1 - Cinderella
Cinderella
20180212
The squat, rounded vessel closed rapidly, beams of incandescent green death cleaving space before it.
“Hey, Future, what's happening?”
Shit, ofc he PMs me now. If I answer, I die, if I wait he's gonna get pissed. Quick, quick, quick!
Hitting evasive maneuvers, my ship lurches forward, spewing out brilliant blue beams of its own in response. I'm angling right, trying to find the happy medium of firing arc from both my fore and aft arrays, while getting myself out of line of the enemy vessel's biggest guns as quickly as possible. It banks left, trying to follow my movement, but it's too slow, and I'm behind it.
Just as my evasive speed burst dies, I spin hard left, putting myself squarely to it's rear, and drop throttle to stay there, opening up with a full FAW-spam broadside; fore and aft tetryon beam arrays rend space-time apart, taking the hapless Orion vessel with it.
“Are you ignoring me, or what, Future?”
“Hey Lobes, no. I was killing Orions.”
“Oh. Are you busy? I wanted to do some queues. We need flarks.”
“Yeah sure, red alert's first?”
“Yes ma'am. Is Girl gonna snatch you away? Do you have time?”
I give my plushie a kiss on the top of her head, and hug her a little tighter. “Don't worry about her, she's snuggled up with me. Reading and poking her head up long enough to watch the action now and then. She says 'hi,' by the way.”
“Hi, Girl,” he replies. I give her another kiss and nuzzle her mane. “Are you ready, or do you need a minute?”
“We're good,” I say, and a moment later the queue acceptance window pops up with its annoying whistle sound effect. A few moment later, my tets are shredding Borg, instead of Orions. Then it's Tholians, then it's a giant Crystalline life form.
There's a bit of variety, here and there, poking holes in Elachi with my Tr-116, and freezing squads of turtle-heads and Breen to save Federation Colonists and important data, and then...
“Holy shit, when did it become 2 am?”
“Are you gonna call it a night?”
“Yeah,” I reply. “Girl is giving me the signal,” I say as I adjust my plush, and give her another kiss.
“Ok. Thanks for tonight, Future, it was fun. And say thanks to Girl for letting me borrow you.”
“No problem, I had fun too, and she says 'you're welcome.'”
“Night Future.”
“Night, Lobes,” I say before quickly logging out. I stand, setting Twiplush gently among my blankets, then go brush my teeth, and take a shower. The room falls into sudden shadow, and I settle into my cold bed, snuggling and kissing her soft, minky coat.
“Good night, Twilight. I love you.”
_______________________
“Hey Lobes.”
“Hiya, Future, glad to see you on tonight.”
“Thanks, man.”
“Is Girl around?”
“Yep, she's right here with me, as usual.”
“So, when is she going to make an account and join us?”
“Dunno, but I wish she would! She's not much of a gamer, though. Prefers to watch, and read.”
“Well, hi, Girl. It'd be great to have both of you in here, but you're a princess for letting us borrow your girlfriend for a few hours.”
I kiss her little, minky horn and grin. “She's just laughing.”
“Good!
“So, what are we killing tonight? Same as always?”
“Yep!” and away we go. But this time I'm a bit more aware of the time – it's a weeknight, after all – and log around midnight.
After my usual hygiene routine, Twiplush and I again crawl into bed together. We snuggle, and the last things I remember as sleep claims me are the feeling of my face buried in her fluffy chest, and her plush wings wrapped around my head.
_____________________
“Wake up.”
“..mmmrgh m.”
“Wake up, love.”
A tickling on my face, like strands of long hair brushing against it. The feeling of being kissed. My eyes snap open.
“Gentian! Good morning!” I sit bolt upright, and stare open-mouthed. She's dark in the shade of my room, and darker still in silhouette, but her shape is unmistakable against the orange glow through my curtains. But how? It can't be!
“T-Twilight?”
“Yes!” she whispers happily, doing a little half-jump off her forehooves. “I know it's still dark out, but it's technically morning here, isn't it? Oh, I'm not too early, am I? I finally got enough magical energy stored up to initiate contact, and I just couldn't wait!”
“W..w...how...”
“It's a subject that requires a more in-depth explanation than I can give now, and...well, don't take it the wrong way, Gentian, but, you wouldn't understand it. Basically, I need more magic than I can usually handle to project an eidolon capable of physical interaction into this world, so I charged up a capacitor.”
That actually sort of made sense. “...So you're not really here?”
“I am here, just not physically. Not yet.
My heart skips a beat. “Not yet?”
“Well, no. If I were I wouldn't need to project an eidolon.”
“That's not really what I meant...are you coming here?”
“MM-hmm!” she says with a smile. “Maybe. I mean...wow, you're taking this well. Are you feeling ok?”
She's right, I think, I am taking this...much differently than I always imagined.
“Hold still, love,” she continues without a pause. Her translucent horn glows with a spectral violet light, and a strange feeling passes over me, like walking through spiderwebs.
“What was that?”
“Just making sure you're not sick, or hurt or possessed or anything like that.”
“Oh. Ok.
“So, you're coming here?”
“Maybe. I have to charge up a lot more energy to open a physical portal...and after all that effort I was kind of hoping...well, I don't want to say too much, too soon. I'm almost out of energy, so...just...I'll be back soon, and...I love you, too,” and with a smile, she faded from my room.
What the fuck is going on?
_______________________
“The fountains are not for recreation...”
“...re an environmental hazard and will be confiscated by security...”
“...raktajino...”
“Future! Hey!” The chirping ring of the PM notification cut through Earth Space Dock's background chatter.
“Hi Lobes. It's been a while, hunh?”
“Totes. I was starting to think you'd quit playing.”
“Nah, I've been away for a while, is all. Something happened. Something you wouldn't believe.”
“Like what?”
“Its' about girl. I found some things out about her.”
“Bad things?”
“No, amazing things. Things I can't really talk about, and you wouldn't believe them anyway.”
“I might. Why can't you tell me?”
“Remember how I used to joke about how poor we are here? We're not poor. Not anymore. Let's just say some of the things involved are...titles, heraldry, stuff like that.”
“Legit?”
“Yeah. I can't say anymore. Look, I haven't quit yet, but I probably won't play much longer. Girl and I are finally doing what we said and moving out of here. We're going to her country, and I probably won't be coming back.”
“You can't play there?”
“Not really, no. But look, on the way, we might be stopping in Winnepeg. You said before you wanted to meet up.”
“Yeah!”
“So, let's do it. It'll probably be our only chance.”
“Ok,” came the purple text in reply. “When will you be coming?”
__________________
The bright flash, and mild vertigo of a teleportation spell gave way to the warm, dusty scent of woods, and laundromat exhaust air. Birds tweeted in the trees behind us, and motes of lint floated down from the vents on the back wall of the building we'd decided to appear behind. Flawless execution, as expected.
Twilight stepped closer to the wall and watched me look around the corner. “Is he there?”
“I think so. It's hard to tell, there are more people here than I thought.” I walked back, and gave her a kiss on her lips. “I'll go check, and see if it's him or not.” I pause and give her a once-over.
“Are you sure you shouldn't just use a glamor and appear as human?”
“He wouldn't believe anything else if I did that. We didn't use one for any of the other friends you wanted to say goodbye to.”
“Yeah, but, like I said, he doesn't really believe in ponies,” I said, realizing the stupidity of it only as soon as the words left my mouth.
“Yeah,” she began. “I'm sure the others were totally convinced before they actually met me.”
“But he might not follow me. I want you to meet him, and you can't if you stay here, if he doesn't. And you can't follow out in the open looking like that.”
“Just go and try. He's a stalli-a man, and you're a woman; he'll follow. And if he doesn't, we'll use a glamor.”
“Ok,” I said kissing her again, and patting myself down to make sure my Smith and Wesson was still as invisible as it should be. “Be back in a minute, love.”
The man in question catches sight of me as I round the building. He looks a little unsure, but he's dressed as he said he would be, and so am I. I also look like he expects me to, something that would have been very far from the case just a few weeks ago. My, how things change, I smile, remembering when Twilight used her magic to make one of my longest-held dreams a reality. My smile grows, and my hips sway a little more as I stride through the parking lot. This body certainly feels different, and in all the right ways.
“Gentian?”
“Hey Lobes. We meet at last,” I say, tossing a bit of golden hair from my face and giving him my winningest smile.
“Yeah!” he says, looking me up and down. He lingered on my tits, I realized. What the heck? I don't mind, but they're just A cups...and I was never that obvious about it, was I? “I thought both of you would be coming. You two seemed so happy, I wanted to see who could have won your heart.”
“Awww, you flatterer. We both came, she's just back behind the strip. Wanna meet her?”
“Ummm...” his voice draws out. “Yeah, for sure,” he finally answers with a shrug and a laugh. “Why is she back there?”
“She's - ” I frown “ - Got her own ways. You'll understand when you see her. C'mon,” I say, leading him back the way I'd come.
I can feel his eyes on me as we walk. Not threateningly, or thirstily, but in appreciation for what he sees. It's still a new feeling for me, and I like it.
A few more steps, and the crunch of my Red Wing 953s on pebbles and asphalt changes to the softer crush of grass and sand.
“Ok, now, girl's probably not what you were expecting. But will you promise to be nice?”
“What? Yes, of course I'll be nice! Where is she?”
“I mean it. You'll be surprised, do you promise to stay put and chill?”
“Ummm...” he says, looking a little nervous for the first time. “I guess.”
“Ok. Let's yank off this band-aid fast.”
“I can come out now?” Twilight's voice sounds from between the pile of fork lift pallets and milk-crates behind him.
He turns with a smile on his face. “You must be Gir...” and freezes in place.
“You promised," I remind.
“Yes! Hello, human! I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle. Gentian's told me all about you. I've looked forward to meeting one of her oldest internet-friends in person. I'm so happy to finally meet you!”
“...”
“I understand I'm not what you were expecting, but...”
“Holy shit, a talking horse!”
“Hey!” I chide. “Be nice. It's rude to call ponies horses. It'd be like calling a human a monkey.”
He looks back and forth between us a few times. “Holy shit, a talking pony?” He finally corrects himself. Twilight and I break into laughter.
“Yeah. Now you see why she couldn't walk out to the parking lot to meet you.”
“With a horn, and wings and everything.” His voice takes on a note of awe. “But how...”
“Magic. Let it go at that.”
Silently, he nods to himself. “Yeah. ok. That's probably a good idea.”
“So, like, the My Little Pony stuff, that's all real? You're Gentian's...can I say girlfriend?”
“Mm-hmm,” she answers.
“That's my girlfriend. Marefriend, whichever. And her Equestria isn't exactly like the one in the show, but you can think of it like that if it helps.”
“And you're moving there with her?”
“Mm-hmm!” I reply cheerily.
“And that's why you can't play STO anymore? No internet in ponyland, or something?”
“Equestria. And yeah, that's kind of the problem. It's not just another country, but a whole other dimension. Lots of them, in fact.
“Also, it's nice to see STO is still your first thought on learning all this. I'm sure Craptic would be proud.”
“Maybe. They might finally give us a T6 Ambassador Class out of gratitude.”
“If they did, ofc I'd miss it!
“Look, we're going to leave Earth soon. I don't know if I'll ever come back. Probably not in your lifetime, if I do.” He raises his brows in consideration.
“We wanted to meet you, and say goodbye, and all that. You were a friend for a long time and I didn't want to just disappear.”
“This is for you,” Twilight said, levitating a modestly-sized, intricately wrapped package over to him.
“We brought some Apple-family Cider, some fresh bread and treats from Sugar Cube Corner, and a jar of zapapple jam.”
“A box for each of her friends here on Earth, as a farewell present.”
“The others all seemed happy with their presents. I hope you will be, too. That's all stuff from Equestria. Watch the show, and you'll see. It's the most exotic fare you'll ever have, and the most familiar at the same time.”
“Thank you.”
“We'll be going now. Thanks for coming out to meet us.”
“Wait! Already? Can't you stay a little longer?”
“I'm afraid not. Something about storage capacity versus time of the capacitor, or something,” I say. “I don't really understand it. But the sooner we go, the better the journey.”
“Take care, Lobes,” says Twilight, using our old in-game nickname for his Ferengi character. “and remember us.”
“As if I could forget,” he says, setting the package on a milk crate.
“Bye Lobes.” I say with a hug.
“Bye Gentian. Take care of her, Princess Twilight.”
“Always, and forever.” Twilight's horn erupts in purple fire, brilliant even in the sunlight, and a rift opens there, in the lint-filled air behind a laundromat in a nameless Canadian strip-mall. Together we step through, wing-in-hand from Earth, to the soft, springy grass of Ponyville. Together we turn, and wave goodbye, and the rift winks out of existence.