A few hours had passed since I first brought Aloe and Lotus to my grandma’s house. In that time, my grandma had given Lotus some home remedies and then proceeded to cook us dinner. I silently thanked god that she only cooked miso soup, and that she ran out of SPAM too. (I know what you bastards are thinking “Eeew SPAM, that’s like, leftover pig!” Well you know what? Fuck you...) It took about half an hour just to teach Aloe how to use a spoon, I didn’t want to find out how long it would take her to learn how to use chopsticks. Lotus was still unconscious by the time we finished. After dinner, I drove Chris back to his house in Pearl City, and even offered Aloe a ride in the car. Unsurprisingly, she refused, obviously still shaken from earlier. The ride to Pearl City was relatively short, so I was back at my grandma’s house, in almost no time. Nevertheless, it was close to sunset; the sky had already started turning beautiful shades of orange, basking in the final glows of the sun. As I pulled into the driveway, I noticed Aloe sitting in one of the small red chairs towards the back of the garage. Also of note was the lack of cars in the garage. Apparently my grandma had gone to one of her friend’s house and left a complete stranger in her house; I may have to talk to her about that later. Aloe seemed to pay no heed to me as I got out of the car and walked around the back towards the small metal shed grandma kept back there. After rummaging through garbage bags covered in lizard shit, I pulled out a ladder and leaned it up against the back of the garage’s overhang. I started climbing up but stopped myself halfway. I climbed back down and walked around to the front of the garage to find Aloe still sitting the chair gazing at nothing in particular.
“Would you like to watch the sunset with me? It’s very beautiful here.” I asked in the softest tone I could possibly muster. All she did was nod. She stood up and I led her around to the back of the garage where I had placed the ladder. After a few minutes of demonstration, I was able to get her on the ladder and she slowly started climbing up. I could tell she was scared, she was shaking, and that was causing the ladder to shake. After she got about halfway up, I climbed up after her. On instinct I looked straight up, forgetting she was still wearing the towel only the towel. I caught a glimpse of a tattoo on her ass before nearly falling off the ladder. Thankfully I was able to regain my composure and I resumed climbing up, with my eyes closed shut this time. As soon as heard her step onto the roof I opened my eyes. I climbed up soon after and saw that she was already sitting with her feet dangling over the edge, watching the sunset.
“This world is very beautiful.” she said, almost too soft to hear. I could hear the heartbreak in her voice.
“Yeah...” Was all I could say. I sat down next to her as she watched the sunset with teary eyes. I gazed out towards the sunset and allowed myself to zone out. The next thing I knew, I felt Aloe wrap her arms around mine while resting her head on my left shoulder. I vowed right then and there that I would help these two girls out as much as humanly possible.
Am I crazy?
We sat up there for what felt like hours. Aloe had fallen asleep soon after sunset, but I couldn’t muster up the nerve to move for fear of waking her. She looked so peaceful lying there, and with the day we have had, I think she deserved some proper rest. For some stupid reason, I decided to lift my left arm, forgetting that she was still clinging onto it. Her eyes bolted open at my sudden movement and for the second time that day, she punched me straight in the face. It must have been pretty hard because I blacked out soon after.
I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! shouted a voice in the darkness. “Who’s there?” I yeled back. Oh Aloe, look what you’ve done now!
“Aloe?” I stammered, walking towards the voice in the darkness
Oh Celestia, I hope I haven’t hurt him too much! The voice seemed closer now. I began running towards the voice, hearing it clearer and clearer the further I ran. After running for what seemed like an eternity, the voice began sobbing. The sound of its sorrow made me pick up the pace even further. I could see a light on the horizon; an oasis of light in a cold desert of darkness. The light flooded over me like a tidal wave until I could see no more.
With a groan, I forced open my eyes, only to see a girl standing over me. She had stunning blue hair that was held back by a white band. What the hell is going on? I thought to myself. Then memories slowly began flowing back to me.
“Aloe?” The question was barely audible. I rubbed my head and began to sit up. Pushing up on my left hand, I felt the familiar pricks of asphalt indenting my skin.
“H-how did I get on the ground?” I stammered.
“I may have, maybe, punched you over the edge...” she replied, nervously pushing her index fingers together and looking away. “But I didn’t mean to I swear! Can you please fogive me?” she shouted. I could see that she was concerned, her eyes gave off a slight glimmer in the moonlight.
“It’s alright, it was just an accident.” As I began to stand up, a whole new level of pain swept over me. I dropped down onto my right knee. What did you expect? You just fell 10 feet! “You aren’t helping at all.” I thought to myself. It took another few minutes to stand up and regain my balance. Thankfully, nothing seemed to be broken. God must have been smiling down on me for once, because I was actually able to get myself inside. Aloe was right behind me, never faltering in her barrage of apologies.
“I said I forgive you.” I said, trying to stem the tide; it didn’t help. Quickly, I turned around and grabbed both of her forearms and looked straight into her azure eyes. “I forgive you.” She just stared into my eyes for a few seconds.
“Okay...” she said. Letting go of her arms, I was reminded that she only had a towel on... well used to anyway. It seemed to have fallen off while she was flailing behind me apologizing like wild. I caught myself staring for longer than I should have. What piqued my interest was the mark on her ass that I assumed to be her cutie mark. It was a stunning white lotus, the petals branching outwards. I was genuinely surprised at the level of detail it had in it. Realizing that I was staring too long, I pulled my eyes back up to hers through sheer force of will.
“We need to get you some clothes.”
“Why?”
“Because normal humans wear clothes to cover theses.” I gestured towards her unmentionables.
“Ok... I trust you...” and with that, I led her into my mom’s old room. The bed was removed, but the dressers were left where they were. Thankfully the clothes in here were from when my mom was herself a teenager. I pulled out a pair of jeans and a pink top. Wow, this has to be a coincidence. I thought to myself. After demonstrating how to put on the clothes to her, I exited the room and allowed Aloe to finish dressing. To my surprise, Lotus had apparently gotten up and walked out of my uncle’s room.
“Oh thank god you are... Oomph” My sentence was cut short by yet another punch, this time in the gut. I fell to the floor gasping for air. Lotus stood over me, the look of murder in her azure eyes.
"Who are you and what have you done to my sister?" she screamed.
Oh great, this again...
I slowly forced myself up. I had never noticed how much shorter she was until now. She was almost six inches shorter than me, so I assumed her sister would be around the same height. It’s odd how you don’t notice these little things at first. While getting up, one thing was clear; she had no clothes on. Just like her sister, she only had a towel to cover her when we brought her home. Out of curiosity, I glanced at her ass to check if she too had a cutie mark. Lo and behold she did, and it was an exact match to her sister’s. I looked into her eyes and saw them full of malice. There was no doubt that this girl would punch me again if it meant saving her sister. As if on cue, Aloe emerged from my mom’s old room in her new outfit.
“Lotus? You are ok! Thank Celestia you are ok!” she ran towards her sister and gave her one of the biggest hugs I’ve ever seen.
“I’m... I’m fine Aloe.” It seemed Lotus’ body hadn’t heard the news yet, for she still looked ill. Her hair looked like a bird had taken up residence, and then had its home severely trashed, no doubt due to tossing and turning during the day. Her face was a bright red, especially around her temple, and her eyes were bloodshot. I was amazed she had managed to get up and still have the energy to knock the wind out of me. She didn’t have a headband like her sister, but I just assumed that my grandma had taken it off of her head earlier in the day. She turned her gaze to me and gave me a menacing glare.
“Oh Lotus, this is Steven, he saved us from drowning earlier,” Aloe said, apparently catching her sister giving me the stink eye.
“Oh, umm... Sorry about that... I was so worried about Aloe, I should have thought instead of react.” she lowered her head to her chin. Her sincere apology combined with the depressed, and dare I say, cute reaction to the news she just heard caused my heart to fall to pieces again. You’ve got to stop being such a pansy. What can I say? I’m a sucker for the whole “cuteness overload apology” thing.
“It’s ok,” I coughed out. “I didn’t need to use my liver for anything anyway.” Putting on a weak smile, I slowly made my way past the two sisters and plopped down on the couch in the living room. God I need a break. “No kidding.” Thankfully the two sisters didn’t hear that.
After about an hour of reconnecting, Aloe decided it was best to have me teach them about human ways. I explained to Lotus that humans wore clothes on a daily basis. Again I rummaged through my mother’s dresser and found another pair of jeans and a blue shirt. You have got to be kidding me. It was too perfect, almost like destiny had led us clothes on a path that converged here, in this very spot. Aloe was wearing a pink shirt and had ocean blue hair; the colors of her pony form, and Lotus was now wearing a light blue shirt which, in combination with her pink hair, matched her pony form as well. I left well enough alone and returned to the living room.
“I’ll tell you guys everything about humans tomorrow. It’s almost midnight and I’m extremely tired from saving you two and getting beaten down three times, all in the same day.” Aloe opened her mouth to object, but ended up yawning instead. Her sister followed suit, and it took all of my willpower not to yawn as well. I stood up and walked over to my uncle’s room. There was an outline of sweat in the sheets, no doubt from Lotus. Her towel was on the bed, as well as her head band. With one swift motion, I took all the sheets off the bed and remade it.
“Is that where we’ll be sleeping tonight?” came a quiet voice. Turning around I noticed Lotus standing in the doorway.
“Yeah... Oh, I think this is yours” I gave her the headband I had found on the bed.
“Thank you.” She said as she put it around her head. “You know I really am sorry for hitting you earlier it’s just th-”
“Don’t worry about it, your sister reacted in exactly the same way. In fact, she almost killed me twice today.” It was true, though I really didn’t want to think about it. Am I in over my head? “Besides, I would act the same way if I thought my sibling was in trouble.”
“Thanks for understanding...” She yawned again, and yet again I had to use every ounce of willpower to keep from doing it myself. “Hehe, I guess I really should rest.” She said, chuckling.
God that’s adorable
“Shut the hell up,” I whispered to the voice in my head.
“What was that?” Asked Lotus, clearly puzzled.
“I said, where’s your sister? I have a busy day planned out tomorrow for you two and you need your rest.”
“I think she fell asleep on the couch. Do you want me to wake her?”
“No I’ll get her, just try to get some sleep.” As I stepped into the living room, I saw Aloe had indeed fallen asleep. To be honest, I was dreading the idea of having to move her. The last time I accidentally woke her, I had fallen ten feet, and that was unpleasant. She deserves a real bed tonight. Gently, I placed my hands under her and lifted her fireman style into my uncle’s room. I nearly dropped her when she put her arms around my neck. Keep it together, she isn’t trying to kill you, intentionally... I gently placed her on the bed next to her sister, who had already fallen asleep. Silently, I exited the room and allowed myself to finally yawn, and yawn I did. Really, I’m pretty sure there was a vacuum, somewhere devoid of air in the house. With a loud thud I relaxed myself on the couch, and closed my eyes.
Tomorrow is going to be a good day.
The weekend was finally here, and it would be a good one, I could feel it. I awoke at five and took a quick walk around the neighborhood. My grandma came home at around three, but she wasn’t as sneaky as she used to be. When you get up before dawn almost every day, you come to appreciate the transition from night to day. The sunrise had always made me happy. On most days, you could see the moon until eight-o'clock in the morning. Having the moon in the light of day was a very wonderful experience. Today was different, I was home before the sunrise, I had things I needed to get done. In the hours before the twins awoke, I had made a few phone calls, and planned out the entire weekend. Today is going to be a good day. I thought with a grin.
The twins awoke near noon, and by that time my grandma had gotten up and left to go with her friends again. God that woman has a better social life than I do... I was busy making myself some lunch when they stumbled out of the room.
“Good morning girls!” They turned to me at almost the same time, with the same look of confusion.
“Umm... Good morning...” They said in unison. Damn that’s creepy. It took a few seconds, but I finally realized why they had a confused look on their face.
“To answer your question; yes, yesterday was real, and this isn’t a dream. I’m sorry but we are going to have to live life like this for the time being.” It sounded harsh and I knew it, but I felt that being blunt was necessary here. “Now, what would you girls like for break... erm lunch?” I said, turning around to wash some dishes.
“What do you have?” One of them asked, I really didn’t know which one.
“Well, why don’t we just have some plain old pancakes for now hmm?” They nodded in agreement. After brunch, I put my ingenious plan in motion. I taught them about the basics of human society. By Sunday, they were adept at using their hands to manipulate things, and they were no longer terrified of the car. We even took a trip to the Bishop Museum together. They were more than interested in the Ancient Hawaiian exhibits in the museum, more so than any one person there. It was extremely boring, but the whole weekend I had avoided one important topic, one I knew would upset them. was Sunday night, and we had just finished dinner.
“So girls, I’m very proud of you,” I began. “And now I think you two are ready to hear this. I know this may be hard to believe, but humans are omnivores. Do you two know what that means?” They shook their heads. “Of course... It means that humans can and will eat meat as well as plants.” They stared at me in disbelief. “I myself love the taste of meat, but I’ve been refraining from eating any this weekend for your sake. I hope you two can understand that in this world, it’s normal for us to eat animals like pigs and cows. You must understand, in your world, these animals are sentient, but here... they aren’t.”
“I... I don’t know how I should react...” Aloe was clearly overwhelmed by this. Her sister didn’t take it any better. Lotus stood up and ran to my uncle’s room. “Lotus!” Cried her sister who was running after her. They locked the door to my uncle’s room. I could hear them sobbing in the room and it just made me feel terrible knowing I did that. Neither of them came out for the duration of the night. With a loud thud I slammed my head onto the table. It was hard to get up from the chair and relocate to the couch, my heart felt like a boulder. Eventually I was able to move to my makeshift couch-bed. I sat alone, in the living room with my thoughts for hours. Around midnight, the sobbing stopped. There was only silence in the house.
Not as planned.
I have no idea when I fell asleep, but I woke up around five in the morning on Monday. I went outside for some fresh air. Climbing up onto the garage roof, I sat down, staring into space for what seemed like hours.
“It’s not your fault you know.” I heard a voice behind me. Aloe sat down next to me on the roof. “It was just a lot of information to take at once. Some of my friends knew cows and other animals that could talk. Knowing that they are eaten isn’t something I wanted to be told. Even worse, is knowing that these animals here can’t talk or think like you and I... I speak for Lotus as well when I say we don’t blame you. It isn’t your fault you are like this.” It was of little comfort, I still felt terrible about last night. She caught me off guard with a hug, and suddenly I felt better. We stayed up there to watch the sunrise together.
“Ok come on, we have a busy day ahead of us.” I said as I got up. We climbed down the ladder and entered the house.
“What do you have planned this time?” She asked.
“It’s a surprise, please go wake your sister.” She obeyed, and ten minutes later, Lotus walked out into the living room. I looked in her eyes and somehow knew she had also forgiven me for being a complete idiot the night before. “Alright girls!” I shouted, “Into the car, I’m taking you guys on a road trip.”
We left the house around 6:00 and picked up some McDonalds for breakfast, but only after asking the girls if eggs were ok. Shockingly, they stated that many ponies ate eggs. I really didn’t know what to say so I just left it alone. It took us twenty minutes to get to the freeway, less than ten miles away from my grandma’s house. Yes, traffic sucks that much in Hawaii. The freeway was barely any better. After almost an hour, we reached the edge of Honolulu or “town” as us locals call it.
“That’s where we are going,” I said, pointing to a mountain to our left. “I go to school there, and it is Monday so I figured I’d take you two along with me. I already called up the school and asked them if I could bring two visitors with me for the next week or so. This will be a great way to get you two better accustomed to our way of life, much better than me just telling you about it.” I turned around and saw that they were both smiling with barely contained joy. I let my own smile loose. Big Mistake... Almost immediately, they began screaming with joy and bounced up and down in the seats. Thankfully this only lasted about two minutes and we were back to a relatively normal car ride.
Though the base of the mountain was only five or so miles from the freeway, it took almost twenty minutes getting there due to the sheer amount of people driving around town. We reached the base of the mountain, where there was a guard station that heralded the entrance to the private school. The large sign on the right clearly read Kamehameha Schools: Kapalama. Driving up the hill, we passed an olympic sized swimming pool. A little further up the road, in the schools heart, was a Chapel. Another seven minutes of driving up the extremely windy roads, and we were at the Upper Campus, where the Juniors and Seniors had their classes. I pulled into one of the many parking stalls and got out. The girls followed suit. After grabbing my laptop and backpack from the trunk, I locked the door. And so it begins.
My first class was that day Hawaiian Language II. It wasn’t the smartest thing to immediately immerse the girls into a whole new language, but I didn’t have control over my schedule. I walked into class and put my stuff in one of the desks and motioned for the girls to sit in the two seats next to me.
“Hele i waho.” yelled the kumu [teacher]. It basically meant to get outside, and I knew why. The rest of the class lined up outside the door and began to chant. After we finished, the kumu responded with one of his own. With that, the class entered, but did not sit down.
“E pule kakou,” [let us pray] the kumu said. We bowed our heads and said the Lord’s Prayer in Hawaiian. “Noho i lalo.” [sit down]
“Why did you have to do that?” Lotus whispered as I sat down.
“It is tradition to chant to ask for entrance into the room. Then the kumu, the teacher, returns the chant if he finds our chant strong and worthy of entering his room. The prayer is just that, a prayer.” I whispered back.
“Pu’uwai, would you like to introduce us to your guests?” The kumu asked. I winced at my Hawaiian name, having totally forgotten that we never use our western names in this class.
“Of course kumu,” I replied. Ok Steven, you got this... “This is Lotus and Aloe,” I said, motioning to each girl. They both waved at the class.
“Aloha Lotus and Aloe!” The class responded.
I continued, “They are from France, and if you are wondering why they have such odd names, well it’s because their French names are harder to pronounce.” Saved, like a boss. Hiding my smug smirk, I continued talking. “They are staying with me for a while and I’ve decided to show them around our school.” With that, I sat down.
“Mahalo Pu’uwai,” [Thank you] said the kumu. “Ok let’s begin with the Nui sentence structure...”
The bell rang, signalling the class’s end. It was a pretty boring class, I felt bad that Aloe and Lotus weren’t able to learn much about human ways. My next class was Literary Fantasy, and I was sure that they would learn a little more in that class. As I walked out the door though, I felt a shiver down my spine as I remembered who the teacher was. Mr. V. was the Literary Fantasy teacher, and he was an asshole. He wasn’t an asshole like a normal teacher was, he was an asshole like me, one who poked fun at other people. Other than that he was a cool teacher, and my favorite one at that. The whole walk up to his class I began to panic, trying to predict what Mr. V. would say about the two girls following silently behind me.
“Well, well, what have we here?” Came a familiar voice. It seems that I walked into the lion’s den without realizing it.
Fuck me...