Declan Hunt returns home from a pre Christmas holiday, however as he is a fan of MLP FiM he gets a big surprise on his way home.
An average boy named Declan Hunt living in Duluth, Minnesota is returning home from visiting his grandfather in Louisiana for a pre Christmas holiday. Declan is a super brony and rather a huge fan of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, however on his way home he gets a real big surprise.
My name is Declan Hunt, and I am an average boy living in the city of Duluth in Minnesota. I have been known as a very cheerful and successful person as my friends at school look up to me whenever they see me. I see myself to be really successful, and I’m only twelve years old and only halfway through the school year. I feel proud of myself when I look back at what I’ve achieved during my time in elementary school, I have achieved a lot of awards and I am the one who usually is seen out and crowded at my school. Even though I am in fifth grade and it is my last school year before I graduate and move to middle school, I recon the teachers will make history out of me when they see me go on and move on with life.
When I was born, I was born as a cesarean child and sadly my mother died once I was born. I just never knew her, she died of severe blood loss before I could open my eyes to see my own mother with my own new two eyes. From what I heard my father say, the doctor was blamed for his faults due to mistaking a syringe of botox for anesthesia. Then when I was only a few hours old the doctor that tried to help deliver me was arrested and sentenced 12.5 years in prison for manslaughter.
Later in life, I was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder when I was only five years old. It was pointed out by my caretaker in preschool when she noticed me reacting to certain things in a strange way. However I was lucky as I didn’t have enough of the disorder to be able to feel fully detached from myself, there are times when I do and those times aren’t that great. I usually rage and tell my dad and that helps me. I also take some pills which can also help me calm down for whenever I’m having an episode.
I can remember my first day of kindergarten, when I was extremely nervous to speak to my teacher or any students in my class. But I remember one person who looked up to me and helped me ever since he first laid eyes on me. That person’s name was Drew Perez, he was a friend I had made for my first few weeks of kindergarten and he is very symbolic in a way I cannot describe. He is a boy about my age from Colombian decent, and he’s a bit more obese than me but I feel as if I like him that way because I appreciate him. Nobody was friends of me during preschool, but during kindergarten I had gotten my first friend in the first few weeks. When I look at Drew today I cannot imagine him falling apart with me, he is just a symbol of a never ending friendship. Drew helped me overcome my fears when I met him, he would always follow me around whenever I went out at recess, whenever I needed him he’d be there and I’d tell him what I needed.
I know Drew wasn’t my only friend I’d made during my elementary school years, I’d made a few other friends years later. I can distinctively remember from second grade making two new friends, they’re names were Gordon Fuller and Willy Chong. Gordon and Willy were the funnier bunch of my friends. As soon as Drew met my new friends, he back friends with Gordon and Chong. Gordon was rather a crazy kid who always played games with me whenever he went over to my house, he was always the one in the lead beating me hard but I appreciated his ways just like Drew. Willy was a kid who’d moved to the US from China not long after I’d met him, his family were of Chinese decent and when I’d first met Willy he couldn’t speak English very well. Later however Willy could speak fluent English as well as having a habit of jumbling up the words while trying to say a simple sentence. I kind of liked Willy that way though and appreciated him for who he was, just like Drew and Gordon.
Later on in fourth grade I’d gotten my first girlfriend. Her name was Alecia Becks and she was a lovely blonde girl with possibly the cutest face you could ever get on a girl’s face. I can remember our first kiss and how potent it was. However the funniest thing about Alecia was that she wasn’t really acting like a normal girl. She loved me with all her heart but she couldn’t choose out of me, Drew, Gordon or Willy who to love so she loved them all. I’m sure that because of Alecia’s relationship, she’s gonna make some half children in the future for us due to all the breeding to each of my unidentical friends.
I made a few more friends over my elementary school years and since I had a terrible backstory and a severe mental disorder that I had a fragment of, I was able to succeed and win some awards during my elementary school years. My dad was proud of me and my friends and classmates looked up to my like I was a king or a god. I really think I deserved being in that position, after all I had achieved so many great things over the years and in the end I ended up being the successor.
One and a half years ago however I’d become hooked onto a show known as My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. When I’d first heard about the show and the MLP universe I found it weird to find some grown men liking a show that had a target audience of girls aged 6-10 until I discovered the brony fandom. As soon as I’d discovered the brony fandom I decided to check out the show myself and I started watching the first episode to see what the show was all about. Once I’d gotten hooked onto it I didn’t consider myself a brony at first but then halfway through season 2 I officially declared myself as a brony. I decided to collect some action figures and buy them on eBay without anybody noticing until my dad discovered that his credit card was being used. I just simply told him that there was some kind of scam going on to avoid being caught and boy did it work.
After I watched some episodes and collected the figures I then told my friends. Gordon said that he was too cool for MLP, however Drew respected me for who I was and Willy didn’t really care that much but would usually have a session with me every now and then while also watching some episodes.
Today I am a super brony, yes that is right. I’ve caught up on all the latest episodes, Drew likes the show too and occasionally loves to watch it with me, I’ve collected the mini figures for each character, I know Babs Seed word by word which is by far one of my favourite songs in the show. The mane 6 characters don’t really interest me, the characters that I lean towards the most in the show are the Cutiemark Crusaders, especially Sweetie Belle as she is undoubtedly the cutest character in the show uncompared to Fluttershy’s cuteness.
With being a brony however my dad eventually discovered me getting hooked onto the show. It was tragic when he caught sight of me obsessing over a show that he logically thought was meant for little girls and not for boys like me. The craziest thing about my dad was that he was obsessed with brandy, and would usually drink it on a weekly basis. The day he discovered that I was a brony he’d already drank three glasses of the beverage and wasn’t acting normally due to being intoxicated. Later however he acted normal and told me that I shouldn’t be watching the show. It really broke my heart to hear that from a man like him, he was my father after all and as I was a huge influence on the fandom that broke my heart.
Many moments in life just come and go, but those things that I elaborated on were the important parts of my life. I’ve had some success, I’ve had some downfall and some great moments, but there hadn’t been a moment greater than anything else in my entire life.
I was currently on vacation, visiting my grandfather who lived in Louisiana in the designated area of Cameron. We usually come to visit my grandpa during the cooler seasons as Louisiana isn’t too cold in the winter time unlike the frigid patch of land known as Minnesota. It was December now, almost Christmas and snowfall had just started within the northern portion of the United States. It wasn’t snowing in Louisiana, instead it was nice and sunny here and I was currently sitting in a beach chair after a long session of canoeing.
While we visited my grandfather, he’d usually take me down to the southern coast to go play out and swim at sea and also go canoeing in the nearby rivers. It was a area to have fun and spend time in to escape the cold winter. And as everybody knows that while you’re on holiday, you have nothing better to do than just enjoy the outdoors instead of staying inside and doing what you usually like to do. It happens to everyone, it’s no surprise really. I was enjoying my relaxation in the nice warm sun of Louisiana, nothing of interest happened until my grandpa broke the silence.
“Well, ah bet you Minnesota folk would be freezin’ up there. Wouldn’t ya think?”
I removed my sunglasses and turned to face him “Yeah, you’re right grandpa. While it’s freezing in Duluth, I can just chill here in the blazing sun of Louisiana.” My grandpa began to kneel up off his chair, as a man in his late sixties he was still holding strong and hard in those old growing muscles of his. He has a long history of being strong and I can doubt that in another decade the strength that was once present in his body would have vanished.
“Hey Declan, are ya free for a moment youngin’?” He asked me as he stood up. I stood up too and answered.
“Yes” I spoke while tossing my sunglasses onto the sand “what do you need?”
He beckoned me, “Come here.” I came up to him and he spoke to me very sternly “Ah need ta tell ya something.”
“Okay what is it?” I asked.
“Come on” He said as he motioned me forward “sit down.”
I sat down on the chair that he’d sat on earlier and faced him. “Okay, Ah need ta tell you somethin” he said. I remained silent, he hesitated however as to what I assume was trying to find the right words. My grandpa then began to speak. “Ah love you youngin” he spoke has he kneeled down to come level with me. He then grabbed me, and kissed me on my left cheek, showing how affectionate a grandparent can be towards their grandchildren. “But that isn’t all” he continued, as he pulled away from me. “There is a secret ahve been wanting ta tell you for a long time” he spoke sharply with a serious look on his face.
“Okay, I’m listening grandpa” I said, but didn’t contain any excitement before hearing what exactly the secret was.
“Well ah’ll tell ya what happened” he said as he began to tell me one of the most important things I was unaware of my whole life. “It was 12 years ago, a few days before you were born. Yer mother was gettin all excited to see you for the first time out of that womb of hers, after 9 months of painful deathly pregnancy.” I winced, I had always had a habit of remembering when my dad first told me where babies came from, when somebody mentioned anything related to gestation. “Ah went up ta Minnesota to check on and visit her, and boy was her belly bulgin’ big” my grandfather continued. I really wanted to speak, but I knew that I had to stay silent and listen to what he had to say. “Ah asked her if she’d give me something in honour of being a grandfather. This necklace ah have around my neck is all I have left of her.”
My grandpa showed me the necklace, as he unbottoned his shirt to reveal that necklace that I’d spotted around his neck at times. I didn’t see it all the time whenever I saw my grandpa, but what was weird is that it was so common and that he almost always wore it. “Ah haven’t taken it off, ever since she gave it to me” he spoke pausing in between his lines. “It’s turquoise, and it reminds me of the umbilical cord and especially your birth” he spoke as he looked up at me. Those eyes of his were gazing into mine with deep thought. “She also allowed me ta collect some of her breast milk as a sample. Ah don’t know how ah managed ta obtain a woman’s breast milk, but ah managed ta do it.” At his words I gasped in astonishment, who wouldn’t collect some of your mother’s breast milk as a sample? My grandfather did, and this made me feel very special indeed and my mom special, even after she’s long dead. I slowly began to feel a tear trickle down my cheek, I was proud and astonished by this great discovery. “And by tough luck ah still have it. In a freezer, nicely preserved like its fresh milk out of the breast.”
I chuckled at his words there. I always found it funny when somebody mentions the breasts of a woman. Gets me everytime. “And in honour of your mother, ah keep what ah got from her to this very day” he smiled and began to cry. I was astonished and proud to finally know this, and he was by far happy that I knew all this. “Come here youngin” he said as his voice began to break. He pulled me forward into an embrace, and kissed me once again. This time on my right cheek. “Ah know yer mom is long gone dead” he began to speak “you never got ta see her alive with yer own two eyes, and she never got ta see you.” He sighed as he spoke again. “But at least we have 2 pieces of her, that I’ve kept to this day” he said then hesitated. “Ah love ya youngin” he said once again.
I began to speak as I sobbed “I love...you too grandpa.”
We sat there for about a minute of silence embracing each other in silence. I was so proud of my grandfather, he’d managed to collect my mother’s breast milk a few days before I was born and before she died. That necklace around his neck was also symbolic as it was another piece of what we had left of my mom. If only I’d seen her with my own two eyes alive and she would’ve seen me, my inner being would be complete. But sadly that was not the case.
My grandfather let go of me and kneeled up into a bipedal position. I was yet to try some of my mom’s breast milk and see if it was any good or not, it was for her. We’d been at the beach for about 2 hours now and I was starting to get bored. I stood up too and asked my grandpa if we were ready to go yet. “So grandpa” I said finally feeling joyous again “are we going now?”
“Yes” he answered “Ahm all tuckered out and tired, and I need a nap. So we should leave now, your dad is probably waiting for us back there.” I was beamed with excitement, now that it was soon enough that I was gonna get a taste of my mother’s breast milk.
We grabbed our belongings and got into my grandfather’s car. Although just before he drove off I remembered that I’d tossed my sunglasses onto the sand earlier and quickly went to retrieve them. The drive back to my grandpa’s house wasn’t that far, Cameron was afterall next to the beach. It took about 2 minutes to drive back and my dad was on the lookout for us on the front porch. He waved at us as we drove by, and we waved back. My grandfather then pulled up in the driveway and parked the car. He was the first to get out, but I was interrupted before I could get out.
“Hey Declan” my dad greeted as I stumbled out of my seat before slamming the door behind me.
“Hi dad” I greeted.
“So how was the beach with your old grampy?” He asked “Was it fun?”
“Yeah it was fun” I said “we went for a swim, we sunbathed, all was good.”
“Yeah, it’s great that we came down at this time of year isn’t it?” My dad stated “Louisiana is meant to be boiling in summer.”
It was true afterall, although I have visited my grandfather in the summer before. Although I keep complaining about the heat and usually wait to get back inside with the air conditioning on whenever we go down to the beach. That’s why it’s usually better to go in the winter when there’s just a nice warm breeze.
“Well, I can’t wait to get back to Minnesota” I beamed “it’s gonna be blanketed with lots of ice and snow.”
My dad chuckled “Yeah, but I thought we came down to Louisiana to escape the cold. And besides grandpa briefly visits us during the warmer seasons to escape the intense heat.”
“Well I actually kind of prefer winter over summer” I stated, “I mean, it’s great coming down here every now and then. But when you really think about it summer just looks plain and old and not very great with everything covered in green. However in winter there’s a great aura created by the speckles of snow and ice. It just feels almost mystical.”
My dad chuckled again at my words. “Well you do have a point” he said “However I prefer summer more and I like the warmer weather better. But while we’re here just enjoy the sun and the warmer humid weather of Louisiana while you can.”
I smiled, “Okay dad.” We then walked inside, my dad lounged on one of the sofas in the living room while watching some NFL. I should say though, after being a pro in sport at my school I wasn’t really into sports. However my dad was as he would go for the New England Patriots. Since none of it interested me though, I decided to let my dad do his thing and searched the house for where my grandfather hurried off to.
My grandpa’s house wasn’t really as great and modern looking as ours. It only had a few rooms and some scrubby old curtains and carpets like it was meant for an old man like him. After having no luck of finding my grandfather on the first floor I decided to check the second floor. He wasn’t in his room napping so I didn’t know what he could’ve been up to. I decided to go downstairs and check the basement. To my surprise however he was afterall behind the door to the basement.
“Hey youngin be quiet” he whispered “yer dad can’t know about this.”
“Okay” I whispered back as I followed him down to the basement.
I wondered what my grandpa was up to, sometimes he’d have big surprises for me that only he and I could know about. He did this everytime he had a surprise for me, and let me tell you it never got old. Now that we were in the basement, we were able to speak up. “Okay, great job” he said.
“Why are we down here?” I asked him, wondering what this surprise was about.
“Yer mother’s breast milk” he stated “yer dad can’t know that ah have it or that you drank it.” Rather than a surprise this was more of a secret, although my grandpa did this to let me know of his secrets too. I beamed with excitement.
“Yes” I exclaimed quietly “no wonder you have it in this freezer in the basement.”
I was ready. So ready that I would just pull open the freezer and drink it all in one go. I tried to open the freezer, but the door wouldn’t budge. “What?” I said in bewilderment. I tried tugging the freezer door but no matter how many times or how hard I tugged it, it just wouldn’t open.
“Stop” my grandfather hissed at me “it’s password protected, ah just need ta type in the combination. You can watch if ya want.” I decided to, afterall it made sense for my grandfather to have my mother’s breast milk in a password protected freezer. My grandfather typed in the code and pulled the door open. Some fog began to rush out of the freezer like it had been enclosed in there for years, but now it was finally free.
However as soon as I caught sight of what other things the freezer contained. I’d noticed a rusty iron nail which was now all white and covered in icicles, a huge block of ice that sat on the top shelf, a few frozen bits of oranges and a glass filled to the brim with a brown block of ice. I could not find my mother’s breast milk contained within it though. I was bewildered. “Um grandpa” I spoke up.
“Yeah” he said.
“Two questions, when was the last time you’d opened this freezer? And why do you have other stuff in here too?”
“Well it hasn’t been opened for a while now” he answered “the last time I opened this boy was about 2 years ago, but that was just ta get something out of there. And ah put some of this other stuff in here ta experiment on. These oranges haven’t decomposed, ah guess we can eat them. And this glass of frozen brandy will one day get ya dad ta realise that he can save it all up.”
I sighed, knowing how much of a genius my grandfather was to freeze everything in time. He should’ve been a scientist before he retired. “Okay” I said “well that explains why there was a huge fog in there to begin with.” I was tempting to actually start drinking my mother’s breast milk, I turned to my grandpa. “Let’s just get this over with” I spoke as I was wondering where my mother’s breast milk was contained. But before I could start searching, my grandpa pulled open a small draw in the bottom of the refrigerator. The drawer contained an average bottle filled to the brim with a white substance which would be my mother’s breast milk.
My heart melted. I grasped the bottle in my hand “I never got to see her alive with my own two eyes, and she never got to see me.” I hesitated as my grandfather’s words from earlier that day flashed through my mind. “But at least we have 2 pieces of her, that you’ve kept to this day” I began to briefly sob, as I placed the bottle on the top of the freezer. I then embraced my grandfather tightly, however he didn’t seem to appreciate it.
“Woah, easy there youngin” he managed to speak out “we have ta melt it first.” I let go of him and was completely shook at his words. How long would it take to melt? It had to be quick though before my dad found us.
“How long will it take?” I asked in a slight squeal.
“Well about ten ta twenty minutes” he answered “ah just need ta get mah bunsen burner.”
“Okay” I said, while my grandfather was going over to a cabinet to grab a bunsen burner of his. “I think that’s enough time. Dad just started watching the game, so it’ll take a while for it to end especially with all the commercials getting in the way.”
I was filled to the brim with excitement at this point. As my grandfather turned the on bunsen burner with the breast milk sitting atop a trip above the flame, I sat there and watched the white liquid of my mom’s melt in pride. It however fortunately and unexpectedly didn’t take long, about five minutes to melt every last drop of the white substance. My grandfather turned the bunsen burner off. “Not yet” he said “we need ta let it cool down, that won’t take long either.” I had to agree with him on that one, the breast milk was still way too hot for me to drink and I didn’t want to enjoy warm breast milk. It had to be lukewarm.
The milk took about 10 minutes to cool down to room temperature. However now that I was free to drink it, I was still a bit uncertain of whether it would be safe to consume. “Um, is it safe to drink?” I asked my grandpa as he put away his Bunsen burner.
“Of course” he answered “It’s been frozen for 12 years, it should be in perfect condition.” I took his word for it, and I was ready to drink it. “Wait!” My grandpa interrupted “don’t drink all of it, it’s valuable and we still need that piece of yer mom.”
“Okay grandpa” I said “won’t do.”
However before I started taking a sip I stared at it trying to find the best words to say for my mom. I started sobbing a little before I could actually find the right words. “Mom” I started as some tears began to stream down my eyes “I never got to see you alive with my own two eyes and you never got to see me. But at least we have 2 pieces of you that my grandpa kept to this day.” I began crying hard as I starred sharply at the white liquid. “I’m so sorry mom” I sobbed as my tears began to stream down my face “I’m so sorry that a doctor mistakened botox for an anestetic. Your belly wasn’t even that wrinkly or muscular.” I stayed there and hesitated as I brought my eyes right to the edge of the bottle. I began to slowly calm down as I gazed at the white liquid contained within the bottle. “But...this” I started as I grapped the bottle and unscrewed the cap “this is for you.” I then brought the edge of the bottle to my lips and let the white liquid pour into my mouth.
I was doing it, I was drinking my own mother’s breast milk and I was doing it with pride. Eventually I began to take huge gulps and the white liquid began to pour down my dry throat more and more. It tasted rather good, better than that of diary milk from a cow. My grandpa watched in astonishment as he began to sob heavily. However I didn’t forget what my grandpa told me earlier, to not drink all of it. As instructed I stopped drinking and parted the bottle from my lips, only half of the milk had remained in the bottle. I then put the lid back on and screwed it back on. I placed the bottle down on the top of the freezer and made eye contact with my grandpa. “Grandpa” I started, he smiled back at me. I hesitated trying to find the right words to say, but eventually I spoke out. “Thank you” I said after more tears began to stream down my face “You don’t know how much that meant to me.”
He and I then tightly embraced. He kissed me thrice, one the left cheek, the right cheek and on my forehead. “That’s mah boy Declan” he said as his voice began to break. We held each other for a few minutes, probably three, just embracing each other in joy and astonishment. He eventually let go of me and started to look serious “But ah think the football game is nearly over, we’re gonna have ta put the rest of the milk away before yer dad finds out what we did.”
I nodded “right then.”
The cleanup of this whole event didn’t take too long. My grandfather did the usual and put the half empty bottle of breast milk back into the freezer. He placed it back into the drawer on the bottom shelf exactly where it was before. He then closed the drawer and shut the door of the freezer tight. To my intention it was probably locked once closed, and it turned out to be the case and my grandpa didn’t have to do anything else after closing it. Now that everything was all secretly done, my grandpa and I slowly walked up the stairs and out of the basement. “Stay behind youngin” he warned “yer dad could be out on the loose.” My grandpa slowly opened the door and he and I tip toed out into the living room unnoticed. To my surprise my dad was still watching the game. I guess we were that quick that the game wasn’t even over yet.
We spent the rest of the day having family time with my dad and my grandfather as we had a great dinner that consisted of turkey and chips. My grandfather always had a fondness for turkey and chips, it was just his way of living in this area. To me though, it felt like a mix of thanksgiving and Burger King. Although we didn’t have any burgers, sometimes my grandfather would make some or go to Burger King with me at times when I felt like it. Today however was my last day at my grandfather’s house. Tomorrow my dad and I were gonna pack our stuff and head on a road trip north to Duluth. We’d always done road trips to my grandfather’s house and it usually took a total of 2 days to complete, I enjoyed it nonetheless though.
It was also rather surprising to find out that my grandfather had managed to collect a sample of my mother’s breast milk and keep it stored in a secret password protected freezer for 12 years. However it meant a lot to me, knowing that I got something from my mom and since breast milk tastes much better than that of dairy, one question lingered in my mind. Why couldn’t we just drink breast milk instead of farming some cows and getting their milk? It just makes dairy all the more pointless when you think about it.
I also can’t wait to get back home and start watching My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic again, I miss watching that show. My grandfather didn’t have any wifi, so I couldn’t really do anything at his house for fun other than just play offline games for a while to keep me entertained. There was so much I needed to do once I got home, but that just had to wait after another successful vacation of visiting my grandfather.
I had woken up, in the guest bedroom that I’d slept in for the past couple of nights at my grandfather’s house. It was the last day afterall and we were about to head back up on a long 48 hour road trip to Duluth. However as soon as I woke up I’d just noticed that my dad started to pack our stuff and all of our personal belongings that we needed into our suitcases, it was about time we started to get going.
“Declan” my dad hissed, as I glanced at him out of the corner of my groggy eye “get up, we’ve gotta get going!” I sat up and looked at him.
“Okay dad” I said as I slowly lifted myself out of my bed.
“Okay” my dad spoke “you need to hurry up. We’re leaving in an hour, so get dressed go brush your teeth and go have your breakfast downstairs. It should be ready by the time you do all that.”
“Okay dad” I said as I found the clothes that I was gonna wear today sitting on the edge of my bed.
I did what had been insisted. I’d undressed myself out of my pyjamas and put on my clothes. Since we were still in Louisana and it was fairly warm, I wore some shorts and a t-shirt for the start of the day. Just like everyday I visit my grandfather. I then went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth, then I headed on downstairs to have my breakfast. My grandfather usually cooks our breakfast before we get up, which I have to admit saves up a lot of time when it comes to our day. So I went downstairs, my grandpa had cooked some sausages and made some waffles covered in maple syrup for me to enjoy. It was my favourite breakfast afterall.
“Hey youngin” My grandpa greeted as I stepped into the kitchen.
“Hi grandpa” I said as I walked to a stool situated at the kitchen table. I sat down and began to eat away at my favourite breakfast that my grandpa had cooked. As older people usually need less sleep it was completely normal for my grandpa to be awake earlier than us and make our breakfast before we got up. I really did enjoy visiting my grandpa that most of the times we visited I did not want to go back home. However at least now I had enough time to start talking to him as we had an hour left before departing.
“So” he started as he sat on a stool opposite of me “ah heard taday is yer last day here. Ah really wish ah could come with ya up ta Minnesota and celebrate Christmas in the chilly cold.”
“Yeah” I said as I jabbed my sausage with my fork “It really does suck when I have to leave. Although my dad and I have one hour here before we depart, we can share what’s the same and what’s different about each other’s places.” There were a few differences and similarities about my grandpa’s place and my place. First of all, my grandfather’s house looks all scrubby. The carpets, the curtains and the overall look of the house looks way different to our modern suburban house back in Minnesota. As old people usually prefer the scrubby look to their houses, but after a while of staying you can get settled in quite easily. My grandfather’s house also has no internet or wifi, so the best use of using my electronics while visiting him is by playing offline games. Most of the time I usually surf the web, however offline games are fun nonetheless.
Some similarities about my grandfather’s house is that this place feels hospitable and like home. My grandfather and I usually do share a much bigger bond between my dad and I as he is able to tell secrets and hide things that only I can know about but my dad can never know about. This makes him a more trustworthy and greater person than my dad. My grandfather also barely drank alcoholic drinks unlike my dad. When he does drink alcohol, he usually drinks rum which is more alcoholic and intoxicating than my dad’s prefered alcoholic drink brandy.
We just sat there at the kitchen table the two of us. Discussing what both our homes were like and what similarities and differences there were. By the time my grandfather spoke up again however, we’d just finished our breakfast and I was on the verge of leaving. “Well ya had a great time ah guess didnt ya?” He asked as he carried his plate over to the kitchen sink.
“Yes” I said “I had a great time here in Louisiana with you, but I really think it’s time to go home.” My grandpa strolled to the other side of the kitchen table and was now standing right next to me. He rested his arm on my shoulder while also having a look on his face with bewilderment.
“Well ah thought ya liked it here” he stated “why do ya wanna go? Ya usually never want ta go home when ya visit me.”
It was true however. But my grandfather didn’t have any internet in house old scrubby home, and it didn’t usually snow in Louisiana. Once I got back up to Minnesota however it was yet to be blanked with white heavy snow. As I prefered the cold over the heat I wanted to go back to the frigid temperatures of Minnesota and start to move away from the nice warm weather of Louisiana. “I know grandpa” I responded “but it’s just that I miss the cold and wifi. And I do prefer winter over summer, and it doesn’t snow in Louisiana but Minnesota is a whole different story.”
“Well Okay, ah know ya like the cold weather a lot better than the warm” My grandpa started “but we both are meant for each other if ya know what ah mean.”
He was right, I knew it was too good to be true. “Yes, you tell me secrets that only I can know about but my dad can’t” I started as I began to reflect on what times I had with my grandfather and who he was. “Yesterday you told me a secret that meant a lot to me. You collected my mom’s breast milk before she died and a few days before I was born. You froze it in a password protected freezer for over 12 years, and then just yesterday you tell me about this.” I quickly glanced behind me to make sure my dad wasn’t around. Thank god he wasn’t, if he would’ve heard this conversation both my grandpa and I would be in deep trouble. I quickly finished what I was saying “And then you defrosted it and I drank half of it. And that was one of” I felt a tear begin to fall down the cheek, it was just too heartwarming “It was...one of the most meaningful things you and I have ever done.”
I then got up from my stool and held my grandfather in a tight embrace. “Thank you again grandpa” I said as I hugged him tight. I then kissed him on the cheek, showing how affectionate and heart melted I was towards my grandpa.
“Ya don’t need ta mention it youngin” he said as he gently stroked my back “Ah love ya more than anything else in the entire world.” We let go of each other, just soon enough that I heard some footsteps and clattering coming from the stairs. It was my dad carrying our luggage down the stairs. “Well Declan” My grandpa said “it was fun. But as ya said you like it cold better than hot.” My grandfather then turned to face the front door and finished “so get back home ta Minnesota and enjoy the freezin’ cold winter. Also...”
He turned back around to face me and said “have a great Christmas.” I nodded, but I also had to say something as well.
“Also grandpa, I think I should visit you more during the summer” I stated “I know I hate the heat and everything. But if we’re inside most of the time with the air-con on, I guess it will give us more time to get together as a family rather than just going out and doing the outdoor activities we usually do.”
My grandpa smiled “Okay then...” Before he could continue to speak, I interrupted.
“Plus Minnesota is boring in summer, whereas Louisiana is more thrilling during summer.”
“Alright youngin, it’s a deal then” My grandpa proudly said as he glanced at the window.
I decided to look away and focus my attention on what dad was doing. It turns out by now he’d only retrieved two suitcases and had loaded them into the car. He was about to get the last suitcase which was ungodly huge compared to the other two we brought with us. Before he made his way upstairs to retrieve it however he asked me “Hey Declan, do you want to help me carry the big suitcase down? It’s a bit too heavy and I kinda need some help.”
I nodded in reply “sure dad, I always help you carry the big suitcase down.”
“Okay” my dad said “Come on then.”
I followed my dad upstairs to our guest bedroom. He grabbed the edge of the big suitcase and pulled it out of the room. “Now I want you to lift the back of the suitcase up so that we can carry it down” my dad insisted. I nodded and did as was told as I lifted the other side of the suitcase up. I usually lift the back of the suitcase up as I am not quite strong enough to carry it down the stairs via the front, and for me it’s usually easier to push the suitcase forward rather then pulling it towards yourself. It makes it easier for me as I am still a young and fragile kid. We then smoothly carried the suitcase outside to the boot of the car, which was quite big as we own a Porsche Cheyenne. We then closed the boot and got in the car.
I checked the time, on my dad’s watch and saw that it was only 9 o’clock. We were about to leave any moment, but just before my dad could turn the keys I saw my grandfather run out of the house and towards our car. He seemed to be running towards me, so I opened my door. “Hey youngin” my grandfather said as he approached me, but suddenly surprised me with three kisses.
“I love you grandpa” I said as I hugged him back. I hadn’t even buckled up my seatbelt yet so now was a good time to say my goodbyes.
“Hey dad” my dad interrupted from the driver’s seat. My grandfather turned away from me to face my father and listen to whatever he was about to say. “It was pleasing coming back to visit you, as always. But we really need to get going now, we have a Christmas to enjoy.”
“Well it’s really no problem at all Sean” my grandfather replied, and yes that was my dad’s real name “but take care while ya can, ah love ya son.”
“I love you too dad” my dad spoke out to my grandpa.
My grandfather then made his way to the other side of our car and opened my dad’s car door. He surprised my dad with a kiss on the cheek and then said “Take care son.”
“I sure will” my dad said with a smile.
“Enjoy the cold back in Minnesota, Declan says that he loves it” my dad chuckled at my grandfather’s words.
“Okay” my dad responded “Even though I prefer it warm.” Before we were about to leave however, I wanted to say a quick farewell to my grandpa before we drove off.
“Goodbye grandpa!” I called from my seat, which quickly got my grandpa’s attention.
“Bye youngin” My grandpa greeted back “take care the both of you, have a great Christmas.”
“Sure will” my dad said as he closed his car door. I shut my car door after my dad and quickly buckled up my seat.
We drove off and while we were at it I waved back to my grandfather as we drove out of his driveway and onto the road. Another successful vacation with visiting my grandfather, as always most of our vacations with my grandpa were successful as they’re usually more family oriented than activity oriented. It sure was gonna be a long trip home after all, as we were gonna be driving for 48 hours. Just yesterday my dad refuelled the car so that we don’t have to stop quickly at a gas station on the way back. We were also driving all the way back up to Minnesota, so it wasn’t surprising that we were gonna have many stops on our way up. We also had plenty of food that would help last me the whole trip, and all was good for the 2 day road trip.
My thoughts at the moment were focussed on MLP FiM, the show I grew to love and had a strong relationship with, now that I was a brony. I couldn’t wait to get back up and start watching it again. I hadn’t even caught up with all the latest episodes so that was one of my jobs once I got back home. If my memory serves me correctly I believe that I was up to Season 6, and from then on there is Season 7 and 8 which I need to check out as well.
On our way up, we passed through various towns that I couldn’t recall all the names of. My dad didn’t stop yet to refuel the car as it was halfway empty just as we’d passed through Louisiana and I’d eaten enough snacks to keep me going. Our first stop though was Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas. Which meant it had only been 7 hours in the car. I had drank so much beverages that I myself needed to go for a number 1 in the bathroom by the time we’d arrived at a local gas station. “Okay” my dad said as he pulled over next to one of the gas pumps “We’re just gonna take a short bathroom break and refuel here. If you want to buy something also please let me know, Declan.”
I nodded and replied “yeah I want something. I think I will have some Gatorade as I hadn’t drank that in a while. But I don’t want anything to eat yet, I’m not that hungry.”
“Okay” my dad said as he got out of the car “I will buy it after I go to the bathroom and refuel.” I slowly got to my feet after spending 7 hours straight in my dad’s car and boy were they weak. Usually after you don’t use your legs for a while they usually become weak and feel disfigured and that’s what I was experiencing at this very moment.
My dad and I stumbled all the way towards the men’s public bathroom. The women’s and special needs bathroom were both located on the inside of the gas station, however the men’s bathroom was on the outside! However I thought it was a good thing so that I didn’t have to stumble all the way into the gas station with these weak legs of mine. Surprisingly my dad was getting across fine on those strong legs of his. However I was young and couldn’t walk very well after not using my legs for a while. There had also been a slight change in temperature as soon as I’d gotten out of the car, since we were in Arkansas now. The temperature slightly dropped by about 50 degrees, and boy did it start to feel chilly.
I managed to stumble all the way to the bathroom though, and once I got to the door I pushed it open and collapsed on the ground below me. The struggle was real, I hadn’t used my legs in a while and it felt like I was walking on crotches. However as I collapsed I thought I saw a blue blur out of the corner of my eye on a nature strip. To me it looked like a portal of some sort, however I thought that I’d check it out later as now I had to pee. I got up off the floor and slowly stumbled towards the urinal and went for it. Once I had finished doing what I was doing I went outside and stumbled back to the car. However I thought I’d noticed three colourful blurs out of the corner of my eye while doing so. I looked again and, no. It could not be! How? What? Why? Was I dreaming or going insane? Was my DID getting worse? What was going on?
I was suddenly interrupted by my dad as he approached me from behind. “Okay Declan, be good” he insisted as he approached me “I’m gonna go refuel the car then I’m gonna go buy what we need okay.” I tried not to smile or look euphoric in front of my dad, as I was in shock of what I’d just seen.
“Okay dad” I said trying to sound as confident as I could.
“Right” my dad said as he went over to our car to refuel it. I looked again, towards those three colourful blurs I’d just seen. I quickly glanced at my dad to make sure he wasn’t watching though, and thank god he wasn’t. He was too distracted refuelling our car, and I’d suspect he’d then go inside to buy my Gatorade and whatever snacks he needed.
I then brought my focus back to whatever I’d just witnessed, I decided to make it quick and I quickly stumbled towards three colourful small figures. One of the figures was a light yellow, another was white and the last one was orange. As I had approached them though it came clear to me. They were fillies, but not just any ordinary fillies. Right in front of me stood Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, those three filly characters from the show MLP FiM. I didn’t know if I was mentally unstable or what, but I tried to approach them as best as I could without letting out any euphoric squeals as I was actually seeing them. I decided to speak...“Hi” the three fillies flinched as they heard me speak.
“Ah” Apple Bloom yelped as she stepped back “what are ya?”
“Not only that, but where are we anyway?” Scootaloo asked as she lept next to Apple Bloom.
“Girls, calm down” I said as I tried to look as innocent as possible.
“Calm down?” Apple Bloom spoke out as shuddered upon seeing me “what even are ya? A witch?” I almost laughed, however I was more concerned for her safety rather than my humor.
“Are ya gonna hurt us? Please don’t, please don’t!” Apple Bloom panicked, I really started to feel bad at seeing her reaction to me, really. As much as I love the CMC and watching the show MLP FiM I really hated it to see the three fillies scared of me.
“Hurt you?” I said in bewilderment.
“I don’t think he’s gonna hurt us Apple Bloom” Sweetie Belle spoke out as she eyed on me “he looks really nice.”
“Nice? Nice?!” Scootaloo barked “You judge a book by its cover don’t you Sweetie Belle?”
“No, really” I said “I really am a nice person. I don’t want to hurt you or anything. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“Well...” Scootaloo started as she tried to find the right words “Okay then, just what are you and what is this place?”
As much as I felt the need to ask if I was mentally insane or not, I decided to introduce myself. “Well hello” I said as I kneeled down and shook Scootaloo’s hoof. “My name is Declan” I introduced “I am a human, and I was just on a holiday with my grandpa. But I’m just coming back.”
Scootaloo looked up at me with slight uncertainty on her face. “Okay then” she was still unsure about me as she backed up a little. “Well Declan” said Scootaloo “Do you know where we are right now? Do you live here?” I was extremely flustered by Scootaloo’s response, surely I couldn’t give the exact details of where we were located but I had to give her something as the orange filly was waiting for an answer.
“Well” I said “you’re in the human world, this is earth.” If I wasn’t hallucinating all of this though and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were actually there standing in front of me, I had to ask them something nerve racking. “Okay, well I have one question” I said “you did you three get here?”
Sweetie Belle was surprisingly the first to reply and she spoke up. “Well we were sent here by mistake when Twilight was trying to teleport us somewhere” the white unicorn filly started “and she got distracted and messed the spell up, then sent us here.” Teleport? I wondered myself what Twilight was trying to do. However I thought that it wouldn’t be important at the moment, as I eyed the unicorn filly with content. Was she there though? Was I mentally unstable? I don’t know what was going on, but I tried to stop my nerve racking thoughts and talk to the three fillies to assist them.
“Well” I said “that’s such a shame. But could Twilight teleport you back?” I was wondering if Twilight being the princess of friendship had the courage to be able to locate the CMC and teleport them back to Equestria where they belonged.
“Well sadly, no” Sweetie Belle stated as she stared at the ground “so I’m afraid that we’re stuck here, and I don’t even know the spells that Twilight knows.”
After being in complete shock after encountering me, I was surprised to see Apple Bloom approach me with ease. “But while we’re at it, why don’t we intraduce ourselves?” Apple Bloom asked as she held out her hoof. “Ahm Apple Bloom” she said as I shook her hoof “and these are mah two best friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. We’re from Equestria, and we’re part of a group called the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” Pretending I didn’t know her, I spoke up.
“Okay, I see” I said as I let go of her hoof “Well, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m a nice person really, but while I’m at it why don’t I bring you all home with me?”
“Well that would be very nice” Sweetie Belle commented with a beaming smile of hers. She really is the cutest character in the show, and there is no doubt about it. “You are a very nice person then Declan” she said as she approached me.
“Well alright” Scootaloo said, accepting my offer “If it gets us home faster.”
Just as I was about to lead the CMC to my dad’s car however, I had to quickly check if my dad was still refuelling the car. And boy he wasn’t, he was probably inside buying my Gatorade and some other snacks that he was gonna eat. I also didn’t feel mentally stable after seeing 3 small fillies from a land called Equestria. Shut up Declan a voice from inside my head said they’re real, this isn’t a dream. You only have mild DID so there’s no way you’re gonna hallucinate anything. I followed my mind’s orders, it was true however. DID wasn’t even a hallucinating mental disability like schizophrenia, so it was obvious to me.
“Alright Declan” Apple Bloom spoke “Ya gonna take us in?” I quickly checked the gas station window, my dad was purchasing something from the refrigerator. It was either now or never that I was gonna take the three fillies home with me. But what would my dad say? What would he do? He wasn’t gonna allow me to raise three talking ponies from some magical land called Equestria.
Before I could make my command however Sweetie Belle spoke up “What’s that metal thing with wheels over there?” She was obviously talking about the car. As far as I know they don’t have cars in Equestria, but instead they have carriages used as taxis in Manehattan. However this wasn’t a time for questions this was a time for making my move.
I peeked into the gas station window again, my dad was moving towards the cash register. “Okay Crusaders” I said “I’m gonna put you in the boot okay. Nobody can see you, it’s dangerous for you out here. Even if my dad sees you he’s gonna forbid me from keeping you in my house.”
“Okay” Scootaloo whispered “then let’s go already.” I raced out from the nature strip and towards my dad’s Porsche Cheyenne. The Crusaders followed me from behind while being cautious of their surroundings. By sheer luck I made it to the boot. And quickly shifted two of our suitcases to the backseat. With only the big suitcase being in the back it was big enough to fit all three fillies in.
“Quick guys” I spoke “Get in the boot, hurry.” The three fillies did as they were told and lept up into the boot.
“Eh” Scootaloo complained “It’s a bit cramped in here.”
I replied quickly “When I get the chance, I will move the big suitcase for you. Try not to make noise also otherwise my dad will hear.”
“Okay” Sweetie Belle said “I will try to be as quiet as I can, I promise.” Once all three Crusaders were in the boot, I shut it quickly.
“Declan!” Apple Bloom moaned “that scared me.” I quickly got back in the back seat and replied to her.
“Sorry Apple Bloom” I said “My dad is gonna be out of there any second, now is your time to be quiet.”
“Will do” Apple Bloom replied, while doing the gestures of a pinkie promise.
I had done it. I had taken in three fillies from Equestria and they were all tucked into the back seat of my dad’s car. There was no doubt that this was all in my head, and today couldn’t be a dream. Just before I had realized my dad had walked out of the gas station with two bottles of Gatorade in his hands as well as a couple Hershey’s bars and a couple cheeseburgers and fries to keep us going for the trip. He got into the car and spoke up. “Well Declan” he said “I got two Gatorade bottles, since you know you really love Gatorade and you were very good on the holiday. I decided to get you two.”
“Okay dad” I replied “Thanks, for giving me some special treatment.”
“Also” my dad said “This here is dinner, two cheeseburgers and some large fries for us to share. And also these chocolate bars are for dessert.” I was actually surprised that dad went through all that trouble, just to get us dinner and dessert for us on our road trip.
“Well thanks” I said “but first I’d like some Gatorade.”
By the time my dad backed out of the gas station I checked the time on the dashboard. It was 5:30 PM, and dad was gonna be driving all night long without sleeping. I also couldn’t believe that I had the Cutie Mark Crusaders from the show MLP FiM at the back in the boot with me. It was like I was dreaming or something, but I knew it was too good to be real. I also tried not to let out a squeak in fanboy shock, which I was honestly very hard to do. Considering the fact that I had 3 cartoon ponies from a magical land known as Equestria in the boot behind me.
However as we’d journeyed further north on our road trip I’d finished my burger and fries that dad had purchased as my dinner. However I decided to sneak a few bits of my burger behind to the Crusaders without my dad even noticing. He was too busy paying attention to the road and had the radio on loud in the front seat to be worrying about what I was doing. I had also eaten half the chips my dad had offered me, and I left the rest to the three fillies. It sure was gonna be a long trip home afterall, and a rough one as well now that I have the Cutie Mark Crusaders actually there, in the boot of my car. I just had to keep it cool though and not get noticed by my dad, and the trip would be a safe one.
The road trip had continued with little disturbance. However there was this one time where dad was stopped by a hobo stumbling onto the road which took almost an hour for him to make a move. I didn’t judge the old man, he seemed older than my grandfather and was probably too tired and frail to move on his own. Dad got extremely agitated that he scowled so loud which would be loud enough to shock the crusaders. He kept swearing the more longer he had to wait for the man to make a move which was quite a struggle when being a driver, especially if you need to get somewhere. However the man did eventually move off the road and into the surrounding fields. Once we started moving again I heard a sound coming from the boot!
“Psst Declan” Scootaloo whispered under her breath. I quickly peeked over into the boot to see the little orange Pegasus filly looking up at me. I couldn’t see Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle, so I’d assumed that they were tucked away and resting their groggy eyes in some of the blankets I had laid down whilst my dad had stopped for a toilet break in Harrison. “What was all that yelling about?”
“My dad got a little agitated at a homeless man on the road” I explained, however quickly glanced over to the front seat to make sure my dad hadn’t noticed. By sheer luck he hadn’t. Although it was good that the radio was on in the front seat so he couldn’t hear me whispering over the syncing sound being picked up by radio waves. He was also too busy paying attention to the road to worry about what I was doing in the backseat. I continued “Don’t worry, it happens a lot here.”
“Oh okay” Scootaloo replied, while giving off an assuring look “I just got a bit startled, that’s all.”
“Well all is good Scoot” I confirmed to her “If it happens again don’t worry about it. I will be the judge of it”
“K...” I heard Scootaloo mutter as she nodded before turning away. I turned away from the boot and checked the time on the radio screen, it was currently 9:42 PM. I was ready to fall asleep, even though my usual bedtime was 10:30 it had been a long exhausting day. I lay there in the backseat of my dad’s car thinking about earlier today when I left my grandfather’s house. Since we were travelling it was hard to believe that what happened this morning was the same day, because it felt like it was such a long time ago. It’s a feeling that happens to everybody, trust me.
After all, today felt like a special day. As I had picked up three fillies from a magical land known as Equestria, my three favorite ponies the Cutie Mark Crusaders were sound asleep in the boot of the car. I suddenly remembered I had forgotten my dessert, better late then never. I quickly asked my dad “Hey, dad I would like my Hershey’s bar now.”
“Okay Declan” my dad said, while handing over my Hersey’s chocolate bar. “I’m gonna keep driving okay, but you get some sleep when you need.”
I nodded as I unwrapped the wrapper and started eating. I had assumed dad had already had his chocolate bar and since I’d forgotten to have mine, the best time would be now. I also wanted to offer the Crusaders some of my chocolate bar, however they were too busy sleeping and I didn’t want to disturb them. I chowed down on my chocolate bar until it was all gone, I then placed the wrapper in the plastic bag we used as a trash can. Then I slowly sat up in my seat and drifted off to sleep.
...
I had woken up, it felt extremely warm inside the car. It was still dark outside however I had assumed it was earlier in the morning. I hadn’t gotten enough sleep also, due to not being able to find a comfortable position. I had moved the big suitcase to the front earlier and the Cutie Mark Crusaders felt comfortable in the back, but I didn’t feel comfortable at all in the front due to lack of space to rest my head. I checked the time quickly, it was only 5:28 AM. And it seemed that dad had the heater on as well, which made sense as it was getting colder by the minute the more north we were driving up. The windows were blanketed with fog, and I used my bare fist to wipe off the fog to catch a glimpse of where we were. There were houses around of course which gave some indication that we were approaching a town, it was just then that I’d caught a glimpse of sign we had passed which I had noticed that promoted ‘Welcome to Jefferson City.’ Great! We were only 665 miles away from home and I was beginning to feel exhausted from sleep deprivation. However I still think I could manage till then, and once I was back in my nice comfortable bed back at our house in Duluth, I’d be able to get enough sleep by then.
After crossing the impossibly large state of Missouri, I hadn’t even realised how cold it was outside until now. We weren’t in the warm humid climate of Louisiana anymore, so I quickly undressed out of my shorts. With only my shirt remained, I had slipped on my down jumper and long pants due to the severe change in temperature. I had also listened very carefully to the radio’s weather forecast and heard that it was 7 degrees fahrenheit outside. It was morning and the sun had just risen and it was blanketed white outside with you guessed it, snow. I was beginning to get excited now that it was blanketed with white and not patched with green, seeing as I prefer winter over summer. Our first stop however in the bitter cold was Des Moines, the capital of Iowa. That only meant 8 more hours in the car.
“Okay Declan” my dad spoke as he pulled up into a nearby gas station “This and Minneapolis should be our final two stops left to last us the trip back home. In the meantime, do you want anything to eat, or drink? More Gatorade?” I dismissed the idea of Gatorade immediately, I didn’t feel comfortable with having Gatorade as a breakfast drink. As much as I love Gatorade I prefer it as a treat over something I usually drink on a daily basis. Those who are average and relate to me would know why.
“Well actually dad, no” I said “I don’t want Gatorade for breakfast, I would just like some simple fruit juice.”
Dad responded with a reassuring nod as he parked his car next to the fuel pump. “No, I didn’t mean for now” he explained “I meant for later, then we wouldn’t have to buy some more. Other than that what would you like to eat?”
I quickly thought about the idea of having some sausages and waffles for breakfast as they were probably the only things a gas station would sell during the early morning hours. Not to mention that they were my favourite breakfast, as I had them cooked perfectly well by my grandfather yesterday morning. I accepted dad’s offer and replied “Yeah sure, if they have any sausages or waffles. Seeing as they are my favourite breakfast, and I’d love to have more Gatorade for later.”
“Okay” Dad said as he opened up his car door and stepped out “you be good okay, I’ll be done in a short while.” He always said that every time we stopped to refuel or have a break. I didn’t see anything wrong with it however as I was usually very well behaved, so I usually wouldn’t leave the car while we were refuelling unless I had to use the bathroom. Upon seeing dad leave the car to refuel I heard someone whisper from behind me.
“Declan” I heard Scootaloo’s voice whisper from behind me. Now wasn’t the time, I had to insist her to keep quiet to avoid being discovered by my dad.
“Not now Scootaloo” I hissed back “my dad is right outside refuelling the car.”
“Oh, it’s called a car” Sweetie Belle spoke up, loud enough to be heard. Crap!
“Shush!” I hissed in an attempt to keep the fillies quiet. Too late, I saw dad glance towards my window! I had to come up with something and fast, before dad got a glimpse of what was present in the boot.
“Declan” Dad spoke up as he peeked through the car door “what was that squeaking sound?” I had to come up with an excuse, I just had to. Trying not to look as suspicious as possible I came up with the best possible explanation to explain Sweetie Belle’s voice.
“Oh it was just my phone” I explained with confidence, yet feeling a bit nervous inside “my friends are probably calling me to wonder why I hadn’t been there for the start of the holiday.”
“Okay” dad replied with uncertainty on his face “But to me it sounded like the voice of a young girl, how do you explain that?”
“Oh, it’s my new ringtone” I answered “I decided to use it to see if it’s any louder than the normal phone ringtone, and it turns out it is.”
“Okay then” My dad said finally being assured with my lie. I didn’t actually have a ringtone that sounded anything like Sweetie Belle’s voice and if he’d caught me without that ringtone, I would be in serious trouble. I wasn’t too nervous however since the Crusaders were only staying with me for only a few days before they find a way back to Equestria. Ever since I had picked them up back down in Little Rock, the more nervous I had got for the rest of the road trip home.
Now being fully assured, my dad went back to refuelling the car. I quickly peeked back over into the boot and whispered “Well that was close, if my dad caught you I’d be in deep trouble.”
“But Declan” Scootaloo whispered sounding like she was about to shriek “I need to pee, and I can’t hold it much longer.”
“Ah think ah need ta pee too” Apple Bloom whispered “Ah haven’t gone to the bathroom since yesterday.”
They needed to pee. Although I didn’t feel like letting them out, I was just worried that they’d run off and that I’d never catch sight of them again. I had only hoped that they’d come right back to the car after doing their thing. I wanted to offer them a place to stay however I was worried that they’d run away too.
“Okay” I whispered finally calming my worries “My dad is refuelling the car at the moment so you can’t go without the risk of being caught. He’s about to go inside to buy us some food so you’ll have to go when he’s inside the gas station buying us snacks. Nobody else is nearby besides my dad, I’ll let you go this one time but after you go, come right back into the boot. I don’t wanna lose you.”
“Okay” Scootaloo said with a reassuring look “I will try to be as quick as I can, I’ll go into one of those bushes over there.”
“Sounds good to me” Sweetie Belle whispered.
“Do you need to go Sweetie Belle?” I asked “it’s good if you go now.”
“No” Sweetie Belle replied “But I’ll go now so that I don’t have to go later.”
“Alright then” Apple Bloom said “When Declan’s dad is outta sight, we’ll go.”
“Actually” I spoke as I turned my gaze towards my dad, who was no longer refuelling the car. He was now walking into the gas station to buy us some food. Now was the perfect time to let the fillies out to urinate when they needed to. “My dad is going into the gas station now, I’ll let you out.”
As quickly as I could, I got out of the car and opened the boot. Soon enough as the boot was open the Crusaders were galloping towards a bush sitting on a nature strip that was buried in snow. It was a good place for three cartoon ponies from the land of Equestria to go to the bathroom, as nobody could see them. It was also good that nobody else was around outside to be able to take notice of three cartoon ponies galloping towards a bush on snow covered concrete. I couldn’t see the fillies doing their thing but what did catch my sight was a small streak of yellow travelling down the snow. Yuck! That’s why they tell you to never eat yellow snow, because it’s basically just frozen urine in the snow. And if you were wondering why I was watching, I was just hoping that they’d return to the car like I had originally hoped.
About half a minute had passed and the fillies had galloped back to the boot of my car, which I never even realised I had left open until now. “Okay we’re done” Apple Bloom said “Now close this thing, an’ don’t be too loud this time. Just do it nice an’ smooth.”
“Okay” I said, obeying Apple Bloom “Nice and smooth, but not too smooth for the boot to be open and not fully closed.” I did as she had insisted and slowly closed the boot of our Porsche Cheyenne, the sound it made when it had closed confirmed that the boot was shut tight. I nodded then got back into the backseat of the car. Dad wasn’t out yet so now I had some extra time to chat with the crusaders.
“Girls” I said as I peeked over at the three fillies “Are you three okay?”
“Yeah I’m fine” Scootaloo said “maybe Sweetie Belle was right, you do look nice.” Sweetie Belle had smiled at Scootaloo and nodded in confirmation to my beauty. I must say, I have never usually been called nice in my life. Only a few times by Alecia, but never usually by the rest of my friends or by my dad.
I admitted it with a reply “Yes I am nice, and you should thank me later for taking you three in.”
“Say” Apple Bloom started “How much longer until we get ta yer place?”
I had only then remembered that we were only in Iowa, in Des Moines. The capital was pretty much in the centre of the state and I had recalled that Duluth was only 8 hours away. “Well only 8 more hours until we get to my place” I said “I’m sure you’ll love Minnesota, especially at this time of year.” Apple Bloom seemed to be bewildered by my response. Not only did she not know what Minnesota was but she also didn’t know where in the world she was to seem to understand.
“Look Apple Bloom” Scootaloo said with a slight snare “We’re only hours away from this kid’s house, so please don’t question anything until we arrive okay.” Apple Bloom nodded, seeming to understand her Pegasus friend’s advice.
“And besides” Sweetie Belle spoke up “What bad could it be? I’m sure there’ll be more nice humans along the w-“
“Shush” I hissed “My dad is coming back, now sit tight and be quiet. I don’t want to get almost caught again.” Sweetie Belle nodded in response seeming to understand my words. By sheer luck my dad hadn’t heard her this time, Sweetie Belle was quiet in time just as my dad had gotten back into the car. With a plate of some sausages and waffles in his left hand and Gatorade and a bag his right.
“I got you some sausages and waffles” Dad said as he shut the car door next to him “sadly they didn’t have any maple syrup but I guess you can still enjoy them while you can.” Dad had laid some of the food items down into the passenger seat. As he and I were the only two people in our family nobody sat in the passenger seat in the front, so we usually used it as a placeholder for groceries.
He had handed me the plate with the sausages and the waffles sitting atop it, I meekly replied. “Well I don’t like my waffles without maple syrup” I explained “but I guess this is just fine on its own, despite how bland it is.”
“Come on” dad said with an encouraging look “cheer up, just enjoy it as it is.” I nodded, yet still feeling a bit disappointed that there was no maple syrup available at the gas station. However that didn’t stop me from enjoying my breakfast as I began to chow down on the sausages. Dad glanced at me, happy to see me having my breakfast before he started the car then drove out of the gas station and onto the road. I had already finished my sausages and had now gotten onto my waffles since I overly enjoy the sausages, and since ponies don’t eat meat I decided to finish them first and then sneak bits of the waffles behind to the Crusaders.
As Sweetie Belle began snacking on some of my waffle she quietly asked me. “Hey Declan, have you got anything to drink? I’m really thirsty.”
“Um yeah I have some Gatorade” I answered, not surprised if I found out that Sweetie Belle didn’t know what Gatorade was. However her response wasn’t what I had merely expected.
“Okay” Sweetie Belle responded with a whisper “Hand it over to me quickly.”
I did as was insisted. I grabbed the Gatorade very sneakily from the front passenger seat, unnoticed by my dad as he was paying attention to the road and not worrying about what I was up to. I then quietly snuck the bottle of the coloured liquid over into the boot. “Thanks” Sweetie Belle replied with a reassuring smile.
“You’re welcome” I whispered to the crusaders “I didn’t really need it anyway, I can get some more on the way up.” I listened in silence to the conversation the fillies were having as they had eyed the bottle of liquid that was unknown to them. After all, I knew very well that there was no Gatorade In Equestria so questions were to be expected.
“What is this stuff?” I heard Scootaloo ask in slight bewilderment.
“Ah think it’s juice” Apple Bloom said, however still unsure of what the coloured substance was known as. However she had seemed to be reading the label on the bottle as she seemed to have trouble with understanding the word. “It’s Gat-ore-ade? Ah don’t know what’s its called, but looks like juice ta me.”
“Do you think we can really drink this though?” Scootaloo asked while feeling a bit unsure of what to think of the substance.
“Well we’re all thirsty right?” Sweetie Belle asked but quickly continued before Apple Bloom or Scootaloo could answer the question. “And it looks big enough to fill up the three of us, so it seems like we should.”
“Okay” Scootaloo said “I’m trusting you on this one Sweetie Belle.”
It took no time at all before all three fillies began to consume the whole bottle of my Gatorade. I felt bad about giving it away as I was gonna enjoy it later, but I thought it was the right thing to do to give the crusaders a gift. After all generosity makes you a better person, and it’s a proven fact that the more gifts you give the more friends you get.
After the three had been refreshed with my Gatorade they seemed extremely satisfied by the taste of the beverage. Sweetie Belle was the first to speak up lightly “Declan, what did you just give us?”
I turned my head around and peered into the boot. I gave them a simple answer “Gatorade.”
“Well I don’t know about you” Scootaloo added “but that stuff tasted awesome! I want some more, will you get me some more?”
“Sure” I said, now knowing that Scootaloo had a taste for Gatorade like me “even though they don’t have any Gatorade in Equestria, you’ll be disheartened when you have to go back.”
“Don’t worry” Scootaloo said “I will introduce it to Equestria, and when Rainbow Dash gets a taste of it she’ll be more than happy to binge drink it and think that it’s the coolest drink ever!”
“And ahm sure an Apple flavoured version of this will sell more than cider during cider season” Apple Bloom stated “Applejack will make thousands in a month.”
“Well I’m glad you enjoyed it” I said with a smile “It was meant to be for me, but since Sweetie Belle was thirsty I thought I’d give it to her as a gift.”
“Well I’m glad you gave it to me” Sweetie Belle said looking cheerful “I really have a taste for it now. Will you get me more too?”
“Yes” I said, knowing that Minneapolis was only 4 hours away “There’s only one more stop, however I will buy some more for you all when I go to the nearest gas station to my house.” The three fillies then glanced at me with cheers so great that they seemed to be cheers of excitement. I had picked them up almost a day ago from Little Rock and they were starting to enjoy this world greatly. I was also enjoying having them with me, while still trying to remain calm and not try to squeal in fanboy shock. And it’s extremely hard when you have three talking cartoon ponies in the boot behind you.
...
The rest of the road trip continued with little disturbance. When we passed the state line into Minnesota I was glad that we finally within in our home state. However there was still 5 hours until we reached Duluth, which got extremely tiring for me considering that it felt like we were travelling for weeks, when it actually was 2 days. We had arrived in Minneapolis and my dad had bought me two bottles of Gatorade, and I could give the spare bottle to the crusaders while I could enjoy the other. We had also stopped partially into St Paul where we’d pulled up into the drive-thru of a local McDonalds. I handed bits of food over to the crusaders while being very careful not to give them pieces of the meat patty, which I had almost forgotten to do. They seemed to have quite the taste for fast food, and I wasn’t surprised as there is fast food in Equestria. The most known place selling fast food there is the Hayburger which I can remember from a particular episode titled ‘Twilight Time.’
We then journeyed the rest of the way smoothly without any stops all the way back up to Duluth. The area was beginning to trigger my memory as we entered the outskirts of the city. Then dad drove onto the street we lived on and pulled up next to the curb, as the driveway was covered by a two foot deep layer of snow. We were home, and I was glad now that I was back in the cold frigid freezer I lived in.
“Alright Declan” dad spoke as he parked the car “we’ve got some work to do, as it looks like there has been some heavy snowfall over the past few days.”
Dad quickly dressed into his fleece coat and opened the car door. Without a doubt the frosty misty breeze of Minnesota crept its way into our warm car that had the heater on high ever since today morning. He then unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out into the blizzard. It didn’t surprise me though as dad had fallen into the soft snow as he’d stumbled outside, he hadn’t used his legs very often and they must have been extremely numb. I commented “Having trouble walking huh?”
“Yeah” Dad said as he slowly got to his feet “I think I’ll have to clear out the driveway tomorrow, I’m too tired after not being able to sleep for nearly two whole days.”
“I know” I said as I watched dad as he slowly stumbled towards our front door, and almost tripping over the porch. “However I got some sleep so I’m not feeling that numb with my legs, and I’m not even tired.”
“I’m gonna go have a nap” dad said as he unlocked the front door to our house “So you’ll have to look after yourself for a while, we have plenty of food. Make yourself your dinner.”
“Okay” I said as I opened my car door, finally glad we were back home in our nice cosy house. I stepped out into the 2 foot deep snow, however just like my dad I stumbled over into the snow. It was normal as I hadn’t walked in a while, but I had to get inside and start to walk again to make my legs strong and functioning again.
I quickly checked the front door, it was closed and dad had gone inside and had left me alone out here in the cold. I’d expected him to be having a nap already as he had said before going inside our house. He had also forgotten to bring our suitcases in, which was okay as he was mostly tired from the long road trip and that could wait till later. With that being the case, I remembered the Cutie Mark Crusaders were still in the car in the boot waiting for me. Since nobody else was out here to see me interact with 3 cartoon talking ponies, Now was the time to let them out.
I opened the boot and saw the crusaders beginning to make slight movements as they had focused their attention on me. Scootaloo was the first to speak and simply asked “Are we there yet?”
“Yes, welcome to my home” I answered as I watched as Scootaloo jumped out of the boot and onto the soft snow that stood there before her hooves. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had slowly followed along but stumbled out of the boot and into the snow. I chuckled briefly before helping the fillies up to their feet. Apple Bloom however was still uncertain about me after all that time she’d spent in the car, which was quite unexpected.
“Okay” Apple Bloom spoke with slight uncertainty “We were teleported here somehow when Twilight had a freak accident with her magic. Ya took us in the back of that...thing, and yer treatin’ us nicely. But can we still trust ya Dec?”
“I don’t know Apple Bloom” Scootaloo spoke as she approached her farm filly friend “I still don’t know if we should trust him. We don’t really know anything about this world and he could be leading us into trouble.”
I started to get a bit passionate at Scootaloo’s words, I knew very well what I was doing and had no desire whatsoever to give them trouble. All I wanted was them to be safe. I quickly started to speak before they could continue their conversation. “You should trust me” I said as I kneeled down and gazed at them standing right in front of me “I found you three in Little Rock. You three were lost and scared and I couldn’t let you roam this world on your own, it’s dangerous.”
I really did feel like taking them in as I felt as if it was the right thing to do with three lost fillies from another land. However I was also a huge fan of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and preferred them over the Mane 6, so taking them in to stay would’ve been the righteous thing to do. “Well...you’re right” Sweetie Belle said as she eyed with an accepting look on me “We can trust you. After all, you did find us and put you into your...what was it called again? The metal wagon thing that moves on its own.”
“It’s called a car, and it doesn’t move on its own somebody controls it and my dad controlled it” I answered instantly “and thank you for understanding Sweetie Belle and seeing how trustworthy I am. It really means a lot to me.” I really felt honoured that I was being praised by the cutest filly in Equestria.
In return Sweetie Belle gave me an adorable grin and replied. “No problem Declan” she said as she began to approach me “I never try to judge anypony not unless I know them.”
“I know” I said with a reassuring nod “but let’s not hang out here, let’s get inside before someone finds me talking to you three.”
“Alright then” Apple Bloom said with a reassuring grin “lead us in.”
“Sure” I replied “follow me.” Before making my way inside my lovely suburban house, I shut the boot of my dad’s car, and with the crusaders ready to go wherever I was leading them to, were beginning to slowly follow me from behind. I slowly sneaked my way over the snow covered front yard and towards the porch of our house. As soon as the crusaders had stumbled onto the porch, they stood back and in bewilderment, observed the front door.
“That door” Apple Bloom began to speak “It’s so...big.” I could also see why they were in complete shock, as human doors are much larger in proportion to pony doors. So it didn’t surprise me.
Sweetie Belle was the next to speak up “Maybe a bit, too big. It certainly looks much bigger and stretched out, like a door you’d see in Canterlot.”
“Yep” I commented “welcome to the human world. Where everything for you fillies is big.” At that remark Scootaloo began to show a face of complete shock, now that she was in a world full of big and not small like her normal world.
I then faced Scootaloo and spoke out assuringly “Don’t worry. I will protect you three at all costs no matter what, and I won’t let anything happen to you.” Seeming to understand my words Scootaloo nodded slightly.
“Declan’s right Scoot” Sweetie Belle said as she rested a hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder “Declan will protect us from the dangers of this place, he’s nice and he’s not gonna leave us.”
“Okay” Scootaloo said, feeling more relaxed at how overprotective I was of her “Just let us inside.”
“Okay, I will let you three in now” I said as I was about to let them inside my house, when I just remembered that dad had left the door unlocked. I then said “I think my dad left the door unlocked. So I’ll just open it.”
I did as I was doing, and began to open the unlocked door that dad had left unlocked for me. I opened the door very slowly, in an attempt to try not to disturb my dad from his nap. If he woke up and found out that I was raising three cartoon talking ponies, I was probably gonna have to send the crusaders away or even worse be grounded! However I was not about to take any risks, so I did what I had to do for the sake of hiding and raising the three fillies.
“Come in” I whispered as quiet as I could to the crusaders “But don’t be too loud, be extremely quiet okay.” They nodded in response, seeming to understand my words and slowly trotted their way through the front door, before I shut it quietly. It was freezing inside, but my dad had cranked up the heater which I could feel coming through the vent in the ceiling above me. I also had to admit, as bewildered as the fillies were when they were standing outside due to the size of the front door, the fillies were even more bewildered by the interior of my house. Scootaloo, began to stutter a bit like before when she was standing in front of the front door. Sweetie Belle seemed confused but somewhat amazed at the same time, and Apple Bloom was kind of questionable about the interior of the place in general.
“Ah don’ know how a kid like ya was able to construct a place like this, but I will admit” Apple Bloom started, as she then smiled with pleasure “It’s so gosh darn spacious, an’ Sweetie Belle and ah like space.”
“I didn’t construct this house” I began to explain “I have lived here my entire life, and somebody built this house before I was born for my dad and I to live in.” As much as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle has admired the interior of my giant human home, Scootaloo wasn’t keen about it and kept low on the floor. It was understandable for her seeing as she was used to smaller than this. However, I couldn’t let her be so terrorized by the size of things in my world. I had to comfort her.
“Don’t worry Scootaloo” I kneeled down, while placing my awaiting hand in front of her head “You’ll get used to this place, I promise. I know it’s new to you and so many newer and bigger things can be startling, but I’m sure you’ll fit right in.” Scootaloo then without hesitation moved slightly and placed her hoof in my palm.
“Okay” Scootaloo spoke “I just don’t want anything to happen to me. Declan, look. I know you went through all of that trouble and brought us home in your...”
“Car” I reminded her, knowing full well that it was something that wasn’t of existence in Equestria.
“Yeah” Scootaloo continued “And I know we’re lost, and we were sent here when Twilight casted that spell on us. As long as you take care of me, before I get back to Equestria I will probably get used to this place.”
“Don’t worry Scoot” Sweetie Belle said in a passionate way, with a content look “I’m sure Declan will take care of the three of us well. He is trying to protect us you know, because of how nice he is and all.”
“Yeah” Scootaloo added “You were also right, Declan has to be nice if he went through all this trouble to take us in.”
I looked at Scootaloo and agreed with her at that very instant. “Yes” I said “Because I’m a very nice person, and you three are very innocent and caring friends.” I had got caught up in conversation with the three foals for long enough, now it was time to hide them before my dad found out I had brought home three cartoon ponies from Little Rock.
“However, I think I need to hide you three now” I explained “In my bedroom, because my dad is having a nap and if he wakes up and discovers that you three are here, he’s gonna ground me and not let me keep you for a while.”
“Well don’t dilly dally” Apple Bloom insisted “Get us to ya room now.” I nodded at her and insisted her, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to follow me.
I guided the crusaders towards the staircase of my house which took them effort to climb the stairs due to their small size, and I had to help drag each filly up and in no time we were on the second floor. I then led the crusaders into my bedroom where I silently shut the door, and then sighed in success.
“That was a close one” I said, more loudly now. I thought praisingly over what had happened, during the last 24 hours. I had done it! I had brought three talking ponies from Equestria that I had picked up in Little Rock and had in the back of my dad’s car during the trip back up to Duluth. If my sanity hasn’t been lost already, it probably has been lost now. Even if that were the case, I did not care. All that mattered now was that I had gotten the greatest surprise that I had ever gotten in my life. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were all here in person, in front of me in my bedroom in my house. I could not even hold it in any longer and let out a loud squeal in fanboy shock!
I squealed rather quietly though, hopefully quiet enough that my dad didn’t hear my squeals. Seeing as he was downstairs and my bedroom door was shut, I don’t think he would have. Scootaloo covered her ears with her hooves as quickly as she could “Ah! Declan snap out of it!”
I stopped squealing, and I smiled brightly at the crusaders who were now sitting down in front of me on the mat of my bedroom floor. “Are you okay, Declan?” Sweetie Belle asked feeling beyond bewildered by my episode “Why were you screaming?”
I was screaming because of how much I idolized the Cutie Mark Crusaders in the show My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. However they couldn’t know that, the CMC couldn’t know that they were on a hit TV show that aired on Discovery Family in the human world, that was also created by Hasbro which was also the company who released the show in 2010. If they had found even the slightest bit of a My Little Pony related thing in our world there were gonna be serious issues. I tried to come up with an explanation for my squealing, and just told Sweetie Belle something more important in a calmer tone.
“That is not important, I just...had a bad day traveling yesterday and now I am back at home. Where I want to be now.” I spoke, they still had uncertain looks on their faces. I decided to ignore whatever the crusaders were thinking and moved onto what I was about to announce.
“Okay, now onto the important part” I then looked over each Cutie Mark Crusader to make sure all three of them were listening and all ears. Doing this made me feel like a commander from World War I, however as important as victory was to the powers during that time, so was this to three fillies who weren’t even from around here. “I shall welcome you all, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo to planet Earth” I said proudly, feeling as if I was Paul Von Hindenberg. “I know that you three come from a different world that is unlike this known as Equestria, and if you want to stay safe on Earth and want to stay with me, you must do what I say.”
“Ahm listenin” Apple Bloom said without hesitation. I looked over at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to make sure that they were all ears open too.
“Me too” Scootaloo said.
“Me three” Sweetie Belle spoke while giving me a little salute. I almost got cuteness overload from her cheery attitude, like I almost always do with Sweetie Belle.
“Okay, as you three may know Earth is not the kind of place you want to wander in alone” I explained in great detail “Out beyond the brink of civilisation there are beasts of all hideous kind that are out there killing and stoning to death nothing but innocents.”
“Sounds like the Everfree Forest” Scootaloo commented. I could confirm that she was correct, even though I was talking metaphorically, seeing as much of Earth to her and her friends would be a danger.
I continued “Not only are there beasts out in the wild that hunt and kill, there are also beasts which are the ‘evils’ which include ‘criminals, judgementals and warlords.”
“Judgementals isn’t a word” Sweetie Belle said, and just as she said that I knew exactly where this was going.
“What are you a dictionary?” Scootaloo asked, Sweetie Belle then spoke and was just on the brink of an argument.
“No, I’m just saying Judgemental has no plural you dodo” Sweetie Belle scowled at Scootaloo. Just by the words, I could tell that this was a re-enactment of the scene from the first episode of Season 2, The Return Of Harmony. I can also recall from that episode that because of the arguing between the Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, endued into a brawl between the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The brawl had also helped Discord break free of his stone case. My memory is that good. However before a fight between the three was about to begin, I gave my attempt to stop them.
“Stop!” I barked “You three are friends right?” They all nodded instantly, so I insisted “We don’t want an argument, It doesn’t matter what I say. I’m just trying to explain to you three what you need to do to be able to be safe here.”
“Sorry” Sweetie Belle said, seeming to have a flashback “That was a time when I had just become friends with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, because of our arguing and quarreling we accidentally set Discord free. I wasn’t about to try and beat AB in like I did then. I just want to forget that time, we never did anything like that again fortunately.”
“Yeah, it was mah fault fer jumpin’ on you an’ Scoots’ heads” Apple Bloom said to Sweetie Belle “Ah am awfully sorry fer what happened back then.”
“Can I continue? Please don’t interrupt me” I said feeling somewhat annoyed that I had to pause my announcement because of the three fillies talking over me.
“Yeah” Apple Bloom answered, while glancing at Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to make sure they weren’t speaking. Without hesitation, her two friends nodded at her. She then faced me an continued “Go on.”
Now that I was ready to continue my announcement I went ahead and did so “As I was saying, there are evils where I reside that include ‘criminals, judgementals and warlords.’ Many of you might know what these three things are, but two of the few hang around in these very streets here in Duluth. As long as you three stay inside this house and don’t leave and go outside you’ll be safe and I will take care of you. Nobody can know about your presence in this world, not even high class government officials who many here can trust will take you into the good hands but may capture you and use you as test subjects for experiments...”
As I was about to continue however, Scootaloo shuddered under my bed at my words. It was understandable for a filly like her however it was the literal truth and I was in no way gonna have her in danger in a world that is unlike hers. “That’s horrible” Scootaloo spoke out in a terrified tone “But I’m safe under here right? Under your bed?”
“Yes, you are” I answered feeling a bit overprotective “However, Scootaloo. You too Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. As long as you stay inside my house, you will be fine. Until you get back to Equestria.”
“Okay” Sweetie Belle said “So are you finished yet, can I speak now?”
“Yes” I answered, now glad that I was about to have free time with my three favorite fillies “But do you three understand or did you get anything I said?”
“Yes” Scootaloo said, still cowering under my bed “Is it safe to come out?”
“Scoot” Sweetie Belle said with a slight giggle “You’re safe here, Declan is not one of those...’evils.’ He’s very nice. But let me help you come out.”
“It’s understandable, why Scootaloo is so scared” Apple Bloom commented “Yer world isn’t like ours, an ah will promise to stay inside yer house Dec.”
“Oh um” I started, unsure if Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had understood my announcement “Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom. Did you get what I said?”
“Oh yes Declan” Sweetie Belle answered as she pulled Scootaloo from under my bed “sorry.”
“Yes, ah listened” Apple Bloom answered as well “An’ as ah said ah will stay inside yer house.”
“Okay good” I said, as I proceeded to explain “For now, since my dad is downstairs napping you three aren’t allowed to leave my room. He will kick you three out of my house, and I will be grounded. There will be a time when you can which will be when my dad is at work. Now though you three are free to go around my room and look around at my stuff. Whatever pleases you the most. Just don’t break anything.”
With that said, all three fillies without hesitation said “Okay” and then rushed around my room to see what items were lying around, and what I had in my world that they didn’t have. Apple Bloom seemed to be peering at what was in my pocket, which was my iPhone. Sweetie Belle took in the nice detail of what I had in my closet, and by sheer luck the section with my MLP merchandise was locked, which would come in handy now. Scootaloo seemed to be peering at my globe that I had lying on my bedside table.
“Hey Declan” Scootaloo said feeling somewhat bewildered “Is this here a globe of where you live?” I seemed as if I had to explain in great detail about many of the geographical features and nations in my world to the little pegasus filly. However I was very unsure if she’d understand or not.
“Well Scootaloo...” I said as I grabbed the globe and spun it to the side with Asia and Australia visible. “This is Earth. This is the planet I live on, it might be a bit hard to explain in detail what everything on here is for you, seeing as you aren’t from around here.”
Scootaloo seemed a bit unsure at first, which was understandable. Being a filly from Equestria, it’d be hard to grasp what my world is like from a first look at least. Scootaloo now seemed to be interested in four countries that she had spotted out from the side we were looking at “Ourstralia, Chiina, Roosia, Indya.”
“You mean, Australia, China, Russia and India” I corrected her, while feeling a bit amused at her pronunciation for nations she had never heard of before “They’re 4 of the countries that are in my world. This is Asia and this is Australia, and this tiny little island here is New Zealand.”
“What’s Asia?” Scootaloo asked, seeming to not find any trace of the word present on my globe “I don’t see anything labeled called Asia on this side of the globe.”
My globe didn’t have continents labeled but only countries, so I proceeded to explain “Asia is a continent, my globe doesn’t have continents labeled but this whole area here is Asia.”
“Oh” Scootaloo said, seeming to understand my world a bit better now “I think I get it.”
I then spun the globe to the opposite side where the Americas were visible, and pointed my index finger at Minnesota “This here, is where I live. In Minnesota.”
“In Canada or in United States?” Scootaloo asked, while also pronouncing those two names correctly “Where you live seems to be on the border of those two countries.”
“Well, technically speaking I live in the United States of America, or USA for short” I explained “Minnesota is a state and it is just under the border of Canada, which is another country that is North of the United States. Where I live I am also very close to the border of Wisconsin another state, which for me is just across a bridge to another town. We also usually refer to the United States as ‘America’, and not really as the United States very often.”
“Okay” Scootaloo said, seeming to understand what the globe of my world had labeled “I think I understand, this is a globe of your world. We do also have globes at home, but the globes we have are of Equestria. It’s similar though.”
“Also this whole area here, where I live, is North America” I said, as I encircled my index finger around the whole continent of North America “This at the bottom here underneath, is South America. This is Europe, this is Africa. There’s Asia and Australia again, and this in between North America and Europe is Greenland and this at the very bottom is Antarctica.”
“Okay, I think I will remember all this” Scootaloo replied “It’s just like when I had to memorize everything on the Equestria globe.” Scootaloo now seemed to have a better understanding of my world and where all the continents were distributed. One thing I could not seem to explain to her was the climate of each place, and most possibly the countries and geographical features, which would take a lot of explaining to do to her.
Before I could continue to converse with Scootaloo any further, I had just noticed that the pocket with my phone was empty. I checked behind to see that Apple Bloom was trying to use my phone, but seemed to be struggling with getting control over it a bit. I spoke feeling annoyed “Apple Bloom, that’s my phone!”
“Oh sorry Dec” Apple Bloom said while looking nervous and trying to hide the stolen device “Ah just thought this looked eye catchin seein as it has a picture of an apple on the back. What is this thing?”
“It’s a phone Apple Bloom” I explained, however it wasn’t a normal phone and I needed to give its proper name so that she wouldn’t be baffled by the technology we have in the human world “an iPhone to be exact.”
“Ah just pressed a button” Apple Bloom explained “an it showed some kinda picture in the background with numbers at the top.”
“What?” Scootaloo asked seemingly interested in my iPhone and not in the globe anymore “Let me see that.” Scootaloo, being very curious pranced over to Apple Bloom to see what she was using, Sweetie Belle on the other hand was not bothered by it at the moment and kept going through my wardrobe to see what I had hung up. “What is that thing?”
“It’s an iPhone” I answered “Apple Bloom, I’d like to have it so that I can show you how it works.”
“Okay” Apple Bloom said, as she handed me my phone. Seeing as iPhones did not exist in Equestria I was gonna have to explain to two fillies from Equestria how to use a gadget that has been implemented into modern human society. Without hesitation, I began to unlock my phone with my Touch ID which led me to the home screen.
“This is an iPhone, do you have normal phones in Equestria?” I asked, unsure if there are normal landlines from the 1920s that were used in Equestria. Maybe I missed something, in an episode of MLP FIM that I have already seen.
“We do have phones, but not like this” Scootaloo answered “This thing looks like something out of Sci-Fi.”
“Better technology, Scootaloo” I explained “Also see these tiny little squares on the screen, these are called apps. If I click on one, I am now in the app and using it.”
Scootaloo didn’t speak, but just sat there looking at my phone with a cheery smile very wide that it was probably the widest smile she could make. She then spoke feeling rather satisfied and cheerful “That’s so cool! I want one, can you get me a phone like this?”
“Ah want one too” Apple Bloom said, probably feeling the same way Scootaloo was “what else does this thing do?”
“Well, it takes photos” I explained proudly “Do you want a photo with me?”
“Sure” Scootaloo said, feeling ready for a photo shoot “I just need to smile, because if I don’t smile in a photo I look sad.”
“That’s fine Scoot” Apple Bloom said “Jus don’t pose, and smile normally please.”
I exited out of the app I was using to demonstrate how the device works which was messenger, and then opened up the camera on my iPhone. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo then got into the frame, Scootaloo kept still with a normal smile and so did Apple Bloom with a slight smile. I was positioned with each filly on each side of me, I then extended my arm out until the shot was perfect, and I then pressed the white button used to take the photo. Feeling satisfied with a photo shoot of two of my favorite ponies, I said “Done.”
“Where is the photo?” Asked Scootaloo, feeling a bit bewildered. She probably thought it was one of those instant cameras that took the photo and the photo would then come out of the camera. My iPhone wasn’t an instant camera, so I had to show her and Apple Bloom where the photos taken by an iPhone are stored.
“Let me show you” I said, and then proceeded to press the icon in the bottom left. Just as I did so, the photo that I had just taken with my iPhone camera appeared and took up the entire screen.
“Woah!” Scootaloo said with a joyous look, as her pupils begin dilate “Best phone ever!”
Apple Bloom was just about ready to give her thoughts on this and began to speak “So yer sayin that, the photos get stored on the phone?” I nodded in reply, Apple Bloom then seemed a bit passionate as a blush spread across her yellow cheeks. “Right, well at least ya have stuff better than what we have.”
Just before I could reply to Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle interrupted us “Declan, you have a lot of amazing clothes. But I have a question.”
“What is it?” I asked, ready to explain to the cheery unicorn filly another foreign object “I was just showing Scootaloo a globe of my world, and Apple Bloom how to use an iPhone. Is there anything you need? I can see that you’re all getting used to the Minnesotan lifestyle too.”
“Oh yeah” Sweetie Belle said as she struggled through the various shirts I had in my closet. Sweetie Belle then came out of the closet with her mane all messed up and within seconds fixed it to its previous state. I had to wonder myself though, if Sweetie Belle’s mane is natural or not with all the curls, that would have to be a question I would have to save for later. She then trotted over towards what was in between my two closets which was my huge LCD Television set. “What’s this thing?” Sweetie Belle asked as she pointed her hoof upwards towards the TV.
“That’s a Television Sweetie Belle” I explained “or TV for short.”
“What’s it do?” Sweetie Belle asked while seeming to be very curious “It looks like a huge black box to me.”
“Never even noticed that Sweetie” Scootaloo said “I’m sure it does something, it’s not just there for nothing.”
“Well, I will show you what it does” I said as I stepped towards the table the TV was standing on. I then grabbed the remote from the table, then stepped back. “You three might need to hop onto my bed while I turn it on.”
The crusaders then scurried up onto my bed and sat back to watch what I was about to do with the TV. Just like anything else I’ve shown the fillies ever since they got here, this was gonna blow their minds. I then pressed the power button on the remote and turned on the TV, the logo of the brand Life’s Good had appeared and then the channel that I was watching the last time I used this TV was now showing. The news was on, and there was a man interviewing a woman in a playground about a report of a missing child.
“So what do you think?” I asked the fillies who all seemed to have the weirdest looks on their faces.
Scootaloo, was the first to speak and was completely baffled by the technology I was presenting to her “Okay, the phone you have was one thing. I think this, just crosses the line.”
“So you’re saying, it’s just a movie on the screen?” Sweetie Belle asked, feeling a bit curious and not bewildered like her friends were.
“Well this isn’t a movie, this is just the news” I explained, knowing full well that the news isn’t spread like this in Equestria “Do you want to watch a movie?”
“What in tarnation?” Apple Bloom asked, her response made her the most bewildered of the three “Just what?”
“It’s called technology” I said “We have technology in this world, this is what we use in our everyday lives.”
“I’m maybe just a bit too jealous” Scootaloo added “I want one of these. Look, your world may be harsh on the outside but on the inside it gives a whole new idea of what can be implemented into society. If only in Equestrian society.”
“Also Scootaloo” I said as I looked at her.
“Yes?” Scootaloo said ready to converse.
“Remember what I did on my iPhone when I pressed on an app and I was in the app? I can change the channel on the TV by using this remote” As I said that, I immediately pressed some numbers on my remote which brought the screen to display another channel. The movie Surf’s Up was on and just by that one action, the fillies were even more baffled at what they had just witnessed.
“Ah, jus...” Apple Bloom started “Ah have no words. This is jus beyond what anypony could’ve thought of.”
“Is this a movie?” Sweetie Belle asked as she stared closely at the scene that was being displayed “Are those penguins surfing?”
“Yes” I said, knowing full well that I have seen Surf’s Up many times when I was younger that I had every scene engraved into my mind “This is a movie called Surf’s Up, it’s about a penguin who tries to win a surfing competition. Want to sit back and relax and enjoy it with me?”
“Well, the graphics of this” Scootaloo commented, feeling amazed by what she saw “We don’t have movies like this, I...I guess I will watch it.”
“It looks like a good one Scoot” Sweetie Belle said “It also looks silly, since penguins don’t actually surf. At least I have never seen one surf.”
“Alright girls” Apple Bloom said agreeing with her friends, “But we missed the start. So can we watch another one on time?”
“Actually, the movie has just started” I said, just as the title of the movie showed up on screen “The start of the movie is really boring, but it will get better as it goes along.”
“Okay” Sweetie Belle said with a cheery smile “It doesn’t feel boring for me though.”
The rest of today made me feel blessed. After we had finished watching Surf’s Up, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were amazed at what kind of technology exists beyond Equestria in my world. Sweetie Belle had enjoyed Surf’s Up and so did Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. The fillies’ personalities are the exact personalities that they have in MLP FIM and we had gotten along well for the rest of the day. I even got them dinner, which was some canned spaghetti, which they had enjoyed. Now the crusaders were exhausted and had to get some shuteye. It was also a good thing that my bed was extendable, and I was able to have all three fillies fit in the one bed with me, while I slept. It is now 10:30 PM at night and I am now in bed resting soundly between Scootaloo and Apple Bloom on one side and Sweetie Belle on the other side. Tomorrow should also be interesting, seeing as the holidays have just begun and I’m sure that the Cutie Mark Crusaders and I will get along fine.
