//------------------------------// // Chapter 22 : Questions // Story: A Twilight Landing // by MerlosTheMad //------------------------------// Jo grumbled to herself; annoyed, and bored, searching her kitchen tirelessly for something to eat. Anything would do; well, almost anything. Another one of the cupboards slapped shut after the only thing within revealed itself to be packets of unused taco flavoring and croutons. The fridge door opened again, for the fourth time. Inside the appliance sat vegetables, fruits, as well as a collection of other healthy foods. Jo's eyes scanned over the lot, labeling none of it acceptable for consumption. Even the cheese was gone, long since turned into nachos and disappeared, along with anything else that could be made into something Jo considered snack food. The only remaining items present were the greens which Twilight enjoyed and used to make her Equestrian styled foods. Jo admittedly didn’t think those were bad, after all she wasn’t the best cook at all. She simply couldn’t tell Twilight that all the green was driving her crazy, and had to invent excuses more often than not while smuggling slim jims into her room. Still, the vegetable cuisine was quite good, just a bit much. Twilight also insisted the meals she prepared tasted much better in Equestria, too, but also remarked that with the right seasonings the Earth vegetables were at least a different sort of good. She would often talk about how much she missed hay and flowers, however. That those things were no longer a viable part of her diet often brought a murmured complaint from the other girl. "Hrrrng." The stressed out sound accompanied Jo's longing stare into the fridge that had once held plenty of easily prepared delights. Over time, she had slowly lost out to the guilt she felt with her normal diet while Twilight lived in her home. The Equestrian pony-girl of course insisted that Jo make no such changes, but it didn't help any when Twilight stared sadly at whatever food Jo was happily consuming. Jo sighed and shut the fridge door. With the remaining food being vegetables, her options of how to get dinner for the night were plain to her; the choices were either grocery shopping, late though it was, or going out to eat. “Or, I guess I could wake Twilight up…” Jo began making her way through the home, tentatively considering doing just that. It’s probably about time she got up, anyway. The door to Twilight’s room creaked open, and Jo poked her head in. She furrowed her brow and frowned as soon as she spotted her long term guest. On the bed, was a rather embarrassingly positioned Twilight. The sheets of the bed were swirled and wrapped around her like a cocoon with the pillows swept off the bed onto the floor. The girl lay in an altogether compromising pose, arms spread eagle, jaw slack and drooling on the mattress, with her rear propped up into the air as though she were sitting on an invisible chair. Jo sighed and blinked a moment. “The Element of Magic everyone, give her a round of applause.” She clapped her hands quietly and strode over to the bed’s side. “Twilight, hey, it’s almost six. What do you want to do for dinner?” The other girl’s eyes fluttered, but didn’t open, and a mixture of garbled sleep-talk was the only answer from her. “What on Earth was so important it kept you up all night? Come on Twilight, I know how much you hate to sleep in. You freak out every time you aren’t reading something for more than six hours straight…” Jo poked and pushed her friend’s shoulders in the hopes of rousing her. Twilight swung one of her arms over and wiped it down her face. “Mm- Wha-? No... ten more minutes…” The girl trailed off and rolled over, hiding beneath one arm and the sheets. Jo rolled her eyes and tossed one of her arms in mild frustration. “Alright, stay in bed, but I don’t want to hear about all the work you missed out on later.” Defeated, she left Twilight’s room, shut the door, and began formulating another plan. “What are my options here…” It was imperative that she find a solution, and soon; her stomach wouldn’t wait forever. One of the cats cried up at Jo, and she scooped the furry creature up with one hand and held it against her shoulder. The cat began purring loud enough to pass for a motor boat. She pet the thing absently, thinking over a decision. Jo thumped her way through the house until she reached the back, dropping the cat unceremoniously on the floor. “So, grocery shopping or a burger joint it is.” She sort of wanted something nicer, but going out by herself seemed like a waste to her. Jo picked up her wallet, keys and phone. She held and stared at the phone for a moment, then dialed a number. The phone rang a few times, until a voice replaced the classic phone noise. “Hey, Alice?” Jo spoke into her cellular device. A peppy sounding voice responded to her. “Jo, hey there, what’s up?” Jo’s cat continued to purr up at her from the floor while she stepped outside into the late fall air, shutting the door behind herself. It was raining. There was also a chill outside, wrapping around the woman and her light coat. “Not much, actually. Twilight hasn’t come up with anything new as far as I know, and I’m as dull as ever.” “Oh,” Alice said back. The silence began to stretch while Jo waited for her friend to say more. Huh, Alice is acting weird… She felt like there was something she was missing. Alice broke the quietness shared between them first, for which Jo was grateful. “Uhm, well how’s Twilight been? I bet she’s bored to tears with just having you for company.” The blonde girl on the other end of the phone chuckled slightly. Jo deadpanned as she made her way out to the driveway through the light drizzle of cold rain. “Hurrhurr, she’s fine, entertained as ever by the wonders of man as far as I can tell. Actually, she’s asleep right now. That crazy pony was up all night last night.” Alice’s mood seemed to pick up immediately, her chuckling a bit more lively now. “Oooh, you kept Twilight up all last night you say? Oh, Jo, rawr. Heh heh heh.” She certainly sounded a bit more like herself. Jo facepalmed outside her car door, despite the fact the rain was getting her soaked. “Wow. That was not what I- Are you done?” Alice giggled some more. “Yeah, just about.” “Good.” Jo sighed. “But yeah, we’re fine over here.” “Oh, swell, swell.” Alice went on in an odd, expectant tone. “Sooo, nothing new, huh? Nothing, I dunno, like an epiphany maybe? Something like that? Or were you just calling to chat?” Jo shrugged while opening her car’s gull-wing door. “Around here? Not really- Oh, oh. Geez Alice, I’m sorry.” She took in a deep breath, processing what she realized she had overlooked. “I want to apologize for last week, Alice.” A speech Jo had thought up days ago rambled out of her brain and into the phone. “I should have before you left like that, and I shouldn’t have acted the way I did in the first place. I really was just trying to-” “Aaw.” Some laughter came through the phone, just before Alice proclaimed, “I forgive you!” Jo stopped in the middle of entering her DeLorean. “Wait, just like that?” She stared at her phone. What her friend had said came as a surprise to her. “Yup!” Alice said, her cheerful voice unfettered by the mood. “I mean, you called to apologize, right? Granted it has been a week. It was easy to tell you were upset, too. I was mostly just caught up in the heat of the moment myself anyway.” Jo chuckled a little nervously. “Right… Well, actually I was just going to ask if you wanted to go get some food. To be completely honest here, I sorta forgot we were angry at each other… Has it been a week already?” Alice was quiet on the other end of the line again for a few second, before answering in a quiet tone that slowly grew louder. “Ooooh, I get it! So you were going to butter me up with delicious Thai and then we could kiss and make up like nothing ever happened? Well, I’m tempted to say we need a break, Jo, but since your heart’s in the right place I’ll let it go.” “What!?” Jo blanched. “No, you’re not listening. I. Forgot. And what the hell are you-” Alice interrupted her friend merrily. “Great! Pick me up at my place in ten, I’ll be right down! Remember, I wanna go to the Thai place!” “W- wait, Alice?” Jo stammered, then the line clicked off, leaving her to glare menacingly at her dashboard. After a minute of sitting still, she growled and started her car. “I have half a mind to stand her up…” The DeLorean pulled out of the driveway onto the street, the drizzle pattering on the windshield and pavement alike. Meanwhile, in the back of Jo’s head she still felt that she was forgetting something. Twilight listened to herself mumbling absently, the words making little sense to her sleep addled mind. “The… speed of light equals… crepes…” A snort issued out of Twilight and she sat up. “Pinkie Pie?” She blinked, lights dancing across her vision. “Oh…” Twilight put a hand up to her head and winced, she had a headache. “Ah, dehydrated, again. Gotta remember to drink more water…” In the back of her head she tried to recall the quickly disappearing details of a dream she had been having. Strangely enough, Pinkie Pie had been explaining aspects of physics with baking. Twilight sighed and stretched, only to find herself well and truly tangled up in her bed linens. “Jo, what were you saying?” she recalled Jo talking to her. Looking around the room though, her friend was nowhere to be seen. “Jo?” she tried again. Twilight did spot two cats at the foot of the bed, blinking sleepily after likely being woken up by her shifting about; there was no sign of any humans, however. She rolled over and hopped off the tall bed, glancing at the digital clock as she walked by. It claimed that it was nearly six, in the evening. “Wow,” Twilight remarked. “I really slept in.” Her stomach rumbled up at her, likely stating she had in fact slept for too long. “Oh no, what time did I fall asleep?” She thought, but couldn’t remember. It had to have been way past when was normal though, she decided. “Auugh, all that time wasted. You can’t do that Twilight, you can’t do that…” She grumbled more and unsteadily made her way into the kitchen first. The night, or as was the case the late morning and most of the afternoon, had been filled with fitful sleep. Still, Twilight was used to it. Having difficulty sleeping was more or less normal for her. Since arriving from Equestria her comfort zone had remained relatively unattainable. Sleeping, eating, studying, it all felt off. At first, it made sense. She was, after all, in a strange body in a stranger place. But she could have sworn there must be more to it than that. Twilight stepped over a cat lying in the middle of the floor for some reason only it likely knew, and then opened the fridge. Maybe I should ask Jo about a sleep aid… She studied the rather delicious looking examples of human cuisine, knowing in the back of her mind that the vegetables she was staring at held perhaps half the flavor of their Equestrian equivalents. “Oh, wait.” Twilight straightened and checked the time again. As she had thought, it was dinner time. “Jo had been asking about dinner...” A groan elicited itself out of her. “I can’t believe I just ignored her like that!” She slapped a hand to her head and started putting things together for dinner. Right after taking up residence in Jo’s home, Twilight had begun cooking for her host by way of repaying her. It was the least she could do, she had decided, and while she wasn’t the best cook she had gotten by on her abilities ever since moving out of her parent’s home. Spike was never a picky eater, either, which helped. Jo on the other hand, she was a different story. Twilight could tell that Jo wasn’t exactly worshipping her cooking, even though she tried to fake it rather well. She often pointed out to the picky human that she didn’t mind there being… other types of food in the house. She also noticed when Jo would then sneak things, which was thoughtful, admittedly, but unnecessary. Twilight sighed at a cabbage she planned on steaming. “If only I had some sweet, delicious lilacs…” She of course meant the variety from home, which seemed fundamentally different than their Earth cousins. It was hard for her to say whether the difference with the food lay with her being a human or that they were actually different. The burner to the stove clicked on. At first, Twilight and Jo had traded off preparing dinner with one another. That had lasted about four or so days. It became clear that the extent of Jo’s skills were ordering out or opening a bag of snackfood. Both of those of course didn’t quite count as ‘making dinner’, in Twilight’s eyes. So, if anypony did make food that wasn't merely scrounged snacks, it was Twilight Sparkle. She didn’t exactly see what Jo did as cheating, but Twilight would rather prepare something over living like Rainbow Dash all the time. She meant no offense intended to her other friend, of course. Twilight laughed at a funny thought. Rainbow Dash would probably get along a lot better here than me, actually. The frying pan began to sizzle, filled with some canola oil intended for cooking some ingredients that were soon to be added. Over the course of the last month, Twilight had cooked homemade Equestrian dishes that Jo seemed to have never even known could exist. Granted, that wasn't because they weren’t around on Earth, but rather because Jo just didn’t seem to be familiar with food that didn’t come out of a box or a can. Really, Jo rarely made dinner. Twilight considered that, were Jo's and her situations reversed, the human would likely go crazy from a pony’s vegetarian diet. Twilight looked up from the stove to quickly fetch her human friend from her room. “Well, I hope she’s hungry!” Twilight was leaned back on the kitchen's counter, eating her food with a fork while standing up. Uggh, I made too much… She was fending for herself at the moment, as was also usual, after finding out that Jo was in fact not in the house; her automobile was gone, too. I wonder where Jo went? Twilight would have been more curious, but she had been asleep she supposed. As silly as it may seem she was more worried about where the human had gone off to. The township around them at least seemed to be quite safe. Though, the number of fatalities per year regarding automobiles made her wonder why anypony at all would ever consider driving the things, fascinating as they were. The faucet in the kitchen poured cold water over Twilight’s plate as she washed it clean, before then moving onto her normal activities. I guess it can’t be helped, humans just live so differently from ponies. She plonked down into her chair by the computer and stretched her fingers. Unlike her old hooves, the delicate things she now possessed tended to get sore. Twilight sighed and frowned while her computer booted up, curling her hand up into a fist that vaguely resembled her old hoof. “I’m never going to get used to you.” She declared the words with fervor to the pale skinned thing. Once the machine in front of her had finished, Twilight began the chore of opening all of her study material. It wasn’t until she opened the browser, and saw the awaiting messages, that she recalled exactly what, or who was waiting for her. Twilight stared at the various messages from her forum acquaintances, feeling immediate embarrassment. Her hands flew up and gripped the sides of her head in shock. “I completely forgot!” Twilight began selecting and browsing the messages in a panic, but quickly calmed down. They seemed to be instructions for how to load a video chat program, and suggestions, rather than heated remarks about her tardiness. Twilight let out a relieved breath and relaxed once again. “Alright, let’s see here…” She checked the source of the program which DoctorEvil had sent her, just to be safe. She felt it was a little… out of sorts to check on something a friend had given her like that, but humans were complicated when it came to their motivations. Viruses for instance, often lacked a purpose other than harming the property of others. Such wanton destruction would be a serious offense back in Equestria. It was here, as well, Twilight found out a little to her surprise. Perhaps even more serious given the gravity of the consequences human law often used. The program loaded in a jiffy and Twilight made a user name for herself, which was cleverly always her actual name. Thus far, of course, everyone that read it thought it was an homage to the fictional Twilight, or something to do with an odd romance novel. Twilight eased back, reading absently, waiting for her friends to contact her. A blooping sound caught her attention from the computer, and then another. What was that? Twilight squinted and began looking for the source. She browsed through all of her articles and study material, suspecting a troublesome advertisement for weight loss or something, and instead tracked down the noise to her new program. There were various chat rooms it seemed, all of them randomly shifting about every few seconds, coming and going. “Oh, how interesting.” Twilight realized she was getting glimpses of ongoing public chatrooms, each proclaiming their topic to her as they came and went. There didn’t seem to be anything particularly striking at a glance. Twilight hummed appreciatively at the interesting feature, but went back to absently browsing her materials rather than investigate further. Almost forgot. I need to tell my friends how to find me. She messaged DoctorEvil back about her name and waited patiently for the event she planned the night before. There we go. Now, I guess I wait. She wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, other than a two way sort of Television. A bit of doubt swam into her muddled thoughts. I hope this is a good idea... Awake and aware now, rather than the caffeine powered zombie she had been last night, Twilight considered carefully what exactly she was doing. In truth, only because Jo so often told her to be careful. Asking a neighbour in Equestria was a sure way to get help. On Earth, you may get help, as well as paying a price for it. Annoyingly enough in the midst of her thoughts, Twilight had to endure the constant beeping of the chat program. She narrowed her eyes and selected the thing once again, as if challenging it would make it stop. She began searching the ‘options' for how to make it stop. “Alright, this is ridiculous.” Her thoughts forgotten, Twilight became more and more heated as the program defied her further, until she finally found what she searched for. She breath out in relief. What am I thinking… I can’t let my fear hold me back. I’m the Element of Magic, and I have no magic. I need all the resources and every bit of help at my disposal that I can get. The chat program still lacked any incoming messages from her friends. Twilight growled in frustration, “Where are my resources!?” She fell back, limp, into her chair. “Alright, calm down Twilight. You’re letting your stress get to you again.” She held a hand to her forehead and took steady breaths. “This will work out just fine. Even if they can’t help you, they seem like very helpful human stallions.” She straightened up again and began clicking absently once more at her computer. “And if they are trouble, you’ve taken precautions.” Made a bit paranoid by the warnings Jo had given her, Twilight had in fact made herself all but invisible on the internet. It had taken some perfecting, though. Jo often came down complaining about her ‘connectivity’ for her games, or whatever that was. Twilight blew a lock of her hair out of eyes, still waiting. Bored bored bored… Where are they? She watched the minutes tick by one at a time. While waiting, she caught a glimpse of herself in the computer’s screen. Her mane needed a brushing pretty badly, but she didn’t want to miss anything either. She felt as anxious as she ever had before or during a test in school. The mouse began clicking randomly across the screen while Twilight waited, unable to focus on reading anything. She began picturing a pot of coffee in her head, wondering if it was too early to make some. “Maybe I should…” Still waiting, and failing at her efforts to calm down, Twilight clicked one of the chat rooms on accident. “Oh, darnit.” *Twilight Sparkle has entered the chat* Spleedude: hello. Twilight Sparkle: ...Hello! Spleedude: hello. Twilight Sparkle: Uhm, hi. Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude. Spleedude: Intrude? Its fine I'm just at school right now. Twilight Sparkle felt a tingling behind her eyes as she read the word that hinted at the human education system. Her fingers began typing words other than an excuse to leave and not seem rude. Twilight Sparkle: School! Earth's school systems are simply fascinating, you know? I mean, of course you would know, since you attend them. I am envious of the types of education available here. Ocean Breeze: (Don't you make me pull out my Pinkie Pie personality.) Twilight Sparkle: Your what? Spleedude: hold on I have to switch classes I'll be back on in a sec. Twilight Sparkle: Oh, sure. Twilight Sparkle: Ho hum, back to my research then. Sorry again about intruding uninvited, I’ll be going. Ocean Breeze: Whatcha researching? Twilight Sparkle: Oh, uh, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. Ocean Breeze: Try me. Ocean Breeze: I've seen a lot of things you wouldn't believe. Twilight frowned a little, feeling unsure, but began typing anyway. Twilight Sparkle: Well, I'm trying to develop a base-line for a device I'd like to make... but the details and theoreticals on the subject are more 'science fiction' as you would probably know it, rather than science fact. Twilight Sparkle: There is no field that legitimately covers temporal displacement, unfortunately. Uh, well I haven't come up with much for a device at all. I'm still getting a grasp on the basics with technology. Ocean Breeze: And the device? Twilight furrowed her brow and began answering the challenge to her thoughts. Twilight Sparkle: Well, like I said I have nothing solid, yet. But I’m hoping to traverse this world to another. Ocean Breeze: So, teleportation? Twilight Sparkle: Yes! Exactly, but on a cross-dimensional scale. Ocean Breeze: Pfft, been there, done that. Twilight Sparkle: Assuming 'dimension' is in fact the correct phrase, there are other possibilities, and I haven't ruled out a single one yet, I'm afraid. Twilight Sparkle: You... wait, done what? Ocean Breeze: Lodestone doors. Fun stuff. Ocean Breeze: See, my friends and I like to hangout at a place called the Cross-dimensional Cafe. Ocean Breeze: It's in its own pocket-dimension. Twilight heaved a sigh out and paused at poking more of the buttonboards plastic keys to answer the stranger. Twilight Sparkle: Oh, you're joking with me. Twilight Sparkle: Sorry, I didn't mean to sound insincere. I'm being serious, but I understand why you wouldn’t believe me. Twilight Sparkle: However, I really am from Equestria... Nevermind, I should get back to my research… Before she could put her attention elsewhere on the computer screen, another message came. She had to actively resist groaning in frustration at what she saw, and couldn’t resist not answering back. She set about responding to the stranger once more, wondering where her friends were. Ocean Breeze: Wait, I'm from Equestria too! Just not your Equestria. You're even in my Equestria, just not the same Twilight Sparkle. Firebirdbtops: Are we doing an rp? Can I be a ninja? Since there are a lot of parallels between Earth and Equestria, are there ninja ponies? Twilight Sparkle: I... won't rule out the possibility, Ocean, but I've been strung along by no less than thirteen other humans, all of them simply 'role playing'. Twilight Sparkle: I really can't afford to chase lies (even well intended ones for fun) all day long. Twilight briefly considered her one conversations in which she had tried to convince Jo they needed to go out and find these other ponies that had been brought to Earth. Unfortunately it seemed that such circumstances were merely fiction invented for fun, which Jo had painstakingly explained to her. She sat back in her chair and leaned on one hand, staring at the wall dejectedly. I mean, I’m not mad at the humans or anything, but they make things way more confusing than they already are. One of her hands reached down to scratch the head of a noisily meowing cat, until another message appeared on the computer screen. Twilight almost didn’t bother reading it. Firebirdbtops: so... no ninjas? Twilight Sparkle: Oh, Firebird, I’m sorry I didn’t answer you. I got distracted. Yes, we have stories about ninjas too, though they’re a bit different... Anyway, a friend of mine loves them. Twilight briefly recalled when she had felt forced to do away with Spike’s collection of comic books by selling them to a local store. He had been acting just a little bit too out of control as a result of being exposed to those particular stories. They were extremely violent, at least by her standards. Twilight Sparkle: Sorry if I’m not very personable right now, I’m just waiting for a friend named DoctorEvil. He said he would be on here sometime today. Firebirdbtops: Who? Twilight Sparkle: Oh, he's a friend. Firebirdbtops: Is he evil? Twilight Sparkle: Uhm, well, no, I think he just uses the name because he thinks it's funny, for some reason… Firebirdbtops: So, he's a wordy science guy, always talking about something interesting? Twilight Sparkle: Yeah! That's him, he's kind of quiet though. He reminds me of one of my old professors. Firebirdbtops: never heard of him, sorry Twilight Sparkle: I... oh. Firebirdbtops: kidding Firebirdbtops: I must needs go sleepy-by now. three days without is wearing on me Twilight Sparkle: Sleeping is very important, I've read that not sleeping can have some serious detrimental effects on humans. Twilight Sparkle: Sleep well! Uhm, Firebird! Twilight Sparkle: Oh, that's sort of like a phoenix, very nice name. Firebirdbtops: Thank you, and good night. Firebirdbtops: Afternoon, I mean. Ocean Breeze: Yeah, I once stayed up for a few nights as a human. It was terrible. Quicksear: Sleepin' is a great past time, too bad it can be so boooring Ocean Breeze: I had to take a thaumatic stabilizer to make sure my natural magic didn't kill me. Twilight Sparkle: Unless you have a legitimate way back home to Equestria, that I could see, I'm not buying it, Ocean. Ocean Breeze: Being an alchemyst is fun... Quicksear: I'm gonna go ahead and guess Twi has a differing opinion, though...? Twilight Sparkle: I'm sorry, I really must be going, uhm, Mr. or Ms. Ocean Twilight Sparkle: Bye! Twilight gritted her teeth and navigated her way out of the strange chat room as quickly as she could. “Just where are those guys?” She heaved a sigh and crossed her arms, thinking about what she should do while she waited. The thoughts ended up arriving at what she would do were she home, at the Golden Oaks library. “If any of the girls were late, I would send them a message.” Twilight thought a bit harder. “Then again, unless something really serious happened, I doubt my friends wouldn’t show up.” She sighed, holding her head defeatedly in her hands after successfully bringing herself down with the memories of the ponies she cared about. “I need something to do that can cheer me up…” Twilight frowned at the pages upon pages of science text she had opened. “Something new…” “Every once and a while she comes upstairs and gets philosophical with me.” Jo paused long enough to pick up another morsel for devouring. She spoke around the bit of food. “I dunno, sometimes I feel like Twilight’d be a lot better off with someone else helping her. I mean, I want to help her, I do, but even when I give it my all I know I’m not smart enough for this.” She savored the taste of duck and curry as she paused long enough to bring her fork to her mouth once more. Across the table, Alice plucked a bit of noodle with her chopsticks and stared back incredulously at Jo. “Jo, I really don’t think Twilight could have been much luckier, all considering. I know it’s not exactly fair to you, but she does need you.” Jo growled. “I know that.” She tapped her hand anxiously against the table. “I’m just getting it off my chest, okay?” Alice put on a thoughtful look, studying the wall, then snickered. Jo looked up from her meal and put on a weary look. “What?” she asked. Alice grinned mischievously. “Well, I’m just surprised you having anything spare to get off your chest at all.” Her laugh was slow and haughty. Jo harrumphed. “You missed your mark with that one, Alice. I’m content with my figure.” She hummed appreciatively around another fork-full of her food. The duck was a little greasy naturally, but not in the sense that fast food was. It was a good kind savory juicy, which was made more delicious by the sauce it had been served with. Jo couldn’t recall the last time she’d had something so good. “Fine then.” Alice blew a raspberry, but chuckled again in response to her friend. She watched as the other girl seemed to zone out once again with her meal. “You okay over there, Jo? You look like you’re having a bit too good of a time eating.” She nibbled a bit of prawn and rice noodle as she spoke. Brought back to Earth by Alice, Jo blinked and addressed the food situation. “Sorry. This is just the best duck I’ve ever had. I’ve never had Thai food, either.” Punctuating her sentence was another piece of her meal disappearing in a quick bite. Alice shrugged. “There’s better out there, but I think this is the perfect place for our first date, wouldn’t you agree?“ Alice snickered, earning a glare from Jo as she chewed her food just a little bit longer before swallowing. “Har har.” Jo laugh sarcastically, deadpanning, then shifted gears with a sigh. “...Alice, about last week-” she began, only to be cut off by Alice. “You’re a jerk… A terrible friend… An alcoholic… A thoughtless individual with only her own opinions in mind…” Alice listed off the things one by one on her hand, looking up once she had finished. “Is that what you want me to say?” she added, surprising Jo. Alice continued. “I don’t tick like that, Jo. What happened, happened and we both turned a fun night into a rotten one. But I know that despite the flaws that both of us have, we’re really just as flawed in one way or another…” Jo stared back speechless at the girl facing her. “I- uhm.” Alice smirked and folded her arms confidently. “You’re my friend, Jo, and I’ll always forgive you. You can be assured of that.” “Are you just saying that because that’s what the ponies would say on the show?” Jo narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “What?” Alice’s confident look melted into a confused one. “No, that’s-” She laughed abruptly, chuckling while tossing a glance around the room before settling it back on Jo. “I mean it. I said it because I meant it, a real life pony that says friendship is really a form of magic somewhere or not.” Jo stared blankly at Alice a moment before answering again. “Well-... Uh… alright then. Me too, I guess.” She swallowed, and began to try explaining things again. “Alice, about last week. I wanted to s-” Jo’s apology was stopped as Alice’s finger poked her lips shut. The darker haired girl’s face contorted into a mix of annoyed, hostility, as well as annoyed hostility. Alice smiled at her friend. “Jo, it was a rough night for all of us. Lets just let it go. We both said mean things.” Jo cooled her temper, and calmly pulled the blonde’s hand away and set it on the table, away from herself. “...Yeah, true. I was so caught up thinking about what could go wrong that I caused something. Anyway, I’m just trying to say I’m really, really sorry about it.” Alice shook her head. “Already forgave you, but thanks.” The grin she wore grew bigger as she went on, leaning back in her seat smugly. “Betcha still had fun,” she teased. “And you thought you wouldn’t make a good Trixie.” Alice noted the look and scoff that the ‘humble and apologetic’ Jo returned to her, then went on. “Oh my Celestia, you DID have fun! We should do things and go out and argue more often. Heck, if we put Twilight to bed early, then we can even have make up se-” This time it was Jo’s turn to silence Alice, which was miraculously pulled off with a discontented glare and a twitching eye. Or, perhaps her mental acts of violence to carry out if Alice finished her sentence had been heard psychically... “You… augh, nevermind.” Jo slouched inwardly and began pecking at the scraps remaining on her plate. “So we’re alright then? I haven’t scared you off?” She looked up flatly at her blonde friend. Alice hummed a moment, tapping one finger against her chin, then shrugged. “Yeah, we’re square-sies. You did pay for dinner after all!” Her eyes widened and she took a last bite of her own food. Jo frowned a little at the check sitting on the corner of the table. “Yeah… So, would you like to come over and see Twilight? She might still be asleep right now, actually, but we can get her up I bet.” Alice scrunched her face up in thought, then shook her head. “Nah, that’s alright. Let her sleep. I’m more distraction than help to her anyway, too. I do like cheering her up though… Maybe I’ll swing by tomorrow. Oh, are we leaving now?” Jo had stood up, shrugging on her coat at the same time. “Well we’re all paid for.” She stepped back to let her friend out. “And just so I feel like you didn’t just invite yourself, sure, feel free to drop by tomorrow.” Alice nodded beamed up with an exaggerated smile pointed towards Jo. “Yay! We should watch more ponies to celebrate our reunion. Assuming Twilight hasn’t gotten curious herself.” Jo shook her head. “She hasn’t or else I’m sure I would have heard about more of the inaccuracies. She made a list of those, did you know that?” The story made her laugh. “At any right, she didn’t seem to think watching it would help much, and I have the suspicion that she’s avoiding looking at her friends like that again... I dunno, Alice.” Alice’s expression wilted some as they both approached the exit in silence. Still stuck on the thought of Twilight, Jo scowled, opening the door to leave the restaurant while returning the goodbye to the employee at the front. She thought in hindsight that the person might have mistaken her angry look to be directed at them. Whatever. Jo heaved in a breath of cold air and looked at Alice again. “Twilight’s been busier than ever the last week, actually. I don’t think we should distract her, anyway, unless she asks. She’s been talking to some scientists online and every time I do talk to her I barely get a response.” Alice frowned as they approached their two cars, parked side by side out in the parking lot. “Fair enough, Jo.” She spoke seriously enough to get a double take from the other woman. “So, how is she about the, uhm… the thing.” Jo quirked an eyebrow. “What thing?” Alice smirked. “Yeah, the thing at the place.” “Alice…” Jo narrowed her eyes seriously again. “Oh, I’m just kidding.” Alice chuckled, then shivered a bit in cold autumn wind. “I meant her hair, how is Twilight handling that?” Her hands rubbed up and down her arms quickly to stave of the wind’s chill. Jo blinked, her expression softening at the thought. “I don’t know,” she quietly said in return. “I don’t want to ask her about it, and she hasn’t acted like it’s even there. I think maybe she’s over it, or maybe she’s hiding from it.” Alice’s expression saddened in appearance. “I hope she’s okay. I think I’ll bring her a bunch of chocolate tomorrow, actually. Has she found anything else she likes more?” Jo harrumphed a short laugh. “Not that I’ve noticed. She really seems to latch onto obsessing over things. When she loves something, she loves it completely.” She studied the pavement in the silence that passed after she finished. Alice broke the quiet with a dreamy voice. “I wonder if that’s a pony thing, instead of a Twilight thing.” Jo looked up to see the other woman staring peacefully up at the moon, partly obscured by clouds in the sky. Jo watched her friend a moment, then shrugged. “It’s gotta be a Twilight thing. I think you’re proof enough that ponies aren’t that different from us.” She laughed, trying to get her friend to come back down to Earth. “It’s funny how much she’s like Twilight in the show, actually. She denied it big time when we watched it, too.” Alice giggled in an out of control way and looked back. “Well, I don’t want to watch it with her if it will upset her, but I’m still dying to know how she’ll react to it all. Oh well, at the very least I get to hug her again and see just how bad of a job you’ve done taking care of her.” Jo rolled her eyes, smirking and finally made to unlock her car’s door. “Anyone ever tell you that you meddle, like, a lot?” Alice’s own rueful smirk reappeared and she leaned back with an appreciative look. “You know, I hear that a lot.” Twilight clicked absently through the pictures of things called ‘memes’. Some of them were downright hilarious, some were worth a chuckle. Others… they made her crave a thing she had read about called ‘brain bleach’. Still, she was bored, and against her better judgement she had asked another random chat for something to cheer her up, and a link to these pictures was what she got. Amidst her random perusing, Twilight saw the flash of an icon from the chat program. “Finally!” she exclaimed, then clicked accept for the invitation she had received from one ‘DoctorEvil’. *Twilight Sparkle has entered the chat* DoctorEvil: Good evening. Twilight Sparkle: Hi! Good evening, Doctor. \Excitable-Electron/: nuqneH! Twilight Sparkle: Hello? Quark-Kent: Don’t mind him, he’s on a Klingon kick today. Twilight Sparkle: Klingon? Quark-Kent: Nrrg, no more Twilight. Your ignorance of geek culture actively hurts my cerebral patterns. Twilight Sparkle: Uhm, really? That doesn’t sound scientifically possible… \Excitable-Electron/: No, *you’re* not scientifically possible! \Excitable-Electron/: :D Twilight Sparkle: ...Debatable \Excitable-Electron/: Uggh, you’re the worst fan ever. You never get the references I make. DoctorEvil: Alright calm down kids. We’re here on business as I recall. Twilight’s nine messages have reminded me about it quite well. Quark-Kent: Hah, what was the deal with that, Twilight? Twilight Sparkle: Uhm, sorry about that, guys. I guess I just got nervous and anxious simultaneously. Twilight Sparkle: So, is it just you three? No BrilliantPoint or anypony else? DoctorEvil: Perfectly alright. So far, yes. Just us. \Excitable-Electron/: Hah, if what you’re saying is true… then you have every right to be nervous about revealing yourself to us humans! *cackles wickedly and prepares the death ray* Twilight Sparkle: : / Twilight Sparkle: I did mention I’m staying with somepony already, didn’t I? DoctorEvil: Somebody Twilight Sparkle: Right, I meant somebody. Heh, old habits. Twilight Sparkle: I’m not really worried about this staying a secret, anyway. It’s hard enough actually trying to convince anyone... \Excitable-Electron/: I have always wondered about Equestria, geez. Like, so you guys are all medieval and have no tech then? I bet your food must suck. Twilight Sparkle: Wha- what? Quark-Kent: He's talking about the manner of food preparation, I think. Twilight Sparkle: I don't think I understand. \Excitable-Electron/: Well, surely your food isn't as tasty looking as it was on the show. DoctorEvil: Need I remind you both, Quark and I have never watched said little girl’s television show. Quark-Kent: Our food nowadays is great, thanks largely to technology and processing. Back then, there was no refrigeration, things went bad quickly, and everything was prepared to last. Flour couldn't be ground fine at all, so bread was tough and barely edible. It was made with mixed grains or dried peas, baked hard to last longer and eaten stale. Twilight Sparkle: I see, Quark… DoctorEvil: I think Twilight gets the idea… Quark-Kent: They used the fermented acids from crab apples as a condiment, and- Oh, right. My bad. Twilight Sparkle: I’ll keep that in mind, too, Doctor. Honestly the show didn’t seem like a perfect representation of my world. It was sort of like a clip reel or a scrap book. There were only bits and pieces, not all of them strictly accurate. \Excitable-Electron/: Okay then, moving on. So, what exactly do you call ‘your world’? If you’ve been here on Earth as long as it seems you have been, surely you’re aware how much speculation your old fans had about it. Twilight felt misgivings at reading that she had fans, of any kind, let alone the human variety. It struck her as incredibly odd, and a little disquieting. It was flattering to be sure, but she never thought of herself as anything truly special of deserving enough for something like multitudes of 'fans'. She pushed through the feeling and responded promptly, staying professional about what she was doing. Twilight Sparkle: Well, there are a lot of different names for it. I assume you mean the whole thing, not just Equestria. Equestrians call it Equis. I’ve read that Minotaurs refer to it as ‘Minoa’. I’m sure it has other names elsewhere. I wouldn’t be surprised if somewhere, ponies call it ‘Earth’, given how many parallels I’ve found since ending up here… \Excitable-Electron/: lol, right Twilight Sparkle: Hm? \Excitable-Electron/: Nevermind, sorry. Okay, next question, how’d you end up here? Twilight Sparkle: That was… my own fault. I was working on an experimental potion for the purpose of boosting the power of a pony’s special talent. In my case, magic, so that I could teleport further. \Excitable-Electron/: ...Double Rainboom? Twilight stared at the words a moment, confused. She waited for more but none came. Twilight Sparkle: Excuse me? \Excitable-Electron/: You just explained the plot to a fan made episode of the show. It was made like, a decade ago. lol, Alright, well, I think I’m gonna go, guys. Twilight Sparkle: Wait! Please stay, I’m serious. I haven’t even showed you my proof yet! I’m sure that’s just a coincidence, or another parallel, it’s not important at all! \Excitable-Electron/: Of course. : ) DoctorEvil: EE, come on, this is the girl you spoke to for ten hours last weekend about molecules. Go easy. \Excitable-Electron/: Well, yeah, but still. \Excitable-Electron/: Alright I’m sorry for offending anybody, I’ve just never been big on role play. Quark-Kent: Well I for one don’t not believe Twilight... DoctorEvil: Double negative, classy Quark-Kent: I try Twilight Sparkle: I am NOT role playing! I’m completely and utterly serious about this. I am originally a unicorn, I am from Equestria, and I’m just trying to get help to go home! \Excitable-Electron/: Aw come on, Twilight, if you really believe that’s who you are (and I’m not ruling out maybe your parents actually named you that) then what you need is some help. \Excitable-Electron/: You want us to believe you’re really a talking horse, from a place where there are other talking things like cows, chickens, freaking DRAGONS, and craziest of all, magic? That was a kid’s show, Twilight, a stupid kid’s show. Quark-Kent: Hides in the corner \Excitable-Electron/: I can give you some numbers if you’d like, and don’t take this the wrong way, you’re awesome around the forum I just don’t think I should enable this. Twilight growled and thumped a hand against her forehead, then typed a hurried reply. Twilight Sparkle: Alright look, I have proof and I can show it to you. Do you want to see it or not? \Excitable-Electron/: On one condition. If I’m not convinced by this you call a friend of mine. She’s very nice and can listen really well. Twilight Sparkle: Augh, yes, fine, whatever. I’m pretty sure this will convince you though. Twilight Sparkle: So, deal, can we start this now, please? DoctorEvil: Right away mam, hold on Twilight tried to ease up in her seat. Well, here we go. The screen changed in front of her. She felt anxious, nervous, and nervous anxious all at the same time. She was also more than a little annoyed because EE kept pushing her buttons. But they’ll see. Oh, they’ll all see. “Hello.” The first moving picture of a person appeared, it was Quark Kent. Twilight grinned and waved. “Hi!” He was a human that was more than a little bit pudgy, a trait that a great deal of them seemed to share. Being overweight was incredibly uncommon where Twilight was from, in any race that didn’t normally appear that way. She hadn’t thought of a reason why that was yet. For humans at least, it seemed to depend on their diet, fitness routine, and genetics. The next little box lit up, revealing a darkened room and the slightly glowing face of long haired fellow with scraggly facial hair. He had a pointed, enlarged nose but little else that stood out. “Hello, everypony.” The man chuckled, folding his arms and sitting upright. Twilight waved again, smiling weakly. The program revealed this person to be Excitable Electron, or as Twilight had begun to think of him, ‘the skeptic’. Though, she supposed they all thought she was crazy, and the others were probably just being polite about it. Lastly, an older looking human appeared on the screen. His name was Doctor Evil, and he looked to be a good twenty years older than either Excitable or even Quark; who looked to easily be forty or so judging by human standards. The top of the man's head was vacant of any hair, and a grayed forest of beard covered his face. “Good day, gentlemen. Where’s Twilight?” Quark asked, his weathered face looking around in front of himself. Doctor Evil shrugged, his eyes searching his screen. “Not sure.” “Can you not see me?” Twilight blinked in confusion. “Hello? Can you hear me?” None of her friends responded back to her. She groaned in frustration and typed a hurried message out. Twilight Sparkle: Can you guys see me? A message typed itself back to her, despite the fact Twilight could see and hear them. She supposed they didn’t know that though. Quark-Kent: Where are you Twilight? You don’t have glossophobia, do you?” Twilight Sparkle: ...Isn’t that a fear of large crowds? Doctor Evil: Close, it’s the fear of public speaking. Twilight Sparkle: I see. Well no, I guess you just can’t see me or hear me. I can hear and see you all fine, and I’m talking too. What’s wrong with this program? Doctor Evil replied aloud this time. “Check to see if your camera’s on and your mic isn’t muted. I think it might be by default.” Twilight did just that, and breathed out in relief as she saw her own face and self appear up in the left corner of the program. “Oh! There I am, hi guys!” None of the three humans answered her straight away. “Uhm, guys?” Twilight quirked an eyebrow. Excitable spoke up first, laughing at the same time. “She’s confirmed for female! Hah, Morbius is gonna hate that.” “I just won a hundred dollars.” Doctor Evil leaned back, nodding to himself and laughing too. Excitable spoke up again, laughing harder still. “Aw, you guys were betting with him? You should have let me in on it.” Twilight grinned sheepishly around at them, not really sure about what to say just yet, so she stayed quiet and observed for now. She noticed that Excitable had a very interesting accent, it was interesting because it was identical to her Germane professor’s accent when he spoke Equestrian. Quark started chuckling. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Twilight. We’ve all been curious around the forum as to who you were after you started showing up. Some of the things you post about, suggest, and comment on have made us speculate things. Some of the guys think that you’re actually a small fleet of scientists trying to recruit us for top secret government work, like the Men in Black for instance.” Twilight kneading her hands with one another, detecting the compliment. “Oh well, I’m trying very hard to learn this stuff as quickly as I can. We don’t have studies like this in Equestria, and I’ve already been here more than two months. I’m sure everypony back home thinks that I’m… well…” She couldn’t help but trail off there, though her smile from the excitement of things remained. Excitable laughed from what Twilight said. “Come on Twilight, you seem way too level headed to think that you're really from Equestria. I mean, you are just having fun with this, right? You aren't really serious?” Twilight scowled immediately. “Mr. Electron, I assure you that what I‘ve said is exactly the case. I’m hoping my unexplainable visual will convince you completely of everything I’ve told you all over the last couple months on the forum.” Excitable’s eyes widened, probably in a sarcastic way judging by his voice. “Are you going to perform magic for us?” Twilight bit her lip on reflex. “I really wish I could…” The subject was a sore spot for her, but she knew the situation at hoof was too important to let that show or back down. I can dwell on things later. “I do have the next best thing to show you. Then, I’ll explain my situation in detail and hopefully you’ll all believe me, as we discussed yesterday.” Doctor Evil shrugged in his screen. “Like I said, I want to believe. You’ve talked about some crazy stuff, Twilight. I might just have to watch this show, too, after all. Though I’ll probably never believe that a sun can be controlled by magic…” He chuckled some more at that, enough to make his shoulders shake. Excitable beat Twilight to speaking next, and they talked over one another for a second. “Sorry, go ahead,” Twilight relented. “Thanks.” Excitable went on. “The show’s great, it’s full of funny nerd stuff from all sorts of classics and things. It definitely is not just for kids. Even comic book stuff, eh Quark?” Quark sighed. “Yeah, I’ll just turn in my man card next time I go out.” “But,” Excitable began again, raising one eyebrow. “It is just that, only a TV show.” Twilight frowned after hearing him say that. “I can’t explain the show, Mr. Electron, but I’m real, and so is my home.” She coughed loudly. “Excuse me, sirs? I don’t want to be rude, but… could we stay on topic here?” It seemed they were all typing side messages to something or another for a second, before they all stopped and refocused. “Right, sorry.” Doctor Evil apologized and leaned forward. Though smiling, he had a weary look in his eyes that said he may have been awake a long time. Perhaps his face simply looked like that. “You have the floor, Twilight, say whatever it was you wanted to.” Twilight nodded gratefully. “I have more than just things I want to say. I’ve spoken about that a lot, already. What I want to show you all, is this.” Leaning over, Twilight fetched a simple little bundle of towels. It was only a foot long or so, containing the smallest example of the crystals that were otherwise housed in Jo’s basement. The things held no evidence of the spectacular in appearance, or when touched by human hands; unless they were struck. Twilight unwrapped the bundle and dropped the cloth onto the floor. In her hand was a crystal, slightly cloudy and a deep purple in hue. It sparkled slightly in the sunlight that leaked through the window. She held it up until the camera showed the thing clearly on her screen for her friends to see. The three forum dwellers all shifted in their seats and positions, expressing different emotions or thoughts on their human faces as they looked over what the supposed unicorn was showing them. “Pretty,” Doctor Evil mumbled. He made a look that said he wasn’t sure exactly what to say. “Yeah, it is.” Excitable agreed. “It’s just a prop though. It looks like it came off a Stargate set or something.” Quark leaned back from his monitor, staying silent. Excitable went on. “How’s that proof, Twilight?” Twilight couldn’t help but smile, fully expecting a reaction of awe to come soon, like the one she had gotten from Jo. “Watch.” She picked up a pen from the desk, and gave the side of the crystal a little tap. On command, motes of light and shimmering sparks that danced through the colors of the rainbow sprang out of every surface of the crystal. A low ring accompanied the lights, like a bell. “Whoa!” Excitable jumped in his screen, causing Twilight to laugh. “It’s fine, stay calm please,” Twilight reassured him. “This crystal is from my crash site, after I teleported to, then subsequently landed on Earth.” The lights continued to swirl around the room, floating to and fro in the air. Behind Twilight, the cats were jumping up and trying to swat at them ferociously. The fattest of the three felines hissed angrily, fleeing the room. “Oh geez, sorry girls.” Twilight made an embarrassed look, apologizing to Jo’s furry friends. The sparks began fading from existence a moment later. “So what do you guys think?” She turned back to face the screen, beaming her smile. Excitable seemed the most flustered by the light show, surprisingly. Doctor Evil and Quark were wide eyed, but regarded the screen more normally. “That was some really impressive special effects?” Quark said after a moment, question in his tone. Twilight wilted some, then frowned a little. “But-” Doctor Evil rubbed a hand over his chin. “That was very impressive. I take it your setup is designed to create those effects whenever you move a certain way?” Twilight had to resist the urge to scream. Instead, she managed a slightly strangled outcry. “No! It’s real! Guys-” Excitable interrupted her. “Gentlemen, I think you’re overlooking something pretty critical here. Did you see the way those cats were reacting to those things?” The voice chat hung silent a moment. Twilight studied the faces of the human stallions, the nervousness and stress that had begun bubbling up in her leaving once more. One of the cats in question was rubbing up against her leg and purring. “That… is very strange.” The largest, Quark, admitted. He began clicking his mouse quickly, his eyes scanning something the rest of them couldn’t see. The oldest, Doctor Evil, stayed quiet this time, mouth hung slightly open. Excitable chuckled. “Unless of course the cats were trained to act that way.” Twilight frowned slightly at one corner of her mouth, then groaned aloud in the quiet that began to settle in. “What is it going to take to prove stuff to you guys?” “That could be…” Quark responded to the other stallion, then shifted gears in his voice and spoke louder. “But I’m not seeing anything messing with the video stream. My filter’s empty, gentlemen. Those lights at least were real, I think, whatever they were.” Twilight grinned in victory. “See, I told yo-” She was interrupted again. “So what does that mean?” Excitable held a hand up to his head. “A prop of some kind then? Advanced holographics?” Twilight frowned slightly at being ignored. “It means, tha-” Doctor Evil spoke again. “You’re not really suggesting what I think you’re suggesting? That this is legitimate.” “HEY! Didn’t you say I had the ground floor?” Twilight crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the screen. She wasn’t sure exactly where she was supposed to look, and instead shifted her glare between the three screens facing her. The three men mumbled apologies, and began cheating by typing furiously in the chat window instead. Twilight heaved a breath and let them have that at least. “Guys, this isn’t a special effect.” She tapped the crystal again, garnering their attention once more. The cats behind her began losing it again, meowing. “The reason I want you to believe me, is because as I’ve said, I honestly need help. I don’t know how to get home, and other than these crystals, which I can’t explain, I have no magic at my disposal. That means unless Princess Celestia comes to help me, I’m stranded.” Quark began laughing when Twilight said the Princess’ name, earning a stern look from her. “Sorry,” he apologized. “That name was too much for me.” Excitable spoke up, idly studying his desk. “Well when she shows up man don’t laugh, Celestia’s hardcore.” "Hardcore...?" Twilight questioned, raising an eyebrow. Excitable shrugged. "Well, she can raise the sun, yes? See, hardcore." He grinned wickedly, holding one hand to his chin. Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes, putting the odd description of her mentor out of mind. “True, I guess, but I wish she would just show up and get me home… It’s my best hope of getting back, truthfully.” Doctor Evil hummed sadly, while Quark began poking something absently, looking as though he wanted to distract himself from the conversation. Excitable looked up eventually, smiling now. “Alright, Twilight, let’s assume we do believe you.” Twilight blinked, then straightened her back in an attempt to look just as serious and holding her posture as well as she could while listening. The human named Excitable looked deadly serious, himself. Quark seemed to be wearing an amused look, but the Doctor at least had a thoughtful expression on. The scholarly looking old human almost seemed to be staring out into space. Twilight found herself staring at him while listening to Excitable. “If everything you say is true, that you are a pony turned human from this potion thing you made, and ended up on Earth by accident… What exactly do you want us to do to help you?” Excitable’s expression was unwavering and serious. Twilight had to swallow before speaking, feeling a little put on the spot. “Well, you saw all of my posts about my ideas, my formulas and calculations. I guess, I want to use human technology in a comprehensible way to make a fully functional method of getting home. A device if you will. I just… need help… resources… probably a staff... and a lot of Earth money…” She hunched inwardly more and more, realizing how crazy her suggestions sounded, even by Equestrian standards of your everyday, neighborly generosity. After trailing off the chat room hung quiet again for a moment. Quark laughed abruptly, a short thing that ended as quickly as it started. He held a hand over his mouth, and began talking through it. “Okay, well, what do you think, Lex?” Twilight watched as Doctor Evil responded to the new name. The other human stallion had been leaning on folded hands, an intense look of study on his face. “Well, everything not pony related that she’s said has been sound. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t directly benefited some from the work you put onto the site. Twilight, you look young, how old are you? If you don’t mind my asking, anyway. I realize that’s a rude question. I just want to know, how long have you been studying this material?” The man Quark had referred to as Lex leaned back, an incredulous look on his face. Twilight blinked in mild surprise. Still, she went along with the flow of the conversation, keeping in mind her goal. “Well, a little over a month? I arrived in September. It was September in Equestria when I left there, too, by the way.” Lex’s eyes flickered to the left and right, then back to staring at what Twilight assumed was her. “Even ignoring that, I’m guessing you’re maybe twenty one at most. You’re my daughter’s age, and I’d sell my soul for her to be as smart as you’ve shown us all. Not to say my daughter is stupid or anything mind you…” Quark piped in. “It’s too bad she didn’t take after your wife more, hm?” The men all chuckled at that, and Twilight nervously joined in. I can’t tell if this is going well or not anymore. Augh. “So…” Excitable began. “You don’t have any more definitive proof? Are there any other strange girls around that have brightly dyed hair like you?” Twilight shook her head. “No, other proof really. Other than my knowledge." She frowned, continuing. "And it’s just me, thank goodness. I mean… yes I’m alone, but I couldn’t imagine stranding other ponies here away from home with me. It’s tough. I couldn't imagine say, poor Fluttershy being stuck here...” The chat room grew quiet again in the wake of her bringing up ponies once more. Quark tossed his hands up and sighed. “Well, shoot, I expected mankind’s first encounter of the supernatural would be tentacles or bug aliens, but ponies will have to do, I guess.” Twilight’s face lit up like a christmas tree. “You mean you believe me!?” She bounced in her chair, unable to sit still. “Anything you guys want to ask me, at all, just name it. I realize that might not help… but I could write out the laws of magic, or write essays on Equestrian history for you right here to prove that at least I’m not making things up. I guess that’s a stretch but…” Excitable chimed in loudly. “Twilight, calm down!” He smirked. “Alright I mean, I guess it’s too incredible to ignore-” Quark slammed a hand down on his desk. The sound thumped through the speakers and reverberated back through the microphone, making everyone cry out in either surprise or anger. “Sorry, sorry!” Quark waved a hand, the look on his face was stark focus and shock. “What’s the deal?” Excitable frowned into his camera. “I got it, I just got it. It makes sense.” Quark was clicking rapidly at something, and a link appeared in the chat box a moment later. “Hey, alleged pony girl, you said you came to Earth two months ago?” Twilight raised an eyebrow, still calming down from the scare the man’s excitement had given her. “Eeeeyes?” she said carefully. “I have a name you know…” She clicked on the link absently, it seemed the other two men were doing the same thing. Quark waved a hand. “Not important right now. I’ve been looking at this anomaly and these pictures for months. It has meteorologists baffled. What do you think of this?” Twilight’s browser loaded up, revealing a photo album of various pictures of a cloudy night sky. The strangest part of the sky wasn’t the clouds, however, or even the lightning, but a long, purple colored streak that stretched through the air. She had seen the story before, it was often brought up in the forums as one of 'the mysteries of century'. Twilight put two and two together quickly. “That’s me,” she confessed aloud. Her hands folded them in front of herself as she waited for a response. Quark snapped his fingers. “That’s impossible," he stated matter of factly. "But also not important right now. If you’re an advanced alien or something anyway I doubt it matters though. Anyway, this meteorite was seen streaking across the sky for almost a full hour.” He posted another link, this was a video. “Here’s where it gets weird. The U.F.O, which you’re claiming to be, was zig zagging and disappearing, then reappearing randomly elsewhere. Everywhere it went, from the midwest all the way to New York a storm kicked up.” Twilight’s brow furrowed as she listened to the man. She recalled that night with perfect clarity, and had been able to for some nights. She had been reaching out with her magic in desperation to try and teleport back to her beloved tree-home, unaware of the fact she had been in the night sky, let alone on a world called Earth inhabited by humans. She had tried to get back to Spike, and Applejack, and Equestria itself, though she hadn’t yet known that last part. The entire time she had been falling she had thought she was done for. Her human friends all spoke amongst each other and she paid them no mind. She had already seen the pictures that had been taken of herself by satellites and the like. She often wondered if they could track her to where she had ended up. It seemed that hadn't been the case. Twilight looked down at her hands for a moment. She could recall the feeling of her body as it changed while rain and ice pelted at her, even if at the time she couldn’t tell the difference between the two feelings. Nearly every spell she could think of had been used that night, even a few that were useless. In the end, the only one that had probably paid off was a shield spell, one she had cast just before waking up, like she was now; a human. “Hey, Houston to Twilight, you there?” Quark’s voice and the sound of a finger tapping a microphone snapped Twilight out of her daze. “Wh- Sorry, I zoned out. It was a pretty bad night for me…” Twilight rubbed one of her arms quietly, trying to pick herself back up and help her case. If she lost them now, she didn’t know what exactly else she could do. The three men were giving her thoughtful looks of varying depth. "Well," Quark started. "I'll ask again. What about those vines, the thing I showed everyone yesterday. Do you know anything about that other bit of unexplainable?" Twilight furrowed her brow and answered slowly. "No, I don't. Something like that takes a great deal of magic. I'm sure I could cast a spell back in Equestria like that, but right now..." She watched the men's faces carefully, none of them seemed to want to meet her gaze as she spoke. The room became quiet again. “...So, what next?” Excitable asked suddenly. Twilight took a deep breath after realizing she had been holding it. “Well,” she started. “I’m not really sure.” Lex ran a hand over the grey stubble he bore. “So, to sum up, you were just hoping to convince myself, my colleague here, and anyone that would listen like Excitable that you are… a unicorn, from another world, and also a refugee trying to get back.” After leaving a pause he added. “And with something that has only been considered fiction in the highest circles of our science community.” Twilight sucked in the air she needed to respond to all of that. “Yes, I am, Mr. Lex, and I know it’s possible. At least, it is with magic. I somehow pulled it off on accident once, now I mean to do it again, somehow.” She watched as the three people fell back into their thoughtful looks of either doubt or intrigue. "Mark my words, if my friends can't come for me, I will find a way back to them. With, or without your help. You've seen my work, you know how serious I am. I can figure this out somehow, I just know it." Lex nodded. "I see..." was all he said. Once again the chat fell silent, the four humans studying one another in turn. Finally, Lex answered again. It wasn’t with what Twilight was hoping to hear though, or expecting. “By the way, Twilight, sorry these two chowder heads didn’t introduce themselves, but Quark’s name is Jack, and double E there is Carl.” Lex pointed a finger miscellaneously in front of himself at what Twilight supposed was either of the other two stallions’ screens. “Oh,” Twilight remarked. “Nice to meet you both. My name is actually Twilight.” She said, with a bit of a twist to her words. “So, do you guys believe me or not? Will you help me? Even just a little?” Her voice sounded a little more pleading than she meant it. “Well,” all three of them managed to mumble to some degree at the same time. They then set about telling each other to feel free to speak next. Excitable, or Carl as he’d been named, raised his voice and spoke over the other two. “Simply put, no, Twilight, at least I don't.” He folded his hands and raised his eyebrows. “I mean yeah, I want to. The light show was cool, but, well, you’re a scientifically minded person. You know full well we need proof before we can believe a claim that weighty.” Twilight sighed out again, looking at each of the humans in turn. They both nodded in agreement with their youngest member. “Well, okay that’s fine. I expected that after all. What about my proposal though, about helping me test the theories I’ve put in the forums?” Lex raised a hand, inhaling and looking as though he was going to proclaim something important. “I… would take you up on that, at least. I don’t know about the pony business, but I would at least not mind looking at that crystal in person. You said it was from your crater,” he laughed a little at that. “Sorry, but if it is from space that could at the very least be interesting to look at.” Quark, the man named as Jack, raised a hand. “I wouldn’t mind looking either. Maybe you could mail us one, you said you had a few, right? I’m honestly already willing to work with you on your theories, Twilight. You’re brilliant.” Twilight couldn’t help but stiffen at the compliment. She think she managed to resist blushing, at least. The man went on, so she hoped none of them had noticed. “I don’t know about resources or a device…” Jack trailed off, making an odd face and his eyes glancing around quickly. He seemed to have let his gaze with the camera drift to his computer screen. “But we would be crazy to ignore you or write you off just because of this. Maybe we could-” Twilight was poking a finger at her chair's arm absently as she listened. They don’t believe me still. It wasn’t the ideal situation she had hoped for, but it seemed she wasn’t trotting away empty hooved at least. The men kept talking to her while she half listened. Jo stretched as she entered her house, and cried out. “Gah!? What the he-” Her cats had all been sitting by the door, the lot of them underfoot the moment she walked in. Subsequently, she had tripped over at least two of them and thumped into the wall across from the back door. “Really!?” She growled in anger and disgust as the cats continued to whine. “Alright alright, I’ll feed you in a minute. Why weren’t you bothering Twilight? She knows what you eat.” Jo tiredly made her way back through the house. Strangely the cats didn’t follow her towards the kitchen as she had expected they would. “Hm?” Jo turned her head, catching the sound of voices. Twilight tilted her head curiously at what Jack had said. The skinny human seemed to be struggling to find the right words he was searching for. “Well, I’d thought about showing it to you a few days ago, or last night even, but I’ve been thinking about getting you, uhm, help for a while and decided not to…” Jack trailed off, frowning at something on his desk rather than meeting his camera. Twilight couldn’t help but put on a bit of a smug grin. “And now?” This wasn’t an admittance of belief, she knew, but the human at least seemed to think she wasn’t crazy. Jack huffed out a breath of air and regarded his screen. “Well, now I guess I’m at least willing to believe you’re sane enough to try and fool us all for some reason or another.” Twilight shrugged, laughing a little. "Good enough. I’m sure I’ll convince you eventually that I’m the real deal, so to speak. My biggest worry is of course what you all intend to do with my trust like this. Obviously, I am literally an illegal alien, and your country has some pretty spectacular rules about things like that…” Lex rolled his eyes while Carl nodded sagely. Jack put up his hands in defense of himself. “Hey, I’m from Germany, I’m innocent.” He laughed then a link appeared in the chat below his face. “Anyway, here’s the video I wanted to show you. It popped up on YouTube recently and, well, I’m still into the brony scene a little bit. At least whenever someone makes something interesting. The weird thing about this one is, no one’s taken credit, and it popped up on YouTube randomly. After last night I tried tracking down the source, couldn’t find anything yet.” Twilight watched the interested looks of confusion and scrutiny on Quark’s and the Doctor’s faces, the light of their monitors playing in different patterns as they apparently started watching whatever Excitable had sent. She too clicked on the link. In a flash her screen changed and the browser window popped up. What began playing was confusing at first, but Twilight quickly managed to ignore the shaking of whoever had held the recording device, and made out what was being recorded. What she saw, shocked her and she paused the recording on one frame less blurred than most of the video. There was definitely a pony; an unmistakable Equestrian, wearing denim overalls and a green shirt. The strange mare was very familiar in that she looked to be somepony that could very well be a neighbor of Twilight's from back in Ponyville. The stranger's coat was a pale orange, while her mane was an interesting combination of tan and light blue; it was a little hard to tell in the darkened video for sure, though. The strangest part about the video was what the stranger in the film seemed to be doing; namely, hugging a tall human stallion from behind. Twilight hit play again on the video. She held a hand up to her mouth in shock at seeing the stallion slowly slump down onto the ground, where the mare let him fall unceremoniously into an unmoving lump. Without hesitating, the mystery pony ran to another nearby stallion, hoisted him up, and began carrying him away. Twilight tuned back in at hearing Quark’s deep voice. “Well that’s a new one, small horses abducting young boys.” The pudgy man chuckled, a lopsided grin on his face. Jack spoke up, laughing even louder. “It’s just like when the show first became popular, eh? When I found it, I couldn’t stop laughing.” Lex was shaking his head sadly. “Poor kid, never saw it coming. This can't be real.” Twilight concentrated on watching the video. The quality was lacking, and blurred awfully. But, there was no mistaking it to her; that was a real, Equestrian pony, running into the night on her screen.