//------------------------------// // 5. Surprises // Story: Shadows and Regrets // by flamevulture17 //------------------------------// [Chapter 5] [Surprises] The next morning hit Andrew like a train. Sweat dripped down his temples as his heartbeat drummed twice as fast as his breathing. He sat up and clenched his chest, the burning sensation only lasting a moment. Though, that didn't stop him from springing out of bed and hobbling to Dale's kitchen for water. He was lucky, any longer and he might have collapsed from exhaustion. Since the house had no second floor, the kitchen was not ten paces from the guest room, enough to make it before the pain go to him. One quick drink of water to set his mind straight and cool down the unexpected inferno rubbing around within his chest. Fortunately, the refrigerator was full of refilled water bottles, courtesy of Dale's mother. A great way to save money too, especially in this weather. After chugging down a full bottle of cold water, Andrew didn't stop there. He continued until a half of his second bottle disappeared down his throat. His last gulp felt infinitely refreshing, but there was one thing that still bothered him. He rushed over to the sink and slash a good deal of water on his face to wake him from both the fire and the fear. Andrew shut off the faucet and leaned against the counter almost like he was drunk. He'd never been drunk before, but he imagined this is what it felt like. To feel hopelessly weak and out of control seem to fit the description, but one key player in the lightheaded fuzz and fizzle bubbling in his brain remained. Why? That was the question of the day. One word long and it still rattled his brain. The answer would not come lightly, he just had to remember what it was that threw him off balance in his dreams. It's happened a few times before, but nothing like this. This was different. This had a familiar aftereffect that might have had something to do with what he had witnessed the night before. Dale's magic? Even thinking about it made the ache worse. There's no way he was dreaming again, he was at his friend's house after all. Only one explanation as to how he got there was obvious, but did he fully believe it? The droplets of sweat that dribbled to his nose combined with the water from earlier to tingle his senses as they dripped from the tip of his nose. It took a moment for the itch to be slapped away by his hand as his finally moved from his rigid state of panic that struck him. Andrew dried his face with a towel and hobbled back to the guest room. He was stopped by ran into something, or rather, someone. “Whoa, you okay there buddy?” Dale's voice peaked in his ears. He felt a pair of arm catch him from tumbling to the floor. For some reason he hadn't noticed Dale standing in the doorway. “I heard you run in here panting like hell. You alright?” When Andrew stabilized, only half dizzy this time, he responded in kind. “I don't know. Do I look okay?” Maybe not so kind after all. “You've only slept over half a dozen times, this is the first where you seemed extremely disturbed after waking up? Are you sure nothing happened?” The concern radiating from Dale put Andrew into a better mood, given that even his behavior was off center. There was no reason to use excuse himself of being overly rude to his best friend in the morning, especially in his own home. With that household manner now in mind, he already failed at it when he came to visit the previous night. “Just a little headache.” Andrew withheld the whole truth. Even he didn't know what was wrong. Without asking, Dale helped him walk back to his room and sat him down on the bed. “If you say so,” he said as he made his leave. “Well school starts in half an hour, better go home and get ready.” The fact that there was enough time to walk down the street to his house and back didn't motivate him in the slightest to move from where he was sitting. He didn't need anything from home, he had effectively planned ahead by bringing his binder, class notebooks, and the like. Everything else was already at school in his locker. With it being so early in the morning, the sun hasn't yet risen, and neither would he just to waste energy going home and back. Andrew normally slept in his clothes, so he wouldn't have to burn time changing every evening and morning dealing with that daily charade. It made life easier. One of the many things he has adopted to save time, cut out useless routines, and simplify his day. Dale's mother had to leave for work as early as five in the morning, so the embarrassment of his fiasco of making a mess of himself in the kitchen wasn't so bad. He'd have to clean it up before he leaves. He lay there for what felt like ten minutes, but turned out to be twenty. He knew that of course when Dale burst in the room, knocking loudly on the open door. “Get up man!” his friend shouted. “We gotta go or we'll be late.” Andrew literally catapulted out of bed and checked his music player for the time. Five minutes till school starts. It takes seven and half minutes to walk there, four if they book it. So that's what they ended up doing. Andrew swiped his bag from the floor and rushed out the door with Dale in the lead. There was no time to clean up the puddles of water on the kitchen counter, getting to school on time was far more important. Both teenagers jogged down the street to the boulevard and started to run. As long as the lights were green on the large intersection, they were fine. Nothing like a morning jog to start the day. Meanwhile, around the same time, Andrew's little brother Alex was just waking from a sleep so deep, it further convinced him that the night before was only as real as a lucid dream. Almost Matrix level lucid, with sensory simulation and everything, but there was no way to know for sure. Alex rubbed his eyes free of the sandy residue that glued his lashes together and took one slow and satisfying breath. It was all he needed to smile away the problems of the past and peek around the corner to the future. Being the one to get out of bed quickly as opposed his brother, there was no reason to break that tradition. Besides, his school right across the street from the high school that Andrew attended began at eight o'clock, a full half hour later than his older counterparts. Tuesday oh Tuesday, he mused to himself. You're nobody's favorite. The first thing he would do is get up and stre— “Woah—Oof!” If it weren't for his semi-quick reflex, he would've face-planted the floor with serious consequences. He just got up, way to start the day. “Ow.” Alex sat up to see what he tripped on. His eyes blew wide. He rapidly scurried away from the sleeping creature at the foot of his bed. Reaching the wall at the opposite to his bed, he tightly pressed his back against the wood and hugged his knees as closely as possible. He shivered madly from the cold of the room brushing his skin and the fact that the memories came crashing in. Last night was real! There was no way to know for sure if he was losing his mind or still asleep. He hoped this would end as soon enough, this was just getting ridiculous. Wait for any sudden movements from the blue creature, he devised a plan to find out what was going on, dream or not, and hopefully get his brother on board with this since this all started with him. His attention shot back at the thing lying next to his bed when it rolled over to reveal two golden eyes half open. As soon as their gazes met, Alex's fear doubled and the pony's sleepy expression vanished, replaced by surprise. “Oh!” her voice squeaked as she leaned up into a more natural position. “You're awake.” Alex bore a look of shock and awe, but not quite as strong as the night before. He stared unblinking to the very strange looking pony in his room. He was afraid to speak. Lyra, as he remembered her name correctly, seemed just as inclined to study his form as he was of her. Unbelievable. Incredible. Weird. The silence penetrated the two for a while, each examining the other. It was Lyra who felt the need to break in. “Are you okay, Alex?” Holy sh— she knows my name. Well of course she knows my name. I told her my name yesterday. My name is easy to remember. All my friends know my name. I didn't think transdimensional beings had names. My name is easy to pronounce. Typical of a four letter name. Did I mention my name? Alex's internal panic attack was in overdrive, frantically rushing to settle down calmly. It certainly wasn't doing a good job. All Lyra saw was his eye twitch a few times. She also notices the was shivering with his forearms wrapped completely around his long folded hindlegs. Again, she couldn't bear to watch a creature suffer, especially a human. She swiftly used her golden magic to levitate the bedsheets from the mattress over to the quivering human. She was saddened by how he reacted a moment later. Alex's eyes popped out of his sockets while the burst from his cowering position, fleeing from the scene out the door closing it on his way out. Lyra did not like where this was going, and she clearly had to work on her impressions. Although not her first interaction, the second was equally important and she blew it already. She thought to herself, maybe I should think before I act. The unicorn then rummaged through her squished saddlebag and pulled out her journal to jot down her failure. It helped her avoid similar issues in the future and record the behavior of humans regardless if it was good or bad. It would help her develop a clearer picture of the species for knowledge's sake. The room got quiet all of a sudden. The light spreading through the window was quite the sight as the serene a minimal environment reminded her of home when she was younger, a brighter and free filly whose first steps of learning were to explore the world. And what better way to do that than nature itself. The sun gave her the warmth to go higher and the light to see further. It was a nit hotter than she remembered for this time of year. Her reminiscence was interrupted by a tapping sound from the nearby. Lyra looked up out the window again and—oddly enough—found Princess Luna right on the other side. She trotted over and struggled to open the window with her magic. “Luna?” she began. “Did you find out where we are?” Something must have distracted her because it wasn't until she asked the question when she realized the state Luna was in. Her mane and tail her in awful shape and her fur was covered in a layer of dust, not to mention her breathing became a fit of nonrhythmic gulps for air as if she just finished a flight marathon. “What's wrong, Princess?” Luna gave herself time to steady her heart rate and simmer down to normal. She didn't look to thrilled to have gone through one hell of night with one major problem. “We must leave immediately,” she said definitively. “What are you talking about?” Lyra was not liking the severity of her tone. “This realm is out of control!” Luna hissed. “We cannot stay!” At this point, her panic returned briefly before Lyra reassured her... or at least tried to. “Please Luna, you're worrying me. What are you so worried about? I thought you were just going to do your duty as princess of the night.” “That's the problem,” Luna spat. “I cannot to my duty!” “Why not?” Luna paused to save her last outburst. She swiveled her head right to left to make sure no residents were looking at her from the shouting, then pushed Lyra back through the open window as she squeezed her body through the opening. Recomposing her emotions that have gone astray, she looked Lyra in the eye. “The moon moves on its own!” she shouted in whisper. “The sun as well!” This was news to Lyra. She had assumed everything was the same everywhere, universe to universe. A fatal mistake in her mind. “What do you mean, 'move on their own'?” “These celestial bodies we call the sun and the moon follow a different set of rules it appears.” Luna's tone seemed to calm a bit, but the severity of her concerns remained. “What am I supposed to do? I've tried my magic to move the moon, but to no avail.” “Well we are in a different universe, most likely.” Lyra twirled her hoof. “That or we teleported across the galaxy in a wormhole to this world with a similar sun and moon but with different physical properties.” The princess scrunched her nose, not showing a sliver of understanding of the words Lyra spoke to her. It was all scientific gibberish to her ears. “But my magic—“ “I don't think it works here.” Luna gasped hard. The fear stricken complexion of the Princess of the Night shattered her internally. She never thought she see the day where her magic to raise the one thing that meant nearly everything to her to be rendered useless, all because of Lyra. She now focused her attention on her irresponsible pupil, eyebrows bearing the sign of anger. Lyra noticed it right away and cowered, flattening her ears in shame. Before things could get worse as Luna began to advance and tower over the poor unicorn, the bedroom door creaked open just a tad. Both ponies snapped their heads to the bedroom doors to find a human's forehead peeking around the corner. “Greetings young Alex,” said Luna, dropping her angered face temporarily. Alex slowly crept back inside the room and quietly shut the door. He continued to remain speechless and eyes focused on the alicorn as he simultaneously hugged the wall and tiptoed to his bed. What seemed to be a precaution on his part, the ponies we more concerned with he was doing rather than his mental state. Housing two mythical creatures just wasn't what you'd call “normal”. Instead, continuing to stare at Lyra and Luna, Alex backed away the way he came and left the room again. Both ponies glanced at each other. Lyra was the first to follow after the fleeing human. She pulled open the door with her magic and found the hallway empty. He was nowhere in sight. She could hear thumps receding to the lower level down the hall and around the corner. She followed after him and as she reached the top of the staircase, she found him opening the front door. As soon as he left the house, Luna walked right up beside her. “He sure was in a hurry,” Lyra said. “It's as if he was running from us.” “Was it something I said?” Luna mused. “No, I think it's us. Humans don't know about us ponies, and we don't know much about them. I think we need to learn more about them before we—“ “No,” said Luna. “We must return to Equestria at once!” Lyra whirled her head around to give a her best puppy eyes and pout. “But Luna-” “No excuses. Our time must be short here, this worlds must not know of our existence and us of theirs. You have done enough damage as it is.” The mint unicorn could feel the disappointment dig deeper and Luna's trust in her falling apart. Apparently she didn't account for the Princess's temper and underestimated her authority. She had failed countless times to get one step closer to the human world but was stricken down by the warnings Luna had given her toying with powerful and forbidden magic. And yet, despite numerous experiments, here she was, standing in the human household in the world she sought to explore. She also didn't intend to bring Princess Luna along with her. That was not part of her plan. There was nothing she could do but argue with the alicorn of the merit of her actions and value of this opportunity. “Now,” Luna began once more after a brief silence. “I need you to preform the spell to transport us home immediately.” Lyra sighed. “Right now?” “Yes.” The shameful mare lowered her head. Why did Luna force her leave the most important thing to her behind? That did seem like a fair thing to do, especially for a princess. It's not like Luna to be such a buzzkill, unlike her sister Celestia. What was she so afraid of? It was then that Lyra had to find out why? She activated her horn, and before she knew it she teleported away in a flash, too fast for Luna to stop her. Princess Luna's face radiated with anger. She was about to yell her disobedient student's name when noises blared from her right. She instantly fled back into the bedroom and closed the door half way. From the end of the hall, two more humans appeared in nice clothing, what Luna assumed to be a man and a woman. “Have the boys gone to school yet, hon?” the man said. “I'll check.” the woman responded. Luna watched as female human walked her way but stopped to check the room across from her. She didn't stop there as the woman walked was inches from opening the door to Alex's room, but not before Luna immediately cast a spell and stood motionless. The woman cracked the door open to look inside. From her height, Luna got a good look at the human. Even though she had never seen a female human in person before, she could say the woman was quite beautiful. Her complexion indicated she was well groomed and smelled of a nice lavender fragrance. Luna watcher as her gaze scanned the room. She was about to retreat a second later when she stopped. The woman spotted something laying next to the bed. Luna's heart dropped when the human inspected two saddlebags. Lyra's saddlebags. Full of papers, a journal ans some books. This isn't good. The woman took the bags with her as left the room with a curious look on her face. Luna waited for the footsteps the fade before dropping her invisibility spell. This is not good at all. How will she get them back? But most importantly Who were those people? The kin of young Alex? Parents perhaps? Mother and father? What ever the case, Luna could not leave without Lyra and her stuff. She'd have to track down where that sneaky mare went off to. Alex tried for the duration of his walk to school forgetting about the ponies last night. That was until a flash of light blinded him as he strolled down the street. He opened his eyes to find a miniature mint-green unicorn of strange proportions appear directly in his path. He stopped and quickly backed away. “Stay away from me,” he said casually as if the thought of being followed by a colorful pony was nothing out of the ordinary. Alex crossed the street to flee from the obstacle in his path and continued on. He didn't understand why the such a creature would reveal itself to him again in broad daylight. Once again, he brushed it away and didn't let her distract him. He was already late for class. “Wait!” Alex didn't give attention to the pale blue-green pony and kept on walking, ignoring the fact that she had just appeared out of nowhere somehow. “I need your help.” Her voice was right next to him now, but didn't let that stop him. He heard her hooves trotting beside him as he speed walked. “Please Alex, I want to meet your brother.” Alex stopped walking and looked down at her. “Why are you following me?” “You know where Andrew is.” “Why wouldn't I, he's at school.” “Is that where you're going now?” Lyra tilted her head, letting the sun light up the left side of her face, adding glide to her glee. There's no way I'm getting out of this, Alex complained to himself. “Umm... Yes.” The mare's face made a sound that Alex never thought it could made. It sounded as if a rubber duck was squeezed hard. “Can I come with you?” she asked happily. “Are you nuts!?” Alex shouted louder than he wanted. “The whole school will see you. You can't just walk around saying hi to everyone. Everyone's gonna freak out when they see a talking mythical horse.” “Oh yeah,” Lyra giggle point. “Good point.” “You know what, just— stay back to my house and stay in my room until I come back. I'll bring Andrew with me then. Just stop looking at me like that.” The pleading face Lyra had on was indeed creeping him out. It's odd how he was able to recognize the face of a pony, like she's almost human. “But I want to talk to him now,” Lyra begged. Alex ignored her cry and looked away. He pointed towards his house as if indicating a dog to return home. He didn't wait for her to comply as he still could believe he was ordering a pony back to his room. As crazy as that sounded, it wasn't worse than last night. He turned around and began to job down the street. Lyra watched as Alex rounded the curb and disappeared behind the house on the corner. She stood there considering her options of facing Luna after teleporting away, or play spy to find Andrew with to risk of exposing herself to the humans. Her decisions was easy as it took just seconds to figure a plan and teleport to the rooftop of the house on the corner.