//------------------------------// // Ch. 25: Dumb Fabric of Reality // Story: Nothing Probably Goes on Forever Too // by TundraStanza //------------------------------// In this world there is no black and white I'm told that there will never be a wrong or right But is that true? Should I believe that because others do? Chapter 25: Dumb Fabric of Reality --- Deep in the heart of Hollow territory was a vast desert land. An Equestrian may have assumed that Nightmare Moon had cursed this land with eternal night. That was not the case, however, since the mare in the moon had never crossed this particular plane of existence. Twenty-four hours of night was in fact perfectly natural for this land. This desert was known by those who bothered to remember as Hueco Mundo. In an undisclosed section of this nighttime wasteland, a large pale building stood. It looked like a plain dome of a generic base of secluded operations. There was no need for regular guards to stand on the outside of this dome because nobody ever invaded this base. It was inside this building that several entities had gathered. They were gathered in such a lighting that neither their faces nor their true forms could be seen clearly. “My friends,” stated a deep male voice, “It seems our search for greater power will be a more interesting journey than we first thought.” “What did you find?” asked another voice. “By tapping into the Hogyoku’s most basic powers,” answered the first voice, “I’ve discovered how to read spiritual pressures beyond those in the realm that we reside.” “So what?” scoffed a third voice, “What’s the point of sensing pressures in the Soul Society and the world of the living if we can just do that by going there?” “Oh, I’m not referring to those two realms,” said the first voice almost chuckling, “I’m now able to sense energies in entirely different dimensions. New worlds if you will.” “How preposterous,” said a silhouette moving a limb as if to style his hair, “Aside from life and death, it’s scientifically impossible to cross over into alternate realities.” “Let our lord speak!” warned a fifth figure who was standing particularly close to the first. “Thank you,” said the first voice, “Contrary to the facts that you’ve gathered, it is quite possible to transverse the fabric of realities. Though, it is not by science that the travel is possible. It is by a particular form of magic.” “Meh, I’ve heard weirder things,” muttered a sixth figure that had his feet on the table. “No. 3,” said the first voice moving his head to look at one of the figures that had yet to speak, “I’d like you to make the first exploration into this new world I’ve discovered.” The figure referred to as No. 3 made no move of excitement or resentment to the statement. “This first mission will be purely reconnaissance,” clarified the first voice, “I don’t want you to make any unnecessary kills.” “Understood, my lord,” said No. 3 with a voice that sounded deep yet feminine. The figure took their leave from the table and wandered off. “In the meantime,” continued the first voice moving his gaze to another silhouette’s location, “How would you like to explore a second new world?” “Ooooh aaaaah,” was the response he receieved. --- From what I could translate of her rapid-fire speech, Pinkie Pie’s healing shield not only healed my injuries but also somehow repaired my helmet. But I could still see the broken pieces from the fight before on the ground. Regardless, a quick tap with my hoof confirmed that evergreen headpiece was in fact on my head and fully intact. A few words with Luna confirmed my assumption that the David that had ambushed every pony had in fact been Discord. But what happened after Luna had fallen was a complete blank. At this point any explanation was viable. Well, maybe the aliens abducted and replaced David with a shapeshifting zombie pony idea that Pinkie Pie came up with was not but other than that, theories could be tossed without counter-arguments. When I tried to ask about my missing partner’s mind, every pony was just as clueless. None of us knew what to think. I even tried performing Jinzen to try and peer into my own soul. But the only other presence I could sense inside the gray abyss was Sode no Shirayuki. Tundra was nowhere to be found. Where are you? I asked out of force of habit. The pause in time that I expected a mental response was silent. I don’t know why I thought she’d be able to answer if she wasn’t even there. I really felt like I had lost a piece of myself. Heh, I guess I have. Why else would I be relaying my reflection to an audience that isn’t there? --- Ugh… my head. It felt like a thousand pound weight decided that my brain needed a workout. Someone should have told that weight that my brain isn’t that kind of muscle. Some rays of sunlight threatened to burn my eyelids and their contents. “Might as well get up,” I muttered slowly moving the covers as I rose into a sitting position. “Wait… what?” I asked starting to recognize a problem with my voice. But it sounded awfully familiar. “Heh, that’s interesting,” I chuckled, “I haven’t heard that voice in a long time.” It was a male tenor’s voice with a nearly unnoticeable Southern accent. It was my voice, my human voice. “Well, just to be sure,” I muttered to no one. I lifted up what I had gotten used to as a front hoof. That was not the case today. It was a hand, five fingers and all. “Ow,” I winced still feeling the headache as I rubbed my temples, “Okay, hold on. How did this happen? I kind of get the picture of what happened but how did it happen?” I remembered… fighting, lots of fighting. Discord had corrupted every pony. Shirayuki barely managed to hold off Rainbow Dash. Then… what? A huge blank was all I could draw and my headache was not helping me think straight. Check my current state of health, was my next thought, I already know I have a headache. Other than that, I can’t feel any prominent pain. Somehow I’ve turned back into a human. I got up from the bed I was on. It was difficult trying to look around the room with my head pounding. Though, I did manage to find a mirror above a hand sink. I did look fairly much like I remembered looking like before that impromptu trip to Equestria. I even had the same jacket and T-shirt on. Looking down, I could see a pair of jeans, socks, and Nike’s. Thinking back, I could vaguely remember the outing with my siblings. Where they were now, though, I couldn’t say for sure. There wasn’t any sign of them in this hotel room. Oh, it was a hotel room all right. I could tell by the individually wrapped bars of face soap and the fancily folded towels. Hey, Shirayuki, I asked internally, You have any ideas? There was no response. Other me? I tried again, Hey! Partner! Still, there was nothing from the peanut gallery of my mind. Great, I thought in sarcasm before seriously thinking, we’ve been separated again. All this thinking wasn’t helping my migraine. I decided to walk over to the window that the sunlight was leaking in. Maybe I could get a better grip on my bearings. Somehow, my hand that wasn’t holding my head remembered how to move curtains and open the blinds. I took a good long look at what was outside the glass. It looked a bit too generic to be any specific location. Cars were parked outside. A few people were out for a jog. They had their hands raised. A small boy was making balls explode. The hotel sign said “vacancy”. …Wait… I squinted at the small boy. He seemed a bit slouched over, blond, and buck toothed. Every few seconds, a red orb or purple burst of energy erupted from his fingertips. Said energy caused a few cars to explode or rocket sky high. The people weren’t jogging. They were running away from this kid. Despite the direct sunlight, my eyes opened wide. My jaw dropped as far as the muscle would allow. My hands both fell slack to my sides. I forgot all about my migraine in that moment. He’s…he’s, my own thoughts struggled to form, but… that’s not… he can’t… how? Wonderweiss. --- After what felt like eternity, I blinked and closed my mouth. Wonderweiss was still outside the window causing destruction without a care in the world. A freaking Arrancar was outside causing destruction! This is impossible, I thought, He’s an anime character! How the heck did he get here?! On the bright side, my mind was working coherently again. On the downside, a few scientists would be ticked at how many laws of physics that the creature outside was breaking. Oh, yeah, and then there was the property damage. That was bad too. “Well, I doubt there’s an anime convention around with people that take role-playing seriously enough to deal with this guy,” I said to myself, “So it looks like I’m the only one with any clue as to what he’s capable of. That means I’m going to have to stop him.” I blinked a couple times at the gravity of what I had just said. “Am I one hundred percent sure that I haven’t gone insane?” I half-seriously asked. I shook my head in disbelief before running over to the door. I’m amazed that I didn’t need a lot of practice getting used to moving on two legs again. Grabbing the handle, I was slightly disturbed at how ice cold it felt. When I looked at the handle, I was taken aback by the actual layer of translucent ice that had formed on it. I still have frost magic? I asked mentally. I waited for a while before remembering that I wasn’t going to get a reply. Focus, man, I reminded myself, Stop the Arrancar first. Ask questions later. Ignoring the potential freezer burn, I yanked the door open and ran down the hallway. --- After closing the exit door, I noticed that the next group of runners was a squad of police. They were prepared for fireworks and other gun wielders. They were not ready for a partially bone-covered boy with powers sort of like a super saiyan. In any case, they didn’t notice as I started running in the opposite direction as they were. “Well,” I gulped, “Here goes something.” I tried moving my hand off to my side as I ran. To my surprise and relief, a katana did appear and I could grab it. Oddly, it felt somewhat less comfortable in five fingers than it ever did in one giant hoof. It would have to do, though. “Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!” I yelled. I then slid my feet to a halt as I realized how retarded that sounded. I almost sounded like Toshiro Hitsugaya trying to release Rukia Kuchiki’s Shikai. That just sounded so wrong. What was worse was the fact that it hadn’t even worked. My katana was still a gray metal-colored sword. “This is just fan-tipping-flastic,” I muttered, “It doesn’t even work right.” A sudden whirring sound caught my attention and I lifted my head to look. How did I completely forget about that? I thought as I observed the charging blast called Cero. I made a dive behind one of the cars that was still intact as the purple beam of energy sailed over me. My breaths were getting faster at my increasing worry about the situation. I could die here! I’ve got one more stupid idea, I thought with a gulp. Carefully, I placed my sword down on the tar ground next to me. Then, I slowly lifted both my hands up and looked at Wonderweiss. I hoped it took him long enough between blasts for me to test what I was about to do. There was no room for error here. I verbalized the incantation. The one who reigns, mask of flesh, all creation, and the flutter of wings The one who carries the title of humans. In the name of truth and temperance, Dig your claws into the wall of sinless dreams. Hado 33: Sokatsui! I nearly closed my eyes in expectation of a dud. But instead, I got a wide blast of fire thrown in the Arrancar’s direction. I could hear an explosion as a cloud of smoke covered Wonderweiss’ image. I think I wore a silly smile when I realized that my Kido was usable. That being said, my migraine decided to come back a little stronger now. I also felt a bit heavier all over. I guessed humans weren’t exactly made for spamming Kido like Soul Reapers were. My ponderings were interrupted when I looked over at my enemy. I couldn’t believe it. Well, I guess I could have believed it, but in that moment I didn’t. Wonderweiss didn’t even look remotely phased. His pink eyes were still staring into space and his body wasn’t scratched at all. Plus, it looked like he was charging up another Cero. “Oh, bleep,” I muttered as I ducked. In a flash of purple, the car I had been using as cover flew apart into pieces of scrap metal. The force from the explosion sent me flying a short distance before I rolled over for a few feet. How I avoided getting hit by most of the metal and lived to tell about it, I’ll never know. I’ll also never know how I had regained a hold of my katana. The migraine plus new bodily bruises were definitely not doing my body any favors. I didn’t think fighting a creature of impossibility was helping either. It was only a matter of time before I’d be facing death’s judgment. Wonderweiss. Of all the Arrancar that have ever been on Bleach, why did it have to be Wonderweiss? Gathering myself into a pained sitting position, I could only tremble in fear as the boy prepared to launch the fatal blow. “Sever, Raika!” From out of nowhere, a large wall of flames erupted. An inhumane screech escaped the mouth of the Arrancar as the fire all but consumed him. My body still refused to move despite the fact that what had been a threat on my life was being dealt with. I slowly turned my head to face what had saved me. One word escaped in a hushed breath. “Steven?” --- --- “Hey, Chair! Why are you sitting on yourself?” laughed my classmate. “Ugh, my name is Cier,” I told him for the umpteenth time. I wasn’t a sitting object. “Sorry, Seer,” he chuckled again. I shook my head and gave up as he took his seat. I wasn’t a looker either. My name was pronounced like the words ‘chi’ and ‘air’ combined. Cier. I swore he was mispronouncing it on purpose. Everyone else I’d ever met could pronounce it correctly on their first guess. Steven meant well, though. All he was doing was trying to make everyone he talked to laugh. It was just that his scope of humor was very different from several of the people he met. Surprisingly, it was even different from my own and I thought my humor was pretty dry. What I find kind of strange is that I can’t remember what my general ed. classes were like before Steven came along. We just happened to meet one day, sat nearby each other, and bam. Acquaintance acquired. It was the safe kind of relationship, the one that wouldn’t hurt if it developed into a friendship or deteriorated into nothing special. I guess we sort of had the clichéd similarities. Both of us were guys in our first few years of college. We couldn’t stand one particular teacher, so we used a recorder to take notes while we slept in the back of that class. We were both single and had a sweet tooth. That’s about where the similarities ended. See, Steven was a bit of a flirt. He often made comments toward girls in ways that sounded like he was interested in romance. Though, I could see a lot of evidence that proved he wasn’t really interested in the full commitment. Within a couple hours, he was hitting on the next girl. No, he didn’t sleep around. He just played with his cast and reel in what I saw as the wrong way. Now, that’s not to say that I was perfect. After all, I didn’t play the dating game… at all. I went to college for the education (blasphemy!). That meant finding a balance between attending classes, studying, eating, exercising, and internet surfing. Sometimes I did two of those activities more often than others. But I digress. Partying and girlfriend searching were not on my “to do” list. Despite our differences, I could never call Steven an enemy. I’m not sure what it was, but something just seemed right about talking to him, awful sense of humor and all. Maybe it was because he went out of his way to make sure I had someone to talk to. I don’t know. --- --- “What’s up, Cier?” asked the guy with the burning trumpet Keyblade-esque Zanpaktou. But he… that can’t… Raika… what? thought my struggling mind. “Steven?” I said again. “That’s my name,” he confirmed, “Don’t wear it out.” “How… are you… here?” I stumbled over the words as I moved to stand. Out of all the questions I had right then, that was the first I could coherently ask him. “Eh, you know,” he shrugged, “I was in the neighborhood. Went for a walk. Saw a bunch of explosions and thought I might as well check it out.” “W-where did you get that?” I asked while pointing to the sword in his hand. “This?” he echoed, “I’m guessing the same place you got yours.” He pointed his other hand to the katana that I was holding. “You…” I wasn’t sure how to word my next phrase, “You’ve been to… Equestria?” “Yeah,” Steven nodded, “I think it was over a year ago now.” I nearly choked on my own breath. This was getting way too similar to other things I had heard to be a coincidence. “F…Firewall?” I mouthed barely able to utter the word. “How long has it been since I abandoned that name?” he asked looking up. I perked up, “Kingdom Hearts II.” “I thought you’d get that reference,” he chuckled. “But… you can’t be… the Firewall, can you?” I asked doubtfully, “That guy has a whole fan fiction written about him.” “And the first 14 parts were surprisingly accurate,” he smirked. “Get out of here,” I said shaking my head. “Though, I almost regret never doing Luna,” he sighed. I let out a fitful of coughs. “But, you’re nothing like Firewall,” I refuted. “Really?” he looked at me with interest, “Do tell.” “Well, you typically know when to take things seriously,” I started listing, “Your actions tend to be selfless in the long-run. You stop joking when you know it’s gone too far.” “I’m waiting to hear the differences,” said Steven. “You don’t have the same last name as he does,” I pointed out. “Don’t I?” he asked rhetorically, “Tell me, Cier. Have you ever seen me write my full name before?” I lifted a finger as if to say yes, but then stopped. I thought back on the times I’ve glanced at his papers. Not once, could I clearly recall anything more than “Steven” written before I had left the vicinity. I’d never even gotten a clear look at his ID. “So, you’ve been to Equestria?” he changed the subject. “Uh, yeah,” I stammered. “How was it?” he continued. “It was… different,” I worded carefully, “Mostly the good kind of different. Though, getting used to all the differences was challenging at first.” “That’s understandable,” he nodded. “Especially…” my voice faded to a mumble. “Especially what?” he asked. Darn, I was hoping he wouldn’t catch that. “Well,” I started knowing that I was going to regret it, “you probably don’t know what it’s like to be… gender bent.” His eyes opened in shock before he coughed on a laugh. “You, ah-ha! You turned into a mare?” inquired Steven. “Uh-huh,” I nodded. I knew right then that I had set myself up the bomb. Tick. Tick. Boom! “AH ha ha ha ha ha!” he laughed with one hand on his knee. I could only face palm at what I’d gotten myself into. After about thirty seconds, he managed to calm down, but I could see that disarming smile he wore. “Well, it could have been worse,” he managed to say, “You could have been forced to wear a dress.” “Um… actually,” I muttered remembering a certain crash before my first real meeting with Rarity. --- Strange. Why am I suddenly recollecting Tundra’s embarrassment when she first visited the Boutique? I thought, Do I miss her so much that I’m trying to fill the void with her memories? Maybe I was going insane. I really hoped I wouldn’t again. The last time I went insane was when I nearly burned every pony… No, that was the Nightmare. Celestia and Luna assured me of that. But painful memories were the most difficult to forget. --- “Woah, dude,” Steven said with a sudden look of empathy, “I’m so sorry.” “Don’t worry about it,” I shrugged, “In retrospect, they weren’t uncomfortable. I had the right body for them.” There was an awkward silence for a few seconds. Steven’s sword had long since lost its fiery Shikai form. “So,” he finally broke the silence, “Tundra Stanza. Where did that name come from?” “I might have used one of my online account names,” I admitted. “Real original,” he dismissively stated. “Said Mr. Norton Anti-Virus,” I joked back. That seemed appropriate as we shared a couple laughs. Something that felt like an earthquake interrupted our moment of reunion. Both of us looked in the direction of the crispy Arrancar. It wasn’t a crispy Arrancar anymore. Wonderweiss stood slightly stiffer than he had when I first saw him. His spiritual pressure made my migraine come back and made everything in the parking lot look slightly blurry. I braced myself for another attack. I did not expect him to turn around and look away. I also didn’t expect a giant black hole to rip apart visible reality in front of him. In the moment, I knew what it was but I couldn’t remember the name of the reality tear that I was seeing. This was the pathway that Hollows and Hollow-esque creatures used to travel between realms of life and death. However, this one seemed a bit different. In the anime, these things were supposed to be black on the inside. This one’s interior seemed a bit too colorful. In fact, the collage of images I was seeing against its backdrop looked a lot like… “…Canterlot?” I asked aloud. “Cier! Get going!” shouted Steven above the rumble. “What?” I asked not entirely understanding what he meant. “It could be your only opening to get back home!” he shouted, “You’re half a soul of a pony, remember?” “But what about you?” I asked. The makeshift portal started to gradually close. “I can’t go back,” he lamented, “I was never supposed to go in the first place.” “But, Firewall,” I started. “No buts!” he shouted pointing out that the black hole was caving in on itself, “Go!” I still didn’t understand why Steven couldn’t come with me. But my legs were already running after Wonderweiss. Adrenaline must have been pumping through me like crazy because I didn’t think I could run that fast without tripping. In less than second, I was already on the other side of the opening. Turning to look behind me, I was horrified to see the Arrancar charging up his smaller red blast called a Bala. Out of nowhere, a flaming item flew out of the closing rip in reality and pierced Wonderweiss through the backside. The projectile sailed through his body to who-knew-where. The sudden piercing caused him to scream in agony and fade into the shadows. Unfortunately, that happened right after his Bala started launching in my direction. I crossed my arms in front of my face. I didn’t think that could protect me from anything. I just reacted to the situation. Red light filled my vision as I heard the metal from my sword crack to pieces. I was expecting the energy blast to burn my skin. Instead, I felt… liberated. --- I scrambled my hooves into a standing position. There was an explosion of sorts and a massive spiritual pressure somewhere outside. I could hear and feel them. What was it? I needed to find out. From the balcony that I was on, I flew toward the castle’s main hall. Entering the open chamber, I was not prepared for what I saw. Floating in front of Celestia and Luna was… it. The dark cloud that haunted my conscience was right here. My closest friends were trapped in what looked like energy ropes. “N…Night…mare?” I mouthed finding breathing difficult. “Ah, Shirayuki,” cooed the cloud of darkness, “Fancy meeting you here.” “But, but, that’s impossible,” I stammered while shaking my head in disbelief, “You can’t be.” “Oh, Shirayuki,” said the cloud practically purring, “You didn’t think you were the only pony that could have nightmares, did you?” “Let my friends go!” I shouted. “I will,” it calmly stated, “After I regain possession of your soul.” “Never again!” I defied her. “That wasn't a request,” said Nightmare flatly, “Bakudo 4: Hainawa.” Within a split second, I was ensnared by yellow energy ropes that seemed to stem from the dark cloud. “Where did you learn Kido?” I asked while tugging left and right. “Hm,” the cloud contemplated, “You’ll know as soon as I take back what’s mine.” The Nightmare began to float closer. I decided to release a large amount of spiritual pressure right then and there. The white radiating aura disintegrated the yellow energy ropes with ease. “Mm, your spiritual pressure is delicious,” said the cloud in what sounded like elation, “It’s just drawing me in even more.” To my horror, it was right. The dark cloud actually used my coating of spiritual pressure as a medium to funnel itself. Before I could cut it off, my aura had already altered to a dark purple. My limbs felt stiff. “This feels so good,” sighed the Nightmare. “No… no…” I muttered through the stiffness, “NO!” What happened next, I have yet to fully understand. I could suddenly feel a third energy surging through me. I could actually feel my eyes burning green as the dark cloud was expelled from my body. Was this what Luna felt like during her magical release? “How?” asked the Nightmare floating just in front of me, “How did you resist?” “It is a spiritual lock-out,” answered a new voice. Despite the burning feeling, I could see her presence just to my right side. “Sode no Shirayuki,” I murmured. The pale woman in white sleeves stood tall. “By concentrating another’s energy that already resides in her soul,” continued my Zanpaktou, “She has discovered how to repel foreign signatures.” “You mean,” I started as I lifted a hoof to my chest plate, “Tundra is still inside me?” “Yes,” affirmed Sode no Shirayuki with a nod, “because you and Tundra Stanza are one and the same.” The vision of my Zanpaktou spirit faded but I could still sense her presence within. The green burning cooled, but now I knew what I had to do. Tundra, I thought, lend me your strength. I called forth my sword and held the hilt firmly. “Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!” I called. --- My brief feeling of touchless liberation was quickly replaced by a new feeling. I wasn’t sure how, but I could almost see a multitude of things at once. Somehow, I could see the inside of one of the castle’s corridors. I could see a cloud of darkness. I was being held by a hoof, Shirayuki’s hoof. I could feel my own power merge with hers. I could feel the frozen touch of righteous fury. Somehow, I was the sword that had just been released. --- “What exactly do you plan to do with that?” mocked the Nightmare in a pained tone, “Your solid weapon can’t touch me!” “I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” I smiled lightly before resuming a serious look. I held the point of my blade almost directly into the dark cloud’s outer layer. “San-no-Mai, Shirafune!” I shouted. --- Time stood still. Nothing in the room stirred. But then, the cloud of darkness that was pure hatred and jealousy started dancing around. It was somehow anchored by the white sword that slid through it. A new feeling permeated the cloud’s essence, one of relief and tranquility. Slowly, the cloud funneled itself into the Zanpaktou, granting its strength to the wielder. Instead of an overwhelming sense of foreignness, the darkness became lighter. The weapon in the white alicorn’s grasp began altering shape. As the last of the cloud became one with the blade, it more resembled a long and thin foldup fan. But it did not lose its icy touch. The energy ropes that had bound the Princesses of the land faded into nothingness. This enabled them to look more freely at the events that transpired. The alicorn of winter had used up much of her spiritual energy in the lock-out from before. As a result, she couldn’t keep her eyes open as she slowly fell to the ground. Her transformed weapon faded from the physical plane. When the Princesses had run forward to check on their friend, they found a smaller, black pony in her place. She was sleeping soundly. --- … I guess it’s true that you really don’t know what you have until it’s gone. During my brief return to Earth, I had almost allowed myself to believe that my true life was lost. After I came back, I had lost the presence of an old friend. I couldn’t understand why things had to be the way they were. I still don’t completely. On the following day, Celestia decided that I ought to know at least some of the things that had transpired over a year ago. I found out that some complex, ancient curse was used to bring Ste-… Firewall to Equestria. When everyone had figured out how to break that curse, they had inadvertently sealed him back to the human world. Trying to bring him here again would only result in a universal collapse of all dimensions involved. His magical residue still resides in the lives he touched. That’s how Luna was able to sleep when she wants to without losing her mind to the more painful dreams. Somehow, his heart still protected her. She seemed to be okay with that. I wasn’t sure she was, but I think she was entitled to have some things kept secret. I pieced together what happened with Discord the other day. I knew that the field trip by Cheerilee’s class never happened. Celestia said that David had been able to release the stone creature from imprisonment. Trace amounts of anti-magic were found at the site of his missing statue. It was how David’s spiritual and magical presence had been undetected. Still, what David had hoped to accomplish by releasing the entity of chaos in this realm was a mystery. As for the reappearance of the Nightmare, no one knew for sure how that had happened. My partner mind was back and she suggested that perhaps her loneliness had been partially responsible. I scoffed at the idea telling her that if that were true, it would have happened at Pinkie Pie’s birthday two years ago. Shirayuki let the subject drop after that. Celestia offered to let me borrow the royal carriage to ride home. I politely declined. I told her that I technically hadn’t stretched my wings for twenty-four hours. To this, she giggled before replying, “Fair enough.” I had to give the background artists of the show credit for the optical illusion they made. Canterlot was far enough from Ponyville that by the time I arrived at the library door, it was already way past sunset. Hoping not to wake up either of the residents unnecessarily, I slowly pushed the door open, freezing the door knob involuntarily. “SURPRISE!” yelled a blur of pink as confetti and streamers rained from nowhere. Holy crap! I thought while nearly jumping up into the doorway. You’d think after multiple Pinkie Pie shenanigans I’d get used to this kind of thing, but I haven’t. My Ponyvillian friends were all gathered. Even the Crusaders were up, though I thought it was past their bedtime if the moon in the sky was any way to tell time. “One of these days,” I said while looking at Pinkie Pie, “you’re going to give me a heart attack.” “Pinkie told us to gather here to surprise some pony,” chirped Sweetie Belle, “but she wouldn’t tell us who.” “Hoo,” added Owloyisius. “Yeah, exactly,” affirmed Sweetie Belle while the other two fillies showed expressions that were suitable in lieu of a face hoof. “Tundra… you’re back,” said Fluttershy with clarity. “Thank heavens, darling,” added Rarity. One by one, the various ponies and dragon gathered around me. Never did I think that a group hug would feel so right. But here and now, it was right. Tears filled several eyes including my own. I was home. --- Standing in the air, away from pony eyes, a white-covered entity stood and observed. She was neither completely surprised nor completely believing in the readings she was getting from this world. Still, data was data. If it gave her something to report upon her return, it was a side benefit. With a sound like a wind tunnel, she was gone.