"Thanks for your help today, Grayson," I said, closing the front door behind me and joining my friend as he walked to his car.
"Don't worry about it, man," He replied, trying to find the keyhole in the darkness of night. A few hours had passed since we returned from the galleria, and since I shared that interesting little tidbit from my past. My eyes still burned from the unshed tears..
"Right, well...Sorry I didn't get to help you on your project today," I said with a slight chuckle.
"Ah, c'mon, who cares. We all know I'll just procrastinate it. Hell, if things didn't go this way, we woulda spent all day watching MLP anyway." He countered with a laugh of his own. I couldn't help but return the laugh.
"You may have a point there," I replied. He extended his clenched fist, and I happily bumped fists with him. "I'll see you later, man," I said, earning a nod and a lazy half salute from my friend, as he started his car.
"That you will," He replied with a smirk, pulling out of my driveway, and driving off into the night. I stood out there for a few moments, before returning inside. Everyone was in what I assumed to be their usual spots - Pinkie and Rainbow laying on the ground in front of the TV, Rarity on the recliner, Applejack and Fluttershy sharing a spot on the couch, along with Twilight on the other end, surfing the internet.
"Did Grayson leave already?" Twilight asked, looking up from the laptop. I nodded, throwing the empty pizza boxes we had in the trash.
"That he did." I answered simply, grabbing the now-empty two liter of soda I left on the counter. I narrowed my eyes and looked back at them. "Who drank the rest of the soda?" I asked slowly.
"Take a wild guess!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, jumping up and doing an awkward little shuffling dance. I facepalmed and groaned in annoyance.
"Great, give the party girl caffeine...Good goin', girls." I said with a sigh. The whole five minutes I spent cleaning up, Pinkie was dancing. "Pinkie," I began, but she danced a little faster.
"Pinkie," Twilight said in a scolding tone, but still got no response.
"Pinkie!" Both me and Twilight exclaimed, catching not only each other by surprise, but also the attention of the pink-haired dancer.
"Yes, Twilight and Alex?" She asked with an innocent smile.
"I think it's time we headed to bed." I mumbled. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie both groaned in annoyance, and Pinkie even dramatically threw herself to the ground.
"But it's only!...Um..." Rainbow began, getting up and checking the time on the laptop, apparently breaking Twilight's personal bubble. "It's only ten thirty!" She finished.
"I'm aware, but...I've had a very long and stressful day," I began, remembering the painful memories I had to relive. "So, I'm gonna go to bed. Remember to change back into the clothes you came in so you don't mess those up, and don't go to bed too late," I told them.
"Don't worry, dad, we got it," Rainbow teased with a chuckle. I couldn't help but smirk, and nodded.
"Remember. Not too late," I repeated. "Goodnight, girls," I then said, before heading to my room. I turned off the light, and threw my head back against the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. I laced my hands behind my head and sighed, thinking about the past couple days, and the past few years. Maybe...Maybe this all happened for a reason. Maybe something in this 'verse was trying to teach me something.
Then again, I had to tell myself. This was no fairy tail, no television show. It's not all planned or plotted out.
Those were my final thoughts, before my body shut itself down, and I fell asleep.
-
Twilight Sparkle sighed as she watched Alex take off to his room. These past two days have been nothing short of crazy, and she was worried.
"Everythin' alright, Twi?" Applejack asked, picking up on her friend's mood. Twilight turned her attention to AJ and gave a hesitant smile, nodding her head.
"Oh, yeah. Everything's fine," She said in half-truth. Applejack frowned.
"C'mon, girl. We both know that ain't true. What's on your mind?" She pressed on. Twilight sighed in defeat, and replied.
"It's just...How long will we be stuck here? I'm worried. About Spike, Princess Celestia, and everypony else back in Ponyville." She began. The other girls turned their attention to Twilight as she continued to speak. "Alex is a nice boy and all, and has taken us in, and we owe him for that, but this isn't where we belong. We belong back in Equestria." She said, as tears began to fill her eyes. A soft hand on her shoulder brought her attention back up.
"Don't worry, darling. This is all just a minor setback. I'm fairly certain that we'll find a way back to the others. We just need to be patient." Rarity said with a smile. Twilight smiled back, and nodded her head.
"Thanks, Rarity. You're right. Everything will work out. As long as we're all together, we'll be fine." Twilight said confidently.
The six continued watching television and discussing the random things Twilight found on the internet, before falling asleep around eleven thirty.
-
I bolted up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. My eyes took a moment to focus on the brightness of the room, and I realized I had another nightmare. I took a moment to catch my breath, when something caught my attention. The smell of something burning invaded my nostrils, and my eyes widened even more, if that was even possible. "...Oh, seven hells." I muttered, just before the fire alarm began blaring. I jerked up in bed, and darted for the door, stumbling a bit as I dashed for the kitchen. I saw the girls crowded in the kitchen, with Pinkie in front of the stove.
"Gah! Fire! Fire! Quick, Dashie, get me some water!" She cried out, flailing her arms about in confusion and panic. I facepalmed, and grabbed a handful of chopped vegetables they had on the kitchen island, and threw the vegetables in the grease fire she started in a frying pan, snuffing out the oxygen the fire needed. Everyone settled down, save for Pinkie, who was still crying and flailing around, until Applejack shut her up by placing a hand over her mouth.
"You should never put out a grease fire with water, that's really dangerous," I said tiredly, mixing the vegetables. The girls stared in silence, before one of them spoke up.
"Oh, well...We just wanted to make you breakfast. To thank you." Fluttershy said with a kind smile. I quirked a brow and glanced over at her.
"Thank me?" I repeated in question form, noting she, again, was wearing my red denim jacket over her pale yellow sundress.
"Yeah. You know, for letting us crash here until we get back home," Rainbow chimed in with a smile.
"Oh, that," I replied simply. "Eh. Not a problem." I then added. The girls raised a brow at me and stood in silence for a few more minutes. "What were you trying to make?" I then asked.
"Just...A recipe we found on your internet." Twilight replied slowly. "Alex, are you okay?" She then asked. I rolled my eyes at how many times I've been asked that in the past few days.
"I'm fine." I replied quickly, cracking a few eggs.
"You sure? You don' look too good," Applejack said. I sighed and nodded again.
"Are we really gonna go through this routine again, girls?" I asked. Each of the girls looked away with apologetic glances, and I instantly felt a pang of guilt strike me right in the heart. "I'm sorry...I just didn't get much sleep," I then said in half truth.
"Oh. Well, you go sit down and rest while we continue cooking," Pinkie Pie said with a bright smile, urging me to the couch, using her head to push against my back. I chuckled and turned around.
"Pinkie, we're not in Ponyville anymore. Use these," I said, using my arms and hands to urge her back into the kitchen. I returned to the eggs and began whipping them up, before Applejack used the human way to urge me back out to the couch.
"An' you need to stop bein' as stubborn as Rainbow here. Go siddown and rest, while we whip ya up somethin' to eat." Applejack said with a grin. I held up my hands in defense, allowing myself to be pushed down on the couch.
"Fine, fine. Have it your way," I said in defeat, smiling as I sat down. Moments later, the girls were back in their spots in the kitchen, save for Fluttershy, who approached me with a glass of apple juice in her hands. She held it out to me with a smile.
"Um, I Thought you'd be thirsty, so...Here," She said quietly, letting her hair fall and cover the right side of her face. I smiled and took the drink graciously.
"Thanks, Fluttershy," Was all I said, earning another smile and nod from the shy girl. She stood there for a moment, awkwardly holding her arms at her side, before turning on her heel and quickly walking back to the kitchen. I only chuckled and shook my head, before turning my attention back to the television and surfing through channels. While going through, one of the stations was airing Friendship is Magic, the episode where the girls all sang their Winter Wrap-Up song. I quickly changed the channel, but the girls had already heard a few seconds.
"What was that?" Twilight asked me from the kitchen.
"Nothing, it was nothing!" I lied, turning off the tv. "How's breakfast coming?" I asked with a slight nervous chuckle. Twilight narrowed her eyes at me, and walked towards me, grabbing the remote. She awkwardly fumbled with it, until she remembered how to work it, and changed back to the channel where the show was on. The others joined and watched, and their faces were mixes of confusion, sadness, and disappointment.
"Oh, right...We're from a show..." Rainbow Dash muttered with a huff. The others didn't have anything to say, only stood with their gazes cast at the ground.
"Girls, I...I'm sorry, I dunno what to say.." I muttered sadly.
"Nothin' you can say, Alex. We just gotta deal with the fact that we don't exist here, an' stay cooped up like chickens until we find our way back home," Applejack replied, though there was a hint of annoyance in her voice. I stood there quietly for a moment, before a thought crossed my mind. It was a bit crazy, but it just might work.
"Girls, I...How do you think you'd do interacting with other people? You know...Making new friends?" I asked.
"New friends?! I love making new friends! What'd you have in mind!?" Pinkie asked excitedly, in typical Pinkie fashion.
"Well, I know a guy, and...If you really don't want to stay cooped up in my house for however long, how'd you like to go to school with me?" I asked, though I couldn't believe the words that were coming out of my mouth. They all stared at me, and now, their faces were a mixture of excitement and curiosity.
"School? Like, with other kids?" Fluttershy asked. While she seemed a bit intimidated by the idea, a small tone in her voice couldn't help but whisper she was intrigued by the idea.
"Yeah, exactly. I mean, if you all want," I then said with a shrug.
"...I guess...That sounds like a decent idea. It'd give us new experiences on this world, and we could learn some new things as well!" Twilight said, as expected as it was of her.
"Shiny, then. I'll give my friend a call," I said. The girls returned to the kitchen, talking about how this was such a new experience, how fun it'd be, but also how they'd have to watch themselves. I sighed, and shook my head.
Either this was a big mistake, or this was a huge improvement for the girls.
I was just gonna have to wait to find out.