//------------------------------// // Chapter 36 // Story: Torn Between Two Worlds // by Alex Barkhorn //------------------------------// "No..." I whispered to myself, lowering my head and shaking it, almost as if I were trying to erase everything like an etch-a-sketch. Standing in front of me, tall, elegant, and beautiful, was a very human Princess Celestia, in a long, beautiful flowing gown. Her hair, I just...I just want to know how it was still so beautiful, so flowing. Accompanying her was her sister, Luna, who was dressed very similarly, only in a deep midnight blue, and Twilight's brother, Shining Armor, in surprisingly casual clothing- a white collared shirt with a dark blue tie, and black slacks. Well, it was safe to assume that's who they were- they all looked very similar to common humanization drawings I've seen around the net. "No?" Celestia replied, walking in. She must not have known I was talking to myself when I had said that. "Young human, I demand you tell us where Twilight Sparkle and her friends are!" Luna demanded. To be honest, it was hard to take her seriously- she didn't look any older than myself at this point, and she was my height exactly, but the gravity of the situation was too heavy for me to crack wise. "Shining!" I heard Twilight cry. "Twilie!" Shining called back, as the two ran to eachother, embracing awkwardly, with Shining obviously having a hard time adjusting to his new body. I had to turn my head at the sight. As much as I wanted to be happy for her, I just...couldn't watch it. "You lied to us?! How dare you!" Luna shouted. I winced, looking back at my mom, who was standing with a facial expression that just screamed, 'I don't even.' "Sister, please," Celestia said soothingly. She looked back at me, and smiled warmly, seemingly putting me in a trance. "What is your name?" "My name...It's Alex. Alex Barkhorn." I replied, keeping my chin held high. "Alex Barkhorn. My name is-" "Princess Celestia." I interjected. "And you're Princess Luna," Gray spoke up, walking to my side. "So that makes you Shining Armor," Dana chimed in, walking to my other side. Celestia smiled, and nodded her head. "It seems you know much about us." She surmised, causing the three of us to nod slowly. "I assume this is due to the television program you watch us on?" She then said, causing the three of us to give her looks of shock. "You...How'd you know?" I gasped. She chuckled lightly. "Magic is a very powerful thing, child." She replied. "Okay, time out!" My mother nearly shrieked. Everyone turned to look at her, and she was practically fuming. "Mom...Calm down-" "Don't tell me to be calm, Alex! I demand to know why I have all these strangers in my home!" She shouted, clearly more distressed than angry. Celestia walked towards my mother with a most elegant gait, placing a hand on my mother's shoulder, and smiling. Thankfully, this calmed my mother. "I can understand how very confusing this all may seem, Mrs...?" "June...June Barkhorn." My mother replied through clenched teeth. "Mrs. Barkhorn. But I can promise you that we will answer any and all questions you have. But for now, I suggest, for everyone's sake, we all take a moment to calm ourselves. Is that alright?" Just the gentle tone Celestia used seem to be working it's magic on my mother, who looked around the room, and slowly nodded. My mother led us to the den near the kitchen, sitting us down on the couch, recliner, floor, and just about anywhere we could fit. I helped my mother prepare iced tea for everyone, and was worried to death at how quiet she was. When everyone was comfortable, I sighed and leaned back against the kitchen island, and waited for someone to speak. After a few queit minutes, Celestia was the first to speak. "Well, then, Mrs. Barkhorn-" "Call me June." My mother said quickly. I sighed a quiet breath of relief. If she was allowing them to use her first name, this might not turn out too bad. "Alright. June, my name is Princess Celestia. I come from the land known as Equestria. It is a world far different from yours, with a far different society." She began. "Let me guess. Ponies?" My mother scoffed. Celesita, seemingly unphased by my mother's barbed tongue, nodded. "That's right. My sister and I, Luna," She took a moment to gesture to her younger sister. "Rule the land together..." She then took the time to fill my mother in on all the details. How Twilight was her prized student, sending her to Ponyville, the Nightmare Moon incident- which was, let me tell ya, the grandest meaning of the word 'awkward'- and all of the crazy adventures. Just as Dana would put it, and as my mom seemed to be thinking, it all seemed too outrageous to not believe. About halfway through, Christine even had to make a drive over, as my mom was just having too much difficulty to comprehend it all. When she finished, nearly an hour later, she let the information sink in. "...Okay." Was all she whispered. "What do you mean, okay?" I asked my mother. "...Alright. I believe you. I believe you, son." I smiled and nodded, before turning to look back at Celestia. I was about to send her a flurry of different questions, but she detected this, and held up a hand. "I understand you have many questions for you, child. But I have questions of my own." She said in a rather stern voice. I gulped and meekly nodded my head. "First off, how did these six come to be in your presence?" I sighed, and took a few minutes to relive the memories. Looking over at the girls, who were all giving me strong smiles, and Fluttershy, who approached my side and took hold of my hand (catching the princess off guard, by the way) I explained my story to them. I told her everything that has happened in the past few months, which, in turn, had me explain Nick, a few other things as well, and how Christine helped me with the girls. My mother wasn't too psyched that I had a family friend help forge documents, but, I ignored her for the time being. I told her what happened over the course of the following months. The memories of the girls, how I had to help them adjust, the stories of their hardships and overcoming those hardships. I told her how I treated them like family, and how grateful I was to them all. I didn't even realize until I was done that I had been crying as I spoke. My mother, Christine, anf Fluttershy were crying along with me, my mother especially. "Alex...Why didn't you tell me any of those things?" She asked, referring to my scars. I sniveled and shook my head. "I-I...I didn't want you to worry...I didn't want you to judge me..." I replied, lowering my head. "Oh, son," My mother said gently, embracing me. "I would never...You're my son, and I love you, no matter what," She said through tears, gently rubbing my back. "I wish you could have told me...I wish I could have helped you, and be a better mother for you...I had no idea..." She couldn't finish what she was saying, she was sobbing so hard. "No, mom, please. Don't cry. You are a great mother...I'd be dead without you, mom...You, Christine, Gray and Dana...All of you..." I struggled so hard to keep the tears in. I've had enough crying to last me a lifetime at that point. When we managed to calm down, I looked back at Celestia, Luna and Shining, who all had warm smiles. "It seems I have been worrying for no reason, then. My faithful students have been in caring hands this whole time. It is very comforting to know this." She approached me, and placed her hands on my shoulders. "You tell a strong tale, Alex. And you yourself are a very, very strong individual. I cannot express how grateful I am to you for watching over my little ponies- well, rather. My little students." She chuckled, eliciting a laugh from the others. "I cannot thank you enough for caring for them as you have. For teaching them lessons I hope they never forget." "No, Princess," I shook my head, smiling at her. "It's them I should be thanking. They've done so much for me, I...I can't begin to express how much it means to me. I don't know where I'd be right now if not for them." Celestia smiled knowingly, before sighing. "Well...Then it shall pain me to say this, Alex, but..." I already knew where this was heading, and the tears were already spewing out of my eyes. I felt my mother approach and grab my free hand. "I'm afraid I must bring them home. This world is not meant for them. We all know that." She gave me sympathetic eyes, placing her hands back on my shoulders. "I-I know..." I sputtered. "I just...I..." "Excuse me, Princess..." I heard Twilight say. All the attention went to her, and she cleared her throat, before speaking again. "Well...Since we have been attending school with Alex...I-I mean, this is the last week of school. And since we're in the same class as Alex, that means...We graduate this week." I smiled, along with the others in the room, knowing full well what she was getting at. "So, um...Would it be alright, if, maybe, we all remained here until we graduate alongside Alex?" She twiddled her thumbs nervously, awaiting a reply. Celestia raised a skeptical brow at Twilight, until, she smiled and sighed, closing her eyes and nodding her head. "I suppose that is alright." She replied. The girls, Dana, and Gray all cheered in joy, hugging myself, eachother, and even my mother. I could tell this was all so much for her to handle, but I could also tell that she was happy that I was happy, and that's all that matters to me. "I still have questions, though." I reminded her. "How...Exactly how did you get here? How did you even find out where they were?" I inquired. The others listened, as eager to hear an explanation as myself. Celestia chuckled to herself, and pointed at her forehead, where her horn would be. "Magic, my child. As I said, it is a wonderful things. What Twilight used was a very, very difficult inter-dimensional transportation spell, perfected only by Starswirl the Bearded. The past few weeks, I have been slaving over the various spell books, until, finally, I perfected the spell myself. It seems as if Twilight's spell was too weak- which only makes sense, since she didn't finish the spell, so is now unable to use magic in this form." She paused for a moment, before outstretching her hand. Her hand began to glow a faint yellow aura, and, seconds later, the glass on the end table began to glow the same aura, and floated to her hand. It was a struggle to keep my attention focused on her, and not the dumbfounded expressions I expected to see on my mother and Christine's faces. "Fair enough," I replied with a small smirk. That night, my mother and I tag-teamed to prepare a beautiful dinner for everyone, with Pinkie swapping in for me when it was time to bake. She got along very well with my mother, with her positive attitude. In fact, my mother quickly warmed up to all the strangers at her dinner table. But, it didn't matter. We were all friends, enjoying eachother's company. After dinner, Gray and Dana left, after giving everyone hugs and other such nonsense. After they left, my mother turned to the royalty in the room and spoke. "I assume this means you'll all be staying here for a while." Celestia nodded her head. "Yes, it seems so. I apologize if it's any imposition." She said, giving a slight bow of her head. "Oh, no...It's alright. From what I've heard, it's really the least I could do. You've all done so much, as indirectly as it seems, for my son." She said, placing an arm around my shoulder. "So, Celestia, and Luna. You two can share my room, and...Shining Armor can room with the girls. Which means I get the couch." My mother offered. "No, June, I could never-" Celestia began, but my mother held up a hand and shook her head, revealing a gentle smile. "Please, I insist. It's really no big deal." She assured them. Celestia and Luna smiled gratefully, nodding their heads. "Thank you very much. We are very grateful." Luna spoke up, bowing her head as her sister did moments ago. We all settled into our respective rooms, but I stepped out, walking up to my mother who was readying the couch for herself. "Mom, I...I can't begin to explain how much this means to me." I said quietly. "No, Alex. It's alright. I'm just...It's a lot to take in. But, that happiness, the one I see in you...That's the son I haven't seen in a long time. And I'm glad to see you happy again. That's all I want. If this is what makes you happy, I have no problem doing anything I can for you." She explained. I smiled, and gave her a big hug. "I love you, mom." I whispered. "And I love you, son," She replied. "Go get some rest." She told me, breaking the hug by pulling away. I nodded, heading to my room and shutting the door, laying on my bed while staring at the ceiling. The events of that day raced through my mind, until my brain had enough and practically forced a shut down, allowing a gentle sleep to take over.