“Snow, the beautiful mantle that comes down from the sky, it brings with it the cold, yes, the cold which can instantly decimate your tender parts with its gentle touch.”

“Charming. You sure know how to appease to the ladies, you buffoon,” replies the voice from the speaker.

“You know you loved it, Trix,” I say with a proud stance, pushing my glasses up cockily, too bad she can’t see it, being talking on a phone and all, maybe I’ll send her a pic-

“No, Trixie didn’t. Now, can you tell her what you want? Or are you simply trying to annoy her?” she growls, geez, it hasn’t even being five minutes yet.

“Alright, alright,” I guess trying to ease her into it failed miserably, might as well get to the point. “Here goes then: have you heard anything about Ms. Chryssa?” a sigh is the response from the other side, I bet myself twenty bucks that was going to be he case.

“You already know what Trixie is going to say,” she says sounding defeated. “Trixie has checked this before, and she does not think she will find something more,” I hear typing in the background, and the sound of her phone being placed down. “There, it says ex-superintendent Chryssa is still in prison on the accounts of gang related activities’, happy? Although Trixie is pretty sure you yourself already know this.”

“Lemon… Will you tell me what happened? You know? That Nightmare Night? With her?” I roll my eyes, this isn’t the first time she has attempted to get that out of me, the fact that she dropped the third person act certainly says that she is that curious.

“There is nothing to tell, okay?” I lie, I mean, there is just no way I’m telling her about that… I get nightmare nights just thinking about it… I don’t care if it was a terrible experience, puns are always good.

“I’ve tried to remain from meddling, but the way you acted when you saw Ms. Zecora at school the day after was odd, you just shivered in fear, and you refused to talk to anyone, I heard you were even send home.”

Right… The day after the events, I was kind of a mess, I kept thinking that Chryssa would pop out on me, and Zecora… Well, she wasn’t much help, in fact, she just acted like she didn’t know anything… Suspicious much?

“Wipe that obvious grin you must have! Trixie only cares to prove you wrong, you are no good to her when you are being a coward.”

“The thing is, you looked… Traumatized, but then, it just seemed to stop,” she explains, and well, I can say that the information of her being in prison did a lot to help me.

“Whatever! It’s over, can you please drop it? Besides, I… Just wanted to check, you know? I had a strange day today and a bit of good news was what I needed, I think?” I pull out a pendant from my pocket, the pink colored, crystal-like musical note glistening in the light of the lamp in the room.

“You do not sound so sure, but Trixie digresses… Can you at least tell her why you and Pinkie have been acting so awkward with each other lately? Or a better question would be why YOU have been acting so awkward around her? It‘s been like this for over a month now.”

“So Trix, how goes the magic practice! I haven’t been able to attend them in a bit and I thought it would be good for me to catch up on how much better you’ve gotten!” I hear the sound of a palm possibly connecting to the face as I wait for the response.

“Okay, fine, she‘ll drop that too!” she goes silent for an awful long time, making me think she hung up. “Perhaps you’d like to talk about your ‘strange day‘, then? Who knows? Maybe Trixie will be willing to listen… If it is interesting enough, that is,” oh, it’s interesting, alright.

Hmm… Yeah, why not? “Sure…It might take a bit, thought, you willing to hear?” I warm her.

“It’s Saturday, Trixie thinks she can manage to waste some of her precious time,” I swear I can hear the sound of her tossing herself to her bed to get comfortable. Good teasing ammunition, not enough proof to apply.

“Well, if you say so,” I lay back on my own bed, putting the phone on my chest and turning on the speaker. “It was just today, in a forced appointment with the Optometrist…”

~~~~~

-Wait, why would it be forced? Shouldn’t you be okay with going there? It’s your eyes after all.-

-Trixie! If you want me to tell you the story, you’ll stay quiet, and listen, capiche?-

Now, where was I? Oh, yeah! “Son, you squinted your eyes just trying to watch TV,” she replies without a hint of humor.

“Not when it happens when you attempt to read,” she counters not taking my word for it like a mother should, they should be trusting of their kids, dammit.

“Hey, you can’t blame me for that one! I was reading it from my phone, I mean, look at the size of it! They are tiny!” I explain.

“Son?” she says, placing a hand on my shoulder as we stop at a light, giving me a warm smile.

-Trixie takes a liking to your mother, she doesn’t fall for your absurd comments-

Soon after, we arrive at our destination, all while I give mom a harsh glare and a pout, which she returns in mocking fashion.

“Oh, come on, son, it’s not too bad, and here you go,” she gives me her credit card which I quickly put in my pocket, content that she’ll trust me with it, but a bit confused.

“I know, but Christmas is around the corner, so, might as well get that silly holiday shopping of yours out of the way while you are here, buy us, your friends some gifts, maybe get your sweetheart something special?”

“Dad put you up to this, didn‘t he?” I ask while in return all she does is give me an innocent 'hurt' look.

“Son, I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about,” and with those last words, she drives off, leaving me to tend to the place which I’ve never attended before on my own.

Yup, just like my Earth mom. But I suppose I’ll just give her the benefit of the doubt.

I put my attention back to the store, discovering its name; ‘Flor‘-Mart… No relation to ‘Wal‘-Mart, I bet.

I shrug it off and go inside, heading directly for the eye doctor place -after going getting lost because my mom is dumb enough to not realize I haven’t been here before- thankfully, once I arrive, the place isn’t busy, so I easily manage to head inside for my apparent appo-

-B-but this is the part where they check my eyes, and the doctor herself is nice, an-

After the appointment -WHICH WAS VERY FUN AND INTERESTING- is done, and the money has been paid, I leave the place with spiffy new glasses of my own choice, paid -of course- with my mother’s money to boot.

Business being done, I take out my phone, and get ready to dial mom's number... That is until I remember I have the time free to buy gifts and to look around the store. Neat-O. And as stereotypical females say in movies; 'let’s shop n’ shit!'

I happily stroll through the hallways, quickly realizing I’d forgotten the part in which the store is based on sells stuff dirt cheap, so I don’t find anything that girls of the standards of my friends would like… Heck, in hindsight, I don’t even know what they would want.

“Huh?” I turn around at the odd sound, but finding nothing. “What was that?” I say while I stealthily make my way to the source of the sound, and without any restraint, I jump in… Finding nothing, bar a few people who were looking at clothes who were now looking at me.

After that embarrassing display, I decide to give up and leave, maybe I can get mom to take me to a real mal-”

I freeze at the voice, both surprised and slightly intimidated, and against my better judgement, I slowly turn around to meet the strange caller, ready to answer in a manner as respectful as them.

“Yep, meaaah!” my eyes widen once I take notice of the person… It’s a girl -obviously- with mint green skin and hair to match it. “…Hi, Lyra,” I say simply, the memories of half a year ago returning to me like the memories of a repressed memory… Which might or might not be one and the same, my brain isn’t exactly working correctly right now.

“Ready for what?” I ask, unconsciously walking backwards. Away from the danger.

“I wouldn’t recommend it, for you s-…” and as the instinct of survival that this world also thankfully has kicks in, I do anyway; “Oh, why doesn’t that ever work!” I heard her shout as she instantly takes after me.

Some may ask; why would I be running? And well, all I’ll tell them is that a woman that’s mad, is ALWAYS bad news.

“God dammit, stop, you punk!” she shouts, and frankly, her argument leaves a lot to be desired. As I lose sight of her, I quickly turn in the now found women’s clothing section and jump in, hiding in the midst of blouses and stuff.

‘She won’t find me here,’ I think to myself, gulping as her slow, careful steps come ever closer to me, and then…

“Well… she found me, and, um, beat me up quite nicely,” I struggle to say.

“Really now?" she says with a very apathetic attitude. "And how did you get away?” she quickly asks.

“W-well, an employee came by and we were send to their offices, where our parents picked us up, and then, well, I came home, we apologized to each other first, of course, and… That’s it!” I finish.

I hear a few sounds from the other side as she possibly gets off her bed, I can barely make out the footsteps as she moves somewhere else, not saying anything in the meantime.

“… Trixie doesn’t understand,” oh, oh… “Why was this woman after you? And isn’t this ‘Lyra’ the one who was involved in that odd scandal around 7 months ago?” she asks, reminding me of the event, I’m pretty sure EVERYONE in school at the time knew of it.

Then, the longest silence every followed in the history of events that I care about took place.

“Trixie understands… That WAS an interesting story, Lemon, and Trixie apologizes for the shortness, but she must go. Goodbye, and for the record… Trixie enjoys jewelry.” and before I can get a word in, she has hanged up.

Wait... That's it? Did she really buy it? Am I in the clean? Why am I asking myself so many questions without a concrete answer? Oh, great, now this is going to bug me.

I get off my bed and decide upon a shower, something to gather my thoughts, maybe it can help me ease the feelings brought for being a lying SOB.

~~~~~

It hasn’t been more than a few minutes, but I feel like I’ve been hiding here for an eternity, the silky smooth feel of the clothes comforting me on my time of need, Lyra passes by, slowly and carefully looking down each aisle, thankfully, she doesn’t think to look do-

“Got ya!”-own… I look up, noticing the creepy smile on her face and gulp.

Time slows down as her hands reach out to me the instant I attempt to jump out, I can feel her fingers struggling to grasp me, a number of clothes flying as I try to get away, landing messily every which place while I run.

“Geez, what is your problem!?” I say out loud, watching just as she falls forward on the mess in front of her, her growls loud enough to bring other costumer’s attentions. “But seriously, what did I do!?" I hiss between breaths. "All I did was… Meddle in something that wasn’t my business and…” I continue on a low voice. “Ruined your life, and made you lose something you had worked on…” I click my tongue loudly and come to a halt.

“Huh?” I hear the questioning mumble of Lyra behind me, the sounds of her shoes coming to a grinding halt, just feet behind me. “Why are you stopping, are you going to let me beat you up?”

I turn -not before I roll my eyes at her comment- to find her ‘crossed arm and raised brow’ self, possibly awaiting an explanation.

“So? I’m waiting,” she starts, her tone growing impatient. "You have ten seconds."

“Okay! Look... Do you want to… Talk?” I ask simply, she looks surprised for a moment, but shrugs, turns around, and walks away. Oh.

“What are you doing?” she turns around to ask. “Come on, you wanted to talk, right? I’d prefer we did it somewhere private,” she keeps walking, leaving me with no other choice but follow.

Seven minutes later -or 420 seconds later as my friends and I used to say in jest-, we are out to the side of the store, our backs against some poles, opposite from each other, awkwardness ensuing in the air.

I rub my palms together, the cold is really getting to me, it’s not making the situation any less uncomfortable, that's for sure.

“Will you freaking talk!?” Lyra shouts, making me fall back in surprise. “We’ve been here for five minutes!”

“Right, sorry… It’s just a bit difficult,” I say. It’s not an excuse, I swear.

She glares at me, her anger clearly measured by the amount of carbon dioxide leaving her nose by the second. Mother nature sure is helpful. “Alright, you see I a-”

“What is your problem!?” she shouts unexpectedly, causing me to flinch in response. I guess she wants to go first, then. “You ruined my life! Why would you work for that skank Sunset Shimmer? This was none of your business, and… And…” she stops, as a number of people have turned towards us, she is still breathing heavily, but she is no longer shouting, so that’s a plus.

“Wait, you knew I was working for her?” she gives me a look of contempt, her mouth open as she shakes her head as if she just figured something… Oh, crap.

“So you WERE working for her! Of course! There is no reason anyone but her would give a crap about what I do on my own time!” she paces back and forth on the spot, until she sharply turns towards me, grabbing me by the collar and… Lifting me off my feet HOLY CRAP SHE IS STRONG.

“Calm down? Calm DOWN!? WHY SHOULD I!? I SHOULD BEAT YOUR FACE TO A PULP! HOW MUCH DID SHE PAY YOU!? HUH? WHAT COMPELLED YOU TO DO SOMETHING AS DESPICABLE AS TH-”

“Pinkie Pie!” I shout without really realizing it, yet, its effectiveness at stopping her barrage of words is noticeable. By now, there is a crowd around us, fixated on the scene. “Will you people fuck off!?” I kindly shout, still hanging by her monstrous strength. Thankfully, the onlookers take the hint, distaste clearly marked on their faces as they walk away. Boo fucking hoo, they’ll deal.

I turn back to Lyra, she is leaning on the wall, looking off to the side to nothing in particular.

I attempt to make communication with her, edging closer with a careful step. “Ly-”

“Pinkie Pie, huh?” I don’t say anything. “Isn’t that the weird girl from school?”

“She is not weird!” I say before being able to stop myself, noticing my defensive behavior… Geez.

“I see… Your name is Lemon, right?“ I give her a questioning glance and nod. “So you did this for your girlfriend then… Doesn’t surprise me then,” she walks to me, standing uncomfortably close to my face.

“Um, what?… She is not my girlfriend, she is just my, er, friend… Best friend,” I explain, feeling a bit flustered.

“Well, she should be, you clearly care for her, or maybe you have somebody else in mind,” lady, who the hell made you my relationship adviser.

“Who asked y-SMACK -ouagh!” I fall to the ground, the slap placed on my face catching me by surprise. “What the hell!?” I shout, looking up at her as she actually grins at my pain.

“There, that was my act of 'peace-back', you could say,” after a few more laughs, she helps me on my feet.

“Right…” I say, conflicted thoughts running through my head “Look for what it’s worth, I’m really sorry, I really felt horrible doing what I did… It just happened too fast,” she responds by punching my shoulder, causing me to keel over in pain. This girl is strong!

“You still going on about that?“ well, at least she moves on fast. “Hey, ice under the bridge, I already hit you, so I feel tons better,” she takes out her phone and checks the time for a second, she fidgets with it for a bit and puts it to her ear.

“Shopping, just like you, and be quiet, I’m on the phone,” I do as she says and wait, barely listening to what she is saying here and there. “Uh huh… Yeah. I’m ready… Okay, I love you too, Bon Bon,” she hangs up and WHAAAAT???

“Wait… Bon Bon?” I ask outright because screw tact. “I thought you… Well, you know?” she smirks at my surprise and gives me a peace sign.

“Aren’t you nosy? Anyway, all you need to know is that I made a mistake, and I went through my trials and tribulations, but I made up for it… Just goes to show what love can make you do, huh… Or some other cheesy thing like that,” well, she killed the mood of that pretty quickly. “You are a good example of that,” she reaches into her pocket, bringing out a piece of paper and a pen.

“My number,” she hangs me the piece of paper with the digits on it. “Cause you know, you may be a total pansy, a jackass, a smartass, an-”

“I‘m getting there! Geez!” she takes a breath of air. “BUT, you have a big heart. And that’s what I like about you, capiche?”

“Stop being such a sourpuss! Here, takes this,” she puts her hand over mine, letting something drop, when she lifts it, a small pendant rests there, shaped like a musical note, its pinkish transparent look shining in what little sunshine the clouds will let through.

“Okay, I’m not one to say ‘no’ to free stuff EVEN from strangers, but, why are you giving me this?” I ask her, holding the pendant at eye height, looking through it as I talk.

“Well, I just figured I’d play my part to help in this story, you know?” she explains… Not really well, she still seems to have that ‘we are all part of a story’ mentality. Freak.

“Right… Well, thank you, I appreciate it,” I thank her sincerely… I mean, she saved me -or mom- money on gifts.

“Sure... Wait, to one of them… Wait, what is that supposed to m-” I look back to where she stood, actually running away from me to a car parked not far from me.

"What!? Isn't this a gift!?" I shout, but she can no longer hear me. Or maybe she is just ignoring me.

I give the pendant another look and stare at it for a little longer… Pffft, I’m so not paying for it.

~~~~~

I toss the towel to the side alongside my dirty clothes, letting the heating in my room warm me up from the horrid cold that was the way to get here.

“Thanks for using up all the hot water ‘oh, loving parents’” I groan as I toss myself on the bed, hiding under the blankets to escape from the bitch ass cold.

BZZZ! I hear familiar sound of my phone vibrating, the sound coming from outside my comfort zone. Dammit. With reflexes that would make a ninja flinch, it’s already inside my blanket, opened, and ready to be peru… Oh.

3 missed calls, 1 message
-Trixie Ms Magic Girl

Before I make the call, I open the message and read. ‘Don’t bother calling back, Trixie is already outside, get off your behind and meet her there’

After a few grueling minutes of dressing up, almost falling down the stairs in my rush, and almost getting in an argument with mom, I’m outside, brazing the weather. The street is empty, except for the snow that threatens to freeze me to death if something unexpected were to happen. I walk to the street, and without fail I notice a crappy looking car, a girl inside it rubbing her hands together, fighting the terrible cold as I am.

Why did I come to his house? I mean, is this really a good idea? I mean, I could just drive away and say that I was told to come home… Yeah… Grr, why is it so cold! My hands are fr-

Knock “Gah! What the!?” I turn to my window and see him there, Lemon‘s smug face waiting impatiently -as if he is one to complain- after fumbling with my keys for a tad, I get out of the car… It’s cold, oh, goodness, it’s cold.

“So, what’s up? How did you find me?” humph! How rude! Ignoring my question. As payback, I simply close the door and start down the road.

“Follow Trixie, a talk is required,” I turn to say before continuing, his look of unease does not escape me, but he will soon understand.

We walk for a few minutes, I'm thankful that it has stopped snowing by now, and the streets are empty, as most residents are probably inside, enjoying the warmth of their homes on the weekend… Something that I wish to do, actually… T-this is a bad ide-

“Trixie, can you tell me what this is about?” he asks, interrupting my train of thought… Of course, he wants answers… Well, I should start somewhere.

“So… You worked with Shimmer?” I ask, turning dramatically and giving him my most neutral look. The look on his face says all I need.

“Huh? What? Where did you even get that from!?” he asks, blatantly confused. Come on, Lemon, it’s not rocket science. “Wait… I've only told one person.You know Ly-”

“-ra? Yes, Trixie knows her, she is actually an old friend of hers, in fact, she told Trixie about the event that caused her to change schools,” I finish. I sense the words coming out much colder than I expected to, but it can‘t be helped.

Pow, right in the kisser. Nana’s notorious phrase comes to mind, but it is not time for it. Not yet.

“Oh… But Trixie… We already made up, there is no longer bad blood between us,” he attempts to explain, fumbling with his words as he attempts to make a reasonable argument. A unneeded endeavor, in all honesty.

“Oh, yes, Trixie gets the point, she is not ignorant,” I explain. He is now looking partially relieved, that being said…

“Then, what is this all about? Is that the only reason I’m here?” he asks the question I’ve been awaiting.

“No, it’s not, Trixie is… No, I am here to talk about something else,” titles are not needed for what I am about to do. Thankfully, he notices the change and remains from saying anything. Good, he has come to know me better than I expected.

“What is it, exactly?” he asks in a tentatively, yet, curiously at the same time.

“You know, I found out about your deed with Shimmer nearly a month after I met you -you can thank Lyra for that- and I planned to get revenge for her all this time… Until today, that is,” I move towards him, slowly, and carefully. Don’t let your intentions be apparent as nana says.

“Indeed. In fact, my plans have been completed for a while now, and yet… I dared not do it,” closer, just a bit more.

“W-why is that?” he asks, now stopped by a car behind him, unable to walk backwards any longer.

"You are a smartass," I say without any humor, as it is the truth, of course, he doesn't take it lightly.

“Most of the time, you are a kind person, and I could not on good conscience, even attempt it, I was waiting for you to slip, to give me a reason, admittedly, that day you ruined my dream would have been a reason, if you remember.” I certainly do… If my shaking fist is any indication.

“Hmm, yes! B-but I said I was sorry about that, and can you stop this? You are creeping me out, Trixie, and trust me, I never expected those words to come out of my mouth. Ever,” he says, attempting to drift the conversation to a different topic. Typical.

“Yes, you did. And you did that and more by attending my practices, giving me support, being a friend, even treating me like one when no one else would, and…” my fist shakes, unable to control the amount of effort I’m placing into this.

~~~~~

Some of them go along the lines of ‘holy crap, it’s cold as shit’ or ‘boy, I sure do wish I were inside right now!’, and even that ‘boy, this sure tastes like berries!’ which is odd on its own.

Of course, the most prominent one is ‘IS TRIXIE KISSING ME RIGHT NOW!?’ a natural reaction if I do say so myself. And despite what‘s happening, I’m hoping that her blue skin makes her blend into the environment, because if my parents see this, I’m not gonna hear the end of it.

After what appears to be an eternity, she backs off a few feet, giving me a few precious seconds to asses the situation.

Trixie kissed me… Situation assessed.

“Trixie supposes you have questions, do you not?” she says, an irritatingly cute blush on her face to boot. I simply nod. An understatement if I ever heard one. “Well, to get to the point, Trixie did this due to Lyra… As she told her about your feelings for the pink one.”

“WHAT… Wait, what!?” I shout, quickly covering my mouth after the stupid act. “There is nothing between us, okay?” I whisper.

“Oh, Trixie knows this,” she says knowingly. “In fact, she knows that Pinkie does not know of your feelings,” she says, completely ignoring what I just told her.

“You are missing the point, I. Don’t. Have. Feelings. For. Her. Nor. You. For. That. Matter!” I say reiterating each word, hopefully, she gets the message.

“Again, Trixie knows. And that is why she will attempt to win your heart, however, she will let the pink one.. No. She will let Pinkie Pie participate, you can call this a favor for teaching Trixie a new act," wait, wait, what?

“This… Is not happening.” I say out loud, sitting down on the car to gather my thoughts, but of course, its alarm activates at my touch. “Shit!” before I can get what’s happening, I’m running back home to escape the wrath of whoever the hell lives there.

“Lemon, Trixie knows she professed her love, but you sure move fast,” I turn to meet Trixie and realize I’m holding her hand, I guess I dragged her along as we ran. Brilliant move, Pat.

“I. Just. I don’t… Ugh!” I let go, and without another word, I run to the house, not bothering to look back.

“Lemon, hold it right there!” I hesitantly stop and turn around to see what she wants.

“You look cute with those glasses,” I feel my cheeks flush right away, and I can only wave at her as I attempt to make it into the house. “Trixie will see you in school Monday, call her!” she shouts as I make it inside, slamming the door shut and ignoring my parents’ complaints, just heading straight to my room and locking the door.

“W-what?” I say out loud, plummeting on the bed. “What even is happening?” I take off my glasses and softly toss them aside, covering my eyes from this… Maybe I’m just dreaming, I mean, there is no way Trixie fell for me… Right? I look aside and see the pendant Lyra gave me sitting there, where I left it in my rush, I suppose… ‘To one of them’ she said…

Oh, wait… So one of them is… That sneaky… I can’t really insult her, she must have known of Trixie’s infatuation… Which still feels surreal… Guess I gotta add that to the plate of ‘shit I should be concerned about’, whichI should be, obviously, I mean, she is underage, and I’m, well, twenty four on a seventeen year old body and what-not, but still an adult!

I can’t help but feel happy about it…

I just wanted to go to Equestria!

by Ditz

Part 2 Epilogue - Tricky Wonderland