The rest of the week's events proceeded without anything notable happening, aside from my co-workers complimenting me on my car and me having a new joie de vivre -- I hadn't been in such a good mood for quite some time. Brenda filled me in on the conversation she had had with Princess Celestia while they were waiting on the Two Twilight Prank. The Princess had asked her quite a few questions regarding customs, clothing, our relationship, and quite a few other topics. Particularly troublesome was a question about how much affection we had for each other, but I figured it was just the Princess wanting to know as much as possible about humans and their idiosyncrasies.
It was difficult for me to hold my excitement over the possibility of returning to Equestria on Saturday, and my anticipation sorely tested my patience. The temptation to have the car take me there was very strong, but I chose to avoid doing that, for fear of angering the Princess. If she were to know about the car's capabilities, she might ban me from ever returning. Perhaps she already knew -- perhaps she was testing me -- but I knew almost instinctively that using the car to travel to Equestria would be morally wrong, so I chose not to take that route. I remembered that she told me I was welcome to return whenever I wanted, but I wasn't sure of how to contact her. I wondered if the car could communicate with her directly, a thought I found quite amusing. I chuckled at the prospect -- imagine, a car being able to communicate across a dimensional barrier, let alone teleport there. Like the Tom Petty song, time seemed to drag on for that whole week. Eventually, Friday night came around once again.
Sleeping was difficult for me that Friday night. Brenda had fallen asleep relatively early, and I was envious of her ability to drift off to sleep so easily. I have always had difficulty falling asleep, and since I was very eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Princess to escort me back, I lie awake until two AM, tossing and turning, trying to find a comfortable position. I finally fell asleep after some time, but I wasn't sure exactly how long.
I was woken by sunlight coming in through the curtains and blinds, the alarm clock reading 8:22 AM. Brenda was still asleep, and I needed to empty my bladder. I was hoping I might have been transformed into another pony, but this was not the case. I was still human, and so was Brenda. I was feeling rather disappointed. I went to the bathroom, and finished my business, returning to the bed to lay down for more sleep, wondering whether or not she would come again. I grabbed another cat-nap and woke about two hours later. Nothing. I took a shower, and got dressed for the day. Brenda got up, and also showered and dressed. Just as on any usual Saturday, I drove her to a friend's house and dropped her off so she and her friends could go shopping or see a movie, or something else of some sort or another. I had a nagging thought in the back of my mind that she was using this as an excuse to cheat on me, though I decided to push those thoughts aside.
"Hey, TS, any word from the Princess?" I asked the car as I drove back home. I tried to make up my mind as to what to get for lunch today.
"No, Michael, not yet. Don't lose hope, there's still some more time today," TS replied optimistically.
TS remained silent as I listened to the radio on the trip back home. I stopped by a grocery store and picked up a frozen pizza and a bottle of soda. I did this only because I remembered being asked not to eat in the car, a request I felt obligated to honor.
"You know, I could have teleported you here," TS stated in her monotone.
"Thanks, but I prefer to drive," I said.
"As you wish," came the response.
I turned the car into the driveway of our house, but before turning it off, a thought came to me.
"Hey, TS, can you send a message to the Princess?" I asked, sounding a hopeful note.
"Yes, what do you want to say?"
"Ask her if she is coming or not -- and if not, would she please be kind enough to let me know why."
"Your message has been relayed," came her cheery response. I was amazed at the swiftness of those communications.
A different voice came through the speakers, this time sounding like the Princess herself.
"Dear Michael, I would like to thank you once again for your help in subduing Discord. As much as I would like to return to your world and bring you back here, you already have the means to do so. This vehicle of yours is quite remarkable, and I look forward to seeing it with my own eyes, and perhaps even being allowed to travel in it. As I said before, you are welcome to return any time you wish. If you are curious to know why I have not returned, or transformed you into a pony of your choice, it is that, as I said before, you currently have the means to do so. Ask of your vehicle a transformation spell, and it will perform that task for you. I am willing to wager that you were not prepared to grasp the possibility that the magic with which you imbued your vehicle would allow it to cast the same spells you were able to cast in Twilight's body. The only prerequisite is that the vehicle's magic batteries are fully charged before doing either task of transporting you to Equestria or transforming you into a pony of your choice. Make sure you choose wisely, as doing both on one charge may prevent the vehicle from performing any more magic, without driving a significant distance in order to recharge those batteries. One other thing: if you choose to be transformed into a pony, you must not choose Twilight Sparkle, as that would create a feedback loop which could destroy your vehicle, or worse, rip a hole in the fabric of the space/time continuum, which could jeopardize both Earth AND Equestria."
"Hey, TS, send the Princess my thanks. Please let her know I am pleased with her response, and after I make a choice for what pony I wish to be, I may travel to Equestria. As for now, I'm not sure what sort of pony I wish to be. In a way, I miss being Twilight, as I had quite a bit of fun being her, however, I know I can't take that form again."
"Your message has been relayed, Michael. I have been programmed to refuse a request to transform you into Twilight Sparkle, by your directive. Remember?"
"That's right. When I was in that form, and imbued you with magic, I made sure that if I were transformed back into a human, that a request for a reversal would be denied. I made sure of that, and I'm glad I did."
"Sometimes your brilliance exceeds itself," TS said cheerfully.
"If I didn't know better, I'd swear you were trying to flatter me," I chuckled as I turned off the car and went inside the house. I got the week's laundry and went back to the laundromat.
"Welcome back, Michael. Have you considered your choice yet?"
"I need some more time, TS. It's hard for me to decide, with so many choices available."
"Indeed there are, Michael -- though as you remember, I cannot transform you into Twilight or an Alicorn. The only other limits are your imagination -- and even though I can transform you into Trixie or Rarity or another unicorn, I would strongly recommend you choose something original for your new pony appearance."
Upon hearing this, my jaw dropped. The thought of being transformed into Trixie was extremely tempting -- I contemplated that thought for a while as I drove to the laundromat and turned off the car upon pulling into a parking space. Doing the laundry took about two hours, during which time I continued to ponder the possibilities.
"So, Michael, have you made your decision yet?" TS asked cheerfully.
"I'm afraid not, TS -- if I choose to do this, I need to ensure I obtain a result I will be happy with," I replied. The rest of the very short trip home was uneventful, as there was only time to listen to two songs on the radio.
I pulled into the driveway of our house and brought the laundry inside. I was still contemplating Princess Celestia's statement, still marveling at how the car could allow her to communicate with me almost directly. I put the laundry away in my chest of drawers, and went downstairs to log onto the computer. I scarcely ever check my e-mail, but something inside told me to do so. Oddly enough, there seemed to be one from the Princess, dated about six days ago. I reminded myself to check my e-mail daily from here on out. I opened it, and the message was basically the same as what I had heard her say through my car's speakers. Emphasis had been placed on the last part, about the continuum, and I said to myself, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I understand."
Presently, I got bored, so I turned off the computer and went back upstairs to my bedroom to lay down. I was shocked to see the Princess laying on my wife's side of the bed.
"Princess Celestia, what are you doing in my bed?" I asked in exasperation.
"I wanted to see if this bed is as comfortable as mine," she smiled.
"Frankly, Princess, I was expecting you a bit earlier," I said, a hint of disappointment in my voice. I walked around the bed to where she was still laying in it. She looked up at me, and smiled warmly.
"Why not join me?" she asked coyly.
"Well...." I said, letting my thoughts wander. I didn't appreciate this flirtatious attitude.
"Please, Michael, just for a little bit," she said softly.
"Princess, where is your decorum?" I asked, still astonished that she would try something like this.
"It never left, Michael. You have something I desire," she said, winking, her smile turning into a grin.
"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, the answer is no," I said, a little annoyed. "Please, I will return to Equestria soon enough. If you want, we can fool around there, but here in my bedroom, this is definitely a no-no."