//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: Portal 42 // by Paradox //------------------------------// (Chris) I had the weirdest dream ever. Last part I can remember were two ponies who looked almost like mirror images of Tyler and I, except they were mares. I groaned and rubbed the back of my head. I hate sleeping on the floor. Making a move to get up, I froze because I heard snoring next to me. Turning my head, I saw a black and red mane turned toward me. I looked over at Tyler and my heart stopped. Lying on top of him was Dawn Whistle (I think that's the name he came up with). She was snoring peacefully with one of her eyes covered by her mane. Curiously, I leaned over the pony next to me and saw that it was Pandora (the mare version of me!). "You should see the look on your face!" Final Hour blurted as she appeared on the stairs. "What is this? How did you do this?" I asked. "Oh, I didn't do it. You did," she replied. "I didn't do this!" I almost hissed. "Oh really now? You've been thinking about these two since I transformed Tyler. Your imagination did the rest, giving them personalities and bringing them into existence." "That's not even possible!" "You should know by now that nothing is impossible. You could even change your own appearance if you wanted to." With that, Final Hour vanished. I thought it over for a moment, and ended up changing my looks. My hair reversed from black and red to white and blue, and my horn vanished as a pair of wings sprouted from my sides. My coat became grey and a few dark blue tattoos swirled into existence on my legs, neck, and face. I looked over at Pandora and was surprised to see that almost the same thing had happened to her, though there was a lack of tattoos, at least there was until I spotted a heart tattoo on her foreleg. I looked over at Tyler just as the last specks of red appeared forming identical tattoos to mine. I wondered how I remembered what the tattoos even looked like, considering I hadn't been on the Facebook pony creator in years. As I thought about that, Tyler woke up. "Porca puttana! Che cazzo!?" He cried. It was loud enough to wake up Dawn Whistle and Pandora. "What's going on, Paradox?" Pandora asked as she rubbed her eyes. "Nothing, go back to sleep," I said before turning back to Tyler. "What's the matter brother?" Dawn Whistle asked, resting her head on a hoof. "Did you have a bad dream?" "Brother?" He looked questioningly over at me. "Yes, brother. I swear, you have the worst memory sometimes," Dawn Whistle said teasingly. "Just a second, sis. I need to talk to Paradox." "Okay, I'm going to go back to sleep." Tyler got up and Dawn Whistle curled up on the couch again. "What's going on?" he hissed. "I don't know," I replied. "Final Hour told me I created them somehow." "Is that also how you are completely different colors and I have fucking tattoos?" he asked. "Yeah, I just thought about it and the changes happened." "Cool little ability. Now can you get rid of my 'sister?'" "I don't think so. I think I can only alter them." "Well that's just great. We're stuck with twin sisters who think we're their brothers." "It's not all bad. At least Final Hour can't turn us into mares again," I said encouragingly. "True, but I've lived just fine without a sister to bug me." "Just give it a try and if it doesn't work out I'll try to think of a way to get rid of them." "Fine." He flicked his tail and went into the kitchen, presumably trying to find something to eat. I followed after him, forced into action by my growling stomach (why didn't I just grab something at the buffet table last night...). I was just putting the finishing touches on a sandwich when Pandora and Dawn Whistle came into the kitchen. Pandora looked almost like a mirror image of me. All the colors matched, but she didn't have the same tattoos, and her mane and tail were way more well kept than mine. I also spotted a big difference in cutie marks. Her cutie mark was an hourglass compared to my notepad. Dawn Whistle had combed her mane as well, but her left eye was still a bit covered. She had the same little heart tattoo on her foreleg, except hers was red while Pandora's had been blue. "Morning brother," Pandora said with a yawn as she opened a set of cupboards. "Morning sis," I replied, unable to think of anything else to say. "So did you have a bad dream or what?" asked Dawn Whistle. "Yeah, sorry for waking you up," Tyler replied. "It's fine, don't worry about it." Dawn then walked over and looked through the cupboards with Pandora. A few minutes later, while we were eating our breakfast, I heard something coming down the stairs, and I was shocked to see that Twilight didn't even look at us funny when she came down. "Good morning," she said. "Did you all sleep well?" "Yep, though my brother may need a pillow next time," Pandora said. "He kept putting his head on me." "Did not," I said defensively. "Oh yes you did. We both know your neck gets sore unless you use something to keep it elevated." "Well I can't tell what I'm doing while I'm asleep." "Oh I'm well aware of that. Nopony can wake you up once you're asleep. We could have a party with everyone in Ponyville and you wouldn't move a muscle." Tyler was actually snickering at this point because he knew it was true. I am possibly one of the heaviest sleepers ever. Once I'm asleep, almost nothing can wake me up. Anyway, back to the matter at hand. I heard a knock at the door and was about to get up when Twilight answered it. In walked three pegasi, while my sanity left through the open door. I knew immediately who they were from their cutie marks. The leader's was a shield emblazoned with a skull, while the mare had a crosshair and the other guy had a shield. "Hey Twilight, long time no see," said the lead pegasus. "Hello Daniel," she replied (......). "Have you managed to think of new names yet?" "No, we're not good at coming up with names, are we Roger?" "Nope. I couldn't think of a pony name to save my fucking life!" the green pegasus said with a grin. I glanced at Tyler and he had a hoof over his mouth, trying to look innocent while he was probably concealing a huge grin. "You guys just need to use those nuts you call brains," said the mare. "We're not stupid Rachel, or have you already forgotten what we went through?" "No, I haven't forgotten," Rachel said grimly. "Well anyway," continued Daniel. "We just came to say hi before we head out again. We were passing through on our way to Canterlot." "Still trying to find out about your home?" Twilight asked. "Yep, it keeps gnawing at me." "Well hopefully the princess can help you." "One can hope." With that, they took off toward Canterlot. I was relieved that they didn't ask any questions about us. I did not want to confront more characters who shouldn't even exist. "I need some coffee or something," I muttered, rubbing my forehead with a hoof. "There's some coffee in the kitchen," Twilight said. (Wait, ponies have coffee??) I walked into the kitchen to get some while Tyler talked with Dawn and Pandora. "I'm guessing you knew them as well?" Twilight asked from behind me. It scared me to the point that I almost dropped my coffee. "Yeah, they were in a story I wrote called 'The Skies Above,'" I replied, taking a sip. "I still find it strange that you can create things with your mind." "I find it strange that you didn't notice my different look." "Oh, I noticed. I just didn't want to look stupid by freaking out about it." "It would've made more sense, but then Pandora and Dawn Whistle may have thought you were a lunatic, and I don't necessarily need that right now." "Yes, though I don't think you needed sisters either." "Well I can't change it now, so I'll have to live with it," I said with a sigh, placing my empty cup on the counter.