Chapter 17 : The Party and The Pony
October 30th 2023, Monday
4:17 PM
Dan stood still for a while, perhaps three or four minutes. The occasional car on the country road blurred past him in a rush of wind, but he remained right where he was.
Eventually though, his typically slow and presently frozen brain remembered that he was on the job. A few trickles of normalcy and thoughts that dealt with things of the everyday variety and responsibility started poking and prodding at him.
I gotta... I gotta call in. The desk is probably trying to get a hold of me by now, and I just let a car drive off without stopping it, were the most prominent. His feet carried him slowly backwards until he reached his vehicle.
Once the solidly built officer got to his door, he leaned in and took his seat jerkily. Now in the safety of the squad car, however, his mind began to try and foolishly tackle what had happened.
There was a tiny horse, driving that car.
...
How the heck did it hold the steering whee-? No, that's not what's important, what the Hell did I just see? That's the question here, where and when did reality shit out fricken cartoon monstrosities? Dan's thick hands pressed against his forehead. "What is this, Roger Rabbit? Is Toon Town around the corner!?"
The radio croaked at Dan. "Unit ninety-one, over." His eyes looked down at the dim, flickering lights on the patrol car's device. "Unit ninety-one this is-" The other officer began to repeat herself, causing an irate Dan to slam his hand onto his hand mic and key it.
Dan tried to speak into the mic, but no words came. The button released in his grasp and he pressed the mic against his forehead, groaning. After gathering his thoughts he made his response.
"Yawp...this is unit ninety-one, radio, send it over." With the encounter against the desk Sergeant begun, all Dan could do for the next several seconds while he waited—to continue what would no doubt become the most awkward conversation of his life—was lean against the side of his car and contemplate what exactly made him lose his marbles.
"Unit nine-one, radio, you okay over there? We were about to send someone out, what's your status? Over." Dispatch asked, then the radio crackled silent once more.
Dan's face had again become rigid, and emotionless. Did I take a blow to the head at Krav recently or something? No way, I'd remember that. "Roger...no, everything's... fine. The stop went... fine. Gave them a warning and let it-" He blinked and corrected himself automatically. "Her go." Thinking of the stop sent his mind reeling back towards the shallower end of the sanity pool again.
A curt response answered him. "Well, alright ninety-one, are you alright though? You sound a little hoarse, over."
Dan stared at the radio, and his eyes squinted suspiciously. "No... I'm fine." Then he added, "ninety-one, out."
The trade was over and the desk Sergeant had bought it all the same, although Dan thought she'd been suspicious that he hadn't said anything snarky back at her. In that regard, the whole station was pretty friendly and tight-knit, so they all knew each other—which was probably the only reason more questions hadn't been asked of him. Even despite that, Dan still prided himself on getting away with as much as he could inside that circle.
Crisis postponed, Dan's thoughts stewed once again. He half expected this was some kind of prank now, but... He didn't really know what to think. There's no way something that looked so cutesy and gay could actually be real. He tried to feel some kind of belief in his own, text book and reassuring words. Right now though, all he felt was the five o' clock shadow on his chin, his hand endlessly running over the scruff.
The sun began to dip across the nearby wheat field, casting a red glow over the flat landscape of southern Idaho. Even though Dan was almost off of patrol, he sat parked for another ten minutes before finally roaring his state-bought Impala to life. Stan better have an explanation for this good enough to convince politicians global warming exists, or I swear I'm finally gonna shove my foot so far up his...
Mary's hooves kneaded the quilt's fabric continuously, never ceasing their nervous assault on the as-of-yet-unfinished fabric piece. In times of extreme duress or being upset, Mary would lose herself in her own favorite hobby, much like Stan with his models. Hers though, was quilting and sewing.
Unfortunately for the mare, she found it quite a bit more difficult to practice the calming motions and skill needed to do such a thing in her current form of body. Certainly not in the state of mind she was in, either. She was shaking far too much to so much as attempt threading a needle with her mouth.
So, Mary had merely wrapped herself up in the protective warmth of the half finished piece of fabric and carried it with her down to the basement. There was an inescapable urge in her to hide as well as she could for the time being. Meanwhile, she did what she could to try and ease the fluctuating worry that her...earlier encounter had given birth to.
Anna had been told to go up to her room, and that everything was going to be fine, that she shouldn't worry. Obviously, the daughter had been fully aware of what her mother had been referring to, and hardly believed the reassurance. Still, she obeyed, wisely understanding that the best she could do was stay out of the way for now.
What Mary's daughter had not picked up on, was that the local law enforcer which had seen Mary, hadn't had a negative reaction. He hadn't had much of a reaction at all, truth be told. Though Anna might not have picked up on this, Mary knew that particular outcome was probably the best that could have been hoped for, worry-ridden mind complete with uncertain consequences of even being seen and all.
Other than hide in order to feel safe, Mary had only known for sure to do one thing. I need to call Stan about this, immediately. Now, wits gathered, she stilled her hooves from rubbing methodically over the quilt and looked to the phone. Her hoof shook after every dial of the over sized buttons on the device, normally intended for use by the elderly. It still rang successfully after the messy attempt.
Mary's husband didn't pick up after that first attempt, the phone continued until it hit the answering machine. So she left a message, and afterwards, called his desk again; which was unsuccessful as well. A third time followed the second and first right away. While dialing each time her tail lashed frantically behind her.
Every phone call Mary made left a slightly more...nervous message. Not slowing down, hesitating, or even a little deterred when no one answered, she called a fourth time. The final try to contact and warn Stan was dialed, she was so focused as her hoof buttoned the number again that the handy redial feature on the phone went unnoticed.
Eventually, one of his coworkers had finally answered the fourth phone call... That is, after forty three rings—Mary had counted—and said that Sheriff Morris wasn't around at the moment.
"But, maybe you could tell me where he is? Or get a message to him?" Whatever was keeping him late, was also keeping him busy, it seemed. Mary didn't recognize the officer's voice, but they assured her that he would be back soon, suggesting that if she were in such a hurry to call his cellphone.
That's going to be a little difficult... Mary frowned down at the phone, but had thanked the officer politely and hung up.
The orange mare now lay on her back in a gloomy mood, stretched out on the couch in Stan's basement room, staring at his borrowed cellphone wedged between her hooves. Her white sundress lay haphazardly pitched on the ground nearby. At home, she often took to less clothing, her fur didn't seem to agree with it under comfortable indoor conditions and while in private... Well, either way she was too distraught at the moment to spare it a second thought.
A dainty sigh escaped her lips while she held the cellphone above her head. She still didn't know where hers was, so it needed to be replaced. This happening was perfect proof of that, regret sank in about talking Stan out of buying another one now. The conversation had gone along the lines of saying he was always at work anyway, and she could just use his. Well, I can't just call you if you're off gallivanting, now can I you big lug!?
Mary's anger and regret on the matter stabbed randomly at the phone she held and the models of planes and ships above her head.
Time passed, the quilt was pushed onto the floor despite the deepening cold of the room. Mary patiently waited and waited. Eventually, an exhausted breath, too big to be called a sigh broke the silence of the basement. As fear shaken as her mind was, she had tried to think of something else to do, but couldn't come up with anything. I can't do much else. I am after all, pretty much alone in this.
Mary's hoof tapped absently at the cellphone's screen, it didn't work of course, she needed a stylus or to embarrassingly use her nose to get any effect. The latter of which was a little awkward and slow to do, but worked, much to Anna's or any of her family's glee really when she did it.
It's not fair, why did I have to be the only one cursed to be unbearably cute and helpless with cellphones? Mary scowled mockingly up at the device, as if it would answer her psychically. The line of thought offered her a new direction to take, at least. I do have my family... I guess I could call my parents, I mean, Agnes or Herbert.
Sidetracked, Mary thought about what her own mom might have to say about her now. "Mary you wild cat, when I said you could be anything you wanted to be when you grew up, I didn't mean a darned farm animal." She chuckled at imagining it...and could have sworn she felt a bit of deja vu come about from doing so.
The middle aged woman exchanged her scowl and smirked, rolling over on the couch to get more comfortable in her darkened state. It had come up a few times, but she wasn't sure how to break it to her biological Mom. There was the definite possibility she might have to if she couldn't make progress in getting changed back, in which they all had absolutely no luck in doing so far...
The last couple of weeks had been spent almost entirely adjusting, which wasn't bad, the cursed human decided. Mary considered quite often that for a freakishly deformed wife—her family life at risk as a result—that she was coping rather well. After all, one ostentatious thought grumbled, in a world perfectly devoid of any and all hard evidence pointing towards the paranormal or magical, what else am I to do but just cope? She sighed and pushed the cellphone away from her with one orange hoof.
The internet had been a dead end, Marge wasn't any help, either. I still can't believe I actually tried that lard bath cure-all she suggested... Mary's mane hair and fur had stunk and felt soiled for the rest of that entire week after that fruitless endeavor. I need help, from someone, anybody, I don't care who. Her muzzle and head fell to rest on her forelegs, obscuring half of her face. Two big green eyes began to stare once more at the silent form of the cellphone.
I'm...I'm starting to think that help doesn't exist though.
Stan's truck rattled slightly after he hit another pothole in the dark road. He only half noticed, when driving you don't usually pay attention to the things you've gotten used to. Some things were an exception to that rule, but there weren't many for him. The big one was of course, Mary, she pretty much ruled his mind twenty-four seven. He'd explored every possible venue for helping her without bringing a lot of it up to her.
There isn't any point in continuously getting her hopes up, after all... The thought grated against Stan's resolve.
So far none of it, no matter how close it got him to getting thrown into the nut house, had paid off. It had gotten him asked a few questions now, though; today being the worst yet in regards to that. Apparently he'd gotten careless and gotten on their radar...somehow. He'd talked his way out of it, although, why or what they suspected him of to begin with wasn't clear anyway.
The old pickup he drove—he really needed a new truck, it looked like death—crunched over the driveway's gravel and parked jerkily after a hasty stop. Stan glanced at the time before shutting off the vehicle: nine twenty two. "Pretty late, hope Mary hasn't worried for my sake." If she started worrying over him, he thought, then their combined worry for one another would probably physically attach them at the hip.
To Stan, it seemed Mary had asked him a lot of questions lately, most of which he wasn't sure how to answer. Everything seemed alright though, she was very happy, after all. While he tried to fix things, there wasn't much else he could ask from her.
The back gate clinked open and he began the final approach to his house down their cobblestone path. Even in the dark he could see the various flowers—a product of Mary's free time—in full bloom, despite the late fall chill.
Stan stopped and frowned down at a clutch of some deep blue flowers that ruled one side of this particular flower bed. They had some strange name that he wasn't sure he could recall, aster amellus? That sounds close enough. Their nickname was 'blue queen' or something, he tried to recall.
Mary had littered the backyard with them. Even going so far as to begin planting the things around the man's barbeque pit. Shifting his gear bag on his shoulder, Stan took one last look at the well lit yard which extended out into an open field, then went inside. The door clicked shut behind him, the room lights were on, so Mary was probably still up.
"Mar, I'm home!" Stan called, locking the door behind as normal and continuing further in.
There was nothing on the dining table greeting him, hearty meal or wife. Stan's stomach grumbled at him in protest, it had been a long day, after all. Still, there was probably something left for him in the fridge. He set his bag down and began looking for Mary, first. The living room was empty, no one was watching television either. Upstairs, the muffled roar of Bobby's stereo reared its ugly head through the ceiling.
"I can't believe Anna puts up with that." Stan said, for the thousandth time.
"Mary?" Stan poked his head into the the bedroom they shared. "Are you awake?" The room was dark, so he turned on the light; the bed was empty. He frowned slightly, and ran a hand over the cold bedsheets. Huh, wonder what she's up to. It wasn't likely she'd stayed at his folks' house while been gone. So she was elsewhere in the house. All the same, he had fully expected his diminutive equine wife to be laying sprawled and snoring loudly, sound asleep in bed. Mary wasn't the late night type, not since their younger days, anyway.
Stan took a moment to recall those days while he searched, she'd been one unstoppable woman back then. He smirked at the recollection, remembering how she'd swept him off his feet, literally. There had been a day at the gym over seas where he'd made the mistake of accepting a challenge to face off with her. She'd kicked his big legs out from under him before he could even close the gap, and gone down like a ton of bricks. Never did live that one down. He thought, wincing at the memory.
The last room to the house's first floor came up empty. Where is she? Stan wondered, looking around blankly at the room he was in. He had a pretty good idea, probably downstairs, she could be upstairs too though, reading to Anna or playing. Likely as not Bobby's music would have been forced off though, he decided, were that the case.
So, Stan took the next logical course of action and picked up his heavy legs one after the other, marching towards the basement door and his personal refuge, which Mary had taken over as of late. At least she hasn't filled it with midnight blue flowers. He grimaced at the very thought of such a thing happening. His boots clunked on the stairs noisily despite his best attempts at keeping quiet, the lights were off.
Every so often Mary would sleep by her lonesome down there, it seemed likely to Stan such was the case now. Sure enough, he could hear the gentle rasp of her breathing, coming from the direction of the couch. A few random lights cast light haphazardly around the darkened area gave just enough illumination to let him find his way to the furniture without banging his shins.
Stan's hand reached down and met the soft mane of hair his wife had always possessed. It had changed lengths over the years, but it had always been the same, otherwise. He found an open spot on the couch and sat down gently beside her, making sure as not to settle on her tail or a stretched leg. Settling in, he felt her wiggle slightly beside him, detecting his presence in her sleep. Schooling his breath he remained quiet, doing his best not to wake her.
Mary snorted slightly, and Stan felt her head lift up away from his leg. "Stan?" She asked into the darkness.
Well so much for that. "Yes?" Stan replied, he let his voice be coy. Mary was easy to mess with when she was really tired, and he wasn't above teasing her. Though not so much anymore, he just focused on being there for her, making sure she was taken care of...and above all trying not to let on he was doing so to such a degree.
"Mrrf," Mary wiped a trail of drool that had apparently materialized in her sleep. "You're finally home, what time is it?"
Stan started to answer her, but suddenly found two hooves pressed against his chest, and a furry mouth pressed squarely into his personal space.
"STAN! Uugh, where were you!? I tried calling all day! Something terrible has happened and we need to-!" Mary's panicked, close-proximity shout was cut off abruptly by Stan's hand. She muffled a few more words and tried to shake it off, meanwhile Stan clicked on the light at his end of the couch, then let go.
"Alright calm down, what happened?" Stan looked over at his distraught wife, who seemed to breathe heavier every second that passed.
"What hasn't happened!? That's the better question!" Mary glowered at him, to which he answered silently with a raised eyebrow. "Never mind, Stan, I was seen! Worse, I got pulled over!" She sat and pressed her hooves to her face, misery creeping in at the thought of being on that car's patrol camera. Don't be silly Mary! Heh, you never got out of the car! The imagery of her in hand cuffs against the trunk of her car made her leg twitch.
Stan leaned forward, the gravity of what she'd said immediately finding sway in him. "You were seen? How? By who?"
Mary gritted her teeth and fell backwards against the couch's arm. She searched the ground and furniture cushions for the words to explain what happened. When she finally started, it was a disjointed jumble.
"I-it was Dan, your deputy. I think my tail light was out, I... I was just driving home with Anna and he stopped me." Her eyes looked up and met Stan's own, which were still and focused. "I didn't let him see me, he just opened my door and-! Stan, okay..." She took a breath and sat up again, focusing. "It was just Dan, no one takes him seriously unless he's writing a ticket, anyway, but he still saw me. Did he say anything at work?"
Stan, for his part, had mixed feelings in him the moment he began to comprehend what he'd been told. His immediate thoughts were how quickly he could pack up everything he could and get his family up to Canada.
Alright, calm down Stan. The burly man shook his red-haired head and ran a palm down his face slowly. He was tired, but he needed to think clearly. "No," he answered Mary, first. "I didn't see Dan at all today, I was...busy outside of the station most of the day." He hoped he wouldn't have to explain why he hadn't been where he almost always was at work.
Mary made to bite her hoof out of nervousness, gnawing slightly before speaking again. "What do we do then? What if he asks to see me Stan? Or tells others and it gets out and people come by looking for me!? This is a catastrophe! This could be a beginning of the end!"
"Now, Mar, that's not the case here. If the worst happens we'll take you over to Mom and Dad's an you'll just lay low for a while, like we planned out. This is way too small scale still to freak out over it, sure this is the first time it's happened outside of our family, but the best thing we can do is not panic. Like you said, it's Dan, he's an alright guy besides, even if he doesn't want people thinking that." Stan laid a hand comfortingly over one of Mary's hooves while he spoke, the latter of which had begun to shake.
Mary began again. "But—"
Stan saw the look of fear still on her face. He whispered her name out soothingly. "Mar, we'll be alright, no matter what, okay? I promise you." His hand rubbed her shoulder affectionately, nudging her towards himself.
Mary took in a calming breath and scooted the short distance across the couch under the guidance of Stan's coaxing. "Okay, okay...you're right. I'm sure you'll talk to him, he'll just make fun of us and start making jokes constantly that no one else will get anyway. Insufferable, but not dangerous..." She began to bite her lip in thought after sitting beside Stan, leaning her head against his shoulder.
"Atta girl, we'll be fine Mar, it's not like you broke down outside an alien seeker's convention hall." Stan received a hoof to his ribs for his trouble over that, but managed to laugh a bit at the weak joke. "Feel better?" He asked, quieting the chuckle to bring stillness back to the basement room.
Mary sighed, staying silent otherwise and remained in thought. Her stomach was aching again, as was usual for almost the entirety of her time as a pseudo-pony. Ignoring that, she had been overly frantic, she considered, thinking only about the worst possible outcomes... "Yeah...I feel better, little sick, but okay." Still, those outcomes were worth worrying about. "If Dan comes here and says I have a face like a horse though, I'm kicking him." Her head turned up to regard Stan seriously from under her multicolored mane.
"I'll do a lot worse than that if he thinks he can get away with-" Stan quieted as a pair of lips came up and kissed his own quietly. The couple stayed together for a minute in the embrace, enjoying one another's simple presence.
Mary leaned away from Stan and blinked slowly in the yellow lamp light. Her husband's hand stroked a lock of her mane away from her face gently, giving the mare a full view of him. They remained quiet and studied one another for the simple pleasure of doing so.
The touching scene was interrupted by the sudden growl of a certain sheriff's stomach. Both adult's eyes widened and looked down in surprise and admiration of the deafening roar that had filled the room.
"Ah, I don't suppose there are some left overs upstairs with my name on them?" Stan laughed a little nervously and stood up.
Mary made a worried look, recalling perfectly that she had almost immediately begun trying to call her husband upon getting home, and then had fallen asleep. No dinner was made earlier. She grinned sheepishly up at him and hopped off the couch without looking away from his eager expression. "Uhm, sugar..." This meant the kids had probably also fended for themselves.
Mary flinched back from the iron barred gate slamming in her face. "NO!" She cried out, reaching out towards the guard through the gaps in the thick metal cage with her hooves. "Please, I'm a person! I haven't done anything wrong, AH!" Her hooves were smacked with a newspaper, causing her to pull them back into the cramped jail she was now in. All around her the animalistic cries of wildlife filled the air.
"Funny, you don't look human to me, you don't even look real. What are you? An experiment, a mutation?" The grisly voice grew quieter against the onslaught of noises from all around until it faded entirely. The footsteps of the guard's passing were soon gone as well.
Mary cried after them. "Come back! COME BACK! NO! Stan!? Where are you...?" The orange pony wilted in the filth that made up the cage floor she found herself laying on. More and more the cage seemed to shrink around her. "Stan!?" Moving became difficult the more she sobbed, and the surroundings grew darker the longer she waited for her husband to answer her calls.
The feeling of a dark presence in the room entered the recesses of her mind, adding a clammy aspect to her skin as a cold sweat settled in.
"No, I know— I know what this is! It's a dream! It's just a dream! I need to wake uuup." Mary tried to pull herself out of the cage, or do anything to get away, but nothing changed. Her wailing continued, eventually becoming a whimper after minutes of struggling.
The cage was barely big enough to house her now, and she couldn't move except to look around the chamber, which was now empty... The sound of caged animals disappeared altogether, she was alone in a vast, black void.
"Hello...?" Mary's voice echoed, growing distant more and more the longer she listened. "Oh my God, what is...this is the worst nightmare I've ever had."
A sickly voice, like crackling leaves and the snapping of tree limbs spoke, right next to Mary's ears.
"Is it? Is it really a nightmare? Is it really just something that will disappear with the light?"
The orange mare let out a shriek the moment the voice began speaking so close to her, and it lasted well past when the voice became silent. Somehow, she'd heard its message despite her own screams.
"LET ME OUT! LET ME GO! I j-just want to go home..." Mary sniffled into her hooves, hiding her head from the darkness around her. It was even darker with her eyes shut, but now she couldn't see anything that might be there this way. It can't hurt, nothing can hurt me, it's a dream, I'm home in bed, I'm safe, I'm safe...
"Mary? Mary are you alright? We came as quickly as we could."
Mary heard a familiar voice, like a calm stream running over smooth rocks in a forest clearing. I...I-I know that voice, who is that? The memory of that first, horrible voice was still fresh in her mind, she couldn't speak or dare to look anymore, lest this be a trick. I just want to go home...
"Mary...?"
The soothing voice cooed Mary's name once more, and she felt a hard object lift her chin off of her hooves. A sudden peace entered her mind, the pain of the cage and the nightmare melted, becoming distant thoughts. Her eyes blinked up at a familiar sight.
"You!" Mary scrabbled onto her hooves and backed away from the form of the winged unicorn that she'd seen weeks before. "What are you doing here!? This is your fault, isn't it!?" Tears that had completely disappeared along with the dank that had been in her fur moments before, returned.
The midnight blue coated mare stared back at her, a bit of confusion beneath her soothing expression, as well as concern.
"Oh, what am I talking about, you're just a stupid dream, I'm losing it. You're losing it Mary!" Mary let her body go limp in defeat and fell backwards onto the ground in anguish. Immediately, the white poof of the fluffy surroundings enveloped her, catching the mare by surprise.
Luna raised one hoof, deciding to try and get a word in. "Mrs. Mary, if you—"
Mary's panicked outcry at being overrun interrupted the royal figure. "AH! Help, it's got me!" Her hooves flailed in the air wildly.
"STILL THYSELF!" A loud bellow, strong and resplendent with power...and impatience, filled the air and vibrated the strange ground the orange mare lay upon.
"Sorry." Mary squeaked, her eyes became glued to the dream creature once again. After a moment and remembering it was all a dream anyway, she tried to recall the creature's name, but couldn't. Shoot, what was it? I had it the other day...
The winged and horned horse-like creature—though it had a much flatter, nearly human-like face—smoothed its features. "We... are sorry for yelling," it apologized. "Controlling ourselves is not something we're the best at. Still, we cannot help you if you are not calm, so our point rests."
Mary stared blankly at the dream talking to her, unable to quite form a response. I have no clue what is going on right now, was all she managed to come up with.
"Now," Luna pressed on, satisfied with having Mary's attention. "First thing's first; you merely find thyself on a dream version of the clouds my little pony. There is nothing to fear, we assure thee. We suppose while they are very calming to us, we should have guessed they might catch one of your tribe by surprise." She looked down sadly at their surroundings. "That oversight is our fault, please accept our apology for that, as well as our use of the Royal Canterlot Voice."
Mary blinked up at the regal figure, sitting peacefully on the cloudy surface in front of her. It was clear now, they were in fact clouds, at least in appearance. She righted herself by rolling over onto her side slowly, and continued to watch Luna warily. Was she that evil voice? Or did she rescue me again? What did she even rescue me from that first time... I can't remember, another nightmare? This can't be a coincidence. Criminy, what did I eat to cause these weird nightmares? A few stray droplets lingered around her eyes, keeping her face damp.
"Mary," Luna began, watching the orange mare opposite her while she attempted to gain her attention. The stranger, however, only stared into the nothingness of the dream which stretched into the distance.
Mary, was herself lost in thought. I guess there's no way to know for sure, uggh, what happened last time I saw this thing...? I remember I couldn't wake myself up for some reason, and she'd said she would calm my dreams and ease my pain or some mumbo-jumbo like that, whatever that means. Well, she did a poor job of it tonight! That was the single most terrifying nightmare of my life...
A shout stirred the cloudy material around the two lone forms in the dream realm.
"MARY!" Luna bellowed in the Royal Canterlot voice a second time, trying to seize the rogue earth pony's attention.
"Gah!" Mary jerked her head up and looked towards Luna. Her dream talking to her so... resolutely kept catching her by surprise.
"Pay attention, please, this is important. I'm not here merely on your behalf this time. I would like to speak with you about-" Luna raised an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly at Mary, who had raised a hoof in question. "Uhm, you have something you wish to know my subject?"
Mary wore a skeptical look while she spoke to her dream, not really wanting to take it seriously. "Yeah, no offense dream horse, but I forgot your name, kinda. Was it Lulu? Loofa? Leeloo? I'm bad with names, sorry. Also, you said you would stop with the 'we' thing last time."
Luna knew breathing was unnecessary in the dream realm, but she couldn't help taking in a deep, calming breath through her nostrils. "My name is Luna, my little pony," she answered curtly, suppressing her tail's urge to flick in irritation. It was fine, she considered, that the mare did not know of her as The Princess of the Night, many ponies still did not after all. "And I have pressing concerns that we need to ask you."
Fewer knew of her reclaimed charge to guard their dreams, but she had resolved that would change. What was not fine, was her insufferable rudeness. Nevertheless, Luna concluded, I will treat her with the respect due to any of my subjects. She's still no worse than some, all considering.
Mary watched the winged creature flap her wings several times while speaking, as if agitated.
"I should have spoken with you sooner, your nightmares had us... concerned, we'll say, to begin with. Such things are not normally what a pony would have in any sort of fashion, in severity or... topic. Alongside other recent events that have come to light, I suspect that your terrible nightmares may mean something, may be a clue for us to follow. You see, there are these other ponies that have gone missing-"
"Oh no," Mary leaped up to her hooves and stormed up to the taller pony defiantly. "You listen to me, fever dream. I've just lived through the most horrifying, surreal experience of all time. Somehow, it feels like I'm awake right now! I just want to wake up, get on with my life, and never be bothered by you, or anything else that even has to do with...with ponies, winged or horned or not! Ever! Again!" She stamped a hoof and breathed heavily, even though she didn't feel out of breath. "I just want to go back to my family, live my life as close to being a human as possible and forget that this ever happened!"
Mary shook her head, letting the tears that had lingered and returned with every thought of the cages fling themselves onto the cloudy ground. She felt sick to her stomach from the ordeal.
Luna was taken aback by the outburst, no one had ever struck back at her verbally so. I could help her with these recurring horrors, but she does not want to listen nor understand. She held a hoof up to her mouth, distraught, and completely unsure of what to do. If Tia were here, she would know how to help Mary, how to speak with her. I'm no good with things of this matter, not like Tia... Her hooves shuffled while she considered what to do, put off by things as they were.
With any other pony, they would at least listen to Luna once finding out who she was, whether it was by cowering or bowing in awe. To the princess, Mary was different though, somehow. Not much unlike Twilight and her friends.
Luna pondered silently nearby the weeping pony she so desired to help, as well as pry for information... But, if she truly does not wish for help, and is happy, who am I to pry into that? I do so terribly wish to know her story though...
Observing the pause and wane in the other mare, Luna spoke softly to her. "You... are happy? With these, humans you speak of? With your family? They do not hurt you?"
Mary deadpanned at the mythical being dumbly, then sprang into a response with fanatical zeal. "Yes! Just yes! Of course I'm happy with the humans. No they don't hurt me, they're all I've got left!" She gestured with her hooves and said the name sarcastically, it felt silly to specify.
The tall horse-like creature facing her nodded sagely to Mary, but didn't say anything.
Mary let out a ragged sigh and scraped a leg over her eyes. "I'm going crazy, I'm talking to my dreams..." The memory of the strange voice came again, reminding her of something it had said. Or maybe they aren't dreams, she asked and confided to herself. The rasping of that voice she'd heard, the one that had scared her echoed in her head, but her fear of it was lessened. What had that voice been? Maybe Leeloo knows.
Mary looked up to see the soft glow of blue light coming from the creature called Luna, just in time to blink.
"I am not one to deny your wishes Mrs. Mary, but I would very much like to speak with you should you change your mind... Civilly, however. Please consider this an offer to meet again should you so wish it." Luna dropped the pretext of using the royal 'We' as she made her farewell, and the strange mare disappeared from the dream realm. She sighed and materialized a chocolate sundae to tend her beleaguered mind. "I need a holiday."
October 31st 2023, Tuesday
8:00 AM
Halloween
Stan sighed as his truck parked itself outside of the station. The old building housed both the local police, and his Sheriff's office. Belsdale and the surrounding area were pretty isolated, small and therefore, 'required' a very small budget.
The night before had ended smoothly and uneventfully, Mary had made soup as an impromptu meal, although Stan had opened the cans. Canned food seemed to be the bane of hooves, one of them, anyways. It had been vegetable soup, Mary had all but cut out meat from her diet in an attempt to stop getting sick. They had a theory that perhaps 'human food' as Herbert had put it once, just didn't agree with her one bit.
The kids had been asleep, and both parents had gone to bed together, same as they always had for the last decade and a half.
Night had turned into morning quickly, but it abandoned the calm that had concluded the evening before.
When Stan had awoken shakily, it was next to a crying Mary, who had said she didn't know why she was in tears. It was probably that she'd woken up thinking about losing the kids, Stan guessed. Today had probably been the worst start to a morning he'd ever had, there had been about three of those this year so far.
Thus began his, and every other law official's least favorite day of the year.
Halloween night.
It hadn't been the most cheerful start, and Stan guessed it wouldn't pick up anytime soon. Next, he needed to speak with Dan, which should be interesting, he guessed. Assuming that didn't go horribly wrong he also needed to get through the nearly twenty four hour shift he was likely about to embark upon.
Stan waved to the officer behind the front desk and walked down the back hall to his office at the other side of the building, pausing to get a cup of coffee along the way. I'll just play it by ear with Dan, the rest I'll just have to stomach myself. Hopefully, he'll just leave it be. If Dan gets curious... well, time will tell. He did his best to remain neutral about the situation, nothing to do but wait, he decided.
Stan told himself it would just turn into any other day and there was nothing to worry about, Dan was a friend, after all. He's the kind you want to beat the snot out of as often as shake hands with, but I guess some would argue those are the better types of friends. His reassurances to himself managed to make a small smirk as he unlocked his office door and went in.
. . .
Five minutes later, the door to his office slammed open, then slammed shut, jerking Stan upright from leaning over his coffee.
Dan walked in, hands already raised over his shoulders and clasping the top of his head. His uniform was untucked in the back. Stan guessed the other man had likely rushed putting it on. The Sheriff also thought he could see stubble where Dan hadn't shaved.
So it begins. Stan leaned back in his chair and waited.
"Alright, so..." Dan stopped his pacing to rest his hands on his hips and stare up at the ceiling. "I pulled over Mary yesterday."
"Yes... she told me." Stan interlocked his hands and continued to calmly watch his deputy.
Dan turned his head to look at Stan, his expression was of the sort a piece of granite usually wore, sharp and coarse. The bags under his eyes confirmed that he might not have slept much last night. Following the swivel of his head, the rest of the other man turned, then laid his hands on the desk separating them.
"Sheriff." Dan set him with an unblinking, dead serious stare.
"What's on your mind Dan?" The expression Stan returned to the other man was blank and unassuming.
Dan looked to be struggling over what to say, going stare for stare with his boss. Finally, he sighed and sunk his shoulders. "I'm taking the day off, I'll be in tomorrow."
"Alright..." Stan didn't want to let anyone go for the night, but he guessed it couldn't be helped. "Is that all?" He added.
Dan looked up at him and crossed his bulky arms, his frown deepening at the question asked of him. "No, what-" One of his hands scrubbed over his mouth before he spoke. "Alright, whatever it was, it was a prank, right?"
Stan blinked, then separated his hands and took a placid sip of his coffee. "If it was, are you going to drop it?"
What came next didn't surprise Stan. The exhausted looking law enforcer facing him down stared a moment longer, then turned and left without asking anything more. That was Dan to a T usually, if it didn't effect him directly, he would avoid or ignore it. If it didn't fit into what he considered normal or enjoyed, he would make fun of it.
I guess this is so far out of left field that it falls under category A... Stan thought absently, he then took another slurp of his coffee.
October 31st 2023, Tuesday
4:14 PM
Halloween
It was around four in the afternoon. The sun was up and shining brilliantly in the mid-fall weather, it was a pretty beautiful day all around. Mary was outside in her overalls and had a straw sunhat on, her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail. The slight breeze that flowed over the field behind her rural home fluttered the flag on their back porch and made her collection of wind chimes tingle and ring to the beat of mother nature.
The very... traumatic and confusing memory of her night was a haze, she remembered Luna and that nightmare still all too vividly, but didn't want to. She had awoken crying and stayed in Stan's arms for what seemed like hours. That... Mary had never done that for as long as they had been married; even after her humanity was ripped from her she hadn't. It was clear to her, being seen yesterday had gotten to her to be seeing things like that in her dreams. What does Luna mean though, how does she fit into this? That nagging worry in her remained, but she did her best to push it away. Maybe she has something to do with me being... this way. I guess I shouldn't rule out nightmares as being a cause of this.
Mary shook the fears and doubts loose from her thoughts, she instead did her best to just focus on enjoying the beautiful day to her utmost.
Earlier, Bobby had told her that he was going to Cory's house. He usually would whenever he could, she'd given up trying to get him to study more for the time being... Stan hadn't by any stretch, but given circumstances Mary stuck to the hands off approach a bit more, relying on her husband.
Mary had been gardening with Anna since she had come home from school, just to pass the time. It was far past when someone should be doing any sort of landscaping that involved plants, but she seemed able to circumvent the rules of nature thanks to her... 'pony plant powers', as Herbert called them. Still, she doubted they would last through the winter, no matter how much she willed it. So for now, it was just wonderful to keep the flowers in full bloom until they stopped, despite her efforts.
Even her mind was settled somewhat, Stan had called and relayed that Dan had merely taken the day off, even if he hadn't asked and simply left, it was a good sign. Overall, it was a great day.
"Hey, Mom!" Anna called from across the yard to her pony mom.
"Hm? Yes sweetie what is it!?" Mary looked up from where she was kneeling beside the house. She was beside the last, long ignored flower bed they had, a hoof-full of weeds secured in her grip. Her clothes were a set of sturdy denim overalls, made specially for her by Agnes, and a tasteful green t-shirt.
Anna ran and jumped as she approached her mother. "There's something weird going on with your plants over here, Mom. Come look, come look!"
Mary got to her hooves and trotted after Anna, who was already blazing ahead to the other side of the house.
"See? Look, these ones don't look so good. Did you use your magic on them yet?" Anna was crouching besides the first garden that Mary had began 'poking' at. The flowers in this section were wilted, and dried in appearance.
"Huh," Mary leaned down and regarded them. "I was sure I'd given them some attention just the other day..." She lifted one stem of a particular dull flower, and gasped when it crumbled under her touch. "Oh wow." She stared at the sight a moment, thinking it over. It was enough for her to have an inexplicable control over plants since her change, in the moment she saw the flower die, she actually felt a little grateful that it wasn't without its limits.
"Aw, no... poor thing." Anna looked sadly at the blue flowers sitting before them in the garden. "Can you save them Mom?"
Mary sat back and held a thoughtful hoof up to her mouth. "I think my interfering is what caused it dear, I may have over done it trying to get them to grow faster." She pressed a hoof to the earthy dirt, she didn't feel anything like always, but she usually thought that she should feel something. "Well, it can't be helped, maybe I'll give the other beds a break for a while. Either way, it's past that time of year that-"
The sound of the back gate slamming open startled Mary. Her head whipped around along with Anna's at the sudden presence of another person.
"Hey." Bobby slouched his way towards them from around the side of the house.
"Bobby!" Mary said sternly, scowling at her son. "Could you give us a little warning? You scared me half to death." Clambering up to her hooves she glared up at him disapprovingly as he skirted the walkway around her towards the back door.
"Huh? Ah, right, forgot you're in hiding and stuff. Sorry Mom, anyway, I don't feel so good, I'm going to go sleep, okay? Don't wake me up for dinner or anything I'll just make some hotpockets if I get hungry..." Bobby trailed off and leaned over more, one hand on his head as he made his way up the back porch stairs.
Mary's expression changed over to a concerned one just like that, her surprise melting away. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that baby, let me know if you need anything!" She called after him as the backdoor closed, frowning slightly at not getting a response back.
Anna sighed from where she stood behind her, then mumbled, "What he needs is to be locked in the attic."
Mary grinned and looked over at her daughter. "Anna, don't say mean things about your brother like that." Her tone didn't make her words very convincing for the little girl, though.
October 31st 2023, Tuesday
7:51 PM
Halloween
With Stan being out late for the entire night, and Bobby being sick, Mary had decided to have a girl's night along with Anna. Her daughter seemed to love every minute she got to spend with Mary, which honestly had her on the verge of tears when she thought about it in private. If there was anything that had made the last month bearable, it was her family.
Mary checked the oven, oh, goodness those smell good. The cookies baking within were half done already. She trotted around in a circle in the kitchen absently, thinking on things.
With two less mouths to feed for the night, Mary and Anna had also ordered out early. So, with a selection of pizza, cookies, and more stuff that was bad for you on order for the night, it was shaping up to be a delicious evening. Of course, Anna paid the delivery boy while Mary remained around the corner.
It had been an interesting day, Mary recalled. She considered that she was trying to get away with too much all the time, but it was almost as though she were having fun enough that she couldn't resist making the attempts.
Life certainly wasn't this... exciting before. As... strange as it felt for Mary to think it, she was definitely having way more fun with her situation than she probably should be. I mean, I could certainly do without the lack of fingers, but overall... I don't miss Church, I don't miss those old crows and 'friends' at the quilt guild, and I certainly don't miss... Her thoughts petered out as she trotted through the house. Apparently she'd come to the end of her list abruptly. Now, she unfortunately began thinking about what she did miss. A shake of her orange head later, though, and the reactionary thoughts were thankfully dispelled.
Mary began ascending the stairs to get Anna for the movie they had planned to watch, or possibly a game on their ancient Wii. It wasn't easy per se, but she could at least play some of the games on that console. Personally, she had begun to prefer the newer Playstation Six. Granted, that was before her current predicament.
A knock came from the front door, making Mary stop in her tracks on the staircase. Her head craned around slowly to look at the front door, darkened by the absence of light in the connected living room. Another few, soft knocks tapped on the home's entrance once again.
"Anna, someone's at the door, I might need you!" Mary blinked, already running over ideas in her head of who it could be this late at night. Actually, what time is it? Looking over at the clock as she trotted towards the door it read near eight o' clock. So not terribly late.
Mary reared up on her hind legs and was just barely able to look through the peep hole of the door by standing on the tips of her hooves. She couldn't see anyone outside, which gave her pause for a moment. Her neck began to cramp and she had to lower herself. Then, the knock came again. Well what the hell? She frowned at the door and was tempted to open it to see what was going on.
"Did you say something, Mom?" Anna flew down the stairs in a rush of feet behind Mary.
Mary looked back in time to see her daughter use the stair rails to swing out into the living room a good ten feet, her hair a tangled mess behind her. She landed with a thump.
"Anna! Don't do that, you could hurt yourself, and yes. Someone's... at the door. I don't know who though." Mary glanced up at the peephole a moment, then looked back at her daughter.
"Weeell, didja ask?" Anna quirked an eyebrow and smiled, which grew bigger when her mom hesitated and shook her head. "HEY! Who's out there!?"
Mary's eyes bugged out and she held a hoof up to her mouth trying to quiet Anna. "Sweetie, we don't know who it is, what if we needed to pretend we weren't home- Oh, nevermind." She sagged her shoulders and relented against the giggling and happy form her daughter presented.
A voice came from the other side of the door, that spoke one simple name. "Dan."
Mary and Anna's eyes blinked in tandem, and they looked at one another. Both mother and daughter began to back away from the door.
"Look I'm not here fer," the sound of the man belching loudly in the middle of his sentence was unmistakable, "nothin' or tah cause trouble. I jus' wan' know if yer real, is all. Caush I don't appreciate being made fun of and not getting filled in." Just as unmistakable, was the slur in the man's words.
"Uhm, Anna, please go upstairs okay? I'll be right up." Mary turned to look at her daughter comfortingly, but left her eyes grave and serious above her smile.
"But mo—!"
"No, just go. Everything's fine, this is adult business now." Mary shook her head and kept her voice schooled to the practiced parental tone she'd used by default for years.
"Mom, you're not an adult though, you're an adult pony! You need my help!" Anna begged her mother, almost making to get on her knees to do so. Her plea had the opposite desired effect against Mary, however.
"Anna, don't argue, go upstairs and let me handle this." Mary didn't address the case Anna had presented, doing so with your child was usually asking to have the argument continue, no matter how well behaved they were. She knew well to simply repeat what she said and apply pressure, even when what they said was a good point.
Anna's face wilted in sadness, and obvious worry, but she turned and faced towards the stairs. She hesitated a moment and looked back, then ran up them in a flash.
The sound of Dan crying out a few random hellos behind Mary, turned her around to again face the door. She just needed to get him to go home, somehow. Simple as that, really, and then she and Anna could watch the movie that had been picked out.
"Dan, what are you doing here, don't you have the day off? You go drinking on your days off, you can't do that here, silly goose." Mary said the words in a pleasant, neighborly tone. If he was drinking, that's usually the way you wanted to talk to someone under the influence.
"Yeah, I needed to straighten shum things out, but I'm not here about that, Mary, if that ish who you are." Dan paused and there was a loud thud a second later, the sound of someone falling over on the porch. "Hello sky."
Yikes, he's tanked. Mary wore a concerned look up until Dan's greeting the upper atmosphere, at which point she rolled her eyes. "Dan, how did you get here?"
"Drove." Dan's waning voice answered after nearly a minute.
Mary peeked out a crack she made in the door, Dan was laying face down on the porch. Beyond him, his truck was pulled up onto their front lawn, still running and the headlights on.
Great. Mary considered two options now, seeing as telling him to leave was just not in the cards. I could never try and make him leave like this, uggh, dammit Dan.
The two options were either call the police, and possibly have to deal with them, or leave Dan on the front porch until Stan got home in about twelve hours at the crack of dawn. There was a third option she guessed, bring him inside and wait for him to sober up some... but she surmounted that wasn't the wisest decision.
Mary took in a deep breath and pressed her hooves against her head, she didn't want to involve anyone else in her 'little secret'. Least of all someone like Dan, he was less than helpful.
The addition of the sound of snoring to the otherwise quiet night air settled Mary's decision for her. She swung open the door a little and peered out, the cold wind rushed in the door and made her shiver, despite her coat. It was frigid out.
Mary groaned and closed the door again softly, angry over the the addition of the weather to the equation. Her hooves shifted uneasily on her side of the door.
Well, Dan's still a friend of the family... Hesitantly, the door clicked open again. I guess you're sleeping over then, big guy. She added a final objection aloud as her hooves grabbed at one of the fallen drunk's legs. "Augh, curse you conscience."
October 31st 2023, Tuesday
9:01 PM
Halloween
Bobby wrapped up the solo he was using to finish the song that him and his friends had just unleashed upon the crowd. They had used his solos to wrap up most of what they played, actually, since it helped offset the other members' shortcomings. The other three had gotten better, but were nowhere near his prodigal guitar playing.
The crowd themselves hadn't been intensely into the music, but after a few songs even the people that hadn't looked like the type to enjoy their style had started to get into it. Now, every time they got up on stage and played the older crowd gathered up and cheered them around the open doors of the huge garage. It was practically a concert, especially with the hundred or so people gathered around, eagerly partying as though tonight was their last one on Earth.
This was Bobby's kind of crowd, his kind of night, and lying about being sick had been just the ticket to get him here. The surroundings were a buzz from the alcohol, giving him the perfect swagger for the party raging around him.
The song finished, he unslung his guitar, and triumphantly got off the stage. He had already high-fived so many people his hand was beginning to hurt, but that wasn't important.
"That was awesome man!" Burt shouted as loudly as he could from his drum set at Bobby, barely audible over all the voices even with the music over with for now. Fist bumping, Bobby grinned and nodded back as his only answer. The highschooler made his way over the the far table where the drinks were kept, peering out from his shoulder length tangle of hair every few feet to navigate the crowd.
Bobby cracked his neck, and leaned against the wall with a fresh drink to catch his breath. Playing that hard really got his blood pumping, right now, he never wanted the night to end. I could stay up on that stage forever, he mused. A hand ran sensually down his arm, his face came down to meet the eyes of a cute girl staring up at him. I guess I'd have to come down eventually though...
"Dude!?" Cory's voice jerked him away from the cute girl that had started talking to him.
"Huh? Twig, man, what? I'm kinda busy here." Bobby smiled back at the shorter girl, who was probably still older than him, like everyone here. Not that something like that mattered. I wonder if-
A hand pulled him sideways to face Cory. "Dude are you listening to me at all? I said my bro wants us to play another one, get out of lala land." The room buzzed again while yet another hand pulled the beer that he'd picked up away from him. "Hey, you listening?" Cory said forcefully.
Bobby looked up to glare at his friend. "I've been playing all night Twig, hell, I've been running this show all night. What the hell are you guys doing up there, slamming your fingers in a door?" The girl beside him giggled, and he grinned over at her.
Cory nodded his head slowly at his inebriated band-mate. "Haha, call me Twig one more time I swear God—"
"You'll what, huh? Take it easy, Twig, gimme ten here and I'll be back up there in a jiff to show you all just how it's done." Bobby slung an arm around the pretty girl beside him, grinning proudly at his lanky friend.
A small circle had begun to form around them, Cory looked around nonchalantly at the thrill seekers and chose to back off. "Yeah, alright." He hadn't liked the smell of the situation, and turned around, ignoring the laughter that chased him.
Cory stormed into the house, his temper beyond its boiling point. It didn't last, after a fist swung through the empty air in anger he calmed down, a few people were already watching him from his dramatic entry. "Hey what's up, great party, huh?"
Getting in a fight with Bobby wouldn't work out in his favor, he knew that. Something else might though, he considered his options and settled on a good one. His goal was inside, sitting on a desk in the back of the house. He picked up the phone and called Bobby's phone number. His home, phone number.
October 31st 2023, Tuesday
9:09 PM
Halloween
Several jabs of Mary's hoof had confirmed that Dan was definitely out cold. How he'd managed to even get to her house in the first place was nothing short of a miracle. She'd grumbled over having to deal with him at all, but given that in a way it was all sort of her fault, Mary decided to at least try and be gentle while dragging him downstairs to the basement.
The stairs thumped rhythmically to the sound of Dan's head bouncing off of each stair. He would grunt after each one, but had not awoken. The basement had been the obvious choice for where to put Dan, given that it was out of the way and had a sturdy lock on the door. The man groaned softly from his stupor.
Mary's mouth let go of Dan's pant leg and she sighed once the bottom of the stairs was reached. I could probably get him onto the couch... Her eyes looked over at the furniture briefly, before she turned and cantered up the staircase cheerfully. But, the floor won't hurt him. The door clicked shut behind her. You owe us for this, Dan. Sighing again, she shook her head and made her way towards Anna's room to resume their night and explain things.
The phone began to ring, however, putting an end to those plans.
Now what? Mary's expression was immediately painted with the impatience growing in her, breaking into a short gallop she clopped into the living room and answered the phone. The sound of distant music and the voices of a hundred people seemed to crowd through the speaker. She made a confused face and prompted an answer.
Mary's greeting was hesitant and wary. "Hello?"
A youngish voice answered, they used a very exaggerated tone though. "Oh wow, is this Bobby's Mom? I just gotta say lady, your son is the greatest guitar player we've ever heard in our lives. Thanks so much for letting him come to this college party to hang out so he could play for us! This thing at Cory's house would totally be twenty percent less cool if he wasn't here leading guitar." The sounds of a party in the background continued uninterrupted for a moment. "Hullo? Anyway, wow can he funnel a beer-"
Mary slowly reached a hoof out and hung up the phone by clicking the appropriate button. A few moments later and the dial tone switched over to the alert that the phone was still off the hook.
If Mary had hands which she could in turn ball into fists, she would be flexing them right at that moment. Even without them, her hooves did their best to try and follow the complicated signals her brain was sending to them, not quite catching onto what was going on outside. Her tail picked up the slack though, twitching every few moments behind her, hinting at the building rage that was moving closer and closer to boiling over within her.
If there had been sufficient light in the room, her pale orange coat would have surely been a vibrant red to any onlooker's eyes.
Two Minutes Later
Okay, the Morris family car cruised swiftly through the cold night air, ten miles per hour over the speed limit. So, recap, Stan didn't pick up. That's fine, I hadn't expected he would be in the office... we really need to get another cell phone. Uggh, why didn't I think about that this morning, he could have borrowed Anna's.
The car's steering wheel spun in her hooves after slowing slightly at a blinking yellow light, then turned deftly onto the adjoining street leading into Belsdale. What are the odds that two stupid worst case scenarios would happen back to back!? Her eyes shut in frustration for a moment while she briefly recalled Murphy's law.
"What am I even doing, how am I going to get Bobby if he's in the middle of some party?" Mary bit her lip and looked worriedly out into light of her car's headlights. I already called the police and reported there was probably underage drinking going on over there, I should just wait at home for Bobby to get brought back. Initially, the thought hadn't even occurred to her, this was the first stroke of common sense in regards to that she'd had. The car slowed down momentarily as her hoof lifted off of the accelerated and a defeated look crept up into her tired eyes...
A moment later though, and after entering a lower speed zone, her hoof slammed back on the pedal beneath it.
Oh $%#^ it.
Bet I made ya'll think Pinkie would show up in this chapter with that title, eh? 
Nope! It was just lil' ol Luna!
Sorry about the lateness guys! I'm doin' mah best. :( (lying)
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images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/25100000/princess-luna-my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-25197914-2400-1350.jpg
Okay, so I'm supposing that Luna was offering to bring Mary across 'the divide' to Equestria. It's interesting that she should have made such a specific query about Mary being happy "being with the humans". It's possible that the Princess of the Night isn't in possession of the full facts yet and thinks that Mary fell across the divide and is lost in a different world. Or, it is possible, that she doesn't think that a pony could be happy with a family of bipedal omnivorous primates, irrespective of her origin.
It's also interesting that Luna said that she now knows what had happened. As I already suggest, she might be wrong but she might also be right. However, Luna is going to have to get over this ingrained Alicorn thing about being cryptic and offering clues, implications and carefully-worded non-answers and tell Mary precisely what happened ("Our sister's student apologises; the Mirror was never intended to work in this manner.") if she wants her trust and co-operation to resolve this issue.
Next chapter will be Mary's big entrance, possibly to save the day. Not that Bobby will appreciate it but she will likely be saving the day.
2646854
Interesting speculation. Tell me, have you read my other story yet?
I reeeeally hope you didn't just reference that sickening thing from the eqg abomination on my page by the by.
2646800 you're not supposed to say that about your own stuff, brother.
SO when is this story set? 20 years in the future?
Also, Luna makes it sound as though Mary wasn't always human.
2646875
When one has multiple personalities it's more appropriate.
Truthfully I just like posting Luna.
Uh oh, Mary is screwing up! Mary, stahp!
2646884 maybe you should fire the 200 people inside your head, and just turn Bobby into a unicorn already
2646896
Harharhar, I will neither confirm nor deny any of my plans sirrah! As for those other voices, they are the spark that has ignited all you see before you in literary form. It would be thankless of me to fire them now.
Hm. I'm also of the theory that Luna think Mary is a pony which has been transported to another world, not a human which has been transformed into a pony. Possibly because the first thing has actually happened before and is a known nuisance.
2646871
No, it was just free-form guessing.
>>>So far none of it, no matter how close it got him to getting thrown into the nut house, had paid off. It had gotten him asked a few questions now, though; today being the worst yet in regards to that. Apparently he'd gotten careless and gotten on their radar...somehow. He'd talked his way out of it, although, why or what they suspected him of to begin with wasn't clear anyway.>>>
Stan got on THEIR radar... uh oh... the CIA!!!
Black Ops! Covert assassinations! Aliens! THEY'LL DISSECT MARY ALIVE AND ENJOY HER SCREAMS OF AGONY BECAUSE THEY'RE SICK TWISTED BASTARDS LIKE THE NAZIS WHO SIRED THEM ALL WITH FEMALE SATAN!!
Anyway, that's my hypothesis.
Also, creepy even dream voice... the Nightmare lives? Well... in a figurative sense... since it'd be kinda a disembodied evil consciousness of malevolent magic.. Kinda like Voldemort in his half-life state.
I have to say this story is just annoying me now. Your too dam good at writing.
You keep dragging me along with only the smallest hint of what may come. Leaving me hanging on the end of every chapter.
a month of careful hiding. Worrying about every possibility.
2647111
I like big, landslide pay offs, I am worried I'll be letting you down, terrified really. But I try my best every time I put fingers to keys to make sure that doesn't happen!
A drunk driving officer, a chapter including alcohol but no Herbert and a party without Pinkie. What is this madness?
2647126
I'm nothing if not original! (I hope)
2647124
I feel valued in your attempt to meet my stupidly random standards. Keep up the good work.
Wow, next chapter is going to be intense. Also, regarding Bobby:
JUST TURN HIM INTO A UNICORN ALREADY!
I don't think anything has ever been requested that much in a single fanfic
Well, I completely called Luna's appearance as dream-guardian who is still not quite in the loop. Also, confirmation that Twilight is somehow involved with the whole deal. Silly Twilight.
One the Bobby-Front, however, I kind of expected him to pass out at the party, stay over night, and wake up as a unicorn in his friend's bed with some strange girl.
Now that would have been a worst-case scenario.
Hahahaha! Some of the comments here are almost as fun to read as the story.
Another fun chapter, and I can see how it's part of a larger chapter, especially with how it ends. We're about to come to a head with Bobby I think. Going to be interesting to see how this one gets resolved.
And poor Luna ... if she'd just stop thinking she knows what's going on, she probably could have helped Mary already. Instead, she jumped to conclusions ... well, they both did, so it's hard to just pin it on Luna. Even so though.
"The phone began to, however, putting an end to those plans."
I'm assuming you meant to put 'ring' in there somewhere.
Another fine chapter! I look forward to the next one.
2647586
If ya'll say so! I feel less and less sure of myself the better I'm doin' apparently.
Well...
I foresee mayhem worthy of Discord.
Great, well-written and interesting story, but your overreaction to EqG is hilarious.
2646560
Interesting, it was only a matter of time before someone caught here. I would say more but I am so scattered from my stories. Not only am I trying to do a major face lift on one, I also started a second one.
So little scattered minded.
2647801
My hate burns with the fires of a thousand of Celestia's suns!
Haha, be that as it may, I feel perfectly justified in disliking it. I'm not hating on it (I'm still watching it after all.) But at the end of the day, it is taking the place of a project that I would have rather seen, and that makes me sad.
2647837
Seems fair, I haven't given any of it much thought and just felt that it was going to be interesting and possibly funny in a good or bad way (both of which are good). Although a couple things about it bug be to hell and back, but I'll reserve my judgement until after I've watched it.
I am starting to get a "all American girl" vibe from this chapter
2647928
Not an insult I suppose, I only read the first chapter of that story (someone mentioned my fic's kinship with it) they're similar in that it's a poe, but I can't find much else.
To what do you refer to sir?
(The reason I didn't like that story is because Rarity was meeeean)
2647948
What I mean is the way Luna implies that Mary is from equestria is like DJ being a pony in a human world. What I mean by that is one is from equestria stuck on earth, and the other (Mary) is implied by Luna to be originally from equestria turn into a human and is now a pony again. This of course relies on me read Luna right during there scene together, which I may have red wrong and this theory gets thrown out the window.
P.S. I agree Rartiy is a A-hole in that story
Jackmailed!
Love where this is going, and how things just ratchet a little bit forward while the tension continues to mount.
2647977
Ah! I see, well worry not, I intend to tell all of thee my plans eventually...
2648043
Sir Balthasar! So good of you to drop in and give us your two bits. Thank you sire, for the compliments and once again your company. I hope you find the next chapter equally to your liking. Heavens knows both of them were a very long time in the making indeed.
Damn it Mary... I swear I'm more ticked off at her for driving off in a huff to get Bobby then I am Cory... and Cory ticked me off, Majorly so.
2647116 Hell hath no fury like a mother pissed off at her kid.
Is Mary going to accidently crash the party? Not good for the both of them, she let her motherly anger cloud her judgment as usual. ^^; Anyway I thought from the title of this chapter is that Dan was going to somehow convince Stan and Mary to let her go attend a party so everyone can see her or the hijinks that happened because Dan made her go to the party. I'm pretty sure Dan would do everything he can to help them if they told him.
I just hope those guys that Stan referred to will not show up in the next chapter though, it will be terrifying. I've already read one story where the worst of the government has captured people who transformed to ponies, I really don't want the same thing happen to Mary later. But if it does, I wish she'll be rescued before reaching the place wherever those guys will want her to go.
I'm glad that Luna is planning on hearing her story first before she even THINK of following through with forcing Mary to go to Equestria. I think she can be the only one who can help her get back to her human form if she keeps talking to her in her dreams. However, it seems like the one who did this to her appears to reveal himself in this story. I wonder what he looks like (I'm hoping it isn't Discord again, just because he's the spirit of chaos doesn't mean he always has to be behind the bad things that happened in the story).
"Anne was ran and jumped"? What are you trying to say?
Might want to capitalize "six" since it is being used as part of a proper noun here. That Wii is older than their son possibly. That is 17 year old technology.
How did Dan manage to get past the two gates?
This feels oddly phrased, makes it sound as if he wants the night to end.
Sorry I didn't add more corrections, didn't really have the energy for it.
2648672
Mostly mistakes, as for the gates they're of the small, person variety on the side of the house.
I thought about the wii u*, seems fine, folks still play snes.
2648778
If you mentioned an XBOX 360, I might have had to call bullshit. We all know one that old would have melted itself into a puddle of slag. I don't expect much for Microsoft's new console either.
2648795
Not really, some people will still keep for great games they bought for Xbox 360 even though those games are multiplatform.
2648950
Are you talking about the 360 or the new console? Cause I was poking fun at the 360's habit of red ringing, saying that they will have all died by 2023. As for the new console, I am not sure if it is meant to be backwards compatible.
and then dan turns into a pony.
Why? BECAUSE......i dunno
2648996
I was talking about the 360... I even said Xbox 360. But I think there's a couple of lucky ones that still exist safely though.
2649483
I know you said Xbox 360, but the way it was worded implied it only referred to Xbox 360 games. I keep my PS2 games but I play them on a PS3, your wording was just very ambiguous.
The good thing about the 360 fat is that you can easily reflow the solder joints with a reworking tool. And the new thermal paste seems to do a better job than the factory shit they have slathered on there.
Aww snap!
I really want to see if Mary walks into the middle of the party to drag him out. Bonus points if he's making out with the girl at the time. lol
Dang it Bobbeh!
Wow, I hadn't even thought of Pinkie when I read the chapter title. It was only once you pointed it out in the author's notes that I realized.
Mary's having fun and I like that.
And thus Bobby was grounded for life and sent to military school.
2649550
Actually you were right to assumed that, I really was referring to the games that can be played on the 360 and PS3 and the exclusives for the 360. What I was saying is that I would actually doubt that ALL of them will died by then, some will at least still live like my first Playstation(PS1) for example. I'm just saying that I'm confident that there will be plenty of people still playing the 360 despite the new systems in this future of the story.