It took a while before my mom and I could get going with our lives again. After successfully returning my friends home, I had to endure long hours of detainment and investigation. However, I came out of it as clean as a shirt out of the washing machine. The police finally understood who my friends were and why I’d done such an act.
Later that evening, Zack and his mom came over to pick up the remaining items from the basement, and I explained what happened back at Nathan Phillips Square. Mr. Xing came over and we handed him the keys. We cleaned the basement one final time, packed our bags, and headed for the airport. Due to its sharp points, I could not bring the staff – it had to be shipped separately at a later date.
“Thanks for the ride, and thanks for all those years of fun and thrill,” I said, giving him one final hug.
“You’re welcome, and I thank you too, for introducing me to some of the best new friends I’ve ever made,” he replied. “Now go and have some fun in a tropical land! Make the locals proud with their favorite music!”
“I’ll try to learn boating and surfing, too!” I added, waving to him from the terminal’s doorway. “Goodbye, Zack.”
The flight to Trinidad took many hours, but I was patient. The food wasn’t too bad, and I enjoyed a nice meal of eggs, tea, and some muffins. A little girl got excited when I played a tune from one of her favorite cartoons, and I had fun playing and creating music on my keyboard, despite its large size. I set up my laptop on Joyce’s lap and spread the keyboard across my lap. I found a few steel drum samples in my tropical sound pack, and we practiced together, creating a few jolly tunes on the fly.
Some seven hours later, the plane touched down on the runway of Piarco International Airport. We checked out, got the rest of our baggage, converted our cash, and took a taxi to a 3-star hotel close by, where we’d stay until we could re-establish housing, bank accounts, phone and internet service, insurance, and jobs.
I still missed my friend back home, but I was already falling in love with my surroundings. The air was thick, humid, and salty, a stern reminder of where we now lived. We were hardly ahead in time zones, and thus were able to adjust quickly.
While Joyce took a shower, I arranged all my music gear out on the desk. Using the available hotel internet, I hooked up with Spotify and chilled with my favorite tunes as I read a book, before soon drifting off to sleep.
The next morning, after a quick breakfast, I looked out from the window, my eyes in total awe at the scenery before me, just like I’d seen in photography. Small houses densely packed together, with smooth streets with motor scooters buzzing up and down them, with cars alongside. Further down lay a major interconnecting highway, a mall, and a golf course. I couldn’t wait to visit the small villages and try some of the local food, or take a splash in the waves of the sandy beaches. But all that would have to wait.
“We need to visit the governmental services to confirm a few important details and link up our bank accounts,” Joyce noted.
“Absolutely,” I replied, licking fruit juice off my lips. “One step at a time.”
And one step indeed. We established our money was still intact, then began contacting a real estate agent, and an insurance company. I, unfortunately, got the short end of the wishbone, finding myself frustrated with over a dozen calls to people who were unnegotiable and didn’t speak good English.
On the other hand, Joyce established a link with a reputable real estate agent in just two calls. Our max renting budget was $2000, and we found a nice house in Cascade for just within – $1970. Hitching a ride from the kind agent (who was nice enough to pick us up from the hotel), we drove down the highway, all the way through several communities – Augustine, Valsayn, and Barataria to name a few – to get to Cascades. My mom chose it for its exclusivity, its good included add-ons, and a nice view of the valley. Plus, lots of amenities nearby and a natural feel with the trees and hilly area.
“Whoa,” I gasped as we entered. “This feels inviting and peaceful.”
Joyce had chosen a townhouse, with three decent-sized bedrooms, two bathrooms, almost 1,700 square feet, and a pool. An alarm system came installed, as well as barred windows and a fenced property. Utilities were separate, but it wouldn’t be too bad given it’d just be the two of us.
The A/C blew cool and refreshing, and the kitchen had both a breakfast bar and strip lighting. The bathrooms were nice too, fully furnished with a shiny tap and shower room. A small but scenic deck overlooked the valley below. Overall the townhouse came furnished, but Joyce agreed to keep only half of the furniture, arguing that it’d be better for us to start from scratch and find our “humble zone”.
“So, is it official?” Joyce asked me with a coy smile.
“Yes, it is!” I crowed. “I love everything about this place.”
We signed the contract and agreed to split the rent costs. Using the money from selling the STI-swapped Forester, we paid the first and last month of our yearly contract and moved in the very next week and bought new mattresses, food, a vacuum cleaner, a broom, and cleaning supplies.
We’d agreed to use our bedrooms for specific purposes: I’d sleep in the living room, Joyce would sleep in one bedroom, with the other bedroom being a guest bedroom. The third bedroom I’d convert into a full-fledged recording studio.
“You don’t mind sleeping in the living room, on a couch?” Joyce asked me, as we set the new mattresses in place in the bedrooms.
“Nah,” I replied. “I’ll mostly be at work for the majority of the day, and then be spending late nights working on the next tune. Weekends I’ll definitely be hitting up the beach and local markets.”
“Where do you plan to work?” she asked, a tone of concern in her voice.
I smiled and stretched a bedsheet over the mattress. “Where I know best – auto repair. I’ll be selling my music too.”
“Okay, sounds good. I’ll try working in the local supermarkets, also where I know best.”
We shared a happy laugh and spent the rest of the day cleaning and disinfecting the whole place. I vacuumed, scrubbed, and dusted while Joyce wiped the kitchen counters and got the fridge, dishwasher, stove, and washer and dryer squeaky clean. It really was a lot of work, but given my previous experiences with labor jobs, it wasn’t overbearingly hard.
Amongst the furniture we’d chosen to keep was a TV, so I hooked up my laptop and we watched a movie that evening. I got so tired I flopped on the couch. Joyce covered me with my favorite blanket and gave me a good-night kiss, just as she used to do when I was a kid.
The following morning, we clinked glasses of iced sorrel over plates of pancakes with berries and syrup as a “crowning” of our achievement of settling in Trinidad. All we had to do now was find ideal jobs and get some low-cost internet service. It felt odd being in a new land, but with it would come exciting new opportunities in many different forms.
TWILIGHT POV
PONYVILLE CASTLE
After a crazy ride through space and time, Twilight and her friends finally landed back on Equestrian soil, right in front of the Ponyville Castle – where Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were waiting, along with Queen Novo.
“Twilight!”
“Princesses!”
Excitedly, Twilight embraced her mentor and teacher in a warm hug, with Luna and Cadence soon joining in. Twilight and her friends then thanked the Pillars of Equestria for bringing them home.
“Mom!” Princess Skystar cried, leaping into Queen Novo’s arms, as the two reunited in a teary-eyed hug.
“Where did you end up?” Celestia asked coyly.
“In a huge city with so many different humans!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
“And we met a really nice family,” Spike added, holding up an envelope. “Here. I found this when we landed here.”
Celestia took it and carefully tore it open. Inside was a collection of three photos and a letter.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Thank you for your patience. It took some serious guts and a waterfall of tears from both sides, but if you have found this letter, then my attempt at bringing your prized pupil and her friends safely home has been successful. I wish I could be in your presence so you can thank me, and allow me to look into your beautiful eyes, but alas I cannot.
Twilight and her friends had a great time here in Toronto, a city sprawling with three million inhabitants. We had a setback when Skystar got injured and Tempest got into legal trouble, but it’s all been successfully resolved.
I hope you and the rest of Equestria enjoy the gifts from the human world of Earth that I’ve given to my friends, and benefit from their uses.
I love seeing Pinkie and Skystar happy together, and my best human friend, Zack, has given them BMX bikes to enjoy riding and performing creative tricks together. I also gave Rarity a skateboard, and a nice family gave Tempest a tack set, as she’s wearing. I hope the rest of Equestria can love and appreciate bikes and skateboards too.
I’m in a much better place now, on a little tropical island called Trinidad with a diverse array of cultures, living together with my mom.
If you wish to visit me, I’ll be happy to meet you. Assuming Equestria uses a coordinate system, the island’s coordinates are on the back of this paper.
With best wishes for you, your sister, and your kingdom,
Xavier William Brown
P.S.: Keep the photos somewhere safe and secure, as they’re very special to Twilight and… well, everybody.
Celestia peered over at the photos. They showed Rarity joyfully pushing down the street on her skateboard, with Tempest prancing alongside and Xavier performing a 360 flip, Pinkie performing a pedal hang-five with Skystar doing a spinning steamroller, and a group photo with Zack, Pinkie, Skystar, Joyce, Xavier, Tempest, Twilight, Spike, Rarity, and the others in front of the house, where in a tiny little basement, Xavier had lived for several years with his mom.
Luna, Cadence, and Queen Novo also took turns viewing the photos. They all smiled with joy and contentment, almost feeling a little teary-eyed by how moving Xavier’s letter was in conjunction to the photos, and how he’d worked so hard to keep everyone he loved and cared for safe and happy with whatever he was capable of.