Chapter 25: UCLA Tour

Aaron was in his bedroom packing his bags for the trip to UCLA. As soon as he finished packing, Marissa came into the room to see if he finished packing.

"Hey, Aaron," Marissa said. "Have you finished packing?"

"Just finished," Aaron said. "I got my computer, my phone chargers, my clothes, and even my acceptance letter."

"Good call," Marissa said. "Just in case you need to let them know you've been accepted." Aaron then carried his bag as he and Marissa left the room. They went downstairs and they met up with Smolder, Liam, Tony and Jessica. Tony and Jessica were standing on their own two feet now. Smolder was in human form.

"Alright," Liam said. "The transport will be here to pick us up in two minutes. Let's get Tony and Jessica into their strollers." Marissa helped Liam get Tony and Jessica into their strollers. As soon as they finished, the sound of a car horn came from outside. Then they all headed outside.

There was a Ford Expedition, similar to Marissa's, parked in front of the house. The driver came out of the car and helped park the bags into the back. Aaron, Smolder and Marissa got into the third row, Liam and the driver installed the car seats into the backseats for Tony and Jessica to sit, and then Liam got into the passenger seat while the Driver got into the driver's seat.

As soon as they were all buckled up, the driver drove them off to the airport.

It was night time in Los Angeles. At a hotel south of UCLA, a white Toyota Sienna was pulling up to the hotel. It was already 10 PM, and Smolder was having a hard time staying awake.

"No," Smolder said, tiredly. She then smacked her cheek to try to keep herself awake. "Stay awake, Smolder. Stay awake."

"We're all tired, Smolder," Liam said, driving the car. "It's 10 PM here and 1 AM back in Orlando."

"That's jetlag for you," Marissa said. "You can sleep up in the hotel room." She then unbuckled her seat belt. She then pushed two buttons and the two sliding doors opened up. Marissa and Liam then got out of the car after Liam stopped the engine. They then got the strollers out of the car and then Aaron and Smolder got out of the car to follow them into the hotel, which was a Holiday Inn. Aaron kept Smolder from falling over.

The nighttime manager saw them all coming in and smiled. She then said, "Hello, and welcome to the Holiday Inn Express West Los Angeles. Do you have rooms reserved?"

"Yes," Marissa said. "Reservation for Daniels."

The woman then typed on her computer and smiled. She then said, "Ah, yes. Two rooms. One room with two beds, and another with a single bed." She then saw Aaron and Smolder. "I'm guessing that girl is your son's girlfriend?"

"Nephew, actually," Marissa said. "And, yes. Those two are going to be attending UCLA this September."

"Oh, I see," the manager said. "That's so nice. Young couples attending the same college together is a sweet thing. I sure hope that your nephew and his girlfriend do well." She then handed two sets of key cards to the group. "Here you go. Elevators are just to the right."

"Aaron, you go get a luggage cart," Marissa said. "I'll help... Samantha get up to the room."

"Okay," Aaron said, carrying Smolder towards Marissa. Marissa then helped keep Smolder up on her feet. Then he and Liam headed out to the car and grabbed a luggage cart on the way out.

Eventually, Aaron and Smolder went into the hotel room they were going to be staying in. Smolder yawned as she was being carried to the bed. The door closed right behind them.

"Wow," Smolder said, sitting on the bed. "This is a soft bed."

"Yeah," Aaron said. "C'mon. Let's get ready for bed."

"Right," Smolder said, standing up. She then grabbed her suitcase full of clothes and headed for the bathroom. She then grabbed a change of clothes for the next day and put them next to the sink. She closed the bathroom door behind her and changed.

In the hotel room, Aaron changed into his pajamas. Then the bathroom door opened and Aaron turned around. He saw Smolder, back in dragon form, wearing a purple T-shirt that says, "SLAY ME BABY". It even had wing holes for her wings to get out.

"Did you seriously have that T-shirt in your dresser drawer?" Aaron asked.

"I forgot to wash my nightgowns last night," Smolder said. She then yawned. "Let's just go to sleep." She then got onto the bed and put her phone and Apple Watch onto the chargers. Aaron then did the same with his phone and watch. He then changed into a dragon and got into bed with Smolder. He then covered himself and Smolder up with the comforter and then he turned out the lights in the room.

The next morning, Aaron, Smolder, Marissa, Liam, Tony and Jessica were all in the breakfast nook, getting breakfast. They had Tony and Jessica sitting in high chairs at the table they were sitting at.

"Okay, so UCLA is just an eight minute drive away from here," Marissa said. "Are you sure you two want to attend this college?"

"It's not my first time attending a school far from home," Aaron said.

"It's true," Smolder said. "Aaron spent half a semester in Twilight's School of Friendship. And he was fine."

"Until that black dragon tried going after him," Liam said. "Did you seriously kill a dragon that was 80-feet tall?"

"I went up to his height, too," Aaron said. "Greed Induced Bigness."

"I still wonder how you kept your Greed under control during that fight," Smolder said. "How did you do it?"

Aaron then sighed. He then said, "When I knew that Ragnarok was going to hurt my friends, and go after my loved ones, I knew I had no choice but to go big. I concentrated my greed into protective instincts. All I wanted in those moments was to protect my friends."

"Huh," Smolder said. "If only Spike did that during that battle against Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow."

"Hopefully, Cozy Glow is still trying to reform," Aaron said.

"I thought Cozy Glow was turned to stone," Marissa said.

"An ancient monster created by Grogar released the three villains, and Aaron and the Mane 6 from G5 reformed her," Smolder said. "Tirek and Chrysalis went back to their stone state. But their statue still has three figures."

"Then, who's taken Cozy's place?" Liam asked.

"Her abusive father," Aaron said. "He blamed her for her mother's death when really, she had a heart condition. He tried sending her off to a military school when she was supposed to be with relatives as he went to train in the Royal Guard."

"He got fired, turned into a copy of Cozy Glow, and is taking her place in that statue," Smolder said. "So the statue will still be canon in the G4 Series Finale, as Aaron said. I haven't watched it yet."

"We're waiting a while for her to watch that episode," Aaron said. "Still waiting on Luster Dawn to show up."

"Luster Dawn?" Smolder asked. "Wait. Pink unicorn, orange and yellow striped mane done in a ponytail, sun over water for a Cutie Mark?"

"You met her?" Aaron asked.

"She was the same height Ocellus was when we first attended the School of Friendship," Smolder said.

"So, she's still young," Aaron said. "Huh. Guess the events of the Series Finale are coming up sooner than I thought."

"Makes sense," Smolder said. "Flurry is nine now, so she might have a stained glass window a few years from now."

"Oh, she will," Aaron said. "Along with the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"Well, that'll be the day," Smolder said. "I wonder when that'll happen."

"Probably soon," Aaron said.

"Alright, kids," Marissa said. "Time to head over to the University." Then Aaron, Smolder, Marissa and Liam got up from their seats. "Aaron, can you take care of the dishes?"

"Sure, Aunt Marissa," Aaron said. He then started taking the plates and took them over to where the plates would be taken away to be cleaned. Then Aaron met up with the others at where the rental car was. They all got in and Liam drove the car off towards UCLA.

At UCLA, Aaron, Smolder, Marissa, Liam, Tony, Jessica and a bunch of other people were on a tour of the college. The soon to be college students were amazed by all the amenities the college had.

"And that's how Edward Augustus Dickson and Ernest Carroll Moore found the University of California Los Angeles," the tour guide said. "Any questions?" Marissa then held up her hand. "Yes, ma'am. What is it?"

"How is the safety of UCLA?" Marissa asked.

"UCLA has great security," the tour guide said. "The safety of our students is very important. I'm sure that your kids will all be safe here on campus. Any other questions?"

"What about the student dorms?" Liam asked. "Are they suitable for the students?"

"Well, a lot of students stay in the dorm rooms, but some choose to rent an apartment near the University," the tour guide said. "The choice is up to the students who are attending this college."

Marissa and Liam looked towards Aaron and Smolder. Marissa then said, "Well, if you two are gonna be attending this college together, I would recommend renting a two bedroom apartment."

"That way, you can keep the portals to Equestria with you instead of having it in your dorm rooms," Liam said.

"Which means we're gonna have to start shopping for furniture this summer," Aaron said.

"Like a sofa bed, two beds and mattresses, side tables for the sofa bed, a kitchen table, chairs, a bunch of dishes and cooking utensils..." Marissa said.

"And hey, maybe a barbecue," Liam said.

"Yeah," Smolder said. "That sounds good."

"We'll get started on buying furniture for that apartment this summer, after you two graduate High School," Marissa said. She then hugged Aaron. "Just be safe out here."

"We will, Aunt Marissa," Aaron said. "I promise."

"We both promise," Smolder said. "We'll start searching for an apartment complex this summer."

"Good call," the tour guide said. "Hope you enjoy your time here in UCLA." Then they all walked in separate directions.

After getting back to the hotel from UCLA, Aaron and Smolder were in the hotel room, working on the homework they had to do during Spring Break. Smolder was in dragon form.

"And... done," Smolder said.

"Me, too," Aaron said. "Well, looks like we're all ready for college."

"Yeah," Smolder said. "Hopefully, we're gonna enjoy the rest of the school year without a hassle." Just then, there was a knocking at the door. Aaron and Smolder looked towards the door and Smolder changed back into her human form. She was currently wearing a UCLA sweatshirt.

Aaron then walked towards the door and opened it. Outside, there was Liam. He then asked, "Hey, kids. Marissa isn't really interested in seeing one, but you two want to go see a movie?"

"What movie?" Smolder asked.

"Sonic the Hedgehog 4," Liam said.

"Oh, yeah," Aaron said. "We never got to go see it. Let's go."

"Alright, let's go," Liam said, pulling out his phone. "I'll go buy the tickets. Aaron, why don't you drive while I pay for the tickets?"

"Alright, Uncle Liam," Aaron said as Liam handed him the key to the rental car. Then they all headed out of the hotel to go see the new Sonic the Hedgehog Movie.

Then next morning, Aaron, Smolder, Marissa, Liam, Tony and Jessica were loading the rental car up with their luggage. Aaron and Smolder finished up packing the car.

"Okay," Aaron said. "The car's packed up."

"Well, our flight doesn't take off until two hours from now," Marissa said. "We'll be on that flight in no time. Alright. Time to go." Then Aaron closed the back. Then Smolder's phone started ringing. Smolder then answered it.

"Hello?" Smolder asked. She then went wide eyed. "Oh, boy. Okay. We'll be there." She then hung up.

"What is it?" Aaron asked.

"We got trouble," Smolder said. "The President has asked us to take care of a big problem."

"What problem?" Aaron asked. "And why would he need us to do it?"

Smolder then sighed and said, "I don't know how, but... he's back. Ragnarok is back."

"WHAT?!" Aaron asked.

Author's Note

Looks like Aaron and Smolder are gonna be fighting Ragnarok in the next chapter. This is gonna be one epic battle. Hopefully, they'll be able to take down Ragnarok all by themselves. The votes have been tallied. So you all will know in the next chapter where their battle will take place. See you next time.