A Pony...And Her Starbucks

Chapters

Chapter 1: Self Doubts And Unexpected Routes
Chapter 2: New World And New Speices
Chapter 3: Friends And A New Favorite Drink
Chapter 4: Styling Makeovers
Chapter 5: Order Up!
Chapter 6: A New Best Friend
Chapter 7: The Slippery Slope
Chapter 8: From The Top

Chapter 1: Self Doubts And Unexpected Routes

It was a very cold, very peaceful, and very beautiful night. The bright, cheerful, and all-around enjoyable sun had just finished its shift on the day and now it was the moon’s turn to be seen in the sky. The sun was set and the moon was in the spotlight. All through the peaceful and vibrant town of Ponyville, the town’s ponies were hitting the hay for the day as one by one, more and more ponies headed back to their homes.

They each turned off any light in their house and began to dream away as they crashed for the night. This was no different for Golden Oak Library, the home of the recently crowned princess of friendship, Twilight Sparkle, and her #1 assistant, Spike the Dragon. They had just gotten back from Canterlot after Twilight’s coronation as the Princess Of Friendship. It was a very exciting day for Twilight as this day would change everything that was yet to come for her and her friends.

The after-party was also very exciting as she got to witness her brother shed liquid pride in public and talk with her former foalsitter Cadence, and she had a really good time overall. While she may seem happy on the outside, a question in the back of her mind had moved into her brain with no rent to pay. This question of hers kept popping into her thoughts as she just couldn't remove it. This question of hers was: “Do I deserve this?”

It wasn’t that she was ungrateful this quickly, she just didn’t feel…like she accepted herself with these wings. She tried her absolute hardest to not bug her during the party, thankfully, it worked. After the party had ended and almost every pony was ready to hit the hay for the night, she along with her very best friends took the first available train back to Ponyville. They talked about a lot of things from Twilight’s ascension, whether or not Pinky should throw a few more Twilight-themed parties and things like that.

It was a very long train ride for sure but even the longest rides have to end at some point and this was no different. Around a little after midnight, the train had reached the Ponyville station and the six friends stepped off. Twilight, including her friends, waved their goodbyes as they headed back to their homes to hit the hay. Twilight along with Spike headed back home to Golden Oak as quickly as they could.

Spike wasted no time as he slowly walked over to his bed and before you knew it, he was asleep before he even hit his pillow as he crashed out for the night. Not wanting to keep him cold, Twilight used her magic to put his blanket over him as he fell asleep before he could pull it over him. “Sweet dreams Spike.” The purple alicorn said as she then headed upstairs to her bed. Once she got to her bed, and pulled over the covers, she expected to fall asleep just like with Spike.

This wasn’t the case however as even though she physically was worn out and desperately needed some rest, she couldn't fall asleep. Every time she tried to sleep for the night, something happened that prevented this from happening. Part of it was her wings as she just couldn't get used to sleeping with them as they kept opening and closing whether she liked it or not. The other part of it was that she just had a lot on her mind with everything.

“Now what?” “What is left for me?” “What is my purpose now?” These were the questions that would keep somepony up at night, for days even. This time, it was Twilight’s turn to face these questions as they just wouldn't go away. After a while, she stopped trying to sleep and got up as if it was the morning for her. She walked around her room for a while, being careful not to make any noise to not wake Spike up from his slumber.

After pacing around her room for a good while, trying to think of something to do since sleeping wasn’t a viable option, she chose to do something that she thought would help, write everything down like the old days which felt like last week for Twilight. Wasting no time whatsoever, she pulled out a quill and a regular scroll and began to write.

“I knew that being a princess was going to be a change but, I wasn’t expecting this. I…feel like a completely different pony than I was just a week ago. Is this how the story is going to be from now onward? I feel like everything’s changing in front of my eyes and there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m not even that sure I can tell my best friends about it and that’s rarely happened. I just don’t know what to do. Take a self-discovery journey. Maybe but I can’t when I'm on the front page of the newspaper for the next few weeks. I just wish there was a way I could get rid of these doubts like a spell…”

Twilight poured her thoughts and feelings into the scroll as she wrote. She hoped that this would all blow over in the blink of an eye……but something else happened. Something that would create a chain of events like never before. When Twilight finished her last sentence with the final period, the scroll started to levitate in mid-air. “I really should try to sleep, I’m starting to see things.”

Twilight said as she tried to walk away, thinking that she was just dreaming or something when the scroll started to glow, lighting up the room in the process. “Uh…what’s happening?” Twilight asked herself, seeing that this was very much not a dream when she also began to float as well. “Uh…Help! Help!” Twilight shouted in fear, hoping that Spike would come to the rescue or something.

Even if her cries did wake him up, no pony or creature would come fast enough to save her. The scroll then disappeared into thin air, taking whatever it needed, in this case, it was Twilight herself. Her room then appeared untouched since nothing besides Twilight and the scroll was taken as her room was just how it normally was. During this, the commotion was enough to wake up a very tired Spike as he got out of his bed and slowly walked over to Twilight’s room just when she disappeared.

“Uh, Twi? What’s going on here?” Spike asked as he opened her door while seamlessly rubbing his eyes from his half-awake state. “Twi?” Spike asked again as he saw no one else in the room besides himself. “Twi?” Spike asked around the library as no sign of his sister could be seen. “Eh, that’s mooring Spikes issue.” Spike said as he went back to his bed and fell asleep again, as the night continued like always, except this time, Twilight was far, far away.

Chapter 2: New World And New Speices

It was both frightening and exciting to be falling through a portal. This was my first ever encounter with this kind of magic, yet it was terrifying at the same time. Did I just discover a new kind of magic? Accidentally as well? Now this was making the experience much more enjoyable! Just imagine what everypony would say when I told them about this!.... If I could ever get back to them.” I thought to myself for what seemed like the longest time.

It was extremely exciting to discover something new with magic but on the other hoof, was I ever going to see my friends, Spike, and every pony again? I wasn’t sure if where I was going would be a place I knew but I had a feeling, it was going to be an adventure for sure. Even though I tried to pay attention to what happened next, I’m not sure as to what exactly happened.

I just remember appearing high up in the sky, far away from the ground, trying to slow my fall but since I still hadn’t fully gotten used to my new pair of wings, I fell faster and faster until I used my magic to summon a shield around myself at the last second. Needless to say, I hit the ground shortly afterward and then I can be extremely sure I was out for a while. I can’t remember anything afterwards since I’m sure I was out cold but afterward, I slowly opened my eyes to the strongest smell that I have ever smelled before.

As soon as I caught a whiff of this extremely strong new smell, I gagged harder than I ever had before. “What…what is this….smell?” I asked myself while breathing heavily through my mouth. Judging from what I saw, It appears that I was in some sort of rectangular box filled with disgusting, horrid, and repulsive smells and these black bags as well. I can only imagine if Rarity was in the same situation.

“Daring! This smell is repulsive! How can such smells exist here?” I imagined her screaming something like that over and over again with it bringing a slight smile to my face. “Now, how does one get out of here?” I thought to myself as I tried to use my magic to do…something. Luckily, I was able to get some light in the box using my magic to do so. I looked around to find a slight opening in the top where there seemed to be something resembling the outside.

Knowing what I needed to know, I tried to push the top of the box off as hard as I could. Unfortunately, it was either too heavy for me to lift or there was some lock on it. No matter what kept me in here, I had to use my magic to get myself out of here. I then closed my eyes as I used my horn to pry open the top of the box, to which the top fell off and the sunlight fled through the box.

“Thank Celestia! Fresh air!” I exclaimed as I took a few big breaths of air and I climbed my way out of that awful smelling box as quickly as I could. When I stopped smelling the…strong smells from the box, I looked around and knew that something was wrong. I haven't fully explored all of Equestria just yet but something tells me that where I was, was not the Equestria I knew, if I was still in Equestria. It almost looked like I was in some city like Manehattan or Canterlot but even then this place was very different.

I saw what appeared to be very tall buildings, a clear sunny sky, and roads with these strange vehicles were on as they moved along the road. They had what looked like some fancy wheels underneath this futuristic carriage with a roof over it and some windows on its side. I want to say that this was the strangest and most fascinating thing that I saw but you would be incorrect.

On what I presume to be the sidewalks, I saw these…creatures who were very tall in height, had tannish skin, had mostly brown and blackish hair colors, were wearing these flexible tubes on their legs, they didn’t show any sign of having a cutie mark and all of them were walking on two legs of all things. They too were also wearing what looked like shirts with different designs and words on them as well.

The biggest and most curious part that wasn't on the list was that they had these legs near their heads and at the end of these upper legs, they had five of these, small, bendable tubes that they used to pick objects up with. In short, I was ecstatic that I had discovered a new living species that I could write a report about. It’s not every day that you just happen to discover something that you’ve never seen before in your life.

After a little while of seeing these new species living their life, I wanted to take a closer look at them, just to see if there was any other information I could get on them, or if they knew where this place was hopefully. Without a moment to lose, I slowly approached the sidewalks they were walking on with their two legs and tried to blend in as best as I reasonably could into the crowd.

Granted, with me being purple and them having a tan skin color, I stuck out like a sore hoof and I’m sad to say that the species were rather quick to notice me. After a few seconds of trotting along the sidewalk as I took another look around the place, I saw that quite a few were looking at me with what seemed to be a surprised face. After a few seconds, some of them started to pull out these rectangles with some sort of camera in them as they pointed in my direction.

I already had a taste of the paparazzi back in Canterlot since yesterday with my coronation party and I still wasn’t used to it, at least that’s what I was hoping as to why they were taking pictures of me. After a few seconds, more and more of them started to take pictures of me as it was becoming a little scary for me. “Why are you all taking pictures?” I asked in a questioning tone as the looks on their faces changed from surprised to freaked out.

“The unicorn can talk??” I heard one of the species ask in a very surprised voice when I started to panic a little. I wasn’t in Equestria if they haven't heard of a pony I can say…or an alicorn I should say. After a few more seconds of this, I started to trot a little bit faster, but it didn’t stop the species from taking pictures of me as more and more showed up. It was just like at Shinning and Cadence's wedding from a while ago with the changelings, there were just too many of them and only one of me was here.

Eventually, the fast trotting turned into a full-on run as I ran as fast as my legs could, trying to get as far away from the species as I could. As I suspected, they kept following me at very high speeds. After a solid few seconds, I froze as some sort of spotlight appeared around me. “Chopper #1, we have eyes on the purple unicorn!” I heard a voice say from somewhere above me. I looked towards the light to find something scary.

These species also had futuristic hot air balloons that they started to use to track my every move. “Now this is scary alright.” I exclaimed in a panicked voice as I sprinted away while they were in hot pursuit of me. I don’t know how long I was sprinting for, or how the crowds and the balloons were able to keep following me but the sun had set long ago and the moon was in full display.

After a good while of sprinting from the crowds, I tried to cast a teleportation spell a few times over and over again while thinking of Ponyville as my destination. Whether it was me being out of breath from sprinting for so long, this place having no real signs of magic, or for a reason that I just can’t explain, I couldn’t cast the spell to save my life from these crowds potentially.

Even if I had fully mastered flying, there was at least an 86.009% chance that the hot air balloons would catch me as well so in short, I was sprinting for my life yet again. After a little while, I turned a corner to find myself in some sort of strip-like area that happened to be filled to the brim with shops of the sort. As the crowd was getting closer and closer to my tail and capturing me, I turned to the closest set of doors that I could find and pushed them open as fast as I could.

Without a second thought and a moment to lose, I pushed the doors closed in one swift motion as I pushed for dear life, hoping that the crowds wouldn’t try and break down the door. I could feel that at least a few of the species tried to push the doors open, but they stopped after a few seconds due to my resistance. “Check every store here! That unicorn has to be here!” I heard a voice say from outside the doors in a very loud and scary voice as more voices spoke up to agree.

When I knew it was safe, I walked away from the doors and saw a window with the scene unfolding. I looked out of this window and it was just as I feared. The crowds of the species along with those hot air balloons and the carriages were covering the area as people started to open every one of the doors, trying to find me as there was no doubt about that. “I’m not safe! I have to find a way out of here!” I said in a very scared and panicked voice as I looked around the room.

It almost resembled “The Hayburger” with its layout but what they seemed to be selling was very different. Conveniently, they had what looked like their menus near the counter and I began to look at them with curiosity. “ A Mocha Frappuccino Blended Beverage, Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino Blended Beverage…” I said out loud as I started to remember the names of the drinks for when I write a report on these species of course!

Just then, while I was examining the menu, I heard hoofsteps from around the corner. I was about to duck and hide when I saw that just like last time, there was nowhere to hide. As I tried to search for someplace to hide, I turned around and there was another one of this new species. They froze as they looked at me with surprised eyes. “Welcome to Starbucks.”

Chapter 3: Friends And A New Favorite Drink

I was expecting to be scared. I thought that I would be freaking out while trying to process everything that’s just happened. I was expecting to be running away or trying to protect myself from this new species since they seem to…want me. I don’t have all of the details yet as you can see. I was expecting all of that, yet the first thing that came out of my mouth was: “Starbucks? What is that?” As I said, I expected the species to run and hide or try to take me away.

I held my horn at the ready, just in case they were about to pull a fast one when that just didn’t happen. “AHHHHHH!” They screamed so loud that I thought it made me lose my hearing for a few seconds as I took a few steps back. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, this has to be a dream…it has to be.” I heard them say over and over again in a very freaked-out voice. “I think it’s safe to say that you’re not dreaming,”

I said as I walked a little closer to the species as they seemed to be in a rather big state of panic. “Get away from me you talking horse!” They exclaimed a little louder than the last time. “No no, I’m not dangerous, you don’t have to worry,” I said as I tried to help calm the species down a bit. I’m not completely sure whether my words were working or not but after some time had passed, the species was able to calm down ever so slightly.

“What?... How?... Why?...” The species said as it seemed like it was trying to communicate with me but they couldn’t find the proper words. At least I could understand the words that they were saying, I was getting a little worried that they might speak a language that I’d never heard before in my entire life for a slight moment there. “Is something wrong? You're acting like you’ve never seen a pony before.” I said to the species as they looked at me with still surprised eyes before.

“Ok, what is going on? Is this some kind of prank?” The species asked as nothing happened after she said her sentence. “I can assure you that this isn’t a prank,” I said in a reassuring tone. “So…you really can talk?” The species asked in a surprising voice. “Yes, you're acting like that’s a new thing,” I said. “That is a new thing here. Animals can’t just…talk.” The species said. “So what do they do? Sit around and eat hay all day?” I asked in a joking manner.

“For horses that’s the jist of it.” The species said. I was about to respond with many more questions when I heard an odd sound that sounded like it came from across the room. “Is the purple unicorn in here?” I heard the species yell even louder now as the sounds started to get louder as they seemed to be coming from the doors. “I’m going to be in so much trouble for this but go and hide in the kitchen, I’ll deal with them.” The species ordered.

Without much hesitation, I followed her instructions as I went into a room that I assumed was the kitchen. Pots and pans were hanging from the ceiling, stoves, and cabinets near the door and the whole room was a white and gray color and it came with not the greatest smell there is. The smell was far better than the box smell from a while ago but it still wasn’t all that pleasant. As the species went to answer the door, I hid behind what seemed to be some old boxes so I could watch what was going on and see how these species interacted with each other more clearly.

The species that I talked with approached the door as she opened it to reveal two very tall figures. They were wearing very fancy outfits and they were both holding what seemed to be giant cameras and one of them had what appeared to be a microphone. “Stella Suite, have you seen the reports that a new kind of creature has appeared in the streets and has hidden in one of these stores?” One of the species asked the other species as her name seemed to be Stella.

“I..uh…” Stella froze as she turned her head in my direction. I quickly looked away and I moved my head as far away as I could without making a noise. “Nope, I never heard anything about this new species,” Stella said. “Well, I have received word that the crowds want to look through each store to find this new unicorn. Mind if we take a look around?” The other species asked. “Uh…No, I very much mind!” Stella said as I was having trouble seeing the whole thing.

As I tried to get a better look at what was going on, I climbed on what appeared to be a stool and noticed what seemed to be some sort of recipe. I took a closer look at it and I recognized that it was a recipe for one of the menu items that I had seen previously. Hm, this would be the perfect chance to try this new world’s food…let’s try and make it.” I said to myself as I began to start making the recipe.

I very quickly and quietly got the ingredients ready as I began to read out the instructions. To my surprise, the instructions were rather easy to follow. The only problem was that I wasn’t sure how to operate the blender without making a lot of noise since I was still certain that Stella was talking to those people from before, so I substituted that step with breaking each ingredient down and stirring them up together.

I then found the whipped cream and mocha and I began to drizzle them on top of the drink. When this step was completed, I had officially made human beverages for the first time! “This is going to be a very good chapter to write about!” I said to myself just as I heard hoofsteps from around the corner. I then quickly hid in the same spot as before when I noticed that Stella was approaching the kitchen.

“Uh… purple pony? You can come out now.” Stella said as I exited my hiding place. “Hey, I have a name.” I said as I came out with my drink in my hoof. It was not as convenient to use magic to lift the drink but it wasn’t that big of a deal yet. “Oh right, I never asked you for your name.” Stella said. “Where are my manners? I’m Twilight Sparkle, Princess Of Friendship.” I said. “I’m guessing you heard it back there but you can call me Stella.” Stella said as she noticed my drink.

“Where did you get that? I don’t have any Java Chip Frappuccinos lying around.” Stella asked. “Oh, while you were out dealing with those other species, I made it using this very crafted recipe.” I said as I showed her the recipe. “Wait, you used my recipe to make this faster than I ever could?” Stella asked in a loud voice. “Yes, wanna taste it?” I asked. Without hesitation, Stella picked up the drink and took a few sips of it.

“My…Oh, Frappuccino this is amazing!” Stella said. “Well, I am good at following directions.” I said as I started to blush a little as a look appeared on Stella’s face. “I just had an idea, if you're ok with staying here for a while, how would you like a job here?” Stella asked me. I was a bit surprised by this. I was a bit unsure as to how this would affect me trying to figure out a way back home, but on the other hand, it would give me the chance to learn more about this new species and what their lives are like and it would help me with writing a report on them.

“Well, It’s like I have another option, so I accept.” I said as a very happy look appeared on Stella’s face. “Yes. Now back to more important matters. The reporters left and the mob cleared out but if you get spotted out there, It’s game over.” Stella explained with a slightly worried look on her face. “So, what do we do?” I asked as I started to think of some rough ideas.

“Hm, It’s incredibly risky but as long as we both are cautious, I can take you back to my place when we arrive here early in the morning for work. I think we can think of more details in the morning but for now, we need to sleep.” Stella explained. “Well I am known for coming up with ideas so I think I can come up with something.” I said. “Great. Now let's get back to my place before anyone gets suspicious or something.” Stella said as we both headed for the doors and left the store as we began to walk away to a new adventure and a new reassurance.

Chapter 4: Styling Makeovers

“Even in another world, the moon still shines the same way,” I said in a very… relieved voice. I wasn’t quite sure what time it was. Was it seconds or minutes? I’m not quite sure. I was sure that I and Stella were walking under the night sky as we walked to her home to figure out what to do next. “Hm, oh, before I forget, I…I wanted to apologize for my…actions back there.” Stella said in a semi-quiet voice.

“Oh, it’s fine. I most likely would have done the same thing.” I said with a little chuckle in my voice. “Judging by what you’ve seen from us humans, I think you see us as vicious creatures by now,” Stella said in a rather low voice. “Nah, me and my friends faced far worse…wait…your species is called…humans?” I asked. “Yep. Fortunately, not all of us are like that mob you saw.” Stella said as her voice seemed to be more calmer now.

“Interesting, I’ll have to note that if I can get back home,” I said as I made a mental note to myself. “Speaking of, what is this, ‘other world’ that you keep talking about?” Stella asked in a rather curious voice. “You mean Equestria? It’s the land where I’m from.” I explained as Stella seemed rather interested. “It’s a lot like this world, just we don’t have humans but rather ponies walking the streets,” I explained for a little while.

“Hm, now that sounds like a cool place to be,” Stella said with a high voice. “How did you end up here with a mob on your tail?” I gave a little sigh as I inhaled and explained everything that just happened. From my troublesome thoughts, me vanishing when I wrote that note to land in this world and the humans noticing me. “Wow, to think you were in a dumpster and I haven’t smelled anything disgusting,” Stella said.

“Well, that’s nice to know that I landed in the trash,” I said with a lower voice Stella seemed like she was about to respond when she stopped at a nearby house. “We're here,” Stella said as I turned around to see what I was assuming was a house. It had a white coat, a gray roof, a few windows with two front doors, and a brick-like structure. “It’s not very much, but it’s home,” Stella said as she pulled out some sort of key and put it in the door.

A few minutes later the door was opened. “Let's head in before anyone knows we're here Twilight,” Stella said as I wasted no time entering the house when Stella closed the door as quietly as she could. The first thing that I noticed was that this house sort of resembled a house back in Equestria. There were couches, what looked to be family pictures on the walls, what looked to be a kitchen in the distance, and a nearby staircase but something else caught my eye.

Right next to the couch in what looked like a lounge area, there was this big, black, and very thin box-like structure that was connected to a lot of wires. “That’s a Tv btw.” Stella said as I looked at this “TV” in more detail. “How does this thing work?” I asked very curiously. “Well, I can’t show you right now but…it’s like a bunch of pictures thrown into one I think,” Stella explained as I was fascinated by this contraption.

“I must know how this contraption works.” I said right when Stella pulled me away from the TV.” Focus Twilight! Follow me.” Stella said as I snapped out of my curiosity. I followed Stella as we trotted up the stairs and we arrived at some sort of bedroom. “Well, this is my bedroom,” Stella said as I looked around. It looked like a regular bedroom with a bed, a desk, and a closet except for one thing that I didn’t know about.

There was this poster on her wall that said: “Want to be a hair designer? Well then come on down to Designertown! Home of the best designers and teachers for new Hair Styles that is!” “What is this?” I asked as Stella looked around. “Oh, that’s….that’s nothing,” Stella said very quickly as if she didn’t want to mention it. “Anyway, let's get down to business, shall we?” Stella said as I took a seat. “So since you have a target on your head, we need to figure out a way to keep you hidden from the public,” Stella explained.

“Oh, what if I wore some sort of disguise?” I suggested. “Considering that you’re a unicorn, that might be hard to convince.” Stella said. “Wait, what if we say that I’m some sort of costume?” I suggested. “That actually might work. Though I fear that if we go with that, people will recognize you from earlier.” Stella said as it looked like she was thinking of solutions when it struck me like a sonic rainboom. “Wait, what if we changed my appearance of sorts?” I suggested as the look on Stella’s face changed into a pretty big smile.

“I have a ton of hair highlights and clips. Let's do it!’ Stella said in a very happy voice. It heavily reminded me of Pinkie whenever she got to do anything relating to baking a cake for an event like Shining and Cadence’s wedding and my coordination. “Silly Twilight, you should know that I would bake the biggest cake EVER for this coordination,” I thought back to when I asked Pinkie to see if she would help with the baking, to which she responded by jumping so high into the air that it left a pretty big hole in the roof of Sugarcube Corner.

Just thinking about it again left me with a smile on my face as Stella brought out what looked like some sort of mane products and a few clips. “Ok, let's see what I have.” Stella said as I took a look at some of these highlight colors. “Raspberry red, lemon yellow, green grass, I’m not sure about these three colors.” I said in a rather regretful voice. “How about this one?” Stella said as she showed me one that I loved at first sight.

I know I’m not the most qualified to speak on fashion but I could just see myself in this color that I knew would work. “Imma take a guess and say that the Japan Cyan is the one you want to go with?” Stella asked. “Yes.” I replied almost immediately. “Ok then, now just take a seat and I should be able to apply this to your mane.” Stella said as I took a seat on her desk chair when she then proceeded to open the container and started to apply the highlights.

“You know, I never thought that a purple pony would be my first client.” Stella said with a hint of surprise in her voice. “Well, life is full of surprises.” I said as I took a look back at the hair stylist poster. “I’m guessing that you want to be a mane stylist?” I asked. I couldn't see it very clearly but I heard what sounded like Stella giving a sign. “Ever since I was a little girl. I used to braid my old doll's hair over and over again, coming up with new styles time and time again.”

Stella explained with a rather happy voice. It was almost like she was happy to tell the story this time. “So…why didn’t you just apply for a stylist position then?” I asked as Stella looked down to the ground. “Just…I thought I had the talent, but everyone else thought I didn’t have it in me so I applied to work at the next best thing. I was promoted to a manager a couple of months ago and I think you know what happened next.”

Stella explained in a rather bittersweet voice. After she was done with explaining her backstory, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Not to make it about me but I knew exactly what that feeling was like. When I was studying like I never studied before to get into Celestia’s school of magic, many older ponies said I couldn't do it. When I thought I failed my entrance exam, I thought they were right until the rain-boom happened.

It was sort of sad to think about how two species can go through very similar events and end up so different all because of something so sudden and unexpected. “But there are a few times like today where I can still use my skills such as right now.” Stella said as she turned the chair to a nearby mirror and I was surprised as to what she did to my mane.

One of the cyan highlights was closer to my horn as it flowed through my mane and ended closer to my ear, the other stream of cyan highlights flowed down closer to my right side in a way that I liked while my existing purple highlights continued down my mane. On my tail, it seemed like Stella also added two sets of Cyan highlights that were right next to my other highlights and I loved just how well the colors clashed together.

“I figured you were good at mane styling but I didn’t know you were this good.” I said in a very happy voice. “And just to top it off.” Stella said as she reached through a nearby drawer and took out some sort of necklace. This necklace was made constantly of very shiny white pearls and one medium-sized white gen in the middle that resembled a star. Stella then took this necklace and placed it ever so gently as it rested on my neck.

“I have to say, I love this makeover.” I said in a really happy voice. “You are very welcome. Now pay up.” Stella said as I froze at her last three words. “But I don’t have any bits on me.” I said as Stella let out a small laugh. “Oh I’m kidding, I'm kidding.” Stella said as I felt relieved. “Now we can deal with uniforms tomorrow but for now, we need to think of sleeping arrangements.”

Stella then began to look through her closet for something. “Do you ponies usually sleep in beds?” Stella asked me. “Usually yes unless we're out camping.” I responded. “Ok then…I think I can arrange a little sleeping mattress for the floor.” Stella said as true to her word, she fixed up a small sleeping bed with a few blankets and a pillow. After we got ready for bed and said good night to each other, we were out cold as we both fell into our very restful slumber.

Chapter 5: Order Up!

I was asleep. I was sleeping peacefully. I may have been sleeping on the floor despite not camping but I was sleeping peacefully when something…dreadful happened. Usually, when I wake up, it’s either because I just woke up when the sun was out or because the birds were chirping outside. Instead of anything like that, I heard this annoying beeping sound that seemed to beep every two seconds. I tried to sleep through it but it just didn’t stop beeping.

“Come on Twilight, wake up!” I heard Stella’s voice say right when the terrible beeping noise stopped.

“Is it morning already?” I asked as I slowly sat up while rubbing my eyes.

“Well, in a few moments, it will be. First, I have something that I want to show you.” Stella said in a very excited voice.

I still wasn’t fully awake yet but I was able to get up on my hooves rather quickly. I then put on my new necklace and I was ready to go. “Was there something you wanted to show me, Stella?” I asked in a curious voice.

“Right here,” Stella said as she then handed me what appeared to be a shopping bag. “I didn’t have much time to wrap it,” Stella said as I carefully opened the bag and saw something I wasn’t expecting. “Figured you would need a uniform for this job. It’s the policy after all.” Stella said as I took a look at my supposed new uniform.

It was green, almost looked like an apron and the best part, it looked like it was made for a pony or in this case, me. “It looks amazing. I can’t thank you enough Stella.” I said with visible happiness in my voice.

“Oh, it was nothing. It’s a good thing that I know how to sow, or in this case, move the sleeves around.” Stella said in a happy voice.

With a little bit of help, I put on the uniform and took a look at myself in the same mirror as last time. I was starting to like this new look the more I looked at it and honestly, I think I wanted to keep it. I don’t know why other than I liked it but I wanted to just keep it for a while.

“Now we have to act fast. The sun is starting to rise and that’s when more people are out and about so we should get going.” Stella said as we wasted no time. Stella then grabbed her uniform and we were out the door at approximately 5.38 seconds. We then walked along the same walkway as last night and in a few minutes, we arrived at the same strip-like area to find something that we both did not expect. Remember that mob from before? The one that tried to capture me and what we wanted to avoid?

“Seriously, it’s not even six and there’s at least over like 50 people here!” Stella whispered loudly as we ducked behind one of the walls.

“So, what do we do?” I asked while trying not to burst into full-on panic mode, even though I was already most of the way there while I tried to think of an idea.

“Hm, perhaps maybe they won’t recognize you one-to-one?” Stella asked in an optimistic voice.

“Listen up everyone!” A voice from the mob of people said. “We know that the purple unicorn is here! Maybe in this very mall itself. We shall check every store, every dumpster, everywhere here. If we don’t find it, we keep looking throughout this city until we find that purple unicorn! WE SHALL NOT REST TILL THEN!” One of the humans yelled as the other humans raised their hands in what seemed like agreement.

“Well, just when we thought this would be easy,” Stella said in a disappointed voice.

“Hm, maybe we could just wait them out?” I asked as the idea just appeared in my head.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen, plus I have to open the shop in about five minutes, not to mention I do have to get you situated so we need a quicker plan,” Stella said as something crossed my mind…and my nose.

“Wait a second, what are these bags doing out here?” I asked as I caught the same, awful smell as yesterday when I landed in that garbage bin.

“Those are garbage bags. I think they were just left out here for who knows how long.” Stella said when she stopped.

“Stella?” I asked.

“I just had an idea,” Stella said.

“Hey Stella, isn’t it a little early to be taking the trash out?” I heard one of the humans say in a laughing voice.

“Just emptying my trash. Not a big deal.” I heard Stella say in a somewhat annoyed voice.

As I was sitting in the trash bag, trying not to make any noise whatsoever, I held my breath to the best of my ability, considering that it also smelled pretty bad. After what seemed like a minute or two, Stella set the bag down and I was able to crawl myself out of there as I could finally breathe. “Ugh, what leftover food was in there?” I asked as I tried my best to remove the smell from my nose.

“Wipe that awful smell and let me show you around Twilight!” Stella said as I stood back up and followed her as fast as I could into the kitchen from before. “So this right here is the kitchen. Over here are all of the needed ingredients and instructions.” Stella was explaining as she showed me all of the ingredients. A few I was able to recognize from Equestria like the milk and eggs but a few of the appliances like this glass bowl, I didn’t recognize.

“That right there is the blender. You just put a bunch of ingredients into the blender and it blends them together, creating a combined liquid. A lot of our drinks have them so you must know what to put in every time.” Stella explained in a serious voice.

“Well, I am good with paying attention.” I said.

“Alright, you’ll do great Twilight.” Stella said in a happy voice.

“I hope so.” I said just when I heard something…open.

“Just remember to stay here so you don’t get spotted. I’ll handle the cashier.” Stella said as she quickly rushed out of the kitchen. I then closed my eyes as I took a deep breath.

“You got this Twilight. I mean, how hard could it possibly be? The worst thing you could do is mess up so badly that you cause some sort of accident which leads you and Stella to get exposed, you get shipped off to who knows where and never find your way out and never see any human or pony including your friends for the rest of your-” I thought when something snapped me out of my fearful thinking.

“I need one Java Chip Frappuccino. The same one from before.” I heard Stella's voice say.

“One Java Chip, coming up!” I said as I looked over and saw the same instructions from last night. I then got out the required ingredients and began to follow the instructions the same way only this time, I knew exactly what to do. Now that I didn’t need to be so quiet, I could finally operate the blender with ease so I didn’t need to substitute that step with breaking each ingredient down this time and it made my job a bit easier. I then pulled out the whipped cream and mocha and I began to drizzle them on top of the drink. “Order up!” I said as I placed the drink on top of the serving window, to which Stella picked it up.

“Order for Anderson.” Stella then said as a teenager then stood up to pick up the drink and walked out of the door. “Not bad for your second drink and first customer Twilight.” Stella said in a very happy voice.

“Thanks, Stella. I wasn’t entirely sure that making drinks would be this fun.” I said in a very happy voice.

“Well, I’m very glad.” Stella said right when the door opened. “Another customer, keep it up!” Stella said as she went over to the register.

“On it!” I said as Stella gave me another order of a Mocha Frappuccino Blended Beverage. This went on for a while as Stella kept giving me order after order and I continued to make order after order. I wasn’t expecting to have this much fun making drinks for a species that wanted to capture me but I enjoyed it a lot. Perhaps when I get back to Equestria, I could try and make these drinks at Golden Oak since they're just so good. While I was enjoying making the drinks for the humans, I’m guessing I lost track of time as when I saw the outside, the sun was starting to set.

“Well, how was your first day of work?” Stella asked in a semi-tired voice.

“I enjoyed it quite a lot. Who knew I would be so good at making drinks?” I said in a very calm and happy voice.

“Well, that’s the end of our shifts. Just let me close up shop and we can return home.” Stella said as she then went into the kitchen while I headed towards the front counter where I was admiring the design. Shortly afterward, she closed up the shop and we headed outside as we headed home…

Or that’s what I thought was going to happen… As Stella and I were trotting away from the store, checking to see if anyone was there at the strip mall, we saw two people who were talking behind an all-black car.

“Sir, we’ve arrived at the mall you spoke about.” The person said as Stella and I froze.

“We better hide,” Stella said as we hid behind one of the planter boxes near some old benches.

“If that unicorn is here, we’ll bring it back to base at once and lock it up. We don’t know what it’s truly capable of.” The person said as he along with the other humans looked at each other and trotted away from our hiding place. I don’t exactly know what was going through Stella’s head but I can say that I was freaking out.

“Why is everyone here trying to capture me? I’m just an alicorn.” I said with fear in my voice.

“Well, alicorns are mythical creatures in this world, knowing that they exist, the government would surely want to see one for itself,” Stella explained with a worried look on her face.

“Wait, what’s the government? I asked in a confused voice.

“I’ll explain later, right now, we need to go,” Stella said as we both wasted no time as we rushed out of the mall when the humans entered one of the other stores. “We better get back to my room,” Stella said as I agreed as we rushed out of the area as sneakily as we could. That was a close one for sure…I just hope that I can keep my cover…or get locked up elsewhere. This day just got even more interesting…scary, and something even better to write about.

Chapter 6: A New Best Friend

A few minutes had passed and me and Stella were back on the sidewalk just like last night. We both managed to catch our breaths from running away from those humans that seemed to be looking for me. Meanwhile, as we were trotting on the sidewalk, I couldn't help but say thanks.

“I know it’s a bit sudden and I’ve said it before but, thanks for doing all this…for me,” I said in a lower-than-normal voice.

“Well, it’s not every day that you meet a creature that everyone else wants only their head,” Stella said with a little chuckle in her voice.

“It’s what friends are all about,” I said as I kept trotting but Stella stopped dead in her tracks.

“You…you call me….a friend?”

I couldn't forget the look on Stella’s face as she froze with a mixture of confusion and a little happiness. “...Yeah. You won't just give a glow-up like this to anypony.” I said, not knowing why Stella was acting like she had seen a ghost. Surely she had to have some friends…right?

“Well…that’s the only…makeover that I’ve done…that’s not on a doll that is.” Stella was starting to say in a much quieter voice.

It was almost as if she was getting too afraid to talk. Instantly, I called back to when Applejack was trying to cover up the fact that she didn’t win the Equestria Rodeo Competition. I remember just how much she didn’t want to talk about her placement so clearly and I could feel the same emotions and vibes coming off of Stella, so, I did what I thought was best.

“Is something wrong?” I asked as Stella looked at the ground.

“Nothing’s wrong Twilight. I’m…I’m fine.” Stella said back in a very defensive voice.

For a second, I didn’t know what to do, but then I knew what to do.

“Are you sure?” I asked while looking straight at her with a worried look on my face.

“I…oh look where here,” Stella said as I realized that we were standing in front of her house.

I was going to ask her about what was wrong but I knew that I shouldn’t. “It should be her story to tell.” I thought to myself as we approached the door and Stella unlocked it with her key. We very quickly and quietly tip-toed up the stairs as we reached Stella’s room. I went in first as Stella closed the door behind her…when something else happened.

“Stella!” A voice that I never heard before said particularly loud.

“That’s my mother,” Stella said with a hint of nervousness in her voice. “Can you stay here for a few moments?”

“Of course I can,” I said as Stella then opened the door back up as she went down the stairs.

I then looked around Stella’s room for a while, trying to find something to do. “Wait, there’s books!” I said as I noticed in her dresser, there were books that I’d never seen before. “Hm, ‘Keeper Of The Lost City’, ‘Guts’?” I asked myself as I didn’t recognize a single book on the shelf witch with my track record, had never happened before. While I was looking at these new and fascinating books, I figured it would be better if I asked Stella directly to get some answers, so I headed back to her bed…when I heard something.

“So how’s business going? Down I’m presuming?” I heard what sounded like another human talking in a very condescending voice.

“It’s fine Mom. You wanted this for me so be happy for me.” I then heard Stella’s voice say in a somewhat angry voice.

I tried to stay still on the bed and for about a few seconds, I was able to do just that but I didn’t feel the same way. Before I knew it, I headed out of Stella’s room, trotted down the stairs, and headed into the family room from last night, except it was a little different. To get a good look at the room, I ducked behind what appeared to be a counter and I was able to see what was going on more clearly. From what I saw, Stella and what I’m assuming was her mother in what looked like a disagreement or a full-on argument.

“What do you mean you want to be something more than a Starbucks manager? That’s all you’ll ever do in life!” Stella’s mom shouted in anger.

“Why won’t you let me do my own thing? This is my life!” Stella also shouted back but in a quieter voice compared to her mother’s.

“Please! I know what’s best for you!” Stella’s mom yelled back.

“And what did that do? Turned me into a mini-you?” Stella asked back.

“No, it made you different from everyone else…or it would have if you weren't so shy and friendless!” Stella’s mother yelled as I just couldn’t witness this any longer.

I may not have known Stella’s mother at all but I do know that Stella wasn’t friendless…and I was the proof for that. Right after Stella’s mom said that she was friendless, I revealed myself from my hiding place as I said in a very clear voice: “She’s not friendless.”

“What the- IT’S THAT UNICORN FROM THE NEWS!!” Stella’s mother shouted as she pointed her fingers at me and her angry face shifted to a very panicked look before she proceeded to pass out on the floor.

“Mom!” Stella exclaimed as she went over to check on her mother as I slowly approached her. “Twilight, what are you doing? Why didn’t you stay in my room?” Stella asked me with a worried expression and a somewhat frustrated voice.

“I heard you and your mom arguing and my curiosity got the better of me…I…I’m sorry that-” I said as Stella interrupted me.

“I…I can’t blame you, she tends to yell across town anyway.” Stella then proceeded to move her hand across her mother’s face.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m trying to get her to wake up…although she seems to be out cold.” Stella said with a lower voice.

“I’m…I’m sorry that I caused this.” I then said as I took a seat next to Stella. Stella then took a sigh as she sat down next to me.

“I’m…guessing you heard the friendless part.” Stella then said as she also took a seat next to me.

“I’m going off on a limb here but I’m guessing you don’t want to talk about it?” I asked as Stella looked at the ground.

“Normally, yes, but…….. you are the closest thing I ever had to a…friend.” Stella said in a low and quiet voice.

“Throughout my life, my mother was a complete dictator as she controlled everything. From my school, classes, etc, it was always her decision, never mine. Because she always controlled me and made sure that I was focusing on my studies, I never held onto any friends for very long. Some of it was because she never let me have any friends in the house but it was mostly because I never had any social skills. I was always way too shy to ever speak a single word besides yes and no and I rarely ever talked to anyone but my mother.

The second I was old enough to get a summer job, my mother along with everyone else like my teachers thought that I didn’t have any special talent to offer, even though I thought I had the talent to be a stylist. She pushed me into working at Starbucks and…I already told you that part and you came along. I knew that if my mother saw me with you, I would be good as dead so I wanted to hide you for that reason…and I’m sure you know the rest.” Stella then looked down at the ground and I could see tears forming from her eyes.

I was just as, if not more speechless from hearing this as to what I heard from last night. From what Stella said, her mother was just as evil as some creatures like Chrysalis or Sombra. I didn’t want to make this about me but It was hard to believe that something could be so cruel to their child. I was having some trouble figuring out what to say in response so I said what came to my mind. “I’m sorry.” I said very quietly as Stella looked at me.

“You have nothing to apologize for Twilight.” Stella said in the same quiet voice. “It’s not your fault that I was born with this wicked woman who never let me choose to do my own thing.” Stella quietly said as more tears began to drip from her eyes.

“Well…that’s not entirely true.” I said.

“What do you mean?” Stella asked as some of her tears began to disappear.

“You chose to be a good friend.” I said.

I don’t know if the weather cooled down outside or what but the room seemed quieter after I said that Stella chose to be a good friend to be instead of turning me over to this government.

“I never got the chance to make any friends or learn about friendship before. Mother always said it was a waste of time.” Stella said as she then looked at the ground.

“I always thought that as well before I was sent to Ponyville.” I said as I then continued:

“If there’s one lesson that I’ve written about, it’s that friends are no waste of time.”

Stella then looked at me again with a faint smile. “I always wanted to have a….best…friend ever since I was a little girl.” Stella said in her quiet voice.

“Well, it’s never too late to make a friend is something I learned over the years.” I said.

“Then…you…you would be my friend?” Stella asked in a very quiet, yet scared voice.

“Only if your mom controls everything we do.” I said as I and Stella then let out a small chuckle.

“I…I don’t know how to thank you Twilight.” Stella said as she then wrapped her arms around me which I’m assuming was trying to hug me, to which I gave one back as well.

“It’s what I learn from very special ponies to me.” I said as we sat there for a very long time.

I don’t know what time it was or how long we sat there but after a while, we fell asleep after some time. I don’t remember much after we fell asleep but I do remember that my tail moved during the night to which it moved right above Stella as it rested on her like a blanket. I kept it that way as we both fell asleep on the floor, waiting for the upcoming day and Stella’s mother to arise.

Chapter 7: The Slippery Slope

It was yet another perfect day today. I didn’t know what it was but I felt like today was going to be a good day. I started to awake, and I opened my eyes to see that Stella as well as her mother were still sleeping from last night. We were just too tired to head back upstairs so we fell asleep on the floor which I can relate to after a long day of studying. I then got up on all fours and walked over to Stella as I tried to shake her to wake her up. After a few seconds of this, I saw her eyes opening as she then leaned over.

“Wh…what time is it?” Stella asked while still not being all that awake.

“Still early in the morning,” I said as I and Stella noticed a clock in the room.

Within moments, faster than I had ever seen before, a not-very-awake Stella turned very much awake as she rushed upstairs.

“What’s the matter?” I asked in a worried tone.

Just then, from the top of the staircase, Stella tossed my uniform at me as it landed on my horn, covering my face.

“Thanks,” I said unsarcastically.

“I’m late to open the shop! Get dressed quickly!” Stella said in a very panicked voice as I wasted no second.

I put on my uniform as fast as I possibly could while Stella changed clothes and in a matter of minutes, we bolted out of the door faster than you could read this sentence.

“Are you sure that leaving your mom was the best idea?” I asked shortly after we started to slow down to catch both our breaths.

“Oh, she’ll be fine. She’ll probably think yesterday was some dream or something so I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.” Stella said as we reached the strip-like area to find something very, very odd.

You would think that the mob from the past two days would be here, right? Well, me and Stella thought just that as well but to both of our surprise, there was no sign of the mob in sight. There were no people, no pitchforks, nothing like that at all. The strip-like area had no one in it other than me and Stella.

“That’s…weird…It’s almost like that mob gave…up?” I said as I looked at Stella.

“I have no idea as to what’s going on though we should head inside,” Stella said as we then trotted to our Starbucks as we headed inside. “Ok, you know the drill Twi,” Stella said as I agreed and headed into the kitchen.

While I was there, I found a recipe and made something new called: ‘coffee’.

“Trying out the coffee?” Stella asked as she then went into the kitchen.

“It says here that it’s needed in the mornings so I thought I would give it a try,” I said as I took a sip. “Wow, this tastes amazing!” I said with a happy voice.

“I see you remembered to add the cream and sugars,” Stella said just as I heard the door open. “Oh, customer, gotta work,” Stella said as she then headed to the front as she took the customer’s order.

I know I already talked about this but for my second day of work, it was just as well as the first day. Not only was I improving my skills with making the drinks, but I was also having a lot of fun with it as well. I may have had to do it without magic which was starting to become a minor inconvenience but it was still very fun nevertheless. So far throughout the day, things were going very well. The key word: was ‘were’.

As lunchtime started to come to an end, the store was getting less and less crowded as in the morning when customers were ordering their coffee as Stella told me about. Around this time, the garbage can was starting to overflow a little bit so before long, Stella tied up the bag and was about to take it out when more than a few people came into the store and ordered a wide selection of drinks.

“Uh, could you take out the trash quickly Twi? I have a huge order here.” Stella said as I said: “Sure thing.”

I then picked up the trash bag and put it on my back as I quickly trotted over to the back door where there were these dumpsters like the one I fell into before. I looked around the area, just in case any creature was nearby, but I didn’t see any creature. I quickly closed the door and opened the lid of the dumpster as I tossed in the trash bag and closed the lid in a matter of seconds…to which something…else happened. When I turned around to go back inside, I saw the same black car from yesterday right next to the building and the same two humans came out.

“FREEZE UNICORN!” The two people yelled as they then pulled out these strange objects.

One of them was a small, rectangular shape with a black and gray color scheme and the other one was a rope that connected to these circular balls.

“What…what are you doing?” I asked while my whole body froze, not knowing what to do next.

“Move and we’ll shoot, unicorn!” One of the men said as the other one started to talk into its shoulder.

I don’t know if I was too scared to do anything but in that moment, as the two men started to approach me, everything then stopped. I…I don’t exactly know how to explain it very well but it felt like time had slowed down and I had a chance to run, yet I just couldn't. The men hadn’t used any weapons on me just yet and I had a chance to run…yet, I couldn't move an inch. Just when I thought it was over for me, something I never thought I would be so happy to see happened. The back door opened up as Stella walked into the scene.

“Uh Twi, we have a huge order that’ll need the both…of….us…” Stella said as I’m assuming she quickly figured out what was going on and wasted no time to help. “What do you think you're doing?” Stella asked as she rushed up to me, protecting me even.

“Ms Suite, I have to say that you hid this unicorn very well from us, considering our searches throughout this strip mall were quite thorough.” One of the men said with a slight look of annoyance on his face.

“Yeah, it’s sad to see a teenager outsmart government men, you know.” Stella said with a very serious voice.

“Maybe so, but you can’t hide this unicorn forever.” The man said as he then pointed his weapon at Stella with the other man doing the same.

“I won’t let you take her away to be experimented on, you know!” Stella said as she stood her ground while not being intimidated by the weapons.

“Really? Well then how do you plan to get yourself and this creature, this alien out of here?” The man asked while he took a few more steps towards us.

“It’s quite simple, I thought you could think of it on the FLY.” Stella said as she put some emphasis on the word, ‘fly’.

I very quickly knew what she was talking about although it would be very risky since I’d never carried that much weight before but it seemed to be our only option. I may not have been fully comparable with using my wings just yet but I had to use them.

“Hop on!” I said as Stella then went onto my back as I opened my wings and started to pick up some speed.

“AFTER THEM!” Both of the men yelled as they got back into their car and they drove after us while they started to use their weapons.

I was able to dodge the one with the rope and the balls attached but the other one was something I didn’t expect. The rectangular item started to launch these objects at us at very high speeds as if it resembled a magic laser. I had far more trouble dodging this attack as I had a few close calls but thankfully, I was able to dodge them all.

“Uh, Twi? We're almost out of room here!” Stella said as she was very much right.

There seemed to be three sets of walls up ahead, blocking our path as the two of us noticed.

“Well, there’s only one way left to go!” I said as I stopped running and stood still.

“We got you now unicorn!” The men yelled as their car rapidly approached.

“Hurry up Twi! They're almost here!” Stella said as I then focused my attention, and jumped.

“AHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh…wait, it worked! We're flying!” Stella then exclaimed in a very excited voice.

“Thank Celestia, that worked!” I said as I focused on the sky.

I have to say, it was pretty amazing to be soaring over this world as it looked so small from up here in the clouds. The buildings looked almost like something out of a toy set and the humans looked so small. I couldn't see exactly what the other two men were doing but since we were so far away now, it didn’t matter that much…until it happened.

“Uh, Twilight? Why are you stopping?” Stella asked in a worried voice.

“I…I should have mentioned this sooner…but I'm still learning how to fly for very long.” I said as my wings gave up and Stella started to scream as we began to descend rapidly to the ground, hoping that we could make it out of this one alive, we hope.

Chapter 8: From The Top

“Come on wings! Work!” I said as I tried my hardest to slow us down as the ground was getting closer and closer.

Everything I could do to slow us down wasn’t working, even in the slightest at all. I was starting to understand why Rainbow Dash said that landing was the hardest part to master and she was very much correct.

“I may not know a lot about wings but shouldn’t they be… flapping or anything?” Stella exclaimed with quite a large amount of fear in her voice.

“It’s too late!” I exclaimed as I looked down to the rapidly approaching ground.

I don’t know if my eyes were deceiving me but there appeared to be a few bins right below us which seemed to be our best option to land on.

“On my signal, you jump!” I instructed as Stella looked at me with a confused look.

“What do you mean jump?” Stella asked.

“Just…JUMP!” I yelled as I gave my signal and Stella jumped off me and we both were free-falling.

This next part is a little blurry to me but I remember closing my eyes, I landed on what I presumed was the bin, and then I was in another dumpster.

“Back where I landed,” I said as I tried to find a way out of this extremely smelly dumpster.

I’ll S̶m̶e̶l̶l̶, I mean spare you that smelly section as I opened the lid of this dumpster which I’m assuming closed when I landed in it. As I crawled out of the dumpster, I felt as if something was…wrong. It’s hard to describe but I felt like something wasn’t right. I first noticed that Stella was nowhere to be seen.

“Stella?” I asked as all that could be heard were the sounds of mice having an afternoon snack when I remembered something else.

Back in Equestria, Fluttershy was always the one giving the mice an afternoon snack, I can’t recall a time when I saw a mouse trying to fend for itself before. It made me feel a little sad to see no one try to be helpful to the mice but this wasn’t my top priority in the slightest. As to where I was, It looked similar but different. There were all buildings like when I first arrived here but they seemed much…closer than before. Not only that but the area I was in was also a lot darker. I’m guessing the buildings were blocking the sun in some way since It was harder to see where I was in this new area.

“Stella?” I asked again when something else happened.

On the opposite side of this area, there was what looked like another dumpster and this one had its lid shaking as if something was trying to push it open.

“Don’t worry! I’m coming!” I exclaimed as I sprinted over to this dumpster and pushed open the lid with everything I had…then Stella appeared…looking green in the face.

“This…is… intolerable!” Stella exclaimed as she slowly crawled her way out of the dumpster and fell to the ground.

“Stella!” I said as she picked herself up and stood up.

“Twilight! Thank goodness you're alright!” Stella said in a relieved, yet nauseous voice.

“Glad to see we're both still in one piece, now where are we?” I asked as Stella seemed to recover from the dumpster.

“I’m not entirely sure. I think we should have a look around.” Stella said.

“But what about the people from before?” I asked in worry.

“If more come, you can just fly us out of there, right?” Stella asked as I noticed something.

From the same dumpster that Stella landed in, there seemed to be a scroll, one that I recognized.

“What is this?” I said as I pointed to the scroll.

“You mean this?” Stella asked as she reached over and grasped the scroll and everything seemed to click.

“That scroll must have brought me here,” I said as I took a look at the scroll I wrote on from so long ago.

“What are you talking about?” Stella asked with confusion visible on her face.

I then took a few minutes to explain what I just realized about that night. “Get rid of these doubts like a spell”

“So basically, pouring your doubts and emotions onto this scroll is what sent you here in the first place?” Stella asked.

“At least that's what I think for now,” I responded.

“So shouldn’t the scroll be able to send you back home?” Stella asked.

I was about to respond when I heard the sound of the rectangular weapon and two men walking towards us.

“I was expecting a challenge, I honestly was.” One of the men from before said as he pointed his rectangular weapon at my head, ready to use it at will.

“Get your gun away from her!” Stella said as the man looked at her.

“Ms Suite, it’s time to head back to your room. Get the horse in the truck.” The man said as the other taller man walked towards me with the rope from before.

I want to say I put up a fight, I do want to say it, but my energy was spent as well as my wings. Before I knew it, I was being thrown into the backseat of their futuristic vehicle.

“Twilight!” Stella yelled as the other man kept her busy.

“Why do you care?” I heard the man ask Stella from the backseat.

“She’s not your friend, she’s an alien, an anomaly if you will. Why would you want to make friends with a creature like her?”

I heard the man say.

I don’t know how or why for that matter but it felt like everyone and everything was quieter, and not in a good way. Like time itself slowed to a crawl, along with everything else. Stella, me, nor the agents said a word, yet, it felt like something needed to be said, and it was said.

“Because she taught me the one thing I desperately needed, friendship.”

That was it. I don’t know how it happened or why it happened but right when Stella said that I taught her friendship, something that she desperately needed, my horn started to glow up. Within moments, my magic started to work again and I wasted no time at all. I used my magic to teleport out of the backseat and instantly, me and Stella went for the men. One of them tried to attack me with the weapon that Stella referred to as a…gun If I remember correctly. I then created a protective shield around me and Stella which protected us from these attacks but it also left the men in shock.

“How…How are you doing this??” Both of the men asked with anger and fear in their eyes.

“With the power…of…” I said.

“Oh wait, friendship. We know.” The taller man interrupted me as before long, we had surpassed them and trapped them in front of a building.

“Please don’t hurt us you two! We're sorry for trying to capture you and make millions off of you.” The men pleaded with fear in their eyes.

“What should we do with them?” Stella asked me.

“I’ll give you another chance to go back to where you came from at once.” I said in a very strict voice.

“Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyes unicorn and Ms Suite. WWWWEEE won’t bother you two again.” The men said as they then ran away from us with their tails between their legs.

“That was some fight you put up back there.” Stella said in a very calm voice.

“No, it was some fight that we put up.” I said.

Just then, Stella reached over and hugged me.

“Thank you for being my first-ever friend.” Stella said in a very quiet voice.

A few seconds later, I was giving a hug right back.

“How many times do I have to say it, it’s what good friends are for. I’m glad I could teach you that.” I said as something else happened.

The scroll then appeared next to me as it started to glow up.

“What’s happening?” Me and Stella asked as we watched the scroll transform into what looked to be a portal…home.

“Well, that looks like my way back home.” I said.

“You’re leaving already? But…but there’s still so much that I wanted to do.” Stella said in a slightly disappointed voice.

I looked over and looked her in the eyes.

“Don’t worry. It’s not a goodbye. It’s just a goodbye till next time.” I said.

“I…I’ll miss you Twilight. Thanks for caring for me when no one else cared.” Stella said.

“You're welcome.” I said as I took a deep breath, looked back at Stella and the city…and stepped through the portal to my home, Equestria.

The End