New Generations and Friends

Chapters

The Visit
Recollections
What about my Miranda Rights?

The Visit

By A Random Guy

Not much had changed in Equestria since Murphy last left it. It had been fifteen years since he bought the mystical watch from that old Taiwanese thrift shop. Fifteen years since that watch transported him into the magical land of colorful, talking horses. Now that he was back, what surprised him the most was that hardly anything changed.

Murphy didn’t have any trouble walking through Ponyville, since it was the same Ponyville he left. The same thatched-roof houses scattered the place and all the notable buildings were standing where they were supposed to be. He expected massive renovations to have taken place over the years, a new foreign landscape in an old town. That didn’t happen. Going off how the ponies waved and said hi to him as if he was just returning from a long trip, Murphy guessed that not enough time passed for any big changes.

But there were differences. The first difference he found was the big pile of rubble in the middle of Ponyville. This was where Golden Oaks Library was supposed to be. He asked a passing pony, who he recalled as the eccentric musician named Lyra, what happened. After making a big fuss about his return, she told him about a battle with some monster and how he demolished the tree house. Lyra was kind enough to redirect him to the new home of Twilight Sparkle, a fancy new abode north of town.

The second difference he found was the big pile of crystals that resembled a tree standing outside of Ponyville. Murphy saw the thing as an eyesore, a shining, regal structure standing out against the quaint, wooden town. He didn’t see why anyone would allow that to be built. The Home Owners’ Association probably wasn’t happy with it clashing with the Alpine motif that was going on.

The third difference he found was when the door to the eyesore opened up to reveal an alicorn. He immediately recognized her as Twilight, the same adorkable unicorn he became best friends with so long ago. She hardly changed, aside from the wings she was sporting. No aging, no pruning, she was still the same unicorn, now with wings.

“Oh my gosh, Murphy!” Twilight said as a giant grin grew on her face. “You’re back!”

“I’m back, and in the flesh,” Murphy said, opening his arms out and embracing the unicorn, or now alicorn, in a hug. He also noticed that she grew a couple inches.

After a long moment of hugging it out, Twilight let go and grinned at her returning friend. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? About a year now, from what I remember.”

“It’s been fifteen years for me,” Murphy said.

Twilight gave him a confused look. “Wow, fifteen… That explains how you look way older, but opens up an interesting question on how that happened. Time dilation? Our worlds must be running at different velocities on the fourth dimension, though I would need to experiment to verify that. Maybe you just jumped to a different time and are behind your home universe, but that would require”-

Murphy stopped Twilight from going off the deep end by putting a hand on her shoulder. “It’s good to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you too. But if you spent fifteen years back at your world, didn’t you try to come back?”

The human shrugged. “Honestly, I just kinda forgot about Equestria. Didn’t remember this was a place until today.”

Twilight seemed a little hurt by his response, which made him want to break eye contact. “After all we’ve been through, you forgot about Equestria?”

“Not at first,” he said. “When I got back, I couldn’t get you guys out of my mind. But life kicked in, I found a girlfriend, got married, had a kid, all that fun stuff. I just… grew up.”

“Huh… fifteen years,” Twilight said.

“One five, mate,” Murphy replied.

“Well, I’m glad you’re back. Come on in. The girls aren’t here right now, but someone might stop by later.”

Murphy followed the alicorn through the doors into the castle. The interior had the same over-the-top designs with the crystals as it did outside, but at least it there wasn’t a town inside to clash with. He wondered how Rarity reacted when she saw how gaudy everything looked together. He supposed that the feinting couch was put to good use when this place was first put up.

Murphy walked beside Twilight as she led them through the crystalline corridor. “So, you’re a married now,” Twilight noted. “How’s it been for you?”

“It’s been pretty swell,” Murphy replied. “Her name’s Janet, and she’s wonderful. I met her a little after I left Equestria, right as we started collage. We hitched ten years ago, and we’ve been living a happy life together ever since.”

“Then you had a kid?” Twilight asked.

“Yep. We had a girl, Zelda. Janet really pushed for the name. I think it suits her, since she likes to get into trouble.”

“Did she inherit the kind of trouble her daddy gets into?” Twilight asked.

Murphy chucked as they turned a corner at an intersection. “She would if she had the means. About a month ago, we were having a family dinner at an upscale restaurant. The waiter took our orders, but they were taking too long to bring out the food, at least that’s what Zelda thought. Being the adventurous devil she is, she grew impatient and decided to take matters into her own hands.

“She excused herself to go to the restroom in the most polite way we’ve ever heard her say, so of course she’s planning something. It doesn’t occur to us that she’s not doing what she said she would until the waiter came over and told us about the ‘situation’ in the back. Somehow, a little girl sneaked into the kitchen and ate several meals that were about to be brought out.”

“Now why does that sound so familiar?” Twilight wondered.

“Are you talking about that time with Trixie or with Discord?”

“Both.”

“I think she pulled the same trick I did with Discord, now that you mention it,” Murphy said. “Anyways, I don’t remember you having wings.”

“Do you like them?” Twilight asked. “I got them a few months ago.”

They continued to make small-talk as they entered a crystal chamber with six large gem chairs, and a tiny one too. Twilight sat in the one with her cutie mark above it, and Murphy sat in the one to her left. They spent the next hour reminiscing about the past, catching up on what’s been happening in their lives, exchanging stories, and sharing some new jokes they’ve come across.

At some point, Spike came in with a tray of tea, which he almost dropped when he saw the human sitting alongside the alicorn. The dragon sprinted across the room, stopped to carefully place the tray on the table, and jumped on Murphy to give him a big hug. After that spectacle was over, Spike joined in the conversation, trading stories and jokes as well. Twilight gave Murphy a look that told him not to share the dirtier jokes he had previously been telling liberally. Even so, they still enjoyed making up for the lost time they spent away from each other.

At the latter half of the hour, Spike excused himself to do dragon business, leaving human and alicorn alone together once more. They were getting to the point when Murphy felt like he could finally ask the question that brought him here in the first place.

-“And fifty Pinkie Pies later,” Twilight said, “We had one Pinkie Pie left out of the whole bunch. She was so determined in proving who she was that she kept staring at the wall after the rest were gone.”

“Wow. I never thought Pinkie could sit still for that long,” Murphy said as he sipped his tea.

“I knew she could do it, but it still surprised me when she did.”

“Yeah, she’s always been full of surprises.” Murphy took one last sip from his cup before placing it down on the tray. “Twilight, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. It’s the big reason I came here for. Not that I didn’t came here to meet old mates, but it’s still the big reason.”

A bit of concern grew on the alicorn’s face. “Okay, what do you need?”

“Well, Zelda’s turning eight next month, and I really want to get her something special, something meaningful, something that she’ll remember years down the road.”

Twilight nodded. “What did you have in mind?”

“I know it’ll sound odd to you, but it’s a fairly common thing for girls her age to ask for, though it did catch me off guard when she started asking.” Murphy paused. “She wants a pony.”

“I see,” Twilight said. She looked across the room, levitating her teacup to her lips before taking a sip. “So… the children in your world like to have ponies for birthday presents?”

“Mostly girls do. But the best they get is to ride horses on a ranch somewhere.”

Twilight already knew that humans rode horses. Murphy told her about it when he first arrived in Equestria. It didn’t make it less of a foreign concept. “Do you want her to ride one of us?”

“Not exactly,” Murphy said. “What I would like to have is if a pony could come to my world and stay with us for a while, be her friend for a while. I understand that anypony you choose would have to come back at some point, and I don’t even expect a pony to stay that long. I just want something special for my girl.”

“Something special…” Twilight thought about this for a moment, going through all the possible scenarios that could arise from the given situation. What if the pony got stuck in the human world and couldn’t come back? What if the pony became terrorized from what she saw? What if she lost all her legs in a freak accident involving a giant frog commanding an army of tiny duck-sized cows? Hundreds of other off-the-wall concerns swam through her head, all hypothetical results from this favor an old friend was asking her.

Murphy noted how deep the alicorn was in her thoughts. “Look, if it’s not going to happen, I understand. I know that”-

“Yes,” Twilight interrupted, “But this will need serious planning.”

“Really, you’ll do it?”

“Not personally, I still have royal duties her in Equestria. But I don’t see why I can’t arrange something.”

“Wow, I don’t know what to say. Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“Hold on there, cowboy,” Twilight said. “There’s no guarantee that I can do this. Like I said, this will need serious planning. Getting a pony to your world is the first step. Finding a pony willing to go is the next. Then I have to ensure her safety in any way possible.”

“Oh,” Murphy said with a dejected look on his face. “I knew it’s a long shot”-

“I’m not finished,” Twilight interrupted again. “Given all scenarios I can think of, and given the planning needed to cater to those scenarios, and given that I find a solution to the time shift problem, I should have something up before Zelda’s birthday.”

“That’d be great. Can you find a way travel through worlds?”

“I already have a couple ideas in mind. One is a portal we recently came across, though that has a few problems that wouldn’t fit with this situation. Another idea I found through some research a while back, but it requires some effort on your part.”

Murphy threw his hands up. “Hey, I’ll do whatever. If I can do something to make your job easier, just tell me.”

“Alright, then answer this question,” Twilight said. “Do you know anyone else in your world that’s been in Equestria before?”

“Tall order,” Murphy said. “That would be a resounding ‘nope’.”

“Think about it. Is there anybody with a watch like yours?” Twilight pressed on. “Maybe they say something only Equestrians say.”

Murphy thought to himself about it. He thought of all the people he knew, the people he met, and the people he only heard of. He also thought of people on TV, but he felt that it may be a dead end. “Sorry, nothing comes to mind.”

“Eh, I knew it was a long shot.” Twilight took another sip of her tea. “But don’t worry, I still have other ideas. Just leave the planning to me.”

Murphy nodded. “I can’t thank you enough.”

<><><><><>

Their little get-together didn’t take much longer to end. Spike rejoined and chatted with them during that time, offering a different perspective to Twilight’s stories. When the time came, Murphy told them he needed to pick Zelda up from school back in his world. They said their goodbyes, told each other they’ll see each other again, had one last round of hugs, and then the human departed.

The watch took Murphy back to where he stood before jumping into Equestria, at the front of the local elementary school. A crowd of parents had gathered along the sidewalk, all waiting to walk their children wherever they needed to be. Most of them were mothers, having either left work early or left a chicken dinner cooking at home. Some were fathers, having filled the roll of stay-at-home parent. But it didn’t matter who was in the crowd, none of them noticed the guy randomly teleporting in the middle of the group. Though technically, they never saw him leave.

He looked at his phone to check the time, or rather to check if any time had passed. The clock showed the time to be a quarter after five, but it corrected itself to a minute before three once it regained signal. It didn’t surprise him, since no time had passed for him the last time he came back from Equestria. He didn’t know why this odd quirk occurred, but he had a few ideas for taking advantage of it.

“Someone else with a watch like mine,” Murphy thought to himself. “Maybe Twilight is on to something. I don’t see why other watches couldn’t have been made. She made it seem like that’s the case.”

The time on his phone switched to three o’clock, exactly the same time the school bell went off. Within minutes, a herd of children spewed out the door, all anxious leave the drudgery of modern education behind and spend the rest of the day doing whatever. Several kids broke from the crowd and headed over to the gathering of parents. One by one, a parent and kid went off to either walk or drive home, as they did every day.

“But if there aren’t any more watches, it’ll be fun to see how she can get a pony to this world.”

And just like every day, Murphy first saw a girl with a brown backpack with large doggy ears. It was Zelda, huddled up with her friends, walking slowly as a unit as they talked about whatever they had on their minds. She looked up and waved at her favorite daddy. Murphy waved back, and then waited as his little girl stuck with her friends. Then, one by one, her friends walked off to go where they needed to go, thinning out the group until Zelda was alone. Murphy considered it her after-school ritual. Only after she did all that would she come over to go home.

And just like every day, Zelda skipped to her daddy, the ears on her backpack flopping everywhere behind her. “Daddy! Daddy! Guess what we did in school today!”

Murphy tuned to walk home as Zelda skipped up to his side. He held out his hand for her to hold on to. “Alright, what did you do in school today?”

“We drew our dreams in art class!” Zelda said in a sing-song voice as she made her daddy’s arm sway.

“Like a night dream or a dream of something you want in the future?”

“I did both!” She reached behind her and pulled out a sheet of paper from her doggy backpack and held it up for her daddy to see. “See, it’s me, and mommy, and you running a horse farm!”

“Ah, I do see,” Murphy said as he examined his daughter’s artwork. This masterpiece was entirely drawn up in crayon. Half the page was covered in green, conveying the image of a field. Right above the green, there were three stick figures in different poses, expressing how happy they were with crude smile faces. A herd of stick horses surrounded them on all sides. Some were swooping in from the sky.

For some reason, it reminded him of when he helped up in Ponyville’s Winter Wrap Up, when all the ponies finished up cleaning up winter and celebrated afterwards. They all had gathered around in a field to party, not so different from the picture. Even the pegasi swooped around above. Rainbow Dash dared him to put on all the Winter Wrap Up vests at once and try to walk around. It was fun, but Zelda didn’t need to know the details of it.

“So, what do you think?” Zelda asked.

“I think it’s lovely,” Murphy said.

“So what did you do today?”

Murphy shrugged. “Nothing special, though I did meet some mates I haven’t seen for a long time.”

“Do I know them?” Zelda asked.

“No, I don’t think you know them.” Murphy paused for a moment as he thought about what Twilight had said about his question. “Though, you may meet them someday.”

“Are they boring people you and mommy hang out with all the time?”

“I don’t hang out with boring people,” Murphy said defensively.

“What about those ‘parties’ you take me to but aren’t parties because there’s no cake and all people do is talk about boring stuff.”

“Sweetie, I know one particular ‘boring’ person that will obliterate anything with a party.”

“Oh yeah, Cindy’s birthday party had three cakes. You can’t top that.” Zelda’s eyes challenged her daddy to do just that.

“Oh yeah, my mate can top that.” Murphy smirked at the thought of the one particular “boring” person popping out of nowhere and proving his daughter wrong. He wouldn’t put it past that bubbly pink mare, and he would have some physical evidence to back his claims.

“Imagine, if you will,” Murphy said with mock elegance, “an extraordinary lady, dressed in raging pink, who pulls around a wagon. This wagon is stuffed to the brim with cake, candy, confetti, and a big music box. Whenever someone new walks into town, she’s always the first to greet them with the wagon. She winds up the box, and all the cake, candy, and confetti pop out of the wagon while she sings a silly song.”

“Is she a cucumber that sings a silly song?” Zelda asked.

Murphy paused for a moment. “Aren’t you a little young to know what that is?”

“We have Netflix, daddy.”

“I swear, if it’s a rip-off of”-

“Hey look!” Zelda interrupted. “It’s a box!”

Before Murphy could say something, Zelda let go of his hand and took off towards a box. “Don’t open that box,” he called out. “It’s not ours!”

“There aren’t any houses nearby. Why would a box be delivered on a sidewalk?”

She was right. This part of the sidewalk didn’t directly connect to any nearby house. The box was sitting in the middle of the walkway, partially open. He knew it was odd that a box would be randomly placed there, and that’s what worried him. Murphy ran through several thoughts about this mysterious box in his head, but there was one thought that ran the loudest. “Please don’t be anthrax.”

Zelda was almost next to the box by the time Murphy’s body kicked into automatic. He sprinted ahead without thinking. He felt intent on grabbing Zelda and pulling her away from the box before something bad could happen. But he was too late. She opened the box before he could reach her.

“Woah!” Zelda gasped. She reached into the box and pulled something out of it before Murphy could object. “Daddy, check this out,” she called back. She spun around and held up the thing for her daddy to see. He could almost hear a certain melody playing in the background. “It’s a pony!”

Murphy skidded to a stop as he came face to face with the pony, a live, little pony. “Is that…” he thought to himself as the pony looked back at him with large somniferous eyes. “No, it couldn’t be.”

Right off the bat, he could tell that this wasn’t a regular horse. There was too much magenta in its coat, and its mane was too purple. No, this was a magical pony from another world, the genuine Equestrian variety. And it wasn’t one of the normal breeds either. As Murphy began comprehending what Zelda held in her hands, he noticed certain parts sticking out. Instead of having a horn, or wings, or neither, it had all the features of the three races.

“That’s… an alicorn,” he stammered. “You found a freaking alicorn!”

“I know!” Zelda said as she started cradling this magenta wonder. “Where do you think her mommy is? Do alicorns have mommies?”

“I don’t know.” Murphy said. “A better question would be why is there a box with an alicorn in it?”

Murphy already knew the answer to his own question, or at least he thought he did. This would be an interesting answer to Twilight’s problem of bringing a pony to this world, but it came with some issues. For instance, why the heck did she send an alicorn? How the heck did she send an alicorn? Who, what, and/or where did she get an alicorn from? And why is this alicorn a baby?

“Can we keep her?” Zelda asked as she rocked the alicorn in her arms. “Her parents probably lost her, so we should keep her with us.”

Murphy couldn’t argue with that. Abandoning your children wasn’t what a parent would do if they wanted to keep them around, especially in Equestria. It boggled him why any parent would allow their kid to end up on a strange world with strange people, even if an alicorn princess asked nicely.

He looked at the pair, his daughter rocking the little baby pony to sleep, the pony yawning and snuggling up in her arms. She did want a pony as a birthday present. It would be cruel to take it away from her now.

“Alright, we can keep her,” Murphy said. “But I’m going to do some investigating to see if I can find her parents.”

Zelda looked up at her father with a massive grin growing on her face. “We’re keeping her?” she asked. “Yay! I have my own little pony!”

“Again, she’s staying with us until we can find her parents.”

Zelda ignored her daddy as she giggled with glee, but she was careful not to disturb the alicorn that had fallen asleep in her arms. “She needs a name. We don’t know her name. Can I name her?”

Murphy shrugged. “Sure, unless we find out she does have a name.”

“Yay,” she squealed, and then quieted down to a soft cooing, like a mother to her child. “Guess what your name is. It’s a special name. I’m going to name you Twilight Sparkle!”

Murphy’s heart skipped a beat as he heard Zelda say that name. “Uh… You’re naming her Twilight Sparkle?”

Zelda nodded. “Yep, she once was a unicorn, but she turned into an alicorn, just like this Twilight.”

“Alright…” Murphy looked at his daughter, dumbstruck. “How do you know about Twilight?”

“From the show, duh.” She said as she rolled her eyes.

“She has a show?”

“Yeah, it’s My Little Pony.”

Recollections

The walk back home was short. Once they got back, Murphy immediately took Zelda and Twilight to the pet store. It had occurred to him that they were completely unprepared to keep a horse of any kind in their house. He hoped that the pet store had some people that had some knowledge of horse care. Given that he had an alicorn on his hands, even the most rudimentary advice would be helpful.

The problem he had at the store wasn’t that no one knew anything about horse care; rather no one would talk to him about horse care because they were too bewildered by a mythical creature coming into the store. It was a franchise pet shop, the kind that hired part-timers as well as in-house vets and groomers. Upper management prefers that these employees stayed busy. Despite that, they all dropped what they were doing, in some cases literally, to get a look at Twilight.

For Zelda, the sudden mass attention came in like a tsunami, and she dove right in. She embellished the truth a little, saying she saved Twilight from a speeding bus. For Murphy, it was a hassle trying to get someone away from the alicorn long enough to tell him how to take care of her. One of the vets noted that Twilight acted more like a human baby than a regular foal, and recommended getting baby food. Murphy thought it sounded reasonable, and it matched up with his experience with Equestrian babies. The vet also added a comment about diapers before going back to cooing over the alicorn.

Once Murphy pulled Zelda away from the attention, he stopped by the general store to pick up basic supplies. He took a moment to put Twilight in a diaper before an incident could happen, which he thanked himself for doing a minute later. After one messy clean up, they were off driving back home.

“That was an adventure and a half,” Murphy said as they walked through the front door. “Kind of like the old days.”

“Welcome home, Twilight,” Zelda said as she tailed behind her daddy. “Now I can actually give you a tour.”

She put down Twilight on the floor, who crawled around on her own, possibly looking for ways to get into trouble. Murphy noticed that the alicorn’s crawl was very similar to a human’s crawl. “Guess that vet was on to something,” he thought.

“This is the living room,” Zelda said as she followed Twilight around. “This is where our family watches TV.”

“Which you won’t be watching until you’re done with your homework,” Murphy added.

Zelda rolled her eyes. “I know, Dad. You don’t have to keep on reminding me.”

Murphy watched as Zelda followed Twilight around the room. The alicorn glanced all over the place, curious about everything. She went to the TV cupboard and tried to open it up with her hooves. Zelda opened it up for her. Twilight crawled inside and tossed several CD cases out behind her.

“Pull her out of there,” Murphy said, “She’s making a mess.”

Zelda did as she was told, pulling the alicorn out of the cupboards and setting her down on the couch. “No Twilight, we don’t make messes in this house.”

Twilight looked up at Zelda for a moment, then turned around and took off for the hallway. Zelda paced behind her, determined to make sure the alicorn didn’t get into trouble.

“Keep her out of the kitchen,” Murphy said. “There’s a bunch of things she might hurt herself with in there.”

“Okay, Dad,” Zelda replied. “Do you want to go in my room? I got a bunch of toys in my room.”

“And don’t forget your homework,” he reminded. As his daughter led the alicorn down the hall, Murphy took the liberty of plopping down on the couch. It had been a long day for him, considering he added an extra couple hours to it in Equestria. He lazily picked up the remote and turned on the TV.

“I hope they’ll be fine alone together,” Murphy thought as he browsed through the channels. “Ponies are resilient. I don’t think Zelda can do any real harm. And Twilight’s just a baby, so she won’t be doing anything in return.”

He skipped passed the public broadcasting and skimmed through the basic cable options. “So there’s unicorn Twilight, and alicorn Twilight. Wait, Twilight’s an alicorn now, too. So, Baby Twilight and Mama Twilight instead? Heh, she’ll get a kick out of that one.”

After perusing basic cable, he ended up on the sports sections. “Holy cow, this is going to get confusing. Maybe Twilight will have an answer for it, or maybe Pinkie Pie will come up with something random we can use, who knows? I’ll stop by tomorrow to ask. Dang it Zelda, why do you make it complicated?”

He paused in his channel flipping when he reached a particular name on the guide. “No, it can’t be.”

The channel he stopped on had a show that caught his eye, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. He knew that My Little Pony existed before he went to Equestria. It was a little show that was there to advertise playsets to young girls. He never watched it, and he never made a connection between the Equestrian ponies and the show ponies. And here it was, on his TV guide, waiting to be selected.

Out of pure curiosity, he clicked the channel. Within minutes, he realized he wouldn’t get anything done that evening.

<><><><><>

“I’m home,” a voice called out, followed by a shutting door. “Hey, honey, how was your day?”

Murphy looked behind the couch to see his wife, Janet, hanging up her coat in the closet. “It was all over the place,” he answered, “But fun. How was yours?”

“Ah, boss was a butthead again today.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Murphy said as he looked back at the TV screen.

Janet shrugged as she headed for the hallway, but stopped behind the couch. “Is that… My Little Pony?”

“Yep,” Murphy stated without looking away. “Rarity is making dresses for all her friends for the Grand Galloping Gala.”

Janet stared down at her husband for a moment. “You’re watching a show for girls, you know that, right?”

Murphy shrugged. “It does feel weird. But I think it’s a déjà vu type of weird.” Murphy paused for a moment to let out a breath as he watched the musical number. “Now I see why she was so stressed back then.”

“How long have you been watching this?” Janet asked.

“About an hour,” Murphy replied. “I found it on Netflix.”

“Alight… I’ll get dinner started then,” she said as she walked down the hall.

“Have fun with that,” Murphy said. The show reached the scene where Rarity was showing off her dresses to that one fashion pony. But of course, he rejects them because she listened to her friends who knew nothing about fashion. Though, Fluttershy may have been an exception, but she only knew stuff about sowing.

He remembered this from his time in Equestria, but he wasn’t part of the dress making process. He was a part of the audience, giving support to his friends but not partaking in the Gala business. The whole Grand Galloping Gala didn’t appeal to him. Instead he got a pleasant night to himself while the girls went off to do their own thing in Canterlot. Murphy paid attention to none of the intricacies of the events leading to the big event. After watching this episode, he didn’t regret his decision.

As the episode began to reach its climax, he heard Janet walking through the hallway and up to behind the couch. “Murphy, you know there’s a unicorn in a diaper playing with Zelda.”

Murphy nodded. “Actually, she’s an alicorn. We found her today.”

“And did you notice that it looks a little like the ponies in the show you’re watching?”

“Yeah… I know a guy,” Murphy said, turning around to look up at his wife. “Like I said, my day was all over the place, but fun.”

“Is… it safe to play with Zelda?” Janet asked with a concerned tone.

“Trust me, they’re both fine,” he reassured her. “The person I know made sure they wouldn’t harm each other.”

Janet didn’t look all that reassured. “You do realize there’s a fictional creature playing with our daughter right now? Is that getting into your skull?”

“Don’t worry. The Home Owner’s Association doesn’t restrict mythical creatures. I checked.”

Janet didn’t seem to respond. Instead, she turned around and walked back into the hallway, presumably to go cook dinner. Murphy turned back to the TV, where the show’s credits started rolling.

<><><><><>

The next day was the weekend, so no one had to go to work or school that day. Murphy usually spent his weekends sleeping till noon, like reasonable people do. A hard fact of life he learnt from becoming a parent is that small children aren’t reasonable people. They will get up early in the morning and make enough noise to drown out an atomic bomb going off in your house.

With one child and one pony in the house, the noise only doubled. Once they woke up, the idea of sleep couldn’t be conceived for the morning. Instead, Murphy got out of bed, made himself some coffee, and plopped on the couch. He continued his activities from the previous night, watching a show about mythical creatures based on Greek legends marketed at a young female audience.

It felt weird watching the show for a few reasons. One reason was that he could recall a time when he, and his elementary and middle school friends, would make fun of these girly type shows. Care Bears, Strawberry Short Cake, Jem and the Holograms, and of course the old My Little Pony. Back then, they were girly things not worthy of actually watching in fear of being called a girl. Those were naïve times.

Another weird thing about watching the show was how it all felt familiar, but felt wrong without him being there. Most of the episodes depicted the same events he experienced in his time in Equestria, just without him. The dragon episode, for instance, didn’t go as smoothly as the show described it. Murphy was there, fifteen years younger, and had broken a rock off the ceiling and dropped it on the dragon’s head. The dragon wasn’t happy about it. It proceeded to tear up the entire mountain before Fluttershy subdued it. In Murphy’s opinion, the cartoon didn’t come close to showing how impressive Fluttershy looked lecturing a rampaging dragon.

Fortunately for Equestria, that was only one of the few mishaps Murphy created. He did more good than harm. Like the time they visited Appleloosa, and a war almost broke out between the buffalo and ponies. Murphy managed to solve the problem before the battle even started. He suggested to both sides that the buffalo were to run through the central town road, then make a festival out of it. Both of them agreed to the idea and made peace. It was a good thing too, because they had real spears and weapons as opposed to apple pies.

After those two episodes, Murphy skipped the ones he was supposed to be a big part of. He jumped around to episodes that sounded like he wasn’t there to witness the events. Any episode that mentioned the Grand Galloping Gala was on that list. He knew Fluttershy had a short fashion model career, but he didn’t pay attention to it. Watching the episode were Pinkie Pie freaked out over Gummy’s birthday party was like opening a wound. Murphy was part of the surprise party. He saw that she had a bit of a mental breakdown, but didn’t realize the extent of it before watching this episode.

The rest of the morning went on like this until Zelda asked to take Baby Twilight to the park. He agreed, and Janet went along with them. She was curious about the new alicorn in the family, and wanted to see her in action. They spent the rest of the afternoon at the public playground. Zelda led Twilight around the playset, and Murphy and Janet kept a close eye on them. The rest of the afternoon went on like this until they went home.

The next day was similar. Murphy woke up and finished watching the Grand Galloping Gala episode. He almost left but then realized that there were still three more seasons left of the series. He continued on, skipping the season premier with Discord. He didn’t need to relive that again.

One of the episodes of the day was about the time when the Baby Cakes were born. He wasn’t involved much with the Cake family, though from what Pinkie had told him he gathered they had the best job in the world. After becoming a parent, he found that claim utterly true and utterly bogus at the same time, and found the episode incredibly relatable.

A thought crossed his mind about Twilight, Mama Twilight that is, as he watched Lesson Zero. She had wings the last time he met her. Would this series show how she got her wings? Twilight didn’t go in depth on what happened. And if that was the case, would the series show all the events that happened while he was gone.

He continued watching up to the episode with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and their questionable news article business. He remembered they published something about him that humans do normally, and privately, that ponies found disgusting, but couldn’t for the life of him remember what it was. He did remember that it happened shortly before he left to go back to his home world.

The next day was Monday, when everyone had to go back to work or school. No one had thought out who would take care of Baby Twilight while everyone was gone. Impulsively, Murphy volunteered to take her with him to work until they can find a babysitting service or daycare that would accept irregular requests.

The drive to work went well. Murphy managed to fit Baby Twilight into Zelda’s old car seat. He packed extra diapers and baby food, just in case, and packed several toys to keep her occupied. It was the slow time of year for his work, so he wasn’t worried about her being too much of a distraction.

They arrived at his work a few minutes before Murphy needed to be there. He worked at an architectural firm, a small branch of a larger company. The building he worked at was small, consisting of several offices, a main entranceway, and a break room. They entered into the main entrance, where Murphy led Baby Twilight to his office in the back. His other coworkers hadn’t arrived yet, so it was a quiet affair compared to other public places Twilight went.

They entered his office. Murphy pulled out several of Twilight’s toys and spread them across the floor. She looked at them for a little bit, but ignored them and went to the drawers of his desk. Murphy pulled her away before she could open them and placed her in the center of the toys. She sat there until he sat down, and then rushed back to the drawer.

Murphy let her open the drawer this time as he booted his computer up. “What harm could a baby pony do?” he thought to himself. He started working on his company’s latest project, ignoring the file-sifting Baby Twilight. She finished searching the drawer, then left it open as she went to another drawer.

This continued on until Baby Twilight had opened every drawer, cupboard, and receptacle in the room. When she was done, she went to the toy pile and picked up a yellow plastic ball. Murphy didn’t bother closing everything she opened. He was too busy with his work.

Fifteen minutes had passed. Murphy was in the middle of trisecting an angle with a digital compass and straight edge when he heard a popping sound come out of nowhere. He looked up just in time to be blinded by a flash of light.

The light sputtered out, leaving two adult sized ponies in the middle of the office. “Murphy! How’s it going” said one of the ponies. “I knew this would work.”

He uncovered his eyes to see who the two ponies were. To his lack of surprise, the first speaker turned out to be Twilight, Mama Twilight. The second pony was a grey, wall-eyed pegasus that he had a few clumsy run ins with back in Equestria.

Murphy quickly saved his work and smiled at the visitors. “Oh, hey Twilight. Hey Ditzy.” The pegasus gave a goofy grin at the mention of her name. “Glad to have you here. So, what brings you to my neck of the woods?”

“You’re not going to ask how we got here?” Mama Twilight asked.

Murphy shrugged. “Magic, I guess. You found a mystical artifact in a cave somewhere and used that?”

“Close, I actually pinpointed your watch’s location. That thing has a huge emittance signature that’s hard to ignore. By using a preexisting portal and rewiring it to take us”- Ditzy nudged the alicorn in the side, interrupting her explanation. “Or I can tell you about it later. I have great news!”

“Is the news that you can use my watch to travel between worlds at your own will?” Murphy said. “I was wondering how you would do it.”

“By extension, sort of. Turns out there are a bunch of laws in the cosmic universe that restrict travel between worlds. I didn’t know that until you”- Twilight forced herself to stop. “I’ll get to that in a bit.”

“So the good news?”

“Yes, I looked into what you asked me the other day, and I found something that can work out.”

“Oh, I thought you already took care of that.”

Twilight seemed a bit taken back. “No… That’s what I’m doing right now.”

“Oh, don’t be modest.” Murphy pointed behind Twilight. “Really, I can’t thank you enough for this little cutie.”

“Cutie?” Twilight turned around and looked down at the pile of toys. Baby Twilight looked up at Mama Twilight, giving her a big smile as she played with a ball.

“Zelda loves playing with her,” Murphy said. “You didn’t send a name with her, so Zelda took the liberty of naming her Twilight Sparkle.”

“Uh, wah?” Twilight stuttered.

“I personally call her Baby Twilight, for obvious reasons. So, where’d you find a baby alicorn? I thought there were only three adults in Equestria.”

Twilight stood staring at the infant. “Murphy… I don’t even know who this alicorn is.”

“Then she’s an orphan? Holy- I had no idea! Did”-

The adult alicorn snapped back around, interrupting Murphy. “I didn’t send her! I didn’t think baby alicorns even existed. Even if they did, why in the world would I choose to send a child of a rare species to a strange world alone as opposed to a responsible adult?!”

“I”- Murphy paused. “Oh crap, we have an MIA alicorn on our hands.”

“Oh crap indeed,” Twilight echoed. “Okay, let’s get to the facts. How did you find… Baby Twilight?”

“Found her in a box shortly after I got back from Equestria. And now, well…” Murphy pointed at Baby Twilight again. “She’s just here. I thought she was the pony you sent for Zelda’s birthday.”

“No, I came here to tell you Ditzy was going to be that pony.” Twilight waved a hoof around the aforementioned pegasus, who smiled back. “She’s cheerful, good with kids, shock-absorbent. I believe she’s a great candidate for the job.”

“That’s good. Ditzy, I’m glad you’re willing to help me out.” Ditzy excitedly flapped her wings. “That situation is taken care of. Now what are we going to do about Baby Twilight?”

Everyone looked at the alicorn on the floor, who bit down hard on a plastic teething ring. They stood there for a moment, watching the tyke do her thing. Before anyone said something, a loud knock came from the doorway.

“Hey Murphy! How’s your weekend? Boy, did I have a doozy at that conference. Things”-

A large portly man stood in the doorway. His jaw dropped at the sight of three mythical creatures in front of Murphy’s desk. “Murphy, are these ponies in your office?” the man stuttered.

Murphy cleared his throat. “Yes, John, these are ponies in my office.” He pointed at the alicorn. “This is Twilight, and that’s”-

“Holy crap it’s Derpy Hooves!” John burst out. “They can’t be real. They look so real! Are they real?”

Twilight stared at this newcomer as he gawked over them. “Uh, I’m a thinking equine, so logic dictates that makes me real.”

Murphy nodded to the pegasus. “Also, that’s Ditzy Doo. She finds the other name a bit offensive.”

John put a hand over his heart. “I am so sorry for saying that, Miss Doo. I didn’t know what came over me.”

Ditzy shrugged, as if saying it wasn’t too big of a deal.

“Anyways,” John continued, “How the heck did you get The Twilight Sparkle and The Der- sorry- Ditzy Doo in your office?”

“We teleported in,” Twilight said. “We’re only visiting for a little bit. I see Murphy has talked a lot about us.”

“Oh no, not at all,” John said. “I know about you from My Little Pony!”

“Er, what?” Twilight asked.

“You watch that show?” Murphy asked.

John nodded vigorously. “Oh yeah. There’s a whole community of adults who watch My Little Pony. We call ourselves Bronies!”

Murphy leaned back in his chair. “There’s a name for that?”

“John,” Twilight said, “Could we have a moment? It’s nice meeting you, but we were discussing something important.”

“Sure, by all means. Sorry for barging in.” John looked at Murphy. “Hey, there’s a club down at the Rec Center for Bronies. You should come down.”

“I’ll probably pass,” Murphy replied.

“Suit yourself,” John said as he left.

Everyone in the room waited till they couldn’t hear Johns footsteps down the hall. When it was silent, Twilight spoke again. “Okay, about Baby Twilight. I’ll talk with Celestia, see if there’s any work of a missing baby alicorn. There’s probably some multiversal law we have to follow in an event like this.”

“Sounds reasonable,” Murphy said.

“Until then, take care of her. I know Zelda might be upset that Baby Twilight will be leaving, but Ditzy’s still available, if that’s fine.”

“Zelda should understand. She knew it’s a temporary thing.” Murphy looked at Ditzy. “Are you alright with this kind of insanity? I have a feeling there’s more people like John out there.”

Ditzy nodded and gave the same goofy smile she was giving for the entire time.

Twilight nodded as well. “This is all weird.”

“What’s weird?” Murphy asked. “The trans-dimensional party gift? The alicorn popping out of nowhere? Me mistaking the alicorn as the party gift? John? Pick and choose the weirdest. Oddly enough, it’s not that different from when I was in Ponyville.”

Twilight shrugged. “To be fair, Ponyville is probably weirder now than it ever has been.”

Time was wrapping up for the office party. Twilight and Murphy exchanged goodbyes and hugs, while Ditzy and Murphy exchanged hand/hoofshakes. Before long, the two ponies popped out of existence, leaving Murphy and Baby Twilight alone once again.

“Well, now that was a thing,” Murphy thought. “Back to work. Freaking trisections won’t do themselves.”

A knock at the doorway interrupted his thoughts. “So, Murphy, can I talk with the ponies?”

“They just left the universe, John.”

“Drat. Can you at least tell me”-

Murphy held up a finger. “John, please let me do my trisections.”

<><><><><>

The rest of the day went by quickly. There wasn’t anything Murphy could do about the whole alicorn situation, so he continued on with his business as usual. He got his trisections done, made some progress of a project his company threw at him, and clocked off around three like he usually did.

The drive home was clear of traffic, which Murphy always enjoyed. Baby Twilight seemed to enjoy it as well. Murphy checked the rear-view mirror to see her snoozing away in the car seat. He had to stop himself from instinctively putting some Tool or Rob Zombie on the car radio. Instead, he threw on Lou Bega and kept the volume turned down low. There was no way he would miss out on cruising down a light-traffic road without something energetic playing.

As Mambo Number 5 played away, he noted how odd it was having an alicorn sleeping in the backseat. “How the heck did you end up here anyways?” Murphy thought. “An alicorn of the MIA variety. No one knows where you came from, yet I have you in a car seat driving down a highway as if it was normal. How the heck did that happen?”

Twilight didn’t answer his thoughts. Instead she kept on sleeping through the rest of the drive. By the time Murphy finished humming along to The Most Expensive Girl, they had already pulled into the driveway. “We’re home,” Murphy said as he turned off the car. “Time to get up.”

Twilight yawned as Murphy unbuckled the seat and took her out of the car. Once they walked inside the house, she was wide awake and bouncing in his arms.

Murphy knelt down by the couch and released Baby Twilight. “Alright, off you go. Don’t get into trouble.”

The alicorn held tight on his wrist as he put her down. Murphy tried to pull back, but she kept a tight grip on his watch with her hooves.

“Can you let go please?” Despite his pleading, she wouldn’t let go.

Murphy didn’t notice earlier that day, but this was the watch that took him to Equestria. He had a few other watches, which he mostly wore for style. Who needs a clock on your wrist when you have one on your phone? Today of all days he decided to put it on. He hardly even wore this specific one on regular occasions. But today, the day a couple of Equestrians dropped by in his office, he had put it on. And now Baby Twilight was tugging at it hard.

“Alright, if you stop pulling on it, I’ll let you play around with it.” Oddly enough, the baby alicorn understood this. She loosened her grip, letting Murphy have his arm back.

He undid the watch’s strap and held it out in front of Twilight. “This is very special to me. It’s very magical and holds a lot of memories. Please don’t lose it.”

He handed it to the baby alicorn, who took it in her teeth by the strap. She turned to the hallway and scampered down to the farthest room as fast as her baby legs could take her.

After she disappeared around a corner, Murphy plopped down on the couch and switched on the TV. “Why do I regret doing that now?”

After navigating the TV guide, then flipping over to Netflix, he found himself looking at where he’d left off on My Little Pony. He had the house to himself for the afternoon. Janet was with Zelda at karate practice and wouldn’t be back till the evening. Murphy planned to enjoy the quiet as long as he could. If anything, Baby Twilight would need some business taken care of, but that’s just how infancy goes.

He noticed the title of the next episode on the list. “Canterlot Wedding, Part 1,” he read in his head. “I don’t remember a wedding. I guess this picks up from when I left Equestria.”

He hit play, and the episode started. The episode began as normal. Pleasant music, the ladies having a picnic, Spike running in with a letter from Celestia that would kick-start the plot. He had become familiar with this process long before he knew this show existed. The part he didn’t expect was the big reveal the Twilight had a brother.

“Duh duh duhn!” Murphy thought. “She has a brother! Who’s getting married! I wonder if Baby Twilight has a brother she’s not telling me about. Now that I think about it, did Twilight ever talk about her family?”

As the show went on, from the train ride to meeting the bride and groom to be, he wondered when Twilight talked about her family at all. She never mentioned what her parents did, nor did she mention anything about this alicorn babysitter she had as a kid. “What the heck Twilight. I thought alicorns were rare. Then again, I’ve been dealing with two alicorns for the past couple of days. Freaking family problems.”

And now that he thought of it, the other mares never brought up their parents. All this time they spent together and they never talk about what their families do, unless those relations came up and talked about stuff. Was it a social taboo in Equestria not to talk about families? Then again, he never brought up his own family out of nowhere when he was in high school.

He had been thinking about this in the back of his head as he watched the rest of the episode play out. Twilight freaking out over a bride she thought was evil because the alicorn ex-babysitter was a bit of a stuck up jerk. “Twilight, if you’re suspicious, then I’m suspicious too. But people and ponies change, sometimes for the worst.”

Her friends seemed to chalk it up to pre-wedding stress, which Murphy could understand. Janet was not the most pleasant person to spend time with as their own wedding day drew near. “Pre-marital stress, geez, gets everyone I guess.”

The episode was enjoyable so far, but he couldn’t decide if Twilight was right or not. She had some valid points, but everyone else did as well. Then the alicorn-brainwashing-the-brother scene popped up. “Yep, green flames equals evil. Zecora made that point clear when I broke her brewing pot thing.”

The rest of the episode seemed to point to this being a coincidence, but Murphy was on Twlight’s side now. “Alright, maybe green isn’t all evil, but I heard the dramatic music in that scene. I’m not dumb, show writers.”

Murphy felt he was right next to Twilight, trying to support her but remaining unheard. As the episode reached its climax at the wedding rehearsal, he still stuck by her side, even though her friends walked away disappointed at her. He almost went with them when the ex-babysitter showed some sympathy towards Twilight, but that went away when green fire came out of her eyes and she banished Twilight to the underworld. To be continued!

“Called it!” Murphy yelled out. “Green flames equals evil! Hear that, Baby Twilight? Green flames are evil!”

He didn’t know if she heard him, or understood him, but he didn’t care. Boy, did he miss out on some awesome stuff when he left Equestria.

“On to part two!” He clicked play, and came across a crystal cave.

Villain taunting, real ex-babysitter revealed, big song to give emphasize evilness of imposter and show sympathy towards real pony. This seemed all too familiar to Murphy, though the singing in a minecart wasn’t.

The song then transitioned right into the wedding. “Oh, the evil imposter is going to get it now!”

“Put your hands up and stand up!” a heavy voice yelled behind Murphy’s head.

“That isn’t from the show,” Murphy thought. Something inside him told his body that it would be in his best interest to do as the voice said. He stood up, put his hands up, and out of pure curiosity, turned around.

“Don’t you dare move a muscle!” The voice yelled again. Murphy stopped turning midway through the action. He crammed his head to the side to see who yelled, but no one was behind him.

“On behalf of the Multiverse Investigation Authority, you are under arrest!” This time, the voice sounded like it came from the ground.

Murphy looked down behind the couch, careful to not make any sudden movements. At the entrance to the hallway stood Baby Twilight, who had the angriest face he had ever seen. It would have been kind of cute, if it weren’t for the submachine gun that she held, primed and aimed at Murphy.

Murphy stuttered at the sight of the gun. “Uh… what’s going on?”

Baby Twilight’s mouth moved, and the heavy voice came out of it. “I’m agent Rodney of the MIA. You’re being charged with possession of contraband dimensional items.”

“Er… what?”

“Your watch…” Baby Twilight held out a hoof, not letting the weapon waver away. In the hoof, Twilight held Murphy’s mythical watch that he got from a Taiwanese thrift shop. “It’s illegal shit, man.”

“Oh…”

Behind Murphy, he could hear the TV still going. “She’s a changeling. She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off you love form them.”

Murphy looked just in time to see the evil imposter alicorn burst into a ball of green flames, then magnificently transform into a giant bug queen thing. “Right you are, Princess,” the bug queen cackled as the flames died down.

“Hey, ignore the TV,” Baby Twilight, or agent Rodney of the MIA, yelled. “I’m taking you in.”

Murphy looked back at the alicorn just in time to see her burst into a ball of green flames, revealing a black bug the size of an infant. “Time to go,” the bug hissed as the flames died down.

“Zelda is going to freak,” Murphy muttered as he followed the orders of the now-insect agent Rodney and his submachine gun.

Author's Note

I personally recommend listening to some of Lu

What about my Miranda Rights?

In another world in another universe, there was a room made of concrete walls, a door, and a one-way mirror. Murphy now found himself in this room, further from home than he could ever imagine. He sat at a metal table, cuffed to a steel chair. In front of him sat the changeling, agent Rodney, at a desk of his own. Rodney’s desk was tiny, small enough to be a baby’s play thing. Rodney’s desk sat on top of the table, allowing him to talk to Murphy at eye level.

Agent Rodney kept a keen eye, or orb, on Murphy’s every move. “You’re in some deep shit, man,” Rodney said. “Do you realize that?”

Murphy couldn’t help but nod. He didn’t completely understand why he was here. One minute, he was watching ponies on TV. The next, we was being whisked away by a baby-sized insect with a submachine gun, which now laid on the tiny desk, pointed towards the human’s head.

Agent Rodney held up Murphy’s watch, letting it dangle from his hoof. “Possession of unregistered devices and gadgetry that transports things between universes is illegal.”

Murphy burst out, “I didn’t know that! Is that why you have me here?”

“You know why you’re here.” Rodney said it as if Murphy did know why he was here. “I’ve been busting my ass tracking you down ever since your guys unleashed these on the black market.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Murphy said defensively. “I bought that watch in a thrift shop owned by some nice Taiwanese people. I didn’t even know the thing was magical!”

“Bullshit! Do I look stupid?” Agent Rodney swung the watch back and forth like a pendulum. “Man, have you guys been giving the MIA a run for its money. But hey, I got enough evidence in my hoof to pay back at least one of you.”

Murphy couldn’t believe that the insect, this changeling, he was looking at used to be the tiny alicorn his family took in. Those weren’t the same big somniferous eyes. They were blue orbs that stared directly into his soul. The insect did retain some alicorn qualities, if a crooked knife-horn and gossamer wings counted as alicorn qualities.

“What about my rights?” Murphy desperately asked. “You didn’t read me my Miranda rights why you did the arrest! You can’t charge me.”

A big smile grew on Rodney’s face as he made a hissing sound, which to Murphy seemed a lot like laughing. “Man, that crap is only for the U.S, and only in some worlds. You’re under the authority of the Multiverse Investigation Agency. You have no rights!”

“Well, I never got the memo that wearing that watch is illegal. You can’t arrest me for something I didn’t know was illegal!”

“That’s the same excuse people used to get out of speeding tickets.” Rodney held out the watch closer to Murphy’s face. “Now, maybe I can cut you some slack. Tell me where the rest of your buddies are hiding, and there might be a chance that you’re sentence will be cut in half.”

“I had that watch for fifteen years. I didn’t know it was illegal to have, and I don’t have any mates that are involved in this kind of thing.”

Rodney placed the watch on his desk, right next to his gun. “I get it. No one likes a snitch. But come on, man. You have a nice thing going.” The agent erupted in a green ball of flames, turning into Baby Twilight once again. “I’ve been living with your family for the past three days. They seem like nice folk. You don’t want to make it any harder on them, would you?”

Murphy’s stomach clenched up as the agent dangled the idea of losing his family in front of him like his watch. “I told you already. I don’t know anything. If you saw my family, then you know I wouldn’t get into that kind of trouble.”

“And I know you wouldn’t,” Rodney said in a soft voice. “That’s why I’m trying to help you. Give me something so I can help you.”

“Look, I didn’t even know there are other worlds besides mine and Equestria. I haven’t even used that watch to do anything evil. Heck, I saved Equestria several times.”

“Well, aren’t you just the perfect little boyscout.” Rodney transformed back to his changeling for. He leaned back in his baby chair, throwing his forelegs behind his head. “Murphy, you’re wasting your time, and more importantly, you’re wasting mine. So either fess up now or you can be sent off to Joraraca. Whichever way, I’ll still be here busting the next poor sap.”

“What the heck is Joraraca?”

“It’s nowhere special, just the most dangerous labor camp in the Cardinal side of the multiverse. It’s a giant space station, the size of the solar system, hooked up to a black hole. Most prisoners have the privilege of going down there, with a spacesuit if they’re lucky.” The changeling pulled out a phone and held it against his head. “So, want a free one-way trip to Joraraca, Cardinal, or will I get something useful out of this?”

“Okay, hear me out.” Murphy took a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts. “You’re a changeling, which is a creature from Equestria. And Equestria is a land of love and tolerance. So can you look deep down inside yourself and find some love for me? If not me, then Zelda. You two did get along while you stayed with us.”

The changeling stared at him for a moment. “Apart from being a little racist, there’s a couple things wrong with that. One, the changelings invaded Equestria, multiple times, and tried to enslave everyone there. We’re not creatures of Equestria. If anything, we’re failed conquerors of Equestria. Two, I’m from New Jersey. You’re not gonna find love in me.”

“What about Zelda?”

“Three, I’m a changeling, and a MIA agent. Deception is my nature.” Rodney pushed a button on his phone. “Man, I am not going to miss those diaper changes.”

Out of nowhere, a popping sound echoed through the room. Murphy turned away just in time for a bright light to engulf the room.

“My retinas!” Rodney cried as he shielded his eyes.

The light died down, leaving in its place Twilight Sparkle. “Hey Murphy,” the alicorn said. “I got word from Celestia. She says she found Baby Twilight’s parents!”

Murphy turned back and looked at the unicorn. “That’s great,” he said, “But the problem has literally transformed into something else.”

“What is it now?” she sighed as she ran a hoof down her face. “And why are you chained to a chair?”

Murphy nodded at the changeling sitting at the tiny desk. Agent Rodney rubbed his eyes a little and looked up at Twilight. “What the heck are you doing here?” he asked harshly.

“She’s my lawyer,” Murphy quickly said. “Do I still have the right to my own lawyer?”

“Whoa, back up,” Twilight said. “When did I become your lawyer, and why is there tiny changeling here?”

“I’m agent Rodney,” the changeling said, “Of the Multiverse Investigation Agency. You’re client has been charged with possession of unregistered technology that permits travel between universes.” He held up the watch for Twilight to see. “Exhibit A.”

Twilight glanced at the watch as it swayed in Rodney’s hoof. “Oh, please tell me someone is watching over Baby Twilight.”

Rodney put the watch back down. “I’ll give you a hint what happened to her. She was a changeling and you’re talking to that changeling.”

“Oh,” Twilight said as she mulled over this information. “Then what about the alicorn parents Celestia found?”

Agent Rodney shrugged. “I wasn’t aware of that. It’s not my department.”

“Can you get me out of here?” Murphy pleaded. “I don’t think he’s kidding around.”

Rodney put a hoof on top of his submachine gun. “You bet your ass I’m not. So, Princess of Friendship, are you playing legal representative for this poor bastard?”

“Gosh, I wasn’t expecting this,” Twilight said. “We can make a deal, right? Changelings need love for food. You can let Murphy go and in exchange you can remain part of his family in which you will receive as much love as needed!”

“Are you bribing me?” Rodney asked.

Twilight shrugged. “I thought it was more of a deal.”

“Cute, but no. Love is a source of magic for us, not food.” He picked up his submachine gun and hefted it in the air. “That’s why I’m packing heat, for the loveless times. Plus I already ate a salad today. I’m good.”

“Worth a shot,” Twilight said. “Is there another way to get him out?”

Rodney placed the gun back on the table, pointing it towards the wall. “If you can prove you have a defense against the charge, then you may be able to fight in court.”

Twilight nodded. “Um, can you give me the case details? I’ve barely scratched multiverse travel laws.”

Rodney rolled his eyes as he leaned back in his seat. “Fine. I started tracking this guy after getting a report of unidentifiable travel between worlds. I went undercover as ‘Baby Twilight’ and searched through his house. Trust me, it’s legal if the guy lets you in willingly. Then you came along, blabbed about something about a watch, then I found the device.”

“Alright, you have proof he had the watch,” Twilight said. “But do you have proof that he knew it was illegal?”

“Do you think it makes a lick of difference if he knew?” Rodney asked. “Take that to court. See how far it gets you.”

“Then what makes it illegal? Someone could have given it to him claiming it was legal.”

“It’s unregistered.” Rodney tapped on the watch. “We track these kinds of devices heavily, and for good reason. If the device is unregistered, then how do we know you’re not up to no-good?”

Twilight nodded. She rubbed her chin as she thought about this. “And he’s not under arrest for just travelling between worlds?”

“Then you’d be in my custody for just being here,” Rodney said. “Trust me, if we arrested powerful unicorns for using magic to travel between different worlds, then I’d be a criminal, technically.”

“So there are exceptions to this law.”

“Yes, but this man here isn’t a unicorn. That free-card out of jail clearly doesn’t apply to him.”

Twilights face lit up. “And that watch is an exception. It’s been historically documented!”

“Oh, has it?”

“Yes! Murphy arrived in Equestria using this watch fifteen years ago, where he went on several adventures wearing it.”

“We had that law fifteen years ago. Doesn’t change a thing.”

“But after careful studying of this watch, it turns out it’s a part of a more historical device. In the Canterlot Castle in my world, there is an ancient portal that opens a gate between universes. This watch has been proven to be directly linked to this portal.”

“So?”

“So, this watch isn’t an illegal device. It’s an extension of a larger, documented, device. The watch is part of that portal. That’s you’re exception.”

“Huh, you’re going to use that in court?”

“Yes.”

Agent Rodney stood up from his desk. “Congratulations, you found a defense. You can fill out some forms and get the hell out.”

Murphy perked up as the changeling fluttered down to the floor. “Just like that? I’m a free man?”

Rodney’s crooked horn glowed green, pulling the watch and the submachine gun from the desk. “It’s less paperwork for me to immediately fill out if you’re let go. I might have to show up in court against you. But if I play my cards right, I’ll be under cover somewhere and they won’t be able to pull me out. Honestly, it'd be too much work for what's practically a speeding ticket.”

Murphy's jaw dropped to the floor. "What! Speeding ticket!"

A snarl grew on Twilight's face. "You mean all of this was just for a fine?"

Rodney nodded. "Yep. Some asswipe from up top sent me on this wild goose chase to get me back for knocking his ex." The agent made a hissing sound that could be described as a snicker. "Really, possessing an unregistered device? You could have a car with an outdated license plate for all the trouble that's going to get you."

"So what, no charge?" Twilight asked.

"Wrong, there's still the charge," Murphy replied as he walked to the exit. "And you can use you're defense to try to get out of it. But honestly, you'll get a bigger fine for keeping inter-dimensional technology hidden from the MIA. I'll do you a favor and only keep the charge to the watch."

“Um, thanks?” Murphy said.

“No thanks needed.” Rodney said. “No, seriously, don’t thank me, at all, what-so-ever. I hate your guts for feeding me baby food and I never want to see your ugly mug again.”

“Okay, then can you uncuff me from this chair?”

“Ha!” Rodney laughed as he walked out. “Fill out your damn paper work first.” He slammed the door behind him, leaving the human and alicorn alone together.

<><><><><>

It took a few hours to get Murphy process. Twilight had to fill out some documents for him, and then Murphy had to sign something saying he would not leave his home world before the court date. He got his watch back, with a promise that he should get it registered before something back happens. He was fine with that. Murphy was just glad he still had his freedom.

After the time spent in the government bureaucracy, Murphy found himself back at his house. The TV was still, saying, “Are you still watching,” on the screen. He sat down on the couch, and Twilight followed suit.

“So,” Twilight said, “That happened.”

Murphy nodded. “Yep. I have no idea how I’m going to tell Zelda that Baby Twilight was a changeling undercover and out to get me.”

“Just one more adventure to tell her later on.” Twilight watched the TV screen, even though nothing had changed on it since they got there.

Murphy looked at his watch, which he had put on when he left the MIA agency. "Is this watch really connected to some portal device?"

"I have no clue," Twilight answered. "I just made that up to try to get you out of there." She paused for a moment. "Did you hear there are some alicorn parents out there that are missing a kid.”

“Oh, don’t tell me that,” Murphy moaned. “I just had a series of nightmares of Zelda disappearing. I don’t need to have them again for another month.”

“Sorry,” Twilight said. “Baby Twilight might be gone, but Ditzy’s still available. She's pretty good handling kids' birthday parties.”

“If she’s up for it still, that’d be great.” Murphy picked up the remote and tossed it in his hand. “You can come too if you want. Maybe you can pretend you’re Baby Twilight all grown up.”

“Oh yeah, and tell her I needed to go back to Equestria because my friends needed me,” Twilight chuckled. “So, I hear there’s a show that I’m in. What’s it called?”

“My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.”

“Yeah, that one.” She rubbed her hoof along the couch, looking at the screen. “Can we watch it?”

Murphy glanced at Twilight, pointing the remote at the TV. “Sure,” he said as he pushed the play button.