Life with Twilight

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 2
Chapter 12

Chapter 1

So tell me about life. How do you live it? Play video games, go out and hang with friends, get a big honking paycheck and buy lots of shoes? Sounds like fun, really it does. You should consider yourself lucky to live such a life, cause I sure as hell would. Everyday, it's the same old thing; wake up in this crummy old apartment, go to my college classes, spend about twenty hours per week at work, and then come home to do whatever I can until bedtime. Then I wake up and do the same thing the next day.

After mom and dad died, my sister finished college and moved out to California, where she became an overnight success in the field of fashion design. That girl's so rich, I don't even know if she does work anymore. She's been wiring me money from across the country, to help pay for the apartment and the rest of my college tuition. As long as I keep passing my classes, she'll keep providing the support. My other expenses are another matter, which is why I'm working part time. It's really not a job I enjoy very much, but you got to work if you want to eat. Problem is in this economy; I just barely make enough in order to survive. I'd work more hours, but with my college schedule, I just can't. Really, I should consider myself lucky, as I know for a fact there are many people far worse off than me. Yet… I am not happy.

This life wouldn't be so bad, if only it were a little less lonely. I've never been much of a social guy, especially when it comes to meeting new people. Back in high school, I hardly talked to anyone, and nobody ever paid attention to me. I actually thought back then that I wouldn't need anyone in life; I just buried myself in my large DVD and video game collection. But now I regret that decision, as they no longer bring me the joy they once brought. Even worse, on my current salary, I'm lucky if I even can afford a single DVD per month - two if I don't eat out very much. I can't afford a video game consul at all, and the limited income keeps me mostly bound to my apartment. I really feel like a complete loser, who's isolated himself from the world around him. I'm now a prisoner of my own house, with no one to talk to but myself.

The only thing that still brings me joy in life is the show "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic". Thank God I at least have Internet service, as I obviously can't afford cable stations like "the Hub". I mostly watch the show online, and buy the episodes on Itunes. If only I could meet someone in this world who were like the ponies in Equestria. They all seem so happy and so relatable; as though they've felt your pain before and can tell you it'll be alright.

In particular, I note the character Twilight Sparkle, who I relate to most of all. Just as I buried myself in my DVDs, she buried herself in her books. Isolating herself from the world, not knowing what true friendship was. Then she went to Ponyville to stop an evil force, and everything changed. I often dream about having a similar scenario, where I go to Equestria, and become friends with the other ponies, living an adventurous life where I could be happy. But that's a fool's dream; it's not real, just a fictional place in a cartoon meant to entertain children. What am I thinking?

Friday night comes, and it's another boring evening for me. I'm sure everyone on campus is out tonight, probably taking they're loved ones to the new Twilight movie. I, on the other hand, am stuck here at home… alone, watching the Avengers yet again on the old DVD player. Unfortunately I've seen it so many times that it's lost its charm. It would actually be fun to watch with someone else, and maybe try to find some kind of fatal flaw to joke about. But I don't even have that. I get up and stumble to the fridge, thinking that eating might at least entertain me a bit. That's when I suddenly feel a gust in the room, and everything starts blowing towards the center of my living room. Then, before I can react, there is a bright magenta light. It grows brighter and brighter until it finally blinds me. When it fades, I look into the living room and see a young, slender, Caucasian girl… lying naked face down on the floor.

Of course I instantly start to blush - I mean it's not every day that something like this happens. I have to admit, she's very beautiful from where I stand, like an angel fallen from the heavens… right into my living room. Yeah, this has got be a hallucination. I wonder if staring at the screen for so long messed up my eyesight. After rubbing my eyes, I find she's still there on the floor. So I try a more drastic approach and slap my face five times, only to find she's still there. Finally, I leave the room, close my eyes and slam my head against my bedroom wall, all while telling myself "there's nobody there." I then walk back into the living room, only to find she's still lying there. Okay, I can now officially confirm this is real… there's a naked girl lying on my floor.

So I then try to figure out what to do next. As I sit there and think, I grab a nearby blanket and toss it over her back. I figured I'd best keep her warm, as it's nearly December and the thermostat's been malfunctioning as of late. I myself have been forced to wear a hoodie in my own living room. That's when I notice something on her right hip - a mark of some kind. It looks like a big pink star with six sides with many smaller white ones around it. In fact, it looked exactly like the cutie mark Twilight Sparkle has in the show. Could it be?

I go back to my room and fetch my Ipod, and then turn on one of the episodes that I purchased, paying close attention to Twilight's cutie mark. Sure enough, it's exactly the same. But I still deny it. This can't be Twilight Sparkle, there's just no way. And even if it is, why is she a human? Of course, then I notice that her hair is dark blue with a purple and pink streak on the front and back. I still refuse to believe it; she could just be a really good cosplayer… who decided to drop into my house for reasons unknown. But how does that explain the bright magenta light?

Before I have a chance to contribute any more thought, I hear a knock coming from the door. I go over and open it, covering the sight of the girl with my body. It was my neighbor, asking what that loud sound was. I couldn't tell if she was talking about the bright light or me slamming my head against the bedroom wall, but I couldn't let her in. What if she were to see the girl on my floor? It would raise a lot of awkward questions.

Thinking fast, I tell her it's my microwave. It exploded and needs repair. She gives me a puzzled look, and then asked if she can come in to take a look at it. I continue to block her way while saying it's a real mess and I didn't want her to see it. While I try to get rid of my neighbor, the girl wakes up and starts to rise to her feet.

After a series of false stories involving the microwave, I finally get the neighbor to leave. I close the door and immediately turn around to see the girl attempting to stand up, the blanket still hanging onto her shoulders. I see her legs trembling under her own weight, as she desperately struggles to maintain her balance. She nearly straightens her position, when her legs give out, causing her to fall forward. I quickly dart across the room and catch her in my arms, holding her up as her feet lie on the ground.

"Careful," I say to her. "Are you okay?"

She then opens her eyes and looks straight into mine. They're a gorgeous shade of purple, and I must say… I've never seen such beautiful eyes. Then again, who actually does have purple eyes?

"Y-yes," she says, her voice sounding exactly like Twilight Sparkle from the show.

"Here, it's kinda cold, let's get you some clothes. Can you walk?"

"I… I don't know," she says, grunting as she attempts to stand on her own.

I then pull her arm over my shoulder and she takes baby steps forward, with me supporting her so that she doesn't fall again. She struggles with each step, as though no one ever taught her how to walk on two legs before, though she gradually makes progress as we move along our path. As we walk, I notice she has another mark on her left hip, which is just like the one on her right. The evidence was really piling up, all pointing to this being the real Twilight Sparkle. But I still just wouldn't accept it; it made no sense at all.

Finally, we reach the spare bedroom. My sister stays here whenever she comes to town, and even leaves some clothes behind as she does come by on a regular basis. I then let her go, and find she's at least able to stand on her own. I then grab her a magenta colored hoodie and some sweat pants.

"Here, you can change into these," I say as I toss them into her hands. "And there's some under garments in the drawers behind you."

I then head for the door, but the girl asks "excuse me?" before I can leave the room.

"What?" I respond.

"Change?" she asks.

"Yeah, put the clothes on."

"Clothes?"

"The things I just gave you. Put them on."

"How?"

"You're kidding."

She shakes her head. I let out a deep groan; I know I'm not going to like this.

"Well…let me run you through it real quick."

I avoid looking at her bare naked body, which made for a very awkward instructional moment. Using my own body as a visual example, I pointed out what the pants and hoodie were and how to put them on. I didn't bother going for any underwear, as I don't know how to describe it without undressing. And a bra… don't even get me started. My sister is coming into town next week for her annual holiday stay. Maybe she can help me out with that stuff.

While it wasn't easy, I did manage to get her dressed without actually making physical contact. I then help her get over to the table, and she even makes the last few steps on her own. I then make us some tea and sit down at the table with her. She takes a sip and winds up burning her upper lip, which I actually find kinda funny. I chuckle a bit, only to receive a puzzled look from my guest, before ultimately apologizing to her. I then get down to business and ask a whole lot of questions. Who she is, where's she from, what she's doing here, etc.

But all my questions go unanswered, as she can't remember anything prior to waking up. This of course, puts me in somewhat of a tough spot with what to do with her. Do I send her away or let her stay here? I'd hate to kick her out when she has no memory of whom she is or where to go, but I also don't have much money to support a roommate. I can obviously tell she's not from around here, given her strange characteristics and the fact that she "teleported" into my living room. Reluctantly, I decide to let her stay with me, and if the neighbors ask, I could just tell them that she's a new student who needs a roommate. She does appear about the same age as me after all.

I let her have the spare bedroom. She can use the clothes in there until I can afford to get her some new ones. Heck, maybe my sister will pitch in for the holidays. Before she goes to bed, I tell her she'll need a name.

"A name?" she asks, as though intrigued I would give her such a thing.

"Yeah, something to call you," I respond. "Maybe… Twilight Sparkle."

I quickly cover my mouth; I didn't mean to say it out loud. It's just this whole theory of mine is really getting to me.

"That's a cute name… I like it," she says with a smile.

"You do?" I ask with a confused look.

Just then she wraps her arms around me and thanks me for the name and clothes. My heart beats loudly; I've never really had a girl hug me before. My instincts tell me to hug her back, and actually… I really want to. My arms start to get into position, but I resist, as I hardly know this girl or how long she'll be here.

"Uh…yeah…" I say under my breath. "Y-your welcome."

Then she separates from me and asks me what my name is with a smile. Let me tell you, I thought her eyes were beautiful, but that smile just takes the cake. I mean I've seen the girls at school smile, but not like this. It was so cute, and so enchanting that there was just no way I could ignore the question.

"T-Tai," I say to her. "Tai Bantly"

"Tai Bantly," she repeats, before smiling even wider and cocking her head. "That's a nice name."

"Yeah," I say, still smitten by her cute smile. "It is… now you've had a bit of a rough night, so I think you need some sleep."

I then guide her to the bed and cover her up with the sheets. Then I turn off the light and looked back at her. I find that she's already asleep, and even then, she wears that cute smile. It was as though she had nothing to fear, and felt perfectly safe here with me. I then closed the door and let out a huge sigh of relief. I gotta admit, she's really cute… and I could fall for her. But I can't let myself get too attached. She's only staying here until I can find out where to send her. Then everything will go back to normal.

I don't know for sure if she is the real Twilight Sparkle. The evidence says "yes," but the logic says "no." How can a cartoon character be real, and if so, why take on a form different than the original show? I'm not sure, but whether or not she is the real Twilight, she's a lost human girl with no memory of who she is. She needs my help, and I'll give it to her. Only time will tell otherwise.

Chapter 3

"There ya go, now you've got it," Twilight said, just as I had finished the last homework problem for the night. I then took a look at the clock on the new stove, which read 10:15 pm.

"Wow… finished even faster than last time," I say, quite surprised.

"Well, that just shows how much better you're getting at this," Twilight says with a smile. She then got up from her seat and got a glass of milk before heading back to her room.

"Well, better get some sleep, we've got to get up early to catch the metro tomorrow."

"I'll do that," I say, smiling and waving good night.

Twilight flashed that cute smile of hers as she walked into her room, closing the door behind her. I start packing up my school supplies, as I think about how great everything has gone over these past few months. Ever since that first night, she's been helping me with homework, and words can't begin to describe how thankful I am for her. It's like having my own at home tutor, whose help is getting me through college. I'm now starting to understand the material a lot easier and my grades are at an all time high.

So I finally finish packing and turn in for the night. After a short night of rest, the dawn finally approaches and, of course, Twilight is up before me. Naturally, she's fully dressed and has that magenta purse hanging over her shoulder. Did I mention she takes it everywhere nowadays?

"C'mon, Tai," Twilight says with a laugh. "We don't want to miss the train."

"There ARE other trains, Twilight. We could always catch another."

"Yeah, but then we'll miss all the early morning activities. Remember our trip to the spy museum?"

I groan a little bit. I do actually like to sleep in on Saturday, but she's been waiting all week for this, so I'll do it for her.

"Alright," I say, wrestling my way out of bed. "But for getting up so early, I get to pick where we eat lunch."

"Deal," she responds. "Just hurry up and get ready!"

I hop in the shower, get dressed and head to the front door, where Twilight's standing like an excited kid waiting to go to Disney Land. I grab my house keys and we head out the door. I walk at my own pace while Twilight can barely hold back from getting ahead of me. Honestly, I've never known anyone to get this excited to go to… the aquarium. Yes, I said the aquarium.

Believe it or not, she's actually the one funding this trip. About four weeks ago, she saw a commercial for the aquarium, and has wanted to go ever since. When I told her that I couldn't afford to pay for the full trip, she became determined to find a job and raise the money herself. So I finally managed to find her a "permanent" job… at the library. I thought it would be a good job for her, since she seems to love reading. Basically, her job is doing a bit of everything, from organizing books, to checking them in, to doing a couple of other things behind the scenes. She's pretty good at her job, and is a very hard worker who aims for the utmost satisfaction. But despite her intense work habits, she has a tendency to read on the job every so often. But at least she hasn't been fired yet.

Ever since she started working, she's been using her extra cash to fund a number of field trips. First, it was the little petting zoo. Then, it was the spy museum. And now, she's finally saved enough to go the aquarium. I usually help out by paying for the metro tickets. I don't really mind. Now that we're both paying the rent, there's a lot more extra money. Besides, it does get me out of the house.

So anyway, we get onto the train and head downtown. The whole time Twilight's asking me what we might see at the aquarium. Of course I don't know what to tell her, I haven't been to the aquarium in years. This only makes her even more excited. So excited, in fact, that you'd think she was on a sugar high. I kind of find it adorable actually; like taking a kid to the toy store.

So we get to the aquarium, and Twilight pays for the tickets. We get inside and she tells me to wait in the lobby for her. So I do so, and watch as she heads for the gift shop. At first, I'm a little confused; she was so excited to come, and the first place she goes is the gift shop? She buys herself a pen and notepad and sticks them in her purse. She then walks out and tells me "let's go" as she leads the way to the first exhibit. She walks with great posture, back straight, shoulders relaxed, like a soldier determined to complete his mission. What is going through this girl's head?

Our first exhibit is the octopus, and we find there's a kinder garden class there on a field trip, as well. Twilight wastes no time getting up close to the glass. She looks into the container with great astonishment, as though she was seeing something nobody else saw. I work my way over to her side, when all of a sudden the octopus slams into the glass, underside facing its audience. All the kinder gardeners and myself jump back in fear at the creepy sight. Twilight on the other hand stays right where she is, as though she had planned for this to happen. She reaches into her purse and pulls out the notepad and pen.

She then starts jolting her pen forward as though she's counting something, and then starts writing with it. The octopus stays in place for about three minutes before crawling up the side of the glass. I go back to Twilight's side and ask what she wrote down. She then shows me her notes and starts getting excited again.

"I counted 240 suction cups on just one of that octopus' tentacles. So if each tentacle has that exact same number, that must mean that an octopus has…"

She then writes a math equation on the same page, which she solves in about forty-five seconds.

"1920 cups in total! Isn't that amazing?"

I give her a bit of a dumbfound look. Aside from the fact that she would actually go through the trouble of figuring that out, she was actually able to count all those suction cups in that brief amount of time? Then again, this is the girl who learned to read and write after only eight weeks of PBS. So why is this surprising?

"Uh…" I start to say. "Yeah, real amazing. Um, are you gonna do that for every exhibit we go to today?"

"You betcha," she says in a determined voice. She then started getting somewhat theatrical with the next phrase that came out of her mouth.

"I'm on a mission Tai. A mission to learn all there is to know about the beauty this world has to offer. If there's knowledge to be had, then I will have it. I won't leave any rock unturned, any question unanswered. There's so much to learn out there and I will learn it."

I chuckle a bit over her speech. I've never met anyone who was this passionate about learning. I mean, sure I enjoy my classes that are related to my major, but I wouldn't really spend all my spare time trying to get to the bottom of them. But at least I finally know the reason she likes going to these places. It's also a lot better than sitting around the house all day, doing nothing. So I might as well support her in her "mission."

"Alright, well we'd best be moving on. There's more knowledge to be had," I say, playing along with her.

Twilight happily scampers over to the next exhibit, the shark tank. She attempts to count how many teeth the sharks have, but she's unable to, since they won't stand still long enough. So I show her the aquarium fact board, to which she starts copying it down in the notepad… paragraph by paragraph.

By the end of the day, her notepad is completely full. Both the front and back of each sheet is jammed full with notes. And yet Twilight is still a little upset, since she didn't have enough room for every paragraph in the building. I suggest she either learn to paraphrase or bring a recording device.

Before leaving, we come across a hands on exhibit where guests can actually hold some of the aquatic animals. Twilight instantly grabs my arm and pulls me over to it. She wanted to hold each and every animal that was available, and wasted no time doing so. She picked up a starfish and started giggling.

I was truly surprised, as most girls around my campus would probably freak at the mere thought of touching such a thing. Yet here was Twilight, laughing and giggling like a kid with a new puppy. Truly she is a one of a kind girl.

Then she turns to me, still holding the starfish in her palms.

"Tai, you wanna try it?"

"No… no, I'm fine."

"Oh come on, it's pretty cool."

"No… really, I'm good."

"Oh please…"

Twilight gives me another smile, which, of course, I'm powerless to resist. So I decided I'd do it for her. She hands me the starfish, which quickly grasps onto my fingers. It felt pretty creepy, like it may be attempting to bite me or something. So I scream and toss it right back into the tank.

Twilight starts laughing again, and tells me that that wasn't the way to do it. She reaches in and picks it back up, telling me to rest my hands easy. I didn't want to go through that again, but she urges me to experience it. So I hesitantly accept her help and reach out with both hands laid flat. Twilight puts the starfish right in my palms, and tells me to just relax and let it be. So I take her advice, and sure enough… it works. I can feel the thing's little tentacles bristling against my skin.

"There, now ya got it. Like learning Calculus, right?"

I look at her with a small smile.

"Right…"

After a few minutes, I drop the starfish back in the tank, and we walked out the door.

"Well, now what?" I ask Twilight.

"Well, as we agreed, you get to pick lunch."

I then smile a wide smile.

"Well, Little Miss Explorer, you want another adventure? Ya feel like trying Italian?"

Chapter 4

Well, it's Friday night and I'm sitting on the couch with my DVD collection. With all the trips Twilight and I have been taking, it's such a relieve to just sit down on the couch and watch them. Now don't get me wrong, I really like taking these trips with her. We get to see new things, go to new places, and best of all, it gets me out of the house and into the world. But too much travel does take a toll on you, and it's nice to just stay at home on some nights.

That's when Twilight comes home from work, stumbling across the floor like a worn out dog. I guess she must've had a rough day. She puts down her purse and house keys before observing the empty kitchen.

"Hey Tai, what's for supper?" She asks curiously.

The two of us have a system where if one gets home before the other, they clean the house and cook dinner. Obviously, since there was no class today, it was my turn. But I had a different idea. Since she's been showing me her interests, I thought it was time I showed her mine.

"Actually, Twilight," I start. "I thought for tonight, we'd order a pizza and watch a movie."

"Movie?" She asks.

"Yeah, a bit like that stuff you watch on TV, except on a disk," I say, showing her a sample.

Twilight becomes curious and then kicks off her shoes before jumping onto the couch next to me. I then tell her to hold on while I order the pizza. As I dial, I find myself thinking about how long it's been since I had a night like this. My sister and I used to do this all the time when mom and dad were around. Just sitting at home, pigging out on pizza while watching a movie. I hope the evening goes the same with Twilight.

While we wait for the pizza, I start making popcorn for afterwards and ask Twilight to pick the movie. She shifts through my large collection, not having a clue where to start.

"How about this one?" She asks, acknowledging the DVD she picked.

I take a look at the DVD and see that it's Ridley Scott's "Alien". She probably picked it because she loves space study, and is quite fascinated with the theory of life outside our galaxy.

"I don't think so Twilight. I mean, that's a pretty scary movie."

Twilight simply glares at me with a smug look on her face.

"Oh please, it can't be much scarier than this mess," Twilight responds, showing me the mess of scattered DVDs on the floor.

I simply chuckle at the joke. Ever since she started working at the library, she's become a bit of a stickler when it comes to organization. The girl organizes everything, even the money in her purse. I on the other hand, have a tendency to not be so organized, often leaving things wherever they are and sometimes losing them. I often find myself calling Twilight in just to help me find what I'm looking for, like the bills.

So knowing she's not the kind to back down from a challenge, I give up and let her have her way. And besides, I do love that movie. About fifteen minutes later, the pizza arrives and once we're all set up, I dim the lights and start the movie. The whole time Twilight's gazing at the screen with great wonder. I'm quite amazed, considering that by this point most girls would probably be clinging to the closest thing in sight. Yet here she is, anxiously gazing at this creepy movie with amazement and wonder.

Then it happens. We come to the scene where Captain Dallas is crawling through the air vents, when all of a sudden he's ambushed by the alien. The creature springs out of its hiding place, making a loud hissing noise. Twilight jumps back in fear and leans against my arm.

"Twilight, you o…"

But before I can finish, I hear a giggle. Twilight starts laughing about how scary that was. Before I know it, I start laughing too. The room is then filled with the sound of our laughter, so much so that we have to pause the movie just to calm down. A full five minutes pass before we're finally able to resume the film.

That's when Twilight rests her head on my shoulder.

"You mind if I lay here, Tai?" She asks with a smile.

"N-no," I say, slightly embarrassed.

Twilight then gets comfortable as she enjoys the rest of the film. As she lies there, I can feel my heart beating rapidly. It almost feels like the two of us are on a date. I'm not quite sure why I feel this way; she is my roommate after all. I see and talk to her all the time, and yet, I'm getting a weird feeling right now - one I haven't felt before.

Finally the film ends, and Twilight starts laughing again.

"Wow, that was scary. How do you think they made that creature look so real?" She asks.

"It was a costume, made up of latex," I respond.

"Really? But what about the head?"

"It was a separate piece with controls to operate the mouth."

That's when Twilight turns her full attention to me, and asks to know more. I can't believe this; a girl is actually interested in my movie knowledge? Even my sister got slightly annoyed by it when we were younger, often labeling me a nerd. But here's Twilight Sparkle, curled up on the couch asking to hear everything I know. So I decide to give her what she wants and start my long explanation.

It felt like hours had passed, with just the two of us chatting the night away. I even start playing some of the special features on the DVD, just to give her more insight. She didn't just want to know about the alien creature, she wanted to know about the sets, the cast, everything that went into making the film. And the more I told her, the more excited she got. She found it all to be both funny and fascinating.

After a long chatting session, she falls asleep on the couch. I then look at the kitchen clock and see it's nearly 2:00 AM, way past her usual bedtime. I grab a blanket and cover her up, letting her sleep peacefully on the couch.

I head back to my room, where my computer is waiting. I see that it's downloaded the last episode of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, as in the last of the series. I watch the episode, and then shut off my computer with a sorrowful look on my face. I hate to admit it, but I've been secretly watching the series without Twilight knowing. But… I've been doing it to help her. I've been hoping, if my theory about her is correct, that the show would have some sort of clue as to why she's here. But no such luck.

While doing the research, I've also found out that the show has ended production. The writing crew decided to end the series after its fifth season, as they didn't want to write the show into the ground. Ironically, they made this announcement the same day Twilight appeared in my living room. There are plans to replace it with a new My Little Pony cartoon, one that goes back to using characters from the original 1980's show. That's not all; I've also learned that numerous Brony websites are losing visitors, most likely in response to the show being cancelled. I'm also not seeing nearly as much fan art on deviantART as there once was. It seems the Brony ship is sinking, disappearing into nothingness.

Twilight doesn't know about any of this. I haven't told her. I keep meaning to do so, but… I'm held back by my emotions. I can't get these thoughts out of my head. I mean… she's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. For the first time in what feels like years, I'm finally getting out of the house and getting to truly experience the world I live in. On top of that, I really like her as a friend. She's always happy to see me when I get home, she's always open to my suggestions, and hey, how many other girls would actually WANT to hear me give an hour long commentary about a movie? She's truly a one of a kind.

I actually find myself thinking about her all the time. Whenever I'm having a tough time at work, or trying to wrestle my way through exams, she's what gets me through the day. I'm always looking forward to getting home and seeing her, telling her about my day, and then sharing a laugh with her. I don't really know why I have these thoughts - maybe its just part of having a roommate. Maybe… it's something else. But either way, these thoughts are like a solid brick wall that I just can't fight my way around. I'm afraid if I show her the series, I might wind up losing her… and having to go back to my old boring life of loneliness. Is this wrong? Am I being selfish? She may not be the real Twilight Sparkle anyway, so maybe none of it matters.

I don't know. I feel like I'm lying to my roommate, and I truly hate it. But I just can't fight these emotions. Hopefully they'll pass in a matter of time, and I just need to patient. So that's what I'll do. I'll let Twilight have some more fun, and enjoy it until these emotions die down. Then once they're gone, I'll show her the series, and see if my theory is correct. I only hope… to be spared as much pain as possible.

Chapter 5

It's that time of the year again - late August. Summer's almost over and fall is almost here. That means it's time for the town carnival once again. My parents used to take me there all the time as a kid, and it still has a very special place in my heart. But since their passing, I haven't gone. After all, what's the fun in going alone? But this year, I thought I'd take Twilight with me. For once, it's my turn to plan a field trip, and once again she's as excited as ever. The instant she enters the gate, she looks around in wonder.

"What do we do first?" She asks.

"Why don't you pick," I say to her.

"But I've never been to a carnival before."

"And I haven't been since I was twelve. What's your point?"

Twilight looks around with wide eyes. She twirls so fast that I keep thinking she might make herself dizzy.

"How about those games over there?" She asks, pointing to the game section.

I start walking over when she takes hold of my arm. I look at her, a bit confused.

"There's a lot of people here. I'd rather not get separated," she says.

I simply smile and keep walking with her at my side. I would say this feels like another date, if I wasn't already used to this kinda thing. She always does this whenever we get into crowded areas. I just go along with it since I do admit the downtown area can be kinda scary if you're alone.

So we get to the game section, and Twilight instantly springs into action. Her first game is Skee-ball. She pays the man at the counter a dollar and grabs four balls. She rolls the first one and it lands right in the center hole. I'm quite impressed, given this is literally her first roll at the game.

"How'd you do that?" I ask curiously.

"It's all in the angle of the ball," she answers. "I read a book a while ago on momentum, it said that-"

"Okay, okay, you've made your point," I say with a small laugh.

Twilight then rolls the next two balls; they both go into the center hole as well.

"It's just too bad I wasn't able to read up on how to increase the power even more," she says, slightly disappointed.

"Why don't I help you," I suggest, taking a gentle hold of her wrist.

"My dad taught me this trick when I was young. If you position yourself like so and then release at the right time..."

I then guide Twilight's hand and order her to release. She releases the ball and it rolls all the way up to the one hundred point cup. Twilight starts clapping as her ball rolls in. She then turns around and hugs me, thanking me for my help. I think she really just did it out of excitement. My heart starts beating fast again and I blush a bit, as I'm not completely used to her hugs. Matter of fact, I think this is my second - the first being the day we met. But nonetheless, I feel real happy for her and this time I do hug her back.

The man running the stand gives her the prize - a goldfish. I attempt to convince her to give it to someone else, since it would be another mouth to feed. But Twilight insists on keeping it, as she really wants a live specimen to observe at home. So I decide to let her keep it, as long as she can take care of it.

"I think I'll name him… Spike. I don't know why but the name appeals to me," she says.

The next stop is dart throwing. This time, it's my turn to play, as this was a personal favorite game from my youth. I actually have a mini target and darts hanging on my closet door, and have had years of practice. Twilight stands out of the way holding… Spike, while I get into position. I get three darts for a dollar and I manage to land all three in the center with perfect accuracy. Twilight cheers for me as I win. The man running the booth then gives me a star shaped locket as a prize.

"Give this to yer gal, laddie. She's quite a beaut'," he says with a wink.

"Well… she's not exactly my 'gal,' but thank you," I say, playing along with him.

I then take the locket over to Twilight and ask her if I can put it around her neck. Twilight puts the fish down and parts her hair in the back, giving space to put it on. She looks down at it as she turns towards me.

"It's… it's beautiful Tai. Thank you," she says, giving me another gorgeous smile.

I can't help but smile back.

"It looks great on you," I say to her.

"Well, thank you. Ya know, Tai… have I ever mentioned how much of cool guy you are?" She asks.

"Oh come on, Twilight, I'm just like everyone else; nothing really special," I say, slightly embarrassed.

"No really; you're pretty awesome. Like how you…"

"STEP RIGHT UP, and see the amazing Larry work his hypnotic magic!"

Twilight turns away from me and looks at the tent.

"OH MY GOD, there's a hypnotist here? TAI, WE GOTTA GO NOW!!"

She grabs me by the shirt and pulls me into the tent before shoving me into a front row seat. She then sits down herself, shaking her fists in anticipation. She loves hypnotism, and has actually been practicing at home. She hasn't quite mastered it, but is determined to get it to work.

I sit in my seat, trying to cool down from the feeling of being dragged against my will. I look back at Twilight, whose anxiously stomping her feet on the ground. I keep thinking about what she said back there. Like I said, I don't socialize very much, so I've never had anyone call me a "cool" guy before. I simply smile as I absorb the compliment, then the show starts.

The "Amazing Larry" comes on stage and starts boasting about whom he is. He then asks for a volunteer, to which Twilight instantly jumps up and starts flapping her arms. Much to her delight, she gets picked. It's not even like Larry has to tell her anything; she just runs up and sits in the chair ready to be hypnotized.

So Larry starts waving the pendant in front of her face, and she's instantly fazed. He then gives her some commands and she starts following them. She jumps up and down, makes rooster sounds, all while the audience is laughing away.

Then Larry says it:

"For your final command: I command you to… kiss your best friend."

Now really, I gotta ask, what kind of hypnotist orders his victim to kiss her best friend? I mean really, who does that? But before I can continue my thought, Twilight runs over to my seat, picks me up and presses her lips onto mine.

My whole body feels like it's on fire. Dapples of sweat pour down my back and my heart starts pounding at maximum velocity. Aside from the fact that this is my first kiss, she's really pressing hard. She's so locked in that she starts cutting off my air supply. I attempt to break away, but she's got a strong grip. I don't know what exactly that guy did to her, but I pray he undoes it… soon.

Finally, Larry tells her she is awake, and Twilight pulls back her head as everyone starts laughing and clapping. She looks at me awkwardly, as I gasp for the air around me.

"Tai… what's going on here? And why are you so red?" She asks.

"Um…" I start to say.

Twilight releases her hands and I tumble back into my seat. She stands there with a dumbfound look on her face.

"Why do my lips feel this way?" She asks, licking her lips.

"Maybe… maybe I'll tell you over some ice cream. We're going to need a lot," I say, just as dumbstruck as she is.

We then leave the show, both of us with our heads spinning. Twilight's still attempting to piece together what just happened and I'm still in shock over the whole thing. I never thought my first kiss would be like that; it was defiantly not what I expected it to feel like.

But one other thing is on my mind. Larry ordered her to kiss her "best" friend, and she picked me. Does she really consider me her "best" friend? I suppose it makes sense considering we're always together, but I personally thought it was my sister who had the closer connection. Then again, I was within the closest proximity, so maybe that was it.

Really, it's not like I don't want to be her best friend. I mean, I remember when I first laid eyes on her, I found her to be kinda cute. She still is, actually; I always love seeing that smile of hers. But really, I just like spending time with her - that's it. I mean, we're roommates, and why… why am I thinking about this right now?

"So Tai, where to next?" Twilight asks, interrupting my train of thought.

"I don't know Twilight. I think we're both a little shaken up by that show. Maybe we should head home."

"Fine. But can we swing by the pet store so I can get some food for Spike?"

"Alright, might want to get a bowl, too."

So we leave the carnival and head into town, that's when Twilight catches a glimpse of the sun. She then pulls me over to the railing and takes a good look at it.

"Beautiful isn't it?" She asks.

"It's just a sunset," I say.

"Yeah, but usually I don't get to see one like this. All those buildings and trees in the city block the view."

And with that I take my stand beside her, and enjoy the view. I then turn my head back towards Twilight just as the wind starts to blow. Her hair gently blows in the wind, and the sun's rays reflect off her smooth skin, almost giving somewhat of an aura. I haven't seen Twilight look this majestic since the day I first laid eyes upon her.

Then the sun reflects off her new brass locket, which zaps my eyes like a laser, causing me to flinch. Twilight takes notice and asks what's wrong. I simply tell her it was just the sun reflecting off her locket, she then looks down and starts twisting it.

"You know Tai, I really love this locket. I still can't believe you'd give me such a lovely gift."

I simply smile and go back to enjoying the sun, trying to play it cool.

"Don't think anything of it, Twilight. I didn't have much use for it. So I thought you'd like it."

"Oh, but I do," she says, playing with it a bit more.

She then looks at me as I look back at her. She looks deep into my eyes, flashing me back to when I first looked into hers.

"I really mean it, Tai - you're a real awesome guy."

"Twilight really…" I say, still a bit embarrassed by the comment.

"I mean you've always stuck by me in the worst of times. I remember how when we first met, I was little bit of clutz. I couldn't hold a job, had to learn even the most basic necessities, and I still think back on what happen to the oven. But you stuck by me, and look where I've gotten now. Plus, you're also really supportive. Going with me on my trips, helping me pay for train tickets even when you don't have to. And now this."

She then starts showing me the locket again. I then decide it be best to return the compliment, as I'm not one who loves too much attention.

"Well, ya know, Twilight…" I start to say, struggling with the right words. "I… I could say the same about you."

"Yes?" Twilight asks, drifting closer to my body.

"Well… I've… I've never met anyone like you. The way you love learning, taking all these trips to museums. Plus you've really been a big help with my classes. Without you, I don't think my grades would look nearly as good as they do, now. Plus, you're always open to new things, like trying different foods and watching movies. I've never known anyone in life like that."

I then start to second-guess my choice of words; I gotta admit as a "movie buff" this really did sound cheesy. So I turn my body towards her attempting to come up with something new.

"What I'm trying to say is-"

But before I can continue, Twilight pushes her lips onto mine. Then she closes her eyes as she wraps her arms around me. At this point my heart is beating faster than ever. The first thing that goes through my mind is a simple 'what's going on?' That and the memory of the last kiss I got from her.

But this one feels different; it comes with a warm feeling that completely overpowers me. It feels good, as though I've wanted this a long, long time. That's when it hits me - all those thoughts I've been having about her. I can't really explain it, and maybe there's nothing to explain. I never thought I'd say this about anyone, but… I love her. There, I finally said it… I truly love her. And from what I can tell, she loves me as well.

So… I wrap my arms around her and embrace her. It felt like we were standing there for hours - just the two of us, lost in the moment. I've never felt anything like this before; it's perhaps the most wonderful sensation I've ever felt. Finally, we separate, and Twilight looks at me with a grin. I return her look with a smile. She then turns to take another look at the sun and takes notice of how low it is.

"Oh, we best get to the pet store before it closes," she says.

"Here, I know a shortcut," I say to her. "And when we get there, I'll help you pay for everything."

She then grabs my arm.

"Like I said… you're a real awesome guy," she says as she leans her head against my shoulder with smile.

I return the smile, as the two of us head down the street together. Twilight holds onto my arm the whole time, and I enjoy it. I have a feeling we're gonna have more nights like this one, and that my life has just taken a turn for the better.

Chapter 6

It’s official; Twilight and I are now in a full on relationship. Though we picked a pretty bad time to start; right after we started dating, the new semester began and it was one of the toughest I’ve ever faced. The reason is because it was my second to last before graduation, as a result, I had to work extra hard to ensure that I pass. Making things worse, a lot of my classes required computer work and since I don’t have the applications at home, I had to stay late and use the computer labs. That and handling a part time job really made life miserable over these past few months.

Luckily, I had something to look forward to at the end of the day: coming home to the most elegant girl in the world. Twilight’s been very supportive in getting me through this tough time. She still wears the locket I gave her, and promises to always wear it as a symbol of our love. She’s also been very tolerant of my bad days. I’ve come home some nights tired and frustrated. A few times I’ve even raised my voice when I didn’t mean to, and actually worry that I might say something offensive to her. But thankfully I haven’t and she’s always been able to cheer me up on nights like that.

That being said, I really wish I could’ve made more time for her, but my busy schedule just wouldn’t allow it. Even on nights when I finished my homework, there were still bills to be paid, food to be cooked and before I knew it… she was already fast asleep in bed. She’s told me that she really wants to start going on field trips again, and has even picked out some new locations. But she doesn’t want to go alone, and I don’t blame her. I really feel bad for her, being there to support me, and yet I can’t support her.

The month of November got even worse for the both of us. That’s when the holiday rush hit the library, with people checking out books on places to travel for the holidays. There were several nights she had to work late, and I didn’t get to see her when I got home. Also she doesn’t have a cell phone, so I couldn’t even speak to her. I would only get to see her late at night just before I went to bed, which didn’t make either of our lives any easier.

But that’s all in the past now. It’s December, the semester is officially over, and I passed with flying colors. It’s winter break, there are no assignments and another Christmas is on its way. I’m free, and I’m determined to spend the holidays with the girl I love. I’m going to give her the attention she deserves; I’m going to make up for all the time I never got to spend with her, even if it kills me.

I guess I should also mention that this time of the year has a whole new meaning to me. It was around this time last year that Twilight and I first met. I remember not getting her a present, which has haunted me even to this day. But that’s why this year; I intend to get her something special.

My sister won’t be joining us, as she’s far too busy to make it (I guess she does work after all). She is aware that Twilight and I are dating, and is fully supportive of it. To make up for her not coming, she gave me some extra money and told me to go buy something nice for Twilight. And I know just what to buy her.

Finally Christmas Eve comes and I come home after buying Twilight’s gift. I wrap it and hide it up in my closet, planning to give to her tonight. I would put it under the tree, but we don’t have one. Matter of fact the two of us have been so busy, that we haven’t been able set anything up for Christmas this year.

That’s when the front door bursts open and Twilight comes running in with a bag in her arms. She tosses it on the couch and runs to my room.

“Tai, Tai… you’ve got to come outside quick!” she yells in a desperate voice.

“What is it?” I ask.

“No time to explain, just get your coat and come outside… NOW!” Twilight says trotting in place.

So I grab my coat and follow Twilight down the stairs. This must’ve been something serious, as she didn’t even attempt to give me a welcome home kiss. Maybe there was an accident, maybe someone was hurt, or maybe something far worse.

Finally we reach the outside and I look around. There’s snow all over the place, completely covering the ground, with more falling from the sky. I then continue my search for what has Twilight so spooked and I find… nothing. There’s no accident, nobody’s hurt, just plain nothing.

“Twilight, what’s going on?” I ask.

“Can’t you see; it’s snowing!” she responds holding out her arms.

“That’s it?” I ask with a peculiar look.

“Yeah, what did you think it was?”

I slap myself on the forehead. Leave it to Twilight to get all excited about a simple thing like the weather.

“So,” I say turning away from her. “I take it that you want to study it?”

“No, I already read up on it a long time ago,” she says.

“Then why did you bring me out-”

Suddenly a snowball hits me from behind. As I recover from the blow, Twilight starts laughing.

“Because I thought you’d enjoy it.”

I then smile at her as I pick up some snow. I then make two snowballs and hurl them at her. She dodges the first one, but the second one hits her right in the face. I then hurry over to see if she’s okay.

“Twilight, I’m so sorry. Are you…”

I then brush the snow off Twilight’s face, and she looks at me with her majestic eyes. She then puts on her cute smile and gets up close to me.

“I’m fine…” she says looking seductively into my eyes.

I then smile as she moves closer to my lips. I know what comes next, and I’m ready. I hold my position, and close my eyes ready for contact.

Then something cold hits me in the face, I open my eyes and find Twilight holding a wad of snow in my face.

“You’re so predictable,” she says with smirk.

“Oh, you want to play it that way?” I ask brushing the snow out of my face.

I then kick a nearby tree, causing the snow to fall from the branches onto Twilight. This time it was my turn to laugh.

“See, I can pull sneak attacks too,” I say with a grin.

“Well how’s this for a sneak attack?” Twilight asks as she gets into position.

She then tackles me and pushes us both down the hill. Thankfully the snow is nice and soft, so neither of us are harmed in any way. The two of us laugh the whole way down, until we both stop rolling. Twilight lands on top of me and looks into my eyes.

“I think I won,” she says with a smile.

“We’ll call it a draw,” I say to her.

She then leans down and gives me a real kiss on the lips, and I wrap my arms around her as she does so. I really needed this and it felt so wonderful. All that work through the semester, and now I’m getting my reward. I can’t tell you how great it is to finally be able to spend some quality time with her.

After lying there for what felt like hours, the two of us make our way inside. After changing our clothes and hanging them out to dry, I make us both some hot chocolate. This time Twilight doesn’t burn her lip.

“So you’re all done with classes now?” she asks.

“Yep, at least until January. Which means I can spend more time with you,” I say.

“You mean we can start doing our field trips again?”

“You betcha, we can go wherever you want.”

“Great! I’ll do my best to stay in contact with you.”

“Oh that reminds me; hold on.”

I then head to my room and bring out her present.

“Merry Christmas, sweetheart,” I say.

Twilight opens the package, and inside is a brand new Iphone.

“The two of us really got busy over the past month, so I thought I’d get you this so we can stay in better contact.”

“Thank you Tai, I have something for you too. Sorry, but I didn’t have time to wrap it.”

She then reaches into the bag she brought in, and pulls out a brand new organizer.

“You’re always having trouble making time between your classes, so I thought this would help.”

I thank her for the gift, and promise to use it well.

“Wait, there’s one more thing,” Twilight says.

She then pulls out a piece of mistletoe from the bag, and dangles it above my head. I simply smile at her as she smiles back. She then hugs me tight and gives me another kiss. I simply embrace it, and return the hug. I must say; it’s the most magical Christmas I’ve ever had.

Chapter 7

Well, this it, my final semester of college. Yep, I’ve made it this far and the workload hasn’t gotten any easier. But really, it doesn’t bother me as much, because now… I’m living the dream life. Though it took some practice, that organizer has really changed my life. I’ve now been able to organize my time better and Twilight and I now have the relationship we’ve always wanted. This means more time with one another, and life has never been better.

Friday night is our usual date night, usually involving the two of us going to the movies. Sometimes, this just amounts to us staying home and watching one of my DVDs. Other times we actually go out to the theater. When at home, the two of us really enjoy films from the 80’s and 90’s. Part of the reason is because Twilight finds it fascinating to learn about the various tricks and special effects that were used in the old days. This is where my movie knowledge really comes in handy, and we can spend hours trading notes. Our theater nights are more hilarious, as we both find modern CGI to look completely fake compared to the old days. Usually the fun of these nights involves us laughing at what’s on screen. There's even been a few times where we were asked to leave the theater.

Our field trips have become somewhat limited. It depends partially on how busy my schedule is and how much money we have at the time. Nonetheless, when we do get out, we have a lot of fun. We sometimes go to the zoo, other times to the aquarium, even once in a while to a dinner show. And every so often, we’re just out to see the town. I just can’t believe it; just over a year ago I was a hermit living in seclusion, bored and alone. And now I’m living the life I always wanted. A life out in the world around me, with the most wonderful girl I could ever ask for.

That being said, I thought I’d ask her out to the campus dance. Every spring semester, my campus has one. I’ve always wanted to go, but was too shy to attend it by myself. Dancing has always been a secret passion of mine. I’ve actually practiced since I was a kid. But… I’ve been too embarrassed to really tell anybody, so I’ve kept it to myself all these years. But Twilight’s different; I really feel like I can be myself around her, which is why I want to take her. Twilight happily accepts my offer, even though she doesn’t have a clue how to dance.

Thursday night comes, two days before the dance. I actually get home before Twilight, so I decide to take my turn making dinner for the both of us. That’s when the door suddenly opens. I turn to get a look at the lovely girl walking in, but instead I see about fifteen books stacked on top of each other, and a pair of legs driving them.

“Hi, honey,” Twilight says from behind the books.

“Um…hi… which ever book is talking to me?" I say, joking around with her.

“Oh, sorry. I’ve got a lot of reading to do before Saturday night,” Twilight says as she sticks her head out from behind the books.

She then pulls over to the counter and puts the books down. She wraps her arms around me and gives me my welcome home kiss, before picking the books back up and heading for her room.

“Could you please bring my dinner to my room when it’s done?” She asks.

“Of course,” I say with a smile.

“Thanks. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

She then walks into her room and closes the door behind her. About fifteen minutes later, I finish cooking supper. I also start hearing loud noises coming from Twilight’s room. I fix two plates and bring them to her door, where the noises start getting a bit louder. I open the door, and nearly faint at what I see. All of Twilight’s books are scattered all over the floor, Spike’s bowl is nearly over the edge of her bed table, and I think I see a sideways lamp on the floor. I then look down and see a messy haired Twilight curled up on the floor, rubbing her head.

“Okay, it’s no big deal. The dance isn’t until Saturday; it’s still two days away. TWO… DAYS… AWAY!!! I… I still have plenty of time. Heh, heh…” Twilight says, running her hands through her hair and clenching her teeth.

“Uh… honey,” I say as I approach her.

“WHAT?!?!? Oh, hi Tai… how long have you been there?” She asks, sounding as deranged as ever.

“Long enough. I think you should take a break,” I say.

“OH NO!!! There’s no time for a break. I have a dance to get ready for. It’s only two days away. I must prepare… I must prepare for the dance-"

“Twilight!” I yell, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. “Take… a… break.”

Twilight looks at me with dazed eyes, but my words seem to get through to her. I hand her the plate and the two of us sit down to eat dinner on the floor.

“I just don’t get it, I’ve learned everything I know from books… why can’t I learn this?

“Maybe just reading about it isn’t enough. Maybe you need some hands on practice,” I suggest.

“Yeah, that worked so well the last time,” Twilight sarcastically answers, showing me the wreckage around us.

“I meant with a real partner,” I say, finishing my plate.

I then put the plate down and stand up, holding out my hand to her.

“C’mon, I promise not to throw you into any book cases.”

Twilight looks at my hand with a bit of fear. I can tell what’s going through her mind, so I smile at her, which seems to convince her that it’s alright. She takes my hand as I pull her up to my level, and quickly loses her footing and falls forward onto my chest.

“Twilight, there’s no need to worry. I’m here to catch you if you fall,” I say to her.

With that, Twilight pulls herself off my chest. I then take a firm grasp on her hand and put my free hand on her waist. She then puts her free hand on my shoulder.

“Now just follow my lead,” I say to her, as I start to move us around the room.

At first, Twilight’s a little scared, as I can feel her hands tighten their grip. But as she grows more use to the motion, her grip starts to loosen. We repeated the process the following night, and Twilight even found herself enjoying it.

Saturday finally arrives, and my sister is back in town. When she found out I was taking Twilight to the dance, she packed up and got over here as fast as possible. She showed up at my door at nine o'clock this morning, and wrote me a check for one thousand dollars, insisting I get a nice suit. She then took Twilight out with her and ordered me not to call them all day. So I obeyed her command and am now standing out on campus by myself, dressed in the best tux that I could afford.

Everyone starts heading in while I’m sitting out here in the cold. I actually start to worry that they may have lost track of time. Did my sis just ruin our big date? That’s when a limo pulls up and my sister hops out the right door.

“Oh Tai, you’re gonna love your date tonight. I made her dress myself.”

“Sis, you shouldn’t have,” I say.

“Oh of course I should’ve. I want only the best for my sweet little brother.”

Of course I knew better than this. My sister has always had a “girls watch out for one another” philosophy on life. Whenever one of her friends needs help, she always rushes to their side, and helps out by either spending lots of money or making them dresses… more often than not, it's both.

She opens the door, and Twilight steps out of it. She’s wearing a silver and blue dress that glitters against the lights. The sight of her nearly causes my jaw to drop. I’m not really much of a fashion critic, but I must say that my sis did a real good job with the dress. She looks absolutely stunning.

“H-how do I look?” Twilight asks, looking slightly embarrassed.

I smile and take her hand.

“Like I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else tonight,” I say to her.

Twilight giggles at my remark.

“Okay, you two,” my sister says. “I think it’s time for the first picture. Twilight, hand me your phone.”

Twilight hands my sister her cell phone, and she takes a firm grasp on my arm as sis snaps the picture. She then hands the phone back and tells Twilight to take as many pictures as possible, and send them to her immediately after the dance. I take Twilight by the arm and we start to head in. Sis calls back to me, warning that if I screw this up she will cut off all financial support. I only smile at the joke.

So we get inside and I show Twilight around the place. The two of us head over to the punch table and I pour Twilight a glass. That’s when I hear voice from behind me.

“Wow, Tai, I can’t believe you actually came. Whose this?” Asks Scott. He’s a peer from one of my classes. The two of us had taken up chatting whenever we got the chance.

“Scott, this is my girlfriend,” I say, with a touch of pride.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight says taking a slight bow.

“Twilight Sparkle? What kind of name is that?” Asks the girl holding onto Scott’s arm.

“Well actually… Tai gave me the name,” Twilight responds, taking a firm grasp of my arm.

“You named your girl,” Scott asks with a confused look.

“Yeah, I fell into his living room one night and couldn’t remember my original name. So he came up with the name Twilight Sparkle, and I thought it was cute.” Twilight says, leaning against my shoulder. I then give a bit of an embarrassed smile.

Scott and his date look at us with a stunned look. The two of them stand there for about a minute, before Scott breaks the silence.

“Oh, I get it,” he says.

“Get what?” His date asks.

Scott then whispers something into her ear, to which she gives a “got it” look.

“Well, Twilight Sparkle, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Liz, why don’t you come meet my friends over here?

Liz then takes Twilight’s hand, and shows her over to a group of girls. Scott pours himself a glass from the table.

“Wow, she’s pretty cute. You sure can pick ‘em, Tai,” Scott says, taking a sip from his glass.

Then another classmate approaches me, asking about Twilight. He asks me who she is, where did I meet her, the whole nine yards. Before I have a chance to answer anything, another one of my peers comes up, badgering me with questions. Before I know it, there’s a whole crowd standing before me, all asking the same questions. I actually feel a bit overwhelmed. This is the first time I’ve ever been the center of a crowd, and I don’t know if I like it. Thankfully, Scott comes to my rescue.

“She prefers to be called Twilight Sparkle and for now let’s just play along with her. She’s a little shy and you’d be too if you came to a dance where you didn’t know anyone. I’m pretty sure Tai doesn’t want to embarrass her too much, so let’s not pester him with so many questions. She’ll come around when she’s ready.”

Everyone seems content with that, murming little words of approval. I give a sigh of relief.

“Well, can you at least tell us about yourself?” One classmate asks.

“M-myself?” I ask.

“Yeah, I mean, you’re in a lot of our classes, and we hardly know you. So how about it?”

Everyone then looks at me with curiosity.

“Well Tai, how about it?” Scott asks. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

I then take another look at the crowd before me. This time they’re all quiet and giving me the space to breathe. I can’t believe this, they’re all really interested in what I have to say. I’m once again feeling a little nervous. Like I said, I’m not really one who likes so much attention.

I then look over and see Twilight in the same situation as me, except she seems to be happily chatting away. All the girls on her end seem to be laughing and having a great time. So what the heck, if my girl can do this, then so can I.

So, I tell them everything. I tell them about my interest in movies, the trips I’ve taken with Twilight, and even mention my sister. Much to my delight, they listen with great interest. Soon I pass the conversation off to the other students, and before I know it, we’re all sharing stories about ourselves, and laughing with each other. I never thought the evening would be this lively. I gotta say, I think this is probably the second best time of my life. The foremost being the day Twilight and I first kissed.

Soon the music starts, and the voice on the intercom tells everyone to get ready. The group breaks apart and we all go back to our dates.

“Okay, everyone this is a personal favorite from where I come from,” says the voice on the speaker.

The intercom then starts playing the song “Remember Me This Way.” Twilight and I take hold of each other’s hands and move towards the center of the room where everyone is gathering.

“Okay, Twilight, just like we practiced,” I say to her.

I then take her right hand, as she puts her left on my shoulder. She trips in her high heel shoes and falls right against my chest. I can tell she’s having another nervous breakdown, as she had been getting quite good at this during the practice sessions.

“Twilight, just calm down. If you fall, I’ll pull you back up,” I say to her.

She then pulls her face out of my chest, and looks up at me. Our eyes make contact with each other, which seems to calm her down a little. Soon the two of us exchange smiles, as we start moving our feet, gracefully dancing to the music. We spend the whole time looking into each other’s eyes, completely lost in the moment. It felt so magical, like we could do this forever.

She then puts her arm around my neck and rests her chin on my shoulder, pulling us closer together. I can smell some rich perfume on the back of her neck, most likely another of my sister’s handy works.

“Thank you Tai,” she says. “You’re a real awesome guy.”

I simply smile as I rest my head on her shoulder.

“I could say the same about you,” I say gracefully.

I once again get that same warm feeling from the day we first kissed. I feel like she completely trusts me. And I must say, for my first dance with a partner, I couldn’t have asked for any better.

The two of us continue dancing, song after song, repeating the process over and over again. Finally, the clock strikes ten, ending the event. The two of us head outside, where my sister is waiting with the limo. But before we can get in, I hear a voice from behind me. I turn around and see that it’s Scott.

“Hey Tai, we thought we’d swing by Burger Joint for a late night party. The guys think you and Twilight should come. You interested?”

I'm quite surprised. Believe it or not, this is the first time anyone’s ever invited me to anything, let alone a late night get together. I admit I’m a little tired, but I’d hate to turn down the invitation, so I turn to Twilight and ask her what she thinks.

“I’ve never been to Burger Joint before, but I’d love to go,” she says. “Besides I didn’t get to hear the rest of Liz’s story.”

So I tell my sis that we’ll get a ride home from one of the guys, as Twilight and I climb into Scott’s car. The others follow as we all head over to Burger Joint. Once there, I find myself once again involved a huge conversation around the table. Meanwhile, Twilight’s over at the girls’ table, laughing at the things they're discussing. I look back to the guys and reflect on how this whole evening has gone. It’s truly amazing. Not only did I get to dance with the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met, but I find myself in a large social group of students I’ve barely talked to in class. All I can say is… could life possibly get any better?

Chapter 8

Well, I’ve done it - I’ve officially graduated college. I’ve completed one chapter of my life, and I’m ready to start another… with the girl that I love. That’s right, I’m going to ask Twilight to marry me. I mean she was pretty much the main reason I was able to pass Calculus and has always been there to provide moral support whenever I needed it. Plus, without her, I never would’ve been able to go to that dance… and wind up finding myself a whole group of friends. So I don’t think I even need to further explain it. I want to spend the rest of my life with her.

I’ve spent the last three months saving for a nice wedding ring. It may have required a bit of over time and few late nights, but it was worth it. Scott’s been helping me with rehearsal, and I’ve already made a reservation at her favorite restaurant. Everything is set to go.

Twilight said she’d be getting home early today, so there’s no use stalling. As soon I walk in that door, it’ll be show time. I enter the house with a great sense of giddiness, the ring buried deep in my pocket. I see Twilight sitting at the table, with her head looking down.

“Hey Twilight,” I say with utmost joy. “I’ve got a surprise for you; I booked us a dinner at…”

Much to my surprise, she doesn’t look up. She only continues to stare downward at the table, with her Iphone in hand.

“Honey, are you okay?” I ask.

“Tai… the day we met... where did you come up with the name Twilight Sparkle?” She asks with a stern tone.

I attempt to remember, but just can’t. I’ve just become so affiliated with calling her by that name, that the source had long been forgotten.

“I-I don’t remember really, why do you ask?” I say to her.

Twilight then holds up her Iphone, and I fall to my knees at what I see.

“Oh my god, oh my god,” I say, covering my mouth.

Displayed on her Iphone is a Youtube clip of a lavender colored pony that looks just like her.

“I was going through some donated books today at work,” Twilight says. “And found a book called "Twilight Sparkle’s Magical Journey", which had this cartoon character on it. I looked her up on my Iphone during break. This is just one of many clips I found online…”

I start trembling, a huge amount of guilt washing over me.

“Tai… is there something you’re not telling me?”

I sit there on my knees, trying to get a hold on myself.

How could I have let this happen? I had actually forgotten about the show… and my intentions to tell her about it. Between my classes, work and spending time with Twilight, my room's only been used for sleeping. I haven’t used my computer in months, and my Ipod died a long time ago. All my emails and Internet browsing have been done using the school computer. I can’t even begin to explain the guilt I feel right now.

“Well?” Twilight says, tears swelling up in her eyes.

“Twilight… there’s something… I should’ve shown you a long time ago.”

I then take her into my room, she hasn’t been in here since that day she read my schoolbooks. I sit her down at my computer and boot it up. I open the Itunes application and start up the first episode of the show. Twilight watches it midway through, before slumping her head.

“So, this IS where the name came from?” Twilight asks.

“Yes,” I say to her.

“Now answer me this… why does that pony have my eyes, and my hair and even those marks on my hips?” Twilight asks, not lifting her head to look up at me.

I get down on my knees, and put my hand on hers. I then take a deep breath before speaking.

“The night you fell into my living room, there was a bright magenta light. It looked just like that.” I say, pointing out the cartoon Twilight’s glowing horn. “I-I’ve had this theory that you… that you may, in fact, be that pony. I’m not quite sure.”

Twilight pulls her hand away from me and looks at me with teary eyes.

“You’ve HAD a theory? For how long and why didn’t you tell me? You didn’t think I’d want to know?”

She stares at me, waiting for a response; the very sight of her is enough to block my train of thought. So I turn away from her and lean against my bed, trying to come up with something to say.

“I-I wanted to tell you. But I just… forgot.”

“You just forgot? How do you forget something like that?”

I look back at her face; her eyes have now changed from sad to scornful.

“Yet you didn’t forget to name me Twilight Sparkle.”

I turn away from her again, attempting to gather my thoughts. I admit that was a really stupid excuse. But I can’t help it; I’m not all that good at thinking under great pressure.

“When was the last time you watched this series?” Twilight asks, cutting off my train of thought yet again.

“Not since we started dating,” I respond.

“And before that, did you watch the series even after we first met?”

“Yes,” I hesitantly say.

“I see. And to think all this time, I trusted you.”

I then push myself from the bed and turn to see Twilight looking away from me, tears rolling down her eyes again. So I finally decide I have only one choice - explain the real reason why I didn’t tell her in the first place. It’s a risk, but at least I’ll be honest with her this time. If she truly did love me the way I think she does, she’ll understand… I hope.

But I can’t do it here, not with the series plastered on my computer screen. I think it’s best we take this talk into the other room, away from all this. I walk up to Twilight, who's still refusing to look at me. I get down on my knees and look at her as I speak.

“Okay, I admit, I didn’t tell you… I’ve been keeping this secret for too long. I lied to you and I’m really sorry. I don’t fully expect you to understand, but if you’ll just go into the living room I’ll explain…”

Before I can continue, Twilight slaps me in the face.

“You don’t have to explain… because I know you're crazy.” Twilight says angrily.

I sit there, rubbing my sore cheek and trying to come to terms with what just happened. This is not at all what I expected.

“Twilight, I -”

She then gets up from the chair and slowly backs away from me. Her arms hang from her sides, as though she’s lost all feeling in them. She then starts trembling as tears continue to fall from her furious eyes.

“You expect me to believe that I’m this fictional pony from a children’s cartoon, and that I appeared in your living room through some mystical light? How stupid do you think I am?!”

That’s when my stomach starts tossing and turning. I forgot she’s a knowledge seeker and doesn’t believe anything that can’t be explained rationally. This made the situation even more complicated, forcing me to come up with yet another plan. As I sit there and think, I see something from the corner of my eye. The palms of her hands look as though they’re turning red, though it could just be the light in the room.

“I’ll… I’ll bet I know the real reason you never told me. It’s because I’m your fantasy come true. I’ll bet back before we met, you were in love with that cartoon pony. I’ll bet you dreamed about her day and night until one day you woke up and realized she wasn’t real.”

I can tell she’s having another one of her little meltdowns; she always does this in times of great stress. She’s clearly formed her own conclusion of what’s going on and is irrationally jumping to it. But I have to admit, this time it really packs a sting. This is my fault for lying to her. I then notice the redness on her palms have now spread to her fingers. What’s going on?

“So you came up with this crazy scheme to make her real. You kidnapped me, somehow gave me amnesia, dyed my hair and put on this innocent act. So now you’ve got your fantasy pony living here with you, loving you, like your own twisted fantasies.”

I see that the redness has now turned into what appears to be a strange magenta glow.

“You hid the show because you knew if I ever found it, I’d catch onto your scheme. And now that I have, you’re desperately trying to come up with another excuse. That explains why all your stories are so ludicrous.”

Small sparks start falling from her fingers. Now I know something’s going on with her hands, and it seems to be triggered by her emotions. I know she’s in state of shock, but I have to get her under control… now.

“Listen Twilight. That’s not true. You have to believe me…

“WHY SHOULD I BELIVE YOU?!!! After all, you just admitted you’ve been lying to me all this time!”

She then closes her eyes and turns her head away. Her hands are now completely covered in a magenta light.

“I trusted you Tai, I loved you. And all this time, I thought you felt the same way…”

I get off the floor and start to make my way over to her. But before I can make it, she grabs the locket around her neck, causing me to freeze in place.

“But now I see that all this time… it was just one big lie. You’re in love with a cartoon character, and I’m just your way of making her real. I was happy to be your girl Tai, but now… ”

She then tears the locket from her neck and throws it in my face.

“I don’t want to see you again.”

The light around her hands then creates a powerful force that sends me flying across the room. Twilight opens her eyes and finally takes notice of what’s happening.

She desperately attempts to gain control of it, but the power becomes too great and her whole body becomes engulfed in the aura. Her eyes glow white and she lifts off the ground. The aura then spreads to the other objects in the room, which start swirling around her. The walls and windows start to break as the objects start to slam into them with full force.

I can’t believe it, but it’s true. There’s no other explanation… she IS the real Twilight Sparkle. She really is the pony from the cartoon in human form, magic and all. I manage to get back onto my feet and slowly work my way over to her. My bookcase comes at me, but I dodge it as it tears through the wall behind me. I then continue my way towards Twilight, dodging objects as they come at me

“Twilight?! Can you hear me?!” I call.

She gives no answer, just continues to float there.

“Twilight you need to control-”

Suddenly my folding closet door comes off its track and slams into me. It then pins me into a corner of what remains of the back wall, my shoulders pressing against the opposing sides. I attempt free myself, but the aura’s too strong. Then my computer comes at me, flying at full speed towards my face.

“TWILIGHT!!!” I scream in desperation.

Twilight’s head slowly turns towards me as though she actually heard my scream. She then gasps as she closes her eyes and thrusts her head back, causing a gigantic burst of energy through which the aura dissipates. She then flies back and slams her head into the wall behind her, tumbling to the ground.

Finally able to fight back, I push the closet door off me just as the computer narrowly misses my head, shattering into a thousand pieces. I hit the ground hard as the pieces shower my back. I attempt push myself off the ground, but my left arm becomes enraptured in pain. I must’ve broken it when I hit the wall.

I look over at Twilight and see that she’s still out cold. I slowly crawl over to her using my good arm and feel her neck. She still has a pulse, but her breathing is very labored and I get no response when I try to wake her. I fish around in her pocket and grab her phone, then dial the number.

“Hello 911, I have an emergency.”

Chapter 9

I’m now outside the hospital, waiting for Scott and Liz to pick me up. With my apartment in ruins, the two of them have agreed to take me in until I can get back on my feet. At first, I was hesitant to do so. They just got married last month and said they wanted to have some alone time in their new house. But they both insisted I stay, and just refused to take no for an answer. I suppose I could use their support, because it’s not a not a very pretty time for me.

The doctors say my arm is in fact injured, though it’s really just a small fracture. If I do as they say and take it easy, I should be back to normal in about three to four weeks. Twilight on the other hand, is a whole other story. The doctors say she’s in some kind of coma. I honestly don’t know if it was caused by the magic or that horrible slam she took in the back wall. It may have had something to do with both. Either way, nobody knows for sure if she’ll ever wake up. All I can do is wait… and hope.

It’s now been one whole week since that horrible night. Scott and Liz have been visiting Twilight whenever they get the chance; neither of them knows for sure what happened. I’ve covered the whole thing up by saying the two of us were robbed, and Twilight was caught in the crossfire. I’m not quite sure if they really believe me, but so far they haven’t asked any questions. I visit Twilight every day after work and stare at her for what seems like hours, holding her locket in my hands. The doctors insist that I talk to her, but I can’t form the words. Every time I look at her emotionless face, I’m reminded of that horrible night, and the guilt always silences me.

How could I have not seen that she was in fact the real Twilight Sparkle? All the evidence was right there in front of me, but I denied it. I suspected for the longest time, but remained silent. I let my emotions get the better of me and took the easy way out by constantly putting it off. Then I got so caught up in the dream life that I failed to act before it was too late. Now look where my actions have gotten me. All the joy I once had in my heart has turned to pain. And let me tell you, it’s far worse than my fractured arm.

Two weeks have passed, and apparently the news has spread to the rest of the gang. Everyone has started visiting Twilight in the hospital. Some of them bring flowers and gifts, and some even recite verses from Twilight’s favorite books. None of them are any wiser than Scott and Liz to the situation. My guilt only grows with this knowledge.

Now I’ve become a liar, telling everyone false stories of what happened. These are my friends! I’m supposed to be honest with them and know that I can trust them! There is nothing I want more than to tell them the truth, and maybe they’d help ease this pain I’m going through. But I fear they’d react the same way Twilight did, and think I’m some kind of lunatic. I know that I’m repeating the exact same mistake that started this whole mess. But now that I know the consequences, I have no idea how to correct it.

It’s now been one whole month and my arm is now fully healed. Yet Twilight shows no signs of progress. My guilt is at an all time high, and it’s starting to affect me not just mentally, but physically as well. I haven’t felt very hungry as of late, so I haven’t eaten very much over these last several days. I’ve also been getting some major stomach cramps, and have been forced to call in sick to work a few times. I feel like my whole body is just breaking down on me, and I have no one to turn to in my time of great need.

My sister is back in town, taking time out of her busy schedule to visit Twilight. The two of us watch her together in the hospital room. Sis goes on and on about how sorry she is, while I continue to remain silent. We stay for about two hours before the nurse finally reminds us that visiting hours are over. After exiting the room, I head towards the front door where Liz is waiting in the car… when sis asks the question:

“Tai, what really happened?”

“What?”

“You may have fooled everyone else, but you can’t fool me.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, desperately trying to escape the conversation.

“Tai, I’m your sister, I know you better than anyone. And I know that if you really loved Twilight the way you let on, you wouldn’t remain as silent as you are now.”

“Sis… I…”

“What really happened that night?" She asks again. "And don’t tell me the robber story.”

I look back over my shoulder and see her standing there with her arms folded, giving me a sour look. She’s figured it out, and I’m backed against the wall. My heart beats for a solid moment. This is it - confession time. I’ve got to tell her the truth. Besides, she’s my sister; how bad can she be?

I turn to face her, eyes closed.

“The truth… the truth is…”

I then open my eyes and look straight into hers. She looks at me with the same anger that Twilight did, which once again flashes me back to that night. Everything I plan to say instantly becomes lost, as my guilt once again takes a firm hold of me. I look away from sis, as tears start to fall from my eyes.

“I… I can’t tell you…” I say.

“Why? What happened?” She responds angrily.

“I JUST CAN’T!” I scream as I run for the door.

I don’t look back, just run straight into the car waiting outside. Upon entering, Liz asks what’s wrong, to which I simply tell her to head for home. She hesitantly obeys without asking any further questions. I remain silent the whole trip.

Two weeks have passed since the incident with my sister, and she’s refusing to talk to me. She now believes that I did in fact have something to do with Twilight’s condition, and how very right she is. It’s happening all over again; first it cost me Twilight, now it’s cost me my sister, and soon it’ll probably cost me my friends. Indeed, some of them are starting to catch on and question why I’m not talking to Twilight during my visits. Some of them have even expressed anger and have scolded me a few times.

I can’t take it anymore; the guilt is now far too great for me to carry around any longer. I need someone to talk to, someone I can trust, someone who I pray will believe me, and rid me of this horrible pain.

So I ask Scott for a private conference in the living room. Liz is at work, and the windows are sealed shut, so no one can see us from outside. Scott comes in and sits down in his chair.

“Go on Tai. Tell me what’s on your mind,” he says, looking at me with the utmost attention.

Without looking up, I take a deep breath before speaking.

“What… what I’m about to tell you, might sound crazy. I-I don’t even believe it myself, but it’s true,” I say under my breath.

“Tai, you can tell me anything; I’m your friend.”

I remain silent for a moment.

“I-I’ve kept this bottled up for too long and I can’t…”

“Tai…” Scott interrupts. “Just tell me.”

“Twilight… she’s… she’s a cartoon character.” I say.

“What?” Scott asks.

“She’s a cartoon character from the show 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'. She’s the actual Twilight Sparkle, transformed into a human.”

Scott starts to get up, giving me a look of fear. I haven’t even finished my story and I’m already losing him. My emotions start to take over as tears once again fall from my eyes. I figure at this point, nothing else matters. So I continue on, not caring what I say or what happens next.

“I didn’t believe it myself for a long time, so I didn’t tell her. But then she found out about it and we had a fight. And in anger she wound up unleashing her magic and that’s what put her in this coma and…”

I then fall onto the ground, and my tears start to shower the floor.

“I don’t expect you to believe me, because Twilight didn’t either. But I just… I just had to tell someone, before I...”

Suddenly, I feel something touch my shoulder, silencing me. I then look up, and see Scott standing over me.

“Okay, Tai. You’re right, I don’t believe you. In fact, what you’re saying is probably the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”

I then turn away from him; this is exactly the reaction I expected.

“But…”

I open my eyes, awaiting his next words.

“I am your friend, and as your friend… I’ll at least pretend that I believe what your saying.”

He then walks over to the closed window.

“Tai, let me tell you a story.”

I manage to pick myself up and sit back down in the chair I had fallen from.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever told you, but I’m a long time football player. Hope to go pro one day. Well, when you play football, you tend to make rivals. Mine was a guy named Greg Zagur; he was Liz’s last boyfriend.

"Well, we had a big tournament, and Greg’s team beat us real bad. I was pretty angry and really wanted to get back at him. Shortly afterwards, I found out that he and Liz broke up, and I knew just how crazy he was about her. So to get even with him, I started dating Liz.

"But much to my surprise… I found out that I really liked her. We both had a love for sports, liked the same movies, I even found her kind attitude towards animals rubbing off on me. I found myself truly in love, yet I couldn’t work up the courage to tell her the truth. We went together for about eight months, before I finally spilled the beans out of pure guilt. Sure enough, she got mad and we broke up. Let me tell, it messed me up real bad”

I remain silent for a moment, getting a hold of myself before finally speaking.

“So what happened?” I respond.

“Well, I called up Greg and told him the situation. I told him how sorry I was, and how much the break up affected me. Surprisingly, he forgave me and we decided to end our foolish rivalry. Greg had already found himself another girl, but as a token of our newfound friendship, he made it his mission to get us back together. After some private meetings with the both of us, he eventually succeeded and now we’re all friends.

"The point is, Tai… sometimes we have to do what’s hard, in order to do what’s right. But though we may face many hardships, if we can push our way forward, ultimately we can find our rewards.”

I’m now once again at the hospital, alone at Twilight’s side. Everyone is outside, anxiously awaiting what happens next. I’ve told them that this is the day I’m finally going to talk to her, no matter how hard it may be. Once again, I have her locket in hand. I open my eyes and look at her, only to once again be silenced by her emotionless face. The bad memories yet again start flashing before my eyes, forcing me to turn away. I then bury my face into my hands. I failed yet again, and this time, there’ll be no going back.

If I walk out that door, and tell them what just happened, that’ll be the end of it. No more friends, no more support, nothing. Even if I could say something to her, what difference would it make? The last thing Twilight said to me was that she never wanted to see me again, so why on earth would she want to hear the voice of the very person who put her in this condition?

I start to cry again, before opening my eyes and seeing the locket still in my hands. I then notice the ledge is open just a crack. I take a closer look and open it completely, to which I see two pictures of Twilight and me together. One is the picture sis took on the night of the dance, and the other is a movie date. I see her smiling in both pictures, and I want nothing more than to see that smile in front of me right now. That’s when my mind clicks; crying isn’t going to fix this problem. If I ever want so much as a chance at seeing that smile, I HAVE to do this. So I turn back towards Twilight, close my eyes, take a deep breath, and start talking.

“Twilight… I don’t know if you can hear me… or if you even care. But I want you to know just how sorry I am for all of this. I know it was wrong to not tell you - I’ve regretted it myself. And I can’t even begin to describe just how much guilt I’ve felt over these last several weeks.

"But I can tell you one thing is true Twilight: I really do love you. You are, without a doubt, the most amazing person I’ve ever met in my life. You got me out of the house, showed me the beauty of the world I live in, and gave me someone to talk to. But most importantly, you showed me just how special friendship could be.

"Before I met you, I lived a pretty lonely life. I had no friends, no social activities, nothing that made my life feel at all special. You saved me from that horrible life, and I was just having so much fun with you, that I just couldn’t bring myself to tell you the truth. So I kept putting it off until I eventually forgot about it. I took the easy way - the selfish way. All so that I wouldn’t have to deal with the pain.”

I rest my head against the side of her bed.

“But now I’ve learned, that sometimes we have to do what’s hard, in order to do what’s right. Had I learned this sooner, none of this would’ve happened in the first place.

"Twilight, I’ve suffered a lot over these past several weeks. If you ever wake up and spend the rest of your life hating me, that’s okay. If you really never want to see me again, then I promise to disappear and never come near you again. But… all I do want… is to know that you’ll come out of this alright.”

I bury my face in the mattress of the bed, tears yet again start to fall from my eyes and stain the sheets.

“Please…just let me know you’ll be okay.”

Suddenly, I feel something touch my head. I look up and see Twilight smiling at me.

“I am,” she says with a smile.

I look at her in amazement, tears still running from my eyes. I want to hug her, but I hold back.

“Twilight… I’m so sorry for every-"

Twilight puts her fingers to my lips, silencing me.

“Tai, I should be the one apologizing to you,” she says

“What?” I ask.

“I still don’t remember anything before I met you, and for the longest time, I didn’t care. I was happy the way things were, with you and everyone else. But when I saw that cartoon pony, and how much she looked like me, well… I panicked. I couldn’t think straight, and I took it all out on you.”

I push her hand away from my mouth so I can speak.

“Twilight, I was the one who didn’t tell you from the start.”

Twilight simply smiles and puts her hand on my cheek.

“But I was the one who never gave you the chance to explain, and said all those horrible things to you. Besides...”

She then starts looking at her other hand, and starts twitching her fingers.

“You were right about me the whole time.”

I start to lower my head, to which Twilight lifts it back up.

“The whole time I was out, I kept saying to myself, 'please let me see Tai one more time. So that I can let him know just how sorry I am for saying all those horrible things.'”

I give a small smile as some last tears run down my cheeks.

“So…” Twilight continues. “Can we just... put this whole mess behind us?”

“I’d like nothing more.” I say, wrapping my arms around her and squeezing tight.

Twilight returns the hug as we both shed tears of joy. Then the whole gang comes in and watches us hug. Every single one of them wears a happy face.

Twilight and I hold each other for what seems like hours, with tears dripping down each other’s shoulders. I feel so happy to have her back, and even happier to know she’s forgiven me. Suddenly I hear a gasp coming from the crowd and I open my eyes to see the vase on the back windowsill floating in mid air, with a magenta aura surrounding it.

I separate myself from Twilight and see the same aura around her hands. Twilight then opens her eyes and notices all of our friends staring at us with dumbfound looks on their faces. She then takes notice of what is going on with her hands. I take hold of her hands and direct her attention to the floating vase.

“H-honey, how exactly are you doing this?” I ask.

“I-I don’t really know,” she responds.

Chapter 10

“I should reach the frontier in about six weeks. With a little luck, the network will pick me up.” Ellen Ripley says as the camera rolls in on her face.

“This is Ripley, last survivor of the Nostromo, signing off.”

The screen then cuts to an image of her in a stasis pod, before changing to a shot of outer space and rolling the credits.

“Ohhh…that movie gets scarier every time I watch it.” Twilight says, as we finish our upteenth viewing of Alien.

“That’s why it’s a classic.” I say, as I switch off the movie.

Twilight then leans against my shoulder and looks seductively into my eyes.

“If that alien ever came into our house, would you protect me?” She asks, fluttering her eyelashes.

Of course, the real answer is that I wouldn’t have to. She’s got magical powers now, so I’m pretty sure she could handle herself. Still though, I give her a grin and join in on the fun.

“Only if it meant getting a kiss from my favorite girl,” I respond.

“You mean like this?” Twilight asks as she gives me a quick a kiss on the lips.

“No, it would have to be bigger,” I tease.

Twilight smiles and gives a bigger, much longer kiss as I wrap my arms around her and pull her in. After we finally break apart, I take a look at the clock.

“Well, it’s only ten o' clock, and neither of us are sleepy,” I say. “Do you want to-"

“I’d love to,” Twilight says, pointing her hand at the DVD rack.

She uses her magic to pull out the first season of My Little Pony and levitates it over to the bed. She then hands it over to me.

“You want to pick tonight?” She asks.

“How about the episode where everyone goes to that town and there’s the whole feud over who gets the land?”

“You mean ‘Over a Barrel?’”

I chuckle a bit, as you might expect, she’s memorized every episode of the series.

“Yeah, first episode of disc three,” I say as I hand her the DVD.

She starts levitating the disc towards the open DVD tray, when I stop her.

“I think you should do it in person this time.” I say to her.

“Oh Tai, do I have to?” She whines, half-sarcastically, but still meaning it nonetheless.

“Twilight, you know we can only use magic at home and around our friends. So I don’t want you to forget how to use your hands.”

Twilight reluctantly gets up and puts the disc in the tray. She then climbs back into bed and cuddles up with me as I start the episode. Both of us watch it with great enthusiasm, as we usually do.

“Wow, just look at that town?” I say to her. “Do you think it’ll still look like that when we eventually go?”

“I’d imagine so,” she responds with a yawn.

The episode ends and I turn to see Twilight fast asleep on my chest. I turn off the DVD player and kiss her on the forehead, before turning the light off and snuggling up with her.

I see the wedding ring on her right hand, and smile as I reminisce about everything that has happened over these past few weeks. After she got out of the hospital, the two of us explained everything to our friends and sis. They are now fully aware of what Twilight is and the long history we’ve had together. Yet they are not afraid of this change, and our friendship with them remains strong, if not stronger. I guess you could say I picked my friends well.

As for our personal relationship, well, as you might have guessed, I finally proposed to her. Don’t ask me how and when it happened. Let’s just say it was on a really special occasion. We haven’t really planned the wedding yet, and I don’t know for sure if it’ll be at home or in a church. Besides we’re still settling into our brand new apartment, which as you might have guessed, Sis gave us the money for. These last few weeks have been the most wonderful time of my life. I now get to fall asleep every night with Twilight in my arms, and wake up every morning to her beautiful smile. It’s truly a wonderful feeling, knowing you're this close to a person, and that they feel the same way about you.

As for Twilight herself, she has now fully accepted that she is in fact the same character from the cartoon series, but still has no memory of her past. Regardless, she’s decided that this world is her real home, regardless of whatever happened prior to that faithful night. She’s happy just the way things are, with me and everyone else.

However she does at least want to visit Equestria and see the friends and family she’s got there. I myself have actually wanted to go and see what it’s like. The both of us have made it a side project to try and figure out a way over there. As such, I’ve been helping Twilight master her magical powers, hoping that maybe one day we can use them to get back to Equestria. So far she’s only been able to do simple things like levitation and sparkle effects, but we hope to soon start tackling more complex things like transformation spells.

In the meantime, we do occasionally watch episodes of Friendship is Magic on DVD just to get a glimpse at the world we both want to visit. We also exchange thoughts and ideas on what I’d look like as a stallion and what my cutie mark might be. But more importantly, we both promised that neither one of us would go to Equestria without the other. We go either together, or not at all.

I finally fall asleep and awaken to the sound of my alarm clock several hours later. I get my morning glimpse of Twilight’s smile, before waking her up. After getting dressed and a quick breakfast, the two of us grab our packed bags and head out the door. About half an hour later, we meet up with the gang at Rocky Point. It’s the Fourth of July weakened and Liz and Scott had organized a special camping trip with everyone. They also said they had a special announcement for us, which they’d reveal over dinner.

The whole ride there Twilight has her nose pressed against the window, staring at the trees as we go by, keeping a list of all the different breeds we pass. By the time we reach the camp, the list is composed of fifty Oak Woods, thirty Pine Trees, sixty American Elks, as well as many more that I can’t even begin to name off. That’s my girl for you.

Everyone heads for their cabins to drop off their bags. Twilight and I find ours, unload and proceed to the first activity of the day, archery. As you might expect, I do quite well at this and land all my arrows either in the center or close too it. Once again those years of practice with my closet dart set have paid off. Unfortunately, Twilight doesn’t have the same kind of skill, and winds up wasting five of her six arrows. Obviously, the physics of Skee-ball weren’t the same as the physics of archery. She looks pretty disappointed, but nonetheless draws her last arrow. She’s just about to fire, when I stop her.

“You want a hand?” I say to her with a grin.

Twilight gives me a sly smile.

“Please?” She says - the response I expected.

I steady her shoulders and steer her in the right stance, then tell her to let go of the arrow. And just like that, she manages to land a perfect bulls eye. Twilight jumps up and down and hugs me.

“Thank you Tai, you’re a real awesome guy,” she says as she hugs me tight.

“Well, I just hate to see you looking so glum,” I say, hugging her right back.

The next activity is a hiking trip up the tallest mountain in the park. This was something that Twilight DID read up on before coming here, and unfortunately I did not. The rest of the gang manages to get pretty far ahead while I wind up getting left behind. Twilight’s the only one to linger behind, as she attempts to motivate me to keep up.

“C’mon Tai, don’t tell me you're tired already. I’ve kept a solid lead on you and I’m not even using magic,” she says.

“I don’t… understand… how you can keep going… we’ve been walking for hours…” I say, desperately trying to catch my breath.

“It’s only been twenty minutes, and I read that it’s important to pace yourself during a hike. You might get worn out too fast.”

I groan a bit, thinking back on that episode where she races Applejack and Rainbow Dash through the leaves. What was it called again?

“C’mon. If you make it to the top, I’ll give you a big kiss,” Twilight says, blinking her eyes, accentuating her lashes.

She was clearly referring to that joke I made last night about the alien. Still, it was some pretty good motivation.

“You’re on,” I say as I dart forward.

Twilight giggles and hurries ahead of me. I move as fast as I can, but she holds a strong lead. Finally, I reach the top where the rest of the gang is waiting. They all take their eyes off the view and turn to look at me.

“Hey Tai, where were you?” Scott asks.

I manage to catch my breath as I open my mouth to speak.

“I…”

Suddenly a magenta aura appears around my chest and I’m pulled backwards right into Twilight’s arms.

“He just needed… some motivation,” Twilight says with a grin.

“Well…” I say. “I’m here, so where’s my reward?”

“Right here,” Twilight responds, as she presses her lips against mine.

“Okay you two, take a good look and head back down. Next activity starts in one hour,” Scott says as he and everyone else start walking down the mountain.

Twilight and I walk up to the ledge and take a look at what everyone was checking out a few minutes ago. Sure enough, the view was pretty amazing. I could see the whole park from here, and the city that surrounded it.

“And to think, you almost didn’t make it,” Twilight says as she pushes her head against my shoulder.

“Well, like you said, I just needed the right motivation,” I say with a grin.

After getting down from the mountain, Twilight and I return to our cabin, ready to change into the swimsuits we bought a few days ago. Twilight heads to the bathroom to change, while I remain in the bedroom area. I get ready in about five minutes, including the time to apply sunscreen. Twilight on the other hand takes a lot longer. I go over to the bathroom and knock on the door.

“Honey, are you okay in there?” I ask.

“Tai… I don’t think I can do this,” she responds

“Why?”

“Because I… I…”

“Sweetie, c’mon out of there.”

Twilight slowly opens the door, revealing her new one-piece swimsuit. She then huddles against the door, her arm covering her belly.

“I think I look fat,” she says.

Personally, I think she looks fine and for that matter, really well fit. If anyone doesn’t look good in a swimsuit, I’d say it’d be me. I’ve always felt that I look kinda scrawny, which is why I haven’t worn a swimsuit in years. I walk up to her and take hold of her shoulders, to which she looks up into my eyes.

“Honey, you look fine,” I say with a small chuckle.

Twilight looks down at her belly, and then back up at me.

“You… you really think so?”

“I know so. Besides, take a look at me. I don’t exactly fill out this swimsuit well myself.”

Twilight chuckles a bit at the joke.

“See, that’s the girl I know and love. Now c’mon, lets get to the lake.”

I turn around and Twilight clings to my back. I look at her with a peculiar expression.

“Well… can I still just…stick by you?” She asks, sounding more paranoid with every word.

“Of course,” I say as we head out the door.

The whole way there, Twilight huddles behind me, never once letting go of my shoulders. We reach the lake and Liz takes notice of what’s going on. She then gets out of the water and asks what’s wrong, to which I whisper how Twilight feels.

“Oh Twilight, you look fine.” Liz says, taking hold of her hand.

Twilight slowly starts to come out from behind me.

“I-I don’t look fat?” She asks.

“Nah, you look great,” Liz responds. “Besides, we’re all friends here. We wouldn't care what you looked like either way.”

She then pulls Twilight into the water and starts splashing her. Twilight laughs and splashes back. I jump in and join in on the fun, holding Twilight up on my shoulders and dropping her in the water.

After about an hour of this, Twilight decides to take a break and pulls herself up onto the dock. She looks behind her and sees a group of children playing in the section next to us, with a little girl sitting on the dock all by herself. She’s sucking her thumb and holding a plushie of the Twilight Sparkle from the show, dressed in the coronation outfit from the season three finale.

“Twilight, you coming back in?” Liz asks.

“Yeah, just give me a moment,” Twilight says as she gets up and walks over to the girl.

She sits down next to her and the girl turns away clutching her doll.

“Hey, why aren’t you playing in the water?” Twilight asks.

“I’m scared.” The girl responds, after some hesitation.

“Of what?” Twilight says.

“Well… what if… what if nobody wants to play with me…”

“Well, you never know unless you try.”

The girl continues to look away.

“Hey, I was nervous about going into the water too. I thought I’d look fat in this swimsuit, but my friends encouraged me and I had a blast.”

“Well… I don’t know…”

The girl then looks up at Twilight and widens her eyes. She looks at her doll and then back at Twilight.

“Are you a princess?” She asks.

Twilight grins and starts getting somewhat theatrical.

“Yes, yes I am. I am Twilight Sparkle, princess of Equestria. And I’m going to cast a spell to make you brave enough to go and play with everyone else.”

She then sparks a small aura around her right index finger and taps the girl on the nose.

“Now you’re brave. Go have fun.”

The girl rises to her feet and looks at her toy.

“I’ll hold onto your toy till you get back,” Twilight says with a smile.

The girl hands Twilight the plushie and jumps into the water with the other kids. I get out of the lake and run to Twilight’s side.

“Twilight, did you really just cast some kind of bravery spell?” I ask.

“Oh Tai, even I don’t know that one. That was just a light show, nothing more.”

“Huh?”

She grins.

“I think she just needed a little push from a princess,” Twilight says, showing me the plushie.

I smile and sit down with her, watching the kids play.

After a few hours, night falls and the whole gang gathers around the campfire. Some are grilling burgers and hotdogs on the campsite grill; a few others are roasting marshmallows. I bring Twilight back a hotdog and we sit down to eat together. Shortly afterwards, Liz rings a bell calling everyone’s attention.

“Attention everyone, I think it’s about time my husband and I told you our big announcement. This camping trip is actually to celebrate a special occasion and not just July the Fourth. I think I’ll let my husband take it from here,” she says, handing the announcement over to Scott

“Well everyone, my wife just got the results back,” he says, wrapping his arm around Liz.

“And… I’m going to be a father.”

Everyone cheers and claps for them.

“But that’s not all,” Scott continues.

He then walks up to me as I finish eating my hotdog.

“Tai, Liz and I were wondering… if you would be the godfather.”

My heart suddenly stops and I attempt to come to terms with what he just said. Me? The godfather? I never thought anyone would ever ask me to do that. I remain silent for a full minute, before finally speaking.

“I’d love to, Scott. But in exchange, would you be my best man?”

Scott then looks at the ring on Twilight’s finger, and smiles.

“Of course,” he responds.

The two of us hug as everyone lets out a loud cheer. Twilight and Liz hug, as well, wishing each other congratulations. A couple people go to their car to get out their instruments and start playing music. And everyone begins getting together with their dates and we all start dancing to the tunes.

About an hour into our celebration, Scott takes a few guys to his car and starts unloading fireworks. They fire off a few before Scott calls Twilight over. He whispers something into her ear, to which she gives him a “got it” look. She puts her hands on the fireworks, and starts using her magic. The others then light them up and fire them in the air. The explosions mix with Twilight’s magic and create beautiful glittering shapes across the night sky. Everyone looks in pure wonder at the spectacle, as I run up to Twilight’s side and enjoy the show with her.

It’s now after midnight, and I’m lying here watching Twilight sleep by my side. We had snuck away at about ten o' clock for some alone time, and I can still hear some people out there. I’m sure they had a blast tonight and really it was a lot of fun partying with them, just like the night of the campus dance. But right now, I’m just happy to be right here with the girl that I love.

I know I’ve said it before, but I’ve really come a long way since that day she came into my life. In fact, I’ve come even further than I thought possible. I still can’t believe that someone actually asked me to be his child’s godfather, and that I’ve really gained that kind of a friendship with someone. And I owe it all to this wonderful girl, who in only a few weeks, will officially be my wife. I don’t know what the future holds for us after that, but I’m not afraid. The journey up to this point was full of joy and excitement, I can only imagine the journey onward will be no different. And if there is a great obstacle that lies ahead, with her by my side, I know I can overcome it.

I lean down and brush the hair out of Twilight’s eyes, taking one last look at her beautiful face for the night. The moon shines in through the window, and reflects off her smooth skin, as though illuminating an angel right before my very eyes. I then lean over and kiss her on the forehead, before I throw my arm over her and hold her close to my chest. I smile as I rest my head onto hers and doze off to sleep.

Chapter 11

Well, this is it; our wedding day. Everything we’ve been through has led up to this moment. I’m standing in the middle of the church with Scott by my side, waiting for my bride-to-be to come through those doors. While I wait, I take a look at the people around me. All my friends are here, and it’s quite a big crowd. I can’t help but smile, as it's still hard to believe this is real.

Standing in the front row is my sister. As you might have guessed, she was the one who funded all of this. She’d worked so hard over these past few weeks to ensure the perfect wedding. She was the one who made Twilight’s dress, ordered the food, everything that’s gone into making this day possible. And now she’s standing right there, crying so hard that her makeup is running down her face. I consider myself truly lucky to have her as a sister.

Finally, Twilight comes out the doors, and she looks absolutely stunning in her dress. Liz is following her close by. I take her hand as we walk up to the alter together, and the ceremony begins. After about half an hour Twilight and I say our vows and the priest pronounces us man and wife. Finally we kiss, and it’s the most magical kiss I’ve ever had. This is it… we’re finally married. Everyone in the audience stands up and cheers as Twilight and I finish our kiss. Twilight tosses her flower bouquet into the audience, though we don’t quite see who catches it.

I take Twilight's hand and we start to head for the door. There’s a limo waiting for us outside. We’re going take it home and start planning our honeymoon together. We take about two steps down the stairs… when the church doors fly open in front of us. Everyone in the room turns their attention to the doorway; obviously this was not part of the ceremony. Standing there is a strange woman, who displays a rather peculiar smile.

“What a wonderful day for a wedding,” she says, as she starts to walk down the aisle towards Twilight and I.

She glances at me and then at Twilight.

“My goodness, you sure can pick ‘em, Twilight. He’s a real handsome devil,” she says.

“Twilight, do you know this woman?” I ask.

She shakes her head, making the woman stop in her tracks.

“Well I’m not that surprised. We haven’t seen each other in nearly two years… Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“How… how did you know about that?” Twilight asks her.

“I know a lot of things…” The woman says, taking off her glasses and throwing them aside, “Like how you were brought here by a complete accident, and why you can’t remember your time in Equestria. Oh yes, I know all about you.”

“Who are you?” I ask.

The woman simply lifts her arms as green auras appear around her hands. The aura then appears around the door and window handles similar to when Twilight performs her magic. The doors and window all slam shut, leaving only the candles to light the room. Everyone starts huddling together in fear, as the woman glares at Twilight and me, her eyes glowing bright green.

She grins and becomes enveloped in green flame. When the fire settles, her body takes a new appearance. While she still retains a human like form, her skin is now coal black, her fingernails are longer, her wrists are covered with holes, and her hair has now become longer and an ugly tealish hue. Finally, she reveals torn insect-like wings portruding from her back, giving her a very monstrous appearance

“You and I have some unfinished business, Sparkle. I’ve waited a long time for this day,” she says, her voice now having a freighting echo-like effect.

She walks towards the two of us when the preacher throws holy water at her. She filches just a bit at the splash, but simply glares at him with an evil look.

“Stay back, you vile creature!” the preacher screams, grabbing a cross and holding it up to her gaze.

The woman merely reaches out and uses her magic to pull the preacher into her grasp. She looks angrily into his eyes, a look of fear washing across his face.

“My name is not ‘vile creature‘, It is Chrysalis, Queen of the Changeling Swarms,” she says, tightening her grip around his throat.

She then turns to look at the audience around us.

“And may this man serve as an example for anyone who dares oppose me.”

She opens her mouth, revealing fangs. Glowing red orbs fly out of the preacher’s mouth and into hers causing him to black out as she drops him onto the floor.

“What have you done to him?” Twilight frantically asks.

“Don’t worry; he’s still alive,” the Queen responds, “But he won’t recall any memory of his life up until this point.”

She looks at Twilight who has a look of anger in her eyes.

“Oh don’t be so mad, dear. After all… you had a similar reaction.”

“A similar reaction?” Twilight asks.

“That’s right,” the Queen says with a sneer, “The reason you don’t have any memories of Equestria is because I took them from you. We Changelings feed off of love and happiness; it’s what gives us our power. We have two methods of extraction—either we take it by force or take it gradually. If we choose to take it gradually, we take the form of a loved one and swap places with them. Therefore we are bestowed with all the love our prey once had for our captor. When we take it by force, we suck out and devour all the memories of our victim. After all, where do you think happiness comes from?”

“So you’re the one responsible for all this,” I say, “Did you also have something do with sending her here?”

“I did,” the Queen responds, “But that part was not voluntary in the slightest. My goal was to have her assimilated.”

“Assimilated?” I ask.

“Yes…” she answers, “We Changelings have the power to transform our victims into Changelings and make them part of our horde. But because our fame is not well-recognized and that we haven’t used this ability in centuries, most residents in Equestria aren’t aware that we have that kind of power. This only provided us a greater advantage. After being banished to the far edge of Equestria, I was able to use this ability to rebuild my army to what it once was. Thousands upon thousands of creatures joined my swarm, and we only grew stronger each and every day.

“But as strong as my army became, we still faced one potential threat—The Elements of Harmony, wielded by you, Twilight Sparkle, and your pathetic friends. These elements had the power to undo my assimilations, and destroy everything I worked so hard to create. So I decided that it was best to have the Elements on my side, so that they would never be used against me.

“You, Twilight Sparkle, were the most important of them all. For you wield the Element of Magic, the most powerful of all the elements and the key to unleashing their true potential. You were put in charge of Canterlot when Princess Celestia left on important business, and my forces were able to infiltrate the castle disguised as your friends. By the time you figured it out, it was too late.

“I performed the assimilation myself, but after I drained your memories, your magic started acting up and created a storm of raw power. The effects teleported you here and turned you into a human. I suppose I shouldn’t be all that surprised; Celestia did say you had more magic than anyone she had ever met. So much so that it might even have a mind of its own.

“Unfortunately for you, that much magic is also easy to trace for someone such as myself. So I’ve been watching your every move over the last two years from my castle back in Equestria.”

A crystal orb appears in her hand and she shows it to us.

“Oh I could’ve come to fetch you at any time. I could’ve come the moment you arrived; I could’ve come while you were sleeping. I could’ve come and brought my whole army with me. I could’ve had them tear this world apart all while dragging you back to Equestria, kicking and screaming in fear.”

She hurls the crystal orb into the wall, causing it to shatter into a million pieces.

“But I could tell the moment you two laid eyes on each other, there was something going on. I am a Changeling, after all; I can tell when love is in the air. So I decided to wait and see where that love went.

“And I must say, your love for one another far exceeded my expectations. I cannot remember the last time I ever saw two people so perfect, so well-matched, and so absolutely happy to be with one another. That kind of love will sustain me for a very long time.”

She licks her lips with a grin.

“And now here we are—the day of the wedding, the ultimate day of love. I’ve waited long enough, Twilight Sparkle. You will feed me your happiness and finally be properly assimilated.”

She then starts walking towards the two of us. Twilight uses her magic to levitate the water out of a nearby bowl and strikes the Queen with it. The force is enough to send the Queen staggering a few steps backwards.

“What on earth makes you think I'll do that?” Twilight counters, angrily.

The Queen recovers from the blow and stands up straight.

“Because if you do, I will restore your memories of Equestria and you will be able to wield the Element of Magic once again,” she responds.

“I don’t care about my memories of Equestria,” Twilight snaps, “I'm happy right here, with Tai and my friends. THIS is my home now.”

The Queen merely shrugs.

“May the record show,” she says, “I tried being nice.”

A green aura appears around her right hand, and then around Twilight’s body. The Queen swings her arm to the right, sending Twilight flying head first into the right wall.

“You're out of your league, Sparkle.”

Twilight manages to get to her knees and starts rubbing her head.

“You don’t even remember half the spells you learned in Equestria,” she continues, “I, on the other hand…”

She points her hand at Twilight, and two green auras appear around Twilight’s wrists, locking them together. Twilight's wrists then pull towards the Queen, who readies her fangs for attack. But before she reaches her, Twilight’s hands start to glow and she uses her magic to push the Queen all the way across the room. Released from the spell, Twilight lands safely on her feet and lights up her hands for another round.

“You may know more magic, but I know more tricks,” Twilight says.

She turns her attention to our friends.

“Everyone, get to the far corner of the room, I don’t want any of you to get hurt,” she says.

Everyone starts heading to the farthest end of the room, and Twilight turns to look at me.

“You too, Tai.”

I’m hesitant to leave her, but I don’t argue. I start to make my way over to the others, when the Queen recovers from the attack. She then conjures up a green fireball and hurls it right at me. Twilight uses her magic to pull me away just as the fireball hits the floor I once stood on, exploding in a powerful burst of green fire. I land right into Twilight’s arms and she gives me quick hug of relief.

“Just stay behind me, honey,” she says, “I’ll keep you safe.”

“No problem,” I say.

“You leave my husband out of this, Chrysalis. This is between you and me,” Twilight shouts.

“Then I suggest you join me. Otherwise he’ll just continue to be in harm’s way,” The Queen responds.

She conjures up another fireball and throws it at the two of us. Twilight uses her magic to pull the pipes off the pipe organ, and bends them into a u-shape. She catches the fireball in one end and reflects it back with the other. The fireball heads straight for the Queen, but she dodges it. She then looks at Twilight with a frustrated grimace.

“Not as long as I’m here,” Twilight says.

The Queen then starts throwing more fireballs at us, but Twilight continues to reflect them with her pipe. She starts to walk towards her opponent, spinning her weapon as she continues to reflect her attacks. The two of them seem to be evenly matched, with Twilight reflecting the Queen’s attacks, and the Queen dodging them. Finally the Queen falls to her knees, her magic expended and unable to conjure more fireballs. Twilight shifts her weapon to the side, but still keeps it close by.

“No matter what you throw at me, I’ll still find a way to overcome it!” Twilight says with a stern face.

The Queen looks at her with frustration in her eyes, panting as she attempts to regain her strength

“Now, you’ve ruined my wedding, threatened my husband, and endangered my friends,” Twilight says, positioning the pipe back in front of her, “Unless you want to suffer even more, I suggest you leave.”

The Queen continues to pant for a solid minute before she takes notice of how far away I am from Twilight. She forms a sinister grin.

“I have a better idea,” she responds.

She then teleports herself, taking Twilight completely by surprise, and appears from behind me. She uses her magic to bind my wrists together, wraps her arms around me, and starts dragging me backwards.

“How about this, Twilight—If you won’t join, your husband will. I must say, he’d make an excellent mate for me,” the Queen says, breathing down my neck.

“IF YOU HURT HIM—”

“You’ll do what?” The Queen asks with a sneer, “Have you forgotten that I’ve been watching you all these years? I know you too well, Twilight, and I know if something were to happen to him, it would completely crush your spirit. That’s what love does to people—it makes them weak.”

Twilight’s determined face starts to turn to one of fear, but she still tries to fake her way through it.

“I can see it in your eyes,” the Queen says, tightening her grip on me, “You truly are afraid of what I might do to him and that has become your ultimate flaw.”

Sweat starts dripping down Twilight’s face as the aura around the pipe starts to flicker.

“But enough talk; make your choice. You… or him?” the Queen asks, “Going once…”

Twilight starts breathing heavily.

“Going twice…” the Queen says as she starts to get into position.

Twilight is trembling feverishly.

“GONE!!!” The Queen says, as she opens her mouth ready to suck out all of my memories.

I close my eyes and await the inevitable. Suddenly, the Queen is halted by a loud “stop”, to which she looks at Twilight with interest.

Twilight’s head hangs low, as she undoes her magic, allowing the pipe to fall to the ground.

“Alright… you win.” She says, falling to her knees.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” the Queen asks.

“I’ll… I’ll become a Changeling,” Twilight responds

“TWILIGHT, NO!” I scream.

“I knew you’d see it my way,” the Queen says happily.

“But, if I do this,” Twilight continues, “You will not do anything to hurt Tai or my friends. You will leave this world and never return.”

“Of course, I’m a queen of my word,” she responds.

Twilight then takes off her locket.

“And I want you to have this… Tai, don’t forget about me,” she says, as tears start to roll down her face.

She uses her magic to levitate it into my hands.

“Twilight…” I say.

“Alright, I’m ready,” Twilight says, as she rises to her feet, awaiting the Queen’s next move.

“That’s a good girl,” the Queen replies.

She then fires two green blobs from her hand, which collide with Twilight’s hands. Twilight flies back and slams against the wall, the blobs holding her arms in position.

The Queen comes up to her and looks her straight in the eyes.

“Don’t take it too hard, dear; its just reassurance that you won’t escape this time.”

She then opens her mouth and makes a loud hiss. Red orbs fly out of Twilight’s mouth and into the Queen, after which Twilight blacks out. The Queen opens her mouth wider, revealing two long fangs. The fangs start glowing green and the Queen sinks them into Twilight’s right shoulder.

I look at the locket and then back at the horror before me. I see Twilight writhing in agony, as the Queen continues her attack. Coal black veins start to appear around Twilight’s shoulder where the Queen’s fangs are inserted. They spread all over her body until the whole of her turns coal black. Her hair starts turning a duller shade of blue, she grows fangs and insect wings. And, to my horror, begins hissing violently. Finally, she opens her eyes, revealing them to be a fiery emerald green. After about a minute, the Queen lets go and steps away, revealing Twilight’s new form. She now looks just like the Queen, a humanoid looking monster with dark skin and insect-like features. She no longer looks like the woman I love.

“At last, the Element of Magic is mine,” the Queen says, triumph in her tone.

“Now rise, Twilight Sparkle, princess of the Changelings. Rise and join me by my side.”

Twilight obeys her command and gets to her feet, before walking over to the Queen’s side.

“Excellent,” the Queen says, “Well, it’s time to go home.”

She then points her hand at the wall, where a large portal is cantered into view. The Queen walks into it, Twilight in tow, and I can only sit and watch them, feeling helpless as ever. Suddenly loud hissing sounds come from within the portal, to which the Queen and Twilight stop in their tracks.

“My, my… you sure are hungry,” the Queen says with a peculiar tone of voice.

She stands there for about a minute, before she utters, “go ahead.”

Then all of a sudden, millions of black insect like creatures jump out of the portal. The Queen turns around to enjoy the show. Some of the creatures dash for the door, others jump out the window, and then start attacking the first people they see.

I manage to get to my feet and look at the Queen with great anger.

“What are you doing?! You promised you’d leave this world and never return!” I scream.

“And I will…” the Queen responds, “But my Changeling servants are so hungry, and I’m sure Twilight would understand. After all, she’s part of the family now.”

The Queen then draws my attention to Twilight, who just stands there like a statue. Obviously I can tell she’s either not aware of the situation or doesn’t have the means to respond. The very sight of her, packed with what the Queen is doing causes me to lose all control of my anger. In rage I run up to the Queen, ready to punch her right in the face. But just before my fist makes contact, she puts up a shield, which blasts me about two feet backwards.

“Oh don’t worry, Tai. You’ll be okay. Remember, I promised that I wouldn’t hurt you or you’re friends, and I meant it. Everyone in this room is under my protection.”

A nearby Changeling crawls up to me and snorts in my face. It then opens its mouth, revealing its sharp fangs. I back away from it in fear as the Queen watches with joy.

“Unless of course you do anything to upset my servants. In which case I may not be able to guarantee your safety. ”

“Why are you doing this?” I shout, “You’ve got Twilight’s happiness, you’ve got the Element of Magic. What more do you want?”

The Queen gives me another sinister smile.

“While I do enjoy devouring love and happiness, I also find it positively delightful to completely crush it right before someone’s very eyes. Precisely like when I locked Princess Cadence in the Canterlot dungeon and while taking her place at her wedding. The look on her face when she discovered the colt she loved was now married to someone else… priceless. Or at least it would’ve been, had Twilight Sparkle not interfered.

“I intend to make up for that little incident… with you. I already took your girl. Now, I’m going to take your world.”

She lets out a sinister laugh and I fall to my knees looking directly at Twilight’s locket, a tear running down my cheek.

Chapter 2

Well, Christmas has come and gone, and thankfully, I was able to get some help from my sister with educating Twilight. She was able to give Twilight some lessons that I otherwise couldn't provide, such as how to get fully dressed and how to bathe (I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am for that). She even gave Twilight some clothes as Christmas presents, coming right from her own design company, of course. Twilight's personal favorite is the magenta colored purse, though I have no idea how or what she's going to use it for. So anyway, my sister and Twilight were the best of friends, until the holidays ended and sis had to go back to work, leaving me here, alone with Twilight, once again.

I can now officially say this girl is driving me INSANE!!! Did I mention before that I don't have the money to support a roommate? Well, this is what I was talking about. This girl has tripled my food bill and now I'm panicking about how I'm going to survive the next month. Add insult to injury, she does nothing useful around the house while I'm away. I'm working my butt off going to school and trying to pay for the food we eat, and all she does is sit around the house, watching PBS. Yes, I said PBS… for kids. She says that she finds a number of the shows on the channel to be "adorable," and for some reason, "fascinating." Honestly, I'm really starting to rethink my theory about her being the real Twilight Sparkle. She seems far too dumb.

So anyway, I finally decided to lay down the "no work, no eat" rule with her, and attempted to find her a job so she can help pay for a number of the bills on the table. I actually succeeded; three times, to be exact. But she always wound up getting fired after just one week of work, which resulted in more headaches for me.

So I figured maybe I could at least make her useful around the house until she can find a permanent job (if ever). So, tonight I decide to show her how to cook. I pick the easiest thing any kid in America can be taught… Mac and Cheese. She actually does pretty well when we first start, but then she gets to the part where you need to poor it out of the pan into a caulendar. She grabs the pan and starts to move towards the kitchen sink, but then her thumb makes contact with the hot metal, resulting in her throwing the pan right into the oven's controls. The water then spills out and leaks into cracks, causing the whole thing to short-circuit and burn out.

God help me.

So I ordered pizza instead, which seemed to please Twilight. She deeply loves pizza, and has even been known to eat up to eight slices at a time. Somehow she's able to eat so much, yet never seems to gain any weight. Where does it all go?

So, I guess I should ask my sister if she'd give me an extra five hundred dollars to fix the oven… but I think I'll wait a few days. She always gets mad when I ask for more money, and besides, who knows what'll break next? Twilight apologizes non-stop for the next hour; with me containing my frustration by saying "it's okay." Though she doesn't say anything. She seems to sense my frustration and goes to her room, figuring it best to leave me alone.

The clock strikes nine as I plop my head down on the kitchen table. All of this anger and frustration, and I still have to do my homework for tomorrow. To make matters worse, it's Calculus. I don't even like the class; matter a fact, I despise it with every fiber of my being. But it's required for my minor, and I'm failing.

Reluctantly, I pull out the book and attempt to work, but my mind is too stuck on the broken oven to handle the already challenging problems. I stare at the first problem for what seems like an hour, with absolutely nothing going through my mind. I plop my face down on the page just as Twilight comes out of her room, and then walks over to the table.

"Hey…is that Calculus?" She asks, stunning me with the question.

"W-what?" I ask in return, slowly lifting my head from the book.

Twilight takes a closer look at the problem I'm working on.

"Yeah, it is. That first question's pretty easy."

"Easy?" I ask with a sarcastic tone. "Hey, Calculus is anything but easy."

"Well, I understand it."

I can't believe what I'm hearing, this girl has to be taught how to tie her shoes, how to get dressed and the aspect basic hygiene… yet somehow, she can understand Calculus on her own? I decide to test her by having her solve the first problem.

To my surprise, she simply accepts the challenge and starts writing on a piece of paper. In less than a minute, she's done, work shown and all. I go and check the answer in the back of the book, and sure enough, she's right.

"How- how did you do this?" I ask, still mind blown by what just happened.

"Well, I hope you don't mind, but I got bored and read those books on the bottom shelf of your room… sorry."

I then remembered that I keep my schoolbooks on the bottom shelf. She read them… and understood them? That's when my whole brain just imploded in on itself. Exactly how much does this girl not remember? The basic necessities of life such as bathing and clothing do not apply, yet she can read, write and understand my schoolbooks?

"Do you want any help with the rest of those problems?" She asks, once again giving me that cute smile of hers.

"Y-yeah… that would be great," I say, still trying to overcome my shock.

The two of us then got to work. Time just flew on by, as I was blowing right through the problems like never before. She really knew her stuff (even on the more difficult questions), and actually found effective ways to show me how to figure them out for myself. When we were finally done, I saw the clock read 'eleven thirty', meaning we actually finished far sooner than I could have alone.

I thank her for her help and then ask where she learned to read and write. She simply smiles and gives credit PBS. I don't believe this; she just tuned into that channel about eight weeks ago, yet she can already read at a college level? Then again, she is a young adult, so she must have a more capable brain. But doesn't one still need to learn the basics of words and the same pace or… I don't know. I was giving myself another headache just thinking about this. As I stood there pondering, Twilight grabbed a snack from the pantry, told me good night, and walked back to her room.

I gave a somewhat stunned reply as I struggled to maintain my mentality. The case was once again wide open; could she be the real Twilight? She's defiantly smart and quite able to understand all this information in less time than most people. Maybe it's all that pizza she eats - maybe the calories go to her brain instead of her waist. Then again, is that even possible? I don't know, but either way, I really need some Advil for my pounding head.

Chapter 12

I can’t believe it’s all come down to this. Just when I finally start to live in the world around me, I lose it all. Everyone’s now huddled together in a small circle, listening to the sounds of screaming coming from outside. I can hear Queen Chrysalis’s army hissing and roaring as they tear through the streets, and can only imagine what’s going on out there. The Queen herself is standing in the doorway, watching the chaos unfold. Every so often she takes her eyes off the pandemonium to look at me, making sure I look just as miserable as I’m feeling.

I look back at the portal and see the creature who was once my wife standing before it. She doesn’t move; only stands there with a blank face, as though she's expecting the Queen to tell her something. I don’t even know if she has a will of her own anymore. The Queen got her wish; my happiness has been completely crushed. All I feel now is pain and sorrow, and even worse than I did before. The woman I love is gone, and now I’m about to lose my home as well. All I have to remember her by is the locket I hold in my hands. It should be making me happy, but instead it just causes additional misery as it just reminds me of the good times I had with Twilight… the ones that I will never get to have again.

As I sit there, wallowing in my sorrow, I feel something grab my shoulder. At first I’m a little scared, given all the tension befalling. I turn around and see it’s my sister, a look of concern on her face. She glances at Twilight and gets close to my ear and whispers, “Tai, you’ve got to try and get through to her. She’s the only one who can fix this.”

“Lauren…” I respond. “Look at her, she’s not even blinking. I don’t know if…”

“Tai,” she says, “You were the closest to her out of any of us. If anyone can figure this problem out, it’s you. We’re all counting on you.”

I take another look at her, her face now bearing a expression of determination. I glance back at everyone else. I see Scott trying to comfort Liz and their yet to be born child. I see everyone else trying to comfort each other and to block out the horrible noises. They all look so miserable—maybe even worse off than me. I wonder what will happen when the Changelings finish off the town. Would the Queen allow her minions to harm us? She said she wouldn,’t but she already betrayed Twilight’s deal about leaving this world. I don’t know, but I’m not ready to find out. Sis is right; there are too many lives at stake. I need to get through to Twilight… somehow.

I take another look at Twilight’s locket and try to come up with a plan. I remember what the Queen said about Twilight having so much magic that it may have a mind of its own. Quite frankly, I believe it. I remember a few times during our training sessions that whenever Twilight got extremely frustrated or happy, she’d accidently release a few bursts of magic, the likes of which would have unpredictable effects. One time she was practicing levitation on a plate and a funny commercial popped up that made her laugh. She wound up accidently turning the plate into a frog, a spell we never quite figured out.

It’s a long shot, but at this point I’m willing to try just about anything. If I can get her to laugh or maybe even smile, maybe I can trigger one of her random magic bursts and somehow fix all this. At least… I hope I can.

While the Queen is enjoying the show, I creep over to Twilight. She follows my movements with her eyes, but remains silent as though awaiting my next course of action.

“Twilight…are you in there?” I ask.

She simply lets out a light growl and readies her claws. I swallow hard and continue my approach towards her.

“It’s me… Tai? Your husband? Don’t you remember all the fun times we had?”

I place my hand on her shoulder, but she claws me away, and strikes my across the face with the back of her hand, sending me flying into the wall. The Queen hears the commotion and looks behind her. She quickly catches on to what I’m doing and lets out an evil laugh.

“You little fool. She doesn’t remember you. Well, at least not the good times,” she says.

“What do you mean… the good times?” I say, as I slowly pick myself off the ground.

“When we Changelings feed, we suck out all memories from our victims. But when we assimilate a victim, we devour their good memories and give them back their bad counterparts. Those memories are injected into them through our fangs along with the special venom that transforms them. All Changelings feel nothing but anger and sadness. Which makes it kind of ironic that we feed on happiness to gain power. Happiness is after all such a bother—it’s what motivates us do things, pick ourselves up and strive for a better tomorrow. If my servants all felt happiness, they might start breaking away from my command, and I wouldn’t be much of a queen, now would I?”

She goes back to splendoring in the miasma of chaos, as I hang my head in defeat. This is it. I’ve lost her for sure. Even worse, I’ve lost everything else—my friends, my sister, and my world. I start to shed a few tears. I know I must look pathetic, sitting here crying like a little kid, but that’s exactly how I feel.

I take another look at Twilight’s locket in my hands, thinking back on the day I first gave it to her. That was one of the most magical days of my life—the day we first started our relationship. But even before that, we still had a lot of fond memories. Our movie nights at home, our various trips to the museums, and so much more. Twilight may have been a bit of a pain at first. Finding her a job wasn’t easy, the oven incident wasn’t much fun, and there was basic education of this world, but in the end, everything turned out okay. That’s when my brain clicks.

I lift my head up and look back at Twilight. She simply glares at me, as though she expects me to make another move. I put on a small smile, and look up at her.

“Hey Twilight, you remember the first time you applied for a job?” I ask her.

She starts to growl.

“You remember, how you couldn’t finish the application, because you didn’t have a social security number?” I continue, as Twilight growls louder.

“You remember, how we had to go through all that stuff… just so you could work in this country?”

I start giving off a few chuckles as I rise to my feet. Twilight starts making hissing noises.

“You remember those long nights, how much studying you had to go through and how I had to eventually call up my sister for help? Wasn’t that frustrating, wasn’t that one of the most pain-staking situations you'd ever had to go through? Having to learn all that stuff in so little time?”

Twilight swipes at me, knocking me back down to the floor. She moves in for another attack, but I just look up and smile at her.

“Do you remember what happened next?”

Twilight hesitates, if only for a moment.

“After all that studying and my sister pulling a few strings, we eventually succeeded. We celebrated with cake and ice cream at home. We also laughed at how silly this whole thing was, all this trouble just for a stupid number. All just to finish a lousy application.”

Twilight’s face starts to shift from that of anger to one of confusion. My plan was working, I was starting to get through.

“You remember the first few jobs you got? How you got fired after about a week of work? Weren’t you frustrated?”

Twilight growls a bit, as I manage to pull myself back onto my feet.

“And you got that job at the library, and earned enough to go to the aquarium? You remember all the fun we had? You remember the starfish incident? ”

Twilight starts looking away, as though something was going on inside of her.

“You… remember the night we fought? How you thought I was some kind of lunatic? How you yelled at me, and said you never wanted to see me again? Do you also remember how you regretted those words, and you so badly wanted to apologize?”

Twilight remains silent as I wrap my arms around her.

“And … do you remember what happened after that?”

I hug her tight, and she remains still. Finally after a full minute, her arms slowly start to wrap around me. Suddenly a magenta aura forms around her hands just as she pulls me into a hug. The two of us become covered in a bright light, of which the Queen quickly takes notice.

When I can finally see again, I see Twilight hugging me. All her Changeling features have completely disappeared, and she now looks once again like the girl I love. She doesn’t look up, just squeezes me tighter.

“Thank you Tai… I love you.” She says gracefully.

I close my eyes, and rest my head against her shoulder.

“I love you too, Twilight,” I say with a smile.

“IMPOSSIBLE!” the Queen shouts, “How could you have cured her without the Elements of Harmony?!”

“Because I have something you don’t,” Twilight says, turning her head to face the Queen. She closes her eyes and rests her head on my shoulder. “A truly close friend, who’s able to fill me with laughter and happiness, even in the worst of times.”

The Queen glares at us with a sneer.

“You said it yourself Chrysalis—happiness is what motivates us to do things, pick ourselves up and strive for a better tomorrow. Tai reminded me of what happiness was, and that gave me the power to fight back against your assimilation.

“In fact the same thing happened when my friends and I were corrupted by Discord. We were so angry at each other that we couldn’t remember all the happiness we experienced as friends. Princess Celestia sent me those letters of friendship and reminded me of all the good times I had with my friends. If your assimilation can’t even stand up to that, your magic is no different than Discord’s. Honestly, I find that to be truly pathetic.”

“YOU HORRIBLE LITTLE WRETCH!” The Queen shouts as she once again changes form. This time casting away all humanoid features and morphing into her true cast—a coal-black horse with shredded insect wings and a crooked horn atop her head.

“If I can’t have the power of the elements, I’ll make it so nobody does!”

She fires a green beam from her horn, and it heads straight for Twilight and I. I attempt to turn the two of us around, so I take the blunt of the blow instead of Twilight. But before I can make it, Twilight holds out her hand and creates a protective force field around the both of us, blocking the Queen’s attack. A look of shock fills her face.

“Did you forget, Chrysalis? You restored some of my memories of Equestria, and thanks to that burst of magic, I now remember everything. Including all the spells I learned during my time as Princess Celestia’s student.”

The Queen fires two rapid blasts, but Twilight blocks both of them. The Queen looks at our friends and fires at them, but Twilight creates a shield around them as well. She gazes at Twilight, who wears a determined look on her face. She grits her teeth as her horn starts to glow once again.

A green aura appears around various objects in the room, and the Queen starts hurling them into the shield. Twilight’s hands shake upon impact, but she still holds the shield up just fine. The Queen fires even more blasts into the shield, ones much bigger than before. Twilight holds her position for a good while, but she eventually falls to her knees. I get close to her and see sweat pouring down her face. She’s giving it her all, but she can’t keep the shield up much longer.

I look at the Queen, and notice she’s starting to sweat as well. I can see a great look of rage and determination in her eyes. She’s completely set on breaking through Twilight's barrier no matter what. She’s got all effort focused on that one task. That’s when I get another idea, and get down to Twilight’s level.

“Honey…” I say to her. “Release the shield.”

“Release it?” She asks.

“She’s weakening. If you can release the shield at just the right time…”

“But Tai, what if one of those blasts…”

I wrap my arms around her.

“I’ll be the one to protect you this time,” I say.

Twilight gives me a slight nod and drops the shield as I move into protect her with my body. Just as the shield dissipates, one of the Queen’s blasts ricochets off it. The blast hits the Queen with full force, zapping her with green lighting as she’s flung back against the wall. She falls to the ground, causing her magic to become undone. Twilight casts one more shield protecting everyone from the falling objects. When the coast is clear, Twilight picks herself up, and walks towards the Queen, who’s struggling to stand up.

“It’s over Chrysalis,” Twilight says, “You have threatened the people of my home in Equestria and now you have threatened the people of my home here. You’ve had this coming for a very long time.”

She folds her hands as they start to glow once again, and swings them outwards as the Queen charges at her. Suddenly chains come from behind the Queen and seize her just before she reaches Twilight. The Queen looks behind her to see a black portal from which the chains are emerging.

“What… What have you done?” she panics.

“I’m banishing you to Tartarus,” Twilight says, “Believe me, I truly despise having to do this, but you’ve pushed me so far that I simply have no other choice.”

The Queen struggles against the chains, but she is no match for them. Her horn starts glowing, as do all four of her hooves. She keeps pushing hard and manages to get her hooves on the ground, her magic holding them down to the floor. She looks at Twilight with a furious grimace, sweat running all down her face.

“Fight all you want; it’s useless. Once those chains find their target, there is no escape,” Twilight assures

She looks at the portal that Chrysalis opened earlier.

“As for your minions…”

She reaches out her arms and casts a spell on the portal. It starts picking up speed, creating a huge gust in the room. At first nobody is sucked into it, everyone is able to stay on the ground without any problems. Changelings start flying in through the doors and windows, and disappearing into the portal like a vacuum cleaner.

“I’m sending them to Princess Celestia’s kingdom in Canterlot. She’ll know what to do with them.”

The Queen watches in anger as her servants are sucked into the portal. Her gritted teeth curve into a sinister grin as she lets out another evil laugh.

“I’m afraid Princess Celestia isn’t at Canterlot, she’s locked away at my castle.”

Twilight simply takes another look at her.

“I will send them to Princess Luna, and alert her of Celestia’s current whereabouts.”

“I’m afraid Princess Luna already knows, she’s guarding my palace,” the Queen responds. “As a Changeling.”

“What?” Twilight asks with a bit of shock.

“Without you, the other five Elements of Harmony were powerless, leaving Equestria without it’s most powerful means of defense,” The Queen says. “Which just made it that much easier to assimilate each and every acre of land that I could find. Princess Cadenece, your brother, your parents… they all serve me now.

The only one that I spared was Princes Celestia herself. You could imagine the look on her face when she returned to find her loved ones now my Changeling servants. I trapped her within a pod in my own throne room, where I could watch her wallow away in misery, day by day.”

“And my friends… what about them?” Twilights asks.

I can tell by looking at her face she already suspects the answer, but doesn’t want to accept it. The Queen smiles and turns to the shattered crystal orb on the floor. She uses her magic to levitate a broken shard into Twilight’s hands.

“Take a look for yourself,” she says with an evil grin.

Twilight looks deep into the shard, an expression of concern washing over her face. I come up behind her, to see for myself. The shard starts to show something… and Twilight stares with great fear.

There in the shard, is a dungeon. With five Changelings, all chained to the wall by their necks. They each have a different hairstyle, that match the styles of the other five ponies, albeit much messier and duller. They all stare at each other for a brief moment, before making loud hissing sounds. They try to bite one another, but are held back by the chains. Twilight gazes with a horrified face.

“Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy… no,” she gasps, falling to her knees and tears pouring out of her eyes.

I get down on the ground to try and comfort her, as the Queen starts to laugh again.

“Equestria is now my kingdom, and without me to command them, my Changelings will give into their feral instincts. They will battle each other for supremacy, savagely fighting day in and day out. They will destroy one another and anything that gets in their path. And even if your precious Princess Celestia does mange to escape her prison, two years of starvation have rendered her weak. She’ll be a sitting duck for all those angry Changelings and Equestria will crumble.”

She takes a good look at me.

“But don’t take it too hard dear. After all, you get to stay here in your NEW home, with your PERFECT husband. I’m sure you’ll forget all about it eventually.”

She releases the spell around her hooves, and lets the chains pull her into the portal, laughing maniacally as she goes in. The last of the Changeling minions fly into their portal and both dissipate in a bright beam of light, leaving everyone silent. I look back down at Twilight, who is still down on her knees. She now has her whole face buried in her hands, tears pouring out between her fingers.

I look at her with a sorry face; I completely understand what’s she going through. I crawl over to her front, and move her hands away as I pull her into a hug. I let her cry into my chest for about two whole minutes, as I hold her tight. After she calms down a bit, I lift us both onto our feet, and pull her away a bit.

“Twilight,” I say. She doesn’t look up.

“Tai… I have to go back.”

“What?”

“I have to go back to Equestria… I’m the only one who can help them.”

She finally looks up at me, her face now soaked with tears. I can tell just by looking at her how much pain she’s in right now, as I felt the exact same way when she was in that coma. I don’t argue with her, or even tell just how dangerous it may be. I just put my hands on her shoulders, and look her straight in the eye before speaking.

“I understand…” I say, “And I’ll go with you. I’ll help as best I can.”

Twilight sniffs, and looks back down. She lets loose a few more tears, before shaking her head.

“No Tai, you need to stay here. It’s far too dangerous for me to take you.”

“But… Twilight, I…”

She puts her fingers to my lips, silencing me.

“With all those Changelings around, I know you would not be able to handle yourself. Just look at how you handled Queen Chrysalis on your own. On top of that, there are more dangerous creatures in Equestria, some of which Princess Celestia had sealed away for centures. No doubt they're running around as well. I may not always be there to help you, and if something happened to you…”

I take hold of her hand, and press it to my chest.

“Twilight, I’m willing to take that risk with you. You’re my wife, I’d be willing to take any risk for you.”

“But what about for them?” Twilight says, glancing behind me.

I turn around and see all of our friends staring at us.

“You once told me, that before we met… you didn’t have any friends. You didn’t have anything that made your life worthwhile. Well now you do. I’ve watched you grow Tai, and you’ve come a long way since the day we met.”

She turns away from me, as more tears fall from her eyes.

“And I just can’t bear the thought of seeing something bad happen to you after all you’ve gone through, especially if it was on my account.”

My eyes start to tear up. I understand what’s she saying, and I will respect her wishes. But that doesn’t make the pain any easier.

“You know…” I start to say. “They’re your friends too.”

“I know, and that only makes this so much harder for me,” Twilight responds.

She turns to face me, keeping her eyes closed as more tears roll down her face.

“But sometimes… we have to do what’s hard in order to do what’s right.”

I remain silent for a moment, before I put my hand on her shoulder. Twilight looks up into my eyes.

“And though we face many hardships, if we can just push our way forward, ultimately we can find our rewards,” I say to her.

Twilight sniffs and wipes some tears away.

“Yes…” she says, managing to put on a slight smile.

“Promise me…” I start to say. “That you’ll be safe. You’ll fix everything in Equestria and get things settled. And one day, when the time is right… you’ll come home. And we’ll be together again, and start our new life.”

“And promise me…” Twilight says, “That you’ll maintain your friendships, and make new ones. And that you’ll get a great career that makes you happy. And… don’t feel the need to keep my existence a secret, share it with those you meet. So when I do eventually come home, I’ll have a great life waiting for me.”

“I will…” I say to her. “And, let this be a symbol of that promise.”

I put the locket around her neck and she looks at me with a smile.

“Thank you, Tai. For everything. For filling my life with joy, for helping me stop Queen Chrysalis, and for showing me what true love is.”

“And thank you… for all you’ve done to change my life,” I reply, looking back at my friends.

“Don’t worry Twilight, we’ll take care of him,” Scott says.

“You can count on it,” Liz adds.

Twilight and I take one last look into each other’s eyes, before we wrap our arms around each other and embrace in one last kiss. We hold each other tight for what seems like an eternity, just lost in each other at the moment.

Finally, we separate and she walks into the portal. Her hands start glowing and she’s covered in a bright magenta light. When it fades her form is now that of a lavender colored unicorn, large wings spread out at her side. The portal closes as everyone looks in awe at the sight before them

I stand there for about a whole minute; just staring at the area where the portal once was, a tear running down my eyes. That’s when Scott comes up and puts his arm around me.

“You did the right thing, Tai. Don’t worry; she’ll be back one day,” he says to me.

I dry my tears, before putting on a smile.

“Yeah, she will,” I respond.

Liz approaches me.

“How about we all go to Burger Joint? It’ll help cheer you up,” she says.

“Sounds good,” I say

Ten months have passed since that day. True to my promise to Twilight, I’ve succeeded in getting a great career. I don’t really feel like saying what it is right now, but I can tell you it’s a heck of lot better than my last job. My friendships still remain strong, especially with Liz and Scott. Their little daughter Brandi is the cutest little thing ever, and they’ve also adopted a son named Rick. I drop by two or three times a week to visit them, and sometimes take the kids to the latest movies. They really do love those Pixar films, and are even starting to enjoy some of the old Disney films I have in my collection.

And you might be wondering about that whole Changeling attack, huh? Well, nobody knows for sure whether it was real or not. It happened so fast that there were barely any news reporters that could make the scene. The victims themselves couldn’t remember anything and nobody knows whether or not to believe the other witnesses. There is a little footage, but rumor has it that it’s fake. Either way, the whole thing is dismissed as an urban legend, with only my friends and I knowing the truth.

So now I’m here at home, enjoying some “me time”, watching Alien yet again. I still pull it out to think back on those nights I spent with Twilight watching it, and all of a sudden a portal opens in my kitchen. I go over and look at it, when a figure walks out. It’s a tall and magnetic horse, with a flowing colorful main and a crown on her head. She also has a long horn and a large set of wings.

“Are you Tai Bantly?” the horse asks.

“Yes,” I respond.

“I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria and former mentor of Twilight Sparkle.”

“Yeah, I know; I watch the cartoon.”

The princess raises an eyebrow.

“Yes… Twilight did mention something about a cartoon,” she says.

“How is she?” I ask, “Is she okay?”

Celestia simply smiles and gives me a nod.

“Yes, she was successful in her mission, and the Changeling swarms have been defeated. Thanks to her actions, Equestria has now entered a state of peace.”

I give a small sigh of relief.

“But… “ Celestia continues.

I look at her with a bit of concern.

“She is now burdened with another matter… one that I feel only you can help her with.”

I stare at her with a bit of interest. Celestia gives me a stern look.

“If you promise, to remain by her side. To stick by her during the good times and the bad, and promise to always love her for the rest of your life. I will allow her to return to this world… and stay with you.”

“Yes… I will,” I say, “I promise.”

Celestia smiles and steps aside.

“I present you with… your lovely wife.”

Twilight steps out of the portal, once again in her human form. She’s wearing a sparkling white dress, incredibly long in leg area. Two winged ponies come out of the portal with her, hovering at her sides, carrying the edges of her dress in their mouths. I recognize them from the show as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, and they don’t look at all like Changelings. A white pony with a purple mane exits the portal and runs up to me. I recognize her to be the one named Rarity.

“I do apologize for this rather awkward presentation,” she says, pointing to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. “But human dresses aren’t exactly my specialty.”

Finally a pink pony hops out followed by an orange pony wearing a stetson hat. They’re Pinkie Pie and Applejack respectively.

Pinkie hops over to me and hugs my neck, pulling me down to her level.

“Oooh, I gotta say Twilight, you sure can pick ‘em. I mean I’m no expert on humans; in fact this is the first time I’ve ever seen one. But I gotta say…”

“Pinkie!” Rarity says, using her magic to pull the hyper active pony away.

I get to my feet and finally get to take a good look at Twilight. Once again she looks as beautiful as ever. But I notice she has something in her arms, it looks kinda like a bundle of blankets. She comes up to me and I take look at what she’s carrying.

I pull a few blankets away, and see it’s a human baby, with some little bits of hair the same color as Twilight’s. The baby turns to look at me, and opens it’s eyes. They’re the same color as mine.

I suddenly become surprised and look up at Twilight.

“Twilight… is this…” I say.

She simply smiles and gives a gentle nod.

“Congratulations Tai… you’re a father now.”

Tears start falling from my eyes as my mouth curves into a smile. I-I can’t believe this. Me? A father?

“But why didn’t…” I say to Twilight.

“I didn’t know,” she responds, before taking a glance at Princess Celestia.

“It was Princess Celestia, who first informed me that I was pregnant. And that’s when I realized just how important it was for me to complete my mission, so that you could see your new baby girl.”

I take another glance at the baby; she’s truly a sight to behold.

“She’s so beautiful,” Fluttershy says, positioning her front legs in a folded hands position.

“She’s just like Applebloom the day she was born,” Applejack says, taking a good long look at the baby.

“I can’t wait 'till she’s older and I can start showing her my moves,” Rainbow Dash says, making punching and kicking gestures.

“CAN I BE HER BABYSITTER?” Pinkie Pie shouts.

“There will be plenty of time for that later,” Celestia says, as she walks up to Twilight and me.

“But for now, this child is a descendent of two worlds. Like Twilight, she too posseses magic and will one day wield the element of magic just like her mother. Therefore, I believe it is best that she has the experience of both worlds and is raised properly by her two parents.

Until then, Twilight, you will continue to wield the element of magic and should Equestria ever fall into peril again, you must come to our aid. Spike will act as my messenger.”

She turns to the portal, to which a little purple dragon emerges, carrying suitcases with him.

“Hey Twilight… looks like we’ll be rooming again,” he says.

Twilight smiles and gets down to his level, hugging him while still holding onto the baby.

“Thank you, Princess,” I say as I throw my arm over Twilight. We exchange smiles. “But why should we only come in times of peril?”

Celestia simply smiles.

“I thought you’d say that. Regardless, I leave her in your hands. Come, my little ponies. Let's leave these four to settle.”

All the ponies head for the portal, while Rainbow Dash drags Pinkie Pie away.

“WAIT!! Can I be her babysitter?” Pinkie screams just before Rainbow drags her into the portal.

“Of course you can Pinkie, you can babysit her whenever we come to Equestria,” Twilight calls.

“Ahh” Pinkie says, finally giving up her fight and allowing Rainbow to take her into the portal.

The portal closes, leaving Twilight, Spike, our daughter and I alone.

“In the meantime…” says Twilight, “Spike, you’ll be her regular sitter.”

“What me?” Spike asks, “But I’m supposed to be the messenger should Princess Celestia need you.

“You can do both,” Twilight says with a slight chuckle, “Spike, Tai and I both need to work in order to support this family and we need somebody to take care of our daughter while we’re both away for the day. Besides, what else are you going to do all day?”

“Well…” Spike says, “I suppose.

“We’ll make it worth your while,” Twilight says.

“You have any gems to snack on?” Spike asks.

“Even better: pizza,” I say, showing Spike a sample slice from the fridge.

Spike takes a bite and jumps up in excitement.

“Holy cow, that’s good.”

“I thought you’d say that,” I respond with a smile, “And you can have the spare bedroom all to yourself, provided you don’t mind sharing when my sister comes to visit.”

I point to the spare bedroom, and Spike walks in. I hear some shuffling and clothes flying all over the place.

“Oh wow, what is all this stuff? Is it clothing? I’ve never seen clothing like this. How do you put it on?”

I laugh a little bit, as I go back over to Twilight.

“Remind you of anyone?” I ask.

“Yeah,” Twilight responds with a giggle, “Don’t worry, I’ll be the one to educate him, I also think we should get some new furniture to accommodate his small stature.”

“I think we’re going to wind up raising two children,” I say with a smile.

“Speaking of which, she still needs a name,” Twilight says, placing the baby in my arms. “I thought I’d let you have that honor.”

I smile at her, and take a good, long look at my baby girl.

“I think I know...” I say after a good minute.

“How about we name her after my mother… Teresa Bantly?”

“I think that’s a fine name,” Twilight says, hugging me and looking at our daughter.

I pull Teresa close to me and kiss her on the forehead, and turn to my side and kiss Twilight on the lips.

I think my life… has just taken a turn for the better.