> Wilmont
>  by gmen15
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: This is an edited version of the same story I've posted onto this site earlier this year. I've decided to double-check grammar and other possible mistakes, fill in plot holes (no not those types of "plot holes", I mean the literary ones), and make chapters shorter. 

Okay, I know this type of story has been done to death on this site, but I hope that doesn't turn you guys away immediately. This story really has three parts to it, but is uploaded here as one story. 

It gets progressively darker, from being the typical Ponies on Earth story to becoming a story about destruction and chaos,and comparing it to the "chaos" that happens in the animated world of Equestria.

At least that's what I hope this story will accomplish.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think about it in the comments.


Prologue


"Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures."

- Jessamyn West

Wilmont City Hall

Confetti filled the skies of the modest city. People shouted, danced and screamed as they celebrated the election of their new Mayor.

Christopher Drocsid had won in a landslide victory over his incumbent opponent- garnering over seventy percent of the vote. And now, standing in the shadows of City Hall, waiting to walk out to address the masses, the mayor couldn't help but smile.

Skyscrapers towered over the mob of people that celebrated in the street. There was a heavy amount of traffic, especially since long lines of cars was usually non-existent in this city- the size small enough to make such annoyances non-factors. On the surface, it was like any other small city. Not too overbearing, while still having that urban feel- including an arts district, a business district, and some outlying neighborhoods with homes dating as far back as the late eighteen-hundreds.

Cheers echoed throughout the massive crowd that was gathered in front of City Hall. Car horns blasted all around as rowdy supporters jumped up and down on the back of flat-bed pick-ups that had driven near where the speech was to be given.

This was Wilmont, New York. A city with many problems- ridiculously high unemployment and skyrocketing crime rate. Problems that Mayor Drocsid, during his campaign, had promised to fix. He was an individual empowered by the hope he gave the citizenry. It was by far the largest turnout for any inaugural speech in the city's history. Perhaps this was because of desperation, and that the city's residents finally felt like they succeeded in electing someone that could turn their city around. Someone they could trust. Someone to save them from the tough times.

The newly elected mayor of the Upstate city stood in front of a crowd of eager spectators ready to hear his speech, having just been sworn into office. As he stood on his pedestal, the microphone directly in front of his face. The city's upbeat, near-presidential anthem played over loudspeakers that were placed nearby for the event. The crowd was so loud that the city's anthem was almost completely drowned out-screams of the Mayor's name and howls rang out from the open windows of buildings, to the street in front of City Hall. Fists pumped, signs waving "Drocsid 2010" waved like fans on a warm, summer day.

The mayoral inauguration was being broadcast live on the local television news channels; local history classes were breaking from their normal schedule to watch history, and local Universities shuttle out political-science students, most of whom have taken the time to drive over to city hall to watch the speech first hand. not surprising for such a popular candidate.

Mayor Drocsid was middle-aged and has a wild look about him; his eyes have a glimmer of craziness, borderline insanity, dark circles surrounded them like tires on a wheel. His skin was pale, as if he hasn't seen the light of day for years prior to his inauguration. He looked like a man who despised organization and order, which wasn't far from the truth at all.

He began his speech: "My citizens. For far too long, a few people have benefited at the expense of the many. The youth have been oppressed by the old; the poor by the rich, the meek by the strong, the black by the white, but no more."

The Mayor grinned, almost menacingly, at the eager crowd, which mostly consisted of people between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five.

"Today is a new era for this wondrous city."

Cheers erupted from the crowd. Bombastic chants of "Drocsid! Drocsid! Drocsid!" echoed throughout the city. Drocsid gave a faux smile of warmth and waved to his enthusiastic audience with a subtle arrogance. He then lowered his hand, waiting for the crazy crowd to calm itself before finishing his speech.

"And remember this; the problem isn't with the you, the public! The problem is with the system! It is never fair that some live in chaos and squalor while other's live in peace and luxury! I will bring to the entire state the idea of equality, and empowerment to the youth and poverty of this city."

As the Mayor flashed his phony smile at the crowd, who were enthusiastically chanting his name, his eyes started to glow a faint yellowish color. A color that made them look almost cartoony, yet at the same time devious and full of sinister desires.

But the crowd didn't take notice; it was too enthralled with the new mayor who promised to fix their lives and the broken city they called home. The man who had been a fantastic orator and had given them hope. They had no idea the true intentions of the man at the podium, and at the time they didn't really care. Thus the victorious chanting continued, almost hauntingly, throughout the city. The Mayor continued to wave to the crowd. The public completely unaware of the evil they had just given power to through the power of their vote.

All the oblivious crowd did was continue their victory chant for their new mayor as the confetti fell over the city like multicolored embers in a roaring fire.

"Drocsid! Drocsid! Drocsid!"
> Meet the Bronies and Tara
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 1: Meet the Bronies & Tara


Wilmont- June 2012 (2 Years Later)

The sun hung high in the beautiful, spring afternoon in Wilmont. Birds sand their cheerful melodies, the wind passed through the leaves as they emitted a soft, soothing rattle. Everything was so at peace, that even a passing SUV and it's monstrous engine that rivaled the roar of a dragon couldn't break it.

"Hey man, can you open a window? I'm baking back here!" James Carson complained, leaning his head against the seat, his long, black hair pressed up against the leather headrest. His feet were propped onto the passenger-side seat and his eyes were gazing out of the window, the forests of oak and maple they drove past reduced to a blur of green and brown.

"Open it yourself, you have hands don't you?" The driver, Ryan Davis, hissed. He was agitated that James had to ask for something he could easily do himself.

"I've already tried that." James muttered, pressing the window-opening button a few times to emphasize his point. "It's not working."

"Then just turn the air conditioner on! Jesus Christ James, it isn't brain surgery." Ryan said, peering back at James through the rear-view mirror. His eyes hidden behind a pair of shades. His short, spiked dirty blonde hair reflecting sunlight that crept into the car through the windshield. With Ryan's eyes hidden, James wasn't exactly sure if he was being serious or picking on him. Either way, James took the initiative and decided to prod his friend, seeing how much he could annoy him.

"Nah man, that's bad for the environment." He snickered. "Unlike you, I actually care for the welfare of our planet."

Ryan had to do everything in his power not to face-palm. "Ugh, come on James. Could you stop with your hippie bullshit for one day? Please? Just one day, that's all I'm asking."

"Why, because it annoys your conservative ass? Tough shit, it's not my fault you're the spawn of the white upper class." James laughed a bit, never taking his eyes away from the passing forests.

"Oh so we're stereotyping now based on political beliefs? All right then, I can play at that game too, " Ryan said, clearing his throat. "You are a pot-smoking, socialist hippie and an agnostic ass-hole that would probably be more willing to worship the trees than God. How's that for a stereotype liberal-boy?"

James flipped Ryan the bird before he turned his attention back to the world outside, laughing a little.

While this was going on, the third was silently sitting in the passenger seat, his arms crossed and his eyes staring straight ahead. Like Ryan and James, Carl Lewis was seventeen years old. He had dirt-brown hair and- save for his violet eyes- he looked like the most average teenage boy imaginable He didn't take his eyes off of the road, even as his friends "argued". He put his hand up to shield his eyes from the rays of sun that shone into the car.

Ryan saw this and laughed haughtily, "Hey Carl, I can see you squinting. You should've worn sunglasses, man."

A small smile crept onto Carl's face. "I don't let a little sunlight get in my way. I'm a strong-willed individual that isn't afraid to face what's in front of him."

Ryan raised an eye-brow. "So in order to metaphorically prove a point about blinding oneself from reality or some pretentious bullshit, you're willing to literally blind yourself?"

Carl didn't answer immediately. He pondered the question before finally giving Ryan a small, nonchalant shrug. "I guess you can say that."

He couldn't help but smirk at his pretentious, empty bullshit statement. He knew very well that's all it was. Just a statement he said in order to act smarter than he really was.

"Why are you so rebellious anyway?" James asked, still in a relaxed sitting position. His hands behind his head like he was lounging on the beach.

Carl, once again, shrugged. "I just don't give a shit what people think. I am who I am. "

Carl then turned his attention to the radio, which was currently playing some rap song. He groaned, very turned off by that genre of music. In fact, he often distanced himself from most modern music and would prefer older bands like Rush and KISS, much like Ryan. Out of the trio, James was the one who usually like rap and hip-hop. But he did like rock as well. For instance, when he was drunk he would, for a reason unknown even to himself, have the desire to belt out KISS songs at top volume.

"Hey Ryan, do you mind if I change the station to something a better than rap?" Carl asked, pointing to the radio.

"Go right ahead man, I hate this shit anyway. There are only so many songs about banging women and shooting cops that I can take in one sitting."

Carl flipped to the rock station just as "Limelight" began to play. Both Ryan and Carl began to sing, Carl even adding some air-drumming to match up Neil Pert's rhythm. As he watched his friends start to rock out, James let out a groan and pulled out his iPod.

"Look, not that you two don't sound like angels," James said with pure sarcasm as he put his earphones into his ears. "But I prefer listening to real singers, if you don't mind."

James pressed "play" and proceeded to listen to his iPod, specifically the very same type of rap Carl and Ryan denounced moments before.

Ryan turned his attention back to the road, humming along to the song without getting distracted. Carl watched the different small businesses pass by, each with their own specific place in his memories, even if he never actually went inside. Just seeing the shops often brought on a wave of nostalgia.

One shops in particular grabbed Carl's attention.

"Courtie's Magic Shop" was the local magic shop that Carl worked at until he was twelve. Even though most businesses had a minimum age requirement of fourteen, Mr. Courtie was able to hire Carl at age ten since he only had to sweep, organize the shop, and watch the old man perform spectacular magic tricks. Tricks that were sometimes too spectacular.

He used to be so fascinated with the idea of magic and accomplishing the impossible, even going so far as to stay at work late to have Mr. Courtie give him lessons. But, as with everyone, he eventually "outgrew" the "childish" passion for magic, and began to lose the sense of wonder that it had once provided. It was just caused by a much more painful event for Carl than for most people.

In fact, his loss of childhood innocence was lost in the single most painful moment in Carl's life.

He watched as the middle-aged Mr. Courtie cleaned his store window with the same dirty old rag that he's used for years. The sunlight reflected off of the clear glass as it became cleaner, even with the filthy method of cleaning it. Mr. Courtie turned around to look at Carl. He gave a small smile and waved to him. Carl, in turn, returned a small wave of his own. But it was very unenthusiastic and cold.

The High School was just outside of the village on one side, while the mall was situated on the other. After passing all of the shops and going past the mall and school, Ryan drove towards the local park.

Wilmont Park was very beautiful for the months of March through October. Any other time, as with the rest of Upstate New York, Wilmont was a terrible mix of snow, grey, and gloominess that would make the most optimistic residents feel depressed.

Carl watched as some kids, most likely between the age of ten and twelve, played a soccer game on one of the large sports' fields. He smiled as his mind filled with the nostalgia of his childhood, watching as one of the players began to sprint down the sideline before getting slide-tackled by a player on the opposing team.

Because the mall, school and park were in a triangle shape in relation to each other, each side of the imaginary triangle being about a mile and a half long, it was often called the "Holy Trinity" by the local teens. School was for "profession", the mall was for lazy recreation, and the park was activity. In other words, the three main things that dominate teenage life.

After about two more minutes of driving down the street, Ryan pulled into a neighborhood. He stopped the car in front of Carl's red house. Carl nodded to them and opened the passenger-side door to get out.

"All right boys, I'll see you at the party tonight."

"Wait, I thought I was driving?" Ryan asked, "I mean; I'm the only one of us who isn't going to be shit-faced."

"Oh yeah, I forgot." Carl thought for a moment before responding. "Come back here in about an hour I'll be ready to go, I just need to eat dinner and get changed." Carl thought for a second before he continued, "actually the party's just down the street, I could walk there."

"Nah man, I'll give you a lift." Ryan said with a friendly smile.

Carl nodded, "Thanks dude, I'll see you in a little bit."

He shut the door and started up to his house.

Once Carl reached the door he knocked and waited for someone to answer. As he waited, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in one of the small windows that bordered the door. He looked at his eyes, his expressive, violet eyes that had always made him a target for verbal abuse at school and in public.

What guy had violet eyes? Hell, what person had violet eyes? It was just bizarre, almost unheard of outside of cartoons or other works of fiction. His classmates made sure to remind him of this anomaly, through the constant verbal abuse and occasional physical they laid on him for having "girly eyes".

As Carl thought about his eye color, the front door to his house opened up. Carl's mother, Lauren stood in the doorway with a warm smile. She had hair that was brunette, borderline red, and she had shining blue eyes.

"Good to see that you're home." She said. "How was your last day of school?"

"We came, we saw, we conquered." Carl said, slipping into the house. "Typical, except less work and more goofing off."

Lauren looked outside, watching as Ryan's car drove off down the street before she walked back into the house and turned to her son, "Where did you and your friends go?"

"The mall." Carl answered.

Lauren shut the door behind him and went back to the kitchen as Carl kicked off his shoes and walked sock-footed into the house. The inside was modest, nothing too over the top, but at the same time it was quaint. It may not have been a mansion, but it was still a nice place to live.

Carl then followed Lauren into the dining area of the kitchen where his two sisters were already eating. Lisa, Carl's nine-year-old sister, was the older and more rebellious of the two. In fact, Carl saw her as a "smart-ass" who acted pretty old for her age.

Anna, at age six, was the younger one. The only word that could describe her personality would be "innocent". Carl sat down in the seat next to Lisa. Lauren came back to the table with a plate of fish and broccoli, which she set down in front of Carl. He looked at what food he had been offered and grumbled. He hated fish, especially white fish, like the haddock that was on the plate in front of him.

"Ah, fish and broccoli, it is a truly winning combination." he muttered sarcastically.

"It is if you're planning to lead a long, healthy life." Lauren said as she walked out of the kitchen, leaving Carl with his two sisters.

When Lauren was gone, Lisa leaned towards Carl. "If this is what's needed for a healthy life, then sign me up for obesity and a hospital room."

Carl chuckled before he begrudgingly began the task of eating the bland, yet healthy meal. Anna finished most of what was on her plate as Lisa did soon after. They both got up to clean their plates in the sink, which was piled up with plates that had not yet been washed.

"Hey Carl are you going to that party tonight? The one everyone in the High School was talking about." Anna asked, her innocent face beaming at Carl.

"Yeah, Ryan's coming to pick me up in an hour."

"Does mom know you're going?"

"Yes she does," Carl said before lowering the tone of his voice to just above a whisper, "but what I do there is something she'll never know, understand?"

"You mean getting plastered?" Lisa laughed as she scrubbed her plate clean with a sponge over the sink water.

"I prefer the term "wasted", but whatever floats your boat." Carl said as he finished the last of his fish and walked over to the sink. "Besides, I really don't even get "wasted"; I just get a little tipsy. If I have more than two beers in one sitting I feel like shit the next morning."

"So you set a limit?"

"Actually, I think of it more like a "vow"."

"Yeah sure, in the same way Anna "vowed" never to swim in our pool again after I told her sharks could spontaneously appear in it and eat her? She just got out of the pool today." Lisa smiled and Anna glared at her.

"Hey I remember that! That was a mean for thing to say you...meany. Ugh!" Anna stated in a huff, her arms crossed as she stormed off.

Carl walked over to the sink to clean his plate with a smile on his face, as there was nothing more entertaining than watching his two sisters go at each others' throats like two hungry dogs fighting over a scrap of meat. It was a hilarious sight. As he cleaned his plate, Lisa stood next to him, giving him a sly smirk.

"Carl, did you catch the newest "My Little Pony" episode?" Carl sighed.

"I told you not to bring up that I watch it. You know I'm not proud of it."

"But you do watch it." She said in the know-it-all way that was typical of her before she walked off, leaving an annoyed Carl to finish cleaning his plates by himself.

He sighed and walked upstairs to his room where he shut the door so he could have some alone time for a few minutes before he had to get ready for the party. First thing was first, he grabbed his laptop and flipped it open so he could check his e-mails and Facebook for any new messages, updates, alerts, and other stuff most teenagers do when they're bored out of their minds. He even went to the local news website to read up on the new crimes that were hitting Wilmont.

Something he only did when he was extremely bored.

You see, while Wilmont was the stereotypical, small, American city, it had a very high crime rate; crimes that were committed usually had to do with the huge number of anarchist gangs that called Wilmont home. Regardless, it wasn't that the crimes themselves were out of the ordinary, just the prevalence of them, and for its smaller size, Wilmont was a very dangerous city

After reading up on two new homicides and thoroughly depressing himself into a stupor, Carl decided to surf the web for more entertaining purposes. As he did this, he looked over at a picture of his family that was on his desk. Carl, his mother, his sisters, and his father were all in the image. His face fell to a sad, nostalgic smile as he looked at the image of his father.

About five years before, during a mugging, a gang member shot and killed Carl's father. To make matters worse, it happened right in front of Carl and Lisa, both of whom would never forget the images of their father bleeding out on the sidewalk as their mother sobbed, making a futile attempt to stop the bleeding by pressing her hand to his abdomen.

Ever since, Carl became the father figure of the household, or at least he tried to be. Anna and Lisa didn't really respect him enough to say he accomplished that role. Regardless, he got a job at the local coffee shop to help bring money to the table so his mother wouldn't be alone.

While he was a bit of a realist around those that he cared about, such as his mother and sisters, Carl often found ways to escape his life into fantasies that he wished were real, but deep down knew that they weren't, no matter how much he wished and pleaded he knew nothing would ever come of it.

This was where My Little Pony came in. He first found out that Ryan was a brony while he was going through Ryan's closet to find a shirt that he needed to borrow after a drunken James threw up on him at a party.

As he looked through the messy closet, Ryan was never one for complete organization, he found a t-shirt with Rainbow Dash's cutie mark on it. He immediately recognized it as both Lisa and Anna watched the show every Saturday, which led to him learning about the characters without ever flipping to the Hub.

Not to mention Anna would always be seen playing with her Rainbow Dash figure. It was from this that he learned about Rainbow Dash's cutie mark, the cloud with the lightning-bolt, colored blue, yellow and red. A representation of her talent for extreme speed, as well as her success in performing the sonic rainboom.

Naturally, this humiliated Ryan, who begged Carl to not tell anyone else about it. Carl agreed but kept pressing Ryan to tell him what made him like the show. It was "My Little Pony", after all.

Once he got over his fear, Ryan told Carl how he found out about it from the Internet. After he watched a few episodes,he was hooked. He talked about the quirky story lines, the three-dimensional characters- everything that made the show worth watching. Eventually, he convinced Carl to watch some episodes. Begrudgingly, but deciding to appease his friend, Carl caved and watched the first two episodes, "Friendship is Magic: Parts 1 and 2".

The rest was history.

Since then, he's watched the show to escape from reality. Each time becoming more and more depressed when the episode ended. He always was a bit of a romantic in the sense that he wished for the impossible to happen, much like Ryan was.

He imagined what it would be like if the characters were brought into the real world. More than anything, he wished he could meet Twilight Sparkle because she was his favorite character on the show.

Not only did she have the same eye-color as Carl, but she had the desire to learn that Carl wished he could have. She also had the type of personality that he desired in girls. She was smart, kind, even if a bit neurotic. He sighed and got up to start getting dressed for the party.

James- Caroline's House

"I told you that you don't have to stop by every day." James' cousin Caroline said as she gave her cousin a big smile. Caroline was twelve and had a very beautiful face with big, expressive eyes. All of this stood out on her thin, chemotherapy-effected body.

All of her beautiful brown hair was gone, lost to the treatment, and her skin was pale as skim milk. James was sitting next to her bed in a small, white chair, putting on a hopeful, optimistic smile, even though he was anything but optimistic on the inside.

"Now how can I stay away from such a sweet girl?" James smiled and leaned in to kiss her on the forehead. He then leaned back and reached behind the chair he was sitting in, "Besides, I had to make sure you got this."

"What is it?"

James handed her a gift that was wrapped in blue paper. She quickly tore the paper off and once she saw what James had given her, she grinned from ear to ear and covered her mouth as she let out a gasp.

She held up her gift, a t-shirt that had Fluttershy's face on it. The yellow pony giving the cutest smile imaginable.

"Oh my gosh you got me a Fluttershy t-shirt?" James nodded and Caroline leaned over and hugged him. "Thank you so much James."

"Anytime." He put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Listen I have to get going now, but I'll be back again tomorrow."

Caroline nodded happily. James smiled back and hugged her one last time. "Rest up, kiddo."

"I will."

With that, James left and walked out to Ryan, who was waiting for him outside. He was glad he didn't have to go home just yet, as he didn't feel like seeing his parents. They only did two things, work at their respective occupations, and criticize James for every, single thing that he did.

Every day, if he dressed himself they would say he looked like a slob. If he got an A- on a paper, they would be disappointed that it wasn't an A+. If he scored a goal in soccer, they'll tell him how his "amazing", "perfect" brother Patrick scored three against the same team when he was in High School. In conclusion, they were unnecessarily hard on him, to the point where he blocked out whatever they told him.

In all honesty, James only got true enjoyment out of two things. One was seeing Caroline and doing his best to make her day better. The other was My Little Pony, which Caroline got him into.

He watched the show for the first time a few months before during one of his visits to his sickly cousin's house, and loved it almost instantly. He didn't just get into the show because of the story or because he knew how large their teenage, male fan-base was, but because it gave Caroline and him joy, to find something to connect over, to escape the painful hell that both of them lived in.

So whenever he came over to visit, he'd talk about that week's newest episode as well as Fluttershy, their favorite pony in the show, the one that brought them together, and the one that made James have to check himself for signs of diabetes after watching an episode that featured the cute, shy Pegasus.

In the end, it was not just a fun show that brought James back to his child-hood; it also helped him and Caroline find happiness during such a dark time. More than that, it gave happiness to a child whose next day could be her last, and that is what James appreciated more than anything.

Ryan

Ryan waited in his car for James to get done with Caroline. He sighed as he listened to some more rock music on the radio. His arm was hanging out of the open window and he was biting his thumbnail in impatience as he listened to the epicness that was "Back in Black".

He lowered the visor and opened the small mirror that was in it before he removed his glasses to look at the bruised eye that it concealed from the others. The swelling wasn't too great, but the black and blue coloration was all the evidence that was needed to prove the validity of the confrontation Ryan had earlier that day with the school bully.

Ryan was a rich kid- at least according to everyone at school. His father was a well-respected doctor at Wilmont General Hospital, and his mother was a real-estate agent whose face was plastered on bill-boards all over town. This made Ryan the victim of constant assaults, both physical and verbal. Some days he'd get lucky and only have to deal with someone writing slurs on his locker, such as "rich fuck" or "racist piece of shit." Other times he wasn't so lucky, and the result would be anything from getting punched in the face, to getting his head stuffed into a toilet.

He was thankful that his parents were there for him when he needed them to be. They were really the two best parents anyone could ask for. But sometimes he'd come home after getting the shit beat out of him to find his parents absent, both at work or doing something else, which would cause Ryan to become depressed. He would then run up to his room, throw himself onto his bed and sob like a child.

Even though he hung out with James and Carl, he was always skeptical of them. He didn't completely trust anyone besides his parents, losing faith in humanity's sense of loyalty years ago after one of his closest friendships were shattered like a dish falling to the floor. Like Carl and James, he was into My Little Pony, and like his friends, there was a much deeper reason for it than just the fact that he enjoyed the show's story-lines.

Ryan was never the most confident person in the world; in fact, he always put himself down no matter what he did, to the point where everyone around him would think he was being a martyr when it was really just because he didn't like himself. Even when he did something good, he would constantly focus on what he did bad- even if it was something so minuscule nobody would care or even notice. He first watched the show after looking at some memes online that sparked his interest. Soon, he was watching it non-stop in the secrecy of his room.

The reason that he liked, besides it being his form of escapism, was because of Rainbow Dash. She was everything that he wasn't. She believed in loyalty, she was confident in herself, or she projected it at least, and she was more outgoing and, for lack of a better word- fun.

But more than anything it was the fact that she was loyal. Seeing her always stand up for her friends quickly resulted in her becoming his favorite character on the show. Sure she was arrogant, the polar opposite of Ryan, but that's why he admired her. She could boast, but could back it up. He respected that about her. Plus, he always wished that he could have a small amount of her confidence.

He always wanted to meet a girl with those traits, which was virtually nonexistent in Wilmont as well as this world. Every time he saw her on the show, he'd become extremely upset, knowing that she, as well as her friends, was nothing more than ink on paper, made for people's entertainment. Whenever he had the chance to make a wish, he'd wish that he could meet her, get to know her, and be friends with her, or something more.

He never would say it out loud, but he loved her. He hardly told anyone, not even Carl, that he had a crush on her. For obvious reasons, it was too embarrassing to admit one's love for a cartoon pony that would never cross this realm of reality no matter how often prayers and wishes were uttered.

He was deep in thought about this when he heard a knocking at the passenger-side window. He nearly jumped out of his seat and dropped his glasses from the surprise. He looked over to see James through the window, a big smile on his face. Ryan rolled his eyes and James got into the truck.

"Goddamn it, James." Ryan said. "Was that really necessary?"

"Of course. Annoying you is a daily requirement of mine." James answered, laughing. "Right along with brushing my teeth and showering."

"You know I believe in an eye for an eye James," Ryan said, turning the volume up on the radio as James shut the car door behind him. "So you'd better be careful when you're at your most vulnerable. And I assume that will be tonight at the party after you pound a few beers."

James smiled, "A few? Oh, Ryan, buddy, you have no idea what I'm getting myself into."

Ryan chuckled a little bit before he drove off to pick up Carl. Ryan slipped the sunglasses onto his face, hiding the bruise from James' view to avoid talking about his bullying problem.

Wilmont City Hall

Everyone had started to leave the offices for the day. The normally loud, busy building that echoed with arguments and debates during the day grew quieter as evening approached. Contrarily, the city itself was more alive now that it was at any other point in the day, mostly because of the growing rush hour traffic as people began to head home for the night.

Wilmont City Hall was quite a grand achievement. Six stories high with "WILMONT CITY HALL" in big, white letters that cast shadows over the streets below. The outside of the structure was black, the inside mostly white, filled to the brim with office spaces, desks. Nothing out of the ordinary save for a grand staircase and a marble-floored hallway, the walls lined with oil paintings from various points in the city's history.

Brett Howard sat in a chair outside of Mayor Drocsid's office, tapping his fingers against his briefcase impatiently. He had light brown hair and silver eyes. He was about thirty-five but the stress and darkness in his face made him look a lot older.

The door to the Mayor's office finally opened, getting Brett's attention so that he stood up.

Mayor Drocsid came out and turned to Brett. When he saw his assistant, he gave a big smile.

"Brett; my friend. How have you been this fine day?" he asked in a cheerful way, giving Brett a warm him before backing off to give Brett some space.

"Fine sir."

They began to walk down the hall towards the exit, discussing the main points that the speech was to include. The Mayor grinned and, noticing that no one was around anymore, decided to become a little more personal in his discussions with Brett, "So, is there anything you'd like to discuss before heading home? Obscure?"

"Sir, are you sure it's all right to talk so openly?" Brett, or Obscure Darkness, asked.

"Of course, no one is around! Look, this building has become a ghost town! As soon as six o'clock hits people flood out of here like the place was on fire." He smiled, "It makes this place quite boring."

"Well Earth is a lot different." Brett said, smiling darkly. "It is much more chaotic then back home."

"Obviously. But that makes my job a lot easier." The Mayor grinned evilly as his eyes changed to a scary, yellow color. Brett jumped back a bit at this sudden change.

"Ah! Dear Celestia! Tell a pony when you're going to do something like that!" Brett let out a sigh of relief to calm down. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Truly sorry about that." His eyes returned back to normal. "This world is so unstructured. And those people who call for structure are shouted down by the youth. This new generation of humans, the teenagers, they're our targets."

"You've taken quite a liking to them, huh?"

"Oh Obscure, you have no idea. They want disorder, and we will watch as they achieve it."

The Mayor walks over to a window and looks out at Wilmont, which is still visible under the setting sun.

"Disgruntled, entitled, arrogant, brash, jealous. Nopony would expect a world like this to exist, let alone function." Brett said, following the Mayor to look outside as a few cars passed by in the streets below.

"Yes, unlike Equestria, this place is destined to fall to chaos."

Brett nodded and began to walk away when Drocsid called after him.

"Oh and Obscure," he said. Brett turned around, "I would appreciate to open the newspaper tomorrow and find Mr. Hanson in the obituaries. I know you are friends with him, but if we are to succeed with our plans, it's necessary."

Brett nodded with some regret before he gave a malicious smile to his boss. "Yes sir."

Party- Night

"WOOOOOOOHOOOO, aw yeah we are getting hammered tonight bitches!" James shouted in his drunken stupor as he danced around the small house where the party was being held.

"To a wonderful, MAGNIFICENT summer of relaxation, and getting FUCKED UP!" James shouted before chugging more of his beer to the sound of some drunken cheering, while anyone who was remotely sober shot the black-haired teen an annoyed glare.

There were about sixty people present at this shindig, and while most of the people attending were drunk, it was clear that James was the most obnoxious. Everyone was either getting really annoyed by him or joined him in their own alcohol-induced states. Hip-hop and rap were blaring out of the three-foot tall speakers. Everywhere, people were dancing Whether it be solo, like James, or with their significant other, like many of the football players were doing with their girlfriends. Actually, scratch that, they weren't dancing as much as they were "grinding" on each other in the most sexual way imaginable.

While a massive mosh pit was forming in the living room, Ryan and Carl stood over in the kitchen area watching as their friend made a complete fool out of himself in front of the entire party. Carl was sipping a beer while Ryan stood with a simple cup of water, clearly bored out of his mind.

"I think we should take him home before he hurts himself." Ryan grumbled.

Just as Ryan said this, James walked over to a hot blonde girl, the cocky grin on his face showing that he was flirting with her. Suddenly, a guy wearing a Wilmont Football jacket walked over and pushed James out of the way, threatening him for trying to "take my girl". James just threw his arms up in a "what's up" way before slowly walking off and over to some pot-head that was chilling on the couch with some of his friends, smoking from a huge bong. The stoner's black hoodie, backwards Nike hat, and long, brown hair strewn around gave him the look of a classic burn-out.

Upon Ryan seeing this turn of events, he felt the need to add to his original statement.

"Or someone else hurts him."

"He'll be fine." Carl said as he took a sip of his beer. "

Ryan let out an obnoxious yawn.

"God this party is boring!" he groaned as he took a sip of water.

"Then leave, no one's stopping you. You have the car. Me and James don't live too far from here." Carl said, noticing Ryan's bored look.

"I'm not going to leave this early just because I'm bored. I don't want to be that guy."

"Dude; you're already that guy."

Ryan raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms defensively. "What does that mean?"

"Are you serious?" Carl said, laughing like he couldn't believe Ryan didn't know. "It means you're the biggest buzz-kill on the planet. You never let your hair down to enjoy the ride; you always have to over-analyze everything."

"I do too let myself have fun;" Ryan said, "That fun just doesn't involve alcohol or sex."

"And I'd like to thank you for proving my point, Buzz Killington." Carl grumbled as he took a sip from his can of beer, as if illustrating his point.

"Hey, you have beer to escape from reality, I have ponies." Ryan had a slight smirk as Carl rolled his eyes.

Carl started to walk over towards the table where the beer was and Ryan followed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and letting out an obnoxious yawn. Carl grabbed another beer off of the table and began to drink it, bringing him to his limit of two beers. After finishing his yawning session, Ryan looked up to see a girl.

He noticed that this girl was shyly looking over at Carl, a small smile clearly on her face and a blush in her cheeks, as if she wanted to go up to him, but was too shy.

Ryan tapped Carl's shoulder, "Dude, that girl over there is checking you out."

"Huh?" Carl looked to where Ryan was pointing. "Which one?"

"The cute one with the purple t-shirt and black sweat pants, over by the punch." Ryan said as he took another sip of water from his cup.

Carl looked around until he finally saw her. There was something that Carl noticed about her, something that made his jaw drop.

She was gorgeous, drop dead gorgeous. To say that she was simply "pretty", would be like saying the sun is quite large. She was like a Goddess out of Greek mythology. Great body, beautiful face and an impossibly innocent smile that could make the most hardened man's heart melt into a sappy puddle. Based on looks alone, she was Carl's dream girl, in nearly every, single way.

The girl then began to walk over to the two guys, now both acting like they weren't just staring at her moments before.

She smiled at the two. "Hi."

"Hello." They both respond in unison.

"My name is Tara. I just moved here." She extended her hand, which Carl hesitantly took and shook it, finding it hard to look away from her eyes. "What are your names?"

"Carl."

"Ryan." Ryan shook her hand as well.

"It's nice to meet you both."

"So where are you from?" Ryan asked, as Carl was still too enchanted by her beauty to do anything besides stare stupidly into her amazing eyes.

"Let's just say I'm from someplace far away." She said with a smile.

"Well, that's vague as hell. Could you be any more specific?"

Tara shook her head, "I'll tell you later, if you'd like."

"Sure." Ryan said somewhat suspiciously. Carl chuckled, snapping himself out of his trance.

"So what do you like to do?"

"I love to read." She said enthusiastically. "Oh, I also love to learn."

"Read and learn? Heh, she's like the polar opposite of you Carl." Ryan said, giving his friend a playful nudge. Carl shot Ryan an angry glare, but the blush in his cheeks was undeniable.

Tara laughed. "You sound like one of my friends, she hates that stuff to, well, with a few exceptions."

"Really, maybe I can meet this friend of yours and discuss how we loathe everything you love." Carl said with a somewhat flirtatious voice.

Tara smiled and chuckled, "Maybe."

Carl began to think, "God her voice is familiar, where have I heard it before?

"Yo, what's up my homies?" Shouted James as he stumbled over to the trio, drunk as a clam. "Guys, guess what? Louis has some weed over there; the shit is off the fucking chain!"

James pointed to the stoner that sat in the corner, still lighting it up with his friends.

"Um, dude?" Ryan gestured over to Tara. "There's a lady here, why don't you tone down the swearing a bit?"

"James," Carl said to shut his friend up, "I'd like you to meet Tara. Tara, this is our good friend James. And I'd like to apologize for his vulgar language, he's drunk and he doesn't know any better."

"Hello," she said, extending her hand, "It's very nice to meet you."

"Like...Like..." James tried to finish saying "like wise" when he suddenly turned away and vomited all over the floor of the living room. Tara jumped back at the spectacle and covered her mouth in shock, Carl's mouth hung open, and Ryan just laughed.

"Christ James!" Carl shouted angrily, "What the fuck!"

"I think...hic...I've had too much."

Ryan raised his eyebrows, "Oh, you don't say."

Ryan then laughed a little more at his sarcastic joke, but Carl was just annoyed that his drunk friend would vomit in front of a girl that he just met, a girl that he happened to like.

James straightens himself up when suddenly someone grabbed him from behind and turned him. Lawrence Tomlinson stared directly into his eyes. Lawrence was pretty large, but somewhat pudgy as well. He had curly black hair and a mean-looking face. His eyes were so hate-filled that after seeing them, you would question the validity of the fact that everyone was a child at one point.

"Hey moron! What the fuck are you doing?" Lawrence asked harshly.

"I...hic...don't know."

"Are you trying to ruin this party?"

"No...I."

Lawrence grabbed James' by the shirt and threw him to the ground angrily. Ryan stood up and stormed over to him.

"Hey Lawrence, why don't you go piss on somebody else's parade."

Lawrence smiled, "But I enjoy messing with you and your friends. Now I suggest you three leave this party now before I fuck up your other eye in front of everybody."

Ryan bit his lip and sighed.

"Come on guys, let's go." Ryan said as he turned away from Lawrence, glaring at him until he began to walk away. But then he felt Lawrence grab him and turn him around so they were facing each other again.

"On second thought, Ryan, I think some facial symmetry would do you some good." With that, Lawrence reared his fist back and punched Ryan directly in his eye that had not been bruised yet, and he fell down onto the beer-soaked carpet. He looked up at Lawrence, who was laughing at him, as were the rest of the people at the party, save Carl and Tara. Even James laughed, but that was just because he was drunk as hell. Ryan, wide eyed and on the verge of tears, pushed himself up and ran out of the house.

"Shit, Ryan." Carl said, following him out and grabbing the drunken James as well.

"Aw! The game isn't over yet! Hic...the Knicks still have a chance to win the series!" James complained drunkenly. Tara began to follow, but was stopped by Lawrence, who stepped into her path and held his hand out.

"Aw wait, I only said those three losers had to go." He said, grabbing her shoulder.

"Let go of me." She said angrily.

"But I want you to stay, so you're staying." Lawrence smiled his cocky smile as Tara glared at him. A faint, purple glow was visible in her eyes, as well as her forehead, as she stared up the bully in anger.

"You let go of me before I buck you so hard in your stallion-hood that you won't be able to mate for a century."

Lawrence's eyes went wide in shock as he let Tara go. She gave him one last, angry glare as her eyes went back to normal before she ran outside after Carl and the others.

"What the fuck?" Lawrence asked no one in particular, watching as Tara walked out. "What was that? Who was that chick?"

Outside, she saw Carl standing at Ryan's car, with James vomiting on the lawn. Ryan sat in the passenger-side of the car with tears rolling down his cheeks as he silently cried.

"Hey man, come on. It's fine."

"I know, I'm just sick of it." Ryan whimpered as he wiped some tears away from his eyes and sniffing. Tara walked over.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Ryan nodded before looking over at James, who was hunched over the lawn, singing Kiss songs with a slurred voice as his vomiting started to stop.

"Besides, you two should be more concerned about James over there."

Ryan pointed to James. When Tara and Carl saw this, they laughed. Carl walked over to James. James raised his head slightly.

"Let me sing! They want an encore!" James shouted drunkenly. Carl pulled James up.

"There's no concert James."

"Yes there is. They're...they're shouting for me!"

"There's no audience either."

"Awwww..."

Tara put her hand to her mouth and giggled. Carl smiled at her before walking back and putting James in the back seat of Ryan's car. Ryan shut the door and turned the engine on. Once the car was on, he rolled the window down so he could still talk with Carl before driving James home.

Carl turned to Tara and asked if she wanted a lift back to her place or if she wanted to go back to the party.

She smiled warmly, "Actually, I was wondering if I could go back your place for a little bit." Carl raised his eyebrows and Ryan's mouth fell open. "If that isn't too much of a problem."

"Um...no, of course it isn't. Yeah, you can come back to my place." Carl said with a smile as he nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Ryan, my house isn't too far so I'm going to walk to my house with Tara. If that's all right."

"Yeah man, of course." Ryan nodded before he smiled and gave his friend a wink.

"Go get her player." He whispered in a tone that basically screamed out to Carl, 'Go get laid'. Ironic coming from a boy who never had sex in his life.

Ryan then turned to Tara and waved, "Nice to meet you Tara!"

"Likewise." Tara said with a small chuckle as she waved back to Ryan.

"Hey James, why don't you give me a little Strutter?" Ryan said.

"Awwww yeah!" James shouted before he began to belt out the lyrics to the classic Kiss song. With that, Ryan drove off into the night, James still singing from the back seat as his feet were propped up on the window.

Carl went back over to Tara, who was trying hard not to laugh. "Sorry about all of that."

Tara waved it off like it was nothing. "No problem, I'm kind of used to my friends being random. Especially one of them, I swear she laws of physics don't apply to her at all."

Carl chuckled a little bit before they started to head off to his house.

As they walked with each other down the dark sidewalk, they began to talk as if they had been friends for longer than an hour. Carl didn't know why, but he felt as though he knew this girl, that they've met before, but he wasn't sure when and where.

It wasn't just her familiar voice that drew his attention, either. It was her eyes, her violet eyes that mirrored his, but there was something different about them. Carl always knew his eyes to be a darker shade of violet.

Only when people got somewhat close were they able to see the purple shade that they had. But with her eyes, the violet color shone bright as day, so that he could tell her eye color even if they were at different ends of a room. They were also the most beautiful eyes that he'd ever seen; large, expressive and had more innocence in them than any other teenager girl's eyes.

In fact, she seemed a LOT nicer than any other girl his age that he'd ever met in Wilmont. Most of them were either obsessed with popularity, partying like animals, or being stuck-up and "holier than thou" around men, only engaging with them when it benefited them in some way. The full moon hung like an ornament in the sky above the town as Carl led her out of the one neighborhood and into the one where he lived. Luckily Carl's house was very close to the party, after all it was a well-known fact that the roads of Wilmont were not the safest place to be at night.

They finally reached Carl's house and walked up to the door.

"Okay, we're going to have to be quiet. My family's probably asleep, but they're pretty heavy sleepers so it shouldn't be an issue." Carl whispered as he opened the door, gesturing her in, "after you m'lady."

"Wow, what a gentlecolt." Tara said happily before she walked in. Carl smiled, but then his expression fell as what she said registered in his mind.

"Wait, did she just say...nah." He thought before shrugging it off, guessing that he only misheard her.

He followed Tara into the house. Tara looked around. She found the house to be fairly nice, but at the same time sort of ordinary. There were white walls and green curtains, as well as some hints of color but it all seemed so...dull. She was used too much more vibrant, exciting, and colorful back where she came from. She did, however, like it overall.

"Wow, your house is really nice." She whispered in awe as she walked towards the living room, scanning the scenery like some explorer visiting a foreign land for the first time.

"Yeah, it gets the job done." Carl shrugged.

Tara then walked over towards Carl's father's office across the hall. Well, it was his office before he passed on. Now it was the designated library of the house. Books filled the shelves. Books that were hardly ever read save for the occasional novel his mother would crack open after a long day at work. The main reason for this was because these books were mostly Carls' fathers, and once he died, the passion for reading them died as well.

Tara looked up at the books that filled the room and let out a gasp that Carl would have normally pictured a girl letting out after meeting Justin Beiber.

"Oh my gosh, there are so many books!" she said with an enthusiastic grin.

"I know." Carl rubbed the back of his head. "Most of them used to be my fathers'. I'm not a big reader myself. It's a shame though; I really wish I were though. Damn my A.D.D."

She pulls a book off of the shelf and presses it against her chest, smiling broadly. Carl chuckled to himself at how excited she seemed to be.

"You know I've never met someone as interested in books as you are."

"Really?" she asked, before she looked away, shame in her eyes. "I guess I'd be considered and egghead here too, huh?"

"Why would someone call you an egghead?"

"Because I like to read and study and...you know...nerdy stuff." She said, her cheeks crimson like she was revealing the most embarrassing facts about her life.

Carl decided to take a risk, placing his hand onto the girl's shoulder. She looked up into his smiling face.

"Well, in my opinion, you are way to cool to be called an egghead." Carl said. Tara smiled at the boy's kind remarks.

"Aw that's sweet Carl. Thank you." Tara said. She then seemed to remember something as she put the book back onto the shelf. "Hey Carl, is it okay if we go up to your room for a minute? I need to talk to you about something."

"Um..." Carl began, suddenly getting nervous, imagining where this was going. "Yeah, sure, follow me. Make sure you're quiet."

"Because your family is asleep?"

"Exactly, wow, you have an impressive memory."

They walked upstairs, being as quiet as they could so that wouldn't wake up Carl's mother or sisters. He felt his way around in the darkness of the hall until his hand landed on the door-handle that led to his room.

He opened it and gestured Tara in. She smiled and walked into the dark bedroom. Once he shut the door behind himself, Carl turned one of his lights on so that the room was lit, but not so bright that anyone would wake up.

"Okay Tara, so, what did you want to talk about?" He turned to see that she had moved to the door and her hand was on the handle. Tara gave Carl a very serious look. Suddenly, Carl went from being nervous, to being somewhat scared.

'Click'

Tara had just locked the door, and now Carl was terrified.

"Heh, um...what...what are you doing Tara?" he asked nervously forcing himself to chuckle. Tara walked over to him; her violet eyes staring daggers into his own, her smile gone. She was all business.

"Stop calling me Tara, you know my real name."

As she said this, Carl's eyes widened in confusion. "Um...I'm sorry, what?"

"You know my name isn't Tara." She said sternly.

"What are you talking about? If you're not Tara, then what is?"

Tara, or at least the girl who originally went by the name Tara, gave Carl a small, know-it-all smile.

"You know who I am, just like I know everything about you."

"Really? You know everything about me?" Carl nodded while laughing, trying to mask the fact that he was scared as hell. "Okay, go ahead and prove it. Tell me a little bit about myself."

Tara smiled and closed her eyes. Carl laughed at this, about to say, "I thought not" when she opened her eyes, now glowing a bit, and began to recite an amount of information that would make the world's greatest stalker turn green with envy.

"Your name is Carl Lewis and you are a seventeen year old human. You were born in Buffalo, New York June 7th 1995 and you moved to Wilmont in 1998 because your father needed to follow his job. You have violet eyes, much like me, but here on Earth that is considered abnormal whereas it's normal where I come from. Your favorite food is sausage pizza with a side of barbecue chips."

Carl bit his lip and rocked back and forth anxiously as Tara continued.

"Your favorite type of music is 1980's rock, your favorite band is Rush, your favorite movie is "Inglorious Basterds", and your favorite TV Show currently is "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic". Also, your favorite character is Twilight Sparkle." Tara then blushed. "And if I say so myself, I'm flattered. Usually people like Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy the most."

Carl raised an eyebrow, "Why would you be flattered?"

Tara smiled, "You said my voice sounded familiar, correct?" Carl nodded. "Well, close your eyes and listen to me speak and tell me where you know me from."

Carl rolled his eyes as he began to get more annoyed by this girl's antics. Giving in, he closed his eyes and shrugged, "Okay, hit me."

"The reason I had you close your eyes is because you will know who I am if you don't see me now." She began to glow a bright purple, which Carl didn't notice as his eyes were closed tight. He began to realize where he knew her voice from, "My body's a distraction to your mind. Not because of you attraction to it, but because you cannot piece together my voice with how I look. But now that you can only hear me, you'll know who I am."

Taking away the image of Tara's body made another person, rather pony; become associated with her voice.

"But...that can't be...that's not possible."

Carl suddenly slowly opened his eyes in hesitant realization. Once they were fully open, he not only realized that what he thought was possible, but it was the truth. There, directly in front of him where the girl he once called Tara was standing moments before, was the cartoon, lavender unicorn he watched every Saturday morning.

"You recognize me now, don't you Carl?" Twilight Sparkle asked with her eyes closed and a smug smile plastered on her face like she just answered the million-dollar question on a game show.

At this point, Carl was overcome with dizziness. The sight of the animated unicorn was too much for his previously rational mind. The room started to spin around hi, like a scene from "Inception", before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Carl!" Twilight gasped, running over to his unconscious body. She stopped next to him and started to look him over. Once she was certain that he was all right, and simply passed out from shock, she sighed in relief.

"I probably should have handled that better." She said, chuckling nervously.
> Explanations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 2: Explanations


Street- Night

"Fuck James, how much did you drink tonight?" Ryan asked as James convulsed on the side of the road, bile gushing from his mouth.  Ryan's car was pulled into the grassy area of the road-side just before the guard-rail, the lights still on and radio humming some late-night tunes as James continued to toss his cookies. Ryan supported James to the best of his abilities, though the sight of his friend vomiting admittedly made his own stomach churn.

He spit the gooey stomach-matter before he drunkenly replied, "Enough...hic...and all that weed didn't help."

"You're going have one hell of a hangover tomorrow, man. I'm just warning you." Ryan said, rubbing his friends back to sooth him as he continued to spit out some leftover vomit, as well as the taste of vomit, that was still lingering in his mouth.

James looked up at his sober friend, his eyes bloodshot, hair askew, and an expression that showed a hint of annoyance.

"Don't remind me."

"I hope you're still up for meeting at the mall."

"I'll be...hic...there, trust me." James slurred

"Yeah, let's see if you say that with a fucking jack-hammer in your head." Ryan muttered as he watched a car pass by, not even stopping to make sure the two boys were okay.

James then turned his attention back to clearing as much throw-up out of his mouth before leaving the side of the road. Occasionally some cars would pass by, drivers apparently were not too surprised to see a drunken teenager vomiting on the side of the road at night.

After a few more minutes of hacking up whatever was inside his stomach, James stood up and stumbled over to Ryan's car, his friend assisting him the entire way.

 Carl's House 

After a few minutes of being unconscious, Carl slowly began to come to. He saw six colorful blurs sitting in front of him, each of which had a very familiar-sounding voice come out of them.

"Carl, please get up. I didn't mean to scare you." The violet blur said, leaning close to Carl, though he still couldn't tell who it was.

"What in the hay did ya do ta him sugarcube?" an orange blur with a little brown blur on top of it asked in a southern drawl.

"I took my humanize illusion spell off of his mind so he could see what I really looked like and he just passed out."

"Oh for the love of...ugh...Twilight you shouldn't have just reveal yourself to him like that. I thought that would be common sense to a brainiac like you." A cyan and mult-colored blur, that seemed to be floating in mid-air, strangely enough, added to the conversation. Its voice was a very familiar one, tomboyish and raspy.

"You know this isn't helping anypony Rainbow." The violet blur hissed back at the cyan one.

"What do you think we...um...we should do? If you don't mind me asking?" said a yellow blur with a pink top at a volume so low that Carl could barely make out what was said.

"All we can do is wait for him to come to." 

"Well I certainly hope the poor boy wakes up soon." A white blur with an indigo top said, its voice elegant, almost like it came from the mouth of royalty. 

He rubbed his eyes so that he could see the six colorful figures that stood in front of him more clearly. As soon as his vision returned to its full power, his mouth dropped in pure shock at the six familiar cartoon ponies that sat in front of him, looking exactly as they did in the show. 

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were now in Carl's world, specifically his room, something he never thought was in the realm of possibility. As for their size, they were about two and a half feet in length on all fours, but could reach one's chest or chin is standing on two. 

The six girls either had looks concern, or in Pinkie Pie's case, excitement as they looked at Carl while his mind was trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Something that should have been impossible.

Unsurprisingly, Pinkie Pie was the first one to speak up.

"Oh girls! He's awake! Hi! My name's Pinkie Pie and it's so nice to meet you! I love to meet new ponies, or animals, or...whatever you are. Sorry, I forget what the Princess said about you, and what species you were. All I remember is that is began with an "H" like "hoomuns" or "hammonds" or something," she put her hoof to her chin in thought for a brief moment before returning to her hyperactive state,  "but it doesn't matter right now, because I'm just so SUPER excited to be here!"

She was cut off when Rarity put her hoof up to silence her. "Enough darling, can't you see we've traumatized the poor boy enough without you pestering him."

Rarity then turned to Carl, "A thousand apologies Carl, Pinkie Pie can be a bit...excessive with her introductions at times."

Carl was too stunned to even faint anymore. Here he was, on the floor of his bedroom staring into the faces of the six cartoon ponies that he watched every night in the secrecy of his own room, doors locked and all.

Twilight noticed the look of shock on his face and walked up to him. "Carl, are you okay?"

"Um yeah..." Carl said, rubbing his head, "I'm just wondering what bastard at the party put LSD in my beer."

Twilight suddenly looked confused, her head tilted to one side like a curious puppy, "LSD, what's that?" 

"Ohhh, Ohhh! I think I know! It stands Laughing Sugary Donut! Oh I'd love some LSD right now, it really would be the perfect pick-me-up! Do you have any LSD Carl?"

Carl let out a groan and shook his head. "Wow, one minute after meeting them and I've already corrupted Pinkie Pie. Great job Carl, you freaking idiot."

Twilight walked over to him and put her hoof onto his shoulder.  She recognized the look of disbelief that was still on Carl's face and decided to address it head-on.

"Carl, you don't believe we're really here, do you?"

Carl shook his head. "No, I don't."

"Well, we're right here." Applejack said, gesturing to herself and the others to indicate their close proximity to Carl before she scowled at him stubbornly, "Do ya not believe yer own eyes or somethin'?" 

"Yeah I mean, come on." Rainbow Dash said in an equally aggravated tone. "What do we need to do to prove to you that we're real?"

"It's not as simple as that, you're asking me to forget what seventeen years of being firmly grounded in reality has taught me and..."

"Yeah. Ah can help ya with that." Applejack walked up, turned around, and bucked Carl right in the gut. Carl collapsed in pain as he felt like two, giant fists with brass knuckles were smashed right into his stomach.

"Applejack!" Twilight shouted in a panic. 

"What? Ah did it to prove to him that we're real. After all fake things don't hurt. Besides, ah didn't buck him that hard."

"I think I have internal bleeding." Carl mumbled from his position on the floor, clutching his abdomen from the excruciating pain that resulted from Applejack's kick.

Rainbow Dash laughed, "Pfft. Geez Twi, how did you get stuck with such a drama queen? The guy I'm partnered with better be cooler." 

Carl looked up at that, "Partnered with? What do you mean partnered with?"

The six mares looked at each other before looking back at Carl, who was now even more confused than he was when he first woke up, and that was saying something as back then he thought he was tripping on some hard-core, yet awesome, drugs.

Twilight sighed, "Carl, it's time to tell you why we're here."

"We aren't here just because you're a fan of our fantastic show or because Twilight miscast one of her spells." Rarity chimed in.

"Right, we meant to come here." Pinkie Pie said with a small bounce. 

"Well, there go two of the main explanations fan-fictions use." Carl mumbled, thinking about the number of times he read fan-fics where a pony was sent to Earth, or a human was brought to Equestria, for one of those reasons. He looked back up at the girls. "But then why are you here?"

"Ummm. Princess Celestia sent us to help you...I...I hope that us being here isn't too much of a problem for you." Fluttershy said, looking down and nervously pawing her hoof on the carpet, her big eyes looking up nervously at Carl.

"Oh God the typical "cute Fluttershy" moment, must...resist...giving in... to...d'awwwwww...damn it's hard."

Twilight chimed into snap Carl out of his cute-induced thoughts.

"Maybe it's best if we start from the beginning."

Carl turned to Twilight who cleared her throat before she began to speak.

"You know about the elements of harmony? How I represent magic, Applejack represents honesty, Fluttershy represents kindness, Rarity..." Twilight started before Carl cut her off.

"Yeah and Rarity is generosity, Rainbow Dash is loyalty and Pinkie Pie is laughter. Of course I know that."

"I'm just confirming what the Princess told us. Also, we six know how your species has watched  our adventures and that you know about us already...which you just confirmed with you little interruption."

"Hey, I have a super-duper-quick itty-bitty question. How well known are we? Like, are we celebrities?" Pinkie Pie asked in her typical, excited manner, a big grin plastered on her face.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. Definitely." Carl said with a small chuckle. Pinkie Pie clapped her hooves together with great enthusiasm. 

"Yay!" She squealed excitedly when Twilight pushed her out of the way before giving her a quick, annoyed glare before she turned her attention back to Carl. Pinkie Pie just stuck her tongue out at Twilight while Rainbow Dash chuckled from up above.

"Anyways, back on topic. You know all about our battle with Discord, correct? When we used the elements to defeat him after he manipulated our personalities so the elements wouldn't work and he could bring chaos to Equestria?"

Carl nodded.

"Well, when we trapped him in stone..."

Carl held his hand out. To interrupt the violet mare, confident that he knew where this was heading. 

"Let me guess, he got out?" he asked flatly. 

"Well, technically yes, but not in the way you'd expect. The body of Discord, as well as one half of his soul, is still in Equestria, the half we defeated with the elements. But the other half of his soul is not trapped and is running rampant." 

"Wait, so there are two Discords?" Cark asked.

"Sort of, but not really. They're both from the same, original being, but while trapped in stone the first time by Celestia and Luna, he was able to split it in two." Twilight shrugged, "Hard to imagine I'm sure, but that's why he's the god of chaos."

"Not going to lie, I'm still confused." Carl muttered. "Where's Discord now? I mean the free half, not the part of him still in stone."

"He found another universe where he felt he could thrive, one much more chaotic than our own." Twilight answered.

Unfortunately, Carl was never the brightest bulb in the shop, so he was still confused.

"No offense Twi, but do you mind cutting to the chase?" Carl asked.

"Ugh! Does she have to spell it out for you?" Rainbow Dash asked, again with a tone drenched in annoyance, "Discord found this little world of yours and came here. He's a human until he get's strong enough to take over both this world and ours. Geez, now I feel like an egghead for explaining it to you. Thanks a lot."

The speed-demon pegasus crossed her arms angrily and looked away with a pout on her face. She clearly did not like the idea of being, what she called, an "egghead". Though this wasn't too surprising to Carl, as he remembered the episode when she first realized the joy of reading, only to become freaked out that she had become an "egghead".

"Okay so to clarify, Discord is here as a human?" Carl asked Twilight with eyes pleading for confirmation.

"Correct."

Carl then pointed at Twilight, "And, you turned yourself into a human and came to me because...?"

Suddenly Twilight's eyes lit up, like a child about to tell their parents how they aced an exam.

"Oh! I actually wasn't a human at all. It was a new spell I learned that manipulates other being minds to make the caster look like a human. So I looked like a human girl to you and others, but I was still a pony."  She said with a small smile coupled with a squee.

"So you messed with my mind...and everyone else's...to project yourself a a human, even though you were still the same cartoon pony that you always were?" Carl asked. 

Twilight nodded, still beaming with pride in her accomplishment. All Carl could do was chuckle.

"Wow, that's actually pretty cool Twilight. I'm impressed." Twilight blushed at the compliment, though she brushed it off like it was nothing.

"It was nothing. And please call me Twi. We're going to be working together. No sense in having formalities" She gave him a warm smile that could probably melt a glacier with its cuteness. 

Carl quickly snapped out of it. And by "it" I mean his state of "d'awwwwww", which climbed to near diabetic proportions since he woke up to the sight of the six cute, colorful ponies, when he suddenly had another question.

"What do you mean we'll be working together?" Carl asked.

"Like we six ponies represent the elements of harmony for Equestria, there are six human, teenage males that represents the elements of harmony for Earth." Twilight answered before she pointed her hoof at Carl. "You're the element of magic, like me. Because of this, we are paired together."

"So what you're saying is that I am an Element of Harmony for Earth, and there are five others," he asked and waited for Twilight to nod before he continued, "And we are paired with one of you six based on what element we have...and we have to stop Discord from taking over both world with chaos?"

"Yep, that about sums it up!" Pinkie Pie said giddily.

Carl nodded before he closed his eyes, "Okay, I'm still mulling over the possibility that I've been drugged and you girls aren't really here. Either that or someone performed Inception on me so I think you six are real when you aren't. God-damn you Christopher Nolan." His hissed.

"Don't you mean Coltopher Nolan?" Asked Rainbow Dash.

Carl raised an eyebrow at the pony pun on the British director's name, "I'm sorry...Coltipher Nolan?"

"Duh! Coltopher Nolan; he's the best director in all of Equestria! His movies kick so much flank!" 

Rainbow Dash pumped her hooves into the air to emphasize the "awesome" part of her statement.

"A pony version of Christopher Nolan? Okay, wow, just...okay I'm going to lie down for a bit." Carl said, going over to his bed and falling onto the mattress. He let out a groan. 

Rarity's eyes suddenly widened as an idea came to her. She ran up to Carl.

"Wait, Carl darling! What if you got somepony else to come here, If they see us, then you know we exist." Rarity asked.

Carl looked up at her, "It's somebody, Rarity and...that's actually not a bad idea at all." He nodded, pulling his phone out of his pocket, "Hang on, I'm going to make a call."

James' House

Ryan had finally arrived to James' house after leaving the party. Now recovered from his vomit session on the side of the road, James was still singing KISS songs at a near deafening volume as they arrived to his modest, two story house with a two-car garage.

Ryan helped James from his car to his front door by acting like a "crutch" for him, putting James' right arm over his shoulder. James' body was as limp as a fish that had just been hooked from Lake Ontario on a summer day. His shirt was stained with vomit and alcohol, which started to dry so that the fabric began to harden in the areas that were dirtied with the contents of his stomach.

"So...how...how was the party? I don't...remember." James mumbled to Ryan.

"It was awesome man, just awesome. You really rocked it with your singing." Ryan said somewhat unenthusiastically, rubbing his still swollen eye with his free, left hand. 

"Haha...good to..."hic"...good to know man." James opened the door to his house and entered. "And the king..."hic".has arrived to his palace!

"You sure you don't need me to walk you to bed?" Ryan asked. "I mean, I don't want you vomiting in your sleep. You might choke."

"Nah dude, I've been drunk like this before. I can..hic...I can handle this, trust me."

Ryan chuckled, "Okay man, good night then. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Peace my brotha' from a conservative motha'!" James said with a laugh before he entered the house and began to air-guitar and sing 'Detroit Rock City', though at a slightly lower volume for, even in his drunken state, he had enough common sense not to wake his family. 

Ryan laughed at the scene before he shut the door, James' singing still reaching Ryan's ears through the wooden door that separated the two friends. 

"Ah that silly, drunken son of a bitch is always good company." Ryan thought with a smile as he made his way back to his car.

Suddenly, his phone rang, which momentarily startled him until he realized what it was that was making the buzzing noise.

He pulled the device from his pocket and looked to see who was calling. Once he saw that it was Carl, he picked up.

"Carl, what's good? I thought you'd be asleep by now."

"Yeah man, listen could you come over real quick? I need your help with something."

"Uh yeah, sure. I just dropped James off so I'll be over in about five."

"Okay, sounds good."

Ryan hung up, a perplexed look on his face. "Why would he be calling?" He thought to himself for a second. He then shrugged and got into his truck and started off to Carl's house.
> The Diner
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Chapter 3: The Diner 

Carl's House

Carl pocketed his phone and rubbed his eyes, "Okay, my friend will be here in a little bit. Now if he sees you, I'll know you're real because he doesn't drink or do anything like that. He's like the male version of Mother Theresa with that stuff."

"Um...what does drinking have to do with anything?" Fluttershy asked. 

Carl seemed surprised by Fluttershy's apparent lack of knowledge regarding alcohol and it's consumption at parties. 

"Seriously? Wow, with all of the partying that goes on in Ponyville, I thought that you'd definitely have something like alcohol."

"Look, Carl, no offence to your world but I didn't really enjoy that party we were at. I mean the music was too loud, people acted like...well...like they weren't themselves. And based on what the Princess told me, it was because of the stuff people were drinking...alcohol, right?" Twilight asked, somewhat nervous that she insulted the human race, and Carl, for giving her take on the party.

Carl chuckled, "Yeah, your parties do seem more innocent. Ours are a bit more on the chaotic side. Here you'd probably need to be hammered to actually enjoy yourself, which is why my friend Ryan hates going to parties."

"Oh what does hammered mean! Hang on!" Pinkie then pulls a hammer out of nowhere and raised it above Twilight's head, ready to literally bring the hammer down on her friend's noggin. "Hang on Twilight; I'll help you enjoy the parties!"

Twilight looked up and flinched in fright, a scream leaving her lips just as Carl interrupted the Pink mare.

"No, no, no!!!! Pinkie, that's not what I meant! I meant drunk, not hit with a hammer!"

"Oh..." Pinkie's smile faded for a moment before it returned as if it never left, "Okey dokey Loki." 

She tossed the hammer behind her and it landed with a "thud" on Carl's carpet. 

She then looked at Carl with her innocent smile, like she was completely unaware that she almost smashed her friend's head in.

Carl put his face into his hands and sighed, "Jesus Christ in heaven help me."

He then walked over to his bed and sat on the soft mattress. 

While waiting for Ryan to arrive, Carl began to chat it up with the six ponies, discussing the Internet and other aspects of human life that Celestia didn't really go over with them about. 

Typical things most people would discuss with the mane six if they popped up in their bedroom. 

Carl even got around to showing them his iPod. Wanting to see how different their tastes in music were, he wanted them to listen to some tunes, starting with rock songs.

Unfortunately, he didn't have a lot of time to figure out their preferred genres, because almost as soon as he started to play another Rush for them, the doorbell rang. 

Carl stood up from the floor. 

"All right guys, you six have fun playing with my iPod and I'll be right back." 

He jogged off.

Because everyone in his family were very heavy sleepers, the doorbell didn't get the attention of his mother or sisters as all as they slept soundly in their beds. Carl thanked God for this lucky trait that his family was blessed with. Except for when he overslept his alarm and missed the bus; that always sucked.

When Carl opened the door, he saw Ryan standing outside, an exaggeratedly cocky grin on his face, his hands outstretched like he was some divine being.

"The King has arrived." Ryan said with a fake elitist's tone.

"Just shut up and get in." Carl hissed. Ryan shrugged and entered the house. 

Carl shut the door and turned to his friend, "I need you to come upstairs with me right now."

Ryan stared at his friend, a very confused expression on his face, before he managed to speak up, "Why?" 

"I need you to tell me what you see in my room."

"Um...okay? Should I be concerned?" Ryan asked nervously. 

"It's nothing bad man, I swear. Actually, if it is real, you'll think it's cool."

"Cool you say, hm? How cool?" Ryan asked. 

"Twenty percent cooler than you can imagine." Carl said, grimacing at the use of the overused Rainbow Dash quote. Well, to him it was overused. Ryan, on the other hand, loved Rainbow Dash quotes so his face lit up like a star as soon as the words left his friend's mouth.

"Hey, if you make a Rainbow Dash reference, I'll walk hot coals." Ryan said with a chuckle.

The two friends climbed the stairs to Carl's room, where the sounds of six girls giggling could be heard. Carl quickly got in-between Ryan and the door to stop him from entering. He looked at Ryan square in the eye.

"Look dude, you've got to promise me, above all else, that you won't freak out or scream."

Ryan raised his right hand and said. "I swear to the good Lord Jesus Christ that I will remain calm." Carl breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good, because it's unreal." He opened the door. Ryan stepped into Carl's room and his eyes suddenly went wide as he saw all six ponies in front of him, sitting on Carl's bed with his iPod. Carl shut the door and turned to see Ryan and the girls' reactions. They all stared at him and Ryan gave Carl his answer to the question "are the mane six really in my room" with one, long syllable.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." Ryan droned.

"Oh boy! Another human I can throw a party for!" Pinkie pie jumped into the air enthusiastically before bouncing over to Ryan, "Do you like parties? Oh, silly me, I forgot to ask you what your name was. What's your name?"

Ryan snapped himself out of his trance and looked down at the excited Pinkie Pie.

"My n-name, is...R-Ryan." He muttered, looking at each, individual pony in front of him before he whispered. "Wow this is unbelievable. I can't believe you're all real."

"Well believe it buster, 'cause I don't want Carl to call anypony else. This room is full enough already." Rainbow Dash said as she put her hooves onto her hips while flying in front of Ryan.

When he laid his eyes on Rainbow Dash, his favorite pony on the show and possibly favorite cartoon character of all time, Ryan turned a bright shade of crimson and turned away from her. 

Rainbow Dash noticed this, "Hey pal, are you all right?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I am. Thanks. It's just; it's an honor to meet all of you."

Now when Ryan said "all of you" he did mean all of them, but he also used it as a way to avoid saying "you" directed only at Rainbow Dash. Carl noticed his blush and how much he was holding back his emotions. But he thought he was just restraining a fan-boy-gasm. He tapped Ryan on the shoulder.

"Um Ryan, can I talk to you downstairs?"

Ryan turned to Carl and nodded. Both boys left and shut the door. As soon as the door was closed and the boys gone, the six ponies began to giggle like any other group of girls.

"Oh my gosh, did you see how he acted around us?" Twilight said with a smile, trying her best not to burst out into laughter as she thought about Ryan's behavior.

"Yeah, it was like we were his heroes." Applejack giggled.

"Yeah, especially Rainbow Dash over here. I think he has a little crush on you" Rarity said suggestively, even throwing her a little nudge with her elbow.

"No he doesn't. He just knows how totally awesome I am." Rainbow Dash said with a cocky shrug and smile. After all, she was the fastest flier in all of Equestria, should Ryan really have acted any differently?

"Um Twilight, darling, if you don't mind, I was wondering if you know how to figure out who the other five elements are." Rarity asked. Twilight put a hoof to her

Twilight shrugged, "Princess Celestia showed me how to use my magic to find out who they are." she said, pointing to her horn, "Otherwise, I don't know. Oh yeah, she also told me was that they'd know each other," Once the words left her mouth, her ears perked up, "Wait, hang on girls. I'll be right back."

She closed her eyes and teleported out of the room so that she found herself at the top of the stairs. Below her, Ryan and Carl were talking at a low whisper so they wouldn't wake the entire house, but Twilight could still hear their conversation rather clearly from where she was standing. 

"Okay Ryan, listen, you just need to calm down. You're acting like you just won the lottery."

"How can I calm down dude? The mane six are in your house, do you understand how freaking awesome that is? We're living every brony's dream."

"Yeah, I know that."  Carl said with an aggravated sigh. "You still shouldn't be acting like a loon."

Suddenly Ryan stopped with his excitement as a serious thought crossed his mind. "Wait, why are they here anyway? Did Twilight mess up one of her spells or something?" Ryan asked.

Carl was about to answer when they heard someone, or somepony, clear their throat behind them. They turned to see Twilight standing there, looking at them.

"Oh hey Twi, what's up?" Carl asked as he tried to get used to calling her by such a personal name.

"Not much." She said with a smile before she turned to Carl's blonde friend, who was still trying to calm himself down, "Ryan, could you come here for a second?"

Ryan nodded and walked over. Twilight got onto her back-legs and put her fore-hooves onto Ryan's chest. She put her horn, which was glowing purple, against Ryan's heart and closed her eyes to concentrate on something. Ryan was somewhat nervous at having Twilight do this to him, but he didn't complain. After all, it was too cool not to get bit excited at what was happening. Twilight's eyes went wide and she stepped off of Ryan. She gave him a big smile, which confused Ryan.

"Wait right here." She said before there was a flash, followed by an empty space on the floor where the violet mare once stood. Carl and Ryan stared at the spot in confusion for a moment before there was a second flash in the same spot, followed by the re-appearance of Twilight. This time, however, she also came with a very befuddled looking Rainbow Dash. The cyan Pegasus shook her head to re-gain her composure, as she was never one for teleporting, and shot a glare at Twilight.

"Ugh, you know how teleporting makes my head feel Twi." Rainbow Dash rubbed the top of her head.

"Sorry Rainbow, I just wanted to let you know we've found our second element."

Rainbow Dash looks at Twilight in confusion before she turns towards Ryan. Once what Twilight said registers in her stubborn head, Rainbow Dash's eyes suddenly widen and she turns back to Twilight.

She points at Ryan, "Wait, is he the element of..."

"Yes Rainbow, Loyalty. Like you."

"I'm...what?" Ryan muttered. 

"Hold on a second," Rainbow Dash said, putting her hooves up, "Ryan here's the element of Loyalty?"

"Yep, which means you two are partners." Twilight said with a big, teasing smile. 

With that, Twilight looked back to Ryan and gestured her hoof towards him. Ryan just stared at them both. "Wait, what do you mean I'm the Element of Loyalty?"

"You're Earth's Element of Loyalty, just like Carl is Earth's Element of Magic. Therefore, you're partnered up with Rainbow Dash." Twilight said.

'So you're saying I'm partnered with...Rainbow Dash, as in theRainbow Dash?" Ryan asked, face still showing the shock he felt about the whole situation.

Twilight nodded, taking subtle joy in Ryan's clear obsession with her tomboy friend. Ryan's shocked expression slowly turns into one of pure joy, "That's so awesome."

Rainbow Dash giggles at the sight of her fan, not used to a guy admiring her so much. "He-he, you're such a fan-boy. I think I'll like having you as a partner."

Ryan then smiled at her and joined his Pegasus partner in loyalty in some friendly laughter before they gave each other a "bro-hoof". Ryan wasn't sure if that's what ponies actually called it, but it fit the description of he and Rainbow Dash bumping hoof to knuckle, both smiling at each other like the best of friends, even though they only met a few minutes before.

"Hey Twi, maybe we should go back into my room before we wake my family?" Carl suggested. Twilight gave a small nod and all four walked back up the stairs to Carl's room, Twilight deciding against teleportation when Rainbow Dash shot her a very angry glare that basically said "teleport me again, and I'll end you.".

Back in Carl's room, they re-joined the other four girls, who were still toying around with Carl's computer and iPod while they waited for the boys and two ponies to return. 

The eight of them talked amongst each other, mostly about the show, the fandom, and some comparison of human versus pony culture. Finally, they noticed the time, which was rapidly approaching eleven, long past the time that Ryan should have been home, and decided to call it a night.

"Oh geez, it's late. Listen, I need to head back home now." Ryan gestured to the door and started to get up. Carl got up too but Ryan stopped, just thinking about something else. "Hey, you know I could take two of them off of your hands if you want. After all, hiding six ponies would probably be difficult."

"Good point," Carl pondered, putting his hand to his chin, "okay, if you want, you can take Rainbow Dash and one more."

"Applejack." Ryan said almost immediately. Carl looked at him with curiosity at Ryan's quick answer. Ryan shrugged, "What? She and Rainbow Dash are best friends. It only makes sense, right?"

In reality, however, it was because Applejack was Ryan's second favorite character.

"Okay, you take them and I'll keep the other four. And don't have any more fan-boy spasms, deal?"

"Deal." And Ryan and Carl shook hands in agreement.

Diner in City

Waitresses began to make their last rounds to the few customers that remained in the small diner. Two customers sat in the corner of the diner, laughing with each other. One was Mayoral Candidate Jacob Hanson, a slightly pudgy man with a greying beard, he wore a blue suit and a friendly smile. The other man at the table was none other than the Mayor's assistant, Brett Howard, who had a mug of coffee in his hand, which he was gingerly nursing as he waited for it to cool to a degree where his tongue wouldn't sizzle if he took larger gulps.

Both men knew each other for a few years, and had grown close. So close that Mr. Hanson felt it was safe to eat dinner with Brett while his security took a short day and left him. He felt safe around Brett, he had no idea how much of a fool he'd been played for.

"Yeah, so the guy had what looked like one of those Russian hats on, you know the tall, fur-covered kind?" Mr. Hanson asked with a smile.

"Yes." Brett replied innocently, brilliantly hiding the malice that hid just beneath the surface.

"Well," Mr. Hanson continued, clearing his throat a bit to speak, "So then he told me, that's not his hat, that's his hair."

Mr. Hanson burst out into a loud, obnoxious laugh that got the attention of some of the other diners. 

Brett also joined in the laughter. "That's brilliant, just brilliant."

"Yeah, you never know who and what you'll run into downtown, it's crazy." They each took a bit out of their food. Mr. Hanson swallowed some of his sandwich before he continued the conversation.

"So, you like working for the Mayor?" Mr. Hanson asked Brett as he picked up the remainder of his sandwich and took a bite.

"Yes," he said, looking up, "He's a bit of an eccentric fellow, but his ideas are admirable you must admit. Even as someone running against him."

"Well, come debate time, we'll see how "admirable" the public thinks his ideas are." Mr. Hanson chuckled, "Every campaign ad he pushes against me will tell me everything I need to know about him as a person, whether he's cutthroat or has some shred of humility, or if he is truly as brash as he seems on television. Especially since unemployment is at an all time high since he took office."

Brett smiled at Mr. Hanson, grabbing his coffee and taking a sip before he replied. 

"You know I still work for him, do you think it's wise to tell me so much of your campaign plan?" 

"I trust you." Mr. Hanson said with a kind smile.

"Never thought something like politics and trust could mix." Brett said as he took another sip of his coffee. "Now, I expect that you won't pull out of this race for anything, not even our friendship?"

"We are friends," Mr. Hanson said, "but I'm sorry, that isn't enough this time. I'm staying in the race."

Brett wiped his mouth with his napkin. He let it fall to the table and gave a dark smile, which grabbed Mr. Hanson's attention.

Mr. Hanson gave Brett a quizzical look when he suddenly felt his throat closing up. But it wasn't like he was having an allergic reaction, it felt like someone was strangling him with their thumbs pressed against his trachea. 

His eyes went wide as he fearfully looked at Brett. Brett, meanwhile, was staring at him, a black aura forming in his eyes and around his head. It was an aura that was the same color as an aura that was currently wrapping itself around Mr. Hanson's neck, pressing into his trachea and obstructing his airway.

Slowly, Mr. Hanson was lifted into the air, about three feet above the table, with his legs dangling and gurgling noises coming from his throat. The waiters and people who were finishing their meals watched in horror at what was happening in front of them.

Brett slowly began to change as the black aura engulfed him. Mr. Hanson watched in shock as the light disappeared; revealing a dark, black Unicorn with a mane and cold, hateful eyes that were a steel grey. Brett's cutie mark appeared on his flank. It showed the image of a pony skull overlapping a silver, crescent moon. It was an image that would send a chill down Nightmare Moon's spine.

"B-Brett?" Mr. Hanson gurgled out.

"Not quite," Obscure Darkness muttered, "In this form, I prefer to be called, Obscure Darkness."

With that, he rotated his hoof and Mr. Hanson's head turned quickly and violently to the right. A loud "snap" was heard as his head was turned. His neck was broken. 

Obscure Darkness then threw his lifeless body across the diner into the window so it smashed into the wall, falling into a heap on the ground. 

Obscure smiled at his deed before he looked around. All of the waiters and patrons that were staring at him, mouths agape and eyes wide in pure terror.

A small, malicious smile crept onto Obscure's muzzle.

"Oh now we can't have witnesses can we?" he chuckled evily as the black aura once again surrounded him. "Allow me to show you my gratitude for a lovely meal."

All of the waiters and customers were too frightened to move as he blasted out a massive aura. The black force destroyed the entire diner and killed each unfortunate soul that happened to be inside.  Every waitress, every bus-boy, every customer; dead as the cow-meat they served for lunch.

Only Obscure was left standing, or in this case floating, among the rubble. 

Slowly, his body lowered to the littered ground. Once his aura disappeared, he looked at the destruction around him that had been the diner only moments before. He saw the limp bodies of customers and waiters and even a busboy, all of who had been so full of life before Obscure destroyed the diner with his dark magic.

Fire and debris surrounded him. Bodies were strewn across the ground around Obscure, who could only smile at the scene.

"Chaos runs this world, and chaos shall destroy it. Elements of Harmony can't work in such corruption.  We will be victorious." With that, he closed his eyes and teleported away, leaving the mess for the fire department and EMTs to clean up.
> Family Matters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4: Family Matters

Ryan's Car

Ryan was almost back to his house with Rainbow Dash and Applejack in the back seats of his car. He had mixed feelings at the moment. For one thing, he was with his two favorite characters from the show, one of which he had a major crush on.

The other feeling he had was extreme anxiety. Since Ryan was an only child, his parents had an extremely close relationship with him, almost like they were best friends.

While this was a good thing in many respects, such as the creation of a feeling of closeness where secrets didn't need to be kept and openness was welcome, it also led to a lack of privacy. And in a situation like this, where Ryan volunteered to look after these two candy-colored, cartoon mares, a lack of privacy could be a huge  problem. 

Another problem, however, arose almost immediately after the "lack of privacy" worry. He had to find a way to sneak the two ponies into the house without his parents noticing, and his room was on the second floor.

And, unlike Carl's mother, he knew that his parents would be awake. 

The girls, however, seemed more interested in the giant houses that lined the street of Leigh Heights, Ryan's neighborhood. Just by looking at the homes, one couldcome to the conclusion that most of the people that lived on this street were wealthy.

That assumption would be correct. 

Leigh Heights was the richest neighborhood in all of Wilmont, and while not all the homes were mansions, they were, on average, larger than most homes.  There was also a plethora of expensive cars parked in the driveways of each home. BMWS, Audis, Porches, hell there was even a classy, silver Bentley that was just pulling into a driveway up ahead; an old man in a suit in the driver's seat.

"Whoa, these houses are huge!" Rainbow Dash explained in astonishment, her hooves pressed against the window of the car as she stared at the houses.

"Coming from the mare that lives in a cloud mansion?" Ryan chuckled before he continued, "anyway, yes girls these houses are big. Welcome to Leigh Heights."

"You live in this here parts?" Applejack asked, looking out her own window in shock, not used to the large homes.

"Yeah, just up ahead." Ryan said as he pointed to a house down the road. He pulled into the driveway of it. Once he did so, Rainbow Dash and Applejack both got a prime view of Ryan's house. 

While not a mansion, it is still very large. The walls are almost completely brick; the structure of the house makes it look larger than it was. All in all, it was a pretty nice place to live, according to the two ponies.

"This is yer house?" Applejack asked in shock. 

Ryan nodded, "Yep."

"Boy howdy, it sure if mighty impressive." Applejack said with a grin.

"Dude, you really live here? That's totally awesome!" Rainbow Dash said, nearly falling into the front of the car as she leaned forward with Applejack, her own hooves on the back of the passenger seat while Applejack's was on the back of Ryan's seat.

Applejack nodded with a smile at the house before she turned to Ryan, who suddenly had a look of worry on his face that the orange pony noticed immediately.

"Ya'll alright there sugarcube?" Applejack asked, "Ya'll seem ta be worried." 

"I'm not sure how I'm going to sneak you girls into my house without my parents noticing." Ryan said, his tone showing signs of nervousness.

"Can we get into your room from the outside?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I have a window, so we could," Ryan said before he remembered something, his hopeful expression falling back to depression, "but it's on the second floor."

Rainbow Dash, however, seemed to perk up at this.

"That's perfect! I can fly Applejack up to your window and you could let us both in once you get inside." The cyan mare said, playfully hitting Ryan's shoulder with a grin. Ryan looked at her, rubbing his shoulder before he chuckled.

"Solid idea there Rainbow Dash." Ryan said with a chuckle as he turned the engine off.

Ryan got out of the car and opened the back door to let the two ponies out. He gestured for them to go to the side of the house as he made his way to his front door. 

"Wait over there and I'll call you up when it's clear." Ryan told the girls. Applejack gave him a small tip of her hat before trotting off. Rainbow Dash gave him a small salute before following her best friend over to the side of the house to wait for Ryan to let them in. The teen couldn't help but laugh at both of their mannerisms. Just like how he imagined they'd act based on the show.

Ryan then knocked on the door and waited for a few seconds until his mother opened it up. Mrs. Davis was a medium-sized woman with long, black hair and kind brown eyes. She had a face that looked somewhat young, while also showing he strain of age. Not to mention the stress from the job she held down.

She gave her son a friendly smile. "Hi Ryan, how was your night?"

"Chaotic and noisy, you know how high school parties are."

"Yes I do, come on in."

Ryan made his way into his house as his mother shut the door behind him. Ryan's house was just as magnificent on the inside as it was on the outside. A large, carpeted stair-case led up to the second story, and the sheer size of the home dwarfed most people's. The floors were hard-wood, and the walls were covered in a layer of paint that looked fresh, though it hadn't been touched in years.

"Tired?" Mrs. Davis asked Ryan, who gave her a nod.

"Oh yeah." Ryan said. And it wasn't just a lie so he could get upstairs to let the girls in. Truth was that he was exhausted, and really did want to go to bed as soon as possible. 

"You can head to bed if you want."

"I will, first I have to say good-night to Dad first." Ryan muttered, "where is he?"

"He's in his office."

Ryan nodded, "Thanks."

He kicked his shoes off and walked over to his father's office, where he was placed in front of the computer, paying bills. Mr. Davis had short-cropped brown hair and a face that beamed intelligence, which was also due to his profession as a doctor. 

When he saw Ryan's face, he looked up over his round glasses and smiled.

"Hey Ryan."

Ryan smiled, "Hey Dad, what are you doing?"

"Bills, you know, boring grown-up stuff. How was the party?" 

Ryan shrugged, "Some alcohol, drugs..."fun" teenage stuff"

Mr. Davis then took his glasses off and sighed, looking down at them to collect his thoughts before he looked back up at Ryan.

"You know Ryan, you don't always have to be such an angel," he said, "I'm glad you don't drink or smoke or any of that. But I just hope you aren't acting "holier than thou" about it."

"No of course not." Ryan said. "I respect others' actions as long as they accept mine."

Ryan's Dad smiled and nodded, "Good for you. Just remember, you're seventeen, not seventy. There's always the future to act like an old man."

"Yeah." Ryan nodded. 

Realizing he's wasting time, Ryan let out a fake yawn, "Okay Dad I'm...yaaaawwnnnn...really tired. I'm gonna hit the hay, Good night."

"All right, good-night Ryan. I love you."

"Love you too." He then proceeded to go to the stairs when he called out to his mom, "Good night mom! Love you!"

"Love you too Ryan!"

Ryan jogged up to his room and shut the door, making sure to lock it. He quickly walked over to the window and opened it. He looked down to see Applejack and Rainbow Dash talking to each other. Ryan whistled to get their attention. They both looked up at him.

"What took ya so long?" Rainbow Dash whispered harshly.

"Sorry about that, I just had to say hi to my parents." He whispered to them. "Come on up."

A few seconds later, Rainbow Dash flew through the window while carrying Applejack. Ryan quickly shut the window and locked it. 

"Ugh, AJ, you need to lay off the apple pies." Rainbow Dash complained as she stretched out her muscles.

"Quit yer bellyachin' RD and put me down."

Rainbow Dash let Applejack go with a grunt, like she was excruciatingly heavy. The pegasus let out a sigh of relief.

"Finally, don't have to carry your fat flank anymore."

Applejack looked up at Rainbow Dash and stuck her tongue out. 

Once the two ponies recovered from the brief flight up to the window, they looked around at Ryan's room. To summarize, there was a giant "Inception" poster on the wall, as well as three New York Giants pictures from Super Bowl XLII, one image showing the famous "helmet catch'. There was also a nice desk, a very cozy looking bed, and a great amount of space that wasn't present in Carl's room. In other words, Ryan's room was quite large when compared to the room of the average teenage guy.

They both seemed impressed.

"Wow, ya'll got a nice room here Ryan." Applejack said.

"Ha-ha, thanks AJ."

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash said as she jumped up onto Ryan's bed and let out a content sigh, "and I can sleep in this bed all day."

"Now RD that there's Ryan's bed. Get off." Applejack hissed, her eyes showing that she wasn't kidding.

"Oh no, AJ I'm fine with Dash taking the bed. You can have it too if you want." Ryan said with a friendly smile, gesturing to the bed that Rainbow Dash was already comfortably lying in, her front hooves behind her head, her rose-colored eyes closed and a small, yet blissful, smile on her face.

"Then where will you sleep?" Applejack asked.

"I have a sleeping bag." Ryan pointed over his shoulder to a blue bad in the corner of the room that held his sleeping bag, a sleeping bag that he had not used in years.

At this, Rainbow Dash turned over so that she was leaning on her elbow while lying on her side so she could face Ryan and ask him a question. 

"So you're just going to let two mares that you just met take your bed while you sleep on the floor?" the tomboy pegasus asked with a mix of shock and disbelief.

Ryan nodded and Rainbow Dash suddenly smiled with great enthusiasm, "Wow, that incredibly generous of you. Thanks Ryan."

"Thank ya kindly Ryan." Applejack said with a smile as she slowly trotted over to the bed before pushing herself up onto the mattress. Ryan offered to help, but she, in her typically stubborn ways, refused and did it herself. 

"Huh, maybe Twilight got your element wrong," Rainbow Dash said jokingly, "maybe you should be generosity and Rarity should be your partner."

Ryan rolled his eyes while both Rainbow dash and Applejack laughed at Rainbow's joke. Ryan grabbed the sleeping bag. He rolled it out next to his bed, turned off the lights to his room and slipped inside before turning to the girls.

"Good night you two." He said with a smile.

"Good night partner." Applejack said.

"Good night Ryan, who is really my partner." Rainbow Dash said, mocking Applejack's little, southern mannerism, including adding a little southern accent to "partner" to complete the mockery. 

Applejack shot her a glare.

"What? Can't handle a joke?" Rainbow Dash asked defensively, but with that trademark, cocky smile of hers.

Applejack rolled her eyes and turned away from the cyan Pegasus, slipping under the covers on the side of the bed that Ryan was on while Rainbow Dash got under the covers on the other side, a decent space between the two ponies.

With that, Ryan smiled before he let sleep take him, his mind still racing about the turn of events. But more than anything else, his mind was focused on Rainbow Dash, and how great his luck was that he got to be partnered with her out of anypony.

Carl's House

Everyone was asleep in Carl's room. Because his mother never went into his room without asking, and because he had a lock to his room, as Twilight so cleverly used before, he could afford to have Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity all lying on his bed with him.

He initially wanted to sleep on the floor, but they refused to let him do so, and since he lacked a sleeping bag, this was his only option. The four colorful ponies that lay in different areas of his bed initially made him feel uneasy, but he eventually got used to it. Now it was comforting, if not adorable. 

But he was concerned about where Discord could possibly be, or rather who he could be. Was he someone in power? Someone he knew? A friend of his? He kept mulling these thoughts over when he felt Twilight tap his shoulder. He turned to see her looking at him.

"Hey Carl." She whispered, "Look, I just wanted to apologize for tonight. I didn't mean to freak you out as much as I did."

Carl smiled and waved it off, "Don't worry about it Twi."

Twilight smiled and rested her head on the pillow before she asked another question.

"Why am I your favorite anyway? I mean, it probably has something to do with us being connected by our elements but, I'm just curious what you did you like about me?"

"Well let's see, where do I begin?" Carl began, Twilight looking at him with great interest; "You're smart, you're kind, you always seem to be the moral compass for your friends. I wish more people were like you." Carl then looked away and let out a sigh, "I wish that I was more like you."

Twilight closed her eyes with a wide grin, satisfied that she meant so much to someone.

"I bet you're more like that than you give yourself credit for." She whispered.

Carl smiled back and reached his hand out. Slowly, he stroked her violet mane. 

She responded by gently nuzzling her cheek into his arm while his hand moved through her mane. Her violet eyes were open and looking directly into his violet eyes, both sets meeting and staring at each other for what seemed like forever. He then put his hand down and looked away. He was profoundly blushing as he realized what he was doing. 

Twilight giggled and closes her eyes again, "Good night Carl."

"Good night Twi." Carl said, but he didn't go to sleep. He was too much in thought about why he just reacted like that. I mean, sure, he always thought Twilight was cute, but he never felt like there was anything romantic in his feelings for her.

Now he wasn't so sure, and it made him feel uneasy.

James' House- The Next Morning

James let out a groan and put his hand to his forehead in pain. Ryan had been right, there was a jack-hammer pounding away at his brain from all the drinking, and it wasn't a good feeling in the slightest.

"Fuck me, what happened last night." He mumbled. He felt like shit. His head felt like it was going to explode, he had pressure behind both eyes, and he felt a wave of nausea and dehydration. He stood up and stumbled over to the bathroom just across the hall. Once inside, he shut the door, locked it, and leaned against the counter-top where the sink was to re-gain his composure. Hands gripping the edge of the counter like it was the only think keeping him from falling over into a heap.

He looked up at his reflection, seeing the image of a boy he didn't recognize. His log hair was strewn every which-way, his eyes sunken in and tired-looking, and his face pale. He let out a long sigh before he turned away from the mirror, ending the torture that was observing his current physical appearance.

After pulling all of his puke-stained clothes off and throwing them to the flow, he cautiously stepped into the shower and began to attempt to wash the hangover away. Streams of water ran down from the top of his head to his feet, and then into the tub. It danced around his feet before going down the drain.

James suddenly felt a wave of nausea hit him like a freight train.

He crouched down and put his hands on the wall that surrounded the tub for support as he vomited bile. He then gagged and slid down the wall onto his hands and knees into the mix of shower water and vomit. The yellow-brown, acidic bile circulated the drain along with the water before pouring down the drain.

James began to cry to himself, not happy with what he was doing at the moment, not proud of what he did that led to him feeling this crappy. Long, sticky strands of vomit dripped from his mouth and landed in the water around him, following the rest of the bile down the drain.

He didn't always feel so guilty about his drinking, but when he did, it came on out of nowhere and would often result in his sobbing. He didn't know why he was so into partying, so into drinking until he was barfing over the toilet the next morning, but he was. It was like he needed to do it to escape his life.

James then slowly made his way back up to his feet and let the shower water rinse the vomit and tears off of his face, his long, black hair pressed against his face by the water, obscuring his sight while he let the water clean himself off before he proceeded to use shampoo and soap to proceed with the actual cleaning.

When he finally finished, he dried off, got dressed, and made his way downstairs for breakfast.

In the kitchen, already eating, he saw his two parents and his older brother, Patrick. Patrick was the gifted child, the one that his parents clearly favored. James always competed with Patrick, but it was no use. His parents worshipped Patrick and, in the same breath, would patronize James. 

"Why can't you be more like Patrick?" Mrs. Carson asked.

James didn't answer, he saw no reason to, and anything he said would be shot down like a plane over Berlin in World War II. 

"You realize how horrible you look now?" Mr. Carson asked with an equally disappointed tone.

James looked down at his bowl of cereal and muttered, "I had a rough night."

"You know what Patrick is doing this summer?" Mr. Carson asked, "Jogging. Getting into shape for soccer next year; being productive."

"And he's going to Stanford." Mrs. Carson said, turning to Patrick with a prideful smile, which her son gratefully returned. But his smile wasn't just simple pride, it was full of arrogance, the arrogance only a child put up onto a pedestal by his parents could have.

"Yes, and I still have a year left of High school." James said, still looking down at his bowl of cereal, refusing to look at his family, "And I'm a straight A student."

"Don't you talk back to us young man." Mr. Carson hissed, pointing an accusing finger at his son. 

James finally caved and looked up at his father, "Why do you always put me down?"

"It's called tough love. You want it to stop? Well then stop being a disappointment and be more like your brother." Mr. Carson said sternly before going back to reading his newspaper.

"But I'm not Patrick." James muttered.

"Trust us, we know." Mrs. Carson said with disappointment. But she always had such a disappointed tone in her voice when talking to James that he barely even noticed.

Even when his parents didn't literally tell him how disappointed they were in him as their son, James knew how they felt. 

He also had a feeling that any slip-up that he made while he still was under their roof, such as being caught drinking beer, smoking pot or, God-forbid, watching "My Little Pony", would result in him being thrown out of the house in shame. Not that he would be too upset, after all he hated his parents, and he ESPECIALLY hated his perfect, can-do-no-wrong brother. 

"Maybe I should tell them I'm a brony just so they will kick me out." James thought to himself before he continued eating.

As he continued to eat, James listened as Mr. Carson started talking to Patrick about Stanford. He also discussed a new pair of soccer cleats that he was planning to buy Patrick for his first year of college soccer. Cardinal red cleats to match the school Patrick was so proudly attending.

Yes, smart and an athlete; the stereotypical poster child of Stanford University.

All of this family conflict James had was another reason he connected with Caroline so much. She was the only person who seemed to appreciate his presence in this world. Not only did his visits with her improve her attitude, but it also improved his as well. He always felt happier after talking to her, knowing that someone out there actually saw worth in him.

After he finished eating, he went back upstairs and slammed the door to his room, happy to be done eating breakfast, and done with his family. James sat at his desk and got onto his computer, which had Call of Duty wallpaper on the desktop. He immediately went online to look at pictures of Fluttershy to recover from the stress that eating with his parents brought. Looking at her always made him happy, both because of her kindness, and because of how much it made him think of Caroline. 

Once the yellow Pegasus succeeded in improving his mood for the time being, he closed his laptop and looked out the window. As he looked at the near cloudless sky, the bright, morning sun shining through the window of his room. He silently wished that something would make his life better than it was.

Not only that, he wished something would make Caroline's life better than it was.
> Sweet Dreams 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5: Sweet Dreams

Dream

The sunlight reflected off of the clouds as Ryan flew above them. He was a Pegasus with a dark blue coat and a mane similar to Rainbow Dash's, but instead of the bands in his mane being a multitude of colors like her's, each stripe was a different shade of brown, from near white to dark as the bark on a tree. He looked to his left and saw Rainbow Dash flying alongside him, giving him a cute little smile. 

He returned it and flew closer to her so their noses were almost touching. They kissed without breaking flight, without a care in the world. Once the kiss was broken, Rainbow Dash quickly grabbed Ryan into an embrace and flew them both vertically, looking deep into each other's eyes. They finally reached a maximum height and stopped, eyes still fixed on each other. Ryan could see his own reflection in Rainbow Dash's eyes. It confirmed that, like her, he was an animated pegasus.

"I love you Ryan." Rainbow Dash said, nuzzling her head into his chest lovingly. 

Ryan smiled back and wrapped his hooves around her before lowering his muzzle to her head and kissed her on the top of her mane. He then rested his cheek against the soft, rainbow-colored hair on top of his marefriend's head.

"I love you too Dashie."

Rainbow Dash pulled away from Ryan's chest, her eyes looked up into his, full of love, much like the love Ryan felt at that moment for her, the love he always felt for her.

They leaned in and kissed once more, enjoying the feeling of their lips pressed together as they hovered in the air.

The sun got brighter and brighter until it was a blinding white, to the point where Ryan could no longer see.

***************************************************************************************************************************************
Ryan's House- Morning

Ryan shot awake, breathing heavily and sweating in his sleeping bag. He looked around and saw that it was about nine O'clock in the morning., the sun starting to creep into his room. He calmed himself down and wiped some sweat off of his forehead with his wrist. He jumped as he heard knocking at his door, followed by his mother's voice.

"Ryan, sweetie, are you all right?" she asked.

Ryan got up and walked over to the door, "Yeah mom, I'm fine."

"Why is your door locked?"

"I just wanted some privacy is all." He said with a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Okay, well I'm heading off to work. There's some cereal out for you when you're ready to come downstairs."

"Okay Mom, thanks. I love you."

"Love you too sweetie." With that, Mrs. Davis left and Ryan closed the door to his room. He pressed his ear to the door and listened as his mother's footsteps went down the stairs and the front door shut. He sighed and pressed his head against the door.

Suddenly he remembered the dream, he remembered Rainbow Dash and the kiss they shared in it. 

His eyes shot open and he shook his head. He turned around to see that both Applejack and Rainbow Dash were still asleep in his bed, the sunlight that had crept into the room through the blinds landed across their faces.  When he saw Rainbow Dash under the sunlight, like some heavenly being, he immediately felt his cheeks go red before looking away.

Quickly, he slipped out of his bedroom, quietly shut the door, and went into the hall bathroom. He washed his face and looked at himself in the mirror, his eyes no longer having the look of exhaustion they had when he was talking to his mom; now they showed a look of fear and confusion.

"Okay Ryan, get a hold of yourself. It was only a dream." He muttered.

But it wasn't just a dream, and he knew it.

Ordinarily he would never tell anyone about his crush on Rainbow Dash, but he never felt the need to. After all, she was just a character of fiction only the day before, so why humility himself with a confession when it would serve no purpose?

But now that she was in his house, in his life, and his elemental partner, he was freaking out.

He sighed and exited the bathroom, only to get shocked when he saw Applejack, who had snuck out of his room, standing in the hallway right outside. She had a worried expression on her face, like she knew something was bothering the boy.

"Ryan, are ya okay?" she asked,

Ryan nods nervously, "Yeah, AJ I'm...I'm good."

Applejack squinted to get a better look at Ryan when she notices the water stains on his shirt, as well as his still, slightly dampened hair, signs of the attempt to "snap himself out of it" after waking up from the dream.

Of course, seeing all of this, as well as Ryan acting so nervous, 

"Why in tarnation are ya'll wet?" 

"Just washed my...my face, he-he." Ryan rubbed the back of his head nervously.

Not surprisingly, Applejack's expression immediately became skeptical and she shook her head, 

"Nu-uh. Y'all ain't getting' by me until ya tell me what's wrong. And don't ya try ta lie out of this cause I'll know." 

"Out of all of the characters who caught me after that bizarre dream, it had to be Applejack, the Element of Honesty. I am truly the definition of Murphy's Law."

He sighed and decided to tell her about the dream, but as quietly as possible so they wouldn't wake up Rainbow Dash, even though waking her up would be almost near impossible as she slept in a near-comatose state. 

"I...I had a dream about Rainbow Dash."

"A dream about RD?" Applejack's expression changed to genuine curiosity, "What was it about?"

Ryan swallowed hard, his throat dry as if his body was trying to take measures to keep him from revealing his secret to the country pony that stood in front of him with inquisitive, yet still caring, eyes. The kind of eyes only a cartoon pony from Equestria could have.

After a few quickly swallowed and licking his dried lips, Ryan managed to squeak out an answer, "I dreamt we were both pegasi and we were in Equestria, flying together and then we..." Ryan shut his eyes in shame, "...we kissed...and I told her I loved her."

Applejack chuckled,  "Aw shucks Ryan, is that all that's got yer bridles in a twist? So ya have a crush on Rainbow Dash; ain't no shame in that."

"Even though she's a pony and I'm a human?" Ryan asked and Applejack nodded. 

"Ryan, ya don't have anythin' ta be ashamed of. Trust me."

Ryan sighed and rubbed his head, relieved to get it off his chest, and especially relieved that Applejack was so understanding. "Okay, but listen, you can't tell anyone or anypony about this. Especially Rainbow Dash."

Applejack nodded, "Y'all have mah word. Ah'll be as quiet as a mouse in a hay bail."

Ryan sighed in relief, "Thanks AJ."

Applejack then let Ryan by so they could wake up Rainbow Dash from her deep sleep. He got to her side of the bed and shook her.

"Ugh...ten more minutes." She groaned as she rotated so she was facedown in the pillow. Her mane was suffering from a slight case of bed-mane that, in Ryan's opinion, was adorable.

"Come on Dash, it's time to get up." Ryan said as he gently shook her shoulder. She looked up at him and chuckled.

"Ugh, sorry," she sat up in the bed and let out a small yawn, "I usually sleep in pretty late."

"I can tell." Ryan said smiling before gesturing her to follow him.

Applejack watched this from the open door and chuckled a bit to herself. Rainbow Dash got up and slowly flew out of the room after Ryan.

"Are your parents home?" she asked, landing once she cleared the open door.

"No, otherwise I wouldn't have let you out of my room. You two can do downstairs, I'll be there in a minute."

They nodded before trotting downstairs, leaving Ryan alone in his room. He sighed and walked over to his desk, where he sat and let his head fall with a hard "thunk". He let out a groan as he stressed about the situation. He did trust that AJ wouldn't say anything, she was the element of honesty after all, but he was still concerned about why he had these feelings for a cartoon pony. Even if it wasn't a new crush, it still bothered him.

Why couldn't they just go away, why couldn't he obsess over a girl he went to school with? 

As he contemplated these thoughts, he heard his phone start to buzz, which took his mind off of is dream for the time being. He looked at the ID and saw that it was Carl. He sighed and picked up.

"Hey Carl, what's up?"

***********************************************************************************************************************************

Carl's House- Morning

Carl was standing in his kitchen with his cell phone pressed against his ear as he talked with Ryan. Lauren had gone off to work already, and his sisters were both in school, as summer vacation for the kids in the elementary school didn't start for another couple of days. 

The four ponies were sitting at the table behind him, eating some toast that he made for them, which they seemed to enjoy.

"Hey I was wondering if you remembered that we're supposed to meet James at the mall later."

"Oh shit, you're right. Well, can we text him and tell him we can't make it? I mean, we can't leave the girls alone. Can we?"

"True, hang on..." Carl covered the mouthpiece of the phone and turned towards the girls, who were having their own conversation at the table. "Hey Twi! Could you cast a spell that would make all six of you look human to other people?"

Twilight swallowed some of the toast that is in her mouth and turned to Carl before giving him an enthusiastic nod. 

"Oh yeah, definitely." She then used her magic to pick up a napkin and wipe some stray jam off of her face before she continued speaking, "just let me know when you want me to do it."

Carl nodded and turned back to the phone. "Yeah Ryan, it'll work."

"Great! Listen, I'm going to make AJ and Dash some breakfast and I'll come by to pick you guys up."

"Okay great, I'll see you then."

Ryan hung up and Carl followed suit. He turned to the table, where all four of the mares were looking at him.

"So Carl, where do we plan on going today?" Rarity asked as she delicately placed her piece of toast down onto the plate.

"The mall." Carl answered.

"Oh a mall! I love malls!" Pinkie Pie shouted happily, sounding like the typical shopping-obsessed girl. Or, in this case, like the typical Pinkie Pie.

"Wait, you have malls in Equestria?" Carl asked, somewhat finding the image of a giant shopping center for ponies shocking, after all the show never really gave much indication to the presence of malls.

The four girls, however, all nodded at Carl.

"Öh yes they're just lovely." Fluttershy said with a cute smile and nod.

"I for one hope they have a nice boutique. Perhaps they'll have some dresses to give me inspiration for my designs back home." Rarity said. 

"Or a party store! Oh it would be so cool if I could get some streamers, and some party hats, oh! And music, and..." Pinkie Pie continued before an aura surrounded her mouth and clamped it shut. 

"Easy there Pinkie Pie, we aren't here to party." Twilight said before releasing her friend's mouth, "We're here to stop Discord."

"Well duh." Pinkie Pie said with a small eye-roll, "Of course I know that silly. This party stuff is for the victory party I'm going to throw when we do beat Discord."

"Um Pinkie," Fluttershy meekly interjected, clearly not comfortable interrupting or being the center of attention, which she was now as everypony turned their attention to her.

"Not to sound bossy or anything, but shouldn't we work on finding the other four elements first...maybe, if that's all right?"

"Well, all right then, I guess it's off to the mall. Hang on I'll be right back."

Carl ran upstairs and threw on a pair of jeans and a Nike t-shirt. He grabbed his wallet and keys and ran back downstairs to see the four ponies cleaning his dishes in the sink. His mouth hung open in shock at the sight.

Fluttershy and Pinkie were both bringing the plates over to the sink, while Rarity and Twilight used their magic to clean those plates off. Rarity levitated the plates with her magic while Twilight did the more tedious work of scrubbing them off with a soapy sponge. 

Once they were finished, not a speck of food was left on the plates, and the white paint on each dish shone as if they were made of pearl. The four girls cleaned the plates more thoroughly than Carl or any of his sisters ever had, and that was their usual chore.

"What are you girls doing?" Carl asked, still shocked at the scene that ha just played out in front of him.

"Öh, we're cleaning your dishes...I hope you don't mind." Fluttershy muttered as she put the last plate down next to Twilight, who was busy wringing out the sponge over the sink with her aura.

"A-are you kidding?" Carl asked with a smile, "Thank you four so much. But, why would you do that for me?"

"Well it's the least we could do to say thanks for letting us stay here for the night." Twilight said with a thankful smile.

"You...you really didn't have to though. I mean; you girls sleeping over was much more of a delight for me than it was for you." Carl said with a small blush.

"But we wanted to!" Pinkie said as she grabbed a wet scot towel with her mouth and walking over to the table to wipe it down. She gentle placed the towel onto the table and looked back up at Carl with her usual, playful grin, "I mean, you are our friend and friends take care of friends."

With that, Pinkie Pie began to rub down the table with the towel while the other three joined, Twilight levitating the spray. Carl was completely impressed that she was able to figure out the location as well as which spray was for the table. They must've had something like Windex in Equestria.

Carl smiled and let out a chuckle, "Well I really appreciate it, thank you girls."

About five minutes later, the four had finally finished cleaning the table. They all decided to casually chat a little more before they heard the unmistakable sound of a car horn from outside. 

"That's Ryan." Carl muttered. "Time to head out."

They were about to go out when Carl suddenly remembered something important.

"Hang on." He said, causing all four girls to stop trotting towards the door,  "Twilight, what about the spell?"

Her eyes looked confused for a minute until she finally remembered her human-illusion spell, "Öh yeah! That's right!"

With that her horn glowed for a few seconds, and then stopped. Carl looked at Twilight in confusion.

"Um Twilight, you all still look like ponies."

"Right," Twilight said with a smile, "You and Ryan are excluded from the spell. That way, you can both still see us as we really are, while others will see us as humans."

Carl chuckled, "Okay, whatever works."

They all went out of the house and started towards Ryan's SUV. Ryan told Applejack and Rainbow Dash to stay in the car and he got out to meet Carl.  But that didn't stop Rainbow Dash from sticking her head out the back window, which Ryan left open for her and Applejack so they wouldn't get too hot, even though he left his car and air-conditioning on.

"Hey Twi, would you mind telling AJ and I why we were glowing magenta a minute ago?" the cyan mare asked with a hint of irritation.

"Relax Rainbow, I just cast my disguise spell on all of us so others see us as humans."

"Oh," Rainbow Dash said flatly before she lost interest and shrugged, "Whatever."

"Ready?" Ryan asked as he made his way over to Carl.

""Yeah but..." Carl said, looking at Ryan's SUV and realizing the lack of space in it for the six ponies and two teens, "I don't think we'll all fit in your car."

Ryan looked back at his truck, which Rainbow Dash was still peering out of while Applejack was peering over Rainbow Dash's shoulder so that she could talk with the girls, who were all now standing near Ryan's car.

"Yeah that might be a problem," Ryan muttered before turning back to Carl with a new expression of concern, "What do we do?"

Carl sighed and began to think, his eyes drifting around aimlessly as his mind wandered. During this time of odd daydreaming his eyes fell on the garage of his house. When he remembered what was inside of it, his eyes lit up.

"Wait," Carl turned back to Ryan with a new look of hope, "my father's old Caprise is in the garage, I could take that and two of the girls can come with me."

Ryan nodded and Carl looked behind his friend and whistled to get the girls attention. They all turned away from the black truck and looked at the human element of magic, waiting to hear what was so gosh darn important that he had to interrupt their socializing.

"Twilight and Rarity, you two are coming with me. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, you go with Ryan, Rainbow Dash and Applejack."

The girls looked at him confused when Rarity spoke up, pointing her hoof at Ryan's car.

"But darling, this is the only..." she stopped to ponder, realizing she had no idea what a car was before she continued, "...whatever it is, here."

"Car." Carl said, "and I have one in the garage. I can follow Ryan to the mall."

Carl then patted his pockets, realizing that he now had to get the keys to the car that hadn't been used in years, since his father' s death.

"I just need to get the keys, Ryan get the girls situated in your car and I'll be back"

Ryan nodded as Carl ran back into the house to grab the keys out of his father's old desk. When he got inside, he went to his father's office, which was now the house library, and went over to the desk. He opened the door and took out the car's keys. .

He then looked up at a photo album that was opened up to a page that showed a picture of him, Lauren, Lisa, and his father. Carl's Dad was a tall man, very broad-shouldered. He had a brown moustache and brown hair that was somewhat long, but not untamed in the slightest. Everyone in the picture was smiling brightly, the sunlight illuminating all four of him or her as they stood under a tree in the park after one of Carl's soccer games. 

He remembered Ryan's mother took the picture so that his entire family could fit, such a nice woman she was. Carl began to feel a mixture of emotions, from longing to sadness, well up inside him as his violet eyes stared, almost unblinking, at the picture.

Carl was so into the picture that he didn't hear the hoof-steps approaching.

"Carl, are you okay?"

Startled, he looked up to see Twilight looking at him with concern. His eyes felt a little watery, but he took care of that with one, quick motion of his sleeve across his eyes so that they were mostly dried.

"Yean." Carl said with a small sniffle. 

"I was just remembering my father." He held up the car keys to show Twilight, who looked at them. "The car we're taking was his. We haven't driven it since he's died."

"Yeah the Princess told me about your father dying," Twilight said compassionately before she walked over and put her hoof onto Carl's thigh, as if to let him know that she was there for him. "Do you want to talk about it with me?"

Carl shook his head, "Not now. Maybe later."

Carl gave Twilight a small smile, but even he could tell that she didn't buy it as her face still showed signs of worry. He knew that she wanted him to open up to her, but he also knew that they all had to get to the mall so he decided to change the focus, "Come on, let's go."

Carl started out of the office, Twilight turning her head and looking at him. She then quickly trotted over to the counter where Carl was. She got onto her hind-legs and put her front hooves onto the wood level so she could get a clear view of the photograph that had so impacted Carl. Once she laid eyes on the family portrait, she could feel her heart move up into her throat and a sudden urge to cry before she heard her elemental partner call out to her from the front of the house.

"Hey Twi, are you coming!?! Rarity's getting impatient."

"Yeah, coming!" Twilight shouted back at Carl before she gave the photo one, last look. She then got off of the level and made her way out of the office.

"I'm not letting him get off the hook that easily."  She thought as she trotted towards the front door. 

She would ask about his father, but not now. For now, it was time to go meet James at the mall.
> The Mall
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 6: The Mall

 City Hall- Morning 

Today was much more chaotic than usual. The building was packed with reporters running from person to person, asking for short interviews so that they could gather information about Jacob Hanson following the "accidental" diner explosion. Cameras flashed at every corner of the building as local politicians were being interviewed about the late mayoral candidate.  

With this all going on, Brett was sitting at his desk watching the local news. Enjoying that he wasn't pulled aside by any of the local media parasprites who didn't give a damn about Hanson's death, only the story and ratings surge it gave their respective stations. Hell, Brett KILLED Hanson, yet he felt that he was mourning his death than any reporter or journalist that was running around city hall.

A woman news reporter was discussing the tragedy previous night, [i.]...the explosion that killed twelve people, including Mayoral Candidate Jacob Hanson, is being blamed on a gas leak that came from the kitchen."

Smiling at the brilliant lie, Brett took a sip of his coffee as he continued to watch and wait, until finally Drocsid's response was shown on the news,

"It is truly a tragedy to hear about such a loss. Jacob and I may have been on opposite sides of the political fence, but he was an upstanding citizen and a respectable man and I send out condolences to his friends and family."

Brett smiled demonically and laughed as he watched Drocsid walk away from the podium with the flashing of cameras lighting him up as he disappeared from view, questions from reporters being shouted after him like the expected him to come back and answer them.

"It's amazing how far some pretty wording can get you in politics." </i> Brett let out a chuckle and leaned back against his chair and let out a sigh, <i>"Bringing this world into chaos will be as easy as teaching a fish to swim."

Wilmont Mall

When Carl and Ryan pulled into the mall parking lot, it was clear, based on the sheer number of cars parked outside, that teenagers recently freed for summer needed someplace to hang out or go on massive shopping sprees that they had saved up for throughout the year. It was that packed.

While it was busy, there was still ample parking due to the sheer size of the lot, and the mall for that matter. 

So both Ryan and Carl easily found two spots right next to each other, though they were somewhat far from the entrance. But that wasn't too much of a problem, after all some walking was healthy, even if both boys, like most teenagers, would do anything they could to reduce the amount of effort needed to get places.

In Carl's car, Rarity and Twilight both pressed against the windows of the car to see the mall, eyes wide in excitement. The mall was very large, with grand, glass entrance that led directly to the food-court, where fast food joints lined the walls. There was a large carousel that was clearly visible through the glass entrance. It went around and around, little kids screaming in joy as the ride continued on, and on, and on in the same direction.

"Oh is this the mall?" Twilight asked excitedly.

"Yep." Carl replied as he turned the engine off and un-buckled his seat-belt.

"It's simply grand." Rarity said as she pressed her face completely into the glass. "And that carousel I see really adds a touch of classiness to it."

"Yeah, I don't think there's a mall this impressive in all of Equestria." Twilight said, her eyes still glued to the carousel.

"That's nothing, wait until we get inside." Carl said as he opened the door of his car, "let's just hope your spell worked out well Twilight. I'd hate to see people's faces if they saw you girls as ponies."

Twilight nodded, "It will work. Trust me."

Carl got out of the car and was about to help the girls out, only to see both the passenger-side door and one of the doors in the back fly open, a familiar magents aura surrounding them.

Carl looked at Twilight as she and Rarity hopped out of the car. Twilight's horn then glowed again, as did the two open doors, before they both shut with a nice, solid "thud". Twilight then nodded in approval before turning to Carl, who just stared at her with an eye-brow raised.

"What?" Twilight asked.

Carl rolled his eyes, "Show off."

As Twilight rolled her own eyes at Carl's reaction, Carl locked the car and turned towards Ryan's car.

Ryan was already out of his own car, the four ponies that he drove stood around him, stretching their legs, and wings in Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy's case, a bit to get the stiffness out of them. 

Ryan gestured for Carl to follow him so that they were a few feet away from the girls, as Ryan needed to talk to him. When Carl went over, Ryan leaned towards him and whispered. "Hey, do you think we should have all six of them come in with us? I mean, if we do that we might draw attention having a girl to guy ratio of 6:2."

Carl raised an eyebrow. "Is everything all right?"

Ryan put his hand to his head, "Yeah, but do you think all six of them should come inside with us? We might draw unwanted attention to ourselves with a girl to guy ratio of six to two."

"And that's a problem because...?" Carl asked, confused as to how such a ratio, with so many girls, could be considered a problem. If anything he felt it would make them look boss. 

Ryan put his fingers to the bridge of his nose and let out an annoyed sigh,

"Look, we aren't exactly "ladies' men". If we go into the mall with all six girls, one of three possibilities will happen." Ryan then started counting off the negative possibilities on his fingers, "One, someone working for Discord might recognize them. Two, it'll make us out to be pimps, which isn't bad at all, but the third possibility is more likely in that people would think that we're..." 

Ryan made a gesture as if to say Carl should be able to guess what the third thing was. But Carl was clueless. 

"That we're what?"

Ryan rolled his eyes. He then did a quick girly motion with his hand in a "oh no you didn't" manner, an expression most men wouldn't even consider doing unless they were joking around.

Carl got the idea and his eyes widened in horror.

"Oh shit."

"Right," Ryan said. "So I think one of us should stay back with some of the girls."

"Yeah, but which ones stay back?" Carl asked.

"Ahem." 

They both turned around to see Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looking up at them. Apparently, they felt like privacy wasn't a right anymore for these two boys and went over to eavesdrop on them. Actually, it was more of Rainbow Dash going over there and dragging Fluttershy with her. The yellow pegasus felt that eavesdropping was rude. But Rainbow Dash was more assertive, and she wanted to know what the two boys were talking about. So, like always, she got her way.

Rainbow Dash smiled at the two. "We don't mind staying back."

"Only if you don't mind, after all, I wouldn't be comfortable in such a big place with so many people." Fluttershy said. She then looked over to the mall entrance and gave a big, nervous <i>"gulp"</i> that, of course, was adorable.

"And I can't stand being around so many clothing stores. It's just WAY too girly for me." Rainbow Dash stuck out her tongue as she said this to illustrate her disgust.

Ryan looked at Carl. "I'll stay back with them." he said, "and you can take the others inside. If he asks, tell James I'm outside with two of "Tara's" friends because they're sick from walking around."

"Walking around?"

"Tell James we're giving them a tour of the local area because they aren't from around here."

Carl nodded, "Okay, I just hope he doesn't know that we're bullshitting him."

Ryan shrugged and walked back to his car, "Come on ladies. Let me introduce you to some human music."

"Awesome!"

"Yay."

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed him, both looking somewhat excited to hear more human music as neither of them got enough of it yesterday and were looking forward to hearing more. 

Carl sighed and looked at the other four girls, who were all standing around his Ryan's car.

"Well great, now I'm stuck alone in a situation where I'm surrounded by girls." Carl groaned as he realized that his and Ryan's plan didn't do anything but minimize the number of ponies who were walking into the mall. 

It was still a 4:1 ratio of girls to guys. Normally being surrounded by this many girls would make Carl ecstatic, but thinking in the problems that Ryan talked about earlier made him re-think it. After all, it was true that a guy not really known for being a "playa" would get the reputation of being gay if he was the only guy in a group of girls. But Carl didn't feel like thinking about what to do anymore, so he accepted it and decided to go with his motto of "fuck what society thinks" that he usually tried to follow.

"Hey Carl are you ready? I want to check out this mall!" Pinkie Pie said jumping up and down excitedly.

Carl nodded and let out a deep sigh and thought "Twilight your spell better be as effective as it was last night."

As they approached the mall, Pinkie Pie saw the carousel and immediately began to show her excitement. "Oh! Is that a carousel? I absolutely love carousels, except when they go too fast and give me tummy aches. Like, one time, I went on one after eating waaayyyy too many cupcakes and..."

 "Maybe physical appearance won't be our only issue."  Carl thought with a groan.

Food Court

James rested his head on the black, steel table he sat at. He was still recovering from the last bit of his hangover. He was still seething at all of the praise his brother got over him, stirring the straw in his drink for no reason other than to relieve some of his stress. He was just thankful that he had enough strength not to stab the straw through the bottom of the cup and cause the drink to spill out. 

"Oh Patrick is so smart, Patrick is so special, Patrick is Jesus Christ himself! What a crock of shit."

He lifted his head up off of the table-top and took a sip of the soda that he got from one of the fast food places that lined both sides of the food court. James looked at his phone and began to surf the web when he felt somebody tap him on the shoulder. He turned around to see his friend Alex Franco standing behind him.

Alex had curly blonde hair that was hidden under a white Dallas Cowboys hat that he was wearing backwards. He had some freckles, green eyes and a cheerful face that reflected his "southern gentleman" self. He also looked somewhat muscular, far more athletic looking than Carl, James or Ryan.

He was generally an optimistic kid even though his life was far from perfect, and he was by far the most athletic friend that was in the group. He also had some scars on his face from some past hardships, as well as current ones. 

"Hey Alex." James mumbled with the biggest smile he could muster, which wasn't much at all. His weakness was still apparent.

"Hey James, what are you doing here?" Alex asked pulling out a chair that was next to James and plopping himself down in it.

James let out a yawn before he replied, "Well, I'm supposed to meet Ryan and Carl, but they haven't shown up yet." 

"That's typical of them." Alex asked with a chuckle and James nodded. Alex adjusted the hat on his head so the Cowboy's logo and brim was facing forward.

"Yeah, and I hope they get here soon. I need to get over to Caroline's house before work."

"Mr. Courtie?"

James nodded.

"So," Alex leaned forward on his elbows, which were pressed onto the table, "how was the party? By the looks of it I guess you went all out?"

"That would be the understatement of the millennium." James muttered.

"Have fun?"

"Don't really remember," James said, thinking back to the night before, "but yeah I did."

"Ah, but how can you be sure if you don't remember?" Alex asked with a know-it-all smile.

"To steal a quote from the "Hangover", if you don't remember it, I had a fucking awesome time." James said before taking another sip of soda. 

He chuckled a bit to hide his stress from Alex, who was usually good at knowing when someone wasn't being open about their emotions, like a human lie detector. Fortunately, if Alex did notice James' anxious behavior, he didn't bring it up.

Alex leaned back against the chair, a smile on his face, and put his hands behind his head like he was chilling out.

"I hear ya man, I hear ya."

Just then Carl, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie all went over to James and Alex. Of course, they only saw Carl and four human girls with interesting physical traits walking up to him. 

For instance, Applejack looked like the typical blonde southern girl with a cowboy hat and a brown, leather jacket. Rarity appeared to wear a very nice t-shirt with sparkles on it, and her hair was so nice that it seemed like she just got back from a professional stylist. Pinkie Pie had really huge, pink hair and an all-pink outfit. Now, this was what everyone saw except for Carl, who was hoping that the spell was working well.

Alex looked up at them and smiled.

"Oh shit, it looks like we've got a playa here." Alex walked over and shook Carl's hand. 

"What's up Alex?" Carl asked as eh returned the shake.

"Not much. I just stopped by to pick up some glassware. Some of ours broke last night."

Twilight looked over at James and pointed her hoof at him, though to Alex and James, it appeared that she was pointing a finger with a purple fingernail.

"Hey, you're that boy that I met at the party last night."

James looked at Tara as his memory slowly came back.

"Oh yeah, you're that girl that came up to us, what was your name again, Tina? Terry?"

"Tara." Twilight said with a small smile.

"Yeah guys this is Tara, and these are her friends..." Carl was about to say their real names when he stopped himself. He gulped, as he knew that he had to improvise some names off of the top of his head. The issue was that he was never the most creative person when it came to that so he just gave them girl names that started with the same letter as their actual names. 

"This is Anna, Penelope, and...Raquel." Carl grimaced at the last name, knowing how odd of a choice it was.

"Raquel, that's an interesting name." James said, looking at Rarity. 

Rarity gave James an accusing look, "And what is that supposed to mean exactly?"

James held up his hands in defense, "Nothing, you just don't look like a "Raquel". I think Bella or Alexandra would be more fitting. Something that sounds like it comes from Victorian Literature."

"Victorian Literature? Oh, what's that, sounds awesome!" Pinkie Pie asked, thankfully saying "person" instead of "pony".

"It's not. It's a genre of literature that's used to make High School students' lives hell, and make college students feel more enlightened than they actually are." James said with a snarky smirk.

"So you're James, huh?" Applejack asked James, her southern drawl grabbed Alex's attention.

"Yeah, that's me."

Applejack then pointed at Alex, "And you are?"

"Alex. You're Anna, right?"

"Yessir." Applejack said with a small tip of her Stetson hat.

"That's a nice accent you've got there. Where are you from?" Alex asked.

"Pony..." She managed to get out before Carl stepped in quickly to save their cover.

"Tennessee! She's from Tennessee."

"Tennessee? That's really neat," Alex said with a flirty smile, "I'm actually from Texas." He pointed to his Cowboys hat to show her, which she looked at confused, not sure exactly what the blue star was supposed to be, unless it meant Alex was a sheriff, which she doubted.

"So are you a Titans fan?" Alex asked.

Applejack's eye-brow went up and her face became a portrait of utter bewilderment, "A what-tans fan?"

"Okay, I think that's enough introductions for now. James, you want to head out to see Ryan."

James nodded. 

Carl turned to Alex, "Alex, you want to?"

Alex shook his head. "No man I still need to get the glassware I came here for." Alex stood up and adjusted the hat on his head so it was facing backwards again, "I'll talk to you guys later, and it was nice meeting you four girls."

He turned and smiled at Applejack and gave her a flirtatious wink, "Especially you."

Applejack blushed a bit and returned the smile. "Pleasure ta meet y'all partner."

Carl bit his lip anxiously as Alex walked away with a beaming smile on his face, as well as a reddish tint to his cheeks from the blush he had after talking to the southern belle, who he didn't suspect was really an orange, cartoon pony.

"What the hell took you so long to get here?" James hissed at Carl.

"Sorry, I got side-tracked."

"And where the hell is Ryan again?"

"Back at the car," Carl said, "He's with two of Tara's friends that felt sick."

James looked at Carl in shock, "There are two more?"

Carl nodded and James just chuckled, "All right, I'm confused, but I'll go along with this. Especially with six girls in the picture."

Just like that, all six began to leave the food court.

<b> Ryan's Car </b>

Back in his car, Ryan was with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash listening to some of the music on Ryan's iPod, which he plugged into the adapter that allowed the music to play over the radio.

"Oh this song is so beautiful, what's it called? Fluttershy asked, resting her head against the back of her seat.

"Um, it's "One Day" by Matisyahu." Ryan said with a sigh, letting the music enter one ear and exit the other, leaving him with a feeling of bliss. He loved the way this song brought him to a place of peace and tranquility that most songs couldn't.

"Eh, it's pretty good I guess. But do you have anything...you know...cooler?" Rainbow Dash asked. Ryan chuckled, thinking of how typical it was of her to act like that, which was why she won him over so much as his favorite pony.

"Thought you'd never ask." He flipped through his playlist to find a song that he knew Rainbow Dash would like. At the same time, he hoped that it wouldn't be too hardcore for Fluttershy. He pressed play and waited to rock out with the two pegasi.

Outside in the parking lot, Carl and James were heading over to Ryan and Carl's cars and talking to each other, as well as Twilight and the others. They were so focused on talking that they didn't even see a boy heading right at them, his own eyes looking down and away from the group of kids heading his way. James bumped into him, knocking the smaller boy to the ground, leaving him dazed.

"Ah, sorry man." James apologized as he reached down to help up the boy.

He looked like he was two to three years younger than Carl, James or Ryan. In reality, though, he was the same age. 

He was just short and thin, even more so than Ryan. He had messy brown hair and sad-looking blue eyes, which were almost completely hidden behind his bangs. As James helped him up, the boy didn't even utter "oomph", he was that quiet.

"Kid you okay?" Carl asked. The boy didn't say anything. 

It was then that he knew who the quiet boy was. "Wait, aren't you Pete Reynolds?"

The boy didn't answer; he just looked down at his feet and gave a small nod. It was well known that Pete Reynolds was the number one target for bullying, even more so than Ryan. People also spread rumors about him like crazy. You see, he used to be one of the most talkative and outgoing kids in school, but one day he just stopped and became quiet, like someone tore out his voice box while simultaneously taking his spirit.

No one really knows why, so naturally ideas spread from student to student about possible reasons, mostly about him being a weirdo.

"Pete, are you okay?"

Pete nodded again and slowly started to walk by the group when Pinkie Pie stepped into his path with a big smile on her face.

"Oh dear God no." Carl thought, 

"Pink...er I mean Penelope what are you doing?" Rarity hissed.

Pinkie didn't even seem to notice Carl's question as she was too determined to introduce herself to Pete. "Hi, I'm Penelope!"

Pete stopped and looked up at the mare, but what he saw was a girl with really big, pink hair and large, expressive blue eyes. As his eye caught Pinkie's, his expression seemed to relax and he seemed to perk up a bit.

"I'm...I'm Pete." He said with a shy smile, his eyes averted soon after he said it. 

"Nice to meet you!" she said. Carl mentally had a "thank you God" moment at the fact that she remembered her assigned name, as he felt that if anyone forgot to use his or her fake name, it would be her. What he didn't see was Pete suddenly smiling more than he had in a long time. It still wasn't a lot, but it was a significant improvement.

"Hi," he said quietly before biting his lip anxiously at the fact that he was having a conversation with someone. He was not used to this. "Listen I need to go now, but it was nice to...to meet you and...stuff."

With that, he walked away. "Okie dokey, see you later Petey-weety!" Pinkie said in her usual peppy, friendly voice that would make the most reclusive individual want to come out of his shell and socialize with others. Pete gave her a quick smile before he headed off in a happier mood than he was in before colliding with James.

James' mouth hung open, "Holy shit dude, she got Pete Reynolds to talk. He never talks."

Carl shrugged, "What can I say, she's great with meeting people."

Pinkie Pie was still waving to Pete when Twilight trotted over and pulled her pink hoof down. "Come on Pinkie."

Pinkie Pie giggled, "Sorry Twi, he was just so sweet."

Twilight smiled when she and Pinkie trotted over to Carl and the others. As she approached her partner and his friend, she suddenly thought of something. Her eyes widened and a small smile spread across her face when she finally reached Carl. She tapped him on the waist, which looked like the shoulder to James. Again, the spell was very manipulative.

"Carl, can we get back to Ryan and the others?" she asked, "I need to check James for something."

"For what?"

"I'll show you soon, but can we please go back to your house so we don't have to worry about people hearing us?"

Carl nodded, though he was still confused. With that, the group continued on its trek back to Ryan's car. They didn't notice as, behind them, Lawrence and two of his cronies, Sean and Lance, began to surround a frightened Pete.

Meanwhile, in Ryan's truck, some of the most badass lyrics ever written were being blared:

 Ryan's Car 

"A-ah-ahh-ah, ah-ah-ahh-ah

We come from the land of the ice and snow

from the midnight sun where the hot springs blow

The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands

To fight the horde and sing and cry, Valhalla, I am coming

On we sweep with, with threshing oar

Our only goal will be the western shore!"

Yes, they were listening to the 2011 cover of "Immigrant Song" by Karen O., Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross from "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"

Ryan and Rainbow Dash were both wearing pairs of sunglasses and singing along with the song. Even Fluttershy was enjoying the music, which was surprising, as Ryan didn't see her as someone who'd like heavy metal.

Either way, Ryan found himself having the time of his life with the cyan mare that he loved, even if only in secret. She rocked the song like she was a guitarist from the 1980's. She also looked like a complete badass in her sunglasses; Ryan kept imagining the words "deal with it" appearing under her like the meme that he had seen so often. For some reason, with the song playing and her rocking out to it, it seemed like that saying was even more applicable than it was on just the picture. 

"Ryan, this song is so AWESOME! You've got to let me take this back to Equestria so I can use it during my flight routines!" she said, lowering her glasses slightly towards the edge of her muzzle so her red eyes looked into Ryan's frames as he looked back at her.

"Dash, not only do I want you to use this song when you fly, I want to see you do a sonic rainboom to it!"

"I will! Oh hang on, let me rock out to this some more!" she shouted happily over the blaring music just before she began to do play the air-guitar.

"Hey Fluttershy, this song too much metal for you?" Ryan asked, turning his attention to the pony in the back-seat, who was not rocking out, rather she was just laying on the seat, listening. But, surprisingly, she didn't mind the song at all.

"Oh no, this song is neat. I actually like it, even if it is a wee bit loud." Fluttershy said before her eyes opening, "Oh I hope I didn't insult your taste in music Ryan."

"Not at all Fluttershy!" Ryan said. They kept singing as they heard a knock at the window. Ryan turned to see Carl, James and the four girls. Carl had an expression on his face that screamed "are you fucking kidding me?"

Ryan turned the music down and lowered the window, "Hey, welcome to the Hard Rock Café in Wilmont. A.K.A, my Tahoe." Ryan gestured to his truck with a smile on his face.

Carl rolled his eyes as James looked into the car at the two girls.

"Hey, who are these two babes you've got here?" James asked, looking at Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, both of whom looked like human girls to him. Rainbow Dash wearing a cyan t-shirt and athletic shorts while Fluttershy looked like she was wearing a lightweight, yellow zip-up hoodie, proving that she still had the <i>d'awww</i> factor even when people saw her as a human. 

"James," Ryan said, "I'd like to introduce you to Thelma..." Ryan pointed back at Fluttershy, who waved at James shyly, a small blush on her face, "...and Louise." He then pointed to Rainbow Dash, who had her forelegs crossed and a cocky smile on her face.

Just then Ryan's smile faded as he looked past Carl and James. He pulled his sunglasses off, his eyes squinting like he was looking at something. 

"What the hell."

Carl, James and everypony all turned to see what Ryan was looking at. 

About fifty feet away, Pete was laying face-up on the pavement as Lawrence, Sean and Lance surrounded him.

The bloodied Pete tried to push himself back up to his feet. That's when Lawrence raised his foot above Pete's back and brought it down hard, sending the timid boy back to the pavement, this time face-down.

Pete was even quiet when he was getting beat up. He didn't utter a scream, or a yelp, or a groan or a sob, he just cried silently, tears rolling down his cheeks and landing on the pavement along with the blood from his nose, and a cut on his cheek.

Carl and the others were frozen in place; they didn't know what to do. So they all watched stupidly until Ryan, being the loyal person that he was, jumped out of his truck, angrily slammed the door, and ran over to the scene.

"Hey! Lawrence, you ass-hole!"

Lawrence turned away from the smaller, helpless boy and to Ryan. He had an evil smile.

"You stay out of this Ryan; you aren't scheduled for another beating until Tuesday." Lawrence sneered.

"You know, I'd say that you should pick on someone your own size, but that would require finding a fucking sumo wrestler." Ryan hissed, "Leave Pete alone."

"Why the hell should we?" he asked as he took a step towards Ryan, who started to look nervous, "You can't stop us, and when you try, it doesn't work out well for you now does it? How are your eyes by the way?""

Ryan put his hand up to his more recently bruised eye and rubbed it, "Never better. You'd be surprised how much of a chick magnet black eyes can be."

"How would you know? You've never even kissed a girl you faggot." Sean hissed with a smile that most sociopaths would fear. He was the loose cannon of the group and, as nervous as Lawrence made him, Ryan always felt his stomach to a flip whenever Sean said anything.

"Well, I see you have an audience today." Lawrence said, gesturing over towards the girls, Carl and James, who were all watching him.  

Ryan bit his lip and Lawrence gave his own, classic, sadistic smile.

"Not to mention a few girls. Here's your chance to impress them, hit me." He said, leaning towards Ryan with a smug smile. 

Ryan didn't move, too afraid of the consequences of a fight. He was in no way a pacifist, but he never could bring himself to try to physically hurt someone. He would if Pete was being beaten at the moment, but right now it was just he and he'd only physically hurt someone else if they were going after someone else at that time. Especially with Rainbow Dash and the other girls watching, he didn't want to scare them by fighting, not when they were so innocent.

A few seconds later Sean laughed, "Yo man he's too much of a pussy!"

Lawrence smiled, looking over as Carl and the other started over to them. "Well, I guess I have to take the reins on this."

Lawrence grabbed Ryan by the collar, reared his right hand back and punched Ryan in the nose. He put his hands to his bloody face as he fell to the pavement.

"Ryan!" he heard a familiar, raspy female voice shout out. Ryan felt Lawrence kick him in the side, right where his ribs were. Ryan rolled over onto his other side, clutching his hurt rib cage. Lawrence brought his fist into his stomach, causing him to lurch in pain. Everyone's attention was on the fight, that they didn't notice a cyan mare use her teeth to open the car door and push her way out.

"Get up!" Lawrence demanded before kicking Ryan again.

"Hang on Ryan, I'm coming!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she made a b-line towards Lawrence.

All of a sudden, Ryan saw a flash of blue with rainbow streaks smash into Lawrence at near supersonic speed, sending him flying about fifteen feet into the side of a pick-up truck. 

The glass in the side door shattered and fell around Lawrence, as he lay dazed on the pavement. Luckily the car alarm on the truck didn't go off since it was an older model vehicle. Thus, only the three bullies, Pete, Ryan, Rainbow Dash, James, Carl and the other ponies were witnesses to the attack. Regardless, Sean and Lance looked at Rainbow Dash in astonishment.

Now to Carl and Ryan, it didn't look un-natural to see Rainbow Dash fly at such a speed, but to James and the others, it looked like a teenage girl sprinted at an impossible speed impossible for a human, and sucker punched Lawrence so hard that he flew into a truck with a force that damaged the truck itself. Understandably, James and the others were too stunned to speak after witnessing such a strange event.

Sean and Lance turned and ran over to help Lawrence up, as he was still confused. Eventually, he got his bearings and ran off towards his own car, Sean and Lance following him. All three boys had nervous looks on their faces. 

"Yeah, you'd better run! Jerks." Rainbow Dash spat before turning her attention to the bleeding Ryan. Ryan looked up at the mare, whose face showed great concern. He realized that she genuinely cared about him, as if saving him wasn't enough.

"Ryan? Are you okay?"

Without hesitation, Ryan put his arms around Rainbow Dash and hugged her tightly. This impulsive act of affection surprised the mare, whose eyes went wide and cheeks went red as she tentatively hugged Ryan back.

"Thank you Dashie! Thank you!" He didn't realize how intimate the situation got until he already did it. He was just so happy that someone, or in this case somepony, stood up for him that he didn't care how it looked. 

He was usually able to handle himself and stay stoic when being beaten up, but he was so emotionally touched by what she did for him, her loyalty, that he couldn't hold back. He didn't sob, but he had to try with every fiber of his being, to prevent tears from filling his eyes from the gratitude he felt.

She was as loyal as he always knew she'd be.

As Ryan continued to hug her, Rainbow Dash was stunned; her blush proof of her mixed feelings. But she pretended to brush it off as just his reaction to being helped so she just chuckled. "He-he, don't worry about it."

"I'm just happy someone finally stood up for me." He whispered to her so no one else heard it. After all, he really didn't want James or Carl to be insulted even though Ryan did feel that they played the bystander too much when he got the shit kicked out of him.

"Why did you call her Dashie?" James asked, "I thought her name was Louise."

"It is," Ryan, said as he broke the hug and wiped from blood off of his nose, "Dashie is her nickname. After all, you saw how fast she was." Ryan gave Rainbow Dash a small wink as he covered for his mistake. She blushed at the compliment and smiled back at Ryan.

James nodded, accepting the reason, but in his mind he was still confused over Ryan's reaction. And he wasn't the only one. Carl was shocked, not only at how far Rainbow Dash managed to smash Lawrence, but how Ryan reacted to it. Was he that thankful for her loyalty, or was it something more? It certainly got him thinking, even if for only a few seconds.

In fact, only one who wasn't taken aback by Ryan's reaction was Applejack, and that was because of what Ryan told her the night before.

"Uh Pinkie," Applejack whispered so that no one could hear her real name, "why don't ya go see if that boy over there is okay." 

She pointed to Pete, who was sitting on the ground with a bloody nose and lip. His eyes looking down at the ground, his face still showing sadness.

"Oh! Okay!" she said happily before bouncing over to Pete.

Yes, she bounced, and James was now even more confused. "What drugs is that girl on...and where can I get some?"

Carl tapped James on the shoulder and motioned for him to go over to Ryan. Both boys did so and helped their friend up. Meanwhile, Pinkie was standing by a frightened looking Pete.

"Hey there, are you okay?  It wasn't nice what those meany-weenies did to you. Do you need a hoof...er I mean hand?"

Pete was frozen for a second, face turning bright red as Pinkie stood over him. Suddenly, tears began to fill his eyes and flow down his cheeks in a mix of embarrassment and misery. He quickly stood up and bolted off, leaving a very confused Pinkie in his wake.

"Hey wait!" she shouted, but Pete kept running. "Where are you going?

"Pinkie Pie? What in the name of Equestria did you do?" Rarity asked, walking over to Pinkie.

"I didn't do anything, he was just upset." Pinkie Pie said before looking in the direction Pete ran off in. She let out a depressed sigh, "Poor Petey."

While all of this was happening, Twilight and Applejack were staring at the three boys, Twilight rubbed her chin with her hoof as she pondered.

"Um Twilight, what are ya thinking about?" Applejack asked, realizing that Twilight had her violet eyes on James.

"Just a hunch, like I had with Ryan." She walked over to James and tapped him on the shoulder. 

"Huh?" James asked, turning around to see Twilight, or Tara as he thought. He smiled, "Oh hey Tara, what's up?"

"James, can you hold still for a moment? I need to check something." Twilight asked with a kind, yet pleading, smile.

James nodded and Twilight leaned her head into James' heart, making him jump back. Twilight looked up at him with an annoyed expression.

"Stay still I need to check something."

"And what can you find out by pressing your head against my chest?" James asked with a hint of irritation in his voice.

"More than you think, now if I may." She leaned forward again and did the same thing she did with Ryan the night before. After a few seconds of James looking down at Twilight in confusion, she stepped back, smiled at him, and walked over to Carl. She tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around to see her.

"Hey Tara, what's up?" Twilight motioned for Carl to bend down to her level. He did.

"What is it?" Carl asked.

Twilight smiled and whispered into Carl's ear. "Your friend James is the Element of Kindness."

Carl was in shock as the words left Twilight's mouth. He turned to see James talking with Ryan and Rainbow Dash, Ryan still had some blood on his face, but he seemed to have recovered from Lawrence's wrath, for the most part.

"Should we tell him now?" Carl asked

Twilight shook her head; "No, we should probably show him what we really look like first so he doesn't think that we're crazy. Let's take him back to your house."

Carl nodded when Fluttershy spoke up, "If you...um..don't mind me asking. Is your friend a "brony" too?"

Carl shook his head, "I seriously doubt it. If he is, he never told us. But I guess he'll learn to be one, especially with you as his partner." He said, smiling at Fluttershy, "You could convert the most adamant haters into bronies just by having them look at you."

Fluttershy shyly backed when Carl looked at her, a blush growing in her cheeks.

"Do you want to talk to him now?" Carl asked Fluttershy, who responded by shaking her head.

Carl nodded. He then let out a sigh and walked over to James. "James, listen can you come over to my house now?"

James looked at Carl and shook his head, "No, I have to go see Caroline, then I'm off to work."

"Oh that's right, with Mr. Courtie right?" Carl asked. James nodded. "I still can't believe that out of all of us, you're the one to work in a magic shop. I mean, you don't even believe in God."

"I'm an agnostic Carl, not an atheist. I don't say if there is or isn't a God because no one knows. And I know magic doesn't exist either, it's just a good part-time job to have. Besides, it reminds me of a simpler time in my life." James said with a hint of nostalgic longing in his voice, for the time when he was a child, and the world wasn't such a cruel place in his mind.

"But you've never believed in magic." Carl said flatly. "In fact whenever Mr. Courtie showed us a trick you'd say it was all "garbage eye-candy"."

"I did believe in magic, just not when working for Mr. Courtie." James corrected with a small smile. "When I was really young I believed in fairies, wizards and the like. I mean, didn't we all."

"True." Carl nodded, "Well, Ryan and I will stop by tonight and pick you up if you'd like."

James nodded. "Yeah sure, come by around six. I should be done then."

James then looked at his watch, "Oh shit, listen my Aunt is picking me up in a few minutes, so I've gotta scoot."

And with that, James walked back towards the entrance of the mall. He was curious, as well as confused, by Tara's strange behavior. He wasn't exactly sure what to make of it all, but he knew that every moment spent away from his patronizing parents and "goody-goody" brother was the next best moment in his life, so going over to Carl's house to hang out after work wasn't an unwelcome idea.

But there was something else, something nagging at James' mind. He felt like he's met all six of those girls before, but for the life of him he couldn't place a finger on where or when.  But he knew that he had, he just had to of, they were all so familiar, especially that Thelma, with her beautiful pink hair and sweet, crystalline teal eyes. 

There was something about her  especially, something good, that James felt after meeting her.
> Wishes of the Afterlife
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Chapter 7- Wishes of the Afterlife 

City Hall- Later

"What do you mean they're here?" Brett asked a serious, yet disheveled, Lawrence looked up at Brett while Lance and Sean stood beside him, both with worried looks on their faces.

"The Elements of Harmony are in Wilmont."

"And how do you know this exactly?" Brett asked.

"There were six girls that looked like human versions of them." Lance said. "It was uncanny."

Lawrence turned around and gave Lance a look for daring to interrupt him. Lance took a nervous step back before Lawrence turned his attention back to Brett, "And one that attacked me had a cyan shirt and Rainbow hair."

"She made us look like complete idiots." Sean hissed.

"In our defense, though, she was fast as fuck." Lawrence said, trying to sugar-coat the fact that he got owned by a girl, even if it was a pegasus that had the uncanny ability to break the sound barrier with her speed. 

"Yeah Mr. Obscure, sir, it was like facing a dog if you force-fed it cocaine and speed while injecting it with Red-bull and..." Sean started before Brett reached his boiling point.

"Enough!" Brett shouted in a rage before he turned to the Mayor, who was sitting at his desk, hands folded across the top and his face calm like he had nothing to fear. 

"Sir, we need to find the identities of the people that they're staying with, and get of pairs of eyes down there to spy on them to make sure they don't try anything."

Drocsid nodded.  "I'll send two of my agents when we find out who they're staying with."

Just then, Lawrence burst out into laughter as he realized that he knew something that the other two did not. Something that they wanted to know. For a moment, he felt a sense of power over his bosses.

But for only a second.

Brett, now annoyed beyond reason, turned around and grabbed Lawrence by the collar of his shirt. He then threw him against the wall, which caused him to stop laughing and stare into Brett's cold, silver eyes. He continued to press Lawrence against the wall with his fore-arm his chest.

"Boy, you'd better have a good reason for laughing." Brett growled like an alpha wolf putting a lesser member of the pack in place.

"That girl saved a little pussy I pick on all the time in school." Lawrence said, a small smile growing on his face as his feet dangled about a foot off of the ground.

Brett's angry expression falls, replaced by sincere interest.

"And who would that be?" Brett asked.

Lawrence gave him a sly smirk and small laugh.

Caroline's House

James and his Aunt Christie, a portly, kind woman, finally arrived at Caroline's house. Once they got there, James saw a black BMW parked in the driveway. He'd been coming over to Caroline's house long enough to recognize it as the doctor's car.

"Thanks for the lift Aunt Christie." James said as he unbuckled his seat belt. 

"Anytime James." She said with a small smile.

They then exited her van and walked up to her front door. She opened it and entered the house. Inside, there was the unmistakable sound of vomiting coming from Caroline's room, the hacking, the gagging, the pain.  James closed his eyes and let out a sad sigh before he turned to his Aunt.

"How has she been since yesterday?" James asked, already knowing the answer.

Aunt Christie let out a sigh, "Not too good, I'm afraid."

She then gestured towards Caroline's room for James to enter. He walked over to the door. It was slightly ajar, so he gently pushed it open so he could enter the dimly-lit room. 

Inside, he could see Caroline hunched over the side of her bed, vomiting into a waste can while Dr. Bernstein sat on the bed by her side, rubbing her back and holding her hair. 

James sighed and continued in, "What's wrong with her?"

"She's just had her chemo treatment." Dr. Bernstein said with a small smile before motioning for James to come over to her side, "Caroline, James is here for you."

Caroline looked up at James as he walked over to her side. Her bright eyes filled with tears, vomit dripping from her mouth, she was a mess and it broke James' heart to see her in such pain.

"Can I talk to James alone...please, Doctor Bernstein?" Caroline weakly asked Dr. Bernstein, who looked up at James.

"I've dealt with her before when she's been like this." James muttered. 

Dr. Bernstein gave a small nod.

"Let me know if either of you need me for anything. I'll be right outside." He said before he stood up and walked out of the room and closed the door, leaving James and the sickly Caroline alone to talk privately.

Caroline looked up at James. James could now clearly see that her eyes were blood-shot and a little bit cloudy with tears. Her face was pale and she was covered in sweat. 

She was also wearing her Fluttershy t-shirt, now covered in vomit and sweat.

"I'm sorry I forgot to take this shirt off before my chemo. Now there's all vomit over it. I'm so sorry." Caroline muttered sadly, looking away from James in shame.

"It's just a t-shirt kiddo, don't worry about it. I care more about the sweet girl who's wearing the shirt then the shirt itself." James said as he took a seat next to her. He placed his hand onto her shoulder, which seemed to calm her down. Caroline gave James a weak smile. 

"I just feel bad that I'm doing this to poor Fluttershy." She said with a small, sad chuckle, looking down at her shirt, straightening it out a bit so Fluttershy's face was most visible.

"It's okay, I'm sure she'll forgive you." James said with a small chuckle of his own as he looked down into his cousin's sad eyes.

"James?"

"Hm?"

There was a brief pause as Caroline looked down sadly at her hands, as if she was still unsure about asking the question. She then looked up at James.

"What happens when you die?"

James was floored by this question, and his face showed it. 

Caroline took note of how James looked taken aback by her question and let out a sigh before continuing, "I'm not in denial about my cancer; I know I could die and I've accepted that as much as I could."

"Don't talk like that." James said while trying to hold his tears back. Caroline looked up at him, her own tears rolling down her cheeks, before she looked away towards the opposite wall of the room. "Please don't, you're going to be fine."

"I think that when you die&#133;you get to go to the one place that makes you the happiest."

"Like heaven?"

"Not exactly," she said, "Well, I mean, yes heaven but also you'd have your own personal heaven, someplace where you can have true happiness. Whether it existed in this reality or not."

"So what did you have in mind?" James said, still not really enjoying this conversation about death that he was having with his cancer-ridden cousin, but happy that he could comfort her in some way.

"When I die, I want to go to Equestria."

James gave a small, sad chuckle, "Yeah?"

"I have a lot of free time to read fan-fictions online. There is no genre I like better than the human in Equestria story because they give me the chance to imagine what it would be like to meet characters that I never could in real life, but that I've always wished to. That I could only possibly meet in death, after God judged me."

"I can understand that." James said, supressing his agnostic view on life for Caroline's benefit.

"There's no suffering, no corruption, and everypony is so innocent and kind to one another, as opposed to people here. Why do you think I watch the show so much?" She said with a small sniffle. "I watch it to forget my suffering for a short time and imagine myself in that land of peace, happiness, and innocence with those colorful ponies. A place that this world will never be. Besides you and my parents, watching the show is the only thing that keeps me sane."

James didn't say anything else as he mulled over the extremely deep statement that Caroline just made. He wanted to cry himself, but when he heard her vomiting again into the trashcan, he realized that he had to be the strong one. He held her over the waste can as the chemo "healed" her.

Eventually, once Caroline found another reprieve in her vomiting, James talked with her for a little bit longer before he said good-bye and started out to wait for his aunt to give him a lift to work. 

As he exited the bedroom, he saw Dr. Bernstein and Aunt Christie sitting next to each other at the kitchen table. The Doctor was whispering to her about something that James couldn't make out. But he knew that it couldn't be good, because Aunt Christie was sobbing uncontrollably, clutching a tissue in her right hand and wiping her eyes with the back of her left.

He didn't listen, nor did he want to. He simply waited for them to finish their sad conversation so he could get a lift to work. He learned that sometimes denial was the best way to feel optimistic in this fucked up world.

He began to think about what Caroline said earlier and let out a huge sigh just before tears fell from his eyes. Now that he was no longer in her room, where she could see his emotions, he was able to his guard down and express his true sorrow. But he still didn't sob; he still had to be strong, strong enough to stop himself from doing such a foolish thing in the presence of his Aunt who was in the middle of crying herself.

Why is it that the kindest of humanity suffer the most? They always lose and the dirt bags always win. Even as an agnostic, all he could do was pray to God, if there was a God, that if Caroline passed away she would find peace in her own personal paradise.

He prayed that she would find Equestria, a land that James also wished he could be in. A place he wished he could spend the rest of his life, with Caroline by his side, healthy and happy as she once was.

A place that he felt was unattainable to both him and Caroline, in both life and death.

Once James made that realization, the unattainability of such a paradise, that's when he sobbed.

Carl's House- Night

Ryan and Carl were about to leave for Mr. Courtie's magic shop as it was approaching six O'clock. Lauren was cleaning the kitchen, while Anna and Lisa were relaxing in their room. 

Carl and Ryan were in Carl's room with the six girls. All of them were extra quiet now since Lauren was still awake, and they didn't want to give her any reason to enter Carl's room. 

Carl was just happy that he and Ryan were successfully able to sneak all six girls into the house without anyone in his house noticing. Either they were like ninjas or, as Carl assumed, his mother and sisters were as oblivious as the mother in E.T.

Since the mall the seven of them had just hung out and talked about what was going to happen. All that the girls knew was that Discord was planning to get stronger and overtake Earth and Equestria, and that there were six elements, three of which were obviously Carl, Ryan and James. After that, they just talked a bit.

But Carl noticed something else. Ryan and Rainbow Dash were not with the rest of them. Instead, they sat on Carl's bed and talked with each other. 

He was still confused about Ryan's behavior earlier after Rainbow Dash saved his butt, the hug that seemed a little too emotional to be simply driven by their friendship. Not to mention that his and Rainbow Dash's current behavior, secluding themselves from the rest of the group, was not helping Carl get over his questions at all. 

Applejack was the only one who knew how Ryan felt, and she was nervous for him. She knew that he didn't want anyone or anypony to know about his feelings for her best friend, especially Rainbow Dash herself, but at the same time it seemed like he couldn't help but be near her every chance he got. Applejack felt conflicted between what she promised Ryan, and what she wanted to do, which was convince him to come clean to Rainbow Dash about his feelings for her.

"You acted surprised that I did that," Rainbow Dash chuckled, "you should know that I don't let anypony mess with my friends." she puffed her chest out a little with pride as she said this.

""Element of Loyalty, or course." Ryan said with a chuckle, "But I still really appreciate it Dash."

Rainbow Dash gave him a small smile back.

"Carl!"

Carl turned his attention from Ryan and Rainbow Dash and looked over at his own partner in magic, who had an inquisitive look on her face.

"Where are you going again tonight?" Twilight asked.

"Picking up James from work and bringing him back here." Carl said.

"Where does he work?" Applejack asked, taking her mind off the clearly lovesick Ryan's situation for the time being.

"Magic shop in town." Carl answered.

"Magic shop? I thought magic didn't exist here." Twilight asked.

"True, magic doesn't exist, but faux magic does." Carl answered, "No, humans can't do what you unicorns do Twilight."

"Do other people know that it isn't real?" Fluttershy asked.

Carl nodded.

"Except for really young kids, yes they do. Trust me, I know all about it." Carl said with a sigh that seemed to show how he was remembering something dark from his past. Carl didn't think any of the girls noticed but Twilight too note and remembered his reaction, as she would ask him about it later when they would talk about his father.

Carl looked at his watch, "Oh crap, Ryan we have to go!"

Ryan looked over at Carl and gave his friend a small nod before he stood up.

"Okay, we'll be back in a little bit." Carl said as Ryan checked his pockets to make sure he had his car keys and wallet on him, "While we're gone. I want you to stay well behaved. Now I'm going to get Anna to watch you six."

"What? Yer  getting' yer sister ta watch us? Don't that go against yer idea of bein' "incognita'"?" Applejack asked with concern.

"Yeah man, are you sure that's such a good idea?" Ryan asked.

"We need someone to watch them." Carl answered.

"I don't know, maybe they'll be well behaved?"  Ryan asked with some uneasiness.

And, as if she waited for the absolute right moment to prove Carl's point...

"Hey girls, you want to see my new party horn?" Pinkie Pie asked, pulling out a pink foghorn with yellow and blue ribbons.tied around it.

"Um Pinkie, why in Celestia's name do you have that gaudy thing?" Rarity asked, waving her hoof at the horn in disgust.

"For when a party cannon is too big or impractical." Pinkie Pie said with a smile.

Ryan and Carl stared dumbfounded before Ryan turned to Carl, "I think you should get Anna."

"I think you're right." 

Carl walked out of his room to get his younger sister. He was careful not to make too much noise as eh crept down the hallway, so that he wouldn't get his mother's attention while she was watching some sitcom downstairs on the television.

He finally reached Anna and Lisa's room and entered. It was pretty standard for a girls' room. Posters of Justin Beiber, which Carl always wanted to torch, lined the wall on the side of the room that Anna slept on. On the other side were horror movie posters, clearly Lisa's side of the room. And, to top everything off, on the nightstand in-between the two girls's beds, was a single lamp and two figurines of Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle.

"Carl? What do you want?" Anna asked from her bed. She was busy reading a book while Lisa sat on her bed, her laptop open and earphones in.

"Anna, I need you to come with me."

"Ugh, what for?" Anna asked with some annoyance.

Lisa finally caught sight of Carl and looked up from her laptop screen. She pulled her earphones off and stared at her brother, "Carl, why are you bothering Anna?"

"I need her help..." Carl began, only to be cut off by the older girl.

"Why not mine?" Lisa asked, tossing her earphones off and hopping off of her bed, walking over to Carl and crossing her arms in defiance.

"Because I trust her over you, squirt."

"Now wait, why would you trust her over me? I'm a highly competent nine-year old with a brain that most thirteen-year olds would envy, and she still wets the bed."

"Hey!" Anna hissed. She closed the book she was reading and walked over, "that's only because you put my finger in a bowl of water you jerk!"

"Doesn't matter, you tinkled on the sheets and that makes you a baby." Lisa said with a smirk before turning to Carl, "I'm coming too, there should be one adult present."

"No."

"Fine, then I'll tell Mom that you punched me." Lisa said with a cocky grin.

"You wouldn't."

"You want to try me?" Lisa asked, taking a step forward. "I can use black and purple crayons to come up with very convincing bruise."

Carl let out a long, annoyed sigh, "Fine, you win brat. Both of you, come with me."

The two girls nodded and followed their brother across the hall to his room. Carl then turned to his two sisters and got down on one knee so he was at their level. He placed one hand on Anna's shoulder, and one on Lisa's, and act that made her roll her eyes and try to shrug his hand off.

"Now, what you two see in here, you cannot tell anyone. Especially Mom."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Lisa moaned, finally pushing Carl's hand off of her. She then stormed by him and entered his room, "What can be so secretive that..."

She froze mid-sentence when she saw the six ponies and Ryan. The same six ponies she watched every Saturday morning. She also spotted her favorite character, Twilight Sparkle, and Anna's favorite, Rainbow Dash, among the mane six.

While the sight stunned Lisa greatly, Anna had a different reaction, a reaction that Carl would never have predicted in a thousand years.

"Cool, the mane six are here!" she said somewhat excitedly, but not over-the-top like Carl expected.

In fact, Carl was flabbergasted by her almost nonchalant answer. He didn't know how she could be so calm about seeing six cartoon ponies standing in front of her. She did show excitement in her voice, but she didn't show any expression of shock or complete amazement. Carl didn't get this until he remembered that she was young and still probably thought stuff like this was possible.

Hell, she probably thought all cartoon characters existed and we were following them around during their adventures, like spies. Ah we were all at that age, weren't we?

She walked over to the six ponies with a smile. She introduced herself to them and they did the same to her. 

Lisa just stared, too dumbstruck to do anything until Carl nudged her forward and introduced her to the girls. It didn't take long before she was finally comfortable enough to join her younger sister in chatting it up with six of her favorite cartoon characters, especially Twilight, who she seemed to talk with the most. 

Carl looked to Ryan and smiled.

"You ready?"

"Yeah let's bounce." Ryan said.

With that, both boys left, off to Carl's old place of work to pick up James.

As the two boys went out to Ryan's car, Rainbow Dash peered out of the window in Carl's room. She watched as Ryan jumped into his car and drove off into the night, a longing look on her face as she sighed, causing the window to fog up from the condensation of her breath. She smiled and, almost without thinking about it, gave a small wave in the direction that Ryan had driven off in. She then turned around to see Applejack giving her a suspicious look.

"What?" she asked as she got all four hooves back onto the ground.

"Why are ya actin' so chummy with Ryan when ya'll just met yesterday?" she asked.

"Um, maybe because we're friends and have the same element?" Rainbow Dash said with a small eye-roll.

"Ya sure that's all?" Applejack asked like she wasn't convinced, and she wasn't. Rainbow Dash nodded and Applejack sighed and gave a small shrug, "Whatever ya say RD."

As she walked off to join the others, Rainbow Dash looked down and shook her head as she began to question herself now, "Why do I feel this way about Ryan?"

She didn't understand it much and decided to think about it later.

Meanwhile, with Lisa and Anna, all of the other ponies were talking to them about girly stuff that they couldn't with Ryan or Carl, such as clothes.

This interested most of them, except for Rainbow Dash, who hated talking about clothes. Besides, no matter how hard she tried and told herself that she'd stop thinking about Ryan, she couldn't. How kind he was to her, how much he seemed to care about her, how much he seemed to worship her like a Goddess. 

No stallion ever treated her with such respect unless they were little colts that thought she was awesome because of her sonic rainboom, and because she was the fastest flyer in Equestria. Usually they were part of Scootaloo's little Rainbow Dash fan club.

But no guy her age made her feel as appreciated as Ryan had. Now she wasn't sure if she simply liked Ryan as a friend, or if there was something else that she felt. Something that was there, but she refused to acknowledge.
> Mr. Courtie's Confessions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Chapter 8: Confessions 

Ryan's Car

"So can you please tell me why you're so attached to Rainbow Dash?" Carl asked as Ryan drove down the road, his eyes looking straight ahead to avoid the accusing glare of Carl.

Carl was never the most diligent person, especially with schoolwork and finishing things that he starts, such as books. He still had yet to read past page 100 of "To Kill a Mockingbird" even though he promised himself that he'd finish it, but he was keen on finding and answer to this question he had for his friend. 

"What are you talking about she's the same element as me," Ryan said, "Besides, she's my favorite out of the mane six. You've knew that before they came into our world."

Carl rolled his eyes and leaned forward to look at Ryan's face from a closer distance. Even while Ryan's face wasn't facing Carl head-on, it was all too clear that he was blushing. 

Two and two came together in Carl's mind and his jaw dropped in shock as it hit him like a freight train.

"Oh my God you love her."

"No..shut..shut up." Ryan stuttered nervously, like a kid who had just been caught being aroused during class.

"Dude, she's a cartoon pony, you can't be in love with her. It's so freaking un-natural." Carl said, trying to forget the similar feelings that he had for Twilight the night before.

"You think I don't know that? Why do you think it's so hard for me to admit that I love her? I don't know why but I do. When I look into her eyes, I just..." Ryan sighed before he continued, "When I watched the show, I'd become depressed because when it ended I was reminded that she was just fiction. And now that she's here, living and breathing, with those beautiful eyes and that "stand by your side no matter what" personality...I can't help but feel...attracted to her."

Carl shook his head in a disapproving way.

"Dude, seek help." Carl said flatly as Ryan just brushed him off. Carl then sighed, "Besides, you've got to understand the chance that she has the same feelings for you is like a million to one." Carl turned his attention back to outside, watching as they went past the local park, now pitch-black with the exception of the soccer field, which has a game going on and the huge, towering lights overhead to illuminate the field.

He was so transfixed that he didn't hear Ryan say, "Then there's still a chance."

Carl's Room

"So you're saying that my brother is the Element of Magic?" Lisa asked in shock as she talked with Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were sitting next to Anna and talking to her about animals, parties and clothes. Actually, scratch that, Pinkie Pie was talking while Fluttershy mostly listened.

Lisa laughed, "Okay, you've got the wrong kid. Carl can't be the element of magic."

"Actually, he is." Twilight said.

"But, he's so dumb and, well, ordinary."

Twilight chuckled at Lisa's obvious attempts to put down her brother. "Well, sometimes those who seem the most ordinary have the most unique destiny."

Lisa nodded before she turned to Rainbow Dash and pointed, "And you."

Rainbow Dash looked up at Lisa expectantly.

"Is it true?"

Rainbow Dash gave Lisa a look of confusion, "Huh? Is what true?"

"That you like...mares."

"Well of course I like mares, I'm friends with a bunch of them." Rainbow Dash scoffed but Lisa chuckled.

"No I don't mean like friends, I mean are you attracted to them? Romantically."

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped in shock as the girl asked her such a bizarre question, like she was stunned such a question would come up in conversation at all. She then heard muffled laughter nearby coming from Applejack and Rarity; both of them had their hooves over their mouths, trying to stifle their laughter. Twilight just looked surprised. Not as surprised as Rainbow Dash, but surprised nonetheless.

"Wait...what? No! I'm not attracted to mares! Who said that?"

"A lot of people on the internet," Lisa laughed, "and a lot of bronies."

"But...but Carl and Ryan never mentioned that." Rainbow Dash said as her face turned red in a mix of anger and pure embarrassment. Applejack and Rarity were now on the verge of tears from laughing so hard.

"Oh my, that is simply uproarious." Rarity said through her giggles.

"Oh my, that's just great." Applejack laughed, face red from laughing so much.

"Why would they say that about me?" Rainbow Dash asked Lisa, a hint of sadness in her voice that either wasn't noticed by Lisa, or was ignored.

"Let's see," Lisa began, putting her hand to her chin, "your mane and tail the same color as the flag for the gay community, your mane is cut shorter and most other mares, your voice is raspier than most mares and you are into more boyish things, like sports, instead of girly things like shopping and dresses."

Rainbow Dash was now on the verge of tears, completely humiliated by the accusations that were being pinned to her. Well, maybe not accusations, but labels, labels that weren't true and made Rainbow Dash feel like she was being stereotyped.

Lisa smiled demonically at the scene. Rainbow Dash was never one of her favorite characters, in fact her brash nature often got on her nerves, ironically she wasn't any more humble than the cyan mare she was making fun of at the moment. Regardless, she just took enjoyment in making fun of the pony that happened to be Anna's favorite.  

Applejack and Rarity laughed, not noticing how upset Rainbow Dash was, but at the same time not realizing how far they were taking the joke.

Twilight went over to her, "Rainbow, are you okay?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, "I'm fine, I mean I know I'm not gay."

"How do we know ya ain't lying?" Applejack asked with a mocking tone.

"Well, you're the element of honesty, you tell me." Rainbow Dash snapped back, her face becoming even redder as she felt a fire rise.

"You could be lying to yourself, so Applejack wouldn't be able to tell." Lisa teased, also not realizing how she was taking it too far. 

"I am not!"

"And how do you know?" Lisa asked, leaning down to Rainbow Dash's level with a cocky smirk on her face that would rival the cocky smile of the mare she was currently berating.

That's when Rainbow Dash reached the boiling point and snapped.

"BECAUSE RYAN IS A BOY AND I LIKE HIM!" she shouted before her eyes shot open in fear, realizing what she just said. Tears began to fill her eyes and she burst out of the room and into the bathroom across the hall. Luckily Lauren was in her bedroom at this point, watching television and unknowing of all that was happening just down the hall.

Rainbow Dash shut the door and began to sob, her back pressed against the door and her head buried in her hooves as she cried into them.

"I'm a freak..." Rainbow Dash sobbed, "I'm a freak."

Back in Carl's room, there was pure silence. Anna shot Lisa a dirty look before she got up to go after Rainbow Dash, along with most of the other girls. Twilight started to the door, but looked back angrily at Lisa, "You took that way to far Lisa."

Lisa looked down, feeling terrible about what she did.

After she left, only Applejack, Rarity and Lisa remained in the room, all feeling bad about how they treated Rainbow Dash.

Especially Applejack, who was now conflicted between keeping her promise to Ryan to not tell Rainbow Dash about his feelings, and breaking it to tell Rainbow Dash so she felt better.

Mr. Courtie's Magic Shop

James was busy sweeping up the floor of the shop before it closed for the night. He was exhausted and every inch of his body was screaming at him to go home and sleep, but his mind remembered his parents and Patrick. Naturally, he thought "fuck that" before he happily continued on to find tasks to do.

Besides, he had to wait for Carl and Ryan regardless, might as well be overly productive. He was working when he heard footsteps behind him followed by a kind, old voice.

"You know if you keep sweeping this long every night you'll leave me with nothing but the stick of the broom."

James chuckled and turned to see the gentle, old face of Mr. Courtie. He was wearing casual clothing, a t-shirt and jeans, and had a warm smile on his face, "I know, just making sure the floor is as clean as I can make it."

James put the broom against the wall and walked over to the back of the store to grab his street clothes. It was so annoying how Mr. Courtie had him wear a uniform for such a small proprietorship, but he never questioned it. After all, he really liked Mr. Courtie, even if he was a bit eccentric.

"I know that's not the only reason you do that, come on. Tell me the truth James."

James took his uniform vest off. "The truth is that, I'm perfectly fine and dandy like caramel candy."

James grimaced at the painfully cheesy line he just said. He then tossed the vest to Mr. Courtie, who caught it.

He looked down at the vest and smiled before looking back up at James, "You know I can tell when you're lying." 

"Does your "magic" help you with that?" James said with a snarky smile.

Mr. Courtie just chuckled in response, "Ah mocking my passion I see. I expect nothing less from you, James my boy. Nothing less."

"Glad to see I've left a mark on your mind." James said, shutting his locker and starting towards the front to wait for Carl and Ryan. "Anyway, I'm going to wait here until Carl and Ryan pick me up."

Mr. Courtie nodded, but his face showed a quick flash of remorse, before he went back to the storage room. James waited for another few minutes when the bright headlights of Ryan's car flashed brightly into his eyes, temporarily blinding him until the car was turned off.

A few seconds later, Carl and Ryan walked into the store and James glared at them. 

"Jesus Christ Ryan, turn your damn brights off when parking. I almost went blind." James said as he rubbed his eyes a bit more.

"That would be a shame." Ryan muttered sarcastically.

"You ready to head out?" Carl asked. James wiped his nose on his sleeve and nodded.

"Yeah let's go," James placed the broom against the wall and turned his head towards the back of the store, "See you tomorrow Mr. Courtie!"

"Good-bye James!" Mr. Courtie shouted back.

Carl sighed, feeling like he should probably say hello to Mr. Courtie, even if he really hadn't spoken to him in years. He turned to Ryan and James.

"Hang on you two I'm going to say hi. I'll be right back." With that, he walked towards the back of the store. He passed all sorts of magical objects that woke a sense of nostalgia from the depths of his soul. He saw a black top hat that Mr. Courtie often pulled corn snakes out of, as he felt that, "rabbits were too clichéd".  He also passed some older books that the old man told him had spells in it from medieval times, but to this day Carl just assumed they were filled with nonsense. 

He finally went into the storage room to see Mr. Courtie sitting at his desk, writing some stuff down on a piece of paper. Carl cleared his throat, which caused the elderly man to turn around and smile.

"Carl!" he quickly got up and ran over to Carl, wrapping his arms around him in a tight bear hug. "How are you, my boy?"

"Fine, Mr. Courtie." He said as the hug was broken. Mr. Courtie smiled and looked him over.

"My how you've grown."

"It's been a while since I've worked here." 

"Five to be exact!" Mr. Courtie said.

"Yeah." Carl said, rubbing the back of his head nervously, somewhat uncomfortable being around the old man, especially after the manner in which he quit his job all those years ago.

Mr. Courtie snapped his fingers, just then remembering something. "Oh, that reminds me! I've got something to show you."

With that, he walked over to a table and picked up a black disc, which he brought over to Carl.

"What's that?" asked Carl.

Mr. Courtie smiled, "Just watch." He closed his eyes and seemed to be concentrating with great intensity until a blue aura began to emit itself from the disc. The disc then began to hover above Mr. Courtie's hand, still engulfed in the blue aura.

Carl was stunned at the sight, but he didn't show it. He wouldn't give Mr. Courtie the satisfaction of knowing he suspended his disbelief. So, all Carl did was give a small, unimpressed shrug.

"So how are you doing that?" he asked flatly. "Strings? Magnets?"

Mr. Courtie gave Carl his typical grin "Magic, what else?"

Carl rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Mr. Courtie, you know that you can quit this bullshit charade, I'm seventeen."

"But Carl, magic can exist and it does. You just have to have faith in it." Mr. Courtie said in his typical, giddy manner.

Carl was now getting furious, memories of working with this man, and the pain it caused him flooded his mind like water on a sinking ship. 

"I had faith in it five years ago, and what the hell did that accomplish?" Carl hissed.

Mr. Courtie's expression fell from a smile into an almost depressed look. Carl turned and started to walk out, not turning around even as Mr. Courtie began to call after him. He didn't care; he was seething. 

How dare this man try to tell him that bullshit idea that magic existed? I mean, he knew that Twilight and Rarity could use magic since they were unicorns, but as far as humans on Earth? Eh...no, just no.

Carl made his way to the front of the store. "Come on guys let's get going."

Carl then noticed that Ryan was staring at something that was hanging up on the wall, some sort of poster. James was standing near him, looking annoyed.

"What are you two doing?"

James rolled his eyes and pointed to Ryan, "Ask Mr. Inquisitive over here." Carl walked over to Ryan and looked at what he was looking at. When he saw it, his jaw dropped.

It was a picture of two, animated unicorns that clearly were from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. One unicorn was Twilight, but the other was one that none of the boys recognized. It had a light blue coat and white mane. Its cutie mark appeared to be a magic wand with a yellow spark coming off of it. 

But something was strange about it, it looked almost too well drawn to be fan-art, and that's saying something considering all of the brilliant fan-art that existed. It looked as if one of the animators from the show actually went out of his way to create this unique character for this picture, and then drew in Twilight Sparkle for good measure. 

Ryan looked over at Mr. Courtie, who had just appeared in the room.

"Mr. Courtie, where did you get this My Little Pony picture?"

Mr. Courtie suddenly looked nervous, like the three boys were asking him something that he didn't want them to know.

"I just got it online."

"Who is that pony there?" Carl asked, pointing to the blue one. "Not Twilight, the blue one."

"Oh Celestia knows I have no idea."

This grabbed all three boys' attention, even James, who was until then trying to hide the fact that he knew about the show.

"Don't you mean Lord knows?" Carl said, taking a step towards Mr. Courtie, whose eyes darted beck and forth for a second when Carl was right in his face, "Are you a brony?"

"No." Mr. Courtie said with a sigh.

"Why do you have this picture?" Carl asked.

"Are you a brony Mr. Courtie?" Ryan asked with a small, excited smile. 

Mr. Courtie looked at Ryan and shook his head.

He then let out a sigh and shook his head, "Carl, I think it's time to come clean. That unicorn in the picture is named Bright Illusion. He is Twilight's uncle and...the owner of this magic shop"

"Wait! I thought you owned this shop." James asked, clearly confused as hell.

Mr. Courtie looked at James and gave him a small nod, "Exactly."

All three of the boys looked at Mr. Courtie in shock once the word left Mr. Courtie's lips. 

Seeing their surprised faces and knowing that explanations were in order, Mr. Courtie gestured for the three boys to follow him into the back room of his shop. He started to walk back, the three boys slowly following him, not exactly sure of what to make about this news.

Understandably, Ryan and Carl were more inclined to believe Mr. Courtie's story based on everything that they've already seen. 

James, however, thought the old man had lost his mind. As he went to the back room, he hoped that he could somehow bring him back to reality. 

Once in the back, Mr. Courtie slowly sat down at his desk and turned to face the boys with a very serious look on his face. Much more serious than any of the three teens were used to from this generally giddy and light-hearted old man that now claimed to be Twilight Sparkle's uncle. 

Both Carl and Ryan's faces were much more relaxed than James' since they believed Mr. Courtie, and the initial shock of this revelation had since passed. But they still had a glimmer of surprise in their expression.

"So where to begin?" he asked, thinking for a moment, "Have you met Twilight yet Carl?"

"Yeah, yesterday I ran into her at a party." Carl answered.

Mr. Courtie nodded and then turned to Ryan, "You aren't questioning any of this too much. Are you one of the other five elements?"

Ryan nodded, "Yeah, I'm loyalty."

"Well that only leaves four more." Mr. Courtie said with a small nod, as if to say that they were off to a good start. This was all James could take before he burst out laughing. Everyone turned to look at him making an ass out of himself right in the middle of the room.

"Are you three serious?" he asked through his laughter, "Christ I thought organized religion was bad, but this...this is psychotic! Saying six cartoon ponies are somehow in this universe and have met you? That you are elements of harmony, and to top it all off, Mr. Courtie, you say you're Twilight Sparkle's uncle?" James almost fell to the ground from laughing as hard as he was. He clutched his stomach as tears rolled down his eyes.

"I take it you aren't buying any of this." Mr. Courtie said with a sarcastic smile.

James' laughter lessened and once he regained his breath he looked Mr. Courtie in the eyes, "Pardon my French sir, but no shit. I have a hard enough time believing that God exists, something that millions of people all over the world do. Yet you expect me to believe this tripe about cartoon ponies being real?"

"Actually, James, that's the reason why you need to come back to my house now, you're the element of kindness." Carl stated.

Once again, James burst out into even more hysterics, sounding more and more like a laugh track for a funny show that finally managed to make a decent joke, "Fuck, it's like I'm the only sane one in a room full of mental patients."

"You're an atheist, aren't you James?" Mr. Courtie asked for confirmation.

James looked at him inquisitively and shook his head, "Agnostic."

"Ah agnostic wow, big risk you've taken there." Mr. Courtie said with a sarcastic smile, "you've put yourself on a pedestal as being too "smart" to believe in God, yet you're too much of a coward to completely dismiss his existence."

"What business is it of yours what I believe?" James asked. He was shocked at how Mr. Courtie suddenly changed from the sweet old man that he knew, into a crazy, condescending jerk.

"I'm just wondering why you make such a commitment to this being impossible while still being open about the existence of God. Why can't both be possible? Is it because God threatens to punish you in the afterlife if you reject his existence, while you don't feel cartoon characters are a threat? Why not accept that some things are beyond your reasoning?"

James shook his head in disbelief, "This is lunacy."

"No it isn't."

"It's bullshit. What you're claiming is that you, a man I've known for years, is a cartoon unicorn from a made-up world." James then leaned forward, eyes like daggers trying to penetrate Mr. Courtie's soul, "It's. Not. Possible."

"You know, just because say something is impossible, doesn't make it so." Mr. Courtie said with a small, smug smile that he knew would eat James up on the inside.

James was silent for a moment before he chuckled. He had reached the peak of his patience. 

"Fine, you want me to believe? Go ahead and show me your magic, oh mighty unicorn of Equestria, Uncle of Twilight Sparkle." he hissed the last bit with a completely sarcastic tongue which, coupled with his snarky smile, gave him the appearance of a very condescending individual.

Mr. Courtie smiled, "With pleasure."

James rolled his eyes, while both Carl and Ryan looked at Mr. Courtie with anxiety as he became nervous about what was going to happen to them.

A few seconds later the room began to shake, some of the furniture rattled, yet nothing fell over. In fact, the only things that seemed to be wobbling at all were the three teenagers.

This got the attention of all three boys. They nervously looked at their surroundings before staring back over at Mr. Courtie, worry in their eyes.  Not a word was uttered between them, but they all knew that the old magician was behind this, if not by his sly smile, then by the rest of his appearance.

Mr. Courtie's eyes were engulfed in a pale, blue glow. His hands and forehead had an aura of the same color surrounding them as well. Just then, the room began to rotate around; the sound of a crank echoed throughout the entire shop as if someone was cranking a pulley that was causing the room to spin.

As the room rolled around, the three boys legs became like jelly. One by one, they each lost their balance and fell to the floor, letting out screams as they hit the ground.

They continued to slide around erratically as the floor moved up, slowly becoming the ceiling, while the ceiling became the new floor. 

Amazingly, they were the only things in the room that were moving or falling over. Even with the room rotating as it was, Mr. Courtie still remained in his seat and none of the furniture budged in the slightest. Not even the items precariously placed on the shelves on the walls moved an inch. Only the three teenage boys rolled around on the floor, trying to find something, anything, to grab a hold of, were rolling around like they were in some sort of amusement park ride.

Ryan grabbed onto a table-leg, and Carl grabbed a different leg on that same table and hung on for dear life. James scrambled around until he laid eyes on a large, wooden cross that looked like it came straight out of the dark ages, right across the room from Mr. Courtie. He lunged at it and took hold just as he was lifted into the air. All three boys were now hanging from furniture that was on the floor, which was now technically the ceiling.

They looked down at the "ceiling" and back up to an upside-down Mr. Courtie, who was still sitting in his chair as if nothing happened. Even his hair wasn't misplaced in the slightest, it was like someone took a picture of him and simply rotated the image so that it was upside-down. 

James was directly above a fan. He stared down at it in terror, bringing his knees up as way to hoist himself up to a safer position.

Now, Mr. Courtie's shop had a pretty high ceiling, so falling from where the boys were would have resulted in definite injury, maybe not death, but a broken arm or leg wasn't out of the realm of impossibility. But the fan had a decorative design that ended in a silver spike-shaped feature that normally would have been pointed at the ground. But right now, it was pointing straight up, directly at the scared James as he dangled from the cross, clutching it so hard his nails began to scratch the wood.

Meanwhile, Mr. Courtie, still in his chair, engulfed in the blue aura, smiled and looked directly into James' eyes.

"Is that proof enough for your rational mind?" Mr. Courtie taunted.

"Parlor tricks." James said as he began to breathe rapidly.

"Parlor tricks?" Mr. Courtie said as he rubbed his chin and he pointed at the cross that James held onto. "I must say, I love the irony of you holding onto that cross.."

"Shut up!" James shouted, adjusting himself so his arms were wrapped around the cross and he was hanging on as tightly as he possible could. "You didn't prove anything!"

"Even after all this," Mr. Courtie gestured to the flipped room and the dangling boys,  'you don't believe in magic?"

"No." James said defiantly, but he also had a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

Mr. Courtie smiled and gave a small shrug, "Fantastic."

Mr. Courtie raised his glowing hand, which was no longer a hand, rather it was a light blue hoof, and pointed to the cross that James was holding onto. The cross jiggled a bit and was suddenly released of its hold on the "floor" and James fell towards the fan that was below him, screaming as the spike neared him.

Just before his chest hit the spike, he stopped in mid-air, eyes wide and mouth agape as the spike was literally three inches below his chest. He then took notice of what had stopped his descent, a blue aura that had surrounded his body. Slowly, the aura began to lift James up and away from the fan. He was then rotated so that he was floating in a near standing position, except his feet were behind him and his knees were bent, as if her were kneeling in a church to pray.

Mr. Courtie looked at James as he began to change. The transformation started with his hands and feet, and moved up to his head. In a matter of moments, the unicorn that was in the picture; Bright Illusion, was now sitting in the chair that Mr. Courtie had occupied not seconds before. Bright sat there in a human-like position that Lyra would, his blue eyes focused on James. A smile was plastered on his muzzle, but it wasn't one of joy, it was one of calm arrogance, one that showed that he knew James couldn't reason his way out of this.

"Let me ask you," He said as the room began to rotate back to its normal position, "do you believe in magic and cartoon ponies now?"

James couldn't answer, as he was too frightened, flabbergasted, stupefied, stunned, shocked...really any synonym for scared or baffled, at the moment to do so.

Once the room returned to its normal state, Mr. Courtie gently lowered the terrified James to the floor. James quickly scrambled back behind Carl and Ryan, eyes wide in fear as he looked directly at Bright Illusion as if he was some sort of demonic creature instead of a pony that just looked like it was ripped straight from the world Lauren Faust imagined.

Bright Illusion stood up and walked over to Carl and gave him a smile, "I was assigned by Princess Celestia to make sure you never lost your faith in magic. That is why you worked for me when you were younger." he then looked downcast and let out a deep sigh, "I know that I failed with that, but I hope that you will be able to find it again."

Carl slowly nodded before Ryan stepped forward. "So, you've always known? About us being the Elements?"

"Not quite. I knew there were six but I only knew about Carl being one of them. I didn't know about you," he pointed at Ryan, "or James until tonight." 

Bright then turned to Carl and took a small step towards him, "Carl, it is important that you realize that I am one of the only allies you have in this town. Discord he has control over many people and his power over them is great."

"He...he can't possibly control all of that...can he?" James asked with a small gulp, slowly regaining his ability to speak, though he was still in a state of disbelief that any realist would be in.

"Think about it, which person in Wilmont can easily cause mass chaos. Who has control of the police, school, and the local government? Who can manipulate people with ease? Who has caused chaos in the form of increased crime from anarchist gangs and wants to "change the system". Who had his opponent killed in an "accident" at a Diner last night?"

Carl's eyes went wide, "You mean the Mayor? Mayor Drocsid?"

"Discord, yes."

Carl thought for a second and his eyes went wide. "Wait, his name is Discord backwards." Carl said and Bright Illusion nodded. He laughed a bit at this, "Wow, I'm surprised none of us bronies noticed that. That is such an unoriginal name."

"But I'm not a brony." James muttered defiantly, though there was the unmistakable tone of uncertainty in his voice as well. An uncertainty that only someone ashamed to admit he watched the show would have.

This statement earned him a glare from both Ryan and Carl.

"Dude, please, we know damn well you watch the show." Carl muttered. 

"Do not."

"Now James, don't tell me you forget all of those times you've talked about watching the show with your little cousin." Bright Illusion said with a sly smile, enjoying all of the embarrassment he was causing for the black-haired realist, "How Fluttershy always manages to make you feel like you are one half-moon cookie away from needing your foot to be amputated."

James sighed and looked down, "Fine, you got me. Okay, I watch the show. Satisfied?"

"See, now was that so bad?" Bright asked with a smile.

James, who was blushing from embarrassment, his breathing slightly erratic from working himself up over his boss pulling him out of the brony closet against his will, gave a small shrug like it was no big deal.

But Bright just chuckled to himself, knowing that James was lying through his teeth, too prideful to admit he was humiliated. 

Bright Illusion turned back to Carl, "Discord's plan is to cause anarchy to rise in Wilmont, with the hope that it will spread. The recession hit Wilmont hard two years ago and people were desperate. Discord knew how to manipulate the anger that people had with the economy through inspirational speeches that cause people to start blaming others. The fire was always burning; he just added gasoline to it."

"He knew that humans are not innocent like ponies. That humanity is corrupted by the reality we live in. Each one of us lacks faith in the six elements that Equestrians, namely my niece and her friends, believe in and cherish every day. Discord knew this and that's why he chose this world to rebuild his strength, because it was more prone to violence, chaos, and discontent. "

"The anarchist gangs that have been appearing; they're his work. His cronies work for him, mostly in positions that the local government controls, such as the police and schools. It doesn't matter how well you think you know everyone in this town, no one is trustworthy."

"No one?" Carl asked.

Bright Illusion shook his head, "No one, only the other Elements." He said, looking over at James, who was still shocked.

"So I'm an Element too?" James asked, "Didn't Carl say that?"

"Yes, he said you're kindness, no?" Bright looked at Carl who nodded, "which means that you still have to find generosity, honesty and laughter, and you must do it fast."

Carl, realizing the urgency of the situation, turned to Ryan and James, "Guys, we need to go." Just before they left, Bright Illusion stopped them by putting his hoof out in front of them.

"Wait one more thing." With that, he closed his eyes and a familiar blue aura appeared, in the air in front of him. James suddenly got scared, but his worry subsided as the aura's brightness dimmed and a symbol appeared. The symbol was a black letter "D" with a draconequus wrapped around it like a snake.

Bright Illusion pointed to it, "If anyone has this tattoo on their hand, know that their allegiance is to Discord, do not trust them."

Slowly, the symbol faded until it disappeared, and Bright Illusion turned back into his human form of Mr. Courtie. He gave the boys his kind smile.

Carl nodded and turned to his friends, "Okay guys, let's go."

The three started out when Carl stopped. As Ryan and James headed towards Ryan's car, Carl went back to Mr. Courtie and hugged him, "I'm sorry for holding a grudge against you for years." He muttered before breaking off. Mr. Courtie gave Carl his warm smile and nodded.

"Don't worry about it." Mr. Courtie then broke the hug and looked down at Carl. He smiled and placed both of his hands onto his shoulder, "Protect my niece and her friends, Carl. Not just from physical harm, but mental. This world is far darker than Equestria."

Carl nodded, "I know that. And yes I'll protect them all with my life."

Mr. Courtie nodded with a small smile as Carl headed out to join James and Ryan outside. The old man sighed and walked over to the photo of himself and Twilight, both smiling happily all those years ago, the violet mare much younger than she was now. He took the picture and held it out in front of him, a look of longing in his eyes.

 "Twilight, you're such a powerful unicorn. I wonder if she's still as innocent as she was back then."  he thought with a sigh, knowledge of our world making him concerned for her state of mind, as well as her friends. He slowly placed the picture back on the shelf and walked towards the back of the store, his eyes looking down at his hand as the familiar blue aura he had used earlier danced around his finger-tips.

City Hall 

After the chaotic day in the that Wilmont City Hall had, which Mayor Drocsid just relished in, Brett was somewhat relieved when the place finally turned back into its empty, desolate, boring self that it did every night once all of the workers and politicians left. At this time, Brett was still in his office as he conducted serious business for Drocsid. He was sitting at his desk and pulled out his cell phone.

Now that he had the information they needed from Lawrence and his two idiot lackeys, it was time to take action. Brett knew the Mayor wouldn't want them to simply be brought in and killed, he wanted to bring them in so he could get under their skin and mess with their minds. It was his love after all, being the God of Chaos in disguise and whatnot. 

Brett punched the numbers "9-1-1" into his cell phone and held it up to his ear, waiting for someone at the police station to pick up the phone.

After a few rings, a commanding, masculine voice came over the other end. <i>"Yes Obscure?"</i>

Brett smiled and cleared his throat, "A Black 2007 Tahoe. Tell your men to find it, Shaded."

The voice, belonging to someone, or possibly somepony, named Shaded, chuckled on the other end. 

"Copy that. Hail Discord."

"Hail Discord." Brett muttered with a deadpan tone that completely contradicted the joy he felt at the moment. He never was one to express joy, though. He was more reserved with that emotion. 

Rage, on the other hand, was a different story as Lawrence found out earlier when Brett introduced him to the wall of Mayor Drocsid's office.

Brett pressed "end", tossed his phone onto the desk in front of him, and leaned back into his chair. He looked down at his hand, and concentrated on it until it turned into a black hoof. He twirled some of his aura around it, feeling its energy course through his veins, giving him a feeling of strength and power that he so loved. In fact, Brett to strength and power was similar to Mayor to chaos.

"Discordia et rex." He muttered as his hoof reverted back into a hand and the aura disappeared.
> The Scaled Messenger
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Scaled Messenger

Carl's House

Rainbow Dash was still in the bathroom with her tear-streaked face buried in her hooves. She still was shaking from fear and embarrassment at what she confessed about Ryan. Even if she tried to rationalize it as just a spur of the moment thing to get everypony off her back with the whole “fillyfooler” thing, she realized that it was true. She did have romantic feelings for her partner.

A human.

When she was a pony.

"Why couldn't I just be a normal mare and fall for a stallion?" She thought sadly,  "Or…why couldn't Ryan be a stallion?"

While only Pinkie Pie and Applejack were still standing by the bathroom door, everyone, especially Lisa, was extremely concerned about her. Anna was quieter than normal, and Twilight kept giving Lisa an accusing glare, which Lisa tried to ignore, but to no avail. The violet mare's eyes were like daggers to Lisa's heart, as nothing that felt worse than being despised by your favorite cartoon pony, especially when the hatred stemmed from sending an innocent pony into the bathroom in tears.

Anna was furious at her sister for hurting her favorite pony’s feelings the way she had, and the constant glare she gave her older sister was all that she needed to do in order to prove her point. So not only did Lisa have to contend with Twilight's glare, but her own sister's as well. But even she knew that she deserved scorn for her behavior. 

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Rainbow Dash continued to quietly cry and think over her feelings about Ryan. She suddenly heard a light rapping at the bathroom door, followed by Pinkie Pie's voice from the other side. 

"Aw, come on Dashie. Don’t be a party pooper."

"Yeah RD, come out of that there bathroom." came the concerned voice of Applejack.

Rainbow Dash gave a small sniffle, wiping some tears away from her eyes with the back of her hoof before whimpering her reply.

"I can't." 

Applejack let out a sigh sigh before she knocked her own hoof against the door.

"Look Rainbow, y’all have been in there long enough. Nopony's upset with you, just come out so we can talk."

"No, go away. None of you guys can understand how I feel right now." She said angrily as tear continued to run down her face. "I mean…I don’t even understand it."

"RD, listen ya have just got ta relax." Applejack said as comfortingly as possible, but Rainbow Dash felt too disgusted with herself to pay heed to her friends tone.

"If Ryan found out, he'd hate me." Rainbow Dash said with a fear-filled, shaky voice as she imagined how Ryan would react if he found out her affection for him. None of the imagined possible reactions were good.

"Have ya seen the way he worships ya? Ah promise ya he wouldn’t see ya any differently if he found out." Applejack said confidently, “Not that he even has to.”

"Yes he would. He'd freak out AJ. I mean, I’m a pony and he’s a human, it’s un-natural and weird. Besides, it's not like he feels the same way about me."

There was a long silence after this as Rainbow Dash waited for a response. When none came, she turned towards the door, her eyes still damp with her tears.

"Um AJ, are you still there?" Rainbow Dash asked.

A few more seconds of silence before Applejack spoke up, "Uh-huh, yeah ah’m here."

Just then, Rainbow Dash realized something, both with what she said before the weird silence as well as Applejack’s strangely nervous tone when replying.

Now Rainbow Dash knew her friend wasn’t telling her something, "Wait a sec, is there something about Ryan you're not telling me?" 

After another silence, Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and got up onto her back-legs and opened the door. On the other side she saw Pinkie Pie and Applejack standing. Pinkie Pie looked at Rainbow Dash and her face instantly lit up into a smile. 

Applejack, however, was looking away from Rainbow Dash with a red face, as if she was hiding something.

"Yay Dashie, you’re finally out!” Pinkie Pie said, jumping up and down happily. She then pulled out her party foghorn, “Come on, let’s celebrate!”

"Give us one second Pinkie." Rainbow Dash said before she grabbed Applejack, who let out a surprised yelp,  and pulled her into the bathroom and shut the door in the confused pink mare’s face. Pinkie scratched her head with her hoof before she shrugged and sat down, patiently waiting for the two best friends to finish talking.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Rainbow Dash looked at her friend crossly. She saw that Applejack still had a very nervous look on her face, and seemed to be avoiding Rainbow Dash's eyes. Something she did when she was hiding something, as her conscience was the size of Texas.

Rainbow Dash decided it was time to get answers. 

"Okay AJ, start talking. What are you not telling me?"

"A-ah ain’t keepin’ anything from y’all." Applejack lied, quite poorly might I add.

"Applejack, there's a reason why you're the Element of Honesty. It's because you're a terrible liar, now tell me the truth." Rainbow Dash said, moving her face up so it was directly in front of Applejack’s, their muzzles pressed together. Rainbow Dash’s accusing, red eyes penetrated Applejack’s nervous, green ones as she tried to look away from her friend, who seemed to be trying her best to imitate Fluttershy’s “stare”.

Applejack finally looked directly into Rainbow Dash’s eyes. She let out a sigh in defeat, "Ah can’t. Ah promised Ryan I wouldn’t.” 

Rainbow Dash grabbed Applejack by the shoulders and pulled her face close to her own. Her eyes were pleading and her words were desperate. 

"Please, you've got to tell me, what do you know about Ryan?" As she said this, tears started to form in her eyes. 

Applejack sighed and looked down, "Ryan; please forgive me." She whispered under her breath before looking back up into Rainbow Dash's eyes. 

"Ryan told me that he has a…crush on you." And he dreamt that he was a pegasus and ya’ll were flying together…and y’all kissed.”

Rainbow Dash's took a step back and her face was in pure shock. The tears started to stop and she wiped her eyes as slowly her sadness was replaced with hope. 

“sniff….Really?"  Rainbow Dash asked Applejack, who nodded in response. Rainbow Dash's shocked expression became full of pure joy as she hugged Applejack.

"Oh, thank you AJ! Thank you for telling me that!"

Applejack let out a sigh of relief before they broke the hug. "All right, settle down there partner. A-are ya gonna tell him?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, "Of course."

"When?"

She put her hoof to her chin to think about it until her eyes brightened up, like she had an epiphany. "Later tonight, I've got a plan." She said with a sly smirk.

Applejack gave her friend a nervous look and Rainbow Dash's expression fell when she realized what Applejack thought she meant. 

"Oh no! Not that! Please! I just meant telling him in a cool way! Geez, what kind of mare do you think I am AJ?" Rainbow Dash said with a nervous chuckle.

"Oh, uh, okay then." Applejack said with a sigh of relief.

Both girls giggled and walked out of the bathroom to join the rest of them in Carl's bedroom. Rainbow Dash was now feeling much happier than she had in a long time.

Street- Night

While all of that drama was going on back at Carl's house; Carl, James and Ryan were still in the car heading back. James was in the back seat, still trembling a little bit as he tried to unsuccessfully rationalize what had happened in the magic shop. 

Carl was thinking about it as well, while he also pulled his phone out to send a text. Ryan just kept driving down the dark, desolate road, thoughts changing between Mr. Courtie and Rainbow Dash.

"So we need to find a way to get to the mayor, right?" Ryan asked as he turned to look at Carl.

"Not yet. We need to find the other three elements first." Carl muttered as he looked down at his phone. “Even then we can’t just go in guns blazing like Rambo. We need some kind of plan.”

"Good point, for now we should stay under wraps, right?" Ryan asked. Carl nodded without looking at him. He was busy finalizing his text to Lisa to make sure everything was all right back at the house. 

After sending the message, he put his phone back into his pocket and leaned his head back against his headrest and let out a deep sigh, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, trying to rid himself of the day’s stresses. First the stress brought on by the events at the mall, then the whole “Inception room” thing Mr. Courtie had going on, not to mention his transformation. 

Carl just hoped the rest of the night would be relatively uneventful.

"Right," Carl looked through the rearview mirror to James in the back, "Hey James, are you all right?"

James didn't answer immediately, so Carl tried again, "James!"

James quickly looked up at Carl, still shaky. "Huh?"

“You okay bud?”

James slowly nods.

“Still freaked out?” Ryan asked as Carl turned back forward so that he was sitting in his seat correctly.

“Can you blame him? Look how shocked we were, imagine being a realist like him and seeing the shit we did.”

"Look let's just get back to your house and deal with everything when we get there." Ryan muttered as he turned his attention back to the road.

Unfortunately, fate was a cruel bitch and would always pick the most inopportune moments to reveal just how badly it planned to screw you over.

This time, fate came in the form of a sudden flashing of red and blue that lit up Ryan’s car. Carl and Ryan both looked at each other with frightened expressions as the sound of a police siren roared out from behind them like a lion chasing down a gazelle.

The boys turned around to see a black and yellow Wilmont Police Dept. SUV hot on their tail.

"Why is that cop coming after us?" Carl asked.

"I don't know, I've been going the speed limit." Ryan said as he looked at the speedometer, which showed exactly 45 miles per hour, "Maybe they saw the tinted windows in this car? My parents have been ticketed for that before. It makes the windows too dark."

"Yeah but being pulled over at night? Fucking everything’s dark now." Carl said.

“Whatever, I’ve got to stop.” Ryan said as he slowed his car down and started to make his way to the side of the road, “It’s probably nothing.”

Ryan pulled his car to the side of the road and the Police SUV stopped behind them. The three boys sat nervously in their seats, each one thinking about their own worst-case scenarios as to why the cop had pulled them over.

After a few seconds a tall officer with brown hair went over to the driver's side window and knocked. Ryan lowered it and gave the officer a small, nervous smile, "Good evening sir, what seems to be the problem? Tint too dark?"

"We’ve received a report that this vehicle is stolen."

Ryan's eyes went wide in fear, "St-stolen?" 

The officer nodded and Ryan looked at him with confusion, "But…this is my car. My parents bought it, I didn't steal it."

"It's true, officer, he didn't." Carl said, "His parents have had this..."

"I don't remember asking you a damned thing, son." The officer hissed at Carl, who slumped back in his seat, letting out an aggravated sigh. James was in the back, nervous about the cop being present. It’s not like he had any pot or beer on him, he just hated police officers in general. Part of his motto, which, in short, was "fuck authority". Even Ryan understood this stance that James had. He knew that James' jerky parents had a lot to do with James' attitude.

Ryan was starting to get nervous. And it wasn't because it was a cop that pulled them over, as Ryan felt like he had nothing to hide, and he really didn't, except for a crush on a certain tomboy pony. And it wasn't even because he was being accused of stealing a car, as he knew simple I.D. would correct the problem.

He was nervous because he hated all forms of confrontation, and would do anything keep out of them. So this current predicament, with a man of the law flashing his flashlight into his car, and a stone-cold look on his face, was definitely not ideal. 

Carl took his attention away from the officer's stone-cold face, and looked down at the officer's hand. That's when it caught his eye.

A familiar tattoo was located on the skin of the hand in-between the pointer finger and the thumb. A black "D" with a draconequus wrapped around it. Carl's eyes went wide in horror as he looked up at the officer, who was still talking to Ryan.

"Look, I promise you this car isn't stolen." Ryan opened the flap of the visor and pulled out the license and registration, “Here, Ken and Michelle Davis. Look it up if you don’t believe me”

The officer thought for a second before he let out a deep sigh. He nodded and walked back to his truck to check Ryan's claims, or at least that's what he wanted him to think. 

After all, he pulled them over because they were the elements, not because the car was "stolen". But the three boys didn't seem to know, so the officer decided to humor them.

Carl watched as he left while Ryan rubbed his head from the stress that this "man of the law" had brought upon him.

"Whoa man, fuck the police." James whispered with a small laugh, a laugh that he often gave out when he was stoned.

"Ryan, drive." Carl said flatly as he looked in the rearview mirror to see the officer get into his cruiser and begin to look up Ryan's parents. 

Ryan shot Carl and look. “What, dude are you crazy? Do I look like the kind of person that gets into high speed chases?”

Carl turned to Ryan with a stern look in his eyes, "He had a Draconequus tattoo on his hand, the one Mr. Courtie showed us."

Ryan's eyes went wide. "H-he did?"

"Floor it."

Ryan didn't need to be told again as he took off the parking break and slammed his foot on the gas. The car sped off into the night as the officer quickly got into his car to chase them down.

James felt himself get forced back against the seat of the car due to the speed. He looked up at Ryan with anger in his eyes, "What the hell are you two idiots doing!?!" 

"We're getting the hell out of here." Carl said to James before he turned to Ryan, "Carl, you’ve got to help me find a road to turn down.”

Carl squinted to see if he could make out the scenery better, but the night had taken over and the street-lights weren’t helping much. "It’s too dark, these damned lights suck."

Carl looked around, but didn't see anything that could be done to lose the cop. He shook his head, “I’ve got nothing.”

“Shit.” Ryan spat as he made a sharp turn down a road that he just managed to catch sight of at the last minute. The officer, however, stayed in pursuit, not losing any ground on his “prey”.

Ryan kept trying evasive maneuvers, such as swerving and turning down random streets, but each one was futile as the officer kept a close distance between the two vehicles, not letting the target escape.

Carl knew that there was no way for them to out-drive the officer, especially if he called for back up. He stomped his foot on the ground, "Fuck, there's got to be something that I can do!" 

"There is something you can do Carl."  said an elegant female voice inside Carl’s heard, which caught the boy by surprise.

"Who's…who's there?" he thought back.

 "Let's just say I'm watching over you, your friends, and my faithful student and her friends."

Carl's eyes went wide, "P-Princess Celestia?"

Carl heard the voice give a small chuckle, "Who else?"

"Please tell me you know how we can get away." 

"Listen to your heart and you’ll know."

"What?"

"Believe in your element."

Carl sighed at the overly generic advice that people often gave in movies when the screenwriter couldn't think of anything more creative to write. Carl then tried to focus on magic, hoping that it would cause something to happen, but nothing did.

"It's not working."  

"Keep trying Carl, you can do it."  

Carl nodded and began to think, his eyes closed and his face stoic. Ryan looked over at him annoyed,

"What are you doing? We're being chased by one of Discord's cronies and all you can do meditate?” Ryan hissed.

"Shut up, give me a minute." Carl muttered as he continued to think.

Carl began to think about magic, which meant that he had to forget all of his bad experiences with it in the past and focus on what it meant to him now, salvation. 

At first it wasn't working. But then he began to turn his thoughts to Twilight and something inside of him sparked. It was like she was the representation of pure magic to him. But it wasn't really her magic that he thought of, rather he thought of her beautiful, violet eyes that matched his own, her sweet voice that made his heart flutter with joy, her cute mane that looked so human, and her intelligence that no girl at Wilmont came even close to having. As all of this flooded his mind, he became happy and his soul felt complete.

At that moment, he felt his heart start to warm up, a wonderful feeling that he never had before. 

He looked down to his chest and saw a purple aura glowing from inside of him. He also felt his hands becoming hot and saw the purple aura spread from his chest to his fingertips. It then began to lift out of his skin and float around his arms, almost like dancing, purple flames.

Ryan and James watched all of this in awe, not sure what to do other than stare awkwardly at their friend.

 "Congratulations Carl, you've embraced your element." Princess Celestia said in Carl's mind.

At that moment, Carl knew what he had to do. He turned back in his seat to look at the police car through the back window. He stuck his hand out towards it, eyes focused on the words "Wilmont Police Department" that were in yellow on the hood of the car. He concentrated with all of his might on making the car vanish, disappear from behind them.

Suddenly, a purple aura surrounded the police truck. A "POP" sounded and a few seconds later…the truck was gone. The cruiser was no longer chasing them, the sirens were gone and Ryan's car was the only vehicle left on the road, just as silent and dark as it had been before the police officer started to follow them.

Ryan and James were speechless and Carl just stared in admiration at what he just did. He turned back forward in his seat and looked at the road ahead. He then looked down at his hand in amazement as the purple aura still radiated off of it.

"Okay…what!" James said, "What!?!”

"What the hell did you do!?!" Ryan asked in a mix of horror and shock.

Carl looked back up at the road, his hands still glowing purple.

"Ryan, get ready to swerve out of the way." Carl muttered as he focused on the road ahead. Suddenly, another purple aura appeared, followed by a loud "POP", which was followed by the police truck falling from the sky, upside down, and landing on the road directly in front of Ryan's car.

Ryan screamed as he quickly turned the steering wheel to maneuver his car of the way of the downed cruiser. This caused him to leave the road for a few seconds, entering the grassy part of the road-side. Thankfully, his four-wheel drive took care of that so he was able to maintain control of the vehicle as it hit bumps, dust being sent into the air. 

James was also screaming, but Carl was too stunned to utter a sound. He was just frozen in shock, still looking at his hand. After getting by the upside-down police truck, Ryan swerved back onto the road and kept heading off, breathing as heavy as the his two friends were.

The rest of the ride could be described as an awkward silence where James kept staring at Carl, who was busy staring at his hands while they still emitted a faint purple glow. Ryan also glanced at Carl every now and then when the road was straight enough that it didn't require too much of his attention.

After a little bit Ryan finally reached Carl's neighborhood. He made a sharp turn down the street and kept going until he reached Carl's house. He threw the brakes on and turned the car off right in front of the house.

They all got out in a panic and ran onto Carl's lawn. Ryan ran over to Carl as James stumbled over, clearly the most freaked out one in the group.

"How did they know what car I drive!?!" Ryan asked in a panic.

"I don't know; they must have someone spying on us."

Ryan then remembered something that Mr. Courtie told them, "Oh no, didn't Mr. Courtie say Discord was responsible for the increase in anarchist gangs?"

Carl nodded to confirm this notion. Ryan bit his lip and stomped on the ground in frustration, not noticing as James breathed out.

"Guys I'm…I'm gonna puke."

"Lawrence is in one of those gangs, so he must work for Discord." Ryan said, his voice stricken with the panic that was flowing through his veins.

"How would he know about us being the elements, though?"

"Because, Rainbow Dash laid him out at the mall today!" he said, "he probably knows that normal girls can't run that fast or hit that hard. He probably told him that I was the one that she saved and he knows what car I drive, and my address. He probably knows everything about me thanks to that prick bully."

"So they know that you're one of the elements now?" Carl asked, and Ryan nodded.

"Yeah."

"Guys…" James muttered again. Once again, he was ignored.

"Dude what am I going to do? What if they go to my house and try to kill me or my parents, or Rainbow Dash! They know my parents name; they know my car! Dude I'm fucked!" Ryan shouted in fear.

It was at this moment that James couldn't hold back anymore and hurled all over the lawn. Carl jumped back a little at the sight while Ryan leapt back almost ten feet. He shot a furious look at James.

"What the fuck man! What the fuck!" 

"I felt sick you asshole." James growled angrily as he stood back up. "If you listened to me I was trying to tell you guys."

"I'm sorry! I'm just a little freaked out now!" Ryan shouted back, his voice cracking a bit due to stress.

"Will you both keep it down?" Carl whispered harshly.

He looked around to see some lights in his neighbor's houses go on, as well as a couple of dogs barking like mad. 

"Come on let's get inside before we wake up the whole fucking neighborhood."

The boys went up to Carl's house and walked into the house and shut the door. They stopped in the main entryway, just below the staircase and Carl turned to James.

"Okay James, listen, remember don't freak out about what you see." Carl said. 

James looked at him, clearly annoyed, and took a step closer to him. "After what I saw, do you really think I could freak out anymore?"

And on cue, a certain crazy, pink, peppy pony came out of nowhere and jumped up and down right in front of James' astonished face.

"Hello James! I’m Pinkie Pie! We met earlier today. Of course then you called me Penelope because you thought I was a human, even though I wasn't, so I thought I’d re-introduce myself as…myself! So, here I am and it’s nice to met you!" She extended a hoof to James.

Now, James did see Mr. Courtie turn into a unicorn and say Twilight was his niece, and he knew the mane six were in Carl's house. But the sight of Pinkie Pie jumping up and down was more shocking than he thought it would be. James just looked at Pinkie blankly before he finally muttered, "N-nice to…meet you...Pinkie Pie."

At this point, the girls all exited Carl's room and started to the top of the stairs to look down at the three boys. Lisa, Anna and Twilight were in the front of the group while the rest were behind him, especially Fluttershy, who seemed to be, predictably, cowering behind Rarity and Rainbow Dash, only peeking her head slightly between the two mares to see what was going on.

"Um Pinkie, when did you get out of Carl's room?" Lisa asked, confused. 

"Lisa, do you even watch the show?" Anna asked Lisa with a “know-it-all” look. Lisa then realized that what Pinkie did had no rhyme or reason.

“Where’s mom?” Carl asked, somewhat surprised that she did not get drawn downstairs by the commotion.

“She got called into work just after you and Ryan left. She won’t be back until really late.” Lisa said.

“That’s convenient.” Carl said wit a sigh of relief.

Twilight looked down at them from the top step, "What happened to you guys?." 

As the purple mare made her way down the stairs, James just shook his head as his concept of reality began to crumble around him like the foundations of a poorly-built building during an Earthquake.

"There's no way, there's just no way." 

"Carl, I thought ya said yer friends wouldn't be in denial every time they saw us!" Applejack said with an annoyed gleam in her eyes.

"No I said I wouldn't keep calling people over to confirm that you were real." Carl corrected and Applejack rolled her eyes.

James began to feel faint and almost passed out when he caught a glimpse of yellow and pink hiding behind Rarity and Rainbow Dash. His eyes went wide as he was suddenly more awake due to a surge of excitement. He took a step towards the stairs and looked up, his eyes meeting the somewhat nervous, blueish eyes of the yellow pegasus.

"F-Fluttershy?" He said timidly, at a relatively low volume, to the mare that had meant so much to him, especially because of Caroline. He started up the stairs towards her as she backed away timidly, letting out scared whimpers. He slowed his ascent and extended his hand to her, which caused her to draw back a bit in fright, not completely sure what to make of the teen boy slowly approaching her.

"Hey, please don't be afraid, come on, I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. Don’t be afraid." He said softly, trying to coax her to come over to him. 

She looked at him with her big, innocent teal eyes that made James’ heart melt, and slowly trotted over to the black-haired teen. And by slowly, she did it slowly. Carl and Ryan watched in amazement as Fluttershy pressed her face into James' hand and began to nuzzle it.

James then turned to see Twilight looking at him with a smile. James pointed at her and smiled.

"You were Tara, weren't you?" he asked and Twilight nodded.

"Yes."

"So you're really Twilight Sparkle."

"Correct."

"Just wanted to clarify." James said with a smile, which made Twilight giggle a bit. James sat on the top step so he could put his arm around Fluttershy's shoulder, which she allowed him to do after initially drawing back a bit. He turned to Carl. "So I'm the Element of Kindness?"

Carl nodded. He then told James everything that he knew so far. He made sure to bring up how he was partnered with Fluttershy, and how he and Ryan were partnered with Twilight and Rainbow Dash, respectively.

Hearing about being partnered with Fluttershy made James the happiest that he had been in years.

Rainbow Dash walked up to Ryan and decided to act like she knew nothing about his love for her. She'd show him her own way of showing affection.

And no, not in the sexual way, sorry to disappoint some of you but this isn’t that kind of story.

"Ryan, are you all right?" she asked him sweetly. Ryan gave her a nod. Rainbow Dash looked into his face with concerned eyes. “You look really tired."

"Yeah Rainbow, I'm fine." Ryan said with a smile, "thanks for asking."

Rainbow Dash nodded as she noticed Ryan's blush for the first time.

"Wow he really does like me; I can't believe I've never realized it before."

Meanwhile, Ryan was thinking about different aspects about her to focus a poem on. As he looked at her, he knew that her eyes had to be the focus. After all, when he looked into them, nothing else in the world mattered. But then he knew that he could write about her beautifully multi-colored mane, her cyan fur, her great smile, there was a lot to choose from.

"Fuck finding the most appealing aspect of a girl you love is hard."  Ryan thought.

He also hoped the poem would cure him of his strange feelings towards her. If not that, maybe he could just use it as means to vent his feelings.

"Excuse me Ryan." Rainbow Dash said as she walked over towards Lisa, Carl and Anna, realizing that she had to do something.

"Thank you girls for watching them." Carl said.

Anna nodded with a smile and Lisa shrugged.

"It was nothing." She stated flatly before looking down at her feet. She still felt guilty about hurting Rainbow Dash's feelings the way she did earlier in the night, something that Carl didn't know about.

That was when she felt a hoof on her leg and looked down to see Rainbow Dash smiling at her.

"Rainbow Dash, look I'm…." she was cut off when Rainbow Dash got on her hind legs and hugged her waist as if to show her that she was forgiven.

Lisa sighed in relief and hugged Rainbow Dash back, trying to hold back her tears of shame. But her thinking was interrupted when Rainbow Dash looked up at her and whispered, "Thank you."

Lisa broke the hug and looked at Rainbow Dash with confusion as the cyan mare happily trotted back over to Ryan, a content, happy smile on her face. Even though it was unintentional, Lisa's mean-spirited mocking made her to realize her true feelings for Ryan, and for that she was thankful for the nine year old's actions, even if it did hurt her.

The group talked a bit longer, James was even starting to get even closer to Fluttershy, which was a huge accomplishment for such a shy mare and a realist teen boy, when suddenly a purple flash came from Carl's room.

A few minutes later, everyone heard a loud "POP", followed by a "thud", and finally a groan that sounded like it came from a young boy. They all directed their attention to Carl's room.

"What was that?" Anna asked.

Everyone and everypony went upstairs to the bedroom. Once they got there and pushed the door open, they saw none other than Spike, the purple baby dragon and Twilight's number one assistant, lying face-down on Carl's bed.

Spike groaned a bit, as pushed himself up to a sitting position. He rubbed his head with one hand as he held a rolled up scroll in the other. His eyes looked dazed and confused, as if he just got off a wild amusement park ride.

"Spike? Are you okay?" Twilight asked, making her way towards the little dragon.

"Uh, yeah I think so." He said, shaking his head to snap himself back to reality. He looked down at the soft bed he had landed on and pressed his hand against it.

He chuckled, "He-he, good thing the bed broke my fall, I'm just happy I didn't teleport over sharp rocks or something."

"Spikey dear, what are you doing here?" Rarity asked.

"Oh right," he said, hopping off of Carl's bed, "the Princess wanted me to be near you guys in case she had any letters that she wanted to send you."

"What, being in my head isn't enough for her? She needs you to relay messages to us?" Carl asked.

Once what Carl said registered with Twilight, she gave Carl a look of surprise, as well as immense interest.

"Wait Carl, did you say that Princess Celestia communicated with you telepathically?" she asked and Carl nodded. "You have got to tell me about that later." She whispered to him excitedly, like she really wanted to know more about Carl's experience. Her eyes were those of a child waiting to hear about something marvelous. 

"So Spike, what did the Princess want us to know?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Spike took out the parchment and unrolled it. He held it in front of himself and gave a look of such concentration that it was like he was preparing to give the State of the Union Address. He cleared his throat and began.

"Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I have done extensive research and so far have found the first names of all six of Earth's elements. I do not know their last names yet, but rest assured that I will tell you when I figure them out. I do hope these six names are helpful. And remember, every one of the Elements of Harmony of Earth knows each other. To what extent, I am not sure. However, I hope that these six names will help you find the remainder of them. 
Regards,
Princess Celestia
P.S. The names of the elements are Carl, Ryan, James, Alex, Peter and Louis, and I understand you already found the first three."

"Alex is an element, really?" James asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Possibly, it might be another Alex though. We'll have to meet him tomorrow to be sure." Twilight said.

“Who’s Alex again?” Fluttershy asked.

“He was that blonde fella at the mall.” Applejack said as she remembered how flirtatious he had been with her, which made a blush appear in her orange cheeks.

“Ohhhhhhh.” Fluttershy said when she remembered the boy Applejack was talking about.

James pointed to Twilight, "Is that why you pressed your head against my chest? You were checking to see if I was an element?" 

"Yep, that's how I'm able to do it. Oh, Spike! What are the other two names again?"

"Um…it says…Peter and Louis.” Spike then looked over towards Carl, “Jeez, you humans have strange names.”

"Peter and Louis?" Ryan asked before his eyes widened, "Wait! Wasn't that kid who Lawrence beat up today named Pete?"

"No way man, meeting two in the same day by accident. That would be way to accidental.” James said.

“If they even are the elements, and like the Princess said, you know each other so it isn't too shocking that you'd run into each other at some point.” Twilight added.

“But the same day?” James asked. “It just seems so impractical.”

“You mean like magic?” Ryan asked with a troll smile. “Yeah, Mr. Courtie sure showed you how impractical that was, didn’t he?”

“Fuck you.”

"I hope Pete’s the element of laughter!" Pinkie exclaimed with an excited squeal. "Oh! That would be so amazing! He seemed to like me, didn’t he? I mean, everypony seems to like me eventually but I really got through to him, don't you think?”

“Ah think Alex is gonna be honesty,” Applejack said with a slightly dreamy look, “Ah felt it, he and ah are meant ta be partners.”

"Um…so what elements are left, if you don't mind me asking?" Fluttershy asked from beside James, slightly leaning against his leg in the cutest manner imaginable.

"Laughter, honesty and generosity." Applejack said, "Ah guarantee ya I got Alex, after all we hit it off back at the mall."

"And I bet I have Pete!" Pinkie shouted happily, jumping into the air.

"Then who is this Louis that I might be partnered with?" Rarity asked, clearly not happy that she was talked about last.

"That's the thing Rarity, I don't know anyone who has that name." Carl said when James held up his hand.

"Wait! Louis Alderez!" James said with pride that he thought that he figured out the mystery. Everyone looked at him with confusion.

"I'm sorry, who’s that?" Carl asked.

"You know, Louis Alderez. The kid at the party last night who got me the weed?" 

"Rarity, the classy, fashion-loving pony, is partnered with a drug dealer? Do you really think that’s possible." Carl muttered, clearly not buying the idea James had.

James rolled his eyes, "He isn't a dealer. He just had some extra weed on him that he let me smoke.”

“I still can’t see it.”

“Whatever, look I don't know any other Louises...Louisees…er…whatever the plural of Louis is, so that’s all I’ve got.” James snapped back.

"All right, I assume you have his number?" Carl asked and James nodded.

"Okay, so you text Louis and Alex to meet us at the mall tomorrow at and I'll Facebook Pete, as I assume none of us have his number on us. Let me know later tonight if Louis and Alex get back to you and agree to meet in the food court of the mall."

With that said, Carl looked around his room at all of the cartoon characters, "Which leads me to the next issue, what are we going to do with all of you ponies...and Spike?" he said, just remembering that Spike had shown up.

"Well I'm staying with Ryan!" Rainbow Dash said with pure excitement before giving Ryan a huge grin. Ryan heart melted at her excitement and adorable smile.

"Um…James, do you mind if I stay…with…" Fluttershy started, but was too scared to finish. She just looked down and began to dig her foot into the carpet. James smiled at her, kneeled down and hugged her, which caused her to "eep", "of course you can stay with me Fluttershy."

"Oh! I'll stay with James!" Pinkie Pie shouted, but Carl tapped her on the shoulder. The pink mare turned to Carl, still with a big smile on her face.

"Actually, Pinkie, since we have three rooms and three people to watch you here, you can sleep in Anna and Lisa's room with Applejack. That way James doesn't have to be responsible for two of you girls, and neither does Ryan."

"Oh. Okie dokey!" Pinkie Pie nodded and turned to Carl's sisters. 

“That okay with you AJ?” Carl asked

“Yessir.” Applejack said before turning to Rainbow Dash and giving her a small, knowing wink. Rainbow Dash smiled back and mouthed “thank you” to her before she turned her attention back to Ryan.

“Carl, where should I sleep?” Rarity asked.

Before he could answer, Anna jumped at the opportunity, “Oh! Rarity, you can sleep in our room!”

Carl looked at Anna and was about to ask if she was crazy, to take three mares into her room. He then, however, saw her smile and realized this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for her, and she wanted as many of these characters in her room as possible. After all, who would pass up on a chance to hang out with ANY of the mane six, let alone THREE of them.

“Okay then,” Carl turned to Twilight and Spike, both of whom were near his bed. Well, Spike was sitting on it while Twilight sat next to it, “Twi and Spike, you two can sleep here tonight.”

They both nodded. Carl then turned to everyone else in the room, "Everyone all right with these arrangements?"

Everyone nodded in agreement as they began to get ready to head their separate ways for the night. Tomorrow was certainly going to be a busy day.

Lisa and Anna went off to their bedroom with Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack. James went outside to Ryan's car with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. They stood outside in the night air, waiting for Ryan to get outside so he could give them a lift home. But at the moment, Carl pulled the brown-haired teen aside to have an urgent word with him.

"Look, they know what car you drive and who your parents are, Ryan, I need you to lay low for the next few days."

Ryan looked at Carl, clearly angry, "What? But I wanted to go to the mall tomorrow to see if they are the elements."

"It's the only way to make sure we all stay unknown. Just take the day off with Rainbow Dash and hang out with her."

Ryan was about to protest, but then stopped when he saw Carl's unyielding face that was a cold and serious as the night around them. 

"Fine." He grumbled before walking outside. 

Carl shut the door. As Ryan left, both he and Carl suddenly realized something.

Ryan and Rainbow Dash would be alone for the day.

Ryan's spirits lifted significantly at this discovery. Ryan smiled at the idea of spending the day with Rainbow Dash. Little did Ryan know, however, that Rainbow Dash was giddy as well. 

Not to mention that she was giddy for the exact reason, the chance to bond with her crush. But he didn't know this.

Yet.

Still, he wasn't planning on telling her about his feelings for her, but he thought some alone time would be a good way to gauge what direction their relationship was going in, even if it was as just friends, he'd be happy just to be around her, to be her friend.

Carl, on the other hand, realized the same thing Ryan did and grimaced. Suddenly, however, he remembered how thinking about Twilight helped him spark his power. He began to get scared as he realized that he did, in fact, have some romantic feelings for Twilight, whether he liked it or not.

And he did not. It scared him, made him feel like he was somehow weird for having those feelings. But he couldn't help it, she was such a great girl, with such a great personality and luminous, innocent eyes that his love for her was unstoppable.

At the moment, he decided to just forget it. In his opinion, there was "bigger fish to fry" than odd feelings.

> Private Lives
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Private Lives

Alex's House   

Alex was sitting on his bed with his laptop open. His earphones were plugged in and he was blasting country music at full volume. His green eyes were glued on some random web-pages since he had nothing better to do.  Surfing youtube, checking Facebook, reading the national news online, as well as the comment wars between people of differing political views.

Things people did on the computer to unwind, let their mind go blank after a rough day.

Alex clicked the tab he had up that led to his Facebook profile. Nothing on his profile looked any different than one might expect from the country-born teenage boy, except for his profile picture. Insatead of a picture showing his smiling face, there was an image of Applejack. 

Oftentimes, he would find himself look at his profile page just to see her face. He would become lost in her eyes, the eyes of integrity and hard work. Her face was something that made him feel happier when nothing else, not even his beloved rock or country music, could. 

He also was surfing the web for images of Texas. Sure he hadn't lived there in years, but he always felt homesick .Looking at the photos, losing himself to the endless pictures of apple orchards like the one he grew up on, always managed to bring him a nostalgic feeling.

After a few minutes of this escapism, Alex decided to call it a night. He turned the music off and closed the tabs on his laptop, and then closed the computer itself. He rubbed his eyes, red and achy from the constant computer use and television watching he took part in all day.

As he brought his computer over to his desk to charge it for the night, he heard his drunken stepfather yelling at his mother downstairs. His screams sent shivers down the boy's spine. He immediately began to fear for his mother's safety.

When he heard the familiar "smash" of a beer bottle making hard contact with flesh and bone, he didn't hesitate to run downstairs to help save his mother from the brute he knew as his step-father.

When he got down to the living room, he saw his mother backed into a corner, her hands on her head and tears running down her face. His stepfather stood above her with a bottle of beer in his hands. A second bottle lay shattered on the ground by Alex's mother, shards of glass covering the carpet. Blood ran down from his mother's head,  her cheeks and dripped off onto the carpet beneath her.

Alex's step-father slowly turned around, his eyes were glazed over with a glimmer of violence in them. His shirt was stained with God knows what. Every inch of his being reeked of alcohol, like he showered in it.

And knowing his drunken step-father, Alex wouldn't bet against it.

"What do you want?" he growled at Alex in his slurred, drunk voice. He took a step towards Alex, his angry face staring the boy down.

"Leave my mother alone." Alex spat, his hands balled up into tightly-clenched fists.

"This isn't your battle son."

"Yes it is." Alex growled, "and don't call me son, I'm not your son."

His stepfather walked closer, closer, and closer to Alex until the teen could smell the whiskey and wine on his breath. His eyes wiry, dark circles under them adding to his disheveled appearance. Out of the corner of his eye, Alex could see his step-father tighten his grip on the bottle of beer in his hand.

"Boy, do you know your place in this house?"

Alex nervously looked over at his mother, who just sat there. She had always promised to watch over him and love him. But when his stepfather turned his attention from her to Alex after he stood up for her, he was on his own. Not to mention that she cheated on Alex's real father with this drunken bastard, something Alex never forgave her for. 

He often wondered why he bothered to stand up for her so much when she obviously didn't care about his well-being one iota. But whenever this thought crossed his mind, he remembered what his father told him in the courtroom the day that the divorce was finalized.

"Son, protect your mother, regardless of the situation. She needs you, you have to be strong for her." 

Alex's father might have been upset with Alex's mom for the divorce, but his love for her was still alive even after he signed the papers. And if there was one thing Alex was not going to do, it was soil his father's memory by backing down from this clown that stood above him with a threatening look.

Alex looked up at his stepfather, "Yes I do. It's between you and my mother, stopping you from beating her you drunken asshole."

That was all it took to have the drunken old man sock Alex in the face with the bottom-end of the bottle. He then began to pummel him into the floor. Alex's mother stood up and slowly walked away, not even caring that her son was being beaten to a pulp. She was just glad it was no longer her.

With each stone-hard fist that came down into his face like a sledge-hammer, Alex felt more and more helpless. Watching his mother walk away and leave him to his punishment at the hands of this dick, he could do nothing but think one thing over and over again..

"I need an escape. I need a family."  

James' House  

After arriving home and getting a lecture from his parents about how "Patrick would never be out this late" , James ran upstairs, locked his room, and opened his window so Fluttershy could fly up.

"Thank you for the idea Ryan."  He thought as the yellow mare went up into his room.

He shut the window and turned to see Fluttershy standing there, her teal eyes looking down at the floor of his room. James knew her well enough to understand how scared she must've felt, being alone with a being of a different species that she was supposed to work with to save two worlds. 

James decided to try to break the tension by soothing her fears, "You don't have to be so nervous, Fluttershy. Make yourself at home."

Fluttershy looked up at James, with a level of cuteness that could make the healthiest person go into cardiac arrest.

"Oh...thank you James." She smiled meekly. She then slowly trotted around the room, eyes wandering. It wasn't any larger than Carl's room, but more barren. There were fewer posters, fewer family photos, all signs of a boy neglected.

After about a minute, Fluttershy's eyes fell on an "Obama 2012" poster in his room.

His only poster except one showing a cat hanging from a tree with the slogan "Hang in there Baby".

"Obama 2012?" she asked before turning to James, with a look of confusion.

"Oh, that's a campaign poster for our President's re-election this year." He said.

"President?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah, he's the person who's in charge of running this country." He said.

"Oh like Princess Celestia?" she asked. 

James shook his head. "Not quite Fluttershy. The people elect a president and he can only serve two terms, each lasting four years. Also he does not have absolute control over the country, as there are also the judicial and legislative branches of government to provide a system of checks and balances. Also with the amount of political divide in this country, a President from a certain party wouldn't ever be able to be in office more than two terms."

"Party?"

"Yeah, political parties. There are quite a few but every election comes down to the Republican nominee and the Democratic nominee. For instance, I'm a Democrat and Ryan is a Republican."

"What's Carl?"

"I have no idea." James laughed, "I'm pretty sure he's the type of person who doesn't give a shit one way or the other. Plus, I know politics bore him to tears. He slept his way through our government class last year."

"How do you decide which party to join?" she asked. James was somewhat nervous, after all politics was often one of the main reasons why humanity was corrupted and distrustful of one other. He didn't want to corrupt her, but when he looked into her questioning eyes, he couldn't bring himself to get out of it.

"It's all based on how you believe the country should be run." James said, "Democrats are more for government programs for the poor and supply-side economics and Republicans are for limited government and demand-side economics. Actually it's deeper than that, but that's the cliff-notes version. Debates between the two beliefs can get pretty ugly, especially on the internet where people are more free to spout off extreme bullshit."

"Why?"

"Well, when you're talking about two groups of people that have polar opposite views on how the country should be run, it's clear that there will be debates that can get quite ugly."

"But you and Ryan seem to get along." Fluttershy said.

"That's because we respect each other's views." James sighed, "Most people aren't like that, though. I mean, you get Republicans calling all Democrats "socialists, Godless, and communists", and Democrats calling Republicans "fascists, homophobes, and racists" when for the most part those statements are gross exaggerations. It's a lot worse than I assume disagreements are back in Equestria."

Fluttershy nodded.

"Yes, most ponies respect each other, at least, they seem to." She said. "They do in Ponyville at least. Some of the ponies in Canterlot didn't really like our style of partying."

James nodded and sat on his bed, "I just hate how people are so divided in this world based on differences in opinion. I hate how you're immediately called names just because you have different beliefs than someone else, it sucks."

Fluttershy flew up to his bed and sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "You're a really nice boy, James."

James chuckled, "Thanks, I knew there was a reason why I liked you so much Fluttershy. You know exactly how to cheer a person up."

Fluttershy blushed. James put his arm around her and hugged her. It wasn't romantic; rather it was just his way of showing how much he cared about her as a friend.

"I think we should go to bed." He said and Fluttershy nodded.

"Yes!" she then gasped, "but wait, where am I going to sleep?"

James gestured to his bed, "We can share the bed."

Fluttershy immediately turned red, "You…you're okay with that?"

"Of course," James said without hesitation until he realized how uncomfortable that situation sounded to Fluttershy, "are you?"

Fluttershy looked up at James and gave him a small smile. All she gave for an answer was a small nod.

They both got under the covers and James turned his light off. Fluttershy stayed at one end of the bed and James stayed at the other.

"Goodnight Fluttershy." James said before closing his eyes.

"Goodnight James." She whispered back.

They both drifted off into a blissful sleep.

Ryan's House 

Ryan lay in his sleeping bag, looking up to his ceiling and deep in thought. And, as he had for the entire day, Ryan kept thinking about Rainbow Dash, wondering how the next day would be for both of them as they were alone with each other.

Ryan sighed as he knew that the chances of anything romantic happening were slim to none as Rainbow Dash most likely wanted a coltfriend rather than a boyfriend, and even if she didn't, it wasn't like Ryan was her type. He was short, somewhat nerdy, even if he did play sports. 

They could be friends, but in Ryan's eyes, he just couldn't imagine how she'd find him attractive or have any feelings for him outside of ones shared by close friends.

It made Ryan somewhat depressed simply because she wasn't just a fictional character anymore, and yet he knew nothing could happen between them.

It was like having a bar of gold right in front of him that would always pull away whenever he reached out for it.

Ryan rolled onto his side and was about to go to sleep when he felt someone move beside him and wrap their hooves around his waist.

Wait….hooves?  

Ryan turned around to see Rainbow Dash laying on the floor next to him, looking into his eyes while smiling her sweet smile. 
Ryan was still blushing as Rainbow Dash's forelegs were still tightly wrapped around his body.

"Hey I hope you don't mind if I sleep here for the night. The bed feels empty when it's just me."  she said with an innocent smile.

Ryan was frozen, unsure about what to say, when he nodded, "Yeah, okay..." he said with a small, nervous laugh, which Rainbow Dash returned. Ryan lay his head back against the floor, "You sure you're comfortable down here on the floor?"

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash moved closer to Ryan, her face right next to his, her body pressed up against his.

She whispered, "Positive."

Ryan felt his cheeks light up like a stop-light, but now he couldn't hide it. Rainbow Dash saw his blush, a blush that only made her smile more as she knew it was caused by her. She was making him turn red,  no pony else, and that made Rainbow Dash ecstatic.

"You know I think you were really brave back at the mall. When you stood up for that kid." she whispered, taking one of her hooves off of Ryan's waist and placing it onto Ryan's shoulder. He didn't try to shake it off, he was too transfixed by her luminous, red eyes to even notice.

"You do? Really?" Ryan asked with a blush and Rainbow Dash nodded. 

Ryan chuckled, "Yeah, well, I was nowhere near as brave as you,and how you put the hurt on Lawrence. It was hilarious, you made him look like a rag-doll."

Rainbow Dash giggled at the compliment before looking back into Ryan's eyes. He looked into her's as well, which were only about an inch away from his face. Now, he had tried to do this as little as possible since she'd been here so that his strange feelings wouldn't take over and make her find become too obvious. But now, he couldn't look away from her big, expressive, red eyes.

Her were half-closed, showing how comfortable she was with him, even if she was on the floor instead of a comfortable, warm bed. It also showed the love she felt for him without requiring her to say it verbally. 

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and let out a sigh, her warm breath touching Ryan's face and making his face turn even redder than it already was. 

"Do you know what I wish? I wish you were a Pegasus, and we could fly together in the skies of Equestria.” 

Ryan's eyes shot open for a moment as he realized Rainbow Dash knew about his dream. He initially felt nervous, but when he saw Rainbow Dash's face, her cute, loving smile, his heart melted and his fears dissipated. She knew about his dream, and the feelings he had for her. But she also seemed to share those feelings for him. 

Ryan smiled, "I wish that too."

Right then, both Ryan and Rainbow Dash leaned into each other, eyes not blinking as they pressed their lips together in a warm, loving kiss.

Ryan had never had a girlfriend. In fact, he didn't even want to get intimate with a girl until it was someone he truly loved.

The funny thing was; no girl in Wilmont came close to fitting the bill to him.

And now, he was having his first kiss with Rainbow Dash, something that many bronies could only dream of and he felt like his life was finally complete.

As their kiss deepened and became more invasive, with their tongues pushing against each other, Ryan felt different. He felt as if so much of his hard exterior that he had gained from growing up in an environment where he got beat up constantly, melted away and he suddenly felt younger. He didn't know how or why, but all of his stress, anger, hatred, and other negative feelings evaporated and he was left in a state of pure bliss and happiness that most people never had a chance to experience.

He felt less corrupt and more innocent than a teenage boy should feel, and he loved it. It was like Rainbow Dash's pure personality and love was radiating directly into Ryan. He didn't care that he couldn't understand it, all that mattered was that they loved each other.

As they broke the kiss, they looked at each other and smiled; both red in the face from slight embarrassment. But in this case, it was a good embarrassment. Dash moved closer to Ryan so she was pressed up against him completely, her muzzle touching his nose.

"I love you Ryan."

"I love you too Dashie."

With that, both of them fell asleep in each other's arms, dreaming of flying with each other over Ponyville.

Carl's House- Night   

Carl sat at his desk and stared blankly at the screen of his computer as he checked his newsfeed on Facebook, waiting for Pete to get back to him, but he a had a feeling that it would be a while as he knew about Pete's shy personality.

"You'd think he'd be the one partnered with Fluttershy." Carl thought with a chuckle as he continued to scroll down the comments feed to see if any of his friends had said anything that he could comment on.

Amazingly, he was already friends with Pete on Facebook and he never knew it. Then again, he was friends with 600 people, so naturally some of those were people he never met before.

Spike had made himself comfortable at the edge of Carl's bed as he looked up. Twilight was laying in Carl's bed, under his covers, talking with Spike. She was propped up with Carl's pillows.

"Wow, this world is so weird looking, I mean, it's so boring and...not colorful." Spike said. 

Twilight nodded. "I agree, but it has its own charm."

"That's not what the Princess told me." Spike said in just above a whisper so that Carl wouldn't hear.

Twilight rose an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"She said," Spike began before looking over at Carl to make sure he was too busy with his computer to hear what they were talking about. He then leaned towards Twilight, one hand cupped over his mouth to conceal what he was saying,  "this world had a lot of good people in it, but that there was a lot of bad as well and it often led to a lot of violence and terror never seen back home."

"Yeah, the Princess told me that too." Twilight muttered. As soon as she said this, she remembered how Carl told her that he'd tell her about his father, and why it impacted him so dearly. Besides the obvious fact that his father died, and that would break anyone's heart to think about, Twilight couldn't get over the feeling that there was something more behind it.

Carl closed his laptop and put his hands to his face in exhaustion, rubbing his sleep-deprived eyes. He walked over to his bed and looked at Twilight and Spike, "Okay, Pete didn't get back to me, but James texted me and said that Alex and Louis are definitely going to be there." 

"Better than nothing." Spike muttered as he curled up at the foot of the bed, ready to go to sleep. His own eyes showed a similar level of tiredness as Carl. Twilight, however, seemed to be struck with a new energy as questions about Carl's past filled her mind.

"Good night you two."

Carl slipped under his covers and was about to turn the light off when he felt Twilight tap him on the shoulder.

He turned the lights back on and looked at her. She was sitting up, a serious look on her face like she was hell-bent on not going to sleep until she got something out of Carl, something very personal.

"Twi what is it?"

"Yeah Twilight, I want to go to bed." Spike complained from where he was laying, his eyes squinting like it was taking every ounce of energy he had to stay awake.

Twilight looked at Carl with the most stern, yet caring, eyes imaginable. Even though Carl could tell she meant no harm, he felt his blood run cold. He was certain what she was going to ask wasn't going to be pleasant to discuss.

Finally Twilight spoke, and confirmed Carl's fears.

"Tell me about your father."

> Carl's Father
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carl's Bedroom- Night

Carl didn't know what to say to Twilight. As he looked at her, he could see the absolute desire that she had to learn more about Carl's past. Even Spike, who had only been here for a few hours, was now looking at Carl with interest. His own, green eyes as wide as a kid that is waiting to hear the meaning of life or some deep philosophical teaching...or just looking at a tray full of assorted chocolates. Yeah, that's probably more accurate.

He was nervous because no one ever asked him about his father except for James and Ryan, and even then, when they tried to get Carl to "let them in", he'd back out and keep silent, making up some bullshit answer that they'd buy just to leave him alone. But when he looked at Twilight, especially after what had happened earlier that day in the car, he realized that he couldn't lie to her. Her eyes weren't just two windows to her soul; they were daggers that were trying to get into Carl's soul to better understand him, and Carl wanted her to understand him.

He sighed and sat on the edge of his bed so he faced both Twilight and Spike.

"Carl," Twilight muttered, "I know it's bothering you, please tell me."

"Yeah man, we won't judge you or anything if that's what you're worried about." Spike said as he sat up, his green, reptilian eyes meeting Carl's violet eyes. 

"I know you two won't judge me." Carl said, "I just don't like talking about it, it's too painful."

Twilight moved closer to Carl and put her front hooves onto his legs and pushed herself up so that she was at eye-level with him. "Carl, I want to know what happened with your father."

Carl sighed and looked down for a second.

"It's been so long since I've talked about it," He muttered before looking back up at Twilight and Spike before continuing, "it happened when I was twelve…"

FLASHBACK- 2007 (Carl, Twilight and Spike's comments are in italics)

Inside Mr. Courtie's shop, a much younger Carl was busy sweeping up the floor before he got ready to leave for the day. He was in his employee uniform, which had not changed much over the course of five years from then to now. His hair is still curly, but a bit longer than it is now. But even on his younger self, Carl's eyes still were the same, vibrant purple.

Next to him was an equally young James, who was working at the register and looking out of the window of the shop, wanting to get out so he could enjoy the day.His hair was still long and untamed, much like it is at age 17. 

"…it seemed like it was going to be the best summer of my life. My parents were working out some problems that they had in their relationship, I was working for Mr. Courtie in his magic shop, well…I mean, I was working with Bright Illusion."

"Oh yeah, I forgot that my Uncle is here. I haven't seen him in years." Twilight piped in.

"I know that now, trust me" Carl said with a small chuckle as he remembered what happened earlier that night at the small magic shop. "But this was long before I knew that. Actually, I just found out about his relation to you today."

"That's right, you went to go pick James up from his shop. How is he?"

"He's fine Twilight, and he misses seeing you. Now, where was I?" 

"Carl! James!" Mr. Courtie called from the back room of his shop. A room Carl would forever associate with rotating walls, from earlier in the day, and, in this case, broken dreams.

When he and James were called, Carl looked up. His eyes showed the pure, unbridled excitement of a child that was about to witness something magical. He placed the broom against the wall of the shop and ran back with pure excitement in his eyes. Meanwhile James just rolled his eyes and followed at a leisurely pace, his realist attitude not much different than it was now.

They both entered the back room which, like the rest of the store and the vests that both boys wore, hadn't changed much over the years. Hell, the spiked fan and the giant cross were both there. Mr. Courtie sat in his chair, the same chair he was in earlier that day, the chair he remained in even as the room around him rolled around. The chair he revealed his true self to Carl, Ryan and James.

"I loved working with him because the concept of magic had always appealed to me. Watching Mr. Courtie make the impossible happen right before our eyes made me so excited and happy."

"You sound like you were similiar to me." Twilight giggled.

"I guess that's why I'm the Element of Magic."

"Yeah, but I still don't think you went as overboard as Twilight here." Spike muttered.

"Spike!" Twilight hissed.

"What? I'm just saying your OCD can get quite out of hand." Spike then turned to Carl, "Carl, did you know sometimes I'll wake up in the morning to find Twilight sitting at her desk, face down and asleep in her spell books?"

"Sounds like something she would do." Carl chuckled.

"Some days, there's so much drool on the pages, I'm afraid to pick up the book because I think it'll drip out onto my hand." Spike said with a face of disgust, which only made Carl laugh harder.

Twilight just stared at Carl flatly as she waited for his laughter to stop.

"Finish your story."

"What kind of cheap trick do you have to show us now Mr. Courtie?" James asked with his arms crossed as he had the same, disbelieving face that he often did now at the age of seventeen.

"James! It isn't a cheap trick. It's real." Carl said with excitement before turning to Mr. Courtie, "Right Mr. Courtie?"

Mr. Courtie smiled and gave a small nod.

"Right you are, Carl." He then proceeded to pull out a white cloth and a dead mouse, which he put onto its back on a small table in front of the two boys. The two boys recioled a bit at the sight of the dead rodent.

"Um, Mr. Courtie, why do you have a dead mouse?" James asked in disgust.

"My little assistant here," he pointed to the mouse, "is going to show you something simply amazing."

"Mr. Courtie always had some amazing tricks up his sleeve…."

"Can you call him Bright Illusion Carl? Sorry I just keep forgetting it's my Uncle."

Carl chuckled, "Of course Twilight. Bright Illusion used to show us many amazing tricks." 

"Watch this." Mr. Courtie muttered as he put the white cloth onto the dead rodent. He put his hand over it and closed his eyes, "Soul of the deceased, do not go towards the light of death, return to the darkness of life. It is not your time."

A little blue aura came out of his hands and hit the cloth, but it was quick and fleeting, so the annoyed James didn't notice and Carl forgot about it quickly. Mr. Courtie slowly lifted the cloth to show a perfectly healthy, living mouse roll back onto its feet. Mr. Courtie picked it up and held it out for the two boys to see. Carl had a big smile on his face while James' jaw hung open.

"Wow!" Carl said excitedly, "how did you do that?"

"Magic." He said happily.

"T-that's not possible." James muttered in shock.

Mr. Courtie smiled back. "Anything is possible, James."

"Anything?" Carl asked.

"Anything." Mr. Courtie said happily. "You just have to believe it."

"I still think you just knocked that rat out with some gas and woke it up."

"It's not a rat, James, it's a mouse." Mr. Courtie said with his smile.

"Who cares, it's a rodent, does it matter what kind it is?" James muttered as he picked up a small figurine and examined it as if to show his lack of interest with Mr. Courtie's magic. Actually, saying he had a "lack" of interest would be falsely insinuating James had any interest, in truth he couldn't be more apathetic about the whole thing.

Of course, Carl was a different story. He loved magic, and watching tricks like this always fascinated him to no end.

"Mr. Courtie, was it that phrase you said that made it happen?" Carl asked, eyes still showing immense joy.

"Yes." Mr. Courtie said, even though it was a lie. He didn't want to lie to Carl but he had no choice, after all the Princess told him not to reveal himself as a unicorn to Carl until the time was right.

"Now I know he really did bring that mouse back to life. What I didn't realize, however, was that he lied about the phrase being the reason. Obviously he always had magic as he was a unicorn, but I didn't know that, so I believed him and felt like I could bring something, or someone, back to life if I just said those magic words, "Soul of the deceased, do not go towards the light of death, return to the darkness of Earth. It is not your time"."

"For the next few days I practiced the spell with him until I was able to bring mice back to life. Of course I'm now sure that he revived them with his own magic when I closed my eyes to say the chant. I actually thought I could bring the dead back to life." Carl narrated with a chuckle before proceeding.

Carl sat at a table with Mr. Courtie sitting across from him. His eyes were closed, mouth barely moving as he whispered out the chant Mr. Courtie told him. A white cloth lay on the table-top, a lump clearly present underneath. 

"Soul of the deceased, do not go towards the light of death, return to the darkness of life. It is not your time."

What Carl didn't see, was Mr. Courtie's hand, placed strategically underneath the tabletop, just below the mouse's corpse. He, himself, didn't mutter anything, all he needed was his aura. His hand glowed a blue color, the light dancing around as he mentally cast the spell as Carl spoke the faux spell that didn't do anything besides give the boy a false sense of success after Mr. Courtie used his actual magic on the mouse to revive it.

Once he was done uttering the incantation, or what he thought it was, Carl opened his eyes as Mr. Courtie slowly lifted the white cloth off of the mouse, revealing it standing on all four feet, eyes blinking and looking around as it sniffed the ground. Carl's eyes lit up, a grin spread across his face while Mr. Courtie gave him a small round of applause.

"Well done Carl."

Carl looked up at Mr. Courtie and jumped out of his chair. He ran over to Mr. Courtie and threw his arms around his boss, thankful for the help he had given him in performing such a trick.

"I was so happy that I finally thought I mastered a revival spell. If there was a cloud higher than nine, I was there, soaring above everyone else in my blissful fantasy where magic done by humans was possible. But like everyone before me, I soon had to learn the truth. Now, normally people find out about the false nature of human magic simply by going through maturity. But not me. I learned it in the worst way possible, it happened a few days later." 

Carl, Lisa, who was only four, and his parents were walking through the city after seeing a movie. The streets were almost empty and dark, the only light coming from the moon above and the street-lamps that lined the streets, a quiet, electrical hum the only sound outside of the family's footsteps. 

"Wow it's cold out." Lauren said as she gave a small shiver, looking around at the dark environment.

"It's upstate New York honey, what do you expect?" Carl's father chuckled.

"Yeah but it's June, you'd think the weather would be warmer." 

"Again, Upstate New York."

Carl was right beside him and Lisa was next to Lauren.

"Hey Dad, are you gonna make my soccer game tomorrow?" Carl asked happily.

His dad looked down at him and smiled, "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"I was so excited, you have no idea. He didn't go to a soccer game of mine in years, and to hear him say that he would be there meant so much to me. I had a great job, my parents were happy again after a year of arguing and a short-term separation. Then, in one moment, everything changed." 

After the four of them turned a corner, they saw five young men, looking around seventeen to twenty-one years old, dressed in black clothing with black headbands and bandanas that were either white, red or black. The classic anarchist style that so many gang members in Wilmont chose to follow.  They leaned against a building and joked around as the smoked cigarettes, blowing giant plumes of smoke into the air around them as they laughed about something.

Now, even though Carl's family was not rich, they were rich in the eyes of people who lived in this part of town as they were extremely poor.

And that made them the enemy.

Once the leader of the gang saw the family coming, he held up his hand to silence his men, who were still laughing from whatever hilarious joke was told. He stepped forward towards the family before he took his cigarette from his mouth and flicked it to the ground, stomping on it for good measure before focusing all of his attention on Carl's family, specifically his father, who was at the lead. 

The anarchist punk walked closer to the family. Mr. Lewis stopped, followed by Carl, Lisa and Lauren, when they saw the clearly insane man approaching. He stopped about four feet in front of the family and grinned.

"Fellas, are you lost?" 

"No, we're fine." Carl's dad said as he tried to make his way by . The man just stepped into his path to stop him.

He looked down at Carl's father's watch with a smile and pointed to it, "That's a nice watch you've got there, would you mind giving it to me?"

Lauren looked nervously up at Carl's dad as Carl just stood there, confused.

"I'm sorry….t-this is my watch." Carl's father said. The man took a step closer to him and stood him down.

"You have nice clothes, a nice wife and kids, and you won't give me a little watch that probably cost you nothing?" he snarled, "Why do you need it, hm? To make sure you aren't late for your measly fucking job that probably pays way more than it should? A job where you probably work in a cushy office while people like me, the NEEDY, work on the grimy streets to make our living?"

"Now look here..." Carl's father began, only to have the punk cut him off.

"Do you know why I need that watch? I need it for my rent. You just need it to look pretty, who needs it more in this scenario."

"Well, I paid for it," He replied flatly, "so it is my watch. Now if you fellas will excuse us…"

That was when two of the other men took out their guns and pointed it at him. The last two men pointed their own guns at Lauren, Lisa and Carl. Laruen screamed in fear and the kids got back, eyes wide.

"Listen man," the leader said as he pulled his own gun out to point directly at Carl's dad, whose hands were now up and shaking in fear, "Don't be a hero, just give me the watch."

Carl's dad didn't need to be told again. He quickly took off the watch and handed it to the gunman. The gunman took it and grinned. "Great, now give me your wallet."

Once again, Carl's dad obliged and started to take the cash out when the man shook his head, "No, no, just give me the entire thing. You can afford a new wallet, I know you can you rich fuck."

Carl's dad sighed and handed his entire wallet to the man. Once the gang leader took it, Carl's dad took a step back, his hands still raised, "There' that's everything. Are you happy or do you want the clothes on my back too?"

"Almost." the anarchist said with a sly smile.

"What do you mean?"

The man turned to Lauren and pointed at her, "I want her to come with us."

Now Carl's father stopped shaking in fear and became furious.

"No." Carl's dad growled, "You won't touch her. You can take my watch and wallet, but you won't lay a hand on anyone in my family."

The man scowled and snapped his fingers. At this, moment, the two men who had their guns pointed at Carl's father began to walk towards Lauren, who was frozen with fright, unable to move a single muscle even as the man approached.

This prompted Carl's father to punch one of the men in the face and throw the other to the ground as if he were a rag-doll. He was about to knock out the second guy with his foot when a gunshot rang out through the alley. Carl's father looked down at his chest to see blood spilling out of his chest. He looked back up at the anarchist that shot him, an exhausted, yet apathetic look on his face. He then collapsed to the ground, blood pooling around his body.

"He was shot, and we all saw it. Me, my mom, and my four-year old sister all saw our father lay on the ground dying, each breath he took was closer to being his last."

After Carl's father was on the ground with two bullets in his chest, the five men ran off. Lauren screamed and knelt down to her husband's side. "Daniel! Daniel! Stay with us come on!"

"Dad!" Carl was on his father's other side.

Lisa was next to their mother, sobbing like any other four year old would in the same situation.

"He was taken to the hospital a little while later and pronounced dead. When the doctor came out to tell us the news, Mom and Lisa sobbed like crazy and held onto each other like their lives depended on it. But I couldn't react, I was too shocked."

"Oh my gosh Carl, that's terrible!" Twilight gasped in horror, her eyes starting to get watery while she listened to the story.

"Why...why would anypony do something like that?" Spike asked in shock.

"If you stay in this world long enough, you'll understand. Instances of murder like this aren't uncommon, especially in Wilmont." Carl stated flatly before continuing with the story. "Anyway, we were all in the waiting room now and had so many terrible feelings flowed through us. My hands were so numb that I remember wringing them together to see if I could get feeling in them. I even bit my lip hard to make sure it wasn't a dream. But when I felt pain and tasted the blood, I knew it wasn't."

"But then I remembered Mr. Courtie and the white mouse from a few days before. I remembered the chant."

In the hospital waiting room, the nurse came in and offered Carl, Lauren and Lisa the chance to see their father's body, so they all got up to go back to see him. As they walked towards the room, Carl kept thinking about how he could bring his father back, how he could revive him so he could go to his soccer game the next day. How he could revive him and their family could be whole again, something that it was going to be before that asshole shot him down like a dog.

As they entered the room, they saw Carl's father lying face-up in his bed, his eyes closed and his face dry and pale. They didn't cover his face with the sheet so that the family could see him one last time before the eventual funeral. Carl was the first one to walk over to his father's side as Dr. Bernstein, walked over to Lauren to discuss post-mortem things such as life insurance, etc. before he let her go to the bed to say good-bye to her husband.

Meanwhile, Carl went right to work. He closed his eyes and extended his hands above his father.

"I knew it had to work, it just had to. People I knew have lost family, but I couldn't. It didn't feel like it could ever happen to me. I knew that I could save him if I just did what I did with Bright Illusion, or Mr. Courtie as I called him back then, to bring the mice back to life."

Carl let out a sigh and muttered, "Soul of the deceased, do not go towards the light of death, return to the darkness of life. It is not your time."

He opened his eyes excitedly, only to see that his father's eyes were still closed, his chest unmoving, and he was still dead as the pre-spell mice.

He tried again, this time with a more shaky voice that mirrored his building desperation, "Soul of the deceased, do not go towards the light of death, return to the darkness of life. It is not your time." He opened his eyes and…nothing. Still a dead father.

Dr. Bernstein finally saw what Carl was doing and walked over to him. He put his hand onto his shoulder, "Son, are you okay?"

Carl didn't listen, he was too focused on the task at hand, "Soul of the deceased, do not go towards the light of death, return to the darkness of life. It is not your time."

"Carl what are you doing?" Lauren asked through tears, "stop this nonsense and get over here."

"Soul of the deceased, do not go towards the light of death, return to the darkness of life. It is not your time."

Carl opened his eyes, once again, to see his father was dead. He shook his head as tears began to flow. His hands were now shaking and his face was red. 

"COME ON!" he shouted.

"Kid let's go." Dr. Bernstein said calmly as he started to pull a sobbing Carl away from the bed, but Carl pried himself lose and ran back, put his hands onto his father and shouted, "Soul of the deceased, do not go towards the light of death, return to the darkness of life. It is not your time! Come on Dad, please don't do this to me! DAD! DAD!"

Carl began to shake his father's corpse as Dr. Bernstein grabbed him and pulled him off. Carl was trying to get back to his father's side, but the doctor wouldn't let him.

"Carl, please stop this!" Lauren shouted as Lisa continued to cry. But Lauren was now crying harder than Lisa was.

Carl then gave up and fell to the floor, sobbing.

"Why….why…." Carl muttered as he set up and buried his face into his hands, crying more than he ever had in his life and, up to the present, ever had.

"I didn't understand. My father didn't wake up. I did what Bright Illusion had taught me to do with the mice, but it didn't work on my father. 

When it really mattered.

I felt a mix of sadness for losing my father, and anger that the man I worshipped had lied to me. That magic had let me down. So the next day I went into his shop to confront him."

The next day, Carl walked into Mr. Courtie's shop with his eyes red from crying and his body still shaking. His legs were shaking as well, making him stumble a few times as he walked. He went past James, who was busy re-arranging the shelves. As he noticed Carl walk by, James called to him. But Carl didn't acknowledge his friend as he continued to the back room, like a man on a mission.

Mr. Courtie was reading an old book when Carl got into the back room. When he heard Carl, Mr. Courtie saw him and stopped reading, "Carl boy, what are you doing here? I thought you're mom said you wouldn't be here because of your father."

"Why did you lie to me?" Carl asked.

Mr. Courtie's expression became one of confusion, "What do you mean?"

"I tried that revival trick that you taught me to use on the mice and it didn't work." He hissed, "My father's was still dead."

James walked to the back and stopped just outside of the room that Carl and Mr. Courtie were in, listening to the confrontation.

Mr. Courtie was frozen. His eyes were wide in horror, "Carl...you didn't try my spell on your father...did you?"

"Of course I did! If your father was laying dead on a hospital bed, wouldn't you?"

Mr. Courtie closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, "Well, Carl, you see mice are simpler beings than humans and…"

"STOP LYING TO ME!" Carl shouted, making Mr. Courtie jump back a bit. Carl began to cry more and he looked at Mr. Courtie with pleading, "Be honest with me….please…does magic exist? Can I do magic? Can you?"

"Carl of course it exists."

"Then why didn't the magic work when I did it to my father? Can you revive my father?"

"Humans are too complex to revive Carl, I'm sorry."

Carl just shook his head and gulped, "Mr Courtie...how were you really able to revive the mouse?"

Mr. Courtie was frozen, unsure about what to tell him. He couldn't say that he was a unicorn just yet because it wasn't opportune; Celestia wanted him to wait until Twilight arrived to him before this was even an issue. Besides, he didn't tell Carl, but he didn't have enough power to revive a being that was as complex has a human. So, still unsure about what to tell him, he just looked at Carl sadly and said five words that changed their relationship forever.

"I can't tell you yet."

Carl nodded in a bitter understanding.

"I don't ever want to see you again."

Carl stormed towards the exit of the store, pushing by James.

James turned towards his angry friend just as he was about to leave the story, "Carl, man what…"

"FUCK OFF!" Carl shouted as he turned around and stared down James, who took a few steps back in fright. 

Carl then turned around left the store in a huff, tears running down his face like two rivers.

"At that point in life, believe it or not, the worst word that I ever said was "crap", and even that ended in my mouth being washed out with soap."

PRESENT DAY- Carl's Room  

"And that's why I stopped believing in magic."

Carl looked up at Twilight and Spike to see their reactions. Twilight eyes were on Carl, but tears were running down her cheeks. Spike just seemed to be in shock at everything that Carl had told him, but Carl could tell he was upset too, just better at holding it back than Twilight was.

Or maybe it was just because he wanted to hold his emotions back, while Twilight didn't care if she let lose.

Twilight, however, just let the tears flow naturally and didn't try to hold anything back.

"Carl, I'm…I'm so sorry." She whispered.

"What are you sorry about?" Carl said with a re-assuring smile.

"I just feel bad that you had to go through all that. I wish you knew earlier, but it's just…only the most powerful unicorns to have the ability to revive animals, and those are only the smaller ones, which is why he could revive a mouse. My Uncle wasn't lying when he said he couldn't save your father."

Carl nodded, "I know. I was just so upset after he died that I couldn't hold back, even from Mr. Courtie…er I mean Bright Illusion."

Twilight quickly got up and ran over to Carl. She threw her arms around him in a hug. Carl returned the gesture as she cried into his shoulder, "Carl I'm sorry that our kind made you lose faith….I'm sorry."

"Twilight, please don't be sorry." Carl said, trying to hold his tears back.

Spike walked over as well, "Carl are you sure you're okay?"

He nodded, "Spike I appreciate your concern, but it's been five years. I've already shed most of my tears."

Spike nodded at him and patted his arm to give his own version of saying "It's okay man, I'm here for you."

After a few minutes, Twilight stopped crying and drew herself back, looking at Carl, who was smiling at her. He wiped the two tear-streaks off of her cheeks with his thumb.

"You know, you shouldn't cry so much, it clouds up your beautiful eyes." he whispered.

He suddenly realized what he just said and his mouth hung open. Twilight looked at him in confusion as Spike's jaw dropped to where it almost touched the mattress, in classic cartoon fashion.

"You….you think my eyes are beautiful?" she asked with a smile that showed how her mood was improving.

Carl nodded, "Uh-huh….excuse me." Carl got up and quickly walked out of the room towards the bathroom. Once inside, he shut the door.

Twilight giggled a bit, feeling better after Carl's compliment and knowing that he was embarrassed.

"What was that about?" Spike asked.

"Nothing, he's just a little shy." Twilight said, but she was smart enough to know that he was hiding feelings for her, and she wanted to talk to him more about it.

"Gosh I feel like I'm going to be playing Carl's therapist." She thought half-joking.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Carl looked at himself in the mirror just as Ryan had that morning after he had his dream about Rainbow Dash. His eyes were wide in fear and he was shaking.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" he thought. He tried to think of other things that didn't have anything to do with Twilight, but he couldn't. Whenever he let his mind wander, the image of Twilight's eyes and face would appear and he would fantasize about her. He closed his eyes, "Just stop, okay? You aren't Ryan; you aren't in love with a pony. You don't have romantic feelings for Twilight. Just let it go and deal with it tomorrow."

Carl sighed and exited the bathroom.

Pete's House- Morning

Pete's alarm went off right beside his head as his eyes slowly opened. The rays of sunlight shone directly into his face, making him put his hand up in defense from being blinded. He slowly sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. He got out of bed and walked over to his computer and logged into Facebook. While he was on, he noticed that someone had left him a message and decided to check it out.

Pete,

Hello, my name is Carl Lewis. We bumped into each other at the mall yesterday before you ran into that prick Lawrence and his two lap-dog cronies. Listen, I was wondering if you could meet my friends and I at the mall tomorrow at around 11 for lunch, it's urgent. 

Pete shook his head, "Yeah, like I'm going out with you. I don't even know you."

But then he got the last line of the message,

Penelope is looking forward to seeing you there.

Let me know as soon as possible. We need you, thanks

Carl Lewis

Pete smiled, "Penelope…."  He thought dreamily, remembering the pink-haired, bubbly girl that he met the day before. He then realized thinking about her was making him contemplate going to the mall, something he knew that he'd regret doing.

"No! You can't go there. Besides…"  he suddenly looked up into a small mirror on his desk, "you know that you'd say something stupid and ruin any chance to even be friends with her."  

Pete turned his computer off and slowly made his way downstairs. He ate with his parents, the only people that he felt comfortable talking to, the only ones who were reliable and there for him when he needed them. They were kind and supportive, very similar to Ryan's parents in those regards, which is why they were like Pete's best friends.

Once he was done eating, he went back upstairs to watch television by himself.

But his mind kept going back to the invitation to the mall, and how he hadn't been invited by anyone to anything in years. Not to mention Carl made it sound vital that he be there. Pete decided to think about going, but his nervous, overanalyzing mind continued to yell at him to not do so.

Besides, he knew that if he went, he would just be a wall-flower and not say anything, for fear of saying something that was stupid, or unfunny. And if it was funny, it would be because it was so un-funny it drew laughs from everyone.

"God, what should I do?"

> The Morning After
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 
 The Morning After 


Ryan's House

Ryan slowly started to wake up as the morning sun crept into his room through the partially opened venetian blinds. Birds were singing beautiful music just outside his window, a sound so soothing it almost rocked Ryan back to sleep. But he knew that eventually he'd have to get up, with or without the soulful bird-songs.

Ryan then caught something cyan-colored out of the corner of his eye. Looking to his right side, he saw a rainbow-maned mare pressed up against his side, her forelegs wrapped around him. She was sleeping peacefully, her breathing, tranquil and rhythmic, seemed to give the bird songs competition for which sound was more beautiful.

Once Ryan laid eyes on her, memories from the night before re-surfaced. A smile grew on his face, not just at the sight of Rainbow Dash, but also at the thought of their kiss before they fell asleep.

Slowly, he leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

She groaned and slowly opened her eyes to see Ryan smiling back at her.

"Morning sunshine."

Rainbow Dash responded with a small, tired smile. 

"Morning, Ryan. That was an...interesting way to wake me up." She giggled like a little school-filly, something that she almost never did, especially never around any guys.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it; you just looked so cute sleeping."

Rainbow Dash smiled back and leaned in to kiss Ryan on the lips like they did night before.

Ryan was just thankful that this had been the one-day where his parents decided not to come into his room to say good-bye to him before they left for work. Not only would they find their son sleeping on the floor of his room, but they'd see him sleeping with a cartoon pony in his embrace, their faces almost touching. Ryan thanked God for the reprieve in his parent's intrusions.

Ryan and Rainbow Dash continued to kiss and hold to each other closely as if they had been in a relationship for years instead of only one night. As they broke the kiss, Rainbow Dash looked at Ryan with "bedroom-eyes' and a dreamy smile, a smile that sent Ryan's heart a flutter.

"You know, I wasn't kidding when I said I wish that I could fly with you." She said as her head lay against the soft pillow.

"And I wasn't kidding that I wish I could be a Pegasus for you, Dashie…oh, I hope you don't mind me calling you that."

Rainbow shook her head, "Of course not; you don't have to worry about everything so much."

Ryan sighed, "I know. But, honestly, I'm just shocked that you actually like me."

Rainbow Dash gave Ryan a confused look, "Why would it surprise you?"

"It's just...you're so awesome and, well, I didn't think somepony like you could be into someone like me. I mean...let's face it, I'm not really what you'd call "cool""

Ryan looked down for a second, his face red in embarrassment from how weak he sounded in front of a girl he liked. Sure they had been kissing and she liked him, but he didn't want to ruin it by looking like a wimp.

Rainbow Dash took Ryan's hands and held them in her hooves before looking up at him, her eyes showing her supportive and encouraging side, re-affirming to Ryan why he loved her so much.

"Ryan, just because you don't think you're cool or awesome doesn't mean you aren't. You just don't have confidence in yourself." She said before moving closer to Ryan to now their noses were pressing against each other. "And I'm gonna help you become confident."

Ryan smiled at her, "The fact that you told me that you love me last night was enough to raise my self-esteem ten-fold." 

Ryan muttered as he kissed her again. He then broke it and looked back at her, "I just wish I could be as strong as you...and not hold you back."

"You won't Ryan, trust me." 

Rainbow Dash and Ryan lay back against the carpeted ground, both still hugging each other as they relaxed in each other's embrace. They were staying home for the day, so they could afford some alone time snuggling with each other. 

During this time, however, Ryan was still mentally beating himself up over his weaknesses, hoping that it didn't hurt the way Rainbow Dash saw him. After all, she wouldn't want to be with someone who exuded weakness now, would she? No, she'd want the person that she was with to be strong and cool.

Things Ryan, despite his best efforts to conceal, didn't feel he possessed.

"Ryan?"

"Yes Dashie?"

"I really do love you." Rainbow Dash looked up at Ryan and gave him a reassuring smile. It was as if she knew he still doubted himself about her.

Ryan smiled back, "And I really love you."

They kissed again and proceeded to get up and start the day.

James' House

James and Fluttershy were eating together. Their breakfast consisted of toast and some orange juice from a carton, which was surprisingly good. Almost as if it were fresh squeezed instead of simply coming from a carton at the front of the fridge. 

Patrick loved his OJ. 

James' parents were out with Patrick, getting him soccer lessons with a personal trainer that had flown over to Wilmont from Stanford. He might have been a huge prick, but Patrick was a very good soccer player. Even James, as much as he detested his older brother, had to give him credit where credit was due.

But he'd never give Patrick the pleasure of hearing such praise come from his lips, oh no. He'd go to the grave with his lips sealed about how impressed he was with Patrick's soccer abilities. It may not have seemed like it, but James still had his pride and he felt that saying anything good about Patrick would only make him look weak.

He talked a bit with Fluttershy. In fact, they were talking so much, James forgot just how timid she was normally. In fact, he mentally patted himself on the back for bringing the shy pony out of her shell. 

"So you're a vegan?" Fluttershy asked with a smile as she took a sip of the orange juice that was placed in front of her, a straw dipped into it that she used to drink. And when she did take her dainty sips from the straw, it was freaking adorable.

James shook his head, "No Fluttershy, not quite. I do eat some meat, but I try to limit it. The only reason I don't eat more is because I hate the way slaughter houses treat animals. I hope the fact that I eat meat doesn't frighten you." he said, knowing that it did frighten the ponies in many fan-fictions, especially Fluttershy..

Surprisingly, however, reality proved to be quite different than fanon. 

"I don't," she said as he took another bite of her toast, "I work with all sorts of animals, and many are carnivores and omnivores. It doesn't bother me one bit."

Fluttershy gave James a small, reassuring smile to show that she wasn't kidding about the whole "being an omnivore" thing, before she lifted up her toast and took another bite.

"Yeah, I know you work with carnivores. Like bears that you beat the crap out of to give a massage." James asked with a sly smile.

But Fluttershy didn't seem to get James' joke, and just looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I….uh… forget it, it's just a joke from the show."

"Oh." She said before she took another sip of the juice. James ate some more of his toast before Fluttershy finally worked up the courage to ask what she'd been meaning to ask for a while.

"Wait, didn't you say I was your favorite?"

James nodded, "Yep."

"Really?" she asked, seeming like she didn't believe him. James nodded.

"Yeah, you were. Do you doubt it?"

"Well I just…I don't know why somepony would think I was more interesting than Rainbow Dash or Twilight or Rarity or anypony else."

James smiled and put his hand onto her hoof reassuringly, "Look, each of you six have bronys that think you're the best. I think you're the best, some people like Twilight the best, and some like Rainbow Dash, it varies."

"Then what is it about me makes me your favorite?"

"Because you're cute, kind, great with animals…" James started, but he stopped when he noticed her blushing and looking down, embarrassed at the praise he was giving her, "…Fluttershy you don't have to be embarrassed about this, these compliments are all true and you deserve them."

She looked up at him with her blue eyes and smiled, "I know, it's just nopony has ever said that about me before and..."

James didn't listen to what she was saying, he was too lost in her eyes, just like Ryan was with Rainbow Dash and Carl was with Twilight.

"James?" Fluttershy asked as she noticed James' lack of attention to what she was talking about.

He shook his head and looked around nervously, "Huh? Sorry, Fluttershy I didn't hear you, I sort of zoned out."

"Oh, that's okay. I was probably just being boring; I'll try to be more exciting when I talk."

"No, Fluttershy you're fine. It was my fault, I was rude and I apologize for it." James said. "So, what were you saying?"

"Nothing, I just said I really appreciate you giving me such compliments." she said with a small blush.

"Don't mention it, you earned them." James said with a smile as he gently rubbed her mane. She looked up at him and smiled.

James looked down at his food and began to eat. Once they were both finished, James looked at his watch.

"Carl should be here soon." James started to stand up and grabbed his dish, "I should clean up."

"Let me help you." Fluttershy offered quickly.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly accept your help."

"But I want to." She said merrily as she clamped her teeth down onto the dish she ate off of and flew it over to the sink.

James had to admit, even if the flight from the table to the sink was only a couple feet, Fluttershy made it look both graceful and majestic. A striking combination that went with her like butter on bread. 

Once there, she gently placed the dish into the tub portion of the sink. She grabbed the blue sponge that was in a small dish at the side of the faucet, covered it in liquid soap, and began to use it to scrub off the dirty dish. She left  the water running from the tap to rinse the leftover crumbs and toast-crust down the drain.

Her hooves were surprisingly dexterous, it was like she actually had fingers on them to grip things.

James was amazed at how polite she was acting, which was incredible since he already knew she was a polite pony. She was the element of kindness after all. 

And, still to his disbelief, so was he.

He brought over the rest of the plates and began to wash them off next to her. Squirting some soap onto a second sponge before scrubbing off his plate and drinking glass.

"I also like you because of my cousin." He muttered.

Fluttershy stopped washing her plate and turned to James. "Your cousin?"

"She's your biggest fan. She's the reason that I got into the show in the first place."

"How old is she?"

"Twelve." He muttered, "Honestly, watching your show is one of the only bright spots in her life."

"Oh my, what's wrong?" she asked with pure worry as her hooves went to her mouth, as one's hand would cover one's mouth when gasping.

"She has…wait, does Equestria have cancer?" Fluttershy shook her head, "You ponies are lucky, it's one of the worst diseases anyone could have, especially a kid as young as her."

"Oh no! How bad is it?"

"Well, if it gets worse, she could…" James shut his eyes and sighed, "…she could die."

Fluttershy's eyes grew to an even bigger size than they were, and that's saying something.

"No! Oh that poor girl! You've got to let me do something for her."

"Fluttershy, you don't need to do anything."

"But I want to. I'd be more than happy to help in any way that I can."

James was about to protest when he stopped and thought for a second. He then turned to her with a small smile, "Actually, there is one thing you can do for her."

Just before he could tell Fluttershy his request, both of them heard the horn of Carl's car as it blared from outside.

James sighed, "But not now, first let's meet the other elements."

Fluttershy nodded and flew off towards the door. James smiled, "Caroline, I hope you like what I'm going to do for you."

James then turned the sink off, dried his hands off on a scot towel, and ran off to Carl and the others. He opened the door and Fluttershy glided out to the car, which was parked right in front of his lawn. He was about to go outside as well, when he stopped, "Shit, my watch."

He ran upstairs and into his room and began to look for his cheap black watch. Patrick had a rolex, lucky bastard always got the most expensive of everything. But as he kept looking, he suddenly began to panic. His watch wasn't anywhere to be seen. Sure it wasn't the most expensive thing in the world, but he still liked it and he was almost completely dependent on it to tell the time without looking at his phone, it was just easier to look on his wrist. 

"Where is it?" he thought as he heard a car horn beep.

"I'LL BE RIGHT DOWN!" he shouted while he continued his search for his precious time-keeper. Suddenly he remembered what he did with it.

"Oh, that's right. Patrick borrowed it for his date Tuesday…and I let him. What's wrong with me, I shouldn't let that douchebag borrow any of my things. Wait, why am I thinking so much when I have people waiting for me? Focus, James, focus." 

He exited his room and ran into Patrick's. Once he got into it, he began to frantically look around. The red and white Stanford posters all over the walls were highly distracting to the frantic teen as he continued to search for the watch. Finally, he found it lying on Patrick's desk.

"Hah! Found you, you bastard." He grabbed it and put it onto his left wrist, clipping it into place. Smiling, he was about to head out when he stopped. Out of the corner of his eye, James saw something in the drawer of Patrick's desk. It looked like a small, zip-lock bag, with something green inside of it.

He opened the drawer and pulled out the bag. Once he saw what was inside, his jaw dropped.

There, in his "perfect" brother's desk, was a bag full of fresh, green cannabis.

"Holy fuck." 

James' eyes were wide with shock; his hand trembling as he held the bag in front of him. He examined it in amazement, squinting at it like it was an ancient relic that had something written on it in some long forgotten language. 

Yet in reality, it was just weed, nothing more, nothing less. And certainly nothing that James hasn't handled or smoked before. In fact, besides thinking about how his brother was the possessor of the drug, James was also thinking about pocketing it and smoking it later.

But he decided against.

Still, James still couldn't believe that his brother of all people would be involved in drugs. He was always the "good" son, the boy that other parents would revere and tell their kids "I want you to be like him when you get older. He's smart, athletic and a good egg, unlike his drunken, hippy brother.". 

Not only was the fact that Patrick had a bag of weed in his room a shock, but James also noticed that this wasn't just a little bit of pot. It was a LOT of pot. 

"JAMES!" Carl shouted from downstairs. James snapped out of his state of being stunned and tossed the bag back into the drawer. He closed the drawer and walked out of Patrick's room, his head still reeling from what he saw.

After all, this wasn't a small amount of weed; this was an amount that could possibly mean that Patrick was a dealer. James wanted to tell his parents so badly, he did, but then he realized two things. First, he was no better with his drug and alcohol use, even though he wouldn't ever deal it. And two, it wouldn't do anything to improve his parent's attitude towards him. They'd find excuses for Patrick and blame James for snooping around his room. Once James reached the bottom step, he hopped down. Carl was just outside the open door with a very annoyed look on his face.

"What's up?" James said as he continued to the car, Carl right behind him, and the brown-haired teen was not going to let his black-haired friend off the hook that easily.

"What took you so long?"

"Sorry, I needed my watch." James said, pointing to his wrist which now had the black demon that caused him to find his brother's drug stash.

"Okay then. We need to get to the mall. It's almost eleven."

"Right." James said in an attempt to hide the shock in his voice. He got into the back seat of the car. Noticing how cramped it was with the five girls, James offered Fluttershy a spot on his lap. She obliged and after Pinkie Pie climbed onto Rarity's lap, without her permission, all five of them could fit in the back.

Carl got into the driver's seat and shut the door. Twilight was in the passenger seat, looking back in annoyance as Rarity scolded Pinkie Pie for sitting on her.  Applejack was also in the back, her face showing irritation from being in the middle seat, squished by the two parties on either side of her. She pulled the brim of her hat down over her ears to try to drown out the argument, but it wasn't working. She could still hear her two friends bickering through the straw material.

"Knock it off you two!" Twilight scolded like an angry mother.

"She started it!" Pinkie Pie said, pointing her hoof at Rarity.

"That’s only because you decided to turn me into your personal armchair!"

"Hey! It's not my fault! You're so soft and squishy and comfortable to sit on. It's like you're made out of a giant...!"

"If you dare say "marshmallow" I'm going to bite you."

"Ah have a headache." Applejack muttered, putting her face into her hooves in annoyance. James and Fluttershy watched from the sidelines, both keeping quiet on the matter. Occasionally, Fluttershy would try to say something, only to be cut off by the continuous fighting between the pink pony and white unicorn.

James, however, had to do everything in his power to keep from breaking out into a fit of laughter. In fact, when they brought up marshmallows, he almost lost it. The only thing saving him was his hand, which covered his mouth to hide the stupid smile that was plastered to it.

"Okay guys we're leaving." Carl said as he started to drive down the road.

But the fighting continued. Applejack's face was turning red in anger while James and Fluttershy were still watching, eyes unblinking. Twilight kept trying to interject, with no success. It would have to take one pissed off pony losing her mind to get their attention.

"Quiet!" Applejack shouted. This got Rarity and Pinkie Pie to stop and look at their friend, who was breathing heavily from her own rage-induced explosion. "Ah can't take this constant bickerin'. I'm already stressed enough about meeting Alex without all this dang hollerin'!"

Both Pinkie Pie and Rarity looked down in shame.

"Sorry AJ." Pinkie Pie said.

"We're sorry darling." Rarity added.

Applejack saw their guilt and all of her rage dissipated, replaced by her own guilt for yelling at them.

"Ah don't worry about it. Ah'm sorry for exploding the way I did."

All three ponies looked at each other and smiled before hugging. Twilight and Fluttershy smiled in satisfaction that their friends were able to make up so easily. Carl and James, however, were just stunned. Arguments never went over that easily in real life, and apologies were never accepted as quickly as Applejack had accepted theirs. Not to mention she blamed herself as well, something hardly anyone in her position would ever think of doing, even if they saw the shame in their friend's eyes.

"Wow, they're forgiving." Carl said under his breath.

"Of course we accept each other’s apologies, we're friends. And forgiveness it's what friendship is all about." Twilight said with a smile before she turned away from Carl to look out the windshield.  

"Well, one of the things anyway." she added with a small laugh.

Carl decided to let the matter drop and focus on the road ahead, both literally and figuratively. 

But then he started to stress out over multiple things. First, he was hoping that Ryan would be safe. Second, he was hoping they would be safe. Then, he hoped that they were meeting the three correct people and wouldn't have to keep going on a wild goose chase to find the other elements. Wilmont might not have been a huge metropolis, but it was still a large city. Not to mention the small towns surrounding the city, including the one that the boys lived in.

Through all this, however, Carl also hoped that his feelings for Twilight would start to disappear before they became a hindrance. 

He didn't know how wrong he was.

Forest behind Ryan's House

Ryan and Rainbow Dash were both taking a stroll through the woods behind Ryan's house. Well, Ryan was "strolling" while Rainbow Dash flew beside him at eye-level. The sun broke through the small gaps in-between the leaves of the surrounding trees. The grass was wet with dew, wetting Ryan's shoes as he continued to walk on. The same birds Ryan heard when he first woke up were still audible, their melody even more beautiful when listening to it outside and up close.

"Come on Ryan, where are we going?" Rainbow Dash asked with a hint of impatience in her voice. Not that Ryan could blame her, she was used to the "fast life", and so anything that took too long without doing anything exciting was sure to bore her.

Ryan pointed up towards a large tree just up ahead. "It's right there."

Rainbow Dash stopped flying when she saw what Ryan was pointing at.  It wasn't just at the tree itself, it was at a large, wooden, aged tree-house perched high up in its canopy.

She put her hooves to her mouth and let out an excited gasp.

"Oh my gosh, is that a tree house?" she asked.

Ryan chucked at her cute gasp. "Yep, go on up I'll be right behind you. I just need to find the ladder so I can climb..."

Rainbow Dash didn't give Ryan a chance to reach the rope ladder that hung from the entrance. She swooped down and put her hooves under Ryan's armpits. With surprising strength, she lifted Ryan off of the ground and brought him into the tree house. She flew though the opening that served as the door and put him down onto the floor of the tree-house. Ryan looked down at her in awe.

She laughed, "Didn't expect me to be that strong, did you?"

Ryan shook his head. She gave a triumphant grin before she started to look around at the old tree house. It was pretty small, much smaller than the one that the CMC had, and much more run-down. In fact, it looked more like the CMC's clubhouse before it was fixed up.

Time had not been kind to it, that much was certain.

Ryan was a little embarrassed at how run-down it looked. Rainbow Dash, however, held the belief that the more run down it was, the more badass it looked. So as she saw all of the cracks in the wooden walls, the plants growing inside and all around the tree-house, her smile grew more and more.

"Wow, this place is so cool." 

"Oh, this is nothing. You should have seen it when it was in its glory days."

Rainbow Dash turned to him and smiled. Ryan knelt down and they began to kiss some, enjoying their time alone with each other. With each moment that their mouths were pressed against each other, Ryan began to feel more and more innocent, as he did the night before. 

He couldn't understand it, but he really didn't want to. All that mattered was that he was with the girl that he loved, and he would never let anything take that away from him. As they continued to kiss, Rainbow Dash caught site of something on the far wall and she broke the kiss.

"Ryan, what's that?" she asked, pointing her hoof to the wall.

He turned to look where she was pointing to see the engraving. He got up and walked over to it. When he got there, his eyes lay on two names that were carved into the wall, This Is the Fort of Ryan and Laurie, all who enter will perish.

His eyes went wide, "No way. I can't believe that this still here."

"Who's Laurie?" Rainbow Dash asked. 

Ryan shut his eyes and swallowed, "He's no one Dashie."

He tried to stand up but she put her hoof onto his shoulder. She could see the pain in his eyes and wanted to address it.

"Can you please tell me?" 

Ryan swallowed nervously and a tear fell from his eye and rolled down his cheek as the pain from his past came back. 

"He…he is a friend of mine...well...was a friend of mine."

"What happened to him?" she asked with her eyes wide. "Did he die?"

"Not physically." Ryan muttered, "but...actually I...I can't talk about this...not with you."

"Why not?"

"I just can't." 

Ryan looked down at the floor of the tree house. Rainbow Dash looked at Ryan and turned his head to hers before looking deep into his eyes, "You can tell me anything. Don't be afraid."

"I just…the story makes me upset to talk about...because it reminds me of when I lost my faith in loy…" he stopped himself from finishing the statement, but Rainbow Dash finished it herself.

"Loyalty?" she asked and Ryan nodded. 

Rainbow Dash wrapped her arms around Ryan and gave him a tight, reassuring bear-hug.  Ryan hugged her back.

"It's okay. I'm here with you now, and won't ever betray you." Rainbow Dash broke the hug and looked right into Ryan's eyes, "I want to hear your story, if you don't mind. I'll be here to comfort you if it becomes too much for you, but I think talking about it could help." 

Ryan smiled, "Thanks Dashie, you're the best friend that I could ask for." Rainbow Dash smiled in return before Ryan continued, "…but I have to warn you, this story is pretty emotional."

Rainbow Dash nodded, "I understand."

Ryan sighed, "Dashie, I'm going to tell you the story behind me…and Lawrence. The jerk you slammed into at the mall yesterday. He wasn't always my tormentor, hell he wasn't always a bully."

Rainbow Dash looked at Ryan with confusion on her face. 

"He was my best friend...Laurie."

> Laurie and the Return to the Mall
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Laurie and the Return to the Mall


Tree House- 2005

The sun was shining brightly down onto the tree house that Rainbow Dash and Ryan were sitting in currently. But this was 2005, years before Ryan even knew who the cyan mare was. 

At this time, there was a ten-year old Ryan sitting in the open doorway, his eyes gazing out over the treetops as the sun began to dip down for the night. He leaned his head against the wooden frame of the tree house's entrance and let out a sigh as his mind began to drift off into the realm of fantasy and improbability. 

Just then, he then felt someone tap him on his shoulder, causing him to turn around. Standing behind him was a younger and much thinner Lawrence standing behind him. He looked nothing like he did today. His eyes were bright and innocent; his stature was thin and frailer. He didn't look like he could ever hurt a fly, much less his best friend. There was no flicker in his eyes to indicate the jerk he becomes in the future.

"Hey man, what are you doing?" Lawrence, or Laurie, as he called himself back then, asked Ryan. 

Ryan, his best friend at age ten and his victim at age seventeen.

"Oh, nothing man. I was just looking out at the sunset." Ryan said in a distant manner, like his mind was miles and miles away.

Laurie chuckled at his friend's odd behavior. Not that it surprised him, after all Ryan was always like that.

"Dude, that's so gay."

"Whatever, I think it's amazing, like a little slice of fantasy that somehow we've been blessed with in real life."

Laurie shrugs, "Whatever you say Ryan…hey, watch this!" Laurie hacked and spat a giant glob of saliva out of the tree-house door. Laurie grinned as he watched his loogie land onto the ground with a nice, quiet “splat".

Ryan looked back at him in disgust. "Dude, that's gross."

Laurie laughed and shook his head, "Man, you need to start doing some more dude things and stop admiring the sunset like a chick."

"I can't help it; I'm a romantic like that." Ryan muttered. Laurie sat next to him. "I'm always looking for something more."

"What more is there Ryan? You're parents are rich. You can get so many cool things."

"I'm always looking for something special that isn't possible in this reality. I always dream about things I read about or watch on television, characters that don't exist in this world and go on adventures. When I wake up it all fades and I'm have the realization that I am stuck in the confines of reality. I wish life could be more exciting."

Laurie broke out into laugher, "I don't understand you sometimes, man. You are so bizarre."

"You wouldn't understand."

"And stop using that fancy vocab; we aren't in English class you can talk like a ten year old."

The two laughed and walked back into the tree house, where they fist-bumped.

"Bros for life?" Laurie asked.

"Bros for life." Ryan responded with a chuckle. Laurie smiled and walked out of the open door of the tree house and got onto the ladder to climb down, "I'll talk to you later, man!"

He climbed down and left Ryan watching as he disappeared. Ryan then stood up, turned, and walked over to one of the tree house's windows and looked out at the sun as it dipped behind the clouds.

PRESENT- Ryan's Tree House 

"Ha-ha, you seriously got grossed out because Laurie spit?" Rainbow Dash said. Her hooves were firmly pressed into her stomach to contain her laughter, "and you have a crush on me out of everypony? Clearly you haven't seen what Applejack and I do when we make a bet."

"Oh no, I have." Ryan said with a smile, "You spit into your hoof and do…well; to us it would either be a fist-bump or hand-shake, for you it's a brohoof or something?"

"Yeah." Rainbow Dash nodded to confirm the saying, "But it didn't gross you out when I did it?" 

"No when you did it, it was cute." Rainbow Dash blushed and gave Ryan a sheepish smile. 

Happy to stroke Rainbow Dash's massive ego, Ryan continued, "Besides, I like you because I'm into badass girls who aren't cookie-cutter stereotypes of "shopping" this, and "sparkly vampires" that, and prefer rock music and getting their hands, or hooves in your case, dirty."

"So then you must've loved how we placed our bets."

Ryan nodded and both of them shared in a hardy chuckle before Rainbow Dash got them both back on topic.

"So what happened between you and Laurie?"

Ryan sighed and looked at her, "It was a few months later, the week before school started. His parents learned that I was the son of two wealthy parents that lived in Leigh Heights, which is our neighborhood, the richest in town. Needless to say a big union man like him wasn't happy about it."

Laurie's House- 2005

Laurie was sitting at his dining room table with his father and mother. His mother was drinking some steaming-hot coffee, while his father sat next to him. He wore a white t-shirt that was caked in mud and dust from the construction site that he worked at, and a pair of torn-up jeans that were just as dirty.

"I told you to stay out of Leigh Heights Lawrence! That's where the rich bastards live, and I told you that you aren't ever to speak to them."

"But-" Laurie started, but he was cut off by his father hand, raised to silence his boy who not only shut up, but flinched at the gesture.

"You are never to ever go to that boy's house ever again; unless you plan on teaching him a thing of two about the shit that we working class people go through each time people like his parents fire us." He leaned towards Laurie with anger in his eyes, "As long as he's rich and we're beneath them, you stay away. Got it?"

Laurie opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he saw the unyielding resilience in his father's eyes. He somberly looked down at the ground, "Got it."

"To them, all of the rich people in town were evil and I was nothing more than their spawn It didn't matter if most of the wealthier individuals weren't bad, all it takes is a few and the entire group is chastised." 

Present Day- Tree House 

"What kind of thinking is that?" Rainbow Dash asked confused. "Hating a group of people just because of a few bad seeds?"

"Welcome to humanity Dashie." Ryan laughed a bit before he continued, "That thinking is what we learn in the media. There are evil rich people that exit, no question, like Bernie Madoff and many douchebags on Wall-Street. Even animated shows always have the rich portrayed as jerks who only care about money. Because the media hardly ever shows rich people in a positive light unless it fits their agenda, people think all rich people are heartless bastards who step on the lower and middle class. To make matters worse, Lawrence's Dad was one of the hundreds laid off by the local soda factory the year before, which is why he was working at a construction site at the time. After he got fired, he detested the rich so much that if your salary was a penny higher than his, you were a greedy ass-hole that needed to be taken down a notch."

Rainbow Dash stared at Ryan in disbelief. She wasn't used to such generalizations being present in Equestria. After all, for every Prince Blueblood and snobby rich pony, there was a Fancy Pants to balance the scales. Most ponies knew this and didn't lump them all in the same group. Same things went for ponies from Manehatten and ponies and creatures of different backgrounds as well. 

Well, except Zecora, but they learned their lesson on that.

"Dashie?" Ryan asked, noticing how she had zoned out on him.

"Huh? Oh sorry." Rainbow Dash blushed, “So he told Laurie to stop seeing you?"

Ryan nodded.

First Day of School- 2005

Ryan was at his locker, pushing up on the latch to try and get it open, but it wouldn't budge.

"Stupid piece of garbage locker." Ryan thought as he pushed up harder and harder. After a few pushes and punches, Ryan finally got the locker open. Ryan sighed in relief and began to put his school-books into his bag. Suddenly, he saw Laurie walking by him. Ryan waved, but Lawrence just looked at him and then looked away with sadness in his eyes before he continued down the hall. 

"I thought maybe he was just in a bad mood, but every time I tried to speak with him that week, he ignored me. Finally, the next Monday, I confronted him at his locker."

At the end of the day, Laurie was at his locker putting his books away when Ryan decided to confront him. 

Laurie slammed it shut it and turned to leave when he saw that Ryan was in his way, looking at him with inquisitive eyes.

"Laurie, why aren't you talking to me?"

Laurie looked away and tried to get by, but Ryan stopped him, "Laurie stop."

"My Dad doesn't want me to talk to you anymore."

"What?" Ryan asked somewhat taken aback, "but...why?"

"Because your parents are rich and my parents hate the rich." Laurie looked up at Ryan with the same hurt in his eyes he had the previous morning.

Ryan was frozen in place, shocked at what his best friend was telling him.

"Laurie, come on, you can't honestly believe that."

"Ryan I still want to be friends." Lawrence said with desperation.

"Great, then, let's be friends."

Laurie smiled and nodded enthusiastically, "Okay! Just tell your parents to stop making so much money and it'll work out!"

Ryan was smiling up to this point. Suddenly, his expression fell. "Y-you want me to tell my parents to make less money?"

"Yeah, they make more than enough. Do they really need all of that money? I mean, you're their only son."

"Laurie, they earned their money," Ryan muttered, "I know that your father has bad experiences with rich business owners, but I'm not going to tell my parents to make less money because it upsets your parents."

"Why not?"

"Because it's ridiculous." Ryan snapped back, a hint of defensiveness in his voice, “I mean...I can't believe you'd even suggest such a thing. Besides, it's not like they'd agree to make less just because I told them to. I don't have that kind of power over them."

"I get it," Laurie said with a touch of rising anger in his voice, "You'd rather have the chance to get a BMW when you get your license. Or stay in that mansion of a house that makes mine look like a shack than be my friend."

"Laurie, I still want to be your friend! It just isn't right of you to ask my parents to earn less just to please your father."

"You disappointed me Ryan." Laurie coldly stated as some tears began to run down his cheeks, "You've let the rich claim you."

"Laurie, where are you getting this anti-rich crap from? I've been rich for the longest time and it never bothered you before. Did your father brainwash you over the past week or something?"

"No he enlightened me," Laurie hissed, pointing a finger at Ryan, "and everything that he's told me has shown that all the rich care about is money. They don't care about the people they hurt, and you've proven that. You're no different than the rest of them; you care more about money than your own best friend!"

Ryan slowly started to shake his head in disbelief, his eyes wide in horror like he was talking to a mental patient. , and looking into Laurie's eyes, that assumption wouldn't be too far off.

"Laurie, you've lost your mind."

Laurie grabbed Ryan by the shirt and shoved him into the wall of lockers, drawing people's attention to them. Ryan was frightened out of his mind, his body shaking and his eyes still like dinner plates. Laurie lowered him and released his collar. He stared him down with pure hatred. The glimmer of the boy he once was slowly slipping from his eyes as he went from being sweet, innocent Laurie, to being bully Lawrence.

"Watch your back you spoiled rich prick." He growled before storming off. 

Ryan was left shaking as he slipped to the ground, tears pouring down his cheeks. He turned and walked off, every now and then doing a double-back to see if Lawrence was still there. But he wasn't, he had gone to class and their friendship was over.

"At that moment, I knew the "bros for life" saying we had was no longer valid, society made sure of that." 

Present Day- Tree House 

"Then how did he become your bully?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Ryan looked down and back up at Rainbow Dash, who had the most concerned look in her eyes, "God I love her so much." He thought before snapping out of it and getting back on-topic.

"Throughout that year he began to adopt more and more of his parent's beliefs. Soon he hated the rich so much that joined one of Wilmont's many anarchist gangs. This led to me being one of his targets, as well as some of the other wealthy kids at school...and just other kids in general. Heck, he even picks on Carl and James."

"Wow, I can't believe that much envy exists here." Rainbow Dash said in shock.

"Welcome to our world." Ryan said with a small smile before walking over to the window to look at the sun. He sat down much like he did seven years ago to watch the birds flying high above the sky. Rainbow Dash took a seat next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"I actually had mixed feelings towards the show; your show"

Rainbow Dash looked up at Ryan with some sadness, "But…but I thought you liked it."

Ryan saw her sad eyes and quickly reiterated. 

"Oh no, don't get me wrong I loved the show, it was so relaxing and fun and managed to get my mind off of things when I needed to." Ryan said before letting out a deep sigh. He reached over and began to stroke her mane.

"But every time I watched it, I got depressed. I would see you and your friends on my computer screen and, I'd be mad that you weren't real, especially you, Dashie. That you were just products of an artist's imagination, and…I thought you existing would never be possible. You represented loyalty, and, seeing how faithful you are to your friends made me wish that your kind of loyalty would exist here, even though I felt like it was impossible after Lawrence turned against me. " Ryan said as he continued to watch the trees outside as some wind gusts blew by, holding back as many tears as he could. Rainbow Dash leaned back into Ryan, nuzzling her head into Ryan's shoulder.

"Well, now you have me, and I'll always be here for you." She said with a smile and Ryan looked back down at her. 

He wiped away a tear at that and smiled before letting out a small, but happy, sigh. "Ï know you will be Dashie."

Mall- Day 

"Come on, where are they?" Alex groaned as he let his head flop onto the table. 

He and Louis were waiting in the mall food court for the others to arrive.

Alex lifted his head. He picked up the shiny metal napkin dispenser to see his reflection. Red cuts and black and blue bruises littered his face from the beating he got the night before. He let out a sigh, tenderly touching one of the bruises on his cheek. He gently pressed in. It didn't take much pressure for pain to shoot through his face. He immediately flinched and drew his hand back and grimaces as the pain slowly subsided.

Louis, meanwhile, was wearing his backwards cap, his eyes were slits, red and glazed over, and his long, messy hair sticking out every-which way. And, as one might expect, he smoked a nice, fat blunt before arriving at the mall. Now, he was as stoned as a hippy at Woodstock. 

Louis slowly looked at Alex, his face showing some paranoia, as well as confusion.

"Dude...are you an alien?" Louis asked in a voice not much different from most stoners.

Alex slowly turned his head towards Louis. He placed the napkin dispenser back down onto the table and looked at the stoner teen.

"Um…I'm sorry, what?"

"Like, you look like an alien, man. Are…are ya gonna probe me, because…because that would hurt…and I don't swing that way." 

Alex paused a moment to let what Louis said sink in.

"How high are you?" 

"Like a fucking plane." Louis said with a laugh.

Alex nodded before he slowly turned away, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Great, now I'm stuck with the fucking stereotypical stoner. Great, just great. James and Carl better have a good reason for dragging me out here like this. Ah mean, Jesus Christ…..why did I just think with my southern accent? Stop it Alex, you're in New York now, not Texas and…"

"ÄLEX!"

Alex snapped out of his deep thinking and looked up to see Carl, James and four of the "girls" from yesterday, Raquel, Tara, Penelope, some girl with pink hair and timid, teal eyes and…

"...Anna." Alex thought dreamily.

Alex began to blush as he laid eyes the pretty southern belle with the cowboy hat standing before him. His stomach suddenly started to feel like it was doing flips. "Anna" smiled at him and walked over to the seat next to him and pointed at it.

"Is this here seat taken?" Applejack asked with an honest smile that only made Alex blush more.

"N-no, go right ahead." 

"Thank ya kindly partner." She sat down next to him.

"Anytime...Anna." Alex said with a smile and tone that indicated he met the girl of his wildest fantasies.

"Hey! Why isn't Pete here?" Penelope, or Pinkie Pie, asked with a pout.

"He's probably running late, wait, not all of us can sit at this table." James said, realizing that the table could only sit four people, six at most if two other chairs were brought over from another table.

"James, you can take Flu…er…I mean Thelma, and Penelope over to that table. Me, Raquel, Tara and Anna will sit here.

James nodded walked over to a nearby table with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who still looked upset.

"Why is your fake name Thelma?" he whispered to Fluttershy as she managed to get into the seat, sitting like a pony would, excluding Lyra.

"I'm not sure, Ryan gave me that name. And he gave Rainbow Dash the name "Louise"."

James laughed as he started to take his seat, "I thought he did ha-ha, Ryan and his movie obsession." 

"I wish Pete was here." Pinkie said before slouching in her chair with a saddened face.

"Pinkie, don't worry. He'll show up, just give him time."

Pinkie perked up at this and sat back up in her chair with a small smile.

"Okay James."

"Great, listen I'll go get some salads for us. I'll be right back." James got up and left.

Later on, back at the table with Alex, Carl, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack and Louis, the group was talking and eating some salad they also had gotten. And it was clear to Carl that there were some problems.

First off, Alex and Applejack were flirting with each other in the most obvious ways imaginable. Alex began to talk about how he remembered living on a farm in Texas until he was eleven, when he moved up to New York. He also brought up how he forced himself to lose the accent. Applejack told him she wasn't happy about that. She wished that he had kept his accent so she could hear it and could sound the same. Applejack also wanted him to talk to her about his life in the country, as she was enjoying how much they were alike and both from life farm-life. So Alex started talking about the three staples to his life in Texas: apples, hard work, and the Dallas Cowboys.

He was sure to leave out their quarterback who was known to choke.

Now, the opposite scenario was happening with Rarity and Louis, as his ganja-induced behavior made Rarity's lunch a living hell.

"You know, you sort of look like a girl I banged once."

Rarity's mouth hung open in shock. "I...I beg your pardon!" 

"Yeah, she had the same slutty lips as you. Maybe you can use 'em the same way?" Louis gave Rarity a suggestive wink and smile, which only made the unicorn more disgusted.

"Well, I've never seen such boorish and crude behavior from anypony before!"

Alex looked over at Rarity with confusion, "Did you just say "anypony"?" 

Rarity's eyes went wide as she realized her mistake.

"Oh, n-no, no, no! Of course not! I said anybody. Anypony? Ha, that's ridiculous." She corrected frantically. Alex nodded in some skepticism before turning his attention back to Applejack.

Twilight decided that it was time to check the two boys out to see if they were the elements that they were looking for. So she first walked over to Alex, who was back to flirting with Applejack.

"Hey Alex, would you mind holding still for a minute?" Twilight asked.

"Huh?" Alex said, too entranced by Applejack's eyes that he didn't hear her. "Yeah, sure Tara, what is it?"

Twilight leaned her head forward and closed her eyes. But just before she could touch Alex's chest, a scowling and protective Applejack pushed her away.

"Uh, Tara, what do ya think yer doin'?"

Twilight glared up at Applejack with a bit of resentment for preventing her from doing her job.

"I'm trying to see if Alex here is important for our cause, Anna." Twilight hissed through her teeth.

Applejack glared at Twilight with an "I'm watching you" look before she leaned back against her chair, not taking her eyes off of Twilight. 

Twilight rolled her eyes and put her forehead/horn, against Alex's chest.

"Tara um…..okay?"

Twilight backed up, turned to Applejack with a smile, and gave her an approving nod. After Twilight made her way over to Louis, Applejack grinned and leaned towards Alex who put his arm around her and gave her a kind smile with a flirtatious look.

Applejack then started to eat some of her salad.

Now Carl was concerned, "Jesus Christ, what's going on? I mean, first Ryan, now Alex? Not to mention me." Carl's eyes widened at that thought and shook his head, "No, don't think like that. You don't have a thing for Twilight, you don't." 

Now, after Twilight lifted her head away from Louis, who was so out of it at this point that he didn't budge, even with Twilight's head pressed up against his chest. He actually smiled a bit, enjoying the feeling of a girl so close to him and...erm...a certain part of the male anatomy. Twilight lifted her head away from the perverted stoner and turned to Rarity. She sighed and shook her head. 

Not too surprisingly, Rarity's eyes glowed and she gasped, "Oh thank you Celestia." Before slumping back into the chair with a sigh, her forelegs, or arms to Louis and Alex, outreached over the sides as if she was resting after she had just run a marathon. She was just so happy not to be paired with this loser.

"Raquel, are you all right you seem…" Alex started when he heard someone burp next to him. He turned to see Applejack covering her mouth and blushing like mad. Normally she wouldn't really care, after all she never was the "girly-girl" type, but because she burped in front of Alex, who she was trying to impress and flirt with, she was mortified.

Twilight smacked her hoof to her head just next to her horn, and thought, "Ugh, really Applejack?" 

Carl's mouth hung open and Louis began to laugh like he'd just come out of a room full of nitrous oxide…or he was stoned out of his mind, which was the truth.

"Anna, how rude!" Rarity said.

"Ah…ah'm sorry." She said, looking away from Alex. She pulled her hat down over her eyes to avoid looking at him, her face turning so red that her blush was visible through her orange fur. She knew that he was probably grossed out by her now and she blew her chance to be with him.

But to her surprise Alex, who was never the passive type, pushed her hat up away from her eyes and smiled at her, "You don't have to be embarrassed Anna; I actually like gals that aren't always so focused on being "proper"." He said with a smile, and Applejack looked away to hide her blush.

Carl stared in shock at Alex. "Okay, we human elements are a bizarre group of individuals; that much is clear." 

"Gee, thank ya Alex." Applejack said, looking up at him with a thankful smile.

"You know," Alex said leaning back, "you remind me of someone."

"Really, who?"

Alex looked from side to side before leaning in to whisper, but loud enough that Twilight was able to hear, "What do the names Flim and Flam mean to you?"

Applejack ground here teeth, "Ah hate those good fer nothing…."

Her eyes widened and her hoof covered her mouth, realizing what she just said. 

When she saw Alex's cocky smile, she knew, against all odds and reason, he had found out who she really was.

"You're name isn't really Anna, is it?" he asked her quietly.

Applejack sighed and shook her head.

"I think we need to talk." Alex whispered, standing up and turning to the others, "will you guys and gals excuse us, me and Anna need to have a quick word in private."

Applejack sighed and followed Alex towards the carousel. Carl watched them go and turned to Twilight, "What was that all about?"

Twilight looked down and sighed, "Your friend is too smart for my spell."

Once Alex and Applejack were behind the carousel near the entrance of the mall, Alex looked down at her. 

"You know Applejack, I probably shouldn't have found out who you really were, considering how this shouldn't be in the realm of possibility."

"How did ya know?" Applejack asked.

"Well you act just like you do in the show, and I knew you couldn’t be role playing because you would have introduced yourself as Applejack without fear." Alex said before sighing, "Also I knew you couldn't be insane because your other three friends clearly look like humanized versions of Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie."

"Fine, ya got us all, me and mah big mouth." Applejack said, defeated before her eyes shot open, "Wait, what do ya mean ah act like ah do in the show?"

Alex smiled, "Because even as a human, you have the same kind, strong-willed, honest personality, not to mention you have the same beautiful green eyes, same honest and kind smile, and same pretty face."

Alex pushed some of her mane away to get a better view of her humanized eyes, which the illusion still made him see, though they were the same old animated pony eyes they always had been.

Applejack blushed and smiled, "Aw yer too kind Alex."

"So why you're here, and why you're a human."

"First off, ah ain't human, I'm just projected as one in yer mind. Second, it's a long story."

Alex smiled back at her before he kissed her. Unlike everyone else, even Ryan, Alex didn't really have any problems in falling for Applejack, regardless if she was a cartoon pony or not, and regardless of what others thought about him for doing so. It was just a part of his “I don’t give a shit what other people think of me” personality.

Alex broke the kiss and looked down at Applejack with a smile.

"I have time to listen." 

Applejack blushed and giggled a little, “Still into me even though y’all know ah’m a pony huh?”

Alex shook his head and leaned in for another kiss. This time, Applejack didn’t just take it passively, she returned in and soon the two of them were making out behind the carousel that, to most people, just looked like two teens kissing in public, nothing out of the ordinary to anyone unfamiliar with the truth. 

He broke it again, "I'm actually even more into you now that I know you're really the element of honesty, AJ. It doesn't matter that you're a cartoon pony, you're still very sweet, kind, hard-working, and beautiful."

Applejack smiled at him and hugged Alex back. They held onto each other for a little while before they began to make out some more.

Meanwhile, back with the others, things continued to go south. Rarity was on the verge of stabbing Louis in the face with the plastic fork she had eaten her salad with as he continued to make sexual jokes about her. Both Twilight and Carl had a serious case of face-to-hand syndrome. And Pinkie Pie was still looking around anxiously for Pete to arrive.

The only ones who were doing fine at the tables were Fluttershy and James, who were now talking about Fluttershy's work with animals, which James had a great interest in.

"So what type of animal is your favorite?"

"Oh my, I couldn't tell you. They're all just so wonderful." she said with a big smile as her eyes looked off as she imaged all of the little and big animals that she took care of.

"Just pick one then."

"Well, I guess that would be bunnies. They're just so cute and fluffy."

James chuckled a bit, "Like Angel?"

Fluttershy stopped, noticing the sarcasm in James voice, before she gave him a small shrug. 'He's not always grumpy; sometimes he can be great He's very loyal and protective of me."

James nodded, remembering how even though Angel seemed like a jerk, there were moments when it was clear that he was protective and caring about Fluttershy, especially when he helped her train to up her wind speed for the tornado in "Hurricane Fluttershy". 

She ate some more of her salad with her mouth which, again, looked like she was using a fork to eat from other people's point of view.

"Oh hey it's Petey Weetie Bo Beetie!" Pinkie exclaimed, pointing her hoof towards the entrance of the mall.

James choked on his salad as he tried to repress laughter from Pinkie's odd rhyme.

Pete saw Pinkie and game a grave smile and walked over to her. She ran over and almost knocked him over as she gave him a big hug. Pete's eyes were wide and he froze in fear. He shook a little bit, not used to this showing of affection from anyone, let alone a girl he somewhat liked.

Pinkie broke the hug and giggled, "What took you so long? I was worried that you wouldn't show up! But, you're here now so I'm happy!"

"Sorry, I was…busy." Pete muttered quietly as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. Pinkie smiled back at him. Once Pete saw this, he couldn't help but smile right back at her. Even though he was still clearly taken aback by her excited nature that was the complete opposite of his own quiet nature, she succeeded in making him feel comfortable around her.

"Oh, okay! Hey, come on lets go back to the table!" she said before she grabbed the timid boy's hand and literally dragged him over to the table. Once there, Pinkie pulled his seat out so he could sit down. Once in his seat, he put his hands onto the table and looked down at them. James and Fluttershy, who were right across from him, looked at each other, unsure how to speak to the boy. As he was the more outgoing of the two, James took matters into his own hands and turned to Pete.

"So Pete, I'm glad to see you could make it." James said.

Pete didn't answer immediately, but after a few seconds he managed to whisper out, "Thanks for inviting me...I really appreciate it."

James smiled and patted Pete on the back, which made him flinch a bit.

"Wow, he's like Fluttershy. How in the world did he and Pinkie get paired up?" 

Pinkie took the seat next to him and stared at him with a huge grin.

"So Jamesie-wamsie, how old are you?"

"Um…seventeen." He muttered.

"Hey, is something wrong? You know, when I'm upset about something, I bake! Or sing! Or, well, a lot of things, really! It all depends on what I feel like or what I can do!"

"Penelope, um, maybe you shouldn't…." Fluttershy began, but Pinkie didn't hear her warning as she continued to blab non-stop in typical Pinkie Pie fashion.

Surprisingly enough, her ramblings actually seemed to be making Pete smile and feel better about being around these kids that he didn't know. He looked up into her eyes, which was rare for him to do because of his shyness, and smiled at her. James sighed in relief and decided to just let the conversation go. After all, it was only helping Pete out.

"Where are you from?" Pete finally got the courage to ask.

"Oh I'm from Ponyville!"

James, who was drinking some soda at the time, went wide-eyed and gagged. He started to choke on the drink, only stopping after he pounded his chest a couple of times. Fluttershy seemed to lean back and hide behind her mane at Pinkie's dumb mistake.

Now, Pete looked at her skeptically, "Ponyville? Where's that?"

"Well, it's actually on another world called Equestria!"

Pete's face was frozen, his eyes wide open and his mouth agape.  He then looked around the table, at the nervous looking James, the shy Fluttershy, and the still peppy Pinkie Pie. 

He looked at Pinkie Pie and shook his head, "Why are you doing this to me?"

Pinkie was still smiling up until now. Once the words left Pete's mouth, her smile dropped and she gave him a confused look.

Pete then turned to James. "Is this why you all called me out here? Because you found out I'm a brony and wanted to mock me?"

James, who was still pounding his chest after the choking incident, cleared his throat and looked up at Pete. 

He shook his head, "Pete no of course not…."

"The beatings and verbal harassment I get at school aren't enough? I can't enjoy a show that lets me escape from it all? Who the hell do you think you are?" Pete said on the verge of tears.

"Pete it isn't like..." James began.

"Go to hell, all of you." Pete hissed as he stood up and stormed towards the entrance of mall.

"Pete, wait!" Pinkie shot up and ran after him.

"God-damn it, come on Fluttershy." James stood up and followed them towards the exit with Fluttershy right on his heels.

Pete and Pinkie were already outside and James was about to be as well when out of the corner of his eye he saw Alex and Applejack making out near the carousel. He stopped, turned and stared at them in astonishment.

"Um…Alex? Anna?"

Alex looked up at James and smiled, breaking the kiss for a second, "'Sup man?"

"Howdy sugarcubes." Applejack said with a tip of her hat. She then turned back to Alex and continued to passionately kiss him.

James didn't know what to say, he was too confused by everything that was happening. He then felt a hoof tap him on the shoulder and saw Fluttershy pointing outside, "Um, I hope I'm not interrupting but shouldn't we go outside?"

James nodded and went out. Alex saw this and brought it to Applejack's attention.

"Should we go too?"

"Ah think so." She said as they, too, began to head out.

Back at the table, Carl and the others saw what was going on with Pinkie and Pete.

"That's not good." Carl said, "Come on, let's go after them."

They began to leave, but just as Rarity was about to go, she felt someone tug at her "shirt", which was really her well-styled tail, and she yelped in pain. She turned around to see Louis looking her up and down. Once his eyes met hers, he winked, "So...you're place or mine?"

"What!?!" Rarity growled.

"I have to ask you, could you help me up? Because I literally can't move right now." He broke out into laughter because, well, he was stoned.

Rarity scowled, walked over to Louis. She leaned forward and put her hooves onto Louis' thighs so she was mere inches away from his face. 

"Listen here bud; do you honestly think that you will win your way to a girl's heart with this behavior?"

"No, just her pants, or skirt, depending on what she's wearing." Louis said with a dumbass stoner smile.

Rarity couldn't hold it in anymore and she began her rant, "You are without a doubt the single rudest person that I have ever met, and I once met a prince who placed part of my lovely dress into a puddle just so he wouldn't get wet when he walked over it. Now, here you are in your ghastly attire and your brash and uncouth attitude and an undeserved feeling of superiority. You see women as nothing more than something to take advantage of; well I see you as a loafer that does nothing but sit on his flank all day laughing at his own jokes. So let me make this perfectly clear to you now so when another girl tells you the same it will not be a shock. You are an utter and complete jerk, and you need to re-think your life if you ever plan on attaining success and love. Until then, good day to you sir."

With that, Rarity turned in her typical huff and stormed off after the others. She left Louis in his chair laughing his ass off, too stoned to even know what she was talking about.

Outside, Pete was walking off in no particular direction, as his parents had dropped him off and went to go grab some lunch before they were going to pick him back up.

"Petey, stop! Don't leave." He heard Pinkie shout behind him. He stopped and turned to see her, and the others, walking towards him.

"Listen, just…please; leave me alone." He said, holding his hand out in desperation.

"Petey, I didn't mean to upset you. I just meant to answer your question, that's all."

"With a response that was clearly to mock me." Pete muttered, kicking a stray rock that was on the parking lot.

"No it wasn't." Pinkie said sadly, her mane flattened a little bit. This caught Pete's attention. Even with the spell, Pete saw “Penelope’s” hair flatten out.

"How…how did you do that?" he asked, shocked.

"Do what?" she asked sadly.

"Your hair it…got flatter." Pete said nervously.

"Pete!"

He looked past Pinkie to see everyone else there now.

"Pete, listen. We aren't trying to mock you or anything; we just really need your help." Carl said.

"What's going on?" he asked shakily.

Carl turned to Twilight and pointed to Pete, "Do your thing Twi."

Twilight nodded and walked over to Pete, who took a sudden step back. He looked like a frightened animal being backed into a corner by a predator.

"Hey, Pete, come on it's okay."

Pete slowly stood back up and let her put her forehead to his chest. He didn't move and decided to let her get whatever she had to do to him over with quickly. 

She backed away and gave Pete a warm smile. She then closed her eyes and a purple aura shone from her forehead as slowly, Pete and Alex began to see what the girls really had looked like the entire time as the spell she had cast on everybody was now gone, Fortunately, though, no one else was around to see it, as everyone was too bust focused on getting into the mall to see five cartoon ponies in their midst.

Pete's jaw dropped as he looked down at "Penelope", who was now clearly the pink mare known as Pinkie Pie.

"P-Pinkie Pie?"" Pete stammered as the pink mare nodded with a big smile, her mane puffing back up in joy. He started to feel like he was going to faint so he sat down on the pavement of the parking lot, leaning against a sedan, and put his head into his hands. "This…this is impossible."

"No, it's possible all right!" Pinkie Pie bounced over to him, "and you're the Element of Laughter! Well, for Earth anyways! I'm still the Element of Laughter for Equestria!"

Pete continued to shake his head in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Alex looked at Applejack, who was looking back up at him.

"It's amazing you…you look exactly like you do in the show. You look animated, like this dimension did nothing to alter your appearance," Alex said with a chuckle, "you're like something out of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"." 

Applejack gave Alex a small smirk of her own and got up on her hind legs and kissed Alex on the lips.

Carl and James saw this and looked at each other with pure confusion.

"Um Alex…what are you doing?" Carl asked.

"Just kissing the most beautiful mare ah know." He said with a little southern accent. He gave Applejack a small wink. 

"Aw Alex, yer makin' me blush." Applejack said with a giggle.

James was stunned for a moment before he just nodded, "Okay, we've officially gone nuts. If you excuse us, Fluttershy and I have something sane to do."

James walked off, Fluttershy flying right behind him, both forgetting that James didn't have a car.

Meanwhile, Carl was still looking at Alex and let out a sigh.

"Awwww…that's sweet, isn't it?" Twilight said as she watched Alex and Applejack kissing as if they'd known each other for longer than an hour. Well, technically, Alex did. But this wasn't anything new to him; after all he did kiss girls on the first date, including blind dates. But the fact that he was kissing his favorite pony made it that much more enjoyable.

Carl shook his head, "I don't get it, why is Alex kissing Applejack?"

"Probably because they like each other?" Twilight said with a light-hearted chuckle in her voice, "besides, I know you have some of those feelings for me."

Carl shook his head in disbelief, his denial starting to crank up to full speed, "What?"

"You heard me."

James and Fluttershy walked back over to the group, "Hey Carl, sorry to bother you but I just had a senior moment and remembered that I don't have a car. Could you give me a lift to where I and Fluttershy need to be?"

Carl didn't acknowledge him. He just kept staring down at Twilight.

"So you're insinuating that I have a thing for you?" Carl asked, voice getting shaky, which revealed his anxiety.

"I'm not insinuating that you have a thing for me. I know you have a thing for me." She said with a teasing smile.

But Carl was now overly concerned about being found out, his cheeks burning a bright red and his heart racing as he started to panic. So then he said something that he would immediately regret. 

"No I don't because unlike Ryan and Alex, I don't have a thing for cartoon animals. I don't find you attractive."

Twilight's smile faded. She looked at Carl with sad eyes. 

"You…you don't find me...attractive?" she looked like she was going to cry. Carl didn't want to see this and feigned a lack of interest by turning and walking in a huff back towards his car.

Everyone watched him go. Everyone, that is, except Pinkie Pie, as she tried to calm Pete down, which was actually working quite well.

"What was that all about?" Rarity asked.

Twilight just looked at the ground and sighed, "It's nothing Rarity."

"Ya, it's nothin' if Carl actin' like a jerk don't count." Applejack spat.

"Wait here AJ." Alex turned and jogged off after Carl with James right on his heels. He was freaked out by Alex's behavior but at the same time he could never say anything like that to Fluttershy.

How Carl managed to fit the five girls, as well as him and James, in his father's Caprice, he'd never know. God bless cartoon physics.

When they reached Carl, they saw him leaning against the side of his car.

"Dude, what the hell's your problem?" Alex hissed.

"I don't want to talk about it." He muttered sadly. "I don't…"

"Well look, you really hurt Twilight's feelings back there, I think you should go apologize."

Carl looked up at them, his face once again defensive. 

"I'm sorry, I need to apologize? She's the one making accusations against me! Saying I like her with no proof, and she gets mad when I'm honest with her?"

"Yeah, you're being honest, right." James muttered in sarcasm, for even he could see the love in his eyes when he was with Twilight.

"She just was making a point because you dissed me and Applejack kissing." Alex spat, "and yeah, I do like Applejack, a lot. I know that's hard for someone like you to understand when you're life hasn't been all hurt and pain, but I love her, and I have for a long time."

"What do you call what happened to my father then?" he hissed.

"That was five years ago Carl," Alex said flatly, "And yes I know it is sad and I do understand that you miss him still. But you still have a loving mother, you almost never get picked on, you have your health, and your family is economically stable."

Alex was so angry he didn't notice Applejack sneak up behind him, looking at him with concern in her eyes. "I have an alcoholic step-father that beats me and my mother on a daily basis. Don't you ever wonder why I have these bruises on my face?" he asked, pointing to some of the red marks and older scars on his face from all of the drunken beatings he got. 

"Alex, I…" Carl started, but he was cut off as Alex continued.

"And Ryan? Try being him! Sure his parents love him and he's well off as far as money goes, but does all of that matter when you get the shit kicked out of you every day to the point where no girl would date you! Not to mention I never see you step up to defend him! You have no right to judge us for how we feel towards these girls."

"Wait, Ryan told you about his crush Rainbow Dash?" Carl asked.

"Ryan has a crush on Rainbow Dash?" James asked, finally getting into the conversation after being a silent listener up until this point.

"Yes, Ryan told me all of the time how much he loved Rainbow Dash because he knew that if she was real, she would always be there for him. And if she loved him, she'd be more loyal to him than any other girl. And after what happened between him and Lawrence, it makes complete sense why loyalty is so important to him."

"Ryan didn't tell me any of that until the yesterday." Carl said.

"That's because he felt like I was the only completely trustworthy person around. Besides, I wasn't afraid to tell him about my crush on Applejack." 

Applejack looked at Alex in shock, and then smiled, taking comfort in the fact that he, like Ryan, had a crush on her even before meeting her. 

Alex continued his rant, "And I assume he only told you yesterday because you all found out Rainbow Dash is real, right?"

Carl nodded and Alex continued.

"Watching the show made me remember the lies that my mother had told me to the point where I always wished that Applejack would be real. She represents something that is dying in this world; honesty; honesty and hard work, both of which are values that so much of our generation has thrown into the gutter." Alex took a deep breath to regain his composure.

Carl wiped some tears away, but he was still holding more back. "Alex I never knew…."

"That's right you never knew. You don't know anything. You think you do just because we tell you some of this, and because you always take pride in "being knowledgeable". But in reality you can't possibly fathom what it's like, what Applejack has meant to me ever since I started to watch the show."

After that, Applejack nudged Alex's leg. He looked down to her and smiled. She smiled back and nuzzled his hand affectionately before shooting a glare at Carl, "Hey Alex, maybe we could give James and Fluttershy ah ride." She said.

Alex nodded, looking up at James, "James? Fluttershy?"

James slowly nodded and followed; himself a bit uneasy about the situation between Alex and Applejack.

Carl just looked back over to where Twilight was to see her hunched over, Rarity putting her foreleg over her.

"I'm an asshole."  Carl sighed and stomped the ground angrily.

As Alex, James, Applejack and Fluttershy left, Carl sighed and decided to go apologize.

Meanwhile, Pinkie was oblivious to all of this, as she was gabbing non-stop to Pete, slowly making him talk more and more until they were having actual conversations.

Carl walked over to Twilight to see that her eyes were shut and she was crying as Rarity tried to comfort her.

"Um…Twilight."

She turned to look at Carl; her eyes were filled with tears. Rarity looked at Carl with a small scowl before looking back down at Twilight.

"I'm sorry for being a jerk. You aren't just a cartoon pony to me, you're…you're more than that. You're my friend and…you are beautiful. It's just…"

"No…" she said, wiping her tears away, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I insinuated that you liked me when you didn't."

Carl looked down and slowly nodded, as he decided to keep up his act of not having feelings for her, but his stomach still wretched as those words left her mouth. They just felt so final.

He wished that he could just say how he really felt about her, how he did love her in a way that was more than just a friend.

But he couldn't. He wasn't like Alex, who could just profess their feelings to these girls because, unlike himself who only pretended not to care what other people think about him, Alex really didn't give a shit about other peoples' opinions. 

Carl still felt scared about what would happen when people found out about his feelings that weren't his friends and who would judge him.

How would his mother react? His sisters? How would other people around town react? What about when she had to go back to Equestria, as he knew that she would have to. Would he have to watch her go away forever, after professing such emotions to her?

It wouldn't work; it couldn't work.

He stuck his hand out for Twilight to shake, and she did so with a small smile. Now, in her mind, she knew Carl was lying; after all she was very smart. And she knew that someday, he'd tell her. But she didn't want to pressure him into anything too soon and, being the great friend that she was, decided not to ask him about it anymore until the time was right.

> Making Caroline's Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Making Caroline's Day


Carl's House 

"What did I do to deserve this?" Spike asked in a huff. 

He was in Anna and Lisa's room, sitting at a table set-up for a tea-party with Anna and her stuffed animals, including a giant stuffed version of Twilight, which made Spike feel uneasy. 

The two girls had a half-day at school, since the school shortened the last few days before summer for elementary school kids. Because of this, they were able to come home and watch Spike so that Carl could leave with the others. He was in a small tuxedo that normally would have gone onto one of Anna’s larger-sized dolls. In front of him was a plastic tea-cup that was filled with water.

Now, Spike was never the most macho guy in the world. In fact he did like tea, even when poured into somewhat frilly white cups. But he most certainly did not like sitting at a child's play table with a young girl and her stuffed animals, pretending to be at some formal event like the Grand Galloping Gala when it was really just a bedroom filled with pink girly things, ponies and posters of the newest heart-throb MTV or Disney were fore-feeding kids.

Lisa, who was downstairs watching television for the past hour, walked into her and Anna's room. She stopped when she saw the pitiful scene of her cheerful younger sister and the baby dragon that looked as if he just got back from some horrible formal event. Both in the disgruntled look in his face and the classy clothes he wore.

"Come on its fun." Anna said with a smile, holding up her tea-cup to Spike in an attempt to persuade him to have some of the “tea”.

"Clearly you and I have a different definition for "fun"." 

Lisa began to crack up. "Anna, what are you doing with Spike?"

"She's torturing me." Spike said flatly with his face still in a "are you kidding me" expression.

Lisa laughed and walked over, "Anna, come on you know guys don't like this stuff. Spike, if you want you can watch a movie with me downstairs."

"Thank you Lisa." Spike said with relief as he walked out of the room. Anna sulked a bit; her arms crossed like a typical kid, and looked away in her own, calm version of a hissy fit.

As he walked off, Lisa giggled. 

Spike sighed, "What now?"

Lisa pointed to his suit, "You still have the tux on."

Spike looked down at it and laughed, "Yeah, I know. But I think it makes me look dignified."

"Even if it was given to you by a six-year old to wear at her tea party?" Lisa said with a sly smirk. Spike rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, I think if Twilight gave me a moustache it would look better. Everything looks better when you have a moustache or tuxedo.”

"For a guy, I agree. Makes you look like a gentleman." Lisa said.

Spike blushed a little at the compliment before he changed the subject.
"So…you said something about a movie?"

Lisa nodded, "Yeah, right this way."

She led Spike downstairs into the living room

"Wow, you know this house sure is big."

"Really? Here in Wilmont this is the average home size, not too large, not too small." Lisa said as she rummaged through a small drawer that was under the television, looking for the movie she wanted. "It's just right."

"Huh, interesting. The Princess might want to know about this."

"What, the house?" Lisa asked and Spike nodded. "Huh, is she doing research or something?" Lisa asked as she laid her eyes on the DVD.
"Aha!" she thought in triumph as she pulled the movie out of the drawer, kicking it closed with the sole of her foot.

"No, she just likes to know things about different species and worlds because…." Spike was cut off by a belch that resulted in a scroll landing on the floor in front of him.

Lisa walked over, "Is that from Princess Celestia?"

Spike nodded and opened it and, once again, read it out-loud like a politician, if politicians were actually cool:

Dear Twilight,

I have found more information regarding the last Element, as I know you've been successful in finding two of the last three. His full name is Louis Clarkson. I hope this helps,

Best,

Princess Celestia.

Spike looked up at Lisa, "Does your brother know a Louis Clarkson?"

Lisa shook her head, "If he has, I haven't heard about him."

"Where should I put this?" he asked as he pointed to the letter, which he scrolled back up into its original look.

"I don't know, on the coffee table." Lisa said as Spike nodded and placed the scroll onto the table. "Okay, now the movie I am going to show you is one of my favorites."

"Awesome! What is it?" Spike asked excitedly, sitting on the couch with his eyes wide in excitement. Lisa then stopped and looked at Spike, placing her hand on her chin to think.

"Hm…Spike, how old are you?"

"Twelve, why?" 

"Really, you're twelve and you're still considered a baby?"
"He-he, if you see an adult dragon, then you'd know why I'm just a baby."

"Good point, okay, the reason I ask is because this movie has a lot of swearing and some blood and gore in it. It's funny, but I hope it doesn't corrupt you." Lisa said.

Spike shrugged, "Eh, I wouldn’t worry. I'm not bothered by swearing. Hardly anyone in Equestria ever swears, but I'm cool with watching a movie that has some."

Lisa smiled, "Great, well, let's watch!" She flopped back onto the couch next to Spike.

"By the way, what's the name of this movie?" he asked.

Lisa smiled, "Hot Fuzz."

Outside of Caroline's House 

James stood just outside of the door to his little cousin's house. Alex let him and Fluttershy off and was waiting for them in his car, talking more with Applejack about her adventures and how sexy he thought her accent was as she said how sexy his accent was. 

This led to a lot more kissing.

Back outside of Caroline’s house, Fluttershy stood next to James. She looked up at him with a hint of fear in her eyes. After all she wasn’t used to meeting new ponies or people, and when she did it always made her nervous. 

"James, are you sure about this? I mean, what if I freak her out."

"She won’t. Trust me Fluttershy; she’ll be thrilled, and she needs this more than anything else in the world right now. Go around the back and I'll let you in."

Fluttershy nodded and flew off towards the back of the house.

"Since Twilight removed the spell, it's now or never."  James thought.

He then let out a sigh and knocked on the door. A few moments later, the door opened and Aunt Christie was there, holding a tissue in her right hand and wiping her eyes with the other. Her eyes were red as turnips, clearly from crying.

"James, what are you doing here?"

"Aunt Christie, can I please see Caroline?"

Aunt Christie nodded and got out of the way so James could enter the house. He walked towards Caroline's room, but just before he got in, Aunt Christie put her hand out on the door to stop him. He turned to her.

"Be careful, she's gotten worse since yesterday."

James nodded and opened the door to Caroline's room before shutting it gently behind him. He walked over to her bed, where she laid, dark circles formed under her sweet, innocent eyes that were almost completely closed from exhaustion. Her shirt was soaked, mostly from the night sweats she’d been having non-stop over the past couple of days.

"James…?" she whispered as her eyes opened a bit more.

"Hey kiddo," James said, holding back his tears and mentally praying that what he was about to do would make her feel better, "how are you feeling?"

"Been better." She whispered as she put on a fake smile that made James die a little inside.

"Hey Caroline, there's something I want to show you," James said as he slowly made his way to the window without taking his eyes off of his little cousin, "but you have to promise not to tell anyone and to stay calm."

“Why, is it something bad?”

“It’s something wonderful,” James said with a reassuring smile, “but unbelievable. Trust me you’ll love it.”

Caroline weakly nodded and James sighed, "Caroline, remember what you said yesterday about your own personal heaven being Equestria?"

Caroline nodded, sitting up a bit more in interest. "Yeah."

"Well I've gotten you a little piece of heaven." And with that, James opened the window and leaned out. He called outside, to whom he was calling to, Caroline didn’t know. 

"Over here."

Now, Caroline was expecting maybe someone dressed in a MLP costume or some form of merchandise that Carl had often bought her with his salary. She mainly thought it was going to be someone bringing her a replacement Fluttershy t-shirt since she threw up on the one James got for her. Whatever it was, she had a feeling it was My Little Pony related, specifically related to Fluttershy as she always talked about her with James like she was a close friend or relative that she actually knew.

What she didn't expect was to see Fluttershy herself gently fly into her room and land next to James. Her eyes now went wide and she suddenly seemed to show a great deal more of energy.

"Caroline, I'd like you to meet Fluttershy," he said, pointing to the yellow pony, "and Fluttershy; this is my little cousin Caroline."

Fluttershy flew up to Caroline on her bed so she was right in front of her, smiling and surprisingly outgoing, like she knew that Caroline needed this, and her shyness would have to be put on hold for now. "Hello Caroline."

Caroline's shocked face suddenly broke into a big smile,

"Hello." She said with a stunned joy. 

"James here told me all about you, and how brave you've been." She said in her typical motherly way. "And I just wanted to say that I'm awfully sorry that you have to go through everything you have. I hope me being here makes you feel better, James said it would…but if it doesn't, that's fine too I…"

She was cut off when Caroline suddenly bear-hugged her and began to cry into her shoulder out of pure happiness. James noticed how Fluttershy still didn't show any timid inflections, even while getting the hug out of nowhere. 

She just calmly hugged the sick girl back, a warm smile on her muzzle as she began to relax a little. After all being tense around someone you wanted to cheer up was the worst thing to do, and Fluttershy knew this. Besides, she felt at home with Caroline.

"Wow, able to put her timid feelings aside for others, God no wonder she's the element of kindness." James thought as he smiled both on the inside and on the outside at the scene of Fluttershy and Caroline hugging, Caroling being happier than she had been in a long time. Since before she was sick.

After the broke the hug, Fluttershy looked at her, "When you get better I'd love to hang out with you sometime," she said before looking down for a second to show her vulnerable personality, "that is, if that's okay with you, of course."

Caroline nodded and wiped her tears of joy away, "Of course it is Fluttershy, I'd...I'd love to hang out with you sometime."

Fluttershy nodded and she and Caroline hugged one more time. James wished that they could stay longer, but he had to get home and eat dinner.

"Fluttershy, we've got to go." James said, upset that she couldn't stay longer.

The two broke their embrace and exchanged one more smile before Fluttershy slew towards the window, stopping just before she exited and turned to Caroline. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said.

Caroline nodded with a big grin, the circles under her eyes overshadowed by the joy that radiated from them. Fluttershy then flew out and James shut the window.

"Yeah, sorry we can't stay longer but I've got to get home to…"

Suddenly, Caroline jumped off of the bed with sudden strength that she just seemed to get, ran over and hugged James with all of her, might, crying into his torso and saying "Thank you James. Thank you."

James hugged her back and smiled, happy that he had made her attitude improve so much just with one little act.

Though he knew that he had Fluttershy to thank more than anyone else, or anypony else. After she broke their embrace, James headed out, hearing as his aunt was shouting in joy at how much it seemed like Caroline had improved after James' visit.

Once outside, James saw Fluttershy waiting for him.

"James, are you crying? D-did I do something wrong?" she asked and James shook his head.

James wiped some tears away and smiled at Fluttershy. "The only thing you ever did wrong was not coming to me sooner."

Fluttershy smiled back and flew up to James level so they could hug. They then headed back to Alex's car to go home, never having such a feeling of hope and joy as he did right then and there.

> Quality Bonding
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Quality Bonding


Carl's House- Evening

It was almost dinner time by the time Carl got home with Twilight and Rarity. He knew that his mother was now home, so he asked Twilight to cast the human illusion spell on her and Rarity so that when they went inside Lauren would see Tara and Raquel rather than Twilight and Rarity. 

But he wasn't just thinking about that, he was still beating himself about how he treated Twilight in the mall parking lot, and how he hated himself for being so mean. After all, she had been such a great friend to him ever since she arrived on Earth. This realization made Carl felt even worse, as he felt that he took Twilight's kindness for granted.

As they walked up to the door, they heard Lauren in the kitchen making some vegetable soup and biscuits for dinner. Carl turned to face the girls.

"Okay Twilight, Rarity, listen to me. Do not, I repeat, do not do anything that could blow your cover in the next hour. My mom doesn't know much about the show, so as long as neither of you use pony puns or refer to each other as Twilight or Rarity, you should be okay. But still be cautious, okay?"

"Oh Carl, relax. I'm sure everything will be fine. Besides, I’ve really been looking forward to meeting her." Twilight said happily, in the way a girlfriend would speak to show her excitement about meeting her boyfriend's parents. 

This only made Carl feel more awkward and guilty.

Twilight then closed her eyes and the aura surrounded her and Rarity before disappearing. 

She looked up at Carl, "You're mom has the spell on her now."

"Only my mom, right? Not Lisa or Anna?"

Twilight nodded and Carl knocked on the front door. Lauren opened it to show her in an apron with a wooden spoon in one hand and an oven mitt on the other.

"Aaanndddd the Oscar for Best Portrayal of a Stereotypical Mother goes to…" Carl thought in annoyance.

"Hi Carl," said Lauren. She then saw the two “teenage girls” standing behind Carl. Immediately, like any Mom would, her smile grew as the thought of Carl having two very lovely lady friends fluttered into her mind and made her think of the possibilities romantically he could have with one of them.

"Hello girls.”

Lauren went to extend her hand when she realized her oven mitt was still on. Blushing, she retracted and pulled the red glove off of her hand and put it under her arm so she could shake the girls’ “hands” properly.

“Sorry, my hands were a bit full.” Lauren shook hands with Twilight first, who gave her the most sincere smile possible.

“Not a problem.” Rarity said as she shook Lauren’s hand for her own shake.

“I'm Mrs. Lewis, Carl's mom."

"It's very nice to meet you, I'm Tara, and this is my good friend Raquel." Twilight said, gesturing to her and then Rarity, who gave Lauren a modest courtesy.

"It's an absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Lewis!" 

“The pleasure’s all mine.” Lauren responded before she motioned her hand to entice the girls inside, “You two can come in if you’d like.”

Rarity walked into the house first and looked around, "I just love what you've done with the place, simply exquisite."

"Why thank you Raquel. Yes this house was built in 1993 by David James Harrison, one of the best architects in Upstate New York." Lauren said with a smile, "Sorry if my knowledge on this house seems odd, I work for a real estate firm. When you work around the facts of a home you tend to stop seeing houses as art rather than the combination of details, like who built them and when they did so."

"Well, either way, this house is divine." Twilight said as she turned to Carl and smiled. Carl smiled back before turning to Lauren.

"Hey Mom, can the girls stay for dinner?" Carl asked.

"Of course they can Carl." Lauren said with a smile. 

Carl let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye he spotted Spike walking down the hallway upstairs with Lisa by his side. Spike then saw Twilight and went to the balcony of the stairs, his claws gripping the bars of the railing, and called down. 

"Hey Twi what…" 

Right in the nick of time, Lisa ran over to the baby dragon and threw her hand over his mouth, rendering his speech to nothing but muffled sounds. She then dragged the frazzled Spike off into her room, an annoyed look on Spike’s face as they disappeared from view.  Lauren looked upstairs towards the direction of the voice, but saw nothing and shrugged before turning her attention back to the girls and Carl.

"Well, I hope you girls like vegetable soup and biscuits." Lauren said as she slipped the oven mitt back onto her hand.

"Oh yes, that's fantastic. Thank you very much Mrs. Lewis." Rarity said.

"Yeah, thanks! We really appreciate your hospitality, and you’re very generous to allow us two to have dinner with you." Twilight added with an appreciative smile.

Lauren couldn't help but blush at the compliments before laughing nervously, “Gosh, I’ve never met people as polite as you, not even my kids are that polite.”

Carl couldn’t help but roll his eyes at this, though mentally he agreed with his mother. He and his little sisters never really took time to think about how lucky they were to have such a great mother, let alone actually tell her. Regardless, Carl shrugged off these pondering thoughts and changed the subject.

"Hey mom, is there any meat in the soup?  Because Raquel and Tara are vegans." Carl asked.

"Nope, it’s just carrots, tomatoes, onions and orzo." 

After talking a bit more, they all sat down at the table to eat. Soon Lisa and Anna joined them, as Spike remained upstairs. Carl could picture him sitting on his bed, bored out of his mind and envious that he was the only one not sitting down for dinner. He also knew that Spike would be starving and tried to think of something to do so he could bring food upstairs to him. Be when Carl saw Lisa shovel some biscuits into her pocket, he knew that she'd make sure that he was fed. 

After a little bit, they all went upstairs, Carl telling his mom that they were going to have a sleepover, which she amazingly approved, even when it was two girls and her son.

There were so many possible roads that could be taken on that “sleep-over”, many of which were inappropriate for pony-related discussions.

They all went up to Carl's room, except for Lisa, who ran into her room to give Spike the biscuits that she snuck into her pockets.

Once back in the safety of his room with the two girls, Carl pressed his back against his door and let out a sigh. He also managed to throw in a clichéd "wiping the sweat off the brow" motion to show his relief that everything went well.

"Glad that worked out." He muttered without an ounce of sarcasm. He was genuinely happy that, for once, everything went according to plan.

"Your mother is really nice, Carl." Twilight said with her kind smile.

"Yeah, she is isn’t she? Plus we got lucky that it was a vegan meal tonight." Carl muttered when he heard a knocking at his door. He opened it to see Lisa standing in front of him, which Spike at her feet. His eyes were closed as he ate one of the biscuits in a state of pure bliss.

"Mmmmm…this is really good! Tell your mom that I approve of her cooking." Spike said before popping the last bit of biscuit into his mouth and brushing his hands against each other to clean them of crumbs.

"I would if I could man, but she doesn't know you're here, remember?"

"Well," Spike said, licking his fingers, "Tell her that Twilight approves and remember I did as well."

"Deal man" Carl said with a small chuckle.

Spike raised his hand, "Wait! I almost forgot; the Princess sent a letter to Twilight today."

"She did?" Twilight asked and Spike nodded.

"Yeah, it's in Lisa's room. Wait here, I'll go grab it." He was about to leave when he stopped and turned to Lisa with a small smirk, "do you want anything from your room?" he said in a British accent.

"Cornetto." Lisa said with her own British accent before the both laughed. Spike headed off.

Carl, recognizing the source of the reference Spike made, glared at Lisa. "Um, Lisa how does he know that joke?"

"They apparently they like Edgar Wright in Ponyville." She said with a shrug.

"You showed him "Shaun of the Dead" didn't you?"

""Hot Fuzz" actually, but you're probably too dumb to know the difference."

"God-damn it Lisa you weren’t even supposed to see it, and you showed it to a baby dragon? It's rated "R" for Christ’s sake." Carl hissed.

"Yeah, and that's why it's awesome." Lisa said with a cocky grin.

"Does Spike even know what Cornetto is?" 

Lisa looked up at Carl and raised an eyebrow, "Do you?"

Carl was about to answer when he stopped and shut his mouth. Of course he didn't know what Cornetto was exactly, since it was a British thing. Lisa smirked, "It's a type of British ice-cream you idiot, maybe you should pay attention to the movie more, they show the characters eating it."

Carl was about to shoot back with a snarky remark of his own when he felt Spike tugging at his pants leg. He looked down to see the dragon holding up the rolled up parchment. He took it and read if over before letting his arm drop to his side with a sigh. He turned to everyone and everypony else.

"Well, Carl, what did it say?" Twilight asked.

"Who's Louis Clarkson?" Lisa asked.

"I have no idea." Carl muttered, "I-I've never met a Louis Clarkson in my life."

"You had to have met him Carl, the Princess said that all six of you know each other from some point." Twilight said. Carl sighed and walked over to his bookshelf and pulled off his yearbook from that year and sat at his desk.

"Just my luck I'd have to do research over the summer." He muttered as he began to go through the entire High School yearbook to look for Louis.

"Research?" Twilight asked with an enthusiastic smile.

"Yeah, Twilight can you come over here and help me go through the…" he didn't need to tell her anything else as she zoomed over to his side with Rainbow Dash-like speed that he didn't expect to see from her. 

She got onto her hind legs and put her forelegs onto Carl's shoulder so she could look at the yearbook over Carl's shoulder. Twilight's proximity made Carl blush. Her warm body felt comforting as it brushed against Carl’s. She glanced over at him, her violet eyes meeting his and she gave him a smile. Stuck in this situation, Carl could feel his face burning up from a mix of embarrassment and, for lack of a better word, affection.

"Well Carl? What are you waiting for, let's get started." She said with a chuckle before giving him a playful nudge.

Carl snaps out of it and points to the book, "O-okay, um Twi, this book has a picture of every kid in my High School from this year."

"Oh! Does that mean you're in it?"

"Yes."

"Oh! Let me see!" Twilight said as she began to flip through the pages, looking for Carl. He stopped her and she turned to give him a disappointed look. "Awwww come on, I want to see your picture!"

"Err. I don't think that would be a good idea." Carl said nervously.

Twilight looked at Carl with a devious smile, "Come on Carl, why wouldn't you want me to see your beautiful face?"

Carl was shaking and thinking over everything that was going on when Twilight used his momentary state of mental paralysis to snatch the yearbook away from Carl. She moved it closer to the right side of the desk, which was more in her reach, and stuck her tongue out at Carl.

Rarity also came over to look, "Twilight, Carl, what are you two looking at?"

Twilight started to flip through the pages of the yearbook with her magic, "Carl's school picture, he seems so keen on hiding it I have to see what it looks like."

She finally stopped on the page with the students in eleventh grade whose last names began with the letter "L" and quickly searched until she found Carl‘s picture. Her eyes went wide and she fell to the floor, laughing like crazy. She was laughing so hard that tears began to roll down her face and leave small puddles on the carpet. Her legs kicked the air a little as she continued her giggle-fit.

Carl closed his eyes in embarrassment as his school picture was now being studied by Rarity the fashion queen. To this day he wasn't really sure which single thing was the main factor in causing his picture to come out as bad as it did. He wasn't sure if it was the issue of the stereotypically terrible photographer. He couldn't tell if it was his bedhead he forgot to tame before going to school.

But he always suspected that it was because he and James had gotten black-out drunk the night before and Carl's eyes and face still had the look of someone who had a massive hangover. That was the only time Carl got hammered in his life, and, and, as was typical with his luck, it was the night before school pictures.

Oh yeah, and the picture showed that he was wearing a mud-stained, old, tattered ACDC t-shirt that he slept in.

So everything that could have gone wrong went to hell, and it wasn't one single thing that created this horror, it was a slew of different, unfortunate events that led up to it.

Rarity broke out into laughter, "Pfft….HAHAHA, oh Carl who picked out that ghastly outfit? And your hair! Bwhahaha! You look like you were mauled by a Manticore!"

Carl rubbed his head from the embarrassment as Lisa, Anna and Spike also came over to see the picture and burst out into laughter.

"Carl, why do you look so bad?" Anna asked with a laugh.

"Anna, look at me right now, okay?" Carl pointed to himself, "This is your brother," he then pointed at the pictures, "and this is your brother on alcohol."

"So that's why you only drink two beers now?" 

Carl let out a small sigh before answering his sister with a nod. He looked over to see Twilight and Rarity starting to finally calm down.

"Hey um, don't we need to find Louis so we can beat Discord or something, I thought that was supposed to be our main priority."

Twilight wiped a tear of laughter off of her cheek. "Oh my, sorry Carl that was just too funny."

"Yeah Carl, you just looked too amusing. Usually I'd be insulted by such a look, but I just couldn't help it." Rarity said with a smile.

Carl sighed and went over to his desk to look through the yearbook to see if he could find any person named Louis Clarkson. But with Twilight back to leaning against him and giving him at the feeling of happiness and warmth that he felt before she looked for his "amazing" portrait, he was having a hard time concentrating.





Park

Alex decided not to go home quite yet; rather he decided to take Applejack up to the local park to have some more alone time with her. He had loved her for the longest time. In fact, he loved her ever since he started watching the show. So it was only natural that he'd want to hang out with her some more, alone.

On the way to the park, they talked more and more and, for some reason, Alex reverted back to talking with a little bit of a southern accent. Not a lot, but enough to please Applejack and make her feel at home when her home was so far away, as was her family. In fact, Applejack told him how cute she thought it sounded on him, so he saw no reason to stop using it. After all, he'd do whatever made Applejack happy. 

When they got to the park, Alex parked his truck in the back portion of the lot.  Fortunately, there was one soccer game going on, between two U-12 teams by the looks of it, so the lot was mostly empty, save for the area of the lot closest to the field. The player's families parked there so they wouldn't have to walk far to get to the field before the game started. The lights that surrounded the stadium were on and the sun slowly began its descent as the little kids kicked the ball around, a sight that brought back many memories to Alex as he watched from afar. 

"We'll stop here, should be far enough away from everyone else." Alex muttered as he looked around to make sure no one was nearby to see the country pony sitting in the car seat next to him. Twilight's spell was off, so if someone did happen to walk by, they'd see Applejack in all her animated glory.

"Okay, but why are we at a park?" Applejack asked.

"I just feel like talking to you a bit more." Alex said, turning his head to Applejack so their green eyes met.

"That's awful sweet Alex, but why can't we do that at yer house?" she asked.

"Because we can't okay?"

"It's cause of yer father, ain't it?"

"Step-father, and ya it is, unfortunately."

Alex had told Applejack more about his step-father. How he'd ignore him and his mother all day only to come home in a drunken rage at night to beat the shit out of Alex's mom. Only when the blonde teen stepped in would she be spared of his wrath. Unfortunately, this meant Alex got beaten a lot. If his stories weren't proof enough, the small, but present, scars on his face all but confirmed his sad family life.

Applejack turned in the car seat so she her whole body was facing him, "Do ya want to talk about it?"

Alex shook his head, looking away from Applejack to hide his sorrow. He always tried to be strong, and part of that was keeping those who cared about him from seeing his vulnerabilities, especially Applejack. 

Applejack leaned over and nuzzled her head against Alex's shoulder, "Am sorry that ya go through so much with yer family Alex, I really am."

"It is what it is." Alex muttered, his voice revealing his hidden sorrow. Being in the car with Applejack was the first time that he felt like anyone had loved him since he was young, since before his biological father and mother divorced. Back in the wonderful days of Alex’s youth when his father was still alive, sill there to toss the pig-skin around, still around to talk to when he had questions. 

Both of his parents cared about him. His father, the strong, supportive southern farmer whose family owned the apple orchard Alex lived on until he was ten.  His mother, before she only cared about herself, was as kind, loving, and unselfish as a mother could possibly be. She was also happier and more radiant, if Alex’s memory served him correctly.

But that was the past, things were different now. Things were worse, and thinking about it only made Alex wish that he could leave Wilmont and be with Applejack forever.  Never would he have to return to his sadistic step-father and his oblivious and selfish mother.

He closed his eyes and shook his head, "But I still wish it wasn't." 

"It don't have ta be." Applejack said as her eyes closed, "ya can come live with me."

Alex looked down at Applejack, "Live with you?"

"Yeah, ya can come live on Sweet Apple Acres, so ya wouldn’t have ta get beat up by yer step-father anymore or ignored by yer mother. Mah family would never treat you like that, not Big Mac, not Apple Bloom, not Granny Smith.”

“R-really?”

“Ah think ya go through way too much Alex, and it’s a shame 'cause yer a sweet boy.”

Alex smiled a bit, "You'd really like me to live with ya?"

"Only if ya'd like to." Applejack said with a smile. She lifted her head off of Alex's shoulders and smiled at him. 

“I’d love to.” Alex said before he leaned in to kiss Applejack, who returned it. They kissed with even more passion than what they did at the mall. When they broke it off, they looked at each other in the eyes and had a similar moment to Ryan and Rainbow Dash.

"I love ya AJ."

"I love ya too sugarcube."

Alex blushed at her using her famous nickname on him. They began to kiss each other once more. At the same time, the parents watching the soccer game erupted into applause and cheering as the red team scored a goal on the blue.





Ryan's House

Ryan lay on his bed next to Rainbow Dash, relaxing after a day of…well, relaxing. But it was not as boring as it sounded. Even through both Ryan and Rainbow Dash wanted to get out and do some stuff, they both enjoyed spending the day together. They watched some television and ate junk food. But no matter what, Ryan and Rainbow Dash both agreed that they'd have to try to convince Carl to let them out of the house tomorrow so they don't get cabin fever. As they lay in bed, Ryan was letting her listen to some songs off of his iPod. He wanted to see what kind of music she liked most.

The consensus: 1970's-1990's rock. In other words, whenever Ryan played a Rush song, a Metallica song, a Van Halen song, an ACDC song, a Kiss song, or an Aerosmith song, they would both rock out on the bed, limbs flailing around and having a good time. 

It was a good thing his parents were fast asleep, otherwise they probably would have heard the commotion of a bed rocking as he and Rainbow Dash played the air-guitar and pretended to play the drums. 

And if they heard a bed rocking, chances are they wouldn’t think it was caused by playing the “air-guitar”, especially if they heard Rainbow Dash’s voice.

But this was not the only type of music that she liked. In fact, she also had a taste for some of the more mellow songs Ryan played, which was surprising.

"I like this one here." She said as she let out a content sigh.

"Me too."

"What is it?"

"It's um… "This Land" by Hans Zimmer. It's from "The Lion King" soundtrack."

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and let out a long, drawn-out sigh like she had just slipped into a hot tub after a long, tiring work-out.

"I like it a lot."

"Yeah, Hans Zimmer is a God of music.” Just then Ryan had another song pop into his head, “Hold on; I've got a really cool song for you." 

Ryan scrolled through his playlist and found what he was looking for. The sounds of bagpipes and the French horn came on as Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and smiled big, listening to the beautifully orchestrated Celtic score.

"This is amazing."

"Glad you like it. This is the master John Powell's piece "Test Drive". It's from the movie "How to Train Your Dragon", which is my favorite animated film of all time. Ironically it replaced "The Lion King" as my favorite back when it came out. Single greatest movie experience I had in the theater and it wasn’t even in 3-D"

“3-D? What’s that?”

“A gimmick studios use to make more money.”

“Oh.” 

As the song began to pick up speed, Rainbow Dash looked at Ryan with a huge grin that was clearly being brought on by a high amount of adrenaline.

"Wow it…it just makes me want to go outside right now and fly!" She said, turning towards Ryan with an excited grin, her wings giving a small flap as if to emphasize her desire to fly with the epic Scottish music in the background, making her adrenaline surge.

"Easy cow-pony can’t have you flying around in the open. Someone might see you.”

“I still think the song is awesome.”

“Wait until you see the movie." Ryan sighed before looking over at Dashie. They both looked at each other and chuckled. Just then Ryan thought of something, "You know what? I've got the perfect mellow song for you."

He scrolled down the list of songs on his iPod until he found what he wanted and pressed play.

As "Somewhere over the Rainbow"  began to play with only the ukulele part, Rainbow Dash looked at Ryan.

"Just give it a second, when you hear the lyrics you'll know why I chose this song for you."

They then began to listen to the song, the lyrics flowing through the earphones as Rainbow Dash seemed to become enchanted by the song, so much so that Ryan could make out her lips moving along to the lyrics while her eyes remained closed.

When the song finally ended, Ryan turned the iPod off and turned to see Rainbow Dash softly crying.

"Dashie what's wrong?"

She looked at Ryan and smiled.

"Sorry I just…that song was so beautiful. Can we listen to it again?"

Ryan smiled and gave her a nod. "Of course."

"And can you keep singing along? I like hearing your voice, you're good at singing."

"Okay Dashie."

Ryan pressed play so the song began again. 

As the lyrics began, Ryan started to sing when he heard another voice chiming in. No, it wasn't the typical voice of Israel Kamakawiwo Ole', but to Ryan it was something just as beautiful.

Ryan looked down and saw Rainbow Dash was quietly singing along, her tough-sounding voice became softer as the followed the song word for word. Ryan was shocked at her singing talent. Sure her voice actress was a singer, but to hear the little pony sing in real life wasn’t just the cutest thing Ryan could imagine, it was the most majestic thing. All of his troubles seemed to vanish when he listened to her little raspy voice flow into one of his ears and, regretfully, out the other.

"Wow, Dashie, you one-up me in everything." Ryan said with a chuckle and Rainbow Dash also laughed a bit as well. "You have such a beautiful voice." 

She looked up at Ryan with a tired smile before pressing her face against his chest, her voice still following with the song. Ryan planted a kiss on the top of her head before he continued to sing along with his marefriend and Israel Kamakawiwo Ole'.





Pete's House

After his parents went to sleep, Pete was brushing his teeth to get ready for bed. His head was still reeling from the events that took place that day. He sighed and walked back to the room to see Pinkie sitting on his bed with a big smile on her face.

"Hey Petey, are you still weirded out by me? I hope not!" Pinkie was still cheery even as she said this.

Pete sighed and shook his head, "Not as much. I'm…I'm starting to…to calm down a little bit. I think…at least."

"Great! Hey, have you ever seen my party cannon?" Pinkie said, revealing a cannon from behind Pete's bed. "I'd use it now, but it is REALLY loud and you made it clear that you wanted me to be quiet so your parents wouldn’t wake up."

Pete nodded slowly and made his way over to his bed and lay down in it before pressing his hands to his face and slowly moving them down, trying to cleanse himself of the stresses that the day brought, from accepting an invitation to meet people he barely knew, to realizing that the girl he hadn’t stopped thinking about since meeting her at the mall the day before was actually Pinkie Pie. It was a lot to take in, and it overwhelmed the shy teen.

"What a weird day." He muttered as he lifted his hands from his face and stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Hey Petey, I was wondering, why are you so shy?" Pinkie asked. "I mean, you're almost as quiet as Fluttershy and she's reaaalllyyyy shy. In fact, you’re the quietest guy I’ve ever met. Mares can be quiet, but I’ve never met a colt as silent as you. Why is that?"

"Because I am."

"Come on! That's not a good enough reason!"

Pete sighed and turned over onto his side so he could turn his light off and go to sleep, but he felt a hoof stop his hand, followed by Pinkie dropped down in front of his face.

Yes, she was not hanging onto anything and yet she managed to suspend herself in the air, upside down, with her face directly in front of Pete's like she was doing her best Neo impression.

Again, God bless cartoon physics…or lack of physics in general.

"Please tell me!"

Pete shook his head, "Maybe next time, I just…I don't want to talk about something like that now. It's too depressing."

"Awwww," Pinkie said with disappointment. But her disappointment didn't last and a second longer as she immediately went back to expressing her excited smile. "Okey-dokey, but don't think this is the end of it. I still want to know what makes you so timid."

"I'll tell you later."

"Pinkie promise?"

Pete sighed and nodded, sticking his pinky out. 

Pinkie looked at it with confusion, "What is that?"

"My pinky." Pete said in confusion as he looked down at his little finger. He then remembered what she meant and chuckled, "Whoops, sorry I forgot you have your own Pinkie promise."

Pinkie chuckled and they looked at each other and went through her promise routine:

"Cross my heart, hope to fly,
Stick a cupcake in my eye."

They both said before they laughed together. Pete was starting to feel a little more comfortable around her now. He got under the covers and closed his eyes.

"Good night, Pinkie."

"Good night Petey-weetie!...Hey Pete?"

"Yes Pinkie?"

"You don't have to worry about what other people think about your humor or what you say, all that matters is what you think." with that insightful statement, Pinkie fell asleep in a most comical fashion, with loud snores escaping her mouth.

Pete was stunned that she was able to figure out the main reason for his insecurity. But if she knew that, why would she be so adamant about knowing his back-story? Pete decided to think more about it in the morning, but he was happy that he now had someone, or somepony, that he could talk to about his problems, and why he was as shy as he had been for years. After thinking about all of this, Pete closed his eyes and went to sleep. For the first time, Pete fell asleep with a smile on his face.

> The First Tragedy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The First Tragedy


City Hall

It was late, and everybody had left city hall for the night when Obscure Darkness and Drocsid began to talk about the growing threat to their plans. Namely, the boys they now knew were working with the Elements of Harmony to stop them from ruling this new world. Their frustration was high, especially the Mayor, who paced back and forth in front of his desk before he turn to face Brett with an eyebrow raised. 

"So, the boy didn't leave his house once today?"

"No sir. Lawrence said that he stayed outside of his house all day. The only people to come in and out of his house were his parents, and both times involved going to and returning from work.”

“Hmm, I see.” Drocsid sighed and walked over to the large window in his office that overlooked downtown Wilmont. He sighed as he saw all of the cars below him driving off in the chaos of the night. The bright headlights creating a busy atmosphere as the skyscrapers cast their dark shadows over the streets below, obscuring everything except for the aforementioned headlights. The moon was full and the atmosphere in the office was chilled as both Brett and Mayor Drocsid began to feel a sense of urgency they haven’t felt since taking positions of power in this city.

“All those people,” Drocsid muttered as he placed his hand onto the glass, watching it as a yellow aura surrounded it. When it disappeared, it left a cartoonish lion’s paw. The Mayor smiled weakly before looking back down at the city streets. “They go about their chaotic little lives, thinking they understand this world. They have no idea what terrors they will soon face. Their sense of security blinds them, like the towering buildings of this city.”

Brett swallowed nervously, never enjoying when his boss got this into his work. 

"Should we go after them, sir; should we go after the element we know the identity of?"

Drocsid thought for a moment before changing his lion’s paw back into a realistic human hand.

"No. Not just yet." 

"But, we already know that he's an element and if we take care of him, we will be victorious. They can’t beat you without all six."

"And if we leave him be eventually he'll get a false sense of security, at which time he'll lead us to the other five elements.” Drocsid turned to face his “disciple” in chaos, “Then, we can care of them all at once.”

“Sir, no offence, but I feel like all of this; the standing around talking and doing nothing is wasting time that we could be using to find the elements and stop them.”

Drocsid chuckled, “You must be patient like me if you wish to succeed Obscure."

"You mean like last time where you’re other half sat back and watched the six elements of harmony trap him in stone? I’m sorry sir, but we can’t operate like that. We have to be proactive and think about where we’re going rather than where we are right now.”

“You were always the smart one, Obscure. Book smarts definitely are your strength.” Mayor said before he slowly walked up to Obscure Darkness, "But this world is not Equestria, and these six kids that have been assigned to represent the elements of harmony don't need me to help them losing faith in their elements like the six girls did. They already don’t believe humanity is capable of friendship, honesty, loyalty, kindness, laughter and generosity. This world has destroyed their faith in those concepts.”

Drocsid turned back around and walked over to the window, placing his hands behind his back as his eyes changed to their true, yellow selves as he went back to scanning the busy city street.

“As long as they don’t believe in what they’re meant to represent, they cannot possibly beat us.”

"So, we just let them go?" Obscure asked with a mix of confusion and annoyance, not fond of the idea his boss seemed to be getting at.

Drocsid turned around and raised his finger up, his eyes changing back to human ones.

"On the contrary, my dear Obscure, as I said before we will let the boys get overconfident, let them think they’re safe and they’ll beat me. Then, once they buy this, they will begin to make mistakes and we will capitalize. We will cut them off at the knees and watch as they fall, like the rest of this world. 

“Let me ask you is it worse to die before you have any hope, or after you have it and lose it because it was based on false pretenses?"

Brett seemed to mull over what his boss told him for a moment as Drocsid slowly walked back over to where his assistant was.

Brett eventually shrugged, "Makes sense, I guess.”

The Mayor smiled, “Of course it does.”

“But what if this Ryan kid leads us to the others, do we just let them go?"

"No, if he leads you to more elements, then by all means go capture them. But as long as it’s just him, we needn’t worry. Just keep monitoring his actions and see if he goes out with friends."

Brett smile returned and he gave his boss an enthusiastic nod.

"Yes sir."

James' House

James was almost ready for bed; the time approaching ten-thirty as his physical exhaustion from the day slowly began to overwhelm every part of him, from his head to his feet. He usually would’ve already been extremely sleepy, if not asleep, already. His eyes would have been half-closed and he would be letting out a yawn every ten to fifteen seconds as he feebly tried to conceal it with his hand. But today was different. After his visit with Caroline, he felt so elated that energy he never knew he had seemed to surge through his veins. It was only now, once his newfound energy was spent, that the true extent of his sleepiness began to make itself known.

But before he could let the sandman pull him into his slumber, he had to get his daily lecture from his parents.

He sat at the kitchen table, across from his parents who both stared directly at him with accusing eyes. James looked up the stairs, wanting to get this over with so he could spend some time with Fluttershy before he went to sleep. 

But he couldn't keep looking up at the stairs and mentally escape the situation that he was in. He felt his parents' eyes pierce him like a hot knife through butter.

"James, answer our question," James' stern father growled, "what did you do today?"

James sighed and turned his attention back to the table; the front of his body was now facing his parents but his eyes were looking down at his hands rather than up into his condescending parents’ eyes. 

"I told you already, I went to see some friends at the mall and went over to Aunt Christie’s." James muttered as he started to get annoyed at how his parents always wanted to know what he did for the sole purpose of shooting it down.

"So what you're telling us is that you didn't do anything productive today?" James' mother said.

James looked up at his mother, their eyes meeting.

"Nothing you'd understand." 

"Son, I've told you a thousand times, you need to find something constructive to do this summer." said James' dad.

"I have a job."

"That's not what I meant." James' dad said in an irritated tone, "I meant something like a hobby, something that interests you."

James gave his father a cold look, "Interests?"

"Do you have any?" his mom asked.

"I have plenty of them; I just don't know which ones you'll approve of." James said bitterly.

"Patrick has soccer, he has guitar, and he takes art classes down at the YMCA. You have a job, that's it."

"And which one pays the bills?" 

"What?" his father asked.

James chuckled, "Soccer, arts and games are all fun and good, but how beneficial are they if you can't put food on the table? At least what I’m doing brings in money instead of costing it, which is more than I can say for all those fancy soccer lessons you’re getting for Patrick.”

James' mother and father exchanged glances before sighing, "James, I just want to let you know how scared we are for you. How we fear your future success with getting into college next year."

James just kept smiling, thinking about Caroline and how much better he had made her day. Why should he let himself get upset just because his parents downgrade him? He and Fluttershy made Caroline happier than she's been in a long time. 

At the end of the day, nothing else mattered.

"Do you understand where I'm coming from son?" James' dad asked, snapping James back from his thoughts.

"Yes sir." 

"Good, now, go to bed."

James stood up and walked up the stairs with a big smile that grew bigger and bigger, leaving his parents downstairs to talk about what a disappointment their younger son was.

James got upstairs and shut the door, seeing that Fluttershy was resting on his bed, eyes closed. He thought she was asleep, so he tip-toed. After he slowly closed the door to his room, he heard the little mare stir. He looked up to see the Fluttershy push herself up into a sitting position, her eyes half-closed and exhausted. Her mane was a bit messy from laying on it. She let out a small yawn and stretched. When she saw James she let out a small eep before realizing who he was, and where she was.

“It’s okay Fluttershy, it’s just me.”

"Oh James, I'm sorry…you just startled me a bit." 

"That's all right Fluttershy."

He walked over to her and sat down onto his bed to stroke her pretty pink mane. She nuzzled her cheek against his hand in a friendly manner as she lay back down onto the pillow, her eyes slightly closed as her sleepiness returned.

"You know, Fluttershy, you did a really great thing for Caroline today." James said with pure joy, "I haven't seen her that happy since before she got sick."

"Wow, well, I'm glad that your cousin loved my visit so much. Maybe I can go see her again tomorrow."

"Definitely, and I’d really appreciate it as well." James muttered. Fluttershy looked up at him and gave him a smile before resting back against the pillow and closing her eyes. He kept stroking her when suddenly his phone began to go off. He stood up and pulled the buzzing device out of his jeans’ pocket. Fluttershy opened her eyes to look at James. When James looked at the caller I.D., his smile slowly fell. He quickly answered the phone and pressed it to his ear.

"Aunt Christie? What's…." that's all James said before there was complete silence. Fluttershy slowly sat up in James' bed and watched as James' bright eyes slowly widened. But they weren’t widening in shock, but not a good kind of shock. It was the kind of shock one would display after hearing the worst thing possible. A look that didn’t just include eyes that were wide, but also eyes that were cloudy as tears tried to break through and make their appearance. 

“Okay…I’m…I’m sorry…I’ve…I’ve got to go.” James muttered before he slowly lowered from phone from his ear and pressed the touchscreen where it said "end".

"James?" Fluttershy asked, moving closer to the edge of the bed, "James, what is it?"

James didn't flinch; he just stood still as a statue, his eyes staring down at the ground, not even looking up in Fluttershy’s direction when she addressed him.

"Caroline…Caroline died an hour after we left." He muttered in a volume just above a whisper.

Fluttershy let out a gasp and covered her mouth with her hooves.

"Oh my…James I'm…I’m... so sorry."

James bit his lip as he tried to hold is tears back, tried to hold back the rage and sorrow and guilt he felt well up from within him. Eventually, however, he could no longer do so, and with a fierce anger he hurled his phone at the wall across from where he was standing, shattering it to pieces. 

His outburst caused Fluttershy to frightfully flinch back towards the pillow. She watched as James turned and let his face fall onto the bed. 

He sobbed like he never sobbed before. Not even his grandmother dying when he was seven could compare to the level of misery he felt at this moment. Fluttershy was in complete shock over this. She watched James, who had not a moment before been all smiles and full of hope, disintegrate into a heap of misery and despair. Fluttershy slowly trotted over to his side and placed a gentle hoof onto his shoulder. 

"James, it's okay. I'm…I’m here for you."

James looked up at her and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly as he continued to sob into her warm, comforting, yellow-furred shoulder, "Fluttershy….Fluttershy…w-why did…." He continued to cry.

Fluttershy began to rub James' back and shush him like he was one of her animals, hoping that she could at least sooth the hurt he had felt, as she knew making him feel better so room after receiving such traumatic news was impossible.

But James kept crying nonstop into her shoulder for about an hour, both tears of anger and misery, anger that he had let himself actually believe that something good could happen for someone that he cared about, and sadness for Caroline.

Fluttershy tried to comfort James as much as she could, but it did little as he was still tearing himself up on the inside. All he wanted to do was remain in Fluttershy's embrace for the rest of his life. A place where he felt like somebody, in this case somepony, still cared about him; somepony that had, through the show, comforted him and Caroline during the young girl’s struggle, somepony that was now comforting him as he grieved for Caroline. And though the pain James felt tore at him like a lance, having Fluttershy there, being in her comforting embrace, did help him calm down a bit. Just a bit though, and he knew that this pain wouldn’t stop after he fell asleep, it would loom over him for a long, long time.

Carl's Bedroom 

It was late at night as Carl kept looking over the yearbook for anyone whose name was Louis Clarkson. So far, he found just about as much as the police had about Jimmy Hoffa, nothing. 

Carl's head began to bop up and down like he was listening to “What is Love?” as he fought to keep himself awake, which was a sucky feeling because it was summer and the struggle with consciousness usually only happened in school when the teacher droned on about some stupid Civil War Battle or some bullshit about derivatives in Calculus. As he did this, Twilight remained right next to him, just as tired as he was, but she managed to hide it slightly better than him.

Carl turned to look at her to see if she was still awake. When he did this, Twilight noticed his move so she looked at him and smiled, "Maybe the rest of this can wait until tomorrow."

"Yeah." Carl said with a yawn as he closed the yearbook and stood up. He walked over to his bed and crawled under the covers. As Twilight got in, he noticed that she was shivering a bit.

"Twi; are you okay?"

She looked at him and nodded, "Yeah I'm fine, just a little cold is all."

Carl smiled and brought himself closer to her, wrapping himself around her in a hug to warm her up.

"Better?"

Twilight looked at Carl and gave a big yawn before she smiled in gratitude, "Better."

Carl smiled, "Why am I fighting this? She's so cute. Why should I care what other people think when I love her?"

They looked into each other's' violet eyes with pure love that they both shared for one another. Carl sighed as he felt like now would be as good a time as ever to tell her his true feelings.

"Twilight I…?" Carl started.

"Yes?" Twilight asked with a hint of excitement in her voice.

"I…" he began when, suddenly, he heard his cell phone start to buzz on his dresser.

BUZZ BUZZ

Carl sighed, "Hold on a second."

Twilight giggled and gave him a nod, ready for him to finally tell her how he really felt. She was smart, and could tell he was in denial over his feelings for her, so she knew that was what he wanted to talk to her about, to confess his love for her. 

Carl grabbed the phone and looked at it for the caller I.D.

"Who is it?" Twilight asked.

"It's James, but he's calling from his home phone, he never does that." Carl quickly pressed the "talk” button and spoke into the phone, "Hello?" 

After a few seconds, eyes mouth dropped, "What? Oh my God I'm sorry James I…that’s terrible, wow. Are you sure you don't need someone to come over? Okay, okay I'll talk to you tomorrow…okay, bye."

He hung up and looked at Twilight. By her face, he knew that she could tell it wasn't good.

"What's wrong?"

Carl looked at her sadly, "James' cousin died."

Twilight put her hooves up to her mouth and gasped "Oh no, that's awful."

Carl shook his head, "James is going to be a wreck for a while."

"Do you still think we should continue our search for that Louis boy tomorrow?"

"Discord isn’t going to wait for us to respect Caroline’s death. I’ll tell James that he doesn’t have to come, not that he’d want to.”

Twilight nodded, “Okay, so what’s the plan?”

“First we have to find out who he is." Carl said as he got back into bed next to Twilight, "and then….geez I don’t know, what do we do after that?"

"Well we still have to find the actual elements of harmony."

"Wait, aren't we the elements?"

"I'm talking about the necklaces that you six have to wear," Twilight said, pointing to her neck, "like the ones we wore. Well, except me. I have that crown-thingy."

Carl laughed a bit, "You mean a tiara?"

"I think it was a little big and oddly shaped to be considered a tiara."

"Whatever."

They both shared a small laugh when Carl let out an obnoxious yawn, prompting Twilight to laugh even more.”

“Little tired there Carl?”

Carl nodded as he turned off the lamp besides his bed. He got back under the sheets and turned to face Twilight.

"Good night Twi."

"Good night Carl."

Though they were both in bed, their night was over. Once Carl was asleep, Twilight opened her eyes and leaned forward. Smiling, she gently pressed her glowing horn against Carl's forehead and then she too was asleep, their minds mixing as Twilight’s spell brought them into a shared dream.

> The Soccer Star
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Soccer Star


Carl's Dream

Carl woke to a bright light that burned into his eyes like a fire. He quickly shielded his vision with his hand until his vision would return in full force. Once he was fully awake, and he could see again without hurting his eyes, he found himself in a grand, white hallway lined with stained-glass windows and underlain with a red rug. He knew that he’s seen this hallway before, but from where he couldn’t remember. 

The other thing he noticed about it, besides its larger-than-life feel, was that the hallways seemed rather…animated, like it had come out of a painting…or cartoon.

"What is this place?" he asked no one in particular.

"This is Princess Celestia's Castle, Carl." 

Carl turned around to see Twilight standing right behind him with a nervous smile on her face.

"Sorry, she sent me another letter and asked me to take you here. I hope that isn’t a problem.”"

“No, it isn’t.” Carl said as he looked around, taking in everything that surrounded him. It was, indeed, Princess Celestia’s Castle. Specifically, he was in the hallway that the mane six found themselves in when they first met Discord, back when he appeared as nothing more than a moving, talking image on the stained-glass windows.

"So, wait….am I really here though? Or is this a dream?" Carl asked as he continued to look around.

"This is a dream in that it occurs in your minds, but this conversation is very real."

Both he and Twilight turned to see a familiar alicorn with a white coat almost as blinding as the walls around them, a stunning rainbow-colored mane and tail, and a warm smile on her face. Carl's mouth fell open when he saw Princess Celestia, in the flesh, standing behind him. Almost out of instinct, Carl got onto his knee and bowed forward to her as if he were one of her loyal subjects, even if she wasn't technically his ruler, he had a hell lot more respect for her than any politician in the U.S. government or anywhere else in the world for that matter. 

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaimed with a grin on her face, running up to the princess and throwing her hooves around her neck in a hug.

Princess Celestia chuckled and hugged her back, "Twilight Sparkle, it's good to see you again. How is my star pupil doing?" 

“I’m fine, Princess.” Twilight said, looking up at her mentor with happy eyes.

Princess Celestia looked down at Twilight and gave her a smile. They broke the hug.

"I'm aware that five of the six elements have been accounted for."

They both nodded, Carl's nod was a little slower than Twilight's through, as he was still in shock at what was happening, and his head was down in a bowed positon. When the Princess saw that he was still kneeling in a bow-like position, she chuckled.

"Carl, you don't have to bow to me, after all I'm not your ruler."

"I know…though I should say," Carl said as he slowly began to stand up, "if you were our ruler, Earth probably wouldn't be as screwed up as it is."

"I wouldn't count too much on it." She said with a chuckle, "I've been observing your world for quite a while now, and based on what I’ve seen, I can say that I probably wouldn't make much of a difference."

"Still, you'd be better than any of the leaders we have now." Carl said.

Princess Celestia chuckled, “Well I appreciate your compliments.”

Carl suddenly remembered something, "Oh yeah while I'm here, I want to thank you for helping me out with the…you know…cop that was chasing us." He rubbed the back of his head nervously. He felt completely unworthy to be in her presence.  “If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t have been able to make that car teleport away.”

“Wait, Carl you performed a teleportation spell?” Twilight asked, to which Carl have her a small nod. Slowly her expression showed a joy the teen hadn’t seen from his pony partner since he met her. “Wow, you’ve got to tell me these things when they happen, a non-unicorn or alicorns performing a spell? That’s fascinating.”

Carl smiled, loving how enthusiastic Twilight always seemed to be with learning new things. “Don’t worry, I will.”

Carl then looked up at the Princess, “Thanks again, Princess Celestia.”

"Don't mention it," she said warmly, "but I shouldn't be the one you should thank here, Carl. After all, you and Twilight were the reason your magic worked."

At this statement, Carl shut his eyes and clenched his teeth nervously having a bad feeling about where this conversation was going. Twilight looked at the Princess with curiosity. "What do you mean both Carl and I? I wasn’t there.”

"Please don't tell her I was thinking romantically about her, please don't tell her."  Carl thought over and over in a panic, pleading that the Princess would say something, anything else other than give away the true feelings he had for Twilight. He didn't even want to think about the little purple unicorn knowing what thoughts triggered his magic. He didn’t want her to know how he really felt about her. Carl knew that Twilight already had an idea about his feelings for her, but if she found out it was thinking about her that powered him to harness his magic, she would never let him live it down, for better or worse.

He knew that he was close to telling her before James called about Caroline's death. But after that interference, his brain revoked the decision-making process from his heart, and began to fill his head with multiple negative "what if" scenarios, most of which involved how weird him dating a cartoon pony would look to others, especially his mother and sisters. 

Finally, the Princess answered her student’s question, "You brought Carl's faith in magic back, and it was that faith that gave him the ability to teleport the car." 

"THANK YOU PRINCESS CELESTIA!" Carl thought, letting out a sigh of relief and relaxing his clenched fists.

"Oh really," Twilight said, turning to Carl, "I didn't know I helped you recover your faith in magic so quickly."

"Oh yeah, you did." Carl said very quickly and nervously. "Very much so in fact. Thank you Twi."

That's when Twilight shot Carl the most disbelieving look imaginable, her eyes half closed and her face serious. 

"Uh-huh, No problem Carl," she said. Though it was clear she didn’t buy a word of what Carl was trying to sell her.

"Shit." Carl thought. But he put on a fake smile to make it appear as if he had nothing to hide. But if anything, it made him look more suspicious and Twilight, being the clever girl that she was, took note of this. She could see right through his “poker face” and knew there was something he wasn’t telling her. Something secretive that most likely had to do with his relationship with her.

"Sooooo," Carl said, turning back to face Princess Celestia, "why did you summon us here anyway?"

"I just wanted to meet you face-to-face as we’ll be working together for a while. Also, you must find the Element of Generosity quickly so that you can search for the necklaces and crown that represent the elements and defeat Discord once and for all, thus saving both your world, and possibly ours."

Carl nodded. Even though he thought the meeting was somewhat pointless, as everything the Princess said had been common sense, he decided to act like it was profound. Because in reality, meeting Princess Celestia in person…or pony…was worth the dream invasion Twilight performed on him.

Carl then spoke up again, "We've actually been looking for Louis Clarkson in my yearbook but there isn't anyone with that name."

"Hmmm," Princess Celestia said, thinking over the situation for a brief moment, "I'm not exactly sure, then. Sorry I can’t help you out. But it has to be someone in Wilmont, and you must have met them before, at least once."

“Okay,” Carl asked, "I have another question, sorry if I seem like I'm pestering you Princess Celestia."

Princess Celestia giggled, "I don't mind Carl; ask away."

"Thank you. I was wondering if you could use magic like Twilight to search out the element."

"I'm sorry, I can't. If I use such a large spell, Discord will pick up on it and know who the Element that I'm searching for is before you can get to him." Princess Celestia said, “and besides, most of my spells are blocked so I can appear on Earth  in non-physical forms, such is in your dreams or projections, and even those only have the ability to last a minute or two.”

Carl nodded, "Good to know." 

"Anything else that you'd like to ask?"

"Not right now."

"Just remember, I am always watching over you and your friends"

"Thank you very much for everything Princess Celestia." Carl said before he kneeled back down to show his gratitude. Hoof steps approached his bowed form and he felt somepony put their hooves onto his shoulders. He looked up and saw that he was directly under the Princess, who was giving him a kind smile.

"You can do it, all you and the other five have to do is believe in what you stand for." 

Carl nodded without blinking, unable to avert his eyes from the Princess for even a second.

"Yes Princess."

"And," she said with a sly smile on her face before leaning into Carl's ear, "Your feelings aren't wrong and you shouldn't hold them back. Don’t be afraid to let her know how you feel."

Carl looked up at the Princess in shock as she smiled at him and winked knowingly. Carl gulped and looked over at Twilight, who had an inquisitive look on her face. Carl sighed and gave her a small nod.

"Good. Now if you excuse me, I need to have a word with my student." At that, Princess Celestia walked back over to Twilight. Carl bit his lip and waited patiently as they talked to each other. He began to think everything over in his head, from stopping Discord, to finding the last element, and, of course, to the feelings he had for Twilight. He didn't know what to do about it. Clearly Princess Celestia knew, which didn't really surprise him as she was inside his head when he used the spell. But he didn't know if he could actually ever go through with telling Twilight how he felt. It made him feel uneasy and it seemed too…weird.

He knew that Ryan and Alex had crushes on their partners; hell, Alex and Applejack were making out in the mall after only knowing each other for a short time, after they knew their true identities. He knew that he had romantic feelings for Twilight, but he wasn't sure how he could tell her. After all, no matter how often he got lost in her eyes; the thought that constantly popped up and scolded, "What the hell is the matter with you? She's a purple, animated pony from another dimension, and you like her? SHAAAAAMMMMEEEEE!"

He wished he could just follow his heart rather than his head this one time in his life, but that was much easier said than done.  Carl snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Twilight trotting over to him after talking with the Princess, a smile on her face.

"Hey Carl, you ready to head back?"

"You mean wake up? Yeah, I'm all set if you are."

The Princess walked over and smiled at them both, "When you two wake up, it will be morning. Don't worry about being exhausted. Even though this conversation really happened, it is still technically a dream, and your body will still feel well rested."

“Thank you Princess Celestia.” Both Carl and Twilight said in unison, making both blush. Princess Celestia held her hoof to her mouth and laughed. She then closed her eyes and her horn started to glow. Everything started to turn a bright white, even the air around both Carl and Twilight seemed to disappear into the bright, white void. Moments before everything disappeared into the nothingness, Carl heard Princess Celestia’s voice inside his head.
"Remember to embrace your element."





Reality
Carl's eyes shot open as he looked around to see that he was back in bed, the morning sun slowly creeping in through the venetian blinds that were covering his window. He looked over to his right to see Twilight lying next to him. She was awake, and looking at him with happy eyes.

"So, I take it that the dream was real." Carl asked. 

Twilight giggled. "Yeah, sorry about that, but I couldn't let you know that I was taking you under like that. The spell wouldn't have worked on you if you knew what I was doing. Your subconscious would have stopped it."

Carl chuckled, "That's really cool, Twilight.”

Twilight blushed, "Yeah, I-I guess it is.” Once she spoke, Twilight put her hoof up to her mouth, “Oh, I hope I didn't sound too self-centered." 

Carl laughed a bit, "Not at all."

"Are you sure?" Twilight asked.

"Yes I am. Geez you sound like you did when Trixie was showing off and you were too afraid to do anything because you didn’t want to seem like a braggart.”

They enjoyed a nice, hardy laugh for a second before Carl looked over at the clock on his night-stand to check the time. When he saw that it was ten, he felt a sudden sense of urgency rush through him.

"Aw geez it's ten, come on Twilight come on let's go get some breakfast."

Twilight nodded and they both got out of Carl's bed. Carl stood up and stretched his arms out over his head, letting out a huge yawn.

"Hey Carl, is it okay if I use your bathroom, I need to freshen up a bit." Twilight asked meekly.

Once Carl finished his yawn, he nodded, "No Twi, go right ahead."

Twilight smiled in gratitude and left the bedroom. A few seconds later Carl heard her scream as if someone jumped out from behind a door and scared the living daylights out of her. Carl ran out into the hallway and towards the bathroom to make sure Twilight was okay. He pushed the door open.

"Twi, are you…?" he stopped when he saw what had frightened her. In the bathtub, with that clichéd green facial mud on her face and cucumbers in her eyes, was Rarity. Carl had to do everything in his power not to burst out laughing at the hilarious sight. Rarity removed one of the cucumbers with her hoof and looked at Twilight, who gawked at her soaking friend whose appearance in the bathroom, while not frightening in itself, had taken her by surprise.

"Twilight, dear, can you please shut the door, I can feel a draft coming in." she waved her hoof towards the door.

"R-Rarity? Um, what are you….what are you doing?" Twilight asked. "And where did all of that cosmetic stuff come from?"

"Well darling, I found this facial mud in that cupboard over there. " she said pointing to the cupboard that was directly underneath the sink of the bathroom. She then turned to Carl. "I hope it isn't a problem Carl, I only used a little bit." 

"No, it's not a problem." Carl shrugged, "I mean, it's my mom's, but if she asks I'll say Lisa used it. That way you don't get in trouble, and she does. Besides, I love to get Lisa in trouble, it’s awesome."

Rarity nodded and put the cucumber back over her eye.

"Thank you dear." She lay herself back against the tub and let out a sigh. Twilight, however, had a very irritated look on her face. She wanted to freshen up, and it irked her that Rarity was hogging the bathroom in this manner. Sure, she could use the sink, but she also had to actually use the bathroom, and there was no way she was going to go with Rarity in the same room as her.

"Um, Rarity, I kind of need to use the bathroom."

"Just give me a little longer Twilight. You can't rush perfection you know."

Twilight rolled her eyes and turned to walk out when Carl stepped in her way. She looked up at Carl with a confused look. He was grinning from ear to ear, like he had something hilarious planned. He got onto one knee and whispered into Twilight ear. As she listened to what Carl was saying, giving the occasional nod to let him know she understood what he was getting at,  a mischievous smile slowly appeared on her face. Once Carl was done talking to Twilight and stood back up, she walked over to Rarity with a smug look on her face.

"Rarity, how much longer will you be?"

"Mmmmm, perhaps another ten, fifteen, no…thirty minutes? Forty? Well perhaps an hour or so would do."

"Yeah, I don't think so." With that Twilight closed her eyes and her horn began to glow. Slowly, Rarity was surrounded by a purple aura before being lifted out of the tub. The cucumber slices fell off and she opened her eyes to realize that she was levitating.

"AHHH! Twilight! Put me down this instant!" she screamed, flailing around like a mad-pony, suds and water sprayed from her fur. Twilight slowly levitated the terrified, white unicorn over the open toilet bowl that happened to be right next to the tub. Water dripped off Rarity’s white fur and into the open bowl. When Rarity saw what her friend was holding her above, she shrieked and started to flail around even more, like she was truly on the brink on losing her mind.
Carl couldn't help but laugh as if it were the single funniest thing that he'd ever seen. Then again, he was hard-pressed to come up with a time in real life that made him laugh as hard as he was right then.

"I'm sorry Rarity, how much longer is it going to be?"

"Twilight, please stop!"

"How much longer!?!"

“Twilight!”

“How long!?!”

"Five minutes, okay! Five more minutes, that's all I ask. Now please, get me away from that disgusting bowl of shame!"

The phrase "disgusting bowl of shame" sent Carl into such a laughing fit that he fell onto the bathroom floor, clutching his sides as it felt like his laughing was causing his ribs to break. Twilight nodded and slowly brought Rarity back into the tub, gently lowering her back into the water. Once back to her original position, Rarity huffed and crossed her arms.

"I hope you're happy, if I look like repulsive today I'm putting the blame on you." She said, pointing her hoof at Twilight accusingly.

Twilight shrugged it off and patiently waited as the queen to get done with her beauty soak in the tub. Carl looked down the hall at Lisa and Anna's rooms and tapped Twilight on the head.

"Hey Twi, I'm gonna go wake my sisters and Spike up."

Twilight nodded and Carl went off to Lisa and Anna's room. When he entered, he jumped back at the sight of Lisa and Spike sleeping right next to each other, Lisa's arm draped over Spike as if he were a stuffed animal. Anna was still asleep as well, but Carl didn’t take note. The sight of his older sister and the baby dragon was almost as humorous to him as Rarity flipping out over the toilet was.

"D'awwwwwwwww." Carl thought mockingly, a mischievous grin, similar to Twilight's a few moments before, growing across his face. He whipped out his phone and quickly snapped a picture of the two.

"This will come in handy when I need to convince Lisa to do something she doesn't want to." He smiled as he walked out of the room and purposely shut the door loud enough to wake both Lisa and Spike from their slumber. Anna also woke up, but she was so groggy that she didn’t notice either Spike or Lisa sleeping the way they were.

As Lisa and Spike slowly came to and saw, they noticed the position that they had slept in. They looked at each other, eyes wide in horror.

"Spike, um….why are you so close to me?" Lisa asked nervously.

Spike, with a similarly nervous look replied, "I-I don't know…why is your arm on me?"

The quickly drew back and looked away from each other, turning beet red and rubbing the back of their heads in embarrassment. Both were breathing deep and fast, as if they had run a marathon.

"Errrr…" Lisa began, but couldn't bring herself to say anything more.

"Uhhhh…." Spike replied. Eventually, they calmed down enough to look back at each other, but they were still blushing in humiliation. Lisa pointed at Spike.

"This moment never happened, got it?” Lisa asked.

Spike mimicked a zipper going across his mouth to show that his lips were sealed about the matter. 

“What never happened?” Anna asked groggily from her bed, turning to face her sister, her hair a mess and her eyes baggy.

“Nothing, just get up squirt.” Lisa muttered as she moved to the edge of the bed and hopped off, followed by a still-blushing Spike.

Soon, everyone was up and downstairs in the kitchen eating a quick breakfast. Spike was talking with Lisa and Anna, and Twilight and Rarity were going on about some girly stuff. Carl, meanwhile, was still mulling over who and where Louis Clarkson was. Twilight noticed how Carl appeared to be deep in thought.

"Carl, what are you thinking about?" Twilight asked.

Carl looked over at Twilight, "I want to figure out where and who this Louis kid is." 

"Well do try to hurry up. I feel absolutely dreadful waiting to meet him when everypony else has met their partners." Rarity complained.

"I'm trying Rarity; do you think it's that simple? We've been lucky with the other four being my friends or people I've actually heard of. But this is someone that I don't remember meeting at any point in my life. Besides, I’m searching to the best of my ability, and it's not like the name is going to pop up out of thin air."

"Found him." Lisa said as she tossed Carl the newspaper. The paper partially landed into his bowl of cereal and milk, dampening the edge of it. Carl looked up at his sister with a shocked expression. She shrugged and pointed to the newspaper. "Page three, there's an article on a Louis Clarkson."

Carl sighed and picked the newspaper up off of the table, some milk still dripping from the corner that had landed in Carl's cereal. Carl noticed it wasn’t the whole newspaper that Lisa had given him, rather it was only the sports section. 

He opened it up to the third page to see a large, blown-up image of an African-American teen wearing a red and white soccer jersey that says "Cardinals" and was number 10. The title under the name says, "ST. MARY'S STAR PLAYER COMMITS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA".

Carl kept reading and his eyes widened, "Holy cow it is him."

"That's Louis?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah; no wonder I've never heard of him. He goes to a completely different school."

"He does?" Anna asked, "but I thought you said that all six of you were from going to be from Wilmont."

"He is from Wilmont, but he goes to a private school instead of the public school that the rest of us go to."

"May I see him?" Rarity asked; her eyes wide in anticipation. Carl nodded and handed the newspaper over to her. She took it with her magic, which was a blue aura as opposed to Twilight’s magenta-colored one, and looked at Louis' picture. Her excited face quickly became even more so as she saw her likely elemental partner.

"Oh wow, he's so….handsome." she said in such dreamy way that it made Spike turn red in the face.

"Let me see that." An envious Spike said before he grabbed the newspaper away and looked at Louis' picture.

Once done, he tossed it to the ground with a fake lack of impression.

"Pfft. He's not that cool." He said, rolling his eyes in apathy, when in reality seeing his image made him die a little inside. Carl grabbed the paper from Spike and opened it back to the article.

"Well there’s an entire article here.” Carl said as he looked over at Rarity, “Would you want to know more about him?"

"Oh yes! Definitely! I should only make sense that I know about who I’m going to be working with" She said with an enthusiastic grin, leaning forward on the table with interest.

"Okay, here's a little bit of the article."

Carl cleared his throat and began. 

"Louis Clarkson, a rising senior at St. Mary's Holy Catholic Academy, has just committed a year early to The University of North Carolina's soccer team for the 2013-14 season. He was named to the All-New York State soccer team earlier this year after breaking the Section III record for most goals in a season. Also earlier this fall, Mr. Clarkson led team to victory in the Section III Championship. St. Mary’s advanced to the State Semi-Finals, where they lost 2-0 to the Brighton Barons. Clarkson currently lives with his Aunt and Uncle as his parents were killed in 2003, while doing charity work in Somalia. To this day, people will see Clarkson point to the sky after each goal and victory that his team has in honor of his parents. Today, you can find Louis in the Wilmont Public Library, studying for one of his many AP exams, or up at Wilmont Park playing a pick-up game with his friends, which he does almost every day in the off-season." 

Carl stopped reading and looked up. Rarity's eyes were wide and her mouth hung open, "H-his parents died?"

"I guess so."

"What is it with this place?" Spike asked. "It seems like everypony is either getting bullied, has dead parents or parents that are abusive…er no offence Carl. Sorry if I insulted your Dad."

"No you didn’t man. Most families don't have these issues; it's just us elements for some reason." Carl said. "So I guess it’s time we pay Mr. Clarkson a little visit, eh?"

Everyone nodded. And Carl turned to his sisters.

"Lisa, Anna, Spike; you three stay here. If the Princess sends any more letters, call me up and let me know."

They all nodded and Carl turned to Twilight and Rarity, "Girls, we're going to go to the park. The article said how he always plays pick-up games there with his friends during the off-season and right now it is the off-season for soccer. So I’m thinking that he might be down there now."

The ponies nodded and Carl stood up, "Okay, I'm going to call Alex and Pete to see if they want to come."

"What about James?" Rarity asked. Carl didn't look up, he just sighed and shook his head, "He can't today; he has some…family problems. That reminds me I've got to call him to make sure everything…."

RING RING

Carl looked down at his pocket, where his ringing phone was vibrating. He pulled it out, without looking to see who was calling, he answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey dude, it's Ryan. What are you guys doing today?" Ryan said on the other end.

"Hey, um, we're going to get the Element of Generosity. I think we found him."

"Okay cool, we're coming with you."

Carl paused for a moment before he finally answered, "Ryan, you and Rainbow Dash have to stay at your house. If you leave Discord's men are going to…"

Carl stopped when he heard a quick conversation going on between Ryan and a girl with a familiar tom-boyish voice, obviously Rainbow Dash. A couple of noises were as the phone changed speakers so now somebody else was on the other end.

Or somepony else…and she was not pleased.

"Carl, this is Rainbow Dash." Rainbow Dash said in with a hint of annoyance.

"Fantastic. Good to know when Ryan doesn't want to argue with me, he makes you do it." Carl muttered with disdain. “That’s really mature of him.”

"Look here Carl; we are bored out of our minds. Do you have any idea what it's like for a pegasus to be cooped up in a house most of the day, especially when that pegasus is me!"

"Look Rainbow Dash you…"

"No one is looking for us! If they were don't you think they would have tried to get us yesterday? We've been patient and cooperative up until now. Today, we need to get out otherwise I’m going to start climbing the walls!"

Carl rubbed his temples, "All right, fine. You can come with us today. I'll call you to let you know when to meet at the mall. First we need to get Louis."

"Who?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"The Element of Generosity."

> The Last Element
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 18- The Last Element


James' House

James finally woke up at eleven O'clock. His t-shirt was drenched in a mix of sweat and tears, both from the night before and his sleep. Not that his dreams were normally happy, but this night, they were filled with an even greater sadness. 

The memory of his Aunt calling to tell him that Caroline had died returned. The memory pained him greatly, hitting him with the depression he missed out on as he slept. He wanted to burst into tears when he felt something warm and furry stir beside him. He looked to his left and saw Fluttershy pressed up against his side. Her forelegs were wrapped around him, her eyes were closed and her breathing was soft and serene, as she continued to sleep, most likely dreaming about her animal friends she left back in Ponyville. James still felt horrible about Caroline, but whenever he laid eyes on Fluttershy's cute face he couldn't help but feel a little better. Sighing, he tapped her on the shoulder, causing her wake up. Her baggy eyes gazing up at James, blinking the sleep away.

"Hm...oh James. I'm sorry did I wake you?"

"No Fluttershy." James said, "I was already up."

"Oh," she said as she looked away from James for a brief moment, as if to think over what she should say next. Eventually, she seemed to settle on something and let out a sigh.

"James, I'm so sorry about your cousin. It's so...so..." Fluttershy couldn't hold back anymore. She shut her eyes and buried her face into her hooves, starting to weep. James quickly wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug. He was upset as well, but was observant enough to put his own grief aside for the time being. It was now time for him to comfort her.

"Shh, shh, it's okay." He said, slowly starting to cry as well. He realized he was in no state to be comforting anyone. He looked away from Fluttershy, hoping to hide his crying from her. But she wasn't stupid, she knew his true sorrow.

"James, you don't have to hide it. I know it hurts you more than it hurts me." Fluttershy said, wiping the tears away from her eyes as she leaned closer to James' ear. "I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better." 

"Thanks Fluttershy," James said with a sniffle, "you're a great friend. And your being here for me has helped me feel better. But you're upset too, and I'm here for you just as much as you're here for me."

Fluttershy looked up at James and gave him a weak smile.

Suddenly, the corded phone in James' room rang, causing both elements of kindness to break their hug. James grabbed and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey man how are you feeling?" Carl asked.

James wiped his nose on his wrist and sniffled. "Been better, I suppose."

"I'm really sorry about what happened."

"Thanks bro." 

"Listen, I found the last element and we're going to get him. I called to tell you to stay home for the day with Fluttershy."

"A-are you sure?"

"Yeah, unless you're up for it. I don't want to pressure you into doing anything you don't want to; especially now after what happened to Caroline."

James closed his eyes and sighed. He really did want to come to help out his friends, but he knew that he needed a day to grieve so he answered, "Yeah...yeah I guess I'll stay home. I mean, unless you need me for anything."

"We're good for now man, thanks though. I'll call you back later after we get him and we can meet up."

"Word."

"All right man, stay strong."

"I will."

"See you."

"Peace." James hung up and put the phone back into the cradle. He walked back over to the edge of the bed and sat down, putting his face into his hands and rubbing the last bit of sleep from his eyes.

"Was that Carl?" Fluttershy asked.

James nodded, "Yeah, he suggested I take the day off, and I accepted."

"Oh, well...I think a day off will do you some good."

James nodded, "Yeah, but Caroline is still dead. I don't think any amount of rest can help me get over that."

Fluttershy thought for a second, looking down at her hooves. "Why don't we go out?"

James looked at Fluttershy, "I'm not sure if that's a good idea, after all, Twilight's spell isn't in effect for you so if people saw you, they'd see a pony."

Fluttershy looked up at James and gave him a small nod.

"Yeah that's probably for the best. Besides, we can find something to do here, right?"

"Right." James said when he heard voices coming from downstairs. The voice belonged to Patrick. He was home for the day and James knew that his parents would be gushing about him all day, driving James to the point of losing his mind.

"You know what, let's go on that hike." James said, standing up.

"Really?"

James nodded, "I'll get my bike and we can go to the park, it's not too far from here."

"Oh a park, are there animals?" Fluttershy asked, "I mean...if they don't that won't be a problem it's just..."

James chuckled, "Yes Fluttershy, they have animals."

Pete's House

Pete just received the text from Carl, telling him to stay home. Carl would pick him and Pinkie up later once they found the last element. Pete was outside on his porch, watching as some birds flew by, chasing some insects that were buzzing around. The sun was bright and the day optimistic. His parents were both at work, and most of the street was empty, so he didn't have to be ultra-secretive with Pinkie Pie. In fact, he let her sit in the chair next to him. She was looking out towards the other side of the street, but her eyes were drawn up towards the clouds. Every now and then she'd point to one and said what she thought it looked like.

"Oh! Oh! Pete! That one! Right there! It looks like a giant cupcake!"

Pete squinted, "Which one?"

"That one!" she said, adding emphasis with her pointing at one of the clouds. Once Pete saw it, he had to admit, it did look a bit like a cupcake. 

"See! There's the cake, and there's the frosting!" Pinkie said.

"Oh yeah, ha-ha that's great." Pete said.

Pinkie pointed to another cloud that was close to the "cupcake". 

"And that one, right there, looks like a BIG, hungry pony, that's ready to eat the cupcake! Mmmm&#133;" she rubbed her stomach and licked her lips, like she ate the cloud cupcake herself.

"Actually, that pony cloud looks a lot like you." Pete said. 

Pinkie looked at the cloud again, noticing the "mane" had a slightly poofy appearance, most likely because it was a cloud. 

She smiled in agreement. "Oh yeah, I see that! It even has my poofy mane!"

Pete sighed and sat up, "Hey Pinkie, before we go, do you want to eat? I actually do have some cupcakes in the fridge if you're interested."

"OH MY GOSH REALLY!?!" she asked. Pete nodded and Pinkie jumped into the air, pure excitement in her eyes.

"YAY! I'll meet you in there Petey!" With that, Pinkie sprinted off into the house, leaving a comical pink, cartoony trail behind her.

Pete chuckled a bit before he followed her. He walked into the kitchen. Pinkie Pie was already sitting at the table, a napkin tied around her neck and a plate, knife and fork in front of her. Where she got these things so fast, he wasn't sure.

"Probably some kind of emergency Pinkie Pie eating kit." Pete thought, walking over to one of the cabinets. He grabbed a white plate and closed it before going into the breadbox and grabbing a chocolate cupcake. He brought the cupcake and plate over to Pinkie Pie, gently setting the plate down in front of her, and putting the cupcake on top. 

"Here you go Pinkie."

"Thanks Pete!" she said before she leaned back, mouth wide open, and tossed the cupcake in. She took one bite and swallowed the tasty treat. All Pete could do was gawk. Even if it should have been expected behavior from Pinkie Pie, it was still unbelievable to see something so cartoony done in real life.

Pinkie Pie looked down at her crumb-filled plate-she was surprisingly messy for eating the pastry in one bite- and pouted.
"Awwww, it's gone."

Once the initial shock was gone, Pete couldn't help but chuckle at her mannerisms. He eventually broke out into a haughty laugh that eventually caused him to become hunched over the table. It was the hardest he laughed in years.

Pinkie Pie became concerned about her friend's apparent convulsions.

"Pete, are you okay?" 

Pete calmed himself down and wiped a tear of laughter away, "Yeah I am, you're just so...random."

Pete continued to laugh and soon Pinkie did as well. Pete was finally opening himself up and felt less like a wall-flower and more like how he was before everything changed for him. And he owed it all to Pinkie.

But she was far from done changing his life.

Wilmont Park- Afternoon

"Hey Gregors; pass me the ball!" shouted the six-foot two-inch, pumped up, soon to be Division I soccer player. 

Louis Clarkson was playing a four v. four soccer game against some of his classmates from the year before. His eyes showed steely determination as the ball was passed to him. He trapped the ball at his feet before he started a sprint down the field. He weaved in and out of his defending friends; juking two of them so badly that they lost their balance. Louis took a quick look up. Once he saw someone open, he passed him the ball before sprinting towards the goal to receive the cross.

The player with the ball kicked the ball high into the air for the wide-open Louis, who only had the goalie to beat. He leapt at the same time as the keeper, but reached about half a foot higher than him. The front of his head made contact with the padded surface of the ball, sending the spherical object smashing into the net with force greater than that of most players had they kicked it with their feet.

Louis returned to Earth and looked up. Once he saw the ball in the goal, he pumped his fist in victory. He then kissed his fist and pointed up towards the sky, just as he did when he scored in actual games. 

"Hell yeah! That's my boy Louis right there!" shouted one of his friends. 

"It's all in a day's work for the mighty Louis Clarkson!" Louis laughed before high-fiving his friend.

As the black soccer star celebrated his goal, out in the parking near the soccer field was a car, where Carl Alex, Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight were watching the game from. They all saw the goal, as well as the events leading up to it. Their jaws all hung loosely in astonishment. 

"Holy Mother of God." Alex muttered, still in awe of Louis' soccer skill.

"He's UNC bound man, what did you expect? He's got skill." Carl said, anxiously biting his nails.

"It's still impressive." Alex replied, "Hold on a second, since he is the Element of Generosity, does that mean he's a brony too? I mean, all of us so far have been."

"I guess it does, it would make sense." Carl said.

"If he is, he is as far from the stereotype as anyone could possible get."

"What do ya mean stereotype?" Applejack asked.

"When I imagine a brony I see a nerdy white kid who prefers the internet to sports. Not a hulking, six-foot tall African-American all-star soccer player."

"Wow, racist much Alex?" Carl asked.

"No! Dude, I'm not a racist, I'm just observant. Could you really see a guy like him spending his spare time watching My Little Pony?"

Carl thought about this for a second. The mental image of Louis staring wide-eyed at the computer, vomiting rainbows, and watching My Little Pony came up and Carl had do everything in his power to stop himself from bursting into laughter, just from thinking about it.

"Carl, I hate to interrupt, but do you think we should go out there now?" Rarity asked, a huge grin on her face as her azure eyes kept being drawn to the muscular hunk she hoped to be partnered with.

Carl nodded, "Yeah, but listen. You and Twilight can do this by yourselves. Ask him to meet you two at the mall in an hour, only you two. Don't say anything about us being there."

"Why not?" Twilight asked, Rarity too absorbed in Louis' glistening form to pay attention to Carl's instructions.

"He'll be more interested if two girls he doesn't know ask him to the mall than a group that includes guys." Carl said, "Twilight, make sure you use your spell so he thinks you're Tara and Raquel."

"Got it." Twilight said as her horn had the familiar magenta glow for a couple of seconds before it faded. "We're all set."

"Good. Now go get him and, oh Twilight!" Carl said as she opened both doors with her magic. 

Twilight turned to face Carl. "Yeah?"

"Check him to make sure he's the element, but don't tell him anything about Equestria until we get to the mall."

"Carl I know what to do. You should know that organization and precision is my specialty." Twilight said with a wink and cocky smile. She then exited the car, dragging a go-go eyed Rarity along with her. They closed the door behind themselves.

Applejack and Alex leaned forward from the back seat. Carl leaned back against the driver's seat, watching the two girls walk off, a pony in his eyes, but two, stunningly beautiful human girls to everyone else.

Applejack watched them walk off, "Do ya think he'll agree ta meet us?".

"If he doesn't, you can go buck him AJ." Carl replied, still biting his nails.

Down on the field, Louis was about to take a corner kick on the side of the field that was closest to the parking lot, when another one of his friends called him.

"Hey Louis! Looks like you got some hot biddies coming your way!"

Louis turned around to see Twilight and Rarity heading towards him. Of course, he saw them as nothing more than two stunning, teenage, human girls with flirtatious grins on their faces.

His friends began to whistle and holler at the girls like typical goes while Louis simply kept grinning. 

"I've got this." Louis told his friends, starting to make his way over to two, mysterious girls.

"Hello ladies." He said in a very flirtatious way, causing the girls to giggle.

"Hi, you wouldn't happen to be the Louis Clarkson, would you?" Twilight asked, trying to play on his ego, which worked.

"Been reading the newspapers recently I see." Louis said as he extended his hand to be shaken. "Yes, I am Louis Clarkson, future captain of the North Carolina Tarheels Soccer team and current star of the St. Mary's Cardinals."

"I'm Tara and this is my friend Raquel." Twilight said, gesturing to Rarity. The white unicorn batted her eyelashes in a seductively animated manner, causing Louis' face turned bright red.

"It's an absolute pleasure to meet you Louis." Rarity said, extending her hoof to shake Louis' hand. 

"Pleasure's mine." Louis replied dreamily, like a typical guy in the presence of an extremely attractive girl.

"Listen, we were wondering if you wanted to meet us at the mall in an hour for lunch." Twilight offered.

Louis chuckled, "Yeah, of course. I should be done here by then. Do you want to meet in the food-court?"

"Yep, that sounds perfect." Twilight said, Rarity still staring like Louis was a fresh daisy sandwich.

"Great! Well, we'll see you two there." Louis said with an excited smile.

"Wait, Louis, could you hold still a moment?" Twilight asked, doing her usual head-to-chest ritual that caused everyone on the soccer field to start hurling sexual statements, and everyone in Carl's car to burst into laughter.

Twilight backed away from Louis, who was blushing, and smiling. "See you at the mall."

With that the two girls waved and walked back towards the car. Louis turned to make the corner kick, "Hey guys, here it comes, look alive out there I want this ball in the net!"

With that, he ran up and booted the ball brilliantly, allowing one of  his friend to head it into the back of the net.

On the way back to the car, Carl watched as Twilight whispered something to Rarity. After this, Rarity suddenly jumped for joy and strutted back to the car with her eyes closed and a huge grin on her muzzle.

Carl smiled and gave a small nod, "Looks like we've found the Element of Generosity."

Ryan's House

There was absolutely nothing to do for Ryan and Rainbow Dash as they waited for Carl's text. Since waking up, both of them sat at the couch and did absolutely nothing but watch television and eat junk food from the pantry. Ryan had his phone on vibrate so Carl could tell him when and where to meet.

"Ryan, I was thinking," Rainbow Dash said after swallowing a potato chip, "when do you want to tell everypony that we're...you know, a couple?"

Ryan shrugged, "I'm not sure. I'm still a little hesitant to tell Carl and those guys, but I think they'll be cool."

"What about your parents?"

Ryan sighed, "I'm not sure, but I don't think they'd  be too happy."

Rainbow Dash saw how stressed out Ryan was and scooted closer to him, resting her head onto his shoulder as her eyes stayed on the television where a strange sponge and starfish were singing about camping. 

"Is it because I'm a pony, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yes." Ryan said.

"What if they aren't cool with it?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Ryan sighed, "If they don't approve of it, I'll be upset but I'm not going to stop being your boyfriend."

Rainbow Dash nuzzled against Ryan's shoulder. "Thanks Ryan, I'm glad I mean that much to you."

Ryan felt a little better now. Having her beside him always made him feel better. It was just like in the show. Whenever she was on it, he would suddenly feel happy and comforted. As he looked into her eyes and imagined that somewhere out in the vast number universes and dimensions that she existed, he would be happy. Now that she was here, Ryan's feeling of wanting something more that accompanied his romantic's personality went away. He felt like he was complete, like he didn't have the desire for "something more" any longer, and that was a feeling he had ever since he was very young. This also made Ryan thrilled because it proved that his love for Rainbow Dash was pure love rather than just a "you want something that you can't have" kind of thing.

No, he would never leave Rainbow Dash's side, and she would never leave his. They were equals; both sources of comfort for one another. It wasn't male dominated or female dominated, it was mutual, how a relationship should be.

That's the thing that made them both the happiest about their relationship, even if it was only about a day old.

BUZZ BUZZ

Ryan took his phone out of his pocket and saw that he got a text from Carl.

"Meet at mall in 45 minutes."

Ryan quickly replied with a "k" and pocketed his phone.

"Duty calls Dashie, come on let's clean up and get going."

She nodded and lazily got up from the couch, crumbs dropping onto the cushion.

"Oh crud." she said, sweeping the crumbs off of the couch into one hoof with the other.

"Hang on Dashie, let me help you." Ryan said as he began to brush the couch cushion off.

"I've got it." She said stubbornly as she swept faster so Ryan would have less. She then looked up with a smile, "I'll race ya to the kitchen!"

"You know you're going to beat me." Ryan muttered.

"But you'll never know if you don't compete!" she said with a big grin. "Besides, I'll stay on the ground so it'll be a little fairer."

Ryan knew he wasn't going to get away with it, "All right, fine."

"Awesome." Rainbow Dash said, grinning competitively. She got into a starting position, still holding one hoof out to balance the crumbs, "Okay, ready..."

Ryan took his position. In his mind he already accepted defeat.

"...set, go!"

They both ran down the hall, towards the kitchen, something rather difficult inside a house. Ryan eventually saw her sprint by him with unbelievable speed and he knew there was no way that he'd win, and he was right.

Once she was in the kitchen she tossed the crumbs into the trash-bin. She then flew up, her hooves held triumphantly in the air.

"Ha! I won; the fastest flier in Equestria has won on the ground! I beat you!" Rainbow Dash said, still smiling like she just won the Best Young Flier's Competition again.

"You sure did Dashie." Ryan said with a chuckle.

Rainbow Dash then looked at Ryan, her competitive face melting a bit into a much more friendly, softer one. 

"No, Carl, you're supposed to say 'you got lucky'." Ryan looked at her confused and she smiled, "In a playful way of course. But you don't need to completely give me a victory that's no fun. Say 'I want a rematch later' or something." She added.

Ryan shrugged. "You'd still beat me."

Rainbow Dash then grabbed Ryan by the collar of his shirt and pulled his face to her own, which had a pleading expression on it, "No, Ryan look. You have to be a little cocky sometimes; this is what I'm trying to tell you now. Tell me that you want a rematch later."

"But..." Ryan began but when he saw Rainbow Dash scowl at him he conceded with a sigh. "Fine, I want a rematch later." 

Rainbow Dash smirked, "Um, what was that?"

"I want a rematch later." Ryan said a little louder.

"What?" she asked as she put her hoof to her ear to emphasize how quiet Ryan was.

"I want a rematch!" he finally shouted.

"Are you sure that you can take me? After all I am the awesome Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in all of Equestria! I can do anything! I can even go fast on the ground! I can defeat you with both wings tied again."

"Prove it then!" Ryan shouted as his face dropped. He suddenly realized how confident he sounded all of a sudden and it made him feel&#133;good. Really good, in fact, something he hadn't felt in a long time. 

Rainbow Dash smiled at Ryan and gave him a big hug, still looking into his eyes.

"You see? Being confident in yourself feels good, doesn't it?"

"It does," Ryan smiled and hugged her back, "thank you Dashie."

"No problem Ryan." She said right before she broke the hug. Ryan tossed the crumbs still in his hands into the trash bin; the sweat from clenching his hand into a fist caused the crumbs to stick to his skin. He brushed them off and turned to Rainbow Dash, who was back to her competitive self. 

"I'm holding you up on that re-match. And I want you to believe that you can beat me, even if it is impossible." She said with a small chuckle.

"Deal." Ryan said before they headed out to the car, Rainbow Dash's right hoof in Ryan's left hand.

Ryan's head was reeling. Rainbow Dash had just given him a lesson in confidence, something no girl on Earth would ever do. Hell, most girls would probably take advantage of his lack of confidence, using it so they had the upper hand in the relationship. But not Rainbow Dash. She a wonderful, supportive friend and she wanted him to become confident like her.

Once they were into the car, both seated, Rainbow Dash noticed Ryan starting to tear-up.

"Ryan what's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just nobody has ever been so nice to me in my life, besides maybe my parents." He said, giving Rainbow Dash a small smile.

Rainbow Dash returned the smile, "No one loves you like I do Ryan, remember that. Now can we get going? I don't want any of my friends to see me this lovey-dovey. It would hurt my image."

"Right, sorry." Ryan said with a chuckle as he turned his car on and drove off, Rainbow Dash' head still resting on his shoulder as they both hummed "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".

They were both so happy that neither noticed a suspicious white van following them down the street.

The driver of the white van, a middle-aged, balding man in a black suit, picked up a radio and spoke into it: "They just left, I'm following them."

City Hall-Continuous

Brett sat at his desk, his own radio in his hands as he listened to his watch-man on the other end. 

"Right, follow them and tell me where they go. Do not to anything until I arrive." Brett said.

"Got it Obscure. Hail Discord."

"Discorda est rex."

And with that, Brett hung up.
> The Chase
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 [A/N]: Sorry about the delay on this. Sort of started getting caught up in writing my short one-shot fics. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I am not sure how good it is, but I at least hope it's an improvement from what it was before. Let me know if there are any glaring errors. With that said, enjoy :) 






Chapter 19- The Chase


Mall

It was around one-thirty in the afternoon when everyone got to the mall. Alex and Applejack changed vehicles to Alex's car so he could go pick up Pinkie Pie and Pete at Pete's house. Ryan drove Rainbow Dash in his car. Carl drove Twilight and Rarity in his car. Once again, Twilight made sure to cast her illusion spell so that everybody who was not part of their group would see them as humans. The only exception  to this was Louis, for they didn't want to reveal their true selves to him quite yet. If they did, the girls feared that he might have lost his mind. So they made sure he saw the mane six, or five in this case as Fluttershy wasn't present, as humans rather than the ponies they truly were.

Another reason they held off on telling Louis was because Carl wanted to "test the water" and see if he was a brony or not. To do that, they needed to tell him the girl's real names without revealing that they were from the cartoon. If he wasn't a brony, he wouldn't get it and just think the names were odd and wonder why they lied about their true names. But if he did know where the names were from, he'd most likely say something.

Or not, it was relative on what kind of person he was- the kind of person who didn't give a fuck what other people thought or the kind of person that would go to extreme lengths to protect their image.

So there, in the center of the mall, nine of the twelve Elements sat, waiting for the arrival of the human Element of Generosity to arrive. In order to make room for everyone to sit together, Alex and Carl dragged two tables together. Normally this wouldn't have been a problem, but the fact that both tables were round made the situation somewhat awkward- the combined tables forming a figure eight of sorts. Regardless of their odd seating choice, the friends all sat down at their makeshift table, taking a load off as each of them felt a sense of fulfillment. The hardest part was over, they had found all six elements- and now it was time to partake in yet another combination of fast food at the mall, and destroying a teenage guy's sense of reality. 

"So how long until he gets here?" Alex asked, his hands fidgeting- his aggravation on the rise since sitting down.

"I'm not sure man, be patient. We aren't in any rush." Carl said. Though he, too, started to feel impatient. He looked down at his watch to see how long it had been. 1:33- He was late, but not so late that it would be an issue. It was always good to be fashionably late, after all.

But perhaps most antsy of all was a certain cyan pegasus. Rainbow Dash's eyes were half-shut, her chin pressed down against the table as she let out a mighty yawn. 

"Ugh I'm sooooo bored." she complained, lifting her head lightly, as if trying to wake herself up. Unfortunately, her efforts, though valiant  were for naught. Her head fell back onto the table with a soft thunk. She sighed. "There's gotta be something to do."

Ryan noticed his partner's distress. He thought about what he could do to make time pass quicker for her. Suddenly, he had an idea. Smiling, he nudged the pegasus gently with his elbow. She peeked over at him, her head still down.

"What?" she mumbled, her chin pressed against the hard table-top slightly stifling her speech.

"Do you want to have a quick little competition while we wait?" Ryan asked, smiling.

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened and her ears perked up. A competitive smirk grew across her face. 

"So, you're finally feeling up to the challenge, eh?"

Ryan nodded. "Yep, but only because this isn't a race, so I might have a chance with this one."

"Hey, a challenge is a challenge. I don't care what it is; I'm game." she said, pounding her chest proudly.

"All right, see these napkins here?" Ryan asked, pulling a brown napkin out of the table's dispenser.

Rainbow Dash cocked her head, a look of bewilderment in her eyes. Slowly, she nodded. "Yeah."

Ryan chuckled. "Okay, well, I want for us to do is to crumple them up," Ryan crumpled the napkin in his hand to demonstrate. He held it out to Rainbow Dash, who looked it over and nodded. Ryan then continued. "And we try to toss them into the waste can over there." He pointed over his shoulder at a black trashcan. “Whoever sinks the most wins.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, her grin returning with even more competitiveness- a sight that made Ryan blush. The tom-boy leaned closer to Ryan so they were almost nose-to-nose, her eyes  piercing like a twin set of spears.

"You are so on." She said, spitting into it and stuck it out to Ryan to shake. The teen boy, in turn, spat onto his palm and shook her hoof in a way that her saliva-covered hoof met Ryan's saliva-covered hand. As they drew back and began to crumple up the napkins, Rainbow Dash doing quite well for not having hands, she giggled, "I thought you got grossed out by spit Ryan."

"I told you yesterday, when it's your spit I don't care." Ryan laughed, "Besides, it's not like I didn't have your tongue in my mouth all day."

Once the words left Ryan's mouth, everyone at the table stopped what they were doing to look at the elements of loyalty. Initially, Ryan and Rainbow Dash were too busy crumpling napkins for their competition to notice, but once they finished, they glanced up to see the entire table staring at them in shock- except for Applejack, who already knew the feelings they shared for one another.

Ryan's face turned red, a feeling of pure embarrassment rushed through his body. He didn't know what to do, his heart racing and his breathing quick and shallow. He thought he was going to get up and run when he heard Rainbow Dash laughing. Before he could ask her why she was laughing, he was met with a supportive, cyan foreleg being placed around his shoulder..

"Yep, you heard correctly, Ryan and I are dating and if you have a problem with that...well...let's just say you'll have a hard time walking tomorrow once I get through with you."

Ryan gave Rainbow Dash a "thank you" smile and kissed her cheek. Alex suddenly broke out into a huge grin and held his hand out for Ryan to hi-five. Ryan hesitantly  high fived him- unsure if it was mocking or sincere. Then Alex put his hand out for Rainbow Dash to hi-five as well, both Ryan and Rainbow Dash were confused about his apparent excitement over the news.

"Congrats you two." He laughed, "You two make a great couple."

"Um…thanks Alex." Ryan said shyly, giving his friend a grateful smile.

"So you and Rainbow Dash are really...in love?" Carl asked with a bit of a shaky voice, showing the insecurities he had seeing the two pony/human couples that were sitting at the table. All they did was serve to remind him of his own feelings for Twilight, and how wrong he felt it was. 

Ryan nodded as he recovered some confidence and was now not ashamed to profess his feelings in front of the others.

"Hell yeah we are, do you have a problem with that Carl, because Rainbow Dash here said…."

"No! No, I don't have a problem." Carl said nervously, holding his hand out for mercy. Images of the rainbow-maned pegasus whooping him sent panic throughout his body. "I-I'm just surprised how fast your relationship started...like Alex and AJ's."

"Alex?" Ryan and Rainbow Dash both said in unison as they looked over to see Alex lay his arm around Applejack's shoulder. The earth pony, in turn, gave the Texan a small peck him on the cheek before turning to the rest of the table.

"That's right y'all, we fell in love with each other." Applejack said as she leaned her head on Alex's shoulder and closed her eyes.

"I still don't understand. You've only known each other for...what? A day? And yet you're already in love?" Carl asked, scratching his head.

"You weren't there last night when we talked at the park." Alex muttered with a smile.

"But…Relationships never start that quick. When we were here yesterday, you two were making out twenty minutes after you first met."

"Maybe it's because we connected better than most people here on Earth do. Call it an honest case of love at first sight rather than the 'love at first sight' that soon-to-be brides lie about to make themselves feel better about a marriage, but...we have it." Alex said, chuckling as he looked down at his partner in love and honesty.

"Yeah, not ta mention we ain't afraid to show our feelings fer each other." Applejack added, "Ah think that's why people in yer world don't act like we did yesterday, Carl. We ain't into holdin' back none, while they are."

"That's true," Ryan said, "besides, Carl, you know that I've had a crush on Rainbow Dash when I thought that she was a fictional character, and Alex felt the same about Applejack. So it's not like we suddenly felt this way. Our love for them developed while we watched the show and meeting them just...I don't know. Finalized it, or something."

Now it was time for the girls to speak up.

"And I liked Ryan so fast because he wasn't like other guys, and I got that within the first few minutes of meeting him. He isn't overly cocky, which is a bit of a weakness for him no doubt, but most stallions act so macho all of the time, that it was nice to meet an emotional, caring person that I can have a mutual respect for."

"Ah hear ya sugarcube." Applejack piped in with a smile. "After talkin' with Alex yesterday when he still thought I was human, ah knew he was a great guy. Not ta mention that he talked on and on about honesty and hard work and how much he values them. Naturally, ah felt a connection with him right then and there."

Carl sighed and rubbed his head. He had gotten over pretending to think it was weird for them to have these feelings, but we as still in disbelief about how fast their relationship had progressed. Such a short time since meeting each other, and they seemed to accomplish a closeness that no other couple that he had ever seen in his life could match. Married couples of twenty plus years would envy the love expressed in these relationships.

Another strange thing was that both Alex and Ryan looked different, especially in their eyes- shining like they were still children in the schoolyard instead of teens hardened by the world around them. It was like ever since they met their partners they became happier and, strangely, more innocent in their attitude towards the world around them. Ryan seemed to have more confidence, and Alex seemed more, well…vibrant. It was truly strange.

While Carl continued to ponder the romances, Pete silently listened- not contributing anything, as he was too worried that he'd say something stupid. Honestly, the only person, rather pony, he felt comfortable around to actually be himself was Pinkie Pie, and that was only because she was as random as he used to be- before he was kicked in the gut by reality.

As Ryan and Rainbow Dash gave each other an Eskimo kiss, Pinkie Pie smiled.

"Awwww that's so cute! You make such a great couple. And so do you Alex and AJ! Hey, maybe I should plan a party for you guys! Like a big 'happy trails for the new couples' shindig! Oh that would be so fun; I could make cake, cookies, and get some ice cream. I could get chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and cotton candy to match you Rainbow Dash!" she said, nearly bouncing in her seat. Pete chuckled a bit, forgetting his insecurities for a moment as Pinkie Pie's little display of joy reminded him why she was his favorite pony.

Carl, growing tired of all the mushy talk decided that a change in subject was needed. Clearing his throat, he looked at everyone and everypony at the table, face serious and business-like. 

"Guys, it's great you all found love like a bunch of shameless, fanfiction self-inserts. But don't forget, our main priority here is to talk with Louis about his role in our group." 

"I wish he would arrive soon, my hooves are starting to shake from anxiety." Rarity said, looking down at her hooves with a blush on her face. She closed her eyes and let out a dramatic sigh. "Oh I do hope the dear likes me." She then opened her eyes and looked herself over, from her white hooves to her diamond cutie mark. "How do I look? Did I overdo it? Does it look like I'm trying too hard?"

Carl smiled weakly at Rarity. "You're fine Rarity; he's going to love you." 

"Speaking of which," Twilight whispered. "Look who finally arrived." 

Everyone looked towards the entrance of the mall to see Louis walking into the mall. He was now wearing a light-blue UNC Soccer t-shit and a pair of white and blue shorts. He was like a Gad-damned walking advertisement for the University.

No longer was he drenched in sweat- he was dry and groomed, ready to hang out with the three lovely babes that walked up to him at the park. Once Louis saw the girls, his face lit up for a split second before his eyes moved over Carl, Alex, Pete and Ryan- the guys. Almost as soon as it appeared, his joyous expression fell- a hint of disappointment flashed over his eyes before a small smile returned, though this one lacked the excitement of the first.

"That disappointed expression he had on his face," Alex said, pointing to Louis with a small smile. "That, my friends, is the look of a man who thought he was getting lucky, realizing that he's been regulated to the friend-zone."

"Guarantee you he still tries to flirt up a storm." Ryan muttered, looking at Alex. "Jocks don't know when to quit when it comes to hot girls."

Alex nodded, "As an athlete, I agree wholeheartedly."

Louis walked over to the table, looking at Twilight and Rarity and giving them a small nod. His face immediately showed a forced romance. "What's up ladies?"

Rarity and Twilight smiled in return, giving Louis a small wave with their hooves, cheeks flushed.

"Hello Louis." Twilight said sultrily. Carl balled his hands up into a pair of tight fists. Though he didn't want to admit it, watching Twilight act so flustered by Louis' presence and 'ladies man' person made enviously seethe on the inside.

"Hi Louis, I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you I was bringing some friends." Rarity said, gesturing to the others.

"Some?" Louis said with a laugh, looking around the table at the five girls and four boys. "God, some of the classes at St. Mary's have fewer people than this."

Louis took the only vacant seat, which was purposely right across from Rarity. Carl had it like this so they could talk about him being the element and her partner. But to Rarity, it just gave her another chance to gaze into his 'magnificent' eyes- as she would call them.

"So what's up, why did you call me down here? Did you want an interview or did you just want to bask in my glory?" Louis said, shooting a prideful look at Rarity, who seemed to melt even more bit from the gesture.

Deciding to take initiative, Carl leaned forward so he was looking directly into Louis' eyes. "We needed to talk to you about something important."

Louis looked at Carl, his smile waned but still persisted. "Okay, I'm listening. What did you want to talk about?" His tone suggested a lack of interest in talking to a guy rather than the two beautiful girls and their three equally beautiful friends.

Carl swallowed, using his saliva to wet his dry throat, which seemed to constrict from nervousness. Sighing, he finally got the words out. "You don't know it yet but you are one of six people who have been chosen to fight a great evil that is residing here in Wilmont."

Louis looked at Carl as if he just told him the world was going to end. "So...this is some sort of religious cult bullshit? Because, in case you didn't read the newspaper article close enough, I go to St. Mary's CatholicAcademy. I'm all set with my faith in my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."

Carl shook his head. "No, this isn't a religious meeting. This is something more serious than that."

"More serious than God and religion?" Louis asked.

"At the moment it's more important than preaching about him."

Louis turned to give a blank look at both Twilight and Rarity. "Why the hell did you two ask me to meet you here?"

Twilight and Rarity looked at each other, eyes asking the other how they should proceed. Clearing her throat, Twilight turned to Louis.

"Look, Louis. We aren't who you think we are Louis. Our names aren't really Tara and Raquel."

Louis just kept staring, "Then…then what the hell are they?"

"My name is Twilight Sparkle and this is Rarity." Twilight said, pointing to the sheepish, white unicorn, who gave Louis a small wave.

Carl bit his lip, closing his eyes in anticipation of Louis' response. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Louis burst out into laughter.

Everyone just stared at him, even some people who were at other tables that heard his bellowing looked over in disgust at his crude behavior. As he calmed himself down, he pointed at Twilight.

"So you're Twilight? And you're Rarity?" he said, pointing at the two girls, who both nodded. He grinned, "That's so cute. Role-playing as characters from My Little Pony?"

"Yep! And I'm Pinkie Pie, and here is Applejack and Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly, causing some people nearby to look over at them like they were a gaggle of escaped mental patients- not too odd of an assumption when taking the crazy pink pony into account.

Louis shook his head, still laughing, "Funny. Oh, this is too hilarious."

"So you are a brony?" Alex asked and Louis sighed before turning to Alex with a cocky smile.

"Okay, fine, you caught me. The big, bad-ass soccer superstar is a closet brony. Do you know how many shits I give about it?" Louis held his hand up his hand to show a "zero" shape with his thumb and middle finger. He even mouthed 'zero' as he did this to further emphasize his point.

"Yeah you don't care. That's why you haven't mentioned it once in any of the newspaper articles run on you." Ryan muttered sarcastically, not looking up at Louis as he said it.

"Louis, please listen to us." Rarity said with a pleading look, "Nopony here is trying to mock you for being a brony; we just need your help because you're Earth's Element of Generosity."

Louis was about to laugh when he got caught staring into Rarity's expressive eyes that were beautiful to Louis, who saw them as very elegant human eyes.

"Louis! Look at me." Twilight said, making the boy turn to her and stare. Twilight put her hooves onto his shoulder and looked him square in the eye, of course to him it just looked like she was putting her hands onto his shoulders. "You have to believe us, we really are the Elements of Harmony and we all need your help."

Louis then pointed to the guys at the table, first at Carl, then sweeping his pointed finger at them all until they landed on Pete, who flinched as he saw Louis' finger directed at him. "And who the hell are they?"

"They're the other elements of Earth. You are the last one that we need before we have all six. So please, don't disregard us as ponies pulling a prank on you." Twilight said without taking her serious eyes off of Louis’ own confused ones.

Carl tapped Louis on the shoulder, making him turn around.

"Louis, Discord is here in Wilmont and we need you to help us defeat him before he brings this town into a deeper hell than it is right now."

"Carl." Twilight muttered. Carl looked up at her.

"What?"

She pointed her hoof timidly towards the entrance in a stealthy manner, making sure it wasn't too obvious to anyone who she was pointing to. "We might have a bit of a problem."

Carl looked over his shoulder to see about twelve men in black suits walking towards them.

"Don't look at them, they'll see you.'" Twilight muttered; grabbing Carl and turning him back to face her.

"Who the hell are they?" he asked.

"I don't know about most of them, but that one in the front is one of Discord's henchmen. Trust me; I can see him for who he really is. He's a unicorn in disguise as a human. The others just look like humans.”

“They look like government agents.” Alex added.

"Does that mean he can see you girls are ponies as well?" Ryan asked Twilight nervously.

"Let's not say to find out." Applejack said.

"Okay everybody, get up and calmly start walking further into the mall." Carl said. They began to stand up, trying to act as relaxed and calm as possible, which was more difficult than it sounded. Ryan and Rainbow Dash both tossed their crumpled napkins at the trashcan. Of course, Ryan missed his shot and Rainbow Dash sunk hers.

"Got it." She whispered smugly at Ryan, sticking her tongue out in a taunting manner. Ryan rolled his eyes before picking up the napkin and throwing it out. It may have been an emergency situation, but Rainbow Dash wouldn't let that get in her way of finishing a competition.

They threw out the rest of the napkins, food and everything else at the table and headed off, the group of men following only about thirty feet behind them.

"May I ask what's going on?" Louis asked, somewhat annoyed at the situation.

"We're being followed." Alex whispered.

"That's just fantastic." Louis hissed with pure sarcasm.

"Now what do we do?" Twilight asked Carl.

"We split up and go in separate directions. We'll meet back at the cars as soon as possible; Alex and I will need to find a way to get outside and to the cars. But right now our main priority should be to evade these fuckers." Carl said before turning to the others. "Listen to me and don't look back at them, otherwise they'll know that we know about them following us. Everyone evade them by any means possible and get out to the cars. We'll meet up at my house, understand everyone and everypony?"

Everyone nodded, except for Louis who shook his head, "I still have no fucking idea what's going on."

"Just go with Rarity, okay superstar soccer man?" Carl muttered in a condescending way before Louis shot him an angry glare. Regardless, he nodded, as he didn't want to argue any more with this kid that clearly belonged in a mental institution. Lord knows how truly insane he was, Louis thought.

"So get out of the mall and meet back at my house, break."

And the group split up into five groups of two, each group consisting of the same element: Carl and Twilight went off in one direction, Alex and Applejack went off in another, Ryan and Rainbow Dash in a third, Louis and Rarity in a fourth, and Pete and Pinkie Pie went their own separate way. They were dispersed- it was every pony and brony for themselves.

Carl and Twilight quickly made their way down the long hall of the mall, but at the same time not going so fast as to draw attention to themselves. They maneuvered through the mass of people, Carl leading Twilight by finding every available space there was so they could pass the "indoor pedestrians". 

"Twilight, can you tell me if those guys in suits split up without turning around to check?" Carl asked as he and Twilight made their way past a mother and her stroller-riding child.

Twilight nodded. She closed her eyes; her horn glowed. After the glow went away, she looked back up at Carl. Her eyes willed with dread, like she had just seen an ax murderer stalking them.

"It looks like two men are following each group...except us." She said, her voice quivering at the end.

"What?" Carl asked, looking at the pony who was trotting alongside him. "How many are following us?"

Twilight swallowed. "Four."

"Shit." Carl's eyes went wide. He looked up, picking up the pace and biting his lip in aggravation. He then looked down at Twilight, "Twilight, I have an idea. Can we split up and meet back at the table in the food court in ten minutes?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I remember where it is, and I could probably lose two of these jerks."

"Okay. And remember, only use your magic if there's no alternative."

She nodded and once they reached a "fork" in the mall, they split up, Twilight went down the right-hand side and Carl went down the left.

Behind him, Carl could see Brett order the group to split into two groups- saying he'd follow Twilight if the others went after 'the boy', as he referred to Carl. Brett and one of his minions started off in the direction that Twilight went in, while the other two made their way after Carl. Turning back around, Carl picked up the pace- steadily increasing the gap between himself and the two pursuers. He started to search for a store to slip into- someplace big enough to find a hiding spot while having easy access to an exit. He passed a cooking store, a book store, a tiny Hallmark store, a cookie cake booth- the smell of which would have tempted him had he not been in a blind panic. 

Finally, he found a large video and gaming store. The large windows that surrounded its entrance were covered in movie posters and posters promoting the new Call of Duty game that was to be released later that year. It was also relatively crowded, perfect for losing the two idiots perusing him. Without hesitation, he strode into the shop, the two other men following suit.

Now, what Carl forgot was that this store was so astronomically big that it actually was on the other side of the fork as well. Twilight was trotting, trying to remain inconspicuous, she saw the same video and gaming store that Carl had gone into. Much like Carl, she thought its size and the crowd inside would help her lose her pursuers. She went inside, unknowingly ending their "split up".

Ryan and Rainbow Dash

Ryan and Rainbow Dash had two men following them at this point. They were walking down a very wide section of the mall that ended in a very large sport's store. That had some mannequins in the front that wore the newest sports gear, like Under Armor and football pads, as well as gear that promoted different teams in New York, such as the Bills, Giants, Sabers, and Yankees.

"Let's hide in there." Rainbow Dash whispered.

"The Sport's store?" Ryan asked and Rainbow Dash nodded. "Considering you being with me, that's ironic." 

"Not really, I picked it because it's an athletic store." Rainbow Dash said with a small chuckle.

They both went in. They kept walking through the store, passing endless rows of Under Armor gear and other sporting equipment and clothing. Everything from hockey sticks to lacrosse gear. It didn't matter what season the sport was played in- the store had it in stock. Finally, they found the fitting rooms. Ryan looked over his shoulder. He saw the two men looking around, bewildered  They seemed to have lost sight of the elements of loyalty for the time being, the clothes and other obstacles providing them with good cover.

Ryan tapped Rainbow Dash on the shoulder. She turned to him and he pointed at the one of the open dressing rooms. "In there."

They both ran over to an open fitting room and, thankfully without anyone noticing, slipped in and shut the door. Once inside, Ryan closed the door and slid the lock into place. They both pressed back against the body mirror that stood on the wall- typically used by people who were trying clothes on. Both human and pegasus started to breathe heavily, running and panic causing massive amounts of adrenaline to pump through their bodies.

"What do we do now?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We wait, Dashie." Ryan said with a sigh as he kissed her forehead to comfort her and she returned the gesture with a nuzzle.

Louis and Rarity

Two other men were currently following Rarity and Louis. Though Rarity was getting nervous, she knew that she had to stay strong and calm for the befuddled Louis as she dragged him into a clothing department store.

Inside, there were clothes everywhere, lining the walls. They hung on rows of hangars, and were worn on the plastic bodies of mannequins.

"Oh my, so many clothes, this place is magical!" Rarity thought as she felt like she was in her own personal heaven. She shook her thoughts of paradise away, returning her focus to what was important for the time being, finding a place to hide. 

"Louis, do you know anywhere that we can hide?" she whispered.

"What? No, look Raquel…”

“You can stop calling me Raquel, darling. It’s 'Rarity'.” Rarity said, a slight snippy tone to her voice.

Louis rolled his eyes, “Fine, 'Rarity', look I don't…"

"Ugh, there is simply no time for this." She groaned, shoving Louis into one of the circular, rotating clothes hangers. Louis fell to the carpeted ground, Rarity right behind him as she slid the clothes back into place like nothing happened. They were completely hidden from sight, crouched behind the wall of clothes hanging around them- mostly dresses- like a shower curtain. 

Rarity got down and stared at Louis straight in the eyes, "Louis, I am about this close to losing it and you aren't helping in the least, so I want you to calm down and tell me that you'll do what I say, when I say if because that might become necessary if we want to elude the people chasing us."

"Yeah, okay." Louis nodded in fear. He was still skeptical, but he didn't want to see what this clearly unstable girl would be like when she freaked out.

Pete and Pinkie

"Why are they following us?" Pinkie whispered to Pete as they hid in one of the dressing rooms at the clothing department store, unaware that Rarity had just taken Louis to hide in there as well.

"I don't know, probably because of Discord." Pete muttered.

"Oh I don't have a good feeling about this." Pinkie said, shaking a bit in fear. Pinkie then got onto her knees and peered out from under the door, as there was about a foot space in-between the door and the carpeted ground.

"Do you see anything?" Pete asked.

"Oh my gosh!" Pinkie gasped.

"What is it?" Pete asked with worry. "Are they in the store?"

"No, but..." Pinkie Pie squinted, trying to get a better view of whatever she was looking at. "There's a guy with really weird hair over there."

"Weird Hair?" Pete asked with some anger at her clear lack of seriousness for the situation.

"It's all spiky and green. I didn't think humans could have green hair." she said, looking back at Pete. “Why is your hair so plain and his so loco in the coco?”

"We can't have naturally green hair, it’s probably dyed or something." Pete answered before he shook his head. "Pinkie come on we don't have time for this!" 

"Right, I'll keep watch, and tell you if those meanies show up." Pinkie Pie said, a big grin on her face. She then peeking back into the store. 

"Geez, is everything in life a game to her?" Pete thought.

"Hey! I wonder how many other crazy hairstyles I can count while we're hiding." Pinkie said excitedly. "Hey! There's one! Oh! There's another...oh, wait. I think that's a wig."

Pete face-palmed.

Alex and Applejack

Alex and Applejack were looking for places to hide when Alex decided to take a rise and look behind him to see if they were still being followed. This was a big mistake, because as soon as they two men saw him look at them, they began sprinted towards the two- nothing to lose except their targets.

"Shit! AJ run!" Alex shouted as both he and Applejack began to sprint away. The mall was pretty packed, so naturally, the two fleeing elements of honesty had to push and shove their way through everyone.

"Get out of the way!" shouted one of the men, trying to catch up to the two elements of honesty. "Somebody stop those two!"

Alex and Applejack were starting to put a nice distance between them and the other two men when suddenly a bystander who was just coming out of a shoe store heard the men calling for them. He ran up to the duo, snagging Applejack's foreleg.

"Hold on, there little Missy."

"Let go of me ya varmint!" Applejack shouted before she managed to pull her leg out of the man's grasp before she pushed the man into a nearby fountain out of frustration.

Alex just noticed that Applejack wasn't running with him anymore and turned around to see what had happened. He ran back to help her when the two suited men finally caught up to her and grabbed her foreleg. She struggled against them, fighting to break free when Alex made a b-line at one of the men, who pulled out a gun and pointing it at Applejack's head.

"Hey, let go of her you motherfuckers!" Alex shouted right before he tackled the gun-wielding man into the nearby fountain. Alex and the man wrestled in the water while Applejack socked the other man with her hoof. The force of her hoof slamming into his face was so great that it broke his nose, knocking him out cold. He fell to the tiled floor right in front of dozens of bystanders- all with stunned looks on their faces.

Applejack turned to see Alex struggling to fight the other man in the water. Alex started to swallow mouthfuls of water as he rolled around- breaching for a few moments only to re-submerge under the depths. Applejack wasted no time, running over and head-butting the man, freeing Alex from his grip. 

The country pony and the man both landed in the water, Applejack starting to pummel the suited man with her hooves- no relent present in the force of her slams. Now free, Alex tiredly swam to the ledge to get his bearings, blood and water dripping from his nose and mouth into the fountain-water. His chest hurt from gagging up the water that had made its way into his lungs and now needed to escape. He felt as if a train had hit him square in the forehead. He looked back to see the brawl between his mare-friend and the last conscious enemy. They rolled around in the water like two gators trying to submerge each other, throwing punches and giving the occasional bite. 

Alex watched in horror as the man pinned Applejack underwater. She tried to get up, but he only pushed her down harder. She kept kicking, sending water everywhere, as she held her breath, face turning red as her body started to scream for oxygen.

"Hey…" Alex spat, finally coming to and getting his strength back. A power started to well up within him, something he never felt before. Subconsciously  he held his right hand out towards them man. "Let her go!"

As soon as the words left the teen's mouth, the man was surrounded in an orange aura. He was then lifted off of Applejack, floating in mid-air above the fountain, dripping water into the basin below. Alex's hands and arms were shining an orange aura similar to that which the man was engulfed in. Alex's eyes widened, shocked at what he was doing. He lifted his hand, watching as the man rose ever-so-slightly- matching the boy's hand's movement. He had complete control. Slowly, a smile made its way onto Alex's face, mentally noting how cool his sudden power was.

"Whoa." He muttered, continuing to hold the man up. Applejack, finally able to surface, was still breathing heavily after being held underwater for so long. She looked up to see the man floating above her head. 

Grinning, she got to her hooves, turned around and bucked the airborne man in the gut. Alex released him just as the mare's hooves made contact. The man was sent flying onto the mall floor in front of several shoppers that jumped back in fright. She waded over to the edge of the fountain to see the man knocked out, and people staring at them with wide eyes, either whispering to one another or using their cell-phones to record what had just happened.

Alex was still standing in shock as the orange aura around his hands disappeared.

But he got another shock when he suddenly felt Applejack throw her forelegs around him in a tight, and by tight I mean very tight, hug.

"Alex, yer okay. Thank ya for saving me."

"Thanks for saving me AJ." Alex said with a relieved smile as he finally noticed everyone staring at them. Looks of astonishment defined the crowd that surrounded the duo.

"Maybe we should get out to the car now."

"Ah think that sounds like a good idea." Applejack said with a chuckle before she coughed a little bit more water up. Alex hugged her and they both headed off.

Carl

Carl was still in the video and gaming store, looking for someplace to hide from his two pursuers. So far he had done a good job not making it clear that he knew he was being followed. Eventually, he succeeded in evading his pursuers by hiding behind a cardboard cutout of an alien character from the new sci-fi movie that was being released onto DVD that week. He watched as the men who were looking for him got frustrated and ran out of sight to look somewhere else. He gave a sigh of relief and was about to relax when he heard Twilight scream nearby.

"Hey! Let go of me! Help!" she shouted, trying to use her magic, but for some reason it was not working.

"Shut up." He heard one of the men say. Carl quickly stood up and walked over to where he heard the voices coming from. He saw Twilight being lifted into the air by a man that Carl didn't know at that moment, but would eventually know all too well. This man was Brett. He and the other three men surrounded Twilight with looks on their faces.

"I think you're all alone on this one Twilight." Brett said as he pulled out a gun, as did the rest of the men so that the people at the store would be too scared to help her. Not only that, but Carl noticed a faint glow around Brett's hands.

"He's right," Brett said, chuckling. "My magic has made it so everyone in this place is completely oblivious to you. You're alone, Twilight Sparkle. And now, you will pay."

Carl stood up and walked closer to the group of men and Twilight, "She's not exactly alone."

They turned to look at Carl, and upon seeing the teenager's face, Brett grinned.

"Ah, it looks like the fun's about to begin." He muttered. He put Twilight down so the other men could watch her. He began to walk over to Carl. "So you're one of the elements of Harmony for Earth?" Carl nodded and Brett let out an arrogant chuckle.

"You seriously think that you have any chance of stopping Discord?"

"Twilight and the others beat him last time. So," Carl shrugged, "yes, I know we can. Now let her go."

"I would love to, kid. But you see we have direct orders from Discord himself to take in you and your little pony friend here." He said; gesturing to Twilight who eyes lit up in fear. "You see, he knows that he cannot corrupt them due to their purity, so they must die. You and your little human friends, on the other hand, have been corrupted already and I just need to take you in so, please cooperate and I promise that Twilight's death will be quick and painless."

"You won't touch her." Carl spat with a seething anger. "I'll kill you before you get the chance."

Brett smiled and nodded, "I think you underestimate my power kid. For you see, like your little pony friend here, I am not a weak little human."

Carl bit his lip as he watched Brett close his eyes and his forehead begin to glow a dark black color, "as you can see…" he slowly transformed into Obscure Darkness right before Carl's eyes. "…I am a unicorn. My name is Obscure Darkness. If you don't surrender now, you'll learn to fear my name."

Carl didn't know what to do; he knew that he couldn't take a unicorn with his magic. After all, he wasn't experienced with his own skills and Obscure was. He noticed that no one seemed frightened about a cartoon unicorn being in the store.

"And as you can see, I, like your friend Twilight Sparkle, can pick and choose who I show my true form to." He said with a grin. "But it's not like that was even necessary, after all I cast spell earlier to make everyone in this place oblivious to our little quarrel."

The two looked at each other intensely as Twilight continued to try to use her magic, which still wasn't working.

"Oh and Twilight, I'm sorry but, I'm currently blocking your magic with my own. I guess you'll have to fight me the old-fashioned way. Hoof-to-hoof." Obscure said, leaning closer to Carl. "Or hand to hand. No horn and no magic is allowed here."

"How about wings then?"

Obscure was suddenly tackled to the ground by a blur of cyan and rainbow. He flew into the wall before slowly sliding down and hitting the floor face-first. He groaned as he rolled over, blood dripping down his muzzle.

Apparently, his magic to conceal what he was doing to Twilight didn't work on Rainbow Dash, because she was now hovering over him and stuck her tongue out and mocked the downed unicorn. "Na-na-na-na."

"And I hope some lacrosse action is all right as well!" Ryan's voice came out of nowhere as he jumped out from behind a section of DVDs with a black lacrosse stick, which he used to smash one of the men on the head before hitting the other right in his 'special area'. Groaning, and holding his goods, the man fell to his knees, grunting before he finally fell forward. Ryan smirked. "Should have worn a cup, bitch."

The last one was head-butted by a very powerful and adrenaline-fueled Rainbow Dash. As the four men rolled around the floor in pain, Carl, Twilight, Ryan and Rainbow Dash wasted no time in getting out of the store as fast as their legs could carry them. They could hear the people in the store come back to life behind them, the spell having worn off.

"Don't let them get away!" They heard the irate Obscure shout, but the four elements kept running.

"Holy shit man, where did you come from?" Carl gasped as they ran towards the exit.

"Sport's store, wasn't the lacrosse stick a giveaway?" Ryan asked with a smile. "We hid in the fitting room until their backs were turned. I tackled one and Dashie, here, got the other."

"Then we were leaving when we heard that jerk Obscure Darkness ranting like an idiot who thinks that he's some sort of egghead." Rainbow Dash said, sticking her tongue out in disgust.

"Thanks you two, you saved our flanks." Twilight said with a smile before looking up at Carl. "And thanks for standing up for me."

Carl nodded, "Thanks can come later, right now let's get out of here."

Pete and Pinkie Pie

Once they felt that the coast was clear, Pete and Pinkie Pie slowly made their way out of the fitting room. But right after they opened the door, they were met with an un-amused female employee, her arms crossed and face scornful.

"And what were you two doing there?" She asked.

"N-nothing." Pete stuttered. 

"Don't you dare lie to me kid. Two teenagers, a girl and a boy, come out of the same dressing room and you think I'll buy that nothing happened?" The woman laughed. "What kind of idiot do you take me for? You know this isn't a nightclub on a Saturday night. You can't just fool around wherever you want; there are rules here."

"I…we didn't…." Pete started, but the woman held out her hand to cut him off.

"Don't try to talk your way out of this kid, just leave." She said, pointing to the door. "Both of you get out and I won't call the authorities."

"Yes ma'am. Sorry ma'am." Pete muttered apologetically, even though he had nothing to apologize about, as he and Pinkie walked off.

"What was that weird lady talking about?" Pinkie Pie asked Pete with a raised eyebrow, and Pete shook his head.

"You don't want to know."

Moments later, however, they bumped into two other people. Both Pete and Pinkie jumped back in fright, Pinkie even had to shove a hoof into her mouth to stifle the gasp. Fortunately, they didn't bump into Discord's men, nor did they bump into a random stranger. They walked directly into Rarity and Louis, who were climbing out of their hiding spot after their pursuers had left the store.

"Louis? Rarity? What are you doing?" Pinkie asked, now recovered from her shock. Pete, meanwhile, was still trying to catch his breath and slow his heart rate.

"What do you think, we were hiding." Louis snarled.  "Come on; let's get out of here before those assholes find us."

Alex

Alex and Applejack were already in Alex's car, ready to pick Pete and Pinkie Pie up as soon as they made their exit. Alex started strumming the steering wheel, muttering "come on" under his breath over an over. Finally, the door to the mall burst open. Rarity, Pinkie, Pete and Louis all spilled out into the afternoon sunlight, sprinting towards the parking lot. Pete caught glimpse of Alex's truck and, grabbing Pinkie Pie, made his way over.

"There they are." Alex muttered. The back too to his car opened and Pete and Pinkie literally jumped into the backseat. "You guys okay?"

"Yeah, let's get the hay out of here, stat!" Pinkie shouted, her eyes bulging and her mouth opening to a size that only a cartoon character could. Pete slammed the truck door shut. Alex turned to Applejack, who looked up at him.

"Ah think she's right, let's skedattle."

Alex nodded and drove off, tires squealing as he made for the exit. They sped by Louis and Rarity, who were almost at Louis'sedan, a vehicle that had seen much better days. As soon as Rarity lay her eyes on it, she recoiled in disgust.

"Egad Louis! Is this what you go around in?"

Louis unlocked his car and turned to Rarity. "Yes. Sorry it isn't a limo 'Madame Rarity'."

Looking inside and seeing the mess- mostly crumpled fast food bags and wrapping- Rarity recoiled a second time. 

"When was the last time you cleaned this filthy thing out?"

"Enough  Get in I'm on my last fucking nerve." Louis hissed, opening the door for Rarity to get inside. She delicately, almost nervously, got into the car as Louis slammed the door. He then got into his side, started the car, and sped off.

Once they were gone, the last four elements made their way outside. Carl leading the way as he, Twilight, Ryan and Rainbow Dash all sprinted to their cars. Once they reached them, and unlocked the doors, Carl turned to Ryan and Rainbow Dash, watching as Ryan helped the pegasus inside. 

"Remember, meet back at my house!" Carl said, opening his driver's side door- Twilight able to open the passenger-side easily with her magic.

"Got it!" Ryan said, shutting the door behind Rainbow Dash. He then ran around to the other side, slipping into the driver's seat.

Carl shut the door and turned to Twilight, noticing that she was having trouble getting the seat-belt on. Carl reached over to help, but she held a hoof up.

"I've got it." She finally clicked the buckle in and leaned back, turning towards Carl. "We should get going, don't you think?"

Carl thought over what she said for a moment before realizing she was right- they didn't have time to dawdle around. Turning on the engine, Carl sped off, Ryan right behind him.

As both cars drove off,  four to six of the suited men, including Obscure, who had turned back into Brett, ran out of the mall. The two cars vanished before anyone got a chance to see them. Brett scanned the lot, looking for any sign of their presence. Alas, there was none. Grimacing, Brett stomped on the ground, cursing under his breath.
> Kindness in the Park
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 20- Kindness in the Park


Park

The afternoon sun shone brightly from above, cascading and creeping through the thick leaves of the canopy. The sounds of birds chirping and bees buzzing filled the air, with the occasional sound of a bicycle barreling down the dirt, hiking path, or pairs of feet trotting along. 

James and Fluttershy walked down this narrow hiking trail, which was located Wilmont Park- a relatively busy place on the weekends that could be described as a ghost-park on the weekdays, with the occasional soccer game breaking the silence. The trail itself, however, were hardly in use- including on weekends. Therefore, James felt that it was relatively safe for Fluttershy to be in her real form.  But whenever a stray hiker or jogger was coming up on them, Fluttershy would quickly jump into of behind a tree, while James would simply stand by the trunk, bent over as if he had just run and was taking a break. 

Once the hiker or jogger was out of sight, James would coax Fluttershy out of hiding. The timid mare would slowly creep out and they would then continue down the path. James was starting to feel somewhat better about Caroline. Still, he talked little and his mind constantly flashed back to the image of his sick cousin. He kept remembering his phone buzzing, and how he wished he let it continue ringing, just to delay the heartache he would feel. Nothing, not even the relaxing hike with the kindest pony of all time, could make him forget the pain he felt after receiving that terrible phone call..

He was so quiet, in fact, that Fluttershy was the one to initiate conversation.

"So James, are you feeling better?" She asked, looking worriedly up at her elemental partner.

James didn't respond immediately. He seemed to ponder the question before he finally gave the mare a small, unconvincing, nod. 

"Yeah, I think so." James nodded weakly. "A little bit, at least."

"Oh," Fluttershy said meekly, not buying James' words. "Do you want to talk about it anymore?"

"No." James said, shaking his head. "Let's just keep walking."

Knowing that James was holding his misery back, Fluttershy flew in front of him. She stopped directly in front of his face, placing her hooves onto his chest to halt his movement.

"Please tell me James, it'll make you feel better." She said, slowly rubbing James' shoulder, as if to massage the truth from him.

James sighed. "Fluttershy. I told you I don't want to talk about it, now can we please just keep going? It's getting late and I'm afraid my bike will be stolen if it's out here when the Sun goes down. It happens so often."

James gently pushed his way past and continued to walk down the path when he was gently, but suddenly, pushed into a tree. Once his back made contact with the bark, he slid to the ground, his emotions zapping the energy from his legs. He looked up to see Fluttershy flapping directly above him. She made a gentle descent, her teal eyes directly in line of James' eyes. 

"James, tell me the truth." She said. "Please don't hold back from me." 

"Fluttershy I…" James started, only to be interrupted when the persistent pegasus used her famous 'stare'. 

James couldn't talk, he was frozen. It was FAR more powerful than it he imagined it would be. Her eyes bore into James' soul, invading his mind and body like some alien body. It made him feel as if Fluttershy was in complete control of his body and mind, like she could convince him the sky was green and he'd believe her. 

But her eyes weren't vicious; they still had the very kind and caring look that she always had. But they also had a desperate, pleading look about them as well, as if she really wanted James to open up. Still, they made James not only feel vulnerable, they made his inner sorrow come to the surface. His heart-rate increased and he could feel tears start to accumulate into his eyes. 

Fluttershy leaned closer, her flower-scented mane reaching James' nostrils. 

"Tell me." She repeated in her kind voice.

"Okay! I'll tell you!" James said, a small quiver in his voice as the tears started to pour out. He wasn't exactly sobbing, but the tears were there. Fluttershy broke her stare, face full of concern as she started to regret using her stare on James.

"Oh my...James...I'm sorry I didn't know…" Fluttershy said, flying away from James. "If you don't want to talk about it that much I won't…" 

James held his hand out to silence her. Fluttershy looked up at the saddened teen boy, who now looked more like a twelve-year old in his broken state.

"No, it's fine." He whimpered. "You deserve to know." 

James wiped some tears away and sniffled. Fluttershy flew up the tree and grabbed a leaf. She flew down to James and used the leaf to dab the tears away from James' eyes.

"Thanks." He said. Fluttershy nodded and took the leaf away from James' face so that he could speak.

"My parents always degrade me, I've told you that already. And you know how Caroline is..." James swallowed, having trouble making the correction he wished never had to be, "was...the light of my life." 

He wiped another tear away. "But what you don't know is how hard it is for me to accept this reality. To know that such a sweet girl, a girl that is caring and kind and loving, had to go through such pain.

"And what's karma's response to such a great kid? Did she get good luck? No, of course she didn't." James said, his voice and eyes reflecting his rising anger. "She got cancer...fucking cancer. And now she's dead." James laughed darkly, shaking his head. "A girl that never did anything bad in her life gets punished. And all the while, evil fucks the world over continue to live healthy,prosperous, joyous lives!"

James snatched up a rock and hurled it to the other side of the trail. Fluttershy moved out of the way, startled by the sudden action. She looked down at James' red face. 

Once again in control of his emotions, James leaned his back against the tree and stared up at the tall trees that surrounded him.

He let out a sigh. "I just don't get it."

He looked over at Fluttershy, "That's why I'm so cynical and why I doubt the presence of some higher being watching out for us. If God existed, why would he sit there and let Caroline die? Out of all of the vile people on this planet, why her? To give her such false hope before we left yesterday, and then pull the rug out from under her feet."

James closed his eyes, biting his lip. Fluttershy landed beside him, leaning her head against his shoulder. He did not shake her off. He welcomed her presence, her warmth.

"In this world, kindness is a crime of nature. It isn't punished by some law created by man or a commandment by God. It's supposed to be met with reward. But in reality, kindness is punished. You get taken advantage of, you have bad things happen to you, and you suffer through life."

James opened his eyes, now red and misty. He looked down at Fluttershy, who was having a hard time herself keeping her emotions at bay. A tear rolled down her cheek. James reached out and wiped is away. The pegasus moved her head off of James' shoulder and looked up into his eyes, full of regret.

He shook his head. "And to make matters worse, I wasn't there for her, Fluttershy. In her most crucial moment, I wasn't there at her bedside. I wasn't kind, I wasn't. And how can I be the element of kindness like you if I can't even be there when she needed me the most. Why did I leave for dinner? Why couldn't I have stayed?"

James buried his head in his hands, knees bent and pulled towards his chest. He pressed down on the top of his head in a futile attempt to forget the pain. Fluttershy 

"Oh but James, you are kind." Fluttershy whispered into James' ear, making him blush. "You're one of the kindest pon...people...I've ever met. You left because you had to, and the fact that you visited means more than you think. Besides, neither of us could imagine that this horrible tragedy would happen. You cannot put yourself at fault."

"Thank you Fluttershy." James said with a sniffle.

"You're welcome," Fluttershy said with a smile, pulling away from James. "I hope that made you feel better...but if it didn't, I understand."

"Fluttershy, you're treating me better than I deserve." James said, the tiniest of smiles appearing on his lips. "You…you're more than a friend to me, you…you were there for me last night when I needed you and now you're here doing the same."

James then gave Fluttershy a hug, eliciting a small 'eep' from the mare.

"You're the best friend that I've ever had." He whispered into her ear.

Once she got over the initial shock of the hug, Fluttershy relaxed and hugged James back.  

"And you're one of the best friends I've ever had."

After a few moments in each others' embrace, they duo broke the hug. James sat back against the tree. He looked at Fluttershy. Suddenly, his reality came back as he remembered Caroline. Once again, he broke into sobs and, once again, Fluttershy was there to console him- giving him a soft, warm shoulder to shed his tears on as she tried desperately to hide her own. No matter how effective she was in making James feel better, she couldn't mend his shattered heart. But she was still there for him, and that was what he needed. Someone to comfort him, someone to care about him.

Someone to love him.
> The Rise of Disharmony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 21- The Rise of Disharmony


Carl's House

The neighborhood was dead silent. Dogs weren't barking, cars weren't driving up and down the street, and even the sounds of little kids playing were absent. Even more odd was that it was mid-afternoon, a time when it was supposed to be liveliest. 

This silence was broken when four vehicles screeched into the neighborhood at top speed, leaving black tire marks on the pavement. 

Inside Carl's car, Twilight nervously stared out the passenger-side window. Her body gave shivering ever-so-slightly as the adrenaline continued to course through her veins. Carl looked over and noticed her fear.

"Twi, are you alright?" He asked, concerned for the anxious unicorn.

Twilight gave a weak nod, "Yeah…yeah I'm alright."

"Are you sure? You seem jittery." 

Twilight looked directly at Carl, "That's because I am, Carl; I was almost killed." She said, a tear falling down her face. There were many things in Carl’s life that broke his heart, ranging from his father’s death to the look in Lisa’s eyes after they had to put their golden retriever down- one of the only times the typically rebellious girl openly sobbed in front of him.

"Well listen, we're almost home; you're safe now." Carl looked away, still worried about Twilight but determined to get her, and everyone else, back to his house in one piece- which meant keeping his eyes locked on the road. He was still scared as well, yet he kept strong and spoke in a steady voice. "We're safe now." 

He pulled into his driveway. The other three cars parked on the side of the road. Once his car stopped and the engine was off, Carl closed his eyes. He let out a deep sigh, tightly gripped the the steering wheel to relieve some of the stress that he felt. Unfortunately, it wasn't very effective. 

And how could it be? They were almost chased down by Discord's minions, who now- having seen the teenagers’ faces- had an even better identification. What started as only one police officer that got a visual of Carl, Ryan and James on the way home from Mr. Courtie’s shop, had grown to become a large group of Discord's men who now knew what all six boys looked like. 

A new fear entered his mind as he realized that the "top dog" in the group, the Obscure Darkness unicorn, had gotten a close-up visual on what he looked like, and would most likely report it to Discord.Carl knew at that moment that he and the others were in more danger than they had been in their entire lives. 

That’s when Ryan saving him came to his mind. Normally he’d feel a massive sense of gratitude for being rescued. But all it did now was make him angry. His expression changed from one of worry to one of rage as he hopped out of the car. 

He went around to help Twilight get out, as she was still shaking like a leaf in a windstorm. He looked over at the black SUV that Ryan and Rainbow Dash were getting out of, mind filled with hatred for the blonde boy- the human element of Loyalty- at that moment.

"This is all your fault." He thought with vitriol, "This is all your fault you son of a bitch."

Once Twilight was out of the car and standing on the driveway, Carl slammed the door, causing the car to rattle and Twilight to slightly jump and let out a small “eep”. She looked up at Carl, noticing his anger eyes. She was worried and knew that something was seriously wrong with him. 

She took a cautious step towards him. "Carl, are you okay?"

Carl didn't answer with words; he just shook his head slowly when he heard Alex call him.

"Carl is your mom home?" Alex asked.

"No, but she will be at five, so you guys can't stay too long." Carl said, continuing to stare daggers at Ryan, who was too busy talking to Pete to notice. Carl went over to the door and opened it to let everyone into the house. Once inside, Carl shut the door and turned to Twilight.

"You can remove your spell now Twi, there’s no point in keeping it up anymore."

Twilight nodded, but she was still worried about Carl. She then closed her eyes and her horn glowed. A few seconds later, the glowing stopped and Louis, who was the only one in the house that was still in denial about of the girls' claims, stood in complete shock as the five girls revealed their pony selves to him. His mouth hung open and he was speechless.

"See, Louis, we weren't lying to you." Rarity said, taking a step towards him and flashing a big smile that could only be described as flirtatious. "We really are the elements of harmony, and both you and I are both the Elements of Generosity. Isn’t it simply splendid?"

Louis stood still for a few more seconds before he shook his head.

"No, no I am not. I can't be..." He then looked over at Carl and pointed at him, "what did you fuckers do to me? Drug me? Brainwash me? Hypnotize me? What!?!”

"Nothing! Louis I didn't do any of that, this is all real." Carl reassured. 

Louis shook his head in disbelief and slowly meandered his way over to a nearby sofa, which he let himself fall limply against. He buried his head in his hands and let out a sigh so deep that everyone in the room could hear it. Rarity and Twilight both went over to talk with Louis some more.

Meanwhile, Carl listened to the others as they discussed the incident at the mall.

"So she thought you and Pinkie were…?" Alex asked and Pete, who was blushing like crazy, nodded. Alex laughed. "Oh my God, that rich."

"What about you Alex, what happened with you and AJ?" Ryan asked.

"Me, oh nothing." he said in fake apathy, "I just used some kind of magic on a guy that was trying to drown her in a fountain. I lifted him into the air like it was nothing." 

Ryan grinned, "Not gonna lie, that's pretty badass."

"Yeah, it is isn't it?” Alex said with a small laugh, “What about you and Rainbow Dash? Did you do any flank-kicking on your way out?"

"We hid in a sport's store and then when the time was right, we beat the crap out of those bastards." he then turned around to Rainbow Dash to address her, "didn't we Dashie?"

"Huh? Oh yeah Ryan, we sure did! Sorry I was talking with AJ over here about how Alex levitated some guy."

When Twilight heard that she turned her attention from Louis and Rarity to Applejack and Rainbow Dash, "Wait, what happened with you and Alex?"

"Ah was just sayin' how Alex lifted some guy off of me and ah got ta buck him," Applejack said with a prideful smile, "ah sent him flyin' to the ground like a sack of apples."

"Wow, that's so cool!" Rainbow Dash said with a big grin before turning to Ryan. "Ryan you've got to learn how to do that!"

Ryan laughed, "I'll work on it Dashie."

Carl closed his eyes, swearing like mad in his mind. Each mental curse was hurled at Ryan for the danger he put the group in. He never felt rage like that before, and for some reason, whenever Ryan talked affectionately with Rainbow Dash, he only got angrier, and he really wasn't sure why. His eyes then lay on an old family picture that was on a small table in front of a mirror. He slowly walked over to it and picked it up, looking at his family, complete with his father but missing the yet-to-be-born Anna. Everyone in the picture had such happy smiles. Normally this picture would bring Carl a mixture of happiness and sadness. Right now, however, it only made him angrier than he already was. Especially when he looked at the smiling faces of his mother and father, the relationship that ruined his own views on love.

Carl turned his attention back to the conversation between Ryan and the others.

What Ryan said next put Carl over the edge. "Yeah so we got out of there and on the way out I heard this idiot ranting monologues. It turned out that he was holding Twilight hostage and confronting Carl, so me and Rainbow Dash went in and saved them."

"From a situation you’re responsible for." Carl mumbled, loud enough for the others to hear. 

"I’m sorry, what did you say?" Ryan asked. 

"I said," Carl said as he put the picture back onto the small table with some force that made a small "bang" noise before he turned to stare Ryan down with a set of ice-cold eyes, "I wouldn't have even been in that Goddamned predicament if it weren't for you. Hell, none of us would have."

Ryan gave Carl a perplexed look, "What are you talking about?".

Carl laughed in mock disbelief, "Are you kidding me? If you and Rainbow Dash stayed at your house today like I asked you too, those bastards wouldn’t have found us!" Carl managed to draw everyone's attention to the conversation. Even Louis, who was in the process of listening to Rarity explain what he was chosen to do, looked over in Carl's direction.

Twilight turned slowly around and gulped, knowing that the building rage that she saw in Carl's eyes was now revealing itself in the most horrifying way.

Carl continued, "If you listened to me when I told you to lay low, we wouldn't have been in any danger. Do you realize what could have happened because of your stupidity? They could have captured us!” Carl looked back at Twilight, who just stared blankly at her elemental partner. Images of her being held against her will by the menacing unicorn made Carl angrier,“They could have killed the girls!" 

Ryan took a step back, "L-look Carl, I'm sorry I…"

“Oh I’m sorry, like I didn’t know,” Carl mocked before his face once again showed his anger. "Just shut up, okay Ryan? Shut the hell up.”

Behind him, Twilight and Applejack were both doing everything in their power to keep a struggling Rainbow Dash from attacking Carl. "Let go of me! Carl you jerk; stop yelling at Ryan! He didn't do anything wrong!"

Carl just ignored her and continued his verbal assault on Ryan.

"You're a selfish prick that only cares about yourself and your desires, admit it!" Carl hissed

"Carl I don't…."

"ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS YOURSELF!" Carl roared at such a high volume it caused Ryan flinch back in fear like a young puppy being yelled at by his owner, "But it's not just what happened at the mall that shows this, oh no. Let me ask you, did you even think about your parents when you and Rainbow Dash hooked up? How would they feel about having their son hook up with a Goddamned pony? You don’t think that would crush them?”

Carl then pointed at Rainbow Dash, who was still pulling against Applejack and Twilight’s hold like an angry bull- steam coming from her nose. Eventually she broke free and flew at Carl, only to be stopped by Twilight’s magic. 

Undeterred by the spunky pegasus, Carl turned back to Ryan, “What about Rainbow Dash, hm? Did you think of her? Did you think about what this relationship could do to her reputation?"

"Carl!" Twilight yelled as she continued to struggle holding the angry pegasus back with her magic, whose red eyes were now filled with pure, protective rage. Alex looked like he wanted to smash Carl in the face, Pete was just scared silent, and Ryan looked like he was on the brink of breaking out into tears.

"That's just it, Ryan. You didn't. You represent loyalty, yet all you care about is your own wants and desires."

"That’s enough, Carl." Alex hissed.

"Hang on Alex let me fucking bring my point home!" Carl shouted with his hand out to silence his friend. He then turned to Ryan, who looked like he was one insult or criticism away from breaking down. 

"Ryan, next time think of what's best for the group rather than what's best for you. Then maybe think about what's best for Rainbow Dash and your parents by finding a human girl to date instead of a pony you fucking sick deviant FREAK!"

Those last five words; hissed with the venom and pure hatred that Carl put behind them; was all Ryan could take. For a moment he just stared, eyes wide like a cow going to slaughter. He then slowly started to back away towards the door. Tears formed in his eyes as he looked from Carl to Rainbow Dash, who looked at him with worry in her eyes.

Ryan then took one last look back at Carl, shook his head, and stormed out of the house. Twilight released her magical hold on Rainbow Dash, who flew up and started to follow Ryan out to his car. But before she left, she stopped and turned to glare at Carl with pure hatred.

"Carl you're a jerk!" she hissed. “I want you to stay away from us, you got it?”

Carl looked at her without emotion as she flew out of the house after Ryan.

“Real nice, Carl,” Alex said, walking over to Carl and staring him down, "I never thought you'd be the type of person to say something that mean to one of your friends."

Carl didn’t acknowledge Alex with eye-contact. Instead, he kept his head down and answered.

"You mean two of my friends, that deviant comment applied to you as well."

"Go fuck yourself." Alex said, shaking his head and pushed by Carl and started for the door. Applejack sighed and bade Twilight goodbye before running after Alex, but not before giving Carl a quick, hate-filled glance. Carl felt a quick pang as her emerald eyes pierced into his flesh, only to shrug it off once she had left.

"Pete, come on you need a ride home don't you?" Alex called from outside.

Pete, who had been frozen from shock, slowly followed Alex with a very depressed Pinkie Pie by his side. Her eyes had tears forming and her mane was deflated into its ‘Pinkamena’ state.

Pete turned to Carl and whispered uneasily, "See you later man."

With that, they all headed out after Alex and Applejack to leave.

Just as Alex left the house and started his way to his car. Louis slapped his hands against his thighs, "That’s it, I can’t take this shit anymore. I'm out."

He stood up and made his way to the door, Twilight and Rarity following him.

"Wait! Louis where are you going?" Twilight asked.

"Home, where I can find peace and sanity away from you clowns." he said coldly.

“But we need to talk to you more!” Rarity pleaded, “you’re the element of generosity and- “

“I am not the Element of Generosity.” Louis growled, giving both Rarity and Twilight a defiant stare.

"Yes you are." Rarity snapped back.

"No I am not!” Louis shouted, causing Twilight and Rarity to jump back slightly. His breathing was rapid, his body shaking as he started to become slightly hysterical- such an odd sight from a star athlete like himself.  

“I didn't ask for this shit! Unlike your fucking idiot friends over there I have a future!" He motioned to the front door the everyone else had left through. "My destiny is to be an all-star soccer player on the North Carolina Tar Heels, and maybe even work my way up and play professionally! I can't risk that by fighting this bullshit battle that is so pointless you might as well throw in the towel right now!"

"But we need you to stop Discord!" Twilight yelled. "If you don't accept your responsibilities he won't just bring chaos to Wilmont, he'll bring chaos to this world!"

Louis chuckled at this and shook his head, "Twilight, sweetie, I love your innocent, looking-for-the-best-in-everybody nature, but it’s just not right.”

“In case you haven't noticed our world is already chaos, with or without Discord's presence.” He then motioned towards Carl, who was the only element left in the house beside himself. “And these idiots that you're partnered with aren't exactly the best representation of harmony." 

Louis continued to glare at Carl as if he was addressing him, though he was still speaking to Twilight, "I’ve known them for less than a day and all they’ve done is bitch and fight. Yet you expect them to get along well enough to represent the Elements of Harmony like you six girls? Dream on."

Louis finally stormed out of the house into the warm outdoors. 

Rarity closely followed him, still pleading. "Louis please don't leave, we need you!” He wouldn’t stop, so Rarity decided to lay it all on the line. 

“I need you!” This made Louis freeze in place, giving Rarity an ember of hope in her otherwise ashen fire. “Please.”

Louis’ mind began to question his defiance. However, his stubborn nature won out over his conscience. He shook off his guilt and continued to his car. He got inside the vehicle and slammed the door shut. 

“No...please...” Rarity whimpered. But it was of no use. In a moment the engine of Louis’ junky sedan roared to life and he sped off. Once he was gone, a desperate Rarity buried her face into the grass and sobbed, so upset that she didn't care how much dirt got into her fur or well-groomed mane.

Twilight ran outside to help Rarity while Carl just looked at the floor, mulling over what he just did, and how terribly he treated Ryan and the others. He was so upset and into his own thoughts about what happened that he didn't notice Anna, Lisa and Spike all peering over the railing of the upstairs balcony to see what all the commotion was about.

"What's Carl's problem?" Anna whispered to Lisa, who just shrugged.

"I don't know."

"He's a jerk." Spike whispered.

"I don't necessarily disagree with that assessment," Lisa answered. "But something tells me it's more than just that."

"Oh no, you're right, it’s not because he’s a jerk. It’s because he’s a colossal jerk." Spike said, rolling his eyes.

"No Spike, I think there's something wrong with him mentally, I just don't know what it is." Lisa muttered.

"Being a jerk is a mental problem." Spike said, still with the same, flat expression.

“Spike if that were true all of Earth would be locked away.” Lisa snapped back.

Downstairs, Twilight trotted back into the house with a teary-eyed Rarity under her foreleg. She was whispering to her in an attempt to calm her down, which did seem to work as Rarity's sobs began to slow to silent whimpers.

"It's okay Rarity, he'll come around." The lavender unicorn muttered to her crestfallen friend. She looked up at Carl, prepared to scold him when she saw what he looked like. His face was pointed at the ground- head hanging limp- and his eyes were misty. She could tell that he was obviously on the brink of tears. At that moment, all of her anger dissipated and was replaced by sudden concern. "Carl?" 

Carl pointed up the stairs, "Twilight take Rarity upstairs and go into my room." 

"But Carl I…"

"Please…Twilight." Carl said with a sad desperation, not raising his head up in the slightest.

Twilight sighed, "Come on Rarity." She proceeded to guide her friend up the steps. 

Carl finally managed to find the strength to lift his head for a brief moment. He looked around the living room, his cloudy vision taking in everything. He wiped his eyes to make his sight better. At that moment, his eyes landed on his family portrait. As he got a clear view of his father’s image- and the smiles from everyone in the photo- new rage consumed him. A rage that had built up slowly, ever since he first met Twilight. A rage that’s seeds were planted back when he sat beside his father’s bed, failing to perform the magic trick that Mr. Courtie taught him- staring down with misplaced anticipation as the limp body failed to flinch.

That’s when he snapped.

At the top of the stairs, Anna, Lisa and Spike, all of whom looked worried, met them there.

Spike ran over to Rarity and put his hand onto her shoulder, "Rarity, are you okay?"

Rarity let out a small sniffle, "Not really." 

"What in Celestia's name happened down there?" 

"Louis left." Rarity whispered. "He didn't want to be the Element of Generosity. That or he didn't believe it…or both. Either way I'm simply devastated, I feel like I've been dumped."

Anna turned to Twilight, “What's wrong with Carl?" 

"I don't know Anna he…" Twilight began when there was a sudden CRASH heard from the living room. 

Everyone jumped in surprise when they heard the noise. Twilight and the others walked over to the balcony and slowly peered over the ledge to see Carl standing, a broken picture frame and glass on the other side of the living room. Among the shrapnel was the family picture itself torn up from the impact and sharp pieces of glass. He stood with his hands on his head, breathing heavily. He didn't sob or let out any audible sign of his distress other than his heavy breathing and small grunts of frustration, and his back was turned towards the group, so no one could get a clear view of his face. 

But even then, Twilight knew for a fact that he was crying.

"Oh Carl…"  

City Hall- 4:00

Mayor Drocsid stood in front of the large window in his office that overlooked downtown. He could see people heading home for the night as businesses began to close. Some people fought each other for taxis; others honked their horns in anger as they were stuck in the long line of traffic. The sun shone through the window and hit the mayor in a way that made him look almost empowered. It didn't hurt that he was beaming; his smile was both full of glee, and sadistic intentions.

He felt the disharmony grow between the human elements. He knew that something had happened between them that threatened their friendship. A sense of relief washed over him. Now, he knew that he could bide his time until his forces were strong enough to unleash more hell over Wilmont than anyone had ever seen before.

And then he would turn his attention towards the rest of the world, and then towards Equestria- spreading a blanket of chaos over two dimensions.

Until then, however, he was simply enjoying the ride- a tender to the garden of chaos, planting seeds in the unstable city, knowing that soon he would have a force that would be near unstoppable.