Amareican Glimmer

Chapters

Meeting New Friends
Fading Power
A New Home
Settling In
Work Day
A Small Supper
Just Friends Hanging Out; Part 1
Just Friends Hanging Out; Part 2
A Gathering of New Friends

Meeting New Friends

“There wasn’t a portal that opened and let ponies and people walk through to trade knowledge.

There wasn’t a planned mission from either side to explore new worlds.

There wasn’t a snap and a flash of light that moved a certain group of ponies to a specific place.

One night, as the sun was rising, ponies just appeared as the morning sun rose. They were wearing what they had on when they went to sleep, which meant nothing for nearly all of them. They awoke in the streets, parks, malls, and yards of people across the planet. Nearly two thousand were accounted for in the America’s, an unknown number were thought to be lost to the oceans as remains were sadly found at sea.

Language wasn’t an issue, either. When a new species appears, a lot of things are going to come across as barriers, language, for example. Except this time, as every pony spoke English, which helped more than hindered them in most cases.

There weren’t any leaders that came through, even though the ponies pleaded to Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and even Cadence to save them.

It became clear after the first weeks that these ponies were taken from their home, a world wildly different from ours, without their plans or knowledge. Today, we’ll dive into the lore and history of the origins of ponies on earth and some of their own history and…”

With a click the television turned off and Alex sighed as he lay back into his tan loveseat. “Eight years and they’re still putting this crap out? Seriously, hop on the penguin train and move on,” he said with a roll of his eyes and a quiet burp. He rocked to get up and stood tall, stretching to crack his back without luck before he went to his kitchen to throw away his can of soda and grab an apple to snack on.

The fan over his table buzzed and hummed as it ran while his thoughts wandered to the last few years after the ponies arrived. He’d met several and seen hundreds, but not many wanted to live in Northern Minnesota, which didn’t bother him much. He could turn on the streaming media apps and watch dozens of shows that have ponies in them now.

Kid shows were staffed by colorful ponies expounding the joys of equality and living in peace and harmony with each other and their neighbors. More adult shows had ponies in them as aliens with extra appendages like antenna glued to their heads in science fiction, guest stars in dramas, or as victims of murderers looking for a quick kill in certain shows or movies.

Something about watching ponies die, or even finding a pony worth taking such a role, was hard to do, even for a hard core horror movie fan. Their cute natures and sweet dispositions made it hard to watch them die.

Alex bit into his apple as his mind raced with bipolar thoughts and his mind went to thinking about what it would be like to have a real pony as a friend, not some weeb pretending on social media to roleplay a fantasy.

“There’s no way an earth pony can type that fast.” Alex mumbled as he recalled meeting a pony on a casual dating site before he caught onto the fact it was a Nephew of the Princess scam. “Only one pony can claim that, and he’s not here anymore.”

Alex took another bite of the apple and inhaled deeply while chewing. “I wonder what it’d be like to have flat teeth in front, too.” He tried chewing in front, like that would change the experience of eating an apple.

Farting loudly, he moved from the kitchen to the living room and leaned against the back of the couch. “Why’d I turn the TV off?” He turned it back on and the documentary popped up again. Bored, tired of doing nothing inside, he sighed and finished his apple, turned off the TV again, slipped on his shoes, and went outside after making sure he had his phone and keys. He didn’t want to walk three blocks to get the spare key to unlock his door ever again.

“Okay, I’m outside… now what?” He asked himself as he took in the fall air and started to move.

He walked to his car and climbed in, started it, and then backed into the street before driving into town. It was a small city supported by a large college and air force base, but without those two, it was just a common midwestern city in the Lake Agassiz basin; which means it was flatlands.

No hills or mountains, no valleys, no anything really to discern one location from another using natural landmarks. Alex drove in silence and wondered where he was going to go first.

Did he need groceries? No, he went shopping a couple days before and he was stocked on bachelor junk food for days. Did he need hygiene supplies? He lifted an arm and sniffed. No, he was stocked and had showered the night before.

“Ah, fuck it,” he said and turned left onto a main street, “let’s see if the thrift shop has any good shit, then I’ll hit the dollar store. It’s like Wal-Mart, only I leave with more stuff and pay less.”

A few minutes passed and he drove into the thrift store lot with a smile, knowing the dollar store was only a couple businesses down.

“Well, let’s see if I can find some pants that fit this time, or maybe a nice piece of junk I can look at for a while, carry around, then change my mind on last minute, like usual.”

Climbing from his car he saw a pony stallion on a digital billboard advertising a coffee place he didn’t get to read because it changed on him. “I could use a coffee after this, too. Starbucks or Caribou? Why am I always talking to myself? Because I’m the best listener I know.” He answered himself with a smirk. He then remembered a movie wherein an old Model-T was talking to herself and he smiled.

Walking into the thrift store he looked around and noticed it wasn’t very busy but the clothes seemed to be filled out nicely in the men’s section for once. He first went to the side room to look at the large items. He wandered through passing a woman carrying a clearly used vacuum while he looked around. He didn’t see anything that caught his eye.

Well, this is a bust so far.

He returned to the main room and began looking through shirts and then pants without much intention of buying anything when he heard a nicker. “This won’t fit me without a lot of work, Amy. Let’s just get this one and I can combine the two to cover me.”

“But that would look weird.” A woman said looking down to the first speaker, way down.

Alex stopped looking through clothes and moved closer to eavesdrop and spy on the pony. Maybe he could offer some clothing advice or something, too. To help a pony would be great for his mental well being, he believed. He grinned when he saw who it was. “Starlight Glimmer?”

Starlight and her human friend looked at the man in confusion. “Who are you?” Starlight asked, bluntly. Her eyes were narrowed but seemed to be off somehow.

Alex smirked. “I remember you from TV when you were trying to gather ponies to cast a return spell in Manhattan, you don’t know me. I’m Alex and I’m a fan.”

Starlight smiled weakly. “You remember that? It’s too bad almost nopony showed up to help. A few humans did, but humans can’t use magic like unicorns, so that plan failed, like everything else I tried.”

“Hi, I’m Amy,” Starlight’s friend introduced herself with a held out hand. Alex shook it.

“So, why are you here and thrift shopping?” Alex asked the pony.

“Because times are tough. I’m wearing two table clothes lines with towels to stay warm through this cold I’ve got,” she smiled weakly and averted her eyes. Amy held a small cup with a straw to Starlight, who took it in her magic and sipped.

She offered it to Alex, who shook his head. “I’m good for now, I was gonna hit up the dollar store next door to get some stuff next.”

“So, uh, what’re you doing here, besides shopping? I thought you’d be doing something big in Manhattan.”

Starlight motioned with her head and passed the cup back to Amy, who held it gingerly. “Well, I need fabric to make some outfits that’ll fit me, but since I failed in Manehattan I moved to Maneapolis to try to do something with ponies there. Most ponies in Mane- er, sorry, Minneapolis, are pegasi and earth ponies, not so many unicorns, so I failed there, too.

“I was done failing so I tried my hoof at a few jobs, but all my skills and talents in my life have been magic related. I can’t use technology as well as some ponies and I can’t do much but clean or help with some manual labor, which is too taxing on what little magic I have at my disposal… so I don’t have any income…”

Alex let the silence hang before he asked something personal. “So, where do you live? I know there’s some housing through Section-8 here.”

Starlight blushed and pawed at the carpeted flooring. “I’m homeless right now, I’ve been staying in a tent by the river with a few other humans and ponies for a couple months. But, don’t worry, I’ve applied for housing in the pony apartments and I should be approved soon.”

Alex frowned. “That’s terrible, why shouldn’t you be approved by now; or as soon as you got here?”

Amy spoke up. “Because there’s a waitlist that doesn’t favor ponies anymore.” She explained. “Laws passed recently that force ponies out of refugee status and put them on normal lists that don’t show favoritism, also the pony apartments only have six units available right now, and they’re all occupied. They’re converted human apartments, after all.”

“Wait, wait, wait, that doesn’t make any sense,” Alex said loudly enough to garner a couple looks from other shoppers, “why can’t you just use a human apartment until-”

“They’re not set up for ponies,” Starlight interjected. “The bathrooms aren’t designed for our anatomy and everything’s too high for me to reach. Don’t you think I’ve tried to get a normal apartment?!” Starlight started to raise her voice. “The crappy ones want a thousand dollars down, at least, just for me to have a chance of getting in because ponies shed our coats and hooves damage the flooring. Then there’s the-”

“Excuse me,” an employee said as she approached, “but can you keep your conversation a little more private?”

Starlight nickered in frustration and Amy apologized for her friend.

“So,” Alex asked, “what do you do now for work? You have some skills, I’m sure.”

Starlight frowned. “I’m a part time janitor at the college, I use a friend’s address so I can get my checks, but they’re pretty small since they pay shit wages.”

“Language,” Amy chastised. “Also, she’s right. The pay is designed for students, not creatures trying to make a living outside of that environment. I’ve tried to get her a job in a couple other places, but she doesn’t get technology outside of her phone.”

Starlight used her magic to pull a cell phone and stylus from under her clothing and turned it on. She held it in front of her and facial recognition unlocked it. She tapped the stylus to the screen and swiped around before she looked up to Alex. “What’s your number so I can call you? If you don’t mind, that is. Don’t worry, I won’t ask for money or anything.”

Alex thought it over for a couple seconds that felt like a minute to his brain before he gave it to her. “Just text me with your name and I’ll know it’s you. So, need any help shopping, ladies?”

“No, thank you,” Amy stated, “I think we were doing just fine before you-”

Starlight bumped Amy’s leg with her hip nearly taking the woman down. “Actually, once you’re done can we go to the dollar store? I could use some stuff for back home.” The phone wobbled in her weak magic and Alex remembered that back on their homeworld ponies were supposed to be magical powerhouses compared to their life now.

Some of the few ponies that had become famous weren’t known for their magic but their skills in singing, acting, or dance. Even then, after eight years, the wonder and mystery of ponies had dulled, especially since they were essentially citizens with limited rights, at least in America. They couldn’t vote or run for office, they had to pay taxes on any income earned, and they were treated like refugees from an unwanted country now that they weren’t seen as being as special.

Alex gave Starlight his number and then joined them in a little shopping, but went his own way for a little while, looking at various plates and cups he’d never buy but still caught his eye. “We’re done,” Amy announced across the store to Alex, who met the two empty handed. He waited while they paid noting Starlight take out a debit card to pay for her clothing and a small child’s toy made of plastic that had various rings on it.

“What’re you going to do with that toy?” Alex asked the unicorn who let Amy take the bag it was offered in.

“Magic practice. I’ll just put the rings on the cone in order when I feel like I have the energy, plus it’s good to stay in practice, just in case I get my power to better heights.”

Amy led them out into the strip mall and they turned right and went to the dollar store where a sign was posted saying ponies must be accompanied by a human. Each of them glared at the sign before Alex opened the door and let the females in ahead of himself. “Such a gentlecolt,” Starlight giggled as she passed him.

“I heard it’s more of a mare’s thing to hold doors back in Equestria, right?”

“Yeah, but that’s there and this is here. Oh, hearths warming, er, Christmas stuff! Let’s get some tinsel for the tent, Amy!” Starlight beamed and hurried to the displays.

“She does know there’s over a month before it’s that season, right?” Alex asked.

Amy nodded. “I’ve known her for a few months and she’s always been big on the local holidays. Easter and the bunnies, Thanksgiving and the birds, even though she won’t eat much, and Christmas. I think because it all reminds her of home. Yeah,” Amy said to the mare as she levitated two packages of tinsel of different colors onto her back, “that’s a nice choice. Let’s get a cart and we can grab a few things before you use up your funds.”

“You’re on the card program? I thought you had a good job.” Alex asked the mare as he reached her while Amy grabbed a cart.

“It’s only a couple hundred a month, but it’s better than nothing, which is what I earn hourly. I’m not pleased to say it, but I got scammed out of the bulk of my money back in Minneapolis and that’s why I’m… where I am now.”

Alex nodded. “Another pyramid scheme targeting ponies, I take it?”

Starlight laughed quietly. “I really thought there was a princess of Nigeria that needed my help. I only sent her a couple thousand dollars, but that’s what I had saved up at the time. I was investing, too, in pony companies that all fell through when the recession hit.” She frowned and tossed the tinsel into the cart. “I knew a few ponies that live locally and they said they’d put me up, but their landlords don’t allow couch crashers…”

“So, she ended up moving next to me, and that’s how we became friends,” Amy said as she walked past Starlight to grab a couple ornaments. “I hooked her up with some shopping advice and got her a tent and sleeping bag and taught her how to stay warm on cold nights when sleeping alone, and in exchange she gives me company and buys me soda and snacks when I need them.”

“Oh, hush you,” Starlight said with a smirk, “you know you and I share when I buy stuff. Speaking of which, let’s get shopping! I have enough for each of us to get eight things and I wanna start in the candy aisle.”

Alex shared a pleased look with Amy and they followed Starlight to the candy aisle. While Starlight shopped several shoppers noticed her and either watched her for several seconds in interest or frowned at the pony as she picked through items with her magic. After nearly half an hour, they all had more than they had planned for and went into line.

“Why did they let a pony in here? Doesn’t it know that it should be on a leash?” A woman snarked.

Starlight’s ears lowered as she ignored the comment but Amy turned to face the woman. “Look, Karen, keep it to yourself before I-”

Alex placed a hand on Amy’s shoulder and squeezed, interjecting himself. “Miss, are you saying the holocaust was okay?”

The woman frowned. “What the hell does that have to do with anything?!”

“It all started by a few people saying others were below them and should be treated differently. Before too long the oppressed were treated terribly and put in camps, just like people like you suggest; so either you’re in support of racism or you’re not. Which is it?”

The woman fumed and stormed away down an aisle. There were supportive smiles with a couple disapproving looks directed at Alex. Starlight’s tail flicked and she looked back with slightly sunken eyes at the man. “Um, thanks for that,” she said quietly.

The cashier began to ring up the female’s order and Alex put his stuff on the conveyor, too. Starlight paid for their purchase and they waited for Alex to finish before they all left the store.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, but we’ve got a long walk home,” Amy said as she hefted all the bags in her hands.

“No, I’m going to give you a ride and I won’t hear anything about how proud you are. I’m not going to let two lovely ladies walk at least four miles in the fall air carrying groceries with a clear conscience.”

“But-”

“No but’s, Amy. What do you say, Starlight?” Alex asked the mare.

Starlight looked between the humans before nodding. “You seem like a good man, so I’ll trust you for now.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I thought we were getting along just fine,” he mused before leading them to a white car with a dented rear. He opened the trunk for Amy to put her stuff in while he set his in the back seat.

Amy opened the passenger doors for her and Starlight to get in.

Starlight lay on the back seat and her horn lit again, pulling out her phone and stylus from under her clothes. She laid the phone on the seat and held it in place with her hoof while Amy buckled up and Alex started the car. “So, do you live close, or are we taking you out of your way?”

“I live past the river so you’re on my way, although I wouldn't mind seeing where you live, maybe I can help you get a place somehow, especially before winter really hits and you have to survive a brutal northern winter.” Alex said.

Starlight’s phone clicked like she’d just taken a picture and he glanced back to see her holding the phone up in her magic. It wobbled but stayed up and she snapped another picture of him. “Just for posterity. You’re the first man that’s been nice to us, so far, without wanting anything in return. I’d like to have this image to use as your phone picture.”

“You can take a better one than that, then.” Alex said and smiled into the phone’s camera. She snapped another picture and then layed it back down onto the seat. “Okay, seatbelts?”

“I’m buckled up,” Amy said, then looked back to Starlight. “I don’t think you have pony seatbelts, but she’ll be fine, right, Glimmy?”

“Just don’t stop too suddenly or I’ll fall onto the floor,” Starlight advised.

“Got it. So,” Alex said as he started the car and backed out of the space, “I always wondered about pony magic, can I ask you?” Starlight grunted in agreement. “Well, you’re supposed to be super powerful magic users back on your world, why not here?”

“There’s almost no ambient magic field here. Earth ponies can’t farm as well, pegasi can’t fly or walk on clouds, and unicorns can’t cast complex spells. It’s public knowledge, why are you asking?” Starlight finished with a quiet cough.

“Well, I was thinking about when you tried to gather ponies in Manhattan and what would happen if you all cast that go home spell.”

Starlight laughed ironically. “Getting ponies to come together during an event like that is like pulling teeth from a hungry timberwolf. We’re herd animals, sure, but once we started new lives here I realized our herding instincts bonded us with our nearby friends and not just one another. It’s something about the pony xenophobia trait that’s inherant in all of us. Only, it’s not really applicable when we’re surrounded by other beings that aren’t going to eat or harm us. I’m rambling, sorry.”

“No, go on, I’m actually interested.” Alex said.

“Okay, well, when we appeared here we weren’t often together with other ponies. That led to the panic of many and desire to seek one another out. We were lucky that most people were accepting of us and tried to help us understand what happened, just as we did the same. I postulated that there was a dimensional overlap that drew us from our reality to this one, but without magic to test theories they were just hypotheses that had no grounding.

“I tried to work with the government, then private financiers, and finally on my own, but nearly all my skills are magic related and I can’t understand your advanced technology enough to create a bridge between magic and technology like I could have back home. I’ve tried to combine my magic with other unicorns but all I’ve managed to do is get a small boost to my already dismal magic field.

“Even if we got every unicorn on earth together, I figure we’d be able to cast one simple teleport spell that would move some of us a mile, maybe. That’s not enough to open a portal, even. All I can do at this point is make due day to day until we’re found by a rescue party or we completely adapt to life on earth.”

“That kinda sucks… have you tried human magic? Some people say we humans have some magical abilities.” Alex asked.

Starlight groaned. “Yeah, like reading hands or seeing the future in the stars. Pseudo-magic, we call it. Not much more than stage magic,” she went silent for a few seconds, “and even then I knew a pony that was really good at stage magic and still needed her unicorn magic to make some of it work.”

“So, you’re saying humans don’t have any magic, ponies have almost no magic, and you’re completely hopeless?” Alex asked rhetorically. “I don’t buy it,” he stated firmly. “I believe there’s always a way, you just haven’t found it yet. Maybe it won’t happen soon, but eventually there’ll be a breakthrough that will give you all hope again.”

Starlight nickered. “If you’re going to start trying to convert me to your religion you can drop us off right here.”

Alex laughed. “No, I’m not into that invisible man in the sky stuff. I don’t believe there’s a plan, just things happening in certain ways by chance, like us meeting and becoming… well, I don’t know if we’re friends, but I’d like to think we’re laying the foundation, all three of us.”

Amy sighed. “If only it were that easy.”

“It can be,” Starlight said, “all we need is trust to start a good friendship. That’s what my mentor Twilight said, anyway.”

“That princess? You knew her? Well, obviously since you said she was your mentor… that’s pretty cool, I didn’t know you were famous back home.”

“Alex, I was infamous for a while, then I just fell into a role that harmony had set for me. It took a long time, but I was able to work my way into the good graces of many of the elite and royalty before this happened.”

“So, were you in any movies or anything?” Alex asked.

“No, movies were still pretty new and were all sappy or foalish; not like movies here. I went to a few, but there’s so much happening in some of them I can’t keep up, others are violent, and others make me long for home too much… it’s just a lot to think about when I see ponies in movies, too.

“I have to wonder what they’re going through to make these stories happen and if they’re actually actors and actresses, or are just playing along to fit in. Following their marks, basically. It’s confusing for me and without being able to analyze it, I just can’t get into it properly.”

“So, Starlight, why didn’t you go into some kind of research program? You sound like the researching type of mindset.” Alex asked.

“Because my skills aren’t focused on technology nearly as much as magic and alchemy. I can’t use a computer because the keys aren’t set up for hooves, my magic’s too weak, and I couldn’t read English back when I had the chance!” Starlight’s voice raised. “Now I’m broke and homeless and living like a bum.”

“Hey,” Amy said calmly, “you’re not that bad off. In a couple months you might get an apartment and then we can both move in together and get real jobs. All we need is an address and then we can get on our feet, finally.”

Alex was silent and the car lapsed into a quiet for a moment before Alex spoke up. “I can get you an apartment where I live. I’ll call a friend who works with the county and she’ll pay your first couple months. I promise I can do this for you if you’re willing. My landlord’s kind of a dick when it comes to anything with fur, but he’s legally bound to rent to you under the equal housing act.”

Amy and Starlight stared at the man in contemplative silence for nearly half a minute before Amy turned in her seat to face him. “Can you promise me, us, that you can get us a home? Or is this just some trick to get on our good side before she goes into heat?”

Alex frowned at that. “I give you my word that I’m not trying anything funny. I have two friends that need help and I’m going to do what I can to help. It might take a week, but I promise you’ll have a home. I know because I was homeless before I ran into the programs that are offered.”

He slowed to a stop at a sign near their end goal and reached a hand to Amy, who hesitantly shook it. He turned and reached a hand back to Starlight, who looked at his hand hesitantly before she took it to shake it. When their bodies touched, Starlight gasped and her horn sparked before glowing a brilliant baby blue.

The light died out quickly when Alex pulled his hand back to look at the slightly more vibrant pink unicorn. “What the hell was that?” Amy and Alex asked in unison.

Starlight’s eyes seemed healthier and a smile crept onto her lips. “We need to stop somewhere, I think I just got my magic back.”

Fading Power

Turning off the main road, Alex drove slightly faster following Amy’s directions. Starlight lifted her phone and spun it while letting it orbit her head while she giggled giddily until they stopped at a small park near the river. He’d never really noticed how overgrown the river area was and how it could be that there could be a small tent city between the edge of the brush and trees and the river bank, hidden from sight.

Playing with her magic, the mare slightly lifted Amy from her seat and created a small cloud that dissipated almost immediately in the back seat of the car, raising the humidity to the point the back windows fogged slightly. Stopping the car in a park's parking lot, Alex barely had time to unlock the doors before Starlight was in action.

Starlight hopped from the car after opening the door with her magic and pocketed the phone and stylus. She began to lift herself off the ground when her horn glowed brightly for a second, then fizzled out and her joyous mood went with it. Her eyes seemed to sink in again, her coat dulled slightly, and her energy returned to what it was before. “What… what happened?”

Alex and Amy got out of the car and shrugged. “I don’t know, but maybe you used all the magic during the ride here.”

“Touch me again!” Starlight demanded and rushed to Alex, pressing her side to his leg and using her weak magic to pull at his fingers. He touched her head and her eyes widened, but nothing happened. “Shake my hoof!” She commanded and he knelt down to shake her hoof again, with no change. “Fuck!” Starlight screamed and her horn gave out some weak sparkles as she aimed it at a nearby tree.

“Glimmy,” Amy started, “maybe it was just a fluke. A random chance that-”

Starlight snapped at her friend. “No! He touched me and I got my magic back. I’ve heard of it happening before, but I’ve never experienced it. We have to recreate the event, we have to! I could feel everything like I was back home, I could sense myself in ways I had forgotten about. There has to be an answer in him, and I’m going to figure it out, even if it takes me the rest of my life.”

Alex stood and took a step back from the nearly crazed unicorn. “Um, maybe I should just get your information and catch up with you later, Amy.”

“I don’t have a phone, only Starlight does, through that government phone program.”

Starlight took her phone out and barely caught it as it slipped from her magical grip. She swiped and tapped with the stylus, then Alex’s phone buzzed in his pocket. “I messaged you, you have my number now, so we can stay in touch. Whatever happens don’t hurt yourself, okay? I can’t experiment with…” she gasped and her already large eyes widened. “Humans do have magic! That has to be it. But, not all of them…” she began pacing in a circle and muttering to herself.

Alex and Amy went to the trunk and got their bags and watched Starlight work through stuff for almost a minute before Alex began walking to the light woods that began to the banks of the river. “Well, Amy, can I see where you live?”

Amy nodded and hurried to Starlight. “C’mon, we’re home and you can think in your tent.”

Starlight stopped pacing and nodded before trotting ahead of the two deeper into the brush and trees. Alex followed Amy’s lead once Starlight had left them in the proverbial dust. “So, does she do this often, or is it only because of me?”

Amy shrugged. “I’ve never seen her with so much energy, so I think it’s only because of you. I just hope you don’t let her down, she’s been through so much over the past year. She hasn’t said it, but I think I can trust you not to mention it, right?”

“Mention what?”

Amy shook her head. “She had sex with a human once. She told me that it was only because she was in the worst throes of her time of the year and some random asshole took advantage of her. She’s vague on the details and I’m not going to ask.”

“I’m not encouraging you to ask, I’d just like to know who it was so I can find them and… I dunno, put the word out that they’re scum, maybe.” Alex looked askance at Amy, who was giving him another approving smile.

“You’re a good guy, aren’t you?”

“I try to be, but even I fall short sometimes,” he said calmly as they stepped over a log. “How deep does this go?”

“We’re almost there. We have a camp set up with some other guys just inside the foliage enough to stay hidden from prying eyes, not that we’re doing anything bad… but the cops like to harass us when they find us; if they come looking, that is.”

“Sounds rough, too rough. Hopefully by next week you’ll have a home and a friend you can count on,” Alex said. He saw the top of a short tent with a unicorn in front of it a few seconds after he stopped speaking and then made a direct line to Starlight. “So, this is casa Glimmy?”

Starlight frowned. “You don’t get to call me that, not yet, anyway. You’re a mystery I have to solve to get home. To get all of us home.”

“Now, wait a second, there.” Alex stepped back as Amy walked past him and to her tent that was facing opposite Starlight’s. “A lot of ponies have started lives here on earth. Some have families, a lot more have foals that are growing up only understanding life here. You can’t seriously take every single pony back without their say so, can you?”

Starlight opened her mouth to rebut his claim, then she closed her mouth and frowned, looking down. Alex noticed a very clear area around her tent that wasn’t packed down. He figured she’d eaten it, but didn’t dwell on the thought long. Starlight sighed. “You’re right, but if I can go home, I’m not going to wait for some census or vote to happen. I’ll go home and get ready to take anyone with me that wants to come, too, when I come back. Twilight and Discord can surely make a portal that’ll allow us to transverse the space between our realities, after all.”

“Right,” Alex said, stepping back towards Amy, who was going into her tent with all the dollar store supplies the two had purchased. “So, can I see what you’re hoarding in there, or should I just,” he asked Amy as he motioned with his thumb over his shoulder.

“You can peek, but that’s all. It’s mostly stuff we need to survive. We can’t have too much if we get evicted and have to move down the river some, after all.” Amy said and stepped out of her tent, arms free. She rubbed her forearm while Alex peeked inside. There were two sleeping bags and a small blow up mattress for bedding, a couple battery powered light sources, and a closed suitcase.

“Living the dream,” he said quietly. He pulled out of the tent and rubbed his arm where Amy had punched him. “Ouch, but I deserved that.”

“Wanna see mine?” Starlight asked. Alex nodded and waited for Starlight to unzip the doorway before he moved to look in. He yelped as he was shoved from behind into the tent.

“Starlight!”

“Just wait out there, Amy,” Starlight shouted as she hopped in and zipped the flap half closed. She turned on Alex and moved until her muzzle was too close to his nose. “I will figure out what happened with or without your help, so don’t get in my way or try to hide, because I’ll find you, even if you gallop away into the wind. Do I make myself clear?!”

Alex noticed she had actually walked onto him and was pressing her forehooves into his belly. He nodded. “Y-yeah, I was gonna help you, regardless. You didn’t need to threaten me.”

Starlight glared at him, then hopped back and pointed to the flap. “Get out, human.”

Alex glanced around but didn’t see anything of note besides a sleeping bag and a small suitcase with some fabric hanging out of it. He got up and moved to the door and opened it. “I hope we can be friends.”

Starlight’s upper lip twitched as she pointed again with a forehoof, but didn’t say anything. He left and nearly bumped into Amy. “I’m sorry about her, I think getting her magic back for a few minutes did something to her.”

“I can imagine it being like being thrown into their world and suddenly getting a phone signal after a few years. Hope can be a great and terrible thing.” Alex said as he looked at the pink mare in the tent. All he could see was her cutie mark and tail, but he didn’t want anything to do with her at the moment.

“You’re really philosophical, you know that?”

“Kinda, I just say what comes to me most of the time. But, I’ve gotta get home and make a couple calls, so…” he started to walk back towards his car.

“Will we really hear from you again?” Amy asked as he walked away.

“I’m a man of my word, you can trust me. I’ll get in touch once I know something, even if it’s nothing.”

It had been a long two days, but Alex finally picked up his phone and smiled as he typed in Starlight’s number. It rang three times before she picked up. “Hello?”

“Hey, this is Alex, remember me?” He foolishly asked.

“Yeah, that’s what came up when you called,” Starlight snarked.

“Yeah, um, so, I talked to people and they need to meet you as soon as possible; they can get you an apartment by the end of the week, if not sooner, because you’re homeless living out in the wilds. My landlord is still against it, but once he changes a couple things in the apartment, you’ll be ready to move in.

“His hands are tied on this so he can’t legally say no, and we’re pushing for him to install a pony friendly toilet, which humans can use, too, but-”

“I know how the toilets work,” Starlight interrupted. “Can we… see the apartment? Or, do we have to meet the people first.”

“You have to meet the people first and answer some questions, then they’ll get you a key to the place. The only thing holding up the process right now is you,” Alex said with a little smile in his voice.

Starlight’s line went quiet for almost a minute before Amy’s voice came in the background. The females talked animatedly for a little bit, then Starlight spoke again. “Okay, where do we have to go? We’ll get there as soon as possible.”

“Do you want a ride? I can pick you up and take you right there.”

There was more excited talking before Amy’s voice clearly came across as a sharp ‘yes’ before Starlight hushed her. “Yes, that would be appreciated. Would you come by in about ten minutes so we can freshen up as much as we can?”

“Make it half an hour,” Amy’s voice came across the speaker.

“Half an hour it is,” Alex said. “Don’t make me wait,” he joked and hung up. He was grinning and began to mentally prepare himself for anything that might happen over the next couple hours. He knew that the county was great at helping people, now he would see how they handled ponies in the same boat he was in no more than a couple years prior.

“Maybe by the end of the day I’ll have new neighbors,” Alex said to himself as he slipped on some comfortable shoes. He grabbed a shopping bag and slipped some apples in, then some water bottles, finally he tied it closed and set it on his table before returning to his couch. Setting an alarm on his phone, he planned to take a twenty minute nap, but was too excited.

Finally, after putzing around for twenty minutes the alarm went off and he grabbed his bag, made his way to his car, and went to pick up the girls. They climbed into the car and Starlight stared out of the window as they drove. “So, is it far?” Amy asked, now wearing some makeup, a nicer pair of pants, and a comfortable looking shirt.

“No, only about a mile, but I’m bad at describing places without landmarks, and I don’t know how much you know about the area… so I’m just driving you to save time, I guess.”

“Well, thank you for this, Alex,” Amy said. Starlight rolled her eyes when the woman bumped her forearm against his, knowing physical contact was a sign of affection between humans.

“You’re welcome,” Alex replied. “Anything for a potential friend.”

“After this, if we get the apartment, I’ll be your best friend.”

Alex chuckled. “I could use one of those, but I promise nothing but friendship in return. Consider me one of the girls, if you want.”

Starlight giggled for the first time that day. “But, you’re a man. You can’t be one of the girls.”

“Why not? The only difference between us, really, isn’t worth mentioning, but I could use a couple platonic girlfriends to hang with.” The females were quiet as they contemplated his position, but before they could comment he pulled into a parking lot in front of a nice looking single story building. “Here we are. You’re meeting with Shalamar, a nice woman that’ll be helping you get the apartment.”

“What kind of name is that?” Amy asked.

“Hers. C’mon, let’s not keep her waiting since she cleared her schedule to meet you. She’s new on the job and she’s never helped a pony before, regardless of how much she’s wanted to. I’ll lead you in and you can take it from there. I don’t need to be a part of your application process.”

They all entered the building and Alex went to the reception desk to check them in. A little girl wearing a hijab stopped playing and stared at Starlight until the girl’s mother began talking to her in arabic. The girl nodded every so often and went back to playing in the corner, glancing at the pony every time she could without her mother noticing.

“Okay, I’ll be in the car listening to music. Give me a call when you’re done, okay?”

“Alex… thank you for trying,” Starlight said and then moved close to him. He knelt down and gave her a hug.

Her horn sparked and glowed a little and she smiled. She giggled and crossed her eyes to look up at her horn, then let it die. “Friendship is magic, I guess.”

“So, you admit we’re friends?”

Starlight shrugged. "We'll see, but I wouldn't put money on us being besties anytime soon."

"I'll take what I can get," Alex said with a smile.

A New Home

The two left the building about an hour later with wide grins on their faces, Amy holding some paperwork to her chest as the wind gusted briefly. They talked animatedly as they walked to the waiting car and climbed in. “She’s gonna meet us at the apartment with the landlord and we’re gonna move in today! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Amy said, giving Alex a hug from her seat next to him.

Starlight climbed between the seats and gave them both a hug, but it didn’t seem as genuine. “Thanks for this,” she said as she scooted back to her seat and laid down. Amy was grinning like she’d just won the lottery and Alex went with that emotion as being the standard for them both, Starlight just being more reserved.

“You’re welcome, ladies. Well, let’s get you to your new home. I didn’t know the landlord was going to be there today and he’ll probably want to help you move in, except you don’t really have much, do you?”

“Not really, but we have enough to survive,” Starlight said as the car started.

“I think you shouldn’t tell him you’ve been sleeping in the woods or he’ll demand you get washed and scrubbed for ticks and whatnot. He’s really particular about that stuff, and pets in general. He’s old school and sees Equestrians as being very smart animals, but still animals.”

“Great, a racist for a landlord, just what I needed. Look,” Starlight said before she could be interrupted, “I don’t shed that much and I’m a very clean mare. I know how to use human toilets,” she said bluntly, “and that’s really the only thing we’ll need to worry about until he installs a pony style one, which can be used by humans just as easily. I don’t want or need to be treated special when I just want to be home.”

The humans were quiet as Alex started to drive them back to the apartments he lived at. Once there he parked in an assigned space and they all left the car to see a thin older man walking toward them. “Hey, Alex, how’s it goin’?”

“Good, Daryl, how are you? These are your new tenants and they’re excited to meet you and move in, once I get their stuff.”

“Oh, really, now?” Daryl said looking at the human and extending his hand. He shook her hand firmly with a smile.

“I’m Amy, this is Starlight Glimmer,” she gestured to the pony and Daryl looked down and his smile fell.

“Yeah, look, I’ll be honest and say I’m not looking forward to you moving in, but Alex said you’re good people and you won’t shed all over the place. Where’s Shelamar with the deposit so we can start this process?” Daryl asked.

Alex sighed and looked at Amy, who answered. “She’s on her way, she’ll be here in a little bit she said and we won’t be messy or leave a mess. I know you don’t trust us-”

“It’s not about trust, I do it to everyone- err, creature - is that the word these days; it’s about keeping the apartments clean for the next people to move in, and keeping the noise down at night, which hooves aren’t very good at doing.” Daryl interrupted.

“I can wear socks to soften my hoof falls and I can clean up after myself if I do shed my seasonal coats. I’m not some cat that leaves hair everywhere I go and has to use a box to piss in, I’m a thinking breathing creature, just like you.” Starlight said standing taller, for what good it did, she still only stood up to his waist.

“Whatever you say, but don’t expect your deposit back if I go in there and the carpet’s half pink and-”

“Okay,” Alex interjected, “this is getting heated and it doesn’t need to be. Let’s just agree that they’re moving in, have jobs, and are ready to pay the bills and rent when the time of the month comes, okay?”

Daryl reluctantly nodded and waved the females to follow him. “The apartment is upstairs in the middle, it was a one bedroom but I changed it to a two bedroom a long time ago. I have your special toilet in the back of my truck and I’ll have it installed today, but you can’t use it right away because the glue has to set.

“I’m sure Alex won’t mind letting you use his until it’s ready, right?”

Alex shrugged as he followed the trio. “I don’t have a problem with that.”

Daryl didn’t respond, leading the girls to the stairs and ascending. “Good. Alex, can you grab the toilet and bring in up? I’m not as young as I used to be.”

“Sure thing,” Alex said and went to a red truck with the tailgate down. He pulled out the squat toilet and looked at the box before hefting it up and noting how much less it weighed than a normal toilet. He quickly followed the group up the stairs to hear Starlight mumbling about the roughness of the steps wearing her hooves down and how she should have shoes for this.

Darly stopped at the top of the stairs and looked back down at the tiny pony. “If you don’t like the stairs you can always wait to move in, or choose another place to stay until-”

“That’s enough! If you have a problem with Starlight,” Amy stated, “then you can expect a call from the pony affairs office about treating her like a second class citizen when she’s a protected American citizen, just like you and me.”

Daryl was about to snap back, then he stopped himself and turned to the middle apartment and rummaged in his pocket. He reached the storm door and opened it, then after several seconds opened the main door and stepped in. “This is the place, take a look around while I check out the bathroom.”

Alex entered and followed Daryl to the bathroom, knowing what the apartment looked like since he lived just directly below them. Starlight looked around the open floor and noticed a counter and cupboards above them dividing the kitchen from what may have been their future dining room.

A room to the right was the first she went to look at, then she went to follow where the men went and saw Amy looking around the main bedroom passively. “What do you think? Starlight asked.

“It’s great! It’s better than camping and it even has an air conditioner for when it gets hot. What about the other room?”

Starlight shrugged. “It’s like this, only basic. An overhead fan and a window with a small closet I probably won’t use much of since I only have a couple outfits.”

“You can buy more with your savings, though. I’ve heard of a couple seamstresses selling pony clothes online, and you can always use more pony clothes and dresses. Maybe a nice shirt like I see stallions and mares wearing, too. Just for around the apartment, not in public where there’s those prudes.”

Starlight smiled at Amy and looked into the bathroom where Daryl was looking at the toilet. “I’m not installing it until they’re on the lease.”

“Sounds good to me, just stop rubbing it in; shouldn’t be too long before she’s here, right?” Alex asked.

Daryl shrugged and stood up with a groan. “Okay, let’s check the place over, just to make sure you like it before you sign the lease.”

Alex got up and moved to the front door. “I don’t have to be here for this part, if you have any problems or concerns, just call, text, or come get me, I live right below you, okay?” He asked Starlight and Amy.

They nodded and followed Daryl to the second bedroom and he left to return to his apartment to watch some tv and have a small snack. An hour later there was a firm knock on the door got his attention and he got up from the couch while pausing the show he was watching. He opened the door and looked down to see Starlight looking up at him.

“Hey, we need a ride to get our stuff.” She stated and turned away to go to the stairs where Amy was waiting with a smile. She rolled her eyes as Starlight closed the distance. “What?”

“You know, just because he’s a man doesn’t mean he’s a jerk.”

“How should I know and why should I care?” Starlight said back.

“Because you’re acting like a jerk to him,” Amy said back. “What about all that friendship is magic and forgiveness is close to Godliness.”

“I never said either of those things to you, those are things other ponies say and believe in.”

“Then how’re you gonna get your magic back if you don’t believe in that stuff?”

Starlight shook her head and lit her horn to pull her dress side to side. “Can we just go?”

“Ask him, not me,” Amy said, nodding to the man standing just outside his door with a blank face as he listened to them.

Starlight nickered shortly. “Do you spy on mares talking often?”

“Only when you storm off and don’t tell me what’s going on. C’mon, let’s go to my car and I’ll help you get your stuff.”

“You’re not touching my stuff,” Starlight snapped at the man as she stormed by him, swiping him with her tail as she passed.

Alex watched her go and heard Amy walk up beside him. “She isn’t always like this, I think it’s just how she shows excitement for a new change in her life.”

“So she’s just being a bitch to me because she’s happy? Don’t let me make her mad…”

“I think she’s only like that because she missed home. She’s talked a lot about her friends she left behind when she was pulled here. I don’t think she’s very good at making friends in the first place, so losing the ones she had is just very hard for her. Not to mention her experiences since she got here.”

“You mean…”

“Not just that,” Amy said as she started walking to the car, “she hasn’t welcomed a new life here. Why do you think she’s in such a rut? The government would have taken care of her for a few more months, but she just isn’t going with the system, it’s like she wants to fail, sometimes.”

Alex turned the corner of the building to see Starlight waiting by the car. “I hope we can help her adjust, or at least come to terms after all this time.”

“Hey, are you going to let me into your car, or are you just gonna talk all day?” Starlight snapped when she saw Alex.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re coming.”

Amy opened the back door and Starlight climbed in and laid down on the seat while the others got in the front seats. “So, I think we’ll have to make a couple trips if your trunk isn’t big enough.”

Alex started backing out of his spot. “I think we can do it in one. We’ll just have to put some stuff in the back with Starlight.”

“Just don’t touch my stuff,” Starlight reiterated.

“Well, I’ll have to touch some things to help you out, unless your magic is gonna come back again, only this time on its own.”

Starlight frowned but stayed quiet for the moment.

“That was kinda mean,” Amy said.

“Why, because she’s being mean to me, I have to let her walk all over me? She should show a little appreciation for everything I’ve already done after only knowing her for less than a week.”

Starlight snorted. “You want something, I bet. That’s how you all are, every human wants something for whatever they do.”

“Maybe I’m not human then. I’ll be an alien as far as you’re concerned.”

“More like a monkey,” Starlight stated.

Alex stopped the car suddenly in the street and turned to glare hatefully back at the mare, who cowered back at his glower. “Don’t call me a fucking monkey.”

“Okay, okay, sorry. I didn’t think you’d be so sensitive about it.”

Amy turned to look back at Starlight. “It’s a very racist thing to say in general, but people that are of darker complexion take it very personally for that exact reason. It’s like me calling you a twist head or spike brow.”

Starlight looked down. “Oh… sorry then. I guess I bucked up, huh?”

Alex started driving again, frowning and keeping quiet as he drove. No one in the car spoke through their short drive to the camp. “Here we are, get out, Starlight, I need a minute to talk with Amy about something.”

“You mean me?” Starlight asked.

“I mean get out or I’ll help you pack your stuff and touch all of it with my dirty human hands.”

“Sheesh, you don’t have to be moody, I’m leaving.” Starlight said and used her lips to grasp the handle to open the door. She got out and was about to buck the door shut, but instead gave it a shove with a forehoof to close it properly.

“What the fuck is wrong with her?!” Alex asked Amy once the door was closed. “She’s like a cute little underaged thoughtless brat!”

“She’s just-”

“Ungrateful and unfriendly at every turn,” Alex interrupted. “I’ve been nothing but kind, generous, and friendly, but she turns me away at every chance she gets. I get she’s had a couple bad experiences, but if she’s gonna keep treating me like this, I’m gonna have to draw a line and distance myself from her. Not you, just her, until she pulls the tree out of her ass.”

Amy snerked. “I’ve never heard that one, it’s always been a stick. Sorry, anyway, I think over the next couple days she’ll warm up to you. She wasn’t even that cool with me at first, we were just neighbors in the tents until we just… I dunno, clicked. She had a place, even, when she moved here, but she couldn’t stay with them, maybe she thinks it’ll happen again.”

Alex’s frown returned. “I don’t really care about her living situation, because it’s fixed. She has a job, she has a couple friends, and she has a home. She shouldn’t act this way, no excuses.”

“I’m not making excuses, I’m just saying give her a chance and a little time. She’ll open up to you, I’m sure of it.” Amy said, placing a hand on Alex’s arm.

He sighed and lowered his head. “Fine, but if she keeps being this way to me, I’m going to have to make some really hard choices. I’ve never had a pony friend before, and I was hoping to have one before I died, and now I have the chance, and she’s walled herself off like crazy. I thought when I met you both in the thrift shop we’d do what some ponies and humans have done and make instant friends. Instead I get insulted, pushed away, and treated like garbage the whole time.”

Amy smiled a little. “Give me some time with her, give us some time with her. She doesn’t really trust men, but I think that she can trust you like I do. You’re a really nice guy.”

“Yeah, and where’s that gotten me?” Alex mumbled to himself.

“We’ll find out where it’ll get you, together, okay? Don’t be hard on yourself over what one pony thinks, anyway. I like you, and that’s something, right?”

Alex sighed. “Okay, okay, I’ll get off my high horse and give her a couple more chances. Just please, work with her to stop being such a bitch at me.”

“Fine,” Amy said and crossed her arms over her chest, “as long as you stop calling her that. It’s not a nice thing to call a friend, ever.”

“Oh, yeah… women. Ouch,” he said with a smile after Amy turned to punch him in the arm. “Just kidding. I’ll stop, as long as she doesn’t force me to say it again.”

“Ugh, men; you’ll never understand women.”

“Hey, don’t group us all together. We’re not all bad, you know.” Alex said with a little pride.

“Wait here, give me a couple minutes to talk to her. Just, open the trunk and we’ll bring her tent, at least. We’ve gotta say bye to a couple people, if they’re still here right now, too.”

Amy opened the door and closed it, leaving Alex to groan loudly in peace. “What the hell did I get myself into?”

Settling In

“Well, you’re unpacked and just need furniture now,” Alex said once he’d carried the last items up the stairs and into the female’s apartment. “I know Daryl usually offers, so I’ll call him and ask… unless you want to, Starlight.”

Starlight looked at him and a few heavy seconds passed before she nodded. “I’ll call him. I think I’d like to hear him make excuses as to why he can’t help us when he clearly has helped others before.”

“I guess you’ll have to deal with him eventually. He’s a good landlord, don’t give him too much trouble and he’ll warm up to you pretty quickly.”

Amy entered the main room and looked around the spartan area. “Yeah, a table, maybe some cushioned chairs, a couch and lazy-boy…”

“Television, radio, clocks, internet, beds,” Starlight groused as she walked to Alex and looked up at him. She extended a foreleg up to him and it took a couple seconds for Alex to realize what she meant by it. He made a fist and bumped her hoof with a warm smile. Starlight’s horn sparked and she gasped. “Do it again!” She demanded and used her magic to pull his hand to her hoof again. Again and again she bumped her hoof to his hand before she stopped and growled loudly to the ceiling. “Why won’t it work?!”

Alex looked at his hand and noticed some light scratches from her hoof brushing against his skin. “You know, maybe it’s something to do with how we connect at certain times and not you pounding my hand with your scratchy hoof.”

“Oh, stuff it, man. If I didn’t need you to get my magic back,” she turned and slapped her tail against his leg, “I wouldn’t even have you around.”

Amy stepped in Starlight’s way. “Stop being such a negative nancy to our friend, Starlight.”

“He’s just some man that wants what all men want! Just wait until he tries to get under your… in your pants.”

Alex frowned. “You know, not all men want or care about that. If you don’t want anything to do with me, then fine, I’ll just ignore you and hang out with Amy and you can figure your magic problem out on your own.” He crossed his arms and looked down at the mare as she looked back over her withers to glare at him.

Starlight nickered as she walked past Amy to the main room and closed the door behind her. She pulled her sleeping bag and unrolled it, laid it out, and climbed into it to hide away as she lit her horn and looked at the frogs of her rough hooves. She growled at the condition of her once pristine and polished hooves for a few seconds before her anger dissipated.

She lowered her muzzle into her hooves and sighed loudly. Her body trembled and she relaxed. “It’s not him. It’s not him. It’s not him.” She repeated to herself as her horn light faded slightly and she felt her magic slightly dwindle. She stopped channeling magic and was left in the dark while she thought of things and people she preferred to be kept to herself.

Amy walked to the door after a couple minutes and knocked. “Hey, I’m gonna go downstairs with Alex, just so you know where I am if you need me.”

“Wait! I… I’ll come, too. Maybe we can talk about some stuff that’s been bothering me.” The humans were left speechless at the announcement and when Starlight opened the door they were surprised to see the mare with watery eyes. “I’m sorry about how I’m treating you, Alex. You’re a good man,” she stopped and looked him up and down, “and I have to remember that you’re not representative of all men. Anyway, let’s go.”

The humans shared a look as Starlight passed between them before Alex shrugged and followed the mare to his door. She waited for him to open it and gesture for her to enter. Alex stepped in after Starlight and held the storm door for Amy. “Take off your shoes at the door, please.”

Starlight looked at her left forehoof while Amy slipped out of her shoes and looked around. “So, what do you wanna do?” Alex asked.

Starlight looked up to the man and held back a scathing comment. “How about we watch some television? I like television, you know.”

“Sure. Wanna take off your… um, dress?” Alex asked hesitantly.

“Wanna take off your…” Starlight started, but saw the look he had on his face. “Ugh, no, thank you. It’s all I have to keep me protected from everything and,” she coughed quietly behind closed lips, “everyone,” she mumbled, but was still heard and understood.

Amy hurried to walk between the two and took a seat on the loveseat and crossed her legs. “What channels does this tv get? Premium package with espagnole?”

Alex and Starlight both chuckled. “It’s Espanole, the other thing is a food reference,” Alex supplied, taking the seat beside Amy. Starlight looked at the soft clean carpeted floor, then to the only chair remaining; a recliner that would fit her nicely.

“And how would you know that, mister know it all?” Amy snarked.

“I was a chef at one point in my life. I’ll cook you a meal sometime to prove it.”

Starlight looked between the humans. Part of her wasn’t willing to accept the generosity Alex was offering, part of her was dying to be treated as an equal like she once was. She hopped up and onto the recliner, holding on with wide eyes as it rocked back and forth before resting. She giggled nervously as she looked at the two humans awkwardly sitting on the one shared seat. “Why don’t you have a couch in here, too?”

“Two reasons,” Alex said as he leaned away from Amy, “one, I’m not popular enough to have a couch, and two, where would I put it? I barely have space as it is. If this was twenty years ago my tv that size would take up half my living room,” he laughed.

Starlight nodded in understanding as she thought of where a couch would fit. “I guess that makes sense. What about the other room? You could put it in there and pull it out when people come over,” she said with a smirk. Alex just shook his head and Starlight’s smirk turned into a smile. “How about we talk before we watch tv?”

Amy hesitated before she nodded, sharing a look with Starlight. “Okay, what would you like to talk about?” She asked the mare.

“I’m… not good with people, or ponies for that matter. I’ve always been kind of standoffish and untrusting since I was a filly. I was getting some help and I’d made some friends before I… we were all taken here, and I’d like to figure out why I get my magic back when I touch Alex,” she said, looking at the man’s hands that were clasped on his chest as he leaned back. “There’s something I have to tell you before we get too friendly,” she started and inhaled, holding her breath. “I was a bad pony once.”

The humans looked between one another, then smiled. “That’s not so bad. We’ve all been bad once or twice, whatever you did--”

“I mind controlled a town into slavery, I fought a princess in a battle to the death, I nearly tore reality apart, and I was happy doing it.” Starlight blurted. Alex and Amy were silent for several second while Starlight looked at her forehooves and curled her tail around her side. “Look, if you want me to go…”

“No, it’s okay… um, you didn’t do all that while you were being taken here, did you?”

Starlight shook her head vigorously. “No, that was, like, five years before all this. I was reformed by Princess Twilight Sparkle and became her student, her first friendship student, actually.” She said fondly. “I made a few good friends and got to a high position in the school Princess Twilight started. That’s when--” She went silent with wide eyes, darting between the two humans that were looking at her with confusion.

“When what?” Amy asked.

Alex looked at Starlight and his eyes slowly narrowed. “Yeah, why are you being so cryptic about this part of your story?”

Starlight gulped and her horn sparkled before glowing and then dying out. She clenched her eyes and tried to cast her spell again before exhaling loudly as her head swam. She grumbled to herself before looking at Amy. “I’m the reason we’re here. It was an accident! Please, don’t hate me like the others.”

Alex relaxed while Amy tensed. “If it was an accident, we might be able to fix it.”

“Alex, she just admitted to stranding thousands of ponies on a world that isn’t theirs. How can you be so calm about this?”

Alex shrugged. “We have to look on the positive side for her. Maybe that’s why she’s so mean, because she’s stressed from what happened. Thank you for trusting us with this secret, but, I mean, how did you even manage to do this to so many ponies?”

Starlight frowned at the window, remembering something. “It’s not that I completely trust you both, but I have to start somewhere. I’m not ready to share everything about my life, or why I don’t like men, but you’re not… as bad as some of them, so far.”

“Thanks, I think.” Alex said.

“Whatever. Look, I’ll tell you the same thing I told a few other ponies before they turned on me… but I just don’t think you two will do the same thing. I was a counselor at a school and working with a couple close friends that I haven’t seen since I got here, so I don’t know if they were sucked in, too, but we were trying to make a portal to send students back home to wherever they were from.

“The spell circles were put in several of the most popular pony cities like Fillydelphia, Manehattan, San Franciscolt, and was based in Ponyville, where I was from. We cast the spell linking the portals, which went fine, until it stopped being fine and started sucking us in. I don’t know how many ponies were actually taken in, or if we all survived the journey, only that we all ended up here.

“I don’t know where we all ended up except on this earth and most in the North American continent with all our magic dulled… however I seem to have it a little worse. My magic is weaker than most ponies and it’s led to some cases of arcane illness if I cast for too long or use too much power.”

“Isn’t that the issue where you get headaches?” Amy asked.

“It’s almost as bad as a week long migraine, lasting until my leylines realign. It’s a very rare thing back home, but here…” Starlight trailed off and rubbed her left temple. “Thankfully, I learned my lesson a few years ago about overstressing myself magically. But, that’s why I called for ponies to come meet me in Manehattan, to cast a joint spell on the same circle I used to get us here… but almost nopony showed up, and those that did left when they found out why I’d called them.

“The news barely picked up the story beyond a crazy mare trying to start a cult, which I wasn’t even trying to do! Without any life skills outside of mastering magic, I lost everything. The government doesn’t support ponies that don’t try, so I moved here and got a temp job through a company cleaning up at a local school. I’ve been doing that for about a month and I think I’ll be quitting soon.”

“What? Why?!” Amy asked loudly. “That’s our only source of income.”

“Because the children treat me like an animal! I won’t take anymore selfies, I refuse to let them ride me, and I can’t stand cleaning up after them!”

“C’mon,” Alex said, “they’re only kids.”

Starlight snorted in frustration. “They’re in high school! They should know better than to treat a pony like a barnyard animal. The adults are better, at least, but when they see me eating hay or drinking with a straw, I hear them better than they think I can. They whisper about me and laugh. I’m not some court jester or clown there for their amusement, damnit.”

Amy slouched into the seat. “Okay, so I guess that now that I have an apartment I can get a job. I just have to find the right fit.”

“Well, what skills do you have?” Alex asked.

“I used to work as a server in a restaurant for a couple years. I can make coffee because I worked at a local coffee shop, and I’m pretty good at giving directions.”

“Well, there’s always a restaurant hiring, but if you didn’t like it, then maybe you should take a job there while looking for something better, just as a placeholder, ya know?” Alex advised.

Amy sighed. “I’ll just go to the temp agency and use Starlight as a reference. Maybe I can just take over her janitorial job when she leaves.”

Alex nodded. “Maybe you can get an office job, too. No one said you have to settle for the lowest job there is just to make ends meet. Starlight, that applies to you, too. You can get a job doing anything you put your mind to. What do you like doing that isn’t cleaning up after humans or magic?”

Starlight sighed and looked away. “I just don’t know. I was a counselor, but here I need to go to school for that.”

“Then go to school!” Alex exclaimed, startling the mare. “Who said you can’t go to school? There’s a major school in this very town that’ll take you in for free to achieve any degree you want. Go for it, Starlight, you can do anything here.”

Starlight looked at Amy, why was looking intently at Alex. “But, I don’t know where to begin. My phone-”

“Isn’t everything. Heck, once you start going to school you can get a free laptop and tablet. The only downside is you have to spend a semester living in campus dorms, or at least saying you do. I’ll help you get in, then you just have to go to school and get a part time job to make ends meet.”

“I dunno, you’re really passionate about helping me, us,” Starlight said, her ears perking up more and more, “but are you sure it won’t be a hassle?”

Alex laughed confidently. “I can do anything I want, and what I wanna do is help you get into school to get an education and, maybe, get you some more human friends. You sound like you need them more than you’d like to admit.”

Starlight slowly smiled and hopped from her seat to quickly approach Alex. She reared up and opened her forelegs, falling onto him in a lap hug with her head resting against his stomach. “Thank you, thank you so much. I haven’t met anyone willing to help me so much since I was back home.”

Alex patted her head and ran his fingers through her mane. “Hey, it’s nothing. I’m just being a good friend, is all.”

Starlight sighed as her magic grew again. She was enjoying the feeling of her magic swelling, and at the warmth the man was showing her with nothing expected in return. Amy gasped when Starlight opened her eyes. “Your eyes are white!” She exclaimed and leaned away from the mare.

Alex tensed as Starlight looked at him. Her mane waved in an unseen breeze for a few seconds as she controlled herself and stored the power away for future use. “Wow, that was wild. I haven’t felt that since…” Starlight went quiet and she looked at her hooves. She rubbed her temples and worked her jaw while sitting at Alex’s feet. “Something’s different.”

Starlight stood on her four hooves and moved to the center of the room, her horn lit, then she vanished in a flash of light. A thud sounded from above them and Alex and Amy looked at one another before rushing to the door and stepping out into the daylight. Starlight stepped from the doorway to the apartment upstairs with a grin and a smoking horn.

“Did you just…”

“I teleported!” Starlight shouted as she reared up to look over the railing. “I haven’t done that in years. It felt so good to use… magic again.” She said just before falling to her side. The humans rushed up the stairs and helped the weak mare into her apartment, laying her on the floor as she grinned. “I did it. Yay.”

“Well, that’s great, but what does that mean for you going to school? College?” Alex asked.

Starlight waved a hoof and pushed herself up to sitting. “Nothing. It just means I have to start studying our thaumaturgical relationship. There’s something between us that I can’t explain right now, and it could be the key to getting home, finally.”

She pushed herself up to stand and then stumbled a little as she took a step forward. Going back downstairs was arduous, but she made it, refusing help as she took each step like a foal; one at a time.

Starlight followed her friends into Alex’s apartment again. She took her seat on the chair and the humans sat on the loveseat. Alex turned on the television and switched through different streaming services before he stopped and selected once. “Oh, can we watch Heavy Duty?” Starlight exclaimed.

“The one with the pony that works weird jobs?” Amy asked with a sneer. “I don’t like that guy, he’s too cocky.” Alex searched and found the show. “Seriously? You’re gonna watch that garbage?”

“Hey, one episode won’t kill any of us.” Starlight said with a grin.

Amy looked at the mare and her eyes widened. “Starlight, you’re bleeding!”

“What? Where?” Starlight asked as she touched her nose.

Amy and Alex looked fearfully at Starlight. “From the base of your horn.”

Starlight gasped and reached up to touch her horn and shrieked at the contact. “Ouch, that’s not supposed to happen, ever.”

Alex got up and rushed to get a few paper towels for the bleeding and carefully wrapped the horn’s base with them. Starlight grimaced and whined, even after he was done. “There, would any over the counter medicine help with the pain?”

“I don’t know,” Starlight sniffled and reached up to touch her horn again. She gasped with eyes wide as her horn wiggled ever so slightly. “My horn’s loose. That’s not… possible.” She said and lowered her hoof to her chest. “It must be from using so much magic at once, but it’s never happened before.”

“Maybe it’s something to do with the magic here on earth compared to your magic back on Equus?”

“Maybe you should leave the magic to me, Alex.” Starlight said firmly before she reached up to touch her horn again. Alex stopped her hoof before it reached it, though. She was quiet for a few seconds before she suddenly leaned forward and wrapped her forelegs around Alex and began to cry as she held him close. “I can’t… why did I have to trap us all here?”

As Starlight cried, Amy moved to her side and embraced the mare, as did Alex, awkwardly. Starlight began to sob and pressed the side of her face against Alex’s belly as years worth of pain and self blame came out. “Where’s this all coming from?” Alex whispered to Amy, who hushed the man.

A couple minutes later, Starlight pushed away and wiped her snotty snout on her fetlock. She wiped her eyes with her fetlocks and noticed some blood on Alex’s gray shirt from her injured horn. She quickly rubbed at it with her forehoof before realizing it wasn’t helping. “It’s okay,” Alex said as he cupped her cheek in his hand, “I think we can figure this out and fix everything in time.”

Starlight leaned into the touch, then her eyes narrowed and she leaned away quickly. “Don’t touch me like that,” she groused. “Not yet, anyway. I have issues with human men touching me.”

Alex nodded and Amy gave him a confused look. “Okay, I won’t touch you without your permission, unless it’s an emergency or something.”

“Like if you faint or overexert yourself,” Amy added.

“I haven’t fainted since I got to earth and my magic was drained to less than a foal’s level. I’m just glad I can lift a four ounce phone and stylus. If I couldn’t even do that…” Starlight sighed. “I’m one of the weakest unicorns, did you know that?”

“I didn’t know there was a comparison,” Amy said.

“Well, most unicorns can at least lift their own body weight in mass with their magic. For some reason, when I was pulled through, my magic was really pulled out of me. I woke up with a migraine that lasted two days and when it passed, all I could lift was about a pound of weight. It’s only gotten weaker as the years have passed.

“Maybe it’s punishment for what I did. Maybe it’s just chance. Maybe it’s something to do with the ritual spell Sunburst and I were casting that did it. All I know is that if casting a moderate level spell like teleportation can hurt my horn, what would happen if I opened a portal home?”

Alex smirked, irking Starlight. “Well, then we’ll have to make sure you don’t cast it by yourself then, won’t we? I think that if you created a small enough portal to test its opening ability and you sent through a simple note, maybe that would be enough to convince other unicorns to join you and save you the drain of having to cast this spell by yourself. We can record the test and post it online for other ponies to see, and if it works it’ll at least give the ones that want to go home a little hope.”

“What if it works, though? What if I send a letter through and no creature ever finds it? What if my horn breaks off during the casting?” Starlight worried aloud.

“You can spend months going over what if’s, all that matters is the end result. It shouldn’t be hard to find a couple unicorns that’ll be willing to help an experiment to go home, right? Hell, you could go to the thaumatic research wing at the local college and offer to cast the spell there. I bet they’d jump at the chance to work with you.”

“Yeah,” Starlight rolled her eyes and then flinched in pain as Amy adjusted the paper towels around her horn, “just what the world needs to know; the pony that caused all this has been right under their muzzles this whole time. I can see the angry crowds of ponies and humans coming after me already.”

“There are always going to be hate groups, Starlight,” Amy soothed, “like the Human’s First movement and the like, but you ponies have survived everything they’ve tried to do to get you out of the country or have you put into concentration camps.”

Alex frowned for a split second, but Starlight noticed. “What?” Starlight asked.

Alex sighed. “I know my skin color doesn’t really matter to ponies, but it matters to a lot of humans. When I tell people that I come from a long line of Jewish people, they can’t believe that a brown man could be Jewish. Like it’s a new thing or I’m one of a kind out here… anyway, my great grandmother narrowly escaped being sent to one of those camps, but my great grandfather was sent to one and barely survived.”

“Oh, my,” Amy softly said, “I can’t imagine what it would have been like.”

“That’s good, because no creature should have to go through that,” Alex said firmly.

“I’m glad you feel that way,” Starlight said, returning to her chair, “because if this goes wrong, they may push for it again.”

“No one said we were going to go through with anything,” Alex said as he looked at the tear stains and a small line of blood on his shirt, “and even if we do, there are people that will keep you safe from hate groups.”

“I hope so, otherwise my horn problems will be the last of my worries.”

Work Day

Starlight woke with a start, gasping as her phone’s alarm went off. She used her magic to turn the phone over and silenced the alarm, then crawled out from her sleeping bag. Amy groaned and pulled her sleeping bag up as she scooted deeper into it. “Wake me when it’s noon.”

“It’s Monday, Amy, one of us has a job to get to. Maybe I can get Alex to give me a ride.”

Amy snickered from inside her sleeping bag. “You should buy him some dinner before you ask him that.”

Starlight looked at the sleeping woman for a moment before what she said clicked and the mare frowned. “Hey! I don’t think of him like that. I don’t think of men that way at all.”

Amy peeked her head out to grin at the mare that was standing a couple feet away. “You didn’t mind being close to him yesterday while we watched movies, or talking with him over dinner. C’mon, girl to girl, you can admit your true feelings to me.”

Starlight rolled her eyes and walked past the grinning woman, flicking her tail as she passed to go to the bathroom. “He’s all yours if you want him, don’t let me stand in your way.”

“Oh, hey! How’s your horn doing? You told me you’d check in with me this morning.”

“It’s fine,” Starlight called as she began her morning routine, “I used magic to turn off my alarm and am currently brushing my mane. It won’t be a problem… I don’t think it will, anyway. Hey, do we have anything for breakfast?”

“No,” Amy groaned as she sat up and rubbed her back, “ouch. I forgot how it was sleeping on actual floors. My back’s gotten used to the rough ground by the river.”

“Get used to it. With my income we can afford this place and when you get a job, we’ll be able to make this place into a nice home.”

“Then you’ll go back to Equestria and leave me to fend for myself?” Amy sardonically asked.

Starlight audibly spit into the sink and peeked into the bedroom. “It’s not like that. I don’t even know if I can open a portal home. All I know is that there’s finally hope… and it lies with a human male,” she turned back to the sink and began brushing her teeth.

“You should tell him why you don’t like men. I mean, they’re not all bad; Alex has shown you that over the past week he’s known us.”

Starlight scoffed and spoke with the toothbrush working over her teeth. “Yeah, a week and he’s been too nice. I wouldn’t put it past him to make a move on both of us tonight. All males are the same, they just want to get under our tails. Er… you know what I mean.”

Amy chuckled. “Is that always such a bad thing? I know I have urges, and don’t think I didn’t hear you each time you get a little frisky in your tent. Don’t act so surprised,” she told the sputtering unicorn, “we were right next to each other in our tents and you are not a quiet moaner.”

Starlight turned on the tap to rinse her mouth. “I wasn’t that loud, and I know we girls have urges. I just don’t need a human to fill them.”

Amy laughed. “Let’s go to the ranch and get you a stud then! I’ll work their stalls to pay off your needs and-”

There was a clack of hoof on linoleum as Starlight nickered. “Why don’t you go find a chimp to rut you first!”

“Is he packing?” Amy snarked back.

Starlight growled and stomped to the toilet. “You know that I don’t find earth horses attractive… and they’re too big! I’ve looked online, they’re penises are as long as my body; I’d be skewered!” Starlight exclaimed. Amy laughed loudly. “Not to mention they only last five seconds, on average! I can’t get anywhere within that time frame. Not to mention the fertility factor. What if I get pregnant by some feral horse that doesn’t care about me or his foal?”

“Woah, there,” Amy was still laughing, “you’re overthinking it again. You’re not in estrus, it would just be a fling. Even if you did end up with the tip coming out of your mouth.”

Starlight flushed the toilet and returned to the bedroom to glare at her friend. “No. Just, no. When you get it on with a lesser creature, then I’ll consider following your example. Until then, drop it.”

Amy bounced in place as she danced a little, giggling like a little girl. “Drop it like it’s hot. Drop it like it’s hot.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever understand you, you know that?”

“Damn mare, you got a bright future behind you.” Amy finished, falling back laughing as Starlight looked back at her rump, curiously. “So random. You’d like to meet my friend Pinkie Pie, she’s kinda weird like you, except a little stranger… and obsessed with children’s parties.”

Amy rolled to lay on her side as Starlight began pulling on her makeshift dress. “You know what, you need to relax. You’re always so high strung. You finally have things looking up, you should focus on that instead of everything being wrong.”

“I need a new dress. My second payday’s coming up at the end of the week… wanna go dress shopping with me? I’d even settle for a nice shirt at this point. I heard Walmart has pony clothes and with Alex’s car, we can get there in a reasonable amount of time.”

“Yes, but I don’t wanna start to abuse his kindness. He’s a nice guy, but even nice guys have a limit.”

“C’mon, you’re a smart and sexy woman; you can use those hips and your boobs to get him to do anything, I bet.” Starlight looked back to the blushing woman wearing a frown. “Or, ya know, you could just ask him nicely.”

Starlight, dressed in a light dress that covered her body down to her hooves, knocked on Alex’s door. A few seconds later he opened it and looked down, smiled, and spoke, “What’s up, Starlight?”

Starlight looked nervous and pawed the ground. “I was wondering if I could get a ride to work? I mean, I understand if you don’t want to after the way I’ve been treating you, which has been kinda-”

“You don’t need to apologize, I can tell when a person is troubled and acting out. I have three kids, after all.”

“Really? I’ve never seen them around here.” Starlight said.

“They’re with their mother, I don’t see them right now, but I will in a couple months. Anyway, where do you work again? You haven’t really talked about it.”

“I work as a janitor at a local middle school. It’s not that far, but I don’t feel like walking there alone and this early… and, well, you have a car and… I was just hoping you had time. I know it’s only-”

“It’s cool. I gotta go to work soon anyway, I work at six so I can give you a ride.” Alex said as he stepped back and finished getting ready. “I was just about to leave so you’re just in time. Why don’t we carpool everyday?”

Starlight watched him tie his boots and then slip on a very bright vest before grabbing his keys off a hook. He snapped his fingers, a thing that always intrigued the mare, and grabbed a lunchbox. Alex fiddled with the lock and then stepped out, slammed the door, checked it was locked, then made his way to the car with Starlight following closely behind.

She sided with him and smiled up at him when he looked down at her. “You know… you’re not that bad, for a human.” She giggled when he raised an eyebrow at her. “Just kidding, I think. Well, I know this isn’t the best time, but I like you. You’re not like most men I’ve come across, you seem to be genuine and kind, even to those you don’t know.”

Alex opened the car door for Starlight and she hopped into the front seat. She used her magic to strap the seat belt around her lap before letting the shoulder strap flow over her head and rest against the seat. “You know, that’s not very safe to wear a seat belt like that.”

“You know I need a special attachment to use a human seatbelt, right?”

“Yeah, I guess it’s just habit for me to say that. Safety first and all. Are you comfortable sitting like that? I mean-” Alex’s eyes widened and he looked ahead to start the car.

Starlight looked down and smirked. She wanted to tease him for looking at her teats, knowing human men had a weird fetish about them, but thought better of it. “Yes, I’ve gotten used to sitting like this when I have to. As long as I don’t sit on my tail, I’ll be fine. So please, don’t drive crazy or I’ll rock onto it and it stings.”

Alex started driving them to the school as they made small talk about their jobs and how much it sucked getting up so early Monday to Friday, but how it was rewarding at the same time.

Arriving at the school, Alex watched as Starlight used her magic to unlatch the belt and then her mouth to open the door before she hopped out with a clatter of hooves. “Thanks again, I’ll see you tonight?”

“If I’m not too tired,” Alex replied, a hint of seriousness in his voice. Starlight smiled genuinely at him, then pushed the door closed. She watched him drive away before she sighed and turned to the school.

Starlight put on a happy face and trotted through the doors into the school and into the main office. “Hey, Judy, how’re you today?”

The office receptionist smiled at the question. “Fine enough. I’m ready for a hundred little monsters to tell me a hundred dumb things, like usual. Not to mention the parents that always act like it's their first time in a school,” Judy rolled her wisened eyes, “like they’re unsure their child goes here.”

Starlight knew the woman was about to start ranting about how much her job annoys her, so she interjected. “I just got an apartment!”

Two women came into the room just as Starlight made her announcement and the three women clapped their hands. “That’s great! No more tent city for you, huh? Movin’ on up in the East Side?”

One of the women laughed at the joke while Starlight laughed just to seem like she knew what the joke meant. “Yeah,” she chuckled, “East side. I got a place about a mile from the tent city, as you call it, and moved in with my neighbor, Amy. She’s still asleep, lucky woman.”

The women giggled. “Wish I could sleep in until I wanted to. Is she going to get a job, or just live off of your wondrous career?”

Starlight rolled her eyes. “She’s gonna get a job or I’ll give her the boot. I’m not working to support a grown woman living with me. Besides, she’s human and has a lot more opportunities than I do.”

“Bullshit, Starlight. You can do anything you want to, if you put your mind to it.”

Starlight flicked her tail and turned. “Okay, I quit and I’ll take my severance now.” She joined them in laughter as she turned back around. “I really like working with you, actually. It’s the kids, though… some keep looking down on me like I’m an animal and others constantly want to ride on my back. I’m running out of ways to tell them to f- off.”

Judy laughed while one of the other women sighed. “I understand, but remember, they don’t know any better. Some of these kids are from farming families where their parents, or even themselves, wake up early to feed animals, some of them being equines. They literally are being taught the difference between Equus ponies and Equines of Earth.”

“I know, but it doesn’t make it better. I bet if I worked at the high school I’d be better off.” Starlight said.

The women all grimaced. “No. Don’t even joke about that. Imagine a dozen teens pranking you throughout the week, every week through the year. Making traditions of who can top the last ones until they break your little pony heart and mind. Don’t do that to yourself, even as a joke.”

Starlight giggled. “I plan to stay here, unless something better comes up. It’s not like I can do much anyway; being one of the weakest unicorns around.”

Judy sighed slightly. “Don’t put yourself down, you can still do things I’ve never dreamed of, like make stuff float. You have to be less hard on yourself and more positive. It’s the same thing I tell the students that say they’re dumb or stupid when they can’t do something.”

“Well, I’m not one of the students. I’m a grown mare and I know my limitations. I was once one of the most powerful ponies, now I can barely lift my phone,” Starlight said with nonchalance. “It is what it is, and I’m just dealing with it the best I can. I mean, as long as I can go a week without some kid trying to ride me, I take that as a win.”

The women and mare shared a small laugh before Starlight excused herself to go to the locker room to change. “Wait,” Judy said as Starlight reached the doorway to the hallways, “you look better than I’ve seen you in a while, Starlight, whatever you’re doing, keep it up.”

Starlight smiled a small smile. “I’m making friends.”

“That’s great to hear. See you later,” one of the women said as she turned back to her own tasks. The others agreed and Starlight left them to go change.

The day started like any other in the three weeks she’d been working as a custodian at the school and it began with her changing into her uniform, a blue pony dress that covered her body whole and snapped into place along her underside with a spot for her tail to stick out through. She was glad she didn’t have to wear pony panties with the dress she’d chosen as it covered everything human children shouldn’t see.

She recalled, while slipping into the dress, wearing panties a few times and how inconvenient they were. Without proper magic like most other unicorns, she couldn’t put them on as quickly, without the lifelong dexterity of earth pony hooves or pegasi wings, she couldn’t take them off easily, either, which almost led to a mess when she really had to pee.

Glad she wasn’t going to have to fight with the white monstrosities, she used her magic to slip her nametag onto her chest pocket and tied her mane and tail into buns before looking herself over in the mirror. She looked at herself and noticed she was smiling a bit more than usual and her pink coat did seem to be a little brighter than it was the previous week.

Alex… Starlight shook her head before any thoughts could distract her from her tasks ahead and left the mirror and man behind as she went into the hallways. Her hooves clattered on the tiled floors as she reached the cafeteria and met with Frank, the other custodian. “Morning, Frank.”

“Hey, new girl,” the older man said with a grunt as he pulled a cafeteria table from its spot against the wall, “wanna help me out, or do you just like watching me work?”

Starlight was already on her way to his side and reared up to push the long folded table to the far side of the room. “Ugh, why do they fold up again? Why do they have a stage in the cafeteria, at all?”

“Because it’s cheaper than building a stage anywhere else. C’mon, put your back into it, this is the only one with wonky wheels.”

Together they pushed the table to its spot and Starlight stepped back as Frank reached inside of it and pulled a lever, then he guided it open. Starlight smiled at the thought of a dozen little humans sitting around the table starting in about an hour eating breakfast under the watching eyes of teachers.

“Okay, that’s one, five to go. You wanna get the next one while I watch you work?” Frank said with a serious tone as he placed a hand on his lower back.

“Ha-ha. Not this time, you’re not that old. I saw you put away that case of soap Thursday and it weighed more than me. Don’t even think about sitting on your pasty bottom until you’ve helped me finish this.”

“Well, snarky this morning, aren’t we?” Frank said with a chuckle. He was about to sit down, but thought better of it after Starlight’s choice words and went to the next table. “I like it when you’re snarky; reminds me of my daughter. She was a little firecracker until she went to high school and got into her cliques. Then it was all about how much she hated me, her mom, the world.”

“She got better though, right?” Starlight asked as she pressed her hooved to the side of one of the tables and it moved with relative ease, especially when compared to the first. “I mean, I went through a rebellious phase… it was pretty destructive to myself and those around me, but never my family. I always loved my parents, even when they split up and I had to choose to stay with my dad…”

Starlight went silent as she changed positions to push the table from another angle to get it to its spot before using her magic to pull the lever like Frank had a moment before. “Seems like you turned out alright though? I’m sure he was proud of you.”

Starlight barked a laugh. “Yeah, if he knew what I did through my late teens through late twenties he’d have a conniption. I think I’ll keep letting him think I was always his little filly that couldn’t do any wrong.”

Frank couldn’t help but ask. “What did you do that makes you think he’d be upset?”

Starlight clamped her muzzle shut before she could tell him about her founding of Our Town and her own religious cult built on the tenets of mental slavery through manipulation. She exhaled loudly though her snout as she thought of what to say. “I guess I just did the wrong thing thinking it was right.”

“My daughter’s not from magical pony land, but even so I think you two would have a lot in common. Maybe over the holidays, Heart’s Warming Eve, Christmas, whatever, we can meet up over supper?”

“It’s Hearth’s Warming, and I think I’d like that. I don’t know many people and lately I think that’s kinda naive of me to live without making any friends.” Starlight felt a warmth in her chest and sighed to herself. “I have a lot to learn, and I was headmare of a school…” Her eyes widened and she looked at Frank.

Frank didn’t show any real interest or concern. “What? You were some kind of principal back in Equestria? Ha, how the mighty have fallen. Oh, wait,” he gestured to where they were, “same thing, only now you’re cleaning the floors, not grading homework. If you’re sensitive about it, I won’t mention it; it’s none of my business.”

Starlight sighed again. “Thanks, I don’t want to risk my job for being overqualified or a challenge to the current administration.”

“Last thing you’re gonna do is challenge the admin to change based on your past experience. These people get the job and stay there for decades, they aren’t going to change because one little mare shows up. And stop sighing so much, you’re going to make yourself dizzy.” Frank said with a wink.

Starlight giggled. She finished setting up her table and was about to go to the next when she felt a hand touch her head. She was about to pull away when Frank brushed a finger across the back of her ear, making it flick. She smiled and looked up to the man. “No scratching the ponies, I’ll make a sign and wear it to remind everyone if I have to.”

Frank chucked. “And how many of the kids do you think will be able to read it?”

“I’ll draw a picture.”

“They’ll have to get really close to see it. Petting close.”

Starlight smirked. “Then I’ll have to hang it on my tail so they’ll know not to get too close to the pony or she might fart on them.”

They both laughed at that and Frank had to shake his head. “You’re one crazy mare sometimes, Starlight.” He placed a hand on her head and scratched lightly. Starlight’s eyes widened and she inhaled sharply as she, again, felt her magic blossom inside her. “Woah, are you okay? You look like I just pulled your ear.” Starlight’s horn lit and she pulled the remaining three tables into place. Frank’s jaw went slack and he looked down at the pony. “I thought you couldn’t do magic.”

“I’m doing it, though.” She felt the power within her begin to fade so she stopped casting, saving what she could.

“Huh, you look more… pink, if that’s possible. Brighter.”

Starlight was quiet for a moment before she looked up at the human and smiled. “Friendship is magic, my mentor told me. Are you… my friend?”

“I don’t see why not. Is everything okay? Should I be concerned?”

“No, just… be my friend when I need you, okay? Can you do that for me?” Starlight asked.

Frank raised an eyebrow but nodded to the mare. “Sure thing. Uhm, how about we get these tables down, then split up and get to work? You can tell me about being a principal in your world when we cross paths, how about that?”

Starlight rolled her eyes but smiled. “I think… I think I’d like that.”

A Small Supper

Starlight changed out of her work uniform, thankful to be naked, if only for a moment, then slipped on her dress and went to the toilets to go before her walk back to her new apartment. She smiled at the thought and let her mind wander over the events of the day. Talking with Frank about her life on Equestria was nice, and he seemed interested in her short stories.

She wondered why it had taken her so long to open up to others and how it must have been Alex that started her on the path. The fact she cried on him probably did something to help; something she didn’t recall but knew of tickled the back of her mind. Friendship is magic. She thought to herself as she began her long trot back to her home. Her home, something she wasn’t sure she’d ever hear or see again.

Admitting it was hard, even in her own mind, but she was ready to lay down in the grass by the river and never get up again. Life had hit rock bottom and she was under the weight of all the ponies she’d trapped in this world. All the troubles they’d endured trying to become seen as even second class citizens across the world they now called home was crushing her still, but it seemed to be a lot less of a bother over the past few days.

As she trotted and cantered across streets, waited impatiently at stop signs and walk signals, and passed other humans taking leisure walks and jogs, she couldn’t help but see them as individual people for the first time in a long time, as opposed to an entire species bent on pony oppression.

“What’s that human done to me?” She asked quietly to herself. One evening with Amy and Alex and somehow her whole view had changed, and it was all her doing. Alex and Amy had been there for her, but she was the one who admitted for the first time in years what she’d done. She was the one who cried, vented, and had opened up on her own.

As she reached a few blocks away she passed a few children playing at a small park. The children saw her and shouted ‘pony’ excitedly, only being stopped from pouncing on the mare by concerned parents. “We don’t want to be rude,” one of the parents said to two children. “How would you like it if you were chased by dogs that you didn’t know?”

Starlight couldn’t help but recognize the relevance. She was a prey animal in their eyes, just below omnivores, who were prey to predators, usually. Not everything was so cut and dry, but for a child, the idea sunk home and the actual nuances didn’t need to be covered. The children waved at Starlight, who nodded her head back in reply and gave the parents that were still looking at her a polite smile and mouthed a grateful ‘thank you’.

Children on bikes rode by and one of them swerved when he saw her, nearly falling over before he caught himself and kept going.

They’re treating me like some kind of spectacle. Like I’m… stop remembering!

With a shake of her head, Starlight crossed the street and began the last three blocks to her home when a small dog started barking furiously at her from a house’s porch. An elderly woman told the dog to be quiet, but it began running down the stairs and toward a concerned pony. The woman shouted the dog’s name causing it to slow down and look back before facing Starlight again and barking again.

Starlight hurried past the house and dog, remembering to stay away from it next time as the woman picked the dog up, admonished it, and apologized to Starlight as the mare cantered another block. Slowing down once she was sure the dog was not going to be a problem, she giggled at remembering something she’d heard once; the smaller the dog, the angrier it seemed to be.

“Facts, I guess, are facts.”

She stopped as she passed a house surrounded by fences and a small grove of three apple trees with apples ready for eating. She smiled fondly, remembering her friend Applejack as she looked around and lit her horn, pulling a fresh small apple from the tree and popping it into her mouth. She hurried past the grove and chomped down, humming as the sweet, tart apple crunched between her teeth and filled her mouth with juice.

Chewing a few more times, she swallowed the fruit and crossed the last street to home. She looked at the blue building and hesitated, then went to the lower door where Alex lived. She knew it was low chance, but she opened the storm door and knocked on the door itself. She waited several seconds, knocked again, then sighed.

Her new friend wasn’t home. Sure, he was a male, but he was nice to her and didn’t seem to want anything like the other ones had. She briefly frowned before closing the storm door and going to her apartment. She removed the key from her pocket and unlocked the door. Opening it she was greeted to the smell of cooking. She stepped in to see Amy over the stove cooking something that made the mare’s mouth water.

“What are you cooking?”

Amy jumped a little in surprise. “Shee-it, you scared me!”

“How did you not hear the door opening or the lock?” Starlight asked as she closed the door and stepped in.

“I was kinda zoned out, Starlight. Crap, I wasn’t expecting you for another hour at least.”

“I had to hurry home. Now that we have a place I can’t just go wherever… I feel like I’m growing a second tail over here, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Amy snerked as Starlight passed her as she got what the mare meant. “I’ve never heard you say anything like that before. Is that a common saying among ponies?”

Starlight slipped her dress off and hurried to the bathroom. “Kinda. It’s a bit crude, but I think you’re the right company to use it around.”

Amy rolled her eyes. “I’m making some pasta with sauce. I have some meat on the side cooking, too.”

She grimaced at the sounds coming from the bathroom from the mare for a couple seconds before the mare audibly nickered in relief. “Yeah? I’ll take some meat, too. Wait, what kind?”

“Beef… if you’re okay with that. I can go ask around for some tofu if you’re not into beef.”

“It’s okay, I can eat meat. I’ve established this a while ago,” Starlight said, “I just don’t eat much. If I had to choose, I’d eat fish, but fish and pasta don’t really go together.”

“Well, I’m going to go back to cooking. I don’t want the sauce to go bad.” Amy said with a wave of her hand towards the bathroom where the mare was doing her business.

“See you in a minute… maybe two.”

They ate at a table provided by their landlord while Starlight was at work. It was small and oval, the chairs were barely comfortable for the human resident, and it was clearly used a lot over the years, but it was free and it showed the landlord, Daryl, wasn’t a complete jerk to them.

Pasta was one of Starlight’s favorites and the beef was seasoned nicely and was mixed thoroughly into her pasta and sauce. She wondered what her friends back home would think of her eating actual meat; not fish, not eggs, and not milk based items; actual meat from another living creature. She slurped some noodles from her magic into her mouth and chewed with a smile. It was something she’d have to deal with if she got home.

“Is this sauce homemade? It tastes… um, fresh, I guess. It doesn’t have that weird taste cans usually have.” Starlight asked.

Amy smiled. “It is, I asked a neighbor for some sauce, she was really fat, but nice. Her name’s Jessica and she lives downstairs. But, fat people know how to cook so she gave me a tupperware of sauce she had extra.”

“Fat? How fat are we talking? Like Dawn?”

“You’ll see when you meet her. She invited us over to talk and get to know each other whenever we want. I don’t think she leaves the apartment often, so it’s kind of sad. Just try not to mention what I said, human women are very sensitive about a lot of things.” Amy said as she twirled pasta onto her fork.

Starlight nodded in agreement, then glanced down. “What about Alex, is he home yet?”

Amy smirked. “Got an itch you need scratched?”

“I’ll throw a pasta ball at you if you don’t stop with that,” Starlight threatened.

“You’ll have to clean it up, and I don’t think Alex has a washing machine for my clothes. But no, I don’t think he’s home yet. He said last night that he works about twelve to fifteen hours a day during the warm season, so we might have a couple hours before he gets back. I wonder if he’ll bring anything for us.”

Starlight nickered. “It’s rude to expect someone to give you things without asking, Amy. It’s not the way friends should behave to one another.”

“Awe, you got a little horsey just now. You don’t usually make those noises.”

“I do when I get annoyed,” Starlight replied.

“Well, what do you really know about friendship? You said you’ve only had me as a friend for the past couple years, and even before then it was limited.”

“Don’t remind me of my past, Amy. I’m doing fine making new friends lately.” Starlight said as her magic crushed the small ball of pasta so tight the sauce dripped out, leaving her with noodles only.

“Woah, let’s not get crazy, now. I just meant, uh, how’s your friendship going with anyone else?” Amy said, holding up her hands placatingly.

Starlight noticed her magical mishap and sighed, setting the ball of pasta on the plate. She watched as it unfurled partly, but the center wasn’t coming apart without some effort. She sighed. “I’m sorry, I’m just kind of sensitive after the day I had. Nothing went wrong, per se, but I found out the other janitor considered me a friend and I had another surge. It was just as powerful as the one I had with Alex, and that bothers me.

“What if I could have had all my power, or even a good fraction of it all this time but I held myself back from everyone else because of my guilt. What if I could have opened a portal home, but my pride and fear kept me feeling alone in this world. I just can’t believe friendship might be the key to getting my power back and to help me get home.”

Amy had stopped eating while Starlight talked, taking in what the mare was saying. “Well, that’s a lot to realize in a day. It was just today, right?”

“Yeah, my surge was early this morning while setting up the cafeteria with Frank. He said he was my friend and I felt the truth in his words, then I had a surge that helped me set up all the tables at once, instead of struggling one at a time like I usually do, even with his help.”

“Hm,” Amy tapped her chin, “it sounds like that whole friendship is magic works here just like back on Equus. Maybe if you make a few more friends you can try to open that portal thingie.”

Starlight looked at her mostly empty plate for a few seconds, then tilted her head. She began to use her magic to move the pasta into a pattern, then stopped and sighed. “That’s kind of what the ritual circle looked like.”

“Wouldn’t it be funny if you cast your spell on the pasta and opened a portal to a world of pasta?” Amy giggled.

“I think that would be kind of funny. We could be rich selling the pasta world at little to no cost to us.”

Amy tittered. “Until we found out the pasta was sentient and we’ve been stealing their people and eating them.”

“I think we could broker a peace and exchange knowledge. New pastas to be explored, new pastas to taste. Think of the sauces we could experience,” Starlight exclaimed and then joined Amy in a laugh. “Okay, seriously, though,” Starlight said as she regained control of herself, “maybe, maybe I could try to open a portal with a few friends. The only problem is that I need more friends than the three I have.

“Back home there seemed to be a theme of six friends needed to invoke certain powers. I was able to open a portal with Sunburst because I was one of the strongest unicorns and he was one of the smartest. Even if I were to try, I’d need a lot of friendship power,” she said with air quotes, “to even try to cast the spell.”

“Well,” Amy said as she held the fork of pasta inches above her plate, “I think you’re on the right track. You’ve made a few friends over the past couple days, and that’s saying a lot from what I know about you.”

Starlight was silent for a moment, then ate some more while she continued to think. “I think… maybe, just maybe, you’re right.”

Just Friends Hanging Out; Part 1

There was a slight thud that reverberated through the upstairs apartment sending Starlight’s ears up and bringing a smile to Amy’s face. “Alex is home!” They said in excited unison as they quickly rushed to the door, stopping when Starlight gasped.

“Just a minute, I can’t go there naked!” She hurried to the bedroom and slipped into a homemade dress before following Amy outside and using her magic to close the door behind them. She hurried across the balcony to the stairs and descended them so fast they rumbled from her weight impacting each one.

“Slow down, girl. It’s like you’re excited to see him or something,” Amy said as she followed.

“I am! I have to tell him about my day and my surge. He’ll be so excited for me that…” she stopped by his door and turned to look at Amy, who was just a few feet behind her. “Wow, I’m like a filly on Hearth’s Warming right now, what’s wrong with me; acting like a foal that hasn’t seen her father in a month.”

Amy patted Starlight on the head. “I think it’s because you’re just happy to have a new friend that doesn’t want anything from you… like that.”

Starlight’s mood dipped a little. “I know, but Alex isn’t like him. He’s nice and kind… he’s like Rarity and Fluttershy rolled into one.”

“Those are a couple of your friends back home, right? Or am I getting the names wrong?”

“Yeah,” Starlight said, inhaling deeply, “they’re more like close acquaintances than actual friends. I was friends and mentored by Princess Twilight Sparkle, and her friends were my friends by default more than anything.”

“Well, let’s work on getting you real friends here so you can get back there and make real friends there, too!” Amy said with conviction as she walked around the mare and opened the storm door before knocking on the door itself four times.

Alex opened the door a few seconds later looking panicked, until he saw Amy. “Fuck, you knock like the cops! I was about to have a heart attack.”

“What, were you doing something illegal?”

“Hell no, but knowing my luck someone with a similar name a state away did something and that would make me a suspect, they’d take me downtown, interrogate me, falsify something, lock me up and then where would I be?!”

Starlight peeked around the open storm door and pushed her way between it and Amy. “Wow, you’re a real overthinker, huh?”

Alex looked down at the mare and sighed, smiling as he noticed her. “Hey, Starlight. Yeah, I guess I worry sometimes over nothing. I’ve seen a lot of TV shows and movies that add to that paranoia. Shit, where’re my manners? Come in, I just got home so don’t mind the mess.”

The females walked past Alex and took seats in the living area of this apartment while he closed the door. “Uhm, I have drinks in the fridge and snacks in the cupboard, but you know that already. I have to take a shower to get ten hours of work off of me quickly, okay?”

“Sure,” Amy said with a wave of her hand as she used the other to turn on the television.

Starlight nodded with a smile. “I have something exciting to tell you, Alex. Hurry up and get washed so I can tell you.”

“You can just tell me now, before I go.”

“No, I want your full attention for this, not just some of it. I want to see your reaction and then we can talk about it and…” she noticed a look Amy was giving her that Alex couldn’t see from his position. She wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, hurry up and shower. We’ll be here waiting.”

“With snacks!” Amy said loudly.

“Yeah, just move in while you’re at it.” Alex joked and went to his room and closed his door.

“What was that look for?” Starlight asked quietly.

Amy sighed in relief before replying in a hushed whisper. “Oh, my, gosh he was turning me on so bad. Something about the smell of a working man just…” Amy shivered.

Starlight rolled her eyes. “He smells like dirt and sweat.”

Amy giggled. “I know, right! Alex has everything I look for in a man, except he seems to be asexual.”

Starlight cocked her head. “What’s that, asexual? It isn’t some kind of weird thing, is it?”

Amy inhaled and exhaled quickly. “It means it seems like he’s not into anyone sexually. He hasn’t checked out my boobs or tried to look under your tail once.”

Starlight’s tail curled around her a little. “Good, that’s rude, even for ponies back home to do. It’s one thing seeing what’s back there, it’s another to go looking.”

Another door closed from inside Alex’s room and Amy grinned and hopped up, quickly rushing around the couch and to his door, trying the handle. She went back to Starlight’s view. “It’s unlocked!”

Starlight’s eyes widened. “No, don’t do anything stupid.”

Amy held a finger to her lips and listened. “The shower’s on! I’m going in.”

Starlight hopped to the floor and hurried to stop Amy. “Wait,” Starlight said urgently, but still quietly, “men don’t like to shower with women. Even I know that!”

Amy slowly opened the bedroom door and peeked in. “I’m not going to shower with him, I’m not that easy.”

Starlight blinked. “Could have fooled me.”

Amy hurried into the man’s room and stood in the center, inhaled deeply, then sighed, shivering again before she bent down and hurried Starlight from the room. “What’re you doing? You’re gonna leave hoof prints in the carpet letting him know we were in here. Out, out, out!”

Starlight snickered and lit her horn, grabbing Amy’s wrist and setting her hooves as she backed up into the kitchen area. “Set the example. Out, out, out!” She said in a normal volume, pulling Amy with each word and step back.

Amy braced her hand against the door frame and pouted. “Noooo, let me have this, just this once.”

“You’re being a pervert! Look at yourself,” Starlight let her magic go and pointed with a forehoof, “you’re breaking into a friend’s room to get his scent! You should be ashamed.”

Amy stiffened as Alex’s voice from the bathroom called out, “Is anyone there?”

She hurried to quietly close the door and rushed to the couch, grabbed the remote and started searching for a streaming service to watch. After a few seconds Starlight stood beside Amy, just tall enough to see over the side of the armrest of the couch. Amy sighed. “That was close.”

Starlight pressed a forehoof to her temple and rubbed small circles. “I think you’re crazy, Amy.”

Amy booped the frustrated mare on the snout. “You’re right, but only sometimes. I’m gonna need a few minutes alone when we get back to our place, okay?”

“Ew, don’t tell me that!”

“Hey, we’re gal pals, I can tell you about my last period if I want.”

Starlight groaned. “Ew! I don’t want to hear about your monthly stuff either!”

Amy laughed, her streaming service search forgotten as she gave her attention to Starlight. “Oh, c’mon. Not all of us are fertile for one week a year.”

“Yes, but it’s better than risking pregnancy every time you have sex.”

“That’s what condoms are for,” Amy retorted.

“That’s what estrus is for!” Starlight nearly shouted back. They glared at one another for a moment before breaking down into laughter. Starlight took a seat beside Amy and took the remote from her lap. “If you can’t decide what to watch, leave it to somepony level headed.”

The bedroom door opened and a very wet man peeked out from the room wearing only a large towel. “I heard shouting, is everything okay?” They both eyed him up and down, unable to speak for a moment at the shirtless man they were seeing before they looked at one another and burst into giggles. Alex would have blushed if his skin tone wasn’t just dark enough. “Okay, as long as you’re not fighting. I’ll be back soon.”

Amy fanned herself with her hand as she giggled, blushing brightly while Starlight was laughing more at her friend’s reaction than anything else. “That was unexpected.”

“To say the least,” Starlight replied. “Maybe if we both shout enough he’ll come out without a towel on for you next.”

Amy laughed again, the potential image crossing her mind of a worried man standing naked in front of her and Starlight trying to calm them down from a shouting match. “Oh, that would be too funny!”

Starlight thought quickly and looked at her friend curiously. “I thought size didn’t matter to human women.”

Amy burst into laughter, bending over and holding her sides as tears formed in her eyes. “Sh-shut up! That’s not what I meant at all.”

“Oh, so if I went in there and saw him naked and told you his size, you wouldn’t want to know?”

Amy, still laughing, shook her head. “Hey, don’t you dare. He’s not your type, remember?”

“Okay, you called dibs on him, I get it. I won’t step on your tail. Er, whatever your saying for that is, anyway.”

Amy calmed down some, spirits high as she wiped unshed tears from her eyes on the back of her hands. “Oh, shit, I needed that. I don’t know when the last time I laughed so hard was, but this is better than that. I swear to God that I’ll get you back someday for this. I’ll find someone that’s your type and tease you until you want to hide, too.”

“You want to hide? From a little sisterly teasing, of all things? I didn’t know you were such a wimp. Go sit over there and let Alex sit by me, then,” Starlight waved a forehoof at the recliner.

“No way, if anyone’s sitting by him, it’s gonna be me. You’re not even into him.”

“All the better to keep your pre-pregnant hands to yourself.” Starlight smirked at the suddenly surprised woman.

“Hey, I thought we were over the whole period is better than estrus thing?”

“You’re wrong again, on both counts. But, if it would make you happy I could just slip into his room and grab his shirt for you. You can rub it all over yourself to help you later tonight.” Starlight said with a giggle.

Amy huffed. “Okay, now that’s gross. I don’t think I like him that much, and even if I was thinking of doing something, stealing his clothes is too weird, even for me.”

“Who said anything about stealing? I was just offering to borrow them for a minute for you, but if you’re over his scent, then so be it. You may continue to sit beside me at the winners couch.”

Amy crossed her arms over her chest. “You know what?”

“What?” Starlight asked.

“This!” Amy shouted and leapt on the smaller mare, lifting her ear and poking a finger into it. Starlight screamed in surprise as sensitive hairs were tickled in a way she’d forgotten about since the last time Pinkie Pie had tried to keep her from hearing something.

“Ah, stop! Amy, stop! It feels weird and-” Starlight’s body was wracked with muscle tremors from her head to her tail as chills ran through her. Her horn lit and she teleported away, leaving Amy to land on the couch where she was torturing her friend.

“Starlight?”

A set of shouts came from the bedroom before a body collided with a door. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Starlight’s voice came from inside the room before a door closed and the bedroom door opened.

Amy climbed onto the couch to look over it with wide eyes. “Did you just…”

Starlight’s eyes were wide as she closed the door behind her. “I was thinking of him when you were tickling me, then I was there when he wasn’t in a towel.”

“Wow, so… how big is he?”

Starlight’s eyes narrowed. “That’s all you have to say after I just violated one of my best friends’ privacy?”

Amy sighed and slumped. “Sorry, I just-”

“You wouldn’t be disappointed,” Starlight interjected as she trotted casually back around to take her seat beside a stunned and very thoughtful woman. “Are you going to stay like that or are you going to sit and act normal for once; since we got here?”

Amy licked her lips as she turned around quickly and sat down, crossing her legs then uncrossing them. She crossed her arms, smiled and uncrossed them before she grunted in frustration. “Darn it, you have to tell me! Show me with your hooves, how big?”

Starlight tittered. “I’ll take that to my grave. Ahh, just the sight of it…” She pretended to be thoughtful herself and laughed at the mix of expressions crossing Amy’s face alone. “Why, Amy, you look like you want to know something but I just can’t for the life of me- ack! No, not the ears again! Anything but that!”

“Hey,” Alex said sternly as he left his room, clothed in a shirt and shorts this time, “she said to stop. You have to respect when she says ‘no’, just like you’d want anyone to respect yours.” Amy quickly pushed herself back up to a sitting position while Starlight did the same, rubbing her folded down ear with a forehoof. “That’s better.”

“She started it,” Amy said.

“Oh yeah? Let’s see how you like it!” Starlight shouted and lunged at Amy with her tongue extended, only to have a hand catch her mid lunge and push her back to her spot on the couch.

“It stops now, am I understood?”

Starlight pulled the tip of her tongue back into her mouth and nodded meekly. “Y-yes.”

“Okay. Now, where are the snacks you said you’d have ready? And what’re we gonna watch while you’re here?” Alex asked as he stood up again.

Amy noticed Starlight inhale deeply as her eyes widened a little as her tail curled around herself. The woman smirked and looked back. “Can you make us some popcorn?”

Alex sighed. “Okay, I can do that, as long as you don’t go back to acting like little kids again.”

“We won’t,” they said in unison, giggling once they were done.

Alex went to make popcorn while Amy leaned toward Starlight and spoke softly. “So, now he’s your type?”

Starlight gasped quietly and used a forehoof to push Amy back from her a little. “No, he just smells nice.”

Amy sat up and grabbed the remote, selecting a service. “Yeah, I’ll give you a few minutes alone later, too.”

“Okay, that’s it!” Starlight shouted and pounced on the woman, sending her into shrieks of surprise as a warm tongue prodded her ear canal.

Alex watched with a smirk as they wrestled a little, poking one another playfully in the ears as he stayed back in the kitchen. “So immature, but in a cute way.”

Just Friends Hanging Out; Part 2

The three sat around the living room snacking on popcorn and sipping on soda’s while waiting for Starlight to talk. Starlight was sitting closely beside Amy while Alex sat in the recliner. “Um, Alex, so… I used more magic today.”

Alex brightened up. “Really? That’s awesome! What did you do? Uh, besides teleport into my bathroom, that is?”

Starlight blushed. “Well, I didn’t do that on purpose. I was being attacked by Amy and just, poof.”

“Yeah, poofed,” Alex rolled his brown eyes, “inches from me while I was naked. I bet Amy put you up to it.”

Amy gasped. “I didn’t put her up to it!” Alex snickered and smiled, looking between them. “Jerk,” Amy retorted and threw some popcorn at the man.

“I was just teasing. Anyway, what did you do earlier?” Alex asked the mare.

“I was at work and cast a large spell when my coworker said we were friends. Friendship is magic in Equestria and I can’t believe it took me eight years to realize it was the key to getting my magic back this whole time,” she bonked the side of her head, “I really missed the point, again.”

“Well, the important thing is that you have a way to get your power back. Now, how many friends do you need to get home?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I may have enough between you both, and any more I make along the way to opening the portal. Once it’s open, I’m sure Twilight can hold it open or reopen it as needed to get any pony that wants to go home, home.”

“That’s the thing,” Amy said, “a lot of ponies have made earth their home. They have children, jobs, lovers; both human and pony, and to give that up would be just as bad as getting torn away from their lives back on your homeworld. If you do open a way home, you have to give the ponies the option to go, not require them.”

Alex nodded and popped a few kernels of popcorn in his mouth, talking around them while chewing. “Yeah, what she said. If you need help devising a plan to get home, I’m more than willing to help you out. I mean, it’s what friends are for.” He shared a smile with Starlight. “One of my main concerns though is time.”

“What about time?” Starlight asked.

“A minute there could be a year here. Or vice versa. What if you get back and hundreds of years have passed, or you get back and hardly no time has passed; leaving hundreds of ponies here suddenly, regardless.” He looked at the now thoughtful Starlight Glimmer. “I don’t want to rain on your parade, but what if you open the portal to a different Equestria than you left?”

Starlight deflated. “I don’t know. I just don’t know. Anything I try has to be better than the nothing I’ve done so far. I mean, I can’t be the only one that wants to go home, right?”

“I don’t think so. If I were stuck on an alien planet I’d want to go home, even if I built a life for myself there; at least just to visit old friends and share stories of what I’ve missed. I mean, I could see myself settling down with a couple mares and starting a family if I was stuck on Equestria, but if the portal opened, I’d come back to tell my friends and family about what happened and about my new life.”

“Ew, you’d actually,” Amy gestured crudely with her hands and fingers, “a pony?”

“Hey,” Starlight laughed and shoved her friends with a forehoof, “we’re not that bad in bed, so I’ve heard.”

Amy rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’ve heard about porn with ponies on the web creating all that controversy.”

“And ponies with humans, can’t forget that,” Alex added.

Starlight’s demeanor turned sour. “Yeah, can’t forget that.”

Alex cocked his head to the right a little. “Why do you keep doing that? Bringing up your distaste for human men?”

Starlight looked at Amy, who nodded a little. “You can trust him. I trust him,” Amy said.

Starlight sighed. “It was my second year here and I was alone. No pony wanted anything to do with me because I was the weirdo. I was ranting about ways to get home while they were settling into life. My estrus came in the fall and I didn’t have any mares to help me through it, and stallions would get me pregnant… so I tried to take care of the mood swings and,” she hesitated, blushing a little and fidgeting with her hooves, “arousal.

“I was in the worst throes of it when I was homeless and living in an alley when some guy showed up and started doing things to me. My mind was clouded and I let him do whatever he wanted to me until that itch was scratched. Then I woke up with this man behind me pulling my tail and doing what all males think about. I bucked him in the legs and ran off to the nearest shelter where I took a shower and tried to wash his… everything off of me.

“I cried and nopony, no creature came to help me. I was terrified I was going to get pregnant and I couldn’t get his scent off of me, or out of me, for too long. After that I retreated into myself and stopped socializing with the creatures that abandoned me or used me in my time of weakness and need.”

Alex’s eyes were soft after the short explanation. “Where did this happen? Did you report it to the police? Is this a-hole still there?”

Starlight grimaced. “It was back in New York and no, I don’t know anything about him. Just that he… assaulted me while I was, well, out of my mind with lust. The next year I went to the woods to sit it out, then each year I’ve managed to get alone and isolate myself because I can’t trust males to do the right thing.”

“Well, that’s bullshit,” Alex said, sternly, “I wouldn’t take advantage of you and I’d stop any guy that would. Just because you were messed up and crazy horny, it doesn’t give some bum the right to rape you.”

Amy and Starlight flinched at the word. “I know it wasn’t my fault,” Starlight said, “but my body betrayed me. There are only a couple days where I lose control, and he happened to get behind me during that time. That’s why I sit out those days alone. If I had had to go through it by the river, I’d just lock myself in my tent.”

Amy giggled. “Yeah, I think we’d figure out what was up then.”

“How?” Starlight asked her friend.

Amy smirked. “Us females know these things. I’m glad it didn’t happen out there though, I don’t know what would have stopped you from attacking any man you saw, good or bad, then.”

Starlight rolled her eyes. “Here we go with the sex jokes again. Is that all you ever think about?”

“No, I also think about food, sometimes.”

Alex laughed. “Ditto.”

They looked at him, then all three laughed. “Okay, the humans around me are perverts, I can live with that.” Starlight said.

“Hey, it’s not like you don’t have your moments, too. I see how you act around certain humans, so they can’t all be that bad,” Amy said.

Starlight huffed. “Yeah, certain humans, not all of them. I work in a school surrounded by children, after a certain point all their smells and stinks blend together. I long for times like these when I can be around adults with mature scents and fragrances.”

“Well, I hope I smell good today. I put on my favorite body spray since you were here.” Alex said, popping more popcorn into his mouth.

Starlight sniffed the air and smiled. “I like it. It’s like… vanilla, or something.”

Alex smiled. “It’s called Vanilla Noel and I got it a couple years ago. A couple spritz a day hasn’t even used half the bottle. That doesn’t even count for the lotion or bath stuff. I don’t take baths though, they’re never big enough for me.”

“That’s not all that’s big,” Starlight blurted. Her eyes were wide and her forehooves snapped up to cover her mouth. Amy laughed and Alex actually frowned a little.

“I didn’t think that would come up, but thanks for telling Amy about it.” Alex said, tossing a couple kernels of popcorn at the mare.

“I’m so sorry, I mean, it just came out of nowhere. I mean, it’s not that big of a deal-” Amy laughed harder and Alex leaned back into the chair with a sigh. “Sweet Celestia, I’m just going to zip it.”

Alex noticed where they were glancing and he sat up, placing his bowl of popcorn over his lap. “Starlight, Amy, do you mind?”

Amy wiped her eyes and looked at the bowl on his lap. Then up to meet his eyes. “Awe, can’t I see it too? C’mon, I’ll show you mine if you’ll show me yours…” She snickered as Starlight looked at her, aghast.

“You play that game too? And at your age? That’s a foal’s game, I thought.”

Alex stared at Amy before shaking his head. “I’m surrounded by kids, I swear.”

Amy got up and turned to leave. “I’ve gotta pee after all that laughing. I wasn’t serious, by the way, Alex.”

“I know, we’re adults and play different games.”

Starlight cocked her head to the left. “Like what?”

“Huh?”

“Well, how do you tease each other, or teach one another, about yourselves with clothes on? Back home we didn’t have to worry about clothes, for the most part. Where I’m from, Sire’s Hollow, we’d tease the colts by flashing ourselves while climbing or when in a group we’d sway our tails under their noses.”

Alex shrugged. “I guess we just talk about it, or if it’s time to get intimate we touch one another. Maybe this is a conversation to have with Amy present, or just you two.”

“No, I want a man’s viewpoint on this. I trust you, Alex. That’s not something I thought I’d ever say about a man, but it’s true. You’re a friend, and I think we can talk about anything.”

“Eat some popcorn, it’s gonna get cold if you don’t, and I’ll try to tell you the best I can about human sexuality.”

Alex ate some popcorn by the handful and a moment later Amy returned and sat down in her spot.

“So, what’re we talking about?”

“Sex!” Starlight chirped. “I mean, from the male’s perspective since I clearly understand the female’s point of view.”

Amy raised her eyebrows. “Wow, should I go to the bathroom again and learn this is a clothing optional apartment?” She giggled at the thought for a couple seconds.

Alex shrugged. “Actually, I don’t mind nudity, as long as it’s tasteful and not erotic. I doubt if we were to get naked we’d just look at one another’s… parts, right?”

“You’re too laid back about this,” Amy said, crossing her arms, “I’m not getting naked without a good reason or a few drinks in me.”

Starlight looked at Alex, then hopped to the floor and used her magic to pull off her dress, tossing it onto where she was sitting. She climbed up on it and nervously crossed her forehooves over her teats. “See, no big deal.”

Alex got up, setting his popcorn down on a side table and started to take off his shirt, stopping with a smile. “Yeah, it’s not gonna be that easy, ladies.” He relaxed and sat down, looking at the slightly dejected females. “C’mon. If you play your cards right, one of you might see me naked. Oh, wait, that already happened,” he said, looking pointedly at Starlight.

“I said I was sorry!” Starlight shouted and lit her horn, pulling a throw pillow to her face to hide.

“I’m just teasing, don’t take it so personally. Ponies are naked most of the time, you said, so I don’t consider it too much of an intrusion. Sure, you got closer to me than any woman has in years, but nothing happened and we’re still friends, right?”

“Yeah,” Starlight said, lowering the pillow to rest between her legs. “I’m still sorry. I just had a surge and thought of you saving me from Amy’s ear attack, then poof,” she flung her forelegs into the air, “penis. I mean, you!”

Amy laughed again while Alex picked up the bowl of popcorn again. “Let’s keep what you saw between us, okay?” Alex asked Starlight.

Amy wound down to giggling. “Is that all you’re keeping between you?”

Starlight narrowed her eyes at the woman. “Don’t make me lick your ear again.”

Amy stuck her tongue out at Starlight, who did the same back.

“Why don’t you kiss and make up while I find something to watch?” Alex offered. They looked at him and then back to one another. Starlight flicked her ears and Amy nodded. “What’s that look for?”

Starlight’s magic flashed to life, holding Alex’s hands to the bowl while Amy leapt up and licked her finger before wiggling it in his ear. Starlight hopped to the arm of the chair, balancing barely before she reared up and rested her forehooves on his shoulder, joining in the fun as she poked his ear with her tongue.

“Gah, stop! Eeek!” Alex squealed and fought against the onslaught for several seconds before they stopped and let him go. He wiped furiously at his ears, noting the saliva on Starlight’s side reaching from his jaw to the top of his ear.

“There, how do you like that kiss and make up?” Starlight said, giggling with Amy as they quickly took their seats.

Alex huffed and picked up the mostly empty bowl of popcorn after it had spilled and fallen to the floor. “Well, I guess you two kissed with me in the middle, so it counts, right?”

“Ew, I’m not kissing her,” Amy said.

“Me neither. Humans aren’t my thing, sorry big guy.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “I was joking.”

“We know.” They said in unison, then giggled again.

“So, what were we going to talk about?” Alex asked, hoping they’d forgotten.

Amy and Starlight grinned. “Sex!”

A Gathering of New Friends

Starlight trotted across the balcony and opened the door to her shared apartment, entered, and went to the couch to collapse on it. It had been a long and wonderful couple weeks since Starlight let Alex into her growing circle of close friends and she was ready to expand it some more, she was just very anxious to do so.

“What the hell, Starlight? Were you born in a barn? Close the door when you come in, it’s getting cold out there.” Amy chastised her tired friend as she closed the door and turned to look at Starlight. “Woah, you look tired. Why don’t you take a nice hot shower while I finish cooking supper?”

Starlight sat up halfway, resting on her elbows with her legs curled under herself. “Is Alex coming over again?”

“I don’t think so. He said it was going to be a long week since it was nice out… well, nice enough. It might start frosting soon, then he’ll be getting ready to start his winter job and we’ll see him even less.”

“Well,” Starlight laid down and sighed, “shit.”

Amy stopped on her way to the kitchen and stared at the mare for a long few seconds. “Are you okay? You almost never swear; at least not like a human.”

“Sorry. Horseapples. Better?”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it. C’mon, where’s that magically powerful mare that’s got hope in her eyes?”

“She’s just feeling like she should be doing something more than… this,” Starlight gestured in the air vaguely. “I mean, it’s great that I’m as strong as a regular unicorn now, but being a janitor just isn’t as fulfilling as being a school counselor was. I wasn’t the best at it, but I was learning and helping.”

“Then why don’t you try for the school counselor at your school?”

“Ha! Because, I need a degree in psychology to even have a shot, and I don’t have the energy to spend years in school learning about how to be a human counselor when I barely could handle the creatures I did work with back home.” Starlight finally pushed herself up and looked at Amy. “I’m 26 years old, Amy; I can’t start my life over like it’s no big deal.

“I have about 40 years left before I’m too old to do anything worth while and have to prepare to pass on, and I don’t want to do that here. I,” she hesitated, “need more friends to get my powers back and open the portal before I turn 28, or I might as well settle down here and give up.”

Amy glanced back at the stove and held up a finger. She moved pans off the burners and returned to her friend. “Why two years? That’s kind of specific, or is it a goal?”

“It’s a goal, Amy. If I don’t make a portal home by then, I’ll just find a stallion and make a home somewhere here in America.”

“I believe in you, Starlight. I’ll make you a bet that you can do it within a year. How about a hundred bucks?”

Starlight giggled. “You don’t even have a job, how are you going to pay me if I win by losing?”

“I’m looking for a job. I’ll have to start small, maybe fast food, but I’ll get on my feet, too. We can’t all get a job at a school while being homeless,” Amy snarked back.

“I just got lucky. I used my past work in Equestria on my resume at job services. You should go there, too. I bet you could get a good job, too.”

“Ha, yeah,” Amy rolled her eyes, “like there’s a job for a deadbeat job hopper like me out there. I’ll just apply at the McDonald’s down the way and hope for the best. They start at sixteen an hour, and I might be able to bring home some food, too.”

Starlight smiled. “I think free food is a huge plus. You’re a great cook, why not try for a real restaurant?”

“Been there, done that. I was a server and I hated it, I can only imagine how being a cook would be.”

“Don’t knock it until you try it. Back when I had Our Town, everypony was equally as good at everything, and it showed. The baker wasn’t a stand out, but she had good ideas with her muffins sometimes. It wasn’t until they were all free from my spell that she really shined. She made all kinds of treats and desserts that made me feel ashamed for what I took from her.

“My point is that just because you don’t think you’re good at something everypony else does, doesn’t mean you can’t find something that makes you special in your own way. Try something new before it gets too late and you never get to experience what your true calling is.”

Amy smirked. “You really were a counselor, weren’t you? Alright, fine, I’ll apply for a couple cook jobs, just for you. But if I get one and don’t like it, I’m going to take a crappy job wherever I can get one. Hey, did you know it might snow some next week? Just a little, but they’re expecting some.”

“I didn’t think about that. Let me check my phone,” Starlight said as she levitated it from her chest pocket and used the stylus to swipe around. “Huh, mine doesn’t show anything next week but colder temperatures. What app are you using?”

Amy pulled out her larger but crappier phone. “Just what came with this piece of junk. I’d show you, but it’ll take almost a minute to load. I think I’m gonna apply for a government phone like you have. At least I’ll get my own service and a better phone.”

“Wait, who pays for your service now?” Starlight asked, looking up from her phone.

“Daddy does, but we haven’t talked for over a year. And no, I don’t intend to start now. He’ll just be disappointed in me for losing everything and living in a tent by the river for several months.”

“He doesn’t have to know about that part, just tell him you got a new place that’s river adjacent,” Starlight smirked at the memory of her friend.

“I’ll tell him, I can’t keep secrets from him, he’s always been my most trusted person. I used to tell him about everything short of my sex life, and even then,” she crossed her arms over her chest, “I did tell him about my lovers and my plans with them.”

“Okay, that’s normal in pony society. I don’t see why you can’t trust one parent over the other, and besides; he’s still supporting you, even if he doesn’t know what you’ve been up to. Give him a call and be honest, I’m sure he’ll be happy to know you’re okay, at least.”

Amy looked into the kitchen and thought it over. “I’ll think about it. Anyway, what would you like for dinner?”

“Hmm, a hay burger with extra oats, please!” Starlight laughed at Amy’s expression and shook her head. “I’ll take whatever you make. And don’t forget to thank Alex for taking us to the food bank the other day. Our fridge is full thanks to him.”

“Yeah, yeah. He’s a saint, I get it.”

“He’s not a saint, he’s just a good man.”

Amy mumbled something under her breath Starlight’s ears barely picked up. “Oh, really? How would you know he’s good in bed?”

Amy blushed as she sputtered. “I didn’t! He isn’t… oh, shut up!” Amy shouted in embarrassment as she turned the corner as Starlight laughed.

Sitting in a coffee shop Alex met a new friend. “Hi, Alex. I’m Frank,” the older man introduced, “it’s nice to meet you. I hear from Starlight you’re a good friend.”

Alex shook Frank’s hand. “I am, or so I’ve been told. I’m just helping her get on her hooves and make friends, it just happens that it might be the key to getting some ponies home. I can’t say it doesn’t feel good helping with that.”

Frank smiled showing his teeth. “I’m one of the ones that helps her with her magic, getting it better anyway. Ever since that day in the cafeteria she’s been happier than I’d ever seen her, so I guess I’m a source of her growing abilities, too.”

They took a seat at a booth and began small talk about their jobs while they waited for Starlight to arrive. They looked at the door anxiously, not for the first time, as it opened and the mare walked in followed by Amy who was holding the door open. With smiles both men waved at the two.

“Hey, you made it!” Alex said as the two approached the men at the booth.

“Yeah, I’m gonna order a small coffee. Want anything, Starlight?” Amy asked.

Starlight shrugged. “I’ll look at the menu. Maybe they have something with oat milk that’ll be tasty.”

“Okay, we’ll see you in a minute,” Frank said as the females left them to order. “It’s nice to see her getting on her feet. When she started at the school she barely talked and had to hide from the kids trying to ride her, or ask her for a ride. Why, just the other day she let a girl pet her for the first time, I think.”

“Really? She didn’t tell me about that,” Alex said with a smirk, “I should ask to pet her and see how she reacts.”

“Better than asking for a ride, huh?” Frank offered, laughing when Alex’s eyes widened at the implication.

“I don’t see her that way, she’s just a friend.”

“They all are at first, but don’t put her off. I can see the way she looks at you just from those few seconds.” Frank said, sitting back and looking to see them at the counter talking with the server.

“I’m more likely to get with Amy, she’s at least the same species. Sheesh, why am I letting you talk to me like this?” Alex said in a whisper. “I’m not into ponies.”

Frank chuckled quietly and leaned in to Alex across the table. “I said the same thing, once. If nothing else, it’s just sex.”

Alex sighed and glanced at the mare whose dress and tail were thankfully covering her privates. “Yeah, but at the risk of friendship with a great mare and probably her friend; I wouldn’t risk it. Shh, here they come.”

“So, what’d you gals order?” Frank asked as he scooted aside so one of the two could sit next to him.

“I ordered a caramel macchiato with oat milk and Amy got a small coffee. Almost fifteen dollars?! Can you believe these prices?” Starlight exclaimed as she pushed her way onto the seat by Alex. “I hope it tastes better than the price.”

Amy rolled her eyes. “It’s a luxury purchase, we aren’t coming here every day. Live a little.”

Alex scooted over a little more than he might have needed to as his elbow rubbed against the windowed wall. Frank noticed but didn’t say anything as the gap between the two grew almost uncomfortably large. “Yeah, you only get to experience the joys of coffee once in a while. Savor it.” Alex said once he stopped scooting.

Starlight looked at the gap between them and raised an eyeridge. “So, are we expecting a fifth?”

“No, why?” Alex answered.

“Because we can fit a whole human in between us. Stop cowering and get comfortable.” Starlight said, lighting her horn and gripping Alex’s hand. “I won’t bite. I really can’t with my flatter teeth,” she said before lowering her jaw to show off her lower teeth.

Alex scooted closer to the mare. “Sorry, I just didn’t want to crowd you.”

Starlight leaned her head on Alex’s shoulder with a smile. “You can’t crowd me, I’m a pony; we love closeness. Right, Amy?”

Amy nodded. “Yeah, she likes to rest her head on my lap sometimes and she loves random petting for attention.”

Starlight sat up and narrowed her eyes. “You’re not supposed to mention the petting! They’re more like pats, I’m not an animal.” She said to the guys.

“Hey, I don’t judge,” Frank said, “as long as I get to pat you once in a while I’ll be content.”

Starlight leaned her head back and groaned. “Great, now I’m just some play thing to you all.”

Frank laughed while Alex forced a smile. Amy chuckled. “So-”

“Don’t. Start,” Starlight directed to Amy.

Amy raised her hands in earnest. “Hey, you said it; I was just asking.”

“Well don’t,” Starlight interjected, “I’m not into humans like that.” Everyone laughed at Starlight’s declaration. “What’s so funny?”

“You don’t have to be into humans to find love with one,” Frank replied. “And you don’t have to have sex to be into someone that way.”

“Not in my experience,” Amy quipped.

“Ugh, anyway, let’s get to business; shall we?” Starlight asked. Everyone calmed down and focused on Starlight. “Now, with your friendship I’ve been able to regain some of my magical power. I think, with the right ritual and application I can open a small doorway to Equestria and send a letter through.”

Alex raised his hand a little. “So, how do you know it’ll get to the right pony? What if it appears in the middle of a forest?”

Starlight opened her mouth but froze for a couple seconds. “Dammit.”

Just then a woman arrived with two drinks in her hands. “Here you ladies go; enjoy.” She stated before leaving the cups and returning to the kitchen area to prepare more coffee.

Amy lifted her cup to her lips and took a sip, smiling after she did. Starlight did the same using her magic, grinning after the taste washed over her tongue. “Wow, this is as good as any coffee I’d get in Equestria!” Starlight announced loudly before clamping her lips shut. “I mean, this is really good.”

“Yeah, we gathered,” Alex said. “So, about my suggestion?”

Starlight groaned and rested her chin on the table. “I just don’t know. Maybe it’ll land in a town and eventually get to Princess Twilight or Celestia… but when is the question. What if it does land in no mares land between towns and gets destroyed by a storm or ignored?”

“Then we make it weather proof,” Frank said with a shrug. When Starlight looked at him from her resting position he clarified. “Just laminate it and maybe tie a balloon to it. Do it in a couple places with a couple copies so there’s a better chance it’ll make it to a pony that’ll know what to do.

Worst case, we try again every so often and drop letters until you get a response, or something happens that lets us know your plan is working.”

Starlight shook her head in disagreement. “We need something better than taking a chance and traveling all over the country. We’re not rich, we can’t just take weeks off work to experiment with ways to open a theoretical portal to a reality that isn’t this one. Between Sunburst and my spell, anything could have happened. There are variables I just don’t have.”

“What about Sunburst? Can’t you just get with him and ask, compare notes, and try the same thing you did to get you here?” Frank asked.

Starlight felt her chest tighten and her voice strained a little. “N-no. I don’t think he made it. There’s no way he’d have not sought me out as soon as we arrived, plus we fell in through the portal together; we should have arrived in the same place.”

“Where did you arrive?” Alex asked.

“Some place near Virginia,” Starlight tapped her chin with a hoof, “it’s hard to recall because I was so scared I just ran. I couldn’t believe what had happened and my magic wasn’t working. I thought I could just get to Ponyville if I went in the right direction. I must have ran for half an hour before I was stopped by local animal control and,” she chuckled, “talked my way out of wearing a rope collar.

“I mean, I understand why they’d use a rope to control wild animals, but I was quickly taken to the local police offices. A half dozen ponies were there scared and afraid, just like me. It wasn’t like it was a relief to see them, either. I haven’t been the best at making friends and letting others in.

“I don’t really remember a lot of that day because it was all so busy, but I know I didn’t see Sunburst when I landed so what are the odds he survived or even arrived here. Maybe he didn’t even fall in with me, he could have held onto the edge of the portal and climbed out and has spent the last eight years looking for me.”

Inhaling deeply, Starlight felt ideas running through her mind along with scattered memories before she sighed out a lungful of air.

“So, what town were you near when you landed, or when you were taken to the police?” Amy asked.

Starlight shrugged. “Something like Lankey.”

“Langly?” Alex asked.

When Starlight grinned and nodded. “Yeah, that’s it! And I went to the Wheaton police station. I remember that now because I like fresh wheat and… why’s everyone so quiet?”