll carry you guys down.” Alex smiled, as each of the girls gave him a smile and a ‘thank you.’ Walking up to Rarity, he carefully wrapped one arm around her back, and one around the back of her knees, before swiftly picking her up. She was wearing, of course, an elegant purple dress, along with some very done-up hair. He was surprised at how well her fashion sense carried over into the real world, but, was not at all surprised that she chose his mother’s nicest outfit to wear casually. “You’re a true gentlecolt,” Rarity said politely, wrapping her arms around him just as Pinkie had. Placing her down on the seat next to Pinkie, Alex headed back up for his next customer, Applejack. “Thank’ya kindly!” Applejack smiled, as he carried down the blond bombshell. She was wearing a plaid red and green shirt, with a jean jacket, and incredibly short blue jean shorts. Needless to say, she looked damn good in them. Setting her next to Rarity, at the end of his couch, and repeated his step with Twilight. “I’m surprised how difficult I find it to master walking as a biped!” Twilight said, examining the ceiling as he carried her down, “I never seem to have that much trouble with it when I’m a pony!” “Dash had some trouble when she was here,” Alex reminisced, earning a sad look from Twilight, “But she was running in a day, no problem.” “Well… Out of all our friends, I think she’s pick it up fastest,” Twilight said, nodding as she was placed down on the large chair that used to belong to Alex’s father. As Alex turned and started heading back up, he heard the door be knocked on. “Oh. That’s the food,” Alex said, taking a step down before Pinkie spoke up. “I’ll get it!” She said, jumping up from her seat, and shuffling carefully to the door. Shaking his head, Alex decided to grab Fluttershy quickly so he could deal with the pizza guy. Only problem was, he was moving a little too fast, and jolted Fluttershy in to his chest, as she gave out a nervous ‘eep.’ “Oh, I’m sorry!” Alex said, relaxing himself, and putting her at ease, “I didn’t mean to scare you!” Fluttershy only blushed heavily, as she kept both hands crossed over her chest, afraid to make contact with his body. Alex reached the bottom step just in time for Pinkie to open the front door. “Heya!” She smiled excitedly, as the young guy made eye contact with Alex, and his arms full of beautiful girl. “Um… I have four cheese pizzas…” He mumbled, looking around the room in awe. “Do you want to be my friend?” Pinkie asked, moving her face to within an inch of the acne-covered teenager, “I don’t have any friends here yet!” “Sure!” His voice cracked, as her face lit up in surprise that it had been so easy. “Yeah!” She beamed, wrapping her arms around his neck, and pressing her body against his, “My first- well, second human friend!” “Uhhhh,” His voice creaked, as he awkwardly hugged her back, not giving a second thought to her ‘second human friend’ line. “How much do I owe you again?” Alex asked the guy, looking over Pinkie’s shoulder, with Fluttershy still in his arms. “Thirty two… twenty five,” He said though the still crushing grip that he hoped would never end. “That’s the money next to you, Pinkie,” Alex said, gesturing to the shelf next to the door, as he carried Fluttershy to her designated seat in the room, and placed her down carefully. “Oh!” Pinkie said, snapping back and breaking his heart, “Here you go! Keep the change!” The broken heart of the small man was mended the moment he noticed that she was giving him two fifty-dollar bills, “Oh! Thank you very much!” “Any time!” He said, lifting the pack of pizzas off the ground next to him, and handed it to Pinkie, “Here’s your food.” Pinkie greedily took the boxes out of his hand once the smell made its way to her nostrils, “Thanks! See’ya!” Slamming the door closed, Pinkie hurried the food over to the coffee table in the middle of the living room, and with surprising skill, managed to not trip and splat cheese all over the place. Opening the first box clumsily with her index finger and thumb, she final reached her goal. The delicious pizza she had been dying for since… well, since she found out that food was at the door about two minutes ago. Looking up at Alex expectantly, she gave him the widest eyes she could, waiting for his approval to start eating. “One second, Pinkie,” Alex laughed, running to the kitchen and grabbing a stack of plates out of the cupboard, along with a jug of orange juice, and some cups. He was surprised that he was able to balance it all in his arms. Running back in to the room, he handed each girl a plate, and then places all of the glasses next to the food, which he promptly filled—Unfortunately, they were all still looking a little lost, when it came to the use of their hands and fingers. “How much more do I need to do for you guys…?” Alex asked, frowning, just as he sat down, “You know what? I believe in all of you! You guys can work this out!” They all shot him a dirty look. “I just carried you all downstairs,” Alex said, smirking as he kicked back and placed his feet on the stool in front of him, “I didn’t ask you guys to wait on me like this when I first came to Equestria.” “Ah’suppose,” Applejack sighed, not happy feeling this useless, “Well Pinkie! Show us how it’s done!” “Yes Pinkie,” Rarity nodded, smiling to herself, “Please show us how one would eat on earth.” “I’d be happy to!” Pinkie smiled, instantly burying her face in the pizza, as she grabbed a slice with her teeth, and pulled it up and away. Then, she proceeded to place it on the plate in front of her, “Easy peasy!” Alex wasn’t sure if he should laugh, or tell her how she really needs to do it. “Who’s next?” //// The past fifteen minutes had been filled with the girls all fumbling to get themselves situated with their food. But, all in all, it worked out well enough. Alex only had to show them the proper way to eat three or so times, by laying the pizza flat on his open hand, and bringing just the tip of the slice in to his mouth. They had insisted that they just burry their face in it, but he told them it was insulting on earth to not eat the customary way. Yeah, it was a lie. But, the last thing he needed was his uncle walking in to see five women all eating with just their mouths. He’d think Alex was in some kind of creepy role-play that involved the most beautiful women he had ever seen. “So,” Alex said, relaxing as they all made their way through the food in front of them, “You all came to take me back?” “You can’t say no to all of us, Alex,” Rarity said, shaking her head with a smile, “Besides… there was another reason that we came and found you.” “Rarity!” Twilight said quickly, her voice in a hushing tone, before looking back to Alex with a nervous smile on her face, knowing that the secret was going to come out now, regardless. “As if we won’t tell him!” Rarity said back, “Keeping it from him would only make things worse!” “Ah’ don’t know…” Applejack said, on the fence of telling him whatever the secret was. Pinkie was uncharacteristically quiet during the argument between the friends. “I don’t know if he can handle it!” Twilight argued, talking as if Alex wasn’t even there. “He’s right here!” Fluttershy spoke up, silencing her friends, “You’re being very inconsiderate by talking this way…” “What’s going on with Dash?” Alex asked finally, giving a thankful smile to Fluttershy, “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what you’re talking about.” Twilight bit her lip and sighed, “She’s being inducted in to the Wonderbolts next week.” “We all decided to go and support her, as her friends,” Rarity said softly, making sure her tone was apologetic, incase Alex was upset with the news, “And we wanted you to come with us.” Alex didn’t answer. He simply placed his hands together, and held them to his mouth. “We all know what’s going to happen once Dash becomes a member of the Wonderbolts, Alex,” Twilight said, scratching the back of her head, “We won’t be able to get an audience with her without a massive amount of effort to put in.” “All of us want to talk to her, at least one more time,” Fluttershy said, “It’s hard not to take sides… but I still care about Dash.” “Me too.” Rarity added. “Ah’ owe her another conversation mah’self,” Applejack added. Pinkie sighed loudly, obviously filled with conflict over the topic, as, apparently, she had been the hardest hit by Rainbow Dash’s betrayal, aside from Alex. “You still haven’t told us if you want to go, Pinkie,” Twilight said, raising an eyebrow at the pink haired girl. “I… I don’t know.” Pinkie said, her happy mood from the pizza now all but gone, “I just don’t think I could face her.” No one knew why she was so reluctant. All of Dash’s old friends seemed willing to at least give her one final send off, regardless of the mistakes she made. But, Pinkie had been hit so hard by this, that it confused all of them deeply, including Alex. Even he figured that she would have been the first to forgive the mare. “Why is it so hard for you?” Alex spoke up, surprising them all with his curiosity on the topic, “You’re Pinkie. I couldn’t see you staying mad at anyone, or anypony.” She sighed. “You know,” Pinkie said, tilting her head, “I always held Dashie in such a special place in my mind.” Pinkie fought back the urge to cry again, as she had so many times since this revelation. “It might sound dumb… But I always looked up to her,” Pinkie continued, her hair almost losing its volume as she spoke, “Whenever I looked at her, I always saw a dedicated pony that would rather lose her wings, than hurt her friends.” The lack of her usual tone and expressions was enough to put a pit in all of their stomachs. “But, not only did she betray Alex… but she did it eleven times!” Pinkie exclaimed, looking to Alex, and frowning, “I lost my faith in the world when I found that out… If Dashie, the most loyal of loyal-ist ponies could do something like that, then what could everypony else do?” The silence that followed in the room was truly horrible. They were all silenced by Pinkie’s speech, each pondering what she had said, and just what it meant. Dash had deceived all of them, and then lied to not only them, but Alex as well. It was… unforgivable. Even Rarity, the one who had been the largest advocate for seeing Dash off, was reconsidering her position on whether or not she would be going to the ceremony. “I’ll go.” Alex said, snapping every gaze from the room to him. “Are you sure?” Twilight asked, “I mean, she—“ “I know what she did,” Alex said in a thick tone, as he finished the last piece of crust from his plate, “But I was too scared to confront her.” Alex stood up and walked past the girls to the large window facing the street, and opened the curtains. He looked outside, and shook his head at just how… dark this world was. It sounded terrible, but he hated it here. Equestria had become his home over the past four years, and he wanted nothing more than to move back, and have everything be okay with Rainbow Dash. But, unfortunately, with that mare being ruined, it was enough for him to despise that world too. So, what were his choices? Stay here, live a boring life while hiding his magic, and knowing that in thirty years, all of his friends in Equestria will be dead. Or, go back there, live in constant reminder of what he lost, and be sad forever? Well… he would likely find another mare to care about. Pinkie would probably be a lot of fun. Shaking his head, he was thinking it over too much. “Honestly… the last few weeks, all I’ve been thinking about it my future,” Alex sighed, “All the shitty stuff I have to face from this point on in my life, whether I go back to Equestria, or stay here. But, maybe… maybe I should just take this one step at a time.” “That’s a good idea,” Twilight nodded, standing up and joining him next to the window, “Don’t make yourself sick over all of this. Take it one step at a time, and we’ll all be right there with you.” “You bet we’ll be!” Pinkie smiled, jumping up from her seat, and joining them. “You’ll have Spike and I as well.” Rarity nodded, standing as well. “Couldn’t get rid of us if ya’ tried.” Applejack smiled, following suit with the others. “Please don’t try, though.” Fluttershy giggled, not wanting to be the only one sitting, as she joined them at the window. “Although, we may be a little biased,” Twilight said, wrapping her arms around giving him a friendly hug, “We think Equestria is a pretty good place to live in.” Alex closed his eyes and smiled, as all the rest of the girls laughed and joined in to the group hug. He had made some of the best friends of his life in Equestria, and they were all here, rooting for him during this terrible time in his life. How could he ever consider staying on earth? “I love you guys.” Alex said softly, a smile now across his lips, as they all ‘aww’d’ in response. "We love you too, Alex!" Pinkie beamed, wrapping her arms around the group even tighter. Opening his eyes, Alex noticed something strange in the window of his uncle’s house. There was a silhouette in the upper level bedroom. Narrowing his eyes, he could only shaking his head at the figure, his uncle, who had been watching them through binoculars. But, upon seeing that he had been noticed, put them down, and started giving a mixture of waving, and thumbs up-ing. Smirking, Alex replied by casting a quick spell, pulling the curtains back over the window. //// Across the street, Chet could feel his chest fill with pride. If Alex’s father were alive to see him now, he’s no doubt be feeling exactly the same way. After all, when anyone related to you was getting in to six-ways with girls like that, you get a little cooler just by association. He couldn’t wait to go to the bar tomorrow night and talk it up to all his friends. ////
Reminiscence Reminiscence //// Reminiscence //// The night had progressed quickly from eating, to watching a movie. Something that simply captivated the girls. They had all been to the movie theater in Ponyville, but it seemed that Equestria was lagging behind Earth in the special-effects department. So, because the night was so young, and he was sure that the girls would be up for a late night, he decided to pop on some super hero movies, knowing that as far as contemporary films went, they would be well rounded, and easy to watch for them. They were all enthralled by the cool story lines, the epic battles, and surprising amount of character development. However, Twilight was forced to point out many scientific impossibilities they were using in these films, especially without magic around to be used as an explanation for some of them. Still, despite her cheerfulness during their dinner, Pinkie had once again found herself feeling sad. Something that didn’t go unnoticed by Alex. He knew that Pinkie and Dash had been close, but the other girls were taking it so many times better. They were all still happy, joking around, and even mentioning Dash in various stories during their conversations. But, Pinkie was only silent. The exact opposite of her usual demeanor. However, the night moved on, and so did the films they were watching. And, before any of them knew it, they were falling asleep in their places on the various couches and chairs. So, after about twenty minutes of zero activity, Alex decided that it would be best for him to turn everything off, and get some sleep himself. He wasn’t sure what kind of day he would be having tomorrow, and whether or not he’d be going back to Equestria. Standing up, he walked over to the massive television, and pressed the power button, covering the room in darkness. Then, with the light from his phone screen, he grabbed a couple of blankets from the hallway cupboard, and laid them out just well enough that he could stretch three between all the girls. Finally, he walked in to the kitchen, and turned the dimming light up a couple of notches, bathing the entire lower floor in a soft light that would help them see if they needed to get up for any reason. With that, he headed up the stairs silently, and went in to his room, ready for a night fraught with indecision, and inability to sleep. Getting in to his bed, he listened to the silence, and took a moment to appreciate the calm time he was currently experiencing. There had been so much pain, angst, and whatever else, that he hadn’t had a single moment like this. One where he knew that he was cared for, and that no matter how bad things got, no matter how bitter the endings with one chunk of your life, there is always a bright spot. No matter how adjusted to the dark your eyes are. You just need to sit in the darkness long enough to see it. But just because there was a bright spot of light, that didn’t mean that he would be over the pain he had been caused any time soon. Alex was interrupted by a sudden knock at the door. “Uhm,” Alex coughed, sitting up and turning on his bedside lamp, “You can come in.” The door opened slowly, and Alex wasn’t able to make out the person… but he could see the color of her eyes. They were bright blue, and that meant Pinkie. Which, after everything, made the most sense. “Hey, Pinkie.” Alex said, smiling at her softly, dampening her out-of-character tepidness, “You want to talk?” “Um… If that’s okay! I mean, if you’re trying to sleep, then I’ll—“ “Don’t sweat it,” Alex said, removing the blanket and sitting up on the side of his bed, “You can sit down.” “Thanks,” She smiled gratefully, taking him up on his offer and sitting down next to him. “You want to talk about Dash?” Alex asked softly, his heart wrenching at the use of the name. “Yeah, if that’s alright with you…” She said quickly, not at all wanting to put him in an uncomfortable, or sad mood. “You sound like Fluttershy, Pinkie,” Alex laughed, expertly hiding the pain in his chest, “I’m here to help if you need me.” “But- but that makes me sound like such a jerk!” Pinkie squeaked, “You got it way worse than me, but I’m such a mess!” “I don’t think I did get it worse, Pinkie,” Alex said, shaking his head softly and giving her a reassuring smile, “I may be in love with her, but you trusted her just as much as I did.” A pause of indecision followed, leading Alex to wonder just what it was she was going to say to him. “If- if the situation was right… would you ever take her back?” Pinkie asked suddenly, shifting the conversation away from how she was feeling, “Even if she begged you?” “Why are you asking…?” Alex began, before understanding her reasoning for asking the question. Pinkie hadn’t shifted the conversation away from herself at all. She wanted his opinion on her betrayal. She knew he was angry, and that he had cried over it. All of the girls downstairs knew those things. But, none of them knew what was deep down. What he would do in a very possible situation like that. “Honestly?” Alex asked, playing it over in his mind… her crying, and begging him to take her back. Telling him that she needed him, and that she’d be miserable for the rest of her life without him, “I couldn’t.” Pinkie didn’t respond. The sadness on her face told him everything. “Not in a million years could I take her back as a lover,” Alex shook his head, closing his eyes and focusing on the prevention of tears for a moment. “But, as a friend…” Alex trailed off, biting his lip as he opened his eyes, “Maybe.” That was where Pinkie’s expression changed. Her frown vanished, her eyes opened up a little more. She wasn’t smiling. But there was a level of hopefulness in her demeanor. “I cried myself to sleep every night for the past… however long,” Alex continued, opening up for the first time on this subject, “I’ve told so many people that I would never talk to her again, and that I hated her… but, it’s just not how I operate.” “You couldn’t hate her?” Pinkie asked. “Never.” Alex smiled, growing a small, but fond smile as he looked down at his bed, “I don’t even know how much blame I can put on her, really.” “Alex, you shouldn’t fool yourself,” Pinkie said quickly, knowing the path he was going down in his mind all too well, “What she did… to him and you? It was terrible. She deserves a lot of blame.” “I’ve never seen you so serious,” He laughed, still staring at the covers, “But you’re right. I know that I was gone… and to be looking for me, while going off on these secret rendezvous with that Speed guy… It just sounds impossible. A part of me just can’t accept it, I guess.” “But even knowing all of that, how could you not hate her?” Pinkie asked, this being such a vital question to her. “She held my hoof through the hardest times of my life,” Alex explained, losing all self-control, “Getting used to Equestria, when we saw Luna’s husband die, when I was trapped in stone… and even when I was being controlled by the changelings. She was there for me… she fought so hard for me. I guess that just makes me realize that I wasn’t the most important thing to her.” Pinkie sat in silence, waiting for him to continue, but he simply didn’t seem to. “Alex?” She finally asked, placing a hand on his face, and pulling lightly toward herself. When he finally relented, and looked to her, she felt all of his pain through his expression. His cheeks were stained with tears, as they had been every night since he got back. Scooting closer to him on the bed, she comfortingly grabbed his hand with hers, and gave it a few reassuring squeezes. “I’ll talk for a little bit, okay? I’ll tell you why this has been so hard for me.” Alex nodded, sniffing, and wiping his cheeks of with his free arm, as he listened intently. “I cared about Dashie so much,” Pinkie said softly, “The two of us spent so many amazing times together…” Alex knew that Dash and Pinkie had a good friendship, but it sounded like it was so much much stronger, when coming from Pinkie like this. It was something he hadn’t at all realized. “From the first day Dashie moved to Ponyville, I knew she was special,” Pinkie explained, “She came to Sugarcube Corner, and told Mr. Cake that it was her birthday, and her first day in town—she was looking for a small cake to celebrate it by herself in her new house, because Fluttershy wasn’t around yet. But! She was trying to sound so cool while she was doing it.” As hard as it was hearing about the old Dash, the one he fell for… He still loved hearing every word about the naïve, big headed mare. “So, naturally, I offered to take her out!” Pinkie giggled, brightening the mood in the room greatly, “She didn’t have anypony else to have around, so, she had no choice! And that was the beginning of one of the best days of my life.” “How come I never heard about that day from her?” Alex asked, tilting his head. “I think… It’s because it mattered a lot more to me, than it did to her,” Pinkie tried to explain, before realizing how bad that sounded, “But I mean, she couldn’t have known.” Alex had no intention of interrupting her now. “Well, let’s just say that it had been a hard week… I lost a friend.” Pinkie explained, scratching the back of her head, avoiding detail on that topic, “So, when I was finally back to work after it, I was a bit of a sourpuss. I moped around the bakery for a few days, and was being so bad, that I was driving away customers!” “But…?” “But! When I first saw Dashie in that store, trying to look tough so she could hide how scared she was… Something inside of me popped! I wanted nothing more than to make her day.” Pinkie said with a smile, “So! I told her that I’d take her out, and give her a super-memorable birthday!” “Was it?” Alex asked, already knowing the answer. “Well, I exploded cake batter all over her body, she got tangled up in a bunch of balloons and their strings, sang her four songs about her lack of friends… but then! During the tight rope act I was doing, I fell off! And she had to catch me! …But, well, after she caught me, she couldn’t stop us, and we crashed in to a pig pen.” Pinkie giggled, remembering the day with so much fondness, “But… even with so much going wrong, do you know what she did?” “What did she do?” Alex asked, feeling his own chest lighten at the happy story. “After all that, she just laughed,” Pinkie smiled, her eyes lit up as if she were there again, “Not once had a pony been happy after so many screw-ups! But, I mean, I think she could see something was wrong with me… Maybe Mr. Cake told her, I’m not sure. But, for a pony to go out on her own birthday, and put up with all that just to make me smile? That’s a really special pony, Alex.” He only nodded. “After that, Dashie told me that she had an amazing day, and told me that we should hang out again! It was exactly what I needed to get out of my funk…” She said, her voice hardening once again, “Exactly what I needed…” Alex watched as Pinkie’s face darkened once again. “I needed that win so much… and she gave it to me,” Pinkie said solemnly, “That was the moment I decided that she would be my new best friend.” Pinkie shifted uncomfortably, while Alex could feel trembling in her hand that was holding his. “And while she may have never looked at me quite the same way, I always looked up to her so much.” Pinkie continued, “Dashie was the cool big sister I could always depend on, that would protect me from anything. She was truly my best friend... Even if I wasn’t her best friend in return. But I was okay with that!” Alex wasn’t sure if her story was going to make him cry again. “But, after putting so much stock in her, and committing myself to loving her like I would Maude, or any other member of my family—“ Pinkie stopped to sniffle, as her own eyes started to fill, “She-well… she might as well have died right there. B-because I l-l-lost a sis-ter.” Pinkie was now broken down. Alex finally understood the extent of damage that had been done to his friend. “I’m so sorry, Pinkie,” Alex said, wrapping his arms around her neck, and pulling the crying girl in to his embrace. She was gone. Lost to the extreme level of emotion that was assaulting her senses. So, Alex did what any friend would do. He held on to her, and gave her his shoulder to cry on. And she cried harder than he had ever experienced from anyone else. It was truly harrowing. However, the busy day, along with all the stress she was feeling at this moment, mixed together to make her incredibly drowsy. And, after about ten minutes of silent tears, Pinkie finally fell asleep in his embrace. So, seeing that she was out cold, Alex tucked her in to his bed, and silently moved across the hall to the guest bedroom. While it had been such a sad, sad night… Alex couldn’t help but be happy that he was important enough to someone, that they would bear their soul to him so much. He had bonded with her on a new level, and as long as he lived, he was going to try and make her smile whenever he could. If only there were some way to change the past… All this pain would stop.
Everypony's Favorite Uncle//// Everypony’s Favorite Uncle //// Alex yawned loudly, being torn from his slumber by the rising sun shining in his eyes. He wanted to teleport himself right up to Canterlot and yell at Celestia to keep it down for a few more hours, so he could get some more sleep. But, with the painful brightness on his face didn’t go anywhere. So, rolling over and escaping it’s grasp, Alex opened his eyes, to the high definition that was his world. “Oh right…” He mumbled, remembering coming home, and then studying for his exams… what else had happened? Anything notable? Nope. Nothing he could think of. Perhaps he should have wondered why he was in the guest bedroom, or who was sleeping in his bed. Or even if he had seen several naked girls recently. But, he simply didn’t. Closing his now shadowed eyes, Alex drifted back in to the peaceful world of slumber, leaving earth, and all of its problems behind for a few more hours. His pain was still completely centered on Dash. And nothing made him forget about the terrible times, like dreaming of the good ones. //// A few more hours had passed, and Alex was awoken to the sound of clattering below him. Someone was in his house! “Ah’ reckon he’ll love it!” An extremely familiar voice said from below. The girls! From Equestria! Alex had completely forgotten about the five girls that had teleported across dimensions to follow him home. They were all now downstairs, probably bringing about the end of the world as he knew it... But, they were pretty smart, as far as ponies went. So… maybe he could get just a little more shut eye, and they could take care of themselves. The doorbell rang. “Oh, I’ll get it.” Rarity said politely, as the sound of a chair dragging across the floor was heard, and then followed by something that sounded like a person tripping over their inexperienced legs, “Oh, this dress was simply a terrible idea for mobility.” Alex wondered who would be at the door at the tender hour of seven-thirty in the morning on a Monday. But, again, those girls were smart. They could take care of this person, just as they would take care of any annoying neighbor in Ponyville. “Hello?” Rarity asked, after opening the door. “Howdy,” A confident, and very smug sounding voice said from the door, “Name’s Chet. I’m Alex’s uncle.” “My goodness!” Rarity said, he voice quite elated, “It’s a pleasure to meet you! You simply must come in!” Alex scowled. What was that son-of-a-bitch doing here? Sticking his nose where it didn’t belong! That’s what! “Where is Alex? I need to speak with him a bit,” Chet said, his voice quiet, as he examined the talent Alex had brought home with him. “Up in his bedroom,” Fluttershy said. “Thanks!” Chet said, as he was heard walking up the staircase, before turning for a moment “Uh… Did Alex let you wear that clothing?” “It’s Alex’s moms,” Twilight explained, “We were naked, and had nothing to wear.” “Got it,” Chet smirked. Alex could just picture the look on his face. His smirk was almost audible. He couldn’t wait for Chet to come to his room so he could give him shit for barging in like this. But… Alex wasn’t in his room. He had let Pinkie sleep in there. “Shit!” Alex said, rolling off the bed, and thudding on to the floor. He tried to get his pants on as quickly as possible, but was too late, as Chet opened Alex’s bedroom door. “Alex?” Chet’s voice called in to the room across the hall. “Hey!” Pinkie responded, sitting up from the bed, wearing nothing, and only being covered by the blanket, “Who are you?” “I’m Alex’s uncle! And I’m looking for--” Chet began slowly, before Alex busted out of the quest room. “I’m here! I was letting her sleep in my room because we were together last night and—“ Alex stammered, before backing up, “I mean, I was comforting her! And then—“ “I’ve ‘comforted’ plenty of girls in my time, Alex,” Chet smiled, winking. “He sure did comfort me!” Pinkie beamed, “It didn’t take too long though.” “He’s only a man,” Chet said, knowing that Alex did nothing, but was still playing it up to annoy him, “Lasting long doesn’t run in the family.” “Shut it!” Alex shouted, was a single crack in his voice, “Downstairs!” “Oh, yes ma’am,” Chet said, throwing his hands in the air, as if surrendering, “You’re the lady of the house, after all!” Alex huffed, as Chet walked back down stairs. “Sorry about, that,” Alex said, before taking off after his uncle. Pinkie could only giggle to herself. She could see where Alex got his attitude from. His uncle acted so much like him. It was cute, finally seeing him be embarrassed by those kinds of actions. “Breakfast is ready, Pinkie!” Twilight called from down the stairs. Looking at the clothing she had discarded last night, she wondered if putting them on was the right thing to do. Yeah… Yeah. Wait. No? No! That’s right. No! Naked was just fine. “Pinkie, don’t forget to get dressed!” Alex called, knowing the girl too well. “Aww…” She needed to learn the rules of this place. //// Sitting down at the table, Alex and Chet were served breakfast by the girls. It was something that truly terrified Alex. Was he going to die along with Chet after eating today? “So,” Chet said, placing his hands together, “Where did you all meet?” “Don’t worry about it.” Alex said instantly, “Why did you stop by?” “Well…” Chet began, letting it pass for now, “I wanted to know how well your studying has gone. Are you ready for the exams?” “Yeah, I think so,” Alex nodded, smiling, truly confident in his abilities, “I’m surprised how much I remembered.” “You have all the equations memorized and everything, right?” Chet asked, “Because you start in a just a little over an hour.” “Seriously?!” Alex said, pulling his phone out of his pocket, and, sure enough, the reminder was there. “I thought it was way later today!” Alex stammered, “We need to go!” “Well, we can eat.” Chet said, looking at the strange color of oatmeal they had been served, as he wrinkled his nose and looked to Alex. Alex only shook his head slowly, giving a scared look toward his own plate. “Say, sweet heart,” Chet said to Twilight, “What is this?” “Toast!” She smiled, sounding a little too much like Sweetie Belle in her tone. “I told her she shouldn’t cook in this world,” Rarity said, “it comes out worse than my sisters cooking.” “Hey!” Twilight said, before looking at the toast she had made, and frowned, “Well… I do better as a pony.” “Where did you guys say you met again?” Chet asked, as confusion riddled his face at their strange conversation and food preparation. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” Alex deflected instantly, “Just… I’m just not hungry.” Chet shook his head at the avoidance, but had to agree with Alex on getting away from the food. “We had better go, now that I think about it.” He said nervously, backing away from the table, “Alex?” “Right behind you, Chet,” Alex nodded, standing up and joining him, as they awkwardly, and silently, slid to the door. “How long’ll you two be?” Applejack asked, “Because we have somewhere to be.” “Is it that soon?” Alex asked incredulously, “I mean… Didn’t you say ‘next week’?” “Well… it was three days from now,” Twilight said, scratching her head, “We’ve been here about twelve hours. So, that times four is two days.” “But it’s at noon,” Applejack pointed out, “So, that adds one more hour?” “But we still need to take the train to Manehattan,” Twilight explained, “That’s a few hours itself. So… We need to leave in maximum, five hours.” “I need some help on what you guys are talking about here,” Chet said, curious as to why they were talking about two amounts of time to the same event. “It’s tough to explain,” Alex said, putting on his jacket, “Don’t worry about it.” That was the last time he would be hearing those words from Alex. Chet was going to get to the bottom of this mystery. “Are you girls coming?” Chet asked, grinning inwardly. “We sure are!” Pinkie called from the top of the stairs, as she expertly ran down them, eliciting jealously from her friends, “I wanna see more of this world!” “B-but…” Alex whined, as he made eye contact with the bubbly pony-person, and knew that he stood no chance, “Ugh. Fine.” “Yay!” She shouted, grabbing the glass of toast of the table and downed it in a single gulp, and then following it with a strangely happy statement, “Wowie! That was the worst thing I’ve ever tasted!” “Just grab some shoes from the closet there,” Alex pointed, to the sliding mirrors next to the door, “My mom had a lot of pairs you can use. We’ll have to take two cars though…” “Don’t worry,” Chet shook his head, “I can fit you all in to the van.” “Van?” Alex asked, never remembering Chet to be a van driver. “Well, really, it’s a mini-van.” Chet explained, “It’s telling of my soul.” Alex scoffed at the bullshit comment his uncle had made, “And what does it tell you about your soul?” “Well, think about it.” Chet said, “What do you say about a guy who drives a hummer, or a motorcycle that makes way too much noise?” “Uhh…” Alex said, scratching his chin. “He has a tiny…?” Chet began, raising his eyebrows. “Penis?” Alex asked, his eyes shifting uncomfortably at the crazy conversation he was having. “Exactly!” Chet said, nodded, “So, by that logic, what’s the opposite of a big, obnoxious hummer?” “A… fuel economic mini-van?” Alex asked, figuring that was the answer Chet wanted. “Bingo!” Chet nodded, “So, if hummers equal small penises, what do mini-vans equal?” “Big penises!” Pinkie interjected, as Alex clamped his eyes closed. “Just right, dear,” Chet smiled, smirking to Alex, “I like your friends.” “I don’t even know that I like them,” Alex said, finally cracking a smile at Pinkie’s attitude. “Hey!” The five girls said at once. “You sure have it tough, kid.” Chet laughed, walking out the door, “I’ll get the van over here.” “You two are so much alike!” Twilight laughed, as she finally managed to get her second lace up boot on, “He’s just like you!” “It’s quite nice to see a little more of you,” Rarity smiled, wearing a pair of slip-ons, to compensate for her easy to trip in dress, “It’s… telling of your soul.” They all burst in to laughter at the throwback. “He reminds me of Dax,” Fluttershy said. “Hey, yeah!” Applejack agreed, “That’re annoyin’ the same way!” “Applejack!” Rarity hushed, as Alex laughed. “That’s the best description I’ve ever heard of him,” Alex laughed, happy that they were comfortable enough to make fun of his uncle so quickly. ”Chet’s awesome! I love that guy!” Alex just shook his head, as the badass sound of a mini-van pulling up to his house was heard. “Remember guys,” Alex said quickly, “Try to keep Equestria talk to a minimum. Especially when I’m in that test!” “What are we supposed to say then?” Twilight asked. “Just fake it! It’s easy!” “What’s a mini-van?” Pinkie asked instantly. “What’s a hummer?” Twilight asked. “Are they carriages?” Rarity asked, looking out the door at the vehicle rolling over to them. “How in tarnation does that thing move?!” Applejack said walking a step out the door and gawking at the big red vehicle. “Oh no…” “Come on you guys! Alex has a diploma to get!” Chet called from his vehicle. “Ladies first,” Alex gulped, as they all carefully, but better than before, walked out on to the driveway, then stopped at the door, which for some reason wasn’t just opening for them. “Oh,” Alex said quickly, running past them and sliding the door open, “Let me help you guys in.” Jumping inside, he took each of their hands and helped them inside, and to their seats, buckling each of them as he went. “Alright!” He said finally, jumping to the front seat and fastening his own seat belt, “Test time!” Chet had thought the odd attitude of the girls was cute at first, but it genuinely looked like they had trouble doing basic movements, like opening a car, stepping up in to them, and buckling themselves in. What was he missing here? As they started traveling, Alex looked back at the distressed faces they were making the movements the van was making, stopping, and starting, and speeding up, then stopping… It was probably just a little too different from a train for them. Giving them a hopeful look, they all took it to mean that he needed them to stick it out. So they did. The drove in silence for a few more minutes before something started to bother Alex. Something his uncle had told him made no sense. And, the more and more he thought about it, the more it bugged him. “Chet,” Alex finally said, as his uncle briefly looked at him before looking back to the road, “How the hell is a big penis because of a mini-van telling of your soul?” //// “Good luck Alex!” They all called, as Alex stepped out of the van and turned around. “Where are you guys going?” Alex asked, hoping that the girls would be able to fool Chet in to thinking that they were perfectly normal humans. “Just to the diner,” Chet gestured with his head, “We can kill a few hours talking, I’m sure.” The tone on his final words gave Alex pause. But, before he could say anything, Chet pulled away. Alex just grumbled to himself, as he turned around and headed for the school. He wished he was going with them. All of the excitement was with them. Not in some stupid test. Besides. He knew that Chet was going to bombard them with questions… whatever. They could make it up. Here was sure. //// “So, girls!” Chet said, as they all took their seats at a large circular table, “Tell me how you all met Alex!” “He saved our lives!” Pinkie spoke out, before putting her hands over her mouth. “Pinkie!” Rarity hushed once again. Oh yes. This was going to be a fun conversation.
A... New Experience//// A… New Experience //// After entering the school, Alex was directed to the principal’s office to get his test papers. Since he was a special case, and wasn’t in any of the assigned classes, he had to write in a special room, where he would be monitored by Tammy, his uncles Fiancé. And, wanting to waste no time, he asked to have the test as quickly as possible. It was when it arrived, however, when it broke his spirit. Alex grumbled at the sheer amount of work he had been handed, and expected to do. It was piles, upon piles of paper, which seemed to have absolutely no end to them whatsoever. But, as the time progressed, he fought with the desire to go back to sleep, and managed to dig himself out from under the massive amount of paperwork. It was the most satisfying feeling he had ever felt, when he reached the final question of the test. But, the question itself on that paper was long. It was longer than anything he had ever seen in his life. His brain couldn’t even begin to comprehend how so many symbols, numbers, and what he assumed was some alien language, could fit on to a single piece of paper. It was ridiculous. But, pressing the button on his calculator, he began. He would have this thing conquered before you could say ‘tzatziki!’ Well, in Alex’s case, it takes about a two hundred tries to say it right. So... He’d have it done in the time it takes to say ‘tzatziki’ two hundred times? //// The girls were all feeling the pressure Chet was putting on them, as he tried to pry out just where Alex had been for so long, and what had happened that led to his break-up with Dash. So far, they were changing subjects, throwing up roadblocks… Pinkie even drank a massive milkshake in two gulps, so she could belch, and cut Chet off midsentence. “There are better than the one’s back home!” Pinkie beamed, surprisingly keeping the secret under wraps, “Can I have another one?” “Sure thing,” Chet smiled, gesturing to the usual waitress, Rosie, to grab Pinkie a refill, “So! Back to the topic at hand! Where did you all say you lived?” The girls were once again silent as he asked this question. None of them daring to explain what ‘Ponyville,’ or ’Equestria,’ was to him. They’d all be sent to some hospital, and thrown in the psych wards! Well, that’s what Alex told them anyway. “Alex said he went to Washington, after meeting that Sarah girl, right?” Chet tried to fill in the blanks, having no information to go on. “Yes!” Twilight nodded instantly, happy that he had named a place from this world, instead of asking a question they could never answer, “We… are from Washington!” “Sure are!” Applejack agreed instantly, “Love that Washin’ton!” “Washington.” Rarity agreed, nodding slowly. “Okay… well, you kinda sound like you’re lying,” Chet said, knowing the smell of bullshit from a mile away. “Eheh… well—“ “Breakfast is served,” Rosie, their waitress said, carrying a tray with several plates on it, as another waitress walked behind her with the other two plates, “Who had the pancakes?” “Those are mine!” Rarity said, raising her hand. They were her favorite breakfast food, and she was excited to try them in a different world. “Who had the salads?” She asked, “I got three. Two leaf, and one fruit.” “Ah’m fruit,” Applejack said, as she was given her food. Then, Twilight and Fluttershy raised their hands, getting the other two sets of salad, which just left two plates, both covered in every kind of breakfast food one could imagine. “And the Lumberjack breakfasts are for you two?” She asked, glancing uneasily between Chet and Pinkie, “You sure hun’?” “Sure am!” Pinkie nodded, excited herself to see what a breakfast on earth would be like. “So am I,” Chet laughed, as he was given the massive plate of food, “Besides, I think I can finish whatever she doesn’t eat.” “You’re gonna die young, Chet,” Rosie jokingly-warned him, giving Pinkie her plate. “As long as I die happy, right?” He laughed, grabbing a piece of bacon and munching it down, “Good as always!” Feeling her heart flutter at the mention of delicious food, Pinkie followed suit, and lifted the red strip off her plate carefully with her thumb and index finger. Lifting it to her nose, she gave it a careful sniff, and wasn’t at all put off by the smell. In fact, it smelt really good! So, wasting no more time, Pinkie placed the entire thing in her mouth, chewed it slowly, making sure to savor every little bit of artery blocking grease, before swallowing, and growing the biggest smile she had yet to make on earth. “Wow! This stuff is amazing!” Pinkie beamed, looking around the table, “You guys have to try this!” Giving the food an odd look, it only took Twilight a few moments to remember a conversation she had had with Alex some time ago, back when he first moved to Ponyville. He had asked if ponies were omnivores. It was a scary question to be asked, as ponies were strictly vegetarian. She had then learned that humans were meat eaters. Something that freaked her out a little bit. But, here she was now, and she had to somehow tell Pinkie that she had eaten pig. “I… uh… think you and I should go to the bathroom, Pinkie,” Twilight said uneasily, as the pink haired girl gave her a tilted head, “I hate being alone, you know?” “Sure thing Twilight!” She beamed, jumping up from her chair and waiting patiently. “We’ll be right back,” Twilight laughed uneasily. Leading her away, the two went in to the bathroom, and, once checking to make sure they were alone, Twilight locked the door. “What’s wrong Twilight?” Pinkie asked, now concerned that something was gravely wrong, “Is this an emergency?!” “Not really, Pinkie,” Twilight said uneasily, scratching the back of her head, “You just… Um, should stop eating that red stuff.” “But it’s so good! I wanna eat it for the rest of my life!” Pinkie said, feeling her mouth water at the thought of it once again. “Pinkie, it’s just… not something you should be eating, okay?” Twilight said, not wanting to break her little heart. “Why not?” Pinkie asked, huffing as she gave Twilight a strong frown, “Just tell me!” “It’s meat, Pinkie!” Twilight exhaled loudly, “I’m pretty sure, by the distribution of fat, and muscle, that you just ate fried pig.” The frown on Pinkie’s face expanded further than Twilight ever thought she would see. It went down, and down, until her face simply looked terrifying, instead of sad. “I a-ate, meat?!” Pinkie asked, her voice ragged, and troubled to a point that scared Twilight, “I- I-“ “It’s not so bad, Pinkie,” Twilight tried to calm her down, “Everypony- er, everyone here eats it all the time. I just thought you’d want to know.” “B-b-but…” Pinkie stammered, “We don’t have it in Equestria! And I wanna keep eating it!” “I know this is hard, but—“ Twilight began, before shaking her head and looking at her friend, “What did you say?” “How am I ever supposed to go back to eating veggies!?” Pinkie asked, “Oh well! I’ll just have to enjoy it while I can!” Twilight felt her jaw hit the floor as Pinkie unlocked the bathroom door, and skipped her way back out to the table. “Oh no!” Twilight heard from the dining room, as she darted out from the bathroom to see what had happened, throwing her shock aside. “What’s wrong?” Twilight asked, seeing nothing terrible enough to warrant yelling over. “The girls ate the rest of my cooked pig!” Pinkie whined, as she looked to the three girls, who were now all wide eyed, and disgusted with themselves. “Beg your pardon?” Rarity asked, praying that she had misheard Pinkie, “Did you say… that I just ate meat?” “Ah’ knew it was too good to be true…” Applejack grumbled, throwing the rest of the strip of bacon back on Pinkie’s plate. Strangely, Fluttershy wasn’t freaking out over the revelation, and they all made eye contact with her, when they realized that she didn’t start crying, and even kept chewing, and swallowed her piece. “Are… you okay, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, mystified that she was still in once piece. “Oh yes,” She nodded with a small smile, “I catch and feed fish to small animals all the time! From what I understand, pigs aren’t smart here, just like the fish in our hometown. Where’s the harm?” “Ah’ can’t say ah’ agree with ya’,” Applejack said, understanding her mood now, “But it tastes good enough to make me wanna.” “I’ll have to pass on anymore myself,” Rarity said, pushing the plate back to Pinkie’s spot. Looking at the mound of food, Twilight couldn’t help but ask. “How much of that food is made of meat, exactly?” She asked, bracing herself for what she was sure would be a terrible answer from Chet. “Uh… meat?” Chet asked, still lost as to how these girls were so clueless, when they seemed to be smarter than your average six-way participant, “Well, there’s the bacon, the ham, sausage, the egg if you count it, and… oh! Get this! The house special that you've all been munching on is hash browns with actual horse steak! Cool huh?” It was almost as if silence had fallen over the world, as the girls looked at the plate, each with a uniquely horrified face. But, out of all of them, Pinkie was the worst. And for the first time the world, she uttered the sad, and disgusted words, “I’m not hungry anymore…” //// Alex sighed, finally finishing the final question on his exam. He was home free! Ready to head back, check on Equestria for a little bit, and then, well, whatever happens, happens. “Done!” Alex announced triumphantly, relaxing back, as Tammy walked over and picked up the large booklet leafing through it to make sure he didn’t miss a question. “Very good, Alex,” She smiled, “Just one more!’ “I know I know, I’m really smar—wait, what?” “That was just the math test,” She smiled, walking to the back of the room, “This is your science test.” The slapping sound that was made when the book made contact with the table was loud enough to elicit a tear from Alex. So much more work. So, so so so much more work. “Good luck!” Alex felt like he needed to yell. Did anyone here even know who he was? Alex? The awesome hero of Equestira? That guy who has so much power, that he’s able to literally control the entire world? No. They had no idea who he was. In this world, he was just a turd that had to write his high school exams… It actually kinda felt nice. Looking up to the clock, Alex felt his breath catch in his chest. It had already been two and a half hours? He needed to leave in that long from now! He was going to need some help finishing this test in time… … … Magic spell to talk to Twilight telepathically? //// Author's Note Sorry, would have had a bit more, but, well, time constraints. Sorry.
The Better Kind of CheatingAuthor's Note Again, sorry if there is a plethora of errors. I haven't had much time to write the last couple weeks. The Better Kind of Cheating //// The Better Kind of Cheating //// “Are you girls sure you’re done eating?” Chet asked, looking back and forth between the five girls, all of whom had been quite quiet for the last little bit, while he awkwardly ate his food, and then proceeded to awkwardly eat their food too. “Yeah, there must have been something bad in the dinner we ate last night,” Twilight explained for them, knowing none of her friends were in a talking place. “Well, you mind then…?” He asked, slowly reaching for her leftover salad. “Yeah, no prob—“ ”Hey, Twilight!” Twilight’s face contorted in to confusion, as she looked behind her for the source of the voice. “You okay?” Chet asked, looking behind her as well, “Did someone throw something at you or something?” “Oh, no…” She mumbled, looking back to Chet, “I must’ve just—“ ”Twilight!” “What?!” She shouted, as every person in the diner looked to her worryingly. “Are’ya okay darlin’?” Applejack asked. “I think she needs some air, to be honest,” Rarity exhaled, “Why don’t you come outside with me, Twilight?” “Uh… yeah…” She mumbled, blushing as she got out of her seat with Rarity, and carefully walked to the exit. “What in Celestia’s name is going on with you?” Rarity asked, as the two reached a nice and quiet spot out the back of the restaurant. “I’m hearing a voice in my head!” Twilight said, “If we were in Equestria, I’d just think it was a spell!” ”It is a spell Twilight! It’s Alex! And I need help with this test!” “You have got to be kidding me.” She grumbled, as Rarity gave her a concerned look. “What is it?” She asked. “It’s Alex, he’s asking me to help him with his test.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Well I hope you tell him that he needs to pass himself!” Rarity said, shaking her head, “I can’t believe he’d even try to ask.” ”Please Twilight! We don’t have much time left!” “If you think I’d help you, you’ve got another thing coming!” Twilight said, scoffing rather rudely. ”It’s already been three hours! That only leaves two! And I need time to get the spell to cast!” “Well- That’s not important here!” Twilight answered, “If you thought you could ask me to help you cheat, then you must now know me very well!” ”Come on Twilight! Haven’t I been cheated on enough? Isn’t it my turn to do some cheating? Twilight was shocked at his statement, “Did you just use Dash’s cheating on you, as an excuse to get me to help you cheat on a test?” “He did what?” Rarity asked, wishing she could hear the other side of the conversation. ”And now, if I’m ever going to be able to confront her, I need your help! Besides, remember that time I did that one thing for you?” “What one thing?” Twilight asked, just loud enough for some passerby’s to give her an odd look, “I’ve done so much for you! You stayed in my house, I fed you, I taught you magic!” ”Yeah… But! I saved Equestria that one time. “Oh, how did I know you’d throw that in my face?” Twilight shouted, “You save the world one time, and we never get to hear the end of it!” ”Well, have you ever saved Equestria?” “Would you just stop?” Twilight huffed, rubbing her temples, “Fine! What do you want to know?” ”Great! Which one of these is gold? Ag? Or Au?” “Au,” Twilight answered instantly, “What’s next?” ”That’s it, thanks! Twilight felt the spell cut out as Alex left her alone. “Are you kidding me?” Twilight asked no one, as she half expected an answered from Alex. But, there was nothing. “What did he want to know?” Rarity asked, “You weren’t talking for very long.” “Let’s go back inside…” Twilight grumbled. //// “Done!” Alex announced proudly, smacking the book on to the, “High School! No problem!” “Well, we still need to grade this,” Tammy said, lifting his booklet and leafing through it, “Hmm.” “Lots of correct answers?” Alex asked, leaning back and kicking his legs up on to his desk. Tammy wanted to give him shit for acting so full of himself, but every answer he had written in the first couple pages of the multiple-choice portion of the test was right. And, the answers on his math test had all been more or less correct, assuming his long-form answers weren’t all wrong. “A lot of them are, yes.” Alex just smirked and winked, as she looked up from the pages. “You act so much like Chet,” She chuckled, placing the books on her desk, “Alright, you’re free to go.” Hopping up, Alex held out his hand proudly, which she promptly took, and shook. “It might be a little early, but congratulations. You’re done school. Well, high school anyway.” She smiled, leaning back on her desk, “Why don’t we have a party tonight at Chet’s place?” “I might not be around,” Alex said, scratching the back of his head, “I have to go see… Sarah.” “Oh,” Tammy said quickly, “Well, maybe tomorrow, or later this week then?” “Definitely,” Alex smiled, “Thanks for the help with this.” “No problem!” She smiled, walking him over to the door, “If you plan on moving on to any universities, just let me know. I can write a very good recommendation.” “Wouldn’t it look bias?” Alex asked. “They don’t know who I’m banging,” She shook her head. Alex grimaced at the mental image. “Whoops!” Tammy giggled, “I guess Chet’s been rubbing off on me.” “Well, with that wonderful thought in my head, I think I should go meet him at the diner,” Alex said, backing out from the room. “Tell him I’ll be home by five, tops.” Tammy said, holding the door open for him, “Have fun seeing Sarah again.” “I won’t…” Alex mumbled, walking down the hallway toward the exit. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said that…” //// “Oh!” Chet said, standing up, “Alex just texted, he’s done.” “So, we can finally go home?” Pinkie asked, “My bum is all sore from this sitting.” “Sorry about that,” Chet said, standing up, and dropping a hundred dollar bill on the table, “There really isn’t much else to do in this town, besides going to the big dance club.” “Dance club?” Pinkie asked, standing up hopefully, “What kind of dancing do they do there?” Chet frowned, “You know, lots of sweaty people grinding all over each other.” “That sounds terrible!” Pinkie said, wondering what kind of dancing that even was. “Well, It’s my job to tell you how immoral it is,” Chet said, leading the pack to the entrance, “But god knows that I’d be there if I was your age.” “This place sounds so… depraved.” Rarity whispered in to Fluttershy’s ear, as they followed in the back of the group. “Equestria has lots of stuff like that!” Fluttershy responded, knowing just as well as all her friends that there were perverse places in their world too, “They’re not so different here.” “Well, I was always try to… put those places out of my mind,” Rarity acknowledged, “Celestia know’s I’ve never been to places like that.” “They’re not as bad as they sound.” Fluttershy answered, as Rarity gasped loud enough to get everyone’s attention. She just laughed at her gullible friend. “Shame on you!” Rarity giggled, embarrassed that she had fallen for such an obvious ploy, “I’d never be able to look at you the same way!” After making sure that they all got in to the vehicle properly, Chet got himself in to the front seat of his van, and started it, making his way over to the school, so he could pick up Alex, and get him wherever it was that he needed to be in an hour or so. Still, these girls were a mystery to him. As normal as they seemed to be, they were absolutely abnormal. From making strange references, to falling over as if they had never walked before. Then, to top it all off, they acted like Alex was the greatest guy on earth. Something had to be off for that to be the case. “So!” Chet announced, “I think it’s time you all came clean to me!” They were stunned in to silence. “You guys aren’t from around here,” Chet continued, “None of you could give me a definitive answer about what schools you went to, or where you grew up!” “Well, it’s complicated...” “You guys are hiding something,” Chet said in the most nonthreatening tone he could, “And while I’d normally have no place prying like I am, when it comes to Alex, and his wellbeing, I have to know.” Again, there were no words exchanged. “And I know he sure as hell won’t own up to it,” Chet said, looking back to the scared girls, “So? Any of you want to speak up?” They all felt him come to a hard stop in front of the school, only a few blocks away from their previous destination. “Well—“ Twilight began. “Hey guys!” Alex said happily, opening the door and jumping in to the passenger seat in the front of the van, “I passed those tests for sure!” No one said anything to him. He got panicked expressions of the girls, and a stern expression from Chet. “What?” He asked. “Your uncle’s just been wondering where we’ve been spending the last year…” Twilight said, as Alex sighed loudly, and thumped his head against the rest. “You don’t wanna let it go?” Alex asked hopefully, as Chet shook his head seriously. “Well… sorry about this,” Alex said, instantly turning the keys in the ignition to off, and then tapping a finger to his uncle’s head. “What are you—“ Chet fell back on his seat passed out. “What did you do?” Twilight gasped, pulling herself forward and inspecting his passed out uncle. “I just used a little knock out spell,” Alex said, rising his hands defensively, “He’ll be fine in two minutes, and won’t remember a thing.” “What do we tell him?” Fluttershy asked. “He fell asleep waiting for me to come out from the school,” Alex explained, “I’m guessing he ate a lot of food. He always gets drowsy after that.” “You’ve been doing a lot of cheating today, Alex.” Twilight sighed, happy to be out of the uncomfortable situation. “I just want to get Equestria over with, you know?” Alex said, “So, let’s get back to my house, so we can get the flip back there. I wanna just... fly around a bit.” “Well, we need your uncle to get—“ “Chet, wake up!” Alex shouted, as his uncle shot up from his relaxed position, “My tests are done you sleepy bastard!” “Oh, really?” He groggily, looking around the van while trying to situate himself, “How did… how’d you do?” “Good,” Alex smiled, “I’ll tell you all about it on the way home.” “Sounds like a plan to me,” Chet nodded, as he started the van, and pulled out form the school parking lot. Alex felt a little guilty for what he had done… but really, what else was there? Chet wasn’t stupid. He knows there’s something very wrong with the story he’s been fed… But as long as he could keep lying to him, or avoiding the point, it would all be fine. When the day comes that Alex has to tell the truth, Chet will wish he had been kept in the dark, that’s for sure. “Oh, and Tammy said she’d be done at five.” Alex said, looking up at his uncle. “Nice and early,” Chet smiled, “Thanks for letting me know.” “No problem.” /////
Down to the Wire//// Down to the Wire //// The drive back home was awkward. Between Chet’s embarrassment over falling asleep at the wheel, and Alex’s somewhat visible guilt for knocking him out, every person in the car felt each agonizing second pass as they headed back to Alex’s house. “So, what are your plans, now that you’re finished with school?” Chet asked, looking from the road to Alex for a moment, before returning his focus to driving. “Well, I’m not exactly the university type, I don’t think,” Alex said, knowing that he could never return to a life of school five days a week… or work, for that matter, “Maybe just relax for a little bit. Mom and dad left me plenty to live off of.” “Well, you could put a bunch of that in to tuition for some agriculture courses,” Chet suggested, “Then, you could spend another chunk of the money buying up some more land. Maybe start growing and selling some vegetables, or livestock! Then use the leftover cash to supplement your income.” “You’ve thought a lot about this, haven’t you?” Alex laughed, knowing that his uncle wasn’t the type to look this far in to the future, “Or maybe it was Tammy?” “Well, a bit of both.” Chet laughed, looking over his shoulder to the girls in the back, who were all looking a bit more apprehensive than anything else, “You girls okay?” Twilight looked at the clock on the front of the van, and was honestly shocked at how much of their time had vanished, while they waited for Alex to complete his test. By her measure, Dash would be having her ceremony in no more than a couple hours Equestrian time. “We’re fine!” Fluttershy answered, not wanting their silence to be telling of Alex’s impending departure, but, perhaps that secret had already been told. “I don’t think agriculture is my thing, Chet,” Alex continued, uncomfortably moving the conversation on, and trying to shift it to a more comedic one “I’m more of a… hooker type. You know, just invite some lonely ladies back to the house, and have them pay me tons of money to please them.” “You do know what kind of ladies you’d find in that job, right?” Chet asked, shaking his head at Alex’s bullshit, “Not the kind of ladies you want to be pleasing.” “Well, maybe I’ll be a professional magician,” Alex furthered, not letting on just how possible that job could be, “Do parties for kids and stuff.” “Alex, unless you can make money appear in thin air with that magic of yours, you’d be shit outta luck with that job too.” Chet concluded, as Alex just sighed and leaned back. The mood had certainly lightened, as they reached the final leg back to their homes. But, it was still a long leg. And it was something that made each of them nervous. “How are we doing for time?” Alex asked, not giving enough information for Chet to piece anything together. “Twenty minutes?” Twilight said, giving as safe an answer as he could. “Oh good,” Alex said, trying his best to cover himself up, “I’d hate to miss the show.” “You don’t need to bullshit me, Alex,” Chet said suddenly, as every pair of eyes in the car shot to him, “You’re leaving again, right?” “What?” Alex asked, exhaling quickly, “What gave you that idea?” “Little things here and there,” Chet shrugged, “The girls at breakfast, or… lunch, were giving each other all sorts of whispers while they thought I wasn’t listening.” “What are you talking about?” Rarity asked, laughing, as if to throw him off at her strange reaction. “I can’t tell you how many times I heard you all saying that you ‘needed to get back.’” Chet continued, ignoring Rarity, “So, at this point, I guess I’m not going to be getting any truth out of it from you all.” Alex was afraid that the spell he had used on Chet had affected Chet a little too much, as he was no longer asking about their destination, but was still bringing it up quickly. “All that I ask, Alex,” Chet exhaled, “Is that you come back more often than once a year! Jesus Christ, I thought you were dead, you know that?” Alex didn’t have an answer for Chet. “I may have hidden it pretty well, but you have no idea how relieved I was when I saw you a couple weeks ago,” Chet sighed, knowing that bearing his soul was the only way to get Alex to take him seriously, “You’re all I have left in this world for family. And if you’re out- god knows where, screwing around, and doing dangerous shit... what do you think you dad would do to me?” Alex looked up from the floor to make eye contact with Chet. That last line made it all so much clearer to him. “Your mom, and your father—my brother, left you in my hands. I know you’re a grown man. I know that you’ve got to find your own way… But if you go out and kill yourself, then how would I ever live with myself?” Chet asked, as he took his foot off the gas, and rolled to a stop in front of Alex’s house, “I just- I need you to tell me that you’re safe. That you’re being careful!” Alex opened his mouth, before closing it a moment later. “Well?” “I… I try my best Chet,” Alex managed, his voice obviously strained, “But I’d be lying if I told you that I wasn’t getting in to trouble.” Chet closed his eyes and dropped his head back on to the rest of his seat, those were not the words he wanted to hear. “But let me tell you right now,” Alex said, hoping to calm Chet’s fears, “These girls in here with us, they try their very best to keep me safe when I get in to tough spots.” “We sure do!” Pinkie exclaimed, a bright smile on her face. “He does his best, and we do ours.” Applejack added. Chet opened his eyes, and gave a small smile that Alex could see. “He’s like a brother to us,” Fluttershy added, her tone conveying her sincerity to them all. “He’s helped me, with more problems than I can count!” Rarity said. “We all owe him our lives.” Twilight finished, as Chet’s face showed just a hint of confusion. “Your lives, huh?” Chet asked, turning his head to Alex, “Well, I guess that’s better than nothing.” “Its way better than nothing,” Alex smiled, reaching his hand out to his uncle, “Thank you.” “You sure you don’t wanna tell me where you’re going?” Chet asked, much more playfully. “You couldn’t believe me if I told you,” Alex shook his head with a smile, as Chet took his hand, “But, maybe I can give you a taste.” Chet only tilted his head, as he felt something heavy in his hand suddenly. “Come on girls,” Alex said, retracting his arm, and opening the door, “We have to hurry.” Chet just watched in bewilderment as they all filed out of the van, and headed back toward the house. He was about to look at what had seemly appeared in his hand, when Alex turned around and got his attention just before closing the door. “Take that to the jeweler in town,” Alex smiled, beaming at his ability to be sharing Equestria with his uncle in this small way, “That should answer a question or two about where I’m going.” Before he could say anything to Alex, the door was closed, and he was jogging to catch up with the girls who were all congregated at the front door. And, once Alex had the entrance unlocked and opened, they followed him inside, and closed the door behind them. Finally, taking his eyes off the door, Chet opened his palm, and looked down in a mixture of confusion and shock. In his hands was a clear, multi-colored jewel, which was about the size of a golf ball. Depending on how he looked at it, the color was displayed differently. From above and below, each color was visible in strips, from left to right, starting at red, and finishing at purple. But, if he looked at it from the left or right side, the diamond was black, as it was a mixture of every color. Finally, if he rotated the black side ninety degrees along the smooth circle, the diamond was clear, as if there was no color at all. “What the hell is this thing?” Chet asked, trying to remember just how Alex had slipped this in to his hand, because from how he recalled, it just appeared. There was no way Alex could have put it there in any way shape or form. But, knowing that Alex wanted to be left in piece, Chet decided to take his advice and go back in to town. He was curious as to what this stone was made out of, and if it took a jeweler to tell him just what it was, then his interest was piqued. Maybe it was from… Africa? //// “Are you guys ready?” Alex asked, having walked right through his house to the back yard where they wouldn’t be seen by anyone, “If you wanna have a snack, or pee, now’s the time.” “No time,” Twilight cut in, “When we get to Equestria, we’ll have a little over an hour to get to Manehattan.” “How is that possible?” Rarity asked, “It’s an overnight trip!” “I was expecting Alex to be done way faster!” Twilight argued, “But don’t worry, I’ll be able to teleport us to Canterlot from Ponyville, and we can take the bullet train there in about forty minutes.” “Uh… Twilight?” Alex asked. Ignoring him, she continued, “From there, we can probably run there in just under a half an hour. I wouldn’t be able to teleport us from there. I don’t know the town well enough.” “Twi?” Alex asked again, only to be ignored. “And then, assuming we aren’t stopped by jerky security, we will have five or ten minutes to have a short conversation with Dash.” She finished, “So? Let’s go already!” Alex just cocked his eyebrow, and nodded. “Okay, you win!” He laughed, not bothering to tell her his secret, “Everyone place a hand on me.” Following his instructions, each girl placed one hand on various parts of his chest and back, as Alex reached his own arm out, and summoned a spell he had never had a chance to practice. Princess Celestia had once told him that he would need to master the usual teleportation spell, but on top of that, think about his home, his family, and earth in general. Once that was done, he would be able to force the spell to take him to that place. So, to get from earth to Equestria, Alex just had to imagine all the feelings he had felt when he was in a particular part of that world. So, he thought of his anxiety, his fear, his desperation… and an overwhelming sense of love. These mix of things only game in to place one time in his life while in Equestria. And they were in Manehattan, in the days before Alex rescued Dash from the Wonderbolts. Instantly, the ground started to shake, as a series of sparks starting firing from his index finger. Alex exhaled sharply, as he felt the massive amount of energy start to backlog in his body. He simply wasn’t able to focus all the energy properly. “Are you okay, Alex?” Twilight asked, as the spell started to sputter, “Are you able to do this?” Throwing caution to the wind, Alex forced as much energy through his arm, while sending the remainder back to his forehead, but without his horn there to protect him. The shaking intensified, as the last of the spell was cast, and they were all engulfed in a light coming from the ground. “Alex!” Fluttershy shouted, seeing the blood start to run from his eyes and nose, “You need to be careful!” “Just…. A little more!” Alex shouted, making sure they weren’t only half sent because the spell destabilized. Finally, the ground opened up, and they all fell in to the blinding light. //// Before any of them knew what was happening, they were thrown in to a wall filled with lockers, as they were spit out of a glowing hole, and thrown across a massive room, obviously built to accommodate the changing of upward of a hundred ponies. It took them all a minute to situate themselves, as they were now in a new, colorful world, in the form of ponies. “Is everyone alright?” Twilight groaned, rolling over herself, and looking to her heap of friends around her. “Yeah…” Pinkie coughed, shaking standing up. “I believe so,” Rarity said rather coherently as she also regained her footing. “Ah’m just gunna lay here a moment,” Applejack said, wobbling her hooves around to make sure they were still working. “I’m okay,” Fluttershy said calmly, standing up next to Rarity. “Alex?” Twilight asked, looking to his still collapsed form, “Alex?!” He didn’t respond as the girls all rushed around him. His face was stained with blood that had come from his casting the spell, and it made all of them panic. None of them even knew if he was alive. Placing a hoof on his neck, Twilight exhaled in relief as she turned to her friends and nodded, “His heart is beating.” “Can’t you heal him?” Pinkie asked Twilight, as the purple pony sighed. “I’m not able to cast that kind of magic. It falls under chaos, not harmony.” Twilight explained, having no idea what she could do for her friend, short of taking him to a hospital. “I believe this is my department,” Rarity said, stepping past Twilight and beginning to cast a spell she had been practicing for the last couple of weeks, “Since I accepted Avarice, I’ve been able to use all sorts of spells! It’ll only take a moment!” Rarity leaned down toward Alex’s collapsed form, and slowly worked the spell out of her horn, and over his head, making sure none of the magic went to waste. As she did this, Twilight looked around the room and contemplated where it was that he had sent them. “I don’t think any locker rooms this big are in Ponyville,” Twilight spoke aloud, standing up and looking for some kind of marker to tell her where they were. “Haven’t we been here before?” Pinkie asked, looking around herself. “Yeah!” Applejack agreed, “Ah’ know ah’ve been here before!” “I feel the same way…” Twilight muttered. From the end of the room, just around a wall, they all heard the door open, and somepony start yelling. “Get changed! Everypony else is out there already, and you just got out of bed! You’d better be out there in two minutes!” The voice shouted, as the door closed, leaving the pony to walk through the small hallway. As she turned the corner, they all remembered where it was that they were. “Y-you guys?” Rainbow Dash said, seeing her friends gathered in the change room, with Alex collapsed on the ground, being tended to by Rarity, “Alex?!” Forgetting her friends, she sped past the group of them and gasped at the bloody sight on the ground. “What happened?” Dash asked quickly, her voice full of panic and worry, “Is he okay? Did he hurt himself? Is he dead?!” Each girl felt the raw emotion coming off of their friend, which only made their hearts break a little more for the situation she was in. “He’s fine.” Rarity said, backing off from her spell. “He’s not bleeding anymore… He should—” “Dash…?” Alex asked, opening his eyes, “I guess I got us to Manehattan after all.” “Are you alright?” She asked, getting down on her knees to be closer to him, “I- I mean… I didn’t expect to see you here.” Alex’s head may have been spinning like crazy, but this was sobering him up fast. And while he had been expecting a rush of anger, and resentment toward her, seeing her there, standing over him with such concern for his wellbeing… it just made him hurt. It felt like he had been punched in the chest. The mare who cared for him so much, would forever be out of his reach. His head started to spin. All of this was too much. He couldn’t keep his thoughts straight, as his eyes started to blink erratically, and with increasing length. “I’m sorry, Alex.” Was all she could say, as he forced his eyes open for another moment. “I-I still love you, Dash.” He said, tears replacing the blood in his eyes, “I m-miss… I miss—” His eyes closed once again, as he passed on in to the much more peaceful world of slumber. ////
Desperation//// Desperation //// “I can’t do this.” “You need to stop being a pussy.” “I think I’ve earned the opportunity to be upset!” “Because god knows that you’ve been a rock for so long, right?” “Just look at her!” Dax shouted back, his attitude in a place Alex had never seen before, “She’s just as fucking beautiful as the last time we saw her!” Upon passing out in the Wonderbolt change room, Alex was brought to his magic mind-room, where he was able to converse with his alter-ego freely, in an endless black space that either of them could manipulate freely. Something that annoyed him, as he wished to return to the living world as quickly as possible. “You need to calm down,” Alex said coolly, trying his best to get a look at Dax’s face, as he looked away from him, “Geez, I didn’t know you were the crybaby in my head too.” “I can be whatever you make me,” Dax growled, turning around showing his truly upset mood to Alex in the form of puffy eyes and stained cheeks, “I’m what you suppress, you idiot!” Alex scowled and sat back in a chair that appeared behind him, “What is that supposed to mean? You and I both know that I cried a lot over that mare.” “Not enough, bucko!” Dax shot back, forcing himself to return to his usual, dick-like attitude, “You’ve been head over hooves for her since the day you met her, and you know it!” “Head over hooves?” Alex asked, scoffing, “Since when did you start talking so much like a pony?” “You’re more pony than human now, Alex.” Dax said, before shaking his head and returning to the issue at hoof, “H-how is this even happening right now? Why would you want to shut out these feelings?” “Maybe it’s because I’m just a strong person,” Alex said, shrugging. “Oh come off of it,” Dax said, approaching Alex and tapping his hoof against his chest, “This isn’t about being strong!” “If you’re what I suppress, maybe you’re just the weak one, and I’m the strong one.” Alex said again, only further upsetting his dark side. “You’re strong?” Dax asked, his rage growing to a new point, “So how about this?” In front of the two of them, Dax constructed an image in their mind of Rainbow Dash and Speed, savagely going at it on a bed. It was gut wrenching for both of them to see, and Alex put an end to the image as quickly as he could. “Why are you trying so hard to set me off?!” Alex shouted, feeling every emotion inside of him start to bubble over the surface. “Because I wanna know what the hell is wrong with you!” Dax shot back. Standing up from his seat, Alex determinedly stomped toward Dax, and unleashed true anger on him. “You’re me! Don’t act like you don’t know!” Alex shouted, relieving Dax of some of the suppressed emotion, “What do you expect me to do when I look at Dash? Cry? Break down and show her what she did to me?” “Well—“ “There is nothing in this world that I want more than that mare. You and I both know that we considered forgetting everything, and just living with her!” Alex shouted, throwing his arms in the air, “Jesus, I wish that I was weak enough to just let it go! But every single day for the rest of my life, it’d be there. Her screwing that guy would be in the back of my mind, festering to the point that I have a stroke, or fucking kill myself!” Dax knew all of this, and only frowned. “So! When I come face to face with this mare, who betrayed me beyond comprehension, I should show all of those emotions to her? I should take the future that I’ll never have with her, and shove it down her throat, to the point that it destroys her too?” Alex was seething, he was at this breaking point he had never truly experienced before, and it was horrifying, “But, despite it all, I still love the shit out of her! So! Maybe if I act strong, if-if she sees me keeping face… then, well, then maybe it’ll make things easier for her…” Silence hung in the air between them, as Alex closed his eyes and forced himself to not cry again. “Thank you.” Dax said simply. Alex didn’t respond. He just looked down at the ground. The sprawling blackness. “So, do you want to go back?” Dax asked, content with the amount of release Alex had had, “Because we can take our time in here if you like. I slowed things down for us.” Alex considered the proposal for a moment, before he had to stop himself and talk to Dax for a moment. “You can do that?” Alex asked, sitting back down on his chair, “How much magic do you know that I don’t?” “Plenty,” Dax shrugged, unsure himself how he had a stronger grasp of chaotic magic than Alex, “But I suck at your happy-magic. So I guess it makes us even.” The two sat in silence, as their minds both wandered parallel to one another. However, as they did this, it became apparent that neither of them needed to be silent. “I guess we can hear each other, huh?” Alex asked, as Dax nodded to him, “We might as well bounce off each other a little bit.” “It’s a lot like talking to yourself, you know,” Dax pointed out. “Maybe. But, I think it’ll make things easier,” Alex sighed, leaning back in his chair, and placing his legs on a new foot stool. Dax nodded and took a similar position, in a recliner that appeared under his butt, kicking up the leg rest to accommodate his pony body. “It’s funny, isn’t it?” Alex started them off, thinking back to the days when he was still under the influence of the changelings, “After all that time, when we thought we were keeping that terrible secret from her… she was doing all of those things behind our back.” “Well, we knew it was happening the first time,” Dax said, right next to Alex in his memories, “The changeling spell over us almost broke when the scout told us what was happening.” “They had to drag us back to the hive because we were losing our mind!” Dax laughed, before going quiet, “God, if only we had broken free, we could have stopped it.” “All of this would have been avoided,” Alex exhaled, closing his eyes and trying to remember the day once again, “I wish we could go back and just kick that kid’s ass for taking her away from us.” “Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Dax said quickly, pointing to Alex with a stern look on his face, “We do not need a temporal paradox.” “I know,” Alex sighed, having seen enough Star Trek to know what happens when you muck with time, “If I go back and kick Speed out of town, then Dash will never cheat. But, if she never cheated, then I’d never have a reason to go back and get rid of Speed. So, if I never go back, then no one will get rid of Speed, and she will cheat, leading me to go back, and get rid of him, but then I don’t go back because she didn’t, and… boom! Paradox all over my face.” “My head hurts,” Dax complained, having only barely understood Alex’s explanation, “But. You’re right.” “I just wish that I could see that Dash again, you know?” Alex muttered, “The one who hadn’t cheated, the one who spent all her time looking for me… How could she have changed so much?” “Couldn’t go see that one either,” Dax said quickly, squashing his hopes, “If you went back, she’s remember that. You’d have an ever more complicated time explosion then.” “I know. I am you, after all.” Alex said, still loving the idea, “If only we could just bang her, then wipe her memory.” Alex laughed for a moment, but froze. Both of them sat up and made eye contact at the same time. “We could do that.” Dax said. “We could do that shit out of that.” Alex reiterated, “If we wipe her memory, we could go see her at any point before Speed, and have a fresh, unspoiled Dash.” “You make that sound so terrible.” Dax winced, “But… Christ if it isn’t a good plan.” “Do you have the spell to do it?” Alex asked hopefully, his mind now dead-set on this plan, “Tell me you can take me back in time.” “You know I do,” Dax said, standing up, “I can even do you one better.” //// In a blinding explosion of magical energy, Alex found himself inside of the barracks in Ponyville, right next to his locker in the change room. “Why are we back here?” Alex asked, unlocking his slot, “All I have in here is my armor.” ”Wouldn’t it be more fun to surprise her in this?” Alex thought about it, and had to admit that it would be fun to reveal himself as the armored pony once again. He did love the dramatics of it all. “You win,” Alex smirked, as he grabbed the suit, threw it on the floor, and placed his hooves in their slots, before cast a quick spell beginning the suit-up process. The metal clanked its way up each of his legs, and made its way to his midsection, which was promptly covered itself. The process continued until the final pieces slid over his eyes, completely masking his identity from anypony that didn’t know him. Which, in the past, was everypony. ”God damn we’re cool in this shit.” “Really, really, really cool.” Alex nodded, walking over to the mirror and inspecting himself, “I’d bang me.” ”I wouldn’t” “Hey…” Alex said, noticing the strange hanging in the air, “Isn’t everypony missing us at the stadium?” ”Things have been slowed down a ton. Think… a month to one second.” “So…” Alex began. ”They won’t even notice us gone.” “Good.” Alex said, “The last thing I need is to miss that ceremony.” “You sure do care a lot about seeing her.” “You know.” Alex said simply, “If I’m strong, maybe it’ll help us both move on.” ”And moving on for you, is going back in time and having your way with her in the past, and then erasing her memory?” “It was your plan too,” Alex shook his head, “We’ll worry about the repercussions when the time comes.” ”You’re the boss.” “Dang flipping right I am.” Once again, Alex was surrounded by the blinding light that came with magic of this caliber, and watched in awe as the entire world rewound in front of him, as a pace that was truly staggering. He watched both him and Dash, among others, come in to the change room several times, before the building was promptly deconstructed around him, and he was left standing in a field with the sun and moon circling through the sky fifty times a second, as the ground was filled with snow, then golden foliage, then green once again, as the spell slowed, until it finally stopped, just after winter had ended more than a year ago. “And finally…” Alex said, holding his breath, as his body vanished from Ponyville. //// Author's Note Alrighty, next chapter will be longer. But might take a little bit. You know... Destiny and everything.
If this is the End, It's the best Place I've ever been.//// If this is the End, It’s the Best Place I’ve ever been //// Alex felt a rush of energy pass though his body as he reappeared in a mangled and destroyed town. One that had obviously been flattened by a massive amount of water recently. In fact, it was the place Alex had first come in to contact with Rainbow Dash after he had been taken hold of by the Changelings. They had dressed him in their high-tech armor, and sent him to stop her from obtaining the Esuna-spell, that was capable of freeing Alpha from his stone imprisonment. He had been tasked with this mission to destroy the dam, and destroy the town. However, something inside of him, he liked to think it was his amazing heart, forced him to stop and instead damage the dam first. It had been enough to trigger a large scale exodus from the town, and when all was said and done, the only ponies that had been in danger, he saved. So, for what it was, Alex had been very happy with the turnout of the mission, despite his stealing from Dash, and deeply hurting her feelings in the process. It was something that always irked him, how he had done that to her. It was one of the factors that drove her in to the arms of speed. Something that he would never be able to forgive himself for. But, according to his own surveillance at the time, Dash had vanished for hours after the failure of her mission, and wasn’t seen by anypony until the official cleanup was called for, and she began that process. So, deciding that this would be the best time to find her, Alex brought himself here. And, as long as he was careful, he wouldn’t be seen by anypony. “Hey mister!” Alex almost jumped out of his golden armor as a very young earth-pony boy walked up behind him and tapped the metal on his side. “Geez, kid!” Alex said, feeling like a complete idiot for being exposed like this, “What do you want?” “My house got washed away… and I was wondering if you could help me find my sister’s doll!” He explained, simply melting Alex’s chocolaty heart with his plea, “She’s real sad right now, and I think this would cheer her up!” “Hmm…” Alex said, tapping his chin, “Where was your house?” Around them was nothing but rubble, and Alex knew that he would have no luck finding the missing item in the mess. So, if he was going to do a little more time traveling, what would be the damage? “You’re standing right on it!” He said happily, “I think you’re even standing in my—well, what was my room.” Alex looked around his feet, and was oddly surprised to see a lack of destruction immediately around him. It was as if the entire house had been picked up by the rush of water, and carried away to be destroyed somewhere else. “You’re taking all of this pretty well,” Alex observed, knowing that he would have been a crying mess at that kid’s age if something like this had happened to him, “Why aren’t you crying?” “Well, I was… But my dad told me that I needed to be strong for my mom and my sister! And that they’d feel better if I helped keep them strong,” He explained, proud that somepony was impressed with his grown-up attitude. “Was there anything you wanted from your room?” Alex asked, feeling that the kid deserved something for himself too. “Well, actually,” The child began, “I’d rather you got my mom’s book of photos. They’re all she has left of my grandma.” “Jesus kid…” Alex winced, shocked that he was getting more upset than this rock of a child, “That’s—“ “Oh! And my dad’s engagement ring for my mom!” He spoke up instantly, “She always kept it away so it wouldn’t get scratched, or worn! My dad saved for years, while working three jobs to support her, because she broke her leg and couldn’t work for a long time!” “Okay, I get it!” Alex bellowed, as he exploded in a bright light, vanishing from sight, leaving the boy bewildered. Only a moment later, another, massively stronger light appeared in front of him, as his entire house was fazed in to existence. His jaw was only just able to hit the ground when Alex stepped out, and give the kid the best no-thumbs thumbs-up he could. “I got it just before the water washed it away,” Alex said, walking past the kid, “Take care of your mom and sister.” Before the boy could thank him, Alex was gone. Well, he wasn’t really gone. He just cast an invisibility spell. But he thought it looked way cooler to just vanish. “Thanks mister!” The boy shouted over the howling wind, “I’ll go tell my mom and dad!” With that, Alex watched the kid run off to find his family. Now, Alex just needed to find his. //// Stealthily, Alex moved his way through the town, making sure to not draw attention to his invisible self, as he looked for Rainbow Dash. It was a much harder task than he had anticipated it to be. He must have been over the destroyed town five or six times, and had seen nothing of her. He had seen the royal guard, the various displaced families that he forced himself to not help, and even a few aid workers. But, no Rainbow Dash. Where could she have possibly gone? Alex wondered to himself. She came for the spell that would have freed him from his stone imprisonment, but, it had been stolen away from her. So… if she were anywhere, she would be looking for another copy of the spell, in a place he had not yet checked. The library. Zapping himself to that location, Alex appeared on a large cliff, looking down on the rubble of what once was the largest library in the region. But, now, it was nothing more than a mass of wood and paper. It was the kind of thing that would take years off of Twilight’s life… Good thing he wasn’t Twilight. After a few moments of scanning, Alex finally made contact with a cyan rump that was sticking in the air, as the owner of said rump dug through piles of soaked wood, pulling out every book she could find, despite all of them being completely waterlogged. It broke Alex’s heart to see her trying so hard in vain. She had been so close to a victory, only to have it be snatched away, by him. Silently teleporting himself closer, and taking care to keep himself invisible, Alex winced at the sight he was presented with on the mare. Her arms were ripped apart from digging through the soaking wet rubble. She was bleeding enough to make Alex truly uncomfortable, and she wasn’t showing any signs of slowing down. On top of that, her mane was slicked against her coat with mud, and her eyes were puffy. She had been crying. Seeing all of this made Alex realize just how much she had put in to looking for him when he was turned to stone. She was never the type to take loss well, whether it be a race, or a loved one. And here she was, at her core, still being Rainbow Dash. Refusing to give in. Kicking the world in the face, even though she was just a speck on its surface. She would fight until she died, or she won. Alex was pulled from his train of thought as Dash pulled her arms out of the rubble, and smashed them on a massive plank in front of her, covering it in her blood. “This isn’t fair!” She shouted, her tears once again running down her cheeks, “I was so-- close!” She hit the plank of wood again, smashing it in half and sending splinters flying around her. Collapsing, she rolled on to her back and wrapped her dirty, and matted wings around her body, only leaving her face exposed to the sky, as she pressed her damaged hooves to her face and sobbed. “Oh Dash…” Alex muttered, having no control over himself at that point. “W-who’s there?!” She said, sitting up, fearing that one of her subordinates would see her out of uniform, and in this hysterical state. But, there was nopony. She was alone. “Who…?” She said again, before her breathing became short, and painful once again, as she bit her lip to keep herself quiet. Dropping her head once again, she inspected her hooves, and exhaled weakly, regretting her lack of control. She was going to have to see a doctor about this. It was the kind of thing that was prone to get infected, and would likely lead to getting her taken off of work for a while. And that was something she simply couldn’t risk. Shakily, she stood up on her legs, and spread her wings. She wouldn’t be able to walk in this condition, and was thankful to be a pegasi at this moment more than anything else. Spreading her wings, she gave a few powerful flaps, and gained an initial burst of movement, but, the coat of mud on her wings made it impossible to keep altitude, and after only a few seconds of flight, she fell to the ground, throwing her already mangled arms out in front of herself, deciding that two broken legs was better than slamming her head in to a pile of destroyed building. Closing her eyes, she waited for the impact of the ground to hit her… But, by some grace of Celestia, it never happened. She was kept suspended in the air. Slowly opening one eye, she realized that she was being held in a magical field. Snapping them both open, she came face to face with the same armored pony that had done this to her. The same guy who had taken her spell away, and had put her in this terrible position. “You!” She shouted, fighting frantically to break out of the spell so she could show him what she does to ponies that keep her from her goals, “You son of a bitch! Let me go so I can kick your ass!” Alex actually felt happy to see her so fired up, so soon after she had been breaking down. “Let me heal your wounds,” Alex said in a deep voice, as his levitation spell turned in to a healing spell, quickly pulling out more splinters than he could count, so the flesh would be able to heal without wood in the way, “You need to calm down.” “Calm down!?” She shouted, secretly happy to have the burning pain gone from her arm, “You took away almost a year of work! A-and you took away something much more important than that with it!” Alex hated this. He needed her to be on his side again. “I’m going to put you down, but you can’t attack me, okay?” Alex asked. Dash responded by trying to attack him, despite the magic preventing her. “Okay, one more time!” Alex said, shaking her up and down a few times, eliciting a deep growl from the blue girl, “Will we behave?” She scowled as she reluctantly nodded. “Thank you.” Alex said, placing her down on the ground, and carefully stepping back, as to avoid her wrath, should she change her mind. “Why are you here?” She asked, fighting every urge to put him in his place, “Have you come to give me the spell?” “I think you and I should go somewhere more… private.” Alex said, not wanting anypony to see him out of his armor, besides her. “What? Do you plan on exchanging the spell for sex?” She scoffed, “I’ll find another spell, thanks.” That one hurt. “No… It’s nothing like that.” Alex shook his head, exhaling and stepping toward her once again, “There is something I need to tell you about Alex.” Dash went wide-eyed. How did he know about that? Alex’s turning to stone wasn’t exactly news in Equestria… But, obviously, it had gotten around somewhat. “What about him?” Dash asked, giving this mysterious golden pony a look over, “Tell me, and then I’ll decide if I’ll go with you.” “Please?” Alex asked, growing nervous that he’d be spotted, and mess up the future somehow, “I don’t have much time.” “Where are you going to take us?” Dash asked, looking around the completely destroyed town and frowning, “It’s not like we have anywhere to go.” Walking to within an inch of her, Alex slowly raised a hoof to her cheek and stroked down it softly, earning a hard look from her, as she clearly disapproved. “I’ll take care of that.” //// The next thing Dash knew, she was standing in her living room, back in Ponyville. “H-how do you know where I live?!” She demanded, backing away from his proximity, as she darted her gaze around the room, “Have you been spying on me?” “Dash, you brought me here,” Alex said, his voice no longer masked, “This was my home for months.” Narrowing her gaze, she took a step toward him. She knew that voice anywhere. “Dash, it’s me.” Deciding that the retraction of the helmet would take too long, Alex undid two clasps on the base of his neck, and pulled the helmet off of his head. Dash gasped. His mane was matted down with sweat, he had massive bags under his eyes, and he was smiling the same way he had the last time she spoke to him. “Oh my god…” She muttered, closing the distance between them, and instantly inspecting his face, by pulling on his cheeks, and separating his lips, to see inside his mouth, as if it could tell her something, “You even have the scar from a thousand years ago…” Alex instinctively rubbed his cheek, where his element had pierced his cheek after the battle between Nightmare Moon and Princess Celestia. “Only one pony has this face, Dash,” Alex smiled brightly, his own heart racing at seeing this mare once again, “And I’ve missed you so much.” Wasting no more time, Alex pressed his lips to hers, and shared in a kiss that he had been without for weeks. One that he was sure he’d never feel again. It was amazing, but… truly harrowing. This experience was gone from his life. All he was doing now, was exploring an echo of the past. One that he was going to enjoy every second of. Dash made no fight to separate the two of them. Even though she had an endless list of questions in her mind, they could wait for this glorious moment to end. She had spent so many hours ordering her soldiers around, that she had almost forgotten what it felt like to be taken over. The way he smoothly pushed toward her, forcing her to lose just an inch of ground to him… it was exhilarating. She’d boss him around for the rest of their lives. But, as long as he was willing to take charge over her in these situations, she would be more than satisfied. Finally pulling back from her mouth, Alex couldn’t help but smile at the bewildered face she made, as her mouth still hung open an inch. “I’ve missed you, Colors.” Alex said, fighting back the urge to cry in front of her. “I’ve missed you more.” She said quietly, “Where- or, how did you get out of the stone? And what are you wearing?” “That’s a complicated question to answer,” Alex said, sitting down on her couch, “There’s a lot to explain, and I don’t think you’ll exactly like the answers I give you.” “Alex, you’re home.” She said, joining him in sitting, as she leaned her head on his shoulder, “I don’t give a crap how you did it.” Alex wasn’t sure if he should tell her the truth, or make up some kind of lie. It wouldn’t matter in the end either way, as he was going to erase her memories. She would be a blank slate in a few hours no matter what. On one side, he could tell her everything. That he’s from the future, and that she had broken his heart to pieces, sending him in to such a terrible state, that he went back in time, just so he could feel her touch before she lapsed in to Speed. He could tell her that this was going to be his final moment with her… but, wouldn’t that just make this trip a pity party? On the other hoof, Alex could tell her that he was free, that they were going to be together forever, and that he wanted her to marry him. She could enjoy every moment of this time with him, and then wake up in base camp in a few hours, with no recollection of any of it. “Alex?” Dash asked, worried at his silence, “Are you okay?” After all this thought, all he truly wanted from her, was pity. He wanted nothing more than for her to apologize. He wanted to be able to accept that apology, and move on with life with her next to him. “I’m not… I’m from the future, Dash.” Alex said, moving his gaze to the floor, afraid of what she might say. “The future?” Dash asked, completely thrown off balance by his statement, “W-what do you mean? Why would you come back in time to steal my spell?” Alex wasn’t sure what she meant for a moment, before he realized that she was confusing him, with the changeling controlled version of himself that she had just encountered. “Oh, no,” Alex shook his head quickly, “The one who took your spell is me, but it’s me from this time. Right now, I’m not trapped in stone anymore. I’ve been replaced with the changeling we met at Haven Station.” Dash rubbed her forehead, only being pushed further and further away from making sense of all of this. “I didn’t come back to explain the situation you were in, Dash,” Alex said, reassuringly smiling to her. “Well, why did you come back then?” She asked, deciding to move past the insanity of his story, and get to the meat of the issue. “I- well, I came to see you.” Alex said quickly, and very unconvincingly, “I figured you were lonely back here… so I came to see you.” “Alex, that is the worst lie you’ve ever told me,” Dash said, her heart jumping at how natural their interaction still was, “You may have been gone for a year… but I know you.” Alex laughed, while readjusting himself to have her rest her head on his shoulder. “I’m lucky to have somepony that knows me so well,” Alex said, hiding his real feelings behind the euphoria she had also set in him. “So… if you’re from the future, are you going back?” She asked, holding her breath, praying for some kind of ‘no’ from him, “Like, how long do I get to spend this time with you?” “A few hours, and I have to go,” Alex said sadly, sharing her emotion in that sense, “I need to see you in the future.” “I hope I’m not jealous about you hitting on past me!” Dash giggled, missing the grim look that Alex let slip, “Actually, I think I’d be okay with it. I mean, in the future, I must know how lonely I was…” Alex looked at the clock, and felt his heart sink at just how fast time was passing them by. He had already lost almost an hour of the four he had budgeted for himself. He losing what little time was left for the two of them. Of course, this trip truly had nothing to do with sex. At this point, he was overwhelmed by nothing more than her presence. He could sit next to her for the rest of their time together, and he would be just as fulfilled. Sitting herself up from his shoulder, Dash winced as her muddy hair stuck to him. “I… think I need to take a shower,” Dash mumbled, looking over her truly filthy body, “Digging around in that rubble did a number on me.” “Oh,” Alex said, trying to hide his disappointment, “Well, I don’t have long, so could you try to be quick?” “You aren’t going to join me?” Dash asked, raising an eyebrow as she got herself off of the couch, and looked at his stunned expression. “Oh. Are you sure?” Alex asked, as Dash gave him the most dumbfounded look. Stepping toward him, she whispered in his ear, “Alex. I’m in heat. It’s happening here, or the shower.” ”Holy shit dude. I’ve missed this so much. So so so so so much.” //// Two hours later //// It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that they ‘spent’ the afternoon together. The two had truly let out all of their frustrations in the hours past, and had finally calmed down to the point that they were doing nothing more than holding one another in her bed. It was one of the best moments in either of their lives. “How much longer do we have?” Dash asked in to his chest, not daring look at the clock. Alex opened his eye, and glanced at the wall mounted clock. “An hour.” Alex sighed, his voice cracking slightly at the terrible truth, “Can we just… stay like this? “Of course, Spot.” She said softly, leaning forward and kissing him softly on the nose. Alex tightened his grip on her, and pulled her directly in to him. Her warmth was something he’d never forget. Not for the rest of his lonely life, would he forget this moment. The moment where he said goodbye to Rainbow Dash for the final time. It was getting to be too much for him. The bliss of her presence wasn’t able to trump the deepening sadness in his core. He was even starting to quiver slightly, and Dash was picking up on it. After a few moments, it had started to raise an important question in her mind. From Alex’s passing remarks of herself…well, her future self. It didn’t sound like that version of her, had any idea that Alex had come back. Why would that be? But, more importantly, should she bring it up, considering the insignificant amount of time he had remaining? “When was the first time you realized you were interested in me?” Alex asked, catching her off guard with the odd question. Dash opened her mouth to reply, but caught herself, as she wasn’t entirely sure what the answer was. “Because the more I think about it, for me, it was as soon as I forgot your name,” Alex said, separating from her enough to look down and make eye contact with her, “My first night in Equestria.” “You were in to horses that quick?” Dash asked coyly, smirking at him, “Weirdo.” “The personality.” Alex smiled, “Where’s the fun in a girlfriend if she doesn’t kick your ass a little bit?” “I agree with that one,” She laughed, “You may act tough, and always be the one saving me… But you and I both know who the real boss is.” “No arguments,” Alex said, reaching forward to kiss her quickly, as he pressed his question once again, “So? When did you first know that you liked me?” Dash had never really considered the question. She had thought Alex was cute from the moment he found them in the Everfree forest during their battle with Nightmare Moon. But, what was the first moment that she had considered him boyfriend material? “Was it on the hillside?” Alex asked, remembering the place that they had originally reconciled their differences, and made friends, “The first time we had a civil conversation?” “No.” Dash shook her head, when the moment finally came to her, “It was when you covered my house in garbage, to be honest.” Alex narrowed his gaze to her. “Are you joking right now?” He asked carefully, half-worried that she might smack him over the incident once again, as she had then. “When you put yourself in front of that cart, and saved Big Mac from… well, whatever would have happened, I saw what kind of guy you were.” She smiled, shrugging and biting her lip a little, “Is that good enough?” “But, you were furious!” Alex laughed, “I didn’t think there was a positive thought in your mind for weeks after that!” “Well, I was mad.” Dash agreed, “But once it wore off, I realized that I would have done the same thing.” “But you still wouldn’t talk to me?” Alex asked, remembering that they hadn’t made up for a short period after that. “I had my pride, Alex,” Dash explained, shaking her head at the foolish attitude she had just two years ago, “I know better now. The next guy who covers me in garbage will be forgiven immediately.” The two had a laugh, but quickly degenerated to silence once again. Alex was enjoying every second of his time, and Dash was starting to pick up on it to the point that it was bothering her. “So… how does it go when you finally come back to us?” Dash asked carefully, hoping not to elicit a negative response for her prying, “Is there a big romantic exchange between us? “Well, there is one between you and that Alpha guy from Haven Station.” Alex said, as she recoiled. “Does he take advantage of me while in your form?!” She asked instantly, hating every little bit of that possibility, “Does he hurt any of us?” “Oh, no!” Alex retracted quickly, “He actually lives with Twilight now…” Dash was lost at first, but after recalling the exchange between Alex and Alpha before, he seemed like he at least had a shred of honor in him, as he released Dash before she was taken to the Changeling hive. “Is he the same tough-guy?” Dash asked, feeling a little ashamed that she was gossiping at a time like this. “No.” Alex said somewhat grimly, recalling the way he was treated at the hooves of the Queen, “When he failed that mission at Haven Station, he was taken by the queen, and broken… He’s a much more docile pony now. “That sounds terrible.” Dash said, feeling pity for the stallion who once tried to enslave all of her friends. “I think he and Twilight are gonna hook up pretty quick too,” Alex whispered, as if somepony could hear them, “They have a lot more in common than I realized.” “Well, you don’t need common ground to have a relationship,” Dash said quickly, as a few examples came to her mind, “Spike and Rarity, for example.” “They have plenty in common,” Alex replied, “They both really love Rarity.” Dash let out a loud, but short ‘Ha’ that she had tried to hide, resulting in an awkward snort. Which, in turn, led to her and Alex laughing over that instead. Neither of them were even truly sure why they were laughing at something like this. But, it just kept coming out of them. He would feed off her reaction, and she would do the same. It was a short reprieve from the loneliness they were so used to. When the two finally calmed down, Dash decided to move the conversation in the same direction. “Since you vanished, I always find myself thinking back to my days at the Wonderbolt Training Center,” Dash said, unable to hide her smile at the fond memory, “Did I ever tell you how happy I was when you fell out of the sky that day?” “You told me.” Alex said, rubbing her cheek with his hoof, “It was the best, and worst days of my life, while I was trying to get you out of there.” “Worst?” Dash asked, recoiling slightly and giving him a dangerous look. “Well, I was told I’d never see you again, I was thrown around, beaten up, kidnapped, and dropped out of a blimp.” Alex listed, as Dash started to look satisfied with his answer, “But, it was the best day of my life, when I half-assed my flying ability, and wound up crashing in to you.” “Just let me say, when you called me Rainbow Dash for the first time on that field, I would have jumped your bones right there.” She chuckled, “I was so happy to have you back.” “Like now?” Alex asked. “You have no idea,” She said, her voice cracking slightly, “I don’t think I could ever emphasize how hard this past year has been.” “It’s terrible for me too, Dash,” Alex said, sighing, “Stealing all of your victories from you, breaking your heart again, and again.” “You don’t have any choice,” Dash said, “So I forgive you.” The two reminisced for what seemed like hours, as they went over every romantic moment, every adventure, and even the times they wanted to kill each other. Every second that they had spent together in the past was precious to them. Every interaction was bliss. They equally longed for the days of the past, but they both knew they were gone. The only difference between them, was that one was hopeful for the future, while the other was in a terrible state of fear over it. After they had finished their reminiscence, they had fallen in to a sort of silence. Dash was just enjoying his warmth. Alex was fretting, and she could tell. Seeing the odd expression plaguing his face, Dash decided to strike conversation up once again, not wanting to waste another moment in silence with him. “You know, sometimes I look at myself in the mirror, and I wonder just how I got to where I am now,” Dash said, wondering how many time she had wanted to talk about this with anypony, “I was the lazy weathergirl of Ponyville… and now, technically, I have control over half of the Canterlot guard.” “It’s funny, the things you do for the ones you love,” Alex smiled, as she blushed, “I mean, I froze myself in stone for a year.” “Now, I’m running around all over the world, looking for a miracle spell that will break you out,” Dash sighed, “And maybe it’s just me, but I kinda get offended when somepony tells me to slow down… don’t they get that I’m trying to save you?” “Well, you said it yourself, Colors,” Alex smiled, “You were the lazy pony. The jump from that, to the work-crazed mare is a big one. They don’t want you to burn yourself out.” “Well… do I?” Dash asked hopefully, “I mean, I know I rescue you, but when I was digging through the rubble of the library, I felt like I was going to break down.” “You spend every minute of the next two years looking for me,” Alex half-lied, “You’ll come close to a cure three of four more times before you beat me—well, the armored me. And in all that time… you don’t falter once.” Dash looked at him carefully. There was something behind those words. His eyes were telling her that something was off. “What’s wrong?” She asked, catching him off guard in a bad way, “I’m not blind Alex. Over the last few hours, every time we bring up the future, or you and I… You get this look in your eye. You look like somepony got murdered.” Alex didn’t answer her. He didn’t want his last moments with her, to be this conversation. “You’re doing it again!” She said, looking around, before making eye contact with him again, “Celestia! I mean, if you don’t tell me, I’m going to be going crazy over the next two years, while I wait for you to explain this shitty future to me!” Alex visibly frowned this time. “Wait…” She stopped, her gaze falling from his eyes, and she tried to work out another problem in her head, “In two years, future me knows that you come back here, right? Future me would know that you come back to here, because she’d remember it happening to her, wouldn’t she?” Alex exhaled, as he slowly shook his head ‘no.’ “Why not?” Dash asked, seeing the sad look still riddling his features, “And why are you acting so sad? I don’t—Wait. I’m not dead, am I? Alex, do I die? And that’s why you came back to see me?” Alex laughed softly at her worry, his expression still hard as stone, “No, Dash. You don’t die.” Exhaling in relief, she moved on in her questioning, “So what then? Because you look terrible! Like, what? Did I fuck some other guy or something?” Dash laughed as she asked the question, but Alex seized up when he heard it. And she noticed. She gave him a serious look, as she closed her mouth. The look exchanged between them was truly terrible, as she finally reached where he was at. “A-Alex… What do I do?” She asked, her breathing now shallow, and panicked. He didn’t answer her, as he began gathering magic in his horn. “Alex!” She shouted, seeing him begin casting a spell, “Stop! You—You need to answer me!” “I’m so sorry, Rainbow Dash.” He said softly, leaning toward her. “No! You need to stop!” She shouted, backing away from him on the bed, until she was able to step on to the ground, “I’m not stupid! You’re going to erase my memory!” Alex didn’t respond, as he climbed out of the bed himself. “You need to hear me out!” Dash shouted, as he continued walking toward her, “Please!” Alex stopped, it killed him, but he would let her speak her mind. “Alex, I need to remember this conversation!” She said desperately, her breathing ragged, and her eyes watering, “I-If I’m going to do something stupid, and screw up our relationship, I need to know! So I can stop it from happening!” “It doesn’t work that way, Dash,” Alex said sadly, “It’d rip the world apart if you did it.” “B-but… H-how could I ever do something like that to you?” She asked, biting her lip, “I couldn't imagine myself with anypony else, ever!” “I couldn’t picture it either,” Alex coughed, his own eyes tearing up, “And I don’t know what I’m going to do without you, Dash.” She didn’t respond, as she raised a hoof to her eye, and caught the first tears to make their way down her cheeks. “That’s why I did this,” Alex managed, his throat closing up itself, as he approached her, “One final night, with the mare who could never hurt me.” Dash was reduced to a quivering pile, collapsed on the floor, as Alex reached her, and knelt down himself. “I love you more than anything in this world, Dash.” Alex said softly to her, bumping the side of his head against hers, “And right now, this moment with you… Will be the happiest moment in my life. Being next to the mare I love, before she could ever hurt me.” Looking up from the floor, she gained enough control over herself to ask him one final question. “When do I do it?” She asked, knowing it didn’t matter if she knew. “In a few hours.” Alex answered softly, as her face went from sad, to horrified, “You’re going to help set up a bunch of temporary houses for the ponies who lost their homes to the flood. You’re going to drink a little too much… and with that on top of your heat, you’ll give in to him.” With surprising clarity, and drive, Dash spoke up once again. “No.” She shook her head, looking in to his eyes, “I’m not going to do it.” “You don’t have much say in the matter, Dash,” Alex said, appreciating the effort she was making, “It happens. History says it happens.” She shook her head determinedly. “Time isn’t my boss, Alex.” He wished that he could trust her. He wished that she could win this battle. “I love you, Colors,” Alex said, his voice cracking, as he readied the spell once again. “When you get home, Alex,” Dash said, running a hoof down his cheek, “We’ll be together again. I promise.” She leaned in, and kissed him. And then, the afternoon was forgotten. Alex had never come home, and Dash had collapsed in the ruins of the library, as far as she could remember. It killed Alex to see her be so sure of herself. But, it was just the mare she was. ...Funny thing though, Dash was a stubborn mare. Maybe even more so than Alex knew.
Treachery//// Treachery //// “Are you sure you want to see this?” “It’s the end of an era, Dax,” Alex mumbled from his hidden location, just a short distance away from where Rainbow Dash was mingling with a few of the guys from town, as she liberally drank what he assumed was hard cider, “Maybe this’ll be the closure I need.” “That’s not closure, Alex. That’s torture.” “Maybe.” He sighed, falling silent as he continued watching his girlfriend. She had moved from place to place during the party, talking to various people, and Alex held his breath every time she was approached, ready to meet the face of the man who ruined his life. ”Do not kill him!” Alex narrowed his eyes, both he and Dax knew that killing this guy wasn’t an option, and wouldn’t be attempted under any circumstance. “Why does she keep scratching her leg?” “Are you still on about that?” Alex groaned, rolling his eyes at the trivial complaints of his alter ego, “I may have dropped her in the library rubble a little too hard or something. Gave her a splinter.” “Because she is really going at it” “Just leave it,” Alex shook his head, as he moved a little closer to the tree line, “Is that the guy?” “That guy’s orange, Dash said he looked a lot like you.” “Yeah… And I guess she would know, wouldn’t she?” Alex sighed, sitting down and looking at the ground. “Look, I say we should just go home. We know what happens, and we know there’s no fixing it “Don’t tell me what to do.” Alex sighed, “You’re just as curious as me. Literally.” ”Yeah, but I’m sick of suffering. The sooner we go home, the sooner we move on with our lives.” “You talk about us like we’re two separate people.” Alex said, “I will move on with my life.” ”Whatever you say, champ.” Alex looked from his place of wallowing, and felt his heart race as he lost contact with Dash. She had gone off someplace else… and it was right in line with her first time with this guy. Should he leave it? Go home now and finally, for the first time in weeks, give up? “I’m going to follow her,” Alex said, standing up and casting a spell that would make him a little less noticeable to the ponies he would pass. “What are you hoping to find, huh? Do you think you’re going to see her in that bedroom, telling him that she’s taken, and that she’s not interested? That’s not how it goes! You’re going to follow her, you’re going to see Speed and her get it on, and worst of all! You’re dragging me along, so I have to have my heart break over it too! Just. Go. Home.” “How did you end up in my head anyway?” Alex asked, as he walked toward the street he had just seen her standing by, “I thought the two of us merged at Haven Station.” Dax didn’t answer him. “What? You’re shy all of the sudden?” Alex scoffed, running as quickly as he could, cross-checking the streets for any sign of her as he ran, “I never did piece together just how you weaseled your way back in to my mind a few weeks ago.” “We both know the answer to that question, Alex.” “Do we?” Alex asked, continuing his pursuit, “I don’t think we do!” ”Don’t make me answer it for you! You’re already losing your mind over Dash.” “Out with it!” ”No!” “Yes!” ”NO!” “Just friggin’ do it!” ”Jesus, I never came back, okay?” “What are you—“ “You made me up, Alex! I only came back, because you wanted somepony to talk to!” “What? No!” Alex said, stopping in the street, determined to have this conversation first, “When I was a human, you sobered me up so I didn’t bang that chick! And you used the spells that brought me back in time!” “Quit playing stupid! You were scared, and alone, so you decided to have company from the one person who knew you best. Dax. You cast all of those spells yourself, you chose not to fuck that chick. But guess what! This voice that you’re hearing right now, is just you, Alex. You’re talking to yourself. “That’s not…” Alex began, before stopping dead, “Tell me that’s not true.” “You needed somepony to tell you what you were doing wrong, and what the right choices were.” “But… I ignored you all the time.” Alex mumbled, “Why would I make all this up?” “You needed a friend, Alex. But now it’s time for both of us to move on with our lives.” “Don’t say that,” Alex shook his head, “I can’t give up on her like this. Not yet.” There was no response for him. “Dax? …Dax!” Alex shouted, as he was once again, left without a reply, “Fuck!” Levitating a massive piece of rubble from the street, Alex was about to throw it against a light post, when he caught a glimpse of a rainbow tail, entering a house at the end of the road, about a minute away from him. “Sorry, Dax.” Alex said, breathing deeply, “I know you wanted to go home… but that’s not why I came here.” Alex walked slowly down the road, as he headed for the temporary barracks that had been laid down for Dash to work from. Glancing at clock that still hung from above a shop door, Alex nodded to himself. This was it. He would be receiving intel at any moment from his changeling scouts that Dash was doing this. And, he’d do nothing about it. Alex opened the door. //// Two years later //// “Jesus Christ!” Alex shouted, jolting up from his place on the floor, his eyes running with tears as looked around the change room, “I-is anypony still here?” “Alex!” Pinkie shouted, jumping up from her place on one of the many benches, “You’re awake!” “W-what happened? Where is everypony?” Alex asked blinking rapidly, “I-I need… I have to…” Before he could get out another word, Alex ran to a nearby toilet stall and proceeded to throw up the contents of his stomach. “Are you okay?!” Pinkie asked, rushing to his side, as she carefully brushed his mane away from the toilet bowl, “Do I need to take you to the hospital?!” “I… ugh… I need to find Dash.” Alex said slowly, shaking his head, “I need to reverse a spell I cast on her.” “When did you cast a spell on her?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head, “Is it bad?” “It was about two years ago,” Alex explained, “I just erased a memory… And I’d like to try and put it back before she becomes a Wonderbolt.” “Well, the ceremony’s been going on for a little while now..,” Pinkie said, looking over her shoulder and listening to the loud cheers coming from down the hall of them, “It might be too late.” “What?!” Alex said quickly, stumbling to his feet and shaking his head, “I need to talk to her! Before everything is finished!” “You’re in no state to get yourself there!” Pinkie said worriedly, as she braced herself against him, to keep him from falling over. “Man… this time stuff is the worst,” Alex groaned, squinting one eye as he summoned enough concentration to pass a spell through his body, and calm his stomach, “Let’s go. I need to talk to her…” “Um… okay?” She said, recoiling back at his breath, “You might wanna eat a mint though.” Raising a hoof to his mouth, he exhaled and instantly inhaled. “Oh, gross,” He winced, levitating some conveniently placed mouth wash over and poured it in his mouth, whished it around, and spat it out in a sink, “That should be better.” “And now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for! I’d like you to all join me in welcoming our newest Wonderbolt-to-be, Rainbow Dash!” “Shit—“ Alex said, casting yet another spell, “I’ll just port myself out there. Can you make it to the stands yourself?” “Sure can!” She beamed, as his spell surrounded his body, “Don’t cry in front of everypony though! “God, I hope I don’t.” Alex said, just before he vanished from the room. //// Rainbow Dash glanced over her shoulder as she approached the podium, where she would finally fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a Wonderbolt for the second time, hoping to see Alex come running out the door to stop her. But, he did not. It was strange, the number of ponies that would show up just to see a small event like this. The stands were full, and they were all cheering louder than they had the last time she was in this position. “Rainbow Dash,” Spitfire said, joining her on the field as they walked toward the podium, “I’m happy to see that you finally came around.” “Well… I wouldn’t exactly say that I came around,” Dash sighed, not having the same level of enthusiasm that Spitfire had, “But I’m sure this will be a new chapter in my life…” “Are you okay?” Spitfire asked, as this was the first time she had seen her since the last time they stood in this stadium together, “You look like you’re going to be sick.” “I’m fine,” She said simply. Shrugging, Spitfire headed ahead, and stood on the podium. Reaching the small stairway up to the stage, Dash stopped, and looked up to the ponies in front of her. At the microphone, stood her old enemy Comet, who Dash had long since forgiven. Behind her, was Ramsley, their old friend. And around him, were various Wonderbolt’s, all of which were standing ready to welcome her in to their ranks. Looking over her shoulder one final time, she sighed, and reached her first leg up to step on the stage. “Oh shit!” A voice said from above her, as Alex appeared a few feet above her, and dropped right on to her body, sending the two rolling a few feet in opposite directions on the field. Alex and Dash both groaned as they each got situated, and stood up from their place on the ground. “Again, Alex?” She asked, grunting as she stretched out her back, “What is with you, and falling on me in this place?” “Sorry…” Alex answered, rubbing the back of his head, “But I did it for a good reason.” “Is this a joke…?” Comet asked, as Ramsley held back his laughter, “Did you come to steal her from me again?” Alex ignored Comet, as he walked toward Dash. “I owe you something, Rainbow Dash.” Alex said, walking toward her, and silently looking over her body, appreciating just how good she looked, considering the horrible circumstances, “Something I took away from you a couple of years ago.” Once again, his horn began to emit a blue light, as she felt a pit grow in her stomach. A part of her could remember that spell… and it scared her. As if the last time she had seen it, she was terrified. The blue energy started to expand from his horn toward Dash, where it did nothing more than surround her head, and then dissipate, its job complete. “What did you do?” Dash asked, not feeling any kind of change within herself. “Two years ago, you were digging in that destroyed library, looking for a spell to free me from stone,” Alex explained, as realization dawned on her face, “I came to see you.” Dash felt her air catch in her throat, the entire day came back to her. “After I passed out in the change room, I used a pretty powerful spell to send myself back in time,” Alex explained softly, as everypony in the stadium watched on in confusion, “I spent a final night with you, before… before all of this happened.” Dash’s eyes filled with tears as the massively memorable moment came back to her. Seeing him for the first time, the wild sex, the reminiscence of their past, and finally, the realization of why he had been there in the first place… She even remembered the promise she made him, to never betray him... But something was wrong. “After I spent that afternoon with you, I followed you to the barracks, and saw you with Speed.” Alex coughed, trying to hold his composure, “After that… I came back.” “Alex… W-wait. You need to stop talking for a second! Something isn’t right!” Dash said instantly, “Something’s wrong with… with my head! I can remember something—something else! And my leg is so itchy!” Alex gave her a weird look as she shook her head rapidly. “Dash, what’s wrong with you?” Alex asked, approaching her carefully, until she suddenly collapsed on the ground, convulsing, “C-Colors!” Laying on the ground, she wore an expression of pure agony, as her mid-section seized off the ground, and hung in that position for what seemed like a painfully long time. “Dash?!” Alex said again, as he was quickly surrounded by Spitfire, Comet, and Ramsley, “Dash! Answer me!” ”You son of a bitch!” Suddenly, everypony was thrown backward by an explosion of dark energy centering in Dash’s body, as her chest dropped back to the ground, after another moment, and she started to get herself back up off the ground. Alex was up in an instant, as he watched Dash stand herself back up, while this dark energy rippled off of her body. “Dash?” Alex asked carefully, as he stepped toward her. Opening her eyes, she revealed her glowing red eyes to Alex, and the audience behind her. “You ruined everything!” She shouted, flaring her glowing wings and beating them powerfully a few times, creating impossibly large gusts of winds that blew toward him, “She was almost broken!” Alex stood his ground against the mass of wind, as he recognized her symptoms instantly. “You’re her dark side…” Alex growled, furious that she would be intervening at a time like this, “Don’t do this right now! I’m just trying to say goodbye to you, Dash!” “My name isn’t Rainbow Dash.” She spat, “You should call me… Treachery.” “Look— we don’t need to do this right now!” Alex repeated, his heart racing, “I know you’re supposed to come out so she can face you, but—“ “Shut up!” She shouted, watching as ponies all around, including their friends, raced to Alex and Treachery, “We’re going to have a moment alone, Spot.” Her wings began to glow, as chaotic magic exploded from the tips of her feathers, surrounding them in a black bubble that locked them both inside, and kept the outside out. “Do you have any idea how much damage you’ve done?!” She shouted, not giving him time to adjust to their situation, “I almost broke her! She almost accepted me!” Trying his best to catch up with the situation, Alex gave her a puzzled look, “How on earth could she not accept you? She cheated on me eleven god-damn times! I saw it happen the first time! You should be plenty accepted right now!” “How dunce are you?” She growled, pacing in a small circle, “Do you still not understand?” “I’ve got no friggin’ clue!” Alex shouted at her. Treachery didn’t answer him, she just stood in place, furiously itching one of her legs, with the other one. “Okay okay, what the hell does her leg have to do with anything?” Alex asked, just shrugging and giving her a look of disbelief, “Because everypony keeps talking about it, and it seems pretty important!” “That day that you came back… two years ago!” She began, turning around, “She got the better of you.” “What…?” Alex asked, lost as to how that could be possible, “How could she have possibly ‘gotten the better of me?’” “When she- well, I realized that you were going to erase my memory… So, I jumped off the bed, right? To get away from your spell, right?” She asked, approaching him slowly, “Did you see what else I did?” Alex had no answer for her, as he gave her nothing more than a worried look. “I managed to grab a container of itching powder from my days of pranking that was in a small box, just under the bed.” She explained, as a bottle appeared in front of her with the word ‘itch’ drawn across the front, “And while you were getting yourself out of bed, I dug a terrible scratch in my leg with my hoof.” Alex winced, what had she done? “Then, I poured it all over the cut, thinking of nothing but cheating on you,” She continued, a dirty smirk on her face, “Celestia, did it burn… and it didn’t stop itching for weeks. It was pure genius.” “What?” Alex asked, having no clue where she was going, “How is that…? What?” “It all happened so fast. The idea, the execution… I have to say, she shocked me when she pulled it off. I mean, creating a mental association between cheating on you, and an itch on her leg. And not only did it burn the link in to her mind, it also wasn’t the kind of thing that’d be erased when you wiped her mind. Heh, I got a lot smarter when I started commanding a unit, Alex.” “She did all of that?” Alex asked in disbelief, his mouth hanging open, “That’s… that’s impossible! How could she ever—“ “Well, I got the idea from a Daring Do story,” Treachery explained, “She had a chunk of memory erased by an evil spirit in the center of a temple, but thanks to several injuries she had sustained on her way in, they sparked the memories she needed when she came across the traps that had hurt her once before, on her way out! She taught me that there's more than one way to remember something.” “That’s insane,” Alex said, shaking his head, “She’s just a fictional character!” “Nonfiction, actually,” She chuckled, before moving back to the topic at hoof, “Anyway, I took a chance on it, and apparently, it worked like a charm! Because every time I even think about hurting you, my leg gets so fucking itchy, that I almost rip the skin off!” “So, she had an itchy leg while she was banging Speed?” Alex asked, as rage continued to flow through him toward her dark side, “What the hell does that have to do with anything?” Treachery rolled her eyes. This was taking too long. She needed to wrap things up for him. “I’ll start from the beginning.” She exhaled. Rolling her head around her neck, and cracking it several times. “I manifested two years and nine months ago. You had been sealed in stone for just under three months, and Rainbow Dash was a very sad pony.” Treachery said, walking next to Alex, and brushing his cheek with her forehead, “So, enter me. I appear one night, while Dash is at home feeling sad for herself. And, being the reasonable pony I am, I lightly explained what I was, and what she needed to do. But, she apparently didn’t want to be told that she wasn’t loyal!” “Knowing her, she wouldn’t take it well.” Alex nodded, unsure if he should pull away from her affection. “So, she fought me, told me she’d never betray her friends, even if her life depended on it,” Treachery scoffed, stepping away from Alex, “So, I had no choice, but to take control of the little thing, and make her forget that I ever appeared.” “And lead her to have sex with Speed?” Alex asked, unsure if he’d be able to blame her anymore for what she had done to him, “I thought our chaotic sides were still essentially us! Dash would never do this herself! So how could you?” “Because she forced my hoof!” Treachery shouted, “This world is going to end if you’re short an unlocked Element of Harmony! I can’t take that chance!” Alex wanted to argue, but her priorities were in the right places… “So, when I started to influence her in the first few months, I tried to get her to just bang one guy. Get drunk, do her thing, and she’d accept me.” She continued, giving Alex a semi-upset look, “But guess how that ended!” “She wouldn’t do a thing.” Alex said, with a measure of pride. “She loved you so god damn much, that I couldn’t get her to look at anypony else, let alone have sex with them!” She continued, having paced around in the same small circle about a million times at this point, “So, when that Speed kid started hitting on her so much, I decided to put everything I had in it! Everything lined up for me. Her heat cycle, all the alcohol… but before the night could come for him to take us to bed, you showed up.” “I did.” Alex said softly, completely bewildered. “And when you did, whether you meant to or not, you reinforced her feelings for you so so so much, that when the time came, she told Speed to go home, and never touched him! Not once!” “But I saw the two of them!” Alex argued, mystified that she was trying to convince him otherwise, “They were in bed, together!” “You only saw what I wanted you to see. Chaotic magic is powerful! And I made sure that anypony who ever tried to look to the past for answers, would see her and Speed in bed.” She spat, walking up to him, “When she blew off the best chance I had at conquering her, I rewrote her memories, so she would be convinced that she cheated on you. Not once, but eleven times! But you know what really amazed me? Really, truly, amazed me?” “What?” Alex bit. “In her heart… Deep down, as far as you can dig, she never considered herself to be treacherous. Not. Even. Once. She is truly the embodiment of both loyalty, and stubbornness.” Treachery growled, “But nothing matters now anyway! Because she remembers everything that really happened with Speed!” “And what does she remember, Treachery?” Alex asked, hoping to Celestia that she was going to say what he thought, “What was she going to tell me?” “That she never cheated on you! It was all one huge lie that I orchestrated to save the world!” She shrieked, black magic flowing from her eyes and wings, “There! Are you happy?!” “You have no idea,” Alex laughed, as a massive smile grew on his face, “You have no. Fucking. Idea.” Her expression was a hard one to read. But looking at her so much, Alex found one last question floating in his head. “How does she remember kicking Speed out? How did she overcome you wiping that memory from her head?” Alex asked, before realizing that he had just cast a spell that would remove any kind of tampering to her brain, “Oh.” “Yes.” She growled. “Oh.” “Well, I’m going to be one hundred percent honest,” Alex laughed uncontrollably, “I’m not sorry I did it.” “I’m going to have to find another way to do this then, Alex.” She said, stepping back from him. “What did you have in mind, sweet heart?” Alex asked, unable to stop himself from smiling, despite the anger she was showing. “Well, why don’t we take a look at what we have?” Treachery asked, “We have a mare that needs to betray somepony… And I think breaking you in half would fill her right up with guilt for betraying you!” Dark tendrils shot from her wings and grabbed him by each leg, and his neck. “Any last words, Alex?” She asked, walking toward him, as the dark lines of energy shook him slightly. Alex didn’t answer. He just couldn’t himself unable to stop smiling. “What’s your problem?!” She demanded, as Alex tilted his head as much as the tendril would allow, “W-why are you so happy?” “You know why.” Alex said simply, drilling in to her with his insanely happy expression. The spell weakened for a moment, before the mare regained her composure, and tightened it once again. “You aren’t going to hurt me,” Alex said, never feeling the magic tighten to a deadly point, “Although I love the tentacles. We could do some freaky stuff with these.” “Just- just shut up!” She said, unable to let herself hurt him, but also unable to let him go, “I have to save the world! I... I have to...” “You need me in that mix, babe.” Alex said arrogantly, “Can’t save the world if you kill an element.” “B-but! I have to do something, here!” She shouted, “I’m not going to let you go until I figure out how to do it!” Alex sighed, she was serious. And he knew that he couldn’t break out of pure chaotic magic like this. That wasn’t his department anymore… If only— ”Okay! Fine! I’ll come back out! I know this magic like the back of my hoof!” Alex felt a presence he hadn’t felt in years. One that he hadn’t even felt while he was talking to himself over the past few days. ”I’ll take things from here, ya' pussy.” Alex closed his eyes, and was surrounded by the same dark energy as Treachery. “No!” She shouted, watching as Alex once again took the form of his own dark side. Opening his eyes once again, they glowed a bright green, truly telling her that she was no longer dealing with Alex. “Dax…” Treachery said, taking a step back, but taking care to not break her spell on him, “I-I thought you and Alex were the same pony now! You can’t just be popping up again!” “Well, he’s been so messed up in the head over the past few weeks, I’ve kinda been separated a little bit... If you ask me, I think he's a little insane!" He laughed, rolling his neck, cracking it several audible times, before he gave her a confident smirk. "But don’t you worry baby, I’ll be here as long as you need me.” Dax said, ripping the tendrils holding his arms and legs in place with no effort, and dropping to the ground, “I liked the choking, by the way. We should be writing all of this fetish stuff down.” Not answering, she threw several spells toward him, each one bouncing off his body, with no effect. Something she knew would happen, but it certainly didn’t stop her from trying. “You can’t beat paper with paper, sweetheart,” Dax said, backing Treachery to the edge of her barrier spell, “So stop trying.” “I need her to accept me!” Treachery shouted, “If she doesn’t now, she never will! Please don’t stop me!” “It’s cute that even after all the amazing stunts you’ve pulled off, with the itchy leg, and truly remembering not to cheat on me… That you’re still so naïve.” He laughed, as she gave him a truly horrific expression. “Excuse me?” She demanded, no longer backing up, as she approached him with fire in her eyes, “What did you call me?!” “The dark, almighty version of Rainbow Dash herself… You know, it almost makes sense to me,” He laughed, “Did you ever consider trying to go back and talk to her yourself? Or did you just keep trying, and trying to break her, but never, ever succeeding?” She opened her mouth, but didn’t answer. Closing the gap between them, Dax ran a hoof across her cheek, causing her to inhale slightly, just as she would have in any normal circumstance. “You’re still Rainbow Dash,” Dax whispered in her ear, as he suddenly, but lightly, bit the base of her right ear, causing her to almost lose her balance, “So go and talk to yourself. Because if she can hear me right now, then she knows it’s time… And if there are still any problems, I’ll make sure to do a little more than nibble.” Taking a step back, Dax gave her a serious look. “Do this for me,” He said, as his eyes started to flicker, and mix with the color blue, “Do this for us, Rainbow Dash.” Treachery gave them a bewildered expression, as she felt a pressure in her heart relieve. All that fighting Rainbow Dash had been doing on the inside, even when her mind was erased, and she had no idea Treachery existed… she still fought her with everything she had. But, that had suddenly changed. “Thank you.” She said, before pushing herself in to Dax, and sharing a kiss with the other chaotic entity. It was… exactly the same as it would have been if it were just Alex and Dash. Treachery fell silent for a second, as her eyes closed and her magic vanished from around her. “Take your time,” Alex said softly, sitting down in the grass, as Dash stood frozen. //// “I’m sorry,” Treachery said, feeling immeasurably guilty for having done this to herself, “I- I went about this the wrong way… I almost ruined everything we had with Alex.” “I know why you did it,” Dash returned softly, comforting herself with her soft tone, “I drove you to it. If I had just accepted you, none of this would have happened.” Treachery didn’t answer, as Dash approached her, and smiled reassuringly. “I betrayed him the moment I let my pride stand in front of you,” Dash continued, feeling truly stupid for being such a difficult case, “And because of that, well, I get it now.” “You finally accept me?” Treachery asked hopefully, feeling the depths of Dash’s heart open up. “Yes.” //// “How are we going to get them out?” Rarity asked, trying her best spell on the wall in an attempt to smash it open, “My new magic won’t even dent it!” “It looks like things might be getting better in there?” Twilight said, her eyes pressed against the barrier, trying to make out what the vague sillouettes were doing through the rather opaque surface, “What happened to her anyway?” “She just exploded in to a big ball of black!” Pinkie alliterated, jumping as high as she could to emphasize her statement, “Then she surrounded it all!” “Do you think it could be N-Nightmare M-M-Moon again?” Fluttershy stammered, praying that it wasn’t the case. “Dear, how many times must I explain this?” Rarity rolled her eyes, “That poor soul is gone from this world. She’s inside of me now. Fluttershy only let out a tiny, ‘eep.’ “Ah’reckon this wall could be kicked in if Big Mac were here!” Applejack sighed, still nursing her sore leg from a failed barrier bucking, “Tuh’day’s it’s lucky day is all!” “Wait!” Twilight said, “Look! There’s a light inside!” All of the friends instantly were pressing their faces to the spell, each one wanting to see what was happening, as soon as it happened. “What’s going on?” Fluttershy asked, hoping that there wouldn’t be something terrible coming out of the bubble. “I don’t know…” Twilight murmured, as the light began to expand from the center, and start to head outward, “But maybe we should back up a bit.” Fluttershy and Rarity took no time following suit, but Pinkie and Applejack were a little too engrossed in the activity to let go. “Uh, girls?” Twilight spoke up. “Shh, Twilight! The light is almost here!” Pinkie said excitedly, as Applejack only responded by waving her hoof. And, after a few more seconds, the two got their wish, as the light reached the wall, and promptly melted it, sending the two nosy parkers face first in to the ground. “You two,” Twilight shook her head, as she looked up from the ground, to see Alex and Dash in the middle of the circle, engaged in the very same kiss they had once shared on this field, almost four years ago. “Wait, what’s happinin’ now?” Applejack said, looking at them from the ground. “I do believe we’ve missed something…” Rarity said slowly. Pinkie, surprisingly, had nothing to say. She simply looked… hopeful. //// When the two separated from their embrace, Alex and Dash were one again face to face, both Treachery and Dax gone from sight. “I told you I wouldn’t do it, Alex.” Dash said, tears flowing freely down her cheeks, “I told you that we’d be back together when you got home.” “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you Dash…” Alex said, unsure if the wetness on his cheeks was from his own tears, or hers, “How could I ever believe that you’d do that to me? You must be so—“ “Shh.” She said, placing a hoof on his lips, “It doesn’t matter at all. All of this is behind us now.” Alex just nodded, as she removed her arm from his cheek. But, looking past her midsection, Alex got an idea… “So… You’ll never, ever cheat on me?” He asked. Dash instinctively twitched her leg. “Oh, god that’s is adorable.” Alex said, smiling uncontrollably, “How did I never notice you do that before?” “It got to a point that it didn’t stop itching…” She said sadly, before she began beaming once again, “I just got used to it.” “Well, if there’s one thing, out of all of this that I need to say to you…” Alex sighed happily, lightly touching his snout to hers, “Thank you for being so much stronger than me… even after I gave up on you, you kept fighting for me.” “You’d do the exact same,” Dash exhaled, nuzzling in to his neck for a moment, “And… It’s half my fault it happened in the first place.” “Shh.” Alex said simply, resting his chin on the top of her head, as she almost desperately cuddled his neck, “Let’s just worry about right here, right now.” For the first time since he had come back from his capture at the hooves of the Changelings, she had no weight on her chest. Speed was a distant, and happily forgotten moment in her life at this point. She was truly free to be with Alex once again, and wasn’t ever going to let something come between them. “I love you.” She whispered, “Even after I ran away, and you went back home… I never stopped. Not for a second.” “I’m glad.” Alex sighed happily, reluctantly pulling away from their embrace, “Because I have a very important question to ask you.” ////
Chet's Lil Chapter//// Chet’s Lil’ Chapter //// “Where did you say you got this, again?” Jackson, the town jeweler asked Chet, as he carefully examined the stone he had been handed a few minutes before. “Uh… I found it in the attic of my house,” Chet lied quickly, “I think it belonged to my dad.” Silence fell in the room for a few minutes as the gem was examined further. The only noses Jackson made were the odd ‘hmm,’ or ‘ahh.’ Chet was very curious as to what he was going to be told. Alex insisted that this would answer some questions about what he had been doing for the past year. So, all that Chet hoped, was that this wasn’t a blood diamond or something, because that would be a shitty thing to hear right before the weekend. “Well, to be perfectly honest,” Jackson said, removing his eye piece and giving Chet a truly dumbfounded expression, “This diamond shouldn’t exist.” “It’s a diamond?” Chet asked instantly, “How did all those colors get in there?” “That’s a very good question,” Jackson nodded, “It’s not impossible to find a diamond that’s yellow, or red… But this is truly incredible. Was it ever treated in some kind of lab?” “Like I said, it’s been in my attic for probably forty years,” Chet shrugged, pretty confident that Alex hadn’t given him this as a sign of him hanging out in a diamond coloring store. “Well, this is natural then,” Jackson exhaled, rolling the diamond along it’s circular edge as he watched the colors change, “But you don’t quite understand, Chet. This is bigger than any stone I’ve ever seen.” “What would a thing like that be worth?” Chet asked idly, not truly intending to sell it. “Well, just let me preface this explanation by saying that a few months ago, a one hundred and twenty carat diamond was sold at auction for a cool thirty five million dollars.” He said, as Chet felt his jaw hit the floor. “How much bigger is that than mine?” He asked, “Mine must at least be a hundred, right?” “This one would at to be at least, two hundred carats.” Jackson said frankly, “And the case of diamonds, price increases exponentially.” “I should have worn a diaper today,” Chet muttered, before shaking his head and returning to the question at hand, “So, what would that fetch?” “Anywhere from… fifty, to two hundred million I’d say,” He said, placing the stone back in Chet’s hands, “But that doesn’t count the color.” Chet was a bit conflicted now… he wasn’t sure if he didn’t want to sell it anymore… He had obviously been grossly unaware of diamond prices before this moment, and millions of dollars would be a nice thing to have. “This amazing coloration, should it be proven to be natural, and not machine made… would probably put you in the neighborhood of a billion dollars.” Jackson finished, leaning back in his chair and placing his hands behind his head. “I… Don’t know how to respond…” Chet muttered, frowning at the stone now in his hand, “W-what should I do with it?” “Don’t tell a soul that you’ve got it,” Jackson laughed, “People would literally kill you for that stone.” “Huh… Well, where in the world do you think this was found?” Chet asked, hoping to shed some light on Alex’s whereabouts. “Like I said, Chet,” Jackson shrugged, “That thing shouldn’t exist. It’s an impossibility. The fact that you have it proves that it was found, but, I’m confident that a diamond of that brilliance will never be found again, in the history of the world.” “Well, thanks, Jackson.” Chet said, even more bewildered than he had been before he came in, “I guess… I’ll go home and think things over.” “A word of advice, Chet,” Jackson said quickly, as his friend turned to leave, “Don’t put it up on eBay. Come back to me if you ever wanna sell it, and I can help you set something official up.” “And what would you price be?” Chet asked expectantly. “In this case? One percent?” He said, figuring that ten million dollars would be the least Chet could do.” “We’ll see, buddy.” Chet laughed, as he walked out of the office. “But seriously, man!” He called out the door after him, “You should probably sell it!” Chet wasn’t in the mood to laugh at this moment. He was just trying to piece together what this meant. How did Alex get his hands on a gem worth a billion dollars? Where the hell did he get it from? And was he allowed to sell it, and never have to work again? ////
