Closet Pony

by DouglasTrotter

February 7th

>>>Date: February 7th, Time: 4:25 am<<<

A voice bellowed, yelling in some incomprehensible language. Blue mist slithered along the invisible floor then wrapped around my neck; I wasn't choked, but I might as well have been choked. After my right hand let go of the ethereal circle around my neck, I pulled my index finger back.

The blue mist dissipated. In my right hand was a gun. The type didn't matter as its sound was enough to unnerve the entity behind the voice. For a second time the mist restrained me, given no time to react, however, the weapon in my restrained right hand dematerialized into nothingness then reformed in my left hand. With the boisterous second shot the creature shouted at me once more in that unusual, garbled tongue, releasing me from its grasp.

Dark clouds coalesced into a single mass. The pounding in my chest wouldn't stop. That feeling of dread told me I was free and not, this thing was toying with me. Three successive shots followed, each noise seemingly louder than the next.

The deep gasps for breath resounded within my room. Hot couldn't describe how I felt as I opened my eyes after a solid blow from behind. It's nice these terrazzo floors are so cold at night. I went into the kitchen and grabbed a large glass, which was shoved under the faucet. The digital readout on the microwave told me it was 3:00 am.

As I sit here at my laptop, it requires a lot of concentration to keep these pale hands from shaking. I'm not sure what's more unnerving. The dream, perhaps I should say that nightmare, being up there as my more horrendous ones, or there being a painful mark on my back. I caught a glimpse of the red mark in the bathroom's mirror. It's like someone twisted a towel then snapped it hard against a person's back. Geez. What is going on? What the freaking heck happened?!

Though my hands are hard to calm down, I know, in my heart, I'm just glad my guests are still asleep in the family-room. I never want Apple Bloom or Scootaloo to see me in this kind of state. They need someone to be there for them, someone strong. I can't let them down.

----End Entry----

>>>Date: February 7th, Time: 11:25 AM<<<

"Are you alright?" Apple Bloom said. The cup in her hooves slipped and crashed to the ground. She stared at it for a second then reared back when her eyes met mine. Her hooves shivered. After a couple of steps, she pressed her right hoof, in a soft manner, against my leg. "Ya ok? Sorry about breaking the cup."

"I... it's ok. I'm was just a bit startled, that's all. I had a bit of a nasty dream last night." I said. With "nasty" and "dream" exiting my mouth, Apple Bloom's eyes widened. She whispered something to Scootaloo, her eyes dilating soon afterward. The two chatted, a childish game of twenty questions started with Apple Bloom pestering me for answers. I held out my hands, said "It's ok. It's ok," and then proceeded to clean up the mess of broken glass, "Bad dreams, nightmares, or whatever you call them are common for humans. Our dreams are one of the more... 'unnatural' areas that isn't fully understood."

Scootaloo concerned me a bit. Her eyes were still dilated, like she was frightened. Was it my reaction and Apple Bloom's words or just my action alone? Apple Bloom patted Scootaloo on the head. Just as they are odd to me, I must appear odd to them. Or, perhaps, I'm a monster. Though Apple Bloom doesn't seem afraid of me, it may very well be a rather thin shell. She could be afraid of me, much like Scootaloo.

"...."

"You ok, Scootaloo?" I said.

"She's wondering what happened in that nightmare." Apple Bloom said.

"It's best not to talk about --" I said.

"No. You're my friend. You're our friend." Apple Bloom said. She nodded at Scootaloo then put her hoof on my arm as I bent down. "Aren't you?"

"Apple Bloom..." I said in a trailed voice, ending with a sigh. Those puppy dog eyes were on a little internal switch. They were ready at a moment's notice when Apple Bloom needed them. I nodded to her, "Ya."

"Good." Apple Bloom said. She returned to Scootaloo's side, "If ya don't wanna talk, ah won't force ya. We Cutie Mark Crusaders learned about privacy."

"Cutie Mark Crusaders?" I said. Scootaloo rolled her eyes, received a jab from Apple Bloom, and then smiled at me. After a quiet chuckle, I turned toward my house guests. "Well, I think it's time we all had some lunch."

"How about we make ya some lunch?" Apple Bloom said.

"Actually, it's the duty of the host to serve the guests. You can help." I said.

I wonder if Scootaloo is growing tired of --

----End Entry----

>>>Date: February 7th, Time: 4:00 PM<<<

Why me? Why?

"Sacre Bleu," A voice said.

"She's speakin fancy," Apple Bloom said.

"I assume this is Sweetie Belle." I said, pointing a finger at the new face. The filly tilted her head at me then Apple Bloom whispered something to her.

"Si," Sweetie Belle said, closing her eyes as she smiled at me.

First she speaks French. Now it's Spanish. Whatever the case, there are three fillies here. My worst fears have come to light as this one is a unicorn. I've already seen an apple float towards her. No wires. No strings. No mirrors or tricks. It just... "floated" out of the bag. It moved towards Sweetie Belle, and she munched on the green apple like it was nothing.

"Fassen sie mich nicht an," Sweetie Belle said. She batted away my hand with her hoof as I tried to touch her horn.

Ok, now she speaks what sounds like German. What am I going to do? Things were pretty peaceful when I was writing that previous entry. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo finished their lunch, sitting down to play some games on the console. I'll never forget hearing that low, guttural, bass fueled sound from my bedroom. I opened the closet door after I entered the room and things started all over again as it reminded me of Apple Bloom when she came to this world.

Two watery eyes gazed back at me. Some kind of perfume permeated the air. It might have been from the stuff used on the filly's hair/mane that appeared freshly styled. Those eyes darted about before some kind of weird whimper reached my ears when I stretched a hand towards her. The sound must have been familiar to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo because I heard hooves tapping against the floor and turned to see them right behind me. Sweetie Belle darted out of the closet then hugged her friends while they wiped away her tears.

"What are they planning?" is all that I could think about when the three huddled together after Sweetie Belle batted away my hand. I knew that look in Apple Bloom's eyes. They came back to the table. Apple Bloom prepared to speak. I stopped her. With my hands together on the table, I said in a calm tone, "Before you even ask, Sweetie Belle can stay."

Apple Bloom muttered something to the three. They smashed their hooves together, smiled, and then faced me once again. A lengthy discussion ensued with that small bit of business out of the way.

Questions were asked by both sides. Some were answered while others were left for a later date, their questions about this world being a good portion left alone. The particular question I wanted answered was how. How did these three get to our world? Also, I wanted to know why Sweetie Belle spoke several different languages, Scootaloo spoke none, and Apple Bloom understood what I said without a problem.

"Ah think ah get it now." Apple Bloom said, discussing the issue with her friends. She retrieved a pencil from the cup on my desk. With the clipboard in front of her, a crude sketch was made, refined by Scootaloo, and tweaked by Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom pointed at a small area on the... *sigh*, "rendition" that was provided, "Right here, on Twilight's machine. There's a weird lever. Ah remember a crystal being in the slot near it. Scootaloo said there wasn't a crystal there when she came through. Sweetie Belle said there was a different one for her."

"A crystal just 'mystically' translates an entire language, inscribing it into your head? " I said. The tone in my voice caused Apple Bloom to huff at me. "I'm sorry, but there has to be more to it. I can't accept the fact a crystal just allows you to understand me."

Before an argument ensued, Scootaloo used her wings to cover Apple Bloom's mouth then Sweetie Belle's.

"Cad a dhéanaimid anois ?" Sweetie Belle said.

"She asked what do we do now?" Apple Bloom said.

"You know what she said?" I said.

"Yea, kinda." Apple Bloom said.

All of that happened an hour ago. Now I find myself here, typing this up while testing Apple Bloom on various human languages. At the moment, we're up to fifteen different languages that she can comprehend. Also, to my confirmed worries, she can read the various languages. I'll have to be careful. From the looks of it, Sweetie Belle doesn't understand a word I say. It's rather odd though. She's gained some control over her languages, switching between languages at her own will, but Sweetie Belle can't speak English or anything near English. It threw me for a loop when she spoke Japanese then transitioned to perfect Icelandic mid sentence. Scootaloo is the mystery. What she's speaking isn't "their" language, according to Apple Bloom.

"Can ah please take a break?" Apple Bloom said.

"Vanligen..." Sweetie Belle said, letting out an exhausted sigh.

Scootaloo remained silent, but sighed as well.

"Sorry, the time got away from me. All of you should take a break. I bet Sweetie Belle needs to get acclimated. I'll just need to figure things out." I said. Heh, "figure" things out. That is an understatement. "Apple Bloom."

"Ah thought we were done." Apple Bloom said.

"Yes, we are done. I just wanted to say that you need to be in charge of the group." I said. Seemed like all heck broke loose when she told her friends. Apple Bloom needs to be in charge of this little group since she's the only one who can communicate with me. "Hey, careful with that!"

----End Entry----

>>>Date: February 7th, Time: 8:35 PM<<<

Children, I'm watching over a group of children. It was a nightmare to keep these three from fighting one another. Apple Bloom said she was the leader and all heck did break loose. I'm just glad the county maintenance doesn't do their usual drive-by until next month. What. A. Mess.

"You need something?" I said. Sweetie Belle is starting to creep me out. She's followed me around all day. I caught her trying to go through the drawers underneath my bed, several times for that matter. What does she want? "Apple Bloom, is Sweetie Belle ok?"

"She's just a tad curious about ya, that's all. Her sister is a... a..." Apple Bloom said, scratching her head. Sweetie Belle whispered to her and then put her hoof on my shoulder, rubbing it against my shirt. "Sorry, Sweetie Belle's sister is a 'fashionista' or somethin. Sweetie Belle's just wonderin' about your clothes. She says they don't have fabric like that stuff in Ponyville."

It's just cotton. At least, I think my shirt is cotton. My sweatpants, or "give up on life pants" as one has said, might be some synthetic blended material. I know one shirt has a hydrophobic coating of sorts on it.

"If she checks the tag, it'll say what it's made off. Opps, I'm sorry. I forgot she can't read them. Do you mind helping her look at them?" I said. That was a mistake. Several opened drawers later and my room looked like a warzone. My mouth was agape at the clothes strewn everywhere. Sweetie Belle bowed, grinned, and left. Apple Bloom giggled at me before she left as well. "These fillies will be the death of me."

It took near twenty minutes of my time, though it isn't as precious as time for others, to sort through that mess. 7 o'clock rolled around, and it was time to eat.

"What ya mean ya want somethin' different. Apples are great." Apple Bloom said as she looked at Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle gave her friend a firm nod in return. "Hey, he went to a lot of trouble to get these. We better eat em."

"Actually... it's not that hard Apple Bloom," I said. I pointed at a can of tomato sauce in the cabinet. With the can placed on the counter, I rummaged through the cabinet and pulled can of diced tomatoes. "If you like, I can make some spaghetti tonight. No meatballs. I promise. I don't have the stuff to make them. We'll have some apple desserts."

I couldn't help laughing at the three fillies when we started to eat. The red sauce covering their faces was kind of cute. That's when it hit me.

"You guys better take a bath tonight. I'll change the covers on the bed." I said. I didn't know what to expect, but Apple Bloom nodded at me. With the shower turned on, I left the three alone. Twenty minutes passed. The three exited the bathroom with towels were wrapped around their heads, another around their bodies. I inspected the bathroom, finding everything in order. I guess I expected the back wall of the bathroom to be destroyed with Scootaloo flying around outside, Sweetie Belle chucking chunks of debris into the pool, and other sorts of chaos. From the bathroom I said, "Apple Bloom, I've setup the console for you and your friends."

Out in the family room, the three played to their hearts content with the console I pulled out of my room. I had to blow into the cartridge a couple of times to get it to work. A rolling yawn started with Scootaloo letting out the first one, progressing to Sweetie Belle, and then Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle was the first to crash with Scootaloo following suit. I removed the towels from their heads, and then placed Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle at opposite ends of the bed. With the blankets placed over them, I turned to see Apple Bloom fast asleep on the couch. At that moment, I realized they were children, and I also realized things had grown beyond complicated.

Three fillies. I have to contend with three fillies now. One is a unicorn, the other is a pegasus, and the third is a rather strong earth pony.

What are we going to do now?

----End Journal----

Comments

[Radio]

awww

dis is a nice story

[Emperor]

If the protagonist has a car, sooner or later he'll have to try taking them out on a road trip to somewhere private and remote so they can get some outdoors exercise. Well, he's certainly slowly turning into papa human regardless