//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Flavorful Emulsions // Story: Sparké // by moviemaster8510 //------------------------------// Peter and Twilight made their way to their room after their delicious soup dinner. Peter looked around the room, still curious to the place that he would now have to call his home. There were a few toys strewn about the floor, but the majority of the items in the room consisted of books and tomes of various colors and hues. Peter then looked to the bed, which looked very comfortable with its silk sheets and puffy comforter. However, there was one thing that caught his eye. It was a raggedy, pony-shaped doll made from grey burlap with dark grey strands of yarn for the mane and tail. It had a red button for the right eye and a greyish-blue button for the left eye. It also wore a pair of blue shorts with white polka dots on it. Peter went over and picked the doll up, observing it curiously. “HEY!” shouted Twilight. Peter suddenly felt a purple force knock him off his feet and to the ground on his rump, the surprise of the blow causing him to let go of the doll. He then saw as Twilight picked up the doll in both hooves and hold it away from Peter. “You don’t get to touch Smarty Pants!” she yelled at Peter. “Got it?” Peter’s face contorted with fear again. He had no idea what he had done to deserve such treatment. Peter’s eyes began to well with tears as he rubbed his rump, now starting to feel the stinging soreness of his fall. Twilight, looking at the young man crying also caused some alarm in her. If Celestia were to walk by and hear him crying, she would more than likely be punished. “Okay! Okay!” she pleaded, rushing over to Peter, running up onto his chest and putting her hoof to his mouth. “I’m sorry! Now shut up, or Celestia will hear you.” “Get off!” shouted Peter, pushing Twilight off of him and forcing her to the floor. Once Peter saw Twilight begin to shudder herself from the pain of her fall, Peter smiled triumphantly. “There!” he exclaimed. “How do you like it?” Twilight’s tears were beginning to form before she wailed loud enough for someone three halls down. Peter now found himself in Twilight’s shoes, wanting nothing more than to shut her up and being fearful for her safety. Before he could act though, Celestia walking into the room, looking crossly at the two of them. “What’s going on?” she demanded. “Peter…” Twilight cried through her tears, “tried to take Smarty Pants… and when I tried to get him back… he pushed meeeheeheehee…” Celestia raised her eyebrows as she contemplated Twilight’s side of the story. Something didn’t sit right with her though, as if she could tell that there were fragments missing from her story. “Peter,” Celestia asked, turning to the human child, “would you mind telling me what happened?” “I just wanted to look at her doll, right?” explained Peter. “But then she turns into a psycho and attacks me.” “That’s not true!” whined Twilight. “I was about to start crying, because you know, it hurt! Then she tried to shut me up by putting her hand– hoof, whatever, in my face, so… yeah, I pushed her off. And I’m sorry. Really.” Twilight gasped as she watched Peter cross his arms with anger and remorse. He didn’t deny pushing her and even felt some regret. Celestia shook her head, knowing that such instances were to be common. “Twilight? Did you push Peter too?” Twilight tried to deny it, but then looked at Peter, who looked scared behind his angry façade. She remembered Celestia’s words about him being alone in this world, and she knew that by not only lying to Celestia, but alienating Peter further would probably make Celestia angry with her. “Yes,” she sorrowfully answered. “It’s true. And I’m sorry too, Peter.” Celestia’s stern face became more stoic. “Twilight, Peter,” Celestia advised. “I know that both of you have to share space with each other and are away from your home and families, but I don’t want you two starting fights with each other. And Peter, please ask before you touch somepony else’s belongings.” Peter was about to protest his innocence further, but looking at Celestia’s glare, as well as back at Twilight, who now looked sorry for her actions, he quelled his speech. “I understand,” Peter said. “So do I Princess,” Twilight answered. “Very good,” Celestia stated. “Be sure to get to bed early. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.” Celestia walked out of the room and closed the door, leaving the filly and the child alone together again as they sat on the floor. “I meant it when I said I was sorry,” Peter said without the slightest hint of competition. “I just wanted to look at your doll, that’s all.” Twilight could believe his words, and with a glance to her Smarty Pants doll to her right, she picked him up with her mouth and flung him to Peter’s lap. Peter gasped at her action. “Here. You can play with him if you want. His name is Smarty Pants.” “Thanks,” he answered, observing the doll. “You aren’t still hurt, are you?” Twilight turned to him, unsure of why he asked her that. “About a year ago,” Peter said, “I got angry at a kid for cheating at a baseball game during gym class, so I threw the ball at his face and broke his nose. I was sent home that day. I just want to ask, because… I tried apologizing, but he would never accept it, so I just want to ask if you accept my apology.” “Well,” Twilight said matter-of-factly, “he shouldn’t have cheated.” Peter, despite himself, chuckled at Twilight’s answer, his smile bringing one to her face as well. “Here,” Peter said, putting his arm out. “Let’s shake on it.” Twilight was unsure of his gesture and shied away. “What’s this for?” she asked. “Where I come from, if you shake my hand, it’s like a deal. So what do you say? Deal?” Celestia’s words rung true in Twilight’s ears. She would now be seeing her parents and her brother less and less under Celestia’s care and tutelage, and she needed someone to bond with to make up for it. Looking back in Peter’s sincere eyes, she felt as if he could be exactly who she needed to make it through. Twilight held her hoof out to Peter and placed it in Peter’s palm. Peter firmly put his palm and fingers around her hoof and shook. ======================================== Peter shifted the gear in his car to neutral. Peter punched the ceiling of his hood, signaling that Big Macintosh could pull. Big Macintosh had ropes tied to his yoke as he pulled Xterra and trailer out of the barn by the back of the trailer. Twilight was in the barn pushing the van out with her magic as Peter directed the pull if necessary with his steering wheel. The car was soon completely blanketed by the sunlight, as Twilight and Big Macintosh transferred the car another few feet. “It’s all clear now!” Twilight called. Big Macintosh stopped pulling and Twilight ceased her spell. Peter hopped out of the car to the stamping hooves of Applejack, and the Apples. “Thanks a millyun’, Pete,” Applejack said. “You can go and get to the train station now.” “Huh?” Peter asked. “The train station?” “Yes,” answered Twilight as she came around the front. “The express trains to Canterlot leave at eleven and five each day. We need to see the princess and hope she can find a solution for your mess, pronto.” “That’s really great and all,” Peter said, “but can’t we just bring her down here and save us the trip? I mean, don’t forget, I still have all of my stuff.” “I’m well aware of that, Peter, but I want you to draw as less attention to yourself as possible. Celestia coming down to town is a very rare occasion, and ponies want to greet their princess when she arrives. If she comes here for us to explain ourselves to her and to bring you home, there’s a very good possibility that they could see you, and I believe that your existence to the rest of ponykind should be kept under wraps. Plus, how are you also going to get to see Crème Fraiche when you’re here in Ponyville?” “I suppose you’re right. But what about my luggage and things?” “Here’s my game plan. You have far too much stuff to load into a passenger train and not enough time to load and unload it. Instead, we’re going to take the express train to Canterlot at eleven. The ride via express is only a couple of hours in length. By the time we see the Princess and tell her of what’s happening, she can come back to Sweet Apple Acres with us and transport you and all of your stuff back to your world by this afternoon.” “You know, that’s a fantastic idea, Sparky. What time is it now?” Twilight looked down at her hoof and the shadow’s direction. “My the shadow on my hoof tells me it’s half past nine.” “Heh,” chuckled Peter. “So what, are you a living sundial now? You really did turn into a nerd when I was gone.” Twilight gave Peter a frown, but couldn’t keep it straight as she began to giggle. “But we have some time,” Peter remarked. “Even if this plan has little chance of error, I still want to bring a change of clothes, some toiletries, and my phone and laptop in case we get held up and I need to get a hold of… shit.” “What’s shit?” asked Twilight. “Dammit!” Peter swore again, angered with Twilight having learned colorful human language. “I mean… never mind. Forget I said a thing. I need to call my dad before work.” Peter ran back towards the house. Twilight, wanting to give Peter a little bit of space, let him go, instead going over to Applejack. “Hey,” called Applejack, “what’cha want?” “Do you know where I can find your saddlebags?” asked Twilight. ____________________________________________________________ Peter found his phone on the table, right where he left it. He picked it up and dialed the caller ID for his dad. Peter hoped that his dad wasn’t too busy in prepping his restaurant’s kitchen and would still make the call. Thankfully, the dialtone only rung twice. “Peter. Thank goodness. How’s the car?” Peter was racked with nervousness. He had forgot to plan an excuse to not make it to Manhattan again. He sighed, knowing that he would just have to roll with it. “Sorry, pop. I was… I’m a bit stressed.” “…And?” “And yeah, the engine’s having some real problems. He doesn’t know what’s causing it, but he’s trying to find a way to fix it without having to replace the whole damned thing.” “Jesus, Peter. I’m sorry about that. How much is it going to cost you?” “Well get this. The mechanic invited me over to his house for breakfast, and so I made him and his wife my famous potato pancakes benedict. I had to use some of my white-wine vinegar, because, let’s face it, what mechanic keeps white-wine vinegar in his pantry? But I digress. He was so pleased and so thankful for the meal, that he took a couple hundred off my bill.” “Well that was awful generous of him.” “I know, right? He said that he hopes to fix the problem just afternoon, but he’s still unsure.” “How can he be unsure? He’s a mechanic; he should know when a car stops working and how to fix it.” “He’s trying! Again, pop, you might hate that I’m here, but I hate it so much more. At least you still have a restaurant. If I can’t get this resolved soon, I might lose that lot.” “Fate has a funny way of playing with people.” “You have no idea.” “Well, thanks for the update as promised, Peter.” “Of course." “If you could, please send me a text when the mechanic finds the problem, alright?” “I’ll try.” “You won’t try. You’ll do.” “Hey, who’s that?” “It’s Peter! He’s stuck in a mechanic’s outside of Philly. Say hi to him. “Hey, Pete!” “Hi, Roger.” “Yep. Things haven’t been the same without you Pete.” “And they never would be, pop. You know that.” “Even the guys back here miss you.” “I’ll send flowers.” “Hahahaha! Alright, Peter, I’ll talk to you later.” “Later, pop.” “Bye.” “Bye.” Peter ended the call, hearing a knocking at his door immediately after. “Uh,” droned Peter, surprised by the sudden noise, “come in.” Twilight came into the room and tossed a green strap with two green bags strapped to each side with her teeth. Peter caught the bag, looking at it confusedly. “Pack what you need, Peter,” she ordered. “We’re going back to Canterlot!” Peter looked at his new bag and smiled, knowing he’d be seeing two of his other friends again. ======================================== Twilight had an exhausting day in her studies. A difficult spell she was set to learn for Celestia had not worked and only seemed to tire her out beyond comprehension. Peter watched as Twilight wobbled her legs down the hallway, becoming concerned that she’d faint at any second. Peter ran over to her, hoping to help her. “Sparky!” he called. “Are you okay?” “Shut up,” gasped Twilight. “I’m just… a… I’m just tired and I want to go to bed.” “You were trying teleportation again,” spoke Peter in an obnoxiously irksome voice and smirk, “didn’t you?” “I… don’t want to…” “Didn’t you?” “Be… be quiet…” “Didn’t you?” “What did I tell you about…” This elevation in her volume was the last of her energy, as she began to collapse to the floor. Before her body could tip, Peter knelt down and caught her underneath her belly. “Yeah, you were,” he whispered in her ear. Twilight was out cold. With Twilight being about as tall as Peter’s chest, he tried his best to pick her up and carry her to the next several doors to their room. Twilight proved to be about as heavy as Peter could humanly allow. Peter grunted as he lifted Twilight off her hooves and straddled down the hallways. After a ten-minute walk that should have taken less than one, Peter made it to the bedroom and excitedly hurried his pace to get her to her destination as quickly as possible. Once he reached the foot of the bed, he hoisted Twilight as high as he could and tossed her on. She was barely above the mattress, her bounces being minimal. Either way, Twilight was sound asleep and was in her bed. As badly as Peter wanted to call it a day and leave Twilight, he knew that she deserved better. Peter put both hands on the upper part of Twilight’s thighs and pushed her further up the bed to the back. Peter continued to push until Twilight’s head was scrunching into her pillow. He then lifted her neck up and shifted the pillow underneath, letting her head rest upon it. Peter then grabbed the covers and pulled them out from under her and then placing them over her body up to her neck. “Good night, Sparky,” he whispered in her ear. Peter then looked at her face, and how peaceful it looked in sleep. He leaned down and gave her a peck on the cheek. The sensation unconsciously brought a smile to Twilight’s face. ======================================== Twilight, Spike, and Peter walked down the road from Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight had the saddlebags equipped to her body while Peter had his laptop back slung over his shoulder and at his side. As they neared the town of Ponyville, which Peter looked at with nostalgia due to its rustic appearance, Peter scanned the area for a train station. “Uh, Twilight?” asked Peter. “Where is this train station?” “It’s further in the town. Oh, right…” “Yeah, right. I kind of need to not be seen, remember?” “Don’t worry. I have a solution.” Twilight stopped, faced Peter, and charged her horn. Peter was unsure by what she was doing, but felt a tingling encompass his entire body. The tingling continued, making Peter feel strange. “What was that for, Twilight?” he asked, putting his hands out to see them. However, his hands were not there. Peter looked down to find his body, only to see that it wasn’t there either. Peter made several bursts of short screams as he felt his body, but still couldn’t see it. “My body!” he shouted. “What did you do to my body?” “It’s an invisibility spell that I’ve been working on. Now you can walk into Ponyville and not one pony will see you. But we have to hurry. This spell only lasts for about five minutes, and the train will leave at that time too, so we have to get on now.” “Right.” Twilight trotted down the road while Peter and Spike gave a slight jog, all while hoping nothing on his part would disable the spell. Once they entered the town, Peter wanted nothing more than to take a look around at this quaint, little village, but time was of the essence, and there was no time. Peter was certainly relieved with one thing: the spell seemed to be working. Not a single pony glanced their way. All he had to focus on was not bumping into anyone and he’d be golden. Peter, Twilight, and Spike finally found the train station with a train waiting that looked as if the engine and its cars were made from gingerbread. “What is this?” Peter asked to himself. “The Hansel and Gretel Express?” “Shh,” Twilight hissed. “We’re almost there. You need to be silent for this to work.” “Alright. Alright.” “Shh!” Twilight walked up to the ticket booth with Spike behind her. The mare at the counter brightened up upon seeing Twilight. “Oh, hello, Ms. Sparkle,” she said. “Heading to Canterlot today?” “Yeah,” she answered. “Well you go on ahead. You too, little guy.” “Thank you,” Twilight said as she and her dragon ran off. Peter quickly did the Macarena in front of the mare at the ticket booth before he agilely hopped onto the station and followed Twilight and Spike into the very back car. Peter was surprised that with as little time left as there was before the train would leave, the car was empty save for the three of them. Just as Peter sat down with his bag next to him, his body began to fade into visibility once again. “Alright,” whispered Peter as he observed his arms. “We’re off to Canterlot and we get an entire car to ourselves! We’re like celebrities!” “We’re not out of the clear yet,” Twilight said. “Unless someone walks back into this car, you’re still not able to be seen.” “Then I’ll sit in the bathroom. These trains have that, don’t they?” “How would that even work?” asked Twilight. “Where would they store the plumbing? Or the waste?” “So in other words…” “No. You’re just going to have to hope no one comes in.” “What about the ticket ma– pony? Sure, that mare let you pass, but for all he knows, there are ponies in hear that he needs to get their tickets from. Speaking of, how did you get in for free?” “Princess Celestia allows me to ride to Canterlot and the Crystal Empire free of charge.” “Crystal Empire?” “Yeah,” Spike said. “It’s this awesome new city made entirely out of crystals. Shining Armor and Cadance rule it together, and it’s also the spot for the upcoming–” “Shining Armor? Cadance? They’ve moved?” “Oh right!” Twilight exclaimed. “The Crystal Empire appeared after an evil king cur–” “All aboard!” shouted the conductor. Peter and Twilight had a slight pang of nervousness. “About that ticket pony…” Peter mentioned. “Spike,” called Twilight. “Look out the door window and warn us when he’s coming. I’ll cast a less powerful spell when he comes by that should only last about half a minute. Then, once we reach Canterlot, I’ll cast another five minute spell that should get us inside the palace.” “Sounds like a plan, Stan.” “Stan?” “It’s an expression where I’m from.” “Oh. Okay…” Suddenly, the train lurched forwards as it slowly pulled out of the station. Peter sat with his back to the station, so to whomever was standing on the platform and waving goodbye to the ponies leaving, all they could see was his hair, appearing to them as an anonymous pony. “And off we go!” chirped Peter in a quiet tone. “Twilight!” called Spike, his arms pulling his head up over the window to see. “He’s here already.” “Okay,” Twilight sighed. With a quick charge of her horn, Peter faded away again, but much faster this time. Not even a second’s beat after, the ticket pony came in with his blue jacket and cap and looked right at Twilight and Spike, the latter of which was right in front of them. They both gave him innocent smiles that told him nothing was amiss. “Ms. Sparkle,” he spoke, tipping his hat with his hoof. He popped back into the next car up for the other passengers’ tickets. A little later, Peter’s body appeared again. “Is that it?” he asked. “Is that it for a while?” Twilight giggled. “Aw, come on, Peter,” she teased. “I thought you liked the feeling of magic on your body.” “I know I did, it’s just I haven’t felt that in almost fifteen years. It could take a bit of time to get used to.” “Alright,” said Twilight with a giddy smile, “fair enough.” “So Peter,” Spike said, climbing up on the seat to sit next to him, “what’s it like to live on your world.” “It’s pretty hectic…” he said. “I can’t really compare it to your world very well, since the only places I’ve been so far are within the Canterlot palace and Sweet Apple Acres, but there’s always something going on.” “Jeez. That must be tiresome.” “Sometimes, but it’s exciting, and it always keeps you on your toes. That’s one of the great things about being a chef. Not just the making food and doing cool stuff with it, but the constant hustle and bustle that keeps your blood pumping. It’s like the ultimate exercise with your mind.” “Well, clearly you’ve never been to the library on Sorting Day.” Spike looked at Twilight with a disdainful frown, only for Twilight to coyly smile it away. “Yep,” Peter agreed. “Twilight definitely has her OCD about her.” “OCD?” Twilight wondered. “Three words: Obsessive. Compulsive. Disorder.” Spike chuckled, finding this classification for his persnickety friend rather fitting. “Disorder?” Twilight objected. “I can’t really see how being organized can be classified as a ‘disorder’” “Well, for starters,” Spike said, “you can just stick to alphabetical and maybe just nix alphabetical author first names, alphabetical author last names, author birthdays, author deaths, spine color, cover colors, cover font styles, spine font styles…” As Spike continued his list, Peter snickered loudly, trying to hold back his laughter in front of the bemused Twilight. Peter grabbed his computer bag and tried his best to smother his mouth with it as he cackled as loud as he could with his bag muffling the noise. Spike watched Peter’s hysterical fit and bust into one himself. Twilight began to scowl, the sound of her grumbling putting Peter and Spike’s eyes on her. Once they saw her threatening face, they settled down immediately and stared off around the train as if they hadn’t done anything. Peter then glanced to Twilight from the corner of his eyes and gave her a silly smirk. “That’s it!” Twilight shouted as she ran at Peter. However, Peter was prepared and as Twilight leapt at him, he grabbed her by the armpits and flipped her around so her back was resting against his stomach. Once Peter’s arms slid out further and holding her in place, Peter waggled his fingers over Twilight’s stomach, with Twilight starting to giggle incessantly. “You awoke the tickle monster!” growled Peter playfully. “After fifteen years of slumber, he finally returns!” “Stop!” Twilight tried to call out through her laughing. “Peter! Haha! I’m… I’m serious! You’re going to alert everypony heeheehee!” Peter put Twilight back down on the floor, sliding her off of his stomach and onto her hooves. Her giggles still permeating her voice. “Wow, I can’t believe I walked right into that,” she said, putting her hoof to her head. “Sounds like a good time in here,” called a voice walking into the car. Twilight, Peter, and Spike’s smiles turned immediately into faces of fear as a unicorn mare opened the doors with a large suitcase in her magical grasp. She was a mint-green color with a cropped mane and tail of a lighter hue and a white streak down the middle. Her eyes and the lyre she had for a cutie mark on her flank were golden yellow. In her yellow magic aura, she carried two large pink, flora-designed suitcases. Upon looking around the car she caught her eyes on Twilight, Spike, and the alien creature sitting on the seat next to Spike. Her eyes widened and her mouth contorted into a fearful expression. Twilight knew was about to happen, and she had two options: turn Peter invisible and hope that the unicorn would imagine that she was seeing things, or the likely alternative, shut her up before she would inevitably scream and alert everyone, all while having to let her in on Peter. Sure enough, the green unicorn opened her mouth to scream, but as soon as air escaped her lungs, the unicorn was muted. She was quite surprised at this and looked down at her neck to see a purple aura wrapped around it. She then saw as Twilight’s horn was glowing, seeing that she was the cause of her silence. She began to scuffle backwards towards the door, but Twilight enveloped her aura around the unicorn and floated her to the seat next to her. The green unicorn looked frantically at Twilight and the nervous Peter as she pointed her hoof at it like a child at the sign to a candy store. “Lyra,” calmly said Twilight, “I’m going to take this aura off of you, and I want you to be quiet, okay?” The unicorn named Lyra threw her hoof towards Peter and looked at Twilight as if saying, “You do see the alien on board this train, right?” “I know,” Twilight reasoned, “but rest assured that this guy here is very friendly and he’s actually returning home shortly, where he won’t bother anypony ever again. You understand?” Lyra nodded vigorously and fearfully. “I said, 'You understand?'” Lyra’s nodding was slower, but reluctant. “Okay then.” Twilight’s aura took itself off of Lyra as she stared directly at Peter with awe and fright. Peter shrugged his shoulders up as far as he could, gave the most innocent smile he could and gave a small wave. While Lyra’s expression hardly changed, she seemed to be pacified enough to not scream in terror. “Twilight,” she sighed, “what is that thing?” “I’m a human,” Peter answered, forcing a gasp from Lyra as she turned back to him. “I can speak your language, so if you need to ask me anything, shoot.” “He really talked!” squeaked Lyra to Twilight as she pointed her hoof at Peter once more. “Yes, he did,” Twilight answered without sarcasm. “Now please, hear him out.” “Where did he…” Lyra began before turning to face Peter. “Where did you even come from?” “It’ quite a long story, but we do have a long train ride, so do you mind hearing a story?” “Um… sure. What’s… um, what is your name?” “My name is Peter,” he answered, holding his hand out that Lyra flinched away from, “Peter Falwell.” Lyra looked at the appendage confusedly, unsure by the human’s intentions. “Let him grab it,” explained Twilight. “On their world, it’s both a symbol of introducing oneself and making deals.” Lyra, looking into the assuring eyes of Peter, placed her hoof into Peter’s hand. The unicorn shuddered as each of Peter’s fingers wrapped around her hoof to grip it. She was also heavily intrigued as Peter’s arm moved up and down, her arm moving with his. Lyra had shaken hooves with Spike before, but his scales were nothing to the soft and smooth feel of his skin; it was exhilarating. Once Peter let go, he looked to Lyra for approval. “Wow,” she said with a slight chuckle and smile. “This is amazing… A human, huh?” Lyra slouched back in her seat, finding a comfortable position as she continued to look at Peter. “So,” she asked, “where did you say you came from?” Peter smirked and leaned back in his seat. “Let’s see,” he said, trying to find the best place to start. “I was ten years old when I was sent to Equestria…”