Twenty-Fourth Chapter
Howard listened as Twilight explained that there was no chance of Everfree monsters from Equestria making their way to Earth. He couldn’t see how she could know something like that; he and his family came here from Earth. Why couldn’t the reverse happen? But he decided to trust her on that particular issue.
He let her lead again, walking behind her and keeping his gaze fixed on her ears, to not catch anything below. She might have been a horse—with features he couldn't have cared less about on Earth on a farm—but Howard was talking to her as they walked, and she spoke back. It felt more indecent than it should have been.
He couldn't lie, he thought about that aspect a lot, much as he tried to ignore it. He had to think about it every time he went to the restroom. It was slightly easier somehow, being around strangers, but given the circumstances, he had no choice. But he was already kind of getting used to it. They sort of had an unspoken rule not to bring it up.
And if he felt too self conscious, he could always ask this girl for a dress, if it ever got that bad. Would the mare get to that stage of comfort though? He didn't know. Howard was already letting these horses call him a girl. But then, it made sense. That’s what he looked like.
It in no way implied anything about him.
There were no monsters to speak of as they got into Ponyville, Twilight talking him through what would happen. She told him how she would study with her mentor, a queen who abdicated her throne named Princess Celestia, and how the pony might come to town to speak to he and his family. Apparently she was a better magician than this girl was, and with her help, it might take only a few months to get them back home. That was a few months without a job or his children being in school and the police thinking his family had been kidnapped and whatever else.
But Twilight understood his unspoken concerns, and told him how he could register Thornton and Denver for education in Ponyville if he wanted, and how the accommodations would be fully furnished with no expenses on their part.
“And while you're at it, you could try looking for your special talent, both you and your daughter!” Twilight enthusiastically suggested. “It'd be interesting to see if other creatures can get them if they've been turned into ponies, since you and her don't have them!”
“What is a cutie mark?” Howard naturally asked. His ears perked up at the new information.
“It's a symbol that shows off your special talent! Everypony has one; it's something they're good at and have natural ability for! For example, my star symbolizes magic!” She twisted around to show off her backside, clearly not having the same concerns about decency as he did.
He didn't really notice it before, but there was indeed a picture of a hot pink star surrounded by smaller white ones on her side, near her rump. A quick check of his own flank showed that he lacked such a picture, curiously enough. He didn't understand why stars would symbolize magic, but he could sort of see it.
“So then more of the ‘what we're meant to be’ stuff,” he nodded. “Got it. I guess there'd be no harm in trying to get it, if we'll be here for a while.”
What was Howard destined for? He couldn't help but think about it now. He didn't think he had any special talents or hobbies, and his job wasn't the greatest in the world. It made him wonder now.
Obviously some things would be better as a special talent than others.
He didn't really focus on the town before, but he was now, knowing he would probably be spending a little while here. It wasn't a surprise that these horses came in all sorts of color combinations; he'd seen as much up to that point already. It was interesting how a lot of them were roughly the same size though. Some were bigger, of course, and a few were naturally smaller, but most were about his height, give or take no more than an inch. They also had the pictures on their flanks, showing everything under the sun. Things from books to golden rings to stars like Twilight Sparkle had, to even pictures of bowling pins and apples and trains and money bags. Was that one's special talent meant to be being rich?
It was mostly horses he saw interspersed with the occasional non-pony. There was an interesting mix of fantasy animals and real world animals he saw, like some kind of half snake, half pony animal talking to a cow and a deer. They went about their day, doing whatever it was a society of horses did. Presumably going to work and going shopping at the street market they passed by and relaxing in the sort of medieval looking homes that ran next to train tracks and stood beside modern looking banks and whimsical candy shops. It was quite strange, but not terribly alien.
And the last thing he noticed was just how many mares there were. It must have been three to one that they outnumbered the stallions around town. Whether it was just a coincidence or it was a reflection on the demographics of this world, Howard didn't know. He had to ask.
“Oh, yeah, here in Ponyville, it's close to eighty percent mares,” Twilight Sparkle explained. “Although it's not that drastic in other parts of Equestria. I think the official number from the last census is at about sixty one percent mares to thirty nine percent stallions. It's pretty common among most species actually, except for the changelings."
Huh. Wasn't that interesting. Maybe it was just statistically more likely for him to be a mare than a stallion, just given the odds. It might not have been related to any feelings he didn't have after only a few days.
“Try not to let it go to your head, Howard,” Twilight told him with a smile. “It won't be longer than a few months you have to be here.”
Of course he wouldn't let it go to his head, no way. He had more important things to worry about anyway.
Like Reece, of course. He didn't expect to see his son wandering around the town as Howard and Twilight walked along, but he wasted no time in waving a hoof in the air and calling over to him when he did. He didn't look particularly upbeat as he trotted over to him.
“Did you guys find anything useful out there?” he wasted no time in asking, looking between Howard and Twilight. “Tell me we can go back home now.”
“Not yet,” Twilight replied, “but like I was telling your mom—”
“My dad.”
“Yeah. Sorry. Like I was saying, we found lots of useful things in the forest, and I wrote down notes about the magic that pushed you here. I'll need some time to study and make sense of it though. It'll probably be a few weeks at best, but more—”
“A few weeks?” Reece asked, sounding surprised. “I thought you were gonna figure it out tonight!”
“Well that was the best case. More likely though, it'll be a few months, and—”
“Months! How can it be months? I can't be here that long!”
“Be careful how you talk to her son?” Howard told him. “She's done nothing but try to help us so far when she doesn't have to.”
“I know!” he said loudly, almost yelling. “I'm just annoyed!”
A little white smoke came out of his ears, but then he closed his eyes to take a breath and cooled back down. Probably literally. Howard was glad to see it, even if Reece still had an embarrassed, frustrated look on his face.
His other son was doing poorly too, of course, and just like with Thornton, there wasn't much he could do beyond step up to him and pet his back softly. He didn't gasp and purr in contentment like his younger child did, but maybe it helped a bit? He seemed to settle down, just a little more.
“Ah, it's fine,” Twilight waved a hoof nonchalant. “I deal with kirins all the time. It's no biggie. Although maybe you could come to my School of Friendship!” she offered. “I bet you'd learn a lot there!”
He gave a look to Howard, and then flatly decided, “I'll pass.” Twilight shrugged in response.
“Well, the offer's always open. To everypony. We have adult classes for creatures interested. But if you can, learning magic would be a big help. More than just unicorns can do it, and it might tell me a bit more about your origins. Your mo– err, dad’s been learning, and she can already light up her horn.”
“It’s true,” the mare jumped in, lighting his horn up. “See? I was working on that with your sister.”
Another weird look was sent Howard's way by his son, then he reluctantly sighed, shook his head, and joined the couple as they walked through the town.
Just like the rest of the houses in this city, the one they arrived at had thatched roofing to go along with beige walls and purple tinted windows. Did the residents tint all the windows the same color on their own, or was it mandated? Twilight Sparkle didn’t seem like the type, as far as Howard knew. Overall though, it was an interesting mix of old fashioned and modern. The town itself reminded him a lot of the nineteen hundreds.
“Huh, I thought they would've been here by now,” Twilight Sparkle hummed to herself. “I'll go get them! The door should be unlocked for you while I'm gone!” She wasted no time in lighting up her horn and disappearing after that.
Neither did Reece in asking questions as soon as she did. “Why do you let that girl do that, Dad?” he got out skeptically.
“Do what now?”
“Talk to us like we're just a scientific interest to her and nothing else! She doesn't seem like she has any concern about what we need when we can't stay here for weeks!” Howard thought he'd say something else, and let out a small sigh of relief that it wasn’t what he thought.
“I don't think I see what you see, son,” he told him. “She's helping. A lot more than we can ask for. We have a place to live and food to eat and—”
“And telling us to learn magic and talking about going to friendship school and sounding sooo excited that we're here when we shouldn't be!” he interrupted. “She doesn't even seem a little bit concerned about us, not beyond a vague interest!”
The stream was coming back, rising off of Reece’s coat. Of course, he was getting worked up again. It wasn't really like his son, not at all. But the circumstances weren't the same now as they were a few days ago. No surprise he was more stressed.
“I'll talk to her, okay?” Howard told him. “We both can if you want. But let's not get too upset by things we can't really change, especially since she's been nothing but helpful so far.” Reece rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration, but the steam went down anyway. The mare continued, “And I know you said you wanted to talk to me about yesterday. We can right now, while your mother and siblings are away.”
That seemed to make his son relax completely, thankfully enough. “Yeah, I do,” the kirin nodded.
The two headed inside the home to talk, but were instead surprised by someone else who jumped in front of them as soon as they opened the door—an electric looking bright pink pony with hot pink hair and a dopey looking grin plastered on her face. She stood in the doorway in front of a living room that was littered with balloons and ribbons and colorful flashing lights playing in the background, as well as at least a few dozen other ponies dancing to music that played in the background.
“Surprise!” she cheered loudly. “Welcome to Ponyville!”
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I'm half expecting an earth-shaking kaboom next. Gosh darn it, Pinks.
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On this episode on how to make a Kirin explode...
And that's how the great Ponyville fire started
*him
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Why is there a question mark if Howard is telling Reece, not asking?
Don't take these corrections the wrong way, I'm loving the story, I just want to help smooth out the rough edges... so to speak
11831415
For the question mark, it's a matter of voice inflection. He's telling him to do it, but the inflection is that of a question. Similar to someone, like your parent, saying, "Can you do the dishes?" as a question even though it's not a question and instead a command.
Take as much time as you need! It's hard keeping up with weekly updates
Some prankstre in a Marvin the Martian costume really should be there,
Wheres the Kaboom. Theres supposed to be an Earth shattering Kaboom.
Good question. I mean, we must have gotten myths about unicorn, pegasus, griffin, dragons and the like from somewhere, right?
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11831409
Someone really needs to sit down and explain things like the temper problem to these people...
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At the very least it would make things less confusing.
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Not to mention manticores, hydras, cockatrice, sea serpents, dogwoods, bugbea--wait...what?
Sea serpents!?
Oh, fuck!
Oh, well! So long, Steven! Been nice knowing ya.
Oh, yeah. Pinkie party.
On second thought: you go, Reece!
Show her what a real hot party looks like!.
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Honestly speaking, I hope Reece boats everyone for trespassing, all while trying to control his irs and fails miserably
That cover art though.
Now I'm caught up on this story. Can't wait for the next chapter. I think Reece is going to detonate.