There's a Monster Pony Outside My Window

by Halira

Chapter 30: No Choices

"We can't seriously be considering doing this?" Charles asked as he helped his wife up onto Andrea's bed.

"Why shouldn't we?" Wendy countered. "We were considering moving anyway. We don't know what to do about Kristin and whatever powers she may develop. We also don't know if we are going to be safe once the ponies are gone."

"It's sixty years of culture and history we'll be skipping if we do this," Charles reminded her. "Moving to another state on the other side of the country is a culture shock, but this… can you imagine someone from the twenties being put into our time and being asked to function?"

"There might be a little adjustment period—" Wendy conceded.

"A little?! With how much Miss Newman has said changes, it is more like taking someone from the middle ages to our time."

Wendy frowned. "It isn't that bad. I saw the videos her son made, remember? It didn't look that futuristic or anything. It looked pretty mundane. Computers still looked like computers; houses still looked like houses; gardening still looked like gardening. Sure, it was a robot camera flying around, but that isn't that hard to wrap our heads around. We're already adjusting to the idea that a large part of the population is ponies, and that seems like the biggest thing."

"She did say the cars were mostly the same," Charles recalled. "Still, imagine how far behind in school the girls would be. There would be tons of things that others would consider basic information that they wouldn't have a clue about. The same goes for us. How are we going to find work if we have no job skills relevant to sixty years in the future?"

"The girls would adapt, probably better than us. As for us, there are always going to be jobs that don't require skilled labor," Wendy replied. "This is one of the few ways we can ensure our daughters' safety."

"What about those people that hate Miss Newman so much?" Charles countered. "These ponies that are chasing us are just the tip of that iceberg. We are going into the belly of the beast if we go into the future."

"New identities. They won't know who we are, so they won't care," Wendy countered.

Charles frowned. "What about your little sister and your mom? We help out with them occasionally. They'll be left to fend for themselves if we do this. You'll never see them again."

Wendy frowned. "That will just have to be then. We might run into the alternate version of my little sister in the future, although she'd have to be in her late seventies by then and my mom long since dead. I don't know how I feel about seeing the old versions of us, ponies in their twilight years."

Charles blinked. "I'd have to keep an eye on old me. He might try to trade old you in for the younger model."

Wendy couldn't help herself; she laughed. "Glad you can find something to joke about, although don't count old me out for wanting to get the younger model of you."

"You have a point. You get more beautiful every year, so sixty more years should make you irresistible," Charles said with a smirk.

Wendy gave him a flat look. "You do remember those versions of us are old talking horses, right? So old they're probably completely senile and take their dinners through a straw. That version of you might be an upgrade, though. I guess I'll have to keep my options open."

Charles chuckled.

The laughter died, and both looked down. "We're actually considering this," Wendy whispered.

"Are we really at that point of desperation?" Charles asked.

"I don't know," Wendy conceded. "But we knew things weren't working here even before all this insanity started. I'm not going to delude myself into thinking this will be gumdrops and rainbows, but it's a fresh start. Miss Newman has a powerful and rich family. She could help us get on our feet there better than anyone here could help us correct course."

"They are only that way because our girls did well," Charles said. "I think we corrected course pretty well if Miss Newman's sisters are the result."

"If you leave out that there are people that want our youngest daughter dead," Wendy said bitterly.

Charles looked his wife in the eyes. "Which brings up a real concern with this plan. If she is supposed to help us get back on our feet if we go there, doesn't that associate us with her? Are we just trading these current ponies who are after us for different ones if that is the case?"

"She said the whole family is prospering, so they must manage it," Wendy replied. "What I keep coming back to in my head is Kristin. I don't want her to end up as some government science experiment. If we go to the future, her having magic will be kinda normal. Maybe not normal-normal, but something people are familiar with and won't freak out about. She can have a normal life without worrying about hiding what she can do."

Charles let out a long breath. "This whole thing started with Charlotte, and now it's Kristin we need to worry about. Andrea gets the award for being the easy kid to deal with."

"She's going through a rough time too. I don't think she has it easy," Wendy replied. "We're telling her she has to have her whole life turned upside down because of her sisters, and she's not getting bitter about it. She deserves a medal for that."

"Yeah, we did good with her," Charles agreed. "I do wonder why Miss Newman waited until now to say this was an option— your right; it is easier to think of her as Miss Newman than Charlotte. I just can't see my little girl when I look at her."

"We're seeing an older adult who lived a very different life than our daughter will. Only one-eleventh of her life is the same," Wendy said as she looked in the direction of Charlotte's room. "She probably doesn't even remember most of the details from when she was our Charlotte."

"Except the cartoons and toys," Charles pointed out.

Wendy chuckled lightly. "Well, small kids have their priorities they pay attention to." She frowned. "I assume she didn't tell us because she didn't want to uproot us. She says she's really happy with how she grew up and didn't want to change things too much. I have to imagine explaining us to the government back in her time will be more of a headache for her than she's making it out to be."

"But Kristin had to go put on that necklace," Charles said mournfully.

"That does change all the equations," Wendy agreed. "I think she had to consider it as soon as it happened. That night was when she showed me those home movies, and she gave the girls those cartoons to watch yesterday. I think she was starting to prepare us. Honestly, it's kinda manipulative, in a way."

"But it's still up to us," Charles said, gripping Wendy's good hand.

The conversation was cut off by Andrea throwing open the door with a big slam. "Mom, Dad, come look at the TV! You need to see it now!" She immediately ran to Charlotte's door without breaking to take a breath. "Miss Newman! Look at the TV!"

"I can't hurry to the living room," Wendy said in a rush.

Charles headed for the girls' tv. "You don't need to. The reception might be blurry on this one, but it can still pick up the basic channels, and the audio is fine." He turned it on and started flipping the dial. "Why isn't it working."

Kristin came hurrying out of Charlotte's room and reached behind the television for something; a second later, the screen flipped to a newscast. "You had to take the RF switch back off video game."

Charles shook his head. "Okay, I don't know what that means, but thanks."

"It's the little box thingie! The thing that caught fire last year and you had to replace," Kristin explained.

"Oh, that thing," Charles muttered. He didn't give it much more thought because his eyes were now locked on the television. He turned up the volume and stepped back.

"For those who are just tuning in, this is a live copter feed of what is happening in Kansas City! All of the city has come to a standstill as SWAT teams have been deployed. There is talk that the governor is weighing options to pull in the national guard."

Charles gaped at something out of a science fiction movie. There was an energy shield or something around the front of a building. He turned up the volume of the TV.

"What began as what police had thought was a shootout between two gangs has quickly escalated into something we don't even know how to describe. There seems to be some sort of— and I'm sorry for using this term, but it is what the police said— force field that has gone up in front of the building. Witnesses report seeing strange creatures inside it, in addition to some of the gunmen. What can only be described as laser beams have been fired at officers. There had been several other shooters outside, but police have apprehended them. The shooters who were outside are also making claims of strange creatures inside the building. Folks, I know it is hard to believe, but these pictures are not being altered; this is a live feed. We can't confirm anything yet, but we will continue to broadcast as this story unfolds. Hold on! I just got confirmation that the national guard is being deployed!"

"Miss Newman?!" Charles called out to the other room, eager for an explanation. Strange occurrences and talk of strange creatures right where they had been the other day? That had to be tied to them somehow.

Miss Newman came rushing in. "I saw it. Their unicorn is much stronger than I expected if he can hold that shield spell up for that long, even if he is just shielding one part of the building. A high four, maybe a five. Why can't it ever be a weak one?"

"Four? Five? Four or five what?" Wendy asked.

"PREQUES number, it is how we measure magical power in the future," Miss Newman explained.

"What is yours?" Wendy asked.

"Two," Miss Newman muttered loudly.

"So he's two or two and a half times stronger than you?" Wendy asked.

Miss Newman laughed and shook her head. "Ha! I wish. No, it is like a richter scale. The number is how many zeros there are attached to the end of it. He is somewhere between one-hundred and one-thousand times stronger than me."

"What?!" Charles exclaimed in disbelief.

Miss Newman shrugged. "I told you, I'm a weakling. Most ponies have enough power to mop the floor with me. It doesn't matter much if he is a four or a five. It's like being asked if you want to be crushed or pulverized. I got my scar fighting a five. I won, but mainly because most unicorns don't understand the finer nuances of what they are doing."

"They're going to get caught," Kristin said. "They can't get us!"

Miss Newman scowled. "I agree that they are going to get caught. He can't hold that shield forever. I'm more worried about what happens after they get caught. After they get caught, they're going to talk. They're going to drop names and point hooves too."

Charles knew exactly what she was implying. That also meant there was only one real escape. "Do you have enough power to do that thing we discussed?"

"No, but I made arrangements so that I will when I need to. Don't ask; it is stuff you don't want to know."

"I'd really not have any more secrets between us," Charles stated fiercely. "Tell me how you made arrangements."

She sighed in exasperation. "When I was last asleep, I made a deal with an immortal alien dragonlike being who has been around for billions of years to give me a one-time power boost when I needed it. That is the truth. Does knowing that make you any happier or make the situation any clearer for you?"

"Uhhhh...no."

"Then don't ask questions I tell you you don't want the answers for."

"What did you give it?" Kristin asked in interest.

"Information. Nothing that involves or impacts any of you," Miss Newman snapped. "You need to make your decision on whether to go back to running or have me take you with me. I will support either decision, but you need to make one promptly. I won't make it for you."

"Do we have time to talk to the girls about it?" Wendy asked.

Miss Newman gestured at the television. "His shield is still up, so he hasn't been caught yet. That means he hasn't talked yet. Expect the military to be here in less than twenty minutes after they get caught. I'd say thirty to forty-five minutes from now, so I give you five minutes to do what talking you need."

"HEAR ME, HUMANS! THE DREAD APOSTATE,
WHO IS THE BETRAYER OF HOPE, AND HER FAMILY, THE PORTSMITHS, LIVE AT ONE HUNDRED BRECKINRIDGE ROAD IN AURORA, COLORADO!" a voice boomed from the newscast.

"They're getting more colorful with my titles. Anyway, scratch that previous timeframe; you have a minute to explain it to them, and then we have to go," Miss Newman said grimly. "The military is coming, and they'll be coming in force since the entire country probably just heard that."

Comments

[Charlie_K]

Oh shit...

Things just went from bad to worse and real to REAL in nothing flat.

[harts fire]

well horse apples this just got flushed down the crapper really fast.
no time to pack grab a few things and run for it fast.
this story is just amazing in how it is all playing out.

[Numinos]

Well, other team likes their nuclear options too : )

[Mocha Star]

Awe, it's getting heated now.

[bkam]

11133132
Agreed