The City of Dreams

"So, what do you girls like to eat anyway? I can't cook anything too complicated, but I can manage the basic breakfast," Liza said as she turned her chair and started to move out of the room.

"Wait!" Twilight blurted, she still found the siblings behavior a little odd, I mean, and why would they accept their story almost instantly like this? "Why are you doing this?"She asked.

The chair had stopped in a doorway, and Liza remained quiet for a few seconds as she thought the question over in her head, "That's a good question," she said over her shoulder, "I don't really know ether."

Twilight was taken aback by this, there had to be a logical reason, "Six strange mares pop out of nowhere, your brother finds them and brings them here, and both of you believe our stories and are going out of your way to help us, why-"  Twilight was cut short by a light whack to the back of her head, she turned and saw that Liza had made it over and was giving her an odd look, it was somewhere between a motherly scold, and a sad sympathy.

"You lot are the strangest people I've ever met," she said looking into each of their eyes, and shaking her head, "But just because you're strange, doesn't mean that you're bad people. My brother and I both have had our share of rough times, so we know what it feels like to be in a pickle like this, maybe that's why he's doing this. But I can't just lie about while others are in trouble and I have the ability to help."

The girls looked at the small girl again and gained a new respect for her and her brother; they didn't mean any harm and just wanted to help as much as they could.

Suddenly Rarity's stomach started to rumble, and the sound echoed around the room. She looked a bit embarrassed at her stomach's sudden outburst. "Hey, do you have anything to eat, I'm starving!" Rainbow jumped in saving Rarity from their attention, she wondered if they had any daisy sandwiches or hay fries.

"Well, I was just about to make some pancakes; they'll only take a few minutes. In the mean time, make yourselves at home; lord knows Father would have been furious if he saw that we didn't treat our guests right," and with that Liza rolled out of the room, the last thing they saw was her gold hair trailing behind her around the corner.

The girls all started to get up, preparing to explore the room and the many odds and ends inside it, but Twilight had to say something before they scattered. "Girls, I'm really sorry for all of this, it's all my fault," they all stopped and looked at their friend still sitting with her head down, she looked up and gave them all an encouraging smile, "But I will find a way to get us back," she said with determination. The girls returned the smile, "Um...we trust you Twilight," Fluttershy smiled.

"Thanks girls" Twilight said and they all split up to look around.

Applejack and Twilight started to look at the different paintings and photos around the room; some were of open landscapes, while others were photos of these "humans" all standing together and enjoying themselves. Twilight saw that a few of them where black and white, and the people in them wore different clothes, though they all seemed to have the same expression of adventure lust and wonder on their faces.

Pinkie had since disappeared; and just when they began to worry a bit, they heard her trademark laughter coming from the kitchen, along with Liza's own giggles. And their worries melted away, and their exploration continued.

Fluttershy and Rarity stood in front of a long slab of pure onyx. The thing was attached to the wall opposite the sofa, and looked almost like a window, except they could see a slight reflection of themselves looking back at them. "I wonder if this is some sort of mirror," Rarity said as she admired herself, though she looked nothing like her original form, she couldn't help admit that she had a regal and elegance to this new Human body. Fluttershy looked a little closer and saw that there were little bumps on the side, but one had caught her attention in particular. It was round with a glowing red circle and line in it. It pulsed rhythmically and hypnotized the shy mare, until she could take it no longer and pushed the small button. When she removed her finger the circle had turned a solid green, and what followed was chaos.

The dark slab suddenly flickered and scene of a man with long curly black hair and a caddy hat started to sing. Loud music started to flow out of several small black boxes around them, and the room was soon filled with AC/DC - Back in Black. The recorded rock concert shook the room and its inhabitants.

Fluttershy dove for the safety of the sofa, and started to pile cushions on top of her into a makeshift fort where she attempted to hide from the music. Rarity, who was unlucky enough to have been standing near a subwoofer, was on her knees clutching her ringing ears and her face was scrunched up in obvious discomfort. Everyone soon stopped what they were doing and watched the man with the loud voice as he sang his heart out.

Liza wheeled into the room and quickly grabbed the remote and promptly muted it. She looked around and saw that everyone was now watching the now silent Scotty continue his performance in awe. They were all drawn to the flat screen, and had the look of a caveman's first encounter with fire.

"Will prefers the classics, but I like electro myself, he must have left the concert DVD still in," Liza said as she rolled up to the crowd.

"That...was...so COOL!" Rainbow said, her wings fluttering and a smile slitting her face.

"Yes...how did you get that man in there? And how did you make him stop singing with that little box?" Twilight asked as she circled the TV, trying to find the workings behind the screen.

Liza thought of the work that lay ahead of them, it would be like trying to teach six Tarzans how the world works. "Well, that's Will's job, he found them, so he can do the blunt of the work" Liza thought to herself imagining the incoming culture shock. A clang from the kitchen reminded her that Pinkie was still in there.

Turning the TV's DVD player off and switching to the PVR, Liza selected a Planet Earth episode about jungles. "Alright, just relax and watch the show. Breakfast is nearly done." The girls watched the high definition shots of the Amazon Rainforest full of flowers and mysterious creatures as a British man narrated everything on screen. Satisfied that they would be glued to the box, Liza returned to the Kitchen. There she found Pinkie Pie frosting the pancakes with chocolate syrup and whip cream.

"Oh hay there Liza! I found out where you keep your chocolate syrup and whip cream! Though you seem to be a bit lacking on gumdrops and candy sprinkles! Oh, but you seem to be good on sugar and flour!" Pinkie said as she plopped a cherry on a pyramid of whip cream, a half empty jar of candied cherries sat nearby. Liza could only stare open mouthed at the sugar packed pile. Pinkie suddenly gasped, "Ahh! I just had the best greatest super idea ever! Why don't we bake a cake! It'll be great! It will be for helping us...Oh! What if we turn it into a party! Oooh, it will be my first "Happy that we made it safe, and met some new strange friends" party!" Pinkie said jumping up and down, and with each bounce her "mass" did its own jumps.

Liza couldn't help but smile, but she really needed to fix this before Will got back, in fact, they all needed something better than just a few of his old pairs of work clothes. "Alright Pinkie, we'll do the party later, but for now we need to get your melons contained."

"Oh don't be silly, I don't own any melons, though maybe a squash or two back home!" There was going to be a very awkward talk later on down the road Liza thought.

Will paced the spot where he found the girls for the tenth time that morning; it was hard to miss with the skid marks still fresh from when he nearly ran them over. Thinking back, he was extremely lucky to have missed them, he couldn't have imagined what would have happened had he actually plowed right through them.

The sun was up by now and it helped him look around without the use of a flash light, but he still found no trace of the girl's jewelry. It seemed to be their ticket back to their Land of Oz or where ever it was they came from, and without it they seemed to have little chance of getting back. He remembered the girl's bleak faces from earlier, and he honestly felt sympathy for them. But it was starting to look like their ticket home had blown with the breeze.

Though, a ticket could fly away, metal couldn't. There had to be a reason why they hadn't turned up yet...then he spotted it. It wasn't exactly what he was looking for, since it wasn't shining or made out of gold, but it was a clue.

There, off the tarmac on the dry and crusted soil, was a spot of black. Will walked closer and saw that there were also tire marks on either side of the puddle. The puddle was starting to disappear into the soil, but it was unmistakably an oil spill; but more importantly, it was fresh.

Someone had been here after them, and that culprit must have what they were all looking for. "Though, a puddle and oil slick doesn't point remotely to anyone," Will said to himself as he scratched his chin, a few bristles where popping out and he knew he should shave soon.

Will searched the area around the incriminating evidence, and eventually found something. It was a business card that got caught in a bush near the tracks. It looked new and freshly pressed, but as Will reached out for it, a gust of wind swiped it out of its snare and blew along the road.

"Oh no, you fucking don't!" Will said as he ran after the small piece of paper catching it as it took off again, "Ha!"

A semi-truck came up behind him and honked its industrial air horn as it passed, Will stood there realizing how close he had came to death's doorstep a moment ago and jumped to the side as if the road had turned to lava. But his eyes following the disgruntled freight truck and where it was heading sparked a realization. Flipping the card over in his hand his prediction was right on the mark. The business card was for "Big Al's Big Boy's Toys Workshop!" a picture of a cowboy holding a cog in a raised hand and a muffler in the other, next to the grinning stereotype in cheesy Ol' Western writing was the address, and better still it was in Reno. It must have come from the mysterious jewel snatcher when he left his vehicle since it was only a day old and felt crisp to the touch. It was a lead, and Will stuffed the clue in his pocket, and ran back to the truck to deliver the good news.

When Will returned, he was met with a sickeningly sweet aroma wave as it passed over him, as if someone had managed to combine syrup, caramel, and cotton candy. He stepped into the dining hall past the living room to see that all the girls were eating what looked like a plate of whip cream. Pinkie was digging in at inhuman speeds and judging by the number of staked plates she had eaten enough of the sugary meal to feed a small family. The others had managed to eat a plate, but they were all just a tad green from the overdose of sweets.

They all looked up at him as he entered the room and sat down in an open seat; Liza had dug into her wardrobe and had given them each some better clothes, though some of them didn't like the new set too much, like the girl with the purplish-blue curls and horn who was wearing a T-shirt that had the spider man logo on it.

The girls in particular eyed him with intense stares, hoping that he had what they desperately wanted. He waited for Pinkie to stop her eating, and after she gave a satisfied burp he told them the news.

"Now I'm going to say this right now, I couldn't recover your 'Elements of Symphony'" Will stated.

"Harmony, it's The Elements of Harmony," Twilight corrected, though she sounded disheartened at the news.

"Whatever; though I think I might know where to start looking for them," Will said as he reclined and stretched in his chair. All the girls beamed, and Pinkie got up and started to prance around the table.

"So, tell them bro, don't keep us hanging," Liza said from across the table.

Will pulled the card from out of his pocket, and held it up for everyone to see, "Someone did come by after us, and I think this person has the jewelry. He dropped this at the scene, so if nothing else I know where he gets his oil checked."

The girls were a little confused, but they got the gist that they now had a lead, Liza on the other hand didn't seem so convinced, "Alright, so you have the card, but what are you going to do? Ask around if anyone managed to pick up a set of magical gold accessories?" She pointed out.

"Yeah, I know it sounds silly. And if someone did pick them up, I doubt they would really be willing to give them up easily. But hey, it's better than nothing." Will reasoned, and politely turned down Pinkie's offer of a whip cream pancake.

Liza stared at him for a moment thinking things though a bit more, eventually she had to admit that it was the best they had. "Fine, just don't try and break into someone's home to get them back," Liza relented, and all the girls cheered.

"Alright, now that that's settled, I'm gonna go to bed and crash," Will said as he yawned and left the table.

"Wait, you're not going right now? The sooner we start looking, the better," It was Twilight Sparkler, or whatever her name was, Will was getting too tired to remember.

"No, and if you haven't noticed, I've been up dealing with your girl's mess, we can sort this out tomorrow," and with that he lumbered to another room where he closed the door after him.

Pinkie walked up behind Twilight holding another plate, "I don't know about you Twi, but I feel like having another round of those delicious pancakes! Do you think Will won't mind if I ate his share?"