Chapter 5
Mall
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As we head down the road to the mall, Pinkie, Twilight, and Fluttershy are looking out their window in awe of all the random buildings in downtown Poplar, “These buildings are really...tall...” Fluttershy says timidly. I shrug, “They are just office buildings, nothing big, just banks and stuff.” I say.
We pull into the parking lot of the mall, following Alex. We park close to the front, cause we are lazy like that, and we all hop out. The girls seem really amazed at the size of the mall. “Wow, how big is this place?” Rainbow asks. “Not very, there are bigger ones in other cities.” I tell her.
We walk into the front doors, and into the mall, I notice as they sniff the air, “Yeah mall's have their own smell, you really can't really explain the smell.” I say and laugh. “We need to get you girls some better clothes than the ones you're wearing.” I say as we walk up to the map of the mall.
I point to the list of clothing shops “Where would you like to go?” I ask the girls. They all look at the list and each say something different, “Abercrombie and Fitch! That sounds like a cool place” Rainbow says. “How about Hollister?” Rarity says, I can feel the money flying from my wallet as they keep mentioning the top clothing stores in the mall. Alex looks over at me and shakes his head as if to say 'This is going to be fun...'
First place we go in is Hollister Co., we all walk inside the darkened shop, I take a smell of the air, good lord...freaking cologne is potent here... and I left my gas mask at home... “What's that smell?” Rarity asks when we walk in, she holds her nose. “Cologne, and perfume... stinks doesn't it...” I say. We walk around the shop for a while, trying not to gag on the smell.
We all stick together, in fear of getting lost in the darkness of the shop, “Gosh, why is it so dark in here?” Fluttershy asks. “It's so they get more money, people look better in the dark, the clothes do.” I say and shrug. I see Rarity looking at the clothes and shaking her head, “These clothes are just dumb, all they have on them is the store name, they don't look good at all. Let's get out of here.”
We walk out of the darkened clothes shop and breathe heavily once we get away from the store. “Wow that was horrible.” Twilight says.
“That is the first and last time I have gone into that store...” I say, Alex nods. “Sadly, Abercrombie and Fitch and Aeropostale are almost the same way...” Alex says. I then hear Pinkie say “Hey! What about that store?” I look where she points and I immediately shake my head quickly...Not Hot Topic...They would find out about the Bronies... they don't need to know about that. “Not Hot Topic... Please...” I say.
Rainbow turns around to me and asks “Why not? It looks cool!” the others nod their head. “Come on Dean!” Pinkie says and grabs my hand. Rainbow grabs Alex's hand and we both get dragged to the store, we both know what is going to happen.
We are standing at the doorway, out of nowhere this random dude comes up, “Oh my god, how did you girls get your hairs that way! You look just like the ponies from My Little Pony!” he says, he wears a shirt that has a gray pony on it with blonde hair, that says “Derpy is Best Pony” on it. He then says “That is awesome! See ya later!” He walks off.
The girls say nothing, we all walk into the store slowly, Pinkie is still holding my hand, though I can tell she is confused. We all walk up to the shirts and I hear Fluttershy whimper a bit, I look at her and she's looking up at the wall that shows what type of shirts there is, I see what she sees, a shirt that has her on it, as a pony, with the word “yay” under it.
“We need to get out of here, now.” I say, turning around, to see a store worker standing in front of me. “Hello! Can I help you find something?” she says. “Um, no we are okay, we were just going, weren't we? We need to hit the food court.” I say, the girls continue to stare at the wall, it has different pictures of different ponies.
“Come on aren't you girls hungry?” I say. I look to Alex and mouth the words “Help me get them out of here...” he nods. “Okay girls come on, I am starving, we will come back some other time.” Alex says to the girls, he gently nudges them to the door, they eventually move.
“Oh okay then, Come back soon. By the way Love your hair girls!” The store clerk says. We finally get them out of the store, they just stand there, face blank. I let go of Pinkie's hand and stand in front of them. Alex lets go of Rainbow and stands next to me.
After a while of silence Twilight says “What...did...we just see...?” they all look at Alex, then to me. They keep their gaze on me awaiting for me to answer. I take a deep breath and sigh, “Well, I haven't heard much about them, cause I don't go on the internet much, but they are called...Bronies...” They just stare at me and say “What's a...Brony?”
I shake my head and explain what I know, which isn't much but I know what they are, and what they do. “Bronies are... well, Guys, and girls, which are called 'Pegasisters', that watch a show on the TV, the big black box in my living room, called...” I pause. “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic...The show is, your world... and humans watch it.” I stop talking, watching their faces change from worry to terror. “So... you humans... spy on us?” Rainbow asks.
“No no, we actually didn't know Equestria existed, we always saw it as... a fake cartoon show... made by a company called Hasbro... Alex and I never watched it, we thought it was too girly and for little kids... but, you know, the show is different then what really happens in the world, the show is all cutesy and barely any violence. The real thing is different, more stuff happened in that world when I was in there that wasn't particularly for young audience members.” I say to them. “I hope that makes sense.”
“But how did you know that's what we looked like?” Twilight asks. “I don't know, coincidence maybe? I really don't know... This is the reason why I said you shouldn't go exploring our world, you might find something that you don't want to know, this is the main thing I didn't want you to know, cause I knew it would freak you all out. I'm sorry...”
“So we are supposedly not real according to humans?” Twilight asks. I nod. “That is actually good, think about it, remember that guy that came up and freaked out about your hair, and how it resembles your manes? Think if him and all the other found Equestria, like a way in, like Alex and I did. They would go insane and become chaotic, and they would try to take over. So think of it as a good thing that they think you're not real...” I lean in closer. “Even though you are.” I smile.
“You're right, we don't need to worry so much, even though it is a bit creepy that humans go a bit nuts about us, but it's good they don't know that Equestria really exists.” Twilight says and smiles, the others smile too. Then we hear a grumbling noise, we all look at Alex, “Hey, I wasn't kidding when I said I was starving earlier!” We all laugh and start walking toward the food court.
Pinkie walks up beside me and grabs my hand again and holds it, I feel relief, I am so glad they didn't go super mad or upset about the brony thing. I squeeze her hand and smile at her, I then see Alex stop and then Rainbow pounces on his back, I look at him confused, he just laughs and shrugs. I laugh and shake my head.
We make it to the food court and the girls look around at the different restaurants, “What are hamburgers?” Twilight asks. I then remember, they are practically vegetarians, they are going to flip when they find out humans eat meat, even though Fluttershy and Rainbow already know, cause I told them when I had my Slim Jims.
“Uh, well... they are......meat...” I say. “Humans are not herbivores like ponies. We eat meat and vegetables.” I hope she doesn't freak out or anything, though to my surprise she says, “Interesting...” I look at them all, they don't seem to be bugged by it all. I shrug and we walk up to the counter, I hesitate on what I want to order, I decide to eat a salad, even though they taste horrible to me, but I don't want to sit there and eat a whole burger in front of them, I would feel so awkward.
We all order a salad, I pay, it's actually rather cheap. We find a table and we begin to eat, I force myself to eat my salad and try not to barf at the taste. Pinkie looks up from her salad and says “Something is missing. I don't know what but the salad tastes a bit...bland...” The other girls nod and agree. Alex then perks up and says “I know what you need!” he gets up and goes to the counter and then comes back with a bunch of packets.
He sits down and says, “You need this.” holding up a packet, on it says “Ranch dressing”, he opens the pack and pours it out on his salad. “What in the hay is that stuff?” Applejack asks. “Dressing.” Alex says.
“Oh I remember you talking about that stuff! You said it goes on salads to make them taste better!” Pinkie exclaims. Alex nods and hands each of them a pack, they just stare at it, Rainbow fiddles with hers, trying to open it. “How did you open this stupid thing?!” Rainbow asks, getting frustrated, she then throws it on the table and slams it with her fist, the dressing explodes out of one side and splatters all over the table. “Oops...” Rainbow says and laughs.
We all start to laugh, I grab a napkin and clean up the mess, I pick up the packet and rip the corner easily off. Rainbow squints her eyes at me, “You make it look sooo easy...” she giggles a bit, Alex reaches over and grabs another packet and opens it and pours it on her salad, she smiles and leans over and pecks his cheek, his face reddens and she giggles at him.
We help them open their dressing packets and we pour it on their for them, they all smile and they take another taste. “Mmm...” they all say, “It's good!” Pinkie smiles. I still don't like it, I even put dressing on mine, It's still gross...
We finish eating, well they do, I eat only a little bit of mine. “You gonna eat that?” Pinkie asks me with a smile. I shake my head and give her my bowl, she finishes off whats left. We clean up our area and I ask “So where would you girls like to go to get your clothes?”
“Ooh ooh! What about that shop!” Pinkie exclaims, she points to JCPenney, I shrug, seems like a normal place to get clothes, besides I don't think the spell lasts that long anyway. We all agree and we walk to the clothing shop.
“Hey, you can actually see in here, and it doesn't stink of horrible cologne.” Rainbow says. We all laugh. We walk over to the woman’s section of the shop.
I follow Pinkie to an area that has tank tops on display, “Ooh ooh! Look at that pink one!” she says. “Pinkie don't you think it's a bit cold for tank tops?” I say. She shrugs, “I don't care, they look so cute!” she says. I smile and say “Whatever you want Pinkie.” she jumps for joy and says “Thank you Dean!” she gives me a little peck on the cheek, which immediately turns red after she does so.
I look over at the jeans. “Don't you want a pair of jeans?” I ask. “Oh, it's okay, I like the ones I have on, I just wanted a new shirt.” Pinkie says and smiles. She holds my hand, while carrying the tank top in the other.
Rarity gasps, Pinkie and I look over at her and she is staring at a white dress with little bedazzled gems, “Oh my, it is simply beautiful!” she says, her eyes all starry. I disregard prices, because this is for them. “If you want it you can get it, I will buy.” I say, it's a good thing my parents left me a good amount of money when they left.
Rarity looks at me and smiles big, “Oh thank you Dean!” she picks up one of the boxes that contains the dress in it, folded up. She follows me when I walk over to Twilight to see what she is looking at. Twilight is looking at sweaters, “Ooh, I like this sweater.” she says, the sweater is a turtleneck, with two different shades of purple on it. She looks at me and I nod, a smile appears on her face.
Twilight grabs a sweater that is laying on the table, and then looks at the skirts next to them, for some reason purple is in this year, she smiles at a skirt that has the same coloration like the sweater does on it, which reminds me of her hair. I nod again, and she smiles and grabs one of the skirts laying on the table under the display.
I then look over at Alex and Rainbow, Rainbow is looking at tank tops, she grabs a tank top that is a cyan color, just like her coat was, and Alex nods, she then sees some, what they call, Daisy Dukes, which are really short shorts, Alex nods once more, Rainbow picks them up and smiles and kisses Alex on the cheek.
Fluttershy walks up to me shyly and holds up a yellow dress, “Is it...okay if I get this?” She asks quietly, “Of course, anything you want.” I say with a smile. “Oh...thank you Dean.” she smiles a little. “No problem at all.”
I feel a tap on my shoulder, which makes me jump, I turn around and see Applejack standing there, “How do y'all think this would look on me?” she says, holding up a orange plaid shirt. I nod and say, “Very nice.” she smiles, “I'm not gonna get a pair of jeans, these I have on look great on me.” she says.
I look down at their feet, I just realized they don't have shoes. Oh boy, hopefully the clerks don't mind since I am paying, maybe I should get them some shoes, just to be safe, I wonder if they all have the same shoe size...
“Hey do you want to get shoes? I'm not sure if we should get you some, I mean the spell doesn't last long does it?” I ask. Twilight says, “It only lasts a couple of days, then we will change back. So no... I don't think shoes will be necessary.” she smiles. “I guess we are done then.” I say.
We take our stuff to the check-out counter and I pay for the stuff. The cashier thanks us, and we walk out. I look at my watch, Whoa, good lord, its almost ten o'clock. A voice on the loudspeaker sounds loudly, causing us all to jump. “The mall will be closing in ten minutes. Please make your last purchases, Have a good night everyone!” The voice says.
“Well looks like we need to go, come on.” I say, Pinkie walks up next to me and holds my hand and smiles. We walk out of the front doors and back to the cars. “See you back at the house.” Alex says as he gets in his car, followed by Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity.
The rest of us hop in my car, I start it up and we head back through town. “Wow, it looks amazing at night.” Twilight says. “Yeah, it sure does, but I have to say Ponyville looks way better at night.” I say. We continue on through town and we finally reach my house, Alex already there waiting for us.
We get out and I go up to the door and unlock it and let everyone in. “You girls can go change if you want. You can change in my bedroom.” I say. They nod and go into my room and change. “Why didn't you let them change in here?” Alex asks. “You are such a perv Alex.” I say, chuckling. “I am not.” he says. I shake my head and laugh.
After a while we hear my door open, they walk into the living room. They all look nice, the clothes match their colors they were as a pony, I just now noticed that, man I am slow. I look at my watch, its almost eleven. I stretch and yawn.
“It's late...maybe we should head to bed...” Twilight says. I nod sleepily. “I can take some of you to my house, so there will be more space here.” Alex says. “I'll go with Alex!” Rainbow says, giving him a hug. “I'll go too.” Rarity and Applejack say at the same time.
“Alright then. See you in the morning. G'night.” I say as they walk out. I see Rainbow give Alex what they call, The Look, his face turns red, she giggles, it seems that they will be having fun tonight. He looks back at me and I give him the thumbs up and laugh. I close the door behind them.
“You can take the couch Fluttershy, I can sleep in the chair.” Twilight says. “I want to sleep with Dean!” Pinkie says. Both of them look at her. Pinkie shakes her head, “Not in that way... sillies”. Darn I was hoping...
“Good night girls.” I say to them as Pinkie and I head to my bed, hopefully it can hold us both. I let her sleep next to the wall, so she doesn't roll off, I don't mind if I do. We lay down and cover up. She snuggles up against me. Even though she is a human it's still pretty awesome to cuddle with her.
I look at Pinkie, whom is asleep already, its been a long day. I look at her and wonder, when are they going back to Equestria... and if so... will they take Alex and I back? I let that question float in my mind for a while and fall asleep.
(end of Chapter 5)