Perchance to Dream

by David Silver

50 - Not Home

There was little resistance to my heading out. I had accomplished what I had been summoned for, and they didn't seem to need me badly enough to stop me from going home. I was exhausted. Can you blame me on that?

I was thankful I was leaving early, avoiding rush hour traffic, and pulled up to my new house. There were no police cars or other vehicles around. I counted that as a small blessing, but it proved nothing. Kevin's car was not there. They must have not been so kind with him.

I quickly made for the front door, slipped in the key and made my way inside.

There was Starlight, scribbling in a book with her magic. She looked up when I entered and smiled. "Welcome back. Ugh, today's been so boring, you have no idea. I'm glad someone's back. Why isn't Kevin with you?"

They hadn't bothered her, or so I quickly decided with some relief. I reclaimed my key and shut the door behind me. "The situation's changed."

She heard the serious edge in my voice and set her book aside. "Finally, excitement. What's the news?"

I pointed at her. "They know you're here, and by they, I mean the local government. They aren't moving, as you likely already know, but they are aware, and are using the fact that I knew about it against me."

Starlight hiked a brow. "Your government is far more strict than Celestia. You aren't in trouble, I hope?"

"That depends." I moved to crash on a couch. "I think I may end up helping other ponies that wash up here, on Earth, this planet." Did ponies call their own world earth? That would have been funny. "As for you, it means little, on second thought. No showing off as a pony, kindly. This hasn't been released to the public, so no need for panicked reactions."

"Hello?" came a muffled female voice.

Starlight and I glanced around.

"Linda? Starlight?"

It was Twilight. I got up as quickly as I could and searched for her voice. "Where are you?"

"Right here."

There she was. I turned the flat screen we had facing a wall around and there she was, in glorious 4k high definition. "There you are! This doesn't appear to be the vehicle. I assume you've arrived then? Is everypony safe?"

Starlight waved a hoof at her teacher. "Everything's alright, mostly. I've been spotted, but nothing bad is happening."

Twilight frowned. "I'm glad it's under control." Her eyes turned to me. "Linda, you gave Celestia another scare. Your bell went off, but you didn't wake up."

It had been a long day and I barely remembered the time. Bell? There was a bell... "I was exhausted last night, and still am. Maybe I half-woke up?"

Twilight nodded softly. "Proper sleep is important to anyone. I'll tell her you're alright. Have you picked a spot for the portal?"

Right, portal... "I haven't had a chance to even think about that. Give me a week to settle down before we go making any permanent decisions."

"Starlight?"

She waved a hoof at the idea. "I'll live. I'm not in any danger, and there are things to study and explore at least."

Twilight suddenly gave a devilish smile. "And you get to skip out on your lessons."

Starlight suddenly looked cagey. "What? No! I've been on an extreme course with two new friends who aren't even ponies." She pointed at me. "Tell her I've been good."

I couldn't help but smile. "Starlight has been a good g--filly. She's tried our culture with an open mind and been good company the entire way. I don't begrudge her being here."

Twilight seemed pleased by that. "That's great news. Oh! Here." She held up a curious cube and bumped it against the screen. "Right. Can you go get a puddle of water? Any reflective surface that isn't solid. Tell me when you're ready."

I suddenly realized. "I don't have the water turned back on. Dear God, Starlight, are you alright?"

She shrugged softly. "You had some bottles of water. I hope you don't mind that I took liberties with them."

I let out a little breath of relief and dug out my phone. "With any luck, they can turn it on remotely too, let's find out."

One long call later, I was scheduled for activation, but we still had no water.

While I was doing that, Starlight took the bottle she had been nursing and just poured it out into a bowl. "It's not large, but here we go."

Twilight vanished, only to reappear in the tiny surface of the bowl. "I think I prefer the other screen, but this will work for..." She shoved the cube object through with her magic and it splashed free of the water. "It's not suggested you try to move living things through this way, but for this, it's perfect."

Starlight picked up the cube. I was still on the phone at the time and just watched with curiosity. She swiveled it this way and that in her magic. "What is it?"

"Quite simply, a signal. Depress the indent on the side." She pointed, already having hopped back to the larger television screen. "Go on, try it."

Starlight reached out a hoof and tapped the button.

A loud 'clang' sounded through the screen and Twilight brought up another cube. "They're connected. When someone presses one, the other makes that noise. If I want to contact you, I'll press mine, then wait for the return before trying. If you want to reach me, be in a good place and signal me and I'll either appear, or return the signal, which means I'm not available at that moment."

Starlight flashed a grin. "Not as elegant as their lightning communicators, but a significant step in the right direction."

When I finally hung up on the water company, I huffed with relief. "We're getting water, but not today. While we're turning things on, it wasn't fair that you had to sit in an empty house with nothing to do."

"I'll let you handle settling in. You know how to reach me now?" I nodded. Twilight smiled and faded away.

Starlight gave a light toss with her magic, lobbing the cube into my hands. "I imagine she wants you to have it."

I examined it then. It was made of dull-grey metal. It was little more than a box with a button on one side. It was painfully simple, but it did the impossible. It talked across dimensions. "Did Twilight make this herself?"

Starlight shrugged at that. "I bet she made the insides. The outsides, she probably got some help."

It was small enough to tuck in my purse, so that's where it vanished into after I tested the button carefully to make sure it wouldn't be accidentally pressed. It needed a good solid shove before it even started to move. There would be no accidents from just jostling around.

Then it was right back to the phone! A quick search showed Sonic to be a fine provider of internet in the area, so I quickly ordered through them. "That's not instant either."

Starlight pouted. "Does that mean tomorrow's going to be another terrible day?"

Did it have to be? I was currently a reigning goddess in my office... "No."

Starlight brightened. "You look like you have an idea."

"I'm going to tell the truth in an untruthful way." I pointed at Starlight. "You're coming with me tomorrow. You're related to the client I'm currently assigned to, which is entirely true."

Starlight tilted her head at that. "There's another pony, and they're related to me?!"

"Not that kind of relation." I let out a tired noise. "They're the ones that want me to help them help ponies. They likely want to talk to you anyway, so I'm not lying in saying you're involved with them. That gets you in and explains why you're around, assuming you're alright being a human tomorrow?"

"I'll take that over sitting around here," she agreed easily. "Next topic, food. There isn't any. I trust you can fix that?"

I was the worst host ever. "I'm so sorry!" Just imagining poor Starlight, bored, sipping on her bottle of water, hungry, alone... It was like she really was a refugee desperately trying to avoid danger.

I wanted to go to bed, but that simply was not an option. The house had a fridge, and it was operating. We just needed food! "We're going shopping."

Starlight perked up. "For food, I assume? What sort of place did you want to eat at?"

"Here." I shook my head. "We're home now, my new home. It's time to start buying food to make here. You know how to cook, right?"

"Sure. I'm no expert, but I manage." She shrugged. "You want me to be human, I assume?" My turn to nod. Her horn began to glow and she rose up on two legs, shedding her fur and becoming that special kind of human naked instead of pony naked. "Let me get dressed."

The door opened and in came Kevin. He sagged back against the door, unaware of Starlight's presence a moment before he looked up. "Hey Lin--Starlight, why are you naked?"

Starlight put her hands balled up at her hips. "I was about to fix that!" She had no sense of decency about that. She didn't seem embarrassed, just annoyed at Kevin's question. "Welcome back. We were about to go shopping for food to make."

Kevin looked to me. "You told her everything?"

"I did, and she's coming with us to work tomorrow. She's of vital importance to the client's case, after all. Water and Internet are scheduled for activation, but for today, we have to rough it."

Kevin let out a tired laugh. "I'm more worried about the status of my pillow. You're lucky the boss let you go. They had a full day of work ready for me."

One thing bothered me... "Why did they drag you here?"

"Huh?"

"He had no reason to. He could have hired advertising slash marketing out here with a lot less stress. He said he brought us for this case, ultimately." I pointed a finger at him. "That means they had some reason to name you before this even started, and I want to know what that was."

Kevin looked clueless. "I led a fairly boring life, or did, then ponies, ponies everywhere. I'm not complaining. Really, I'm not. Stressful? Yes, but I'm glad to be part of your life, and happy to have them in mine. Still, not a damn clue why they'd point me out, since I wasn't involved with them until after our great road trip. I mean, hell, when I spotted Twilight that time, we were already locked in for moving."

Author's Note:

Is this a mystery, or a special form of typo known as a plothole? You know I won't leave it there.

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Comments

[Booster Spice]

Agencies dealing with the unknown prefer to have lone boring people that are happy to follow most reasonable requests without question and wont be missed too much when something goes to lunch.

If that place is Agency supplied, theyre being a pain in not having the services preactivated, given how much that place should be threaded with sensors. I mean, forget bugs, snake cams and all the spy stuff, all you need to do is have a shell cell phone company with its own Sims, and a whole bunch of USB charged $10 cell phones. Slip them behind the drywall and cieling tiles, inside baggies in the bathroom and kitchen wet areas and you can easily have audio through the whole house.

Of course, it all depends on the meeting tomorrow, on whose reaction is faster. Hyperbeam Starlight, or Dodge Dave.

That cube is driving me nuts. Its from a short story many years ago about an alien who has their conciousness pushed thousands of lightyears because the story uses the idea that psychic, mental abilitie are not restricted by mass speed, but when he arrives on Earth, the only concious mind he can land in is that of a baby. The cube is the only mass that could be sent with him using K0 equipment, and is the beacon for the targeting wormhole. The cube has multiple activating mechanisms, including thinking at, squeezing hard etc, but the one eventually used is mental tweaking of curiosity makes one of the parents pick up the cube, find the hole in the side with the button, where they press it. The cube then phase shifts, falls through the parents hand, the plane and the ocean, coming to rest so many kilometers below the surface of the planet, out of the way.

[Daremo]

turned a the flat screen - turned a the flat screen

---

They're connected. When someone presses one, the other makes that noise. If I want to contact you, I'll press mine, then wait for the return before trying. If you want to reach me, be in a good place and signal me and I'll either appear, or return the signal, which means I'm not available at that moment.

And if one of us pushes it three times in a row, it's an emergency with someone's life or immediate safety in the balance.

---

You had some bottles of water. I hope you don't mind that I took liberties with them.

...

Define 'liberties,' Starlight.

[badninja]

Let me hazard a guess Kevin is somehow connected to all the appearances, he just doesn't know.

[tsaukpaetra]

Well, there was probably a reason True's ghost took his form during the wacky scene, the path for the relationship itself was there. But deeper? Hmmm...
"human naked". We're going to use that!
Keep going! ;)

[David Silver]

8033745 You are close.

[RadicalDishonesty]

What if they just wanted someone for the new office, and they looked to see people the main target (Linda) were friendly with (Kevin) and just invited him due to "its not more expensive for us to offer this to someone else."

... Nah. That's waaay too narratively boring.

[Sylica telca]

I thought her boss would make Linda in charge before shit hit the fan.

[Greenhorn]

I examined it then. It was made of dull-grey metal. It was little more than a box with a button on one side. It was painfully simple, but it did the impossible. It talked across dimensions.

It is a transdimensional pager! And I thought pager already extincted back in the 1990s.

[redmar]

That they asked for Kevin might be connected to the fact that True Shot used his appearance at one point.

[Detsella Morningdew]

8512379
Exactly. That's what I thought.

[Ephedianroyalty]

8766172
He did what now? I’m confused.