Heading Weast for the Winter

Chapters

[I-10] wEast
This Strange New World
Familiar, Yet Totally Different
The Express
Big and Bright, Wide and High
Not Quite a Forest
How to be Fabulous
10,000 Paces to Equestria, 9,552 Paces Back

[I-10] wEast

“Max!” I hear a call from beyond the front doors as I finish my breakfast.

“Who’s that? I don’t have any visitors today.” I think to myself.

I then check the camera to see Sunset. Wow can she shout. She should know I have a front door camera though. And a doorbell, for that matter. She can text or call me too.

Immediately, I open the door.

“Hey Sunset. What’s up?”

“I got a page from Princess Twilight. She’s asking how everyone’s doing, but more importantly, she wants me to… I can’t believe I’m saying this. She asked if I was seeing anyone, and I did want to bring Flash, but he’s in school and can’t go. So, wanna come to Equestria with me?”

“As long as I get to see Princesses Celestia and Luna.” I half-smirk.

“I think we can arrange that.”

“Don’t tell them though. I want to surprise them.”

“Yeah, definitely! For sure.”

“Is the portal or whatever at your house?” I ask, noting her seemingly eager to get me out of the house.

“Yes…”

“So why drive all the way out here?”

“I spent the weekend with one of my friends in LA. Haven’t seen them in a long time.”

“That’s nice. And now we get to go to your homeland.”

“Yeah…” she sighs wistfully.

“Not looking forward to it?”

“I am. It’s just… I know that everything is fine and I’m more than welcome there, but I guess I still have that uneasy feeling about going back. It’s been so hardwired into my brain that the prospect of going home to Equestria makes me uneasy.”

“I know how you feel. I have those feelings when I go back to the town I went to Uni in. Love the local bites and eats, but whenever I roll in to town, my stomach turns violently inside of my chest.”

“Isn’t the phrase ‘heart turns violently’?” She asks as she grabs my hand and tries to coax me out the door. “Come on, let’s go!”

“Don’t I need to pack an overnight bag?”

“Just a toiletry kit. We don’t normally wear clothes.”

“Alright, fair enough.”

I can’t quite explain why I feel nervous, aside from making my first trip to unknown and unfamiliar territory, which I would describe as normal feelings. In any case, I’m glad to accompany Sunset. Even after the adventure I had “hosting” many rounds of repatriation flights, the loss of business and lack of demand for services (seeing as how most airlines have begun their own cargo operations), maybe it’ll be good for me.

I’m excited. I’m nervous. I’m nervouscited.

“Do you wanna drive, Max?” Sunset asks at our fuel stop.

“If you don’t want to, I can. I’ll let you pick. Do you want to sleep?”

“Umm… Nah. I’ll keep driving then. I’m sure you could use a break.”

“I haven’t driven today at all.”

“I mean, since you basically always do the driving when you’re with any of us.”

“Yeah, alright.” I say as I decide to sleep the rest of the way to Sunset’s.

After a rather refreshing nap, Sunset takes me to one of her spare bedrooms. Inside it is only a full-body mirror along with a couple of old mattresses and a pile of cushions.

“What’s with all the spare pillows?”

“Sometimes, the mirror throws you out, and once I crashed into the wall.”

“Ooh.” I wince. “Good call.”

“Yeah.” She says with a noticeable sigh.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, but…?”

“Still nervous?”

“Ironically, this may be the least nervous I am for a hop into Equestria.”

“Is that nervousness that hardwired into your brain?”

“In a way, yes, but some trips are easier than others.”

“I see. Well, I don’t know how comfortable you are with it, but I think we should…” I have to pause, before making the next part of my thoughts audible, “I think we should at least… I can’t believe I want to go through with this.

“Okay,” I then exhale steeling my nerves, “before I say what I want to say, do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

“Alright then. Since we’re going as boyfriend and girlfriend, if for some reason Princess Twilight or someone else isn’t convinced, should we get comfortable… kissing?”

“I don’t have a problem with it.” She responds with just enough hesitation. “If you think we’ll need to to convince Twilight, we can do it. If you’re nervous about that, 1. I find it kind of funny that you’re nervous about kissing me. 2. Consider it an acting part. You did say you have some experience in theater.”

“I do, but I never had to be physical. I just did monologues or work as an extra.”

“Max,” she smiles almost on the verge of blushing, “I trust you, we’re just doing it for Twilight’s sake, and we’re just acting. It’s fine.”

“Ok then, can we practice a couple just for its own sake?”

“Okay.”

Sunset then closes her eyes, and I follow suit. Our lips lock, but almost immediately, Sunset prods my mouth with her tongue. I recoil my head briefly but eventually relax as she breaks the kiss.

“That was good. I don’t think we’ll need to do more than that.”

“Sorry if I seemed anxious. I wasn’t expecting that.”

She only snickers sinisterly.

“I see how it is.

“I don’t need to, like, change or anything?”

“No. The mirror is pretty good about clothes for this side.”

“Alrighty.” I say as I realize the shirt I’m wearing might be considered by some to be a bit distasteful.

Once Sunset double checks everything of hers, she hands me her journal so she can check the mirror.

“Curiosity question, where does this mirror teleport us?”

“Can’t say.” She says amidst her task.

“Okay!” She calls a few seconds later. “You ready?”

As she opens her hand for the taking, I notice that her knees and hands are shaking.

“Sunset, I think you’re more nervous about going to Equestria than I am.”

“No, it’s fine. I just had a lot of coffee this morning.”

“I don’t believe you, but I’ll take your word for it.”

“Max, I…”

*Applejack – FaceTime Video*

“Uh…” I stutter.

“Take it.” She says with some sigh of relief.

“Hey Applejack.”

“Max, are you alone?”

“Uh, I can be. Is it related to the thing?”

“In a way, yes.”

“One sec.”

I turn off the camera and mute the mic so I can head out.

“Okay,” I say as I unmute the audio and visual, “what’s up?”

“Max, I know that we had both agreed on us liking where we were, and that it wouldn’t make sense ‘fer us to get together, but… Nah, who’m I kiddin’? I can’t lie t’ya. I was talkin’ to Rarity, as we usually do, and I… there’s no good way for me to say this. I think I might be startin’ ta like you too.”

Not even realizing I was holding an out-breath, I then take a deep, sharp breath in and sigh discontentedly.

“Oh no,” I think to myself.

“I see.” I then tell her. Making sure I look and speak into the camera and not the screen, I sit down and prepare to give her the same speech I gave to Rarity.

“Applejack, I’m flattered and floored, both that you feel the way you do, and the fact that you’re willing to tell me outright. I know that for someone like you especially, it… it’s not as easy as taking a few deep breaths and steeling your nerves. Look, I… I’m sure things aren’t easy for you right now, and I know they certainly aren’t for me. I want you to know that I completely hear you and I find it really sweet that you’re doing what you’re doing, but for someone like me, for the sake of… full effect, for lack of a better term, I would much rather talk to you face to face.”

“Max, I…” she blushes.

“I’m not finished. Please don’t misunderstand me. I do want to talk about this, and know that I’ll definitely be thinking about this, because what you just told me is big, and extremely important. Unfortunately, I’m going to be unavailable for a while. I want to make time for us to meet and talk, I really do. When are you available?”

“Uh, let me see. Pretty much on weekends or Fridays.”

“Okay. I probably won’t be available for at least another few weeks. Would it be easier if I called you like a day or so before to check?”

“That’s fine. You know how things can change and all.”

“Indeed I do. Oh! Did you get your ‘not to grow’ subsidy?”

“We did! Only a small part of one orchard is active, just ‘fer us.”

“That’s nice, right?”

“We’ll see. Mac and I are expecting us to get a bit busier come the summer months.”

“For the farm’s sake, I hope you do.” I say with a smile.

“Look sugar cube, I wanted to talk about us because I think I… I think I may be serious when I say I like you.”

“I hear you, I hear everything you say. I will however tell you what I told Rarity. Please consider reviewing your feelings and verify the type of feelings they are. After what I saw between us while in Europe and after returning, her feelings disappeared and we moved on. With a difference between loving someone and being in love with someone, I want to make sure we won’t intermix the two, because that’s what happened after Rarity and I came back from Europe.”

“I have. That’s why I called you.”

“Oh, well in that case, I’m genuinely looking forward to when we can meet. I wish I could chat a little longer, but duty calls.”

“I’ll consider what you said too. Even though I’m 100% sure.”

“Okay. I’ll let you know when I’m available.”

“Bye, sugar cube!” She says with a wave and a smile.

When I return to the room, Sunset stands next to the mirror and timidly asks,

“Ready?”

“I guess.”

“Everything okay with AJ?”

“Yeah, I’ll tell you when we get to Equestria.”

“Who should go first?” I ask once I’m ready to go.

“I’ll go first, but just in case, take my hand.”

“Alright.” I say grabbing her hand and squeezing it tightly to say both “I’m ready” and “I trust you.”

Wasting no extra time, Sunset places her hand on the mirror, its impression creating a ripple on the surface, before stepping through.

As she disappears into the mirror, I follow suit, now clutching onto her hand by instinct. Eventually, Sunset disappears from my grip as I break the plane of the mirror and shut my eyes as I get blinded by the lights.

At first, they’re white, but quickly, it turns into a swirling, dizzying tie-dye pattern that may well give me vertigo or a seizure if I try and focus on one point in what I assume is space, or whatever you call this transdimensional area. (Space it is I guess.)

When the colors stop changing, I close my eyes as I can feel the end of a metaphysical tunnel approaching. Figuring I’ve survived staring into the sun and an acid trip, I embrace my fate as I swiftly approach what is most definitely certain death, by blunt force trauma.

Suddenly, my apparent motion slows down considerably. As the tie-dye projections start to converge with me, I look down their path of travel and find some sort of wormhole. The tie-dye then overtakes and swirls into the wormhole as if going down a drain. There’s no additional time to think about what could come next, as I feel myself rotating about a different axis. Here we go!

When I open my eyes, I find myself on my side in a pitch black room. As I try and acclimate my night vision, I blink once, twice ~~(182?)~~ before realizing that I can actually see quite well.

I stand myself up and look around to see where Sunset is. When I see her, she lights up the room, making herself visible to at least her immediate surroundings.

She then spots me and walks towards me. Now I can see how I look.

“Wh… where are we?” I ask myself.

When Sunset gets close enough to see me, I shield my eyes slightly, so she dims the magic spell.

“How’d you hold up?” She asks.

However, before I can respond, she whinnies, rears up in surprise, and trots back.

“Uh, Max? Everything okay?”

This Strange New World

“Uh, Max? Everything okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it b…” I say but quickly stop myself. Normally locked brakes and skidding tires would suffice, but this? I don’t even sound like myself.

“Sunset?” I ask, still shocked out of my wits at this “vocoder” voice. “What is this?”

“You’re a… Nirik.” She responds, seemingly unsure of herself.

“Say again?”

“I’ve only heard of them. I guess I’m getting my first experience with one.”

“Dare I say I’m hideous?” I say, mostly to myself.

“You’re… different at least.”

“Thanks.” I respond with an eye roll, the new layer in my voice making for a good added effect both literally and figuratively.

“Sorry…” Sunset says with a visible blush forming. “I wonder if Princess Twilight will be okay seeing you.”

“By the way you called me a Nirik, was it? Sounds like I’m not exactly a… welcome member of society.”

“Well, I haven’t ever seen one before, and the legends surrounding them are rather… unflattering.”

“Well, if I’m a dangerous beast, you should probably find a way to contain me.”

“You’re a beast, not a virus.”

“That aged well.”

She instantly shies and looks away in disappointment.

“I really hate you.”

“Thanks.” I reply with a hearty chuckle.

“Maybe I should say ‘cage me’ instead?” I say as we slowly find our way around what appears to be a crystalline structure.

“Stop talking. I hope you know that your normal sense of humor won’t fly here in Equestria.”

“Ha! Won’t fly.”

She only grumbles in response.

“Calm down. Joke’s on you, but I’m still the butt of the joke.”

“Look at you, even when you hop worlds and change species, you’re still the reject you are.”

“Look who’s talking. The only one who can tolerate you, or, well, me, is, in fact, me.”

“It really is a wonder how you survived.”

“Whoa!! Back the fuck up! This is NOT the place.”

Suddenly, the lights come on and I wince, my growl sending chills down Sunset’s spine. As my vision adjusts, I look around and find a third figure at the light switch.

“Sunset?” The familiar voice of Starlight calls.

“Starlight!” She responds as they embrace.

Figuring I’m a bit of a dangerous variable, I gently settle onto one of my sides and sigh.

While the two of them catch up, I take the time to admire my form.

Finding a mirror, I right myself and both figuratively and literally check myself out.

My hooves aren’t exactly visible, being covered by fire red fetlocks. Otherwise, the rest of my body is matted (not quite matte) black, with the exception of my back, which appears to be covered with scales, and my mane, which is white hot, with “reverse-frosted” tips of about the same shade of red as my fetlocks.

“Maybe it isn’t *all* that bad.” I think to myself.

“Max?” Starlight calls as they both walk toward me. “Would you like to join us?”

“Shouldn’t you put me in a cage or something?”

“No!” Starlight shouts taken completely aback. “We have a lot of Kirin in attendance at my school. And… actually, I’ll be right back.”

She then runs off as I join Sunset.

“Is she gonna get one?”

“Stop that!” She snaps back trying so hard not to laugh.

“I know you want to. I don’t mind either.”

The blush on her face is all I need to see.

With Starlight pulling the wagon, I climb in and reel in a mini victory. Why? I don’t have to walk.

As I enjoy my view sat in a loaf, I look around and see a few ponies and other creatures that bother to lock eyes with me scowl, grimace, and actively try to look away, or at least try not to make it look like they’re staring.

The few that maintain eye contact for more than a brief moment or two give me mixed to almost murderous expressions, though I’m not the keenest reader of eyes.

Nevertheless, as I get paraded around Ponyville, I wait until everypony else is out of earshot before asking where we’re going. By the looks of things, we’re heading away from Ponyville, but where would we go?

My answer comes moments later, when after napping (against my wishes), we arrive at what is surely Sweet Apple Acres. How can I tell? The abundance of trees, and the presence of both Apple Bloom and Big Mac, both carrying saddle bags along with baskets atop their barrels.

“Hi Starlight!” AB calls returning to the house. “Whatcha got there?”

“Oh, one of my friends is stuck as a Nirik, so we caged him and put a spell on the cage in case he flares up.”

I only chuckle to myself as the other Apples come out to see me.

Apple Bloom and her sister slowly approach the cage. My companions then watch them as I stare at them head on. Unlike what I can only assume is the old, superseded view, I could flare up in front of them, but it would be purely out of mischief.

Taking a more neutral approach, I growl slightly, letting the new natural enhancements do all the work. Applejack stops dead in her tracks, but Apple Bloom for some reason seems to portray a new, unforeseen emotion. Pity.

Trotting towards Starlight, she then eyes Sunset and has her reach a hoof out to me. Squeezing it into the cage, she then says with her eyes to join hooves.

Her eyes then glow white, leading me to assume she’s reading my memories. When she exits the vision, she sighs in exasperation as I try and give her beady eyes, though it’s pretty close to impossible to convey anything in my eyes.

“Some demons from his past have been tormenting him.” Sunset then says to both Apple daughters.

“Is it at all related to…”

Applejack then pauses, before half-mouthing, half-whispering, “his accident?”

“S… some of it.” Sunset responds on my behalf, briefly eyeing me. “There are also other issues in his life at present.”

“Well…” Applejack begins hesitantly, “I can understand the second part, but I’ve offered everythin’ I can about the accident.” She finishes rather sympathetically.

I then stand on all fours, but only to stretch. Everypony however gives me their undivided attention, so in response, I sit back down and plead innocence, afraid of drawing more attention to myself.

“Wait,” Big Mac calls with little raising of his voice.

“Can we get him to light a fire?”

“Can you do that?” Sunset asks.

I only nod.

With a palpable tension in the air as I’m released from the cage, the Apples lead me to a large stack of neatly stacked wood. Atop the rows are pots, most filled with appear to be either oil or water.

Deciding not to ask any questions, I suddenly realize I can’t just summon fire by will. Holding out each of my hooves individually, even trying to use sheer brainpower to summon it up.

After about 40 seconds of trying, I get fed up with myself. Holding back the urge to scream, for fear of looking like a failure, I try one more time and notice a magic field conjuring up just above my eyes.

As I try and focus on it, I try and manipulate it just so, but no such luck.

Finally, I try the last thing I can think of. Brute force. Well, mentally.

So, channeling my anger at how… certain turns of events have effectively put me (and so many others) out of work, out of our livelihoods, out of our way of life…

“STOP!!!!”

Before long, not only is the wood on fire, but also the immediate area surrounding it, with some other parts of the yard, including where I’m standing, charred with burn scars that would make anyone with even the slightest spot for forests cry.

Immediately, I survey the damage and take off like a bat out of ~~a wet market~~ hell. I’m not a long distance runner by any means, but the only thing I can do is run. Run like I’ve never run before. Like my relatives who threatened to kill me because I didn’t submit to their will of ‘medical/dental/law school, crazy rich is still piss poor, money is the only love you’ll ever know.’

I know I said I was trying to forget about them, but the fact of the matter is they are the people who raised me. The people who gave me a home, a life, and yes, even love. Well, until they found out I didn’t want to go into any of the professions they said. It’s not that easy to just let them go.

When my adrenaline subsides and I finally start to tire out, I find some possible places to hide.

Hoping I don’t leave too much of a trail behind me, I make do with what I have.

I only sigh before I say to myself,

“Why do I destroy everything I touch?”

“Come on, you know that’s not true.”

“Really? Did you see the trail of destruction?”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

“I know; yada yada yada, could’ve been worse, blah blah blah. Point is I have a lot of destructive energy, and I now know how powerful it is. Also how easily I get angered. I can’t be trusted with energy like this.”

“Before you go blaming the portal or even fate for this, it may also be a good thing. Consider what you used to get that fire. You’re not the only one who’s suffering. People have lost jobs, people have had to change their lives and do things they never thought they would have to. That anger is far from unfounded. But how dare you compare yourself to those who have lost a loved one. You do not deserve to even be considered a part of that conversation.”

“Timeout.”

“Tell me I’m wrong! So ungrateful.”

You can imagine that I’m flaring up both figuratively and literally with each word that pierces me. From me.

“Max!” I faintly hear.

Just as I prepare to bolt again, I stop, both out of fear of blowing my cover and where my only escape route is. I’m not afraid of deep, dark forests by any means, but this? Even in daylight, I have my doubts.

I try to move again, but no amount of force, fiddling, or flexion can overpower whatever gravity field surrounding me has rendered me immobilized.

“Come on!” I grunt to myself just as Shimmy and Glimmy come into view, each of their horns alight.

“Everything okay?” Starlight asks.

I want to answer her, but I’m literally rendered silent as Sunset stares me down with disappointment and some underlying anger.

Combined spell still pinning me, Sunset touches me again, and upon emerging from the replay, she only says to me,

“We need to talk.”

After I get put back in my cage, I try and suppress any of my inclinations that elicit a strong emotional reaction, even the good ones. If I can suppress anything, it’ll be a good thing, since let’s be honest, the only reason people get angry is because of emotional attachment.

When we get to what I can only assume is Starlight’s residence, I tactfully pay attention as I’m let out of the cage and am led through the entrance to a room somewhere off the main hallway. Starlight and Sunset then shut and stand by the door, immediately asking questions.

“I… I just don’t know what to say.” Starlight begins.

“I do,” Sunset responds immediately. “Max, I know how you’re all about what you’ve termed “forced optimism.” Yes, you’re lucky to be where you are. Yes, you have every right to be upset at everything. But to blame yourself for being ungrateful?”

I want to respond, but I’m too consumed both by my own self-loathing and the expectation that Sunset will continue.

“It may be unfair for you to complain about losing business given your circumstances. However, it is also completely unfair for you to say you have no right to complain. Look, I know it’s hard. I myself am having doubts about my future, but what can I do? Almost everything I can do has been done, and what isn’t is out of my control. The exact same applies to you.”

“Sunset,” Starlight then asks meekly, “can you fill me in? I want to be a part of this conversation as much as you are.”

“Do you mind, Max?”

I only shake my head and gesture “please do” with my hooves.

As Sunset gets Starlight up to speed, I hear a whisper of,

“Oh, boo fucking hoo. Woe is you. You think you’re being oppressed?? Cry me a goddamn river.”

“Max,” Starlight begins, “I don’t want to sound like I’m downplaying your situation, but I also want to offer any help I can. I don’t think I have much to offer, since we’re rather literally worlds apart (except for right now), but at the very least, I want to be a shoulder to cry on.”

“Allow me to say,” Sunset then adds before I can respond, “you have us as well as the others. I know we all have lives and to you it feels like we have to stop everything, but I can promise you, at least with the two of us, we’d much rather play catch-up with our work than potentially deal with disastrous consequences at an interpersonal level. And I mean that in both worlds.”

“Look,” I begin, still not entirely used to my new vocals. “I completely understand what you’re saying, and I know I’ve heard those speeches more times than I’ll comfortably admit, but I also know that there’s no way I can conquer that impulse of “I’m imposing” or “wasting your time”. It’s how I was raised, and consequently part of my moral code. I’m not going to bore you with the spiritual stuff surrounding it because I can sum it up as “why would you drag everyone else down with you when all you can do is trust it’ll work out in the end?”

“It’s not that easy.” Sunset responds. “I admit I’m a pretty spiritual person at the personal level, but I think that people who say that that’s all you have to do are pretty out of touch.”

“Luckily for you two,” Starlight interjects, “one of our upper level friendship classes is covering that kind of thing.”

“Toxic positivity?” I ask.

“Yes. And I teach it.

“Right now, we just finished talking about playing to one’s ego as part of potential signs of abuse. It’s pretty heavy stuff, but not unheard of here. We also covered the importance of more than just saying “it’ll be okay,” because that does nothing and usually makes it worse for the sufferer.”

“As much as I hate to say it, I’d really rather not talk about it right now. I’ve dragged you down enough today.”

“Stop that, Max.” Starlight chides concernedly. “That’s not a healthy mindset to have.”

“Like it or not, in spite of my efforts to change or suppress it, it still comes out. It’s how I stay grounded, so forgive me if my efforts to avoid foolish optimism comes off as outright pessimism.”

“You are one, but not in the strict sense.” Sunset says. “But I also know why you do. Aside from being a defense mechanism, your apparent pessimism is just a front for your cynicism. You cast your doubts on everything because it forces you to think logically. In a way, I appreciate that, because you answer the ‘why?’ questions for yourself rather than simply relying on “word of mouth.” It’s an admirable quality, at least to me.”

“Thanks, I guess.” I respond, taking what I can only ascertain as a backhanded compliment with some modicum of grace. “It’s undoubtedly cynical, especially considering how it developed. That said, you saw what happened at Applejack’s. I can’t be trusted with this energy.”

“You can blame the portal all you want, but it’s still your responsibility to exercise it.” Sunset reiterates from our earlier conversation.

“I’m sure you’ll get used to it.” Starlight adds somewhat sheepishly. “It’s almost wintertime here, so maybe you can hone your… fire lighting skills.”

“Thanks.” I reply with a chuckle.

Familiar, Yet Totally Different

Next morning, I’m greeted with the sight and sound of breakfast from Sunset. Must be a school day, since Starlight is nowhere to be seen, and her school, per Sunset, is visibly busy.

“Sorry about yesterday.” I say entering the room.

“It’s fine, Max.” She says, equal parts pity and sick of my apologies. “If we can get your anger under control, you can show your true colors as the beautiful Kirin you are.”

“Beautiful, huh? Not exactly the term I’d use to describe me. Any angle from which I’m viewed is unflattering.”

“Shut up.” She chuckles, slugging me in the barrel.

“Maybe I should try and ship an airplane here.” I think to myself, noting a very large, open space in the area surrounding the place.

“Sunset,” I then ask, “do you know if all the land around here is Starlight’s?”

“Um… I don’t know. We can ask her. Why?”

“I just had the wicked idea that I should send an airplane here, as a residence.”

“Interesting. I’d hold off on it though. Starlight and the Princesses can easily accommodate you.”

“Fair, but what if I want to hop in on my own time?”

“That would make sense. Don’t think too much of it though. You’ve only been here a day, and the only thing you’ve done is run away.”

“And nearly set someone’s backyard on fire.”

“Yeah… but no one got hurt. That’s what counts.”

“Just. You saw the damage.”

“It’s fine. The Apples are enjoying their family reunion, so if they have any grievances, we’ll know after the fact.”

“I won’t worry about it then. So, what’s in store for today?”

“Well, I guess if one of Twilight’s friends is available, they can give you a tour of town.”

“Why don’t you?”

“Ponyville’s changed quite a bit since I last was around. I need a little catching up myself.”

“Good news!” Starlight says shortly after returning home about 10 minutes later. “All my classes have take-home assignments, so I can give you a tour of Ponyville!”

“Sweet!” Sunset exclaims.

“Cool.” I concur.

“And this here is Sugarcube Corner, home of the famous Pinkie Pie cupcakes!”

“Sounds really good right about now.”

I nod, but right before going in, I stop Sunset.

“I need to tell you something.”

She gives me her undivided attention after telling Starlight we’ll be behind her.

“I wasn’t entirely honest about what happened before we crossed over. Applejack said to me that in talking with Rarity, she thinks she may have feelings for me. I did tell her I wanted to talk to her face to face and that I’d be available in a few weeks.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Sunset responds with equal parts confusion and (smugness)? “It’s not like either one of you is unrequited, anymore in your case.”

“Sunset, I’m being serious. I love Applejack, I do. But I’ll reiterate what I tell myself and what you may have probably heard the first time you tapped into my memories. ‘The exact same thing that happened with Rosalina – how we ended up getting together – is now happening with Applejack. We go a long time as close friends, maybe even platonic, and somewhere along the way, one of us catches feelings.’ Look at how that panned out. Only difference is: if I were to lose Applejack due to a bitter relationship, I wouldn’t just lose her. I’d lose all 7 of you.”

“Max, just because, and I’m speaking hypothetically here, Applejack would want to end the friendship doesn’t mean the rest of us would go with her. Necessarily. I would call that a ‘discretionary/case by case scenario’. However, on the whole, I can say with considerable confidence that even if that were true, Applejack is nothing if not cordial, diplomatic, or professional. I know how she thinks, and she can easily separate her personal life from her professional one.”

“What about those no-good people she told me about? I forget their names.”

“Twilight might know better in regards to them. And that’s different. Their war is because they threatened more than just her. Something that to her is purely personal is different than something or someone that threatens her family or her well-being.”

“A non-amicable breakup doesn’t threaten her well-being?”

“You know what I mean. She keeps personal things to herself, without trying to rope anyone else in.”

“Something I failed to do early on.”

“Look Max, I don’t know what the future holds for any of us on either side. What I do know is that Applejack, though lacking in the romance department in terms of experience, wants to take a chance with you.”

“I thought she only talked to Rarity.”

“I did say we tell each other everything.”

I only smirk in concurrence.

“Do you think I could get an idea of what to expect by talking to this Applejack?”

“I don’t know. She does have a thing with Rainbow Dash here, so maybe there’s some degree of divergence in that regard.”

“Interesting that that’s not the case on our side. Though Rainbow did kind of admit to and I quote, ‘would go out with me were it not for… something or other.’”

“Look at you, Max! You’re quite popular with the ladies.”

“Those are your friends we’re talking about, so you should be gossiping about me, not with me.”

She only laughs and blushes, choosing to end the conversation by asking, “you hungry? All that heavy talk certainly has made me.”

Walking in and seeing Starlight waiting for her order, Sunset admires the inventory as Pinkie calls,

“Hiya Sunset! Who’s your intimidating but harmless companion?”

“Max.” I respond, “we met when I…um…”

The look on her face changes for the worse but then immediately returns to its signature bubbly smile.

“What’s that?” She then asks mid-mixing.

“What?”

“On top of where your… horn would be.”

“What do you mean?”

Pinkie then hands Sunset a mirror, who levitates it just below my forehead.

“I didn’t notice.” I respond dryly. “I assume that’s not normal.”

“Nope!” Pinkie responds gleefully.

Suddenly, she gasps and runs back into the kitchen, startling both Sunset and I.

“Why didn’t you tell me I had one of those?” I ask Sunset.

“I didn’t notice it. Until we found you hiding.”

“I see. Well, as long as I can keep it contained there.”

“Can I call you ‘Pilot Light’??!” Pinkie asks excitedly upon returning from the kitchen.

“Uh… sure, I guess.”

The door then opens behind us, but immediately following is the scream of a foal and a gasp from their parent.

Sunset then calms them down by reassuring them that I have a containment spell on me, to which I nod and move over to the side so they can place their order… or pick up their cake I guess.

“Thanks Pinkie!”

“No problem. Happy early birthday!”

I wait until they’re out of earshot before I sigh dejectedly and say,

“Look Sunset. Clearly I don’t belong, even for a society that has oh so heartily (more or less) embraced Kirin. As much as I’d love to see Celestia and Luna, there’s no real need for me to come back.”

“You haven’t even been seen in the public eye outside the cage and you’re already backing out? Max, I know you almost tried to kill yourself, but I know that the Max I know and love has a much higher tolerance for rejection than that.”

“Love?” I hint, knowing (well, presuming) her use of the word love is not in the romantic sense.

“Are you really going to do this right now?”

“Sorry. I’m nervous.”

“But you don’t have to be nervous, Pilot Light!” Pinkie butts in while she puts freshly baked cookies on display. “You’re a friend of the council of friendship! And our moonly gathering is tomorrow!”

“Good thing I planned on taking you to see Twilight next week.”

“Yay.” I respond. But instead of excitement in anticipation, I get nervous in suspense, thinking to myself, “does this mean Sunset and I will have to be affectionate?”

Letting Pinkie choose my desserts for me (chef’s recommendations), Starlight, Sunset and I soon head back home, but not before stopping by her workplace. Having concluded operations for the day, she grabs some things from her office, saying hi and answering some questions for students and faculty/staff who are still in the learning pavilion.

That evening, Pinkie drops by during dinner along with the others, who upon seeing a Nirik, hesitate enough, but quickly “embrace” me when Sunset clarifies who I am, corroborated by me showing the namesake of my nickname, coined by the pony who gathered us all.

Despite what happened in her yard just a couple, two, three days ago, Applejack comes in to hug me. To my surprise, not only does she not sustain any burns or even any restraint at the heat emanating off my body, she gives me a full-body hug, albeit a brief one. Same with Dashie, substitute bro-hug for embrace, but add hoofbump.

“Max, right?” Dashie asks as she lets go.

“That’s me.”

“You look pretty cool.”

“I’d say I’m not, but I’d be lying.”

“Bahaha! Good one!”

“Pilot Light and Sunset Shimmer will be joining us to Canterlot!” Pinkie then declares. “Sunset’s presence was requested specifically by Twilight, so she’s gonna be in for a surprise when she sees who she’s brought!”

I only chuckle.

Turns out, in prep for the meeting of the council of friendship, the others sleep over at Starlight’s since they always take the first train to Canterlot, and she’s the closest to the train station. The train leaves promptly at sunrise, so it’s gonna be an early day tomorrow.

The Express

Early the next morning, I’m woken up both by Applejack, who gently nudges me as the others gather their things for the trip, and by the noise of the others getting ready.

Since Sunset is averse to being awake at such ungodly hours, I’m tasked with carrying her, despite me being a literal bed of fire, or so I thought, going off of the events of yesterday. If Applejack and Dashie can interact with me without getting hurt, I can relax a bit.

With no trouble getting out of the house, we get to the station at 5 o’clock. There’s snow and frost on the ground, which doesn’t melt, but in some places, my hoofsteps leave clear impressions.

Starlight will be joining us there but will head back to Ponyville after only a few days. She heads to Canterlot every other moon to give a status report on the school and other things. Lucky me going with all of them.

After my ticket is covered by Starlight, we climb aboard one of the front carriages and get comfortable. Because of the cold, I get a few of them fighting for spots next to me. Sunset however plays her s/o card brilliantly and falls asleep against me.

Since we’re here early enough to beat most of the usual traffic for this train, I decide to doze off for a few. Unfortunately, before I can even lull, I’m interrupted.

As I regain my vision, a pony who based on his dress I can only assume is the conductor, is also joined by an engineer.

“Excuse me, sir. I hate to ask you this, but it appears our fire has gone out, and we cannot get it relit.”

“Say no more.” I say as Sunset moves out of the seat so I can join them.

I’m then left with the engineers, who introduce themselves as driver and fireman before opening the firebox.

“Have you lined it with coal and such?”

“Everything is set. We just can’t get her to light.”

“Do you have a firelighter?”

“We always do it ourselves.”

“First time it won’t light?”

“Definitely not. [We’ve] been at this for moons. Just stubborn sometimes.”

“Must be gremlins.” The driver quips back.

“Ha!” I guffaw. “Gremlins don’t exist. They’re just a personification of things going wrong.”

“How long you been here in Equestria?”

“3 days.”

He doesn’t respond, but his body language says it all. “I only know that I know nothing.”

After giving the firebox a once over, I decide to just offer what I assume they need from me since I have no idea if the way they lined the coal actually can hold a flame. With a yes, I warn them that I might set the cab on fire, I cast a spell and channel my anger out of my “horn” and into the magic field, whispering thoughts of once again a life crisis as a result of the virus raging through my world.

Suddenly, I’m brought back into reality to the sight of a makeshift flamethrower in the magic field and aim it into the firebox. As my blood boils to sustain the spell, I eye the fireman to see if he notices ignition.

I try and look around me to see if I’m setting anything else on fire, but to my surprise, I’m not, though I can tell heat haze/radiance might cause some damage if I have to hold it any longer.

Soon, the fireman extends a hoof into my tunneled peripheral. I stop the spell and exhale exasperatedly.

“Well done, sir!” The fireman shouts as he feeds and stokes the slowly smoldering coal.

“Can you hold the fire? I can ride with you if necessary.”

“I think we’ll be okay. Thanks very much, Mr…”

I pause for a second, but smile and say. “Pilot Light.”

“Much appreciated.” The driver adds as the three of us shake hooves.

I return to the carriage to find it quite full. Others who are sitting in the carriage have their faces change instantly as I join my friends.

“What happened?” Dashie asks.

“Fire wouldn’t light.”

“Look at you!” Pinks exclaims as I sit back down. “True to your name already!”

“I guess so.”

Before I can start dozing off, the conductor does the final check from front to back, raising the green flag upon completion.

The engine crew respond with a whistle from the locomotive, and after the conductor blows his whistle in kind, we get underway.

Normally, the Tankie in me would be giddier than BoCo after meeting Bill and Ben, or James on a turntable, but I’m tired. Even in the best accommodations provided by Ms. Glimmer, I still kept waking up every what I can only assume was every half hour. I don’t have a watch, so I have no way to keep track of time.

Now that we’re rolling, I wake up and check my surroundings. While we’ve left Ponyville behind, I ask what time it is, and Starlight replies “we left about a half hour ago.”

So, resigned to the fact that I probably won’t be sleeping, I take the journey to admire the scenery we pass by en route to Canterlot.

In keeping with the spirit of my companions, I listen in on the various conversations sort of absentmindedly, but Sunset notices me staring out the window and places her hoof on mine.

“Everything good?”

“Eh, really. Just taking it all in.”

“Spoiler alert, most of the way up to Canterlot looks like this. It doesn’t really change until we start climbing the mountains.”

“I figured. No use trying to sleep.”

“But at least I can.” She says as she lays her head on me, to which I then kiss the top of her head.

She coos gently as she closes her eyes, leaving me to admire the lush greenery ahead of the climb.

When we arrive at Canterlot station, we’re greeted by a symphony of other trains (obviously), but what surprises me is the sheer number of them. Granted, Equestria (or this whole world, so it seems) probably doesn’t have the population density of many of my world’s large cities, but color me impressed. Not to overuse a cliché or even downplay how I’m actually feeling, I feel like I’m in one of those panning shots where some kid from the rural country has arrived in a big city for the first time, completely captivated by all that surrounds him. Now, I still get that feeling in my world sometimes, but less of the big city feel and more of a “where are all the outbounds going?”

“Welcome to Canterlot, Pilot Light!” Sunset says smugly as I peer at all the signage.

Trains to various cities, including versions of cities in my world, are backdropped by trains building up steam and carriages alighting and taking on passengers.

A message board carries all the current and some upcoming train information.

“Celestia Express – Manehattan.”

“Solaris – Foaledo, Detrot, Neighagra Falls, Sire’s Hollow.”

“Shadows – Foal Mountain, Hollow Shades.”

“Bull Run – Appleloosa.”

“Stagecoach Express – Dodge City.”

“Horseshoe Bay Limited – Baltimare.”

“White Tail Zephyr – Stratusburg, Whinnymucca, San Franciscolt.”

“Tall Tale Trail Blazer – Cloudsdale, Salt Lick City, Tall Tale, Seaddle, Vanhoover.”

“Crystal Empire Builder – Whinnyapolis, Whinnypeg, Crystal Empire, Yacoltsk, Yakyakistan.”

“San Palomino Limited – Las Pegasus, Somnambula.”

“Arimaspi Limited – Silver Shoals.”

“City of Trottingham – Trottawa, Trottingham, Manechester, Coltchester.”

“Commander Hurricane Zephyr – Hayseed Swamp, Fort Laudermare, Mareami.”

“Filly Special – Fillydelphia.”

“Coast Starlight, operated by Southern Equestria Rail – Seaquestria/Mount Aris.”

And lastly,

“Friendship Express – Griffonstone, Dragon Lands, Kirin Grove.”

“Wonder if that’s their equivalent of the Trans-Equestrian Railway or something.” I think to myself. “If they even have such an equivalent.”

Deciding not to cloud the rest of the trip with my fascination with Equestrian trains, I follow the others out of the station and march grandly toward the castle.

Canterlot, bustling as it is, seems pretty friendly for being the city it is. Unlike in Ponyville, here I’m noticed, rather than just simply scoffed at or even feared. I imagine it may be because Canterlot is such a big city, but the influence of having the Princess of Friendship on the throne helps too.

So many creatures of all kinds crowd the courtyard. It’s actually quite uplifting to me in a way. I have nothing against my reception in Ponyville, even though I was honestly quite disappointed in seeing that I by presence alone strike fear into the hearts of some. That said, I was still kind of finding my hooves, so maybe I came off the wrong way. In any case, I hope this goes well.

As the others cheerfully and gleefully approach the castle gates, the guardsponies customarily stop them shy of the gate. A third then goes inside to alert the princess. A few seconds later, the guards then reach for and open the gates, revealing even more ponies engaging in chat.

None of them even bother to notice that a Nirik is amongst The Council of Friendship. Again, big city, diverse population. Not quite a sight as it is in Ponyville.

Suddenly, my heart starts pounding as we head for the throne room.

“She’s still the same Twilight…” I say to myself. “She knows you, she likes you, she’s a friend. I think.”

“She’s royalty here. Probably the single most powerful creature in this world.”

When she looks up to see her friends, she smiles as they all jump in for a group hug. Sunset and I don’t join them, and to try and get her into my head, I try and join hooves, but obviously, it can’t happen.

It I guess works though, as Sunset only looks at me with a smile and waits for the princess to acknowledge us.

“Sunset Shimmer!” She exclaims as she opens up for an embrace. Feeling oddly comfortable, seeing as how Twilight must’ve had a similar sight when she was in Sunset’s hooves.

“I thought you were bringing Flash.” I hear amidst their embrace.

“He’s busy, so I brought my next best choice. It’s Max.”

The Princess then looks at me, to which I smile and nervously bow before her.

Twilight then scans me from all angles before saying just above a whisper,

“Glad you’re with us, Max.”

I smile as she offers the same embrace she awarded Sunset.

In her arms, she rests her chin on my shoulder as I feel the flames my body emulates heat up. But I know that’s not my bodily flames. Like I said before, I must not be hot to the touch, because not only am I able to share hugs, I’m embraced warmly.

“You and Sunset are our guests of honor.”

We spend some time in what I can assume is the castle’s quarters in what appears to be the dining room. Each member of the Council of Friendship has their own spot, designated with their cutie mark.

Sunset and I sit beside the Princess, listening in on the conversation, consisting mostly of the usual catching up, happenings at the School (via Starlight), and a discussion of where we should go in the city.

Paying no mind to their conversation, I instead keep pace with the group, taking in the sights of the city.

I’ve only been here for about an hour or two, and despite the obvious class disparity, unlike what I would expect, high society at least acknowledges those below them, at least enough for common decency. Quite a change from my side, I must sorely admit.

When we head for lunch, Pinks gleefully hugs the two ponies upon entry, along with Rarity.

“Your usual please, extra bread!” She says as we’re seated.

When I take my first sips of water, I realize how dry my mouth is, so I’m quickly asking for more. That says a bit about our food, as when it arrives, I didn’t even realize how hungry I was.

Being seated next to the Princess gives me the good opportunity to ask her mid-meal,

“I know your society is all about friendship, but are Nirik sightings rare or something?”

“Not per se. Because Nirik behavior can be pretty unpredictable, most ponies just want to keep their distance.”

“I guess that makes sense. Unlike other creatures, it’s more obvious to tell when they’re angry, or even agitated.”

“Given your assumptions, what’s troubling you?”

“I don’t know. Aside from the obvious, I have no reason to be like this.”

“What’s ‘the obvious?’”

“The situation in my world. It’s effectively put me out of work.”

“I see. I’m really sorry about that.” She responds stoic and collected.

“I appreciate the consolation, and I mean this with all due respect, it’s not going to change the state of my life.”

“I know. I wish there was something I could do to help.”

“I don’t think there is. Pretty much everything going wrong on my side is out of my control, which completely invalidates my right to complain.”

“That’s awfully hard on yourself,” Twily responds with all the motherly tone of her mentor before her.

“Per my moral code I guess. ‘May I have the serenity to accept what I can’t change, courage for what I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.’”

“Just know that if you ever need to, you’re always more than welcome here in Equestria.”

“I don’t have access for myself. Closest point of entry for me is Sunset’s mirror.”

“Fair enough.” She shrugs.

After we pay and leave, Twily and the council make their way back to the castle but not before saying hi to passers by and the little fillies and colts.

When we return to the private quarters, the six members of the Council of Friendship gather, but release us to do what we want, glad we were able to have lunch together, and with the journal, we have some means of communication.

Sunset then gets the idea to head back to the train station.

“Let’s go see the Princesses.”

“Emeritae. Princesses Emeritae.” I instinctively correct.

She only rolls her eyes as we get our tickets and wait at the platform.

When we arrive at the Silver Shoals station, I dust off some sleep from my eyes, triggering a brief flare-up, which scares a lot of the other creatures on the platform.

“Sorry.” I utter sheepishly.

Sunset then has me follow her to their residence. To my surprise, just in the distance from the station to the Princess’ residence, there seems no shortage of marine and land-based sports and activities to do here. Is this a holiday/vacation spot?

“You nervous?” I ask Sunset with some concern.

“No no,” she says waving her hoof dismissively. “Seeing Princess Celestia doesn’t make me nervous anymore. The only reason I get nervous is because of the portal. It… does things to me sometimes.” She finishes as she knocks on the door.

“Alright then.”

Sunset knocks one more time, to which Celestia opens the door, smiling as if she’s been expecting us.

“Hello Sunset Shimmer.” She responds with her usual level of motherliness.

“Hi Princess Celestia.”

“Who’s your friend?”

“It’s Max.”

“Oh yes, of course. It’s so nice to see you.”

“Likewise, Princess Celestia.”

“Please come in. My sister will be back soon.”

As we get the tour of their place, I take a moment to admire the mentor–mentee duo. It’s beautiful to me that even post-abdication and well into Sunset’s independent life that there still seems to be the same kind of love towards and for each other, just obviously evolved.

When we return to the main room, Celestia offers some tea, which I do fancy.

“While I’m sure you are tired from the journey here, I am eager to hear of some developments in your life, Mr. Scimitar.”

“Where do I start?” I say as I take my first sip of tea, warming me up on the inside. “For starters, Pinks – erm, your Pinkie Pie, has given me a new nickname: Pilot Light. And a fitting one perhaps. On the train ride to Canterlot, the train’s crew called on me to try and light their fire, which went well.”

“And how about since we were last in your world? I’d like to return some time.”

“Not possible right now.”

“I am aware. Twilight and Sunset keep in touch all the time.”

“And I’m here to get a new journal. I’m almost out of pages.”

“How long are you planning on staying?”

“We’re not on a fixed schedule,” I reply, “though I have to return to my world in about a week.”

“Well, we don’t do very much here. I’ve partaken of every activity this place has to offer, and I’ve already been to various other places across Equestria. That’s why I want to return to your world.”

“I understand.” I reply trying to communicate my disheartenment of the current state of affairs.

“Princess Celestia,” Sunset then says, “Max and I both came here not just to see you. We’re both in dire situations made worse by what’s also currently happening in our world. Put simply, we’re scared.”

“Sunset,” Celestia begins, “there is nothing I wish for more than your safety, security, and prosperity. However, I know any advice I can give for you in this time of crisis for you will only be meaningful to you if you apply it as you see fit. Everything I know about your situation has come from Princess Twilight, so all my information comes from tertiary or even quaternary sources. However, if I can be of any help, and you would like me to spend some time in your world, I can do that.”

As much as I want to respond, this is Sunset’s conversation.

As the two of them continue catching up, I hear the door open, and I immediately rush to their fireplace.

“Max, what’re you doing?” Sunset asks quizzically.

“Just in case I flare up.”

“Why would Princess Luna make you flare up? Did she do something to bother you?”

“No, but she really wanted me to come visit her. I’m afraid of her seeing me like this.”

“Even if she knows you are like this, she wouldn’t not want to see you.”

“I just wish we could meet when I’m in my Kirin form rather than as a Nirik.”

“Max?” Luna’s voice calls tenderly from the other side of the house.

“Well, here goes nothing.”

“Sunset Shimmer!” She exclaims in surprise. “I didn’t know you would be joining us.”

“I’m here in case Max got lost.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re with us.”

“Hello Princess Luna,” I respond to break the ensuing awkward silence from Sunset leaving us alone. “I’m sorry we have to meet like this.”

“Why would that be a problem?”

“Look at me.”

“All I see is you.”

“I should sleep in your fireplace. I’ve had a few flareups since I arrived.”

“Nonsense. You have a place here. You have a home here.”

“Thank you Princess Luna. I just hope I don’t overstay my welcome.”

That night, when most other creatures have tucked away in their beds, I make the last of my preparations for sleep. Since I’m in the presence of the Princesses, and because Luna still has some remnant power left to her by Princess Twilight as her emerita privileges, tonight she’s patrolling dreams.

Big and Bright, Wide and High

It’s a starry night; the moon is full, and the air still. There is the sound of faraway ships and distant laughter. They echo over the houses and through the terminals. Down all the ramps and security checkpoints. You might also hear the sound of static of my handheld chatting. These are the sounds that say the airport is hard at work at the second-largest airfield in America.

This is the sound of my mind palace.

My mind’s a pretty active place, and I know this is a dream. How can I tell? There’s a lot of traffic today, and we haven’t even seen the evening rush yet. No way is the airport this busy during current events.

Tonight, I’m also tending the airport’s largest bar. Sometimes, I sit back and watch it all play out, but this time, I’m taking a part, even if in the grand scheme of things, it is but an odd job.

The bar is in a nice location in the terminal, affording a view straight to two of the airport’s primary runways at their midpoint. This means one can catch an aircraft either really close to rotation, or as they’re on the landing rollout, so one can see the stowing of the thrust reversers and/or spoilers.

I have myself a hearty glass or two of water just to keep my mouth from getting dry, when a shining light eventually flies into view, very much visible even in the midday light. It passes through the window ahead before brightening and instantly materializing into a pony amongst humans.

“Hello Princess Luna.” I call nonchalantly while wiping a glass from the dishwasher.

“Hello Max.” She responds with no effort to hide her confusion.

“Let me explain. Welcome to my subconscious, but you already knew that. This is a world built in the style, but not a direct emulation, of a mind palace. It’s a different airport almost every time. Tonight, it’s Dallas/Fort Worth International.”

I pull an airport directory out of my pocket and lay it out in front of her. Trying not to become completely mesmerized with her mane, I stutter out,

“The… da… airport is arranged sort of like… like so. Uh, we… we are here at the ‘D’ gates. The international terminal. Here we’ll find the most eclectic bunch of traffic. BA, Qatar, Qantas, just to name a few. One of the longest flights in the world operates from here, and… should… be boarding pretty soon.

“Anyway, enough of the superficial/extraneous details.” I then say quickly, replacing the glass in the overhead racks and moving onto the next. “If you have other dreams to oversee, please go ahead and visit them. I’ll be here, hopefully. If you ever need to rest while you’re on duty, we’re always open.”

“I’m sensing some interesting things from your psyche. I shall return!”

“Welcome back Princess Luna.”

“I appreciate the gesture, but I am no longer the Princess of the night.”

“You are to me. Not to renounce Princess Twilight. I love her too.

“Unfortunately,” I quickly resume as I notice her blushing, “I think you can sense that I do have some feelings of attraction towards you. Rest assured, those feelings, no matter what you may seem to notice, are purely out of admiration.”

“I’d love to sit down and talk about it.” She says, seemingly trying to play off the fact that I find her beautiful.

“Can I get you anything?”

“Your finest water, please.”

“You’ve led yourself to it, but I won’t make you drink.” I say as I grab a clean glass from atop and fill it in one swift motion. “On the house.” I finish as I slide it down to her.

“Clever. Thank you.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but if you can pick up things my psyche is emanating, isn’t this kind of a one-sided conversation?”

“Not at all. I can sense abnormalities, and I certainly appreciate your upfront-ness. What you tell me is brand new information, that you haven’t told me before. Also, this is your dream. I don’t need to tell you that whatever runs through your subconscious can have some effect on this environment.”

“Lemon?” I ask while simultaneously nodding in agreement with her.

She shakes her head.

“I didn’t really notice.” I then continue. “I’m kind of just doing my thing here. If I’m not watching this operation play out, I usually hop between terminals to monitor the constant influx and outflow most of these gates see in a given cycle.”

“I am familiar with the method of loci technique. I’ve never seen it manifested in this form before.” She says as a throng of patrons, fresh off a flight that just arrived a few gates down, shuffle about the terminal.

“I kind of made it up myself. Obviously, because I am a pilot, and always have wanted to be since I was very little, I have an unhealthy obsession with my career field. Childhood stuff, which is A Whole Different Animal. Not really something to delve into now.”

“I appreciate you providing me with a rest stop.” Princess Luna begins after taking a mighty swig of water.

“Call it a stopover.” I say more off the cuff than serious as I offer a refill.

“Why might the location change?” She asks as she slides her glass towards me to signify yes.

“Depends on my mood, and back when I was actually working, where I went.” I reply as I grab the nozzle and fill her glass.

“And how did the concept of making the method of loci churn out an airport?”

“The concept is quite simple. The basic “objects in a room” principle works for many, but to me, that only really seemed to work for rote memorization, which up to a certain point, is forgotten. The transfer between rote and short-term, and even short to long-term memory is where the concept evolves. In this case, it evolves beyond even the concept of mind palace, since true mind palaces render objects of like or similar disposition as logically fallacious. That is to say, if a concept is tied to an object in the room that is closely related enough, or rather, if a concept and the object matched to it are too similar, it becomes a fallacy.

“Airports are always subject to random change and conditions. That descended directly from the pseudo-instinctive way I train my brain, just reciting what I already know and linking it to concepts or what have you that I don’t understand yet. Applicably, no one gate sees the same flight twice, speaking strictly from the viewpoint of a gate. From an airplane perspective, unless you’re a small presence at a given airport, you’ll more than likely park at a different gate every time. And each set of routes an airplane flies is also pseudo-random, with limitations like range and capacity that can be levied onto an aircraft’s schedule.

“What you’re seeing on the ramp is more or less what one could describe as stimuli interacting with information both permanent and transient. Gate changes happen all the time, and I can get dates mixed up, to provide a specific example. Gate changes could also be representative of my brain reinforcing things, like learning things backwards, forwards, and inside out. Likewise, I’m here in the D gates because this is the international terminal. I assign international terminals to my love for aviation, seeing as how the traffic it usually receives is the most eclectic, and the largest aircraft depending on where they’re coming from. If we were to, say, hop over into another terminal, you might get the other areas of my life that see less “foreign” information and more personal stuff. For example, since the dominant carrier here at DFW is American Airlines, and we’re seeing a lot of domestic operations heading to the terminal regarding… let’s just say, personal care. Quite a few times in my life, I’ve gotten signs from the universe that I need to improve self-care. Since this here is the most prominent terminal, my love for aviation is obviously going to be the cleanest, the neatest, and the sleekest profile here. However, I cannot say the same for this terminal, which has been, in the words of Los Angeles International Airport, “continuous major construction [on airport] daily.” I dedicate most of my resources away from self-care because I pride myself on being flexible, chill/cool with almost anything, and to a point, considerably self-sufficient, but even I have my limits. It’s still there, because 1. The terminal still exists, and 2. As much as I would like to, I can’t ignore the fact that I’m human. There’s no getting around that. So, despite looking disused on the outside, it is for the sake of airport operations, an overflow area.”

“That sounds to me like you should dedicate more to it. I know your friends say you like to make you seem like you’re a never-tiring, always available to help kind of pony, well, person, but even the strongest and most resilient of creatures have a support system behind them.”

“I know. Look at what I said happened in the time leading up to my trip here with Sunset. I failed to utilize the one I had and it almost cost me my life. What’s more, I have to constantly conquer the urge to suppress any feelings of abnormality or asking for help because I was raised to always presume any problems I have are my own fault and can be done without the help of others. I just impose on and waste others’ time.”

“Attention in the terminal,” the intercom suddenly booms, interrupting our conversation, “due to passing thunderstorms, all flights are delayed for at least an hour.”

“Oh great.” I grumble. “See what happens when I start hemming and hawing? I talk about myself and get bit in the flank.”

“You’re quite hard on yourself. Some credit is due to you. You are quite tough, but you needn’t show it all the time. My sister and I, along with our counterparts in your world saw it from day one.”

“Be that as it may, understand this whole airport of a mind palace is pretty ambiguous and convoluted. Any given day, the status of the various terminals, ground operations, or even the air traffic control could mean two totally different things, both on different nights and the same night. It could be said that it’s a matter of personal interpretation, but it nonetheless works for me. This mind palace as you see it isn’t likely even a true mind palace. It is at face value more of a metaphor, except instead of randomly assigning information to a given piece or article in a room, it’s a cluster of information arriving, thus transferring to the appropriate connection here in the mind palace.”

“Well, it all makes sense to me, but what amazes me is how intricate this hub is. So many cities, so much information, how do you not overload?”

“Well, that overflow terminal is always handy, but sometimes it does. That usually happens though when we’re at a smaller airport. Depending on the day, I’ve found a correlation between my tolerance for anomalies and the size of airport generated in my mind. The process of randomly assigning an airport is obviously influenced by my conscionable memory, but if I’m mellowed out or had a good day, that night’s airport will be a major one, like DFW. The days I get a small airport, I know it’s usually because I am or have had an off day. I can say with confidence that spending time with you and your sister has increased your chances of getting a big airport, especially because I know you did say you really did want me to visit. If you had seen my dreams when I was at my worst, you probably would have seen a bunch of passenger jets trying to operate out of an airport so small, it was in danger of, and did, shut down.”

“My goodness. I’m very glad you didn’t depart us… as such.” She says as a large bolt of lightning lights up the sky. “That may have been a poor choice of words.”

“I enjoyed it.” I laugh as the thunder booms right behind the lightning, giving some of the visible patrons a good scare or two.

“Well, my time to patrol dreams is soon up. Sunrise is approaching.” She says taking one last eager sip of water.

“Of course. I hate having have held you for so long, especially when you have fillies, colts, mares, and stallions who are likely suffering much worse than I am.”

“Worry not. You were my last stop.”

“Are you going to try and depart in this storm? The airport’s closed.” I say as I load our glasses and start the now-full dishwasher.

“I don’t need to negotiate some storm clouds to get out of your head.”

“Very well then. My salutations, my thanks, and my apologies: for my hemming and hawing. I don’t have very many people I can vent to.”

“You have plenty. Be not afraid to ask them. I may only speak for myself, but I think it hurts them that you’re suffering in silence more than you think.”

As she makes her way out, the door to gate D25 opens, with a bright, almost blinding light from beyond the jetway. Just as she steps through, it closes behind her, to which I teleport to the gate desk and make the following announcement.

“Dallas/Fort Worth is paging all passengers on the following flights: British Airways flight 192 with service to London Heathrow, Qatar Airways flight 730 with service to Doha, and Qantas flight 8 with service to Sydney. All three flights are now in final boarding. British Airways passengers boarding at gate D11, Qatar Airways passengers boarding at gate D14, and Qantas passengers boarding at gate D16. Once again, British Airways flight 192 with service to London Heathrow, final boarding call at gate D11; Qatar Airways flight 730 with service to Doha, final boarding call at gate D14; and Qantas flight 8 with service to Sydney, final boarding call at gate D16.”

Author's Note

This was written during a layover. Hence the [odd] specificity of gate D25, where I was to depart.

The idea struck me when I saw my first 787-10 (of British Airways) and A350-1000 (of Qatar Airways).

As for the Qantas? One of my uncles flew on Qantas flights 7 and 8 for a conference down under.

Not Quite a Forest

“Good morning Max.” Princess Celestia greets quite cheerily as I half-stumble into their kitchen. “Join us?”

“Shortly, thank you. How are you awake before me, Sunset?”

“Got a good night’s sleep I guess.”

“Has your sister turned in?”

“She should be soon.”

“Hello everypony.” Luna then calls, wearing a nightcap atop her head and another atop her horn.

“Hello Luna. Welcome back. I hope you enjoyed your visit.” I say.

“Yes indeed, thank you.” She then yawns. “Goodnight everypony.”

The three of us dig in to a beautiful medley of fruit and haycakes. Upon noticing the scent of the latter, it dawned on me.

“I haven’t had anything properly equine (with respect to my world). Everything I’ve had has been like 90% refined grains and dairy.”

“Oh yeah. That’s true. Well, gotta feed that fire, right?”

“I suppose. Though if it’s sugar, I’m surprised it hasn’t clogged my works or seized me up. If I was still a human, I can guarantee I would be keeled over.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“For once.”

When the breakfast is finished and the table cleaned, Celestia decides to take us on a walk down the shoreline all the way down to the marina. A boat launch is busy as it would seem to be for this time of year. A few families and parties of primarily Ponies, hippogriffs, and dragons all queue anxiously to launch boats, dinghies, or other watercraft large and small.

Since I joined primarily for the exercise, and because most of the way down is Sunset and Celestia talking about life, especially in the context of our world’s pandemic, I keep to myself.

“I know I’ve been disconnected from my phone since coming to Equestria, but I do wonder if I have any voicemails.” I think to myself.

When we stop for a small snack at one of their favorite bakeries in town, we slowly walk back to the house, where at her request, I start a fire in their main room’s hearth as well as a smaller one in the fireplace in Luna’s room.

Though still fast asleep, she does toss and turn from one side to the other as I try and start the fire as quietly as I can. I don’t know why, but unlike other times, when someone tossing or turning alarms me for fear of disturbing their sleep, I get the opposite feeling. Luna turning over is reassuring, no doubt because of our interaction last night. I’ve heard the same speeches so many times over, I could recite them verbatim backwards and forwards, but for some reason, coming from Princess Luna, it feels different this time.

I don’t doubt that something like this will be as easy as other work droughts, quite the opposite in fact. Yet for some reason, Princess Luna’s visit to my subconscious has left me, unbeknownst until now, all warm and fuzzy inside.

Once I get the fire started, I’m just about to leave the room, when she tosses and turns again, this time, dropping her blanket. Her rear legs and hooves start to shiver as she visibly agitates but doesn’t wake up.

In response, I make the fire bigger so it can burn hotter. You can imagine that original warm and fuzzy feeling now overtaking me. The intensifying fire then transfers to me, and fit to burst, I do the only thing I can think of. Then, without so much as an afterthought, I stealthily take the blanket, re-fluff it, and place it over her body. Right before I make for the door, I give her a kiss on the forehead and whisper “thank you Princess Luna” and leave the room so she can slumber in peace.

When I close the door behind me, Sunset and Celestia have gone to the garden in the back. It’s a rather pretty one, and one that has shown both gentility and longevity. I don’t know how long Celestia and Luna have lived here, and it is possible that it is inherited from the previous owner, but I will say that even for it being my very first time in here, I do wonder if Celestia ever feels better for being here.

“Hey Max.” Sunset calls relaxedly.

“Sounds like you two are mellowing out nicely in here.”

“It’s peaceful.” She responds, then continuing with, “plus, greenhouse.”

“I, uh, can tell.” I reply, wiping some sweat from my brow. “Maybe it’s my body (and my Illinois blood).”

“If I remember correctly, you being fat also helped with your resistance to cold.” She smirks.

“Sunset Shimmer!” Celestia admonishes.

“No no. It’s okay. May as well embrace it. I used to be the family’s poster boy for fat shaming.

“But I’m okay with that now.”

“Be that as it may,” Celestia steps in, “I don’t feel comfortable hearing my former student referring to anyone – especially their coltfriend – as fat.”

I elect to remain silent and join my “marefriend” at her side. With a third lounge chair apparently reserved for me, I settle in comfortably and fervently take in all the plants around me.

Eventually, my body acclimates to the temperature of the greenhouse. When that happens, I decide to get up and actually see the rest of the place.

As the late afternoon gives way to evening, I find a spot in the greenhouse that’s even more soothing than the lounge spot where the others are. Standing here, tall and proud, each breath rustling the leaves and vines, I slowly sit on my haunches as the sun dips to a point where it shines through the side walls.

As my back is to the sun while seated, I crane my neck to see the bright light and then snap back to see my silhouette blocking both of my companions. To that, I stand back up and return to Sunset’s side.

Instead of lounging, I remain on my haunches on the lounge chair. As the last of the sun’s bright rays reflect and refract off of both of the ladies’ manes, I admire Princess Celestia but particularly Sunset.

“*especially their… coltfriend*”

I smile as those words cross my mind.

“*Should we get comfortable… kissing?*”

“*We’re just acting. It’s fine.*”

“Excuse me.” I say largely under my breath as I exit the greenhouse, feeling warmer than when I entered, and quite giddy, and not in a good way.

“What is wrong with you?” My inner voice asks.

“Search me. Oh wait, you are me. You of all should have the answer.”

“Sunset’s your ‘marefriend.’”

“No she isn’t. We’re just acting.”

“It’s fine. She’s quite a catch though, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think I like her like that.”

“You’ve already cuddled. You’ve shared a kiss. What’s next?”

“One.” I reply just as the other voice stops talking. “One. And it was purely to prove we were comfortable with faking it. Nothing more. Nothing less. Period. Full stop.”

“Suit yourself. But never mind the view, look at the track.”

“The… fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Celestia and Sunset exit the greenhouse about 5 minutes later. I in response to my internal dialogue head back into the house and fix myself a cuppa.

Presently, Dashie arrived.

“Max! There you are. I know you’ve been looking forward to spending time with Princesses Celestia and Luna, but I do have a bit of an urgent request from Rarity.”

“What could she possibly want me for?”

“Uh, she didn’t say. You’ll just have to find out.”

“Am I going to head back to Ponyville then?”

“Yes.”

“Well, too bad you can’t carry me.”

“I know. It would make life easier for both of us.”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to find some money.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Even though you could get back to Ponyville for free, albeit under your own power.”

“I never leave my friends hanging.”

“I’m a friend of yours? I’m honored.”

“Of course! The way you treat the other me? It would be wrong for me.”

“Alright then.”

“Besides, I can charge Rarity for the ticket.”

“Will she pay?”

“If she doesn’t, I’ll make her pay somehow.”

“That doesn’t sound like a very convincing argument.”

“Don’t worry. We’ve been friends forever. I’m sure she’ll be willing to shell out a few bits for fetching you.”

“Can I at least authorize my release?”

“Uh, Ponish?”

“I need to let them know I’ve been summonsed.”

“Summoned.” She instinctively corrects.

“I should tell the Princesses and Sunset, at least.”

“Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?”

I remain silent and only smirk.

I look to see who’s around, but no one else is around. Suddenly, Luna appears.

“Oh, hello Luna. Have you seen your sister or Sunset?”

“No,” she replies, “I woke up like 2 minutes ago.”

“Oh, well, I guess I’ll go look for them.”

“Hello Rainbow Dash,” she says. “Please, come in.”

“Thanks. I’m actually here for Max. Rarity is asking for him, so I’m asking on her behalf.”

“I see. Well, would you like to help us find my sister?”

“Sure.”

As the three of us look for the others, I check in hallways and outside. Luna checks the other rooms upstairs and Dashie stays downstairs.

We eventually find the two of them walking through the front door, having gone for a small stroll around the block.

“Sunset, Princess Celestia,” Luna says, “Max and Rainbow Dash have something to say.”

“Rarity wants to meet with Max.” Dashie says.

“Did you have anything you wanted to do with me while I‘m here.”

“I had hoped we could catch up on your life a little bit more, but I don’t mind releasing you. Though I do expect you to do so when next we meet.”

“What could Rarity want from Max?”

“I wish I knew.” Dashie responds. “I do know that she was pretty adamant to get him as soon as possible.”

“Okay.” She concurs. “I don’t mind spending a few more days here.”

“Yay.” I respond neutrally.

Sunset then steps forward and says “I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay.” I respond as I reach out to kiss her on the cheek, which we turn into a European double kiss.

“I’ll see you soon Princess Celestia.” I then say as we head for the door. Right before we leave, Princess Luna stops me.

“I don’t know when we’ll see each other next, so I want to leave you with this,” and hugs me rather tightly. Not enough to be crushing by any means, but certainly enough to be snuggly, warm, and fuzzy.

When we reach the station, a train rolls right in.

“Where to today?” The ticket pony asks.

“Ponyville direct.” Dashie replies.

“Your train is arriving next, unless you want to go through Canterlot.”

“No thanks.” She chuckles.

When she pays for the fare, we watch as the current train alights and loads, eventually departing considerably lighter. A lot of holiday makers it looks like.

“Dashie,” I then ask just as the conductor blows his whistle for departure, “I know you’re not much of a softie, and I certainly don’t mean to intrude, but can I ask you some things?”

“Like what?” She responds nervously.

“Don’t worry, I won’t be too namby-pamby. Um, AJ, my Applejack, told me that she thinks she likes me, and that she has feelings for me. That in mind, what’s it like with this, erm, your, Applejack?”

“Well, what can I say? She’s the greatest mare a pony could ask for. She’s strong, she’s sweet, and she’s… well, she’s…

“Perfect.”

“Difficult a question as it may be,” I smile, “is there anything about her that you don’t like, or makes you two kind of… difficult?”

“Uh… everything, I guess. She’s strong, and strong-willed. It also makes her bullish and usually hard to work with. We’re both doers, and we both know we should be the lead most of the time.”

I don’t respond and wait for her to finish talking.

“But I still would never do anything to lose her.”

“I think that’s all I need to know. For now anyway.”

Just then, our train arrives. With only a handful of other passengers on the platform, we board and get settled for the journey back to Ponyville.

How to be Fabulous

Upon our arrival, it’s very late, and I, along with Dashie and many other passengers, are tired. This time, an undue delay due to a train in front of us held us up along the line for quite a while. So much so that we proceeded past the danger signal and stopped right behind the train in order for our crew to try and troubleshoot the problem with the other engine.

Long story short, we arrived several hours late and the leg to Canterlot was delayed as the result of both a crew and engine change.

I’m fortunate enough to be given a place to sleep at Sweet Apple Acres as Apple Bloom is on an overnight field trip with some kids at the School of Friendship.

Next morning, I wake up ahead of Dashie, but figure I should head over to Rarity’s as soon as I can. So, after asking for a place to wash, I do so, primarily to remove accrued dirt, sweat, and some residual germs from sitting in a closed, cramped, and might I add completely full train. I forgot to mention that that was so much the case that there were even passengers in the caboose. Holiday rush. Coaches and passenger rolling stock are especially hot commodities.

Nevertheless, once I’m clean as I can feel, I head out to Ponyville without saying goodbye since everyone is either out in the fields or asleep.

When I reach Carousel Boutique, I knock on the door, as I’m here outside their posted hours of operation.

“Hello, Max, darling!” She exclaims as she excitedly pulls me in for a hug, and pulls me in to her boutique. Lined with many a gown in various stages of completion, I smile.

“This feels familiar.” I say to myself, making no effort to hide the direct parallel.

“Thank you so much for volunteering your time. Your contributions will not be unrewarded. You’re all mine today, so I shall treat you accordingly.”

“Okay.” I respond, cheered up and cheerful enough just from her energy.

First things first, Rares takes my measurements.

“Uh,” I begin, “do you do stallion’s clothing?”

“Not usually. I do however have most of my stallion friends’ measurements for whenever I have some extra fabric, or I want to give a gift.”

“That’s nice.”

“Lift up your tail, please, darling.”

After she takes my measurements back there, she doesn’t come back for quite a while. This of course makes me feel worried, but I also know that even as a human, I have nothing impressive at all. Certainly nothing worth anyone’s time. I haven’t checked, but I imagine it’s transferred here.

“Rarity, I don’t want to be a spoilsport, but I hope you aren’t staring. Not like I have anything to show off anyway.”

“Sorry, darling.” She responds a few seconds later. “I was studying the contours of your carapace. You are larger than most of the Kirin stallions I’ve met, and if I’m being completely honest, the pattern of the flames on your tail is mesmerizing.”

“Don’t get too caught up in my body. I admit I haven’t taken great care of it, but being unflattering physically is also what I’m going for.”

“Nonsense. I don’t think your form is unattractive. It’s just… unique, just like everycreature else.”

“I’m flattered, but the more unattractive I am, the better.”

“What kind of mare do you take me for, Max?? I make outfits that bring out the best in the wearer, and yet you want to do the exact opposite?!”

“Not at all. I came here because you asked me to. I just don’t like drawing attention to anything. I like thinking I’m unattractive. Gives creatures the chance to get to know my personality.”

“Forgive me for sounding shallow, but most creatures won’t want to get to know your personality if you don’t show anything on the surface. Physical appearance and physique is after all one of the first things we notice.”

“Of course. I just don’t like highlighting my physical form. A matter of personal preference.”

“You must really enjoy making life difficult for the me on your side.”

“Actually, Rarity has never taken my measurements. She only knows my height and weight.”

“That is quite surprising to hear. The other me I’d’ve thought would have been begging you to take your measurements.”

“So would I, but she devotes a lot of time to making her products. She does have to juggle three boutiques.”

“So do I, but I’ve made time for all my friends, clients, and the like.”

“Oh well.”

“Alright. Now that I have your measurements,” she then says a few moments later, “I can start testing you to see if my new material is as strong as advertised.”

She then presents me with a few samples each of various fabrics and materials. Some look familiar to me, but others look quite a bit different.

“Each of these samples has had some sort of counter-fire measurement in them. Some have been sewn as fireproof fabrics with no additional treatment, and some have a fireproofing treatment.”

“I see. Well, I’m happy to help.”

“I knew you would.”

“Though I do have to ask; please don’t take this the wrong way, but do you not have any other Kirin or dragon even who could do it?”

Thinking nothing of it, she immediately responds,

“Well, I do have a couple of dragons who did volunteer, but for Kirin, you were my first choice.”

“Well, I’m honored.”

“Of course! You know how much the other me loves you! It would be absolutely thoughtless of me to not treat you as such.”

“But we’ve hardly met. Only twice before, and once when I was still in recovery.”

“But you’re here, now. I think that says quite a lot about you. Especially considering where you were when last we met.”

She then finishes by placing both her front hooves on top of mine. To that I smile.

“Say, how much do you keep in touch with my side?”

“Only when we have time as the council of friendship. Since Twilight’s journal is the only connection we have, we gather questions to ask Sunset.”

“So that’s why she runs out of pages so quickly.”

“Well, she and Twilight have been known to have very long-lasting conversations.”

“That is true.”

“Now, are there any fabrics or materials you’re allergic to in your world?”

“No. Though in this form, anything I could wear that isn’t fireproofed or at least treated with some preventative would’ve been lost long ago, I would expect.”

“Alright then. I imagine you don’t mind if I use you as a live mannequin?”

“I don’t mind.”

“Splendid, darling!”

With much mane frizz and sew machining, Rares by the magic of both her horn and her craft puts together some sort of outfit. The hard work makes her brow sweat fiercely, but she nevertheless finishes it, humming to herself and periodically including me in her scan for pacing and checking it’s all correctly facing.

When she finishes it, though the material is still “unpainted,” she calls me over.

“Okay darling, here’s your first test run.”

“Are you asking for a critique?”

“If you feel so inclined.”

“Just a precaution, I’m very ergonomically-oriented, so amidst my personal bias, I look for comfort before anything else.”

“Typical stallion.” She smirks humorously.

I’m pretty comfortable in my own body, and I know that I don’t plan on wearing this in public anyway. And, since I am a test subject, I’m at least doing a service.

Since we don’t normally wear clothes, I can change into and out of the outfits without needing a changing room. With that, I slip into the dress and try and adjust it comfortably.

“Do you like it?” I ask instinctively, posing in such ways that she can see all the areas I think should be important.

“Go ahead and strut your stuff for me, please.”

Instead of going full runway, I walk like I normally do, except with a little extra jaunt and swing of both hips and shoulders just so see how the material behaves with bodily movements.

“Okay, now can you sit, please?”

Doing as told, I sit both in a seat and on my haunches, the latter more so to test whether or not it would touch the ground. Here, Rarity discovers one of the faults of using a male model. Looking at myself in a mirror, I don’t look good in a dress.

Bias in that aside though, I’m actually quite happy with how it turned out. I have no complaints about ergonomics, it fits nicely, (I like my clothing relatively loose), and it doesn’t catch, snag, or bunch up.

“I like this. Truly the work of a master.”

“Thank you, darling.” She blushes.

The next piece she says she’s working on is a skirt, so building off the principle of the dress line, I wonder how she’ll do.

In just under the same amount of time it took to make the dress, rinse and repeat. Part of the trouble with a Nirik – or a Kirin – model is how to work either with or around the carapace. Of course, it’s easy for me to say it doesn’t matter, but I don’t speak for everyone, and I certainly am the least advisable soul for fashion or clothing advice.

Before I can continue thinking about me in the hypothetical of marketing or displaying any of her pieces, I make quick work of trying on and modeling the piece. This piece, unlike the dress, has a different ergonomic to it. One that feels less like a piece of clothing and more like something to shield the flank from prying eyes. I’m not all that comfortable in it, but I’m also not in the target demographic for this piece, and this is overall a test of the workability, usability, versatility, and to a lesser extent, the durability of the fireproof material.

Speaking of durability, as Rares begins work on a top, I put the dress back on and decide to get my blood boiling, to see how it truly withstands proper Nirik flames. Since her studio has multiple rooms, I open the door to another to try and avoid disturbing Rares.

Unfortunately, one unintended consequence of leaving the room is she notices my absence.

“Max! What are you doing?”

Not wanting to give away the fact I’m rousing my anger, I say,

“I want to feel, fabulous!”

“You can be fabulous right here!” She responds pointing to the seat next to her.

Fortunately, I’ve done what I needed to, so once I come back to my required spot, I take the dress off and put it back on its mannequin.

“How did Sunset meet the rest of you?” I ask to break the silence.

“Through Twilight. She was the one who wanted to arrange it.”

“I know she had a bit of a history, and a bad girl streak at the time she met all of the you’s on my side. How much did she change from when you first met ‘till now?”

“Considerably.” She replies rather brightly. “When we first met, it was obvious to me that she was ready to begin again, but she didn’t know where to start. She and Twilight had a tussle once before, which is how we got acquainted with her.

“With each visit to Equestria, mandated by Princess Twilight for both her well-being as well as Sunset’s, she got a chance to know all of us, and simultaneously learned about all of us, both here and in your world. Over time, she picked up on the concept of friendship about as quickly as Twilight did, but she always had a hard time knowing when to stand up for herself.”

“That’s nice.” I say wistfully.

“Darling, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I would however love some water.”

“Oh!” She exclaims. “Certainly. I’ll be right back.”

She returns a few moments later with two buckets of water, then pointing me in the direction of the water pump in her back kitchen.

As I have a nice long drink, I admire a master at work as she wraps up the top.

“Hang on, darling. It’s not quite done yet, but I do need to use the little fillies’ room.”

Saying nothing, I decide to get up and move about. A peek at the clock reveals about 2 or 3 hours since we began, and by the angle of the shadows at creatures outside, it’s close to noon.

When Rarity returns, I try on the top and flare up just so she can see. All three pieces were of the same material, and based on my own flare test with the dress, it passes quite well.

“You’ll be pleased to know,” I say after cooling down with the top on, “all three pieces fared rather well. That said, if you want to put this material into your productions, you’ll need further information to see how it performs in the long run.”

“Worry not. I have other volunteers. Besides, it’s noon. We can go to lunch.”

“Are you hungry?”

“No, but if I don’t eat now, I’ll get… what does other me call it? Hangry I believe.”

“No argument. I’ll let you choose.”

“Actually, I was going to cook today.”

“Got enough for 1 1/2 more?”

“Sounds like you’re hungry.”

“Oh, just in case.”

“Well, thank you very much Rarity. My compliments to the chef.”

“It was nothing, darling! I’m just glad to see you.” She says with a hug and a quick nuzzle.

10,000 Paces to Equestria, 9,552 Paces Back

A few days later, Rarity releases me to the next pony who wants to host me: Pinkie Pie; but not before we part with a European double kiss, and an extra kiss of thanks on the cheek for me.

“Guess I’m all yours, Pinks.”

“I’m running the bakery today! Hope you don’t get too bored!”

“How can I get bored with you?”

“Haven’t you said that to me before?”

“To my Pinkie Pie. We never met until you crossed over. You know, when I had my accident.”

She doesn’t respond, but it seems the mere mention of my accident seems to leave her quite dejected.

Making note of her change in mood, I slowly continue with, “my point is, if I’m hanging with either of “you,” and I get bored, something’s wrong.”

Pinks laughs.

Soon, the day’s first customer arrives. I remain still as possible as the figure walks through the door, but immediately relax upon seeing who it is.

“Hey Apple Bloom! Your turn for the faculty’s breakfast?”

“Eyup!” She responds in the style of her brother.

“Coming right up! The usual assortment?”

“Yeah.”

“Be right back!”

“Hey Max!”

“Hey Apple Bloom.”

“Mind if I sit next t’ya?”

“Not at all.”

“How was Silver Shoals?” She asks a few short moments later.

“Warm. The Princesses did a good job of keeping Sunset and I entertained. Then when [your] Rarity asked for me, Dash came to get me, so you could say I enjoyed myself, but I don’t think I could say with confidence I enjoyed everything I was to be provided.

“Besides, I’m not really much of an activity-leaning soul. I’m very much like Luna in that regard. If my body could, I’d sleep for multiple days on end.”

“That’s not good.”

“I know. Some days I wish, though.”

“We were meant to live active lives! It’s literally in our blood.”

“And I hate it. Most of the time.”

“No wonder ye’r so down in the dumps all the time. Ye’ don’t like to be active.”

“Some of the happiest souls I know spend most of their waking lives lounging around, eating to their heart’s content, and not once ever looking the slightest bit like they can put on weight. I on the other hoof can gain weight just by fantasizing about food.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

“Has anyone ever told you that you sound like your sister when you say things like that?”

Apple Bloom only smirks.

“She’s all ready for ya!” Pinks calls soon after.

“Thanks Pinkie Pie!” She calls as she takes a bag on her back.

“Need help? I can carry one of them for you.”

“I got it. Thank you though.”

“Alright, see you later, Apple Bloom.”

“Bye Max!” She calls as she grabs her other bag with her mouth.

A few minutes later, Pinkie goes on her break, and presents me with a cupcake along with one of her own.

“Hey Applejack!” She calls shortly after another figure walks through the door.

“Hi Pinkie. Big Mac’s feelin’ a bit… different, so he’s on a date with Sugar Belle tonight. I’m here to deliver some apples for ya.”

“But I didn’t order any apples.”

“Ye’ didn’t, but we had an extra bushel, and it is holiday time. Figured ye’ could make a few extra apple pies for the season.”

“Where did Big Mac and Sugar Belle go?”

“Dunno. I do know he’s been wantin’ to get away from the farm fer’ a day or two. Maybe he’s doin’ that now.”

“Well, everyone needs a break from time to time.”

“True.”

“Thanks Applejack!”

“Max.” She acknowledges with a tip of her hat.

“Applejack.” I reply in kind, replace the hat with a flicker of the flame atop my horn.

She chuckles before leaving.

“Pinkie, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“When you go on holiday, do you ever get the feeling that you’re falling behind in reality? Like, you reach a point where you feel that once you return home, it’s kind of “hit the ground running” whether it be work, housekeeping, or something like that?”

“Uh,” she ponders, “I know what you’re asking, and I know some creatures who definitely get that even after short period of time, but personally? I don’t think I mind.”

“I see.”

“Why? Are you feeling that way now?”

“A little bit. Since it seems like our holiday seasons aligned this year, I can’t shake this feeling that when I return, despite what’s going on, I’m going to go back to a lot of messages from my friends accusing me of being antisocial or something.”

Pinkie laughs.

“If I know “us,” we’ll understand if you can’t make it.”

I can’t help but chuckle at her terminology.

“I hope you aren’t offended if I’m showing signs of eagerness to return home, because it’s for that reason. That, and, since I let airlines park airplanes at my two airports, I kind of want to be there when they bring them out of storage.”

“I understand. I’m not holding it against you. I just hope Sunset doesn’t spend too much time with Princess Celestia.”

“Actually, I think the mirror is at Starlight’s. I’d just need to find a way to ably move between our worlds with minimal resistance.”

“I’m pretty sure the portal is always available, so long as there’s a magical item to sustain it.”

“Have you or anycreature else been across to my world?”

“No. The last time I remember anyone I know being in your world was Rarity, when both of her were in San Francisco.”

“Oh alright then.”

“Sorry I have to let you go. I need to go buy some baking supplies.”

“No problem at all. You have a life to live and a career to maintain. Do what you need to do.”

“Love ya Max! I’ll see ya soon!”

“Right back at ya, Pinks!”

With that, I return to Starlight’s but after knocking a few times, I find no one home.

“Uh, can Trixie help you?”

“I’m a friend of Starlight Glimmer. I wanted to ask her something.”

“She’s still at the School of Friendship. She’ll be home shortly.”

“Okay, thank you.”

With that, I decide to walk around Ponyville. I know there’s no… trouble raging here at all, but in line with what’s recommended on my side, and just something I’ve perfected as a bit of an actively practicing one myself, I go for a walk but socially distance myself for fear of interaction.

After making my way around town square and back towards Sugarcube corner and Rares’ boutique, I do what I do best and meditate on what my life holds when I return.

Since some airlines are going to exit, replace, or even increase their aircraft in storage at any of my three airports, I would like to oversee those operations as I said earlier so I can keep my essential taxiways and runway safety areas clear.

Since I’ve seen everycreature who’s available, I’m basically at Sunset’s mercy, especially considering I need to get to Sky Harbor so I can return home.

“Hi Pilot Light!” A voice not matched to anyone I’ve met on this side calls from afar.

I perk up to acknowledge their call, but I can’t for the life of me find them.

“I’m over here!”

After a few scans and driving myself dizzy over not seeing them, I almost shout in rage, but before I can even flare up, she laughs.

“I’m just pulling your tail.” She says suddenly appearing right in front of my muzzle upon turning around.

“Aah!”

“Sorry.” She giggles. “I didn’t mean to scare you, but you seemed lonely, so I wanted to say hi. So, Uh… hi!”

“Hello.” I respond unable to resist smiling at her endearingly cute babbling.

“Autumn Blaze.” She says offering a flaming hoof.

“The real name’s Scimitar. Split Scimitar. I go by Max ordinarily, but I’ve earned the Pilot Light nickname somehow. How did you know my name, and I’m sorry to say we haven’t met before.”

“Applejack told me about you. Kind of easy to pick you out of a crowd when you’re the only Nirik. Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound invasive. Applejack however did speak well of you.”

I chuckle. “Well, I don’t know what she’s said about me, but I hope you know I’m kind of an outsider here. Not just as a Nirik.”

“Are you from that parallel world???”

“Yeah. I am.” I reply bashfully. “Been here about a week or so now, and I’ve loved it, but I do feel a need to go home. That’s not to say I don’t want to leave. I’m feeling oddly conflicted. As much as I’d like to stay longer here in Equestria, my world calls.”

“Sure,” she responds finding a bench in town to sit on, “I think I understand what you’re saying. So where did you go?”

“I went to Canterlot with the Council of Friendship so the Princess could see me, as she had requested so from Sunset Shimmer. From there, I went to Silver Shoals, also with Sunset, to see Princesses Celestia and Luna, both of whom wanted to see me, especially the latter. Spent a few days down there, then Rarity called on me to help her with some clothing stuff that I guess only a Kirin, or specifically a Nirik could assist.”

“Sounds like you had a bit of an adventure, and on your first trip here too.”

“Is that supposed to be a bad thing?”

“No! Actually the opposite. Well, except for the part where you said Rarity needed you. That’s the most adventurous part it sounds like to me.”

Again I chuckle.

“Sounds to me like Applejack is the one who introduced you to me. Now that we’re meeting for the first time, I do have to ask, but please don’t take this the wrong way: was there any specific reason she brought me up?”

“She didn’t say anything,” she responds after some thought. “My assume… presumption is that she figured you need a friend.”

“Well, in that case, can I have a hug?”

She doesn’t respond, instead leaping over and gripping me tightly like I’m some sort of stuffed animal.

I try to return the favor, but her hug has pinned my forelegs down so.

“Wanna come with me to Sweet Apple Acres? I was just on my way to see Applejack.”

“I’d love to, but I’m actually waiting for Starlight Glimmer. I need to talk to her about some things.”

“Okay, no problem. If you have time, I’d love to see you over there.”

“I’ll try.”

“I love you already!” She says with another smothering hug. “See you soon!”

As she leaves to trot to the farm, she waves hi to everycreature that isn’t preoccupied. I smile and then head back to the castle.

“Oh, hey Max. Trixie said you were looking for me?”

“Yeah. I need to get back to my world for a bit. I’ve been expecting some important work stuff.”

“Oh. Follow me.”

When she leads me into the room with the mirror, I check to make sure it behaves the same way Sunset’s mirror did before I tell Starlight,

“I don’t know if there’s a difference in the passage of time between our worlds, so if there’s any major time where I’m absent, please tell Sunset I went back to check my voicemails.”

“Okay. See you soon Max.”

With that, I place my hand on the mirror in much the same way Sunset did. Once my hand permeates the semi-permeable membrane of the rippling glass, I step the rest of the way in and shut my eyes in anticipation of getting sucked into the wormhole.

“Ow-wawawawawawawa.” I say dizzily as I stop spinning and emerge with vertigo and a splitting headache.

When I can feel my internal gyroscope reset, I cage my tumbling vision to reorient myself to the room.

The stack of pillows on the mattress is a few steps away, so at least I wasn’t thrown or ejected from the mirror. Nevertheless, I find it very dark outside, and both my phone and iPad exactly where I left them.

I turn on the room lights then check the phone.

*Pinkie Pie – 2 messages.*

“Merry Christmas Max! Love ya!”

“Happy New Year Max! Wish you could’ve been here to celebrate! Love ya to bits!”

*Twilight Sparkle – 2 messages.*

“Hey Max, Merry Christmas. Wish we all could’ve been together this year.”

“Happy New Year Max. Thanks for being a great friend to all of us! We love you!”

*Rainbow Dash – 2 messages.*

“Yo Max! Why are you being a loser this year? Christmas isn’t the same without you!”

“Hey, loser! HNY!”

*Fluttershy – 2 messages.*

“Hi Max. Merry Christmas. I know we couldn’t all get together this year, but we all miss you.”

“Happy New Year Max. We all love you.”

*Rarity – 2 messages.*

“Merry Christmas Max! Wish you were here!”

“Happy New Year darling. Hope you don’t get Sunset pregnant while you’re in Equestria.”

*Applejack – 1 message.*

“Merry Christmas, Sugarcube.”

“No New Years text from AJ?”

*Applejack – now – message.*

“Happy New Year Max. Hope this year goes better than last.”

Seeing as how that message was received while reading her Christmas message, I decide to type a reply.

“Thanks Applejack. Happy belated holidays to you. I just hopped back to check my voicemails. Assuming Sunset comes back within a reasonable time frame, I can fly out to FSM and we can talk.”

“I appreciate that, Sugarcube. I hope you can come sooner rather than later. This past holiday season was pretty tough for all of us.”

“Admittedly, same here. Equestria didn’t exactly help.”

“Is it Hearth’s Warming over there?”

“I couldn’t tell. There were some holiday festivities, or at least the spirit, there was only frost on the ground in the early morning.”

“That’s nice. Kinda makes me want to return to Equestria one of these years.”

“Maybe we can go together sometime.”