You kept your eyes closed, even though you woke up quite a few minutes ago. Yesterday had been tiring, but now you felt rejuvenated as you realized that you were still in Equestria. It was all too good to be true.
Moving slightly, you felt Twilight’s head resting on your naked thigh. You had both shifted quite a bit while you had slept, with her now lying curled up between your spread legs as you were lying on your back. A tingling sensation in your leg told you it had fallen asleep, so you were conflicted over whether to adjust your position and risk waking her, or continue pretending to sleep. You decided on the latter option.
You detected movement as Twilight woke up. Her head rose quickly as she noticed the rather friendly pose you both found yourselves in. Flustered, she clumsily tried to sneak out of bed. Only after she touched down on the floor did you end your charade with a fake yawn.
"Good morning, Twilight." Startled, the mare turned and faced you.
"Oh sorry, did I wake you?" Twilight responded.
"Nah, don't worry about it. I was on the brink of waking up anyway."
"Alright then. Erm... Want to go downstairs for some breakfast?"
"Ye, sure. Just let me get dressed and I'll be right down." Twilight raised an eyebrow as she started trotting towards the bedroom door.
"I don't get why you want to be dressed for every occasion. It's just breakfast."
As you rolled over on the bedside to reach for your trousers you felt the damp T-shirt as a chilled membrane against your skin. Having a spare change of clothes would have been great right now. You wouldn't want to walk around smelling awful.
Smelling the shirt, you concluded that the odor wasn't too bad just yet.
'I'll have to come up with some way to get this cleaned if I’m going to be staying a while.'
After getting dressed you headed downstairs. Twilight had already set the table. A plate with peeled apples cut into boats, a bowl of hay and daisies, and two glasses filled with a familiar clear liquid. The mare looked at you walking down the stairs and smiled happily.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Ye, I guess. The myth that a bed is more comfortable than the floor is certainly confirmed." You smiled back at her.
"Alright, good. Here, I prepared some apples for you." Twilight said, gesturing a hoof towards the plate. You accepted her charity and sat down by the table.
Munching on the apples, your attention settled on your bag that laid on the floor besides you.
‘If there isn't an easy way to transport me home...’ You picked up the bag, with the intention of finding out what you had with you from your world. It's not like you pay any close attention to what's in there at every given moment.
You opened your bag and emptied its content on the floor. A bit disappointed you looked down at a couple of textbooks, an empty water bottle, a sketchbook and a pencil case. Looking at the things scattered on the floor, you remembered that you also had your phone with you. Now in your hand, the phone showed that the time back home was now 10:23 pm, and the battery indicator displaying four out of five bars.
Twilight got curious at what you are doing. She swallowed her mouthful of hay, then walked over to have a look. Your phone screen turned black as you looked up at her. You should have thought of it earlier, as rationing the battery sounded like a good idea. It could come in handy.
“What’s that thing?” Twilight asked.
“It’s called a cell phone,” you explained. She only looked at you with a puzzled expression. “Basically it’s a tool for communicating over long distances. Though it has a ton of other functions on it as well, like telling you what time it is, and what the weather is like,” you boasted.
“That little thing can do all that?” The mare seemed impressed, but not fully convinced. Dedicated to prove your statement you turned your phone back on, before realizing that it can’t do much without a signal, which this world lacked a great deal of.
“Well actually, it can’t do most of its functions here, as it needs a signal from my world to work properly. It can at least show the time back in my world, though. Look.” You showed her your phone background and point at the round clock showing the time, located in the top right corner of the screen. Twilight looks at the phone with most curious eyes, then her stare wanders off to the other items laying on the floor between you.
"Judging by this it looks like you're a student, like me."
"That I am," you respond apathetically.
"Must be frustrating to be kept away from your studies... I certainly would have been," Twilight said with a frown of guilt.
"Ha. I'm not sad about that. This is far more interesting than most of the courses I'm taking. Inter dimensional travel isn't exactly dull, you know," you said with a broad grin. You wanted to tell her how awesome your short stay here up until now had been, but you didn't want to make her suspicious about why you like it here so much.
Levitating the book on thermodynamics up in front of her, Twilight flipped through a few pages.
"Isn't it kind of strange?" Not elaborating more on what she meant, you were compelled to ask.
"What's strange?"
"You know... with us coming from completely different worlds, and still speaking the same language. Not to mention that our writing languages are almost identical. Chances like these are astronomically small."
She was right, maybe it was even too good to be true.
Twilight continued,
"Maybe there is some connection between our worlds that made it possible to summon you here.” You weren't sure on the matter yourself, but you want to keep Twilight’s spirit up.
"You know, you might be onto something."
"Maybe, but we still need the resources of the archives to determine anything for certain."
"So, that would be where we're heading next?"
Twilight nodded.
"There are books there on just about everything. I'm sure we can find a spell there that will be able to get you home as well."
Twilight said it while smiling, but somehow it seemed that the smile was a bit heavier to maintain as she spoke the words. Was it because of the thought of making you leave?
"Guess I'll have to make hay of the situation then. Like going to Pinkie's party tonight is sure to be a good time, right?" you said attempting to lighten her up. Her smile became more sincere again as she sighed softly.
"True," she said as she levitates a piece of apple towards her with magic, and eats it.
Finished gobbling down your breakfast, you proceeded to put your accessories back into the bag in a neat manner, and your dormant phone back in your pocket.
Just as you were done you heard the front door open. You turned your head and saw a purple lizard walking in. You recognized the dragon right away. Except from the real-life scaly appearance, Spike was just like you remembered him.
He lazily walked past you and greeted you both, without actually looking at you.
"Hi there, Twilight. I'm back. And we have a guest, how nice." Looking like he was on the verge of falling asleep, Twilight gave of an attention-catching cough.
"A-hem... Spike, you OK?" She asked the dragon that didn't even seem to notice that there was a strange creature sitting in their living room.
"Yeah yeah, I'm just tired from the trip is all. I've been traveling all night." In amazement you studied the green-spiked dragon. He was roughly half the height of a pony. The plump, baby dragon body was covered in shiny purple scales, and spikes of bright green was located on his head, back and tail.
Twilight giggled, then looked over at you.
"This is Spike, my number one assistant."
Still a bit shocked at the sight of a real life dragon you struggled to get your mouth going to greet him. He certainly seemed much more dragon like than he did on television.
"Erm... Hi there," you muttered with your warm smile. Spike turned around from his original direction and locked his eyes on you, his head cocking back a notch from noticing your appearance. His face of surprise quickly faded as it was replaced by a raised eyebrow, and the dragon pointed a claw at you.
"Yeah, Hi. Who are you anyway?" Twilight stood up and answered before you got a chance to.
"I summoned him here while you were absent when trying out a new spell. And we're trying to find a way to send him back." Hearing the purple unicorn's explanation the dragon lets out a heavy sigh.
Looking back up at you, Spike walked to you with a warm-hearted smile and his arm stretched out.
"Alright well, nice to meet you pal. Sorry for all the trouble we've caused you." You went in for the handshake still sitting down, looking eye to eye with the green-spiked creature, his friendly smile assuring you he was indeed a kind being.
"My visit has been very pleasant this far, so no hard feelings."
"That's good to hear at least." The dragon stretched his short arms in a yawn before he continued. "But if you two wouldn't mind, I'd like to get some sleep. I'm really tired."
"Actually, Spike. Could you do me a favor first?" Twilight said while trotting towards him.
"Sure Twilight, what's up?"
"I need you to send a letter to the princess for me." Spike looked to his left and see a piece of purple glowing parchment and quill in the air besides him.
Celestia was quick to reply as Spike burped up a letter before he could even reach his bed. Annoyed the dragon picked up the scroll and walked back downstairs to deliver it to Twilight.
“Now can I go to sleep?”
“Eh, sorry. Of course.”
Both you and Twilight watched the dragon disappear up the stairs once more, then opening the letter, Twilight began to read:
“My most faithful student, your request to gain access to the archives was hardly necessary. Being my personal protégé, you are always welcomed in any facility at the university of Canterlot. Furthermore, the reason behind your request awakes even my interest, and the other scientists will be here to assist you in resolving the matter. A human in Equestria is a rare happening, but not unheard of. Usually they come here with a purpose, though I've never heard of one being summoned here by anypony before. Perhaps that is something you ought to look into as well. I would have sent the royal carriage to pick you up so you could get here as soon as possible, but I sense it would be better to let things go at a more enjoyable pace considering the circumstances. I’ll be awaiting your arrival. Your proud mentor, princess Celestia.”
Twilight gazed at the letter with a puzzled look.
“What circumstances?” she repeated.
The letter you sent to the princess had contained all the information you knew, except from the detail of what spell was used. What Twilight wouldn't let herself keep out, was which book she had used. She hadn't mentioned the title, but the description somewhere along the lines of, “Some author that had written a book about the strongest of pony emotions,” might have been a give-away. Perhaps Celestia knew of the book, and figured out which spell could have done the summoning.
You might have thought of this right away, but it seemed like Twilight was having a harder time piecing together the puzzle. She was still looking at the last section of the letter with a raised eyebrow.
“Maybe she's holding back some information.” You said trying to convince her to pursue those thoughts later.
“You may be right. We should get to Canterlot as soon as possible and get to the bottom of this. I’m also very curious what she meant with humans usually coming here with a purpose”
“So, how do we get there?”
“Since the princess didn't send us transportation, I guess we have to get there by train,” she concluded. “We’ll go to the station and head out right away, if that’s alright with you.”
“Aren't you forgetting about Pinkie’s party?” Twilight was snapped out of her serious tone.
“Oh, and there was that.” Raising a hoof to her chin, she thought for a moment. “I guess we should make time for the party. We would be letting everypony down if we decided not to show up.”
‘Yay.’ You were just as interested as Twilight in learning more about the spell, this purpose, and if you would be able to go home, but you would also want to see the other ponies once more now that you had the chance to.
Twilight decided that you should at least order the train tickets today, so that you were as ready for the coming day as possible. It was a good reason to get outside too, as you could get on with the sightseeing after the purchase had been done.
At the train station, you looked intensely at a schedule next to the window where Twilight is ordering tickets. Your head tilting forty-five degrees.
You had thought that there was some sort of system for telling the time in Equestria, but the times on the train schedule were illustrated with three pictures. Each one had a horizontal line with a yellow circle located on different places around it.
It was probably illustrating that the train came three times during the day, once in the morning, illustrated by the circle being close to the line on the left side. Once mid-day, shown with the circle placed in the middle above the line. And once in the evening, with the circle lying on the right of the horizontal line.
You smiled to yourself as you looked at the almost childish sketch of a schedule.
‘Such a laid back system,’ you thought as you heard hoofsteps against the wooden floor. Twilight trotted towards you with two pieces of red paper in her mouth. As she walked she effortlessly put the tickets into her satchel. The ponies were really efficient for creatures with no arms.
“All done?” you asked. She looked back up at you.
“Indeed,” she replied smiling.
You smiled back at her, then looked over at the schedule board again.
“How do you tell the time? Do you only use the sun as a reference?” The mare giggles behind a raised hoof at your question, then gazed at you with a nearly naughty look, her eyes half closed.
“Well, I’ll tell you how we tell the time, if you tell me what a jetlag is.” Crossing your arms you look at Twilight, returning the same look.
“Deal.”
What a sneaky pony. You had explained her the concept of jet lag on your way back into town, which took quite some effort. When it had been your turn to receive information, she had told you their ways of telling time didn't differ much from your own. The reason for having the illustrations on the schedule was that clocks weren't very common among the Ponyvillians, not because they were poor, it just wasn't a necessity.
Twilight continued to show you around Ponyville in the order things were written on her list. To your surprise she didn't show you Carousel Boutique until every other shop in town was explored.
‘Wouldn't this be where Rarity works and lives?’ you thought when walking towards the very recognizable round building. Twilight had mentioned the fashion pony on a few occasions, so you knew she was in this world somewhere.
Standing outside the dress shop, you could see dresses and suits meant for ponies in every visible window. Twilight pointed a hoof at the building while looking at her notebook that hovered in front of her, checking off a box with a levitating pencil.
“And this is the last place on the list, this is where everypony gets their festivity clothes and accessories.” Twilight explained.
Nothing about Rarity mentioned?
“Think we've seen everything in town now, ey?”
“Yup, that’s it. If I haven’t forgotten anything,” she said while squinting her eyes, going through her list to make sure nothing had been left out.
Your curiosity spiked. How could you put this without seeming too interested?
“So what about this last friend of yours that you've talked about? Who was it... erm, Rarity? Doesn't she live in Ponyville?” You felt like you had jumped off a cliff, waiting to see if your parachute would open and give you a safe landing. You had read enough fan fictions to know that the ponies always freaked when confronted with the fact that there was a show about them in another world.
Twilight’s cute smile didn't fade as she answered your question.
“Oh, Rarity actually used to run this very shop, her sense of fashion is unmatched in all of Equestria. But she moved to Canterlot and runs her own store there now. It was a dream of hers since she was a filly. I was actually hoping we would be able to see her when we get there.”
‘Well, that was pretty anti-climactic.’ Parachute safely deployed.
“So what now, Twilight?”
“What about getting a bite to eat, then get ready for the party? It’s about time now anyway.”
You nodded in agreement with a broad smile.
You had no doubt that the party was going to be awesomeness in epic proportions, but what if all they did at the party was to play pin the tail, or go bobbing for apples... Not really your idea of a party. The fact that you would have another experience with all the ponies would make up for it, though. Even if the party itself was dull.
Mr. Cake had happily served you the apple pie you ordered. It felt like the town was already used to having you around, as few ponies even bothered to turn their heads in your direction anymore. Though still they would greet you with an acknowledged nod when walking by.
After lunch, you went to the library to freshen up before going to the party, which was being held at a house Twilight had pointed out during your sightseeing. You didn't recognize the house, nor the colt standing outside of it. He was bouncing around and hanging up balloons, his behavior reminding you of Pinkie.
Back at the library you had felt a dire need to wash your T-shirt. If you were going to a party with your new-made friends present, you did not want to smell bad.
You had the great idea of washing your shirt while taking a shower, using some soap Twilight had given you. Then you asked the unicorn if she could drain the water out of the fabric with magic. She boasted how it was a simple task, and with a lavender glow, the water in the shirt was removed easily in a stream that flowed through the air and to the kitchen sink. Twilight didn't get why you couldn't just go to the party without clothes. No one else was going to be dressed. You had told her you’d feel much more appropriate with clothes on.
You were nearly at the designated party house when Twilight looked up at you from having been silent since you had left the library.
“I’m glad that you’re here to go to the party with me.” Twilight smiled at you.
“Wouldn't it be enough if I wasn't here?” you smirked back at her.
"Well, everypony has a date to the party except me, so I wasn't sure about attending, but since you're here I guess it’s fine." Startled by her own words she quickly continued, “I’m not implying that we’re on a date, just that at least I have someone to talk to if I felt left out.” Twilight tried to hide her flushed face by looking straight ahead, though it was still obvious.
"Of course, if everyone ends up doing their own things, I would be equally as much left out as you would." You reassured Twilight with a smile.
You approached the door to a house covered in balloons and party streamers. Twilight walked up and knocked on the door. Music could be heard inside, with the familiar sound of a subwoofer beating in some rhythm.
The colt who answered the door was a new face. He had a light grey coat with a short, dark blue, frizzled mane. Lifting up his rather stylish, star shaped sunglasses he looked at the two of you as his smile widened from ear to ear.
“Twilight, You’re here! And not a moment too soon, you two are the last guests to arrive. Everypony else is already inside. Come on, you don’t want to miss out on the games do ya?” He spoke loudly to be heard over the music.
Out from behind the colt bounced a more familiar pink earth pony.
“There you are! I’m so glad you made it. Not that I ever thought you wouldn't come but I was getting worried you’d be late. And now since you’re not late and that both our guests of honor has arrived we can start up the festivities!” Pinkie bounced up in the air, shaking her legs in excitement. The grey colt turns to the pink pony and sighs, still wearing his wide energetic smile.
“How can I be a guest of honor in my own house. It’s you who should be the guest of honor Pinkie.” The pink mare quickly kissed the colt on the cheek to conclude the discussion quickly then turned to you and Twilight, leaving the colt blushing.
“Come come inside. Everyone is waiting.”
You and Twilight looked at each other with expressionless looks. The unicorn took the lead and walked in, with you in hot pursuit.
Inside there was an explosion of colors covering the walls and ceiling, and a table in the back held a mountain of refreshments, being mostly cakes, cupcakes of all colors, and bowls of punch.
It wasn't crowded like you had imagined it would be. In fact, there were only two ponies you didn't recognize, one being the colt who opened the door, the second being a rather large, dark green maned colt who was standing next to Applejack. The whole gang - with the exception of Rarity - was here, standing around a table with a tray of snacks on it while talking loudly to compete with the music’s volume.
Pinkie Pie, who was bouncing besides you and Twilight, led you to the middle of the living room.
“Help yourself to something to drink and come join us.” Before you realized she was gone, you saw the party pony already standing among her friends by the table across the room.
Walking over to a bowl of punch, you and Twilight grab a cup each and scoop them into the purple liquid. Twilight didn't hesitate to gulp down all of her cup’s content, before filling it up a second time. She then headed towards the others.
Taking a sip of the content in your own cup, your eyes widened.
So many questions flew through your mind the instant you felt the burning sensation that followed the liquid down your throat. Yet at the same time, a lot of things made more sense.
‘Alcohol?’