NOTE - Those of you returning, if you have not done so yet, please go back and take a look at the 'new' ending to Chapter 3, the scene where he wakes up. One detail, a very important one, was changed.
I quickly raced to throw a hand in front of my groin as the other reached for the now small sheet that was crumpled at my feet. I paused, however, noticing that I was fully clothed in what I had been wearing the night of my untimely departure from Earth.
I was disrupted from my musing by what should have taken my attention in the first place. Head lowered and horn aglow with a pink aura, Twilight looked ready to fuck my world up. "What are you? How did you get in here, and where is Arthur?"
I very carefully raised my hands in a non-threatening gesture, making sure to move very slowly. "Uh, hey Princess Twilight... It's me, Arthur."
Upon hearing my voice, confusion became readily apparent on her face as she raised her head to look me in the eyes. Her horn remained aglow, but hopefully not for much longer. "But, you were a pony yesterday... Is this what humans look like?" She let her magic die out and walked over to me as I lowered my hands. Crisis averted.
It was almost comical, how she began to methodically examine me from head to foot it seemed. However, a rumble from my stomach, and a rather loud one at that, broke her focus, just in time to keep me from beginning to laugh at her antics.
"Ah, yes. I originally came here to get you for breakfast, but then I felt a strong magical wave emanate from your room. I suppose it could possibly be from you turning back to a... human, but that's uncertain." Out came a quill and parchment from seemingly nowhere as she began to jot some words down. "Further study required to confirm whether or not magical pulse came from the human, as well as his manner of switching between being a pony and human."
I politely coughed, attempting to get her attention. I could tell that if I were to be in her company, there would no doubt be an endless slew of questions. It wasn't too big of a concern to me, however I would like to at least have some food first.
"Ah, sorry." She said rather sheepishly, a slight hint of pink crossing her cheeks. "I find it really easy to slip into what my friends have called my 'researcher mode' when it comes to new things. Consider that you're basically an undocumented species, and, well..." She trailed off, the answer very much obvious to myself.
"Well, I wouldn't mind answering some questions, but first..." My stomach rumbled once more, making sure its displeasure was well known to both of us present. "I think something wants some food." I ended with a smile, trying to be as friendly as possible. Remember, gotta stay on their good sides... Very important!
Twilight raised a hoof to her chin as she pursed her lips in thought. "Well, originally I was going to take you to a dining room, but now... Although the guards have a slight idea of where you're from, they don't know what you look like as a human, only as a pony. For now, I'll go get us some food and bring it back here." She nodded her head, seemingly satisfied with her course of action. "Now, while I'm gone, there's a bathroom right through that door if you want to freshen up some. Anything specific for food?"
I caught a quick whiff of myself, somewhat embarrassed that I hadn't even noticed how much I smelled. Usually I went with a shower every day once I got home, but I had never gotten around to it before I found myself here, so it'd been a bit longer than I liked since my last one. "Well, I can eat most anything, but if you could get some fruit and toast, that'd make for a nice breakfast. Also, think I could maybe get some more clothes sometime soon?"
Twilight walked towards the door, still wide open from when she'd rushed in. "Okay, I'll be back with breakfast in a bit. As far as the clothes, I have a friend who will probably jump at a chance to make clothes for you. But, we can discuss that later." With that said, she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
I tossed the sheet back onto the bed and made my way into the bathroom. Just like the room I was in, no luxury seemed to be spared when it came to the construction of this room. White marble tiles made up the flooring, and granite countertops lined one of the walls. A shower and bathtub combo were nested in the back of the room, although it was more the size of a hottub than bath. A toilet was set in an alcove next to that, although my focus was now on the massive mirror on the opposite wall of the counters and sink.
I carefully examined my reflection in the mirror, wanting to ensure that nothing else was ready to surprise me. A different world in which I could somehow turn into a pony was plenty, didn't need to spontaneously sprout wings or have my hair and eyes change color on me, afterall. I was still rather white, not quite at the point of pasty, but somewhat close due to the amount of time I spent indoors. Vivid blue eyes looked into themselves as my somewhat unkempt mess of brown hair spilled down to my eyebrows. I still seemed to be the same height as well, and skinny too. All in all, it looked like everything was where it belonged. I let out a slight sigh.
I went to the shower and messed with the knobs a bit, it only took a few moments to figure out the water system, as it was rather simple. I removed my Pink Floyd t-shirt that had the well known triangle and rainbow on it, I set it down on the counter. A pair of loose fitting blue jeans and some boxer-briefs joined it soon after. Unfortunently, I wasn't wearing socks or shoes when I got zapped to Equestria, so those items were sadly absent.
I quickly showered, enjoying the clean feeling it brought with it. For a whole nother world, it had a lot of similarities. I quickly dried myself off as I heard the door to the main room open and close, then quickly took a whiff of my clothes before shrugging and throwing them on. Not like I have much of a choice, they're my only set...
Twilight had moved a desk out from against the wall to sit next to the bed, a platter of food resting on it, as well as a rather large stack of blank parchment. "Ah, hi Arthur! I went ahead and picked up some other things, mostly to see if you can eat them or not. I have to document as much as I can, afterall!"
I just groaned a bit and made my way to the bedside of the table and sat down on the bed. The rug beneath my feet felt simply divine, for lack of a better word. I picked up an apple and slowly bit into it, the sweetness taking me somewhat by surprise. "Oh, now this is an amazing apple!"
Twilight simply giggled, a small piece of some fruit floating from the tray to her mouth. "It's grown by one of my friends. Even though she started a new orchard, the quality is still just as high." She pulled a single piece of parchment from the stack and brought a quill tip to rest on it as she continued eating. "So, first and foremost, I'd like to try and determine exactly how you shifted back to being a human. It seems that you enjoy being back in your natural form, however for now, once you're deemed capable of leaving the castle, we'll need you to go as a pony to avoid inciting mass panic in the citizens. So, mind describing anything you think is relevant?"
I carefully thought about it as I continued to savor the juicy sweet apple. A dream distinctly came to mind. "Well," I paused, taking another bite of my apple, "I had a dream last night that might've helped. I was looking at two figures, one my human self, and the other looked like me as a pony. For some reason they were staring at each other, not even blinking." I savored the sweet aftertaste of the fruit, still captivated by it.
"Mmhmm, do continue." Twilight appeared to be writing everything I said down.
"Well, from there, the dream shifted a bit. Showed my pony self walking through a crowd somewhere in a town, and then saving someone from some falling debris. Then, it shifted again, this time it felt like I was flying through the sky." I let out a small sigh as I recalled that. That was one of those things I'd never really managed to outgrow, a desire to be able to one day soar in the sky. "And then, it portrayed a hospital, and a child being born. After that, I thought of my little girl back home, Angela..." I trailed off, thinking. If the days were the same, then it'd be tomorrow when I picked her up...
Twilight immediately perked up at my statement, a slight look of pity and sadness mingled together in the smile she gave me. "You have a daughter back home then?"
I smiled as I pulled up some of my memories. “Yeah, she's a real angel. Somewhat ironic too, we had picked out her name months before she was born, and Angela never gave us a single issue at all..." I trailed off, reminescing.
Twilight made me focus back on the current conversation with her next question. "So, this means that you are mated, right?" I gave her a very puzzled expression, which she returned in kind. "Oh, uh... joined together in some manner?"
Clarity struck as I understood what she meant by 'mated.' "Oh, marriage. No, we're not." I replied with a shake of my head.
She looked at me with an eyebrow arched, looking at me critically. "Is it common practice for a male to impregnate a woman and then leave them?" I inwardly groaned, trying to decide how to best explain it. The situation was... complicated. Yes, that was the first word that came to mind.
"Well, not quite. Usually, a child comes after the couple in question has been married. However, with Angela, she was somewhat of a surprise when Ashley, my girlfriend at the time, and I were testing the waters by living together. We were beyond thrilled once we got over our shock, but the living together thing... didn't really work out."
I took a pause, noticing that damned quill still furiously scribbling away, even though Twilight wasn't even looking at the parchment. "We still love each other, but we knew that living together would only spell disaster in the end. So, since we still live in the same city, every other week one of us has Angela stay over. That way, we can both still raise her and be a part of her life."
Twilight gave me a few moments, as if she were expecting me to divulge more info. I might be willing to part with some of my background, but no way was I simply going to just give her my life story. Finally, she noticed I had no intentions of speaking more on the matter and spoke up. "That does sound... complicated. Here, once a ponies mate and have a foal, forming either a couple or herd, they stick together. Only three point two percent of the time does such a union fail due to causes other than death." She took a quick glance at her notes. "Before we get back to your dream, what is the percent of the failed... marriages? In your culture."
I took a sip of water to buy myself a moment to think. Truthfully, I had no idea what the failure rate of marriage was. I distinctly recalled several of my childhood friends who had parents divorce while I knew them, or were already split. "Uh, I'm not really sure. I guess it also depends on what country you look at, but where I lived at... maybe one in every four or five? Kinda pulling this out of thin air here."
She looked mortified as that quill kept going with its constant motion. "That's somewhat disturbing to be honest." She took a quick breath and her wings ruffled themselves. Signs of something? Shame I had no idea what their body language meant, and hopefully I'd be back home before I could figure it out. "Anyhoof, back to the original point. After you dreamt of your daughter, what happened?"
"Not too much that I can really recall. The pony lost, and that's the last thing I can recall from my dreams." There was also the Final Fantasy Fanfare music, but it's not like she'd understand the reference... A shame, that. Probably every good reference I have, I won't be able to use. Damn.
Her quill exaggerated what I was guessing to be a period as it drew away and the numerous pages unfolded out in front of her eyes, arranging themselves into some sort of pattern, which she stared at intently. I quietly sat there watching her, my breakfast finished, water all that remained. "Hmm, I think I see..." She began writing on another piece of parchment. It was almost comical watching her work, as there was a massive mess, all controlled by her magic.
As she continued to puzzle over her papers and write, my mind drifted some. Magic. Not only did it exist, but apparently I had some, and the ability to use it. A lot of it too, from what it sounded like. I wonder if I would keep it when I finally got back home? I suppose only time will hold the answer to that question.
"Okay." The word caught my attention as the papers around Twilight settled back down. "It has been proven that dreams are impacted directly by the subconscious mind. The best possibility for your turning back into a human is that, while dreaming, your subconscious asserted itself in the dream. This brought forth your thoughts and self image as a human to the forefront of your mind, and you subconsciously accessed and used your magic to turn back."
I pondered over her words for a minute. "Huh... that actually makes sense. Basically, my self identity influenced my 'form,' so to speak, as I have no conscious control over the magic?"
"That's the best possibility I've deduced from the information provided. I believe Luna will be able to further clarify that matter once she finishes gathering Starswirl– excuse me, Merlin's texts. Plus, I'm certain that she should have some useful knowledge for you, even if she is... hesitant to divulge it." Twilight organized the papers in front of her, a wide, manic grin crossing her face.
"Now, on to the fun part! Tell me about humans..."