I entered the house with Trixie following behind me. Brenda had cooked collard greens and fried chicken. The scent caused Trixie's nose to wrinkle.
"Ugh! What is that stench?"
"That is the scent of human cooking, in this case, collard greens and fried chicken. I'm afraid the human diet is one that is quite meat-intensive, Trixie. I'll see what I can find in the fridge, though there probably isn't much we can eat."
"Trixie is hungry, Michael! She can't eat meat!"
I opened the fridge, noticing that it was a stainless steel side-by-side model. "I don't remember doing that to ours," I thought. I snooped around a little and found a bag of salad mix, some celery, a tomato and some cheese. I also took a bottle of Italian salad dressing out. "Well, Trixie, it looks like we can have some salad and that's about it." I searched for a couple of bowls and forks. I took a couple of cups to pour some water in them. I fixed salad for us and sprinkled some of the dressing on mine. I then noticed the oven was also a stainless steel model.
"Care for some salad dressing, Trixie?" I asked.
"No thank you, Michael, this is tasty enough for Trixie," she said, munching on the lettuce.
I heard someone coming down the stairs. "What's going on here?" Brenda asked in exasperation. She glowered at both of us. "Mike! We got a problem here!"
"Brenda, I'm right here! Did you forget I changed myself into Trixie?" I asked her. She shot me a very dirty look. I heard a grumble coming from the basement and some heavy trudging up the stairs. Then I saw him. He grinned upon seeing the two of us.
"Two Trixies? Really? Quite an impressive sight," he chuckled.
"Mike! Do something about them!" Brenda shouted.
"What are you doing in my house?" he asked.
"I might ask YOU the same question, Mike," I stated flatly.
"Trixie thought this was Michael's house," she said, pointing a hoof at me.
"What do you mean? You mean to tell me ... that this OTHER Trixie ... is ... ME?" he asked incredulously.
"Trixie wanted to see what Michael looked like as a human -- she had no idea you looked so different from your wife."
"I'm not married to her, I just LIVE with her! Mike? What are YOU doing in my house? How did you get here?" he asked impatiently.
"Trixie and I teleported from Canterlot Castle -- I was under the assumption that this was my house, as I saw the van parked in the driveway," I offered.
"Oh. The van was something I did when I was in Twilight's body -- wait a minute, you were transformed into Trixie?"
"I had my car do that for me as a birthday present," I chuckled.
"So why did you mention a van?"
"I changed my car into a van just yesterday. Did you make the changes to the car all at once?"
"Brenda told me she wanted a van, so when I was in Twilight's body, I made all the changes to the car," he smiled. "Does it mean it can do transformations as well?"
"You might want to ask your vehicle if such a thing is possible," I grinned. I saw him grin in response.
"I'm gonna have to give that a try -- like, right NOW!" he exclaimed.
"MIKE! What are you going to do about THEM?!" asked a flabbergasted Brenda.
"They're harmless, Brenda. Let them finish eating, I'll deal with them later."
"MIKE! Deal with it NOW! I don't want them in my house!"
"Brenda, I apologize for this. Trixie, it looks like we're going to have to go back to Canterlot," I groaned.
"Trixie does not want to go back!" she protested.
"Trixie, we're in the wrong universe. We HAVE to go back so we can get to the right universe."
"What's wrong with this one? Trixie does not see anything different."
"There's not supposed to be two of ME in one universe!" I grinned.
"How do you think Trixie feels about two of HER being in one universe?"
"Point taken, Trixie. I promise you when we get things straightened out that I will have another transformation performed."
"Do you Pinkie Promise?" she asked, grinning broadly.
"You're terrible. I Pinkie Promise you that I will indeed have such a change made," I said impatiently.
"Trixie wants you to make that promise official!" she grinned. "Do what Trixie did! Say the words!"
"Okay, Trixie, just to humor you, I'll do it. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye! Ow ..."
"Okay, good! Trixie approves!" she chuckled.
"If you're Mike, will you clean up this mess you made?" Brenda asked quizzically. I used my telekinesis to empty the bowls in the garbage can, place them in the sink and wash them.
"You happy now? I can't wait to get back to the correct universe. I wish I had never met you in the first place," I growled at her. "Trixie, take my hoof, we're heading out now."
"Same here, Mike! Get the f*** out of my house!" she screamed at us. Trixie took my hoof and I lit my horn to do a teleport back to Canterlot Castle.
"Vaya con dios, Brenda!" I shouted at her just before we teleported out. A moment later, we were back in the throne room of the castle.
"Trixie wants to know what you meant when you said that to Brenda," she said quizzically.
"It means, 'I hope I never see your sorry ass ever again'!" I chuckled.
"We would like to know why there are two of you in our throne room," Princess Luna stated. I turned to face the Princess of the Night, and bowed before her.
"Princess Luna, my name is Michael Walker -- I have accepted Trixie's companionship during my travels. The reason I am in her body is that I had my vehicle transform me into her. I apologize for the confusion, your Majesty."
Luna chuckled softly. "'Tis quite all right, Michael. We were wondering when you might return, as we were looking forward to speaking with you once again. We would like to know what has transpired since we last met."
I told her about the trip to an alternate universe where Nightmare Moon had succeeded in defeating the Elements by using mind control. Luna was a bit distressed by this, but I told her that I enlisted the aid of her sister and the Elements in this universe to defeat her evil self in that other universe. She smiled upon hearing about the victory.
"Michael, we must admit to a bit of surprise at this mention. We are curious to know about that other universe."
I told her about the differences between the two universes and some of the other strange occurrences I experienced. I also expressed the opinion that Trixie and I would have to return to that particular universe in order to return to my particular home world. Luna expressed an even greater curiosity about my human home world, even going so far as to request the opportunity to travel with us. I politely told her that she would most likely need her sister's permission for that and also the fact that I would prefer the amount of time spent on Earth to be severely limited, as I was thoroughly convinced that a continued existence on Earth was, in my opinion, less than desirable. Luna expressed some disappointment when I mentioned this to her.
"Princess Luna, I request an opportunity to rest for the night -- I expect Trixie is likewise tired, and I also request that she be allowed to share a bed with me for tonight. I regret to inform you that I have no money to pay for the stay."
"We shall have an escort show you to a room you may retire to for the night. There is no charge, Michael. Truthfully, if what you have told us earlier is true, then you are a hero to that other universe."
"Your Majesty, you flatter me. I thank you for the compliment and for your hospitality."
"Trixie thanks you as well, your Majesty!" she grinned.
"You're both quite welcome, Trixie and Michael," the Lunar Goddess smiled.
A Royal Guard unicorn escorted Trixie and me down a hallway, down a flight of stairs, a right turn down yet another hallway, down yet another flight of stairs, a left turn, down the next hallway and then to the next to last door on the right. The guard opened the door for us to show us a relatively small guest room, nothing at all like the luxury appointments we enjoyed earlier. The bed was comfortable enough, and just large enough for Trixie and I to sleep in it, though we would have to lay a bit closer together than I may have wanted ... though I did enjoy cuddling with her that night. Trixie enjoyed it quite a bit as well -- perhaps even more so than I! I awoke to find her hugging me tightly, her muzzle pushed up against mine, perhaps in an attempt to kiss me while I was sleeping -- perhaps she had succeeded, though if she had, I wouldn't have minded. I gave her a quick kiss to see if she would wake and was rewarded by her returning the kiss, a bit more passionately than I was expecting.
"Okay, Trixie, that's enough," I said as I tried to push her away a little. I grinned sheepishly at having done what I did.
"Trixie wants some more, Michael," she cooed.
"I think it's time for us to get up, Trixie," I said, disappointment tinging my voice.
"Spend some more time with Trixie, she feels so lonely, please!"
"You're just trying to win my favor so you can be my new wife," I stated flatly.
"No! Trixie, I ... I ... Please, Michael! Trixie thinks she's in love with you!" she cried.
"This is definitely going too fast for me," I thought. "Trixie, I think you might want to spend more time with me before you start making such statements. We've only been in each other's company for just a few days -- I think it takes longer than that to form that kind of opinion."
I saw tears starting to well up in her eyes. "I ... I ... Trixie has not felt this way about somepony in a very long time! You make Trixie feel so special! She ... I ... I ... want you to love me, Michael! PLEASE!" her voice broke and the tears started to flow down her cheeks. I held her close to me, trying to comfort her. From everything she told me on that train ride to Canterlot, all the troubles she had endured, I had been the one to treat her with more respect and kindness than anypony else had since ... well, it was a very long time.
"I don't want to break your heart, Trixie," I said. I continued to hold her in my fore-legs, wrapping them around her withers. I gazed into her eyes, the grey-violet of them seeming to draw me into their depth. "I don't want you to break MY heart, either. It has been a very long time since I've felt this way about anypony, and truth be told, Trixie, I'm actually afraid to open my heart up again. I've been hurt very badly in the past and I don't want to take that risk again. And now is too soon to be making any decisions that I may later come to regret." I had meant my words to soothe her but what I had just said had the opposite effect on her.
"If Trixie makes you afraid, Michael, then maybe you should find some pony ELSE!" she shouted at me and stormed out of the room. Her tears flowed even faster as she galloped as fast as she could away from me.
"Trixie! Come back here! Please! I'm sorry!" I shouted after her. I rose to my hooves and dashed out after her, but she was so far ahead I had lost sight of her.