"You Can't Go Back, Michael."
Why Are You Still With Her?
It had been a very interesting day -- and that's quite an understatement! Truthfully, I have never had so much fun in my entire life! I wanted to go back -- desperately so -- but the Princess' warning continued to linger in my mind. I paced around the house nervously, trotting up and down the stairs as I pondered the possible consequences of returning despite that warning. Images flashed in my mind of what might happen -- worst case scenario, I'd be locked up in the dungeon for years on end. The sound of my hooves clopping on the hardwood floors annoyed Brenda to the breaking point.
"Michael! Stop making all that noise! I'm trying to get some rest!" she called out from our room.
"Sorry, Brenda," I replied, my high-pitched female tone still sounding a little unnatural to my ears. I sat down on my haunches on the floor, facing our bed. As I continued to think about my time in Equestria, about all the fun I'd had -- I realized I hadn't actually had a Pinkie Pie party -- I had left before she could throw me one.
Perhaps I can tell the Princess I came back to participate in a Welcome to Ponyville Pinkie Pie party on my behalf -- perhaps she'll understand...
I clenched my eyes shut and concentrated, focusing on the Golden Oaks Library -- remembering the sight of the large oak tree which doubled as both home and library for Twilight. An image I recalled all too vividly but just as fondly as well. I really wanted to see the inside of the place, considering I had only seen the outside during my short (too short for my liking) visit there. My horn began to glow brilliantly as I continued to focus my mind on the tree -- and almost instantaneously, my body vanished in a magenta cloud of smoke and a soft popping noise alerted Brenda to my departure. Upon seeing the puff of smoke, she cursed my name before laying back down to get some more sleep.
It was dark outside -- I wasn't sure what time it was, but I was determined to see Twilight once again. I rose to my hooves and trotted to the front door of the library, knocking three times on the door. A light came on from upstairs as Spike stuck his head out the window. Upon seeing me, he froze up for a moment, stuttering Twilight's name. The lavender unicorn trotted to the window to join her assistant, then looked down to see me standing at her door.
"What are you doing out there? Come inside," she stated. "So -- why did you come back? Didn't you hear Princess Celestia?"
I stood, staring at the door, trying to use magic to open it. My magenta aura shaped itself into a hand and twisted the knob, pushing the door open. I trotted inside and closed the door behind me -- and promptly bumped into a table. I lit my horn so I could see my way, noticing a staircase along the far wall. I brightened my spell so I could see better, doing my best to avoid obstacles (quite a few piles of books littered the floor) and slowly climbing the stairs. Twilight opened her door for me, her horn lit to illuminate my way further.
"Michael, I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into by disobeying the Princess," she uttered softly. "But -- I'm glad you came back! I was wanting to talk to you so I could get to know you and your world better -- and I would have liked to have talked to your wife as well," she added.
"Well -- I believe I can tell you everything you might want to know about her -- I've been married to her for nearly 20 years," I replied as I sat on the floor facing her bed. Spike came over and began inspecting me very closely, a frown evident on his face. "Sorry, Spike," I noted softly. "And Twilight -- how did you know it was me?"
"I took the liberty of analyzing your magic signature while you were here -- it's very close to mine, but not exact -- and when you returned, your magic signature registered with your teleport. You should be careful -- if the Princess finds out you've returned, she might be angry with you."
"I can't find any differences," Spike noted.
"Check out his cutie mark -- if you look closely, you'll see it's a mirror image of mine," said Twilight. "I'll have to admit, you had me fooled for a moment until I recognized it -- but considering how much you seem to be like me, I guess that's not a bad thing."
"So -- does this mean I have your blessing to stay here?" I asked hesitantly, offering a somewhat hopeful look.
"Well -- I don't think it's my blessing you need, Michael -- I think the Princess is the one who decides that," she replied.
"I think it's cool to have two Twilights," Spike opined cheerfully, flashing a grin.
"Unless we both decide to assign tasks for you to do," Twilight retorted, matching his grin. His expression soured immediately. "Just kidding, Spike! You know I wouldn't do that to you!" she giggled. I smiled a little at that, doing my best to stifle a giggle as well. "So, Michael, care to tell me about Brenda?"
"Well -- I dunno what you wanna know about her," I said. There was a part of me that was worried about the Princess showing up, but I tried to shove those concerns to the back of my mind. My worried look caught Twilight's attention.
"I'd like to know as much as possible about her -- I remember her being rather dark-skinned," she opined. She gave me a warm smile to try to alleviate my fears.
I explained in a fair amount of detail as much as I felt comfortable telling, though I was surprised by just how inquisitive Twilight seemed to be. I was also surprised by the fact that she took what seemed like a copious amount of notes regarding my explanation. I also explained how strained our relationship had gotten over the years, prompting Twilight to ask a rather pointed question.
"Um, Michael -- if it's been like that for you, why are you still with her?"
"Don't think I haven't wished myself out of that predicament -- I'm actually hoping to stay here in Equestria if the Princess will let me -- it's not just because of the poor relationship I have with my wife, it's the pressure of everything else," I stated. My tone indicated a sense of exasperation as I reflected upon the poor choices I had made in my life which had led to this point. Another stray thought pertaining to an angry Solar Princess flashed across my mind again, manifesting itself in another look of worry on my face.
"Would you care to explain further?" asked Twilight, ink and parchment at the ready.
I nodded and proceeded to explain in greater detail what my life had been like up til that point, watching as the librarian continued to take notes and ask more questions. Spike brought us some water as time wore on, both of becoming rather fatigued. My eyelids drooped and I tried to stifle a yawn, something which made Twilight giggle before yawning herself.
"I only have one bed," Twilight noted softly, "but you're welcome to share it with me." She climbed into her bed and motioned for me to join her.
"Thanks, Twilight," I yawned before climbing onto her bed, slipping under the cover. She snuggled against me from behind, her warmth providing me comfort, the sort of feeling I hadn't experienced in a long time. I drifted off quickly as did she, the soft sound of her light breathing lulling me to sleep.
"Well, well, well -- what do we have here? Two Twilights? How interesting," a certain Draconequus said softly as he had popped in while we were asleep. "Hmm, which one of you do I take? You're both too much trouble -- I guess I'll take ... you!" he chuckled as he used his magic to abduct one of us.
The sun's rays woke me from my slumber, but the thing that worried me was that I was alone in the bed. I groggily rose to my hooves and trotted around the room, looking for the bathroom. I found a door and opened it with my magic and found to my relief that the room I needed was indeed the one I found. I took care of my bodily needs and decided to find out where Twilight had gone. Spike heard my hoofsteps on the floor and entered the room.
"Hey, Twilight, breakfast is almost ready," he said, flashing me a smile. "By the way, where's the other you? I thought she'd stay a bit longer," he mused.
"What -- what other me? You mean -- you think I'm Twilight? No, Spike -- I'm Michael -- I thought Twilight would be awake by now and doing -- something," I said as I scanned the room, looking around anxiously, then trotting past the drake to the stairs. I carefully made my way down and started looking around the main level. Spike joined me in my search.
"Um, if you're Michael -- where's Twilight?" he asked as he helped me search. He opened the door leading to the basement and called for his surrogate sister. He received no response. "Michael -- can you use your magic to scan for her magic signature?"
"I'll see if I can -- but it might be a good idea to send Princess Celestia a letter," I replied. I lit my horn and concentrated on Twilight in an attempt to locate her by her magic signature, but wound up with a nasty headache instead. "Ugh, that hurts -- I don't think I can do that, Spike -- better send the Princess a letter," I declared glumly.
"Sure thing, Twi," he said cheerfully before scratching on a piece of parchment with an ink quill, then quickly rolling it into a scroll and breathing fire on it. I watched as the parchment turned into ash and disappeared, noting the oddness of the greenish flames. Seconds later, a loud popping noise accompanied by a bright flash of light ushered in the arrival of the Solar Princess.
"Um, Spike, what did you write?" I asked fearfully as the Alicorn gave me a harsh stare.
"You Can't Go Back, Michael."
"So, Twilight, what seems to be the problem?" asked the Princess. Her expression showed a small degree of puzzlement but she maintained a smile nonetheless. Seeing her initially brought a smile to my face, but I also remembered her warning from yesterday. My smile left as quickly as it came.
"Um, Princess, I have a bit of bad news for you -- I'm not really Twilight -- and Spike and I have been looking for her -- but we don't know where she is. I tried to scan for her magic signature, but I don't know how to do that -- yet," I offered, flashing a somewhat sheepish grin.
"Hmm. You look like Twilight -- who are you if you're not her?" she asked, her tone a bit more serious.
"I'm Michael -- we met yesterday when I had my human wife with me," I replied. Her smile returned as she recalled the previous day's events. Spike gave me a puzzled look as he pondered the thought of his surrogate sister accompanied by something he'd never seen. This elicited a soft chuckle from the Alicorn.
"Ahh. Yes, I remember you from yesterday -- but if I'm not mistaken, I believe I also told you not to return, except when I requested it. So this means you've disobeyed me -- pray tell, Michael, why did you return?" she asked, her stern tone causing me to wilt under it, a look of fear making itself evident.
"Well -- um, I wanted to have some more fun," I replied meekly. "I mean, it's been so long since I last had an opportunity like this -- and my life has been so empty back on Earth -- and I didn't even get to have a real Pinkie Pie party," I added, flashing another hopeful look -- or was it a big cheesy grin?
"I see -- so when did you return?"
"It was a bit later on yesterday -- Twilight and I talked for quite a long time before we retired for the night," I said. The Princess noted the unkempt bed and sniffed the air, then scanned it with her magic. She frowned.
"You two slept in that bed -- but -- I sense the presence of Discord," she noted. My eyes went wide at that mention. "Ah, so you know of him?"
"Um, not very much, your Majesty," I replied meekly.
"I believe he might have taken her -- if that's the case, I need to gather the other Element Bearers before he does anything else," she stated firmly before teleporting out of the room.
"What am I supposed to do?" I asked aloud, my query only addressing a puff of smoke.
"I dunno, Mike, but I guess we have to wait for Princess Celestia to return," Spike offered. "I just hope Twilight is okay and that the Princess can find her."
"Yeah, I'm worried about her too -- but didn't you say something about breakfast?" I asked as my stomach grumbled in protest at a lack of food. I began to saunter into the kitchen at this point, the drake running ahead of me.
"I made breakfast for Twilight and me, but if you want some pancakes, I guess you can have the ones I fixed for Twilight -- I can make some fresh ones when she gets back," Spike opined. "At least -- I hope she gets back soon!"
"I think Princess Celestia can handle the situation -- I'm sure Twilight will be back before you know it," I said, flashing the drake a reassuring smile. I sat at the table and began to tuck into the plate of food in front of me, pouring syrup onto the pancakes. As I chewed, I noted an odd texture to the food and an even stranger flavor to them. "Hey, Spike, what did you add to the pancake batter? It tastes kinda funny," I said.
"I put quite a bit of hay into the mix -- Twilight likes the taste, so I make them like that for her. I've gotten used to the taste myself," he replied. "Twilight was going to visit Rarity at the boutique today -- something about a dress or something --"
"I'd like to go there and see her again -- and perhaps we can stop by the bakery and get some sweets -- these pancakes are pretty good, but I've got a taste for chocolate -- or perhaps another taste of that Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness cake again -- that was very tasty!"
"Sounds like a good idea, Twi," he said. I opened my eyes at him in surprise. "Oh, sorry -- I guess it's just a habit," he grinned sheepishly.
"I guess I'll have to get used to being called that, since I'm in her body. I'll help you clean up," I offered as I finished the pancakes, though Spike blanched a little when I licked the plate clean of syrup. "This syrup's about the best I've ever tasted," I smiled before rising to my hooves again. I trotted over to the sink, noticing a few dirty dishes. I used my magic to turn on the water, wet up a towel, soap it up, and then proceeded to wash and rinse the dishes, placing them in the drying rack.
"Um, that's one of my chores, Twi -- you don't have to -- oh, you're done already?"
I giggled in response to his query, smiling warmly at him. "It's fine, Spike, I just wanted to do this to practice my magic some more," I said. "Okay, let's get going."
"What about your saddlebags?" he asked. "And didn't you make a checklist of things to do today?"
"Twilight makes checklists, Spike -- I suppose I should get in the habit of that, I get so absent-minded sometimes -- let me get the saddlebags, I think I might need them. Did Twilight make a checklist last night? Oh, wait -- we were talking til well past midnight last night, I don't think she made one," I mused as I trotted into the main room. Spike fetched the saddlebags, holding them out with his arms outstretched. "Thanks, Spike," I smiled as I took them in my aura and placed them on my back. He clambered onto my back at this point.
"Okay, I think that's everything," he said optimistically.
