The Lost Princess

Chapters

Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI

Chapter I

It isn't every day when a voice pops in your head and says, “You must jump off this cliff.”

I was staring down the face of a jagged cliffside, a waterfall roaring to my immediate right. The water tumbled in a thick curtain down the face between the two sections of Crescent Harbor hundreds of feet below.

As weird as it may sound, I didn't feel like a quick, sandy death was the best option in the world. Also, the whole headline of “Teenager Commits Suicide on a Popular School Trip” didn't strike my fancy.

“Hey, Rod!” A voice yelled behind me. I turned carefully, my heels treacherously close to the edge of the cliff as I did so. Behind me was Al, a friend of mine since I could remember. His skin was dark, and sweat glistened on his forehead from the long hike up. His brown eyes were wide. “Y-you can come away from the edge now.”

I stepped away from the cliff, putting my hands out in reassurance. “Don't worry. I know what I'm doing.”

Raising an eyebrow, Al shook his head. “Man, you were walking toward the cliff as if you were possessed or something. Scared the crap out of all of us.”

I lifted a finger, trying to come up with an excuse, but none came. I noticed that a large part of the student body, save a few, were anxiously looking toward me.

I sighed. “Well, I'm still here,” I tried to reassure, but Al still looked pretty spooked. “I never planned on jumping, anyway.”

Al inhaled deeply through his nose, cupping his hands in front of his face. “Okay,” he breathed, swinging his hands down to his sides. He cleared his throat. “Okay. Don't ever do that again.”

“I won't,” I reassured again.

“Or I may kill you.”

I chortled. “For seeming like I was going to kill myself.”

“It's a good threat, huh? That way you don't have the glory to yourself.”

I snapped my fingers together dramatically, flipping my hair to one side. “Man! Because everyone that committed suicide wanted the glory of it!”

I raised an eyebrow at Al, and he simply shrugged. Al had always used idle threats, and the or-I’ll-kill-you line was a personal favorite of his. This time was no different.

“Back in the real world, Mr. Rodrick?” A feminine voice asked beside me. I looked to my side to see Mrs. Butterworth looking over her square-framed glasses at me. She stood at about my height (which wasn't a hard thing to do; I barely scraped 5’9”), the whole length of her covered in a grey dress which fabric looked like it was ripped from a couch. She was thin, almost too thin for her age, as her cheekbones jutted out of her face. But even though she seemed physically frail, she was fearsome. To put it simply, once you saw greying hair in a bun traveling down the hallway, people divided as if they were the Red Sea.

I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

Mrs. Butterworth managed a thin smile. “Good. We wouldn't want you ruining yet another school tradition, would we?” Her dull green eyes darted between Al and I.

I shook my head. “No, ma’am.”

Her expression darkened again. “You two, pranking about suicide. Both legally adults. God forbid you become popular.” With that, she turned and went toward a group of students terrorizing a poor squirrel.

I folded my arms in front of my chest. Wasn’t even intentional, I thought.

Al sighed, shaking his head. “Will she ever lay off of you on that? I mean, it was only the school mascot…”

“The guy was hospitalized, the costume ruined,” I completed. “But I don't think so. Butterworth can hold a grudge.”

Al raised an eyebrow. “It can't be that bad, right?”

I closed my eyes, trying to pick among one of many stories. I decided to pick the one I most identified with. “Class of ‘86. Mr. Brown. Subject of his senior prank. Butterworth still won't talk to him.”

His eyebrows soared. “Wow. I guess it is.”

Three sharp claps came from the midst of the students. Mrs. Butterworth had placed herself at the exact center of the circle of congregated students. I shot a look to where she was before. She couldn't have cleared that situation up that quickly, could she?

Then again, she was Mrs. Butterworth.

“If I may have your attention, please!” Her alto voice boomed. The remaining chatter dissolved into dead silence. A sophomore took a sizeable step back.

She cleared her throat. “This is our fifth annual Crescent Hill hike. Normally, Principal Celestia would be speaking instead of me, but because of her unfortunate disappearance, Vice Principal Luna requested that I lead the hike this year. But out of respect of Principal Celestia, I would ask if you join me in a moment of silence.”

It went completely silent, as if most of the student body had forgotten how to breathe. I bowed my head. It was wonderful, but most of the time frightening how Mrs. Butterworth shush a crowd to an almost deafening silence. Even the birds that were previously chirping seemed to have stop existing entirely.

“Thank you,” she said finally, and the normal, lively silence returned. “Principal Celestia chose this area because it reminded her of her youth, hiking the mountainside with her father…”

I tuned out. I'd heard this story a few times, and I could practically play it out in my head word for word.

“Hey,” Al said lowly. “I’m confused. Principal Celestia was only declared missing. Why is Mrs. Butterworth treating her like she’s dead?”

“I’m guessing you didn’t see the crash in the news,” I said. After Al shook his head, I continued. “The pictures of the crash proves it all. Her car was smashed, absolutely totaled. There was no way she could’ve survived it. But after they examined the wreckage, there was no body to be found.”

That was when a huge guy stepped in front of me. He had a parted, light brown hairdo and a build like a quarterback. That was because he was a quarterback.

“Was that really necessary, you pisshead?” Rug spat.

“Really, Rug?” I sighed. “Right now? Butterworth’s in the middle of a speech.”

He drew a hand out of his pocket, slapping a piece of paper on my chest. I didn't have to look at it to know what it was. Suffice it to say, we had a long-lasting rivalry, and I may or may not have posted a picture of him singing Countess Coloratura half-naked in his bedroom around the school. He didn't deserve the student body officer position anyway.

“Have to admit that it was pretty hilarious,” Al snuck in.

“Shut up, you pisshead!” He snapped at him. As you can probably see, he wasn't exactly creative with his names.

“Hey, buckbrain, eyes on me.” I gestured between him and I. He slowly turned his head back, his eyes burning with rage. Perfect for roasting marshmallows. “I'm the one who you're after here. Keep your eyes on the ball.”

“You know, you can shut your face!” He hissed. He pushed me back toward the edge of the cliff, my heel hanging just barely off. My heart jumped, and I leaned forward.

“Rug!” Al barked. “Cut it out, now!” He took a step forward, trying to push Rug away from me, but he landed a backhand on his cheek, and Al went sprawling. I stepped forward, but Rug was back in my face.

“You're nothing but a little freak!” he graciously continued, his face nearly inches from mine. “That's the reason why your daddy left, wasn't it? He couldn't stand your stupid face!”

I ground my teeth, clenching my fist. It took every fiber of my being to not deck the guy.

“Hey!” Mrs. Butterworth stormed toward us. She must have interrupted her in memoriam. “What in the world are you three doing?”

Rug spun around fast. Too fast. A flying hand hit my arm. I spiraled. My foot slipped. My heart skipped a beat as I plunged to my doom.

Chapter II

Word of advice: don't fall off cliffs. It's not fun.

My gut churned as a felt myself accelerating. The wind rushed by, deafening me. The last thing I saw was the right edge of the waterfall zooming past when everything suddenly went black.

I awakened in a pitch black chamber. I rubbed my eyes. Weirdly, as I pulled my hand away, I could see it as if a studio light was on it. But when I moved it, I temporarily had ten fingers on one hand rather than the normal five, as if the light was lagging behind.

“Hello?” A feminine voice called, echoing softly across the chamber. “Is someone there?”

I blinked. In front of me was a blur of lavender. She was very short--like, her-head-would-come-to-my-waist-short, hollow strikes like clopping hooves following her as she came closer.

I tried to reply, but it was as if I was trying to breathe through syrup. What came out was a small gargle. She’s on a horse? I thought. How small is this person?

The lavender blob moved closer, her appearance fleshing out. She was on all fours, and what I could only assume were her eyes wide in concern. But something was way different. What I was looking at wasn’t human.

She gasped. “Wait, you're him. The one we sent back.”

I woke up in a hospital bed, my head feeling like it was floating. An IV was plugged into my arm, greenish medical tape covering it. I tried to sit up, but a stabbing pain in my back kept me back. I cursed.

And then I realized my mom was there. She held a newspaper in hand, one of the headlines reading “Crazy Teens: What will Millennials Ruin Next?” Underneath, there was a low-saturated image of a guy about my age, clothes in tatters, puncture wounds all over his body.

Setting down the paper, my mom looked up, her black bangs brushing against her forehead. She was barely middle-aged, but her tired, blue eyes showed many more years of struggle than her face would show. Nonetheless, she smiled.

“Easy there, partner,” she said, her soft, southern-tinged accent soothing over me. “You took quite the fall.”

Then I remembered it. The weightlessness. The deafening wind. I stirred. “Yeah. I guess I did.”

She nodded, her eyes now filled with concern. “Well, Rug is now officially expelled. Heard that he was in tears all the way back down the trail. My word, he took quite the whoopin’ this morning.”

This morning, I thought. I looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand next to me. It read 5:06 PM.

“I was out for about twelve hours… ” I said, though it was more if a question than anything.

She nodded. “Yep. You’d almost drowned. Scared the living bejeezus out of me. Came as fast as I could.” She managed a smile again. “But you've always been a heavy sleeper. No wonder why you were out so long, right?”

I didn't know that my sleeping habits had any effect on how long I stayed unconscious. But I just nodded, uttering a small, “Yeah.”

Then I remembered Al. “How's Al doing?”

Mom shook her head. “He was worried sick. Nearly ran the whole way down the trail. He was mighty relieved to see you were still alive, though.”

“He isn’t hurt, though?” I asked. “Rug slapped him across the face pretty hard.”

Mom traced her right cheek. “Got a real shiner, but nothing too serious.”

My heart dropped to my stomach. Poor Al. I'd already worried him sick when I walked up to the edge of the cliff…

I froze. The voice. The voice that told me to jump off the cliff. It was the same voice that belonged to that… thing that was lingering in my dreams. What on earth is going on? I thought.

My mom cocked her head sideways. “Rodrick,” she asked softly. “Is there anything wrong?”

I paused, a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as I considered the state of my mental health. I swallowed, then shook my head. “Nah,” I managed, my inflection dry. “I'm fine. Just a little bit of deja vu.” A complete lie, but how could you tell your mom that a purplish demon possessed you to almost fall off a cliff, that same thing reappearing in your dreams and telling you that you’ve been sent back?

I mentally facepalmed. Like that, I thought. But, she couldn’t possibly believe that… could she?

My mom nodded. “You've been here for few times, haven't you?” Her eyes were distant. “The last time you were here, you'd broken your arm on the monkey bars in sixth grade.”

“And broke the monkey bars themselves,” I remembered. I knit my eyebrows. “Jeez, I have a knack for screwing things up.”

Mom giggled when I heard a vibration, a Cello-Piano duet coming in suit. My heart sank once again. That was her and Principal Celestia’s favorite song. It used to be the ring tone of her contact, but I guess my mom must have put it as the default.

As soon as it rang out, the tenseness in her shoulders relaxed. She let it ring for a second before she finally answered it.

“Hello?” she greeted. A pause. “Yep, I'll be right there. Thank you kindly.” Pause. “Uh-huh. Buh-bye.”

She hung up, placing her phone back into her pocket. “Shoot, I need to head on into work. Pesky client.”

“Jeez,” I sighed. “Well, don't kill anyone.”

“I'm not Al, but sure.” She stood and walked to the door. Opening it, she uttered a small, “Love ya, darlin’.”

“Love you too, mom,” I replied.

She smiled, almost closing the door, but turned around and stuck her head in. “Oh, yeah. You should be out in three hours. Jeff’ll pick you up. Be sure to remind him to pick up your prescription, would ya?”

I nodded. “I will, mom.”

Another smile. “See you later, darlin’.” She closed the door softly behind her, leaving me to my lonesome once more.

My mom’s estimate was about right. The doctors notified me that nothing was broken, a miracle considering how far I'd fallen. They also notified me that I would be sore for the next couple of days, with a huge purple bruise on my back. Joy.

Jeff picked me up about fifteen minutes after I was let go. He was about the same age as my mom, but somehow he looked much older. He had a longer, disheveled, sandy-blond beard, and matching hair that rested on his shoulders. If it weren't for three-piece business suit, it'd be easy to see him as a hobo.

We quietly walked to the car. Jeff was a man of few words; he never spoke without purpose. So whenever he called me by name, I knew something was up.

But when we got into the car, he said softly, in a rough-ish baritone, “So. How was your day?”

I was shocked. “Uh.” I struggled to find the words. “Good. Was, er… knocked off a cliff. All that fun stuff.” I cursed under my breath. I wasn't particularly good at small talk either.

“Nice,” he said. His face turned slack as he turned on the ignition. “I-I mean, not nice, but…”

“It's all right, Jeff,” I forgave.

He nodded. He was like this from the day my mom met him. Since then, he came out of his shell a little bit, the whole reason why he got the job at the company he works for today.

“How did your mom take it?” He asked, pulling out of the parking lot. The yellow lights from the streetlamps illuminated his face one after another as the car moved.

“Pretty well, all things considered,” I answered, scratching the back of my head. “I could tell that she was concerned, but she didn't freak out in front of me, at least.”

He nodded. “Yeah. It's just… y’know how your mom's been since your dad left.”

I nodded as well, my expression turning grave. My biological father left when I was six, and it left my mom in shambles. She would often be disconnected, distant, and whenever reality set in, she would break down. It was absolutely miserable for her, and her depression only made it worse. I was stuck wondering what kind of monster would leave his family like that.

That's where Jeff came in. It was when my mom broke down in a supermarket, and he was the first and only one to try to console her. Amazingly, it worked. He was able to convince my mom to take medication, and get her to therapy. Ever since then, mom’s depression had become less intense, she was able to find a better paying job… and the rest is history.

It took me a while to realize that I was smiling. Jeff’s kindheartedness was infectious in many ways. Looking back on it now, it was one of the many things I looked up to him for.

The rest of the trip went by in relative silence. We swung by the pharmacy and picked up my anxiety medication (it, along with depression, runs in the family), and we headed home.

He dropped me off at the doorstep, wishing me a good recovery, and drove off. When I reached into my pocket, I was relieved that my belongings were still in tact, despite having been drenched in salt water. My wallet was a little shriveled, but that was the extent of the damage; I never took my phone with me during outdoorsy things.

I flipped the wallet open, procured my key, unlocked the door, and entered my house. The living room was dark, with the familiar scent of spent candles mixed with the light tinge of stale coffee lingering inside. My mom’s desk lined the wall to the left of me, the sofas surrounding a relatively small TV. It had a pile of paperwork and blueprints scattered on the tabletop, a coffee mug right behind the swivel chair right in front of it.

Ever since my mom got the job as a contractor, she’d been working herself to the bone to keep ourselves afloat. I was lucky enough to get an interview for a job at a local restaurant that I still wasn’t called back about. If there was some way I could’ve helped financially, to help take the strain off her shoulders, I would.

I walked over to the desk and organized the documents, cleaned off the desk and the rest of the living room. It was the least I could do.

Afterward, even though I had just woken up some three hours before, I felt physically drained. I dragged myself into my room, crashed in bed, and was out like a light.

I appeared in the same dark chamber. I furrowed my brow. Again? I thought.

“Hello,” a voice greeted behind me, scaring the crap out of me. I turned, and I was shocked.

In front of me was a lavender horse. Smooth, feathery wings were folded to its sides. A horn protruded from her forehead, surrounded with a light, mystic glow. Her mane was a night-like blue, with a red streak running through it like a sunset at dusk. Her eyes were a dark shade of purple, gazing affably, yet also interested and hungry.

“Er… yo,” I stammered to the talking horse.

She giggled, raising a hoof. “Don't worry,” she reassured, her voice an energetic soprano. “I've seen this reaction before. You're fine.”

I couldn't even process what she’d just said. “What. Who. Why?”

She giggled once more. “Perhaps I should introduce myself.” She gestured to herself. “I'm Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. And you're the key to help me find Princess Celestia.”

Chapter III

Chapter 3

I would like to say that I kept my cool. After all, someone was asking for help from me, and that someone happened to be a cute little pony-pegasus-unicorn thing. But I definitely didn't keep my cool.

Instead, I laughed like a giddy maniac. “W-wait,” I forced through the laughter. “Y-you can't be serious!”

She took a deep breath, one eye twitching lightly, just enough to notice. “Very.” She raised an eyebrow.

I put a hand behind me to support myself as I sat cross-legged. “Okay, okay,” I said through broken laughter. I took as deep of a breath as I could, and tried not to be hysterical as something out of a cartoon played out before my eyes. “This is an absolutely crazy dream. Am I still high off of the stuff they gave me at the hospital?”

“It is a dream,” she conceded. “But no, you're not “high” off of anything.” It took me a little to notice, but she had trouble meeting my eyes. “I'm glad that you're okay, though. That fall could not have been pleasant.”

It clicked again. The voice here, the voice in my dream in the hospital, the one in my head at Crescent Harbor… they were all the same.

“Why on earth did you request I leap off that cliff in the first place?” I snapped.

She flinched, as if she knew that was coming. “I'm sorry. I didn't know at first that it wasn't a dream. I thought that I felt a magical presence in the harbor. Given that I have wings and all…” she gave her lavender wings a flick. “I thought I could fly down and investigate.”

I scowled, folding my arms. “Well, yeah, I ended up flying. Downward.” It took me a second to realize that I had said that aloud. Twilight flinched again, and her gaze drifted farther away from me. My heart sank to my stomach.

“I-I'm sorry…” I apologized. “I didn’t mean to say that.”

She sniffed. “I-it's fine,” she replied, although by her continual reluctance to meet my gaze, eyes softened and misty, I knew it actually wasn't.

A moment later she took a deep breath, tracing her hoof with her breathing, and returned to my gaze, back to the state she was in before. “After our… unfortunate first meeting, I knew that I needed to contact you again, somehow.

“You were found in my castle just as I passed through the portal. You were pretty beat up by the looks of it, and you were unconscious on the way through. When I returned, they had you laid out on the floor, and they didn’t know what to do with you. After talking, we sent you back. Everything was perfectly normal.”

“Until the dreams started happening,” I guessed.

She nodded. “Yes. Then I knew something was up. I tried various ways to try getting back to you, but then I got the bad news: Princess Celestia suddenly vanished. And from what I understand, your world’s... Principal Celestia also disappeared earlier this week.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Wait a second, you don’t mean to say that those two incidents are connected?”
Twilight nodded once more. “Yes. The Celestia of both your world and mine are both very powerful. So their disappearance has to be connected.”

I breathed in deeply. “Let me get this straight. You’re from an alternate universe, and you’re haunting my dreams because…?”

“We must’ve collided when we were changing form,” Twilight finished.

I hesitated. “Right. That. And there’s some crazy scheme to kidnap two powerful beings across our universe.”

“Yes,” Twilight confirmed. “That’s how I understand it, anyway.”

I folded my arms, looking up to the sky. “This is absolutely crazy. I…” I slapped my arms to my sides. “I just don’t know what to think.”

Twilight gave me a sympathetic smile. “I know exactly how you feel. It’s a lot to take in.”

I heaved a sigh. “Well—”

BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEE--

I slammed the snooze button. My eyes slowly opened as I read the time: 6:30 AM. School. Great.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and stood up. Or I should say, attempted to stand up. My back and joints roared in pain as I extended my legs, forcing me to plop right down onto my bed.

Darn… a voice came from my head. Why can’t I get out of bed?

It was the same voice of the pony I saw before.

“Huh, I wonder why,” I muttered.

My heart involuntarily jumped. Oh! Right, you’re still here.

“Yep,” I replied. “I still sorta exist.” I attempted to get up once again, this time getting a little higher before plopping down once again.

Interesting, Twilight’s voice continued. It took me a bit to notice that my hand was involuntarily moved in front of my face, investigating every angle. I can see through your eyes, but I can’t feel your pain…

“Well, I can,” I said. “So, please stop commandeering my body, please?” I attempted one more time to stand, and despite the pain, I balanced on both my feet.

Woah, okay, this is weird! Twilight exclaimed. My arms started flailing.

“Twilight, stop!” I yelped as I was losing my balance.

I just need to balance on something--!

And I ate the floor. Despite my efforts to catch myself, Twilight’s flailing counteracted every movement that I tried to do. At least I was able to turn myself to the side a little as to not shatter my nose into billions of pieces.

My mom’s bedroom door adjacent to mine opened suddenly, and she walked out in a white bathrobe. She peered into my bedroom. “Oh my word! Are you all right, Rod?”

I picked myself up, flinching at the pain. “I’m fine, mom. Just tripped on something.”

My mom peered around the room, obviously noting how clean it was. “A-all right.” She turned back to her room but stopped short of her door. “And also, partner, you don’t have to go to school if you don’t want to today. Y’know, with fallin’ off the cliff and all.”

I got up from my knees. “I’ll see if it’s bad enough to keep me. Thanks mom.”

My mom nodded, and she went back into her room, closing the door behind her.

“Okay,” I hissed. “What the freak, Twilight?”

I’m sorry, she apologized. It’s just… this is confusing.

“Well, leave the moving to me, kay?” I stood, and limped forward. With that, I went through my daily routine. Everywhere I went there was the nagging and sharp pain in my back, enough for me to consider to ruin my otherwise perfect attendance record.

Then I walked to the bathroom, and checked my back. The bruise was a large splotch of purple, seeming to swell above the skin around it, tender to the touch. Sighing, I stripped down, hanging a towel on the towel rack, turning on the shower.

Wow. That’s very intriguing…

I jumped, suppressing what would’ve been an embarrassing screech while covering the important bits. “You’re still here?” I yelped, trying to keep my voice down.

Oh! I’m sorry… I forgot your customs.

“Just!” I realized that I was speaking too loud, and since I didn’t want mom to think I was crazy, I toned it down. “... just go, okay? Please.”

I waited. “Twilight,” I whispered. “You there?”

Silence. Just how I liked it.

But the shower wasn’t how I liked my showers. Each droplet of water felt like daggers on my skin, and no matter what temperature I set the shower head to, it was the same. I quickly cleaned up, completely forgetting to shave as I dressed into clean clothes. I brushed my teeth, got my shoes on, and made my way to school.

This was the last day before Spring Break, luckily. Otherwise, I would’ve taken my mom’s advice. The weather outside was a little brisk, making me wish I brought a jacket with me. But the walk to school wasn’t too far off; you could see the Stallions statue from just over the hill. As I walked, the soreness subsided, and it started to feel like an almost normal day.

Upon entering the school, I went to my advisory class for first period. Unfortunately, Al wasn’t in class today. Apparently, he had called in sick, which seemed to be happening a lot lately.

But given that I only had a half an hour to get this done, I got permission from my advisory teacher Ms. Brownwood to visit the principal’s office. Since Twilight had conveniently visited me that morning, I knew that my dream wasn’t just a dream. In order to know what was going on, I needed answers, and I was sure that Mrs. Butterworth could help me with that.

Chapter IV

Chapter 4

The counselor’s office wasn’t too far away from my advisory. Even though the campus was fairly large, having been here for about three years, I knew how to traverse the halls with considerable speed.

It was odd, yet peaceful when the halls were this silent. Fewer people, fewer sophomores especially made for a nice visit to the office I loved to hate.

The counselor’s office was small as compared to the main offices. It was joined by a hub that split up into three rooms, each belonging to each counselor. The carpet that spread between them was like an blue, old-TV-static, and the desks were made of a bright birch. I checked in at the counter, where a new receptionist barely older than me jotted down my name on the back side of a purple sticky note. He hung the note on Mrs. Butterworth’s door, and gestured me to sit down on one of the nearby chairs. I said a small thank you and took a seat.

I flipped my phone out of my pocket with absent-minded finesse, and started scrolling through my network feed. As it was, however, I was barely able to focus. The reality of what I was doing started setting in. Was I really doing this because of a dream I had had? To glean information that I already know? I would’ve known any updates on Celestia’s condition from my mom, but nothing came.

What was I actually here for?

Before I knew it, Mrs. Butterworth came out to meet me, in her normal attire, even though it looked like she’d skipped her morning coffee. She carried a clipboard along her forearm. “Mr. Rodrick,” she greeted. “I’m quite surprised.”

“Apparently, the hospital can’t keep me long,” I said. “Still hurts a lot, though.”

“Well,” she said. “I’m glad you’re not too injured.” She looked down at her clipboard. “So, you needed to see me?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Just a couple questions.”

She hesitated. “All right. Come with me.”

“Okay,” I said, and with a little difficulty, I followed her into her office. It was a pretty roomy place, with pinboards and cabinets all around the walls. The desk cut the room in half, abutting against the wall to the right. On her desk were multiple papers, and a black coffee maker that still emitted heat from the last cup of coffee made.

I sat across from her, flinching as my back hit the hard back of the chair.

“So,” Butterworth said, sitting down in her nice office chair. “How can I help you?”

“Um…” That was when I realized how awkward a question this would be. Asking about the mare in my dreams, hoping that Mrs. Butterworth would believe me. My mind went blank, and I said the next thing that came to me. “So, Principal Celestia… what happened?”

One of Mrs. Butterworth’s eyebrows rocketed skyward. “You weren’t listening to the news… or yesterday? She was in a car crash, went missing. Why?”

“Are we absolutely sure, though?” Her eyebrows managed to raise higher. “I mean, did they find a body yet?”

Butterworth shook her head gravely. “No. They still aren’t able to find her. Even if she walked off unscathed, she would have left some sort of trail. Even the police dogs couldn’t catch a scent.”

I nodded. “And she hasn’t been declared legally dead at all?”

Butterworth rested her chin on the backs of her hands. “No. Not yet anyway.”

I once again considered asking her about my dreams, but decided against it. “Right,” I said, getting up from the chair. “Thanks for clearing that up.”

“Rod.”

“Yes?”

Butterworth gave me a piercing look. “That isn’t why you came here, is it?”

My heart stopped for a beat. “H-how…”

Butterworth shrugged. “I’ve been doing this for many years,” she said. “I’ve seen students come and go, and I’ve come to know them, almost as well as Vice Principal Luna did. This includes you, Rod.”

That’s when I saw a look that I never thought I’d see before. Her eyes weren’t skeptical, and they weren’t filled with the grudges that have all but attached to her name. This was concern, the same look a mother would give to a lost child.

There was a sudden urge to spill the beans, tell her about the crazy dreams I had had, about Princess Twilight Sparkle, and the true reason why I was at the cliff edge that day. But doubt held me back again. Why would she ever believe me?

Butterworth gestured to the chair again. “Sit back down, Mr. Rodrick.”

That was enough. I pulled out the chair and sat once again.

Mrs. Butterworth clasped her hands in front of her. “So, what’s bothering you, Rod?”

At that, I cracked. I told her everything that had happened, about the cliff and the crazy dreams. She first looked perplexed, and then puzzled, but it settled into an understanding, and a relief.

“Well,” she finally said after a hesitation. “I’ll give you that it does sound outlandish.”

My heart sank. I knew that she wouldn’t believe me, I thought.

“However,” she continued, “it is interesting that you had a conversation with Twilight Sparkle. Did you know her at all?”

I shook my head. “No. Haven’t met her at all in my life.”

She knit her eyebrows in intrigue. “Well, there was a Twilight Sparkle that came here about six years ago. She was an odd one, but that Sunset Shimmer, she was the oddest of all. Turned into a demon right in front of the whole school. But she, along with five other friends managed to get Sunset under control.” She rested her chin on the back of her hands again. “If this is the same Twilight Sparkle you speak of, then you shouldn’t discredit your dreams.”

An electric jolt of shock went through me. “W-wait, you actually believe me?”

Mrs. Butterworth raised her eyebrow at me. “You don’t believe yourself?”

I hesitated. “I don’t know what to believe, honestly.”

There was a kindling irritation in her eyes as she got out a paper. She wrote a phone number on it, and passed it to me. “There. If there’s anyone who knows better about this incident, it’s her.”

I read the paper. It read Vice Principal Luna in a pseudo-cursive. The number provided wasn’t a school number.

I took the paper hesitantly. “Thanks,” I said. I hesitated before I got up. “But why are you doing this? I thought you hated my guts.”

Mrs. Butterworth laughed. “You mean the stories of my grudges. I've been working at that for a long time. Before, the results…” She knit her eyebrows, her eyes softening. “... Weren't good. I owe my improvement to my husband and Principal Celestia.

“But long story short, I don't hate you, Rod. I may have more trouble than the next person with forgiveness, and heaven knows that I hate your pranks. But I don't hold that against you.”

That was reciprocal that I wasn't expecting. I couldn't help being frozen in awe. This councilor who was constantly rumored about being the next thing to the devil was more of a saint than I ever was.

The bell rung behind me, and noise almost immediately erupted in the halls.

“You'd better get to class then,” Mrs. Butterworth said. “Unless we're not done here.”

I nodded. “That's all. Thank you.”

I made my way out of the councilor’s office, taking another look at the piece of paper in my hand. Then I folded it and put it in my back pocket.

The rest of the school day went normally. I had the wonderful opportunity to complete a test for each of my classes. I was lucky to score a B- in my Math test. But spring break was here, and nothing could come as more of a relief.

However, the strain of attending school when I was still recovering had expended much more energy than I had originally thought. I waddled through my house like a drunkard, finally passing out on my bed.

“... Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Twilight’s voice said. The world was a blur around me for a second before I saw a light, crystalline structure around me. In the center of the room, there was a pedestal, a heart made out of crystal floating and slowly spinning. In front of me, was a white stallion-unicorn dude and a light rose-coated mare, the same race as Twilight.

“We’ll be all right,” the unicorn dude said in an airy and soothing voice, the type of voice you would expect from a surfer, despite his quite large stature. “After all, the Crystal Heart is made to keep out threats.” He looked at me, his eyes softening in sympathy. “Don’t worry, Twilie. If any threat comes across our border, then I’ll be sure to protect her.”

I took an involuntary breath in, a lavender hoof tracing the movement of air. “Okay. I just want to be sure you two are safe.” It took me a second to realize that Twilight’s voice was coming from me.

The unicorn dude took me—er, Twilight—into an embrace. “I know, Twilie.” The hug broke a second later, and he came back into view. “But I will keep an ear out for any news regarding Princess Celestia. If I get any information, I’ll inform you right away.”

Twilight nodded. “Thanks, Shining.”

“Commander,” a baritone voice sounded behind Shining. “If I may.”

Shining turned. “Sentry. What is it?”

“A recruit tried to bail. He was carrying a royal artifact in hoof.”

Shining cursed. “I’ll be right there.” Shining turned back to Twilight. “Sorry, Twilie, I’ve got to go. That little turd is going to get what's coming to him.”

Twilight nodded, and Shining went up into the tower. The rose Princess took a step forward. “How is Auntie Luna doing?”

Twilight’s look turned somber. “Not good. She’s been really anxious lately. The guard at Canterlot has been doubled, and she’s confined to only a few rooms in the castle.”

The Princess looked down. “I can’t imagine how she’s feeling right now. She’s spent a thousand years imprisoned, and now…”

There was a brief silence. “She’ll be all right, Cadence,” Twilight finally said. “We’ll set things right. It’s only a matter of when.”

Princess Cadence nodded. “Anyways, I know you’re on a tight schedule, so I’ll let you go. But if there’s anything you need, feel free to ask.”

Twilight nodded. “I will. Thank you, Cadence.”

Princess Cadence smiled. “Anytime.”

And with that, she went up into the castle. Twilight breathed a sigh and turned.

So, I said. This is what your world is like, huh?

Twilight jumped. “Y-you! What’re you doing here?”

Turns out going to school with a sizeable injury drains a lot of energy. I shrugged, which made Twilight shrug in turn. Just passed out on my bed.

Twilight looked down, a cold stone of guilt settling in her stomach. “I’m sorry.”

I restrained from any movement, but doing so made Twilight twitch. I-I didn’t mean it to sound like that… I really need to work on my people skills.

Twilight knit her eyebrows. “How much of that did you hear, anyway?”

Just the part where you were concerned, the whole Auntie Luna thing. Not that much.

Twilight exhaled, going down into the city. “I don’t know what to do,” she said, her eyes burning. “I’ve tried researching what could’ve been behind this. I’ve read records upon records… nothing.”

It’s okay, Twilight, I said. We’ll figure this out. I’ve got Vice Principal Luna’s number. Maybe she knows something that we don’t.

It took me a second to notice tears running down her face. “And if she doesn’t?”

I hesitated. We’ll figure it out. Trust me, Twilight.

As the gods of impeccable timing would have it, I woke up immediately after saying that. I sat up in my bed.

I don’t know why I wasn’t convinced the first time. One would think that once you miraculously survived a few hundred-foot fall and met with the person in your dreams numerous times, you would believe within the first day.

But having been with Twilight like that, I felt something that I never would expect from a lingering dream. The anxiety, fear, and worry she felt were almost tactile. I felt those same things. She wasn’t just a character in a one-dimensional dream. She was driven by her love for her friends, a love that I’ve never witnessed before.

I picked up my phone and dug through my pocket for the piece of paper Mrs. Butterworth had given me. I dialed in the number, putting the phone to my ear. The phone buzzed in my ear for a few seconds before reaching voicemail.

“Hey, Ms. Luna,” I said. “Rod here. I’m calling about Twilight Sparkle… the pony/unicorn/pegasus person. Please call back.”

Chapter V

Chapter 5

Most of my dream that night was spent in silence. Twilight just sat across from me, closing her eyes most of the time. And me, being the apparent genius of being social, stayed silent for most of the time.

But it was a while later when her eyes opened. “I wonder…” Twilight’s horn lit brighter, and a burst of energy came out of it. The burst went to the sky in a blinding flash. When I opened my eyes, a library surrounded me, bookshelves lined against solid oak walls. There was a landing above the library itself.

“Welcome to Golden Oaks Library,” Twilight said, though it wasn’t as energetic as usual. Her voice was warm with nostalgia, and it seemed like the weight of the world dissipated from her. Her back was straighter, her ears perkier.

“You seem to really love the place,” I observed.

Twilight stood from her haunches. “Well, yeah. This was my home for a couple years.” She went to a bookshelf, putting a hoof on one of the shelves. “I have a lot of memories here.”

“Must’ve been nice.” I noticed something else in her gaze, too. It wasn’t just a longing, but a sadness, like grief. “Is everything all right?”

Twilight looked surprised, as if she’d snapped out of a trance. “Y-yeah. It’s just…” She walked away from the bookshelf. “This library was destroyed in a conflict with Tirek. While it was replaced with a castle, I just long to turn back the clock.”

Like that, Twilight went back to the shelf and pulled out a book. The book’s cover was blank for a second, but the cover soon materialized. On the cover was a sketch of a girl in white lines, looking to the top right. Above the girl appeared the title Les Miserables.

I narrowed my eyes. “Where did you get that book?”

“I got it from your world,” she answered. “Our ambassador to your world lent me it.”

I smiled. “My best friend loves that book. He wouldn’t shut up about it in our English class. I don’t really get him, though. Couldn’t get through it without the cliffnotes. And the musical.”

Twilight’s eyes brightened. “There’s a musical?”

I chortled. “Well, yeah! It’s one of the most popular musicals ever.”

Twilight was jumping in her hooves. “Oh my gosh! I need to ask Al about it!”

My eyes widened. “Wait… Al?”

Twilight nodded. “Yep! That’s the name of our ambassador.”

My jaw went agape. “Wait a sec, is he—”

I woke up cursing. The light blue dawn came through my window, illuminating my room with a hazy glow.

Al? I thought, sitting up at the edge of the bed. There’s no way that could've been him.

Then I remembered what Twilight had said. There were two of everything, so maybe the Al in question isn’t my Al. But if I knew my politics right, then why did I not see a second Al? Maybe he’s in a different state? Or a different country?

I picked up my phone, a text message notification on top of eight others. It was from Ms. Luna’s number:

Sent 3:07 AM

Meet me as soon as possible.

I couldn’t help but notice how commanding the text was. Before I texted back, I placed my hands on my lap. The reason why I was going to contact Ms. Luna in the first place was because I was unconvinced. Now it has become increasingly clear that my situation was genuine. What purpose did I have to meet with her now?

But then I remembered that Twilight had a theory. That the disappearance of Princess Celestia and Principal Celestia are connected. Right then, we weren't sure if Principal Celestia was even alive. The news that she is possibly still alive may help Ms. Luna out, I thought. But I was reluctant. What if the news made her mourning worse?

I sighed, picking up my phone. Only one way to find out.

Sent 7:02 AM

where at

I set down my phone, not thinking that she would respond so swiftly given the earliness of her last message. But my phone beeped again, and sure enough, it was Ms. Luna again.

Sent 7:02 AM

At my home. Do not tell anybody about our meeting.

Chills went down my spine. Why keep it so secretive? Of course there was a legal problem with personal contact with students outside of school, but Celestia’s family was pretty much our family. My mom wouldn’t tell Ms. Luna off like that.

There was an attachment to the text, too. When I clicked on it, it opened up my GPS. I didn’t go to Celestia’s and Luna’s house nearly that often, but I knew the gist of where it was; their house was only a few blocks away.

Sent 7:04 AM

okay. ill be there asap

I got myself ready, and headed out the door. My mom stopped me before I went too far, asking me where I was going. I had to lie and said I was going to Al’s to help him with a few things. She shrugged it off and went back inside.

I fought down the cold stone of guilt settling in my stomach. I absolutely hated lying to my mom. It was the same thing day after day that my dad did, especially in the last few days before he left us. The thought of using the same tactic to get my own way felt slimy and disgusting. But if there were a good reason why Ms. Luna wanted to keep it a secret, I figured it was for the greater good. After all, her sister was abducted, and by the looks of it, what I’ve seen from the other world, this Luna may not be safe either.

It took about fifteen minutes of walking before I finally found their house. It was a meager rambler, one that looked about fifty years old. The house was made of red brick, a few windows breaking the monotony. To one side, vines creeped up to the roof, only a few inches away from reaching the top. A garden lay to the same side as the vines, with what I could only assume were tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes. The lawn was an excellent green color, an ash tree smack dab in the middle of it. To the left and inward was a carport, one car off to the side as if awaiting another one to take the empty space.

I proceeded up the driveway to the front door. There were a couple steps leading to a red oak door, a small window-looking thing at eye level. The stairs were outlined with a weathering metal banister, its supports twisting to the top with some leaf patterns on the outside of it.

Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door. There were a few moments of silence, the only thing filling it in being the morning birdsong and a gentle, whispering breeze going through the tree behind me. There was also the occasional rumbling of car engines nearby, but not as often as normal.

It was a peaceful neighborhood. Mine wasn’t much different, but it had a lot of young kids that wouldn’t shut up for the life of them. This neighborhood was refined, more mature than most neighborhoods I’ve been to. Al’s was one of the most peaceful ones that I had come to know, and this one made his pale in comparison.

The door finally opened, and there stood Ms. Luna. She was wearing a night-like robe, a towel twisted in her hair. Her skin was dark, nearly matching the tone of her robe. Her face was well-rounded, much fuller than that of Mrs. Butterworth’s. But the bags under her eyes matched her tiredness.

“Rodrick,” she greeted, her voice light. “Come in.”

I followed her in through the door. A living room opened before me, square and a little bit smaller. There were two recliners and a sofa facing each other, despite a small TV atop a mantle and fireplace. The carpet was much cushier than I had anticipated. Farther in front of me, the kitchen lay along with a small dining room abutted next to it, the carpet ending before a tile-like vinyl flooring began.

“I am sorry for the appearance,” Ms. Luna apologized, gesturing to her robe. “I will change my clothes. Meanwhile, have a seat.”

I nodded, wandering over to the sofa and sitting. The sofa was comfortable, a little saggy with age, but comfortable nonetheless. I took a second to take in my surroundings once again. I imagine how horrible it must feel; to have a loved one stolen from right under you, to have a house that was made for two halved. It was cruel and unfair what happened to Principal Celestia and by extension Ms. Luna. I knew what it was like to lose someone you love… or had once loved. I wouldn’t wish that type of despair even on Rug.

It was only a couple minutes before Ms. Luna appeared again, wearing jeans and a purplish plaid flannel, a white undershirt underneath. She took a seat on one of the recliners, the one farthest away from me. She put her elbows on her knees, resting her chin on her thumbs. “So, in your message, you were talking about Princess Twilight Sparkle, correct?”

I nodded. I caught a notion of cautious intrigue from her. “Yes.” I explained to the best detail I could about the dreams, and what she had told me.

Ms. Luna’s eyes widened. “Princess Celestia has been kidnapped?”

I nodded once again. “That’s what Twilight told me.”

Ms. Luna knit her eyebrows. “And she suspects that Principal Celestia was kidnapped for the same reason,” I blurted.

Ms. Luna raised a skeptical eyebrow. “My sister… died in a car crash. There’s no way she could have survived that.”

I saw a kindling anger flicker in her eyes. My heart started racing. “I-I don’t mean to take light what happened to her sister..." I paused for a beat, wondering if I had the gall to continue that theory. "... But the incidents were too well timed. And the fact that they’re both Celestias can’t be a coincidence.”

The words hung in the air as if time itself had stopped. Ms. Luna exhaled, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, the coals of anger were snuffed out. “You are saying my sister isn’t dead.” Her voice was soft as a whisper.

I sat upright. “Yes. That’s what I... that’s what Twilight’s saying.”

Ms. Luna knit her eyebrows once again, her expression darkening. I recognized this face. I’ve worn it too many times to disregard it. It was the face of mourning, and the confusion of what to feel before emotions arbitrarily took over.

Her shoulders slumped, and she breathed a laugh that was mixed with a sob. She put her hand over her mouth, and tears came, flowing down her face freely. “I-I’m sorry,” she managed, but it felt like the apology wasn't aimed at me.

While I knew what she was feeling, it was still odd to see her like this. I mean, she was my superior, and even though she was always friendly with the students, and knew all of their names without fault, I still looked up to her as such. But now we were on common ground, status aside, age aside. It was comforting, yet odd.

When Ms. Luna calmed down, she wiped away her tears, and squared her shoulders. “Thank you,” she said, her inflexion warm. “But, my sister is still in danger… wherever she is.”

I nodded. “And Twilight and I are doing our best to find her. We will get her back.”

Suddenly, I was knocked forward. I tumbled to the floor. The sofa rolled over me. There was a sharp crack. Shattered glass from the window behind me burst everywhere. Dazed, I looked absolutely everywhere I could.

On the window sill, there was a guy, just about my age, hands clenched in a tight fist. He was scrawny, wearing tattered clothes. Through them, I could see pusy puncture wounds across his torso. His eyes were a neon yellow, and from the looks of it were actually glowing.

I squinted. This was the same teen that I saw in the newspaper.

The guy sprinted past me in a blur, the sheer force of wind pushing me a few feet. He grabbed Ms. Luna by the neck, lifting her up slowly from the carpet.

I hoisted myself onto my feet, my body aching, and tossed myself at him. He moved, but didn’t fall over. I ate the floor, a sharp pain erupting in my right leg. As I struggled to get back up, I noticed an inky black residue eeping off of Ms. Luna. Undeterred, I tried to deck the guy, but he caught my fist mid-punch in an iron grip. He turned his head and glared at me, and I realized his eyes were literally steaming. He let go, and an unseen force threw me against the wall, knocking the air out of me.

“Rod!” Ms. Luna coughed. “Run. Now!”

I blinked. The residue had almost completely taken her over, and only her face was left. Whatever that thing was doing to her, it was almost done.

“Rod!” another voice called out. Another figure jumped through the window, stopping and looking between Ms. Luna and I.

I stared at him in disbelief. “Al?”

Al ran over me, yanking my arm to get me on my feet. “Time to go! Now!”

I gestured to Ms. Luna. “What about—”

“She’s fine!” He insisted, yanking my arm again. “We don’t want to stay here or she’ll kill us.”

“Kill us?”

“No time to explain!” He yanked my arm once more, and didn’t stop for me. Confused, I went after him, even though he was much faster than me.

We were just a few yards away from Ms. Luna’s house when a blinding light came from behind us. I blinked away the spots before my eyes, stopping to look back.

Was it just me, or was the pusy dude floating off the ground?

“Rod! Keep going!”

I nodded to myself, running after Rod, and away from whatever was happening at Ms. Luna’s house.

Suddenly, five more pusy dudes sprinted out from between the houses, glaring at us for a split second, but then looking behind us. They ran toward Ms. Luna’s house, and a split second later, one of them flew back into one of the houses beside us, a steaming hole straight through his belly.

That was enough for me to run a little faster than I would’ve normally.

Abruptly, I heard a whoosh overhead, and I looked up. It was Ms. Luna, but way different than before. Wings as black as night sprouted from her back, her wingspan bigger than she was tall. A horn protruded from her forehead with a darkish glow surrounding it. Her clothes were in tatters, ripped up by her wings and debris, but the skin I did see was darker than before.

“Wha…?” I managed between breaths.

“Yep!” Al called back. “Say hello to Nightmare Moon!”

Al took a sharp left, and I followed behind. The school appeared in view, the courtyard just across the street. But Nightmare Moon didn’t have a hard time catching up to us. She shot a beam of twisting dark energy at Al, barely missing him.

“Al!” I yelped, narrowly avoiding the crater the beam made in the concrete beside me. We were finally at the street, and Al crossed it haphazardly, a car ramming into his hip. He ragdolled toward the car, then fell onto the asphalt.

Without wasting any time, I grabbed Al’s arm and hoisted it over my shoulder. “You alright?”

Al nodded, eyes wide. “Yep. Car just… kissed me. Didn’t hurt too much.”

Nightmare Moon shot another beam toward us, now missing us by a long shot. I looked up to see her holding her head, the dark mist around her horn dissipating.

Thank you, Ms. Luna, I thought as I pulled Al out of the middle of the road. But Al quickly let go of me, and started sprinting toward the courtyard. I followed suit, my lungs burning and my mouth tasting like a swallowed a penny. I figured we were heading to the school building. Perhaps there’d be a door open, I thought. That’d help us get out of her way.

But that wasn’t where Al was running to. He was running to the Wondercolts statue in front of the school.

“Al?” I called, concern building in my chest.

“Trust me!” he yelled back, barely avoiding another one of Nightmare Moon’s Storm Trooper blasts. I hopped over the crater it made and we’d made it to the statue, and Al grabbed the lip of the pedestal, gesturing to the mirror-like glaze on the side.

“After you!” he commanded.

“Are you nuts?”

Anger flared in his eyes. “Just!” His eyes widened as they drifted over my shoulder. “Screw this!” He grabbed both my shoulders and shoved me into the pedestal. I braced for impact…

But I kept going. A vortex swirled around me, and I felt myself accelerating faster and faster. It started to feel like my body was stretching out as I swirled in a whirlpool of light. I spun faster and faster until I was completely disoriented…

Then I fell into a dark room, skidding across tile. I shook my head, holding it until my vision straightened out. Behind me was a horseshoe-shaped mirror glowing with blue light, its surface rippling like water. Behind it was some sort of mechanism, surrounding it at all sides.

Another figure stepped through the portal, sticking the landing. It ran to the other side of the mirror, and the light abruptly stopped. It was breathing hard. “Rod! You okay?”

That was definitely Al’s voice. “Al!” I called. “You crazy son of a gun! Where are we?”

Al chortled, but it sounded nervous. “You… might not like this.”

That’s when I heard hollow footfalls, followed by a click of a light switch. The light revealed that we were in a library, surrounded by purple, crystalline walls. The shelves went up high, higher than I’d ever seen. There were a multitude of books in a multitude of different colors, creating a rainbow pattern across each shelf.

That’s when I saw a horse in the room. He had a dark mane and tail, and dark coat. On his flank was some sort of brand… a shield with a purple star, a sun, and a crescent moon. His green eyes didn’t lie.

“... Al?”

The pony nodded. “Yeah.”

“But you’re a horse.”

He gestured to me. “Hate to say it, bud, but take a look at yourself.”

I hesitated. He can’t mean… I looked down, and was greeted with an orange coat and a pair of uncloven hooves.

I couldn’t help the dizzy confusion clouding my mind. “How… where…?”

Al smiled uncomfortably at me. “Rodrick MacBride… welcome to Equestria.”

Chapter VI

Chapter 6

Those past forty-eight hours were very interesting to say the least. First, I fell off a cliff. Second, I realized that a horse was haunting my dreams. Third, my normally very understanding Vice Principal tried murdering us with lasers. Fourth, I went through a portal a second time, turning into a pony. And fifth, a piece of glass was lodged into my right hind leg. I didn’t notice the last one until the adrenaline filtered out of my system. Which didn’t take long.

I flipped onto my back, my leg a bloody mess. I took a look at it, and there it was. The glass stuck out an inch or two from my leg, another undoubtable inch or so inside my leg. Pain radiated throughout my whole lower body with each heartbeat.

“Jeez, man!” Al exclaimed, sitting on his haunches, his brown eyes examining the wound. “Hate to say this, but you’re gonna have to walk around on it a little bit.”

“Sounds lovely,” I grunted through gritted teeth. Al got up from his haunches, offering me a hoof. I took it, and he wrapped it around his back, flipping me onto my hooves. It felt like an atomic bomb went off in my leg.

“Okay, okay…” Al mumbled. “Through here.” He opened the door, and it opened to a long corridor, Windows to our left filtered the morning light through, making the purple crystalline walls bluish, reflecting onto the ceiling like water.

A door opened to our right, and a unicorn walked out. She had a pink coat, and a purple and teal mane and tail. A tuft of her mane was pushed off to the right, clipping her right eye as she looked at us. On her flank was another one of the weird brands, this time a star with a streak tailing behind it.

“Al!” she said pleasantly, her alto voice smooth as silk. “It’s been a while. Who’s…” She trailed off, her eyes falling to my leg. “Oh my…”

“Yep!” Al grunted. “We need to get this taken care of now. Is there anything that we can use as a tourniquet?”

The mare thought for a second. “Yes. One second.” She galloped back into the room she came from.

“Who was that?” I asked, my voice strained.

“Starlight Glimmer,” Al replied. “Now, lie on your back. We need to get this tourniquet on you.”

Starlight walked into the hallway again, carrying a towel out in front of her, a mystical aura surrounding it. “I hope this will do. Would you lift his leg for me?”

Al nodded, and lifted my right hind leg to an almost forty-five degree angle. Starlight stared at my leg as the towel swooped around it, just above the glass, and it tied itself in a tight knot. I felt my heartbeat below the towel.

“Okay.” Al looked back to Starlight. “How’s the teleportation spell coming, Starlight?”

She raised an eyebrow. “You’re kidding right?”

“It isn’t like I haven’t been here for eight months,” Al said sarcastically.

Starlight exhaled. “Yes. Hang on tight!”

The aura now surrounded all of us, and in a blinding flash, we appeared in front of a two-story-high building. Al offered me a hoof, and I took it, hauling myself onto my hooves. “Thank you Starlight,” Al said. “I’ve got it from here.” Starlight nodded, and Al tugged me toward the building.

“You still doing okay, Rod?” Al asked me.

I nodded, even though my gut was twisting. “Just peachy.”

Al gestured to the building. “Well, they’re gonna get you stitched up in a little bit. C’mon.”

I hobbled along with Al through the doors. The walls of the reception room were white, low carpet underneath our hooves. The desk in front of us was made of red oak, and a free receptionist gazed over the countertop.

“How long of a wait for the emergency room?” Al called to the receptionist.

“Five minutes,” she said. “Follow me, please.” She sped-walked through the hallway on the left. We picked up the pace, but nothing could beat her speed-walking ability. She pushed the a door open with her hoof and held it open for us. As we walked past, the low carpet turned into gleaming tile. There was another reception desk here of the same make as the one outside. Al sat me down into the chair, and talked to the receptionist there in a hushed tone. She nodded, ducking her head to talk into a microphone.

Al sat next to me, looking down to my leg and back up at me. “Man, that’s a lot gnarlier now that I really look at it.”

“It feels gnarly,” I said, my vision doubling. I laid my head on my hoof, and the world started to spin around me.

“Holy crap, I’m naked,” I noticed.

Al’s voice was distant. “Yeah. Don’t worry about it.”

My body went limp, a slow numbness taking over. The world got darker and darker until it went pitch black.

I woke up in a small room. A three-leveled desk was the opposite corner from me, the surrounding walls painted white. On the floor was the same tile that I saw going into the emergency room, with a greyish marble tile switching intermittently with a pure white stone.

By the foot of the mattress, Al sat on a chair. There was a tinge of frustration in his eyes, a notable frown on his face as he stared blankly at the wall before him.

“You’re staring, Al,” I said, my throat surprisingly dry.

Al jumped, blinking. “R-right! Sorry.” He took a look over at me, managing a smile. “Good morning, sunshine.”

“Trust me, the sun ain’t exactly shining,” I joked. Curious, I checked out my leg. At first, I couldn’t tell that the injury nor the stitches were actually there. But upon further inspection, I saw the fine red line faintly between tufts of fur. The fur around the cut turned from orange to dark red, and I could see bits of dark thread over the cut. But for a population lacking opposable thumbs, or any fingers for that matter, it was stitched up with expertise.

“Apparently, the glass struck a major artery,” Al relayed from memory. “Good thing we didn’t decide to remove it before getting you to the emergency room. You’d lost enough blood before then that you passed out before they got you.”

“Yikes,” I said. “So how long was I out?”

Al shrugged. “Thirty minutes or so. You were in and out of the emergency room in ten minutes, and they brought you to the main clinic.”

I frowned. That meant Al was waiting for me in this dull room for about twenty minutes. I was surprised he didn’t go nuts.

Then I saw a piece of paper at the foot of the table that I lay on. It was scribbled down, surprisingly hard to read for Al’s penmanship:

“Princess Twilight, Nightmare Moon has appeared in the human world. Please respond.”

A second later, the door opened to my side, and out came a unicorn with a white coat and a stethoscope. A white plastic name tag displayed on his breast read, I kid you not, Seth O’Scope. He had a short grey mane that looked like an unkempt mohawk more than anything, his grey tail only going down to his upper leg. His coat was olive green. His flank bore a brand that looked like, you guessed it, a stethoscope.

He sat in the rotating chair in front of his desk and swirled around to catch my eye. “Nice to see you’re awake, Mr…?”
“MacBride,” I finished. “Rodrick MacBride.”

A curious eyebrow shot upward. “Rodrick, huh? I’ve not heard that name around these parts. Where are you from?”

I knit my eyebrows. I lived in Canterlot City, but that was in the human world. Was there even a place here named Canterlot?

Fortunately, Al chimed in. “He was born in Appleloosa, Dr. O’Scope. That’s probably why you’re not familiar with the naming conventions.”

O’Scope squinted. “Perhaps. I’ve got some family in Appleloosa, but none of them are native, so…” He trailed off. “Anyways. What’s your healthcare provider, Mr. MacBride?”

“Royal Healthcare, Dr. O’Scope,” Al blurted. “Just put it under my name.”

There was that eyebrow again. But O’Scope simply shrugged. “What’s your name, then?”

“Alexandrite Stone.”

O’Scope lit his horn, a pen floating to paper. “All right, Mr. Stone, I’m technically not allowed to do this, but being apart of the Royal Healthcare system, I’ll make an exception. You can expect a bill in two week’s time.”

“Thank you, Dr. O’Scope,” Al said. He then gestured to the door. “Let’s go, Rod.”

We walked out of the room, the clopping of our hooves catching me once again off guard. My leg still throbbed with pain, but it was a lot less intense than before.

“We’ll get you painkillers,” Al said, as if reciting off a list. “The doctors said to tell you that you don’t want to do any running any time soon. It may pop the stitches.”

I nodded. “Thanks, Al.”

“No problem,” he responded. “And one more thing…” He lowered his voice until it was almost a whisper. “I understand you’re from Canterlot, but you’d best not wear it like a badge. Canterlotians are infamous for being very snooty, discriminative and inconsiderate. Barring the Princesses, they aren’t the most popular bunch here.”

I knit my eyebrows. “But at home, Canterlot’s a low-to-middle class area. Wouldn’t it be the same here?”

Al shook his head gravely. “Even though our worlds run parallel, there are some massive differences. Like Celestia being a Princess here, but in your world, she’s just a high school principal.”

Frustration kindled inside me. I stepped in front of him. “Excuse me, ‘your world’?” It came out harsher than I meant it. “Why are you disowning our home all of a sudden?”

Al’s brown eyes couldn’t keep hold my gaze. He looked down and to his left. “I don’t want to talk about it here, Rod.” His eyes were soft, and he was much more withdrawn than ever before.

I stepped back into place. “Okay. Let’s go ahead and do this.”

The rest of the trip was held in silence. As we were looking for meds in the pharmacy, I noticed he did snap out of his distant mood a little bit. I breathed a sigh of relief. I’ve seen him in the pit of despair before, and it didn’t end that quickly.

But he got me pain meds, and right as soon as we were about to head out the door, two ponies and a dragon walked in. It was Starlight and Twilight, but I hadn’t recognized the dragon. He stood to about Twilight’s neck, his green spikes atop his head making him appear a bit taller than he actually was. His scales were pink, reflecting the light with a soft glow. His eyes were an amber green, greener than any eyes than I’ve ever seen.

“I heard from Starlight that your friend was injured,” Twilight said. She glanced at me. “Is everything all ri…” She squinted, scanning me up and down. “Do I… know you from somewhere?”

“Yeah.” I waved. “I’m Rod. The guy from your dreams.”

Both Starlight and the mini dragon shot a confused look at Twilight, mixed with concern. Twilight looked just plain shocked. “Wh-what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in your own world?”

Before I could reply, Al cut me off. “We don’t have much time. Nightmare Moon has appeared in the human world,” he said, his voice lowered. “We need to neutralize her before Canterlot City is razed to the ground.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, and she hesitated. Finally, she nodded. “Right. Starlight, Al, come with me.” Her eyes darted toward me in alertness. “Do you know how to use magic?”

My eyebrow soared. “Magic?”

Twilight sighed. “Okay. You stay here. We’ll take care of Nightmare Moon.”

I creased my eyebrows. “Wait. You expect me to sit around here while you guys do the dirty work?”

Twilight returned the look. “Rod, you’re injured. I don’t want you to hurt yourself even more.”

“I’ll be fine!” I hissed. “I’m more than capable of helping you guys.”

“Dammit, Rod, we can’t argue about this,” Al intervened. He turned toward Twilight. “We need to go now.”

Twilight sighed once again. “Right. We don’t have time.” She glanced at me. “You can come with, then. Just be careful.”

Relief flooded through me. I nodded. “I will.”

She nodded. “Get in close.”

We made a tighter semicircle around Twilight, and she lit her horn. There was a bright flash and brief acceleration before we arrived in the crystal building again. It was the same library we had arrived in. The floor was wet, and I figured that either Starlight or the little dragon must’ve cleaned up the mess I’d left behind.

I had only blinked and Al jumped into the portal, followed closely by Starlight. Twilight shot a look toward me. “Go ahead.”

I nodded, jumping into the portal.

A split second after, my head throbbed. A thousand thoughts were jammed into my head; of magic, of myself, and calculations that I didn’t understand. It felt like someone took a jackhammer to my skull when we finally appeared on the other side, my gut twisting in many different ways. I struggled to keep my balance as the world spun around me.

When my vision steadied, my breath froze in my lungs. Houses in front of me were in shambles, low fire consuming what was left of them. Police cars were cut in half and exploded. A crowd of people fled from the scene. Yet no sight of Nightmare Moon.

Twilight held her head to her palm, wincing. She was around my same height in her human form. She wore light blue jeans and a lavender tee, her hair falling to her mid-back. “Okay. We don’t want them to apprehend Princess Luna.”

“Vice Principal,” I corrected. “But she isn’t in control of this. This might as well be a different person at this point.”

Twilight nodded. “Yes, but not only that. Prince—Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna watch over the portal too. If they were both gone, then that would have serious consequences.” Twilight folded her arms. “But in order to prevent this, we need a diversion. Something to occupy the police so we can placate Nightmare Moon.”

“I got it!” a voice volunteered from below me. I looked, and saw a small dog, with the same colors the little dragon had. “I can stall them while you guys do your stuff.”

Twilight’s eyes softened, eyebrows creasing in concern. “Are you sure, Spike?”

Spike nodded. “It’s a lot better than one of you guys getting arrested.”

Suddenly, a zap and explosion broke over the chaos. A dark figure floated through the air, undoubtedly Nightmare Moon.

Twilight opened her mouth as if to say something, but then closed it. “Alright,” she said, her voice straining in reluctance. “Stay safe, Spike.”

Spike yipped dutifully in response, heading off toward the police cars.

Whatever softness that was in Twilight’s expression was now gone. “Everypony else, follow me! We need to get to Nightmare Moon!”

The whole group nodding in agreement, we ran into the fray. My leg burned with pain as we weaved between the rubble of blown-apart houses. The smell of smoke lingered in the air, filling my lungs with a prickling pain. As we delved deeper, I heard screams over the crackling fire and police sirens. A mother holding an unconscious child, a father trying to lift rubble off of his son, a child crying next to a motionless sister…. There was a terror that words cannot describe, and that burns into memory what anger and hatred bring.

Finally, we reached where Nightmare Moon was wreaking havok. Her wings flapped stronger still, her eyes filled with burning coals of anger. A cold fear entered my gut as I realized that Vice Principal Luna was gone.

Twilight took a step forward, a faint aura glowing brighter around her. “Luna…” The aura flashed brightly about her, and when it was gone, lavender wings unfolded from her back; not in the same violent fashion as Nightmare Moon’s, but gracefully. With a flap of her wings, she was already up in the air, her longer hair and tail flowing behind her.

“We’ve got company!” Al yelled beside me. I looked around, and saw a crowd of people sprinting our way.

My heart skipped a beat. “These aren’t…?”

Al nodded. “The same creatures that attacked you and Ms. Luna.”

“Crap,” I cursed. “What’re we going to do?”

Al stepped forward, and I noticed the same aura around him that Twilight had had. “For right now, keep behind me.” The aura grew brighter and engulfed him, growing a tail, longer mane of hair, and horse-like ears.

I don’t know why I wasn’t phased by Twilight turning into a human/pony chimera. But as soon as Al turned, despite the weight of our situation, I started laughing. Harder than I would’ve liked.

Al shot an eyebrow up at me. “What?”

It took a little for my hysterical laughter to calm down. “It’s just… your power is the power of furries.”

Al rolled his eyes as I started cracking up again. “Friendship,” he said, irritation bubbling in his voice. He glanced toward the upcoming crowd of superpowered people-zombies. “And if you don’t turn, you can kiss your smart ass goodbye.”

Then I proceeded to see him sprint toward them and kick a whole line of them a hundred yards as if they were human-sized footballs. I stopped laughing after that.

Starlight Glimmer landed beside me in her human/pony form, blasting a laser beam out of her horn to clear out a group of baddies. “Hey!” she exclaimed. “Why aren’t you turning?”

I gave an irritated shrug. “I don’t know how!”

Starlight grunted, blasting another baddie to the sky. “Do something you’re good at! Singing, drumming—”

“I’m not good at any of those things.”

Starlight grunted a little louder this time. “You know what I mean! The rest will come to you; just do it!” With that, she jumped away, blasting a couple other baddies.

I looked around. Starlight was blasting enemies left and right, and Al was continuing to wreck their faces in. Twilight was drawing Nightmare Moon’s attention, trying to get close to her and calm her down. As was, I was useless.

So I surveyed my surroundings. There was no way I was going to learn to fly in the next forever. There was no way that I could take down one of those superpowered dudes in hand-to-hand combat.

But then I noticed that there was a ton of water pooling where Al was fighting. What could I do with a whole bunch of water?

It was then that I felt my mind starting to clear. There were a few things that I could do with water. I could freeze it, but I didn’t have the means to do so. Same went with heating it to a gaseous state. Unless I could use one of the girls’ magic. But Twilight and Starlight were too busy to help me. I didn’t see any chemicals that could react with it, so what could I use…
That’s when I saw the dangling powerline. A powerline dangling near to where Al was. If the line was live, I could find a way to lower it. I traced it back to its pole. Surprisingly, it was still in tact.

I discovered I was surprisingly calm, considering the dumbass thing that I was about to do.

You see, with having a background in pranks, there were a few elaborate ones that required me to throw something, like a pencil or a rock to trigger something, like to flip a bucket of water. Needless to say, I developed a good throwing arm.

But instead of a pencil, I picked up a fragment of brick. Instead of a water bucket, I threw it close-range at Nightmare Moon’s back. And like with those other pranks, I ran for my life.

“Al!” I screamed as a blast of energy hit directly behind me. “Get out of the water!”

“What?” He yelled back

I pointed to the powerline. “Get out of the water now!”

His eyes widened considerably when he noticed what I was pointing at. He didn’t waste any time running.

Meanwhile, I was running in a full-out sprint toward the powerline. My lungs burned as the pole grew closer and closer. Another blast behind me, making me stumble. I started doubting my chances of making it.

Finally, I was close enough. Unfortunately, Nightmare Moon was close enough behind that I could hear her next shot charging. I jumped to the side, feeling a little pop. Nightmare Moon shot, the impact of the blast sending me rolling to the side. The powerline fell parallel to me, the wire falling down into the water below it. I watched as a whole crowd of the enemy stiffened, smoke coming off of their clothes as they started falling down, one by one into the electrified water.

I was belly-down in the dirt, and I could feel every scrape and bruise on me. I struggled to get up, but the pain in my leg kept me from doing so. I looked down and realized that my jeans were turning a dark, wet shade of crimson.

The next thing I saw was Nightmare Moon zooming toward me. Her horn was surrounded with a cloud of energy, bending her head back before she shot. I braced for impact…

But none came. I opened my eyes as I heard a thud a few feet away from me. Twilight straddled on top of Nightmare Moon, holding her wrists down to the ground with an iron grip.

“Luna, listen to me!” Twilight pleaded. “I know you’re still there. Please, come back!”

Nightmare Moon struggled beneath Twilight, her horn lighting a few times, but fizzling out before it grew too strong.

“This isn’t what Celestia would have wanted!” Twilight continued. “If you keep this up, you won’t see her again. Please, Luna.”

Nightmare Moon’s struggling slowly halted. “Please remember,” Twilight said. “Remember who you are.”
Slowly, an ashy essence began to come off of Nightmare Moon, floating into the air and dissipating. Soon, her wings disappeared, her horn following, and the inky, night-like hue of her skin lightened to what it used to be. Soon, it was all gone, and Twilight knelt above Ms. Luna, her clothes in tatters, scrapes and bruises lining her arms. The tears in her eyes turned into heaving sobs. Twilight stood, offering a hand to her, and when Luna took it, Twilight embraced her.

Abruptly, one of the creatures I electrocuted hopped up from the water, and sprinted toward the two. Despite my leg, I hopped up, running toward them. I cried out to them when a sudden explosion of orange flashed before me, knocking me to the ground. The dome seemed to be made out of pure energy, spreading out for a few hundred yards at the very least. The enemy faded from existence, leaving behind a trail of dust. I looked around and was surprised to see that Al, Twilight and Luna remained unaffected.

Al ran over, stopping a few feet in front of me. “Looks like you finally did it.” He gestured to the crown of his head.
I did the same only to feel a horn like I had when I was in the pony world. It was warm to the touch.

After a while the police came and investigated the area. Fortunately, they didn’t recognize Nightmare Moon as Ms. Luna, so they brought the search elsewhere. One officer offered to take Ms. Luna with her to treat her for shock, and she quietly agreed.

When another one of them mentioned a dog that he’d kicked, Twilight was furious. It took both Starlight and Al to keep her from pummeling him. It took me asking the guy to figure out that Spike was taken to the pound just a few blocks from where we were at.

But that was in sitting position, because the pain from popping my stitches was that bad. I took off my shirt to act as a tourniquet to keep myself from bleeding too much. I’d tightened it to the point that I could feel my pulse throughout my whole leg. Al and Starlight offered to scavenge for any sort of First Aid kit that hopefully had needle and gut, leaving Twilight and I together for a little bit.

There was a long, awkward silence between us, mostly due to me and my awesome social skills. But in all seriousness, in addition to popping my stitches, I was hoping to avoid any other damage to my person due to her current mood.

But surprisingly, she broke the ice. “So, how are you feeling?”

It was actually so surprising that I thought that she was talking to someone else. “Oh,” I finally said. “I’m fine. Just a little woozy is all.”

She nodded. “That blast that you conjured,” she mentioned. “Are you sure you haven’t used magic before?”

“Positive,” I responded.

She frowned, resting her chin on her wrist. “I wonder if that’s from us being connected.”

I knit my eyebrows. I had forgotten all about that little detail.

“Of course,” she continued, “it could also be a random blast of magic. It’s common for beginners.”

While it hurt my pride to hear that, I didn’t respond. Truth is that I didn’t have control over that. I hated that.
There was another brief silence. I remembered how clear my mind was, how powerful I had felt. It was almost as if I could cut through the fabrics of reality. It was exhilarating. “What was that anyway?” Twilight looked at me, confused. “I mean, the different forms.”

Twilight shrugged. “I don’t know. My first visit here is when those forms started activating out of nowhere. It started with my six friends here, and now it seems to have spread.”

I raised an eyebrow. “So you’re saying that you caused these forms to happen?”

Twilight knitted her eyebrows. “I can’t really take credit for it. If anything, I reawakened magic in this world, but that may not even be the case.” Twilight glanced at me. “Why do you ask?”

I shrugged. “I just want to learn more about this. I mean, I discover a power that I didn’t know I had, and I don’t even know what to do with it.”

Twilight smiled a bit. “Well, I am a teacher, you know. If you wanted, I could fill you in on some of the basics.”

I raised my eyebrows, surprised. “Really? You would do that?”

Twilight nodded. “I’ve had a couple pupils in the past… well, literally a couple. I would love to take another.”

“But you’re a princess. I wouldn’t want to be too much of a burden on you…”

She shrugged. “It’s all right, really. I’ve done this before. I can handle both princesshood and tutorship.”

That was an easy decision. “Sure,” I said. “I would love to be your pupil.”

Twilight smiled widely. “Great! But while we’re still here, you might want to pack what you need, and…”

That’s when the realization struck me. “Wait,” I interrupted. “We’re going to your world for this?”

Twilight nodded slowly, her smile somewhat weakening. “O-of course? I mean, where else would we go?”

I paused. I couldn’t just go. “Actually, I’ll need to hold off on that decision,” I said. “I have some things to take care of.”

Twilight’s confused grin dissipated. “Oh. Okay.”

Soon after that, Al and Starlight arrived with a first aid kit, with needle and gut. They told me they couldn’t find any sedatives, so they’d have to do the stitching raw. As my leg had completely run out of feeling at this point, I didn’t think it really mattered.

Then I soon discovered that I needed to take my pants off. I looked around, requested kindly for the girls to turn away as I stripped down to naught but my underwear for Al to start stitching me up. It was really convenient, then, that Al had had taken nursing courses that taught him how to do this sort of thing effectively.

Unfortunately, the feeling in my leg came back quite quickly. Needless to say, the whole operation was painful and drawn out. Imagine, on top of applying disinfectant that burned like the fires of hell, that you were getting rope burn, except on a smaller scale with a needle stabbing into you every half an inch to an inch into your flesh. That’s what it felt like.

But soon enough, it was over, and Al had made an expert stitching job. He dressed the wound, and he was done.

When I arrived home, I was relieved to find my house unscathed. It was a stark difference between the utter carnage and the relative order found here. But the tension in the atmosphere still remained. It wasn’t the calm that I had come to take for granted. It was as if the whole world was holding its breath, waiting for another strike.

Al helped me hobble to the door, and rang the doorbell. My mom wasted no time in answering. The door swung wide open, and her eyes widened as she saw me shirtless, my pants caked in blood, looking as if I had escaped a collapsing building.

“Oh my God,” she gasped. She took a startled step forward. She put a hand on my cheek, sweeping off the dust with her thumb. “What happened? Y’all weren’t…?”

Al nodded gravely. “I’m sorry, Ms. MacBride. I would’ve come sooner if I had known.”

Mom waved a hand. “Don’t go blaming yourself, darlin’.” She held out an arm to me and I took it. “Let’s wash you up,” she said, stepping inside.

She took a look back at Al. “Don’t be a stranger, Al. You can come in.”

Al hesitated, then shook his head. “I’m afraid that I have to go. I’m late for something.”

Mom cocked an eyebrow. “Okay. Just be careful.”

Al nodded. “I will. Thanks, Ms. MacBride.”

With that, Al left, and Mom helped me hobble up the stairs to the shower. Mom demanded that she saw where all the blood came from. I relented, showing her the wound. It was longer than I had remembered it being, and the jaggedness of the top and bottom of it indicated that I’d also torn it bigger as I was running around.

Mom raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t go to the hospital, did you?” She gestured to the stitches.

I considered what I should say. Finally, I shook my head. “No, this is Al’s handiwork.”

Mom frowned, nodding to herself. “It’s very well done.”

Shortly thereafter, she left me to clean myself up, and offered to prepare me a new set of clothes. Since I wasn’t necessarily in the condition to do so myself, I welcomed her help. I gingerly scrubbed off all of the dust and blood off my body, each water droplet from the shower head falling on my injury sending stabbing pain into my leg.

I let my mind wander. What would it be like to bathe as a pony? How long will it take for my fur to dry? How in the world was I supposed to use soap with the lack of hands? How different would being a pony be from being a human?

Then my mind went to Twilight’s offer. It was a great opportunity, one that, if it didn’t require what it did, I would take without a moment’s hesitation. However, all great things require sacrifices, great or small. I thought of Mom, wondering about her reaction to this offer. Would she say no outright, or would she welcome the opportunity as immediately? And if she did, I can trust Jeff to keep her company in my absence.

But reluctance still tugged at my heart. I didn’t want to leave because a part of me was afraid of what would happen if Jeff left. If anything happened to her, I wouldn’t be there for her. Of course, I was positive that Jeff wouldn’t do something like that. It just wasn’t him. But regardless, my stupid mind thought of all of the negative outcomes before the positive.

After a little bit more of a soak, I dried myself off and wrapped myself in a towel. When I opened the door, I was glad to discover that my mom had set out clothes for me in front of the door. I grabbed them, shutting the bathroom door behind me and gingerly got dressed.

A bubble of anxiety built up in my chest. I had to ask her. As much as I hated to leave, I wanted to know more about what I could do. Besides, because of my mental connection with Twilight, I was likely wrapped up in this until she found a way to disconnect ourselves from each other.

I opened the door, freshly dressed, and hobbled downstairs. Mom would be in her usual place, reclined on the loveseat with a book. As I landed in the living room, I saw that she was there in addition to a box of Manenese food. When she saw me, she gestured to the coffee table, which had another box. “If you’re hungry, I got some for you, too.”

I smiled, also wondering how long I had been in the shower. “Thanks, Mom.” I walked over and picked up the chopsticks and the box of food, opening the top as I gently let myself down on the sofa. Shrimp fried rice. Only the best thing to ever be made.

I was suddenly aware of how hungry I was. I hadn’t had lunch because I was making things up for school, and I had a light breakfast. Maybe it was because of the unsettling fact that Twilight could control my body at almost any time.
So, my dinner was gone in around five minutes, and it wasn’t a meager box, either. I stretched my back, lying against the back of the sofa, filled with a comfortable fullness.

“Well, well, well, someone was hungry,” Mom remarked.

I nodded. Now was the time to ask her. But would she believe me? I shook the doubt in my head away. If there was anything that I’ve learned conversing with Mrs. Butterworth, it was that I should try anyway.

“So, Mom,” I started. “I was wondering…”

And immediately I told her the truth of what was happening. I apologized that I had lied, that I was actually going to Ms. Luna’s house to get some clarity on what was happening. I explained everything having to do with this world first, leaving the confusing details for the last. When I told her that there was a pony inside my head, she at first looked confused and concerned. But as I mentioned the portal and the pony world, her eyes widened in realization, and whatever concerns of me being mental was washed away.

She nodded. “I know of Twilight Sparkle,” she said. “Celestia’d talk about her on occasion. Said that she caused a whole buttload of strange events.” She rested her chin on her thumbs. “But y’all said you were wondering about something.”

I nodded back. “Uhm…” I swallowed down the anxiety. “Twilight Sparkle made me an offer. It turns out that in the other world, I am a unicorn.” It suddenly struck me how silly this was. I could feel heat swirl in my cheeks. “A-and, she said that she would be willing to teach me magic.”

Her eyebrows raised as she realized my question. “You want to go to the pony world to learn magic.”

My heart thumping in my chest, I nodded. “Yes, and I want to go as soon as possible.”

It was silent, and my heart thumped in my ears. Mom knit her eyebrows, looking down at the carpet.

“But Rod,” she said. “Your schooling. You only have about a month before school ends. For good.”

My heart sunk as I realized that. “Yeah,” I said. “We could do packets while I’m there. I may not be able to make the classes, but I can still complete the credits so I can graduate.”

Mom stared at me in disbelief. “But you’re so close, Rod! Can’t you wait until after school ends?”

I sighed. “Mom, Twilight needs my help. I’d just be putting myself in more danger if I didn’t know how to use this.”

“My God, Rod!” she snapped. “You’re just a teenager. Why does she expect you to put your hiney on the line so she can fulfill her delusions of grandeur?”

“This isn’t about that!” I snapped back. “This is about getting Celestia back!”

“Celestia is dead!” she screamed.

The whole world went silent. It was as if the air stood still, waiting like a pane of thin glass to be broken. It was then that I realized Mom’s expression. It was broken, despairing. It was a side of her that I never wanted to see ever again.

She spoke in shattered breath. “I don’t want to lose you too.”

The next couple of days were spent in a tense silence. Suddenly, Mom wanted to avoid any question about Twilight or the events that had happened. Instead, when she got of work, she brought me to hobby places where I could build my own contraptions, Crescent Harbor, on drives to show me what a great place Canterlot City was.

But the next day after that, she stopped trying to convince me. With nothing else that caught my fancy, I asked my mom if she could drive me to Al’s so that we could hang out. She silently agreed. But when we arrived and knocked on his door, his parents carefully told me that he was not home, and they didn’t know when he would be back.

Effectively grounded, I tried to fill my time with different things. I had bought new books to read, finished a couple contraptions that Mom got me the materials for, and downloaded games on my phone to play, while humming tone-deafly to songs on my old MP3 player.
The next day, Mom was particularly out of touch. She would hardly respond to when I tried to talk to her, and conversations were limited to a few words. It was as if I stepped back to the past, and dad had left afresh. Except she was losing me, too.

It was the day before Spring Break ended. Mom had resumed her normal patterns of speech, except her normal enthusiasm was somewhat absent. Even though she didn’t have work that day, she headed out to grab something. When I tried asking her, she didn’t respond with a straight answer.

So I resumed the activities of the past five days. I had finished two books, and the games on my phone had gotten stale. I freed my phone of that unneeded space, and I downloaded new ones afresh, only to realize they were the exact same type of game as before.

Irritated, I laid on my bed, playing with a spinning part on one of the contraptions I had made. Originally, I had made it to be a start to a sort of Rube Goldberg machine, but I barely had the desire to finish it. But a marble would start at the top of a pinwheel, turning it and nudging yet another marble around a halfpipe made out of a thick boba straw to hit a set of dominoes. That was about how far I had gotten.

It was a couple more hours before I heard my mom scream out for me. Reluctantly, I trudged out of my bedroom, my leg now faded to a dull ache. I descended the stairs to see that my mom was carrying a bag of thick, notebook-esque booklets. She handed it to me, and I took it, looking inside. They were marked with Pre-Calculus Section 4, English 12 Section 4, World History Section 2… these were packets for the final quarter of my classes.

I stared at them in disbelief. “Mom,” I asked. “What’re these for?”

I caught Mom’s eye, and her eyes were soft. “Rod,” she said. “I’m sorry that I yelled at you, and that I was too stubborn to take your word.” She inhaled deeply, her eyes getting glassy. “I realize that trying to shelter you from this is only going to make things worse for her.”

“Her?” I asked, but then I realized who she was talking about. “Celestia.”

Mom nodded. “I can’t keep y’all around forever Rod, and I’m not in the mood to forgive Twilight for wrappin’ you up in this bullcrap, but…” Mom sniffed, a tear falling down her face. “If you really wanna go, I send you with my blessing.”

My eyes widened. I set the bag down. “Mom…” I nearly tackled her with a hug, and she hugged back harder, her wet face on my neck. “Thank you.”

She sniffed as she pulled away from the hug. She wiped the tears away with her palm. “Holy bajeezus,” she said, managing a laugh. “I leak more than that Vanhoover Dam.”

I laughed. It was good to see that her sense of humor was back.

“Anywho, y’all better get packin’.” She gave me a smile. “Don’t care if y’all’re naked as a baby there, you’re takin’ some clothes.”

I packed a couple bags full of things that would put my mom at ease, five changes of clothes, the basic hygene products, and a few trinkets that I was actually considering using. Within about half an hour though, I was ready to go.

Mom bearhugged my before I went, commanding me to do my packets and to send her regular mail, her tone threatening death. It was probably another half an hour before I was actually going.

And after a final hug, I went. The walk to the school took a little longer than usual. But when I got there, I saw that the Wondercolts statue had been absolutely decimated; only the hooves remained.

I faced toward the mirror-like base, breathing deeply. This was the last time I would see this world for a while. I took a long look around, as if saying goodbye. Finally, I stepped through the portal, my mass changing all at once as I walked in through the other side. My backpacks were now strung around my barrel, fit to burst.

Twilight stood against the wall, sorting through the books rapidly when she noticed me. She smiled. “I suppose your mom finally let you go.”

I smirked. “Nah,” I said in a sarcastic tone, “I definitely snuck out and took all this unnecessary cargo, y’know, just in case.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah. You’re such a bad boy.” She laughed to herself. “In any case, shall we get started?”