In The Doghouse

The ball bounced across the floor, and Twilight was after it in a flash. She lunged forward, moving her two forelegs at the same time, chasing after the red rubber sphere as it hit the wall of the main room, near Granny Smith’s rocking chair. She scrambled backward with her hooves a bit to stop herself from colliding with the wall, making a scratching noise on the old wooden floor. She turned sideways and slid, leaning down and grabbing the ball with her mouth. It tasted bitter and had dust clinging to it, but she resisted the urge to spit it out. She trotted back over to where Winona was standing, putting on a mask of excitement and happiness, swishing her tail like a dog from her world would.

Twilight opened her mouth and dropped the ball at Winona’s paws while panting, sticking her pink tongue from her mouth. Playing a simple game of fetch had taken a toll on her, and it showed just how much she was out of shape. Twilight wasn’t fat by any means and never had been, but a sedentary lifestyle of sitting and reading books, combined with more pastries and sweets than was healthy, had taken its toll. There was a slight pudge to her frame, specifically near the flanks. She had no idea how Pinkie Pie managed to stay so skinny despite eating so much candy all the time. Maybe it was because she bounced everywhere. Twilight wasn’t sure.

Winona stooped down and rubbed a paw through Twilight’s mane, scratching behind the ears. “Aww, are ya tired? Maybe we should stop for a while.”

Twilight was glad to hear that. She plodded to her designated waterbowl and nearly shoved her face into the earthenware sides, swallowing huge gulps of water and splashing some on her muzzle. The mare pulled her head up and walked to a corner of the kitchen, curling into a ball and closing her eyes. She was exhausted, and not just physically, but mentally, as well. During her game of fetch she had gone over her next course of action. It was torturous to come up with a plan of action without a neatly organized checklist, but she had to make due.

The first course of action would be to leave the Dog-Apple family house. That would be relatively simple. She’d wait until nightfall when they were all asleep and slip out. With the aid of her magic it shouldn’t cause her too much trouble.

Secondly she needed to learn more about her situation. That meant Twilight needed to go to the city she had seen earlier. If she could find a library then she’d read up on all the history of this world – she was assuming at this point she was in another dimension – as she possibly could. Anything she could find about the apparently extinct ponies, geography and current world powers. Another important subject would be the magic of this world. Twilight had no idea how she had come to be here, but it may have been due to some phenomena that only occurred in her current dimensional location.

Third would be to establish a home base of sorts, where she could shelter and live without any interruptions. Twilight could gather necessary materials like quills and parchment and bring any book she thought would help her current situation. Taking a book from a library without officially checking it out didn’t sit well with her, but it needed to be done.

Fourth would be to find Nokto and apologize to him. Twilight cringed at her actions. The mare knew that she didn’t handle stress well, but what she had done was completely unlike her. Hopefully Nokto would accept, and maybe she could help him make a new staff, if that was his primary conduit for magic. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like if she lost her horn.

Her fifth and final goal was to find a way home. Right now she needed more information on how to do that, as she didn’t have any ideas.

A sudden unpleasant thought intruded into her mind. What if she didn’t find a way home? Maybe her being here was just some random cosmic accident, and there wasn’t any specific reason as to why. For all she knew dimensional travel could only be possible at specific times or instances, and that time had already passed.

If she couldn’t get home, what would she do, then? If by some chance Nokto forgave her and the current government of the land welcomed her Twilight could possibly become a teacher. Her methods of magic may be completely different than what was currently known, but that wouldn’t stop her from learning what the locals knew. Applejack had healed her broken nose with no pain, while an Equestrian couldn’t heal anything besides a cut if they weren’t a professional.

If the Diamond Dogs didn’t welcome her then she could flee and hopefully find another country that would. Or she could just live in a cave in the middle of nowhere, wasting away her years and slowly going insane due to the isolation. Yep. That could happen too.

Twilight’s ears turned toward the sound of a door opening and the voices that came with it. Dog-Applejack was yammering away to what she assumed was Dog-Mac, who, like his pony counterpart, remained silent, letting his sister act as the conversationalist.

“Ah’m tellin’ ya, Mac, she likes ya. Just go ask her out.”

“Nope.”

“Why not? Is there somethin’ ya don’t like about her?”

“Too quiet and shy. Wouldn’t work.”

“Too quiet! Mac, yer the quietest dog Ah know, and yer nearly as shy as she is.”

“That’s my point. We’re both too quiet and shy.”

Twilight opened her eyes and lifted her head as the two came into the kitchen, Applejack still urging Mac to go on a date with somebody while Mac looked like he wanted to be elsewhere. His eyes settled on Twilight with a look that said ‘Hey, a distraction.’ He quickly closed the distance and bent his massive frame down to pet her, running his paw down her mane and the fur of her back. Though she didn’t like being treated like a pet, Twilight had to admit that heads rubs felt nicer than they had a right to.

“Can we keep her, Mac?” asked Winona, widening her eyes and sticking her lower lip out. A classic move.

“Ah can’t say right now. She might have an owner lookin’ for her. Besides, you already have Applebloom,” he reminded his younger sister.

“That’s right,” Applejack said. “And you wouldn’t want to ignore her, would you?”

“But she ain’t as fun! She doesn’t play fetch no more, and she sleeps and eats all the time.” Winona ran over and wrapped her arms around Twilight in a hug. “See? She likes me. We spent all day playing fetch.”

Mac stood up and ran a paw through his red fur. “If we don’t find her owner in a week or two, then Ah’ll let you keep her. But only if we don’t find her owner. If we do we can’t keep her.”

Winona jumped up and hugged her brother around his waist. “Thank you, Mac!”

Applejack gave a stern look at her brother. “Yer too soft on her.”

“Am not.”

“Are too. And don’t think Ah forgot about you and Fluttershy. Ah’ll make you two go on a date even if Ah have to force ya.”

Mac’s ears drooped. “But Ah don’t wanna.”

“Well yer gonna. And that’s that.”

A shrill, female voice cut into the conversation. “What’s all this racket ‘bout Mac going on some date?”

In hobbled the elderly Diamond Dog that was this world’s version of Granny Smith. Her eyes were squinted and she was hunched over with age. Wrinkles deeper than canyons ran along her face. Her movements were slow and jerky. Twilight could practically hear the joints creaking like trees in a windstorm. Applebloom padded in beside her.

A giant, warm smile came to her face. “Has Mac finally found a bitch? I’ve been waiting year for this to happen.” A twinkle came to her eye. “Part of me was convinced Mac wasn’t into bitches. Guess I was wrong.”

Winona and Applejack laughed while Mac, despite his size, looked like he shrank into the floorboards in embarrassment. Twilight would’ve laughed, too, if she could. The Applejack from her world was always trying to find Big Mac a date, with little success.

“Eeyup. Mac here is gonna go on a date with that pretty little bitch Fluttershy.”

Twilight’s ears perked up at the mention of Fluttershy. So there was a dog version of the pegasus here, too. Were all her friends here, or just some? Twilight considered the possibility of what a dog version of her would be like. In fact, if there was one she would no doubt be involved in magical studies or working at a library. If she could find a version of herself, then the two could possibly work out a way get the mare home. And what if there were dog versions of Princess Celestia and Luna?

“Speaking of Fluttershy,” Applejack said, “Maybe she could figure out what our little friend here is.” She gestured towards Twilight with a paw. Granny Smith laid eyes on Twilight, observing the mare. She came closer and scrutinized the mare with a gaze filled with years of wisdom and knowledge. Twilight shifted uncomfortably. In her world Granny Smith was close to senility but knew more about obscure subjects of history than even she did. It was possible she knew about ponies.

“That’s one funny looking cat.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily senility had won out.

Winona laughed. “That ain’t a cat, Granny. We don’t know what it is, actually, but Mac’s gonna let me keep her!”

Mac sighed. “Remember what Ah said, Winona. If we can’t find her owner then ya can keep her. But only if we can’t find the owner.” He turned to Granny. “And Ah’ve got some bad news about Nokto.”

“What do ya mean bad news?”

“He was involved in some magic accident and was sent to the hospital. We think he’ll be fine, but his house was completely destroyed. There ain’t a thing left but piles of charred wood.”

Twilight felt an icy arrow of guilt shoot itself into her chest. She couldn’t believe that she had acted so irrationally back then, especially after Nokto had saved her life. Sure, she was prone to bouts of emotions during stressful situations, but to break an obviously magical object? That was asking for a tragic conclusion. Princess Celestia had even taught her to be careful around enchanted objects, to proceed with the utmost caution. If an enchanted object was destroyed then whatever spells placed on it would suddenly come unbound and could mutate and change into something different. Poor Clover the Clever had been disintegrated trying to disenchant an old Unicornian artifact.

The Apple family continued chattering about a myriad of things, ranging from Nokto’s health to what Mac would wear on his forced date. Eventually the sun started to sink to the other side of the horizon and it was time for dinner. Granny Smith and Applejack stayed in the kitchen and cooked, surprisingly, apple related dishes with some type of meat that Twilight figured to be pig. The smell of it made her nauseous. Applebloom curled up next to the mare while the family ate. Twilight was given some mushed apple while Granny and Applejack discussed what other food she could eat.

After dinner Twilight played fetch with Winona some more and tried to get Applebloom to play as well, but with limited results. The cat pawed at the ball before losing interest and falling asleep by the fireplace that Mac had lit earlier. The oversized dog pulled out a block of wood and a knife and began whittling, sending the wood shavings into the orange of the fire. Applejack watched her younger sister play with Twilight while Granny rocked back and forth in her chair, two knitting needles clicking and clacking as she made something. A few hours passed. The room darkened as the sun set and stars came out, dazzling against a deep black sky. Winona started yawning and the family decided to turn in, taking turns in the bathroom showering and brushing teeth. Winona wore a set of absolutely adorable footie pajamas with baby ducks against light blue cotton. Granny and Applejack both had on plain white nightgowns while Mac just wore a pair of shorts, looking even more intimidating now that the muscles of his chest were bare for the world to see.

Winona had decided that Twilight would sleep with her. The pup’s room was cozy and relatively empty. A bed, a desk and a chair, and a large chest next to a closet were the only things there. Twilight had clambered up onto the orange sheets and snuggled under them with Winona, waiting for night to fall.

***

Well, this complicated matters.

Twilight was warm, very warm. She was under the blankets of Winona’s bed and the pup had managed to wrap herself around the mare after only a few minutes of sleep. Both forearms and both legs held Twilight in a vice-like grip, like she was a life-sized teddy bear. The tiny dog had burrowed her face into Twilight’s mane and was drooling, the spittle causing the mare’s mane to stick together in a wet clump. It would have been a heartwarming sight had it been someone else.

With great care the lavender unicorn started to wiggle, attempting to worm her way from the dog’s grip. She scooted down in the minutest of increments, slipping Winona’s arms over her head. Nearly ten minutes passed before she had extricated herself.

Twilight walked softly on the bed and gently lowered herself to the floor, hesitant to make even the slightest of noises. Her hooves would make a loud sound on the floor, which presented a quandary. It was possible to cast a spell silenced her movements, but she didn’t want to take a chance that the light from her horn would wake Winona.

Ever the resourceful mare, Twilight had managed to turn around without making a peep and had stuck her head under the wooden frame holding the mattress. She cast the spell easily but the light from her own horn blinded her momentarily. Subjecting yourself to a bright light after being in a dark room was a bad idea.

Twilight trotted across the room, happy that she wasn’t making a single noise anymore. Winona’s door wasn’t fully closed which made the going easier. She stuck her head out and looked back and forth in the dark hallway, no sign that any of the Dog-Apples were up. Twilight made her way down the hallway and the flight of stairs leading to a space between the main room and the kitchen.

Seeing no one in the inky shadows Twilight hurriedly made for the front door. She paused just in front and probed it with her magic. A simple cylinder lock was all that kept it closed, and a quick application of magic unlocked the door, the old-fashioned lock clicking as it did so. Soon Twilight was on the other side, closing and relocking the door.

Outside it was cool, the lack of sun having chilled the night air to a pleasant temperature, if you had fur, that is. Above the world the silvery moon sent slivers of pale light to the ground. Not a sound was heard, and Twilight found it eerie. In the distance was a dark blot, the city she had seen earlier. In some places a few miniscule dots of light were sprinkled on the blackness of the shadowy city; guard towers, Twilight thought, just like the ones in Canterlot. She assumed they were, anyway.

She walked off the porch and into the night, looking back at the house and feeling a bit guilty at how sad Winona would be when she woke up and found Twilight gone. The lavender unicorn had only known her for a day, and while she didn’t enjoy playing fetch, the pup had grown on her.

Twilight stuck to the shadows cast by the apple trees, fearful to be spotted by some wayward dog. She knew the direction of the city, so it would only be a matter of finding a road or path that lead to it. As she walked her nostrils were filled with the earthy scent of loam and the sweet smell of plant life. Twilight wouldn’t admit it, but she was a tad spooked by how quiet her own hoofsteps were. No animal life could be detected. Around five minutes or so passed before she broke from the grove of trees and came to be in a wide, flat field, over a mile long. More trees lay on the other side, and behind that was the city.

What concerned her the most was what appeared to be a group of dogs far in the middle of the field, where a grouping of trees had sprouted from the forest proper and formed a twisted line that led to the site. A perimeter had been set up, by the look of things. Around a dozen tents had been raised in a circle around a tall, sinister looking bonfire. Dogs marched back and forth around the tents. Twilight realized the area they had set up camp was where Nokto’s house used to be. Not only would the moonlight and lack of cover leave her exposed, but now there was a higher chance of being spotted by, what she assumed to be, guards of some sort. She would need to traverse the field in a wide arc if she didn’t want to be spotted.

With great care Twilight bent her knees and lowered herself to the ground. She began an awkward walk-crawl-waddle that considerably slowed her progress. Dew had already accumulated on the grass and was wetting her belly. The ground was a bit chilly and she felt a shiver run up her spine. Goosebumps popped up under her fur. She continued like this for nearly an hour, taking a short break to soothe the cramps in her muscles from her mode of locomotion. Finally, after another hour, she made it to the tree line.

Giving a sigh of relief Twilight slithered under the cover of a leafy bush and lay on her side, stretching her legs as far as they would go. She haphazardly pulled herself from the bush, removing some leaves and a twig from her disheveled mane. Here, under the thick canopy of the forest, where nary a space to see the sky existed, it was much darker and, Twilight admitted to herself, a great deal scarier. She doubted there would be any predators ready to snack on a tasty pony, but she was reminded of the fact she was in a different world. Due to some change in evolution squirrels may have grown thrice their normal size and began predators, hunting in packs. Anything could be possible here.

Again she began her journey. Hoots from owls on the hunt for rodents spooked her and she considered lighting the way with her horn but dismissed the idea. She didn’t want to call any unnecessary attention to herself, and what better way to do that then give someone a bright, pink light to follow.

Foliage on the ground thinned out and became scarce, making the going easier, though there still wasn’t a peek of moonlight to be seen, blotted by the long, wide branches of ancient oak and poplar. It was quite a fragrant patch of woodland, and Twilight leaned down and sniffed at the ground; she was walking in a patch of wildflowers, judging by the sweet scent. Though she normally wouldn’t have done so she tentatively stuck her tongue out and licked at the shadow-shrouded flowers, finding one and taking a bite. It was slightly bitter and rougher than what she would have liked, but it was a tasty food source. She’d have to remember they were here.

Soon she came upon a light in the distance, a silver, almost pitiful thing a few hundred feet away, indicating a break in the trees. She quickened her pace but kept a sharp eye out for any unwanted observers. Ahead of her was a wide, well-built road, paved with flat stones. A ditch was dug on both sides to drain water. Twilight looked both ways, not seeing any sign of late-night travelers or patrolling guards. Turning her eyes skyward the silhouette of the cityscape was clearer than before, no longer a smudge on the horizon. She could see the geometric shapes of buildings and the looming height of a tower, a flame burning bright at the very top. The mare squinted a bit but couldn’t see any movement, though she was confident in her assessment that it was a watchtower of some sort.

She looked out again, seeing the road to her left curving towards the city. With great care the pony began to walk along the edge of the trees parallel to the road, always sticking to the shadows, never letting herself be seen. A pleasant breeze ruffled the leaves above, tree branches shaking and shivering. Time passed and the border of the city finally came into view. The road had led to a side entrance entrenched in a solid stone wall, about fifteen feet high. Two tired guards flanked the gate on both sides, the double doors wide open.

Getting past the guards would be a problem. Twilight couldn’t just waltz through the gate, and climbing would increase the chance of being spotted. She needed a distraction, something to bring their attention away from the gate. An auditory spell and some projectiles should do the trick, she said to herself.

Twilight laid flat on the ground behind a tree to hide the glow of her horn. She was using the same spell that she had used to calm the Ursa Minor, but with a few simple changes. Telekinetically the mare picked up some fallen pine cones around her, keeping them at the ready.

A child’s laughter echoed across the road, both guards starting at the sudden sound. They looked at each other, then into the city for the source of the sound, before turning to the road, scanning the dark of the woods. Again they heard the laughter, this time coming to their left, and one barked out a “Who’s there?” leveling his spear in the direction of the phantom giggles. The laughter cropped up again from their right, and both guards looked completely terrified. At that moment Twilight sent a pine cone hurtling at Rainbow Dash speeds into the face of one guard, who dropped his spear and clutched his face. Two more pine cones followed along with even louder laughter, apparently coming from deep within the confines of the pine and oak. Both grabbed their spears, despite their obvious fear, and trudged into the undergrowth, searching for the attacker.

That was what Twilight needed. She bolted along the ditch at the gate, running harder than she ever had before. The distance was closed quickly, and the lavender unicorn crossed the threshold of the border and into the city, turning immediately and ducking into a narrow gap between two buildings to her immediate right, panting hard. A smug grin turned up on her face.

She was in.