> Cruel Twist Of Fate or (Friendship Is Tragic)
>  by SapphireWings999
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: The Painful Past
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

            How could this have happened?  Why did it have to happen this soon?  Why did it have to happen to me?  The girl that I loved for all these years, who I swore I would always be with… is gone.  Even worse, I’ve pushed away the very friends I’ve been able to rely on most.  How could my life just fall apart like this?  Why has it turned into this living hell that I’m stuck having to face all on my own?  But, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself?  Maybe I should go back to what caused this tragedy that I’m stuck with in the now?  It all started a few years ago when life was still kind to me.
> Chapter I: The Surprise Visit
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The time was about mid February in the year 2017.  It had been almost 2 years since me and my wife, Savannah, had last visited Equestria and, in that time, we had started a happy life together with our young, infant daughter, Ariel.  Savannah still worked as a recording artist and I had found work as an author.  My works, few though they were, had been published to great success to the point that, with me and Savannah’s combined finances, we were able to purchase our dream home: a large beach house in Old Orchard Beach, ME.

Even with it being the off-season, we would take full advantage of that fact by walking along the beach while carrying our daughter (as she wasn't quite able to walk on her own yet) whenever the opportunity arose.  It was nice being able to have the entire beach all to us and us alone.  There was a pleasantness to our solitude as we would walk along the sandy shores with nothing but the crashing of waves sounding in the distance.  It would give us the perfect opportunity to just take our minds off of the stress of our work schedules or even give us new ideas for future projects.

There were many instances where me and Savannah would collaborate on new songs for her.  I would serve as lyricist while she would develop the melodies.  Sometimes we would even switch back and forth between the two, but she was far better at melody than I was.  I was a writer by nature so lyrics would come more naturally to me and Savannah wasn’t half bad at coming up with lyrics herself.  Even though I had pursued a career in music in the past, I had put that dream to bed almost a year ago after several instances of it not working out for me.  I had accepted the fact that I wasn’t meant to perform and that my talents were best focused on writing.

At that moment, I was busy writing my latest entry in a series that I was working on.  The series was a fantasy project that took strong inspiration from C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles Of Narnia series.  Fantasy was one of my favorite genres to write about, second only to Sci-Fi.  In fact, one passion project of mine was a Sci-Fi reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s original Little Mermaid story.  A few years before, I had typed up a very bare-boned first draft that I had always planned to come back to and flesh out later, but I kept on putting it off over and over to the point where I had no idea when I would get around to finishing it.  Maybe I would get around to it after this one story I was currently working on?

Anyhoo, I was sitting at my computer in my office, typing up my latest chapter, fueled by soda and my special creative writing playlist on Spotify that always kept the creative juices flowing when the doorbell rang.

“David, can you please get that?” Savannah called out from the back bedroom. “I’m busy changing Ariel.”

“Sure, honey,” I replied as I saved the changes to my work and paused my music.

Getting up out of my chair, I exited my office and walked into the front hallway where I proceeded to open the door.  What I never expected was who I would find on the other side of that door.  Upon opening it, I was greeted by six girls who appeared to be in their mid to late teens, each one with a different appearance from the other.

The tallest of the group, who was about my height, had long indigo hair with two streaks down the middle, one of them mauve and the other a bright pink.  Her build was well-toned.  She wore a light blue blouse, a pair of denim jeans, and knee high boots.  The second tallest had long, flowing hair of a powdery pink color and she had a fine figure.  She wore a white tank top, a skirt, and a pair of green sandals.  The next two were of equal height, but with differing appearances.  One of them had blonde hair in a ponytail, an Amazonian build with tanned skin and light freckling on her face, and she wore a plain white T, cut-off jeans, brown leather boots, and a Stetson atop her head.  The other had violet hair with a very unique shape and form (almost like a sculpture), her build was very much like that of a supermodel, and she wore an Angora sweater, a skirt, and black high heels.  Next up was a girl with bright pink hair that was wild and frizzy.  She had a little bit of a belly to her, but not that much that it would be noticeable.  Her attire was comprised of a white long sleeved shirt with balloons on the front, grey sweatpants, and pink crocs.  Finishing off the line up was the shortest of the six.  Her hair was edgy and wild with all six colors of the rainbow and she had a lean, athletic build.  She wore a jersey, shorts with leggings underneath, and bright red Converse shoes.

Seeing this unusual group of girls at my doorstep left me slightly confused and speechless for a moment.  The several duffle bags they had with them only added to the confusion.  Did they know me?  Where had they come from?  Were they planning on staying here?  Finally, after several seconds, I spoke up.

“Can Ah help ya ladies?” I asked with the ever familiar Southern twang in my voice.

The second tallest member of the party replied after a few seconds of silence.

“Don’t you recognize us, David?” she questioned in a soft, quiet voice.

Upon hearing that voice, my eyes shot open wide in shock.  I recognized the tone and was sure that I now knew who these six were.

“Wait a minute,” I replied as I looked at the first girl who spoke. “Fluttershy?”

She gave me a meek smile before nodding.  I then turned my attention to the shortest girl.

“Rainbow Dash?”

She replied with a fist pump.  Looking at the tallest of the girls, I continued.

“Twilight?”

She smiled and nodded similarly to how Fluttershy had.  The girl with the wild, cotton candy-like hair was next.

“Pinkie Pie?”

She hopped up and down in place.  My focus drifted to the girl with the supermodel build.

“Rarity?”

She smiled while raising a hand to give her hair a flip in response.  Finally, there was the cowgirl.

“Applejack?”

She smiled and tipped her Stetson.  With all of them accounted for, my eyes grew even wider as a smile shot across my face.

“Holy crap!!!  It’s so great ta see you guys!!!  How’re y’all doing?!?  What’s been happenin’ lately?!?  How’d y’all get here?!?” I started blabbering on and on as I was overrun with excitement and enthusiasm at seeing my old friends again.

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!!!” Pinkie started. “Calm down, Davey.  No need to get all loco in the cocoa.  Just give us a minute to answer.”

“We’re all doing great,” Twilight spoke up.

“There’s been too much going on since we last saw you, darling,” Rarity followed up.

“And Discord helped us get here by opening up a portal into your world,” Fluttershy finished, softly.

I soon realized that they were still standing outside as the chilly air blew inside before I spoke up.

“Where are ma manners?  Please come in.  Come come.”

“It’s really great to see you again too, twin!” Rainbow Dash replied enthusiastically as the two of us shared a fistbump upon everyone entering.

The six of them then followed me into the living room where I directed them to the couches to sit.

“Feel free ta take off yer shoes ‘n jus drop yer bags anywhere,” I added as they made themselves comfortable.

“Finally, I can take these dreadful things off,” Rarity answered as she quickly removed her high heels. “I don’t understand how anypony could be expected to walk around in these.  Fashion shouldn’t have to be this painful.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her comment.  It was in that moment that a thought crossed my mind.

“Where did ya guys even get those clothes from?”

“Discord,” Applejack responded. “He jus snapped his eagle talons ‘n there they were.”

“They were kind of oversized on us when we were ponies, but he convinced us that they’d fit better when we turned human,” Rainbow stated. "There's even some extra clothes in our bags, but not much."

Suddenly, Rarity gasped.

“Sweet mother of Celestia!  David, I just realized you shaved your mustache.”

The rest of the girls looked at me and saw that this was true.

“Yeah.  Ah shaved it off a little over a year ago,” I replied. “It was jus gettin too hard fer me ta maintain.”

“It’s such a shame.  I thought that it made you look very sophisticated and proper.  Not that there’s anything wrong with the way you look now, of course.  The mustache was just a nice touch.”

“Who was at the door, David?” Savannah asked as she walked in with Ariel on her hip.

Upon entering, she was stunned to see all of our friends from Equestria right there in our living room.  Unlike me, though, she seemed to recognize them at first glance.

“Applejack?  Fluttershy?  Pinkie?  Rarity?  Rainbow Dash?  Twilight?  How did you guys get here?!?” she questioned, a mixture of surprise and elation in her tone.

“Discord opened a portal ta our world fer them ta come through,” I explained. “What Ah never got ta ask though is why did y'all come here?”

“Because we missed you guys, silly!” Pinkie piped up. “It had been a long time since we’d last seen you two so, instead of waiting for you guys to come back, we decided to go right to you guys.”

“Who’s running Ponyville though if Twilight is here and where’s Spike?” Savannah puzzled.

“A new friend of ours named Starlight Glimmer is keeping things in check in my absence,” Twilight answered back, “and Spike, unfortunately, wasn’t able to make it.  He’s had enough dimension-jumping for a while after the past few times so I let him sit this one out.”

“Excuse me.  I don’t mean to interrupt,” Fluttershy started, “but who’s that little one you have with you, Savannah?”

“Oh right,” Savannah realized. “Everyone, I’d like to introduce you all to our little firstborn daughter, Ariel.”

“Aww!!!” Rarity reacted. “The little darling looks absolutely adorable!”

“Ah’ll say she does,” AJ agreed. “Her hair’s redder than an apple in tha afternoon sun.”

“She makes me think of my own little niece, Flurry Heart, back home,” Twilight answered with a smile.

“Excuse me,” Pinkie spoke up desperately with her legs crossed, “but does anypony know where the little filly’s room is?”

“Down the hall, first door on the right,” Savannah answered. “There’s also two more upstairs if any of you need them.”

“Thanks,” Pinkie replied as she got up to relieve herself.

“So were you guys planning on staying here and, if so, how long for?  Not that there would be a problem with that,” Savannah quickly added.

“Well, we were hoping to be able to stay here for at least a month,” Twilight answered. “I’m particularly interested in learning more about human culture here and I figured a month would be long enough to at least get a feel for it.  I get the feeling that human culture might be different here than it was in that alternate dimension me and Spike travelled to in the past.”

“Well there certainly are a few differences,” I replied, “but, fer tha most part, many things are similar like our technology ‘n even some of our architecture.”

“You guys would probably be interested in our world’s various forms of entertainment from movies to TV Shows to video games,” Savannah continued, “maybe even getting to see the show based off of your various escapades.”

“That all sounds like it might be interesting,” Fluttershy spoke up, “especially that last one, but… what are movies and TV Shows?”

It took me a little while to come up with a proper answer.

“Umm… they’re kinda like… movin images… with sound.  It’s hard ta explain.  Ah guess ya’d have ta see fer yerselves.”

At that moment, Ariel let out a very soft, yet still noticeable, yawn.

“Oh.  Looks like it’s time for someone’s nap,” Savannah stated as she started to bring her back to our bedroom.

As Savannah was putting our daughter down for the afternoon, I tried to make sure that the girls felt comfortable at our home by attending to any needs they might have.

“So do ya guys want anythin ta eat or drink?  We’ve got plenty o’ stuff in tha fridge.”

“No thanks,” Twilight answered, politely. “We actually ate before we left Ponyville.”

“Well if ya guys ever want anythin, feel free ta help yerselves ta whatever.  Make yerselves at home.”

“Thank you, darling,” Rarity replied with a smile. “It’s very much appreciated.”

It wasn’t long afterwards that Pinkie came back from the bathroom.

“Hey, everypony.  What did I miss?” she asked.

“Not much, Sugarcube,” Applejack remarked.

“So how do ya guys plan on gettin back ta Ponyville when yer all done here?” I questioned.

“Well,” Fluttershy started, “Discord gave me this enchanted amulet.”

She then pulled a necklace out from under her shirt with a beautiful, hexagonal charm that appeared to be carved from brilliant Azotic Topaz before continuing.

“He said that, whenever we’re ready to go back, I just have to rub the amulet with my finger in a circular motion three times and he’d have us transported back to Ponyville.”

“Interesting,” I replied.

I must admit that I was having some mixed feelings regarding Discord’s involvement in this situation.  On the one hand, I was pretty happy that he'd made it possible for the girls to come here into the real world for a visit.  It had been about two years since I had last visited them in Equestria and I'll admit that I missed them pretty badly as of late.  But, on the other hand, I had a difficult time trusting Discord.

Now don't get the wrong idea here.  I didn't hate Discord.  I enjoyed him as the villain in the Season 2 Premiere and thought that he continued to be an interesting and even funny character after his reformation, but, with that said, there had always been one problem that bothered me about him for the longest time: his betrayal.

When he betrayed the entire pony race to Lord Tirek in the Season 4 Finale, I was naturally upset about it, but bringing Fluttershy to tears the way he did was practically unforgivable.  I guess I took it even more personally when I discovered that I had pony ancestry my first time in Equestria.  Much more than any normal person would.

In my opinion, after betraying everypony like that, Discord should've had to work to earn their trust back, but, strangely enough, they seemed to be a bit too forgiving of him.  This was a major, life threatening, and even kind of asshole crime that he'd committed and yet they all treated it like he'd spilled milk on their tablecloth or something.  I'd never gotten the chance to see Discord the previous times I'd visited Equestria and, if I were ever to go back there in the future, I wasn't too eager to run into him.  If Discord were ever to get back into my good graces again, he'd have to work hard to earn my trust.  This was a start, but I'm not as easily bought back as some.  I was taken out of my thoughts by Pinkie’s voice.

“I’m sorry, but what is that box over there?”

I looked to where she was pointing and realized that she was pointing at the TV.  Before I could answer, though, Twilight answered for me.

“That’s called a TV, Pinkie.  I came across one in the alternate dimension me and Spike visited.”

“What does it do?” Rainbow Dash puzzled.

“Ah’ll show you,” I answered back.

Walking over to the coffee table, I picked up the remote control that was sitting there and turned the TV on.

“It’s TVs that allow us ta watch movies ‘n TV Shows,” I explained. “Ya can even play video games on em.”

As the TV turned on to Cartoon Network, an episode of The Amazing World Of Gumball came onscreen.  I swiftly recognized it as the episode, “The Job”, where Gumball’s dad got a job, resulting in the fabric of reality collapsing.  Most of the girls seemed fascinated by the TV, except for Twilight, which I could only figure was because she already knew about TV so the novelty of it had worn off for her.

“Wow!” Pinkie spoke in amazement.

“'N it doesn’t even hafta be this one channel,” I stated.

“Wait.  You mean there’s more?!?” Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief.

“Oh yeah!” I answered back with a smile on my face.

I then proceeded to flip the switch on my remote repetitively, causing the TV to flip from one channel to another in an endless cascade of images and audio.

“Numerous channels,” I stated, “all with an endless quantity o’ shows ‘n movies.”

“It’s almost like a magic mirror,” Rarity replied.

“Yeah.  Ah guess ya could think of it like that.  Tha funny thing is that we didn’t always have as many channels as we do now.  Back long before ma time, there used ta be only two or three channels.”

“Really?!?” Fluttershy asked, surprise evident in her tone.

“Oh yeah.  There used ta be this one show called tha ‘Ed Sullivan Show’.  Basically, anyone who was anyone would be on that show.  Only tha biggest name celebrities performed there.  Nowadays, though, ya can find celebrities on jus ‘bout any late night talk show.”

“Wow!” Pinkie marvelled.

It wasn’t long after that that Savannah came walking in from the back.

“O.K.  So Ariel’s down for the afternoon,” she spoke up. “What did you girls want to do?”

“Honestly,” Twilight started, “I’m pretty much up for anything.”

“Well, David, maybe you’d like to take the girls out and show them around the area?”

“Yeah, Ah guess so,” I replied. “Ya guys ever been to a beach before?”

“Personally,” Dash answered, “I haven’t been to one in a long while.”

“Then what’re we waitin’ fer?”

“Nothing,” Pinkie piped up. “Let’s go.”

“Does this mean I’m going to have to put on these dreadful things again?” Rarity asked, holding up her high heels.

“Not really,” I replied with a chuckle. “In all honesty, high heels like those aren’t really beach material.  Ya can prob'ly jus walk barefoot.”

“Phew.  That’s a relief.”

“I’ll stay here in case Ariel needs me,” Savannah stated. “You guys have fun.”

And with that, me and the girls were out the door, headed to the beach.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


As it was still well into winter, the girls grabbed several coats from their duffel bags before we headed out to the beach.  I decided not to wear my coat as I welcomed the cold.  Besides, it wasn’t like it was snowing (though, even then, I probably still wouldn’t wear one).  There wasn’t any snow on the ground either meaning that it was perfectly fine for us to walk around with or without footwear.

“Ah’m sorry that ya guys came here durin’ tha off-season,” I stated as we walked along the shoreline. “It’s usually much more busy in summer.”

“Oh, I’m perfectly fine with it just like this,” Fluttershy answered back. “It’s actually far more peaceful this way.”

“Glad ya like it, Flutters,” I replied with a smile.

She smiled back as we continued along with nothing but the crashing of waves to break the silence.

“It’s soo beautiful,” Twilight spoke up. “I can see why you guys like it here.”

“Yup.  This was ma family’s favorite vacation spot since we first came up here almost six years ago.  Savannah came up here with us ‘n we fell in love with tha place relatively easily.”

“What’s that?” Rainbow puzzled, pointing straight ahead.

As I looked in the direction of her pointing, I saw the pier about a few hundred feet before us.

“That’s tha pier, Rainbow.  Durin tha summer, tha restaurants, stores, ‘n bars are open.  Ah used ta make a habit o’ hittin up tha bar ta do some Karaoke on tha nights when they’d have it.”

“What’s ‘Karaoke’?” AJ asked.

“Well Karaoke is basically a song that ya play, but it doesn’t have any vocals ta it.  Ya hafta sing tha song yerself as tha words come up on tha screen.”

“Like a sing-along?” Pinkie questioned.

“Yeah Ah guess ya could think of it like that.  You guys would probably enjoy it if ya knew any songs from around here.”

“I prefer ad-libbing.  You know, making it up as I go along, that kind of thing.”

“Ah’m sure ya would, Pinkie.”

“All of us do it quite regularly, darling,” Rarity replied.

“All accept for me,” Rainbow stated, “at least for the most part.”

A good while later, we reached the pier and the girls stood in awe at how tall it was before Rainbow commented.

"What I wouldn't give to have my wings right now.  I could've made it to here in 10 seconds flat.  I don't know how you humans can stand it having to walk everywhere."

I smiled at Rainbow's remark before Fluttershy spoke up about the pier.

“Would we be able to go out onto it?”

“Unfortunately, no,” I answered. “Tha whole thing is shut down fer tha season til summer starts back up.  Ah remember one time when ma family came up here in early summer ‘n they weren’t startin Karaoke til tha day we were leavin.  Then, when we came back later in tha year, they had it shut down fer tha season.  That was frustratin’.”

“Ah’ll bet,” AJ agreed.

It was then that I was struck with an idea.

“How ‘bout Ah show ya guys some o’ tha stores ‘round here.  Ah mean, they’re not open, but they might still be interestin fer ya guys ta see at least.”

“Why that sounds wonderful,” Rarity replied.

“I agree,” Twilight affirmed.

The rest of the girls voiced their approval also.

“Then it’s settled.  Let’s check out tha shops,” I stated.

And so we made our way along the bricked sidewalks, taking in the countless shops that lined Old Orchard Street.  The first store we came across was Dickinson’s Candy Shop.  Not surprisingly, this store caught Pinkie’s eye almost immediately.

“Oooo!!!” she beamed at the sight of the store.

“Ah figured that store might interest ya, Pinkie,” I laughed. “This store was actually a favorite o’ me ‘n ma family whenever we came up.  They have countless types o’ candy, includin candies from even before ma time.  This store has a pretty high nostalgia factor fer many of us.  The employees there would even let us have a free sample o’ taffy and fudge with ev’ry visit.”

“I wish even more that this store was actually open,” Pinkie sighed with disappointment evident in her voice.

“Well tha good news is that it’ll be open in ‘bout a month from now ‘n they actually have two locations, tha other one just up a ways from here.  Ah do promise ya this, we will get a chance ta go there before y’all head back ta Equestria.”

“Aww.  Thanks, Davey.  You’re the best.”

“Yer welcome,” I replied with a smile.

A little ways further up, we passed Pier French Fries.

“Oh look,” Rainbow spoke up, “this place sells Hay Fries.”

“Actually, Rainbow, they sell French Fries.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Well, Hay Fries are made from hay whereas French Fries are sliced-up potatoes that are fried up til they’re tender.”

“Potatoes?  Huh.  Who’d’ve thought it?” AJ remarked.

“Yeah.  Ya can jus ‘bout find ‘em at any fast food joint in tha country.”

At that moment, a car came driving right by us.  This was certainly a new sight for most of the girls.

“What in the name of Celestia is that?!?” Rarity questioned, awestruck at the sight.

“That’s called a car,” I explained. “They’re special vehicles that people use ta get from place ta place.  They’re almost like yer carriages back in Equestria ‘cept that cars don’t need ta be pulled by anypony.”

“Why doesn’t anypony just use a train?”

“Some people do, but cars are more convenient ‘n less expensive.”

It was then that Twilight noticed the Wholesale Books store just across the street.

“Now there’s a place I know all about!” she stated, enthusiastically.

“Ahh yes.  Wholesale Books,” I remarked. “Ah’ve been there plenty o’ times maself in tha past ‘n Ah’ve bought quite a few books from there in that time.”

“Really?  What kind of books do you like to read?”

“Well, fer tha mos part, Ah’m really inta Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Thriller, sometimes Horror, that sorta thing, but, if it’s written well, Ah do enjoy the occasional Romance.  Unfortunately, Ah have a hard time findin any decent books in tha latter category.  Most of it is jus really crappy stuff like Twilight.”

“Hey!!!” Twilight protested, sounding offended at me.

“Oh no Ah wasn’t talkin ‘bout you, Twi,” I quickly replied. “Ah was talkin ‘bout this book series known as tha ‘Twilight Saga’.  It was a series o' books that got really popular with teen girls ‘n adult women, centerin ‘round vampires ‘n werewolves.”

“Really?” Rainbow Dash puzzled. “That doesn’t sound so bad.  It actually sounds like it might be interesting.”

“You’d think so wouldn’t ya?  But tha story ‘n characters are so bland that it’s insufferable ‘n tha stuff the author makes up ‘bout vampires ‘n werewolves is unforgivable.  Savannah already read tha books at tha urgin of her friends ‘n not even she liked 'em.  Not ta mention that it also inspired one o’ tha mos horrendous pieces o’ smut ever ta be published.  Seriously, it’s shit.”

“Oh come now, David,” Rarity answered. “I’m sure it can’t be all that bad.”

“Trus me.  It is.  Numerous people have made fun o' how terribly written it is.  What’s even worse was that tha series was inspired by Twilight Saga fanfiction ‘n tha writin’ shows.  How this even got published is beyond me.  Even talkin ‘bout it makes me feel sick.”

“O.K.,” Twilight replied, “what would you say one of your favorite book series’ is?”

“Well, one series Ah got into a couple years ago was known as tha ‘WaterFire Saga’.  Like tha ‘Twilight Saga’, this series was a tetralogy, or four book series.  Unlike tha ‘Twilight Saga’, though, this series was much better written.  It centers around these six kingdoms of Merpeople, which are like humans 'cept they have a fish tail as their lower half ‘n they live in tha ocean.  Anyhoo, it focuses on these six kingdoms of Merpeople scattered across tha seas, more specifically, six Mermaids from each kingdom, descended from powerful mages, who set off on a journey ta prevent a powerful villain from unleashin a monster that will bring about tha end o’ tha world.”

“Wow.  That sounds really fascinating,” Fluttershy spoke up.

“If any of y’all are interested, Ah’ve got all tha books back home.  Tha last one came out almost a year ago.  Tha books in order are ‘Deep Blue’, ‘Rogue Wave’, ‘Dark Tide’, ‘n ‘Sea Spell’.”

“I’d be very interested in checking them out if they’re as good as you say they are,” Twilight stated.

“Ah’m sure ya’ll enjoy ‘em.”

The next store that we came across was the Dy-No-Mite Boutique, which Rarity immediately showed interest in.

“Oh my stars!!!” she beamed. “I soo wish that this store were open.  I would love to know what sort of fashions people around here wear.”

“There are actually quite a few clothin stores ‘round here, Rare.  A lot of ‘em mostly sell summer wear, though.  Thankfully, these aren’t tha only clothin stores in tha area.  If you wanted, sometime soon, Ah could take ya ta Wal-Mart.”

“What’s Wal-Mart?”

“One o’ tha biggest retail stores in tha country.  Every state has at least one.”

“Oh yes.  I’d very much appreciate that.  At least I’ll be able to buy some decent hoof- I mean… ‘footwear’ besides those ghastly things I had to suffer through earlier.”

“Yeah.  Ah’m sure that’ll be ni-wait.  Buy?  Do ya guys even have money?”

“Yup,” AJ answered. “Discord provided us with plenty o’ money fer tha nex month or so.  Ah gotta admit, though, that we were pretty surprised that you humans use paper as money.”

“Ah can see how that might be strange fer ya guys when ya only use coins back in Equestria.  That bein said, we Americans use coins also, but they don’t have nearly as much value ta ‘em.  Different countries round tha world use different forms o' currency.”

“Well maybe you can educate us on that at a later time,” Dash cut in, “but, for now, let’s just see more of the stores.”

“Will do, Dash.”

As we continued along our way, we passed by the 925 Silver Shop, St. Tropez, and Beachology, the latter of which I stopped for a brief moment upon having passed.

“Why did we stop?” Fluttershy questioned.

“Cuz Ah wanted ta show ya guys somethin,” I stated, motioning with my right hand. “Follow me.”

I then led them down a small back alleyway between Beachology and Craftology.  After a very brief walk, we made it to the Beach Villa Motel.

“This is where me ‘n ma family stayed at our first time up here ‘n ev'ry other time since.”

“Well this certainly looks quaint and homey,” Rarity remarked.

“It certainly does,” Twilight agreed.

“This place gets most of its business durin tha summer obviously,” I continued, “but they’re also open durin late spring ‘n early fall.  Durin those periods, they have really great off-season deals.  Ma family’s taken advantage o’ that on more than one occasion.”

“I can understand why,” Rainbow replied. “I mean, it must hardly take you any time to get to the beach from here.”

“Oh yeah.  Definitely.”

It was then that I looked at my watch and realized how late it was getting.

“Oh look at tha time.  We should probably be headin back now.”

And so we started the long walk back home, all the while talking about what had been going on in Ponyville since the last time me and Savannah were there.  Even though I already knew about what had been going on there from watching the show, it was nice to hear my friends give their own accounts of what had transpired.  That and I was just glad to be reunited with them after almost two years without them.  We continued talking the rest of the way back without a care in the world, never feeling more happier before than we did in that moment.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


“…And, sure enough, in spite of a few minor hiccups, Rarity For You was a smashing success,” Rarity finished, recounting the opening of her boutique in Manehattan as we reached home.

“That’s great ta hear, Rare,” I answered. “That must’ve been a pretty big moment fer ya.”

“Oh it was.  Of course, I never would’ve been able to do it all on my own.”

“We were more than happy to help,” Fluttershy affirmed.

“Definitely,” Dash replied.

“Absotively,” Pinkie agreed.

As I opened the door, a strong, meaty aroma came wafting out.  The girls were quick to notice it also.

“What is that smell?” Twilight asked.

“Ah almost forgot,” I started, “Savannah put Italian Meatloaf in tha oven before ya guys came here.”

“Sure smells good,” AJ stated.

“It is.”

Suddenly, a realization hit me.

“Ah jus realized that ya guys can’t eat meat.”

“What?” Twilight questioned. “Why?”

“Cuz, with you guys bein ponies, yer all herbivores.”

After a moment of silence, all six of them burst out laughing.  Obviously, I was very confused by this reaction.

“What?  What’d Ah say?”

“I’m sorry, David,” Rainbow answered once she stopped laughing, “but we just found it kind of funny how little you know about ponies.”

“Whataya mean by that?”

“We are herbivores,” Twilight began, “but, every once in awhile, we can eat a little meat and suffer no ill effects.  It’s actually quite a necessary source of protein.  What it all comes down to is a simple matter of moderation.”

“Really?”

“Mmhmm,” Fluttershy stated, plainly. “Even I know that it’s necessary for some animals to eat other animals in order to survive.  It’s just how things are.”

“Oh,” I replied with an embarrassed blush on my face. “Ah can honestly say Ah never knew that before.”

“It’s O.K., bud,” Rainbow replied as she put an arm around my shoulder. “We wouldn’t expect you to know everything about us.  You’ve hardly been in Equestria long enough to even know that much about our customs.”

“Ah ‘preciate that, Dash,” I answered with a smile.

We then made our way into the kitchen where Savannah was slicing up the meatloaf while Ariel was seated in her highchair with Cheerios.  Savannah quickly noticed us entering.

“Oh hey,” she greeted warmly. “You guys came here just in time.  I was just now dishing up dinner for us.”

“It smells awesome, Savannah,” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Here, ma love.  Let me help ya out with getting everyone’s plates ready,” I stated as I came around to help her.

“Thanks, David,” Savannah answered with a smile. “I really appreciate that.”

Before long, we had plates dished up for everyone there as we all gathered around the kitchen table.

“Would you like to lead us in prayer, David?” Savannah asked.

“Sure,” I replied. “Let’s all close our eyes n pray.”

I realized that this was most likely a custom that none of our company was familiar with, but all of them were still respectful and closed their eyes along with us as I began praying.

“Lord, we thank ya fer providin this food fer us 'n even fer allowin our friends ta be here with us after such a long period.  We pray that ya’d use this food ta nourish us 'n also that ya’d bless our time with our friends in tha coming weeks.  In Jesus' name, Amen.”

With the prayer over, a few of our friends were quick to inquire about it.

“Who was this directed towards?” Fluttershy asked.

“It was directed towards God,” Savannah stated. “He’s the one who created everything here and we pray to him as a way of thanking him for what he’s provided us with and even to bring concerns before him that might be troubling us.”

“He’s an immortal deity much like yer own princesses, Celestia 'n Luna,” I stated.

“Well none of us have ever considered Celestia or Luna as deities,” Twilight explained. “We’ve just seen them as rulers.”

“Have you ever seen God before?” Rainbow questioned, before taking a bite of meatloaf.

“Ah haven’t,” I replied. “No one has cause seein him would be like lookin straight inta 1,000 suns.  With that said, there are those who’ve witnessed his works.  Many of em from several millennia ago with all accounts written in a book called The Bible.”

“The Bible?” Pinkie puzzled after swallowing a mouthful of meatloaf.

“Yup,” Savannah answered. “Something worth mentioning about it is that it wasn’t just written by one person.  It was written by several people over the ages.”

“We can talk more bout it later if y’all are interested,” I stated.

“Thanks fer that, Sugarcube.  Ah might jus take ya up on that,” Applejack replied before turning to Savannah. “This is really good meatloaf.”

“Thanks,” Savannah answered. “I actually got the recipe from David’s family.  It’s one of their favorite dishes.”

“Ma family ‘specially loves pairin it with some garlic mashed potatoes,” I followed up.

“So how old is Ariel?” Fluttershy questioned.

“She’s a little over a year by this point.  She hasn’t quite started walkin yet, but maybe she’ll start while you guys are here.”

“How is it that she hasn’t started walking?” Rarity puzzled. “Most foals in Equestria start walking shortly after birth.”

“Well that’s one of the differences between ponies and humans,” Savannah replied. “Human babies just take a little bit longer to learn how to walk.”

Before long, we had all finished dinner.

“Anypony want seconds?” I offered.

“No thanks.  It was delicious,” Twilight politely declined.

“Where would you like us to put our dishes?” Fluttershy asked.

“You can just put them in the dishwasher over there,” Savannah pointed. “You just pull the handle on the door and put it on one of the racks.”

All of us then brought our dishes over to the dishwasher and loaded them inside.  Twilight seemed particularly fascinated by the appliance.

“So this machine actually washes dishes for you rather than you having to wash them out by hoof?”

“Yup,” I replied. “Jus one o' many great inventions.”

I then walked over to Ariel’s high chair and picked her up out of it, carrying her into the living room with my friends following close behind.  Setting her down on the floor, I walked over towards the coffee table where I pulled out a bin of some of her toys and dumped them out on the floor.  The girls watched as she picked up one of her toy rings and started teething on it.

“Aww!  Look at her,” Fluttershy smiled, softly. “She’s so adorable.”

“She reminds me so much of Sweetie Belle when she was born,” Rarity added.

“It always seems like she’s growin more 'n more with ev'ry day that passes by,” I stated.

“Ah’ve definitely felt tha same thing regardin Apple Bloom,” Applejack agreed. “It seems like jus yesterday she was born then Ah blinked 'n now she’s finally got her Cutie Mark.  They jus grow up so darn fast.”

“That they do,” Savannah replied as she entered the living room.

Suddenly, I was hit with a thought.

“Ah jus realized somethin.”

“What’s that Davey?” Pinkie questioned.

“You guys are gonna need different names while yer here.”

“Why’s that?” Fluttershy puzzled.

“It’s jus that… yer names aren’t exactly… normal in this world.  If we were ta go out 'n you guys used yer real names, it could be dangerous ta yer safety.”

“Oh my!” Rarity exclaimed. “I’d never thought of it that way.”

“So what kind of names were you thinking of?” Rainbow asked.

“Well, Rainbow, Ah was thinkin that you could be Robin Douglas, Twilight could be Tai Saito, Applejack could be Anne Smith, Rarity could be Rosylin Montgomery, Fluttershy could be Faith Summers, 'n Pinkie could be Polly Parks.  Whataya guys think?”

“Well…,” Twilight began, “it would definitely take some getting used to, but I think we could manage to pull it off, if only for the next few weeks.”

“But we might need them to be written down so we can memorize them,” Rainbow added, “just to be on the safe side.”

“That’s perfectly understandable,” Savannah replied. “Let me just grab a pen and paper.”

“Ah’ll do it, Savannah,” I stated as I got up and headed to my office.

Grabbing a piece of paper from my printer and a pen from my desk, I brought them back into the living room.  I then ripped the paper into six separate strips before writing the names down on each one and handing them to the girls.  After each of them looked at their slips, they placed them in their pockets.

“Ah understand that it might take some time fer y’all ta remember them, but they’ll be there fer you ta refer to should any o' ya forget.”

“We’ll take care to learn them as quickly as we can,” Twilight affirmed.

The rest of the girls chimed in with their approval also.  Ariel then let out a soft, yet still noticeable, yawn.

“Looks like someone’s ready ta call it a night,” I stated as I picked my daughter up before turning to Savannah. “Ah’ll get her all settled fer bed.”

Savannah nodded as I brought Ariel into our bedroom.  After changing her, I laid her softly into her crib while humming a soft, soothing tune.  Before long, she was fast asleep and I slowly crept out of our room into the living room, careful not to disturb her.  Once I was back in the living room, I turned my attention back to our friends, speaking up.

“So, whataya guys wanna do now?”

“I dunno,” Rainbow answered.

“I’ve got an idea!” Savannah beamed. “Why don’t you show them some of those old animated Disney movies we have?”

“Disney?” Fluttershy puzzled.

“Disney is one o' tha mos famous companies in tha world,” I explained as I made my way over to the rack that held our vast movie collection. “They’ve made some o' tha greatest movies ever fer several decades now startin back in tha late 30s with Snow White And The Seven Dwarves.”

“Why don’t we start with that one then, darling?” Rarity suggested. “We could just go through them in the order that they were released.”

“That’s what Ah was thinkin, Rare.  Then, after that, we can watch Pinocchio.”

Grabbing the movie from the shelf, I turned the TV on, set it to the proper channel, popped the movie in my PS4, and took a seat on the couch.  As we settled in to watch the movie, I drank this moment in, enjoying the company of my friends who I’d gone so long without seeing.  I was sure that these next few weeks would be some of the best I ever had.  Nothing could ruin this moment.
> Chapter II: Disney Movies, Wal-Mart, And A Big Lipped Alligator Moment
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A couple hours later, we had made our way through both Snow White And The Seven Dwarves and Pinocchio when I stopped to ask the girls about their thoughts on both movies.

“So what’d ya guys think?”

“Well I really enjoyed the first picture and I found the second one to be… interesting,” Rarity stated.

“I thought they were pretty cool,” Rainbow replied.

“Me too,” Pinkie agreed.

“I thought that, for a first film, Snow White was pretty decently put together in spite of having a rather one-dimensional villain and a prince without much of a personality,” Twilight explained, “and Pinocchio, in my opinion, was a well-crafted cautionary tale about the dangers of misbehavior.”

“Ah found ‘em ta be rather enjoyable,” Applejack followed.

“I liked them fine,” Fluttershy started, “but I wasn’t as much a fan of the scarier moments.”

“That’s understandable, Flutters,” I answered back. “Those scenes did scare me when Ah was younger ‘n still kinda do even now, ‘specially that scene when Lampwick turned inta that jackass.”

“It made me think of the last time you were in Equestria when you were slowly turning into a pony and how freaked out you were.  I never understood your fear until just now watching that scene.  I see now how something like that could’ve scarred you the way it did.”

“Ah ‘ppreciate yer understandin.  Somethin' that ya guys might be surprised ta know is that Snow White And The Seven Dwarves was considered a big gamble by its creator, Walt Disney.  Ev’ryone said that there was no way that anyone would ever watch a full-length animated feature.  Ah can only imagine how they must’ve kicked themselves afterwards.  At tha Oscars that year, an awards show celebrating tha best in movies, Walt Disney received an honorary Oscar made of one large Oscar statuette with seven smaller Oscar statuettes next ta it.

“Additionally, Pinocchio is regarded by many critics ta be tha mos' perfect animated movie ever created.  In fact, a large group o’ movie critics gave it an extremely rare 100% rating.  That’s almost unheard of.”

“Wow!  That is amazing!” Rainbow remarked, enthusiastically.

“That it is.  Nowadays, animated movies are big money.”

“So what movie’s next?”

“Next is somethin' a little different.  Tha movie is called Fantasia, but it’s not really a movie.  It’s more along tha lines of animated shorts set ta classical music.”

“Well that sounds like it might have a nice bit of culture to it,” Rarity replied, cheerfully. “I’m in.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Twilight affirmed.

“It sounds like it would be very calming,” Fluttershy stated with a soft smile.

“Eh.  It might be worth checking out,” Rainbow consented.

And so I put the DVD in and started the movie.  The girls all seemed to be fascinated by the animation paired up with the music from Toccata and Fugue in D Minor to The Sorcerer’s Apprentice to the finale with Night on Bald Mountain and the Ave Maria.  After a couple of hours, the movie was over as Savannah turned to our guests for their reactions.

“So how’d you guys like it?” she questioned.

“That.  Was.  AWESOME!!!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “I mean, at first I wasn’t as enthusiastic about it, but after a while I really got into it.  I particularly liked Rite of Spring and Night on Bald Mountain.”

“Night on Bald Mountain was fine enough,” Rarity started, “but I wasn’t as much a fan of those women with their exposed-” she cleared her throat “-bosoms.  Now, as for me, I really enjoyed Dance of the Hours.”

“My personal favorite was The Pastoral Symphony,” Twilight stated. “Just the variety of mythological creatures was enough to capture my attention.”

“I loved The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, especially for that adorable little mouse character,” Fluttershy replied with quiet enthusiasm.

“Ahh yes.  That was Mickey Mouse, Disney’s mos’ famous icon,” I explained. “He was created by Walt Disney himself all tha way back in 1928, almos’ 90 years ago, ‘n Mickey’s been tha official mascot o’ Disney ever since.  Fantasia was actually famous fer pioneerin’ tha whole idea of music videos.  Music itself is already a major art-form, but videos that accompany songs have become just as marketable ‘n important.”

I soon realized how late it was as I looked at my watch.

“Wow!  Ah didn’t realize how late it had gotten.”

“Ah reckon it’s bout time we all get some shut eye,” Applejack replied with a yawn.

“Where will we sleep, though?” Pinkie asked.

“Easy,” I answered. “We have three additional bedrooms upstairs that tha six of ya can share.  Two to a room works out rather nicely.”

“Thanks, David.  We really appreciate you being able to accommodate us on such short notice,” Fluttershy smiled.

“Hey.  Anythin’ fer ma friends.  Now if y’all’ll excuse us, me ‘n Savannah are gonna call it a night.”

“See you girls in the morning,” Savannah replied cheerfully.

The girls all said their goodnights before heading upstairs with bags in tow as I followed behind Savannah.  Taking off my clothes and settling in for the night next to Savannah, I began thinking about the next few weeks that lay ahead, how we’d be able to spend some quality time with our friends.  With those thoughts in mind, I slowly drifted off into deep, restful sleep, all the while never knowing what I would face later that night.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


I was walking along Old Orchard Beach the next morning with Savannah, Ariel on my shoulders, and my friends by my side.  Everything about this day was perfect.  The sun was shining, the waves were beating against the shore in their repetitive, yet soothing, cycle, and I was getting to spend time with some of those whom I cared most about.  Nothing could possibly ruin this moment.

However, without any warning, the sun was swiftly blotted out by a towering figure standing above us, its black shadow swallowing up any light around us.  In our panic, we started running as far as we could from this behemoth, but there was nowhere to escape too.  Reaching out a clawed hand, the figure snatched up Savannah and brought her up to its face.  I could make out jagged teeth oozing a tarry black substance and glowing red eyes.

“SAVANNAH!!!” I called out fearfully. “Put her down you freak!!!”

But the figure paid no attention to me as it devoured Savannah, swallowing her in one gulp.

“NOOOOO!!!” I cried out in anguish.

As my friends were swallowed up by the darkness one by one and the darkness started to close in around me, I held Ariel close, shutting my eyes tightly.  Terrified that I would lose everyone I held closest, I prayed more than anything else that this would all end.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


It was then that I opened my eyes and sat up, gasping in a cold sweat.  Looking over at Savannah sleeping quietly next to me, I carefully got up out of bed so as not to wake her before putting on a robe and stepping out of our room, heading towards our back deck to look out at the ocean.  Whenever something was troubling me, I would frequently stand on the deck and look out at the ocean.  If there happened to be a full moon out, I would consider that a bonus.  Unfortunately, the moon was nowhere to be seen that night.  Closing my eyes, I let myself get lost in the calming lull of the waves.

“Can’t sleep either?” a familiar voice asked.

“AHH!!!” I shouted, startled by this sudden voice, before turning around to see Twilight standing behind me in dark sapphire PJs with the constellations on them.

“Oh my gosh!!!  I’m so sorry.  I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s a’ight,” I replied, letting my nerves settle a bit more. “Ah didn’ know anyone else was awake.”

“From the looks of it, it appears to be just you and me.”

“So what’re you doin’ up?  Is everythin’ O.K.?”

“Yeah.  I’m fine.  Just having a hard time sleeping.  I was nervously thinking about Starlight Glimmer running things back in Ponyville.  I mean, she willingly volunteered to take over for me while we came here saying that she felt more comfortable with accepting a role of leadership after recent events, but I still can’t help but feel a little nervous about that.”

“Hey.  That’s perfectly normal.  It can be hard ta let somepony else take over runnin’ Ponyville fer ya, ‘specially when ya’ve been doin it far longer than they have, but Ah’m sure that she’ll do jus’ fine in yer absence.”

“I guess you’re right,” she answered with a smile. “So what about you?  Are you O.K.?”

“Yup.  Things are great with me.”

She wasn't convinced.

“C’mon David.  I can tell when things aren’t normal.  You’re out here by yourself and you were extremely jumpy when I approached you.  What’s going on?”

I knew that there was no way of talking myself out of this one no matter how hard I tried.

“O.K.,” I stated, defeated. “Ah had a nightmare.  In it, Ah lost Savannah to a dark, shadowy figure.”

Twilight stroked her hand along her chin as though she was puzzling a thought around in her head.

“Why does that sound familiar to me?”

“Because it’s tha same dream that Ah had tha las’ time Ah visited Equestria.  Tha only thing is that was years ago, at least by ma time, so why is it happenin’ again jus’ now?”

“I’m not sure,” Twilight admitted, “but remember what Princess Luna said last time?  ‘Fearing what happens in dreams only allows it to manifest in your mind, becoming your reality in the process.  The more you're able to let go of that fear the less hold it has over you or even your fate.’  You have to be able to let it go.  Don’t allow it to bother you like this.”

I smiled softly back at her.

“You’re right, Twi.  Ah shouldn’t let this bother me.  Ah ‘ppreciate us havin’ this little talk.”

“Hey.  That’s what friends are here for,” she stated with a smile.

“Ah’m gonna head back ta bed now.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

And so the two of us headed off to our respective rooms.  Entering mine, I took my robe off and settled back down in bed, placing my arms around Savannah as she slept peacefully next to me and I fell into much calmer, more relaxing sleep.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


The next morning, I woke up to the smell of chocolate chip pancakes.  Putting on my clothes and heading into the kitchen, I found Savannah and the girls at the table eating breakfast while Ariel sat in her highchair.  Rainbow Dash was the first one to notice me.

“Well look who decided to sleep in this morning,” she remarked.

“Hey, Davey,” Pinkie greeted. “Did you sleep well?”

“Oh yeah,” I answered, groggily. “Ah slept great.”

“There’s a plate of chocolate chip pancakes for you on the stove,” Savannah stated. “Pinkie was even nice enough to help with making them.”

“I’ll admit that it was kinda hard trying to do it with ‘these’,” Pinkie started, holding her hands up and wiggling her fingers, “but I think I’ve gotten the hang of it.”

“Well Ah ‘ppreciate that a lot you two,” I smiled as I grabbed my plate from the stove and poured syrup over the warm, fluffy pancakes. “How are ya guys adjustin’ ta havin’ hands now?”

“Pretty well,” Applejack spoke up. “Twi helped out a bit with teachin’ us how ta use em before we came ta you guys ‘n Ah’d say we’ve taken ta it somewhat easily.”

Taking my seat at the table, I prayed silently before digging into my breakfast.  After swallowing my first bite, I turned my attention back to the girls.

“So have y’all been up fer very long?”

“Only about a half hour to 45 minutes,” Fluttershy replied, plainly.

“Speak for yourself, darling,” Rarity stated. “I’d been up for nearly two hours trying to make sure I was presentable and ready to face the day.”

“That don’t surprise me, Rare,” I chuckled before taking another bite of pancake. “Were any of ya interested in continuin’ with tha Disney animated movies today?”

“Maybe sometime later, if that’s O.K.,” Twilight answered. “Personally, I was hoping that I could get started on that book series that you told us about just yesterday.  The… WaterFire Saga I think you said.”

“Ahh yes.  Those books are right on tha bookshelf in tha livin’ room.  They're sorted alphabetically by author Ah believe.  Feel free ta help yerself ta any books that interest you.”

“Thanks, David,” Twilight smiled back at me.

“These are really good pancakes.  They taste slightly different than usual, but in a good way.”

“Glad you like ‘em,” Pinkie proclaimed. “I personally used a little bit of vanilla and cinnamon for flavor.”

Polishing off my plate, I then brought it over to the dishwasher.

“So, Dayvid,” Applejack began, “got anythin’ on tha schedule fer today?”

“Ah dunno.  Maybe a little bit o’ writing.  If any of ya are interested, Ah could take y’all ta Wal-Mart.  Maybe ya might find somethin’ ya’d like ta buy there?”

“That sounds great, David,” Fluttershy smiled softly.

“I’m in!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“As am I,” Rarity affirmed. “It could definitely give me the opportunity to get some decent shoes than those hideous things I was wearing when we first got here.  Discord didn’t exactly leave us with very many shoe options in our luggage, unfortunately.”

“Well, in the meantime, you can just borrow my boots,” Savannah offered. “They might not be your size, but I’m sure that they’ll work just fine until you get your own shoes.”

“Well I appreciate your generosity greatly, Savannah.”

“Hey.  It’s nothing honestly.”

“Well, while you guys are doing that, I’ll get started on that series,” Twilight stated as she headed for the living room.

“Me ‘n Pinkie Pie can help ya out with lookin’ after Ariel, Savannah,” Applejack added.

“Yes indeedly,” Pinkie agreed.

“Oh I wouldn’t want to impose on you two,” Savannah replied.

“Honestly, it’s no problem at all, Sugarcube.”

“We’d be more than happy to help,” Pinkie hopped up and down.

“O.K.  If you two insist,” Savannah gave in.

“So are you girls jus’ ‘bout ready ta go ta Wal-Mart?” I asked Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity.

“We’re ready if you are, twin,” Rainbow stated.

“Well then let’s get goin’.”


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


Before long, the four of us had piled into my Shelby GT500 Mustang, we buckled our seatbelts (after I briefly explained their purpose to the girls), and we were off to Wal-Mart.  As I was driving with Rainbow Dash sitting shotgun and Rarity and Fluttershy sitting in the back, I decided to check with them to see if they were interested in listening to the radio.

“You girls mind if Ah put some music on?”

“Not at all,” Fluttershy answered.

“It would certainly be welcome for the time being,” Rarity affirmed.

“Sure.  Go for it,” Rainbow agreed.

Pressing the dial, the radio came on to a local pop station.  I turned it on just in time to catch Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop The Feeling” at the beginning of the second verse.

“Oh man Ah love this song!!!” I exclaimed as I began to sing along with it.

The girls seemed to really enjoy the beat and sound of the song as I sang it, particularly Rainbow Dash.  They were even amazed when it got to the chorus and I was able to hit the higher notes with my falsetto.

“Wow, David,” Fluttershy remarked. “I never knew you had that kind of range.”

“I’ll say,” Rainbow commented. “That was so Awesome how you managed to hit all those high notes.”

“Thanks ya guys,” I replied with a smile.

“I must ask though why is it that you’ve stopped trying to pursue a career in music?” Rarity questioned. “You seem to be quite exceptional at it.”

“Well, Rare,” I began, “as o’ tha past few years, Ah’ve tried ta get inta tha music business, but nothin’ has ever worked out.  Even one o’ ma attempts at gettin’ back on American Idol ended terribly when ma voice cracked durin’ tha audition.”

“Oh my.  That must’ve been hard for you.”

“That it was.  After that, Ah decided that it jus’ wasn’t meant ta be.  Besides, Ah’ve managed ta find a successful career as an author anyways.  Nowadays, singin’ is more of an occasional thing that Ah do fer tha fun of it.”

“That’s too bad because you really are quite good at singing,” Fluttershy stated.

“Thanks, Flutters,” I smiled before realizing that we were approaching our destination. “Oh looks like we’re here guys.”

Pulling into the parking lot, the girls got their first glimpse of Wal-Mart.  They looked upon the building with wide eyes full of wonder at the sight of it.

“Wow!” Rarity exclaimed. “It looks soo massive.”

“You think it looks big from tha outside, jus’ wait til ya get inside,” I commented.

Parking close to the store, we got out of the car, locked the doors, and began the short walk towards the automatic doors of Wal-Mart.  As we approached them, Rainbow was struck with a question.

“Where are the doors for this place?”

Before I could reply, the automatic doors slid open, much to the surprise of the girls.

“Oh my!” Fluttershy remarked in amazement. “How did it open like that without us even touching it?”

“Cuz there are special sensors above tha doors,” I explained. “They pick up tha movements of anyone nearby ‘n tha doors open automatically fer ‘em.”

“It’s almost like magic,” Rarity stated.

“Yeah.  Ya could say that.”

Once we were inside the store, the girls’ jaws literally dropped at how much larger the store looked on the inside.

“You were not kidding, twin,” Rainbow Dash commented. “You could get lost in this place pretty easily.”

“That’s why we’re stickin close together,” I replied. “Do ya girls have yer money with ya?”

“I’ve got some,” Rarity answered, reaching into her handbag.

She then pulled out a stack of $20 bills with Andrew Jackson’s face on all of them.

“Oh.  Ah see ya’ve got tha older $20 bills.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, startin’ sometime this year, though Ah don't know when, $20 bills will now have a woman on tha front of ‘em.  Harriet Tubman ta be more specific.”

“Who’s she?” Rainbow Dash puzzled.

“She was a famous woman in American history.  Ah can tell ya guys more ‘bout her at a later time if yer interested.  Fer now, Ah guess that these 20s can work.  Let’s go see if we can find Rari- Ah mean… ‘Rosylin’ some new shoes.”

And so we made our way over to the clothing section where Rarity was immediately fascinated by the wide variety of clothes that were on display.  I did my best to keep her focused on looking for shoes for her.

“Do you think it might be possible for us to come back here again just to do some normal clothes shopping?” Rarity asked as we reached the shoe displays. “I’m certain that all of us will need more clothes than merely what we had packed with us when we got here.”

“Ah’m sure we’d be able ta find some time fer that.  Ya guys are gonna be stayin’ with us fer tha nex’ few weeks or so anyways so there’ll possibly be quite a few more visits here in that time.”

Rarity then began looking through the various shoes on the shelves.  At first, she was rather disappointed by the large number of high-heeled shoes that were there before she finally came across a few shelves with sneakers.

“Do you know what yer foot size is, Rosylin?”

“Unfortunately not, darling.  Back in Eque- I mean… our hometown, just about everyone’s… feet are the same size.  These boots that Savannah let me borrow are comfortable, but they’re a little too large for me.”

“Well her boots are ‘bout a size 11 so why don’cha try a size 10?”

“Wait,” Rainbow started. “You get to try shoes on before you buy them?”

“Yup.  How else would ya know if they’re tha right fit or not?”

“Well, to be honest, I don’t typically do that much clothes shopping myself,” she admitted.

“That’s understandable.”

Once Rarity found a pair of shoes she liked in a size 10, she took off Savannah’s boots before trying them on.  Once they were on her feet, they appeared to fit perfectly.

“Try walkin’ several steps down tha aisle ‘n back,” I suggested. “See how they feel.”

Following my advice, she strutted down the aisle for several steps before turning around and coming back.  She smiled before speaking.

“They fit beautifully.”

“Good ta hear.  Now let’s go pay fer ‘em.”

After Rarity took her new shoes off and slipped Savannah’s boots on, we made our way to the checkout line.  On the way there, we passed by the jewelry section where Fluttershy’s attention was swiftly captured by a beautiful, Aquamarine Teardrop pendant.  I was quick to notice her fascination with it.

“Do ya wanna buy that necklace, Faith?” I questioned, remembering to use her alternate name.

“Yes.  I’d love to!” she replied back happily.

“Well yer in luck cuz this necklace is on sale fer much cheaper than it normally goes fer.  One o’ tha things ta love ‘bout Wal-Mart is that they always have low prices ‘n great deals on many products.  This necklace would go fer $85 normally, but, here, it’s only ‘bout $13.”

“Wow!  That is a great discount!” Fluttershy marvelled.

And so, after about a minute of Fluttershy buying the necklace at the kiosk, we made our way to the checkout lines for Rarity to pay for her shoes where there were already a few people ahead of us.  Before long, the line had cleared and Rarity stepped up to make her purchase.  Once she had paid for her footwear and gotten the change back, we exited the store and headed back to my car.

“That was certainly an interesting experience,” Rarity remarked.

“Ah’m sure that you guys will come across quite a lot o’ those durin’ yer time here, but, fer now, we should prob’ly head back.”

We reached my car and quickly got inside, though, this time, Fluttershy took shotgun while Rainbow Dash joined Rarity in the back.  Before long, we were on our way back home, listening to more music and enjoying each other’s company in this simple moment of happiness.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


After several minutes, we finally arrived back at the house.  Entering the front door, our eyes were greeted by Twilight, who appeared to be rather fixated on the book, Deep Blue, that she was reading, sitting on the recliner.  From the looks of it, she was anywhere from ¾ to ⅘ of the way through.

“We’re back,” I greeted, causing Twilight to look up from her book.

“Oh hey,” she politely replied. “How’d it go?”

“It went well,” Rarity answered. “I finally got some decent footwear that won’t be a royal pain to walk in.”

“And I got myself a new necklace,” Fluttershy added, showing off her latest purchase.

“Wow!  That’s beautiful, Fluttershy!” Twilight stated in amazement.

It was in that moment that Applejack, Pinkie, and Savannah entered the living room.

“Oh you’re back,” Savannah greeted. “We just put Ariel down for her afternoon nap.”

“That little one o’ yers sure is a bundle of energy,” Applejack added. “Before we put her down, she was crawlin’ all over tha place.  Ah can only imagine what it’ll be like once she starts walkin’.”

“Well, like Ah said yesterday, she should be walkin’ anytime within tha nex’ few weeks.  Who knows?  You guys might even be around ta witness her takin’ her first steps.”

“That would be really nice if it were to happen,” Fluttershy stated, a pleasant smile on her face.

“Well,” I began, “while she’s asleep, Ah’m gonna take this opportunity ta get some more writin’ done.”

“What sort of writing are you working on?” Rainbow Dash questioned.

“Well, currently, Ah’m workin’ on a Fantasy project, but Ah’ve got tons of other ideas swirlin’ ‘round in ma head.  Tha hard part is tryin’ ta find time ta write all of ‘em down.”

“That does sound like it would be frustrating,” Twilight commented, eyes still fixated on her book. “Soo many ideas and soo little time.”

“Exactly.  Any of ya guys wanna join me?”

“Sure,” Pinkie piped up quickly.

“I’m up for it,” Fluttershy answered. “It sounds like it would be nice.”

“You guys have fun with that,” Rainbow stated. “I’m gonna sit this one out.”

“Likewise,” Rarity chimed in.

“Maybe some other time,” Twilight added.

“What ‘bout you, AJ?” I asked.

“Thanks, but Ah’m good fer now.”

And so, me, Flutters, and Pinkie walked back to my office where I pulled up a couple of extra chairs for them to sit at my desk with me.  It wasn’t long after I sat down at my desk before Fluttershy spoke up.

“Where’s your typewriter, David?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I replied.

“Ah’m sorry, Fluttershy, but nobody’s used typewriters in a long time.  Nowadays, we use computers.  Computers are machines that can be used fer typin’ up documents, sendin’ messages, even connectin’ with other people from all around tha world.”

“That must be pretty useful in a world like this that doesn’t have magic.”

“Tell me about it,” Pinkie agreed.

It was then that I started the writing process.  After making sure that I had plenty of soda, I started my special playlist and began typing.  My playlist that I used for writing was mostly a combination of various instrumental pieces from movie soundtracks, anything from The Hunger Games movies to Disney’s The Hunchback Of Notre Dame to Pirates Of The Caribbean.

Some of my most favorite tracks were the ones that contained a Dramatic Choir, hell, tracks with a Dramatic Choir probably made up about a good ⅘ of my playlist, if not more.  That playlist combined with a good amount of soda was the perfect formula to get my creative juices flowing.  My therapist once stated that my use of caffeine when writing was actually quite normal and that it was far better that I use it rather than something like alcohol or illegal drugs.

“Would either of ya guys want a soda?” I asked Pinkie and Fluttershy as I pulled out a, partially gone through, six pack of Pepsi.

“Umm… I guess so,” Fluttershy answered.

“Sure.  Thanks,” Pinkie replied.

Taking out two bottles from the pack, I opened them up and handed them to the girls.  Fluttershy looked at the bottle curiously before taking a sip.  The look on her face was priceless as her eyes shot open and she began coughing a little bit while Pinkie chugged hers down without even taking a breath.

“Wow!” Flutters remarked. “That certainly was rather… um... what’s the word?”

“Fizzy?” Pinkie asked after polishing off her bottle.

“Yes.  Fizzy and… potent.”

“That’s caffeine fer ya,” I commented. “In ma opinion, Ah like jus’ ‘bout any type o’ soda as long as it’s not diet.  Diet soda always tastes flat ta me.”

“Flat?” Fluttershy puzzled.

“Un-fizzy.  No kick ta it,” I explained.

And after that, nothing else was spoken as the two of them sat back and watched me type up my story while listening to my playlist.  About a couple of hours later, I had made my way through the soundtracks of both How To Train Your Dragon movies and had made good progress on my story before I decided to call it a day as far as writing was concerned.

“Wait.  You’re done already?” Pinkie questioned as I minimized my document.

“Yup.  At least fer tha time bein’.”

“But it seems like you just started a short while ago.”

“Time has a funny way o’ slippin’ by pretty quickly, Pinkie.  Somethin’ Ah learned awhile back was that, when it comes ta writin’, don’t get soo wrapped up on tha idea of ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if “this” happened?’ because if ya jus’ add everythin’ ya think might be cool, tha story can suffer as a result.  Instead, when ya get a cool idea, write that one idea down ‘n then stop writin’.  Let yer story sit fer a while before comin’ back ta it.  If any of yer other ideas come ta mind, ya can incorporate them later on when ya’ve let it settle.”

“Whoa.  That’s some really good advice,” Fluttershy commented.

“Well, Ah’m gonna go get maself somethin’ ta eat.  Ya girls hungry at all?”

“I ate shortly before you guys got back,” Pinkie stated.

“How ‘bout you, Flutters?”

“Well I am feeling a little bit hungry.  Do you have any apples or other fruit?”

“Ah’m sure that we do,” I answered as we made our way from my office into the kitchen.

Sure enough, on the kitchen counter, there was a basket of various fruits from apples to bananas to oranges.

“Feel free ta help yerself ta whatever catches yer eye.  As fer me, Ah’m makin’ maself a sandwich.”

While Fluttershy decided what she wanted, I went to get bread from the drawer before grabbing a jar of SoyNut Butter, a jar of raspberry jam, two knives, and a plate.  As I began assembling my sandwich, Pinkie Pie noticed the SoyNut Butter and immediately panicked.

“David, what’re you doing!?!  Do you want to kill yourself!?!”

“What’re you talkin' ‘bout, Pinkie?” I asked, slightly shocked by her sudden outburst.

“That’s peanut butter,” she stated, pointing at the jar, “which you’re allergic too!!!”

“Well actually-” I began before a question popped in my head, “wait a minute.  How’d ya know Ah was allergic ta peanut butter?  Ah don’ remember ever tellin’ any of ya guys.”

“Duh.  We were in your head the last time you came to Equestria, remember?” she explained, tapping lightly on my forehead. “There’s a lot of stuff we know about you from our time up there like how your birthday is December 12th or how you’re allergic to peanuts and tree nuts or how-”

“O.K.  O.K.  Ah get it,” I cut in before she could continue any further. “Geez, ya don’t hafta blurt out ma whole life story.”

“But why were you using peanut butter in your sandwich if you’re allergic to it?” Fluttershy joined in the conversation as she walked over holding a peeled banana.

“Ah wasn’t,” I explained. “This is actually SoyNut Butter.  It’s similar ta peanut butter, but it’s made from dried soybeans instead.  A friend introduced me ta it several years ago as a nice alternative ‘n Ah’ve been usin’ it ever since.”

“Ahh,” Pinkie and Fluttershy answered in unison.

With my sandwich made, the three of us headed into the living room to join the others.  Rainbow Dash was the first to notice our entrance.

“Hey,” she greeted. “How’d the writing go?”

“It went well, thanks fer askin’,” I replied.

“We were actually hoping you guys would join us so that we could start on the next Disney animated movie,” Savannah chimed in.

“Ahh yes.  Ah believe tha nex’ movie is Dumbo,” I stated as I went to grab the movie from the shelf and put it in the PS4.

“What’s that about?” Fluttershy questioned.

“It’s about a young elephant with big ears who’s part of a circus.  Ah’m sure ya’d like it.”

With the DVD inserted and the TV on, we sat back to watch the movie, all the while I was wondering what my friends’ reaction would be once the movie got to the infamous “Pink Elephants” scene.  I was sure that Pinkie Pie would find it enjoyably wacky, but the others I wasn’t as sure about.  I figured I’d just have to wait to see their reactions once we got there.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


After finishing Dumbo, I was beyond curious to know what the girls’ thoughts were on the movie, especially the “Pink Elephants” scene.  Before I could ask them, though, Rainbow Dash spoke up.

“What.  The hay.  Did I just watch?” she asked out of confusion.

“What exactly do you mean by that, Rainbow?” Savannah questioned.

“Well the movie itself was pretty decent, but what was up with that weird pink elephant scene?  I was stuck thinking about it for the remainder of the movie.”

“I must admit that I found it to be a little superfluous myself,” Rarity joined in.

“I enjoyed it a lot!” Pinkie exclaimed.

I smiled at Pinkie’s answer before I decided to try and explain it to them.

“Well, technically, there’s no real reason as ta why it was there other than jus’ because.  With that said, this movie was actually one o’ tha first ta have weird scenes like this that don’t seem ta add anythin’ ta tha plot at all.  In our world, many of us refer ta them as ‘Big Lipped Alligator Moments’.”

The looks of further confusion on our friends’ faces after my remark were absolutely priceless.

“What in tha Sam heck are you talkin' 'bout?” Applejack puzzled. "There're no alligators in this movie.  At leas' none that come ta mind."

“Big Lipped Alligator Moments have an interesting history,” Savannah began. “You see, a couple decades back, there was a movie that came out called All Dogs Go To Heaven that had a scene in it that many found to be really bizarre.  In the scene, the main character who’s a dog gets brought to a giant alligator with really big lips who plans on eating him.  Before he could do that, though, the dog howled in such a beautiful manner, at least to the alligator, that it then led to the alligator starting this completely random musical number that was over-the-top, came out of nowhere, added nothing to the story, and, after it was done, it was never brought up again.”

“Exactly,” I followed up. “A female movie critic was tha first ta actually coin tha phrase ‘Big Lipped Alligator Moment’ ‘n scenes in movies hafta follow some very strict protocol in order ta qualify.  Fer a scene ta be a Big Lipped Alligator Moment, it needs ta show up right tha hell outta nowhere without any foreshadowing, be completely pointless ta tha story where ya could leave it out entirely ‘n nothin’ would change, be unbelievably over-the-top even within tha context o’ tha movie, ‘n finally, after it’s happened, it’s completely forgotten by tha main characters ‘n they never talk about it ever again.”

“Does that help you guys better understand it?”

“Umm… I think so,” Fluttershy finally replied after a brief moment of silence.

“If you girls want, Ah can show y’all that particular movie sometime while yer here,” I added.

“Anyways, I still enjoyed the movie for the most part,” Rainbow followed up. “I especially liked the crows.  They were cool and had style to them.”

“Well, Ah’m glad that you enjoyed it Rainbow.”

“I enjoyed it too,” Fluttershy began, “even with that sad musical moment between Dumbo and his mom.”

“We all enjoyed it a lot,” Twilight affirmed. “It’s actually kinda funny because Dumbo’s big ears reminded me of Flurry Heart’s wings as far as the proportions were concerned.

“Ah was actually thinkin’ bout that maself, strangely enough,” Applejack agreed.

“All in all, I feel like we’re learning soo much about your culture just by hanging out with you guys and I’m definitely looking forward to learning even more about it during our time here.”

“Ah’m sure that we’ll have plenty o’ things ta do over these nex’ few weeks together,” I replied.

“Speaking of which,” Savannah started, “While you guys were at Wal-Mart earlier, I was looking at the possibility of all of us going to New York to see a Broadway musical or two.”

“Maybe.  Did ya have any musicals in mind?”

“I was thinking of either Phantom Of The Opera or Wicked.”

“Why not both?  Ah’m sure that tha girls’ll find both enjoyable ‘n we might even be able ta get tickets fer tha same day if we were ta try hard enough.  All tha girl’s’ll need is ta watch The Wizard Of Oz before seein’ Wicked ‘n they’ll be set.”

“I’m not sure,” Savannah replied before turning to our friends. “Would you girls be O.K. with going to see two shows in one day maybe a month from now?”

“I’m intrigued enough by the titles of both musicals to say, ‘Sure.  Why not?’” Rarity chimed in.

“They definitely caught my attention,” Rainbow affirmed. “I’m in.”

“You’ve got my vote,” Twilight answered.

“Mine too,” Fluttershy agreed.

“Absotively,” Pinkie piped up. “They both sound fun.”

“It could be a nice way ta finish off our time here,” Applejack stated. “Let’s do it.”

“Then it’s settled,” I proclaimed.

“O.K.  I’ll go order the tickets for us,” Savannah replied as she went to use my computer to place our order.

Had I known then what that day would entail, I would’ve never insisted upon seeing those shows.  Little did I know then that my life, and future, would be shattered just by that one day.
> Chapter III:  A Different Point Of View
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

           The next few days went by without anything that much out of the ordinary happening.  We continued to make our way through the Disney animated movies from Bambi to Cinderella to Lady And The Tramp to The Jungle Book.  With each movie that we showed our friends, they could at least find one thing that they liked about any particular movie.  Pinkie Pie enjoyed the wackiness of Alice In Wonderland, Rainbow Dash was fascinated by the villainous Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, and Fluttershy really liked several of the movies that involved animals like Lady And The Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, and The Sword In The Stone among others.

           With that said, we didn’t only introduce them to the animated Disney movies.  I took it upon myself to familiarize them with various forms of music.  Not just music from nowadays either, but music going all the way back to the 70s and 60s.  I had grown up in a household where my dad would play a lot of older music spanning various genres and decades so I grew up as somewhat of a musical connoisseur with my vast tastes in music.

           And so I educated our friends with songs from various artists such as The Beatles, KISS, Michael Jackson, Shania Twain, Def Leppard, Journey, U2, Motley Crue, Prince, The Backstreet Boys, Whitney Houston, AC/DC, The Black Eyed Peas, Keith Urban, Miley Cyrus, Jason Derulo, and countless others.  I even showed them some of my guilty pleasure songs like Harry Nilsson’s “Coconut”, Psy’s “Gangnam Style”, and Eiffel 65’s “Blue”, just to name a few.  The girls were very impressed by my vast knowledge of both artists and genres.

           As the days went by, I tried to think of other forms of our culture that I could introduce to these girls.  Many ideas came to my mind, but I had to shoot down several of them rather quickly.  The movie The Godfather was a definite “no” on account of the infamous scene of that man waking up with a horse’s head on his mattress.  I also knew that Game Of Thrones wouldn’t be the best idea either.  I had tried starting the show myself less than a year ago, but, part of the way through the first season, I came across one episode where one character (whose name escaped me), in a maniacal fit of rage, decapitated his own horse.

           This hit me particularly hard when I thought of my own pony ancestry.  Unlike The Godfather, though, I had watched Game Of Thrones after being introduced to Friendship Is Magic and that imagery proved to be incredibly disturbing and traumatizing to me.  What if that had been me?  Or, even worse, one of my friends?  I stopped watching the show entirely shortly after that.

           While pondering what I could share with them, the thought occurred to me of showing them some of my favorite Tim Burton movies.  O.K. O.K. not everything in his filmography would be a good idea for them.  I mean, Sleepy Hollow anyone?  Talk about decapitations.  Fluttershy had already gotten pretty scared of the Headless Horseman after a viewing of The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr. Toad days earlier and as her friend I certainly wasn’t going to subject her to that, but maybe something a little bit lighter like Edward Scissorhands or Big Fish could work.  I could already see Rainbow Dash easily becoming fascinated with his Batman movies and The Nightmare Before Christmas, I was certain, would entertain most, if not all, of the girls.

           And what about Anime?  Somewhat similarly to Tim Burton’s filmography, not everything would be suitable for all of the girls, but I was sure that they would appreciate the animation, characters, and writing of at least some of my favorite Anime shows.  Some Anime shows could even have very thought-provoking ideas behind them that I was sure Twilight could definitely appreciate.  Maybe certain shows I’d only let some of them see?  For example, Attack On Titan might be too much for most of them, but it was possible that Rainbow Dash would enjoy it pretty well.

           These thoughts ran through my head as I was walking along the beach with Ariel on my shoulders, Savannah to my right, and the girls to my left.  It was somewhat close to high tide as our feet were constantly getting wet from the oncoming ocean.  Even then though the cool water against our feet was rather pleasant as we continued along our way.

           “So how’d ya enjoy tha WaterFire Saga, Twilight?” I questioned, breaking the silence.

           “I enjoyed it a lot.  Thanks for asking,” she replied, pleasantly. “I particularly liked the details when it came to world-building and some of the differences between various species of Merpeople like part-octopus, part-crab, part-lionfish, and even how some species contained bioluminescence.  I also found the villains to be rather interesting as well as the author’s cliffhanger ending that could leave the series open to a possible continuation.”

           “That actually makes me think of a popular sayin’ in our world regardin’ any form of entertainment whether it be a performance in a show, a book, or even a movie.”

           “What sayin’ is that, Sugarcube?” Applejack puzzled.

           “‘Always leave ‘em wantin’ more’.  The quote itself was originally coined by a famous showman named P.T. Barnum, a founder o’ tha infamous Ringling Brothers ‘n Barnum ‘n Bailey Circus.  Ya see, the ending is one o tha mos important parts of any story or performance as it’s tha las note ya leave yer audience on.  A quote like that essentially feeds into a person’s desire fer tension whether it be in a performance or a story, a desire ta see their favorite characters challenged in their attempts to accomplish their end goal.  That’s what draws people in ‘n makes ‘em root fer their hero.  They want ta see tha protagonist succeed even when tha odds are stacked against ‘em.”

           “Can’t argue with that,” Twilight affirmed.

           “Ah’m actually reminded of a video Ah saw bout a week ago from a guy Ah follow named Doug Walker where he discussed movie sequels ‘n why tha majority of ‘em wind up bein’ terrible.”

           “Wait.  Movies have sequels?” Rainbow puzzled.

           “Many do, but very few of ‘em are ever that great.  One o’ tha problems he stated was that too many sequels focus on repetition.  He said that while we do wanna see some familiar elements from previous installments like characters, locations, and themes, we mostly wanna see tha story evolve ‘n continue, not be retold.  Tha reason fer this is that many of us see a bit of ourselves in these characters we’ve grown attached to ‘n therefore we don’t want a story ta be repeated with hardly any differences from its predecessor.”

           “Makes sense to me,” Rarity stated.

           “Sometime while you guys are here, we’ll hafta introduce ya ta some o’ tha actual good sequels.”

           “How’re you guys enjoying the Disney movies thus far?” Savannah asked.

           “Oh I like them a lot,” Fluttershy answered. “I especially like any of the movies that deal with either animals or princesses.”

           “Well if ya like tha princesses, it’s gonna be a little while before we get back ta them again,” I explained. “Sleepin’ Beauty was tha las’ princess movie Disney did fer a while.”

           “That’s rather disappointing,” Rarity began, “because I didn’t think that the princess in that movie was all that interesting or memorable when compared to Snow White or Cinderella.”

           “She was pretty boring in that movie,” Flutters agreed.

           “All I’m saying is that Disney didn’t necessarily stop on a high note with her as far as princesses were concerned.”

           “Yup.  Princess Aurora ranks pretty low in most people’s minds when it comes to Disney Princesses,” Savannah followed up. “Thankfully, the next Disney Princess movie has a far more interesting protagonist.”

           “Which movie is that?” Pinkie piped up.

           “The Little Mermaid, one of David’s favorite Disney movies ever.”

           “It’s true,” I admitted. “Ah’ve loved it ever since Ah was much younger.  Tha main character of Ariel was ma first love.”

           “Wait a minute,” Fluttershy began, stopping in her tracks for a second, “isn’t that the same name as your daughter?”

           “Yes.  Yes it is.  Ariel is ma favorite Disney Princess ‘n, seein’ how Ah’m technically an Equestrian Prince, Ah thought it only appropriate that our daughter have a name fittin’ of her title as princess.”

           “O.K. twin.  Now you’ve got me really curious to check this movie out,” Rainbow Dash stated. “How many more movies do we have to go through before reaching this one?”

           “‘Bout seven or eight.  We should be able ta get around ta it within a couple o’ days.”

           “That’s good ta know,” Applejack answered, “cuz now ya’ve got me curious ‘bout it also.”

           “Somethin’ worth notin’ is that tha nex’ several movies came out durin’ a period considered by many ta be tha ‘Dark Age Of Disney Animation’.  Ev’ry movie that came out before The Little Mermaid was either panned by critics, financially unsuccessful, or even a combination o’ both.  With tha release o’ The Little Mermaid, Disney entered a period known as tha ‘Disney Renaissance’ where they put out some o’ their best movies ever.”

           It was in that moment that Ariel let out a soft yawn.

           “Looks like it’s time for us to start heading back,” Savannah stated. “Someone sounds like she needs a nap.”

           And so we began our way back home as I decided to veer off briefly into another topic of conversation.

           “How’ve you guys been enjoyin’ our little Bible discussions?”

           “I’ve found them to be rather interesting,” Fluttershy began, “though, I will admit that some of them have been a little hard for me to follow.”

           “That’s perfectly understandable, Flutters.  All o’ y’all jus heard ‘bout me ‘n Savannah’s beliefs a few short days ago so all o’ this is probably pretty new ta you girls.  Somethin’ that Ah wanna make perfectly clear is that Ah’m in no way tryin’ ta force our beliefs on any of ya.  Ah’m merely sharin’ tha way that we see things ‘n you guys are free ta do with that what ya will.”

           “That’s perfectly fine,” Twilight answered, pleasantly. “I try to be open to the worldviews and opinions of others.”

           “Darn straight,” Applejack agreed.

           “Something you’d want to be careful of, though, is that some worldviews or religions stem from hatred towards others,” Savannah stated. “I personally believe that any religion founded on either hatred or violence towards others is a lie.  God is a God of love who doesn’t want to see people hating or murdering each other because of our differences.  Unfortunately, that’s the world we live in today.  Thankfully, though, we can bring our concerns to God through prayer and he’ll always answer, one way or another.”

           “But if God is as powerful as you say he is, why does he allow stuff like this to happen?” Rainbow puzzled.

           “Well, Rainbow,” I began, “oftentimes, it can be hard fer us ta see past these terrible events as they’re happenin’, but God always has a greater plan in the end.  One example that comes ta mind is actually tha story Ah shared with ya guys a couple days ago ‘bout Joseph.”

           “You mean the guy who had those weird dreams and was sold into slavery by his own brothers?” Pinkie asked.

           “Mmhmm.  Joseph’s brothers sold him inta slavery out of jealousy towards him because he was his father’s favorite son, but God used Joseph ‘n his skill at interpretin’ dreams ta lead towards tha salvation of countless people durin’ tha long, hard famine that came later.  Joseph was even made tha second in command ta tha Pharaoh, ruler o’ most o’ tha known world back then.

           "Ah’m even reminded o’ tha first time Ah was brought ta Equestria less than 3 years ago.  Ah had no idea how Ah’d gotten there or why Ah was even there ta begin with, but Ah believe that God used me ta save all of y’all from Crystal.  Ah even got ta learn tha truth ‘bout ma ancestry.  Ah’d never asked fer any of it ta begin with, but, now, after tha fact, Ah can’t imagine ma life without ever havin’ met everypony there, ‘specially you six.”

           “Aww!  We’re happy to have met you too, Davey.”

           “And Savannah,” Fluttershy added.

           The girls then hugged me and Savannah tightly before we continued walking.  It was then that I decided to change the subject back to Disney movies.

           “So you guys know that movie we saw, The Sword In The Stone?” I questioned.

           “Yeah?  What about it?” Twilight asked back.

           “One o’ ma favorite parts in tha movie was tha scene where Merlin ‘n Arthur became squirrels ‘n that girl squirrel started hittin’ on Arthur.”

           “We know,” Rainbow remarked. “You wouldn’t stop laughing throughout the entire scene.”

           “I thought it was pretty funny too,” Pinkie giggled.

           “I enjoyed that scene too,” Flutters began, “though, I felt soo sorry for that poor little girl squirrel after Arthur had been changed back to human.  That part was really sad to me.”

           “I think it was pretty hard for a lot of younger audiences when they first saw it,” Savannah agreed. “I know I found it heartbreaking on my first viewing.”

           “Disney certainly does have a way o’ tuggin’ at tha heartstrings,” I stated.

           “That's putting it mildly, darling,” Rarity replied. “From Snow White’s wake to the death of Bambi’s mother to that scene at the dog pound in Lady And The Tramp, I wonder how colts and fillies could come out of those scenes without being emotionally scarred.”

           “Well me and David managed to make it out pretty O.K.,” Savannah remarked, “and that wasn’t even all of them.”

           “Yup.  Jus’ wait til we get ta The Lion King,” I commented. “That movie hit me pretty hard.”

           “How so?” Rainbow puzzled.

           “You’ll hafta wait ‘n see.”

           “If any of you guys were interested,” Savannah began, “I was thinking that maybe we could introduce y’all to your show after we’ve made our way through all the animated Disney movies.”

           “Maybe we could even show it ta ya guys sooner as a nice little buffer between movies,” I added.

           “I’d certainly be interested in seeing it if it’s as good as you say it is,” Fluttershy answered with a soft smile.

           “Me too,” Rainbow agreed.

           “Absotively!” Pinkie exclaimed.

           A smile crossed my face before I spoke up again.

           “There’s soo much fer us ta show you guys ‘n such short time fer us ta do it in.”

           “That’s alright Sugarcube,” Applejack replied. “We’ll jus’ take everythin’ as it comes.”

           After that, no more words were spoken as we made our way back to our house.  In that moment, all was right with my own little world, but, unfortunately, it wouldn’t last.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           Later on that day, we were eating dinner in the living room.  We had ordered several cheese pizzas earlier and sat around the TV while watching episodes of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic off of Netflix.  Our friends’ eyes were fixated on the TV as we watched the episode Dragonshy.  They didn’t say much of anything about the show, merely sitting there in silence.

           Ariel was playing with some of her toys on the floor, more invested in them than what was on the TV.  She crawled over to her teething ring and began chewing on it, contentedly, as the rest of us ate our pizza and drank soda.

           Once the episode was over, I decided that we might want to take a break from it for the time being before turning my attention towards the girls.

           “So what were yer guys’ thoughts ‘bout yer show?” I questioned.

           It took several seconds before Twilight answered.

           “It’s a bit unusual,” she began, “seeing all this stuff that went on in our lives from an outsider perspective like this.”

           “It is kind of uncanny,” Fluttershy added after swallowing a bite of pizza. “I also found it interesting how they managed to find people who sounded soo much like us when voicing us in the show.”

           “Eh.  I’ve heard better,” Rainbow Dash remarked.

           “What I’m curious about is how they managed to capture these events in our lives as accurately as they did?” Rarity mentioned.

           “Well, do ya guys remember tha las’ time Ah was in Equestria when Ah told y’all ‘bout ‘Authors’?” I asked.

           All six of them nodded.

           “Well, Authors are special people who have tha ‘bility ta see things most others can’t.  There have been many countless Authors throughout the ages who have been tasked with chronicling what they witness, both tha wonderful ‘n tha terrible.  Some of ‘em chronicled what happened in biblical times, others recounted fairy tales, ‘n still many today tell new stories that only they’ve had revealed ta them.

           “Tha task of an Author is an incredible burden ‘n responsibility that should never be abused.  One should never alter the events of a story fer their own pleasure or benefit.  They’re merely supposed ta keep a record of what they’ve witnessed in these other worlds that they’re given glimpses into.”

           “Have there ever been any cases before where someone has abused that power?” Twilight puzzled.

           “Well there is one occasion that Ah can think of.  Ya know how, a few days ago, Ah told ya guys ‘bout tha Twilight saga?”

           “Yes.  Why?” Fluttershy questioned. “Was that an example of… ‘power abuse’?”

           “Not exactly, but it did give birth to tha mos’ notorious instance o’ power abuse of our time.  An author known as E. L. James wrote a trilogy o’ books that originated as Twilight fanfiction ‘n had them published.  These books have such terrible writing without any attempts at bein’ even remotely accurate or faithful to its already shady subject matter.  She even admitted in an interview that tha books are the outpourin’ of her own personal fantasies.

           “Nowadays, these books are considered a joke.  Sure they were financially successful, but critical feedback was overwhelmingly negative ‘n still is.  Countless people ‘n even celebrities have made fun of ‘em.  There’re even movies based off of tha books that people ridicule, hell, tha mos’ recent one came out over a week ago ‘n people are sayin’ it was even worse than tha first one to tha point where it’s not even soo bad it’s good, but jus’ plain unwatchable.  Ah’ve heard that Authors who alter stories fer personal satisfaction or gain have some sort o’ retribution that falls upon ‘em.  Ma only guess is that her punishment is that she’ll forever be remembered ‘n mocked as one o’ tha worst writers ever.”

           “If that’s the case then why even bother publishing anything?” Rainbow asked before taking another bite of pizza.

           “The point of writing something should never be solely for financial gain or as a form of wish fulfillment,” Savannah explained. “If one is able to make a living off of their work, that’s fine, but the main purpose of writing is to share the way you see things with others and provide your readers with an enjoyable experience.”

           “Precisely,” I added. “As an author maself, Ah’ve done everythin’ within ma power ta make sure that any story that comes ta mind, whether through revelation or experience, is always told like it is, warts ‘n all.  Never once have Ah altered a story’s course nor do Ah have any intentions of doin’ so anytime soon.”

           “Wow,” Fluttershy remarked. “That sounds like quite an important task.”

           “That it is, Flutters.  It actually reminds me of another famous sayin’ in our world: ‘With great power there must also come -- great responsibility’.  Essentially, anyone who has tha ‘bility ta bring about positive change in tha world, it’s their duty ta bring that change ta pass.”

           “Kind of like the responsibility we’ve had as bearers of The Elements Of Harmony,” Twilight stated.

           “Exactly like that.  So do ya guys wanna watch some more of yer show or another Disney movie?”

           “Personally, I’d be more interested in seeing more of our show,” Rarity replied. “You’ve certainly got me hooked.”

           “Ah feel pretty similarly,” Applejack agreed.

           “Yup,” Pinkie piped up.

           “I’d like to see where this goes,” Rainbow affirmed.

           “So would I,” Flutters answered.

           “Me too,” Twilight finished.

           “O.K. then,” I remarked. “Let’s move on ta tha next episode.”

           And so, as I put Look Before You Sleep on, we sat back and watched some more of the show, enjoying each others company in this calm, peaceful moment.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           A few hours later, after the episode Fall Weather Friends, some of the girls expressed an issue of confusion amongst them regarding a few select episodes we’d just viewed.

           “Why was the Running Of The Leaves episode shown after the one dealing with the Winter Wrap-Up?” Rainbow puzzled. “Everypony knows that Fall comes before Winter, not after.”

           “It is kind of confusing,” Flutters agreed.

           “Ta be honest,” I began, “Ah’m not sure why exactly.  Maybe tha writers jus’ made tha episodes when tha stories were first revealed ta them?  Who knows?”

           It wasn’t until I looked at my watch that I realized how late it had gotten.  Time with my friends seemed to fly by much faster as of late.

           “Well Ah think we should prob’ly call it a night.”

           “I agree,” Twilight yawned. “All of us should.”

           “I hope you all sleep well,” Savannah stated as we made our way to our room.

           “You too, Sugarcube,” Applejack replied pleasantly.

           Me and Savannah made our way quietly into our room so as not to wake up Ariel who had been put down a couple hours earlier.  Taking my clothes off and settling into bed, I grabbed a book that I had recently started reading called Battle Of The Ampere by Richard Paul Evans, the third book in a heptalogy (7 book series) about a teenage boy named Michael Vey who had special electrical-based powers.

           Ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to have the power of Electrical Manipulation because it sounded the coolest to me.  My first time in Equestria, I got the chance to use that power when I was defending the ponies from the evil hag, formerly known as Crystal, who had plans to destroy the entire pony race and reform Equestria into her own twisted design.  It was hard to believe that it had been such a long time ago and that soo much had happened in that period.

           I read a few chapters of my book before my eyelids started to get heavy.  Placing the book on my nightstand, I took my glasses off and curled up next to my wife, holding her close in my arms.  As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn’t help but wonder what tomorrow would hold.
> Chapter IV:  Of Songs And Shopping
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

           I woke up the next morning to find that Savannah and Ariel weren’t in the room.  I figured that just meant that they had gotten up before I did.  Putting my clothes back on, I made my way out of our room to look for the others.  Walking into the kitchen, I saw that no one was there.

           “Hello?” I called out.

           Silence.

           “Anyone there?” I tried again.

           Still no response.  Something wasn’t right here.  I then walked into the living room to see if anyone was there.  Upon entering, I saw that the front door was slightly ajar.  This struck me as rather odd because Savannah was always careful to close the door behind her and I was sure that the girls would’ve known better than to just leave a door open like that.  What were they raised in a barn?  O.K.  That was probably a poor choice of words taking Applejack into consideration.

           The thought then occurred to me that maybe they were all outside.  Walking over to the door, I opened it all the way and peeked outside, looking for any sign of any of them.  Upon looking outside, though, none of them were there.  It was in that moment when I began to think that maybe they’d gone to the beach and would be back later.

           Closing the door behind me, I turned around.  That’s when I saw it: a dark, cloaked figure hovering several feet behind me, its eyes glowing wildly like some kind of an animal and its jagged teeth glistening.

           “Looking for someone?” the figure asked in a slick, oily voice.

           Startled by this figure that was now before me, I struggled to come up with a reply.

           “Wh-Why would y-y-you care?” I managed to stutter.

           “That is none of your concern.  All you need to know is that they’re never coming back.  None of them.”

           “You’re lying,” I spat out, defiantly. “They’d never leave me.”

           “Don’t be soo sure about that.  It’s all because your friends weren’t here that Savannah is gone.”

           At the sound of those words, all the color left my face.

           “No.  It can’t be.  She can’t be gone.”

           “I took her myself and where I’ve taken her she can never return to you.”

           The figure then grinned wickedly before continuing.

           “Some friends you have.  They couldn’t even be bothered to stay.  Had they been here, Savannah might’ve still been alive.  I seriously doubt that though.”

           “Hey!  Don’t you dare talk about my friends that way!” I protested, angrily.

           “Say whatever you will.  It doesn’t change the facts.  Everyone you care for is gone, leaving you here by yourself.  All alone.”

           It was then that the one figure split into five figures who began circling around me, taunting me with the chant “All alone.  All alone.” over and over.  They were relentless in their taunting as I covered my ears, trying to drown them out.  This didn’t do any better as I could still hear their chant ringing out in my ears.

           “Please,” I begged, “make it stop.  Make it stop!”

           But my antagonists showed me no mercy as they only continued my torture.  I closed my eyes tightly wishing this would all end as I let out a cry of agony.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           I then woke up gasping in a cold sweat, realizing that this had all been a dream.  Looking over at Savannah, I saw that she was still sleeping peacefully.  It was then that I glanced at my watch and saw that it was now about 7:30.  Almost immediately, I was dragged out of my thoughts by Ariel crying.  Quickly getting my clothes back on, I went over to her crib and picked her up, holding her close against my chest.

           “Shh.  It’s O.K.  Daddy’s here,” I whispered softly while gently bouncing her up and down.

           This seemed to help settle her down as I gave her her morning changing before taking her into the kitchen.

           “Does someone want Cheerios?”

           She gave a soft sigh that I interpreted as a yes before I set her down in her highchair and poured out a handful of Cheerios onto her tray.  Ariel immediately began grabbing them by the fistfulls and shoving them in her mouth as I smiled softly.

           It was then that I thought to myself it might be a nice gesture if I were to make breakfast for Savannah and the girls so I got out a frying pan, a spatula, a bowl, a whisk, some butter, a carton of eggs, and a bag of sharp cheddar cheese in order to make omelettes.  Turning the burner on, I put butter in the pan, waiting for it to melt as I whisked eggs together in the bowl.  Once the butter had melted, I poured the eggs into the pan, sprinkling cheese on top of them after they had cooked long enough and folding one half over the other before plating.

           After several minutes, all the omelettes were made and dished up.  It wasn’t long after plating the final omelette that I heard footsteps coming from the stairs.  Those footsteps I heard belonged to Fluttershy, who came down wearing a sleeveless white T-Shirt and a light green skirt, her Azotic Topaz amulet still hanging from her neck along with the Aquamarine Teardrop pendant.  The towel wrapped around her hair implied that she had just showered recently.  Upon seeing me, she was quick to reply.

           “Oh.  Good morning, David.”

           “Good mornin’, Fluttershy.  How’d ya sleep las’ night?”

           “I slept great.  Thanks for asking,” she smiled sweetly. “How about you?”

           “I slept O.K.,” I lied.

           At this point, I didn’t really need any of my friends worrying about my personal problems.  I wanted them to be able to enjoy their time here with us.  It was then that I decided to change the subject.

           “Did ya enjoy yer shower?”

           “Oh yes.  It was beautiful.”

           “Any o’ tha other girls up yet?”

           “Well I believe that Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight were all awake when I got out of the shower.”

           “Good ta know,” I answered as I handed Fluttershy a plate with a warm, fluffy omelette on it as well as a fork. “Ah made omelettes fer breakfast.  Hope ya enjoy.”

           “It looks amazing!” Fluttershy beamed as she gratefully accepted the plate from me and went to sit down at the table.

           After taking her seat at the table, I noticed Fluttershy closing her eyes and bowing her head before eating.  I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of that.  Seeing Fluttershy being welcoming enough towards our beliefs was heartwarming.

           It was in that moment when Savannah walked into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

           “Hey, beautiful,” I greeted her with a soft kiss while handing her a plate. “Ah made breakfast fer all of us.”

           “Thanks, babe,” she smiled back, accepting the plate before turning to Fluttershy. “Good morning, Fluttershy.”

           “Good morning, Savannah,” Fluttershy greeted back after swallowing a mouthful of omelette. “How did you sleep?”

           “I slept great.  Thanks for asking.  How bout you?”

           “Same.”

           No sooner had the words left her lips then Applejack, Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, and Rainbow came downstairs, Pinkie and Rainbow still looking a little groggy.

           “Hey, girls.  How’d y’all sleep?” I asked.

           “Wonderfully thanks,” Twilight replied.

           “I was still sleeping before they woke me up,” Rainbow groaned.

           “Me too,” Pinkie added.

           I chuckled as I started passing plates off to the rest of the girls along with forks.

           “Ah made omelettes fer breakfast,” I stated. “Hope you guys enjoy.”

           “Thank you, darling,” Rarity replied pleasantly. “They smell absolutely divine.”

           Grabbing my own plate, I silently prayed before digging into the cheesy, gooey omelette.  None of us said much as we quietly ate our breakfast together.  Finally, Applejack broke the silence.

           “This is incredible, Sugarcube.  Ah didn’t know ya could cook.”

           “Thanks, AJ,” I smiled back.

           “That’s David for you, always full of surprises,” Savannah remarked.

           “So whataya guys feel like doin’ today?”

           “I dunno,” Rainbow answered. “Did you have anything in mind?”

           “Well Ah was thinkin’ that maybe we could finish up tha first season of yer show, but, aside from that, Ah’ve got nothin’.  That’s one o’ tha downsides ta it bein’ tha offseason, not many places are open so our options of what ta do are kinda limited.”

           “Maybe, sometime later today, we could go to Wal-Mart?” Savannah brought up. “If I remember correctly, only Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash have actually been there so it only figures that Applejack, Pinkie, and Twilight might be interested in checking it out.”

           “It would certainly give us the opportunity to buy more clothes,” Rarity stated, finishing off her breakfast and bringing her plate to the dishwasher. “Our current wardrobe is rather lacking as it is.”

           “I agree,” Twilight chimed in. “If it’s O.K. with you, I think we might be ready to go right now.”

           “Are ya sure?” I questioned. “‘Cuz Ah don’t wanna rush ya guys.”

           “I’m ready,” Fluttershy replied as she removed the towel from her head and tossed her, now dry, hair back with a flourish.

           “So am I,” Rainbow added.

           “Ah’m ready if you are, Sugarcube,” Applejack answered.

           “Me too,” Pinkie piped up.

           “O.K. then,” Savannah remarked as she grabbed Ariel out of her highchair. “Looks like all of us are just about set to go.”

           “We’ll need ta take both cars with us,” I commented. “There’s not enough room fer all 9 of us.  Ah can take Rainbow, Twilight, ‘n Pinkie in tha Mustang ‘n you can take Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, ‘n Ariel in tha Charger.”

           “Sounds good to me.”

           “Well then let’s get goin’.”


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           Once we had cleared our plates away in the dishwasher and put on our shoes, we were quickly out the door, in the cars, and on our way to Wal-Mart.  Pinkie sat shotgun with me while Rainbow and Twilight sat in the back.  No sooner had we backed out of the driveway when Pinkie immediately spoke up.

           “Can we put some music on?  The quietness is soo boring in here.”

           I couldn’t help but smile at her remark.  Pinkie’s attention tended to shift frequently.  Sometimes she could stay focused and other times she could lose interest pretty quickly.

           “Sure, Pinkie,” I replied as I punched the dial.

           As the radio turned on, we were greeted by Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off.

           “Oh god not this one!” I protested as I changed the station.

           “What?  What’s wrong with it?” Pinkie asked.

           “Ah jus’… don’t like that song.  Ah don’t care that much fer mos of her newer stuff now that Ah think about it.”

           “But you did used to like her music once?” Twilight tried to clarify.

           “Yes.  Durin’ her first few years in tha music industry, Taylor Swift had some really great songs that she put out.  They were fun, catchy, ‘n even won her quite a few awards.  But, ‘bout 5 years ago, tha music she started puttin’ out was kinda meh ‘n then her mos’ recent album a few years ago was soo generic ‘n stale that Ah’ve lost interest in her altogether.

           “There’ve been a few artists that Ah’ve had similar reactions too, but, on tha other hand, there’ve even been artists that Ah wasn’t as crazy ‘bout startin’ off, but eventually grew ta like after a while.  Jus one o’ tha joys of music.”

           As I was surfing the stations, I finally came to one that was playing the song Sugar by Maroon 5.

           “Why does this song sound familiar?” Rainbow puzzled.

           “‘Cuz it’s one o’ tha songs Ah sang on our way to tha Crystal Empire tha las’ time Ah was in Equestria,” I answered back as I began singing along to it.

           “Oh yeah!  I remember this one!” Pinkie piped up, enthusiastically.

           “This is sort of a bittersweet song fer me.  Rainbow, do you remember how Ah mentioned that ma last audition fer American Idol ended terribly when ma voice cracked?”

           “Yeah?  What about it?”

           “This was tha song Ah auditioned with.”

           “Oh!” she reacted in a form of mild surprise. “I can see how that might be hard for you, twin.”

           “What’s even worse is that, tha day after tha audition, Ah went to a dentist appointment where Ah told 'em that Ah had auditioned fer tha show.  When they asked me ta sing fer ‘em, Ah sang that exact same song.  Tha only difference was that Ah sang it perfectly that time without ma voice cracking.”

           “That sounds like it must’ve been frustrating,” Twilight remarked.

           “It was.  Tha one time Ah needed ma voice ta work tha most was tha one time it wouldn’t cooperate.”

           It was in that moment that we finally arrived at Wal-Mart.  I pulled into the parking lot with Savannah in the Charger close behind.  The two of us managed to find parking spots for ourselves that weren’t too far away from each other and pulled into them before putting our vehicles in park.

           As we got out of the cars, Pinkie, Twilight, and Applejack looked at the vast size of the Wal-Mart that stood before us.

           “Wow!” Pinkie marvelled.

           “I know,” Savannah replied. “It’s pretty impressive.”

           “You girls got yer money with ya?” I asked.

           “Uh huh.  Got it right here,” Rarity replied, patting her handbag.

           “O.K.  Let’s head inside then.”

           And so, after grabbing a cart and putting Ariel in the seat, we made our way towards the entrance of Wal-Mart.  As we approached the automatic doors, they opened up much to the surprise of Pinkie, Applejack, and Twilight.

           “Wow!  How did those doors open up like that?” Pinkie questioned in amazement.

           “Special sensors can detect when people are coming which causes it to signal the doors so that they open,” Savannah explained.

           “It’s just like magic,” Twilight remarked.

           “That’s what I said last time we were here,” Rarity commented.

           We then made our way inside Wal-Mart as me and Savannah led the girls over to the women’s clothing aisle.  All the while, Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie were marvelling at how much larger the building was on the inside.  Finally reaching the right aisle, the girls had a hard time trying to decide which clothes they wanted to go with as the options were far more vast than they were originally expecting.  Well, maybe not quite as vast as they were to Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow as they’d already been to Wal-Mart previously and therefore gotten a better idea of the variety the store contained.

           Rainbow Dash was immediately drawn to the graphic T-Shirts as was Pinkie Pie.  The two of them began looking through all of the different designs that were on display like a pizza shirt, a Marvel Comics shirt, a Star Wars shirt, and even a “Raised By Mermaids” shirt with an image of Mermaid Princess Ariel on the front.  Pinkie swiftly gravitated towards the latter.

           “I really like this one,” she stated as she showed it off to the rest of us.

           “That’s Princess Ariel from The Little Mermaid,” I began, “tha one Ah told ya guys bout jus yesterday.”

           “She’s really beautiful,” Fluttershy commented.

           “That she is,” Savannah agreed. “A name fitting for our own little daughter.”

           “What are ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Marvel’?” Rainbow Dash asked as she held up the two shirts in front of us.

           “Only two o’ tha biggest media franchises of all time,” I stated. “Ah know what we’re introducin ya guys to next.”

           “Would either of you girls like to go try them on in the dressing rooms?” Savannah questioned.

           “Sure,” Rainbow replied.

           “David, why don’t you go take them to the dressing rooms while I stay with the others here and help them pick out their clothes.”

           “O.K., babe,” I answered, kissing her softly. “We won’t be long.”

           And so I led Rainbow and Pinkie towards the dressing rooms where a woman sat at a desk with door hangers containing numbers going from one to six.

           “How many?” she asked as we approached.

           “Two fer her,-” I pointed at Rainbow before turning to Pinkie, “-’n one fer her.”

           The woman then handed a one to Pinkie and a two to Rainbow before we went over to the dressing rooms.

           “Jus’ hang ‘em outside yer door ‘n then come out once you’ve changed ‘n we’ll see how they fit on ya.”

           The two of them followed my instructions as I waited patiently for them to finish trying the shirts on.  Before long, they both came out wearing their shirts.  Rainbow had chosen to try the Star Wars shirt on first.

           “You girls look great.  So, Robin, ya wanna try on tha Marvel shirt next?” I questioned, remembering to use her alternate name.

           “Sure, twin,” she answered.

           After a quick change into the Marvel shirt and seeing that it fit, the girls changed back into their old shirts before we returned the door hangers to the woman at the desk and rejoined the others.  By the time we got back, it looked like the others had half of the store’s clothing inventory in the shopping cart.

           “Whoa!” I remarked. “Looks like you guys got busy.”

           “Well that’s certainly one way to put it,” Twilight replied. “Savannah helped us out.  We even got some more clothes for Rai- uh I mean… Robin and Polly to try on.”

           “You guys wanna go try some of them on in the dressing rooms?” Savannah asked.

           “Absolutely, darling,” Rarity answered.

           “Definitely,” Fluttershy agreed.

           “Sure thing,” Applejack stated.

           “Sounds like a good idea,” Twilight finished.

           “You wanna go with ‘em?” I questioned, turning to Pinkie and Rainbow.

           “I guess so even though we just came from there,” Rainbow replied somewhat despondently.

           “Yes indeedly,” Pinkie piped up more enthusiastically.

           “Well, if ya guys don’t mind, Ah’m gonna head over ta tha movie section ta see if Ah can find anythin good.  Ah’ll meet ya at tha checkout line.”

           “O.K., babe,” Savannah answered.

           And so, I made my way over to the entertainment/media section of the store where I began browsing the vast number of movies they had on display.  When I was younger, and even still now, whenever I went to a store like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target, or F.Y.E., my favorite section to check out was always the movie section.  Some of them would even have an Anime section that I enjoyed checking out just as much.

           Looking through the countless selections, there were several that caught my eye rather quickly.  Some of them I’d seen before like Dark City, The Secret Of NIMH, Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time, and even a discounted Blu-Ray pack of the entire Matrix trilogy.  Others I hadn’t seen yet, but they had captured my interest like Wolf Children, Jack And The Cuckoo-Clock Heart, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Paprika, which I heard served as inspiration for one of my favorite movies, Inception.

           After several minutes of consideration, I finally settled on The Secret Of NIMH, Wolf Children, Paprika, Dark City, and Van Helsing for good measure.  With movies in hand, I made my way back up to the front of the store where the checkout lines were.  Upon reaching the lines, I couldn’t find any sign of Savannah, Ariel, or the other girls.  It wasn’t long though before I heard Pinkie’s high-pitched voice shouting out my name.

           “Hey, Davey!!!  Over here!!!”

           Turning in the direction of the shout, I soon saw Pinkie hopping up and down while waving her hand.  With a smile on my face, I walked over to join the rest of them in line.

           “So how’d it go?” I asked upon approaching.

           “It went great,” Savannah replied before noticing the movies I was holding and commenting with a smile. “I see you found some more additions to your ever expanding movie collection.”

           “That Ah did,” I chuckled back. “Ah hope ya guys weren’t waitin’ here fer too long.”

           “Not at all,” Fluttershy answered quickly. “We had just gotten in line maybe half a minute before you found us.”

           “Good ta hear.”

           Before long, the line had shortened and we were able to make our purchases.  The cashier looked quite astonished by the large amount of clothes that the girls were purchasing, but, when Rarity stepped forward and paid for them, the cashier simply shrugged it off as she accepted the money and gave Rarity her change back.

           “Have a good day,” the cashier stated as the girls started grabbing their bags.

           “Likewise, darling,” Rarity cheerfully replied.

           I then stepped forward to make my purchases.

           “You girls head out ta tha cars,” I stated. “Ah’ll be right behind ya.”

           The girls nodded as they made their way to the exit while I paid for my movies.  Upon paying for them, the cashier handed me the bag with my purchases.

           “Have a good day,” she said with a smile.

           “Thanks.  You too.”

           Taking my bag, I exited the store and swiftly met the others over at our cars where they were placing their bags in the trunk of the Charger.

           “You girls need any help with that?” I offered.

           “No thanks.  We’re good,” Applejack answered.

           “O.K.  So who’s ridin’ back with me?”

           “Well I was thinking that maybe Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy could ride with you while the others ride with me,” Savannah stated.

           “Sounds like a good idea.”

           And so, with our bags loaded up, we piled into our respective cars.  Applejack sat shotgun with me while Fluttershy and Rarity sat in the back.  As we pulled out of the parking lot and began our drive home, I decided to strike up a conversation with the girls.

           “So how’re you guys enjoyin’ yer time here so far?”

           “Oh it’s been absolutely wonderful!” Rarity exclaimed. “Personally, I’ve enjoyed getting to learn soo much about your culture and I’m particularly excited to see those musicals you and Savannah mentioned in about a month from now.”

           “I’ve enjoyed getting to see all those Disney movies as well as the show based off of our everyday lives that you’ve shown us,” Fluttershy added.

           “Ah’ve enjoyed tha sightseein’,” Applejack stated. “It’s not often that we get ta hang out at tha beach, much less live soo close ta it.”

           “Yeah.  Ah can see why ya might enjoy that,” I remarked. “So do ya guys feel up fer watchin some more of yer show when we get back?”

           “I’m up for it,” Flutters replied.

           “Sure thing,” Applejack agreed.

           “Definitely,” Rarity finished.

           “O.K. then.”

           And with that, not much else was spoken as we continued on our way home, looking forward to the time we would have together over these next few weeks.  What I never could’ve foreseen though was how within those few weeks things would change for the worse.
> Chapter V:  Ponderings Over Pasta
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next several hours went by pretty quickly as we spent the majority of that time going through the remainder of Season 1 before finishing off with The Best Night Ever.  With that season out of the way, I turned to ask them what their thoughts were on the first season as a whole.

“So how’d ya guys enjoy tha first season of yer show?”

It took a few seconds for them to answer, supposedly getting their thoughts on all 26 episodes together first.  Finally, Twi broke the silence.

“It was pretty enjoyable.  At least as far as I thought.  I’m not sure what the basic structure is of TV Shows here, but I kind of thought that the finale could’ve been something a little more interesting.  With that said, the continuing arc of the season centering around the Grand Galloping Gala was entertaining as were all the songs.”

“Ah take it that tha songs in tha show were pretty accurate ta tha way y’all sang em back home?”

“Oh yeah.  Definitely,” Rainbow replied. “Just out of curiosity, how many seasons did you say there were of our show?”

Savannah, holding Ariel in her arms, cut me to the quick before I could answer.

“Six.  There’s also a seventh season that’s coming out within the next 2-3 months.  Possibly even an eighth season come next year.”

Her answer caused Applejack to let out a long, impressed whistle.

“Who’d’ve thunk that this simple look inta our lives would be this popular?”

“Ah honestly don’ think anyone could’ve predicted it,” I answered back. “When tha show first started, many thought that tha primary viewin’ audience would be little girls, but, ta tha surprise of er’body who ever lived, tha vast majority of viewers were teen ta young adult males, ma demographic.  Any male who enjoyed tha show was considered a ‘Brony’.”

“Brony?” Fluttershy asked, confusion evident on her face.

“I’m guessing that it’s supposed to be a portmanteau of the words ‘bro’ and ‘pony’, right?” Twilight questioned.

“Precisely,” I stated.

“There are even some females within the teen to young adult area that enjoy the show too,” Savannah added. “We sometimes call ourselves ‘Pegasisters’, though not too frequently.  Regardless, I don’t think it really matters what age, gender, or any other category you fall under.  People should be able to enjoy this show in spite of that and any haters are just insecure about themselves to the point that they think attacking others makes them come off as more intelligent or superior when, in actuality, they just come off as childish and petty.”

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!  Hold the cider!” Rainbow started. “There are those out there who hate us and our fans?!?”

“Sadly yes.”

“Why?!?  What’s there to hate about any of us?”

“Unfortunately, twin,” I began, “mos’ people 'round here tend ta make judgements ‘bout others before they even bother ta learn anythin’ ‘bout ‘em first.”

“That hardly seems fair,” Rarity protested.

“Tell me about it,” Pinkie agreed.

“Such is tha closed-minded society we humans live in,” I sighed, sadly. “Judge first, learn tha truth never.”

“I think that we all have a part of that prejudice inside each of us,” Twilight affirmed, placing a hand on my shoulder, “not just humans like you.”

Ariel then started to get fussy so Savannah set her down on the floor.  It wasn’t long before she was set down that she crawled over to her toys and began playing with them eagerly.  Looking at my watch, I realized that it was getting very close to dinner time.

“How do ya guys feel ‘bout pasta fer tonight?” I proposed.

“Sounds good ta me, Sugarcube,” Applejack affirmed.

The other girls were quick to voice their approval too.

“O.K. then.  I’ll get started on that,” Savannah stated.

“Oh no, muffin,” I calmly objected. “Ya leave that ta me.”

“Are you sure?  Cuz it’s really no problem at all.”

“Of course Ah’m sure.  You jus’ sit down ‘n let me handle it.”

“O.K.,” she replied as she sat down on the couch with the others.

Stepping into the kitchen, I pulled out a few boxes of spaghetti, a jar of spaghetti sauce, a bag of sharp cheddar, a container of parmesan, a salt shaker, a pot along with its lid, a strainer, a skimmer, a ladle, and a cup.  With everything gathered, I filled the pot with water before putting it on the stove, lidding it, and turning the burner on high.

While waiting for the water to boil, I pulled out my phone, plugged in my earbuds and put one of them in my ear before pulling up Can’t Stop The Feeling by Justin Timberlake on Spotify.  It was just one of those instant, feel-good songs that could make even the most menial of activities suddenly feel incredible.  There are only a few songs that I could think of that had that kind of effect.  Aside from this song, the theme to the Mortal Kombat movie was another; just hearing it made you feel ready to open up a can of whoopass on someone it was that intense.

Singing along to the song, I was sure to keep my other ear available in order to catch the water when it finally boiled as well as if anyone else needed me for something.  There were only ever a few occasions where I listened to music with both earbuds in my ears.  I used to do it whenever I was working on writing something, but, after Ariel came along, that was no longer conducive in the event that something happened.  Aside from that, I’d do it whenever I went for a walk by myself, rare though those moments were.

Before long, the water came to a boil as I removed the lid, tossed in a palmful of salt, emptied the pasta into the water, and set the timer, stirring it all the while.  As the timer got closer to going off, I checked the pasta every once in awhile to make sure it was cooked al dente, just the way me and Savannah liked it.  Once it had reached that proper tenderness, I used the cup to scoop out some of the starchy cooking water before draining the pasta in the sink.

Placing the pot back on the, still hot, burner, I poured a thick layer of sauce into it before adding the cup of cooking water and stirring it with the ladle.  This was a cooking tip that I’d picked up on Rachael Ray’s morning talk show years ago; she’d said that adding some of the water to the sauce helped serve as a glue to bind it with the pasta better.

After a quick couple of minutes, the food was all ready as I dished up several bowls before calling the girls in.  As all of us gathered around the table, I kept on hoping and praying that our time together wouldn’t have to end.  Little did I know that all of it would unravel before too long.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


Few words were spoken while we sat at the table eating, a sign I figured meant that everyone was thoroughly enjoying the meal.  With that said, some of our guests did bring up a few topics of conversation as we ate.

“So, David,” Rainbow began, “just out of curiosity, what kind of work did you do before you became a writer?”

“Well, Rainbow, before this, Ah used ta work at an amusement park where Ah was a Security Officer.  Ah was responsible fer makin sure no one brought in anythin illegal or hazardous inta tha park.”

“Hmm.  Interesting,” Twilight stated.

“What?” I questioned.

“You previously worked as a Security Officer and I’m guessing that this happened before you came to Equestria, right?”

“Yeah so?”

“So I found it interesting that you’d previously been in a position of protecting others before coming to our world and protecting everypony there.  It almost seems more than just pure coincidence.”

“Ah,” I replied, suddenly understanding what it was that she was getting at.

“Sort of like his time working in Security served as preparation for when he went to Equestria to save you all?” Savannah asked.

“Exactly!” Rainbow affirmed. “It’s almost like it was destiny that brought you to us.”

“Makes sense seein’ how Destiny was ma ancestor,” I added in, jokingly.

Pinkie gave a slight giggle at my remark before suddenly speaking up.

“Hey.  I just realized something.”

“What’s that, Pinkie?”

“In that Running Of The Leaves episode, while me and Spike were commentating on the race, I brought up hot dogs in the conversation so I’m kinda curious as to why you didn’t think of that before when we first got here and you mentioned the Italian Meatloaf.”

I blushed slightly at that realization.

“Ah honestly dunno, Pinkie.  Fer some reason, it didn’t come ta ma mind.”

“That’s alright, Sugarcube,” AJ spoke up.

As I finished up my bowl of spaghetti and brought it over to the sink to wash it out, I decided to ask the others if they were still hungry.

“Any of y’all want seconds?”

“No thanks,” Fluttershy politely declined. “It was delicious.”

“Indeed it was,” Rarity agreed.

Ariel, who’d been sitting quietly in her highchair eating Cheerios, let out a soft yawn before rubbing her eyes.

“Looks like someone’s ready to call it a night,” Savannah stated, while picking her up. “I’ll get her settled in while you guys get everything cleared away and then we can check and see what y’all wanna do next.  O.K.?”

“Sure thing, ma love,” I replied, kissing her softly before kissing Ariel’s forehead.

And so, while Ariel was put down for the night, the rest of us grabbed our dishes and rinsed them out in the sink before putting them in the dishwasher.  I then gathered up all the leftover pasta and put it in a bag with a little bit of water in it.  Rainbow was quick to notice this, questioning me out of curiosity.

“Why do you put water in the bag with the spaghetti?”

“Ta keep it from dryin out or hardenin,” I answered. “Jus somethin that ma mom taught me.  Helps keep it nice ‘n moist.”

With everything put away, we then made our way back into the living room, the girls plopping down on the couches while I sat in my recliner.  Savannah joined us shortly afterwards.

“So whataya guys feel like doing next?” she questioned. “We’ve got some time before calling it a night.”

“Why don’t we watch another one of those Disney movies?” Fluttershy suggested.

“Ah yes,” I started. “Ah think tha nex one would be Robin Hood, which is actually a fictionalized retellin of a real life figure from several centuries ago.  You might actually enjoy it a lot, Flutters, cuz all tha characters in tha movie are anthropomorphized animals.”

“Oh my!!!” she beamed. “That sounds wonderful!”

“Ah thought ya might be interested.”

Getting up and popping the DVD in the PS4 before sitting back down, we all got settled in to watch the movie, none of us speaking a word.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


After the movie was over, I popped it out of the PS4 before returning it back to its case.  Fluttershy was quick to speak up after it had finished.

“That was amazing.  I think this might be my favorite Disney movie we’ve seen so far.”

“Ah figured ya might like it,” I stated with a smile.

“This movie actually reminded me of a question I’d been meaning to ask,” Rainbow remembered.

“What’s that?”

“After seeing the characters in the movie playing these sports like archery and badminton, I was curious as to what kind of sports your world has.  Do any sports like those still exist today or have you guys invented newer sports?”

“That’s a good question, Rainbow,” Savannah spoke up. “There are actually quite a few sports that exist today.  Some of the more famous ones being baseball, football, basketball, bowling, volleyball, and many others.”

“Wow.  You guys have bowling too?” Pinkie piped up.

“Yup.”

“Football, huh?” Rainbow puzzled. “Sounds a lot like hoofball back home.”

“It might be.  Ah dunno too much ‘bout hoofball maself,” I admitted. “With that said, football is one o’ ma favorite sports ta watch, which is really disappointin’ when ya take inta account tha fact that football season is only fer a few short months.  You guys should’ve seen Super Bowl 51 ‘bout 2 weeks ago.  It was incredible.”

“That it was,” Savannah agreed.

“What’s the Super Bowl?” Rarity questioned.

“It’s a championship game for football.  Only the 2 best teams in the league get to compete.”

“Precisely ‘n this game was one fer tha ages.  Tha New England Patriots, our team, were behind fer the 2nd ‘n 3rd quarters to tha Atlanta Falcons, but then, they rallied in tha 4th quarter ta tie tha game, resultin’ in them takin tha win 34-28 in overtime.  This was tha firs’ time in football history that a Super Bowl win was decided in overtime ‘n tha largest comeback in Super Bowl history by tha Patriots scorin’ 25 points.  Ya had ta be there.”

“Man.  Really makes me wish we could’ve come here sooner in order to witness it,” Rainbow stated disappointedly.

“It’s O.K., twin.  Maybe one o’ these days Ah can teach ya guys tha rules or better yet how ta play it.”

Rainbow smiled slightly at the mention of that.

“Anyhoo, we should prob’ly be gettin’ off ta bed by this point.”

“Sure thing, Sugarcube,” AJ replied.

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Fluttershy yawned. “It has been a long day.”

And with that, we all made our way to our separate rooms to call it a night, looking forward to what the days ahead held in store for us.
> Chapter VI:  More Than Just Friends
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A ​couple days later, we had made our way through a few more Disney ​movies as well as a good chunk of the 2nd season of their show.  After eating breakfast, me and Savannah decided to shake things up a bit and gathered the others into our 2 cars before starting a long drive down south.  It was a beautiful, sunny day for a Thursday, very much welcome after the lack of sunshine we’d gotten over the past week.  Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie rode with me in the Mustang, Flutters sitting shotgun while Pinkie ​and AJ sat in the back, while the others rode with Savannah in the Charger.

            "Where’re we going, Davey?” Pinkie questioned as we were driving along.

            "We’re goin' ta see a lighthouse,” I answered.

            "What’s that?” AJ puzzled.

            “Lighthouses are tall towers located along coastlines that shine bright light from tha top,” I explained. “Back in earlier times, they were used ta help guide ships on tha ocean, make sure that they wouldn’t crash or run aground ‘n, even though they’re still fully operational now, they mostly serve as tourist attractions.  Tha lighthouse we’re headed ta see now is known as Nubble, one o’ tha mos’ famous lighthouses in all Maine if not tha whole eastern seaboard.”

            “Mane?”

            “Yup.  M-A-I-N-E.”

            “Oh.  Ah thought ya meant ‘Mane’ like M-A-N-E.”

            I couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit at AJ’s confusion.

            “Yeah Ah can see how that might throw ya off.  Interestin’ bit o’ trivia is that, before Maine became its own state, it used ta be part o’ ma home state, Massachusetts.”

            “State?” Fluttershy asked. “Does that mean like… a separate land?”

            “Not exactly.  This country that me ‘n Savannah live in, America, is a giant landmass composed o’ 50 states altogether.  Two of ‘em aren’t even connected to this mainland ‘n one o’ those two is a series of islands.”

            “Whoo-wee that’s a lot o’ land," Applejack remarked.

            “It certainly is.  Ah’d reckon Equestria is ‘bout tha same size, if not larger, than America.”

            “Wouldn’t that be interesting to try to find out?” Fluttershy spoke up.

            “Mhmm,” Pinkie agreed.

            “So how’d ya guys enjoy breakfast?  Ah do apologize fer it only bein' cereal.”

            “Hey.  It’s no problem at all, Sugarcube.  We all enjoyed it 'n you ‘n Savannah deserve some time off from makin' all our meals fer us.”

            “I enjoyed Lucky Charms pretty well,” Pinkie began, "but I don’t get why anypony would put cereal in my box of marshmallows!  I mean, seriously!  They can't even get the ratio right!  What’s with that?!?”

            A smile crept across my face at Pinkie's view on Lucky Charms.  In all honesty, I wondered the same thing when I was younger.

            “Ya guys seem ​ta be handlin' utensils much better than Ah thought ya would seein' how ya guys mostly use either yer mouths or magic fer carryin' or holdin' on ta things.”

            “Ya forget, Sugarcube, that we used ta be inside yer head fer a while last time ya visited us so we got pretty familiar with human movements durin' that period.  Of course, Twilight teachin' us didn’t ​hurt none either.”

            “Ah,” I replied upon realization while turning on the radio.

            No sooner had I turned it on then Selena Gomez’s Kill ‘Em With Kindness began playing through the speakers, whereupon I immediately turned to Fluttershy.

            “Hey, Flutters,” I remarked, “yer theme song is on right now.”

            “What?” she puzzled.

            “Ah was jus' jokin'.  Tha song is called Kill ‘Em With Kindness ‘n it immediately made me think of ya.”

            “Oh.  O.K.,” she smiled back, softly.

            Not much else was spoken among us as we enjoyed the music during the almost hour long drive towards Nubble.  After a while, we finally arrived at our destination.  The girls marveled at the sheer size of the structure.

            “Oh my,” Fluttershy spoke in quiet admiration. "I’ve never seen a building that tall outside of Canterlot or even Manehattan.”

            “It certainly is a sight ta see,” Applejack agreed.

            Pulling in to park, Savannah and the others pulled up ​right next to us before we all got out of our respective cars.  After getting Ariel out of her carseat, Savannah spoke up.

            “Hey, David.  You’ll never guess what song we heard on the way up here.”

            “Kill ‘Em With Kindness?” I guessed.

            “Yes.”

            “We were listenin' ta that song too.  Ah actually made a comment earlier ‘bout how that was like Fluttershy’s theme song.”

            “I don’t think ​so,” Savannah remarked. “She’d kill ‘em ​with cuteness if anything.”

            A fiery blush rose to Fluttershy’s cheeks as she smiled timidly at the remark.  This was a brief moment, though, as Pinkie was quick to notice Fox’s Lobster House off to the left of where we parked.

            “‘Fox’s Lobster House’?” she read. “People here eat lobsters?”

            “Mhmm,” Savannah replied. “Lobster is very popular in seaside states like Maine during the on-season.”

            “Tha funny thing is that, though it’s considered a delicacy now ‘n is even quite expensive ta buy, a few centuries ago, it was considered ‘poor people’ food,” I explained. “Masters would feed it ta their servants/slaves ‘n they hated it.  Some servants could even get a written agreement statin’ that they couldn’t be fed lobster any more than once in a given week.”

            “Have either of you ever had lobster before?” Rainbow asked me and Savannah.

            “Yup.  A few times,” Savannah stated.

            “Ah’ve had it on a few occasions,” I answered back. “Ah do enjoy some seafood like lobster, shrimp, ‘n even fried clams ain’t too bad either, but Ah really do not ​like eatin’ fish at all.”

            “Why’s that?” Twilight wondered.

            “Ah’m not entirely sure, but Ah think that Ariel from The Little Mermaid might’ve played a factor in that.  Ya see, she was ma first love when Ah was jus’ a kid ‘n bein' that she was a Mermaid, half-human ‘n half-fish, somethin’ jus’ always felt wrong whenever Ah tried eatin’ fish.  Ah couldn’t even stand tha smell o’ fish without feelin’ nauseous.  Ma guess is that, cuz she was half-fish, it felt, ta borrow from a TV Show Ah saw many years ago, like Ah was eatin’… puppies.”

            “Well I’m not quite sure I would’ve used that comparison, darling, but I think we all got the gist of what you were saying,” Rarity spoke up.

            “Ah guess so.  But enough ‘bout that.  Let’s go check out tha lighthouse.”

            And so we made the short walk over to the rocky ledge where guests could observe the lighthouse.

            “Do any of ya girls wanna sit on tha benches?” I asked, pointing out the benches along the ledge.

            “No thanks, Sugarcube,” AJ politely declined. “Ah think we’ve been sittin’ fer quite a while by this point ‘n we could all use some time ta stretch our legs.”

            “Fair enough.”

            “Just be careful as you’re walking along here,” Savannah cautioned while holding Ariel close in her arms. “These rocks can get very slippery especially if you’re wearing sandals.”

            “Good to know,” Twilight replied.

            We stood there in silence for quite a while, just taking in the sound of the waves crashing along the rocks and the cool, salty ocean breeze blowing against us.  I closed my eyes as I let go of everything that had been bothering me for the past week, most prominently being the recurring nightmares.  It’s incredible how the simple sound of waves breaking on the shore could have such a calming effect.  The moment didn’t last long, though, as the quiet was quickly broken by Pinkie Pie.

            “So what was up with that Black Cauldron movie we saw last night?”

            Flutters squeaked in terror.

            “I thought it was pretty awesome, especially the Horned King,” Rainbow spoke up, “though, that Taran kid kinda got on my nerves at times.  I mean, nopony gets after me for being that obnoxious.  With that said, at least he wasn’t Gurgi.  Sweet Celestia was that thing annoying!”

            “I was just surprised by how much darker the movie was when compared to those that came before it,” Twilight chimed in.

            “Yeah,” I started. “Ah prob’ly should’ve warned ya guys ‘bout tha PG ratin’.”

            “PG?” Rarity puzzled.

            “Right.  Ya guys aren’t familiar with tha ratin’ system here.  Pretty much, there’s a system in place fer movies that come out composed of 5 different ratins: G fer General Audiences of all ages, PG fer Parental Guidance Suggested, PG-13 fer some material might be inappropriate fer those under tha age of 13, R fer Restricted, meanin’ anyone under 17 requires an adult/legal guardian, ‘n NC-17 fer no one 17 or younger allowed in, tha latter of which few theaters will actually show.  That’s jus’ tha system in this country, though.  Different countries have their own systems fer ratin’ movies ‘n that’s not even gettin’ inta ratins fer TV shows or video games.”

            “It’s also a very flawed and outdated system at that,” Savannah added.

            “Why would you say that?” Fluttershy questioned, her curiosity now piqued.

            “Because, nowadays, many movies that any logical person would call G are being given PG ratings as if to say ‘There’s the PG warning’ should anyone complain, resulting in moments that only last for a few seconds to try to prove that there’s something inappropriate or edgy about a movie when that’s not the case.”

            “Savannah ‘n Ah grew up in an age where PG ratins actually meant somethin’.  As far as we were concerned, any movie that had a PG ratin' was almost always an instant ‘no’ from our parents.  Today, G-rated movies are a rarity, no pun intended,”-I directed towards Rarity, who merely smiled back-“cuz many people stigmatize tha G-ratin' fer meanin’ ‘kids only’ while completely missin’ tha fact that many of tha greatest movies ever made are G-rated.

            “One movie in particular that Ah’m eager ta show ya guys when we get ta it is another personal Disney favorite o’ mine, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, a movie that ranks pretty highly among many true Disney aficionados by incorporatin’ complex, thought-provoking commentary on prejudice, usin’ mature imagery that is neither in poor taste nor talkin’ down ta its audience, ‘n undoubtedly containin’ tha single greatest Disney villain ever ta be created.  All without havin’ ta resort ta tha gimmick o’ tha PG ratin'.

            “Many people in tha movie industry nowadays live under tha false pretense that tha ratin’ of a movie is tha key ta cinematic success.  Tha true element ta success is actually makin’ a good movie with a plot that people can follow, characters that they can relate to, choices that they can understand, ‘n antagonisms that can keep ‘em invested in seein’ tha hero or heroes make it out alive.  Great movies can even challenge people ta think in ways they might not have before, bring up a different point o’ view or even opinion that they can share with others.  Not force, but convey.  That’s what makes someone a better person.”

            “Well put, darling,” Rarity acclaimed. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

            “Here here,” AJ agreed.

            It was shortly after mentioning this fact that I was reminded of a painful memory regarding a rather negative figure from my own past causing me to turn my face away from the girls.  They were quick to notice my downturned expression.

            “What’s wrong, David?" Fluttershy asked, concern strongly ​evident ​in her tone.

            I sighed heavily before answering.

            “Ah was jus’ thinkin’ of a pastor Ah used ta know years ago, a pastor who was very set in his ways ‘n would frequently force his opinions on others.”

            “Oh my!  That’s terrible!”

            “That it is,” Savannah replied. “It’s like I ​mentioned before about how one should be careful who they listen to on that sort of thing.”

            “He was tha kinda person who would instantly shun any religion or even denomination that wasn’t his.  All of ‘em were automatically wrong accordin’ ta him.  He was tha very definition of religious ‘n pious.”

            “But aren’t you guys religious?” Rainbow puzzled.

            “Not really," Savannah spoke up. “We tend to dwell more in the spiritual realm​ than anything else.”

            “What’s the difference?”

            “Well,” I continued, “as far as Ah’m concerned, religious people tend ta have a 'holier-than-thou’ attitude, tha kind o' people who’ll point out all tha flaws of others ‘n all tha reasons they’re goin’ ta Hell.  Spiritual people, on tha other hand, have their own set of personal values ‘n beliefs, but they’re willin’ ta respect tha ‘pinions of others.  This pastor would spend a whole hour makin’ personal attacks against Catholics while one o' ma Catholic friends was right there ‘n he knew he was right there.”

            A pained expression crossed my face, causing Twilight to speak up out of concern.

            “There’s more to it than just that,"-she paused briefly-"Isn’t there?”

            Yet another heavy sigh escaped my lips as I struggled to get the right words out.

            “He was… tha main reason why… Ah… Ah… Ah considered…,” I swallowed hard, "committin’ suicide.”

            All the girls, minus Savannah who already knew about it beforehand, gasped loudly out of shock.  Savannah shared the same pained expression that I currently had on my own face.

            “Oh my Celestia!” Rarity reacted. “David, I’m so sorry about that.”

            “Ah ‘preciate that, Rare.  Thankfully, he’s been outta ma life fer tha ​past few years now 'n Ah pray long ‘n hard ta God er’day that that doesn’t change.  Come ta think of it, he’s been outta ma life since before Ah even ​saw yer guys’ show.  Prob’ly better that way.  Had he known that Ah liked ya guys back then, it mos' likely would’ve been yet another excuse fer him ta make even more personal attacks.”

            Dour expressions came to the girls’ faces with ​the words I’d just spoken.  All except for Rainbow who had a more stern look on her face before speaking up.

            “Who cares what that one jerkwad says when you’ve got friends like us?  We’ll always be on your side no matter what and, if you need us to, we won’t hesitate to whoop his sorry butt.  It’s not like we haven’t already done it countless times before whenever a new threat came to Equestria.”

            “Thanks, Rainbow, but violence isn’t tha answer ta everythin’ ​ya know.  Ah mean, not that Ah care.  Like Ah said before, Ah’ve been able ta get along jus' fine without him.”

            “I know.  I just think this case would be an exception to that.  Wouldn’t you agree?”

            I mulled the thought over for a moment before replying.

            “This is true ‘n Ah honestly do ‘preciate yer concern.”

            “Hey.  Anything for my twin.  Your family is technically our family and always will be.”

            Fluttershy then took my hand while looking at me with a firm expression in her eyes but, at the same time, a confident smile before making her statement.

            “You’re more than just a friend of ours, David.  You and your relatives are blood and blood always looks out for one another.”

            I smiled at the positive affirmations I’d received, all the while thinking of how lucky I was to have these girls as more than friends.  We spent the rest of our time just standing there, enjoying the serenity and calm of our surroundings.  After several minutes, I checked my watch, realizing how much time had passed.

            “Whoa look at tha time!  We should prob’ly start headin’ home ta get lunch soon.”

            Hopping back in our cars, we began the ​long drive back home, Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow riding back with me.  It wasn’t long after pulling out of the parking lot before Twilight spoke up.

            “So, David, do you have any other books back home that I could read in my free time?”

            “Several actually.  Ah got Chronicles Of Narnia, Lord Of The Rings, Hunger Games, jus’ ta name a few.”

            “Cool.  I might have to check some of those out.”

            “Knowing you, Twi, you’d check out all of them,” Rainbow remarked.

            Twilight blushed vividly and I couldn’t help but chuckle at her reaction before Rainbow continued.

            “Something that I don’t understand is why in The Last Roundup they changed the line that I said?  I clearly remember addressing Derpy by her name.”

            “Funny thing is that, originally, they did have you sayin' her real name.  Tha problem came about that a lot o’ people found tha name... offensive.”

            “Offensive?!?  How?!?”

            “In ma world, tha term ‘derpy’ can be interpreted as a derogatory slur towards tha…,” I paused to clear my throat, “‘mentally handicapped’ ta put it lightly.  Tha writer who wrote that inta tha episode has a son who falls under that category ‘n she never thought it was offensive, but there was such an intense uproar from parents that tha episode was pulled until an edited version was released, takin’ her name out of it entirely.  Nowadays, there’s only a DVD called The Friendship Express that has that original version.”

            “Wow,” Rainbow spoke, clearly ​taken aback by what I’d ​said. “I never would’ve thought that something from our world could be interpreted soo negatively in another.”

            “It’s O.K., twin.  You guys weren’t even aware that there was a show based off o’ yer lives til ma second visit ta Equestria ‘n, by that point, they were already gettin’ ready fer tha 5th season.  Besides, that’s jus’ part of our world.  What might be acceptable ta one culture might be offensive in another.”

            Rainbow smiled back before I continued with a thought that had just come to my mind.

            “Hey.  Would any of ya girls be interested in tryin’ SoyNut Butter sandwiches when we get ​home?”

            “What’s SoyNut Butter?” Rarity questioned, quizzically.

            It was in that moment when I realized that only two of the girls had even heard of SoyNut Butter: Fluttershy and Pinkie, ​neither of whom were present at that moment.

            “It’s somethin’ Ah found out about several years ago that Ah’ve always used as an alternative ta peanut butter on account o’ ma food allergies.  There’s almost no way fer ya ta tell tha difference between tha two.”

            “Hmm.  Sounds like it would be well worth a try even if just to see how it compares to peanut butter.”

            “I’m game,” Rainbow affirmed.

            “Me too,” Twilight agreed.

            And so, turning on the radio to hear Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse Of The Heart, we rode back home in near total silence, enjoying each other’s companionship all the way. 


*​​    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


Shortly after arriving back home, as promised, I made SoyNut Butter sandwiches for all of the girls.  When asking whether they wanted jam or Marshmallow Fluff on their sandwiches, Pinkie was surprised by the existence of the latter.  She, Rainbow, and Applejack went with the fluff while Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight decided upon the jam.  The jam itself was a jar of Triple Berry spread containing strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries that I’d gotten right there in Maine.

            “Wow!” Rainbow exclaimed after polishing off her sandwich. “You were right, twin.  There’s almost no way that I could tell that it wasn’t peanut butter.”

            “I couldn’t even tell the difference between the two,” Fluttershy agreed.

            “Indeed,” Rarity affirmed, “and the jam was absolutely divine.”

            “Glad y’all enjoyed it,” I replied with a smile.

            “My favorite part was the Marshmallow Fluff!” Pinkie piped up.

            The rest of us giggled at Pinkie’s remark.

            “Of course it was,” Twilight smiled before turning to me. “That actually reminds me of something I’d been meaning to ask you.”

            “Oh?  What’s that?” I questioned.

            “I ​wanted to ask if it would be at all possible for me to bring a jar of SoyNut Butter back to Equestria?  I was thinking of taking one home in order to scientifically analyze its properties for mass production.  That way we’ll have it as our own alternative for anypony with those kind of allergies plus having it on hoof if you guys ever decide to come back.”

            “Ah don’ see why not.”

            “Ooo Ooo Ooo!!!  Can we bring back a jar of Fluff too?!?” Pinkie asked, excitedly.

            I chuckled at her enthusiasm before answering.

            “Sure, Pinkie.”

            “If you guys don’t mind,” Twilight began, getting up to throw her paper plate away, “I’m going to see about checking out some of the other books you have here.”

            “That’s fine, Twi,” I assured her. “Ah was actually jus’ ‘bout ta see if Ah could get some more writin’ done.  Any o’ y’all feel like joinin’ me?”

            “Sure, twin,” Rainbow accepted.

            "I’m good, thanks,” Flutters stated.

            “Me too,” Pinkie agreed.

            “AJ?  Rare?  Either of ya feel up fer it?”

            “Sure.  Why not?” Applejack answered back.

            “I appreciate the offer,” Rarity began, “but I think I’ll help Savannah out with Ariel for the time being.”

            “Alright then.  Hope ya guys have fun.”

            Throwing my own paper plate away in the trash, I walked back towards my ​office, AJ and Rainbow not too far behind.  In the time since the girls first arrived, I’d familiarized them with some more of our worlds technology from my computer to smartphones.  They marveled at all the capabilities these devices had like holding entire music libraries on them, the ability to shop for anything you wanted from anywhere, and being able to talk with other people no matter how far away they might be.  Needless to say, they were quite impressed.

            Sitting down at my computer desk, the three of us got settled in before I reached over to grab some bottles of Mountain Dew and turned to my friends.

            “Soda?” I offered.

            “Sure, twin,” Rainbow gratefully replied.

            “Ah think Ah’ll have a go with it,” Applejack followed up.

            Passing a bottle off to each of them, I opened my own before getting along to writing.  For music, this time around, I ​had pieces from the first four Pirates Of The Caribbean movies along with some tracks from Inception, Tron: Legacy, and some random, goofy songs by a YouTuber named Julian Smith among others.  While my playlist mostly consisted of instrumental tracks from movies, there were the rare few that were actual songs with lyrics.  Some of them from movies and others from YouTube videos.  There were even a few songs from some Anime that I could only access from YouTube instead of Spotify.

            “How much music do you have in this playlist?” Rainbow spoke up after several minutes.

            “Over 600 songs,” I answered, “all of ‘em collected over tha course of 4-5 years.  Ah like ta consider maself somewhat of a connosieur when it comes ta tha arts, ‘specially music ‘n movies.”

            “With that many songs in one playlist, sounds like a pretty accurate description,” AJ stated.

            “Ah can’t remember exactly when, but there was a point where Ah jus’ got really inta music from movies.  Somethin’ ‘bout tha way that it adds ta tha overall experience o' tha movie itself always fascinated me.”

            “Yeah.  I can definitely see that.”

            “Somethin’ that Ah think might’ve played a factor in that was ma diagnosis with Asperger’s Syndrome.”

            “Wait a minute, Sugarcube.  Ah thought ya said that you’d been diagnosed with that… schizo-whatsit.”

            “Schizophrenia,” I replied. “Ah was diagnosed with that, but Ah was also diagnosed with Asperger’s that same year.”

            “Well what is​ it?” Rainbow puzzled.

            “Asperger’s is a higher functionin’ form o’ somethin’ called autism, a developmental condition.  People with tha condition often face problems when it comes ta social interaction, empathy, ‘n even nonverbal communication, ​though, not every person is like this.  At tha same time, many with tha condition have exceptional auditory ‘n visual perception as well as strong interests in one or more topics.  Ya know how sometimes Ah’ll go off inta long discussions on a particular subject Ah find interestin’?”

            “Yeah.”

            “That’s because Ah have a fixed interest in that topic, gatherin’ vast amounts of information on it whenever Ah can.  Tha problem is that, oftentimes when Ah go inta these long-winded explanations, people will mistake it ​fer ​me bein’ rude or inconsiderate, not allowin’ 'em ta get a word in edgewise, when, in reality, Ah’m jus’ really passionate ‘bout tha subject in question ‘n want ta share ​that ​with others.”

            “In all honesty, Ah’ve never ​felt ​that way ’bout you,” Applejack stated.

            “Neither have I,” Rainbow agreed.

            “Ah’m glad you two are soo understandin’ 'bout this.  Earlier on, even before Ah was diagnosed, few people outside o’ ma own family would have that level of patience with me.”

            “Well it’s like we said earlier, your family is our family.  You’re the awesomest twin brother I’ve ever had.”

            “Ah’m tha only twin brother ya’ve ever had.”

            “I know.  Which makes you all the more awesome.”

            I couldn’t help but smile at Rainbow’s remarks before continuing on.

            “With that said, there’s also plenty o' positive things that Ah could say ‘bout me havin’ Asperger’s.  One of ‘em ​bein’ that ma mind is more creatively inclined in tha sense of allowin’ me ta easily come up with ideas fer stories ‘n songs.  Another positive aspect is that Ah’m very musically inclined too.  Others have told me that Ah have a good ear fer music.  Maybe that’s what ultimately played a factor in why Ah have such a vast musical library: ma strong ‘preciation fer tha art.

            “Unfortunately, there have been countless people who’ve ​tried ta demonize Asperger’s or jus' autism in general.  There’s a strong stigmatization that it’s a disease, a flaw that needs some sort o' cure.  One doctor even went soo far as ta spread tha false claim that certain vaccines, weakened viruses that’re meant ta help children develop immunities ta tha real thing, were tha cause of autism.  This doctor has since been banned from ever practicin’ medicine again.”

            “As he should’ve been,” Rainbow affirmed. “I mean, even if these vaccines you talk about did cause autism, I just ​find it personally insulting that parents would be ​more ​concerned about their children growing up with a condition like that ​than ​not ​being able to grow up at all on account of contracting a virus that ​they could’ve received immunity to from a vaccine.”

            “Exactly.  There was a movie Ah saw once that featured a bunch o’ characters who were mutants with special abilities, but there was a strong stigmatization spawned from tha non-mutant community.  Tha main plot o’ tha movie ​centered 'round a cure that had been discovered ta make mutants jus’ ​like any other human.  This ended up bringin’ up some ​very interestin’ moral questions on whether or not a cure should be taken or if a cure like that was even ethical.  Watchin’ tha movie after Ah’d been diagnosed with Asperger’s, Ah couldn’t help but notice a similarity between tha plot of this piece of fiction ‘n real life.  Although, it could just as easily be applied ta other situations also.

            “Regardless, even though Ah might have some struggles with ma condition, if there was a cure fer it, Ah’d never take it.  Asperger’s is a huge part o’ ma own personal identity ‘n ta take away somethin’ like that ​would be ta take away a portion of both who 'n what Ah am.  All that really matters is bein’ able ta accept myself, regardless of what anyone else thinks.”

            “Darn straight,” AJ spoke up.

            Looking at the several pages that I’d typed up during our time at the computer, I felt satisfied with what I’d accomplished.

            “Well, Ah think that’s enough fer today.  Why don’t we go check on tha others?”

            “Sure thing,” Rainbow replied.

            Closing the document, me and the girls got up from our seats at the desk and made our way into the living room.  Upon entering, we saw Twilight sitting in the recliner reading The Hunger Games while Savannah, Rarity, and Pinkie sat on the couch watching Ariel play with her toys.  Strangely, Fluttershy was absent.

            “Where’s Fluttershy?” Rainbow questioned.

            “Using the little fillies room,” Rarity answered. “How’d the writing go?”

            “It went well,” I began. “Got a lot o' work done ‘n we even had some good conversation goin’ on in tha meantime.”

            “What kind of conversation?” Pinkie piped up.

            “Ah’ll tell tha rest of ya more later.”

            No sooner had the words left my lips than Fluttershy joined us back in the living room, instantly recognizing my, Rainbow, and AJ’s presence.

            “Oh.  You guys are back,” she stated. “Did you have a productive time?”

            “Oh yeah.  Definitely.  Ah was actually thinkin’ of checkin’ with ya guys ta see if ya wanted to watch more of yer show or another Disney movie?”

            “Maybe we could watch the movie first and then watch a few more episodes of our show,” Twilight replied, closing her book. “Your timing was impeccable as I just finished the last chapter.”

            “Wow!  Already?” I remarked. “You fly through books faster than anyone Ah know.”

            “That’s Twilight for you,” Rainbow chuckled. “So what’s the next movie?”

            “This one is called The Great Mouse Detective, yet another Disney movie that Ah believe is seriously underappreciated.”

            “Sounds good to me,” Fluttershy smiled, “especially the Mouse part.”

            I chuckled softly at her reply before placing the movie in the PS4 and starting it, settling down on the couch with the girls and Savannah as we enjoyed our little society.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


            A few ​hours later, we’d made it through The Great Mouse Detective as well as several more episodes, stopping after Putting Your Hoof Down.  The girls enjoyed the movie a lot, Rainbow in particular noting Professor Ratigan and the final showdown on top of Big Ben to be her favorite parts while Twilight personally mentioned the protagonist, Basil of Baker Street, and his powers of deduction especially interesting.  The episodes got more of a mixed reception.  The most criticized among them were Hearts And Hooves Day and Putting Your Hoof Down, the latter mostly for how many of the characters (including Angel) had acted around Fluttershy when compared to A Friend In Deed just one episode prior.

            After some brief discussion on what we’d watched, Savannah went off to call out for pizza while the rest of us kept an eye on Ariel.  It wasn’t long afterwards, though, that I noticed Fluttershy getting up to walk away.  As I watched her, she went towards the kitchen, shooting down my previous thoughts that she’d merely been getting up to use ​the bathroom.

            “Hey,” I spoke to the other girls, “you guys O.K. with Ariel fer tha time bein’?”

            “Sure.  Everythin’ O.K. with you, Sugarcube?”

            “Yeah.  Ah jus’ need ta check on somethin’.”

            “No problem, twin.  We’ve got your back.”

            With a smile, I rose to ​my feet before walking back towards the kitchen.  Upon reaching it, I spotted Fluttershy standing out on the back deck of our house, looking out at the ocean.  I slowly approached her, stepping over the threshold to join her outside.

            “Everythin’ O.K., Flutters?” I asked, softly.

            Interestingly enough, she didn’t get startled by my sudden presence there nor flinch when I spoke.  The only reply I got ​was ​her sighing sadly and hanging her head low before speaking up.

            “No,” she said​ rather plainly with a hint of guilt that was still very noticeable.

            Walking up ​next to her, I placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly before continuing.

            “Anythin’ ya feel like talkin’ 'bout?  Ya know that ya can trus' me.”

            She turned her face away from mine as if out of shame.

            “I… I just feel soo terrible,” she began, “seeing that last episode and remembering how I acted.  I… I was… a monster.  I treated others soo harshly when they did nothing wrong to me.”

            “Well, technically, there was that asshole pony that cut in front of ya at Sugarcube Corner who got her comeuppance when ya threatened ta lay tha smackdown on her.”

            “You’re missing the point, David!” she spoke with frustration evident in her tone before sighing again. “I caused pain to a lot of other ponies, even some of my closest friends.  Not to mention, knowing that something like that was on display for others to see… it just… it makes me feel soo... naked and exposed.  It’s honestly really embarrassing.  I don’t want anypony to see that side of me ever again and yet… they can just pull something like that up whenever they want to.”

            I turned her head to face me, looking deep into her eyes with all seriousness.

            “Listen ta me, Fluttershy,” I spoke firmly, but softly. "That’s not who you are.  You’re a warm, kind-hearted, carin’ individual who Ah consider maself lucky ta have as one o' ma very best friends.  You have such great strength inside you that ya don’t even realize ‘n you’ve had countless triumphs that we haven’t even gotten ta yet.  That inner strength ’n tha impact ya have on tha world around ya still remains.  In fact, every last one of ya guys have yer own strengths as well as weaknesses that make up who ya are.  No one is flawless.  We all have our own dents ‘n quirks that make us unique.

            “You ‘n all tha other girls have soo much ta offer ‘n who knows? One o’ these days, ya guys might find yer own special somepony ‘n Ah can assure you that, whoever that might be, they’ll be tha luckiest ponies alive ta have mares like you guys in their lives.”

            “You really think so?” she puzzled.

            “Ah know so.”

            It was then that I pulled her into a deep, comforting hug which she warmly accepted.

            “I’m soo glad to have you and Savannah as friends, David.”

            “Just as Ah’m glad ta have all of y’all as ma friends ‘n Ah’m sure Savannah is glad ta have ya guys too.  To us, ya guys are far more than jus’ friends.”

            “Yes you guys certainly are that,” Savannah’s voice rang pleasantly from behind us.

            Me and Fluttershy jumped a bit, startled by her stealthy approach as neither of us had heard her coming.

            “Oh my gosh!  I’m soo sorry.  I didn’t mean to scare you two.  I just finished putting Ariel down for the night and was coming to let you know that the pizza’s here.”

            “It’s O.K.  Thanks fer lettin’ us know.”

            “Yes.  Thanks,” Fluttershy warmly answered.

            And so the three of us made our way back into the house ​to chow down on pizza, not knowing what to expect next.
> Chapter VII:  A Chilling Threat And First Steps
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

           As we sat on the couches, eating cheese pizza and drinking root beer, there was plenty for us to talk about.  I personally decided to bring the others up to speed on what I’d told Rainbow Dash and Applejack during my writing time only a few hours earlier, about my diagnosis with Asperger’s Syndrome.  All of them had many questions about my diagnosis; even AJ and Rainbow were still curious to find out as much as they could about the condition.

           “When were you first diagnosed with Asperger’s?” Twilight puzzled, after swallowing a bite of pizza.

           “‘Bout 6 years ago, same time as when Ah was diagnosed with schizophrenia, but ma parents, ma mom in particular, noticed that Ah’d had tha symptoms at a very young age,” I replied. “When Ah was younger ‘n goin’ to a public school, Ah really struggled with schoolwork.  Ah still remember teachers tellin’ me that if Ah didn’t finish ma schoolwork, Ah wouldn’t have recess, resultin’ in me completely shuttin’ down.  Ah spent many recesses inside ‘n even then couldn’t get any schoolwork done on account o’ tha stress that was built up.

           “When ma mom took me outta school ta homeschool me, she tried a different approach.  After givin’ me an assignment, she’d tell me ta see if Ah could get it done in 10 minutes.  Ah was then able ta get an assignment done in ‘bout 5.”

           “Oh my.  That must’ve relieved a lot of stress for you knowing that you could get it done faster that way,” Fluttershy commented before sipping some more root beer.

           “It’s all about the presentation,” Savannah added. “What might work for one person, learning-wise, might not always work for another.”

           “That makes me think of a similar situation that happened back home when I was preparing to join the Wonderbolt Reserves,” Rainbow spoke up.

           “We’ve actually got that episode here,” Savannah continued, “though it’ll still be awhile before we can get to it.”

           “Back to your condition, are there any particular elements that help serve as ‘de-stressers’ for you when you’re going through a particularly hard time?” Fluttershy questioned.

           “Well, personally, ma mos’ helpful ‘de-stressers’ include listenin’ ta music, writin’, whether it be songs or stories, watchin’ movies, TV Shows, or YouTube videos, ‘n goin’ ta tha mall among other things.  Back home in Massachusetts, Ah’d always set aside at least one day outta tha week ta go ta ma local mall.  It was always a place Ah could go ta jus’ hang out ‘n take ma mind off of anythin’ that might’ve been botherin’ me.  Of course, shoppin’ was always a nice plus too.”

           “Sounds like somepony after my own heart,” Rarity remarked with a soft smile.

           “Yeah.  Ah guess ya could say that,” I chuckled. “Tha funny thing is that tha ‘shoppin’ gene’ apparently skipped a generation in ma family.  Ma grandma on ma mom’s side loves ta go shoppin’ as do some o’ ma aunts, but ma mom has never really cared too much ‘bout that.  Ah, on tha other hand, am one o’ tha few guys Ah know who actually enjoys shoppin’.

           “Another ‘de-stresser’ fer me has always been animals.  When Ah was livin’ back at home, we had a bunch o’ pets.  As far as Ah was concerned, Ah always had gerbils fer tha longest time, prob’ly since Ah was ‘bout 11 or 12.  Somethin’ ‘bout holdin’ a tiny little fluffball like that was always soothin’ ta me.”

           Fluttershy giggled softly before speaking up.

           “I know that I certainly find animals to be relaxing company to spend time with, though I personally don’t like to treat them as pets.  Animals are individuals as far as I’m concerned.”

           “Something you guys might find interesting,” Savannah spoke up, “is that people with Asperger’s, while being able to relate strongly to other animals, are particularly able to relate more to horses and ponies.”

           “Whoa!” Rainbow exclaimed.

           “Really?” Pinkie asked in amazement.

           “It’s true,” I explained. “Tha reason fer this is tha fact that horses ‘n ponies tend ta see in pictures like many Aspergians do so Ah guess that all o’ y’all helped out pretty significantly durin’ ma earlier periods of Asperger’s without me even knowin’ ‘bout it at first.”

           “And taking into account the fact that you’re a pony descendant, logically it makes the most sense,” Twilight commented.

           “No doubt ‘bout that,” AJ agreed.

           “So do ya guys feel up fer one more Disney movie before we call it a night?” I put out there.

           The girls all answered in the affirmative.

           “What’s the next one?” Pinkie questioned.

           “That would be Oliver & Company,” Savannah stated as she popped the DVD into the PS4 and we all sat back to enjoy the flick as well as our own company.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           About an hour and a half later, the movie was over and the girls were quick to voice their thoughts on what they’d just watched.

           “Well.  That was… interesting,” Rarity commented.

           “I enjoyed parts of it,” Fluttershy began, “but why would Fagin have a gang of dogs with him?”

           “I liked Dodger a lot, but I can’t really think of anything else to write home about with this movie,” Rainbow spoke up.

           “Even the songs seemed pretty lackluster when compared to past songs from Disney movies,” Twilight added, “with the possible exception of that ‘Why Should I Worry?’ song.”

           “This movie was based off of a classic novel called Oliver Twist,” Savannah explained “originally set in 19th century London and the entire cast were humans as opposed to this version.”

           “Something tells me I’d probably like the book better.  The title of the book does sound familiar from somewhere, though.”

           “Well Ah think it’s prob’ly time ta call it a night,” I stated, getting up. “Tomorrow, we finally get ta one o’ ma favorite Disney movies of all-time, The Little Mermaid.”

           “I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say that we look forward to seeing it after all you’ve said about the movie itself,” Fluttershy replied before yawning.

           “Yes indeedly!” Pinkie answered, enthusiastically

           And with that, we all retired to our separate rooms.  Getting settled in bed with Savannah next to me, I soon dozed off peacefully, oblivious to what awaited me later that night.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           I woke up later in the night feeling thirsty, so I got up to get a cup of water from the bathroom.  As I got up, I did my best not to wake Savannah and Ariel as I exited the room.  Walking quietly into the bathroom, I turned the light on before approaching the sink and grabbing a paper cup to fill up with water; I always kept a stack of paper cups close by in the bathrooms just in case any guests we might have got thirsty at some point at night.

           Filling my cup up from the sink, I drank it all down while looking in the mirror.  That’s when it happened: the light turned off on its own.  Reaching for the light switch, I flipped it on and off to no avail.  I then turned towards the door only for it to stretch out further and further away from me.  Even as I ran towards it, I never got any closer til it finally vanished from my sight.

           Heart beating rapidly, I looked around for any other escape, but there was none.  The mirror that I’d just been looking into grew until it was as tall as I was, then it separated until there were multiple mirrors surrounding me from every possible direction.  Looking at my terrified expression reflected back in all of them was extremely unnerving, but not nearly as unnerving as the sinister, hissing cackle I heard immediately following this turn of events.

           “Wh-who’s th-th-there?” I stuttered nervously.

           “Oh wouldn’t you like to know?” that all-too-familiar, slick, oily voice spoke up.

           I trembled at his tone as my image in the mirrors was replaced by his dark, cloaked form, complete with his glowing eyes and jagged, glistening teeth.

           “Wh-wh-what do y-you want?”

           “You haven’t been paying attention to me and I’m not too happy about that.”

           “Why would I pay attention to you?  I’m not about to let you get into my head.”

           “Why not?  Because some idiot princesses told you not too?”

           “Don’t you dare talk shit about Luna or Twilight!” I seethed, furiously. “They’re my friends as are all the others.”

           “Ha.  Some friends they are,” he mocked. “They care soo much for you that they keep the truth hidden from you like this.”

           “There’s no way that you could know what the absolute truth is,” I spat. “Nothing is set in stone.  The only future we have is whatever we choose to make of it.”

           “Oh but it is set in stone.  That’s what I’m here to prove to you.  Mark my words, before today is up, you will have a death in your own family and that will force you to face the truth for, through this death coming to pass, you will lose everyone you hold dear.”

           “I refuse to trust anything you say,” I protested.

           “You will.  One way or another,” he responded with a sinister hiss that chilled my very soul, “you will.”


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           For the rest of the night, I merely shrugged off this nightmare as nothing but a bunch of empty bluster.  Even if this shady character who kept on appearing in my dreams did exist, he was simply trying to get in my head with hollow threats he had no way of backing up and I wasn’t about to fall for any of it.  All I had to do was just keep on listening to Luna and Twilight’s advice and everything would be just fine.  Right?

           The next morning was more on the cloudy side so we decided to stay inside for the time being and wait to see if it cleared up.  I toasted up some waffles for breakfast before passing plates of them out to the girls while Savannah got a bottle of maple syrup and a gallon of milk out of the fridge.  After a quick prayer, we dug into our breakfast before I spoke up.

           “How’d you girls sleep last night?”

           “We slept well,” Twilight replied. “Thanks for asking.”

           “You know what I love about waffles?” Pinkie asked right out of the blue.

           “I dunno.  What?” Savannah puzzled.

           “The fact that they’re like pancakes except with little syrup traps all over them.”

           All of us chuckled a bit at Pinkie’s remark.  Fluttershy was the next one to speak up.

           “How did you guys sleep last night?”

           “Very well.  Thank you,” Savannah answered back.

           “How 'bout you, twin?” Rainbow directed towards me.

           I had just been drinking milk from my cup when she’d posed the question to me.  Swallowing it hard, I finally retorted.

           “Great,” I lied, keeping my best poker face all the while.

           What was I doing?  I already knew that this sinister figure’s claims were bullshit so why was I even letting it bother me like that?  And, even so, why would I keep something like this from my closest friends?  They should’ve been the ones that I could rely on the most to open up about anything that was troubling me and yet I was blocking them out.

           Maybe I should tell them about my nightmare? I thought to myself. I mean, it wouldn’t hurt for them to know and I wouldn’t have to let something like that disrupt the enjoyment of our time together.

           But what if me telling them is the exact thing that’ll make it even worse?  They shouldn’t have to worry about me during their vacation here and all the new experiences that me and Savannah are introducing them to.  They should be able to just enjoy themselves.  This is their reprieve after all.  Time away from the stress of having to save Equestria yet again.  They’ve earned it.

           “David.  DAVID!” I heard Savannah’s voice call out to me, snapping me out of the fog that my mind was wandering through at that moment.

           “What?  Uh… yes dear?” I answered, returning to the present.

           “Is everything alright?”

           “Uh yeah.  Jus… lost in thought Ah guess.”

           Savannah and the other girls just seemed to shrug the moment off, not wanting to focus that much longer on it.

           “Anyways, we were just now talking about watching The Little Mermaid right after breakfast and thought you’d be interested, with it being one of your favorite Disney movies that is.”

           “Yeah.  Sounds great,” I replied as I polished off the rest of my waffles.

           With our plates empty of all but stray crumbs and syrup puddles, we rinsed them off in the sink and put them in the dishwasher before heading into the living room.  The girls sat on the couch while Savannah set Ariel down on the floor and I went over to the shelf to pull my Blu-Ray copy of The Little Mermaid off of it.

           “Ya can tell that Ah love this movie ‘cause o’ tha fact that Ah pre-ordered tha Blu-Ray copy of it months in advance,” I stated. “This movie was even supposed ta be re-released in theaters in 3-D before they sided against it fer some reason ‘n jus had it put on Blu-Ray.”

           “Blu-Ray?  3-D?  What’re any o’ those things?” AJ puzzled.

           “Blu-Ray is pretty much a more improved version of DVDs,” Savannah explained. “Blu-Ray discs don’t break as easily, have much better picture, and can fit a lot more extra features and content on a single disc.  As for 3-D, it’s a special type of technology that allows you to watch a movie while feeling like the movie is coming out at you.”

           “Sounds cool!” Pinkie beamed.

           “Sounds weird,” Rainbow retorted.

           “It can have its moments where it enhances one’s viewing experience,” Savannah continued, “but even I have to admit that it’s often used as a gimmick.  I could probably count on my one hand how many actual good 3-D movies I’ve seen thus far.”

           “Anyhoo,” I continued, “we jus’ have tha regular Blu-Ray one to watch ‘til Ah can get a 3-D TV ‘n all tha stuff that goes with it.”

           Savannah laughed before speaking up.

           “You’ve been saying that for years, babe.”

           “‘N, one o’ these days, Ah’m actually gonna do it.  Fer now, though, how ‘bout we stop talkin’ ‘n start watchin’?” I finished as I popped the disc in the PS4.

           “I agree,” Fluttershy answered with a smile.

           “As do I,” Rarity affirmed.

           And with that, we all settled in to watch the movie, none of us speaking another word.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           Before long, we’d finally made it all the way through The Little Mermaid and I was eager to hear what my friends had to say about it.  Turning to them with a wide smile on my face, I posed the question that I’d been waiting to ask them since before the movie even started.

           “So?  What’d ya guys think?”

           “Personally,” Twilight began, “I really enjoyed it.  It’s not a perfect movie, by any means, but I still found it to be a major improvement over several other films that came before it.”

           “I enjoyed the songs!” Pinkie piped up, full of enthusiasm.

           “The songs were pretty catchy,” Rainbow agreed, “but I thought that the main character of Ariel was a bit too whiny.”

           “Ariel could be a bit,-” Rarity cleared her throat “-overdramatic at times, but I could at least appreciate that she was a very… take-action protagonist.”

           “Ah ‘gree with that,” AJ spoke up. “She wasn’t jus’ some pretty face princess who sat ‘round waitin’ fer life ta happen like princess… ‘whatever her name’ from Sleepin’ Beauty.”

           I couldn’t help but chuckle quietly at AJ’s remarks before she continued.

           “Ariel had clear goals set ‘n was willin’ ta take tha steps necessary ta obtain ‘em.  Ah also really liked how she wasn’t another damsel-in-distress character.  Ah mean, sure she had ta be saved by Prince Eric in tha end, but she saved him twice before that even happened.  Ah can’t even remember a single Disney movie before than that had a girl savin’ tha man soo much as once.”

           “I can definitely see why you liked her soo much,” Fluttershy added. “I mean, aside from just her beauty in both appearance and voice, she’s a very strong character that I’m sure many young girls could look up to.  And you were right: Ariel is a great name for your daughter.”

           I smiled softly before Rainbow threw her two extra cents in.

           “Additionally, I thought the design of Ursula was pretty cool too.”

           “I will say that something I’ve noticed with many of the Disney movies we’ve seen thus far is that they have very strong and memorable villains,” Rarity affirmed.

           “It is true that Disney has some of the greatest villains in cinematic history,” Savannah spoke up, “and there’s even more great ones to come.”

           “I can hardly wait!!!” Pinkie exclaimed, hopping in place on the couch with glee.

           “Fer tha time bein’, though,” AJ suggested, “could we maybe watch some more of our show?”

           “Sure thing, AJ,” I replied with a smile.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           About an hour or so later, we’d made our way through 3 more episodes of the show: It’s About Time, Dragon Quest, and Hurricane Fluttershy to be precise.  Me, Fluttershy, Savannah, and Rarity had been sitting on the floor with Ariel during that time while the others sat on the couch.  Applejack was the first to speak up after we’d decided to break.

           “Wow.  Those were certainly some interestin’ episodes.”

           “Interestin’ in what way?” I puzzled.

           “In a good way,” she replied quickly. “Ah particularly liked the Hurricane Fluttershy episode 'cuz of how it delved deeper inta Fluttershy’s past ‘n showed how bullyin' had affected her up inta tha present, or at least tha present of that episode.”

           “In addition to that,” Twilight added, “I feel like this was a strong episode for Rainbow Dash in that she showed genuine concern for Fluttershy, knowing how to go about helping her overcome her fears and mental barriers as one of her closest friends.  It was certainly better than Putting Your Hoof Down.  Uh... no offense, Flutters.”

           “None taken,” Fluttershy answered back. “Everypony has their own obstacles that they struggle to get past and I’m no different.”

           “Guys, look!” Savannah spoke up excitedly.

           As we all turned to see what Savannah was talking about, we all noticed that Ariel was standing up, somewhat wobbly at that, and slowly but surely taking her first steps in my direction.  Smiles crossed all of our faces as we watched her progress.

           “Come here, Ariel,” I softly encouraged her. “Come see daddy.”

           After taking a few steps towards me, she awkwardly toddled around a little bit before heading in a different direction.

           “No no this way, Ariel,” I continued softly. “This way.”

           As she continued wobbling on her new set course, we realized that she was heading over towards Fluttershy instead.  Fluttershy did her best to encourage her to head back towards me.

           “Go on, Ariel.  Go see your daddy.”

           Ariel just continued heading towards Fluttershy until she finally reached her and collapsed right in her lap.

           “O.K.  Good job, little one,” Flutters softly smiled at Ariel as she hugged her gently.

           All of us sat there with smiles on our faces at what had just occurred.

           “I guess you guys were right,” Rainbow Dash spoke up. “We did get the chance to see your daughter take her first steps while here.”

           “It certainly was nice being able to witness such a momentous occasion like this with you two,” Rarity affirmed.

           “Mhmm,” Pinkie added.

           “I just realized something,” Savannah began.

           “What’s that?” Twilight puzzled.

           “2 days from now is when the Oscars are happening.  David’s probably already told you guys a little bit about it before and I know that you guys don’t know about many of the movies from our world, but, at the same time, it might be nice for you guys to get that little glimpse at some more of our culture.  Wouldn’t you agree, David?”

           “Ah don’ see why it would hurt, even if Ah do have kind of a ‘love/hate’ relationship with tha Oscars themselves.”

           “I’d be interested to see it even if just for the culture,” Rarity stated.

           “As would I,” Flutters agreed.

           “It might be cool to check out,” Rainbow added.

           “Ah’m in,” AJ added.

           “Me too,” Pinkie piped up.

           “Then I guess it’s settled,” Twilight affirmed. “I’m sure that watching these Oscars that you guys have talked about will be a very insightful and eye-opening experience for all of us.”

           “We’re just soo happy to have all of you guys here to share these moments with us,” Savannah stated with a smile.

           “Indeed we are,” I added. “Now whataya say we see ‘bout gettin’ lunch fer ourselves?”

           “It certainly does seem to be about that time,” Savannah answered while picking up Ariel from Fluttershy’s lap. “I’m just gonna get Ariel changed and put down for her nap while you guys figure out what you’ll be eating.”

           “Ah’ve got an idea.  Why don’ Ah make some cheese toast fer you guys?”

           “It sounds good,” Rainbow began, “but… what is it?”

           “It’s somethin’ ma dad taught me how ta make many years back.  It’s essentially slices o’ bread with Miracle Whip ‘n Cheddar Cheese microwaved ‘til tha cheese becomes nice ‘n melted.  Ah’m sure you guys’ll love it.”

           And so I got up to make lunch for our friends, but, all the while, my nightmare was still lingering in the back of my mind.  I didn’t want to believe it and prayed long and hard that it wouldn’t come to pass, but there was still plenty of time left in the day.  I just hoped that this nightmare was nothing more than the empty bluster I wanted to believe it was.
> Chapter VIII:  Remembering Those Passed
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

           As the day went on, we continued with more episodes from their show as well as some more of the Disney movies.  We’d completely wrapped up Season 2 in that time and the girls particularly liked the 2-part finale, a few of them even noting similarities between Chrysalis’ disguising herself as Princess Cadance and Ursula’s disguise in the latter portion of The Little Mermaid.  Twilight even got a little teary-eyed remembering both of the episodes themselves.

           In regards to the Disney movies, we watched both The Rescuers Down Under and had just finished watching Beauty And The Beast when I paused to check with them about what their thoughts were on the movies.

           “So how’d ya guys like tha movies?”

           “I really enjoyed that Rescuers sequel,” Rainbow spoke up. “It was much more action packed and I definitely found it to be far better than that other one we’d previously watched.”

           “Darn straight,” Applejack affirmed.

           “Personally,” Rarity began, “I think that Beauty And The Beast might be my new favorite Disney movie.  Belle was such a dynamic character, the story was great, the songs were incredible, and the villain was very memorable.”

           “I know right?!?” Rainbow exclaimed. “I found it particularly interesting how Gaston was the villain when, in any other story, he would’ve been considered the hero.  He even had the look and build of a traditional hero.  Not to mention the design of the Beast was really cool too.”

           “Mhmm,” I commented. “Tha animators created quite tha mishmash when designin’ him.  From what Ah’d heard, they designed him with tha head structure ‘n horns of a buffalo on a bear’s body along with tha brow of a gorilla, jaws like a lion’s, boar tusks, ‘n both tha legs ‘n tail of a wolf.”

           “I really enjoyed the songs too,” Pinkie piped up. “They were very catchy and fun.”

           “It certainly was a very solid movie,” Twilight stated. “Not perfect, but pretty close.”

           “Something that you guys might be interested to know was that, when this movie came out, it was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards,” Savannah explained, “and currently the only hand-drawn animated movie ever to be nominated.”

           “Oh my.  That must have been huge for a movie like that to get that kind of recognition,” Fluttershy remarked, wonderstruck.

           “That it was,” I followed up. “Fer an animated movie ta receive that kind of attention was practically unheard of at that time.  Ever since then, only 2 other animated movies have ever been nominated fer that same honor, but we’ll hopefully get ta those later on.  No animated movie has ever won Best Picture, but Ah try ta remain enthusiastic that one will someday.”

           “It was also the last movie that Howard Ashman was fully involved in before he passed away,” Savannah continued. “He was famous for writing the songs in this movie, The Little Mermaid, and a few of the songs for our next movie, Aladdin.  The Little Mermaid and Beauty And The Beast even had him working in a producer role so he clearly had a pretty strong hand in the development of both movies.”

           “Wow,” Twilight commented. “I don’t believe I’d ever known that before.”

           “If you watch the credits of this movie, you’d even notice a dedication that states: ‘To our friend Howard, who gave a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul, we will be forever grateful.  Howard Ashman 1950-1991’.”

           “Wait a minute.  1991?” Pinkie puzzled. “Isn’t that your birth year, Davey?”

           “Yeah, but how’d ya know that?” I asked before suddenly realizing. “From when you guys were in ma head, right?”

           “Yuppers!”

"There was even an extremely influential Disney chairman at that time named Jeffrey Katzenberg," Savannah began, "who was quoted as saying that there were always 2 angels who were watching over Disney to put their magic touch on their films.  Those 2 angels being Howard Ashman and Walt Disney."

           It was then that we all heard crying coming from me and Savannah’s room.  Clearly, Ariel had woken up.

           “Ah’ll go get her,” I announced as I got up.

           Walking back to our room, I turned on the light to reveal Ariel standing up and hanging onto the bars of her crib, wet streaks running down her face from where tears had been and a sad pout on her lips.  I then walked over and picked her up, holding her close to me to comfort her.

           “Hey.  It’s O.K.,” I whispered softly. “Daddy’s here now.”

           She calmed down more and more, sighing softly as I held her.  Turning around to take her out of the room, I was surprised to see Fluttershy standing in the doorway.  I hadn’t even noticed or heard her following me.

           “Is she O.K.?” she questioned, concern evident in her tone.

           “Yeah.  Ah think she jus’ woke up ‘n got scared that there was no one else around.”

           “Oh.  That’s good to know.  I’m just glad that it wasn’t anything too serious.”

           She paused briefly before speaking up again.

           “Do you know if I could hold her?”

           “Are ya sure ya know how too?”

           Fluttershy then gave me a cocked eyebrow that seemed to imply “Really?” before plainly replying.

           “I’ve handled baby animals plenty of times before.  I’m pretty sure that handling your daughter won’t be all that more challenging.”

           I couldn’t help but smile at Fluttershy’s spunk.  She’d definitely come quite a long way from where she started out and I always enjoyed getting to see her more feisty side.

           “Point taken,” I remarked as I carefully handed my daughter off to her.

           It probably goes without saying that Fluttershy held Ariel with all the care and tenderness that would come with someone of her nature.  Ariel even tried grabbing ahold of her long, rose-pink hair while Fluttershy just giggled softly before speaking.

           “Hey little one.  You enjoying my mane- er… hair?” she swiftly corrected herself.

           “Who wouldn’t enjoy yer hair?” I questioned. “There’s such a natural softness ta it that Ah’m sure any mare back home wishes they could have a mane like yer’s.”

           Fluttershy blushed deeply at my comment.

           “You wanna head back inta tha livin’ room with tha others?”

           “Sure.”

           And so we made our way out of my room to join the others in the living room.  Upon entering, they were quick to notice us as well as the fact that Fluttershy was holding Ariel, Pinkie being the first to speak up about that fact.

           “Aww!  Look who Fluttershy’s got!”

           “Did the little darling sleep O.K.?” Rarity questioned.

           “Ah believe so,” I answered. “Ma guess is that she woke up ‘n got scared when she realized no one else was around.”

           “Does someone wanna go see their mommy?” Fluttershy asked Ariel as she brought her over towards Savannah.

           “Thanks, Fluttershy,” Savannah replied as she gratefully accepted Ariel from her.

           “How do ya guys feel ‘bout us watchin’ Aladdin fer tha time bein’?” I brought up.

           “I’m in,” Rainbow affirmed.

           All of the other girls voiced their interest in seeing it also.

           “Then it’s settled,” I commented as I popped the DVD into the PS4 and sat back to watch the movie with the others.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           A while later, we sat around the kitchen table eating fried egg sandwiches that I’d just cooked up while discussing Aladdin.  As one could probably imagine, there was a lot to talk about with that movie in particular.

           “So did ya guys enjoy tha movie?” I asked after swallowing a bite of sandwich.

           “Mhmm,” the girls simultaneously replied.

           “It was soo awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “That flight through the cave, the villain, the climax, it was all too much!”

           “It did have a very positive message about the importance of one’s individuality,” Twilight mentioned, “as well as being true to who you are and not changing yourself because you think that’s what others might want.  That was kind of a problem that I had with The Little Mermaid, but, at the same time, it wasn’t bad enough that it ruined my viewing experience.”

           “Understandable,” I acknowledged.

           “My favorite character was the Genie!” Pinkie stated excitedly. “He was fun, funny, and entertaining, or as I’d like to say ‘fun-tertaining’.”

           I smiled softly at Pinkie’s remarks before Savannah spoke up.

           “The Genie is very easily a lot of people’s favorite character from the movie.  A good chunk of that has to do with the man who voiced him, Robin Williams.  This guy was such an unbelievable talent, a master of improv, and a comic legend.  He was the kind of person who, if you threw anything at him, he would automatically come back with 5 jokes at once.  In fact, the majority of his lines in Aladdin were ad-libbed on the spot.  He was very easily the single greatest comedic mind of our time.”

           “Um… ‘scuse me Sugarcube,” AJ began, “but what do ya mean… ‘was’?  He ain’t dead… is he?”

           Me and Savannah’s faces suddenly turned despondent.  Fluttershy was quick to notice this before breaking the awkward silence.

           “He is isn’t he?” she questioned solemnly.

           “Unfortunately, yes,” I answered with a sad sigh. “He committed suicide a little over 2 ½ years ago followin’ an incredibly serious ‘n long struggle with depression.”

           “His was the kind of talent that many could only ever dream of having and the world as we know it became a much sadder place with his passing,” Savannah added.

           All the girls’ expressions were instantly downturned at the unfortunate news that me and Savannah had delivered.

           “It sounds to me like his passing must’ve been quite a big deal around here,” Rarity stated, “much like when you told us about the passing of that other guy, Michael… Jameson was it?”

           “Michael Jackson,” I politely corrected, “‘n yes, it was a major, unfortunate event.  People like Robin ‘n Michael are some o’ tha rare few celebrities whose passings affected people of multiple generations.  As sad as it is ta admit, mos’ celebrities who pass on either only strike hard with tha younger or older audiences, but these 2 were the exceptions.  Millions connected with ‘em on a personal level, makin’ it all tha more tragic when they did pass.”

           “The only good thing I can think of that came from Robin’s passing is that it helped bring more awareness to the issue of suicide,” Savannah continued, “and more steps have been taken since then towards the prevention of future occurrences.”

           “That’s good that more suicides have been prevented,” Fluttershy spoke softly, then sorrowfully. “It’s just really unfortunate that it took an event as terrible and tragic as this for that change to come about.”

           “No arguin’ there, Flutters,” I agreed.

           “But enough about that,” Savannah began as she brought her plate over to the dishwasher before picking up Ariel out of her highchair. “How do you guys feel about us moving on to the next Disney movie in the line-up?”

           “Sounds good ta me,” AJ replied, polishing off the last of her sandwich.

           “What’s next?” Rainbow questioned.

           “That would be The Lion King,” I stated.

           “You girls might want to be careful, though,” Savannah remarked. “David has been known to get pretty emotional during this movie.”

           “Hey.  That’s just one scene ‘n, if any of you girls knew tha scene Ah was talkin’ ‘bout, not ta mention factorin’ in tha young age Ah first saw it at, ya’d completely understand why.”

           “There’s nothing wrong with letting yourself go emotionally and expressing how you really feel,” Twilight affirmed with a smile.

           “Anyhoo,” Rarity started, wiping her mouth with a paper napkin, “I’m sure that all of us would love to see this movie.”

           “Uh huh,” Fluttershy mentioned.

           “So what’re we waiting for?” Pinkie asked.

           “Nothin’,” I answered. “Let’s go.”


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           An hour and a half later, the movie was over and the girls were very quick to speak up about what they’d just seen.

           “Well, I can certainly say that the visuals were quite impressive,” Rarity stated. “I mean, did you guys see how huge and epic this movie looked?”

           “I know, right?” Rainbow agreed. “It’s incredible how they managed to show soo much size and scope to it.”

           “The story I also found to be pretty solid,” Twilight added, “though I feel like there was one major area where the story suffered the most.”

           “Where was that, Twi?” Savannah puzzled.

           “The way that it botched up the moral at the end.  Don’t get me wrong.  The moral itself is one that’s rarely seen about the choice one faces regarding their own past, no matter how painful it is, and how they can either run from it or learn from it.  The problem lies in the fact that the story itself, particularly the climax, doesn’t support its own moral.

           “When adult Simba goes to face his past and confront Scar, no one else comes to his aid when he reveals that he’s responsible for Mufasa’s death.  Except for the fact that that wasn’t what really happened.  Once he finds out that it wasn’t his fault, that’s the only time anyone else helps him.  All his fears were based on a past that never existed and even if he did actually kill Mufasa, whether or not it was accidental, the movie seems to act like he deserved to die for it.”

           “Yeah,” I admitted. “Lookin’ back on when Ah was a kid, Ah’d be lyin’-”

           “Haha!  ‘Lion’.  Good one, Davey,” Pinkie giggled.

           I couldn’t help but smile at her pun before recollecting my thoughts.

           “Lookin’ back on when Ah was a kid, Ah’d be lyin’ if Ah said Ah didn’t spend a fair amount o’ time tryin’ ta convince others that Ah never really made any o’ tha mistakes Ah made.  Ah jus’ felt like tha movie was tellin’ me ta never take responsibility fer anythin’ unless Ah didn’t actually do it ‘n that that was tha only way Ah’d get a happy endin’.”

           “Even then, though, it doesn’t completely destroy the movie,” Twilight added. “It’s just kind of a minor nuisance more than anything else.”

           “I loved the songs the most,” Pinkie piped up, “especially Hakuna Matata!”

           “Ugh,” Rainbow protested. “That song annoyed me soo much you’d never believe,” her tone changing to a more positive one. “Circle Of Life was pretty cool, though, and Be Prepared was totally awesome!”

           “Be Prepared is one o’ ma favorites too,” I stated. “While err'body ‘round me was singin’ Hakuna Matata, Ah was tha one kid tryin’ ta sing Be Prepared.”

"I thought Be Prepared was a pretty good song too," Fluttershy began, "though, for some reason I can't quite explain, that part where the legion of hyenas were goose-stepping past Scar was kind of unsettling."

"I can understand that," Savannah replied. "Even when I was a kid it was unsettling for me, though I couldn't say why at the time."

           “Ah noticed ya startin’ ta tear up a bit durin’ tha scene of Mufasa’s death,” AJ observed. “Was that tha scene you ‘n Savannah were talkin’ ‘bout earlier?”

           “Yes.  Yes it was,” I admitted. “Even to this day, that scene still gets me every time.  Ah can’t even listen ta tha music in that scene without gettin’ choked up.”

           “My heart was right there with you,” Fluttershy affirmed, softly. “It certainly was an emotionally tense scene and I can see why a scene like that could scar someone the way it did to you.”

           It wasn’t until after the word “scar” had already escaped her lips when she’d realized the unintentional pun she’d made.

           “Oh,” she giggled, mildly. “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to make light of a moment like that.”

           “It’s O.K., Flutters,” I replied. “Ah’ve unintentionally made that pun more times than Ah could count.”

           “Speaking of Scar, I thought that he was only an… average villain,” Rarity spoke up. “Granted, he’s the first Disney villain I know of to get in a kill, unless you’re counting the hunter who shot Bambi’s mother or possibly even the Headless Horseman,”-Fluttershy meeped at the mention of the Headless Horseman-“but after he gets what he wants he just turns into a little primadonna and loses all enjoyability as a character.  I mean, by Celestia, Rainbow Dash!  You thought Ariel was whiny?  Scar makes her look like an under actor by comparison!”

           “She’s gotcha there, Dashie,” Pinkie remarked, playfully, as Rainbow gave off a slightly annoyed scowl.

           “Scar probably ranks in my top 10 favorite Disney villains of all time,” Savannah began, “but not much higher than that.”

           We then noticed Ariel rubbing her eyes and yawning softly.

           “Looks like someone’s ready to call it a night,” Savannah commented as she picked her up. “If you guys want, you can start on the next one without me while I put Ariel down for the night.”

           “Ah’d say we probably have time fer one more before we call it a night ourselves,” I stated as Savannah and Ariel headed to the back and I went to put in the next Disney movie, Pocahontas. “Unfortunately, this is tha point where Disney movies started ta go downhill fer a while, jus’ ta give ya guys a heads up.”

           “Thanks fer tha warnin’ Sugarcube,” AJ replied.

           “This next one is very loosely based off of actual events in our country’s history, as in, tha creators definitely took a large amount o’ creative liberties with tha story.”

           Settling in with my friends, the movie began.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           After the movie was over, I noticed that my friends had very dumbstruck expressions on their faces.  Twilight was the first to speak up.

           “Wow.  That movie was soo predictable that it was actually painful to sit through,” she bluntly stated.

          “Tell me about it,” Rainbow agreed before turning to me. “You weren’t kidding when you said this is where Disney movies began to take a nosedive.”

           “I can hardly even remember any of the songs from this movie,” Pinkie commented sadly. “The only ones that come to mind are Colors Of The Wind and Savages, but even those are really weak when compared to songs like Part Of Your World, Friend Like Me, and Hakuna Matata.”

           “The story just seemed like a tired, recycled bore that we’ve heard countless times prior,” Rarity affirmed. “I could literally predict every moment that was going to happen.  I’d be willing to bet that your daughter, Ariel, could predict it it was that bad.”

           “Something I never understood is why the animals didn’t talk in this movie,” Fluttershy puzzled. “I mean, with a movie like this that seemed heavily focused on communing with nature, it seems like a really bizarre choice from a creative standpoint when only the tree talks.  What’s with that?”

           “Not ta mention tha villain was one o tha weakest, mos' forgettable characters Ah can think of,” AJ concurred. “Ah mean, aside from jus’ wantin’ gold, there’s nothin’ else ta his character ‘n even wantin’ gold ain’t tha least bit interestin’ as far as Ah’m concerned.”

           “What’s really funny,” Savannah began, “is that the people at Disney thought that this movie was gonna be their big hit instead of the Lion King.  There’s a certain tragic irony that Lion King was the bigger hit while this movie was a critical failure.”

            “I guess that’s just part of how life goes,” Twilight stated. “If we always knew for certain what would be a hit and what wouldn’t, life would be pretty boring.  That uncertainty is a nice way to keep ponies guessing.”

           “Well, Ah think it’s ‘bout time fer us ta get some rest fer tomorrow,” I yawned while getting up. “See you girls in tha morning.”

           “You too, darling,” Rarity replied with a smile.

           As we headed off to our separate rooms, I was eager to put this day behind me as soon as possible.  First of all, that dream had still been haunting me in the back of my mind.  As of that moment, I’d heard nothing about any family deaths and wanted more than ever for this dream to be proven wrong so I could stop worrying about it.  Not to mention that I could enjoy our time together much easier without that thought lingering over me.

           Settling in next to Savannah, I closed my eyes in the hopes that sleep would come quickly.  This was one moment where I actually looked forward to the coming day.  This dream would be proven wrong; nothing more than empty bluster.  I swore it.
> Chapter IX: A Nightmare Come True
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

           That night, I didn’t think at all about the nightmares I’d had previously.  Instead, I had one of the most pleasant dreams I’d had in a while.  I dreamt that I was with my family and friends hanging out at the beach.  It was a beautiful sunny day with no clouds in the sky as we enjoyed each other’s company.  Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rainbow, and AJ were swimming in the ocean while Rarity and Twilight were reclining on beach chairs next to me and Savannah, who was holding Ariel close in her arms.

           But, as I looked over at Savannah, there was something noticeably different about her: her belly was looking a little bit rounder than usual.  Was she pregnant again?

           “Babe?” I began.

           “Yes, David?” she replied.

           “Are you pregnant again?”

           “Of course I am, silly,” she laughed. “What else did you think it could be?”

           “That’s wonderful news!” Twilight exclaimed.

           “Indeed,” Rarity agreed. “I can hardly wait for us to finally meet the new little one.”

           I just sat back and smiled.  All this time, I’d been worrying about nothing.  I now knew that everything would be just fine.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           Our party awoke the next morning fully revived and relaxed.  Probably none moreso than me.  Even the fogginess outside couldn’t dampen my mood.  It was now Saturday and Friday was gone with no deaths having transpired.  As we sat at the table eating our bowls of cereal, I took it upon myself to check with the girls about what plans, if any, they had in mind for the day.

           “So whataya girls feel like doin’ today?”

           “I dunno,” Rainbow stated after swallowing a mouthful of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. “Maybe go for another walk on the beach for a bit?  We haven’t done one of those in a while.”

           “But Rainbow Dash, how would we be able to see where we’re going through all of that fog out there?” Rarity questioned.

           “Oh that’s not a problem at all,” I answered.

           “It’s not?” Fluttershy puzzled.

           “Nope.  Ah have an uncanny sense o’ direction.  In fact, a few years ago, Ah’d finished up tha school year at a community college back home, but tha only buses goin out o’ there weren’t tha buses Ah normally took.  So Ah got on one bus, took it a certain distance before gettin’ off, walked ta ‘nother bus stop, ‘n picked up that bus home with no problems.”

           “What’re buses?” Pinkie asked.

           “Well you know how there are cars around here?” Twilight began.

           “Yeah?”

           “Well buses are like larger versions of cars that can hold a lot of people.  Some of the main differences being that buses are driven by actual bus drivers, not average citizens, you often need to pay to ride buses, and they follow a specific route.”

           “Plus, Ah think that Dayvid’s sense o’ direction is purdy strong,” AJ added, “‘specially that one time he travelled all tha way ta tha Crystal Empire with us in his head despite never knowin’ how ta get there or even lookin’ at a map.”

           “Hey, Savannah,” I started. “If ya wanted to, Ah could take Ariel along with tha girls ta give ya a little reprieve.”

           “Are you sure, babe?” she replied, a little uncertain. “I wouldn’t want to burden you with her.”

           “Babe, it’s honestly not even that big of a deal.  Ah’m more than willin’ ta give ya some time ta yerself if ya need it.”

           “Besides, we’re always willing to lend a hoof with little Ariel,” Fluttershy affirmed.

           The other girls voiced their approval as Savannah let out a soft smile before speaking up.

           “You guys are incredible, ya know that?”

           “Anything for our friends,” Rarity stated pleasantly before putting her empty bowl in the dishwasher.

           “Ya jus’ enjoy tha time ta yerself, Sugarcube.  We’ll take care o’ tha little one fer ya.”

           And so, with full bellies and empty dishes placed in the dishwasher, me and the girls got on our flipflops before heading out the back door with Ariel in my arms.  Even with the coolness of the mist enveloping us, things were definitely looking bright and sunny from this point forward.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           Walking along the beach through the mist, the temperature fell somewhere around 55 degrees Fahrenheit, making for relatively pleasant strolling weather.  Holding Ariel up on my shoulders, we walked along in silence for a good while, simply enjoying the peaceful crashing of the waves on the shore as well as the cries of seagulls overhead.  Fluttershy was the first to break the silence after a few minutes.

           “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get over how relaxing and peaceful it is out here.”

           “You said it,” Rainbow agreed. “I could spend months on this beach and never get tired of it.  It almost makes me wish we didn’t have to go back to Ponyville after this.”

           “Almost?” I puzzled.

           “Well yeah.  I mean, I’m not about to give up my wings forever just to stay here, but if it means getting to spend time with my twin, I’m O.K. with it being only a temporary thing.”

           I smiled at Rainbow’s remark before Twilight spoke up towards me.

           “You seem to be much more… chipper than usual.  Is everything O.K.?”

           “Of course Ah’m O.K.,” I replied. “Ah’m gettin ta spend time with ma closest friends.  How could things not be O.K.?”

           “It’s just that, over the past few days, there were several occasions where you seemed a little… distant and easily distracted.  Are you sure everything’s O.K.?”

           “Yes.  Ah’m positive.”

           “Alright then.  Just know that we’re here for you to talk to if something is ever bothering you.”

           “Quite right,” Rarity chimed in.

           “Thanks guys,” I answered. “All o’ y’all are tha best friends anyone could ever ask fer.”

           “Happy ta help,” AJ affirmed.

           “Yes indeedly,” Pinkie piped up.

           “Ah’ve actually been thinkin’ ‘bout quite a few things as of late,” I stated.

           “Oh?  Like what?” Twilight questioned.

           “Well, first of all, Ah was thinkin’ that after tha Disney animated movies we could introduce ya guys ta The Wizard Of Oz in preparation fer when we go ta see Wicked in ‘bout 2 ½ weeks from now.  Come ta think of it, we might actually skip some o’ tha lesser Disney animated movies, few though they are.”

           “Wait.  Why would we skip any of them?” Pinkie puzzled.

           “Well,” I began, “like Ah mentioned before, there was a period where Disney movies really hit a decline in quality ‘n Ah purposefully avoided ‘em by any means possible.  There’s one Disney movie that comes ta mind that Ah feel is particularly despicable ‘n mean-spirited.  Even tha father o’ tha main character is soo humongously unlikable in tha way that he tries ta have nothin’ ta do with his own son even though tha son only wants his father’s love ‘n respect.”

           “Oh my!” Fluttershy reacted. “That sounds horrible!”

           “Ah can already think of quite a few movies that had better misunderstanding parents than this, parents who wanted ta connect with their children, but were jus’ unsure of how ta do that.  This father doesn’t even support his son unless it’s with somethin’ that’ll indulge his or tha town folk’s selfish egos.”

           “Sounds to me like something that would best be avoided like the plague,” Rarity disgustedly remarked.

           “That it does,” AJ agreed.

           “All Ah know is that Ah sure as hell wouldn’t show it ta Ariel or any other kid,” I continued. “Some o tha language used in tha movie, while nothin’ explicit, Ah still feel could scar mos’ children of that age.”

           “Definitely sounds like it would be a wise choice to skip,” Rainbow Dash commented.

           “Was there anything else that you were thinking of David?” Fluttershy asked.

           “Oh right,” I started. “Ah guess Ah got a little too much inta ramblin against this movie that Ah almos’ forgot what else Ah was gonna mention.  Anyhoo, Ah was thinkin’ that maybe you guys might be interested in me continuin’ more with our look inta tha Bible.  We haven’t done it in a while ‘n Ah figured Ah’d bring it up jus’ in case ya wanted ta look inta it more.”

           “Sounds good ta me,” AJ spoke up.

           “Me too,” Fluttershy replied.

           “Now that you mention it, I would be interested in learning more about that,” Twilight answered. “I’d kinda forgotten about it too until you just now mentioned it.”

           “Time sure does have a way of slippin right by ya,” I remarked. “It’s soo hard ta believe that yer time with us is almost half over.”

           “Indeed,” Rarity started, “but let’s not focus on that darling.  Let’s focus on the here and now.”

           “Sure thing, Rare.”

           “Was there anything in particular that you were planning on sharing with us from the Bible?” Rainbow questioned.

           “Well, since we went over tha Israelites claimin’ tha Promised Land, Ah was thinkin’ of goin over 1 ‘n 2 Samuel next.  In those books, there’s actually a character named Dayvid who Ah was named after.”

           “Ooo!” Pinkie beamed. “I’m sure that’ll be a lot of fun to go over.”

           “Ah’m sure y’all’ll really enjoy it,” I smiled before looking at my watch. “Whataya say we start headin’ back now?”

           “Sounds like a good idea,” Flutters replied.

           “Same,” Twilight agreed. “My feet are starting to get a little tired.”

            And so we made our way back home, all the while enjoying each other’s company and soaking up our surroundings.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           Shortly after arriving back home, we made our way to the living room where I got my Bible and began reading to our friends out of 1 Samuel.  I read through several chapters all the way up to Chapter 10 where Saul was anointed as the first king over Israel before stopping to check with my friends about their thoughts on what was read.

           “So what’d ya guys think?” I asked.

           “Honestly,” Twilight began, “I thought that there was kind of a frustrating tragedy to all of it in the sense that Israel was soo eager to be like other nations by having a king that they completely ignored how God had provided for them previously.  It’s not even as much the idea of a king as it was their desire to be like everyone else.”

           “There was a period before Saul was anointed king where God raised up judges ta help direct Israel, but even then, when one judge passed away, Israel would turn on God until tha next judge was raised up ta deliver ‘em from their enemies ‘n it would repeat itself again.  It was kind of a vicious cycle they were stuck in.”

           “I was kind of surprised that we hadn’t even gotten to Davey yet after all those chapters,” Pinkie piped up.

           I couldn’t help but smile softly at Pinkie’s reply before speaking up.

           “We will get ta him eventually.  Ah can promise ya that.  Ah believe that he first shows up somewhere in tha nex’ 6 chapters.”

           “In the Bible, David was known as being ‘a man after God’s own heart’,” Savannah stated as she walked in with Ariel in her arms. “Not that he was perfect by any means, but he would prove to be one of Israel’s greatest, well-known, and respected kings.”

           “Wow!” Rainbow remarked. “Now you’ve got us really eager to find out about him.”

           “Trus’ me,” I began, “that time will come very soon, but fer now, how bout we watch another Disney movie?”

           “Sure.”

           “Which one’s next?” Fluttershy pondered.

           “Next one up is another favorite o’ mine, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, easily up there with The Little Mermaid as far as favorite Disney movies go.”

           “Something you might want to know,” Savannah started as she went to put the movie in the PS4, “is that this movie tackles some pretty adult issues like religion, lust, and murder.”

           “Oh my!” Fluttershy gasped.

           “We don’ have ta watch it if ya don’ want to Flutters,” I stated.

           “Yeah.  We could always find another movie instead,” Savannah agreed.

           “No.  It’s O.K.  I’ll be fine,” Fluttershy affirmed.

           “O.K. then.  Just wanted to be sure,” Savannah replied as she placed the DVD into the PS4 and we all sat back in our seats as the movie began.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           Before long, we’d finished the movie whereupon Savannah and I turned to our friends for their thoughts on what we’d seen.

           “So what’d you guys think?” Savannah questioned.

           “That.  Was.  AWESOME!!!” Rainbow exclaimed. “I just loved how much darker this movie was when compared to most other Disney movies.  Not that other Disney movies didn’t have their own dark moments, but this was certainly the most ballsiest out of any other movie I, or any of us, have seen previously.  Plus, I’d have to say that Frollo is my favorite villain to ever come out of a Disney movie.”

           “Frollo certainly is the most complex and three-dimensional villain we’ve witnessed from any Disney movie,” Twilight agreed, “and the movie brought up some interesting issues regarding prejudice and acceptance.”

           “As far as Ah’m concerned,” I began, “this movie is a prime testament ta tha fact that animated movies don’ hafta be strictly fer kids, but can jus' as easily provide plenty o’ thought-provokin’ ideas ‘n commentary fer adults ta pick up.”

           “No doubt ‘bout that, Sugarcube,” AJ affirmed.

           “My favorite part was the gargoyles!” Pinkie stated excitedly.

           “Ugh,” Rainbow protested. “I thought they were really obnoxious to be completely honest.”

           “I also felt like they were the weakest element of the movie, but I’d almost be more willing to accept them if they were just figments of Quasimodo’s imagination,” Twilight commented. “For a while, it actually seemed like that was the route that they were going with which I think could’ve added an interesting yet tragic element to Quasimodo’s personality, but then they decide that they’re really real in the end by having them fight off the soldiers.”

           “That was such a major letdown in my opinion,” Rarity bemoaned.

           “I found Quasimodo to be such a kind-hearted, likable character all throughout the movie,” Fluttershy stated, “and I was extremely shocked in that one scene at the beginning where Frollo almost drowned him as a baby, but I also felt kinda sad that Quasimodo didn’t wind up with Esmeralda at the end.”

           “Ah’m of mixed minds when it comes ta that, honestly,” I started. “Much like you, Ah also felt sad that he didn’t get tha girl when Ah felt that tha two of ‘em had much better chemistry when compared ta her ‘n Phoebus who Ah felt they jus’ spouted off one-liners at each other.  Not ta mention that Ah felt like her windin’ up with tha ‘good-lookin’, knight in shinin’ armor’ was super cliched ‘n kinda unnecessary.

           “But, on tha other hand, sev’ral people Ah know have brought up tha fact that this was more indicative of real life in that tha protagonist doesn’t always get tha girl.  Additionally, Quasimodo’s main goal in tha story wasn’t gettin’ a girl, but receivin’ acceptance from tha outside world fer who he was ‘n a girl would’ve distracted from that goal so, in tha end, Ah can kinda see both arguments ‘n how each one holds water in their own respective manner.  Neither one is particularly wrong in all honesty.”

           “Something that I really enjoy about this movie is the Latin choir that sings during the majority of it,” Savannah added. “David and I always enjoy movies that have that kind of choir utilized in their soundtracks.”

           “Latin?” Twilight puzzled.

           “It’s a much older language from tha earlier period o’ this world,” I explained. “In this movie, tha choir mostly shows up durin’ any moment regardin’ Frollo which Ah thought was a pretty interestin’ choice from a thematic standpoint.”

           “It sure was,” Rainbow affirmed, “and I particularly liked a good amount of the songs that featured the choir like ‘The Bells Of Notre Dame’ and ‘Hellfire’.”

           “Hellfire is among my favorite villain songs ever, mostly because of how different it was from other villain songs,” Savannah stated. “As many of you have probably noticed from watching previous Disney movies, almost all of the villain songs sung have been about the villain stating how evil they are and/or putting their diabolical schemes into motion.

           “Hellfire, on the other hand, works differently.  Instead of reveling in his evilness, Frollo sings about his struggle with lust brought on by his sexual desires and how that sin is eating away at him.  It’s a much more tortured look at a villain that you don’t see as much.  Not to mention that both that song and ‘The Bells Of Notre Dame’ have similar theming if you listen closely to the choir in the background.”

           “Ah kinda noticed those similarities too,” AJ answered, “even if Ah couldn’t quite make out what they were even sayin’.”

           I chuckled softly before speaking up.

           “Whataya guys say we go through some more of yer show?”

           “Sounds good to me,” Rainbow affirmed.

           “Yuppers!” Pinkie piped up.

           “Definitely,” Flutters replied.

           “This season is much shorter,” Savannah started, “only 13 episodes instead of the usual 26, so we should be able to make it through the entire season no problem.”

           “Well let’s get to it then,” AJ spoke up.

           “Sure thing, AJ,” I agreed.

           And with that, we all sat back to watch Season 3 of the show, enjoying each others’ company all the while.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           A few hours later, we sat around the kitchen table eating a modest lunch of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, having flown through the entire 3rd season of their show a short while earlier.  As one might expect, having seen 13 episodes all at once, there was clearly a lot for us to talk about.

           “How’d you guys enjoy Season 3?” Savannah questioned.

           “Personally,” Twilight began, “I felt like even though it was a shorter season than most that a lot of important information was brought up in that one season alone.”

           “I’ll say,” Rarity remarked as she cut her sandwich into pieces before using a fork to dip the pieces into her soup, much like a fondue. “From the Crystal Empire reappearing to the bidding for them to host the Equestria Games, I’m surprised I could even keep up with it all.”

           “Somethin’ Ah was thinkin’ of,” I started, “was when Rainbow Dash was jus’ a filly ‘n how devastated she was when Cloudsdale wasn’t chosen ta host tha Equestria Games.”

           “Tell me about it, twin,” Rainbow commented before biting into her sandwich.

           “It kinda made me think o’ tha same way Ah felt ‘bout a year ago when Boston, tha capital o’ ma home state Massachusetts, was taken outta tha biddin fer tha 2024 Summer Olympic Games.”

           “Oh my,” Flutters replied after swallowing a mouthful of soup. “That must’ve been absolutely devastating for you.”

           “It certainly was a disappointment ta put it mildly.  Even though Ah’m not from Boston, there’s soo much that city’s been through recently with tha Boston Marathon bombing ‘n tha-”

           “Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!!!” Rainbow blurted out, taking a few seconds before speaking again. “Bombing?!?”

           “Yup,” Savannah answered sadly. “3 people killed and over 200 injured.”

           All of our friends looked at us with pure shock in their eyes at those statistics as if they themselves had a hard time believing what’d been mentioned.

           “Over 200?!?” AJ finally broke the awkward silence.

           “Sorry ta admit it, but it’s true.  Tha world we live in is full o’ soo much hatred ‘n violence towards others who are different.  But enough ‘bout that.  Let’s get back ta talkin’ bout yer show.”

           “Personally, I found it awfully fitting that the season we watched ended the way it did with Twilight becoming an Alicorn Princess,” Fluttershy answered softly.

           “Ah enjoyed that too, but, strangely enough, Twilight becomin’ an Alicorn Princess is one o’ tha mos’ hated moments in tha show’s history ‘n Ah can’t fer tha life o’ me understand why?”

           “Neither can I,” Savannah agreed. “I mean, all you have to do is look at the song that Princess Celestia sang to Twilight before her ascension for proof.  Did she come a long way?  Yes.  Did we watch her from the beginning?  Yes.  Did she make us proud of how far she’d come?  Yes.  So why does everyone go busting their balls over something soo miniscule and non-offending as this?”

           “I dunno,” Pinkie shrugged.

           “Thank Celestia that nopony back home makes such a big deal out of that,” Twilight added. “Besides it’s not like something that I had complete control over whether or not it would happen.  That’s just life.”

           “Ah guess some people jus aren’t able or willin’ ta see past reality,” I stated.

           “Well I’d say that we’re quite lucky to have friends like you who don’t make such a big fuss over something like that,” Rarity answered, wiping a napkin along her lips.

           “Hey,” Savannah began, “it’s no problem at all.”

           Rarity gave a soft smile back before I spoke up.

           “Hey.  Do ya girls know what tomorrow night is?”

           The girls all had puzzled expressions on their faces as they looked at each other before finally shrugging.

           “Tha Oscars.”

           “Ohhh!” they replied simultaneously upon realization.

           “Is it really that time already?” Fluttershy questioned. “Time here just seems to be going by extremely fast, much faster than even I would’ve expected.”

           “Sure does, Sugarcube,” AJ concurred.

           “And we’re going to make the most of every minute,” Twilight added with a gentle smile.

           “Amen ta that sister,” I affirmed as we soaked up these moments with each other while we still had them.  If only I’d known beforehand what lay ahead.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


True to what Fluttershy mentioned, time did go by quicker than any of us expected.  One minute we were watching Disney’s Hercules and the next minute it was Sunday night with all of us getting set to watch the Oscars together.  Just before the show officially started, I walked in with a large bowl of popcorn mixed with several boxes of Buncha Crunch for us to snack on while watching.

“Anyone up fer a snack?” I asked as I set the bowl down on the coffee table.

“Uh doi!” Pinkie piped up.

Applejack looked into the bowl, swiftly noticing the Buncha Crunch pieces scattered throughout before speaking up.

“Um… ‘scuse me, Sugarcube, but what’re those brown things in there?  Are they like… burnt pieces o’ popcorn?”

“Oh no no no no no,” I quickly replied. “Those are Buncha Crunch, crispy rice puff clusters coated in chocolate.  Ah jus put ‘em together ‘cuz Ah know of quite a few people who like ta combine tha sweet with tha salty.  Trus’ me.  Ah know better than ta give burnt popcorn ta ma friends.”

“Um guys,” Fluttershy started, “I think the show’s about to start soon.”

“Thanks, Flutters.”

And so we settled in to watch the Oscars while munching on our snacks.  The girls seemed to enjoy it pretty well in spite of knowing absolutely nothing about any of the movies.  Before long, we were treated to the first Best Original Song nominee performance of the night: Can’t Stop The Feeling by Justin Timberlake.  This was the first time any of them had seen Timberlake himself and Rarity was the first to remark.

“Oh my!” she swooned. “Doesn’t he look like quite the dashing gentlecolt.”

“Justin Timberlake is famously known fer bein one o’ tha greatest entertainers of our time.  He has a certain class ‘n sophistication that ya don’ often see nowadays.  Much li-”

I was cut off immediately by the phone ringing in the kitchen.

“‘Scuse me.  Ah’ll be right back.”

Heading into the kitchen, I picked up the phone and looked at the Caller ID to see that it was my mom calling.  I instantly answered.

“Hey mom.”

“Hi David,” she answered with a shakiness to her voice.

“What’s wrong?” I asked out of concern.

“I was on the phone… with one of your aunts earlier,” I heard her swallow hard before finally speaking. “Your Grandpa Joe… was found dead in his apartment today.”

This news hit me really hard.  Grandpa Joe was my mom’s stepdad, but he pretty much was the only father figure she’d had throughout her life and he never treated my siblings any differently just because he wasn’t our biological grandpa; we were all blood to him.  My mom’s voice snapped me back to reality.

“Coroners say that he’d been dead for quite a while before they found him.”

That statement brought up a new wave of terror in me.  He hadn’t, had he?  I needed to find out from mom.

“Do they know when exactly he died?”

“Why would that matter?”

“Please mom,” I begged. “Ah jus' need ta know.”

“O.K.  They say that he died… on Friday.”
> Chapter X:  A Shadow Of Doubt
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

           It was in that moment that my heart stopped completely.  That confirmation of when he’d died only further validated the fears I’d previously held onto, fears that I’d been foolish enough to think I could let go of.  This shadowy figure who’d haunted my dreams was right all along.  He’d predicted that Friday wouldn’t pass without me losing someone who I held close and that through this event happening I’d lose everyone I loved most.

           “David?” my mom’s voice rang out on the other end, snapping me out of my “blue screen of death”.

           “Uh- yes, mom?”

           “Are you O.K.?”

           “Ah mean… aside from tha obvious… Ah guess so.”

           “O.K.  Just know that you can call me anytime if you have something that concerns you.”

           “Ah know,” I replied rather half-heartedly.

           “I love you and I’ll talk to you more later.  Tell Savannah and Ariel that I love them too.”

           “Ah will ‘n Ah love you too.  Bye,” I stated before hanging up the phone.

           I loved my mom and, on many occasions, I could go to her to bring up anything that might’ve bothered me.  This, however, was a whole ‘nother situation.  Neither she, nor anyone else in my family for that matter, knew about my escapades in Equestria or even that I was close friends with the Mane 6.  All they knew was that it was just a show I really enjoyed.  Pure Fantasy.  Nothing more.

           Bringing up anything about what’d really been happening over the past few years was a surefire ticket right back to the loony bin.  But if I couldn’t bring it up with her, who could I bring it up with?  As much as I was tempted to let the girls in on my current predicament, the last thing that they needed at that time was to be burdened by someone else’s problems, especially when they’d come to relax and take a break from the normal demands of having to save Equestria for the 8 billionth time.

           And what about Savannah?  These dreams I’d been having concerned her just as much.  In that moment, though, all I could think of was the Star Wars prequels.  More specifically, how Anakin had those prophetic nightmares that, whenever he told anyone else about them or even took steps towards preventing them from happening, they came to fruition anyways.  I was also reminded of a quote I’d heard long ago, that “one often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it”.

           As far as I was concerned, this would take some time to figure out how to handle properly.  For the time being, though, no one would know about these dreams until the time was right.  When that time would be right, though, was anyone’s guess.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           2 weeks later and I still hadn’t come up with when the best time would be to explain myself to the others.  In that time, we’d made it through the remaining Disney animated movies, ending with Zootopia, and I’d begun leading them through the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making it all the way up to Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  As far as their show went, me and Savannah caught them up on the first 2 Equestria Girls movies, all of Season 4, and part of Season 5, stopping after the “Slice Of Life” episode.

           I had previously told the girls that we’d get around to watching The Wizard Of Oz after the Disney movies in order to prepare them for when we’d go to see Wicked on Broadway along with The Phantom Of The Opera.  Now, we were 4 days away from going to see them and I’d purposefully kept them from watching the movie itself.

           My reasoning for this was that, over the past couple of weeks, I’d been thinking about the prophesied dreams I’d been having.  The more I thought about them, the more I began to think to myself, “What if this is the exact same event that causes me to lose everyone?”  For those reasons, I’d blocked it from my mind, hoping that the others would forget it just as easily if it were never brought up at all.

           We had just finished a rather filling dinner of homemade macaroni and cheese when Fluttershy gazed out the window at the night sky.

           “Look!” she exclaimed, in hushed excitement. “The full moon is out tonight.”

           The rest of us made our way over to the windows to discover that this was indeed the case.

           “It’s soo beautiful,” Rarity remarked.

           “That it is,” AJ agreed.

           “I just got an idea,” Savannah began, holding Ariel. “Why don’t we go for a walk on the beach under the moonlight?  We don’t get to do it that often and I’m sure that you girls would find it quite enjoyable.”

           “That sounds great, babe,” I replied.

           “Yes indeedly!” Pinkie piped up.

           And so, after getting ourselves bundled up properly, we made our way out into the frigid night to walk along the beach under the light of the full moon.  To that day, I still remembered the first time I’d ever gotten to partake in such a moment about 2-3 years earlier.  I remembered the light of the full moon shining down on the ocean, the glow of it shimmering on the waves like a bed of diamonds on a sapphire tapestry.  It was a truly magical moment that I was glad to be able to scratch off of my bucket list.

           This night was very similar except that I was able to share it with my closest friends.  One could say that their presence made that night all the more special which would be hard to disagree with.  We walked along the sandy shore hand in hand, simply enjoying each other’s company, none of us speaking a word as we took in this beautiful moment together.  Finally, though, Savannah broke the silence.

           “I just realized something.”

           “What’s that?” Fluttershy questioned.

           “We’re going to see Wicked in a few days and none of you have even seen The Wizard Of Oz yet.”

           My heart immediately sank at the mention of that movie.  I’d been putting it off for as long as I could, hoping that everyone would forget about it and we’d be able to avoid it all together.  Now that Savannah had brought it up, there was no way that it would escape from anyone’s memory any time soon.  Thinking as quickly as I could, I tried to come up with some form of excuse as to why we shouldn’t go to New York.

           “Ah’ve been thinkin that maybe it’s not such a good idea fer us ta go ta New York after all.”

           “Why not?” Savannah puzzled.

           “Because Ah don’ think New York is exactly tha best place fer us ta be bringin’ tha girls.  It’s too risky ‘n hazardous fer ‘em.”

           “Pfft.  Hahahahahaha!” Rainbow laughed. “That’s a good one, twin.”

           “Ah’m dead serious, Rainbow!” I stated, slightly annoyed at my concerns towards my friends being mocked in such a manner.

           “David,” Twilight began, “you’re forgetting that we’ve been in plenty of perilous locations and situations before so it’s nothing we’re not already familiar with.”

           “It kinda comes with the territory,” Rainbow added.

           “Even I have to admit that it’s not really as dangerous as you’re making it out to be,” Savannah answered.

           “Oh come on!” I protested. “Ah thought you were supposed ta be on ma side.”

           “It’s true, though.  You’ve already been there before with a group of friends and none of you came across any problems.  How can this be any different?”

Because your very life might depend on it. I thought to myself.

           “Besides,” Rarity started, “all of us were really looking forward to seeing both Phantom Of The Opera and Wicked soo much.  It was meant to be the finale to our whole trip here.”

           “Exactly.  You don’t want to disappoint the girls like this when they’re supposed to be enjoying themselves here do you?”

           In that moment, I was strongly thinking of objecting to this by flat-out telling all of them about the nightmares that I’d had.  I was even screaming it out loud in my mind.  A few things kept me from saying what was on my mind, though.

           One was that we had agreed to end their time here with both shows.  Going back on that now would put me in the position of “Indian giver” which I wasn’t about to let happen.  Next was the fact that, as much as I hated to admit it, Savannah, Twilight, and Rainbow had legitimate points.  I had been to New York before with friends and the girls had been in dangerous situations before, handling themselves pretty well in said situations.

           A thought that had just occurred to me in that moment was the fact that we’d be in a group.  Even if there were a threat that would take place, we’d at least have strength in numbers.  Finally, even when I considered telling them all about my nightmares, I couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility that telling them, or even trying to prevent it from happening, would be the exact same thing that would cause the nightmares to come to pass.  So finally, I relented.

           “O.K.  How bout we watch tha movie after we get back from our walk?  We can finish off tha night with it.”

           “Sounds good ta me, Sugarcube,” AJ remarked, “but, fer now, let’s jus enjoy our walk along tha beach.”

           And, sure enough, not another word was spoken as we walked along under the moon’s cerulean glow enjoying each other’s company all the while.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           Later on that night, long after Ariel had fallen asleep, we had finished watching The Wizard Of Oz when I turned to my friends to see what their thoughts were on the movie.

           “So how’d ya guys enjoy it?”

           “It was O.K.,” Rainbow dismissed.

           “I thought it was… about average,” Twilight stated. “I’m guessing that this was one of the first real life movies to incorporate color?”

           “That it was,” Savannah stated. “Many decades ago, movies and pictures were mostly done in black and white.  The reason for this was because color film and pictures were extremely expensive to produce.”

           “Oh my!” Fluttershy remarked. “That must mean that this was a pretty expensive movie when it first came out.”

           “Mhmm.”

           “Anyways, there were a couple of moments that I took issue with in the movie,” Twilight continued. “One of them was the fact that the Wicked Witch Of The West was defeated by having water splashed on her.  Are we supposed to believe that she went her entire life without ever coming in contact with water once?  Or for that matter, even taking a shower?  She must’ve smelled terrible.”

           “Tell me ‘bout it,” I concurred.

           “Additionally, I thought it was really kind of jerky of Glinda to send Dorothy on this long quest when she could’ve just returned home to Kansas at any point.”

           “I know, right?” Rainbow added before briefly mimicking Glinda. “‘You wouldn’t have believed me if I told you.’  Horse apples she wouldn’t have!  And what was with that wizard?  For a movie called The Wizard Of Oz, the wizard is kinda the weakest element of the entire story and just as much of a jerk as Glinda.”

           “I also took issue with the fact that, earlier on, Glinda outright stated that only good witches are beautiful and only bad witches are ugly,” Rarity stated. “That just seemed insultingly discriminatory.”

           “All in all,” AJ finished up, “tha movie was O.K.  Nothin’ too spectacular.”

           “Somethin Ah feel Ah should mention is that this movie came out durin a much earlier period o’ film where a lot more focus was put on how ta get an emotional response from tha audience rather than tellin a consistent story,” I began. “Much like Snow White And The Seven Dwarves, it was more visual ‘n emotional in order fer tha endin’ ta seem all tha more rewardin’.  That’s not ta say any o’ these are bad films.  They still have people who come back ‘n watch ‘em all these years later.”

           “I really enjoyed the character of the Cowardly Lion,” Fluttershy remarked.

           I couldn’t help but smile at her comment.  It didn’t really surprise me that much as Fluttershy had a lot in common with him.  The biggest commonality that came to mind being that both of them are more powerful than they realize, their own self-doubt serving as the barrier that prevents that realization.

           “Well Ah don’ know ‘bout you guys, but Ah’m bout ready ta call it a night,” I yawned.

           “I’m right there with ya, twin,” Rainbow agreed.

           Getting up, I made my way to the back bathroom to brush my teeth.  As this was going on, I was trying more and more to let go of my worriedness and fears about us going to New York.  We were going as a group anyways, so there shouldn’t be any problems.

           I had just finished rinsing out my mouth when I heard Ariel crying from mine and Savannah’s bedroom.  Rushing out of the bathroom, I made my way to our room in order to comfort our daughter and hopefully get her to fall back asleep.  As I reached the door, I heard a soft voice coming from inside.

           “Shh.  It’s O.K.  Fluttershy’s here now.”

           Walking in, I saw Fluttershy holding Ariel in her arms, gently rocking her to calm her down.  It was in that moment when she sang a soft lullaby to little Ariel.

           “Hush now, dear young one,

           There's no need to fear,

           For all those who love you,

           Will always be near.

           Rest now, dear young one,

           Close your sweet eyes,

           And in the morning,

           The sun will rise.”

           And as Ariel let out a soft yawn, Fluttershy gently laid her back down in her crib.  Turning around, she finally noticed me standing in the doorway.

           “Oh.  I’m sorry.  I heard her crying and was trying to help her settle back in for the night.  Savannah said it was O.K.”

           “It’s a’ight,” I replied. “That was a really sweet song ya sang ta her.”

           “Oh.  Thanks,” she blushed. “It was a song my mother used to sing to me every night when I was just a filly.”

           It wasn’t long before we were joined by Savannah.

           “Is our daughter back asleep now?” Savannah questioned

           “Yes.  No problems at all.”

           “Thanks, Flutters.  The rest of the girls have gone to bed now so if you want you can join them.”

           “O.K.  Goodnight you two.”

           “Goodnight,” Savannah and I answered in unison.

           Settling in for the night, I now looked forward to the final few days that we had together, determined to make the most of them.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           The next day, we went through several more of the episodes from their show as well as finishing up the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Captain America: Civil War.  Having just finished the latter, I turned to my friends to find out what their thoughts were on the movie.  I was particularly curious as to what their thoughts were in regards to the movie’s inclusion of Spider-Man.

           “How’d ya guys enjoy tha movie?”

           “I’ve gotta say,” Rainbow began, “that was probably my favorite movie out of the whole series.”

           “I agree,” Twilight added. “What I really enjoyed was the moral complexities of the story itself.  Both sides had their good points and bad points so it keeps one guessing as to what the right choice is.  Not to mention that every character in the movie, even the newer ones, had very believable and understandable motivations.  The ending was also rather interesting as it didn’t really end on a positive note.  This team that we’ve become familiar with over the past several movies is now torn apart, leaving their future uncertain.”

           “I especially liked the Spider-Man character.”

           “Me too!” Pinkie piped up excitedly.

           I smiled softly at Rainbow and Pinkie’s comments before speaking up.

           “Yup.  Spider-Man is a pretty popular character not jus in Marvel but in comic books in general.  One o’ tha creators o’ Spider-Man, Stan Lee, was quoted sayin’ that if Mickey Mouse was Disney’s icon, Spider-Man is Marvel’s.”

           “Stan Lee?” Fluttershy puzzled.

           “Stan Lee is a guy who’s famous for creating the majority of Marvel superheroes, with a few others,” Savannah stated. “Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, X-Men, the list goes on.”

           “Woo-wee. That’s a lot o’ characters,” Applejack remarked.

           “That it certainly is,” Rarity concurred.

           “I just realized something,” Savannah spoke up.

           “What’s that babe?” I questioned.

           “There’s one last MCU movie we haven’t seen yet that just came out less than 2 weeks ago.”

           My eyes suddenly widened upon realization.

           “Right.  That Doctor Strange movie came out on tha 28th of las’ month.  Ah’d completely forgotten about that.”

           “You forgot?” Savannah asked in an incredulous, but not confrontational, manner. “Normally that’s the sort of thing that you’d stay well on top of.”

           “Yeah well Ah guess that, with ma granddad’s death happenin’ within a few days o’ that, it must’ve slipped ma mind,” I replied before being struck with an idea. “Hey.  Why don’ Ah go ta Wal-Mart ta pick up tha movie ‘n we can watch it once Ah get home?”

           “Are you sure about that, darling?” Rarity questioned. “We wouldn’t want to trouble you.”

           “Of course Ah’m sure.  Ah really want you guys ta see this movie mostly ‘cuz of all tha groundbreakin’ special effects it contains.  Ah’m sure y’all’ll really enjoy it.  In tha meantime, how bout ya guys watch some more of your show.  It won’t take too long.”

           “O.K.  We’ll be waiting for you,” Fluttershy stated.

           And so, grabbing my coat and shoes, I headed out into the night, mind focused on my goal.  At least for the time being.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           A half hour and several dollars later, I’d bought the Blu-Ray of Doctor Strange and was on my way back home.  On the way, as usual, I had the radio playing as I drove.  For a while, there were some pretty uplifting songs on the radio, some upbeat and peppy and some more relaxed and laid-back.

           But then, Everybody Hurts by R.E.M., a song I was all too familiar with, came on.  Even at a young age, that song always hit me really hard and with Grandpa Joe’s death only 2 weeks prior, this was one of the worst possible times that that song could’ve been playing at.  It didn’t exactly help that this song also made me think of the possibility of Savannah’s own demise.

           You, the reader, probably already know about my fear of falling from heights, but that’s not even my deepest fear.  My deepest fear for the longest time has been the fear of finding the love of my life only to lose them at a young age and, with Savannah having not even reached 21 yet, that fear was still at the forefront of my mind.  Where that fear had originated from I don’t know, but it’s possible that the movie A Walk To Remember might’ve played a part in that.  Either that or God knows how many Disney movies with their fake out deaths that played with my young mind.

           As those thoughts were running through my head, I almost didn’t realize that I had drifted slightly into the oncoming lane before a car horn blared, snapping me back to reality as I returned to my proper lane.  It was then that I turned the radio off as it was proving to be too much of a distraction at that time, driving home the rest of the way in complete silence.

           Before long, I’d reached home and walked through the front door in time to see the girls just finishing up the episode Crusaders Of The Lost Mark.  Savannah was the first to notice that I’d returned.

           “Hey babe.  You got the movie?”

           “Right here,” I stated, holding it up for the others to see.

           “Cool!” Rainbow exclaimed.

           “I ordered pizza while you were gone,” Savannah continued. “It should be here any minute.”

           As if on cue, there was a knock at the front door.  Opening it up, there was the pizza delivery man with several boxes of pizza in his hand.  After I paid for the pizzas and took them off of him, he thanked me for the money and left while I closed the door and brought the pizza boxes over to the table before setting them down, the aroma of melted cheese emanating strongly from within.

           “Well that was pretty good timing,” Twilight remarked. “We can just eat our pizza while watching the movie.”

           “That’s exactly what I was thinking!” Pinkie agreed enthusiastically.

           “Yeah.  I don’t see any problem with that,” Savannah added.

           And so, after dishing up our pizza, pouring some soda, praying, and popping in the Blu-Ray, we all settled in to end the night off right: together.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           A couple hours later, we’d finished up Doctor Strange as well as our pizza before me and Savannah looked to the girls to find out what their thoughts were on the movie.  Before either of us could speak, though, Rainbow was the first one to comment.

           “Sweet mother of Celestia was that movie awesome!!!  It’s incredible how they managed to pull off such mind-blowing visuals like that.  It all looked soo real.”

           “Definitely,” Rarity concurred. “The visuals were indeed spectacular and I thought the villain was somewhat better than previous villains in the series.”

           “Loki seems like the only legitimately good villain that these Marvel movies have had thus far,” Twilight began, “but Kaecilius was definitely a step up from others.”

           “Me ‘n Savannah got tha opportunity ta see this movie in 3-D when it first came out in theaters ‘n it was GORGEOUS!!!” I exclaimed. “This was definitely a movie that used 3-D technology properly in order ta enhance tha viewin’ experience.”

           “Aw man,” Pinkie groaned. “I really wish that we could’ve gotten the chance to see it in 3-D.”

           “Maybe one o’ these days, we might be able ta make that a possibility,” I started, “but, fer now, Ah think we should get some rest fer tomorrow.”

           “What’s tomorrow?”

           “Tomorrow’s when we go ta Dickinson’s like Ah promised you guys we would.”

           At that statement, Pinkie’s eyes brightened up as a smile spread across her face and she ran over to hug me tightly.

           “Oh thank you soo much Davey!!!  You’re one of the best friends anypony could ever ask for.”

           “Yer welcome,” I squeaked as she hugged me soo hard I had trouble breathing.

           “Umm… Pinkie,” AJ began, “Ah think ya should let him go now.”

           “Ooops.  Sorry,” she answered, letting go of me.

           “It’s O.K.,” I chuckled. “Now how bout we get some rest so that we’re all ready fer tomorrow?”

           “You got it.”

           “Sounds good to me,” Fluttershy yawned in agreement.

           And with that, we made our way off to our separate rooms and settled in for the night, looking forward to all that tomorrow might hold.
> Chapter XI:  Quality Time With Friends
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

           The next morning, as promised, all of us went to Dickinson’s Candy Store after breakfast.  On our way over, Pinkie could hardly keep in her excitement as she happily hopped up and down our whole way over there.  Upon finally entering the store, her eyes widened with a ravenous gleam at the vast selection of candies the store contained.

           “Wow!” she exclaimed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this much candy in one place before!”

           “You can say that again, Sugarcube,” AJ agreed.

           “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this much candy in one place before!”

           The rest of us chuckled at Pinkie’s parroted remark before we were approached by one of the employees.

           “Hello,” she greeted, pleasantly. “Is this your first time here?”

           “Me ‘n ma wife have been here before,” I began, “but this is tha first time fer our friends here.”

           “O.K.  Well, just to let you guys know, you’re more than welcome to try a sample of our taffy and fudge.”

           “Thanks for that heads-up,” Rainbow remarked.

           “You’re welcome.  If you need anything else, just let one of us know.”

           “We appreciate that very much, darling,” Rarity replied.

           “Remember, Polly,” Savannah directed towards Pinkie, “that’s a sample of taffy and fudge.”

           “O.K.,” Pinkie replied with slight disappointment.

           The employee then left us with a smile to continue her work before I turned to our friends.

           “Jus so that ya guys know, some o’ tha candy here already has prices listed on ‘em, but others, like what ya find in tha plastic containers, their price is determined by pounds.  They even have scales that ya can fill up a bag with ‘n have it measured how much it costs based on weight.”

           “Good to know,” Twilight commented.

           “Now go help yourselves to however much you can afford,” Savannah stated with a smile.

           “Thanks again you guys!” Pinkie beamed.

           And so, our friends quickly went off to see what candies caught their eyes.  With Ariel on her hip, Savannah followed close behind the girls to check out the other candies while I made my way over to the fudge stand.  Fudge had always been kind of an iffy area for me as any fudge that was chocolate based had the very high possibility of being cross contaminated with nuts so, often times, I was limited to only purchasing Cookies And Cream Fudge.

           But the previous year, Dickinson’s had released a new flavor of fudge that wasn’t chocolate based: Key Lime.  Being the big time citrus lover that I am, I looked forward to every opportunity that I had to buy it and today was no exception as I’d had to go without it for the past several months during the off-season.  Reaching the fudge stand, I was quick to speak up to the man behind the counter.

           “Could Ah please get 2 pounds of yer Key Lime Fudge?”

           “Sure thing,” he answered as he went to box up my purchase.

           Upon receiving the package and thanking him for his services, I went to join the others.  Pinkie was loading up her bag with all the taffy, jelly beans, gummy candies, and anything else that she could fit in it.  The others were filling up their bags as well as grabbing some of the other candy that already had prices on them like Nerds, Pixie Stix, and candy bars.

           Joining them, I grabbed a few packs of Mallow Cups.  Mallow Cups are similar to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups except that they have marshmallow in the center rather than peanut butter.  They’d been a favorite of mine for a while as I’d often get them whenever my dad took me to one of the local convenience stores back home when I was much younger.  Grabbing a few Giant Blue Pixie Stix and filling up a bag with gummy candies, I turned my attention over to the girls.

           “You guys jus’ ‘bout ready ta checkout?”

           “I am,” Fluttershy spoke up, holding her bag of about a pound or so of assorted candies.

           “So am I,” Twilight stated.

           “Ah’m ready if you are,” AJ affirmed. “Plus, Ah think it’s a good time fer us ta head out before Polly here gets too carried away candywise.”

           “Tell me about it,” Rainbow laughed.

           “Hey,” Pinkie protested, “I can stop anytime I want to… starting tomorrow.”

           It was impossible for me not to crack a smile at Pinkie’s reply as we all made our way over to the checkout line with our purchases.  Several minutes and a good chunk of money later, we were out of the store and on our way back home.  On the way, I decided to bring up their show as we were almost caught up with it.

           “You guys wanna watch some more o’ yer show when we get back?  We only have ‘bout 34 more episodes ta go through as well as tha other 2 Equestria Girls movies.”

           “I’m up for it, twin,” Rainbow replied.

           “Me too,” AJ concurred.

           “By my calculations,” Twilight started, “if there are 34 episodes left, each one about 20 minutes long, and you divide that by the number of minutes in an hour, we only have about 11 more hours of it to watch.  Add to that the movies at a little over an hour each and it comes to about 13 ½ hours total.  We might even be able to get them done before the day is up, leaving tomorrow wide open for whatever we feel like before going to New York the day afterwards.”

           “Precisely what Ah was thinkin,” I answered.

           “I’ve gotta say that it’s been an absolute joy having you guys here these past few weeks,” Savannah proclaimed.

           “Anything for our friends, darling,” Rarity began, “and we’ve had an incredible time with you guys, getting to learn more about your culture and the like.”

           “It was our pleasure,” I smiled as we continued our walk home simply enjoying these final few moments with each other, never expecting how it would all fall apart sooner than we would’ve thought.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           Several hours later, we’d made our way through more of the show as well as the Friendship Games movie, stopping for a bit after the “Hearth’s Warming Tail” episode.  During our time of watching the show, we’d been snacking on the candy we’d purchased from Dickinson’s; Pinkie had eaten about ¾ of her bag within that period.  Deciding that we needed something more substantial than just candy, I went ahead and made a late lunch for us consisting of cheeseburgers and crinkle cut fries while Ariel ate Cheerios in her highchair.

           It had been about a month since the girls had last eaten anything with meat so I figured that this wouldn’t be too much of a problem for them as our time together was winding down.  As we enjoyed our meal together, we discussed some of the episodes that we’d just watched.

           “So how’re you guys enjoying your show thus far?” Savannah questioned.

           “I really enjoyed the season premiere with my niece, Flurry Heart,” Twilight replied.

           “I thought the episode with Spike taking part in that dragon competition was pretty cool,” Rainbow stated after swallowing a mouthful of cheeseburger.

           “One o’ ma personal favorites outta tha ones we jus’ saw was tha one with ma friend RaRa,” AJ answered back. “How bout you guys?”

           “Well,” I began, “one o’ ma favorites would hafta be tha Hearth’s Warmin’ Eve one with Twilight tellin’ that story ta Starlight Glimmer.  It actually reminds me of another story centerin’ ‘round Christmas, our world’s version of Hearth’s Warmin’.”

           “What story is that?” Fluttershy asked.

           “It’s a story called ‘A Christmas Carol’, a story written almos’ 2 centuries ago that has gone through many different retellin’s ‘n adaptations over tha years.  Tha main character was a man named Ebenezer Scrooge who had a hatred fer Christmas ‘n cared much more fer money than anythin’ else ‘til one night he was led by 3 spirits through Christmases Past, Present, ‘n Yet Ta Come.

           “Somethin’ that Ah found particularly interestin’ is how both that story ‘n tha Hearth’s Warmin’ story Twi told Starlight both have a real dark side to ‘em in regards to what’s presented to tha main characters by tha spirits of tha future.”

           “Oh?  How’s that?” Twi puzzled.

           “Well, in tha case of Ebenezer Scrooge, tha Ghost O’ Christmases Yet Ta Come shows him a future in which he’s responsible fer tha death of a little boy, tha son of his overworked ‘n underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit, as well as tha fact that, when Scrooge himself dies, no one even gives a shit.  No one mourns his passin’ ‘n even some people who were deeply indebted ta him were actually glad he died.

           “As fer Snowfall Frost, tha Spirit O’ Hearth’s Warmin’s Yet Ta Come revealed ta her that, if she were ta go through with tha spell she was makin’ in order ta erase tha holiday entirely, all of Equestria would be doomed.  There’d be no love in pony’s hearts allowin’ fer tha Windigos ta return, turnin’ Equestria into a frozen wasteland.”

           “Oh my!” Fluttershy remarked. “Those are much darker circumstances.”

           “That they definitely are,” Rarity agreed.

           “Something that I found interesting and kinda funny was how Twilight actually managed to pull off Pinkie Pie’s voice in that one scene with the song she was singing,” Savannah added.

           Twilight blushed a little before replying.

           “I think that a huge part of that was just the fact that, as I was reading the story, I couldn’t help but notice similarities between the characters in the story and the other ponies I knew.”

           “Do you know if you could do it again?”

           “And the reason is to be with your friends,” Twilight answered, quoting the line from the episode while sounding exactly like Pinkie Pie in that moment.

           I couldn’t help but giggle a little at her response while also being amazed at how she’d actually managed to pull that off.

           “Wow.  That was impressive, Twilight,” Pinkie commented.

           “Mhmm,” I concurred.

           It was in that moment that Ariel let out an easily noticeable yawn.

           “Looks like someone’s ready for a nap,” Savannah chimed in while picking her up out of her highchair. “I’ll get her ready for bed.”

           “You do that ma love,” I replied as she went into our room before I turned to our friends. “So do ya guys feel up fer watchin’ more of yer show?”

           “Uh huh,” Fluttershy answered softly.

           “Sounds good ta me,” AJ added.

           “Definitely!” Rainbow exclaimed.

           And so, with plates polished off and put in the dishwasher, we settled back in the living room to continue through their show, determined to make it through before the day was up.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           By the end of the day, we’d completely made it through the girls’ entire show; Ariel woke up as we were watching Stranger Than Fan Fiction and we paused for bowls of cheesy potato soup after Viva Las Pegasus.  At the time, we were just finishing up the Legend Of Everfree movie and the girls seemed very intently focused on it all the way to the end.  Having finally made our way through their entire show and the Equestria Girls movies, it felt like a major accomplishment that I was glad to have been able to share with them.

           “So what’d you guys think?” Savannah asked as Legend Of Everfree finished.

           “I almost can’t believe we actually made it all the way through them,” Rainbow remarked.

           “I know right?” Twilight agreed. “All 143 episodes and 4 movies.”

           “It seems like soo much time and yet hardly any time at all,” Fluttershy stated.

           “Quite right,” Rarity concurred.

           “It’s incredible how time flies by soo fast,” Pinkie piped up.

           “Something I’ve gotta say, though,” Twilight began, “is that I feel really sorry for human Flash Sentry in that alternate world.  The way that he crushes on that world’s Twilight thinking she’s me only for her to turn him down.”

           “Yup,” I commented. “Ah can definitely see that.  Ah felt pretty sorry fer him too.”

           “I remember once hearing someone compare human Flash Sentry’s situation to meeting a girl and falling in love with her all while she loves you back, but she ends up dying in a tragic accident then you find out that girl has an identical twin sister who, because she looks soo much like the other girl, you end up falling for her only for her to not reciprocate those affections and fall for another guy,” Savannah mentioned.

           “Ah’m purdy sure that’s an accurate description,” AJ answered, “even though Twi ain’t really dead.  She’s just livin’ in Equestria.”

           “Considering how far away both worlds are from each other, it probably feels like she is to him,” Fluttershy added, sadly.

           “I wonder,” Savannah began, clearly trying to change the subject, “if me or David would ever get the opportunity to go to that world?”

           “I dunno.  Maybe?” Twilight replied.

           “We can prob’ly talk ‘bout that another time,” I started, “but fer now, Ah think Ah’m jus’ ‘bout ready ta call it a night.”

           “You read my mind,” Rarity remarked, stretching as she rose to her feet.

           Ariel started rubbing her eyes as Savannah picked her up before speaking.

           “I think all of us could use some rest.  Tomorrow’s a new day with plenty of possibilities.”

           “See you guys in the morning,” Fluttershy yawned.

           And with that, we all retired to our respective rooms.  As Savannah got Ariel settled in for the night and then joined me in bed, we fell into deep, restful sleep, looking forward to all that tomorrow had in store for us.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           The next morning, we sat around the breakfast table eating bowls of cereal while discussing what our plans were for that day.

           “So do you girls have any ideas fer today?” I questioned.

           “Personally,” Twi started, “I was hoping to finish up that Chronicles Of Narnia series.  All I have left to read is The Last Battle and I’d like to have it done before tomorrow.  I’m sure that we’ll have soo much going on with both musicals that there won’t be much time for anything else.”

           “Knowing how large New York City is and all there is to do there, that sounds like a pretty accurate description,” Savannah concurred.

           “Especially if it’s anything like Manehattan back home,” Rarity added.

           “Oh Ah have no doubt that you’ll find it ta be pretty similar size-wise,” I stated. “It is a big city ‘n easy fer one ta get lost in if they’re not familiar with tha area.  Fortunately, Ah still have a map o’ tha city from when Ah was last there almos’ 3 years ago that Ah’ve memorized quite well.”

           “That’s good to know,” Fluttershy spoke up.

           “Hey, twin, were you planning on getting any writing done today?” Rainbow asked. “I just realized that it’s been awhile since we’ve last seen you do that.”

           “Ya know, that’s not a bad idea, Dashie,” I replied. “Ah might jus’ do that after breakfast.  Any o’ you girls feel like joinin’ me?”

           “I suppose it might be interesting to check out,” Rarity answered, “especially as this could be the last time any of us get to experience that.”

           “I’m in!” Dash exclaimed.

           “I’d like to participate,” Flutters stated, softly.

           “Thanks fer askin’, Sugarcube,” AJ began, “but Ah think Ah’ll help Savannah with takin’ care of Ariel.”

           “Me too,” Pinkie followed up.

           “How bout you, Twi?” I questioned.

           “I’m good, thanks,” she replied. “I’ll just spend my time reading The Last Battle.”

           “K.”

           And so, we finished off our cereal bowls before putting them away in the dishwasher and going off to our own respective corners of the house.  I carried 3 of the kitchen chairs into my office to provide seating for Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash while I did my writing.  Once I got settled in, I pulled out several bottles of Coke, one for me and three for my friends, before speaking up.

           “Soda?”

           “Yes please,” Fluttershy gratefully accepted.

           “Sure!  Thanks, twin!” Rainbow replied enthusiastically.

           “Thank you, darling,” Rarity answered with a smile. “That was very considerate of you.”

           I smiled softly back before starting my playlist up and jumping right into writing.  This time around, I played some instrumental music by a duo known as Two Steps From Hell.  I can’t remember how I first came across them except that one of their songs, Heart Of Courage, I had heard plenty of times before I even knew it was by them, mostly in trailers.

           In fact, the more I checked out their work, the more I began to realize all the songs they’d done that I’d previously heard in trailers.  This then opened the floodgates for me to come across other similar groups such as Audiomachine and Immediate.  I had soo many favorite songs by these groups that it was hard for me to choose just one.  Some of those favorites being Heart Of Courage, Star Sky, and Remember Me by Two Steps From Hell, Ice Of Phoenix by Audiomachine, and Shield Of Faith by Immediate among others.

           A couple of hours passed by pretty quickly as I was able to knock out a total of 7 pages in just one writing session.  With that days worth of work completed, I closed my document.

           “Well that was fast,” Rarity remarked.

           “It sure feels that way, don’t it?” I replied. “How ‘bout we go check on tha others?”

           “Sounds like a good idea to me,” Fluttershy commented.

           And so we made our way back into the living room where Twilight appeared to be most of the way through The Last Battle while AJ and Pinkie were playing with Ariel on the floor as Savannah watched.  Pinkie was the first to notice our presence there.

           “Oh hey you guys.  How’d the writing go?”

           “It went great!” Rainbow remarked before I could speak. “David managed to knock out 7 whole pages just in this session alone!”

           “Woo-wee.  Sounds like ya got a good, full day o’ work in there,” AJ answered.

           “That it does,” Savannah agreed.

           “How’re ya enjoyin’ that book, Twi?” I directed towards the Princess Of Friendship.

           “It’s very interesting to say the least,” she replied, eyes still focused on the pages. “I particularly like a lot of the symbolism and metaphors it contains, just like the other books.”

           “Glad ta hear it.  If you girls don’ mind, Ah’m gonna go shower.”

           “You go do that, Davey,” Pinkie piped up.

           Even then, I couldn’t help but smile every time she used that nickname for me.  After grabbing some clothes from my room, I made my way to the bathroom where I grabbed a towel, undressed, got in the shower, and turned the steaming stream on.  As I began bathing, nothing could’ve prepared me for what I would experience in a short while afterwards.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           Several minutes later, I’d finished with my shower and stepped out of it to dry off with my towel, the bathroom itself full of heat and steam.  After drying myself off, I put on my clothes while gently wiping the condensation from my glasses before putting them on.  I then ran a stick of Axe Dark Temptation deodorant along my armpits a few times and sprayed myself with some Nightmare Before Christmas Bone Daddy cologne I’d previously gotten from Hot Topic before grabbing a hairbrush and going to clear the mist off the mirror so I could actually see what I was doing.

           As I wiped the moisture from the mirror, I noticed that the mirror was all blackness for some strange reason.  While pondering why this could be, 2 glowing red eyes appeared within the blackness along with a wicked, jagged-toothed smile that I’d unfortunately become all too familiar with.  I let out a yelp of fear as I fell backwards, nearly hitting my head on the hard tile floor in the process.

           “Time’s up,” the shadowy figure spoke in its gravelly voice.

           “Wh-wh-what’re y-you talkin’ ‘bout?” I asked nervously.

           “You haven’t been listening to my warnings and now there’s no turning back.  You and everyone you know and hold close are doomed.”

           “What do you want from me?”

           “I want you to pay for what you’ve done.”

           “Which is what?” I demanded out of frustration.

           “Have you really forgotten soo easily?” the figure mocked. “If you honestly can’t remember, you don’t deserve for me to explain it to you.”

           “Explain what!?!”

           In that moment the bathroom door opened to reveal Savannah on the other side.

           “David?  What’s going on?  And why are you on the floor?” she asked with obvious concern in her voice.

           Looking from her back to the mirror, I saw that the shadowy figure had vanished.

           “Everythin’s fine,” I lied. “Ah jus’ slipped on tha floor.”

           “Are you sure?  Because I thought I heard you talking to someone in here.”

           “Oh no no no.  That was jus’ me thinkin’ out loud.”

           “O.K.  Well me and the girls were busy making sure that we’re ready for that trip to New York tomorrow and I was thinking we could watch the Back To The Future trilogy afterwards.  Whenever you’re done in here, you can join us.”

           “O.K. ma love.”

           And with a smile, she turned around and walked away, leaving me to reflect on what had just transpired.  What had just transpired anyways?  This felt almost completely similar to those nightmares that I’d had weeks ago, except for the fact that apparently this was reality.  I was awake and fully conscious, I’d seen the figure myself.  There was no way that I could pass this off as just fantasy.

           With that said, why had this bizarre occurrence happened now?  Why was it taking place in the real world?  Was I hallucinating?  Was I losing my sanity?  And what had I done that this figure wanted me to pay for?  All these questions haunted me as I went to join the others, wishing more than anything else for answers in this time of fear and uncertainty.
> Chapter XII:  I Wanna Be A Part Of It
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

           After a few hours of getting everything packed for our trip, we lounged around in the living room while watching the entire Back To The Future trilogy as Savannah had suggested.  We’d finished the last one just in time for pizza to be delivered which we ate and washed down with soda while Ariel was playing with her toys on the floor.  As this was a particularly special occasion with our time together winding down, I decided to treat the girls to some stuffed crust pizza, realizing that they’d never gotten the chance to try it during the entirety of their stay here.  Not much was spoken during that time as we ate our pizza quietly.  Finally, Savannah spoke up.

           “How’ve you girls enjoyed your stay so far?”

           “I’ve gotta say that it’s certainly been an eye-opening experience,” Twilight answered after swallowing a bite of pizza.

           “That’s one way of putting it,” Rarity added. “As I mentioned before, I’ve enjoyed all the little bits of your culture that we’ve come to be familiar with and I’m certainly looking forward to seeing those musicals tomorrow.”

           “I really enjoyed those Marvel movies that we got to watch and the Back To The Future movies were pretty entertaining too!” Rainbow exclaimed, taking a swig of soda.

           “Back Ta Tha Future was purdy enjoyable,” Applejack spoke up, “even if Ah had trouble understandin’ tha logic o’ time travel.”

           “That’s perfectly understandable,” Savannah began. “Even the best time travel movies ever made have some form of plot hole or inconsistency, but it doesn’t ruin the movie by any means.”

           “If only time travel did exist here so that our time together wouldn’t have to be up soo quickly,” Fluttershy lamented.

           “Yeah,” Pinkie agreed sadly. “That is a real bummer.”

           “Hey,” I began, “there’s nothin’ fer you guys ta worry ‘bout.  Yer time might be almost up here, but that don’t mean that me, Savannah, ‘n Ariel can’t visit ya guys in tha future back in Equestria.”

           “That’s what Ah was jus’ ‘bout ta say,” AJ answered. “Ah mean, Dayvid’s still got tha talisman fer whenever they wanna come back ta us so it’s not like this is tha las’ time we’ll ever be able ta see ‘em.”

           “O.K.  Can I just say that this is really great pizza?” Rainbow mentioned. “Like, I didn’t even know that cheese in the crust was possible, but, now that I do, it’s incredible how I never found out about it until just now.”

           “I know right?!?” Pinkie piped up. “I don’t think I’ll ever look at pizza the same way again.”

           “Maybe we’d even be able to bring that knowledge of stuffed crust pizza back to Equestria?” Twilight stated. “I can see it catching on really fast when we get back home.”

           “Maybe,” I remarked.

           It was in that moment when Ariel let out a soft yawn while rubbing her eyes.

           “Looks like someone’s ready to call it a night,” Savannah commented as she picked our daughter up and carried her into our bedroom.

           “Yup,” I replied. “Ah think it’s ‘bout time fer all of us ta call it a night.  Tomorrow, we’ve gotta get up wicked early if we’re gonna make it ta New York.  The Phantom Of The Opera starts at 2 PM ‘n it takes roughly 5 ½ hours jus’ ta get there.  Not ta mention Ah’m sure that you girls might wanna look around tha place fer a bit in between shows.”

           “When does the showing for Wicked start?” Twilight puzzled.

           “7 PM.  Tha theater itself is only ‘bout a 13 minute walk away from tha one showin’ Phantom ‘n there should be plenty o’ time fer sight-seein’ before then.”

           “I guess we’ll see you in the morning, then,” Rarity stated, getting up from her seat.

           “Sleep well you guys.”

           “You too, David,” Fluttershy answered with a soft smile.

           And so, all of us got up and headed off to our own separate rooms.  As I got into bed with my wife, I cuddled her close to me, praying with all that was in me that everything would be alright the following day.  Unbeknownst to me, at the time, was that that day would be the day that I truly did lose everything and everyone I held close and dear to me.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           The next morning, we awoke bright-eyed and bushy tailed (at least, if the girls still had their pony tails I’m sure that they would’ve been bushy), grabbed breakfast quickly, packed our bags into the cars and were soon on our way to New York City, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight in the Mustang with me and Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack in the Charger with Savannah and Ariel.  During the long drive down there, in order to pass the time, I introduced the girls to an old favorite game that me and my family would play on long car rides: the Beetles/Beatles game.

           The way the game worked was that, every time we saw a Volkswagen Beetle car, we’d call out the name of one of the members of The Beatles starting with John then Paul, George, and Ringo.  The goal was to make it all the way through all four of them or see how many times we could go through all four of them in a single trip.  The girls were already familiar with The Beatles as I’d introduced them to their music a few weeks prior.  The real challenge was trying to get them to recognize Volkswagen Beetles as opposed to any other car on the road.  After a short while, though, they began to catch on.

           There were also some other games for long car rides that came to mind like when my family tried to count the number of Ford Mustangs, fighting to see who could claim their Mustang first.  The problem with that game, though, was that whenever we passed a graveyard, the first person to shout “bury your horses” would keep all of their Mustangs while everyone else would lose theirs.  Along with the fact that there weren’t many graveyards on the highway, a game like that seemed to be in really bad taste considering my company, much in the same way that I wouldn’t bring up the old expression “beating a dead horse” around my friends either.

           Something that the girls particularly enjoyed was whenever we went through a new state, always looking forward to the welcoming signs from each one we entered.  New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and finally New York.  Several hours and several rest stops later, we’d reached our destination: New York City.

           Upon arriving, I was filled with nostalgia from the first time that I’d been there less than 3 years ago with old college friends.  Such an immense city with soo much to offer and, now, I got to share it all with my closest friends.  In that moment, life was pretty awesome.

           The girls’ eyes widened with such intensity at the sight of our surroundings that I almost thought they might pop right out of their skulls.  Finally, Rainbow was the first to break the silence.

           “Oh.  My.  Gosh!!!  This place is enormous!  I think it might be even larger than Manehattan back home!”

           “No arguing there,” Twilight concurred.

           After several additional minutes of dealing with big city traffic, we arrived at a valet parking area on West 42nd Street, only a short distance away from the Majestic Theater, where we parked and got out to stretch our legs.  Making sure all in our party were present and accounted for and making sure that we had our tickets for both shows, I spoke up to all the girls.

           “O.K. listen up,” I began firmly, “as y’all know, this is a very large city ‘n it’s easy ta get lost here so make sure that ya stay close ‘n don’ wander off.  If ya need ta go somewhere, make sure ya have someone else ta go with ya.  Polly will be with Faith, Robin will be with Anne, ‘n Rosilyn will be with Tai.  If we do get separated, we meet back up here.  Got it?”

           The girls all nodded in agreement.

           “Good,” Savannah stated as she held Ariel in her arms. “Now who’s ready to see The Phantom Of The Opera?”

           “Me!!!” all the girls exclaimed.

           And so we began the short walk over to the theater.  We were all dressed to the nines for this special occasion, me in my suit and favorite royal blue tie while Savannah and the girls wore dresses.  The dresses for the girls Discord had already provided for them before they left Equestria, all of them varied.

           Fluttershy’s dress was a mint green strapless dress that complimented her eyes nicely, Rarity wore a mauve, mermaid style dress that shimmered as she walked, Pinkie’s was a bright pink shirt dress with balloon embellishments, Twi had an asymmetrical, 1 shoulder dress the color of the night sky with its varying shades of blue, Applejack’s was a simple navy colored halter dress, and Rainbow wore a sundress with, what else, rainbow coloring all over it.  We were certainly quite the colorful cast of characters.

           Before long, we’d reached the theater, presented our tickets to the clerk, and entered the building.  It took us a little while to get to our seats, but we finally found them before settling in.  The inside of the theater was indeed a grand place that I’d almost completely forgotten about since the first and last time I was previously there.  The countless arches along both sides, the ornate details on the balconies, even the ceiling was intricately designed.  It was indeed majestic.

           Finally, a hush fell over the crowd as the play was announced and the lights dimmed in preparation.  With my family and friends by my side, we all sat back to enjoy the show together.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           About 2 ½ hours later, the show was finished, we were exiting the theater back out into the busy city, and the girls couldn’t stop talking about what we’d just seen.

           “Wasn’t that soo totally AWESOME!?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “I mean the story was awesome, the characters were awesome, the songs, doubly awesome!!!”

           “I really enjoyed the songs too,” Twilight followed up. “I particularly enjoyed how well they developed the Phantom as a sympathetic character.  Not that any of the crimes he committed were justified, but he was still an engaging and tragic figure.”

           “I also loved the songs,” Fluttershy added.

           “Me too,” Rarity agreed.

           “Me five!” Pinkie piped up.

           “What would you guys say some of your favorite songs were?” Savannah questioned, holding Ariel close.

           “Oh wow,” Twilight began, “it’s soo hard to pick just one.  I guess that my favorites were Think Of Me, Angel Of Music, The Phantom Of The Opera, Music Of The Night, Stranger than You Dreamt It, All I Ask Of You, and Past The Point Of No Return.”

           “Mine were Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh!, Stranger than Ya Dreamt It, Wishin’ You Were Somehow Here Again, ‘n Down Once More,” Applejack stated, her tone turning slightly somber. “Wishin’ You Were Somehow Here Again made me think o’ ma parents ‘n how Ah often wish Ah still had ‘em with me.”

           “Hey,” I started, reaching a hand out to AJ, “ya still have ‘em with ya where it truly counts,”-I tapped 2 fingers on her chest-“inside here.”

           AJ offered a soft smile back at me before Savannah posed a question to her.

           “Anne, what were the names of your parents if you don’t mind me asking?”

           “Bright Mac ‘n Buttercup.”

           “Buttercup,” I remarked. “That’s a really beautiful name.”

           “It sure is,” Savannah added before turning her attention over to Fluttershy. “Faith, what were your favorite songs from the show?”

           “I particularly enjoyed Think Of Me, Angel Of Music, Little Lotte, All I Ask Of You, and Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again.”

           “My personal favorites were Think Of Me, Angel Of Music, Prima Donna, Masquerade, and Past The Point Of No Return,” Rarity followed up.

           “I loved Angel Of Music, The Phantom Of The Opera, Masquerade, and Past The Point Of No Return,” Pinkie added, “especially The Phantom Of The Opera when the pipe organ played!”

           I couldn’t help but smile at Pinkie’s remark before Rainbow threw in her two cents.

           “I thought The Mirror, Stranger than You Dreamt It, Why Have You Brought Us Here?, Why So Silent?, Past The Point Of No Return, and Down Once More were pretty awesome.”

           “Wow,” Savannah began, “I guess you guys must’ve really enjoyed the music a lot if you have that many favorites.”

           “Ah think that kinda goes without sayin’,” I remarked before looking at my watch. “Looks like we’ve got a couple of hours before Wicked starts.  You girls wanna look around tha area a bit?”

           “Sure,” the girls replied in unison.

           “Did ya have any particular place in mind?” AJ questioned.

           “Well Ah was thinkin’ of maybe showin’ ya guys tha Nintendo shop in tha Rockefeller Plaza if yer interested.”

           “What’s Nintendo?” Rainbow puzzled.

           Savannah answered before I could even open my mouth.

           “Nintendo is a very famous video game company that’s been around ever since the 80’s.  They’re particularly famous for the many games they’ve released centering around Pokemon and Mario.”

           The girls stared at Savannah like she had lobsters crawling out of her ears before I spoke up.

           “We’ll try ta explain it on tha way over if any o’ y’all are interested in checkin’ tha place out.”

           “I’m in!” Rainbow exclaimed.

           “I suppose it might be worth checking out even if out of general curiosity,” Rarity commented.

           “I’m interested,” Fluttershy answered softly.

           “So am I!” Pinkie piped up.

           “You’ve got me curious,” Twilight remarked.

           “Let’s do it,” AJ affirmed.

           And so, with approval from all the girls, we began the somewhat lengthy walk over to the Nintendo store all the while enjoying each other’s company.  Little did I know that there was a dark shadow looming on the horizon that was about to bring everything crashing down before the day was up.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           “…So Pokemon is essentially a game where you capture creatures, have them battle others, and try to get them to level up to a higher form?” Twilight puzzled several minutes after me and Savannah tried explaining the concept of Pokemon to the girls.

           “Well that’s one way o’ puttin’ it,” I answered.

           “Oh my!  That sounds awful,” Flutters countered, “having animals fight each other like that.”

           “In all honesty,” Savannah began, “we never really thought that much about it when we were younger.  Besides, it was never like any of the Pokemon ever died from battle; they just fainted until you could bring them to a hospital to be restored to full health.”

           “I’m not really sure if that’s any more of a consolation.”

           “Fair enough,” I stated.

           It was then that we realized that we’d finally made it to the Nintendo store.  Another wave of nostalgia swept over me at the last time that I’d visited it as our party headed inside the building to look around.  Upon entering, the girls were amazed at the size of the store, all 10,000 square feet of it spanning 2 floors.

           “Wow!” Pinkie remarked in amazement. “This place is massive.  I don’t even know where to start.”

           “It is quite a lot ta take in all at once,” I concurred. “Ah think Ah know a good place fer us ta start, though.  Follow me.”

           I then led the group over to a display showcasing the entire history of Nintendo systems including the NES, the Nintendo 64, the GameBoy, and the Wii among others.  The girls looked on in wonder at the vast history of Nintendo displayed before them.

           “Woo-wee!” AJ finally commented. “Nintendo sure has quite tha history, don’t it?”

           “Oh ya don’t even know tha half of it,” I remarked. “Nintendo was famous fer single handedly savin’ tha entire video game industry as we know it.”

           “How so?” Twilight puzzled.

           “Well, back in tha early 80’s, there was a video game company known as Atari ‘n there was a movie that was really well received at tha time called E.T.: Tha Extra-Terrestrial.  E.T. had a game that was made fer the Atari system ‘n it was awful, but people had already paid money fer tha game, makin’ it a financial hit.  Because o’ this, tha video game market became flooded with a large number o’ games that were essentially jus’ centerin’ ‘round different products like Kool-Aid or Purina dog food.  No customers wanted these games ‘n there was no way fer tha games ta be returned ta their company, leadin’ ta tha infamous video game crash of 1983.

           “Shortly after this, Nintendo released tha game Super Mario Bros. fer tha NES which became one o’ tha best sellin’ video games in history, savin’ tha entire video game industry in tha process.  As far as Atari goes, they stopped makin’ any more video game systems not long after tha crash ‘n many o’ their games were disposed of in a landfill all tha way out in New Mexico, ‘bout 700,000 ta be exact.”

           “Sounds like a waste to me,” Rarity commented. “All those games just being dumped in the middle of nowhere.”

           “Can’t argue with you there,” Rainbow added.

           “Nintendo has a special place personally as both it ‘n Playstation have always been good ta me,” I stated. “Can’t say tha same thing ‘bout Xbox, though.”

           “Oh my!” Fluttershy suddenly exclaimed while pointing a finger. “What’s that over there?”

           Following where she was pointing, we looked over and saw shelves that held several Pikachu plushies.

           “That’s Pikachu,” Savannah answered. “One of the most popular Pokemon ever.”

           “He’s soo adorable!!!” Fluttershy beamed as she ran over to grab one off of the shelf.

           I smiled softly at Fluttershy’s enthusiastic outburst before she brought one of the plushies back over, hugging it tightly.  However, she wasn’t the only one interested in the Pikachu toy; Ariel tried reaching out for Fluttershy’s plushie several times, becoming more and more fussy all the while.  Flutters was quick to pick up on this.

           “Did you want a turn with it, little one?”

           Ariel let out a soft grunt that indicated a yes before Fluttershy handed off the toy to her.

           “There you go, Ariel.”

           Ariel held the plushie close to her as if not wanting to ever let it go, even chewing on an ear.  We then began looking around even more of the store from the Nintendo clothes to the Nintendo games and systems they had available to buy, including the recently released Nintendo Switch.  After nearly a half hour, I looked at my watch and realized how late it was getting.

           “Ah think we should probably go ‘n get somethin’ ta eat before Wicked starts,” I spoke up to the girls.

           “Sounds like a good idea to me,” Pinkie agreed.

           Making our way over to the checkout, I paid for Ariel’s Pikachu plushie before we all exited the building.

           “Was there any place ya had in mind, Sugarcube?” AJ questioned.

           “Well,” I began, “Ah do know of a little place not too far from tha Gershwin Theater called Ellen’s Stardust Diner that serves really great comfort food.  It’s a pretty laid-back place overall.”

           “Sounds to me like a perfect place to grab a meal before the show,” Twilight stated.

           “Mhmm,” the other girls agreed.

           And so we made our way off to the diner for a quick bite, never knowing what awaited us later that night.
> Chapter XIII:  It's Over Now, Because I Knew You
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

           Less than an hour later, we left Ellen’s Stardust Diner with full bellies as we made the short walk over to the Gershwin Theater, all the while talking about the great meal we’d just had.

           “I must say, that Penne Alfredo was simply divine,” Rarity commented.

           “It was very enjoyable,” Twilight agreed.

           “I enjoyed Rachel’s Mac & Cheese a lot,” Fluttershy added, pleasantly. “It was soo creamy and flavorful.”

           “Me too!” Pinkie affirmed.

           “It’s kind of a shame that they don’t have pizza there,” I began, “‘cuz Ah think ya’d really enjoy New York style pizza.”

           “Is there supposed to be a difference between New York style pizza as opposed to your average pizza place back home?” Rainbow inquired.

           “Oh yeah.  Definitely,” Savannah spoke up. “New York is famous for their pizza.  The only other city in America famous for its pizza is Chicago.  In fact, there’s an ongoing rivalry between New York and Chicago as to whose pizza is better.  To many people, it’s all just apples and oranges, preference wise.”

           As we neared the theater, we came across a couple of women, a blonde and a brunette, who must’ve been in their early 20’s.  In my head, I was kind of antsy as I thought about who these women might be as I’d had a previous encounter with similarly aged women the last time I’d visited New York.  I just hoped that none of them would approach any of us.  Sadly, that’s not what happened as they called out to us.

           “Hello,” the blonde one greeted.

           “Do you believe that a woman should have the right to decide what happens to her own body?” the brunette questioned.

           My friends looked like they were about to speak up before I swiftly cut in.

           “Me ‘n ma wife already have a kid ‘n we’re perfectly happy with that,” I stated, drawing their attention to Ariel.

           “Oh,” the blonde replied, disappointedly, as the two of them turned and walked away.

           “What was that all about?” AJ puzzled.

           “Nothin’ you guys need ta be concerned about,” I replied.

           “But why-” Fluttershy started before I cut her off.

           “It’s honestly nothin’.”

           I didn’t feel like opening up the can of worms that was the pro-life/pro-choice dilemma around my friends as I didn’t think they needed to know about it.  The topic of abortion had always been anathema to me and I really didn’t need my friends to know about or even focus on it.  As far as I was concerned, abortion was an atrocity that many women would have whenever having a kid was an inconvenience to them, completely ignoring the fact that the baby might be wanted by anyone looking to adopt.  To me, all life was important and worth protecting.

           It was in moments like this that I was reminded of quotes from long ago.  One of them was by Ronald Reagan who remarked that it was incredible that “all the people who support abortion have already been born” and the other was from the Dr. Seuss character of Horton the elephant when he said “a person’s a person no matter how small”.

           Not wanting to dwell on the thought of it any further, I drew myself back to reality just as we reached the theater.  Presenting our tickets, we hustled to our seats before settling in.  Much like the Majestic, this theater was a marvel from the inside with its vast seating, beautiful architecture, and exquisite lighting from the chandeliers.

           It wasn’t long before the crowd quieted down as the show was announced.  After the announcement and with a roar of applause at the beginning of the play, we all sat back to enjoy it as well as our final few moments before the girls would need to head back to Equestria.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           Almost 3 hours later, the show had ended as we stepped back out into the night, the girls abuzz about the play we’d just witnessed.

           “That certainly was quite the experience,” Rarity stated. “Very impressive visually.”

           “I found the characters to be really dynamic and enjoyable,” Rainbow started, “especially Elphaba and Glinda.”

           “I know, right?” Twilight concurred. “Elphaba in particular was a likable, complex, and even tragic figure, kinda like the Phantom except for the fact that her methods were more noble in nature.”

           “I think that what really helped make Elphaba as compelling as she was was making her the exact opposite of her Wizard Of Oz predecessor,” Savannah added.

           “Exactly!” Rainbow pronounced. “The original Wicked Witch Of The West was a punk with a one dimensional personality who used brute force to get her way.  She was meant to have no real likability as a character.”

           “Elphaba, on the other hand,” Twilight continued, “was an intelligent, kind-hearted, but misunderstood outsider who always got blamed for everything just for the simple fact that she was different from everyone else, not always knowing how to defend herself either.  Because of this, it makes the citizens of Oz understandable as to why they’d fabricate this story about her being the villain.  It doesn’t make them right by any means, but it’s still believable.”

           “I really enjoyed the songs of this musical!” Pinkie exclaimed.

           “Did ya guys have any favorites this time ‘round?” I brought up.

           “Personally,” Applejack began, “Ah liked that number close ta tha end… Fer Good Ah believe it was.”

           “Mine was Something Bad,” Fluttershy stated, softly. “I particularly felt sorry for what happened to Doctor Dillamond and those poor monkeys.”

           “I really enjoyed Popular,” Pinkie piped up.

           Pinkie’s favorite song came as absolutely no surprise to me.  Even when we first came up with the idea to see Wicked, I knew that song would be her favorite.  Rarity was the next one to speak up.

           “My favorites were I’m Not That Girl and As Long As You’re Mine.”

           “I loved Defying Gravity and No Good Deed!” Rainbow exclaimed. “They were just soo AWESOME!!!”

           “I’d have to say that my favorites were Dear Old Shiz and The Wizard And I,” Twilight added. “It made me think of when I was just a filly and was first accepted into Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns, even if the wizard in the play was an absolute jerk.”

           “Yeah.  Something I’ve noticed pretty frequently with many adaptations of the original Wizard Of Oz story is that the wizard himself is not really one of the stronger characters,” Savannah stated.

           “Somethin’ that Ah still wish,” I started, “was that Ah could’ve seen tha ‘riginal run of Wicked with Idina Menzel as Elphaba.”

           “Idina who?” Rarity questioned quizzically.

           “Idina Menzel.  She’s tha one who voiced tha character of Elsa in Frozen.”

           All the girls’ eyes widened at that realization before Fluttershy spoke up.

           “She was my favorite part of the entire movie!  I especially loved when she sang Let It Go!”

           “Idina Menzel is easily one of the most talented singers of our time,” Savannah added.

           “Ah’m not sure if Ah ever told any of you guys this,” I began, “but Ah first saw this play ‘bout several months after Ah’d first visited Equestria ‘n, after seein’ it then, Ah kinda saw a good chunk of Elphaba in maself.”

           “How’s that, twin?” Rainbow puzzled.

           “In all honesty, Ah think it was because o’ tha fact that both of us were products of 2 separate worlds.  It jus’ resonated with me a lot stronger after that realization.”

           Suddenly, Rarity let out a gasp.

           “Flutter- I mean… Faith, your necklace is missing!”

           As we all looked, we saw that, indeed, her Azotic Topaz, hexagonal necklace had vanished from her neck.

           “Oh my!” Flutters remarked, worriedly. “That necklace is our only way back to Equestria!”

           “Where could it be?” AJ posed the question.

           “Faith,” Savannah started, “didn’t you go to use the restroom during intermission?”

           “Yes she did,” Pinkie realized before turning around and running off. “I’ll go back to look for it!”

           “Polly, you can’t jus’ take off,” I called out, but she was already too far away.

           “Maybe we should go help her find it,” Twilight stated.

           “Sounds like a good idea ta me,” AJ agreed as the girls all made their way back to where we came from.

           “Wait, girls,” I began, “we need ta stick together.”

           “You guys just go to our parking spots,” Rainbow replied. “We’ll catch up.”

So much for that idea, I thought, frustratedly.

           And so, me, Savannah, and Ariel made our way back towards the parking garage, Ariel still holding on tightly to her Pikachu plushie.  Along the way, we passed a good amount of people just enjoying the nightlife of the city.  Some were casually drinking, some were nighttime musicians playing for tips, but, all in all, it was a very pleasant and soothing kind of atmosphere.  Me and Savannah were soo wrapped up in the moment that we didn’t notice the figure stalking us down the sidewalk.

           Finally reaching the parking garage, we made our way over towards our cars.  Before we could reach them, though, our mysterious stalker stepped out in front of us and drew a switchblade from his hoodie.

           “Gimme your daughter,” he demanded.

           I was shocked, not just at the presence of this man (who looked to be about a couple years younger than I was, but still older than Savannah), but also that he demanded we give him Ariel rather than any money or jewelry.

           “Hold on a second,” Savannah started, trying to ease the situation, “let’s just calm down and talk this through.  There’s no need-”

           “I said gimme your fuckin’ daughter!” he cut off, just as angrily.

           Ariel started crying at his threats as I looked around for anyone who might be witness to what was going on.  Sadly, there was no one else around and our attacker took notice of this.

           “You think anyone’s coming to your rescue?” the man scoffed, his dark green eyes gleaming. “Well they ain’t.  You guys are all alone.”

           At his mention of those last 2 words, I froze in place as my heart sank down into my feet.  All alone.  The figure from my nightmares had used those exact same words to taunt me.

           “You can have… anythin’ you want,” I begged. “Please jus’… don’t take our daughter from us.”

           But he ignored my pleas as he reached out to grab a crying Ariel from Savannah.  However, Savannah wasn’t letting her go without a fight.

           “Give her back, you monster!” she shouted, venom in her tone.

           He replied with a slash of the blade to her neck, Savannah yelling out in pain as blood sprayed out onto me and she collapsed to the ground, reluctantly letting go of Ariel.  With fury in my eyes well outweighing my fear, I turned towards our attacker.

           “You son of a BITCH!!!” I screamed at him as I swung a fist at his face.

           He dodged my blow before planting the blade right into my chest.  I cried out as the blade punctured my right lung and I also collapsed, blood pooling from my wound.  Ariel screamed even louder as my vision started to get hazy.

           “Hey!” a familiar voice shouted out in the background. “What’ve you done to my twin and his wife, dirtbag!?!”

           The last thing I remembered was the attacker running away with 2 of the girls going after him (I think it was Rainbow Dash and Applejack, though I couldn’t be entirely sure) while the others gathered around the two of us with panicked, desperate voices.  Then, everything went black.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


           After I don’t even know how long, I woke up to find myself in a hospital bed.  Trying to sit up, I was greeted by sharp, shooting pain in the right side of my chest.

           “Whoa now.  Take it easy there, pardner,” I heard a familiar voice state.

           Sure enough, Applejack was right beside me, trying to help ease me back into a reclined position.  As I took in my surroundings, I noticed that the other girls were standing in the room anxiously.  Their expressions swiftly changed to mild relief at the sight of me finally regaining consciousness.  Mild, but not complete relief.

           “Oh thank Celestia that you’re alright!” Twilight sighed.

           “We were soo worried you wouldn’t make it,” Fluttershy added, nervously.

           “Wha-… What happened?  How long was Ah out fer?” I questioned.

           “2 days,” Rarity answered. “They had to take you in for surgery because of your injury.  We found someone to call for help as soon as we found you in the parking garage.”

           It was in that moment that I remembered all that had happened.  Savannah.  Ariel.  Where were they?  Before I could pose the question to the girls, a male doctor walked into my room.

           “Well well well.  You’re awake,” he greeted while extending a hand to shake. “My name is Dr. Blumenthal and I was just coming in to check on you.  I will say that you certainly are very lucky to be alive after a stab to the lung like what you had.”

           I shook his hand gently while also shaking off his comments as I was only focused on what had happened to Savannah and Ariel.

           “‘Scuse me, doctor,” I began, nervously, “but… where’s ma wife ‘n daughter?  They were there when tha ‘ttack happened.”

           The doctor’s expression suddenly turned downward before he spoke up.

           “Your daughter was absent from the scene of the incident.  Unfortunately, your wife didn’t make it.  Your attacker slashed her carotid artery and she bled out before we could get to you.”

           All the color drained from my face as my eyes began watering while he continued.

           “Additionally, the autopsy on your wife revealed that she was also pregnant, at least 3 weeks along.”

           He then tried to place a comforting hand on my shoulder, but I recoiled from it as if he’d struck me with it instead, overcome with grief and anguish.

           “I’ll just leave you with your friends for the time being,” he stated before exiting my room.

           After he’d left, I placed my head in my hands and began weeping bitterly at the loss of not just my wife at such a young age, but also my only daughter and the little addition I’d never get to meet.  The girls took notice of this.

           “David,” Fluttershy started, a melancholy tone to her voice, “I’m… I’m soo sorry.”

           “No!” I lashed back. “I’m sorry that you girls even came here in the first place!”

           All the girls let out a gasp at my sudden outburst before Rarity finally answered.

           “Now now David.  We understand that you’re going through a hard time right now, but that’s no excuse for petty hoof pointing.”

           “Oh!  So I’m being petty now?  And what about you guys?  You were the ones who pushed for us to come to New York even after I tried to discourage it!  You were the ones who ran off on your own to look for that… that stupid necklace, leaving me, Savannah, and Ariel all by ourselves, even after I had made it quite clear that we were supposed to stay together!  Speaking of which, did you guys ever find that necklace?”

           They stood there in stunned silence, but I was still able to make out the necklace hanging around Fluttershy’s neck.

           “Oh.  It looks like you did find it.  Whoop-dee-fuckin’-doo for you guys!  Now y’all can return to Equestria and all it cost was the life of Savannah, at the ripe old age of 20 no less, and our unborn child as well as losing Ariel.”

           “Davey,” Pinkie began, “I think you might need to lighten up just a little-”

           “You lighten up!” I cut off. “And stop calling me Davey.”

           Pinkie shrank back into the corner of the room as I continued my tirade.

           “Maybe it’s better for you guys to just go back to Equestria, that way there’s less you can do to fuck up things here.  My life was frankly a whole lot better before I even knew you guys really existed.”

           “David, please don’t do this,” Twilight pleaded. “You don’t want to say or do something you might regret.”

           “No.  My biggest regret was thinking that I could ever trust ponies like you!!!” I shouted with intense rage.

           All of them gasped at my venom filled comment, Rare, Flutters, and Pinkie looking to be on the verge of tears.  Rainbow was the first to break the awkward silence.

           “Come on, twin,” she replied, somewhat shakily. “Y-… you don’t really mean that.”

           “I’m not your twin!” I spat out. “You guys aren’t family!  You’re not even my friends!  So why don’t you all just go!?!  Take a flying leap off a balcony for all I care!”

           It was in that moment when I saw tears starting to come to  many of the girls’ eyes, Fluttershy worst of all.  Normally, this would’ve drawn concern and pity from me, but I was soo caught up in my anger that my expression was stony and cold.  The girls all looked at each other before giving a slight nod.  All six of them held each others hands as Fluttershy reached her hand up to the hexagonal necklace, placing her index finger on the charm and rubbing it in a circular motion against it.

One.

           I began contemplating whether or not I’d gone too far with my rage filled outburst at them.  Even as I was debating with myself in that moment, I still found reasons to justify it.  It was their fault that we’d gone to New York and that they ran off when we were supposed to stick together.  If they’d just listened to my words, Savannah and Ariel would still be here.  In my mind, they were just as guilty as the man who’d attacked us.

Two.

           It was after the second circular motion that a ball of light started to glow around the girls, leaving only black silhouettes of them in my presence.  As I looked at the shapes their silhouettes made, there was some small thought in the back of my mind that was bothering me, but what?

           Suddenly, it came to me: the silhouettes were the same shape as those I’d seen in my dream the last time I was in Equestria.  Princess Luna had stated that those human figures I’d seen were my closest friends who I needed to be careful not to lose faith in or turn away from me.  I opened my mouth to speak.

Three.

           “Wait!” I called out.

           But it was all too little too late for me.  They’d vanished from my room completely, leaving no trace of their presence behind.  And so I was left there to mourn uncontrollably, not only the loss of my family, but also the loss of the only friends I had left.
> Epilogue:  All Alone
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

           A few years have passed since that fateful day and my life has spiraled out of control ever since.  I stopped publishing stories pretty soon after the incident while focusing all my time and whatever money I had into finding Ariel and whoever had stolen her.  All these years later, though, there’s been no success.  I stopped following My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic long ago, though I’d heard it only went on for about 2 or 3 more seasons afterwards.

           I’ve tried in vain to find my talisman in the hopes that I could someday return to Equestria, but my efforts were fruitless.  It was probably better that way.  After the profanity-riddled outburst I’d made against the girls that night, soo long ago yet still fresh in my mind, I doubt they’d ever forgive me; I wouldn’t even forgive me.  Finally, I’ve been in and out of my local nuthouse several times in the past few years after too many suicide attempts for me to keep track of.

           Several times over the years, and even now as I sat in the mental ward, I would forget about the friends I’d left behind back in Equestria, forget about my own identity as an Alicorn Prince there, sometimes for weeks at a time.  I’ve often feared that I might forget about them entirely, that, one day, their memory might never return to me.  The thought alone is terrifying.  For the time being, though, there’s little else for me to do aside from wallowing in my own solitude and misery.  All alone.

To be continued?