To Turn a Life Around

by TheEngineer

Driving miss Pinkie

Chapter 5: Driving miss Pinkie

---------------oooOOooo---------------

*Door opening.* *Young Matthew enters the house.*

"Hey mom."

"Matthew! What ever happened to you?"

"I um... I kinda fell a few times."

"A few times? just look at your arms! What on Earth were you doing?"

"Well, let's just say I'm not ready to grind on rails just yet."

"Come here, let's get those cuts cleaned up."

....

*Older Matthew at his family's funeral.* *Raining profusely.*

"Here we gather today. In loving memory of...."
*Matthew looking at his parent's closed coffins.*

I can't say goodbye, I'm just not ready yet.
*White noise drowning Matthew's thoughts*

...

Aunt: "Happy birthday Matthew! How's my little nephew doing?"

Matt: "I'm good auntie."

Aunt: "My, you're already eleven years old! It barely feels like any time has passed at all."
*Short pause*

Aunt: "Well, I bet you're wondering what your uncle and I have in store for you!"
*Young Matthew stares at a large, red box with a yellow bow*

Matt: "What is it?"

Uncle: "Well, why don't you open it and find out?"
*Young Matthew begins opening the box*

Uncle: "It's a skateboard!"

Matt: "Wow! But I don't know how to ride it."

Uncle: "Don't you worry about that, I can teach you. In no time at all, you will be riding this around to wherever you please!"
*Matthew's mom stands by the doorway*

Mom: "Are you sure that's such a good idea? I don't recall you two asking for permission before giving him something like that."

Uncle: "Oh, the boy needs something fun and reckless to do. He's almost a teenager now! Might as well give him a head start."

Mom: "This we need to discuss later."

Aunt: "But just look at him, he's so excited to learn now. Can you really take it away from him at this point?"

...

*Matthew staring blankly at his Aunt and Uncle's coffins.*

Why are they all closed? Why can't I see them one more time?Why are they all closed? Why can't I see them one more time?Why are they all closed? Why can't I see them one more time?Why are they all closed? Why can't I see them one more time?
*Tears running down Matthew's face*

*White noise*

...

*Teen Matthew playing with his little sister*

"Haha! Do it again!"

"What? You mean this?"

"Yeah! How can you fly a kite so good?"

"You mean how can I fly a kite so well? Practice is all."

"Teach me, pweety pwease?"

"Awww, can't say no to that face now can we? Alright, here, hold the string like this with both hands and don't let go."

"You mean like this?"

"Almost, try separating your hands a bit more."

"There?"

"Now you're getting it! Now pull the string with your front hand and feed or pull the string with the other."

"Wow! Did you see that?"

"Yeah, you're doing really well! Pull the string every time you see the kite begin to fall, eventually you will get the rhythm of it and you will be able to turn the kite where you want it to go."

"Okay, just one wittle question."

"What is it?"

"What does eventually mean?"

"It means that in time you will get there."

"Oh... Matty?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for playing with me today, this sunset is very pwetty."

...

*Matthew crying in front of a small coffin, fellow mourners beginning to depart*

"I am going to miss you so, oh so much, my little Sadie."

*Man in uniform puts a hand on Matthew's shoulder*

"Matthew?"
*nodding*

" I.... I cannot begin to imagine the pain you must be going through right now, your father was a good man. Gregory was a great man actually, both in the CIA and as a human being."

"He... He sure was Mr. Kimell."

"I just wanted to give my condolences."

*White noise slowly becoming deafening*

---------------oooOOooo---------------

I shot up from my bed, panting quietly and my heart racing like I had just ran a marathon. I could also feel the dried tears on my face. Nopony in my room this time though, I dug out my father's time piece and waited for the calming sound to bring me back to the subconscious world.

..........

The sweet scent of pancakes and apples wafted it's way into my nose and into my brain. It was tempting to the point that I almost got out of bed, that is until I saw the time. 10:28? It's too damn early, was my last thought before closing my eyes once more.

....

I woke up groggily, yet no longer capable of sleeping anymore. I hate that feeling, what time is it? 11:56? Meh, I might as well get up.

I shuffled my way into the bathroom and took a quick and revitalizing shower. I am so glad I only work three days a week, that graveyard shift on Thursdays is always the one that gets me. But now I am fully awake, courtesy of my lovely shower, which means that I get to do... Stuff. Huh, that train of thought might have left me.

What am I supposed to do today? I told Ted about the mares, I guess I should tell the mares about telling Ted about said mares. But besides from taking a bunch of photographs of the three, I don't think there's anything to do but wait for the results in a few weeks.

With that thought, I idly put on the first pair of everything in my drawers, not really caring for looks. Worn blue jeans and some random, plain, light green T-shirt. Where did I get this shirt from? I thought to myself after I put it on. With a shrug, I headed downstairs. The first thing that I saw was Rainbow playing the same game as last time, I may have accidentally hooked her on gaming.

With that thought, I sat down next to Rainbow with a yawn. Apparently she wasn't aware of my presence until then and did a slight jump from the place she was sitting, to about three inches away from her original spot.

"Well, good afternoon to you, sleepyhead", Rainbow greeted.

"Good afternoon to you too, miss gamer-hooves", I greeted back. She just went back to her game, in which she wasn't so bad at anymore.

Out of boredom and hunger, I stood from the rather interesting match Rainbow was involved in to get myself some delicious consumables.

On my way to the kitchen, I got a peek into my library. Surprise surprise, Twilight was sitting inches away from a laptop screen, stacks of books on either side of her. "G'day Twi, how long have you been here?" I dared to ask.

"Oh, hey Matthew", Twilight greeted while pausing whatever she was watching, "Um, wow, since six o'clock I guess."

"Six? What were you doing this whole time?" I dared to inquire even further.

"Well, there's that show that you recommended, Doctor Who, it's amazing by the way. And I was also looking through some human related history, Genghis Khan was an evil but very intelligent general", Twilight went on.

I smirked when I realized that Twilight already finished the first season of my favorite teenage hood show. "Alrighty then, just make sure to get some air every now and then. Doesn't need to be too long, just some five minute brakes between episodes", I said idly while resuming my trek to the kitchen in my honor-bound quest for food.

Pinkie Pie was in the kitchen, seemingly sitting and doing nothing, but the sweet smell of apples told me that she was just waiting. "Hey Pinkie, what'cha doing?" I asked.

"Good afternoon Matty, how'd you sleep?" Pinkie asked back, seemingly ignoring my question apparently.

"What smells so good in here anyway? I'm famished!" I said, passing the proverbial ball of conversation.

"Oh, I just made some apple pie and then made some pancakes with the leftover flour", Pinkie responded nonchalantly.

"I could sure go for either of those right now.." I trailed of hungrily.

"Wellll, we ran out of pancakes", Pinkie began, that's when I noticed the slight bulge in her belly, "But I saved some pie just for you!" Pinkie continued as she pulled a place with a neat slice of apple pie... From under the table.

"Pinkie Pie... You are so... Random." I managed to say as I reached for the plate.

I just ate and Pinkie Pie just droned on about something. I was starting to simply block out non-essential conversations from Pinkie Pie in a subconscious effort to not sprain my frontal lobe. I should probably work my way against that, I don't want to be rude, and god knows what kind of trouble that could get me into.

After I finished eating, I thanked Pinkie Pie and excused myself to the bathroom. I finished all of the necessary steps of personal hygiene, and then came back out to see that the only pony that actually moved in all of that time was Pinkie. Rainbow was still on the couch and Twilight was still on the chair inches from the screen.

"Um, guys?" I began, "Do any of you want to, you know, do something?"

Rainbow looked away from the game at least, "Aww c'mon, I'm on a winning streak here!" then Rainbow lowered her voice and continued, "I love to win."

"Okay, one no. Twilight?" I asked.

"Huh? What? But I'm in the middle of the second season!" she said biting her hoof for the briefest moment, "And I need to see how the Doctor is going to get out of this one, I mean, he has to right? He regrew a hand, I'm sure he can beat a few Cybermen. Right?" Twilight droned on doubtfully. I was sure I made a mistake introducing computers to these mares at this point, but I will deal with this later.

"That's two nos, Pinkie?" I asked, and yet almost begged.

"Sure! I don't see why not." Pinkie said, much to my relief.

"Alright, let's get out of here." I said.

"Um, Matty? Aren't you forgetting something?" Pinkie said, motioning towards her pink self.

"Oh, yeah. Hey Twilight? Could you come here for a second and turn Pinkie human?" I called in response to Pinkie's reminder.

There was a slight delay in her response, but eventually Twilight left the library and turned Pinkie human before going back to watching her new favorite show. I seriously need to talk to these two when I come back, there is so much to enjoy in the city before becoming a couch potato! It's just too soon!

...

After Pinkie Pie got all of her clothes on(which took a surprisingly short amount of time), we got in my car and started our long ride to the city. Now we had about an hour and a half to figure out what to do when we get there.

"So what do you wanna do?" I asked Pinkie.

"Well, It's past noon. How about we start with lunch? I like eating." Pinkie suggested. Well, now we have some more common ground, we both like eating.

"Sure, I know this great burger joint... Oh wait, herbivore, sorry." feeling a bit sorry on what Pinkie Pie is missing out on.

"Well, do you know any other great places to eat at?" Pinkie asked.

"Actually, that same place has fairly awesome salads. I'm sure you would like them." I suggested since I really had a craving for a burger right now.

"Okie, sounds like a plan", said Pinkie Pie while eying my radio. "Hey Matty? How does this thing work?"

"What? The radio? Just push the volume knob inward." I responded. I watched Pinkie poke the knob in my peripheral, keeping my eyes on the road. I smiled at the song that was just beginning, I recognized that intro immediately. "Oi. Oi. Oi. Oi." I began singing along, not really caring what Pinkie Pie thought of me.

"See me right out of the sunset, on your color TV screen. I'm for all that I can get, if you know what I mean. Women to the left of me, and women to the right. Ain't got no gun, ain't got no knife, don't you start no fight." I sang along.

"Cuz I'm TNT, I'm dynamite. TNT, and I'll win the fight! TNT, I'm a power load. TNT watch me explode!" I continued what would probably seem embarrassing to others, but one glance at Pinkie Pie told me she was enjoying the concert as much as I was.

I continued singing until the guitar solo, and just listened to the music from then on, bored from singing. When the song ended and the radio talk host took over, Pinkie gave me a starry look, "Wow, I really like your singing voice! Much better than that mister gravel voice on the radio!" Pinkie complemented

"Me, a better singer than the Bon Scott? Thanks but you're giving me way too much credit, I'm okay at singing, but not great." I retorted.

...

Most of the ride was mostly music talk. An awesome song comes up and Pinkie would ask what band that was and so on. But then a question came into my head followed by the thought, why didn't I ask this in the beginning?

"Hey Pinkie? Sorry that I never asked, but how did you three end up here? Or, what were you doing before you ended up here?" I asked cautiously. Pinkie gave me a sad look that lasted a fraction of a second.

"Well, as much as I would love to say that Twilight was doing an experiment and that Rainbow and I were helping when something went terribly wrong, that would be both silly and a terrible lie. Actually, I dunno why I would love to say that at all!" Pinkie began, "What we were doing was walking through the Everfree forest. A whole lot of ponies were spreading stories that there were tall monsters made of stone in the forest! So many ponies were so terribly scared that Celestia sent the Elements of Harmony to see exactly what the problem was", Pinkie Pie paused and looked down for a moment, "Twi, Dashie and I got separated from the rest of the gang once we were inside the forest. That's when everything went dark and the next thing the any of us remember is, well, you know that part of the story." Pinkie Pie trailed off.

"Oh... That's definitely very strange, I'm sorry that you don't know anymore about what caused this." I said sorrowfully.

"It's fine Matty, you yourself said that we have to keep hope, hope that we will come back home one day." Pinkie responded. The rest of the ride was quiet albeit the music on the radio.

....

I found a spot to park the car and began undoing the seatbelt. "Alright! we're here." I said excitedly.

"Yay! I'm starving!" Pinkie commented.

We both got out of the car and I locked the doors behind us as I walked Pinkie to our destination. The restaurant's name was Billy and I's . Pinkie and I walked through the aluminum double doors, I love the retro look of this place, and waited to be seated and looked through the menu.

"So, what are you getting Pinks?", I asked, half testing if I could use new nicknames.

"Ummmm, I'll take the chicken cesar salad, without the chicken." Pinkie concluded, and I concluded that 'Pinks' is a safe nickname to use.

"Hey Pinkie? I understand that ponies can't digest meat properly, which is why it should naturally taste terrible to you. But, right now you are human. Would that mean that your taste buds changed as well?" I asked in a low, conspiring voice. I was trying to not let anyone else hear what I was saying as to not arouse any suspicion.

Pinkie stared at me for a while, then scratched her chin for a bit before grimacing slightly. "I guess, but I don't want to hurt any animals just to feed myself." she concluded. I don't know why, but I wanted to pursue the subject further.

"Well, I don't either, but the poor animal in question is already gone. Wouldn't it be worse that he or she died for no reason and let them waste away?" I said tentatively.

"Hmm, you do make a good point", Pinkie began, "It feels wrong though."

"Tell you what, you order your salad and I'll let you try my burger to see if you like it. If you don't like it, just spit it out and you haven't actually eaten any meat." I concluded in a triumphant tone.

"Well...." Pinkie trailed off before continuing hesitantly, "Okay, I guess."

..

"Hello handsome, sorry for the long wait. What can I do for you and girl?" said the waitress in an almost seductive tone. I tried my best not to blush, I think I succeeded with my poker face, but I can't tell for sure.

"It just so happens that you can help us", I began, playing along with the restaurant cliché question of the year, "I'll have the cheese burger, well done, with sautéed onions, tomato, lettuce and a slice of avocado with a side of fries. For drinks, I'll have an unfiltered ginger ale. What about you Pinks?" I ordered in a well practiced manner.

"I'll have the cesar salad, without the chicken please, and a sparkling cider. Thanks!" Pinkie ordered at a quick pace.

"Okay, I'll be back soon with your orders." the waitress said with a wink. That almost gets annoying, but the food is totally worth it. Pinkie and I watched her walk away.

"I think she likes you!" Pinkie said to me with a look I couldn't quite decipher.

"Nah" I began, leaning back, "They get paid to do it". I then added with a growing ego, "But then again, who could resist this body?". That got Pinkie to giggle, then we just continued with some small talk.

...

The waitress came back after thirty minutes or so, carrying absolutely everything we ordered in one tray which sat on one hand. How do they learn to balance those tray like that? I thought to myself.

We thanked the waitress and began eating, Pinkie Pie seemed to be mentally preparing herself for what I signed her up for. I just waited without needing a verbal instruction, I was pressuring her to begin with after all.

"Alright, I think I'm ready." Pinkie said after a few minutes of background noise.

"Okay, here." I said, pushing the plate slowly to her. She stared at the burger for a bit.

"Omnivore is right, you sure added a lot of veggies to this dish." she commented slowly. Before I could respond, Pinkie Pie picked it up and took a relatively small bite and chewed tentatively. To my pleasure, the pace of her chewing began to increase. "You know?", Pinkie began, "It's actually not bad. It tastes different from anything I've tried before, but I can see why you like it."

I smirked, "I win then."

"Win what?" she asked, looking up from the table.

"Oh nothing, two parts of my brain were betting on whether or not you would like it." I said as if that was perfectly normal, but I was talking to Pinkie Pie, so she may have found that perfectly normal. She certainly didn't bother to point out anything wrong with that idea.

..

We were almost finished with our meals when I noticed the manager walking around with a tray. He was offering his creation to his costumers. Everybody quickly declined his offer, I emphasized with them. He eventually came to our table to offer his challenge, "Hey there, enjoying your meal?" he asked.

I nodded, Pinkie looked up from her salad and did the same. This was it, "Well, would you like to meet the dude?" the manager offered.

"Who's the dude? Sounds like a nice person!" Pinkie asked.

"Uhh, Pinks? The dude a challenge, not a person", I answered. This got the manager to laugh a big hearty laugh. This man had the voice that is the result of decades of smoking tons cigars and drinking gallons of whiskey.

"Would you like me to introduce your friend to the rules?" the manager offered.

"Yes please", I responded with a conspiratorial grin, "Hey Pinks, would you like to save me some money?"

"Sure! What are the rules?" Pinkie Pie began excitedly. I almost felt sorry for her, but I was going to suffer too.

"Well, the dude is the hottest edible substance I have ever been able to create", the manager began the speech he has rehearsed thousands of times, "My challenge to you is to last as long as you possibly can before you drink the cure to the heat, which is plain and simple milk. If you last more than thirty seconds, I will discount the price of your meal by fifty percent. If you last more than a minute, your meal is free and you can get another free meal the next month if you last a minute the next time you accept the challenge. Now, if you beat the previous restaurant record, you get a special place of honor on the wall over by the entrance." the manager finished. Pinkie Pie looked a slight bit nervous, but she quickly changed that into the bravest face I have ever seen.

"Alright, bring it!" she challenged back.

"I'll do it too." I said, very unsure because no sane person would attempt this twice... Much less six times. The manager nodded and responded by putting the tray on the table, serving us both a tall glass of milk and a toothpick with his special recipe on the end of it. People began to turn their heads to watch and the room fell silent as two waiter took out a stop watch to count both of our times.

I looked at Pinkie Pie, we exchanged looks of regret, but it was too late to back out now. "Okay, on the count of three." the manager began. I took a hold of the toothpick, it burned my eyes more and more the closer I held it. This stuff was close to the intensity of the standard issue pepper spray the constabulary uses. "One..... Two.... Three!" the manager exclaimed as Pinkie Pie and I jumped right into a metaphorical bonfire.

Pinkie had a delayed reaction, as for me, my eyes began to water almost immediately. But when Pinkie's reaction came, it came hard. She started holding on to the table in a futile attempt to ease the torment. She began breathing through her mouth.

"Pinkie, don't", I wheezed, "That only makes it worse."

"Oh, Celestia, it does!" she exclaimed.

We sat quietly as our faces turned bright crimson and started sweating. Our tongues screaming at our brains in confusion. The manager put on an almost sadistic smile and the other costumers began cheering us on as we neared the thirty second mark. "Keep on going! Keep on going! Keep on going!" they began cheering.

Oh god, it spread to my nose! I thought in agony. And my throat!. I gave up and reached for the glass of milk, the relief was godly.

Pinkie kept going strong though, I was surprised at her tolerance. I wonder what she's thinking right now...

But, sure enough, Pinkie had to quit sometime. She began slamming her hand on the table a few times, but then simply reached for her glass of well-deserved milk. The look of relief washed over her.

"One minute and fourteen seconds!" one of the waiters called out Pinkie's time to everyone else.

"Heh, fifty-eight seconds!" the other called out my time. Dang, so close. Still, the crowd of costumers cheered.

Pinkie Pie smiled triumphantly at me, I smiled back. That was really intense...

...

Eventually we left the restaurant having paid only eight dollars, sweet.

"Wow, that stuff was spicier than rainbows!" Pinkie commented once she was sure no one would hear her.

"You... Tasted rainbows before?" I asked in a shocked tone that I should really stop using in Pinkie Pie's presence.

"Yep! It was this one time that I visited the Cloudsdale weather factory and Dashie showed us how rainbows are made in vats! I made the tiny mistake of tasting the rainbow-filled vat and by Celestia's horn, it was spicy!" Pinkie explained.

"Ah, that makes so much more sense." I concluded. We walked around for a bit to let our food settle down.

"So, what should we do now?" asked Pinkie after some time.

"Well, I still have some cash left over since I didn't spend nearly as much money in the restaurant as I expected to. How about a movie?" I offered.

"Oooh! Where to?" she asked excitedly.

"Ummm, there." I said, pointing to an Indie theater. I liked those kinds of movies more than that of the mainstream, those have way too many special effects now, and the editors do so many cuts that you don't really have time to think and process what you just saw. It's almost like the editors are afraid that if they don't cut every half-second, they would lose their jobs.

"Hmm, we don't have any theaters in Ponyville. Usually Twilight hosts a movie night for the town where we all get together and watch in the town square with a projector machine she has little Spike operate", Pinkie thought out loud, "What movie are they playing?" she asked.

"I don't know", I responded with a smirk, "That's the fun of it though."

We walked in and bought two tickets to whatever. It was a drama of a police officer who's daughter was kidnapped. It had a few action scenes that were great, but I also really enjoyed the monologues, they were ingeniously written.

When the movie was over, Pinkie and I decided to just go home. I was tired from yesterday, so some recovery sleep couldn't hurt.

"Wow, did you see that part where Walter thought his daughter was in the gas station but saw it was a trap and while he was running away it exploded and he didn't look back at the fireball? That was amazing!" Pinkie recalled her favorite parts of the movie.

"Yeah, I also loved that scene where the kidnapper called the father and how in his speech, he explains why some people have no interest in saving humanity. Whoever wrote that scene was very familiar with psychology." I responded.

"It's sad that thats the case, I wish everypony was a good pony. I'm glad that Walter saved his daughter." she commented. That's when I got philosophical.

"Well, if everyone or pony in the universe was good, then how would we be able to tell the difference between good and evil?" I responded, staring into nothing as we approached the car. Pinkie remained quiet at that question.

...

The car ride was quiet most the most part, Pinkie Pie deep in thought. "We wouldn't." she concluded.

"Pardon?" I asked.

"What you said before, if everypony... I mean everyone on this planet were good, we wouldn't be able to tell the difference between good and bad. Everyone in one way or another would be perfect, and that just feels so... Wrong to me. I guess that's why ponies and people like that exist, to remind us that we can be better than that, and so that we could continue to try to reach perfection without ever actually reaching it", Pinkie Pie said. I was surprised at her insight of the world, who would have thought that such a random and spontaneous soul could be so thoughtful as well?

"Wow, Pinkie Pie, you are much more intelligent than you give yourself credit for", I commented.

"Thanks Matty, but I don't think it takes too much thought to see what is right in front of you." she said.

"That's just it, sometimes we see what's in front of us and never once question it because it's been there for so long. It takes a certain kind of insight to realize what has been there all along." I said, pausing before continuing, "You, Pinkie Pie, have that kind of insight. Don't you ever forget that."

Pinkie just smiled.

.....

We arrived at home, and I was tired. I was oh so very tired, but there was still some business to handle. Pinkie and I walked into the house, and to my annoyance, Rainbow was still where we left her. "Did you even move?" I asked Rainbow.

Rainbow jumped at the harshness of my tone, "Um, well, kind of... You see", she tried to begin.

"No, I didn't think so. Did you even go out to skate?" I said, almost staring daggers at her, but holding that back for her sake.

Rainbow looked down in shame, "No, I'm sorry."

Twilight came out of the library, eyes somewhat bloodshot. "You too Twi, I told you to take breaks every now and then at the very least. Did you do at least that?"

She was obviously caught by surprise, "Um.... No, sorry if I made you angry." Twilight apologized.

"I'm not angry, I'm disappointed." I began, "Pinkie here got to explore the city a bit more today, and what have you two accomplished while she was away? I understand why video games and TV shows can be so immersing, I went through that phase too. But you're stay here is hopefully only temporary and I would like you two to at least enjoy what my civilization has to offer. Not only does your new obsessions keep me from doing that, it also tells me that you have already given up your hope in ever coming back home." I finished coldly. I saw that Rainbow was on the verge of crying, that softened my stoic stance in this situation. "Rainbow, I just wan-" I tried to begin.

"No! You said it yourself! I already lost hope of coming back home! Why should I even try regaining it if it's only going to hurt me in the end?" Rainbow interjected with her own thoughts.

"Dashie.." Pinkie Pie pleaded quietly. Rainbow didn't want to hear it, she flew upstairs and locked herself in a room.

Twilight was tearing up as well, but the look on her face was different from Rainbow's. "I... I'm sorry, you're right. I'm not making any progress in trying to come home if all I do is sit on my haunches and watch somepony else's story. Thank you, for letting me see that Matthew." a saddened Twilight said apologetically.

"Hey, what are friends for? I only hope Rainbow sees that soon enough." I responded, "Anyway, it's almost dinner time. What do you guys want to eat?"

"Anything is fine, thanks." Twilight said quietly as she made her way to her room, a book precariously balanced on her back. Wait, if Rainbow didn't lock herself in Twilight's room, which room is she in? Oh well, she needs some time alone.

...

After Pinkie Pie got Twilight to turn her back to her pony self, she decided to go to my library, pick a random book out of my collection, and sat at the kitchen table to read as I cooked.

"What have you got there Pinkie?" I asked as I started chopping up some onions.

"Oh, I just took a random novel from your collection, if that's okay with you." Pinkie responded.

"It's fine by me, I meant which book." I retorted, now putting the chopped onions in a pot.

"Um, it's called Flowers for Algernon, is it any good?" Pinkie inquired.

I paused, "Yes, it's a very good book." I said before returning to my task at hoof.... Hand! I meant hand!

...

"Dinner is ready! Rainbow, come down please." I called. Twilight came down promptly, followed by Rainbow a few seconds later. She looked like she was crying for a while, the sides of her face matted with dry tears.

"I hope you're okay with steamed vegetables." I said with an underlying apologetic tone. Rainbow didn't even look at me, that hurt.

"Um, Rainbow? Do you want to clean your face first?" Twilight asked cautiously, knowing that she may be treading on thin ice.

"Yeah, I'll be right back." Rainbow grumbled before leaving for the bathroom. The three of us sat down and waited for Rainbow to come back before eating.

"So, Twilight. Do you have any clue as to how to go home?" I asked Twilight while we waited for Rainbow.

"Well, kind of. I figure that we are indeed in the same universe as before, but traveled an extremely long distance in a very short time." Twilight began.

"So, you're saying that whatever sent you here did so by folding our universe and send you from one half to the other?" I asked, or maybe I interjected, I can't really say for sure.

"Uhh, yeah. How did you know I was going to say that?" Twilight asked.

I shrugged, "I always figured that there are multiple universes and that they are all stacked one on top of each other. Which means that, theoretically, it is."

"It is possible to fold that stack in two and travel through the universes, eventually you would end up on your own universe but on the opposite side..." Twilight finished for me. We all sat in silence, staring at each other until Rainbow came back.

"Erm, I heard you guys suddenly stop talking. What happened exactly?" Rainbow questioned the odd-ness of the scene before her.

"What happened is that we may have an idea on how we came here." Twilight responded.

"That's the first step to coming back home, Dashie!" Pinkie exclaimed happily.

"Well, that's good new to my ears!" Rainbow said, her mood brightening up a little. The rest of our diner was silent, despite the hopeful news.

...

Pinkie and Rainbow left once we all finished eating. Twilight and I cleaned the dishes and later sat down at the kitchen table to try some sort of progress in the coming home idea.

"You do realize that the theory we made doesn't really help us, and might even be wrong, right?" I questioned Twilight once we sat down.

"Yes, that point is perfectly clear to me." Twilight began as a smile began growing on her face, "But, I have proof that this theory is correct."

"Oh? And what would that be?" I asked in slight surprise.

"Last night, I did some focusing. I sensed the residual presence of a very powerful, and very complicated spell which originates where you found us. I first picked it up when we drove past it the day you took us to get new clothes." Twilight explained.

"I'm a little lost, Twi. Care to explain a little further?" I inquired, feeling lost in her, quite literally, magical vocabulary.

"Um yes, yes I can." Twilight began, "The real clue was when I managed to trace the spell back, back to wherever it was casted. I was able to sense the number of leylines on the other side," Twilight was getting excited but kept her tone quiet, "It's the same number as in Equestria!"

"And it was done by actually folding universes in two?" I inquired further.

"From what I can tell." her expression darkened, "Whatever caused this was a very, very powerful creature or source. It's power rivaling that of princess Celestia herself."

I swallowed hard, does that mean that she can't come back home?

"But," Twilight began once more, "This does not mean that I can't attempt to replicate and reverse the spell. If it was able to take us here, then I can make it take us back." Twilight said, beaming.

"That's amazing news Twilight!" I said, congratulating her a bit early. "How long will it take you to cast the spell?" I asked.

"That's the thing, I need to study it first. It's nothing like any teleportation spell I have seen before, it's almost like a gateway spell if anything. It's going to take me a few weeks just to understand it, and even then, I don't think my raw abilities alone could allow me to cast the spell. I may be a powerful unicorn, but I do not possess unlimited power." Twilight said glumly.

"But there's still hope!" I began, "What materials will you need? I'll be happy to help out."

"Thank you so much for your hospitality Matthew, you're doing much more than anypony has the right to ask of you, you know. Unfortunately, I don't know for sure what materials I will need, yet." Twilight said.

"It's no problem," I said before remembering something, "Oh, I forgot to tell you! My old friend, Ted, I commissioned his help with your stay here. He says he can get all three of you authentic records, so if anyone ever gets suspicious, or if anyone of you gets sick or something and needs a hospital, you will look like perfectly normal humans."

This caught Twilight's full attention, "You what? Matthew, can you trust this person to hold our secret?" she questioned, much to my offense.

"I have known Ted Kimell ever since I was born. Our fathers were friends before us, and when we were born, we started out as friends. He would never even think about betraying me, no matter what I might be going through. He has done nothing but try to stick by my side", I said sternly, "Even when I was pushing him away." Twilight seemed to understand how much I trusted my friend, and questioned my judgment no further.

"Thank you Matthew, for everything." Twilight said before going upstairs to her room to sleep. I made my way upstairs soon after, making sure not to wake up Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash. Both of which were sleeping soundly.

Eventually I climbed into bed, unable to fall asleep despite how tired I may have been. I was trying to process everything that happened today. After a few long moments, I drifted off into the dark comforts of rest and sleep.

-------------------------------------------------

Comments

[Snowstreak]

Zat vas... DA MAGICS.

[Remember the porter]

Hey great story so far
loved the fact that you're actively dealing with the fact that twilight and the others aren't legal citizens
I haven't seen that in other ponies on earth stories

[Tarquillaman3285]

Be wary, for I am about to quote the famous words of some obscure fat person: 'MOAR!!! I WANT MOAR!!!'

[CannedIce]

Pretty good chapter. I really wish Rainbow Dash would have "Feelings" for Matt. But, are you up to the task of relationship writing?

[Aburi]

This chapter does seem much smoother compared to the previous ones. I only noticed one thing, and it's likely due to my own recent research: "Cast" is an irregular verb, spelled the same for all tenses.

Your version of Pinkie is also developing nicely. She's far more philosophical than the canon version, but I find a thoughtful version to be a nice change. Rainbow and Twilight haven't gotten much screen time yet, and I look forward to seeing how you work with them!

[the other sans]

Well... Time for future you to feel my pickiness today...

I no time at all
If you don't just spit it out and you haven't actually eaten any meat
"No, I'm sorry".
"Um.... No, sorry if I made you angry",
"I'm not angry, I'm disappointed",
Thank you, for letting me see that Matthew",
"Hey, what are friends for? I only hope Rainbow sees that soon enough",
"Oh, I just took a random novel from your collection, if that's okay with you",
"It's fine by me, I meant which book",
"Yes, it's a very good book",
"Dinner is ready! Rainbow, come down please",
"I hope you're okay with steamed vegetables",
"Yeah, I'll be right back",
extremely long distance in a very short time",
Which means that, theoretically, it's.
"What happened is that we may have an idea on how we came here",
"Yes, that point is perfectly clear to me",
took us to get new clothes",
"Um yes, yes I can",
"From what I can tell",
"But",
then I can make it take us back",
but I do not possess unlimited power",
what materials I will need, yet",
He has done nothing but try to stick by my side",
"Even when I was pushing him away".
"Thank you Matthew, for everything",

1. In.
2. Forgot your comma in the middle.
3-14. Check the end of each sentence.
15. It should be It Is.
16-27. Check the ends as well.

[TheEngineer]

904399
I will be completely honest with you , I have been thinking about that for a while. I guess thats up to me to decide though, and up to you to read up through... Damn! I wish there was a Zecora face I could use!
904340
Thanks for noticing. I knew from the beginning that I was doing a story that has been done over and over again, I myself am almost sick of reading Ponies in Earth (PiE!) stories. So I have been actively trying my best to make it my own and revitalize the potential this subcategory of fim has. For example, I scraped the idea that Twilight is always the pony that was doing some massive and high-risk experiment when something goes wrong and her and her friends get transported to Earth somehow, Twilight deserves better than that because I see her as a whole lot more cautious and skilled to keep making those errors through hundreds of stories. I also focused on some issues that really were never addressed before (again, thanks for noticing) and I'm planning on much more drama. Keep on reading
905866
What the BUCK? I'll have to look into that.

[CannedIce]

Alright. Don't give me an answer... I WILL STAND, STONEWALL JACKSON SHALL WAIT FOR HIS RELATIONSHIP INSTALLMENT! HIIIIYAAA!

[TheEngineer]

908724
No, Scootaloo has a scooter-thingy. I have yet to see a pony that rides on a skateboard that isn't fan made artcheezburger.com/5364477440