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The Final Romance
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Alex and Dash walked together, as they left the school behind them. They were basking a new kind of glow, that they hadn’t experienced before.
Before, Dash had been happy just to spend time with him, but the admittance of love was a game changer.
It made the two of them see each other in a different light. A light that made them both smile uncontrollably, and never want to leave each other’s side.
Something Alex had noticed, that Dash hadn’t, was just how cuddly she got. He wanted to point it out to her, but was afraid she would get embarrassed and stop.
“What do you want to do next?” Alex asked the girl on his arm, as she sighed happily.
“I’ll do anything,” She said from his arm, still looking ahead, “I’m kind hungry.”
“Got it,” Alex nodded, as he looked over her to the places around them, “Anything in particular?”
“Well… There is one thing,” She said, looking up to him and smiling innocently.
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“This feels so… Weird,” Alex said, sitting on a bench in the stable, watching Dash go to town on a big heap of hay, “Are you sure you don’t want a salad?”
“Since I got here, I’ve been dying to eat as much hay as I can,” She said, putting another crumpled pile, in her mouth, “Ish sho good!”
“I’ve never even tried it,” Alex admitted, never having built up the courage to try it in Equestria.
“Are you serious?” She asked, after a big gulp, “It’s like, the best thing EVER!”
“I thought that was you,” Alex smiled, remembering one of the many conversations where she had ingratiated herself.
“You’re right,” Dash nodded, “It’s second best.”
“Well, I’ll just stick with eating first place, thanks,” Alex winked.
“You’re so… Dishgushting,” She said, putting another mouthful in, and quickly swallowing, “Good thing I am too.”
“How much more are you going to eat?” Alex asked, rolling his head around and sighing, feeling his butt start to go numb on the bench he sat on.
“I’m pretty good, actually,” She said, brushing the small pile off her stomach, to the ground, “What’s next?”
“I’d like to go see something,” Alex said, furrowing his brow.
“What’s that?” Dash asked.
“The place I left this world, and went to Equestria from,” Alex said, remembering that fateful walk a year ago… Or three months ago.
“Why didn’t you think of that earlier?” Dash asked, jumping up, “We need to check that place out!”
“You think so?” Alex asked, “I don’t think there’ll be anything there. It was only there the one day.”
“But maybe it’s still there!” She said, waving her arms in the air.
“Don’t you think somepony, or someone else would have come into Equestria?” Alex asked.
“I don’t know,” She shrugged, “Was it secluded?”
“I guess you could call it that,” Alex admitted, “But it was so bright, that I don’t think anyone would miss it.”
“Don’t matter!” She huffed, “Point me in the direction!”
“Sure,” Alex nodded, walking out of the stable, “Just follow me.”
The two walked silently to the place Alex had gone to reach Equestria, both holding their breaths as the distance was closed.
Alex kinda recognized the path he had taken, and tired his best to replicate it as best as he could. However, he hadn’t exactly been paying attention that night on account of his parents.
“I think this is it,” Alex said, pointing to a clearing just ahead of them, “I think this is where I was.”
“Then let’s go!” Dash smirked, running ahead of him, toward the clearing.
Shaking his head, Alex jogged after her, running up to a place he surprisingly recognized, despite the small amount of time he had been there.
Looking around, Alex sighed. There was nothing around them. No door. No magic portal… It was just a field.
“Dang…” Dash sighed.
“Sorry, honey,” Alex said, walking up to her, and placing a hand on her shoulder, noticing a black patch on the ground, “I think that was the spot.”
Walking forward together, they inspected the clearly scorched ground, where the door had presumably had been.
“Yeah, look at this,” Alex said, letting her go, and kneeling down in front of the burn, pointing to a bunch of messed up grass that had been pulled up by something, “This is where my foot was sliding around as I tried to get away from it.”
Dash knelt down and prodded the scorch.
“Well… This was a bummer,” She said, giving a frustrated look.
“Why don’t we go back to the house?” Alex asked, “We can watch some TV, have some popcorn, maybe—“
“Oh come on,” Dash grinned, giving him a look, “You’re gonna beat around the bush?”
“Not everything has to end with us in bed, Dash,” Alex said, acting as stuck-up as he could, “Get your mind out of the gutter.”
“Well, you’re right about one thing…” Dash whispered, stepping toward him.
“And what’s that?” Alex asked.
“My mind IS in the gutter,” She said, leaning up to his ear, “And this is what’s in the gutter, Alex.”
Whispering a long, obviously exciting *something* in his ear, Alex perked up, and found his mind joining hers down in the gutter.
Leaning back, she raised an eyebrow, “But, you know, if you think that’s too dirty—“
“I changed my mind!” Alex blurted, “You’re perfect right where you are.”
“Good boy,” She grinned, grabbing his tie, and leading him back to the house, “Let’s get back, so I can try this new body…”
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Discord sat impatiently in his backstage, watching the Elements of Harmony, as they resonated with one another in darkness.
He had expected the Element of Magic to succumb to the dark influence of its counterparts, but it simply hadn’t happened. It was holding on to dear life, thanks to that dragon, and his powering up of the Element of Loyalty.
Had circumstances been different, he would have simply broken the Element the same way he had the others, by introducing them into situations forcing them to act contrary of what they represent. However, what was the opposite of Magic? Non-magic? That made no sense.
Maybe he could expose it to… Science? Magic is the opposite of Science?
Na, that was a pointless debate, it would take far too much of his time to break it.
“So, what do I do?” Discord said out loud, rubbing his chin with his paw, “I could always make the dragon betray his friends…”
But could he really? Something told Discord that he wouldn’t be able to put Spike in the position to betray everypony, and break the Element.
So, since the Elements would only respond to the ponies allowed to bear them, that meant one thing.
“I need to go get Rainbow Dash back that prison I sent them to,” Discord said, standing up, “I hope they haven’t gone stir crazy…”
He’s also need to visit Spike as well.
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Alex yawned and stretched his arms out, looking to the naked from of his marefriend under the covers.
Last night had been remarkable for the two of them. Alex hoped that everything would be so intense from now on, since their admission of love for one another.
Alex sighed and thought to his parents for a moment.
If his dad were around, there would be high-fives to be had. But, he wasn’t. So, Alex would have to simply give a thumbs-up to the ceiling.
“If you’re watching up there,” Alex said quietly, “You should stop… It’s kinda creepy.”
“And if you’re watching, mom,” Alex continued, “Sorry about the mess…”
Alex’s train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Looking to the clock, Alex was surprised to see it only be six forty-five.
“Who could that be?” Alex said to himself, standing up and pulling his jeans on, along with his button up from last night, not bothering with doing it up.
Heading to the door, Alex looked out the peep-hole, not recognizing the man on the other side.
“Huh,” Alex said, unlocking and opening the door, “Hi, can I do something for you?”
“Are you Alex?” The man asked.
“I am,” Alex said, studying the man, recognizing him a bit.
He was a somewhat shrewd man, with thin lips, and very defined cheek-bones. His hair line was receded and showed a bit of grey in his sideburns. His eyes were a piercing cross between green and silver. Alex recognized him as an omnipotent character from a certain sci-fi show, but couldn’t quite put his finger on which one.
“It took me a long time to find you, you know,” The man smiled.
“I’m sorry, do I know you?” Alex asked.
“I’m your parent’s lawyer,” He said, walking into the house, holding a bag, “I simply have a few things that we need to work out.”
“Oh,” Alex said, gesturing to the couch, “Please, sit down.”
“Thank you,” He nodded, sitting down, “Are you here alone?”
“Oh, no,” Alex shook his head, “This might take a while, so I’ll just go get my girlfriend up.”
“Of course,” He nodded.
“Oh,” Alex said, looking back to the man, “I didn’t get your name.”
“It’s John,” He smiled.
“One second, John,” Alex said apologetically, heading back up.
After a few minutes, Alex walked back down the stairs with Dash in tow. She was dressed in an over-the-shoulder tee, and shorts.
“Hey,” Dash said, bowing to the man slightly, “Sorry about the hold-up.”
“Not a problem, dear,” He said, as Alex and Dash said across from him, “Now, I just need to drop some things off, and go over some paperwork.”
“Sure,” Alex nodded.
“First of all,” He said, reaching into the bag, and pulling out some kind of jewelry box, “This was your mother’s. It now belongs to you, Alex.”
Taking the box, Alex opened it, and was surprised to see something he recognized. But he didn’t know it from earth.
“Wow,” Alex said, lifting the necklace from the box, “A red lightning bolt? I didn’t know she had anything like that.”
John nodded, looking at it, “I’ll bet it would look lovely on your friend there, Alex.”
Looking to Dash, he agreed. It seemed fitting to give Dash this piece of jewelry, since it resembled her Element of Harmony so much.
“Face away from me,” Alex said, as she complied, allowing him to wrap the thin chain around her neck, so the stone sat on her chest.
Turning back, Alex smiled and nodded at her, “That looks great on you.”
“Thanks,” she smiled to him, as they both turned back to the lawyer.
“It looks lovely,” He said, reaching into the bag, and pulling out a few papers, “Now, we need to discuss the possession of your house.”
“What do you mean?” Alex asked.
“Well, we need to know who’s name it should be in,” John explained, “Or even if you intend to sell it.”
“I don’t plan on selling it,” Alex said, “I’d like to keep it in my name.”
“Okay,” John said, scribbling something on the page, “So, you’ll be living here from now on?”
“Do I have to?” Alex asked.
“Well, because of your absence, we’ve been wondering if you’ll be leaving again,” John explained, “If you plan on leaving for another period of time, you should consider giving ownership to somep- ahem, Someone else, like a family member. If you go, but keep it in your name, it would make things difficult for taxes and such.”
“I don’t know…” Alex said, scratching his head, knowing he DID want to go back to Equestria, “Are we going to be leaving soon Sarah?”
Dash gulped. She didn’t want to have this conversation.
“Well, wherever it is you want to go, do you have any way of getting there?” John asked, smiling slightly.
“Well, no…” Alex said, sighing.
“We don’t,” Dash added, frowning.
“Okay,” He said, “I’ll take it that you’re staying then? Not going anywhere?”
They were silent. Alex wanted to give ownership to his uncle, just in case he went back to Equestria at some point here… But what if him and Dash never left? They would need a house to live in properly.
“So?” John asked.
Dash gave him a sad look, bit her lip, and nodded.
“We’ll keep it, I guess,” Alex sighed.
“Good to hear!” He smiled, “But, just so you know, that means you won’t be able to visit your friends or something for a long time.”
“What?” Alex asked, a bit confused at the sudden statement.
“Well, there’s a probationary period, in which the house needs to be occupied for at least a year, before you could, say, take a vacation for two weeks,” John detailed.
“I’ve never heard of that kind of rule,” Alex frowned, “So much of this just sounds… Crazy to me.”
“Legal matter like this are tricky sometimes,” John shrugged, “But don’t worry about missing your friends, it’ll only be a year. It’s not like it would be three years or anything.”
Dash felt her heart sink.
She knew that they weren’t getting out of here… If Celestia had the magic to send Alex home, she would have done it on day one. So, obviously, as hard as it was to admit, there was no help coming, and she knew Alex was unable to make the portal to get them home.
It was over.
She knew she should have kept fighting, she knew that she shouldn’t have given up… But if she left her friends behind, and lived with Alex forever, that wouldn’t be so bad, right?
“We’ll stay,” Dash nodded, hiding her sadness, “For however long we’re supposed to.”
“Are you sure?” John asked.
“Yes.” She said.
The sound of her necklace cracking was almost too quiet to notice.
Almost.
“W-what happened?” Dash asked, looking at the small gem resting on her chest, seeing it start to be polluted with solid black.
“You’ve just done me a huge favor, honey,” John chuckled, standing up, “I thought it would be harder, Rainbow Dash.”
“Wait…” Alex said, recognizing the sudden change in the man’s tone, “You’re… Discord!”
“You got me!” Discord laughed, standing up and giving her a round of applause.
Dash stood to her feet, “What did you do to my Element?”
“I fixed it!” Discord laughed, levitating the necklace away from her, “Look at how nice and black it is now!”
“Answer her!” Alex demanded.
“I just added a little chaos,” Discord chuckled.
“Did you know we were here the whole time?” Alex asked.
“To be honest, the two of you went off course,” He explained, “You were supposed to go to a holding cell, but you come here, somehow. I thought you had disappeared into thin air.”
“What’s going on in Equestria?” Dash demanded, “What happened to our friends?”
“Would you like to come see?” He asked, listing his hand, levitating Dash from where she stood, “I’d be happy to show you the new and improved Ponyville!”
“L-let me go!” Dash demanded, struggling in the grip of his spell.
“I’m taking you home, though!” Discord said, turning to Alex, “You’d better hurry if you want to save her.”
Alex didn’t waste a moment, charging at the man, in an attempt to knock him down. It didn’t work, however, as Discord flew above him, still holding Dash in a tight grip.
“I’m sure we’ll see each other again!” Discord laughed, opening a portal on the other side of the room from Alex, and vanishing inside, “Have fun here in this… strange place.”
“No!” Alex shouted, rushing him, in an attempt to save Dash. But, all he did was hit he wall behind the white door, as if he were unable to pass into the entrance.
“Sorry buddy,” Discord said, poking his head out the door, “Real Equestrians only!”
“Wait!” Alex shouted, as the portal closed, leaving him alone in the room.
Everything had just gone to hell.
“Son of a bitch!” Alex shouted, grabbing a bowl from the table, and smashing it on the wall across from him.
Alex went into overdrive mode. He needed to get Dash back, and he needed to turn Discord into a quivering pile of mess.
“How the hell do I get back?!” Alex shouted, trying to cast any kind of teleportation spell, but only made his head catch fire, “God damn!”
Sitting down, Alex placed his hands on his head, and started to think.
What can I do? How do I get back to her?
His mind raced, and considered every possibility of what he could do to get home. But, there was nothing… The long and the short of it, was that there was no way he could get to her. It was the same situation as before, except that Dash was gone. He was alone, back on earth, and now… If nopony came back for him, he could be stuck here alone for the rest of his life… Being a human. Nothing else.
Standing up, he kicked the table in a fit of anger, knocking it upside down.
“How did I not see that it was him?! I’m gonna kill him!“
“You know, It’s really not polite to swear,” A male voice said from the front door, “And it looks like we just missed Discord.”
“Dang! Oh, hey Alex!” A girl's voice called, walking in the room with him, “Do you have any muffins here?”
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