Stepping back through the portal from Equestria to Earth was not the most monumental task in the world. It literally only required walking into some giant, coruscating plane of technicolor energy.

Simple stuff.

Even after the first time he ever did just that, Eric did not feel any different. In fact, the only thing he felt was a slight tingly feeling… as if his entire body went to sleep for a fraction of a second then came back online, like rebooting a phone. There was no odd disconnect in his brain in the act of ‘transporting’ between worlds and probably dimensions. Nothing ever changed; everything was where it should have been, barring the instantaneous change in scenery, of course.

But this time, passing back through from Equestria to Earth, Eric noticed that after thirty seconds of easy walking, his left hand had a distinct lack of feeling in it.

An immediate glance downward revealed said hand ‘being nearly crushed into a pulp’ to be the cause. The cause of that was simply Marble’s own hand squeezing his with all the strength that a hard life of labor on a rock farm provided. Her entire forearm was flexed tense and her knuckles were nearly white through her coat. This was further corroborated when Marble was seen with her trademark, wide-eyed, lip-quivering, thousand-yard stare that she always donned when she was downright terrified.

Marble was making tremendous strides, but Eric definitely knew when she reached her limit in the open world. Of course, this was on Earth, and suddenly finding oneself in the middle of the Starswirl Portal Terminal of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) with hundreds of people (and a fair amount of ponies) in the same place at once would... certainly trigger some reticent failsafes.

The casually dressed Eric knew for a fact that he’d be wise to intervene now… If not for the sake of his marefriend’s mental state, than just to ensure that his hand did not have to be amputated from lack of blood-flow.

He turned to his black tank-top clad marefriend in full, cupping her cheek and manipulating her face so she would look at him.

“Hey, Marble? Cutie pie, it’s okay. I’m right here. There’s nothing to worry about, okay?” Eric cooed, stroking his thumb against her cheek.

"H-Huh?”

Marble finally broke out of her stupor, and her eyes glanced upward and immediately locked onto his. All at once, she suddenly knew not why she was terrified, as her horrible thoughts and not knowing what to do with herself slowly began to ebb away under Eric’s comforting look and touch.

The effect was readily apparent, as Marble had little say in the matter when her face cracked that unwilling smile… That very smile that she saved for the times Eric was simply too sweet to her.

In the small moments of recollecting herself, it was his little words and gentle actions that reminded her the most of why she loved him to the stars and back.

Mainly that, of course. Having sex was also a nice little bonus that made things all the better.

"Heh, I'm okay now, Eric,” she said with a gentle nod, rewarding her man with a little peck on the lips.

“Thank you, handsome.”

Now it was Eric’s turn to get all warm and bubbly on the inside.

No but seriously, fuck these stomach butterflies. Fuck ‘em all to death.

Nevertheless, he gave into that deep pull inside of him, the one that gravitated his mouth to Marble’s as she returned her little peck with a full-fledged kiss of his own. Cupping her face for a few moments as the two let their mouths work each other in public (no one paid them any mind), Eric pulled away with a gentle smack and stared into her eyes with a beaming smile.

And donned that jesting tone that Marble loved so much.

“Welcome to Los Angeles, California, United States of America, Planet Earth, my dear. I’ll be your guide,” he formally welcomed.

Ever on a crusade to make her smile and laugh endlessly, Marble was little match for his grandiose display. A hearty giggle escaped her lips and even through the mask of her hand.

And just like that, everything was right with the world once more.

“Hehe, thank you! It’s certainly umm…” her gaze meandered around the terminal, filled with an impossible amount of human and pony traffic, along with the multi-colored lights of different shops and eateries.

“...crowded.”

Eric nodded and shrugged, conceding her point fully.

“Very, but don’t worry babe. It’s not like this at all when we get to residential areas, especially where I live,” he reassured, taking her hand again and resuming their walk.

The two synchronously re-slung and readjusted their backpacks and luggage, foot and hooves in perfect step.

“It better…” Marble softly threatened, though her words were less than convincing to anyone.

Eric angled his head towards her with incredulity, and Marble responded by giggling and covering her muzzle.

The man then smiled again.

“I’ll never get tired of that contagious laugh,” he mused out loud.

Just as he knew it would result, Marble retreated behind her silken, perfectly straight graphite-mane and blushed profusely. Her cheeks colored extra due to their public setting, and her perception to others suddenly was a factor in how she carried herself, though Marble knew it should not be.

Still, she appreciated every single one of Eric’s genuine words, as he had been instrumental in her little ‘transformation,’ as it were. And she always had her ways of showing how grateful she was, and how much she truly cherished his company, his presence, and his patience.

She had many ways.

Marble gently slapped his shoulder.

“N-Not here…”

Eric chuckled deeply and pulled Marble into a one-armed embrace, letting his hand fall to her waist as they plodded along.

He then pecked her on the cheek.

“I won’t embarrass you in public, Marble, don’t worry,” he assured, patting her side and then promptly following up with:

“I love you, beautiful.”

Oh how her insides seemed to become lighter every time Eric said those words. Her heart rate rocketed to the moon, her cheeks colored fiercely, and her bubbly, fidgety side of her came out in full force. Moreover, each and every time Eric bestowed this measure of soft, powerful affection on her with seemingly little effort, she had the overwhelming urge to jump him and pepper him with kisses… all while proclaiming the same in reciprocation.

But, they were in public, so Marble had to restrain herself and settle for something much more socially appropriate.

She wormed her muzzle into the crook of Eric’s neck and nipped at him tenderly, then planted a gentle kiss there, which earned her a pleasureful shudder from him.

“I love you too, handsome.”

Marble’s concentration was broken when someone’s arm bumped into hers as they were going the opposite direction. She yelped in surprise.

“Omph!”

“Whoops! I’m so sorry!” came the apologetic, almost desperate reply from another man who looked a little older than Eric. Instead, he had neatly combed amber hair and green eyes.

There was no harm done though, and Marble was perfectly fine.

“N-No problem at all! Sorry if I didn’t see you, either,” she added.

That would have been the end of the exchange and all would have been okay with the world, but fate had to intervene with more interesting parting terms as a thestral mare bounded over to them and placed both her hands on the newcomer’s shoulders.

She whispered from behind into his ear with unconvincing seriousness:

“Oi Fredrick, you fukkin’ askin’ mares fer threesomes without me? A-After all we’ve been through together, love??” she jested.

Eric began hacking into his hands in any attempt to cover his would-be raucous laughter, but the same could not be said for Marble, whose face blanched white immediately. Her eyes went wide and she hadn’t even the slightest inclination from being stunned to seek refuge behind her mane.

“I sincerely apologize for my marefriend here,” came the nice man’s pleading reply. “We’ll just be on our way now.”

“OI! Don’t fukkin’ apologize fer me, ya cunt. She’s perfect fer the job!”

“Yeah we’re leaving, bye have a wonderful day!” he added, dragging the batpony along as quickly as he could.

The relative silence was upon the original couple, but Eric could not hold back his explosive laughter. As much as he loved his mare, he could not deny the sheer hilarity of the situation that was upon them, but thankfully he was able to manage it to just a strained giggle.

“M-Marble...PFFT… Chhh… Let’s go babe…”

She responded with a stiff whine, still seemingly frozen in place.

“Please get me out of here…”

And Eric was more than happy to abide by that request. Taking her hand yet again, he led her out of the portal terminal and back into the main airport, where Marble was given the opportunity to lay eyes upon an airplane for the first time. It was an interestingly difficult concept, oddly enough, to explain to an inquisitive Marble that this was how humans (who had no ability to use magic) were able to travel far and fast.

Then again, coming from Equestria, this might as well have been magic to her anyway.

But that could all be explained later; Marble was eager to leave this god-forsaken place, and truth be told, so was Eric. LAX wasn’t a place people came to for fun and good times, after all. It was full of sad moments, goodbyes, a few welcomings, and oft-dirty bathrooms.

It was then a matter of getting to his car that Eric’s brother had parked there a day before in one of the structures outside the terminal… and that was another thing that needed explaining once they arrived.

A simplistic explanation was all it took for the beautiful mare, and soon enough, she was comfortably seated in the front seat of Eric’s father’s Mercedes hardtop convertible. Turns out Eric’s dad was gracious enough to leave it for his arrival so his company could experience her first day on Earth in style.

Of course the top was down.

Both hands on the wheel and having just got on the Interstate 405 Southbound, Eric spared a knowing, sideways glance at Marble. He found her beaming like a child in a toy store where everything was free of charge. The wind blew through her mane and revealed her entire, pristine face to the world as she smiled and squealed with excitement at how fast they were going.

Just like that, the day seemed brighter for Eric.

“Having fun, Marble?” he asked, placing a hand on hers.

She grasped his in return via reflex.

“THIS IS AMAZING!!” she cried.

Her lavender eyes told him everything… how happy she was, and just how much she trusted him with her life to show her the best time in the world. There would be plenty of challenges ahead, namely meeting Eric’s parents, acclimating to life in the human world, and then starting school to hone the skill she loved most.

It wasn’t all peaches and cream for Eric, either. The most daunting thing: Marble’s parents trusted him to return their youngest daughter to them in the same or better condition in which she left.

Eric couldn’t help but laugh out loud at it all. Fixing his sunglasses, he grasped her hand a little harder.

“Well babe, I’m glad! Because it’s gonna get so much better! You’re gonna love it here, Marble.”

The gray-coated mare leaned over the center console and lavished Eric’s cheek with a massive, wet kiss with an accompanying ‘mwah!’

“I’ll love anywhere where you’re with me, Eric,” she added, though she had to raise her voice on account of the car speeding up.

Those words… those powerful words that meant so much more from somepony like Marble; words that never got old.

It’s… a beautiful day today, I must say.

“I love you, Eric!” she quickly followed up, and sat back down properly. She let her eyes fall shut as the wind massaged her face with its ethereal tendrils.

Not a moment’s hesitation from the blonde-haired man.

“I love you too, Marble! Now buckle up, buckaroo!”

Finding a nice opening on the oddly-clear 405 for a weekend afternoon, he floored the pedal and let the faux-jet engine of their roadster catapult them down the highway. Marble squealed with delight as they sped forth, down the path to Orange County on what could be considered her first road trip… a path that would take them on a long, winding, beautifully scenic route of an adventure together.

And for the first time in her life, Marble couldn’t wait.

Author's Note

Just a little epilogue, as I promised.

Thank you so much again for reading! I hope Eric and Marble do well together, and I hope you do, too!