Closet Pony

by DouglasTrotter

December 25th

My head hit my pillow at 10pm, and I couldn't stop tossing. I don't find it surprising I can't get to sleep. Of course, it's not wise to stay up too late. Today will be a little on the interesting side.

These entries took a back seat after November 1st. Since the last entry, those four ponies have forgiven me, however, forgiveness came with a price. Princess Celestia doled out a heaping helping of her own brand of medicine. Not even a cup full of sugar could help it go down. The royal pain in my butt decided some changes were in order.

First on Princess Celestia's list of changes included me getting up at six in the morning to meditate vs. eight; after that, I must walk, and then RUN around the same track she does in the garden, this being her idea of a little warm up; after my so-called warm up, I'm required to levitate two, sometimes four large rocks while being forced to chase the princess around the track. That mare is beyond insane! She wants me to actually run after her. Humans cannot keep up with horses. I don't care if Princess Cake Butt says she's a filly at heart and a pony. There's no way that six-foot plus tall, three-quarter ton equine is a pony.

I've come so close to passing out. Almost did pass out on the third day, and yesterday wasn't any better. Though Sanctuary and the fillies chuckle, it's no laughing matter. If I had to guess, those four are laughing because Princess Celestia is toying with me and running at five or ten percent her normal speed.

What tops everything off is the princess forcing me to do this whole routine without my watch. Again, she's forcing me run WITHOUT MY WATCH! It'd be the same as telling John Williams to write a symphony in the middle of a construction site. The foreman is yelling in his ear, poking him in the side while every bit of machinery is turned on and humming, and every noisy thing is cranked up to eleven. Without my watch the most mundane task becomes unbearable. No wonder I ended up on the Empire State Building. If I knew all this would have happened just by putting on a magically imbued watch, I would have told Princess Celestia to shove that watch where the sun don't shine.

Whatever, what's done is done. The past is written in stone, yet the future can be written in either sand or stone based upon the actions you take.

I know one thing though, heh heh, I'll be getting Princess Celestia back. It seems "somepony" wasn't telling the whole truth about how she got to Earth. This is gonna be good.

It's twelve-forty, and I'm still not tired. I guess to finish off my notes here I'll remind myself of what we'll do tomorrow, or I guess today since it is technically December 25th.

First we'll do the presents in Sanctuary. After the gift exchange, it'll be time for the first part of the special, two-part present. Once that's done we'll relax a bit, do dinner, and then the others will receive the second part of their two part present. The first part has to take place no later than 10:00 am. Those were the explicit instructions. As for the second part, it does has some leeway but must not go longer than one hour. Also, the second part must end before midnight. Talk about a rough time frame. Those three will be bouncing off the walls tonight. It'll be a miracle to get them to sleep. Wonder if I should get the princess to use a sleep spell on them... and herself.

About the only good thing is that all the shopping and decorating was done early, like four days into December early. For the shopping, I took each of the cutie mark crusaders out, one-by-one, to let them buy gifts. The same held true for Sanctuary and Princess Celestia, all of them disguised via that amniomorphic spell of course.

Swear I'd forgotten the holidays aren't cheap. In all, about seven-hundred bucks has been dropped for everything. It's worth it though.

...

I'm starting to nod off now, and it's twelve-fifty am.

The princess gave me a small reprieve today. I can get up at eight vs. six, so that'll near seven hours of sleep.

I'll just need to focus on the fact that today Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Princess Celestia will get something rather special.

Alright, it's one-ten right. Here's to the hope I can get some sleep.

As the mare told me in my dreams, I just have to breathe, focus, and that's it. Of course, that's easy for her to say.

---End Entry---

Nasty! I just, I just... gah! I took a shower like twenty minutes ago and still feel nasty. I knew it. I should have worn a rain slicker, a poncho, or at least brought an umbrella. Those four saturated my shirt with tears. Well, the five of them since Sanctuary joined the fray of watery eyes.

The whole ordeal started with me waking up to three big, puppy-dog eyed expression around six-fifty am. In typical, totally not unexpected fashion the Cutie Mark Crusaders were up before any of us. My left eye crept open to be greeted by the three of them just gazing at me. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo remained silent while they just sat there and looked at me. Talk about creepy. The three of them do have to be commended for their patients. All of them waited till almost seven.

I should have had my cellphone on me. It was beyond hilarious to see the illustrious Leader of Equestria stroll through the dining room with her left squinting, her right eye twitching. A pin dropping on the ground would have been an explosion in that quiet moment. Princess Celestia's bed hair, or I guess bed mane, topped it all off. I covered my mouth with my left hand just as the princess stopped and looked at me and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I turned away then glanced back towards her, removing my hand from my mouth. Princess Celestia held up a single wing tip towards us and disappeared into the kitchen. She continued to hold up her wing tip when she reappeared with her extra large coffee mug in front of her. Half expected her to take the whole pot the way she looked.

With her mug floating in front of her, taking a long slow sip from it, the princess yawned, lower her wing tip, and then vanished. That moment was priceless. The grand ruler, Princess Celestia of Equestria looked like some grumpy old mare.

Sanctuary gave a yawned hello to the lot of us when she entered. The pony disappeared into the kitchen, like her mother, and returned with four bowls and four cups.

Princess Celestia did get me back, as per usual. After the princess had her coffee, she reappeared in the kitchen and pointed her right wing tip at me, and beckoned me to come with her. Sanctuary and the fillies followed behind me and the princess.

The moment Princess Celestia's hooves touched the dirt of the meditation garden, she started her exercise routine and "encouraged" me to join.

It wasn't any easier. The first lap had me gasping for air. Time ticked on, and the second lap had me gasping for even more air. By the third lap, my legs caved out from under me when I hit the finish line. Those five large stones landed on the ground with a loud thud, yea it's five stones now, and I retrieved my watch.

That's when it started, and the timing was perfect, eight-twenty-five.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Sanctuary had paced back and forth while I dried myself off. The four ponies' patience presumably having worn thin, the princess decided to end our exercise early for the gift exchange.

Inside Princess Celestia's room, a large tree stood in the corner. The princess illuminated her horn, causing the presents to materialize, and, throughout the gift exchange, I kept a stern eye on my watch, glancing at it ever-so-often. The event lasted around forty minutes, and I found myself thankful we had plenty of time to spare.

"Sanctuary." I said after the last gift had been exchanged. Each of us having thanked each other for our gifts, the hands on my watch read 9:15 am. I turned towards my partner in this endeavor. "Are you ready?"

"I guess so." She said. Sanctuary stood up and extended her hoof towards me. She and I whispered to one another then nodded. "Thirty to Forty minutes should be appropriate."

"Thirty to Forty minutes?" Sweetie Belle said.

"What's goin on?" Apple Bloom said.

"It's time for one last present. Well, maybe two. It's kind of a two parter." I said.

"We agreed to one present per individual." Princess Celestia said.

"This present is a little on the special side. Emphasis on special. Not to mention it's for all of you, not just one individual in particular." I said. I felt myself crack a slight smile. "I'll need you all to follow me and Sanctuary."

"Hey, what're ya'll gigglin' about?" Apple Bloom said.

"No worries, Apple Bloom. I'm sure you'll enjoy the present along with the others." Sanctuary said. The two of us led the others down the hallway from Princess Celestia's room. "We've been working on this in secret for the past month."

"Alrighty, we're here." I said.

"Ok. We're in your room. So, now what?" Scootaloo said.

The clock neared 9:20 am. Though the time seemed short, it was perfect.

"It's up top." I said. The group followed me towards the portal that led to the meditation garden. "By the way Princess Celestia, you never told me how you got to Earth."

"Huh?" Sweetie Belle said. The unicorn filly stood off to my side, and then glanced back. "She came through the portal like the rest of us, right?"

"That's correct, my little pony." Princess Celestia said. The princess came to a stop behind the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Ahem. If you don't mind me asking, what is so special about this 'present' you were giving to us."

I smirked, and then shoved my left hand into my pocket. "Well, Sweetie Belle, I'm curious because I never put two and two together until now. Princess Celestia appeared in my closet, and I didn't think much about it, at least until one or two weeks ago. The more I thought about it, the more it bugged me. She was in such a weird position, but it didn't occur to me to ask why. I have to say, it must have been quite the sight when you tripped on that cord in Twilight's castle and fell into the portal."

"But. But how did...." Princess Celestia said, her voice trailing off. Her wings shot out and her face went red.

"You'll want to stand about seven to ten feet away from the portal." I said. The three fillies sat down. Each of them looked at one another, Princess Celestia sitting behind them. "Sanctuary, are you ready?"

"Yes." She said.

"Let us. Begin." We said in unison

It was 9:30 am. Sanctuary sat near the left side. Like the times we had practiced, she extended her left wing and placed its tip against the other side just as I placed what remained of my right arm against the portal's right side.

A surge of energy rushed into me and Sanctuary. We steadied ourselves. Sanctuary and I focused our breathing. In a slow, smooth manner, the two of us closed our eyes then opened them.

The blackened, center portion of the portal began to glow. The haze vanished.

"A..." Apple Bloom said. Her hooves quivered as they inched towards her mouth. The filly placed her hooves down. "Applejack."

"Sister?" Princess Celestia said.

"Rarity?" Sweetie Belle said.

"Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo said.

The equines on the other side of the portal waved towards us. Each of them held up a card with several scribbles drawn on it. Sanctuary and I had come to find out those scribbles pertained to Equestria's "Ponish" language. Well, more like Sanctuary understood it because of the general schooling from her mother.

"Happy Holidays." Me and Sanctuary said in unison.

While I focused, I gazed at the black and blue mare with the moon shaped mark, the one who gave a coy smile towards me. Over the course of two weeks I had to learn several exercise that enabled Princess Luna to just manifest herself in my dreams, and it didn't end at just those two weeks. Those two, excruciating weeks passed by, and then I had train even harder for weeks at a time till yesterday. Those weeks that followed taxed me more than Princess Celestia's training. It seems cross-dimensional dream travel is a little more difficult than regular dream walking.

"Applejack. Big Macintosh. Granny." Apple Bloom said. The ponies on the other side waved to her. The filly wiped away her tears then glanced at me. "Can we go home? Can we finally go home?!"

"Almost." I said.

"It won't happen overnight. In time, it'll be possible to send all of you home." Sanctuary said.

"I refuse to leave my daughter behind." Princess Celestia said. Like Apple Bloom, the pony wiped away her tears. "You are coming with me back to Equestria."

"That's right! You're coming back with us. You're an honorary member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Sanctuary." Sweetie Belle said.

"We would never leave you behind, Sanctuary. Right, Apple Bloom?" Scootaloo said.

"Right." Apple Bloom said.

"Don't give up hope. We'll get you guys home before ya know it!" Rainbow Dash's sign said, Sanctuary being kind enough to translate it for me.

I looked at my watch. In the blink of an eye the time had inched ever closer to 10am, thus at 9:58 am, me and Sanctuary looked at each other. Princess Luna gave slow, firm nod to me.

"Ya'll mind that critter's words till ya get home, ya hear!" Applejack's sign said.

"We cannot wait for your return." Rarity's sign said.

The group of ponies on the other side held up a sign with the Ponish words "we're always thinking about you" written on it.

The fillies and Princess Celestia waved to their friends and family on the other side.

"Let. Us. End." Me and Sanctuary said in unison. We exhaled a deep, final deep breath. The portal closed. Sanctuary and I shivered. When I removed my right arm, that surge of energy jolted me.

"Weird as always." I said.

"I'll never get used to that sensation." Sanctuary said.

"So, what did you guys think--" I found myself on the ground. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and even the princess herself had charged forward and pinned me to the ground. Each of them cried their eyes out, and Sanctuary soon joined the fray of water works. "Heh, I take it you liked your gift."

"Uh huh." Sweetie Belle said. The filly struggled to choke back her tears.

It took a month to get everything right, and what happened was worth every ounce of hard, sweaty, sometimes unbearable work me and Sanctuary had put into it.

In any event, I've had to wipe my eyes a couple of times while typing this up at my laptop on Earth. These ponies have been through a lot, and I can't wait to get them home. It's the least I can do for all they've given me. These ponies have to sit tight for just a little longer, and they'll soon be ready to go home.

---End Entry---

Roasted potatoes, cooked green beans, cinnamon infused apple bites, sautéed carrots with honey dressing, rolls, and festive mushroom risotto with a small side of ham for myself. We had one heck of a holiday dinner spread. It's a good thing the princess had me on one killer exercise routine. Just like all things, it took forever to prepare dinner while taking all but twenty minutes to devour it.

All of us ate dinner early around four-thirty with an hour or so time to rest afterwards.

Scootaloo had fun with her stuff in the main garden. The filly got a rather "awesome" gift from Princess Celestia and Sanctuary in the form of a magically infused cloud scooter. The filly's new scooter condenses into a ball of cloud vapor the size of marble, and then transforms into a scooter she can ride... no, a cloud scooter she can use to fly. Not to mention the scooter won't vaporize if she hits something.

Apple Bloom seemed kind of humbled with her gifts. The filly seemed interested in alchemy, so we got her some books on chemistry, plant and animal cell culture, and horticulture with some of Earth's apple jams as a surprise.

Sweetie Belle wasn't left out of the mix. She got some fabric bolts and materials to present to her sister back home. The others chipped in and I promised to order her some materials off a local craft store's website, within a budget limit.

Sanctuary and Princess Celestia proved the hardest to shop for in terms of gifts. All of us came together and made Sanctuary a tiara/crown and a necklace; now the mare is a dead ringer for her mother, except for the cutie mark. Still haven't figured that whole bit out, but, whatever.

Princess Celestia, she got a nice tea set, and that's kind of it. Felt like we should have given her more, but the mare didn't seem like she wanted a whole lot.

As for myself, I guess that's where I'm like Princess Celestia. I didn't want or need a whole lot. What made me happy is the fact I got to spend the holidays with some company for a change. That didn't stop the others from giving me something. The five of them decided to get me some new cooking utensils. Of course, they're made with stuff from the moon. There aren't too many people who can say they have a chef knife made from lunar rock that's also magically sharpened.

I had to keep looking over my shoulder while the others did their own thing in the garden. Each of them were almost quick to forget the second part of their two-part present, so, after making sure the coast was clear, I snuck off to train a little more in the garden. The key wasn't just breathing. It wasn't just focusing either. I had to dig deep down inside me to find that focal point and use it manifest my actions. Part of me expected some "ah ha! that's it" final solution to magic. Instead, like Shrek describing Ogres to Donkey, there were several layers to this onion, a lot more than I'd like to admit. Right now, I'd dare say I'm at the bottom looking towards an infinite mountain that I'll never see the top of in my lifetime. Still, if I can just access a portion of it to help these five, it'll be worth it.

I've offhand mentioned a sleepover of sorts in my room for holiday fun. All of them agreed, and I'm typing this up before I have to start the whole ordeal. Sanctuary will be my anchor point. This second part is going to be a bit more tricky than the first part, and I'm sad to say it may only work for one night, tonight.

It seems Princess Celestia's dear sister cooked up something rather special. Princess Luna will be borrowing quite a bit of magical power from her sister's protégé Twilight Sparkle, her niece Princess Cadence, Twilight's brother Prince Shining Armor, and the Elements of Harmony.

Here's to the hope those ponies have some good dreams tonight. It'll be a rough night's sleep for yours truly, but, then again, I owe it to them for what they've given me.

---End Entry---