//------------------------------// // The Unplanned Second Part of the Last Chapter // Story: A Stranger to the World // by Perceptive Key //------------------------------// Chapter Ten The Unplanned Second Part of the Last Chapter Alex sat up on his bed and covered his eyes. He propped his head up with both arms, elbows resting on his knees. "What the hell is going on?" he said, his moans muffled by his hands. He slowly stood up and brushed his hair across his forehead. Some small flecks of dirt fell in front of his eyes and he blinked them away instinctively. Alex checked the rest of his body for any more signs of the dirt and found that he was wearing a light coating of the stuff. He guessed that it must have happened when he crash landed into Luna's balcony. Giving a heavy sigh, Alex walked over to the small bathroom that he had yet to enter. The simple, wooden door was practically a plank painted white, and its simplicity was a stark contrast to each of the ornate decorum in the suite. As he was about to turn the handle, Alex noticed a small, handwritten note taped to the spot right beside it. He lazily tore it off and read the small print. Alex, for when you use this bathroom, Simple little notes that I want to point out to you. 1) Don't adjust the settings for the bath. The hot springs under the city are quite unpredictable, even for me, and can cause severe epidermal damage if not calibrated properly. 2) The soaps, shampoos, and other substances provided for cleanliness are absolute rubbish, in my opinion, and are most likely unsuitable for someone of your kind. There is a small slot next to the sink that could help if they are ineffective. 3) If you find a pair of goggles in there, could you please return them to me. I may have forgotten them from yesterday. They have light blue lenses with black, rubber straps. Yours truly, Witt. Alex rolled his eyes dismissively and crushed the note in his hand. "I'm really not in the mood, Witt," he muttered. He tossed paper aside and continued into the bathroom. The room he entered was far from what he expected: the typical toilet, sink, and shower/tub combo. Instead, the space was the size of a small home. A spot in the corner nearest to him housed an impressive porcelain sink, with an equally impressive toilet just across, nearly seven feet away. The two essential provisions paled in comparison to what Alex assumed was the tub. The 'tub' in question was far from it, though, as a pool that stretched across the remaining floor space took its place. A small waterfall flowed from a artificial rock formation, dropping down two extra levels before falling into the pool with a crescendo of mist and foam. The entire room was surrounded by magnificent stained glass windows -most likely depicting historical moments and achievements- that splattered the room with multicolored lights. A second note was taped up in front of the sink, catching Alex's attention. It was labeled Important! He ripped it off and held it up to read it. Yeah. It's bigger on the inside. -Witt Alex shook his head, rolling his eyes simultaneously. He balled it up in a similar fashion to the first note, tossing it into a trash bin next to the sink. A small, rectangular slot resided above it, and another note was taped up for him. For those things that don't help you. -Witt The paper was immediately removed, but it had been covering some more, stamped text above the opening: INCINERATOR CAUTION: EXTREMELY DANGEROUS "Really?" Alex was beginning to get annoyed by Witt's behavior. Sure, Witt seemed mostly fine when he first met him, but Alex was now beginning to realize why he was so despised. He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind for the time being and decided to focus on washing up. Alex pulled his shirt off, slipping it over his head and discarding it on the bathroom floor, doing the same with his jeans, underwear, and socks. "May as well try it out," he muttered to himself. Witt teleported into his laboratory in a flash of grey light and walked over to a bank of computers. He tapped away at the keys with deft hooves, quickly typing out commands for the system. "Time of entry and registered activity..." he searched through his databases and logs. A prompt came up and he clicked it, opening a window that displayed a past recording of himself. "The date is, uh-" Witt waited as his recording looked at a calendar, "-June twenty-fifth, two twenty five P.M." "That's what I sound like?" Witt commented on his vocalized expression. "I sound much too proper. I'll have to work on that, later." "I've registered a new reading on the machine," the recording continued, obviously unaware of Witt's presence, "and the levels are much higher than anything I've seen since... you know... it happened," he grinned. "Anyway, the feed was quite a bit higher than anything previously recorded, and I've no doubt that the others have seen it, as well. The regulators reached seventy-eight percent activity and the energy signatures reached twelve-point-two kilowatts. If Canterlot had been hooked up to my power grid, then it would have fried, instantly." "That big, huh?" "In short, it was overly active and gushing energy. I suspect that something fell through into our dimension. Other than that, nothing much else to report. And, on an slightly unrelated note, you still have one-hundred forty-nine days, one hour, and twenty-five minutes until-" Witt shut the video off and sat back down on his haunches, sliding a hoof through his slicked-back mane. "Twenty-five..." he mumbled. "Why is it always twenty five?" A flash of light at the opposite end of the gymnasium-sized room brought Witt out of his thoughts. "How was the match with Celestia, tonight?" Discord's jovial tone rang through the chamber, earning a grin from the seated stallion. "Not a challenge. As usual," he replied, returning to all fours. "She was no match for my strategies. I did have quite a few years of practice. You should know that." The draconniquis wandered over to Witt, giving his signature chuckle, "How could I forget? So, what's next on tonight's list? Do you want to compare the atomic bases of my chocolate milk rain and the homemade kind, again?" "Actually, I could use a couple more drinks, right now," Witt mulled the idea over in his mind. "I need to unwind for tomorrow morning." "I thought that you were going to train that human? Alex, was it?" "I plan to." "You don't want to end up having a hangover for tomorrow," Discord smirked, "it could ruin you concentration. He might even land a hit on you." "Since when did you suddenly-" "-Become so moral?" Discord finished with a smile, "I wasn't." He snapped his taloned fingers, making a pair of shot glasses appear in white flashes, along with a small table. "I was thinking... straight whiskey? Jock Dare's New Number Three?" "I was about to suggest the same thing," Witt replied, trotting over and seating himself down. "First to pass out loses," he said, with a friendly sneer. "You're on." Discord snapped his talons and a bottle of whiskey materialized, automatically filling each glass with the browned alcohol. "One... two... three!" Alex climbed out of the pool and grabbed a towel that was conveniently folded on the edge of the "bath." When he had first stepped in, the water was about room temperature, but it steadily increased until it was like a large hot tub. 'I suppose that those were the hot springs,' thought Alex. He ruffled his hair with the towel and ran his fingers through it, messily combing it out. He wrapped the fluffy cloth around his waist and walked over to the sink, looking up into the mirror above it. Alex checked his face for any external damage that might have accumulated over the past couple dozens of hours. Upon finding his face to be clean, he checked his stomach, where he had, supposedly, been stabbed with a plank. A pale, thin scar stretched from the left to right sides of his abdomen, jaggedly connecting the previously ruptured skin tissue. Alex traced the line with his index finger, feeling the smooth scar tissue beneath it. He pulled his hand back and stared into the mirror, again. "What the hell is going on with me?" Alex asked his reflection. Alex replied to himself, "You're in a land with pastel ponies who have been extremely nice to you and have shown you nothing but kindness. Except for that Luna mare." "No shit." Alex sighed, "I'll just go along with whatever they have planed with me. After that, I'm getting back to Earth." He straightened up and exited the bathroom, making his way over to the dressers. He pulled out new pairs of underwear, socks, jeans, and a single tee-shirt. 'How did they even know to make all of these?' he wondered as he dressed himself. Another, full-length mirror stood near the bed, and Alex examined his getup. He looked like he was either going to be working at a construction site, or someone who forgot to remove their clothes before falling asleep. As a matter of fact, he was aiming towards the latter of the two. Alex sat on the edge of the bed and laid back on the mattress. Sleep was his main priority, at the moment, as he remembered that Witt had something planned for him tomorrow. He closed his eyes and made an attempt at reaching some R.E.M. Luna stood alone in her chambers, with ancient scrolls, texts, and tomes were being held in her telekinetic grasp, researching anything that matched what Alex had described to her. The pages flapped quickly as she scanned the volumes, the words so blurred that even a trained eye could barely read, yet was very little difficulty for her. She stopped and turned back a couple pages in one of the books, noticing something that she had missed before. 'There!' she mentally exclaimed. 'Celestia must know about this.' Her horn glowed with a bluish hue, and Luna teleported in a burst of azure light. Celestia was mildly unsurprised to see her younger sibling appear in her room. She had received many unexpected visits from Luna in the two years since her redemption at the hands of the Elements, but such encounters usually regarded matters of state that were unfamiliar to the former princess. "Sister!" the younger exclaimed. "Yes, Luna?" "I may have found something," she said urgently. Luna levitated an open book over to Celestia, indicating where she needed to read. The elder of the two studied it in detail, absorbing each word. Celestia pulled back, "That's impossible. That was written by a mad pony. It's not right." "You remember better than I do who wrote it, sister," Luna said. "We mustn't let Alex know. If he remains unaware, then he may have a chance," Celestia stated. Luna closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. "He doesn't have a chance either way," she added quietly.