Alex woke up the next morning, he was speechless as he opened his eyes and saw everypony sleeping in the same room as him. Spike and Sweetie Bell, all except for Pinkie Pie who was sleeping next to the front door, it seemed as if they thought Alex would leave again. Careful not to wake up Sweetie Bell who was sleeping next to him, he placed her on the couch, she frowned a little while trying to find her brother's warm but luckily for him she didn't wake up. Alex went down stairs to cook some breakfast for everypony, since he was in a bakery, it didn’t take long for him to find all the ingredients to make some Pancakes. After a while the smell started to wake up the rest of the gang, Spike was the first to come down to the kitchen:
“Wow Alex I must admit those Pancakes smell awesome (sniff sniff)... is that banana?”
“Yep, I used banana in the mix, hope you don’t mind”
“No no no! I love Banana Pancakes, thanks!”
“You’re welcome, ok here comes the first one, go ahead and eat, there will be plenty for all of us!”
“Ok!” - Spike replied with a big smile.
The rest of the gang came in next. Pinkie Pie, Rainbow dash and Applejack were drooling after smelling the delicious banana pancakes.
Rarity looked at them and said:
“Oh my! Could you at least show some manners like Sweetie Bell and I! Isn't that right Sweetie... what?!” - Rarity was shocked as she saw Sweetie Bell drooling too - "I really can't believe this is happening!" - She said.
Alex was so happy to see them enjoy the breakfast he prepared. While eating Applejack asked Alex:
“So, what is today's plan sugarcube?”
“Well, first of all, I want to talk to Mayor Mare, I think that since I was officially Equestrian and a Ponyville resident they might have taken me as dead after the things that happened, so I have to go there myself and fix that right away, then I think I will visit Zecora and Proud Hammer with the CMC.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me, in that case and after yah do that, do yah mind coming to Sweet Apple Acres with me? Ah would like to show Big Mac and Granny Smith that yah are back!”
Alex agreed: “Sure, no problem Applejack.”
“Thanks sugarcube!"
Twilight reminded Alex of the things he mentioned before: “And don’t forget Alex, we have to go to the castle and bring your stuff, and the books you promised me of course!"
“Ok Twilight., but I must tell you, we’ll need at least two or three big wagons.” - Alex replied - “As I said before, I didn’t know if my plan of coming back would work but in case it did, I wanted to be prepared so this is the reason why I brought a lot of things.”
“And where do you plan to put all that stuff” - She asked.
“That’s the thing; I really don’t want to leave everything at Rarity’s place so I was thinking about getting my own place."
Rarity interrupted him: “That's nonsense darling, we will make room for everything in my place, no offense but I don’t think you are able to buy a big house right now, so don’t worry, the basement has a lot of room” - Alex didn’t say anything because he knew she was right.
“But, isn’t that my bedroom? I mean, it was still my bedroom when I left.”
“Yes darling, it WAS your bedroom, but not anymore; do you think after all you have done for us I will let you sleep in a basement? No sir, you will have a decent room this time!” - Rarity said.
"How about sharing my bedroom?! - Sweetie Bell asked, but after seeing everyone's faces it was easy to understand the obvious. "Well, at least I tried..."
"I really appreciate what you are doing for me Rarity; I just didn't want to bother you…"
“And you are not darling, believe me." Rarity said with a lovely voice.
“Thanks Rarity, I will never get tired of saying this. You are the most generous pony I've ever met” (hearing this made her blush).
“Ok then, it’s settled, I will go do my business and we will get back here in three hours so we can go to the Castle”. Everypony agreed on this. Alex put on his metapendant, immediately turning into a pony and started his way to the Mayor’s office.
While on their way, Sweetie Bell jumped on top of Alex's head:
“Mmm, it’s not the same, you are taller in your human form, but I still like it. This is still the best place to be, ever!”
“Hehehe! Sorry about the height sister, but don’t worry, after speaking to my friends I will carry you in my human form, I promise!”
She agreed with a big smile.
“I hope that includes us!” Applebloom said while pointing at Scootaloo.
“Of course it does you little cuties” Alex answered as they shared a smile.
After walking for a while, they finally arrived at Mayor Mare's office. Her secretary welcomed them and asked: “Hello sir, what can I do for you?”
“Hi! I need to talk to Mayor Mare, it’s a little urgent please.”
“Ok, can you please tell me your name sir” - She asked.
“Alejandro, but my friends call me Alex!" - He answered.
“I see, Aleja. . . – she frowned and asked him in an upset tone - is this some kind of sick joke, why are you using that name?”
“Beg your pardon?”
“I helped Mayor Mare fill and archive the human Alejandro’s death certificate a few months ago, not many ponies know this but she really was hurt when we heard the news about his death, so if you think I will take part in th. . .”
She hadn’t finished her sentence when a bright light blinded her, when the light faded she opened her eyes and saw Alex the human standing in front of her.
“You see lady; I’ve been called Alex since I was a little kid. Please call the Mayor so she knows I’m still alive”
She stood there, shocked. She had heard some rumors from ponies that didn’t go to the party where he showed himself again, she didn’t believe them. But here HE was, standing in front of her, after a few seconds she said “Yes Mr. Alex” and then trotted in tears to her boss’ office.
A few seconds later, the Mayor showed up. As soon as she saw him, she ran to him at full speed bringing him to the ground (he was getting used to it) giving him a huge hug:
“Oh my. . . Fine Scrolls, you weren’t lying, Thanks Celestia! IT’S YOU ALEX, YOU ARE ALIVE!”
“Yes Mayor Mare! So how is my favorite Politician in the world?”
“Better than ever! Please come into my office, we have so much to talk!”
“Ok, just give me a second!” – Alex replied.
Alex put his pendant back on, Mayor Mare and Fine Scrolls looked amazed at his transformation, once he turned into a pony, she asked:
“Wow! So now you can turn into a Pony?”
“Yes, it’s a long story, but let’s go into your office - he turned to the CMC - you girls please wait here, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Alex followed the Mayor into her office so they could talk. He told her the whole story. The Mayor was amazed at how her friend managed to avoid death again, he was a really lucky human; she promised him to remove his death certificate from the records. Once they were done, they shared a hug and said their farewells.
“It’s good to have you around again Alex.”
“I say the same Mare” – Alex replied.
Alex and the crusaders started their way to the next stop: Proud Hammer’s Workshop.
When they arrived, he was there working in a new set of armor. After seeing Alex and the kids, he stopped to greet them:
“Hello ponies, what can I do for you today?”
“Well Mr. Hammer I came for. . .”
Alex was interrupted by a crushing big hug from Proud Hammer.
“Cut the chat kiddo, I know it’s you!”
“What? But how?” Alex asked looking really surprised.
“First of all, you look the same as always, a few differences but you are still the same. Second, a friend of mine who was in Mrs. Pinkie Pie party yesterday told me some things, rumors you know; they spread faster than you think. I wanted to make sure if they were real or not, but then I wondered if you would come and try to fool me!”
“Hahahahaha! – Alex hugged him with all of his strength – it’s nice to see you again old pony”
“Thanks Alex! Now, how about you sharing your story with me so I know how is this reunion possible?” Proud Hammer asked.
“Ok, I will!” Alex answered.
Proud Hammer gave Alex and the Crusaders some lemonade as Alex told him everything he wanted to know. Proud Hammer was amazed but most of all, he was happy. Once he was done telling his story, Alex asked him:
“Proud, I’ve been thinking about my gear. Do you know what happened to my DS armor and bracelets?”
“Well, after we all thought you were gone, Princess Celestia and Luna decided to store all of your gear and weapons at Canterlot Museum, many ponies tried to convince her to sell them but she and Spike made it clear that it wasn’t happening.”
Alex blushed: “Well, I am really honored but now that I’m back, all those items will lose their value. I have to make sure to get them all back when I go to Canterlot.”
“If you say so kiddo!” – Proud Hammer said.
Alex and the CMC said their goodbyes and started their way to Zecora’s house. Scootaloo offered to carry them in a wagon puller by her scooter, Alex and the rest got on it and were carried by her powerful wings. Alex wondered how it wasn’t possible for her to fly but after looking carefully, he noticed that her wings were shorter than the others – “Maybe they will grow as time passes by” – he said to himself.
Thanks to Scootaloo, the arrived at Zecora’s house in a very short time. Alex knocked the door and Zecora came to see who it was, after seeing the Crusaders and a pony she never saw before, she asked:
“Hello my friends; please tell me, who is this pony standing in my presence?”
“Hello Miss Zecora, my name is Alex; I just moved to Ponyville.” Alex answered.
Zecora’s eyes widened when she heard his name, being a Zebra who didn’t believed in coincidences she asked them to come into her house. Once they were inside, Zecora asked:
“Alex, have you and I have met before?”
Alex decided to make it short: “Yes ma’am, we have!”
“But when? She asked.
“Don’t you remember the occasion when you knocked me out the first time we met? When you saved my life when those two Manticores found Spike and I in the Everfree Forest, or the time you helped me to stop the Diamond dog Invasion?”
Zecora was almost crying by this moment, for the first time in her life, it seemed as if she couldn’t find a rhyme to tell what she was thinking. Alex didn’t want to wait anymore so he removed his pendant, when the light faded, everypony could see the human Alex, hugging his Zebra friend.
“Don’t you remember how I really look like?” He asked.
Zecora was already crying.
“Alex my friend, I thought your life had already reached its end?”
“No my friend, even though I almost die, I am still alive, and I plan to keep like that for a very long time.”
They shared a few more hugs and once she stopped crying Alex started telling the whole story on how he survived; she was amazed by hearing how he was able to come back to Equestria, after spending some time together they said their farewells but promised to get together sometime.
Alex and the rest got on Scootaloo’s wagon again as she carried them to Sweet Apple Acres in order to meet Applejack and the family. The meeting with the Apples was quick and sweet, Big Mac and Granny Smith couldn’t hide their happiness after seeing him again and didn’t stop telling how they knew Applejack had chosen a good stallion, one that could even come back from the dead, Alex blushed a little and laughed but Applejack looked totally embarrassed from hearing this. Once they were done, they started their way back to the Library so they could meet the others.
Once all of them were together, they decided to go to the Everfree Forest, taking three empty wagons with them. Getting to the castle didn’t take long, everypony took this opportunity to tell Alex all they did when he was away; he was flattered when he heard about his statue in Canterlot, he also asked Twilight about how she became a Princess along with some other questions. Once they arrived to the castle, Alex went to his room to get his clothes and backpack. He then, proceeded to remove the rocks that were covering the entrance to the room where he left all of his things. Once the rocks were removed, all of the things he brought with him were revealed, everypony was amazed to see all of the wood and cardboard boxes he brought with him, some boxes were even were bigger than themselves. They wondered how it was possible for Alex to bring these many things, but after knowing Pinkie Pie for so long they knew many unexplained things could happen. Suddenly, a sound came from a covered cage in the corner of the room; Alex got some bird food from his backpack and feed whatever was inside that box.
“Easy fellows, I know this is not Guatemala but you will have the honor to be the first ones of your species in Equestria, and you will have a very good friend so please be good, she is very special to me!”
“Alex, what do you have in there? Did, you by any chance brought what I think you did?” Fluttershy asked, it was so easy to see the excitement all over her face.
“Yes Fluttershy, please come and meet them” Alex answered.
Fluttershy went to where the cage was and removed the sheet to reveal what Alex was hiding; there were six Quetzals three males and three females. Fluttershy stood there, silently watching the beautiful birds Alex brought for her.
“Thank you Alex! Oh sweet Celestia, I can’t believe it! You brought Quetzals here to Equestria! They are so beautiful and look exactly as the ones you showed me on the photos, I love their tails! I’m the first pony ever to see a new bird species; and you brought six of them! I will have many Quetzals! Thank you! Thank you so much!” – Fluttershy was unable to hide her excitement.
“You are very welcome Fluttershy; I knew you would like them. Please go on and talk to them!” – Alex said.
Fluttershy let them out and started talking to them, Alex was shocked as how they seemed to understand her and also looked like they were smiling “Of course, this is Equestria and they look cartoonish now” Alex said to himself. He left Fluttershy and went back with the rest of the gang so they could help him take out the rest of the things he brought for them.
“Well guys, as I mentioned, I brought some more things to share with you all!” He said very excited.
They were very happy and anxious from hearing this.
“Girls – Alex said - just one thing, some of the stuff I brought, I don’t think will fit in Rarity’s front door so I will need to store them inside a warehouse for the time being. Do you think there will be a problem?” – Alex asked.
“Don’t worry sugarcube; I’m pretty sure Mayor Mare will agree. Can you please tell me why do you think they won’t fit?” Rarity asked.
“Let’s just say, there are things meant to be used on the outside, on open fields, until the time is right, I promise I will show them to you! – Alex answered.
Once everything was loaded in the wagons they brought, they started their way back to Ponyville. As Alex asked, they stored the bigger boxes inside a warehouse and even got a special permission from the Mayor so nopony would be allowed to check what was inside the boxes, Twilight used a powerful locking spell, just for added security. The rest of the things were taken to Carousel Boutique, once there and after reuniting with the CMC, every box was taken to Alex’s new room on the second floor, when they were done carrying all the boxes, Alex asked everypony to leave the room except for Twilight. After a little while they could see both of them leaving his room. Twilight was carrying four cardboard boxes using her magic; there was an expression on her face as if she had seen something unbelievable.
“So Twilight, do you think it will be possible? Otherwise, that stuff will be useless.”
“No problem Alex, I just have to make some minor adjustments to my computer crystal power source, but I’m sure I will be able to make at least a couple of them by next week?” – Twilight answered.
“One week?! That is so fast! You really are a genius!”
“No problem Alex, the faster I finish them, the quicker I will see THOSE things working and I really can’t wait for it!”
“Me too Twilight! Well, I hope you enjoy the books I brought: history, science, electricity, space and the solar system, some novels, the human biology, dictionaries and encyclopedias. Just one thing, I must warn you about, please remember that humans had some wars, so some of our story is a little dark, please don’t be scared of it and remember that we have improved a lot since then.”
“Don’t worry Alex, it’s not like we haven’t had our own wars but thanks for the advice anyway” – Twilight replied.
“Ok, I understand, but Twilight those books are exclus. . . .” She interrupted him: “Don’t worry about that Alex, these books are for my personal collection and only Lyra and our friends and I are allowed to read them”
“Thanks Twilight, ok NOW! Is everypony else ready for their presents?!”
“What? Did you bring presents for all of us?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Of course Dashie, do you think I’d only bring presents for Twili and Shy?”
“Well not that, but…what did you bring for me?!”
Alex opened one of the boxes and took out some black and white t-shirts and caps; he also took out a necklace.
“Knowing you and how awesome you are, I thought these things are very much your style”
Rainbow started checking her new shirts and caps, sure they would need some modifications for her wings but if she could describe them with one word, it would be AWESOME! She loved every shirt and cap, some of them had a strange logo: a hand with bandages holding a lightning on the front and the words “Best in the World” on the back. Some other shirts read “I’m awesome” on the front and “You are not” on the back, the caps had the same catchphrases and finally, the necklace was bathed in silver with the shape of her cutie mark. She wasn’t the kind of pony used to wear jewelry, but she loved this necklace so much.
“Alex, thank you, thank you so much. I love them! I want to use them right away”
“For you Rarity, I brought some Fashion magazines, every single famous style for the past twenty years with pictures and all, and I also brought this…”
Alex handed over the books and a necklace with her cutie mark, Rarity saw some of the pictures with excitement in her eyes.
“Thank you Alex, I really appreciate it! With these books and new ideas I will be unstoppable now, I really love my necklace too, I must say it’s a fine work but tell me how? Did you tell someone about us?” – She asked.
“Not really, there are many people who can make custom jobs you know, jewelry; plushies; almost anything in my world so I asked someone to make your cutie marks, as long as you pay they make no questions. To them I was just a random guy with an odd request, that’s all”
Alex said that handling a necklace to Twilight and Fluttershy who were also amazed by how their cutie marks looked.
“I see! Anyway, thank you darling, I love it”
Alex brought some Stetson black and brown hats for Applejack and her necklace as well.
“Thanks sugarcube, ah really like them! I’ll use them with pride”
“You are very welcome Applejack” Alex said.
It was Pinkie’s turn; she was bouncing all over the place: “My turn! My turn! My turn!”
Alex chuckled and said:
“Pinkie, it was a little difficult but after thinking what to give to somepony as funny as you, the only answer it came to my mind was to give you this…!”
Alex took out an original big Pinkie Pie Plushie (making sure there weren’t any labels on it) and her own cutie mark necklace. Pinkie Pie stared at her Plushie, it was perfect and beautifully crafted, she hugged it with all of her strength and then she hugged Alex and said:
“Thank you Ali, I love it and my necklace too. I will call her mini-Pinkie!”
“You are very welcome Pinkie. I’m glad you liked it”
Alex noticed Rainbow Dash staring at the Plushie, she said:
“Wow dude, I must say it is really an awesome job. It’s as if the person who did this had a lot of experience making pony toys!”
“What can I say, I only got the best of the best, but let me guess, you want one right?”
“What? Of…of course not” She immediately replied rolling her eyes.
“Oh! Come on Dashie! You know you do!” Alex said.
“Ok, maybe I do want a little one. I mean, any Plushie that looks like me would be awesome!”
“Ok Dashie, I will get one for you the next time I go back to earth.”
“Thanks dude, but you don’t need to hurry, we like having you here” She replied.
It was Spike’s turn, Alex brought a lot of DC and Marvel comics and encyclopedias, he also brought the coolest toy he could think about; it looked like some kind of vehicle, it was colored blue with red flames, Spike, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie had their mouths wide open:
“Alex, is this what I think it is?” Spike asked.
“And what do you think it is?”
“It is a Transformer, right?”
Alex was surprised on how Spike knew what it was so he asked: “But how did you know? Did you watch more movies on my laptop? You guys saw the Transformers movie right?! - Spike nodded – Well, did you like it?”
Rainbow dash said: “Well, I think it’s one of the most AMAZING things I have ever seen!”
Alex got a little disappointed since it wasn’t a surprise anymore. He took out Optimus Prime from its box and after following the instructions inside it (and a fair amount of time) he transformed it into a robot, Spike and everypony else were marveled by it, the action figure was simply amazing! He couldn’t believe what he just saw, toys in his world couldn’t even compare to this, and its details were incredible! Spike would love robots more than ever.
“Wow Alex, this is so cool!”
“I’m happy you liked it Spike, take these too, they are all yours!”
Alex gave Spike five more Transformers which he took to Twilight’s room followed by Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash “We must play with one of those”, they said. It was funny, they were still so innocent.
It was the Crusaders turn now, Alex took out three Reinforced grown-up tricycles, everypony regretted not having a camera to take pictures of their faces full of excitement and confusion as they didn’t know what these things were. Alex figured out they never saw one so after a brief explanation the three of them proceeded to test their tricycles, Alex was happy about the quality of the materials used to craft them –“They may be little ponies but they are still fillies, surely they weigh more than a regular human child, or maybe not.” - (After all, he had carried them more than once and they weren’t heavier than an average human kid).
After watching them play for some minutes, Alex said:
“Scootaloo, please come here!”
She rode her tricycle were Alex was standing.
“What is it Alex bro?”
“(Alex bro? Ok?) Scootaloo, I know and have seen how good you are with your scooter, so I thought maybe you should try this as well.”
Alex gave her a Reinforced Avalanche Skateboard, Scootaloo examined it; it looked like her scooter but it had a steering Wheel and some kind of seat, the wheels looked tougher, but the coolest thins were the metallic pieces on it (she loved it , not as much as her scooter but still loved it). Naturally, she figured out how to use it. After sitting on it, she put her hooves on the steer wheel and proceeded to flap her wings like always, she soon reached a nice speed and being the amazing driver she was, she didn’t crash against anything at Rarity’s home. Everypony was marveled by this vehicle Alex gave to Scootaloo, it simply was amazing, Scootaloo didn’t want to admit it but this Avalanche Skateboard was maybe as cool as her scooter, she stopped driving it an hugged Alex:
“Thank you Alex, I mean it! These gifts are so amazing!”
“No Problem Scoots, I brought the best for my little sisters” – Alex said.
“Sister? Really? But I thought. . .”
“Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell and I had said this many times by now, I will say it just one more time, you and Applebloom are like my sisters too. Please never forget that!”
Scootaloo was so happy, she started crying and hugged Alex again. She wasn’t sure if Alex meant those words before but now, she was sure of it. She had an incredible sister as Rainbow Dash but she also had a cool brother now. The rest of the crusaders joined her and thanked Alex again for all the presents he brought for them. Finally, Alex gave them some candies from Earth to all of them; he brought three full boxes with different candies and chocolates: Snickers, Milky-way, Marinela, KitKat, Colombina, M&Ms, Butterfingers, and many others, Rainbow Dash finally understood the Joke Alex said when she saw and tasted Skittles for the first time. Everypony got a fair amount of candies and chocolates. Pinkie Pie wanted to eat them all at once, making a huge effort to control herself, she said:
“Ali . . . these are the best candies have I ever tasted! – Everypony agreed - Don’t get me wrong, our candies and chocolates are amazing, but these are on another league. I’m going to tell Bombom and Twist to examine some of these and see if we can make our own!”
Alex only rolled his eyes, he had to admit that Bombon candies were very good but they couldn’t be compared to a bar of Snickers or Skittles, if she and Pinkie Pie managed successfully make their own, maybe he would witness the raise of a candy empire.
Once the Crusaders were done eating most of their candies and chocolates, they left everything in Sweetie’s room, along with the spare parts Alex brought for their tricycles. Applejack looked a little worried so she asked him:
“Do yah think they should be showing those tricycles around Ponyville sugarcube? Those things aren’t from around here and will raise a lot of questions.”
“Don’t worry Applejack, they are not really that impressive or futuristic, maybe some ponies will ask what they are or how can they get one for their fillies or colts, maybe they will ask you, Rarity or Rainbow Dash for your permission to study them and make some copies. What would be wrong with that?”
“You are right, how I wish we knew you when we were little. I must admit those things look really fun!”
Alex couldn’t believe how much they were impressed with things so common in his world; he started to think what kind of reaction they would have when they finally saw what he had stored inside the warehouse. Would they be ready for it?
-----
CANTERLOT PALACE
Celestia, Luna, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor were returning from their long trip. Both Princesses were really excited about the Gladiator’s Tournament that was going to take place in Canterlot.
“Tia, do you plan to invite Princess Twilight and her friends?”
“Yes Lulu, I think she can help us prepare everything for the event, I think this will help her to get used to her knew title. Besides, we need to ask her if she wants to let Spike compete”
“Yes! I’d really like to see that! - Cadence said - the poor little guy’s mood has been down since . . . you know.”
“Yes honey, I think everypony’s mood has been down since that day, but hey! Let’s cheer up! I’m sure he wouldn’t like to see us like this.”
“You are right - Luna said - trust me, I know you are right! It’s just . . . he was one of my VERY few friends outside of my family, he liked my nights, he played with me, and he even gave us his Iphone.”
“Iphone? What’s that?” – Shining Armor asked.
Luna’s eyes widened in surprise while Celestia just facehoofed herself for her mistake. She had forgotten they never told Shining and Cadence about Alex’s tech, she spilled the beans about it, so they both decided to tell them all the truth, after showing the Iphone and making a little demonstration about the Apps, music, games and videos, both Rulers of the Cristal Empire were Speechless.
“Wow! This device is amazing! And you are telling me Twili has more like this at Ponyville!?”
“Yes Cadence, Alex left them to her and Spike as a parting gift, she uses it to study and Spike… well, to play. Sometimes she borrows it to us, sorry if we didn’t tell you sooner but we wanted to study them first, as Alex, Luna and I think many ponies are not prepared for something like this, not yet.”
“I understand aunt. But really, human technology is incredible we better not let it fall in the wrong hoofs.” Cadence said.
“I agree my little niece, let´s be grateful it came to us from a kind human.”
Both princesses nodded and each went to their own room. Once in her room, Princes Celestia started writing something:
“Dear Princess Twilight. . .”