Chapter 4
James let go of the girls and fell onto the couch with a sigh.
“Are you going to be alright, James?” Sunset asked.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” He smiled weakly. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll get along.”
Sunset smiled back and nodded.
“Alright. We’re here for you if you need anything.”
James’s smile grew stronger.
“Thanks.”
He sighed tiredly, dropping his smile.
“So. How long do we think it’ll take to get me home?”
Sunset and Twilight glanced at each other. Twilight cleared her throat.
“There’s no way we can be sure. We’ll have to research our options.”
James stared blankly at the wall, nodding absentmindedly.
“We’re going to try our best, James. I promise.”
James stopped nodding, and sighed.
“I know,” he muttered. He shook his head, coming back to the world. “Alright, well, there’s a possibility I might be here for a while. So I guess let’s do an equipment check and see what I’ve got to work with.”
“As good of a place to start as any.” Sunset nodded.
James stood and shuffled over to his pack. He brought it over to the open space on the floor by Sunset’s desk and laid it flat, spreading the belt out to the side. Sunset looked over the pack. The book called it a “Haversack”. It was an oddly designed piece of equipment, now that she looked at it. It wasn’t like a backpack, like she’d thought. It consisted of several flaps that wrapped around whatever was inside and held it together by tightening the straps around it. It looked extremely impractical as far as bags go, and from what she’d read, the soldiers who used it agreed. The haversack had straps that clipped onto the ammo belt he wore around his waist, simultaneously holding the ammo belt up and keeping the pack on his body. Attached to the belt was a canteen in its pouch and a small rectangular pouch with a flap on the top that was snapped shut.
“Let’s see what we’ve got,” he said, looking over everything in front of him.
James undid several straps on the side and took a shiny, muted-green colored roll off the outside of the pack. It was rather large and bulky. He unrolled the bundle, revealing a dark brown wool coat underneath the black material. He pulled it out, and set it aside.
“Overcoat and poncho.”
Reach back over to the haversack, he undid another strap on the top and opened the pouch, pulling out a metal tin.
“Mess kit,” he said as he set it aside. He undid a few more straps and set aside another tool that slipped out from beneath the pouch. “Entrenching tool.”
After undoing a few more straps and buckles he unfolded the pack itself. On the top of what was inside were a few boxes with simple labeling. Sunset could make out the words ‘US Army Rations’ on the side. Next to that were two pairs of socks rolled up into small bundles and another tin with soap and a washcloth inside.
Next was a small bag with a knot on the top, which James untied. He pulled out from inside a watch, a pocket Bible, a shaving kit, a crumpled envelope with assorted currency in it, his off-duty cap, and a folded photo from home. After laying everything out, he tossed the bag next to his personal items and reached around the side of the pack and pulled the bayonet out of its sheath.
“Oh!” Twilight jumped. James looked up, confused. “Is that… a knife?”
James nodded.
“It’s my bayonet. It goes on the end of my rifle like this.”
James reached over and grabbed his rifle from its spot by Sunset’s desk. Twilight subconsciously stepped behind Sunset and Sunset herself took a step back. James, however, didn’t notice. He lifted the rifle and slid the bayonet into place with a click. Turning back, he held the rifle in front of him with the muzzle point up and to his right.
“See?” James pointed to the bayonet with one hand while supporting the weight of the rifle with the other. “It clips on at the end of the barrel right there.”
“And… do you stab people with it like that?”
James nodded. “That’s the idea. I’ve never had to do it, personally, but my father did in the Great War. They climbed out of their trenches and charged enemy lines a lot. One of those times, he said he got a German with a bayonet while running.” James shook his head. “It’s not something he liked to talk about.”
“I can’t imagine why…” Sunset said absentmindedly while worryingly staring at the man holding a rifle in her apartment. James looked at the two, and his eyes widened.
“Oh, uh…” He set the rifle down next to his pack. “Sorry.”
Sunset smiled weakly. “It’s no problem. Could you just… um… take the knife off your gun?”
James nodded and quickly unclipped the bayonet and resheathed it.
“Sorry,” he said meekly. Sunset cleared her throat, trying to change the subject.
“You’ve got a lot of stuff there.”
James nodded and looked over his gear.
“I’ve actually got a pretty small load here. I’ve dumped a lot of unnecessary gear over time.”
“What is all this stuff anyway?” Twilight asked.
“This is all different kinds of field gear.” James pointed to a folded stretch of wool that still sat in his pack. “Just from my pack, that’s a blanket, that’s a wool overcoat, that’s a rain poncho, those are rations, those are socks, that’s a personal care kit, that’s a shovel, and that’s a bag of personal things from home. On the belt, I have my ammunition, my canteen, and my first aid pouch. That over there is a bandolier of ammo. I must’ve lost my second one somewhere.”
“And you live with this?”
“For the most part, yeah. I mean, we’ve got trucks and convoys that resupply us with food, ammo, and water. Even then, when we go through towns, we sometimes stay in the empty buildings.”
“I can’t even imagine living out of a backpack for a month.”
James chuckled.
“I’ve been in the army almost two years. You learn to prioritize the things you need.” James started repacking the haversack. “Anyway, yeah. I’m well equipped to live in wartime Europe, but I don’t think any of this is gonna help in the big city.”
“Well you have friends to help you with that.” Twilight smiled.
James grinned to himself and nodded.
“That I do.” He stood as he finished packing everything back together. “Well, I suppose I’ll make do until I can get home. Either that or get a job.” He laughed weakly and shrugged. “If you know anyone who needs a helping hand, I guess they can call on me ‘til I leave. Don’t know how much work I can really give with technology, though.”
“If it comes down to that, I’m sure we could find something for you to do,” Sunset said. “Regardless of that, I think we should at least go get you some more clothes to wear. You can only wear what you’ve got on for so long before it gets dirty again, and you can’t really wear an army uniform without getting attention drawn to you.”
“I understand. I just don’t want to make you spend any more money than you already have.”
“James, we’re not doing this again.”
“We’ll do this until I’m back to being shot at by Germans.”
“Well then do it quietly. Twilight,” Sunset turned to the girl in question, “Do you want to come with us?”
“If it’s okay with you, Sunset, I’d like to do more research on this problem, if I can,” Twilight said, “Maybe I’ll see if I can learn anything from the book.”
“Sure, Twilight.” Sunset grinned.
“Can I ask you a favor?” James inquired softly.
“Of course,” Twilight said, “What is it?”
“I understand what you’re doing and… I appreciate it. I really do, but… if you look a bit… ahead, shall we say, um… just don’t tell me how it ends. Good or bad. Okay?”
The mood turned somber once again as Twilight nodded.
“I promise you, I won’t.”
With that, James nodded and stepped back.
“Thank you.”
“Good luck, Twilight,” Sunset said to Twilight as she opened the door. “Come on, James.”
The purple-haired girl waved as the two left. With the click of the latch, the apartment was all but silent. Now alone, Twilight walked over to the desk, sitting in the chair in front of the computer as she grabbed the novel. The image of the helmet stared back at her as she paused, biting her lip. Reluctantly, she opened the book and started reading.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” James said as he looked over the racks of clothes. “Cause I sure as hell don’t.”
“Those are women’s clothes, James,” Sunset said. “The men’s section is over here.”
“Why is there so much?”
“I don’t know, that’s just how it is here.” Sunset shook her head. “Anyway, look, here’s the stuff that I think might be more your style.”
After weaving through the racks, Sunset came to a stop in front of the men’s clothing section. On their left was a wall of jeans. In front of them was a myriad of athletic-wear, outdoor clothing, swimsuits, and more that was all hung up on a dozen or so racks. The red haired girl looked down at her phone. On the screen was her budget until her next paycheck. Thankfully, she’d left enough padding in her plans that they’d have a bit of spending cash for him. With a nod, she looked up at James.
“Alright, we can get you three pairs of jeans and a couple shirts for now.”
“Good Lord, those jeans are ten dollars!” James exclaimed.
“James, that’s a really good price for what it is.”
“Ten dollars? That’s what you call a good price?”
Sunset rolled her eyes.
“James, this place is a surplus store for the big-name department stores. Whatever they don’t sell, they send here to get sold at a huge discount. Look at the tag again,” Sunset pointed at the piece of paper hanging off the waistband. “These were thirty dollars originally.”
“That’s just far too much. There has to be a cheaper option.”
“Actually, we’re having a sale right now.”
James turned as a helpful looking employee walked up. He wore a pair of khakis with a tucked polo shirt and belt. The soldier reminded himself not to make any faces as he saw the man’s skin was green.
“Oh really?” James asked. Sunset could see James’s discomfort.
“Yes, sir. They’re two for 15 right now for our fall sale.”
“See, James, that’s a great deal,” she said. James looked at her, and nodded.
“Yes, of course,” he smiled to the associate. “Thank you for letting us know.”
“My pleasure,” the associate said. With that, he turned on his heel and left.
“See? Everything’s fine. Just trust me on this, James.”
“I seem to be getting that a lot lately,” the man muttered to himself. “Fine. But we’re still keeping it to a minimum. Just the essentials.”
“Deal,” Sunset said. “Alright. First things first. What size pants are you?”
“33 inch waistband, 32 inch pant length.”
“Light or dark colors?”
“...what, for Jeans?” James asked. Sunset nodded. “Uh, dark I guess.”
Sunset thumbed through the size tags on the waistband of the jeans until she found a few dark-blue pairs of jeans labeled “33x32”.
“Here.” The girl tossed the pants at the man, which he caught. “Find some shirts you like.”
The soldier looked out over the racks of clothing, passing over all of the athletic gear. His gaze landed a circular rack full of button-down flannel shirts in about a dozen different colors. He nodded to himself and pulled three shirts, each a different color off the rack.
“Done,” he said, turning to Sunset.
“...That’s it?” The girl was surprised.
“That’s it.”
“You didn’t even look at your other options.”
“Well, I… I dunno. This is pretty close to what I wore back home. I don’t see what’s wrong with it.”
Sunset tried to say something else, but shook her head.
“Alright, then. I guess we’re done, then,” She glanced at her phone’s clock. “I expected this to take a lot longer.”
“Well, better to have too much time than too little time, right?”
“I guess so,” Sunset grinned. “Well, alright then. Let’s check out, if you’re done.”
“Hi. Did you find everything you were looking for today?” The young woman behind the counter greeted with a smile.
“Yes, we did, thank you,” Sunset said with a polite smile.
“Would you like a bag?”
“Yes, that would be great.”
“Alrighty!” The girl pulled a bag out from underneath the counter, glancing up at James. “Hey, is that a costume of one of those guys from that war book series?”
Sunset looked up at James. The redhead thought she could see a light leave James’s eyes as he nodded.
“Yeah,” he nodded sourly, “A friend of mine made it for me.”
“Oh, that’s cool. Is there a convention in town or something?”
“A what?” James said, not understanding.
“A convention. For the book,” the cashier explained.
“Oh… uh, no. It’s just for fun.”
“Oh, neat.” The cashier nodded. “Well, anyway, it looks great.”
“Thank you.”
The young woman nodded at James before turning to Sunset.
“Total is $59.54. Cash or Credit?”
James gawked at the price, but tried to hide it by turning it into a cough. It didn’t work, and both Sunset and the cashier looked over at him, trying to see if he was okay. He waved them off, continuing to cough, lest he say anything bad. Sunset shook her head, pulling $60 in twenty-dollar bills from her billfold. The cashier nodded, counting the cash.
“Alright. Your change is forty-six cents.”
“Thank you.” Sunset smiled and pocketed the change.
“You’re welcome. Have a nice day.”
“You too.”
James grabbed the bag and shakily followed the girl out of the door into the main corridor of the mall. Now safe in the drone of conversation around them, James turned to Sunset.
“Jesus Christ, Sunset, that was way too much money for this.”
“James,” Sunset said exasperatedly. If she was honest, she was really getting annoyed with him worry about her money, “It’s fine. Seriously. Things cost more because we get paid more. It’s called inflation. Stop getting so upset by this, okay? I know what I’m doing.”
“Inflation or not, I don’t feel comfortable letting you spend so much money on me.”
“Figure out how to cope with it, ‘cause this is starting to get really annoying.”
Sunset immediately regretted how rudely she had said that once she saw James’s reaction. Sure, he’d yelled and been flustered or frustrated a few times already, but that was more at the world and things around them. But at that moment, he was angry. More so, he was angry at her.
“Hey, I didn’t ask you to ‘take me in’ or whatever ‘Holier than Thou’ belief you seemed to have adopted here.”
“Well I couldn’t just leave you alone on the street, James. Especially not under your circumstances.”
“Yeah, you could’ve!” James shouted. “You seem to forget that I’m not some helpless child here, I am nineteen fucking years old. I’m a soldier for my country. I was raised during the Great Depression, I know how to get by. I don’t need your handouts.”
Sunset’s guilt started to fade as she felt a fire replace it.
“I’m not giving you handouts, James, I’m giving you a chance.”
“A chance? Really?” he scoffed, “Oh well, excuse me Sister Shimmer. I didn’t realize things were so bad here. So bad that a nineteen year old man who’s killed people, couldn’t deal with it on his own!”
“And how would you have ‘dealt with it’?”
“I would’ve figured it out! I’ve got enough on me to live in the woods or find somewhere to be until I sorted things out!”
“Really? And what would you have done when you got arrested for carrying a gun around without any sort of documentation? How would you ‘figure it out’ then?”
James stared at Sunset, his anger burning in his eyes. Sunset could see he wanted to say more, but he didn’t. Instead, the soldier backed off and walked away from her in anger. Sunset grinned smugly to herself. Maybe now that she’d won that argument, he’d realize that he really did need her and he’d stop complaining. But the feeling of victory was short-lived as she watched the man drop himself onto a bench, head in his hands.
You idiot, She thought. He doesn’t need this right now. He’s just as scared as you were when you came here. He does not need you yelling at him.
Sunset walked over to James, taking a seat next to him. He didn’t acknowledge her aside from turning further away from her.
“James, I…” Sunset stopped herself and sighed. “I’m sorry for getting upset with you. I understand what you’re going through, and I’m scared for both of us. You have no documentation. If you get arrested for anything, or if they need any sort of government documents, I can’t do anything for you. You’ll be in jail and I…” Sunset paused, trying to figure out what she wanted to say. James glanced up as she stopped, but went unnoticed by Sunset as she pulled herself together with a deep breath. “I’d feel terrible for it. It’s my fault that you’re here and if you were arrested and stuck here forever, it’d be my fault too.”
“Sunset,” James sighed. “None of this is your fault.”
“No, James, it is. I had the book. I put it on the portal. I wasn’t careful and… well, this happened.”
“How were you supposed to know it was gonna do that?”
The girl shook her head.
“I should’ve been more careful. I’m the only one in this world right now besides Twilight who has even a basic understanding of magic. I shouldn’t have been so cavalier about being around the portal.”
James shook his head.
“Sunset, if everyone spends their entire life thinking of the things they could’ve done, instead of what they’re gonna do, then nothing would get done.”
“But…”
“No, no buts. Listen, you’ve read my story, right?” Sunset nodded in response to James’s question. “So you know what happened to some of my friends?”
“They didn’t go too far into the details of what happened,” Sunset shook her head. “The only mention was when someone was reading a list of deceased out loud for something or another.”
James nodded.
“Well, my buddy, Private First-Class Frederick Clark, he died during Dragoon on D-Day+1 during a German counter-attack. And I remember the moment it happened, too. We were marching along, and the Germans just come pouring over the hill, screaming and shooting immediately. And before all that, Clark had slung his rifle to take a drink from his canteen he’d asked me to keep an eye out for any Germans.
While he was drinking, some guy behind us starts mouthing off to Clark, just making some joke about him slacking or something. I turn around to say something stupid back, and right at that moment, the first German shot was fired.
I turned back around and immediately started shooting back, but while Clark was swinging his rifle back around he caught a round right in his neck and another in his chest. And like that, he was dead before he hit the ground. And all I could ever think about for weeks was: ‘What if I’d seen the Germans?’, ‘What if I’d warned him?’ And during all of that, I never stopped to think about what I was gonna do next. How I could keep it from happening again.
And then, when I was off in dreamland thinking of what I coulda done for Clark, another fellow named Matthews caught a round to the stomach during a patrol cause I didn’t see these two Germans sitting in the treeline waiting for us. That was when I realized that there’s nothing I can do about what’s already happened, but what happens next is all up to me.” James smiled. “So, take a long look at the past. See everything you did, think of all the things you could’ve done. Once you’ve got all that swirling around in your head, throw it all away and start looking forward. Otherwise you’re gonna make the same mistakes over and over again.”
Sunset smiled back.
“Okay,” She leaned forward, and hugged him gently. “Thank you, James.” the girl whispered.
“You’re welcome, Sunset.”
The two held each other for a few moments before James let go, falling back against the bench. Sunset laughed softly.
“That speech was great. It sounded like something from a movie.”
The soldier nodded.
“I’ve had to give that speech to replacements a couple of times,” James shrugged off the compliment. “Do it enough times, you get it down, I guess.”
The two sat quietly, letting the air settle for a bit. James nodded slowly to himself for a bit, thinking. Suddenly, he turned to face the girl next to him.
“Alright, let’s make a deal with each other, Sunset.”
“What kind of deal?” The redhead grinned.
“I’ll trust you, if you trust me,” Sunset tilted her head in confusion, prompting James to explain. “Okay, so I don’t trust you when you say that you know what you’re doing with money and all that stuff, and you don’t trust me to talk to people. So, we’re going to trust each other a bit more. That way, we don’t argue as much. You can teach me to be normal, and I can teach you… uh,” James paused. “To spend less money? I guess I didn’t think that part through very well.”
Sunset laughed and nodded.
“Okay. Sounds good to me.”
James reached out for a handshake and Sunset returned it. The soldier sighed contently, falling back against the bench, the young woman following suit. The two sat there in silence, watching the people go by. Sunset could see James slowly getting used to the colorful people as they passed by. He no longer reacted like he did inside the store. Now, he simply watched them go by. Every so often, his eyes would linger on a certain person a bit more than others, but not for very long.
Sunset quickly turned her eyes away from him as he looked over at her. She pretended not to notice him staring at her. To her relief, he wasn’t being lewd about his staring (as opposed to some of the underclassmen at school), he seemed to just be looking at her as he did everyone else. Mostly, he looked at her face and her hair. A few times, his eyes shot out into the crowd for a few moments before coming back to her.
After a while of this, Sunset watched the man turn back to the crowd. The soldier leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and stared at the ground, deep in thought. She took this time to do as he had done, and look closer at him.
Skin color wasn’t anything weird to her like it was to James, so by her standards he looked pretty normal, all things considered. He had beige colored skin, darkened just a little by the sun. With his sleeves rolled up, she could see several scars and scrapes trailing up and down his forearms, and his hands were rough and calloused, like Applejack’s brother, Big Mac. Her eyes rose to his face. His short brown hair was combed back, revealing his whole face to her. There weren’t any scars that she could see, but he still looked… rough, was the best way she could put it. The stubble he’d grown complimented the bags under his eyes and the lines etched across his face. All together he definitely fit the bill for a soldier. She thought it made him look sort of handsomely rugged...
“Sunset!” A voice shook the girl back to reality. “My goodness, what a pleasant surprise. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
The girl in question looked up, trying to act like she wasn’t staring at the man next to her.
“Rarity?” Sunset asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I was out doing some shopping. My paycheck came through yesterday, so I thought I’d get some things I’ve had my eye on for awhile now. Oh, and by the way, darling, I started reading that book you suggested, and I think it really is quite fascinating. I thought that those dashing young men were quite the… um…” Rarity trailed off as she noticed the man sitting next to Sunset. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry. Are you a friend of Sunset’s?”
“Oh, uh, yeah. My name’s James,” The man reached his hand out, which Rarity shook.
“Wonderful to meet you, darling.” The purple-haired girl paused. “Your name seems familiar. Have we met before?”
The soldier glanced at Sunset, whose face had gotten noticeably paler.
“I don’t believe so.” James crossed his arms and put on an easy grin. “I’ve been told I’ve just got one of those faces.”
“No, it’s not your… face…” The girl’s eyes fell on the T-Patch on his shoulder. The man saw the light click on as the parts fell into place. He saw her lips mutter two words:
“The book…”
The fashionista looked over to Sunset, noticing the redhead’s fear immediately.
“Sunset…” Rarity said slowly, “What’s going on?”
“Rarity,” Sunset said, “I-I can explain.”
“I hope you can…”
“T-This, um… This is James Garrett. From that book I was telling you about.”
Normally, Rarity would laugh if one of her friends told her something like that, assuming it to be some kind of joke from a certain chromatic haired friend of hers. But since it was coming from a friend who she’d seen magically transform and grow wings twice now, she wasn’t so sure that the Equestrian was joking. When Sunset started looking more worried after her hesitation to respond, she knew she was serious.
“What happened?” The purple haired girl said simply.
“I promise you, this all makes sense with context, but I can’t tell you here,” Sunset pleaded, “Just come with us to my apartment, Twilight’s there too.”
“Our Twilight or the princess?”
“Princess Twilight.”
Rarity sighed, deciding not to argue.
“Alright, I’ll come with you. If Twilight’s involved, you must be serious.”
Sunset sighed in relief.
“Thank you, Rarity.” The redhead stood, and James followed. “Alright, we’ll meet you there. Do you still remember how to get there?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you know how to get to my apartment?”
“No, I meant what do you mean you’ll ‘meet me there’?”
“Oh, well, we took the bus. So we’ll take it back and meet you there.”
Rarity scoffed.
“Absolutely not, darling! I’ll drive you both.”
“Rarity, you really don’t have to.”
“Sunset, darling, the bus is absolutely disgusting. Why on earth would rather take it than ride with me?” Rarity shook her head. “Absolutely not, you two are riding with me.”
Sunset sighed. First Rarity, now James. She relented, knowing there was no way she was going to beat Rarity in this argument.
“Lead the way, oh selfless maiden.”
“Thank you.” Rarity nodded, ignoring the sarcasm. She turned to James, holding her hand out. “First, I’d like to introduce myself properly. My name is Rarity. It is wonderful to meet you.”
James shook her hand, grinning.
“Hello, Miss Rarity. My name is James Garrett. Pleasure to meet you, too.”
Rarity smiled.
“Such a gentleman. Well, come on, you two. My car isn’t far.”
The violet-haired girl turned and walked towards the nearest exit. James and Sunset glanced at each other, James grinning.
“I like her.”
“Come on.” Sunset shook her head.
The two stood, quickly walking towards the fashionista and falling into pace next to her. The three pushed through the doors of the mall and out into the parking lot.
Sunset watched as James eyed the cars as they walked past. She grinned.
“Pretty amazing things, aren’t they?”
The man nodded.
“Definitely. They sure look a hell of a lot more slick than what we had back in Colorado, I’ll tell you that much,” he laughed. “The big thing for me is there’s just so many different kinds. I’m amazed that I’m still seeing new ones. I’ve barely seen two cars that were the same, and new ones just keep showing up.”
“Oh trust me, I still see new cars all the time here. It’s pretty crazy.”
“Here we are.”
Rarity opened the driver side door to a white sedan. Sunset walked over to the passenger side, and stepped in. James followed just behind her in the back seat. She watched his eyes go wide once he’d sat down properly. Rarity started the car, but James didn’t seem to notice. She grinned. The car belonged to Rarity’s parents, and it was a hybrid. The first time Sunset had been in the car, she hadn’t even realized the car was on until they started moving.
“Make sure you get your seatbelt on, James,” Sunset said. The man felt around for the seatbelt. Once he found it, he pulled on it and it extended. He stared at the belt, confused, and looked to Sunset for help. She grinned. “It clicks into that boxy-thing down there.”
He looked down, and found what she was talking about and with a click, the seatbelt was secure.
“Y’know, we have something like these back home,” James quipped. “Except we don’t actually use them.”
“Well, darling, it’s the law here.” Rarity said as she pulled out of the parking space. “Besides, if we get in an accident, it’ll keep you safe.”
“I’d rather get thrown clear of the crash, personally.”
“That’s not how it…” Sunset started. “Nevermind.”
“Sunset, do you want to play some music?” Rarity asked.
“Sure.”
James looked up towards the front console. Sunset grinned at him as he watched with confusion as she pulled out her cell phone. She connected to the bluetooth in the car and brought up her music app, playing one of her playlists. Suddenly, the music started playing all around the car, and Sunset laughed to herself as she saw James jump in surprise. He looked around the car looking for the source of the music, Sunset assumed.
“Um… Sunset, darling,” Rarity said softly, watching the man through her mirror, “Would you be able to explain at least some of what’s going on right now?”
The redhead sighed.
“There was a… thing. With the portal. And uh… well, James sort of came through.”
“Wonderful explanation, darling.” Rarity rolled her eyes, “Is the portal alright?”
Sunset nodded.
“Yeah, that’s how Twilight got here.”
“And how is her majesty doing?”
“Fine, I guess?” Sunset shrugged, “I left her with to study our problem, so I imagine she’s found plenty to occupy herself with.”
“Does James,” Rarity glanced through the rear view mirror at the soldier, who was still looking for the source of the music, before focusing back on the road. “Does he know he’s from a book?”
“Yeah, we told him. He’s dealing with it as best he can, but he didn’t take it too well at first. He seems to be doing better now, though.”
“I do hope he’s alright. I can’t imagine what it must be like to find out you’re a fictional character.”
Sunset nodded quietly, saying nothing in response. The rest of the car ride was uneventful, James eventually gave up on trying to find the speakers and just settled back into the comfortable seats, much to Sunset’s relief.
Before long, Rarity pulled into a parking space on the street in front of Sunset’s building and the trio exited the car before heading upstairs to Sunset’s apartment.
“Twilight, we’re back,” Sunset called as she swung the door open.
“Sunset,” Twilight called from the desk.
The redhead grew worried immediately at the look of worry on Twilight’s face.
“Twilight? Is everything okay?”
“We have a bit of a… situation.
“What kind of situation?”
“Just… read it,” Twilight said, thrusting the book forward, “Start at paragraph three on the left page.”
The redhead looked, down, reading aloud.
“James tore his eyes away from the mirror and unslung his rifle as he turned to leave. But then he paused. He took another look in the mirror, and gave the soldier one last grin and raised his hand to wave goodbye.”
“Wait. I remember that part,” James said as he walked in behind Rarity. “That’s what happened right before I came through the mirror.”
Sunset nodded before continuing to read.
“‘See you around,’ he muttered to himself. But the grin quickly faded and he dropped his hand to his rifle as he watched the reflection roll and wave like ripples in a pond. It started in the center and flowed out and before long the whole surface was moving.” Sunset frowned, and glanced up at James. “How accurate is this so far?”
“Pretty much exactly what happened,” James nodded solemnly. “I was, well, reminiscing about the past, is a good way to put it.”
“Even the mirror part?”
“Yeah. That was… yeah,” James shrugged. “I’m not sure what did it, or why, but yeah it started rippling.”
Sunset nodded thoughtfully, looking back down at the book. Things were getting worrying at this point. Unless this book suddenly turned into a fantasy novel halfway through, this was definitely not supposed to be there.
“He stared at the mirror in awe. Slowly, he reached out and touched the glass. His heartbeat skyrocketed as he felt his fingers dip into what should have been solid glass. James ripped his hand out, eyes going wide. Slowly, as if the mirror would lunge at him and attack, he raised his rifle to the mirror and poked it with the barrel. Like with his hand, the end of the barrel disappeared into the surface of the glass.”
Sunset trailed off, reading ahead through the rest of the page.
“James went through the portal in the book?” she thought aloud. She turned to Twilight, thinking. “Maybe that’s why the portal connected. Maybe he always went through the mirror, and the portal just made it a reality?” She looked to James. The man shrugged.
“I have no idea. If you’re asking me if walking through mirrors like it’s water is normal on Earth, then I promise you it isn’t.”
“Sunset,” Twilight said stiffly. She looked at the princess. “Please, turn the page and read the beginning of the next chapter.”
Sunset furrowed her brow, ice forming in her stomach. Twilight never acted like this. If she did, something was certainly wrong. She kept reading.
“‘That totally counted as a goal!’ ‘The hay are you talkin’ about? Pinkie blocked it!’ ‘No, that bag was the goal post!’ Rainbow pointed.” Sunset froze. Her eyes shot up to meet Rarity’s, who were wide eyed in shock. She turned to Twilight, who had an uneasy look on her face.
“Sunset… how much do you remember from yesterday afternoon?”
“I-I… I think I remember all of it.”
“Did James fall out of the portal onto his face?”
“Y-Yes.”
“Did you pick up his helmet and see something on the side of it?”
“Yes.”
“...did you two take the bus home?”
“Yes...” Sunset took a deep breath. “Is… is the book rewriting itself?”
Twilight nodded.
“I think it is.”
“Either that or someone predicted the future,” James joked, but everyone could tell his heart wasn’t in it. He shook his head, and turned from the group. “Sorry,” he muttered, hiding his face.
“W-Well, James does have a point,” Rarity said. “Perhaps something magical IS happening here. Perhaps the portal did make some bizzare book story a reality.”
“That would make us story book characters, Rarity,” Sunset frowned.
“Ah, y-yes… I suppose that rules out that idea,” she shook her head, “But perhaps the book is rewriting itself, as you said. Even so, we don’t know what is new and what isn’t.”
Twilight nodded.
“Rarity’s right. We need a second, untouched copy to be sure.”
“I have one at home I can bring,” Rarity offered. Sunset shook her head.
“No, keep that. You need it for class. Besides, it might end up in Equestria for all we know,” Sunset grinned. “Not sure how much Principal Celestia would like that idea.”
“So how do you plan to get another copy?”
“There’s a bookstore at the shopping center not too far from here. I could run down there and get one real quick.”
Twilight nodded.
“Good idea. Then we can get started on research.”
“I can help you with that once I get back,” Sunset agreed. “We’ll probably want to rule out possibilities of what caused it. But first, we’d have to figure out what the possibilities are.” she frowned. This was going to be a lot more work than she’d thought.
“How about this, darlings: I can get another copy, and you two can get started on research, yes?” Rarity offered. Sunset turned to Twilight and shrugged.
“That works.”
“I can go with her,” James offered.
The three turned to face him. The first thing Sunset noticed was his eyes were red, like he’d been crying. Her thoughts drifted back to the book and she made a note to read more into what had happened in France. She nodded.
“Okay,” Sunset reached for her wallet, and handed a couple bills to Rarity. “Take this and get another copy.”
“Oh, no thank you, Sunset. I can pay for it.”
The redhead frowned.
“Rarity, you don’t need to do that. Just take the money.”
Rarity reached a hand out to Sunset’s, but didn’t take the money, much to Sunset’s annoyance. Instead, she pushed her back towards her wallet.
“I insist,” Rarity said simply.
Sunset sighed. She knew she wouldn’t win that argument, so she dropped it. Behind Rarity, she could see James grinning like a cheshire cat at the whole ordeal.
“Fine.” She put the money back in her wallet. “I guess we’ll see you guys when you get back, then.”
“Of course, Sunset.” Rarity waved to Twilight and Sunset. “Ta!”
With that, she opened the door and left the apartment. James started out the door after her, but paused in front of Sunset, grinning smugly.
“Oh, how the tables have turned, dear Sunset.”
Sunset grinned back.
“You think I’m bad? Wait until she does it to you.”
James’s smile slipped from his face.
“Oh God.”
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How is this a B-list story?
Hm... wonder how this will play out. Is the book shifting/altering around James/the new scenario he is in or is this all a huge case of happenstance...? The first is more likely given everything points to it, but what does it mean for him? Is he never to go home or...? At this point it stands to reason the story beyond what they've read is blank but... balrgltlbn.
My head is spinning in circles... well done sir.
This is amazing. I love it, please keep it up. Please
Oh for the love of....
DISCORD!!!!! Enough with the recursive books!!!!
They need to stop reading that before it turns reality into a Mobius strip.
Well that just went "Never ending story" on us :)
The irony of Rarity's "must be a shock to find out you're a fictional character" is not lost.
I can almost hear The Childlike Empress read off events in Twilight's life like she did with Bastian and having Twilight freak the fuck out.
The twists just keep coming. Love it!
Nice chapter bro keep going
Recursive books are good means for story-telling my dude. Especially when one can just read into the future. Liking the story so far. Hope more comes soon.
Remove the ‘the’ and the sentence flows better.
Missing a ‘you’.
This is seriously getting good now. I wounder if it’s just Sunset’s book that’s rewriting itself or all of them?
9288430
I've been doing some editing and proofreading for him for this story, which is why missing those mistakes bugs me. 
Dang, can't believe I missed those two.
whoa shades of never ending story......I swear if theres a lake of sorrows or what ever that poor pony drowned in im going to be disapoint
Well i hope here go to equestria be pony or other creature maybe but it up to author of heaven want to or not
9287354
It's a B-list story because dimensional crossing human soldiers from WWII fiction.
Not saying it's bad, just that it would be perceived as 'lowbrow' compared to other setups for stories.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
9288736 I think in the book version, Artax could speak.
....Ok, the recursive twist is introspectively terrifying for them and it begs the question of if the book is now writing his life as he lives it, or if it’s already set in ink and paper? That’s eerie as hell.
9289610
Maybe not "lowbrow" so much as just more of a niche interest than some other dimension-hopping setups.
Yes very good story my dude but plz update soon and also
SUNSET! TOOT! TOOT!
ALL ABOARD THE USS JAMES
Oh, shit. The forth wall is breaking, I'mma have to call for reinforcements!
Well... This just went meta.
9334129
i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/078/532/31b.gif
Holy Shit...
Huh. So what came first, reality, or the book? And Twilight probably doesn't dare to read past the sections that have already happened.
That said, I assume it's just the one book, and all other copies of the story in question are fine. Otherwise wouldn't it be disturbing if Sunset gets back to classes and everyone reads the story and suddenly they all look up at her weird
As for this book itself...why do I have the feeling Star Swirl the Bearded was throwing more flotsam junk around into the interdimensional void that just happened to end up on this world
"Please let this be a normal field trip..."
"With Rarity? No way!"
Dunno, how long ya got?
Always a good plan, never know what useful odds and ends a soldier may pick up along the way.
It certainly is, and a right useful one too at that! There's no end to the uses of a good bayonet.
Yeah, that right there would be one of the main ones.
Get him a gig as a janitor over at Canterlot High! There's always more work what needs doing, and mopping floors doesn't change much over the decades.
She spent the first twenty-something years of her life hardly ever wearing anything, she's as bemused as you are mate.
Well, actually, if you take a close look at those jeans you'll likely find that they're machined to a (comparatively) excellent quality. they're almost certainly the best jeans he's ever seen, and while he might not have paid sixty dollars for them, he'd have spent a good deal more than four hour's wages for something of an equal standard.
Bound to happen sooner or later, good to get it over with, dispel some tension.
He's a good dude.
Nothing! Nothing's going on, you see nothing!
Pshaw, ridiculous, the very idea!
That's not. the. meme.
Oh shit, this has gone full meta.