Return Trip

by RunicTreetops


Strangers

You suddenly snap to your senses. You feel dazed and a bit groggy, as though you had been asleep. Looking around, you realize that you're sitting on the ground with your back leaning against a large tree. The sun is peeking through the canopy above, but it's no longer directly overhead. You scratch at the back of your neck as you try to take stock of the situation before Celestia enters your peripheral vision on your right. After noticing you looking at her, she takes a seat next to you.

"Sunshine? How are you feeling?"

"Ugh... my head hurts. What happened?"

"After you realized that we're seemingly back in your original world, you suddenly appeared very ill, and you eventually passed out. That was about an hour ago."

"W-what?!"

"Don't fret, sunshine. I carried you a bit farther into the woods where no one will see us. I figured that was the safest option until I could hear your opinion about all of this."

"Well... good call on that one. Though, I'm not the one we should be concerned about. I'm from here, after all. I'm much more concerned about you. You aren't made for this environment."

"Hmhm, don't underestimate me darling, I know how to keep myself safe. Are you forgetting that we cast a few spells on you when you ended up in Equestria to protect you from foreign influences like diseases or changes in the atmosphere? I can do that to myself too, you know. Though, I will admit that the air here still doesn't agree with me."

"Yeah, that would probably be the pollution. It's easier to ignore when you've been inhaling it your whole life. But admittedly I definitely notice it now. Equestria has spoiled me."

"Oh yes, pollution! You've spoken about that before. Unlike us, you humans failed to notice the danger that industrialization posed to the environment, so you also failed to take measures to mitigate it."

"I think it's closer to 'humans profit too much off of pollution to care about mitigating it,' but that's neither here nor there. Point is, we're just going to have to deal with it."

"Speaking of 'dealing with it,' we should probably discuss what to do next. We certainly can't just sit around in these woods all day."

"Yeah, and the less time we spend in this world, the better. I know I'm from here and all, but... I'd prefer to just stay in Equestria. No need to open old wounds like this."

"Old wounds?"

"D-don't worry about it. Anyway, what do you think we should do? If I had to guess, I'd say the Return Scepter malfunctioned, just like you said it might. Both because it didn't bring us all the way to our destination, and because it brought us here instead of Ponyville."

"I believe so too. Though I must admit, I had no idea that it was capable of bringing us between worlds. If I had, I SWEAR that I would have told you about it as soon as you were displaced all those years ago."

"Heh, I know, Tia. I know you better than to ever believe you would lie to me about that."

"Thank you, love. Now, then. Assuming the Return Scepter malfunctioned in the same way that it did when I was younger, it would have shot through the air towards whatever you consider 'home,' just without us in tow."

"Oh. Oh dear."

"You said that this world does not have magic, correct?"

"Right, though whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is really up in the air."

"In that case, the Return Scepter is our only way to get back to Equestria. I suppose that would mean going back to your old home to retrieve it."

"...My old home, huh?"

"Is that a problem?"

"...Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there." You stand up off of the ground, dusting yourself off as you do so. "For now, we need to figure out where exactly we are."

"While you were unconscious, I flew above the canopy to get a better view of the area. There's a town down the road a bit to the east, and beyond that, there looks to be a bunch of mountains in the distance."

"That's... not a lot to go on."

"It seems we should go into town then, wouldn't you say?"

"I don't know what else we could do, but it's not as simple as just walking up to town."

"Why not?"

"Well for one thing, there's the elephant in the room. Er, that would be you, if I wasn't clear."

"Are you calling me fat?"

"N-no! I just-"

"Hehe, I'm kidding sunshine. Anyway, go on."

You let out an exacerbated sigh.

"We can't let you be seen by anyone. Unlike you ponies, humans... humans are cruel. There is no telling what they'll do if they see you, since you may as well be an alien."

"Ah, I do remember you saying that the ponies in your world are practically an entirely different species."

"I think you're the same in name alone, Tia. Either way, my point is that it could be really dangerous if you were out in the open. They might think you're a wild animal and be scared or an extraterrestrial and get the government involved or... I don't know. Maybe I've just seen too many 'fish out of water' movies. B-but I still don't think it would be a good idea."

"If we're just passing through, I may have a way to circumvent that problem."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Hmhm, well, in truth, I was planning to have this be a surprise for you later, when we had a chance to be more... 'intimate.' Still, now is as good a time as ever, I suppose."

Celestia's horn begins to gently glow before the light slowly grows in intensity. After a few seconds, the light washes over her, covering her entire body before shifting outwards, forming an almost cocoon-like shape around her. Then, after a few more seconds, the light fades, leaving behind a shocking sight.

The woman standing before you in undoubtedly Celestia, but therein lies the problem: Celestia is a mare, not a woman. And yet, standing about a head taller than you is the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. Her skin is very pale, yet free from any blemishes. She wears a spotless snow-white dress with a golden trim that hugs her impressive figure well while still leaving her legs plenty of room to breathe. Several sun-like patterns gradually appear the farther down the dress you look, beginning with mostly translucent suns near her waist and ending with opaque orange suns that look suspiciously similar to Tia's cutie mark at the bottom of the dress. A similar pair of sun-shaped earrings dangle from her ears. A wedding band is wrapped around her left ring finger, the same band that is typically worn on her horn. Her head is adorned with beautiful, flawless hair, which hangs down slightly past her rear end and has the same color pattern as her usual mane. Unlike as a pony, however, her hair does not magically flow perpetually in a nonexistent wind, but it does still occasionally sparkle. She stands on a pair of golden dress shoes that match the trim of her dress. As you finish taking in the sight, she locks her familiar magenta eyes onto your own. You try to say something, but your mouth simply hangs open, refusing to make a sound.

"Hmhm. What? Am I so beautiful that you've no words left?"

"I... uh... wow."

"'Wow?' Is that the best you've got? I worked hard on this, you know."

"I'll admit, I have some... mixed feelings about this. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely flattered that you would go through the effort to figure out how to do this for me, but... I don't want you to change for me. I love you the way you are, Tia."

"Haha! My sunshine, I appreciate the concern, but you're really overthinking this! This is just something I made for fun! It's also not as impressive as you seem to think."

"How so?"

"Well, come closer and I'll show you."

You take a few steps towards your now-humanoid wife, stopping about a foot and a half away from her. With a giggle, she holds out her delicate-looking hand as if offering it to you. You take it, only to gasp in surprise when you realize what she is referring to. You definitely grabbed onto something, but it doesn't feel like her hand. In fact, your fingers aren't even in the right position to be holding her hand like you intended, but you definitely feel something. In fact, it feels familiar. Soft, but with a slightly hardened bottom.

It feels like her hoof.

"Do you get it now, sunshine?"

Letting go of her hand(?), you attempt to confirm your suspicions. You reach forward to touch her cheek, which is above you due to her newfound height, only for your hand to pass right through her head. It's frankly kind of jarring and terrifying to look at, but as she gives you a playful smile, you realize what she's doing. You lower your hand through her neck and down her chest to about the height where you're used to finding her face, only for your hand to land gently on what feels like the familiar shape of her alicorn head.

"You didn't actually shapeshift, did you?"

"No, darling, I didn't. I'm still an alicorn. This is simply an illusion I've cast over myself. I can make it replicate my movements or manually control what it's doing, but it doesn't actually have a physical form."

"That's... a weird dichotomy."

"It took me quite some time to get it right."

"Still, that's really impressive."

"Thank you, sunshine. And before you ask, no, I don't plan on learning real shapeshifting. I had an amulet that let me do so a long time ago, but I learned my lesson back then. I'd rather leave shapeshifting to the changelings."

"Understandable. Though, if I'm being frank, this form has some problems all its own."

"Such as?"

"Well, we just kind of have to hope that no one tries to touch you. I can mostly prevent them from doing that so I'm not too concerned about that problem specifically, but more important is your choice in appearance."

"And here I was, assuming that you thought I was beautiful!"

"You are. Very much so, in fact. So much so that it will be pretty much impossible for us to fly under the radar. If your beauty doesn't catch everyone's attention, your hair certainly will."

"What's wrong with it? It's just like my mane. Plus, the Celestia on the other side of the Crystal Mirror has hair just like it. Or so I'm told, at least."

"That's all well and good, but in this world, that hair isn't natural. We could just say that you dyed it if anyone asks, but that doesn't fix the whole 'drawing attention' problem."

"Be that as it may, this is the only form I have perfected. I can't change it unless you want to risk everyone seeing what I look like as an alicorn."

"No, I suppose I don't. Anyway, there is still the second problem with us going into town."

"And that is?"

"We don't have anything on us. No money, no identification, nothing."

"But don't you have an identity in this world?"

"Tia, I've been missing for years. If I just showed up out of nowhere, it would be major news. While I should be okay to walk around in public since I look a fair bit different than I did back then, I can't just go around announcing who I am. Not if we want to get back to Equestria easily, at least. I'd prefer to avoid having to answer any questions about where I've been. I feel safer knowing that the humans of my world don't know that Equestria even exists."

"...I'm not sure I agree, but seeing how our return to this world has affected you... I will willingly go along with whatever plans you have."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not a princess anymore, sunshine. We're equals, remember? And right now, we're in your home turf. So, by all means, lead the way."

You sigh once more. You weren't ready to return to the human world. In fact, after a while, you had hoped you never would at all. Yet, it seems you have no choice. You start walking in the direction of the nearby town. You and Celestia are going to have to figure out where you are, and the sooner you do that, the sooner you can go home.

...Home, huh?