There's a Monster Pony Outside My Window

by Halira

Chapter 31: Running to the Future

Wendy didn't have time to think. Andrea and Kristin were already present; just one kid was missing.

"Charlotte! Get in here, now!" she yelled.

The little girl hurried in, looking fearful. Andrea pulled her close to her and Kristin.

What to say in such a short period of time? "We are going to be leaving the house and never coming back. Miss Newman, are they able to bring anything with them?"

"If they can hold it. They don't have much time to choose things. I need to start preparing the spell," Miss Newman replied as she pulled her crystal out of her bag.

Wendy nodded. "Grab one thing. It's the only thing you get to keep. We'll get you new toys soon. People are already coming who could hurt us and lock us up. Thirty seconds, grab something!"

She was glad the girls didn't protest or stop to cry; they just moved. Charlotte took off to her room, Andrea ran over to one of the piles of toys, and Kristin ran for her game system.

"Grab something other than the game, child. It won't hook up properly to the televisions where we're going. I'll get you a new game system, a better one. I promise. Stop wasting time you don't have," Miss Newman barked without looking up from the crystal.

Kristin nodded and ran for a pile of toys instead.

Charles looked at Wendy, looking ready to bolt. "What do you want me to save? I can move fast!"

"The family photo album!" she said, not knowing what else to say. Charles nodded and moved. Wendy looked at Miss Newman. "What about the pets?"

"The cat and bird can fend for themselves!" Miss Newman yelled. "I'm sure someone will take them into a shelter. I'll help you adopt a new cat. Children, you don't have time to think. Grab something and get over here! Charlotte, you want to grab Squeezer and your baby blanket! Those are what you'll be saddest to leave behind. Stop looking at Transformers; I'll get you new ones."

Wendy smiled at her. "Thank you for telling her that."

Miss Newman snorted. "And people say I'm incapable of showing myself any kindness."

Andrea and Kristin, hearing this exchange, diverted from where they had been searching and grabbed their own favorite stuffed animals they slept with and the blankets off their beds. If they were going to a strange and unfamiliar place, those would serve for more comfort than any other items.

Charles came back into the room, a book under one arm and a box under the other. "I've got it! I also got some other sentimental things."

"You might need to pick between the two; you need to help your wife down from the bed and close to me. That's going to tie up an arm," Miss Newman informed him.

The girls, stuffed animals and blankets in hand, hearing the unspoken instruction, came close to Miss Newman. Charles set the box down and headed over to the bed to help Wendy.

As Charles helped Wendy off the bed, Miss Newman began stripping her clothes.

"Hey! Not in front of my—” Wendy began.

"We don't have time for idiotic human decency rules!" Miss Newman snapped, still stripping. "That street you wait for the bus at is a straight shot to the military base. They can clear traffic as they go. They are probably already in their vehicles and getting ready to depart the base. They'll be here in less than five minutes after they do. Police are probably already on their way to establish a perimeter! I'm surprised you don't have one of your nosey neighbors—"

There was a knock on the front door, and the doorbell rang.

Miss Newman pulled off her shirt and sighed with exasperation as she began unstrapping her bra. "I spoke too soon. Screw your neighbors!"

"No, thank you, I much prefer my wife," Charles said with a grin.

Miss Newman glared at him as she worked to get her panties off. "The army is about to bust in through the front door, and you're cracking jokes!"

"Kids, divert your eyes!" Wendy ordered as she saw Miss Newman about to go completely naked. "You too, Charles."

"Already on it. I do not want to see old lady bush," Charles replied.

Miss Newman pulled her necklace off and sighed as she reverted to being a little red unicorn. "Nothing ever changes with you— horrible humor at the worst of times. Horrible humor at all times, but even more so during inappropriate times. And you have your kids present for those raunchy jokes!"

"Weren't you the one who just went on about not getting hung up about decency? They don't even get the raunchy jokes," Charles countered.

"So I'm a hypocrite! That's well documented!" Miss Newman yelled.

"I didn't know that," Charles replied. "Charlotte, don't be like Miss Newman when you grow up. Don't be a hypocrite."

"What's a hypocrite, and what does raunchy mean?" Charlotte asked in confusion.

"Are you all seriously doing this right now?!" Wendy demanded, unable to believe this conversation was happening now of all times.

Andrea raised her hand. "I understand the jokes."

"I think it is kinda funny," Kristin said helpfully.

"I'm glad someone thinks so!" Miss Newman fumed. "Actually, no, I'm not. The jokes stink!"

"They defuse stress! This is very stressful!" Charles said defensively.

"The army is on their way. It's a good time to be stressed! I barely have control of my bladder!" Miss Newman yelled.

Kristin pointed at Charlotte's pants. "She pee'd her pants!"

"Kristin! Don't tell!" Charlotte cried.

The sound of sirens could be heard in the distance fast approaching. The argument came to an abrupt end as everyone paused to listen.

"Now would be a good time to cast that spell," Wendy said fearfully.

Miss Newman's horn sparked, and the pony winced. "What the hell, Triss?! Are you seriously going to make me wait?!"

"Who's Triss?" Andrea asked.

"A goddamned scaly demigod that is supposed to have a bargain with me," Miss Newman growled. Then she looked up at the ceiling and started shouting. "I upheld my part of the bargain, you miserable alien! I gave you what you needed to do what you've failed over and over again to do for billions of years! Fucking fulfill your end of the deal!"

"What did it never do?" Andrea asked.

"Save a world; she always fails. Has a PREQUES number that's off the charts and still comes up empty every single time! But I told her how to save Earth!" Miss Newman fumed. "The least she could do in return is give me enough power to do this one freaking spell! So help me, dragon, if I get caught, I'm going to make sure they associate you with the devil himself!"

The sirens were now clearly right outside. They could see the police lights flashing even from the bedroom window. They were flashing through the kitchen windows as well. The house had police cars on all sides.

"Any fucking time now, Triss!" Miss Newman screamed.

"Maybe we should run instead," Wendy suggested, trying to get up.

"Sit your ass back down and stop being stupid!" Miss Newman ordered. "They've got the house surrounded, and you can barely walk!"

Wendy sat back down. "Well, we have to do something!" She wondered if this Triss was some elaborate hallucination on Miss Newman's part.

There was a pounding on the front door. "Open up! Police! The house is surrounded! Please surrender peacefully!"

Wendy reached her breaking point. "We're going to get caught, and Kristin is going to be turned into a science experiment!"

"I'm what?!!" Kristin screamed.

"Triss! Stop horsing around! This isn't funny or cute! You get nothing by keeping me here any longer or ruining my family's lives! I know that seeing billions of people die is like any other Tuesday to you, but have some goddamned compassion and give me this one boost! I'm not even asking for anything permanent!"

Something heavy hit the front door, and Wendy could hear the front window shattering. The police weren't waiting; they were forcing their way in. She felt something wet and glanced down to see a puddle of urine forming around Miss Newman. The pony was as terrified as them.

Both the doors to the girls' bedroom suddenly slammed shut and started to glow. Wendy looked at Miss Newman and saw the pony seemed just as shocked as they were by what had just happened.

"Mortals are always in such a hurry. I hear you, pony of many names, and I see you. I have two final questions before I grant your boon. I had thought I would have more time to interrogate you before you left. Now I find myself having to decide what are the most critical questions out of many. It would have been pleasant to speak longer."

Wendy, Charles, and the girls sat dumbstruck by the voice echoing in their heads.

Miss Newman raised her head. "What questions?"

"The pony, Sunset Shimmer. What Earth year does she arrive on Earth?"

Miss Newman gulped. "You understand Earth's calendar, okay. You've been paying more attention than I thought. As near as I can tell, she arrives in two-thousand and three in Afghanistan. A US soldier finds her and brings her to the town of Lazy Pines in Colorado, or she tags along with him against his will. I was never clear on those details. I know she keeps hidden while she prepares her spell."

"That answer is helpful. The second question is, how many Earth years pass between her arrival and the pandemic you spoke of?"

"Twenty," Miss Newman said without hesitation.

"I may need to accelerate that timetable, especially since you are taking with you the mage that I would find most helpful in bringing Jeg'galla'gamp'pi to shelter Earth against the coming doom. You did not mention that in your bargain. You taking one of my critical resources is most distressing."

Miss Newman went wide-eyed. "I'm taking nothing essential to the plan. Only my family."

"You are taking Charlotte Portsmith, which is my version of you. You underplay your importance or else do not believe in it. Which means you are a liar or an unfortunate fool. Do you think the alternate me acted to set you free if she did not think you essential? You insult me and insult yourself."

"I mean no insult or duplicity. I only designed the spell. I don't have the kind of power to pull it off! It would take an alicorn or you to do something like that! You have the spell; you don't need her or me," Miss Newman said as something rammed against the door leading into the kitchen. "I just want to protect her. There is no future for her here. Not now. Please, honor our bargain."

"I think she is more vital than you think. Still, fear not, a replacement for Charlotte Portsmith can be arranged, although it will require tampering. I loathe to do that more than I must. It draws the Devourers' attention. I will honor our terms. Take my boon and begone."

Miss Newman's horn lit up, and the pony sighed with relief. Wendy released the breath she had been holding through the entire exchange. Had that thing, whatever it was, really wanted to keep her daughter?

A circle of light appeared around them on the floor, and the girls hurdled closer towards the adults to avoid being near the edges.

"One last thing… I am not one to see potential squandered, and you will not be here to attract the Devourers, so I grant one final boon, unrequested. It may be as your people say, stepping on your version of me's toes, but you have done me a great service. Farewell, pony of many names and Portsmith family. May my boon serve you well."

"What boon?! What boon, Triss?!" Miss Newman yelled.

The light holding the doors vanished, and the police broke through. It didn't matter. The circle of light flashed a second later, making Wendy shut her eyes.

Alarms started sounding all around her, and when she opened her eyes, she gasped.

They were in the middle of a large room with no windows and only one door. She could see a bar on the door, locking it from their side. A massive glowing crystal sat behind them, and in every direction that she saw strange brass machinery done up in pillars, cogs, and globes mounted on poles. All the pillars and globes were segmented, and each segment had a different symbol etched into it. The entire room seemed to be one massive machine that she couldn't determine a use for. The crystal that Miss Newman had said was her anchor lay on the ground, shattered into a thousand pieces. The alarms were drill sounding.

Miss Newman stood up and looked around with a big grin on her face. "We did it! I'm home! Welcome to my workshop. Welcome to your future!"

"So predictable. Going gets tough, and the Apostate runs. I didn't expect you to bring our bait back with you. We expected her to get away. Oh well, I guess that's a bonus. Two for the price of one."

They all turned and saw a unicorn advancing at them with a wicked grin. Behind him were other ponies, all leering at them just as wickedly. One of the ponies had webbed wings and looked like it had one wing and one leg in a cast; that one was glaring murder at them.

Wendy looked on in terror as she realized it had never been about Charlotte or them. They'd only been the bait to lure Miss Newman somewhere she'd be more helpless. Now those ponies had them all trapped.

The unicorn lit his horn. "We didn't know where you were hiding once you got away from us, but we knew you'd run home with your tail between your legs once we ratted you out, and we all come back to the same place. You've been played, and it feels so good. Prepare to die, Apostate. And we'll get the kid version of you for good measure!"

Comments

[harts fire]

out of the frying pan in to a dang blast furnace.

a awesome chapter grate righting team.

[Charlie_K]

There was a knock on the front door, and the doorbell rang.

Miss Newman pulled off her shirt and sighed with exasperation as she began unstrapping her bra. "I spoke too soon. Screw your neighbors!"

"No, thank you, I much prefer my wife," Charles said with a grin.

A man of quality, I see.

[Halira]

11122865
The actual address this house is based on is 100 Wabash Rd. (or Street, not sure). It was my home back....oh it was sometime in the late 80s. It is about a mile from Ashley Elementry School, if you are familiar with the area.