//------------------------------// // How things are gonna be (by Bumblebeau) // Story: Romantic Mischief // by TheHardie-Boy //------------------------------// I lie in my hospital bed, the heart monitor continuing to beep, reminding me of my situation right before I came to Equestria. I’m still seething at what just happened. I finally got Starlight to open up to me, only for her to be ushered out, leaving me to try to find a way to fix this. Let’s go over my current predicament, shall we? First, Twilight’s probably pissed at me for keeping a secret from her so early into our marriage. Then, I’m still keeping the same secret from Sunset. I’ve only just now realized how I’ve been treating Starlight; everything she said about me was right. My brother hates me for trying to help him, and of course, Sunset’s baby is on the way, which I still don’t think I’m ready for, and that’ll take even more of my attention when I should be focusing on Starlight, the one I’ve hurt the most. But hey, at least I still have my friends, my health, and a monitor that mocks you with every-! “Mr. Taylor, what’s wrong?” Nurse Redheart asked as she entered my room. “What? I’m fine, what do you mean?” I replied. “Your heart rate is rising drastically,” she answered. I turn my head over to see the heart monitor was in fact indicating my heart rate had increased. “Oh that, yeah, I-I’m fine,” I answered. “If you say so. Please do try to get some rest,” she said, exiting the room. I sighed and laid my head back. The most I can do right now is close my eyes and try to sleep it off. Who knows, maybe Luna can help me. Doubt it, though. She may be a moon goddess, but not even she could possibly help me solve all my problems. I can’t believe I’m even saying this, but I’m starting to wish I never arrived to Equestria. When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the couch of the Library. Any feelings of confusion as to why I was there ceased to be as I scanned the room to see the one pony I wanted to see most: Starlight Glimmer. “Starlight!” I yelled as I raced over to hold her. But once I reached my arms around her, they simply passed through her like she was made of air. I continued to reach and yell for her, but every attempt was fruitless. As I finally gave in, I heard another voice behind me. “I’m sorry, Jake Taylor, it was not my intention to torment you like this.” I turned my head to the familiar voice to see Princess Luna standing with a sad look on her face. “Princess Luna!” I cried out as I made my way to her. “Somethings wrong with Starlight, she won’t-“ My words were interrupted by Luna placing a hoof on my mouth. “Do not fear, Jake Taylor, this is only a dream,” Luna explained. “A dream?” I questioned the moon princess. My mood of this discovery was a mix between relief that Starlight was okay, and sadness that she wasn’t really here. “I sense you are upset, and no doubt you have many questions, but there is a reason I brought you here,” Luna said. “You see, this isn’t just any mere dream, ‘tis a vision of the past.” “We’re in the past?!” I said absolutely surprised. “You can do that?” Luna had a small chuckle. “Yes, Jake Taylor. I once had to do something similar for Sweetie Belle, but that’s a story for another night.” “Okay, so when did this happen?” As I asked, I saw Starlight hanging a banner with the words “WELCOME BACK!” printed on them with a drawing of me and Twilight on it. “You do not recall? ‘Tis the day you return from your honeymoon with Twilight Sparkle!” Luna explained. Before I could reply, I heard the doors opening, revealing Sunset Shimmer. I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw Sunset with her stomach so small; the size difference was so noticeable it was comical. “Are they back yet?” Sunset asked with a smile on her face. “Not yet, but it should be any moment now!” Starlight said excitedly. “How was it with the princess?” “To quote Rainbow Dash: It was Awesome! We really got to talk about so many things, and she was even able to give me some advice about raising the child.” As Sunset continued to talk, I kept staring at Starlight; I didn’t know if it was the lighting or what, but she looked so elegant just standing there. “Funny my sister should give Sunset advice on raising a child when she had to give her up so soon,” Luna said, snapping me out of my thoughts; I looked at her with utter surprise. Celestia said she never told Luna, so how did she... Luna once again interrupted my thoughts when she started chuckling, as if reading my mind. “My sister may have her secrets in the Day Realm, but in dreams, very little is kept a secret from me. She has been dreaming of nothing but telling Sunset the truth ever since the wedding.” I was about to pry more into what she knew, and how many of my secrets she knew about when suddenly, the portal started glowing. Starlight’s face lit up when she noticed as well. “They’re back!” Starlight rushed to the front of the portal and pranced in place in an adorable manner. Soon, Sunset and Spike, who I just noticed were also in the room, joined her in front of the portal. Shortly after, I saw myself jumping out of the portal with Twilight in my arms bridal style; we looked so happy together. “Welcome home!” Starlight and the others said as she had a huge grin on her face. “Hello, everypony!” Twilight said while nuzzling my neck. “Hey guys how’s it been?” my past self asked. As we all exchanged words, I looked at Starlight again. I couldn’t explain it, but I could just feel how happy she was to see us again, like a weight had been lifted. “During this vision, you may experience the thoughts and feelings of Starlight Glimmer,” Luna answered, confirming my theory she was reading my thoughts. “Why are you making me go through this?” I questioned the princess. “So that you may understand what you have done,” Luna replied. Before I could ask more, Sunset started moving towards the portal. “I really wish I could stay longer, but I have school tomorrow, and I haven’t done any of my homework, so I gotta get cramming!” As we all gave Sunset our goodbyes, she headed through the portal. Once Sunset left, Starlight looked at Twilight and me. “I’m so happy to see you two! Since you’re probably tired, I thought we could just have a simple dinner tonight and maybe talk about… stuff…” Starlight trailed off when she saw the past me and Twilight look at each other with half-lidded eyes. “Uh, guys? Equestria to Mr. & Mrs. Taylor! Anypony home?” Starlight said, trying to get our attention. “Hmm? Oh, sorry, Starlight, did you say something?” the past me asked once he finally broke away from Twilight’s gaze. Starlight felt disheartened at my words. “Y-Yeah, I was saying we should all have dinner together…” “Oh yeah, that sounds great! Right, Twily?” the past me turned and said to my new bride. Twilight giggled before she answered back. “That sounds wonderful, Jakey.” Hearing us call each other pet names really sounded cringy now that I saw it happening. The past Twilight then had a sly look. “Say, before we eat, why don’t we go lay down? I’m sooooo tired from our trip,” Twilight said as she put a hoof on my past self’s chest. Catching the hint, he took her away. Starlight’s face dropped as she saw us leaving, I could feel the disappointment in her heart. “Oh… Okay, maybe we can… talk… later…” My own heart broke, seeing her that way. Soon, Spike walked up to her and placed a claw on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, they’re probably just stuck in the honeymoon phase. I’m sure they’ll jump out of it soon,” Spike said, trying to reassure her. Starlight was still a bit sad, but eventually became hopeful. “You’re right, I’m sure things will be back to normal soon. Jake wouldn’t forget me.” But unfortunately, it didn’t get better as days became weeks, weeks became months; Starlight continued to hold on to hope, but her efforts seemed fruitless. I was rarely away from Twilight, and when I wasn’t with Twilight, I was with Sunset. Most times I would go to Sunset’s world, sometimes she would come over to also see Princess Celestia. Starlight was always in the background, still holding on to the idea that I would break out of this trance and come back to her. “I don’t get it, why didn’t Starlight say anything?” I said, my heart breaking alongside Starlight’s. “Why didn’t she tell me?” As if on cue, Luna answered my question. “She did not wish to get in the way of your happiness, and as you can see, she thought you would discover the truth yourself.” “Okay, but there are other friends she has, other ponies she could have gone to see!” Luna had a poignant look on her face. “She did try…” She then showed me a vision of her talking to Spike. “H-Hey, Spike, can I talk to you? I’m starting to think that Jake’s not…” “Sorry, Starlight! I gotta go!” Spike said as he rushed away. “Rarity really needs me to pick up some gems.” Starlight was very saddened by his rejection to help. “Okay… can we talk when you get back?” “Sorry, she also said Sweetie Belle is at a slumber party at Scootaloo tonight, so Spikey may get some cuddles in,” Spike said as he wiggled his eyebrows and dashed away. Starlight stared at where he was, crushed and broken hearted. She then tried speaking to her other friends, but Sunburst had his Crystaller duties, Trixie was away on tour, she had no idea where Maud was, and all of Twilight’s friends seemed to be busy; Starlight felt completely alone, and I let it happen… “Why didn’t you do anything?” I said as I turned to Luna. She answered back despairingly, “I believed in you and told her to hold on, just as Spike did, and look what has happened…” I was then shown our fight in the hospital; the sight of it made me hate my own guts, knowing what I knew now. We fast forwarded to Starlight in her room. That must be what happened that evening. Starlight looked at the ceiling of her room, feeling completely numb from all that happened. She looked in her heart where I was supposed to be and saw only a hole. I fell to my knees and started feeling miserable. “That’s enough! Don’t show me anymore!” Luna put her hoof on my shoulder with pity in her heart. “I am sorry to have put you through this, but I hope you now know why Starlight was so upset, and what will drive her to make her next decision.” Before I could ask her anything more, her horn lit up. “‘Tis morning, time to awaken!” After a blinding flash, my eyes opened to see the roof of the ceiling and the beeping of that stupid monitor again. I soon got up, which was much easier than it was yesterday and took off my heart monitor, so I could get a nurse in here quickly. I needed to get home soon so I could see Starlight and fix things. Jeez, this flatline noise is way worse than the beeping… Twilight stirred in her sleep as her thoughts raced. Why did she promise Jake she wouldn’t say anything to Sunset? She was terrible with secrets! Well, there was nothing she could do about it now, so she decided to just get up and start her day. She wandered into the library, where she found Starlight on the couch reading a book. “Morning, Starlight!” she said with a cheery tone. Starlight turned the page, not even looking at Twilight. “Morning.” Twilight sighed and joined her on the couch. “Jake should be able to come home later today. Isn’t that great?” “Yeah, sure,” Starlight answered coldly. An awkward silence drifted in the room before Twilight broke it. “Hey, Spike and I were going to go pick him up later. Would you like to come with us?” “Nah, I really want to finish this book, but you two enjoy yourselves,” Starlight said as she flipped through the pages. “What’s wrong?” Twilight asked. Starlight sighed. “Look, you can drop the whole ‘everything’s just peachy’ act. Jake’s in the hospital, big deal.” “It’s really to convince myself more than anything,” Twilight said. Starlight merely grunted as a response. A moment of awkward silence filled the room before Twilight spoke again. “So, what did you and Jake talk about last night?” “Nothing,” Starlight replied. Before Twilight could ask further, Spike bust through the doors. “Louis is gone!” “What?!” Twilight exclaimed, hopping off the couch. “Left earlier this morning,” Starlight said nonchalantly. “Went through the portal.” “And you let him?” Spike asked. “What was I gonna do, stop him?” Starlight replied. “He asked me not to let anyone go after him.” “Hello?” Jake suddenly called from the foyer. “Is anyone here?” Twilight jumped at the sound of Jake’s voice. “Is that Jake? What’s he doing here?” Spike said equally startled. “We can’t let him know what’s going on!” Twilight said in a panicked tone. “Twilight, it’s his brother,” Spike countered. “I think he has a right to know.” They both looked to Starlight. “Nope, leave me out of this,” she simply said. “Like I said, Louis didn’t want anyone following him.” “Twilight? Starlight?” Jake continued to call. I simply waited in the foyer for someone to show up. Eventually, Twilight and Spike came to greet me. “Jake! You’re home!” Twilight said as she ran up to me. She stopped right in front of me, and I could tell by the way she bit her lower lip she wanted a hug. Once I knelt down, she hugged my neck; It wasn’t easy for me to do so, given the fact I was still slightly sore. “I missed you so much! I was so worried about you!” Twilight said as she continued to softly, yet affectionately hug me. As I was enjoying my wife’s embrace, Spike came by. “Hey, guys,” I said. “Where’s Starlight? I really need to talk to her.” “Before you do,” Twilight said, letting go and landing in front of me, “what did the doctor say?” I groaned. “He said I’m fine, I just need to avoid excitement for awhile. Where’s Starlight?” “No offense,” Spike started, “but it doesn’t seem like she wants to talk to you.” I was disheartened by his words, but it was nothing I haven’t come to expect given our last conversation. “I get that, but still I need to talk to her! After what happened, I don’t want her to leave with things like this!” Spike and Twilight seemed shocked to hear my words. Twilight was the first to speak up. “Wh-What are you talking about? Why would Starlight want to leave?!” “Didn’t Starlight tell you?” I asked. “N-No, she hasn’t said anything about what happened between you two. What did she say?!” Spike answered back. It was then I told them everything about the fight Starlight and I had in the hospital. I then told them about the dream I had with Luna. As I spoke my words, I started to feel more guilty of the way I have been neglecting Starlight’s feelings. “Th-That’s awful! Why wouldn’t she tell us?” Twilight replied with the dampness in her eyes apparent. “So now you know why I have to see her! Can you please take me to her?” I say with conviction in my voice. Twilight and Spike looked at each other and nodded before facing me again. “She’s in the Library, this way!” Twilight said as she led me to the library. Once we finally entered the Library, I saw Starlight on the couch reading her book. I was happy to see her, but then she broke away from her book to look at me for a moment before going back to it. “Oh, good, you’re home. Welcome back.” The way she said it so casually, you would think she never knew I was in the hospital. Although I was taken back by her apathic demeanor, I walked over to her and knelt in front of her. “Hey, Starlight, can we talk?” Starlight flipped through her book without even looking my way. “I said everything I wanted to say at the hospital.” I was hurt by her words, but I decided to press forward. “Alright, then let me do all the talking.” I then adjusted my sitting stance in case this took longer than I thought. “Princess Luna showed me a dream, and in that dream, she showed me what a crappy boyfriend I’ve been to you, and how you bottled it up inside of you all this time.” Starlight looked my way for a moment before returning to her book. “You have been nothing short of amazing, and lately I’ve treated you like you’re nothing. You deserved so much more from me, but instead, I gave it all to Twilight and Sunset. I know what I did was wrong. I am truly, terribly sorry Starlight.” Starlight continued to read her book in silence for several moments before answering. “It took you this long to say this to me?” As I felt disheartened, Twilight appeared at my side to share some of her own thoughts. “Starlight, why didn’t you tell us you were hurting? We’re more than just friends, we’re family, so why didn’t you say anything?” Starlight grumbled as she continued reading. “Starlight, I get why you’re upset with Jake, but why are you being so cold to us? We didn’t do anything!” Twilight said, hoping to diffuse the situation. Then Starlight slammed her book shut and looked right at Twilight with a truly furious expression. “You’re right, you did NOTHING!” Starlight said as she stood up on all fours. “You never ONCE thought he may have been giving you too much attention?! That the whole time while he has been treating you like his little Princess Wifey Poo, I wasn’t feeling LONELY? Or LEFT OUT? Or DISCARDED?!” Starlight’s horn glowed violently, almost as if it were overflowing with magic, which made all of us slowly back away. Then suddenly books started literally flying off the shelves and circled around the room. “Starlight!” I yelled out through the erupting chaos in the room. “Well you didn’t! And I had to shoulder all of it on my own!” The books were now flying so fast they were creating a whistling sound; Twilight put up a shield to protect herself, Spike, and me. “I was always there for you, Jake! I always made time for you when you needed me!!!” “Starlight, please stop!” I said, hoping once more to calm the storm. “But when I needed you most, when I needed you to tell me I’m somepony special, somepony who’s loved and important to you, what did you do? What did ANY of you do?!” The books were flying faster and started crashing into the shield. Spike held on to Twilight out of fear. “YOU. DID. NOTHING!!!” Suddenly, the books stopped and fell to the ground in an unorganized mess. Starlight stood where she was, breathing heavily with a scowl on her face and tears running from her eyes. Nobody dared to say anything as we witnessed Starlight’s fury around the room. “I loved you, Jake! I loved you more than I loved myself, or anypony else! How could you treat me like I didn’t even exist?!” As Starlight’s breathing started to become less intense, I walked towards her, my eyes becoming damp. When I got close enough, I placed my hand on her cheek and started caressing her face. She leaned into my hand and lowered her eyes. “Starlight… I’m so sor-” Before I could finish, she used her hoof to push my hand away. “Jake… I think we need to take a break.” As her words echoed in my head, tears started falling from my eyes. “St-Starlight… Please, no! We can work this out; you don’t have to do this! I won’t leave you feeling alone again!” “Even after the baby is born? You couldn’t even pay attention to me after you became a husband, how will things be different after you become a father?!” As I stared in silence, Starlight looked away from me. “You know, I almost considered leaving with Louis, but I guess he didn’t want me around either…” As I watched Starlight head towards the library doors, I felt my whole world crumbling down. I lunged for her and held her in a tight hug. “J-Jake, what are you doing?!? Let go of me!” Starlight shouted in surprise. “Please, Starlight! Please don’t go! I don’t want to lose you too!” Starlight stopped struggling when she heard my words “P-Please, Starlight, please stay. I promise I’ll do better; I swear on my life I will be a better boyfriend for you! I’ll give you all the love and attention you deserve, and more! Just please stay! I love you, Starlight! I love you so much!!!” Starlight said nothing for several moments, before speaking. “I’m sorry, Jake, but you’re too late…” Suddenly, she disappeared from my arms, and I stared at my empty hands in disbelief. The tears in my eyes would not stop falling as I wept loudly. Soon, I felt a hoof touch the side of my arm and saw that it was Twilight, with tears running down her eyes. She held me tight, and Spike quickly joined in and held my side. We supported each other as we accepted this horrible new experience. Our herd had just become short one member. Starlight Glimmer was gone. Jake was laying on the couch where Starlight was previously sitting. He had no idea how long he was in this position, but he didn’t care. Half the day could have passed by, but Starlight was still gone. Jake had no idea if she was just going to be away for the day, or… or if she was gone for good. Spike was doing his best to put all the books in a pile so make it less of a mess. Twilight stayed close to Jake in case he woke up and needed her. She was in no rush to get the books back in place; this was going to take a long time to do, regardless of how much she helped. Jake started tearing up again; Twilight held him and wiped his tears away. She did her best to help Spike with the books with her magic, but Jake was her biggest concern. She wanted to show her husband that he wasn’t alone in their pain, that he wasn’t the only one who felt like they lost a member of the family. “This is all my fault… I’m so sorry, Twilight…” Jake said in a wretched tone. Twilight placed her face close to his, careful not to poke him with her horn. “No, Jake, if anypony is to blame it’s me. I was her teacher and her friend; I should have realized I was spending too much time with you.” Now it was Twilight’s turn to be comforted as Jake placed his hand on her cheek. “I guess we both made mistakes. I was so happy to have someone like you in my life, someone who genuinely cares about me, and someone I can call my best friend, my wife. I’ve never been so happy in my life.” Twilight leaned into his hand. “And I was happy to have somepony in my life like you. You are kind, considerate, and you always strive to be better.” Spike turned his head away from the couple and silently dry heaved. He was happy they were together, but he couldn’t deal with this mushy stuff. As Jake was enjoying his wife’s presence, a sudden question came into his head. “Twilight… What did Starlight mean about Louis leaving?” Twilight broke out of her blissful state and grew a worried expression. Spike turned around with the same expression as he stared at them, which Jake unfortunately caught. “Twilight, what happened?” Jake said as his expression became more serious. Twilight backed away and bit her lip. Jake rose up slowly, given he was laying down for a while, and looked back and forth between Twilight and Spike. “Guys, tell me happened to Louis!” After about a minute Spike spoke up. “Starlight said he left through the portal this morning.” “Spike!” Twilight said with a stern expression at the dragon in question. She then turned around to see Jake looking right at her; her ears drooped at the sight. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Jake said as he continued his stare down. Twilight lowered her head and drew a circle on the ground with her hoof. “I was worried about you; you did just get out of the hospital. And you said so yourself that the doctor said you shouldn’t overwork yourself.” Jake looked at his watch. The time read that it was after 2:00. He then slowly rose and started heading towards the portal. “Jake, it has been hours since he left, he could be anywhere!” Twilight added. “You’re not going to be able to find him on your own!” “School is going to be over soon, Sunset and her friends will be able to help me!” “Jake, wait!” Spike said as he dropped a pile of books. “Louis said he didn’t want to be followed! He might not want to come back!” “Louis is part of this family! And I am NOT losing anymore family members!” Jake said as he continues to move forward. Jake stepped in front of the mirror and placed his hand on the portal. As it illuminated, he looked behind him to see Twilight, full of both worry and guilt. “Don’t worry, Twilight, when I get back, our family will be whole!” he said with a confident smile. He then stepped through the portal and soon pulled apart as he traveled through to the other side. Once his vision returned, he heard a loud ringing sound. He found the source of the noise and stared at the entrance of Canterlot High School. *** “Okay, class dismissed!” Professor Hooves exclaimed as the final bell of the day rang. “Make sure to have your reports on Quantum Optics finished by next class! I won’t accept any excuses if you forget it, especially you, Miss Shimmer!” “You got it, Professor! I won’t let you down!” Sunset said as she collected her things. Once she left the room, she suddenly felt a sharp feeling in her stomach. “Oh jeez…” “You alright?” Sunset turned around to see Twilight Sparkle, one of her many best friends at school. “Hey, Twi, I’m good. The baby’s just trying to remind mommy who’s in charge,” Sunset said as she rubbed her enlarged stomach. Twilight suddenly became giddy. “You mean you felt the baby kick!?!” She gave a high-pitched squeal, then proceeded to rub Sunset’s stomach; she hoped to feel the baby’s kick herself. Sunset simply rolled her eyes at the sight as she allowed her friend to continue. “You should be in your third trimester, right? Your little bundle of joy shouldn’t be much longer now!” Twilight said as she continued to rub her stomach. “Yeah, I just hope I can do a good job; it’s not exactly going to be easy to raise a child while in high school.” “Don’t worry, you’re not alone; you have friends like us and Jake to help you raise your child,” Twilight said as she started nuzzling Sunset’s stomach. “And Auntie Twilight is gonna help take good care of you, yes she will!” Twilight said to the baby; Twilight started making nonsense noises to the baby, which made Sunset look around and become embarrassed to see other students giggling. Twilight then looked up at Sunset. “Speaking of which, have you heard anything about Jake yet?” Sunset’s embarrassment became gloom as she remembered the events that happened the day before. “No, I haven’t. The other you said he should’ve been released this morning, but she hasn’t given me any response yet. I’m really worried.” Twilight rose to her feet and put a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “Would it make you feel better to go see him today?” Sunset shook her head. “I’d love to, but I’m worried it will hurt the baby if I go through too many times…” Just as Sunset started to feel despondent, she heard heavy breathing coming from behind her. She turned around to see someone she wasn’t expecting to see. “J-Jake?! Is that you?” Jake stopped in place once he got close enough to Sunset, breathing heavily from all the running he did. “Sunset… I found you!” Sunset then closed the distance and gave Jake the biggest hug she could, careful not to hurt the baby. As Jake held Sunset, he caught a glimpse of the other Twilight waving at him; he waved back at her sharing a small smile. Sunset broke the hug and looked back at her boyfriend with a mixture of happiness and solace. “I can’t believe you’re here! I’m so happy everything’s alright.” Jake gave her a small smile before looking away. Even though she hadn’t known Jake as long as the other members of her herd, she could tell something was wrong. She cupped his cheek in her hand and made him look at her. “Jake, IS everything alright?” Jake brought her closer and looked into her eyes as he spoke. “I need your help.” After Sunset gathered her other friends to their band’s special meeting spot, I was able to explain the situation about Louis. As much as I trusted Sunset and her friends, I refrained from mentioning anything about Starlight for now; it was not a subject they need to know; plus, I really don’t feel like talking about it. I shared a photo of Louis I had with me in my wallet with the girls. After the other girls texted their other friends the information, we then split up into teams and searched around town. Sunset and I searched as much as we could, asked as many people as we could, but with no luck. It seemed Louis was able to cover a lot of ground in such a short time. Sunset and I decided to meet the others at this one diner, which I was told is where Pinkie worked, to plan our next move. Sunset and I saw the girls and ran inside to meet them. Well, I ran inside; I had to push Sunset in her wheelchair because she was on her feet too long. “Any luck?” I asked the girls once we got close enough to their table. “Has anyone seen Louis?” All the girls shook their heads as they had a melancholic look. Needless to say, they had the same luck I did. “We’re really sorry, Jake, we tried our best,” Twilight said as she continued to have a distressing look. “That's all right, Twi, it’s not over yet! We just need to get back out there, maybe put up some flyers?” As I tried to inspire ideas to keep everyone going, they looked at each other with worried expressions. Soon Fluttershy broke the silence. “Um, m-maybe we should stop. I don’t think Louis is-” “No! We are going to keep looking!” I interrupted with a voice more raised than I meant for it to be, which caused Fluttershy to give a small squeak as she hid behind her hair. “Now, darling, there’s no need to act so brutish!” Rarity said as she held Fluttershy close. “I’m sorry, I just really need to find Louis. He could be anywhere, and I’m not going to stop until I bring him back home!” “And what if he don’t want to come home?” Applejack said as she raised herself from her chair. I shot her an annoyed glare back. “What are you talking about?!” “All I’m saying is what if the reason we can’t find him is because he don’t want to be found?” “I’ll just convince him to come back, I won’t give up on my family!” “Look, partner, I understand the importance of family and all, but you need to realize that even if we do find him, you can’t force him to come home!” “Well what am I supposed to do, just let him go and disappear forever?!” “You should let him go out and make his own decisions. He’s more than capable of doing that.” “I’m sorry, darling, but Applejack’s right. If you keep chasing him like this, you’re only going to drive him away further, not to mention you’ll drive yourself utterly mad.” “But… I don’t want to give up…” Sunset put her hand on my arm and gave me a comforting look. “I’m sorry Jake, but what choice do you have? We have no idea where he is, and he has had enough time to leave the city by now. Are you just going to stay here in this world and keep looking until you’ve-?” “Found him!!!” Pinkie Pie shouted; everyone, me included, looked right at her. “You found him?! How? Where is he???” I said as I rushed over to Pinkie and shook her. “Well, I was checking out my profile on MyStable, and I just thought of this really funny post about this one dog I saw this morning that had a water hoe in his mouth and- wait is it hoe or hose? I mean there’s only the one so it should be ‘hoe’, but ‘hose’ sounds like its right, I don’t know, what do you think? Water hoe? Water hose? Hoe? Hose? Hose? Ho? H-” I cover her mouth realizing this could go on forever. “Pinkie, can you please skip to the part where you tell me where Louis is?” Pinkie Pie nodded her head and showed me a picture on her phone. I look at the Picture and see this world’s Trixie making a kissy face pose with the caption “G&PT @ the park staying fit! LOL!” She then put in a bunch of hashtags. I was about to question why Pinkie showed me this, when I saw the reason at the corner of the picture. Louis was there in the background! “He’s at the park!” Then Rainbow Dash grabbed the phone and looks at the picture. “Hey, it’s the Canterlot Community Park; Soarin and I go there for a jog there all the time!” Then Twilight grabbed the phone. “According to the time stamp, Trixie made this post a little over a minute ago! Which means-” “It means he could still be there!” I said, finishing her sentence. “C’mon We’ll show you the way!” Rainbow Dash said before heading to the entrance. I grabbed Sunset’s chair, and we joined her. I finally found Louis! And I’m going to do whatever it takes to bring him home! And put our family back together! “It’s ‘water hose’ by the way!” I heard Twilight shout as she joined us. Louis sat on a bench, looking at the sky, while trying to think of his next move. After hearing about this place from Starlight, he was happy to finally be in a place with human beings in them. However, it still felt a bit weird since everyone here had weird skin and hair colors; besides the obvious, it felt just like that pony world all over again. Louis thought he could just run off to another town and find a job doing manual labor or something. Unfortunately, once he arrived in this world, he gained the body of a teenager. He’d been hiding from everyone out of fear they would think he was just trying to skip school. Now that school should be done for the day, he could go out in the open again, and hopefully try to figure out how to get a ride. As Louis pondered more on this new world, a soccer ball hits him in the knee. “Sorry, dude, my bad!” a stranger said as he approached Louis. “Be more careful next time!” Louis said as he threw him the ball back. After the stranger grabbed the ball, he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “Yeah, will do. Name’s Soarin, by the way.” Soarin held out his hand out to be friendly. “Louis,” Louis said nonchalantly as he refused to return the shake. “Okaaaay, hi, Louis.” Soarin retreated his hand in response. “Say, I don’t think I’ve seen you around. You new in town?” Soarin said, hoping to extend the conversation. Unbeknownst to Louis, Soarin already knew who he was; Rainbow Dash alerted him via text message about the situation, and that she needed his help distracting Louis so Jake could get there. “Just passing through; I don’t plan to stay long.” “Oh okay. Hey, before you go, do you want to play a little one-on-one?” Soarin said, holding his ball up. “No, I need to get going soon,” Louis said as he got up. Soarin gained a worried expression, but he head-butted the ball in the air multiple times, signaling plan B of the distraction. “You sure man? It’s really fun!” “I’m fine, thanks,” Louis said as he started to walk away. Soon another unfamiliar face showed itself, running towards Louis and Soarin, while carrying what looked like a guitar on his back. “Hey, Soarin! Sorry I’m late!” the new stranger exclaimed. “No worries, man! Hey, this is my new amigo, Louis! Louis, this is Flash Sentry!” “Hey, man! Nice to meet you!” Flash said, offering a handshake, but like he did with Soarin, Louis declined it. “So hey, Flash here is in his own band!” Sorin said, trying to make the situation less awkward. “Good for you,” Louis said, unamused. Flash then pulled his guitar from his back and looked like he was ready to play. “Yeah, I’m the lead guitarist of my band, Flash Drive! It’s just something so I can rock out and hang with my bros!” “Nice…” Louis said, once again making the situation awkward. “…Yeah, so maybe if you want, I can play you a song!” Flash said in response to Louis’s apathy. “I don’t-” Louis was about to object before Flash started playing. While listening to Flash’s song, Louis noticed that Soarin was looking around. “Expecting to see someone?” Soarin looked back at Louis with surprise. “Oh, uh yeah. My girlfriend is supposed to come by later with her friends, so we can play a game together.” “Uh huh.” Louis then looked at Flash, who stopped playing when Louis spoke up. “What’s wrong? You done with the song already?” “Uh, no! I just… didn’t want to interrupt.” Flash was about ready to resume playing before Louis starts to leave. “Look, thanks for the song, but I have to get going.” “You sure dude? We only just met! Maybe we can hang out or something?” Louis said nothing as he continued his way. POOF! Smoke filled the air around him, and Louis could barely breath through the heavy smoke. “Prepare yourself! For you are about to witness feats of magic too extravagant, too astonishing for mere mortal comprehension,” a woman’s voice called out to Louis from inside the smoke. “Fix your eyes upon… ME! The Grrreat, and Powerful Trrrrrixie!” Trixie pushed her cape away and struck a pose to make herself seem more breathtaking “Oh great, someone else to be friends with, and she looks like a dollar store Zack King,” Louis thought to himself as his eyes watered from the smoke. “You, sir-!” Trixie said as she pointed her wand at Louis. “-are the VIP special guest for the Great, and Powerful Trixie’s Super-Sudden-Impromptu-Totally-On-The-Spot Magical Tour! I shall amaze you with illusions, confuse you with trickery, and astound you with acts of prestidigitation never before seen!” Louis just stared at Trixie, more stupefied than amazed. Then his expression became stern as he decided to leave. “I’m out!” Louis exclaimed before both Soarin and Flash blocked him off. “C’mon, dude, you gotta have time for one show, right?” Soarin begged Louis. Louis then gave a heavy sigh, realizing they wouldn’t stop. “Fine! I will watch one trick, okay?! But then I have to leave!” Satisfied, Trixie then began her magic show. “For my first trick, the Great and Powerful Trrrrixie shall blow your minds with... this!” Trixie said as she held out a coin; the boys, minus Louis, gave exaggerated sounds of amazement. Trixie placed the coin on her hand and held it there for a few moments. She then closed her hand again and opened it to reveal the coin was missing. Soarin and Flash give another exaggerated gasp. Louis, however, was unimpressed by Trixie’s display. “I shall now reveal the location of the coin!” Trixie announced. “Is it in your sleeve?” Louis mocked. “LET ME FINISH!!!” Trixie yelled at the top of her lungs. She then cleared her throat and continued her show. “You there! Boy with the spikey hair and jacket!” Trixie said, pointing at Flash. “Check behind your ear!” Flash checked the ear facing away from Louis and pulled out a coin; he gave an exaggerated gasp of amazement. “No way! How did she do that?!” Trixie gave a hearty laugh as she completed her trick. “Now do you see? Trixie’s magic is beyond comprehension!” “It’s a nickel,” Louis said. “…What?” Trixie said with confusion at Louis’s words. “The coin he has is a nickel; the coin you had was a quarter.” Flash had a sudden look of embarrassment as Louis pointed out that fact. “You pulled out the wrong coin!?!” Trixie yelled at her boyfriend. “Sorry, babe, wrong pocket,” Flash said while scratching the back of his head. “Really, dude?” Soarin said as he facepalmed himself. “I’m out of here,” Louis said as he broke away from Soarin and Flash. “W-Wait! I have more tricks to show you!” Trixie said to get him to stay. “No! The deal was one trick. I saw the trick, now I’m gone! Goodbye!” Louis said as he waves them away. The three tried to think of something, anything to get him to stay, when suddenly a new voice cried out. “Louis!” Louis looked back at the voice with a shocked expression. “Jake?!” I had finally found him! I found my brother and was now a few feet away from him. I gave Sunset’s wheelchair to Fluttershy as I walked over to talk to Louis. As I got closer, Louis’s expression only grew more serious. “Why are you here? I thought I told Starlight I didn’t want to be followed!” “You’re my brother! Of course I’m going to come back for you! Now come on, let’s go home!” I reached out to him, hoping he would make this easy for me. But it seemed I was too optimistic as he simply backed off further. “I’m not going back!” “What? Why not?!” “Because I’m not going to be a burden for you anymore!” “If you’re talking about what happened at the farm, don’t worry about it! There’s nothing you could have done to-” “Don’t say that! You have no idea if I could have stopped it!” “You don’t know that either! And are you really going to make a huge decision like this because of one-” “ITS NOT JUST ABOUT THE CART!!!” Louis interrupted. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I lived a really messed up life! I don’t want to trouble any of you with it.” I looked at him in disbelief; was it possible that I’d been ignoring his feelings like I did Starlight? If that was true, then I needed to bring him home so I could fix this no matter what! “If you’ll excuse me…” Louis said as he turned to leave. “NO! I lost Starlight! I won’t lose you too!” As I blurted out my words, everyone else let out a gasp, except for Louis, who continued to look away from me. “W-What? What happened to Starlight?” I heard Sunset say. I guess now was as good a time as any to come clean. “She… she left me… she left me because I wasn’t giving her enough attention. She was hurting so bad, and I didn’t even notice.” I started feeling guilty again as I spoke. “But I’m going to make it right with her, just like I can with you, Mox! So please, let’s go home and put our family back together!” Louis was silent before he turned his head and said something that made my blood boil. “Looks like she took my advice; can’t say I’m surprised.” I backed away, and my eyes became wide. “Louis… you told Starlight to leave me?!” “I offered it as a suggestion. She said she didn’t want to because she ‘believed in you’, and look how that turned out!” I could only stand there; I was fighting to remind myself that the goal was to bring him back, but every instinct I had was begging me to smack him. “Maybe this is a sign you shouldn’t chase me down; you’ll just end up getting hurt again,” Louis sayidbefore moving away. I grabbed his arm and forced him to look at me. “NO! I lost Starlight! I lost Mom & Dad! I am not going to lose you! I am NOT losing anymore family!!!” Louis stared me down with an angry look. “So that’s what all this is about?” Louis said as he breaks away from my grip. “This was never about me leaving was it? You just couldn’t get over Mom and Dad’s death, right?” I looked right at him with a scowl while he continued talking. “You couldn’t save their lives like you couldn’t save your relationship! You don’t care about me at all; you just want to pretend you have a happy family again!” My anger got the best of me as I pushed him hard. “SHUT UP! Stop being stupid and come ho-” I never got to finish my sentence as Louis gave me a right hook, and I double over in pain on the ground. I could hear everyone’s surprise in the background. “Do yourself a favor! Go back to Magical Talking Horse Land!” Louis said as he looked at me with a furious face. “If you follow me, I swear I will put you back in the hospital!” He turned around and I get back up and grab him from behind. “NO! I am not letting you go!” Louis said nothing as he reared back his fist and hit me square in the nose. I toppled to the ground again and swept his legs, so he fell on the ground too. “Jake, stop!!!” I heard Sunset shout to me. I ignored her and get on top of Louis, then I start hitting him repeatedly in the face. “YOU. ARE. NOT. GOING. TO. LEAVE. ME!!!” I said in between punches. Soon Louis pulled my head to his chest before flipping me over and delivered a knee to my throat. I grab at where he hit me, and I struggle to breath. By the time by breathing felt normal, Louis kicked me right into a tree, hitting me right in the ribs. “Are you done playing hero? You can’t beat me, Jake!” Louis said as he was breathing heavily. I eventually got up again and charged forward ready to swing at him. But right before my punch connected, he grabBed my fist and tripped me before putting me in an arm lock. As I struggled to get out of his grip, using my only free arm and legs, he pulled on my one arm harder. “Don’t make me break your arm. Say you’ll let me go, and it doesn’t have to get worse!” I continued to struggle until finally I ran out of juice. “You done? Tap out if you give!” Louis said to me, no doubt noticing how little of a fight I was putting up anymore. “But… I don’t want to let anyone go… I don’t want anyone to leave me…” I said in response, probably a bit more pathetically than I meant it to be. “Jake… we already left you.” My eyes widened at his words. “Jake, you have to let me go, man; this what I choose.” As I lie there panting, I remembered what Applejack and the others were saying about me letting go of Louis. If he honestly didn’t want to come back, then forcing him to come home will only drive him away more, and obsessing over it will only drive me insane. With a heavy heart, I knew what I had to do next. I tapped his leg with my free hand, telling him I was done. He let go of my arm, then he let me get up away from him. While he stood on his feet, I continued to stay on the ground; no more words were spoken between us as he ran off. Once the adrenaline was finally gone, I realized how much pain I was in; I checked the pain on my nose and realized I was bleeding. When my body completely registered the pain, I collapsed on the floor. “Jake!” I heard Sunset shout aloud. She soon loomed over me with tears in her eyes. “Jake! Hold on!” She then held my head close to her heart, apparently not minding the blood from my nose staining her shirt and continued to cry until her eyes became glassy. “I need you, Jake! Please don’t leave me! Please don’t leave me alone!” While the others were calling for an ambulance, I looked back at Louis, who was now much further away, until darkness overcame my sight. And for all I knew, that was the last time I would ever see Louis Moxon again. When I awoke, the first thing I heard was the sound of a heart monitor, mocking me with its persistent beeping; I had come so far today, only to end up in the hospital again. The only difference is that this time, I feel like I lost a lot more then my pride, I lost family too. Universe: Two. Jake: Zero. Once I was done belittling myself, I noticed someone else was in the room with me: Sunset Shimmer, slumped over with her head facing away from me. I moved my hand to her head and brushed it, which caused her to slowly raise her head up and look at me with puffy eyes, indicating she was crying a lot. “J-Jake?” she said as a smile slowly crept up her face. “Jake, you’re okay!!!” She was now completely up and trying to hug me as best she could. “Don’t do that again, you idiot! What did you think would happen if you went up against an ex-soldier?” “I-I’m… s-sorry…” I said weakly as she continued to hold me. I took this time to scan the rest of the room, and then discovered she wasn’t the only person who decided to wait for me to wake up. On the other corner of the room was Twilight Sparkle, but not Sunset’s Twilight who she goes to school with; it was MY Twilight, the one I married and love, right here with me in her human form. She soon joined us in our spontaneous group hug with her own set of tears. “Oh, Jake! I’m so happy you’re alright! When Sunset said you were in the hospital, I Just…” Her tears started drowning her words as she spoke. Silence filled the room as my two remaining lovers and I enjoyed our presence together. I was happy to see Twilight again, but I didn’t want her to see me like this. I was supposed to return to her a triumphant hero, not as someone who probably looks like they just got mugged. Soon Twilight stood up and met my eyes with hers. “Sunset told me about Louis, I’m so sorry, Jake.” As I felt guilty about what happened, Sunset rose to do the same as Twilight. “And Twilight told me all about Starlight, why didn’t you say anything?” Sunset said to me with concern. “I… I was so… ashamed,” I said weakly. “It’s all my fault,” Twilight exclaimed “We shouldn’t have gotten married. If I hadn’t married you, Starlight wouldn’t have felt so left out! I’m supposed to be one of her best friends, and I hogged you all to myself.” I felt shocked by Twilight’s words, but before I could say anything, Sunset spoke up. “No, Starlight was okay with helping you plan the wedding. If I hadn’t gotten pregnant, if I had just been more careful, I wouldn’t have forced Jake to see me so much and cause a rift between all of you…” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing; both girls were bickering back and forth, blaming themselves for everything that happened. Both girls became quiet when they saw me trying to get up; it was quite painful given my injuries. “Jake!” they both said as they rushed to my side worried about my welfare. “Girls, please... if anyone is to blame here… it’s me,” I spoke weakly at first, but my strength was slowly gathering as I continued. “I was the one who was showing favoritism… and neglecting her. I was so caught up with the idea that I had the family I always wanted… that I couldn’t see how lonely she was.” I then turned to Twilight. “Our marriage may not have been the smartest thing to do, but if I had to choose, I would ask for your hoof all over again. I will never regret having you for a wife, Twilight.” Twilight smiled at my words and held my hand. “And I would absolutely say yes again!” Twilight replied. “Even if the entire universe left you behind, I will always be by your side! Till death do us part!” She then leaned closer so my hand could be at her heart. “I love you, Jake Taylor!” My heart leapt at her words. I truly felt like I said the right thing as I gaze at her smile. I then turned to Sunset and placed my other hand on her stomach. “Sunset, I know we didn’t plan to have this child, but I am so happy to have created something so special with you. You are going to be such an amazing mother too.” Sunset placed her hand over mine and had a huge smile as well. “And you would be a wonderful Father,” Sunset answered back. “You’re the one man I feel proud to have a child with. Neither of us will ever abandon you.” She then mirrored Twilight and placed my hand on her heart as well. “I love you too, Jake!” I looked back and forth at the two women who confessed their wholehearted love for me. “Thank you, girls. I love you both so much. I’m so happy to have you in my life.” They both teared up and gave me a kiss on the cheek. After a few moments of sharing this moment with each other the door opened to reveal the human version of Nurse Redheart, giving me major feelings of Deja Vu. “Sorry to bother you, but visiting hours are over; Mr. Taylor needs his rest,” she said. Although we felt disappointed, the girls did as they were told. Sunset was the first to see me off. “Goodnight Jake, I’ll be back tomorrow after school okay?” she said before our lips met. Once we separated, Twilight gently brought my face over to her. “And I’ll be back as well. Sweet dreams, my prince.” She then kissed me, mirroring Sunset’s intensity. Then she pulled away and helped Sunset into her wheelchair. I couldn’t help but look at the nurse and see a blush on her face from our exchange. “Goodnight, girls, see you soon!” I called to them. “Goodnight, Jake!” they replied back. “Goodnight, ladies,” the nurse said. Twilight looked at the nurse and smiled. Before the girls left, they looked back at me one last time before disappearing for the night. After checking my vitals, and asking me a few questions about my injuries, which I denied any involvement by Louis, Nurse Redheart headed for the doors. “Goodnight, Mr. Taylor,” she said before turning off the lights to my room. As I lie in the darkness, I thought about everything that happened today, everything I lost. I hated losing Louis, but the one I missed most was Starlight. I really wanted her here with me, so I could hold her and tell her how much she means to me; I wanted to let her know that I would never abandon her again. Unfortunately, that was a dream that most likely won’t come true any time soon. My eyes became heavy, and I begrudgingly accepted what has happened, at what my reality has become, and most importantly, at how things are going to be.