> Dean's Real Life > by Moon_Skritch > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1: Welcome Home Party > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1 Welcome Home Party ________________________________________________________________________________ “It is good to be home…” I say as we all walk through the forest back to Ponyville. I look at Pinkie Pie and she smiles at me and nuzzles me. “I’m glad we are back home too Dean.” She says. I look back at Alex, who is smiling with Rainbow Dash, he is back to his old self again, dark blue coat, yellow and blue spiked mane, plus wings. I then look at Max, he has a medium brown coat, and silver with a tint of teal mane that is quite windswept, no wings or anything, he is just a normal earth pony, he looks rather familiar though. Have we seen somepony that looks like him before? I’m not really sure. We come up to the town finally, and all is peaceful. The other ponies in town mind their own business as we enter, though some wave at us and we wave back. Just then we hear a voice call out to us, actually to one of us, but we don’t understand the name she calls out. “Hey Mantalist! Where have you been?” We all look at each other, not really sure if she was calling to us or somepony around us. The mare in question is a Alicorn with a long red mane with a light gray coat. She runs past me and into Max, pulling him into a hug. It's rather odd seeing another Alicorn other than Celestia or Luna. “Um, do I know you?” Max asks the Alicorn She just giggles and says, “Oh come on Mantalist, it’s me, Red Velvet!” Red Velvet, and Mantalist, those two names are very familiar, if only I can remember. Red Velvet continues to hug Max, “It was so strange, you and I were together at the park, talking about what I have missed since I changed into that... changeling thing… and then you just disappeared out of thin air…” she says. Changeling, now where have I heard that before… wait, is this… I remember now, It’s Chrysalis’ true form, without all the hatred and sadness, and Max is that one stallion that walked up and noticed her, Mantalist. So that means Max was here when we were, but how come he doesn’t remember? “I missed you Mantalist.” She says and kisses Max. “What happened?” Max asked confused, like he just woke up from something. He looks over at us, then at Red Velvet. “So it wasn’t all a dream… And I am not dreaming now…” he says. “No Mantalist, you aren’t dreaming…” Red Velvet giggles, and kisses his nose. He looks at us, “Wait, so that means you two were here too, when I was?” Max says, or I should say Mantalist now, since that’s what Velvet keeps calling him. Alex and I nod, “Wait, if you were here when we were. How did you know Red Velvet before she transformed into Chrysalis? It had to be quite a while when she was a Changeling.” “About a year or so ago… I must have been asleep before you two were and I guess time is different here than on earth… I met Red Velvet a week or so before she transformed, she was so sad, I tried to help her, but she was already gone, when she transformed I tried to help by talking to her, but nothing helped she flew off toward Canterlot, we were in Manehattan beforehand. I went to Canterlot following her, and I got there when you guys showed up, I saw her transform back into her normal self and that’s when I walked up. After that me and her kind of hooked up, other ponies thought it was strange, an earth pony with an Alicorn, but it works.” He explains, then gives her a hug. We all smile as Red Velvet nuzzles him, I guess it can work, nothing is impossible. “OH! I HAVE AN IDEA!” Pinkie yells loudly making us all jump, except me, since I am used to it, I would think that the others would be too, guess not. “We should have a welcome home party!” she says and bounces gleefully. “Great Idea Pi-” Twilight says, but Pinkie's already zoomed off toward Sugarcube Corner to get ready. Twilight sighs and smiles. Not a split second later she's back and grabs me, “C'mon Dean!” She says, and we zoom back. When we get to the door, I stand there dazed for a moment, I don't think I've ever been moved that fast before, “Whoa... what a rush...” I say. Pinkie just giggles, “You'll get used to it.” she says. I shake my head swiftly to shake off the dazed feeling and follow her in. We walk inside Sugarcube corner, the smell of cooking pastries enter my nose, a smell I have not smelled in a while. Mr. and Mrs. Cake appear from the kitchen, “Dean, so good to see you again! We were worried about you.” Mrs. Cake says. “It's a long story...” I say with a chuckle. I turn to Pinkie, “So what do you want to do first to set up the party?” I ask. “Party?” Mrs. Cake asks. “Haven't had one of those in a while...” “It's a 'Welcome Home' party for Dean, Alex, and Max!” Pinkie says, she seems to be more hyper then when I first met her, I smile at her, she is so caring for her friends. “C'mon Dean, let's get the balloons and stuff!” Pinkie says. I follow her down the hall, she starts bouncing up and down all the way. “Uh Pinkie, wouldn’t your bouncing upset the foal?” I ask, I then realize, she is Pinkie Pie, you can't explain her, which is why she is so awesome. “What Dean?” She asks, she must not have heard me. “Never mind, I’m just thinking out loud.” I say and smile. “Okie Dokie Loki!” she says and smiles back. We begin to take stuff out of the closet, balloons, which are already filled with helium, streamers, party hats, and other party decorations. The last thing Pinkie takes out is this strange little cannon, “Pinkie, what is that for?” I ask, a bit worried. “It’s my Party Cannon! Watch!” she says, and pushes the cart to a nearby table, she pulls the string on it and a bunch of confetti and streamers fly out of it and the table is immediately ready for a party. “Pinkie how come you never showed me this stuff before? These are really cool gadgets!” I say. “I dunno, I guess I never had the chance, we were always busy doing something or going on an adventure.” She says. “Still that is pretty awesome.” I say, walking up to her. I put my hooves around her and pull her into a hug, “Just like you.” I say. She nuzzles me and says, “This is why I love you Dean, you are sweet, like icing on a cupcake.” she then kisses me, the taste of sugar cookies is still there, which still fascinates me of how she can keep that up, then I realize once more, she's Pinkie. I notice the wedding bangle on my hoof, which makes me smile, “I'm glad I met you Pinkie, you are the best thing to ever come into my life.” I say. She hugs me a bit tighter, “I'm glad too Dean.” she whispers into my ear. “I love you Pinkie Pie.” I say. “I love you too Dean.” she whispers. We sit there holding each other, in silence, enjoying the moment when we hear a ding sound from the kitchen, which makes us jump. we pull away from each other and smile. We get up from the floor and next thing I know I am in a lip-lock with Pinkie, I smile and kiss her sugary tasted lips back. She pulls away and says “Come on Dean, let's get the rest of the stuff set up.” I nod and we start decorating Sugarcube Corner. I help her by hanging the high streamers and the banner that says “Welcome Home!” on it. After about an hour of decorating Pinkie says, “We are done!” I look around the room: Assorted treats and snacks on party decorated tables, random balloons hanging on random things, streamers lining the walls, confetti scattered on the floor to make it look more party like. “This party is going to be amazing, I know it.” I say nuzzling into Pinkie, “And it's all thanks to you Pinkie.” I smile. Just then the door to the shop opens and in comes the others, “Whoa you two did a great job decorating!” Twilight says. “Thanks Twilight!” Pinkie says, I smile and nod at Twilight. “So shall we get this Party started?” I say. We all smile and Pinkie hops over to the Victrola in the room and puts a record on, upbeat music plays and we all dance around. The party continues on, and everyone is having a great time, laughing, dancing, and snacking on the sweets. This has to be one of the best parties Pinkie has thrown, the best one I have gone to was the one where I asked her to marry me. I notice as the music changes to a slower beat, more of a romantic sounding song. I watch as Alex and Rainbow get up and slow dance, Max and Red Velvet follow suit and dance together also. The others stand to the side, to take a break. I feel a tap on my side, already knowing who it is, I turn to Pinkie. “Um, wanna dance?” I ask her sticking out my hoof. She smiles and takes my hoof, we start to softly dance in each others hooves, I could have sworn the lights dimmed in the room but I am not sure, I was too busy paying attention to my wife. It seemed as if we were the only ones in the room, in our own world, its amazing. After about three minutes, or three years, at least it felt that way, the music ended. Pinkie and I let go of each other, I smile at her and she smiles back with that adorable smile she has. I look out the window to see the sun has gone down, time sure does fly when you are having fun at a Pinkie Pie party. I then look over to Alex, whom is sitting at one of the tables chatting with Rainbow Dash, not sure what but they have a smile on their face. I then look over to Max/Mantalist and Red Velvet, who are still dancing, its amazing they aren't tired yet. Another hour goes by and everyone is pretty much exhausted and they decide to head home, we say goodnight to everypony, I do the normal 'brohoof' with Alex and Max. What a party that was, one of the best ones, wait I said that already, oh well it still was pretty awesome. I let out a yawn, wow partying sure takes a lot of energy. “I'm tired too Dean, c'mon let's head to bed.” Pinkie suggests with a yawn. We tell the Cakes good night and we head up the stairs to Pinkie's room, “Hang on, I'm gonna go take a shower.” I say and head off to the bathroom. I turn on the water and hop in, I mainly just wanted to come in here to feel the water hit my coat again. it's a different feeling than when you are a human, it's more relaxing. I stand there for a few moments just letting the water hit my coat. After a few minutes go by, I get out and dry myself off with one of the towels. I wipe the mirror with the towel and I see my pony self, black short mane, light brown coat, black tail... I am so glad it wasn't a dream, otherwise I probably would've went into a depression, let's not think of that now, I am here and I am happy. I hang the towel up on the rack and quietly walk to Pinkie's room, I don't wish to wake anypony up, especially the Cakes' foals, that would be bad. I slowly open Pinkies door and I tiphoof over to the bed, I guess you would call it that since we don't have toes. I climb under the covers slowly so I do not wake Pinkie, I get comfortable and close my eyes to let sleep take me over. I am just about to fall asleep when I feel Pinkie shift closer to me, she puts her hoof around me and snuggles into me, I hear her whisper “I love you Dean.” I turn over to face her, she gives me a kiss on the lips, “I love you too Pinkie, with all my heart.” I say and I put my hooves around her pulling her closer. We hold each other til sleep takes us away. [end of chapter one] > Chapter 2: Time Away > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edited by: Listener Chapter 2 Time Away ____________________________________________________________________________________________ I awoke to the horrid sounds of retching, and immediately I open my eyes and throw the covers off of me. I get off the bed and gallop down the hall to the bathroom. I open the door to see Pinkie next to the toilet, looking really sick. I dare not look in the toilet. “Pinkie? Are you alright?” I ask really worried about her as she is usually never sick. “Yeah, I’m okay. It’s what happens when you have a foal in your tummy.” She says with a slight smile. I cannot believe I forgot about the foal. I mentally facehoof myself for forgetting about that. “Why weren’t you sick like this on earth?” I ask while sitting down next to her. “Maybe it wasn’t in that stage yet, or perhaps because it was a different world and it doesn’t work there like it does here...” She says with a shrug. “Well what’s good is that the foal is okay and you are okay.” I put my hoof on hers and smile. “And if you need anything, I will be here to help.” “Thanks Dean, I am really happy that you accidentally came to this world, otherwise I would have never met such a nice pony like yourself.” She says and I blush a bit. She leans in and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “I love you Dean.” We sit there a moment, just to make sure if she is over the morning sickness. Just then we hear a voice come from below, “Pinkie, Twilight and her friends are here to speak to you!” We look at each other and get up. I help her up and we trot down the hall, and down the stairs. Everyone is standing there, including Alex, Max, who likes to be called Mantalist now, and Red Velvet. I still can’t understand Red Velvet that much, I mean I thought only Princesses were Alicorns, I guess there was some mess up or something. Now is not the time to ask either. “What’s up guys?” Pinkie asks. “I just got back from Canterlot and Princess Celestia needs our help to restore the Crystal Empire back to its old self. I can explain more on the way.” Twilight says. “Sure! I’ll come!” “But Pinkie, what about the foal?” I ask, but then I feel dumb for saying it. I keep forgetting she is Pinkie Pie, she can do anything. “Oh don’t worry about it Dean, I think the foal will be okay. Remember, I am Pinkie Pie!” She says and jumps in the air and stays for a moment, defying gravity. Everyone laughs, including me. She is so adorable when she is being silly. “So are we all going?” I ask Twilight. “Well, I don’t want you, Alex, Max, or Red Velvet to get hurt so I suggest you stay here.” Twilight says. Alex then speaks up, “What, you don’t think we can take care of ourselves?” he says. “It’s not that, I just don’t want anypony to get hurt…” Twilight looks down. Rainbow Dash turns to him and gives him a peck on the cheek. “Don’t worry about it, besides we don’t have to be at each other’s sides twenty-four-seven. "Don't worry about me Alex, just stay here with Dean, Mantalist, and Red Velvet." She kisses him on the lips and he sighs. "I love you Rainbow Dash." He says and gives her a hug. "I love you too Alex." She hugs him back. As they embrace I turn to Pinkie Pie and put my hooves around her pulling her into a hug. "I will miss you Pinkie." She hugs me back and says, "I will miss you too Dean." She gives me a long kiss. She then pulls away and looks into my eyes, "I love you."She smiles and hugs me once more. "I love you too Pinkie." I say and let go of the pink mare. She then gets up and bounces over to her friends. “Hey guys you can come with us to the train station if you want.” Twilight says. Which makes me happier, a little more time with Pinkie will be great. We all nod and follow them. We follow them through town to the train station. I am really going to miss Pinkie Pie, it really sucks she has to go, even if it’s only for a week or two. I really wish I could go with her but… “Here we are.” Twilight says as we arrive at the station. I sigh. Pinkie looks at me “Don’t worry Dean, we will be back soon. I promise.” She says and hugs me again. I look over to Alex, who is hugging Rainbow Dash, it looks as if he is trying not to cry. I thought he was tougher than that, I guess Rainbow means a lot to him. Pinkie lets go of me and gives me another kiss before she follows her friends in the train. Rainbow finally is able to pull away from Alex, “Don’t worry Alex. I’m Rainbow Dash, I’ll be fine.” She says and gives him a quick kiss before heading into the train herself. I watch as the train pulls off. Pinkie pops her head out of one of the windows and waves to me, I wave back. Mantalist and Red Velvet smile at Alex, "Yeah dude, don't worry, she'll be back." Mantalist says. Alex gets up and smiles at us, "Thanks guys." We all smile back. "So what should we do until then?" I ask, cause I know that it will be a long week for all of us. I am already starting to miss Pinkie Pie. "I dunno." Alex says with a shrug. But the question was answered by a low grumbling sound resonating from his stomach. I chuckle a bit, "I guess that answers our question." I say. "C'mon maybe food will make you feel better Alex." It would make me feel better also. We make our way back to Sugar Cube Corner, maybe Mrs. Cake will let us have a muffin or something since we didn't get a chance to eat breakfast. Walking in we see customers buying some baked goods, with Mr. Cake is at the counter. He nods at us. I nod back. Mrs. Cake walks out of the kitchen, "Hello Dean." She says. "Hey Mrs. Cake, um... I was wondering, since we didn't get a chance to eat breakfast can we..." I say, but Mrs. Cake stops me and holds up her hoof. "Don't worry, you can have some pastries!" She says, "In fact! Hold on." She trots back into the kitchen. A minute or two goes by and she walks back out with a plate of assorted muffins on a cart. "Should this be good for you four?" She smiles. There is a dozen muffins on it. I reach into my saddlebag to give her some bits, because that is a lot of muffins. “Oh no, don’t worry about that. It’s on the house.” She says. “Thanks Mrs. Cake!” I say. We move over to a table and Mrs. Cake puts the muffins on the table. They look really yummy. Alex is practically drooling as he stares at them. Alex is the first to take a muffin and scarfs it down. I guess he was hungry. I grab a muffin and take a bite, Red Velvet, and Mantalist follow suit. The muffins are really good, better than any that are made on Earth. I swallow the bite in my mouth and say, “These are amazing Mrs. Cake!” “Why thank you dear!” She says and smiles. We finish the muffins and Mrs. Cake takes the tray to the kitchen to wash it. We sit there a moment to let the muffins digest. “So what do you guys want to do now?” I say. “No idea… I still wish we could’ve gone with them…” Alex says with a sigh. “Yeah… I do too… I’m sure they will be okay there.” “I hope so.” “Don’t worry guys. They are the Elements of Harmony after all. They have taken down Nightmare Moon and made her back into Luna. They stopped Discord and turned him into stone. They even helped you defeat a huge Fire Demon that destroyed Ponyville and helped you restore it. I think they can take care of whatever is going on in the Crystal Empire easily.” Red Velvet explains. I look to her, she is right. They have taken on so much, this should be nothing for them. “Y’know, you are right. They are pretty tough.” “Then there was me… when I was Queen of the Changelings, but they didn’t have anything to do with that, Cadence and Shining Armor did... I’m glad I am out of that shell, and back in Mantalist’s hooves.” She says. Mantalist smiles and hugs her, she hugs him back. We smile at them as they hug. It’s really cool how an Alicorn and a normal Earth Pony can love each other. I guess that’s love for you. “Hey Red Velvet, I’ve had this question on my mind for quite some time… but what are you a princess of? I know this is a random question. It’s just I’ve wondered what made you an alicorn.” “Oh, that story… It’s kind of long and I have never told anypony, not even Mantalist here.” She says looking at him. “Y’know I’ve always wanted to know that too. I mean you are an alicorn, but not a princess. I thought only princesses were supposed to be alicorns.” He says. “You are right. But I’m the only exception… and it’s a bit difficult to explain.” She says. “It’s okay Red Velvet.” Mantalist nuzzles her. “You don’t have to explain if you don’t want to. We understand that it’s a difficult subject.” “It’s not that. It’s just… I’m afraid of the fact you might not understand.” “Oh don’t worry about that. I’m sure it’s not that hard.” I say. This is really interesting. I really want to learn more about her. “Alright… here goes.” She begins. Well I was a unicorn at the time and to be honest I wasn’t all that great with magic. I really wanted to make my power stronger and so I started researching different books about magic in the library. All I got were books about the basics, nothing what I wanted. One day where I just finished another book of basic magic, hoping that it would increase my abilities. It did, but not what I really wanted. I guess you can say I was power hungry. Anyway, I was walking in the outskirts of Canterlot to take a breather from studying. I don’t know what drove me to go up the mountain a ways but I did. In the mountain I found a cave, an odd looking cave, but not dangerous. My curiosity took over and I went inside. I lit up my horn so I could see where I was going and not trip. The light from my horn allowed me to see strange markings lining the walls. I couldn't quite read them because they were worn away due to time. I continued through the cave and I saw another light coming from the tunnel. I dimmed my horn and went to the light. The cave led me to a room where a lectern stood and a tall candelabrum stood lighting the room. It must have been enchanted cause it looks like it hadn't been used in a while. I looked at the lectern. A large book was on it, the cover had some symbol I had never seen before. I wiped some of the dust off the cover with my hoof to reveal words. "Forbidden knowledge". That was it. Curiosity struck me once more and I opened the book. Most of pages were tattered and unreadable. I continued flipping through the book and I came across a page that was legible, and the title said "Increase your power". I was so excited. I skimmed over the page, the spell seemed easy enough, so I gave it a shot. What happened next changed my life. I felt my body changing, I got larger. Taller. My back started to tingle and wings shot out of them. I looked at my back and screamed. I couldn't believe it... I just changed to an Alicorn. I didn't want that, I just wanted to enhance my abilities. My magic was stronger though, but it was too much for me. I fell down on the rock floor and passed out. I was awoken later by a touch to my side. I looked up and saw Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stand there. I immediately freaked out and stood up. I started apologizing, but it came out as frantic yelling. Celestia held up her hoof to silence me and I shut up real quick. She asked me who I was and I told her. She looked at me oddly and asked me how I became a princess, cause she has never seen me before. I explained to her everything that just happened and she looked past me at the book. I told her I just wanted to enhance my magic so I could do more than just be a wimpy unicorn. Celestia then lifted the book with her magic and made it disappear. I asked where she put it and she told me she put it in a safe place where nopony else will ever find it. She then escorted me out of the cave and told me there was nothing she could do to change me back, so I was stuck that way for the rest of my life. We headed back to Canterlot and everypony just stared at me. Over time my friends left me and I had nopony to be my friend. Everypony hated me because I cheated the system. Some said I should've been cast out. All this hate caused me to be cooped up in my home. I never left the house. All I wanted was to be loved. This is where I started to change again. I was in the park and Mantalist here walked up to me and asked if I was okay. I told him no, I wasn’t. I explained to him everything, and he accepted me for it, but I was too far gone to notice. I still had those feelings that everypony hated me. A week later I changed to that dreadful changeling creature. I remember Mantalist trying to calm me down but I just ran off. That was a year ago when I ran. That’s why I raided Canterlot. I just needed love. But now thanks to you. That shell has been broken and I am now myself again, except the fact I am still an alicorn but that’s okay, nopony really cares about that anymore. As long as I have Mantalist here, I will be okay. “Do you ever want to change back, if you could?” I ask. “Yes, I would love to be mortal, I don’t want to live past all my friends, you know how depressing that is? I have never experienced it, but I can pretty much figure out that it is really hard on you.” She sighs and looks down. “What about that book? Maybe we could go look at it again and see if it has a spell to reverse the effects.” “See that would be great and all, but it’s somewhere with Celestia, and I know she will not be willing to just let us read it.” “Still doesn’t hurt to ask and besides, I have an idea on how to make it work.” “What’s your idea?” “Well usually to reverse something you do it backwards. Maybe if you read the spell backwards it will reverse it.” Her eyes grow wide. "Dean, you're a genius! Why didn't I think of that?" She says, with a big grin on her face. "We should go see Celestia now. I really want to be normal again." I think for a moment. I do really want to help Red, but I don't want to get in trouble with Celestia. I sigh. Hopefully this doesn't turn out bad. "What time is it?" I ask and look around for a clock. "It's three fifty-two." Alex says. I nod my head. Do we even have time to get there and back before night? Ah well, it's okay we should have time to get to Canterlot and back. "Okay, if it's alright with everypony, we could go." I still chuckle at that word, everypony. Alex nods, "It's fine with me. It'll get my mind off of Rainbow for a while." He says. I don't need to ask Max, cause I am certain that he definitely wants to go. "Then we are off." I announce. Red Velvet is literally bouncing with joy. She runs up to me and pulls me into a hug, squeezing a little too tight. "Thank you Dean!" She says, squeezing a little tighter. "Can't...breathe..." I try to say. She heard me though, she lets me go. "Oh... sorry. I guess I don't know my own strength." She says. I cough a bit, and breathe once more. "It's no big. You're just excited is all. Let's go." We tell the Cakes we are going to Canterlot, so to let them know where we are. We head out to the train station and get our tickets. Some ponies sneer at Red Velvet. They must not be from around here, probably from Manehatten or Las Pegasus. Red is too excited to notice the others' stares. She is literally bouncing up and down. Max notices the ponies too. He just squints his eyes at them and he puts his hoof around her to guard her. We then hear the conductor yell "All aboard for Canterlot!" The whistle on the train blows. Thank Celestia, finally. I was worried that a fight was going to start. We board the train and get to the passenger car. Max and Red take an empty seat together and Alex and I take the seat behind them. I start to worry how this is all going to go down, hopefully it goes well though. [end of chapter 2] > Chapter 3: The Book > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edited by: Selkowitz Chapter 3 The Book _________________________________________________________________________________________ The train ride to Canterlot was like any other normal one: boring and bumpy. It would have been way better if Pinkie was with me, but she is at the Crystal Empire. I look over to Red Velvet, who is practically about to bounce around the whole car. She is so hyper right now to the point that not even Mantalist can calm her down. She squeals loudly. “I can’t wait to be a normal unicorn again!” She has said that like a gillion times now. “Calm down, Red Velvet. We aren’t even sure if Celestia will let us look at the book. Besides, I don’t even think we will get to see her. She is probably very busy,” Mantalist says. “Hush. Don’t kill my good mood. I haven’t been this happy in a long while,” She replies to Mantalist. I really hope we are able to change her back. I could never deal with that much stress from being an alicorn. All the stares and the talk behind my back. Not my thing. We finally reach our destination, and Red Velvet uses her magic and teleports out of the car. Mantalist just sighs and shakes his head. “What am I going to do with her?” he chuckles. I just shrug as we get off the train. There is one thing I do not like about Canterlot, and that is the snooty nobles. They remind me of the preps in school, except they actually hold their heads high like other ponies should kiss the ground they walk on. We see Velvet standing on the platform, being stared at by everypony. They just shake their heads at her. I sense, next to me, Mantalist getting upset. He calls out to her. “C’mon, Red, let’s go!” She hops over to us, almost like Pinkie does, but less boingy than hers. I hear Mantalist chuckle a bit next to me. “You are so adorable Red,” he says. She just smiles at him and hugs him. “We should go before it is too late,” I suggest. “Good idea,” Red replies. We start off toward the castle. I look behind us. “I think we have followers,” I say. The others glance behind us and see that random ponies are following. Most of them are nobles. Why they would care about us is beyond me. As we approach the gates, a guard stands there. “What business do you have with the Princess?” he asks, looking a bit nervous. It’s probably due to her appearance. Red Velvet steps forward. “As you have probably noticed, I am an Alicorn. I do not wish to be one, and we think we have found a way to change myself back into a normal unicorn. May we pass?” “I told you there is no way to fix it.” A voice sounds from above us. We all look up and see Princess Celestia flying above us. We move back a bit as she lands. “Yes, there is. Dean here has an idea,” Red says. Oh great… Now I have to explain. I am not good at this. The princess turns to me. “What is this idea you have?” “Well… uh…” I don’t like speaking when there are tons of other ponies around. I hate public speaking. I clear my throat. “My idea is, uh… well I know this doesn’t work on most things… but… uh… what if she read the spell… backwards?” Celestia stays silent for a moment. She looks over to Red Velvet then back to me. “Follow,” she says to us and starts walking back to the castle. Red happily trots behind her. Alex, Mantalist, and I follow suit. Worry begins to hit me. What if my idea is wrong? She will be stuck as an Alicorn forever. We follow Princess Celestia down the corridors of the castle. After minutes of walking, we come to this door. It looks rather plain. It’s just a simple wooden door. “It’s a plain wooden door,” Alex says, stating the obvious. I just facehoof and sigh. “Oh, it may look normal on the outside. Just wait,” Celestia says with a chuckle. Her horn glows, and the door changes its appearance. It has a golden frame, and the door is now silver, and there is no handle. The door opens, and a light shines from behind it. All of our mouths drop as we look inside to see a hall full of items on pedestals. I can’t even explain what they look like right now in words. “Now, follow me, but don’t touch anything. I mean it. You don’t know what this stuff could do to you,” she says sternly as she closes the door behind us. “What is all this stuff?” I ask, being my normal curious self. “These are magical items I have gathered over time. I keep them here so nopony can get near them and hurt themselves or others with it. Basically, it is storage for powerful magical items.” We all nod our head and keep close to the Princess. I look around at the items. They are the most fascinating pieces of equipment. After a bit of walking down the hall, we stop at another door. She lights her horn once more and the door opens, revealing a room with another lectern with the book on top of it. “Alright, Red, go ahead. We will wait out here.” Celestia says. “Aren’t you coming in with me?” Red asks. “No, something might backfire and hit us. Don’t worry we will be right here,” the princess reassures her and closes the door. We wait there for a good while. Mantalist is leaning against the door with a worried expression on his face. I wonder how he feels about all of this. “Hey, you okay?” I ask him. “Just worried is all. To be honest, I liked her Alicorn form, but whatever makes her happy makes me happy,” he smiles. Just then, the door starts to open. We all step back to see. The door opens all the way and there stands Red Velvet. Still an Alicorn… She just sighs and says, “I can’t do it...” “Why not?” we all said in unison. Even Celestia was concerned. “I need Mantalist with me.” “You do realize if he goes in there, you risk him getting hu-” Celestia begins to say but is cut off by Mantalist raising his hoof. “Don’t worry about it, Princess. I will go with her. She needs me,” he says and walks in with her. I look to Celestia, and she has this worried look on her face. I hope all goes well in there. Minutes go by and from under the door, we see a bright light shine. We then hear Red Velvet yell, “I AM A UNICORN AGAIN!” The door bursts open and a smaller version of the tall alicorn Red Velvet stumbles out. Mantalist walks out of the room and helps her up. Red pulls him into a hug. “Thank you so much Mantalist for being there for me. I love you so much.” She kisses him deeply on the lips and nuzzles him. “I love you too Red Velvet. I am glad you are back to your normal self,” though you can tell in his voice he isn’t. Red pulls away from him and looks at him. “What’s wrong, love?” Mantalist sighs and looks away. “I kind of liked your alicorn appearance. It’s what got me to like you in the first place. You looked out of place and looked like you needed a friend, so I came to you. I had no idea you were originally a unicorn. I mean, I love your unicorn form... it’s just...” He sighs. Red Velvet sits there for a moment. “I-I had no Idea... I wish you could have told me before I did it.” “I didn’t want to kill your happy mood. I want you to be happy. If you are happy I am happy.” She puts her hoof under his chin and brings his face to hers. “Do you want me to change back?” “No, you have waited so long for this. I don’t want you to do something for me just because I don’t like it. Over time, I will get used to it. I still love you like I did before, Red. It’s just gonna take me a while getting used to your new look.” Silence fills the air for a few moments. The book room door closes, breaking the silence. “Um... I think we should get back home, it’s getting late,” I suggest. Maybe some sleep will make them feel better about this. Celestia escorts us out of the hall and out the door. She then uses her magic, and the door returns to its normal boring look. We all thank her for her time and help. She nods, and we walk out. Making our way to the train station, Alex says, “I am hungry,” just out of the blue. I look at him and laugh. “Well, I am,” he chuckles. “I think we all are,” I say looking back to Mantalist and Red, who are both looking away from each other, looking really sad. “Yeah... I am a bit hungry,” Mantalist says. “I guess I am too,” Red adds. I sigh out loud. What am I going to do with them? “C’mon, guys, maybe some food will make you feel better.” “Okay,” Red sighs, still looking away from Mantalist. I look around on the street for some type of restaurant where we could eat. Perhaps some hay fries or something would do right now. I just want to eat and go home. I see a basic little fast food restaurant, even though I don’t really like fast food. I just don’t want to be hunting down a place to eat all night. “Let’s eat there,” I suggest. Alex takes off toward the place. Mantalist and Red just walk slowly behind us. Every now and then they look at each other. I really wish I could help them somehow, but I have no idea what to say to them. We walk in the restaurant. The clerk greets us and we order. Alex orders some sort of super-sized meal and gives the mare the bits needed. He always gets a lot of food, even when he was a human, yet he doesn’t gain any weight... I get an order of hay fries. I’m not really that hungry. I give her the bits and move out of the way to let Mantalist and Red Velvet order. “Just a salad,” Red says and puts the bits on the table, not looking up. “Red Velvet?” the clerk asks. She must be a friend of hers. She looks up at her. “It is you! What happened to your wings? Those things were really cool.” “Oh... um... I reversed the spell I used and it made me normal again...” “You don’t look too happy about it. I thought you wanted to change back. Now it seems like you don’t want to be one anymore.” “It’s just,” she started as she looks to her side to see that Mantalist is gone. She looks around and sees him at a table laying his head in his hooves. Alex is over there also, with his food. “Is that your coltfriend?” The clerk asks with a giggle. “The one laying his head down, yes. He isn’t too happy about the change.” “Aww why’s that?” “He apparently liked me as an alicorn more than this form. Well, he really didn’t have any idea that I was a unicorn to begin with. He thought I was an alicorn since when I was born or something.” One of the other workers comes around and hands me my fries. I walk over to the table with Mantalist and sit next to Alex. “You should just accept her for who she is, Mantalist. So what if she is a unicorn? She is still Red Velvet,” Alex says as I start to eat my fries. “Am I right, Dean?” I nod to Mantalist and say, “Yeah, dude, she is still her normal self, but just in a different body.” I then nudge him. “Now it should be easier to do things now that you two are the same height, if you know what I mean.” I chuckle a bit. Mantalist smiles and says, “You’re right.” “About what, the same size thing?” “Well, there’s that and also the fact that she is still Red Velvet. I don’t know why I got all upset about her changing into a unicorn. I just felt different about her. You know what... I will go make it up to her. There is no reason for me acting like this about one thing.” He then gets up and walks back over to her. Alex and I watch as he taps her on the shoulder. She half-smiles, and he pulls her into a hug. We can’t really hear what they are saying, but we know for sure it is good things. They pull away from each other and smile before kissing. Maybe now, everything will be better until the girls come back. Red and Mantalist come back over to us and sit down. “So, I see everything is okay now?” I ask, even though I know everything is good. “Yes, everything is just... perfect.” Red says and nuzzles into Mantalist, letting out a happy sigh. Mantalist nuzzles back, closing his eyes. I smile at them both. “That’s good. So are you gonna get some food?” I say as I eat my last hay fry. “Oh, it’s no problem. We aren’t that hungry right now. Besides we have food at home,” Red says. “Alright.” I look over to Alex, who is finishing off the last of his food. “You ready?” I ask him. He nods his head, and we all get up from the table. After cleaning up our area, we head out and make our way to the train station. As we walk, some of the nobles look over at us, remembering us from earlier. They notice that Red has changed, and the looks on their face were hilarious. In my opinion, at least, they looked as if they saw a ghost or something. Red notices them looking and she playfully sticks her tongue out at them. We all crack up at that. The nobles then go back to their snooty attitude and stick their noses at us. We hop on the train back to Ponyville and find our seats. I sit next to Alex while Red and Mantalist sit in front of us. I lean my head back and sigh. It has been a long day. I am then shaken awake by Alex. “C’mon dude, we are here,” he says. I nod my head and we get off the train. We say our goodbyes to one another and split off to our homes. I look to the sky to see Luna’s Moon up there. It’s so beautiful out here tonight. I wish Pinkie Pie was here. We could lie in the field or something and look at the night stars. I’ve always wanted to stargaze with someone, but no one ever wanted to go with me, so I just didn’t go at all. I open the door to Sugarcube Corner and walk inside. “Dean, you’re back!” Mrs. Cake says as she walks out of the kitchen. I smile at her. “So how did it go? Is Red Velvet back to her old self?” I nod my head. “Yeah, she’s a unicorn again. Anyway I’m going to head to bed, if that’s alright.” “It’s no problem. We are pretty much done for the day anyway. I’m just cleaning up the last bit of stuff.” “Okay. See you in the morning.” I say and make my way upstairs and to the bedroom Pinkie and I share. I climb under the covers and close my eyes. I realize how empty the bed is without Pinkie. I miss her so much right now. Finally, sleep overcomes me and I doze away... > Chapter 4: Pinkie? Pinkie? and... Pinkie? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edited By: Selkowitz Chapter 4 Pinkie? Pinkie? and... Pinkie? Today’s the day. Well… night, actually, since their train was a bit delayed. It’s a very nice night too. Alex does very well at his job. I bet he worked overtime today to make the skies nice like this so he could impress Rainbow Dash. To be honest, I think it would take a lot more than that to impress her. “Dude, I am so happy they are coming home!” Alex says as he bounces around me, giggling with joy. “You’re just happy cause you get to see Rainbow Dash again,” I say, sticking my tongue out at him. He just laughs and continues bouncing around, making this light ‘eeee’ sound. “You are so strange Alex, you know that?” “Yep! I sure am!” he giggles and puts on a goofy grin. I shake my head and chuckle to myself. “Hey guys, sorry we are late,” Mantalist’s familiar voice comes from behind us. We both look back to see our best friend and the not so alicorn Red Velvet. It’s so different to look at her now without her tall stature and wings. “It’s alright. The train has another ten to fifteen minutes before arriving,” I say. “I can’t wait!” Alex blurts out right next to me, almost in my ear. I shake my head swiftly. “Thanks, Alex. I didn’t need my hearing anyway…” I glance over at him and chuckle. He laughs back and asks Mantalist, “So, how have you two been since the change?” “It’s been great! She’s easier to hug now!” He glomps Red Velvet who giggles as he pounces her. “You are so silly, Mantalist,” she says, nuzzling into him. “Yep, and that’s why you love me.” He nuzzles her back, smiling. “That’s just one reason. You know the others,” she winks at him. He blushes and she kisses him on the cheek. We stand there and chat until we hear the train whistle. My chest warms and my heart is racing at the thought of seeing Pinkie once more. I look over at Alex who is bouncing with joy. The train comes to a halt, and the ponies exit the train. I look over the small crowd, and I don’t see any of them yet. I start to worry slightly, but then I hear my name called. I look over and see the pink party mare and the others wave. I feel my chest continue to get warmer as I trot over to them. Alex races ahead of me and runs right up to Rainbow Dash who opens her forehooves, ready for the attack hug. I then look in front of me to see nothing but pink tackle me. “Hiya Dean! How was everything while I was gone? Did anything amazingly super awesome happen? I really missed you! Did you miss m-” I silenced her with a kiss. “What does that tell you?” I say after the kiss. She smiles and kisses me again. “Red Velvet… How... how are you not an alicorn anymore?” Pinkie and I look up to see Twilight looking at Red Velvet with confusion. “Oh it’s a long story,” she giggled. “I’ll explain later.” “Alright then. We should probably get home. It’s late.” I let out a yawn, which makes everypony else yawn. I chuckle and nod my head. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.” It’s been a few weeks since the Elements of Harmony returned from their trip to the Crystal Empire. Pinkie told me everything that happened there. She even showed this weird horn which had an odd sound when she blew into it. She called it a “Flugelhorn”. The name sounded familiar, but the look of the horn was different than the one on earth. I am glad that she and the baby are alright though. She was more along in her pregnancy now, her belly was more plump. She is also eating a lot of weird food too. So odd that I can’t even explain it. It’s been two months since that day where it all started. It’s gonna be a long process, but we will manage. More days pass and I start seeing Pinkie less and less. The only time I see her is at night and sometimes when working. I am worried about her. She always tells me that she had something planned at a friend’s house. She is always trying to make everypony happy. Guess that’s Pinkie for ya. One night, she comes home and she looked really worn out. Though to some, she looks the same as always, but I can tell the difference. “Pinkie? Are you okay?” I ask her one night in bed. I hear her sigh and roll over to look at the ceiling. “It’s hard sometimes…” “What is?” “Making everypony happy.” “But that’s what you do. You’re Pinkie Pie, you can do anything!” She sighs again. “It’s not that easy. I have to remember so many things about everypony, and everypony wants me to be at their place cause I promised them I’d help them, but sometimes, ponies want me at the same time as another pony does, and with me having this foal to take care of in my tummy, it’s even harder. I wish there was more of me.” I wrap my foreleg around her, pulling her into a hug. “Hey, if you need any help with anything, do not hesitate to ask me. I will gladly help you. I should be helping you anyway. You shouldn’t work that hard with having a foal.” She hugs me back and smiles. “Thanks Dean.” She gives me a long kiss as we both go to sleep in each other’s hooves. The next morning, I wake up alone. She’s probably out helping another pony or something. I sigh and roll myself out of bed. I go downstairs and see that breakfast has been already made. Walking into the kitchen, Mrs. Cake hoofs me a plate with food on it. “Good morning, dear. You woke just in time,” she smiles. I smile back and head for the dining room. I walk in the dining room and see the Cake’s twins, Pumpkin and Pound, in their high chairs. They are drinking their milk and being adorable as usual. I watch them and imagine about that happening to me and Pinkie in about 9 months, since ponies have different gestation periods than humans do. Mr. Cake comes in the dining room and I ask, “Have you seen Pinkie today?” “No, I haven’t. I thought she was upstairs with you, but I guess she got up before any of us.” Mr. Cake sniffs the air, and his nose crinkles a bit. “Smells like somepony needs a diaper change.” Soon, the smell hits me, and I cough. He picks up Pound, and the smell fills the room. “Woo. That’s powerful,” I say, covering my nose with a hoof. “Don’t worry. Soon, you and Pinkie will be doing this,” he says and chuckles. “You’ll get used to the smells after a while.” I laugh, still covering my nose. Thank goodness I finished my food, because my appetite is completely gone. I get up from the table and start out the door into the town. Today’s my day off, and I am going to spend it looking for Pinkie. I flap open my wings and take off to the sky. “Ugh!” I sit on the ground. I have looked all over this place, and I can’t find that mare anywhere. “Hi Dean!” I look up and see her hopping up to me. I immediately jump up and wrap my hooves around her, though something is different. It didn’t feel like the real her. I let go of her and back up a bit to get a good look at her. Immediately, I can tell that this isn’t her. “Pinkie… where’s the real one.” “What do you mean? I am the real Pinkie!” I look over and my eyes widen. Multiple Pinkie Pies coming around the corner yelling the same thing… “Fun!” The one that I hugged jumps in the crowd and runs off with them. “Wh- what’s going on…?” I say to myself. I need to find Twilight and figure out what is with all of these Pinkie Pies. As I make my way down the main street to Twilight’s library, I see ponies run towards that way also. They probably have the same question I do. I quicken my pace and get to Twilight’s. Already, there is a crowd surrounding the tree home. “Does anypony know how we can tell the real Pinkie Pie from the rest of them?” I hear her ask as I run up. I hear a familiar voice, Pinkie’s. I look over and I see her jumping over another pony. “Twilight! I need to talk to you!” “I’m not talking to any of you until I find the real Pinkie Pie!” Twilight says “But… I am the real Pinkie Pie!” The way she says it keyed me off that that was the real one. Before I could go over to her, all of the other Pinkies start saying that they are the real one, the original one lost in the midst of the clones. I quickly run up to Twilight. Spike nudges her and points to me. “There you are, Dean! Maybe you could help!” she says. “Sure! Anything to bring the real Pinkie Pie back!” I am already starting to miss her. “Since you are here, I already have an idea as well!” she exclaims. “What’s that?” “You know Pinkie more than any of us combined. You would be able to tell them apart. Maybe if we gathered them all up, you could help us find the real one. Whichever you see is not the real one, I will send them back to the Mirror Pool.” “Twilight! You are a genius!” I exclaim, which makes her blush and chuckle, causing her to be silent for a moment. “Twilight?” I ask, wondering if she is okay, because she is just staring at me, oddly. “Huh? Oh. We should hurry!” she says shaking her head swiftly and takes off out the door. No idea what that was about. The way she looked at me was kind of strange. No time to worry about that now, I have a party mare to find! “Dean! We have been looking for ya bro!” Alex yells as he catches up with us. Rainbow Dash, Red Velvet, and Mantalist are with him. “No time. Come on, we have to gather all of the Pinkie Pies.” I yell back, not slowing my pace. It took a lot of work, but thanks to the help of Applejack and her family, we got them all together in one group. “Here they come!” I yell as Alex and I open the town hall doors. The giant group of Pinkie Pies flows into the room. I close the door behind them and quickly run to the stage where Twilight waits. The Pinkies are bouncing all over the place yelling the same word, “Fun!” over and over. It’s starting to drive me crazy. “QUIET!” Twilight yells, startling me half to death. All of the Pinkies sit still and stare up at us. I look out at all of them. It’s so hard to tell who the real one is. I wish this was over and I had the real one in my hooves to love. The front door then swings open and Rainbow flies in carrying another Pinkie, though this one is different than the others. It’s more sad than the rest. I have a good feeling that that one is the real Pinkie Pie that I know, but then I look around. Some have the same expression as hers. I will have to go through each one. “Okay, Dean. It’s time. Go find the real Pinkie Pie we know. Be careful though. If you mess up, the real one could be sent to the Mirror Pool by mistake.” Immediately, I start to sweat, and fear overcomes me. “No pressure…” I sigh and walk off the stage to the Pinkies. They are all looking at me, and from where I stand, they all give me the same feeling the real one does. I have to go to each one. I make my way to the first one and look at her closely. I hear her whisper, “Fun?” I shake my head and walk to the next one. I could tell by just looking at her that this one isn’t her; her coat color is a bit off, probably a clone of a clone of a clone. I continue down the way and so far, no luck. One of them did the weirdest thing… She made her hoof have fingers. It kind of scared me how she did that. I don’t think the real Pinkie would even do that at a time like this. Next line, same thing, though one of them did a weird face that made me yelp. I immediately went to the next one. This one was much more difficult. She seems so close to the real one, but I wasn’t too sure. “Can we keep this one aside? She seems very close to the real one and I want to check the others before I make a decision.” Twilight nods and Rainbow picks her up and sets her on the stage. I continue down the line. I soon get to the last Pinkie in the group. This one has her head drooped. She looks like she has been crying, her eyes slightly red. “Okay, this one too.” “Are you sure? That doesn’t look like Pinkie at all to me,” Rainbow states as she picks her up and moves her to the stage with the other one. “Trust me. I know what I am doing,” I say as I look back at the crowd of the other Pinkies. I sure hope I am right. I then make my way back to the stage where the two Pinkies sit, one of them is definitely her. There is only one way to find out. I walk up to the first one, the one who seems happy and peppy and very close to the real Pinkie Pie. I get real close to her face, and she looks at me kind of funny. I then plant my lips on hers, holding it there for a second and realize something is missing. I pull away, leaving the mare confused. I move over to the sadder looking one. I lift her chin up and smile, I bring my lips to hers and I hold it there. I immediately taste it. The taste that tells her apart from the rest. Sugar cookies. I pull away and smile again at her. “Send the others back. This is the real one,” I say as I bring Pinkie close to me and hug her close. I can feel her start to sob. “Are you sure, Dean? It could be the clones playing a trick on you.” Just as Twilight says that, some of them start to cry also. “I’m sure of it. This is the real Pinkie.” I hug her closer. “How do you know?” I turn my head and look at Twilight intently and say, “Sugar cookies.” “Sugar cookies? I don’t get it.” “The kisses. Whenever I kiss the real Pinkie Pie, I taste sugar cookies. I don’t know why, but I do. I don’t mind it. I actually love it about her. I love her the way she is. The real her.” Pinkie starts to squeeze me tighter. “I love you, Dean,” I can hear her say between sniffles. “I love you too, Pinkie Pie.” I squeeze her back. Twilight nods her head, and her horn illuminates, small wisps coming out of her horn going to each of the clones. Each one inflates oddly and poofs away, going back to the Mirror Pool. “So Pinkie… Why’d you do it?” I ask pulling away from the hug. Pinkie sighs. “I… I just felt that I needed more of me. Remember last night when I said I wish there was more of me? I remembered the legend of the Mirror Pool that my Nana Pinkie told me about when I was a filly. Everypony had something fun to do, and I wanted to be there at the same time. It became so crazy for me.” “How’d you find the Mirror Pool?” Twilight asks. “Well there was a saying that went something like, ‘Where the brambles are thickest, there you will find a pond beyond the most twisted of vines!’ Maybe that will help you find it and block it up so no other pony can use it. I don’t plan on using it ever again.” “I’ll go take care of that now,” Twilight says as she leaves the town hall. “Pinkie, you do a lot to make everypony happy, and I’ve always loved that about you. Maybe you should take it easy for a while since you’re carrying a foal. I don’t want something bad to happen to you two,” I say to her, looking her in the eyes. Pinkie nods her head and hugs me again. “I will, for you and the foal.” “So what do you want to do now?” I ask her. She yawns. “I just want to take a nap right now… if that’s okay. I’m really tired.” “Sure thing. Let’s go,” I say and walk with her back to Sugarcube Corner. “I’m glad we have the real you back. I missed you.” I nuzzle her side. Smells like cotton candy. She nuzzles me back and yawns once more. Mr. and Mrs. Cake smiles as we walk in the door. “Looks like you found her, the real Pinkie. Is she alright?” Mr. Cake asks. “Yeah, she’s just really tired. Long day,” I explain. I don’t want to go into full detail. That would take too long. Besides I have a tired pregnant wife to take care of. Mrs. Cake nods in understanding. “Alright, I will let you all know when dinner is ready,” she says. “Thanks, Mrs. Cake.” I smile and take Pinkie to her room. “What a day, eh?” I ask as we snuggle under the covers. “Yeah. Thanks for finding the real me. So… Sugar cookies?” she chuckles. “Uh… heh… Well that is what it tastes like,” I say, blushing redder than an apple. I feel a tap on my side and look over to her, and she kisses me, the taste returning on my taste buds. I sigh happily as I kiss her back. “So what do I taste like?” I ask her as we cuddle closer to one another. “Well, it’s hard to say, but there is that hint of some chocolate in there and something else like some kind of nut. Hazelnut?” I shrug. “I don’t know my ‘taste’ so,” I laugh. She laughs too and nuzzles her head under my chin. “So, you’ll take it easy for a while?” I ask her. Silence. “Pinkie?” I ask. I then hear a light snore from her. I smile and close my eyes as well. “I love you, Pinkie Pie.” I close my eyes and lay my head back on the pillow, though I’m not really tired. I don’t mind though. Being here with the real Pinkie is better than anything in the world. [End of Chapter 4]