//------------------------------// // New Friendships, Building Friendships, Breaking Friendships. // Story: The Princess and the Human // by Ausbrony //------------------------------// Chapter Seven - New Friendships, Building Friendships, Breaking Friendships Kai hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, though he tried to not think about it, the fact he had kissed Twilight goodnight stuck in his mind. Why did he do it? Was it because she pretended to be his little sister once, perhaps he missed having family? Was it love? Was it actually possible that he was falling in love with a little purple pony? “So what if you are?” A small voice in the back of his head said. “She can talk, she has emotions and free will so it could hardly be considered bestiality.” “But she’s not a human!” Another voice countered. “And she can’t even go outside. What a sight that’d be. Dear Human Friends, you are invited to the wedding of a social recluse and a pony princess!” “One, we don’t have any human friends… and two, she’s also the first individual that you’ve ever gotten along with since the accident.” The first voice argued back. “She treats you with respect and doesn’t make you want to strangle kittens.” “True enough, but the fact still remains that you have no future with her here.” “Well what about where she comes from? We could always ask to go with her when she leaves?” Kai sat on the couch, weighing the pros and cons of what he was feeling when Twilight peeked her head around the corner. “Um, good morning?” Her meek greeting was still enough to scare Kai out of his skin, causing him to fall off of the couch with a loud thump. “Ow…” Kai rubbed his back and looked at Twilight, though from his current position, she was upside down. “Morning Princess.” Twilight supressed a giggle and nodded, “Sorry if I scared you, you looked pretty deep in thought.” “You could say that,” Kai replied, picking himself up and stretching. “I gotta work again today, but it’s only a short shift. I should be home a little after lunch.” He looked at the pile of books that they’d liberated from the library. “I suppose I should return those as well.” “Yeah, I already finished all of them…” She looked at Kai with pleading eyes, and that was all it took for him to get the message. “You want more books?” He asked, earning a vigorous nod from the alicorn. “Well alright, I’ll get a few fictional books this time, some classics and perhaps some newer ones. Do you have a particular preference of genre… besides anything that’s printed on paper?” “Oh hah, hah,” Twilight replied sarcastically. “I do have a favourite actually, any good adventure books you could recommend?” “A magical alicorn princess, who has repeatedly saved her world from ancient evils, and now has catapulted herself across dimensions to a strange new world… likes to read adventure?” It would be like if David Attenborough’s favourite TV channel was Animal Planet. “Well alright, I can think of a few that you might like… ooh, I should pick up some movies too!” Then that gave him a brilliant idea, “Hey Twilight, ever had a movie night?” “I’ve been to the movies a few times with my friends, but never at night.” “Hmm, that’s not quite what I had in mind.” Kai tilted his head as he thought, the mornings predicament already forgotten… for now. “Okay, I’ll finish work, get movies, snacks and then the fun shall commence.” “Sounds like a plan.” Twilight smiled as she set the breakfast table. “Hey, how about I make breakfast today?” She glanced back to Kai and frowned when she saw the look on his face. “What?” “Well, I’d imagine that the stuff in my kitchen works a bit differently to what you’re used to. Do you want help-” He was cut off as magic zipped his lips shut and Twilight shook her head. “Nope, I want to do this myself. You’ve done so much for me and it’s just breakfast…” She grabbed a pan from the cupboard and some pancake mix. “What could go wrong?” … … … … Twilight bawled as Kai calmly put out the small stove fire with an extinguisher. “I just don’t know what went wrong!” She sobbed. “Well, uh, these things happen?” Kai shrugged, not entirely sure how she set fire to his kitchen… without even turning on the stove. “Uh, how about you get ‘changed’ and we’ll go out for breakfast?” Twilight nodded and sniffed. “Can-can I spend the day with you?” she asked hopefully, earning a small frown from Kai. “What about if your spell wears off?” He pointed out. “Well if I have my Element with me, my magic will recharge a lot faster. The spell lasts for about 4 hours, so all I have to do if find a bathroom, duck inside and re-cast.” Kai didn’t like it, it was way too risky, but on the other hand, staying in this apartment for more than a week was bound to be getting on the Alicorn’s nerves. “Alright, but we need to be extra careful-” Kai couldn’t hear himself finish the sentence as Twilight squealed with happiness and ignited her horn and transformed. The first thought that crossed Kai’s mind was that the process was very ‘anime-magical girl-like’. The next thought, he decided that he best speak it vocally. “Twilight! Please put on some bloody clothes!”   *~*   Like before, Twilight could not keep still as they explored the city streets. She switched between staring at the massive skyscrapers, to all the vehicles that raced past on the street. And the whole time, she’d constantly be taking notes in her little notebook. “Like a kid in a candy store,” Kai chuckled. “So what do you want to get for breakfast?” Twilight paused and thought for a moment, “Hmm, what about pancakes?” Kai nodded, now where could they get some decent ones? Mickey D’s was cheap, but nasty. After some poking around the CBD, he found a street side café that seemed to have some good looking food at decent prices. As they ate, Twilight picked up on something and decided to ask Kai about it. “Um, why does everypony keep staring at me?” She gave a shy glance to several people that had stopped whatever it was they were doing to glance at the adorable girl. “Am I doing something weird?” Kai shook his head as he ate, “No, it’s probably because of your outfit-” He suddenly put a hand to his mouth as the words escaped his lips. “Kai?” Twilight said slowly as she glared at him. “Is there something strange/odd or otherwise unusual about this particular outfit?” Kai gulped as he withered slightly under the adorable, yet wrathful gaze of the goth-loli girl. “Well, uh… it may not be… considered… regular attire?” He had to pick his words very carefully, she’d probably melt his brain with alicorn magic or something. Much to his surprise, she just laughed as the waiter brought their pancakes. “Well, I don’t really mind. I like them and that’s all that matters really.” She turned and scowled at the other customers, which was just plain adorable. “So what’s our plan after this?” “Well, we’ll take these books back to the library and you can get a few more if you want. I have about an hour and a half to get to work, so we’ll have to be quick about it.” “Alright,” Twilight finished off the rest of her meal quite quickly, leaving Kai to just gape at the feat. “What?” she said, noticing his odd stare. “Nothing, just didn’t think a princess could be such a glutton~” Kai smirked and earned a scowl from his adorable companion. “I am not a glutton! I was merely being efficient in order to make maximum use of our allotted time.” “You just keep telling yourself that.” Kai chuckled. “Well since you’re done, let’s head to the library.” Twilight nodded and once Kai paid the bill, they headed out, Kai was pushing the trolley full of books. It wasn’t long until they reached the library and Twilight couldn’t contain her excited squeal as she once again gazed upon the rows and rows of alien literature. “Maybe we should just move in here huh?” Kai laughed, a laugh that was cut short when he saw the hopeful look in the girl’s eyes. “Um, I was kidding…” “You don’t joke about something like that!” Twilight stated. “Hmm, but what kind of books should I get this time?” She looked around the aisles while Kai waited, checking his watch every now and then. It soon came to the time where if they didn’t leave soon, Kai would be late for work. He glanced around, but his resident Princess had vanished. “Seriously? Where is she?” He eventually found her after some searching, having sequestered herself in a corner with several dozen books. “Twilight?” Kai asked, but received no response. He walked closer until he was within arm’s reach. “Twilight!?” he said a little louder. “Mm?” Her enthusiastic response could inspire millions. “I have to go to work now, we have to leave. “Mm…” Kai sighed, “Would you like to stay here instead? I can pick you up later?” “Mm.” “You’re not even listening and I bet you’ll still be in the same spot when I come back huh?”  “Mm.” “…Your mother is a donkey.” “Mm-hm,” her eyes never left the script on the pages she was reading. Okay, this was getting annoying. He leaned in close and stared into her eyes for a moment. It was quite different, looking into human eyes rather than her much larger pony ones. They still held that beautiful amethyst sparkle though. Her eyes flickered up slightly, wondering what was casting a shadow over her book, only to see Kai’s emerald eyes only a few scant inches from hers. She let out a surprised yelp and stumbled backwards, quite the feat given that she was sing at the time. “W-what? What is it?” she asked hurriedly. “I have to go to work,” Kai deadpanned. “Did you still want to come, or would you like to stay here and read?” Twilight really had to think about that one. On one hoof, she was curious as to what Kai did for a living. But on the other hoof, Books! All the books! “Um, ah… IdontknowwhatIshoulddoooooo!” The librarian gave them the stink eye, and Kai just shrugged. “Look, as long as you promise to be careful, why don’t you just stay here and read?” “But I also want to see what you do,” Twilight pouted. “Trust me, it can be pretty boring.” “No, just let me grab a few of these and I’ll come with you.” … … And by a few books, she meant a little over a dozen. The librarian had given Twilight a backpack to put them in, and now the small girl was struggling to keep up with Kai as he hurried to work. “This… would be so much easier if I could levitate it,” Twilight puffed. The backpack was quite heavy and she wasn’t used to carrying anything aside from Spike or her saddlebags around. Reliance on magic would be her downfall. The weight suddenly vanished as Kai grabbed the bag, causing her to yelp in surprise. “C’mon, we’ll be late at this point…” he slung the bag over his shoulder. Twilight smiled and bowed politely. “Thank you Oh chivalrous knight,” she giggled. Kai just shook his head and the two made a break for the shopping arcade where his workplace was located. It turns out that there was no need to rush after all. The store was practically empty when they arrived, Mike just slumped over the counter staring off into space. “Really?” Kai asked, causing the guy the jump at the sudden sound. “Is there really nothing to do around here?” “Naw man, public holiday remember. All the smart and lucky people are home getting drunk.” Oh yeah, he wondered why most of the stores around town had been closed or opening late today. During his brief introspection, Mike had noticed Twilight standing next to Kai, peering around the store. She hadn’t gotten a good look around last time, given Kai’s rather brief visit. “Oh hey there, ‘Kai’s little sis whose name I can’t remember’,” Mike laughed. “Whatcha doin’ here?” “My name is Twilight,” the alicorn smiled. “And I’m spending the day with Kai today. I wanted to see where he works.” “Gah! She’s so adorable!” Mike clutched at his heart. “And your name is Twilight? What, your folks a fan of those crappy vampire books?” Twilight visibly shuddered when he mentioned that. Back on Equestria, somepony had written a series of appalling books about vamponies that shared her name. The facts had been highly inaccurate, the romance was clichéd and the story made Daring Do look like Shaky Spear! Her friends had teased her for weeks about it. “So do you like video games?” Mike asked, snapping Twilight out of her thoughts. “Um, they’re not bad I guess… but I’m not very good at them.” Kai had tried to lay a few games with her, but she had pretty much sucked at all of them. “Well I’m bored, wanna play one?” Mike booted up the in store Xbox. “Have you played Halo?” Twilight shook her head, “No, but I did notice that Kai owned it.” As Kai got started on some leftover stock from yesterday, Mike set up Halo 4 and a deathmatch mode. “Well, this game is simple, just aim your gun at the other person and shoot. Easy!” “Oh… kay?” Twilight was confused. She’d read about guns the other day, weapons made for killing that used high speed projectiles. This game wasn’t going to be much fun… … … As Kai priced stock, he wasn’t paying too much attention to the other two, until Mike came over to the desk, grumbling. “Seriously? She’s got to be cheating or something.” Kai looked up and raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?” “Your sister man, she’s evil!” Kai tilted his head and looked over to Twilight, still standing near the game console… and the screen that read that she’d won flawlessly, 20 kills to nothing! “That… can’t be right.” Kai looked back at Mike, he may not have been the best employee, but his skills at FPS games were not be taken lightly. Kai walked over to Twilight and looked down at her. “Did, you actually beat him?” “Beat me?” Mike yelled out. “I’d be fine with her beating me, she FREAKING destroyed me!” “I just did what he said!” Twilight exclaimed. “I just shot at his character, that’s all.” Kai checked her stats, her accuracy was over ninety percent!? “Okay, beginners luck maybe? Let me have a go.” … … And in a dominating performance, Kai was flattened, rolled up and tossed aside. Twilight was utterly ruthless. “Un-freakin-beliveable!” Kai said, putting down the controller. “You can’t play Tetris to save your life, but put a Needler in your hands and you’re a goddamn savant.” “What can I say?” Twilight giggled. “Pwning noobs is magic!” “Dude… did she just call us… noobs!?” Mike suddenly said in a very serious tone. “I believe she did,” Kai replied, equally serious. “That cannot go unpunished.” Twilight began to look a little nervous as both guys grabbed a controller. “Uh, guys…?” “It. Is. ON!!” they said, logging into a 2-v-1 match.   *~*   “I can’t believe you killed me while I was off re-casting my spell!!” Twilight fumed as Kai closed up the store for the night. “That was a low blow Kai.” “You won nineteen matches in a row! We at least had to get one in on you!” It was true, in twenty matches, Twilight had been killed about three times. It was really something else, several customers had challenged her as well, but all failed miserably. Kai had even joked that the first person to beat her would get half off any game in the store… None succeeded. “I have about an hour and a half before the spell wears off,” Twilight pointed out. “And I don’t want to waste too much magic casting it again.” “Alright, we’ll get something for dinner and then head home,” Kai replied, before coming across something rather interesting. Mike was sitting on a bench in the park they were walking through, just staring into space. Twilight waved to him and called out. “Oh, hey guys,” he muttered when Twilight greeted him. “Sup?” “Sup yourself?” Kai said. “Why are you just sitting there?” “Well…” Mike smiled sheepishly. “My Dad’s gone to some manager’s meeting remember?” Kai nodded, it was why he had been suddenly called back into work, despite being on vacation. “Well, I kinda blew all my money and don’t have any food…” Kai paused, blinked twice and facepalmed. “You’re kidding, you’re kidding right?” “Nope!” Mike smiled broadly. “All I have left at home is tap water and Jatz biscuits.” Kai groaned, how had this guy survived up until this point. “Argh! Fine, c’mon!” He motioned for Mike to follow him. “When’s the boss gonna be back?” “Bout three days,” Mike said. Why?” “Because I need to know how much food to buy,” Kai replied. “…What?” Mike couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Don’t argue, Kai replied hastily. “If you die of starvation, it means I have to train a new worker and that’s a hassle I don’t want to have to deal with.” Twilight just smiled at him, Kai really was a nice person. “Yeah, yeah…” Kai muttered as Mike clung to him. “Just don’t expect me to buy steak, that stuff’s expensive.”   After their shopping trip, Mike had been sent home with several bags of food, while Twilight hummed as they headed back to Kai’s apartment. “And what are you so happy about?” Kai asked, while Twilight giggled. “Oh, just basking in the knowledge that you’re a nice guy under that prickly exterior.” Kai sighed, but a small smile crossed his face regardless. “Yeah well, I’m making him pay me back.” “You can be kind and generous when you want to be, and you wouldn’t leave your friends hanging either.” Twilight held the door open as Kai hauled their groceries inside. “You could at least be honest with yourself every now and then.” Kai laughed and ruffled her mane. “What are you, the Princes of Friendship now?” Twilight’s smile vanished as her ears drooped. “Princess of Friendship? Not likely…” She hadn’t seen her friends in months, and she hadn’t made much effort to either. She had been busy as Archmage and figuring out her Alicorn powers, that she’d all but ignored her friends, the few that she had, and in return? They’d moved on with their own lives… Were they even friends anymore? “Hey, you okay?” Kai said, kneeling down next to her. “Did I say something wrong?” No, no you didn’t,” Twilight said, wiping her eyes. “Just remembering some old friends.” “You really miss them huh?” Kai said and Twilight nodded, fresh tears running down her face. “I… I wonder if they even realise that I’m missing,” Twilight sniffed. “And if they even care if they do!” Kai put an arm over her shoulders and pulled her in close. “Hey, I can say that even after only knowing you for a few days, I don’t know what I’d do without you. Your friends have known you for years… they’re probably going out of their minds.” Twilight stopped crying and looked at him. “Y-you’d really miss me?” Kai suddenly blushed and looked away. “Yeah, well… who wouldn’t? I bet no-one else on Earth is friends with a talking purple pony Princess.” “Heh…” Twilight giggled, already feeling better. “Thanks Kai, you seem to be pretty good at cheering me up. Heh, maybe it’s a special kind of Magic.” “I try,” Kai smiled. Somehow, seeing a smile on Twilight’s face made him happy in return. “Now, let’s set aside talk of loyal friendships and whatnot and have some dinner shall we?”   *~*   Once more, the sacred chamber housed three Princesses and five mares wielding ancient artefacts. Celestia and Luna had spent days pouring over hundreds of spell tomes, most having never been seen by anypony else other than themselves. “Will it work this time?” Rainbow asked. “Can we get Twilight back?” Celestia sighed as she inscribed the last rune. “I’m not going to lie, our chances aren’t a hundred percent. But we will get her back from whatever horrors she is facing!” “Ah just wish ah could go to wherever she was and buck whatever she’s fightin’ in the face!” Applejack remarked. “Getting her back safe and sound is our priority!” Luna snapped. “Now get in position everypony!” The eight mares formed a circle as the Elements hummed with power. The pool at the end of the room swirled and rippled as the water began to defy gravity, rising and forming a ring, the centre was a roaring arcane vortex. O Elements of Harmony Return to Us A Friend that is Lost To see her again, is Our Wish We will Pay any Cost   *~* Twilight sat in Kai’s living room, playing some Mass Effect multiplayer… and owning at that too, when she suddenly felt immensely nauseous. The controller fell to the floor as she tried to stand and fell back onto the floor with a loud thump. What the hay was going on? “Is everything alright in there Twilight?” Kai called from the kitchen. The Alicorn tried to answer, but the urge to throw up prevented that. Her horn suddenly felt like it was on fire as the room began to spin. Twilight could feel a massive amount of magical power building up, and she recognised the spell, but how was it possible? Kai walked out into the living room, wondering why Twilight hadn’t answered him, only to see her staggering and her horn was shining brightly, sparks flying off in every direction. Then, before he could even react, the floor just vanished, as a rippling pool appeared and Twilight and Kai shared one brief moment of eye contact before she fell through it, the portal closing up the second she vanished. “Twilight? TWILIGHT!?” Kai rushed over to the spot where she had stood, but the floor had returned to normal, like nothing had ever happened. “TWIILIIIIGHT!!!”   *~* The sacred chamber once again exploded with magical power, throwing the occupants off of their hooves once more, but the three Alicorn’s had managed to remain standing this time, expecting the powerful backlash. Though, this time, something was different… In the centre of the pool, its waters evaporated by the magical surge, was an unconscious lavender Alicorn. “We did it,” Celestia sighed from exhaustion and happiness. “We saved her…”