One Day Off - A 'My Little Pony: Canterlot High' Side-story

Chapters

1. Gerald's Dilemma
2. Preparations
3. Thinking With A Portal
4. Mission: Im-Pool-able

1. Gerald's Dilemma

Verdant Gearhead – no, in this world he was ‘Gerald Green’ – took a deep breath in his seated position, and as he had done for nearly a year back home in Equestria, and here for the past five months, he reached out with his senses. Not sight, for his eyes were closed. Not hearing, for the only sound he would hear was the beeping of his computer should it detect a magic field. Not touch, for his hands lay in his lap, fingers touching. Certainly not taste, for he had removed the distractions of hunger and thirst just after dawn (even here he was an early riser). Not smell, as he kept the laboratory in his small house clean and well-ventilated. He reached out with those other senses that he used so often to detect the otherworldly fields around him.

Gerald was used to success in this endeavour, as Luna had taught him how to reach out to ambient magic and draw it in, even before he learned he had Unicorn magic. But here the ‘stuff of magic’ was so thin and distant that he could barely brush against it with the tip of his index finger, let alone grab hold of it. Twilight Sparkle, who called herself ‘Twila Evenstar’ in this world for simplicity’s sake, had given up on trying to cast magic here because he new form did not include a horn. Neither did Gearhead’s, since back home he was an Earth Pony, but he was almost as accomplished in magic as she was.

As Gerald continued to reach out, he reflected on the differences between his friends in Equestria and those he had found at Canterlot High. Not only were the ones her adolescent students, not yet in their prime, but they had grown up in vastly different family settings, surrounded by technology instead of magic – although one could easily make the argument that technology was a form of magic, but one that anyone could use. Also, while their skin was not the technicolour variety he was used to seeing in ponies’ manes and coats back home, the dominant beings here still came in various shades – usually some variety of tan or brown. Their names were different too, and while Gearhead and Twilight both thought of them as silly-sounding names, the others did not laugh any less at the ponies’ names, not even at their own equivalents.

This world’s Applejack still lived on a nearby farm with her family, and they were still called the Apple family. But she was ‘Jacqueline,’ Mac was ‘Mark,’ Granny was ‘Gladys,’ and Apple Bloom was ‘Beatrice.’ Bea, as she liked to be called, was a student in the junior high division of the school, together with the other Crusaders, Stephanie (Sweetie Belle) and Louise (Scootaloo).

It took still more time to get used to Felicia Warder, this world’s, partly because Gearhead still had feelings for the Fluttershy from home. Felicia volunteered at the pet shelter, and while she was usually timid she also had her brave moments. She did not speak about her home life at all, but Gerald did not blame her or ask: nothing would have shaken him more than seeing this world’s version of his oldest sibling, Vines, after what they had both been through during the Dark Wars. Thankfully, if this world mirrored Equestria further, this world’s Verdants should be living far to the west. And never should the twain meet, Gerald thought, trying to refocus on his efforts to find the magical weave.

Diane Pinkamena Pie resembled Pinkie Pie the most, right down to her random, but often accurate, insights. Even if Twilight hadn’t stumbled on her initial introduction, Di, who preferred that her close friends call her ‘Pinkie,’ would have figured it out anyway. Just as with the Pinkie back home, Gerald stopped trying to make sense of everything she was able to do shortly after they met at the Fall Formal.

Rayne Dasher was a ringer for Rainbow Dash in her athletic prowess, just without the wings and with the old ego. Rae wanted to excel at every sport, which apparently included something called ‘Parkour,’ which was interesting enough that Gerald had given it a try as a way to get around without the benefit of his armour. His conclusion, after several scrapes and bruises, was that it was not for the casual athlete, and given Gearhead’s more studious and cautious nature, that was what he was, at best.

Rochelle Grant was the budding fashionista of the group. Looking at her was like seeing what Rarity might have been like before she opened Carousel Boutique. Rochelle tried to be just as posh as her pony counterpart, but her enthusiasm as a teen sometimes got the better of her.

Gearhead, Twilight, and Spike had yet to meet several counterparts to ponies they knew back home, like their own, and Discord. Twilight and Spike were not looking forward to that, but Gearhead was curious to know whether this world’s Discord would possess his usual magic, or something more watered-down. And would Gearhead’s resonance with the Draconequus work here? If so, maybe Gerald could connect more fully to the ‘magic stuff’ that he still could not reach.

A chime interrupted Gerald’s efforts. He picked his glasses up from his left side, where he had put them while he meditated, and put them on. He didn’t need them for his vision, although if he stayed in this world and spent too much time staring at computer screens, he might start to need corrective lenses. He merely found that the square-framed glasses had the best surface onto which to conveniently project data from a built-in HUD, so he didn’t always have to consult his smartphone or wrist unit when something happened. Regardless, it was nice to have redundant systems.

Gerald squeezed the right-hand temple lightly, and the Heads-Up Display showed the feed from a camera posted above the front door: his visitor was Rochelle. Sighing, he realized he would not likely be getting any further work done. “Enter,” he said, and the system responded to the command by unlocking the door with a click only anyone standing at the door would hear. Rochelle looked up at the camera and pouted theatrically, then she pulled the door open and came in anyway.

As the black-haired beauty came in, Gerald recovered the omnipresent geargem dagger, its diamond-edged emerald blade and ruby-threaded amber handle gleaming, from his right side and, allowing it to revert to shrink to dagger size, returned it to its scabbard, which he then placed on his belt. He went over to his computer console and quickly called up his live information feeds for last-minute updates. He knew this would likely upset Rochelle when she saw him doing this, but he wanted to keep abreast of the situation anyway.

“Now, is this any way to greet a lady, much less your girlfriend?” Rochelle asked from the doorway. Gerald didn’t have to look to know she had her hands on her hips as she projected imperiousness at him.

“I’m finishing up, and then you have my undivided attention,” Gerald said.

“What’s so important, anyway?” Rochelle sacheed into the room, a motion which would have been even more impressive if she hadn’t taken her platform shoes of first. Fortunately for the floor, and for Gerald himself, he had a no-shoes rule.

“Not so much ‘important’ as staying updated,” Gerald said. “I want to know the instant a gate opens up, regardless of its strength.”

“So no progress on getting your magic back?” Rochelle was behind him by a little as he sat in front of his triple screens. She put her manicured hands on his shoulders, and squeezed a little.

“Some days I can almost reach it, but no. I think I might be able to access the magic near an open portal, if it leads to a world with magic more dense than here.”

“But if it’s the right world, why would you need magic?”

“Right,”

“And what about that fancy suit you came in wearing? Repair it yet?”

“It was never severely damaged, but the Gatekeeper armour’s systems got a good frying when the energy from the portal hit it. Purged all the energy, and it took every particle the condensers still had to get it off of me and transformed to portable mode. So it’s been sitting in the clean room charging.” Gerald called up a schematic, which showed the armour’s energy storage units at a mere ten percent.

“It’s been months. Why doesn’t it have enough power yet?”

“The city’s grid can’t supply the amount of power the armour needs to do a self-purge and restart, and there aren’t enough gemstones available without going to war in this world to build a new core system, even a single-core version. Only the Alicorn Engine can provide enough power for that.”

“How did you start it up the first time, not having the power for it on-hand?”

“’On-hoof,’ in this case.”

“Semantics,”

“Pesky, I know. Anyway, I left that gem at home, so it wouldn’t disturb the balance between worlds or fall into the wrong hands. What I didn’t predict was Princess Celestia and Princess Luna having to blow the portal’s anchors to preserve the balance between worlds. And zutz! Shock-wave shorted everything.”

“I don’t think anyone saw that coming, not even Sunset Shimmer.”

“Yes, and now she’s stuck there while Twilight, Spike, and I are here.”

“Do you realize how much you just tensed up?” Rochelle started kneading his shoulders, and Gerald could not deny that it felt good.

“What I realize is that I cannot afford to be lax, and I have fallen into routine these past few months. The last any of us knew of Equestria, it was still recovering from the war. Still stabilizing. If a big enough threat comes along, it could all go right back to war. Twilight needs to get back there as soon as possible, and to do that, we need a portal. That means keeping all this up.” Gerald indicated his screens. One of them was a wireframe map of the world.

“This isn’t live, is it?”

“What kind of information network would I be running if it wasn’t?”

“But how? You haven’t been here half a year and you know how to program a computer from scratch? How are you getting these readings anyway?”

“I’m bouncing signals off of the satellites and space junk in orbit, of course.”

“So it’s just a signal you had anyway? Nothing... illegal?”

“I also sliced into some surveillance satellites,”

“What?!”

“Don’t worry: the governments let me use them in exchange for hunting down illegal operation rings and such. At least I think they’re letting me use them, since they haven’t come to arrest me yet.”

“And you’re not worried doing all this is going to make someone put a hit on you or something?”

“Who, little old me? I haven’t done anything they can pin on me. I’m just looking at places I can reach fairly easily for... they don’t know what.” Gerald turned serious again. “The problem is, neither do I, not exactly: I pulled all the data I could find about the portal that was at Canterlot High from the Gatekeeper, but it’s not like I can equip anything already in orbit with new sensor arrays. I don’t even know if portals will look the same wherever they happen to pop up. But I have to try anyway.”

“You see? All this worrying is why you need a girlfriend, and why you need day out and about to relax and recharge. I’m just not sure I’m the right choice, in the long run you might end up giving me wrinkles.” Gerald looked up and back into Rochelle’s scrunched-up face. “Just kidding.” She stepped back and, putting her hands on her hips leaned forward and glared, eye to eye. “But where’s my greeting?”

Gerald heaved a sigh as though he was a child having to deal with a parent who had suddenly strapped him with a chore (even though Gearhead would never hesitate to help Father or Mother), and got up and out of his comfortable computer chair. He drew himself to his full height right in front of Rochelle, forcing her to look up as he was a head taller than her. She tuned her head so she had her left cheek directed at him, and he leaned forward to plant a gentle kiss there.

Only she turned her head at the last instant and he got her lips instead. The shock of it stunned Gerald for a moment, and when he realized their lips were still touching, he jumped back to lean against his chair. “That’s for all this,” Rochelle said. “Gotcha good, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, right,”

“Now come on, it’s your day off. Where do you want to go?”

Gerald’s glasses beeped, and he reflexively turned to the monitor. Looks like we may finally be in luck, he thought. “I was thinking the pool, but we’ll need to get some things together first.”

Rochelle’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Oh, I agree! And we’ll have to invite all the others, too.”

Oh, Brother, what have I stepped into?

2. Preparations

Before they could go to the pool, they had to get swimwear, or at least that was what everyone said. Gerald and Twila didn’t have any because they lived in Equestria, and ponies did not need such things, although some of the more serious swimmers did at least wear goggles and swimming caps. Gerald was surprised that Rochelle wanted to buy a new swimsuit, assuming she already had several. Then he realized that this assumption might not have anything to do with her desire to go out and buy another set.

For their outing into town, everyone was in casual wear – not that Canterlot High had a uniform, but this was a chance to wear something they did not normally let others see.

Blonde Jackie was in a plain white button-down blouse and denim shorts.

Strawberry-blonde Felicia wore a light green tank top edged in gold and a knee-length pink skirt.

Pinkie, her hair appropriately dyed pink, was in a purple T-shirt and short skirt combination.

Brunette Rae wore a white graphic T-shirt that said ‘20% cooler’ with violet shorts.

Rochelle, who could have dyed her hair purple to match that of her pony self, wore a plain white sundress that nevertheless rode high on her thighs and low on her chest. She completed the outfit with a pair of sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat. Although Spike tended to try to stick close to her, she insisted on walking arm-in-arm with Gerald, who had long since stopped objecting to such comparatively small public displays of affection.

Twila wore a light blue blouse and capris pants, going for the modest route.

Gerald himself had chosen a white golf shirt, over which he wore a green vest like the one he normally wore, and a pair of kaki shorts with cargo pockets.

Everyone else had forgone their usual boots for more utilitarian sneakers or sandals, given the heat. They also all carried duffel bags for their gear.

Looking at the group, Twila, with her purple and pink hair, and Gerald, with his rust-red hair shot through with green streaks, stood out the most. This contrasted highly with back home, where everypony was a different colour.

The first thing Gerald had to do was derail Rochelle’s plan to go into a small boutique with somewhat dubious fair displayed in its windows. Why a woman would want to wear something so revealing boggled his mind, but then perhaps that was the point: the design might cloud the judgement of any man who saw the wearer in it, as well as the purchaser for buying it in the first place. Considering the type who might be interested in interactions with the wearer, it seemed to Gerald that the only real winner would be the shop’s owner, for having sold so little cloth for so much money.

Money itself was a small issue for Gerald, having brought a small stockpile of gemstones from Equestria in case he got stranded on another world. Of course, it was a gamble because he could have easily ended up in a world where jewels were so common their value would be less than that of gold. But it had turned out well, with Gerald only having to sell off three of his jewels through the diamond exchange, explaining they were part of his inheritance. With the money he gained from the sale, he bought a small house and its furnishing, a complete computer workstation, which he then customized, and the most average, common-looking sedan on the road. Getting his driver’s license was easier than he had thought it would be, once he got all his other paperwork in order.

Gearhead did his research, determining what was needed so he and Twilight could live in this world without drawing unwanted attention to themselves. In the process, he had learned much of this world’s history and culture. As he learned about computers and their operating systems and programs, he also learned about data manipulation, slicing, and hacking. He decided to turn his new skills to use for good, helping to apprehend cybercriminals, and also for profit by playing small stocks on the market.

All of this reminded him that he may have created the first and only computerized system in Equestria. At first it had only been a means to help him control his Alicorn Engine, but he had slowly made it more sophisticated. Even now he had his automated construction units, designed and programmed solely for construction, making items Equestria would need to defend itself. With a catalogue of movies and novels about artificial intelligence destroying or enslaving humanity for the sake of the world’s safety, Gearhead was glad he had not made them any more complex. He certainly would not make any machine self-aware or self-teaching.

As the group entered a department store, Gerald brought his thoughts back to the present. Rayne whistled at the store’s selection as they walked between the aisles. Twila almost started to wander away, probably toward a book display, before Pinkie grabbed her and steered her back on course. Following the signs, they made it to the swimwear department in short order – and speaking of ‘short,’ that did seem to be what was on display.

“Oh... my...” Felicia blushed, seeing the store’s offerings.

“Come on, slowpoke!” Pinkie and Rayne dragged Felicia and Twila away to find something suitable to wear.

“Like what you see?” Rochelle asked with a smirk as Gerald stared at some of the porcelain forms ‘dressed’ in their skimpy outfits.

“It’s not the first time I’ve seen dress forms, but I’ve never seen clothes like that before,” he said.

“Ah, now I understand. These aren’t dress forms, Darling. They’re called ‘mannequins,’ and they model the store’s clothing without having to have living models stand or walk around all day.”

“Should they not be called ‘womannequins?’”

“How many times do you think you could say that quickly?”

Gerald shrugged. Now that he knew about the mannequins, he looked around until he spotted some longer bottoms on display visible from where he stood. “What about those? Back home if we wear anything, it’s tops, not bottoms.”

“That has me curious, but yes, you’re on the right track. Those are the men’s swimwear.”

“You’re curious? Horses don’t normally wear clothes,” Gerald said quietly, “’though I wore a vest with enough pockets to carry my gear.”

“You comin,’ Ro?” Jackie called.

“Of course,” Rochelle answered. “I’ll see you later,” she said, winking as she walked away, toward the others. Gerald watched her hips swing, and wondered how many women could make a plain white sundress look like a cocktail dress. Then he raised an eyebrow as he noticed Spike literally dogging her heels. Surely Twilight, of any of them, would notice in time.

Gerald turned his attention to the men’s section. Many of the designs were more flamboyant than he wanted, and he certainly wanted more coverage, rather than less. He puzzled at the netting that was supposed to function as the underwear, but given the long history of reliability the tags on most of the clothes seemed to espouse, it was obviously a method that had been in use for some time.

Spotting some swimming trunks that had large pockets sewn into them, Gerald started to rifle through them, holding them, a pair at a time, against his waist for comparison’s sake. Most of them were too small, as though meant for children. And maybe they were. Unfortunately he did not see many swimsuits with pockets for his size. Maybe I can sew them on myself, but since we’re going to go and try swimming today, that means I wouldn’t be able to drive and sew at once. He would have to make a choice, which was a shame since it would be nice to have his waterproofed smartphone on him at all times.

“Can I help you?” A woman’s voice asked behind him.

“Well, I’m looking for a swimsuit in my size that has pockets like those ones,” he said, turning around. There was no mystery concerning why this woman was working the floor, given her hourglass figure and brown, doe eyes. Even a pantsuit did her justice, and there was always something distracting drawing the eye. A man or woman with other things on his or her mind would have less room to think about what was left in their wallet or purse!

“There’s not much call for those,” the saleswoman said.

“But wouldn’t an adult need to have a larger object on his person than a child would?”

“Like what?”

In answer, Gerald drew his phone from his pocket. To the casual observer it was a fairly standard smartphone with a sturdy-looking black casing. To him, it was a priceless multitool.

“Ah, I see. It had to be something that could get wet, but I didn’t imagine it would be electronic equipment.” The woman sidled up beside Gerald, and used her hands to get a practical measurement of the device so she could find something with large enough pockets. “Let me see if we have anything in the back,” the woman said, then she walked away with a smile.

The saleswoman soon returned with three swimsuits. The first one was too small, even just measured against his waist (and here the lady took the chance to get close to Gerald again). The second choice was green and black, which was not so bad, but it was a little short, making the pocket too small to be of use to him. The third choice was purple and red, and came to his knees. The pocket was large enough, and despite the colour scheme he kept it as a possibility: a prefab pocket would be better than buying two suits so he would have the material he needed to sew a pocket onto one of them – and yes, having lived on his own for over ten years (at least on his first, pre-rewrite, pass through life) had given him the opportunity and motive to learn to sew, along with other craft skills.

“Would you like to try them on so you can be sure of the fit?”

“That might not be a bad idea,” Gerald said cautiously. The saleswoman seemed to be easing off on her approach, but it was too soon to lower his guard.

“The fitting rooms are this way,” she said, leading the way past a nearby service desk, all the way making sure he was watching her. While this woman was doing all this for a sale, somehow it occurred to Gerald that he liked Rochelle’s teasing better. Maybe it was because he was used to Rarity teasing him about his possible relationships with Fluttershy, Prism, and Dawn back home. Of course, now his situation was even more complicated, with the only obstacle to a relationship (other than being in an alternate dimension) removed from the situation. Which meant that Gearhead was among the most eligible bachelors in Equestria. But at least he did not have to deal with the matter of Succession, least of all now. Father had it handled.

Before he started changing, Gerald made sure the door was properly latched. Even changing he kept wearing what he felt he should for the sake of sanitation, and then had a look in the mirror. Purple and red were not bad colours on him, he reckoned, and his smartphone fit in the pocket in a way that was unobtrusive enough that most people wouldn’t know it was even there, and it fit snugly enough that it would not shift and keep him from swimming properly – as far as he could tell.

“Are you in there, Darling? Do you want a semi-professional opinion?” Rochelle asked, knocking lightly on the door.

Gerald started. “It wouldn’t hurt,” he said recovering. He had kept his shirt on, so he slipped his shoes back on and opened the door.

To find Rochelle standing there in a purple bikini in all her glory. The top seemed to be held together with an O-ring at the front, and the bottoms had side-ties. Of course, the fashionista was posing for him. Gerald became aware he was making an ‘O’ of his own with his mouth. “So you like it,” she said, spinning slowly to show the whole effect.

“You could say that,” he said lamely, picking his jaw up off the floor.

“Good, then I know what I’m buying. Now it’s your turn,” Rochelle started to inspect Gerald in his swimsuit from all angles, her expression telling him she was in full Fashionista Mode. When she was in front of him again, she put one hand on her hip and pointed at his chest. “Do you intend on wearing that in the pool?”

“No?”

“Then take it off,”

Rochelle’s tone brooked no argument, and besides that she would see him in just swim trunks soon enough. So Gerald pulled his shirt off over his head and folded it up so he was carrying it just in one hand. Rochelle circled him to inspect the works again, then nodded appreciatively. “You know, you’re pretty well built for someone who spends so much time at his computer.”

“It’s not all I do,” Gerald said, putting his shirt back on. As he started to turn back toward the change room he noticed a little of Rochelle’s glint leave her eyes.

“Oh, hold on,” she said, grabbing his arm. “Lets find the others and see what they think.”

Gerald suppressed a sigh. This was going to take longer than he’d expected. It was too bad they couldn’t just go through a montage, like most of the movies he had had the time to see.

But, with the opportunity to see the other girls in various swimsuits, he had to admit that at least some of it was worth the extra time. While Jackie and Rae both went with modest functionality, Pinkie chose several outrageous designs, including one with a poofy skirt that was probably meant for younger girls. If there was a way she was able to fit into it, it was probably because, in this world or any other, she was Pinkie Pie. Twila and Felicia both tried to steer toward conservative one-piece suits, and in one case even a competition swimsuit.

“Oh no, Dear,” Rochelle said, “you must show off all your advantages, or it’s a waste.”

“Oh dear,” Felicia said.

“You can’t just let her wear something in which she feels comfortable?”

Rochelle stepped on his toe, a feat that was made harder by the fact that she was wearing designer sandals, while he had running shoes on. “I’m doing this for you, silly,” she whispered.

“You make an odd girlfriend sometimes,”

“’Sometimes?’ I’m being compared to a pony. I know you can’t help it, but still!”

“Okay, I’ll pay more attention to just you,”

“Oh? Are you sure you can, when one of your loves is right there?”

“You were the one who said ‘pony,’ and yet –“

“I’m kidding!”

“Sometimes I don’t get you,”

“You’re not supposed to,”

“This does not make any sense,”

“What doesn’t make sense,” Rochelle said more loudly, “is not taking full advantage of the summer day to do something we don’t normally do.”

“Okay,” Rae said.

“Lets get out suits and get on out there,” Jackie said. When he went back toward his change room, Gerald bumped into the saleswoman again, who offered to ring his purchase through using one of the tags on his suit. All he had to do was snap the plastic tie attaching it to the suit, and he did not have to take it off. But he still had his boxers on underneath, so he removed them in private later, before pulling his shorts on over the bathing suit. Now he would not have to change at the pool.

At the checkout counter, Gerald happened to notice that Felicia had snuck a light green one-piece into her short stack of purchases. Obviously she was too uncomfortable with just the bikini that Rochelle and Pinkie had insisted she get.

3. Thinking With A Portal

It was nearly noon when the bus they were riding rolled up to the complex housing the pools. Apart from periodically checking his phone for more accurate updates on his mapping app, Gerald paid token attention to the others as they gossiped. He was most concerned that Twila might say something revealing about Equestria in public, but it seemed he needn’t have worried since she was just talking about the latest news along with the others.

The only other concern was how Rochelle kept changing her seating posture as she tried to get comfortable for the ride. She ended up resting her head against his shoulder and holding his right hand so that she led the rest of his arm across her shoulders. A lot of the other male riders spent a significant amount of time glaring at Gerald, but he had gotten worse from his own brother, so after a couple of minutes it stopped bothering him.

As they approached the complex, Gerald used his left hand to fish out and check his smartphone. He had been worried that the portal would be a fair walking distance from the pool, but as they all got off the bus he could see that it was inside the building. “This looks promising,” he said softly while Rochelle looked at the screen over his shoulder.

“Two birds with one stone, as they say?” Rochelle asked.

“Oh dear,” Felicia said, “I never understood that expression: who would ever want to hurt a couple of innocent birds?”

“Depends on what they’ve done,” Rae said.

“Or what they’ve eaten,” Jackie added. “But that’s what scarecrows are for.”

“Lets just go and find that portal, and maybe swim a bit,” Twila said, palm to her head.

“Yeah!” Rae and Pinkie cheered.

Inside the complex, Gerald took careful note of the building’s layout and the rooms they passed. The HUD in his glasses showed a wireframe map of the place in the bottom corner of his right lens, but all the mapping app could tell him was that the magic signature was to the left or right or further ahead or behind them.

Following these hints, Gerald pointed left or right each time the halls divided, but then as they split up so the girls could get changed to go swimming, the arrow’s direction changed. That was because Gerald had turned and started to walk away. “Oh no,” he groaned, checking his smartphone to confirm what his equipment was telling him.

“What ‘oh no?’” Twila asked. “Did you forget something at home, or at the store?” Then she looked at where he was pointing the phone’s built-in camera. “Oh no,” she echoed. The others gathered around, away from the door, to come up with a plan.

“You mean it’s in there?” Felicia asked, pointing at the door to the girls’ changing room. “Oh dear,”

“I don’t see what the problem is,” Rae said. “We just have to go in and... oh,”

“Yeah, I can see where that could be a problem,” Pinkie said.

“What’s the hold-up?” Jackie asked. “You gotta go in to use the portal, so you may as well get it over with.”

“I’m more concerned with what those who are already inside might think, seeing a man just walk in all of a sudden.”

“True, if they call security or the police you probably won’t have the time to do what you need to,” Rochelle said.

“Not to mention whoever’s in there won’t be used to being seen in the altogether the way you were,” Jackie said.

“Not wearing clothes in these hairless forms isn’t the same as when you’ve got a coat to cover you,” Twila said. “We definitely don’t need to cause a commotion, but what’re we going to do without magic?”

Rae and Pinkie exchanged a significant glance. “Just leave this to us,” Rae said.

“Yeah, we got this,” Pinkie skipped into the changing room, followed by Pinkie.

“I’m not going to like this, am I?” Twila asked after a moment. Silence followed, and then there was a muffled ‘BOOM!’ from the changing room. They took one step toward the door, and then grey smoke started to billow out between the cracks. The door burst open, and out flooded screaming women and girls, some in their bathing suits, others in street clothes, and still others in various stages of transition, clutching towels to cover what had to be covered, bags in hand as they all made for other available rooms in which they could complete the change.

The sudden explosion of activity made the group take at least a couple steps back to avoid being trampled. Jackie and Gerald managed to hold their ground, but Twila, Rochelle, and Felicia were windmilling their arms to try to avoid falling down. Hearing them voice their struggles, the other two pivoted and lunged to rescue their falling friends. Gerald had one arm wrapped around Rochelle’s waist as he reached further to grab Felicia’s extended wrist. He centered his balance over his leading foot directly underneath him as he squatted, and swept his tailing foot around in a full arc, even stamping it once for balance, and froze just like that for a moment. Jackie grabbed Twila just fine, but she lost her bag. Spike tumbled out when it hit the ground. “Careful!”

“Sorry, Spike,” Twila said as Jackie helped pull her back up to her feet. Felicia pulled herself along Gerald’s arm until she had her balance back, at which point he and Rochelle could also stand.

“Nice save,” Rochelle said.

“Thank you. Everyone alright?”

“From the sound of things, we were lucky not to get trampled,” Spike said. “What happened?”

Rochelle wrinkled her nose, as she became aware of a certain pungent scent. “Stink bomb,” she said distastfully.

“Smoke bomb? Isn’t that a bit excessive?” Twila asked as Rae and Pinkie stuck their heads out the door, both grinning.

“What? You said something about needing some time to do something, and this’ll give you time! Don’t worry: the smell’s quick-fading.”

“True, we want the other women to stay away, but won’t the building facility come to check it out and clean up?”

“Not if we lock the doors and make it look like they’re already on it,” Rae said.

“Oh, good plan.”

“It’s as good as any,” Gerald said. He spotted a ‘wet floor’ sign over by a nearby water fountain and planted it in front of the door instead. They had to be careful getting around it, and then he dragged it so it was as far into the doorway as he could make it. Then he waited for the door to swing closed before turning the lock.

The others went ahead of him into the changing room, which was already smelling more clear. There was a washroom, some benches and lockers, and the showering area, each with its own partition for privacy. There was then a short, curving hall that opened up to the pool area. Spike took up a position near the end of the hallway to keep watch while Gerald took his smartphone out to located the portal.

“Here it is,”

“A shower stall? Seriously?” Rae asked.

“I bet you’re glad we got everyone out first, huh?” Pinkie said.

“So how’s it look?” Jackie asked.

“Wait, how do we know someone didn’t already slip through it?” Twila asked.

“According to what I can tell, the portal is here, but it’s closed, like the one at CHS was most of the time,” Gerald said.

“Oh, I don’t want to do this again when it opens,” Felicia said.

“That’s okay, because I don’t think this one has a time-based lock on it. It can be opened with a gating spell or ceremony.”

“But we can’t cast magic here,” Twila said.

“Fortunately I came prepared,” Gerald said, opening his bag. “This will take a couple minutes to set up.”

“Considering we don’t know how much time we have before someone checks on the stink bomb for real, maybe we better get started on our own prep,” Rae suggested.

“You’re right, Rayne,” Rochelle said. “Lets go get changed.”

“Now?” Gerald asked, startled.

“When else? Try not to get too tempted to turn around and look,”

“Celestia’s mane, I guess I’ll try to resist the temptation to come all the way back to the changing section,” Gerald said.

“Oh, I doubt we have enough time to go all that way back,” Rochelle said, giving as good as she was getting. Gerald heard Felicia whimper, and then a shower curtain got drawn closed. Of course, that was another solution.

“By George I think she’s got it,” Jackie said.

Gerald shook his head, and returned his full attention to the task at hand. First he unrolled a square sheet of canvas paper that he had been carrying in a tube and laid it flat on the shower stall’s tiled floor. He had drawn a magic circle on the paper, so that regardless of where he had to set up he could carry out the casting. Next he placed four small jewels, all from his reserves, on the mat at each of the cardinal directions. There was a sapphire for north, a ruby for south, an emerald for west, and an amber-coloured stone for east. Before he launched into the next step, Gerald patted the mat down to ensure it was as flat against the floor as he could make it.

Gerald took his sheathed geargem dagger out of his duffel bag, and then placed the near-empty bag behind him. Kneeling there, looking at the dagger as he drew it, an odd thought occurred to him. So he held it, blade upward and crosspiece perpendicular to the wall ahead of him, and said “Sword of Gears, grant me sight beyond sight!” The blade extended to sword length, and the galf-gear crosspiece rotated so the teeth were toward the handle, and then split open becoming a more traditional crosspiece.

“I’ve never heard you say that before,” Twila said, poking her head into the stall behind him.

“I thought it’d be fun,” Gerald said, shrugging.

Rae snickered. “You’re such a geek,”

“I don’t know, Rayne, it sounds like you understood the reference.”

“And you don’t, Jackie?”

“Um... I understood the reference,” Felicia said.

“Uh, girls?” Spike said from the passage to the pool area.

“What is it, Spike? Is someone coming?” Twila asked.

“No, but the indoor pool’s looking kind of crowded.”

“What about the outdoor pool?” Jackie asked.

“It looks better. Wait, do you swim here often?”

“Every summer with Mark and Bea,”

“That would explain why she and the other Crusaders are here,”

“Really?” Pinkie said. “We could have a pool party!”

“I’m not so sure,”

“Why?”

“It’s the lifeguard on duty: it’s Bradley.”

“Brad’s here?” Gerald could hear Twila scramble into the shower stall and draw the curtain closed behind her. Ironically it was the same stall he was in, but fortunately she already had her swimsuit on.

“You both said that like it’s a problem,” Pinkie said, “but the more the merrier, right?”

“Not if I embarrass myself in front of him,”

“And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m kind of a dog right now.”

“Oh no, pets aren’t allowed near the pool,” Felicia said. “What will we do?”

There was silence for a moment, and then Rochelle piped up. “Idea!~ Why, don’t you see how this is perfect?” She drew the shower curtain open with a flourish, but Twila crouched, as if to hide herself. “All you have to do, Twila dear, is to show him some of your pony charm.”

Gerald could not help but snicker. “Did you really just..?”

“Pardon me, but you were all ‘Sword of Gears.’ How dare you give me a hard time,” Rochelle said, hands on hips as she admonished him mockingly.

“I could have gone one worse,”

“And how’s that?”

“’I have the –‘”

“Okay, I concede! Get up, Darling,” she said to Twila. “All we have to do is doll you up a bit, and... oh no, that won’t do at all!”

“What’s wrong with my swimsuit?”

“How can you show your full charm in a one-piece?”

“By swimming extra fast in it?” Rae suggested.

“With confetti!” Pinkie said.

There was a pause, and then Felicia said, “why are you all looking at me? I haven’t got any ideas.”

“Well, that’s the best idea I’ve heard so far,” Jackie said. The others laughed.

“I don’t get it,” Felicia said. They laughed harder. “No, seriously, I don’t...” She mewed.

Well, no one else could pull that one off, Gerald thought. Correction: Fluttershy could.

“Still, we have to do something about that suit,” Rochelle said. “Aha!” She grabbed Twila and led her into another available stall. “We’ll take this, and then do this...”

“But Rari – I mean Rochelle, this is...”

“Take it, you’ll need it more.”

Gerald rolled his eyes, not knowing specifically what was going on, and not knowing if he wanted to know at this point. He focused on his sword, and began the short but looped incantation. The magic circle glowed, the gems rose up, and energies began to swirl, sending wind out to flow through the rest of the changing room. The gems began to spin in an orbit above the center of the magic circle, and then they tilted until they were perpendicular to the far wall and flying slowly toward it. Before they could hit said wall, thankfully, they vanished into a rippling space. Multi-coloured ripples spread out until they covered a person-sized shape. As the others started sticking their heads into the stall to see what was going on, Gerald expected the swirling portal to stabilize in a slight flash, but all he could do was to continue the incantation.

And then there was a flash, and Gerald had to suppress a grin although he was temporarily blinded. When his vision did clear, though, all thoughts of levity vanished, and instead curiosity struck at full force.

“Sunset Shimmer?!” Twila asked, gaping. Indeed, there stood Twilight’s yellow- and red-haired predecessor in a pink top and yellow skirt. She was also wearing a jewel on a necklace that had four very familiar colours on it. Gerald took his smartphone back out and proceeded to scan both their returned former-adversary and the space in front of the wall, which shimmered slightly.

“You’re not a demon anymore!” Pinkie said, bouncing.

“Yeah, that worked out about as well as that armoured friend of yours said it would,” Shimmer said. “It took awhile, but your friends back in Equestria were kind enough to accept me, and Princess Celestia said they could teach me a lot. It’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but they’re letting me use the Element of Magic in your place, Twilight.”

“So you’re...”

“Writing reports on friendship to Princess Celestia? Yes, I’m doing that.”

“You’re Princess Celestia’s student again,”

“But I will never replace you, nor will I try. I know I made a lot of mistakes, and I’m trying to make up for them now.”

“I think you’re well on your way, Sunset Shimmer.”

“Oh! Speaking of on the way, Twilight, if I’m here does that mean the portal’s open again? You could come home!” Shimmer grabbed Twila’s wrist and started to pull her toward the back of the shower stall.

“Hold it,” Gerald said, twisting his wrist slightly so the tip of his sword touched the wall ahead and to the side of Shimmer. He had the flat of the blade toward her, but she stopped in her tracks anyway.

“What’s wrong? Twilight can go home and nopony will have to worry anymore!”

“What’s wrong is that only one person can go through that portal before it becomes non-functional again, never to return to this location.”

“Where are we, anyway? This doesn’t look like CHS.”

“It’s the pool, silly?”

“The pool?” Shimmer stared Gerald straight in the eyes. “What’re you doing in the girls’ changing room?”

“Looking for the portal. What else would I be doing?”

“He has a girlfriend, by the way,” Rochelle said.

“Oh. Congratulations, I guess?”

“In any case, the portal will only transfer one person, and that person has to be wearing that necklace.”

“I didn’t even notice this,”

“You can think of it as the key. A key to a door on an electronic walkway moving in the direction opposite from that of your own walkway. It is one, single guaranteed safe pass.”

“I got it. Twilight should be the one to use it... but she wouldn’t leave Spike behind.”

“Or Gearhead,” Twila said. “As of now we need three safe passes, assuming you stay here.”

“I can’t,” Shimmer said. “I’ve got lessons I mean to finish in Equestria.”

“You’re going to see this through to the end?”

“Yes,”

Twila hugged Shimmer. “I’m proud of you,” she said.

“Hey, I’m the older one. I’m supposed to be proud of you.”

“Are you now?”

“Hello, girls? Can we get back to what we’re going to do before someone comes rushing in here?” Spike said.

“Why, what’s the situation?”

“We needed to clear the room so Gerry here could come in,” Rae said.

“So Rae and I set off a stink bomb!” Pinkie said.

“So now we’re worried that someone might come and catch him,” Jackie said.

“And Brad’s out there, and I’m in here,” Spike said.

“Ah, gotcha.”

“You don’t have to go back to Equestria right away, do you?” Pinkie asked.

“Well, no. Not unless the portal would close on me if I waited too long.”

“The rate of decay’s practically negligible,” Gerald said. “It will last at least the day, and as long as you have the jewel I used to open it, no one else can use and destabilize it.”

“That means you can swim with us!” Pinkie said.

“I’d like that,”

“Oh, Felicia Darling, why did you switch that wonderful bikini you bought for that? It’s so... plain.”

“I... umm... also brought the bikini. But I was kind of hoping...”

“I’ll help you with it,” Shimmer said. “I know just the think that’ll help.”

“And I’ll lend you a spare,” Rochelle said.

“Hey, if you had a spare all this time, why did I have to go through all that before?”

“Because, Darling, this suits you better. And I have to have my fun.”

4. Mission: Im-Pool-able

It was often much harder to execute a plan than it was to come up with it in the first place. Or, as Murphy would have it, “a plan never survives first contact with the enemy.” In this case, the group wanted to make sure Gerald did not get seen coming out of the girls’ changing room, and they also wanted to make sure Spike did not get taken away. To try to avoid having to answer questions from people they could not see, Gerald would not be going out the way he had come in.

The simple plan was simplified by the fact that only the Crusaders and Bradley, Twilight’s one-time crush, were present at the outdoor pool at the moment. No one else would be coming out through the girls’ changing room since Gerald had locked the door on his way in. Twila was to go out first, clad in her purple and orange bikini. For as long as possible she would sneak around the edge of the pool to try to get to Bradley’s side without him first noticing her. Then she could take a position to ensure he was facing away from the pool, so the other girls could sneak Gerald and Spike out of the changing room.

The random factors were whether anyone would come out of the boys’ changing room, and it was a factor they could not control. Also, someone would have to unlock the door to the girls’ changing room before she left it behind. On top of that, anyone could cross over from the indoor pool to the outdoor pool at any time. Gerald, for one, hoped they were all too distracted having fun to notice from where he was coming. Another possible hitch was whether Shimmer would be able to help Felicia walk out when she needed to come out to the pool, to avoid drawing too much of Bradley’s attention at the wrong moment.

The moment of truth came, Twila heading out and sticking as close to the walls and fences as she could. She moved slowly, knowing that the human eye was most drawn to motion. In the pool, the Crusaders unknowing cooperated with the plan with their play, which meant Bradley was keeping his attention on them. Gerald and Spike waited around the corner in the changing room, while Jackie and Rochelle relayed everything that was going on. Rayne waited near the door for the signal to unlock it, while Shimmer continued to try to talk Felicia up to walking out in her new bikini.

Bradley stood up straight and stared as soon as he noticed Twila coming toward him. Perhaps he wondered how she had managed to get so close, and when she had arrived. As soon as she noticed his attention on him, she stopped for a moment, and then turned her quiet, slow sneaking pace into a more normal walk. But only for a moment, before she remembered Rochelle’s quick lessons on how to walk up to a man. Rochelle palmed her face at how exaggerated Twila’s hip-swings were, but then they seemed to work anyway.

There was one fly in the ointment with their plan, and that was that Gerald himself had told Bradley point-blank that him and Twila dating would not work: Bradley knew that Twila and Gerald came from a different world, a world of magic. He knew that Twilight had responsibilities as Equestria’s newest princess, and that the reunified principality needed all the help it could get, raising security and confidence and helping the economy to recover after the war. Despite the destruction of the anchors holding the portal to the statue at CHS, Gerald had assured Bradley that he would find a way to open a portal back to Equestria, and then he, Spike, and Twilight would all return home. Such a long-distance relationship, let alone one that crossed species and dimensions, was doomed to fail, bringing only heartache. Bradley had reluctantly agreed, briefly fighting for his right to love who he wanted to, regardless of who she was, but in the end reason had prevailed. And now Rochelle had asked Twila to go against that very reason, and on Gerald’s behalf. ‘Irony’ did not cover it.

Twila reached Bradley, and while she walked around him she put a hand on his shoulder and kept it there. She only stopped walking once she was on Bradley’s other side, facing the opening to the changing room door, where the others could not hear what she and Bradley were saying. But Jackie and Rochelle did see her fractional nod.

Jackie slowly stepped forward, with Pinkie on her left and Rochelle, wearing Twila’s one-piece suit, on her right, forming a tight triangle into which Gerald stepped, with Spike on his heels. They moved in a slow lock-step diagonally toward the pool, rotating in the direction opposite from the one Twilight had used. When they were halfway toward the pool, Rochelle started to drift a little out of formation, and Gerald placed her between himself and Bradley, although the other young man was facing away from him, listening intently to Twila. Gerald had a few more steps, and then the formation lost all reasonable cohesion. He quick-stepped toward the boys’ change room, turning so his back was toward it, and pulled his momentum to a stop. In the moment when Bradley detected motion on his peripheral vision, Rochelle had a fraction of that time to get back near the others. She knelt by the pool, Spike right behind her, and as she plopped her ankles in as though to soak her feet, Bradley’s eyes swept right over her, and past her to the other new arrivals.

While Bradley was distracted, Gerald continued to move slowly around the pool.

“Oh hey, Sis,” Beatrice called to Jackie. “I didn’t know you were coming here today, or I’d have asked to come together.”

“That’s okay, Sugar, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing.”

“Wanna play with us?” Louise asked, seeing Rayne come into view from the change room.

“Sure, Squirt,” the other said.

And then everyone froze and stared as Felicia came out, Shimmer leading her by the hand. Gerald had to admit that the bikini Rochelle had decided to lend to Shimmer looked good on her, and why not when they were pretty well her fiery autumnal colours. But the one who was drawing most of the attention was timid Felicia in her pale green bikini, a matching blanket wrapped around her waist. It would have been for modesty, however the towel’s motion was exaggerating her own, putting an accent on Felicia’s normally-shy manner, and making her seem more outspoken.

“Oh... my...” Felicia began to tremble, and she looked down, her hair falling to hide some of her face. Which, ironically, drew in more attention form her captive audience. Shimmer’s attempts to coax her closer to the pool seemed to be falling short, but at least Felicia had not run crying, but judging from the pattern Gerald was seeing, that would probably happen soon.

Gerald took three quick steps, turned, and from Bradley’s side opposite Twila, called out, “Felicia, you look great! Want to play?” Felicia looked up, startled. In fact, everyone turned to stare at Gerald, as he was pointing at the pool. “Oh, you probably don’t want to get your towel wet, though,” he said, taking long strides toward the pool “Coming?”

Felicia took one hesitant step toward the pool, her free hand on the towel at her waist as though to remove it, but she froze, realizing what she had been about to do. That was when Gerald dropped into the water. He was across the width of the pool from her when he started moving his arms and legs like he was trying to walk along the bottom on all fours, barely kicking to keep his head above the water, but he was also moving across the pool. “Do I have it wrong?”

“Is that supposed to be a dog paddle?” Louise asked, “because it sucks!”

“Well, sorry if it’s my first... time at a pool!” The others laughed, but Felicia was not laughing with them. She fairly tore one hand from Shimmer’s grip, the towel from her waist, and jumped into the water. She hung off the nearby wall with one hand, while she reached out with the other to support Gerald as he floundered, half-swimming and half walking. “Like this,” she said once he was stable. She let go, kicked off the wall, and started doing an easy crawl while the others watched.

“Oh, that’s what I got wrong,” Gerald said. And of course he had: he had been swimming like a horse, instead of like a human. But watching Felicia demonstrate how to use one’s legs and hands to kick and paddle made everything clear. A quick glance at Twila showed that she was blushing, thinking much the same thing.

As more people began to come into the pool, the group settled into more normal play, swimming and passing around inflatable balls and other toys, and everyone took turns teaching Gerald and Twila how to swim. Gerald had to admit he was having fun, literally stretching his legs and not focusing at all on his attempts to find this world’s connection to magic, or another portal. He decided that he liked hanging out with his friends and having fun, which is something he should have remembered from Equestria.

After lunch, they found an ice cream truck parked nearby and bought some cones to enjoy around the pool. Naturally, Gerald treated them, but avoided giving any ice cream to Spike for obvious reasons. The dragon-turned-dog did, however, stick close to Rochelle, continuously keeping her off balance until she lost some of her ice cream. While the others giggled or chuckled, Gerald discretely transferred some ice cream from his own cone to Rochelle’s. Since he did not have as much of a sweet tooth as the others, he would not miss a scoop here or there.

Soon the sun began to set, and it was time to catch a bus back home. The others were reluctant to say goodbye so soon, dragging their heels, but they would all have to leave, especially Sunset Shimmer. “I want to thank you all for a fun time,” she said as they stood together in front of the change room’s opening. The building maintenance team had already been through looking for the source of the bomb from earlier, but Rayne and Pinkie had been thorough in cleaning it up.

“It was our pleasure,” Twila said.

“Yeah,” Stephanie said, “come play again soon!”

“I’d like that.” Shimmer took one last look at Gerald and Twila. “Are you sure neither of you wants to take this portal home?”

“Aww, we’ll find another,” Twila said.

“She’s right. Besides, it wouldn’t feel right if everypony couldn’t go.”

“It’s just that everyone worries... I’ve got it: there’s a book inside my old locker at school that can solve everything!”

“Darling, what’s a book going to do?”

“It’s not what it says that’s important, it’s what it does. That book is paired with another in Princess Celestia’s library. When I write in my book, what I write appears in Princess Celestia’s book as well, and vice versa. If Princess Celestia or I can find where the other book is –“

“Then we can use it to correspond. Sunset Shimmer, that’s brilliant!”

“Well, not to rub it in, but I was the protégée before you were. You’ll just have to remember the locker number and combination when I give it to you.”

“Of course,”

“Well then, guess I’ll be saying ‘farewell’ to you now, since it’d be weird if you followed us in here,” Shimmer said to Gerald, nodding toward the changing room’s opening.

“You could say that,” he said, and was surprised an instant later when Shimmer hugged him, followed by whispering the locker combination into his ear. The one-time adversary left Gerald with a little peck on the cheek as she pulled back, and then she turned and ran into the changing room, where he could not follow. “Hey, this is just ‘goodbye’ until next time,” Gerald said.

“If you say so,” Shimmer said.

But the others could follow, and did. Gerald turned around and made his way to the boys’ changing room, the bag with his change of clothes in one hand as discretely passed to him when Shimmer embraced him. “Well, that was interesting,” Bradley said, catching up.

“Which part?”

“You and the others sneaking Spike in. Sunset Shimmer reappearing. If I didn’t know better, I’d say a little bit of magic was involved.”

“Seems to me you do know better,”

“So what was up with sending Twila out to seduce me?”

Gerald raised an eyebrow, as if to say ‘why, whatever do you mean?’

“Oh come on, you gave me that lecture about why our relationship wouldn’t work, and now this. Despite my pretty boy looks, I’m not stupid, you know.”

“Well then, Bradley Holmes, lets see if you can solve the mystery.”

“I know you wouldn’t have wanted me to spot Spike, but I know from before that he’s not a normal dog, so I would have helped cover for him even if my manager saw. So as for the rest... does it have to do with how Sunset Shimmer is here?”

“Not anymore it doesn’t,”

“The way to travel between worlds before was the portal inside the statue at CHS, but that’s destroyed. So there was another portal here... in the ladies’ change room? If so, no wonder you didn’t want to be seen!”

“Not just a pretty face indeed,”

“Don’t worry: I won’t spill your secret.”

“I do not know to what you are referring, my good man.”

“Exactly.”

Showered and changed, the friends trooped onto the bus together with the Crusaders and Bradley. Gerald noticed that Twilight was wearing a brand-new accessory around her neck: a necklace that showed blue and green and gold and red, but did not hold an inner light. Knowing it was from a precious friend, he did not begrudge another of his own precious friends ownership over the item.

Some of the friends, including the Crusaders, Felicia, and Rochelle, who had exerted themselves the most in the pool, were dozing as the bus rumbled along the street. As the vehicle took a corner, Rochelle nuzzled more securely into Gerald’s shoulder, while on his other side, Stephanie snoozed with her head on his thigh. Today’s objective had been to relax and get refreshed, and the way he was feeling then, surrounded by good friends, he could not create any argument against the day’s objectives being completed.

Perhaps some day soon, with Sunset Shimmer safely returned to Equestria, they would be able to work together to find a new portal – one that could take Twilight Sparkle, Spike the Dragon, and Verdant Gearhead home.

Until that time, Twila Evenstar, Spike the Dog, and Gerald Green were home.