Chapter 29 : Clarity
Jo began to rub her eyes furiously in an attempt to recover from a bright purple flash that had gone off without any warning at all.
“Twilight!?” she cried out, but only after several seconds of being panicked and leaning against what felt like one of the porch’s railings. She tried to look around, but blurriness from tears in her eyes got in the way. She fought to blink them away.
“Everyone, stay calm! Mar? Are you okay?” Another voice called.
Jo quelled her own fear, a little reassured by the evenness in the man’s voice. “Twilight? What did you do?” she called again, and reached out with one hand to paw at the air.
There was shouting from others as well, she thought, but at the moment Twilight was the only thing on her mind. Her eyes continued to blink, until she could just barely focus them enough to see; they quickly rested on the image of Twilight and the orange pony, both of which were lying on the snowy front porch’s floorboards.
“Oh, what the-” Jo bit back her cursing and tried to get a response from her friend, but she looked very unconscious. “Twilight? Hey? Are you alright?” She didn’t get a response.
Stan—Jo thought she remembered his name right—was also still outside with her, and seemed to just be regaining his own vision. He was swaying slightly and blinking around himself with his neck stretched out in an obvious effort to see.
Jo staggered over, stepping around Mary’s hooves as best she could, and thumped her back against the house’s side. “Hey. Hey, what happened?” she asked, and looked down at Twilight again. Her head felt dizzier than she thought it should.
Stan was already kneeling down by the time Jo made her way over.
“I don’t know,” Stan answered. “I’m guessing you don’t, either,” he answered gruffly. “Mar, hey, wake up, please.”
Jo frowned, a bit at Stan, but mostly over the obvious. Some sort of crazy magic thing had happened, which, she highly suspected was Twilight’s mystery crystal going nuclear. Her frown melted the second she saw the unconscious look on her friend’s face, and knelt down as well. “Are they okay-?” she began to loudly ask, but was cut off.
A flash of movement, which resolved into a little girl bolting out of the backdoor of the home appeared as if by magic. “Mom? Twilight?” she asked aloud, then screamed, “Oh no! They’re dead!” Her fists were balled up at her sides one second, then reaching up and taking two handfuls of her brown hair the next.
An old man came out just after the little girl, and sighed, laying a hand over his face. “Oh, here we go,” he said in response to ‘Anna’.
“Anna, not now,” Stan responded calmly. He had one hand covering an ear, while the other seemed to be laid over Mary’s neck. “They’re both fine, now go back inside.”
An elderly sounding woman’s voice carried out from the house. “Who’s dead?”
The old man leaned back in the house and yelled. “It’s fine dear, no one is dead!” After he leaned back out of the doorway, his eyes settled somewhere in the distance, then widened. “Holy cow, is that a DeLorean!? I knew it. Time travel!”
Jo’s own eyes had gone wide at the exclamation from the younger girl. “What? Twilight better not be dead... I...” she trailed off, not sure what else to say. She also had competition for the speaking floor anyway, it seemed, and everyone else was being a lot louder than her.
The girl, who was apparently named Anna, continued to freak out, while the grandfatherly looking gentleman seemed excited about Jo’s car, and someone inside was trying to calm down the little girl, only to be joined in by still more voices from indoors.
The entire scene devolved into a myriad of panic and shouting.
After only a few seconds of the clamor, Stan raised his voice, shouting over the rest of the noise around him. “Enough!” he yelled. “They’re not dead. Everyone, calm down. One weird thing happens and you all lose it.” He whipped his head around and glared daggers at anyone present.
Quickly, he continued, looking at the older man present first. “Herbert, before you ask, something happened, but we don’t know what. Just help me get Mar inside, and… Twilight, too. Both of them are breathing just fine. Agnes! Come get Anna, please!” He looked at Jo next. “That’s fine, right? That we take Twilight inside too?”
Jo got a look at Twilight’s face and saw that she was still breathing, and processed that her friend was still very much alive.
“Hey, are you there?” Stan asked again.
Jo blinked and looked up, trying to remember what she had been asked. “Oh, yeah, that’s fine. I- I can help, too,” she offered, if shakier than she had wanted to sound.
Stan looked at her, then nodded slowly. “You and Herbert can get your friend, I’ll take care of Mar.” He pointed to the old man that had followed the little girl out.
Jo considered quickly if moving them was even a good idea, but then, she didn’t see a reason not to, either, and decided it at least wasn’t a bad idea. Before she could voice a worry, she was interrupted.
The other old fellow, who sported the bushiest looking mustache Jo had ever seen, extended a hand out. “Hey there, little lady, you can call me Herbert,” he greeted.
Jo felt herself give him an incredulous look, then let it fade away quickly; the man was a good foot taller than her. “Uhm, right, I’m Jo,” she returned. Rather than accept his hand, she moved around Twilight and prepared to carry her.
Herbert paused, but nodded and knelt down to grab Twilight’s other side. “Ah, well, nice to meet you. Alright, I’ll get her arms.”
Jo shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Yeah, sure,” she half responded, half murmured, and moved to grab Twilight around the knees, while Herbert grabbed her under the shoulders.
Behind them all, Anna’s worried sounds dissipated, being led away by another stranger that must have been Agnes.
At the same time as Jo and Herbert picked up Twilight, Stan scooped up Mary and cradled her close to his chest. The three of them lifted simultaneously, but their efforts were quickly impeded.
As they lifted, all three of them quickly found that the two girls, Twilight and Mary, didn’t want to come apart; Stan had tried to walk ahead, only to be tugged back by Mary’s connection to Twilight.
“Looks like this girl’s got a death grip on Mary,” Herbert piped up with a chuckle. “I don’t blame her, I always did tell Stan that he’d made quite the catch-”
“Dad!” Stan shouted and growled at the same time, “Not now!” He growled more, then faced Jo. “Hey, what’s going on here, Jill?”
Jo looked up, wearing an indignant expression that flashed into being. “It’s, Jo! And like I would know, anyway! I don’t know anything more than you do about this magic pony stuff!” She looked between Mary and Twilight to see Twilight’s hand clamped tight onto Mary’s hoof. “That’s really weird...” she added, in a quieter tone.
Stan looked at the sight as well, then gave his wife and Twilight another tug. The motion jerked Herbert, Jo, and Twilight again after him.
“Easy, muscles!” Jo frowned, nearly falling over.
“What in the world?” Stan murmured. “Are they really stuck together?” He looked at Herbert, who shrugged back.
“Hold on,” Jo spoke up, then placed Twilight’s legs down on the ground. “I’ll just…” She grabbed ahold of Twilight’s wrist and Mary’s fetlock and started to pull, trying to get them apart. “What the… they’re really stuck together. I mean- There’s no way Twilight’s grip is this strong.” She tried to get a closer look, and spotted a pale glow around Twilight’s wrist, barely visible outdoors. “I think that this might be-”
Herbert chuckled, interrupting, and knelt down after releasing Twilight’s arms. “Hold on, let me try, Missy.”
Jo moved back, not really having a choice, but tried to keep talking. “Hey, wait, I think this is something magical, guys. Uhm,” she furrowed her brow, looking for something to say that would sound… not crazy. Then again, she considered, one of the people present was holding a waist high magical talking pony. “Look at her wrist. It’s glowing.”
Herbert grunted loudly, trying his hardest to pry Twilight’s fingers open. “Well, this is embarrassing. Failure to perform!” he laughed, looking around and up at Stan and Jo with a silly grin. He then gave Jo a quick look of confusion. “What was that about magic?”
Stan groaned in disgust and laid a hand over his face.
Jo knelt again and rolled her eyes, muttering, “Well, if he wasn’t going to say it, I was.” She frowned, then had a thought that irritated her deeply. Dangit, I’ve been hanging around Alice too much. Curse her. “Look at her wrist,” she pointed out, repeating herself. “It’s glowing. I think something magical is still happening.”
Stan was busy giving the act of separating his wife from Twilight a shot with one arm. After several seconds, he finally gave up. “That’s just great. More magic...” He looked frustrated, and lost, but quickly made another decision. “Just… Just keep close and be careful. We still can’t leave them outside.”
Jo gave him a hard look, but nodded, and retook her hold of Twilight along with the old guy, Herbert. Together, the three of them moved the two limp women into the house.
Stan led them inside, first through a room that sort of looked like where you typically kept all of the outdoor clothing and shoes, then through another room that had laundry machines in it. After that, was a sort of living room with a tall christmas tree in the far corner.
The decorations were sparse, not obnoxiously overdone, though Jo didn’t exactly stop to study them carefully.
Stan guided them all towards a nearby couch, obviously looking for a place to set Twilight and Mary down, though it already had someone occupying its cushions.
“Dan, hey.” Stan called out in a voice that was surprisingly calm. “Get up and make room for Mar and Twilight.”
“Sure,” Dan responded in a flat tone, and without looking up. He seemed to be watching football on the television, as well as drinking a steaming cup of something, probably coffee. “So what was all the commotion about? I asked Agnes if you guys needed an ambulance and-” As he turned, standing up, he cut off and went wide eyed. “Woah, what happened? Are they out cold?”
Stan nodded, laying down Mary on the couch, her foreleg trailing up and hanging from Twilight’s grip. “Yes, but they’re both fine as far as I can tell…” He trailed off, eying the girl attached to his wife. “I have no clue what happened, but it wasn’t normal.”
“I see.” Dan traded his attention between looking at Twilight, and then at Jo.
Jo noticed, and frowned while setting down Twilight in a sitting position with Herbert’s help. “Hey, don’t look at me, Dan. I don’t know what happened either.”
Dan smirked and raised his hands up in a defensive gesture. “Whoa, easy there, firecat...” he began, chuckling, then turned to Stan. “Well, this might be a bad time to ask, but can I take off now, boss?”
Jo scowled at the guy, dusting snow off of her legs before sitting down, but quickly got over being given a nickname and began to check on Twilight.
“Yeah, Dan, go ahead, and thanks for your help,” Stan responded.
Dan nodded. “Great, I’d stick around if I could…” He flickered a look towards Jo. “But duty calls. Let me know if you need help again, and assuming I’m still invited, be back in time for dinner!” Laughing, he backed towards the door, tipping the hat he still had perched on his head.
Stan nodded absently. “Yeah, you are. Thanks again for the favor; we’ll let you know if there’s trouble, but I’m pretty sure Jo and… Twilight aren’t here to hurt Mar or kidnap her.” Stan’s voice was gruff as he affirmed the statement, while his attention was otherwise solely on Mary.
Jo looked up, wide-eyed. “Wait, what?”
Stan made a tight smile without looking. “I don’t mean any offense by that,” he replied. “We were just being careful, and I think it’s clear, at least with the purple flash in consideration, that your girl here is who she says she is.”
Jo opened her mouth to protest about the accusation, but closed it, recalling that she and Twilight had worried over the same thing. Actually, it had mostly just been her that had worried about it. Yeah, that sounds about right... She exhaled and tried again. “Alright, so what do we do now? The misfits are all together at last it looks like.”
Herbert was leaning over the back of the couch, standing beside Stan. He spoke up, eyes widening as he did. “I think you would know better than us, little lady.”
Jo’s brow creased into a scowl at hearing the word ‘little’, and turned towards Herbert. She was at least a little glad to see him straighten up in surprise, moving a little further away.
Stan frowned, looking up. “Dad, let me handle this.” He cleared his throat. “This unexpected turn of events not included, didn’t Twilight share her plan for once she got here?” One of his hands smoothed Mary’s hair idly as he spoke. “Sorry if I’m making assumptions, but we’ve been entirely in the dark about what happened to my wife, as you can imagine.”
A sinking feeling of complete confusion came over Jo as she remembered one, single detail that had been overlooked after the flash of light. “Holy crap, Mary’s your wife.”
Jo covered her mouth with a hand, her eyes glued to the little, orange colored pony sharing the couch with Twilight. She hadn’t completely come to terms with the unexpected turn of events, and was still shocked by the idea.
Stan nodded solemnly. “That’s right,” he answered simply. “I guess you two are in the dark about us then. That’s too bad, I was sort of hoping you might already know the whole story...” He put on a somber look, but it broke when he added something more. “I guess to answer your question, we should probably just wait for Twilight to wake up, unless there’s something you haven’t thought of yet.”
Jo bit the inside of her lip, aware that she really wasn’t too sure at all how to answer. Her attention traded between Stan, Herbert standing behind the couch, then Dan, who was pausing at the doorway. Dan winked at her before ducking out of sight, something that made her cringe back.
“No, I can’t think of anything,” Jo replied in a growl, trying to get the image of Dan out of her head. At the same time, it occurred to her to spill the whole can of beans about Twilight being human. But, she wanted Twilight to be there if she did, and under those circumstances Twilight would be way better at explaining it anyway. She can’t stay asleep for that long…
Jo faced her friend again, who looked as peaceful as if she really were just asleep. “Shouldn’t we take them to the hospital… or… something?”
Stan was already shaking his head. “We can’t take either of them anywhere with Twilight stuck to Mar like that. Twilight might have been alright going to the hospital, but as it is...” He briefly tried to pull Twilight’s fingers open again, but not forcefully. “This is definitely not within our realm of knowledge and understanding.” His eyes seemed to study the shimmer of purple where the two were connected.
Herbert spoke up with a suggestion. “We could get some smelling salts?”
Stan sighed, standing up and folding his arms. “That might work, I guess.”
“But if it doesn’t,” Jo spoke up. “Then we just wait?” Both of the two men turned to face her and nodded. “Well, great...” She leaned forward and began to pat Twilight on the side of the face repeatedly. You come to my planet, you befriend me, and then you just keep scaring the crap out of me. You’re something else, Twilight. Her bitter thoughts continued over Stan and Herbert talking again, until the sound of a little girl entering the room caught her attention.
“Mom!” Anna’s raised voice asked, just before she charged into the room. Like an uncageable wind, she rushed past Stan and Herbert, then slid with boths knees up onto the couch cushions. “Mom! Mom! Mom? Moooom, wake up now. Mom!”
Jo began flinching every time the little girl spoke. That’s right, now I remember... I hate kids.
An older looking woman walked in next. “Sorry, Stan,” she apologized. “She wanted to see Mary.”
Stan knelt beside his daughter—who was busy tugging on Mary’s ears—and rested a hand on Anna’s shoulder. “Hey, easy, your mom’s fine, Anna. Whatever has happened it’s temporary, okay? It’s just some weird kind of… friendship magic mishap.”
Anna looked over at her father, a doubtful look creasing her young features. “Really?” she asked.
Before Stan could answer, Herbert spoke up saying, “That’s right, this is all magic based. Maybe she needs a kiss from her one true love?”
Everyone in the room turned to look at Herbert, each wearing a different type of expression.
“What?” he asked believably. “This is magic we’re talking about.”
Anna answered the old guy first, exhaling in what sounded like exasperation. “Grampa, what happened to mom and Twilight is probably serious, stop telling jokes.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t,” Herbert managed to say weakly, studying his shoes.
Stan blinked, then chuckled. “Anna’s right, Herbert. Maybe we’ll try that if nothing else works. For now, I’ll be right back. I think I have some smelling salts somewhere. Agnes, come help me look?”
Stan and Agnes left, leaving the old guy and Anna there in the room along with Jo and Twilight. Anna had also begun shaking Mary by her shoulders.
Jo watched as the occupants of the room changed again. Huh, you know, now that I think about it, Stan looks a lot like if Chuck Norris was on steroids. She blinked, then shook her head. Been hanging around Alice too much...
Jo was still seated beside Twilight, and still at a loss for what to do. She found herself in the awkward, uncomfortable position of being in a stranger’s home, with multiple strangers, and suddenly having no one familiar with her at all. It almost felt like going to a family reunion, except you didn’t actually know anyone there because you skipped all of the previous ones.
“So,” Jo spoke up, looking at Herbert. “How weird has it been over on your end being stuck around magical shenanigans and talking animals?” She was trying to quell her unease by talking, only it didn’t seem to work right away. Her back was straight from how nervous she felt.
Herbert’s comforting chuckle made Jo relax, a little bit. “Oh, you know, every day has been an adventure. At least now your unicorn can turn Mary back so she can get back to normal, eh?” He laughed harder, while nearby Anna let out a disappointed sound.
Jo chuckled along weakly. Yeah… they’re gonna hate us when we can’t deliver that. She looked at Mary again, still unable to believe the entire situation. So Twilight’s human and Mary’s a pony. Yep, definitely no connection there. Despite her sarcastic remark to herself, she furrowed her brow, trying to figure out what that connection might actually be.
“Hey, kiddo, don’t sound so upset!” Herbert laughed, still behind the couch. “I’m sure once Twilight turns your mom back into a human and herself back into a unicorn, she’ll give you a pony ride like no other.”
Jo looked up in time to see the little girl look starry eyed at Twilight.
“Ohhh, you think so?” Anna asked dreamily, and reached over to nudge Twilight’s shoulder. “I hope they wake up soon…”
Jo frowned, watching as Twilight slid forward until she fell over atop Mary. “Easy, kid, they’re not… you shouldn’t touch them right now.” She almost choked on her own words, not used to talking to children. If she had to guess, Anna looked to be about nine or ten.
After Jo had looked up, she was surprised to see Anna beaming a smile her way, hand held out. “By the way! I’m Anna!” she piped, holding out her hand and shaking it up and down in the air.
Jo stared back, eyes stark, but eventually cracked a nervous smile.
A quiet voice from nearby said, “You can shake her hand, she won’t bite.” Herbert then laughed at his own joke.
Jo rolled her eyes, and pretended not to hear him. What an annoying old fart. She instead spoke to the little girl in a friendly voice. “Hey, I did hear that was your name. I’m Jo, Twilight’s friend.”
Anna accepted and shook Jo’s hand way harder than necessary, smiling bigger than Jo thought a little girl possibly could. “That is so cool! You’re friends with the Twilight Sparkle. Oh my gosh, what’s it like?”
Jo frowned a little at the question and turned towards Twilight. What’s it like? Shrugging, she turned back towards Anna. “It’s not exactly anything really different from being anyone’s friend, I think.” She realized she had left Twilight slumped over Mary, and began lifting the other girl by her shoulders. “She’s just a good person like anyone else really. She doesn’t act like a different species much or a celebrity-”
“Whoa, that’s odd.” Herbert interrupted.
Jo blinked up towards him over the back of the couch. “What? Twilight’s just another pony where she’s from. Not a TV star or a-”
“No no no.” Herbert shook his head, then chuckled. “Look at that. Is it a static charge?” He pointed towards Mary and Twilight. “Huh, it’s a bit like if they fell asleep next to a Van de Graaff generator.” He chuckled again after mentioning the static electricity making machine.
Jo looked down again, and gaped at the darker hair from Twilight, stringing its way out as if glued to Mary’s head. The other girl leaned back against the couch, but blue and tan strands stretched between them both, sort of like a bridge. “Okay, that’s weird.” With one hand, Jo slowly swiped down between them both, as if clearing cobwebs, and the hair relaxed again.
“Awwww,” Anna gawked openly, sticking her face right next to the oddity with hesitation. “That was cool.”
Herbert hummed thoughtfully, and leaned over the back of the couch for a closer look. “Do you think that was just normal, or because of the way they’re stuck together?”
Jo opened her mouth to answer, but didn’t get the chance; instead, she was beaten to the punch by a shrill chime from Anna.
“Stuck together!?” she cried, then looked open mouthed at Mary. “Is that why they’re holding hands? Er, hands and hooves? Hoof and hand?” She giggled, then turned her smile up at Jo expectantly.
Jo had to fight not to roll her eyes. She briefly reflected on how bad she always thought she was with kids. “They’re stuck,” she explained simply, then turned to look at Twilight, trying to reposition her so she wouldn’t fall over again.
“Really?” Anna asked, then began patting Mary on the head. “Aaw, mom looks so cute,” she piped up, then added, “But she’s been pretty d’awful for a while, hehe.”
Herbert laughed again, while Jo smirked. “D’awful, huh?” she asked.
Anna nodded. “It’s a word I made up. Mom’s pretty clumsy since… well, she became like this. I like to say she looks d’awful when she breaks stuff.” As she spoke, she went for the cemented handshake between the human and pony, and began to try and break them apart.
“Cute,” Jo murmured, then noticed Anna’s attempt to break the unconscious pair apart. “They’re stuck together, Anna. Good luck with getting them… apart.”
As if by magic, Anna pulled Twilight’s and Mary’s linked arms apart with no real effort at all.
Herbert blinked in surprise. “Cheater!”
Anna turned, smiling big. “Nuh uh!” she laughed.
“Huh, I guess it wore off…” Jo leaned forward, getting a closer looked and wondering what had happened.
Herbert made an interested sounding hum. “Well, that’s one problem solved.” As he spoke he stroked his mustache with one hand above a worried look, which was a break from his constant silliness. “I hope those salts wake them up so we can get to the bottom of things. Hah, won’t Mary be upset if she’s stuck to Twilight after they wake up… You’re sure you don’t know anything else there, Jo?”
“I really can’t… say,” Jo began to answer, but turned her attention to where Twilight was sitting and noticed Anna having trouble moving Mary’s head from Twilight's lap. “Everything alright there, kid?”
“Mom’s head is stuck!” Anna whined, wearing a strained look. She lifted Mary’s head slightly, which revealed Twilight’s leg lifting along with it. “Actually, this is kind of funny,” she giggled.
Jo’s eyes widened, not sure what to think about what she was looking at, but continued to watch in wordless confusion.
Anna took a hold of Twilight’s hand and placed it on Mary’s head. After that, she went to lift Mary’s head again and was pleased to find that Twilight’s leg didn’t follow, but her hand was now the part that was suck. “Hehe,” she continued to giggle, and began moving them about again.
Herbert laughed along with her, and began circling around the couch. “Oh, let me try!” he offered in an excited tone.
Anna began trading off the points that Mary and Twilight touched. As long as they were touching in at least one part, it seemed that they could touch and release without much issue. Anna had just stuck Mary’s hoof to the side of Twilight’s head.
Jo was about to get upset and rain on the parade, but, at the sound of so much fun being had… and it did look pretty funny, she relaxed, instead joining in on the laughter quietly.
Stan entered the room and announced himself. “What’s with all the laughter going on in- Anna?” He took notice of what was going on. “Anna! Stop playing around with your mother,” he reprimanded, marching on over. “Herbert, you stop encouraging her.”
“Awww,” Anna and Herbert simultaneously let out sadly.
Stan rolled his eyes, along with Agnes, who was just behind him, and walked up to Mary and Twilight. “Alright, let’s hope this works,” he murmured, and waved the smelling salts beneath Twilight's nose, then Mary's muzzle.
After a moment of waiting, and another wave, neither of them stirred.
“Well,” Agnes began, speaking up from the doorway. “If that doesn’t wake them up, then they aren’t waking up until they’re good and ready.” She turned towards Jo, then. “Miss, are you sure you aren’t sure what’s happened to them?”
Jo looked up and gave a shrug. “Not a clue, I’m just trying to help out where I can, but I won’t pretend that I understand half as much as Twilight there does.”
The room was quiet for a moment, with Anna pulling out her mother’s cheek using the bound effect from Twilight’s palm.
“Well,” Agnes spoke again first, clapping her hands and facing Stan. “Christmas dinner is almost ready. This does put a damper on things, but maybe we’ll get a miracle and they’ll wake up soon.” She began walking towards the room’s doorway. “I’ll get back to preparing things, then! Anna, come help me, please?”
“Oh.” Herbert began stepping lightly out of the room, giving chase. “I’ll come along. I’m just in the way out here.”
“I’ll be there in a minute!” Anna replied over her shoulder, remaining on the couch.
Stan was looking at Mary. “I hope they wake up soon, too,” he murmured, mostly to himself it seemed, then continued louder. “Jo, I guess it goes without saying you don’t want to go until Twilight wakes up. You’re welcome to stay as our guest, and we were planning on inviting the princess here to dinner as well… So, there’s room for you, too.”
Jo blinked. “Oh, uhm, thanks.” She wasn’t used to other people, much less a holiday dinner at a stranger’s place. “If it’s alright, I’ll wait out here with Twilight… Also, heh,” she chuckled, thinking about what Stan had said. “Twilight says she isn’t a princess like in the show. Bummer, right? I recommend you don’t bring that up, she carries around the notes she’s taken on that thing everywhere she goes, and even mailed a dozen complaints in while out on one of her walks-”
A shrill gasp from Anna filled the room. “Not a princess!? Noooo,” she cried, both of her hands to either side of her face. She gave Twilight a despairing look. “But it’s in the show, it has to be true!”
“Anna,” Stan began warningly. “Come on, there are more important things to worry about right now…”
Jo chuckled a little, studying Twilight’s silent features. “Sorry I had to be the bearer of bad news. I was a little disappointed about it, too. I used to watch it as a little girl myself. But, yeah, Twilight has all kinds of ideas about her world’s relation to ours. She’s insanely worried by anything from after Discord’s first appearance, because almost everything is different from then on in the show, with only a few things she recognized.”
Anna crossed her arms, frowning over Mary and Twilight towards Jo. “Worried? But she’s Twilight, and she’s like, unbeatable! She never loses or can’t figure something out. Why would she be worried?”
Jo shut her eyes for a split second, smiling. The girl’s precociousness was getting to her despite fighting against it. “Well,” she started to say, laughing a little. “Her biggest concern is that it could all be future predictions that haven’t happened yet, and that what has happened to her might have ruined them.” She hummed, recalling Twilight’s minor, at least for her, panic attack after watching the rest of the show. “Although, she sort of dropped that idea somewhat after that story arc in season three with the ponies made out of crystal.”
Anna blinked at at Jo skeptically for a moment in silence, then turned towards her father. “Dad, this can’t be the real Twilight. I think they’re spies.”
Stan laid a hand over his face. “Spies? Anna, that’s ridiculous. Head into the kitchen and help your grandparents, please.” He continued in his gravelly tone over a whining complaint from Anna. “Come on now. Jo here and I need to share some things with one another over this whole ordeal.”
“But-!” Anna started to protest, but was cut off by a hardened, serious look of parenting from Stan.
Anna let out a groan of annoyance, then thumped her way out of the room as requested. “I never get to help with anything important around here…”
Jo raised an eyebrow at Stan once he turned back to face her. “Cute kid,” she muttered.
Stan sighed, sitting in a recliner near the couch. “Yeah, she usually is. She’s also a hot head, like her mother.”
Jo hummed in acknowledgement. “Who does Bobby take after?” She asked the question on reflex, just making small talk. The memory of the obnoxious teen insulting Twilight over the phone hung in her head, but she tried her best not to dwell on it. Surprising her, Stan chuckled and answered quickly.
“Me, actually,” Stan responded.
Jo made an understanding look in surprise. “Oh.” She made an appreciative nod, trying to hide her initial response.
Another silence settled into the room, bringing with it a twinge of awkward.
Jo coughed and spoke again. “So, I guess this is the part where I tell you everything that’s happened so far on our end, huh?”
Stan leaned forward intently, arms resting on his knees, then gave a simple nod.
Jo took a breath. “Alright, well, it started a few months ago… There was this storm, and-”
Jo shared everything, from Twilight’s destruction of the house’s backyard to the simple fact she had no idea how her potion had ended her up on Earth. Herbert had come and gone a couple times, staying surprisingly serious. From what little Jo could tell, the old guy enjoyed derailing things a lot.
Retelling a few months worth of events had taken some time, and Jo felt completely tired out by the end. It hadn’t been too hard, she only had to exchange the detail about Twilight being stuck as a human out with her deciding to look like one by choice. In fact, apparently several hours had passed, because the grandmother, Agnes, came by and cut the story telling a little short, trying to usher everyone into the dining room for dinner. Just before that, Dan had come back, but wearing casual clothing rather than his uniform from before, and reeking of cologne that made him smell like a lumber mill. Apparently he was a friend of the family after all, and knew Stan pretty well. Given the small nature of the town, that made some sense. A little bit before that, and Bobby had stormed his way indoors shouting, “Hey! I’m done shoveling!” Though his announcement didn’t seem directed to anyone in particular at the time.
Jo had fended off invitations from both Dan and Agnes to join most everyone else in the dining room, and, in the end, remained out on the couch with Twilight, Mary, and Stan, who also didn’t want to leave them alone.
The two ended up eating in silence, having shared each other’s details of the whole situation already, and occasionally prodded Twilight or Mary for a response they hoped would come soon. Overall, the night was quiet, and likely a fair bit more sedated than the family had likely thought it would be.
Despite making such a strong connection with people aware of Twilight’s situation, Jo didn’t feel much more at ease. In fact, the only bit of respite she could think about was the Holiday themed beer she’d asked for after spotting Herbert with one.
A fire crackled nearby at one end of the room, and the Christmas tree lights were on for the dark of evening; Jo was preoccupying herself by staring at Mary, the pony, who in all her unbelievable glory still slept soundlessly beside Twilight Sparkle.
The sight did a good job of hammering the reality of things into Jo’s head, but it still made her feel breathless. It didn’t matter how many times Twilight mentioned Equestria, or talked about magical theory, because every time Jo saw, listened to, or spoke with Twilight it was sometimes like finding her in her garage all over again.
Jo’s eyes were locked onto Mary’s form, her chest slowly rising and falling every so often with a slow breath. Her mouth—or muzzle—was rounded, lightly covered in very short, sleek hairs, and looked nothing like a pony or horse’s. The hooves tipping her trunky legs were equally odd, and just by looking at them Jo could tell they could bend and move much more like a person’s arm than anything else.
What Jo found most peculiar about Mary, though, were the darkly colored workout clothes—a sweatshirt and sweatpants—that she had on. Stan had flipped the hood of the sweatshirt up over her ears—to keep her warm, he had said.
Jo kept looking, and even occasionally reached out to poke her shoulder, just to make sure she was there, and the couch wasn’t just empty except for herself and Twilight. The idea that Mary was an illusion or something just seemed a lot more feasible than the idea that she was real, even after so much had happened with Twilight.
Jo shuddered and forced her eyes back open—without her realizing it, they had begun to close. Oh, how late is it? She rested her head in her hands and looked towards the floor, a yawn cracking her jaw at the same time.
Abruptly, the other awake person in the room broke the silence. “I’ll be right back.” Stan stood with a loud sigh, both his plate and Jo’s in either hand.
Jo looked up from staring at the floor. “I can get it,” she offered weakly.
Stan shook his head, then kept going. “Nonsense, both you and Twilight are guests…” He briefly glanced at the other two occupants of the couch. “I guess we should move her and my wife to someplace a little bit more comfortable than the couch, actually… We’ll put them in our bed, I think.”
Jo glanced over, and found that Twilight had slumped over once again atop Mary while she wasn’t looking. “Yeah, I guess so...” She grimaced at the sight and set down her beer, then leaned over to help her sleeping friend back to a sitting position. She is going to have one heck of a crick in her neck when she wakes up. “Uhm, I still have my room at the hotel, but-”
Stan interrupted, hesitating at the doorway. “You can stay, if you want. I assumed you would want to. There’s a fold-out couch in the basement you’re more than welcome to.”
Jo nodded, though only half listened past hearing that she could stay. “Cool. I mean- Thanks.” Her response was somber, sorely dampened by the fact that it had been hours without any sign of life from Twilight, or from Mary.
“We’ll move them soon… I’m going to go check on my kids real quick. When they’re quiet like this for so long it usually means trouble’s coming.” Stan chuckled, then exhaled a moment later. The sound of his footsteps leaving soon followed suit.
Jo looked up from staring at Twilight, a little surprised to see that he had left without her answering him. “Uggh, I am really out of it.” She grimaced and pressed a hand to her forehead, trying to wake herself up some. It worked, somewhat, and she turned to glare at the fireplace, which was providing the room with a healthy amount of warmth.
“This is all your fault,” she accused the flames.
“What is whose fault?” Someone nearby asked.
Jo nearly jumped out of her skin, then looked over to see who was intruding on her peace and quiet. Oh, it’s just the other cop… The fellow named Dan was smiling her way and entering the room.
The fact that Stan was a sheriff hadn’t escaped Jo, much less so when the story he had shared included him on duty and finding the vines that Mary had somehow created. Apparently, she had access to some very powerful plant magic. Dan also came up in the stories, and was Stan’s underling, or whatever, by the sound of things. At some point he had pulled over his wife and discovered her that way. Not long after, he stumbled onto Mary again in a drunken stupor, according to Stan.
Jo gave the strange man a tight lipped smile, seeing as he’d just invited himself into her private conversation with herself. “Nothing,” she responded curtly, then turned again to stare at the fire some more.
Dan stayed in the corner of her eye, pausing for a moment. “Oh, I see,” he answered, then coughed. Like a shadow sliding over the ground, he moved across the floor to sit in the recliner previously used by Stan. “So, I also see you have a cool and refreshing beer in your hand! I rather enjoy those myself, as we established. How about I join you and we can talk about the tastiness of…” He trailed off somewhat, his eyes drifting downwards towards Jo’s chest region. “Beer?”
Jo looked up darkly, recalling her first encounter with him earlier. At the same time she caught where the man was staring, and felt her face heat up. “Seriously?” she asked.
Dan looked up, blinking.
Jo continued, remembering she was a guest in someone else’s home, and kept her voice somewhat low. “That’s the line you’re trying on me? Really?” She sighed. “You are such a pig, and no I don’t mean just according to your job.” She looked over at Twilight, who had taken a shallow breath in and out. “My friend is unconscious and so is your friend’s wife, and you can only think of flirting with me?” She gave her head a shake of disgust, crossing her arms in front of herself angrily.
Dan sputtered a bit. “Well, just go and assume you know exactly what my intent is why don’t you. I was not hitting on you.” He leaned back and looked away, his tone lightening rather than sounding offended. “And I’m just as worried as everyone else is, you know. About Mary and… and...”
“Twilight! Her name is Twilight!” Jo groaned, looking over with an incredulous expression. “So you just made a sad attempt to flirt with me, then tried an excuse including my friend, but without even knowing said friend’s name.” She took a gulp of her drink. “Are you being serious right now?”
Dan rubbed a hand behind his head, looking everywhere but at Jo. “Alright alright, I forgot her name and it’s Twilight. Sorry I couldn’t remember. The point is, I do care even if others don’t think so, you included.”
Jo rolled her eyes and sat back again. “Yeah, whatever.”
Dan looked over, eyebrows slightly raised, and let the silence stretch for a few seconds. “I’m sensing some hostility right now… Do you want me to leave?”
Jo searched around the room, then raised an eyebrow at the offer. She considered for the briefest second she had been mistaken about the the man’s behavior. After said consideration, she realized she really wasn’t sure either way. What she settled on was what she hoped was a middle ground that would save face, while still discouraging any shenanigans. She honestly didn’t want anything to do with a stranger.
“Fine,” Jo started, trying to sound apologetic. “If you are so worried, feel free to stay. It’s not like this is my house. You wouldn’t be here if it was.” She waved over at the other side of the room. “Maybe we can have an actual conversation without you staring at my- my tits!” She glared at him. “Or you could just leave me alone and I won’t have to think about how hard I’d have to throw this bottle to make you reconsider.”
Dan raised up his hands in defense of himself. “Alright, my bad, it was an accident.” He stood up then, smiling weakly. “I just remembered that you said you prefered a dark draft of beer, earlier, and thought I’d bring you a refill.” One of his bulky arms set down a bottle, which Jo had missed, over on the nearby side-table. “Wasn’t my intent to tick you off or anything.”
Jo frowned over at the beer; condensation and droplets of water ran down its side and glimmered in the firelight. She looked up, ready to say that she didn’t want it, but Dan wasn’t there by the time she did. Looking around briefly revealed that the room was empty except for herself, and the sleeping mare and women beside her on the couch.
A harrumph escaped her. “Men and alcohol don’t mix,” Jo muttered, then turned towards Twilight. “Somehow, Twilight, that was your fault.”
The girl sitting unconscious beside lay still, not answering.
Jo narrowed her eyes, angrily opening the beer that had been left with her. “Don’t argue, you’re the only reason I’m here! I’d be alone in my room right now if it wasn’t for you, and not getting hit on by guys a hundred miles from my home. And yeah, he was definitely hitting on me. Trust me, I know.”
Twilight’s head shifted slightly, rolling from facing Jo to pointing the other way.
Jo frowned. “Of course I’d prefer staying in my room alone. You’ve known me long enough to know that. Christ… Also, Dan seems like a jerk, anyway.” She took a quick sip of her drink, then stared at the fireplace.
“I really need to stop talking to myself…” Jo remorsed quietly, her drink hanging lazily between two fingers.
A slightly excited sounding voice entered the room, making Jo nearly jump off the couch again. “Are you talking to someone in here, Jo? Are they awake?”
Jo pressed a hand over her chest, trying to calm her heart. I am not used to complete quiet like this in a strange house, she reflected, then exhaled and turned towards Stan. “Hey. No, they’re still both out cold. I was talking to… Dan, and then myself, I guess.”
Stan’s eyes widened above his beard. “Dan? Really?” He hummed, easing down into his chair. “I hope he wasn’t too abrasive,” he continued.
Jo raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. “Not really.” She thought to add more insults, but dropped them before they formed.
Stan hummed again in response, then spoke on in his gravelly voice. “Well, Dan just took off for the night. I think my folks will be leaving soon, as well.” He nodded to himself, as if thinking of something or what to do. “In any case, Herbert and my son should be here in a moment. I told them both to help us. We’re going to move Twilight and Mary over to my own bedroom. I think I could carry both of them myself, they aren’t that heavy, but it’s just to be safe…”
Jo thought over the news for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, that sounds good.”
“Hopefully they wake up soon, in the morning maybe, if they don’t, we’ll need to look into getting them an I.V. and…” Stan trailed off, frowning and tapping a finger against his chair’s arm. “We’ll get to that if-”
Two voices entering the room and footsteps interrupted Stan. “Hey, Dad, we’re here,” called one, young sounding teenage boy.
Jo faced towards the two, glaring for a split second at the youth in the pair.
“Reporting as ordered,” added the second voice, belonging to Herbert.
Stan looked up from Jo to his two kin and exhaled. “Well, we’ll get to that if it comes to it,” he finished, giving a smile that faded again quickly. “Alright, Bobby, Herbert, both of you be careful while-”
“I’ll carry Twilight,” Jo interrupted.
The three guys, each roughly the same height, looked over, each with a different look of surprise on their face.
“By yourself?” Stan asked plainly, already positioning himself to pick up Mary. He did so with what looked like relative ease.
Jo scrunched her face up in a frown for a moment. “Maybe Herbert can help.” She added the last amendment a little too quickly, and shot a quick glare towards the teenager. There’s no way I’m letting that kid touch Twilight.
Herbert, meanwhile, began chuckling, and elbowed Bobby in the ribs. “See, boy? You should follow my example more. The ladies still can’t resist me.”
Bobby rolled his eyes from where he stayed by the doorway. “Herbert, I know Agnes will still hit you if I tell her you made that joke.”
Herbert put on a fake look of surprise, then chuckled.
Jo felt her eye twitch slightly from the old man’s first remark. “On second thought, I can get Twilight by myself…” She grimaced immediately, beginning to lift Twilight up. Holy crap. Twilight what have you been eating!? Her eyes bulged a little, discovering she had overestimated just how much her friend from another world weighed.
With an oof, she set Twilight back down.
“Not so easy, is it?” Bobby asked, smirking.
Jo looked up, trying to keep her face expressionless. He’s just a kid, Jo. Don’t let him get to you...
Herbert began moving over to help Jo, despite what she had said before.
“Everyone, take it easy.” Stan hesitated from moving, then after he witnessed Herbert take ahold of Twilight's arms without any fuss from Jo, continued. “Let’s just get them situated and we can all put today behind us.”
Bobby let out a monumentally exaggerated sigh. “If I’m not needed I’ll be upstairs, then.” He shrugged and turned on one foot in one smooth motion, slouching his way out of the room.
Jo frowned at the kid’s back, but exhaled stiffly and felt her mood returning to normal. It’s like I just got a glimpse back into highschool... She tried to focus on lifting Twilight, which she did by cradling her arms together underneath the other girl’s shoulders; this was made a little awkward by Mary’s nearby hoof, which was apparently the last connection point; it was stuck squarely to Twilight’s upper shoulder.
“It’s best if you don’t pay him too much mind.” Herbert had spoken up, smirking over to Jo as the all three of them lifted Twilight and Mary.
Jo gave Herbert, then Stan a regretful look. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do… I won’t cause any trouble. I’m still upset over what he said about my friend, is all. Am I that obvious?” She waited for an answer, the three of them getting underway by moving through the first doorway.
The manner in which they were carrying the pair of unconscious persons was a bit awkward, to say the least. Mary’s front left hoof was plastered to Twilight’s shoulder, and was for the most part in Stan’s grip under one arm. The tall man kept shifting his wife about, too, though he mostly carried her beside Jo. This put Jo and Stan astride one another, with Jo walking backwards, Herbert walking forwards at Twilight’s ankles, and Stan walking somewhat sideways.
Herbert snorted some laughter, shuffling carefully after Jo and Stan in the lead; he had a good grip by the look of it. “Not really, Bobby’s just a little punk sometimes, especially lately,” he answered to Jo with a toothy grin. “It’s not that hard to notice when he’s acting like a brat.”
“Dad,” Stan began, voice lowered. They were moving through a doorway now, and most of everyone’s focus was on shuffling through with the little room they had to spare. Herbert was wirey, but Stan’s bulkiness forced him to turn sideways in order to fit while carrying his wife’s unconscious pony body.
“Well, he does,” Herbert answered back. “There’s no use hiding it. I will admit though, he’s been getting better since that whole thing with Mary at the…” Herbert paused, looking at Jo.
Jo noticed. “That Halloween thing Stan told me about?” She took a deep breath, getting a little winded from carrying Twilight and taking so many shuffling steps. She went on when Herbert widened his eyes back. “Stan told me everything,” she admitted, smirking.
“Oh, Right-” Herbert began to say, but was cut off when Stan backed up into the door frame, thumping his head hard, judging by the sound of it.
“Gah-” Stan winced, one eye clenched shut.
Jo frowned over. Ouch. The three of them were just barely squeezing through the doorway once again, while trying to shift Twilight more as they slowly moved out into the dining room. Crouched down slightly, with Mary over her head in Stan’s grip, she suddenly had a thought.
“I don’t know why I didn’t say this already,” Jo spoke up, and paused to get both Stan and Herbert’s attention. Maybe it’s the beer, she briefly considered, but kept it to herself.
She went on. “Hey, we don’t have to move them like this, you know. Set them down a moment.”
Stan and Herbert looked over, the doorway behind them. “Huh?”
Jo breathed out, waiting there hunched over with her friend’s weight trying to pull her over. “We don’t have to carry them like this, with them stuck together leg to shoulder like that. We could, or rather, should probably re-arrange them so that they’re less awkward to…”
“Oh,” Stan said in understanding. “Right, so long as they have one point of contact, if I heard Herbert right earlier.”
“That’s what it looked like to me,” Herbert added thoughtfully. “So get them further from one another?”
“That would work better,” Jo agreed, and began setting down Twilight and Mary with some help.
“It’s worth a shot, anyway.” Stan was already putting theory into practice, setting down Mary.
Herbert and Jo followed suit and laid down Twilight as easily as they could manage.
Stan was the first to try and reorganize the napping duo. He tried to remove Mary’s hoof from Twi’s shoulder, only it wouldn’t move. Grunting, he shifted another of Mary’s hooves at random so he could move the first, and attached it to Twilight’s hip. “Maybe attach Mary’s foot, er, hoof to Twilight’s foot, or leg, or…”
“Maybe,” Herbert rubbed his chin in a thoughtful way, looking over his son’s shoulder. “The fairy magic connection works through Twilight’s clothes, put Mary’s hoof on Twilight’s snow boot?”
Jo shook her head angrily. “No, no, look, yes it works like that, but just make it easier on us and attach their hands again-”
Stan grumbled, being shifted over as Jo tried to skid Mary across the wood floor.
Jo moved Mary’s freed up hoof to Twilight’s hand, then removed the other two that had found their way to becoming plastered elsewhere. Once this was accomplished, Stan hoisted his wife, his arms under her barrel. “Alright, that was much better. Good head-work, Jo. Actually,” he paused to readjust and heft Mary, “What sort of work do you do?”
Jo smiled as she watched, then pulled Twilight up before carrying her again. “Oh, uhm, just some web design. It pays the bills… and makes sure I don’t have to talk to too many people.”
Stan stared a moment, thoughtfully, or at least as best as he could with everyone facing a different direction. He gave a sound of acknowledgement shortly after.
With their grip renewed on her unconscious friend, the backwards walk towards their destination seemed much easier. The next few doorways were cleared with ease, with everyone now walking in a line and each passenger stretched between them.
They passed Agnes along the way, who waved with a cheerful smile, looking very much aware of the struggle the three were going through, but there was little other incident. Anna seemed to be asleep, or just missing. Jo hadn’t seen any sign of the little girl in hours.
Jo took one, last deep breath as the cleared the final doorway into what was obviously a large bedroom with a cozy bed big enough for two. “You know,” she panted. “You would think that a dramatic manifestation of magic like that purple flash would make me feel different than this.”
Stan hummed. “What’s that?”
“I mean all this.” Jo set Twilight down on the bed with Herbert’s help, and straightened up, placing her arms in the small of her back to stretch. “I’ve been housing a magic talking horse for months now—well, someone who claims to have been a magic talking horse. You’d have thought that sort of arrangement would be a lot more—magical, you know? The most magical thing she’s ever done is figure out how to blow up my microwave.”
Stan lifted an eyebrow at that, glancing down at Mary, cradled against his chest, then back at Jo. He didn’t say anything, but his thin, overly amused looking smile spoke volumes.
Jo looked away, brow furrowed and stuttering a little. “I didn’t mean Mary at all, uhm, just Twilight… I- I just meant that of all the possible things that a magic unicorn could do, passing out, and getting stuck to someone else is probably the last sort of thing I would have expected. I don’t really feel like this is anything special… At least, not like learning another world exists should. I dunno...”
“Aaah,” Stan intoned in an understanding way. “I know exactly what you mean.” He looked over at Herbert, and they shared a knowing look between them both.
Jo raised an eyebrow, watching at Stan laid down Mary as well. “Alright, what is it?” She looked between them both expectantly. “Am I not seeing something obvious?”
Stan smirked, laying Mary down alongside Twilight. “Well, maybe not.” He traded another look with Herbert. “It’s a conversation myself and Herbert have had a few times. I’d be willing to bet one day I’ll have it with my son, too.”
Jo blinked. “Is this one of those philosophical parental talk things? I’ll pass if it is...” She smiled in what she hoped was a friendly way, not wanting to sound rude.
“Fair enough.” Stan chuckled, and traded a quick handshake and goodbye with Herbert. It took a moment, but when he was finished he turned to sit down in a recliner that was in the room.
On his way out, Herbert waved goodbye happily to Jo, which she returned with a somewhat less enthusiastic version and an eye roll.
Jo sighed, then looked around the room. “So, can I wait in here with you?” She spoke to Stan, but her eyes settled on Twilight. “I… know this isn’t my fault. But I’d feel like a bad friend if I left her now.”
Stan nodded. “I thought you might ask, heh.” He stood up, and offered his chair.
Jo shook her head. “That’s alright, I can go get one… Uhm, that’s fine, right?”
Stan nodded again. “Yeah, sure.”
“Thanks.” Jo made her way back through the house, running one hand through her hair in an attempt to work out the stress she’d accumulated. Talking to strangers in a situation where your friend might be hurt took its toll, she found.
“Oh, Jo! There you are,” came Agnes’ grandmotherly tone.
Jo turned, a little taken by surprise. “Oh, hello. I didn’t say goodbye, did I?”
Agnes chuckled. “Oh, not that at all, you forgot this out in the living room. I spotted it on my way out.” She held up the barely touched beer that had barely been started on earlier.
Jo made a face of understanding, then grinned. “Oh, thank you! I would have forgotten about it entirely.”
Agnes smiled, wrinkling her face up. “Oh, that’s quite alright, dear. You’ve got bigger concerns I’m sure, but,” she paused, and fished a slip of paper out from her coat. “It seems you’re not too busy to catch somepony’s attention.” She began chuckling, holding out the paper. “Sorry, I meant somebody, it’s a little joke we’ve been saying around here lately.”
Agnes continued as Jo took the paper. “It was quite the dirty trick to ask me to give it to you, don’t you think? But Dan’s more clever than most people give him credit for. Still, he’s a nice boy.”
Jo gave Agnes a confused look, which bloomed into a heated, understanding one after her eyes ran over the phone number staring back up at her. Underneath the number, infuriatingly enough, was two things. They read, respectively, “Hope your friend gets better soon!” and, “Take it easy, Firecat!”
“It’s a cute name,” Agnes said in an admiring tone. “I think he may be coming on a bit too strong though. He could have at least waited until Mary and Twilight woke up… I hope they’ll be alright. Jo? Are you okay?”
Jo’s eyes narrowed more and more at the note. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine.” She looked up from the paper and smiled at Agnes. “I really hope they wake up soon, too. It was nice meeting you and your family. Sorry it was under weird circumstances…” Her laugh was subdued, and a little nervous from being out of practice with it.
Agnes made a knowing smile. “Well, we wouldn’t have met at all if it weren’t for these weird circumstances. I think it’s safe to say that us being friends and coming together for Christmas like this was a small miracle in and of itself.”
Jo’s expression flattened, then became a bigger smile. “Yeah,” she murmured simply.
Agnes nodded, then sighed and patted her coat. “Well, Herb’s waiting in the car. Bye now!”
Jo stood still for a second, the sound of a door shutting loudly shook her out of the daze. Her thoughts had begun hovering around just how normal and the same her life would have stayed if Twilight hadn’t shown up.
“I wouldn’t call all of it a miracle, though.” Jo grimaced, her brow furrowing down, and held up the piece of paper in her hand. “Great.” With a quick flurry of hands, she tore the thing up mercilessly, sending a shower of paper fluttering about. I can't believe that guy. She stared at the little mess a moment, before growling and scooping up the mess.
“I wonder what Alice is doing…” Jo sighed, and spared a thought that reflected she wouldn’t be thinking that either, normally.
Somewhere in New York
Jo’s House
Alice sighed, poking the empty plate on the table sitting in front of her. Home Alone played on the television nearby, while Jo’s three cats all sat in one of the three chairs around the table, each eating out of a little bowl of cat food.
“Man, I am so bored. You know that guys?” Alice looked around at the cats; one of them looked up and meowed, then went back to eating.
“Yeah, I miss them too, kitty,” Alice lamented, then sighed again. “Without those two chowder heads around, there’s no one to harass! The boys all enjoy it too much. I need Jo’s stuffiness. It’s like a drug. Get a taste, and you just keep wanting to bug her endlessly-”
Just then, the doorbell rang. “Pizza’s here!” she chimed, then jumped half way across the room happily, wearing a grin. As she did so, her hand swiped up a remote control, cranking Home Alone on the television. Just after that, she began deftly preparing to light firecrackers that were sorted into a metal pan by the front door.
“Merry Christmas, you filthy animal,” she chortled. "And a Happy New Year!"
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I'm just waiting for the part where somepony or somebody gets an Omega Vorpal Sword and stabs the evil dragon a bajillion times in the face and balls!
(Uhm... it's a female dragon..)
Not after I get through with it...
(Fear the biologist...)
I didn't expect a new chapter! I was really surprised and happy :3
(Your link to the blog post is not redirecting to the right page)
Bro, I think you dun goofed your links.
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Thanks, fellows. Sorry about that.
Awww, the Home Alone reference
But I believe you mean, "Keep the change, you filthy animal", that's the one with the pizza man
The line you put up there was with the hotel manager
lol Alice you is crazy poor Jo though I can see how that call will go. Hay Jo its Alice I..um need you to come and bail me out of jail something about trying to get free food using a tommy gun witch is silly I don't even own a gun well I do but its a squirt gun but those are not illegal are they?(or some such thing like that im sure what she did falls in line with say attempted robbery
)
Jo kept Dan's number!
Jo you blithering idiot! This is not going to help her trust issues with men at all.
Twilight: Poor pizza guy, oh well maybe it will teach him to get a respectable job instead of trying to mate with Alice.
Also, finally Herbert acknoledges the DeLorean!
I usually stop what I'm doing every time I see this update, along with the others tied to it. It's been a great ride so far. Not sure how you pull off such a grand tale across multiple stories, but keep at it you inhuman writing machine you!
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fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/294/3/7/derpy_hooves_salute_wallpaper_by_p0nies_pwn-d5ihuz9.png
... I see what you did there.
i.imgur.com/QXbNfgp.gif
And thus we shall-
files.sharenator.com/kill_it_with_fire_When_memes_collide_s670x394_93334_580-s580x341-222373-445.jpg
......oh...geez..
.....
LOL
Leave it to Alice to actually put something like that into action.
Anywho Merlos, you did an excellent job again. Also Merry (belated)Christmas and also have a great and brand New Year!
Gotta say, Firecat isn't an inaccurate nickname.
Bit surprised she didn't just bin that phone number. Also, pretty nice timing with this chapter, so close after Christmas. :)
Chuck Norris is never on steroids. Steroids do wish they could be on Chuck Norris though.
I was kind of hoping for a sneeze cut with Alice there at the end. Oh well.
Er, did I miss something or did everyone forget there's a hunk of magic crystal out on the front steps somewhere? I coulda swore Twilight brought it with her before Mary and Twilight touched and went boom.
Now with 65% less Twilight! Seriously, she was off in Princess Memory Land the entire time.
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Technically that's still quite accurate. She's just being vague. Hence why she said 'like' eight.
No matter what story he's in, Herbert is awesome!
If I recall correctly, Princess Luna mentioned to I think Pinkie Pie in "Abhorsen" that two people can share a dreamscape if they are in contact with each other. This is what I had suspected. In a way, this means that three stories have met here.
Well, I'm glad to find out what's going on while Twilight and Mary go on their little vision quest or whatever is happening. I am looking forward to seeing the MLM side of this story when it comes out and stuff. Especially in the beginning and at other points, like Christmas dinner I believe, there are things going on that are outside of Jo's perspective. I'm curious as to what was going on and perhaps what their opinion of Jo is outside of her presence. So there's that to look forward to. The snippet with Alice at the end was a nice touch. I always like to see her. It will also make this chapter a bit more different than the corresponding one in MLM. Also, I like that here especially the growth of Jo's character. Especially as she pontificates on how different her life has become since Twilight showed up. You can see that in how she stuff's Dan's phone number in her pocket rather than tear it up like she did to the phone number that guy gave Twilight at that Halloween party. Anyway, that was another great installment. I look forward to the next one and the next for MLM and for the other ones. Keep up the good work.
Is that supposed to be 'by'?
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indeed.
Whelp...I'm up to date on Mary the Mare and Twilight Landing...gotta get to those others tied to this monstrous spiderweb tale of yous!
...
....
.....
Guess I'd better get started!
Very weird chapter.
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mrwgifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Steve-Buscemi-Sobbing-and-Drinking-Reaction-Gif.gif
Myself and sad Steve Buschemi are going to go drink now.
Last line, classic
Eh, not really a fan of introducing a main villain 250k words into the story...
Especially when everyone is expecting a resolution instead.
You've pretty much exhausted the potential of the PiE setting and moving the goalposts is the exact opposite of what the story needs right now. I really hope you're going to handle this in a different way.
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I certainly wasn't building towards any such thing. Presumptuous hobbits, hmph.
Handle it a different way? Why, whatever do you mean? Don't worry yourself, sire, everything is well in hand. Or in this case, well in hoof.
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Nevermind that, I just looked into it and found out this is a part of some alternate-universe-return-of-the-vengeful-ancient-evil spiderweb of yours. I could have sworn it wasn't there when I started following the fic.
God damn it, I hate when that happens. All I wanted was a rest from that kind of premise for a while.
And trust me, to an observer unfamiliar with any other of your fics, it definitely looked like the plot was nearing its conclusion.
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I did put in a *node* chapter that specifically stated there is more out there.
I apologize that the story isn't precisely what you wanted. (Give it a chance though, I'm doing my best to keep it enjoyable for everypony!)
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I will, definitely, but not right now. I read Twifics almost exclusively, so there's not much of an incentive for me in the rest of the stories, especially MLM, a 200+k fic which features exclusively OC's... on Earth. Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into.
As for the node chapter, I skipped it since I thought it deals with another side story by someone else.
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I will also say, I am still writing as much as I can for readers like you, that don't have any interest in the rest of the story. I promise I'm trying to keep each story its own story as much as I can. (From the start I didn't want to force people to read more than they wanted to. But, at the same time, I wanted to tell more story.)
It is part of a larger thing, and will go on further to include more characters than just Jo and Twilight and Alice, but for now it will mostly stick to Twilight.
I'll do my best!
I still have no idea what's going on.
MAKE HER A PONY ALREADY
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Uh oh, I haven't read that one... because... it was too long.
Oh dear... I need to fix this
There, finally finished reading this one to its current stopping point like I said I was going to after Mary's story.
I think I like this one more, then again might have to do with the fact Twilight is my favorite character.
Not sure if I will delve into the other ones though. But you said its not needed so that's a good thing.
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I probably could have used those other sides to the coin as a specific example indeed.
I was trying not to get too dark or too in depth into detail over things, lest I derail the story entirely. But yes, I'm glad Twilight didn't find that example, either. 
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Heh, welcome to the never ending wait for progress.
Why does this have to be soo goooooood.
Now that I reread this, gonna have to go back and reread all the great Mad stories...
On a random note, Jo seems as grumpy as my brother.
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Ah, geez, thanks for the compliment! There have been copious edits over the months, that likely helped a little... I feel bad that I haven't been updating it. D: Stop being so nice! It'd be easier then...
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I believe most of these were written in such a state.
Thank you!
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Heh, sorry, doing the best I can.
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Well, I'm drunk so *bump*
This story needs more attention! Spread the word!
Welp... I finally caught up on both Mary is a mare and A Twilight Landing...
Edit: o3o
"Stan was busy giving the act of separating his wife from Twilight a shot with one arm." After reading this three times, I finally understood what you meant.
"who had taken a shallow breathe in and out" I think that should be breath. "a breath"
I usually spell high school as two words, not "highschool".
I'm almost caught up!
Jo, you bastard. You ruined the kid's dream of meeting a pony princess!
Twilight recognizes a shark jump when she sees one
...if they know they can change it, why didn't they make them attach at extremities? That's always easier.
lol. The Great Human-Pony Puzzle
I'm shipping Jo and Twilight. This ship will never sink.
Are we sure Alice is not at least related in some way to Pinkie Pie? Distant cousin, Thrice displaced, maybe?
When did she say that? Any time she came close to, she was cut off.