"You mean to tell me this America isn't run by a Princess?" Twilight asked in disbelief.
"No," I replied with a small smile. To pass time, I allowed the girls to ask me any questions they had, and they had a lot of them.
"So, who rules your land?" She asked.
"We call him the President." I replied. "And, he doesn't completely rule. He...Well, he helps rule. We have this other group of people called congress that...are supposed to help him make the laws," I added. She quirked an eyebrow at me. "Look, it's a complicated process I'll have to explain to you another time," I said with a smirk.
"I'm gonna hold ya to that," She replied with a smile of her own. I shook my head in amusement, and looked over at the others.
"Any other questions?" I asked them, sticking my hands in my jacket pockets.
"As of right now, well, no," Fluttershy replied with a slight shiver in her voice. It was then I noticed two things; for one, she looked really cold. Two, concerning the conversation Grayson and I had earlier about her, well...Let's just say I was wrong. Paint your own conclusions.
"Oh, here," I said, and took off my jacket, draping it around her shoulders. She smiled gratefully, and shyly hid away half of her face with her long hair.
"Oh...Thank you, Alex," She said quietly, and I detected the slightest blush on her face. I smiled and shook my head.
"Ah, think nothing of it," I assured her, eliciting a nod from the shy girl. Moments later, we turned down my street.
"These are strange looking cottages..." Rarity mused, looking around with her chin resting atop her clenched fist.
"We don't call them cottages. We call them houses," I corrected.
"Oh," Was all she replied with, seemingly unimpressed. That is, until we reached my house. "Oh, my. Is this your...'House', Alex?" She then asked. I nodded in reply, and unlocked the door, opening it.
"Ladies first," I insisted with a smile, gesturing for them to walk inside.
"My, and a gentlecolt as well. How nice of you," Rarity complimented, being the first to walk in.
"Yeah...Definitely gotta do something about that vocabulary," I said, walking in after they all entered. I locked the door behind me, and turned, amused at their curiosity of the house. I flicked the lights on, and that seemed to catch them by surprise.
"Wh-what was that?" Applejack asked in surprise.
"Calm down," I said with a chuckle, "It's just the lights." They all gave a simultaneous, and somewhat drawn out "Oh," in reply. "Anyway, are you hungry? I didn't make dinner yet, and I have enough to go around," I offered.
"Oh, yay! Now you're talking! What can you make? Hay fries?" She asked, and went on asking about other pony delicacies.
"...No. No, I can't make any of that," I replied flatly. Unfortunately, that didn't shut her up, though she did take her rambling elsewhere in the house. "Anyway, make yourselves comfortable. I'll get something started," I said, looking for ingredients to make a spaghetti.
Minutes passed, and the house grew quieter. Fluttershy and Applejack were sitting awkwardly together on the couch, as they no doubt tried it as they would in their pony form. Now, AJ was sitting down normally, with Fluttershy laying on her back with her head on AJ's lap. Rarity herself was sitting on the recliner next to the couch, with her knees brought up to her chest. Pinkie and Dashie were both laying on their bellies, and all were watching the TV. The only one missing was Twilight, who I assumed was in my library in the next room.
My mind was suddenly snapped back into the kitchen when the egg timer went off, and I took the bread from out of the oven, placing it in a large bowl.
"Alright, girls, dinner's up!" I called out. Naturally, Pinkie Pie was the first to approach, and I pulled out seats for all of them, with myself sitting at the end of the table. They stared at their plates in confusion, and I raised a brow. "Problem?" I asked.
"Nope! Looks great!" Pinkie exclaimed, before digging her face into the food and eating away. The others stared at her, including myself, though I broke out into wild laughter. "What's wrong?" Pinkie asked me with a wide grin, though there was pasta sauce smothered on her face.
"Pinkie, you're not...!" I said between laughter, before calming down and realizing that they had no idea how to eat like humans. I sighed and stood, grabbing her a small washcloth to clean her face. She managed this pretty well, and I raised my fork.
"Girls, this is a fork," I began. "It's a utensil used for eating some kinds of food. You hold it like this," I demonstrated, placing the fork between my fingers. The girls all followed suit, and I stabbed my fork into the noodles. "Then, you just twist it until you get enough food on your fork," I continued, twisting the utensil in my fingers. It took them a moment, but they were all quick learners, especially Twilight. "And, voila. Spaghetti," I said, bringing my fork to my mouth and taking a bit. The girls all mimicked me perfectly, and the looks on their faces indicated they loved the cooking.
"Whoa! This is really good!" Rainbow Dash beamed, taking more bites of her food. I smiled in gratitude at the girl.
"Yes, it's savory, warm, and delicious!" Rarity chimed in with a smile, though she took a more civil approach to her food.
"It's just spaghetti...No big deal," I said modestly, smirking a bit.
After dinner, I made the girls brownies, much to Pinkie Pie's delight, and we settled down in front of the TV afterwards. I looked over at Twilight, who was reading a book rather intently. I looked over, and realized it was from one of my favorite authors, Sharren Dhan. "Enjoying the book?" I asked with a grin.
"This is crazy...! It's got all of this violence, and these horrible words...But I can't put it down!" She said with a reluctant chuckle. I shook my head in mild amusement, and heard a quiet yawn, looking over at Fluttershy, who was sitting a few inches to my left. She had my jacket draped around her, still, and was nodding off, almost leaning against me for support. I stood up, causing everyone to look at me.
"Well, you girls must be tired...I'm sure you've had a wild and tiring night," I said obviously, eliciting nods from them all. "I have one more spare room, that you could all share. Follow me," I said, switching off the television and leading them down the hallway. We passed my room, and reached the middle door. I opened it, and we entered a lightly furnished room.
I gestured to the queen sized bed and recliner. "I don't know how many of you can fit on what, but I'll grab extra blankets," I said, reaching the hallway closet and bringing a sufficient amount of blankets and sheets. "And the bathroom is the door right here. Though...I'm hoping you can figure that out yourself..." I said, muttering the last part.
"Thanks a heap, Alex. We can't tell ya how much we appreciate yer hospitality," Applejack said with a smile, setting down her hat. I smiled and shook my head.
"It's my pleasure, really. Not every day you meet your favorite television characters," I said, but instantly backtracked when I realized I killed the happy mood. I threw a string of insults at myself in my mind, noticing the saddened looks of the girls. They all settled down in their beds, with AJ, Twilight and Fluttershy sharing the bed, Dashie in the recliner, and Rarity surprisingly sleeping on the floor. Fluttershy sat upright in bed, clenching the sleeves of my jacket she now was fully wearing.
"Um...Alex?" She spoke up. I turned and looked at her.
"Yeah? What is it, Fluttershy?" I asked.
"Do you...Really think you can help us get home?" She asked, looking up at me with her large cyan eyes. Her question nearly broke my heart, and I sighed, approaching her and kneeling a bit, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"I...Honestly don't know, Fluttershy. But I'm gonna help you. All of you. I promise," I assured them with a confident smile. They returned the smile and thanked me, and I could swear I felt a pang of happiness and accomplishment well up inside of my heart. I made my way to the door, and stopped to look back at them. "Goodnight, girls." I said gently.
"Goodnight!" They all replied, before closing their eyes and drifting off to sleep. I sighed and rested against the door for a moment, before smiling to myself and going to my room, falling asleep as soon as I hit the sheets