Chapter 7. The Ape's Lair
It’s been three weeks since the girls started living together with me. So far all our attempts to find the thief and recover the tiara of harmony failed. Although Gregory assured me that the investigation is still in progress, the results generally remained the same. I remember how he once told me that it might be a good idea to give up on it. In the end we have nothing on the thief, so the chances of finding him and proving his guilt are rather small. Of course, Gregory doesn’t have a full picture of the case so it's no wonder that he is losing his enthusiasm quite quickly. After all, it’s a favor he’s doing after his working hours so I kind of understand him. Still, it’s getting really difficult each day to convince him to carry on the matter.
We also didn’t manage to do much in the bear’s case. Its search by the specialized teams throughout the forest became unsuccessful. Of course, this situation does have its advantages. Without that fur ball around, we could finally start the search for the portal that will allow them to go back home.
Forest near the lake, the 14th of January
It was a beautiful Friday morning. Together with Max we were standing now in a thick pile of snow right next to the overthrown tree. We were carefully observing the area around us. I was a little bit drowsy as I haven’t been sleeping well lately ever since my dreams of the past started becoming stronger and more intense each passing night. I seriously couldn't find a logical explanation for them to appear.
As I was holding on to my loaded rifle I was scanning the area for any unwelcome guests. So far the coast seems clear, but that still didn’t mean that the two of us were alone here. I was able to tell, more or less, my companions present locations by the traces they were leaving on the snowy carpet.
“Aaa-aaachooo,” I heard suddenly somewhere nearby.
“Bless you,” I said in a half-whispering manner.
“Thank you, Alex, *sniff*, I guess I caught a little cold,” I heard Twilight’s voice in response.
“How's it going?” I asked as the two hour search did make me a little impatient.
“We’re trying, Alex,” I heard the resigned voice of Celestia somewhere nearby. “I'm sure it's here somewhere. I can feel its aura.”
“Me too, your majesty,” replied Twilight. “But I cannot track it down. Something, *sniff*, is interfering with my vision whenever I come around it. Probably a side effect of an uncontrolled flow of inter-magical waves, *sniff*.” Whatever she meant by that it sounded serious.
“Ah, it's no use sister.” I suddenly heard the annoyed voice of princess Luna somewhere behind my back. “I’ve been flying over this area for over an hour and I cannot locate this damn hole.”
Somehow the search didn’t go according to our plan. Perhaps they needed a little break to calm their minds.
“How about taking a little rest than, dear ladies?” I suggested as I took off my backpack and put it on the ground. “Our dear AJ prepared us a small snack, so it would be a sin not to make a use of it.” I pulled out a thermos with tea and a wrapped bundle with apple pretzels, one of our little cooks specialties.
“Good idea, dear Alex,” said Celestia.
I spilled the tea into small cups and watched as they started to levitate in the air. Two of them came to a stop in front of me right by the two small doses of steam that were coming out of their invisible muzzles. The third cup flew behind my back just above the overthrown tree. The pretzels joined the cups a moment later. Sipping some tea of my own I watched them consume their meal.
“*Sigh*, I can’t feel my wings,” said Luna with her mouth full. “This damned hole must be a size of a pea.”
“Quite possible, your majesty,” said Twilight. “However, it’s the size of the disturbance that makes me most concerned here. It’s far too large for such a phenomenon, *sniff*. It’s really mixing my magical senses.”
“I have a question.” I suddenly decided to barge in their conversation. “What kind of interferences are you talking about?”
“*Sniff*, in our world we call them magical interferences,” explained Twilight. “They come up as all sorts of invisible currents. Depending on their magical nature, they have a bigger or smaller influence on the spell casting abilities, *sniff*, thus forming a dissonance in sensory magic.”
I wonder if just saying that ‘those magical charges disturb our magical senses’ wouldn’t sound more simple.
“Um … ok, to put it simply, those discharges are the cause of your worries, right?”
“That's right,” said Twilight. “Until we find an effective way to get pass them, we will have to continue searching blindly hoping that one of us will find it sooner or later.”
That really could take some time. But was there any other way around. I wouldn’t mind joining in and helping out, but compared to them and Max, I was the blind one here. I probably wouldn’t notice this portal hole even if I were an inch from it.
Feeling that my hands are getting cold, I tossed the tea cup away and shove them into my jacket’s pockets.
Suddenly, I felt something and slowly took out my home keys. The thing that raised my curiosity happened to be a small chained pendant in a form of a plane. Its barely perceptible vibrations made me feel quite amazed.
Suddenly, an idea came to my head. I grabbed a bunch of keys in my hand so that only the pendant and its thin chain were sticking out between my fingers.
“Alex, what’s going on?” I heard Celestia’s surprised voice.
“I’m … not quite sure,” I retorted as I went ahead and carrying the pendant in front of me all the time. Its vibrations were alternately disappearing and appearing again. Yet, they seemed to be more intense with each step I made.
Suddenly, my lucky talisman started jumping up and down like crazy. As it blasted forward a few moments later with an enormous force it almost escaped my grip. Feeling that I was going in the right direction I turned my head to the overthrown tree, but quickly noticed the tracks in the snow close by. Max and my comrades were walking right beside me.
The pendant suddenly got stuck in the mid air, somewhere at my eye level. Trying to pull it down with all my strength I realized that it might be stuck there for good.
“Um … ladies? You think this might be it?” I asked with a begging tone.
“Let me check,” said Celestia as she cast her magic making the air around my pendant glow with a gold glimmer. “This is it, you found it,” she said happily.
“Amazing, how did you do it?” asked shocked Twilight.
“Well, my talisman happens also to be a magnet. Apparently, the magnetic fields of the portal and the pendant began to draw each other ... or something like that.”
“Brilliant,” retorted excited Twilight. “Well done, Alex.”
“Thanks, but it was rather a plain luck you might say.”
“Now we only need to open it,” said Celestia. “Give me a minute my friends; I know the right spell.”
As I grabbed the pendant and pulled hard to retrieve it, I realized that it's stuck for good. Damn it. Together with Max we walked away to the side while keeping my eye on the pendant the whole time. As Celestia began to cast her spells, I noticed that my lucky talisman started to shake like crazy.
Suddenly, I saw a bright light that slowly began to grow until it became a swirling bright portal.”
“It worked.” I heard Princess Luna’s happy voice.
“Great, now we can ...” Twilight froze in mid-sentence as the portal began to behave strangely. Its light white color began to mix with black, while thunderbolt discharges started to emerge from it.
“What the hell?” I cried aghast while covering my face as I took a few more steps back. Max was barking like crazy as he was fighting with my grip around his collar. The wind increased as I noticed that some sticks, old leaves, and layers of snow flew past me and then disappeared into the portal.
“WHAT? ... NO!!!” I heard Celestia’s scream. “THE PORTAL … ITS UNSTABLE!!!”
Suddenly, I felt, that even without moving, my body began involuntarily to shift forward. This was getting ugly.
“IT’S AURA … IT’S STATRTING TO PULL US IN!!!” cried Twilight. “WE MUST CLOSE IT BEFORE ...” I did not hear the rest because I was too busy keeping me and Max in one place. I kneeled to the ground and covered him from the portal’s sight. I started praying for all this to end quickly.
“TIA, QUICK, CLOSE THE PORTAL BEFORE IT’S TO LATE!!!” screamed princess Luna.
I heard the girls terrified screaming, but I couldn’t locate them anywhere around. I could feel the forest’s undergrowth quickly flying past me as it was restricting my eyesight.
“Eeeeaaakkkk!” I suddenly heard someone’s scream and felt a big thump to my body. In an instant I noticed that something was clinging tightly to my neck and right leg. The weak moans were no doubt those of princess Luna and Twilight. I grabbed them both and placed them between me and Max.
“PRINCESS CELESTIA!!!” I heard Twilight’s desperate cry.
“JUST A LITTLE MORE, AHHH!!!” Celestia seemed to have a hard time standing her ground and taming the uncontrollable factor at the same time. Unfortunately, even if I knew where she was, I wouldn’t be able to help her. I could barely keep my ground.
Feeling as my body is slowly starting to lose balance I dug my hands into the frozen ground, hoping to find any available hitching point. I could feel the dirt going under my nails, but my hands were so cold that I didn’t even feel any pain. It was then I noticed something heavy. Without hesitation, I grabbed the root of the nearest tree with both of my hands while fixing my feet to the ground.
“AAAAAAHHHH!!!” I heard Celestia’s scream.
I noticed suddenly that the portal force started to weaken slowly until the blissful silence came a few seconds later. It took me a moment, but I finally managed to turn my head. Thank God, the omnivorous portal was gone. I just hope that Celestia didn’t share its fate.
“TIA!!!” I heard Princess Luna’s desperate cry as I was immediately pushed aside. “TIA, WHERE ARE YOU? TIA!!!”
“L-Luna, ugh,” came suddenly Celestia’s weak voice.
“Sister, thank the sun,” Luna said with relief in her voice.
“Are you all alright?” asked worried Celestia as I managed to stand up and brush the snow of my head, while Max began to shake his fur from all the forest’s waste. The girls remained invisible, but their voices still gave away their probable locations.
“We’re fine, your majesty,” answered Twilight. “Thanks to Alex. He caught us at the last moment.”
“Tia? How do you feel?” Luna asked worried.
“I'm fine Lulu. Closing the portal and casting the gravity spell at the same time is a little tiring ... but luckily it all ended well.”
“How could this happen, your majesty?” asked confused Twilight.
“I'm … not sure, Twilight. But from the moment when we began to track down the portal I sensed that something was wrong.”
“What do you mean?” Luna asked curiously.
“Well ... it’s aura was completely different from the portals that I and Star Swirl used to travel before. And those disturbances. They seemed to be completely out of place, but I did not think that reopening it would end up like this.”
There was an awkward silence so I decided to interfere.
“Maybe it's not the right time, dear Celestia,” I said suddenly. “But what actually just happened here?” Celestia remained silent for a while, but princess Luna was nice enough to answer my question.
“Our portal has proved to be a black hole, Mister Alex,” said Luna coldly. “And this means that our return to Equestria just got more complicated. Any … other … questions?”
Actually, I did have some, but judging by the nervous atmosphere I decided to wait with them until we return home.
“Aaaaachoooooo.” Twilight sneeze made her suddenly visible for a second, just to disappear once more.
“Gesundheit,” I said slightly shocked.
“*Sniff*, thank you. This cold is killing me.” Suddenly she began to cough as well. “I suggest that we go back to the library *cough, cough* and examine this matter in peace.”
“That we shall do, dear Twilight Sparkle. But I believe that your work is over for today,” Luna said firmly.
“*Sniff*, I … don’t understand,” Twilight said surprised.
“I'm afraid that Luna is right, Twilight,” said Celestia. “In your present state you cannot properly use your magic powers. My sister and I will take care of the portal while you focus on getting better.”
“*Sniff*, it's nothing, really, I’m fine, * cough, cough *” she said hoarsely.
The wooden cottage by the lake, a few minutes later
As we finally crossed the threshold of my house, Twilight and the princesses broke the invisibility spell. They all were dressed in different color winter sets made by the dressmaker Rarity and I have to admit that those suit them just fine.
However, our princesses did acquire some visible changes that couldn’t come unnoticed. Celestia’s pink mane and tail have become a mixture of blue, purple, green, and pink. From what I've learned, this is what she used to look like each time she was performing her royal duties. I must say that it fits her quite nicely. I found her to be the confident type, although sometimes I could see her with an absent gaze which no doubt had something to do with her kingdom.
At the beginning I tried to avoid her and the others as much as possible. But when you live together under one roof such a state of affairs cannot last forever. I still remember the day when Celestia came knocking to my room asking, “Alex, can I have a word with you?” And that’s how it began. At first I found those conversations to be a little tiring, but I quickly started to get used to them. She also happens to be a wine lover, as my basement has many in stock. While enjoying the branded wines, we used to talk only about our worlds at first. But as the days past, we have switched to a more personal topics like her work and responsibilities of the ruler, my present life here, our passions, interests, and stuff. Surprisingly, she didn’t ask me any uncomfortable questions about my past. As if she knew me.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same thing about our princess of the night, as her attitude towards me remained rather cold and indifferent.
Luna’s wavy mane and tail became, quite literally, a reflection of the night starry sky. Her fur took a dark blue color which made her appearance become more ... how should I put it? Dark, gloomy … and cold.
Usually she always tries to avoid me which doesn’t bother me at all. But as soon as I try to give them a helping hand, she quickly tries to push me back. Sometimes she really makes me feel like an unwanted element. However, Celestia and the others really appreciate what I’m doing for them so in the end, we are forced to tolerate each other.
I noticed that beside patrolling the house at night she likes to gaze with a fascination at my world’s starry sky, which, unlike that of her kingdom, doesn’t need magic to work. I have to admit that she still remains a mystery to me.
And finally, Twilight, the gentle and talented unicorn who together with princesses spends almost all the time in my private library while studying the history of the human civilization. But sometimes I wonder if this is just the matter of knowledge hunger, or more like a way to cover her own guilt. Unjustified guilt to be exact. She’s constantly torturing herself for losing the tiara, although the princess and her friends seemed to forgive her long ago.
Luckily, there’s something besides my library that makes her day. Technology. Any kind of devices that run on electricity seem to catch her interests. She either tries to learn about them herself, or asks me instead. I still remember that one terrifying day when she almost dismounted my laptop while trying to figure out how the windows system and the internet does work. *Smirk*.
Once Celestia, Luna, and Twilight appeared we were joined by Applejack who just came out of the kitchen. This little filly has more energy and pride than any other person I have met so far. She’s always looking for the bright side of the deal and her confidence always seems to brace up everyone around, including me.
But, although little AJ spends a lot of her time for cooking and gym, she sometimes feels a strong need to surrender to what besides her family she loves the most; Apple farming. Being deprived of this one factor sometimes makes her a real workaholic whose trying to fill up the empty gap. Although I feel sorry for her there isn’t much I can do in the current situation.
“So, how did it go, partner?” Applejack asked curiously.
“*Sniff*, thanks to Alex we managed to locate the portal, but ...” replied Twilight.
“That’s great news,” Applejack interjected happily as Rarity joined us. In the meantime, Fluttershy was taking care of Max. “So, when are we leaving?”
Twilight and princesses all made evasive stares.
“Unfortunately, *sniff*, we encountered some difficulties,” said distressed Twilight.
Together with princesses Twilight managed to explain what was the deal about. The rest of the girls sure became surprised.
“What in tar nation?” asked shocked Applejack.
“Dear me, that’s terrible,” stated Rarity. “Are you sure you’re all ok, darlings?”
“We’re fine, Rarity. We're just a little cranky, that's all,” replied Twilight seeing the worried looks on her friends faces.
“Then sit down and relax,” said Applejack. “I’ll serve you all some tea right away.”
“Thank you, Applejack,” said Celestia. “Me and Luna will be in the library. We are going back to the portal’s place soon, so we need to prepare.”
“Of course, your majesty ... oh, by the way, how did you find my pretzels if I may ask?” asked interested Applejack making Celestia smile sincerely.
“Absolutely marvelous, dear Applejack,” replied Celestia.
As Applejack became pleased with her princess words she then turned her gaze at princess Luna.
“Not bad at all, but I believe they could use a little more icing,” Luna stated plainly.
Applejack raised an eyebrow in surprise while Celestia rolled her eyes and looked up into the ceiling while making a significant face.
“I see ... well, it so happens that I just took the new set from the oven,” said Applejack. “This time I'll make sure to hit your taste, your highness.”
Luna made a pleased expression and then started walking towards the library.
“Twilight?” Celestia was now looking at her former student who was sitting and staring with worried eyes at the floor. “Are you all right?”
“Uhm, yes, your highness, *sniff*. I’m fine. I'll join you right away,” said Twilight while standing back on her hooves.
“No, my dear Twilight, you’re dismissed until you recover,” retorted Celestia while giving her a meaningful stare. Her words made Twilight rather shocked.
“But I ... * cough, cough *” Twilight’s coughing seemed to be even stronger now.
“Our return is important, but so is your health,” Celestia said with a calm voice. “Once you get better you’re welcome to go with us to the forest.” As she saw Twilight’s disappointed face, she quickly added “We will keep you informed on everything so no need to worry.”
Celestia gently patted her on the head.
“Y-yes, your majesty, *sniff*,” said Twilight with sadness in her voice and lowered her gaze.
Celestia gave her a gentle smile and then followed princess Luna into the library. Twililight sighed deeply.
“Cheer up, Twilight,” said AJ while putting the hoof on her shoulder. “Now that we know where the portal is all that’s left is to make it work properly.”
“*Sniff*, I know, but ...” Twilight became silent all of a sudden.
“I’m sure you and the princesses will come up with something,” said AJ while smiling at her. “Now, off to bed with you. I'll bring you something to warm you up.”
“Come, my dear,” ordered Rarity. “I'll take you upstairs to the bedroom.”
As Twilight followed her friend, they both began to walk up the stairs. I was keeping my eyes on them until they disappeared behind their bedroom door.
Applejack sighed deeply and shook her head.
“She’s trying too hard,” stated AJ. “I guess she still can’t forgive herself for losing the tiara.”
“Poor Twilight,” said worried Fluttershy.
“We need to cheer up our little Twily-Wily,” said Pinky who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
“Another party?” we all asked with weary voices.
“Aha,” answered Pinky while sending me an anticipating grin.
No doubt about it, Pinky Pie is the most cheerful pony of the group, but many human doctors would probably state that she has an ADHD syndrome or something. She loves having fun in any way possible and making parties is her way of life. As I still remember her pathological second identity, I always make sure that it will never come out again. Just thinking about that ... let's call her Pinkamena, sends shivers down my spine. That’s why I allow her to have her parties from time to time. If only she could forget about inviting me, I would be much grateful.
“Maybe some other time. All that she needs now is some peace and quiet. Once she gets better we’ll return to this conversation, ok?” I said and without waiting for any more of Pinkie’s begging I made my escape and followed AJ into the kitchen.
“Ok, partner, this time we’re gonna make princess Luna lost for words,” said AJ as she jumped from the kitchen stool onto the kitchen counter. She stood near the tray of freshly baked apple pretzels. The sweet smell of apples and cinnamon was filling the air.
I snorted softly as I heard AJ’s words.
“She sure is a princess alright,” I said with a gibe. “She’s so … picky.”
“Well, princess Luna does have her taste so there’s nothing we can do about it,” she said as she was preparing the porridge. In the meantime, she made a frosting which she used later to cover the pastries according to the one specific royal order.
“How about some chocolate sprinkles for our little princess?” I asked mockingly.
“Great idea,” retorted AJ making me shake my head in disbelief. Without making any other proposals I handed her the sprinkle’s box from the cabinet. Meanwhile, Twilight’s porridge was slowly boiling in the pot.
“Hot porridge with honey and cinnamon will quickly put her back on her hooves,” said AJ while pouring food into a deep bowl. “How’s the tea, Alex?”
“Ready,” I said while pouring the brew into one of the cups and putting it on a tray right next to the porridge bowl and a pretzel.
With a tray in hand, we went up the stairs. As we entered their bedroom we found little Twilight lying at the bottom bunk in a reclining position, coughing hardly. There were some used tissues in the small waste bin right beside her bed. She made a weak smile once she noticed us.
“Thank you, * cough *, but there’s no need, really,” said Twilight while wiping her runny nose. I placed the tray in the corner of her bed and looked at her.
“You’re welcome. Bon appetite, my dear” I said with a smile as I placed the porridge bowl in her little tiny hooves while Applejack jumped on her bed.
“Thanks Alex,” said AJ. “I’ll take over from here.”
“Thanks Alex,” said AJ. “I’ll take over from here.”
“As you wish. Make sure that she eats it all while I’ll serve our princesses their tea,” I said getting ready to leave the room.
“Leave it to me,” I heard in response when I came to the door.
As I turned my head, I saw AJ who already began to feed her patient. Twilight chocked a few times, making AJ gently pat her back. Perhaps I should consider buying her some medicine while in town. I guess it won’t make any difference if the coughing syrup is drunken by a human or a pony.
After some preparations I finally managed to walk into the library. The green walls of this enormous room were almost covered with bookshelves. The huge window which was placed on the opposite of the entrance illuminated the room fairly enough for a relaxing read. My parents enormous book collection was based mostly on human medicine, history, and psychology, but the topic’s list was definitely much wider.
As I was holding the tray I found the princesses sitting on a green couch in the left corner of the room. With a help of numerous drawings Celestia was explaining Luna the principles of the portal operations. They both gazed at me when I approached them.
“Care for some tea, dear ladies?” I asked as I came to a stop by a small wooden table which was located in front of the couch.
“Thank you, Alex,” said Celestia with a smile as she used her magic to move aside all the books and notes that were lying on the table. I placed the tray on it and poured the tea cups for all of us.
“Just as you ordered, princess, the amount of icing has been doubled,” I said while suppressing a sneer and sat down on the couch’s opposite corner.
While sipping the tea, in the corner of my eye I was watching one of the pretzels flying slowly into Luna’s mouth. After the first bite she suddenly started to devour it in a way that certainly didn’t have anything to do with a royal etiquette. At least not in my world. Her loud slurping while drinking from the levitating cup convinced me that she probably missed the tea drinking lessons as well. I suddenly realized that Celestia was staring at her as well. Our gazes didn’t seem to be left unnoticed for long.
“What?” asked annoyed Luna while looking at us menacingly with narrowed eyes.
“Uhm, nothing, nothing,” I said with a smile as I began to slurp loudly from my cup while champing on the way. As I winked at Celestia she quickly got the idea and took the same loud sip from her cup.
Luna was looking at us confused while we barely held the urge to burst out laughing. She quickly focused back on her pretzel, only this time, her eating manners seemed to be more like those of a princess.
As I was browsing the internet on my laptop I sometimes cared to peek at their studies. I quickly realized that princess Luna, unlike Celestia, wasn’t exactly a big fan of the portal topic. I bet she would rather like to have a lecture about this world’s astronomy instead. Fortunately, my library has many of that in stock as well. Most of the cosmos collections originates back from my childhood times when being fascinated by Star Trek and Star Wars, I became really interested in distant galaxies. Of course, as time passed, I slowly got tired of it … although I still like to gaze at the stars sometimes.
As I peeked again at them, I noticed that princess Luna suddenly fell asleep while leaning against her sister. Celestia was now staring at her with a gentle smile. With the levitation spell she grabbed a small red blanket which was lying in the corner of the couch and wrapped Luna with it. She then kissed her softly on her forehead.
“There aren’t many moments here when I can see her look so peaceful,” Celestia whispered to me while keeping her eyes on Luna. I still couldn’t help it to think that I probably was one of the main factors.
“Homesickness, I’m sure,” I retorted quietly.
“*Sigh* you’re right ... there’s not a single day that we wouldn’t think about it,” she said while looking at me. “However, now that thanks to you we were able to find the portal we are getting closer to our home.”
“Fortunately, you were able to close it before it sucked us all in. Think you can tame it so that you can return,” I asked curiously.
My question made her ponder for a moment.
“I … I hope so, Alex,” she said with feverish eyes. “I’m afraid, however, that creating a portal is one thing and changing its nature is something quite different.”
“What do you mean?” I asked as her words made me somewhat intrigued.
“I never, even once, tried to restore the true nature of the dimensional connection since there was no need for it. The inter-dimensional travel requires a stable portal with a constant flow of power. Only then a transfer of any living organisms is mostly safe.”
“That does make sense ... but, you did manage to travel through it, right? Not to mention you came through safe and sound,” I noted.
“I’m afraid I don’t remember much of our dimensional travel, dear Alex,” Celestia said worried. “It seems that the tunnel’s energy must’ve remained stable somehow ... at least enough to not harm us. Perhaps we were lucky and got out just before the portal’s energy went berserk.”
“And got rejuvenated while at it?” I asked involuntarily making her think for a while.
“Quite possible. Unfortunately, we don’t posses enough information’s to make that conclusion. Being as it is we can’t even carry out a full analysis of the portal with our magic. Apparently, something is disrupting the correlation between our worlds,” said Celestia.
“And you have no clue what it might be?” I asked. She nodded her head and started staring at the floor. “Well, guess we’re gonna find out sooner or later … but you know, there’s still one thing that puzzles me.”
“Yes?” she asked while looking at me intently.
“If you know how to create a portal to the other worlds, why won’t you try to create a new one to Equestria?” I asked forcing her to make a tolerant smile.
“My sister isn’t stupid, Mister Alex,” Luna interjected suddenly. While still lying besides Celestia she was staring at me now with a slightly bewildered eyes. “If it really was so simple we wouldn’t be here right now.”
“Lulu!?” Celestia said surprised. “I’m sorry sister, did we wake you?”
“I was conscious the whole time, Tia.” Luna yawned lightly as she got up and began to rub her eyes. “I just decided to calm my mind a little, that’s all. I won’t be able to get any sleep until we get back home.” She looked at me again. “It seems, however, that Mister Alex, as usual, is trying to stick his nose into matters that are none of his concern.”
That always grumpy tone of hers was sometimes really annoying. I wasn’t one of those who could be treated as a punching bag and I saw no point in making any exceptions, even for some sulky princess from a far away kingdom. And besides, it’s not like I’m helping them because I like to; I just want my old peaceful life back as quick as possible.
“The thing is, dear Alex ...” said Celestia after seeing us glaring at each other.
“Tia, this has nothing to do with him,” objected Luna.
“I see no reason why he shouldn’t know, Lulu,” Celestia replied with a firm voice. “Since we are living together under one roof, we don’t need to hide anything from him.”
“But ...” Celestia and Luna were gazing firmly at each other for a moment until the younger sister turned her head away. “*Sigh* fine, have it your way.”
Celestia then turned her gaze at me and continued.
“As I was saying, dear Alex, the problem is that each world, even ours, has some specific coordinates that must be considered while creating the portal,” said Celestia. “Since all my and Star Swirl’s travels had begun in our kingdom as a starting point, we never found the need to determine its own coordinates. It seems we made a big mistake.”
“So, how were you able to come back?” I asked.
“The connection remains active until someone, or something, doesn’t break it ... or as in this case, disturbs its true nature,” explained Celestia. “So far our returns didn’t give us much trouble ... until now. We will do everything what’s in our power to tame the portal. If, despite our efforts we fail, we will have to focus on creating a new one instead. However, finding the right world might take us some time.”
Well , that certainly was a one dark scenario that I wish would never happen.
“Well, good luck with the portal than. I’ll try to contact Gregory again. No matter which way you’re going back home the last element of harmony must be found.”
“Thank you, Alex,” said Celestia with a graceful look.
“Since everything seems to be clear now …” said Luna while rising suddenly “… we can now go back to the forest.” She jumped from the couch and began to move towards the exit.
Celestia stood up and looked at her with a worried gaze.
“Maybe you should have some sleep first, Lulu. I'm sure that the portal isn’t going anywhere,” proposed Celestia making Luna stop for a moment.
“I’ll sleep once we will return to our world, sister,” stated Luna coldly without turning her head away. “I do not want to stay in this dimension longer than necessary.” As she said that she proceeded to the exit.
“Luna ...” Celestia called out to her sister, but she didn’t react this time and left the library. She watched the door for a moment until she sat back on the couch and sighed. “I'm worried about her,” she said with her down casted eyes.
“I don’t blame her,” I replied. “Far away from home, in a strange world ... and forced to live under one roof with me.”
Celestia looked at me with a mixed stare.
“Oh, no, no, please, don’t take it that way, Alex,” she said giving me a pleading look. “She doesn’t get much sleep and since we got here she has become … well, not herself.”
“Perhaps if I ended up in Equestria I would feel the same way so I understand her well, Celestia,” I said while looking at her carefully. “But I cannot help thinking that whenever I try to help you guys she’s trying to push me away.”
Celestia remained quiet for a moment while thinking about something.
“Well ... you see, Alex ...”
“TIA!” Her words got interrupted by the rough call of her younger sister. “ARE YOU COMING OR NOT?”
Celestia got somewhat mixed up and with a deep sigh she lowered her gaze again.
“I’m sorry, Alex, but ...” she said slightly ashamed, but I just nodded in response.
“It’s OK.” I said as I looked at the clock on the wall. “I was about to take Max to the vet for a routine examination anyway.”
“I understand,” she said while coming down from the couch. “Then I wish you both a safe return.”
“Thanks,” I said with a smile that she returned a moment later. “We’ll be back before you know it”
“TIA!!! I SWEAR ON THE MOON … I MEAN MY MOON, I WILL LEAVE YOU BEHIND, DEAR SISTER!!!”
Hearing this made us both smirk lightly.
“Well, ladies first.” I turned my arm in a ceremonial way, then followed her until we left the library.
Princess Luna was already standing by the exit door, dressed in her white fluffy pompom hat, white scarf, white vest, and white socks designed by ‘Madame de Rarity’. She was sending us a mean look while tapping impatiently her little hoof against the floor.
“Come on sister, we do not have all day,” said Luna while levitating Celestia’s winter yellow set with her magic, forcing her to dress in a rush. I decided to dress up as well.
“Good luck ladies and be careful out there,” I said while putting my jacket on.
Princess Luna looked at me with bewildered eyes and with a cast of magic she suddenly disappeared from my sight. I only noticed how the exit door of my house flew open and closed with a slam a moment later.
Celestia send me an apologetic gaze and then followed her sister’s hoof steps.
As soon as the door closed behind her I came back to the salon where Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were busy massaging Max’s belly while he was lying on his back.
At first, our shy little yellow filly had many reasons to avoid me for that trick I played on her with the freezer. In time, however, she began to talk to me normally again. Although, we usually don’t have much to talk about. It’s clear that she still doesn’t trust me. Aside from her being shy and that she loves animals I don’t know much about her. I bet she would find me less appalling if I promised to be a vegetarian ... yeah, dream on. Although, it is hard for us to find a common language Max happens to be a tiny thread of understanding between us. Not to mention that he has become much more mellow ever since she took care of him.
As I approached them to fasten the leash on Max’s collar I felt something falling on my head and rolling across the floor. While massaging my skull I saw a crashed can of cola lying a few inches away from me. I already knew what was the deal and raised my head up.
On the ceiling, in a small makeshift hammock, little Rainbow was just waking up from one of her long naps. While stretching up and wiggling she managed to knock out a few more cans which collapsed onto the floor.
My thoughts went back to the days when I found out that she used to take naps on the clouds in her world. Of course, sending her three thousand feet into the sky above us was not an option. So I installed this hammock on the salon ceiling instead. With a blanket and a pillow she would spend several hours a day for napping, gym, and reading some of my book referrals.
Little Rainbow yawned heavily and after looking around she finally gazed down at us.
“Hey guys, what’s up?” asked Rainbow.
“Hello Rainbow, well … good news actually. Twilight and our princesses found the portal,” announced Fluttershy.
“Yeah, I heard it all. It seems the portal is useless for now. Bummer,” said Rainbow. “By the way, Alex, I just finished the Indian Joke (Indiana Johns) thing. Just as I predicted, this is nowhere near the Daring Doo series. But don’t sweat it, it doesn’t suuuck that much. So, got any more useless stories like that?”
I sure felt like telling her a story about a human who kicked one specific colored pegasus in a flank right about now.
“Hey, did you hear that?” I started looking around the room while pretending that I was trying to locate the source of the voice. “I guess the dog just farted. Oh, by the way, have you seen that irritating little Rainbow? You know, the one whose hair had a fight with some cans of paint.”
Only Pinkie cared to giggle at my words. I looked back up and noticed Rainbow’s sulky gaze.
“Ha, ha, I love your monkey jokes,” she said while pulling out a book from under her blanket. “Here, catch.” She dropped it down straight into my hands. I was able to notice that it was covered in something.
“Wait a minute …why’s this book all sticky?” I asked while examining the book.
Rainbow just shrugged her shoulders and made an innocent face.
“Beat’s me. Perhaps it has something to do with all that cola you gave me.”
“Oh, so it’s my fault now?” I asked feeling offended.
Rainbow just made a playful grin and said “well, since you put it that way.”
Suddenly, I noticed a pair of white headphones sticking out of her ears.
“Hey, is that my mp3 player?” I asked with an irritation in my voice.
“Maybe,” she answered plainly without any embarrassment.
“The same one that you weren’t supposed to take without my permission?”
“And your point is?” she asked mockingly.
I raised my hand so she could return me my property. She just shrugged and tossed it so carelessly that my player nearly hit the floor. Luckily, my reflexes proved to be reliable this time. I guess leaving my player in the gym isn’t a very good idea anymore.
I quickly started walking upstairs with an attempt to hide my music player from the Rainbows sticky hooves. My room seems to be the only restricted zone for her so it should be safe there.
Suddenly, I noticed little Rarity being absorbed in making the next set of clothes in her workshop which was located in a huge free space right next to my room. The needles, threads, scissors, and fabric materials were magically levitating and cooperating together around a wooden horse mannequin. Or should I say a wooden rocking horse toy from which I removed the rockers of. Fortunately, it turned out to be just right. Many shelves of small wooden cupboards were fitted with piles of different tailor materials and equipment that I bought according to her will. I even managed to equip her with a sewing machine which was a memento of my mother. I didn’t use it anyway, so there was no reason for it to lay down being covered in dust.
Slowly, and as quietly as I could, I tried to sneak into my room hoping that I’ll manage to get pass unnoticed.
“♪Oh, Alex honey♪” Damn it. I froze as I suddenly heard her quiet singing voice. As I twisted my head I gazed at the little white unicorn as she was sending me an anticipating smile. “Have you finally changed your mind?” she asked hopefully.
“You mean the outfit, or ... ?” I asked, although I knew the answer already.
“Why both, my darling. I’m ready any time,” announced Rarity while greedily measuring my long mane and beard. That’s right, she’s been tormenting me almost each day to trim them. I could already see it in her eyes how the hair clipper, comb, and scissors attack me like a tornado. Total carnage. A Fashionista, a decorator, and a barber in one tiny little body. As for the outfit … well, let’s just say that after getting my pink winter set I realized that our fashion tastes differ, like a lot. Besides, I would have to serve her as a living mannequin which scares me the most as she sometimes likes to punch a needle a little too hard.
“No, Rarity,” I replied with an exaggerated smile. “But thanks anyway. Enjoy your work, my dear,” I said as I quickly entered my room and hid my mp3 player in my desk drawer.
As I came back to the salon I noticed that Rainbow was squirming in her hammock, thus making some cans and plastic bags rustle inside of it.
“How about you finally clean up that bad of yours?” I asked wondering what I was thinking. She was never the clean type to begin with. Usually, girls would help me clean around the house, but this one always tries to make an excuse.
Little Rainbow looked at me and rolled her eyes.
“Ookaay,” she said wearily, then grabbed a pillow and blanket in her teeth and flew out of the hammock. As she grabbed a side of it she turned it upside down making its entire contents fall down on us. We were simply covered by trashed cans, empty packs of chips, and a pile of lollipop sticks. Somehow I have a hunch she did it on purpose.
“Great,” I said, barely holding back my anger while looking at all the waste scattered around the salon. “Now clean this up.”
“Hey, you told me to clean up my hammock,” she said after putting the pillow and the blanket back in place. “What lay’s outside of it is none of my concerns.”
“CLEAN … THIS … UP!!!” I shouted feeling that my patience has just ended, but Rainbow just waved back at me and went back to sleep. I could feel my blood pressure jumping over the scale.
Little Rainbow, ehh ... probably the fastest flying being in all of Equestria, happens also to be my biggest pain in the ass. Sometimes I wondered how do I manage to put up with her. Of course, I know exactly where all of this malice is coming from. She just suffers from lack of free space. Not that my house is small or something. She’s just always gazing wistfully at the sky above us and the thought that she cannot spread her wings and fly into the blue is like a torture for her. I discovered, by chance, that she liked to sneak out of the house at night for some air cruising. Shortly after she was tracked down by princess Luna who made quite a commotion. And so, the unhappy Rainbow decided to turn her desperation towards me as she began to tease and play tricks on me together with her best friend, Pinkie Pie. As of now she’s forced to fly around the salon and burn her energy in a home gym.
“Buck this,” I whispered while trying to calm down. “We're going. Once we get back I don’t want to see even a single crumb on the floor,” I said it loud so the little toddler in a hammock could hear it.
“And the party?” I heard Pinkie’s pleading question.
“We'll talk about it when we get back from the vet. Until then, please, try not to crash my home,” I begged while walking with Max to the door. For the last time I took a peek at my salon hoping that when I get back, everything, including garbage, will be in its place.
“See you, Max,” said Fluttershy while waving to him. “Remember to be polite and listen to what your doctor says.” Max? … polite? … really? Somehow I really doubt that.
As soon as we have closed the door behind us ...
[Third POV]
... little Rainbow stuck her head out of the hammock and with a sour face she began to mimic the host.
“Clean this up, clean this up … MAN, WHAT A PEDANT!!!” she said with an annoyed voice.
“I do not know, my dear, what’s your problem,” interjected little Rarity who was busy working at her workshop upstairs and didn’t even care to look at her. “It’s quite logical that our dear Alex is a neat person. Why won’t you try to follow his example for once?”
Rainbow was just about to tell her to sew some cotton peg and stuff it up her own muzzle, but she decided to bite her tongue instead. She swiftly jumped out of her hammock and flew down to the salon. As she ran off to one of the windows located next to the exit door she began to gaze through it.
“Um … Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked quietly. Rainbow just waved a hoof at her while keeping an eye on Alex all the time.
“Okay, he’s driving out of the garage ... he’s entering the forest road ... aaand, he’s gone,” Rainbow announced happily and came back to the salon. “Okay guys, time to enter the ape’s lair,” she announced while smiling evilly.
Fluttershy and Pinky exchanged their surprised gazes with each other.
“Oh … um … I don’t know Rainbow,” said abashed Fluttershy. “We did promise not to go there without his permission.”
“Chill out, Fluttershy. He will never notice a thing … unless you spill some beans.” Rainbow send them a defiant look.
“No ... of course not,” stuttered Fluttershy.
“Pinky promise,” Pinky replied cheerfully.
All three of them were so busy that they didn’t even notice the fourth filly approaching them.
“Alright, Rainbow, what are you up to this time?” came suddenly a voice from the kitchen’s side. They all noticed Applejack who was walking now in their direction and eyeing them suspiciously.
“A little reconnaissance you might say. Are you in?” asked Rainbow without a trace of trouble.
“Let me think about it,” said Applejack while rubbing her chin. “No.”
“What? Oh, come on AJ, we’ve been here for almost three weeks and we still don’t know much about him,” said Rainbow.
“No,” Applejack replied again.
“The conditions are perfect. Primo, he’s gone, second, princesses are gone as well. Not to mention that Twilight is sick and stuck to bed. There are no obstacles in our way. Who knows when another opportunity like that will happen?” said Rainbow.
“You were asleep all this time, so how do you know that?” asked surprised Applejack.
“I wasn’t sleeping, I was napping, it’s different,” replied Rainbow. “So, are you coming or not?”
“Oh look, my echo just came back,” stated Applejack while keeping her hoof near her ear. “And it still says … NO!”
Rainbow looked disappointed at her until a sudden thought struck her mind.
“Oh well, can’t blame you. Not everyone has that something,” stated Rainbow making the apple farmer confused.
“Huh?” asked Applejack while raising an eyebrow.
“Well, you know, courage and stuff like that. It's quite natural that you would never do anything that might be even a little bit risky. You’re such an innocent little girl after all.” Rainbows mocking words made Applejack narrow her eyes menacingly. “But our Fluttershy here …” Rainbow stood next to the yellow pegasi and put her hoof around Fluttershie’s neck “… she’s brave enough to go in there without any hesitation.”
“Um … actually, I ...” Rainbow covered Fluttershie’s mouth, giving her a clue to remain silent.
“You say I don’t like to take a risk, huh?” asked Applejack incredulously. Rainbow felt that her friend was smoothly falling for her trap. Just a little more.
“Well, duh. You know, I never told you this, but you remind me of Flutteshy’s chickens somewhat.” Applejack and Fluttershy both became surprised at Rainbow’s words.
“What in tar nation are you blabbing about, girl?” asked confused and impatient Applejack. Rainbow looked at her with a smile, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Bock~bock~bock~bock~bock,” cackled Rainbow. Her successful chicken imitation made Applejack pissed as the offended filly walked up so close to her that their noses were now sticking together.
“I'm not afraid of anything,” declared angered Applejack as her exasperated face forced Rainbow to smile cockily.
“Oh really, *smirk*, prove it,” she said while grinning defiantly. Applejack hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to take the challenge.
“*Sigh* fine, I’m in. But I feel there’s gonna be trouble.”
“Great, then let’s go,” said Rainbow and started to walk towards the stairs.
“Whoa there, Betsy,” said Applejack as she stepped on her tail.
“Hey, what gives?” asked annoyed Rainbow. “Are you breaking up already?”
Applejack quickly pointed out to the Rarity’s workshop on the upper floor.
“Yeah, I know, Rarity. Ever since Alex helped her organize that tiny boutique …” Rainbow uttered the last two words imitating the Fashionista’s dialect “… she plays in his team. But it doesn’t matter. I know how to deal with her. Well … are you ready?” They all nodded and followed her lead.
As they took the second stairs to avoid walking directly into the Rarity’s workshop, they quietly walked the long corridor and by keeping close to the wooden railing they soon came near Alex’s bedroom door. They needed to go inside unnoticed, but the problem was that Rarity’s workshop was right at the end of the corridor. There was a chance that she would notice them while walking inside.
“Okay …” whispered Rainbow Dash. “… we have to distract her. Ready, Fluttershy?” She looked at her pegasi friend.
“Uhm, yes ... I mean, I think so,” Flutershy replied hesitantly.
“Good. Remember, keep her occupied so we can sneak inside,” explained Rainbow. “Good luck, girl.”
Fluttershy walked pass them silently and entered the Fashionista’s workshop.
“Um, Rarity?” Fluttershy called out to her best friend as Rarity turned around and smiled widely at her best friend’s sight.
“Why, Fluttershy darling,” said surprised Rarity. “What brings you here?”
“Well …” began Flutershy while twisting her hoof on the floor. “… remember how much you wanted to make that new dress with sequins for me? The one I declined?”
“Yes, my dear, I remember it well.” Rarity’s eyes suddenly grew big. “Have you … changed your mind?” she asked hopefully.
“Well, actually, why not, I ...” Fluttershy didn’t get a chance to finish as she saw the prominent face of her friend.
Using her magic Rarity fetched a tailors ruler which started to squirm around Fluttershy’s small body while she wrote down the measurements in her small notepad.
“Oh, how marvelous. Thank you, Fluttershy, you'll see, this will be a true masterpiece. Oh, I can’t wait.” She began to jump in place from excitement, then turned around and walked over to her working table. “Alright, this might take some time so please come back in the evening.”
Fluttershy quickly looked behind her and saw her friends anticipating faces as Rainbow urged her to carry on.
“Actually, dear Rarity, now that Max’s gone and I'm free at the moment, I would be happy to work with you ... if that’s not a problem for you of course?”
If Rarity could make an even wider smile it would probably become permanent.
“What a wonderful idea, my dear,” said Rarity while grabbing her and putting her beside the mannequin. “This way the dress will be simply perfect.” Rarity began to collect all the necessary materials while the rest of the fillies were waiting patiently for the right moment.
“Alright, my dear …” Rarity said finally with an insane expression on her face, as all the tailor’s material was already flowing above her head. “… ready for the next big step in the fashion’s history?” That view made Fluttershy swallow hard.
“Y-yay,” moaned Fluttershy just before the tornado of fashion swallowed her completely.
The girls realized that the timing is perfect as Rarity was now focused only on Fluttershy. However, while walking slowly to Alex’s bedroom door, they needed to stop for a moment and gaze in shock at the fashion horror that they made Fluttershy go through. It would seem that the younger version of Rarity lost some of her sensitive touch. They listened to Fluttershy’s cries and, with ears flapped back on their skulls, all three of them finally went inside the room and closed the door behind them.
Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinky Pie were now leaning besides the door and breathing deeply.
“Thank you, dear Fluttershy,” said Applejack as she took off her big cowboy hat and placed it on her chest. “I hope your great sacrifice will not go to waste.”
“This is for you, the bravest filly I knew,” said Rainbow while saluting in the Fluttershy’s honor while Pinky pretended to play a farewell song on a trumpet.
“Okay …” said Rainbow after a minute of silence. “… let’s see what this monkey has in store.”
“Is it me, or didn’t you promise that you’ll stop calling him like that?” asked Applejack.
“No, I said I’ll think about it,” retorted Rainbow as they all stepped further into the Alex’s room which was dimensionally the same size as theirs … except that he was having the whole room all to himself. The first thing that caught their eyes was a large double uncovered bed which was littered with piles of clothes.
“Oh, sweet apple ciders, what a mess,” stated Applejack with a frown.
“See, and that smart-ass Rarity still defends him. Oh, I'd love to see that stupid look on her face if she saw that,” said Rainbow cheerfully while landing on a wooden edge of the bed. “Okay, let's do this quickly before anyone notices. We split up and search the entire room.”
“I'll check the dresser,” announced Applejack as she approached the piece of the furniture which was placed on the right side of the bed and opened one of its lower drawers.
“Been there, done that,” Pinky announced cheerfully as she jumped suddenly out of the drawer that the farmer just opened making her almost die of a heart attack.
“Uh, but … how?” Applejack gasped while leaning against the bed and panting deeply. “No, I don’t want to know.” She raised her hoof just as Pinky was about to answer her.
In the meantime, Rainbow Dash was looking with envy at the thirty-two inch TV which was hanging on the wall on the opposite side of the bed. “Unbelievable, we missed so many cool movies and it’s only because Rarity, Fluttershy, and Princess Celestia love to watch those ... brrr, brazil soap operas,” she stated it in a disgust manner. “And here he has a second TV, only to himself.”
“Well, he’s the host so it’s logical that he get’s what’s best,” said Applejack while getting ready to check what’s under the bed.
“But this is so unfair,” Rainbow bragged unhappy making Applejack to roll her eyes.
“Sure thing, Rainbow, just remember to tell him that once he comes back,” she teased and gave her a cheeky smile.
They both exchanged their glances and quickly resumed their search.
“Hey, what’s that?” asked Rainbow as she flew on top of the wooden dresser and picked up a small blue airplane model. “Wait, I saw this on TV. Humans use those to fly. Air … plate, or something.”
“Airplane,” Applejack corrected her as she just came out from under the bed.
“*Smirk*, flying monkeys ... now that’s rich,” Rainbow laughed slightly and began to play with the plane model while making the monkey noises.
Applejack just shook her head and started to check the wooden walls for any hiding places.
“HEY GUYS, LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!!” screamed little Pinky.
“SSSHHH!!!” They both silenced her at the same time.
“Hi, hi, sorry ... look what I found, it’s amazing,” said Pinky who was basing her front hooves by the glass display located on the right of the TV. They both approached her.
“What is it Pinky?” asked excited Rainbow.
“Stones,” said Pinky with fascination while sticking her whole face to the glass, “lots of pretty colorful stones.”
Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other with down faces.
“Ooh, stones,” repeated Rainbow without hiding her boredom. “Now that I think about it, this does make sense. After all, they’re both quite the same, I mean B-O-R-I-N-G.”
Feeling disappointed Rainbow flew to the desk located right next to the exit door. There seemed to be some books on the shelf which was hanging above her.
“PPL(A) basic training? ... wow, sounds really lame,” stated Rainbow and gave up on checking the rest of the book collection.
“Wow, look at this one,” said Pinky while holding the large amber which she managed to take out of the cabinet.
“Quite nice, I’ll say,” said Applejack who was standing next to her. “I wonder what he collects them for?”
“Company, I guess,” Rainbow retorted mockingly. As she opened the small drawer under the desk, she said “Huh, bingo!” and pulled out the mp3 player that Alex earlier hid inside.
“So that was the main reason, huh? I might’ve known,” said frowned Applejack.
After several minutes of fruitless expedition Rainbow finally sat down on the bed with her back to the others and sighed.
“Well, let's summarize what we already know. We’ve searched every corner of his bedroom and I can say that we have a boring guy, living in a boring room ... well, maybe except for that small model plane, who collects boring stones,” Rainbow summed up disappointed. “But at least I got my mp3 player back.”
“Oh, I assure you, silly Dashi, that this stone here isn’t boring at all,” Pinky stated cheerfully.
“Sure, Pinky, whatever you say,” Rainbow said mockingly while shaking her head in disbelief.
“You know what, Rainbow? I think she might be right,” added Applejack forcing Rainbow to make a puzzled face and turn their way.
“Oh yeah? And why is that?” she asked, but as she realized that they both were looking up she decided to do the same. Suddenly, she froze in shock.
“Because boring stones don’t tend to fly” retorted Applejack as the amber was now levitating a few feet above their heads. Suddenly, it began to move slowly towards the exit door. In the meantime, the girls realized that they weren’t alone in the room. In the threshold of the slightly opened door stood Twilight with her horn covered in bright lavender light, who was glaring at them suspiciously.
“*Sniff*, alright guys, might explain to me what you are doing here?” asked Twilight while rubbing her itchy nose.
“Twilight!?” Rainbow screamed while landing next to Applejack and Pinkie Pie. “Oh, um, nothing really. We were only ... well.” She quickly nudged her farmer friend to finish for her.
“We ... um.” However, Applejack also seemed to have no idea how to get out of this bog.
“We were admiring these beautiful stones,” interjected Pinky.
Applejack and Rainbow quickly exchanged their glances.
“Oh, that's right ... stones,” said Applejack and together with Rainbow they attempted to make innocent faces, but Twilight didn’t seem to believe in even one of their words.
“We have an agreement with Alex, *sniff*, that we will not enter his room without his permission. I believe he even made it quite clear * cough, cough *,” the levitating amber stopped suddenly in the air, between her and the others.
“Oh, come on, Twilight,” said Rainbow. “We have been here for such a long time and we still don’t know anything about him. Surprisingly, he doesn’t have the same problem with us. Don’t you find it unfair?”
Twilight hesitated for a moment, but quickly returned to her former route.
“*Sniff*, princesses said it clearly that we don’t interfere in his life, *sniff*,” she said while still fighting the urge to sneeze.
“We’re living under the same roof, Twilight, so how do you expect that to work?” asked irritated Rainbow.
“That’s why we need to be careful, * cough, cough *. Who knows what damage our stay in this world has already done, *sniff*,” She looked suddenly towards Applejack who hid her eyes from shame by her cowboy hat.
“Chill out, Twilight, I’m not getting any near that monkey’s uncle. But tell me, how did you find us out?” asked curious Rainbow.
“By chance, * cough * I heard some strange noises coming from the wall when I was using the bathroom. Right now, I’m starting to wonder if I shouldn’t report this to the princesses when they return, *sniff*,” Twilight said coldly.
“What for, Twilight?” cried Rainbow. “After all, nothing bad happened. We have already searched the whole room and we found nothing. This guy is as boring as they come.”
“Princesses were watching him long enough to make sure that we have nothing to fear about. Celestia read his mind so I don’t know what other guarantees do you ne…, *sniff*, ... aa-aaaaaaccchhooooo.” Twilight sneezed so hard that the levitating spell broke for a moment.
As the amber suddenly started falling, Applejack and Rainbow reacted quickly and both jumped forward at the same time to catch it. Unfortunately ...
“Cheers,” said Pinky with a smile right before the sound of a crash filled the room as the amber hit the floor and split into three parts. Twilight stared in horror at the stone’s pieces which were lying on the floor, right next to Applejack and Rainbow.
“Uh-oh,” said both fillies who were lying on the floor.
“OH NO, WHAT HAVE I DONE!?” Twilight cried and started panicking while looking at the once great piece of a rock.
“It's nothing, we’ll put it together and it will be as good as new,” said Rainbow while pointing at Pinky who was already holding a tube of glue and a roll of a sellotape.
“No,” protested Twilight. “I'll use one of my spells, * cough *. I just hope that I can manage this in my present state.”
Twilight instantly cast a spell that made the three amber pieces tremble slightly while being covered in a lavender glow. The pieces rose into the air and slowly began to merge together on the fractured spots. Suddenly, the aura surrounding the pieces disappeared and made the amber fall to the ground, causing it to break again. All gazed in amazement.
“I … I don’t understand,” said shocked Twilight. “The merging spell didn’t work?”
All her friends were looking at her slightly confused.
“Are you sure you cast it right, sugar cubes?” asked Applejack. “You do realize that you’re sick?”
“*Sniff*, I’m not sure ... I’ll try again.”
Using all her will Twilight cast the spell one more time, however, the final result turned out to be the same.
“Oh, Twilight, I can see that today is not your day,” commented Rainbow thus earning a small nudge from Applejack.
“But, this doesn’t make any sense * cough *,” said Twilight when suddenly her eyes grew big. “Unless ... no, that’s impossible,” she said making others even more confused.
“WHAT?” asked all her friends at the same time, causing Twilight to awake from her sudden ponder. As she realized their questioning glances she cleared her throat and said:
“Perhaps I'm wrong, but ...”
***
Meanwhile, at the vet’s clinic
[Alex’s POV]
I felt strange for a moment. I couldn’t explain it, but I was having one of those feelings that were trying to tell me something. I just didn’t know what.
Meanwhile, my friend’s medical checkup was slowly coming to an end. Max was lying quietly on the table and enduring his examination.
His vet, doctor Robert Starsky was a short, dumpy old man dressed in a lab coat with a slightly bald head, and a distinctive small mustache.
“Everything seems to be perfectly normal,” said the doctor with a smile while putting the stethoscope away. “I never thought that I would say this, but … Well done, Max. Usually you’re not so willing to cooperate with. Did your master finally find a way with you?” he asked while patting Max on the head making him wag his tail.
The doctor picked up a cylinder shaped metal box which was lying in one of the cabinets and took out a doggy treat which Max ate right away.
“Thanks a lot, doctor Starsky,” I said as he smiled at me and passed me the dog treat container.
“Would the polite owner like to have some as well?” he asked mockingly making me shake my head as I smiled back.
“Got any crackers?” I asked making him laugh from amazement. The doctor suddenly began to cough heavily as well.
“* Cough, cough * ... ha, good one. So, how’s it going, Alex? How's your health?”
“I’m fine, thank you,” I answered with a smile. “My neighborhood is pretty peaceful, so I can’t complain.”
“That’s good, * cough, cough *” His suffocative coughing surely couldn’t be placed in any healthy standards.
“You should really have a doctor to get a look at that, Mister Starsky,” I stated, but the doctor just waved his hand and dismissed my good advice.
“It so happens, dear boy, that I am a doctor.” He got me there for a moment. “It’s nothing, really, just a bit of a cold,” he said, but somehow I didn’t feel like believing him.
“I’m sure one package of cigarettes less will do wonders,” I said mockingly.
“Eh, you sound like my daughter,” doctor said impatiently. “She also brags on and on about it, like if it’s something serious.”
As he mentioned his daughter my memory reached back about one year back when I met her at this clinic during one of Max’s examinations. She’s about my age, and just like her father, she’s a veterinarian. From what I learned, she lives in Bialystok where she’s planning to continue her working career.
“And how’s your daughter doing, doctor?” I asked making the doctor to look puzzled at me.
“Helen? Oh, she’s fine. Together with her lady friend they’re planning to open their own clinic somewhere around autumn this year.” He grinned suddenly. “Oh boy, you should see her, Alex. She talks about it all the time, * cough, cough *. I did offer her the possibility of taking over this one here instead, but she decided that she wants to have one in the city, *cough, cough *, stubborn as always.”
“You really should do something about this coughing,” I said worried while patting his back a few times.
“Oh, rubbish, * cough, cough *, I'll be fine. You know, Alex, I would gladly chat longer, but I still have a lot of patients, so …”
And so, as the doctor gave me a polite sign to back off, I decided not to push the topic any longer.
“Of course. Then we'll get going. Come on Max.” My companion jumped down from the vet’s table and stood by my side. “Thanks for everything, doctor Starsky,” I said as I shook his hand and after fastening Max’s collar we moved towards the exit.
As we stopped in the office’s threshold, I slowly turned around and saw him standing by the window, already lighting another cigarette. There was no need for a doctor diploma to determine what was wrong with his health. Unfortunately, good old Robert Starsky has a terrible smoking problem which somehow he can’t, or rather never cares to overcome.
I looked worried at him while another customer with a cage containing a fiercely strangling cat walked passed me inside. I turned around and closed the door behind me.
Once we got to the car, which was situated in a small parking lot in front of the vet's office, I allowed Max to go inside and then shut the door. I leaned against it and took out the pack of smokes. While holding a cigarette between my fingers I suddenly began staring at it intently. For a moment I saw the doctor again who was coughing like mad. Perhaps this was a sign for me? On second thought ... hey, I don’t have any smoking problems, so it’s ok ... I guess.
I fired the cigarette and slowly inhaled the smoke in. While tasting the tobacco I was enjoying the moment, hoping that it will last forever … * Ring, Ring * ... and that’s when my wings fell off.
At first I was sure it was Gregory, but as I gazed at the incoming call and realized I was wrong, I simply shook my head and immediately hid it back. I was in no mood for this conversation. At least not yet.
To be continued …
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5430648
Wish I knew
But I won't let it get to me, because I believe in my story and writing it really gives me joy 
http://youtu.be/jaB4cSPWBN0
Hidden Magnetic Portals Around Earth
5473162
I never said that it was not worth reading or that it was THAT bad... It's just that some aspects could have been done better and the overall feel and pace of the story could have been closer to optimal. But to everyone his own, I guess. And I can't really judge you since I've never written anything myself... And even if I did, it would have been about a totally OP hero or something stupid like that, so yeah, you're better off without my stories =P
About meat you were correct that most of it is a speculation... However Fluttershy did catch and feed fish to her animals in the show. And we don't know if meat markets exist or not, you can neither prove or deny it at this point (though it seems that there was a pony with a meat cutie mark somewhere in the show at one point... And sometimes there appears to be meat in their food)... But judging by the fact that there are gryphons with their own empire, and these gryphons were seen multiple times living alongside ponies... Well, let's just say that gryphons are clearly not herbivores and they must get their food from somewhere. Yet there is no such reaction to them.
As for the animals, ponies treat them more like other sapient beings since they talk to them and whatnot. Applejack has a herd of sapient cows that can TALK... Yet she keeps them as a stock... Maybe she even processes or gives them to someone else as food/material for food when they die. So, having carnivorous pets is not that far off in I guess. That is of course if you don't imply that an alligator, a dog, an owl and a cat can all survive on vegetables... Maybe they didn't show anything like this in the show, but then again describing their daily life and some less fairy tail aspects is not exactly the main focus of the show, so you might as well start applying logic to fill in the gaps that will most probably never get filled otherwise.
Now, there might have been a misunderstanding where his "guests" thought that ponies and animals on this planet were as sapient as in Equestria... Needless to say that this problem could have been solved with a simple explanation. But since I still haven't read past that point I don't know how this progresses later on. But I've seen a very similar turn of events with this particular issue in most of HiE fanfics... Though I do admit that most of the time it gets sorted quite fast, so you kinda went with a minority here. I just hope that you will manage to justify this choice and make it seem rational and believable.
I intended not to post any more mistakes I found since you still haven't corrected the last bunch, but at the middle of the story I decided to do it anyway... So here it comes:
Are you sure your all ok, darlings?
As she sad that she proceeded to the exit.
I seems the portal is useless for now.
Many shelves of a small wooden cupboards where fitted also not sure about that "a".
“Alright, my dear …” Rarity saif finally
causing it to brake again.
“Are you sure you cast it right, sugar cubes?”
Strange, but after taking a short break from reading I find this chapter to be quite nice. I will be waiting for more if you ever decide to continue it! =)
P.S. Re-reading some of my comments I realized that I might have spoilered a few story events... I'm not sure if it is worth going back and "spoilering" all of them or if I should just leave it all as it is...
5705869
I just finished making all the corrections you suggested so please, keep posting. Those things make the story look better every time.
To tell you the truth I'm not sure myself
You can either put a black shade on them or just leave them as they are. I'll leave it to you. I placed the spoilers warning sign in the story's preview just in case.
5886602
Thank you for the advice, dear Eclair. I'll try to do a little proofreader hunting. I just hope there will be someone up for the challange. Finding a proofreader is really hard these days.
5900991
Note still found errors here and there but personally I didn't notice them until I read that last comment :P also any updates soon?
6079530
Hard to say really. Got a writers block for the moment, but I should be back on the track soon
Clouds don't form that high. For reference, the ISS orbits around 250 miles above the Earth. The type of cloud that would probably be most likely for naps (cumulus) form only about 2000-3000 feet off the ground. Stratus clouds form even lower, though fog doesn't make a very good bed.
6170190
Edit: Made the necessary correction. Thanks for the help.
6170561 Boom he got you there partner
6391214
And another torpedo has hit its target. But the boat is still sailing. HUZZAH :P