Chapter 1 : Rough Landing

September 29th

The autumn night was cold out, complete with a chilling wind and erratic rainfall. The wind slowly gained strength along with the light drizzle pattering against the roofs of homes. Had someone been standing in it, the rain misting in their hair would have begun to dampen it. The surrounding streets were ever so slowly becoming slick, while brown and dying leaves became caught in the run-off on the sides of the road.

The interior of one home in particular was not much warmer than outside, especially when considering that its heat was turned off.

Inside a bedroom of the home on the top floor, was young woman with dark brown hair, almost black. She had a dull description and drew lackadaisically in her sketchbook. The drawing was finished as her initials were scrawled at the bottom in tiny, neat lettering: J.F.

She stretched back in the desk chair, yawning and cricking her neck while doing so. The bedroom was dark, and her eyes swept over the shadows absently. Except for the rain it was quiet. No music played and the TV was off—in the dead of night her home stirred not an inch.

Deciding to change that, she stood up to go downstairs and get a drink. On the way down the hall she passed other bedrooms, fully furnished but unused throughout the building. That made her the sole inhabitant of the huge house.

She continued downstairs, then swung around the corner, one hand hanging onto the wall. Her bare feet took her through the living room, mostly empty now except for a card table she'd erected at its center. The equally vacant dining room was also dark, but she found her way to the kitchen on memory alone with ease. It was revealed to be quite utilitarian as the lights came on, to say the least.

The old oven claimed it was two in the morning. It was a Friday night and as usual she was up late reading, drawing and thinking. She grabbed a lemonade from the comically small fridge and kicked its door shut lazily.

A bright flash lit up the dim kitchen, followed by a rolling crack of thunder.

The distant sound rumbled on the western horizon. It would be a stormy night, after all. She passed the small bar window of the kitchen on her way back to the stairs, which was kept faithfully stocked with assorted alcoholic drinks.

Climbing the stairs, she could feel the dust on its carpet which had gathered from neglect. Her bare feet protested angrily when she stepped on debris hidden in the fibers, and earned a grunt of irritation in response.

Approaching her bedroom at the end of the hall, she wasn't even sure if she would open the fruity drink at all, or simply go to sleep. She stopped briefly and looked through another doorway, the one next to her own bedroom. Her eyes stared tiredly into the old 'TV room'.

Light flashed at her through the little rectangular window on the far wall, as if beckoning the woman. At least she imagined it was beckoning her. When she was younger, she loved climbing out onto that old roof.

Especially during storms.

Never minding heights in the least, she quite contrarily enjoyed pushing her own courage as a kid. The world had always struck her as... boring. So, she felt the need to make things interesting. To make her life interesting.

These days though, time passed by with her in quiet acceptance of what the world really was.

Dull and crooked.

Once, she'd done things just for the stupid fun of it all. Now... well, the world just seemed stupid itself.

Stupid world. Her sleep addled brain made the thought angrily.

Thunder boomed outside, closer than before.

The woman's eyes blinked away the afterimage of the lightning that had preceded the crashing noise. The window and weather seemed to beckon her again, and she smirked, then spoke for them in a high-pitched voice.

"Hey Jo, come on, your ol' pal Mr. Roof is out there all alone. You should go say hi." Although speaking in a silly voice, her face was flat and unamused. "Eeeh, why not?" She shrugged, relenting to the weather's convincing argument.

The room's door clicked shut behind herself. If it wasn't shut she knew her idiot cats would try and follow her out. She left the drink on a side table and climbed through the small portal to the outside.

Jo steadied herself on the sill of the window, then using her hands, walked herself forward out onto the ledge. She inched further into the chilling wind and rain, until her legs finally joined the rest of her outside. More lightning flashed around her home in the sky. It had been deceptively quiet from inside, but now the thunder sounded more like a nearby train than the calm booming that it had been before.

She settled into a cross-legged sitting position on the tar shingles, and stared at the tumultuous sky. The air crackled as if alive, perhaps saying that she wasn't worthy or welcome there in its presence. Still, she was unphased by the light show.

The woman's eyes scanned the sky appreciatively. She watched as clouds moved by, appearing almost as if they had minds of their own. They flowed over the night sky like water, the storm itself seemed to be increasing in intensity, and quickly.

Thoughts came and went in her head, but she didn't stray much from just thinking about the storm itself; it was a very impressive one. In fact, she thought bemusedly. I don't think I've ever seen weather act this crazy before. It didn't occur to her that the thought might be a good sign that it was, in fact, dangerous outside... She instead watched on as the rain and wind continued to assault her tirelessly.

It made her feel alive, and the spark of adrenaline that flared up helped her to take in the storm to its fullest. She quickly became drenched from the downpour, and crossed her arms for warmth. The cloud cover continued to roil overhead, drinking in her captivated, wide-eyed stare, while she was determined to absorb every cumulus and detail in return.

"Wow..." Jo watched the clouds twist irregularly. I have never seen anything like this.

...The first sign that should have registered as danger to her was a lone street light on the road. Its shine brightened and intensified in its nightly purpose, until it burst and was replaced by sparks showering onto the asphalt below. It didn't catch the young woman's attention though, her eyes skyward. Over the din of the storm and amongst the flashes of lightning, the solitary light's life faded away, unseen.

Suddenly, the air crackled and rippled tenfold. A massive fork of lightning cascaded in the distance towards the ground, stabbing at the Earth as though it held a grudge.

Jo's multi-hued outfit was a pure white under the luminescent arc's presence. Her eyes widened disbelievingly at it, and a smile carved its way onto her expression. It had been so close, and she'd never seen its like before. The noise which traveled past her immediately after was deafening. Despite an undeniable fear and having nearly fallen over from surprise, she whooped into the wind, cheering. Her outcry was lost to the roaring atmosphere.

After the fork of lightning faded, the night was left at its darkest in its wake.

The young woman sat back down, still grinning maniacally, suppressing her laughter only just. Still, she was satisfied, and the Earth's impressive display had seeded some doubt within her over the intelligence of being outside in this.

"Okay, time to go back in... that's enough excitement for a while." The woman rubbed at her eyes; blinking away the image that the pearl-white light had burned into her retina.

Before she could, however, the rain stopped without warning, as if by way of a switch. Her attention caught; she stopped in the middle of climbing into the window, her eyes staring upwards once again.

Without the rain, it was suddenly and eerily quiet.

Jo, surprised, stared back up at the fickle clouds in confusion. Most moved chaotically now, without staying in one direction. Even stranger than this, others had taken to remaining perfectly still. Despite the odd weather, Jo's gaze focused on one, solitary spot, far to her left and just above her home's treeline.

Here, the dark shapes twisted and circled around a single point.

Tornado..? Jo thought worriedly.

Next, she bore witness to the third outrageous occurrence of the night.

Red, yellow and violet lights sprang into the pitch black spot circled by the clouds. In the sky was what looked to be a streamer, or long ribbon of color. It coalesced and waved around amidst the swirling cloud cover. She couldn't tell how far away it was... just that it was... well, that it was.

She rubbed her eyes again, thinking they'd been damaged or ruined, that what she was seeing wasn't real. She didn't believe it was there, but still the aurora of color hung in the sky.

The rain resumed, once more without warning. Not heeding the resumed downpour, the woman remained there, half crouched, and staring up at the bizarre sight. More thunder began to crash, and distracted as she was, she didn't notice the lack of a lightning flash.

An idea came to get her camera before it faded from the sky. With that thought in mind, and the rain coming down with renewed fervor, she hurriedly clambered back inside, shutting the window soundly behind herself.

She sighed, hands rubbing the water off of her arms, as well as wringing out the wetness permeating her top.

"Actually, I have no idea where my camera is..." She spoke aloud in response to the earlier idea. The thought to get her cellphone came... and went.

Sighing, her hands wrung out her dark hair of the invasive water until she nabbed a towel, and resigned herself to instead change and then sleep. While rubbing herself down a yawn cracked out of her. The light show's probably over already, anyway. She decided bed was too enticing after all.

Jo entered her room and scanned the area tiredly; it was tidy, to a degree. Maybe a score of clothes lay randomly on the carpeted floor, if that. The bed was unmade, but who made their bed ever, honestly? The metal posters lining the wall were the only decoration. Letting out a sigh, she nabbed a handful of clothes and padded her way toward the upstair's bathroom for a hot shower.

That, however, was when the Earth took it upon itself to shake uncontrollably. There was no noise to accompany it besides the house itself, and certainly no logic. Objects not secure enough in their placement fell to the floor from their perches and provided a cacophony of racket to join the rattling of the home. Pictures and scores of books crashed to the ground throughout the house.

When it ended, Jo picked her head up and looked around wide-eyed. "What. The hell. Was that?" she murmured, the air now shockingly quiet. She couldn't see much; the lights had been knocked out.

Jo had been thrown to her hands and knees by the force alone, and the rumble had left her insides and stomach feeling hollow. Gasping for breath out of mild panic, she stumbled into her room and felt around in the darkness for her desk. Her hand grabbed a flashlight from a drawer out of necessity, since the home was too dark to see in any longer. She scanned her bedroom quickly, and it was a mess. Her PC tower had tipped over onto the floor, which she spat a few more choice words for.

She'd felt like her house had just been picked up and shaken like a couple of dice in a cup, and it took her a moment to re-collect herself.

Eventually, Jo mumbled, "Great... I need to get the power back on." Struggling to keep her still unsteady footing in the dark, the young woman moved quickly to the basement and the circuit breaker. Her change of clothes stayed on the floor where they fell.

Jo's mind had re-awoken enough from the mysterious explosion that her more normal thoughts resumed, and in full swing. Maybe I should have moved after all, I mean why didn't I? I'm the last of my family in this state; it would have made sense... Stupid feeling of attachment to old property. Her toe stubbed on the corner of the stair's railing.

"Augh! Great, just great. Screw you storm, screw you mother earth!" The dull ringing in her head wasn't helping the ache any. "Stupid..." Her voice lowered as she paused and listened to the air again. Only the dull thud from the rain on her roof reached her ears. There had been another noise from outside, or so she thought. She shrugged and continued to the basement.

"I'm sure I don't pollute nearly as much as most people do. Why assault my house with lightning and earthquakes?" Jo grumbled on, climbing over and down the book-covered staircase; everything had fallen off the shelves here. Maybe the shake was from the lightning and it just struck really close? I've never really been close to a lightning strike come to think of it... Maybe they're just that bad.

The rest of her big empty dump of a once nice(ish) house, was in even bigger shambles than the staircase. Anything that could be knocked over, had been, and upon reaching what she called the mudroom in the back, she found that scarcely a single thing remained standing. This gave her quite the time getting the door to the basement open.

One of Jo's cats jetted under her legs through the hall and across the heap of books and refuse. Sighing, the young woman stepped down the staircase into her basement and headed for the circuit breakers. She flipped the circuits and the power returned, just like that. It was a pleasant surprise that it hadn't been knocked out entirely, just tripped.

"I suppose tonight's not all bad lu— I gotta get out more. I keep talking to myself." Jo grumbled the words, ascending back to the landfill of a room above. She resigned herself to taking care of it all in the morning, after—

Another sound caught Jo's attention, and she paused at the top of the stairs.

It sounded like screaming... or perhaps... well, she thought it had been a scream. It was loud enough to hear over the rain, at least.

Someone's outside in all of this? Jo's expression morphed from irritation to bewilderment. Who's crazy enough to be out there in this mess? She couldn't come up with an answer to the thought.

The book strewn mudroom temporarily forgotten, Jo walked to the backdoor on the other side of the family room. Everything's current state here was also, of course, horrendous. Upon crossing the minor blockade to the outside world, she sighed another one of the biggest sighs of her life in response to what she found.

The glass panel that made up ninety percent of her backdoor had all shattered, allowing wind and wet from the outside world to blow in unchallenged.

A hiss escaped through Jo's teeth, having had just about enough. She turned and walked back into the house a ways, then stuffed her feet angrily into the boots she kept by the washroom. "Great. Great! Just great," she chanted. All but ready to pull her hair out, she made her way over the shattered glass, and outside to investigate what had happened. She didn't bother to open the now glassless thing.

There didn't didn't seem to be a tree limb anywhere nearby, so how her door had shattered was a mystery.

"How the heck did my door just—" Confusion mounting, Jo noticed that her garage's side door was wide open. It hung ajar, waving in the wind at the storm's mercy. "Why is the garage open? Am I being robbed? Who the hell robs someone in a mess like this?" The words were as incredulous as they were confused and the sound of her voice's outcry angrily tried to rise above the volume of the storm.

She growled looked behind herself at her clock in order to answer her own question.

It's 2:00 AM!? The digital clock on the wall wasn't lying. Jo decided she had been hearing things. That sound earlier had to have been the wind. Looking at the garage again, she considered that maybe the storm had opened the garage as well... though it seemed unlikely. She hesitated there on the back porch, despite the gale that ripped at her.

In the end, Jo erred on the side of not caring and decided to go close the garage. Her thoughts burned, flowing like angry magma. Screw it. It's just the wind. She stomped over to the garage and went to close its side door all while wind slapped her face and fought to keep her away. Still, she made it there and grabbed the door handle roughly to end the nuisance she was forced to deal with. Before shutting it, she looked around inside the dark of her garage for any intruders, just to be safe.

Jo jumped slightly. She had heard the same sound from earlier again, something that sounded an awful lot like a voice. It was quiet, like a low wail of frustration.

Jo stopped and listened—the sound continuing—and she was certain it was coming from inside her garage.

Okay, Jo admitted to herself, the wind is definitely not making that. Focused by the thought, her eyes narrowed and began searching—she pulled the door wider to see inside, it was pitch-black. Her flashlight shone into the shadows, doing its best, not that it helped much.

This time, the girl really did err on the side of caution, and turned off her flashlight.

Jo moved in to investigate the noise, despite shaking her head in disbelief as she did. This is silly, I probably just left it open and imagined that noise... Her thoughts were interrupted, however, picking it up once again from somewhere in the small building. No, that's definitely crying. Why is someone in my garage crying? For that matter, why is someone even in my garage? She pulled soaked strands of dark hair out of her face to where they weren't in the way.

Whoever it was inside with Jo, they were outright bawling their eyes out. The voice sounded young and feminine, so she turned her flashlight back on while instinctively moving towards the sound.

"Hello?" Jo's garage wasn't big; just a two-car with a row of nonsense and junk separating either side. She shined her flashlight down the garage door, and saw something. The small circle of light landed on... a girl, less than twenty feet away.

The huddled shape held her hand up, blocking the light which now shined into her squinting eyes.

Jo quietly made one dumbfounded observation. Huh, she's naked.

The two women stared at each other a moment in silence until finally, Jo reacted. "Oh my god, oh my god! Hey? Are you okay? Jesus..." She moved in quickly towards her. "Hell-?-ooOWW!" To be rewarded with an ear wrenching scream, and also a wrench, which drilled her in the arm.

"What the hell lady? I'm not gonna hurt you—!" Jo back-peddled away from her attacker, then hid behind the work case separating each side of the building. "What was that for? This is my garage!" She stayed there at the corner a moment, then growled and turned on the lights, all the while simultaneously nursing her arm. That's it, I'm calling the cops. The sound of crying and a few strangled words reached her again.

Jo hesitated at the door, and reconsidered the thought; for one stupid overly sensitive reason or another. Still, she also wasn't sure if she should try and risk herself again to get closer.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jo risked a peek; the girl's head was rested on her knees, face down, and her arms hung limply to her sides, palms outstretched. The sound of her hurried, breathless whispers was clear from this close, even between her sobs. It was pretty surreal, and horror movie plots spun for a moment through Jo's head.

I think I can rule out most of those thanks to the flashlight and lack of mutilation at least. Jo hadn't received any answer from the stranger other than the one which had bruised her arm... but still, she tried speaking again.

"I want to help you, do you need...?" Jo hesitated, realizing she hadn't thought of anything helpful to suggest just yet. "Uhm."

...

"Well, should I call 9-1-1?" Jo fell back on emergency services in the end, then waited for an answer. Her eyes kept themselves glued to the girl on her garage floor. ...You know, she reminds me way too much of that monster from Left 4 Dead.

After Jo waited almost a minute, the girl finally looked up once, then twice. The first was quick, and after a double take right afterwards, she annoyingly just started again with her sobbing.

It's like I'm some kind of frightening monster. Jo grimaced and crossed her arms. I am definitely not ugly enough to warrant that kind of a reaction... She tried to move closer to hear something of what she kept saying to herself, but didn't want to risk another wrench or some such and stopped a good ten feet away.

Jo saw the girl's hand twitch and she sighed, deciding to wait again. This late at night she wasn't exactly the master of wit with ideas or brilliant plans. Her thoughts entertained her attention idly while a plan was in the works. She's gotta be a drug addict. The nearby town wasn't exactly known for them, but it did border a small city, which she knew for a fact had a huge rise in drug busts and the like recently.

With the minutes ticking by and Jo watching the weird stranger from the corner of her eye—to make sure she didn't get attacked—she noticed the stranger's hair.

Well that's interesting, indigo and purple with streaks. The girl's hair was dyed. Maybe she's a punk or a rocker. That would be cool.

Jo decided to speak up again, rather than wait for the earth to freeze over. "Hey, what's your name?" She waited a good minute—again—but didn't get an answer. Very well, you are now named Purple Head until further notice. The hair looked mostly blue, but it was a bit hard to tell in the dark. Either way Purple Head had a nice ring to it.

After that, Jo tried getting a response once more, and more flatly.

"Lovely weather we're having," Jo said in a dull tone.

The stranger choked and her arms abandoned their limp position to instead clutch around her legs. She stopped crying at least, and exchanged it for sniffling.

She's still crying. Jo sighed and suppressed a shiver of her own. We'll both catch pneumonia at this rate of progression. Her quicker than me. Where are her clothes? "Not to sound like a broken record, but, are you okay—?"

Annoyingly enough, the other girl took that moment to speak, and interrupted. The solidity of the stranger's voice took Jo by surprise.

"Where am I?" the strange girl said.

Jo blinked. That's a weird question. Was she dumped here out of a van or something? She regarded Purple Head with skepticism, while Purple Head herself was peeking up with one eye looking over her arms.

"Uhm, in my garage..." Jo replied. That sounded a little cynical, Jo. Maybe you should be more specific. "In New York..." she added, and nodded her head slowly, as if she were trying to carefully convince someone of something rather than impart some common knowledge.

An answer for Jo wasn't immediately forthcoming, but just before she could add more, the girl started crying again.

Jo sighed. Oh for... go figure. "Hey, knock it off. Crying on a garage floor never helped anyone."

The girl actually stopped, and jerked her head up, swallowing audibly.

Jo was a bit surprised and not sure what to do next. "Ahem, uhm." Jo put on a more kindly, and less irritated expression to coax something out of the stranger. She hoped it would work. "Sorry. Are you from around here?"

The stranger held her stare a short moment, but asked a question of her own.

"New... York?" The girl said dreamily, before growing quieter again. "It's gotta be a dream, a weird, bizarre nightmare... and soon it'll all be over and I'll be in my bed, and..." Her chin rested on her knee and she began to stare into space.

Making out anymore of what she said was impossible, and Jo was leaning at a forty-five-degree angle by now as it was, trying to. She was close enough to take notice of Purple Head's left side though, it was covered in mud and what she thought might be several huge bruises starting to form. She began to act rather than wait any longer for explanations.

"I'll be right back, okay? I'm going to get some help and... I'll just be right back. Don't go anywhere." Jo slowly backed up and ran out of the garage, then inside her home quickly. The rain had reduced to a drizzle outside, finally, and the wind was gone. She wasn't really sure what she was doing. After getting inside, she paused over a phone... but let it sit. Stupid stupid stupid. I am so stupid, she thought.

Instead of dialing, she scooped up a couple blankets off the couch from the first room and went back outside.

Returning, Jo was relieved to see the stranger girl hadn't moved from her fetal position on the garage floor.

Now, how do I go about trying to help a crazy person... Dammit, I should've called the cops... Nothing I'd said before seemed to calm her any, and asking her if she'd been alright certainly hadn't produced any answers. The irate and sleep deprived woman took a deep breath. Well, I'm not staying out here all night.

Jo slowly approached her once more. "I'm going to set these beside you, if that's alright, and nothing else."

Purple Head's answer was quiet and shaky. "Okay..."

Jo continued to inch forward—her heavy boots made that a little difficult—and set down a blanket in front of her. She frowned, then took a chance and draped the other across the bare-skinned girl's shoulders. Jo was thankful that she didn't respond by flipping the hell out, but instead, by pulling it around herself. Less thankfully, she began crying again.

Jo frowned as she watched the drama unfold. I'd never really believed that most of the human body was water, but this girl is making me a believer.

"Why?" The stranger girl asked abruptly. Her mud caked hands lift from the floor to hover in front of her so she could stare at them. "Why!? Why do I... have these...?"

Once Jo caught on to what Purple Head meant, she rolled her eyes tiredly. Well that's not what I was hoping to hear. Yep, deeeefinitely a crackhead then. Jo made an exasperated face at the rafters. "Uhm, do you mean... haaands?" She waggled one example in front of her uninvited guest, unsure of how to respond to that exactly.

The purple-haired stranger scrutinized it—wearing a frown of her own—and then her own digits. "Yes, I mean... hands."

Jo watched while getting a little bit more creeped out. Meanwhile, a few answers to the girl's question poured through her head. They ranged from sarcastic, to snarky, to a textbook explanation and a couple others.

Trying to be a little neighborly, Jo took a more tactful approach for her answer about the objects in question. "All humans have hands..." she ventured. Well that sounded silly out loud and probably wasn't what she'd meant...

The girl didn't take it as such though, which surprised Jo.

"Humans?" She stared at the sawdust on the cold concrete floor while casting Jo nervous glances. "You're a human, then?"

Huh? Jo tilted her head and legitimately didn't know how to respond to that. She tried to avoid putting on a face that gave away that fact. Well, here we go, onwards to Narnia.

"Should I not be, or something?" Jo answered in an amused tone. She was guiltily starting to enjoy the conversation; she'd been a geek her whole life. Weird out of the ordinary things always caught her attention and stuck out like a double Baconater at a vegan vegetable convention.

"No..." Purple Head timidly answered after a long pause and in a disappointingly boring fashion. She stayed quiet and kept her stare solidly at the floor separating them. The pauses were becoming the pattern for the dialogue.

Jo sighed in response. This isn't going anywhere.

"Well still, I am one, and you seem to be, too." She managed to keep anymore amusement out of her voice. "And most of us have a long held tradition of helping others in trouble, which you seem to be."

Jo paused for a reaction, eventually receiving the strange girl's bleary stare again, so she continued. "Uh. Anyway, you're welcome inside my home, meaning you can come in if you want. Then we can call the hospital or your family, or whoever you need to for help." Mention of the police she left out on purpose, in case Purple Head actually was a drug addict. You can never be too sure, she decided to herself.

Purple Head put her head back down and answered gravely. "No, it's fine. I'll wake up soon at home. In my warm bed... far away from wherever this is..."

Jo readjusted her arms and legs; it was freezing out and even though she'd started drying off from the rain already, it was unbearable. She has to be way worse off than me though... she thought.

Rather than call the strange girl out about how she was deluding herself, Jo asked her another question. "Your home, huh. And where would that be?" Her patience was starting to run out a little. Probably somewhere in town, I imagine. Maybe she's—

"Equestria."

There was a long pause again between the two women after the name had been muttered.

Jo stared blankly at the other girl. She couldn't tell, but she thought her mouth opened and closed at some point, unable to make a response.

Eventually, Purple Head looked up at her again, searching for the answer to what she'd said.

The two made eye contact for the first time. After that, Jo's brain finally started thinking again. So she's crazy. Or if she isn't, then on some serious drugs. She blinked again and shook her head. The word had tickled and stirred an old memory though.

"I'm sorry, what?" Jo girl asked her in return. She began to massage her temples hard, too.

The girl spoke again, louder this time. "I said Equestria, do you know of it?" She sat up straighter. "It's important you tell me."

Jo had no words, really, but she managed a few. "Well, I mean... sure I do, yeah. I watched My Little Pony back i-" The nude girl cut Jo off—without letting her finish—by shouting excitedly.

"Then there's hope! I can—!" After making a pained sound while trying to stand, she stopped before reaching the balls of her feet. Instead, she stayed on her knees, and offered her hand to Jo from there.

Without waiting, the timid creature Jo had found, cold, shaking, and afraid in her garage, somehow began ranting as if she had found the most exciting discovery of the century. The flood gates had been opened.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle, and-sorry-about-attacking-you! I-was-in-shock-and-you-kind-of-caught-me-by-surprise-you-see." She made a nervous, manic laugh. "You have to understand, I've never seen something, uhm, as strange as you before—or as me, for that matter I guess," she glanced down at her chest for effect before going on. "And-that's not even mentioning—"

Jo watched in awe while trying to follow the other girl's tirade, but mostly just tried to interrupt her long enough to tell her the blanket had fallen off. Between trying to catch a word out of her sudden, jumbled onslaught—her stately lecture-like tone not ceasing to so much as give herself a breath—and pulling that blanket back around the girl with her own eyes closed, Jo felt beyond stunned. That wasn't even mentioning trying to free her own hand from being shaken, which the stranger had wrapped up in a death grip.

Purple head finally paused and caught her breath, looking down at their ongoing handshake as she did. "Gosh, even a simple hoofshake feels strange."

Suffice to say, Jo felt overwhelmed. Once it was all over though, she managed to speak up to introduce herself, too.

"Right," her voice answered dully, eyes resting in disbelief on the stranger. "Sure, anyway I'm Josephine, just call me Jo. Er, nice to meet you." Kinda. Jo skipped the name Purple Head had used to introduce herself with. That tidbit had almost collapsed her into a fit of laughter. She didn't know how to handle crazy people, but decided staying off the topic should help. At least, she hoped it would.

"Can we head in now then? It's really cold out here." Jo managed to put on a weak smile and gesture to the door. She just wanted to get inside at this point.

Purple Head sniffed, still smiling, and nodded. Her nose was running.

Yeesh, she's a train wreck. Jo picked up the blanket on the ground; the girl had her hands full clutching the other around herself for warmth.

Jo started for the door, but... turning around she saw the other girl was crawling behind her on her knees, one hand holding the covering closed. "Oh geez, I'm really sorry, are you hurt? Do you need help walking? Here, let me help you up."

The girl scooted back when Jo leaned over to her.

Jo furrowed her brow. Why did she move away? I thought we were past screaming and fear.

Purple Head's answer was tinged with worry. "Noo, no I... I'm fine, I'm also not hurt. Thank you for asking, though. It's just, I'm very used to walking with four legs."

Jo blinked. "Huh?"

"I mean to say..." Purple Head cleared her throat, and put on an uncomfortable look as she began to explain. "Just moments ago I was a pony, from Equestria. I... don't think I could stand like a, uhm, human stands on two legs. So I'll just walk like this for now, since I'm not so sure I could copy you."

Copy? Jo thought, it dawned on her that the girl meant simple 'walking'. Yeeeeeah, definitely crazy. So, she actually thinks she's a pony? Wow. She rolled her eyes, confident the relative darkness kept the crazy woman unawares of the gesture. "You sure?" She asked her again.

Purple Head nodded in response.

Fine, whatever, she isn't gibbering or chewing on my leg yet, so she can be as weird as she wants to be. Jo realized now that she would have to keep an eye glued to the stranger if she was coming into the house. Forbid she does more than imagine she's an old cartoon character and start eating my cats or trashing my home. She put on a resolute expression in response to the thought. I'm inviting a strange person I don't know into my fortress of solitude... Actually, when was the last time I even had a guest? The thought caused her to scratch her damp head.

Stepping outside, Jo waited for Twilight to exit behind her, then closed and locked the garage door. Twilight had crawled out and sat in that weird dog-like position, or pony-like position I guess, before rising again to follow her once more. She led the girl up the back stairs and inside the house. Well, she hasn't jumped on my back or anything yet—

A surprised yelp from behind Jo caused her to jump, and then whirl around. She hadn't moved as fast as she did then since her sporty days.

"You okay? Oh crap—" Jo had forgotten the glass, and it was pitch black out. Her boots crunching on the stuff hadn't made her remember it either. Her hands reached around the wall and found the light switch, after which she threw the blanket she had been carrying over the shards and knelt down, solidly in a sleep deprived panic. "Are you hurt?"

"Yes, I think so..." The girl claiming to be Twilight Sparkle, slowly crawled around and over the cover Jo had hastily put down.

"I'm sorry, the storm shattered my door... are you okay? Uhm, still okay, that is?" The lights to the room were dim, but Jo could make out the stranger's face. She was looking at her palms. Jo breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't see any blood on them. I guess it's possible you shattered it, but I'll get to that...

"Yes, I'm fine..." Purple Head scrubbed an arm under her nose while answering.

Great job Jo, you're the best hero of all time. Still, she exhaled in relief a second time.

"Right, uh, this way, please."

Jo kept an eye on Purple Head as she followed her into the house. It was obvious to her that the stranger was having a difficult time moving, but she didn't know what to do about it. She doubted asking the woman anything more questions would help at this point, either. The sound of sniffling behind her was unmistakable, and guessed that burst of energy back there in the garage hadn't lasted, or perhaps the stranger really was getting sick.

I haven't been sick in like three years come to think of it... I hope she doesn't get me sick. Jo frowned. Uggh, I'm walking through incredibly unfamiliar territory dealing with her, and on no sleep to boot.

Jo turned on more lights as she went into the entry room, at which point she heard an absolutely horrific gasp behind herself. "What, what is it!?" Her head spun around and her eyes settled on Purple Head, who was staring at the room/landfill's floor.

"What happened here!?" The young woman's jaw practically dragged on the ground. The books that littered the entire floor must have been quite the sight to see or something.

Jo followed her gaze, then answered her dispassionately. "Oh, the storm did that, or whatever that earthquake was, heh." Had she been out there in that? Maybe she struck her head and... stripped? Okay, crazy unproductive thoughts aren't helping determine the crackhead's origins...

"The storm... oh, of course." Purple Head crawled over them while wincing and followed after Jo who navigated the obstacle with ease.

She must be cut up worse than I thought, or those bruises are excruciating, Jo decided, judging by the girl's pained looks.

"You have a lot of books..." Purple Head's voice somehow sounded appreciative, remorseful and wondering all at once.

"Mmm yeah, I couldn't bring myself to part with them. They were my mom's." Jo grimaced while looking over the jumbled pile of everything from encyclopedias to fiction and fantasy. I should throw away or donate all these old things.

The dining room wasn't so bad off, it had nothing in it except... Her breath caught as she came to a realization. My booze! Her eyes settled painfully on the murder scene. Well, there goes a fortune in alcohol. She wept a silent tear for the collection, then breathed an actual sigh of relief. Most of the bottles seemed to have miraculously stayed on the bar.

The crazy girl looked around the lit dining room, then up at Jo, who was still trying to decide on what to do. Okay, so let's do a recap, she thinks she was a pony. Fffine...? Who am I to judge her, anyway. Uggh, I almost wish she was acting crazy, then I wouldn't feel bad about calling someone else. A clear course of action failed to present itself to her and the strange girl had begun to look uneasy in the returning silence between them. Purple Head didn't respond about the phone, so bringing it up again seems like a bad idea. Jo mentally sighed. I guess just try and help her then? Not my forte at all. The self-reminder was bitter.

"Well, let's, uhm," Jo spotted all the dirt covering the stranger. She quirked an eyebrow at noticing that Purple Head had been looking around the entire house with a slightly stunned look on her face. It isn't that bad is it? She continued talking. "Let's get you cleaned up I guess, you're probably freezing too. Do you want a hot shower? That should help, maybe get you in the right state of mind, too..." She winced after slipping out the perhaps too blunt statement.

"A shower? That... might be good." Purple nodded pitifully though, her mood blatantly weighing her down.

I hope she's not in shock after all or something. Jo scratched her arm in thought. What is shock anyway? Note to self, Wikipedia what shock is later... She led the floor bound girl over to the bathroom. "It's right here," Not for the first time, a questioning thought occurred to Jo. Why does my dining room have an attached bathroom with a shower in it, anyway? Ah, whatever.

The stranger just crawled through the door, barely looking up. Heyzeus, this girl is absolutely heartbreaking. Jo watched with a pained expression.

"Hey, Twilight." Jo said the name out of pity.

The young woman stopped, and looked up from her three limbed crawl into the bathroom.

"We're going to get you through this, 'kay?" Jo grinned and tried looking happy. Is this a mistake? No, apparently not. The girl smiled back up at her. Maybe she isn't nuts... Or as bad off as she had seemed earlier.

Jo got the bathroom lights for her. "I think Equestria has showers so... can you manage?" She tried and failed to keep all of the sarcasm out of her voice as she said the make-believe country's name. Luckily, Purple Head didn't respond to that.

The girl glanced around the bathroom with a confused expression, and clearly mouthed the word shower, to which Jo nearly face palmed, again. She didn't wait around though, then looked in the tub briefly and nodded.

Jo smirked in response. "Alright, well, I'll be out here." The strange purple-haired girl remained quiet, so Jo shut the door. "I'm uh, gonna go find you some clothes alright?" She called into the room through the crack as the sound of running water began, besides a slightly surprised yelp.

Purple Head yelled over the bathwater hurriedly, Jo guessed she hadn't gone mute then. "Clothes? Oh no no no! I couldn't impose on you like that Miss, I'm fine as is!" She called out from the other side of the door. "Uhm, at least I assume you're a Miss? I couldn't tell from your name, or anatomy, as I'm unfamiliar with humans!"

Jo had been about to answer, but the words died in her mouth. She couldn't tell that I'm a woman? She had to face-palm this time, and let out a groan of frustration to boot. "You're lucky I think you're crazy..."

Jo walked away and up the stairs to her room without answering back, not capable of coming up with a good reply to a refusal to wear clothing or gender uncertainties. She reached her room and pulled out some clothes which she didn't use much anymore. They included a baggy red t-shirt that had never fit her, and a pair of black cargo pants. The crazy girl might not fit into these...

Jo frowned over the pants; her own waist was small, after all, given how short she was. And it was hard to tell because 'Twilight' had been crawling, but Jo was certain that the other girl would be taller than her standing up. The shirt shouldn't matter, at least, Jo decided.

On her trip back downstairs she almost tripped over the pile of books that was still on the stairwell. "Gah! I swear to—" Most of them had fallen from the ledge and littered the staircase with their horrid mass-produced pages.

Even being around the books for years, Jo hadn't read a hundredth of what she considered to be the useless paperweights that cluttered her home. Why do I keep them around!? She huffed the thought out and ran a hand through her tangled hair. It had, what she considered, an irrationally large number of knots in it from the rain and wind.

Jo's ears caught a noise while navigating over the book-alanche; the sound of the shower turning on, as well as what might have been a scared gasp. Hm, I hope the hot water isn't out. When she reached the door, steam leaked out from under it, putting the fear to rest. She set down the clothes right there and went to the kitchen.

I need a drink. The thought was as high-strung as she herself felt. Oh, that's right, they'd crashed off my bar. The alcohol connoisseur stared angrily at a broken bottle on the ground, contents well soaked into the hard wood floor already. Most of them are still intact, at least...

Jo wasn't a heavy drinker, not exactly, she simply loved the taste. But I definitely need a drink, her brain decided for her.

The clock read three-fourteen AM.

It seemed to Jo it had been longer then that since she last looked at the time. She opened a soft drink and poured some rum. It isn't the smartest thing to do 'round a crazy person... But hey, maybe she'll want one too and snap out of crazy-mode. She mixed her drink without regret.

Jo sat at the dining table, waiting. Ten minutes and another drink later, she laughed to herself abruptly. Thoughts had been crossing her mind, about the storm, those weird lights, the mess in her house, and not surprisingly, the uninvited guest.

She's nuts. Has to be, right? Jo caressed the thought and swirled her drink... Magic... She suppressed another laugh, then made a raspy hacking noise as a result of failing to do so completely.

Magic's faker and less real than televised wrestling, Jo smirked again, a rosey quality entering her cheeks as she did so. Even with the thought, she did begin to think about what it would be like for it all to be real. The wan musings turned back to skepticism quickly though.

Glancing at the time, Jo realized it had now been twenty minutes. I better check on my resident nutter. Hesitantly, she left her drink on the table.

"Twilight? You... okay in there?" Jo decided she needed to get a bigger "helping others with a life crisis" vocabulary. I've used the word "okay" like, fifteen times now. An answer came through the door just as the water cut off.

"Ye-Yes! I'm fine, uhm, Josephine?" Purple Head said Jo's name as though it were something bizarre.

Jo made an indignant face. I'll admit it's an original sounding name, but it isn't that out of the ordinary. "Please, call me Jo." The young woman called back, trying to keep irritation out of her voice. "Is it alright if I leave the clothes inside the door?" She stared up at the ceiling while waiting for a reply.

"Uh-uhm, yes, but you really don't need to, I'm fine with going without any." Jo cracked the door and tossed the clothes in, then started another crazy sentence she would never have guessed in all her life she would have had to say in earnest. She also got the feeling that was going to happen a lot...

"Twilight, I know in..." Jo sighed quietly on her side of the door. "Equestria, ponies don't wear clothes much, but on Earth, humans are considered indecent or rude if they don't wear the stuff, so I insist." She didn't get an answer, which was probably a good thing, so she just waited. Some muttering came from in the bathroom, then Purple Head called out again.

"Uhm, Jo?" Purple Head called out.

"What's up?" Jo responded curtly, while in her head she thought, what now?

"The uhm, pants don't fit. I believe their flank portion is too... small." The girl's voice had become a bit annoyed to Jo's ears, which she decided was understandable. What she concluded was a quip about her butt, however...

Jo looked at the door darkly as she listened to the reply, then sighed. She called over her shoulder as she trudged back up her stairs, eyes narrowing. "Hold on, one second." After getting to her room, she hurriedly grabbed a pair of gym shorts. They weren't as modest, but she guessed the rest of her clothes probably wouldn't work either if the baggy cargo pants hadn't.

After yet another harrowing trip over the fallen jumble of books and Jo nudged the clothing through the bathroom door. A minute later and it opened to admit—Jo sighed again at the sight—Twilight, on all fours. She had the shirt on backwards too, but whatever.

"Feeling better?" Jo managed to ask curtly and with a weak smile.

Twilight nodded weakly, wearing a ghost of a smile. "...Yes, not having my coat made it miserable out there. Even more than it should have been, I mean... That rain felt unnaturally frigid."

Jo's eyes widened when she realized that the girl had meant fur coat, not an actual coat. She had caught on a little bit too late to laugh, assuming the stranger had meant it as a joke, and settled for an awkward smile.

"Ah, yeah well, you're inside, at least. Let's have a seat now that you're warmed up and we can make some sense of this situation, 'kay?" Jo gestured to the dining table.

"Oh, yes of course, and thank you again for the hospitality, by the way." Purple Head's voice was noticeably perkier than before.

Jo was surprised at her improved state of mind and demeanor. The strange girl seemed pretty friendly and outgoing now. Hot showers are totally the best medicine ever, she thought appreciatively. Still, she felt at a total loss as to how Purple Head could be so nuts, yet so coherent.

The situation was surreal for Jo; though the time of day and the drink she'd had likely contributed themselves to that.

Jo took a seat at the dining table and waited for Purple to crawl to one across from her. Well, at least buying into her delusion looked like it had helped her mood. I hope that doesn't come back to bite me. She fought to keep the frown trying to show itself off her face.

Oddly enough, the strange girl sat in it awkwardly and fidgeted.

Purple Head leaned over the table towards Jo suddenly, who in response thought, What the heck? She tried to follow the other girl's stare. "Sooo, what's up?"

"Oh, sorry. Uhm, nothing." Purple Head sat back, adjusting herself awkwardly through several sitting positions in the chair.

Was she trying to see how I'm sitting? Jo quirked an eye brow down at herself. That's redicu— She's really trying to sell this pony thing. She sat back more and nursed her drink, watching. Eventually Purple Head seemed to finally figure it out, or got tired of putting on a fake act; the latter seemed more likely.

Jo addressed the girl calmly, breaking the silence. "Everything alright?"

Purple looked over in a double take; she had started staring around the room like earlier. "Yes, uhm, it's just really weird having your body completely shift on you and change, you know? And not even at your own behest, either. Because I've actually performed transmorphic shape-shifting magic in the past, but this time... Eheh, well, it wasn't intentional." Her eyes seemed to flicker over Jo's features while she spoke, perhaps nervously, until finally she coughed into her hand and looked away. "Ahem."

Jo's mouth thinned into an almost-frown; she still wanted to try and be nice, but that was proving to be difficult. This girl's vocabulary is starting to make me feel stupid. Her thoughts further wondered if the other girl was trying to do that on purpose as part of a prank or something.

Purple Head continued after a minute, and in an increasingly nervous voice. "W-Well, if I'd been attempting a shape-change spell, such as an amniomorphic enchantment or... well, never mind all that." After seeing the look Jo was giving her, she cleared her throat again and moved on. "Anyway, this might not be so jarring if it was planned, but it wasn't, so... heh..." Her laugh was bitter as she trailed off.

Yeah, I'm not getting any sleep tonight. Jo all but collapsed to lean on one hand and heaved a very noticeable sigh. This is going nowhere. She decided to take a leap of faith, mostly due in part by the drink, on top of it being so late.

"Do you really think you're..." Jo took in a deep breath while tugging on her loose hair, her concentration strained over saying the name seriously. "Twilight Sparkle?" As she said the name she leaned forward, elbows on the table and fingers interlocked.

Twilight gave Jo a deadpan stare, her mouth working.

She really hadn't expected that at all? Jo kept her face straight.

"Ye-Yes! Of course I am. That's my name. I know who I am, Miss Josephine." Twilight leaned forward over the table, what was easily a frightened look on her face.

Jo formed a thought that maybe it really was her real name, but shot it down. The odds of someone changing their name to that seems a bit out there, and it wouldn't really explain the crawling anyway, so she has to be at least a little obsessed or nuts to explain either of those things.

The growing-steadily-stranger-by-the-minute girl wilted in her chair, then continued, "I'm not really sure of a lot right now... But that's my name, certainly. Twilight Sparkle, student of Celestia and the Element of—"

"Magic?" Jo asked, trying really hard not to make any rude faces or anything, she just pressed the conversation.

Purple Head opened her mouth happily to speak again, shock clear on her expression, but Jo went on instead. "Yeah, the Element of Magic. Well, why come here then? Or how did this happen?"

The stranger tried asking about Jo's interruption, but couldn't talk around her. Instead of answering the questions she'd been given though, she frowned at the table and looked away from her host.

Jo waited patiently, while Purple wore a sour expression. She unhelpfully settled into staring at her hands, flexing them slightly. After a minute, she did finally speak, her voice a mere whisper. "I... don't really remember... I don't have a clue why I'm like this either..." One of her hands rubbed at her forehead absently.

Jo sighed again and leaned back in the chair, barely restraining herself from outright face palming. Oooof course you don't remember anything, how classic. This is really getting to be too much to take in.

"Alright, well, I'm not going to lie to you, Twilight, but I think you're crazy, no offense. Maybe you've just hit your head, I don't know, but this is what I'm gonna do." Jo sobered her tone and looked at the table grimly. "I'll let you stay here for a while, I don't know how long, no questions asked. If you come clean on anything I promise, no matter what it's about I won't freak out or something. Just keep me in the loop while you're in my home. Sound okay to you?" Coming clean with her own conscience, she admitted to herself that she was only doing this because the girl wasn't a scary old bum. If she were, this conversation probably wouldn't be happening. "I won't ask for proof of who you're claiming to be either just... don't... well, make yourself at home, anyway. Sorry, it's really late, I've been awake awhile now too, so..."

Jo massaged the bridge of her nose with her eyes shut. She looked up when Twilight said nothing, who nodded distantly when she did so. "Alright, let's—"

Suddenly, Purple Head's head jerked up so fast Jo thought she was seeing things. "Wait, you said you've heard of Equestria! How is that? Have you been there!? Can you get me back there?" Her voice became increasingly erratic and panicked towards the end of that plea.

Jo tried not to look scared, but she could feel adrenaline building despite her own weariness. Her brain tried to remember if nine-one-one was how to get police to show up...

"Please, please I need to know." Purple slid a hand across the table, as if trying to reach out to Jo.

"Whoa, easy, just... I'll answer every question you got..." Jo paused again, hesitating over the all too familiar name. "Twilight, but tomorrow, okay?"

"Please... just please, tell me..." Twilight, shifted between looking at the table and her acquaintance, then settled on a puppy-dog-eyed stare that could have left a brick wall feeling sorry for itself.

Well, crazy or not, I can't ignore that. Jo winced back from the stranger's shameless beggaring, doubting that any living force could. That, and, she just seemed so sincere.

Jo tried to gather her last remaining wits of the day about herself. "You probably won't like what I have to tell you about that." Her voice was little more than a sarcastic drone as she tiredly warned the stranger.

"Please, I have to know. I have to know everything." Purple's eyes stared back at Jo's pleadingly.

"You... Fine," Jo rested her head on a hand and kept her voice serious for this. "Equestria is a work of Fiction, simple as that. Whether that means you're crazy like I said, or not," —fat chance of that— "I don't know, but, it is not real." I do know, however, that you didn't want to hear that, crazy or not.

Jo's thoughts muddled together in a blur, bracing herself for Purple Head's reaction. Please don't lose it and eat my cats, please don't lose it and eat my cats...

The girl that had named herself as Twilight seemed to be getting ready to dispute that, then sank back in her chair. The color and life drained away visibly from her face. Her body went limp, as well, and after a moment she scrunched her face up to fight back tears which had begun to form.

"That... that's impossible," Purple Head muttered darkly. "That doesn't make sense..." More muttering and what sounded like explanations came from under her breath.

Jo's own face struggled to stay neutral. She could imagine what Purple Head was thinking, despite being crazy. She seemed to be for real about this. She's thinking, "I'm trapped, I'm not a real pony, I've been deluding myself." Hm. She may also be thinking "I'm on another plane of existence without my magic, my friends or my real body." But in either case she's going to... Yep, that.

Jo watched Purple Head fall into her arms again, crying waterfalls. Her choked sobs were unbearable to watch, whether she was really nuts or not. Watching and knowing what she was actually going through, made her own emotions twist and do somersaults. Now Jo, don't cry, that's lame and depressing... Still, it must be horrible being torn from everything you know and lo—

Jo blinked several times and shook her head, catching herself. Waaait, I still think she's crazy, bonkers, high as a kite... Either way, I have no idea what I'm doing here anyway, or do I? She waited a second, watching the girl worriedly.

Jo swallowed, the purple-haired girl before her still in tears. I should say something. "Twilight..." Think booze-ridden brain, think... "Let's get you some sleep huh? I have a spare room, you can use it." Excellent, problem postponed! Good job Jo, that deserves a drink. "We'll work this out in the morning... I'm sorry I can't do more for you. I—"

Twilight sniffed and interrupted Jo once again. She scrubbed the front of one hand over her nose while shaky words came out. "Why-y are you sorry? It's my own stupid fault anyway. I'm a failure as a student and even as a unicorn..." Her breath exhaled raggedly. "Why did the Princess ever bother with me, she must have seen this coming. Whatever that experiment was it— Why can't I—" She cut off and replaced her head in her arms, crying even more.

Jo winced, but quickly got up to find some paper towels—she didn't think tissues would cut it—and a waste basket. If she keeps this up, I will definitely be joining her... She pulled out a chair next to her. Must. Stop. Sad.

"Twilight, if it will help any... If you still say you're Twilight in the morning... I'll try to believe you, and do my best to help you get home." Jo took note of getting her attention, which was nice, but she felt guilty over lying.

Still, Purple Head took the paper towels that were offered to her and put them to good use, scrubbing her eyes with a generous wad. Minutes and a few sniffles later, she nodded back to Jo. "I- thanks, thank you, I mean. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused."

Jo scrubbed a hand behind her head and looked up at the ceiling nonchalantly. "Meh, I'd never turn someone in need away, human tradition remember?" That is to say, I might not let everyone into my house lest they eat my cats or something, but I really would help anyone, I guess. Except maybe Justin Beiber, that guy is beyond help. The woman suppressed a shudder at the mere thought of the washed up pop star.

"So yeah, uhm, welcome to Earth! More specifically, New York." Jo stood up and flourished her hands a bit. She reassured herself that the action wasn't the booze, she was just trying to cheer up the stranger. "I'm sorry you couldn't visit under better circumstances." A nervous laugh escaped her, then she cleared her throat. "Anyway, let me show you to the guest room, okay?"

Jo's attempt to shift the mood produced a weak smile.

"Uhm, thanks, heh," Purple Head replied wistfully, then got out of the chair too, again on all fours.

Jo motioned her after herself, then frowned back at her a little bit, twice, having done a double take over the crawling. They made their way past the stairs, then the living room, and lastly through the office her father had once practically lived in. Finally, they got back towards an old, currently unused spare bedroom which lay beyond all of that.

"Tomorrow, I'll see if I can't teach you how to walk upright..." Jo mutter tiredly, half jokingly, while fighting off another yawn.

The girl's grimace at herself faded as they walked into the unlit part of the house. "Walking normally... uh, for a pony I mean, doesn't feel right. It hurts my... legs. They are still legs, right? I guess nopony walks like this here either, huh? It's easy to tell just by looking that human physiology isn't suited to four legged movement..."

Jo's eyebrows raised at the grammar her guest used. The lights in the bedroom clicked on. "Hm, just people too young to have learned how to walk yet." The question about whether humans could walk on all fours certainly seemed rhetorical, but she decided not to assume.

After that, it looked like Purple Head had another idea.

"Are there ponies on Earth? Maybe another unicorn I could get some help from?" The room was mostly boxes, but the bed itself still had sheets and covers.

What did she just say, ponies? Oh right... I really need to sleep. "Err... no unicorns Twilight, and our ponies aren't, uh, intelligent... Not like us or, uhm Equestrians, anyway... They can't speak, for instance."

Purple Head didn't respond to Jo's information.

The bed was tall, maybe four feet off the ground. Jo glared at the hateful furniture. I never understood that, maybe I should let her have the couch? She had to help Purple some to get her onto it, who sat on the edge once up.

The two stayed there staring at each other in the dim light from the other room, until Jo spoke. "I'll uh... be upstairs. Yell if you need anything." Should I try explaining the intercom system? Eh... maybe never, I mean tomorrow.

"I... Yes, upstairs, right. Thank you again." Twilight made a sincere smile.

"Ohhh, you're welcome." Jo was exhausted, and her arm still burned from the wrench that she had been hit with. Psch, Twilight was never that violent on the show. I think? It's been years since I watched it with my nieces, hell if I know... Turning to face the door, she started to leave. "Well, goodnight, Purple— Uhm, I mean Twilight."

The stranger coughed, or cleared her throat, which brought an immediate response from Jo's thoughts. Hopefully she won't get sick...

"Goodnight." Purple Head replied, smiling over at Jo, who mustered up a weak smile—that she hoped looked comforting—and shut the door a bit.

The nearly comatose woman trudged upstairs, but not before turning off the house's million light switches. As she did so, her thoughts wandered aimlessly as a result of her current state.

I wonder what she thinks of the lights? What technology did they have in the show? I honestly can't remember. I remember Flim and Flams' magic cider-car thing... I can vaguely remember fireflies being used, but flashlights? I think I remember gas lights being on the trains... Well, I at least recall that light was definitely never an issue. Not to mention the light-switch-like transitions on screen, but did they have electricity or magic or... ah bed, there you are.

Jo was finally able to remove her now nearly dry clothes, and laid on her couch. After having locked her bedroom door, of course. Better safe than sorry after all. Likely as not she'll just rob me blind though. Assuming she's a crook or con artist. She stared up at her dark, black light lit ceiling in thought. I... believe her though, I think, at least the part that she believes she is who she says she is. But who knows, maybe she's just a great actor.

Jo rolled over and shut her eyes tiredly, sleep fast approaching. ...Or maybe, it was all true? She drifted off into a fitful sleep, the odd thought was her last for the night.

Chapter 2 : Can't Sleep

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The room was awfully cold.

Normally, Twilight would never feel a chill this early in the season, or what she guessed was early fall, anyway. Certainly not indoors and wrapped up in a huge, cushy blanket like this one... She didn't have her coat of fur though, which was probably why the cold assaulted her relentlessly the way it did, even inside and in the soft bed.

"I should have been more careful." The words were emotionless as Twilight mumbled them and rolled over onto her side. Her forelegs were tucked closely in front her barrel comfortingly, bridging on cradling herself—it didn't help any.

The changed unicorn's body shifted on the springy mattress again, trying to get comfortable. Unfortunately for her, even with the smooth sheets and curiously poofy pillows that seemed impossible. Despite her best efforts and the heavenly sleeping arrangement, she was kept awake by everything that weighed on her mind. From the small to the big, but chiefly by the fact that her last memory of Equestria was of an early morning. She couldn't have woken up and had breakfast more than two hours ago, if memory served her correctly. The lingering taste of the lily and daffodil sandwich she had eaten seemed to confirm that as fact.

The wall stared back at Twilight while she was deep in thought; she couldn't not be. In truth, it simply wasn't in her to not begin researching and figuring out what was going on right away. It was who she was, her nature. She fixed things, she solved the problems, and she was the one that time and again always came through for her friends... just like they would for her.

However, Twilight wasn't in her home right now. She didn't have her assistant, Spike, she didn't have her notes, her equipment or even her...

Twilight reached a frightened, shaking hand up to her forehead for the dozenth-or-more time, searching for a missing part of herself. A silent tear leaked out of the side of one eye, then trailed down her face onto the pillow.

"My horn," she whispered, and sniffled.

The situation she'd put herself in had left her stranded, crippled, and utterly at the mercy of the bizarre looking creature that had taken her in for the night.

"I should have been more careful..." Twilight repeated the words from earlier in an apologetic tone, even though there was no one to apologize to. She waited, but nothing in the dark room replied this time, either. Not even her usually dependable brain answered her.

I just don't know what to do. Twilight's thoughts had raced for an hour now, but she was still left with nothing to show for it. Her mind repeated what had become a routine cycle of ideas and courses of action since she had been left alone in the cozy bedroom. Once again, they started up. This time though, she planned to act on them, too. Everything is alright Twilight, you're safe after all. But, just laying here and sleeping won't solve anything. Maybe this isn't your house or the great library in Canterlot, but surely you can figure at least a couple of helpful things out.

Twilight lifted the blankets off herself and folded them over neatly to the other side of the bed. I gotta do something... Still, in her mind, she was the most incongruous kind of guest right now: the unexpected or possibly even worse, the unwelcome kind. Naturally, she decided she would be more than courteous under any circumstances towards her hostess. You know, Twilight, you're taking advantage of that hospitality a little just by wandering about. Still, she told herself she'd made her decision already and forwent regret with a sigh.

The lack of a floor as she leaned over the side of the bed kept her from sliding her forelegs off. She stared at the empty space for a moment as she dangled helplessly off the side of the furniture, seeing clearly once again just how high up she was.

Twilight's eyes widened in the dark and she scurried back onto the sheets promptly. What the hay? How can— What were they called... humans? Right. How do humans manage to do this? Her fears had never included heights before, not anymore than any other sensible unicorn, of course. Being this unsure of her body certainly made up for it though. She took a deep breath and peered over the monstrously tall side of the bed again.

I can't believe how jarring this is, I never imagined walking on just two legs could make everything seem so... big. Twilight had not had the opportunity to gauge how large humans were properly, just yet. But it seemed that they were bigger than ponies by some margin, and not just in height. Although, that did seem to be caused primarily from the manner in which they stood upon two legs. Such circumstances appeared to be the root of Twilight's problem with getting off the bed at the moment, anyway. Just be careful Twilight, try and simply lower yourself carefully... You've seen Spike do it plenty of times, and he's tiny.

Twilight's feet carefully slid back and off the bed as she clung to the mattress as though it were a life-line, her teeth remained clenched until finally, cold wooden floor came up to meet her legs. Her eyes blinked open to find it was still dark, except for a scattering of peculiar blue or green or red lights around the room, but she could see clearly that the unfamiliar height of the bed wasn't actually as tall as she'd imagined it was.

As a matter of fact, her hips just reached the top of said mattress while standing upright as the stranger 'Jo' had been.

A loud sigh exhaled from Twilight, then she quickly covered her mouth with a hand and looked around. If you're going to be wandering around a stranger's home, then don't be a nuisance and wake her up, dandelion brain!

Twilight momentarily had second thoughts about doing something that could be seen as rude, but fought them back. It really just wasn't in her to sit by idly and waste time, not when everypony else could think she were lost, or maybe even worse...

The hesitation ended, and normal Twilight resurfaced, encouraged by taking the initiative. Out of sheer curiosity, she attempted to take a few steps on two legs, as she had seen Jo so gracefully and flawlessly do. One foot went forward and then... "Wha— No!"

A loud thump filled the room.

Twilight wasn't quite sure what had gone wrong at first, but after some reflection she realized she had tried to take a step with one of her forearms before using her human legs... The old instinct had betrayed her, and now she lay on the ground.

Twilight shuddered on the floor for a moment, sadness welling up. To her, falling down onto the wood floor was a rather... good analogy for how she had felt that entire night. It reminded her of everything in a rush—a painful rush. Her thoughts stormed her will as she lay there and a couple more tears were blinked back. Finally, a calming breath stilled her shaking.

The oddly shaped head Twilight now possessed shifted weakly to rest on the strange, furless limbs that so well mimicked her old ones. Calmly, she reflected on things. I've gone from being one of Equestria's most accomplished, promising young unicorns, to this. Her eyes stared sadly at the things that Jo had called hands, which had replaced her hooves. The dim light provided from the magic fixture nearby illuminated them just enough to make out their alien-like shape. I'm just... Defeated thoughts fought to well up inside of her, just as quickly as memories of her friends and wise mentor tried to fight them back down.

Twilight pushed herself up to standing—in pony fashion—slowly. The aches and bruises—which she had seen covering her entire hairless body back in the shower—all reminded her with some throbbing pain of just how badly she had screwed up.

Ignoring the re-awakened bruises, Twilight quietly began to creep through the house's dark, searching for things and clues that might help her.

Well, the strange bendy digits that were now on all of Twilight's limbs wiggled as she formed a thought. These legs that humans have are certainly a lot quieter than hooves. A smirk managed to accompany the somewhat condescending thought, but it still helped her out.

The first thing Twilight realized as she made her way out of the bedroom was just how dark it was in the house. While sight adjusted to the dark, she momentarily considered if her human eyes might have a stronger or weaker sense of vision in the night than a pony. It seemed about the same, in the end, but reaching a sound conclusion would require tests, a lab and a control group she didn't have right then.

Twilight set out in earnest, only to bump into a wall after some clumsy movement forward. "Gah, doorframe. Was the bigger room this way?" All of the curiously luminescent lights that had filled the home's tall ceilinged rooms were now extinguished.

Twilight's eyes cast about for a lantern of fireflies, gas lamp, or anything familiar, but she didn't see anything of the sort. She would have looked for a light switch too, but it was too dark. I will say this, the humans seem to have a very commanding knack for magic, maybe I'm worrying over nothing. In fact, I bet Jo herself can help me get home... The lighting she had seen earlier had to have been magic, she decided. The steady shine that they had emitted certainly did seem very similar, if slightly weaker than the daylight-like glow magic lighting provided back in her home. She might not think Equestria is real, but I know it is. With power like this I'm sure they have some means that could be of use to me. The thoughts were just meant to comfort her, but they did sound reasonable to her after a fashion.

Twilight's thoughts lingered on her strange hostess as she made her way randomly through the dark. Frankly, Jo seemed like a very interesting creature with an oddly familiar personality. A bit like a cross between Rainbow Dash and Trixie. She shuddered at the idea of the combination. At least she doesn't speak in the third person. A grin creased her face at the thought, then evaporated as she approached the sadly book-filled floor of one room. Oh, poor things...

On instinct, she tried to focus her horn to pick them all up off of the ground. When nothing happened, Twilight gulped and shook her mane angrily. This isn't fair! How am I supposed to fix a mistake if I can't remember what I did or even use magic anymore!? The idea sprang a hateful, and terribly horrified thought.

What if Jo's right? What if I am crazy. It hadn't been hard for Twilight to pick up on what the human had been thinking, even in the state of mind she was in. She shook the thought aside, since it didn't really make any sense. It couldn't make sense. No, that's impossible, too many memories for those to be not real. Besides... that landing outside was way too painful to be fake. She recalled the purple flames dancing over her skin, her hooves clutching at herself desperately to try and put them out even as she felt herself plummeting.

Twilight shook her head again and took a deep breath; the memory had made her blood pump and her head feel heavy. She didn't know what had happened to her to change her body, but she decided to piece it together later. The memories of her lab were a little more blurry, making the sparse recollection of conversing with Applejack almost useless. There was no doubt in her about one thing though, that talking to the farm mare was the last thing to occur before whatever had happened, happened.

"If only I could show Jo my memories or some proof..." Twilight tried to swish her tail distastefully at not having any magic, and was disappointed when reminded of its absence. Oooh, my poor tail... Her hand felt around where the missing limb was absent. What was I thinking... Oh, right, well I'm sure I can bring her around easily, Jo seems like a smart pony- er, human. She concluded the thought, then continued past the abused literature in the room. Her eyes tried to pick out a book or two that might be useful. The light in the hallway was thankfully left on.

Bizarrely enough, they all seemed to be written in plain old Equestrian, and not any of the other languages or fancier dialects that filled Twilight's world. Or more sensibly, an alien dialect. That was perfectly fine by Twilight, though. Come to think of it, we both speak Equestrian. I hadn't even noticed that. She filed the peculiarity she had missed away for later.

Twilight's hands clumsily picked up what was obviously a dictionary. Best to start small, I guess. The question of languages had gotten her interested on the thought, she considered something more involved, but decided things were complicated enough as it was. With luck, I won't be here long enough to be able to learn anything about them... not that I won't take as much back with me as possible. She grinned at the thought of being the first unicorn to have encountered an alien race from another world, or possibly from another plane of existence altogether. A giggle escaped her, fighting back some of her darkened mood.

The wind blew in from an opening in front of Twilight.

She realized upon reaching the next room that it was where the broken door lay. I guess that was my fault. I wonder why Jo wasn't more angry about it? She turned the thought over, then came to a conclusion, smiling. I guess Jo is just one of those rough exterior kinds of ponies... but really friendly on the inside. It made perfect sense, now that she thought about it. "I mean, humans," she corrected herself out loud to the room.

Outside, a grey light had begun to build, filling the window and room with a strengthening light. It was cloudy outside, and the entirety of the horizon was one big foreboding mass.

Twilight frowned out of the doorway at the sight. Humans have a very intimidating way of running their weather... The clouds were quite obviously hundreds of times higher up than the pegasi in Equestria managed to pull off. They must be powerful indeed... She turned and spotted a fireplace in one corner. A smile appeared as she approached it, glad to see a familiar sight in the strange abode.

It wasn't lit, however, but the light from the windows was enough to see by.

"This place is crazy." The words caused Twilight to reflect on what she had said and brought more considerations over the few bits of information she had gotten from Jo. "Wait... how could she know of Equestria if it wasn't real to begin with?"

Twilight turned from the strange fireplace and crawled up onto the nearby couch, still thinking out loud. "I mean, unless their knowledge of the place is pure coincidence and therefore fake, or the word means something else entirely..." The spoken idea made more sense to Twilight than the alternatives—that either Equestria wasn't real, or possibly something else altogether than the first two possibilities.

The couch squished under Twilight's hand oddly and she looked down in time to cry out. A cat likewise yowled and leaped up over the back of the couch away from her, leaving the panicked girl breathing heavily on the floor where she had fallen.

Twilight looked around and tried to calm her heartbeat. "I'm sorry! I didn't see you..." she called after the fleeing feline. It was long gone though. She pushed herself off of her back and up onto hands and knees. As she did so, she spotted another cat on the furniture watching her placidly, swishing its tail from the disturbance.

"Sorry about that," Twilight apologized again to the other creature.

She sorta half stood up, similar to how she had seen Jo doing, then ungracefully fell onto the couch beside the cat. It would take some getting used to, but she thought that she would be able to learn the strange way humans walked quickly. She settled onto the furniture in a position that seemed natural for the body, and ignored the outcries her mind tried to make at the wrongness of it. For the dozenth time her eyes looked wonderingly over her strange body, poking at the oddly shaped legs and barrel idly.

None of it was hers, not really, but at the same time Twilight guessed they were now. I'm not sure if I'm ever going to get used to this... She scowled down at the weirdness of the shape that now defined her.

Movement caught Twilight's attention. The cat at the other end of the sofa yawned and stood up, then quickly padded its way over to place itself on her lap. It sat and began to watch her.

Twilight smiled sadly at the creature, then her eyes widened as a realization occurred to her. Jo had said that ponies exist here, not only that, but cats are here as well. This immediately stoked the embers of several more ideas that she chastised herself for not thinking of sooner. With similarities like that, Equestria could be attached to this world in any number of ways. Uggh, if only I had studied harder on a subject like this... Though she tried, she couldn't think of any field of Equestrian magic that delved into other worlds. In fact, other than fictional comics the likes of which Spike read, they were unheard of as far as she knew.

The cat meowed loudly at Twilight, breaking her out of the dreamy, thought filled state. It swished its tail and pawed at her hand enthusiastically. Taking the hint, she obliged the pushy animal and stroked its head. She began to mull over how much better hands seemed to be at this than a hoof might be.

They certainly are more utilitarian than hooves. Magic was still far superior though, as she saw it.

All the while the cat stared at Twilight, she pet it. It was seemingly contented by the attention, at least.

"I wish I could understand animals like Fluttershy, I sorely need somepony right now that isn't..." Twilight trailed off under the cat's strange, stone cold stare at her. "That is, I don't mean anything by that against your owner, I'm sure she's very nice!" Her assuredness wavered as the cat continued to keep its eyes locked with her own. "Look, it's just that I've never seen anything quite like her before!" She looked down momentarily at her hand with a frown. "Or me for that matter, I guess..." Looking back up, the house pet was still watching her clinically, and a worried look appeared on her face as a result.

Is it me, or is this cat kind of creepy? Still, Twilight continued to pet its head. It didn't purr or act very friendly, but it seemed content to lay there and endure the attention. I guess cats from here are just very placid... Her mind trailed off as she stared into the empty fireplace that gave no heat. Beside her, the sun rose in the window and she opened the human dictionary to its light for some comfort reading.

Chapter 3 : Getting Better Acquainted

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Twilight remained frozen, running her hands over the smooth, flawless paper for what seemed to her like forever. "This is the most amazing paper, I have ever, ever seen... ever." Her mouth had hung open for the entirety of the thorough inspection she was giving the solid covered novel. "Maybe this accident will be worth it in the end..." She continued to caress the craftsponyship of the human dictionary... until somehow one of the edges sliced her hand of all things.

Twilight yelped softly—but enough to cause her remaining furry companion to leave in a flash. Note to self, Twilight; human books are dangerous... Her other hand rubbed the wound tenderly while she scowled at the offending page. What the hay, who sharpens paper? Despite the sardonic thought, she realized it was just that the paper of the dictionary was very fine; enough so to slice her skin with ease. Even the best Equestrian scripture would be hard pressed to pull that off, certainly never so easily. The quality impressed her so much that she quickly softened her features, then set about inspecting the book's literary assets, rather than its composition.

Twilight had surprised herself when she briefly considered hurling it away, instead of reading it.

Honestly, throwing a book; what were you about to do, Twilight? She smirked and began to skim read through the pages. Before she knew it, half an hour had soon passed by, her brain still chugging along reliably.

Time passed slowly as the human's sun rose higher in the sky. At the moment, Twilight was focused over one particular, peculiar word: Atomic. The definition listed several different meanings and uses for the word. One of them...

Twilight shook her head and continued, not one to be discouraged by new subject matter. Still, it only took a few more pages of mostly familiar words—alongside more than a couple confusing and worrying ones—before Twilight sliced her other hand, as well.

"AH!" This time, she stuck the miniature limb in her mouth reflexively. "Uggh, m'okay, 'at's it!" she mumbled.

The thick book clunked onto the table while Twilight tumbled off the couch with as much grace as she could manage. I'm waking up Jo. I can't stand all this waiting in this body. I can't even distract myself with a book like this!

Twilight got as far as the doorway to the room with all of the fallen books before she stopped. Something occurred to her.

"I bet I'm the one that caused this mess." Twilight's voice was quiet and taciturn. She looked back at the shattered opening behind her, too, now filled with morning light. The sight essentially confirmed the thought. And I'm about to be a bad guest like I just said I wouldn't. Taking a deep breath, she brought her hand up to her barrel and slowly exhaled, calming herself in the process.

I wonder if anypony's looking for me yet. Twilight was again wandering the strange house, distracted by worried thoughts of her own home and friends. She welcomed the funny thought of Pinkie Pie actually finding her here, which easily filled her with renewed calm.

My friends are going to worry so much, Twilight continued to mull over the situation, in regards to both here in the human's world, and back home. Spike won't know what to do... Rainbow Dash will be looking everywhere across Equestria, I'm sure. In the end, the odd words from the dictionary and her regrowing sense of restlessness pushed her to helplessly wander in the dim morning light of the building. And Pinkie Pie must be beside herself with worry right now!

On instinct, Twilight tried to pace in what looked like Jo's dining area—judging by the gaudy chandelier. However, she quickly learned that pacing at a trot in the manner she was used to was impossibly uncomfortable in her current state. A few moments of annoyed defeat later and she decided to go native, so to speak. A stern look appeared in her eyes.

Twilight's hand gripped the side of the table.

Easy does it, Twilight. Now that the human legs she found herself saddled with were in position, her next step was to try and stand upright as Jo had been doing. Here we go. Though rising up on them was unsteady, she actually made it with little trouble.

Mostly, it just felt weird to be standing in such a drastically shifted position.

"I did it! Wow, Spike makes this look way too easy." Twilight smiled shakily and gulped, then proceeded to make a few, staggering attempts at emulating her assistant's way of walking. Well, this isn't sooo— Oh no! She had managed to walk... but only for about as long as she had held onto something.

Almost right after letting go, Twilight's hands slapped back onto the table. The last second act just barely saved her from falling to the floor, her balance shot after being struck by some powerful vertigo.

This instantly led to a hypothesis for Twilight. Either my brain and its habits are holding onto my previous sense of balance, or not having a tail is messing with me. By Luna's stars, how does Jo do it? She resettled onto the floor with a thud, uncomfortable with how her first attempt at standing like a human had felt. Perhaps I simply can't rewrite my instincts so easily? The other theory she had formed simply took into account that she could have been hurt somehow in her crash landing, besides just her bruises.

So, unable to pace, unwilling to wake the human upstairs, and too restless to focus on reading—not to mention wary of harmful paper injuries—Twilight began to poke at the oddities in the house. Irritatingly, most were out of reach. Still, she was deathly curious about the home's contents, and that especially included the owner. The latter of those two would still have to wait though, it seemed.

"Honestly, how long is she going to sleep?" Twilight scrunched her face and reached up awkwardly to flick what was obviously a light switch. Yet another room full of fallen books lit up in the slightly tinted glow of the light. Her face turned back into the mournful look it always bore when seeing such a sight.

Without thinking, Twilight tried to lift up the books with her magic to inspect, then shelve them. She plonked sadly down when she realized nothing was happening... again.

"No use dwelling on the situation, Twilight," she said fiercely, and picked up one small but thick novel with a hand in lieu of her magic. At least I found something to preoccupy me... even if it is just cleaning up my own mess. In a not-exactly expedient manner, she began to re-shelve the books.

Twilight huffed as she pushed the randomly stacked pile of mismatched books against the wall alongside their brethren. She found that she was slightly winded from moving them, not to mention that the books themselves were heavy in large numbers. The only theory she had formed concerning this was that her new body might be weaker than her old. That sort of made sense considering it was new.

Humans might also be really weak, she considered. Or maybe gravity on human-world is higher? Whatever the reason, she knew it would take time and resources to figure that out, along with everything else. A million questions, no answers, and my only clue is sound asleep...

Twilight could have screamed in frustration, but she was more controlled than that... At least, that's what she furiously told herself.

At least for now, the pictures on the book covers were a good distraction. Interestingly, they were unlike anything she had ever seen before. Even just the material that they were made of remained unbearably fascinating. She had successfully re-shelved several other volumes as best she could, but it had taken forever just to fill one of the several bookcases—mostly due in part to the distracting covers.

"Alrighty then, I think that's enough for now." With a little bit of help from leaning on a bookshelf, Twilight slowly lowered herself back to the ground for the thirtieth or so time.

Discouraged from shelving anymore without magic, she left the somewhat cleaned room, only partly done with trying to categorize and replace all of the poor books in their old homes. Still, a good portion of the mess of books had at least been dealt with.

Under one arm, Twilight carried one of the books to catch her eye along with herself, anxious to perhaps ask Jo why there were so many metal vehicles—possibly airships—depicted floating on a blanket of stars. The description had certainly given no clue, other than it was apparently fiction. That gave her mind some calm of mind. Imagine, traveling amongst the stars in the sky in a... whatever these things are. She gave the cover a cursory glance again. That just doesn't seem logical! But fascinating nonetheless.

Twilight smirked the very thought of the silly concept, only to quickly be replaced by a frown as one of the several clocks that seemed to be scattered throughout the house sounded loudly. The clock was followed swiftly by two others from somewhere else in the house.

Peculiar, she thought, humming. Back in Equestria, having this many clocks would be considered a luxury of luxuries in any home or building other than a clock maker's shop. All the same, it makes things easier for me at least. She frowned up at the blessedly normal grandfather clock, with its big swinging pendulum and beautiful, chased bronze gilding. The craftsponyship of the piece was lost on her though, her eye beginning to twitch. When is Jo going to wake up!?

It was one in the afternoon now.

The day shone in above Jo’s head like an alarm clock made of light, aggravating her still shut eyes with a steadily increasing glare of concentrated sun. The actual clock hanging from the wall read well past noon. Newly awoken as she now was, she could already tell she had a headache. To make matters worse, sitting up just a little too quickly set off the pounding of drums in her ears.

“Uggh, what the heck.” Jo’s eyes—their brown looking slightly hazed over—fought for a clear view of the surroundings as she stood up off her bedroom’s couch. Wobblingly, she crossed the room to the doorway where she then waited patiently for her slight dizziness to subside, if only just enough to make standing still possible.

I haven’t felt this awful in a while. Uggh, I'll bet its from staying up too late... and the rum... and the headache, uggh. While one hand scratched her stomach distractedly, Jo’s brain did its best reporting her current condition to herself. Yawning in an effort to be fully awake, she made her way across the hall.

The events from the night before began to replay before Jo. The strange, multicolored ribbon of light that had hung in the starry sky forced her to immediately recall that she harbored a crazy, likely drug addicted fan of an old cartoon show. Still, bothersome or not, that was mildly interesting.

Life can never have too much interesting, Jo thought, a tight smile on her lips as she turned on the upstair's shower.

The headache she had immediately got better thanks to the hot water and building cloud of steam around her.

Now I just need to worry about Alice busting in and causing a scene, and whether or not to let the men in white coats have my guest. She snorted a short laugh at the thought of either event, for only slightly differing reasons. A few minutes later and after a thorough, heavenly wash, she cut off the water.

Toweled off, Jo changed into some likely clean jeans and a t-shirt. She walked across the hall, then headed down the stairwell to her oh-so-certainly to be interesting day.

"Hellooo. Are you awake?" she called out ahead of herself. "I hope you're feeling a twinge more sane today..." She of course whispered the latter sentiment.

Arriving at the guest room, Jo found the door was still open as she had left it. Peeking inside, however, revealed that the guest herself was, well, not in the guest room, as Jo had left her.

Jo squinted slowly in consternation as she peered delicately around the room. ...Maybe she’s making breakfast. Swiftly, she dashed out of the room and began to look around the house for her missing guest.

"Oh Purple Head? Hello?" She called out her name—and she decided Purple Head did count—but came up empty while attempting to locate the stranger. After nearly twenty minutes passed, her worry increasing the whole time, she turned up nada, zip, and zilcho. Even after searching the whole house from top to bottom, the stranger was nowhere to be found.

An irritated grumble escaped Jo as she sat down at her typically unused dining table in defeat. Maybe she was just a hallucination? Or maybe that light show was some top-secret government mind cooking weapon... She snorted at the incredulity of the thought, while one of her hands began to methodically sooth the side of her head.

It was easier for Jo to imagine Purple Head had nabbed something and gone home, or had just come to her own senses after coming down from that high. She sighed and leaned on her hands, glancing around herself randomly. It looks like everything is still here... I’ll have to look around more carefully later, but first I need something to eat.

Right after the thought, Jo heard the faint tinkling noise of glass. It had come from the direction of the family room's broken door.

I need to clean up that noisy glass too... Jo sighed, then sat up straight away. Oh shoot, maybe that was her. Augh, hangovers are like brain cancer for me. They hurt my ideas.

Groaning a bit, she stood up from the dining table and followed the noise. Sure enough, after poking her head into the back room she saw Purple Head kneeling by the doorway. There were more blankets thrown down near the glass, which Jo assumed was to help her get over it without shoes. Her hands, knees and feet were grass stained, as well, meaning she’d been outside.

“Good morning...” Jo greeted her in a croaking voice and frowned as she entered the room, looking at the sight before her. She smoothed her features at seeing what Purple Head was doing though.

The girl looked up at her newly awakened host from carefully gathering broken glass with a dustpan.

"Oh! You surprised me. Good morning... Jo?” Purple Head said the name with a noticeable pause, then continued. “It’s actually afternoon, however. I believe it’s somewhere around half past two?”

Her smile was broad and genuine enough that it made Jo's head hurt once again just looking at it.

Purple Head continued, looking far too cheerful. “That is, assuming this device tells time... and that your day cycle is similar to the one Princess Celestia and Princess Luna maintain...” The girl looked over at the clock on the wall as she spoke.

Jo could have been wrong, but she thought she felt her own eye twitch momentarily.

That overbearing smile that Purple wore exchanged for a thoughtful frown as she began scrutinizing the digital clock on the wall, then perked up again and continued speaking hurriedly. "Anywho, sorry I didn’t get you up, I wasn’t sure how long humans needed to sleep, or if maybe you were nocturnal...”

Jo’s stare grew more wide eyed as the strange girl went on. "Ah huh," she simply answered.

Twilight still wasn't done talking. “Also, I wasn't very tired so... well, it was morning when I arrived here from Equestria, I think, is all. I didn't sleep much last night... or at all. Not that I usually go to bed at a normal hour most nights anyway, but—" The smile she gave weakened overtime, until finally she was interrupted by her own yawn.

Jo rolled her eyes briefly, writing off the crazy person’s ramblings as just that, and approached her bizarre guest. “Right, here let me help you with that, Purple Head.” Better say something now, she'll probably start up again any second, was all she could think after that, so a change of subject she decided, was in order.

“It’s no trouble! I just wanted to help out for... Did you just call me Purple Head?” Twilight had begun to protest giving up the dustpan, but instead raised a confused eyebrow at Jo.

“Did I say that out loud?” Jo smirked, as she gently took the dustpan from the kneeling girl’s noticeably pale hands, then deposited the mass of ruined glass in the nearby garbage.

The stranger continued to stare back at Jo until an awkward silence set in.

“Alright, I’m sorry, that was rude,” Jo raised her hands defensively. “I shouldn’t just give you a weird nickname, but you can’t really expect me to call you Twilight Sparkle, do you?”

“Well... just Twilight would be fine, it is my name after all.” Twilight gave a nervous chuckle and rubbed one arm, then frowned at her hand before looking reproachfully up at Jo, who had her own arms crossed and looked dourly down at the floor bound Twilight. "Also, not to force you to or anything, but you said that you would believe me if I simply reaffirmed today that I am in fact, Twilight Sparkle."

Jo was wide awake now, and as such, she took a renewed effort at making sense of the situation. This chick must be having some kind of abusive trouble from home... I wonder if I really should just take her to the cops? She knew what would happen then, and that it wouldn’t be pleasant, especially if they couldn’t find out who she was or if she kept up this act. A heaved sigh escaped her in the wake of that pleasantry. I’ll give her some time, since she seems perfectly safe to be around. For now, anyway.

Jo didn't take much stock in making good on whatever promise she had made last night in her tired state, though, so she moved on.

“Alright, Twilight it is then. I gotta say I would’ve picked a more likeable character myself, but whatever.” Jo put her hands on her hips and leaned towards Twilight with a cocky smile. “So, Twilight... wanna go get breakfast? I wasn’t expecting company so I’m fresh out of... well, everything. So unless a shot of Jack in the morning is your sorta thing, we should go get some donuts.” Not to mention coffee... Her head pulsed in agreement on her shoulders.

Twilight stared up at Jo blankly until she finished, then nodded dumbly. “Uhm, I guess so? Though I’m not sure what ‘Jack’ is, exactly. I have a friend named Applejack, but I suppose that would just be a coincidence. I must say, despite the unfortunate circumstances of my being here, I do feel that I'd very much enjoy looking into other cultural similarities that our two worlds seem to—"

Jo could actually feel her eyes begin to glaze over slightly while Purple Head rambled on.

"—But perhaps that's all suited to a better time." With that, Purple chuckled a little. "Anyway, sure, we should get food before we talked about... things. Which reminds me, there are so many questions, important ones mind you, that I have to ask you, Miss Jo. I think—”

“Just call me Jo, please.” Jo could've sworn she had told her that already. The girl was polite to the point of being annoying. Getting frustrated with the talkative stranger on top of the headache lead to another sigh filling the room, while Jo resisted the urge to facepalm.

The uneasy gaze Twilight assumed on her face stuck to the ground while she continued. “Oh, I see, sorry. Well, like I was saying, I have innumerable questions about your world that do I need answered right away if I'm to have any hope of returning to Equestri—”

In impatience, Jo’s hands balled up a moment before she flared them out and put on an overly joyful face. “Hey, uhm, let’s go get that food and coffee first! Okay? Let’s leave the heavy talk for afterwards.” I swear to G-man, if I have to listen to this all day I’m gonna lose it... Why even My Little Pony? That fandom's been dead for years...

Twilight looked up from the tile floor and tilted her head. “Heavy? What’s heavy? Is there something wrong with the gravity here? I had my suspicions of that last night after I—”

That time, Jo did facepalm. Alright, she’s totally messing with me. I gotta give it to her self-control, though. If I had hit someone with that reference, I’d be rolling on the floor right now. Her eyes peeked between her fingers to warily look at the confused looking purple haired girl.

"Uhm, are you alright, Mi— er, Jo?"

Jo managed to keep her expression flat. I’ll play along a little longer, let her talk about this on her terms. Either way, I just want some coffee right now, darnit. She turned and left the room, picking up her car keys by the back door as she went. "Come on."

“Jo?" Twilight called after Jo and followed her out of the room hesitantly. "Where are you going? Are we leaving now?” The hostess seemed to be putting on some of the strange looking boots that had been lying around.

Jo looked back at Twilight, but her thoughts blanked out the questions and her voice. Ah, hell, she’s going to need shoes too... Well, maybe not, we’ll go through the drive through. She turned over ideas and the best means of handling things hurriedly, the drama of it all adding to her irritation. One option was just leaving her here by herself again. After all, she had trusted the girl in the house all night... Maybe taking her to where there are other people will snap her out of it, though.

"Jo?" The stranger was next to her now, which she hadn't even noticed in her caffeine deprived state.

"Guh, what is it?" Jo stood up, her boots fastened and ready to take her outside.

"Uhm, I asked if we were going now?" Twilight tilted her head as she spoke and sat on her butt, hands resting on her knees.

So weird, Jo's thoughts repeated. "Oh, right, yeah we are, sorry about that. I'll spot you money, by the way, so don't worry about having to pay this time... I kinda figured you don't have any considering how you showed up here."

Twilight blinked, then beamed a smile up in return. "Oh, I hadn't even thought of that. Thank you so much! I hope that donuts aren't expensive in your world, but I'll pay you back as soon as I can either way. I'm not sure how I will, but—"

Jo looked back at the rambling Twilight following her to the front door, simply glad that the girl was actually following her amidst her chatter. The talking honestly didn't bother her, but the strange way that she got around was starting to. “Hey look, I know in the land of the ponies you guys walk on all fours, but here in Humanville we’re all about two legs. Think you could try standing up?” She turned and interrupted Twilight, who had begun going on about what kinds of jobs she could do if she got stuck here.

Twilight frowned down at herself, then gave Jo a disparaging look. “Do I have to do that now? Surely there are far more pressing matters than just fitting in...”

“Fitting in—?" Jo gritted her teeth and took in a breath. "It's not about fitting in. What about your knees? Aren’t those starting to hurt just a little?” She frowned down at the girl’s legs, which were very clearly bruised, even with the gym shorts obscuring them slightly.

Twilight winced when she looked at the bruises. "They do hurt a lot, actually... Alright, I did practice a little, so I'll try to manage it again." She muttered the reply, then without waiting for an answer leaned back onto her feet to give it a go. Her hands walked up the wall as she stood up, half pulling herself, then leaned over as she came to stand fully.

“Well, this certainly does feel very natural in this human body...” Twilight kept her eyes glued to the ground, and her hands on the wall.

“Yeah, I imagine it would,” Jo answered sarcastically. “Alright, now let’s go get that sugar.” She whirled in place and trounced towards the door.

“Ah, Jo?” Twilight called after her acquaintance.

Jo breathed in the fresh air. "Hm? What's up?" she called back. With the front door to the outside world was open, see could see her uncle's old car sitting placidly in the driveway outside of the garage.

"It's... uh, just that..." Twilight's voice was nervous sounding.

“What is it?” Jo turned around.

“I’m gonna need... a little help?” Twilight took a couple shaky steps forward, but it seemed she didn’t dare to leave the stability giving wall in order to cross over to the doorway.

Jo began to squint back at the wobbling girl claiming to be Twilight. This is going to be a long day.

It had been a very, very embarrassing hassle to get Twilight to the car—made more so when she started asking questions about the car itself—but it would take more than lending someone a shoulder to lean on and falling over three times to keep Jo from coffee.

"Oh, interesting. Jo?" Twilight reached a hand over to point at the buttons in the center of the carriage's dash. "What are these for?" She flinched back and frowned when Jo's hand made to slap her own.

"What? Also, no touching my music." Jo reached across Twilight's lap, and proceeded to pull out a pair of shades from the glove box and put them on.

Twilight's nose wrinkled from the nonchalant physical upbraiding. Music? What music? This thing plays music? I wonder what it plays. "Jo, it's just that... Well, never mind the buttons, but you haven't answered a single question I've asked about your machine... or magic, or anything! You just say 'mmhmm' and say nothing. I've practically been talking to myse—" Her mouth snapped shut when an accusing finger came up beneath her chin.

Jo inhaled, ready to shout, then let it out and calmed down.

No good way to respond to Twilight's questions presented itself to her. Except, Jo guessed, actually trying to answer them and ignore that she was talking to a crazy person. And there's no way I'm playing into her antics while sober. Initially, she had thought that would just encourage more questions. At this point, though, it was becoming clear that ignoring Twilight wasn't the answer, either.

"Uggh, look, Twilight, I just want my coffee..." Jo began, giving up. "I have a headache okay? I get it, you're lost and stuff, but let me get my coffee first, please?" I'm starting to be convinced this is a massive prank. Weird coincidental atmospheric light shows or not. She did her best to conceal her feelings, despite her shortening temper.

"I see." Twilight frowned, then looked away and put on an ashamed face. "Alright, I'm sorry, Jo. I shouldn't have been so pushy. I'm just... yeah. Okay, I'll stop. Sorry again." She wore a sad look, before smiling weakly back at Jo, while Jo herself blinked a couple times under her shades disbelievingly.

I can't believe it was that easy. Jo faced forwards and made an impressed expression for her own efforts, then started her dead uncle's car. The key turned in the ignition. "So, what kinds of things do you like, Purpl—"

An ear piercing squeal of fear went off inside the car, followed by rampant giggling.

Jo stared straight ahead, aghast, and her heart beating a hundred miles an hour in her chest. Slowly, so as to keep from having a second heart attack, she looked over at her passenger.

Twilight was busy bouncing in her seat while looking from Jo, to all around the car that had just lit up and roared to life. "That-was-amazing! What-was-that? Whatmakesitwork!? In the name of Celestia I've-never-even-dreamed-of... of a machine so sophisticated, so beautiful!"

All the while, Jo calmly tried to get her attention, calling her name... until finally she snapped again.

"TWILIGHT!" Except for the motor, silence reigned in the DeLorean. Twilight once again wore an apologetic expression, but still visibly brimmed with excitement. "I get it, it's an awesome car." I should've seen this coming, that joke earlier was all the warning I needed...

Twilight wilted as a result of Jo's tone and tried to calm down, fully aware she was getting on her nerves somehow. She had never met anyone quite like Jo before, certainly no one that had reacted quite so negatively to her enthusiasm. "I was just complimenting your machine, Jo. Er, your dar, I mean. But you don't have to act so snappish with me."

Jo rolled her eyes under her shades and muttered a reply while Twilight spoke. "For Pete's sake, get the damned stick out of your butt already and just quiet down, Purple Head. My own head is—"

A gasp drew Jo away from concentrating on backing up the car. Guess she heard me, Jo thought dryly. She raised an eyebrow over at her passenger, aiming to play off whatever the girl would say. What she saw instead surprised her a little.

Twilight—huddled against the passenger-side door—just held an expression of sheer shock and terror, but didn't speak.

Jo spoke up instead. "...What was that for? Are you alright?" She looked back at the road, focusing on passing a car that was going too slow.

"I-... You— and I-I...What made you say something so— so—" Twilight seemed to be struggling to think of words, but Jo caught on and deadpanned at her steering wheel.

"Vulgar? Come on, it's just an expression, so calm your tits." Jo mumbled the rebuttal back at Purple Head, but it had the opposite intended effect.

Twilight, still huddled, started blushing furiously as she replaced her look of shock with an angry one.

"That's a normal human expression? That's... that's horrible! It's awful! It's rude! Even somepony like Discord wouldn't say something like that outside of polite context. I mean—" Twilight's voice strained until Jo cut her off in return.

"Twilight, come on, get a grip. It was nothing personal, okay?" Jo took off her sunglasses and stuck Twilight with a hard stare, who immediately returned it, leaning forward as well for good measure. Her headache wasn't appreciating the continuous chatter she had been trying to end for several minutes now.

I should've stayed at the house and just ate a bottle of aspirin, Jo lamented, facing forward again.

All the while, the car rolled down the country road at a good fifty five miles an hour.

Twilight faced forward again with a huff, only to have her breath catch in her throat. She had been so caught up in what had quickly escalated into an argument, that she hadn't even noticed what was going on around her.

"Wow, this is so fast." Twilight gripped some of the borrowed clothing she had on, and braced one of her strange hands on the vehicles interior counter-top thing.

Jo grumbled another reply. "Ain't that fast. I'm going the speed limit."

Twilight turned, frowning again. "Oh, only the speed limit? Great." She huffed a tense breath out, then forced herself to calm down.

"Jo," she started to say, somewhat calmer now. "I know I'm a guest and have no right to make demands, but you should apologize. Behavior like that isn't acceptable. At least... not where I'm from, it isn't."

Twilight listened to a nagging thought attacking the back of her mind, Maybe it is around here? Her stare didn't waver though, rather, she rescinded the thought's validity entirely. There is no way the mention of a pony's... or human's privacy could ever be acceptable. She assured the notion to herself. I mean, that would be as absolutely nuts as violence being acceptable.

Jo glanced over from the road for a moment and raised an eyebrow at Twilight. "You're kidding, right?" The words were full of disbelief at the goody-goody explanation that Purple had given. Meanwhile, the DeLorean rumbled to a halt at the first stoplight.

"I'm not kidding! Your culture cannot seriously be this—"

"Alright, alright!" Jo sighed and put on a truly tired look. "I'm really sorry for saying something impolite, and I mean it. Now can we drop it and just sit in silence?"

Beside Jo, Twilight smiled immediately and put on a satisfied look, sitting back calmly in her chair. "Well you don't sound that apologetic, but that's okay." She looked around herself for a moment, confused as to where they now were. Their surroundings were entirely different. When did we move so far?

Jo grunted, feeling like a jerk for taking her aggression out on Twilight, and getting even angrier on the inside for feeling guilty at all. All the while, she tried to wait patiently for the green light to come. This stop is always impossibly long when you hit it. Augh. Rage... building...

Twilight rubbed Jo's arm and drew the other being's attention from the intersection. "You don't need to feel bad Jo. I know I've been nothing but trouble so far, but..."

Jo looked over questioningly, expecting the girl to say something else that would irk her. Instead, surprised struck when she thought she could actually feel her grumpy resolve melt a little under Twilight's kindly expression.

The moment lasted until Twilight again burst into chattering with fervor.

"But! That isn't to say you couldn't learn a couple things from my making 'Friends For Beginners' book. I began reading it a few seasons ago and it has all sorts of insightful information! Oh, wait, sorry, you did say you wanted quiet, didn't you? Haha... now I owe you an apology!" Twilight laughed cheerily and continued without taking a breath. "See how apologies work, Jo? Jo, helloooo? Oh, by the way I wasn't familiar with the word you said, earlier. What does 'damned', mean?"

The irritation Jo had felt returned, and with a growl she slammed on the accelerator, eliciting an immediate shriek from Twilight. The radio was cranked up to its fullest volume as she did so. No quiet? Fine. But on my terms.

Chapter 4 : Donuts

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The music dug into Twilight's ears which for the first time she was thankful for being much smaller in their current, ugly shape. Not that she would be rude and say she thought that human ears were less appealing or anything... just that her modest opinion of them was less than appreciative.

Twilight did her best to keep her breathing calm as the vehicle continued to travel at rather high speeds. She could feel her claws digging into her thighs from the sheer fright the experience gave her. However, it certainly wasn't the speed at which they moved that was doing the scaring; she'd gone far faster being hauled around by Rainbow hundreds of strides in the air before. No, it was the insane method by which Jo seemed to pilot her craft that made Twilight's entire body go rigid.

Jo's arms were outstretched and grasping the helm of the machine firmly, occasionally tilting it slightly this way or that. Despite how worrying Twilight found the operation of the large device, she still desperately wanted to see how it worked.

With a smooth motion, Jo turned the wheeled helm control to round another corner.

Twilight watched in awe, absently trying her best to ignore the thumping music. Is that a rudder control? she thought, still watching. Her thoughts were able to collect themselves while trying to solve the puzzle of the machine's inner workings. The music was distracting, but not overly so. The beat was just... very loud.

Twilight had tried to ask about the 'car' earlier, but... well, music. The walls of the human machine had seemed to flex and reverberate with the beat of the song, if that was in fact what it was. Twilight was beginning to have doubts about that. I really can't see the point in playing music that loud. Perhaps it's some way to power the machine? It must use considerable energy to run so well. In any case, she had no idea about the music or the weird steering wheel; it could actually just be called the steering wheel for all she knew.

Finally, finally, the steel deathtrap-chariot came to a stop. Although, where the machine had come to a stop seemed to be in the middle of a road that was filled with other human machines.

Twilight cried out as loud as she could, even going so far as to lean over close to Jo's ear. "What's wrong, why are we stopping!?" A second, then a third car whizzed by them just on their right, barely a stride away from her own door.

Despite Twilight's repeated best shot at verbally overpowering the human's bizarre music, she could only barely even make herself out over the racket. Surprisingly, though, her human guide turned it down this time and calmly flicked her head Twilight's way, before refocusing on what lay ahead of her.

Now that she had finally ceased the music, she spoke.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that." Jo's voice was the very essence of sounding nonchalant.

Twilight let out a sigh and relaxed; her body had become progressively more tense as the... song had gone on. It was a relief for it to just be over, so she didn't respond right away. That was the most horrifyingly loud, ear-splitting thing I've ever heard. She lowered her hands from her ears while gathering her wits and trying to remain calm. "I asked what was wrong and why we were stopping."

A glance out the window suggested that they may have simply arrived at their destination. Across the bustling, flawlessly paved road was a sign that Twilight thought she saw the word 'donuts' on. However, there was also a never-ending line of other human machines barring their way to the building.

"Well, we're here," Jo replied simply. The answer was blunt and Twilight had guessed as much now, anyway. Why their machine was stopped in the middle of the road was anypony's guess though.

"I see... Well, this is quite the impressive city, Jo. And quite crowded, it seems. Is this the human capita-AAL!?" Twilight slung back into her chair as the metal chariot burst forward with sudden speed, then swung forward again as it slowed almost to a stop. Her teeth chattered against themselves fearfully and her claws again found purchase on things to grip around the vehicle interior.

Jo had rocketed the car through a small gap in the traffic and into the establishment's vicinity. "Hah, I wouldn't call this town a city, much less a capital."

To Twilight, the human's short laugh sounded bitter, and she also seemed to be oblivious to her distress.

Fortune would have it that Jo looked over, and spotted Twilight's renewed wide-eyed stare. "What's wrong, too rough?" she asked with a smarmy overcast to her voice.

The question proved Twilight's prior observation incorrect, at least. "You could have killed us, Jo! I've seen enough of those other carriages moving around already to realize that wasn't safe piloting!" Twilight paused to scowl over at Jo, then pressed on. "Honestly, even Rainbow Dash isn't that reckless and that's saying something."

Jo's small grin was entirely too smug for Twilight's liking. “If you’re talking about that jerk that almost hit me outside of town, I had the right of way. That neophyte probably learned how to drive from the back of his Cheerios box...”

As if that were all that happened... Twilight practically shook, and not just because she didn't know what some of those words Jo had used were. Still, she was beginning to reevaluate Jo as a mix between a hydra and Trixie. I won't give her the satisfaction of— Twilight cut short as Jo's hand reached for that infernal instrument panel on the machine again; the one that made music.

Twilight tried to scream. Instead, her outcry came out as a whimpered 'please no'.

The reaching hand seemed to hesitate, then Jo frowned and reclined back rather than 'crank' her music again.

Twilight breathed out in her relief. Thank Celestia.

The two girls sat in general silence for a minute.

Twilight's head continued to spin from her surroundings and the questions she had. She briefly speculated as to why Jo was being so... difficult, with her. The human, though strange, had been very neighborly and generous the night before, if a bit taciturn. Jo said she believed me, so that isn't it... Could she be having second thoughts about helping me? I really wish I didn't have to rely on her like this, but I don't have a choice. Maybe that's it.

One last thought occurred to Twilight; this one rang with the most truth, and produced a frown of clarity on her face. Or maybe she's just not a morning pony... er, early afternoon pony... I mean human.

As the machine inched forward slowly in what seemed to be a conga line of chariots, Twilight finally spoke up again, trying to bridge the gap between their cultures... She also wanted to discern what might be wrong or even get a couple questions answered. As far as questions, she was by this point up to three hundred and eleven that dealt with arguably pressing concerns.

Twilight opened her mouth to speak. "I—"

Only to be interrupted by Jo. "Hey, I'm going to stop and get groceries on the way back, too. I figure I might as well while I'm out. Is that alright?"

Twilight blinked, caught off guard. "Uhm, okay," was her response. Normally, she would have exclaimed some excitement over going to a foreign marketplace, certainly, but under the circumstances she just wanted to piece her shattered world back together... "Jo, I—"

Yet another voice interrupted Twilight, and her hands flexed in vexation. She could practically feel her face turning red from the frustration filling it.

Jo spoke to whoever it was. Oddly enough, there was no one there. "Yeah hey, I'll have two coffees, six donuts..."

Twilight tuned her out, perplexed. She looked around but couldn't find the speaker. It appeared entirely as though the strange mare beside her was speaking to a box with little holes in it.

Despite this, Twilight continued to try and get a word in, filing the oddity away for later. She coughed, clearing her throat for another shot and waited for a break in the chatter. "Jo, are you upset with me or s—"

"Sorry, hold that thought—would you like a sausage, egg and cheese, too?" Jo interrupted, again, and asked casually.

It took considerable willpower from Twilight to sit still and hold her patience. "Sure, anything is fine, Jo. I appreciate your generosity so I won't be picky. I—" Before she could continue though, Jo began speaking to the box once more. This left Twilight facing towards her, open mouthed and ignored.

"Alright, thank you again and have a nice day!" The box finally made its good bye, which got the chariot moving again.

Twilight leaned over and did her best to get the other girl's attention. "Ahem, Jo!"

"Hm? What is it?" Jo looked over at Twilight, her voice asking a bit more dreamily than she'd intended it to. She was dead to the world until she got coffee.

Twilight froze. "I—" She paused, frowning.

"I... can't remember what I was going to say." Twilight sighed and fell back against the chair. Great, now I have a headache, too. Tartarus cursed music... It didn't feel right to her to curse like that, but it was quickly turning out to be a rough day. So, she forgave herself the trespass.

For a moment, Jo regarded the girl reclining tiredly beside her, pondering what might be the best way to get her to admit she was only putting on an act about who she claimed to be. And an act, she assured herself, was what it had to be.

The DeLorean rolled up until it stopped at the end of the building.

Twilight glanced over as the car stopped. On the side of the donut selling store was a small window, through which Jo passed several odd looking slips of what seemed to be shaded paper. In return, a white bag, a small box, and two white cups were handed back to her along with what looked like more of the money.

Twilight had been surprised when no haggling had been done, but stayed quiet, merely observing. That was fast. Fascinating, food on the go. What a great idea for travelers. She imagined if she said anything it would be ignored anyway, and kept the thoughts to herself. I really hope she doesn't keep ignoring me. Why is she even ignoring me to begin with? I wonder, maybe humans need coffee to function? How strange.

Twilight continued to consider the matter until she jumped from a sudden exclamation. She blinked and looked over.

Jo had let out the loudest gasp of satisfaction Twilight thought she'd ever heard. The human had just taken a huge, slurping sip from her steaming cup. "Oh, that's just terrific," Jo proclaimed.

The chariot rolled slowly off to one side of the strangely smooth road surface, then stopped altogether between two white lines. The humming of the machine cut off all together with a twist of the metal pin that Jo had stuck into the rudder earlier.

Oh, designated parking zones. How orderly, Twilight thought, approving the humanly organization outside her window. It was a welcomed, short distraction from the way her attempts at conversation had turned out to be. She was taken off guard when Jo suddenly turned to and addressed her directly. Her theory about coffee seemed to be proven right, the other mare's mood had improved drastically in the space of seconds.

"So, I've been thinking about last night, Twilight. What actually happened? You just showed up in the middle of that storm, and during the craziest meteor storm I've ever seen in my life... I didn't even get it on camera, either, by the way. Anyway, what were you doing out there?" Jo took more generous gulps of the coffee she gripped tightly with one hand once she had finished speaking.

Twilight tried to take a sip herself from the one offered to her before answering, and almost dropped the cup. Sweet Luna, that's hot! After juggling the cup, surprised, she instead set the coffee into the convenient slot that Jo had used a moment before. "Uhm, well that's complicated and I don't recall exactly what happened before I landed... more did come back to me last night though. Anyway, near as I can tell, I tore a rift between your world and mine that deposited me several thousand strides above the ground. I remember trying all sorts o—"

On the other side of the car, Jo tuned her out; her head was floating in the clouds. The coffee felt like it had done a better job of lifting her spirits than it ever had. She felt great, rejuvenated, fantastic, pristine... and she felt like a jerk.

A despairing, short look of guilt flashed over Jo's face as she nodded distractedly to the rambling girl claiming to be Twilight Sparkle. She re-assumed the modest look of interest towards her while trying to think of her own next move conversation wise. But after that... is anypony's guess, she thought.

The box opened up between them and Jo offered Twilight a glazed donut as she wrapped up her spiel. She had delved into the theoreticals of what had gone wrong with her made up pony scenario. Something about 'teleporting mid-shift', 'panicking about the sudden feeling of weightlessness' and 'making things worse and worse'. It was starting to sound like a description of one of Jo's college parties, to her. The younger girl cut her lecture/recollection short and smiled at the offering, then Jo.

"Thank you! I'm actually starving, I hadn't even noticed I've been so distracted and what not. I have so much to consider and—" Twilight bit into the donut greedily mid-sentence, then grimaced at the gushy texture of the strange, alien confectionery. Her eyes widened and the morsel froze her mouth from chewing, she looked over at Jo slowly who was watching her curiously. "Uh, 's gud?" She swallowed hard, just wanting to get the donut away from her tongue. It wasn't terrible... it was certainly sweet. It was just no where near as good as say, Donut Joe's pastries. Be polite Twilight, it's free food after all. Hesitantly, regretfully, another bite found its way into her mouth.

Jo's mouth thinned confusedly at seeing Twilight's obvious dislike of the donut, she already had a next step formed though, so spoke before the girl could again. "Twilight..." She paused over the name, it sounded absurd spoken aloud, more so while in the right state of mind. "I'm just going to ask you this upfront alright? Because, I respect you as a person." Her voice was matter of fact and she paused to let her tone settle in.

It was spoiled somewhat by Twilight looking up from a strawberry icing donut, her cheeks puffed out and a mild look of disgust on her face. She swallowed the second donut in one go and responded. "Okay," there was a strategically placed dollop of icing on her cheek that made Jo feel even worse for taking this route with her. "Ask whatever you'd like, Jo." She smiled weakly, as if foretelling what was coming, at least in Jo's mind it seemed that way.

"Alright," she took in a breath, then let it out. "I need to know what's going on if I'm going to help." Twilight nodded at Jo's levelly spoken words, eyes lighting up expectantly. "I need to know, exactly, what really happened to you. If I know then I can help."

"Terrific! This is just where I hoped we'd get to after you... got... settled?" Twilight trailed off as Jo started to slowly shake her head.

"I don't mean your story, I mean what kind of abuse you're going through, or why you're trying to live a fairy tale. Was it... rape? I'm sorry right now for bringing up that, if it is. I know you could be sensitive just to that being mentioned." Jo peeked at Twilight with one eye to see if it had caused a reaction, but seeing only a dumbstruck look, not a panicked one, she continued. "Whatever is going on with your life, you've gotta come clean with me. Tell the truth, or... I can't help you."

Twilight stared a moment, a bubble of something rising up in her... after a moment of the words seeping into her, it all clicked. "You... you don't believe me?"

"Twilight—" Jo started, but was too mild in her tone, again cut off.

"Y-you mean, you lied to me? You lied about... you said that you would believe me if I still said— You don't believe that I'm from Equestria? That I'm really a unicorn?" Twilight's mouth worked noiselessly until she found something else to say, not wanting to hear the answer she knew would come. "Jo, look, I understand it might sound a little far-fetched, but it's the truth! Jo, you have to believe me, I am who I say I am!"

Twilight gestured wildly around the car, a depraved, desperate look on her face. It was the look of someone who was encountering a blockade between herself and all she loved. "I-I can prove it, uhm, dragons migrate bi-annually! Princess Celestia has ruled Equestria for over one thousand standard Equestrian years and loves vanilla cake with strawberry icing! Uhm, no that's no good..." She searched the car's interior desperately for something, anything concrete that could prove that she was who she claimed to be.

Twilight's eyes clenched shut. If only I could use magic! Her thoughts berated herself relentlessly for her lack of a horn.

The small car rocked slightly from the frantic motions.

Jo gulped, having listened to every word as a heat built in her face, all while she tolerated the nonsense being thrown at her in a flurry. When Twilight stopped, she spoke hurriedly to defuse the situation a little.

"Twilight, it's okay, look just calm down, alright? I know I said I would believe but... I said that under duress." Jo didn't like using the name 'Twilight' seriously... but it might help again. "I'm sorry. Realistically, nothing good can come of me just believing in your... dream. You need help, real help, not pixie dust." Slowly, her small hand gently laid itself on Twilight's shoulder consolingly. God, I'm way too jaded to be helping someone. What was I thinking? The introspective epiphany was followed closely by a worried observation. I guess she really is legitimately crazy.

The second thought worried Jo, but that paled beside her passenger hitting her hand away.

Twilight raised her head and looked darkly at Jo. "It's not okay," she said forcefully. "I'm trapped in some crazy, industrialized, high-tech fantasy world, filled with hairless two-legged monsters that like to listen to ear splitting racket and criticize others just because they're unfamiliar with them or how they think or feel!"

Twilight wiped an arm wiped across a running nose, though her eyes were still dry. She continued with barely a breath taken. "Furthermore, I've been waiting patiently, just for a single sentence in answer to some very reasonable questions, but you just ignore me..." Her face whirled to glare down at the other mare. "You don't believe me, fine, but I still thought out why you might have heard of Equestria already, and came up with some good explanations as to why. So that means that somewhere, there's an explanation that can prove I am what I claim to be!"

Twilight had to pause and take a deep breath here, but didn't stop, she had one last thing to say. "Help me prove this Jo, it's not that crazy! If you can... if you can just introduce me to some of the magic that humans use, then I'm sure I can scry or contact somepony from Equestria that can set the record straight!"

The hopeful, convincing, dead-serious smile that Jo saw on Twilight's face almost broke Jo's heart. She had never encountered a truly... delusional person before.

Jo felt herself take in a shuddering breath under Twilight's gaze. It took her a moment to work up the nerve to respond; that look Twilight gave her was overpowering...

"Twilight," Jo fidgeted from where she sat in the still car, but didn't slow. "Magic... isn't real, that's something that's only in stories. Anything and everything can be explained with a rational, scientific approach. Everything has a method and an explanation. If something is looked at as magic, that's just because humanity doesn't understand it yet."

Twilight's eyes searched her opponent's face in disbelief. I don't believe it, she's turned my rationalizations against me. What does she mean, magic isn't real? Her mouth hung open as she struggled for a response... and found one. That makes no sense. I just have to poke a hole in her logic, somewhere.

"You don't believe in magic, is that what I'm gathering right nn-now?" Despite her best effort at maintaining a steady voice, Twilight stuttered at the end. "If that's true, then how do you explain the extra-meta atmospheric relationship between your world and the planar bodies? What force besides magic could allow your people the conscious control of great, chaotic energies swirling high overhead!?" She wore a hesitant, but nonetheless victorious smile while directing her leer at Jo.

Twilight swallowed hard when she didn't get the rebuttal of defeat or hesitation that she had expected.

"Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, assuming you're talking about the Earth's rotational axis and orbit around the sun, as well as the moon's around the Earth." Jo massaged the side of her head; her headache was coming back from all of this involved dialogue. She hadn't recovered fully just yet, and it seemed stress was taking its toll. "I couldn't make heads or tails of what else you said... Twilight... and that's probably because none of that is real. We don't control our solar system's interactions with itself, not like on a make believe kid's show. We're subject to real physics and real forces of nature—"

"Magic is real!" Twilight burst out, shouting the words. Almost immediately, she cringed back and adopted a pained expression. "I-I'm sorry," her voice was trembling, "Magic's real though. How else could you explain how I got here, huh?" The follow up question was as weak as her voice had slowly become.

The car became silent in the wake of, what Twilight realized, were pathetically supported rationalizations.

Beside the unicorn, Jo's hands had begun sweating intensely. Even though it was chilly outside and her window was open, the build up of emotions was getting to her. She turned on the air conditioning to try and stem the sweat that was starting to spread to the rest of her nervous body.

Twilight watched the human fidget on her side of the contraption, which she realized she was almost a prisoner in at that very moment. The frightened pony couldn't help but flinch when Jo's hand twisted a knob on her thing's control panel, but relaxed when only an increase of welcomed, cool air seemed to come of it.

Still, the two stayed quiet.

Already Twilight wracked her brain over what to do—over what to think of that could be useful. There has to be an explanation for all of this; magic is a real, tangible force! There's no logical explanation for it not being present in a world's dynamic and static balance. Harmony could never be maintained in a world of any sort without magic... it's unthinkable. Things would rot uncontrollably, weather would run rampant, sun and moon would disappear altogether! How could a developed race not be aware of it?

Twilight shook her heard and pushed the human's words away from her mind as it pressed against her wits again.

No, there's an explanation somewhere to be had, Twilight reassured herself. Unless perhaps this world is structured differently... But surely some magic must still exist. Maybe our languages simply don't sync up as well as I had first thought? Magic could mean popcorn in this world for all I know! That dictionary was certainly... odd. Or perhaps... perhaps magic is simply so esoteric in its nature here that it is widely undiscovered, or hidden! They have a word for it, she knew what I was talking about... Think Twilight, you're missing something!

Jo watched the Twilight from the corner of her eye, growing more worried by the second as the girl facing away from her determinedly clutched at her sides, as if letting go would be her undoing. She got the feeling that everything she had just said to Twilight had been ignored. And why shouldn't it have been, hm? She might be crazy, but you did sort of lie right to her face and take back what you said without batting an eye. You could have let her own fantasy play itself out... but no, you took the short cut.

Whatever she could say now was as good as monopoly money in the recent economic decline around the world. There weren't any reassuring signs as to what Twilight was thinking or doing anymore, either, leaving Jo a bit lost for words.

A too quiet groan born of frustration came from Twilight, who was busy thinking of the best way to convince Jo of her explanation. It seemed that her story was a bit too out of the ordinary for the human to just accept, as Twilight had hoped. Come on, there has to be some simple incantation, some irrefutable proof, but what? She began to chew on her lip as her brain churned as fast as it ever had.

Well, this mess isn't going anywhere any time soon. It was clear to Jo that any more attempts at logic wouldn't help, and she resigned herself to taking Twilight to the Police Station. They can help her a lot better than I could... She let out a tired sigh, but could already feel a weight coming off of her chest.

"Twilight," her voice croaked the name. She'd choked up more than she remembered doing in the last minute. After clearing her throat, she continued. "I'm going to... I'm going to take you—"

The sudden jolt of movement from Twilight made Jo hit her head on the low ceiling of her sporty car from a decade long past. She let out a cry of pain after making contact with the blunt surface, which was in itself impressive given how short she was. What made her forget the fact she'd bit her tongue immediately, however, was the girl with rose striped hair who practically... No, she was plastering her forehead to Jo's.

"W-What!?" Jo asked, having not understood a word the girl had said.

"I said I have proof! Undeniable, irrefutable, unquestionable proof! It's been right here the whole time, it's so simple I don't know why I didn't think of it in the first place! I mean..." Twilight finally released her grip, eyes widening, and backed off. She coughed and regained her composure, letting out a nervous laugh before continuing. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Jo could feel her legs shaking. I'm not scared, who's scared? Not me.

"I don't..." Twilight looked very thoughtful and very calm, a severe contrast to the almost manic look she'd worn only seconds before. "I don't know the circumstances of your world Jo, so I'm flying blind. From the sounds of things, my situation could be worse than I thought originally... and that's saying something since I knew I had lost my horn and magic powers almost immediately."

Jo's face wilted and her frown grew as she watched the crazy train crashing right before her very eyes... She kept listening though. How can she be this crazy and sound so at ease? If anything, the thought and question made her a little more uneasy. In contrast though, she watched Twilight settle her hands in the most refined posture she had ever seen.

Twilight felt relaxed as she addressed Jo with the most serious, honest sounding tone she could manage in her current state. She knew she had to recover ground and credibility with her unwilling host. "Jo, we need to get back to your house if you want proof, we can get groceries later. I want you to trust me, because... well, we can't be friends if we don't have trust between us."

Jo's response was cold, and equally serious. "Twilight, dammit, you're..." Her face twisted in a momentary flash of anger, words came into her mind and bent her thoughts all at once. It wasn't just that Twilight was crazy, she was sane while being crazy, and-

"I'll admit that I made all of this up if you just trust me this one time."

Jo blinked and looked over at Twilight. Her hands unclenched the steering wheel from where they had found a healthy, stress relieving grip.

Twilight looked back at her just as calmly as before, a friendly, picturesque smile graced her lips when they made eye contact. "I'll go and leave you alone if you do, I'll even leave afterwards if you still don't believe me despite my proof. But please, give me the chance to pay you back."

What the hell have I gotten myself into? Jo was at a loss, on one hand she was already trying to figure out who was more crazy, Twilight, or herself for considering the deal. On the other hand, the situation had changed drastically in the space of seconds. It's a whole new ballgame now, eh Jo? Gah, I'm doing it again, stop talking to yourself. She was thankful that hadn't been out loud, at least.

"Alright, that sounds safe enough and I don't want to screw you over anymore than I already have..." Jo muttered the words, splitting her look nervously between Twilight and her dash. "I'm only doing this because despite...well, everything, you're probably the most sensibly sounding person-"

"Pony." Twilight corrected, grinning slightly.

"Don't push your luck, also, I retract my previous statement." Jo rubbed the bridge of her nose and dug her breakfast sandwich out of her bag. The electric car rumbled back to life at the same time.

A strange noise accompanied the electric motor and the rustle of paper though. Jo looked over at Twilight, giggling softly for a spell, and smiling besides.

That girl's really not worried at all.

The drive back to the old colonial house that Jo Faux called a home was quiet. She didn't play anymore music, though the lyrics to a song she used to like listening to as a 'pick-me-up' had run through her head and made her hum while driving. For her, it was uneventful, preferring to stay quiet and run over everything that had been said and done a few minutes ago. The girl claiming to be a pony, also kept quiet for the most part, she had made an odd face when eating her sandwich, but Jo didn't think much of it.

Twilight enjoyed the slightly spicy sandwich that Jo had gotten her a bit more than the donut, she couldn't tell just what it was made of though. Whatever it was, her fears of it being some kind of animal were put to rest easily enough. From what she had studied about the few carnivorous creatures living in Equestria (most of which relegated themselves to existing in the Everfree Forest or other such places) told that meat was very tough. She felt a little sick, even just settling her mind on the matter. Regardless though, she felt safe that the slimy, soft patty in the sandwich was some kind of exotic mushroom or just an alien delicacy. I hope...

The solitary set of sharp teeth she'd paid close attention to since she had changed, were poked meticulously by her tongue in absent agitation.

Jo's DeLorean turned onto the small road that led out to her solitary home in the middle of nowhere in less than record time, but she wasn't concerned with that. She simply felt drained.

The gull-wing door on the car opened up and closed. Hopping out, she began to walk towards the backdoor. A shout drew her attention back to her car, and the passenger apparently still trapped within. Sighing, she approached Twilight's door and pulled it open for her. The girl awkwardly clambered out on all fours onto the rough gravel, wincing as she went.

Jo exhaled, shaking her head, then shut her car door once the strange girl was clear. "Come on, let's get this over with," she chided, lending a hand down to the other young woman, who nodded up at her, long purple hair almost touching the ground.

Twilight reassured Jo confidently with a broad smile and said, "thank you, I promise you won't be disappointed."

Jo resisted sighing and hoisted Twilight up, all but carrying her towards the house. The presumed Equestrian had her arm laid over Jo's shoulder just like earlier that afternoon.

To Twilight, it struck her as an interesting method of assisting her efforts in walking.

The woman carrying Twilight was curious about what she had in mind, much to her own chagrin. The other girl hadn't said anything more about it, forcing Jo to give up and take the initiative.

"So, what's the plan, anyway, where's your proof?" Jo's voice was made to be cheerful and optimistic, she hoped anyway. The two had developed a sort of...unspoken truce for the moment, as far as skepticism went. One which Jo wanted to maintain, despite the madness of it all.

It was still cloudy out, as if the gloom and weather from the night before had returned to hang over the oppressive mood of the situation.

"Oh," Twilight looked up from studying Jo's method of walking, which she had been entranced with. I really need to get that down, and quick. "We only need to go around to the back portion of your home, Jo. Take me there and I'll show you."

"The backyard?" Now Jo's voice was incredulous. "What exactly is in the backyard?" She continued, the door to the house opened after the key unlatched it.

Twilight turned her head at the sight, but responded smoothly. "Yup, all the proof is right there in the pudding, as Pinkie would say..." She smiled at the recollection of her friend, but trailed off from the sadness of remembering her.

The mention of another 'My Little Pony' character made Jo frown, but she continued to do as she was instructed.

The two made their way to the back of the house, crossing over the still haphazardly gathered piles of books in the mud room, and then out the still wide open back door.

Why did I even lock the front door, anyone could have walked... in. Jo followed with her eyes to where Twilight pointed.

Nestled snugly in the open field behind her house, past a row of overgrown shrubs, next to the back treeline and mostly obscured from view...was a deep, wide mouthed crater. The crater was lined with shining, luminous purple crystals that seemed to glow in the sunlight.

"Is that proof enough, Jo? Those crystals a— W-Woah!" Jo nearly dropped Twilight.

Author's Notes:

Uhm, I gotta say this up front, I was drunk, and this chapter? Totally didn't go the way I had planned, for the first time ever my notes went right out the window. So love it or hate it this is one piece Merlos won't be taking credit for, this is drunk Merlos' own grave right here if this don't turn out alright.

Hah, nah I'm just kidding, overall this is a lot more raw and emotive than I had footnoted, I was going to stick with the light-hearted, casual side of Jo making jokes and belittling Twilight, while Twilight simply made her eat her words. Instead, I went with Jo softening up after she got what she wanted instead of getting worse as far as believing Twilight and reacting to her.

As you can see, that shifted the conversation and Twilight's own reactions wholesale, new initiator requires a new reaction as the catalytic forces of Jo's dialogue changes. In case you're wondering, no it didn't change anything solid or the like in the story. It's still the same in that regard. But dang did it get wordier going this route.

You might hate it, or like that it's more drama-like. Obviously it's less in keeping with this being a comedy, but I dunno, my mind goes places when alcohol is introduced and whether that's good or bad I'll let you guys decide.

Fundamentally, ponies in my fic series are completely different from humans, they think and act and make sense of things differently. Now, the fic AFTER this one will focus a lot more on that, buuuut, this one will touch on it a little. So,

Rock on and all that merriment Lords and Ladies, cheers.
-Merlos, The Mad Miser of Magic

Chapter 5 : Perspective

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"Is it safe?" The girl asked the other, before reaching out with a curious hand.

"Y-yes," The one with purple hair answered hesitantly. "I believe so, anyway...I guess I can't say for sure, I'm rather inexperienced in this field."

"It's warm... I guess that makes sense though, all considering."

"Indeed, although I'll admit to never seeing anything quite like this before."

"No? I've seen stuff like this all the time, just not so up close and personal..."

Twilight looked away from the cart sized impression in the ground and over at Jo. She was curious and speculative over that last comment. "What do you mean? I thought that 'magic isn't real.' How could you have seen gems like this before but not magic? Oh, and by the way, this proves that it is real." Smiling victoriously, she began studying her purple hued crystals again, which ever so slightly shone in the afternoon sun.

The target of Twilight's smug remarks looked up from where she was hunched beside the crater in her backyard.

"I meant I've seen fake stuff like this before, like on TV, not in real life though..." Jo drifted off and stared again at the shining abyss before her. It is however, really pretty... It had an almost hypnotic quality to it. Still, my backyard is now a massive crater.

What looked like sparks flew off the tips of the larger crystalline examples occasionally. From the long abandoned veggie boxes to Jo's old maple, was a scorched and muddied pit. It sank several feet deep into the Earth and was nearly fifteen feet in diameter. Along the rim, bright purple crystals glowed and glittered.

"I don't know what TV is..." Twilight muttered back, crossing her arms where she sat on her butt in some charred grass. She waited for an answer, then noticed Jo had become oblivious once more and smirked. "Weeell, since you aren't denying it, I'll assume this definitely proves magic is real for you. Let's go back inside and start figuring out how to get me home to Equestria!" Her hands tossed themselves up above her victorious grin, the pose maintained itself even after Jo glared back at her.

"Hardly," Jo grated. "I'll admit though, this is very... unexplainable. But then, if it came from space, it makes sense that this stuff is really weird to begin with." Jo stood up, dusting her hands off as she did. The crystals had left a touch of stubborn glitter on them.

"What about me then? How do you explain me?" Twilight crossed her arms, something that she rarely ever did as a pony, but was quickly coming to find felt more natural as a human.

"You? You're just plain weird." Jo said the words nicely enough that Twilight laughed, and was followed by the speaker. "I dunno," Jo said more seriously. "But believing that you're the meteor that caused this crater would be accepting that you could be just what you say, or anything for that matter; from E.T. to Twilight Sparkle."

"E.T.?" Twilight cocked her head to one side questioningly.

"..." Jo scrubbed a hand over her mouth while she thought of a response. You'd have to have lived under a rock your whole life or really be an alien to be this clueless.

Twilight beat Jo to speaking. "It might be easier figuring out a way to prove things to you, if I understood the terms you use... We can start with 'E.T.' and the out of context manner in which you say 'space'. What exactly do you mean when you say space? The space of what?" She stared up at the sky and twirled one finger absently as she spoke, as if asking the sky or directing something around her.

"Alright, alright. I'm not going to have the same argument over again." Jo spun on one foot with her hands on her face in disconcerted inner turmoil. To say that it was difficult trying to make sense of things, or Twilight at all, would be an understatement. As a result, she was willing to give anything a shot now—that included playing along. "Forget the space thing, you win." She sighed, "You're Twilight Sparkle, for now anyway. I mean it this time, too."

Twilight clapped her hands joyfully with an ear to ear grin. "Progress!" After her celebratory moment, she opened her eyes and found Jo grimacing at the ground. "You really still don't believe me though, do you? Please... don't lie this time Jo... I'm not angry about that by the way; it's just, well, the truth is almost always better than even a protective lie. There are very, very special circumstances when you can lie and it's the right thing, but they're rare."

Jo looked up, frowning, and met Twilight's cool demeanor stare for stare. "I know that, geez... I dunno, fine, I'll tell you why I did then, too. Besides being a little out of it, I was afraid you were actually crazy. I thought maybe you would eat my cats or something if I made you angry. I was playing along and postponing things because it seemed like the best choice at the time." She relaxed once finished, resting her hands on her hips and leaning back.

The laughter caught Jo by surprise. Twilight was clutching her middle and laughing uncontrollably on the ground.

"Oh, well, I guess that makes sense!" Twilight pushed herself upright again shakily, still giggling slightly. "I forgive you then, Jo, hehe."

Jo smiled wearily but chuckled along as well. "Thanks, what's so funny about that though? I thought Twilight Sparkle wasn't keen on being thought of as nuts."

Twilight's laughter petered out at that, and looked suspiciously at Jo. "I have questions about how you know my name to begin with... but I suspect it has something to do with you humans' and your 'not magic'. We'll get to that, as for what I thought was funny," she chuckled a little again. "It was you mentioning me eating cats as a joke! This whole time, I was assuming that you were carnivorous, or at least omnivorous." Her hand went up to her chest and a show was made of breathing out in relief. "That would have sure been awkward if I'd made that assumption out in the open."

Jo stared blankly at Twilight.

"I wasn't sure at first, but it's a relief to know your sharpened teeth are intended for cracking gems. I'm not sure what I'd do if I ever had to eat meat to survive." Twilight paused to shudder and make a disgusted look. "Well, anyway I'm glad eating animals is not considered normal behavior. It's not a legitimate concern that a crazy human would eat your cats though, is it-?"

"Alright," Jo interrupted Twilight. "Stop right there, I'm not doing this. Twilight," She took a deep breath, ready to try and take matters... such as they were, seriously. "If I'm going to play it straight with you over all of this, then I'm going to do just that. From now on, I'm not treating you like a normal, human girl, that is possibly insane. What I will be doing now, is treating you like a... an alicorn mare, from Equestria. An alicorn mare that is stranded on earth... An alicorn mare that has to learn pretty much everything from the ground up about Earth—that's my planet by the way," Jo thudded her foot on the dirt ground to indicate what she meant. "And apparently my reality too, and the rules that go with it. Because, Honey, I'll tell you right now, straight up, that if you're from the place you say you are, absolutely nothing here works like that... for the most part."

Twilight nodded her head and wore a calm smile throughout Jo's spiel. "I can hardly wait, Jo! I mean, I'm incredibly scared and possibly in shock about being away from home like this... The farthest I've ever been before was the trip to Tartarus' gates I made the year before last." She took a breath and held a hand up to Jo. "I'll keep a level head and listen to everything you say though, Jo. I really can't thank you enough for all of your help with this debacle."

Jo wore an expression that probably said she didn't know what to think. "You're welcome, it's the least I could do for...for someone who's stranded, I guess." She hoisted Twilight up to stand on two legs, something that seemed was quickly becoming easier for her.

Upon gaining what balance she could, Twilight was surprised by the familiar up and down motion her arm made as Jo maintained her hold of it.

"Might as well start over I guess," Jo said, sighing at the same time. "Nice to meet you Twilight Sparkle. I'm Jo Faux, the human."

"...The pleasure's all mine. Nice to meet you Jo the human." Twilight gave a thankful smile to her friend.

...

After a pause, Twilight asked, "What did you mean by alicorn?"

Jo and Twilight had gone inside the house to figure things out, mostly because Jo wanted to get Twilight a chair. It became obvious after five minutes that standing on two legs wasn't the order of the day just yet for the pony turned human. So, they had begun doing a back and forth of questions, when they weren't consistently getting side tracked...that is.

"Yes, well I'm not sure exactly what else to call it. The humongous crater maybe? My little impact zone?" Jo tapped a finger on the table impatiently after hearing Twilight mince details with her over what to call her landing site. Apparently it was vastly important to work out the names and meanings of words properly before they could press on. The issue had come up as a priority after it was clear that alicorn wasn't a word to be used to refer to princesses, apparently it would be like calling the President 'finger nail' on Earth. They were simply "the princesses".

While listening to Jo's retort, Twilight inspected her hand, which was flat along the side of the glass of water she had in her possession. "Sorry, I know it isn't that important right now, I just get picky over details when I'm nervous... Right, not that important right now ahem, anyway I- I- achoo!" Jo cringed back as Twilight interrupted herself with a sudden sneeze. "Doh, ah 'on't suppose you have a handker'ief?"

Jo leaned back in her chair and grabbed a box of tissues. "Yeah, here you go. Guess I was right, I think you might have caught a cold last night after all, if you're sneezing already...unless you're allergic to something around here."

Twilight seemed appalled by the idea, made evident by the widening of her eyes. "A cold!?" A bellowed honk of her nose followed. "Allergic? I don't know...I guess anything's possible."

You can say that again... Jo grimaced at the sloppy job her guest did of wiping her nose. I suppose if someone that used to have hooves was in these circumstances, they would be this clumsy. She was doing her best to stay convinced that Twilight was who she said she was by thinking such things, but it was still hard—even with having a desire to believe it on her side.

Twilight coughed and reengaged in the conversation, setting aside the tissue. "I've never had any before, and it isn't even winter. But, I guess my body's completely different now that I think about it, so that wouldn't matter." She sighed and looked across at Jo. "So, ahem, as I was saying." Twilight cleared her throat. "By the way, those little paper wipes are very nice...I'm guessing they're disposable?"

Jo tapped a finger and nodded patiently.

"Right, well besides what to call the crystal node I was asking why exactly it was so difficult for you to even consider believing me. You're obviously very familiar with the fantastic and magic, I suspect this is the case on a culturally wide scale, as well, given that you're just an average citizen and not of a profession of any remarkable nature, which I believe to be the case..." Twilight leaned forward, stroking her chin in wonder while scrutinizing over Jo.

Jo, soldiered through the surmise of Twilight's observations meritoriously. Yeah that's me, average. She took a somber breath to answer Twilight when it became clear the other girl had trailed off to let her answer the out spoken question, and accompanying theory.

"Right...well, the answer for that is two fold, actually." Jo began, "The reason I found it so hard to even consider you weren't some abuse case from a county over or a prank was simply because..." The words stalled out, despite her best efforts, speaking as if teaching the most basic common knowledge to an alien wasn't easy for her to do.

"Because, we humans are so familiar with magic, not to mention fascination with the idea of it. On Earth, that's just what it is, our imagination. Literally almost every person, all eight billion or so of them, knows about or has thought up their own fun little ideas and stories. Catching on yet?" Jo raised a critical eyebrow at Twilight, but kept up her pace. "We have literally thousands of tales and takes on made up creatures like dragons, or fake concepts like time travel." She had to raise her voice a little their to keep talking, as Twilight tried to speak up with what was probably a protest. "Honestly, until some hard evidence shows up, only the crazies will ever think it's more than made up stories, anyway. Now I know you're going to say it's all real, for now, I trust you know better than me so let's skip that part and talk about an explanation for how this happened now, instead."

Twilight sat back with a slightly dumbfounded look. "How did you know what I was going to say? Well, I guess it is pretty obvious..."

Jo kept her face schooled to disconcertion, rather than laugh at the ridiculousness going on in her head. I hope Twilight isn't taking the fact I've watched too many damn movies for my own good as wisdom...then again, she already thinks the microwave is a magic oven, so whatever.

"Well, alright, I guess that makes sense then," Twilight began, reclining in her chair into a relaxed posture. She raised a finger and pointed it at Jo. "You all believe magic isn't real because you've either never seen any, or it doesn't exist here. Worse, you've popularized it as a part of your culture and its credibility has eroded completely as a result."

Nodding to herself, Twilight began to wrap up her external thoughts. "Fascinating, I guess the next order of business is that explanation of my arrival then. I can't quite give one though Jo, I meant it when I said my memory's fuzzy on that. I remember landing, which wasn't pleasant by the way... and everything up until I woke up yesterday...or earlier today. All I know is that I was conducting some kind of experiment." She held both hands up to either side of herself in a shrug, and glanced up at them before placing them back on the table.

Jo put on a concentrated look while listening, then smirked at hearing the last bit, "It wasn't Discord then? No ancient evil involved that banished you somewhere you would be stranded?" The web designer couldn't help but grin sardonically and laugh. It didn't last, Twilight's deepening look of concern and question made her sober up a little. Yeesh, tough crowd. She thought.

"Jo," Twilight began, ignoring the sarcastic questions. "That's another thing... How about next, we talk about why you know so many specific details about Equestria? Why is it you, and I'm guessing humans in general, know so much about ponies." Her eyes closed and one of her hands waved in a circular gesture. "Now, I've already surmised that your world is some kind of parallel to my own, where instead of my race, yours is the dominant. I don't mean to sound presumptuous but humans bare a striking resemblance to the primates of southern Zebrica...that supports my theory, I'd hazard to guess that ponies exist in some form here, as well..." This time, Twilight slowed a bit, searching to see if she'd dealt insult. "So, with that theory in place it stands to reason that many of the creatures on either of our worlds are similar. The only mystery, is why yours is aware of mine, but not vice versa."

"Psch, simple." Jo had been expecting this one, she shrugged off essentially being called a monkey and continued eagerly. "Equestria, ponies, your world? All of it exists in mine, but as a fairy tale, fiction, it's an animated theater piece intended to entertain people- sorry, humans. To simplify things, we'll say that it's made by 'human magic' and then distributed. Just like I said yesterday, you aren't real, or shouldn't be, by all rights." Holding up both hands, palms out she demonstrated as best she could what she said, finishing with a finger pointed at Twilight.

"I was afraid of that..." Twilight said, a little breathlessly.

A bit of quiet reigned in the room after Twilight didn't say anything in response.

Jo had nothing to follow up with, nothing that seemed fitting at least. "Uhm, sorry Twilight, I didn't mean to upset you. I just... I have seen, so many shows, and read so many stories about fake worlds crossing over with other fake worlds, that this is just...not something I can flick a switch for to treat it like normal. I'm really sorry." Shaking her head from side to side managed to keep her from meeting Twi's gaze as she spoke.

"It's okay...l understand completely, we have stories in Equestria, too. Although, you make it sound as if all humans do is tell stories." Twilight chuckled nervously a little.

"Pretty fair assessment, actually..." Jo muttered.

"Hm?" Twilight raised her eyebrows questioningly, having not heard.

"Nothing..."

"Oh, it's your turn by the way, to ask a question that is." Twilight held her hand flat against her cup again, touching its palm to the side and moving it away slowly, then frowning at both the cup and the appendage.

"Alright, how about, what exactly are you doing?" Jo met Twilight's confused eyes when she looked up. "Your hand there, what are you doing with it?"

Twilight's mouth drew into a frown. "Just thinking about things...everything is probably different here if magic doesn't exist, even stuff I've always taken for granted. Take this for example," she gestured to her hand. "In Equestria, there are dominant, submissive, reactive, subjected, and passive elemental and magical forces at work. Combinations of these allow ponies to exert their will on the world and nature around...them..."

The lost expression on Jo's face made Twilight slow down.

"Sorry, I'm big on lecturing...did you have a question?" Twilight smiled weakly.

Jo shook her head in response. "No, I get the gist, it's just incredible to hear in person I guess. Surreal is the only way I can describe it. Give me the short versions though, Twilight, I don't want to wrap my head around that stuff, especially if it doesn't have bearing for us right now, no offense. I think after this one we should stick to just showing you the ropes around here..." Stopping for a brief pause, she continued speaking with a sudden afterthought. "And yeah, I know you love your lecturing." She couldn't help but smirk ruefully again.

Twilight nodded sagely along with Jo's logical procession of thoughts, then shuddered again when Jo brought attention to her life being a public affair. The implications of this hadn't quite appeared yet given the weighted and philosophy thick nature of the afternoon.

"That sounds like a good idea to me, I'm eager to get an idea of...what I have to work with, so to speak." Twilight tried to wear a confident look, but wasn't sure of what she'd managed to put on. "To put it simply, in Equestria ponies, all ponies, can use magic to interact with their environment in some way, at the most basic level this involves direct contact with their body." She held up the water mug with her fingers to demonstrate. "I wouldn't need these to pick something up back home, to put it simply."

"Magic hooves," Jo mused aloud at understanding finally, she shook her head and laughed. "Alright then, your turn, the table's all yours for questions Twilight. Ask away."

Jo had never regretted words she'd said before quite so profoundly. What followed next was an almost completely uninterrupted stream of questions and theories from Twilight. If nothing else, she had at least proven that she lived up to her name.

Twilight had at first begun with simply asking for a quill and parchment, which Jo had granted her somewhat in the form of a ballpoint pen and paper. It had been this simple gift that in that moment, caused what looked to Jo as nothing less than an epiphany of world changing proportions.

Twilight had stared at the ring binder filled with blank sheets of paper as if she'd uncovered the ark of the covenant. What made things worse, was that although Twilight now had her means to record things, she couldn't use them very well...

Jo had foolishly attempted to play 'scribe' for her guest, at least until the pain in her hand reminded her that she had two laptops to choose from which she could use instead. It wasn't easy getting away from Twilight though, even for that brief reprisal. Since this had begun for Jo, the other girl had been a bottomless well of fascination over things, and questions about everything to do with them.

Twilight's curiosity extended to what seemed like everything she could think of.

Jo pointedly didn't change the subject, or add anything that might derail Twilight, she merely answered simply and typed what was asked of her. For the most part, Twilight seemed to cover the most mundane of topics first, which Jo was thankful for. She answered questions that were obviously the most important to Twilight, first. Those pertained to whether or not humans could have some kind of technology—Jo finally got around to explaining that was the best word to describe human 'tools'—that could get her home immediately or at all. Suffice to say, she was disappointed by the answer.

That disappointment was fleeting though, and Twilight again berated Jo about everything, from the avenues of human research to methods by which she could carry out on her own.

Jo had mentioned there were theories that might bear fruit for Twilight, and the possibility that such things could exist already... albeit in secret and controlled by the government. She then had to briefly explain that the government was no where near as useful or agreeable as Princess Celestia, and that they wouldn't be any help whatsoever.

Twilight had been hesitant to believe her. As well she should, Jo thought, but still did so. Twilight asked for a better explanation of the human government later, too.

Afterward the brunt of that had passed, Jo had hesitated over explaining, or even mentioning the best immediate source of information: the internet. The internet, such as it is, was a taboo unto itself. Decades of existence and being at the mercy of human deviancy and what not, as well as Jo's familiarity with both it and Twilight's curious nature, made the idea of her going near it worrisome. But told her she had, and only by making a valiant argument that it was too complicated and disorganized to actually find anything relevant did she dissuade Twilight from pressuring further to gain access to it.

Of course, this also caused the pony made human to begin arguing that she should begin organizing the internet for mankind right away, which had Jo caught between horrified and finding the claim of capability hilarious.

The surface of mankind's achievements scratched only the surface—the ones pertaining to the situation anyway. Twilight moved back to the mundane, and asked about how so much of Jo's furnishings and belongings bore the make of a master artisan if there was no magic. She had been disappointed by the explanations of factories and mass production. But, this also brought the pair back to something Jo had mentioned—and Twilight had forgotten—earlier.

"Eight billion humans?" Twilight stared with a shocked expression at the eight, followed by multiple zeroes she had forced Jo to write in order to double check they were on the same page. "Are you sure that you humans haven't simply...it's, that doesn't seem possible, how do you provide for them all? Your world must be far larger than mine...or you have almost no wilderness to speak of."

Jo ignored the rumble in her stomach, she took note it getting late which this most recent turn of questions. "Probably the former, then. We have hundreds upon hundreds of miles of empty land, even not including the oceans and the fact they take up like, seventy percent of the Earth or something. I think our planet's eight thousand miles all the way across in a straight line?"

Twilight's eyes bulged a little, then her face soften. "Wait, waitwaitwait, okay, a lot of what you said there raised several red flags with me." The girl facing Jo raised both her hands in a steadying motion, and stared for a moment. Her mouth worked continuously, until finally words came. "Let's start small, what's a mile? Is that close to a kilometer?"

Jo deadpanned at Twilight. Of course, ponies are metric, that makes perfect sense. She couldn't help but slap her forehead and groan.

"Jo? What's wrong?" Twilight asked earnestly.

"Nothing, sorry, just...dealing with everything I thought I knew about reality collapsing around me." Jo leaned back and looked over at Twilight, who had moved to sit next to her and the laptop ever since "The Great Notening" as Jo thought of it, had begun.

When Twilight didn't respond, only raised a curious, and worried eyebrow, Jo explained. "Discovered another parallel is all. We have the metric system on Earth, too. We also have other systems of measurement like the one I just mentioned, but I doubt you would know about those, or what 'feet' are. I'm fine, I just get this feeling of brain vertigo every time something weird comes up like this..."

A sad frown bent Twilight's expression. "That sounds serious, is that an expression or a human ailment?"

Jo laughed, which came out as a snrck sound. "Ah, expression, rule of thumb with humans, if it sounds too ridiculous to be true, it is. We're incredibly unremarkable most of the time."

Twilight put on a look of relief and spoke on. "Alright, moving back to the topic at hoof then," Jo chortled inwardly at that one, still giggly from before. "You said that your...planet, I'm assuming that means continent or land mass, was how long across?"

Jo started curtly, "Well, in kilometers, roughly twelve thousand around-" and was cut off quickly.

Twilight held up a hand and pointed it at Jo. "Okay stop right there, you said around. Care to explain that please?"

Jo scratched the back of her head, unsure how to feel—again—at what was being implied. Rather than explain though, her thoughts skipped ahead to the question that she herself had thought of. "Twilight, is your world...flat?"

Twilight's eyes bulged, more than before, her thoughts obviously following Jo's own. "You can't be saying that Earth has a different shape!?"

Jo groaned and leaned forward onto the table into her arms, her head narrowly missed smashing itself on the laptop.

Twilight went on. "Your world can be traversed from one side to the other!? That just...how does it-!? In the name of Celestia..." In the wake of her exclamations, her eyes creased at the mention of her mentor's name. An earlier thought from the 'car' ride returned to her. "So, how did you say your sun and moon are controlled by your people?"

Without picking her head up, Jo gave the explanation she had from earlier, but expounded upon it. She went on to back-brief Twilight about the state of Equestria as well, making sure that the show had truly gotten those bits correct. Ignoring the mind shattering implications of several team members at DHX and Lauren Faust getting all these little details right about a world that really existed, there was a sense of ease to be had by the two girls at figuring something out.

Limp as a wet noodle, Twilight sat in her chair beside Jo, staring at the bizarre contraption on the ceiling called a 'fan'. "Jo, your world makes no sense at all, no offense." She muttered, not that it helped her cope all that much.

Jo mumbled out between her arms, "None taken," but remained face down. The two had filled in the gaps for one another to a satisfactory extent, at least as well as could be done, anyway. It was mostly unspoken at this point, the two had been talking so long they were beginning to arrive at and conclude things simultaneously, as well as pick up on when the other had done so.

The echoing rumble of Jo's stomach entered the room, answering the call, Twilight's own tummy growled back.

"I think I'm hungry, Jo." Twilight said, blushing and hesitantly looking at her friend.

With significantly less recompense over formalities—while trying saving face—Jo finally sat up and yawned. "Aayeah, me to, apparently. Take a break then? We should order out, I'm starved."

Twilight watched Jo get up and meander to a device on the wall, which she picked up in one hand, then looked back towards her.

"Well?" Jo asked again, looking at Twilight expectantly.

"Huh? O-oh, I don't really know what you mean by 'order out'. Are...Am I to understand there is a food delivery service?" Twilight sniffled, her nose running again, and reached for another tissue while she spoke.

"Thaaat's the long and short of it, are you okay with eating whatever- uhm, oh." Jo's mind finally caught up with what she was thinking and saying, as well as the issue that she'd neglected to address as of yet. Dammit. It was a simple thought, but it summed up how she felt towards the situation she faced quite well. That situation being, a herbivore, trapped in an omnivore's body, living with her, a girl that had no misgivings about eating the flesh of tasty little animals.

"Twilight," Jo began hesitantly. "I'm going to come clean with you on something right now, and I just want you to know ahead of time that I am deeply, sincerely sorry. Because I basically, unwittingly mind you, did a pretty mean thing to you."

Twilight finished blowing her nose and began paying complete attention to Jo, managing to catch the apology. "Hm? What's wrong?" She asked simply, looking at her trustworthy, helpful, but above of all understanding new friend. Her eyebrows wrinkled into a questioning look.

Jo heaved a sigh and temporarily hung the phone back up. "Earlier this morning," she spoke quickly. "I fed you a sandwich that had meat in it. I was going to say something before, about the time I said I would start treating you like a pony after you gave your theory about humans and gems, but I got side tracked and-"

An ear piercing shriek filled the room for about two seconds, but no longer. Twilight stared into space at nothing, frozen at having heard her friend's confession. "I- I- I- I-" She was unable to move past the single syllable. "I ate what!?"

Well, not the worst reaction I guess. Jo thought, approaching the girl warily. "Twilight, it's okay, you don't have to worry about humans being carnivorous, we don't have to be, exactly..." She wracked her brain over what was best to say first, about what Twilight might be thinking. "We're not monsters though, or anything, so don't think any less of us, for that...at least."

The other girl was obviously not listening, or she gave no sign of it.

Jo knelt besides Twilight and patted her hand. "Hey, you awake in there? It won't kill you Twilight, I mean, philosophically speaking everything dies sometime too anyway, right? Aren't there other animals that eat meat in Equestria?"

"Not ponies though!" Twilight shouted simply, still looking at the wall. Her eyes were ringed with shock and several other emotions. "I ate another living, breathing, thinking creature!? What...what will Celestia do to me? I'm an abominatio-hah-hah-hah-onnnn..." She fell into her hands and began sobbing right before Jo's eyes.

Unsure of what to do exactly, Jo patted Twilight's back weakly. "I'm...sorry Twilight, that's my fault, you don't have to blame yourself for that one." She tried to think of ways that she could lessen the impact of this for the girl. On the show the animals were talking, sort of, and expressive. So does that mean they were like people? Jo didn't really know where to start on that subject, she imagined the old community had the ins and outs of it in a sort of fandom 'bible', but she'd only ever watched the show and hung out with a couple other fans.

The sobbing heap in front of her didn't seem angry, though. "I'm really, really sorry Twilight...but it's okay, the animal would've been eaten by someone else if you think about it logically, and they didn't exactly suffer or anything either...and I could be wrong here with this but animals on Earth aren't smart enough to really know suffering or hold enough awareness to be considered 'alive' in the sense that you, or humans are."

Twilight hiccuped and looked up at Jo from her tear filled palms like she was crazy. "Bwa-what?"

Jo winced a bit at the pitiful form before her, but explained. "Well, I'll just ask, are animals in Equestria as smart or...I dunno, let's say, self aware? Like ponies?" That feeling Jo had been getting all day, the one telling her that what she was saying was absolutely crazy, went off again. Luckily, she was getting better at ignoring it.

"Well... It varies, of course, but that's not the point. Consuming another creature to live is just wrong!" Twilight sniffed loudly and paused before wiping her nose on her arm, then reached instead for the tissues. "Uggh, I'm a mess, I'm sorry Jo I didn't mean to lose it." She took in a shuddering breath. "I don't know if I'll get over that anytime soon though... Anyway, it depends, intelligence varies a great deal amongst Equestrians. Generally though, almost every creature, big or small subsides entirely off either plants, or gems." When Jo merely squinted her eyes, Twilight added, "I think some others eat bugs...?"

"What." Jo's mouth thinned into a line of confusion.

"I-it's part of Starswirl's theory's of Relative Harmony and the make up of reality." Twilight blew her nose again before continuing. "Basically, harmony is maintained by magic, and magic provides for harmony. The only forces that act outside of this balance are creatures that lean towards chaos, there are some exceptions...but most are monsters that have been banished to Tartarus over the ages. The rest almost exclusively live in places like...say, the Everfree Forest."

Jo felt her knees start to fall asleep from where she still knelt, enraptured by the madness Twilight was sharing with her. So she's saying that magic means her world can say balls to what makes sense, is that what I'm getting out of this? From any standpoint that valued logic or sense what Twilight was saying made no sense. To prevent the over population of herbivores, carnivores existed in nature to stem their growth. That's basically how Jo knew the world balanced itself and maintained its "Harmony".

Well, if there's any silver lining to this, it's that I can look forward to her losing her mind when she learns about Earth's ecosystem. "What about gryphons?" The question came out suddenly, surprising even Jo. "They eat meat right? They're a combination of two predatory animals, they have to."

Twilight blinked, then put on a thoughtful look directed at the ceiling. "Predatory? By that do you mean a carnivore? No animal is strictly carnivorous unless it's evil, Jo." Twilight expression was dead serious. "I'm not really the expert on gryphons though, I can't say for sure... If Rainbow Dash were here she would probably know, she used to have a friend named-"

"Yeah, Gilda."

Twilight looked down at Jo in shock. "How diii- I take it she was in the theater thing too, then..." The reply she got was a tired nod from Jo. "Alright, Jo, let's take that break. Just get me something with plants that I'll enjoy, I don't care what. I need to be left alone for a bit, if that's fine with you."

Jo frowned sadly for a moment, then asked, "...You don't hate me for that, do you?" She stood up and walked backwards towards the phone, remaining engaged. The look she got back from Twilight was confusing, as it was not only shocked, it was incredibly shocked, and embarrassed.

"Hate!? Hat- No! I don't hate you, why in Equestria's name would you think I hate you, Jo? Was it something I said? Was- was it- Did I do something culturally offensive? I had an idea earlier that humans might communicate in some fashion by way of smell but I wrote it off after it became clear your nasal cavities weren't developed enough to allow for that and the mixture of the smells I did get made no sense but-"

"Twilight," Jo interrupted, then did so again when that didn't work. "TWILIGHT!" The silence that entered into the room was deafening. After a moment, the lone natural human continued. "I take it 'hate' is a big taboo in Equestria, apapap!" She held up a finger. "Don't get into details, later, after food. Just nod if I'm right."

Twilight did so.

"Okay, moving on, I'm going to get you some broccoli with mushrooms and noodles. I'll get the same, I guess, so that I don't offend you..." Jo crossed her arms and frowned when Twilight tried to speak up again, but let her do so.

"You can get whatever you like Jo, don't mind me...I mean, it's disgusting and horrible I think, but there are plenty of creatures that do...do eat others." Twilight withheld that those creatures were typically not intelligent enough to know better. She began washing her hands over one another nervously. "Sorry, no offense."

Jo sighed and rolled her eyes simultaneously. "Gee, thanks for making me feel like nature's most sinful creation." Her eyes squinted slightly after crossing over a couple thoughts about what humanity really did have to offer, making her statement not entirely untrue. That's going to be a can of worms alright, human society...yeesh, I hope she can survive that. I'm really starting to wonder how accurate the show was in regards to everything. If they're as 'cutesy' and 'innocent' as a kid's show, this will be...something, alright.

The web designer ordered the food, while fending off more apologies from Twilight. The latter of things made Jo feel bad, given that she was certain she was the one that owed an apology if anyone did.

The Chinese take out arrived and not much else of merit occurred. Although, Twilight did oversee the manner in which Jo paid the poor man, who became the target of several questions before he could get away. The unicorn had almost exploded into another kick of questions aimed at Jo about human cultures, after discovering that Earth had more than just a few. Her host was able to redirect her back to food though, and it was forgotten, for now.

While they ate, Jo showed Twilight some of the laptop's other uses, such as music playing and movies, as well as adding that they could watch the 'theater' that depicted her and her friend's adventures. There was some silence to be had while showing Twilight some of the pictures of the show online—safe pictures. She didn't want to watch it just yet, though she did express interest in searching the episodes for clues at a later time.

Jo stayed off the topics that she herself was most curious about while they waited. For instance, she had thought, If this is the real Twilight Sparkle, there is a forest, nay, a veritable ocean of questions that any brony worth their salt would be chomping at the bit to ask her. A guilty smirk had adorned her face right after, followed by, Oh boy, let the running of the horse puns commence...

Author's Notes:

This chapter is dedicated to Arrow 18 and Tiger Claw, I read it finally, just before writing this one, it really inspired me. I can't thank that man enough for writing what he wrote and how nice of a read it was. ^^

Tsk, also, that last chapter was worse than I remembered it, no more drinking and writing. (at least not a whole twelve pack by myself.) T_T

Anyway, someone hide those crystals! Sombra's on the way!

(not really, that's a joke...or is it?)

So, this chapter was wordy and very world establishy. Very intriguing stuff (if you're into that) ^^. So yes, what I was doing here was portraying what I essentially think would be how Equestria would exist and function to a degree, under given circumstances. I hope you guys found it interesting, because I know when I read other brony's stories one of the things I love reading the most is just how they've painted Equestria. What I've done is fashioned a very logical, but literal version, translated from the show and certain events. Balls to physics! As Jo and Twilight are so keenly deciphering, the show is not a perfect translation of real events in Equestria! DHX and the animators only got so much right in their 'glimpses'. We'll find out soon just how much was right. But rest easy that isn't the focus of the story at all. Anyway, there's a good reason for this and it will be expounded upon later, but for now, on with the show! Also I do apologize for the brief two or three paragraphs of telling, not show, but do you guys really want to read four thousand words of them figuring out what we know!? I'm reserving those instances for when I think the best reactions can be had from Twilight regarding them. Hope that's okay, but let me know what you think down below!

Also, note, I love calling the princesses Alicorns, but realistically, it doesn't make much sense that that would be what they called themselves, huh? So, they're just the 'princesses'. Seeing as how alicorns are so rare that you never see one that isn't a princess, anyway. That's gone on for a thousand years, that's a long time! o.o

Ps. Bonus points if you caught the subtext at the beginning of the chapter the first time around.

Chapter 6 : Nightmares

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Twilight held the fork awkwardly betwixt her newly acquired digits, an act which stung as much as it fascinated her. It truly is fascinating, all of it, except maybe the part where I ate meat that is. The thought made her cringe a little and almost made her lose her appetite. Still, she thought, I wish dearly that this discovery of a new world could have been under better and...less strenuous circumstances.

The utensil stirred the goopy mixture of vegetables and bizarre, spaghetti like noodles in front of her. They bore a striking resemblance to food that would have come out of Neighpan, or Neighna; countries she had yet to visit but had studied extensively. It had become apparent that Jo's world seemed to have counter parts for nearly all of her world's countries. Nearly...

With the exception of just a few, including Equestria...

Their world, Earth, had a great many more countries than her own, but lacked the pony country she called home, as well as the griffon kingdoms and several others. She suspected it was due in part to the varied races of Equestria and the surrounding lands. Earth seemed to only have humans as a dominant species. Literally every other animal—even ponies—were almost exclusively simple minded creatures, incapable of anything but base emotions.

Even stranger, none of the land masses correlate in anything but a vague fashion, if our worlds parallel then why are those different...could it have something to do with the different natures in which our worlds were born? Or maybe the functionality of our governing laws of existence? The thoughts only raised further questions. Twilight shook her head, then stared across the table at Jo, who was eating peacefully and looking as thoughtful as she herself probably did.

All of this does, however, confirm that our worlds' timelines and history don't directly follow one another. Likely, Twilight decided, due to the fundamental differences between our races themselves. She leaned forward on her hand, which was admittedly more comfy than a hoof. Hm, still, I imagine if I look at human history there will be all sorts of different, interesting cultural events to look into... Assuming I get a chance to. For now, I need to focus on getting home.

Twilight forked up and chewed a piece of sauce Or is it technically a gravy? covered broccoli while lost in the procedural thoughts that would hopefully lead to progress.

Jo grabbed her attention without warning, "Something wrong?" She asked, catching the human-unicorn off guard.

Twilight blinked and felt the broccoli get stuck in her throat as she swallowed too quickly.

"Whoa, hey you alright?" Jo asked her from across the table, halfway to standing up.

Twilight choked out a response through her fit of coughing. "Ye-yeah! 'm fine, just went down the wrong way."

Jo gave Twilight a concerned look and sat back down, then pushed her glass of water closer. "Well alright, you looked like you were a million miles away. Lost in thought?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow before remembering what 'miles' were, and pieced together what must be a human saying. "Oh, yeah I was. Just thinking about that stuff you said was "too heavy" for dinner conversation. I can't help it, between how interesting your world...ahem, planet, is to just how different it functions on the most basic of levels...it's entirely distracting." She couldn't help but glance regrettably down at her plate. "Which might be a good thing..."

Unfortunately, Jo seemed to pick up on her slip. "A good thing? Why, something wrong with the food?" Her fork prodded the noodles aggressively, as if to encourage they get their act together. "Eh, I'll admit it's not the best take out I've ever had." She shrugged and seemed satisfied with that much alone.

Twilight winced when Jo assumed correctly what she'd been thinking. "I didn't mean anything by it, it's good! Uhm, I dunno how to put it, I guess the food might be so different I can't know what to think. It feels like there is something missing though...something important." She settled into frowning openly at her plate. Truthfully it did taste alright, not bad, and it was a new and interesting kind of food. There was something about it though, and she knew it was staring her right in the face.

"Hm," Jo spun her fork and leaned onto her own hand nonchalantly while she answered Twilight. "Might be that everything in my world is different on a subatomic level, maybe you're just picking up on yet another kooky difference between our two homes."

Jo spoke as though she herself didn't think much of the idea at all, which was probably true. Twilight almost felt as though the other girl was ridiculing her at times. To Twilight though, what she had said rang with substantial truth.

"What is 'subatomic'? That word sounds familiar...ah, never mind that for now. I think looking at our worlds as being fundamentally different very well could be it." Twilight's own fork clinked onto the table as she began her pondering the line of thought. "Thus far, I've barely scratched the surface of this place, but already everything makes no sense by Equestrian standards. Physics, evolutionary patterns, the animals themselves, the lack of magic!?" She stared at the table for a moment before looking up and meeting Jo's eyes. "Even the state of being of your sun and moon. They are not a magical force and a distant, pocket world, but instead a ball of super heated gas and a dead rock hovering overhead in a vacuum!? Excuse me, not overhead, but 'orbiting' around your 'planet.'"

"Hey, Twi, take it easy, sit back down..."

Twilight looked around herself and realized she was standing and had one leg propped onto her chair, her fork pointed at the ceiling towards where that unexplainable human sun hung in the bizarre human sky. "Sorry, got carried away..." She sighed and tried to smile, but it didn't last, fading before she even sat down again entirely. Her eyes looked over the accursed broccoli that had spawned her entire minor tirade of the last five minutes. "I suppose we may never know why your veggies are so strange." A smile was managed that time as she looked over at Jo.

The human rolled her eyes in response to the silly remark, but put on her usual bemused smirk as well.

Relaxing significantly from the heightened state she'd accidentally put herself in, Twilight shifted in the strangely shaped human seat. Annoyingly enough, it was comfortable in her current shape. She looked at the sardonic human host she was staying with from the corner of her eye. Jo's lucky Pinkie isn't here, if she was, she wouldn't rest until she put a real smile on her face. I have no doubt about which of them would win, either... At having the idea, she put on a rueful smirk, not much unlike the kind Jo used quite often. Even your grumpiness couldn't stand up to a fully charged Pinkie Pie, Jo, sorry. A giggle escaped her lips, which she quieted quickly lest she be asked to explain it.

A sigh from Twilight followed the effort. I just need to take things slowly, learn what I can, and pace myself... At least I sort of have a plan. Thus far though, the only thing directly comforting she had found, were her thoughts themselves.

Twilight answered back quickly to Jo's quip about her fascination with things like "electricity" and the "microwave". "Uggh, very well, but it is still very clear that your technological advances are equal to or are at least comparative to our own in regards to magic. I believe that-" She paused and held up a hand to her chin, a very thoughtful look on her face while she watched Jo click away at her strange device once more.

Jo heard her guest stop talking abruptly, and turned to see what was up. She watched for nearly a minute as Twilight continued to stay silent, the stranger's eyes darting around the room randomly along with her searching expression.

Now what? Jo thought, waiting impatiently.

"I'm beginning to think that very well may be the one, solitary difference between our worlds Jo. Magic itself." Twilight said suddenly.

Jo hummed, "Sounds good to me. Look, Twi, no offense but you could figure out every little difference between where we both come from and still not find anything useful, I think. You should focus on just learning about how things work here if we're your ticket or best bet home. I mean, I don't really know where you'd begin to look for anything useful around Earth or humanity to begin with, but you could start." She laughed ruefully before continuing. "And take it from me, we're pretty good at being useless."

Twilight listened to the other girl laugh at the self-deprecating joke. She smiled weakly herself but couldn't laugh at the words the way Jo had. Strange... She thought instead. I wonder why she's so critical of other humans? More tests and study are needed...

Jo continued to busy herself by pulling up tabs to let Twilight read through. It wasn't clear to her what exactly would be the best things to teach her about first, so she'd chosen things that were mostly science and tech related. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but she did want to get started right away... When the purple haired girl beside her let out a monstrous yawn, Jo paused her efforts and looked over.

"Getting sleepy?" Jo smiled over at Twilight, who stretched her eyelids down with a hand and shook her head.

"Oogh, maybe, I'm incredibly tired now for some reason. Was there something in that food?" Twilight fought to suppress another yawn as she spoke.

"Doubt it, you've been awake for a while though, if I'm to understand it, you didn't sleep last night." Jo opened up the tab of orbital pictures of Earth with a final click and sat back, pointing at the computer. "You might also be getting sick if that cough was anything to go by, you get tired when you're sick."

"I can't believe I could be getting sick from just being in the rain for a little while..." Twilight mumbled, and crossed her arms in defiance of the thought. "Stupid hairlessness, no offense Jo."

"Hey no harm done." Jo said back, a little amusement in her voice. "Anyway, Twilight, do you have something called the 'overview effect' in Equestria?" She turned and watched as the strange girl leaned over until her face almost touched the computer's screen. On the screen were pictures taken from the light and dark sides of the moon from orbit, the moon and further.

"Are those paintings of your world?" Twilight asked, then paused a moment. "They look so real." She concluded, with awe in her voice.

Jo put on a smug look. "That's because they are real, those are actually pictures taken of Earth from a space faring ship we built and piloted off of our planet." She looked over at Twilight, who stared from her and back to the screen in disbelief. "The 'overview effect' is how your perception of home is irreversibly changed once you see your planet from space. It refers to the experience of seeing firsthand the reality of the Earth's relevance. A person understands that Earth is just a tiny, fragile ball of life, hanging in the void, shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere."

"I wonder if...I wonder if Equestria stretches on like that, into an 'outer space.'" Twilight reached out as if to touch the screen.

Jo's hand quickly slapped on top of Twilight's own briskly.

"Hey, ow." The purple haired girl made a pained face and leaned back. "What was that for?"

Jo frowned, "Sorry, the screen's sensitive though, it isn't a touch screen. So, you shouldn't touch it."

Twilight didn't answer and frowned back, then nodded with a murmured apology.

The silence in the room stretched on, Jo continued to click through different photographs and even played a few videos. The videos were the first Twilight had seen thus far, and the silence broke as they took some explaining to make it clear they were just photographs essentially, albeit taken by devices capable of full video recording. Twilight professed they did have some simple film, but it was nothing recognizable compared to what Jo had. This, she said, was like magic.

"Twilight, I said stop that." Jo warningly held up her hand again over Twilight's.

"Right, it's delicate I know, sorry..." Twilight pulled her hand back from being about to try and touch the glowing corona of the human's sun of the screen. "I just can't get over it! A device that can do this," Twilight gestured at the laptop set on the middle of the dining room table. "It's too incredible to fathom. To think you've created little things called 'circuits' that carry short bursts of lightning, so precise that you were actually able to form an advanced language out of it that can carry information itself!" She was panting by the end of her revisit of an earlier topic.

Jo rolled her eyes at hearing what she usually took for granted being explained back to her. There was more to it than that, but it did in a pinch for how computers worked, after a fashion.

"I suppose that if magic isn't an option as you say Jo...the technology you humans have created for yourselves may indeed be my best bet at getting home. At least, as far as getting home by my own power. I really hope that Princess Celestia or her sister will be able to find me first, instead..."

"Hm," Jo hummed thoughtfully. "Yeah, outside of one of the other princesses coming to get you, I would wager technology's your best option, eh?" I mean, now that I know magic is real and ponies live out there, somewhere far, far away, why can't we build a Stargate and send Dorothy here home?

Twilight nodded solemnly in agreement, before perking up with a question. "Waitwaitwait, what do you mean by 'other' princesses? That's insinuating that I myself am a princess." Her eyes wore a questioning look.

Jo looked over blankly, connecting a couple dots from the earlier "alicorn" argument. "But in the show..." She started, then trailed off under Twilight's gaze. "Ah, whatever, I can't make sense of it, I guess I might know less about ponies than I thought, after all."

"Uhm..." Twilight looked like she wanted to say something reinforcing, as if she felt she had hurt Jo's feelings.

Jo beat her to the punch, however, waving a hand to make it clear that look wasn't needed. "Don't worry about it Twi', It's my fault for assuming. Anyway, is there anything else at all that could be immediately useful that you know? Besides your cutie mark talent and the affinity for magic thing?"

Twilight still looked taken aback, but scrunched her face to think. "I...do indulge in the occasional bout of recreational trigonometry and advanced mathematics. I think you said that a lot of your technology was based primarily off of math theory, so is that a start?"

Jo's mouth held open for a second before she responded. "Yeah, yeah I would say that's a start alright." Well, if nothing else at least she could do my taxes for me. Ah, bad Jo, that's shameless.

Another abrupt yawn caught Jo's attention. Twilight was stretching and doing a bad job re-straightening her face.

"Maybe we should put everything on hold until tomorrow, eh Twilight?" Jo stood up and picked up the two plates on the table. "The internet isn't going anywhere, and I should probably try and think over some of the stuff we've talked about in private, anyway." The way Jo kept having to remind herself of the situation she was in, she imagined she would need at least a day or two of thoughtful introspection to keep her sanity. An early night was just the ticket for that.

Twilight stood up herself, a lot less shakily than many earlier attempts, showing clear progress. "Yeah," she answered, "I think I can agree to that. A lot's happened in the last twenty four hours...some sleep would be terrific. Oh, by the way, that bed of yours is amaaaazing." She said the words dreamily in her half daze, already imagining the comfort of the dreamlike mattress.

Jo managed to keep from laughing at Twilight's loopiness, then took her arm from where she had remained leaning against her chair. "Well, that's good, I take of lot of this stuff for granted, but it's kind of cool to get the perspective of it from someone that's new to this stuff. Not to mention that someone is Twilight Sparkle..." She made an incredulous face at the floor as she walked Twilight to the back of the house.

"Am...am I really famous then? Here on Earth? The way you talk about me and the show, you make me sound as important as the princesses, or as well known as Sapphire Shores." Twilight shifted something in her other arm, Jo saw that it was the box of tissues.

"Uh, yeah, I guess you are, at least to fans of that old show." Jo's hand clicked the bedroom's light switch on, bathing the twilight darkened room in yellow lamplight. "I wouldn't worry about it though, I don't intend to tell anyone else. Unless, maybe if they can help us. It wouldn't really be a good idea I think to start making claims like that to other people."

Twilight clambered onto the tall bed with the help of Jo. "Claims? Jo, it's the truth! We can prove it the same way that I proved it to you-"

Jo shook her head and spoke up. "That isn't the issue Twi', I'm sure a lot of them would believe you without proof. Not sure if that's a good thing... The problem would arise from how obsessed I think some of them would be over the situation. I dunno, I doubt anything would come of it, I think, since you're just like any other human girl right now, no offense..."

"It's okay," Twilight looked saddened by the remark from Jo.

Jo kicked herself mentally. "Uh, well, if it comes to it, you definitely have an army of people with too much time on their hands that we might be able to turn to for a little help... but that's something we should be really careful about. I'm not worried about say, the government, like I mentioned earlier, but... well, never mind." She thought certain words, rather than say them aloud. I don't want to sound defeatist or get your hopes up, but I don't think there's much help to really be had. Jo frowned and leaned on the bed's side table, trying to find the right words she could say.

"Buuut...?" Twilight prompted Jo.

"Eh," Jo started, "We'll talk about it tomorrow Twilight. For now, you should rest, your nose looks beet-red." She laughed when Twilight looked around briefly, then crossed her eyes to get a look at the new body part on her face.

Twilight blinked, then smiled and joined in as she caught on. After a hefty sigh from Twilight the room quieted again, "I miss my friends..." She wore a somber look after making the sudden remark. Her hands rested on her legs while her eyes stared at the floor.

Jo's own cheerful facade faltered and was replaced by a rare sad look. She cleared her throat and watched Twilight, trying to think of something to say. "W-well..."

Twilight looked up at her host.

"If nothing else Twilight, you're safe. I'm sure that's the most important thing to them, they might not know it, or maybe, they do. Either way, you've got a shot at getting home and I'm sure they're not going anywhere." Jo wore a level look of confidence and raised up a fist to bump Twilight's shoulder lightly. "I'd be stupid to promise you anything, I know better than most about disappointments in life, but we'll sure as hell try."

Twilight pursed her lips slightly in thought while listening to Jo. What the other mare said struck her as odd, and a little... dark. It was clear from her expression though that this was a very confident and kind way of trying to cheer her up, so she put on her biggest smile as thanks. "I know we will, Jo. When I get home, I'll make sure Rainbow Dash does a sonic rainboom just for you. A-and Applejack... makes you the best apple pie you've ever had, that Pinkie Pie throws you the biggest, best party of your life! After that, we can visit Fluttershy and all of her animals-s, Rarity can make you some n-n-new clothes..."

She hadn't meant to, but Twilight had started crying. "Oh, Spike has to have eaten all the ice cream in the house by now..." Sniffling, she ran the strange, thin and smooth as silk arm she was cursed with over her newly runny nose.

Jo wilted and put her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Hey, I'm sorry Twilight I didn't mean to make you cry-"

"No, it wasn't you." Twilight coughed twice and reached over to grab one of the thin paper napkins. "It's my own fault, I shouldn't dwell on it, I know. I can't help it, I miss them. Oooh," She groaned angrily and held her head. "Why did I have to try and make a teleport potion. It should have worked perfectly though, in no way was it potent enough to send me to another world, much less farther than Canterlot at all! How does that explain any of this!?" She blew her nose with fervor before wiping it and settling down a little more.

"Twilight, you couldn't have known that this would happen, don't blame yourself, no matter..." Jo furrowed her brow and stopped talking to stare at Twilight hard. "Did you say teleport potion?"

Twilight looked up with her tear stained eyes, a moment later and they lit up in realization at what she'd said. "Teleport potion! Jo!" The purple haired girl hopped back off the bed and seized the shorter girl's shoulders roughly. "I remember! I remember everything now! I was in the lab with Applejack and Spike! I was testing a new talent potion in an effort to boost my teleporting prowess. I had just drank it and cast my spell and then-"

"-and then, you ended up here..." Jo finished for her. Her face was a mixture of seriousness and understanding for the strange girl.

Twilight's face sobered up and saddened a little. "Yeah, and then I ended up here in your backyard. Interesting... I don't get it, the spell and mixture was perfect, I remember now. I just... Uggh, we should look into this as soon as we can tomorrow, Jo." She looked away again while she spoke, as though her mind were elsewhere than on her words.

"Yeah, we will, I vaguely reca-" Jo noticed that Twilight wasn't listening to her. "Hey Twi, human to Twilight Sparkle, you there?" She tapped a finger against Twilight's head.

"Huh? What, wha-!?" Twilight began, then cried out just as quickly. Her look of surprise at someone else being present gave way to the shock of falling. The unicorn's new legs had given out from under her as she turned to look at the human that had regained her attention.

"Whoa-!" Jo grunted and awkwardly caught the capsizing Twilight, then steadied her. "I'm putting you through an obstacle course tomorrow until you find your human legs, Twilight. Can't ponies walk fine with four legs? You'd think you could handle just two."

Twilight grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I zoned out there...also, what do you mean? My human legs are right here, unfortunately." She grimaced down at the things as she spoke.

"Everyone's a comedian." Jo rolled her eyes, going for a world record. "It was just an expression." Twilight made a look of understand and Jo continued, "Alright well enough revelations, we keep talking and we'll never stop. Hop on up there, Princess."

Twilight scowled back at Jo as she returned to her perch on the bedside. "I'm not a princess, Jo, I told you that, there are only t-"

"Apapap," Jo chided, waving a finger. "Whatever you're about to say right there you just keep it a secret. I still like that show and I don't want you ruining it for me, okay?"

Twilight raised and eyebrow, then doubtfully smiled a little and nodded. "Well, alright..."

Jo put on the first ear to ear grin she'd worn that day, or that year for that matter. "Sweet, now, what was that about Rarity making me clothes, what, you don't like the ones I have?"

Twilight whistled once and slid further onto the bed away from the other girl. "Oh, I'm suddenly so tired... Ahem, if you'll excuse me, good night Jo." She flashed one last smile before rolling over and hiding a short giggle muffled by a pillow.

Jo smiled at Twilight a moment longer while she turned off the light. As soon as the room re-darkened, her face turned to one of surprise. Once out of the room, she came to a startling realization, that she felt genuinely happy at the moment.

Oh well, crazier things have happened. The web designer put on a somber look as her feet padded their way slowly back to the dining room. Now for a drink and to hit the haaay... Her thoughts trailed off and a scowl worked its way onto her face as she remembered something else, something important. I forgot I needed to work today. Dammit.

Back in the guest bedroom, Twilight was getting comfortable now that she had privacy. She discarded the strange clothes Jo had given her. They were obviously not night attire after all, seeing as she wore them during the day.

Laying back on the bed under the cool sheets, Twilight began to drift off to sleep immediately. Even the stuffy, disfigured nose that was so unwelcome on her face barely distracted her. A final thought crossed her mind before she fell soundly asleep. I really hope the Princess doesn't mind that my reports might be a little late...

Twilight blinked her eyes and looked around, the air around her was warm and welcoming. From somewhere nearby came the happy sound of laughter. It was immediately obvious that this was what had woken her up. She yawned and stretched, sitting up off of the grassy ground beneath her.

"Heya Twi'!" Came a voice from nearby, a familiar voice that contained a country side Equestrian drawl.

Twilight looked over across a wheat filled meadow and saw Applejack smiling coolly, waving with one fore-hoof in her direction. She smiled back at her orange coated friend with a fore-hoof of her own. "Hi Applejack!" She greeted simply.

"What about us, huh? Don't we get a hello?" The noise of rustling of leaves and feathers came from overhead.

This time, Twilight looked up to see Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. The two pegasi were relaxing on separate tree limbs, legs resting or hanging down from their respective perches.

"Hello Twilight, it's good to see you." Fluttershy said, in her quiet, but wonderful and friendly voice.

Twilight smiled up at her feathered friends as if she hadn't seen them in years. That was odd, she saw them almost every single day. Why am I so happy to see them? The question was interrupted by the frantic screaming that quickly got closer, catching her by complete surprise.

"wwweeeeeeEE-YAAAHHOOOOO!" Pinkie Pie careened out of the sky in a red wagon and crash landed right beside Twilight. "I'm here!" The pink pony emerged from the dust wearing her trademark smile, completely unscathed. "Am I late for the picnic?"

Twilight grinned and looked around at all of her friends as they laughed. Applejack had sidled up beside her while shaking her head. Above her, Rainbow and Fluttershy both hopped off the tree and floated down. Behind her, came another voice.

"Lunch is readyyyy!" Rarity's melodious voice turned Twilight's head around, and she followed it eagerly with her other four friends towards the spread.

Laid out on the ground was an impressive assortment of food. There was a cake, daisy sandwiches, tulip turnovers, cupcakes, muffins and all manner of other tasty treats and delicacies.

Twilight felt her mouth watering. "Oh, wow guys, you all really outdid yourselves this time!" She looked around at her friends, who were all already digging in. They stopped long enough to look up at her and mutually grin happily.

"Well sure Twi', have you ever known us to skimp on a friendly get together?" Applejack chortled out before biting into a sandwich.

"Yeah, with a pony like Pinkie Pie to feed, we always have to have everything but the kitchen sink out here with us." Rainbow Dash rolled onto her back and laughed, at least until a certain pink pony stuffed a donut into her mouth.

"Hey, are you saying I eat a lot!?" Pinkie Pie promptly picked up the cake plate and took a generous bite out of its side directly. "Because, you're right!" She devolved into a fit of giggling along with the rest of them afterwards.

Twilight sighed happily and leaned down to take a bite of her own from a sandwich, which she had obtained with her hands.

"Oh, nonono darling, you don't want to eat that. We have something just for you!" Rarity's glowing magical spell had enveloped the sandwich and carried it away from her. Quickly, Twilight tried to use her own magic to grab it back from her friend.

When nothing happened, she gasped, and looked around. Her friends were all staring at her intently, with calm, but creepy smiles on their faces.

"Here you go Twilight, this is for you." The offering Rarity gave to Twilight was something that made her gag. "You eat this now, remember?" the unicorn went on, smiling all the while. She made to put the plate up under Twilight's nose.

"Girls!? What's going on!?" Twilight tried to stand up to get away from the plate, but couldn't, and fell over, unbalanced. Looking down she saw her hooves were gone, her legs' shape had changed, nothing was as it should be. "What's happening!?"

Fluttershy's calming voice and wings enveloped Twilight. "Oh dear, Twilight, you don't remember, do you?" She asked calmly. "Just relax, everything will make sense, nothing is out of place."

Twilight hugged fiercely at the yellow pegasus, desperate for comfort. "I don't understand, I don't...I don't understand, girls!" The yellow pegasus hugged back at her, while the others merely remained where they were on the checkered picnic cloth, grinning at her.

Twilight's breathing increased as her distress did the same, until the sensation that she was floating overtook her. The once-unicorn watched as Fluttershy slowly floated away, as did all of her friends. No, they were staying on the ground. It was in fact she that was floating away, and up into the sky. "GIRLS! STOP! DON'T-!" Her voice caught in her throat, making her unable to call out. "Don't let me go." She croaked.

The five ponies on the ground were all smiling cheerily and waving up at her. More and more they became farther and farther from Twilight, until finally, they were just dots. After that, they were gone.

The land stretched all the way out to the horizon as Twilight floated away, and wept. "I don't understand!" She managed to say again. Clouds soared past her as she fell higher and higher into the blue sky.

"What is to understand, you are where you should be." The voice was flat, it wasn't frightening, not compared to some of the ones Twilight had heard over the years, anyway. It sounded raspy and crinkly though, maybe like crunching snow or leaves.

"Who's there!?" Twilight looked around her, but there was nothing, just the shrinking, blue marble below her. Earth. She blinked and looked at it again, it was suddenly incredibly far away, she could now see the curvature of the strange world beneath her. She vaguely recognized the alien world. That's... what Jo's world looks like. Wait, Jo? Who's Jo? She gulped and looked around herself again, her breathing beginning to become panicked and unsteady as she rose still higher. Is she the cause of...of-!

Twilight was suddenly aware that she wasn't panicking, it was getting harder to breathe. "N-no!" Her arms rose up and grasped at her chest, ripping at the strange shirt she wore. Nonononono! It felt as though something were wrapped around her head, strangling her breath. She couldn't breathe. One last thought formed before the end. Princess...help me!

The sun began to set over the edge of the planet, glowing warmly over Twilight's body, until its glow was gone.

Chapter 7 : The Epic Marathon

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Twilight felt herself awaken from the dream and began flailing on instinct.

I can't breathe, I can't breathe! Twilight's thoughts continued over and over again. She began to scrabble at her face with both of her topmost limbs as she finally woke up.

A thick, squishy object began to fight against her strange human hands as she wrestled it off from covering her face. The sound of a cat yowling made her jump as she continued to gain lucidity.

Twilight stared around the midnight dark room with wide eyes. Loud, deep breaths escaped her as she tried to gain her bearings. "Hah-ah, dream," she swallowed hard, trying as hard as she could to calm the shaking she noticed in her limbs. "It was... all just a nightmare. Just a..." A sniff escaped her while her hand went up to cover her mouth. "Spike, are you still asleep?"

The silence that answered her was deafening.

After a moment, Twilight curled up and hugged her strange legs to herself, much like when she had first arrived here on... Earth. A name for the entire world. It was an absent thought, welcome for the distraction it offered, which was brief. Her mind wandered back to her friends quickly, the sensation of tears running down her face made colder and more noticeable by the lack of her coat.

While sitting there, Twilight noticed that two other cats were also sharing the bed with her. The bedroom door was pushed open, they must have come in and taken up roost with her for the night, including the one that had decided to sleep on her face of all places... I guess Jo is right, human animals are different.

Twilight reached out and scratched the head of the closest cat, a striped feline with a white tummy. With sadness in her voice, she questioned it. "You can't understand me, can you?"

The cat chirped a meow and rubbed the pony turned human's hand vigorously with its head.

Well, that doesn't tell me anything. If only I could speak with animals like Fluttershy, I could run some tests. Twilight took in a shuddering breath and swung her legs over the side of the bed. I'll investigate that later. Right now, I don't want to be anywhere near a bed. The idea of sleeping anymore... unsettled her. Her legs slid and slid off the side of the ridiculously tall, human sleeping arrangement, until finally her feet hit the cold hardwood floor. It was a small thing, but she sorely missed the sound and feeling her hooves would make from touching such a surface. Gah, it's cold! Not to mention she didn't appreciate the added sensitivity she was now victim to.

One of Twilight's hands scrubbed at her face while she clumsily walked along the wall, using anything she could for support. She didn't really know where she was going, walking and moving just helped right now. A hiccup escaped her when the image of her friends' smiling faces appeared in her mind's eye again. Not the distant, creepy smiles they had worn in the dream, but a memory of hers.

The days and nights spent with her friends, the adventures they had undertaken together, the simple joys of friendship they had shared... She couldn't imagine losing that, couldn't even fathom what she would do if they were lost to her. I'll always have books, and studying... but nothing can replace them. Her footsteps stopped when she heard the faint sound of music. There was also light coming from the top of the house's staircase.

Twilight looked up at it, just looking, for several minutes.

The light was different than any she had seen in Equestria. It wasn't the warm glow of fireflies, nor the pristine, bright light of magic. It was something a little different.

Finally, Twilight began moving up the stairs, not entirely sure of what she was doing. It was a little difficult walking on her own, much less up the steep staircase. Luckily though, it had railings, which made climbing them a little easier, and doable for her shaky legs. In just a few moments, the top of the staircase came into view.

Twilight looked to the source of light, a partially cracked door at the other end of the hall. Likely, it was Jo's bedroom.

The lost mare took her time going down the hallway, mostly just curious to investigate the midnight noises. I wonder why Jo's still awake, did she say she was staying up? I guess she could be studying or something. It made sense, she would be doing that, after all.

Upon reaching the end of the hall, she heard Jo's voice. Surprisingly enough the strange human was more than just awake, she was laughing and unmistakably talking to someone, too.

I suppose that rules out studying... Twilight thought calculatingly. Who else could be here at this hour though? She was quite sure it was still somewhere around midnight.

Twilight held back from knocking, thinking things over. There is apparently nothing to distinguish me from being just another human, so I suppose I needn't worry about showing myself in there, despite what Jo said about other humans... Although, Jo hadn't insinuated that being a pony wasn't a problem, either, not really. Still, humans probably eat ponies. I can't imagine how they feed eight billion meat-eaters, but it can't be easy... She shuddered at the thought, and cringed from the reminder of her dream, then held a thoughtful hand up to her chin slowly. Then again, she did say they can choose to not eat meat, even if it isn't very healthy. Perhaps most of them subside off of hay and oats or something more normal?

A big, exasperated sigh escaped Twilight's lips, and she wiped her slowly drying cheeks one last time with a hand. Just go in Twilight, you aren't going back to bed and you know it. That much, her thoughts were clear on. She had never had a nightmare... like the one she had just lived through, before. Or at all really; that's what it was, her first nightmare.

Hesitantly, Twilight knocked on her host's bedroom door, seeing as she was obviously not asleep. She didn't want to interrupt Jo or her friends, but she didn't want to be alone either.

The music in the room stopped a moment later. Then came Jo's voice. "Twilight? That you?"

Taking in another breath first, Twilight's nerves making everything difficult at the moment, she responded. "Y-yes, I, uhm, hope I'm not interrupting anything. I just... couldn't sleep any longer and then heard you were awake and I- Could I come in?"

The sound of Jo getting up came next. "Yeah, sure thing Twilight. Hey guys hold up a minute alright? Take ten."

The sound of footsteps coming towards the door gave Twilight a little time to think about what Jo had said. Guys? As in stallions? And more than one? She blinked confusedly for a moment and listened as the other voices began chattering excitedly once more. Twilight thought she heard them say her name to one another. Why on Equestria would Jo be having a slumber party with a bunch of boys?

"So, what's up." The door opened a moment later, filling the darkened hallway with more light. "Anything wro- TWILIGHT! Would you put on some clothes? You can't walk around naked like that, even indoors, geez." Jo reeled back from the door and laid a hand over her face almost instantly.

Twilight's eyes—still sad from her rough night—widened a little and looked down at her lack of clothing in surprise. "Oh, right, human social taboos. Sorry Jo, I forgot... I'm- What are they talking about?"

In the background, the sound of the strangers' voices had exploded into laughing and talking.

"Pics or it didn't happen!"

"I KNEW IT! She's a lesbian!"

"Yolo Jo, YOLO!"

Curious, Twilight poked her head into the room; Jo still had her eyes covered. Strangely enough to her, there was no one there. The room was a bit odd, glowing lights and more strange human's devices sat on every available surface. The source of the sound seemed to be something similar to the 'laptop', but larger.

Suddenly, another set of clothing was shoved into Twilight's arms. She became aware that Jo had been shouting at the mystery voices. Oh wow, those aren't recordings! Is she friends with ghosts?

"Go put that on. Guys, I'm only going to say it one more time. Shut up!" Twilight looked from the clothes to Jo with a bewildered expression. Oddly enough, the other girl's face was beet red.

While the purple haired girl left to dress, Jo settled matters with her clan. "Alright scrub-lords, I'm calling it a night. If any of you ever mention this again I'm team killing you into oblivion, got it?"

Amidst the various plethora of responses Jo caught 'You get 'im tiger!' and she closed the voice chat. Groaning, she pressed her palms into her eyes.

In the hallway, Twilight tried to listen to the strange banter and voices coming from the room. Huh, they seem friendly, a bit like Rainbow Dash's 'sports buddies'. They certainly weren't playing sports in there though.

Dressed reasonably enough for Jo—she hoped—Twilight walked into the room where her friend was shouting back at the machine on her desk. The noise coming from it cut off abruptly. "So who was that? Your friends?" She asked with a curious tone. "Long distance communication of some sort?" The desk was filled with interesting looking gadgets, but she ignored those and leaned forward, almost pressing her face to the computer's screen.

"Yeah, sort of—Twilight get away from the screen. I'm just playing video games with some friends." Jo sat down at the other end of the room on her bed, which was a couch, and relaxed fully. "You alright?"

Twilight stood upright and her eyes widened, she moved quick enough that she almost fell. "Alrigh-T!? Hem, y-yes, I'm fine." She gave what she hoped was her best convincing smile to her host.

"Well alright, your eyes are bloodshot is all, that's why I asked." Jo sighed leaned over onto her hand, which rested on the shoulder of the couch. "...Did you get any sleep?"

"Yes..." Twilight unsteadily finished navigating her way across the room and fell back on the couch with a loud pomph.

An awkward silence entered the room for a moment. Both girls were aware they were still new to interacting and being friendly to one another. On top that, they lacked the momentum the questions had given their conversations earlier. Jo could sense there was a very distinct uneasiness in Twilight, and Twilight could sense that Jo wasn't as comfortable with being around her as her friends back home were.

"I had a nightmare." Twilight said simply, then quickly added, "I- I'm sorry, I can go." She moved her eyes to the floor and began to get back up. Maybe I should have stayed downstairs, it was selfish of me to come up here and try to lean on her-

"Hey Twilight," Jo answered, grabbing Twilight's attention. "If you need to talk about anything feel free. I'm not Pinkie Pie or Applejack, or even Rainbow Dash, I guess." She couldn't keep the chuckle out of her voice as she said the names, but they brought what was hopefully a helpful smile to her face too. "I don't mind filling in though." She looked over briefly at the other girl while scratching the side of her head nonchalantly.

A little bit of emotion welled up inside of Twilight, then a lot did. "I- Heh, y-yeah, true. S-still, you're at least on par with Rainbow Dash." She had to sniff loudly before continuing. "Dashie's pretty lousy when it comes to being sensitive t-too."

It was a low blow, and a good joke, but Jo picked up on Twilight's fight to hold back putting on the water works. So, when the other girl fell into her hands to cry, Jo didn't say anything to interrupt her. Sometimes you just need to. She patted a hand on Twilight's back, deciding not to say anything. The other girl reacted to her hand by falling over into her lap. Sigh. Her thoughts said aloud to herself. At a loss for what to do, she just rode it out, a sad look on her face, mimicking the emotions of her new tenant.

"I-I just miss them, so much." Twilight managed to get out. "What if I never see them again, Jo? You've already told me there's no way back. Humans don't e-e-even control the weather."

Unable to sit still for long, Jo managed to grab a box of tissues from nearby the couch. She stayed silent still, but combed the other girl's hair back once.

Twilight looked up when a hand tapped her shoulder, and spotted another one of the thin paper napkins she had used earlier. "Oh, thanks." She murmured, took the napkin, and tried to dry her face. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry it- It was just a bad dream. I'm fine." After a deep breath she managed to compose herself some. And now I have a headache...

"It's okay, Twi'." Jo said simply, watching her strange new friend with a distant look. It had felt silly to basically hold another grown woman who was in tears, at least to her. No one's ever really cried around me. The thought helped nudge forward the initiative to try and do something to actively help. Yeah, but what? "So, how old are you?" She blinked at the bluntness of the question, how off topic it was, and the fact that it might be seen as rude, too. Smooth. It had seemed like a good idea though, working off her curiosity.

"Twenty years, or winters if you prefer. Do humans even use years... Why?" Twilight looked up expectantly, thankful for the change of subject.

Jo quirked an eyebrow to the ground when Twilight said 'winters'. "Twenty? Huh, I'm twenty five, in case you ever wonder about it. Neat, I dunno, just wondering I suppose. Yeah, we use years. Anyway, I used to watch... well, a representation of you with my cousins, friends and nieces. It's a bit like having a celebrity in my own home. So I'm just curious about you in general..." What she was saying was starting to sound stupid, even to herself, especially to herself. Dangit, I'm no good at- She was taken aback when Twilight replied to her as soon as she began to trail off.

"Could I see them?" Twilight asked quickly.

"What? See who?" Jo turned to face her, then realization spread across her face. "Them- The show? You want to watch the Friendship is Magic series?" Sure, why not. Watch Lesson Zero first, she'll love that. Her mind thought sarcastically to itself.

Twilight answered back timidly. Her arms moved to hold one another, her eyes staring off towards the far wall. "I... I just want to see them, my friends, if- pictures would be fine I guess, if you can't play the show-"

Jo shook her head and waved off the other girl's early surrender. "Twilight, if you need to see them then I'd be happy to show the series to you." She gave her a smile before getting up and moving to turn on her big screen TV. "Let's make a quick deal though, if I show you this, you'll cheer up and laugh at all the jokes we humans have put together in this thing."

Twilight perked up as if on cue. She looked over and nodded happily to the human, "Deal." Her smile was pitiful compared to Jo's, but it suddenly became a massive grin a moment after she spoke. "Ooooh! Ohohoh! Slumber party, we're having a slumber party, this is going to be ssso great!" A slightly worried look appeared on her face, mimicked by Jo who already wasn't keen on the sound of things. "Oh no, but we'll need to do everything on the checklist! But I don't have the checklist... What was it again? Scary stories, truth or dare and... Hm, what else was there?"

Jo glanced back from setting up the UHDMI to her desktop and deadpanned at the younger woman. "Seriously?" Her face had become serious in ten microseconds flat. "Alright, yeah, sure." She shook her head and fought the urge to oppose the girly enthusiasm she was being faced with. I don't believe it, she's practically an adult and she's actually like... that. She counted herself lucky that her desire to gag wasn't too strong she couldn't fight it.

"Well, it is a slumber party!" Twilight sobered up a little, still affected by her earlier situation, but also making a concerted effort to cheer up now. "Don't tell me you've never had a slumber party before?" She tilted her head questioningly, still smiling.

"Of course I've-" Jo paused for a moment. I've been to lots of parties and slept at other people's homes... I never had a slumber party though. Don't just kids have those? Even being generous with the definition, she couldn't really come up with a time when she had just invited friends, girls or guys, over to have what one might call a slumber party. She must have kept silent too long, staring in thought at the door, because Twilight audibly gasped and held a hand to her mouth.

"You've never had a slumber party!?" Twilight's face was aghast with surprise. "But you're twenty five! Well, I had my first at eighteen. I mean, sure I guess some ponies never have one but... oh." She grimaced a little at realizing once again where she was.

Jo stepped out into the hall, but stopped to pick up what she detected as a mood breaker. "No, I've never had a slumber party before Twi'. I don't mind having a small one with you, either. No makeovers though." And with that, she ducked out and went to get herself something stiff to drink, as well as snacks, she supposed.

Twilight—despite already having reminded herself of home yet again—was... cheering up, somehow. She smiled and yelled after the retreating human. "Pinkie would lose her mind if she knew Jo! It was bad when she found out I had one without her, so it's best you get yours out of the way while you still have an excuse to!" Twilight smiled warmly and sighed. "Well, humans have slumber parties too, so I guess they're alright in my book." She giggled at having managed a joke. I wonder what kind of snacks humans have... Her face paled a little at the line of thought.

Twilight was more than a little relieved that her fears revealed themselves to be unfounded, as Jo walked into the room with two bowls, and some drinks. The bowls held popcorn and potato chips respectfully, and not... the other thing. Annoyingly enough, Jo wouldn't share the drink she had with her though, something she had called 'liquor'.

"So why can't I have any, exactly?" Twilight leaned over and asked, looking at the interesting bottle. Anything with a design that intricate must be delicious.

Jo sighed back at her and responded. "Two reasons, you don't know what it is, one, and two, you're technically underage..."

Twilight frowned. "Underage? Underage for what?" She didn't understand why something would have an age requirement.

"For drinking alcohol!" Jo looked back at Twi' for a moment, then fixated again on starting the show.

"Alco- Jo! Alcohol's a poison, you can't drink that!" Twilight's eyes bulged at the very thought, and jumped up from the couch. "That stuff could kill you, it's an antiseptic! Not... or, is it actually normal for humans to drink it?" Her mouth twisted in a half confused, half disgusted look at the idea.

Jo snorted a laugh and walked casually back to the couch. "Yeah, we drink it. It's only a little bad for us though, the mixture's diluted. Come on, let's just watch the... your, I mean, show, Twilight." She smiled, gesturing to the television.

Twilight smiled weakly back at Jo's warm expression, the human hadn't worn one quite like it since she had met her... Well, she's right, I'll hold off on trying to acclimate to humans untiiii- Oh wow.

The opening to episode one, season one of My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic had begun to play.

Jo took a handful of popcorn and curled up her legs onto the couch while she watched. Beside her, Twilight's eyes were widened to their fullest. The day before (as it was past midnight now) she had seen a few pictures of herself and her friends that looked like simple, but uncanny representations of her and her friends. The six vibrant art pieces had been interesting, but they were nothing like the full moving pictures she saw now. These were like the ones of the stars and planet that Jo had shown her, moving, but also bright and colorful...

"That's... Princess Celestia's voice." Twilight's mouth turned up at its corners while the tale of the two sisters played.

Celestia really sounds like that? Guess I can rule out the Molestia theory then, sorry internet. Jo smirked, then watched her friend a moment, afraid that she might burst into crocodile tears again. Oh, I'll get to find out if Gummy's real. She rather liked how odd and out of place Gummy was. She stopped the thoughts short, feeling a little guilty. It was a bit shameful to admit it to herself, but she looked forward to seeing what Twilight thought of the show. Frowning a little, she looked back at the TV. Just keep quiet Jo, enjoy the show. An angry look replaced the guilty one for a split second. When did I become such a crazy cat lady? I'm talking to myself again...

Twilight's voice grabbed Jo's attention. "You said this was made for little fillies, right Jo?"

Jo responded without looking up from show's prologue. "Yep, oh, try not to take it too seriously, it is just a cartoon, not a documentary." She felt a pang of worry, remembering how critical and... obsessive Twilight could get in the show, and even more in the fandom.

"Okay, I can look over a few inconsistencies and errors then." Twilight smiled and demurely folded her hands in front of herself.

Jo peeked out of the corner of her eye, expecting more, then looked back at the show. Huh, maybe this won't be so bad after a-

Twilight abruptly interrupted Jo's self-assurances. "I mean, it's not such a big deal that the princess just said that Luna was only upset over her night being overlooked, ignoring the fact that it extended well beyond that and into the sister's personal lives, as well as-"

"Twilight, please just- TWILIGHT! Watch. The show." Jo stared exasperated across the couch while the other girl smiled sheepishly back at her.

"Sorry..." Twilight apologized, shifting her embarrassed expression back to the TV.

Both women quieted down and attentively watched the show, enraptured both by new fascination and old reverence... for five seconds.

"Wha-" Twilight began to burst out. "That's not my voice! I don't sound like that, Jo. I don't sound like that, why is my voice wrong?" The unicorn turned human looked aghast at her cartoon self as the cartoon imposter read aloud about the Elements of Harmony.

My Little Ponyyy! My Little pooonyy!

"Twilight," Jo did her best to speak over the distracting intro song. "It's just a show, and I hate to break it to you, that is exactly what you sound like."

Until you all shared its magic with me!

"No it isn't!" Twilight became rigid, eyes wide. "My voice is way... way... smoother than that, and not so nasally. And younger!"

Tons of fun! A beautiful heart. Faithful and Strong!

"Nasally!? Did you really just call Tara Strong 'nasally?'" Jo was smiling and laughing as she said the incredulous words. "Ah, wow. This is so incredibly weird, I keep expecting to hear the inception sound."

You know you are my very beeest friiieends.

"What's Incep- Aw, Jo, I missed the song, it sounded nice." Twilight's expression became crestfallen.

"It's just the intro Twi' You'll be sick of it after two episodes, trust..." Jo ceased speaking, because Twilight already looked as though she were a hundred miles... kilometers away. "Me... heh."

Twilight's eyes were glued to the screen, enraptured by the fascinating depiction of herself moving and talking—although that definitely wasn't her voice—in real time art form. Who's Moondancer? I don't think I remember that teal unicorn either... or any of these ponies, actually. Who are they? She was too entranced to ask the questions aloud, and was curious to see more. Oh wow, that's uncanny. I was way more interested in books than friends back the- Oh no, Spike! A grin sprang onto her face at seeing her number one assistant get bowled over by her fantasy-self, which was followed closely by a happy sigh at simply seeing him.

Next, Twilight gasped when Spike fell off of a ladder, or rather, she pulled him off of it. A nervous smile appeared when she saw it was only comical, and he was fine. Thirty seconds later she gasped again when the poor dragon lost his own balance and fell off of another ladder, then let out a breath of relief when he landed safely onto her own back. Or rather, cartoon Twilight. I'm not sure if I can get used to seeing myself like that.

Jo sat contentedly as peace reigned in her bedroom except for the relatively calm sound of MLP : FiM playing. She poured herself a drink in the peace and settled into watching and relieving some quaint old memories. Peeking from time to time, she looked briefly at Twilight. Jo could readily tell that watching the show had been just the ticket for cheering up the misplaced unicorn. Her face was bright and captivated, obviously eager to hear and see everything that-

"Wait, okay," Twilight interrupted the show, speaking over it. "I'm giving this a lot of space here, seeing as you humans fashioned this somehow from across... well, everything, but my mane did not look that bad!" Twilight exclaimed her opposition to Rainbow Dash's drying job loudly and jutted a finger at the ponies on the screen.

Jo looked over openly and gave her as incredulous of a smirk as she could. "Really?"

"Well... it didn't." Twilight tried to frown, but broke out into giggles instead. "Oh, Jo I can't even begin to tell you how nice this is. I mean... I don't know, I would have never guessed something like this existed, or could." Now that she had begun talking, she found she had plenty to say, even when Rarity putting a saddle-corset on her demanded more laughing. They didn't really communicate well enough just how painful of an experience that was...

"Yeah," Jo replied absently, looking back at the colorful ponies. "Life has a funny way of surprising you sometimes."

"I can tell that this is made to entertain though, things aren't half as silly as this most of the time." Twilight nodded to herself confidently, then frowned and looked over at Jo.

The other girl was snickering.

"You sure?" Jo paused in her laughter to grin smugly. "Because so far you sound like that, act like that, have all of those mannerisms, and on top of it, you're even as excitable as that. Why, I wouldn't be surprised if all of your friends just about match their depictions in this to the letter."

"What!? Well, okay, maybe they have my friends right so far..." Twilight rubbed her chin in thought, a smile on her face as Spike swooned once again over Rarity. "They certainly have Spike done about right." An idea poked at her suddenly. "I'm curious Jo, who are they. Who made this?" She turned to face her new friend, who was busy taking a drink from her oddly fashioned mug.

Jo thought for a moment how to put it. "Just artists and voice actors, a few writers. Some were better than others. Keep in mind, a lot of these episodes were made by different people and vary in quality." She smirked when Fluttershy headbutted Twilight out of the way to get at Spike suddenly on the TV.

Twilight's eyes widened at the rough treatment she received. "Oh, I see- Fluttershy never did that!" She looked over quickly at Jo and back to the screen. "Well, she didn't!" Jo was staring back at her like she was nuts.

"Twi', we've already concluded that this is probably more the makers of the show than what actually happened. Are you going to bring up everything that's even a little bit off, or enjoy how we humans have accidentally spied on your world for the last ten years?" Jo crossed her arms and tilted her head questioningly at the other girl.

Twilight's mouth worked for a moment, before she felt an abashed look on her face and replied. "No, I guess not, I do just want to enjoy- Wait... wait, ten years? Jo, ten years? I moved to Ponyville less than two years ago." The expression of the girl across from her paled.

"I... what?" Jo began to think about it carefully, or kinda drunkenly given circumstances. Holy crap, that makes no sense. Time Dilation? "Time Dilation?" She said aloud, echoing her thoughts in the same time.

"Time what?" Twilight repeated back.

Jo stared, then spoke slowly. "My excuse to explain it I guess, maybe time works differently between our worlds, or maybe we don't understand time at all."

After a sort laugh, Jo went on. "Then again, what is time, really?" She raised her glass to take a sip, chuckling more. When Twilight looked at her like she was crazy she coughed and put her drink down.

"Sorry, I guess I don't know, Twilight," she muttered, then added lazily, "Don't you have time travel magic and stuff, though? Starswirl the Bearded invented it or something, right?"

Twilight's face changed from slightly confused by Jo's behavior, to thoughtful over the ideas that were presented. "That... I take it that's in the show too, hm? How else could you know about Starswirl... Yes, time travel is quite the conundrum, even Princess Celestia has never worked out how it works exactly, on a magical level or even in theory. I guess it might be possible that time doesn't correlate between worlds, or maybe that..." She drifted off when she realized she had no idea where she was going with that thought, which surprised and drove her to wanting to study the subject immediately.

"Ooh, the great Twilight Sparkle, at a loss for words?" Jo grinned and jeered back at her. "Well, it's probably just as well. That topic certainly isn't drinking conversation, so it's way over my head." She hopped up smoothly off of the couch and walked over to the computer.

Twilight tried to refocus on the show, realizing she'd missed several minutes of it. Currently, everypony was gathered in a very disorderly looking Summer Sun Celebration... Suddenly, it was back to Fluttershy speaking to Spike. "Huh?"

"I rewound it." Jo said walking back to the couch. "I won't keep doing that though if you don't pay attention. We can talk about stuff after it's finished, okay?"

That is so incredibly awesome. Twilight thought with her best impression of Rainbow. She grinned and nodded at Jo. Pinkie Pie had made her reappearance then, and was busy doing what Pinkie did best at the moment. Pinkie Pie's pretty accurate alright, I think she's a little more hyper than this though.

Twilight's eyes widened when her mane and tail suddenly burst into fire. "AAH! What!?" She kept watching, and a moment later it was apparent that she was not hurt in any serious way from the flames. "Jo, what was that!?"

"Huh, what was wha- Oh," Jo caught on to what she had freaked out about easily. "It's a cartoon, Twilight. They use a lot of over-exaggerated visuals to try and make people laugh."

"Why is my poor mane being on fire funny? How did hot sauce even do that?" Twilight asked back and frowned sadly, still watching.

"Aaah, I couldn't really say, I guess over the top stuff that's so ridiculous and impossible is considered funny. It loses its literal meaning becaushe of how silly it is." Jo looked over and managed to grab Twilight's still shocked attention after a moment. "Make shense?" She took a couple chips and smiled while popping them into her mouth.

Twilight nodded, a light smile reappearing as she continued to watch. "Yeah, I can see how that could be funny, I guess." The scene changed again, and now it was again of the town hall and the Summer Sun Celebration itself. It was odd for the unicorn, following the speed at which things happened. In her memory, she could recall almost every single minute of that day with the strangely drawn show as a reference.

Twilight leaned over and tugged on Jo's shirt, something huge beginning to really bother her. "Jo, why do all of the ponies look the same-"

"Twilight... it's just a cartoon. As in, it isn't real?" Jo laughed and shook her head, smiling. "Please save the questions for the end." The other girl sighed and looked back at the TV with a frown.

"Alright, fine." Twilight crossed her arms and sulked, but quickly became re-immersed. "I swear that teal one... or is it mint green? Anyway, I swear I see her everywhere... I could... She seems familiar. Hm, at least I recognized a couple cutie marks, like Bon Bon."

Pinkie Pie began rambling again on the TV, then Fluttershy's bird choir began to announce something, afterwards it was revealed to be the Mayor. Twilight watched eagerly, remembering the eerily familiar moments as they happened. Princess Celestia was then announced, and she knew what was going to happen next. A tightness came into her chest as she recalled the despairing memory. A voice suddenly tore her away from the one of the darkest moments in her life.

"So, Twilight, sorry to interrupt... But I've always wondered, what happened to Princess Celestia?"

Twilight glanced over for a moment, then re-transfixed herself on the cartoon. "Hm? Oh, I don't know, she never told me." As dark as the thought of losing the princess was, she debated, the reality of losing everypony together was far worse. She realized that her life had taken the worst turn it ever had with the events she was currently living. Being trapped away from Equestria was far worse than anything she had ever dealt with before.

"What?" Jo began to reply. "Aw, so you don't know anything? Come on, Twilight, I've been wondering this stuff my whole life! Gimme some back story here-"

"Hey," Twilight interrupted. "How come when I ask questions I get chided, but you can ask questions during the part where-" Just then, the first episode of the show ended, Nightmare Moon's entrance and threats already over.

Twilight jerked her head back towards the TV, her friend's hypocrisy already forgotten. The credits for the show's first episode began, and immediately the main character of that episode reacted in turn. "What!? No! There's more! There's way way way more! Where's the re-"

"Eeeasy, girl, that was just the first episode." Jo chuckled and leaned back, hands tucked behind her head. "The premiere takes place over two of these, and there are four seasons for the show. Plenty more for us to watch, just let me know when you get your fill and I'll put a stop to it, okay?" She glanced over, smiling, then nearly died of a heart attack.

Twilight had shot across the couch and was squeezing the smaller woman in the tightest hug that she had ever received in her life. "OhthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouJo!" This went on for about thirty seconds, as Jo's cries for her to stop and get off fell on deaf ears. Eventually, she managed to squirm through the other girl's grip and fell onto the floor beside her couch.

"You're welcome already! Crap on a stick Twilight, chill!" Jo panted from the adrenaline her body had released from so much movement induced panic. "Hey, you okay?"

Twilight was staring at the ground in a daze. "I never really thought of just how much I depended on them, you know? They were the first real friends I ever had. Now that they're gone I..." She looked away quickly, then brought her face back up and tried to help Jo up. "Can I see more now? Please?" Her expression was calm and collected.

Jo stood up with her help and found her seat again, after Twilight scooted back to her own spot that is. "Yeah Twilight, the other one should play any second."

"Yay." Twilight grinned and clapped her hands with a childlike happiness.

If she's this cartoonishly adorable as a human, Equestria is deadly to humans then. Jo could feel her heart surprisingly clench at being reintroduced to the character, and in the flesh too. The idea of a herd of ponies acting like this was almost too much for her normally dark expressions to handle.

"It took me hours to research the Elements of Harmony book, I didn't just read a single page and know it all!"

"There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known. Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said, the last known location of-" The FiM version of Twilight was quickly interrupted by yet another groan of disgust from the real Twilight.

"Now wait, how could the last element be a mystery? Princess Celestia herself used the elements and detailed in dozens of references everything about them! Granted they were ancient, unused tools that hadn't been needed in centuries, but why would the reference guide for them not know the identity of one particular element. Namely, the one that the main character of course ends up with!" Twilight again pointed an accusatory finger at the screen from where she sat, glaring angrily. "It's just a poor excuse for a literary tool in this farce of a story! It-!"

Jo sloshed her cup and leaned over across at Twilight, tilting her head in a mocking fashion. "Twilight, please, if you're going to keep watching this, like you want, just turn your brain off—yes that'sh a figure of speech, no humans can't actually do that—and just pay attention to the dang show, would you?"

"You interrupt it as much as I do!" Twilight held her mouth open in an expression of shock, then scowled when Jo burst out into a strange kind of giggling.

"Heh, yeah, I shorta do." Jo kept laughing and was overall proving to be as big a distraction as all of the strange inconsistencies, visuals, and incorrect lines of the moving play itself.

I wonder what's gotten into her, she seems so carefree right now. Twilight ignored the cackling mare beside her and refocused on the show, a content smile growing from having someone friendly there with her. Tonight turned out to be alright. She reflected briefly on how badly things had seemed just an hour ago, now they were akin to a distant, bad dream.

The show continued, and Twilight and Jo watched the mane six's journey through the Everfree forest with vested interest. The latter hadn't seen the show in a decade, and the former was reliving the events that had made her who she was today.

"But we were in the Everfree for a few days, this show makes it seem like it was a walk in the park to find the Elements of Harmony!"

Jo sighed. "Twilight, I'm starting to feel like a broken record over here."

"Just listen a second, I've been quiet for forever. So another thing, I get that the show wants to give everyone a chance to demonstrate how they achieved synchronization with their Element, but those situations were just silly! Also, those trees did not sit still like that, those were dangerous! Although Pinkie Pie did giggle at them while we ran away..." Twilight looked back and forth between Jo, who lazily listened from her side of the couch, and the still playing season one premiere, episode two.

"So let me get this shtraight." Jo straightened up and looked levelly at Twilight, pausing until the other girl met her eyes. "You're telling me, that Rarity didn't cut off her tail and weld it onto a flamboyant sea dragon's face so you could cross a raging river?"

"...No, that one did happen, actually. But Applejack-!"

"Twilight, if you don't pipe down I'm going to go get some salami from the fridge and eat it in front of you." Jo maintained her serious look, until a slight grin snuck onto her face.

Twilight looked confused for a second then frowned and looked back at the TV, realizing what this 'salami' probably was. "Please don't..." She mumbled darkly.

Jo blinked and sat up. "Ah... Sorry, I'm sorry Twilight that was... I wasn't thinking. It was a bad joke, sorry."

"It's alright, Jo." Twilight looked back and gave a reassuring smile, trying to let Jo know no damage was done. "Lets keep watching, we're about to rescue princess Luna!"

Jo pulled her legs up onto the couch again, folding her arms against herself. "Yeah, okay." It was getting cold in the room. Looking around she spotted one of her blankets on the floor and got up to grab it. "Still, I'm really sorry about that." She looked up at Twilight in surprise, who had beaten her to and picked up the blanket.

"It's okay, nopony's perfect." Twilight smiled widely and tossed the blanket over the human's head. "Now I won't say it again, pay attention!"

As the final credits for the show began to roll, and a few more quips over it were traded between the two girls, Jo got up and excused herself for a moment. Twilight watched her curiously, but didn't know what to think about it. The other girl seemed to be having some trouble walking straight.

Maybe my unsteadiness is contagious? Twilight tossed the idea out as silliness, and thought of a far more interesting discrepancy, amongst others. Why in Celestia's name was my Element a tiara? Her head turned and she scratched her mane confusedly, unable to come up with a good reason for the random change. Humans sure are weird, Rarity would've had a tiara if any of us could, I would think.

"Twilight, is there any popcorn left?" Jo poked her head in while the beginning for the next episode began.

"Yeah, plenty, come on you're going to miss the next one! Spike's in it already!" Twilight bounced on the couch excitedly and motioned to the other girl to join her.

"I'll be right back, I'm getting another drink, would you like some water, milk or maybe soda?" Jo listed the items off of one hand as she went down the list.

Twilight thought on the choices for a moment, "Anything's fine, I could try a human drink though, uh, assuming... you know." She made a sickly face at the thought of a meat drink, then looked at the TV again.

Jo's stomach felt queasy thinking of what Twilight had just suggested she had in the fridge. "Right." One drink, hold the meat, coming right up. Rather than confirm or correct the assumption, she simply went to replenish the beverages already.

My Little Ponyyyy, My Little Pooonyyyy

Twilight's eyes widened while she listened to the song she had missed once, but had paid rapt attention to during the second go around. "I used to wonder what friendship could beee." She sang along happily, but once her friends... or, the 'voice actors' chorused in, she had to stop. She just wanted to listen to them. While Jo was still gone, her hand reached up and ran down the smooth screen that her friends were depicted upon again and again, right there for her.

I miss you girls... I'm going to get home, somehow. After a second of consideration, another decision joined her first. This is the best night ever... on Earth. Twilight Sparkle knew she'd only had two nights on Earths so far, but she decided it was a nice day after all.

Chapter 8 : I Feel A Disturbance...

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Twilight Sparkle suppressed another yawn and used the metal spatula to flip the eggs on the stove top. The stove had been easy to figure out—thanks to the clearly labeled knobs and dials—even if it wasn't your standard wood or magic fairing type. More human ingenuity at work, she decided, to be sure.

Odd or not, Twilight considered, Even without magic the humans' metal working is at least on par with our own. She studied the finely wrought spatula as it turned over in her hand. Meanwhile, she waited for the other side of the only things that resembled food in the kitchen to finish cooking—two eggs.

Twilight sighed, Jo wasn't kidding when she said she had no food left. The ice box—which amazingly had no ice and obviously no magic spell—had been devoid of anything but some ancient bag of uneaten apples. Well, and those metal cans labeled 'bud wheezer'. Whatever those were. She turned off the fascinating, probably 'electric' kitchen appliance and went to fetch her still sleeping friend.

Jo was still upstairs sleeping, and had been a motionless pile of blankets on the one end of the couch since the night before—or earlier morning, Twilight supposed. The unicorn had been talking to Jo for an hour and through several episodes of cartoons before realizing the other mare hadn't been awake for quite some time. So embarrassing.... But I guess it isn't so bad if I was the only witness.

Twilight held a hand up to her mouth and covered another yawn while climbing the stairs. She had gone back to sleep, reluctantly, but only after the last episode had finished playing on the TV. That episode had been of the first Grand Galloping Gala she had attended with her friends. It was quite the night a couple years ago... and certainly her most memorable gala. It was just odd to her, watching her life replayed after a fashion, but with lots of little bits and pieces changed on the whole. Certain details didn't match, where as others were identical. The weirdest one definitely had to be when that jerk, Blueblood, showed up as a prince. Equestria doesn't even have princes, how does that make sense? Oh, he would just love that, too. The thought of the rotten stallion noble wasn't a welcomed one.

Twilight shrugged the strangeness of the show off and drifted to instead think about the creators of said show. They were hard to forget about. I can't believe thousands... or wait, millions? Maybe even billions of humans watched a reenactment of me and the girls cause that disaster at the gala. Just thinking about that again made Twilight's face heat up to a bright red. Oh well, at least I didn't see an episode more embarrassing than that one, although some were close... Another sigh escaped her as she topped the staircase. Still, as creepily accurate as some of those scenes were, they really mess up the simple stuff. Fluttershy would never yell at animals like that... Despite her criticisms, Twilight had guiltily snickered the night before through nearly everything in the human's show.

Twilight's bizarre replacement for her back legs' hooves took her down the hall to where the door for Jo's room lay open, surprisingly enough.

"Jo, are- Holy hay fries!" She had to catch herself on the wall to keep from falling over. "Uhm, I see that, uhm, you're up."

Jo stood in the doorway to her room, looking a great deal as if she had just crawled out of a changeling's cocoon. The girl's hair was matted on one side, and her eyes bagged horribly.

"What?" The other mare's voice was a croak. She coughed and cleared her throat noisily while running a hand down her intimidating state. "You're up early."

Twilight stared after Jo as she crossed the hall into the bathroom, shaking herself to get an answer out. "O-Oh, it's one in the afternoon, Jo. We both kind of slept in, and by the way there's an egg for you downstairs-!" The bathroom door abruptly closed behind the other mare while she was still speaking. "Ah, hmm."

The door opened again a moment later.

"Sorry Twilight, not used to having someone else in the house." Jo put her hands behind herself and earned a wince from Twilight when her spine popped. "Uggh, it's rough sleeping like that... My back's killing me."

"No trouble at all," Twilight tried to keep a bemused look at the human's sleepy unawareness from taking over her own face. "I mean, I don't even know what to do yet or anything, right? So we're not in a hurry." She bit her lip and looked to the side, "Sorry, that sounded more obtuse than I meant it to..."

"Lemme wake up, then we'll get down to business." Jo said in a comforting tone and accentuated by a confident stance. The wild bed-head and wrinkled clothing detracted from it, though. "I think you said something about remembering what landed you so far from cartoon land-"

"Equestria, Jo," Twilight corrected flatly.

"I'm just kidding." Jo waved a hand. "Like I was saying, from Equestria, so maybe we can start there."

As Jo shut the door again, Twilight added, "I just made the last of your food, by the way. You're out of food now."

Jo called back over the sound of running water. "Oh, that's right. We sat on our duffs talking all day yesterday. Sure we can go get some stuff, just give me, like, ten minutes."

Twilight leaned back against the door opposite the one Jo had used. Just what exactly does 'getting down to business' entail, though? An unwelcome frown accompanied the unwelcome thought and she began to go back down the stairs. It's clear that I have nothing to work with, my stay here may very well be a forced vacation. She chose to use the word vacation; it made the situation seem less grim. To her, the reality was simply that even if it were possible to get back without magic, which very well may be the case, it wasn't something the humans had themselves discovered. As impressive as their gadgets were, they clearly weren't at all magic's equal.

Twilight gingerly stepped over a calico patterned cat that had decided to sleep on the staircase; she had almost stepped on it. Hopefully Princess Celestia will find me, barring that... I may be- Well, no, I'll learn everything there is to know about wires and circuits before I admit to... to...

Twilight paused at the doorway to the kitchen with a determined look, not daring to continue the sequential line of thinking. I'll see you girls again, just you wait.

"It was pretty surreal, definitely, but I rather enjoyed it. I only slept a little bit afterwards, but it was peaceful. I think that what you did for me really helped out, Jo." Twilight leaned forward as much as she could, trying to make eye contact with her friend driving the car. She currently wore a thick sweater and some slacks that Jo had found that may not have even been hers. They were too short, and came up above Twilight's ankles a good deal, but considering their slim options—not to mention the chilling fall weather—it worked out fine.

"Well that's good to hear, and sorry for passing out on you like that. I must have fairly quickly too, the last one I remember was 'Winter Wrap Up'." Jo tapped a finger on her steering wheel while she drove into the pathetically small city she lived outside of.

It hadn't come up yet, but when driving a car you were supposed to keep your eyes on the road, at least if you wanted to stay on it. The other girl kept leaning on one elbow onto the dash though, trying in vain to make polite conversational eye contact.

There wasn't any music playing. Jo had jokingly offered to play more of the songs from the day before. At this Twilight had quickly, and then more politely turned down the suggestion. Even a short, more docile example of a song had been refused.

"Wow, then you were out for a while before I noticed." Twilight leaned forward again while she answered Jo. She laughed and teased, "You must love your rest if you can fall asleep and stay that way during something so funny."

Jo rolled her eyes and sucked in a tired breath. "Yep, Rainbow Dash ain't got nothing on little old me. I'm glad it helped you out, Twilight." After a moment, she added, "Aaalso, I'm glad that reality didn't collapse in on itself." She slowly turned the steering wheel for her uncle's old mid-life-crisis car and pulled into the parking lot for her city's grocery store.

Meanwhile, Twilight's eyes widened in shock where she was still trying to lean forward and make eye contact. More so now from the notion that had been put into her purple head. "Why on Equestria would our existence be in jeopardy because of that!?" she almost shouted.

Jo spared the girl a glance and chuckled. "I didn't really mean it, Twilight. I dunno, in a lot of shows and stuff they say if you encounter yourself somehow it can create a paradox and shatter the world. The thought just now crossed my mind, 'huh, she's kind of meeting herself from another world. I wonder if it'll blow up now?'" The shorter girl smirked quickly at the other before parking.

Twilight frowned back. "That's... pretty dark, do humans have anything to base that theory off of? We might need to be careful if-" She began to wrack her brain over possible contingencies, when Jo came to the rescue.

"Don't worry about it, Twilight. We're perfectly safe, humans just like to think of worst case scenarios... a lot. It seems to kind of be what we do. You know, getting fascinated by everything there is." Jo stared out the window a moment before shutting off the car. It had come to stop just a few spots from the front of the grocery store. "Speaking of which, showing you more about humanity is going to be..." She looked over at the other human while formulating more to say, trying to picture her as the technicolor pony she had allegedly been.

"It's going to be what?" Twilight asked, standing outside of her side's door. On her feet were a temporary pair of sandals, until something more permanent that fit her could be bought. She found them comfortable enough, though very different from the sollerets and shoes that would fit onto her hooves. "Also, are you going to stay in there all day?"

Jo snapped out of it. The other girl's bright smile shone, almost like an euphemism for how innocent she and likely her entire people seemed to be. "No, I'm not. Because that means you'd have to do the shopping." She stood up and out of the car and swung the gull-wing door closed. "Anyway, I don't want to just cop out and say 'interesting'. From the sounds of it, Earth and its inhabitants aren't as tame as your world, Twi'. On top of that, we have a lot of problems that have sprung up as a result."

"I see," Twilight answered. "I think I understand where you're going with that..." Her expression held a considering look, as if thinking about the possibilities. She stood still beside the open car door.

"It's just, uh, complicated." Jo put a reassuring hand on Twilight's shoulder while she closed the other door. "It's not so big of a deal right now. We just need to get you home, so if you don't want to know more about us-"

"Oh but I do!" Twilight exclaimed back, smiling again as they walked towards the store. "Even if I'm here under, hm, less than ideal circumstances, your race is still fascinating." Her expression flattened some from the joyful smile. "I also want to focus primarily on getting home though. So, we'll see, Jo." After a second she added, "But thanks for looking out for me."

"Alright, just remember whenever we're in public, humans are very much a mixed bag. Around here you don't worry about anyone. Everyone in my town is pretty friendly, at least at the businesses. They gotta be if they want customers..." Jo trailed as she realized she was rambling, and Twilight was giving her a slightly funny look mixed with attentiveness. I'm over thinking this. "Just uh, be friendly when dealing directly with someone, but try to lay off randomly waving or smiling at people you don't know. Strangers sometimes take that the wrong way or get suspicious." She mulled over the words, hoping they had been the best advice she could offer.

Just do what I do, ignore everyone... A grimace pointed at the ground as a result of the last thought she had on the matter.

"I... see..." Twilight seemed a little crestfallen as a result of the explanation. "I wonder why humans are so... actually, is there a reason why humans are like this? Ponies are by and far very upbeat, even the overworked or snooty or lonely ones." She flopped one of her hands along with her head while she named off the few examples of ponies. "I mean, so far you seem just like anypony I might meet in Ponyville, if maybe a bit rough around the edges. Hehe, no offense. And your description of strangers is, honestly, kind of what I would expect from anywhere."

Jo raised an eyebrow and tried to look insulted, but smiled and got one back from Twilight.

"It's just..." Twilight continued. "I dunno, if anything, humans seem the same, but there are different factors in your world that point them towards different things. Like meat for example, or perhaps the lack of magic, or maybe even the fact there are so many more of you... Which by the way is a huge inconsistency with what I've come to expect of any race's natural procreative methods, other than parasprites that is... By the way, the show overly exaggerated about those little creatures a bit much and their rate of- Anyway, oh, not to call you humans parasprites by any means!"

Jo laughed inwardly and shook her head, then grabbed a shopping cart and walked alongside Twilight, guiding the wayward unicorn with a hand while she was miles away in speaking her thoughts aloud. The purple headed girl gasped when the automatic doors opened suddenly, then continued talking as if nothing had happened.

Twilight narrowly missed the edge of a fruit counter, laden with pineapples and watermelons. She was busy watching the automatic doors close behind her. "-ou mentioned at some point that there are eight billion humans on Earth, to achieve that many ponies, uh, hm, humans I mean-"

"People," Jo added in, correcting her. She had explained in detail the day before several nuances to the English language that Equestrians didn't seem to share, along with a few ways humans liked to bastardize it, too. Twilight had shown no love for the reality that was 'slang'.

"Right, people. Anyway, for that many humans to have fallen in love and given birth continuously over the course of your world's, er 'planet's' history... Why, they would have to fall in love and begin families far, far more than any other race in Equestria! Are humans almost purely focused on seeking their life partner? Dragons are somewhat like that, but they typically search for centuries. Perhaps, simply looking isn't the right explanation. Still, it isn't quite, uhm..."

"Logical?" Jo offered, glancing out of one eye to Twilight while she grabbed a bag of celery. She frowned slightly at the bag. I can't even remember the last time I bought celery. Oh well, it goes great with peanut butter. Gah, stop that Jo, you're getting food for Twilight. Hm, if she's going to be vegetarianing it up, she'll need to eat a lot of eggs to get a good nutrition, which shouldn't be a problem since she likes them. At least I learned that much this morning; ponies eat milk and eggs.

"Right! Logical." Twilight nodded her head rapidly, smiling over her friend's attentiveness. "Is there an explanation for that, Jo?"

Jo had moved on, and was now busy comparing two brands of spaghetti. Hm, can't get meatballs, so maybe I should get the angel hair spaghetti, although it's a little bit more... Or maybe-

"Uh, Jo?" Twilight popped up in front of the other girl where she'd ducked and stood up between her and the Italian noodles.

"Wahh!" Jo nearly fell backwards, her left foot trying to back pedal too quickly and running into her right. Luckily, her attacker was close enough that she grabbed her by the arms to hold her up.

Twilight immediately apologized, her hands still wrapped around Jo's skinny arms. "Sorry! Sorry, I get carried away when I'm trying to figure something out. Or when I'm nervous... or when I have to-"

"Twilight," Jo dropped both boxes of spaghetti into the cart and held a hand over her heart to still its fearful beating. Flying Spaghetti Monster, thank you for not giving me Pinkie Pie to deal with, I would have died already. "It's fine, and as for humans... let's process of eliminate here."

Twilight cocked her head to one side with a confused look, "Oh, you mean use process of elimination."

"Yeah," Jo confirmed back to her taller associate. "That, same thing."

A quick laugh of understanding and Twilight then nodded in agreement. "Okay, what do you have in mind?" She asked back.

"Well, with humans it takes nine months for us to have a kid, how long does it take a pony- er, a mare." Jo specified after a thought. She stood with her hands on her hips while deducing with her Equestrian friend.

"Hm, eight months, actually. Not a big difference, I think I see where you're going with this; that the inherent differences may lay with our physical variables, not our societal. What about the likelihood of humans to successfully have a child or achieving fertilization?" Twilight furrowed her brow whilst the two puzzled out the finer workings and differences of their two peoples.

"Pretty good, actually, I take it that ponies have very, very low odds of successfully having a child when they mate?" Jo smirked a little when Twilight put on a disconcerted look after catching the wordage she had used.

Twilight looked warily to the side and answered slowly, perhaps put off by the wording. "...Not so, ponies and most races in Equestria are fairly consistent, and usually only need to try a couple more times if their honeymoon wasn't successful. Okay so, you're figuring out why our own population might be so low? Not why yours is... high?" She put on a thoughtful look for a moment after catching Jo's drift, the pieces of the two's quest for knowledge falling together in her head.

"Hm... I can't think of any particular reason that ours is low, rather, yours is extraordinary. It doesn't make sense, we seem to match almost identically in terms of basic anatomy and on the physical side of things..." Innocently, Twilight shrugged and kept walking down the aisle. "Honestly, I just figured humans might be way, way better at finding their one true love."

Jo held up a hand and stopped the girl in her tracks. No way. She decided she had figured it out. The difference between humans—and pretty much every animal on Earth—from Equestria, was glaring. "Twilight," she began slowly. "Are you suggesting, no, in fact, are you telling me that ponies only... have sex, when they've fallen for one another? In 'True Love'?"

"Jo!" Twilight's mouth hung open a moment, then she clasped a hand over Jo's. "You can't- not out loud! That's a really inappropriate word for a public setting." She glanced every which way and ducked her head as though she were passing along a secret, or a spy's dossier.

Jo's mouth drew into a thin line of consternation under the other girl's hand. So we can talk about banging scientifically all day, but say the 's' word and you're done? Briefly, her mind wandered and she imagined how the pervier side of the show's old following might respond to this breaking news about ponies being prudes. It's as if I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Her grin split her face at the same time her laughter picked up, she pulled Twilight off of her after. "My bad, Twilight. It's not exactly public conversation on Earth, either. However-"

Twilight ceased looking around and scouting for someone who may overhear them to pay attention. "However?" She repeated, a worried look still on her face.

"I've figured your little conundrum over our population out. The reason humans are so numerous on Earth, is because we don't just do it to have children, or use 'True Love' as a requirement to get busy." Jo watched while Twilight's face became more and more terror stricken at what was being said. The web designer couldn't help herself, she grinned wickedly and pushed the cart away down the aisle to the next item on her list. "That's right, when a guy and a gal are in the mood on Earth, they just ge-"

"No! Nononono, no! No! Just, no! I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear any of it! No!" Twilight clasped her hands over her ears and remained back by the noodles, Jo walking away casually, except for the cackling laughter she couldn't help but indulge in.

It was probably a little bit too mean, Jo decided, and was definitely stretching the truth. People are just so random, there's not much we won't do, but we're all minor cliques and subdivisions of thought. She sighed and picked up a thing of ginger ale, placing it under the cart. Oh well, maybe this will get her to remember to wear clothes from now on.

"I can't believe you would tease me like that Jo." Twilight caught up alongside of Jo to catch her friend. The steps she took in the longer stride were... anything but graceful, but she managed to come to a stop again without teetering over. "Gwah, phew," She laid a hand on the cart to steady herself and scowled at Jo. "Did you really mean all of that? Or were you pulling a prank?"

Jo nodded while tossing a few more things into the cart nonchalantly. It was starting to get full. "Eh, more or less I was telling the truth, but I embellished a little. Humans don't hold 'True Love' as you put it as a requirement, but we usually look for it, even if we don't all strictly believe we can find it. We definitely aren't very modest as a whole, either, but people don't just do it randomly or without thought. Honestly, it depends on the country, the culture, and the person. People are weird, everyone's different. Oh, hey, if I had to give a good example you might get, people are a bit like Discord, but without the powers or scary magic that could bend reality."

There was a sudden gasp and the sound of glass shattering.

Jo's head jerked around, Twilight had stopped in the hall and had widened eyes locked onto her. Behind the other girl, a grocer cursed over having dropped a glass bottle of marinara sauce.

"Discord!? Y- How do you know about him? Oh, right, the show," Twilight gasped again. "Jo! What if he's the reason my potion went wrong? What if-"

Jo calmed down upon seeing nothing was wrong, and relaxed, she began to weather the storm of worrying as she imagined she would many more. She waited and hoped that her own deflated look would spread to Twilight, as the girl had erupted into another one of the nervous rambling panic attacks she oft engaged in. Hm, I wonder if there was ever a pizza in an episode of 'Friendship is Magic...' Twilight said they had a pony Italy, so they probably do... Her random thoughts kept her distracted while Twilight explained fully the possibilities of Discord being involved.

"-I wonder, could he be here right now? What if he's watching me, just waiting to see if I'll cave in and beg for his help... Jo I- AAH!" Twilight dropped to the ground under her hands when the loudspeaker suddenly came on overhead.

Clean up in aisle-

"It's him! DISCORD, WHEN I GET MY HOOVES- er, hands on you, I'll-!" Twilight was cut off when a certain, short human hauled her back up to standing. The act from Jo also put a stop to the fist shaking Twilight had been doing at the ceiling.

Jo stared seriously at Twilight while she spluttered, still going, and obviously still in a heightened state of alert. Finally, the other girl's calm clued her in. The random stares from several other grocery goers also calmed her down.

Twilight began to laugh nervously and waved to one elderly couple, their faces stark terror at what they were seeing unfold. "Eh-heh, sorry everypony..." She gulped, "I'm not crazy, I pro-"

"Just quit while you're ahead, Twilight," Jo sighed out. "That was a loudspeaker, silly. They use it to talk to the employees and the shoppers without going to find them." She gestured at the ceiling with one hand. "Now calm down, if Discord was here I doubt that he would have been quiet for this long, he'd be gloating every second he got the chance, assuming his episodes were anything to go by..."

While Jo spoke, Twilight wrung her hands ashamedly on her sweater's edge and looked around nervously at the other humans paying close attention to her.

"Now, are you alright?" Jo asked. At Twilight's jerky nod, she smirked. "Alright, let's keep shopping then. Let me know if you see anything you'd like to try, too."

As her new friend turned exit the aisle they were in, Twilight sighed and slumped heavily at her shoulders. A little tiredly, she turned to look at the elderly couple again as they walked away. It's... so strange being surrounded by something other than ponies. Humans look really, really weird too. She felt guilty over the thought, but it was true to her opinion. Good thing that if I think something unkind, I can leave it unsaid. A little smile crooked her face and she moved to follow after Jo.

"So Discord's in the show, too? I can't imagine how ridiculous that must be..." Twilight shuddered as she came up alongside Jo again, the other mare busy comparing two little plastic bags that read 'ramen'. "Well, this trip has certainly been educational, huh?" She laughed nervously while Jo looked up briefly and flashed her a smile.

"Yeah, it has been," Jo replied simply.

"Not just that, but all considering I feel alright, too. I barely even realize where I am, in a strange new world. Maybe I'm the first pony to ever leave mine! Well, except maybe Luna, since she was imprisoned in the moon... But this is surely way further away than even that." Twilight put on a faux cheerful look. "So, while I'm here I might as well learn some about it. When I get back, maybe I'll get to be an ambassador." She pointed a finger at the little plastic packaging. "So what's this?"

“A blessing from the gods, when you’re in college anyway.” Jo snarked back, smiling smartly. She dumped about forty of the packages into the filling cart.

“Really? But I thought you didn't have supernatural anything? I'm really confused on that, Jo, you said people just had overly active imaginations and that everything in my world doesn't exist here. So which is it? Also, why would a god work in the food industry..."

Jo pushed the cart out of the last aisle to the store, it was well on its way to full. All I need to get now is some frozen stuff like a pizza and some chicken and...- Her eyes widened as she was met by the age old open freezers of the frozen goods side of the market. The realization that she had been walking towards such obviously meat oriented things slammed into her like a semi. How did I not think of this all morning!? Aaugh, stupid Jo. She looked over at the still happily chatting Twilight.

"Heeeey, Twilight," Jo began, pausing to look at a bottle of ketchup like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Twilight smiled and looked over from examining the shelves at random. "Hm? Yes Jo? Did you have an answer to contribute about-"

"Ah, no," Jo said curtly. "Could you be an awesome pony and go get me some..." She wracked her brain over something that Twilight could go and get, something that she would recognize easily. "Candy!" Her brain burst out for her. Dammit, was that the best you could do? An angry reply drawled back, Eh, you get what you pay for, lady.

"Sure thing! I saw that aisle all the way back by the vegetables. That's a really strange place to put it now that I think about it-" Twilight held a hand up to her chin thoughtfully, but an antsy Jo interrupted her again.

"Oh yeah, yeah, it is." Jo paused and thought, Actually, yeah that's a terrible place to put that- Gah. "Just pick out something that looks good, my treat." She shrugged and smiled what she hoped was a convincing, totally not suspicious smile.

"Really? Thank you so much Jo, I'll be back in just a moment! See if you can think of another explanation while I'm gone!" The other girl's voice faded out as she rounded another corner, and in the opposite direction of the meatier side of the grocery store.

Jo let out a sigh of relief. "Close one," she muttered. Hurriedly, she pushed the cart into the main aisle and began to procure things she hoped wouldn't set off any alarms.

Twilight happily hummed the human's rendition of a popular working song from back in Equestria. The ponies would typically sing and chorus the tune in question during 'Winter Wrap Up'. Humming it was both a fascinating exercise in both cross cultural examination, as well as simply fun to study the re-envisioned human jingle, verse by happy verse.

And then, Twilight saw something that made her eyes widen by a considerable amount.

The Candy aisle.

How the hay did I miss this? her thoughts asked herself. She must have been busy worrying over Discord at the time.

For Twilight, it was like staring into a corridor of pure sugar and happiness. Sure, she had been in candy stores like Sugarcube Corner or the big confectionery at Canterlot Square, but this was on a whole different level. Candy from red vines to gum drops; candies from any shape to any size lay strewn over the shelves on both sides of the aisles. Impressively, almost everything looked different from one another, too—all within a several meter long section of aisle spread out before her.

“If Pinkie ever finds out about this world, I fear for its residents.” Twilight gulped, wondering how she would ever be able to make a decision on what to get. She loved candy as much as the next mare, especially chocolates... but it wasn't one of her specialties when it came to making random decisions.

"Well I guess I'll just have to pick something based on the flavor." Twilight briefly looked around for the purveyor of the candies displayed around her, and face-hoofed when she recalled there wouldn't be one. Unmanaged open markets, humans must be incredibly honest to just leave all of the products they intend to sell laying out like this. Applejack would be impressed, that's for sure.

Ruling out getting a free taste of something, Twilight picked up a box of very delectable looking chocolates—at least they appeared so judging by the box—and turned it over in her hands. I think chocolate's a pretty safe decision. I think I'll get- She paused and looked at a box that had several different strange, cartoon animals on the side. All of their depictions were of happy, smiling faces. Below them, multicolored versions of themselves hung, professing different flavors each. She shuddered and turned away.

It's nothing strange Twilight, it's just their nature... Gah, who'm I kidding. I'll never get over eating another creature, whether they can talk back to you or not. Factoring in magic or a pony like Fluttershy, she supposed, any animal could talk in Equestria. I wonder if the same is true for Earth, that all this time those animals just can't talk back because they're physically unable...

Twilight walked back towards where she'd last seen Jo, hugging the box of chocolate to her barrel tightly.

Jo placed the last of what she'd decided would be viable food for at least a week in the cart. To be frank, she was the type of person to put off things like shopping, and usually bought canned goods or food that kept a while. Hm, Jack Link's? Or off brand? She hesitated over grabbing one or the other, until a well known voice guided her from the recesses of her mind. You should just get both, It said.

Not a second later did Jo hear Twilight call her name, and cursed, throwing the bags of beef jerky back on the shelf. Sorry Dad, I almost forgot, I have a guest that doesn't take very kindly to tasty animal flesh.

The voice replied, They sound like a weenie.

"You okay, Jo?" Twilight waved a hand in front of her face and Jo looked over.

"Yeah, perfectly perfect. I'm done I think, let's go check out." Jo began to push the cart towards the nearby cash register lane, eagerly wanting to get away from the distracting, meaty salted snacks behind her. I know Twilight said she's fine with the meat thing, but... I should've thought out this trip better.

"Oh, good." Twilight shivered and rubbed her sweater enshrouded arms. "I kind of feel cold, I wouldn't mind getting home, er- To your home, I mean." The small reminder made her grimace. I keep forgetting the library is another world away... Uggh.

Jo gave Twilight and her shaking a worried smile. "How are you feeling? Could you be coming down with something?" When Twilight nodded, she went on. "Huh, we'll check your temperature at the house, I didn't think to this morning." She leaned on the back of the shopping cart and stared into the pile of shopping goods. Don't let the lone proof of extra-dimensional life die from pneumonia, Jo you idiot.

Twilight coughed and cleared her throat. "Okay, yeah I don't know, this doesn't feel like..." She put on an unsure expression. "-Like anything I've ever had before, it's... pretty sudden, and... just different."

Jo turned to face and watch Twilight as the cart stopped, not sure what to say to that.

The cart rolled up to the end of the grocery line, annoyingly enough, several shoppers had only just beaten them to the conveyer. Twilight began to watch intently at the normal, everyday chore of grocery shopping with vested interest. A mother in front of the duo was quickly placing items and foods onto the moving counter while desperately trying to control a little girl—probably hers. To the two standing at the back of the line, she didn't seem to be having much luck in doing so.

"Jessica, stand, still! I mean it!" The probably-the-mother shouted and swiped a hand at the child that ducked away and around the cart. The little girl's crying and wailing shifted immediately to laughter as she sensed a chase. Her legs took her swiftly from the mother where she promptly grabbed a candy bar from the side of the narrow lane.

The mother was angrily shouting at the little girl to come back, while she stood on the other side of the shopping carts proudly, opening the treat she had liberated for herself.

Twilight stood, shocked at the display for a moment, and looked over at Jo. Jo shrugged back, and paid close attention to the shopping cart.

Twilight looked back at the little girl, and their eyes met for a moment. She stared for a moment, then smiled and lowered herself down towards the rogue human child. "Hi there!" The wide eyed child stared back with a stupefied look. "Uhm, hello?" The little girl took a step back, and a bite from the candy bar.

Twilight was about to continue, perhaps share a lesson about how behaving could improve your relation with not just your parents but others- The mother had rounded the area through an empty aisle though, and snatched up the girl's hand. A loud, obnoxious verbal berating and crying returned to the open area. Everyone in line sighed, except for Twilight and Jo.

"Hey are you okay?" Jo asked, lending her friend a hand.

Twilight had been caught off guard enough to have fallen backwards on her behind. "I'm okay, I-"

"And you, don't encourage my daughter to misbehave or even come near her." The mother narrowed her eyes at Twilight, all the while spewing hatred. "Honestly, who do you think you are!? Mind your own business." The cart ahead of them pushed away, sobbing girl and angry mother behind it. "I can't believe the nerve of the trash around here these days."

Twilight stared after the stranger with an expression bordering on a mix of blank, confusion, shock and fear. The helping hand offered to her went unnoticed, and Jo had to help her up by her shoulders.

Jo glared at the other pedestrians that stared at them until they looked away. "Hey, it's fine, I had your back. Just ignore her." She tried to reassure the unresponsive Equestrian in the only way she knew how, but it was out of her element. "Twilight?"

When an answer didn't come, Jo kept silent, a little more aware now at how attention grabbing her friend's brightly colored hair was.

"Why did she act that way? I wanted to help, if I could." Twilight swallowed hard and stayed close to Jo, while the other girl put things on the strange moving tabletop. The whimsy and interest she'd had at watching human transactions was gone.

Jo was about to keep silent on the matter, until the cash register lady looked at her and busily began to scan items inconspicuously. "Some people are just insensitive or mean like that, Twilight. All you can do is... ignore them and play things by ear." After a moment, and she wasn't sure why, she added, "When you can, you still act nice to them, hopefully they catch on." She glanced at Twilight, who stared thoughtfully at the slowly drifting products on the counter. "Eventually..."

"I just don't get it, I guess." Twilight shrugged, and did a good job of putting on a cheerful grin under her uncertain eyes. "I think I know what you meant now, by people being so varied... it's a bit like if the other, meaner creatures on Equestria were all ponies, too."

Jo smirked back at her, wanting to just undo the altercation that had just happened. "Just pretend she was secretly a changeling, and she thought you were about to discover her sinister plan of evil." She laughed when Twilight's eyes bugged for a moment, then relaxed again.

"That's not funny Jo," Twilight said, weakly laughing back after a moment.

The automatic doors opened up for the pair while they made their way out to Jo's car.

"I'm still not sure I believe those at least, aren't magic." Twilight stared back at the sliding doorway as they continued out into the fall weather air, and shuddered when a strong breeze whipped by.

"I'm telling you, one hundred percent not magic." Jo opened the trunk and began filling the small space with their numerous bags of nourishment.

"I'll have to... research it to know for sure," Twilight leaned against the side of the car while Jo unloaded the cart.

The other girl peered around the trunk door at the significantly subdued Twilight. Guess it's past time I got her home. Jo thought, frowning at the ground. If I ever see that... dammit, I would have told that jerk off any other day of the week. She considered the thought for a moment while she got into her car along with Twilight. Moral conundrums, what's right, what's wrong. I dunno, ponies seem to have the right of it though if Twilight's never been yelled at for no reason by some random stranger.

Jo started the DeLorean. "Hey Twi'," She looked over at the Equestrian, who had a dimness to her expression. "When we get back, we'll look at cute cat pictures online, that'll cheer us right up."

Twilight flashed a smile before slumping once more, resting against the side of her seat. "Sounds great, Jo...think I might just...go to sleep though."

"Are you sure you're fine, Twilight. You don't need anything else?" Jo asked pensively from the side of the bed at Twilight.

"I'm alright," Twilight hugged the cool pillow to her face, a pounding unlike any she had ever felt going on in her head. Her stomach felt upset and her body ached too, they were alien feelings. "I just want to go to sleep, so I don't have to be awake right now."

Jo frowned at the immobile form of her friend. "Alright, I'll be right back though I'm going to get you some cold medicine and stuff for you, it should help. I'm pretty sure that's what you have."

Twilight glanced up from the pillow after her friend had gone. Medicine, huh? I've never had to take medicine for anything before. Guess there's a first time for everything... Her head plonked back down on the pillow while she waited for what she hoped would be a miracle cure. I can't believe how wicked that mare was, I wasn't...maybe she thought that I was being mean to her daughter? I guess it could have been that, just a misunderstanding. Her thoughts continued to wander while she laid prone, trying to work through the pain in her head.

"Twilight, you still awake?" Jo asked again from the bedside. "Here, sit up, I've got some stuff for you."

Twilight peeked out of one eye, keeping the other clamped shut against the pain, then sat up. "Mm'kay."

"Just hit the button on this thing here if you need me, alright?" Jo watched as her guest shuddered after gulping the cough medicine, then eagerly washed it down with some water.

"Uggh, that was terrible, that's what medicine tastes like?" Twilight grimaced and laid back down.

Jo rolled her eyes, "Well, I don't know what kind of fancy magic you use in Equestria to cure the common cold, but that's what we have here. Besides, it tasted way worse when I was a kid so you have it easy."

"Muh..." Twilight mumbled her reply. "Don't use magic for medicine, don't need to. There's no way this is a common cold, this is horrible, this is like, super poison mixed with a year's worth of exposure... I guess maybe my body hasn't adjusted to Earth or something..." She coughed and rolled over to look at Jo. "I'll be fine, I'm sure of it." The worried look Jo returned to her didn't exactly say that her host was convinced.

"This button here Twilight, just hit that and I'll be down." Jo smiled weakly at her friend. "Well, we were going to get you some clothes, but I guess that can wait..." She sighed and pulled a cat off the foot of the bed, intending to leave the room empty.

Twilight looked over, then shut her eyes and let out a tired breath. "Okay, Rarity-" The obvious slip of the name cut the sentence short.

Jo took a quiet step back in the ensuing quiet, except for the meowing of her old cat.

"I'm sorry-" Twilight began to say.

"It's alright Twilight. Get some rest." Jo walked slowly out of the room after Twilight mumbled another reply to her. To keep the cats from going in and bothering her again, she shut the door.

Chapter 9 : It's Just A Cold

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Jo stared darkly at the computer screen, feeling unsure of what to do. Downstairs, Twilight was out cold and breathing shallowly, something that had Jo gripped by unease. She had checked on the strange, inexplicable curve ball that had come into her drab life a few times, once with soup, but the unicorn was resting as sure as the sun set.

Dangit, why am I worrying so much? She's just tired and has a cold from being butt naked in the rain. Jo grimaced and began clicking on tabs and net pages furiously, trying to keep herself distracted. She would be gaming as a better means of doing so, but her computer had been acting wonky. The best explanation she could come up with for that was the way it had tipped over during Twilight's 'entrance'.

A few notifications blipped at the bottom of the desktop, being pointedly ignored. Even when Jo didn't have a lot on her mind, she was usually hesitant and reproachful about talking to anyone, even her 'friends', even the ones she knew in person. The speakers pinged again though, garnering Jo's attention. This new sender's name read as 'BarrelofPenguins'.

Jo watched the message blink for a moment, still deep in thought and staring at the screen as if not really seeing it. Then the mouse clicked on the message. Was out of things to watch on youtube anyway.

Barrel-of-Penguins: Hello hello Jojo!

Jo lackadaisically typed her reply to the old acquaintance she was now answering, and for no other reason than because she felt she should.

CarpetBombShell: Hi

Barrel-of-Penguins: Le gasp, you answered moi! What's the occasion?

Sighing, Jo leaned back, trying to think of a good answer with her brain in the fuzzy state that it was. Her thoughts slammed on the breaks, deciding that maybe she could actually get some real advice for what was bothering her so much after all. She typed out the best possible way she could explain the situation she found herself in. It took a while, but by the time she was finished, the message satisfied her in its entirety.

CarpetBombShell: It's complicated.

Barrel-of-Penguins: Oh, of course, of course... DID YOU FINALLY GET A NEW MAN!?

CarpetBombShell: What? No, shut up. This is about a girl that I don't know what to do with.

Barrel-of-Penguins: Jo, you're a lezzy?

Jo sighed, then groaned and made to squash what she could see was turning into a rather contrived assumption by her friend.

CarpetBombShell: No... I just have someone staying at my house that I only just met. Her circumstances are kind of 'unique'. I think I might actually want you to come over and meet her for yourself if she's fine with it.

Barrel-of-Penguins: Holy cow, really? I haven't been over to your place in years!

CarpetBombShell: Meh. I just don't really know what I'm doing with this, and I think I might need help.

Barrel-of-Penguins: What's going on? Are you taking her under your wing or something until she gets back on her feet? :P

CarpetBombShell: ...Kind of, look you used to watch FiM, right?

Barrel-of-Penguins: Psch, used to? Still do.

CarpetBombShell: Ah huh. Alright, well, come over tomorrow and I'll explain some things, I'll buy you lunch, too.

Barrel-of-Penguins: Jo, so forward! I- I don't know what to say.

Jo tapped a finger patiently on her desk, a growing look of frustration appearing on her face. It wasn't something that she really openly admitted to others, but dealing with people other than just herself was difficult. Oddly enough that seemed to make other people want to talk to her and hang around her even more.

It's as if they think I have buried-treasure or am just putting on an act, but actually wanted to open up and become the best of friends! Jo's look darkened more while she typed a final response to Penguin. Or maybe they think I have some huge secret to share with them, that only constant buggery will uncover. After a moment, she supposed the latter were true in a sense, she did have Twilight as her big secret now, after all. She was in fact sitting on the mystery of the century at the moment...

Running both hands through her hair Jo sighed in finality and stood up, unsure of what to do. It was getting late, but she wasn't tired at all. Guess I can't blame anyone but myself when I stay up until four AM every single night. She knew she could afford to, but she also knew it wasn't the healthiest thing or the best form to do so. I gotta fix my sleep schedule somehow.

Jo's feet carried her downstairs and towards the back of her house, she passed through the back hall where things were still a mess and stopped to look at the books Twilight hadn't gotten to yet. I should clean that up... There were a few things she should do though, she realized. The wind gusting in from the back of her house told her that much.

"Jesus, that was one hell of an entrance, Twilight." Jo stared at the backdoor, open to the wind and the rest of the world behind it. I better go get something from the garage and nail that shut already, or wild animals are going to start getting in here. She wasn't very concerned about that, there weren't really skunks or anything like that where she lived, but you never knew.

Jo slipped on her boots and walked out into the cool night air, hands secured firmly into a hoodie she'd thrown on. She scanned her backyard, just out and about with the intent to get her mind off things. I don't know how to help Twilight at all. What can I do besides just let her mope while watching her friends on a TV? The air didn't really do the trick, but after a thought her eyes caught sight of something that did. She took a few steps towards the strange purple glow from the other day, walking down and off of her porch into her uncut backyard.

The alien-like radiance was just barely peeking up from behind her yard's little gulch, and was coming from the direction of the spot with the sizable crater. The same one which Twilight had shown her the day before.

"I still can't believe this is happening." Jo muttered, perhaps for the hundredth time, and began casually walking out to the thing she had almost forgotten was on her property, just to see it again. "But I guess I had better start, huh?"

Jo stopped at the top of the little hill overlooking the dip in her land, the violet shaded crater at the base of it. Sure enough, the entirety of the thing glowed with an otherworldly purple. I guess this was caused by the super heated atmospheric re-entry that Twilight had gone through, she surmised. That, or it has something to do with Twilight being a magical purple unicorn. You know, either or.

"Just what the hell am I doing..." Jo growled irritably, watching the pulsing of the crystals. After a minute of standing there, she carefully slid down the slope and next to the crater. She felt as though she were staring at something that was truly beautiful, something mysterious, something that no one in the world could ever explain because it was greater than anything else in the world itself. She knelt besides the warm, glowing abyss and reached a hand out to one of the crystals.

I totally deserve to get zapped by this thing.

Despite the arrival Jo's mind made at a worst case scenario, the crystal did little else but light up a bit more from her proximity. Touching it had caused the strange sparks from the day before to pop out, then dissipate again. Her face glimmered in the brief white glow the same sparks gave off as she watched with a child-like fascination the anomaly she held in her very hand. Alice is gonna love this, she thought, in response to the wonder and strangeness of it all. It felt like she were living a movie right then.

However, Jo frowned when she remembered the girl she'd invited over earlier on a whim. I really hope getting another person involved with this is the right decision. She sighed, very much conflicted and unsure of herself. Absently, her scrawny arms tugged on the crystal, testing its strength.

When the formation in the crater snapped immediately with the slight pressure Jo had applied, the woman froze. Oh damn. She stared in shock at where the crystal had detached from its hexagonal brethren and left a large patch of empty dirt beneath it. Okay, nothing exploded, that's good. Sure enough, the foot and a half long stick of purple glowing crystal sat in her hand, still placidly glowing happily for all its worth. She stared at the empty patch of earth that was left behind, then at the pulsating rock in her grip.

Jo formed an idea about moving the things from out in the open. Who knows, she wondered, maybe they'll be useful. The crystal hefted in her grip as she walked back towards the house.

Twilight rolled over and groaned, feeling once again the ache in her head from before she had fallen asleep. Other than that, her nose felt stuffed with hay, her eyes were scratchy, her limbs felt shaky as well as weak and worst off all, she still didn't have her horn. She tried to rub her head deeper into the pillows, desperate to escape the aches somehow.

This went on for a good while. How long, Twilight wasn't sure, but it must have been at least an hour or so. Despite her best efforts she couldn't seem to fall back asleep. Her eyes opened for the first time since finally waking up and peered at the ceiling. How long have I been asleep? Light poked through the window drapes and gave the room some visibility, marking the hour as daytime. Despite having had what seemed like such a long restful sleep, however, she still felt terrible.

Twilight smacked her lips and felt a horrible dryness in her mouth. Looking over and thinking of getting up from the bed to get a drink, she spotted a tray on the side table. It was laden with an assortment of things, ranging from a glass of water to what looked like a bowl of soup that had likely long gone cold. She closed her hand around the water and drank greedily from it right away.

Gasping and now slightly refreshed, Twilight pushed herself up entirely from laying down. She silently gave thanks to her human friend for being so kind and generous to her. This was thoughtful of Jo... I wonder what I can do to repay her?

Normally, such thanks may not be more than formality in Ponyville, but Twilight was beginning to understand now that Earth was much more akin perhaps to the rest of her world; to certain places outside of Equestria. She tried not to think of Tartarus as one such comparison... Her finger dipped into the soup while battling the thoughts; sure enough, it was cold.

Twilight's tummy rumbled up at her all the same, and she looked back at it with a frown in turn. "Well fine, as long as you aren't picky." She sighed and put the tray in her lap, very carefully. "Hm." After placing some of the morsel in her mouth, she took her time swallowing it. "Why does everything here taste so odd?" Still, despite being cold it was more than edible. A couple more spoonfuls were had, until a thought occurred to her.

Twilight looked over at the little box she vaguely recalled Jo pointing at the night before. Curious, her hand reached out towards it. When a loud, squelching sort of noise suddenly pierced the relative silence of the room she shrieked, jumped, and spilled the tray in her lap all in one fell swoop. She stared in disbelief at the aftermath, which covered her from hoof to flank.

"...Grrreat, just great." Twilight grimaced at the half empty bowl of soup while she moved it and the tray back to the table. "That was terribly brilliant of you, Twilight, just absolutely genius." A bit of her misery was forgotten and replaced by the new obstacles in front of her.

Thankfully, it seemed all of the soup had gotten onto Twilight herself, not the bedspread. Settling back on the idea to ask for assistance, she once again pressed the button that had caused the mess in first place. After wincing briefly from the noise, she pressed her face down at the box and asked loudly, "Jo, are you there? Uhm, is this thing on?"

No reply came. There was only the one button, so there wasn't much room for error on how to operate the device.

Twilight sighed aloud and slid off of the bed, determined to at least get the mess clean. She sniffed loudly, the gross sensation of a runny nose still plaguing her. Seriously, human colds are a thousand times worse... The thought trailed off while she unsteadily made her way through the house towards the shower. She had noticed a lot of differences between humans and ponies—being the first ever creature she guessed to experience being both, ever.

Those changes went far beyond the obvious—such as different bodies or tendencies—and all the way towards things like smell. For Twilight, they were decidedly less pleasant to be around after getting a little stale, though she only had herself as a reference thus far. Maybe I just smell really bad for a human? Her stuffy nose wrinkled in distaste at the thought. It was either that, or Earth was just a smellier plane of existence than Equestria.

Jo normally had a pleasant, herbal scent, but sometimes had a very strange one that wasn't nearly as nice. Still, even with the change Twilight's own five senses had undergone, she could always pick out her friend's interesting perfumes in the house. It seemed that humans had a far more powerful aroma, or possibly sense of smell. And after living in Ponyville around the likes of Applejack and the other hardworking denizens in her town, Twilight was well aware of just what ponies were capable of in that area.

Twilight sighed in finality and stripped the now soup soaked clothes she had slept in off of herself. They slapped to the bathroom floor, which she realized also needed to be cleaned now. Pony feathers, I should've looked for a hamper. She rarely wore clothes, or pajamas, and Rarity was the only pony she knew personally that regularly indulged in their use.

It stood to reason that humans, however, nearly always wore clothes. Twilight mulled over Jo's insistence on the subject while stepping into the shower. I still don't understand why Jo always gets so uppity about it though. She could at least cut me a little slack... The mare had already formed a few theories about why humans were so particular about clothing, and it seemed tied towards their nature as well as cultural development.

A twist of a knob, and blessed hot water poured out of the human's decidedly superior shower, then ran over Twilight's aching limbs as a soothing river of steam and absolution.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaah," Twilight carried the breath of relief and melted under the stream that began to ever so slowly make her feel like a million bits again.

Jo hefted the piece of plywood over her head, grunting, then called out to her friend. "Alice! For- Would you pay attention and help?" She teetered until the other girl bounced over and steadied the temporary fix intended to be used to patch up Jo's backdoor.

The girl which Jo had spoken to over the internet the night before, and was currently being helped by, looked over at Jo. The new girl was blonde, with her hair tied back in a pony tail, and wore jeans and long sleeve shirt. She was only a little taller than Jo.

"Yeah yeah, I still can't believe you invited me over just for us to leave again. I should have known you'd only wanted me for my body!" Alice let go of the plywood and rested a hand on her forehead mockingly, while the shorter girl began to secure the plywood to the top of the car.

Jo raised and eyebrow at the drama queen. "Ah huh, you didn't have to help or stay, you know." She heaved a sigh and got in her friend's vehicle.

Alice frowned, rolled her eyes at the difficulty Jo insisted on offering, then climbed in too. "Yes I did, that dumb thing you drive around doesn't even have room to carry something like this." She pointed a thumb up to her roof and the plywood. "Anyway come on, are you going to beat around the bush all day, or tell me why you really wanted me to come over? You didn't really just need my car, did you?"

Jo grimaced over at the only friend she arguably had. Except for Twilight anyway, she thought, and followed it up with, Great, a magical talking unicorn princess is one of my two remaining friends in the world. "Like I said, Alice, she's sleeping and sick. You can't meet her just yet." Satisfied with having repeated the same answer she had said twice already, she shifted and looked out the window of the car. The buildings began to drift by with increasing speed while they drove back towards her own house from the store.

"Mmmhmm," Alice hummed without looking over. "And yah still haven't said anything else about her, like I dunno, her name?" The cheerful girl rapped her fingers impatiently on the steering wheel. Odd behavior aside, she was still getting more and more curious over what was going on the longer Jo stalled. "You could at least tell me why you're helping her. Is she a relative? An illegal immigrant? An old friend?" She quickly glanced over at Jo. "Oops, sorry about that last one, that probably isn't likely, hm?"

Jo grimly frowned at the other girl. "Funny."

Alice laughed obnoxiously before turning the wheel over to pull back into Jo's driveway. "Really!? That's what everypony else says I am too, funny!" She giggled again and crossed her eyes over at Jo, while the car simultaneously ground to a halt jerkily.

"Where did you learn to drive- Wait, did you just say 'everypony'?" Jo raised an eyebrow, and paused from getting out immediately.

Alice smiled over coolly. "Yeah, I did, you mentioned FiM last night and it got me curious how that was relevant." She hopped out of the car deftly and slammed the door behind herself. "So I watched some episodes for fun, and got to figuring that mystery girl might like the show, too. But why, I wondered, is it important? Hmmmmm." Stepping carefully around the car she stopped and leaned over at Jo with a scrutinizing expression. "I wonder...."

"Stop that," Jo growled, then turned and began getting the board down. "Look, I fed you already, and I appreciate the help with the car, but I've changed my mind about... this. I shouldn't have spoken to you last night, I'm sorry." Her breath caught as a hand laid on her shoulder just before she could heft the plywood.

"Come on Jo, we used to be awesome good friends..." Alice sounded like she wanted to say more.

"I don't really want friends, no offense," Jo muttered in reply. She finished pulling the board down and balanced it beside herself as best she could. "Or I didn't, anyway, I dunno." The board got decidedly lighter, and she glanced back at Alice, who had hefted the other end.

"Riiiight. Jo, you're a terrible big bad quiet type, you know that?" Alice laughed and reached up with a free hand to muss the other girl's brown hair. "You're much too short!"

Jo began to grumble, but was surprised when a little smile crept up onto her face. She frowned deeper and did away with the thing quickly. Luckily, she had been facing away from Alice while carrying the board. "You're short too, you know." Her defensive reply wasn't quite as scathing as she'd wished it, and all she got in return was more laughter from behind herself. This is going to be one of those days.

This bed is gigantic. Twilight mulled over the observation while climbing back onto the thing. She recalled how much shorter Jo was than her, which seemed odd now that she thought about it. Perhaps humans deviate in size the way diamond dogs do? The comparison was a bit rude, she thought, and decided a better one may be between the princesses and other ponies. Briefly, she surmised that Jo would have an even harder time getting into the large bed than she herself did. Maybe there are indeed even bigger humans out there?

With the mess Twilight had made completely cleaned up, she resettled underneath the covers again. She sighed with relief and let her head fall back on the pillow. Annoyingly, her mane was still pretty wet, despite the vigorous drying she had given it. Without a spell all she could do was relegate herself to using a towel. I'll need a brush eventually, my hair's getting to the point that would make Rarity attack me on sight.

Twilight smiled and began to shut her eyes, when suddenly she found herself staring into the strange, dim gaze of a cat. Hello kitty. She stroked the cat's fur once with one her of hands. The thoughts about what differences lay between Equestrian felines, and those from Earth arose, as well as those between ponies on Earth and herself. Well, maybe not myself right this second, but at least back home... and the others. Anyway-

While rolling over in the too large bed, Twilight supposed it was just one of those things that you never considered to yourself most of the time. Sure, she knew that there was a striking resemblance between herself and Earth's creatures, but that didn't necessarily make her an animal like them. But then, she supposed that technically they were all animals. The word animal here is used rather generously. Humans seem to use it to describe anything besides themselves, while we use it to describe things of a feral nature. It might be nothing, but so far she had inferred that Jo at least really did consider herself completely apart from the rest of her world's creatures. So strange, but that isn't bad, really. We can't all be as in touch with nature as say... Fluttershy.

Twilight's eyes began to drift shut again, her body warmed and refreshed by the shower... when abruptly voices and a good deal of shouting jerked her back awake. She leaned up, curious about what was going on. Is that Jo? Her feet slid over the side of the bed, deciding to investigate.

Earlier, Twilight had briefly searched for Jo while cleaning the mess, but hadn't found her anywhere. "Well, I guess she was-" the sound of what was definitely hammering interrupted her as she rounded the corner towards the back of the house. Sure enough, the sunlight was being obscured by a piece of wood held over the backdoor. -"outside..." she finished saying during a moment of quiet.

Two seconds later the hammering began again.

"Jo!? Are you out there?" Twilight called out, walking up to the door. Her headache had been vanquished by the shower earlier, but it seemed to want to return as she got closer to the pounding.

"Twilight?" Jo's voice answered back "You're awake?"

"I sure am, and I feel a lot better thanks to you-" Twilight stopped talking when she picked out another voice coming from the other side of the door. She listened while the new speaker excitedly seemed to begin talking at Jo.

"Hah, I bet she feels a lot better thanks to you- Wait, Twilight!?" the new voice exclaimed. "Oh my God, what is going on, are you guys role-playing?"

A hysterical laugh followed, and suddenly the giant board of wood covering the hole on the door shifted and fell at one side to thunk on the ground.

Curses and yelling came from Jo, next. "Would you hold the stupid thing!? And don't you dare take this out of context."

Twilight stared in sheer confusion at her side of the door, imagining what must be going on over on the other side. The board lifted up again, and the laughter filled voice was as difficult to understand as Pinkie Pie with a mouthful of cake. She easily made out Jo's shouts at the new voice to hold still and 'knock it off', though.

"Jo? Is there someone else here?" Twilight winced as hammering began again after the board seemed to be righted.

Jo's voice answered back over the racket. "Yeah! Just give... just give me a minute." The sounds of the hammering halted after a moment, and a sigh of relief made its way into the house.

Twilight blinked, and listened intently to the sound of hushed and harsh whispers that then came from the other side of the door. Huh, well now that I'm here I may as well meet whoever Jo's brought over, I don't want to be rude, after all... Hopefully they understand I'm still not feeling well though, and I wouldn't want them to get sick, either. Goodness, if human illnesses are this much worse than the kind we have, I'd hate to think about how contagious they could be. She stood and waited patiently, until she caught the end of a few whispers and the door creaked open finally.

"Now remember, she's kind of weird, and there's a reason for that which I'll get to, but for now- TWILIGHT!" Jo immediately flung her hand over her eyes and used her other to cover up her friend's, as well. "CLOTHES!"

The sound of uproarious laughter from her friend nearly drowned her out entirely.

Twilight blinked in confusion again, then looked down at herself and clued in. "Ooh, that again. I'm sorry Jo, I'm just not used to it, you know? I mean I guess how cold it gets without fur should remind me, but-"

Jo interrupted and waved her hand while simultaneously shoving her giggling companion back out the door. "It's fine, just please go and- Oh nevermind." She sighed and instead began pulling her friend in after herself. "Twilight this is Alice, Alice this is Twilight. Twilight, come on let's get you something to wear."

Twilight looked from one mare to the other and was surprised when the newcomer took her hand and shook it.

"Charmed to meet yah, that is some wicked awesome hair color by the way. oh, huh, you don't have any piercings, I expected piercings!" The new girl had a blonde mane, much brighter than Jo's, but otherwise had no other really identifying aspects to her. She seemed to be barely containing more snickering.

"Uhm, same," Twilight laughed nervously in return at the hyperactive girl, not catching half of what she said, then watched Jo storm out of the room, likely to get clothes. Perhaps humans identify themselves by clothing? No that doesn't make sense... Oh well they aren't terribly similar to one another, I guess I'm just used to a wider color spectrum and cutie marks. She re-faced Jo's friend; at least, she assumed they were friends. "Well, Jo did our introductions for us..."

Twilight hesitated while Alice continued to fight back laughing uncontrollably. "Uhm, is not wearing clothes really that funny? Heh." She smirked a little, thinking of how uneasy she might feel around someone laughing at her this much. That is, if she hadn't gained Pinkie Pie as a friend in the last couple years. The pink earth pony had done a lot to broaden her horizons and social skills since her Canterlot days.

Alice grinned up at Twilight. "I'm sorry I'm not laughing at you at all, just a little joke between me and Jo." She reached up and patted the taller girl's shoulder friendlily.

"TWILIGHT!" Jo's shout came from down the hall.

"Well that would be queen bee herself." Alice laughed again then skipped away further into the house.

Twilight stood there for a moment, then followed, sighing. I can't decide if Equestria is weirder, or Earth.

"Shut up, just shut up. No way, get out." Alice had her hands balled up into fists, and glued over her mouth, fighting back what looked to be sheer ecstasy. Her eyes were nearly as wide as a pony's, Twilight observed. "You guys really, really think that she's the real Twilight?" She laughed again and bounced up and down from where she sat on Jo's couch.

"I am though," Twilight shot back confidently. "And we can prove it, sort of." She paused long enough to cough, then cleared her throat. Altogether her voice was starting to get scratchy from the coughing, at least she thought it was from the coughing.

"...You should get back to resting, Twilight." Jo frowned over at the purple haired girl seated beside her.

"I'm alright, this sweater helps." Twilight hugged the thick cloth she'd worn the day before around herself, smiling weakly. "I don't want to be rude either and just take off. Now, anyhoof," she jumped when more eccentric laughing bubbled up out of Alice. "Uhm, as I was saying," she pressed on over it. "Perhaps we should all cut to the chase and show your friend our proof?"

Jo watched her strange guest from another world smile at her reassuringly, then looked over at the person she had decided to bring into all of this. She stood up resolutely and strode towards the basement. "Yeah, alright, follow me."

Twilight was surprised when instead of leaving through Jo's newly repaired backdoor, they instead went underground through another door. "Uhm, Jo? Where are we going?" She watched as the two humans entered the darkened cellar, the blonde one wearing a look of equal parts skepticism and excitement.

"You'll see." Jo called back to her. "While you were asleep..."

A deep, purple glow was coming from the bottom of the long staircase, captivating Twilight's attention. Oh, she moved them, wow that could have been incredibly dangerous!

"-and then I just put them all in here, it seemed like a good decision at the time, I dunno." Jo crossed her arms and stood confidently beside the other two girls. She looked over at Alice first, a smirk of triumph on her face. It shrank a bit when the other girl let out a disappointed aw sound. "What?"

Alice looked from the strange props she'd been brought to and over at Jo. "Well, I was sort of expecting more ponies hiding out down here, actually." She grinned and rubbed a hand sheepishly against her arm. "Anyway, 'forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm.'"

Jo watched as Alice brightened and leaned over at Twilight, bouncing her eyebrows and smiling ear to ear.

"Uhm, Jo?" Twilight leaned back from Alice. "Does she not believe us?" The unicorn looked from one girl to the other, and was relieved when Alice sighed, then backed away.

Jo harrumphed and picked up a large example of the glowing crystals piled in the corner. The thing lit up in her hand and sparks bounced in every direction as she did so.

Twilight watched wearily, unsure of what exactly the thing was or what it was capable of.

"Alice, do you remember an earth shattering kaboom a few days ago?" Jo hefted the crystals in her hands and prodded it at her friend. The other girl's mesmerized look melted and became as weary as Twilight's as she nodded quickly. "Well, that was Twilight impacting Earth. I have a gigantic crater in my backyard that she made, as a result. My shattered backdoor? Her landing did that. I don't know what's going on, or why, and maybe I'm a little crazy for believing her in the first place..." She looked over and smirked at Twilight. "But, I've got nothing to lose by helping her, I figure, and this stuff is definitely too unexplainable for it to be fake."

To finalize her point, Jo tapped the crystal against the floor, and another shower of magical motes danced out and flittered into the air around them. The sound of Alice falling back on her butt and gasping was the only thing that accompanied a melodic ring—like that of a tuning fork—springing out of the crystal.

Jo smirked triumphantly over at Twilight again. "Sorry, I hit one last night and found out they do that." She resettled her gaze on Alice and grabbed her hand, hoisting the shocked girl back to her feet. "So, in light of things, no pun intended, do you think you would be alright with helping us out?"

Alice timidly reached out a hand and poked the crystal Jo held, eyes growing wider when it reacted with a few bouncing sparks. "Yeah," she answered breathily, then looked over with her still widened eyes at Twilight. "Sounds good to me."

Twilight smiled, coughed, then hugged the blonde maned girl, wanting to calm her down. "Great! Any friend of Jo's is a friend of mine, she's been so nice to me and-"

"Whoa whoa whoa," Alice began stepping out of Twilight's grasp and pushed her back, a stern, hard look on her face all of a sudden.

Jo and Twilight both looked to one another, then back at Alice in surprise. "What's wrong?" Twilight asked worriedly. Oh no, maybe she's like the humans Jo warned me about the other day... She swallowed hard.

"I'm totally alright with accepting that Twilight is a pony princess from another world," Alice straightened up and pointed a finger at Jo. "But if you expect me to believe that Jo was being 'nice' to somepony, you got another thing coming, missy."

Jo growled and swung the crystal at Alice's head.

All at once, giggling, shouting, stomping feet and a scuffle for control of the crystal broke out between them; with Twilight in the middle of it trying to restore order amongst the flailing humans.

Chapter 10 : Bump on the Noggin'

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Twilight began to feel the world around herself again; wherever she was it was cold. "Oogh," she groaned, trying to massage her forehead. Trying to get a handle of just what was going on, or even just look around was proving to be difficult.

The room Twilight was in was entirely dark, she realized. So there was nothing to actually see. Where did the lights go? Her memories returned in the thought's wake. Wait, just moments ago I was in the basement of my human friend, Jo. It had been well lit from the stairwell light and by the glow of purple crystals... She considered that the light they had both given should have at least been present, if that's where she still was.

Twilight began to try and stand up. "Hello? Jo? ...Alice?" she called out.

Nopony answered her, and she stopped rising, confused by a strange, but familiar sensation. I don't believe it. She tapped her hand on the ground to be sure, and a solid thunk answered her. I don't believe it! A squee escaped through her ecstatic grin as she pressed her hooves against her face happily.

"Yes! Yes yes yes yes YES!" Twilight began hopping around joyously, despite the lack of any manner of light in the basement. "Jo, I have my hooves back, I'm a unicorn again! I'm a unicorn agaaaain!" One of her dearly missed limbs felt around her forehead just in case, confirming that it was true.

Twilight stopped her erratic bouncing when she felt something soft squish beneath her hopping, and heard an oof of displeasure followed afterward.

"What the, augh, what happened? My head's killing me." Jo's voice entered the still air to join Twilight's. "Twilight, is that you? Where'd the light go?"

Twilight did her best to suppress her giddy laughter and answered her hostess. "Well, I'm not sure, but you'll NEVER guess what has happened!" She let out another series of giggles, then triumphantly lit up her horn with success, incredibly eager to once again use her magic. "I BECAME A UNICOOoo- oh my Celestia."

"What?" Jo blinked and stared up from the floor at Twilight. "Oh my God, Twilight you really are a unicorn!? I mean, of course, you really are a unicorn... again." She smiled widely and pulled herself up off the ground. "Gah, was that you that jumped on my stomach? That hu- hurrrr... hur-"

Twilight and Jo's eyes were all glued to Jo herself, and the state she was currently in.

"Jo, don't panic, I'm sure there's a way we can-" Twilight was interrupted by an ear piercing scream and both of her hooves pulled down on her ears to protect them.

Jo herself had Twilight by the throat with her own newly acquired hooves immediately. "TWILIGHT!? What did you do!? Twilight? Twilight?" The frantic pony's eyes were stuck in a glare at the purple unicorn in her grip.

Twilight tried desperately to answer Jo while being shaken back and forth, but for some reason she was powerless to stop the new human turned pony. "I'm sorry! I don't know! Please stop!" It seemed as if all she could do was wait for the violent shaking to end, in fact, her head began to hurt from the ferocity of it all. Her eyes spun while trying to get a handle on things and attempting to break her friend's grip. The feeling that she were floating began to settle in, and all the while Jo just kept crying her name.

"Twilight. Twilight. Twilight? Hey, Twilight, oh for Christ's sake please wake up, are you alright?"

Groaning, Twilight tried to open her eyes and numbly began moving her stiff feeling limbs. "Eh- wha?" Finally, her eyes opened, and a pair of humans stared back at her.

"Oh thank God, you're alright. How many fingers am I holding up?" Jo waited, then cursed and pulled Twilight up by her sweater and hugged the estranged girl fiercely. "Never mind, I am so, so sorry, are you alright?"

Twilight groaned again and nodded reflexively. "Y-Yeah, I'm okay, ow- I think. Oh Celestia, does my head hurt..." The top of her brow seemed to be stricken with the most pain she had felt... ever. The splitting sensation was horrendous, and after touching the source of the pain it somehow burst further to life in new and exciting ways. She let out a squeak of pain and felt tears well up in her eyes immediately. "What happened? Ow, owow... ow," she chanted, not sure how to deal with what she felt, even with the friendly embrace holding her. She just hugged back with one arm while being helped up.

Alice answered her first, Jo still in the middle of frantically apologizing. "Jo smacked you in the head with the crystal on accident before I could stop her!" the short blonde blurted out; her voice was only a little less panicked than Jo's. She grinned back at Jo's glare, then frowned herself. "Well you did. It was an accident, Twilight, she was making to hit me with it and you got in the line of fire."

Twilight remembered now, these girls were worse than Applejack and Rainbow Dash when they were going at it... Well, maybe not that bad. "Why would you try to hurt each other like that?"

"I wasn't going to hit her with it for real... hard." Jo looked at the wall whilst speaking. "More importantly I didn't realize how sharp these things were, lets get upstairs, Twilight, you're bleeding." She wrapped her arm around Twilight's and began leading the purple haired girl back upstairs.

Meanwhile, Alice cackled behind them in a sudden fit of laughter. "I can't believe it, so these things aren't just super state of the art movie props, she's real? Like for real and magic's real and-"

"YES! Alice, please, I wanted your help, not more weirdness." Jo traded an uneasy look with a confused one from Twilight. "I probably should have asked you first, about her, but I was just... kind of wanting some help after last night Twi', sorry."

Twilight smiled back at her, catching onto Jo wanting to help so much. "I trust you Jo, you know waaay more about everything around here than I do, after all." The awkward human girl gestured around herself and looked around the living room for effect. "I don't mind your friends knowing." She recalled Jo's warning about humans and what they might do after finding out about her, even the friendly ones. That was all different though surely, this was a friend of Jo's.

"Well you aren't bleeding after all, that's good, but I gave you a nasty bump. I'm so sorry about that Twilight." Jo frowned up at the top of Twilight's head, a lump growing visibly there.

Twilight smiled widely back, doing the best she could to ignore the otherworldly pain. "Oh it's nothi- Okay it hurts a lot, but it'll be better in a couple of hours."

"Days, maybe." Jo had made it to the bathroom with Twilight, and handed her a cool, wet rag. "Here, I'll go get an ice pack too to help with the swelling."

"I got it!" Alice chirped and sped away. "We need to watch the TV show pronto, by the way!" She called back over her shoulder.

Jo rolled her eyes, she would have to fill her friend in on everything now she supposed, including that they had already seen season one. I hope this wasn't a mistake, she thought dismally.

"Days? Swelling?" Twilight furrowed her brow and gave Jo a serious look. "Is it really that bad?" She turned and looked into the bathroom mirror, a gasp escaping her lips while she stared at herself. Her face may have been a part of that, she was still getting used to looking so... weird. More than that though, there was a bright red lump at the corner of her forehead, a rough line running over the top of it where she had obviously been struck by something. "Wow, how did you- were you really going to hit Alice that hard as a joke?" Her hand traveled up to the impressive lump, big enough to rival the worst of anything see had seen anypony else get. Literally, a tree had fallen on Applejack once and had left a mark just as bad.

"Well, it was kind of heavy. I'm sorry, Twilight. I wasn't really going to hit her, I just kind of cocked it back and then... it bonked you, instead. I'm so stupid, darnit." Jo frowned sadly and scrubbed a hand over her short hair, turning around in circles worriedly. "I dunno, does it really hurt bad? Here I'll get some pain killers-" She paused when Twilight put a comforting hand on her arm.

"It's alright, I've had a thought though, Jo, so calm down for a second." Twilight coughed and waited until her new friend gave her full attention. "Are humans really fragile? Because this," she pointed up at her noggin'. "Is way worse than anything I've gotten from a ding to the head. I think the last time I got something like this was... oh... perhaps fighting changelings or diamond dogs. This is what you get after..." She shook her head to knock the memories loose, then regretted it when her scalp yelled at her. "I dunno, mis-teleporting into a cliff, maybe?" Her face scrunched up suddenly, trying her best to seem inconspicuous after using that as an example.

Jo thought over an answer for what was asked of her. "Fragile?" she asked, unsure of how to interpret that. "I guess, compared to some other animals on Earth we kinda are, maybe. I'm not really an expert on the matter."

"Oh," Twilight intoned quietly, already thinking of ways she could test her theories.

Alice made her approach with her quest item then. "Here yah go!" she called cheerfully, holding out the ice pack to Twilight. Immediately afterwards she leaned up close to Jo's face, grinning madly. "Ok so..." Her eager grin glanced at Twilight, then a finger pointed at the other girl. "So she really is the real-?"

Both Twilight and Jo quickly answered her with a loud, "Yes!"

The room was quiet for a moment, a wounded looking Alice now giving them both puppy dog eyes.

"Oh no," Twilight held a hand up to her mouth in the wake of Alice's very blatant hurt. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, uhm, Alice. It's just-"

"Uggh, don't buy into her act Twilight." Jo swatted a hand at Alice, who giggled and stepped away. "This girl likes to toy with people and be as un-serious as possible." She glared over at Alice, wishing that someone else had messaged her last night and happened to be invited over in lapse of judgement. There really wasn't anyone else though, maybe Dale, she considered, but she hadn't spoken with him in an even longer time.

Alice aawed at Jo. "And you're so fun to mess with, Jo. I missed it dearly. Why'd you have to spoil this for me, I had the Twilight Sparkle going."

The room went silent in the wake of a sudden, thunderous rumbling. Everyone present turned to look at Twilight, who laughed nervously. "Sorry," she laughed out, "I am a little hungry... could we eat something?"

"Oh my gosh! You're a pony, so you don't eat meat. Did you know we eat meat? I need to- Oh wow-" Alice was cut off by Jo clapping a hand over her mouth.

"Yeah, about that," Jo started. "Turn down the excitement factor by about ninety, would you?" At her friends nod she let go. "I'll make something, Alice, stay here and don't do anything weird, I mean it." If fake halos could materialize in real life, she imagined one would be floating above Alice's head, judging by the look she was getting from the other girl. Then again, fake cartoon characters can materialize, so why not? She glanced at Twilight again, who was giving Alice a wary look, then sighed. "Alright then, Twilight, bring crazy here up to speed, yell if she tries to molest you or something."

Jo turned to go, but stopped when a hand grabbed her shoulder. She looked back at Twilight, blinking. "Hm?"

"Oh sorry, uhm," Twilight looked back at Alice, who was doing a poor job of hiding her excitement, practically hopping in place in the dining room. "I just wanted to ask really quick, what exactly is, 'molest'?" She wore an honest, blank look on her face while she asked her question.

"So that's all you've done in the last four days she's been here on Earth!?" Alice's mouth hung completely agape while she stared at both Twilight and Jo.

Jo put on a dark look over the kindly one she had worn whilst telling her side of the story.

Before that, Twilight had been speaking to Alice, although it had been more of Alice asking every kind of question from 'What's Princess Celestia like?' to 'Do you have a cutie mark still?' After Twilight had been put through the wringer, Jo had brought out some very odd sandwiches and more vegetable soup. Being a loner, she wasn't much of a cook, and less of a vegetarian, but she made do. Then again, Twilight didn't seem to care much for the cucumber and tomato sandwiches either.

"Well, I think we should take things slow, for her sake." Jo stared at Alice and gave her the 'look', hoping that her friend would catch her drift about certain differences between the two worlds. She eased her glare and faced towards Twilight. "Besides, there's not much we can do, really-"

Alice tossed her hands up in the air and gave Jo a look like she was crazy. "Are you kidding?" She passed her manic look between both of the other women, then sighed and slapped a hand to her forehead. "Okay okay, breaking things down here-" She stopped to clear her throat, then continued. "Going by what Twilight told me so far, her world is soooo weird and different. Not that that's a bad thing!" Her eyes widened to almost cartoonish levels as she stared at Twilight a moment, driving that point home. Twilight reflexively began nodding and grinning in a convincing fashion.

Alice went on. "And I mean like Wonderland levels of weird. So, why not show Twilight everything there is to know about our world? If she's as smart as I already know she is-" The blonde woman let out an impressed laugh. "Then along the way she's bound to think of something. Plus, Celestia could always help her get back too, why stay cooped up here with the grumpiest girl alive?" She folded her arms smartly and raised an eyebrow at Jo, as if to say checkmate.

Twilight began poking two fingers together absently and beat Jo to speaking. "Please don't fight, girls." She looked up at Alice, not wanting to directly call her out on teasing her friend so much, but also wanting them all to work together in harmony. "I'm sure I'll have plenty of time for all of that, Alice. I have also been sick though, and I barely know how to even walk." She sighed, then laid back against the couch. "According to Jo, I even need to go out and get my own wardrobe for here, too. You humans sure do love your clothing and costumes..."

The situation that had been broiling seemed sufficiently derailed to Twilight, so she let the other girls speak after leaving a pause.

"It's like Twilight said," Jo held up a hand in a pointed manner. "There's a lot to consider, we can't just take her to a theme park and vacationing to show her our world..." The words came out but slowed at the end, having thought of other things she wanted to talk to Alice about. "Anyway there's no rush, I think." She looked over at Twilight to confirm that sentence was true. When the other girl shrugged, Jo nodded and went on. "She's stranded here, and magic is probably not an option either-"

"Oh my god, don't say that," Alice interrupting, piping in loudly.

Twilight and Jo looked at Alice, each wearing a different type of confused face. Confused hopeful, and confused confused, respectively.

"Magic could so be everywhere on Earth and we just don't know it!" Alice smiled at Twilight and gave Jo a confident version of the same thing, as if wisely pointing out what had been overlooked. "There are all kinds of unexplainable paranormal on-goings and occult craziness on Earth! Why, we have so many legends and strange rumors, some of it has to be real-"

Jo butt in, shaking her head furiously. "Alice," she glanced over at Twilight; the younger girl wore a mixed look of skepticism and thoughtfulness. "That isn't real though, none of it is. Our entire world is full of that crap because we have over active imaginations! Twilight," she turned to the magical unicorn girl, hoping to pull some common sense and normalcy into the conversation. "You had legends and things back in Equestria, right? Superstition? Things that weren't actually real, but everyone er- everypony might have thought they were?"

"Liiike... seven years of bad luck if you walk under a ladder?" Twilight craned her head down towards her plate without looking away from Jo, and took up her sandwich in her mouth.

"Oh my great golly god damned gumdrops that is so freaking adorable."

Jo and Twilight looked over at Alice's interruption, the other girl looked as though she'd reached nirvana staring at Twilight trying to eat her sandwich.

Twilight straightened up and nabbed the sandwich in a more human fashion, using her hands this time. "Sorry, ahem, old habit... I tried using my magic before doing that and well..."

Alice let out a crazed, happy laugh, then changed gears just as fast and cooed out her next words to Twilight. "Oooh, if only you were still a pony." She put on the saddest, yet still somehow happy look that a human face could probably manage while she spoke. "I bet you guys are so freaking cute in person. I would pet you all day if you let me, gah."

Jo buried her face in her hands, muttering, while Twilight's eyes widened and she looked between the two girls in an attempt to figure out what had happened to the conversation. She picked up her sandwich's plate and set the thing that had started the situation off to the side, then tried to look inconspicuous.

"Alice, get a grip, you don't know anything about them, even after talking to Twi' for twenty minutes. Petting could be culturally offensive for all you know. Whatever it is, I doubt it's normal." Jo gave the other girl a level look.

Alice let out a disappointed sigh, then rolled her eyes in return. "Yeah, I guess. I'm sorry, Twilight. I'm overly excitable and being rude right now."

Twilight smirked and raised an eyebrow, mildly amused by the cultural oddities that were cropping up. "It's quite alright, more than alright, really. I'm too fascinated by meeting another culture from a different world to be the least bit upset, and I'm well aware of the social differences that might make for awkward encounters between us." She put on a smart look and reclined in her chair, preparing to launch into a little lesson on general culture mingling. "I've only traveled a little myself, and most ponies don't at all, but I've read plenty about it! The best thing you can do when traveling abroad, or learning first hoof about others, is to keep an open mind."

Twilight looked from Jo's dreary look to Alice's wide eyed expression; the second of the human girls was nodding as though she were jumping up and down.

"Anyway," Jo interjected back into the conversation with a begrudging smile at Alice. "Like I was trying to say, and told Twilight already, there are rumors about magic all over Earth." She turned to give the purple haired girl a serious look. "Everywhere, there are literally millions, and none of them have ever appeared in the public eye as completely factual. And I'm not even including the ones that are just really amazing feats of nature or tricks, either. I'm talking about the full blown conjuring elephants out of thin air kind of magic."

Twilight oooed. "Now that would be an impressive spell alright..." She hummed and began thinking about just how she would summon an elephant in such a fashion...

A snapping noise brought her out of it.

"Focus, Twilight." Jo stared at her and sat back in her chair.

"Well, I guess, maybe," Alice admitted to Jo, crossing her arms and pouting. "But we should look into it a little, after what you just showed me in your basement, it's obviously real, so it could exist."

Jo rubbed a hand down her face and stared at the ground. "Yeah, true, but still, we shouldn't go chasing after every little thing or get our hopes up. Well, alright, that's enough about that. Our game plan is this: Get Twilight situated and healthy again, stop beating her up, and maybe we can figure something out or get monstrously lucky. From what she told me the other day, she landed herself here on accident with a potion. So, all we need to do is wait for Celestia or somebody-"

"Somepony!" Alice butted in, raising a finger up to the sky and wearing a dead serious look.

"...Somebody," Jo went on, "else in Equestria to recreate the thing, then maybe they can rescue her." She leaned back, clapped her hands together pointedly and folded them in her lap with a satisfied look on her face.

"Yeah, well, that's fine and all, but we do have to do something until then, so let's talk about that. Twilight is needed back in Equestria, like bad, after all." Alice turned to Twilight, "You are actually an Element of Harmony, right Twilight? The show was correct about that with you?" Alice wasn't entirely certain about a few things still, despite talking to Twilight some. A few of her questions about ponies and Equestria in general had given her answers a lot different from what she had expected. For instance, Twilight had no idea what estrus was.

The once-unicorn nodded back to Alice. "Yup! That's me, and you're right. The Elements are a crucial aspect of balance on our world. Without me, it's sort of... an incomplete equation." Twilight smiled around at her new friends, confident the math analogy was a good way to overcome the slight language barrier. A worried look creased her face and drooped her body forward. "Actually, now that I think about it, if they can't use them while I'm gone, the Elements are just as good as really shiny rocks."

Alice raised a hand, a blank look on her face.

Twilight's eyes glanced up, then blinked in surprise. "Uhm, yes?"

"This might be a dumb question, but couldn't... somepony else," Alice let out a snicker before continuing, "use the element in your place? Somepony," another giggle, "that embodies harmony and magic just as well as you?..." She trailed off in the wake of Twilight shaking her head sadly.

"The Elements bond themselves to whomever embodies them best, the only way to change that is for them to choose new bearers. Princess Celestia educated me extensively on their uses and applicative properties, they aren't simple trinkets or your everyday magical appliance in the least. The Elements of Harmony only chose us as the new bearers after a thousand years of being locked away from Princess Celestia. As far as anypony knows, including the Princess, it could take another thousand years before somepony besides myself could- Is everything okay?"

Twilight frowned worriedly across the room at the couch, where Alice was in a fit of giggling.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, it's just every time you say 'everypony' it sets me off. Uggh, we were talking about serious world-threateny stuff, weren't we-? Ow! Hey!?" Alice looked from Twilight to Jo with a glare, having just been smacked on the side of the head as the other girl walked behind her with the dishes.

Twilight watched the unfolding chaos with a growing look of amusement, recalling similar things happening between her own friends. They definitely have the chemistry of best friends alright. She recognized the combative traits of friendliness that AJ and Dash shared, fairly familiar with how strange friendships could get.

After confusing words that sounded awfully inappropriate for some reason, Jo left for a moment, leaving Twilight and Alice alone. The blonde girl sat quietly on the couch until speaking up finally.

"So I was right?" Alice asked, breaking the silence. She seemed a great deal more tame and at ease now. Twilight surmised it may well be because Jo wasn't present. "Equestria could be in mortal peril with you stuck here?" She grinned slightly, and the glimmer of excitement was unmistakable in her eyes.

"Er, well, I highly doubt it. They weren't used for centuries after all and Equestria got by alright." Twilight gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her head. "We did use them several times recently... but it was just bad luck, I'm sure. Regardless, I still should get home, though. The sooner the better, for everypony. On the political side of things, as long as I'm here I can't use the Elements or fulfill my duties as a bearer." She sighed and stood up to stretch, ridding her still achy limbs of some lingering tiredness. "On the personal side of things... well... you know."

Alice looked back at Twilight with a sad expression. She imagined coping with something like this wasn't very easy.

"I appreciate you wanting to help me, Alice. I hope we get to be good friends." Twilight eeped as the other girl jumped at her, and she found herself in a hug that rivaled any Pinkie Pie ever gave.

"Friends!? With Twilight Sparkle!? That is so cool, I mean, glad to be aboard, captain!" Alice stood back and beamed at the surprised pony-girl and the smile she returned to her.

Alice replied to Jo after taking a deep gulp from her tea. "So, wow, that's it huh? Well, I think we should just tell her, waiting won't exactly help, and even it if isn't common there, she's not unfamiliar with... well, let's call it 'evil' for simplicity's sake." The impromptu answerer to Jo's plea for help sat crossed legged on the floor, in front of Jo's fireplace, a small blaze burning in the old home's antiquated addition.

"Maybe..." Jo watched the dancing flames in the dim living room, intent to just let some time pass by calmly after what she considered to be a very crazy last few days.

The two girls were neck deep in discussing Twilight and everything to do with her, including their 'real' plan, if somebody could call it that. Twilight had again gone to bed, albeit a little hesitantly because of lingering fears over nightmares. In the end the transfigured pony had turned in, eager to rid herself of her cold. In the meantime both Jo and Alice had cleaned the house completely, the hyper blonde and dreary brunette making short work of the remaining clutter.

"Well, Twilight's not going anywhere anytime soon, as far as we know, and we're not experts about this." Jo flopped her head over on the recliner's headrest to look at Alice. "Listening to you and your hair-brained ideas for how to ease Twilight into learning about humanity has made that perfectly clear."

"Hey!" Alice shot back, making a distasteful face. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would be a great first step towards understanding what you would come to expect from people, it'd be like-"

"No, just no," Jo pressed a palm to her temple. "I don't want to know your reasoning behind it, I already told you." She managed to suppress a pinch of laughter that tried to crawl out of her from Alice's antics. "I don't disagree that a few select shows or a movie might be a good way to familiarize our naive resident with some things, or even ease her into learning that most of our history is gruesome." Her hand found its way to pick up her drink, being in the company of a friend it was the first chance in a while she'd had to be a 'social' drinker. "But... I think that being straight with her would be the best way to go about it. Not yet, though, eventually."

Alice twiddled her thumbs while watching the flames with Jo, before looking over at the other woman, the red and yellow firelight playing shadows and tricks of the eye off her face.

"So you're going to go out and get her a bunch of study material and just make her stay cooped up here?" Alice stared flatly at her friend. "Why did you involve me in this if that's what you were going to do anyway?"

Jo grunted and scowled, then took another gulp of her drink. "I'm not 'making' her, I'm letting her. Come on Alice, the other day she asked me why I don't go outside to visit friends or neighbors. I don't even know my neighbors, and she was telling me all about how she invites hers in for tea sometimes." She glanced at the caffeinated drink Alice had prepared for herself, and got a knowing nod from the blonde girl for it. "Our world isn't her concern, Alice, we've taken up the responsibility to protect her, be there for her, and maybe even give her hope."

Alice sighed and slumped in her chair, leaning closer to the fire and over her knees. The fire warmed her face in the cooling autumn climate. "I don't disagree with you, I guess. I just want to do more than give her hope, Jo. I want to wish there was something magical, somewhere on Earth we could go on an epic adventure to go get, you know? That would be so much easier than this. Wouldn't that be spectacular?"

"Yeah, it would be pretty cool," Jo answered back quietly, swirling her glass slowly. A log on the fire snapped, and rolled to the edge of the fireplace's gate. "You know, it isn't impossible there could be something. We'll look some, without Twilight though. At least until... you know, we show her that stuff."

"Yeah, if that's how you want to do it," Alice acknowledged back levelly, "she might get suspicious before you end up making a decision as to why you won't let her look, too."

Jo shook her head. "No, I'll get her enough books and study material to do physics and robotics to keep her busy for a while. She likes books a lot more than the internet or computers, anyway." She considered Twilight's introduction to laptops as an example. It was true that Twilight thought they were 'fascinating', but she didn't exactly like the 'button boards' that they had, as she called them. I never really thought about why they were called key boards. The placid, monotone thought matched the mood that the air had taken on between the two women.

The room was quiet. Both friends thought over Twilight, the craziness they had stumbled on, and the fact that there wasn't anything spectacular enough on Earth that could get a lost unicorn home.

Jo perked up a little. "We could show her Dr. Who, maybe she could make a dimension traveling version of the Tardis." She smiled and looked over at her friend, breaking the mood.

Alice blinked, then sat up while chuckling. "That might not be a bad idea." The smiles devolved into merry laughter between them, the fire crackling and snapping nearby to add its own thoughts on the matter.

Chapter 11 : A Friendship Report

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Twilight let out a remorseful groan of frustration whilst staring at the pad of paper, a strange, human writing utensil clutched in one balled up fist. "I can't believe how hard this is..." she muttered, staring at the ball point pen angrily. Her face set itself into a look of determination though, despite how bad her 'handwriting' was. It would take practice to get better, but she wanted to write something now, and it wouldn't wait.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I know this report is horrendously tardy, but given the circumstances, I hope you will understand. It is also not about the magic of friendship, but a more terrible matter at hoof. I apologize again for how often that seems to be the case... As I was saying, I have been displaced somehow from Equestria. It happened by my own hooves, and was my own, foalish fault. It is hard to appropriately put my distress into words. I don't think I've ever been this worried before.

The land here is called Earth, and it is hard to explain, but I will do my best. Things are stranger than strange here. The... natives, do not possess magic for starters. I will get back to that later. They are called humans, and are quite interesting. One has given me shelter, kindness, friendship, and is responsible for my safety and recovery thus far.

Twilight paused while writing, her expression had softened a bit while writing. She used the back of one fur-less hand to wipe at a tear that dribbled down her cheek. With a deep breath, she set the pen back to paper.

There are no ponies here, and the humans do not possess any way I could get home. I imagine, if you ever read this, then these words will carry less weight, but... I miss you princess, I miss everypony, so much. I am certain that Spike has eaten all of the ice cream in the library by now.

A shuddering breath escaped Twilight, the pen escaped her hand and lay beside her on the bed.

Being around Jo and Alice had made her think of her family, of Applejack, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie and everypony else she could possibly remember back in Equestria. It so happened that today was also the day she had routinely written a weekly friendship report to her mentor, until an incident concerning a poorly conceived spell changed things a little. Still, she had gotten the urge to write one, her friends near to her thoughts throughout.

The pen lifted again and wrote on in her awkward grip.

I have come to grips with being here though, so forgive me for using my letter to vent my feelings and fears, princess. Perhaps I should begin a diary, instead?

Twilight stared at the scribbled words a moment, before then continuing.

Well, maybe not that, but nevertheless allow me to report some of the things I have discovered here thus far, in detail. Where to begin...

The humans' advancements over-encompass our own greatly, princess, though they have no direct control of magic, much like diamond dogs or gryphons. They are very resourceful, however, and have created a plethora of wondrous devices and tools. I feel I have only scratched the surface of these as well. I can't imagine what may have driven them to create things of this nature. Many of them are mundane in use, strangely. Tools such as these perform tasks that could easily be done by them or a pony, or a simpler device, but they were made anyway. Others, do things that I would have never imagined were I to live as long as you! It's breath taking in a way, if nothing else I look forward to at least learning all manner of strange new things here.

Speaking of strange, princess, that brings me to what I mentioned before. As I said, there is no magic here, and the very fundamental aspects of this place are entirely different from our own world. The moon can be seen during the day, the sun is controlled by naturally occurring forces rather than anypony in charge of it. In fact, with no magic here I can't imagine how this human world has a sun at all. I suspect it must exist in some other state? I greatly wish to investigate that.

It is just a suspicion as of yet, princess, but I highly suspect that magic is not the basic building block of all creatures and life at present on this world. Oh don't even get me started on the world itself, this place is round, and surrounded by empty 'space'. I don't even want to imagine the implications, after thinking about the 'rotation' that Jo, oh, she's my host by the way, I'll talk about her, too. Where was I? Oh yes, why aren't I falling off this thing!? The speed I'm moving at right now is thirty kilometers per second. Over one hundred thousand kilometers per hour. The human world is fascinating, I wish so dearly I had my magic to do some real studying... Speaking of, after landing, my crater formed several dozen strange looking, leg length crystal 'chunks'. Amazingly enough these seem to be entirely magical in nature. I hypothesize these could in fact be what remain of my old body, or perhaps the magic residue from it, or possibly my potion? I'm not sure, I have no way to tell. They seem stable though, and I'm hoping to think of some way I can make use of them at a later date.

So, magic seems to not exist here other than myself. If this is the case though, why are other constants in our realms of existence so similar? Why is two plus two not five here? Or food taste like purple, or something equally silly? I will need to run some tests somehow, just like everything else. If nothing else, there is quite a bit here to keep me preoccupied should I fail to return home... I will talk to Jo about it soon, I have yet to because of everything that has happened, there is just so much! It's very shocking, and my brain feels like it's about to pop when I try to get a handle on it all, which is saying a lot I think. Oh, that sounded a little prideful, forgive me, princess.

Twilight smiled cheerfully down at the page, happier now that she was in her element. She paused to rotate her strange wrist and work the kinks of of her arm and 'fingers'. It was a great deal more difficult to write with human hands. As a unicorn, writing had been second nature, and very easy for her to do without thinking about it. As a human, she had to concentrate her utmost just to hold onto, and use the pen she held, as well as make the hoofwriting legible. Uggh, I'll never get used to how different everything is here. She took another moment to ground and scratch her head, then sighed and continued to write.

At first, I thought that perhaps life here had merely advanced differently, but it's more than that. Even the food tastes different, like plants, which by the way somehow match our own in appearance. At least, they do as far as appearances go. By the way, human way of life seems to be very industrial. Applejack would have a fit learning how crops are grown here. Oh dear, I'm getting off track though, princess. My point is that magic isn't a part of this world at all, and I presume that will make my return home that much more difficult.

The sound of laughter echoed through the nearby wall. Twilight recognized it as Jo and her interesting friend, Alice. At first, Twilight had seen Jo as a rather strange creature, not just in body, but personality as well. After a few days with her though, she now recognized more than a few traits in the human that she herself had once possessed. It was interesting to think about for the castaway mare.

Twilight's pen began to scribble once more.

I am safe though, teacher, and although I am so far from you all, you are all close to my thoughts, and my heart. It isn't something that I've said to you before, princess, but you're my friend, as much as everypony else, and more. Both you and them will always be my friends, no matter what the circumstances of where we may be in relation to one another. I won't ever give up my quest to get back to Equestria. For now, know that I am safe.

Twilight's eyes ran down the page, it had taken her well over an hour to write the entire passage. A nifty little clock beside her borrowed bed let her know that much. Still, it was legible, and she decided it would more than suffice.

Goodnight princess, I will see you again.

Your ever faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

Author's Notes:

Twilight and books.

Yeeeah.

It's short, but I did it on purpose, this letter just seemed to want to be alone, on its own, you know? Less than a week until the next update (as usual) so bear with me fellas. ^^

So, would anyone like to write short adventures of Twilight on Earth with me? I would love to write more about Twi' watching the episodes, movies, films, and of course going out into public to be awkward and adorkable much like in the eqg movie, but well, MLM is postponed after the next update until I can get this one caught up. I haven't been working overly hard to do that, although I am trying reasonably so... Anywho I do run the (a?) collab writers group on fimfic with two other friends. The Mad Writing Workshop If anyone would like to write a story, because you haven't before, or you enjoy funny stories, or entertaining others, send me a message, I'll help you handedly with it.

Other then that if you missed it, I just made a Pacific Rim crossover, if you ponies have time I highly recommend it. No not because I wrote it, I genuinely think it is well written and interesting though. I put a lot of effort into making it more than just giant mecha fighting. Though you do get that right away.

So this one was tomorrow's update, I won't be here tomorrow. Next update is on Tuesday!

Chapter 12 : Twilight's Shadow

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Monday October 11th

A few things had happened for Twilight over the last few days, albeit nothing worth much note.

Alice came and went whenever she could, arriving with gifts and things she would give to Twilight Sparkle. After the fourth day of that, Twilight felt she had to politely request that Alice stop. Amongst simple guilt, she also just couldn’t think of a good reason to wear a t-shirt that said ‘my milkshake bring all the boys to the yard’. The once-unicorn couldn’t figure out what that meant to begin with.

Others were a little more acceptable to her, such as one shirt with somepony named 'Spiderman' adorning the front, or another that depicted her friends from Ponyville holding signs saying various, silly things. Twilight had, admittedly, nearly knocked over Alice in a hug upon receiving the latter gift.

Still, she mostly preferred the plain shirts and simple attire that Jo had bought for her. Their one shopping day together at the nearby human mall a couple days prior, fully showing her human culture first hand, had been fascinating. It had mostly been for clothes, but Twilight had been able to convince Jo to make a small visit to a few other shops, including a hardware store with all sorts of fascinating technology ranging from computers to actual robotics within it. Sadly, their trip had been brief, though still very interesting. Perhaps getting to speak to a few other humans and being surrounded by so many all at once had been the most captivating, and jarring part.

That day had been fun. It had been simple, too, but a good time overall for Twilight. They had also purchased many of the very odd undergarments that humans seemed to use, which Jo had insisted upon. Twilight had been puzzled as to why everyone would wear even more clothes beneath the outer ones, at least until she had tried on one of the articles called a ‘bra’. That one at least made sense after donning it.

There had been a couple of strange encounters at the shopping stores as well, including a few peculiar people noticing the vibrant color of her hair and several comments, one person who even recognized the hair pattern from her depictions in the human television show about her and her friends, and finally an encounter with some human stallions. Jo had threatened to hurt the men were they to keep talking to Twilight. She really hadn't understood the explanation from Jo over why she had acted that way toward them. Even now, she couldn't even think of a reason why Jo had been so offensive, either. They seemed very friendly to talk to, after all. In the end, she had to brush it off as humans being humans.

The last encounter Twilight had at the mall, and it involved one of many machines wandering the mall, was perhaps the oddest. The dialogue she'd had made her very curious to learn more about that specific branch of human knowledge.

All in all, the last few days had been an assortment of trying strange new foods, encountering strange new hobbies and lifestyles, and reading about fascinating sciences which the humans had taken far beyond anything Twilight had ever before encountered. Her mind couldn’t help but become rife with new ideas and improvements to every aspect of them; she needed more.

Twilight may have been stranded across the fabric of reality from home, but at least she had friends and a peaceful environment to enjoy in the meantime, not to mention all of the study material.

Annoyingly enough, Jo, for some reason, acted hesitant to let Twilight use the ‘internet’, that fascinating thing she had been shown on her first day in the house as the ‘Real Twilight Sparkle’ as Jo had put it. She desperately wanted to look at the so-called invention that contained near unlimited knowledge. A million, nay, a quintillion libraries in one.

Every time it came up, though, Jo changed the subject.

Out of respect, Twilight didn’t press the issue. But she knew there was more to the situation, and she did want to find out what.... It seemed to her that it might have something to do with the meat thing, but couldn’t think of a polite way to ask. Humans would have different taboos than ponies, she concluded, and perhaps that was one of them.

For now, Twilight Sparkle entertained herself idly around the house with the wonderful gifts of literary fascination that Jo and Alice had brought her. There were books on physics, which worked a little different on Earth, Mathematics, which remained the same for which she was glad, and many others. She had spent an entire afternoon on the second day reading about the human’s study of geology and tectonics. Or, ‘rock science’ as Jo had called it, earning rolled eyes from the former pony. The best part of it all was that the literature wasn't even just a welcome distraction from her current and awful situation... There might also be something she could use to be found.

It was day ten for Twilight, over a week since she had last seen Equestria, or been a unicorn; or used magic.

Time moved, but slowly.

Twilight heaved a sigh, and set down her book on electronics and circuitry for beginners. She had picked it up just after breakfast. It was the afternoon now, and her joints were uncharacteristically stiff from her latest marathon of study. Ouchouchouch, she winced as several joints popped. Uggh, maybe I should go for a walk and stop with the reading. I can’t believe I’m thinking that, but... Her eyes scanned the ceiling, slowly drifting down to more shelves, and other genres of books. So far, she had only read what Jo had given her. Hmm, actually, maybe a little bit of lighter reading would help.

Twilight had not yet explored very far into the vast, uncharted wilderness of human fiction. From what could be seen on the shelves, Jo owned a collection that spanned many genres indeed. After some looking, however, the majority seemed to cover either “science fiction” or “fantasy.”

While Twilight was still a bit put off by reading something that wasn’t cold hard fact, a look into human entertainment could provide valuable insight into their psychological profile. That alone got her interested. As an added bonus, fiction could be read at leisure, allowing her to relax her posture so she wouldn’t be so stiff. And of course, to a pony such as herself, science fiction sounded like the best kind.

Twilight browsed the titles on the wall, feeling somewhat frustrated that they were difficult to fathom. What could a fictional book titled Nineteen Eighty-Four be about? Or Dune? Perhaps most confusing to her, was The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. She balled her hand into a fist and stuck out the thumb, mimicking the cover of the book. What could this gesture possibly mean? Is this how humans hitchhike?

Another, older novel caught her eye.

“Hmm, Starship Troopers.” Twilight considered it. “I suppose that title seems fairly straightforward.”

Twilight had seen depictions of spacecraft earlier in her indefinite stay on Earth, and it was a subject she had been meaning to investigate further. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to combine that with her foray into human fiction. It would be sciency after all, she considered, wouldn’t it? The book found its way from the shelf and into her grasp where she turned it over in her hands. The cover was pliable, like thick paper. She handled it carefully while reading the large amount of text printed on the glossy front and back covers.

An enduring classic...

A book that continues to be influential to this day, one whose popularity and content haven't been dimmed despite decades of imitations...

One of the greatest works on the moral and philosophical aspects of suffrage, civic virtue, juvenile delinquency, capital punishment, and war...

That sounded like just the kind of light reading Twilight was hoping for. She eagerly opened the book.

“Hey Twi.”

Twilight shrieked and the book fell out of her clumsy human-handed grasp, slapping onto the floor. “Ah, ah, oh dear.” She gulped and turned around.

“Whoa, are you alright?” Jo bent down to pick up the book her Equestrian friend had dropped.

“Oh yes,” Twilight answered, grinning embarrassedly. “You just startled me is all Jo, phew.”

Jo smirked, “Sorry about that, I just wanted to let you know I’m heading over to Alice’s. It's nothing important I think. Will you be alright on your own for a while?”

Twilight retrieved her book from Jo and held it to her chest, still trying to calm her breathing and state of surprise. “Oh, yes of course, is there anything wrong?”

“No,” Jo rolled her eyes and picked up her car keys from a hook on the far wall. “I don’t know what she wants, but she won’t tell me. You can be sure she’ll probably try and follow me home tonight though, so you can ask her yourself. She’s obsessed with hanging around you. I won’t be back for a little while but it shouldn’t be long, salad’s in the fridge, don’t burn the house down!”

Twilight smiled at her friend’s jests—at least she assumed that’s what they were—and called after Jo as she left. “Alright, uhm, drive safe!” She allowed herself a congratulatory smile, happy to have remembered the human farewell. Her brow furrowed a moment later, still distracted from the book held against her chest. Horseapples, that was my chance to ask about this book, she glanced down at it, then sighed and sat back in the chair she used to read. Oh well, I’ll be able to ask when Jo gets back.

A few hours passed. Twilight sat rigidly at attention, eyes wide, fingers clutching the paperback novel. Reading it was like watching a haycart crash in the town square; she didn’t want to see, but couldn’t look away. Such power, such deep emotion inspired by a piece of fiction. All throughout reading it, her mind kept returning to one, disbelieving thought; one crippling conclusion.

Is this really how some humans think?

Twilight came to the last page and put the book down, afraid of its contents, but also reverent of them. It was hard for her to believe that a paper-bound narrative could cause her to think so hard as that one had. Worse, or perhaps better from a research point of view, she now had so many more things to look up about humans.

Twilight stood up and walked back to the bookcase, intent on finding another kind of book, something that could teach and introduce her to humans as a whole. A series of dusty, old encyclopedias leaped out at her from the back-most bookcase of the lot. She knelt down and began tearing them off the shelves, stacking them beside herself.

The mentions of China in the novel led her first to an article about a country. From there, Twilight delved deeper into the study of Communism. She began to realize the parallels between the bugs’ hive mind in the novel and what the author thought of foreign governments.

From Communism, she moved to an occurrence in human history called the Cold War; a figurative great divide across the planet fought through foreign policy and proxy conflicts. Once again, Twilight ran across a word she had focused on while reading the dictionary: Atomic.

She put aside that for a moment, instead trying to figure out how such a worldwide standoff had occurred. Just how or what in human nature had caused such a hate driven act of... she didn’t even know what. Conveniently, Jo had such a history book on her shelf that might explain, and Twilight picked it up.

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

The quote struck a chord with Twilight. Surely simple liberty can’t come at such a high price? she thought. As Twilight continued to read, her optimism slowly dimmed. There were documented instances of spying, trespassing, weapons shipments, sabotage, puppet governments, missiles, atomic and otherwise. All of these things were taboo to her world, yes, but more than that, she could never have so much as thought of these events as common, let alone just easily accept them as a reality on Earth.

Twilight put down the history book and reached for another volume of the encyclopedia. She searched and found the page detailing the meaning of the word that had come up so often: atomic.

It was about weapons.

Hundreds of thousands of people died in a place called Japan where they had been used. Many also perished from the aftereffects of poisoning. And that was the result of detonating two comparatively crude bombs. Thousands of even more powerful weapons had been produced and were waiting to be deployed.

Questions in her head formed, seeking explanations. What could have possibly touched off a—Twilight checked the dictionary—arms race? What had Japan done? She found her answer, then pulled another book off the wall, one titled World War Two.

Her eyes moved across the pages, taking in the massive scale of the battles and the incredible effort that people had put into killing one another. However, a particular section of this war of Earth caught her eye. It was labeled Holocaust.

The book slapped shut.

Twilight stared at the hard-covered record of human history for several seconds, trying to decide what to do. Hands shaking, she hesitantly opened the encyclopedia again to do more research.

Jo pointedly ignored the girl chattering to her as they walked up the stairs to her home’s back door.

“Oh my gosh, could you imagine the look on Twilight’s face if we took her to-” Alice cut off, still grinning as Jo whirled around and came face to face with her.

“Alice, let me ask you something, if you were a little purple unicorn from a kid’s show, trapped on a strange world and surrounded by carnivorous aliens, would you rather be trying to get home, or goofing off?” Jo deepened her dark look the longer Alice waited to form a response; the other girl just stared back flatly.

“...So does this mean we’re not going to Disney World then? Because it’s less crowded in February, we could go in February? Oh come on Jo!” Alice threw up her hands as the grumpy woman face-palmed, turned around and went inside without another word. “That’s months from now, and can you blame me for wanting to give her a good time and some fun? How could we go wrong with Disney World!? At the very least we should try something other than just letting her read all day.”

“Aliiice,” Jo moaned despairingly, “would you work with me here? She’s perfectly fine, besides, I don’t have the sort of money to waste on that kind of vacation anyway.” She hung her coat up on the coat rack, eager to be inside out of the autumn wind. It was already unseasonably cold for October.

“You’re the one refusing to work with anypony here...” Alice mumbled back, following the self-declared boss of Twilight Sparkle.

“That’s another thing, enough with the pony-isms, that’s getting on my nerves, even Twilight doesn’t do them all the time-” Jo stepped into the dining room and spotted just the pony they had been talking about. The two women had only been gone a few hours, but it seemed Twilight had reorganized her ‘reading pile’ entirely in that small allotment of time. Not only that, but the laptop was on, and open.

“Hey Twilight, what’s up?” Jo called, already moving around the table, she glanced back at Alice.

The purple-haired house-guest was hunched over the glowing screen of the computer, her fingers gripping the mouse tightly. Twilight was so intent on the web page in front of her that Jo had to clear her throat loudly before she was noticed.

Twilight blinked, then looked up, her eyes still slightly unfocused from staring at the screen and what it had held. “Oh. Hello.”

Glancing at the computer screen, Jo spotted what her friend was looking at. “How did you get to this page?”

Alice hummed as she stepped closer, leaning over to peek at the screen. “Ooooh,” she rolled her eyes up past Twilight and to Jo. Rather than wear the ‘I told you so face”, she put some distance between herself and the other two girls.

Twilight took a moment to process the question. “It’s a long story. I started off reading a book called Starship Troopers. Then I investigated the parameters and some explanations of the book’s events with nonfiction. I just couldn’t believe things could be that bad. Oh Celestia, I couldn’t even believe that fiction could be so horrible.” She stared off into space, then pressed a hand to her swimming head before continuing. “Uggh, anyway, the text just wasn’t conveying the point. The encyclopedias were a start, but I remembered what you told me about the internet and thought that maybe I could find more up to date information.”

Jo could feel a nervous sweat building in the relative warmth of the house, heated for the coming winter. Her winter attire wasn’t helping. “I see...” She looked over at the pile of encyclopedias, desperately wanting to know what Twilight could have looked up in them. If she started with Starship Troopers though, she thought, I can’t imagine where she ended up.

Twilight went on. “Your computer was logged into some website called Netflix. I watched a little bit of... the Starship Troopers movie and was confused, it was nothing like the book. I just now realized that it took my attention away from everything else I was trying to research.” She wore a sick look for a moment, before shaking her head as if trying to rid herself of bad memories.

Twilight sighed and turned back to the computer, clicking through the numerous tabs open in the browser. Surprised that Twilight had learned to use the program so quickly, Jo leaned forward, trying to see what the humanized pony had been up to.

It wasn’t something that she was prepared to see.

The topics of Twilight’s studying ranged from “violence in movies” and progressed all the way to “weapons of mass destruction.” Mixed amongst the various pages were pictures, graphic and detailed. They went far beyond what she had told Jo about.

Along the way, it seemed that Twilight had been reading about other gut-wrenching topics such as environmental ruin due to pollution, AIDS, worldwide poverty, and genocide.

Jo was almost speechless, at a loss for what to say. “Twilight...” she breathed.

The former Equestrian interrupted silence left by the human

"...Your books in the house Jo, most of them are fantasies about war and strife. They're horrible, well, not so horrible because they're just stories, I guess..." Twilight exhaled a heavy breath.

"Really?" Jo asked earnestly, "I guess I wouldn't know, I think I've read two of those things at most." Why did I think she wouldn't read those... "They were my mom's you-"

"What!?" Twilight exclaimed, widened eyes locked unto Jo's surprised form. "You have all these wonderful, glorious, terrifying books and you don't read them at all!?"

Jo stood still, staring back silently at Twilight's shocked expression. She was torn between giving her an incredulous look and laughing out loud, settling on neither. Wow, I tried to hide the horror of man, but not reading my wealth of literature is what sets her off.

"Never mind that though." Twilight shook her head. “What I want to know, is how could you?” she turned away from the computer to fix Jo with a pleading stare. “How is it possible that you can be so self destructive?"

Jo tilted her head the barest centimeter sideways.

Twilight spoke on. "Humans, I mean. You are all the same species even! What could possibly lead to killing each other like this!?” She had read the explanations from the books, but they didn’t make any sense. “Everything I’ve found... What is... At the rate that-”

Jo shook her head and spoke up. “I didn’t want you to find out about this on your own Twilight, or at all if Celestia and your friends came to get you first.” She couldn’t take the look Twilight was giving her and faced Alice instead. The other girl looked as at a loss for words as she felt. “I...I at least didn’t want you to learn about it from a science fiction book,” was all she managed to add.

Twilight’s voice shuddered out her response. “I know the story wasn’t real, Jo. But I’ve also found out just what exactly is. It’s worse.”

“Twilight,” Alice stepped forward, her hands held out to her sides to get the attention on her. “You have to understand, a lot of that stuff is just people being misguided or being mislead into doing what they thought they had to. Violence is the exception, not the rule. People are good-”

Twilight groaned and put her hands over her face. “But shouldn’t they have known better!? While making something like a ‘machine gun’ didn’t the inventors think or consider the millions that would die from its use? I just- There’s too much to consider, I can’t...”

“Is Equestria really perfectly free of this kind of thing? There’s absolutely nothing like any of this, at all?” Jo didn’t want things to go like this. Violence, war, the motives behind it, it’s all so complicated it can’t be talked about so easily. How has Equestria escaped to the point it’s as weird as magic is to us? She chewed her lip, waiting for, and dreading Twilight’s response.

Twilight’s desperate look turned into a frown, and then a weak scowl. “Of course bad things happen, I fight it myself. But not like this, not so much... Millions Jo, millions, that’s more than anypony could ever hope to meet in a lifetime, and you...” She looked back at the laptop, then laid a hand over the screen and closed it. “It’s odd, but in a way, I feel I almost understand the differences between us after looking so deeply.”

The second sentence caught the other two girls off guard, and they looked at one another, then back to Twilight.

“...You do?” Jo took a step back as the taller woman stood up and looked at her. Twilight’s face was weary.

“Yes, I looked into human history, and that led me to discover...things.” Twilight walked around Jo towards the other side of the table, finding and lifting one of the encyclopedias. “Earth, your planet, isn’t bound at all by harmony; it’s all one big fluke, er, no offense... But that much makes perfect sense to me now. Everything from your evolution to your solar system, it's dictated by different laws.” She stared at the pages of the book she had opened, then closed it again with another sighed breath. “From what I can tell, instinct drives you to go on. Sometimes, no matter what. This seems to go for every living thing on Earth, from plants to...to single cell organisms; those things are weird by the way. I got side-tracked at one point after reading about them and tried to determine if there might be a way to confirm that my world's organisms are made up of them as well, but considering my transformation such an experiment on my would be-”

Jo and Alice traded looks while Twilight was distracted, but neither did anything but give the other looks of helplessness. Alice mouthed ‘I told you so’, though.

Twilight shook her head and got back on track. “My point is, stuff is different here, but you all still feel things like we do, as far as I can tell.” Twilight glanced down at her own hands, before shutting her eyes and looking elsewhere. “It’s not completely different. I just-” She looked up at them, speaking more and more quickly. “It seems like everything in your world strives to fight against itself just to survive, rather than innately work together. From the forces that govern your planet, down to the creatures themselves. In the absence of magic, and harmony, you live by other rules. For living creatures at least, I read that it’s called ‘survival of the fittest’.”

Twilight took a step back and smiled. It was an unstable smile and she ran her hands up through her hair while looking at the ceiling. Her voice began to shake and quaver, then weaken. “So, it’s not your fault. It isn’t, you just don’t help one another naturally. You don’t work together like we do, if anything you should be praised for how far you’ve-”

Twilight collapsed into Jo’s arms, already beside her before she fell onto her knees.

Jo felt the other girl shake in her embrace. “Twi’, come on, that stuff’s way bigger than us, don’t worry about humanity-”

“How can you say that? With others suffering out there it’s... I guess we are different.” Twilight tightened her grip on Jo, before changing the subject. “In Equestria, the creatures that seek to destroy or kill wantonly are locked away.” She leaned back, staring into Jo’s equally sad eyes. “They’re kept in Tartarus, because they can’t be helped, no matter what was done.”

The room was quiet while the two different beings held each other’s gaze.

Alice sat with a thump beside them on the hardwood floor, coughed, then spoke. “Whelp, I don’t really want to get locked away in Pony Hell for saying this, but if it came down to killing something to defend my family, or doing nothing and watching them die...I'd kill something."”

Twilight looked over at her, mouth agape.

“I would look for an alternative, but, okay, my point here is that morality is complicated. Surely you and plenty of others have thought about more complicated scenarios than just the best ones possible?” Alice shrugged, she was trying to reach out to Twilight’s deductive side, in hopes of making the conversation more analytical, and less emotional.

Jo looked away for a moment. “Well, Starship Troopers made something clear. ‘Violence has settled more issues in history than has any other factor.’”

“Jeez, that’s cold,” Alice commented, throwing Jo a look. “And since when can you just remember quotes like that off the top of your head?”

“College book report for philosophy,” Jo replied, shrugging weakly. “I talked about how nearsighted and wishful people can be. If there's something mildly favorable to us, we latch onto and are have a tendency to be biased towards its success."

Twilight squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and took a deep breath. "Right." She slowly half stood up again and slid back into her chair. “I’ve done the research, myself, and seen the numbers and statistics. For a long time, human sacrifice for beliefs has decreased a great deal, comparatively. Slavery has been outlawed in most of the world. Public executions are becoming less common...”

Jo watched the other girl’s explanations unfold, and wasn’t sure what to feel on the matter. Sure, thinking about things outside the safety of her home was never welcome, it was easier to not think about them. All she managed to say, and perhaps it wasn’t such a bad question, was, “So what do you think about us Twi’, besides the cold hard facts?”

Alice stood up during the quiet in the room and shrank away, folding her arms in front of herself. She started to speak, then closed her mouth again, unable to decide on what to say.

The pony thought through quiet, before finally speaking again. “What I think, is that your planet needs help, Jo. I’ve already thought of countless things that could be done, with the right organization and scheduling, we-”

Jo shook her head. “Twilight, come on, listen to what you’re saying. We couldn’t possibly hope to help-”

Twilight interrupted her, leaning forward in her chair with a serious expression. “Jo, maybe I couldn’t do it now without abandoning my goal to get home, but...I can’t just ignore this. I’m not sure how you could, or any of you!... Once I get home, I’m speaking to the princess about it, I want to figure something out, I have to. I wouldn’t be a pony if I let this sort of suffering go...left alone.”

“Oh,” Jo’s brain began catching up, and moving past the fears she had felt about Twilight learning these things about humanity. She hadn’t quite expected the pony to react like this, like a caring mother rather than a terrified alien creature. “Well, that’s...probably going to be complicated, but sure. Still, I’m sorry you had to see any of that stuff Twi’, would you like to take a break and-”

Twilight interrupted her again, a hard-thinking expression pointed at the ground this time. “It will be complicated, a flawless plan needs to come together, and from what I’ve read, people need to be convinced of that. Everything I’ve read suggests that humans cannot stand being told what to do by one another, to the point they’re deathly paranoid of others. We couldn’t just come over and start fixing things like the pollution, even just that might offend certain nations. We’ll need to make overly complicated trade agreements, negotiations. Many of your planet’s countries won’t mind, and I think that Celestia will be able to handle it, not to speak on her behalf. So-”

“Uh, Earth to Twilight.” Jo waved a hand in front the purple-haired girl’s eyes.

“Come on Twilight, don’t think too hard on it,” Alice added in. They both gave Twilight a disheartened look in an attempt to snap her out of it.

“I...maybe you’re right, I’m sorry. It’s just, I’ve never encountered something like this, it seems insurmountable, impossible to me. A pony could work the rest of their lives and not put a dent in this.” Twilight leaned forward until she was holding her head in hands, staring at the floor. “You didn’t answer me earlier, Jo, how can humans be like this? Why would free thinking beings choose to hurt so much?” Her hands interwove with her hair, a sensation that subtly reminded her of her own humanity.

Jo stood awkwardly, feeling put on the spot. It was not often that one person had to answer for the whole human race. “I think that’s your answer there, Twi’. We’re more free thinking maybe, if not, we’re just inclined to fight more.” She nervously ran a hand through her own hair. “I guess we’re doing our best, overall.”

Twilight quietly muttered a response. “Doing your best?” She mouthed the words a second time to herself.

Alice took a step closer to the Equestrian. “Twilight, I understand that things aren’t nearly as peaceful or perfect here as they are in Equestria, but I do speak for everyone on the planet when I say thank you for giving us a chance.” The room was quiet for a minute while they awaited the former pony’s response.

Twilight kneaded her hands against one another, until abruptly she stood up. Her legs carried her swiftly across the floor, past Jo and Alice. “Jo, is it alright if I use your computer room? It has a door, and I can be alone there.” The room she spoke of was just beside her bedroom, and it would give her the solitude she felt was needed right then. She stopped at the doorway and looked back.

Jo furrowed her brow and held Twilight’s gaze for a moment before answering. “Yeah, sure Twilight. Take all the time you need. We’re here if you need us.”

Twilight nodded, looking at both of her friends before turning to go. “Is it okay if I use the laptop in there too?”

“It’s a desktop, but yeah Twilight, go ahead.” Jo put a hand over her mouth, admitting defeat to herself over the entire conversation, and not saying anything more.

“...I’m sorry girls, I—” Twilight bit her lip, then pressed on after she found the right words to say. “I’m not upset, I don’t even understand these things. I only see them from my perspective. I need more of that I think, perspective.” She poked her fingers together idly, opened her mouth to say that it was all alright.... Then she spun around instead, and walked into the next room, leaving the humans behind herself.

Twilight clicked the door to the room she had taken sanctuary in shut, exhaling her breath and taking a few final, weary steps towards the nearby chair. She plonked into its confines unceremoniously, still fetlock deep in her own thoughts.

Well, now what. The ‘nails’ on her fingers, as they were called, clicked noisily on the room’s desk. Twilight held them up to her face and inspected them carefully. Huh, these look so strange from up close. Moving them away again, she found they looked quite different, smoother when at arm’s length away. They're like claws, but not really. She sighed, unable to think of a good allegory for humans, their nails and comparing them to their morality.

Twilight blinked her eyes rapidly, deciding to peruse the internet again, but this time for positive things. The computer warmed up while she thought over what exactly could give her a better look at the beings that had taken her in and given her a warm place to live.

Chapter 13 : Banana

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"Stop that." Jo glared across the kitchen at Alice, the blonde woman busy in the act of eating a banana right at that moment.

"Stop what?" Alice tilted her head in a curious fashion, before smiling coyly and opening her mouth again, hovering it over the berry, but not quite taking a bite. The suggestive manner in which she moved the fruit up and down earned a groan of disgust from the other woman facing her down.

"You're like an infant." Jo replied, shaking her head. She didn't bother saying that being so annoying in her home, was as far as she was concerned perfectly acceptable grounds for beating her up. With Alice, it was better to ignore whatever was being done, or move the conversation on past it. Addressing anything with her usually meant getting more than you bargained for. That made the other girl an entertaining friend, but one most people got tired of quick, or at least that's what Jo thought.

Alice finally stuck the banana in her mouth and took a healthy bite. "Mmmhm," she hummed in satisfaction. "You know, you never used to keep healthy food around. I think Twilight might be the best thing that's ever happened to you."

"You know, instead of distracting me, you could help me figure this out." Jo massaged one side of her head, desperately trying to come up with a solution to the situation she found herself in.

Alice stared at the half eaten fruit in her hand. "I wonder if bananas taste better in Equestria. I bet they do, did you know that all bananas sold in stores are actually clones? The originals died out a long time ago from a fungus or something, but the clone bananas are immune to it. The only downside to this is they say that the bananas we have left are more bland. I wonder what pre-1970s bananas tasted li-"

"Alice, would you focus?" Jo glared over at the girl, who was obviously content to entertain an entirely different conversation. She was having trouble thinking over the other girl's rambling. I can't believe this is happening, it's my fault too. I should have just been straight with her from the get go... Of course then she probably would have been... or maybe Twilight would have-

"Well excuse me for wondering," Alice pouted back. "You've already insisted I leave Twilight alone about the show and I have. Do you know I've been literally bursting at the seams to ask her questions?"

"You've asked her enough questions about her home, Alice, she has a lot on her mind. Especially now that I've screwed up..." Jo scowled while talking, but it shifted into a frown once finished. Feeling at a loss, Jo wiped a hand down her face. The giant blue eyes of Alice popped up in front of her the moment she opened her own again. "GAH!?"

"Jo you didn't screw up." Alice stared flatly, while Jo pulled herself back up by the kitchen counter after successfully half falling over. "Maybe you could have gotten 'luckier'. Or we could have done like a cute little puppet show to teach her about humans and stuff and that wouldn't have made it seem quite as bad but-"

Recovered from nearly having a heart attack, Jo snorted out a brief laugh, "Alice, enough with the puppets." She said warningly. The only thing the other girl had gone on more about than asking Twilight of aspects of the show and what Equestria was really like, was her puppet show scheme.

"Hey, that was a good idea! Just because you think it's stupid, doesn't mean that it is." Alice folded her arms defiantly, standing firm for her shot down plan. That lasted a split second, then she went limp against the counter and sighed quickly. She knew if she let Jo respond, things would keep going back and forth like they were. "Jo, really though, you didn't screw up at all. You're not responsible for people or what humanity's done! Once Twilight comes around all we should say is the truth, and things will be fine. She's incredibly smart after all. I'm thinking we point out that we're all just creatures of habit and the product of our environment, that's not wrong after all, right?"

Jo watched Alice silently while her friend spoke. "I guess, and I don't know about that, my opinion's always been a little closer to what Twilight said, that we're driven by instinct and evolution-"

"Aren't they both kind of factors?" Alice held a hand out, palm facing up while trying to compromise.

"Uggh! I don't know." Jo began pacing, wanting desperately to get off the topic altogether and make sure Twilight was alright. "All I know, is that people are complicated, with tendencies ranging from selfishness all the way to needless violence as the norm. Just turn on the news any day of the week and you hear about a new war somewhere or terrorism in any country at all." She shook her head with a grimace, gritting her teeth. "Can we drop it? I'm starting to remember why I tried not bringing this up and hiding it from her in the first place. For the record I'm not blaming anyone, either, least of all myself."

As Jo turned around in order to pace back across the kitchen floor, Alice poked her in the chest with a finger, blocking her path. The blonde girl had followed and trapped her against the fridge. "I get that this isn't about blame, Jo, but don't worry about it, everything'll work out fine. I can feel it. Twilight is, like, incredibly nice. She's just like from the show, only a thousand times better!" A smile crept onto the girl's twinkling eyes while she spoke to Jo. "Only...better. Real." Her gaze slid to the side.

Jo raised an eyebrow, her expression finally smoothing from the sour look it had worn almost constantly for an hour.

"Yeah, she is, which is why we owe it to her to make her comfortable here, Alice." Jo bit her lip in thought of what else to say, then settled on backtracking when nothing new or groundbreaking came to mind. "And that means no pestering her about Equestria, besides, what if you don't like what you have to hear from her?"

Alice made a pbbhtt noise and waved a hand at Jo's face. "Anything about Equestria is awesome, I don't care if Princess Celestia is actually a donkey named Bill that has a pink and black polka dot fur coat. It's. Real, Jo, real, that's crazy. Way crazier than our boring world, I mean, it's fun and exciting sometimes thanks to awesome people like me," Jo rolled her eyes at Alice, "and the normalcy of everything does give the few fun things we get a certain special quality..."

Drifting off in her speech, Jo supposed Alice was quite finished, and opened her mouth to tell her for the thousandth time how weird her brain was. When suddenly, the blonde girl grabbed her shoulders. "Nothing can compare to how overwhelmingly awesome this is Jo, and I feel terrible because it's at Twilight's expense, but magic. Is. Real!" After her voice reached a pitch high enough to become a squeal rather than words, she added, "I'm gonna go play with the crystals. I'll be right back."

"Alice, no! Hell no, just no!" Jo quickly grabbed the other girl by the shoulders and flipped her around, then took puppy dog eyes to the face.

"But magic Joooo, magic!" Alice began crying and leaned on the other girl's chest, fake tears streaming down her face.

"As soon as I find a place where I can bury you and no one will find the body, I'm doing it." Jo pulled the other girl up from slowly sliding down the front of her body, and losing an internal battle to stay serious.

Once back on her feet, Alice studied Jo's face for a split second, then abandoned the false sad routine after spotting something. "Whoop, made you smile." She taunted, grinning crazily.

Jo's scowl tripled in deepness after successfully making a saving throw vs. friendliness. "Uuh, no. My face just twitched from how radioactive you are after growing up in a government lab." Quite finished with talking in circles and wanting to thinking of something concrete, she whirled around, facing away from Alice to take several steps out of the kitchen.

"Jo." Alice said emotionlessly.

Hesitantly, the brown haired girl turned around. The serious tone in Alice's voice had caught her completely off guard.

"You know... If I had to explain humanity to someone... I wouldn't sit back and worry about explaining it. Morality is such a difficult subject to talk about with someone who lacks a human's perspective on it. For them it's like when you walk into a room where something terrible happened to someone and you feel your blood turn to ice, then later you find out the inhumane horrors that happen there. That's a powerful moment in a person's life, and it reminds them how good of a person they really are." Alice put a tilted smile on her face. "But Twilight? She's different, you can tell just by watching her. I don't think we need to worry about her at all." Walking up to Jo while talking, she patted her friend on the shoulder and smirked.

Jo had stared back wide eyed at first, then let her emotions calm down and soaked in what was said. ...She's right.

Alice then sighed in an obnoxiously loud manner and stretched. "More than that, I've seen enough to know this Twilight isn't one of those kooky versions from all those fan-fiction stories that exploded all over the internet. So I'd say we've got nothing to worry about, just give her a little while, she'll come around."

An image of evil scientist Twilight flashed through Jo's mind, causing her to shake her head. Oh god, the idea of something like that had never even crossed her mind, and a shiver ran up her spine. No universe is ready for the things that nerds have cooked up on the internet over the years.

"Cold, Jo?" Jo returned to reality and looked at Alice, impressed that her bubble headed friend had managed to say something deep enough to get her lost in her own thoughts.

"Ah, no, not cold. Hungry though, actually... Let's make dinner, alright? Twilight'll be hungry when she gets out of there I bet. I don't think she's had anything to eat since breakfast..." Jo glanced at the kitchen again, then back to Alice with a tired look.

Alice gave Jo a coy smile. "Should've eaten a banana."

The two felines meowed up at her, only ceasing once they were being petted. The moment that her hands stopped, for either of them, they began their mewling once again. It seemed there were some distinct similarities between the two worlds of Earth and Equestria—such as the bossy nature of cats—no matter how much else was different.

Twilight sighed and looked up at the door, still hesitating to walk back out into the rest of the house, and confront the two humans. There is a chance that it will just be Jo, she considered, perhaps Alice has left to go home... Whether that was a good thing or not, she couldn't decide. I guess I would prefer them both being here after all. I do like them both... She meant it, too, it had pained her to be so critical with them earlier. After all, they had never done anything like what she had seen...

Admittedly, I can't be sure of that, Twilight sighed the thought out, but that's no reason to assume so. Augh, alright, stop hiding, Twilight. Moping never helped anypony, and just hypothesizing never completed an experiment. You learned that lesson of friendship—and science— a long, long time ago. A flash went through her mind's eye, a flash of five ponies and one little dragon, all of them different colors and filled with beautiful, unique personalities.

Twilight opened the door to the back office and stepped into the living room, keen on finding her two human friends, and making up with them. Her thoughts entertained her while she looked. Alice is a very light hearted girl... Whether that was normal for a human or not, Twilight wasn't exactly sure. Hm, she reminds me of other ponies now that I think about it. More than Jo or anypony er- anybody else I've met here, anyway.

The sound of voices from the opposite end of Jo's gigantic house reached Twilight's short, inefficient human ears, and she began walking towards the faint chatter. Jo...hm, the only pony I think I could compare Jo to would be Luna. They're both so anti-social and awkward... She felt a twinge of guilt, but she still recalled when Luna had requested her to visit Canterlot after Nightmare Night in order to...hang out. Frankly, Twilight had been surprised the lunar princess had even known that term, and was just as surprised by the letter. I hope I get another chance to relax with her. I still feel bad about not having more fun...with...Luna? Her thoughts trailed off.

Twilight pressed an ear to the wall, listening, or eaves dropping, rather, to the human girls she could now hear more clearly. They were definitely talking about her.

It was Alice's voice. "Twilight's an adult, Jo, she's rational and mature in her own way and she's just learning about humanity's dark side. Imagine how happy she'll be when she finds out all the good and beautiful things people have done, and I'm not just talking artists, but the charities and helpful kinds of people out there."

Twilight wasn't sure what sort of conversation she had just stumbled upon, but she immediately felt a very warm, positive set of emotions towards the humans. Her hands rested on the door frame while she listened, only feeling a little guilty while listening to her friends sitting in the darkened room and chatting. It was late now, the sun well past set, but they had waited for her to reappear on top of being so kind.

"I was, actually." Twilight said from across the room, answering what Alice had speculated.

Both of the other girls looked up from where they sat, relaxing in the dim room after getting dinner started. They found Twilight, standing in the doorway where she leaned against it, a relaxed, weary smile on her face.

"I found a few more...recent bad things, of course, looking for the good. But those acts of selflessness exist because of the bad things that do happen." Twilight looked down at the floor, still smiling. "It cheered me up a little bit. I'm sorry for walking out on you girls like that, I should've stayed and talked it out some-"

"Twilight it's...you don't have to apologize, really." Jo said simply, lazily resting her head on one arm while she studied the unicorn she kept fretting over. "But I am really sorry you had to- well..." She swallowed and tried to start again. "In all honesty, I don't think it was right of me to try and keep all that a secret from you, Twilight, I'm sorry about that. You were going to run into it eventually, you sort of already had..." Scrubbing a frantic hand behind her head, Jo sped up in talking, getting nervous talking about it period. "Anyway if you ever need anyone to talk about that serious stuff you saw, please don't hesitate, we're here for you."

"I will Jo, and thank you." Twilight nodded, grinning widely. "You're both my friends, I know I can trust you both very much."

Jo returned the grin with one of her own, more rare examples. "Wow...thanks Twi', likewise."

Nearby, Alice aawed from the other chair suddenly, holding her hands up to her mouth in a display of cuteness.

Jo glared at her, barely resisting the urge to punch the blonde girl.

Twilight laughed at the entire display. Alice was already laughing too, and slowly Jo joined them.

“So," Twilight started by speaking slowly again. "If anypo- anybody’s going to teach me about humanity, and how to help... It’s humanity itself, and you two.” She affirmed her thoughts confidently to them both, her studious, trademarked voice making them sound as though she were back to one hundred and twenty percent. Surprising both Alice and Jo, she also hopped into the room, spreading her arms wide. “Well!” She started saying more cheerfully, building up momentum. “It helps that I also found some awesome things on the internet. When I was searching, I found these places called TV Tropes and Wikipedia. I’m not really sure what happened after that, but after clicking some links I somehow got to pictures of fluffy kittens, so I guess things turned out okay, in the end...”

Alice awkwardly broke the new silence that had begun. “Yeah! That’s the spirit!...” She looked around at the other two women.

The unicorn-girl smiled back, then paced across the room. She sat on the couch with Alice, pulling her strange legs up and hugging them to herself. It was a sitting position that she liked.

Jo on the other hand, wore a frightened look, suddenly thinking of something that she had not considered yet. "Uh Twilight, did you find anything...hm, uh, embarrassing on the internet? To do with humans, maybe?" She addressed her purple-haired hesitantly.

Twilight tilted her head curiously at Jo, not quite understanding. "You mean...besides all of the other stuff? Uhm, I dunno, Jo, could you be more specific?"

Jo's eyes squinted in thought, thinking how best to word things without coming out and saying it.

Alice beat her to it though. "She's asking if you found anything sexual about humans online, Twilight. The internet is full of random, crazy things that humans do. If you aren't careful about where you go, you can stumble onto that stuff."

"Really Alice, could you try a little harder not to corrupt Twilight!? I-" Jo blinked and looked back at Twi', giving her a sheepish look. "N-nevermind Twilight, just, when you're on the internet, be mindful of where you go, if it looks like a bad website you should leave it. There are dangerous things on there too, called viruses." More and more she successfully steered the conversation away from something she really, didn't want to go over with Twilight. Oh god, there's so much stuff on the internet that- No, don't even consider that scenario, Jo. Already, she was beginning to consider that war, famine, and disease, were the lesser of evils that Twilight Sparkle had yet discovered...

"I...See." Twilight answered, looking back and forth between a giggling Alice and the disheveled Jo. "Well, I plan on only sticking to areas of academic study Jo, that should be safe, right?"

Jo let out a breath of relief. "Yeah, yeah... that should be perfectly, eh, watchable, Twilight."

The kitchen timer for dinner chose then to ring.

Alice leaped off of the couch and sprinted madly across the room, blonde hair flailing behind her.

The rest of the night lightened up in mood. For now, they managed to eat dinner and decide on watching some light hearted human entertainment. Together, they all settled on something to try and paint humans in a better light, as well as what they could be capable of. Ideas of what movies to watch or shows already spun through Jo's and Alice's heads.

Twilight desperately did want to see some more nice things that humanity had to offer, even more so after hearing the jokes that she couldn't make any sense of that Jo and Alice kept telling each other.

Altogether, the unicorn felt very much like she was on the outside of one of Pinkie Pie's and Rainbow Dash's jokes, they way Jo and Alice laughed with one another, talking about obscure words like 'tribbles' and comparing them to parasprites, or flux capacitors and something about Jo's car. There were too many odd references to name, and as she thought back on it, there had been hundreds over the last two weeks, as well. Perhaps taking a break from the studying for a few days would do her some good, she resolved to just have fun and hang out with Jo and Alice for a while. Alice at least, really seemed to like that idea. Curiously, however, Jo had started eying Alice in what looked like a worried fashion, and for a reason Twilight couldn't think of.

Nevertheless, Jo and Alice debated on during dinner about just what it would be that they would all watch. Once their dishes were all cleaned and put up in the sink, Twilight began to make popcorn, while the knowledgeable humans chose a film to brighten everypony's mood. The unicorn wasn’t much of a cook, but after a little instruction over the last two weeks she could at least use the oven and microwave without setting things on fire. There had been a couple incidents, but it had only cost Jo one cooking pot and a coffee cup thus far.

After that, Twilight wasn't allowed to 'research' the microwave first hand anymore.

The two humans shifted methodically through the vast collections of old DVDs and Blu-Ray discs, trying to figure out what might be the best choice. Twilight was of course, their top concern over what to choose, not their own moods or interests at the moment. Alice wanted something raunchy and comedic, and Jo wanted to watch some of Arnold Schwarzenegger's old action movies. Neither of those would do though.

Instead, animated films seemed like an obvious avenue to take, the two of them thinking that a child’s movie may be the best way to go. However, even some of those seemed a bit risky after looking into them.

"Holy crap," Alice exclaimed. She shuddered and put the DVD 'Ferngully' back on the shelf. "It's like every movie that does kinda cover the stuff we want, is either too violent, or terrible. I wonder if that says something about us as a species?"

Jo raised an eyebrow at Alice. "I think we have some good choices still..." She glanced at the maybe pile, which was about three DVDs high.

"What about Halloweentown?" Alice made a thoughtful look, pursing her lips and flapped the movie at Jo.

"Stop that," Jo grimaced and leaned away from the attack. "And no, let's avoid any films that have magic, or she'll go nuts pointing out the inaccuracies. I'm still dreading watching anymore of Friendship is Magic with her."

Alice cackled with laughter and shelved the movie. Another caught her eye quickly. "Oh, I know! Shrek! Shrek is perfect!"

"Yeah," Jo began immediately. "We definitely can't choose that one, I think it's still too dark, not to mention the whole locking up anything magical thing that we do in it." Jo flipped a couple more of her huge collection over, still scouring.

Alice grunted and sat back on her butt, moping on the cold floor. "Well! If you don't expand your parameters a little, then we're going to end up watch the friggin' Wiggles movies or something." She folded her arms and scowled at all of the movies she'd looked at and discarded already.

"The who?" Jo glanced over, then picked up a movie, tuning out her friends complaints. “What about this one?” Jo held up a movie she had enjoyed with her grandparents over and over again towards Alice.

“‘Batteries Not Included’?” Alice read aloud. “I dunno Jo, Twilight just watched a sci fi movie. I think we should avoid aliens of any kind, even peaceful space faring ones.” She turned away and knelt back down towards the rows of media.

Jo frowned at the movie she’d held and set it back on the bookcase. It did show a nice side of people, but maybe it was too generic she decided. Alice and her had both decided to try an pick something out that would fit the mood of the day. “Alright, but don’t over think this, we just want something that will be... good, and stuff.”

Alice rolled her eyes. "You have nooo idea what you're looking for. Twilight could reorganize her library faster than-"

"I am going to stab you, so hard, right in the baby ma-"

Twilight poked her head around the corner, having heard her name. She strained her ear to try and pick up on the trade between the humans, making a discontented noise when she couldn’t. “Did you girls say my name?” The bowls of popcorn in her arms shifted in her grasp, making sure to not drop them while walking on two legs.

Jo snapped her mouth shut.

Alice looked up while choosing another movie, grinning merrily. “Oh, yeah, just looking through our options, Twilight. We’ll meet you upstairs." She held up another old Blu-Ray case and offered it to Jo. "What about this?”

Jo sighed, watching Twilight, then peered at the cover. After seeing it, she leaned back and raised an incredulous eyebrow at Alice. “The Emperor's New Groove? Really?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, curious, and moved closer to the two.

Alice shrugged and looked back at the case. “What? When I was a kid I loved it. Plus it’s the only neutral movie I could find... And it has the hilarious circumstances of being cursed and changing booood- ies..." She trailed off and set down the movie slowly. "Okay, I can already see why this one's out.” She tugged on her hair and looked down at the pile of discarded movies she was fast acquiring. “Oh I know, what about Bones The Wonder Detective, that movie about the talking dog?”

Jo groaned in disgust immediately. “Alice, no movies or shows from the last ten years, either, please. Cinema really went down the toilet in 2016 and I’d rather not think about any of the unoriginal crap they started pumping out back then. Let’s stick to the classics.”

"But Back to the Future part five was so funny! Christopher Walken was a great medieval Biff..." Alice snickered and dodged an attack from her friend, then resumed looking.

Twilight watched both girls balancing skillfully on just their toes, squatting to look at the bottom rows of movies while also attacking one another in a fashion similar to AJ and Rainbow. Wow, that’s really impressive balance. Intrigued by the acts of alacrity, she looked down at her own legs, partially shrouded in one of the multiple pairs of the ‘shorts’ that Jo had bought for her.

The human legs bent at Twilight's command, then immediately straightened up again after she felt herself begin to tip over. Ooookay, I’m thinking about it too much! Her shoulder thumped against the doorway and her teeth gritted as she balanced herself on the wall. Of course, the two bowls of popcorn in her arms hadn’t helped her stay steady any.

“Uh girls? I hate to rush you, but I’m fine with anything, really. I’m even a little curious about what ‘normal’ human entertainment is. Nothing war related maybe, please...but don’t fret over it too much. I'm perfectly alright with anything.” Twilight wobbled where she stood, smiling at the two humans reassuringly.

Jo shrugged and held two more films from the maybe pile. “Well, how about Wall-E, or Ice Age.” She turned to face the other short girl. “Alice? One sort of redeems how much we pollute, and the other...has a squirrel obsessed with an acorn? Actually I can’t remember what Ice Age was about...” She gave the second DVD a funny look and scratched her head.

“Oh, nonono,” Alice poked Jo in the stomach with another case, getting a surprised grunt as a result. “We should watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit! Pleaaase, oh please, it’s so good, and it’s cartoons, and if you think about it, you’re like Eddie Valiant and Twilight is like Roger! It’s perfect, and also Mickey Mouse-”

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the strange trade between the human girls, a smile creeping onto her muzzle naturally. They’re such good friends.

Jo swiped a hand at Alice, then growled aloud like some kind of wild animal and set down one of her movies. "Alice, that movie has tons of...you know, in it, we can't watch that."

"No, I- I want to watch it." Twilight stood tall and confidently looked at the other two girls.

Alice and Jo traded looks.

"Are you sure Twilight?" Jo asked.

"Yup," Twilight nodded, smiling. "I'm gonna live here, I want to acclimate to things. Not overly so...but I want to know things, I need to know things. Something I realized Jo...is if I do want to help Earth one day?" She sighed, scanning the floor, then looked up with a weak smile at Alice and Jo. "Then I need to know how. It's my decision to make too, and I've made it. Can...I count on your help? When you can offer it?"

Jo smiled back. "Yeah, you sure can Twi'- Wait, did you just compare me to a fat, balding detective?” She spun her head around and glared instant daggers at Alice.

The blonde girl whooped triumphantly and put an arm around Twilight’s shoulder, suddenly behind the unicorn-girl. “Then it’s decided, I pick one and Jo gets one! Onwards fellow adventurers!” She twirled in place, leading a wide-eyed Twilight, stammering in confusion, around the corner and up the stairs. At the same time Alice ducked her head into the popcorn that Twilight held, getting a mouthful and still somehow walking in a straight line.

The look of confusion Twilight gave over her shoulder at Jo made her frown, but in a content way, a happy light in her eyes. Oh well, I guess this is what we’re watching then. Twi's going to be confused as all hell, and not just from all of the other characters she won't recognize...Yeesh, she's going to want to study all of them after this, probably.

Jo had to clean up before joining them, she would reorganize the films into their spots later. For now, she picked up the mess and...hesitated as one last movie caught her eye. The old comedy from the eighties clicked in her head, and she decided the jokes and morals to the film were...relevant. Leaning over, she plucked 'Short Circuit' from the shelf, and looked over the cover. "Heh, yeah, Twilight will love this." Satisfied, she jogged through the house after her two... friends.

Author's Notes:

I wanna start by saying something a little different. Out of the story's context down here, fellas. It has nothing to do with the story, and it won't be in the story, either, because it would really detract from it, I feel. That something is to say, actually ADDRESSING the specifics of things like pollution, won't be in the fic.

Twilight on Earth and learning things, and it being enjoyable for you all, isn't something I wanna get away from. But know that I do think it's...a huge thing, I really do. I just don't want to drag everypony down. I know us bronies are on average far more aware of this stuff than most other people, and our big hearts really drive us to at least keep others and their plights near to them.

The whole war segment, and corruption in the world's economy and government, the way that people suffer and continue to suffer from disease and famine and abuse... It's...a lot worse than most of us realize, certainly way way worse than I even began to show in this little story. I used the holocaust and the mostly world over acknowledged bad things. But there are far FAR worse, yes, worse things that happen in the world. Maybe not equal in size, but then again, you might be surprised by what you'd find.

It really is, uh...there are a lot of good videos and movies out there to watch that are informative on those things. I dunno which is the best, I just watched 'The Yes Men Fix the World'. I dunno how good that one is. Anyway, the world is in a pretty bad way, and it's just gonna get worse guys. I just wanted to say that you can assume Twilight does know and reacts a little bit more appropriately at other times, and is putting on a happy face despite it. I just want to stick to the core of my story and not put the poor girl into a spiraling depression is all. Anywho, didn't wanna drag you down! On with the show!

A thousand thank yous and shout outs to Firebirdbtops and Stormy Weather, the best assistants a mad wizard could ask for. Stormy's a big help when it comes to writing the characters and getting little bits of inspiration for things. Firebird helped edit and gave some great advice, too. In truth a lot of the story comes from my friends, so in addition thank you to everyone that's helped me so far, as well. ^^

Finally, I AM SOOOO SORRRY THESE ARE COMING SO SLOOOW, I'M SORRY! *sobs into hands*

Anywho, I copped out a leeedle bit by not writing out their watching those two movies, but this is already a preeetty long chapter, and I bet if you guys go watch those movies, you can pretty easily picture just how things would go down in them. ^_^' a little lame I know! But I have a lot of story to tell, so I couldn't write it all out in good conscious.

Cheers guys, more to come soon, as always!

Chapter 14 : Brief Movie Intermission

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The remainder of the night proceeded as anyone would expect, assuming that the anyone in question expected the reactions of a being from across the folds of time and space watching a movie from the early nineties. A movie that was about a cartoon rabbit doing very much the same thing, in a sense, and also trying to solve a murder mystery.

The entire stew of ingredients led to some very eye catching reactions and circumstances indeed.

Twilight had her hands entangled in her hair, eyes and eyelids stretched as wide as they would go, yet still glued to the television.

"I have no idea what I'm seeing right now." She murmured out the words in a whiny voice, trying as hard as she could to make sense of the appearance of these so called 'cartoon characters' in what certainly looked like reality. Her ears thundered from the calamitous racket and plethora of sound effects the strange characters used, who also despite their obviously technicolor bodies, appeared very real in the context of the movie.

"It's as if Discord made this film, why did you pick this one!?" Twilight turned to look at Alice, who was busy giggling absently from the bizarre antics of some of the cartoon age's best characters.

"Cause it's funny!" Alice grinned back.

"It is pretty funny..." Jo agreed, taking another handful of popcorn.

"Ah huh..." Twilight murmured back.

Twilight was left to watch the film with a mixture of fascination, intrigue and horror as the cartoon events unfolded in front of her. The horror aspect was greatly reduced though, as more and more it sunk in that it was just a very, very intricate movie. More than once she wished that films had progressed so far in her own world.

The overall plot revealed itself to be a little similar to her own after all. 'Roger' the main character was after a fashion away from his home world, though it seemed by choice. A better parallel was that he was leaning on a somewhat unwilling protagonist for help. Though his need was one about proving his own innocence, rather than a means home, Twilight understood what Alice had meant and drew enjoyment from that.

Overall, the prodigal student of Celestia, an avatar for harmony, was able to find significant fun in the film. It helped that Alice kept pointing out every little comparison she could between the grumpy detective character and Jo. Each time both the purple and blonde haired girls would erupt into a fit of giggling, while their darker haired friend's face would heat up, and she would bury it in the popcorn.

Towards the end, the villain character who was oh-so-obviously the bad guy, made his big reveal, at which point Twilight immediately yelped in surprise. On the TV, Christopher Lloyd's cartoonized eyes were bugged and quivering chaotically in what might best be described as the embodiment of madness.

Alice and Jo both jumped themselves from the sudden interruption in the room and looked at one another. Said interruption, was an outcry of shock, and the sound of a blanket wooshing in the air. The blonde girl lifted the blanket, finding that Twilight had hidden beneath it during the climax of the movie. "Twilight?" She asked the huddled form worriedly.

"I'm okay. I'm not scared. I mean, wasn't scared." Twilight replied with the words in a flat tone, but remained scrunched up against Alice's side.

The movie ended, and the room's lights flicked on. All three girls groaned and stretched from having sat still for so long. Twilight stretched more from having fidgeted constantly.

Jo stood up and began putting in the next film. "It's too bad they don't still make movies that good, I could watch that every few years and never get tired of it."

"Aah, you're too judgmental Jo, they still make good movies." Alice resisted against the skeptic's remark.

"I liked it." Twilight agreed. "You really have to take the film in the context of its own...weird though." After a moment, she added in a normal tone, "Are there a lot of detectives like, Eddie, that investigate murders on Earth?"

Jo sat back on the couch. "Sorta, they're around, but mostly it's done by the law enforcement and police-"

Alice laid a hand on Jo's arm, stilling her from starting the next movie with the remote. "Speaking of violence, Twi' you were really quiet during the serious parts. How did this one make you feel?" Alice studied the newly made human's face as it flickered between the blank television set and her.

"Uhm, well I liked it, it was funny sometimes, and made me smile most of the time..." Twilight shrugged and put on a sheepish look. "But I think you mean the sort of 'fake' violence I guess, right? It was dark, but still very foal friendly, from a watcher's stand point that's actually very clever, I think. Although I'll admit it wasn't my cup of tea. I bet Spike would have loved it though." She giggled and covered her mouth, looking longingly at the TV again.

Alice lit up and clapped her hands. "Yay! I'm glad you liked it. Roll the next clip Jo!" She slapped her friend on the back, earning an oof from her.

"Aye aye captain..." Jo drawled back trying to ignore her friend's weirdness. "Anyway, I didn't think that any of my favorites would have been a good choice, like Alien, but this one is pretty cool-"

"Why wouldn't the movies you like have been a good choice, Jo?" Twilight leaned over Alice, who was seated between the two of them on the couch. "Aliens have always been a fascinating concept to me-" She took a moment to try and forget the images of humans fighting for their lives she had seen before. "Anyway, there's a book I once read that suggested there were other forms of life on the moon. That would be entirely silly of course, but it was entertaining nonetheless."

Jo flashed Twilight a short smile. "...Well, assuming Christopher Lloyd didn't traumatize you in Roger Rabbit, maybe we could watch My Favorite Martian later." She pressed play, beginning the opening credits. "Anyway, this one is another comedy, even if it doesn't look like it, Twilight. It's also a bit of a look into morality from a neutral perspective. I don't think too deeply about it, what with the Three Stooges jokes in it, but this movie has a pretty profound deeper message."

Twilight eagerly leaned forward. "Oh wow, it sounds...educational...." On the Television, whirling gears and sprockets churned energetically. Other things she had read about in the last two weeks popped onto the screen, such as circuits and voltage testers and wires and more. Her eyes drew themselves open wider and wider in rapt fascination.

"I'm being ignored aren't I..." Jo sighed and sat back on the couch.

Alice giggled quietly, watching the egghead beside her get drawn further and further in while absently ignoring Jo on accident. She leaned over and nudged Jo's side in the ribs. "Clean up on aisle four, eh Jo? Eh?"

"Would you behave?" Jo made a disgusted look, and only just suppressed a guffaw of laughter. "Watch the movie, ever seen this?"

"Nope!" Alice shook her head. "I never watched another robot movie again after A.I."

"Ahh," Jo responded in understanding. "That'll do it alright."

Twilight felt mixed things about this movie called 'Short Circuit'. She could see easily where Jo had meant to say that it was a look into the neutral perspective of morality. The protagonist, a robot made by the human 'American' government, was named Johnny Five, and was a weapon built and designed apparently to...deliver nuclear weapons.

That was a very small point to the plot though, to which Twilight was thankful. It turned quickly into a comedy, as Johnny Five gained 'life', despite being an automaton. After escaping the lab he began an adventure into the countryside, and was found by a young, human woman, named Stephanie.

Everything revolved around the robot's slow acclimation to sudden life, and it was adorable.

Twilight found herself giggling and bouncing, and having to stop herself, every time Johnny seemed to get smarter or do something cute. It was like watching some sort of brilliant creation or a new foal taking its first steps, and doing great things with the gift it was given, despite having a horrible hand of cards dealt to him to begin with...

It was uplifting. At every turn, Johnny was able to confound and defeat the evil human army chasing him.

Although, Twilight considered at one point. I guess they aren't really evil, though. She sighed, wearing the first frown since the earliest stages of the film. Just...wow, why are humans so complicated? She took a moment to glance over at her two friends, lounging relaxedly in the dim glow of the television's light. I may never know. The idea of understanding them seemed more insurmountable to her than understanding how Pinkie's Pinkie Sense worked.

Alice glanced at Twilight, once again glued to the screen of the television. "Hey Jo." She whispered to her true-human friend.

"Hm?" Jo glanced over, wearing the bored expression she had watched the entire movie with, and the last. No one would ever be able to tell that she was actually enjoying either.

"Have you seen the way Twi' looks at Steve?"

Jo blinked, not fully understanding. "Oh, you mean Newton Crosby. Steve Guttenburg?" She asked. "What about him?"

Alice poked Jo again, still giggling. "Watch Twilight next time he's onscreen, it's cute." Contented now that her message was delivered, she resettled against the back of Jo's couch.

Jo scrunched her face up into a skeptical, half irritated look, but glanced at Twi'. The once-unicorn was watching the movie with an innocent, child-like rapture. What the heck is she- The web designer watched stealthily in stark confusion as Twilight began blushing for some reason. She flicked her eyes back to the TV, on it, the dorky, weirdo scientist character was on the screen, talking about theoreticals or math or something. Oh. She would fall head over heels for the oblivious scientist type...

The end credits rolled, ending with the team of heroes riding off into the sunset in a stolen government van. Johnny Five was safe, while Stephanie and Newton Crosby were both on the way towards living happily ever after.

"That was so. Good." Twilight said immediately after the lights came on.

Alice started cackling madly with giddy laughter. I don't know why, but it is so satisfying to hear her say that. "I could tell you felt...really attracted to that movie Twilight." She winked at the other girl before standing up off the couch and heading towards the bathroom. "B R B!"

"Well, yeah! It was good." Twilight nodded happily at the fast retreating blonde.

"What was your favorite part?" Jo asked before she could stop herself. She was curious of what the stranger from another world thought though.

Twilight blinked for a moment, a considering look on her face, until it snapped immediately into an embarrassed look. "I liked how it said that killing was wrong the most, yup. That was a really great way to convey that message, I can definitely see that humans really do inherently oppose violence now, or at least some. That was really good to see, thanks for showing me the movie Jo." Yawning, she stood up and began heading towards the door. "Well, it's late, I should get to sleep. Night!"

"You thought Newton was a cutie, didn'tcha?" Alice was suddenly in the doorway.

Twilight cried out and fell over. "Wha-!?" She stared up at Alice, aghast with a stare of confusion and mild terror.

"Which is kinda funny. Don't get me wrong, it's not because you're a pony." Alice leaned on the wall and blew on her upturned fingernails in a none-to humble way. "I'm just pretty sure Steve's gay, that or he was just getting paid a lot to be in those flamboyant movies he did. Either way it's kind of funny if you think about it." She began chuckling again.

Jo sighed and got across the room's floor quickly to help Twilight stand back up, glaring at Alice and her acts of sudden reappearance.

Twilight continued stare at the human girl in stark shock, but could feel her blush returning. Alice's assumption was in no way accurate, nor was it well founded. Sure, the man had displayed that he was intelligent, kind, brave and willing to defend his friends... but he was just an actor. It was clear that Alice was just trying to tease her, which Twilight eventually realized. Her blush ceased its steady climb up her face, and her attention caught on a certain, strange word that had been used.

Besides confused, Twilight also wanted desperately to change the subject. "Uhm, what's gay?" she asked, interrupting Alice's laughter.

Jo paused in the act of helping Twilight back up, and almost dropped her. Alice let out a gasp, similar to what Twilight remembered Pinkie's sounding like on occasion, then burst out laughing again.

Overall, the night ended on an embarrassing sort of high note. Surely, it could only get less embarrassing from there.

Author's Notes:

Okay so that was the gist of what I skipped over last chapter guys, I decided it was at least funny enough to write, and it only took an hour so, here yah go! I'll get right on moving the plot forward again, sorry for slowing down to write this but ah well.

As an aside, I love writing adorkable Twilight, it's a hoot. ^^ Mostly because I look forward to everypony's reactions. Also that is what that end joke was, by the way, Twilight being adorkable. I'm not suggesting there has never before been a homosexual relationship in Equestria, ever at least. Maybe they're more common but just not thought of as different and therefore have no differentiating title/name? You know, world wide inherent harmonic existence and all that. -edit I wasn't insinuating that harmony is what makes them less common, either! Rather, that there's less distinction between it being a big deal, at all. As in, no one looks twice if it happens.

Whelp, see you again soon guys!

Chapter 15 : Twilight Watches A...

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This chapter was written by my co-author and was published as a one shot! The tone is a little more silly and explicit than the rest of the story, though it isn't mature, it does have swear words and sexual content. It's a comedic satire though, not to be taken quite as seriously as this story.

It is canon, however, so keep that in mind also, but I've made sure you do not need his story to continue this one. Please enjoy!

Twilight Watches a Porno.

There is a distinct possibility of more of these if it does well!

Chapter 16 : Twilight, the Internet is for Porn...

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This chapter was written by myself and my co-author, Alex Nuage, and was published as a one shot! The tone is a little more silly and explicit than the rest of the story, though it isn't mature, it does have minor curses and sexual content. It's a comedic satire though, not to be taken quite as seriously as this story.

It is canon, however, so keep that in mind also, but I've made sure you do not need his story to continue this one. Please enjoy!

Twilight, the Internet is for Porn...

There are two more of these planned, stay tuned fellas. If you have comments or concerns please don't be afraid to send them in. (Also, real chapters are in the works as we speak, so don't fret!)

Chapter 17 : Egghead

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Two Weeks Later

October 30th 2023, Monday

Josephine Faux's House

Jo knelt down to pet two of her cats, both felines were happy enough that she was home to seek her out after the front door clattered open. "Hey fuzz-butts, what are you doing awake?" Normally the furry devils were seemingly always asleep, but such was the life of cats.

The felines both attacked her hands, eagerly vying for her attention while entertaining the hopes of treats as well.

Over the sound of her pets' meowing, Jo could hear Alice and Twilight talking and laughing from further in the house. She again picked up her gym bag and followed the noises, which lead her towards the kitchen. Along the way, she sighed at the stacks of random books that had begun to infest her dining room. Apparently, the large open space and sizable dining table had made the unused eating area an excellent study space, and one of Twilight's preferred rooms in the house.

Although, Twilight did her internet perusing from the secluded office near the back of the house. Such perusing had also yielded some embarrassing circumstances. Jo blamed herself for that.

Despite the somewhat jarring things that Twilight had learned about Earth, and humans in general, she had been adjusting well despite her short time there. At the very least, she seemed to be acting more herself, as far as Jo could tell. Going out wasn't on either one of their usual list of normal daily activities, although one made the other look like a regular hermit by comparison.

Twilight would go outdoors and walk through the town nearly every morning, something Jo had only found out about a few days ago. Still, both women stayed indoors for much of their time, meaning the home was more of a lair. As a result, that of course left it to Alice and her renewed lease as Jo's best friend to try and liven things up. At least, that was how Alice saw it.

Jo rounded the corner unannounced and entered the kitchen, a relaxed, tired smile on her lips. She came face to face with Twilight and the friend she had left her with.

"Hey guys, you— What the?" Both Twilight, and Alice, were in their underwear. They were also chatting merrily by the kitchen counter.

Jo stood in the doorway. Her mouth dropped open, agape. The smile she had put on to greet her friends was gone.

"Come on, just say it!" Alice had her hands on either side of her, her back resting against the counter. "Pleeease," she pleaded to the taller girl facing her.

Twilight laughed back, from what, Jo was left to wonder. "Okay! I'll say it, though I still don't get it." She coughed and held a hand up to her mouth, while Alice made a squeeing noise and held her hands up beneath her chin in rapt anticipation and excitement of whatever was about to happen.

"I'm the T to the w, l i g h t, and ain't no other pony troll it down like me, I'm Twilightlicious!" Twilight grinned across the kitchen at Alice who began jumping and shouting.

"Aaah! Oh my God, she did the vooice!" Alice continued on like that, breaking down into laughter right after.

"I don't understand it though! Trolls are dangerous, Alice?" Despite the meager protest, Twilight still smiled at the show of enthusiasm and laughed along with her blonde friend.

"Ahem." Jo's face was as blank as a rock's.

Alice and Twilight's laughter petered out slowly after noticing Jo had entered the room. "Oh! Hello, Jo," and "Good Morning!" were respectively chimed out merrily by the other two girls.

Jo blinked, feeling a distinct sense of disbelief towards the two barely clothed sights that stood nonchalantly in front of her, and what had just transpired before her very eyes.

"Do I even want to know?" Jo finally asked, staring openly, a rictous frown forming. "We just bought you more clothes," she directed at Twilight. "And you, just what are you doing!?" She jabbed a finger at her blonder friend. Really Alice? Are you trying to acclimate her or something!? Twilight was more than used to wearing clothing, at least to the point she no longer forgot to get dressed every morning, which saved Jo from a lot of tedious reminders.

Alice looked at Jo, then rolled her eyes up to the ceiling and pursed her lips in what was a blatant a mockery of innocence. "She made me do it," the blonde girl muttered, pointing a single digit from her crossed arms at Twilight.

Twilight looked back and forth between Jo and Alice a moment with a worriedly, before catching on to her human friend's fib. "Liar," she giggled and stuck out her tongue at Alice, then faced Jo. "Sorry Jo, I knew this bothered you, but I didn't expect you home just yet. I read online that you shouldn't wear clothes while working with electronics. So I suggested to Alice that we minimize the risk!"

Jo stared blankly, thinking typical thoughts about Twilight acting typically.

"After all," Twilight continued. "I would hate for my present, or my research to get ruined due to an accident. Lab safety conditions are always my top priority, and-" Her explanation was cut short by Jo.

"Alright, alright, it's fine. I'm used to it anyway." Jo still glared at Alice, who historically did spend a lot of her time taking quiet pleasure in Twilight's cultural ignorance, and encouraging embarrassing situations.

"Hehe," Alice giggled and sauntering, passed Jo on her way out of the kitchen. "That's what she said."

Jo face-palmed, while something the unicorn said made her back-peddle the train of thought in her head. "Alice, go get dressed. Twilight, did you say present? And what was that about electronics?" She shifted back to looking at the still open mouthed Twilight, who picked up right where she left off.

"Oh uhm, well please don't be angry that I did this without asking, it was a surprise, and Alice said you wouldn't mind, but...well it worked fine anyway so, I apologize and hope that-"

Jo held up a finger.

Twilight blushed and bit back what she realized was becoming a rant.

"Twilight, could you get to the point?" Jo asked gingerly. She was developing a sinking feeling, only slightly mitigated by the lack of any fire alarms or smoke coming from some part of her house. To be fair to Twilight, it was Alice that Jo felt was the bigger risk when it came to property damage.

"Well, after your computer stopped working last week, and you told me that my arrival here probably caused it when it was knocked over, I thought I would look into fixing it! And I did." Twilight wore an ecstatic look of satisfaction, while Alice stood beside her, wide eyed and nodding encouragingly to Jo. "Fix it, I mean. I fixed it." And after a moment she held her hands up, palms out, grinning. "Yay?"

Jo, for her part, tilted her head a fraction. "Really?" She fixed my computer?... I was sure it was an electrical short though, how did she fix it? "How? Did you replace the parts?" Jo looked into the dining room at Alice with a cautious look, who was getting dressed. Those parts weren't cheap.

The blonde girl spotted this and with a coy smile shook her butt at Jo.

Rolling her eyes, frowning, and trying to ignore that had just happened, Jo looked back at Twilight, who was busy shaking her head 'no' to Jo's question.

Twilight walked forward and took Jo by the hand. "Come on!" She grinned and spoke excitedly, "I'll show you! I did it all on my own, although it wasn't easy, I had to solder here or there, but after meticulously following some diagrams and how-tos, plus some help from my friends, it was a trot in the park!" To say the pony-girl was a little giddy over whatever this was would be an understatement.

Jo looked back at Alice while following Twilight as gracefully as she could without tripping over her. The girl in front gripped her hand tightly and despite trying to, slipping out of the hold didn't work for Jo.

Worse, Twilight was as unsteady as ever, even in the lead. She seemed to have hit a speed bump in progressing further with balance on two legs ever since week one. So, the two of them stumbled together up the stairs.

Behind them, Alice followed unimpeded and grinned her trade mark grin of mischief, which could mean anything for her. "Hey Twilight, did you say friends? Like besides us? You never mentioned that." She watched the head of purple hair in front of her sway back and forth while they all thundered up the stairs.

The question also got Jo curious.

"Some humans I've been talking to online! They're experts on anything technology, and really helpful. Though they seem to be a little narrow as far as their fields of study. Nonetheless, they've been a big help when it comes to getting my hooves...my hooves on things to learn from." She slowed down as they came to the crest of the stairs. "Which is good, without magic or my...old studies being relevant, I can at least look into...into..."

Jo managed to slip her hand out of Twilight's grip, and spotted a wan smile on her expression. "Twilight?"

The taller girl faced her and straightened, smiling bigger. "Sorry, lost my train of thought! I mean to say I can at least look into technology that could possibly lead me home. Now, where was I? Oh, yes, your gift."

Once again Jo was hauled away. "Cripes, calm down Twilight. Did I take in the librarian from Ponyville or the hyperactive baker?"

Twilight turned and put on a smug look. "Oh, you would know if you had Pinkie Pie in your house, Jo. Think Alice times ten, but uhm...without all of the awkward...uhm..." She looked tentatively at Jo's friend.

Jo could see Twilight struggling with the term. "Sexual innuendo?" She quirked an eyebrow, then looked back at Alice with a grim, knowing expression. The target of said expression had a merry look of innocence once again.

"What?" Alice asked, one index finger held to her cheek.

"Uhm, yes, that. Anyway, tada!" Twilight opened the door to the room that had once belonged to Jo's brother, rather than her bedroom. In it, was a worktable with dozens of tools, a leather apron for some reason, a laptop, and the desktop in question, running smoothly. "It hardly took me an hour after getting everything planned out ahead of time. I even improved it, and we did some cleaning."

Jo walked in and stared in disbelief at the whirring sight. "You're kidding. This...is pretty awesome." She gave the other girl a grin, then immediately set about doing a once over of her baby. "I'll have to test it later with a game or two, but it seems to be running great."

Twilight nodded sagely to herself as she responded. "I didn't have much to gauge the improvements with, and I've never actually done this sort of thing before, so I apologize again for...not asking. I was very confident though! Oh my goodness Jo, you have no idea how thrilling it is to bring such small devices to life like this." She let out an excited, shrill giggle and balled up her hands into little fists.

Jo was infected by the other girl's excitement, smiling back in earnest. "Easy Twilight." She had never behaved like that before, as Twilight or Alice did a lot, not since she was a little girl. It just stopped feeling right, and up until recently, she discouraged it in others, too. Being around Twilight though, she made her feel...good.

Meanwhile during Twilight's squee-spree, Jo began opening things to test the PC. Everything check out.

"This is impressive, I thought it was done for." Jo's eyes widened, everything seemed to work, where before it had ceased to even boot up. "You might have just saved my job Twi', or at least a lot of my money. The laptops can't run the same stuff this machine can." She'd been ready to buy the expensive replacement already.

Twilight looked up absently at the ceiling. "Weeell, after I hid your router a couple weeks ago, and everything else really, I felt I owed you one, Jo." She coughed aimed to change the subject by leaning over Jo and pointing to the corner task bar. "I've added a couple of extra fans, you'll notice that it's running cooler now." She looked down with her trademark smile at the human.

"Cool." Jo flashed her own, rarer smile.

"Oh, yes I just said that." Twilight quirked an eyebrow from where she leaned over the desk. She then let her hand fall from pointing at the screen, which she hadn't been touching directly this time. That had been a hard learned lesson.

"No, I meant-" Jo just stared back for a moment. "Never mind," she muttered, then faced forward again, at least until Alice piped in, laughing slowly.

"Heh, Heh, Heh, so..." Alice leered over in front of Jo, gaining her unwilling attention. "You might say that... your PC now runs twenty percent cooler!" If her grin could get any bigger it would have left her face altogether.

Jo's eyes shut as soon as it dawned on her what Alice had said. She groaned and covered her face with both hands.

"Huh, isn't that Rainbow Dash's saying?" Twilight looked up at the ceiling with a thoughtful look, one finger pressed interestedly to her chin.

"So, Twilight!" Jo started exuberantly, and pushing a laughing Alice away with a free hand. "You said people online helped you?"

"Hm?" Twilight looked down in mild surprise. "Oh, yes, I met some friends on a tech blog and forum website I found. That's a blog that has a lot of people that like to talk about, well, everything! Theoreticals in science, mathematics, and technology! It's-" A sudden immense look of pure, unadulterated happiness spread across Twilight's face. "-It's like paradise! Oh I love it so much, I can talk and talk, and debate and- There's just no end to it! Seeking out intellectuals like this is a nightmare in Equestria, almost nopony has any interest in the sciences like you all do!"

Jo's amused look took a moment to deadpan while she thought, well, not really all of us are like that... Coughing, and with a desire to not sit there all night while listening to Twilight start talking about wormhole theory again, she said, "That's great Twilight, I'm happy you found something...you like about here. You're careful while talking to them though, right? I probably don't have to remind you about people, and worse, people on the internet that treat anonymity like a badge of honor."

"Easy, Mom." Alice smirked mockingly from where she was reclined on the old bed in the room. "I'm sure our little girl's learned her lesson about being careless on the internet." She gave Twilight a knowing look before returning her grin to Jo.

Jo gave Twilight a consoling look, the girl in question shuddering from obviously knowing exactly what Alice was teasing about.

"I thought we agreed to never mention that again?" Twilight gave Alice a deadpanned stare, the other girl laughed aloud in return. "Uggh, and it's not funny! Oh nevermind, yes, Jo, ever since you gave me that thorough explanation of what is safe and what isn't on the internet, I've been quite careful. I even avoid those little pop ups that declare I'm the millionth visitor on a site now, although I had been skeptical of those from the get go. The odds of such a thing happening were simply too unbelievable and slim..."

Alice stared out the window and absently declared, "You still clicked on them and tried to get the prize though-"

Both Jo and Twilight stiffened and with raised voices growled, "Alice!"

The blonde girl's eyes widened, and held up her hands in defense. "Sorry, never mind!" She still wore an unashamed look of delight, despite this.

Jo let out a sigh with Twilight and spoke up. "Well, where were we?"

"I was explaining the ponies I met." Twilight answered with a renewed smile. She leaned against the desk and folded her arms, ready to continue her explanation of the deeper implications of finding a community of fellow intellectuals. One that she could speak to at the touch of a button as well! Even if she couldn't quite type as fast as they seemed to be able to.

Jo only raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hm, is something wrong?" Twilight's smile faltered and she felt around her face and hair. Did I not brush my mane again? Oh, maybe I should have gotten dressed before showing Jo the computer. She resisted the urge to peer down at herself and draw more attention to it.

"You said ponies again, Twilight, not people." Alice chimed in for Jo.

Jo looked over at Alice and began to speak out, but stopped and frowned wearily. Smooth, Alice.

"Oh." Twilight swallowed, and relaxed back against the desk. "Sorry, I didn't mean to. It's uh-" She folded her arms beneath the strange lumps human women had, trying to think of what to say.

"You don't need to apologize Twilight, besides, I like hearing that stuff. It's...unique." Jo put on a serious smile and held it until Twilight looked back. The other girl returned it with her own, brighter version.

"I don't even realize I'm doing it when I do, but I find your own renditions of Equestrian speech fascinating, actually. It reminds me of how I've heard other races from my world speak differently." Twilight paced in a circle as she academically voiced her thoughts aloud. "In fact, it still blows my mind that we even speak the same language at all..." She held one hand up to her head and briefly recalled the implications of such a truth amidst so many other differences.

Jo and Alice watched as Twilight disappeared slightly into her own thoughts. They could both tell their purple crowned compatriot had entered 'that little world of her own' again, but allowed her to go uninterrupted. Alice found herself wishing she had more popcorn, while Jo waited considerately without a second thought.

As an end result of remembering the language brain teaser, Twilight looked up and let out a frustrated noise. "It makes me want to try and study what forces could be at work to have caused that, what is responsible for it all? There are so many weird similarities, but why? If only human knowledge extended past just technology... I bet the Princess would know... It's not fair that I can't find out!"

Twilight pouted and glared down at her feet. Behind her, Alice was busy holding her hands over her mouth, desperately trying to resist squealing d'aaaw. Jo shot her a brief look of disfavor.

"Anyway," Twilight continued, "I've only met a couple other ponies from outside of Equestria myself, but I do know some Prench and Germane. I wish I had studied them better while I had the chance, there might be more clues in the other languages. What I need, though, is a concrete method to study it." She hummed quickly, thinking eagerly about the philosophies and implications that always tore her apart.

It was at this point that Jo was beginning to think she should stop Twilight from engaging in another, random lecture, but she felt bad every time she did so. The programs running quietly on the computer that served as her distraction were what kept her from doing so again, in the end.

Twilight paced a few steps into the room, then turned around, looking up at the ceiling as if something of considerable intrigue hung there as she spoke. "Actually, I was very surprised about something I quite literally stumbled upon the other day, it seems that Earth has its own versions of races native to Equestria in legend. That further supports our theory about humans somehow catching wind of other worlds, namely my own. The information I've found about your own legends-"

Two loud coughs snapped Twilight out of her rant. The purple haired girl's eyes shot wide open and she stared blankly at her friends.

"Twilight, that's great, really." Jo ignored the now hysterically laughing Alice while speaking, then tried shushing her.

Twilight's penchant for getting very into whatever she began speaking about never ceased to amaze, or guiltily entertain the other two girls. Perhaps she was just that knowledgeable, rather than it being her Equestrian roots, but it set her apart from the two humans as much as did her true nature and history.

"Sorry about that, I do tend to lecture, even when I don't mean to," Twilight grinned sheepishly and apologized.

"It's fine!" Jo sat up, the computer now turning off. "And thank you again for this, Twilight, it was great. Anyway, how about you get dressed and we'll continue this." She raised her eyebrows and waited patiently for the other girl to catch on.

Twilight's eyes widened slightly again, and this time looked down at herself. "Oh right, just a moment!" A blush formed on her cheeks, starting to get used to embarrassment over such things.

Twilight pulled the sleeveless shirt on over her head and shrugged her arms through the available holes. It was loose, and wasn't very complicated, which made it a comfortable 'everyday' style as she saw it.

"Perfect fit." She said ironically, grinning and smoothing the fabric over the front of the clothing.

Jo called it a tank top, which had been pretty funny to Twilight at the time. She had asked what made it like a tortoise, only to get a funny look. It had seemed that joke had gone over her human host's head, only for Alice to start giggling uncontrollably right after and pick up the slack.

Twilight reached down to scratch one of Jo's cats on the head, the furry thing had followed after her into her bedroom. She spared a second to think of her own pet, then her friends, her family, and home, then walked quickly out towards the living room, as Jo called it.

"No, and no, that's a terrible idea, and I wouldn't even go if it were just me." It was Jo's voice, arguing with Alice about something as usual.

The blonde girl's voice replied back. "You never have any fun! You never let her have any fun either. At least you never encourage it, Halloween is perfect for us to get out and have a good time! Come on, she's been studying for eighteen hours straight a day for weeks now, let's go out and do something for a couple days. Heck, we don't even need to help her walk anymore, it'll be great, Jo, trust me. That party is tomorrow, let's just go and relax and be normal for a little while."

Twilight listened intently. It seems they're talking about me again. What's that about a Halloween party? Whatever that is... The arguing was normal, she decided, and didn't mind it in the slightest. They were great friends after all, and not terrible impromptu hosts, either. At least, Jo wasn't. Twilight had been talked into staying over at Alice's apartment place once. That had been a mistake. I didn't know a floor could even get that covered in junk... Overall, she was thankful that they were both good...people.

"Alice we've talked about this so many damn times I feel like the only way to shut you up about it is going to be to...to..." Jo trailed off.

"Hi Twilight!" Alice quirked a smile and waved obnoxiously to the other, recently arrived girl.

"Uhm, hi Alice. Is something wrong, girls?" Twilight ceased holding onto the doorway and walked in, eyes traveling between her two friends.

"No, nothing, just Alice here wanting to take you to a 'human' party- No Twilight, we can't go." Jo responded swiftly to the lighting up she saw in the Equestrians face, both hands held out in defiance.

"Aaaw," Alice butted in with disappointment.

"Why not?" Twilight asked, both humans looked at her, Alice with glee, Jo with worry. "Okay, besides the obvious." She shrugged and looked at Alice.

Twilight coughed and straightened up. At the very least I want to know more about what you girls were talking about. "I would rather like to go, actually...a lot. Besides that...really weird 'vegan' restaurant you took me too, we haven't really done anything."

Both of the humans watched as Twilight's expression sank further, they couldn't guess why, until she spoke again to continue.

"I mean, I haven't made even the slightest bit of progress I- Every time I got my hopes up for something I read about, it turned out to be very intricate fiction, and almost everyone on the net laughs at me. At least, they type phrases like 'l-o-l' and 'l-m-a-o' or 'tits or g-t-f-o', whatever those mean." Twilight sighed, crossed the floor, then sank into one of the dining room chairs.

Alice and Jo shared a downtrodden look between themselves, but neither made to speak.

Twilight had been quiet about Equestria recently, or getting home, at least in this tone of passage. Every time they had to explain something or a question for her that related to her quest, she cheerfully thanked them and left again to continue looking in the computer room, or the book room.

Jo moved first and sat beside Twilight, gently moving a twenty novel high stack of literature so she could make eye contact. She laid her hand on purple haired girl's shoulder. "Twilight..." Straining, she tried to think of something to say. She settled on, "Hey, you know what? I'm sure Celestia and Luna are pretty close to finding a way to get you home already."

Twilight looked up at Jo, her face lighting up a little.

"So how about this, tomorrow, let's show you how we have a good time on Earth, and why you ponies don't even know the meaning of the word party." Jo couldn't help it, she put on the most boastful, wolfish grin she could. Getting excited for things wasn't her style, unless it was a game tournament, but somehow she was getting that feeling now.

It was probably the overjoyed look that Twilight was giving her.

"Nothing crazy, so don't be worried about that." Jo waved a hand defensively before looking at her friend again, smiling reassuringly.

"That sounds like a lot of fun, Jo." Twilight grinned in return. A second later and without warning, she lunged forward and hugged the smaller woman fiercely. "I'm sure you're right, too. There's bound to be somepony, the Princess or not, that will help me get home. Until then, should have a little fun."

"D'aaaaaaaaaAAAAaaaaw!"

Both seated girls looked up at Alice, who was standing beside them and practically trembling where she stood.

"Oh no, don't stop, I want in on the group hug too, oh my God you have no idea!" Alice hopped up and down slightly where she made it apparent she was about to burst.

Jo blinked, a scowl deepening on her face, while Twilight held out an arm, grinning enthusiastically.

"Yay!"

Both the Equestrian, and grumpier human harrumphed as Alice enveloped them in a hug.

It was a gruesome experience for Jo, as she came to realize what was going on.

Twilight began to pull away first, looking up at Alice, and then over to Jo. "So, what's Halloween?"

Five minutes and three bruised ribs later.

Alice waved goodbye, yelling farewell in her loud but somehow sweet sounding voice. Except to Jo, to Jo that voice was like nails on a chalk board in terms of irritability. "Okay you two, I'm taking off! They have need of me at work for the night. Those lucky, ungrateful jerks. Don't have too much fun without me! Jo, you know what I'm talking abou-"

"Oh my God, finish that sentence and I will kill you." Jo's lips curved up at the corners with just the barest hint of a positive expression directed at Alice.

Beside Jo, Twilight's smile, something that had been powerful enough to make her face hurt a little, began to wear off.

"Hehe, ciao." Alice ducked from view, a moment later the sound of a door shutting punctuated her leaving.

Twilight sighed beside the gently smirking Jo, who looked over. The Equestrian's now pained expression was a bit of a surprise to the native human. A tepid silence began to stretch on.

"What?" Jo asked her. She stood up and smiled again, intending to head upstairs and maybe enjoy her newly repaired gaming and work computer. It had been too long since her ritualistic noob fragging.

Twilight, wincing, opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again.

Jo paused before walking passed her. "Seriously Twilight, what's wrong? Second thoughts about the party? I don't know those people at all so...we don't have to go." They had just been having a great time, joking, laughing, planning what was sure to turn into a train wreck the next day...

"Your uhm, how do I put it? Turn of phrase just then...with Alice." Twilight started saying, folding her arms in front of herself.

Jo watched her go through the motions. To her, Twilight seemed to do that a lot; ball up her fists, fold her arms, as if she didn't know what to do with them half of the time.

Twilight continued. "You threatened to kill her...obviously you weren't serious, it's just-" She heaved a sigh and worked a tired smile onto her face. "I dunno, I'm sorry Jo it's just never ending culture shock for me over the littlest things. I'll adjust, I couldn't ask you to-"

"No, I'll stop." Jo said quickly, surprising herself a little, and also not. "I mean...I know I don't need to explain people to you again Twi', but for me it's just bad habits. I'm kind of aggressive and I'm always hanging out with just guys, so...slang and rough jokes like that are normal."

"How is that normal though?" Twilight asked incredulously. She had meant to drop the conversation, but it had been brought up now as she saw it. "That shouldn't be normal, for stallions- I mean, for men, or women, or anypony else! I mean, okay, setting aside culture...life is something to be cherished, isn't it? Joking about it like that just seems, well, like something Discord might do." A short breathed sigh escaped her and she spoke up quickly again. "You're right, I know why that sort of thing is so common here. It really is just...me having trouble getting used to it."

Jo floundered and leaned back against the counter behind herself heavily, running a hand through her hair. "Yeah...sorry about that Twilight." She threw on an uncharacteristic, admonished look and rubbed one arm. After a moment, she looked at her friend and managed to catch her attention again. "Are you sure everything is so black and white in Equestria, don't you guys have theft? Or Murder?" She bit the inside of her cheek almost immediately. Where did that come from Jo...

Twilight merely looked back, then answered slowly. A surprising, but small smile appeared. "I know you asked Alice not to remind me of home, Jo, so aren't you breaking your own rule?" It wasn't really a secret, Jo yelled at Alice about that frequently.

Jo shrugged, and in the calmer atmosphere left by Twilight softening up, took the chance to make a much needed drink. "What can I say, I'm only human." She flashed a smirk towards the pony-girl, glass in hand.

"I will say, the diversity that has been born from the lengths humans will go to, is...very, very...uhm..." Twilight scrunched up her face an put a hand on her chin.

"Fascinating?" Jo offered.

"More than that, it's...awe-inspiring. The only other thing, or I should say, pony, that has made me feel like this is Princess Celestia herself." Twilight watched absently while Jo poured a glass of the liquor.

Jo followed her gaze. "Really? Huh, I've never thought we were that impressive, even when I do think hard on it. I understand what you mean though, I guess." After a moment, she added. "Want one?"

Twilight straightened up, eyes widened a little, and one hand pulled up in front of herself defensively. "W-what? Want one what?" Before Jo could answer though, she kept on going. "That? One of that? Those, I mean, no. No, Jo, thank you, but I will never adjust so much to Earth that I will try alcohol." She strolled, eyes shut and arms straight at her sides, to sit down pointedly with a thump in her reading chair.

"Aw," Jo grinned, taking a sniff of the drink. "It's honey flavored though, you can't even taste the alcohol, it's one of my favorites." She looked down at the glass. "My mom used to love it."

Twilight opened her eyes and looked at her human friend, detecting the twinge of sadness in her voice. "Thank you, I'm sure it's delicious, but no thank you."

"Not even for...science?" Jo chuckled and walked over to the table, the bottle in hand. "Don't ponies toast for things? Maybe we could have a toast, to friendship." She sat down gingerly and pulled a leg up over the other, bouncing one foot. Next, the glass found its way up to her lips and she took a sip, humming from the sweet flavor, then downed the glass quickly. "It's really good, Twi', just saying."

Twilight eyeballed her warily, but didn't dare look at the glass or drink. Can't let her think I'd actually consider it...even if it does taste good, and probably wouldn't hurt me...since she's fine...no! Nope, not happening, Twilight. Instead, she changed the subject. Smiling she asked, "I'll pass, really. Yes we toast, but what does alcohol have to do with the tradition?" Before the other woman could answer, Twilight leaned forward more and questioned, "What's gotten into you Jo? Usually you're so...well, not to be rude, but sometimes you're as dull and cranky as one of my old Professors. Boy was he-"

Noticing the dark expression Jo had taken on, Twilight coughed and pressed onto her point. "Well, maybe not so much like him... Anyway, I was just a little curious about you, I know so little about...well, your life. You seem to know every little scrap there is to know about me! That's hardly fair, wouldn't you say?" She sat back in her chair, satisfied they were miles from the topic she had stumbled into about Jo and human vulgarity, which she felt bad about.

Across from Twilight, Jo's expression softened and she looked down at her glass, then refilled it in the interim. "Normally I'd require someone that asked that to at least have a drink with me." The glass emptied itself again. "I just loosen up with alcohol, I like it. Simple as that. Otherwise, I just feel like a corked up bottle under too much pressure. Alice? Yeah I love her like a sister, but being around her wasn't...I dunno, it wasn't a good feeling anymore. So I avoid her to keep from stressing out. It's nothing special Twilight, my life I mean. Not like yours. You don't want to hear about me."

"Everyone's life is special, Jo." Twilight reached a hand out across the table corner, her eyes desperate and searching. "How can you say that?"

Jo stayed quiet for a moment. She poured another drink in the next. Twilight watched silently.

"Maybe life itself is special, but mine isn't." Jo could hear Twilight inhaling a breath already to respond. "I mean it Twilight, that goes for a lot of people too, maybe even ponies. Aaanyway, let's not argue about this-"

Twilight jumped in and talked over her anyway. "It's not an argument, I just...don't want you to feel like...like you're..."

Jo rolled her eyes, readying another drink simultaneously. "Worthless? Twilight, I don't, I just know my life and it wasn't that...great. All considering though," she gave Twilight a level look over sipping from her glass, "it wasn't bad, either. For instance, I could have been born in Somalia."

Twilight exhaled a long breath through her nose and frowned. "Oh, Jo..."

The human frowned to match and looked away from the pony-girl. She couldn't keep battling against those sad eyes. "How about we talk about something I can talk about without sounding like a jerk..."

"You're not a jerk, Jo." Twilight replied fiercely.

Jo let out a quiet breath, but smirked. "How about this, try and guess who my favorite pony is from the show. Bet you can't."

Twilight was caught of guard by the change of topic, her expression reflecting that a great deal. "Oh, sure," she laughed out. "I've only watched the first 'season' though, will that matter?"

Jo shook her head, "I don't think so. Go on, guess." She reclined back in the chair and through an arm over the back, smirking. In truth, she was trying to hide the queezy feeling that was building in her stomach. I drank too fast... The thought distracted her a little from Twilight's guesses.

"Alright," Twilight grinned. "Uhm, Applejack?" She raised her head up smartly, confident that the athletic, rough and tumble earth pony would be Jo's favorite.

"Heh, nope." Jo put a hand over her mouth and concealed a burp. "Guess again?"

Twilight hummed and put her arms on the table, studying Jo carefully. Could it be one of the 'background ponies' she mentioned? Maybe the cross eyed one... She pointed her out constantly right until she fell asleep that night. "Is it Rainbow Dash? It has to be Rainbow, you and her are equally rough around the edges with other ponies- er, people."

Jo laughed, regretting it a second later and coughed. She set her glass down and avoided looking at it for the time being. "Nope, wrong again, egghead."

Twilight opened her mouth in a mockery of being incredibly upset. A grin and a giggle escaped her right after though, ruining the act. "Yep, maybe I was wrong then, who is it? Tell me? Pleeeease? It can't be me." She stuck her tongue out at the very idea of someone being her fan.

"You really wanna know?..." Jo said sarcastically, staring at the refilled glass. "Well, honestly I always liked Pinkie Pie the most."

"Pinkie, really?" Twilight exclaimed in disbelief. "Not Rainbow Dash?" She snickered when Jo glanced up with a glare.

Jo relaxed her features. Actually, Twilight probably didn't mean that as a gay joke, Jo. Hm, would it be wrong if I asked her if old Rainboom Butt actually does swing that way? She decided it probably wasn't the smartest question, but only just given the amount of honey flavored whiskey she was drinking.

Jo sighed and looked over at Twilight for a brief moment, then back at the table. "Meh, Rainbow's cool, I've got nothing against her as a character at all, too. Or a...pony, I guess. But I meant the show to begin with. Anyway, Pinkie Pie though, I just feel she was portrayed the best, at least early on." She took a sip of her drink, then grinned across the space at Twilight. "For instance, she had that great 'Party of One' episode where she got really down on herself because she thought that her friends didn't like the thing that made her special. Pinkie Pie is a girl, part of that is getting unreasonably depressed about things that don't make any sense. If that isn't worthwhile character development, I can't say I know for what is." Chuckling, Jo took another sip of her drink.

Once the glass rested once more on the table, where it likely wouldn't stay for long, Jo caught sight of Twilight.

"Thinking about it in the context of entertainment," Twilight spoke up, "I could see that. Sorry, could we talk about something else? Thinking about my friends like they are...not real is a little weird."

Jo scratched the side of her head ashamedly. "Oh, sorry, I didn't even think about that. I really should apologize again Twilight, and not just for right now. I suck at talking to people. Ponies too, apparently."

Twilight smiled back warmly and rubbed her friend's hand. "That's okay! I'm not so good at it either." She laughed out loud cheerfully then. "I guess it's lucky neither of us are very big talkers, huh?"

Jo's eyes flickered to the physical contact. The fact ponies were so touchy and childlike to her, still bothered the sense in her mind of what was normal and what was fiction. "Yeah," She said quietly. "I guess. I do want to talk about something though. Alice was right, we just sit in here being bums." That was more her, she knew, but guiltily didn't want to say it aloud.

"Okay," Twilight smiled again, not one to discourage. "How about I tell you some about Equestria, then? I appreciate you not bringing it up...but the memories aren't painful, and I'm not alone either, so I don't mind at all talking about home. Maybe I would have...at first, but not now." After a moment, she added, "It's been a while, after all. Almost a full month."

Jo blearily looked up at Twilight, managing a sympathetic look.

"So! Ask away Ms. Human, anything at all." Twilight beamed back exaggeratedly.

Jo smirked. "Alright then, well, you didn't answer my question earlier you know. Isn't there killing and bad things where you're from, too? Equestria can't really be perfect except for the occasional goofy evil villain." She regretted the way she'd asked that almost right away. It was a little tactless, she decided. The glass emptied itself again.

"Well," Twilight still replied though, and began slowly with, "Simply put..." A long pause held between the two of them, Twilight hesitating. "Sort of."

Jo readjusted her butt in the seat, going a little numb from sitting so long, and looked over at Twilight with scrutiny. "Sort of?"

Twilight wilted a bit under the look she got from the other girl. "Uhm, yes, sort of. Let me explain," she took in a deep breath.

"By all means." Jo held turned up one hand and set down her glass. After a second's hesitation she poured more of the drink into it.

"It's rare, yes, but it does happen. Nopony ever really hears about it though, when it does." Twilight had a hold of her tank top as she spoke, in both hands wringing the fabric. She stared solidly at the ground. "I don't mean to say it's hidden, either. Here on Earth, it gets publicized, almost...declared and yelled from the roof tops so everypo- everybody hears about it. Where I'm from, nopony would want to hear about it, so you'll never see it in a paper or talked about."

Jo folded her arms. "Ponies really don't like anything to do with that stuff."

"No," Twilight answered quickly. "We don't, most of us anyway." She added the last bit in an academic tone, leaving behind the hesitant, wary one. "I say most because there are, exceptions, it's just," a strangled laugh made it out of her in almost a cough. That surprised Jo. "It's just that there are so few cases like that," her eyes met Jo's, forming a solid stare between them. "That Celestia can see to every case herself. She has for a long time, and it's the most horrible burden that anypony could ever have to bear."

Jo blinked first between them.

"I can't imagine how she does it." Twilight relaxed and looked up at the ceiling, trying to picture her mentor's sun in the sky. Though, it was night time there on Earth. "I always felt so strongly for her because of that. After coming here, those feelings are a little confused, actually. I've seen...well, you know."

Jo nodded, "Sorry for making the night take such a dark turn. I should have just told you about how my dad used to dress up as Santa Claus every year for Christmas or something." She laughed lightly, joined in by Twilight.

"I miss my dad... Hm, I think I've run into that name before, Santa Claus. And isn't Christmas a holiday? I had meant ask earlier actually, is Halloween a holiday of some kind, too?" Twilight grinned, Jo seemed to be nodding asleep all of a sudden. "I can't say why, but it sounds incredibly familiar to me. I must have heard you or Alice talk about it recently..."

"Halloween? I love Halloween. I haven't dressed up for it in years, but it was always my favorite. Christmas though? I hate Christmash, always visiting old relatives for Christmas. I never liked that, every one of them was shadier than an underground cavern." Jo blinked while she spoke, staring at her glass and infrequently at Twilight. She seemed to almost be talking to herself.

"Uhm, interesting!" Twilight grinned, an unsure look in her eyes above it. "I was wondering, what is Christmas or Halloween though, Jo?"

Jo raised her and looked at Twilight, tilting her head slightly. "Oh, Halloween is Nightmare Moon night, Christmas ish...Herf'swarming Eve."

Twilight tilted her head slightly to match her friend. Is it just me, or is she acting even weirder now? "Did you mean Nightmare Night? As in dressing up with costumes, trick or treating, or bobbing for apples?" At Jo's nod, her eyes widened at the implications. "That's...I'm starting to think our worlds follow some sort of pattern, Jo."

The woman across from Twilight smiled down into her glass.

"And Christmas is Hearth's Warming Eve? That's odd, Hearth's Warming is the story of the unification of the pony races and founding Equestria... Is Christmas the story of joining groups of humans, or the founding of Mare-ica?"

Twilight leaned back in surprise when Jo laughed loudly with a bark of laughter.

"No, no... it's..." Jo choked out some laughter, then sighed. "We've got some interesting times to look forward to tomorrow, Twilight. How about we get some rest?"

Twilight furrowed her brow. "Rest?" She looked over at the digital clock on the wall, it read only a little past eight. "Let's talk more, Jo, I think it's been a few day since we said more than a few words to each other." A vibrant laugh escaped Twilight. "I've almost felt like I'm back at Celestia's academy! I haven't had this much time to myself since before I moved to Ponyville." She looked at the table happily, briefly picturing her home.

"Oh, well, I'm going to bed actually." Jo pushed a half full glass away from herself. "I'm more tired than I thought, it was rough at the gym. Overdid it there, maybe."

Twilight looked up, and then pensively stared at the glass of the amber colored liquid. Well, it looks like you overdid something alright.

"Night Twilight, shleep tight."

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes. As Jo came to walk past her, she stood up and gave the other mare another big hug. Slowly, the human returned it. "Goodnight Jo, and thanks again for everything."

"Geez Twilight, you can't keep thanking me. It'sh nothing" Jo smirked.

"Sure I can! What kind of pony would I be if I didn't?" Twilight flashed the girl her biggest, happiest grin. "I'll see you tomorrow Jo! Oh, there used to be a time when I hated parties and distractions, gosh, it didn't help that I couldn't dance, but I've gotten way better! Will the humans at the party be dancing? Do you think I should avoid it? Oh wait, I didn't think about this, but will there be-"

Jo put a hand on her. "Twilight, good night."

Twilight grinned sheepishly. "Whoop, sorry, get your rest Jo."

"Oh yesh, I intend to." Jo answered.

Twilight stood on her toes briefly and replied to Jo, who was disappearing around the corner. "In the morning you should tell me all about your holidays! Or, maybe I could research them tonight..."

A loud thump came from around the corner, catching Twilight's attention. She turned her head to look out into the living room. There wasn't another sound, even after she waited a moment. A gathering sense of confusion filled her. "Jo, was that you?" She called out. No answer came. Worried, she stood up and entered the other room quickly. "Jo, are you alrig-" A gasp escaped her.

"Oh pony feathers, Jo! Jo? Are you okay?" Twilight ducked down to her friend's level, who was face down on the bottom section of the staircase. She put her hands on the downed girl's shoulders and shook her. "Jo!?"

Jo groaned, then mumbled a barely audible response. "Nrrg, not now...too drunk." She was a pitiful sight, her butt stuck slightly up in the air from the position she had fallen into.

"Are you alright?" Twilight looked down at her friends face, which was only slightly turned to the side where she could see her. "Did you fall? Well I mean obviously you fell, but are you hurt? I know how easy it is for humans to get hurt...should I call you a physician?" She waited patiently for a response. The wait stretched well into a minute, her hand rubbing the other girl's back comfortingly in the meantime. "Jo?"

"Oh, hi Twilight." Jo smiled dumbly.

"...Hi Jo..." Twilight's lips thinned into a flat, exasperated expression. "Did you hear me? Are you really that impeded by that horrible stuff you drank? I knew it, it did effect you a lot. Darnit, why do you humans do this stuff to yourselves, it doesn't make the smallest drop of sense!"

"Nrg." Jo groaned and pushed herself up a little.

Twilight leaned down further and put her hands on the other woman's arms. "Are you trying to get up, Jo?"

"Yeah, and I'm fine." Jo's expression hardened a little, her body wobbling upright. "I shouldn't have done that..."

Twilight tilted her head slightly, Jo seemed to not be speaking to her. Consolingly, she softened her features and tried to meet Jo's eyes while helping her up. "Jo, can you hear me? Should I call a human doctor?"

"What? No," Jo said immediately, surprising Twilight. The other girl was proving to be very inconsistent. "I passed out was all, I never could drink much. Uggh, just...help me upstairs, Twilight."

"Well, okay, if you're sure Jo." Twilight put a hand on the railing while one of Jo's arms snaked over her shoulder. "Oof-" What the hay, how is she so heavy? The other other girl swayed slightly beside herself even as they were making their ways up the steps.

Jo rested her head against Twilight's side. "Thanks Twilight, and yeah I'm sure." Her voice was much too loud for how quiet the house was, not to mention how close she was to Twilight. "You know, it's funny, stuff seems different when you're under the influence. I don't care much about that, but, I feel like I can truly appreciate your being here right now because of it. In fact, as long as we're talking about humans and what we're all about, I'd say that's one of our biggest sins, definitely."

Twilight gave the top of the shorter mare's head a confused look. What is she talking about? "Okay." She answered simply.

Jo barked a laugh. "You don't know what sin even is though, the word I mean. Ah, nevermind." She looked up at Twilight. "That's so weird. It seems impossible, everything you've shared with me since you got here." At the top of the stairs, Jo stepped away from the other girl to regard her.

Twilight managed to keep one hand on her arm though, just in case the unstable lush fell down the stairs or something. "Jo?"

"No, listen, I mean it. I-" Jo paused, staring at Twilight with a serious expression, her mouth working.

Twilight's frown deepened. She waited for her friend to continue with what she was about to say, it was obviously very important. "Jo, what is it? Is it something you need to ask me? You know you can ask me anything you'd like. Or is it-"

"Nope, that's not it." Jo stumbled back a couple steps and began moving down the hall with surprising speed. She ran towards the bathroom.

"...Jo?" Twilight quirked an eyebrow and followed after the other girl at a fast walk, the human ducked into the bathroom, leaving the door open. Just as Twilight caught up with the human, Jo's face bucked forward violently over the porcelain toilet without warning.

Twilight cringed from the bathroom doorway, where she'd followed until the other girl had begun making sickly noises. The last time the castaway pony had heard that much puking had been an incident concerning Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and a lot of poorly baked cupcakes.

"Oh dear. I'd say I told you so, Jo, but I think that you're doing it well enough for me!" Twilight smiled a little, but frowned right after, the grossness of the sound starting to get to her. She sighed and moved further away, turning on Jo's bedroom light and waiting while her friend finished relieving herself of the poison she insisted on drinking.

"I can't imagine why anypony would ever do that to themselves." Twilight patiently stood by, entertaining herself by alternating a tapping rhythm on the floor with her feet. "I wonder if there's a law back in Equestria against distilling alcohol? I never would have thought that anypony would ever think to actually drink it. But maybe Celestia put one in place? Hm." After a moment of thinking over the consideration, it occurred to her that she hadn't heard from Jo in a few minutes.

Twilight looked up at the open bathroom door. "Jo?" She called out. Looking in, the girl was leaned over the toilet still. "Uh, are you-"

A loud snore interrupted her, like a pig snorting in the mud, or a Hydra pulling itself up out of the muck in a swamp.

"Oh great Celestia that is disgusting." Twilight winced and gingerly picked up the down human by her shoulders. Her friend's head flopped back, revealing a placid expression of sleep. Come on, let's get you to bed, Jo.

With a little trouble, and hitting Jo's head on the doorway once, Twilight was able to get her friend into bed. Jo's bed being a couch strangely enough. "Easy..." Gently, or at least as much as she could, she lowered the girl down. All the while she thought about how much easier it would be with her magic, or even as a pony. Her new body seemed to be...very weak. At first she had thought something was wrong her.

Maybe I should take Jo up on going to that gym with her? I should ask again about human bodies. Twilight tucked her friend in, then stood up with her hands behind her back and stretched, sporting a strained look. She breathed out a breath of relief after having struggled the severely hampered human up the stairs and down the hallway.

On the bedroom's sleeping arrangement, Jo was already snoring loudly, a contented look pointed up in Twilight's direction.

"That, is just too cute for words. I wonder... would Jo think it's strange if I told her humans are adorable?" Twilight Sparkle had made sure to whisper, but had to hold up a hand to keep from giggling to loudly. "Good night, Jo."

Quietly, she made her way out of the room, carefully making sure not to trip on any cats. "Honestly, I feel like I'm having a heart attack sometimes from their expressions. Why can't Equestrians be that adorable?"

Shrugging with a sigh, Twilight made her way back downstairs and into the dining room. Her eyes immediately came to rest on Jo's strange bottle and her glass. Now what to do, what to do... She sniffed derisively at them both while thinking, capping the bottle and putting it back on the far shelf. I suppose I should get to bed... We all have a big day tomorrow; the mall, then that party, and whatever surprise that Alice claimed to have.

Twilight clicked off the light to the room, bathing it in the Earth's relative darkness. At first, it seemed very dark, but slowly her vision adjusted, odd as that seemed. Once she could see again, the dim moonlight from the window caught her attention. Luna. She thought, and walked towards the light.

"Perhaps I'll go for a walk." Twilight stared flatly outside, it seemed nice out right then. Typically, she had noticed that the night time was far more pleasant than the day on Earth. It was as hot or hotter than Appleloosa randomly where Jo lived, a state called 'New York'. She assumed the lack of Pegasi to shepherd the weather was likely the reason for that.

Following true to her thoughts, Twilight slid on her sandals and stepped out into the cool night air. She shivered slightly, her only guard against the chill temperature being a thin layer of clothing, rather than her much missed coat of fur. It's getting colder, just like back home. Unlike back home, it was happening sooner in the year, and not all at once. She looked around Jo's front yard a moment, studying the stone columns at the end of her walkway, the grass which desperately needed mowing, then the road, which stretched in either direction. All along either side of the road were strange looking houses, all of which contained a family of humans. Not ponies.

Heaving a taciturn breath, Twilight stepped out into the night, her eyes climbing up to watch the stars every few seconds. She didn't keep watching them, walking while looking up maybe her feel as though she would tip over in her human body.

"Star light, star bright..." Twilight sang gently. She laughed a little, stopping at the road's curb to stand still and just look.

The constellations on Earth were very strange indeed. For one, they never changed. For two, Twilight had realized, given a little time, they were still beautiful. The lights hanging overhead were dull and distant compared to the vibrant specks that dazzled and twinkled in Equestria, but if you looked carefully, on a clear night, Earth's had a very charming beauty to them.

"Hm." Twilight continued, thinking aloud during her routine village walking adventure. "It's nice to get out sometimes, I wish I could go back to my fillyhood and tell myself to do it more." After a brief moment, she remembered she probably could, at that, to forget a little bit about what she was right then. That is, had she any magic to work with. I should have made better use of that time I had...

Twilight ceased walking to stare down at her feet. A shiver ran through her as an autumn breeze rolled down the street from behind her. "I really want to go-" She halted mid sentence. The strangest of sights sitting in the lawn of one of Jo's next door neighbors.

Standing in the lawn with a menacing look in its red, glowing eyes, was a tall monster of indescribable horror. Its fangs and claws were all bared, and it seemed as if it were ready to eat her.

Twilight shrieked, and in her panic fell back on her tush on the cold, hard ground. "NO!" She flipped around and scrambled away immediately from the night horror. One of her sandals flew off, but that didn't matter to her right then. Her breath came out ragged, her legs pushing themselves hard to get back to the house, back to safety, from whatever that thing had been.

What was that? A chupacabra maybe? Why would that be here? I'm not a goat! Twilight thought, full of surprise and fear from how quiet the creature had been. The front door to her sanctuary flew open, then slammed shut behind her.

Twilight's breath heaved her whole body, she tried to slow it and calm herself down, to think logically. Gotta lock the door! Turning in a flash, she did just that. Next, she rushed over to—and nearly fell in the process—the window and looked outside carefully. I've never seen anything that fearsome in any of my books, did it come from the Everfree?

Twilight slapped a hand to head and straightened up, realizing what she'd just thought. "If that wasn't some dark horror from Tartarus or something, then what was it?" She knew full well that creatures like that existed, but not on Earth; humans at least seemed convinced they didn't. I wonder if I should wake up Jo... Unsure of what to do, she merely continued to peek out the window for several minutes, her fear not leaving, but her hesitation to raise the alarm staying as well.

"It...it was probably nothing," she shakily told herself. However, in her fright of a new place and amidst her doubt, she didn't leave the window.

Author's Notes:

Okay I was talking out of my butt on this one. I'm no scientist, so for those of you super knowledgeable about circuits and computer parts don't get up in arms at me for Twilight fixing Jo's comp! I dunno how she did it, if re-soldering certain capacitors or something is feasible, she did that. If not? Well use your imagination.

So I just avoided specifics altogether, just wanting to get my point across. I hope I did that at least, as for the rest! Well, interesting fun fact, this story as planned out right now only has five chapters left, though knowing me that will probably become ten lickity split... Sigh. The point is, we are definitely over the halfway hump! (giggity) (I am such a liar)

Oh, and I would like to say I liked this chapter, enough that yes it's a day late, whoops. I think it still has some errors in it too.

Stay tuned m'lords, the mad wizard has more in store.

Chapter 18 : The Party and The Pony

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October 31st 2023, Tuesday

8:31 AM

Halloween

The air in the room hung still and silent, while being just a little chilly from the early morning. A cat snored pleasantly at the foot of the bed, happy and providing some additional warmth in repayment for contractually agreed upon regular feedings.

Jo's head raised up off of her pillow. Immediately, one thing, one goal appeared in the girl's mind.

Coffee.

The lone thought superseded all others, becoming the thought ruler, presiding over the kingdom of thoughts itself. Her head pulsed with the anger of a hundred furious chimpanzees, all flailing around in her head with spike tipped whiffle bats while chucking bowling balls. Their screaming was endless.

In other words, she had a hangover. All will be right with coffee.

Jo managed to stand up and stumble to the door, surprising even herself that she didn't feel sick; other than the teeth clenching head pain. She stumbled down the stairs, her quest for her own personal holy grail directing her to the kitchen. Once in the living room, she met a peculiar sight, but not one that slowed her down in the slightest; Twilight seemed to be slumped over, and asleep by the far window, just beside the front door.

Meh. Jo couldn't really process that just yet, the need for caffeine kept her from attempting to figure it out. Coffeecoffeecoffee...

Spinning around at what to her seemed like light-speed, but to an observer would have been uncoordinated shuffling, Jo again headed in the direction of the kitchen table, sitting there along with the coffee maker. Oddly enough, both things sat in front of Twilight who was, again, in the living room.

Where the kitchen table and coffee creator were didn't matter though, they alone held the key to getting coffee, so approaching them was paramount. Jo didn't feel like driving to pick some up, were that even possible. Finally, her shuffling forward stopped, and she found her morning nectar. It remained on the table, sitting next to Twilight Sparkle, who seemed to have made friends with it. That is, if the level of the pitcher's contents was any indication. Still some left. Her labored thoughts observed, but scarcely cared.

Jo's hand closed around the lone cup, brought over the pitcher, and poured. All the while, Twilight's unconscious gaze remained locked in a staring contest with the front door that she seemed determined to win. Somewhere in her subconscious, Jo knew that she was supposed to greet the former unicorn. To that end, she let out a polite hello.

"Ghdmrnin' Twi'let..." Jo grumbled the words under her breath and went back to her cup of coffee, which was nearly full. There was no response from Twilight. Oh, she's asleep, right.

Jo would have face palmed for making the mistake at any other time, but right then, doing so would have been suicide. She took a sip of the coffee. Blessedly, it was actually still quite warm, perhaps not more than half an hour old.

Oooh, thank you God. Wait, thank you Celestia! Jo's beleaguered self smiled out of pure happiness in a way that only someone reaching Nirvana could. She took another sip, then emptied the cup, and poured another. A few swallows later, it occurred to Jo that Twilight really shouldn't be sitting at her kitchen table, moved in front of the door, clutching an apple pie from the refrigerator like a member of the NRA clutches their .22.

Jo studied her odd Equestrian tenant with mild interest, her bogged down mind trying to make sense of just what was going on. Well, whatever it is, it can wait 'till I finish my coffee, and take a shower... and find some acetaminophen... Holy hell, why did I do that last night? And why after years of drinking can't I hold it worth a damn? She wasn't able to come up with an answer to her own questions.

Twilight's influence on Jo had been quite profound, she swore and drank less after all. Sort of.

Jo sighed, watching the slow rise and fall of the purple haired girl's back in a daze. There was something off about the purple hair, now that she looked, but couldn't quite place it. Shrugging, she turned away, and came face to face with Alice.

"Morning!" The blonde girl chirped cheerfully, she leaned one hand on her side and flashed a grin that was all teeth, her other hand holding up a spatula nonchalantly into the air. She was dressed in a long sleeved teal and white striped shirt, along with what appeared to be beige dress pants.

Jo felt her heart implode out of her chest from the force of surprise that gripped her, however, her headache was such that subconsciously, she managed to resist crying out. Instead, her eyes widened, then shut, then she groaned and pushed the other woman out of the way in finality. "Grr, grf'ornink." One of her hands pressed against the side of her head in an attempt to hold back the headache caged within it.

"Wow, what happened to you? Anyway, I'm making breeeeakfast! Yay!" Alice walked alongside Jo until they reached the shower room, a whole four steps away. "We have a full day today, we gotta try on the costumes I've been working on, go shopping, enjoy some tasty lunch, then meet up at the party! I'm helping with the hors d'oeuvres, so we should get there early! Maybe four? There's gonna be so much to do this year, and the place is right next to the Halloween fair in town. Aaw yeah!"

Jo looked back at Alice, her face incredulous from barely picking up a word she had said. "What?" Her voice was little more than a croak.

"What what?" Alice tilted her head. "Oh, hors d'oeuvres? Well I'd say pu-pu platter, but honestly that just sounds gross, and-" She buttoned her trap when Jo growled at her again. "Or never mind. So, you were drinking after I left, I take it?" A knowing smirk grew and split across her face. Without waiting for an answer, she continued talking just a little too fast. "Well, I'm going back to food making. It seems you both had a rough night, so hopefully this will energize you for the day of fun to come, whoo!" With that, the spunky woman walked away, waving the spatula in a circle over her head.

Jo's attention lingered on the crazy person a moment. It's like, eight in the morning, how does she do this? Glancing at her wristwatch, it was actually just past ten. Groaning disfavor at the sight, she began padding her way tiredly into the shower, and after narrowly missing the doorway with her head, managed to edge her way inside. The half full cup of coffee she still held was left on the counter, near at hand.

"That's so great." Jo didn't wait for the water to warm up, she merely turned on the faucet and endured the cold, which felt wonderful. A few minutes of life giving, watery happiness, cleared her head and made her feel better quickly. She aided the shower's efforts by reaching out to the medicine cabinet not once, but twice, and finishing her coffee. While in the shower, she thought, while polishing off her drink until it was an empty cup on the counter.

"Maybe I should think about drinking less...a lot less..." While mulling over the idea, she gargled water to fix her scratchy throat.

While the guilty feeling hung about Jo, like a looming eviction notice or something equally dismal; it was wiped clean by a racket crashing in over the sound of the shower water. Or perhaps that was the sound of a certain Equestrian banging the door open.

"Jo!? You have to turn off the shower!" Twilight's voice called out from in the bathroom, on the other side of the curtain.

Oh, Twilight's awake. Jo thought, then furrowed her brow and turned to look through the quickly building wall of steam once she'd translated what the girl had said to her. What the- The other girl's hand clutched the shower curtain and ripped it open.

“Twilight!? What are you doing? H-hey!” Being tackled by surprise had properties similar to finishing the cup of coffee or the shower for the now wide awake Jo.

The entire scuffle last only a second, Jo being sluggish and worn from lingering alcohol, and Twilight apparently being more hyperactive than a juvenile hopped up on energy drinks. They both slid down onto the shower stall floor, Twilight pressing a finger against her friend's lips and begging for silence.

“Shhh! It could hear you!” Twilight's eyes were bloodshot and wild, and thanks to the shower, quickly getting soaked.

“What are you doing!? What’s going to hear me? Weren't you asleep? What’s going on? Wh-” Whatever Jo was about to say was cut off by a slender hand, slapping firmly over her mouth.

Twilight cupped Jo's mouth in her panic, looking fearfully out of the bathroom and at the front door. With her other hand she quickly shut off the noisy shower water.

“Shhh!” Twilight shushed again, while her maddened eyes stared back into Jo's. “There’s a monster outside. I’ve been watching for it all night, although I haven't seen it again yet. But it could still be out there! I think it’s just waiting for an opportunity to break in, for me to lower my guard, but I'm too smart for it, Jo. I stayed up all night just to keep watch! Anyway, it might not be able to get in or know we're here, but if it hears us, you’ll be taking our lives in your hooves and giving us away!”

Jo was slightly shaken from the realization that a former magical creature was telling her that there was a frightening monster beyond her doorstep, not to mention from the unexpected body check, and her own present nakedness. Wait, a monster? Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Her wits returned to her though, and she gave the other girl a scrutinizing look of disbelief.

Twilight sucked in a breath as something occurred to her, still rambling. “Unless it was waiting for me to stop guarding the door! Oh no. Jo, we have to get up, but be careful. I don’t know what kind of powers it- Yo- AH!"

Recoiling, Twilight withdrew her hand and shook it fiercely, putting on a hurt look. "You bit me!"

"You invaded my privacy." Jo glared and Twilight, standing up and swiping a towel off the door quickly.

Twilight scowled, then ran out into the hall, slipping slightly on the floor and speaking frantically the whole way. "This is- wah! Way more important than a little clothes-lessness, Jo! I tried waking you up all night, but it was like you were under a sleeping spell! I read about the one in human stories that gets broken by true love's first kiss, but there was no way I was going to try that- Anyway, could you help me board up the door? I thought about using your table, but I couldn't find a hammer, and I didn't dare go back outside!"

Alice poked her head out of the kitchen. "Is Twilight losing her mind again? Jo, I can't leave the eggs so take a picture if it's really good!"

"Stop making noise!" Twilight shouted.

"What happened to being quiet?" Jo rolled her eyes, looked at Alice, then sighed and followed after her hysterical, purpler friend reproachfully. I cannot believe how crazy this girl, er- Pony can get when she gets going, a hundred Alices can't compare to this. The thought made her shiver. "Twilight, look, you aren't making sense. A monster? Twilight monsters aren't rea- Okay, well they aren't real here... Are you sure it wasn't just the neighbor's dog? They have a New Foundland, you know. They're big, but he's nice, as far as dogs go anyway." She found Twilight, again looking out the windows, crouching at the bottom of the sills and moving stealthily.

I am so glad she doesn't have her magic right now. Jo approached Twilight and tapped her friend on the shoulder. "Twilight, come on, whatever you saw it can't have been that bad, and I promise you it wasn't a monster."

Twilight looked up, a hint of doubt edging her determination. "Are you sure? You can't be sure about that. We should call your police force at least. They're no Elements of Harmony, but their job is to protect. Maybe they could look into it?"

Oh yes officer we swear, it was twelve feet tall, breathed fire and had teeth a mile wi- Jo barely managed to keep the rueful smirk of her face. The headache that poked at the side of her skull was the only reason she succeeded, too. "I'm pretty sure, Twi'. I'm also pretty sure if we called the cops that they would just call us crazy, too."

From the kitchen, came a shouted call from Alice. "We can always lie and say that there's robbers! They'll show up then, and when they see it, they'll shoot it!"

Jo face palmed.

"You can't shoot it! That could hurt it, or worse, kill it!" Twilight protested. "It's probably just lost. Maybe we could make some kind of giant, rudimentary sleep device? Oh, when did Alice get here?"

Jo face palmed again. Ow. She rubbed at the spot on her head she already regretted smacking. "Twilight, I promise you, it was probably Halloween decorations or something, okay? Not real."

Twilight's frown deepened, and she looked back out the window before speaking. “I know what I saw. It was down the street, just two houses from here. It could have hurt, or maybe worse, devoured the poor people that live there already! It was so horrible, Jo. I should have figured there would actually be monsters if inter-dimensional travel is possible, like I've proven. Goodness, maybe they like it here? Earth is like one enormous Everfree Forest after all.”

Jo continued to massage her aching head, stare fixated on the other girl's back. "Twilight, it took a genius, crazy unicorn to get to Earth the first time. A mindless monster-thing isn't going to do the same unless they're at least as smart, which I doubt. Alright?" The thought admittedly worried her. If it was possible to come and go elsewhere, maybe other things that went bump in the night had shown up over time. She didn't feel like pointing out what she had said was a baseless reassurance.

Twilight heaved a sigh, and despondently turned to look up in time to see Jo walking away and out of the living room. “Twilight,” she said, “I am going to get dressed, then we'll go outside and I'll prove to you there is nothing out there. We can talk about this after I finish my shower, but for now, there is one thing that you, as a good friend can do for me.”

Caught unexpectedly by the somewhat familiar phrase, Twilight blinked owlishly after her. “Yes?”

Jo turned around at the doorway and jabbed a finger at the coffee machine on the kitchen table, that was still wedged up against the front door. "Make me some more coffee."

October 31st 2023, Tuesday

9:49 AM

Halloween

Jo's face lit up the second she got out of the shower room for the second time, the rest of her morning rituals completed. "Oh my God, thank you so much." She gingerly took the offered coffee mug from Twilight's hands and cupped it softly in her own, taking careful sips of the piping hot liquid. "Mmm."

"Can we deal with the monster now?" Twilight frowned at her.

Alice, however, added in her two bits from the book table in the dining room, temporarily cleared of Twilight's mess of literature. "Not before you guys eat this!"

Jo sighed and gulped down the coffee. "Alice, I'm almost afraid to ask, but don't tell me you believe her?"

"Not really," Alice admitted honestly while twirling some of her hair and eying her own plate of pancakes. "I mean, I would like to. I love this fantasy thing, you have no idea." From there, she almost devolved into a fit of mad laughter, but regained some composure. "It probably was the neighbors though, Twilight."

While Jo shrugged and began to make her way upstairs to get dressed, Twilight threw up her hands and arms in defeat, then sat down next to Alice with a thump.

"Fine, but I still want to look, there should be tracks from something that big, and if there is a gruesome scene of butchery the likes that Earth or Tartarus has never seen before, then I promise you now I'll have enough 'I told you so's' for a lifetime!" Twilight practically fumed out of her ears by the time she finished, and a river of syrup was pouring over her own food from angry, overuse.

"How long do ponies actually live?" Alice rested her head on the fist grasping her fork and gave the intellectual an interested look.

"Ah- What?" Twilight blinked in complete surprise, staring back blankly.

Alice's eyes flickered down, away from Twilight's face, a smarmy look replacing her interested expression. "You're spilling syrup all over your food and the table, and yourself..."

Twilight looked back down at the table, and jumped. "Wha- WAH!" The syrup was pouring off the edge and into her lap where she'd moved the bottle from over the plate. She quickly set the bottle down and stood up, the chair screeching out behind herself. "Oh no...! Does syrup stain?"

Alice got up to get something to wipe the table while answering calmly. "I don't think so. Not bad, anyway. More importantly are you alright, Twilight? The freak out this morning aside, you don't look so good. Just haven't showered yet, I'm guessing?" Before finishing her sentence, she placed a full fork of pancakes in her mouth. "m' r'ght?"

Twilight held the lavender tank top up and frowned down at her shorts, now doused in the sticky substance. "What? Oh, well, not exactly. I also didn't sleep much, or at all really. I did nod off but I don't know when... I should have listened to you girls just now, you're probably right about me imagining it last night." She heaved a sigh and sat back down, rather than leave to change. I'll just eat quickly, then take care of that...

Alice raised an eyebrow, sitting too. "Well, maybe, but don't write it off just yet. For the record, I totally believe you more than Ms. Skeptic if you're sure about your monster. Maybe it didn't charge in here after you or maybe it was more scared of you than you were of it, like a snake, or a Corgi."

Twilight shuddered on impulse at the mention of snakes, then stopped to try and figure out what a Corgi was in the next. Just before she asked, Jo walked back in, fully dressed now, and in a pair of ratty cargo pants with a baggy t-shirt.

Alice and Twilight looked over, while Twilight answered the other girl. "Uhm, I guess that's an apt analogy... If I knew what a Corgi was." Before Alice could answer that, Twilight greeted Jo, again. "Morning Jo, I'm really sorry about-"

"It's fine," Jo said loudly while drying her hair with a towel. "Though I have to wonder now if it's even considered impolite in Equestria to walk in on someone showering." She gave the other girl a flat look, and Alice too while she was at it, then sat to begin eating her own food.

Alice snickered, but didn't comment on the hilarious encounter that had happened.

Twilight felt taken aback by the statement. "Well of course! If your lives are in danger though that's hardly more important than an aversion to nudity. Don't you think?" She frowned, then looked at the table. "I've heard of what a real monster can do to somepony. It's kind of..." A welcomed, consoling hand from Alice was laid on her back, and she exhaled, dispelling the memory.

"Sorry, Twilight, I should have thought about that." Jo set her fork down and folded her hands up, looking ashamedly across the table.

"It's alright! You're probably right anyway, and you couldn't have known about that stuff." Twilight let out a half-hearted laugh, and smiled thanks at Alice for her gesture. "Anyway, you can't undo that sort of thing, only take precautions and not wander around where it's dangerous... I would still like to look, though, if that's alright."

Jo warily looked behind herself at the front door. "I imagine we would have heard something by now. This is a pretty busy town, but sure, Twilight."

"Yay! Best Friiiends, forever!" sang Alice, right before she stuck a piece of bacon in her mouth.

Twilight observed the act, and noticed her plate lacked any of the stuff. "Oh, hey what is that? It smells good. Why didn't I get any?" She smirked and looked at Alice. "Did you steal mine? I've read allegations that humans are greedy, but I thought I was a guest," she joked.

Jo was about to try and nicely word a sentence about her freeloading as a joke of her own, but instead her eyes snapped wide and looked in horror at what was laden on both her own plate and Alice's. "Alice," she hissed, getting the other girl's attention. "Where did you get this? Did you forget?"

The blonde's own eyes widened, but in confusion. "What? Oh, nah I brought it, it's hickory smoked. Mmm." Oblivious, she popped another piece in her mouth.

"Alice! You can't make bacon here- Are you kidding me?" Jo was already thinking of whether it was too late to throw hers out, or if she should just eat it now and hope it didn't come up again. Their Equestrian guest still hadn't come to terms with humans and their killing ways, much less so after finding out just how it all really was gathered while online.

Alice looked up, her face rife with confusion.

"Bacon? It smells so good, can I have some?" Meanwhile, not included in the current conversation and all, Twilight reached a hand out to Alice's plate.

Alice smiled perkily. "Yeah, su- Oh." Her brain finally clicked.

Jo and Alice simultaneously dove at Twilight's hand as it reached for Alice's plate.

10:01 AM

Jo closed her car door and strapped in, exhaling a tired breath. She looked behind herself at Twilight, who was sitting in the backseat of Alice's car, absently holding her hair in one, now syrup-free hand. The other girl was also already staring blankly out of the window. "Are you alright, Twilight?"

"Huh?" Twilight faced forward, as if in a daze and met her friend's stare. "Oh, yes, just concerned about that monster, though. Thinking back, that thing was really quiet. Maybe it wasn't real?" She trailed off, again looking out the window at the sidewalk. "Maybe I'm just looking for... things where there aren't any."

Jo looked over at Alice, who shrugged and started the car, then back at Twilight. She kept her tone consoling in response to Twilight's behavior. "Hm, no, I meant the other thing. You aren't mad at me or Alice, are you?"

Twilight let out an exasperated sigh and sat up straighter from her slouched inspection of the side yard. "Oh please, Jo. I would never get angry at my friends, not on purpose anyway. I really care about you guys, certainly enough to not mind that you... you," she paused and gulped, as if a bubble of bile had threatened to rise up and say hello. "You both eat that stuff... Like you said, maybe it's more normal than I think back home." She nervously twiddled her fingers and smiled just as nervously. "A-After all, I don't know everything about home, like you said, and it did make sense after you explained it that gryphons would eat meat, and Gilda wasn't such a bad-"

Jo held up a hand and spun more to face Twilight. "Alright Twilight, I understand. It's okay, I'm really sorry. Alice is too, for bringing up that thing she brought up." She didn't dare repeat what her friend, whom she now considered a full blown idiot, had said to Twilight.

Alice let out an annoyed sound and pulled the car out of the driveway smoothly. "Look, I'm sorry I care so much for Twilight's health, but a little meat would really improve her diet." She made a strained noise, not wanting to sound pushy. "I'm really sorry about that, too, Twilight. I just don't understand vegetarians I guess." Her voice ashamedly lowered itself to almost a whisper, but both of the other women still heard it.

"Alice-" Jo began warningly.

Twilight coughed, and met Jo's eyes after her friend turned their attention back to her. "It's fine, Jo. It's important I adjust, after all. We're all going to a party that will, no doubt, have all kinds of hotdogs and hamburgers at it, right? I'm never going to eat them, but I don't mind being around them. Really." She put on her best fake grin of enthusiasm that she could.

Jo smirked back, albeit sadly. "Yeah, there might be... sorry. I hadn't even thought about that last night, Twilight."

The other girl waved a hand, then replaced it in her lap, taking a deep breath as she did. "It's gonna be great, I'm sure! You girls don't need to apologize at all. Alice was looking out for me, and you had my best interests in mind, we can all put it behind us now. Anyway, let's keep an eye out for that monster." With a little enthusiasm mixed with wariness, she sat up and pressed her face against the car window. "I saw it right... there!"

Alice and Jo both looked where Twilight indicated with her voice. What they saw was very, very interesting.

"Oh, wow," Alice said in amazement, gaping.

"I don't believe it." Jo wiped a hand down her face, obscuring her vision entirely.

Twilight lept out of the stopped car and stared openly at the grotesque sight before her, very disbelieving herself. "W-What is this?" In the back of her head she picked up the sound of Jo opening her own door.

"It looks like the Potter's place is going all out this year... crazy." Jo got a good look at the plethora of decorations strewn across the front lawn of the home. "Was this your big scary monster then?" She strode past Twilight, stealing a glance at her friend's shocked expression, and up towards a massive, wire frame dummy tied to the side of one tree. Its eyes lit up a bright, fierce red, as Jo stepped onto the sidewalk. "Yeah, that looks like a bugbear alright."

Alice put a consoling hand on Twilight's shoulder.

"I just- I just don't get it." Twilight walked up to the thing and poked it in the chest. "A bugbear?"

Jo guffawed and strode up beside the other girl once again. "It's a nerd thing, basically there's a board game humans play that simulates fantasy. We don't have the real thing, so we pretend a whole lot, but you knew that. I guess their family is big into it or something to put this much effort into such... over the top decorations.

"Well, anything's over the top compared to yours, Jo." Alice joined the other two in staring up at the seven foot furry statue.

"I don't have any decorations." Jo answered, not looking back, and already knew what Alice was going to say before she said it. Hurr, that's because you don't have any, yeah, that's what she's going to say. Annoyed already, Jo turned to get back in the car.

Alice responded thusly, leaning close to their third party member. "You're a wizard Twilight."

Jo stopped in her tracks long enough to glare back at Alice, and get a goofy grin in return, then got back in the car.

"A what?" Twilight looked at Alice in surprise. "Oh, like Starswirl! Please, Alice," Twilight blushed. "I'm nothing like Starswirl."

"Oh come on, Twilight. I'm sure you'll get a section in the Canterlot library, too." Alice rolled her eyes at Twi's humbleness, then gleefully clapped her hands together from the idea she'd had. "Oh, we are so having another movie night soon. Those marathons last week were just not enough! Uggh, there's so much more stuff you should watch that's great, and-"

Twilight felt her vision go a little hazy at the mention of such an honorable spot in the library. A moment after, and she felt guilty about doing it, but she tuned Alice out a little bit. I don't really mean to do it on purpose, but this is important. She turned and looked at the sidewalk, trying to guess where she had been the night before, then back at the decoration again. It seemed as if she were missing something. After that, she strolled over and tried to find a good spot.

Once there was a break in speech from the girl that continually seemed to be vying for Pinkie Pie's place in the world, Twilight spoke up. "So, it's fake?" Twilight scrutinized the human-made creation in front of her one last time, then sighed and faced Alice. "I-"

Jo called out from behind her. "Guys, Twilight, come on. We confirmed it's just something super nerdy, can we go?"

Her expression drawing thin, Twilight turned around. "One second, Jo." She stole a glance back at the decoration, still glaring menacingly down at her.

Alice strode past her towards the car. "Yep, fake as can be, Twilight. Let's go! I want to show you the costumes so bad, you're going to love them. I worked so hard on the one for you, you'll think it's the best thing ever."

Twilight continued to stare at the thing, studying its features carefully. It was definitely really scary. She looked around the lawn, and made a pained face. The 'Halloween' decorations, as they were called, were far more gruesome than anything she had ever seen used for Nightmare Night. It was true, she supposed, that the holiday was designed to scare ponies, because over the years being scared became a great way to have fun. Humans too had seemingly figured out that being scared could be fun, though they seemed to push the envelope a fair bit further...

Trying hard to get the image of the bleeding, fake corpses out of her mind, Twilight turned around and joined her friends in Alice's car. She stole a final glance at the decoration, particularly around its base, frowned once more, then hopped in. Guh, humans, she thought, opening and closing her door. The car rumbled forth almost immediately, and she watched the house with the strange mannequin disappear from sight as they drove to Alice's to start their day. Now don't think that Twilight, after all, you're going out to try and have...fun with a bunch of them tonight. You need to be polite, and treat them just as you would any other Equestrian... I'm not at all nervous about it, we'll dance, play games and maybe make some new friends.

The car was silent for a time as the three girls undertook their voyage towards Alice's home. Their plan, to decide on costumes, of which the bubbly blonde professed to have many, and then go to the mall to spend the afternoon until it was time to party, something one of the three was incredibly apprehensive about.

Alice glanced over at Jo, then at Twilight in the rear view mirror. "So, was that bacon good, Twilight?" she asked out of the blue.

10:17 AM

"The United States of 'Merica to Twi'-Light. Come in Twi'-Light." A distant voice reached Twilight's ears vaguely, and she drowsily pulled her head up. "Twilight!"

Twilight jumped at the louder mention of her name, used alongside a strange accent that vaguely sounded like Applejack's southern Equestrian slur. "Huh!? Oh, I'm sorry, Alice. I must have dazed off."

Alice giggled in response. "We noticed, and dozed off is more like it, we're here."

Blinking away the tiredness in her eyes, Twilight looked out to see the tall apartment building Alice lived it. "Terrific! Sorry about that girls, I just... well, you know."

Jo helped Twilight out of the car and grinned up at her. "To be fair, Twilight, I would have stayed up all night if I thought something was trying to kill me too."

"Ah haha, yeah." Twilight rubbed a hand behind her head and followed the other two leading the way up into the building. Sighing, and stifling a yawn at the same time, she followed after them inside. An idle thought swam by as she made her way up the three flights of stairs leading up to Alice's home. I really hope Alice cleaned up this time...

Twilight stared flatly around herself at the apartment. Well, it is... cleaner, sort of. The general area was clear enough to walk through, but the amount of clutter did seem to over encompass the greater part of the table and space near the walls. If I had my magic I could organize all of this in minutes. Not for the first, and probably not the last time, Twilight tried to feel for her horn naturally. The absence of magic bending to will stuck out in her mind as a constant reminder of her situation.

"Here it is, here it is, here it is!" Alice deftly hopped over every little obstacle.

Twilight looked up, and her eyes immediately lit up in recognition. "Is that...?"

Alice nodded vigorously, grinning all the while. "Yuuup! It sure is, Twilight, though admittedly I was hoping I could convince you to go as yourself. So, did I get the bells right?" Held up in the other girl's hands was a very convincing robe, covered in silver moons and golden stars, as well as bells at the hems.

Twilight's eyes shown with pure glee as she took up the cloth in her own hands. It was a great deal different and more... human, than any of her old costumes had been, all two of them, not to mention sized for a human, but it was a beautiful sight all the same. It's hard to believe I'm spending Nightmare Night away from Equestria.

"What do you mean by going as 'myself'?" Twilight followed Alice's excited expression, which lead over to a pair of lavender wings, a false unicorn horn, and a gorgeous, full-length dress to match them both. "Oooh," she ohhed in understanding. "Now that would be fun." Grinning, and carefully stepping over a few pairs of shoes, she walked up to the outfit hanging inconspicuously from a window's blinds. "Wow, Rarity would be impressed."

Alice blushed at the compliment. "Now, depending on what we choose, I have Gandalf the Grey and Starswirl the Bearded as choices, or, you can choose to go as yourself, and match Jo! Teehee!" Filled with an overabundance of energy and excitement, Alice actually hopped up and down saying "teehee".

Twilight turned from fingering the peculiar wings and the dress, comparing it out of habit right away to the outfits Rarity made every year for Ponyvillians around Nightmare Night. "Match Jo? Why, what's Jo going as?" Glancing over at the aforementioned girl; Jo looked as surprised as she herself felt.

"Yeah, what am I going as, Alice?" Jo asked smartly, leaning against one wall with arms crossed. "I don't remember ever saying I was going as anything, in fact I'm pretty sure I'm not." Her glower sank more as she spoke, as if the topic at hoof was an incredibly dire one. "I'm just going to go, have... fun, and..."

"Drink?" Alice offered, slowly, leaving her mouth slightly open for effect. "Come on Jo, if you're going out for the first time in forever, and for Halloween, you should do it in style and go all out. Who knows, it's a big party, you might get luuck-keeeey."

"Shuddup," Jo brandished a fist and held it up as a warning. "Honestly I don't like the idea of drinking anything in public. Never have. I guess I'll just have to buckle down and-" She held a hand up to her face, gasping in a blatantly sarcastic manner. "-Socialize."

Alice laughed out loud in an equally exaggerated manner. "I'll believe that when I see it, Joey," then ducked into the nearby closet and began rummaging.

Twilight's flat looked stretched across her face. I swear, these girls are crazy. I can never tell if they're having fun, fighting, or are just joking with one another. It's even more confusing because of how full of different cultures and personalities human stories are. I have no frame of reference! With ponies, Twilight at least knew how things worked. Humans were different entirely depending on where they were from, what they did, and more.

Twilight looked at the costume again, then a nearby room to change in. I suppose I'll try it on and let them sort things out. She couldn't help but give both girl's looks like they were crazy as she did so.

"Now come on," Alice called back out into the room, and reappeared with a light blue, slightly shiny outfit. "Don't say you won't wear it until you at least try it on-"

Without even waiting to look at the next costume Alice held for more than a second, Jo gave her answer. "No. Not in a million years, no."

Alice pouted, barely keeping the smile off her face as she did so. "Jo! This is so perfect, you can't tell me it isn't perfect! If Twilight goes as herself, you have to go as this. Besides, I sized it for you!"

Jo turned around, refusing to dignify the other woman with even as little as a simple acknowledgement. "I can't believe you thought I'd ever wear that." She pictured the beautiful dress that Twilight was just given by Alice, and the other blue one being offered to her. "Look, I don't want a costume. You two dress as frumpy wizards and I'll just be the chauffeur."

"Jo," Alice stepped around and stood in front of Jo, deadpanning and being completely serious. "You should dress up, it will be fun, don't be a buzz kill! This is hilarious and you won't regret it."

Jo frowned and looked blankly at the ground. "Neh, maybe I'll just go as Han Solo this year."

Alice's eyes bugged at the very suggestion of such a cop-out. "Holy pie, Jo, I remember that. You were Han like eight years ago!"

"Yeah," the other girl replied airily. "I also haven't even done anything for Halloween in eight years. It's just another day like any other, except people use it as an excuse to be weirder than normal." After glancing at Alice for a moment, she added, "People that haven't already topped the charts anyway."

Alice set her friend with a deep glare. "Hey, I resemble that remark." A light smile quickly replaced the expression and she chuckled. "Lighten up, man. We're supposed to be having a ton of fun tonight! You can't possibly expect to accomplish that by handing out scathing remarks to strangers and people you haven't seen in years."

"Don't call me 'man', Alice." Jo answered back.

Alice grinned. "Stop acting like one then. You should use the Trixie costume, it'll be hot. You'll have fun." To punctuate her suggestion, she held up the dress and flourished the hem of the dress. The length suggested it would be knee length on Jo, and the entirety of it was surprisingly elaborate for a Halloween costume. Still, there would be no mistaking it by the cape and wizard hat to anyone who would recognize the ensemble; it was a Trixie costume.

"Come on," Jo grimaced at the thing and cringed away from it somewhat. "I don't like doing this stuff, and I'll look stupid in a dress, not to mention that lousy wig. I won't have any fun at all and then you'll feel bad."

Alice folded her arms again. "If you're the only person there without a costume, then you won't have any fun, Jo. Come on, grow up and act like a kid already!" She hung the outfit back up beside the other two remaining. "Now, if you don't like these ones I picked out because of Twilight, I have plenty of others to pick from in the closet-"

"Why do you even have so many costumes?" Jo interrupted, stealing another glance at the two wizard robes, she sighed and began thinking of other possibilities just to please her friend.

Alice nonchalantly looked up at the ceiling. "Hey! I have like, a dozen, maybe. Besides, it's fun, I've liked cos-play for a while, whether it's Star Wars or whatever." She ran a hand down the Starswirl robe. "I made them with some other friends, except for Gandalf, just for tonight." Grinning, she looked back at Jo. "When we're at the party you can thank them! Come on, Jo, it's one night, trust me. You really don't think Twilight will get a kick out of this?"

Jo frowned a little and looked at the pale blue outfit again, a single unicorn horn hanging from its chest. "I think she'd be more liable to kick me, considering who I'm dressing up as." She unfavorably fanned out the hem of the Trixie costume where it hung on the wall. It did seem to be her size, though it was hard to tell.

Alice giggled, and opened her mouth to reply, but instead the bathroom door opening and their other friend's voice got their attention.

Twilight strode in, holding up the long length of dress that almost reached the floor. It was a full out gown nearly, where Jo's had a much shorter length. On the sides were patterned her cutie mark, which she stared down at it with a happy gleam in her eyes. "How do I look? What do you girls think?" she asked, smiling.

Jo leaned over to Alice and whispered, "I think we gotta keep a close eye on our friend tonight."

Twilight looked up, "This is pretty amazing, Alice, thank you."

Alice spotted an absence of the costume, namely, the horn. "It was no problem Twi', I'm just really really happy you like it. Honestly, I should have thought about..." She trailed off a bit, then perked up. "I should have thought about a better matching shade of violet at the shoulders," she averted. "I think it's too dark."

Twilight looked down. "Seems alright to me." She felt the curiously smooth material, it was quite a strange texture. "So, I could hear you two arguing through the door." Spotting the somewhat familiar light blue of the costume Jo held, she continued. "Was it over the outfit that's supposed to match me? What costume is it?" Grinning she stepped carefully towards the clothes. "Oh my, is this-?" She gave the immediately recognized symbol on the flank of the dress a suspicious look.

Unable to resist, Alice bounded forward and grappled Twilight in a hug. "Yup! It is, isn't it funny? Jo should try it on right now."

Jo sighed, and readied herself for Twilight's disapproval on the costume. She began walking towards the exit, intent on stepping outside and waiting.

"Yeah, Jo try it on, I bet it will look amazing on you," Twilight's cheerful voice said, following after Jo.

Closing her eyes slowly, Jo took in a deep breath and turned around. I should have kept walking. Judging by the two exuberant looks worn on the girls in front of her, it didn't seem like she was getting out of it now. "Just gimme the thing." Snatching it up angstily, Jo strode into the bathroom and shut the door, not quite a slam, but not quite a gentle closing either.

Her two friends' cheering and encouraging remarks followed her.

"I feel like an idiot." Jo grimaced at herself in the mirror.

Alice rolled her eyes. "You look great! So does Twilight." Alice laughed, readying up her camera, much to Jo's chagrin. "So, group pictures?"

"Oh, please no." Jo frowned in despair at the sight of the device. "I don't want evidence of this ever happening."

At the same time, Twilight had spoken over Jo, full of excitement. She was already posing, immediately recognizing the miniature human 'camera'. "Oh, yes! I still can't believe how tiny human cameras are, and they don't need a unicorn flash or powder either!" She let out an excited giggle and wrapped an arm around an unwilling Jo.

In the end, Jo complied, unable to resist the infectious happiness from Twilight. Alice stuck out a victorious tongue at Jo, who got even by scowling in half of the pictures.

At the end of the shoot, Twilight raised an eyebrow and asked curiously, "I almost forgot to ask, Alice, but why Trixie? Why not Rarity? Rarity's a unicorn too, and my friend. Trixie was... well..."

Alice looked over her camera, shocked. "Are you kidding? Trixie is your match, your rival! She's the yin to your yang, the shadow to your light! You two are like two sides of the same coin, the-"

"Alright, Alice, we get it." Jo sighed and brushed an annoying length of pale blue hair out of her face, trying to use her hideous wizard hat to hold it back.

Alice giggled. "Simply put, I guess, Jo kinda seems like Trixie sometimes, what with being a grump. It's perfect!"

Jo sighed, and walked away in order to get her normal clothes back on, allowing Alice her fun and completely wrong comparisons.

Twilight, still in her train of thought, pulled one of the wings on her back around with a hand to her front, where she could see it clearly. "For that matter, why the wings? You girls know that I-" She was interrupted by an over eager and excited Alice.

"So! We've got a few hours to kill. Shall we go and have some fun, girls?" Alice clicked the camera off, set it down, and struck an adventurous pose by the door.

Jo blew on the length of the hair invading her eye sockets again, then pulled off the hat and wig. "Sure, let me just change again so I can minimize my embarrassment..."

10:40 AM

Jo stared intently out of the car window at the passing buildings. Her wandering thoughts hung around the party, and just what she would do with herself. I wonder if they'll have Mario Party or something there so I can keep myself entertained.

From the backseat, the sound of Twilight snoring lightly filled the car. Every so often the blonde driving would giggle, presumably from that. The refugee they were trying to show a good time was obviously tired from her nighttime vigil, but had said she didn't want to call off their plans. So, slept in the car she did.

The car ride was mostly quiet, though Alice had tried to speak to Jo about this or that, mostly joking remarks about taking Twilight home if Jo met someone. Jo wasn't sure how to take it. On one hand, Alice was a known goof and shameless, on the other, she seemed really earnest and well meaning in tone.

In the end, Jo mostly gave her one word responses, to not be entirely rude. She had no intent of gratifying her with any well meaning response. Beating Alice to it as they parked, Jo turned around and poked Twilight's hoodied shoulder. "Hey, we're here-" after a second, she added, "You can stay in the car and sleep though, if you'd like." Much to her surprise, the once-unicorn's eyes popped right open.

Twilight blinked twice and rolled her head over to look at Jo. "Hm? Oh no, I couldn't do that. Let's go on in and have some fun, girls! I'd actually like to see that arcade thing again... I got curious recently after talking about something on that forum." Quickly, she hopped out of the car, taking quick steps around the front and coming up alongside Alice.

Jo got out of the car more slowly, stuffing her hands in her pockets, then followed after Twilight.

Alice smiled at Twilight, then blew out her cheeks as the three walked towards the local mall. The idea of going to the arcade didn't sit well with her. "If you really want to, Twi'. Just to let you know, though, arcades are gross."

Jo looked around herself at the public surroundings absently and interjected. "Arcades are awesome. They're a pillar of society and gaming history."

Alice looked over from spiritedly walking ahead and said, "Meh," with a smile.

Twilight put a finger to her cheek and hummed up at the tall ceiling in the human building. "Well, we could stop at that bookstore like last time. Barnes and Noble? I wouldn't mind saying hello to the nice people there and doing a little browsing..."

Jo and Alice gave each other a 'look', that sort of said they knew how long they might be there if they did that, which was likely until later that night like every other time they took Twilight to a place with books.

"How about we go and look at some clothes, instead?" Alice offered, smiling at both girls.

"Okay!" Twilight returned simply, none the wiser.

Jo put on her favored expression of choice, a frown, but shrugged. "Sure, after that we can find a place to eat."

Twilight didn't mind the sound of lunch at all, despite the surprise she had gotten that morning. "Sounds like a plan to me, girls." She flashed a happy smile to Jo, trying to drum up some enthusiasm from her. It at least succeeded in softening her features, it seemed. "Will you be trying anything on by the way, Jo?"

Surprising herself, Jo said, "I might." After a moment, she added, "I'm not big on clothes though, Twilight. I will probably just be looking."

Twilight laughed as if her friend had made a joke, then explained. "Well, you'd feel right at home in Equestria, Jo. In the countryside, at least."

The other human smirked back at her in return. "I said I'm not big on clothes, not that I wouldn't or don't wear them. You pick out anything you would like, though."

Twilight frowned at that. "I looked into procuring money to pay you back for all your generosity. I didn't realize how important it was at first when I got here. And I mean that, you simply can't live a healthy or happy life on Earth without a decent amount of currency. It's nothing like Equestria!" She folded her arms, thinking hard. "I couldn't come up with much, but, I did have an idea last night! I was almost upset with myself that I didn't think of it sooner really."

"Twilight you don't need to do that, really." Jo gave the other girl a convincing grin, mostly, because she meant it, too. "I'm not hurting for it or anything," she lied. "Heck, if nothing else I'll just trade in that stupid car my uncle left me. Or take on another job. I think I could manage that, I've been lazy lately, anyway..."

Twilight let Jo finish, but spoke up again, and with fervor in her voice. "Well, be that as it may, I'm getting the hang of computers and I started studying some of the basics for what you do at home. I was wondering, couldn't I just help you and we could finish things twice as fast?"

Jo blinked at thought, and almost tripped over her baggy pants. "W- Yeah, I guess," she replied, then spoke against the idea. "But come on Twilight, you don't have to do that. Aren't you trying to figure out a way home? I can't help you back with that, just focus on Equestria." She flexed her hands from where they were inside her pockets, starting to sweat slightly.

Twilight exhaled a breath. "Well, I want to do both, and I can. We'll talk about it later though, Jo. For now, I do need to buy a purple skirt."

"Twilight, I- a purple skirt?" Jo was caught of guard by the change in topic. "Why do you need a purple skirt?"

Alice skipped every few steps, slightly ahead of the other two women. "That was my suggestion! Twilight didn't even know we had skirts, and they're a great deal simpler and more comfortable, aren't they Twilight?"

The girl in question nodded happily. "They sure are! Plus, purple matches my hair." Twilight grinned at Jo, fanning the hair for effect.

Jo, for her part, gave Alice a calculative glance over the whole affair, but didn't say anything. Twilight was well and truly girly, for all her nerdiness, just like Alice. But she had never felt the need to be. Whatever, they're just skirts.

From in front of them, Alice added in, "You should pick out a few of them, Twilight, my treat! No buts, either."

Thus began another argument over favors and being too generous, with many citations of Rarity and ponies as examples, until they all came up in front of a store. Together, they walked inside, still bickering, until the racks of clothing successfully distracted Alice to the point of only partly still participating. Still, she had won it seemed, much to Twilight's guilt. Alice had sworn she would buy even more if Twilight didn't accept them from her, and neither the Equestrian nor Jo doubted that she meant it.

"Oooh," Alice slapped a hand on Twilight's shoulder and kept her from entering the dressing room with one of her chosen outfits. "Wait, I got it! Instead of going as yourself we can use my old dragon costume. We'll spray paint it purple and give you an eye-patch!"

Jo sighed and would have let her head fall into hands, years ago perhaps, but over the last few weeks she'd mostly re-adjusted to Alice and felt unphased.

"Why?" Twilight asked. She looked down at the clothes, then back up at the more and more excited blonde girl.

Jo answered airily, and to no one in particular, "An eye-patch might mean a pirate joke, and something to do with Spike... Is this some big set up for an alliteration gag? Because that's lame, even for you, Alice."

Alice blew her friend a raspberry from across the hall. "No, not that. But, if we did what I said, then Twilight would be a one-eyed, one-horned, flying, purple, people-eater!" She grinned at both of them ecstatically from the cleverness of her mind.

Twilight met Alice's enthused expression with a confused one of her own, and confessed, "I don't get it." After a second, she frowned and added, "That sounds a little 'dark' as you two put it, for me at least. I'll stick with something that doesn't eat other somethings. Which, by the way, dragons don't do. At least, I don't think they do..."

"My thoughts exactly. Well, less the 'dark' aspect and more the one where that's just a stupid idea." Jo deadpanned at her now disappointed looking blonde buddy. "Any other bright ideas, smart guy?"

Alice didn't waste a second in shooting back her retort. "Psch, you only wish I was a guy. Too bad they don't put up with you the way I do, huh?" She folded her arms and stuck her tongue out at Jo again, but angrily and glaring over it.

Jo returned her own, nonchalant gaze over a detached frown. "Yuh-huh, no, I need a guy like I need another weirdo friend like you, which I definitely, do no-"

"Girls!" Twilight hopped in front of both of them and put her hands up to either's chest, keeping them from getting any closer to one another. "Stop it! You're friends. Friends don't fight like this! You've practically been doing this all day." She gave them each a thoughtful look, then added, "Honestly, nopony fights like this. You should both apologize to one another and come to an understanding, now!" Her strained look shifted between both of them, who stared back at her. "Well?"

"Before we do that, can you take your hand off my chest? This is pretty awkward." Jo grimaced, and struggled to back up against the clothing store wall behind her.

Alice laughed. "I dunno, I don't mind." Much to both Jo's, and Twilight's dismay, she winked.

Twilight's arms recoiled against herself while the rest of her backed up. "I- I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-" She shut her eyes, sighing, and tried to disappear from sight. "Never mind."

"Like I said, awkward." Jo grimaced deeper and began walking away. "I'll be waiting outside."

Twilight looked after Jo. "H-hey! You guys didn't apologize yet!"

Jo sighed, too, and flopped her arms against her side. "Twilight, I'm not eight, okay? We're adults and we were just messing with each other."

"Nooo, come on Joey, apowogize to Awice." Alice mocked, and couldn't suppress a giggle by the end of it.

Jo took another couple steps back and pointed a finger at the blonde mischief maker in their midst. "You really want me to apologize to that? Besides, she started it." Turning to Alice, she added, "Now, if she acted her age, maybe I could take her seriously enough to give her an apology anyway."

"D'aw, dat huwts mah feewings," Alice pouted.

Twilight reached up and combed her hands deep into her hair, disheveling and pulling it at the same time. "Am I going crazy here!?"

Both of the other women jumped and looked at her, then each other, then back.

"Seriously, you two are fully grown, adult mares! Women! Whatever! Aarg-" Twilight turned around where she was in the hall and nearly barreled over another shopper. "Oh geez sorry- Where was I?" The indignant woman was subjected to having to walk around Twilight, and then the other two women who were quietly whispering further insults at one another. All the while, Alice continued to use her cutesy-like voice.

Twilight regained her bearings, steadying herself against a dressing room door from almost falling. "Would. You. Pay attention to me!" Her voice was suddenly angry. For the first time since she'd been around either of them, too.

Both of the other girls looked back in stark shock.

"I'm sorry Alice, you're not a dude." Jo said, wide eyed and dead serious.

"Yeah, me too Jo, and for the record you're plenty pretty. I've seen like eight guys checking out your butt since we got here."

Twilight gave them both a slightly hysterical smile, finally coming down from the escalation of emotion that had overtaken her. "There, now was that so hard, girls?" She held a hand up to herself, then exhaled and let out a huge breath, drawing the hand out in front of herself slowly. "Okay, now I'm going to go inside here and-"

"Wait, guys were checking me out, and you didn't warn me?" Jo scowled at Alice.

"Oh yeah, yeah. They were getting an eye full. You should totally work with what you got while you've got it, Jo." Alice nodded sagely to herself.

Jo growled back. "Look, if they do that again, and you don't tell me, and I find out? I'll-"

Meanwhile, Twilight watched and listened, then sighed. "Oh well. Good enough." She wore an exasperated look and stepped into the dressing room.

01:57 PM

The three of them munched happily on respective meals. Jo ate a fruit cup, Twilight had procured a salad with lots of little tomatoes, and Alice had simply gotten fast food. Namely, a burger; from Wendy's. Not, of course, without Twilight insisting that she did. The perceptive unicorn had picked up on the girl's longing, though the whimpering Alice had made while staring at the place in the food court ensured it would be hard to miss.

Jo looked up from her watch and placed another piece of cantaloupe in her mouth.

"So, what time have we got, oh fearless leader?" Alice asked, watching from over her greasier, unhealthier food. She smiled, content from her meal's tastiness and ready for the night to come.

Jo looked up placidly. "A little bit before two, but we could do some more stuff." She looked over at Twilight with a hinting smile. "If you promise to leave when it's actually time to go we could drive over to the bookstore again."

Alice perked up where she was sitting, and spoke first. "Nails."

Twilight blinked and closed her mouth from trying to answer Jo, then looked over at the yellow haired human.

"Nails?" Jo and Twilight asked as one. "As in, the hardware store?" Jo continued, giving her friend an incredulous look.

Alice frowned at Jo's obvious poor excuse for a joke, then held up Twilight's hand. "No, silly, nails, as in finger nails? We should get ours do-" Before she could finish the word 'done', Jo answered.

"Oh, sure." Jo shrugged and plucked a grape out of her food.

"Darnit Jo, you refuse to ever agree with anything I say, act normally, or ever be encouraging in the least- Wait, 'sure'?" Alice's eyes nearly crossed in confusion.

Jo looked up from her fruit salad, blinking. "Yeah, 'sure'. What's wrong?"

Alice's eyes widened to their fullest, a mild fury building from the conundrum that was apparently, Jo. "You argue about almost everything though. You wouldn't even consider wearing Trixie's outfit just because it was a dress! You're like, anti-girly."

"Well, yeah. That was a dress, that's different." Jo offered calmly, hiding her smirk rather well.

Twilight looked back and forth between the two girls as they devolved back into their usual arguing. Although, it did admittedly seem more reserved. I probably shouldn't interfere with their friendship, as weird as it is. She looked up at the ceiling with a confused scrunch to her face, then got down to business in the conversation. "Girls, come on, take it easy. Jo, stop pranking Alice."

Alice looked over at Twilight, a blank, doe eyed expression clear on her face. "Pranking?" she asked.

Jo's own expression split into a grin. "Aw, Twilight, how'd you know?"

Twilight thinned her mouth into a mild frown, hiding her amusement. "I've seen Rainbow and Pinkie prank ponies around Ponyville, and each other, enough to know a friend tricking another when I see it."

Alice furrowed her brow deep, pointed at Jo, then laughed. "Well, won't tonight be fun?" She smiled at her two friends as big as she could, but it faltered.

"Something wrong, Alice?" Twilight easily caught the odd look on the other girl's face.

Alice coughed, "Oh uh, nothing. Anyway, are you two finished? Jo, I'm going to assume you don't mind waiting while I treat Twilight to this, hm? You can go sit in your smelly arcade while I culture our friend here."

Jo harrumphed, but took the last bite of her fruit cup without incident, before getting up to pitch it. "Fine, I will!"

Twilight awed. "I want to do that, too." She turned to Alice. "Will this take long? I'm still kind of fuzzy on what exactly it is we're doing." A little doubtfully, she looked down at her own, oddly shaped human hands, and the 'nails' tipping each finger.

"It's like a spa! A little bit. They have spa stuff, anyway." Alice grinned and nabbed Twilight by the arm, not wasting another second. She brought one of Twi's hands up to her face quickly. "Yeesh, well, I can tell Jo taught you how to take care of yourself as a human. This will never do." With that, she was dragging a slightly confused Twilight off into the crowd, not quite giving her the complete explanation that was asked for.

Jo arrived back at their table in the food court, only to find it empty. "Guys?" She looked around herself, not finding them. "Delightful." She hadn't really intended to go to the arcade.

"I think I've seen this before actually." Twilight stared in curiosity and interest at what was being done to the hard surfaces on the strange replacements for hooves she had received. "I didn't really understand the point, but if it's just to look nice and match clothing, that makes sense."

Alice looked over from where she sat, smiling contentedly. "Yup, I'll bet other people do it for other reasons like religion or something, but mostly it's just for looking good." After a moment, she laughed. "I hadn't thought about it until now, but I'm dressing as Starswirl tonight." She noticed Twilight's slightly questioning look, and explained. "I'll be dressed as a guy dressed in a dress with painted nails." Unable to resist, she broke out laughing. "Ow!"

The lady painting her nails had slapped her hand. "Stop moving."

"Oh, sorry." Alice bit her lip, then looked back at Twilight.

Twilight fought to suppress her own laughter at Alice, and at picturing Starswirl with lipstick. At the same time, she eyed the woman hunched over her hand nervously. "That does sound ridiculous alright."

"There you two are," Jo's voice said from behind Twilight.

Twilight turned slightly and looked up. "Hey, Jo- Ow!" She faced forward again and couldn't help but wince from the sting on the back of her sensitive hand.

"Sit still, girl." The spa-woman gave Twilight an incredulous look, then set back to work.

Twilight suppressed a sigh, ignored Alice's giggling, and spoke back to Jo, sans turning around this time. "We're almost done, Jo. Sorry about leaving you like that. I didn't even notice you were gone until we were already sat down."

Nearby, Alice mumbled an apology too, and what sounded like 'Baron Buzzkill'.

"It's alright," Jo responded from behind her. "I wasted some time and money at the arcade after all, then came here. You weren't really hard to find." Wheeling an extra chair over, Jo sat on Twilight's left. "Something about having a brightly colored head. It's pretty easy to spot from a distance."

Alice looked over from the corner of her eye, then sighed.

"Do you have something to add, Alice?" Jo offered to the girl sitting on Twilight's other side.

Alice looked over. "Oh, no, I was just going to point out that it was more likely that there's only one place that does nails here, but stating the obvious is getting a little redundant with you."

Twilight's expression thinned a hair.

"Oh, that's funny coming from you, Ms.-"

"Girls, why can't you both-! Ow!" Twilight flinched and shut one eye in pain.

The woman behind the counter flared up. "All of you, stop talking!"

The three girls answered in tandem. "Yes ma'am," they apologized, then muttered their own versions of an apology.

6:50 PM

"Is everypony ready?" Twilight called from the door, a completely authentic smile on her face. She felt a little odd, despite the fun she was having, had been having for the most part all day, and was about to have. The feeling crept up from simply how much she missed home, and guiltily knew that her friends were probably grieving her. Don't think about it, Twilight. She swallowed, and replaced her smile when a begrudging Jo stepped out of the bathroom.

"As ready as I'll ever be. Let's get this over with." Jo sighed, looking down at herself sadly.

Alice bounded up from the living room, waving her hands, pink finger nails and all in what looked like some kind of arcane gesture. "Oh buck up, Jo, you look fantastic. Heck, you even remembered to shave your legs-" Giggling, she dodged away from an attack that she had instigated. The sight looked even sillier, considering what Jo was wearing.

"Alright, I'm not chasing you around in this tonight, Alice. So promise me right now, you won't embarrass me," Jo looked at Twilight quickly, "or Twilight, tonight, okay?" Her expression was dead serious.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Alice grinned ear to ear and followed the motions she had practiced over the weeks.

Jo deadpanned, while Twilight brightened up by the door enough to light the hallway.

"I walked right into that one." Jo muttered. "Alright, let's go and get this over with." She trudged dourly past Twilight and into the complex corridor. A hand caught her arm though. Looking up, she met Twilight's eyes.

"Come on Trixie, try and have some fun tonight." Twilight tilted her head and smiled at Jo friendlily.

Jo fought it, but in the end returned the gesture. Breaking the trend though, she replied, "Please, The Great and Powerful Trixie has fun for nopony." Her arm wrenched itself away from Twilight, and the cape at her back flapped out behind herself. "Trixie does, what Trixie wants."

Alice and Twilight looked at each other, snickered, then followed their friend, not quite sure they believed at all what had just happened.

"So Twilight, you don't scare easy, do you?" Alice flashed a final grin before locking the apartment door.

Chapter 19 : Nightmare Night Pt. 1

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October 31st 2023, Tuesday

6:55 PM

Halloween

Twilight slowed her own chuckling at Jo, and the familiar third person antics of Trixie, even if they were coming from a completely different source than the showmare herself.

She turned, a twinge of confusion sprouting in her from Alice's question. "Scared? Oh, uhm, not really. If you stop to think about it logically, as long as you know there's nothing really dangerous, then nothing is all that frightening." She walked beside Alice down the hall towards the stairs, where Jo stood waiting. "I guess I kind of made a bad impression this morning, huh?"

Alice laughed hard enough that her fake beard bobbled. "Well, maybe, the fair and party will be great though. You'll totally have fun, but let us know if something happens that you don't like. It's kinda lucky you are a human. If you were still a pony, you really would be stuck inside. Even on Halloween, I don't think people would believe the talking purple unicorn was a costume." She tittered more, picturing in her head a Twilight Sparkle in pony form gallivanting with them between bars, the concert, and haunted houses.

Twilight gave Alice a wan smile, stepping out of the building after Jo, who seemed to have taken right to walking around with her nose in the air as Trixie might. "Yeah, that is one benefit to my predicament I guess," she responded to Alice. Her hand raised up to be studied briefly, flexing slightly, and being the ever present reminder of her current human status.

"Speaking of the party, and the fair for that matter, be really wary of strangers tonight, okay Twilight? Remember everything we talked about. Oh, also, don't forget the story we came up with either. You shouldn't need it, but it'll help. Most of all we don't want to get caught up with anything to do with the police. Because I don't even know what will happen if-"

Alice groaned, throwing her hands up in the air. "Jooooooo..." Her voice was a deep, bloated croak.

"Alright, alright, sorry. Anyway, one last thing Twilight." Jo kept walking and turned to give Twilight another concerned look. "About guys, just...avoid them. Okay, well, don't avoid them, but stay brief with guys tonight, okay? Most of them that look our age will at some level, just want to get into your pants. I'm not even kidding."

Alice groaned again in the background. "That is really prejudiced, you know."

Meanwhile, Twilight blinked in confusion and looked back flatly. "But Jo, I'm not wearing pants."

Jo returned the flat look, pause for pause, then sighed. "...No Twilight, no you're not." She stepped around a small parade of trick-or-treaters and slipped behind Twilight for a moment. "What I meant was they just want to sleep with you, in the very intimate and personal sort of way. Which reminds me, if you get a drink and set it down, don't walk away from it, someone could put something in it-"

Alice spoke up. "Alright, easy, Mom, we'll all be fine." She smiled at Twilight. "Tonight's about fun, and this is a really nice town so we don't have to worry about that sort of stuff, especially not with me keeping an eye out! Now, to get back to something that's actually interesting and probably important, let's talk about you, Twilight."

Jo quirked an eyebrow at Alice.

"Me?" Twilight looked over at Alice, pointing a finger at herself questioningly.

"Yup!" Alice nodded several times in quick succession, sending her long beard flopping up and down. "I was wondering just now about what you said. Did you ever figure out why or...how, you became a human, Twilight?" Alice tilted her head. From out of sight and behind Twilight, she gave Jo a serious look, as if to say 'keep quiet'. "Or even an idea of why? I mean, I gotta say it seems a bit...random, you know?"

Twilight paused a second in the cool evening air. It was a little chilly; colder than she had expected, but still pleasant. Earth's temperatures were much harsher than Equestria, she noticed, and they should be, considering the 'all natural' weather patterns. Turning around gracefully in her lavender, slipper-like shoes, she answered Alice with as much speculation in her voice as she could muster. "I haven't a clue, Alice."

Twilight spotted Jo elbowing Alice, obviously upset she was asking questions again, and continued on quickly. "But, I have lots of ideas, and it helps me to think about them." Thankfully, that got Jo to look up and stop assaulting her friend. They both paid full attention to Twilight now. "The one that makes the most sense is that because magic doesn't exist here, then perhaps it's impossible for a pony to, as well."

Twilight watched Jo cease elbowing Alice over what she imagined was bringing up a touchy subject, which wasn't exactly the case. Now, the currently platinum blue haired girl looked interested herself.

"That...makes a lot of sense actually." Jo admitted. The three of them fell in line with each other, sort of. The sidewalk wasn't quite big enough, so Alice brought up the rear slightly. "But what about the crystals?"

Twilight made a thoughtful sound. "Yes, those. I've never seen crystals like that in Equestria myself. It could be magic's acceptable form here? Still, even assuming these wild guesses are right it doesn't explain my body changing. If a pony can't exist in this world, why would I become a human? Shouldn't I just fade from existence? Or die?"

A whimpering sound came from behind Twilight, and she turned around.

"Twilight, don't say that!" Alice hugged without warning and with the strength of a worried friend.

Twilight's eyes widened in surprise a fraction, then relaxed and patted the other human's back consolingly. "Relax Alice, I'm just speculating my hypothesis here. Obviously I'm fine and there's nothing to worry about. Maybe it is worrisome to consider, but I need to know why it didn't happen and why this," she gestured to her strange, two legged body, "did happen."

"Leprechauns?" Jo offered, then sighed out beside them both in response to Alice still clinging to their mutual friend. "Am I going to have to go back for a crowbar?" She eyed the show of friendliness with consternation, poking Alice's robed back with a finger.

Alice picked up her head from Twilight's shoulder and grinned wolfishly. "No, you're saying it wrong, it's 'Is the Great and Powerful Trixie going to have to-"

Jo would have socked Alice in the arm for the smart alack remark, but she was cleverly hiding behind Twilight. Instead she settled for cutting her off. "Trixie doesn't take kindly to know-it-alls, fool."

Twilight laughed at that. That's for sure. Wait a second...

Jo went on. "So how would you like Trixie's great and powerful foot up your-?"

Twilight took a few steps back after Alice started giggling madly and danced away from Jo. She watched, smiling, enjoying the sight of a very interesting and familiar type of friendship, not to mention Jo acting like Trixie. For that matter, seeing the infamous 'legend in her own mind' herself, all over the internet, and in the cartoon show that mimicked so much of Ponyville, had been quite the shock itself.

The implications of humanity glimpsing our world... how much of their 'fiction' is actually real? I wonder, will Celestia ever be able to find me? I had hoped that this cosmic coincidence would lead her straight to me, but if it isn't as big of a coincidence as I thought, then... Twilight shook her head and dispelled the disparaging thoughts, instead going back to Trixie, which was oddly a nice change of pace for once.

She thought back to a strange thing called a 'fanfiction' which had been found on the internet. She had only read one, but they looked interesting and were in her 'to do' pile of things. In the fiction, she and Trixie were friends, where rather than somepony who hated her, Trixie approached and asked for forgiveness for what she had done. It had been an interesting read to her.

I need to finish watching that show, maybe we could watch some of it tonight after the party? Twilight zoned out some, the blurry image of Alice sprinting by in her wizard robes, away from Jo, only being half registered.

A part of Twilight ached again for her notepad of inconsistencies of her and her friend's depictions. One of her hands cupped her chin in thinking manner. Although, I should probably get back to looking into those wormhole things...but if the only way to make one is a theoretical machine the size of a solar system itself, then I don't think I'm getting home anytime soon by my own power... Some of the theories she found were disquieting to say the least. What she knew she needed, was to figure out why what had happened, happened to her, how to reverse it, and of course, what those crystals were, exactly. But how do I do that?

Twilight frowned at the thought, then sighed. She was doing it again, she realized, thinking too hard and right after making a deal to relax a little, too. Even she had limits, and she had found them several times before. Her free time had been spent learning everything she could about the curiosities of mankind, so much so that she really hadn't taken the opportunity to gain her bearings at all.

Twilight's shoulders slumped again, the hand dropping from her chin to join her other. She crossed her arms at her front.

The almost ever present measure of guilt that poked at Twilight when she thought about returning to Equestria or helping the Earth returned as well. Here I am, going out to party, when back home everypony is, in all likelihood, grieving me. But I just don't know what to do... It felt as though she were being pulled in two directions, something she was very familiar with. It's sort of like I moved to Ponyville all over again, except worse. Do I study? Or do I enjoy my friendships while I can?

Twilight shook her head, tossing her purple mane of hair back and forth, and managed a smile pointed up at the moon; that human moon that so strangely sometimes appeared during the daytime, and was so very small. The 'man' in the moon. Goodness, our worlds really are two sides of the same coin, aren't they-?

"Twilight, hey! Did you hear me?" Alice's voice suddenly rang in Twilight's head like a dinner gong. The blonde girl shook her shoulder, and managed pull her out of the bog that her mind was mired in.

"H-huh?" Twilight looked over, then smiled a little sheepishly. "Geez, I'm sorry girls, I was another world away again."

Jo did her trademarked eye roll, Alice let out her normal, light hearted giggle.

"No kidding. What's on your mind?" Alice asked, then pulled both other girls by their arms so they'd at least get walking again.

Twilight blinked a moment, thinking if anything had been worth bringing up. "Oh, nothing really, but..." A thought came to her, that touched a little on an earlier subject. "Well, I don't know if it even holds water here, what with magic being non existent." She waved a hand about as she talked, clearly showing her chagrin and disapproval of the merest notion of that.

"Only as far as we know." Jo added, looking over. She was also currently fighting to pull Alice hand off of her arm, something that was proving really difficult.

"Right." Twilight agreed, nodding. "But anyway, magic in Equestria is never random, unless a force known as Chaos is involved, which, as I've explained before is tangible." She traded her focused expression between the slightly lost looking humans. "Harmony is its opposite. Harmony acts with purpose, consistency, all to keep the world balanced. In a way, ponies are an extension of it. Though a direct connection between us has never been scientifically proven." She held up one finger sagely to seal her point.

Alice 'eeed' out loud, and finally released Jo's arm, and Twilight's too. "You guys are like little furry druids. You have no idea how bad I want to-"

Jo pulled on Alice's beard and let it snap back up to slap the girl's chin, which brought out a surprised yelp. "Would you let Twi' talk?" She crossed her arms, staring daggers at the motor mouth present, who apologized in return, and quietly vowed revenge on Jo to just herself.

"Ah-" Twilight watched a moment in quiet, at a loss. Normally, with Applejack and Rainbow Dash, her only reference for a friendship the likes of which Jo and Alice shared, she could tell when they were play fighting, and really fighting. The difference with her human friends, was simply that she couldn't always tell, not quite. "A-anyway, thank you Jo, I think." She grinned weakly at the nodding Trixie-Human. Or was it anthro? Gah, I need to stop thinking about that whole 'internet' incident... She shivered a little and continued with her other speech.

"Anyway girls, as it so happens my point is simply this, nothing happens without a reason, be it magical through Chaos or Harmony, or possibly something non-magical that stirred up that reaction. For something this random, it would have to be Chaos oriented. I still think Discord got free again, but that just seems so unlikely..." Twilight scowled at the ground at the merest thought of the creature's name.

"Wouldn't Discord just turn you into a book or something else equally ironic?" Jo asked airily, she waved a dismissive hand, keeping her eyes ahead. She didn't mind talking about magic with Twilight, but a part of it always reminded her of how little she could do to help.

Alice hopped in. "Okay, so Discord is just as evil in the show right?" She walked ahead of the other two girls, taking to walking backwards as they talked. She gave them both thoughtful looks beneath her wizard's hat.

"I get the feeling he's more so, and Twilight hasn't seen that part of the show, Alice." Jo replied.

"Not sure if I want to, either." Twilight frowned a little, remembering absently the way her home had smelled like coleslaw for weeks after he'd been resealed.

Alice drooped. "Oh." Then she perked up again. "Well! In that case I think it supports my theory even more!"

Twilight stopped walking, suddenly interested. The other two girls stopped as well.

When no one spoke Twilight stepped up to Alice. "Go on." She prompted in an adamant tone. Her eyes shone with interest at whatever her normally, completely lackadaisical friend had to offer. Jo certainly never speculated with her. And everyone on the computer laughs at me...

Alice relaxed her stance and smiled. "Well, think about it Twilight, you landed safely in the backyard of someone who could help you, in a form that wouldn't get you into trouble... I think that Harmony might have protected you."

Twilight's eyes shone for a moment longer, then a hesitant frown creased her face. "Eh..." she quavered out. "I dunno Alice, if I was still a unicorn, I could have been trying to reach home by now, even without my books." When the other girl looked a little downtrodden from her words, she added, "but, you may be half right. After all, I still can't explain my safe landing. I'm not sure anypony, even Rainbow Dash could have survived that. I already theorized why my landing was relatively soft, though." She looked down at her hands, getting back to the original question. "But, why these? It has nothing to do with my potion, and a harmonic force shouldn't extend so far as to change my body in the first place. I've seen remarkable stuff happen because of it, the Elements of Harmony showed me that." Her eyes looked up and met her friends'. "I'm starting to think somepony was responsible for this, rather than my potion and a set of coincidences." Her stare turned into a serious glower slowly.

Jo blinked at the hateful look that Twilight was suddenly giving her. "Uh, hey now, well it wasn't me." She smirked, trying to bring the other girl out of her funk. She raised a blue-gloved hand to grab Twilight's shoulder, then stared at it, an idea coming to her. "Maybe this was Trixie's ultimate revenge plan, huh Twilight?" A short laugh escaped after her.

Alice looked over at Jo, her own worried expression lightening up, while Twilight's was merely incredulous.

"Trixie?" Twilight blew a raspberry into the air. "As if, she's not a magician in the slightest, let alone somepony that could do a spell like this. Who knows though?" She began walking down the sidewalk again after a second party of laughing children strolled by, leaving the other two girls little choice but to follow. "No, no, there are a lot of things that could change a body like this in Equestria, myself, or the Princess to name two... Oh geez, the Princess! Do you think this is a test!?" Her eyes slowly began widening further and further. Everyone could almost hear the sound of gears churning in the girl's purple head.

Alice and Jo had to act quick, as Twilight suddenly turned around and almost made to sprint back to the apartment by the look of it. "Twilight!" They both shouted out. "That's stupid!" and "There's no way this is a test, girl!" both called out from either human respectively.

Twilight fought in their grip for a moment, but stopped quickly to merely hang there. She cooled herself and calmed her sudden sporadic breathing, taking in the words of her friends. "B-but, it makes sense!-"

Alice grabbed Twilight's chin and pulled her to look over, cheeks pushed up in an amusing fashion. "Twilight, that would make no sense, and sounds horribly dangerous. You don't think Celestia sending you to a strange world as the local inhabiting species sounds absolutely ridiculous? Come on, Hasbro already made a barely believable movie plot out of that." She couldn't keep the smile off her face, from either Twilight's silliness, her face, or the remaining fact that it was still actually Twilight wigging out in front of her.

Cartoon show plot? I'll have to ask about that later. Twilight stood up on her own, and was released, acknowledging Jo's own comforting look and Alice's smirk with an apology of her own added to the mix. "I- You're right, that is ridiculous, girls... But who else-"

Jo held up both of her gloved hands in a flash of movement, cutting off her purple gowned friend. "Twilight, come on, let's go back to the house if you're that keen on talking about it." With that, she started back in the direction towards the apartment.

Alice nearly broke the sound barrier getting in front of Jo and cutting off her escape. "Whoa! Whoa. Whoa! Nice try, Jo, but there's no way you're getting out of getting out of your house, not tonight." She put both of her arms up in an exaggerated fashion on the other girl's shoulders, barring her path.

Jo began to open her mouth angrily, but Twilight beat her to it, though her face was apologetic.

"I'm sorry girls, I got off on a... as you put it, a 'rant'," Twilight took in a deep breath then, raised a hand to her chest, then brought it out calmly.

The other two waited patiently and watched quietly.

"Alright! Forget I ever said anything, at least until we try and figure it out again..." Twilight danced back several steps in a surprising show of balance. Her smile grew as she moved further back. "Well? Let's go party like Pinkie Pie planned this whole thing!"

Alice grinned back widely in response, and although her expression was a little smaller than a pony's, it could have rivaled any Twilight thought she had seen before. "Aaaalright! That's what I'm talking about, and don't you worry Twilight, I've already got all kinds of great ideas we can take down as notes!"

"I'm pretty skeptical about the 'great' part." Jo stepped out of Alice's grip finally, then sighed.

Alice stuck out her tongue. "Neeeh. Come on, we should get to the party already or we'll be late! Then we can go to the fair with plenty of time! There's games and rides, and- Oh, Equestria doesn't have rides! These rides are sorta wimpy, Twilight, but you might like them. I also want to go to the Haunted House and see if it's as good as last year." All the while she had grabbed Twilight by the hand, leading her deeper into the center of the city. "And the haunted haayriiide, ooohohoho, this is gonna be fun."

Twilight tried stammering a response to everything that Alice said. "Ah- Well- I mean, that sounds like a lot of-" Before she could finish, nearly jogging Trixie caught up and interrupted.

Jo caught up to them and waved a dismissive hand. "You mean you want to play fair games. I said I'd rather check out the concert first, or maybe get some food. Why drag Twilight into that?" If fact, stop actually dragging Twili-

Jo was so caught up in the poise she used, still acting very 'Trixie-like' with her nose in the air, that she almost tripped over another party of trick-or-treaters.

Twilight put a hand up to her mouth, reflexively reaching for her magic and finding nothing, while Alice stopped walking and started laughing so hard she was bent over at the waist.

"Sorry! Sorry, my bad." Jo apologized quickly, having narrowly stumbled around the kids and their sour looking parent. Her stumbling took her off of the sidewalk, where she glowered at Alice, stooped awkwardly over sideways from nearly falling.

"I think you should worry less about food and more where you're going Miss Great and Powerful." Alice smirked, as smug as could be, and skipped past the other woman.

Jo grumbled to herself, until Twilight walked past her, pushing her after the blonde.

"Come on, 'Trixie', let's just trust the partier, I've found it's best not to fight them." Twilight laughed, falling beside the other girls once again as they made their short trek across the town, occasionally breaking up a fight between them.

With the sun setting deeper on the horizon, a fitting orange glow descended over the sky. The lights from taller buildings and the town square began to shine over the roofs of buildings. The perfect atmosphere for horror and fright was to be had this year. A clammy wind came in from the Great Lakes, bringing with it the promise of rain later that night. For now, the howl of the wind merely sounded over the rooftops as a faint echo. The chilling ambiance was punctuated by the orchestra of ghosts and ghouls coming out to frolic in the streets, all of them eager to try their hand at scaring others.

Or perhaps, just to try and get a tasty snack.

"GUWAAH!" A gurgling roar shouted without warning from right beside Twilight's ear.

She shrieked, hands flailing around her head as she fell against the porch's wall. Her eyes and head whipped over quickly to face whatever was responsible for the terrifying noise, which had made her certain in her heart she was about to be eaten. She spotted the creature that had been responsible just in time to see Alice put the whatever-it-was into a headlock.

"Penny, we're here, finally! Yay!" Alice hugged the taller form—which was apparently a person—tightly to herself. Being shorter, she had them almost bent halfway over to touching the ground.

"Stop it! No- No Noogies!" The masked shape fought and shoved against the shorter girl latched onto their side. They managed to struggle their way out of Alice's clawing grip, earning an 'aaw' of disappointment from the bearded blonde. "You're like a lamprey, you know that?" The stranger tore off their mask with a gasp, a glare clear on their face.

Alice straightened up and took up a pose, stroking her beard with one hand. "The most attractive lamprey you ever saw!"

Another form opened the front door to the big house the trio was standing outside of. From behind them, echoed loud music of a chaotic variety.

Snickering slightly, the person addressed Twilight first, the victim of the prank. It also seemed Alice and the stranger were busy facing off against one another. "Sorry about that," the second human apologized for their masked friend, "Penny is sort of a monster at heart anyway, so she can't resist trying to scare people. She's been getting trick or treaters all night. Welcome to my home. Well, not mine really, I just rent a room."

Twilight looked over. She could still feel her eyes wide from the shock, and the rush in her veins. "Scared? Who's scared. I wasn't scared. Hah!" The effort to get her face to smile was monumental, and she felt it only manage to twitch rather than look confident. "Hi!" She tried greeting the stranger instead. "I'm Twilight, nice to meet you!" Her hand shakily rose up to commence with greeting her new friends.

"Ahhuh, I'm Jeremy." The gentlecolt tipped his hat, still chuckling. "Or Van Helsing, I guess, but I'm not really good at getting in character so I'm not going to attempt the accent. But I apologize in advance if I mess up the personality." He chuckled, stroking the odd patch of hair that humans seemed to grow on their faces sometimes. "So, are you three supposed to be a themed costume set? Or are you just random Wal-mart outfits?"

Twilight shakily lowered her hand again after he didn't take it. "Oh, the costumes, right." In her mind, she quickly ran over the explanation and 'act' which the other girls rehearsed with her. "I'm uh, dressed up as Twilight Sparkle of course, Jo's dressed as Tri- as a character named Trixie, and Alice is Starswirl the Bearded" She smiled, recalling happy memories of studying the famed unicorn's magic by candlelight.

Twilight took in an excited breath and continued. "His arcanum of spells was over one, thousand, long! In addition, he was the father of the amniomorphic spell! It was a fascinating set of rules for enchantment which could modify the shape of living creatures itself. The Royal Canterlot library even has... an entire..." She noticed the odd look the man was giving her, and she calmed down, lowering her up-stretched arm. "Well, ahem, it's nice to meet you... Van Helsing, was it?" An ashamed smile worked its way onto her face slowly.

The broad shouldered human smiled bigger over his widened eyes, and gave a nod. "Yes." He answered simply. "So, did you have a real name?" He tilted his wide brimmed hat back with a single finger, raising his chin some. The pose made him seem even taller.

Twilight stared a moment, then shook her head, sending her hair flying from side to side. Shoot, what was my persona's name!?

A hand touched Twilight's arm, nearly making her jump again. "Are you alright, Twilight?" Jo's voice entered the fray, like a calming wind of sanity.

Twilight pulled in a breath and sighed in relief, looking over thankfully at her friend. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks Jo."

Alice hopped up between to throw her arms around both their shoulders. "Hey, it's Van Helsing! Twilight, are you okay? Sorry about Penny, I shouldn't have insisted you go up first. At least now I think I know where your scare tolerance is at."

"O-oh, I wasn't really scared, Alice, just caught of guard..." Twilight busied herself with absently smoothing the front of her costume.

Alice brightened at hearing this. "Awesome! I'm sure something will get you later tonight though."

"Alice..." Jo spoke up warningly.

Smirking, the fellow in the doorway moved aside for the masked girl to go inside. She was grumbling an awful lot.

The bearded Alice continued. "So, Jeremy, may I introduce the two lovely ladies accompanying me tonight?" Beside her, Jo muttered under her breath to not say it like that, while Twilight continued to reign in her nerves. "This, is Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's personal student and the librarian oooof Ponyville!"

"Your friend from out of town, swell." Jeremy spoke out, nodding again to a sheepish looking Twilight. He continued. "And I remember Josephine." He bent at the waist after sweeping his hat off his head, his hand moving to lift Jo's own, and place a kiss on the back. He straightened up again; it all happened in a flash.

Alice's eyes and grin widened, Twilight gasped in surprise, while Jo looked about ready to catch her sparkly light blue hat on fire out of pure rage.

Over Alice's suddenly accomplished sounding giggling, Jo spoke. "And now, I remember you." A lot of the anger in her face faded as her dour tone of voice set in. "Do you have to be so creepy, dude?"

"Creepy?" Twilight said questioningly. "Do they not like each other?"

Alice had begun to scowl, but whispered over to Twilight, "Jo's just being sensitive. They've barely ever talked before."

The Equestrian's head tilted in confusion, not quite catching on.

"Well, Jo," Jeremy replied to Trixie, while offering one gloved hand to Twilight, palm turned up. "If you would not deign to accept my advances, perhaps your friend, would?" He looked over and winked at Twilight above a roguish expression.

Twilight's eyes widened. "Buh?" Her mouth hung open a bit like a fish's.

Jo wrenched herself out of Alice's arm and stepped between them both, her giant wizard hat obscuring either from one another, despite her being a bit shorter.

"Listen, guy," Jo set her glare on him solidly. "Mess with me all you want, but as long as we're here just leave her alone."

"Jo! Come on, really?" Alice took up a stance between the two with her arms on her hips, which nearly pushed Twilight against the wall. "He's just joking because you're so easy to get a rise out of. No need to be rude, or mean." As an after thought, she added. "If you really think that Twilight can't handle herself, then why'd you bother thinking of this?"

Jeremy stepped in between them both, further pushing Twilight against the wall, where she was now well and truly sandwiched. "Guys...?" She croaked out.

"Alright, ladies, chill. Look, I'm sorry, Jo, I was just joking. Acting in character a bit. I didn't mean for that to get taken any other way than funny." Jeremy motioned his hands in a settling fashion. "Shall we go inside and forget about it? There's pizza with any topping you could want, and they're playing Xbox Three in the— Is your friend okay?"

Jo's wary look turned to confusion, and then shock after she spotted Twilight behind herself. "Ah— Twilight, are you alright?"

Twilight shuffled sideways towards the door and put her hands down from pressing on the wall. "Just peachy," she answered with a lopsided smile. "How about that pizza? I rather liked that stuff."

A short laugh got out of Jeremy at hearing that.

"Yeah, let's head inside and I can introduce my other friends to Twilight, and maybe show her the dungeons and dragons game, and—" Alice was abruptly cut off by Jo.

"What kind of party is this?" Jo glanced inside, where she could clearly hear Rob Zombie being played, and see the flash of strobe lights around the entrance.

Alice looked at her and shrugged. "The best kind? A little bit of everything, I think. Van Helsing throws the best Halloween parties!"

Jo squinted her eyes beneath her tall blue wizard's hat. "Who?"

With that, Alice laughed. "I mean Jeremy. All our friends— Well, my friends, come here almost every year. I've tried inviting you before... but I stopped, a while ago." She studied the ground a moment, then spoke again quickly. "It's great. Upstairs there should be great games, and downstairs is a great time!" She looked expectantly at Jo, one eyebrow eyebrow raised. "So...?"

Jo looked taken aback. "So what?"

Alice folded her arms. "So, what are you?"

Jo blinked, then relaxed some, and sighed, finally catching on. "Alright, I'm sorry," she muttered, taking off her hat and wig to readjust them both, but mostly to keep from looking at Alice. "I overreacted just then. I'm just on edge is all." A finger booped her nose, and made her look up again.

Alice was smiling. "Well stop," she reassured in a friendly tone. "There are no creeps here, just a bunch of nerds and really, really nice people. Hey, there are some cute guys here too." After pausing to look up and roll her eyes, she continued. "I mean, that you haven't acted like a royal jerk to already. Come on, loosen up, try and re-associate yourself with society. I don't think Twilight kicking you out of your cave by happenstance was a coincidence. This is like, your second chance."

Jo frowned and looked at the door looming before her. "I really doubt that Alice. As if I would with Twilight here, anyway. But... maybe I cou-" Something felt off to her all of a sudden. She looked around, trying to figure out what it was. Then, it dawned on her. "Where the hell's Twilight!?"

8:01 PM

Twilight studied the two newcomers introduced as Alice's friends. One was very tall, the girl that had tried (and failed of course) to scare her. The man named Van Helsing speaking to her wore a large brimmed hat and curious outfit. It was adorned with several, obvious weapons of a human design, though they appeared to be mostly fake. She hadn't caught that earlier, but now it unsettled her just a twinge.

Come on Twilight, the girls told you about everything to expect tonight, if you weren't ready to experience an alien culture you should have stayed at home and just read about it some more! The thought sounded very tempting, although she couldn't deny the spring in her step once she got closer to the music. It wasn't at all what she was used to, but did have a strange allure to it.

Twilight realized that she'd been spoken to again and missed something. "I'm sorry, what was that!?" The music was perhaps a fair bit louder than she was used to, as well. It reminded her of a unicorn she had met once that had experimented with vinyl gramophone records and sound amplifiers.

"I said, if you need anything, just give me a holler!" Van Helsing smiled, tipped his hat again, then hurried off somewhere into the house, namely, the darkened, brightly flashing section.

Twilight shrugged and looked behind herself. "Oh, where is everypony?"

"Outside, I would think." The taller human sighed out. "Hey, sorry for scaring you before. I didn't mean to do it that bad. I'm Penny, by the way." Penny folded her arms and grinned.

Twilight waved her hand reassuringly. "Oh no, you didn't scare me! I was just...surprised, that's all." Laughing a little, she wasn't sure how convincing her voice actually sounded of that.

Suddenly, a massive sphere of floating snakes drifted by Twilight's face.

Stiff as a board from the waist up, Twilight backpedaled across the floor until she met a wall with her back. "Snakes!" The menacing, writhing mass of hissing reptiles hung in the air, defying all sense and logic with its very existence.

"Geez girl, are you for real?" Penny chased after Twilight and put a hand on her shoulder, keeping her steady. "Are you okay?"

Twilight looked over at Penny, eyes wrought with terror and her lungs heaving air. "I- why shouldn't I be afrai- Oh, so what is-?" Looking back, she saw the floating ball of snakes turn to face her. Beneath the wiggling, wobbling mass of rubber costume parts, a human face peered out, slightly confused. "Oh- Oh thank goodness..." Twilight put a hand up to her front, trying desperately to catch her breath again. "Huh, a gorgon... very clever." She exhaled a heavy breath and bent over, resting her hands on her knees.

"Wow, you must have a pretty bad phobia of snakes, huh?" Penny chuckled some and pulled Twilight a few feet away from the wall. "Come on, you're invading Bob's personal space."

"Huh, who's Bob?" Twilight looked back behind herself. The wall she had run into was actually the biggest human she had ever seen, in her life. Which actually wasn't that many. Still, he absolutely towered over her. "Ah- I am so sorry, Mr. Bob." Perhaps it was just her used to being the same size as everypony, or taller than Jo, but this man made her feel small. The size difference was comparative to the Princess' height difference with her pony body.

The tall human, wearing the strangest, squarest pants ever, smirked. "It's fine girl, and so are you."

Twilight stared a moment, then tilted her head. "What?"

Penny pulled Twilight away by her shoulders, steering her away and through the sparse crowd. "Yeah, Bob's kind of strange, he's well meaning, but if there's someone in this party that will make you shake your head, it's him." She laughed, still nudging Twilight along and into the next room. This one was towards the opposite end of the house, and seemed to be a little quieter. "Anyway, listen. I owe you for that scare I gave you, how about I make you a drink and get you a slice of pizza?"

If Twilight's ears could still perk up, they would have. "Pizza? Oh yes please! Cheese is my favorite, but I also like onion, black olive and mushroom if there is any." The spot Twilight seemed to have been directed to was a row of stools, reminiscent of a saloon, or a bar.

"That's some odd taste, girl. Actually, I forgot to ask for your name. I must be out of practice at meeting new people. What did you say your name was?" Penny tilted her hips and rested on hand on them.

Twilight sat in one of the seats offered to her. "Oh, I didn't, I'm Twilight Sparkle. It's nice to meet you, Penny." She folded her hands in her lap smartly, taking up a polite posture with a smile.

"Ahhuh," Penny nodded slowly. "That's cool, what about your real name, though?" Absently, the other girl fanned her hair out, while staring at Twilight's a moment.

"My real name? Oh, it's... uhm..." Twilight began to panic a little. What was it? What was it!? Okay, think, Twilight, think! What was a good, female historical figure that she would believe? Ooooh, okay, who was that flying human you thought Rainbow Dash would admire? Aloud, Twilight said, "Amelia...?" She smiled in a none too confident way in a last ditch effort to reinforce her attempt at lying.

Penny blinked. "Cool name." She returned the smile, laughing a bit. "Alright, well wait here Amelia, I'll be right back, okay? I think I've got just the thing. You aren't driving anywhere tonight, right?"

Twilight was caught off guard by the random question from the retreating human. "Oh, no I don't have an automobile license!"

Penny turned and stopped walking to raise another eyebrow, then shrugged and went. "Alright, be right back!"

Twilight sighed in relief from having pulled off the conversation. "Well, that went well." She looked around herself, expecting Jo's usual input. "Huh, where'd they go?" With some embarrassment, she recalled that her friends had been nowhere to be seen since she came inside. Hadn't they followed me?

"Amelia? So you're one of Penny's friends?" A deep voice asked from behind Twilight.

Not registering the words from the stranger, Twilight turned the swivel chair she sat in to point towards the long counter. Out of the corner of her eye a bit of movement finally caught her attention.

"Uhm, hello?" The voice asked again. "Amelia?"

Twilight straightened up at the repeated sound of the stallion's voice. It was obviously a stallion's, coarse and powerful. "I'm sorry, I respond better to Twilight right now. I didn't realize you were...talking...to me." She turned to face the speaker, and trailed off into staring openly.

"Well," the stallion chuckled, flashing his perfect smile in a grin, "who else would I be talking to?" His costume, if it even was one, consisted of two, curious red horns on his forehead and red painted face. He wore a very smart looking suit for an outfit. It took Twilight a moment to see, but the little goatee on his chin was fake. Altogether, the burly human had a very refined look about him though, at least compared to the present company in general. "I'm Satan, nice to meet you." He said politely, then winked.

Twilight stammered a little in response to that. Nopony had ever winked at her like that before. What is wrong with me? She thought, feeling a blush building on her face. Coughing as loudly and fiercely as she could, she downed the glass of water beside herself quickly. The act made her cough again right after.

"Woah, easy, the party's just started girl." The human laughed friendlily and patted her back. "That was mine by the way."

"E-excuse me," Twilight coughed again, then looked up with an embarrassed expression. "I'm just new to the whole, uhm-" she realized too late she couldn't say 'being around humans'. Or could I say that? Instead, she went with, "partying, thing. I just met Penny, actually. I'm here with Jo and Alice. D-do you know them?"

"Ah, Alice, I see." The human snapped his fingers in a curious fashion, which got Twilight to look at her own curiously. "I don't know the other name, though."

Twilight looked up from studying her lavender painted nails, they still got her attention whenever she studied them. "Oh, well she's nice, they both are."

Satan nodded his head again and replied simply in turn. "Eeyup," He leaned back against the bar counter, elbows propped up to survey the crowd behind them.

Twilight blinked at that. There was only one person, or pony, rather, which she knew that ever answered so simply. Maybe... she thought. "Well, sorry again about that. I'm Twilight Sparkle! Nice to meet you." She gave the gentlecolt a winning smile, eager to find the answer to her latest hypothesis.

The human gave a laugh of triumph in return. "Heh, you said that, and I thought I recognized that cutie mark." He gave Twilight's flank a glance, then winked again at her, as though he'd said something terribly clever. "You're doing a great job at playing the part, by the way. I can barely tell your voice apart from Tara Strong right now." He smirked and turned back to face the bar. "Haven't watched the show in ten years, admittedly..."

Twilight's eyes widened at that, a slight heat building beneath her face again, though she felt both embarrassed, and a little offended this time. "Wha- Oh, the show, right." The man had already confirmed her suspicion really, but she proceeded anyway. "So," she began dryly, fighting back the heat in her cheeks more easily this time. For some odd reason, it had migrated to her stomach since having that strange tasting drink. "You used to watch the show about Equestrians?" The name of the cartoon had escaped her.

"My Little Pony?" Satan turned around and busied himself with his paper plate and its contents. It appeared he was putting seasoning on food. "Oh yeah," he smiled again. "I used to love the show. Wow, that was at least eight years ago... Time flies, you know?"

Twilight considered his words before answering. A brief flash of the first time she had met her friends back in Ponyville crossed her mind. "Yeah," she answered slowly, droning the word. "Time has a funny way of doing that." Her head felt a little wobbly, and she sighed and swiveled the chair around to lean on the counter.

Fighting the dizziness from the somber thought, Twilight straightened back up to look around the room nonchalantly. She searched for Jo, or even Alice, somewhat seeking an escape from the man, or her thoughts. Why do I want to get away, though? She looked back at the human, who was taking a bite of his food and paying her no mind. I don't mind talking to somepony else, even a stranger. Certainly not one I can actually have a conversation with. I think I've already spoken to him more than I have Jo in the last week...

Twilight drifted in her thoughts for a moment, leaning back in her seat to keep from swaying, which she seemed to start to do with the music. The sounds instilled a heady feeling in her, one that she wasn't readily sure she enjoyed or disliked right away. Accompanying the strangeness she felt, the room also felt warmer, and her stomach seemed to keep trying to match it.

"Here you go Amelia, two slices of pizza and a strawberry sour mash!" Penny had reappeared as if from nowhere, happily placing another paper plate before Twilight. "Now we're even! At least until I scare you again." Laughing, she sat beside Twilight and bumped her shoulder.

Didn't she just leave? That was fast. Twilight grinned over at her and laughed along too. "Oh, in Celestia's name, please don't. I think I've had all I can take tonight."

"Already?" Alice's head materialized between Twilight and Penny without any warning. "Geez, Twilight, we haven't even gotten started yet! We still have the whole night and tons to do, not to mention all the stuff I want to show you. As was once said, the fun has not yet begun!"

"Alice! It'sh great to see you. Where did you and Jo go?" Twilight smiled happily at her friend. It seemed she was accumulating friends rather quickly, as well.

Alice tilted her head in a curious fashion. "Well, we were talking, about you, and then you were gone."

Before Alice could say another word, Twilight made a groan of understanding and pressed a hand to her forehead. "You're right, I'm sorry Alice. I just followed the human in the big hat and...well, his hat was big. I guess I didn't notice you didn't follow me, then I sort of ended up over here along with Penny."

Penny reached a hand around Alice's face and waved. "Hello!"

"Wait, I gotta ask, is she pretending to be like a humanized Twilight Sparkle stuck on Earth? Because she just referred to us as humans." Satan looked up and over at Alice. "Hey Alice, it's me, Dale. Just call me Satan tonight though."

"Dale!" Alice's face stretched out into a huge smile as recognition and questionable happiness transformed it. She spun around Twilight's stool and hopped up onto his knee. "I haven't seen you in forever. Tell me, how do you feel about a girl with a full beard?" One of her hands stroked the long, full white hair she had hanging below her chin.

Twilight's eyes widened at the show of what appeared to be more, strange human-courting rituals.

Alice chose that moment to switch subjects, and quickly just before 'Dale' could answer her. "Ooh, you got food already, Twilight. Jo's already helped herself I'm sure, even though she's looking for you."

Twilight shook her head slightly. "Oh geez, should I go find her?" She began to stand up, then blinked, her legs felt funny.

Alice shrugged, scootching further onto Satan's lap as she did so. "Nah, she'll find us. When she does you can be sure you won't get another moment alone, either."

Penny leaned in from over behind Twilight, perhaps eager to be included. "Yeah, what was the deal with the over protective sister act?" Her eyes flickered up to Twilight. "Are you helpless or something?"

Twilight sat back in her chair, convinced by Alice, and gave the other mare an incredulous look. "Wha- Helpless? I'm the Element of Magic, I am not helplessh." Angrily, she took up her glass of strawberry drink and drank it. She let out a sigh and continued. Wow, that was good! Odd after taste though... "I mean, I don't want to brag, Penny, but I'm probably in the top ten of Equestria's best spellcasters. I'm only twenty, too! The next youngest is probably at least in his forties."

"Ix-nay some on the pony-neigh, Twilight..." Alice muttered, laughing absently.

Satan leaned forward around Alice. "Okay, I gotta ask, were you raised on My Little Pony? Because you are way too into this." He chuckled heartily.

Alice began waving her hands in front of herself. "Aaah, hey, Twilight, what kind of pizza is that?"

The once-unicorn hummed, then looked at her plate, remembering suddenly aware that she'd been brought food. "Oh, this topping looks like...like..." Her eyes focused on the strange, red slices of what might be...tomato, she assumed. "Hm, I'm not sure, Jo has never bought this kind before."

Penny made a look that consisted of a twisted mouth and a raised eyebrow simultaneously. "Why does Jo have to have bought it before? Has she kept you in her basement your entire life?"

Twilight looked up, confused. "What? Oh, uhm, what I meant to say was- I'd never really had pizza before meeting Jo, and she only gets vegetarian just for me. She's a pretty great friend." Nodding, she looked over to gauge the direness of the conversation with Alice, who gave her a calm smile and a quick nod. Well, they said it's not so bad if people think I'm out of the ordinary, but I would still like to fit in...

"Oh, you're vegetarian?" Penny looked at the pizza.

"Yes, I...really don't condone the slaughter of millions upon millions of helpless animals, period." Twilight rubbed one of her ashamedly, then sighed and folded them in her lap again. "Sorry, that was rude of me."

Penny traded a look with Alice, who shrugged. "Fair enough I guess. I can pick that pepperoni of the pizza if you don't want-" A flapping cloak attached to a girl in a blue knee skirt and wizard's hat all but skidded into her.

"Twilight! I mean, uhm, Sandra. There you are, I was worried you had, uhm, left without me." Jo gave Penny an apologetic look, getting a derisive sniff in return. "How is everything?"

Twilight couldn't help but giggle at Jo. "It's been fun. Penny here got me food, and Satan was keeping me company until Alice showed up." She grinned as big as she could and took another sip of her drink, and a bite of the cheese slice of pizza on her plate, ignoring the other one.

"That's me, showing up at complete random!" Alice jazzed her hands to either side of her quickly for effect, then slid off her seat's lap. "You girls ready to go dance? Or should we all hit the fair from the get go?" She poked Twilight it the side to get her attention. "What would you like to do, Sandra?

"Sandra? I thought you called her that." Penny folded her arms and looked between Jo, Alice and Twilight. "Wasn't your name was Amelia?" She gave Twilight a funny look.

Twilight, frozen holding her pizza have way to her mouth, looked over at Jo with just her eyes. "Uhm." Jo looked with a strange look, confused, piecing together things.

They answered Penny with their explanations at the same time. "Sandra is actually her middle name," and "That is my family name, I picked out Amelia as my chosen name."

Penny tilted her head. She could tell Jo had the look of complete calm, and Twilight had the look of someone lying. The latter was so obvious she had to be joking though. "Heh," she started chuckling. "How could Sandra be your family name? Is that another pony thing, Twilight Sparkle?" Chuckling more and more at the new girls, she leaned back and took a sip of her drink to calm down.

"Yes." Alice responded, then looked flatly at Twilight. "It is a game that normal ponies play. She is a normal pony that brushes her teeth."

Satan slammed the the counter, laughing uncontrollably already. "Yes! Haunting Nightmare. Aw man, I haven't watched those in forever." The horned man grinned wider, then added, "Luna is best princess. Wow, I haven't talked about ponies in years. Who's your favorite, guys?"

Alice and Jo began speaking over one another, then stopped and waited for the other to go. In the end, Twilight jumped in instead and began saying, "Well, I think that-" and Alice interrupted her by jumping up and down. "Hey, I know, let's head out to the fair and stuff now. Shall we, guys?"

Penny blinked in the ensuing quiet in the group from the strangeness going on. Okay, what am I missing here? she thought.

Twilight wasn't sure what came over her, but she spun her swivel chair around in a blur as quick as she could and hopped up, her stance eager and out stretched. "As Equestria's emissary to the good people of Earth, we say that our party go to the haunted house which we hath been told of, forthwith!"

Alice and Jo stared up in shock at Twilight, who held her pose. They both slowly panned down to look at each other. Jo wore an expression of worry, while Alice wore one of delighted glee.

Penny sighed and stood up. "I'm out. You girls have fun."

8:40 PM

Twilight held up the costume's hem some, so as to keep from dragging over the grass. Although, it wasn't quite long enough to touch the ground on her. "So you helped make this, Penny?"

Penny nodded, having decided to come along anyway. She was used to Alice in any case. "Yup, Alice and I sewed it all through last month for you, although I didn't know it was for you. I assumed it was a commission she took on." Shrugging she shot Twilight a warm smile. "It looks great on you by the way. You're really beautiful, I'm jealous. If you don't mind my asking, how much did she charge?"

Twilight held up a hand to her chest and looked down at the dress. Beautiful? "O-oh, uhm, she didn't," she replied absently.

"Wow," Penny's eyes widened. "That's some favor. She paid me a hundred bucks to do your cutie marks and the framework."

Twilight nearly missed a step in confusion, assisted by the fact that she still sort of felt funny. "Bucks? What do deer have to do with this? Actually, never mind, I don't think I want to know..." She gave the blonde a sad look. "Oh, Alice..." In her head, she mourned the poor, defenseless bucks.

Alice looked over from chatting with Satan, who had ended up coming along anyway, after some copious stroking from Alice's beard. "What? What did I do now?" She held up her hands innocently.

Jo mumbled from behind them all. "What haven't you done?"

"Hey!" Alice squinted her eyes at Jo, then switched to an overjoyed look and hopped back to walk alongside her friend. "So, Jo, hold my arm so I don't get scared in the haunted house?"

Jo smirked and tilted her head, resulting in something that looked like a perfect mixture of both reluctance and consideration. "Yeah, I don't think so. I'll stick with Twilight and Penny, I think."

"It's two to a group." Penny spoke up, looking back at Jo. "I used to volunteer for the Halloween haunted house a few years ago, it's always been two to a group for ten minutes or so. It's to keep the place from getting crowded."

Meanwhile, Twilight was busily weighing her options, and recalling Penny grabbing her at the party. "Uh, girls? You know, I don't feel all that steady right now. You know how my legs can get..." Not even trying to, she wobbled sideways a moment for effect. Goodness, I'm shakier than Dash during a Wonderbolt's show... She blinked into the now relative pitch dark of the night and straightened, hands to either of her sides. "Maybe I'll just wait outside and you can tell me all about it?" She gave Alice a weak smile, then Jo.

Jo returned a searching gaze to Twilight.

Alice awed out loud, throwing back her head enough her hat fell off. She spun around low, snatched it up and put it on Twilight's head. "Come on Twi', you can go in with me. No chickening out now! Or should it be Scootalooing out? Or maybe Pinkie Pieing out now that I think about it..."

Twilight frowned a little. I swear I know less about what they're talking about when they bring up Equestria. "Well, okay Alice, I'll give it a shot." She adjusted the hat placed lopsided on her head.

"It'll be fun, Twilight, what can go wrong!?" Alice whooped as the party of five walked up into the front yard of the town's dedicated haunted house.

Chapter 20 : Nightmare Night Pt. 2

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9:01 PM

What should have been a perfectly normal, safe adventure with some fun, was just that. Nothing horrible went wrong as the friends split up and entered the haunted house. Jo accompanied Twilight, despite Alice's protests, while she went with Satan and Penny.

Jo looked over at Twilight in the dim light in the building. Oddly, the Equestrian seemed a great deal calmer than she had been earlier, particularly after the scares she had been getting. Oh well, at least she's having fun. Jo eased out a breath and studied the foyer of the huge home once again.

The building was a bit of a mystery itself, at least to Jo, who had never before been inside. It was used for all manner of things from what she had heard, but apparently the owner rented it out to be employed as a local town attraction during Halloween. The twenty dollars a ticket probably didn't hurt, either.

"So Twilight-" Jo began, looking over at her strange, unicorn pal from another world. She was promptly interrupted by a cacophony of screaming and running feet. Two people, a man and a woman, nearly tripped around a corner up ahead, rushing past Jo and Twilight while screaming the whole way.

Jo stared after them, not noticing the shaking that began to creep into her legs. "Okay, then." She swallowed and turned to Twilight. "So, this isn't too scary for you?" The spot her friend had been in was empty. "Twilight!?" Her eyes widened and scanned the room, finding her a second later.

"Come on Jo, let's go the way they ran from!" Twilight smiled back at Jo in the imitation gas-lamp light of the hall. Laughing, she peered around the corner, hoping to get a glimpse of whatever had been so terrifying to the two galloping humans.

"Uh," Jo blinked, but took in a breath and jogged up to Twilight, adjusting the wizard hat on her own head as she came to a stop. "What's with you, I thought everything was surprising you with how scary it was?"

The two began walking slowly down the long hallway, looking everywhere as they went, with Jo following slightly behind Twilight.

Twilight looked over to answer her friend, still smiling enthusiastically. "Hehe well yeah, but it's still fun in hindsight! Plus, I dunno, but I feel great right now." She looked down at her hand a second, then back up at Jo. "Like really gre- In the name of Celestia!" She inhaled, a hand flying up to point down the hallway.

"What, what is it?" Jo set her face in stone, looking around herself warily. When she didn't spot anything she began to turn back to Twilight. "I don't see anythi-" Two arms grabbed her shoulders.

"GRAH!" The shout Twilight gave wasn't inherently scary itself, but it was surprising enough Jo cried out and pulled away from her.

"Twilight! What the Hell!?" Jo leaned against the wall, her heart rate through the roof.

Giggling uncontrollably, Twilight slouched against the other wall, her legs swaying. "Oh, oh in the name of Harmony, that was great." She leaned on her knees, trying and failing to catch her breath while still shaking with laughter.

Jo's scowl faded quickly at the sight of Twilight having so much fun. "What has gotten into you?" She chuckled some looking around herself and spotting the eyes of a nearby painting moving. "You know they're paid to be scaring us, right? You don't need to help. Save that stuff for Alice later, she deserves it."

Twilight looked up, smiling goofily. She straightened up and grabbed Jo's hand, already moving down the hall. "Lighten up, Trixie!" She giggled more. "Come on, let's-"

Before they could take another step, a shadow they had missed dropped down from the ceiling right on top of them, letting out a bone-shaking snarl.

Both girls shrieked from the complete surprise of it, bumping against one another. Without a second lost, Twilight pulled Jo around and they ran past the shape. "Run! IN THE NAME OF EQUESTRIA, RUN!"

Jo laughed a little in between screaming. "I AM RUNNING!" she shouted back. It came as a surprise to her already that she was screaming at all, let alone in earnest. She had expected to go in with Twilight and just try not to ruin it for her friend by waltzing past the actors. Well, they are pretty good...

The two all but charged around the bend at the hallway's far side.

The sound of a chainsaw kicked up and filled the next hallway. A figure with glowing red eyes and a gleaming weapon, originally intended for forestry, charged down the hallway straight for them.

The screams redoubled.

"Oof-" Jo winced after falling back on her behind, trying to reverse her momentum too soon. She felt two hands pull her up and set her back down.

"Run Jo, they're after us!" Twilight laughed while pushing Jo out of the room at their best speed.

Jo didn't need the help, even despite calming down as her rational kicked in; she was having a good time.

Fur-covered claws and teeth shot out of the dark of next room, not an arm's length away. They reached for both of the girls, accompanied by a howl of terror that was much too loud.

Jo had never screamed so hard in her life, and she began punching randomly.

"Ah! Geez lady, calm down." The werewolf moved back, rubbing his shoulder gingerly. Beside him, the howling continued from a nearby speaker until abruptly cutting out.

Twilight moved through a forest of fake cobwebs, pulling along Jo, who heaved her breath out. Together they moved on into the next room. "Sorry sir, sorry!" the equestrian of the pair apologized, while patting her friends' back soothingly. The giggles escaping her almost completely covered her words.

"Oh. My. God." Jo looked at Twilight, a hand pressed over her lungs.

Twilight grinned and paused with her to the left of the doorway, just in time to hear the chainsaw go off again and more screams follow them. "Are you okay? If it's too scary we can leave."

Twilight's expression was smug enough to make Jo want to knock it off her face. Instead, Jo returned it, once she'd calmed enough of course. "Whatever, I'm only getting worked up because you're screaming so much. Besides, if he'd grabbed you I would have had to take you back to the house so you could change your costume." She straightened her wig, combing the platinum hair with a hand to get it back in order.

Twilight furrowed her brow for a second, then grimaced through more laughter, catching on. "Gross, Jo."

Jo bore a smug look while she slumped against the wall to catch her breath some more. In front of them, the next group of people charged past, screaming for all they were worth. Once they were past, she spoke up. "Hey Twilight."

The other girl looked as though she had been about to pull Jo onwards through the house, but she paused. The tone Jo used was recognizable, she had something important to say. "What's up, Jo? You aren't really too scared, are you?" Twilight couldn't help but grin a little mischievously.

Jo let out a sarcastic laugh. "Hah hah, no..." She paused momentarily, thinking of how to say things without sounding like a dork, or too dramatic. "Not to sound lame, Twilight, and don't take this the wrong way, either, but... I'm really happy I got to meet you. I just wanted to say thanks, for that, I guess."

At first, the expression Twilight wore evolved into a huge smile, then softened some after a moment. She surprised the other girl confessing her feelings with a hug. "I'm glad I met you too Jo, and Alice. I gotta say, if there's any upside to be seen in all this, it's that I've made some spectacular new friends."

Jo's eyes had widened from the sudden hug, but she returned it begrudgingly, her own smirk not leaving.

Unbeknownst to them both, a tall, shrouded shape with skeletal features and a massive, ebony sword drew up behind them. It stood three heads taller, and was an intimidating mass in the dim light. The figure's head lowered less than an inch from them before they became aware of his presence and muttered, "Boo."

9:09 PM

Alice raised an eyebrow at the inordinate amount of screaming from inside the haunted house which sounded an awful lot like Jo and Twilight. The idea that she could distinguish her friends amidst the rest of the shouts and cries seemed a little farfetched to her. Still, the sounds of two voices that seemed to be awfully familiar and getting closer was undeniable.

A pair of blue and lavender blurs zipped out of the fair's attraction and past Alice without stopping.

"YEAH! Those are my girls!" Alice grinned stupidly, watching as Twilight and Jo ran all the way to the street without stopping.

"Heh, sounds like they had a good time in there," Satan responded absently.

Penny shrugged. "Eh, the monster dudes were doing alright in there all considering." She flicked her hair back over her shoulder absently. "They're still amateurs if you ask me."

Alice hooked an arm with the two friends on either side of her, skipping and dragging them along to her other two companions. "Now Penny, Halloween isn't about scaring people. It's about scaring people and having fun. That's exactly what I plan to do tonight, in spades." She glanced up at Satan with a knowing look, then looked at Penny again. "So, let's fetch Jo and Twilight and go do just that! Just about anything at the fair is going to blow her mind, I think."

9:31 PM

Twilight laughed along with Alice, Penny and Satan, the three of them telling joke after joke along with funny stories, too. It was clear to her that Alice was going out of her way to steer them in the direction of entertaining her; small things like asking them to tell her about a funny thing from another day hinted at as much. It was a really nice gesture.

All around them was a sharp contrast to the party and haunted house they had left behind. Flashing lights and a huge crowd of people teemed in the converted streets of the city's center.

Twilight was aware that Jo and Alice considered it a homely little town, but to Twilight it was a city, and that was factoring in how much bigger Ponyville was getting as of late. The surroundings were no Manehatten and certainly nothing next to Canterlot, but it was bigger than what she was used to after living in the quiet rural area in the valley nestled behind Canterlot.

"Alright, guys, Twilight, here we are!" Alice flourished her hands up at what she'd brought them all to. "So, what do you think?"

Twilight's eyebrows climbed a bit as she stared at what was apparently a fair attraction for humans. "Bumper Cars?" She read the sign hanging just overhead. The sound of Jo groaning beside her further raised her curiosity. Just like the real Trixie, Jo seemed to have an intense dislike of things she considered 'silly' or childish. It was very uncharacteristic for a pony to be like that. Twilight briefly considered if Trixie wouldn't enjoy being a human more; they were a fair bit more her style.

"Hey, wait for me!" Twilight turned to see that everypony had left her in the dust and meandered up to the booth. Except for Jo, anyway, she was leaning on the metal fence encircling the great empty space in the middle. "So what are bumper cars?" She looked from the alienated Jo, to the other three humans, now waiting in the attraction's line.

"Hah, exactly what the name implies, Twilight. You get in a car, and well, bump." Alice wiggled her eyebrows at Jo for a reason that wasn't exactly clear.

"Alice, stop that." Jo let out a tired breath where she leaned over the fence, letting her head hang in defeat after speaking. "I swear, you're hopeless."

Alice slinked up next to Jo and put and arm over her shoulder. "Aw, just like your sex lif-"

Twilight frowned slightly at the amount of cursing Jo burst out into, fighting rambunctiously with a giggling Alice. After listening to Jo say them a few times and some subsequent research, it became clear the nature of human curse words had very unsavory meanings. Twilight didn't exactly approve of that, but what could she do? She had considered it a few times, but in the end, pushing her own ways on others seemed as wrong as letting them go on the way they were. A sigh escaped her slightly parted lips, taciturnly watching Alice give a struggling Jo a hug after being faced with getting punched.

Satan tried to get between Jo and Alice. "Ladies, please, we're here to knock each other around in bumper cars, not just willy nilly. Besides, we need to stay in line if we want our turn." He gestured over to said line, which was politely not being filled up ahead of them despite their antics.

The gate opened up ahead of them, and the enthusiastic fair workers motioned their group forward.

"Jo, aren't you coming?" Twilight stopped at the entrance, looking back to where Jo was hesitating.

"Ah, I'll just wait for you guyssSS-!"

Alice had snuck up behind Trixie and begun pushing her in, towards Twilight. "Oh no you don't, party pooper! You're having the time of your life whether you want to or not!"

Laughing, Twilight grabbed Jo's hand and led her in. However, she stopped when faced with the purring contraptions all lined up in front of her.

"Come on lady, get in." The man ushered Twilight into the seat before she knew what was happening or could even protest. She hiked her dress up some to get into the car better, and didn't understand why the man helping her strap in seemed so embarrassed by that. She shrugged it off though and eagerly looked forward.

The gates holding the cars were small and just big enough to contain them. It seemed they would all open when the red lights hanging overhead would turn green, sort of like something she had read about called a stop light.

It suddenly occurred to Twilight, that amidst Jo's and Alice's antics, she had forgotten to ask exactly what she was doing. She knew these were like miniature cars, and she had to... bump, the others, but she wondered how.

"Hey, girls, what do I d-?" She looked over at Alice, who was grinning manically and seemed to be mashing her leg up an down on the floor of her bumper car. She was cackling, in a way that made Twilight a little afraid of her. Uhm, okay? She slowly turned her head to face to the other side of herself, where Penny was stationed. "Penny? What am I supposed to do?"

Penny looked over at Twilight, her own smile fading somewhat after making eye contact. "What do you do? Seriously?"

Twilight nodded, smiling calmly. "Sorry, I've never done this before." She laughed a little nervously, running her hands over the strange, empty wheel that hung just in front of her.

Penny sighed, then leaned over towards Twilight some. "Alright, these are bumper cars, there's no break because you aren't supposed to stop. The object is just to hit others as hard as you can. The pedal on the floor will make you go."

Twilight's eyes widened after hearing the exact explanation of what the fair attraction was all about. "Wait, what-?"

Before the pony could get a response, a buzzer sounded and the gates separating her from certain doom, were lowered.

9:37 PM

Twilight had never felt so queasy in all her life. It took every bit of her concentration to hold onto her lunch. She looked around herself slowly. Her friends were off getting food. How could they be hungry after that? Geez, what is wrong with Alice? The blonde Starswirl the Bearded had been relentless in attacking both Twilight and Trixie, shouting threats and jeering remarks throughout her assault. It had taken the mounted efforts of both unicorn mares in order to put a stop to it.

It had been more fun than Twilight could remember having since well before leaving Ponyville, if a bit more chaotic, too. "A little chaos isn't so bad, though." She chuckled, then winced when her stomach turned again. "Uggh, what did I eat?"

"Did someone say eat?" Mr. Satan laughed and stuck something breaded up underneath Twilight's nose. "Hah, look Twilee, corn dogs!" The voice he used sounded very odd, like a cliche surfer pony or something. "Heh, you get the joke, right?" He grinned around the side of the food he was giving her.

Twilight swallowed, then studied the off looking food on a stick a moment. "O-oh, yes, hah, funny..." What is he talking about? She wasn't sure, but more worrying to her was the name he had given the strange food.

Twilight swallowed hard, and began stammering out her question, not taking the food from him. "W-what's a Corn... dog?" Her eyes widened a fraction, an image of Winona playing over the little fair treat being held under her nose. "Th -th- th- that's not really, dog, is it?" The expression she made was twisted from terror at the thought. Her stomach was threatening to surrender to the nausea she'd felt in the bumper cars right there.

"What?" The other man's reaction and incredulity was instant relief. "No way, that's just a name. I think it's because hotdogs are long and tube shaped, like a certain breed of dog."

Twilight breathed out a sigh of relief. "Oh, alright. What is in it then-"

Before she could finish, Alice swooped in and snatched it away from Satan's hand. "Wiener dog! Thanks, Dale!" She looked up at him and winked taking a bite. "I was getting starved." Patting her tummy, she strolled away with Twilight's treat in her mitts.

Mr. Satan raised an eyebrow after Alice, smirking. "Well, I'd ask why you don't know what a hotdog is either, but I just remembered you're a vegetarian, so that's my bad." He looked at her again, a skeptical quality to his eyes.

"Here, Twilight, I got a giant pretzel if you'd like some." Jo walked up nonchalantly, offering the other girl some of her food. "I miss anything?" she mumbled around a bite of the salty fair snack.

"Thanks Jo, but my stomach's been feeling off the last hour... I think I'll pass on the thought of food." Twilight smiled around a slightly pained look, holding her midsection for effect. "You haven't missed anything either, I don't think." She ran her smile over the other members of their group, lingering it hesitantly on Mr. Satan for a moment. "So, what's next!?"

"Well, the concert's going. Jo, didn't you want to dance in that?" Penny held one hand up, offering the idea to the other woman flatly. "I figure we've entertained Ms. Energizer here for a while, why not go out there and hope she burns herself out?"

Alice began cackling while moonwalking through the middle of their circle. "Impossible! I am fueled by the friendship I share with Jo, which is never ending and as vast as the stars themselves!"

The other four people stared as Starswirl the Bearded continued to moonwalk in a circle before them.

Jo slowly turned to Penny. "Yeah, it's worth a shot I guess." She stuck out a hand and caught Alice by her shoulder, ceasing the other woman's rendition of a Michael Jackson energizer bunny. "Come on MJ, let's go dance where it's appropriate and won't earn us weird looks."

Alice laughed and grabbed Jo's arm, looking up at her starry eyed in the most exaggerated way possible. "Oh Peter, I thought you'd never ask me to the school dance!"

The group laughed at Jo's expense, even Twilight who didn't get the joke. Together, they walked through the throng of people and costumes which only seemed to grow as the night went on. Twilight would ask Jo what some of them were, the ones that looked interesting or may be from one of the many human shows. In her head, lists of things to look up when she could find a moment were made. There were things called Wookies, Gundams, Batmen, Powerful Rangers, Smorfs, Pikachus and more. She of course recognized many others from her own myths and in fact, several that were real in her world. There weren't any gryphon costumes to be found, or many others she would have expected, but she spotted a minotaur as well as a dragon. Changelings were nowhere to be seen, but after some thought she decided it would be a bit hard for a human to dress as an equine shapeshifter.

Amongst the myths that her world shared with Earth, she spotted at least a hundred vampires, zombies, ghosts and werewolves respectively. The zombies especially seemed outrageously popular with humans, and she couldn't figure out why. They were a bit frowned upon in Equestria, and a tad dark. Spike loved them of course, to her exasperated chagrin. The vast majority of the costumes were fine, but some of them really exemplified how dark, or strange humans could be. One of the oddest was a strange, green man rolling around a giant ball that sang a song. Alice had called it a 'katamari'.

Ignoring that music though, the music from the concert could be heard from any corner of the fair, and followed them wherever they walked. Once they had gotten far enough on their way to enjoy it firsthoof, it was positively thundering. As was the enthusiasm from the crowd listening to it.

Twilight tried to clamp her ears down to shut some of it out, then grimaced when she remembered human ears didn't do that. She swished her tail angrily instead. Looking back, she aimed her grimace at the decorated cloth on her gown that passed for her tail right then. Pony feathers. She huffed a breath out and continued towards the crowd with her friends.

"Twilight, if it gets too crazy, just walk out of the crowd, okay? Just, remember what I said and stuff, and-" Jo had a worried look on her face, which was endearing.

"Jo, it's fine." Twilight laughed and patted her friends shoulder. "Thanks, but how bad could it really be?"

Jo's look serioused up further after Twilight said those words. "Twilight, every time someone says that Murphy's law kicks in. Don't you guys know that? I know you saw TV tropes that first day you scoured the internet."

Twilight adjusted the floppy lavender wings on her dress absently, thinking back. "Oh yeah, I remember that one, too."

Alice laughed happily, adding in her own thoughts. "With as many goofy villains as Equestria has, a website like that would be an invaluable resource I would think. All hail humanity, whose logic, or absence thereof, slayed the Jabberwock!"

Twilight pursed her lips in a state of complete loss. "The what?" She blinked, then shook her head and moved past Alice's confusing contributions. "Nevermind. Alice, they are not goofy, but... admittedly, humans have thought over scenarios to an admirable extreme. I feel bad for anything that does attack you guys."

Jo rolled her eyes at that. "Well, we're a little too busy fighting one another for that to even matter, if you think about it."

Alice butted in again, as enthusiastically as always."Hey, come on you two, the band up there's playing the monster mash. The monster mash, guys! That's premier Halloween music. We can talk hobgoblins and ghouls later!"

Jo frowned, replying. "Yeah, I noticed, I thought they were just playing ska, what happened to the imitation bands and good music?"

Penny glanced over and answered the question. "Taking a break I guess, no reason not to hop in though. Dale's already in there."

Twilight tilted her head slightly. Dale? Oh, Mr. Satan, right.

Jo grimaced as they approached the crowd of people dancing, or what might be dancing, at least. It was getting a bit too loud to hear one another now that they were all so close.

Twilight spotted Jo trying to say something to her, then leaned nearer, cupping a hand to her ear. Gosh, humans are way too loud, how can they enjoy any of the music? "What!?" She shouted the word.

"I said-!" Jo winced and just shook her head. "Have fun, Twilight! Try not to get lost!" She managed to work a smile onto her face, grinning encouragingly to the Equestrian beside her.

Twilight returned Jo's happy look, doing her best to outdo it. "Only if you do!" She shouted back. "And don't worry, I won't!"

Alice jumped in between Jo and Twilight, holding herself up a moment off of the ground by their shoulders. She let out a long, piercing cheer, then screamed, "I LOVE THE MONSTER MASH-!"

She had managed the outcry, as loud as she could, just as the music cut off abruptly. "Ssshh- wha?" She and everyone else in the area were looking around, confused.

Twilight looked around as well, at a loss. "What just happened?"

Jo stared up at the stage disinterestedly. "Looks like they broke something. Sorry Twilight, I guess the concert's a bust." She gave Twilight a disappointed shrug, a little upset herself.

...

The lights set up around the open field all shut down as if on cue, and the stage went dark. A lot of people in the crowd let out screams, of excitement, terror, enthusiasm, to name a few.

"Jo!?" Twilight felt for her friend in the darkness, but came up empty. "Jo, where are you!?" She screamed out again. Oh Celestia, Jo said that the worst would happen and it did! What is it? Discord? Terrorists!? Oh no, did humans have any villains that I need to worry about!?

The stage lit up again with a thunderous boom, purple light bathing everything up at the front of the crowd, which went wild immediately. Fog rolled and roiled out in waves from all around, and single jet of flame shut up over the stage.

"It's okay Twilight! It's all planned!" Jo smiled over at Twilight, who was currently latched onto her arm.

A slow chorus of music began to fill the air, the crowd quieting to listen to what sounded like the soft tings of bells. It was a very powerful feeling, so many moving as one. Twilight recognized it. Then, the music kicked up, a drum roll from the men on stage thundered out quickly, chaotically. The crowd exploded into cheers, quieting only for the singer to scream his lungs out over them anyway.

"Niiiiightmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare!"

10:13 PM

Twilight panted from the fun she'd had out amidst the humans. It wasn't as though she were quite dressed, so to speak, for any sort of dancing involving much more than her arms, but it was fun all the same just moving with them all and enjoying the music. The atmosphere was as vibrant or alive as anything she had seen at home in Equestria, but different; it was definitely, different. Humans were rambunctious and random, shouting their emotions and enthusiasm in pure, unfiltered excitement. Ponies, at least from her experience, were more reactive and calmer, often following a lead, even in large celebrations. It was obvious to Twilight that in this horde of humans, even at the concert, every person had their own distinct agenda.

Aches poked annoyingly at her body, so Twilight cracked her back and rolled her stiff shoulders to try and lessen that. My back never hurt before. Maybe I should try sleeping in a different position. She had a very strange headache as well. Headaches weren't something she often got. She had always been very careful to not overtax her magic back in Equestria, and it didn't make sense for her to get them on Earth, as a human, at all. Her stomach still felt kinda off, too.

Sighing, Twilight ignored the alien sensations and set about trying to find somepony she recognized in the teeming crowd. Somewhere along the lines, Jo had gotten separated from her. Jo won't be happy about that. Giggling to herself a little guiltily about her over-protective friend, she spotted one person that might be able to help her.

Twilight side stepped, hopping slightly to stand in front of the person with the familiar hat. "Van Helsing?" She looked up under the cover's brim, and a look of recognition stared back at her. "Oh, it is you! Hi!" she greeted happily.

"Oh, hey. It's Twilight, right?" The man smirked back at her, snapping what might have been a small metal box shut to tuck it into his pocket. He had a strange little stick held between his lips. "What's up?"

Twilight studied the strange paper stick interestedly, but broke eye contact with it to speak to the person holding it. "Nothing huge, I'm just separated from my friends right now. I can't find the girls or Mr. Satan anywhere." Shrugging, she moved out of the way of the crowd coming and going from the front of the concert's stage. "Are you here listening to music too? I gotta say, that was some... interesting stuff. I couldn't make out most of the lyrics, but wow did it feel intense. I've never heard anything like-" she resisted the urge to face palm, realizing how she was talking a little too late. No take backs, Twilight; roll with it. "I mean, I've never heard anything like it in person before." She grinned widely, in the most convincing sort of way she could muster.

Van Helsing raised an eyebrow, holding the smoldering paper stick in one hand while giving her a studious look. "So," he finally said. "That was your first concert? Sorry to hear it, heh. That show was alright, but it wasn't anything special. I'm kinda sorry I left Chris with the party to check it out." His gaze panned over the fair before returning to Twilight. "This is mostly community funded, so it's just big enough to warrant visiting. Were you not bored, at least?" He grinned, then held the stick up again, doing what appeared to be sucking on the unburnt end.

What kind of... is it medicinal perhaps? Humans do have a far greater number of diseases to worry about. Oh dear, maybe he's sick? Twilight blinked away the worry, deciding to ask if it came up. "Well of course! Jo, Penny and Mr. Satan and I had more fun than Rainbow at the Wonderbolt museeeum..." She trailed off, bouncing on the balls of her feet slightly from nervousness. Her carelessness was such that she couldn't believe it. What is with me!? I'm energetic one minute, dizzy the next, energetic and unable to think again right after. Celestia, give me strength! Her stomach felt off again, too.

Despite the questionable slip of the tongue, Van Helsing only laughed. He dropped the stick to the ground and smothered it with a boot. "Mr. Satan, who's that?" he asked, thankfully instead of something that might be awkward to explain.

Twilight furrowed her brow. "Oh, uhm... shoot, I keep forgetting his real name, actually." She had to think to recall that Mr. Satan even had another name. Did I hit my head? Come on Twilight, focus. She looked up when a response didn't readily come. "Hm, what's that, Van Helsing? Oh, a pen, I like pens." A happy grin of recognition bloomed, watching as the other human scribbled something on a piece of paper.

The man looked up at Twilight, a lopsided, amused smile splitting his face. He let out another chuckle and straightened, pushing his hat back some. "Hah, okay. I like pens a lot, too." He laughed again, then held out the paper. "Hey, I know you're with your friend Jo tonight, and I don't want to get between you and your friends, but... maybe if you'd like to sometime, you could call me?" His smile was small, but warm.

"Call you?" Twilight looked at the paper, it had a little number scribbled on it. "It's a phone number!" She laughed out loud and studied the little numerals carefully. After holding it in her hand a moment, the thought of where to put it to keep it safe came up. Shoot, I don't have any saddlebags. She spun once, confirming the thought. "Oh, I know."

Van Helsing stood and watched in surprise as Twilight put the phone number down the neck of her dress, where a convenient spot for safe-keeping lay.

"There! That really is pretty convenient, actually." Twilight flashed a smile to the odd human. "I saw Jo do this once at a restaurant. I might wear clothes more often when I get home!" She giggled merrily after her enthusiastic reply, then hummed in thought.

"So, wait, why do I need to call you though?" It dawned on Twilight a second later. "Oh! You want to be friends!" Her smile grew enormously then, she felt so happy by the revelation she gave the newly acquainted acquaintance a hug. "That sounds great! Say, how are you at taking notes?" Pulling back, she spotted a sort of crestfallen appearance on the man's expression, mixed with a bit of severe confusion. "Oh no, was that too- I am so sorry, was that inappropriate of me? I'm not really good with understanding what's appropriate as far as tactile interaction between persons- I mean- Uggh, I can't talk right now."

Twilight put a hand up to her forehead and rubbed it, smiling sheepishly, in what she hoped was a sufficiently earnest manner.

Van Helsing blinked, at a loss. "Aah, yeah, haha, it's fine... I think."

A short silence passed between the two, both looking around at the teeming crowd. Twilight felt as though she had made some mistake, based on her limited knowledge of human relations.

"Well, yeah, I'll see you around Twilight, I actually have to go." Van Helsing began to leave, scratching the back of his head with a look that sort of said he was unsure.

"Oh, alright. Are you sure you can't stay? We were going to do some more stuff before we were done." Twilight looked behind herself in the direction of where she thought her friends may be.

The man laughed, but turned to go, shaking his head. "I don't think Jo would care to have me around. It's alright, really."

Twilight frowned some, certain this was her fault now, but decided to let it go. It seemed Jo was also to be blame a little, too. Honestly Jo, why are you acting like that? "Well, alright." She began waving goodbye, when another, last second thought came to her. "Oh, Van Helsing," she called after him.

The man turned around to face her.

"What's your real name, or is it really Van Helsing? Because you don't sound like much of a singer, no offense." Twilight realized after asking that she would probably have to give him her own in return, but shrugged it off and smirked instead. I should ask Jo if I could listen to the real Van Helsing's music. A famous singer is quite the interesting costume choice.

Jeremy tipped his hat. "It's Jeremy. Nice meeting you, Twilight Sparkle." Smirking, as if he'd done something clever, he put his hands in his coat pockets and strode away.

"Huh." Twilight stared after the odd human until the crowd swallowed him and he disappeared from sight. "What a strange stallion. Oh well, still not as weird as that guy in Ponyville obsessed with jelly." She scrunched her face up in horror at the memory of the odd neighbor. What was his name, Hugh? Oh well. They really come in all ways back home. Here too, actually, I guess.

Shaking her head, Twilight turned and walked back towards the concert some, still a bit of sway in her step. Her trip back was short lived. Standing by a food stall was another friend, though still not the one she was searching for, exactly.

"Penny! Hey! Have you seen Jo, or maybe Alice?" Twilight jogged up to the taller girl, who looked as though she was doing something with a small, pocket-sized electronic device. "I've been looking for them, but I can't find them."

"Huh? Oh, hey Amelia." Penny didn't look up from what she was doing, but moved her head slightly as though she had been considering doing just that.

Twilight blinked at getting called the fake name again, but shook it off. She was getting a little more used to it. "Oh, that's a cell phone, isn't it?" The little device had cropped up a lot in conversations with Alice before; Jo didn't have one.

Penny looked up ahead of herself a moment, then panned over to raise an eyebrow at the strange purple haired girl beside her. "Are you Amish, Amelia?" she said in a questioning tone, then held the cellphone up between them both.

Twilight didn't recognize the name. "Amish? What's that?"

Penny harrumphed. "They're people that don't believe in using technology. Are you telling me you've really just never seen a phone before? It's the year twenty-twenty-three, everyone and their dog and pet fish have a cellphone. I mean, no offense if you haven't, it's just... Well, you'd have had to grow up under a rock for that to be true."

Twilight concentrated on an explanation. "Oh, uhm, we just didn't have them where I grew up a whole lot. My family... just used the phone at our home." She felt a bit embarrassed referring to Spike as a phone. In truth, phones were somewhat commonplace place in Equestria, but they used magic, and were typically public utilities, not private.

Penny studied Twilight a moment. "Every kid at your school didn't have a cell phone?" She put a hand on her hip, tilting her body to the side. "Actually, Amelia, where are you from? The way Alice has been talking about you, and judging by your reactions, it seems like you'd never seen... Well, anything, before. Especially here at the fair. It's nothing really that special..." Her eyes glanced over the shabby looking rides and meager sights.

"Oh, really?" Twilight asked innocently, with a touch of unwanted uncertainty in her voice. She searched her thoughts quickly for her alias' story, but couldn't come up with it readily. Once again, there was that fog that had been in her head all night keeping her from thinking too hard.

"Uh, well, I've just I- I'm from nowhere special, just a couple cities away, actually." Twilight was more bothered by her inability to think straight than having an awkward conversation with Penny. After all, there isn't much bad that can happen exactly from anyone thinking my story's off. Right? "I just never left home, really. I studied a lot with most of my time." That was true at least, she considered. "We never had a fair there, either, so it's interesting." An earnest smile spread across her face.

"Huh, sounds like a strange town." Penny shrugged, but seemed to buy it. "Answer me this then, because I'm curious. How'd such a nice girl like you from a few cities away start to hang out with a jerk like Jo? You are younger than her, right? Are you just renting a room while you go to college here or something?" The older human scrutinized Twilight closely, her eyes squinting some.

Twilight blinked at first, still struggling for a good explanation or story. Luckily, Penny had provided a quick one with her question. "Yes... I'm renting a room." The questions, however, made Twilight frown back at Penny.

"Hey, Jo's a really nice person though, once you get to know her." She felt less on the defense now, and pressed the advantage. "It's really kind of unfair of you to say that. Don't you think it makes you a jerk yourself, just by pointing that out?" She stood straighter, squaring herself up and folding her arms against the other human. Surprisingly, it did little it seemed.

Penny rolled her eyes and let out a short laugh. "Oh yeah, you're way too nice to be hanging out with Jo." Her tone was a little condescending, but only a little. "Alright, I'm sorry, and you're not wrong about that, I guess. Still, I went to High School with Jo. Granted that was awhile ago, but... she has, or had, a wicked anger streak, and never forgives anyone. Maybe she's changed, I hope so. I don't mind her at all on a personal level, but she held a grudge against a guy, and that ruined a lot of friendships, as you put it. That's putting it lightly, she was at the center of enough drama to be a one girl reality TV show."

Twilight tried not to scowl back, especially because she didn't quite understand what Penny was saying, but she got the jist. "Well, that was what, a decade ago? You were all just fillies and barely out of-" she bit her lip for a moment, remembering the strange school system humans used. "What I mean to say is, you all didn't know better I'm sure. Didn't everypony apologize and become friends again, afterwards? I mean, I didn't really have many friends growing up, myself, but I do know that it's better to come to an understanding over a disagreement."

Penny tilted her head, as if confused slightly, but nodded. "Yeah, I agree. She didn't though, and..." She let out a short laugh again. "Everypony tried to, but her. At least that's how I remember it. Maybe she'll say something different, but it's not important." She let out a tired sigh, shaking her head a little, then visibly brightened. "Sorry for bringing it up, Twilight Sparkle!" She grinned widely down at the other girl, straightening up. "Jo did seem to be having a lot of fun, tonight. I guess she is a better person than I remember to be friends with someone as cool as you. I didn't want to rule out she was taking advantage of someone really naive, but then again, Alice has been hanging out with you both lately, huh?"

Twilight lightened up some with the other girl's apology. She seemed like a really nice human, just a little... opinionated. "Heh, uhm, yes. Alice has been keeping us both company a lot and visits often." After smiling and smoothing her mane with both hands for a moment, she looked up to see Penny again typing on her phone.

"I actually have to get going," Penny said. "But hey, the pony-isms were cute. I hated the show myself, was never my thing. A perfect world where everyone pretty much gets along and dragons can live off eating rocks? It's adorable, but completely dumb. Heck, that's not even to mention the other weird stuff, like controlling the sun with stupid magic, the gender ratio, or even a nation of horses to begin with." She shrugged, laughing and already walking away. "Oh well, later Amelia, hope to see you again soon!"

Twilight waved goodbye, fighting to keep her face from forming into a sudden, a rictous snarl. "Byeee!" Once Penny turned around to stroll away calmly, Twilight's lips pursed in a seething look, her cheeks aflame.

"Magic!? Stupid?" Twilight's left eye twitched uncontrollably. She growled in frustration and kicked a foot. "I'll show her stupid..." Calming herself, she put a hand up to her front, then waved it out calmly, letting go of the stress. It worked perfectly. I need to thank Cadence again for that when I get home. She took more calming breaths, dispelling the anger that Penny had kicked up unintentionally. I wonder what she's up to? I haven't seen her in ages. Her old foal sitter was always a welcomed, happy memory.

At the moment, it was at odds with some of the strange things Penny had said about Equestria. Not all of them sounded familiar. What was that about a gender ratio, though? Oh never mind, a cartoon show hardly has any bearing on reality. Now, where is Jo and Alice? Smiling once again, and at a loss of what to do now, Twilight looked around herself and began trying to find her other friends.

Twilight shuffled her feet a moment, stood up on her toes to look around herself over some of the crowd, but otherwise was coming up empty. It's been a while since I've seen Jo now... Yup, she's going to lose it. It didn't escape Twilight that Jo was a little protective of her. It was sweet, in a sisterly way. Jo seemed to transcend it a bit and go overboard though. Maybe I can talk to her about it- Oh, there's Alice!

"Hey Alice! I-" Twilight cut off, her mouth hanging open mid-sentence. "In the name of everything hooved." She blinked in complete shock at what she was looking at. Right before her very eyes, Alice was kissing Mr. Satan, right out in public. Not only that, she was being very... enthusiastic about it, too.

Oh dear. Twilight felt very much like Fluttershy right then, her face lighting up with an embarrassed heat the likes of which she'd never experienced before... Before coming to Earth, anyway. She put a hand up to her eyes and shied away, looking at the ground.

"Hey Twilight, there you are." It wasn't too loud this far away from the concert and music, so Jo's voice called out in almost a normal indoor volume. "I'm really sorry if I'm starting to sound like I've appointed myself your guardian, but I was worried maybe that crowd had swallowed you whole." She let out a nervous chuckle at that. "What's wrong, is there something on the ground?"

Twilight looked up to see Jo studying the spot she had been distracting herself with. "I-it's Alice," she hissed, then glanced at the girl and her partner quickly to make sure she hadn't been noticed.

"Alice?" Jo asked, looking around herself. "Did something happen to her?"

Twilight shook her head fiercely, sending waves of purple hair to either side of herself. "No! It's not what's happened to her, exactly..." The image flashed in her mind, and she shut her eyes on instinct for a moment.

Jo folded her arms, donning an angry expression underneath her light blue wizard hat. "I see, what did she do, then?"

Twilight groaned aloud and pulled Jo over, pointing at Alice and Mr. Satan, who were still entertaining themselves with one another's mouths, eyes shut in concentration. "Jo, is that normal!? I always thought nuzzling in public was rather bold, but that... that's just... I don't even know." She couldn't help but stare now that she'd looked at the blonde girl again. "I didn't even know you could kiss like that."

Jo wasn't exactly sure what to do. She considered telling her friend to stop, or dragging Twilight off behind a fair booth straight away, but neither of those seemed right. "Well, Twilight, honestly that's a pretty common way of kissing around here. Status quo, really." She looked over with a smirk at the blanched expression Twilight still wore. "I gotta agree with you though, it's a little weird, or rude at least, to go at it like that in public. But... Is Equestria really... okay I don't want to say boring... but, kid friendly? Sometimes I wonder if it's just you that reacts this way to stuff."

Twilight chewed her lip while Jo spoke, until that last sentence. She bristled at that one. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

Jo put a hand behind her head and studied a nearby popcorn stand. "Well, I just mean to say that you might be... a little shut in, what with Equestria not having the internet or TV. So maybe this stuff is normal there, you just haven't encountered it yet? You're not that old, after all."

Twilight bunched her annoying human hands up into fists and planted them on her sides. She didn't have hooves to stomp, so that would have to do. "I'm shut in? That's really funny coming from you, Jo!"

The two girls faced off against one another, glares deepening.

Jo started laughing first, and was quickly joined by Twilight.

"Alright, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, Twilight." Jo wiped away a fake tear.

Twilight sucked in a breath and looked back at Alice and Mr. Satan. "It's okay, and you could be right, I guess. But I get the feeling any other Equestrian watching this would react the same as me. Except maybe Rainbow... She'd probably lose her lunch."

Jo snrked at the thought of the pegasus she had heard so much about. "Maybe, but anyway, Alice here just isn't the type to be ashamed much. She likes the attention. It's just how she is." Shrugging with a sigh, Jo walked off in the other direction a ways. "How's your stomach, actually? We can try a couple more rides if you'd like and are up to it. As for Alice, we'll call her later. We should give them some privacy, I think. They might just take off for the night, though, at this rate. Actually, where's her other friend? That girl, Penny, have you seen her?" She turned around. "Uh, Twilight?"

Twilight barely managed to, but the sound of Jo's voice getting quieter behind herself made her wrench her eyes away from the sight of Alice and her other new friend doing... that thing. "Huh- Oh, Penny?" Pulling up her dress's hem, she sped up after Jo. "I did notice, actually. She left just before I found you." She didn't bring up what they had talked about. "And after bumping into her I just found Alice and Mr. Satan... kissing, and..." Trailing off, her eyes wandered back to Alice again. She couldn't still be kissing, could she?

The sound of snapping fingers brought Twilight back.

"Focus, Twilight." Jo frowned.

Blinking and looking back at Jo, Twilight grinned sheepishly. "Eh heh."

Jo rolled her eyes above an expression that made her look like she was at a loss for words. "Come on, let's give them their space." She scanned what remained of the fair's offerings; there wasn't much. The tilt-o-whirl was probably a terrible idea considering how upset Twilight said her stomach had been after the bumper cars. That left the only other ride there. "Have you ever been on a Ferris-wheel before, Twilight?"

Twilight looked over, expression open, then traced Jo's gaze to the tall, circular thing that spun slowly, sort of like a windmill. "Oh, that huge thing? No, actually." Her grin grew more as she looked at the curiosity. Interesting, it's another ride along the same lines of a balloon, kind of... "I think I'd like to, though."

"Awesome." Jo nodded, grinning up ahead at the ride. Together, they started walking slowly towards it. "So, been having fun?" Getting bothered by her wig and hat—it was hot having it on all night, after all—Jo pulled off the costume parts and fanned them out. Her actual, short brown hair beneath was matted firmly against her head somewhat.

Twilight laughed and put a bounce into her step as she answered. "Yes! This is exactly what I needed, Jo. I can't thank you enough for all of this. I saw all that money changing hands by the way, I promise to pay you back in full before I... before I leave for Equestria! Whenever that is." The little buzz of happiness she had faltered for a moment, but stayed put.

Jo chuckled; she put her hat and wig back on then folded her arms over the front of her blue costume. "It'll be soon, Twilight, I'm sure of it. It's like you said, Celestia will help."

Twilight smiled wanly up at the Ferris-wheel as they approached its base, a long silence settling in.

When Twilight broke the silence, her voice was level, with maybe a tinge of happiness. "If I don't get home, Jo. Can I stay with you?" She paused, then added, "At least, for a little while." A weak, pathetic laugh escaped. "Heh, I'm sure I could figure out a way to get by on my own with some time, but..." It was clear after she had spoken that the faux happiness in her words had been forced.

Speechlessness pierced Jo. She looked over at Twilight. "..."

The other girl had a tear at one corner of her eye.

Jo couldn't come up with anything to say exactly, except, "Yeah, Twilight, you can stay." The line between them and the Ferris-wheel shrank entirely before she could say anymore. Unknowing souls walked calmly around the two, talking amongst one another about this thing or that.

Jo eventually worked up the nerve to give her friend the reassurance, even if it might be empty, she knew she had to say it. "It won't come to that, Twilight. You've only been here, what? Almost a month? We're going to get you home, somehow." She laid a hand comfortingly on the refugee's shoulder.

Twilight kept staring up at the Ferris-wheel. "I know. Thanks, Jo." She smiled, while one of her hands gripped the side of her dress.

The lights on the Ferris-wheel twinkled and flashed, holding Twilight's attention. The sound of the crowd shifting continued to fill the air above and around the town, distracting her from having many thoughts. She watched the giant wheel for a time, then the sky and its strange clouds beyond it.

"Twilight, we're up," Jo called to her.

The fair worker they passed wore as disinterested a look as was humanly possible. He waved the girls up. Quietly, they took their spots in front of the car and sat, Twilight having to move around some in order to get comfortable. A metal bar lowered over their heads and clunked in place, securing them safely to be spun around up into the air at a leisurely pace.

The Ferris-wheel banged into motion.

"Ah-" Twilight put her hands on the bar, snapped out of her trance. Her stomach still felt off, but it was bearable. "Ooooh, boy." She smiled a little, cheered up by the sudden distraction she was now riding in. Fascinated by the churning sounds of machinery, she watched as the ground slowly moved further away. "This is really amazing." Her voice was a quiet murmur of awe. She looked over at Jo. "Human engineering is really something else. I wish we had half as many great discoveries back in Equestria, Jo." The grin couldn't be kept off her face.

Jo, meanwhile, shivered from the wind that was blowing relentlessly that high up. "It's nothing great, Twilight. It does help us a lot, though, I guess. I couldn't imagine not having running water."

Twilight laughed. "Me neither. We have running water, too, Jo."

Jo harrumphed. "Alright, internet, then." She grinned back with a wry look.

Twilight shuddered, getting a chill from the wind, and pushed her friend's shoulder jokingly. "Now that one I can certainly do without... Well, most of it anyway."

The Ferris-wheel came to a stop, allowing more people onto the ride while they were at its apex for a couple minutes.

Jo sighed. "I imagine magic is way better than what we have anyway, Twilight, judging from what you've told me. Also, Christ it's cold up here. I should've just worn my normal clothes. My legs are freezing." She pulled the two bare limbs up closer to rub them furiously with her hands.

Twilight smiled over at Jo, then laughed at her friend's frantic movement, unable to help it. "You make such a great Trixie, though, Jo. That outfit and cutie mark suits you! You're unapproachable, proud, like to push my buttons, and that's just to name a few things."

Jo picked up on the poorly hidden amusement in Twilight's voice. She ceased trying to warm up and looked over flatly. "Gee, thanks, Twilight. I'm so happy to have a friend as thoughtful and flattering as you to call my own." She stuck her tongue out, then rebusied herself with warming up.

Twilight laughed again and looked out over the edge of the Ferris-wheel's seat. "Oh, whoa, hey Jo, stop shaking the seat, heh." The feeling building in her gut was strange. Uh oh. A sense of vertigo rocketed through the bottoms of her feet all the way up her back and into her head, which began to swim. She stopped her chuckling immediately, but for some strange reason was unable to look away from the dizying height below her.. "Oh no." Suddenly, her stomach did a back flip.

"Hm?" Jo looked over at Twilight, then, the ground far below them both which she was staring at. "Are you alright, Twi'? There's nothing to worry about, this thing's perfectly safe. They keep them up to standard and everythi-" She was cut off by Twilight jerking and trying to stand up by the look of it. "Whoa! Twilight, easy, what's wro-"

"Jo! No! Get back! I need to get down and find a- I'm gonna- gonna!" Twilight covered her mouth with a hand.

Jo was getting worried. "Twilight? Twilight!? What's wro-" She recognized the look on Twilight's face too late.

10:52 PM

"I am so, so, so sorry, again, Jo." Twilight looked sadly at her friend, who still wiped at the dress she wore with wipes.

Jo grunted, but replied a second after. "It's fine, Twilight. I already said that. I shouldn't have brought you on the thing after you said you were sick, anyway."

Twilight stared sadly at the ground, feeling really bad for doing that to her friend. She'd tried not to, but it surprised her. The swimming, hazy feeling she'd had all night seemed to be gone though, for the most part. "I've never been sick like that though. I felt so great all night, too! It's really uncharacteristic of me to do that..." She trailed off, holding a hand up to her cheek in shame.

"Well, it looked great from the ground." Alice added in, smiling. The bubbly blonde had been in line with Dale, and saw the whole thing. Jo had practically been up in Twilight's face, worrying over her, when the Equestrian had lost her lunch. Most of it went over the edge to splash harmlessly on the machinery. Most of it.

"Haha, very funny, Alice." Jo gritted her teeth and snarled at Alice, then looked away angrily when the other girl gave her a look of sympathy rather than make another joke or laugh.

"Alice, I am so sorry about the dresses, too. I got both of them!" She sighed and buried her face ashamedly in her hands, which were cleaned. She was surprised by a tap on her shoulder and looked up.

"Here." Mr. Satan was holding out a bottle of water for her. "You'll want to rehydrate probably, but drink it slow."

Twilight smiled weakly and nodded. "Thank you," she replied simply. That had to be only the third or fourth time she'd ever gotten sick like that, the first few times being from some sort of poisoned cupcakes from Sugarcube Corner, and an over enthusiastic Rainbow spinning her around in the air for a laugh.

Jo sighed at the stain that was spread across her front, and the gross smell she had covering her right then. "Well, I'm ready to go home! Who's with me?" Her smile and enthusiasm were obviously fake, but the others agreed quietly. Except for Alice.

"Aaw," Alice whined, then perked up and looked between everyone, beard swaying. "What about the masquerade ball going on over at the park? Or the video game arcades? Or the party back at Jeremy and Chris' place?" She was cut off by Mr. Satan putting an arm around her and smirking.

"I think your friends will want to clean up and get some rest, Alice." The horned human chuckled.

Alice blew a raspberry, standing on her toes to come close to his face. "Oh, rest is for the weak, Lucy."

Jo raised a hand to cover Twilight's eyes at a moment's notice.

"Wait, his name is Lucy?" Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a filly's name?" She looked, confused, at everyone around her.

Lucy and Alice moved apart in surprise from that, the former laughing out of control.

Jo sighed. "Twilight," she said simply, not really having anything to add.

Twilight frowned, and protested. "Well, it sounds like one. I-" She stopped herself from asking about 'human' names. Lucy wasn't in on her secret, after all. Instead, she decided to ask about something else that had been bothering her. "Jo, I was wondering, about Jeremy-" Twilight looked up at her friend questioningly, only to be cut off abruptly by a groan from the other girl.

"Aaugh, can we not talk about him." Jo turned some, as if to go, but only took a step away from the group.

Twilight scowled before she knew it, but softened it to a light frown before her friend saw it. "Jo, he's really nice." She paused to sigh, considering things like the differences between ponies and humans, and other stuff she'd learned. She hurried to continue before Jo could start arguing. "I know what you're going to say, that I don't know him. I think you do, but that was ages ago, right? Plus," she added. "It's not right to dislike somepony because of unrelated circumstances when you don't know them." Jo's eyes widened a little at that, but Twilight kept on talking, confident she had worded Penny's words a lot better. "After all that, maybe he... isn't nice, but friendship and being kind can change those things about anypony! Nothing ventured, nothing gained, Jo. I learned that the hard way in Equestria."

Twilight smiled victoriously, and was disheartened right away when a grim-faced Jo stared back at her, as stubborn and stony eyed as ever. Twilight struggled for something she could add, someway to coax her friend out of her shell. "A-and- ! Look, he even gave his phone number in case I wanted to be friends with him. Wasn't that thoughtful?" She dug around in her bra for moment, desperate to find the friendship winning slip of paper. Ah hah! There you are, you slippery little thing. She smiled down at the slip of paper in her hand after fishing it out.

The expression Twilight saw on Jo wasn't quite what she had expected. "Uhm, Jo?" Her congratulatory look faded slowly, watching her friend.

Jo eyed the thing in the other girl's hand as if it were a poisonous viper.

Alice whooped and tossed a fist in the air, breaking the silence. "Whoo! Go Twilight. See Jo? You could learn a thing or two from-"

"Alice-" Jo finally moved by knocking a fist against her own head and cringing inward slightly.

"Whoop, sorry." Alice kneaded her robes and took a few steps back, bringing Mr. Satan along too.

"Twilight-" Jo started then went slack in her arms and looked up at the sky in defeat. "Look he was friends with- a guy. Just hand me the paper, and let's go home."

Twilight frowned, but reluctantly did so. "Jo, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upse- Hey!" She lunged for the phone number being torn up, but stopped short, too late to do anything. "Jo?" The torn bits floated to the ground. "Why in the name of Princesses did you do that?" She looked up at Jo, unable to keep from looking angry.

Jo looked up, then frowned at pieces again. "You wouldn't understand, let's just go ho-"

"I would understand, Jo." Twilight set herself in her friend's path, squaring up. "Things are different here, maybe I do need some stuff explained, but right now I know something's wrong. What is it?" She let some compassion show on her face, fighting away the reaction she'd had to the paper's destruction.

"I-" Jo took a step back from Twilight, her voice cutting short of actually speaking for a pause. When she did speak, there was pain evident in her tone. "Twilight, alright, fine. I destroyed it to protect you from him. You're stuck here and-"

"I'm flattered, Jo." Twilight made up the step Jo had taken away from her by taking one forward. "But that is not why you ripped up Jeremy's phone number. I'm not a part of this. You reacted the same way when he spoke to just you." She put a hand on Jo's arm and held one of her hands in her own. "I know it's wrong of me to pry, so I apologize, but I'm a part of this now, too. So please hear me out, I want to know, and help. Why are you acting this way towards... stallions?"

The reaction Jo made in response to Twilight was sudden, as if on command. Her jaw set and a glare that transcended pissed off burned in her eyes. It flashed away in a moment, not looking away from Twilight then returned again, though slightly diminished. However, her voice was still seething. "Look, Twilight, I get that in Equestria it's sunshine and happiness and maybe your guys are a whole heckuva lot nicer, but here they're rotten more often than not and it can take a lot of time to figure out if they're worth getting to know. Or, if you don't care and you're like Alice you can just sleep- you can just take risks like she does." Behind them both, Alice flinched at overhearing that, still hanging back. "That time is something I'm not willing to waste, and something you don't have to waste."

Twilight frowned sadly back at Jo. Thinking hard, and fighting sadness back from the way her friend was speaking to her, she took in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. Her arms stayed locked at her side, though. "Jo, you didn't answer my que-"

"It's none of your business!" Jo shouted. She pulled back after, winced, and faced away from Twilight. "I don't want to talk about it." She spoke again in little more than a mutter. "I like being your friend Twilight, but sometimes friendship isn't a be all solution. This is just me.”

Twilight watched her first friend she'd met on Earth walk away slowly.

11:01 PM

"Yeah, it was nice meeting you, Amelia. Great costume, too.” Dale kept his eyes on Alice and Jo, who were standing a little ways away, talking quietly.

The four of them had migrated slowly to the edge of the park, where no one but the occasional overly gruesome human costume was wandering.

Twilight sighed and muttered a half attentive thank you to the human. “Thanks, Lucy. It is a really nice dress. My friend, Rar- Another friend of mine makes ones for me just like this.” She ran a hand over the cloth adorning her, smiling slightly.

Lucy looked over from the other two women and stared speculatively at Twilight. He thought about bringing up all the strange in character stuff Twilight had been doing, but decided not to. It was too early to reopen an argument wound, he decided. Coughing, he stayed on the subject of the costume, instead.

“So, I could barely even tell that your hair was dyed. You should have redone it before coming, your roots are showing. Still, that costume is pretty amazing, Alice and Penny outdid themselves." Lucy leaned forward some, inspecting Twilight's hair from a polite distance, then straightened. The light from the lamp post overhead was just enough.

Twilight smiled. "Thank you Lucy, your costume is great, too.” She stared at him a moment, thinking over the bits of what he said which she didn’t understand. “What do you mean about my hair and the roots, though?" She shook the man's offered hand, tilting her head at the same time in a questioning way.

Dale chuckled, folding his broad arms in front of himself and explained what he meant. "You can just call me Dale, Amelia. I didn't mean to offend, sorry. I don't really know anything about hair." He shrugged, glancing up at her hairline again, before pointing. "Your hair, it's naturally black, isn't it?" He was surprised when Twilight grabbed the sleeve of his suit.

"Wait." Twilight's expression furrowed some from worry. A little bit of it was fear over something that didn't make sense. "No, no this is- Sorry, Dale, this is important." She licked her lips, pulling back her hands of his arm, but not lowering them to her sides. "Are you saying that my hair isn't purple right now?"

Dale raise and eyebrow, looking up at the hair in question for a moment again. "Well, the purple stops pretty abruptly there. Still, it looks great. You should have worn a wig maybe, like Jo. I know dyeing can be rough on hair. It mostly is- Hey, is something wrong?" Before he could finish, Twilight was sprinting over to where Jo was talking to Alice.

"Jo! Jo," Twilight panted. She couldn't find the words for her question, and her voice came out as a croak.

Jo looked at Alice, who nodded to her. Steeling herself, Jo faced the Equestrian again. "Twilight, look, I-.. I’m sorry, I shouldn't have said that stuff and-" She was cut off quickly by Twilight's hand waving and a cry.

"No, it's fine! I'm sorry too, and I forgive you. There’s something else important right now, please, help me." Twilight looked at Jo with the utmost seriousness after she stopped panicking quite so much.

"What's wrong?" Jo blinked, unsure of what was going on in the least.

Alice looked equally confused. "Twilight?"

"My mane." Twilight pointed up at the hair, then grabbed and shook it. "My- Is it still colored?" She shook her head, struggling to get her thoughts straight. "The roots, Dale said the roots are black. Are they!?"

Alice and Jo looked at each other skeptically, then back at Twilight. Alice looked around Twilight at Dale, who shrugged.

Jo pulled out her cell phone, turning on the light. "Let me look."

Twilight complied, the sinking feeling in her middle getting worse and worse.

Alice gasped, which wasn't what Twilight wanted to hear.

"Oh my God." Jo blinked, looking intently at Twilight's bent over head. "Twilight, your hair."

"Ooh noo." Twilight pressed her hands sadly to her eyes. She didn't know how she should feel, but she felt an unbearable sadness over the discovery.

"It's...it's pitch black," Jo murmured.

Twilight couldn't help it anymore, she started crying. "What does this mean? First my coat, my hooves, what I am, why my mane!?"

Dale walked over, having caught most of what was said. "Alright, I gotta ask, what is going on-"

"Not now, Dale." Alice chided warningly. She gave him stern look and flicked her finger as if to say, wait over there.

Dale shrugged and began to move away, causing Alice to sigh and quickly add, “Hey, lets go ahead and call it a night. I’ll call you after work, okay?” She stood up on her toes and gave him a quick smeck.

Dale gave a nod, and a quick glance at Twilight. “Yeah, sure. It was fun.”

Twilight watched Dale walk away down the street. He glanced back at them, occasionally. Or is he looking at me? It distracted her from trying to keep calm outwardly. Her breathing had slowed though.

Jo beckoned her, Alice standing close at her side. “Hey, Twilight, let’s go.”

"Twilight," Alice spoke up. "When did- It's not so bad." She gave her friend a comforting look, not quite a smile.

Twilight couldn't manage a response readily.

11:31 PM

The three made their way back to the house.

Alice trailed behind the other two slightly, thinking about the situation. Gears turned inside the blonde’s head as she stared at the natural purple hair, its base a dark black in the light of each passing lamp post. She mulled over the last month and various observations. Thoughts bubbled to the surface about what she considered facts. She spoke quietly to keep anyone from hearing her, muttering softly to herself. “It’s her natural color...”

The long walk to Alice’s home was almost completely silent between the three friends. All three girls unwilling to bring their thoughts to surface while the illuminated decor of houses passed by. Twilight wanted to speak, to talk more with Jo, but didn’t.

Twilight’s eyes drifted and tracked as some houses passed by, parents chaperoning their costumed children as they collected candy on their Nightmare Night. For a moment she could set aside her worries and problems and smile at this.

“Trick or treat!” A small group of them chorused in unison, one person answering their door and dispensing candy.

Alice was strangely quiet. It was almost unsettling because as long as Twilight had ever known her this was the longest she kept from speaking.

The drive from the apartment to Jo’s home was equally quiet; Jo staring out the window, Alice driving with a stony look, and Twilight sitting in the backseat, her hands folded in her lap. In one hand, the taciturn girl rubbed a lock of her long hair absently.

Jo stretched after making her way up her front steps of the house. From the corner of her eye she watched a slightly drained Twilight following her. Throughout the walk and drive back they hadn't necessarily spoken much. Twilight had spoken a few words in return to Jo's questions if she were alright, but not much else.

Once inside Jo’s house, Jo offered Twilight her shower. Letting her have a chance to clean up first. Even after Twilight started the shower, she could hear Alice and Jo speaking outside, keeping their voices low. It didn't take long for the two human girls to raise their voices enough for Twilight to overhear the conversation. She listened in growing distress as her friends continued.

“Then what was that with Jeremy's phone number? Huh? I know why you’re acting like this and you have no right to block her like that.”

“Oh, and you know what’s good for Twilight?”

“Well you sure don’t! So Jeremy made a move, Twilight clearly didn’t even understand. You could’ve waited and explained things!”

Twilight clenched her hands into fists as the warm water cascaded down her body. The vapors and heat finally clearing her head of its fogginess. It was so easy to tune out the arguing pair in the other room.

“Jo, I'm not mad at you, I'm mad because you need to move past-”

Every part of Twilight wanted to intervene with the arguing pair, but the relaxing rinse of the shower kept her where she was. She turned her head letting the shower head rinse noisily into her ears. The stress of listening to Alice snap and poke at Jo and Jo’s abrasive comebacks getting worse and worse.

“You practically called me a slut in front of Dale!”

"I didn't mean it like that, Alice."

Twilight opened her eyes and stared at the popcorn ceiling texture. She reached forward, blindly turning the shower off before stepping out slowly. Perhaps she was moving slower to keep from going outside too soon.

As Twilight wiped her hand over the fogged mirror, she looked at her bare form in the mirror, the words of her friends blending into the steady dripping of the faucet, releasing its final few drops of water into the shower. Her eyes stared at her reflection, the clear light drawing her eyes to the line of black hair, and the purple strands growing out from it. It was another part of her that seemed to be taken away from herself… Something that bonded her more with these humans, rather than remaining a simple vestige of what she once was. Wrapping a towel around herself Twilight looked out of the door.

Jo stood there alone, her expression saturnine as she was alone.

Twilight blinked. Where's Alice? she wanted to ask out loud, but hesitated.

The other human looked up at her, smiling weakly. “Hey, Twilight."

Twilight took a step forward, sensing a friend in need. "Are... are you okay, Jo?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Alice said to tell you goodnight." Jo's hat and the rest of the costume Alice had made her sat on the table. She wore plain clothes now.

There were all sorts of things Twilight wanted to ask, or say, things she would have with... anypony else she knew at all. With Jo though, none of it sound right to her thoughts. "Do you- Do you want to talk?" She looked down at her towel and managed a laugh. "Uh, I'll get dressed, first, of course."

"No." Jo simply replied, sighing. "I need to cool down, Twilight.” She turned away, walking past and into the shower room. Her memories and emotions got the best of her.

Twilight went to the bedroom and looked back to the bathroom door. She weighed whether talking to Jo or waiting until later to ask was better. The latter option seemed to fit best with Jo’s personality. I wish I had the right words to help. She got dressed in some pajamas and decided to wait until Jo was out. Her friend stayed in the shower for close to half an hour. When she did leave, she donned a tank top and shorts, then sat at Twilight's reading table with a soda.

Twilight took a seat next to Jo, whose stare was a million miles away. Her eyes blinked rapidly a bit, as if to read the wall a moment before looking quietly at Twilight. She opened her mouth to say something, but couldn’t will anything to come out.

Jo shook her head, as if a silent conversation were happening between them.

Twilight leaned back with a nod, saying that she understood.

They sat quietly, both exhausted from the long night.

Twilight watched her friend sip at her glass, and soon got up to fetch herself some water.

Jo watched her go, and finished her glass. She got up as well to top it off. They both stood there, drinks in hand and looked at each other.

Thinking over the nights events, Jo finally spoke, catching Twilight by surprise.

“I had fun.”

Author's Notes:

Originally had the lyrics to the song, but, after that post came up I felt it better not to catch any flak over the matter, and removed it.

Now, if you can't guess why I thought that song was appropriate then I apologize, I'll get the crayons and draw you a diagram pronto.

Oh, and I'll just dispel it here, because I don't want speculation over this. No, I'm not shipping anypony, or anybody in this fic. I've got an overarching plot to worry about, and even ignoring that, I despise shipping in a story focused on something other than the ship. I also despise most shipping, anyway. It's great if not done with the main cast, honestly, but ships involving anything from the show but background characters, or comedy ships, kind of irk me.

Just throwing that out there, guys! More to come soon!

Also, I find it terribly clever, but Mary and Bobby made up in their story, and Twi' and Jo did the opposite after a fashion. It probably degrades any cleverness that might actually be there by pointing it out, but I can't help it!

Sorry this was so late, meant to publish it three days ago, yeesh.

Lastly, a huge thank you to both Stormy Weather and Firebirdbtops for helping with editing, this was a huge chapter, and they were a big asset to me while writing.

Chapter 21 : Herd of Nerds

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"You... had fun, Jo?"

"Well yeah, of course I did. I mean, okay, things fell apart a bit at the end, but that was all my fault."

"...That is true."

"..."

"Uhm, sorry. Does it help if I say you weren't wrong earlier, just tactless?"

"...Yeah. A little, I guess. Sorry again about that."

"It's fine."

"..."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it, Jo? Bottling things up isn't healthy, I think, but I won't tell you how to handle your past."

"...It's fine, Twilight, I'll keep it to myself. It's not important anyway, I shouldn't have acted the way I did."

"And the things you said about Alice?"

"...Yeah, those too."

"I won't ask about the connotations of what upset her so much, but I guess they're pretty bad."

"Oh. You heard us yelling, huh."

"It wasn't intentional, but I did, sorry. I stopped listening to a lot of it."

"..."

"Hey, Twilight?"

"...?"

"Are you sure you don't hate me?"

Twilight stared a moment, then laughed. "Yes, I hate you so much, and no longer want to be your friend. I have only my own interests in mind."

Jo's mouth dropped open, then understanding crept onto her expression. "Was that cynicism? Oh no, you've been hanging out with humans too much, we've corrupted you."

The two girls both laughed quietly together.

"... That can't really happen, can it?"

A little over a week later.

The back office in the townhouse was quiet except for the rapid clicking of small, plastic buttons. In the room was a desk, three bookcases—two of which were recently added—a lamp, a chair, a computer, and finally, a girl with mostly purple hair. There was also a cat, purring softly in the girl's lap while she pecked away at her keyboard.

The room itself wasn't large, but it was adjacent to the bedroom the girl had been using for more than a month now. She had also taken to wearing clothing constantly, walking in the strange way the local inhabitants did, and much, much more. It didn't upset her any longer, but it seated a deep sense of longing in her heart; for home. Equestria never seemed so far away to the girl as it did when something small reminded her of the predicament, whether it be a pleasant walk outside amidst the all too human town, or seeing her reflection.

The girl reached over for the mug of coffee she'd procured for herself earlier that night, only to lift it and find the weight to be a bit too light.

Twilight frowned and looked down into the mug, meeting the empty bottom with her eyes. "It's empty already?" Her eyes widened, surprised. She rubbed them both with her hands after realizing how heavy their lids felt. "I guess I need a refill..." She began to rise, but stopped and remembered the little animal currently taking up space on her lap. She looked down at the cat, and the cat stared back up at her with its calm eyes and peaceful demeanor, still purring.

A slight noise of struggle came out of Twilight's throat. "Please move?" She asked it politely, but true to the behavior all of Jo's cats shared, it remained seated and unmoving. It didn't scowl or hiss or anything, and it could certainly be ignoring her, but it was too difficult to tell. Suffice to say, the cat didn't move.

Twilight sighed and looked at the computer again, sitting back once more while hoping that the cat might get the hint eventually.

Displayed on the screen facing Twilight was a myriad of materials which she had been studying for weeks now. Still, they barely scratched the surface. Every topic from quantum mechanics to general relativity lay opened, as well as several community sites she had found for just those things. Though she had begun seeking such things to get home, it was painfully clear to her that the knowledge, though impressive, barely helped, if at all. It was very interesting, and that alone had kept her attention in between the other little things that filled her time, but she didn't feel it put her closer to Equestria.

Not much, anyway.

Hoping that Celestia could find her, somehow, was her only hope. After learning of the vastness of the human's world, that almost seemed impossible to consider a possibility.

Twilight paused her browsing, and stared solemnly at a picture of outer space's vastness. She had never imagined that a realm so vast could even exist. It made her wonder about just how much was known about her own world; how big it was. Anything could be out there, her thoughts considered, and not for the first time. Whenever she looked at the pictures, both real from the new 'James Webb Space Telescope' which replaced the 'Hubble' in 2018, or fake from a computer, she considered the possibilities of what other places might exist. Out in the vastness, were there worlds just like Earth, or perhaps like hers. She knew there was no way for her to know with the resources she had at hoof, or in this situation, at hand.

Suddenly, without warning, the cat sitting in Twilight's lap got up, stretched, and left without a sound or reason as to why.

Twilight made a thin frown and tracked the retreated feline with her eyes a moment. "Alright, I guess you're going to go then." She harrumphed slightly in response, then resigned herself to the change. Getting back to what she had been planning, she stood up to get more coffee, grabbing her mug along the way.

After the door to the office opened, Twilight was in the 'living' room to Jo's house, where the front door also lay, as well as the staircase leading to the second floor. She strode across the carpeted floor in a half daze, thinking about nothing in particular, which was rare. The night had an odd feeling about it for her. Spotting the front door, she briefly considered, then tiredly decided against going for an evening stroll through the town.

Twilight hadn't journeyed the concrete sidewalks of the town for over a week, waiting for the Halloween decorations that humans used en masse to be taken down, first. They weren't her favorite thing to look at.

After the thought passed, an oddity to Twilight's left caught her attention. There was something very surprising coming from the upstairs, which was nothing. For once, Jo's room on the second floor was completely quiet, where usually came a plethora of noises from either her loud music playing around the clock, or the quite often distasteful things called 'video games'.

Twilight stopped at the foot of the stairs and stared up the staircase a moment. That's weird. Is she asleep, this early? Since Jo did have sleep habits comparable to Twilight's own, her still being up or not was by no means a good way to judge the time for the ex-unicorn. She realized she wasn't entirely sure what time it was, but it couldn't be that late if she was only on her second cup of coffee. After glancing at her mug she decided to head up and ask if her friend would like something from the kitchen for her own night time habits as well; just in case of the likely scenario that Jo was awake.

Twilight thought about the chaotic 'video game' sound that was currently absent and her own experience with the things she had entertained some mild curiosity over. If they just weren't so violent... but maybe I could give them another try, just to get my mind off things like Jo suggested. She sighed over the thought, taking step after slow step to climb the stairs.

Before the Halloween outing her two human friends had taken her on, the brown haired girl of the pair had offered a few 'simple' options of the video games she herself seemed to spend a lot of time on.

Twilight briefly recalled the one she had tried, and beaten in minutes. It had been a virtual card game that resembled one from her home, which had also been called 'Solitaire'. The identical state of the game aside, it had been a short distraction which she had forgotten about after her first victory. Other than that, she hadn't tried out the others, merely investigated them over Jo's shoulder. Another she had recalled being named 'Tetris'.

Simply enough, Twilight hadn't found it in her to try and play games while being so desperate to get home. It didn't feel right, and even the occasional night outings she had enjoyed—for the most part—with Jo and Alice had put her in the mood to investigate human science almost nonstop.

After beginning to think of the way she tackled her recent studies, Twilight was reminded of the warning Jo had given her about the games and their addictiveness, though she couldn't imagine how a mere game could be that good. Nevertheless, with that in mind, she had yet to dare trying any of them in earnest. Getting home was the bigger priority, not being distracted by something trivial.

Moderation never was my strong suit, Twilight considered warily after reaching the top of the staircase. The thought reminded her of something else; that learning and coming to know her own weaknesses had been a long and arduous journey for her. It was a little embarrassing for her, as well, knowing that a great many of those private moments had been advertised to entertain others on Earth. The circumstance still made her wonder sometimes, as well as unsettled her. She frowned as she opened the door to Jo's room.

Oh well, it isn't serious. I'm sure I'm over that; aren't I? I mean, the cartoon greatly exaggerated my habits of course, and it was just for the intention of having a little fun. Plus, they didn't know that Equestria was anything more than a made up story land and-

"Hey, Twilight, you in there?" Jo said for the third time. She leaned over the side of her chair some, tilting her head to wave a hand within her ex-unicorn friend's line of sight. "Helloooo?"

Twilight came out of her daze, mouth slightly agape. "Uu-wah?"

Satisfied she had her friend's attention now, Jo continued. "I said, 'What's with the frown? Did someone say something to you on your forum again?'" She smirked and leaned casually on an arm rest.

"Oh, no, and you're awake, great. It wasn't that, Jo. Uhm, hello." Twilight held her mouth open for a second, then closed it. Oh drat, why was I in here again? She suddenly couldn't remember what she was doing in her friend's room. I always do this, I get distracted and then I-

Jo gave Twilight a lopsided smile. "Uh, hello, heh," she replied, seeing Twilight stare off at a wall again. "What's up?" The other girl sat back in her computer chair and spun it around to face Twilight.

"Uhm." Twilight's eyes widened slightly and looked around the room searching for what she had been up to. Darnit, was I going to ask if she'd made up with Alice yet? No, it wasn't that. Something to do with Equestria? Giving up, she laughed weakly and shrugged. "I- It seems I've forgotten 'what's up', Jo." She stepped into the room, unsure of what to do next. She settled on sitting down at the couch present.

Jo hummed, watching her taller friend walk across her room. "Did you just want company?" She asked.

Twilight set the mug down on the coffee table. "Maybe, I mean, yes." She laughed nervously, squinting at the mug some. Oh, it's empty, I should refill that.

Jo crossed her arms. "I actually haven't seen you except in passing for three days, Twi'. I keep expecting you to burst into my room shouting hallelujah over something to do with those crystals." Her eyes flickered up to Twilight's hair. She could see where the dark purple slowly shifted to black now that she knew to look for it. She tried not to stare, it was doubtful that Twilight would want it brought up.

Twilight tilted her head up from staring at the mug, thinking over what Jo had mentioned.

The unexplainable crystals.

They had reacted to stimulus from living contact, but other than a light show they did little else. Even a few other tests had given very little insight. An electrical current made them light up, too, and dropping them made them ring, but they may as well just be rocks for all they were worth.

The lack of produced results had put Twilight on edge for an entire afternoon. She couldn't control magic any longer, she couldn't even feel it. Just the phantom presence of the horn that she had once adorned her forehead usually irked her at least a little bit. I still don't understand why Jo had asked I test those crystals outside in the field though. The basement seemed a safe enough place...

Twilight huffed a breath out and responded to Jo. "That would be nice, actually, if I could come up with a solution like that from the crystals. They may help... but I don't know. I would at least need to get my hooves, darnit, my hands on an electron microscope or some other good, human technology to conduct better tests. I'm afraid I don't think anything would happen though. I- Well, maybe it would work. I don't want to sound defeatist, Jo." She smiled some at her friend, acting on the memory of Jo's encouragement. The other human had developed a habit of talking out against any negative speculation.

Jo seemed contented by that, giving Twilight a slight smile.

Twilight continued. "Has it been three days? Goodness." She held a hand up to her lips, thinking hard over how quickly time had passed by. The last few days were a blur of websites and books without Alice dropping in occasionally. "Uhm, how was your day?" she asked in an attempt to make up for things.

Jo shrugged, still reclined in her wheeled computer chair. "Pretty good, got some work done on an assignment; the little bit you didn't finish already, that is. I think you cleared out my work load for the next few weeks, by the way." Her eyebrow twitched up at that. "I tried to thank you for it earlier after I noticed, but you seemed pretty enthralled by your computer downstairs. Actually, I can't tell you how surprised I was by that. By the quality, too."

"Oh, I'm sorry. You're welcome Jo it was-" Twilight scrunched her face slightly, then slapped a hand to her forehead. "Oh no! That's right, I fell asleep last night before I finished, didn't I? I'm so sorry Jo, I had that noted down and I must not have checked my work schedule list before touching on my research schedule list this morning- Or this afternoon, rather, I slept in a whole lot and-"

"Twilight." Jo almost had to shout, but saying the other girl's name several times calmly eventually got her to cut off abruptly. "It's fine, better than fine. I'm grateful. But, I told you, you don't need to help me with my job..." Jo mused over the two or three times she had tried to help Twilight with what she was working on. Other than getting the prone to zone out girl food though, there was little she found she could offer as help. String theory was definitely not Jo's cup of tea. "What about your research actually, let's talk about that. Anything new?"

Twilight ran a nervous hand over one arm, frowning at the ground. "Nothing noteworthy. I've been looking into the theories and ideas of human science for the most part since I began. The mechanical and electrical side of your sciences had my attention from the start, but other than improvements on things that already exist I haven't gotten any ideas." She took a breath after saying so much and sat back limply, an arm draped over on side of the couch. "Certainly nothing like, say, a device that could take me home. It just doesn't seem plausible. I found several references in your cultural media that had some fascinating concepts, though. Stargates, warp drives, traveling at the speed of light, even hyper-dimensional gateways. I'd never before conceived even the idea of those things."

Twilight tossed her head over the couch's back to stare up at the ceiling, lost in wonder over some of the ideas that humanity had dreamt up. They all seemed to go so far beyond the scope of what ponykind was keen on inventing, even just for books and stories. "I looked briefly into just how all this wanderlust might have started for mankind, but it seems like it goes back forever. Even your ancient civilizations held a fascination with your own stars and sun."

The clock on the wall ticked softly, and the fans in Jo's computer hummed in the quiet that entered the room.

Twilight looked up. "Jo?"

The other girl removed the hand covering her mouth. "Sorry I'm... probably the worst person to talk to about that stuff, Twilight." She was leaning forward on her knees, elbows propped. "I've never really cared to wonder about the unknown. I've always figured if it doesn't concern me than it might as well be a waste of time."

Twilight frowned a little. "Oh. Well, there's nothing wrong with that. Certainly." She thought hard on what her friend said. It actually made her think about ponies back home. "That... sounds pretty familiar, really."

Jo raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Twilight blinked rapidly and ran a hand over her tired eyes. "Well, I- Hah." A quick laugh came out of her, finding the thought amusing. "I just had a thought. You're the human and you sound a bit like a pony. I'm the pony, and I'm the one filled with the endless curiosity I've seen so evident in your race."

Jo stared at the other giggling girl a moment, then rotated her chair. "Gee, humble much there, Twilight?" she said, sporting a grin, looking away slowly..

Twilight's mouth dropped open a little in offense. "Hey, I-" She caught onto her friend's humor a second later. "Oh, I see. I didn't mean it like that, of course, merely that humans seem less... 'down to Earth' than ponies, is how you would say it, I believe." She waved a hand in the air as she spoke, gesturing idly in the way she did when making a point.

Jo smirked back and turned to face her again. "Honestly, my world is pretty much this town, and... before I met you, I would have never believed there was anything fantastic or thrilling out there to find. Now? God dammit, I just want to get out there, actually. A little, not a lot, but a little bit." She let out an aggravated groan and rubbed the back of her head. "Maybe, I dunno."

Twilight giggled over her human friend's indecisiveness. "Well, I will say this, coming here has opened my eyes to just how little I think ponies know about even our own world. Humans have reached out to touch everything. That space shuttle expedition you're doing right now to the asteroid belt? Fascinating. I've read logs about pony expeditions to Zebrica, and a few other places, but nowhere nearly as far away as... as outer space is here."

Jo studied the other girl a moment. Twilight began staring up at the ceiling again as she spoke, arms tossed over either side of the couch. When she talked about science, or the world, she always sounded so inspirational. Jo had never heard anything like that before, not from politicians on television or even her family or parents, telling her about what life was or meant.

Twilight tapped a finger on her lip, still wondering her thoughts aloud. "It makes me wonder what the ether around Equestria really is. Is it the limit? Or is there an ever growing expanse of nothingness just beyond it, like here. I'd always believed our stars were the extent of the world, even after hearing that from Princess Celestia herself. After learning your stars are actually other suns, just a lot farther away, I'm not so sure. I always loved astronomy, finding out it's a completely different science elsewhere has me questioning a lot of things."

This sort of talk was a bit much for Jo. Twilight, I'm fine with you rambling, but I don't understand what you're trying to get at. She kept the thoughts to herself and a smile on her face. Or maybe that's the point. She has no point and she's just saying things until something makes sense? Oh God, now she's got me doing it... She shook her head and stood up quickly.

"Well, I bet that exploring in Equestria is more dangerous, right? It make sense you cute little guys wouldn't do it a whole lot." Jo let out some nervous laughter with that, thinking over the giant monsters and animals from the show.

Twilight glanced at the ceiling and gave a thoughtful sound. "True, even Equestria still has the Everfree, and maybe a couple other dangers. I guess in hindsight it makes sense that other ponies are so skittish."

"Other ponies?" Jo laughed for real this time. "This coming from the one that got scared into clutching a pie all through the night by Halloween decorations?"

Twilight scrunched her face up at the other woman. "Hey, if you'd woken up and hadn't..." An exasperated huff escaped her and she fell back into the couch, relenting. "Alright I'll admit, I let my fear get the best of me that time." She frowned and crossed her eyes slightly to give the impression she was looking up at her forehead. "I just feel so helpless without my horn."

Jo wasn't sure what to say to that. She knew she was rubbish at talking, let alone being an optimist or upbeat. Changing the subject seemed like a good way to keep the conversation from taking a turn downward. "Well, I need some coffee, Twilight. How about-" She was quickly interrupted.

"Coffee! Oh my gosh, I forgot! Coffee, coffee, oh, would you like some Coffee? I was going to ask you and I completely forgot. Oh, you just said you'd like some. Haha, silly me. I'll be right back with your coffee!" And just like that Twilight had scooped up her mug again and was thumping back downstairs. "Wait right there, Jo!" she called back up the steps.

Jo flapped her arms at her sides and sat back down, her attempt at getting a word in before the unicorn had escaped had been a complete failure. I really wish Twilight could calm down for once. Uggh, it's probably my fault that she can't... Maybe we could switch to decaf.

To Jo, it seemed Twilight was in a perpetual state of being high-strung, and worse, she had every right to be. From the moment she woke up until she began studying, she was a ball of worries ready to be discharged at terminal velocities. The amount of time she spent cooped up was always the worrying part. Jo let her do it, then felt bad about it.

I guess... all of her research is just a psychology thing. Jo grimaced slightly and kicked her feet up on the corner of her desk. When someone feels like they have no control over the greater portion of their lives, they tend to try to find a way to control what they can. For Twilight, studying is her outlet, even if she really thinks it's hopeless. After a brief pause, she added to the thought. Hopeless or not, I'm sure Twilight's fine.

At least, that was what Jo told herself to try and believe Twilight was alright.

The sound of footsteps had Jo looking up towards her door, startled. She nearly tipped her chair back too far and jumped forward with a strangled yelp, which was made worse by the now thundering footfalls in the hallway.

"Jo!" Twilight banged open the door and all but fell into Jo's room. Her eyes were wide with something that could only be sheer terror.

"What? What's wrong?" Jo was afraid now. She wondered, what had happened that had gotten Twilight past slightly frantic and into a full blown panic? "Did you start another fire? Is it another global warming scare? Twilight, if this is about pollution again-"

"What? No, no, none of that. This is a much more pressing matter! Though you really should look into helping that direness of pollution, Jo-"

Jo interrupted her friend and crossed her arms smartly. "Twilight."

Twilight shook her head, sending her long hair from side to side in a wave. "Right, sorry." She took a breath and set her empty mug down on the table. "We're out of coffee." The purple haired girl's eyes were widened to their utmost as she looked at Jo.

...

Jo stood up. "Alright, there's a twenty-four-seven store in town, let's go."

Twilight's bedroom—though she didn't think of it as hers—was quiet.

She gently ran a thumb over a lock of her hair in one hand without realizing it, staring down at the pad of paper. In her other hand, she held a fresh, and full cup of coffee, the thing that would propel her safely into the night and stave off sleep at a timely hour. The trip to the store had been uneventful, though she did feel bad in hindsight for dashing into the convenience the way she had. It hadn't seemed like the cashier human had appreciated that.

On the lighter side of things, Twilight considered, she had also gotten an ice cream sandwich. An ice cream sandwich. It seemed humans spared no expense or creativity when it came to food. That was one thing she knew that she had to tell Pinkie Pie about after she got home.

If she got home. Twilight hoped she would get home.

Shaking the thought out of mind, Twilight refocused on her pad of paper. It had been a week since her last letter to the princess, thus marking the time of the week she would write another. The last one had been a lengthy document indeed. The first real fight she had ever witnessed between humans had happened, and she got a deeper look into what their friendships were like, too.

The letter Twilight had written had mostly been speculation, and she had been disappointed she had to admit that the issue might as well have been unresolved. In the end, she had decided to stay out of Alice's and Jo's affairs, for now. Even if she was their friend, too.

Twilight ran the back of her hand over the paper, still thinking of how to start her letter. The smoothness of the material felt good on her skin, something that still got the better of her attention. She didn't really prefer the smoother sheets of paper, necessarily. But she had become accustomed to using her ringed notebooks over the good, magic made parchment from her home. In any case, she made do.

Twilight sighed, then tossed an arm to her right and snagged her freshly poured coffee. She took a sip, testing that its warmth was not too great, then tossed her head back, finishing off the cup in two big gulps.

"Ah," she held her eyes shut a moment, reveling in the caffeine. Next, her pen met paper, ready to compose, pen in hand.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Hello again!

To start with, I'm afraid this letter, much like the others, is also not a friendship report. Oh, wait, silly me. I almost forgot that the last one was, well, sort of. Still, it feels odd writing about things other than the usual. Actually, Alice was begging me to write a short story for some reason. I may do that if I find the time. By the way Princess, Alice hasn't dropped by again since the last letter. I'm worried about that, but I haven't brought it up to Jo yet. I think I should let them handle it in their own way, I am a stranger here after all.

Now then. This letter is planned to mostly be more reports on my findings and thoughts, actually. I apologize if these ever get boring, Princess, assuming you get the chance to read them, that is. Now, where to begin? Oh dear, I also apologize for not planning my letter out better ahead of time. My notes have some key points laid out, but I've been out of sorts this past week.

Twilight had to resist pausing from writing to rake a hand through her hair, and pressed on, scribbling quickly. She had already written about the hair's changes, and left out specifics this time around.

Actually, I did get a great deal of interesting research done, as well as meet more humans on the internet. They're very friendly, for the most part. I tried convincing some of them I was really Twilight Sparkle, but that just made them laugh at me or change the subject. I suppose that makes sense, really. Even talking about theoretical methods of dimensional travel would go south the moment I mention Equestria. My only fortune thus far has been had while leaving out home altogether.

Still, even then, the majority of them don't seem to want to do more than 'chat' as they call it, casually. Oh well, perhaps all of this won't get me home, but it's all I have as of yet.

Twilight paused a moment, frowning at the sheet, then smiled and tried to pick up the mood of the letter.

I know there must be a way home. I got here somehow to begin with, didn't I? Sorry Princess, I'm getting a bit outspoken. Anyway, I've formed a hypothesis that parts of the scientific theory humans call 'quantum mechanics' may indeed be magic in this world, or a form of it, at least. I lack my horn though, or any other discernible way to detect magic, along with it. Humans lack a similar means of testing and detecting certain aspects of quantum mechanics. Large portions of quantum mechanics are mostly applied theoretical concepts, with some observable qualities.

Sound familiar?

Those theories share some similarities besides that, too, but I've only just begun to read into it... Virtual particles seem promising... Perhaps humans have found other ways I haven't read of yet?

At first, it seemed more than evident that magic simply didn't exist here. But what if it does? Still, it's a stretch, and I have nothing to go off of, so it may be that I'm just seeing what I want to. If not, maybe I will figure something out.

Twilight sat back slightly to scratch an itch on her back, studying the empty coffee mug beside herself at the same time. She wanted a refill, but held off, for now, instead looking back to her letter. It's still short. What could I add... Let's check my notes.

She flipped through another of her notepads until she found what she wanted, and smiled wanly at the words that had been recorded earlier that week.

Well, moving on to something different, I found out more about humans and the dire situation their world is in. For example, I found a fascinating excerpt from a piece of human cinematography that was made during the second world war I wrote to you about. They are quite good at capturing emotion and drama in the form of literature and other mediums. I may ask Jo if I can watch it, though I'm hesitant to know what will be in the film. A friend I met on the internet showed me the quote after I got in a rather... heated political debate with him. Nevertheless, here's the excerpt.

"We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone, and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little."

I've already shared my thoughts of 'mankind' in very strict detail with you, Princess. Everything I've thought of them or the conclusions I've come to are even shared by some of their greatest philosophers. I guess when I get down to it, all I can really say is that they're a great deal more complicated than anything I've ever encountered before. I'm curious now, if there are creatures like them on our world. Are the gryphons? The Minotaurs? Some old, secret race of creatures locked away in Tartarus? Perhaps our world mirrors theirs more than I first thought. Could humans be in Equestria, somewhere?

I'm sorry, Princess, I'm just recapitulating questions I've asked already in other letters. I was merely reminded of the quote by Jo's and Alice's predicament. I really hope I'm not wrong about their distancing themselves from one another being part of their healing process. There's so little to go on that's certain with 'people'. With ponies, it seemed I had come to learn we always open up to the caring or companionship of others if it's offered, eventually. I've just found so much in human society to suggest that any one person could be receptive or refusing of just that. Worse, ignoring or shutting themselves away from the emotions of others, seems more than normal for them.

Friendship isn't a sometimes misunderstood concept, like in Equestria, but a triviality on Earth. Well, human nature confounds me, as does their world as a whole. Peace and Harmony are hard won concepts here, rather than truth.

Twilight took a breath in, calming her heartbeat and rotating her wrist slightly from writing so fast. It was a great deal more difficult to write with a hand, rather than her horn. She had adjusted to the change, but the cramps that came along with the incredibly dexterous appendage did force the occasional break.

I apologize for letting my letter take a dire turn yet again, Princess. I seem to write about one thing and it leads to another. Once again I find myself wishing for my friends from home, for strength.

Actually, as long as I'm on the topic of home, I have been wanting to watch the human television show of us again. I have hesitated to write about the human's knowledge of us since the last unfortunate circumstances I wrote to you about, Princess, but I have had a great deal worthy of note on my mind lately.

For instance, there is the oddity of the time difference between our worlds that I mentioned in my second journal entry letter to you. According to my findings, the television show itself that humans made, based on us, was made several years before the events within them actually happened! The show aired here in the year 2010 of the human's calendar, close to Nightmare Night, thirteen years ago. Is that relevant?

I do not know.

It's 2023 right now, and strangely, the show from thirteen years ago depicts events that happened as recently as this last summer, in Equestria. Are they a sort of prediction? A prophecy? I've been busy with my research, but I've also been hesitant to watch further than I already have. Could the next episode hold secrets to the events of our actual Equestria in the future?

I can't say, really. Goodness, there's even the possibility that somehow you, myself, all of us, are a product of the human's imagination, somehow made tangible? I know it sounds crazy, Princess, but could it be possible?

I was speaking with Jo earlier, about how little I feel is actually known about the world. Sometimes, I feel like everything is just run by an army of 'Discords', pulling the strings where nopony can see.

Uggh.

Twilight had to pause briefly to quell the queasy feeling in her stomach that thought brought on.

Well, I know I'm real, and I doubt that humans made our world, anyway. My other theory, which is far more sound, is supported in part by some concepts in human science. I believe it possible that I have been tossed through time into the future in correlation to Equestria, or possibly that my transportation here was not as instantaneous as it felt to me. I think this possibility frightens me the most, Princess. If this is true, then you've been looking for me for decades, or longer. If that much is true, then It's unimportant, Princess. Either one day you will read these, and everything will be okay, and my worrying is all for nothing, or you won't.

Twilight paused to wipe her face with the back of one hand. A drop of moisture had hit the page she was writing on. The roof must be leaking... I should tell Jo. Her pen revisited the page after a moment, deciding to move to the next topic she had desired to write about.

Jo seems lonely, but happy in her own way though, and Alice is very outgoing and friendly, so I don't worry about them. I think I've made the right decision by letting their own friendship with one another become their solution, rather than my intervention.

Perhaps I'm over thinking everything again, Princess. I desperately wish I had one of my friends or you to talk to about this. All the same, whether their behavioral patterns are more similar or more different than ours, I do feel a strong bond with my new friends here, at least. If the majority of humans are like them, as Jo says they are and my research widely supports, I see no reason why we could not all live in peace.

I believe that is all I will write for now Princess. I promise to be more upbeat next letter! This makes two that have been a little dreary, now.

-Your ever faithful student, Twilight Sparkle

Twilight read over the sheet of paper in her hands carefully, double checking, and then triple checking her grammar for errors. She found none and closed the notebook, satisfied. "Another week, another letter home that I can't send." She wore a slight smile after she spoke, the words not so much being a sign of her unhappiness as they were a reflection of her predicament.

Twilight rose up with her coffee mug and walked through the home for another cup. She wasn't tired, not yet, likely from sleeping in past noon that day, like most days. Without Spike to get her up her sleep schedule seemed to go more awry with each night. She spotted the coffee mug and poured another cup, noting to brush her teeth extra carefully later. Human coffee seemed to have the unfortunate side effect of staining teeth, as Jo had warned.

Twilight theorized it may have something to do with how strong it seemed to be.

The more normal sound of pretend gunfire echoed down from Jo's room now. Twilight gave the stairs a passing glance as she walked carefully through the home's dark back to the computer, thinking over how she would like to spend the rest of her own evening. I could look for cheap methods of obtaining powerful electronics again. Gosh, why is everything so expensive in this country? Perhaps if I explored markets outside of this one...

Still thinking over the possibilities at her disposal, Twilight sat down in her office room, and almost missed the quiet sound of a ding from her laptop.

"What's this?" Twilight studied the message. It was from a fellow user on a tech site she frequented. The human went by the alias 'DoctorEvil', disturbingly enough. This had put Twilight on edge a little when talking to him at first. Her wariness had been for naught however, as the man proved himself to be a very kind person on the internet, in contrast to many others. That, and he also politely informed her that he was not, in fact, evil, and that his name was merely a reference to a character from a comedy.

The internet persona seemed to be in charge of the forum, which was for the most part quite professional, with only a few exceptions of visionaries or the scientifically inclined that would become a bit too engrossed in an opinion.

Curious, and legitimately interested, Twilight clicked the message in order to read it.

'Twilight, a few of the guys on the forums have gotten curious about some of the topics you've posted around the forums, as I'm sure you know. We all pester you about it constantly after all, I'm sure I don't know how you find the time to talk so much about everything.'

Twilight let out an embarrassed bit of laughter at that, but kept reading.

'Nevertheless, we're in a chat right now and were wondering if you would like to join us. A couple of them are a bit rowdy and not everyone's here, but as you know we're a tight-knit group. It would be a pleasure to include you in tonight's discussion. Below is a link to the chat room in question, hope to see you.

-DoctorEvil'

Not really thinking twice about it, Twilight clicked on the offer that had been extended to her.

*Twilight Sparkle has entered the chat*

n3rdlinger42: lies!1! there's no way that makes sense, the enterprise's power grid is a fraction of a star destroyer's. The feds would get annihilated.

n3rdlinger42: Oh, miniaturized horse has appeared.

TheBrainofMorbius: Really, who let the brony in here?

DoctorEvil: I did. She's really nice, a site contributor, and well behaved. Why wouldn't I let her in?

Twilight Sparkle: Hello everypony! ^_^

TheBrainofMorbius: You don't seriously think she's actually a girl, do you?

Twilight Sparkle: You know, I'm right here...

DoctorEvil: Why would that be relevant? You're just upset she told off your crackpot theories soundly in the astrophysics thread.

Quark-Kent: By the way, am I the only one that found that argument ironic? Anyway, hi Twilight! Welcome aboard the crazy train! Choo-Choo!

TheBrainofMorbius: It's not a her I tell you!

\Excitable-Electron/: Yay, Twi's here! All hail the unicorn master race! :D

Twilight Sparkle: Uhm, hi again guys. You too, Morbius. : )

TheBrainofMorbius: Indeed.

DoctorEvil: Just quit while you're ahead, Brain.

Twilight Sparkle: Could somepony explain why it's important I'm a girl? Are there no other girls in here?

Quark-Kent: Please Twilight, everyone knows there are no girls on the internet. (just kidding)

TheBrainofMorbius: If you're going to shorten my name, it isn't 'Brain'. It's Morbius.

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, I see.

DoctorEvil: It's fine Twilight, you're always welcome on the forum, or here.

TheBrainofMorbius: Could someone at least tell it to stop adding the word 'pony' to every. single. phrase.

Twilight Sparkle: If I'm upsetting anyone I can go? Also, I'm totally a 'she', not an 'it'.

TheBrainofMorbius: I am not upset. And I don't care.

Quark-Kent: I'm sure the Dr. Who-fanatic means no offense Twilight, he's just... Saiyin. ;)

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, thank you Quark. Also, not to be rude, but it's spelled saying*

Quark-Kent: Oh, no trouble. Uhm, and no, it's Saiyin*. It's a reference to an old TV show redub. Never mind, I'll keep my internet pop culture to myself.

DoctorEvil: Please do.

n3rdlinger42: Alsoalso, it's spelled Saiyan, nerd.

DoctorEvil: Alright everyone settle down, this isn't 4chan or something.

TheBrainofMorbius: It might as well be by all rights... We have blasted ponies in here now it's just a matter of time until the other boot drops.

n3rdlinger42: U know, i have always wondered Twilight, is Pinkie Pie's or Fluttershy's badonkadonk nicer?

DoctorEvil: And consider that your first warning for the chat, Mr. meaning-of-life.

Twilight Sparkle: What's a badonkadonk?

n3rdlinger42: I'll be good...

Twilight Sparkle: Wait! I can look it up. Oh, I just love the convenience offered by search engines.

TheBrainofMorbius: I am not going to stay in here if this room revolves around the brony rather than the scheduled chat-topic!

DoctorEvil: Uhm, Twilight?

n3rdlinger42: Finally, answers!

Twilight was the foremost expert on her friends, and even if the humans wouldn't believe anything she had to say about Equestria, least of all these guys, she could at least give insight within the context of the show. She skillfully typed in the strange term 'Fluttershy's badonkadonk' into Google in order to get a frame of reference and...

She struggled to type an answer.

Twilight Sparkle: ...I

n3rdlinger42: Yes? ^.^

DoctorEvil: You can just ignore anything 42 says that isn't topical, Twilight. The rest of us do. It's how we get anything done.

Twilight Sparkle: That wouldn't be very nice, though. :/ Also, Mr. n3rd, I'm afraid I don't have an answer for you.

n3rdlinger42: Aw... :(

TheBrainofMorbius: Well that's a laugh, the idea of us getting anything done around here.

DoctorEvil: Alright, take it easy.

\Excitable-Electron/: LoL, hey Twilight, watch this video that I just found from back in the day. It's the funniest thing ever.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at what Electron said, but hesitantly clicked the link. She had only known these fellows for a few weeks, but they were mostly upstanding and serious about the sciences when it came down to it. At least, they were in the forum pages... They seemed to be acting quite out of sorts here in the chat.

What Twilight saw in the link had her at a loss for words.

Twilight Sparkle: Uhm, Electron, I don't think I understand that one. Is it broken?

\Excitable-Electron/: It's... well the original was of a lunar exploration game. The audio was a text to speak program

DoctorEvil: Electron, this is a serious chat, don't post anything random, please.

Twilight Sparkle: The ending frightens me...

\Excitable-Electron/: Bweahaha, excellent.

n3rdlinger42: Fear is the path to hate, Twilight...

Twilight Sparkle: Uhm, it is?

TheBrainofMorbius: Gentlemen, if we could please get back to the topic at hand...

n3rdlinger42: Hold the freaking phone. Do you not get that star wars reference?

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, Star Wars! I've been meaning to watch those. I saw some clips on youtube and the special effects in all of them looked amazing.

n3rdlinger42: %^#$#&!!!???

\Excitable-Electron/: WHJAT? HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM1!

DoctorEvil: Have you seriously never seen Star Wars, Twilight? I am most displeased.

Twilight Sparkle: Well, I... I've meant to, it's just been so hectic around here and... well there's been a lot going on and... some bad stuff has been happening in my life, is all. I honestly haven't had the time for much fun. Uggh, don't tell Pinkie Pie I said that.

DoctorEvil: Heh. Still, sorry to hear about your hardships.

\Excitable-Electron/: Darn real life crises, always standing between spreading the gospel.

n3rdlinger42: Waita stay in character Twily.

Twilight Sparkle: 'Twily'?

TheBrainofMorbius: I'll just stand over here in the corner then, being ignored for the trollop, shall I?

\Excitable-Electron/ ignores the corner

Quark-Kent: Whoa, what happened to chat, I looked away for less than a second.

DoctorEvil: Brain, take it easy. No need to be rude.

n3rdlinger42: Oh, are we fighting already!? And we haven't even started yet, new record! To war!

\Excitable-Electron/ gets his popcorn

TheBrainofMorbius: YOU, would you stop it!? And I have every right to state my opinion. More over, that was hard fact. We're supposed to be discussing science here, not stupid, bloody ponies. I take my work, and my free time very seriously, and this is a complete waste of it!!

DoctorEvil: ...

n3rdlinger42: Hey, it's a free country, let the man eat his popcorn.

\Excitable-Electron/: Yes, Germany is a free country.

Twilight Sparkle: Sorry, this is all my fault.

TheBrainofMorbius: You should be, this entire conversation had finally been reigned in before you showed up.

Quark-Kent: Dude, take your meds and calm down.

TheBrainofMorbius: Oh, so now we're belittling me as well, hm?

\Excitable-Electron/: I'm sorry too. It's not just Twilight's fault. There, can we all be well-behaved adults and argue about something productive now, instead?

Twilight Sparkle: I would really rather not do any arguing at all.

DoctorEvil: I think that was supposed to be a joke, Twilight.

Quark-Kent: No one's insulting you, dude.

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, I see. Uhm, argue on, then?

TheBrainofMorbius: I said belittling, not insulting. And. Stop. Addressing. Me. As- Oh, never mind.

*TheBrainofMorbius has left the chat*

\Excitable-Electron/: "Look at how fast I can run away!" xD Anybody?

Twilight Sparkle: Oh pony feathers...

n3rdlinger42: Ding dong the witch is dead. Also, I get it!

Twilight Sparkle: Get what?

\Excitable-Electron/: Uggh, Twilight Sparkle may be best pony, but she's worst Brony.

Twilight Sparkle: ???

Quark-Kent: Finally, I thought he'd never leave.

Twilight Sparkle: ...Well, I'm really sorry everyone. I didn't want to cause a problem like that.

Quark-Kent: What, Morbius? Don't worry about it Twilight. He does that eventually no matter what, really. If you didn't piss him off enough into leaving 42 or EE were going to.

n3rdlinger42: Heh, true... me and EE are keeping score, actually.

\Excitable-Electron/: 15-13 in 42's favor.

Twilight Sparkle: Wait, you guys aren't upset that your friend left?

DoctorEvil: It's his loss, really.

\Excitable-Electron/: Heh, you do such a convincing 'Twilight' by being so nice

Twilight Sparkle: I already told you all, I really am Twilight Sparkle...

\Excitable-Electron/: No way, you didn't even get the 'Jamberfiend' reference I did from season four in the string theory thread. Or heck, the 'Twily' reference I just did!

Twilight Sparkle: I told you, there is no such creature in Equestria as a Jamberfiend!

DoctorEvil: If I didn't work with Brain, I doubt I'd even let him in here- Guys, calm down... Also I'm pretty sure it's Jabberwock.

\Excitable-Electron/: Meh.

Twilight Sparkle: Sorry, Doctor.

Twilight Sparkle: Uhm, I really don't wish to instigate anything, but why doesn't Morbius/Brain like me?

DoctorEvil: I've found that Brain's a bit like a mix of Sheldon and Mandark. But aside from his personality traits I happen to know for a fact he hates ponies simply because they 'ruined an entire generation of Whovians and flooded the fandom with neophytes'. His words exactly.

\Excitable-Electron/: Who talks like that?

Twilight Sparkle: Whovians?

DoctorEvil: They're fans of a TV show... You're very sheltered, aren't you, Twilight?

Twilight Sparkle: What's sheltered?

DoctorEvil: ...never mind.

Quark-Kent: If you ever meet Brain, you'll know, EE.

\Excitable-Electron/: You and Evil both know him!? Wow, small world.

Twilight Sparkle: It isn't that small... :)

n3rdlinger42: Hah, that's what she said.

Twilight Sparkle: ?

Quark-Kent: ...We work together. It's much worse than just 'knowing'. Still, he's not all bad.

DoctorEvil: Well, this chat has mostly always been a few select people from the forum. It started with just us. Eventually, more people show up, it's how the internet works, really. Speaking of which, everyone, if you haven't met her yet, this is Twilight.

BrilliantPoint: Hello, Twilight.

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, goodness, I didn't see you.

BrilliantPoint: It seemed like a good idea to stay quiet earlier. I don't care much for silly fandom arguments.

Twilight Sparkle: I couldn't agree more. Rainbow Dash is always trying to argue with me about her Daring Do 'side stories' as she calls them. I just try to stay out of it.

\Excitable-Electron/: Heh. Heh.

ObsidianRain: Howdy Hoo

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, another mare! Hello : )

Quark-Kent: Evil, could we get to the main event please? I have work in a few hours. Also, all this uncharacteristic friendliness in here is stifling. We need some good old fashioned debate to balance it out.

ObsidianRain: Guy, actually, strictly speaking. Is my name girly?

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, no, not at all... Well, it is where I'm from. ^_^' Sorry about that.

DoctorEvil: Alright then. Lets actually get on to business.

ObsidianRain: None taken.

DoctorEvil: So, to start off with...

Twilight refilled her cup several times and brewed an additional pot of coffee during the lengthy amount of time that she spent talking. She typed enough that her fingertips actually hurt somewhat, especially when the topic of quantum wormholes came up. For the most part, she was an observer, except where the chat made a simple or rudimentary mistake.

Twilight had her own theories, and a wealth of knowledge at her no-longer-existent hooftips, but nothing concrete or a method to actually test anything. So talking to these humans and learning more on the subject, taught her much. In fact, it became apparent that somehow they did have methods to test certain things.

Oddly enough they were being tight lipped about specifics. Especially DoctorEvil. They sounded so certain of their findings to Twilight, though. She wrote it off as merely odd for now; the debate was too much fun and too fascinating, but her curiosity would not be denied forever, she decided.

Eventually, more people entered the chat, and were rather funny contributors to the conversation; even though Twilight was at a loss for much of what was said. While on her last cup of coffee, it seemed that people had begun disappearing slowly. It was here, towards the end, that Twilight decided to try and make a move, one that she had been repeating several times in the forums over the weeks; to convince some of these ingenious people to listen to her.

n3rdlinger42: Good night guys, or morning, or afternoon if you're EE.

*n3rdlinger42: has left the chat*

Quark-Kent: Yeah, night

*Quark-Kent: has left the chat*

Twilight Sparkle: Bye guys! Oh, darn, they've already gone.

\Excitable-Electron/: Gotta be quick.

Twilight Sparkle: Hahaha, right... So, gentlecolts, hypothetically speaking, how impossible would it be if there really were an instance of, say, some kind of quantum tunnel to another world.

DoctorEvil: Well, this question might hint at what I have to say to that. Twilight, you drink, right?

Twilight Sparkle: What? Why does that relate? Uhm, of course? How could I not? I think it's pretty unhealthy if you don't drink. Hah.

ObsidianRain: Amen

DoctorEvil: Heh, yeah.

Twilight Sparkle: I mean it, there's nothing to disprove its possibility, and smatterings of evidence that it could happen. Admittedly nothing solid...

\Excitable-Electron/: Twilight, is this about your thread in the general form area about you really being an pony from Equestria?

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, well, I was just joking in that one, of course.

\Excitable-Electron/: I dunno, you seemed pretty sure. That post was enormous. You wrote and entire autobiography.

Twilight Sparkle: It's a biography of the pony it's about wrote it.

*ObsidianRain: has left the chat*

Twilight pressed a hand to her head and relented. She had tried on and off over the course of weeks to convince each of these humans individually. She decided she may as well just go for it.

Twilight Sparkle: Okay yes I meant it. I have proof! Sort of. I'd have to show it to you. I've been in need of an electron microscope lately to conduct further tests on my proof, as I've said, and I know the Doctor at least has one.

DoctorEvil: There's one at the lab. It isn't mine, strictly speaking.

\Excitable-Electron/: If you're a pony, how are you typing right now? You have hooves, not hands, silly filly. :3

Twilight Sparkle: I'm actually a human right now. I said that in the post.

\Excitable-Electron/: Ah, you're right, my bad. I must have hay for brains.

DoctorEvil: Alright don't treat her like Morbius.

\Excitable-Electron/: Ah, I'm just funnin'

Twilight Sparkle: You guys shouldn't poke at him like you do, he seemed really upset.

\Excitable-Electron/: Is it weird if you saying that makes me want to try and take Brain seriously?

BrilliantPoint: You're weird, period.

\Excitable-Electron/: You're still here!?

BrilliantPoint: :P

Twilight Sparkle: Guys!? Focus, please. I really am stranded away from my home. I might have to get back on my own. That's why I'm so interested in these topics and our discussions!

DoctorEvil: Twilight, you don't really believe that, do you?

\Excitable-Electron/ waits with baited breath.

Twilight Sparkle: ...Yes, I do. I know it's true. If you're all going to laugh at me again, then I'll just go.

BrilliantPoint: They're just joking, Twilight.

Twilight Sparkle: I know, it's just that, I don't know what to do. It's really frightening being stranded like this, even after being taken in by some really nice humans.

*Quark-Kent: has entered the chat*

Quark-Kent: Guys! Guys! Look at this picture. I swear to Einstein it's legit, untampered, supernatural bullshit. Not the hokey kind either!

Twilight sighed in despair as the chat's ability to stay focused was strained, then shattered by the picture that Quark had posted a link to.

She chewed her lip and tried to think of how she could salvage the situation. Help was what she needed, not doubt or skepticism. "Oh whom I kidding, it's too incredible for them. Oh, why did I have to have landed on regular Earth when I could have landed on Middle Earth instead!?"

"Twilight." The sound of Jo's voice came from behind Twilight, making her turn around.

"Are you still awake, Jo?" Twilight almost rose, but it was apparent Jo was just checking on her.

"No, It's almost noon. It's like, nine. Were you up all night?" Jo yawned again and walked away from the doorway, scratching her side. "Go to sleep, or I'm switching us to decaf!"

Twilight frowned a little. Decaf? What's that... Still confused, but suddenly tired from her friend mentioning 'bed', she turned back to the computer in order to say her goodbyes. She blinked in further confusion at the chat. It had 'exploded' as they called it in internet lingo.

Twilight Sparkle: What's going on?

\Excitable-Electron/: Did you not look at the picture? Look at this!

DoctorEvil: It's obviously fake, guys.

Quark-Kent: If it's fake then this video of them cutting up the stupid vines and ripping apart that squad car, on top of this news interview is fake TOO.

Twilight clicked on all of the links that Quark put up. Turning her head in a curious way every time she looked at something. Huh, this is strange, she simply thought.

\Excitable-Electron/: How the heck did this happen?

Quark-Kent: According to the police officers that got interviewed, their car was just dragged to a stop while in hot pursuit of another car in this town, 'Belsdale'.

\Excitable-Electron/: They were chasing wizards. O.O

DoctorEvil: Or Poison Ivy? :P

This couldn't be evidence of magic, could it? Twilight watched some of the videos, which mostly included humans using their 'chained saws' to cut off the massive vines and roots strangling what looked like one of their law enforcement's transports. It seemed very real. In fact, it was real. And Quark was typing up a storm trying to convince the other remaining people in the chat that it was real.

A nearly minute long yawn cracked Twilight's jaw without warning. After that, she lost some interest, now extremely tired. She put off the implications of magic appearing on Earth, for the time being at least.

\Excitable-Electron/: Come on Twilight, you're the resident magical pony. What's your verdict?

DoctorEvil: If you want me to mute him Twilight, I can.

\Excitable-Electron/: Hey! :P

Quark-Kent: Like that would stop him.

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, no don't do that Doctor. Uhm, guys, as much fun as this is, I sort of see the sun peeking up over the horizon. I should get to bed. It's odd, I rarely used to stay up this late back in Equestria, even studying. Now, I do it all the time.

BrilliantPoint: The internet will do that.

\Excitable-Electron/: Heh, Equestria, I still won't believe you until I see your hooves.

Twilight Sparkle: I told you I'm human right now... I do have proof though, if you'd let me show it to you.

BrilliantPoint: I'll look at it.

Quark-Kent: ...

\Excitable-Electron/: ...

DoctorEvil: ... Yeah, I will too, if you really have something tangible. Couldn't hurt.

Quark-Kent: Let's do a video chat?

\Excitable-Electron/: Invite Morbius, we can rub it in his face when Twilight turns out to really be a girl. You are a girl, right?

Twilight Sparkle: Why is that important!?

\Excitable-Electron/: That's not a yeeees

Twilight Sparkle: Aaugh!

DoctorEvil: Alright, settle down, both of you. I'm logging for the day. I never expected the chat would go this long. We'll video chat, how about that, guys?

Quark-Kent: I'll be asleep in two more seconds.

\Excitable-Electron/: Busy, maybe this afternoon? Tonight for you Americans. :P

BrilliantPoint: Sure.

DoctorEvil: Alright then. Tonight it is.

Twilight Sparkle: Thank you guys so much. :) Oh, and I figure that if any of you are government agents, I should just tell you know I've made my i.p. untraceable, just in case anypony wants to try and dissect me. You humans like doing that way too much in stories and real life.

BrilliantPoint: Guilty as charged.

DoctorEvil: Fair enough. Hah. Well, thanks for joining us. I can't wait to see your 'proof'. ;) Sorry about Brain again, too.

Twilight Sparkle: It's okay. I'll be back tonight, boys!

\Excitable-Electron/: Really leaving already, Twilight?

BrilliantPoint: It has been a long chat...

Twilight Sparkle: I am, sorry, heh.

\Excitable-Electron/: eight hours is nothing...

Twilight Sparkle: Bye everypony!

\Excitable-Electron/: So what about these vines, guys?

Twilight watched the plethora of goodbyes with a wistful smile, then exited the chat, satisfied. On top of getting her first taste of an instant chat room, something even faster than letter by magic, she had made a few new friends, as well. Hm, and enemies... She grimaced at the thought reminding her about the one human that seemed to take offense easily. It's okay though, I can avoid him...

The thought stewed alone in Twilight's head while she got ready for bed, apologizing a little to Jo for staying up the entire night.. After a shower, brushing her teeth—something she had improved at doing vastly since her first couple of awkward, embarrassing attempts—and changing into something less to sleep in, she settled down for the night, or the morning, beneath her covers.

Just before Twilight dozed off, she had an idea. I know! I can try and impress Morbius! I bet if I just act friendly to him, he'll warm up to everypony and stop being so cranky. Maybe I could watch that show he likes so much, too... She smiled and hugged a pillow closer to herself. Foal proof Twilight, foal proof.

Chapter 22 : Questions

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Jo grumbled to herself; annoyed, and bored, searching her kitchen tirelessly for something to eat. Anything would do; well, almost anything. Another one of the cupboards slapped shut after the only thing within revealed itself to be packets of unused taco flavoring and croutons.

The fridge door opened again, for the fourth time. Inside the appliance sat vegetables, fruits, as well as a collection of other healthy foods.

Jo's eyes scanned over the lot, labeling none of it acceptable for consumption. Even the cheese was gone, long since turned into nachos and disappeared, along with anything else that could be made into something Jo considered snack food. The only remaining items present were the greens which Twilight enjoyed and used to make her Equestrian styled foods.

Jo admittedly didn’t think those were bad, after all she wasn’t the best cook at all. She simply couldn’t tell Twilight that all the green was driving her crazy, and had to invent excuses more often than not while smuggling slim jims into her room. Still, the vegetable cuisine was quite good, just a bit much.

Twilight also insisted the meals she prepared tasted much better in Equestria, too, but also remarked that with the right seasonings the Earth vegetables were at least a different sort of good. She would often talk about how much she missed hay and flowers, however. That those things were no longer a viable part of her diet often brought a murmured complaint from the other girl.

"Hrrrng." The stressed out sound accompanied Jo's longing stare into the fridge that had once held plenty of easily prepared delights. Over time, she had slowly lost out to the guilt she felt with her normal diet while Twilight lived in her home. The Equestrian pony-girl of course insisted that Jo make no such changes, but it didn't help any when Twilight stared sadly at whatever food Jo was happily consuming.

Jo sighed and shut the fridge door. With the remaining food being vegetables, her options of how to get dinner for the night were plain to her; the choices were either grocery shopping, late though it was, or going out to eat.

“Or, I guess I could wake Twilight up…” Jo began making her way through the home, tentatively considering doing just that. It’s probably about time she got up, anyway.

The door to Twilight’s room creaked open, and Jo poked her head in. She furrowed her brow and frowned as soon as she spotted her long term guest.

On the bed, was a rather embarrassingly positioned Twilight. The sheets of the bed were swirled and wrapped around her like a cocoon with the pillows swept off the bed onto the floor. The girl lay in an altogether compromising pose, arms spread eagle, jaw slack and drooling on the mattress, with her rear propped up into the air as though she were sitting on an invisible chair.

Jo sighed and blinked a moment. “The Element of Magic everyone, give her a round of applause.” She clapped her hands quietly and strode over to the bed’s side. “Twilight, hey, it’s almost six. What do you want to do for dinner?”

The other girl’s eyes fluttered, but didn’t open, and a mixture of garbled sleep-talk was the only answer from her.

“What on Earth was so important it kept you up all night? Come on Twilight, I know how much you hate to sleep in. You freak out every time you aren’t reading something for more than six hours straight…” Jo poked and pushed her friend’s shoulders in the hopes of rousing her.

Twilight swung one of her arms over and wiped it down her face. “Mm- Wha-? No... ten more minutes…” The girl trailed off and rolled over, hiding beneath one arm and the sheets.

Jo rolled her eyes and tossed one of her arms in mild frustration. “Alright, stay in bed, but I don’t want to hear about all the work you missed out on later.” Defeated, she left Twilight’s room, shut the door, and began formulating another plan. “What are my options here…” It was imperative that she find a solution, and soon; her stomach wouldn’t wait forever.

One of the cats cried up at Jo, and she scooped the furry creature up with one hand and held it against her shoulder. The cat began purring loud enough to pass for a motor boat. She pet the thing absently, thinking over a decision.

Jo thumped her way through the house until she reached the back, dropping the cat unceremoniously on the floor. “So, grocery shopping or a burger joint it is.” She sort of wanted something nicer, but going out by herself seemed like a waste to her.

Jo picked up her wallet, keys and phone. She held and stared at the phone for a moment, then dialed a number. The phone rang a few times, until a voice replaced the classic phone noise.

“Hey, Alice?” Jo spoke into her cellular device.

A peppy sounding voice responded to her. “Jo, hey there, what’s up?”

Jo’s cat continued to purr up at her from the floor while she stepped outside into the late fall air, shutting the door behind herself. It was raining. There was also a chill outside, wrapping around the woman and her light coat. “Not much, actually. Twilight hasn’t come up with anything new as far as I know, and I’m as dull as ever.”

“Oh,” Alice said back.

The silence began to stretch while Jo waited for her friend to say more. Huh, Alice is acting weird… She felt like there was something she was missing.

Alice broke the quietness shared between them first, for which Jo was grateful. “Uhm, well how’s Twilight been? I bet she’s bored to tears with just having you for company.” The blonde girl on the other end of the phone chuckled slightly.

Jo deadpanned as she made her way out to the driveway through the light drizzle of cold rain. “Hurrhurr, she’s fine, entertained as ever by the wonders of man as far as I can tell. Actually, she’s asleep right now. That crazy pony was up all night last night.”

Alice’s mood seemed to pick up immediately, her chuckling a bit more lively now. “Oooh, you kept Twilight up all last night you say? Oh, Jo, rawr. Heh heh heh.” She certainly sounded a bit more like herself.

Jo facepalmed outside her car door, despite the fact the rain was getting her soaked. “Wow. That was not what I- Are you done?”

Alice giggled some more. “Yeah, just about.”

“Good.” Jo sighed. “But yeah, we’re fine over here.”

“Oh, swell, swell.” Alice went on in an odd, expectant tone. “Sooo, nothing new, huh? Nothing, I dunno, like an epiphany maybe? Something like that? Or were you just calling to chat?”

Jo shrugged while opening her car’s gull-wing door. “Around here? Not really- Oh, oh. Geez Alice, I’m sorry.” She took in a deep breath, processing what she realized she had overlooked.

“I want to apologize for last week, Alice.” A speech Jo had thought up days ago rambled out of her brain and into the phone. “I should have before you left like that, and I shouldn’t have acted the way I did in the first place. I really was just trying to-”

“Aaw.” Some laughter came through the phone, just before Alice proclaimed, “I forgive you!”

Jo stopped in the middle of entering her DeLorean. “Wait, just like that?” She stared at her phone. What her friend had said came as a surprise to her.

“Yup!” Alice said, her cheerful voice unfettered by the mood. “I mean, you called to apologize, right? Granted it has been a week. It was easy to tell you were upset, too. I was mostly just caught up in the heat of the moment myself anyway.”

Jo chuckled a little nervously. “Right… Well, actually I was just going to ask if you wanted to go get some food. To be completely honest here, I sorta forgot we were angry at each other… Has it been a week already?”

Alice was quiet on the other end of the line again for a few second, before answering in a quiet tone that slowly grew louder. “Ooooh, I get it! So you were going to butter me up with delicious Thai and then we could kiss and make up like nothing ever happened? Well, I’m tempted to say we need a break, Jo, but since your heart’s in the right place I’ll let it go.”

“What!?” Jo blanched. “No, you’re not listening. I. Forgot. And what the hell are you-”

Alice interrupted her friend merrily. “Great! Pick me up at my place in ten, I’ll be right down! Remember, I wanna go to the Thai place!”

“W- wait, Alice?” Jo stammered, then the line clicked off, leaving her to glare menacingly at her dashboard. After a minute of sitting still, she growled and started her car. “I have half a mind to stand her up…”

The DeLorean pulled out of the driveway onto the street, the drizzle pattering on the windshield and pavement alike. Meanwhile, in the back of Jo’s head she still felt that she was forgetting something.

Twilight listened to herself mumbling absently, the words making little sense to her sleep addled mind. “The… speed of light equals… crepes…” A snort issued out of Twilight and she sat up. “Pinkie Pie?” She blinked, lights dancing across her vision. “Oh…”

Twilight put a hand up to her head and winced, she had a headache. “Ah, dehydrated, again. Gotta remember to drink more water…” In the back of her head she tried to recall the quickly disappearing details of a dream she had been having. Strangely enough, Pinkie Pie had been explaining aspects of physics with baking.

Twilight sighed and stretched, only to find herself well and truly tangled up in her bed linens. “Jo, what were you saying?” she recalled Jo talking to her. Looking around the room though, her friend was nowhere to be seen. “Jo?” she tried again.

Twilight did spot two cats at the foot of the bed, blinking sleepily after likely being woken up by her shifting about; there was no sign of any humans, however. She rolled over and hopped off the tall bed, glancing at the digital clock as she walked by. It claimed that it was nearly six, in the evening.

“Wow,” Twilight remarked. “I really slept in.” Her stomach rumbled up at her, likely stating she had in fact slept for too long. “Oh no, what time did I fall asleep?” She thought, but couldn’t remember. It had to have been way past when was normal though, she decided. “Auugh, all that time wasted. You can’t do that Twilight, you can’t do that…” She grumbled more and unsteadily made her way into the kitchen first.

The night, or as was the case the late morning and most of the afternoon, had been filled with fitful sleep. Still, Twilight was used to it. Having difficulty sleeping was more or less normal for her. Since arriving from Equestria her comfort zone had remained relatively unattainable.

Sleeping, eating, studying, it all felt off. At first, it made sense. She was, after all, in a strange body in a stranger place. But she could have sworn there must be more to it than that.

Twilight stepped over a cat lying in the middle of the floor for some reason only it likely knew, and then opened the fridge. Maybe I should ask Jo about a sleep aid… She studied the rather delicious looking examples of human cuisine, knowing in the back of her mind that the vegetables she was staring at held perhaps half the flavor of their Equestrian equivalents.

“Oh, wait.” Twilight straightened and checked the time again. As she had thought, it was dinner time. “Jo had been asking about dinner...” A groan elicited itself out of her. “I can’t believe I just ignored her like that!” She slapped a hand to her head and started putting things together for dinner.

Right after taking up residence in Jo’s home, Twilight had begun cooking for her host by way of repaying her. It was the least she could do, she had decided, and while she wasn’t the best cook she had gotten by on her abilities ever since moving out of her parent’s home. Spike was never a picky eater, either, which helped.

Jo on the other hand, she was a different story.

Twilight could tell that Jo wasn’t exactly worshipping her cooking, even though she tried to fake it rather well. She often pointed out to the picky human that she didn’t mind there being… other types of food in the house. She also noticed when Jo would then sneak things, which was thoughtful, admittedly, but unnecessary.

Twilight sighed at a cabbage she planned on steaming. “If only I had some sweet, delicious lilacs…” She of course meant the variety from home, which seemed fundamentally different than their Earth cousins. It was hard for her to say whether the difference with the food lay with her being a human or that they were actually different.

The burner to the stove clicked on.

At first, Twilight and Jo had traded off preparing dinner with one another. That had lasted about four or so days.

It became clear that the extent of Jo’s skills were ordering out or opening a bag of snackfood. Both of those of course didn’t quite count as ‘making dinner’, in Twilight’s eyes.

So, if anypony did make food that wasn't merely scrounged snacks, it was Twilight Sparkle. She didn’t exactly see what Jo did as cheating, but Twilight would rather prepare something over living like Rainbow Dash all the time. She meant no offense intended to her other friend, of course.

Twilight laughed at a funny thought. Rainbow Dash would probably get along a lot better here than me, actually. The frying pan began to sizzle, filled with some canola oil intended for cooking some ingredients that were soon to be added.

Over the course of the last month, Twilight had cooked homemade Equestrian dishes that Jo seemed to have never even known could exist. Granted, that wasn't because they weren’t around on Earth, but rather because Jo just didn’t seem to be familiar with food that didn’t come out of a box or a can.

Really, Jo rarely made dinner. Twilight considered that, were Jo's and her situations reversed, the human would likely go crazy from a pony’s vegetarian diet.

Twilight looked up from the stove to quickly fetch her human friend from her room. “Well, I hope she’s hungry!”

Twilight was leaned back on the kitchen's counter, eating her food with a fork while standing up. Uggh, I made too much… She was fending for herself at the moment, as was also usual, after finding out that Jo was in fact not in the house; her automobile was gone, too.

I wonder where Jo went? Twilight would have been more curious, but she had been asleep she supposed. As silly as it may seem she was more worried about where the human had gone off to. The township around them at least seemed to be quite safe. Though, the number of fatalities per year regarding automobiles made her wonder why anypony at all would ever consider driving the things, fascinating as they were.

The faucet in the kitchen poured cold water over Twilight’s plate as she washed it clean, before then moving onto her normal activities. I guess it can’t be helped, humans just live so differently from ponies. She plonked down into her chair by the computer and stretched her fingers. Unlike her old hooves, the delicate things she now possessed tended to get sore.

Twilight sighed and frowned while her computer booted up, curling her hand up into a fist that vaguely resembled her old hoof. “I’m never going to get used to you.” She declared the words with fervor to the pale skinned thing.

Once the machine in front of her had finished, Twilight began the chore of opening all of her study material. It wasn’t until she opened the browser, and saw the awaiting messages, that she recalled exactly what, or who was waiting for her.

Twilight stared at the various messages from her forum acquaintances, feeling immediate embarrassment. Her hands flew up and gripped the sides of her head in shock. “I completely forgot!”

Twilight began selecting and browsing the messages in a panic, but quickly calmed down. They seemed to be instructions for how to load a video chat program, and suggestions, rather than heated remarks about her tardiness.

Twilight let out a relieved breath and relaxed once again. “Alright, let’s see here…” She checked the source of the program which DoctorEvil had sent her, just to be safe. She felt it was a little… out of sorts to check on something a friend had given her like that, but humans were complicated when it came to their motivations. Viruses for instance, often lacked a purpose other than harming the property of others.

Such wanton destruction would be a serious offense back in Equestria. It was here, as well, Twilight found out a little to her surprise. Perhaps even more serious given the gravity of the consequences human law often used.

The program loaded in a jiffy and Twilight made a user name for herself, which was cleverly always her actual name. Thus far, of course, everyone that read it thought it was an homage to the fictional Twilight, or something to do with an odd romance novel.

Twilight eased back, reading absently, waiting for her friends to contact her.

A blooping sound caught her attention from the computer, and then another.

What was that? Twilight squinted and began looking for the source. She browsed through all of her articles and study material, suspecting a troublesome advertisement for weight loss or something, and instead tracked down the noise to her new program. There were various chat rooms it seemed, all of them randomly shifting about every few seconds, coming and going.

“Oh, how interesting.” Twilight realized she was getting glimpses of ongoing public chatrooms, each proclaiming their topic to her as they came and went. There didn’t seem to be anything particularly striking at a glance.

Twilight hummed appreciatively at the interesting feature, but went back to absently browsing her materials rather than investigate further. Almost forgot. I need to tell my friends how to find me. She messaged DoctorEvil back about her name and waited patiently for the event she planned the night before.

There we go. Now, I guess I wait. She wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, other than a two way sort of Television. A bit of doubt swam into her muddled thoughts. I hope this is a good idea...

Awake and aware now, rather than the caffeine powered zombie she had been last night, Twilight considered carefully what exactly she was doing. In truth, only because Jo so often told her to be careful. Asking a neighbour in Equestria was a sure way to get help. On Earth, you may get help, as well as paying a price for it.

Annoyingly enough in the midst of her thoughts, Twilight had to endure the constant beeping of the chat program. She narrowed her eyes and selected the thing once again, as if challenging it would make it stop. She began searching the ‘options' for how to make it stop.

“Alright, this is ridiculous.” Her thoughts forgotten, Twilight became more and more heated as the program defied her further, until she finally found what she searched for. She breath out in relief. What am I thinking… I can’t let my fear hold me back. I’m the Element of Magic, and I have no magic. I need all the resources and every bit of help at my disposal that I can get.

The chat program still lacked any incoming messages from her friends.

Twilight growled in frustration, “Where are my resources!?” She fell back, limp, into her chair. “Alright, calm down Twilight. You’re letting your stress get to you again.” She held a hand to her forehead and took steady breaths. “This will work out just fine. Even if they can’t help you, they seem like very helpful human stallions.” She straightened up again and began clicking absently once more at her computer. “And if they are trouble, you’ve taken precautions.”

Made a bit paranoid by the warnings Jo had given her, Twilight had in fact made herself all but invisible on the internet. It had taken some perfecting, though. Jo often came down complaining about her ‘connectivity’ for her games, or whatever that was.

Twilight blew a lock of her hair out of eyes, still waiting. Bored bored bored… Where are they? She watched the minutes tick by one at a time. While waiting, she caught a glimpse of herself in the computer’s screen. Her mane needed a brushing pretty badly, but she didn’t want to miss anything either. She felt as anxious as she ever had before or during a test in school.

The mouse began clicking randomly across the screen while Twilight waited, unable to focus on reading anything. She began picturing a pot of coffee in her head, wondering if it was too early to make some. “Maybe I should…” Still waiting, and failing at her efforts to calm down, Twilight clicked one of the chat rooms on accident. “Oh, darnit.”

*Twilight Sparkle has entered the chat*

Spleedude: hello.

Twilight Sparkle: ...Hello!

Spleedude: hello.

Twilight Sparkle: Uhm, hi. Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude.

Spleedude: Intrude? Its fine I'm just at school right now.

Twilight Sparkle felt a tingling behind her eyes as she read the word that hinted at the human education system. Her fingers began typing words other than an excuse to leave and not seem rude.

Twilight Sparkle: School! Earth's school systems are simply fascinating, you know? I mean, of course you would know, since you attend them. I am envious of the types of education available here.

Ocean Breeze: (Don't you make me pull out my Pinkie Pie personality.)

Twilight Sparkle: Your what?

Spleedude: hold on I have to switch classes I'll be back on in a sec.

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, sure.

Twilight Sparkle: Ho hum, back to my research then. Sorry again about intruding uninvited, I’ll be going.

Ocean Breeze: Whatcha researching?

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, uh, you wouldn't believe me if I told you.

Ocean Breeze: Try me.

Ocean Breeze: I've seen a lot of things you wouldn't believe.

Twilight frowned a little, feeling unsure, but began typing anyway.

Twilight Sparkle: Well, I'm trying to develop a base-line for a device I'd like to make... but the details and theoreticals on the subject are more 'science fiction' as you would probably know it, rather than science fact.

Twilight Sparkle: There is no field that legitimately covers temporal displacement, unfortunately. Uh, well I haven't come up with much for a device at all. I'm still getting a grasp on the basics with technology.

Ocean Breeze: And the device?

Twilight furrowed her brow and began answering the challenge to her thoughts.

Twilight Sparkle: Well, like I said I have nothing solid, yet. But I’m hoping to traverse this world to another.

Ocean Breeze: So, teleportation?

Twilight Sparkle: Yes! Exactly, but on a cross-dimensional scale.

Ocean Breeze: Pfft, been there, done that.

Twilight Sparkle: Assuming 'dimension' is in fact the correct phrase, there are other possibilities, and I haven't ruled out a single one yet, I'm afraid.

Twilight Sparkle: You... wait, done what?

Ocean Breeze: Lodestone doors. Fun stuff.

Ocean Breeze: See, my friends and I like to hangout at a place called the Cross-dimensional Cafe.

Ocean Breeze: It's in its own pocket-dimension.

Twilight heaved a sigh out and paused at poking more of the buttonboards plastic keys to answer the stranger.

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, you're joking with me.

Twilight Sparkle: Sorry, I didn't mean to sound insincere. I'm being serious, but I understand why you wouldn’t believe me.

Twilight Sparkle: However, I really am from Equestria... Nevermind, I should get back to my research…

Before she could put her attention elsewhere on the computer screen, another message came. She had to actively resist groaning in frustration at what she saw, and couldn’t resist not answering back. She set about responding to the stranger once more, wondering where her friends were.

Ocean Breeze: Wait, I'm from Equestria too! Just not your Equestria. You're even in my Equestria, just not the same Twilight Sparkle.

Firebirdbtops: Are we doing an rp? Can I be a ninja? Since there are a lot of parallels between Earth and Equestria, are there ninja ponies?

Twilight Sparkle: I... won't rule out the possibility, Ocean, but I've been strung along by no less than thirteen other humans, all of them simply 'role playing'.

Twilight Sparkle: I really can't afford to chase lies (even well intended ones for fun) all day long.

Twilight briefly considered her one conversations in which she had tried to convince Jo they needed to go out and find these other ponies that had been brought to Earth. Unfortunately it seemed that such circumstances were merely fiction invented for fun, which Jo had painstakingly explained to her.

She sat back in her chair and leaned on one hand, staring at the wall dejectedly. I mean, I’m not mad at the humans or anything, but they make things way more confusing than they already are. One of her hands reached down to scratch the head of a noisily meowing cat, until another message appeared on the computer screen.

Twilight almost didn’t bother reading it.

Firebirdbtops: so... no ninjas?

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, Firebird, I’m sorry I didn’t answer you. I got distracted. Yes, we have stories about ninjas too, though they’re a bit different... Anyway, a friend of mine loves them.

Twilight briefly recalled when she had felt forced to do away with Spike’s collection of comic books by selling them to a local store. He had been acting just a little bit too out of control as a result of being exposed to those particular stories. They were extremely violent, at least by her standards.

Twilight Sparkle: Sorry if I’m not very personable right now, I’m just waiting for a friend named DoctorEvil. He said he would be on here sometime today.

Firebirdbtops: Who?

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, he's a friend.

Firebirdbtops: Is he evil?

Twilight Sparkle: Uhm, well, no, I think he just uses the name because he thinks it's funny, for some reason…

Firebirdbtops: So, he's a wordy science guy, always talking about something interesting?

Twilight Sparkle: Yeah! That's him, he's kind of quiet though. He reminds me of one of my old professors.

Firebirdbtops: never heard of him, sorry

Twilight Sparkle: I... oh.

Firebirdbtops: kidding

Firebirdbtops: I must needs go sleepy-by now. three days without is wearing on me

Twilight Sparkle: Sleeping is very important, I've read that not sleeping can have some serious detrimental effects on humans.

Twilight Sparkle: Sleep well! Uhm, Firebird!

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, that's sort of like a phoenix, very nice name.

Firebirdbtops: Thank you, and good night.

Firebirdbtops: Afternoon, I mean.

Ocean Breeze: Yeah, I once stayed up for a few nights as a human. It was terrible.

Quicksear: Sleepin' is a great past time, too bad it can be so boooring

Ocean Breeze: I had to take a thaumatic stabilizer to make sure my natural magic didn't kill me.

Twilight Sparkle: Unless you have a legitimate way back home to Equestria, that I could see, I'm not buying it, Ocean.

Ocean Breeze: Being an alchemyst is fun...

Quicksear: I'm gonna go ahead and guess Twi has a differing opinion, though...?

Twilight Sparkle: I'm sorry, I really must be going, uhm, Mr. or Ms. Ocean

Twilight Sparkle: Bye!

Twilight gritted her teeth and navigated her way out of the strange chat room as quickly as she could. “Just where are those guys?” She heaved a sigh and crossed her arms, thinking about what she should do while she waited. The thoughts ended up arriving at what she would do were she home, at the Golden Oaks library.

“If any of the girls were late, I would send them a message.” Twilight thought a bit harder. “Then again, unless something really serious happened, I doubt my friends wouldn’t show up.” She sighed, holding her head defeatedly in her hands after successfully bringing herself down with the memories of the ponies she cared about.

“I need something to do that can cheer me up…” Twilight frowned at the pages upon pages of science text she had opened. “Something new…”

“Every once and a while she comes upstairs and gets philosophical with me.” Jo paused long enough to pick up another morsel for devouring. She spoke around the bit of food. “I dunno, sometimes I feel like Twilight’d be a lot better off with someone else helping her. I mean, I want to help her, I do, but even when I give it my all I know I’m not smart enough for this.” She savored the taste of duck and curry as she paused long enough to bring her fork to her mouth once more.

Across the table, Alice plucked a bit of noodle with her chopsticks and stared back incredulously at Jo. “Jo, I really don’t think Twilight could have been much luckier, all considering. I know it’s not exactly fair to you, but she does need you.”

Jo growled. “I know that.” She tapped her hand anxiously against the table. “I’m just getting it off my chest, okay?”

Alice put on a thoughtful look, studying the wall, then snickered.

Jo looked up from her meal and put on a weary look. “What?” she asked.

Alice grinned mischievously. “Well, I’m just surprised you having anything spare to get off your chest at all.” Her laugh was slow and haughty.

Jo harrumphed. “You missed your mark with that one, Alice. I’m content with my figure.” She hummed appreciatively around another fork-full of her food. The duck was a little greasy naturally, but not in the sense that fast food was. It was a good kind savory juicy, which was made more delicious by the sauce it had been served with.

Jo couldn’t recall the last time she’d had something so good.

“Fine then.” Alice blew a raspberry, but chuckled again in response to her friend. She watched as the other girl seemed to zone out once again with her meal. “You okay over there, Jo? You look like you’re having a bit too good of a time eating.” She nibbled a bit of prawn and rice noodle as she spoke.

Brought back to Earth by Alice, Jo blinked and addressed the food situation. “Sorry. This is just the best duck I’ve ever had. I’ve never had Thai food, either.” Punctuating her sentence was another piece of her meal disappearing in a quick bite.

Alice shrugged. “There’s better out there, but I think this is the perfect place for our first date, wouldn’t you agree?“ Alice snickered, earning a glare from Jo as she chewed her food just a little bit longer before swallowing.

“Har har.” Jo laugh sarcastically, deadpanning, then shifted gears with a sigh. “...Alice, about last week-” she began, only to be cut off by Alice.

“You’re a jerk… A terrible friend… An alcoholic… A thoughtless individual with only her own opinions in mind…” Alice listed off the things one by one on her hand, looking up once she had finished. “Is that what you want me to say?” she added, surprising Jo.

Alice continued. “I don’t tick like that, Jo. What happened, happened and we both turned a fun night into a rotten one. But I know that despite the flaws that both of us have, we’re really just as flawed in one way or another…”

Jo stared back speechless at the girl facing her. “I- uhm.”

Alice smirked and folded her arms confidently. “You’re my friend, Jo, and I’ll always forgive you. You can be assured of that.”

“Are you just saying that because that’s what the ponies would say on the show?” Jo narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“What?” Alice’s confident look melted into a confused one. “No, that’s-” She laughed abruptly, chuckling while tossing a glance around the room before settling it back on Jo. “I mean it. I said it because I meant it, a real life pony that says friendship is really a form of magic somewhere or not.”

Jo stared blankly at Alice a moment before answering again. “Well-... Uh… alright then. Me too, I guess.” She swallowed, and began to try explaining things again. “Alice, about last week. I wanted to s-”

Jo’s apology was stopped as Alice’s finger poked her lips shut. The darker haired girl’s face contorted into a mix of annoyed, hostility, as well as annoyed hostility.

Alice smiled at her friend. “Jo, it was a rough night for all of us. Lets just let it go. We both said mean things.”

Jo cooled her temper, and calmly pulled the blonde’s hand away and set it on the table, away from herself. “...Yeah, true. I was so caught up thinking about what could go wrong that I caused something. Anyway, I’m just trying to say I’m really, really sorry about it.”

Alice shook her head. “Already forgave you, but thanks.” The grin she wore grew bigger as she went on, leaning back in her seat smugly. “Betcha still had fun,” she teased. “And you thought you wouldn’t make a good Trixie.”

Alice noted the look and scoff that the ‘humble and apologetic’ Jo returned to her, then went on. “Oh my Celestia, you DID have fun! We should do things and go out and argue more often. Heck, if we put Twilight to bed early, then we can even have make up se-”

This time it was Jo’s turn to silence Alice, which was miraculously pulled off with a discontented glare and a twitching eye. Or, perhaps her mental acts of violence to carry out if Alice finished her sentence had been heard psychically...

“You… augh, nevermind.” Jo slouched inwardly and began pecking at the scraps remaining on her plate. “So we’re alright then? I haven’t scared you off?” She looked up flatly at her blonde friend.

Alice hummed a moment, tapping one finger against her chin, then shrugged. “Yeah, we’re square-sies. You did pay for dinner after all!” Her eyes widened and she took a last bite of her own food.

Jo frowned a little at the check sitting on the corner of the table. “Yeah… So, would you like to come over and see Twilight? She might still be asleep right now, actually, but we can get her up I bet.”

Alice scrunched her face up in thought, then shook her head. “Nah, that’s alright. Let her sleep. I’m more distraction than help to her anyway, too. I do like cheering her up though… Maybe I’ll swing by tomorrow. Oh, are we leaving now?”

Jo had stood up, shrugging on her coat at the same time. “Well we’re all paid for.” She stepped back to let her friend out. “And just so I feel like you didn’t just invite yourself, sure, feel free to drop by tomorrow.”

Alice nodded beamed up with an exaggerated smile pointed towards Jo. “Yay! We should watch more ponies to celebrate our reunion. Assuming Twilight hasn’t gotten curious herself.”

Jo shook her head. “She hasn’t or else I’m sure I would have heard about more of the inaccuracies. She made a list of those, did you know that?” The story made her laugh. “At any right, she didn’t seem to think watching it would help much, and I have the suspicion that she’s avoiding looking at her friends like that again... I dunno, Alice.”

Alice’s expression wilted some as they both approached the exit in silence.

Still stuck on the thought of Twilight, Jo scowled, opening the door to leave the restaurant while returning the goodbye to the employee at the front. She thought in hindsight that the person might have mistaken her angry look to be directed at them. Whatever.

Jo heaved in a breath of cold air and looked at Alice again. “Twilight’s been busier than ever the last week, actually. I don’t think we should distract her, anyway, unless she asks. She’s been talking to some scientists online and every time I do talk to her I barely get a response.”

Alice frowned as they approached their two cars, parked side by side out in the parking lot. “Fair enough, Jo.” She spoke seriously enough to get a double take from the other woman. “So, how is she about the, uhm… the thing.”

Jo quirked an eyebrow. “What thing?”

Alice smirked. “Yeah, the thing at the place.”

“Alice…” Jo narrowed her eyes seriously again.

“Oh, I’m just kidding.” Alice chuckled, then shivered a bit in cold autumn wind. “I meant her hair, how is Twilight handling that?” Her hands rubbed up and down her arms quickly to stave of the wind’s chill.

Jo blinked, her expression softening at the thought. “I don’t know,” she quietly said in return. “I don’t want to ask her about it, and she hasn’t acted like it’s even there. I think maybe she’s over it, or maybe she’s hiding from it.”

Alice’s expression saddened in appearance. “I hope she’s okay. I think I’ll bring her a bunch of chocolate tomorrow, actually. Has she found anything else she likes more?”

Jo harrumphed a short laugh. “Not that I’ve noticed. She really seems to latch onto obsessing over things. When she loves something, she loves it completely.” She studied the pavement in the silence that passed after she finished.

Alice broke the quiet with a dreamy voice. “I wonder if that’s a pony thing, instead of a Twilight thing.” Jo looked up to see the other woman staring peacefully up at the moon, partly obscured by clouds in the sky.

Jo watched her friend a moment, then shrugged. “It’s gotta be a Twilight thing. I think you’re proof enough that ponies aren’t that different from us.” She laughed, trying to get her friend to come back down to Earth. “It’s funny how much she’s like Twilight in the show, actually. She denied it big time when we watched it, too.”

Alice giggled in an out of control way and looked back. “Well, I don’t want to watch it with her if it will upset her, but I’m still dying to know how she’ll react to it all. Oh well, at the very least I get to hug her again and see just how bad of a job you’ve done taking care of her.”

Jo rolled her eyes, smirking and finally made to unlock her car’s door. “Anyone ever tell you that you meddle, like, a lot?”

Alice’s own rueful smirk reappeared and she leaned back with an appreciative look. “You know, I hear that a lot.”

Twilight clicked absently through the pictures of things called ‘memes’. Some of them were downright hilarious, some were worth a chuckle. Others… they made her crave a thing she had read about called ‘brain bleach’.

Still, she was bored, and against her better judgement she had asked another random chat for something to cheer her up, and a link to these pictures was what she got.

Amidst her random perusing, Twilight saw the flash of an icon from the chat program. “Finally!” she exclaimed, then clicked accept for the invitation she had received from one ‘DoctorEvil’.

*Twilight Sparkle has entered the chat*

DoctorEvil: Good evening.

Twilight Sparkle: Hi! Good evening, Doctor.

\Excitable-Electron/: nuqneH!

Twilight Sparkle: Hello?

Quark-Kent: Don’t mind him, he’s on a Klingon kick today.

Twilight Sparkle: Klingon?

Quark-Kent: Nrrg, no more Twilight. Your ignorance of geek culture actively hurts my cerebral patterns.

Twilight Sparkle: Uhm, really? That doesn’t sound scientifically possible…

\Excitable-Electron/: No, *you’re* not scientifically possible!

\Excitable-Electron/: :D

Twilight Sparkle: ...Debatable

\Excitable-Electron/: Uggh, you’re the worst fan ever. You never get the references I make.

DoctorEvil: Alright calm down kids. We’re here on business as I recall. Twilight’s nine messages have reminded me about it quite well.

Quark-Kent: Hah, what was the deal with that, Twilight?

Twilight Sparkle: Uhm, sorry about that, guys. I guess I just got nervous and anxious simultaneously.

Twilight Sparkle: So, is it just you three? No BrilliantPoint or anypony else?

DoctorEvil: Perfectly alright. So far, yes. Just us.

\Excitable-Electron/: Hah, if what you’re saying is true… then you have every right to be nervous about revealing yourself to us humans! *cackles wickedly and prepares the death ray*

Twilight Sparkle: : /

Twilight Sparkle: I did mention I’m staying with somepony already, didn’t I?

DoctorEvil: Somebody

Twilight Sparkle: Right, I meant somebody. Heh, old habits.

Twilight Sparkle: I’m not really worried about this staying a secret, anyway. It’s hard enough actually trying to convince anyone...

\Excitable-Electron/: I have always wondered about Equestria, geez. Like, so you guys are all medieval and have no tech then? I bet your food must suck.

Twilight Sparkle: Wha- what?

Quark-Kent: He's talking about the manner of food preparation, I think.

Twilight Sparkle: I don't think I understand.

\Excitable-Electron/: Well, surely your food isn't as tasty looking as it was on the show.

DoctorEvil: Need I remind you both, Quark and I have never watched said little girl’s television show.

Quark-Kent: Our food nowadays is great, thanks largely to technology and processing. Back then, there was no refrigeration, things went bad quickly, and everything was prepared to last. Flour couldn't be ground fine at all, so bread was tough and barely edible. It was made with mixed grains or dried peas, baked hard to last longer and eaten stale.

Twilight Sparkle: I see, Quark…

DoctorEvil: I think Twilight gets the idea…

Quark-Kent: They used the fermented acids from crab apples as a condiment, and- Oh, right. My bad.

Twilight Sparkle: I’ll keep that in mind, too, Doctor. Honestly the show didn’t seem like a perfect representation of my world. It was sort of like a clip reel or a scrap book. There were only bits and pieces, not all of them strictly accurate.

\Excitable-Electron/: Okay then, moving on. So, what exactly do you call ‘your world’? If you’ve been here on Earth as long as it seems you have been, surely you’re aware how much speculation your old fans had about it.

Twilight felt misgivings at reading that she had fans, of any kind, let alone the human variety. It struck her as incredibly odd, and a little disquieting. It was flattering to be sure, but she never thought of herself as anything truly special of deserving enough for something like multitudes of 'fans'. She pushed through the feeling and responded promptly, staying professional about what she was doing.

Twilight Sparkle: Well, there are a lot of different names for it. I assume you mean the whole thing, not just Equestria. Equestrians call it Equis. I’ve read that Minotaurs refer to it as ‘Minoa’. I’m sure it has other names elsewhere. I wouldn’t be surprised if somewhere, ponies call it ‘Earth’, given how many parallels I’ve found since ending up here…

\Excitable-Electron/: lol, right

Twilight Sparkle: Hm?

\Excitable-Electron/: Nevermind, sorry. Okay, next question, how’d you end up here?

Twilight Sparkle: That was… my own fault. I was working on an experimental potion for the purpose of boosting the power of a pony’s special talent. In my case, magic, so that I could teleport further.

\Excitable-Electron/: ...Double Rainboom?

Twilight stared at the words a moment, confused. She waited for more but none came.

Twilight Sparkle: Excuse me?

\Excitable-Electron/: You just explained the plot to a fan made episode of the show. It was made like, a decade ago. lol, Alright, well, I think I’m gonna go, guys.

Twilight Sparkle: Wait! Please stay, I’m serious. I haven’t even showed you my proof yet! I’m sure that’s just a coincidence, or another parallel, it’s not important at all!

\Excitable-Electron/: Of course. : )

DoctorEvil: EE, come on, this is the girl you spoke to for ten hours last weekend about molecules. Go easy.

\Excitable-Electron/: Well, yeah, but still.

\Excitable-Electron/: Alright I’m sorry for offending anybody, I’ve just never been big on role play.

Quark-Kent: Well I for one don’t not believe Twilight...

DoctorEvil: Double negative, classy

Quark-Kent: I try

Twilight Sparkle: I am NOT role playing! I’m completely and utterly serious about this. I am originally a unicorn, I am from Equestria, and I’m just trying to get help to go home!

\Excitable-Electron/: Aw come on, Twilight, if you really believe that’s who you are (and I’m not ruling out maybe your parents actually named you that) then what you need is some help.

\Excitable-Electron/: You want us to believe you’re really a talking horse, from a place where there are other talking things like cows, chickens, freaking DRAGONS, and craziest of all, magic? That was a kid’s show, Twilight, a stupid kid’s show.

Quark-Kent: Hides in the corner

\Excitable-Electron/: I can give you some numbers if you’d like, and don’t take this the wrong way, you’re awesome around the forum I just don’t think I should enable this.

Twilight growled and thumped a hand against her forehead, then typed a hurried reply.

Twilight Sparkle: Alright look, I have proof and I can show it to you. Do you want to see it or not?

\Excitable-Electron/: On one condition. If I’m not convinced by this you call a friend of mine. She’s very nice and can listen really well.

Twilight Sparkle: Augh, yes, fine, whatever. I’m pretty sure this will convince you though.

Twilight Sparkle: So, deal, can we start this now, please?

DoctorEvil: Right away mam, hold on

Twilight tried to ease up in her seat. Well, here we go. The screen changed in front of her. She felt anxious, nervous, and nervous anxious all at the same time. She was also more than a little annoyed because EE kept pushing her buttons. But they’ll see. Oh, they’ll all see.

“Hello.” The first moving picture of a person appeared, it was Quark Kent.

Twilight grinned and waved. “Hi!”

He was a human that was more than a little bit pudgy, a trait that a great deal of them seemed to share. Being overweight was incredibly uncommon where Twilight was from, in any race that didn’t normally appear that way. She hadn’t thought of a reason why that was yet. For humans at least, it seemed to depend on their diet, fitness routine, and genetics.

The next little box lit up, revealing a darkened room and the slightly glowing face of long haired fellow with scraggly facial hair. He had a pointed, enlarged nose but little else that stood out.

“Hello, everypony.” The man chuckled, folding his arms and sitting upright.

Twilight waved again, smiling weakly. The program revealed this person to be Excitable Electron, or as Twilight had begun to think of him, ‘the skeptic’. Though, she supposed they all thought she was crazy, and the others were probably just being polite about it.

Lastly, an older looking human appeared on the screen. His name was Doctor Evil, and he looked to be a good twenty years older than either Excitable or even Quark; who looked to easily be forty or so judging by human standards. The top of the man's head was vacant of any hair, and a grayed forest of beard covered his face.

“Good day, gentlemen. Where’s Twilight?” Quark asked, his weathered face looking around in front of himself.

Doctor Evil shrugged, his eyes searching his screen. “Not sure.”

“Can you not see me?” Twilight blinked in confusion. “Hello? Can you hear me?” None of her friends responded back to her. She groaned in frustration and typed a hurried message out.

Twilight Sparkle: Can you guys see me?

A message typed itself back to her, despite the fact Twilight could see and hear them. She supposed they didn’t know that though.

Quark-Kent: Where are you Twilight? You don’t have glossophobia, do you?”

Twilight Sparkle: ...Isn’t that a fear of large crowds?

Doctor Evil: Close, it’s the fear of public speaking.

Twilight Sparkle: I see. Well no, I guess you just can’t see me or hear me. I can hear and see you all fine, and I’m talking too. What’s wrong with this program?

Doctor Evil replied aloud this time. “Check to see if your camera’s on and your mic isn’t muted. I think it might be by default.”

Twilight did just that, and breathed out in relief as she saw her own face and self appear up in the left corner of the program. “Oh! There I am, hi guys!”

None of the three humans answered her straight away.

“Uhm, guys?” Twilight quirked an eyebrow.

Excitable spoke up first, laughing at the same time. “She’s confirmed for female! Hah, Morbius is gonna hate that.”

“I just won a hundred dollars.” Doctor Evil leaned back, nodding to himself and laughing too.

Excitable spoke up again, laughing harder still. “Aw, you guys were betting with him? You should have let me in on it.”

Twilight grinned sheepishly around at them, not really sure about what to say just yet, so she stayed quiet and observed for now. She noticed that Excitable had a very interesting accent, it was interesting because it was identical to her Germane professor’s accent when he spoke Equestrian.

Quark started chuckling. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Twilight. We’ve all been curious around the forum as to who you were after you started showing up. Some of the things you post about, suggest, and comment on have made us speculate things. Some of the guys think that you’re actually a small fleet of scientists trying to recruit us for top secret government work, like the Men in Black for instance.”

Twilight kneading her hands with one another, detecting the compliment. “Oh well, I’m trying very hard to learn this stuff as quickly as I can. We don’t have studies like this in Equestria, and I’ve already been here more than two months. I’m sure everypony back home thinks that I’m… well…” She couldn’t help but trail off there, though her smile from the excitement of things remained.

Excitable laughed from what Twilight said. “Come on Twilight, you seem way too level headed to think that you're really from Equestria. I mean, you are just having fun with this, right? You aren't really serious?”

Twilight scowled immediately. “Mr. Electron, I assure you that what I‘ve said is exactly the case. I’m hoping my unexplainable visual will convince you completely of everything I’ve told you all over the last couple months on the forum.”

Excitable’s eyes widened, probably in a sarcastic way judging by his voice. “Are you going to perform magic for us?”

Twilight bit her lip on reflex. “I really wish I could…” The subject was a sore spot for her, but she knew the situation at hoof was too important to let that show or back down. I can dwell on things later. “I do have the next best thing to show you. Then, I’ll explain my situation in detail and hopefully you’ll all believe me, as we discussed yesterday.”

Doctor Evil shrugged in his screen. “Like I said, I want to believe. You’ve talked about some crazy stuff, Twilight. I might just have to watch this show, too, after all. Though I’ll probably never believe that a sun can be controlled by magic…” He chuckled some more at that, enough to make his shoulders shake.

Excitable beat Twilight to speaking next, and they talked over one another for a second. “Sorry, go ahead,” Twilight relented.

“Thanks.” Excitable went on. “The show’s great, it’s full of funny nerd stuff from all sorts of classics and things. It definitely is not just for kids. Even comic book stuff, eh Quark?”

Quark sighed. “Yeah, I’ll just turn in my man card next time I go out.”

“But,” Excitable began again, raising one eyebrow. “It is just that, only a TV show.”

Twilight frowned after hearing him say that. “I can’t explain the show, Mr. Electron, but I’m real, and so is my home.” She coughed loudly. “Excuse me, sirs? I don’t want to be rude, but… could we stay on topic here?”

It seemed they were all typing side messages to something or another for a second, before they all stopped and refocused.

“Right, sorry.” Doctor Evil apologized and leaned forward. Though smiling, he had a weary look in his eyes that said he may have been awake a long time. Perhaps his face simply looked like that. “You have the floor, Twilight, say whatever it was you wanted to.”

Twilight nodded gratefully. “I have more than just things I want to say. I’ve spoken about that a lot, already. What I want to show you all, is this.”

Leaning over, Twilight fetched a simple little bundle of towels. It was only a foot long or so, containing the smallest example of the crystals that were otherwise housed in Jo’s basement. The things held no evidence of the spectacular in appearance, or when touched by human hands; unless they were struck.

Twilight unwrapped the bundle and dropped the cloth onto the floor. In her hand was a crystal, slightly cloudy and a deep purple in hue. It sparkled slightly in the sunlight that leaked through the window. She held it up until the camera showed the thing clearly on her screen for her friends to see.

The three forum dwellers all shifted in their seats and positions, expressing different emotions or thoughts on their human faces as they looked over what the supposed unicorn was showing them.

“Pretty,” Doctor Evil mumbled. He made a look that said he wasn’t sure exactly what to say.

“Yeah, it is.” Excitable agreed. “It’s just a prop though. It looks like it came off a Stargate set or something.”

Quark leaned back from his monitor, staying silent.

Excitable went on. “How’s that proof, Twilight?”

Twilight couldn’t help but smile, fully expecting a reaction of awe to come soon, like the one she had gotten from Jo. “Watch.” She picked up a pen from the desk, and gave the side of the crystal a little tap.

On command, motes of light and shimmering sparks that danced through the colors of the rainbow sprang out of every surface of the crystal. A low ring accompanied the lights, like a bell.

“Whoa!” Excitable jumped in his screen, causing Twilight to laugh.

“It’s fine, stay calm please,” Twilight reassured him. “This crystal is from my crash site, after I teleported to, then subsequently landed on Earth.”

The lights continued to swirl around the room, floating to and fro in the air. Behind Twilight, the cats were jumping up and trying to swat at them ferociously. The fattest of the three felines hissed angrily, fleeing the room.

“Oh geez, sorry girls.” Twilight made an embarrassed look, apologizing to Jo’s furry friends. The sparks began fading from existence a moment later. “So what do you guys think?” She turned back to face the screen, beaming her smile.

Excitable seemed the most flustered by the light show, surprisingly. Doctor Evil and Quark were wide eyed, but regarded the screen more normally.

“That was some really impressive special effects?” Quark said after a moment, question in his tone.

Twilight wilted some, then frowned a little. “But-”

Doctor Evil rubbed a hand over his chin. “That was very impressive. I take it your setup is designed to create those effects whenever you move a certain way?”

Twilight had to resist the urge to scream. Instead, she managed a slightly strangled outcry. “No! It’s real! Guys-”

Excitable interrupted her. “Gentlemen, I think you’re overlooking something pretty critical here. Did you see the way those cats were reacting to those things?”

The voice chat hung silent a moment. Twilight studied the faces of the human stallions, the nervousness and stress that had begun bubbling up in her leaving once more. One of the cats in question was rubbing up against her leg and purring.

“That… is very strange.” The largest, Quark, admitted. He began clicking his mouse quickly, his eyes scanning something the rest of them couldn’t see.

The oldest, Doctor Evil, stayed quiet this time, mouth hung slightly open.

Excitable chuckled. “Unless of course the cats were trained to act that way.”

Twilight frowned slightly at one corner of her mouth, then groaned aloud in the quiet that began to settle in. “What is it going to take to prove stuff to you guys?”

“That could be…” Quark responded to the other stallion, then shifted gears in his voice and spoke louder. “But I’m not seeing anything messing with the video stream. My filter’s empty, gentlemen. Those lights at least were real, I think, whatever they were.”

Twilight grinned in victory. “See, I told yo-” She was interrupted again.

“So what does that mean?” Excitable held a hand up to his head. “A prop of some kind then? Advanced holographics?”

Twilight frowned slightly at being ignored. “It means, tha-”

Doctor Evil spoke again. “You’re not really suggesting what I think you’re suggesting? That this is legitimate.”

“HEY! Didn’t you say I had the ground floor?” Twilight crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the screen. She wasn’t sure exactly where she was supposed to look, and instead shifted her glare between the three screens facing her.

The three men mumbled apologies, and began cheating by typing furiously in the chat window instead.

Twilight heaved a breath and let them have that at least. “Guys, this isn’t a special effect.” She tapped the crystal again, garnering their attention once more. The cats behind her began losing it again, meowing. “The reason I want you to believe me, is because as I’ve said, I honestly need help. I don’t know how to get home, and other than these crystals, which I can’t explain, I have no magic at my disposal. That means unless Princess Celestia comes to help me, I’m stranded.”

Quark began laughing when Twilight said the Princess’ name, earning a stern look from her. “Sorry,” he apologized. “That name was too much for me.”

Excitable spoke up, idly studying his desk. “Well when she shows up man don’t laugh, Celestia’s hardcore.”

"Hardcore...?" Twilight questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Excitable shrugged. "Well, she can raise the sun, yes? See, hardcore." He grinned wickedly, holding one hand to his chin.

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes, putting the odd description of her mentor out of mind. “True, I guess, but I wish she would just show up and get me home… It’s my best hope of getting back, truthfully.”

Doctor Evil hummed sadly, while Quark began poking something absently, looking as though he wanted to distract himself from the conversation.

Excitable looked up eventually, smiling now. “Alright, Twilight, let’s assume we do believe you.”

Twilight blinked, then straightened her back in an attempt to look just as serious and holding her posture as well as she could while listening. The human named Excitable looked deadly serious, himself. Quark seemed to be wearing an amused look, but the Doctor at least had a thoughtful expression on. The scholarly looking old human almost seemed to be staring out into space.

Twilight found herself staring at him while listening to Excitable.

“If everything you say is true, that you are a pony turned human from this potion thing you made, and ended up on Earth by accident… What exactly do you want us to do to help you?” Excitable’s expression was unwavering and serious.

Twilight had to swallow before speaking, feeling a little put on the spot. “Well, you saw all of my posts about my ideas, my formulas and calculations. I guess, I want to use human technology in a comprehensible way to make a fully functional method of getting home. A device if you will. I just… need help… resources… probably a staff... and a lot of Earth money…” She hunched inwardly more and more, realizing how crazy her suggestions sounded, even by Equestrian standards of your everyday, neighborly generosity.

After trailing off the chat room hung quiet again for a moment.

Quark laughed abruptly, a short thing that ended as quickly as it started. He held a hand over his mouth, and began talking through it. “Okay, well, what do you think, Lex?”

Twilight watched as Doctor Evil responded to the new name. The other human stallion had been leaning on folded hands, an intense look of study on his face.

“Well, everything not pony related that she’s said has been sound. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t directly benefited some from the work you put onto the site. Twilight, you look young, how old are you? If you don’t mind my asking, anyway. I realize that’s a rude question. I just want to know, how long have you been studying this material?” The man Quark had referred to as Lex leaned back, an incredulous look on his face.

Twilight blinked in mild surprise. Still, she went along with the flow of the conversation, keeping in mind her goal. “Well, a little over a month? I arrived in September. It was September in Equestria when I left there, too, by the way.”

Lex’s eyes flickered to the left and right, then back to staring at what Twilight assumed was her. “Even ignoring that, I’m guessing you’re maybe twenty one at most. You’re my daughter’s age, and I’d sell my soul for her to be as smart as you’ve shown us all. Not to say my daughter is stupid or anything mind you…”

Quark piped in. “It’s too bad she didn’t take after your wife more, hm?”

The men all chuckled at that, and Twilight nervously joined in. I can’t tell if this is going well or not anymore. Augh.

“So…” Excitable began. “You don’t have any more definitive proof? Are there any other strange girls around that have brightly dyed hair like you?”

Twilight shook her head. “No, other proof really. Other than my knowledge." She frowned, continuing. "And it’s just me, thank goodness. I mean… yes I’m alone, but I couldn’t imagine stranding other ponies here away from home with me. It’s tough. I couldn't imagine say, poor Fluttershy being stuck here...”

The chat room grew quiet again in the wake of her bringing up ponies once more.

Quark tossed his hands up and sighed. “Well, shoot, I expected mankind’s first encounter of the supernatural would be tentacles or bug aliens, but ponies will have to do, I guess.”

Twilight’s face lit up like a christmas tree. “You mean you believe me!?” She bounced in her chair, unable to sit still. “Anything you guys want to ask me, at all, just name it. I realize that might not help… but I could write out the laws of magic, or write essays on Equestrian history for you right here to prove that at least I’m not making things up. I guess that’s a stretch but…”

Excitable chimed in loudly. “Twilight, calm down!” He smirked. “Alright I mean, I guess it’s too incredible to ignore-”

Quark slammed a hand down on his desk. The sound thumped through the speakers and reverberated back through the microphone, making everyone cry out in either surprise or anger.

“Sorry, sorry!” Quark waved a hand, the look on his face was stark focus and shock.

“What’s the deal?” Excitable frowned into his camera.

“I got it, I just got it. It makes sense.” Quark was clicking rapidly at something, and a link appeared in the chat box a moment later. “Hey, alleged pony girl, you said you came to Earth two months ago?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, still calming down from the scare the man’s excitement had given her. “Eeeeyes?” she said carefully. “I have a name you know…” She clicked on the link absently, it seemed the other two men were doing the same thing.

Quark waved a hand. “Not important right now. I’ve been looking at this anomaly and these pictures for months. It has meteorologists baffled. What do you think of this?”

Twilight’s browser loaded up, revealing a photo album of various pictures of a cloudy night sky. The strangest part of the sky wasn’t the clouds, however, or even the lightning, but a long, purple colored streak that stretched through the air. She had seen the story before, it was often brought up in the forums as one of 'the mysteries of century'.

Twilight put two and two together quickly. “That’s me,” she confessed aloud. Her hands folded them in front of herself as she waited for a response.

Quark snapped his fingers. “That’s impossible," he stated matter of factly. "But also not important right now. If you’re an advanced alien or something anyway I doubt it matters though. Anyway, this meteorite was seen streaking across the sky for almost a full hour.” He posted another link, this was a video. “Here’s where it gets weird. The U.F.O, which you’re claiming to be, was zig zagging and disappearing, then reappearing randomly elsewhere. Everywhere it went, from the midwest all the way to New York a storm kicked up.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed as she listened to the man. She recalled that night with perfect clarity, and had been able to for some nights. She had been reaching out with her magic in desperation to try and teleport back to her beloved tree-home, unaware of the fact she had been in the night sky, let alone on a world called Earth inhabited by humans. She had tried to get back to Spike, and Applejack, and Equestria itself, though she hadn’t yet known that last part. The entire time she had been falling she had thought she was done for.

Her human friends all spoke amongst each other and she paid them no mind. She had already seen the pictures that had been taken of herself by satellites and the like. She often wondered if they could track her to where she had ended up. It seemed that hadn't been the case.

Twilight looked down at her hands for a moment. She could recall the feeling of her body as it changed while rain and ice pelted at her, even if at the time she couldn’t tell the difference between the two feelings. Nearly every spell she could think of had been used that night, even a few that were useless. In the end, the only one that had probably paid off was a shield spell, one she had cast just before waking up, like she was now; a human.

“Hey, Houston to Twilight, you there?” Quark’s voice and the sound of a finger tapping a microphone snapped Twilight out of her daze.

“Wh- Sorry, I zoned out. It was a pretty bad night for me…” Twilight rubbed one of her arms quietly, trying to pick herself back up and help her case. If she lost them now, she didn’t know what exactly else she could do.

The three men were giving her thoughtful looks of varying depth.

"Well," Quark started. "I'll ask again. What about those vines, the thing I showed everyone yesterday. Do you know anything about that other bit of unexplainable?"

Twilight furrowed her brow and answered slowly. "No, I don't. Something like that takes a great deal of magic. I'm sure I could cast a spell back in Equestria like that, but right now..." She watched the men's faces carefully, none of them seemed to want to meet her gaze as she spoke.

The room became quiet again.

“...So, what next?” Excitable asked suddenly.

Twilight took a deep breath after realizing she had been holding it. “Well,” she started. “I’m not really sure.”

Lex ran a hand over the grey stubble he bore. “So, to sum up, you were just hoping to convince myself, my colleague here, and anyone that would listen like Excitable that you are… a unicorn, from another world, and also a refugee trying to get back.” After leaving a pause he added. “And with something that has only been considered fiction in the highest circles of our science community.”

Twilight sucked in the air she needed to respond to all of that. “Yes, I am, Mr. Lex, and I know it’s possible. At least, it is with magic. I somehow pulled it off on accident once, now I mean to do it again, somehow.” She watched as the three people fell back into their thoughtful looks of either doubt or intrigue. "Mark my words, if my friends can't come for me, I will find a way back to them. With, or without your help. You've seen my work, you know how serious I am. I can figure this out somehow, I just know it."

Lex nodded. "I see..." was all he said.

Once again the chat fell silent, the four humans studying one another in turn.

Finally, Lex answered again. It wasn’t with what Twilight was hoping to hear though, or expecting.

“By the way, Twilight, sorry these two chowder heads didn’t introduce themselves, but Quark’s name is Jack, and double E there is Carl.” Lex pointed a finger miscellaneously in front of himself at what Twilight supposed was either of the other two stallions’ screens.

“Oh,” Twilight remarked. “Nice to meet you both. My name is actually Twilight.” She said, with a bit of a twist to her words. “So, do you guys believe me or not? Will you help me? Even just a little?” Her voice sounded a little more pleading than she meant it.

“Well,” all three of them managed to mumble to some degree at the same time. They then set about telling each other to feel free to speak next.

Excitable, or Carl as he’d been named, raised his voice and spoke over the other two. “Simply put, no, Twilight, at least I don't.” He folded his hands and raised his eyebrows. “I mean yeah, I want to. The light show was cool, but, well, you’re a scientifically minded person. You know full well we need proof before we can believe a claim that weighty.”

Twilight sighed out again, looking at each of the humans in turn. They both nodded in agreement with their youngest member. “Well, okay that’s fine. I expected that after all. What about my proposal though, about helping me test the theories I’ve put in the forums?”

Lex raised a hand, inhaling and looking as though he was going to proclaim something important. “I… would take you up on that, at least. I don’t know about the pony business, but I would at least not mind looking at that crystal in person. You said it was from your crater,” he laughed a little at that. “Sorry, but if it is from space that could at the very least be interesting to look at.”

Quark, the man named as Jack, raised a hand. “I wouldn’t mind looking either. Maybe you could mail us one, you said you had a few, right? I’m honestly already willing to work with you on your theories, Twilight. You’re brilliant.”

Twilight couldn’t help but stiffen at the compliment. She think she managed to resist blushing, at least. The man went on, so she hoped none of them had noticed.

“I don’t know about resources or a device…” Jack trailed off, making an odd face and his eyes glancing around quickly. He seemed to have let his gaze with the camera drift to his computer screen. “But we would be crazy to ignore you or write you off just because of this. Maybe we could-”

Twilight was poking a finger at her chair's arm absently as she listened. They don’t believe me still. It wasn’t the ideal situation she had hoped for, but it seemed she wasn’t trotting away empty hooved at least.

The men kept talking to her while she half listened.

Jo stretched as she entered her house, and cried out. “Gah!? What the he-” Her cats had all been sitting by the door, the lot of them underfoot the moment she walked in. Subsequently, she had tripped over at least two of them and thumped into the wall across from the back door. “Really!?” She growled in anger and disgust as the cats continued to whine. “Alright alright, I’ll feed you in a minute. Why weren’t you bothering Twilight? She knows what you eat.”

Jo tiredly made her way back through the house. Strangely the cats didn’t follow her towards the kitchen as she had expected they would.

“Hm?” Jo turned her head, catching the sound of voices.

Twilight tilted her head curiously at what Jack had said.

The skinny human seemed to be struggling to find the right words he was searching for. “Well, I’d thought about showing it to you a few days ago, or last night even, but I’ve been thinking about getting you, uhm, help for a while and decided not to…” Jack trailed off, frowning at something on his desk rather than meeting his camera.

Twilight couldn’t help but put on a bit of a smug grin. “And now?” This wasn’t an admittance of belief, she knew, but the human at least seemed to think she wasn’t crazy.

Jack huffed out a breath of air and regarded his screen. “Well, now I guess I’m at least willing to believe you’re sane enough to try and fool us all for some reason or another.”

Twilight shrugged, laughing a little. "Good enough. I’m sure I’ll convince you eventually that I’m the real deal, so to speak. My biggest worry is of course what you all intend to do with my trust like this. Obviously, I am literally an illegal alien, and your country has some pretty spectacular rules about things like that…”

Lex rolled his eyes while Carl nodded sagely.

Jack put up his hands in defense of himself. “Hey, I’m from Germany, I’m innocent.” He laughed then a link appeared in the chat below his face. “Anyway, here’s the video I wanted to show you. It popped up on YouTube recently and, well, I’m still into the brony scene a little bit. At least whenever someone makes something interesting. The weird thing about this one is, no one’s taken credit, and it popped up on YouTube randomly. After last night I tried tracking down the source, couldn’t find anything yet.”

Twilight watched the interested looks of confusion and scrutiny on Quark’s and the Doctor’s faces, the light of their monitors playing in different patterns as they apparently started watching whatever Excitable had sent.

She too clicked on the link.

In a flash her screen changed and the browser window popped up. What began playing was confusing at first, but Twilight quickly managed to ignore the shaking of whoever had held the recording device, and made out what was being recorded.

What she saw, shocked her and she paused the recording on one frame less blurred than most of the video.

There was definitely a pony; an unmistakable Equestrian, wearing denim overalls and a green shirt. The strange mare was very familiar in that she looked to be somepony that could very well be a neighbor of Twilight's from back in Ponyville. The stranger's coat was a pale orange, while her mane was an interesting combination of tan and light blue; it was a little hard to tell in the darkened video for sure, though.

The strangest part about the video was what the stranger in the film seemed to be doing; namely, hugging a tall human stallion from behind.

Twilight hit play again on the video. She held a hand up to her mouth in shock at seeing the stallion slowly slump down onto the ground, where the mare let him fall unceremoniously into an unmoving lump. Without hesitating, the mystery pony ran to another nearby stallion, hoisted him up, and began carrying him away.

Twilight tuned back in at hearing Quark’s deep voice.

“Well that’s a new one, small horses abducting young boys.” The pudgy man chuckled, a lopsided grin on his face.

Jack spoke up, laughing even louder. “It’s just like when the show first became popular, eh? When I found it, I couldn’t stop laughing.”

Lex was shaking his head sadly. “Poor kid, never saw it coming. This can't be real.”

Twilight concentrated on watching the video. The quality was lacking, and blurred awfully. But, there was no mistaking it to her; that was a real, Equestrian pony, running into the night on her screen.

Author's Notes:

I will admit to get a little inspiration for the nerds from an outside source. Of course, I didn't want to bog the chapter down with random 'rule setting' for Equestria, but it did make a very logical topic all things considering in this case. I promise it probably won't pop up again for the remainder of the story, guys, in case you were getting sick of it.

Okay so yes, another huge chapter, and more teasing. Extinguish those damned torches right this instant! I'm getting to everything. It's just slow going and annoyingly so. I'll pull it off though, mark my words. The next ATL chapter is the one you've all been waiting for, probably. Assuming you've all been waiting for Twilight's opinion of internet memes.

I kid. Suffice to say I'm still plunking at things slowly.

Chapter 23 : The Waiting Game

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“Twilight?” Jo poked her head into Twilight’s office, and was answered by a cry of surprise.

Twilight stared up at her friend, holding a hand to her chest. “Huh!?” She exhaled in relief. “Celestia, you scared me, Jo.” She glanced at her other three friends, all looking at their computer screens with various degrees of interest on their faces, then back to Jo. “Where have you been?”

Jo shrugged, then spotted something odd looking on the computer screen in the room. “I went out to eat with Alice and… maybe forgot to invite you...” Her slightly flat look shifted into a narrowing of her eyes. “Twilight, who are they?” She had spotted what looked like a neck-beard, Charles Darwin, and… a skinny homeless person, all in the middle of a video chat on Twilight’s laptop.

Twilight double-taked from Jo, to the computer, and back. “Oh, Jo, these are my ‘online’ friends. This is DoctorEvil, his real name is Lex and don’t worry I highly doubt he actually is evil, or a doctor, though I didn’t trust him at first either. And he’s Quark, or Carl, and last but not least, this is Jack.”

“Hello there,” the bulky Carl nodded, while Lex greeted the newcomer with a crisp, “Good day.” Jack waved absently, looking at something else on his screen with a look of driven scrutiny.

Twilight watched what appeared to be Jo struggling not to scowl. Her human host’s expression twitched at the eyebrows while looking at the screen. “Online friends, huh,” the other girl nearly mumbled.

Jack suddenly shifted his eyes, then leaned further from his camera and murmured, “Look at how fast I can run away…” before taking a sip from a coffee mug and looking elsewhere.

Twilight crossed her arms and turned to face her friend. “Yes, they’re my friends, and I’ve been busy asking them for help. Though, they have understandably been begrudging to offer it because I told them about my origin from Equestria and-”

The sound of Jo smacking her hand against her head briefly interrupted Twilight, but she went on.

“-and they might not believe me, but they’re credible scientists and are still willing to help me learn, at the very least. Right guys?” Twilight turned, smiling cheerfully at the collection of grizzled men.

All three shook themselves and looked up. “Oh, yeah,” “Mmhmm,” and “Uhm…” were muttered out of each of them.

Twilight frowned, turning back to square herself up against the computer. “Are you guys listening?”

Jo inhaled loud and deep to talk, but Lex and his baritone voice beat her to the punch.

“Sorry, Twilight, Jack here has been trying to deduce how legitimate the video is… It’s-” Lex was cut off by an excited Jack, who had hints of both confusion and anger in his voice.

“Honestly, I mean, this has to be fake, right? In all my years though I’ve never seen something look quite this good.” Jack was squinting intently beneath his rounded glasses at his own screen.

Carl sighed. “Aw come on, Excitable, don’t tell me you believe that’s really a pony. I’m all for helping Twilight get a Nobel prize but I’m not buying into the ‘from another world thing’.”

Jack’s eyes shifted and he took on a serious look over his wide eyed one. “I’m not saying that at all, but this video with the pony… as real as a lot of fake special effects look sometimes, this one is too… grainy, and fluid, to be fake. These shadows the pony is casting on this teenager she’s choking out and the lights look too perfect. That pony’s a she, right? A mare?”

Twilight nodded to him, smirking.

Jack went on and furrowed his brow. “Right, as far as I can tell, it’s the real deal. I mean, look at that pony! It’s interacting with everything on screen perfectly!” He finished by putting both hands atop his head, then leaning back.

Jo tried to speak up again, but was beaten by Lex once more. Her eyes narrowed in response, while Twilight smiled over at her, before turning again and listening intently.

“No, there are errors. You aren’t looking close enough. See where the pony… thing, grabs the boy’s shirt? It has hooves, it can’t grip clothing like that.” Lex shifted his gaze back and forth, and in the other screens his two nerdy companions began nodding and mumbling agreement.

“Actually,” Twilight started, tossing one last reassuring smile to Jo. “We can, while the actual reason isn’t very well documented, we, as in us Equestrians, do know why we can manipulate things better than many other hooved beings and races on our world.” She saw the smirks of amusement from the other humans, but pressed on, returning her own self-assured look of confidence back to them.

“It’s magic, the magic inherent to our world. It permeates everything, alive, inert, or otherwise. Why, after studying the, and I must commend this, vastly more advanced sciences that humans have pioneered, I’ve theorized that magic is the building block of our world. Perhaps, rather than matter is in yours. Maybe we have both! I need to go back before I can know for sure.” She was happy to see the amused looks had mostly faded from the stranger’s faces by the time she finished. Of course, skepticism and doubt had replaced them, but there were pockets of interest evident.

Twilight decided to take what she could get.

“So,” Jack began, sounding nonchalant. “Ponies have magnetic hooves?” he asked.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Not magnetic, they’re-” Her explanation came to an abrupt halt.

Jo finally let out a mild shout to get ahold of the ground floor. “Hey! Einsteins, chill out.” She glared at the computer, where she could see the men act like they were doing something else, then faced Twilight. “What are they talking about?”

Twilight smiled and folded her hands. “Oh, just one of the ways they’ve helped me so far! I told them all about Equestria and where I’m from, and Jack there showed me some very interesting clues.” She approached Jo and whispered to her. “It’s great, Jo. Next I was hoping to meet them, or get more help directly with my studies and-”

“Alright, that’s enough, guys, egg heads, whatever.” Jo waved her hands and backed away from a confused looking Twilight. She then stepped up to the laptop, looking sternly into the camera. “I’m really sorry we wasted your time like this. It was just, you know, a joke and-” Her eyes bugged as Twilight grabbed her wrist and whirled her out the door.

From the room, Twilight heard Jack say, “dissent among the ranks…” and Carl mutter, “I told you guys it was a farce,” obviously already reacting to what Jo had said.

Once in the other room, Twilight grabbed Jo by the shoulders, wide eyed, and addressed a bulleted list of worries and complaints that had been on her mind for some time. She briefly considered getting the physical copy, but decided now was a better time to act. Plus, she was a little angry at her friend, too.

“Jo! What are you doing!?” Twilight hissed. “Do you have any concept of how delicate a situation this is? I. Need. Help.”

The sound of Carl shouting, “Called it!” reached the doorway from the desk speakers.

“Stupid sensitive human microphones…” Twilight groaned and pulled Jo further from the door.

“You should probably mute that- And Twilight, would you let me explain why this is a bad idea, please?” Jo pulled her hand out of Twilight’s grip and faced down the ex-unicorn as she rounded on her. The other girl was a bit taller than Jo, so it was an awkward confrontation for her to say the least, despite Twilight being so timid most of the time.

“Look, I know what you want to do, I listen to you talk about it all the time. But this, is not playing it safe, at all! They’re men, strange ones, from who knows where that have done who knows what. Even if-” Jo flexed her mind, face wrinkling in thought for what else to say. “Even if they could help you get home, and honestly, I think that’s impossible, why would they?”

Twilight frowned back at Jo, who allowed the silence to stand a second and let the words sink in.

“You should wait for Celestia.” Jo put her hand on Twi’s shoulder. The look she wore was concerned, but serious.

Twilight stared down at Jo a moment, wanting to come out and say she was wrong, dead wrong. For all of her friend’s pretenses though, her reasons definitely held wisdom, some, at least. She looked away at the carpet for a moment. “But… They’re willing to help… They don’t even really believe me, and they’re willing to work with me solely on the basis of our relationship as fellow scientists!” By the time she finished, she was looking up at Jo with a determined look.

Jo answered back with her own flat stare. “Well why do you think that is? It’s because they want something, Twilight.” She laughed, and backed up a step, looking around the room in a dramatic way. “I mean, think about it. You came to them telling them you were something that only exists in fiction, right?”

“Yes…” Twilight frowned. Her hands were balled up, but she didn’t move or relent so much as a twitch, instead standing still and watching her friend begin to pace. But… “I’m not fiction though, Jo. You believe me, why can’t they?” Her jaw set some, and she continued while taking steps to re-close the gap with Jo. “What’s the worst that could go wrong?”

Jo shook her head more. “Twilight, it’s not the same, just let me explain that. Maybe they do believe you, and it’s because they’re crazy. If they don’t then, heck, they could want anything from… using you as free labor to…” She struggled to find words. “Twilight, you got lucky finding me and Alice. This is a world filled with people you can’t-”

“You’re wrong.” Twilight stepped in front of Jo, and clutched her hand. “That isn’t right, Jo. You yourself helped me see that wasn’t the truth! I was ready to believe this whole planet was… was a place like Tartarus, or something. It isn’t though. Sure, it’s different from my home, but there are some good, good humans here.” She patted Jo’s hand. “Like you.”

Twilight stared down at Jo’s expression, wracked with… it looked like the human was afraid, almost. Uncertainty and worry warred in her own head, too. “These guys are really nice. Weird, but nice. You should meet them and pass judgement later.”

Jo frowned a little at that, started to say something, then looked away instead.

Twilight took a step back and smiled, leaning over slightly to look up at the retreated Jo. She knew what Jo was trying to say, and why, but she felt it wasn’t something for her to address, if not directly. “I can see what you’re trying to explain to me, Jo. I wasn’t born yesterday. I’m an Element of Harmony, and I can handle myself. I’ll admit, I’m not… all knowing, as great as that would be, and that’s why I will never ignore your advice, at least here, anyway. On the topic of magical theory I’ll more likely defer to my-”

The dour appearance of Jo’s face faded into a more normal expression of exasperation. “Twilight…” she said dully. Meanwhile, she looked at the nearby office as though it contained velociraptors.

“Right.” Twilight ahemed and straightened up. “As I was saying, I really appreciate your help, Jo, all of it, and your advice, but I need this. I need to know for myself if I can do it and specialists from Earth are the fastest, best way I can learn more a- and maybe even make advancements! That much, at least, is truth back home in Equestria or here on Earth.”

Jo looked up at Twilight, and the two studied one another while the unicorn spoke, two sides to a debate with equal merits from one or the other.

Twilight continued while walking back towards her computer in the office next door. “Now having said all of that, Jo… and it hurts me to put this… ultimatum on the table at all, but if I need to leave in order to continue my search to get home, I will.” She looked back, a little bit of every emotion one would expect in her eyes, then turned again to rejoin her meeting.

Jo grabbed Twilight’s shoulder weakly, halting her before she could leave. “Twilight, I want you to know, and I’m saying this because… Never mind, look, this isn’t about me, or… how much I detest guys, alright?”

Twilight turned around, glanced into the office, then back at Jo. “Jo, I didn’t think that-”

Jo rolled her eyes angrily. “Come on, yeah you did. You’re smarter than a hundred of me, and a better friend than I could ever hope to be. Yeah it’s true, any dude I bump into has a better chance of getting a kick to his jaw than the time of day out of me, yeah?” She sucked in a breath of air, eyes shut, before continuing. “I legitimately think though, that it’s a bad idea to include people we don’t know, in this. You’ve watched some of those stupid movies! And I know you spent a day at least on tvtropes, don’t lie about that.” She punctuated the accusation with a finger directed at her friend's chest.

Twilight reddened some and looked away towards the ceiling. I couldn’t help it! Every explanation on that site always led to another one… and then another.

Jo crossed her arms. “Twilight, this is always the first wrong move the good guys make before some jerk moves in and ruins everything. There’s so much that could go wrong.” She flung her arm out in a flourish across the room.

Twilight crossed her own arms and looked at Jo with a blank expression. “Alright Jo, like what? I really want to know, and I mean things that we couldn’t prepare for using common sense, like traveling together, masking our location digitally; which I have, or by taking other precautions. What could go wrong?” She tossed her head slightly, sending her loose hair over her shoulder and back out of the way. “What could go wrong that isn’t worth risking for me to get home?”

Jo huffed, her eyes flicking from meeting Twilight head on to studying the far wall. “Well, there’s…” she struggled a second. “Twilight, I shouldn’t need to make you a stupid list of what could go wrong. I’m sure you’re well aware-”

“Jo…” Twilight took a step closer. “I meant from just talking to them, trusting them, maybe being friends with them.”

Jo winced and let out a breath, scratching the side of her head. “I…” Her hand wiped down her face, and she admitted defeat to herself quietly. “Alright, you’re right, I guess. Maybe we could… Maybe I am overreacting to what a bunch of space nerds could do.”

Twilight grinned ear to ear, before shrinking it humbly and resting her hands on Jo’s shoulders. “Someone has to start trusting for a friendship to form, Jo. You remember when we met, right? I trusted you, because you seemed like someone with a good heart. I get the same exact feeling with these stallions.”

Jo was biting the inside of her cheek and looking away. “Yeah yeah… Mushy friendship crap, peace, harmony, yadda yadda.” She winced when something flicked her ear.

Twilight had her nose upturned towards her. “Hands do come in handy sometimes. Sorry, Jo, but as your good friend I felt that I wasn’t out of bounds to say that friendship is not… crap.” She hmphed, then smirked back at Jo’s indignant look. “Thank you, though, for looking out for me.”

Jo opened her mouth to protest, but shut it again, instead taking a measured breath. She watched the other girl take a couple hopping steps away, practically skipping back into the office.

“Hey, Jo.” Twilight twirled around at the doorway, giving her host another winning smile.

Jo raised a solitary eyebrow.

“I… might be overstepping my bounds on this, at least, but… well you brought it up so…” Twilight began kneading her shirt nervously with one hand as she went on. “I’m curious and it might be really educational so I was just wondering, that is, if you’re willing to talk about it, because I really wanted to know, and-”

Jo hadn’t really been sure of how to react to a lot of things already that night, least of all whether she should be angry at Twilight for something. The pony turned human, however, would keep rambling if she didn’t interject. “What, Twilight? Just say it.”

“Right...” Twilight raised a finger, then lowered it, watching the ground. “I just wanted to say, if you ever do want to talk about your past, well, I’ll gladly listen.” She paused. “And that’s it.” She smiled.

Jo watched a moment, then shrugged. “Let’s just say I was probably too trusting.” She caught sight of Twilight’s pained expression, a thing that had materialized as if from thin air. “It’s fine, long story, and I appreciate you wanting to help, Twilight, I do. Honestly, it’s between me and him though. Ahh…” Her hand scrubbed the back of her head, and she shrugged, walking away. “I’m making some coffee, do you want any?”

Twilight hesitated, then smiled again. “Yes, please.” Her hands folded themselves in front of herself, and she couldn’t help but feel better inside when Jo returned her smile. “Oh, Jo, I have something incredible to show you, too. I almost forgot.”

Jo stopped mid turn, blinking.

“Remember that pony they mentioned?” She went on after Jo nodded slowly. “Well, just trust me then, this will… blow your mind.” Twilight had to resist the urge to bounce on her feet at recalling the exciting discovery. The implications of it were only just starting to hit her.

Jo gave her a skeptical look, then shrugged. “Alright, Twilight. Just give a minute and I’ll be right back.” She was shaking her head, but it was obviously just her way of showing she was thinking about things.

Twilight waited a moment, watching her friend go, then walked back into the office, content. A pensive breath escaped her as she spotted the three figures, still on the laptop, all of them looking as though they were waiting. She sat down quickly into the chair at the desk and scooted it closer.

“Hello, gentlemen, I’m back.” Her hand waved.

“Oh, you have returned.” Carl gestured back with a pudgy hand, and the other two men straightened up, each with a wan look to call their own. “You got the phrase right this time, too.”

Twilight chuckled. “Well, I don’t strictly get it wrong, usually. I’m just used to using Equestrian vernacular and Alice seems to like it when I use it here and it doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal and… well, strange as it may sound I like being reminded of home, usually.” She could feel embarrassment warm her cheeks after saying so much so quickly. “S-sorry. It seems I’m always a little out of sorts.” Very smooth, Twilight. Come on, calm down. Jo’s fine, you’re fine, and everything’s fine.

Thankfully enough, her computer friends either chuckled or smirked in a friendly way. Lex looked a little tired, or something, though.

“Alice?” Jack questioned.

Twilight nodded. “She’s Jo’s friend, the angry girl, and… interesting is the best way to describe her. Alice hasn’t been around in a while though.”

Jack scrunched his face up and nodded a few times, quick bobs of his head, then jumped off into talking. “Well, we were talking about pony hooves, I believe, but given that I would rather consider myself sane still and say that you being a trans-dimensional pony is a load of bunk, no offense, Twilight...” Twilight knowingly rolled her eyes. “I think that we should discuss more pressing matters, like your friend, and possibly this video…” Jack was jabbing what looked to be a pen at his own screen, likely at the video he’d brought back up.

Twilight responded, sighing. “Yeah, sorry about that, guys. Jo’s the… human that took me in that I talked about. I had to do a little convincing to get her onboard with this. After all, I am a guest in her house and I’m sure if she was trying to do something that could put Ponyville at risk in Equestria I would confront her about it, too.” She laughed nervously, briefly considering what kind of trouble a human could get into there.

All three of the men chuckled at that, then a brief silence set in.

“So…” Twilight began prodding two of her fingers absently against one another.

Carl raised a hand and spoke up in his deep voice. “So, yeah, that was… some act you two put together. Very well rehearsed, I especially liked the bits that didn’t have much to do with the pony thing. That was a nice touch, it made the whole thing sound very authentic and real.” He peaked his hands together and rested his head upon them. “Six out of ten.”

“What? But that’s a failing gra-” Some of the life drained out of Twilight’s face, and she blinked. “Wait, you heard all that?” She looked down and glared at the laptop that had just let her private conversation be heard by the same people it had been about. “How sensitive is this thing!? Augh, technology…” She winced, wearing an ashamed look and addressed the men gathered before her.

Twilight spoke apologetically. “Lex, Jack, Carol-”

“Carl…” Carl interrupted with a correction.

“Uhm, right, sorry about that, too… First off, that wasn’t staged, but I apologize for talking about you all behind your backs like that… I needed, needed to convince Jo to be alright with this.”

The three humans all gave her looks of interest, and various other emotions that certainly included deep thought.

Jack harrumphed and spoke first. “For the record, I’m not a space nerd. I don’t mind Star Wars at all or anything, but that’s-”

Twilight sat up straight. "So wait, you believe me?" Her smile grew a fraction.

The men remained still a second. Carl was the first to move. "Weeeell, maybe... for now I'll say I believe everything but the parts including a kid's tv show being real, how about that?"

Twilight snickered, but shrugged, content. "That's fine by me, but I will prove things, eventually."

Lex interrupted in his aged, gravelly voice. “Let’s get back to the matter at hoof, shall we, fellas?”

Carl deadpanned flatly while Jack snickered. “Hoof, really?”

Lex smirked. “Did you like that? I’ve been looking at some of this pony stuff and-” The older man coughed and shook his head. “Nevermind, anyway, about the videos, the crystals, all of this other world stuff, Twilight, it is admittedly very interesting.” He paused, stroking his grey facial hair with one hand while peering down. His expression said he was looking for what else to say. “Well, I think that we’ll pace ourselves with all of that and the science talk. Mixing science and fantasy is a tricky business.”

Jack leaned forward and joined in with a whining voice. “Hey, you aren’t talking bad about Shadowrun, are you, Lex?”

Carl sighed. “Shadowrun isn’t the only IP in existence that includes elements of both genres you know-”

Lex began tapping on his microphone while coughing fiercely, until the other two backed down from jumping into an argument. He chuckled. “As I was saying, lets stick to our old routine and let your friend calm down some. She seems on edge, and well, let’s hypothetically say everything you’ve told us is true…”

"Okay?" Twilight blinked, watching as the aged human smiled at her in a grandfatherly, knowing way. He very much had the calm appearance Celestia sometimes bore when imparting wisdom, if much less of the commanding aura.

“Well,” Lex continued with, “then I would say that as a ‘weird, but nice’ human, I would be happy to help where I could. I think it’s my duty to prove to representatives from elsewhere that we’re not a… place with negative connotations like… Tartarus.” He finished with a wry, toothy grin.

Twilight laughed a little nervously again, then returned the smile, calming down from the relief she got from hearing that. “Thanks… thank you, Lex. I must say, I feel really good about having a University level professor like yourself helping me.”

Lex frowned, leaning back and folding his arms across his chest. “Now wait… who said I was a professor?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, then looked up at the ceiling absently, raising a finger to her chin. “Well, there’s a poster behind you advertising a 'technical institute' and that room looks an awful lot like one of the labs I've seen while perusing the internet. So, unless your home is decorated to look like a university, or a college as it’s often called here, which I doubt, my deductive reasoning seems pretty sound.” Her expression felt a bit more smug than she intended it too, but she went with it.

Lex turned and looked around himself, then chuckled. “Alright, fair enough.”

Jack clapped his hands. “Whelp,” he started with. “I guess that means you can count me in, too; as much as I can be from Germany, anyway. I’m assuming that you’re an American, er- Well, in America, Twilight, judging by your friend. I mean, I would say judging by your accent as well but... you know.”

Twilight raised a hand to her chin thoughtfully. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I could go on for hours about all the strange comparisons between my world and yours…” She paused a second, then perked up. “Would you like me to?”

Carl answered that question first. “I gotta go, actually. Feel free to keep asking me questions on anything physics, Twilight. I certainly don’t mind that.”

Twilight took note that he didn’t mention anything to do with Equestria, and simply nodded. “Thank you, Quark. That means a lot to me, as well as the fact that you all at least gave me a chance.”

Carl was clicking at something, then shrugged. “Well, the crystals have my interest. I want to see those, at least, and if you bring them to me and Lex we can tell you everything there is to know about them on a molecular level.” He raised an eyebrow. “I get the feeling if you’re for real… then that would be important.”

Twilight clapped her hands giddily. “Yes! Yes yes ye- Uhm, definitely.” She laughed. At the sound of footsteps behind her, she moved on. “Though I’ll have to talk to you-know-who about that, out of respect.”

Lex awed aloud, spotting Jo as she walk into the room. “Oh, you mean, she-who-shall-not-be-named?”

The other men laughed at the reference, while Twilight raised an eyebrow. She caught on to its face value at least. Perhaps you-know-who is less commonly used than she-who-shall-not-be-named?

“That’s probably my cue to go, anyway… Ciao, guys, Twilight.” Carl’s screen went blank, just like that. Lex and Jack began typing, and Twilight spotted text appearing in the chat.

Jo stepped up gruffly and set down one of the two mugs she held. “Coffee.” She said.

Twilight smiled at her friend gratefully. “Thanks, Jo. Okay, now you have got to see this, I can’t contain my excitement for this anymore!” She looked over, hurriedly pulling up the old link from Jack. “One second, guys.”

“Sure,” her other friends answered.

“Look, look!” Twilight shook Jo’s arm, her excitement bubbling over.

“Alright, I’m looking!” Jo’s brow drew down in consternation as she stared at the screen, barely able to maintain her focus with the vibrating person sitting beside her. Still, she managed to make out what looked to be… a pony, and a very real looking one. The quality was that of a good cellphone, but it shook a lot towards the end and beginning, only offering maybe a few seconds of a clear view.

Twilight paused the video on one of the better frames, in which the strange looking creature in the video was laying down what looked to be a teenage boy in dirt.

Jo blinked in disbelief. “What is that? Is that real?” She turned to look at Twilight, who was grinning maniacally. “Are there seriously more of you here?”

“Yes! I mean, I think!” Twilight giggled. “It could be, right, Jack?” She pulled up the voice chat again.

The two men looked up, a little surprised looking. “Oh, uhm, actually, it is real. This… I would say it’s more likely that pony is animatronic, or something, than special effects. I mean, I don’t want to be Baron Buzzkill here, but at the very least this video is one hundred percent legit.”

Twilight began giggling again, but stopped for a split second. “Animatronic?” she asked, looking at Jack. “What do you mean?”

Jack shrugged. “It looks too real and… perfect, but, I meant a robot. They’re rare, and expensive, and I doubt someone would ever put enough time and money into making one look as good as the one in that video would have to be, but it’s possible.”

Twilight frowned for a moment, alongside Jo, who had been frowning the entire time.

“Well,” Twilight started, rebuilding her chipper attitude in a flash. “It’s still a good shot that the mystery pony is real.” She grinned over at Jo. “What’d I tell you? They’re helpful! Now I just need to find that pony, discover how she got here, if she has a way back and-”

“Idaho.” Jack spoke up.

Twilight whirled to face the computer again.

The man continued, smirking at the bulging eyed expression that the purple haired girl was giving him. “The video was uploaded out of Idaho. Some po-dunk town called Belsdale. It took a little doing but…” he cracked his knuckles for effect. “I like to make it my business to be able to find things.”

Jo narrowed her eyes at the man, but was immediately jerked over sideways, gripped in the overpowering arms of an excited Twilight Sparkle.

“Haha!”

“Twilight, easy, calm- d-down!” Jo managed to wrench herself from the Equestrian’s steel grip. “Christ.”

Twilight straightened up with her hands pressed against her face, exhaling happily. “Sorry, this is just the best news I’ve heard in months… Oh my goodness.” She felt a bit a little teary but kept it bottled up.

Jack chimed in again, adding more. “Hey, I can’t really say much more than that though, we’ll have to dig further to find out who took the video. Also, I’d doubt the one that had taken it could tell you anything about what they were shooting.”

Lex spoke up from where he was inspecting his fingernails idly. “I thought you said you weren’t trying to be Baron Buzzkill?” He smirked, looking up. “You believe her now?” He added in.

Jack half rolled his eyes, head bobbing and looking as though he were muttering to himself. “No… No, but it is cool.” He smiled, which faded after he glanced at the serious look Jo still wore. “Ahem, so, yeah, that pony might have only been there for a little while, but I guess it’s a start.”

Twilight sat down in her chair, hard, and nearly pressed her face up against the screen. “What about the humans, could we find out who the people in the camera video were!?” She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up at Jo.

“Easy, Twilight.” Jo spoke in a level tone to her friend. She looked at the computer screen. “You guys… could you find this out?” Her expression was dark, but was nicely offset by Twilight’s excitement.

Jack sniffed self-assuredly, adjusting his glasses. “Yeah, I could do that. That’s kind of… sketchy, and a tall order… but…”

Twilight clasped her hands together and stared pleadingly on reflex as soon as she heard the hints of doubt in the human’s voice. “Jack, please? Please please? This could be- This could be incredibly important.”

“Alright!” Jack covered his eyes with one arm. “Just- knock off the soulful look. Gah.”

Lex chuckled; Jo had to hide a smirk behind one hand.

“Anyway…” Jack returned with. “Unless you have some real magic or something else to show us as definitive proof, like a tail or something…?”

At his prompt, Twilight merely frowned and shook her head. Behind her, Jo's eyes narrowed some.

“Well, in that case I’m gonna go, then. Twilight, I’ll be in touch. Uhm, Jo, nice meeting you.” Jack waved, which Twilight returned, and Jo stared at. “Right, see you later, Lex.”

Jack’s screen blipped out of existence, leaving just the greying older gentleman sitting in a relaxed way behind his keyboard.

Twilight felt so excited still; she couldn’t sit still. “Oh, this is just, the best. I mean, no it’s not optimal and perhaps I’m not exactly analyzing a for sure fire way to get home, but… haha!” Her hands balled up and shook rapidly at head level with herself.

Jo smirked, but rolled her eyes. “I’m happy for you, Twi’.” She gave the other girl a pat on the back.

A far more gruff sounding voice spoke up, getting both of the other remaining persons-presents' attention. “I’m curious, Ms. Jo, to know what it is you think of our mutual friend here, Twilight.” Lex spoke in a stately manned, finishing by folding his hands folded casually in front of himself. “You believe her?”

Jo blinked at the screen, feeling a lot like professing she didn’t want to say, or even tell the stranger anything at all. After a glance to Twilight, and her cheerful look being sent up her way, she sighed.

Jo crossed her arms and squared herself up against the computer. “Yeah, I believe Twilight Sparkle here really used to be a unicorn,” she said flatly. “In fact, I know it.”

The man sitting across from them in the computer screen nodded. “Well, I still don’t know how legitimate this is, but like I told Twilight, Ms. Jo, you can consider myself along for the ride, and some of the resources at my disposal. If you’d like, myself, and Carl can study that crystal that you showed to u-”

At hearing the word ‘crystal’, Jo lost it. “You showed them the-!” She leaned down in front of Jo, one of her hands pressing over the laptop’s camera, though that didn’t at all muffle the audio. “Twilight!”

Jo thought of, and hesitated from saying several things. Chief among them were What were you thinking!? Oh wait, you weren’t! and Are you crazy!? She settled for staring at Twilight a few inches from her face, psychically begging for an explanation.

Twilight took in a deep breath, then pushed her arm out away from herself. Afterwards she looked about at Jo with a calm smile. “It’s fine, Jo. Let's be honest, I can’t study the crystals here. I have nothing to analyze them with. No magic, no equipment.” She looked at Lex. “He does, and so do his friends. I'm assuming we could schedule an appointment?" The man in the computer blinked then nodded quietly. "There, see?"

Twilight went on. "Which brings me to my next question… Can I borrow your car?”

Jo stood up straight, creating space between her and the other girl.

Meanwhile, Twilight grinned widely for effect, hoping that it was working.

Jo watched the video on the computer for perhaps the hundredth time. It really did look pretty darn real. Twilight had also given her the other pictures and strange ongoings from this town, Belsdale, which included some kind of an occurrence with plants, and scattered reports of ‘tiny horse’ sightings.

Altogether, it seemed a little surreal to Jo, even more so than when Twilight had first shown up. The difference, she considered while sitting up, was like being told that there was a giant, talking bear in the next room, compared to the bear walking in and drinking tea with you.

Then again, I wonder if bears really do drink tea in Equestria. Jo stared into space a moment, then groaned. She was still in a state of relative angst and worry from everything that had been learned earlier. From Twilight’s constant, worrying exploration of humans, to her quest to get home.

The happy closure Jo had felt upon getting home from leaving Alice, once again her friend, had all but gone. She sighed again and clicked replay on the video. I sort of wish Alice were here, actually. If nothing else she would distract me from this crap. I can’t believe Twilight and that old guy actually talked me into-

“Hi!”

Every muscle in Jo’s body spasmed the moment the voice cheered the simple phrase of greeting into her ear from an inch away. Her panic sent the wheeled chair under her rolling back across the floor, minus her inside it. Her butt landed on the wood with a thud.

“Je- Da- Alice!? What!?” Jo glared, then scurried up to standing and confronted the mischievously grinning friend. “Don’t ever do that, again, ever.” Her eyes narrowed more and more.

Alice looked up to the ceiling, and replied in a not so convincing tone of voice. “III’m soooorry…” She laughed and gave one of Jo’s arms a nudge with a fist. "How are yah doin'?"

Jo ignored the question. “What are you doing here? It’s late.” How late? Who cares. Why did she show up?

Alice replied joyously, her expression couldn’t get any happier. “Twilight called me and told me all about the pony.” She began squeeing, and Jo began covering her ears. “Oh my God! It’s haaaappening! I’m practicing my ninja skills, and my jokes, and I totally brought my MLP dvds, and-”

Jo finally braved uncovering her ears long enough to slap a hand over Alice’s mouth and silence her, reducing the jabbering from the other girl to a few muffled protests.

“What, so you invited yourself over?” Jo asked, glaring, then added, “Again?”

Alice shook her head up and down, and forcefully pulled Jo’s arm away. “What if it’s Pinkie Pie, if it’s Pinkie Pie, or oh my God, Rainbow Dash, then-”

Jo threw her hands up in the air. “It’s- She’s not either!”

Alice tilted her head. “Derpy?”

“No-!”

“...Princess Luna?”

Jo closed her eyes and just let her neck go limp. “Alice, you’re missing the point here-”

Alice stepped in a wide circle around Jo, grabbing her hand. “Oooh no, I think you’re missing the point here, Jo-Jo. The point, is that we got something to celebrate, and I don’t have work tomorrow.”

Jo’s brow furrowed in worry, while Alice held up a small plastic grocery bag, through which could be seen several My Little Pony DVD covers of various design.

“And,” Alice continued. “Twilight said she wanted to watch the show with me.” Her grin, literally looked like it was going to leave her face and spread to the open air surrounding it.

Twilight stepped into the room with a bowl of popcorn, and raised an eyebrow. “When did Alice get here?”

Seven Days Later

Twilight’s leg bounced on the ground energetically, while the rest of her was poised and spring loaded for action. She felt as though every muscle in her body were waiting to do… something.

There had been little from her online sources, the nerds, as Jo called them, about the mysterious pony since she had first spoken to them. Despite a few attempts on Twilight’s part, begging Jo to investigate the town first hoof, she had been denied the trip for the time being. It had not taken long for her to crack somewhat under the pressure of knowing that there was something to be found now, and not even looking for it.

Although, that wasn’t completely true. Twilight was conducting an investigation that didn’t necessitate intercontinental travel, though she wasn’t having much success with it. She hoped that the scraggly looking human—named Jack—was having a great deal more success than she. Strangely, whenever she asked him through a message or some other means, he answered simply with one word or diverted the question, often linking to various things that were pony related. She had to remind him now and again that she didn’t speak German, or Germane as she knew it, very fluently, and request an Equestrian version.

To the left and right of Twilight lay notepads, scattered, opened, with loose sheets of paper hanging out at odd angles. They were filled with her thoughts, speculations, and ideas about the mystery pony. After all, she knew if other Equestrians were on Earth, that could mean any number of things.

Still, while Twilight had not had success on the search front, she had gotten some on the topic of travel, namely, in requesting she be brought to the college which two of her contacts worked at.

The battle that had ensued with Jo over the course of action that Twilight knew was right, had been difficult, and harrowing, but in the end she had been victorious. However, it had been a week since the plans had been made, and still she had yet to find closure on this part of her quest. The crystals remained a mystery, and that, she had decided, would not do.

Given that the last weekend night had been spent entirely watching the old television series ‘My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic’, the three women were left with the next weekend as their soonest date to travel. The professor they were meeting with had been clear that was the soonest time he would have a spare minute to see them.

Alice had seemed as though she couldn’t be happier that the internet acquaintance’s only free time just so happened to coincide with her own day off, and had pleaded to go with. This was, of course, because she was a pest, assuming that someone asked Jo her opinion on the matter.

Twilight had fought hard to resist her urge to run upstairs and beg Jo that they leave right away; they weren’t due to leave until tomorrow, after all. In her current state of anxiousness though, she couldn’t study, and if she couldn’t study, she had nothing to distract herself with.

That is, until Twilight began perusing the internet for something to do. After all, it did seem quite obvious that another thing humans excelled at, was entertainment. She grimaced while watching one such short clip that had originated from something called ‘Comedy Central’.

Twilight leaned back, thinking about the subject for her notes. ...Their ideas concerning humor do seem a bit outlandish most of the time... and crude... She messaged back the forum post that had given the internet address to the video, communicating her distaste over the odd jokes. At least there is still a healthy helping of perfectly acceptable things to be found, too. She just needed to get lucky finding one. Most videos that she came across from general searches seemed to be bizarre musical performances, or 'top tens' of humans hurting themselves through accidental, or in many cases, purposeful incidents.

Twilight returned to the video site and typed in another search. A title that did catch her eye topped the list, and read it aloud in her head. How to catch a pony… After staring at it a moment, old thoughts cropped up in her head from the subject.

Twilight clicked the video, fully aware of the mixed feelings that the recorded material would bring, knowing that by 'pony', it mostly likely referred to the Earth variety. She watched with a wan expression as it began to play.

Twilight had briefly studied Earth’s animal kingdom, and Earth ponies by proxy, purely out of curiosity. It had been a very short investigation however, quickly dropped in lieu of bigger and more pertinent studies. The same was true of her looks into the thing called the 'brony' fandom. It was interesting to look for what things were paralleled from her world, at least it had been at first. But, as entertaining as such intrigues were they got her no closer to home.

The video ended, and Twilight rested her head on the back of her chair, staring outside the window briefly in thought. The pony within had been a mare, named Maggie. She had possessed the same glossed over eyes of nearly every other animal on Earth. Some animals held more expression than others, but none of them were truly intelligent; it seemed that way, at least.

“I wonder why humans are different.” Twilight's finger tapped on her chair's arm rapidly, busily reconsidering the thing that seemed unanswerable with what she had at her disposal, a concept that never sat well with her. It would make sense that the absence of magic is responsible for animals here being… this way… but it doesn’t explain humans. She sat up again, and looked for more pony related things. A part of her hoped that she would find more videos like the first she had seen, of somepony else that must be lost here like she was.

As for why Earth was the way it was, Twilight doubted she would ever learn why such things were the way they were. However, that wasn’t to say she wouldn’t keep trying.

With the video over, Twilight was left feeling disquieted. A voice grabbed her attention from her muddled thoughts, though.

"Twilight." Jo walked into the room, and spotted Twilight. "Hey, unless you're going to sleep the whole trip tomorrow you should turn in for the night now, okay?"

Twilight closed the video she had opened, then spun around in her chair, smiling. "Sure thing! Though, I don't know if I'll be able to sleep while this excited." She let out a hint of laughter, then tilted her head slightly, watching her friend go. The other girl left before Twilight could say something more. "Well, goodnight, Jo!"

The Next Morning

Twilight stood in the doorway to Jo's home, watching with a pained expression as Jo sulked out to her car. "Well, we could just mail the crystal to them, we don't have to drive!" she called out after her friend, hesitating from shutting the front door.

Jo got to the driveway and waited. "Come on, Twilight, we gotta leave while it's early or it's going to be past midnight by the time we get back." She didn't feel like arguing with Twilight over the situation yet again. It was, however, clear that the Equestrian merely persisted over things in the name of settling on something they could both agree to, but doing anything at all was what bugged Jo in the first place.

Jo watched as Twilight carefully scurried down the back porch steps, one hand on the railing, then jogged out to the driveway after her. The problem, Twilight, is that other than not doing this at all, I don't see a solution. I just don't like any part of this. She resisted her urge to frown, opening her car door instead. And it's not because...

"But, Jo," Twilight heaved a breath as her friend disappeared from sight in the automobile. "Augh. She is so difficult." She hefted her bag, filled to its maximum capacity with notes, then opened her own door.

Twilight set her bag down in the back of the car, buckling in. "Jo?"

Jo leaned back over her seat in the car, looking out the rear window. "Yes Twilight, what is it?"

Twilight sighed. "I know I said it already, but thank you for this. There's so much I could learn from getting some better data on the crystals. And you're sure that you're alright with us driving? I mean, I won't deny I'm excited to see some of this scientific equipment in person... and..." Her eyes glazed over slightly.

Jo snapped her fingers; when the other girl shook herself, Jo gave her a quick smile, which devolved back into her normal, flat look quickly. "It's nothing, really... and I'm sure. Those things are in the trunk, right?"

Twilight nodded furiously. "Yup, two in the trunk, wrapped in paper, though they seem pretty solid so I kind of doubt that they'll break..."

Jo harrumphed, and pulled the car out of the driveway quickly. Perhaps a bit too quickly, because Twilight yelped. "Sorry, sorry. Anyway, Twilight, I think at this point I'm more concerned about being in a car ride for so long with Alice."

Both girls glanced at one another, then thought solemnly on that.

"Well," Twilight spoke up. "I'm sure that we'll have fun."

Thirty Minutes Later, On The Highway.

"Ooo, eee, oo ah ah, ting tang, walla walla bing bang!"

Jo focused on keeping her car on the road, blocking out Alice's car jingles as best she could through sheer will alone. You can do it Jo, you're being a good samaritan and a terrific person for helping your friend. Why, you're practically a saint.

"Yeah! Ting tang walla walla bing bang!"

Jo sighed. A saint with a will of steel. What possibly made things worse was that Twilight seemed to love every song Alice came up with to sing. Nearly every song, anyway. 'Baby Got Back' hadn't been quite as huge of a hit with the ex-pony as, say, 'Bicycle Race'. Still, Jo thanked the stars they had moved past Queen already.

The part of everything that worried Jo the most, was that they had hardly begun, and already she was starting to grind her teeth occasionally. "Sometimes I really wish I was more like them, then I wouldn't be driven crazy all the time..." she muttered. "Then again, I'd probably rather-"

Twilight leaned up from the backseat of Jo's car, smiling. "Hey Jo, did you say something?"

Jo shook her head. "No, nothing at all. How's everything back there?"

"Great!" Twilight exclaimed, then fell back again. "Are you sure you don't want someone sitting up there with you?"

Jo watched another rest stop blur past idly. "Yeah, it's fine Twilight. This isn't too long of a drive." Only... she glanced at the map she had printed out from Twilight's directions. Five hours... great.

Alice stopped singing abruptly, which was enough to get both Jo's and Twilight's attention.

"You get bored already back there?" Jo smirked into her rear view mirror.

Alice waved a hand and blew a raspberry in return. "As if, I'm just trying to make up my mind over how to best spend all of this time with my two best friends in the whole world!"

Jo had to resist the pained groan rising in her throat. Why Twilight, why did you tell her we were going somewhere? She glared at her speedometer. God? I know I'm not always a very good person, but...

Twilight raised her head at that. "Best friends? Alice, we're your best friends?" Her eyes were held a little wide in a look of surprise.

Alice grinned. "Well, I like to think all of my friends are, actually." She laughed, and was joined by Twilight.

When the moment past, Twilight casually commented, "How very Pinkie of you."

Alice smirked. "Maybe, I'm not trying to be friends with everyone though." She jabbed a finger in the air, holding a hand to her front with a solemn expression. "After all, not everyone can hope to be worthy to be called, my friend."

Twilight deadpanned at Alice for a moment.

"Don't even try to make sense of it, Twilight. If Alice does have anything in common with your friend, it's how confusing she is."

"Psch, look who's talking," Alice shot back to Jo, grinning over at Twilight. "Alright so we're going to a college, right?"

Jo caught the 'c' word being mentioned, and turned around for a second. "Yeah, and you're going to behave while we're there. This is business, only."

Alice put on a hurt look, passing it between Twilight and Jo, though the latter was faced away. "I know! I promised, didn't I? This is just too cool to miss out on."

Twilight looked up from going over her notes on the crystals. She wanted to give a good presentation after she arrived. In fact, the moment she arrived. "Oh, I know. I'm so anxious about this..." Her eyes went back to shifting to and fro rapidly over her pages.

Alice sat back, and leaned over Twilight's shoulder to steal a peek. The other girl's hand writing was incredibly neat, which came as a surprise. "Wow, Twilight, you wrote all of that?"

Twilight hummed and looked up. "Oh, yes, I did, of course." She blinked. "Why?"

Alice made an impressed look and continued to read the flowing cursive, barely; the print was incredibly flowery. "I just figured your handwriting would be... terrible." She looked up, grinning.

Twilight laughed, and pulled up an older notebook. "Maybe you should look at this, then."

Alice did just that, opening the small ringed notebook. "Yikes. This looks so much like chicken scratch I would think Scootaloo wrote it for you." She looked up, an expectant, eager smirk on her face.

Twilight rolled her eyes, understanding the joke. "That's not very nice, Alice." She still chuckled, a little, though. "You know Scootaloo is real, now, so you can't poke fun and make references like that anymore in good fun, can you? You wouldn't like it if I made hurtful jokes about you, hm?" She paused a moment, then went on. "Actually, you wouldn't mind, would you?"

Alice grinned and shook her head. "Nope! At least not like that... but I guess she would, huh?"

Twilight shrugged and put her nose back in book, so to speak. "If my memory is serving me correctly, and it is, then yes." She chuckled.

"Hey Twilight." Jo peeked into the backseat with the rear view mirror again.

Twilight blinked, but looked up; she had just found her spot again, too. "Yes, Jo?"

"You said you were anxious, and before that you were talking about being nervous. What for?" Jo asked nonchalantly. "I would think you would be more excited than anything."

Twilight laughed weakly, looking back at her notes. "Well, yes, I was, I mean I am." She swallowed, then relented to her nerves and shut her notebook. "I guess I'm just worried this won't help, and meeting these prestigious scientists to conduct my investigation isn't helping... This isn't magic, I guess, and I'm out of my field of expertise. I just don't want to embarrass myself."

Alice rolled her eyes, hands folded behind her head. "Twilight, you told them all you were a talking pony from another reality than theirs. What's left to be embarrassed about?"

Twilight frowned at Alice, then sighed and looked out the window. "I guess you're right, but that's how I honestly feel. I have a lot on my mind at the moment, and I've been trying to distract myself all week from... doubting things."

Jo spoke up again, smirking. "Is that why you were pestering me for things to do a couple days ago?"

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, and... it certainly worked. I didn't even think about science in the slightest that night."

The car ride continued in silence for a few seconds before Twilight and Jo realized their folly. Twilight looked over, and beside her, Alice had a wolfish grin plastered to her face. "Oh, just say it." Twilight folded her arms in front of herself and looked away and out the window, while up front Jo grimaced and sank in her chair.

Alice's grin double in size as she proclaimed, "That's what she said! Both of them! Hah!" Cackling, and overly proud laughter chimed out of her for a fair amount of time.

The car sped down the highway, making its way across the state towards the coast, and the three's destination. Amidst two of the passengers, groans of disgust and exasperation were passed onto the third.

Twilight looked over at Alice after the girl's laughter had died some, her brow furrowed. "What I meant, Alice, was that Jo had showed me something called a 'tumblr'. I just wasn't able to be productive this week." Her hands clasped one another while she worked to rid herself of the shame panging her mind. "Anyway, this one in particular had something to do with me, of course, and a... fluffy pony." She licked her lips, struggling for the best way to describe the oddity she'd witnessed. "Well, it's hard to describe, do you know about what I'm talking about?"

Alice quirked an eyebrow. "Twilight, you've looked at the Fluffle pony?"

"Flufflepuff! That was her name." Twilight put on a grin of remembrance. "I did, it was cute, mostly... It is a very strange comic, indeed, but it's all in good fun." She hummed and slunked down into the car seat. "Mostly I'm just at a loss about... Chrysalis being included. They portray her in a very... positive light. I rather... liked that, a lot actually. She's not a very nice... thing, Alice, not at all. Fluffle is fine though, just odd."

Alice giggled leaning over some with a wry grin. "Would you actually let them live in your library like tha-"

Before the human girl could so much as finish, Twilight sat up, wide eyed. "No." She said flatly, but with a strength in her voice that spoke of resoluteness. "Certainly not." She relaxed some, leaning back. "Though I might let Dan, for a little while at least." Her eyes flicked over to Jo, sitting up front and driving. "It wouldn't be so bad as the situation Jo and I share now, after all, right?"

Alice and Twilight began giggling, while Jo grumbled from up front, knowing full well what they were talking about. The car turned off on another exit, the distance with Massachusetts closing just a little more.

Twilight watched the treeline go by, while adding more to the conversation, her laughter having died down. "It is funny, Alice, to think of Chrysalis as being capable of good things. By funny, I mean in a really heart warming way... I'm not really sure that's possible, though."

Alice studied Twilight, who was faced away from her. She furrowed her brow incredulously. "Well why not?"

Twilight looked over at Alice, confused. "What do you mean? She's evil, I doubt that Chrysalis would live in peace with something, even if she was able to garner unlimited love from them."

Alice frowned slightly and rolled her eyes. "What I meant, is why couldn't old cheese-legs be good. She has free will, doesn't she? I doubt it's impossible."

Twilight choked on a bit of laughter. "Cheese-legs..." she held muttered, a hand held over her face while she snickered. "Good one, Alice."

Jo glanced in the rear view mirror, spotting Alice watching Twilight expectantly.

"Well?" Alice asked, smiling slightly.

"Hm?" Twilight looked over at the blonde human.

Alice poked Twilight in the arm. "Why couldn't Chrissie be good?"

"Oh, well... I guess it's the same reason why anyone on Earth wouldn't simply turn over a new leaf. I doubt she wants to." Twilight shrugged, frowning slightly. "I've only encountered her once though, so it's difficult to say. I would certainly like to know, myself."

"Ah, right... I guess that makes more sense than my theory." Alice sighed and stared out her own window for a change.

The car drove in quiet for a moment.

Alice flopped her head over at Twilight. "So, you've been looking at the various pony related things we've made over the years to fill your time?"

Twilight look up and stared straight ahead, nodding absently. "Yes, I almost didn't want to... but..." She looked over at Alice, grinning sheepishly. "I guess I got too curious, and there is some impressive stuff. Certainly a great deal of it, such as the music or video clips; those are things we just don't have the means of making." She held up her hands, studying them after balling the two appendages up into fists. "I mean, technology aside, could you imagine typing with hooves? It would be impossible, and that's more than a third of our population."

Alice snickered, and even Jo chuckled from the front seat.

Once Alice calmed down, she leaned over to Twilight again, eagerly. "So, if you had to say which aspect of the fandom was your favorite, which would you go with?"

Twilight hummed over the thought. She wanted to say the art, at first, having found some amazing, and flattering pieces of Equestria. There were certain reasons that prevented her from professing the art that humans made was in fact, her favorite bit about their fascination with her world, however. Writing and reading was another long held love of hers that she would have surely guessed would be her favorite. Humans seemed to love the arts, and that they wanted to craft so many tales centered on her friends was fascinating, to say the least. But, again, she had found that not everything was sunshine and rainbows when it came to the things that her 'fandom' had crafted in her likeness. She had only needed to skim one story centered in the a darker genre to find that out.

"Music." Twilight looked over at Alice and smiled. "I love the music, some of it is very beautiful, especially the pieces about Princess Celestia and Luna that I found last night. I was actually crying a little."

Twilight owned a very expensive, master quality record player to facilitate her love of music, too; back in Equestria, that is. For her, there was nothing better than opening a new, bound volume by one of the great magicians of the last age, or a new material she had yet to explore the finer details of, while listening to some of Equestria's finest, calming orchestral music.

Alice gasped, sitting bolt upright in an instant.

Both Jo and Twilight jumped as well, wide eyed. "What!?" they both exclaimed.

"I just realized," Alice responded, grinning. "No one called firsties on the stereo. Time for Mindless Self Indulgence!"

Twilight blinked in confusion, while Jo began slapping furiously at Alice's hands as they clawed up towards the car's music player, all the while chaos ensued.

"Jo, truck, truck!" Twilight gritted her teeth and shrunk in her seat, clinging to the upholstery.

Jo heaved a tired breath after her car finally parked itself in the lot to the research institute that she and her two friends had been seeking. I can't believe it's over...

Twilight sprang out of the gull wing door, giggling madly. "Yes yes yes yes! We're here! Jo, let's hurry!" The trunk popped open, and Twilight hoisted out her possessions. "I can't wait to get started and look at these!"

Jo scowled, and marched over to the purple haired girl, while Alice climbed out of her side of the car behind her. The blonde girl groaned and popped her back, standing up.

"Twilight, 'you're' not getting started, 'he's' getting started. We're leaving right away, remember? That was the plan." Jo folded her arms resolutely on that matter. It had been settled days ago; she thought it had, anyway.

A sad look made itself evident on Twilight's expression. "Of course, right, yes... We can't stay, we talked about that. Hotels are expensive... several hundred dollars a night... and floors aren't terribly comfortable because there are three of us and..."

Alice chimed in. "I did say I'd happily share a bed." She winced where she stood, standing beside the car. "Oh, cramp, cramp..."

"Quiet, you," Jo shot back at her fellow human, then rolled her eyes. "You're the one who wanted to trust total strangers with your property, so let's go and do just that already, shall we?" She huffed, striding towards the entrance they had been told to use.

Twilight jogged up beside Jo. "I understand this is a little risky, Jo, but I can't imagine doing nothing is a better alternative." She raised an eyebrow at the box in her hands. "After all, I don't even know what these are, and I won't unless we do something."

"I already said my thoughts on the matter, Twilight, let's just get this over with, okay?" Jo began climbing the long series of stairs leading up to the university's front.

Twilight frowned, holding back, then spotted her other friend. "Are you okay, Alice?"

"Yeah, fine, just stiff." Alice smiled, shutting the remaining open door and taking long steps to catch up. "So, shall we follow our fearless leader?"

Twilight managed to smirk. "Okay, she really isn't upset, is she? I can never tell..."

Alice shrugged, staring at Jo's back. "Nah, I doubt it, she's just worried about you." She glanced at the little box that Twilight held in her hands. "I guess she has her reasons, but I'm honestly worried too, I mean, what is it going to cost you if you can't get those back?" Together the two climbed the stairs up to the doors.

Twilight heaved a breath. "I seriously doubt that these guys will do that... I guess there's no way to know for sure, even less because they're human, no offense... but Jo's made that painfully clear to me. I could never imagine a fellow pony betraying someone's trust like that."

Alice chuckled, studying Jo again. "None taken, Jo has a pretty harsh opinion of others, at least on the outside. I don't think it's unfounded in this case, either..."

Twilight hummed, peering at her bundle. "Yeah... Well, I can't say what risk there is at letting these go, really. I was just telling Jo that I don't know what good they are, they could be useless by-product from landing on Earth, magic that crystallized itself around me. That seems most likely. If it isn't magic that's entered a solidified state as a result of Earth's laws of reality, then I haven't got a clue." She grimaced at saying those words.

A gruff, aged voice called out, catching both girl's attentions. "Twilight, I'm glad you could make it. How was your drive?"

Twilight looked up, and a big smile replaced the worried look she'd worn just a moment before. "Doctor Evil! It was great, thank you for asking. Jo did all of the driving though, of course." She jumped up the last couple steps to stand in front of the man, a weak laugh making its way out of her. "I can't... drive, though I am intensely interested in learning. I may have insisted more if the roads didn't seem so dangerous." A ways behind him by the doors stood Jo, staring distractedly off to the side.

"Just Lex is fine, Twilight." The older gentleman chuckled and held his hand out. "Well, I'm glad you didn't run into trouble getting here. I guess they aren't that scary if you're willing to travel that way, eh?"

Twilight briefly recalled a couple moments when the trip had been just that. Maybe I could take the train back... "Haha... Yeah... Oh, uhm," she looked to her left and gestured towards Alice with one arm. "This is my other friend that I told you about, Alice!"

Alice smiled and waved with one hand at waist level, smiling widely. "Hello! Nice to meetcha Mr. Evil."

Lex smiled back from under his beard with a quirk to one eyebrow. "Hello, it's just Lex actually, and it isn't Luthor, either. I get that one a lot," he laughed. "Professor is fine, too." He motioned the girls towards the doors, and subsequently, Jo.

Alice saluted in acknowledgement to the man's introduction, following after her friends. "Okie dokie, Professor X!" she proclaimed, grinning.

The grizzled man looked back, but before he could retort with anything, Twilight spoke. "So! Crystals?" She grinned madly over at him.

Alice jogged up, snickering, and whispered to Twilight, "You're starting to sound like Sombra, Twilight."

Twilight shot her a despairing look and whispered back, "Please don't remind me of him..."

Meanwhile, Lex raised an eyebrow at them both, then looked down at the box held in Twilight's hands. "Yes, of course, that's what you came all this way for after all." He pulled open one of the glass doors to the tall building and gestured with a hand for the girls to walk in.

Inside, a sterile appearing lobby opened up to the party; at one end sat several more glass doors leading to hallways and beyond, as well as a long desk at the center. A lone woman sat behind the front desk and didn't look up.

Jo followed behind the other three, who chatted away. She listened as Twilight hurriedly rambled off the ways she wanted run tests on her crystals, and was offering the man all of her suggestions, and then some. Jo looked around, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

“Did you hear that Jo!? He’s got everything set up already! He even said that he wants to do a little testing tonight, tonight! As in right now!” Twilight had rounded on Jo without her noticing. "We can stay a little while and test some, right? Just a little?"

Jo blinked her surprise away and stilled her racing heartbeat. "Tw- No, Twilight. I had one condition for doing this, and it was that we don't hang around too long. You agreed."

Twilight let out a sad sound, peering at Jo, then spun around again and addressed the professor. She caught up to the man quickly. "I promised my friend we would go right way... I'm really starting to think that was a mistake." She huffed a breath out.

Lex chuckled, still leading the girl with colorful hair onward. "Well that's alright, we can maybe do a scratch test while we're talking or something really quick." He stepped over to a keypad lining one wall, then slid a card that had been pinned to his front through a slide. The metal doors clunked, and he pushed one open for the girls. "Alright, and this, is... my lab. Technically speaking only students and interns are allowed in here but..." He peered at Twilight a moment, smiling. "I'll make an exception for the genius in our midst."

Jo and Alice both looked at Twilight, who was blushing fiercely, then at one another, and back. "Geez Twilight, what did you do?" Alice patted her friend on the back, grinning. "Discover how to turn lead into gold?"

Twilight's embarrassed look melted some and she turned her head. "Why would that be hard?"

Alice's eyes widened a fraction at her friend, who was following the professor into the lab.

Lex gestured around himself, still giving a brief tour. "So, if you'll all please not touch anything that looks expensive, I would greatly appreciate it. Twilight, I'm afraid that includes you."

Twilight was poised over picking up and inspecting a fascinating instrument set right beside the door. She looked from it to Lex, and grinned. "Heh heh, of course. Ahem. Sorry." She put her other hand back on the box she carried and gripped it fiercely, lest she try to touch another of the sacred tools surrounding her.

Meanwhile, at that same part of Lex's speech, Jo had cuffed Alice's shoulder. "That means you, too..." She entered the room after Twilight and the stranger.

Alice closed one eye and stuck her tongue out at Jo's back.

Lex walked down the aisle, gesturing with a hand at the plethora of science material lining the walls and counters. It was empty of people, though, except for one person sitting at a desk with his back facing the small party. "Carl, they're here, come be sociable and say hello."

The man Lex had addressed looked over his shoulder. "Oh, hey! Gimme a second, guys." The fellow was impressively big, around the middle that is; his height only just about matched Twilight's. "So, you came after all. I guess I win again." He chuckled, approached with a hobble and accepted the hand Twilight had stretched out to shake with. Lex joined his friend in the laughter.

Twilight and Alice laughed along as well, though on the outside of whatever joke was going on. "I'm sorry, won? What did you win?" Twilight asked, her expression a twinge skeptical.

Carl pointed back at a shut door on the opposite end of the room. "Sheldon's back there, he bet me double or nothing that you weren't going to show up and turn out to be legit after he lost the 'is Twilight a girl' bet." He let out a burst of laughter, waddling back towards his station. "Though I guess I don't really win until we get to see the goods, hah."

Alice began snickering and elbowed Jo. "Sheldon? Is his name really Sheldon?"

Lex shook his head from where he was leaned casually against one desk. "No, it isn't." He stated flatly.

Carl yelled from across the room. "It's Irwin! Though I wouldn't say that's much better, right? Hah."

Twilight ahed in understanding. "You are talking about Morbius." She nodded her head, glimpsing towards the door at the back.

Carl re-approached, this time with a cane in one hand. "Yup, there isn't much to say about him. I don't think he'll come out while you're here, but if he does just avoid eye contact." He chuckled again, then took a seat at a stool and heaved out a breath. "Sorry about that, had to close my game! So, have you got the ice?" He chuckled.

The older man spoke up, filling in for his colleague. "He means the crystals, Twilight. And I thought I told you not to load shooters on facility property?" He traded his look from the girl staring around his lab to his colleague.

Twilight opened her mouth excitedly to speak up about the contents of the box she held, but was spoken over by Carl.

"Hey, I can't help it if these machines are rocking the best GPUs on the market for some of this overpriced, crap software. It'd be a sin to not use those babies for their intended purpose, Lex." The wide-framed man folded his arms and gave the greying fellow opposite him a fixed stare.

"Just unload the things..." Lex warned towards the bigger scientist.

Twilight frowned, then smiled again and tried to speak once more, eager to get to business. Jo spoke over her this time, however.

"You game? What've you got going on over there?" Jo put a hand on her hip and peered over towards the glowing computer sitting in the one darkened corner of the massive room.

Carl smirked at the short woman addressing him. "'Kill Them All Four' and 'Battlefield Eight', the only simulations there are in digital form for defending what's right."

Alice leaned over a bit towards Jo. "You've found your soul-mate, Jo," she snickered uncontrollably after whispering.

Jo hummed, pushing Alice away with a hand, and was about to impart her begrudging compliments to the stranger on his game choice, but was instead beaten to talking by Twilight.

Twilight’s eyes widened as he said the words, and thoughts about the crystals retreated for a moment. "You play those too!? But- You're a man of science! You-" The very concept of such a thing made her stomach tumble. “You can’t honestly be trying to say that killing can be acceptable under certain circumstances?”

"Well I- It is just a game, but yes I suppose there are certain circumstances where..." Carl trailed off under Twilight's disappointed look. His pudgy face furrowed itself with seriousness after a moment, and he shut his eyes while gesturing grandly. “Twilight, it is not a sin, to fight for the right cause. There are those, who words alone will not reach.”

Twilight was taken aback by what she heard.

The room was quiet for a moment, until Lex began slow clapping. “Very nice. That was pretty profound, Quark. Who was it that said that?”

Carl shrugged, and some of the effect he had made on Twilight dissipated. “Eh… it was from a TV show, actually.”

Lex harrumphed, his mustache bristling. “Well that figures.”

Jo coughed loudly and raised her hand, tearing her eyes from the machine. "Can we get to the point, guys? Twilight?" She stole another look at the computer in the corner. She was a little curious about what it might have inside... but it wasn't that important. "No offense, but, we started out late, and we have another- Well, we have a ways to go when we leave."

Twilight set her box down on the counter. "Yes! I for one can't postpone this any longer, gentlemen-" She swept the top of the shoebox and pulled out of the paper wrapped items within. "I'd like to present you with... whatever this crystal is."

Twilight held aloft the six inch object, then tapped the cloudy lump of crystal with one finger nail, lighting it up from the base to the top in a wave of little sparkles, which subsequently lept off the end and began dancing around in the air. "I hope that with the appropriate scientific methods, you can deduce... Is something wrong?" She gave the two men a worried look.

They were both standing there, looking as if they had seen a ghost.

Carl's chunky mouth was held wide open. A moment later, and his cane slipped out of his hand. "By the power of Grayskull..." He stepped off his stool and took a few, staggering steps towards the glowing thing in front of him. It dulled completely before he reached Twilight, again resembling an ordinary lump of hazy purple rock. "It really is real!?"

Lex was busy wiping a pair of glasses he had fetched from his pocket, and placed them on his nose. He too approached the rock. "It would seem so my friend..."

After a moment, Carl inclined his head towards the ceiling thoughtfully. "I guess I do win that bet..." His gaze quickly found itself staring again at the rock that had just a moment before been alight with literal mystery.

Lex addressed the girl standing before him. "Twilight, what was that?"

A smug look slapped itself on Twilight's face. She wasn't a braggart by any means, that was Dash, but she really felt like saying 'I told you so' right then. She resisted, but just barely. "Well, the object had an instantaneous reaction to a kinetic force which discharged both light and sound. I can't tell you if either were magical in nature. I uh... lack, my horn, you see... But I can tell you that magic is what created them, the crystals that is; so there is that."

Carl wiped a hand across his forehead and tore his eyes from the rock for a moment. "You can't really expect us to believe magic is really real, can you?"

Lex took a step back, a last look at the crystal, and walked away towards a counter.

Twilight huffed at the pudgy human's refusal to credit magic as real. "It can be measured, observed, and tested, so magic is real. Now, as I've said I'm from another world, so maybe it doesn't exist here..." She looked down at what she still held. "Until now, anyway."

Twilight swept her eyes over everything in the room, a hint of breathlessness evident in her voice. "Sooo, shall we take a look at the crystal's mohs scale, streak color, cleavage, color, the luster, lattice structure, the habit and fragmentation? Oh, and you said you had a microsco-"

Jo heard her friend begin to ramble excitedly, and moved closer to nudge Twilight's side. "I don't know what any of that is, Twilight, but it sounds like it would take a while to do it..." she gave her friend a warning look.

Twilight laughed, waving a hand nonchalantly. "Hah, yes, of course.... Uhm? Carl?" She raised one eyebrow, while Carl abruptly looked up from where he was leaning forward and looking intently at the crystal in her hands.

"What, oh, sorry. C-can, I hold it?" Carl held up a hand, a smile wavering on his face.

Lex abruptly swatted the other man's hand away. "You'll do no such thing." He had thick, rubber gloves on, as well as goggles poised on his head. "For all you know that thing's radioactive. Go get the Geiger-counter, would you? Wake up Irwin, too, he might actually want to help with this."

Carl rolled his eyes. "Let's not and say we did. I don't feel like having him stand around calling us buffoons..." His voice decreased in volume as he limped towards the other end of the room, along which were lined several cabinets and drawers. "Oh, Twilight, I have some forms for you to sign if you're going to leave this here! Legal crap, makes sure we're liable for this thing."

"Oh, alright!" Twilight began bouncing on her toes, grinning and watching the two men leap into action in the name of discovery.

"Oh my Celestia, are you going to get scales?" Twilight asked, chasing after Lex. "What about conducting some rudimentary pressure tests? I had a theory about water displacement and the light spectrum that we should test! I have my notes with- I made some things to leave you and... Oh! Temperature tests!" She scurried over to what looked like equipment for just that, but reluctantly resisted touching. "You must test the temperature, the crystals get warmer when they react!" She scurried after both of the men simultaneously, somehow, while also trying to pull out on of her notebooks. "Also, electrical tests! I'm certain they're superconductive, Lex! They all maxed out the little voltmeter I bought at a flea market, and-"

Twilight was pulled to a halt by one desk, and she spun about to come face to face with Jo. She panted from the excitement she felt, but quickly understood the stern look Jo was giving her. No, I can't go! Not yet! Her best pleading look made its way onto her face.

"Twilight... no... science..." Jo began, also panting. "God you run fast..."

Twilight tried harder. "But... Jo!"

Jo crossed her arms, then grimaced at the far wall. "...Alright fine, one test. You can watch, one test."

Twilight's eyes sprang wide. "Yes! Thank you thank you thank you!" She jumped, then slid towards where Lex was busily securing the crystal.

Jo sighed, watching her go. I'm going to regret this...

Two hours, Twelve Minutes Later

Twilight frowned and looked away from the test bench. "Sorry, we really don't have time to stay any longer, Lex."

Lex chuckled, shaking Twilight's hand. "Oh it's quite alright. I'm sorry we weren't able to... able to figure out anything definitive about that crystal." He rubbed the back of his head and scowled. "Other than you can't scratch the damn thing, and it isn't any gem known to man... I bet if you stayed longer we could request access to the electron microscope down the hall?" He tilted his head thoughtfully after making the suggestion.

Twilight could feel Jo's eyes on her back. "Well... Maybe... and that would yield some very interesting data..." She placed her hand on the door frame, just in case.

Jo nearly growled from where she stood, and began to pull on Twilight. "Twilight, we have to go. Home, remember?"

Twilight let out a whimper, but didn't turn away from the room absolutely filled with science.

Jo grunted, pulling on the taller, and somehow stronger girl's arm."Twilight, come on! You found out the thing has the characteristics of quartz, is harder than diamond, and glows in the dark, can we just go?"

"Technically the correct term isn't 'harder' Jo, it's..." Twilight corrected, growing quieter as she spoke.

The older man present, Lex, tried to pretend he was inspecting his loafers.

Twilight hesitated from letting go of the door frame, eyeballing the electron microscope sign in the hallway longingly. "I already knew they held some luminescence in the absence of light, Jo... and... I know, Jo, I know... but... but..." She turned around, eyes quivering. "Science, Jo! Scieeeence!"

Lex chuckled from where he stood in the room. Behind him, Carl shouted out another goodbye, perhaps his fourth or so. Twilight had simply lingered that long.

Jo rolled her eyes and tugged on Twilight's arm again, finally getting some distance between them both and the black hole of a laboratory. That place is like a nerd's wet dream made real. "I swear, your cutie mark should have been a big, stupid brain on the show. You know that?"

Twilight moaned with a frown and was slowly dragged down the hall. "That wasn't very nice, Jo..."

"Don't care, exhausted, and still need to drive. Good bye, Lex! Please don't betray us and sell the mysterious crystal thing to a private corporation for personal gain!" Jo pushed open the door to the lobby.

Lex called goodbye after her, a bit more pleasantly, as well; and with a pleasant laugh to boot.

"Jo, could you be a little bit nicer?" Twilight finally got her friend off her arm and kept pace with her, walking alongside. "Both he and Carl were perfectly helpful."

Jo grunted. "You said goodbye to them both like, five times. I'm sorry I'm being a little short, but I didn't like this whole situation from the start." She walked in a silence a second, then added. "I think we should have taken the crystals with us, Twilight." She looked over at the purple haired girl. "Don't you think we got enough... 'data'?"

Twilight hummed, pausing before leaving the front door while peering back at the laboratories. She adjusted her book filled backpack absently, then spoke. "Well, if we stayed just a little bit longer...."

"Twilight!" Jo slapped her own forehead.

"Alright! Maybe not, but there's so much more we could still learn, especially from getting a molecular look at the crystal's make up. Granted, it does seem it may be outside of anything we can comprehend without proper, magical methods of deduction... Still, I think the more the better. Lex promised to update me daily as part of our deal, that includes video."

Jo studied Twilight a moment, then nodded slowly. "Alright, it's your call, anyway, Twilight. Carl does seem alright, and Lex seems upfront, at least... I just don't like trusting people blindly, Twilight." She tapped her foot distractedly against the door, staring at the nighttime that filled the outdoors beyond.

"It isn't blind, though," Twilight refuted back. "Are you sure we can't stay? I mean, I don't mind sleeping in the car..." She grinned weakly, her hands washing over one another.

Jo almost laughed, but instead put an arm around Twilight and walked her out the doorway. "Look, we can wait around, twiddling our thumbs while they do the work for us, or we could go to Idaho and find that pony. Which do you think is a better use of your time?"

Twilight looked over, mouth open. "...You mean-?"

Jo froze, then stepped back. "Whoa, wait, no I didn't mean right now. I meant later, later. Whenever we get a good lead, at least... I'm not camping out in the late fall going Equine hunting, Twilight."

"Oh... Heh." Twilight smiled, despite being let down. Drat, I thought today was my lucky day, too. "Well, got a lot down in there, at least. Knowing that the crystals can generate so much electricity is really interesting, for instance. I wonder if it has to do with magic? Why, if magic from Equestria is a parallel to energy here, then the possibilities from that are just... why, unfathomable."

Jo’s expression soured a bit further, recalling the looks of joy on Lex's and Carl's faces at discovering just that. “Yes, I’m absolutely filled with unbridled elation about that, Twilight...”

Twilight sighed and leaned up against the wall, crossing her arms. "I don't believe that's the correct vernacular you're looking for, Jo."

"Uggh, Twilight, what have I said about overly robust words?" Jo

"Well, to be fair, 'robust' isn't exactly common turn of phrase, either. For that matter, neither is elatio-"

"Twilight, I- never mind." Jo felt at a loss, and tired. "Let's go home, okay?" Already dreading what was to come, she tiredly unlocked her vehicle and started it remotely. Now, we just gotta drive back... She eyed the parking lot warily, trying to gauge how tired she felt, while Twilight walked beside her.

Today was a good day, though. Jo smirked. "Wait..." She looked around, stopping Twilight with a hand.

Twilight looked over at her friend, her slightly downtrodden look still apparent on her face. "What's wrong, Jo?"

Jo looked up at Twilight with a staring, serious gaze. "Twilight, where the hell is Alice?"

Author's Notes:

Well guys here it is, sorry it came out so late, I did want to post it two days ago, but! Well, I just didn't get everything I needed to in, and I have plans I can't shirk. So here it is, on Sunday, hoorah. Not much to add, though I will address why I only 'teased' with the prospect of Twilight watching the Television show. I did this because, one, it fit at this point of the story, so I wanted to get it out there. Two, I did it because if I did write that scene, it would just entirely not fit in the story at this point. to do it justice I would need to extend a couple of chapters, rewrite stuff, etc, and, it just sort of falls outside of the plot itself. A bit of slice of life here and there is obviously on the to do list of things to write for ATL, but that's a bit much. I mean, I could totally red herring you all into thinking that maybe the show has some hidden clue they could use to get Twilight home or something, but that would be like shooting fish in a barrel for me.

Now, I have been tinkering with the tv show story line, however, and I may do a one shot of it at a later date. It will be separate and will likely be edited in as a side chapter later. For now.... well, more to come!

Unused line from the notes

"Thanks, I'll get back to you with the results. It may take X number of days to get to it."
"I-I'll sleep on your floor, anything! Just let me stay!"

Chapter 24 : Mission Codename : Secret Squirrel

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Alice hummed to herself from around the corner of the long hallway, watching from a safe distance as Jo struggled to pull Twilight away from the laboratory she had just gotten finished using as a playground for hours.

She watched as Twilight hesitated from letting go of the door frame while eyeballing a sign in the hallway longingly. Twilight was talking to Jo, her voice slightly quiet from her distance away. "I already knew they held some luminescence in the absence of light, Jo... and... I know, Jo, I know... but... but..." Twilight turned to face the shorter girl waiting on her. "Science, Jo! Scieeeence!"

Jo began protesting against the Equestrian’s pleas, and slowly but surely, dragged her away.

Alice giggled and looked at her wristwatch. Finally! I thought that girl would never leave. Good job, Jo. She grinned slyly, and began dashing quickly down the empty corridor. Her eyes kept themselves trained carefully on the bearded man, Lex, waving goodbye from the door.

As Alice had hoped, the grandpa-looking professor entered his room once again, but none the wiser of her silent approach. The tile floor squeaked some as she made her move, sliding on her converse until she was right outside the laboratory. Just as she had slid across the floor, she slid the tip of a pen in between the lab’s door, and its frame.

The entryway was now propped open just a smidgen.

“Flawless victory.” Alice fist pumped quietly, then pressed her ear up against the crack she had made. And now for the good stuff.

Two slightly muffled voices reached Alice from inside the lab, she recognized them as Twilight’s nerdy buddies; the ones that were helping her; probably, anyway.

“Can you believe it, Lex? I can’t. I’m looking at these things and I still can’t believe it.”

Alice listened intently; she could either peek through the door crack or listen, but not quite both. Still, she recognized the first speaker as Carl.

“Well, it’s there, you aren’t dreaming and I see it, too.” The second speaker was definitely the older fellow.

Alice hummed to herself. Now to find out how well intending Captain Grandpa and his side-kick Stay-Puft Boy really are…

Carl stared at the crystal in his hands intently. “I was terrified she was going to take it back with her for a moment there.” He laughed a little nervously while raising up a pen alongside the crystal.

“It would have been well within her right if she did. Though... I’m glad she didn’t, too.” Lex chuckled, then snatched the pen away from his colleague. He gave the younger man a wry look and motioned him to put the crystal down.

Carl went from looking like a boy on Christmas day to one that had been admonished and sent to the corner. “Aw, come on, why can't I ring it again?” he asked excitedly.

Lex frowned, looking away to his workstation. “I’d really rather you didn’t, not until we know more. Twilight did say she had no idea what these things could do, and she’s the expert.” He harrumphed, and looked back at the information on the table that was only just a little bit more helpful than it was useless.

“Yeah…” Carl gingerly set the crystal back in the shoebox with its sister. “You don’t really think these things could turn us into ponies, do you?”

Lex let out a guffaw. “I think that Alice girl was joking, Carl, not serious. Twilight said as much herself.”

Alice frowned. What, it makes so much sense though! After growling unfavorably at the men from her sentry point; she refocused on listening. I hope just for that they do turn into ponies…

“Right...” Carl responded to Lex, heeding the man’s words. He shuddered and took a step back from his newly acquired mystery all the same. “So, are we really going to try and help her develop a machine with her theories? I mean, sure, that sort of thing excites me more than a trip to Hustler’s, but-” He grinned and let out a bout of almost nervous sounding laughter. “But, let’s face it Lex, even with this evidence right here in front of us and her plans, I have my doubts. And then there’s materials…”

Lex and Carl had moved close enough that they lowered their voices. Alice had a hard time listening.

Come on, talk louder you nerds! Alice grunted and strained her hearing. Wait, who’s that? She furrowed her brow as another voice entered the room, and pressed her ear against the door’s crack harder. The new voice sounded disgruntled, nasally, and very British; fake British, though. She switched from listening and took a peak, instead.

Irwin paused from storming into his colleague's work area. The man gave the area a quick once over, then proceeded. “So, they’re finally gone I take it?” he said dourly.

Lex looked up along with Carl, both raising an eyebrow.

“Hey, look who decided to crawl out of his cave.“ Carl chuckled, then looked back down at his notes. “How are you doing, buddy?”

“Good evening, Irwin,” Lex greeted more normally. “We were just discussing the-”

Irwin’s eyes shrank to mere slits towards Carl. “It is not a cave, any more than your corner over there is a legitimate workstation, Carl.” He strode across the floor, and stopped upon spotting the rather obvious and out of place shoebox with loose paper hanging out of the top. “Was everything that you were discussing with them true? Or is this an elaborate hoax played on me at my expense, as I suspect.” Slowly, he began walking towards the box.

Lex looked up from his notes, then laughed. “Were you eavesdropping?”

Carl laughed aloud as well, swiveling around in his office chair smoothly. “You really think we’d make all of that up just to-”

Irwin snapped his head up, glaring. “Just answer my question,” he all but barked at the other men.

Carl whistled idly and put both hands up. “Easy, buddy.”

Irwin scowled and crossed his arms. “Please, I’m barely your buddy. We work together professionally. And how could I not overhear those shrieking banshees? You would think this place was a kindergarten.” He gave the room an ugly scan, then looked down at the box again. “In any case, I won’t believe any of that garbage I overheard is legitimate until I see it myself. So? Is it true?"

Lex had walked up behind Irwin, and placed a hand on the younger scientist’s shoulder. “Sure is, as amazing and unbelievable as that probably sounds. It's too bad you couldn’t have joined us for the initial tests. You would have seen it all firsthand.”

Irwin hadn’t taken his eyes off the two examples of the crystals he had heard about. “As if I could stomach being around those pony obsessed girls.” He looked over at Lex incredulously. “Were you listening to the things she was spouting about ‘magic’ holding sway over matter? That electricity was merely another- That it was harmless where she was from, and-! Uggh, I can’t even bring myself to repeat that drivel.” He took a few angry steps away, glaring at the ceiling. “She’s mad, Lex, mad. You can't really plan to include her in our work, much less help her.” He picked up the clipboard Lex had set down, hurriedly scanning over it.

Carl resisted his urge to return fire to the other man and picked himself up out of his chair slowly, gathering his cane as he did. The snickering he was letting out couldn’t be contained, though. “Irwin you gotta relax and lay off some, you sound ridiculous.”

Before Irwin was able to quip back to Carl, he was pulled aside by the arm.

“Twilight’s not crazy, she’s a genius." Lex quirked one greyed eyebrow. "That much should be obvious if you’re half as smart as I know you know you are, Irwin.” He let go and leaned back against the counter, arms folded. He kept speaking. “Now, would you like to see some of these notes or keep on quibbling? I don’t have to include you, you know.”

Alice had a terrible feeling in her gut about this Irwin fellow. Insult my ponies, will you… she seethed internally. Inside the room, she could see the shorter man nod, begrudgingly, and look at the crystal laden shoebox again. Should I go get Twilight? She shifted her legs some to keep from getting stiff, ruminating on what to do. Before she could come to a conclusion, Irwin burst out with an exclamation.

“How much!?” Irwin gaped at Lex. “That thing generates actual electricity?” He now eyed the crystals as if they were bombs, or cobras, or cobra bombs.

Lex shrugged. “It generates something, I know that for a fact. Whatever it is, it certainly behaves like electricity enough to turn on a light… Similarities end there, though.”

Carl sidled up beside Irwin, grinning. “But here’s the interesting part.” Carefully, but not exactly being gentle, he picked up one of the crystals and attached a nearby set of metal prongs which led to thick wires, and then a machine.

Lex allowed this, standing back. The machine promptly booped alive and began measuring energy.

Carl chuckled. “Watch this.”

Lex managed to keep from flinching as his friend reached out and laid a hand on the specimen, which was currently putting out over a thousand megawatts; according to the device. Of course, the other man was fine, as he had been the first time Twilight had showed them the bizarre thing.

Irwin went bug eyed. “The machine is broken.” He said flatly.

“Tried the backup, too.” Lex replied, shrugging. “I guess they could both be broken, but…”

“Well something- This is-” Irwin slapped a hand over his mouth.

Carl leaned in front of the skinny man, grinning smugly. “This is what? Impossible? Outrageous?” He straightened and unhooked the crystal. “Dare I say ...Inconceivable?”

Irwin scowled at the reference, but ignored the other man for the most part. “What this is, is the find of the century, you buffoon. Do you realize that this thing-”

Carl shrugged and picked up the other crystal, then nonchalantly tapped it with a pen before Lex could protest. “Sticks and Stones mate- Hey!”

Lex had snatched the thing away, and placed it back in the box. Swirling around the men were the motes of light and the dulcet peel of sound that the crystal always emitted when struck; akin to a fragile bell. “Alright, that’s enough touching and looking for now. It’s time to set down some rules, you two. First off, no telling anyone about this; no one. That includes the others and anyone on the forums. Hell, your family, too, no one.”

Carl frowned. “But I already told the others in the-”

Lex interrupted, frowning some beneath his beard. “Well don’t tell them anything else. If they ask about tonight, tell them it was a hoax after all, for now.”

Irwin was standing stock still staring with disbelief as the dancing lights fell closer and closer to the floor. Lex couldn’t tell if he was listening, that is, until the man climbed down to his hands and knees to watch as the last purple dot faded into the tiles.

Lex coughed.

Irwin stumbled up to stand again, Carl chuckling.

“The crystals are in my care," Lex went on. "And I’m merely inviting you both to analyze them with me.”

Carl mumbled, just loud enough to be heard. “She trusted them to me too, you know.”

“Yes,” Lex raised an eyebrow, “but they’re in my name on the papers.” He heaved a sigh and looked to the crystals again. “I’ve been handed someone else’s property. I intend to make good on my end of this deal before I consider talking to their owner about the possibility of anything else. And telling the others would just complicate things, so no gossiping, you two. I shouldn’t even need to bring up other outsiders, like a science journal, but I will if I have to.”

Alice frowned her deepest. Others? She had been gradually frowning more and more as she listened; mostly from the sound of Irwin’s voice, but what Lex said was weird too. What on Earth do they mean by others? She ran her hands over her hair without noticing, redoing her ponytail out of pure nervousness. Don’t tell me these guys are some kind of… nerdy Illuminati.

She could see Irwin still looked none too pleased; Carl was unreadable.

Lex continued speaking. “Which brings me to my next point. You know the science community doesn’t work like that. We would need to produce everything we have on these crystals for them to be taken seriously at all. That means how we made them, where we found them, and so on. We don’t have any of that because we did neither, and we don’t have the resources on our own to do anything with them, either.”

Irwin had begun pacing slightly, scowling. “Professor, you are talking about articles the length of my arm that could power a small city; that completely disregard everything we know about...! About energy itself! This is the find of the century!”

Lex met his gaze for a few, strained seconds, then sighed. “Indeed it is.” He stood strode across to the crystals, studying them. He also heard Irwin walk up beside him to look, too. “Still, there’s no hurry, and I’m the one in charge of these… crystals that we’ve been trusted with. They aren’t related to our project, so I’ll be keeping the eye on them-”

Irwin made to speak, but Lex talked over him.

“-And, if things work out for us with Twilight, then we could already be in quite the excellent position to benefit from this, and the situation goes beyond just having a curious, unexplainable hunk of rock. Does that sound fair enough, sir?”

Carl spoke first. “Yeah. You’re the boss, old timer.”

Lex winced back and stroked his beard. “I’m not that old…” He grinned and looked away from the chuckling Carl to the other man there. “Irwin?”

Irwin stayed quiet a moment longer, then mumbled his acknowledgement. “Yes, very well.” He maintained his nearly constant scowl as Professor Lex turned to face him; the other man’s speech concluded. “So, you intend to help the loon try and return back to her make believe fairy land then?”

Lex took a breath and searched the room for a moment. “Not to openly discredit myself, and off the records… let’s say I'm open to the optimistic possibility that she really is from another world."

Carl clapped once. “Well put, sir.”

Irwin, however, barked with laughter, once. “Really, Lex? How long do you intend to wait to produce something worthwhile from all of this, then? Hmm? She’s crazy-”

Lex smirked and interrupted the man, stepping forward confidently. “I don’t think she’s crazy at all, though, Irwin.”

Irwin stared back blankly a moment, then threw up his hands and paced further away.

Carl raised his hand and peered at the hunched over angry scientist. “If it helps, buddy, I still kinda think she’s crazier than a fruit bat.”

“Oh great,” Irwin laughed hard enough to cough. “S-so, out of the men of science present the least accomplished of you is the one sane man here. Also, I'm not your buddy...”

“Heh…” Carl leaned over the long laboratory counter separating the two sides of the room. “I don’t think you’re much less accomplished than me. Don’t beat yourself up so much about-”

“I meant you! And I am not your buddy-” Irwin cut off as Lex walked between them, waving a hand.

“That’s enough, both of you. Carl, I know Irwin’s attitude is like shooting fish nailed down to the bottom of an empty barrel, but knock it off. It gets old. Irwin… same as always, grow some thicker skin. I know I’m not in charge of anything, but if you can’t work with us you don’t belong in the group.” The other men rolled their eyes or scoffed to the side respectively, which was typical. “You’ve been working together for years, and I think things are getting serious.”

The other men looked back, their attentions piqued.

Lex waited a second, pausing, then went on. “Which brings me to my last point, gentlemen.” He shared his flat, lecturing expression between both men equally. “We may now have the possible fulcrum we’ve been looking for to make the group's pipe dream project… well, slightly less impossible. We might be able to test more than a theory.”

Irwin sighed with blatant exasperation and flourished a hand towards Carl. “That’s what I was trying to say. The last part, anyway.”

Carl seemed to struggled to keep his mouth shut after the other man spoke.

Irwin continued. “But honestly, I say we forget about that stupid hobby, something which could backfire horribly, and switch to something more relevant in this age. Understanding this bizarre gift could- could bring Tesla’s vision true!”

Lex smirked. “Maybe, but we’re taking this a step at a time, Irwin.” The older man put an arm around Irwin, which he seemed to only grudgingly allow. “I had more to say, though. For now, we have the possibility of our missing ingredient, as well as the possibility of a new member, who could really assist us with the project.”

Irwin gritted his teeth and spun out of the other man’s grip. “You can’t be-”

“Irwin.” Lex raised his voice warningly. “It isn’t my decision to make, it’s everyone’s, and you’ll get your vote. But I do want you to know the reality is there, and it’s simply that she does know her stuff. Plus, it might be our best chance of getting her help-” He glanced at the shoebox, again laid on the counter. “With the project.”

Alice’s eyes widened, somehow, yet another fraction. Her face was practically pressing itself in through the door’s crack. What project!? What project!!?? Tell me your damned secrets already you pasty nerds!

“Excuse me?”

Alice straightened bolt upright where she was crouched beside the office door and jerked the pen in her hand free from where it was wedged. She looked up, and right into the questioning, rueful gaze of the studious looking lobby-lady.

Alice grinned slightly. “Ah-heh, hi?”

The woman’s gaze narrowed immediately. “Just what do you think are you doing, Miss?...”

Alice uhmed aloud, then answered the other woman slowly. "...Rutabaga?"

The secretary deadpanned. "Rutabaga..." she repeated.

"Ah huh." Alice's eyes darted quickly towards the doors at the other end of the hall. She had been taken completely by surprise. I'll need to work on that, she resolved, while gathering her thoughts for an escape plan.

"Well," the stately looking, and sounding woman continued. "Miss Rutabaga, if you would kindly produce both your student, or faculty I.D. as well as an explanation for why you are crouched beside one of the laboratory doors, then I'll be happy to help you in any way I can." She smiled smugly, peering beneath her glasses at the blonde woman.

Alice stared back blankly a moment, brain racing for something good to respond with. She coughed, and stood up. “Well… youuuu seee…”

The lobby-lady’s eyes widened suddenly.

Alice ducked in quickly, leaping up from the floor, and initiated a french kiss with the stranger. The other woman fought back, after a moment, of course, but the distraction had worked.

Alice danced away before things got too… complicated. “Oh geez, you know, I wish I could stay, but I really need to go find my pony.” She jogged backwards, waving and laughing, leaving the wide eyed, utterly confused secretary behind. “Bye now! Take care!” Nimbly, she turned on one foot and swooped her way out of the building.

Jo frowned slightly over her steering wheel, trying to figure out what Alice wasn't telling her while looking out the corner of her eye. "So, you found a frat party to crash."

"Yup!" Alice cheered, whooing aloud. She was again seated in the back of Jo's car, beside Twilight and secured beneath a seat belt for their long, nighttime drive home.

Twilight chuckled again while smirking at her other friend's happiness and silly behavior.

Jo went on. "And that's why you had red lipstick smudged all over your face?" she asked.

Alice leaned up and winked. "Oh, Jo, a girl never kisses and tells... Isn't that right Twilight?"

Twilight blushed and gulped, then looked away. A few indiscernible mumbles escaped her, which included the likes of. "Well, I..." and "But I mean..." and then "Not really any of..."

"I was just kidding, Twilight." Alice began giggling all the same in response to the ex-unicorn, distracted from her questioning. She awed audibly, finding the other girl's reaction to be too cute.

Jo stared dully at them both through her rear view mirror, then looked back at the road. "Right."

The drive went on for a couple hours, a few lines of speech traded every now and then. Alice asked more about Equestria, and Jo had stopped telling her not to ask. Twilight had already found out they had been avoiding the risk of upsetting her, after all. Sometime near their quarter-way point, two of the three girls dozed off for a car nap.

It wasn't until they were nearly home, that Alice perked up suddenly, as energetic as if she had rested a full night's sleep.

"Oh!" Alice exclaimed, grinning over at Twilight. "And you'll never guess what I overheard after I left that frat party."

Chapter 25 : Twilight Plays Video Games

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This chapter was written by a friend who goes by the name Firebirdbtops, and was published as a one shot! I know he doesn't look like much, but he's a great editor turned writer. The tone in this Twilight Tale is a little more silly and separate from the rest of the story. It's primary purpose is story filler between the last large event Twilight had, and the next pivotal moment in ATL. If I had the skill, or the determination I would happily write every scene Twilight spends on Earth for everypony's entertainment; but sadly, I do not. So, please accept this much from the both of us!

This side-chapter is canon, also, so keep that in mind. I've made sure you do not need Firebird's story to continue this one, nor the other way around.

Please enjoy!
Twilight Sparkle Plays Some Video Games

Author's Magic Node

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Greetings! This Magic Node is an informative sign post, a way point if you will, to guide and assist you along the way of Merlos The Mad's calamitous story environment.

As you may have noticed (or may not have noticed,) this story is one of five stories that all happen at the same time!

Here are the other four.

So Many Wonders
My Little Marriage : Mary Is A Mare
Abhorsen
The Mane Two : Contrail

Now, my advice to you (and I'm an information sign, so this is good advice) is to read the others as well, simply to stay on the up and up, stopping when you come across a message like this to see what it says.

All five stories are self contained, and will not spoil one another, up until a certain point, of course. You will see events and other things that give hints or flat out give away facts to the other stories if you continue. For this story, A Twilight Landing, that point is now. You must go and read My Little Marriage if you do not want spoilers when you read that story at a later date, or the other three. If you only plan to read this fic, though, then continue on.

You do not need all of the fics for this story, or the rest of it, to make sense. Eventually, they will all converge into a separate fic altogether from the five. Some things will be confusing I imagine at that point, possibly, but we'll write that sixth story fresh so as to keep everypony in the loop.

Again, I repeat you will get a complete story by only staying in this story and its continuity, but the others have pieces from the other girls and their point of view, too.

That concludes this message from the author! Thank you everypony for your patience and support, and please, enjoy!

Chapter 26 : Hello...?

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December 21st

Thirty Five Days Later

Twilight clicked absently at the computer’s buttonboard. She referred to it as a buttonboard simply because she was, in fact, pressing buttons. True, they were called keys, and for a good reason, but it felt right to put a spin on how she thought of the device. Plus, it sounded more fun.

On the computer screen and looking about as lively as she herself did, was another person with whom she was chatting on and off.

Twilight’s typing began to slow steadily, until finally she was merely staring at the screen.

Her present company saw this. “Twilight, are you alright?” the man Twilight was talking with said. His name was Jack, one of her tech forum friends. He wore heavy bags under his eyes, more than a match for Twilight’s own. Though, his were less of a sign of dedication to his work and more from just years of self-abuse by computer.

The bright screen continued to glare back at Twilight’s eyes, while in the back of her mind she somewhat registered being addressed. After some pause, she finally let out a groan of frustration and pressed a hand to her forehead.

Jack recoiled slightly. “That bad huh?”

“No, sorry.” Twilight heaved a sigh. “I’m fine, really.”

Jack hummed thoughtfully for his reply.

Twilight continued. “Sort of…” She moved her chair to the side of the desk where her letters for the princess—once she got home—were sitting. "It's nothing new."

“Nightmares again?” Jack asked out of the blue. “Hearing the voice still?” He supported his head with one hand, leaning on his chair’s arm. His other hand removed the glasses he wore to hang them over the other side of his chair.

Twilight hesitated a moment, then lifted up her notebook. “I don’t really want to talk about it. It— They are rare enough they aren’t a problem… and they’re just dreams.” She opened up her journal slash series of letters. The last entry glowed up at her, written that very morning.

“I dunno, Twilight,” Jack remarked. He sighed, still watching her fiddle with a book. “They sound more like nightmares, to me.”

Twilight winced a little, frowning at her journal entry.

“Sorry,” Jack added, seeing that.

Twilight heard the apology and looked up quickly, smiling. “It’s okay, really. I— They probably are nightmares. According to some of my studies they’re quite common for humans, after all…” She swallowed and replaced her worried expression back on her face. “In Equestria… as a pony… a nightmare is a little more serious, though.”

Jack nodded, recalling the conversation from the first time he had heard it. “Right, right. Nightmares are an imbalance of Harmony.”

“Theorized to be an imbalance of Harmony,” Twilight corrected. “Sad as I am to say it, magic isn’t a fully explored science.”

Jack burst out laughing again, but quickly settled back down. “Magic, a science. Hearing that is still absolutely incredible,” he repeated the words in his foreign accent, no less awe filled than the first time he had said them.

Twilight glared absently, but also smirked, used to that reaction by now. She very much heard him in the background her focus on studying the pages laid out before her; in them was detailed her latest ‘vision’ as she had described it. The dream had been Equestria, she thought, like always, but every time she saw it things got... worse.

Sometimes they started out alright, and were obviously fears she possessed or had once considered reiterated in dream form. It was often as though she were watching reels of things she was afraid of deep down being played out for her. The subjects typically had to do with her never returning home. Her friends were sometimes there, or sometimes not. When they were, they always treated her differently, or harshly, or as if they had given up finding her.

Altogether, they were rarely if ever pleasant. For some reason, these vivid experiences that haunted her seemed more real than other, more normal seeming dreams.

The last journal-letter Twilight had written spoke to Celestia about why she thought that was. Perhaps those things merely stand out more to me than—

Jack snapped his fingers loudly. The act caught Twilight’s attention, and she had time to briefly consider how humans did that. “Oh, I know, I have another one— Gah!” He'd sat up quickly, and fast enough in the screen’s web camera window to knock something off of his desk.

“Uhm, is everything alright over there?” Twilight asked, setting down her journal of letter entries to the princess. She put the thoughts over the dreams out of mind, for now.

Jack was brushing furiously at his pants’ leg, but he nodded. “Yes, fine, I just spilled something.”

Twilight smirked. “Alright then,” she laughed a little. Jack was a pretty good friend, and could usually help cheer her up at least as well as Alice did, but his antics seemed a bit less planned and a bit more goofy. “So, what was that about a question?”

Twilight had been answering questions for Jack on and off over the last hour or so. Before that, she had messaged him over the state of their pony-hunt, as it were. The mystery mare they were seeking out, somewhere in a ‘united state’ called Idaho, had not revealed herself again in any way through the human media.

Worse, after calling the man that had taken the video, he hadn’t been able to reveal anything, willing or otherwise. Annoyingly enough, the man from Idaho had thought he was going to have his memory erased or something, and had started calling Jo ‘Will Smith’.

Jo had been cross about having her voice compared to a guy’s for a while after that.

“Anyway,” Jack continued. “I just thought of something else to ask. It used to bother me a lot as a kid when I watched the show, actually.” He was, of course, referring to Twilight’s own television show.

Twilight gave an amused smile and leaned forwards onto her desk. “Well, again, that program is full of inaccuracies that could be very misleading, especially to children, but sure. What would you like to know?” She waited for his answer.

One of the most fascinating things that never got old with her, was the fact that Jack was literally on the other end of the world. Even sending messages via magical flame would take several minutes over such a distance. The internet however, was full video, and much faster. She had already sworn to invent new spells and devices that could do the same… When she got home, that is.

“Okay, okay.” Jack said in his odd, foreign accent. He took a breath, obviously thinking hard on how to word what he had to say. “Names.” He looked at Twilight after a second for confirmation that she'd understood.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Names?” she inquired.

“Yeah!” Jack grinned and exclaimed back. “Names, as in pony names! Back in the show, they were all— How do you say it? Perfectly prophetic of things? They always tied in with what the pony did, or who they were. It made no sense. Why was Fluttershy, well, Fluttershy? Did they know her cutie mark would be flutterbies- er, butterflies? Bleh, slip of the tongue. Learn more German, Twilight, so much easier.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, and snickered at the slip up. “I will brush up, don’t worry. Especially if I need to talk to other nationalities.” After laughing again, she continued. “Well, that’s an easy one, at least.”

Jack grinned. “Not complicated like magic, then? I was already thinking this was another ‘Harmony’ thing.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed slightly in recollection. They had spoken at length about how Harmony and magic maintained the stability of her world. Jack had been quite frantic about her claims that gravity wasn't a consequence of objects having mass, but as a result of magic being the basis for matter. Jack retorting with citations about "Higgs field" and the "Standard Model".

“Harmony might play a part,” Twilight admitted slowly while nodding. “I can’t say that I’ve heard of a study that has disproved its involvement in anything…” She was nothing if not thorough in her thought process. She also didn’t rule things out, or tried not to, at least. Pinkie Pie had given her a hard lesson in that, once. “Anyway, the simple answer is that our names, often like yours, are passed on. So, heritage and talents, which tend to lead to cutie marks, can be passed down. Pretty often this results in ponies, like Fluttershy, that have a cutie mark that very closely resembles their name in some way.”

Jack ooed in return to her. “So it’s just like human names, actually. Along with… coincidence.”

Twilight nodded. “Your name is Jack, indicating that while you may have been born and raised in Germany, you probably have a parent or ancestor from the United Kingdom. Your name can mean strong, healthy, and a few other things.”

Jack stared back at her a moment, blinking, then nodded. “Heh, that's right, my mother named me. She was from England.” He sighed dourly afterwards. “Well, that’s more boring than I’d thought. I was expecting that the zebras told fortunes or read your futures or something and you had cool, alien-like naming rituals.”

It was Twilight's turn to blink in silence, then she let out a laugh. “Nothing like that, I’m afraid, Jack.” She crossed her arms and grinned back at the fellow academic-type. “It’s not all boring, though. I think Harmony may play a small part, like you mentioned. There’s an order to our world, one that makes itself very evident in the smallest of ways sometimes. From… say… making friends that you never knew you would have, to being in the right place at the right time. Although, this is not nearly as well studied as I think it should be. I wish I could continue studying in Equestria to change that…” Her look darkened, and she began to study the desktop absently.

Jack watched Twilight as she trailed off. “It must really suck a lot to be stuck here, then.” He smiled when she looked back up.

“Heh,” Twilight managed, then looked away. She picked up her notebooks and straightened them without thinking about it. “I wouldn’t put it like that, Jack. That’s a little… crude. It isn’t all bad. It is very interesting here, and I am learning things.” She paused for a moment, then straightened, returning his attention. “I want to think that all of this is leading to something that will pay off, somehow.”

Before Twilight let another pause begin, she went back to the topic at hand. “Right, but no, not all cutie marks and names correlate so well. Some of the cutie marks are too nebulous for good names to match up with them. So, if Harmony does play a part, it isn’t perfect.”

Jack patted a hand against his cheek, humming loudly over what Twilight was saying. “I still don’t think that the whole destiny thing is possible.”

Twilight rolled her eyes yet again, and reflected that maybe she was picking up Jo’s cynicism. “It isn’t destiny, Jack. It’s a force of nature, just like gravity! Water flows down a hill, but why? Because it makes sense and the world works like that. Harmony is the balance to chaos, nothing more.” She growled, scratching a hand through her hair quickly for a moment. “Princess Celestia would be able to say this a lot better than me, you know.”

The man facing her in the computer screen chuckled, and leaned back in his chair. “Maybe I will wait to ask her, then. I’ll take your word for it, Twilight. I thought of, eh, another question, though. This one is much better, and I’m interested in your explanation.”

Twilight nodded, a little happy to get off the topic. Humans, universally, seemed to have a very keen affinity for questioning or doubting anything she said, for good reason or no. “Okay,” she prompted.

“Minotaurs!” Jack tossed his arms up in the air, exclaiming. “What’s the deal with them? Half human, half bull? How does that work? Does Equestria have humans, then?”

Not for the first time, Twilight hummed a moment, then shrugged. “I don’t know, honestly.” She chuckled when the man let out a disappointed sound. “If I had to guess… though…” She watched as he leaned forward intently, like one of Fluttershy’s critter friends detecting a treat. Her snickering managed to contain itself, this time. “I would think that it’s merely another parallel between our worlds. For some reason, certain mythologies from your world are true in ours. Maybe humans did the same thing they did with the television show of my friends, or perhaps the answer goes deeper than that…” She had to shrug again, unable to help it.

Jack ran a hand over his face, a look of concentrated thought on his face. “So…” he began anew. “That means that sea ponies could be real…?”

Twilight grinned and laughed. “Oh Celestia.” She put a hand over her mouth and laughed, recalling the video that Jack had shown her first thing that day.

Jack smirked, then sang, “Shoo bee doo, shoo shoo bee doo.”

Twilight laughed harder. “I- I don’t think so, Jack.”

“Aaw.” Jack put on a disappointed look that only lasted a second, then grinned again.

“Honestly…” Twilight was already moving past those thoughts and onto new concerns, her laughter dwindling. She stared up at the ceiling in an interested fashion, almost forgetting there was actually someone else present. A thought occurred to her, and her chair clunked from the speed she leaned forward with. “If there was a direct link between—! and then—! Or what if...”

Twilight met the startled look from her friend and slowed down. ”Jack, okay, do you remember that story you showed me, the sad one?”

Jack paused a moment, then tried to answer the abrupt question. “Ah— You mean… My Little Dashie?” He furrowed his brow in thought.

“Yes! Exactly, that one.” Twilight nodded a couple of times. “Initially, I found it highly suspicious that humans had so many real world comparisons for my... situation.” She hummed briefly. “Not just that story, either. Humans are obsessed with stories like that. Well, my culture has them too, I guess, but never mind. But those stories and your world's lack of magic certainly add credence to why it’s so hard to get you all to believe a word I say.”

Jack chuckled nervously at that, trying to look innocent. “Guilty,” he admitted. "Where are you going with this?"

Twilight smirked and moved on. “It has gotten me thinking about the parallels between our worlds. Perhaps humans are actually prophetic? Maybe your people can foretell things by using some force that we’re not familiar with.”

Jack studied her a moment, then grunted and shook his head. “I dunno, if that’s true I get the feeling we’d be better at guessing the lottery. God knows I’ve been bad enough at taking a crack at it…”

Twilight frowned and glanced off to her side. “Well… maybe. It was just a thought, though. I’m not sure how it’s relevant, exactly. I suppose what Jo said about humans loving stories about themselves could be just as true as anything. I mean, my ending up here was probably just a coincidence, so why not everything else?” She let out a big, aggravated sigh and flopped back in her chair.

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Come now Twilight, that’s assuming an awful lot. That potion of yours could have brought you here for a number of good reasons, too.”

Twilight tapped a finger furiously against her desk, brow furrowed. She only half heard Jack, again. “Why couldn’t magic be the same in both our worlds, Spike? This would be so much easier then… For starters, at least everypony would believe me, no matter what.” She crossed her arms and glared at Jack, though she was glaring because of something else. “Did you know that Irwin won’t believe anything I say? No matter how right it is? Even stuff from Earth, like the weather! He’ll talk to Lex though and believe anything that he says! Even if I was the one that told it to Lex in the first place!” A hand covered her eyes and she collapsed fully in the office chair, sighing out of sheer exasperation.

From the speakers, Twilight could hear Jack’s quiet chuckling. Not at her, she was sure, but the matter stood either way.

If I had my horn, though, I would probably be home… Twilight’s thoughts kept her busy, until an outside voice grabbed her attention.

“Show a caveman technology, he’ll think it’s magic. Show a modern man magic, he’ll think it’s technology,” Jack stated. He was idly twirling a pen between his fingers and staring out his window.

Twilight peaked out from underneath her hand. “What was that about men that live in caves?”

Jack looked over. “What? I meant Irwin’s not apt to believe you about magic theory anymore than I believed you about Equestria, Twilight.”

“Ah.” Twilight searched the desk absently while she thought about the metaphor. “Well, at least you believed me, eventually. I don’t blame him for that, only the way he acts towards me.” She laughed and flourished one hand in the air. “I even watched a bunch of Doctor Who just to try and improve our working relationship! A key fundamental of friendship is having something in common initially. I mean—” she struggled for more to say, and ended up growling instead.

Jack chuckled again. “Very patient people have tried to get Irwin to act friendly, Twilight. I think Lex gets by simply because he’s always sort of been around him.” He sighed, and smirked at Twilight.

Twilight returned the smirk, but when the other man continued to stare at her, she asked, “...What?”

Jack chuckled again, but straightened his face. “You called me Spike, a minute ago.”

Twilight blinked in confusion, then sat back. “Oh.” Did I say that— I did. “Ah… sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

Jack bobbed his head from side to side and shrugged. “It is fine. I have been called worse things than a little dragon before, heh. Take Irwin for example. Very mean fellow, calls me names all the time.” He enjoyed another weak laugh with Twilight. After another pause ensued, he continued. “How are things with them, by the way? Did you decide to show them the crystals, yet?”

Twilight laughter cut off as if by a switch, and pursed her lips in thought. She was being faced with the same difficult choice once again. On one hoof, getting help from Lex and his other ‘science nerd’ friends meant keeping quiet about it—entirely their request. On the other hoof, she had been asked by one group of friends to lie to another. A positive and a negative from one simple situation, turning it complicated.

She could understand the need for Lex's secrecy, sort of, but it didn’t make it any easier of a thing to do.

Lex, Carl—and she supposed Irwin—were trying to get her home to Equestria, a little bit. Helping with her understanding of the crystals was important, after all; and she had learned a lot... Jack, however, was trying very hard to help her track down the mysterious pony that might hold clues to how she could get home.

“No… I haven’t yet. It’s just too big of a risk, Jack.” Twilight painfully worked a weak smile onto her expression after repeating what she had for a couple weeks. She studied the other human staring back at her, taking note of the immediate disappointment on his expression at hearing the news. Maybe I could tell him all the things we’ve learned and simply say I researched it on my own? Her hands rung out the front of her shirt, a recent nervous habit she had developed over time. No, that would still be betraying Lex’s trust… Uggh, why do they even want to keep this such a big secret? It’s not as though I plan to go out and have everything published about in a newspaper… Well, a website. I can’t believe humans stopped using newspapers around here.

Twilight was quickly reminded about Alice’s little ‘discovery’ from a few weeks before, when the other girl had told both her and Jo about spying ‘just a little’—as she had put it—on the nerds. Jo hadn’t been happy—as anyone can imagine—over that discovery, and her trust of the men went back to zero in a flash. Twilight herself had told Alice she was a little upset she had been spying, but it was already done with anyway. Once Jo’s fury was somewhat dealt with, Twilight had of course confronted Lex about what kind of project they could have meant.

Lex hadn't given answers yet, but Twilight was still working on that.

“I see.” Jack replied solemnly, nodding somewhat.

“But still, Lex wouldn’t tell me…” Twilight bit the inside of her cheek and frowned, talking to herself. “I can’t refuse their help. I can’t. But why secrets?”

Jack turned his head a few degrees. “Did you say something, Twilight?”

Twilight went rigid and began shuffling papers on her desk. “I- Oh, no, haha…. Just talking to myself, Jack!” She swallowed hard and continued to act discrete. I might not be as bad of a liar as Applejack, but this is still hard!

Twilight continued to fumble with her notes absently until she came to a decision, right as Jack looked as though he was going to speak again, too. “Uhm, look, Jack, I’m going to go, okay? Not that I haven’t enjoyed talking with you, again. It’s really sort of a nice way to relax and talk with someone academically about Equestria.” She laughed a little, continuing. “I mean, the girls here are great friends and all, but Jo is rather quiet, and Alice just wants to know… weird things about ponies.”

Twilight grimaced and tried not to recall the rather specific and outlandish questions Alice seemed to come up with about her people.

“Alrighty, Twilight.” Jack continued on in his curiously Germane-like accent. “It was good to talk with you again. Anytime you wish we can conversate about Earth or Equestria.”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “Definitely. Not to give myself hope about actually getting home, or anything…” She chuckled briefly. “But, it is important that there are informed individuals on both of our sides. You know, just in case we do establish diplomatic relations.”

Jack looked thoughtful for a brief pause before speaking up in reply. “You’ll get home, Twilight. Don’t worry about that, I think.”

Twilight blinked, then smiled, feeling a bit of warm emotion from the sentiment. “Thanks, Jack.”

“No problem.” The human waved good bye to her. “Sayonara!”

Twilight waved back and smiled again, reaching for the ‘cancel call’ button on the program they used.

“Oh, and Twilight.” Jack spoke again hurriedly, leaning forward. His expression was odd, both intent yet neutral.

Twilight paused. “Hm?” She blinked, curious. “Did you remember something you found?” She was more than a little hopeful of a bit more good news of some sort.

Jack looked as though he was on the verge of speaking for more than a few seconds. Eventually, he did manage to reply. “Oh, no. Nothing like that Twilight,” he coughed. “I just, uh, wanted to say your hair looks really nice, today, was all.”

Twilight stared back through her computer screen.

“You know, the whole purple and, rosy pink thing… grown out. It’s a pretty good look.” Jack smirked, nodding appreciatively.

“Oh, thank you.” Twilight could see the purple lengths of hair in the corner of one eye. Above those, she recalled a good few inches of black hair. “I need to go now, Jack. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Jack nodded again and rubbed a hand behind his head. “Yeah, yes, sure. Talk to you soon, Twilight—"

Twilight exhaled and scrunched her eyes closed once the windowed program was shut. She sat there for a few minutes before she had a single thought come to her. Of course, it dealt with the reminder that she was no longer a unicorn.

Black hair, she mused darkly.

I have black hair… Twilight pushed herself up out of her chair and left the office room, eager to either get some food and study, or perhaps go talk to Jo and try and forget some recent things. I dipped my hair in ink once on accident… but that was hardly the same as this.

“Jo, please! Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!” Twilight continued to beg beside her friend. She was wearing sweat pants and a sweater, keen on staying warm in the cold northern weather she faced in this region of Earth.

Jo regarded Twilight with a sideways glance, while trying not to give away how difficult it was for her to refuse the other girl’s pleads. She had on a simple bathrobe, having not had plans to go anywhere anytime soon. For her, the weather outside was pretty tame for the season thus far. “We should wait a bit longer, Twilight. Spring is the way to go. And I really don’t think that it’s such a good idea to do that without knowing more.”

Alice broke in. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, not one to let weather change her habits. “Well why not? It’s better than just waiting. What’s the worst that can even happen, hm?”

The three girls were holding a council of sorts in Jo’s dining room, now a war room for all intents and purposes. Their mission: hunting a pony.

Jo thumped a hand on the varnished wood in front of her. “Guys, we’ve been over this. We can’t just go door to door looking for ponies!”

Alice sighed and crossed her arms. “You’re avoiding the question again…”

Jo shot her a flat look. “That’s because it’s a terrible question.”

Twilight leaned out in front of Jo, determined to make eye contact. “Jo, I know your world’s laws are a lot… stricter, but we won't get in trouble for just asking people! It would even be sort of discreet. We would knock, introduce ourselves and show them a picture. If we get nothing, we move on!”

Alice raised her hand. “You could disguise yourselves as carolers.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow over at the blonde girl. “A disguise would be handy… but what’s a—”

“Christmas singers, Twilight. It’s part of our Christmas traditions.” Alice smirked slightly when the other girl ooed in recognition.

Jo sighed. “Couldn’t we at least wait until after Christmas?” Her eyes traced the wall until they found the nearby window. Early winter snow was caked around the fringes of the glass panes there.

Alice folded her arms over one another. “You’ve already waited almost a month, and Twi’s friend hasn’t found anything new in days.”

“He’s been trying…” Twilight reminded quietly.

Alice gave her a consoling look, then shrugged after facing Jo again. “I still think you could go to put up signs at the very least, Jo. We’ll use the direct approach. We’ll wait a few more days like you said, and then try signs and asking. That wouldn’t hurt anything—”

Jo interrupted. The direct approach had been brought up already. “What, with my phone number on them? ‘Please call if you have seen this multicolored miniature horse anywhere?’ So when people feel like pranking us to giggle over how clever they felt after getting the idea we can all have a good laugh?” She shook her head in refusal and turned further away. “Twilight, Alice, I’m not saying don’t go if you want to go, but I’m staying here.”

Alice scowled, one of the rare times she would; simply because she was being forced to repeat herself. “Jo, I have work. I can’t take Twilight.” She gave her other friend a regretful look. “As much as I want to… You have to do it.”

Twilight kept the suggestion she once again formed to herself. I could… always drive myself, girls. I mean, the apparatus in your cars isn’t that complicated at all, and I’ve studied the laws of your system of roads and vehicle use extensively, and… Oh who am I kidding, they’ll never let me. She hoped that she had managed to keep any grumpiness over the matter off of her face.

Jo grunted, and looked away from the blonde girl once more. They were repeating things that had already been brought up. “Well I can’t go either with no one to feed my cats.”

Alice rolled her eyes. “Of course, the cats. That is the one bar to driving to Idaho. Jo, I can feed the furballs just fine while you help Twilight—”

As if on cue, Twilight threw her head back and moaned in frustration. Jo and Alice watched as she stood up, then began to leave. She paused at the door.

“Sorry— I’m not mad at you, Jo,” Twilight turned to state matter of factly. “But I am frustrated…” Her foot tapped rapidly while she stood there in the doorway. There has to be a favorable option. I can’t take all this waiting! Solutions, though, seemed few. Maybe I should just focus on science and…. no. “Girls, we need to do something.” She floundered where she stood at the room’s entrance, hesitant to either leave or stay and deliberate further.

When Twilight managed to force out words from herself, they were as resolute as she felt on the matter. It wasn’t like her to try and push a friend like this, but she couldn’t help it. She was a little afraid. “That pony could be in serious, serious trouble, Jo. She’s at far greater risk than I am where she is. If I had to choose a good reason to do this, that would be it.”

Alice turned to face Jo again with a look of her own.

Twilight took a couple steps back into the room. “Please, Jo?”

Meanwhile, Jo was holding her head up in her hands. I can’t believe I’m going along with this. “Alright,” she relented. “Lets pack then.”

Alice’s eyes widened. “Seriously?” she turned and grinned towards Twilight who returned it.

Jo stood up and tightened her house robe absently. “Twilight can’t go without me and, well, honestly there’s no reason to hang around during Christmas for us, anyway. Besides, the roads are still clear right now.”

Twilight beamed, but resisted her urge to cheer. “Thank you,” she said simply.

Jo grunted and shrugged. “Can we at least leave tomorrow? That way you can at least get ready.”

“Deal!” Twilight already had a list of things to gather prepared.

December 23rd

Twilight shivered ferociously on her way into the hotel, even bundled up as she was beneath a shirt, her sweater, and a light coat. On her head was a poofy, wool hat with fuzzy tassels; its color matched that of her old, fur coat. Alice had told her she made it as an early Christmas gift. S-Should have accepted Alice’s coat, too, when she offered it. Even her thoughts felt cold. It was only a short walk to get inside, but the air in the late evening was far more frigid than she was used to, biting at her eyes and nostrils with its unnatural chill.

There was barely any snow on the ground at all, and yet it was both windy and freezing cold. If Jo lives in a place with such bad winters, why are her winter jackets so thin!? She glanced back at Jo, who seemed comfortable in far, far less winter clothing.

Twilight had a case with her borrowed laptop in one hand, and a wheeled suitcase for travel in the other. What I wouldn’t give for levitation right now— Or scratch that, a warmth spell. That would be terrific. Still shivering, she pulled open the glass door to the building and ducked inside.

Even indoors, her breath clouded up in front of her. Outside, she could see Jo far more nonchalantly make her way towards the hotel doors. The other girl had gotten them to Idaho as she’d promised, and in just two days time as well. Automobiles weren’t quite so fast as traveling by say, chariot, but they were impressive under the circumstances.

Twilight pushed open and held the door for her friend.

“Thanks, Twilight,” Jo remarked dully. She continued inside and began climbing the tall stairwell present.

“You’re w-welcome, J-Jo,” Twilight chattered out.

Jo stopped and turned around at the foot of the stairs. “Twilight, it’s barely below zero out, and you’re bundled up; and it’s only just colder here than it was back home.” Maybe she was tired, or maybe now that they had arrived to their destination she had calmed down, but Jo laughed.

That much alone made Twilight smile, still rubbing her sides furiously with both, mittened hands. “Well, t-that may be, Jo, but even Canterlot winters aren’t this cold! I’ve been in negative degree weather before, and this feels colder! I highly suspect that even though we both use Celsius for temperature measure, there is some unaccounted for inaccuracy going on here.”

Jo rolled her eyes and took a hold of the stair railing. “Or, you’re being a wimp without fur. And anyway, I still prefer Fahrenheit." She motioned for her friend to hurry up. "Come on, let’s get upstairs to the room where it’ll be warmer.”

Twilight nodded from underneath her poofy hat. “Oh t-thank Celestia. No arguments over that, h-here.”

Together, the two made it upstairs, before then entering a far warmer indoor hallway.

Twilight felt immediate relief once they were back in decent, indoor temperatures.

“Better already?” Jo found their room quickly; it was right by an exit.

Twilight let out a contented breath, still hugging herself and feeling the cold clinging to the outside of her clothes. “Oh yes, very much. Jo, humans and cold do not mix, at all. My fur is a hundred times better than these so called ‘winter’ clothes. Unless perhaps magic plays a part in...”

Jo pushed open the heavy door and stepped in. “Ah huh. Well, Twilight, you were a magical horse. Short answer, that’s as good as cheating. For all we know your tears can be used to cure cancer.” She dropped her backpack unceremoniously by the door. “Now look, it’s been a long day and—”

Twilight heard Jo cut off suddenly, and took a break from taking off her freezing outerwear. “Jo?” she said, approaching her friend. “What's wrong?” Jo was simply standing in the middle of the floor, staring into the room.

Without warning, a furious growl made Twilight jump.

Jo whirled around and flung a hand out to the giant bed centering the room. “Why is there only one bed!?”

“Alice, I’m only going to ask you once. Why, is there only one bed?” Jo sat, arms folded, face set sternly into a scowl, while glaring darkly at her blonde friend.

Alice laughed immediately. “That’s what this is about? Geez, Jo, don’t be such a prude-”

Jo lunged forward. “I am not, a prude,” she hissed. “It’s a simple question, answer it. Why did you book a single bed hotel room, huh? To mess me with me? I specifically told you two beds, Alice. That’s why I’m upset!”

Twilight looked on sadly from the large chair in the room. “It’s alright, Jo. Don’t be angry at Alice like that, even if she was pranking us.” She put on a slightly exasperated, slightly disappointed look, one that she often used a great deal with certain friends of hers back home.

Alice piped up again, still chuckling a little. “Guys, I was totally not pranking you. That was the only room I could get, I swear! This is Christmas season, after all. You should have waited until after it was over to go to Idaho.”

A loud thump echoed through the room.

Jo calmly flexed her hands beneath the desk, after landing her forehead on the top. She would have been angrier given what she had just heard, but the uncontrolled giggle fit that Alice was undergoing on the computer screen was enough to give her away as trying to be an absolute pest. Just stay calm, Jo. She's obviously ignoring the fact that you argued to stay until after the holiday. Just stay calm.

A hand rested on Jo’s shoulder, and got her to look up.

“Thank you for bringing us this far, Jo. I’m sorry I didn’t want to wait, but I’m really glad you helped, despite not wanting to.” Twilight smiled warmly; warm enough that Jo had a hard time staying upset at the other girl who was technically present.

“It’s fine, Twilight,” Jo remarked, sighing. She wasn’t showing it much, but she really didn’t mind having driven so far now that it was over. “You, however, can just button it.” She glared at Alice, who stuck her tongue out in return and laughed some more.

Alice whispered towards Jo, cupping her hands. "Hey, don't forget to give Twilight the thing, okay?"

Jo made the 'ixnay' motion, gesturing across her own neck with one hand quickly while Twilight was talking.

“Don’t worry about the bed, Jo." Twilight said friendlily. "I’ll sleep in the chair, it will be fine.”

Jo shook her head quickly and broke her staring contest with the yellow haired devil on the laptop. “No, I can try and get our room switched. Barring that, it’s not a big deal if we share.”

Twilight nodded happily, if a bit slowly. “Indeed, not at all. I… will admit, I was curious why you reacted so harshly in the first place, Jo.” She looked over the at huge bed. “I don’t think you are a greedy person, and there is plenty of space for us both.”

Alice’s eyes lit up on the screen. “I can explain! You see, Jo was—”

The program screen blipped out of existence, taking Alice along with it.

“Oh, nooo,” Jo put her hands to either side of her face and exclaimed drearily. “It seems we lost connection. How tragic.” She rolled her eyes, and trudged past a slightly surprised Twilight Sparkle. Across the room, she fell back first onto the bed and simply lay there. “So, fearless leader. What shall we be doing first thing tomorrow, hm?”

Twilight looked from the computer, now realizing Jo had hung up on Alice, then back to Jo with a bemused smirk. “Well, exactly what we’ve planned. Belsdale isn’t a very large town at all. After we drive there, we’ll try door to door, possibly as carolers… I haven’t decided on that part of the plan yet—”

“I am not caroling.” Jo interrupted, not looking over from staring at the ceiling. “I draw the line there.”

Twilight hummed, then took a seat at the computer desk. She began messaging Jack immediately about the latest developments. He was, after all, her biggest lead on the mystery pony. “Well, maybe we won’t need a disguise, anyway. So, as I was saying, we’ll go from house to house, prioritizing closer to the area Jack and I theorized to be the site of the party, all while putting up those posters I made!”

Jo grimaced after being reminded about the ‘posters’. That was all of the printer's ink, Twilight. She heaved a sigh, but made no move to chastise or tell the ex-pony what she thought about the liberal usage of her office supplies.

Jo finally sat up. “Alright, well what about—”

Twilight interrupted on accident, waving at the computer screen cheerfully. The screen was now filled with the other person's presence. “Hi Jack!” She grinned, eyes shut and perfect smile flashing towards the computer. The mood she was in overall brought her spirits high enough, that were she in Equestria, they would be aloft in Cloudsdale.

“Twilight. Good to see you. And Jo, I see is also there. Hello, Jo.” The skinny man waved again towards the shorter girl laying flat on her back over on the bed. “I’m not interrupting something, am I?” There was a wryness to his choice of words.

Twilight shook her head. “Of course not! I wouldn’t have called otherwise,” she chuckled. Interrupting… Humans and their odd, random phrases. She pressed on, ignoring the aggravated grunt from Jo, which was normal really. “I’m calling to give you exciting news. We’re in the town!” She grinned and waited expectantly.

Jack stared back, nodding a little. “Great, great. The town.” He turned his head. “The town?” he asked.

Twilight sighed, and let her overjoyed expression fall. “Yes, Jack, the town. You know, Belsdale?”

The man sat quickly, ahing in understanding. He wiped a hand over his mouth, eyes studying both Twilight and Jo at the corner of his screen from the looks of it. “Wow, so you went after all? You’re looking in person, then?”

Twilight grinned, then held up her palm and gave her fingers a wave in demonstration. “Hee, yes, we are! It’s all thanks to Jo, though.”

Jack nodded appreciatively. “Alright, well, the best of luck to you ladies. Jo, for what it’s worth from someone who only knows Twilight from afar, thanks for helping our friend.”

Jo laid there a moment, but exhaled and sat up after rolling her eyes. “Well, I wouldn’t say she guilted me into this…” She gave Twilight a rueful smirk. “But she was very convincing about why this was probably the right thing to do.”

Jack chuckled. “I’m sorry I could not at least help faster. Hunting down the fuzzy image of someone in this way is not easy. The quality and angles just are not good enough.” He frowned while making gestures with his hands, emphasizing the obstacle that he’d been tasked to overcome.

Twilight turned from Jo to face the computer again. “It’s fine, Jack. You gave us enough to start with. This might not work, but it’s something at least.” Absently, she pulled up the YouTube video once again.

Twilight, as well as her friends, had all watched the strange and mysterious clip several times. It lasted until police arrived on the scene of the party, obviously taken during Halloween, but it told very little about the pony. “If only there was more to go from…” Twilight said, staring at the video as it began to play.

Jack commented idly. He could hear the audio from the clip. “It would be nice, yes.”

Jo looked at the screen Twilight and Jack had pulled up. It was the same video they had all watched for perhaps a thousand times over the course of the last three weeks. “What about the comments?" she asked abruptly. "Are any of those useful?”

Without paused, Jack scoffed openly. “Hah, come on, girly, listen to yourself. YouTube comments, useful?” He directed a bemused smirk and raised eyebrow towards the brown haired girl. “That’s just unlikely. Besides, there are thousands of them on this video. All of them are random, rude remarks or claims the video is a hoax.” He gave Twilight a thoughtful look. “And… we know that isn’t the case.”

Twilight laughed, looking back to the slowly becoming grumpier Jo.

Jack went on. ”I’ve been trying to match the two men’s faces in the video through databases throughout the state for weeks now. If we were going to get clues, it would be from that.”

Jo narrowed her eyes a twinge further, listening patiently to the man debunking her rather idle comment. She sat up, a little frustrated and began studying the screen, alongside Twilight. “Twilight, scroll down a little would you,” she whispered.

Twilight had watched her friend approach, wondering what she was up to. “Oh, uhm, sure,” she responded, and quickly began showing off the rest of the page to her friend.

Jack was still talking, leaned back in his chair and enunciating his case. “I have not been searching legally, perhaps, but it’s for a good cause. Anyway, I doubt that the comments section would be a better resource than actual, hard clues. When I find something, I’ll let you—”

Jo interrupted Jack. “Yeah, well guess what, Jack. I think I just found something.” She stood up and turned about, satisfied she’d managed to find something with minimal effort involved. There was a too smug grin on her face, which had necessitated she turn around. "Score one, me. Score zero, super nerd."

Jack sat up, incredulity on his face. “What?” His hands began rapidly typing and clicking.

Twilight’s own expression was scrunched up in concentration, busily reading over what Jo had highlighted. It was a recent comment, made a few days past. “She’s right! There’s a comment by someone called… ‘TheAustralianSensation’... I don’t get it. That doesn’t even rhyme.” She sat back face twisted in confusion from the name. After shaking her head, she continued. “Anyway, he says that-”

Jack interrupted excitedly. “You’re right! Yeah, yeah, listen to this comment,” he said excitedly.

Twilight deadpanned at him, but it was obvious he wasn’t paying attention any longer.

“It goes like this. ‘Oh man, I remember that night. I called that punk’s parents to come and get him. Bobby got his...’” Jack coughed, and looked up at his screen briefly. “Well, it goes on for a while with a lot of trash talk, but they drop a name, ‘Bobby’.” He went back to scanning his screen again, then looked up once more. “A couple of these commenters are saying that the person in the horse costume knocked out one student, then kidnapped or ran off with the other. It says the name of the man who was knocked out, too, but we knew him already...”

Jo had retaken up a seat at the foot of the bed, bouncing idly while she listened. “So you have a name now. A common one, but that should help a little, right?”

“No way.” Jack shook his head adamantly.

Twilight turned to face him, a downcast look on her expression. “Why not?”

Jack gave her a wry smirk. “Because, that will help a lot. I can work with that. That town is small. In fact, I don’t even need any special program for this at all. This stranger might just be only a Facebook search away from being discovered, now.” Jack was obviously navigating websites now, clicking absently at his keyboard and mouse.

“Here we go.” The man said a moment later. “Three results. Only one of them is in the age bracket we’re looking for.” Jack clapped his hands loudly and celebrated with a triumphant phrase that wasn’t English. Or Equestrian, if you were Twilight.

“I don’t believe it! Jo!” Twilight’s feet were drumming the floor in excitement. “This is it! We found her!” More celebrating entered the room as she began laughing. “Yes yes yes!”

Jo interrupted. “Twilight, calm— Twilight!”

Both Jack, who had been congratulating the purple haired girl present, and said girl herself, calmed down.

“Jo?” Twilight's face creased in confusion.

“You might have found the boy that pony carried off for some reason," Jo insisted. "We don’t know what’s going on yet, still.” She laid a hand consolingly on Twilight’s arm. “Just… don’t get your hopes up yet, okay?”

Twilight blinked back at her friend, then smiled wanly. “You’re right. I shouldn’t consider the experiment a success until the results are published and accepted by the scientific community.”

“Ah, yeah, that.” Jo chuckled at her friends analogy.

“Thank you for finding this clue, Jo.” Twilight turned to face the computer. “Jack, thank you for finding the video in the first place.” The man nodded, and Twilight went on. “But I guess we still need to find where this Bobby—”

“Morris.” Jack interjected, grinning wickedly beneath his wide rimmed glasses. “His last name, it’s Morris. I pulled up the phone registry, already. There are three Morris families in this town. Only one has children. Lucky us, the father is a cop and is in the local files.”

Not for the first time, Jo narrowed her eyes at Jack again. She didn’t much approve of this stranger’s methods. For that matter, she knew Twilight didn’t, either, once she had found out it wasn’t allowed. There had been issue taken by both sides over the matter, with Twilight asking he didn’t do that to help her. It ended in a stalemate though, with Jack professing that Twilight would have to force him not to.

Of course, Twilight admitted, she could, but doing so would distract her from her goal… In the end there wasn’t much to be said about the whole thing.

Jack went on. “Here’s the first number you can try.” A ten digit phone number, with area code, appeared in the video chat’s text box. “Well, this is exciting. You might get some answers now, Twilight.”

Twilight, for her part, was grinning maniacally up at her friend. “Jo, can I borrow your cellphone?”

Jo sighed, reached into her pocket, then pulled out the cellular device requested of her. Twilight’s eager hands caught the little portable phone as it dropped, and opened it up. “Oooh this is so exciting! So, okay, I just button in the numbers here…”

“Punch in, the numbers, Twilight. You punch in the numbers,” Jo corrected, rolling her eyes.

Twilight glance up with a frown. “I’ll never understand why humans have violent terminology for absolutely everything. I’m dialing a phone number, not beating somepony up!”

From the computer Jack chuckled, earning a glare from Jo.

Twilight began bouncing in her seat, drawing all eyes in the room to her. “Oh my Celestia,” she murmured, then looked to Jo with shock. “It’s ringing.”

Jo returned a flat look to her. “Phones tend to do that, Twilight,” she sighed.

Twilight laughed again. “This is just so great! I—” Her eyes widened suddenly and she cut off. The ringing noise had ended in the middle of its tune abruptly. She froze, unsure of what to say at all. Should I say hello first? Or will the person I’m calling? Ah, I should have read about phone etiquette after last time! She gave Jo a worried look, who returned it with a confused one.

“What’s wrong?” Jo whispered.

Before Twilight could respond with ‘I don’t know what to say!’ a voice spoke into Twilight’s ear.

"Hello...?" The human on the other end called out tentatively. "Is there anyone there?"

Twilight panicked for a moment, hand waving about, then slapped it over the speaking part. “It’s a mare! I mean, a woman. It’s not this ‘Bobby’ guy. Is it the wrong address?”

Jo mouthed words without making a sound, while Jack was making calming motions on the computer screen.

“It’s fine, Twilight, It’s fine. Bobby has a mother… named Mary. Ask for her, then ask for Bobby.” Jack spoke quickly, keeping his voice low.

Twilight quickly put the phone back to her head, hard enough it slapped her a little. In a strained, hurried sounding voice, she finally responded. "H-Hello? Hello? Are you still there?" she asked nervously. Off to Twilight’s left, Jo was leaning forward, hands gripping her own knees as she watched on.

Twilight heard a couple odd sounding thunking noises, then the woman on the phone replied. "Yes, may I ask who is calling?" She spoke in a nice tone of voice. Maybe a little too nice, Twilight thought. Sure, Equestria was a very friendly place in general, but she recognized condescension and frustration when she heard it. Sweet sounding voices or not though, she had to continue.

Twilight took a deep breath and continued. She gave Jo one final glance before answering the mother of their only clue. "Uhm... I'm just somepony who needs to know something. Are you... Mary Morris?"

The voice didn’t respond until after a long pause, and Twilight thought the person on the other end of the line might have hung up.

"Who is this?" the voice asked Twilight.

For her part, Twilight opened her mouth to answer the stranger excitedly, then snapped it shut, already panicking. Her eyes widened to their fullest and she lunged over at Jo. “She wants to know my name! What do I say!?” Her hand, of course, had cover the phone once again.

Jo tried to settle the frantic pony-girl down with settling motions. “Alright, calm down, Twilight.” Meanwhile, in the background, Jack was asking questions hurriedly.

“What did she say? Did something go wrong? Your name? Oh shoot—” Jack was cut off when Jo jabbed a finger his way.

“Be quiet, you," Jo growled. "The adults are talking.”

Jack frowned and faced Twilight again.

“Jo, I think Jack’s older than us—” Twilight began to correct.

“Twilight—” Jo sighed. “That isn’t the point. Look, use your alias, Emily or whatever.”

Twilight stared a moment, then recognition dawned on her face. “Oh, right.” Quickly, and fearing the stranger may have hung up, she raised the phone back to her ear.

Jack spoke up quickly. “Oh, and Bobby is his nickname! Call him ‘Robert’!”

Jo looked over, face twisted into a grimace. “What? Oh, whatever,” she whispered.

Twilight nodded, and managed to speak, but in a tone and voice far more squeamish than she’d intended. “Oh, uhm, my name. I’m… Amelia? I go to… school with… Robert. I am calling about him. Yes.”

Jo slapped a hand against her forehead. “Smooth, Twilight,” she hissed.

Twilight ignored her and threw her hand over the phone—still held to her ear—and leaned over to face Jack. “Jack, Bobby goes to school, right? Er- When do humans graduate academy?”

Jack nodded, then shrugged. “I am not really familiar with American schools. I just know they are some of the worst in the world.”

Twilight went wide eyed, then looked at Jo.

“Eh, it’s true.” Jo shrugged as well. “Yeah, he’s still in school I think.”

Twilight was relieved when she heard the woman’s voice respond to her without any suspicions raised, apparently.

“Alright,” she began. Her tone did sound a twinge tentative, but still relatively calm. “I take it you’re calling to speak to my son then, Amelia?”

Twilight swallowed hard and spoke back to the mother of their clue. "Er... yes... I'm trying to talk to Robert about... stuff. Is he home?"

Beside Twilight, Jo was busy being a little worried, herself. After all, they were three adults, all calling to speak to an underaged minor about… something no one would ever credit them over. Geez, I hope Twilight doesn’t sound too old… I don’t think she does. Don’t worry, Jo, you’ll be fine. No one’s going to prison…

On the phone, Twilight heard Mary’s response come through clearly. "Yes, he’s home. What did you need to talk to him about?”

She sounds a bit curious now, and maybe, protective? Twilight cupped her chin and considered things carefully. Okay Twilight, you can do this, she thought.

Feeling a little more confident now that things were going sort of alright, Twilight responded more evenly. “Oh, nothing super important.” She laughed, and just like that her confidence was shot again after realizing how weak the laughter was. Her hand covered the phone piece again and coughed, then continued. “I just needed to ask a question about an assignment is all.”

Twilight grinned over at Jo, who returned her own congratulatory smirk.

The mother came back over phone, sounding a little bored. “Give me one minute, dear. I’ll go and fetch him for you.”

Twilight had to try hard to resist bouncing and replied happily, “Great! Thank you so much Mrs. Mary—” She stopped when Jo hand rested on her shoulder and held her still all of a sudden.

Twilight cupped the phone again and tilted her head questioningly.

“It’s ‘Mrs. Morris, not Mrs. Mary. Human names use the last one for that. And stop bouncing you’re shaking the whole room!” Jo gave Twilight a hard look, while Jack was busy snickering on the computer.

Twilight gave Jo a thin-lipped, flat look, then hurriedly corrected herself. “I mean, Mrs. Morris,” she said promptly ended with.

“Of course, dear.” The voice replied, with quickly, followed by the clunking sound of what was probably the phone being set down.

Strangely, there were a couple more loud clunking sounds that came through the phone, which caused Twilight to furrow her brow. Huh, that woman sure has loud shoes.

Jo tapped Twilight’s leg and acquired her attention. “What’s up?” she asked plainly.

Twilight gave her a confident smile back. “She's getting her son, be patient.”

Jo blew a small raspberry whilst rolling her eyes. “I’m plenty patient, tell them to hurry up.”

Twilight frowned at the other girl with one corner of her mouth, listening absently to the snickering that Jack continued to take pleasure in at the computer.

Jo shrugged and laughed a little. “I’m kidding, Twilight. Anyway, do you know what you’re going to ask? He might not talk, like that last guy that took the video. Not that I think that jerk knew anything…”

Twilight hummed, still listening eagerly for someone to pick up the phone again. “I’ll just be straight forward. I’ve thought about this a lot, and I think if we’re honest, I say who I am, and ask to speak to a pony, we’ll be fine.” She passed her hopeful smile between both Jack and Jo.

Jo, however, returned it with a worried look, then sighed. She fell backwards onto the bed, as she had earlier. “I dunno, Twilight… That’s kind of like throwing a Hail Mary…”

Twilight blinked, thinking twice about the term she'd just heard. “I— wait, I’m confused. I think I’m missing something here.”

Jack was laughing again at the computer, but spoke up through it. “Hail Mary is an American football phrase, Twilight. To throw one means putting all of your eggs in one basket. Funnily enough, we like to call American football, 'hand egg'. Huh, I wonder if that's connected... Uh, anyway, if you fail, then this is it.” He looked over at Jo. “But I don’t think this is the case, Jo. I have their address, after all…” He grinned wolfishly at the shorter woman present.

Jo let her head fall back again and grunted. “Great…” she replied darkly.

Twilight groaned restlessly. “It’ll be fine, guys. I’m sure this Bobby kid is really nice and helpful. We have no reason to think otherwise, anyway.”

For a while, the line was silent, until finally a drab, male voice spoke.

“Hello?” they asked simply enough.

Twilight grinned at Jo, and nearly began hyperventilating.

“Uhm, hi! Oh my gosh, I’m— sorry, are you Bobby?” Twilight asked eagerly.

The voice on the other end of the line came back quickly, and sounded decidedly excited now themselves, too. “Haha, easy. Yeah, yeah, babe. That’s my name, you’ve heard of me?”

Twilight blinked, and covered the phone’s mouthpiece a moment. She looked over at Jo with confusion evident on her expression.

“What’s wrong?” Jo asked, eyes studying both Twilight and the phone.

Twilight scrunched up her face. “Uhm… I’m not sure, exactly.” She shrugged and decided to continue, despite getting a weird, annoyed feeling from the stranger.

Twilight continued. “Uhm, yes, now, sir, this is going to sound crazy, but my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I—” The voice on the other end of the phone cut her off abruptly.

“Wait. Twilight? Seriously? That's not even a real name.” There was a really, really long pause on the other end of the phone from the stranger, and Twilight almost spoke up.

Finally, though, the male voice returned. “Wait, so are you like, a stripper? Or a prostitute?” He proceeded to laugh as if at a funny joke, or something terribly clever.

Twilight slowly held the phone out at arm’s length, staring wide eyed at it. She could barely hear the voice continuing.

“Cause, I don’t have a whole lot of money, but, I’m game if you do door to door.” He was barely able to speak, laughing in an out of control way. Twilight recognized it well from various villains she’d helped take down, or rare, rude ponies.

She looked over at Jo, a little confused, and covered the earpiece after muttering, “One moment, please."

“Jo,” Twilight began.

“What’s wrong?” Jo was giving Twilight a worried look.

Twilight swallowed, and prepared to double check her intuition. “You recall the… incident, with the internet, a few months ago, right? The one with the— the p word?”

Jo furrowed her brow for a moment… then responded quietly. “Yeah…”

Twilight took in a measured breath. “Is a stripper somepony- er, a human that removes clothing in order to stimulate… amusement in males?”

Jack chose that moment to pipe in. “Hey now, women watch male strippers, too.” Both women present shot him deadly glares each. “I’ll keep quiet, then…” he whimpered in his gravelly accent.

Twilight went on. “And prostitutes. They sell…”

Jo stopped her there. “Yeah, Twilight, you’re right.” Her eyes were stuck solely on the phone; her seething stare did not let up from the device Twilight held.

“I thought so.” Twilight put on a delighted smile, bottling everything up, and spoke into the receiver once more. I have never sold pizza in my life, darnit.

Twilight again spoke into the phone, and in a calm, measured voice. “Bobby, I am calling about something very, very important.”

The voice came back over the phone to her quickly. “Look, lady, I don’t think I know you. Now, if you want to know me, well, that can be arranged. Do you like music?”

Twilight suppressed a growl and decided to move on, and quickly. “I’m cutting to the chase. I’m searching for a pony. Specifically, an orange coated, blue and tan maned mare. She was seen with you at a party, possibly during this year’s Nightmare Ni- er, Halloween festivities, and quite recently. I have been looking for you, and need confirmation of this. Do you understand?” She sucked in a shaky lung full of air and waited.

Laughter came back through the phone.

Twilight’s eye began twitching. “What is so funny!?” She couldn’t help it; she burst out with the exclamation loud enough to do Princess Luna proud.

The laughing on the phone died down slowly. “There’s no such thing as talking ponies, lady. Alright? You’re crazy, and need help. Go get some drugs or something, get a life, and don’t look into… fairytales like that. I mean, come on. Magical ponies being real? Really?” The voice chuckled again, full of unashamed mirth. “Just stay away from my family.”

The line clicked off, and a steady stream of dull beeps and electrical sounds met Twilight’s ear.

Twilight set the phone down on the desk. Beside her, Jo was still looking just as darkly at the device.

Jack, meanwhile, slowly descended out of view on his screen.

“Of all. The insolent. Spoiled rotten. Rude. Lousy, no good jerks!” Twilight’s hands gripped at the arm chairs to either side of her. “I cannot believe the manners that— that boy had! He just started treating me like— and then he made those assumptions— and he ignored me! Outright! AUGH!”

Jo frowned, but kept quiet on the matter. She knew what she thought about it, and merely gave Twilight a consoling look while she vented.

“I take it that the call went poorly then?” Jack commented, still mostly out of sight.

Twilight relaxed after hearing someone speak, then looked over at the computer. “That’s one way to put it…” After a moment, she smirked, and began chuckling.

Jack raised an eyebrow, and traded a quick look with Jo. “Twilight, what’s so funny?” he asked the girl in stitches.

Twilight ahemed and straightened up from her angry slouch in the desk chair. “Well, the call did go... badly. But that’s not to say it wasn’t informative.” She smirked ruefully at Jo, then Jack, and finally snatched up her notebook from the desk. “He’s protecting her.”

Jack’s expression became shocked in an instant. “You’re sure?”

Twilight nodded. “The way he acted, though rude and… just horrible, was definitely conducive of what I’m thinking. More than that, he mentioned the pony talking. I never said that…” She trailed off, grinning and obviously thinking. “Plus, if the pony is still around, possibly in his home? He would be this protective.” She hummed a second, pausing in her scribbling, then sighed. “Although, he could just be traumatized. Perhaps he’s in denial. But… no, he didn’t sound scared.”

Jo stood up quickly and both of the other two humans looked up in surprise. “Either way,” Jo began, cracking her knuckles. ”We’re paying ‘Bobby’s’ house a visit tomorrow.”

Twilight cheered.

The sounds of Jo gargling and spitting after brushing her teeth were the only ones that filled the single bed hotel room.

Twilight lay tiredly beneath the covers, tight against one side of the room’s bed. Sure, it wasn’t common for ponies to share sleeping arrangements that much, but it would certainly never be misconstrued the way that Alice or Jo apparently had earlier, back in Equestria. Twilight had enjoyed tons of sleepovers with her friends, and something like that had never come up. Of that she was certain.

It was a little early yet, only around seven, but Twilight couldn’t wait to investigate things tomorrow. She felt she was ready for anything. “Except maybe that colt…” She harrumphed indignantly and rolled over at the memory of the boy. A good thing Rarity hadn’t been the one to meet him. She’d have stormed over there the second he opened his mouth and…

A couple snickers escaped her, picturing Rarity holding the human over her knee and giving him a paddling. That, or perhaps administer a bar of soap. She rolled over again, facing the far wall now. A couple shadows danced on the wall from Jo’s movements in the bathroom.

It had been a long day. The two of them had left very early, and driven non stop across half of the country, before finally reaching their ‘middle-of-nowhere’ destination. Tomorrow could very well be a long day, as well.

A plaintive breath of exhausted air left Twilight. I wonder what Rarity’s doing right now… Her friends image floated by through her thoughts. Probably sewing. Probably. The perfect smile her friend had always had glimmered, then faded. She wouldn’t even be able to recognize me right now. None of them would.

Twilight chuckled, not for the first time, at the thought of Pinkie Pie encountering her as she was. No doubt the other mare would be completely dumbfounded and confused by the strange, two legged creature claiming to be one of her bestest, oldest friends.

Twilight could feel the strangeness of her body constantly. But, she especially noticed it when lying in bed, waiting to go to sleep. Unable to help it, she pulled the blankets and sheets off of herself.

The room was cool, but not cold. The temperature control that humans used was quite good. Fueled by the fossils of old and decaying life—which was highly suspect—but good.

With the covers pulled back, and the faint light from the bathroom, Twilight could clearly see the thing that was plaguing her thoughts at that moment; and her worries.

Twilight took in a slow breath, then exhaled just as slowly. Her eyes became locked with something, or rather, the absence of something; her cutie mark, something she had been proud of for so many years, was long gone from her person.

Her flank, blank as the day she was born, stared back up at her; in fact, it was arguably even blanker, considering the lack of a lavender coat.

Twilight absently studied the empty spot on her body that had once held the pointed stars of her special talent; Magic. As a filly, she had never been very graceful, or well spoken, or outgoing, and was rarely one to fit in. She read well, and did alright in her studies, too. Though, nothing exceptional.

That had all come later. That had all been brought about after she discovered who she was; Twilight Sparkle, whose special talent was magic itself. She just wouldn’t be who she was to that day if it weren’t for her cutie mark.

Twilight ran a hand over her naked side with one hand, and sighed. “Am I different, without my cutie mark?” After a moment, she ugghed and slapped one arm lazily against the bed. Of course you’re different, Twilight, you’re not even the same species. After another sigh, she looked back to her flank. “Am I the same on the inside, though?”

Only ponies had cutie marks, and most races thought they were silly or unnecessary. Truthfully, Twilight had never imagined going a day without hers, before. She had thought a lot of thoughts over the weeks on the subject. When I’m a pony again… If I can become a pony again, will I even be able to get my cutie mark back?

Twilight’s face quivered slightly, thinking over things, but she stilled it quickly. You’re still you, Twilight. The Princess would be shouting that at you right now if she were here… After a pause, she added to the thought aloud. “Well, Luna might, but I guess Celestia would simply be telling you you’re a silly filly. Special Talents don’t define the pony, the pony defines the talent.”

Jo walked into the room, scrubbing her head absently with a towel. “Did you say something Twili-”

Twilight hummed and rolled over partially to look at Jo. She sniffed, running a hand under her nose quickly. “Oh, hey Jo. Ready to go to bed?” She chuckled slightly, hoping her sadness was well hidden.

Jo dropped the towel. “Twilight,” she began. “Put. On. Some clothes!”

Then, a phone rang.

Chapter 27 : The Mare Named Mary

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Twilight apologized hurriedly and threw a sheet over herself. "I'm sorry! I forgot about the clothing stigma because there's so much to decide on with everything getting serious-while-we're-so-close-and-then-I-started-to-think-about-my-cutie mark-and-how-it's-missing-and-please-don't-misunderstand-anythi—!"

Jo, meanwhile, was calmly walking across the room towards her cellphone, which vibrated and rang noisily atop the hotel room's desk. When it became clear that Twilight was rambling, possibly out of embarrassment, Jo turned to interrupt her. "Twilight, it's fine."

Twilight bit her lip nervously, the thick hotel blanket wrapped firmly around herself.

Jo continued. "Just get something on and..." She got a look at the caller identification on her phone's screen, and paused. I don't know this number. Her eyes narrowed a fraction. So who is it? A wrong call?

Twilight tilted her head, spotting her friends sudden shift in demeanor. "Jo? Who called you?" The other girl didn't answer right away and instead put the phone up to her ear. "Is it Alice?" Twilight tried again while raising off the bed.

Jo grunted acknowledgement at her friend. "Twilight, put on some clothes. I'll handle this. It's probably a wrong number..." She answered the call and quickly put her phone up to her ear. "Yeah, hello? Who is it?" She thought she was sounded a little too frank, but she decided her tone could change after figuring out who it was. Oddly, it took a moment for the caller to answer her, but when they did it was hesitantly.

"Uhm, hello," the caller greeted quietly. "I may have the wrong number... whose phone is this?"

Jo raised an eyebrow and pulled the phone away from her head to look at the number again, just double checking she didn't recognize it.

"Sorry," the caller added in, alongside a weak laugh.

Jo stared at the phone a moment then harrumphed and replied. "Who's asking?" she answered gruffly. She was about to continue, when turning around from the window earned her not just a glimpse, but an eyeful of her naked refugee friend. She almost dropped the phone, and whirled around to face the other way again.

"Gah, Twilight, warn me if you're going to walk around like that!" Jo cried out.

Twilight looked over, confused from where she was busily trying to do what she had been asked. "But, you told me to put on clothes! Obviously I have to stand up to-" Before she could continue explaining the facts that Jo overlooked, the other girl interrupted her back.

"Come on, Twilight-" Exasperated, Jo tossed her gaze up at the ceiling and shook her head.

"Jo!" Twilight was busy shoving her arms awkwardly through a t-shirt. "You're still on the phone," she reminded her friend.

Jo really wished right then she was more like someone who didn't care about formalities so much. It always led to more embarrassment rather than less when she tried to force things her way. The heated feeling on her face was a sure sign enough of that. While being like Alice would certainly be overkill, Jo did wish she could get over the habits of others a little easier. Though, maybe overlooking Twilight's penchant for avoiding clothing would be overkill, too.

Jo quickly thumped a hand against her forehead and suppressed an exasperated groan. "No, just- get dressed in the bathroom, the bathroom. Not out here..." She busied herself with staring out the window, listening to Twilight's own exasperated sigh while entering the bathroom.

Afterwards, Jo did remember what Twilight had said about her still being on the phone, and slapped a hand over the bottom of the receiver; it was a little late to do so. "Great..." she muttered. At least I don't think it's anyone important that I just embarrassed the living hell out of myself to. She sighed, again, and put the phone back up to her ear, ignoring the muffled complaints Twilight continued to yell through the hotel bathroom's door.

"I'm sorry about that, who was this?" Jo asked with a wistful quality to her voice. She was expecting to hang up the phone in just a moment and tiredly make her way to the bed's side, now that the view had been cleared up...

Oddly, the phone line was quiet. It was clear the caller was still there though. Besides the absence of a dial tone there were shuffling noises and what sounded like a few people talking in the background.

Jo frowned. Yeah, just call me then keep me waiting... She growled quietly then tried getting their attention again. Maybe they didn't hear me. "Hello?" she asked as politely as she could manage.

The voice finally returned, and sounding just a little frantic: just a little. "I'm here! I'm here, heh," the strange woman replied. "You called my house earl- er, that is to say... I'm looking for a... pony, named Twilight Sparkle. I might have heard from a friend that someone was looking for another pony." Whoever the stranger on the line was, they seemed pretty unsure of themselves.

Jo began to listen intently the moment Twilight's name had been mentioned. She wondered what exactly was going on now, and who this woman was. Quickly, she dashed over to the laptop. All of the information from earlier that night was still pulled up, and categorized even thanks to Twilight's neurotic filing habits. She looked for the number of the place they had called earlier, found it, and compared it to the one she now held; the two didn't match up.

The stranger's voice went on while Jo did this. "So, is she there? If so, I would like to speak with her."

Jo stared at the bathroom door, then put a hand over the receiver of her phone. "Hey, Twilight, hurry up in there and come out." She realized she'd been quiet for a long pause of quiet and spoke again. "Uh, I see." She tried to think of what else to say, her mouth working. Keeping the stranger on the line seemed like the thing to do, but she didn't want to answer the questions asked, not yet.

But who else besides that family could it be? Jo thought. Her eyes squinted angrily, not able to come up with any good explanation. The fact somebody had randomly called asking for a pony from a TV show over a decade old just didn't make sense... So, it must not be somebody random, she decided. "Twilight?" she called again, replacing her hand on the phone. Her friend needed to hurry up. "I think this might be the pony on the line, or... someone that knows them."

"What!?" came a strangled shout from through the nearby door.

Instantaneously the bathroom exploded open and Twilight fell out. She had one leg half in a pair of pants, while the other had obviously tripped her and was now free. Falling on the floor was definitely not a great feeling, especially since humans bruised so easily, but she barely noticed in the midst of everything.

By the window, Jo's eyes had widened initially from the loud thud Twilight's body had made against the floor, but now she looked at her friend with a flat expression. "Twilight, what are you wearing?" The other girl had apparently begun to put on jeans. "You can't sleep in those," she declared.

Twilight, who was actually only half wearing her clothing, stood up as quickly as having two legs would allow and raced towards Jo. "Did you say something about- Oh, what?" she asked, mind coming to a halt over the subject change. Her eyes had been frantic after hearing what she thought she had just heard. "You said put on some clothes though. What's wrong with these?"

Jo sighed as her friend slid to a halt only to become confused over her attire. "I meant, like, clothes for sleeping in, you can't sleep in- Well, okay I guess you could... Never mind." She waved her hand in the air to change the subject, ignoring Twilight's look of complete confusion. "There's someone on the phone that asked for you... by name. I think this is important." Without another moment lost, she passed the phone to the already excited looking Twilight.

For her part, Twilight accepted the device shakily, brimming with anticipation. A last, deep breath was managed, and then she addressed the telephone as normally as she could. "Hello!? Who is it?" she all but gasped. She was standing with both hands on the cellphone and raised up on her toes out of sheer excitement.

Jo had moved past Twilight towards a free chair for a sit, only to jump from the girl's shout. She shot frown back at her. "Twilight, tell them your name. Also, calm down..."

Twilight blinked, then fell back to a normal standing position. "Oh, uhm, this is Twilight Sparkle! Is this the pony? Hello?" While speaking, she gave Jo a sheepish grin and brushed her hair back with one of her hands, rather than continue to clutch the cellphone in a death grip.

The voice answered Twilight quickly, but with a less than satisfactory response. "Excuse me." Twilight furrowed her brow, but waited; she had no choice really.

"Oh, okay," Twilight responded back and looked over at Jo in order to give her a shrug.

Jo studied Twilight and wondered absently how the other girl maintained such a high level of energy. While watching, her head supported in both hands, she recognized the look of concentration Twilight had put on. "What is it?" Jo asked plainly. Tiredness was thick in her voice.

Twilight listened to Jo, but also to the phone call, and could hear a couple of voices in the background. "Oh, nothing I'm sure... the person on the line simply asked for a moment."

The wait went on, and Twilight could just barely hear snippets of conversation between a man and a woman, as would be the case under the circumstances, she guessed. She wasn't sure, but they sounded worried judging by their tone. Getting worried herself, Twilight tried to speak to them and find out what was wrong. "Hello? Are you there still?"

Twilight bit her lip and waited for a response. I hope I didn't do something to upset them. I simply have to find that pony. Did I come on too strong? Her eyes searched around the room rapidly in her nervousness, having little else to do. She managed to resist the urge to bob up and down or pace, at least.

Twilight hummed and managed to calm herself down a little. Pacing or doing anything of the sort would set off Jo's 'OCD', after all, she considered. Not that Jo would ever admit to me that she has any.

The voice replied back to Twilight once her thought had finished, and she nearly jumped.

"Sorry about that," the woman's voice apologized, and with very little inflection, as well.

Twilight put on a smile despite talking to someone miles away, and shrugged. She realized what she had done afterwards and turned her back from Jo to avoid embarrassment.

"I was just curious," the stranger went on, still speaking flatly.

Twilight nodded to the air, still smiling. After noticing the pause she added, "Yes?" Behind her she just barely heard Jo whisper 'Calm down' impatiently. Twilight realized she had begun pacing after all.

The stranger went on finally, something Twilight was practically dancing back and forth to hear. "Is this really Twilight Sparkle? As in, actually from Equestria?"

Twilight stopped and stood still, blinking. She hadn't expected the question concerning herself. To her, this entire situation revolved around the mystery pony. I guess this makes sense though. Are they worried about something? If they doubt who I am... Oh, they think I'm somepony with ill intent. I should have thought of that! Hm... This is interesting... like a game of chess or other strategy based activity...

Jo inclined her head a fraction. "Twilight?" she asked, just about ready to stand up.

Twilight shushed her and waved a hand in the other girl's direction. She made sure to cover the phone's receiver before whispering back. "Not now, Jo, thinking..." Her thoughts regathered themselves and began attacking the next curiosity she had noticed, as there had been more than one. The next thing to tickle her mind, had been the speaker's.... voice. It was familiar.

Twilight licked her lips and decided to take the shot into the dark. "Is that you, Mrs. Morris?" she asked, then waited. An answer didn't come back right away, instead, she heard a loud thumping sound. What was that?

After the loud thump, the woman's voice did return, with all of its previous calm and flatness nowhere to be found. "O-oh, uhm, no I'm sorry. I don't know anyone by that name."

Twilight frowned and her forehead wrinkled itself up in doubt. No, I'm pretty sure you're Bobby's mother... Very interesting. Despite her being quite certain of the voice belonging to the woman she had spoken with earlier, she let it slide.

The woman claiming to not be the person she sounded like spoke again. "I have heard that you were looking for a... pony, though, Twilight. I might be able to help you with that." Towards the end her tone had seemed to find its footing again.

Twilight couldn't help it, despite the suspicion she felt building up and the worried look from Jo, her eyes widened once more upon hearing the admission of the pony's existence. The emotion that came with it was like pure hope, happiness, and a surprise fillyhood birthday all wrapped up into one.

She replied immediately, and very loudly. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, then continued without pause. "Can you take me to her? Could we meet? Are there others!? Please, anything that can help at all would be-" Before she could press further with her questions, Jo, it seemed, had begun to approach her.

"Twilight, " Jo hissed as she placed a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "Would you stay calm, please? These walls don't look like they're very thick to me..."

Twilight fell back down to standing normally and apologized. "Sorry, Jo."

Jo stared intently at the phone and spoke again, seriousness edging her voice. "It's fine. So that's the family from earlier? If they called back..." She thought of what kinds of trouble they could get in on the normal side of things, which basically amounted to surveillance of a minor, but, if they had actually called back about the pony... "I don't know about offering to meet them just yet, Twilight?" She proposed the thought as a question, and got a bug-eyed look of shock from Twilight in return. "It's just to be safe, I mean... what if..."

Under the scrutiny of Twilight's confused, bewildered expression Jo almost felt compelled to give a good explanation. "For all you know that pony could be the one that got you landed here, right? An evil pony organization that was trying to... Yeah okay, never mind..." she trailed off, teeth gritted and trying hard to get her thoughts in line. They felt conflicted.

Twilight hugged her friend, quick and unexpectedly. She pushed the other girl back at arm's reach in a flash. "Thanks for covering all of the angles, Jo," she replied with a smile. "But I don't think that there's any reason to hold back now if the pony is at the end of this trail, and I don't see how she couldn't be. Let's tackle this head on, okay?"

Jo heaved a breath, but nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're right, too. Fine, but if- Never mind." She clamped her mouth shut, watching Twilight get an amused look while she had the floor. "Also, no, I don't really think there's an evil pony organization responsible. Sorry for that, too."

Twilight chuckled, placing the phone back to her ear and removing her hand from the receiver. "Well, I've seen stranger things before. Especially here..." She did her very best not to let any of those 'stranger' things float through her mind's eye, and instead readdressed Mrs. not-Morris.

"Sorry about that," Twilight apologized quickly and with a chuckle. "My friend is just concerned for my safety. Uhm, how about you just tell me where the pony is? I imagine that she's lost just like I am and needs help! If not, I'm hoping that she has a way to get home-"

Jo tapped a finger on Twilight's shoulder and gestured for the phone to be passed to over.

"Jo?" Twilight asked quietly. "What is it?"

Jo frowned a little. "Let me try to talk to them." She gingerly plucked the phone away from Twilight. "If these are people harboring an alien that's shown up on the internet and who knows where else, I'd bet my house that they're suspicious of us. Asking questions like that might not help."

Twilight stared a moment, then put a hand on her chin and hummed. "Maybe..."

Jo gave her a tired eyed smile, then addressed the phone. "Hi, it's me again," she started simply enough. "Listen, Twilight's not from around here. So, sorry about the super straight forward and completely trusting thing."

Twilight made an unappreciative, slightly offended face to replace her eager one. "I am not completely trusting... Logic dictates directness is the best approach here; maybe I am a little excited but-"

Jo shot a look at Twilight and motioned her to 'zip it', then continued after the pony-girl sighed and crossed her arms. "Look, we came looking for you guys and you're guarding that Equestrian, so I'm going to assume you don't trust us at all. I can promise you that we're the real deal. I get it, that probably doesn't mean a whole lot. So, here's my idea."

Jo paused for a brief moment, just to see if they wanted to respond to that. When they said nothing, she spoke again. "You may pick the location. Where ever you want, and as a gesture of good will, we took a room at the motel just off the highway." She brought the weird name of the place they were staying back from her memory; it wasn't hard, the place had a very stupid name that was hard to forget. "Some place called... Bart's bed and breakfast."

Jo flashed Twilight a quick smirk, then waited for the person on the line to accept the deal with open arms.

"You-" The voice on the line stuttered the one word, sounding surprised. Jo blinked, waiting for more. "You're in town?" they finally asked; that hadn't been what she had been expecting to hear, and stared at the floor blankly as a result.

Twilight saw Jo's reaction. "What's wrong?" she whispered.

Jo tried to reply as quickly as she could. "Uuuuh." She shook her head and quickly made to save face, having already taken the honest approach. "Oh, well, yeah," she replied into the phone, coughed quietly and gave a sheepish look of apology to Twilight, all in the space of a few seconds. "See, we only just found out where your house was." Her face shifted from apologetic into shame, while she continued talking without stopping. "By the way we know where your house is... sorry."

Jo felt like she'd put her foot in her mouth up to her knee. "Oh my God that sounded terrible," she muttered.

Twilight was giving her a concerned look, as well. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Jo, I'm sure everything's fine."

Jo's mouth flattened into a straight line. "I just said flat out that we'd tracked down where they live." She sighed and thumped her palm against her head. "Maybe I should put Twilight on? She can explain better than me."

Before Jo could hand off the voice, the voice replied right away, and in a friendly, accepting tone. She wondered while listening what had been decided on the other end.

"It's alright. I understand now, and that seems reasonable..." the speaker replied, then proceeded in a business-like manner. "I still would like to proceed and find out if that really is Twilight with you. Meeting sounds like the idea... but I actually would like to propose that Twilight and yourself come to see us here if you do know where my family lives already."

Jo nodded to the air, a surprised look still on her face.

Twilight heard scraps of the proposal and tried to lean forward against Jo's head to hear more. "What did she say?" she asked.

Jo had to push the other girl off of her, gently, and walked over to the window.

Meanwhile, the voice continued. "I appreciate you being so upfront, though." Jo's mouth worked, honestly at a loss that the conversation had taken this direction so suddenly; she kept listening. "I think maybe we're both being overly cautious, a little. As you can imagine this entire situation has been incredibly stressful for us; beyond belief, really."

Jo chuckled at hearing that. She spotted Twilight at the corner of her vision where the other girl was leaning over and staring up questioningly. "Yeah, you can say that again..." she muttered.

Twilight frowned again. "What did she say, Jo? At least let me listen, too. Honestly, why does human hearing have to be so poor..."

Jo held up a finger, then covered the phone up. "Would you wait a moment? You'll get another turn I'm sure. Also, our hearing is fine." She tried not to look at Twilight's flat look while she paid attention to the phone call.

The speaker continued. "I just have one last question, Jo, and I need to ask Twilight."

Twilight heard the sentence in full, and put her hands on her hips, while Jo stared at the wall a second then gave Twilight an abashed look.

The stranger kept speaking without pause. "I've had it in mind for some time, and if she's the real thing then she'll know the answer... Could you put her back on?"

"Yes!" Twilight reached out. "My turn." Her hands floundered in the air trying to nab the phone.

"Hold on," Jo took a step back and replied quickly, while fending off Twilight's advance. "A question? Oh, something only ponies would know. Alright, sure, here she is." Just before she had run out of room to retreat to, Twilight snatched the phone away from her hand.

Twilight stuck out her tongue and put on a victorious look. "Hello again, Mrs. Morris," she greeted politely.

Jo harrumphed. "You've been hanging out with Alice too much," she concluded aloud based on Twilight's behavior.

Twilight smirked back at Jo, and was about to speak, when a confession from Mrs. Morris surprised her. "I guess there's no point in hiding it," she began. "Yes, I'm Bobby's mother."

Twilight stuck a hand up in the air in victory. "Ah hah!" Immediately, Jo gave her a look like she was crazy, and she wilted slightly beneath it, smiling. Twilight spoke soon after her outburst. "Ahem, I mean, sorry, I meant no offense. I was quite sure of it, though... Uhm ahheh, moving on... I just wanted to start off by saying thank you very much for protecting one of my fellow Equestrians like this. I forgot to before. She and I were both very lucky mares it seems to have made such great friends after coming to be here."

Jo noted the mention of 'being lucky' and rolled her eyes at the comment, to which Twilight laughed quietly. At the same time, Twilight could hear some talking in the background, but couldn't quite make out what. She thought she had heard the word 'pony', though. Curious, but not put off, she got to the point. "So, with that said, please ask your question, Mrs. Morris."

"Alright, if you're Twilight Sparkle, then you should know this," the voice began; it was definitely Bobby's mother, Twilight concluded. That fact alone made her wonder just why exactly she hadn't wanted to be known by name at first. In truth, she hadn't confirmed it, either, but it was definitely her.

There was a bit of a pause, again, which gave Twilight a moment to consider the thought. Would it be because her son is directly affected by the situation and she wants to protect him? But how? And why is she motivated to take interest? Wait... She gasped, coming up with another idea. What if her son has fallen in love with the mare!?

Twilight's thoughts leaped to several conclusions all at once. Wait, no... that's completely ridiculous. She made a derisive, mental snort at her own thoughts. Honestly, Twilight, you have the most ridiculous ideas sometimes. You shouldn't have listened so much to Rarity at the spa.

After the pause that Mrs. Morris had made, as Twilight was quite sure it was Mrs. Morris, she continued with asking her question. "What is Princess Luna's favorite sort of tea?"

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't manage to say anything. She quickly arrived at a shocking realization. I don't know that! Who would know that? Luna is incredibly introverted and hardly anypony knows her. Her eyebrows drew down in thought. How does Mary know that? Was the pony a maid in the palace? From there, she began to consider if the question's answer was linked to Earth's knowledge of ponies, but she decided to give them the benefit of the doubt, and assumed they knew such information would not be reliable.

Jo addressed her quietly from the side. "Did she ask the question yet?"

Twilight gave her friend a desperate look, then sighed and nodded.

Jo raised an eyebrow. "And you don't know the answer?"

Twilight shrugged, then addressed the phone. "Uhm," She began, having come up with what she wanted to say. "Could I have another question, please? I don't actually know the answer to that one." She laughed a little sheepishly before speaking again.

"What did they ask you?" Jo approached Twilight and tried to get close enough to hear the phone.

Twilight shushed the other girl and backed away, one arm held out. She swallowed and continued speaking to the person on the phone, desperate to save face. "I am curious how you know the princess' preferred brew of tea though," she stated in an attempt to fend Jo off. "Do you know Rarity or Princess Celestia's, too? I know theirs, at least." Perhaps an alternative would suffice, she thought. How in Equestria's name would they know for certain what tea Luna likes?

Twilight heard somepony groan in the background of the phone call, which made her eyebrows raise while she fended off Jo, but a response came quickly. "No, that's alright," Mrs. Morris said politely. "I don't know the answer to... I mean, the pony doesn't know them. I have another question, then."

Twilight laughed, trying to sound at ease and confident. "Okay, ask away Mrs. Morris." Beside her, Jo finally gave up her attempts to listen in.

"You know, that thing has a speaker setting," Jo whispered,then attempted to nab her phone once again.

Twilight deadpanned at Jo, resisting the urge to interrupt the person on the phone and point out to Jo that she had ignored such a thing earlier. "We'll use it in a second- hey!" She was forced to hop over the bed.

Mrs. Morris continued over the private conversation with another question. "Okay, here's one. Are pony hooves magnetic?" her voice asked in a rush.

Twilight went stiff backed upon hearing the question, landing back on the floor with a thump, while one hand balled itself up into a fist at her side. "No!" The exclamation worked two-fold, because Jo also sighed and walked away towards the window.

"Alright, fine, have it your way," Jo muttered to herself in angst.

Twilight rolled her eyes, but concentrated. There was a pause on the phone, for which she was grateful, because she was quickly piecing together a succinct explanation of how Equestrian ponies and their hooves worked. It really sours my milk how difficult it is for this to be understood easily.

Mary's voice returned, and was little more than a croak. "Oh?" she prompted.

Twilight put on a smug look directed at Jo, who sulked in the corner, and proceeded. "They're not magnetic at all. Magnetism is a completely different force in Equestria altogether, as are many other forces that are either lightly or even directly correspondent to those here in the human world." Twilight's voice had taken on a very scholarly tone as she continued with the statements. "As for the hooves themselves, the forces they use are, in fact, magical, not magnetic."

Jo spoke up from the corner. "Wow, only three sentences. I'm impressed, Twilight." She smirked coldly from her spot by the window.

Twilight shot her a look back, then listened for a reply, hoping that her facts had been sufficient.

"And?" Mrs. Morris suddenly asked through the phone.

Twilight responded with a hint of surprise. "And?" she replied simply enough in return, blinking in surprise. Was that not enough?

From the other end of the line came another, decidedly conflicted sounding groan, followed quickly by a loud shout. "Can ponies pick up things with their hooves just by thinking about it or not!?"

Twilight almost dropped the phone in surprise, instead, she just barely hung onto it as it danced in her hands. Once she caught the slippery phone again, she lowered it for a split second, shocked.

Jo sat up and made to stand, having heard the loud outburst just barely. "Alright, now what?" she asked Twilight.

"It- it's nothing, Jo, I'm sure." Twilight replied tentatively, and turned her back to the other girl. She put the phone back to her ear, and wondered if Mrs. Morris must be under a lot of stress over the situation; her reaction made Twilight feel a little bad. Goodness... She had to resist the urge trot in place out of worry.

After only a moment longer, Mrs. Morris thankfully spoke again. "Uhm, sorry..." she apologized promptly.

Twilight responded after a second; she did her best to sound sympathetic. "It's quite alright, Mrs. Morris," she said calmly.

Mrs. Morris repeated her previous question, but with her inside voice this time. "S-so, can ponies pick things up with their hooves? Just by thinking about it?"

Twilight smiled and answered the question matter of factly. "Oh, well, of course. That was even in the show, however, so isn't that question sort of an obvious answer?"

Twilight responded quickly, with just a hint of surprise in her voice.

"Well," Mary responded quietly. "I don't know how right about things the show really is... and what I do know is very little." Her voice was timid, and more than a little unsure, a sharp contrast to the confidence she had begun with.

Twilight nodded appreciatively at the woman's honesty. After a moment, she hummed in an interested way, thinking over what she had been told. If a pony was or is currently living with her, like she said, wouldn't she know everything there was to know? she thought. Unless the pony wasn't very attentive, I guess...

A number of ideas began pouring over Twilight's mind, but she brushed past them quickly. She considered that it wouldn't be long until she learned the truth, after all.

"Mrs. Morris?" Twilight asked patiently. "I don't mean to put more undue pressure on you or the Equestrian, but Jo over here is-"

"Twilight!" Jo suddenly hissed. She was leaned over her knees and giving Twilight a stern look of reprisal.

"What?" Twilight lowered the phone and look at Jo, confused.

Jo made a sharp gesture and continued. "Come on, don't just give away my name like that."

Twilight quirked an eyebrow. "Why shouldn't I say your name? Are you embarrassed?"

Jo groaned and ran a hand down her face. "Twilight, if these people we're talking to aren't guarding the pony, like they say, or something else, we don't want them to know who we are yet."

Twilight rubbed a hand behind her head and shifted her stance, thinking on Jo's words. "Oh, sorry, Jo." She caught Jo's wide eyed look after she repeated the other girl's name, and put a hand over her mouth in embarrassment. "Oh, sorry again. Right."

Twilight took a measured, quiet breath, watching Jo shake her head in defeat. I really don't think it's a big deal... she thought, but kept it to herself.

Mary had not yet returned to the line, so Twilight picked up where she had left off. "So, as Jo most certainly didn't tell me to ask you, could the Equestrian answer some questions for me?" She hoped the question wasn't too direct, and went on. "That would prove to us that she's actually there!" After finishing, she tried to calm down, realizing she had gotten excited again and raised her voice.

"Uhm," Mary began to respond back.

Twilight turned and gave Jo a thumbs up, certain the other girl would be satisfied with the progress. Oddly, her human friend seemed to be holding her head up in her hands and no longer listening. Twilight scrunched her face up, but paid attention to the phone conversation all the same.

"She's not actually here right now...?" Mary asked, sounding very much as though she herself wasn't sure.

Twilight furrowed her brow and opened her mouth to ask if something was wrong, but Mary continued first. "Actually, this is getting a tad ridiculous, Twilight... Are you sure you don't know Princess Luna's favorite tea? It's literally the only thing we know right now about Equestria for sure..."

Twilight hummed along cheerfully to the very welcomed admittances, then blinked; her thoughts immediately went back towards thinking of the pony. Why don't they know something more? Any question about the pony races, even simple ones would suffice... What if the mare is injured? Or... She trailed off, all manner of explanations coming to her over the matter. Perhaps she's in a coma? Or unable to speak? Or dying because magic isn't prevalent on Earth!? There was no way for her to know for sure, she realized, and forced herself to calm down and listen. One of her hands arced out in front of her while she breathed out slowly.

Somehow, Twilight managed to catch what Mrs. Morris said next. "Unless Luna spoke to you recently, Twilight?" She was clearly reaching for a suggestion. "Then maybe I could ask something else," she concluded.

Twilight began pacing and held a hand up to her chin, thinking hard on what was just said. "Spoke to her?" she asked. After a second she laughed incredulously. What does Mary mean by that?

"Well," Twilight continued. "I would if I could, but I don't think the princess is here for me to do that. If she is, that would be rather great, though." Her face became serious again, suddenly considering the possibility. "She isn't here, is she?" her eyes scanned the wall, and against her will, pictured the younger of the two celestial sisters trotting down a human town's street. She shook her head and gulped, trying not to let her thoughts trail off to yet another pony being in trouble, even one as capable as Luna.

Twilight began to grit her teeth, waiting as best she could for Mary's response, which came, and disappointingly enough had nothing to do with her question. "What about dream walking?" Mrs Morris asked instead, then continued. "Or... well, I don't want to give too much away to ask a good question."

Twilight blinked, then covered the phone up with a hand. She had already forgotten her own question about Luna; it seemed to crazy to imagine, anyway.

Jo spotted Twilight's dream-like state, and spoke up, a little somberly as a result of being left out for so long. "Hey, is something wrong, Twilight?" she asked plainly.

Twilight licked her lips, still staring off into space in thought. She absently looked at Jo. "I... I'm not sure. I mean, no, there's nothing wrong. This conversation is just very confusing, I guess..." Twilight trailed off, then spoke up loudly. "Mary- I mean, Mrs. Morris said something about dream walking, Jo."

Jo raised an eyebrow, while the rest of her face gave away no hint of other emotions. "Huh, she started, then leaned back. "Maybe you should ask her if she does drugs."

Twilight tilted her head. "Drugs? Do you think she's sick? Why is that relevant?" she asked, not sure about what Jo was getting at.

Jo shook her head and sighed, which confused Twilight more, before responding quietly. "Never mind, Twilight, I was joking. I'll explain later." Despite being finished with speaking, she stood up and strode over to Twilight. "Hey, hit the blue icon in the bottom right of the screen, that will put the phone on speaker."

Twilight hummed, looking, then found the button mentioned. She took her hand off the phone's receiver, ready to speak again, and gave Jo an appreciative look. She thought a little about what to say, then decided on a direct question being the best approach. "What did you mean by dream, Mrs. Morris?" she asked flat out.

Mrs. Morris replied quickly, and with more uncertainty than anything else clear in her voice. "Never mind... What about..." she began, obviously thinking out loud. "Cutie marks... no wait... Pony magic. You're an expert with magic, right?" she asked over the phone.

Beside Twilight Jo slapped her forehead and turned around, while Twilight herself felt a huge grin appear on her face. She couldn't help but let out an excited exclamation. Oh, something I can actually talk about! I know so much about magic!

"Am I!?" Twilight said happily, maybe just little louder than she had meant to. If she had been forming any misgivings over the deteriorating investigation, she quickly forgot them. "Well, not that I'm at all bragging, but my entire life I've been studying magic in all of its forms! Magic is my special talent, and it's just the greatest thing there is! Though, I guess I am biased towards thinking that. I must admit I pride myself on spellcraft and to nearly the same degree, the history of magic. So little is known from before the age of Discord's rule, but I-"

An uneasy laugh came through the phone rather loudly, cutting her short. "Twilight, that's great, uhm, really." Mrs. Morris began.

Twilight put on a surprised look, that became crestfallen soon after from having been unable to get to the best parts about magic. I didn't even get to the basics! she remorsed, but gave her full attention to the new speaker. After all, there was a lot at risk.

"I meant something specific," Mrs. Morris continued over the phone. "Say, growing plants very quickly, perhaps? See, the pony here is very good at growing them and-"

Twilight broke in quickly, deeply interested still in knowing everything there was to know about the mystery pony. "What's her cutie mark like? I noticed she was an earth pony from the video. It may be presumptuous of me, but if she excels at growing plants I am willing to bet that she's a gardener of some kind."

Twilight waited patiently over a brief pause, until Mary's slightly static tinged voice returned. "Yes, she's very good at growing plants quickly-"

Something clicked in Twilight's head abruptly, forming a connection that she had pondered, but was now all but confirmed. "This has to do with those vines? Doesn't it?" Twilight quickly set the phone down on the nearby desk and pounded one of her fists into an open palm. I knew it! She grinned, then spoke down at the phone again. "I read those police reports and the news coverage extensively. That sort of magic is incredible! The Equestrian- Oh-"

Twilight had begun to expound on the incredulity of an earth pony with so much raw ability. It was something unheard of, especially considering the claims and testimony given by the human law enforcement present at the event. She stopped mid-sentence, however, having another thought, and jumped to solving the new puzzle instead.

"What's her name, by the way?" Twilight asked simply enough. "I can't just keep referring to her like this." She let out a cheerful, almost exaggerated sort of laugh, the excitement of things was definitely still getting to her, so she tried to calm down. She realized how flighty she was being then, and hoped that Mrs. Morris didn't mind.

Twilight was happy to hear Mrs. Morris respond quickly, and in a calm voice. "When- If we meet then I'll tell you her name, Twilight, no offense... sorry." She was saddened to hear that she wasn't going to receive anymore details about the Equestrian, either.

"Oh," Twilight forced herself to respond both happily and nonchalantly; she didn't want to sound at all as stressed out as she felt over the matter. If her fears about not locating the pony showed themselves in her voice, there was no telling how her human protectors would react. "That's okay! I understand completely." She took a deep breath, again steadying her heartbeat. "So, you were asking about the vines, Mrs. Morris?"

A moment passed before Mrs. Morris responded in turn. "Yes, it seems you've read about them, then..." Another pause, during which Twilight found herself pacing until Jo rested a hand on her arm. "But once again it also seems I can't come up with a good question..." Twilight gave Jo's consoling expression a quick smile, then strode over to the chair by the phone and sat.

Right as Twilight found comfort on the furniture, she nearly fell off again as a loud, highly pitched, and above all excited filly's voice shrieked through the phone. It was loud enough that she could have sworn there was reverberation over the communication line.

"Is Twilight coming here!?" the strange voice of a youth cried out.

Twilight realized that whoever it was that had yelled, must likely know who she was. Her mind quickly connected the dots that the likely human filly had watched the atrociously inaccurate and embarrassing show of her and her friends.

In the background, a deep male voice chided out, "Pumpkin, stay at the dinner table," and was followed by a disappointed sound.

Mrs. Morris' nervous laughter came through next. "Sorry," she apologized to Twilight. "That was my daughter."

Twilight couldn't help but laugh back in return, sounding just as nervous to her own ears. "That's quite alright. She, uhm, sounds like a hoofull." She laughed again, pulling her hair back over one ear without knowing it. The idea of ponies she didn't know walking up to her had never been much of a bother back in Equestria. In fact, it was rather rare. Being an Element of Harmony was important, but not really something that made her a household name.

On Earth, though, it seemed that she was ten times the celebrity.

Putting Twilight's worries to a temporary halt, was Mrs. Morris, again speaking all of a sudden. "As I was saying," the other human began. "I apologize for not being better prepared. You have my address already, don't you? Jo said you did." It was very direct, Twilight considered, but that was good. She wanted to move things along as quickly as she could, while keeping in mind to be patient so as not to jeopardize anything.

"Yes!" Twilight exclaimed proudly; she remembered exactly what the home's address had been. "Sixty-two hundred Harmony Avenue if I remember the phone registry correctly." She turned to Jo and a little more quietly stated, "and I do... remember that is." She chuckled briefly.

Surprising Twilight, Jo slapped both of her hands to her face and fell backwards onto the bed, groaning. She blinked. "What's wrong Jo? What did I do?" She knew it was her that had done something, more than familiar with Jo's reaction to the failings of others.

Jo raised her head and stared at Twilight dully. "I know we already stated that we'd practically stalked where she lives down, Twilight, but that doesn't make it a good idea to just shout it from the rooftops."

Twilight looked at the phone a little worriedly. "Do you think she minds?"

Jo frowned, then sat up. "Just apologize, I think it's probably fine... I kinda doubt by this point we need to worry about anything other than the pony, anyway. Maybe explain our circumstances? Ah, I'll let you decide what to say Twilight." She grimaced at the floor and shrugged, hugging her arms to herself in a protective way.

Twilight faced Jo and nodded with a calm smile, then spoke to Mary. "Er," she began unsteadily, and had to resist joining with her friend's facepalm. "Jo suggested that we should apologize for hunting your address down the way we did. I of course, agree, and would like to offer our apology for that. We have an explanation for invading your privacy, also. I can certainly see how we were in the wrong... but we were desperate. So, I hope you can forgive us." she paused briefly, before then launching into a very succinct explanation, that only took her a moment to come up with. "You see, Jo and I came out here because, well, as we haven't found news about the pony in the video for ages, and we were getting really worried. Rather than let the trail go cold we... sorta drove all of the way out here to start going door to door."

Twilight waited for a response, a little nervous over the matter. She had studied humans with some frequency over the months, and often she found they tended towards... well, being unpredictable. It wasn't so far fetched to consider that they would be offended enough to perhaps even end the call right there.

Thankfully, after a rather short pause, Mrs. Morris returned. "Fair enough, that's more than understandable under the circumstances, I guess." Mary continued. "We don't mind. Uhm, please continue, Twilight."

Twilight let out a strangled breath, then coughed accidentally as a result. "Right..." she croaked, then managed to speak again. Still not entirely convinced she was off the hook, she tried to do more damage control by confessing details. "It's just, Bobby had told us in so many words that there was no pony whatsoever at your residence, and he knew nothing about it. Well, we knew that wasn't true because of how he worded it, though I don't blame him for lying! We found several cracks in his explanation which basically confirmed for us that he knew about Equestrians and the video was correct. It was a very noble lie, really. In truth, because of that, we also planned to... just show up at your house tomorrow, uhm, anyway."

Twilight heard Jo groan from the bed, and gave the other girl a disparaging look. "Jo," she whispered. "The truth is always the best thing to say."

"Debatable," Jo mumbled back.

Mrs. Morris spoke again and, surprisingly to Twilight, in a very calm tone. "I see... I'm sorry if he acted untoward either one of you. He's still young and has some growing up to do yet... but he's getting better. Still, it's no trouble at all, really."

Twilight smiled, then stuck her tongue out at Jo quickly before addressing the phone on the desk again. "Thank you!" she replied happily.

Mrs. Morris replied in a business-like tone, perhaps even with a hint of being in a hurry. "Should we discuss how we should meet now?" Her tone quickly switched gears, though, and once again took on an uncertain quality. "I mean, I did think asking what Luna's favorite tea was pretty clever, but realistically there isn't anyway around us doing this..."

Twilight smiled, and couldn't help but chuckle in return. "It's alright, really!" she said back in earnest. It was true, she had wanted to put the humans' fears to rest, but if there was insufficient information available to one or both parties, it simply seemed to her that nothing could be done about it.

Twilight wanted to ponder possible questions to help, but as the questionee, she wasn't in a position to make suggestions. "Although," she pressed on, despite the setback, a little idea coming to her absently. "Princess Celestia's favorite tea was a delightful cinnamon blend. Maybe her sister enjoyed the same thing?"

There was a long, long pause.

Twilight stole a glance at Jo, looking away from the phone, thinking that perhaps the call had ended. "Is it broken?" Twilight asked.

Before Jo could get up and check, or reply, a loud thunk echoed through the phone call. It was loud enough to make Twilight jump.

"Twilight," Mrs. Morris then replied promptly.

Twilight sucked in a breath, just finishing up with moving on passed the nervousness she had been rebuilding. "Yes?" she asked, a little breathless from both surprise and suspense that had tumbled together as one with all the waiting.

The sound of a deep breath being taken came through the phone speaker loudly before Mrs. Morris spoke. "I know it's Christmas Eve tomorrow, but, well I'm guessing you're able to, so, how about you, and Jo, both just come and meet us tomorrow?"

Twilight's eyes lit up; finally, at long last, it seemed she would have her first, concrete clue as to how she would get home. Just to make sure everything was alright, she turned towards Jo, fully aware of the stupid grin that must be on her face.

Jo, giggled, actually giggled, at her.

Twilight blinked in surprise at her friends reaction, but managed a thought. Wow, I didn't think I looked that ridiculous. Her smile melted for the most part, but she couldn't help but keep traces of it. "So... Jo..." she started to say.

Jo folded her arms and nodded. "Yeah, Twilight, noon's perfectly fine. It's not like there's any going back for us now that we've driven clear across the country."

"Yes!" Twilight beamed back at her friend, then whirled about and leaned down at the phone again. "That sounds perfect, Mrs. Morris!" she exclaimed in return, and in a perhaps too loud voice.

Jo growled from behind her. "Twilight, if we get kicked out of the hotel because you're too loud I'm making you sleep in an igloo."

Twilight raked a hand through her hair, trying to hide her embarrassment, though there wasn't much; she really was too happy right then to feel much else.

A tinkling laugh that was Mary's entered the room from Jo's cellular device. "That's... great," she said happily. At least, she sounded happy. It was hard for Twilight to tell, she considered. Mary sounded either incredibly relieved, or worried still.

Huh, Twilight thought. She must be really protective of that pony.

Mary continued to speak. "By the way, you can call me by my first name, if you prefer, Twilight."

"Oh, sure. No offense, but the way human names sound is so confusing..." Twilight paused a moment before continuing slowly. "So, is that all then? We're to meet, and after you are completely convinced that I am who I say I am I can meet the pony? And we'll discuss everything? Because... you have no idea how incredibly anxious I am to consolidate my information!" She couldn't help but bounce up and down again slightly where she stood, and had to give Jo and sheepish look for propriety's sake.

Mary chuckled, though she sound worried, sad even, perhaps; definitely worried though, Twilight thought. "Of course, yes. Please show up tomorrow around noon. Noon?" she repeated the time as a question at the end, as if asking someone, then repeated it again. "Noon, yes. We'll see you then."

Twilight nodded, and was about to say goodbye so she could speak with Jo about everything they had learned about pertinent details, but, she halted herself. One, other slight detail crept back to mind for her. "Oh, Mary, I'm not done yet, actually. I have something to say, uhm, about Bobby... if that's alright."

Mary replied in a surprised voice. "Oh?"

Twilight nodded, though the human mare couldn't see her. "Yes, you see, the way he went about talking to us was a little rude... He did call me a prostitute at one point, but I guess it's alright since that lead to his unknowing admission of what he knew. Still, it is not my place to comment, but I thought you should know."

Twilight heard a strange sound in the background, followed quickly by Mary saying, "I see, please hold, Ms. Sparkle. I'll be right back..."

Twilight blinked in surprise, but raced to make her reply. "Oh, please, just call me Twilight. Are you going to hang up?" There was a clunking sound, then the sound of relative quiet. "Hello? Mary...? Mrs. Morris?"

Twilight looked up at Jo briefly, who was sitting and still listening nearby. "What was that about?" Twilight asked.

Jo chuckled, fairly sure of what was happening. "Karma," she replied simply. "Well, it seems like we're all set for tomorrow then."

Twilight arched one eyebrow at Jo, but nodded, then heard Mary's voice again; strangely, it sounded quite far away. "Bobby," she said at first, and very sternly, then another pause followed.

"Ooh," Twilight said aloud, understanding now. "Karma," she replied. She did feel a little bad for ratting out the young colt for misbehaving, but you just didn't say things like that. From her knowledge of Earth, it was quite frowned upon just as much as in Equestria, so her conscience remained clear as far as she was concerned.

"Bobby," Twilight heard Mary say again, and physically clenched up from the heat evident in her voice. Somehow, it had built even further. "Did you call a girl... a name?" Unable to help it, she looked over at Jo fearfully.

Twilight gulped. "Uhm, Jo, I'm quite sure I read that humans don't typically practice this, but I did read in some places that certain carnivorous species on your world do so, so perhaps it's best I ask, but-"

Jo sighed, "What is it, Twilight?" Folding her hands, she regarded the other girl calmly so that she would get to the point already.

Twilight took a breath. "Well, I read that in some species here it is common for creatures to eat their young..." She glanced warily at the phone again, and just in time for Mary's voice to be heard from it again.

"Specifically," Mary went on, still sounding like she was half a mile from the phone, but somehow loud enough to be heard. "Did you call her," there was a brief pause, just before a shout more like that of an angry dragon, and less a human, came through the phone and made both Jo, and Twilight, jump. "A prostitute!?"

Only a few minutes had passed since Twilight had been told goodbye by a polite sounding stallion, but it felt like forever. Now, both her and Jo were likewise finished with talking over things. As it stood, they had not yet confirmed that the pony they were hunting even existed. Jo was very firm about reminding Twilight that, and taking the situation seriously. Twilight took things seriously, too, but had to keep her hopes up despite the chances things weren't as they seemed.

Nonetheless, it did seem very likely that they were.

Twilight hummed happily where she was, kicking one leg absently while reading a book. Jo, meanwhile, was hunched over at the laptop, getting in some last minute browsing. The news from the phone call had woken both girls up, to the point of Jo suggesting they get food and stay awake.

After all, Twilight was dressed now. So, Jo considered, why not?

Jo turned around and stole a glance at Twilight, looking for all her worth like she was on cloud nine. It struck her as ironic, a little bit, that Christmas was only a couple days away, and here Twilight was acting like a little kid about to open a mountain of presents the very next morning.

Jo sat back in the hotel's desk chair. Then again, I guess that's true, she reminded herself thoughtfully. Just in the back of her DeLorean, other than bags of clothes, were a few packages that Alice and her had shopped for Twilight. Nothing grand, but a few things that they had hoped, 'would teach Twilight the meaning of human caring!', as Alice had put it.

Jo sighed, in that way she did, then turned 'round again and faced the computer. As she did, a little noise binged loudly; it was her email. She blinked, already wary, because she recognized the sender, which was her own house's security system.

Jo furrowed her brow angrily. Uh oh, she thought warily, and clicked on the link in her email. After a brief bit of streamed video loading up for her to watch, the security footage played before her. The sound of Twilight getting up and walking to stand by her side was barely noticed in the wake of the horrible news.

“What’s that?” Twilight asked, peering over Jo’s shoulder.

Jo snarled, copying the file over. “Before we left," she started, eyes narrowed enough that she could barely see anymore. "I installed a wireless security system in my house around the windows... and my bedroom door. They begin recording when it detects movement." She looked at the camera's number, and sure enough, it was the camera she had hoped wouldn't be set off. "This one though, is the one that's in my room. I told Alice, to stay out of my room.”

Twilight set herself down on her knees, bringing her eye level with the computer screen. “What would Alice be doing in your room?” she asked, curious over the whole matter. It was no longer a surprise that Alice would be causing mischief.

Jo shuddered a moment as the video loads. I’m not sure I want to know… but I'm guessing I'm about to find out.

The video opened up in Jo’s hallway, the wooden floors in a surprising shimmer. Jo gritted her teeth. “She wasn't just in my room," she muttered, dread thick in her voice. "She found my camera and moved it!”

The sound of a song Jo recognized as 'Bob Seger’s Old Time Rock and Roll' started playing, then Alice slid into frame slowly. The blonde girl was wearing little more than a button up shirt and long socks with... what seemed to be Applejack's cutie mark on them. In addition she had on a Stetson hat.

Jo’s eye twitched as Alice began lip-syncing into a candle holder while dancing on camera. “I’m going to kill her...” She resolved aloud.

Twilight blinked in befuddlement at first, but tittered quietly as they continued watching. "Well, it's a little funny, if weird," she remarked. Beside her came a plaintive groan from Jo.

Soon Alice, who was proudly smiling from ear to ear, reached off screen and pulled what looked like large cue-cards into the frame. She held up the first, which read, 'Hi Jo and Twily!!!'.

Alice let the card drop unceremoniously to the floor, and the next hand written message was revealed. It was almost difficult for Jo and Twilight to read with Alice’s dancing.

The second message read, The fuzzballs and I are having fun. Hope you’re having a blast in Mountain-Land!

Alice tossed the card over her shoulder, winking with one eye and posing briefly, before leaning forward with the following card, which read, I bet you're wondering what I did, Jo, but I totally didn’t go into your room. You told me not to, after all. By the way, your router has terrible network security!

The card fell to join its mate on the floor, while the blonde gave a cheerful smile to the webcam.

Twilight nodded appreciatively. “She’s a good dancer, isn't she?”

Jo stood up, knocking over her chair, and jabbed a finger at her laptop. “She hacked my router!" she shouted.

Twilight grinned, laughing harder, but shushed her friend. "Jo, quiet, or we'll get kicked out like you said."

Jo didn't acknowledge Twilight's warning. “Can we send her to Equestria with you so I never have to see her again? Please,” she begged.

I know I already said to, but take pictures of the pony for me at all costs! Anyway, I'll make more videos as I get bored, for now, Merry Christmas, guys!

The next card fell and Alice gave a massive grin, then stepped back.

Jo wilted and sagged back into her chair, fearful of what was coming. "Oh no, what is she doing now?"

After tossing away the cue-card, Alice began dancing to a new song playing.

Twilight listened to it intently. "Oh, I recognize this one," she remarked. "I'm certain some of my friends showed it to me... I think it was bronies who made an entire musical play based around it, with costumes and everything."

Jo groaned and slammed shut the laptop computer with one hand, not at all eager to continue watching Alice dance to... Psy's 'Gangnam Style'. The moment she did, a voice outside their door called to them.

"Excuse me," the stranger said. "Guests are complaining that you're being too loud. Ms.? Could you lower the volume?"

Jo grumbled, while Twilight laughed quietly, making her way to the door to apologize for her friend's rudeness.

Jo's car moved slowly and carefully, which with the music and the stereo off, was quite of the ordinary. Under normal circumstances it would have been as likely as the sun just going out in the middle of the day. The reason for the silence, was simply that Jo and Twilight had yet to settle on things completely; namely, their plan. They were fast approaching the place they were to meet with the other Equestrian, too.

In the passenger's side seat, Twilight sat, dressed in her thick coat and seasonal clothing, though the coat was unzipped while the car's heat was turned up. She was busy scribbling frantically into her notebook, the effort made a little difficult by certain bumps in the road, but, she persisted. Once finished with a line, her eyes would scan over the step by step process which she hoped to utilize in order to convince them she was really 'Twilight Sparkle', as well as tertiary plans in case the pony was in trouble or a double cross.

Twilight was quite convinced she was prepared for every conceivable situation that could face her.

After all, by the conclusion of the phone call last night, everything had gone perfectly well, all known factors held in consideration. All parties were going to meet, as agreed, and Twilight and Jo were going to prove that she was a pony, as the people they spoke to had requested. The only slight hang up, however, was that Twilight was not, in fact, currently a pony. That was going to be difficult, she considered, but had come up with something at least, thanks to Jo.

Still, that one little detail was responsible for the frazzled state of Twilight's disheveled hair style and demeanor, as well as the fact that both she and Jo were almost late for their appointed meeting time. On top of that, Twilight was still very nervous about not yet having spoken to the pony in question.

"Twilight," Jo muttered, eyes fixed forward at the snow and slush covered road. "Would you please stop fidgeting like that? You're making me uneasy, too." Meanwhile, she continued to search through the flurries of snow and low visibility for where exactly they were supposed to go. That would be just my luck, she thought. Twilight takes three extra hours putting together a 'carefully laid out plan', and then I can't find the stupid house.

"Sorry Jo," Twilight said without looking over. "Now, we have a contingency for if the pony we encounter is actually a trap... First, we need to keep an eye out-" Jo stopped listening.

Twilight had on a decidedly manic look, to point out only one of her present characteristics. As far as Jo could tell, the other girl's state for the time being was due solely because of their current obstacle. With Twilight, though, it was a little hard to tell.

Often, it took a little bit of doing to get Twilight to stop blowing her very own concerns out of proportion. Even then, the severity of how seriously she reacted to something seemed proportional to the number of hours she had spent thinking on it, which meant it would just get worse with more time.

Jo considered that Twilight had been hunting her fellow Equestrian for more than a month, as well, briefly recalling other instances that had occurred in recent memory.

There had been that day she learned about germs on Earth and spent the entire week disinfecting my house... Then there had been that time she holed up in her room for four days and wouldn't come out or explain why... Hm, she had been trying to find a solution to balance America's deficit that time. Jo took even breaths, staying quiet mostly in hopes that Twilight would think herself out of her own nervousness. This is going to be ridiculous. I just know it.

Jo resisted the urge to shut her eyes and pretend she were back at her house or the hotel room in her comfort zone. The thought of meeting strangers always got her on edge, always, and brought with it a certain amount of nervousness that she couldn't easily put down. But, to help Twilight and make good on her promise, she was determined to go through with things as best she could.

"Hey Jo," Twilight said looking up for just a brief moment. "Are we almost there? The house wasn't that far away. I really don't want to be late..."

Jo glanced over, then focused again on the road, intent on finding the right sign. Unfortunately, she could only see out as far as maybe thirty-five feet or so. "Yeah... I think the road's just up ahead, Twilight," she replied quietly. Where the balls is this place? Her brow scrunched up in determination and impatience from the thought.

It had taken an additional hour for them to find the house, and their drive had been projected originally as twenty minutes by Twilight, but she and Jo both had finally found the address they were looking for.

"Ooooh, we're so late-" Twilight began to say for the fifth time, face pressed against the window as the vehicle rolled up the street.

"Twilight," Jo said warningly, "If you really want me to believe that episode in season two never happened like in the show, then you're going to need to chill." She calmly surveyed the sight of the house, then began breaking after spotting something out of place.

Meanwhile, Twilight huffed out a breath and folded her arms. "I'm telling you, that TV blows everything way out of proportion... Okay, maybe I did try and scheme up a friendship problem that I could write a report about, and maybe it did include a spell that made ponies want something terribly, but it was not-"

Jo waved a hand at Twilight and made a loud shushing sound that was a bit like a snake's hiss. "Twilight," she whispered. "That's a police cruiser." She turned her head and looked at Twilight, who was now busy studying the vehicle as well.

Twilight, no longer distracted by embarrassment, surveyed the scene intently, her attention fixated on the building in front of her.

There were no other homes or houses nearby; the closest seemed to be a couple 'miles', as humans called them, down the road. The house was nice, covered in snow, and pretty large, but normal. Covering its length and breadth were a forest of the 'Christmas' decorations that ever so slightly resembled those used in Equestria for Hearth's Warming Eve.

However, in the middle of the long driveway leading off the road, was a police cruiser as Jo had claimed, barely covered at all by snow. It was clearly running, with exhaust pouring out of its back end. Beside it, Twilight spotted two individuals, one shoveling snow, and the other standing quietly beside the vehicle with what looked like a drink. Who are they? Her mind raced to find an answer. They were both watching her back, she realized.

Twilight gasped, then ducked low in her car seat. "They're looking at us!"

Jo gave Twilight a flat look, then inspected the men up ahead again. "Yeah... So, I think it's safer to assume that they have a friend who's with the local police." She patted her friend's shoulder to give her some confidence, then pushed her car forward until bringing it to a stop at the end of the driveway.

"Oh my goodness." Twilight narrowed her eyes, then turned to face Jo. "This is highly suspicious," she remarked. "But... I think it does make sense. It's a precaution." She straightened up, then turned to face Jo. "What does it mean though? Could they be mad at us after all for hunting down Bobby, like you said? Or..." Her mind wandered, searching for rhyme and reason to explain the presence of a police officer. Human law was a world apart, literally, from how the guards functioned back at her home. Then, by proxy, she immediately shot to ideas of the human judicial system in all its nightmarish reality.

Jo grimaced at what Twilight had asked. I really don't know, she thought, then shrugged and gave Twilight a brief glance. "I couldn't say, Twilight. Should I call that number again and ask? Uh, Twilight?" Jo leaned forward to try and get a look at Twilight's face; the other girl was staring wide eyed at the floor boards. "Twilight? Come on, don't lose it now."

Twilight jerked suddenly, then shook her head, purple hair splashing from side to side. "You're right," she said aloud resolutely. "You're absolutely right, Jo! No government sanctioned institution is going to stop me from gathering information on a way home! No way."

Jo blinked, then inclined her head slightly. "Uh, what?"

Twilight turned and smiled at Jo confidently. "Come on, Jo, let's go and-"

A knock on the car window made Twilight shriek, Jo swear, and both girls jump high enough to hit their heads on the DeLorean's low ceiling.

"Ow-" and "Sonuva bi-" were bother muttered respectively by the two girls, until they looked out the car window at the sound of gentle tapping. Together, they spotted what was undoubtedly a policeman in a tan uniform and broad hat.

Twilight tensed up and pressed herself back into her chair; after a moment's pause, she waved timidly. Jo, however, calmly addressed her. "Twilight, just stay quiet and let me handle this."

A quiet whimper of acknowledgement came from Twilight, and Jo exhaled a breath in preparation, then lowered the window.

"Hello, is-" Jo was interrupted immediately.

"Are you girls lost? You don't look like you're from around here, no offense by that. Trust me, it's a good thing." The man's voice was lighthearted and not at all serious. He was tall, and looked bulky beneath his uniform jacket as well. The combination of those aspects had Jo put a little off guard, who had been prepared for the worst, or at least what you would expect from a policeman walking up to your window. "So, can I help you two lovely ladies get back to the main road? Or... anything else?"

Jo's head shot up, then rotated ninety degrees slowly to face the man. I know that tone. When he looked up, she had to force a weak smile onto her face. This guy's a pig... Well, not like a cop, but- Augh, my own thoughts make no sense. Before she could finish, Twilight, however, took it in stride and responded immediately, while Jo continued to work her mouth noiselessly.

"Oh, uhm, no, actually! We're expected and here to meet somepony, er, someone." Twilight shuffled the stack of notebooks in her lap and managed a slightly nervous sounding laugh. "Well, we are here to meet a pony, but people too." She smiled cheerfully for the stranger, who seemed a lot less scary than she had imagined at first.

Jo would have face-palmed were it not for how rigid her body had become out of shock, and the subsequent wariness she had been taken on after listening to the guy at her car's window. She really wanted to just drive off, but that, wasn't really an option.

"Whoa," the man said, standing up straight. He quickly looked over both Twilight, then Jo, then peeked into the back of the small car. "You guys really showed up?" he asked, which was followed quickly by a curse of his own. "Looks like I lost that bet, damn. Now I gotta buy the brandy and eggnog..." The man seemed to catch on that Twilight was giving him a look like he was crazy, to which he then shrugged.

Jo, on the other hand, had heard a magic word. "Brandy, huh?" she asked flatly, not giving anything away.

The cop bent down and smiled. "Mmhmm, favorite draft?"

Twilight blinked in confusion. Uhm, am I missing something here? And I could have sworn Jo was acting hostile towards him a moment ago. Now she's acting... well, mildly stand offish, which is normal I guess, but still. She inhaled tried to get back to the matter at hoof. I don't understand humans.

Jo shrugged. "I don't really have a favorite, but I lean towards dark, myself."

Twilight looked at both of the two humans present, besides herself, in quick succession. "Ahem? I believe we were discussing important matters a moment ago."

The policeman, infuriatingly enough, merely chuckled and tipped his hat back. "Ah, sorry. I got off track there. I didn't think you were real at all, honestly. Heck, you're an hour late, too." He paused a second, as if considering something. "Where's the horse at, in the trunk?" His voice had become a twinge more serious.

"Uhm..." Jo and Twilight both managed to say simultaneously. They looked at one another for a moment, each easily able to tell they didn't quite know what to say.

Twilight did manage to speak, though. "I didn't include law enforcement in the plan, Jo," she said, albeit weakly.

Jo sighed, and managed to rally her exasperation over everything in order to mount a response. "She isn't a horse," she started with, to which the police officer raised his eyebrows. "She's a unicorn, and she's sitting right there, in disguise." The last part she had added was critical, and made sure to begin her explanation with it. "Sorry we didn't just walk up, but we weren't informed that... you would be here."

Twilight looked over at the man in a flash and waved shakily. "Heh- Hello!" she managed.

The snow covered road and surrounding area was quiet a moment, until another surprise came from the strange man in the form of a sudden laugh. He continued laughing, not slowing down for several seconds. "Oh, oh damn, so sorry, ahem."

The cop coughed, straightening up and regaining his composure. "I'm just security, ladies. I mean, I don't see the point to me being here, what with all of this just being girly nonsense, but Stan- well, you'll see, I guess. Still, rules are rules, or 'a deals a deal', in this case." He cleared his throat then, and cracked his knuckles loudly beneath his gloves. The act made Twilight cringe a little and shift her own expression.

The stranger continued. "Until I see a pony, you girls can't come inside, crazy magic talk or no. That's what I was told, so you aren't coming near this family."

"What? But-!" Twilight began to exclaim, but was stopped short by Jo placing a hand across her front. She gave the other girl a quick, comforting look, then looked back out the window.

"Listen, that wasn't in the deal on the phone at all. So, until we see the pony, we aren't going anywhere, alright?" Jo narrowed her eyes, standing her ground. He may be police, she considered, but they hadn't done anything wrong.

The man leaned in some, taking what Jo had said as a challenge by appearances. He began to speak, jaw set firmly, but Twilight interrupted him before he could.

"Now wait, please. I'm certain we're all here to help one another, alright? Let's please not fight!" Twilight held both her hands up in front of the two humans squaring off against one another. She faced the human stallion. "I can prove that I'm Twilight, but I can't become a pony right now." It was true, she remarked inwardly. If nothing else she hadn't lied yet at all, but she simply couldn't confess everything just yet. "I can show you a little magic, alright? That will be my proof. But I can't become a pony."

The man outside the car straightened up, his features lightening again. "Why not?" he asked.

Twilight blinked. Fiddlesticks! That's a good question... She raced for an answer.

Jo, meanwhile, was weary, because his voice hadn't softened up with the rest of him. "Because," she started to say, "If you all aren't who you say you are, or this is a trick... then we'll have screwed up. For her safety this is only going to go one way, ours."

Twilight turned to face Jo, brow furrowed in incredulity. "Jo!? What are you-" Her own outburst was halted by the human standing outside her window, suddenly laughing again. She turned again and looked up at him in surprise.

"This is really something. Yeah, alright, fine. Show me your... magic... pony magic..." He began snickering, and it quickly became a wheezing laughter for which he had to huddle over at the waste. "Oh... I'm crying..."

Twilight narrowed her eyes and set her expression sternly. "Ahem," she said indignantly. "Is there something funny about all of this?"

"Easy, Twilight..." Jo muttered, but was shushed.

The policeman kept laughing, trying to talk through it all. "No... No... Everything's fine!" he laughed harder. "I can't believe I'm getting bribed to do this, it's ridiculous." he coughed, then managed to compose himself and stand up. "Sorry, even knowing this stuff is real I can't take it seriously." He snickered more, then looked at Twilight for a moment, who continued to look back up at him heatedly.

"Are you done?" Jo asked, trying to keep her voice level. What is with this guy? He's a complete clown.

After the stranger nodded, and apologized again, though in a none too serious way, Twilight harrumphed and opened the glove compartment of the car; from it, she retrieved the crystal which had been brought with her.

"I hope this is sufficient proof, Mr. uhm..." Twilight's voice was stiff, which earned another snicker from outside.

"Name's Dan, princess," Dan remarked, still grinning stupidly. "What's with the rock?"

Twilight rolled her eyes, then flicked the crystal. "It's not a rock," she said, just as the familiar peel of sound emitted itself into the otherwise still winter air. Motes of purple light burst forth, as expected, and joined the lightly falling flakes of snow drifting down outside the car. She looked up to see 'Dan', as he called himself, back up two steps and nearly tripped over backwards into the snow bank.

"Whoa!" Dan shouted. His eyes were wide and his mouth was agape in shock. "Alright, alright I believe you." There was a tinge of unmistakable fear in his voice. "I'll take you in. Just don't... hoodoo me or anything, alright? I swear to god if you turn me into a pony or something crazy I'll..." he froze in his speech with visible difficulty, then looked away from the fading lights. "Never mind."

Jo couldn't help but smirk. Yeah, that's right bucko. Beware Twilight Sparkle. She promptly shut off her car and shot the cop a curt smile. Though, if we could turn Twilight or anybody into a pony we wouldn't exactly be here. Let him think what he wants though-

"Oh, haha," Twilight laughed. "I can't turn anybody into anypony, or, a human into a pony, anyway." She giggled, and quickly opened her door and stepped outside. "Still, that's great! Please, lead the way."

Jo rolled her eyes as Twilight corrected the man by giving away the thing she had only just finished thinking over.

"So," Jo started to say, standing up and stretching now that she was outside. "Lead the way, Deputy Dan."

The officer scowled at Jo briefly, but was too busy giving Twilight her space to say anything in return.

Twilight was quite sure the sullen looking boy outside had been Bobby. He had looked very cross about something, so she had said hello. Afterwards though, she received only a flat stare in return. It seemed logical to think that he was upset about something; hopefully, she thought, it wasn't her being there.

Now, Twilight took careful steps through the ice and snow towards the house. With the ground as slick as it was, she could only wonder further how humans managed to get by as well as they did with only two limbs dedicated to walking. It took all of her concentration and accumulated skill at the art to keep from toppling over.

"Alright, this way." Up ahead, Dan, the human enforcer of the law, opened a gate, then ushered both her and Jo after himself. "Don't be surprised if you have to show off your... whatever that was, again."

Twilight looked at him a little speculatively, but nodded. Twilight also noticed where this law enforcement official ‘Dan’ tended towards looking, and leaned over to speak with Jo discreetly. “Jo, I think he was staring at your mammary glands,” she whispered discreetly, keeping her distance.

Jo grunted beside her. "I noticed... Trust me... Just ignore him."

Twilight frowned, but nodded. She was entirely too unfamiliar with human habits, but that one obsession particularly boggled her mind. She put it out of thought and refocused on things at hoof.

In truth, the strange man had at first made her uneasy just by being at the house, but now, thanks in part perhaps to his demeanor, she found his presence a little reassuring. She briefly considered the likely chances that the pony she was coming to join forces with had in fact made quite the home and friends for herself. Still, whatever the circumstances, she resolved to at least make their first meeting as simple and easy as possible. Even by her standards, everything going on was quite incredible.

Jo stayed ahead of Twilight, and together they made their way up the stairs to the house allegedly containing the pony.

The officer open the door casually and stopped half inside. "Wait here." He spoke plainly and didn't wait for a response, and the door shut, nearly slamming, behind him. A circular wreath shook for a full ten seconds afterwards.

Beside her, Jo huffed a breath out and turned to lean on the railing. In all, the other girl seemed to be trying hard to go along with things, and not cause trouble. For that, Twilight was very grateful alone; with everything else on top of that she felt altogether indebted. At the very least Jo hadn't merely demanded to see the Equestrian or some such. Twilight had foreseen a good chance that the quick-to-anger Jo might have reacted that way after being barred entry.

Twilight shivered, waiting, and was very aware of just how rigid she was standing still. It was certainly in part because of the cold; the air was positively freezing, even more so than around Jo's home. She resolved then and there that if she were to return to Equestria, then revisit Earth at a later time, it would be somewhere with a normal climate. Perhaps with Rainbow Dash, too, so she could change the temperature.

The front door opened up, clunking loudly and grabbing both girl's attentions to reveal... a very tall, solidly built man. He had red hair; a bit of a rare pigment in humans, as Twilight had noted.

Twilight slouched a little when it wasn't a pony that immediately greeted her, but she guessed that was a little optimistic to expect that just yet. At the very least, she tentatively put to rest her original fears that the Equestrian was in any sort of danger. The middle-of-nowhere house had an air about it, a familiar one. A family lived here, and quite comfortably. She was certain the pony was safe, now.

"So," the tall man began. "Which one of you is Jo, and which one of you is Amelia?" He turned and instead of looking at either Twilight or Jo, looked as though he was waiting for the policeman to answer him.

Twilight laughed nervously, rubbing one arm with her hand. "Well, that was my alias, yes... it isn't my real name though. This, however, is Jo, my good friend, and I of course am Twilight Sparkle. It's very nice to meet you." She smiled and extended a hand out to the tall human in greeting. When the he didn't take the offering right away, she tried to smile bigger, feeling a little put on the spot as a result of his stare. Why's he just looking at me?

Twilight coughed a little and spoke again, her hand still hanging in the air. "Didn't, uhm, Mr. Dan tell you? I'm in human form, right now, but I am Twilight. I understand you all have been protecting my fellow Equestrian, but I am only here to help. Well... in truth I'm stuck here on Earth, too. Not that it's a bad place at all or anything, heh, but-"

"Twilight," Jo said; she had a hand pressed over the bridge of her nose in an effort to keep her own cool.

The man blinked at all this, but neither spoke just yet or made any other outward signs of discomfort. So, Twilight continued; she could see Jo shifting in the corner of her eye, but she didn't want seem rude or anything and kept her attention forward. "Uhm, I guess that you're upset I'm not a unicorn at the moment. In truth, there is nothing I can do about that, for the time being..." She saw Jo tense up beside her, and she realized why; coming out with this information was certainly unwise, but it was the right thing to do. "I can, however, provide evidence that I possess magic. I'm not really sure of its full capabilities... but... if you ask Dan he can tell you about its credibility, and I would be happy to show you, too."

The air was quiet a moment.

"He told me. I'm Stan, Stan Morris," he proclaimed simply, and continued to look at either Twilight or Jo in turn; it seemed to either girl that he was trying to read them. "Care to show me what you showed him, too?" he asked, a little bit of a lighter quality to his voice than the first time he had spoken.

Twilight relaxed some and lowered her hand, as it still hadn't been taken. I can't imagine why this man... Stan, is so on edge. Does he really protect a stranger so fiercely on principle alone? Either way, Twilight noted, things were moving along just fine. She pulled out the crystal from her bag and held it up before the man. A moment before striking the surface with a free finger tip, a noise caused commotion.

"Twilight-!?" a strangled voice called.

They sounded strained and desperate, and immediately Twilight was confused by that.

Just then, a pony burst her head out of the door, nosing her way out between 'Stan' and the doorway. The pony had a pale orange coat, almost a peach color, blue and tan mane and tail, but wore what seemed to be sweatpants and a sweatshirt.

Chaos broke out immediately. All at once, Stan was talking to the pony, Jo gasped, Twilight began exclaiming about Equestria, and the top ten questions she had annotated, and the pony seemed to be speaking frantically, too.

"Alright quiet! Quiet! Quiet!" Stan shouted the words until finally the two women and one mare surrounding him piped down, though it was clear to anyone present they were all on the edge of their seat with things to say. Regardless of this, he turned angrily to the pony and strangely, addressed her, first. "Why did you come out already? I was two seconds from making sure everything was safe, not that it matters no-"

The mare cut him off gruffly. "Oh, stop, I've been losing my marbles all day about Princess Twilight showing up, she's here now, you're out here interrogating her, and Dan just got finished telling me about how he already interrogated her; I'm taking over that situation, dear!"

Stan put on a defeated look and replied to her in a very familiar, pleading way. "Honey, please, I was trying to make sure you were safe-"

Jo's eyes bugged out. "Dear? Honey?" she asked.

"Is that really Twilight out there!?" came the excited shout of a young sounding girl. "Hi Twilight!" The sounds of a couple other voices herding the first joined in, before disappearing again.

"Anna, behave," the pony muttered back into the door, then glanced at Jo. "Huh? Yes, yes, he's my husband. Now, I've heard that magic has been confirmed, Twilight's here, though in disguise, that's good enough for me and-"

Before the pony could continue, Twilight and Jo exclaimed, "Husband!?" Both of them stared openly at the pair standing before them, eyes shifting from the tall human, then to the waist high pony.

The pony stared back in just as much shock, but regained her composure quickly with a nervous laugh. "Oh, hah, sorry. There's a lot I have to come clean about. Maybe I was abrupt to come out already... Oh well now we can get it out of the way! You see-"

Jo blanched, interrupting. "Yeah, apparently." Her jaw was slack and she had been forced to support herself with the railing. Wow, how long has this pony been on Earth? Her sight turned towards the man, suddenly feeling uneasy towards him. Come on Jo, you're more open minded than that. Nonetheless, despite her progressive thought she began to feel faint.

Twilight, meanwhile, took the break in chatter to speak up herself. "I'm just so relieved you are actually real!" she exclaimed, and nearly dropped the crystal she was holding. After juggling it a moment, she regained her grip.

The pony put on a sheepish look, showing her teeth with a nervous looking grin. "Ah heh... Yup, I'm certainly real all right."

Twilight continued, taking the expression as simply nerves. "I've been so stressed without any sign of home and... I mean, I knew you were real from that video, I just knew it." She cleared her throat promptly and composed herself. "I, am Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic, and-"

Twilight gasped, her mind reeling at all of the information that needed to be gathered, and now. "What's your name?" she asked, kneeling down in the snow to address her fellow equine. Being so much taller than an average sized mare struck her as profoundly odd, and unsettled her, though she was too excited still for even an ounce of it to show.

The mare smiled at Twilight calmly, and a good amount of obvious tiredness was evident in her eyes right away. "I'm Mary," she replied.

Twilight clapped her hands. "Oh my goodness! Did you hear that Jo? Her name is Mary! Huh, what an interesting name..." While musing, she looked over at the other girl, who seemed a little catatonic. Laughing a little, she gave her friend a nudge with one arm. "Hey, come on, Jo, everything's fine now! We can talk, go in, and I'm sure Mary has some hot chocolate we can all enjoy-"

The pony, Mary, interrupted cheerfully. "Yes! I do! And let me just say that for the unicorn that can help me out, I have all the hot chocolate she could ever want." Her speech was briefly followed by a bit of laughter, that admittedly sounded a little stressed to Twilight.

Twilight, grinned, and faced the mare. "Oh, I meant the other Mary. As in, Mrs. Morris..." she trailed off, thinking over just how incredible of a coincidence that was. "Uhm," she began to say slowly. "There are two of you, right? A human Mary and you?" Twilight stared openly, waiting to hear the response to her question that had just come to mind. Time seemed to slow down while she waited.

"Well," Mary began to say, sitting down in the doorway and rubbing a hoof behind her head in a bashful way. "Not... Not so much, no. I'm Mary Morris, and I used to be human." She looked up again and Twilight's gaze, which was filled with confusion, while her own was filled with determination. "I need your help to make me human again, Twilight." Her voice was resolute.

Twilight stared back blankly, stretching the silence for nearly a minute. Her throat croaked twice, but finally she managed to speak. "I- I didn't plan for this... Let me check my notes." She had no idea what to think, now.

Beside her, Jo muttered, "Great Scott..."

Stan heaved a sigh from where he was in the doorway. "Can I get anyone a drink, then?" he offered.

Immediately after, Mary burst out again. "W-wait, you can, right? Dan said he saw you use magic. Surely if you're human right now it's easy for you to turn me into one, too. That's what he said. That you turned yourself human as a disguise!" She stepped towards Twilight, desperation filling her. "Please! I mean- I don't want to sound... I mean... I've been stuck like this and-" she reached Twilight, and touched her hand with a hoof.

Twilight, who had set her bag down, had also begun rifling through her notebooks. She was desperately trying to get her references for the wilder speculations she had thought up during her free time. Though, she doubted she had any that quite reached as far as what she was now dealing with. "Mary, just a moment, I-"

Mary's hoof came in contact with Twilight as she was speaking back to her.

A brilliant purple flash bloomed out across the front porch to the home, washing out over the snow and surrounding fields.

Chapter 28 : Memories

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Twilight was unconscious.

There wasn’t a sound that reached out, on Earth or any other world to make her stir or wake up. Minutes stretched on into hours for an unmeasurable amount of time.

Brief sensations reached Twilight, however, for fleeting moments. A tingling here, or the odd, cool breeze there, building slowly like a glass filling with water over time. Still, there wasn’t so much as a single thought playing its way through her head.

So, the silence stayed its course.

Eventually Twilight’s form began to move and her eyes fluttered, trying to open.

“Uuhh…” Twilight groaned instinctively; one of her arms shakily rose up to touch her forehead. “What… Spike?” she muttered. No answer responded to her, so she tried another name that came to mind. “Jo? What happened… Jo? Are you there?” She said the name a few times, hoping her other friend would answer.

Twilight finally got her eyes open, and felt all of her body’s soreness immediately, though it was all in the form of a headache. Oh, wow, she marveled. Even her thoughts felt incredibly disoriented for some reason, and she couldn’t think of a reason why they would be.

Laying there for a second, Twilight stared up blankly and tried to regain her bearings.

“What was that flash?” She directed the question at herself in an effort to jog her own memory. Slowly, she began recalling where she just had been, which was back in a stranger’s home. Did… Did my crystal cause this? her thoughts asked, beginning to catch up.

Twilight felt unsure. “Jo?” she called again, weakly shifting. There still wasn’t a response of any sort.

Still coming to her senses, she began trying to take stock of her surroundings in full, picking her head up off the ground. The room she was in, if it was a room, was very dark, and she guessed she must have been placed somewhere to rest. Oddly, though, rather than a bed or a comfy couch, she seem to be rested upon some hard, flat surface, like stone.

Twilight’s eyes swiveled to either side of herself curiously.

“Ohhhh, dear.” She suddenly had an overwhelming sense of vertigo ripple through her; all around, in every direction, was sheer blackness. The floor was indistinguishable from anything else, but somehow solid and smooth to her touch.

Besides that, there was no light, no sounds, and it all felt very wrong. Stranger, though, it was as if there was light at the same time, as she could see herself clearly.

“Where in Celestia’s name am I…?” Twilight asked aloud; her voice was the merest whisper.

Twilight looked down at her body, and found she was still wearing all of her winter clothing. Wherever this is, it looks like I’m not in Idaho anymore... Seeing as there was no longer freezing cold Earth snow all around her, she weakly removed the coat, then the gloves.

With one hand, Twilight reached up and began rubbing the side of her head soothingly, her soft fingers trying to work away some of the throbbing. These do come in use... sometimes, she begrudgingly admitted.

Wherever Twilight was, it was no place she had ever seen before, nor did she recognize it. She turned around, slowly, to avoid aggravating the headache and trying to see anything that stood apart from the area.

What Twilight wanted to find was something that could give some sort of clue or explanation; she did find something, and it surprised her.

“Oh my goodness-” she managed to say, then let out a shrill noise and fell down on her butt. The thing moved, and rather suddenly; she repeated the same noise of surprise and began scuttling backwards on hands and feet away from… the something.

It was a splash of color, like oils off of a painting falling from their rightful place on the wall. It had appeared as if from nowhere and began flowing towards Twilight across the ground.

She panted, trying to get further away from the sudden phenomenon, only to stop again and blink in confusion; right there in front of her, they began to sort of fade away until they were gone entirely.

Twilight let out a worried sound, then exclaimed, “I have no idea what’s going on!” She stood up quickly, not at all eager for a revisitation of the weird colors, only for them to begin appearing on and off all around her. I’ve never read about what to do in case of being attacked by colors! Her eyes darted back and forth around herself.

Twilight called out, “Jo!? Alice? Princess?” She shook slightly, perhaps because she was on two legs, or perhaps because she was nervous. I’m running out of names to call and nopony’s answered me. No, no I’m on my own so they can’t… I wish I at least had my magic right now! She gulped and warily kept watch around herself.

There were more swirls of deep colors; blue, green, red and more, flowed and cascaded in dim waves off in the distance. They began appearing, then disappearing again with increasing irregularity, but they stayed distant. Other than the ethereal scenery, however, was one other new thing that stood decidedly apart from them.

Twilight blinked, her gaze honing in on the nearby stranger; they seemed to be unaware of her, as they were lying prone on the ground.

Were they always there!? Twilight thought, becoming a little frantic. After a brief pause to still her quickening breath, and a glance at the weird colors, she made a decision over what to do.

Twilight decided to get answers, and called out to the person. “I- Hello?” Slightly hunched at her shoulders, she slowly approached the prone, sprawled out shape. She moved closer, content that for now the colors weren’t coming closer. It’s a human, she noticed quickly, and a woman. Her clothes looked strangely familiar, she thought, too.

Twilight looked around again, just making sure nothing else had changed, then got close enough to the stranger to kneel beside them, making sure that what she was seeing was real.

“Hello?” Twilight repeated, then shook the woman’s shoulder lightly with one hand. “Are you okay?” She certainly felt real. “Could, uhm, you wake up, please?” she asked. Whoever the stranger was, she was human and someone Twilight had never met before.

The woman didn’t stir necessarily, but did begin muttering things. “Hrmf-r- Crepes…”

Crepes? Twilight frowned. “Miss? I reeeally hate to disturb you, but I’m sort of lost right now...” She tried again. After a minute of waiting for her prompt to work, she huffed out a breath and looked around herself tiredly.

Great, Twilight thought. So now what?

The colors swirling around nearby didn’t answer her. She looked all around herself again, but they seemed to be staying away for the time being.

“So,” Twilight began, determined to get to the bottom of things. “To recap, there was a bright, weird purple flash, wasn’t there? Before that, I was with Jo and that family… with a man called Stan and that mare… that mare!” Her eyes widened, recalling the incredible, unbelievable news she had been given by the Equestrian, who had turned out to be named ‘Mary’, and claimed to be the mother in that same family of humans.

She said she wasn’t originally a pony, though, Twilight marveled, a hand held under her chin in thought. But what does that mean? Her gaze fell back upon the human laying before her. She wanted me to make her human again… Huh. She considered well just how impossible that would be for her to do, and felt a twinge of guilt, because under normal circumstances such a spell might not be quite so impossible. I bet she won’t like that answer…

The next great, important oddity occurred to Twilight, and she stood up again, thinking. How in the name of Equestria did she get turned into a pony in the first place? Magic doesn’t exist on Earth... She groaned, realizing she was just making more questions for herself that needed answering. “And what the hay happened that ended me up wherever this... place is?” Spinning on one foot, she looked around again at the nothing surrounding her and her unconscious company.

“Mary touched my hand just before this…” Twilight stared down at her arm, recalling the last thing she could remember. “That could have caused the flash, instead of the crystal… but why? Better yet, how?” She scrunched up her face hard in thought, then relaxed it, unable to recall ever reading about something that would explain things. “Great, I have no idea what to do next or an idea about anything else.” She exhaled hard and sat down with a thump. “Pony feathers…” she lamented, and began looking around herself once again, studying the shifting colors. At least the scenery’s nice…

Twilight waited, and watched, thinking hard, until a nearby sound, which turned into a groaning voice, became louder.

“Uggh… ponies… no more… ponies… get them away from me...”

At hearing the stranger suddenly mutter something, Twilight got up, then leaned over her on hands and knees. “Miss? Miss, are you alright?” She waved a hand over their face. “Could you wake up, please?” I really need some answers here. Thankfully, the human’s eyes cracked open then. “Oh, uh, hello,” she greeted simply, then sat back right away to give them some room.

The woman spoke again, if slowly, and said something quite confusing. “Ooh… Are you an angel? Am I dead?” she asked, her eyes widening at a very slow pace until she seemed to be mostly awake.

Twilight blinked in surprise, leaning back slightly in confusion. “I- Uhm, I don’t think so- That is, you seem very much alive to me.” She briefly recalled the human legends of angels, or perhaps they were real, given how many accounts of them there were. “And I’m no angel. I am a unicorn normally, though, and those are quite mythical where you’re from too. That is, assuming you’re from Earth…”

The human gasped and leaned up in a flash. “Twilight?” she asked, and began staring in a visible state of shock.

It was then, that a thought came to Twilight. I recognize that voice. She mulled over the possibility she had already arrived at, before then taking a small leap of faith. “Mary? Is that you?” she asked slowly.

“Yeah, it’s me.” Mary’s voice was a little short as she sat up. “Ooh, my head…”

Twilight helped the other mare sit up, both hands on her shoulders. “I thought it was you. Easy, you were out cold for a while there…” Of course, she’s wearing the same clothes as when she was a pony… But how is she human now!? Despite the shouted thought, she continued calmly. “When I woke up I had a really bad headache, too. It should get better soon.”

Mary grunted and shut her eyes. “That’s good to hear… Where are we now? I remember that there... was something purple…” Squinting, she looked around at the surroundings while standing up. “Whats going on now, Twilight? Did you do something?”

Twilight was taken aback for a split second, then shook her head jerkily in response.

“No!” she exclaimed quickly. “I didn’t do any of this. At least, I don’t think I did. Well, I guess it’s more accurate of me to say I didn’t do anything on purpose...” She laughed a little sheepishly at that, a bit embarrassed that her failed experiment might still be causing her trouble, even several months after its ill fated conclusion. Her eyes darted to the side while she considered what might have caused the earlier, purple flash of light, and the following relocation.

“Great… just great,” Mary muttered in return, one hand held up against the side of her head.

Twilight thought on about what could have happened, but looked back at Mary when her curiosity of the situation caught on one question in particular. “Mary, why are you human now? I thought that...” She trailed off, realizing she wasn’t fully aware yet of what to think at all.

Mary stared back bleakly with a raised eyebrow, then looked down at her hands and arms, only to gasp. “I- Oh…” Her excited look was very short lived, though, it seemed. “Huh,” she mumbled, before continuing. “Here again…”

Twilight tilted her head to the side, confused, and watched as Mary paced slightly. “Wait, ‘here again’? What?” She stood up as well, and found she was roughly the same height as Mary now. “Do you know where we are?” she asked quickly.

“You mean you don’t?” Mary blinked at Twilight several times while gauging her reaction, then pressed on. “Well, I think I do, anyway… It feels about the same.” She looked up and down between her hands and Twilight, wearing a strained expression as she did. “Okay, I was speaking to Princess Luna about this, and she called it a ‘dreamscape’—”

Twilight’s eyes widened to their fullest in an instant. As soon as she heard the name, she reached out and grabbed Mary by her sweat shirt’s collar. “Luna!? You’ve spoken to Princess Luna? How!? When!? How? Wait-” she paused abruptly, then went on hesitantly, her eyes squinted suspiciously. “Is this some sort of roleplaying thing? Because while trying to convince people I was real I ran into that way too often…”

Mary shrugged out of Twilight’s grasp with an indignant look, and got a sheepish, apologetic one in return.

“Heheh, sorry,” Twilight apologized.

Mary sighed, then responded curtly. “I’m positive I don’t know what you mean by roleplaying, Twilight, but my private life is confidential- Oh, wait, you mean that fake acting stuff Marge keeps talking about?” She thought she could recall Herbert talking about the term in the past, too. “No, Twilight, it isn’t that, and in any case I mean the real Princess... Luna…” She trailed off slowly, until she stopped talking altogether.

Twilight waited for Mary to continue, but the other mare stayed quiet. “Mary?” she prompted. After a moment without getting an answer, Twilight realized she wasn’t staring at her, but behind her. “What is it-” She turned around, and quickly spotted what had torn away Mary’s attention.

Colors swirled all around them, each gathering of them forming great pools hanging in the sky at different angles; the pools were shiny, like the surface of a mirror, or rays of sunlight streaming through water.

Twilight gasped at the same time as Mary, just as one of the pools exploded outward silently. The colors resettled just as quickly, pulling back inward and strangely, beginning to look as though they were gaining definition, and shape.

Twilight realized that Mary had begun clinging to her arm, and that she was clinging back on impulse.

“Twilight, what is this?” Mary huddled down towards the floor a little, eyes glued to the chaotic and ethereal light show. She was obviously trying to make herself as small as she could. "What's going on?” she shakily asked again, ”Twilight?”

Twilight's eyes were unblinking. "I don't know. I really don’t know what's going on, Mary." Her eyes scanned from horizon to colored horizon. "Didn’t you say you knew where we were?" she asked, while trying to focus and get a grip on the situation. As it was, she still had no idea what to expect.

“N-No-” Mary shook her head furiously for a few seconds, then stopped. "Oh, wait. Right, I think we’re asleep, actually." She braved a glance in Twilight’s direction, breaking her staring contest with their shifting surroundings.

Twilight, continued taking a closer look at their surroundings as she answered back. “Asleep!?” she exclaimed, and spared Mary a quick look. “What do you mean?” The explanation had been short, and simple, as well as completely nonsensical as she saw it. Asleep? she asked herself, That makes no sense!

Mary answered, but shakily. “Well, I don’t know anymore! It’s different! I- Darnit, I’m supposed to be home, raising my kids and fixing lunches! Not here in this! This is crazy-”

Twilight listened, and waited for Mary to go on, while simultaneously scanning around herself at the flowing scenery. Then, a choked sob from beside her drew her full attention. “Mary!? What’s wrong?” She had thought something might have happened to the other mare. Instead, she merely had her free arm covering her eyes, but seemed alright.

“I’m not supposed to be here!” Mary nearly screamed, though it came out weak. “That’s what’s wrong! I’ve- I’ve had to live the last several months of my life looking over my shoulder in fear that some random neighbor or car would see me! I’m a freak, trapped in some crazy b-movie plot with talking animals! Have you ever seen Rock-A-Doodle? Or Brave? I have! Neither of them lasted four months!”

Twilight listened with an expression that deepened in worry slowly. Finally, she shook the other woman lightly by the arm. She recalled everything she knew about Mary, which wasn’t much, and tried to put it to use. “Mary! I- Look I understand that things have been hard, but now isn’t the time to-”

Mary’s shocked, frantic look, shifted into an angry, accusing one. “Oh, you’re right about that, Twilight!” she interrupted, voice raised. “It’s been plenty hard having your hands turned into hooves-”

For a brief second, something hard jabbed Twilight in the chest, which she could have sworn was a hoof where Mary’s hand should have been.

“-Having your son denounce you as his mother, your husband look at you with eyes like you were already dead. Yeah,” Mary let out a terse breath. “It’s been hard, and now here I am in Wonderland, torn away from my family, probably about to be scooped up on some stupid quest to destroy the ring of power and slay the Jabberwocky-”

“Mary!” Twilight shouted, but wore a pleading look. “This is not helping! You’re doing the opposite of helping! We could be in real trouble right now and need to work together.” She looked around herself quickly, to emphasize that point, and also to make sure nothing dangerous was happening. Why is she acting so… so crazy all of a sudden!? The idea to ask that came, then went, after she decided it wasn’t the best idea. I guess she has had it pretty rough from the sounds of things.

Deciding to move forward with care, and before Mary could take a breath and yell more, Twilight continued. “Look, I am really sorry for your ordeal, and I mean it-”

“Good!” Mary cried out, flinging a hand out towards the colors. “Because all of this is probably your fault. Not that sorry gets me my life back, Princess Twilight!”

Twilight bit the inside of her lip. Okay, she’s upset now… and at a very bad time, too. What would Celestia say in a situation like this? She tried to think back to her mentor’s wisened expressions, her calm demeanor, and the unshakable air of confidence she always held. I’m nothing like Celestia… but maybe I don’t need to be.

Twilight gathered her resolve, and began thinking up a string of logically chosen words, focusing on the need for a cohesive effort to solve their current situation. After taking a calming breath, she was interrupted.

A scratchy, confident sounding voice broke through the relative silence that had started up. “I can clear these clouds in ten seconds flat!” the words rang in both the mare’s and human’s ears.

“Rainbow, not now, please,” Twilight shushed to her left, then continued. “Mary, you…” She trailed off, then went stiff backed and whirled around. “Rainbow Dash!?” she cried.

Suddenly, Twilight was filled to the brim with hope at the idea of seeing even one of her friends again. She whirled around again, still searching for the source of her friend’s voice. Rainbow Dash was not immediately behind her. “Rainbow!?” she called out again.

Twilight began jerking her head in every direction, searching for origin of the voice, but all she could see were the shifting colors in every direction.

“Twilight, look up.” Mary’s voice seemed to have lost the edge of anger it had held, and sounded wary again. “Do you see that?” she asked, pointing a finger at the glowing bubble only a few feet from where they stood.

Twilight snapped her head up to follow the gesture, and found something, almost like a circular television in the air. She stared at the peculiar phenomenon, and after a moment thought she could make out the image of a blue pegasus hovering at its center.

“Rainbow? Rainbow Dash!” Twilight’s face lit up with excitement, and she sprinted towards the bubble-like swirl of colors until she stood directly beneath it. “Hey, down here! Can you see me?” With one arm, she tried to wave and get her friend’s attention. Yes! Yesyesyes! They found me! Somehow! Oh, wow this is convenient! She thought she couldn’t smile bigger if she tried.

“Twilight,” Mary began quietly from nearby. “I don’t think…” She had started to protest, but stopped again.

“Prove it,” Twilight’s voice said, but at the same time didn’t.

Twilight stopped jumping up and down; her arm froze mid-wave. “Huh?” Rainbow was looking in her direction, but at the same time, didn’t seem to notice her. The look the other pony wore on her face was an incredulous one, as if she’d heard something unbelievable.

Twilight furrowed her brow, her attention on the scene unfolding in the bubble.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked breathily. “Rainbow?” she asked again, then became speechless, watching as Rainbow Dash flew up to the sky at incredible speeds, then began a sky clearing routine Twilight was well acquainted with. “Wait a moment,” she murmured, “This is…”

“A dream,” Mary spoke up, answering Twilight’s murmured question.

Twilight looked over, and found the other mare standing just beside her. “A dream?” she repeated, then realized what she had said. “You- We’re dreaming?” Remembering what Mary had said already, she added, “And asleep?”

Mary nodded twice, slowly, while still looking up at the bubble; her face held onto hints of being upset. “Yeah, a dream. I met your other princess in one kind of like this, but she could control it, and told me I could as well just by thinking. Though I figured most of it out on my own because she disappeared… I wanted to know more about things, like the weird ‘Earth Pony’ magic I’ve been saddled with-” She paused for a second, then growled and muttered something under her breath that sounded like, “dammit, Herbert.”

Twilight could hardly believe what she was hearing, both from Mary, and from the bubble, which continued to literally replay one of her oldest memories of Ponyville. She stayed quiet, already feeling a backlog of questions building in her head.

“She really is a good flier,” Mary marveled absently.

The bubble depicting Rainbow Dash’s aerobatics blurred somewhat, moving back and forth across the sky trying to follow the speeding movement of the pegasus. Her voice could barely be heard, too, as she called out her flying moves as she made them. “Loop the loop around, and wham!”

Mary continued speaking over the phenomenon. “I’ve watched your show, and I always wondered how a horse with wings would ever be able to fly at all. She’s more like a humming bird up there the way she moves. More magic, I’m guessing.”

In just ten seconds, the bubble’s images moved on until Rainbow Dash landed on the ground with a smirk. “What did I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat. I’d never leave Ponyville hangin’!”

Twilight felt a little surprised that Mary was talking at all after how angry she had sounded. “I’m not an expert on pegasi, but in truth just about everything in my world involves magic… so technically speaking, yes.” After a moment, she added, “and yeah, Rainbow’s one of the best.” She spoke the latter quietly, but with pride.

“Haha. You should see the look on your face,” Rainbow Dash’s image jeered. “Hah, you’re a laugh, Twilight Sparkle! I can’t wait to hang out some more.”

Twilight’s features became relaxed, merely watching her friend fly backwards lazily through the air. She had seen the scene, ironically, once already, even if it was in the form of moving drawings made by an alien race. The image overhead continued, even after Rainbow zoomed away again and out of sight. Spike replaced Rainbow Dash, in what Twilight was now certain were events she herself had lived.

Twilight managed to tear her gaze away, and looked over at Mary. After studying the woman for a moment, she looked up again at the bubble. “This is exactly how I remember that. It was the first time Rainbow and I met. I’m pretty sure this is my memory, actually. Not a dream.” After a moment’s pause, she added, “So we’re in my head right now?” She looked at Mary again.

“Or mine, maybe-” Mary began to say, but was cut off by a sharp gasp.

Twilight’s thoughts caught up with her in a rush, and words began streaming out of her mouth. “Wait, Mary! You said you spoke with Luna in your dreams-? But this can’t be a dream, can it? We’re wide awake right now! Unless…” She hummed for a split-second, thinking hard out loud. “Perhaps this is some sort of advanced spell of telepathy? But who cast it and why? Did Luna?” She paused long enough to consider the likelihood. The implications of everything were almost too much for her to handle. “No, that doesn’t make sense! Maybe the crystal acted as a conduit between both of our psyches? But how? Why? What do dreams have to do with this? How were you talking to the princess in a dream? The crystal’s reaction couldn’t have simply been caused by our mere proximity with one another. Does it have to do with your being a pony mysteriously? Mary you’re such an unknown. How did what happened to you, happen?”

Twilight waited a full second for a response from Mary, but when none came, she prompted the human again. “Mary? Hellooo.”

“Huh, oh, yes, I’m here,” Mary responded absently. She was standing a short distance away, and looked over long enough to meet Twilight’s gaze. “Hey, there are more bubbles now, Twilight.” With a gesture from her arm, she pointed out towards the surrounding blackness, sparsely filled with what looked to be random deposits of color. “They all look like memories to me… A couple of them are definitely mine, too. I saw one of when my hair first changed color, and another of the day before that.” She frowned back up at the bubbles, then added, “None of them go very far back, though. Not as far back as yours do, anyway. Is that important?”

"Important? Uhm, Maybe." Twilight blinked, already interested, and nearly forgot what she had already asked. “That is very… that’s amazing, and interesting, if odd. Perhaps my hypothesis about a psychic bridge between our two minds was accurate after all!”

Mary scrunched her forehead up at that, despite having been right there to hear everything Twilight had said. “Your hypothe-what?” she asked plainly.

Twilight barely heard Mary, and continued speaking. “Though it being a spell or caused by the crystal makes no sense whatsoever. Even less so now. Items rarely cast magic on their own, or randomly, unless they’re designed to, at least as far as my studies have ever shown. And that crystal was a byproduct of my arrival! I guess Luna could have cast such a spell, but she isn’t on Earth, is she-?”

“Twilight!” Mary shouted, and stomped a foot. Somehow, she was standing right in front of Twilight and waving one hand furiously in front of her face.

Twilight took in a sharp breath and stepped backward on instinct, surprised. “Ah! What? What’s wrong?”

Mary deadpanned a moment, then rolled her eyes. “You were in your own little world, present situation notwithstanding." She looked around, then went on. "Anyway, how about we figure out how to get out of here, first? Then we can talk about your shiny rocks and the… the other stuff. Like making me human again.”

Twilight blinked, thinking over the suggestion, then nodded. “Right, right! Priorities are important in a situation like this… and…” She looked at the ground, realizing immediately what she wanted to say already and not let linger. “That means I probably owe you an apology then, Mary, for dragging you into this place. I’m really sorry.”

Mary had begun to turn again, as if to start walking, but stopped; her expression was surprised. “Apology?” she asked, wrinkling her brow. “What- Oh, Twilight… look, about that, I’m the one that owes you the apology. I- I don’t know what came over me back there and…” She began to trail off, a renewed sadness on her expression, then hiccuped slightly.

Twilight saw Mary wipe her hand across her face again, as earlier, and was surprised to see the grown mare almost crying again. The sight gave her a brief reminder of Fluttershy, though she dispelled it quickly.

After a sniffle, Mary continued. “I used to think I was unshakable years ago.” She made a short laugh. “If I had turned into a pony then, I could have just blamed that for how I feel right now, or how I’ve been acting. It’s funny how my life was just falling to pieces even before that. So, I guess even if this was your doing, you aren’t to blame for anything worthwhile.”

Mary turned towards Twilight, her back straightened. “You’re not at fault in the least, Twilight. We’re both in a serious situation from the sounds of it, and me taking my… half of it out on you isn’t helping at all. I’m an idiot.” She took a quick breath, having gone without stopping for one yet. “I’ve been an idiot a lot lately,” she finished, and began a staring contest with her feet.

Something thumped against Mary. “Twilight?” she exclaimed in sudden surprised.

Twilight had heard enough sadness in Mary’s voice to get a feeling for what she had been through, or a small idea of it at least; without waiting, she had rushed up, and hugged the other mare as she would have a friend.

“Twilight,” Mary started, coughing. “It’s alright, I- you don’t need to hug me…”

Twilight swallowed back her own emotions, her head draped over Mary’s shoulder. “Oh. I’m sorry you… you just sounded so sad.”

Mary was silent a moment before she answered. “Well… I’m fine now, Twilight. You didn’t need to… but thanks.”

Twilight sighed. She desperately wanted to work out Mary’s situation in her head. “I have studied humans a lot, and I haven’t got everything about your culture down yet… but I can only imagine how frightening it must have been trapped in a strange body here. Er, no offense to you or your race, but-”

Mary coughed again, more loudly this time. “A-Actually, Twilight,” she said, laughing a little, perhaps nervously judging by the sound of it. “I meant to say that, you’re sort of a stranger, even if I did watch you in a show, and… you can let go now.”

Twilight backpedaled away as soon as her mind clicked, and gave Mary a sheepish look. “Ah heh heh, sorry…”

“It’s okay.” Mary smiled back at her. “Like I said, I’m the one that owed you the apology, Twilight, but thanks.”

Twilight returned the softened expression, then nodded simply. “Apology accepted.” After a deep breath, content that things had calmed down some, she decided to not waste time getting the deduction of things back on track. After all, she considered, We still have no idea where we are. “So, first thing’s first, Mary. Since you seem to know something about… all of this, how do we get out of here?”

Mary’s eyes widened after a second, and she began waving her hands back and forth defensively. “Twilight, no no no, I ran into Luna in my dreams. At least, that’s what she told me, and all I know is what she said. I could have been having a schizophrenic episode for all I know...” She looked around at the bubbles hanging in the sky. “But I kinda doubt that, I guess. This is completely different, and to be honest I don’t know that much or think I understood anything anyway...”

After a sigh, and brushing back some of her hair with one hand, Mary folded her arms and looked back up at the darkened sky, eyes focused on a pony she thought she recognized as ‘Scarcity’. It was still playing through Twilight’s memories, it seemed.

“Huh,” Mary tilted her head in a thoughtful looking way. “Hey, I think it changed, Twilight. It’s playing a different one, now. This one has your orange friend in it. Uhm, the southern one obsessed with clothing that always wears the hat.”

Twilight blinked in confusion. “Applejack?” she asked aloud, then looked up. “Oh, yeah, that’s Applejack, but Rarity is the one obsessed with clothing.” Her correction was soundly interspersed with giggles though. “I can’t believe you got those two mixed up.” She laughed some more, smiling, while trying to recognize the memory. “Wow, they would either laugh or get really indignant about you mixing them up.”

Mary harrumphed where she stood nearby. “I guess I didn’t pay that much attention while Anna watched the episodes…” she admitted.

Twilight continued to smirk, then oooed in recognition over the memory. She instantly spotted and recognized certain piles of notes on her old work desk from the Golden Oaks library. “I remember this! This was my talent potion.” The fact that it was her last, few moments in Equestria, briefly pinged through her thoughts, which she did her best to hide.

“Talent potion?” Mary asked, but was spoken over by a louder voice from above her.

Overhead, the other voice came from the bubble, slightly distorted, while the view that could be seen was of various, floating vials of different liquids hovering over a desk. The cone of vision quickly panned over, and a pony, unmistakably Equestrian, came into full view. Behind the mare were a few windows and the cozy looking interior of a curious looking building. A couple bookcases, seemingly built into the walls could be seen, as well as an impressive mess of random items all over the floors.

Twilight laughed sheepishly, spotting the state of her home. I hope Mary doesn’t notice that… I’m not not even anywhere near my home, and it’s embarrassing me.

The orange mare in the bubble, Applejack, muttered something, and in a southern accent. “I’m not sure that I am followin’ you, Twi’.” She wore a skeptical look, perhaps tinged with worry, and was scratching a hoof through her mane while tipping her hat back slightly.

Twilight’s cheerful, slightly manic sounding voice piped up next. “Applejack, you look tired. I take it that you’re still harvesting the apples in your orchard around the clock?” She was obviously talking towards something with her questions.

Applejack shifted, uncomfortably by the looks of it, on her hooves. “Well… yeah, I've been workin’ all mornin’.” She paused for a second, her eyes looking around slightly, then asked, “Is it really that obvious?”

The other Twilight responded quickly, and excitedly. “No, not at all…” She trailed off, then spoke again. “Well, maybe just a little bit,” she admitted. “But that’s not the point. I meant, are you feeling fatigued? Exhausted? Jaded?”

“Hey, Twilight,” Mary spoke out of the blue.

Twilight heard Mary speak up, and turned to look her way. “Yes?” She gave the other mare a smile, her gaze flicked somewhat between making eye contact and watching the memory bubble where Applejack still spoke.

“I don’t know about that there last one, or what it means for that matter, but the first two for sure,” Applejack went on. “Mah legs feel shakier than Fluttershy around a crowd full of stallions.”

Mary continued, also having waited a moment for Applejack, though the pony wasn’t technically present. “It feels a little odd just looking in on your memories like this… we can try and find a different spot if this is too personal or something. I don’t want to intrude on your privacy, is all.” She smiled a little sheepishly, glancing up again.

Twilight blinked. “Oh, no it’s fine, Mary. I don’t mind at all. Uhm, let’s just watch this one, and then we can stop..." Twilight had an additional thought on the matter, but kept it to herself, smirking slightly. I mean, at least watching myself and friends like this is accurate.

Mary stared for a second, then shrugged. “Okay, but we should speak about what we’re going to do soon.”

Twilight nodded absently, already watching her friend again. She hadn’t said so, but seeing Applejack, the real Applejack, even just in a memory, was very comforting.

Overhead, the memory continued. “Well then, allow me to help you…” There was a ding from nearby, then the cone of vision turned to face the desk again, where it began to stir something, which looked to be held in a familiar, purple magical aura.

Applejack continued speaking from out of sight. “Twi’, please I don’t-” but was quickly cut off by an interjection from Twilight’s voice.

“Applejack, just hear what I have to say, please?” Twilight’s voice began to fade out slowly, until the memory dissipated, and the bubble became a darkened orb.

Twilight let out a disappointed sound quickly. “Aw, it didn’t even get to the good part! Or… actually,” she trailed off, recalling just how that experiment had ended up. “I guess it wasn’t that great of a part.” Drat! Actually, it might have helped to have seen how things went after I teleported... She looked over at Mary then. Or perhaps this spares Mary of seeing what happened to me.

Beside her, Mary made a thoughtful sound, then spoke. “Well, seeing your memories is interesting, Twilight, but it doesn’t really get us out of here…” She was still looking up at the memory bubble, but faced Twilight when she finished speaking.

Twilight began to nod. “You’re right. We should exchange more information to figure things out some… Let’s start with all of this.” To emphasize what she meant, she spread her arms out in a general direction across the area. “Both you, and Luna, could control things in here… I guess we’ll call it a normal dream? But in this one you can’t-”

Mary interrupted, nodding through the entirety of what Twilight was saying. “-can’t will myself awake or get us out of here,” she finished. “That’s right. I could change what I looked like before, too, and make things up if they weren’t too hard to do. In here though, it feels weird.”

Twilight’s eyes widened a little in fascination. “That sounds amazing! It- I have never encountered a book about this before… I wonder why that is.” She held a hand to her chin, humming. “I will have to speak to Luna about it I-” A stray thought occurred to her, and a few dots connected in her head. She can talk to Luna, that’s right… Uggh, I’ll need to ask about that soon. This whole situation has been so crazy, it’s impeding all sense of linear thought progression.

Quickly, Twilight thumped a hand into her palm, then addressed the other mare again. “Mary, you said you spoke to Luna, and before that, when we were talking about meeting each other over the phone, you said that you were looking for me. Or, well, that the pony was, but you’re the other pony so… Also, it’s occurred to me that this entire situation is crazy, by the way.”

Mary smirked slowly, then shrugged. “I’m not sure if I should be relieved or worried that you think that, too.”

Twilight couldn’t help a quick smile. “Maybe both…” she suggested. Her expression became serious again, readying herself to ask her question. “In any case, back to my point, you were looking for me. Does that mean Luna told you I was missing?”

Mary nodded, wearing a thoughtful look. “Yeah, that's right, actually. Uhm, which brings me to that other-”

Twilight’s mild cheer cut off the other mare. “Yes! Of course, I knew they could find me. The princesses are incredible.”

Mary gave Twilight a weak smile, but raised her voice to get another word in. “Yeah, Twilight, I don’t want to get your hopes up… The last time I was able to speak to Luna was over… two months ago?” Her eyes scanned the floor a moment before she nodded. “It was back during Halloween, if I remember correctly. I’ve been trying to call her again ever since, almost every night, but it hasn’t worked.”

Twilight brought her cheering to a halt, then asked, “It hasn’t?” Her confusion deepened for a moment. “Why not?” At the same time, she was trying to work out in her head an explanation for how something linked to Luna, that she hadn’t heard of before, could be done by Mary. It must have to do with her being a pony, now, she decided quickly.

Mary wore a flat look as she responded to Twilight. “I’m not sure. I don’t think we can do anything about it here, though…”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak more on the subject, then closed it again and looked around herself. The dark still stretched on, and looked all the more massive, due to the occasional, flickering lights of ‘memories’ that stretched outward.

“Yeah…” Twilight murmured, watching a nearby bubble that seemed to contain one of her memories. Absently, she tried willing it to stop, or change, just on a hunch, as Mary had claimed she could in the past. After a few seconds of concentration, nothing changed.

Grunting in frustration, she turned to face Mary. “We aren’t trapped here, are we?”

Mary frowned, still looking at the ground, wearing a darkened look. “I was going to ask you that…” She took a deep breath before speaking again. “I… I might be able to get us out of here, I guess. Maybe I just need to concentrate on it. I haven’t tried really hard yet.” After looking around again, she added, “This started because I touched your hand, didn’t it?”

Twilight was reminded of what she’d thought of earlier. “Oh, I, uh… I think it did, actually.”

Mary was quiet for a moment, she looked as though she wanted to say something. Instead, though, she looked up, her eyes partially lidded.

Twilight almost spoke again, but began frowning, deep in thought, and sought out the bubble overhead as well; she did so more out of something to do while not talking, rather than for any productive purpose. Okay, I just need to organize all this information… then I can ask about how she turned into… Her thoughts trailed off momentarily, her eyes settling on the memory bubble overhead.

Rather than Fluttershy, Rarity or even Rainbow Dash, there was now a familiar, large man with red hair, sitting squarely at the center of the bubble’s view. The sound of laughing from two different people made its way to Twilight’s ears. She quickly forgot the difficult decision she had been considering.

Oh, it changed, Twilight tilted her head, studying the new memory. And that’s not mine… Right, Mary said she saw memories of her own, too.

“Mary, this is your memory?” Twilight looked over and garnered the other mare’s attention, then looked up again. “Interesting, we could learn a lot about each other just watching these, huh?” She tilted her head again, wondering what sort of scene it was. The background was darkened, making it hard to see much.

Mary followed Twilight’s gaze and looked up. Her eyes widened at what she saw. “Stan?” she asked dumbfoundedly. “Huh, yeah I guess it is a memory of… mine… Uhm, Twilight...” Her voice had a wary tone to it.

“What’s wrong, Mary?” Twilight asked back, while still trying to puzzle out what exactly Stan and Mary were laughing about.

“Uhm, Twilight, not to alarm you, but is there a way to turn this off?” Mary began circling around the looming bubble, a look of dread on her face, even as the scene continued to play out. “We need to turn this off right now!”

Twilight looked over in surprise and spotted the sudden concern on Mary’s face. “Hm, there might be a way, since we’ve established we’re likely in a kind of mental simulation...” She trailed off as the large man leaned in and cut out most of the view with his head. “Didn’t you say you control things here? Oh! We should probably test-”

“Mmmm…” interrupted a low, happy sounding voice. The groan was Mary’s voice, and could be heard from the image over head, even with no real visuals.

“Mary, what was that sound?” Twilight slumped as the realization of what she was watching hit her. “Ah! How do we turn it off!? I don’t want to see this!”

“Why do you think I wanted to turn it off!?” Mary was vainly waving her arms up at the images, jumping up and down trying to reach them, though that seemed to have little effect.

The scene was escalating quickly as the man’s head pulled away. The view was then jerked toward the ceiling as the man, by all appearances, seemed to have thrown Mary onto the bed.

“Please, Mary, make it stop!” Twilight hunched forward onto the ground and covered her eyes with her hands.

“How!?” Mary cried back in desperation.

Twilight tried to think non-human thoughts, about bunnies and cute kittens. In hindsight, I should have first thought about respecting Mary’s privacy, but this is ridiculous! When her plan to think of unrelated somethings failed, Twilight leaped up and grabbed Mary’s hand, falling back on a tried and true method of solution.

“Mary, I think we should run away from it. No offense to you and your husband, but-” Before Twilight could finish, Mary was waving a hand and staring intently upward.

“Wait wait wait,” Mary replied hastily, her attention focused entirely upward. “There, it’s gone. I just- I just had to think really hard on it.” She exhaled a huge breath, her hands leaning on her knees.

Overhead, the bubble was now a cloudy grey, no longer containing any discernible colors or shapes at all.

Twilight shuddered and leaned on Mary’s shoulder with one arm. “Oh,” she breathed. “Good, very good. I’m… glad. Thank Celestia...”

Mary looked over, frowning slightly. “Sorry about that, Twilight. That whole thing was… strange.” She paused, face scrunched up into a strained look.

Twilight looked up and quirked an eyebrow. “You think so, too? Huh, maybe the personal relations humans share with one another isn’t universally thought of as normal and-”

Mary hissed in protest and waved a hand at Twilight. “I don’t mean the memory, uggh, I mean, I’ve been trying on and off to do things since I woke up here with you leaning over me.” She face palmed. “That came out wrong.”

“It did?” Twilight questioned, tilting her head slightly. She wondered absently what Mary was talking about, but more importantly she was intrigued by the thought of Mary trying to control the ‘dreamscape’.

Mary looked back, then rolled her eyes. “Never mind… Let’s finish solving Davinci’s code.”

“Hm, that book was awfully convoluted…” Twilight mumbled. She had her arms folded over her front, still busily trying to suppress the earlier images and any subsequent thoughts she might be having about them. “So, to sum things up, you were taught briefly how to change your dreams, but haven’t been able to do so easily in this instance?”

Mary opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off again by Twilight, already doing that for her own question.

“Perhaps because we’re not in a dream, so to speak. We have been seeing memories. I guess this supports the bridge between us theory, so to speak…” Twilight donned an intense look of concentration, blocks falling into place in her head.

“Twilight,” Mary murmured, almost a whisper.

Twilight continued her line of thought. It all makes perfect sense. Mary’s a by-product of my experiment, somehow. Her eyes flickered towards Mary, then looked away again. I have to tell her about that… Oh, she won’t like that I’m sure, about as little as I imagine she’ll like hearing that I can’t turn her back into a human. The second consideration returned, reminding her quickly about just how much she had yet to cover with Mary; she seemed to be looking up at a bubble again. This is going to be tough.

Twilight took a deep breath. I need to get this out of the way, and right now. She built up her resolve as best she could, and took a few steps until she was standing directly before the human she had inadvertently… turned into a pony of Equestria.

“Mary, I have a quick question for you,” Twilight began. “Could you answer it for me quick before I go on? Because I have something really important to say.”

Mary continued to stare upwards, her jaw hanging open slightly. “Yeah?” she said absently.

Twilight furrowed her brow slightly at the woman’s odd behavior, but went on. “What was the date you turned into a pony, because I became a human… er, that is, I landed on Earth about the start of October… If you turned into a pony about then, I think I am directly related to the incident...” She bit her lip and flinched, ready for another angry outburst.

Mary was quiet when she spoke, staring upward, and blinking quickly. “Oh, yeah, I did. I guess you’re right,” she answered simply.

Twilight opened her eyes and looked at Mary, then tilted her head in wonder after a second. Huh, she’s taking this really well. Not wanting to sit on the information and wait, she continued, wanting to get it over with, so to speak. “Alsooo, I’m stuck as a human, just like you’re stuck as a pony. So, I can’t actually turn you back yet, because I don’t have access to my magic at all and I lost my horn… I have a theory that because I’m human, my body contains no magic, and as my hair grows out, it's begun changing to a human shade, and right after I landed, which also supports my theory. Mary, I just want to say, before you get upset, that-”

“Twilight,” Mary broke in. “Shut up and look up, please. I really want to yell at you right now, but there’s… a thing. And it’s on fire.”

Twilight recoiled somewhat, taken aback by how direct Mary had been, and was about to ask what she’d meant. She was interrupted though, by a deep rumbling, as well as a distant, rushing sound, like wind.

A voice called out, surprisingly audible over the other sounds, and said, "Twilight... Sparkle." It was loud, almost a rumble itself, and difficult to discern the gender.

Twilight held her breath for a fraction of a second, watching as Mary’s face and surrounding area lit up in an orange glow. The darkness was no longer quite so dark, but was now a pool of light that extended out in a circle all around.

Twilight whipped her head to face upward, and found the memory bubble hanging just over head, but it was different from the cloudy grey Mary had shifted it to earlier. Now what? Another memory of mine? She didn’t have much time to think, as the memory continued to become clearer, and more transpired within.

“It’s such a pleasure to meet you,” the voice continued, all while surrounded by the rushing sound, which actually was, Twilight noticed, fire. The entire scene that could be made out overhead was unreal. An ocean of lava and distant mountains stretched out to the distance. The sound of magma and the crash of rocks filled the air in a muted way, leaking out of the bubble.

“Who’s there!?” Twilight’s voice cried out from overhead, and only slightly distorted by the strange phenomenon it came from. The cone of vision in the bubble shifted left and right, looking around themselves.

The voice from before answered, slow and measured, as if making a point. “Who. That’s a good question… Who would do this to you. I might tell you, if I could.”

The hurried, panicked breathing from the Twilight in the bubble increased. Her vision panned around again, then looked down, and caught sight of herself. She seemed to be held aloft in the air above blackened rocks, suspended by nothing.

“Tell me who you are and release me-! I- This isn’t-” Twilight’s past voice trailed off quickly, replaced by rapid breathing, and was interrupted by a sound of wonderment from Mary, standing just beside the actual Twilight.

“Wow, you really have seen some amazing… places, Twilight.” Mary gulped, and looked over at Twilight, her eyes wide and not entirely hiding the apprehension and nervousness she felt from seeing such things. “W-Who is talking to you in this? Uhm, if you don’t mind my asking…”

Twilight looked over to meet Mary’s gaze, her hands twitching uncontrollably. “I don’t know! I don’t even remember any of this.” She made to look back up, but hesitated. “Maybe these aren’t just memories like we thought?”

Before Mary could answer, the rumbling voice spoke over them again.

“You are so afraid. You have only been trapped for a few, measly seconds, yet you are so afraid.” The voice held an air of calm, and disinterest, as though thinking, but the effect was ruined by its ferocity. “But I guess the decor I chose is what has you so afraid, or perhaps it is because I captured you? Or both? It must be both… I don’t understand these things myself, no more than I think I understand much of anything other than… anger?”

The voice of Twilight from the image rose in protest again. “Listen, you! I was in the middle of a crucial experiment! I don’t care who you are anymore, but you will release me right this instant. I am the personal student of-” A zipping sound cut off Twilight’s voice.

The voice continued after what might have been a gentle roar, or possibly a sigh. “Much better. I apologize, but I really just want to talk at you, not so much talk with you. I am more used to talking at things. Rocks, ice, lava… mostly rocks.” The voice grumbled a sigh again. “I am wandering in thought. I am sorry for that. Time is of the essence, and I am very used to having all the time in the world. This is such a strange feeling I- I rather like it. Much like talking to you, Twilight Sparkle.” The voice began laughing the moment it stopped speaking, but only for a split second.

The rumbling voice continued, its laughter already finished and replaced by the disinterested tone again. “That is enough of that, I think that-”

A second voice interrupted the first. “Time. It is running shorter than planned. The spell weakens. We suggest you hurry so we can finish.” This voice was completely different, sounding both far and near at the same time, like the echo of an echo, or a breeze blowing over several twisted instruments.

Below the memory bubble, Twilight scrunched her face up in utter confusion, still watching the scene, though there wasn’t much to see. The Twilight overhead, because Twilight had to assume it was her given she knew her own voice, continued to look all around, visibly straining to try and see the speakers. All the while, muffled sounds, as if she were unable to speak any longer made their way downward.

The rumbling voice continued, answering the newcomer. “Yes, yes, thank you.” It drawled slowly. “We will hurry. I just… want to enjoy talking to her as long as I can.”

The second voice returned in a rush, surprisingly, almost shouting. “There will be more to talk to!” After a second long pause, it whispered, “Speed, quick. I must change what the unicorn sees. This wastes my strength.”

The bubble’s image’s shifted, or rather, it began to melt. While the bubble maintained itself, the fire and mountains that could be seen faded away, and was replaced by a familiar view of a few, random pockets of color and darkness.

Twilight’s eyes could go no wider, but they tried, and she tore her gaze away from the bubble long enough to look all around herself. What in Celestia’s name am I watching? Barely breathing from shock alone, she looked back up, not knowing what else to do. The hope for answers coming hung in her head like one of Jo’s sticky notes.

The rumbling voice spoke up, sounding genuinely upset. For just a split second, it held a decidedly feminine air. “Truly, you cannot maintain it? Very well… I apologize for making the request in the first place. I wanted to share my whole story with the first thing I spoke to after our escape. Wanted to show it what I have… lived through. Wanted to so badly…”

The echoing voice whispered again, replying, “Do what you want. You still can. Hurry.”

A hand patted Twilight’s shoulder, and she spotted Mary in the corner of her eye.

“Twilight, what is going on up-” Mary was cut off by a sharp shushing noise from Twilight, which she didn’t intend to be harsh, but at the same time needed to hear what was being said.

“Acceptable. Alright. Hurry…” The rumbling voice repeated. “Very well then. Twilight, you may speak once more. I want you to see me now.” A great, scaled claw reached out of the darkness in the bubble, as if from a thick mist, and placed itself on the ground. “And I want you to know the things that will befall your world.” A second claw followed after the first, settling onto the ground and spreading out some. “I don’t want this because you have wronged me.” The two claws worked together, moving forward, towards the eyes of whomever Twilight and Mary were looking through. “I want this because you all wronged me.”

A horned, reptilian face emerged out of the darkness. Soon following was a long, spined neck, and then a massive body, two great wings draping themselves down its sides. The creature’s maw was a nest of thick fangs, while spines and spikes covered and accentuated every inch of its face and body. However, despite every aspect working towards making the beast look fearsome, it all held a quality of age; the horns and teeth were cracked, the yellow colored scales and webbed wings were tattered and ragged.

Unmistakably, Twilight immediately recognized the creature for what it was: a dragon. Furthermore, despite the possibility of scale being skewed by the view of the bubble, it was far larger than any she had ever seen or read about before. Given the size some dragons had been recorded to reach... that was saying something.

Overhead, the dragon inhaled deeply, and leaned down some, almost seeming to be peering out at them.

“And they will all… pay,” it finished simply. There was silence, for a moment, before the dragon murmured, “You may speak.”

Twilight thought she heard Mary gasp, or shriek, or perhaps she shrieked and Mary gasped; Twilight wasn’t sure. Overhead though, she could hear her own voice again, coughing and speaking back to the other, dreadful ones. “I don’t know who you are. Either of you… B-but it doesn’t matter if you… it doesn’t matter what you do to me, the princesses and the Elements of Harmony will stop you!”

There was a long silence as the other Twilight’s opposing remark faded slowly.

The dragon leaned down somewhat, one eye widening to seemingly scrutinze the bubble up close.

On reflex, Twilight shrunk down where she stood, and was vaguely aware that Mary was right beside her, and shaking.

“Twilight,” Mary whispered, but was cut off.

Twilight shushed Mary, her eyes glued upward.

"You seemed so smart,” the dragon rumbled. “But you have a simple mind, I see. Only focused on pointless somethings. Smarter would it have been to try and get information, helpless under our power as you are.”

The sound of Twilight’s hurried breathing and fear sounds increased. “You’ll never get away with-!” Her voice cut off, the muffled sounds of speechlessness returning. The cone of vision, Twilight’s sight, began looking to and fro around the dragon.

“That’s enough. If you did not hear, we haven’t much time. Now then, there is much I wish to share with you, regardless. If you were regretting your choice of words, do not worry, it did not matter what you were going to say, only that you listen. I only intend to share what I can, once.” The dragon’s expression, if one could call it that, softened, and its eyes closed. “So… this is awkward. I’ve waited thousands of years to talk to another living creature, and here I am, forgetting what I wanted to share.”

The dragon groaned loudly and sat. One of its large, clawed talons came up to rest on its head. “Existence is so woeful… My apologies, little pony, I’m scattered, but my anger keeps me driven. Perhaps I do not sound angry. This is because I have been such for so long that it doesn’t show any longer.” The rumbling deepened, somehow. “And I am, always angry.”

After a short, suspenseful pause, made more so by the dragon’s glowing eyes, it plainly said, “You may ask me something now.” The dragon made a gesture, a flick of one claw, and then a gasping sound came from Twilight’s voice.

"W-why are you telling me this?" the other Twilight asked shakily.

"Why indeed," The dragon breathed out, smoke curling from the mouth and nostrils; there was a hint of a chuckle, as well. "Use that impressive brain of yours, Twilight Sparkle. I told you I've been locked away for a long, long time, didn't I? I told you that, and you still wonder why I would want to simply talk? I'm not made of stone, you know." The voice chuckled again, deeper this time.

The mirror Twilight asked the question at the same moment Twilight thought of it, still watching.

“Discord?” The two Twilights asked in tandem.

“Trapped in stone after his escape… that was very interesting.” The dragon growled, or perhaps inhaled deeply. A moment later, it answered, “No, not Discord. I’ll ask you once, to not mention the fool’s name before me. And I will only let you live after doing so because I did allude to him first.” More chuckling followed, accompanied by a plume of smoke from the dragon's snout. “What do you suppose all this means, Twilight? What was that place that I tried to show you? To let you experience for yourself?”

Once again, at the same time as her other self, Twilight came to the quick arrival of an answer and thought, Tartarus. At the same moment overhead, Twilight’s voice said, “Tartarus.”

“Yesss,” The dragon hissed, in a quiet way; a grin climbed up the sides of its face, amused. “Very good, pony. I can see why the current queen chose you as her pupil.” A laughter, booming and loud briefly shook the bubble’s vision, before cutting off quickly.

The dragon exhaled, its calm returned in a flash; the exchange between emotions gave it an air of instability. “Apologies. We’re having a polite conversation here. If I remember correctly, it is rude of me to laugh at your expense.”

Twilight laid a hand over her mouth. The scene playing out above her was incredible, unbelievable, and more so because she couldn’t remember it ever happening, no matter how hard she tried. But both her voice, and the purple mane she could see at the corners of the bubble’s vision, were almost definitive clues that it was her memory. But how? She didn’t have time to pursue the question.

Overhead, Twilight’s voice shouted again, “I don’t know how you escaped Tartarus, but if you were there, it’s where you belonged!” Her tone shifted from an overtly defiant tone, to one that clearly emphasized determination, and confidence. “My friends will stop you,” she finished.

“Did I belong there?” the dragon asked in a drawl. “Honestly, I don’t remember. I really, really don’t… I don’t feel like I did. Maybe I did.” It was difficult to discern what emotions its voice held.

The dragon’s voice chuckled in a low rumble before speaking again. "And please, spare me your baseless optimism over your friends." The voice turned into a growl before continuing. "Your friends will be doing no, such, thing." The smoke curled out from the pitch black and enveloped other Twilight again, sending her back into a fit of coughing. "Two of them are neither alive nor dead, another is torn between worlds and will stay lost forever and soon, the last two will be sent so far away they will never be able to return. You should all count yourselves lucky. Being the Elements of Harmony, it is safer to banish you, rather than kill you. You will be the sole survivors of your world."

Twilight’s voice cried out overhead again. “You don’t need to do this! If you’re from so long ago, maybe things are different! Think about it-”

“Irrelevant.” As the dragon spoke back, its jaws snapped like a cracking whip, accentuated by a snarl. Then it continued. “It is funny which memories one holds onto after so long, Twilight Sparkle.” Two great claws shifted across the ground, scraping as if on stone, until one of them turned up in a showy gesture. “Take me, for example.” The dragon laughed once. “I cannot even remember my name. But… I remember all of my hate, and what I want. The ones I want to destroy, first...”

Twilight’s voice returned, putting a pause in the constant, heavy panting from her. “And-” She swallowed audibly before continuing. “That is the princesses?” Her voice was shaky, and full of evidence that she was fighting to not be afraid.

In response, surprising the actual Twilight, and she imagined her past self as well, the dragon answered, “No. Not, the princesses. Your two rulers, the false sun and moon, were not even born yet in my time. I am sure a few have come and gone since my time...”

Twilight’s voice answered in return. “They aren’t false! They’ve been- Well, Celestia has ruled for over a thousand years! She’s always controlled the sun. Ever since-” Her words cut off with a strangled sound.

For the first time, the dragon sounded unmistakably female, and screamed back, “I AM THE SUN!” The words became a roar, loud enough that even if the ground didn’t move, it still felt like it.

The dragon continued, its eyes now alight with fire. “I extinguished the everlasting night. I brought order to a dissonant world,” it continued to shout. “But what was I repaid with? Hm?” A claw dragged itself across the ground, sparking and eliciting a shrieking squeal. “Disloyalty. Rebellion. My rule was overthrown by whelps that wanted it for themselves, and by the so-called ‘Elements of Harmony’. I was sent to Tartarus to join the very loathful, wicked creatures I spent so long putting in their place.”

The dragon reclined back, breathing hard, and spewing forth smoke. It continued to pause for a moment, then added, “No offense intended, of course,” It dryly muttered the apology off to the side.

The echoey voice from earlier briefly returned, superseding the rumbling of the dragon’s. “None taken,” it replied. The wind-like words continued on hurriedly, not pausing. “I didn’t want to interrupt you, as this was our deal, but I cannot hold on much longer. You must finish your end of the spell. Hurry. Only minutes remain.”

“Truly?” the dragon replied, almost sounding sad. “That is… very unfortunate.” She continued slowly. “Well, Twilight, it seems our time together is at an end, but I will confess, I think I enjoyed every second of it. I will think fondly back on this moment for a long time.” A short bout of laughter preceded its next words. “Yes… The memory will be second only to killing my descendants and destroying the world.”

Twilight’s muffled attempts at shouting returned, but were drowned out quickly by more of the dragon’s laughter, which quickly became a smokey sort of wheezing.

“Excuse me…” The dragon apologized, coughing. “Ahem, you may speak, if you wish.” It gestured its claw again, and Twilight’s voice gasped immediately.

On the ground, beside Mary, Twilight furrowed her brow worriedly, trying to keep up with the influx of information. She decided that, somehow, things made less sense than they did before.

Twilight spoke overhead. “You’ve made a big mistake if you think you can beat us.” Despite Twilight’s words, her tone didn’t share their strength; she sounded unsure.

Twilight felt surprised at listening to herself; she had thought she would have said something different under the circumstances in that instant. Her other self continued, still surprising her.

“Telling me all of this just means that I’ll be able to stop you. It doesn’t matter where you send me, or the girls. I now know that you can’t harm us. So we’ll stop you from hurting others. We’ll come back.” Twilight’s other voice laughed, another surprise, though it sounded forced.

A long silence settled in.

The dragon tilted its head slightly, studiously. “Oh, apologies,” It grumbled again, and laid down, its head coming right up to the bubble’s surface. Visible waves of heat could be seen around its teeth and snout. “I am getting on in years. Yes… Do not trouble yourself with returning, Twilight. I’m making sure that you will not be capable of doing any such thing, though I doubt you would be able to manage it in any case...”

The dragon raised a claw; at the tip of one, blackened talon, an orange glow began to grow, and spread across its scales. “I merely wished to tell you my story, not give you a fighting chance. You will not remember anything of our encounter. You will not possess any means of fighting back. You will be long gone, and I will soon be laughing over the graves of everything you hold dear.”

The bubble exploded in a flash of white, and red, then popped.

Little sparkles of light and motes of glitter shimmered towards the ground, where they settled on the darkened floor.

Twilight stared at them in disbelief, and reached out with one hand to touch them. They disappeared before she could, fading into the pitch black surroundings.

After a moment, she became aware that Mary was hugging her, and that she herself was on her knees.

“Twilight- I…” Mary began to say, but trailed off, and didn’t add more.

Twilight sucked in a shuddering breath, and laid a hand on one of Mary’s arms. She stayed like that for a time, until she managed to work a few words out.

“I need to get home, Mary,” Twilight murmured.

In a flash of movement, Twilight turned to face to other mare, holding her hands in her own.

“Mary,” Twilight started, nearly choking on her own voice. “Tell me everything, and if you can, try to get us out of here. But first, tell me everything you know. About Luna, about anything since you became a pony. I need to know everything. After, I can tell you what I know… and… and…”

Twilight felt a tear struggling to come into existence, but she fought it back ferociously, and clamped her throat shut. “I can’t turn you back into a human, Mary. I don’t have any magic.”

Mary’s consoling look shifted for a moment, to perhaps a surprised one, then settled again into a very calm expression. “I know, I heard you before,” she breathed in answer. Her voice had quavered slightly, but she pressed on. “I sort of knew since our meeting on the porch. I wasn’t too certain that you could after that, I guess. I mean, I assumed you could. You just seemed like a genius, and that stupid show’s literal embodiment of endless solutions…” She choked a laugh out quickly. “Well, I can’t really be upset about that now. It… wasn’t your fault.”

Mary smiled, a ridiculous, large thing, then leaned forward and hugged Twilight a second time. “I… This whole thing is crazy, Twilight, but… I don’t know what to say… I really don’t… if there’s anything I can do for you, please ask. I mean…”

Twilight blinked, a little emotionlessly, but patted Mary’s back. For a moment, she considered that she might be in shock; she didn’t think that what she had seen had struck home just yet, assuming it had been real. She had to work under the assumption it was, she decided. “Thanks, Mary… and thank you for thinking so much of me... but that show, by the way, greatly exaggerates things.” She tried to laugh, but couldn’t. Instead, a pensive breath escaped. “I think our problems are one and the same, now.”

Mary smiled, but her eyes wandered, sliding down to face the ground to Twilight’s side. “So, and I know this may not be the best time to ask… but can I ever be fixed if you get your magic back?”

“Oh,” Twilight said in surprise. Quickly, she tried to put that fear to rest, at least. In a forced, cheerful voice she went on. “Of course, that shouldn’t be hard at all, assuming I had magic.” She shifted her consoling expression to a slightly confident one instead. After taking a moment to lay a hand on Mary’s arm, she added, “I will get you changed back, Mary. Just like I’m going to find a way home.”

Twilight leaned back, and gave the human mare the best smile she could manage under the circumstances. “Let’s figure this out, and start with day one… and then try to get out of here, alright?”

Mary sniffed in return; she was teary, if not crying, but nodded. “Okay,” she replied, then, shakily began. “Well, to start… I didn’t run into Luna until much later. And, I don’t really know what turned me into a pony, either. There was no really noticeable flash of light or anything like… earlier.” She sighed and briefly looked at her hands. “I just, sort of woke up with hooves, a tail and a mane…”

Twilight listened to Mary—the two of them sitting across from one another—and soaked up the information as well as she ever did anything. Still, her mind and thoughts were distracted, and wandering. She would nod every so often, then, later began to share things back with Mary and answer questions herself.

All the while, though, the voices that she had heard hung in her thoughts, as well as the dragon’s face.

Chapter 29 : Clarity

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Jo began to rub her eyes furiously in an attempt to recover from a bright purple flash that had gone off without any warning at all.

“Twilight!?” she cried out, but only after several seconds of being panicked and leaning against what felt like one of the porch’s railings. She tried to look around, but blurriness from tears in her eyes got in the way. She fought to blink them away.

“Everyone, stay calm! Mar? Are you okay?” Another voice called.

Jo quelled her own fear, a little reassured by the evenness in the man’s voice. “Twilight? What did you do?” she called again, and reached out with one hand to paw at the air.

There was shouting from others as well, she thought, but at the moment Twilight was the only thing on her mind. Her eyes continued to blink, until she could just barely focus them enough to see; they quickly rested on the image of Twilight and the orange pony, both of which were lying on the snowy front porch’s floorboards.

“Oh, what the-” Jo bit back her cursing and tried to get a response from her friend, but she looked very unconscious. “Twilight? Hey? Are you alright?” She didn’t get a response.

Stan—Jo thought she remembered his name right—was also still outside with her, and seemed to just be regaining his own vision. He was swaying slightly and blinking around himself with his neck stretched out in an obvious effort to see.

Jo staggered over, stepping around Mary’s hooves as best she could, and thumped her back against the house’s side. “Hey. Hey, what happened?” she asked, and looked down at Twilight again. Her head felt dizzier than she thought it should.

Stan was already kneeling down by the time Jo made her way over.

“I don’t know,” Stan answered. “I’m guessing you don’t, either,” he answered gruffly. “Mar, hey, wake up, please.”

Jo frowned, a bit at Stan, but mostly over the obvious. Some sort of crazy magic thing had happened, which, she highly suspected was Twilight’s mystery crystal going nuclear. Her frown melted the second she saw the unconscious look on her friend’s face, and knelt down as well. “Are they okay-?” she began to loudly ask, but was cut off.

A flash of movement, which resolved into a little girl bolting out of the backdoor of the home appeared as if by magic. “Mom? Twilight?” she asked aloud, then screamed, “Oh no! They’re dead!” Her fists were balled up at her sides one second, then reaching up and taking two handfuls of her brown hair the next.

An old man came out just after the little girl, and sighed, laying a hand over his face. “Oh, here we go,” he said in response to ‘Anna’.

“Anna, not now,” Stan responded calmly. He had one hand covering an ear, while the other seemed to be laid over Mary’s neck. “They’re both fine, now go back inside.”

An elderly sounding woman’s voice carried out from the house. “Who’s dead?”

The old man leaned back in the house and yelled. “It’s fine dear, no one is dead!” After he leaned back out of the doorway, his eyes settled somewhere in the distance, then widened. “Holy cow, is that a DeLorean!? I knew it. Time travel!”

Jo’s own eyes had gone wide at the exclamation from the younger girl. “What? Twilight better not be dead... I...” she trailed off, not sure what else to say. She also had competition for the speaking floor anyway, it seemed, and everyone else was being a lot louder than her.

The girl, who was apparently named Anna, continued to freak out, while the grandfatherly looking gentleman seemed excited about Jo’s car, and someone inside was trying to calm down the little girl, only to be joined in by still more voices from indoors.

The entire scene devolved into a myriad of panic and shouting.

After only a few seconds of the clamor, Stan raised his voice, shouting over the rest of the noise around him. “Enough!” he yelled. “They’re not dead. Everyone, calm down. One weird thing happens and you all lose it.” He whipped his head around and glared daggers at anyone present.

Quickly, he continued, looking at the older man present first. “Herbert, before you ask, something happened, but we don’t know what. Just help me get Mar inside, and… Twilight, too. Both of them are breathing just fine. Agnes! Come get Anna, please!” He looked at Jo next. “That’s fine, right? That we take Twilight inside too?”

Jo got a look at Twilight’s face and saw that she was still breathing, and processed that her friend was still very much alive.

“Hey, are you there?” Stan asked again.

Jo blinked and looked up, trying to remember what she had been asked. “Oh, yeah, that’s fine. I- I can help, too,” she offered, if shakier than she had wanted to sound.

Stan looked at her, then nodded slowly. “You and Herbert can get your friend, I’ll take care of Mar.” He pointed to the old man that had followed the little girl out.

Jo considered quickly if moving them was even a good idea, but then, she didn’t see a reason not to, either, and decided it at least wasn’t a bad idea. Before she could voice a worry, she was interrupted.

The other old fellow, who sported the bushiest looking mustache Jo had ever seen, extended a hand out. “Hey there, little lady, you can call me Herbert,” he greeted.

Jo felt herself give him an incredulous look, then let it fade away quickly; the man was a good foot taller than her. “Uhm, right, I’m Jo,” she returned. Rather than accept his hand, she moved around Twilight and prepared to carry her.

Herbert paused, but nodded and knelt down to grab Twilight’s other side. “Ah, well, nice to meet you. Alright, I’ll get her arms.”

Jo shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Yeah, sure,” she half responded, half murmured, and moved to grab Twilight around the knees, while Herbert grabbed her under the shoulders.

Behind them all, Anna’s worried sounds dissipated, being led away by another stranger that must have been Agnes.

At the same time as Jo and Herbert picked up Twilight, Stan scooped up Mary and cradled her close to his chest. The three of them lifted simultaneously, but their efforts were quickly impeded.

As they lifted, all three of them quickly found that the two girls, Twilight and Mary, didn’t want to come apart; Stan had tried to walk ahead, only to be tugged back by Mary’s connection to Twilight.

“Looks like this girl’s got a death grip on Mary,” Herbert piped up with a chuckle. “I don’t blame her, I always did tell Stan that he’d made quite the catch-”

“Dad!” Stan shouted and growled at the same time, “Not now!” He growled more, then faced Jo. “Hey, what’s going on here, Jill?”

Jo looked up, wearing an indignant expression that flashed into being. “It’s, Jo! And like I would know, anyway! I don’t know anything more than you do about this magic pony stuff!” She looked between Mary and Twilight to see Twilight’s hand clamped tight onto Mary’s hoof. “That’s really weird...” she added, in a quieter tone.

Stan looked at the sight as well, then gave his wife and Twilight another tug. The motion jerked Herbert, Jo, and Twilight again after him.

“Easy, muscles!” Jo frowned, nearly falling over.

“What in the world?” Stan murmured. “Are they really stuck together?” He looked at Herbert, who shrugged back.

“Hold on,” Jo spoke up, then placed Twilight’s legs down on the ground. “I’ll just…” She grabbed ahold of Twilight’s wrist and Mary’s fetlock and started to pull, trying to get them apart. “What the… they’re really stuck together. I mean- There’s no way Twilight’s grip is this strong.” She tried to get a closer look, and spotted a pale glow around Twilight’s wrist, barely visible outdoors. “I think that this might be-”

Herbert chuckled, interrupting, and knelt down after releasing Twilight’s arms. “Hold on, let me try, Missy.”

Jo moved back, not really having a choice, but tried to keep talking. “Hey, wait, I think this is something magical, guys. Uhm,” she furrowed her brow, looking for something to say that would sound… not crazy. Then again, she considered, one of the people present was holding a waist high magical talking pony. “Look at her wrist. It’s glowing.”

Herbert grunted loudly, trying his hardest to pry Twilight’s fingers open. “Well, this is embarrassing. Failure to perform!” he laughed, looking around and up at Stan and Jo with a silly grin. He then gave Jo a quick look of confusion. “What was that about magic?”

Stan groaned in disgust and laid a hand over his face.

Jo knelt again and rolled her eyes, muttering, “Well, if he wasn’t going to say it, I was.” She frowned, then had a thought that irritated her deeply. Dangit, I’ve been hanging around Alice too much. Curse her. “Look at her wrist,” she pointed out, repeating herself. “It’s glowing. I think something magical is still happening.”

Stan was busy giving the act of separating his wife from Twilight a shot with one arm. After several seconds, he finally gave up. “That’s just great. More magic...” He looked frustrated, and lost, but quickly made another decision. “Just… Just keep close and be careful. We still can’t leave them outside.”

Jo gave him a hard look, but nodded, and retook her hold of Twilight along with the old guy, Herbert. Together, the three of them moved the two limp women into the house.

Stan led them inside, first through a room that sort of looked like where you typically kept all of the outdoor clothing and shoes, then through another room that had laundry machines in it. After that, was a sort of living room with a tall christmas tree in the far corner.

The decorations were sparse, not obnoxiously overdone, though Jo didn’t exactly stop to study them carefully.

Stan guided them all towards a nearby couch, obviously looking for a place to set Twilight and Mary down, though it already had someone occupying its cushions.

“Dan, hey.” Stan called out in a voice that was surprisingly calm. “Get up and make room for Mar and Twilight.”

“Sure,” Dan responded in a flat tone, and without looking up. He seemed to be watching football on the television, as well as drinking a steaming cup of something, probably coffee. “So what was all the commotion about? I asked Agnes if you guys needed an ambulance and-” As he turned, standing up, he cut off and went wide eyed. “Woah, what happened? Are they out cold?”

Stan nodded, laying down Mary on the couch, her foreleg trailing up and hanging from Twilight’s grip. “Yes, but they’re both fine as far as I can tell…” He trailed off, eying the girl attached to his wife. “I have no clue what happened, but it wasn’t normal.”

“I see.” Dan traded his attention between looking at Twilight, and then at Jo.

Jo noticed, and frowned while setting down Twilight in a sitting position with Herbert’s help. “Hey, don’t look at me, Dan. I don’t know what happened either.”

Dan smirked and raised his hands up in a defensive gesture. “Whoa, easy there, firecat...” he began, chuckling, then turned to Stan. “Well, this might be a bad time to ask, but can I take off now, boss?”

Jo scowled at the guy, dusting snow off of her legs before sitting down, but quickly got over being given a nickname and began to check on Twilight.

“Yeah, Dan, go ahead, and thanks for your help,” Stan responded.

Dan nodded. “Great, I’d stick around if I could…” He flickered a look towards Jo. “But duty calls. Let me know if you need help again, and assuming I’m still invited, be back in time for dinner!” Laughing, he backed towards the door, tipping the hat he still had perched on his head.

Stan nodded absently. “Yeah, you are. Thanks again for the favor; we’ll let you know if there’s trouble, but I’m pretty sure Jo and… Twilight aren’t here to hurt Mar or kidnap her.” Stan’s voice was gruff as he affirmed the statement, while his attention was otherwise solely on Mary.

Jo looked up, wide-eyed. “Wait, what?”

Stan made a tight smile without looking. “I don’t mean any offense by that,” he replied. “We were just being careful, and I think it’s clear, at least with the purple flash in consideration, that your girl here is who she says she is.”

Jo opened her mouth to protest about the accusation, but closed it, recalling that she and Twilight had worried over the same thing. Actually, it had mostly just been her that had worried about it. Yeah, that sounds about right... She exhaled and tried again. “Alright, so what do we do now? The misfits are all together at last it looks like.”

Herbert was leaning over the back of the couch, standing beside Stan. He spoke up, eyes widening as he did. “I think you would know better than us, little lady.”

Jo’s brow creased into a scowl at hearing the word ‘little’, and turned towards Herbert. She was at least a little glad to see him straighten up in surprise, moving a little further away.

Stan frowned, looking up. “Dad, let me handle this.” He cleared his throat. “This unexpected turn of events not included, didn’t Twilight share her plan for once she got here?” One of his hands smoothed Mary’s hair idly as he spoke. “Sorry if I’m making assumptions, but we’ve been entirely in the dark about what happened to my wife, as you can imagine.”

A sinking feeling of complete confusion came over Jo as she remembered one, single detail that had been overlooked after the flash of light. “Holy crap, Mary’s your wife.”

Jo covered her mouth with a hand, her eyes glued to the little, orange colored pony sharing the couch with Twilight. She hadn’t completely come to terms with the unexpected turn of events, and was still shocked by the idea.

Stan nodded solemnly. “That’s right,” he answered simply. “I guess you two are in the dark about us then. That’s too bad, I was sort of hoping you might already know the whole story...” He put on a somber look, but it broke when he added something more. “I guess to answer your question, we should probably just wait for Twilight to wake up, unless there’s something you haven’t thought of yet.”

Jo bit the inside of her lip, aware that she really wasn’t too sure at all how to answer. Her attention traded between Stan, Herbert standing behind the couch, then Dan, who was pausing at the doorway. Dan winked at her before ducking out of sight, something that made her cringe back.

“No, I can’t think of anything,” Jo replied in a growl, trying to get the image of Dan out of her head. At the same time, it occurred to her to spill the whole can of beans about Twilight being human. But, she wanted Twilight to be there if she did, and under those circumstances Twilight would be way better at explaining it anyway. She can’t stay asleep for that long…

Jo faced her friend again, who looked as peaceful as if she really were just asleep. “Shouldn’t we take them to the hospital… or… something?”

Stan was already shaking his head. “We can’t take either of them anywhere with Twilight stuck to Mar like that. Twilight might have been alright going to the hospital, but as it is...” He briefly tried to pull Twilight’s fingers open again, but not forcefully. “This is definitely not within our realm of knowledge and understanding.” His eyes seemed to study the shimmer of purple where the two were connected.

Herbert spoke up with a suggestion. “We could get some smelling salts?”

Stan sighed, standing up and folding his arms. “That might work, I guess.”

“But if it doesn’t,” Jo spoke up. “Then we just wait?” Both of the two men turned to face her and nodded. “Well, great...” She leaned forward and began to pat Twilight on the side of the face repeatedly. You come to my planet, you befriend me, and then you just keep scaring the crap out of me. You’re something else, Twilight. Her bitter thoughts continued over Stan and Herbert talking again, until the sound of a little girl entering the room caught her attention.

“Mom!” Anna’s raised voice asked, just before she charged into the room. Like an uncageable wind, she rushed past Stan and Herbert, then slid with boths knees up onto the couch cushions. “Mom! Mom! Mom? Moooom, wake up now. Mom!”

Jo began flinching every time the little girl spoke. That’s right, now I remember... I hate kids.

An older looking woman walked in next. “Sorry, Stan,” she apologized. “She wanted to see Mary.”

Stan knelt beside his daughter—who was busy tugging on Mary’s ears—and rested a hand on Anna’s shoulder. “Hey, easy, your mom’s fine, Anna. Whatever has happened it’s temporary, okay? It’s just some weird kind of… friendship magic mishap.”

Anna looked over at her father, a doubtful look creasing her young features. “Really?” she asked.

Before Stan could answer, Herbert spoke up saying, “That’s right, this is all magic based. Maybe she needs a kiss from her one true love?”

Everyone in the room turned to look at Herbert, each wearing a different type of expression.

“What?” he asked believably. “This is magic we’re talking about.”

Anna answered the old guy first, exhaling in what sounded like exasperation. “Grampa, what happened to mom and Twilight is probably serious, stop telling jokes.”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t,” Herbert managed to say weakly, studying his shoes.

Stan blinked, then chuckled. “Anna’s right, Herbert. Maybe we’ll try that if nothing else works. For now, I’ll be right back. I think I have some smelling salts somewhere. Agnes, come help me look?”

Stan and Agnes left, leaving the old guy and Anna there in the room along with Jo and Twilight. Anna had also begun shaking Mary by her shoulders.

Jo watched as the occupants of the room changed again. Huh, you know, now that I think about it, Stan looks a lot like if Chuck Norris was on steroids. She blinked, then shook her head. Been hanging around Alice too much...

Jo was still seated beside Twilight, and still at a loss for what to do. She found herself in the awkward, uncomfortable position of being in a stranger’s home, with multiple strangers, and suddenly having no one familiar with her at all. It almost felt like going to a family reunion, except you didn’t actually know anyone there because you skipped all of the previous ones.

“So,” Jo spoke up, looking at Herbert. “How weird has it been over on your end being stuck around magical shenanigans and talking animals?” She was trying to quell her unease by talking, only it didn’t seem to work right away. Her back was straight from how nervous she felt.

Herbert’s comforting chuckle made Jo relax, a little bit. “Oh, you know, every day has been an adventure. At least now your unicorn can turn Mary back so she can get back to normal, eh?” He laughed harder, while nearby Anna let out a disappointed sound.

Jo chuckled along weakly. Yeah… they’re gonna hate us when we can’t deliver that. She looked at Mary again, still unable to believe the entire situation. So Twilight’s human and Mary’s a pony. Yep, definitely no connection there. Despite her sarcastic remark to herself, she furrowed her brow, trying to figure out what that connection might actually be.

“Hey, kiddo, don’t sound so upset!” Herbert laughed, still behind the couch. “I’m sure once Twilight turns your mom back into a human and herself back into a unicorn, she’ll give you a pony ride like no other.”

Jo looked up in time to see the little girl look starry eyed at Twilight.

“Ohhh, you think so?” Anna asked dreamily, and reached over to nudge Twilight’s shoulder. “I hope they wake up soon…”

Jo frowned, watching as Twilight slid forward until she fell over atop Mary. “Easy, kid, they’re not… you shouldn’t touch them right now.” She almost choked on her own words, not used to talking to children. If she had to guess, Anna looked to be about nine or ten.

After Jo had looked up, she was surprised to see Anna beaming a smile her way, hand held out. “By the way! I’m Anna!” she piped, holding out her hand and shaking it up and down in the air.

Jo stared back, eyes stark, but eventually cracked a nervous smile.

A quiet voice from nearby said, “You can shake her hand, she won’t bite.” Herbert then laughed at his own joke.

Jo rolled her eyes, and pretended not to hear him. What an annoying old fart. She instead spoke to the little girl in a friendly voice. “Hey, I did hear that was your name. I’m Jo, Twilight’s friend.”

Anna accepted and shook Jo’s hand way harder than necessary, smiling bigger than Jo thought a little girl possibly could. “That is so cool! You’re friends with the Twilight Sparkle. Oh my gosh, what’s it like?”

Jo frowned a little at the question and turned towards Twilight. What’s it like? Shrugging, she turned back towards Anna. “It’s not exactly anything really different from being anyone’s friend, I think.” She realized she had left Twilight slumped over Mary, and began lifting the other girl by her shoulders. “She’s just a good person like anyone else really. She doesn’t act like a different species much or a celebrity-”

“Whoa, that’s odd.” Herbert interrupted.

Jo blinked up towards him over the back of the couch. “What? Twilight’s just another pony where she’s from. Not a TV star or a-”

“No no no.” Herbert shook his head, then chuckled. “Look at that. Is it a static charge?” He pointed towards Mary and Twilight. “Huh, it’s a bit like if they fell asleep next to a Van de Graaff generator.” He chuckled again after mentioning the static electricity making machine.

Jo looked down again, and gaped at the darker hair from Twilight, stringing its way out as if glued to Mary’s head. The other girl leaned back against the couch, but blue and tan strands stretched between them both, sort of like a bridge. “Okay, that’s weird.” With one hand, Jo slowly swiped down between them both, as if clearing cobwebs, and the hair relaxed again.

“Awwww,” Anna gawked openly, sticking her face right next to the oddity with hesitation. “That was cool.”

Herbert hummed thoughtfully, and leaned over the back of the couch for a closer look. “Do you think that was just normal, or because of the way they’re stuck together?”

Jo opened her mouth to answer, but didn’t get the chance; instead, she was beaten to the punch by a shrill chime from Anna.

“Stuck together!?” she cried, then looked open mouthed at Mary. “Is that why they’re holding hands? Er, hands and hooves? Hoof and hand?” She giggled, then turned her smile up at Jo expectantly.

Jo had to fight not to roll her eyes. She briefly reflected on how bad she always thought she was with kids. “They’re stuck,” she explained simply, then turned to look at Twilight, trying to reposition her so she wouldn’t fall over again.

“Really?” Anna asked, then began patting Mary on the head. “Aaw, mom looks so cute,” she piped up, then added, “But she’s been pretty d’awful for a while, hehe.”

Herbert laughed again, while Jo smirked. “D’awful, huh?” she asked.

Anna nodded. “It’s a word I made up. Mom’s pretty clumsy since… well, she became like this. I like to say she looks d’awful when she breaks stuff.” As she spoke, she went for the cemented handshake between the human and pony, and began to try and break them apart.

“Cute,” Jo murmured, then noticed Anna’s attempt to break the unconscious pair apart. “They’re stuck together, Anna. Good luck with getting them… apart.”

As if by magic, Anna pulled Twilight’s and Mary’s linked arms apart with no real effort at all.

Herbert blinked in surprise. “Cheater!”

Anna turned, smiling big. “Nuh uh!” she laughed.

“Huh, I guess it wore off…” Jo leaned forward, getting a closer looked and wondering what had happened.

Herbert made an interested sounding hum. “Well, that’s one problem solved.” As he spoke he stroked his mustache with one hand above a worried look, which was a break from his constant silliness. “I hope those salts wake them up so we can get to the bottom of things. Hah, won’t Mary be upset if she’s stuck to Twilight after they wake up… You’re sure you don’t know anything else there, Jo?”

“I really can’t… say,” Jo began to answer, but turned her attention to where Twilight was sitting and noticed Anna having trouble moving Mary’s head from Twilight's lap. “Everything alright there, kid?”

“Mom’s head is stuck!” Anna whined, wearing a strained look. She lifted Mary’s head slightly, which revealed Twilight’s leg lifting along with it. “Actually, this is kind of funny,” she giggled.

Jo’s eyes widened, not sure what to think about what she was looking at, but continued to watch in wordless confusion.

Anna took a hold of Twilight’s hand and placed it on Mary’s head. After that, she went to lift Mary’s head again and was pleased to find that Twilight’s leg didn’t follow, but her hand was now the part that was suck. “Hehe,” she continued to giggle, and began moving them about again.

Herbert laughed along with her, and began circling around the couch. “Oh, let me try!” he offered in an excited tone.

Anna began trading off the points that Mary and Twilight touched. As long as they were touching in at least one part, it seemed that they could touch and release without much issue. Anna had just stuck Mary’s hoof to the side of Twilight’s head.

Jo was about to get upset and rain on the parade, but, at the sound of so much fun being had… and it did look pretty funny, she relaxed, instead joining in on the laughter quietly.

Stan entered the room and announced himself. “What’s with all the laughter going on in- Anna?” He took notice of what was going on. “Anna! Stop playing around with your mother,” he reprimanded, marching on over. “Herbert, you stop encouraging her.”

“Awww,” Anna and Herbert simultaneously let out sadly.

Stan rolled his eyes, along with Agnes, who was just behind him, and walked up to Mary and Twilight. “Alright, let’s hope this works,” he murmured, and waved the smelling salts beneath Twilight's nose, then Mary's muzzle.

After a moment of waiting, and another wave, neither of them stirred.

“Well,” Agnes began, speaking up from the doorway. “If that doesn’t wake them up, then they aren’t waking up until they’re good and ready.” She turned towards Jo, then. “Miss, are you sure you aren’t sure what’s happened to them?”

Jo looked up and gave a shrug. “Not a clue, I’m just trying to help out where I can, but I won’t pretend that I understand half as much as Twilight there does.”

The room was quiet for a moment, with Anna pulling out her mother’s cheek using the bound effect from Twilight’s palm.

“Well,” Agnes spoke again first, clapping her hands and facing Stan. “Christmas dinner is almost ready. This does put a damper on things, but maybe we’ll get a miracle and they’ll wake up soon.” She began walking towards the room’s doorway. “I’ll get back to preparing things, then! Anna, come help me, please?”

“Oh.” Herbert began stepping lightly out of the room, giving chase. “I’ll come along. I’m just in the way out here.”

“I’ll be there in a minute!” Anna replied over her shoulder, remaining on the couch.

Stan was looking at Mary. “I hope they wake up soon, too,” he murmured, mostly to himself it seemed, then continued louder. “Jo, I guess it goes without saying you don’t want to go until Twilight wakes up. You’re welcome to stay as our guest, and we were planning on inviting the princess here to dinner as well… So, there’s room for you, too.”

Jo blinked. “Oh, uhm, thanks.” She wasn’t used to other people, much less a holiday dinner at a stranger’s place. “If it’s alright, I’ll wait out here with Twilight… Also, heh,” she chuckled, thinking about what Stan had said. “Twilight says she isn’t a princess like in the show. Bummer, right? I recommend you don’t bring that up, she carries around the notes she’s taken on that thing everywhere she goes, and even mailed a dozen complaints in while out on one of her walks-”

A shrill gasp from Anna filled the room. “Not a princess!? Noooo,” she cried, both of her hands to either side of her face. She gave Twilight a despairing look. “But it’s in the show, it has to be true!”

“Anna,” Stan began warningly. “Come on, there are more important things to worry about right now…”

Jo chuckled a little, studying Twilight’s silent features. “Sorry I had to be the bearer of bad news. I was a little disappointed about it, too. I used to watch it as a little girl myself. But, yeah, Twilight has all kinds of ideas about her world’s relation to ours. She’s insanely worried by anything from after Discord’s first appearance, because almost everything is different from then on in the show, with only a few things she recognized.”

Anna crossed her arms, frowning over Mary and Twilight towards Jo. “Worried? But she’s Twilight, and she’s like, unbeatable! She never loses or can’t figure something out. Why would she be worried?”

Jo shut her eyes for a split second, smiling. The girl’s precociousness was getting to her despite fighting against it. “Well,” she started to say, laughing a little. “Her biggest concern is that it could all be future predictions that haven’t happened yet, and that what has happened to her might have ruined them.” She hummed, recalling Twilight’s minor, at least for her, panic attack after watching the rest of the show. “Although, she sort of dropped that idea somewhat after that story arc in season three with the ponies made out of crystal.”

Anna blinked at at Jo skeptically for a moment in silence, then turned towards her father. “Dad, this can’t be the real Twilight. I think they’re spies.”

Stan laid a hand over his face. “Spies? Anna, that’s ridiculous. Head into the kitchen and help your grandparents, please.” He continued in his gravelly tone over a whining complaint from Anna. “Come on now. Jo here and I need to share some things with one another over this whole ordeal.”

“But-!” Anna started to protest, but was cut off by a hardened, serious look of parenting from Stan.

Anna let out a groan of annoyance, then thumped her way out of the room as requested. “I never get to help with anything important around here…”

Jo raised an eyebrow at Stan once he turned back to face her. “Cute kid,” she muttered.

Stan sighed, sitting in a recliner near the couch. “Yeah, she usually is. She’s also a hot head, like her mother.”

Jo hummed in acknowledgement. “Who does Bobby take after?” She asked the question on reflex, just making small talk. The memory of the obnoxious teen insulting Twilight over the phone hung in her head, but she tried her best not to dwell on it. Surprising her, Stan chuckled and answered quickly.

“Me, actually,” Stan responded.

Jo made an understanding look in surprise. “Oh.” She made an appreciative nod, trying to hide her initial response.

Another silence settled into the room, bringing with it a twinge of awkward.

Jo coughed and spoke again. “So, I guess this is the part where I tell you everything that’s happened so far on our end, huh?”

Stan leaned forward intently, arms resting on his knees, then gave a simple nod.

Jo took a breath. “Alright, well, it started a few months ago… There was this storm, and-”

Jo shared everything, from Twilight’s destruction of the house’s backyard to the simple fact she had no idea how her potion had ended her up on Earth. Herbert had come and gone a couple times, staying surprisingly serious. From what little Jo could tell, the old guy enjoyed derailing things a lot.

Retelling a few months worth of events had taken some time, and Jo felt completely tired out by the end. It hadn’t been too hard, she only had to exchange the detail about Twilight being stuck as a human out with her deciding to look like one by choice. In fact, apparently several hours had passed, because the grandmother, Agnes, came by and cut the story telling a little short, trying to usher everyone into the dining room for dinner. Just before that, Dan had come back, but wearing casual clothing rather than his uniform from before, and reeking of cologne that made him smell like a lumber mill. Apparently he was a friend of the family after all, and knew Stan pretty well. Given the small nature of the town, that made some sense. A little bit before that, and Bobby had stormed his way indoors shouting, “Hey! I’m done shoveling!” Though his announcement didn’t seem directed to anyone in particular at the time.

Jo had fended off invitations from both Dan and Agnes to join most everyone else in the dining room, and, in the end, remained out on the couch with Twilight, Mary, and Stan, who also didn’t want to leave them alone.

The two ended up eating in silence, having shared each other’s details of the whole situation already, and occasionally prodded Twilight or Mary for a response they hoped would come soon. Overall, the night was quiet, and likely a fair bit more sedated than the family had likely thought it would be.

Despite making such a strong connection with people aware of Twilight’s situation, Jo didn’t feel much more at ease. In fact, the only bit of respite she could think about was the Holiday themed beer she’d asked for after spotting Herbert with one.

A fire crackled nearby at one end of the room, and the Christmas tree lights were on for the dark of evening; Jo was preoccupying herself by staring at Mary, the pony, who in all her unbelievable glory still slept soundlessly beside Twilight Sparkle.

The sight did a good job of hammering the reality of things into Jo’s head, but it still made her feel breathless. It didn’t matter how many times Twilight mentioned Equestria, or talked about magical theory, because every time Jo saw, listened to, or spoke with Twilight it was sometimes like finding her in her garage all over again.

Jo’s eyes were locked onto Mary’s form, her chest slowly rising and falling every so often with a slow breath. Her mouth—or muzzle—was rounded, lightly covered in very short, sleek hairs, and looked nothing like a pony or horse’s. The hooves tipping her trunky legs were equally odd, and just by looking at them Jo could tell they could bend and move much more like a person’s arm than anything else.

What Jo found most peculiar about Mary, though, were the darkly colored workout clothes—a sweatshirt and sweatpants—that she had on. Stan had flipped the hood of the sweatshirt up over her ears—to keep her warm, he had said.

Jo kept looking, and even occasionally reached out to poke her shoulder, just to make sure she was there, and the couch wasn’t just empty except for herself and Twilight. The idea that Mary was an illusion or something just seemed a lot more feasible than the idea that she was real, even after so much had happened with Twilight.

Jo shuddered and forced her eyes back open—without her realizing it, they had begun to close. Oh, how late is it? She rested her head in her hands and looked towards the floor, a yawn cracking her jaw at the same time.

Abruptly, the other awake person in the room broke the silence. “I’ll be right back.” Stan stood with a loud sigh, both his plate and Jo’s in either hand.

Jo looked up from staring at the floor. “I can get it,” she offered weakly.

Stan shook his head, then kept going. “Nonsense, both you and Twilight are guests…” He briefly glanced at the other two occupants of the couch. “I guess we should move her and my wife to someplace a little bit more comfortable than the couch, actually… We’ll put them in our bed, I think.”

Jo glanced over, and found that Twilight had slumped over once again atop Mary while she wasn’t looking. “Yeah, I guess so...” She grimaced at the sight and set down her beer, then leaned over to help her sleeping friend back to a sitting position. She is going to have one heck of a crick in her neck when she wakes up. “Uhm, I still have my room at the hotel, but-”

Stan interrupted, hesitating at the doorway. “You can stay, if you want. I assumed you would want to. There’s a fold-out couch in the basement you’re more than welcome to.”

Jo nodded, though only half listened past hearing that she could stay. “Cool. I mean- Thanks.” Her response was somber, sorely dampened by the fact that it had been hours without any sign of life from Twilight, or from Mary.

“We’ll move them soon… I’m going to go check on my kids real quick. When they’re quiet like this for so long it usually means trouble’s coming.” Stan chuckled, then exhaled a moment later. The sound of his footsteps leaving soon followed suit.

Jo looked up from staring at Twilight, a little surprised to see that he had left without her answering him. “Uggh, I am really out of it.” She grimaced and pressed a hand to her forehead, trying to wake herself up some. It worked, somewhat, and she turned to glare at the fireplace, which was providing the room with a healthy amount of warmth.

“This is all your fault,” she accused the flames.

“What is whose fault?” Someone nearby asked.

Jo nearly jumped out of her skin, then looked over to see who was intruding on her peace and quiet. Oh, it’s just the other cop… The fellow named Dan was smiling her way and entering the room.

The fact that Stan was a sheriff hadn’t escaped Jo, much less so when the story he had shared included him on duty and finding the vines that Mary had somehow created. Apparently, she had access to some very powerful plant magic. Dan also came up in the stories, and was Stan’s underling, or whatever, by the sound of things. At some point he had pulled over his wife and discovered her that way. Not long after, he stumbled onto Mary again in a drunken stupor, according to Stan.

Jo gave the strange man a tight lipped smile, seeing as he’d just invited himself into her private conversation with herself. “Nothing,” she responded curtly, then turned again to stare at the fire some more.

Dan stayed in the corner of her eye, pausing for a moment. “Oh, I see,” he answered, then coughed. Like a shadow sliding over the ground, he moved across the floor to sit in the recliner previously used by Stan. “So, I also see you have a cool and refreshing beer in your hand! I rather enjoy those myself, as we established. How about I join you and we can talk about the tastiness of…” He trailed off somewhat, his eyes drifting downwards towards Jo’s chest region. “Beer?”

Jo looked up darkly, recalling her first encounter with him earlier. At the same time she caught where the man was staring, and felt her face heat up. “Seriously?” she asked.

Dan looked up, blinking.

Jo continued, remembering she was a guest in someone else’s home, and kept her voice somewhat low. “That’s the line you’re trying on me? Really?” She sighed. “You are such a pig, and no I don’t mean just according to your job.” She looked over at Twilight, who had taken a shallow breath in and out. “My friend is unconscious and so is your friend’s wife, and you can only think of flirting with me?” She gave her head a shake of disgust, crossing her arms in front of herself angrily.

Dan sputtered a bit. “Well, just go and assume you know exactly what my intent is why don’t you. I was not hitting on you.” He leaned back and looked away, his tone lightening rather than sounding offended. “And I’m just as worried as everyone else is, you know. About Mary and… and...”

“Twilight! Her name is Twilight!” Jo groaned, looking over with an incredulous expression. “So you just made a sad attempt to flirt with me, then tried an excuse including my friend, but without even knowing said friend’s name.” She took a gulp of her drink. “Are you being serious right now?”

Dan rubbed a hand behind his head, looking everywhere but at Jo. “Alright alright, I forgot her name and it’s Twilight. Sorry I couldn’t remember. The point is, I do care even if others don’t think so, you included.”

Jo rolled her eyes and sat back again. “Yeah, whatever.”

Dan looked over, eyebrows slightly raised, and let the silence stretch for a few seconds. “I’m sensing some hostility right now… Do you want me to leave?”

Jo searched around the room, then raised an eyebrow at the offer. She considered for the briefest second she had been mistaken about the the man’s behavior. After said consideration, she realized she really wasn’t sure either way. What she settled on was what she hoped was a middle ground that would save face, while still discouraging any shenanigans. She honestly didn’t want anything to do with a stranger.

“Fine,” Jo started, trying to sound apologetic. “If you are so worried, feel free to stay. It’s not like this is my house. You wouldn’t be here if it was.” She waved over at the other side of the room. “Maybe we can have an actual conversation without you staring at my- my tits!” She glared at him. “Or you could just leave me alone and I won’t have to think about how hard I’d have to throw this bottle to make you reconsider.”

Dan raised up his hands in defense of himself. “Alright, my bad, it was an accident.” He stood up then, smiling weakly. “I just remembered that you said you prefered a dark draft of beer, earlier, and thought I’d bring you a refill.” One of his bulky arms set down a bottle, which Jo had missed, over on the nearby side-table. “Wasn’t my intent to tick you off or anything.”

Jo frowned over at the beer; condensation and droplets of water ran down its side and glimmered in the firelight. She looked up, ready to say that she didn’t want it, but Dan wasn’t there by the time she did. Looking around briefly revealed that the room was empty except for herself, and the sleeping mare and women beside her on the couch.

A harrumph escaped her. “Men and alcohol don’t mix,” Jo muttered, then turned towards Twilight. “Somehow, Twilight, that was your fault.”

The girl sitting unconscious beside lay still, not answering.

Jo narrowed her eyes, angrily opening the beer that had been left with her. “Don’t argue, you’re the only reason I’m here! I’d be alone in my room right now if it wasn’t for you, and not getting hit on by guys a hundred miles from my home. And yeah, he was definitely hitting on me. Trust me, I know.”

Twilight’s head shifted slightly, rolling from facing Jo to pointing the other way.

Jo frowned. “Of course I’d prefer staying in my room alone. You’ve known me long enough to know that. Christ… Also, Dan seems like a jerk, anyway.” She took a quick sip of her drink, then stared at the fireplace.

“I really need to stop talking to myself…” Jo remorsed quietly, her drink hanging lazily between two fingers.

A slightly excited sounding voice entered the room, making Jo nearly jump off the couch again. “Are you talking to someone in here, Jo? Are they awake?”

Jo pressed a hand over her chest, trying to calm her heart. I am not used to complete quiet like this in a strange house, she reflected, then exhaled and turned towards Stan. “Hey. No, they’re still both out cold. I was talking to… Dan, and then myself, I guess.”

Stan’s eyes widened above his beard. “Dan? Really?” He hummed, easing down into his chair. “I hope he wasn’t too abrasive,” he continued.

Jo raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. “Not really.” She thought to add more insults, but dropped them before they formed.

Stan hummed again in response, then spoke on in his gravelly voice. “Well, Dan just took off for the night. I think my folks will be leaving soon, as well.” He nodded to himself, as if thinking of something or what to do. “In any case, Herbert and my son should be here in a moment. I told them both to help us. We’re going to move Twilight and Mary over to my own bedroom. I think I could carry both of them myself, they aren’t that heavy, but it’s just to be safe…”

Jo thought over the news for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, that sounds good.”

“Hopefully they wake up soon, in the morning maybe, if they don’t, we’ll need to look into getting them an I.V. and…” Stan trailed off, frowning and tapping a finger against his chair’s arm. “We’ll get to that if-”

Two voices entering the room and footsteps interrupted Stan. “Hey, Dad, we’re here,” called one, young sounding teenage boy.

Jo faced towards the two, glaring for a split second at the youth in the pair.

“Reporting as ordered,” added the second voice, belonging to Herbert.

Stan looked up from Jo to his two kin and exhaled. “Well, we’ll get to that if it comes to it,” he finished, giving a smile that faded again quickly. “Alright, Bobby, Herbert, both of you be careful while-”

“I’ll carry Twilight,” Jo interrupted.

The three guys, each roughly the same height, looked over, each with a different look of surprise on their face.

“By yourself?” Stan asked plainly, already positioning himself to pick up Mary. He did so with what looked like relative ease.

Jo scrunched her face up in a frown for a moment. “Maybe Herbert can help.” She added the last amendment a little too quickly, and shot a quick glare towards the teenager. There’s no way I’m letting that kid touch Twilight.

Herbert, meanwhile, began chuckling, and elbowed Bobby in the ribs. “See, boy? You should follow my example more. The ladies still can’t resist me.”

Bobby rolled his eyes from where he stayed by the doorway. “Herbert, I know Agnes will still hit you if I tell her you made that joke.”

Herbert put on a fake look of surprise, then chuckled.

Jo felt her eye twitch slightly from the old man’s first remark. “On second thought, I can get Twilight by myself…” She grimaced immediately, beginning to lift Twilight up. Holy crap. Twilight what have you been eating!? Her eyes bulged a little, discovering she had overestimated just how much her friend from another world weighed.

With an oof, she set Twilight back down.

“Not so easy, is it?” Bobby asked, smirking.

Jo looked up, trying to keep her face expressionless. He’s just a kid, Jo. Don’t let him get to you...

Herbert began moving over to help Jo, despite what she had said before.

“Everyone, take it easy.” Stan hesitated from moving, then after he witnessed Herbert take ahold of Twilight's arms without any fuss from Jo, continued. “Let’s just get them situated and we can all put today behind us.”

Bobby let out a monumentally exaggerated sigh. “If I’m not needed I’ll be upstairs, then.” He shrugged and turned on one foot in one smooth motion, slouching his way out of the room.

Jo frowned at the kid’s back, but exhaled stiffly and felt her mood returning to normal. It’s like I just got a glimpse back into highschool... She tried to focus on lifting Twilight, which she did by cradling her arms together underneath the other girl’s shoulders; this was made a little awkward by Mary’s nearby hoof, which was apparently the last connection point; it was stuck squarely to Twilight’s upper shoulder.

“It’s best if you don’t pay him too much mind.” Herbert had spoken up, smirking over to Jo as the all three of them lifted Twilight and Mary.

Jo gave Herbert, then Stan a regretful look. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do… I won’t cause any trouble. I’m still upset over what he said about my friend, is all. Am I that obvious?” She waited for an answer, the three of them getting underway by moving through the first doorway.

The manner in which they were carrying the pair of unconscious persons was a bit awkward, to say the least. Mary’s front left hoof was plastered to Twilight’s shoulder, and was for the most part in Stan’s grip under one arm. The tall man kept shifting his wife about, too, though he mostly carried her beside Jo. This put Jo and Stan astride one another, with Jo walking backwards, Herbert walking forwards at Twilight’s ankles, and Stan walking somewhat sideways.

Herbert snorted some laughter, shuffling carefully after Jo and Stan in the lead; he had a good grip by the look of it. “Not really, Bobby’s just a little punk sometimes, especially lately,” he answered to Jo with a toothy grin. “It’s not that hard to notice when he’s acting like a brat.”

“Dad,” Stan began, voice lowered. They were moving through a doorway now, and most of everyone’s focus was on shuffling through with the little room they had to spare. Herbert was wirey, but Stan’s bulkiness forced him to turn sideways in order to fit while carrying his wife’s unconscious pony body.

“Well, he does,” Herbert answered back. “There’s no use hiding it. I will admit though, he’s been getting better since that whole thing with Mary at the…” Herbert paused, looking at Jo.

Jo noticed. “That Halloween thing Stan told me about?” She took a deep breath, getting a little winded from carrying Twilight and taking so many shuffling steps. She went on when Herbert widened his eyes back. “Stan told me everything,” she admitted, smirking.

“Oh, Right-” Herbert began to say, but was cut off when Stan backed up into the door frame, thumping his head hard, judging by the sound of it.

“Gah-” Stan winced, one eye clenched shut.

Jo frowned over. Ouch. The three of them were just barely squeezing through the doorway once again, while trying to shift Twilight more as they slowly moved out into the dining room. Crouched down slightly, with Mary over her head in Stan’s grip, she suddenly had a thought.

“I don’t know why I didn’t say this already,” Jo spoke up, and paused to get both Stan and Herbert’s attention. Maybe it’s the beer, she briefly considered, but kept it to herself.

She went on. “Hey, we don’t have to move them like this, you know. Set them down a moment.”

Stan and Herbert looked over, the doorway behind them. “Huh?”

Jo breathed out, waiting there hunched over with her friend’s weight trying to pull her over. “We don’t have to carry them like this, with them stuck together leg to shoulder like that. We could, or rather, should probably re-arrange them so that they’re less awkward to…”

“Oh,” Stan said in understanding. “Right, so long as they have one point of contact, if I heard Herbert right earlier.”

“That’s what it looked like to me,” Herbert added thoughtfully. “So get them further from one another?”

“That would work better,” Jo agreed, and began setting down Twilight and Mary with some help.

“It’s worth a shot, anyway.” Stan was already putting theory into practice, setting down Mary.

Herbert and Jo followed suit and laid down Twilight as easily as they could manage.

Stan was the first to try and reorganize the napping duo. He tried to remove Mary’s hoof from Twi’s shoulder, only it wouldn’t move. Grunting, he shifted another of Mary’s hooves at random so he could move the first, and attached it to Twilight’s hip. “Maybe attach Mary’s foot, er, hoof to Twilight’s foot, or leg, or…”

“Maybe,” Herbert rubbed his chin in a thoughtful way, looking over his son’s shoulder. “The fairy magic connection works through Twilight’s clothes, put Mary’s hoof on Twilight’s snow boot?”

Jo shook her head angrily. “No, no, look, yes it works like that, but just make it easier on us and attach their hands again-”

Stan grumbled, being shifted over as Jo tried to skid Mary across the wood floor.

Jo moved Mary’s freed up hoof to Twilight’s hand, then removed the other two that had found their way to becoming plastered elsewhere. Once this was accomplished, Stan hoisted his wife, his arms under her barrel. “Alright, that was much better. Good head-work, Jo. Actually,” he paused to readjust and heft Mary, “What sort of work do you do?”

Jo smiled as she watched, then pulled Twilight up before carrying her again. “Oh, uhm, just some web design. It pays the bills… and makes sure I don’t have to talk to too many people.”

Stan stared a moment, thoughtfully, or at least as best as he could with everyone facing a different direction. He gave a sound of acknowledgement shortly after.

With their grip renewed on her unconscious friend, the backwards walk towards their destination seemed much easier. The next few doorways were cleared with ease, with everyone now walking in a line and each passenger stretched between them.

They passed Agnes along the way, who waved with a cheerful smile, looking very much aware of the struggle the three were going through, but there was little other incident. Anna seemed to be asleep, or just missing. Jo hadn’t seen any sign of the little girl in hours.

Jo took one, last deep breath as the cleared the final doorway into what was obviously a large bedroom with a cozy bed big enough for two. “You know,” she panted. “You would think that a dramatic manifestation of magic like that purple flash would make me feel different than this.”

Stan hummed. “What’s that?”

“I mean all this.” Jo set Twilight down on the bed with Herbert’s help, and straightened up, placing her arms in the small of her back to stretch. “I’ve been housing a magic talking horse for months now—well, someone who claims to have been a magic talking horse. You’d have thought that sort of arrangement would be a lot more—magical, you know? The most magical thing she’s ever done is figure out how to blow up my microwave.”

Stan lifted an eyebrow at that, glancing down at Mary, cradled against his chest, then back at Jo. He didn’t say anything, but his thin, overly amused looking smile spoke volumes.

Jo looked away, brow furrowed and stuttering a little. “I didn’t mean Mary at all, uhm, just Twilight… I- I just meant that of all the possible things that a magic unicorn could do, passing out, and getting stuck to someone else is probably the last sort of thing I would have expected. I don’t really feel like this is anything special… At least, not like learning another world exists should. I dunno...”

“Aaah,” Stan intoned in an understanding way. “I know exactly what you mean.” He looked over at Herbert, and they shared a knowing look between them both.

Jo raised an eyebrow, watching at Stan laid down Mary as well. “Alright, what is it?” She looked between them both expectantly. “Am I not seeing something obvious?”

Stan smirked, laying Mary down alongside Twilight. “Well, maybe not.” He traded another look with Herbert. “It’s a conversation myself and Herbert have had a few times. I’d be willing to bet one day I’ll have it with my son, too.”

Jo blinked. “Is this one of those philosophical parental talk things? I’ll pass if it is...” She smiled in what she hoped was a friendly way, not wanting to sound rude.

“Fair enough.” Stan chuckled, and traded a quick handshake and goodbye with Herbert. It took a moment, but when he was finished he turned to sit down in a recliner that was in the room.

On his way out, Herbert waved goodbye happily to Jo, which she returned with a somewhat less enthusiastic version and an eye roll.

Jo sighed, then looked around the room. “So, can I wait in here with you?” She spoke to Stan, but her eyes settled on Twilight. “I… know this isn’t my fault. But I’d feel like a bad friend if I left her now.”

Stan nodded. “I thought you might ask, heh.” He stood up, and offered his chair.

Jo shook her head. “That’s alright, I can go get one… Uhm, that’s fine, right?”

Stan nodded again. “Yeah, sure.”

“Thanks.” Jo made her way back through the house, running one hand through her hair in an attempt to work out the stress she’d accumulated. Talking to strangers in a situation where your friend might be hurt took its toll, she found.

“Oh, Jo! There you are,” came Agnes’ grandmotherly tone.

Jo turned, a little taken by surprise. “Oh, hello. I didn’t say goodbye, did I?”

Agnes chuckled. “Oh, not that at all, you forgot this out in the living room. I spotted it on my way out.” She held up the barely touched beer that had barely been started on earlier.

Jo made a face of understanding, then grinned. “Oh, thank you! I would have forgotten about it entirely.”

Agnes smiled, wrinkling her face up. “Oh, that’s quite alright, dear. You’ve got bigger concerns I’m sure, but,” she paused, and fished a slip of paper out from her coat. “It seems you’re not too busy to catch somepony’s attention.” She began chuckling, holding out the paper. “Sorry, I meant somebody, it’s a little joke we’ve been saying around here lately.”

Agnes continued as Jo took the paper. “It was quite the dirty trick to ask me to give it to you, don’t you think? But Dan’s more clever than most people give him credit for. Still, he’s a nice boy.”

Jo gave Agnes a confused look, which bloomed into a heated, understanding one after her eyes ran over the phone number staring back up at her. Underneath the number, infuriatingly enough, was two things. They read, respectively, “Hope your friend gets better soon!” and, “Take it easy, Firecat!”

“It’s a cute name,” Agnes said in an admiring tone. “I think he may be coming on a bit too strong though. He could have at least waited until Mary and Twilight woke up… I hope they’ll be alright. Jo? Are you okay?”

Jo’s eyes narrowed more and more at the note. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine.” She looked up from the paper and smiled at Agnes. “I really hope they wake up soon, too. It was nice meeting you and your family. Sorry it was under weird circumstances…” Her laugh was subdued, and a little nervous from being out of practice with it.

Agnes made a knowing smile. “Well, we wouldn’t have met at all if it weren’t for these weird circumstances. I think it’s safe to say that us being friends and coming together for Christmas like this was a small miracle in and of itself.”

Jo’s expression flattened, then became a bigger smile. “Yeah,” she murmured simply.

Agnes nodded, then sighed and patted her coat. “Well, Herb’s waiting in the car. Bye now!”

Jo stood still for a second, the sound of a door shutting loudly shook her out of the daze. Her thoughts had begun hovering around just how normal and the same her life would have stayed if Twilight hadn’t shown up.

“I wouldn’t call all of it a miracle, though.” Jo grimaced, her brow furrowing down, and held up the piece of paper in her hand. “Great.” With a quick flurry of hands, she tore the thing up mercilessly, sending a shower of paper fluttering about. I can't believe that guy. She stared at the little mess a moment, before growling and scooping up the mess.

“I wonder what Alice is doing…” Jo sighed, and spared a thought that reflected she wouldn’t be thinking that either, normally.

Somewhere in New York

Jo’s House

Alice sighed, poking the empty plate on the table sitting in front of her. Home Alone played on the television nearby, while Jo’s three cats all sat in one of the three chairs around the table, each eating out of a little bowl of cat food.

“Man, I am so bored. You know that guys?” Alice looked around at the cats; one of them looked up and meowed, then went back to eating.

“Yeah, I miss them too, kitty,” Alice lamented, then sighed again. “Without those two chowder heads around, there’s no one to harass! The boys all enjoy it too much. I need Jo’s stuffiness. It’s like a drug. Get a taste, and you just keep wanting to bug her endlessly-”

Just then, the doorbell rang. “Pizza’s here!” she chimed, then jumped half way across the room happily, wearing a grin. As she did so, her hand swiped up a remote control, cranking Home Alone on the television. Just after that, she began deftly preparing to light firecrackers that were sorted into a metal pan by the front door.

“Merry Christmas, you filthy animal,” she chortled. "And a Happy New Year!"

Chapter 30 : Rise and Shine

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Mary paced back and forth in almost a circle, every so often looking up, maybe to see if something had changed. Despite what seemed liked hours, she hadn’t been able to gain any control over the surroundings, or wake up.

Meanwhile, Twilight watched from a short distance aways, sitting absently on the ground. She thought distractedly of how else perhaps they could pass the time. After all, a lot of time had passed already. They had spent most of it sharing their experiences, as well as their past woes, too. For the moment, she'd taken to making finger puppets in the flickering ambient light to keep herself entertained. She still couldn't quite figure out how Pinkie was so good at it, and that mare didn't even have hands.

"Yeowch!" Twilight jumped and looked over in surprise at Mary, who had just finished pinching her shoulder.

“Sorry, sorry, I had to surprise you,” Mary apologized. "I'd hoped that would wake us up, maybe..." She stared with a frown at Twilight's shoulder, as if it was the one at fault.

Twilight heaved an exasperated breath and folded her arms securely over her front. "Well it didn't, and we're still stuck here."

Mary looked up sadly, then nodded. She sat on the ground close by, moving slowly.

Twilight relaxed, her frown sliding off. She shifted her stare out towards the black that made up most of the horizon. "We'll get out of here, wherever 'here' even is."

Mary hummed acknowledgement, having been over the issue a few times already.

They sat in silence for several more minutes. Every so often, one of them would sigh, or huff a breath out loudly.

"I really hate the fur."

Twilight raised her head up; if she'd had her old ears they would have raised as well.

Mary swallowed visibly. "I mean, sleeping and waking up with it pointing in every direction? Wearing clothes over it? It's so uncomfortable." A weak chuckle escaped. "Uh, no offense. I mean, I'm trying to joke about it, but the words died... sorry." She leaned forward, shrinking in on herself a little. "Sorry," she repeated again. "I'm just... I'm still having trouble believing things."

Twilight thought back to her memories, to what she had seen. She knew the feeling that Mary was talking about. Even ignoring the memories, she could relate, and felt at least partially sure of what the human sitting beside her must feel.

"Hang in there, Mary. I know we've established the direness of our situation, but we have to keep our spirits up." Twilight hoped she sounded confident. She wanted to feel confident, too. But the former would have to suffice.

Mary looked up and quirked an eyebrow. "Did you say something, Twilight?"

Twilight's eyes widened. "Uuh... I— Oh my goodness." She watched, frozen and instantly worried a little as Mary began to get incredibly blurry. "What? Now what!?" She stood up and watched, confused, as Mary's blur vaguely did the same. A split moment later though, and Mary was gone.

Twilight blinked, staring at nothing. "Mary?"

She didn't get an answer from anywhere. "Oh come on!" Fists balled up at her sides, and her confusion flashed uncharacteristically into anger. "Mary? Luna? Anypony? Oh, I have had it! I’m tired of not knowing what’s happening!" She inhaled a deep breath, ready to scream. She had just the word for the moment, too, thanks to a friend. "Oh come on-!"

Twilight opened her eyes in a flash, inhaling in surprise at suddenly being awake. She took in her surroundings immediately, or tried to.

There was something that was holding her down, and she tried to think of what that something could be. Her head throbbed, as well.

Struggling, Twilight managed to shrug off whatever was strangely wrapped around her shoulders, and sat up, trying to remember details from the last time she was awake. She only vaguely recalled having a long conversation with somepony, and something unsettling her.

With a grunt she sat up more and held a hand to her head, the pounding lessening a bit. A helpful thought finally came, as well as a few other memories.

“Mary?” Twilight called out, and rubbed both of her eyes in order to see clearly. Incredibly tired, a yawn stretched her jaw the second after she spoke. It felt like she’d been out for ages; even her vision was blurry.

The sound of three different, distinct snores all reached Twilight’s ears, which told her she wasn't the only one there.

Searching around the room, she found the other occupants.

A little confused, Twilight blinked around herself at the crowded room, which included Jo at the bed’s side. She was touched to see that Jo was at the bedside; the other girl must have kept her company even while she was out.

Are they all asleep? Twilight wondered. She was initially surprised, but on a moment’s reflection realized that it made sense. I guess I was in that… dream-thing, for a while, was what she decided.

It seemed the dream-thing, or the dreamscape as Mary had said Luna called it, was now over. The event was apparently some form of Equestrian phenomena; one that Luna could use. The fact Mary could access it as well was even more odd, though.

Twilight was certain she had never heard of it before. However, without a way to study or read up on things, worrying over the magical reaction and the subsequent event wasn’t immediately productive.

Mary was lying up against Twilight’s side, forelegs half wrapped around her waist, but otherwise curled into a ball-like, fetal position. Only a moment ago—at least, it felt like a moment ago—she had been talking calmly, giving reassurances and lending an ear. The dream had gone on so long, that there had been time enough to tell one another all of their experiences over the last few months. The bits of information and details she had told Mary about her friends, her pitiful hopes to find a way home with science, as well as all of the harrowing tales that Mary had shared back with her, about police chases, animal control, and others.

Twilight tried to focus back on the questions at hoof. Okay. Perhaps I can solve the puzzle of the how and why later. But what now? It was one more question on the pile, rather than a solution, along with several others that were recently acquired. At the very least she hoped it counted as moving in the right direction.

Twilight let Mary be, and glanced at the other two people sharing the never-before-seen bedroom.

Jo was sound asleep at the bedside, head lying on her arms and seated at a chair in an uncomfortable looking way. In the corner of the room, sitting in a recliner, was a really big red-headed human.

Twilight vaguely recalled that the stranger was Mary’s husband. Despite the oddness of what she’d woken up to, she was relieved to arrive at the conclusion that she was awake, and if not back in Equestria, at least back in good company.

What to do? Absently, she pried Mary’s limbs off her waist, gingerly letting them go so as not to wake her up. Other memories and thoughts quickly weighed down her relief at being awake. Namely, those concerning what she had learned.

What a day. With a glance outside, Twilight lamented that the day hadn’t even started yet. I have so many questions now, but nopony to answer them. She laid a hand over her eyes, wondering how she should proceed.

With one eye, Twilight peeked out and studied Mary. She was tired of the word ‘what’, and tried to think of something other than questions. I can’t help her or her family.

Looking back, the strange pony hadn’t turned out to be her clue to get home after all, as she had hoped. No, Mary and her family had turned out to be unwitting bystanders that had gotten caught up in everything. At least, that’s what made the most sense to her.

Twilight furrowed her brow. In any case, each of Mary’s family gained a cutie mark... That is, with the exception of Mary. Even ignoring the oddness of everything else, that alone is very odd. She reflected that the cutie marks might not share quite the level of concern as changing into an Equestrian, and certainly not the fate of Equestria itself, but they were a concern nevertheless. It’s funny, in Equestria such an occasion as three family all earning cutie marks so close to one another would be celebrated…

That brought Twilight to the last, and biggest bit of news.

Her home, Equestria.

She had learned that both she and Mary weren’t just victims of her own experiment gone wrong. Instead, her spell, or maybe her potion, had been tampered with, and had put her waaay off course on purpose. Rather than a fluke, there had been a reason for everything that had happened, after all.

A really dark reason.

Just thinking about this churns my stomach. Twilight winced, hoping the sick feeling was fleeting. If there’s any relief to be had from all of this, it’s that my potion research might not have been a total waste…

With a wince, Twilight began to inch her way out from under the covers, then swung her legs out over her side of the bed. Yaaay, she thought, half-hearted, and pushed the other thoughts away. A little surprisingly to herself, she didn’t even want to think about them at the moment.

Twilight moved quietly so as not to wake anyone else just yet. It seemed and felt like she had been out for some time, but not too long, so they might wake up easily. She considered whether to let everyone know she was alright in case they had worried, but decided to let them sleep for a bit.

A distinct desire to just try and do some thinking without distractions, or perhaps even some not-thinking, was what won her over.

Staring mostly at the floor, Twilight made her way through the stranger’s house. She wasn’t really sure of where she was going or what she was going to do, either.

A plan. Twilight’s thoughts struggled to get themselves into rank and file to come up with something. I need a plan. But what? A hand pressed against her forehead as if pressure alone would create an idea, like heat and pressure created jewels on Earth. Such a silly method.

Twilight considered what she had learned. She spoke to Luna, but hasn’t been able to in months. That news alone had been both immediately lifting to hear, that Luna had even been able to do such a thing, and despairing. What if the worst has happened? Could one dragon be able to threaten Equestria? The whole world? It would definitely be able to do some damage. Then again, it came from Tartarus…

Twilight scowled briefly, recalling vividly the one sided conversation her past self had engaged in with a dragon… who was allegedly the cause of everything. There was maybe a chance it hadn’t been real, but in a way that made even less sense. Nevertheless, its threats were bad enough, but the way it had belittled her and her brain so much really irked her.

She sighed, then got her pride in check and her thoughts back on track. I need to warn my friends and princesses. But... it’s been so long. Is it too late? Her shoulders slumped as she walked. I need to get home... Is it too late for that, too? I just can’t- Without warning, her wandering was cut short and she let out a sudden, strangled sound of surprise.

Twilight found herself in a sort of dining room, and she shared it with others.

There were two people seated at the table; a human filly, and a young human stallion. The girl was strangely wearing a thick winter cap, despite being indoors. A bit disconcertingly, she wore an intense look of awe and amazement. The boy looked more or less either asleep with his eyes open, or severely disinterested. His clothes were just as odd, being made up of a black t-shirt and black pants.

Twilight stared.

It took standing in the silence for a moment to do the trick, but eventually she waved slightly, and flickered a smile. “H-Hello,” she murmured to them. I almost forgot a family lived here. I guess these are Mary’s children? She tried to look friendly.

The girl stared back, but blankly, almost making a contest of it, her eyes wide and mouth agape. The half raised spoon of cereal she was holding clinked comically into her cereal bowl on the table.

A second passed, and then a stream of garbled chatter, almost words, sped its way out of the little girl’s mouth into the room.

Twilight was caught entirely off guard. She vaguely made out that most of the words were happy over her being awake, real, alright, and a few other things she wasn’t terribly sure about. She was almost certain she caught Rainbow Dash’s name in there, too...

“Don’t mind her.” The boy spoke up over the racket. He was peering through a curtain of stringy dark hair to either side of his eyes. “She’s just a huge fan of yours, assuming you’re really a pony underneath that… disguise. We couldn’t get a straight answer from anyone last night about that.”

Twilight looked between the two children—the girl now busily taking deep, gulping breaths—and tried to work out what to respond with.

“Oh. No, I really actually am Twilight, if that’s what you meant,” she started with. She was getting used to that introduction, and convincing people of her identity. Going on, her voice became even more of a mumble. “Though I don’t really look like myself at the moment… And I’m back to square one over what to do about it…” She suppressed another sigh.

The girl spoke up next, talking over something the boy had tried to say. “Ohmygoshohmygosh. Uhm, Miss Sparkle? First off, I am such a huge fan. You are like, my idol.”

Twilight blinked, and felt a slight heat of embarrassment build in her cheeks at hearing that. She had never been anypony’s idol before that she knew of.

The little girl continued, still grinning ear to ear. “Second, was everything that your friend was saying true? Because she said you were here alone and you’re not really a princess and a bunch of other weird stuff about Equestria. And why is your hair black closer to your head? It’s pretty, but in the show it was just bluish with your stripes. And now that you’re awake, did you, uhm…”

She trailed off slightly, wearing a concerned look. “That is, did you fix mom yet? Put her back to her old self again?” With both hands she reached up and began tugging down on the sides of the winter hat she was wearing.

Twilight had raised her eyebrows incrementally with each question, then sunk her shoulders over question three; question four wilted her where she stood. I’m just going to disappoint this entire family after giving them all false hope, aren't I?

Quickly, Twilight took a breath and tried to hide her trepidation from the innocent girl. “Yes, everything you heard was likely true, and I am the only one here that I know of.” She skipped question three altogether. “And n-no, I didn’t. Fix your mother, I mean. Actually… it’s a little complicated, but I can’t right now. I can do it, I’m pretty sure, but not right now. I’m not even sure when I can, either… Eventually I hope to try.”

Twilight tried to give her most reassuring of smiles, but she could feel it was probably more of a creepy grin. Oh Celestia, I don’t even know what to do about my own problems, let alone helping them. It was a tough fight right at that moment just to keep her spirits up.

“Oh… I see.” The little girl seemed to wilt as well at the news, and looked down to stare at the table. She looked up again a fraction of a second later, once again wearing a calm smile. “And what about your hair? Did you dye the roots so that you’d fit in on Earth better? Oh, wait, you’re shape changed! So you’ve probably made it that way on purpose, huh?”

Twilight winced again at the hair question. Still, she managed to laugh nervously, and despite the assumption she had chosen to be human. She tried to settle the girl’s tirade with motions from her hands.

Oh Celestia, I’m so not ready to explain things to someone else right now. Twilight floundered over how to proceed. Maybe she could change the subject, or go back and get Jo, or maybe apologize to the girl about her getting a cutie mark; she didn’t even know the girl’s name.

“My hair…” Twilight started to answer, and looked around the room hoping to find words to use. She didn’t want to lie, not exactly, but just thinking about it wasn’t pleasant. She thought she hid her feelings on the subject well enough. “It’s simple, actually, I think. Humans grow darker hair, so when I became human, I started growing out a natural…”

Twilight had to pause and suck in a shuddering breath before going on. “A natural, human hair color.”

Bobby and Anna stared a moment in silence, Bobby munching quietly on whatever his breakfast was.

“Ohhhh,” Anna finally intoned, and brightened. “Okay, neat! What about mom? When can you fix her? I wanna say there’s no hurry, but I think she reeeally wants to be normal again.”

Twilight almost went into full blown despair at the more specific question, but was saved.

The teenager spoke up, a hint of reassurance in his tone. “Ah, come on, Anna. You know you like mom more as a pony.”

Anna looked over, making an affronted expression. “But she’s not happy, Bobby! Geez you’re dumb sometimes.”

Twilight watched Bobby roll his eyes back to Anna, then continued eating the suddenly familiar strips of human food, that were on his plate. She fought back the slight wave of nausea she gained over the realization.

“I’m just kidding,” Bobby responded dully. “Look, she’ll probably be back to her old self eventually, anyway. Fairytales always have happy endings. Right? Heh.”

Anna frowned. “This isn’t a real fairytale…” She switched from annoyed to sad, then seemed to search around the table with a shifty look. “But yeah… you’re right. I’m sure that Mom’ll be fine. And the rest of us, too. Right, Twilight?”

Twilight recognized the teenager’s voice now, attaching it to the name, but mostly put the revelation out of mind. The bit of indignation and irritation in her head from being insulted over the phone was outweighed a thousand fold by more pressing matters.

The lack of forming an outward reprimand for Bobby led Twilight to really realize just how numb she felt, overall. There was so much she had learned the prior night. So much that she would have to do in order to overcome the challenges now laid out in full. She had been sent to Earth, not by her own hoof, but because it was a place she supposedly couldn’t return from.

What does that vision mean for me overall? Twilight furrowed her brow, a pained look blossoming from the experience. Just the urgency that I return, I guess. Maybe? If I was sent here so I couldn’t return, maybe I can’t? What did that dragon mean that I could never return? Was she only referring to me no longer being a pony? Or… could she have meant Earth’s lack of magic? Twilight stopped to consider if it had been a female dragon. She wasn’t the expert on the species. Obviously the crystals retained their magic… wherever they came from, so perhaps the former is more likely-

“Twilight!” Anna called out loudly. She was standing out of her seat and waving a hand in the air. “Hey! I asked, ‘are you alright?’”

Startled, Twilight looked up at the sudden increase of the room’s volume. “Oh! Sorry, sorry.” She hadn’t even realized she had been addressed repeatedly. “I… have a lot on my mind.” She laid a hand on the side of her head, frowning.

Anna looked concerned, glancing between Bobby and Twilight. “Is there anything we can do to help? Or my mom or dad? Actually, are they even awake? Mom’s awake now too, isn’t she?”

Twilight gave the girl a comforting smirk, and wondered absently if she were about the age of a certain group of fillies from back home. The accidentally summoned memory of home and ponies she might never see again made her answer hastily.

“I-It’s okay, you don’t need to do anything, heh.” Twilight scratched the back of her head sheepishly. “And I think your mom is just still asleep… Normal sleep now, that is.”

Anna piped up again, quickly answering. “Still asleep? Uggh, they would sleep in on Christmas… Those butts…”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, and almost smiled.

Anna went on, speaking faster as she went. “Oh well! So, are you reaaally sure you don’t need us to do anything to help? If not, we should go get my folks up and open presents! Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry I don’t have anything to give you, Twilight. Oh! I bet if we hurry to the store I can get something." Soon, her words became even more of a jumbled mess. "DotheyhaveSantainEquestria? IknowyouhaveHearth’sWarming, but-”

Twilight realized she’d have to stop the little girl now if there was any hope of responding to anything she said. “Eh heh, easy,” she broke in. “I can only respond to one thing at a time. Even if I have been practicing with Pinkie Pie.”

As if by a switch Anna quieted, wide eyed.

Twilight cleared her throat absently, only having understood the first question, and sort of avoided eye contact. “As for help… I don’t know if there even is anypony, or anyone that can help me now.”

The room was quiet for several seconds.

“Wait. What do you mean?” Anna finally asked. Her voice was still full of a healthy dose of charm and excitement, with just a hint of something resembling doubt.

Twilight frowned, brow furrowing, then shook her head. It was her concern alone she concluded, not that of a little girl’s. “I-It’s nothing, uhm, Anna. Getting things fixed or finding help is just complicated and I just need to go somewhere quiet to think by myself.”

Anna and Bobby traded looks with each other, until Bobby shrugged and pointed behind himself with a thumb. “Pool table room’s that way, in the basement. There’s a couch; it’s quiet. Might be cold.”

Twilight let out a tense breath, thankful to get away just like that. Nodding, she began heading that way. “Thank you,” she said simply, not wanting to trouble the innocent family more than she already had.

However, taking everyone in the room by surprise, Anna cartwheeled over the table and landed right in the center of the floor in front of Twilight. She stared up wide-eyed at Twilight, before bursting into speech.

“Wait! What’s wrong? Is this because you can’t fix my mom? Was she mad? She’ll get over it, Twilight! She just has a… temper, sometimes.” Anna wore a pleading look as she spoke.

“Uhm.” Twilight blinked, but recovered quickly from the surprise of the little girl’s dexterity. She recalled the bit about the family’s cutie marks. “Oh, no, we talked about everything concerning one another and are both well informed on… well, everything. I just- I’m not sure if… if...”

Twilight inhaled a somber breath. “It’s a little complicated, Anna, but everything will be fine.”

Anna raised an eyebrow. “Everything will be fine?” she asked, skepticism rife in her tone. “Twiliiight, what’s even wrong? Come on, when a grown up says ‘everything will be fine’ I get worried because something isn’t fine, but they don’t want to tell me about it!”

Twilight half listened to what Anna was saying, her mind truly was somewhere other than the room which they were presently standing in. The truth was she felt the closest to just giving up that she ever had.

“I’m sorry...” Twilight began to edge around Anna. “At the moment I… I guess I just want to think and rest.” She really did feel exhausted, somehow, as if she hadn’t slept in days. “There might not even be a way that I can return home, you see, and… I have a lot to consider if I’m going to be staying on Earth for so long…”

Anna slid back in front of Twilight, not letting her escape so easily. “‘Think about’? ‘Staying’? Wait a second! You can’t tell me that you’re thinking about giving up on… whatever’s going on!?” The speed at which she spoke increased. “Also, I don’t mind you staying! You can totally stay in my room if you want! But I understand why that sucks... Anyway, you can’t give up! Okay, so you aren’t a princess-”

Twilight almost complimented her perceptiveness, but remained quiet, still wanting to escape.

Anna continued, barely pausing for breath. “But so what!? You defeated Discord and Nightmare Moon! You got Applejack to accept help! Pinkie Pie to- uhm… You… you…” She paused, stuck in thought. “There’s too many to list! And according to Jo, there are more that we didn’t even get to see!”

Bobby added his two cents abruptly. “Yeah, you gotta chin up and get back in the saddle.” He began snickering while picking at his plate, his sister shooting his back a glare.

Twilight looked at the very passionate little girl in awe for a few quiet seconds, before responding quietly. “I’m not giving up, uhm, Anna… but, the two big things you mentioned, defeating Nightmare Moon and Discord. I couldn’t have done that without the help of others, without the help of my friends. I don’t have their help right now… I don’t even have my magic-”

Twilight scrunched her eyes shut for a brief second after she slipped the news, and opened them again to see Anna staring at her in shock. “I don’t have any of my magic, at all,” she repeated. “And every cursory study of known science on your world suggests there is no feasible method by which I could get home… Just like they said… And to make matters worse, your mother’s connection with Equestria must have ended, because she can no longer reach Princess Luna! I’m on my own… unless Princess Celestia can save me...”

Twilight let the rest remain unspoken. At hearing the stone cracking news once again aloud, in full truth, she regretted letting it slip out. It wasn’t pleasant to hear.

The words left the room quiet.

“Damn.” Bobby let his fork clink onto his plate, and leaned back. “So you can’t fix Mary without magic, huh?”

Anna gritted her teeth. “Bobby, Mom hates it when you call her by her name. Or swear...”

Twilight flinched at the question, and was grateful for the interruption that ensured she wouldn’t have to explain further. Not waiting for whatever may come, she took a deep breath and walked past Anna.

A sharp tug on her shirt halted her retreat, and Twilight stopped to turn around. “Anna,” she began to plead.

“Hang on!” The girl, only just old enough to have her cutie mark were she a pony, had an intense look directed her way. “The Twilight Sparkle I know still wouldn’t give up! Er, well, you said you weren’t exactly giving up exactly…”

A frustrated look of concentration flashed over Anna’s face. “But, just because she doesn’t have any magic, or even because her friends aren’t with her, the Twilight I know wouldn’t act like there’s no hope! She’d rise to the challenge! She’d get excited by whatever it was and call for Spike to get her books and- I mean, Spike isn’t here either, but...”

Bobby filled the awkward pause. “Smooth,” he intoned.

“Grr…” Anna continued, looking more determined. ”But you- I mean, she’s done all kinds of awesome things by herself! You’re really her! The Twilight Sparkle. I’m sure of it, and you’re the smartest, coolest, and most awesome unicorn ever!” She grabbed Twilight’s arms and shook them roughly. “I don’t care what you look like. You can do anything, or almost anything, and you’re not alone. We’ll all totally help you!”

“I…” Twilight looked down sadly at Anna, who wasn’t even aware of the dangers that could be threatening Equestria. It was hard to say whether her not knowing made her words seem stronger or weaker. After all, the cartoon character that Anna knew of was just that, a cartoon character, not the real thing.

Twilight swallowed, trying to think of how to respond.

“Hey, Twilight,” someone announced.

“She’s right, you know.” Jo stepped in, drawing attention towards herself. “I mean, I don’t know what you’ve got in mind, but spoilers, if anyone can do it, Twilight, it’s you.” She smirked, and crossed her arms where she was at the other end of the room.

Twilight shuffled her feet, unsure exactly how to respond to the sentiments. “I can’t really do the impossible, everyone. Which I highly suspect my goal may very well be…” She sighed.

Jo strode over, not giving the Equestrian an inch. “Twilight, I have confidence in you. I’m not a ‘magic’ or a tech or an anything expert by any means, but impossible or not, we can’t just sit back and wait.”

Twilight smiled unintentionally. She also noted that the other girl had said “we”, and not “you”.

Jo went on. “Not if what Mary said about a dragon swearing vengeance or whatever and being responsible for what happened to you is true.”

“A dragon!?” Anna and Bobby both exclaimed, though in widely differing tones.

Twilight slapped a hand over her face, then whispered at Jo. “I wasn’t going to tell them that!” She briefly reflected how much she had let slip already, and whether or not it mattered. Surely the kids were good at keeping secrets considering the state of their mother?

“Oh,” Jo murmured, and gave the two youths a serious look. “Forget I said that.”

“As if!” Anna returned, excited. She quieted, but was visibly eager to ask questions now. To this end, she went to Bobby and began pestering him in whispers. “Oh wow, what if they need my help to-” Bobby groaned and slowly raised his hands over his ears.

Jo addressed Twilight again, frowning seriously. “Anyway, what’s the plan? We need to leave back for home straight away I’m assuming, right? Mary said there wasn’t anything keeping us here if… well, you know.”

Twilight ahemmed, thinking idly about the facts surrounding Mary. “Well, sort of…” She prodded two of the points of her fingers together distractedly. “I mean, I was just going to go sit in the house’s basement for a while and gather my thoughts, maybe…” Her eye shifted back and forth over the floor.

Jo waited for more. When none came, she decided she had the situation figured out. “Ahuh.” Surprising herself, she gave her most confident and reassuring of looks to Twilight. “Well, instead of that, how about we figure out our next step? Like I was saying. I have confidence in you, for what it’s worth.” She held a hand out. “What do you say? In this together?”

“Oooh my gooosh,” Anna was suddenly between Twilight and Jo, and almost made them both jump in surprise. “This is so exciting!”

Twilight glanced between Anna, who was beaming up at her, and then back to Jo. Eventually, she settled on smiling, returning the simple, but very welcome expressions. “Thanks, guys. Anna, Jo… Uhm, and even your brother, actually.”

The teenager made a surprised face, along with Anna and Jo.

“Him?” Anna asked, incredulous. “Why him?”

Bobby raised an eyebrow from the table, and added, “Yeah, why me?”

“Because,” Twilight started. “Without you, I might not have found your family. Even if you were doing the wrong thing.” She smiled cheerfully, eyes shut in confidence.

Bobby replied, and maybe a bit too quickly. “So, you’re saying that I can do whatever I want as long as it works out in the end?” He put on a huge grin once finished, not at all hiding anything on his mind.

Twilight opened her eyes and gaped. “W-What? No, I meant that-”

“Psch, relax, I’m just screwing around with your pony philosophy.” Bobby waved a dismissive hand.

Anna took a step towards him, practically growling. “Dangit, Bobby! Go away!”

Her brother shrugged in answer, doing a bad job of hiding his amusement.

Jo stared a moment at the two kids, then huffed a breath. “So Twilight, you’re good now?”

Twilight nodded, smiling a little. “I think so… thanks again, everyone.”

Jo smirked, but Anna… looked as if she were about to burst into a fireworks display, her excitement barely contained.

In the meantime, Jo patted Twilight on the shoulder. “Hey, it’s what friends are for,” she responded, then quickly backed up and clapped her hands together. “Right, now that we’ve gotten the fuzzy-feel-good scene out of the way-”

Bobby interrupted. “Thank God.” He had retreated from the table and all the way to the nearest exit. “Just yell if you need the help of someone intelligent. I’ll be playing video games or doing something that, unlike being around this pony talk, doesn’t rot brain cells.”

“No one cares about your dumb games!” Anna yelled after her brother.

“Video games?” Twilight turned, blinking, at the mention of something familiar.

Jo deadpanned momentarily, then continued over Bobby and Anna’s continued insults, grunting. “Twilight, focus. What’s next? Did your sleep-walkabout reveal any hidden magical key to solving all of this? Like… I dunno, maybe we hold onto your crystals, join hands, sing, and somehow send you home? Well, the one crystal you brought, anyway?”

When Twilight gave Jo a slightly bemused look over the phrasing, the other girl shied back slightly.

“What?” Jo frowned and looked away. “I dunno anything about this stuff… I just want to help. You know?”

“Fair enough.” Twilight grinned. “Honestly, I don’t think things are going to be quite that easy… I mean, not to say that suggestion wouldn’t work, but for now I don’t think our situation has changed inherently-” She touched a hand to her side, then realized she didn’t have her coat with its pockets on any longer. “Wait a moment.”

Twilight stood stock-still. Eventually, she began patting around her clothes frantically, as if searching for something she had lost. “Uh oh.”

Jo and Anna looked at her with confused expressions.

Finally, Twilight asked the question on her mind out loud. “Has anyone seen my crystal? Uhm, you have it, right Jo?” Her hands clung to the insides of her out-turned pants pockets.

Jo’s eyes widened in surprise. “I thought you had it,” she replied back, and held her hands up in the air. “I haven’t seen it since-”

“O-Oh, uhm,” Anna timidly spoke up.

Twilight and Jo looked over, finding the little girl nervously shifting about.

“I have it, actually,” Anna went on. “I found it outside in the snow after… everything happened, aaand everyone was so busy that I sort of just held onto it. I promise that it’s safe and sound in my room, Twilight. And I wasn’t taking it or anything.” She grinned up, looking ashamed, as though she had done something unforgivable.

Not waiting a moment, Twilight smiled back. More than anything she felt relieved at the news. “I didn’t think that at all, Anna. Don’t worry, it’s just, uhm, I don’t know much about the crystal, and it might be… reeeally important. I also think it may have been responsible for the reaction I had with your mom.” She wasn’t sure what else could have caused it, after all. Tests would be needed, certainly. The idea of tests cheered her up a bit more.

“If it can induce a kind of spontaneous magic burst like that…” Twilight trailed off, thinking of the implications the random, magical occurrence, then continued. “Well, what I do know is that it’s quite powerful, which means it might be dangerous.”

Jo frowned, giving the other girl a worried look.

Twilight tried to give her a reassuring one back. “Possibly, might be dangerous, anyway. Heh.”

Jo didn’t look convinced.

But, Anna oohed in interest. After a brief pause, she spoke up timidly again, almost hesitating. “Okay, so, you said you can’t fix mom, and you have no magic right now… Then how are you human? Because you aren’t a pony right now, but my dad’s deputy said that you were only in disguise. But it isn’t on purpose? I’m confused...” That much was apparent judging by the intense look of concentration she wore.

Twilight rubbed a hand behind her head while chuckling. “Well, to be honest, I’ve been stuck as a human for a while… But not by design. I’m stuck like your mom is. We’ve also determined with a reasonable margin of error that the two events are likely connected...”

Anna gasped slightly, then calmed down immediately, then asked, “So, I’m guessing the crystals couldn’t, saaaay, turn someone into a pony, then?”

Twilight’s eyes widened, before quickly transforming into an amused look. “Could they- Haha, of course not, Anna.“ She pressed on, stifling her laughter. “They definitely shouldn’t be able to turn anything into a pony or something like that. I think they would have by now if they could. Boy, wouldn’t Alice just love-”

Jo’s eyes widened in horror at the notion, and she interrupted Twilight. “They better not be able to.” She took a step towards her friend. “Twilight, if helping you ever does that to me, well, I’m asking for it by exposing myself to your weirdness. But promise me that won’t happen.”

Twilight quirked an eyebrow, then laughed a little harder. Humans have quite the imagination. “Oh, relax, Jo! As near as I’ve been able to tell, they’re just like ‘batteries’. Either the Equestrian version, or like your own, though obviously they work on completely different physics and rules.”

Jo relaxed slightly at the sentiment.

Twilight cleared her throat, readying to continue. “They all seem to have a great deal of stored magic, but without something to direct it, like say a unicorn’s horn?” She poked her forehead for effect, smirking. “It’s all inert. Magic doesn’t just do things. It’s a science, a delicate science that needs cause to have any effect.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” Jo mumbled.

Anna also nodded, then looked at the floor and remained quiet. She seemed to be satisfied with her answer, at least.

Twilight noticed and went on, feeling sort of on a roll. “But, assuming I had access to my magic, I would in theory be quite able to cast a spell to undo what happened to Anna’s mother, or even turn myself back into a unicorn.”

Taking the room by surprise once again, Anna exploded, yelling, “Really!?”

Twilight blinked, almost knocked over by the force of the girl’s excitement. Then the obvious reason dawned on her; that her race was thought of as cute by humans, and that ponies were in general very popular with human girls. She was used to getting the reaction from a certain other friend of hers.

Twilight put on a sheepish look. “Uh… Hey! Anna, could you please go get the crystal for me?” She laughed a little nervously. “It’s important that I keep that safe and get it back right away.”

Anna seemed to calm down right away. “Oh, uhm… okay! I… I’ll be right back with it.”

Twilight bent over, hands on knees and waved as Anna tore out of the room quite quickly. It was now pretty quiet and decidedly less energetic with the lack of Anna’s or her brother’s presence.

Twilight faced Jo and breathed out a sigh of relief straight away. “So, Mrs. Mary and Mr. Stan are awake?”

“...You mean Mr. and Mrs. Morris?” Jo nodded, then looked off to the side. “I think they’re having a private kind of talk right now… but yeah.”

Twilight nodded as well. “Okay. We’ll make sure everyone’s caught up. Judging from what Mary told me while we were gone, her husband will have questions.”

Jo recalled the scene she’d left behind. “You can say that again…”

“But for now, other than the new information we’ve learned, not much has changed, really.” Twilight nodded once to herself. “Getting back to Equestria is just all the more urgent, and right now I have only one lead toward that end.”

“Right. Okay… so you are ruling out waiting for help.” That much seemed obvious. Jo had been pretty sure Twilight would have a plan already, and was happy to see she didn’t disappoint.

Twilight went on slowly. “Yeah…” Inwardly, she dearly hoped her mentor had already dealt with the threat. “What I have in mind is a far more scientific route to pursue.” Jo raised an eyebrow in return, but Twilight was already on the move. There would be a lot to do, and she only had a hunch on where to start. “I’ll need your computer in order to get ahold of Lex and-.”

Jo’s expression shifted and she interrupted Twilight as soon as she realized what was being said. “Wait a second. You mean your plan is getting help from... them?”

Twilight raised a questioning eyebrow. “Lex, Carl and the others? Of course. Who else?”

Jo groaned, and placed a hand over her face slowly. “Yes, those guys. Your nerds.” She exhaled somberly. “Why does it have to be them? Does it have to be them?”

Twilight responded amidst a yawn. “Eeyup!”

“They wouldn’t even give you the time of the day after they sent back your crystals!”

Twilight crossed her arms. “Jo, you’re exaggerating. They’re still perfectly agreeable.” Her finger tapped repeatedly on her elbow. “As knowledgeable about computers and digital games as you are, I’m not sure why you don’t get along better. You’re pretty similar to them in many respects.”

Jo was about to explain that in no uncertain ways did she have anything in common with Twilight’s ‘physics’ buddies, but was beaten to it.

“I got it!” Anna chimed, and raced into the room. “Safe and sound.” In her hands, was a dimly glowing crystal, nestled in a ball of what appeared to be a bunched towel.

Twilight smiled in relief. “Thank goodness, and thank you, Anna.” She took the offering straight away, and gave it a look over. Oddly, it was wrapped quite tightly in both a towel and a sheet. “Huh, why did you cover it?” She rotated the crystal around once she’d unwrapped it sufficiently; it looked normal.

Anna was quiet a moment before answering. “Oh, weeell, you said it was dangerous… So I thought, maybe it’s radioactive and could make me a zombie or something…?” She gave the taller person a sheepish look.

Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. “You thought- Why is it that everyone always thinks of those things? Zombies aren’t real! I used to have to tell Spike that all the time, too, and it’s a silly notion at the best of those times.”

Jo snorted. “Not real like brightly colored little horses aren’t real?”

Twilight shot a friendly glare at Jo. “That’s beside the point,” she retorted. “And horses are a myth where I come from, I’ll have you know.”

Jo shrugged, smirking proudly. “That just supports the kid’s case that zombies are real, Twilight.”

“Yeah!- hey, I’m not a kid. I turned ten last month! And also.” She began to let out a high pitched squeal of delight. “Aaah, this is so cool! And I wanna meet Spike so bad!”

Twilight had been about to argue over the idea of resurrected dead tissue, but thought better of it. “Heh, I’m sure Spike would very much like to meet you and other humans too, Anna.” She gave the excitement filled human filly a bright look.

Anna’s eyes widened. “No way,” she answered flatly.

Twilight smirked over the idea of her assistant hearing about humans. Spike being introduced to their tech, however, such as TV, produced a worried feeling.

Twilight coughed. “No, I’m pretty sure he’d be captivated… for better or for worse.” She looked over the top of her crystal at Jo. “Ahem, I’ll drop the zombie issue, for now. But only because we have far more pressing matters to attend to.”

Jo nodded in understanding, still looking supportive.

Anna waved an arm up in the air, standing up straighter. “Oh oh! Hey, wait! Come on, please don’t leave me out of this! I want to help! Don’t I get to help for keeping the mcguffin safe? Like, we need to get your magic back! Can we fix that by being your friends!? You know… because friendship is magic?”

Twilight and Jo traded widely differing looks.

Jo spoke first. “Well that hasn’t worked so far. Heh. But maybe that’s just because I’m a terrible friend?”

Twilight scoffed. “Jo, that’s not true. You’ve been a great friend. And Anna, I don’t think it would be that easy… I wish it was, though. I-” An idea came to her, that might just speed things along. “But, I think I could use your help.”

Anna wilted a bit at first, then regained her air of excitement. “You do!? Awesome! Uhm, how?”

“I’d like to know, too.” Jo raised an eyebrow over at Twilight. She still wondered what the other girl had in mind, exactly, if her sketchy online friends were involved.

Twilight explained. “I actually need a favor. And you’re right, you did keep… keep the, uh- What did you call the crystal?” Her face scrunched up, trying to recall the word that had been used.

Anna shrugged. “Mcguffin. It’s what grandpa calls important magic stuff in movies.”

Twilight nodded slowly in mild understanding. Right. The culture humans have in regards to entertainment is… very rich. Yup, going with that; very, very rich. She moved on with a purpose swiftly.

“Anna,” Twilight addressed, her tone smooth. “Is there a computer in your home with an internet connection? And would it be okay if I used it?”

Right away, Anna ooohed. “Sure! I mean, I’m not allowed on there, but I’ll go get mom to-” She thought about that idea for a moment, then began again. “I’ll go get dad to set it up for you. I’m sure he’ll be okay with it.” Not waiting for a reply, she raced off straight away.

“Excellent, thank you!” Twilight felt glad that things seemed to be progressing. I hope Lex will be around. Perhaps not if this Christmas holiday is as prevalent as Hearth’s Warming… But I still need to- Something made her jump, and she turned to find Jo tapping her arm. “Hm?”

Jo wore an expectant look. “So what are you going to say to them? And I thought they wouldn’t let you into their little science club?”

Twilight hid her exasperation. Even ignoring what Alice may or may not have heard, her internet colleagues had resources and connections where she had none. It was a great deal more difficult acquiring either of those on Earth.

Twilight recalled exactly what Alice had told the both of them about. Behind closed doors, her friends had, apparently, discussed some rather suspicious ‘goings on’. Namely, secret-type sounding projects, and an undisclosed use for the crystals.

But nothing came of it. The borrowed crystals were recently returned, along with scientific findings and some notes. Besides that, Lex and the others still spoke to Twilight casually, but wouldn’t explain, and determining who knew what was impossible. Overall, most seemed to be acting aloof.

Either way, it wasn’t satisfactory progress.

Twilight began to try and explain calmly. “It’s not a science club.” Perhaps she wasn’t certain of that, but she went on anyway. “I suspect that they may be intent on protecting against espionage if they’re a group conducting serious research. And I understand you don’t particularly trust them back, but now more than ever I definitely need their help.” She paused. “Anyway I’m not sure what I’ll say yet, but...” She trailed off since Jo looked intent on responding.

“Alright, so they’re your best bet and you gotta convince them of that...” Jo shrugged. “You should maybe postpone talking to them face to face though, and-”

Twilight groaned and turned about to start pacing, unable to understand how anypony or anyone could be so stubborn. “Jo, it can’t wait, if I can communicate the gravity of the situation, maybe I can get cooperation to-”

Jo waved her hands in a calming gesture. “Whoa, easy, Twilight. That’s not what I meant.”

Twilight stopped her back and forth walk.

Jo went on. “What I mean is, you’ve got a wicked bad case of bedhead.” She pointed up towards Twilight’s left ear. “You might want to take care of that, it’s pretty wild, even if you don’t talk to Bert and Ernie by video.”

Twilight resisted asking about the strange names, and held a hand up to her head. She realized she could feel a good deal of her hair jutting out to one side of her head. “Oh,” she responded, and laughed weakly. “Well, maybe this can wait a little bit, then…”

The sound of Anna’s voice calling from the next room over grabbed Twilight’s and Jo’s attentions.

“Dad said it’s fine, Twilight! Computer’s all yours!”

Twilight’s eyes lit up by a couple lumens, despite the tiredness that she felt behind them. “Then again, there is no time for action like the present! Come on, Jo.” She smirked confidently as she strode on past. “Besides, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about scientists from Earth or Equestria, it’s that they’re much more credible if their hair is crazy.”

Jo stared after Twilight, eagerness following the other girl like coattails. “Sigh,” Jo muttered aloud to herself. “Well, let’s see what plan A is, then…”

Author's Notes:

Well, months later and a few deleted blogs posts, chapter sections, and many baby tears shed over what to do, here's the next chapter. One of them. Sadly, embarrassingly, MLM isn't done. There's a lot to be said, but doesn't necessarily need to be said about my writing and my abysmal track record lately. I may post a blog about all that, but I can say now it would mostly be whiny I'm sure. In any case, hopefully this chapter isn't too terrible, given the lax state of things. At the very least I'm pretty sure the grammar is darned near perfect this time.

The next chapter is very near completion as well. Maybe a few hundred words off, in fact. As said though the mlm side, isn't, but it should be done either tonight or tomorrow. I'm running into issues splitting things up which I may detail in the blog post. I'll say no more though, folks. If you're reading this, thanks for reading, and sticking around, and giving these wretched stories the benefit of the doubt.

More to follow.

-Merlos

Chapter 31 : Hindsight

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Twilight eased into the desk chair. Her attention was on the impressively tall human standing off to the desk’s right. He was leaning over the keyboard to input what must be an entry password to his family’s computer.

“Thank you again so much for this, Mr. uhm…” Twilight trailed off, trying to remember his name. She’d only met with him briefly before she, to put it bluntly, caused a magical explosion on his property’s front porch.

“Stan.” The man leaned up, smirking. His face had remained mostly expressionless, but managed the pleasant look for a brief moment.

“Ah, thank you, Mr. Stan.” Twilight nodded and faced towards the computer.

Stan rubbed a hand behind his head. “Just Stan, actually. But you can call me Mr. Morris if you’d prefer. Mr. Stan works too, if that’s a pony thing.”

Twilight remembered making that mistake before. “Oh right. Geez, I’m sorry. The human names I’ve encountered work a little more strictly than the naming conventions I’m used to. And I’m a little tired, too. Heh.” She tried not to appear nervous from being surrounded by strangers, and was relieved when another friendly look returned her way.

“It’s fine. My wife’s likely going to fall asleep again soon, herself. She’s been making trips to that… dream-whatever for a while now and exhausts herself doing it. I really don’t think it’s good for her at all, especially if…” Stan frowned then, looking at the desk, before shaking his head. “Well, nevermind.”

“I see. Well, she really does seem to be trying hard to speak to Luna again, though I’m still not entirely sure entirely how she’s—” Twilight paused in setting the computer up. “Oh… and about her suddenly possessing the body of an Equestrian. I can’t say for sure, but I wanted to reassure you that Mary isn’t at some sort of health risk. You seemed worried about her being alright, but other than tiredness—” Punctuating her point, a yawn interrupted her.

Stan wore a polite smile, but there was doubt behind his expression still.

“Gosh, excuse me. Like I was saying, the dream-walking is an interesting phenomenon and I haven’t encountered it before, but it seems harmless.” Twilight tilted her head slightly, frowning. “I mean, magic is a very dependable force, even for someone untrained in its use, though I understand it’s not always depicted as such here on Earth. In any case, it’s rarely dangerous without intent.”

Stan adopted a concentrated look on Twilight as she briefed him. “Ah… That’s good to hear from someone that knows about this, uh, fantasy stuff. I never cared much for it, myself. My father kind of burned me out on it as a kid.” He paused to sigh. “Although I guess this situation isn’t fantasy anymore, huh?”

Twilight answered absently as she worked on the keyboard. “I miss my dad.” She blinked, and cupped a hand over her mouth to contain another yawn. “Ah, sorry, that slipped out.” The human facing her gave a consoling look.

Twilight cleared her throat and went on hurriedly. “A-Anyway, Mary seemed very healthy to me, Mr. Stan. Her mental-state even seemed to be rather stable, all considering. I know my mom would be beside herself if she turned into a human, for instance... Er, not that human form is bad or anything—!" She let out a couple weak laughs, before clearing her throat again and straightening up in an effort to show more composure.

Stan suppressed a chuckle. "It's fine, Twilight."

Twilight sighed, nodding. "Anyway... I’ve had a little bit of experience with instability and worrying too much over things; even more so recently while going through this. A few psychology books and studies on the subject gave me some further insight into it.”

Stan, for his part, seemed to respond positively to the sentiments. At least, he nodded along in interest, before speaking up while wearing a concerned look. “Twilight,” he began to say, and established a piercing eye-to-eye contact.

Twilight straightened up more, trying not to look nervous. “Hm?”

“Have you noticed anything odd about my wife? I mean besides her having hooves, a tail, and a mane.”

“Noticed?” Twilight repeated back, blinking. Her thoughts searched for what he could mean as she leaned back into the chair.

Stan seemed quite serious.

Twilight hummed. Well, I just met her. What basis would I have to judge from her normal state? In fact, I spent more time with her while she looked human in that dream than while awake as a pony. Perhaps the answer is more rudimentary...

“Well, as I said, she has seemed alright, all considering… I take it she told you some of what we went through?” When Stan nodded she went on. “That wasn’t exactly easy, I think, for either of us. She did act a tad out of control and frantic at a moment’s notice once or twice, and angry at me, or at herself. Or sad.”

Twilight shrunk a little, embarrassed she may have said something inappropriate by saying the whole truth. “But under the circumstances it was perfectly understandable! Considering what we saw and how uncommon those things are on Earth… She did commendably. I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff and my legs still shake more often than not when I confront it.”

Stan stared blankly at the wall, rather than react outwardly. “Right… But, you noticed her mood swings?” he finally asked.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Mood swings?” She knew the phrase, but was uncertain if it quite fit. “Well I don’t know if I’d constitute her behavior as—”

Stan sighed heavily, as if rethinking something. “Never mind, Twilight. Maybe it’s nothing.” When he started again he changed the subject. “Is there anything else I can get you? Coffee, maybe, if this call you have is as important as you say?”

Twilight barely gave the man a chance to finish his sentence. “Oh yes! Coffee would be terrific, thank you. And thank you again for letting me use your computer. And for being so understanding, considering everything... And while I’m at it…” She paused for a moment to clear her throat, and looked over. “I’m sorry for everything that’s befallen your family. Maybe if I—”

Stan interrupted. “It’s alright. You don’t need to apologize, assuming I correctly understand all this magic stuff and what was done to you. It’s important not to take the blame for consequences that aren’t your fault. Even if there wasn’t a, uhm…” He cleared his throat, hard, before saying, “A dragon that, uh, tampered with your magical pony spell to… teleport, it was an accident.”

Stan paused, scratching the side of his head, and looking as if he’d forgotten what he was saying. But he resumed. “Anyway, if your world is at risk, put your well-being first. It sounds like a lot of people… ponies?”

Twilight managed a smirk. “People works.”

Stan nodded slightly. “Oh, good.” He looked as if he was having trouble actually saying the words, like they had an unbelievable sound to them. “In any case, I do appreciate the sentiment.”

Twilight smiled sadly. “Still, I promise to help you all as much as I can. I still feel responsible...”

“We’re grateful, Twilight.” Stan nodded solemnly, then said, “Sugar?”

Twilight blinked. “What?”

“In your coffee,” Stan offered. “How do you like it?”

“Oh.” Twilight turned to face the computer and set about finishing her program setup while she spoke. “Hot, with lots of sugar, please! Things on Earth are a bit more bland than in Equestria, you see. Uhm, no offense.” She flashed a sheepish look, then shifted to a more calculating one. “I’ve just yet to find anything that measures up the same as— Oh! I should ask Mary later if her sense of taste or smell changed any. It’s worth knowing whether the oddities I’ve noticed with taste and such could be either physiological or with your world itself. Personally, I think it’s the latter.”

As she spoke, she clicked away madly at the keyboard, sending messages out to see if she could get ahold of Lex, or someone else. “But, were that actually the case I would sooner assume they’d be far more different than they appear to be—”

Twilight looked up, and noticed the lost look on Stan’s face, and the slow blinking of his eyes. “Oh, sorry. Perhaps it’s a good time to mention that the more tired I am the more I tend to let my thoughts get away from me. Heh. And start rambling.”

Stan smirked. “It’s fine. I’ll be right back with that coffee. I hope it helps.”

“Did someone say coffee?” came Jo’s voice from the room over.

Twilight smirked, watching Mary’s husband go, heading towards the direction of her friend and the kitchen.

Just after she looked back to the computer for an update on things, a loud thump followed by a shout filled the house but a moment later.

“Where did you hide my present, twerp!?”

Twilight stared out of the office doorway with apprehension for a moment, then sighed a little as a smile formed. It was a very nice family, if a little strange to her.

Before Twilight turned completely away again, a head poked around the corner into the room.

“Is he gone?” Anna asked, looking oddly suspicious and wary. She also seemed to be wearing the remnants of a mischievous grin.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “He is,” she answered wryly, while at the same time she typed away quickly without looking. “Hi there.”

Anna seems like a sweet kid, not too unlike any other filly from back in Equestria. The Cutie Mark Crusaders would especially get along with her. Twilight hummed as she thought. Also not unlike those infamous fillies is the manner in which Anna slinks into a room when she’s trying to be sneaky. Which begs the question: what is she up to?

Even as Twilight thought, Anna stepped into the room and hid around the corner of the doorway. “Phew, awesome. I just wanted to ask if you need any more help? Maybe? I don’t know if my mom told you, but I actually have my own cutie mark! Maybe that’s a clue?”

Twilight laughed lightly and turned more towards Anna. “She did, actually! Your mom told me all about how you found your special talent up on stage. That was a really great cutie mark story!”

Anna’s eyes started to dazzle somewhat, listening to the praise. Although, she also looked a little embarrassed from it, too.

Twilight went on, grinning. “And I think you’re right about it being a clue. Whatever affected your mom must have also affected the rest of you, but to a lesser degree.” She knew the more precise details of the cause, but left those out. “However, at the moment my plan involves a lot of science and contacting some friends… Unfortunately, even though it’s my specialty, I don’t think I can do a lot right now with magic, so such clues likely aren’t going to be helpful.”

Anna nodded right away. “Gotcha,” she murmured. "Also! I should give this back. I found it after you and mom passed out yesterday! I kept it extra special safe, too." Her little hand reached hoodie's pocket, then held out a familiar, small and pinkish crystal with a long shape.

Twilight sat upright, then began patting around herself. "Oh, oh my gosh! I did drop it. With everything going on I— Wow, thanks, Anna."

The little girl's expression devolved into an open-mouthed look of unbridled glee as she handed the little jewel back to Twilight. A quiet, high pitched squeal of delight punctuate her apparent thoughts over helping Twilight in any capacity.

"Uhm, Anna? Are you okay?" Twilight quirked an eyebrow, smirking slightly.

“I am your biggest fan," Anna murmured, then hastily shook her head. "No, forget you heard that, Twilight!"

Twilight snickered, but nodded with gusto; it was as if she'd been stopped by a little foal back in Ponyville and asked for an autograph after defeating Nightmare Moon all over again.

Anna took a breath, and seemed to center herself to regain composure. "Okay. I'm good. Well, if I can do anything, Twilight, just say the word! Mom said you’d be busy and not to bother you. Uh, well, I had a weird question, first, but... never mind.” She took a couple shuffling steps towards the door.

Twilight tilted her head pleasantly. “Anna? What’s wrong?” Anna still looked embarrassed, perhaps over asking questions about Equestria.

Anna lifted her head, halfway hidden around the edge of the doorway. “Uuuhm. Just, are you sure that your crystal can’t make me a pony? Like super absolutely positive?”

Oh goodness, this again. Twilight laughed softly. “I’m reasonably sure you have nothing to fear in that regard, Anna.” She nodded her assent.

Anna put on a scrutinous look. “But you aren’t positive?”

Twilight’s smile wavered. “Well, pretty positive. Magic doesn’t act on its own without direction… typically.” She decided not to get into chaos magic around the little girl.

“Why do you ask?” Twilight quirked an eyebrow. “Did you have another idea?” she asked.

Anna pulled back and shook her head quickly. “Oh… No reason! I was just wondering, really.” She made a somewhat unconvincing grin.

Twilight smirked, pretty sure she understood the situation. “Are you asking because you’d like to be a pony? Can’t say I blame you.” Childhood fancies aside, it made sense that someone might get curious. Under different circumstances, she herself certainly would be.

Twilight chuckled a little, her arms resting on her knees.

Anna hesitated at the doorway, leaning back in and smiling a little. “Actually, I don’t, no. Well, I bet it’d be great for fun, buuut judging by the way mom hates it, it’d get old quick… And scary.”

Twilight was a little surprised by that. Only a little, though. She certainly understood the body change issue well enough.

Anna perked up. “But oh my gosh flying and magic would be so amazing…”

Twilight blinked, then began to laugh along with the little girl.

“Well, in any case, you have nothing to fear. Your mom’s situation couldn’t be reproduced under our circumstances. What… happened to myself and her was… well, it’s complicated.”

Twilight didn’t bring up the events that had brought her to Earth. Doing so around Anna would just trouble the sweet girl.

Anna spoke up enthusiastically, as if trying to cheer someone up. “I do hope you can become a unicorn again soon, Twilight. Then you can help mom. You’re a way better unicorn than you are a human, too. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with you like this, and you’re super pretty, too! But, well, you know.”

Twilight’s eyes widened a fraction. “Oh, thank you. I hope that too.” She paused a moment, lips pursed in thought. “What makes you think I make a pretty human?” Comments from Alice aside, which Twilight was never sure whether they should be taken seriously, she’d rarely ever heard any sort of thing like that said about her. As a pony or human, and certainly not back home. Reassuring comments from her parents didn’t count, of course.

Anna rolled her eyes. “Well if the way my brother stares at you when he thinks you aren’t looking is any indication...”

Both of Twilight’s eyebrows raised up. “Oh. He does, huh?”

Anna bobbed her head up and down quickly.

Twilight scrunched her eyes a fraction. Great. She got back to what they had been talking about originally. “So, if you don’t want to be a pony, why ask about it?”

Anna furrowed her brow in a doubtful way. “Well, I—”

“Anna?” Mary’s voice came from out in the larger next door room. “Oh, there you are!” She stepped swiftly into view, hooves clunking on the wooden floor. “Hey, slowpoke, we’re opening presents over here. Your brother’s got smoke coming out of his ears being forced to be social, so hurry up!”

Instantaneously, Anna whirled around and rushed to her mother’s side.

“Whoops. Gotta-go-Twilight! Remind me to tell you after presents!” Anna jumbled out, almost as quickly as she left. “And I got questions I want to ask! So many questions and… and, and-and—” With what seemed like an immense amount of struggle, she clenched her eyes shut and dove out of the room. “Bye!”

Twilight stared after her in shock a moment, then laughed. Just a moment after, she met Mary eye to eye, and stumbled over a greeting. Instinctively, she wanted to ask about last night’s events and if everything was alright, or even just say hello.

A little forcefully, she smiled and managed a greeting. “Good morning, Mary. Heh, your daughter’s very cute, like you said. And smart, too.”

Mary gave her a consoling look, then traded it out for a proud smile in the direction Anna ran. “She certainly is, though I don’t know from which side of the family she got her smarts from.” She chuckled, then looked at Twilight again. “Well, we’ll be over in the family room out of your way if you need anything. There’s food with Jo when you get hungry. Oh, but I’ll be right back with your coffee!”

“Thanks so much!” Twilight gave Mary another friendly nod as she quickly left, then not a moment later let out the tense breath she’d been holding. The worry and responsibility she felt over Mary’s predicament ate at her a little, and as she’d just found out, was magnified in person, rather than decreased.

In any case, everything that could have been shared and said with Mary had been, and she needed to focus on her gambit with Lex.

Her hand pressed against her forehead as she looked over the computer screen. “Blurg,” she mumbled, then replied to herself, “Well said, Twilight.”

The moment she shut her eyes to suck in a tired breath, a loud bing sound interrupted.

Twilight nearly sat up quick enough to give herself whiplash.

On the computer was a flashing text box to her chat program. She had been forced to download it herself, which in hindsight she should have asked to do, but no matter. For now, seeing through what she hoped was a good plan came first.

DoctorEvil: You called? Good Morning, Twilight

Twilight Sparkle: Lex! Sorry for trying to get ahold of you like this all of a sudden, but it’s important. Something’s happened… and it has sort of changed my mission to get home.

DoctorEvil: Oh, what changed exactly? Something good?

Twilight paused to frown, then pecked in an answer pronto.

Twilight Sparkle: Maaaybe… Yes and no. It wasn’t a direct method home as I’d hoped, but it was a direct link to how I’d ended up here. Let me explain. Recently, Jack had assisted in looking closer into the vines incident we found in the news and that video. We were able to find a name and a phone number, as well as a conversation with a teenage boy that I won’t get into.

Twilight waited patiently for her response, which came almost a full minute later.

DoctorEvil: Huh. Interesting. You have my attention.

Twilight began to continue explaining, then stopped typing and slapped a hand to her forehead. “Augh!” No, you can’t mention Mary, Twilight. At least not without her permission… She briefly considered if getting it was even slightly likely, then shook her head. Okay just… change the topic and stick to the parts that involve lives at stake. You can ask Mary permission in a moment.

Twilight Sparkle: Well, never mind that. In any case, I had the strangest dream last night. Only, I don’t actually think it was a dream. I think it was a memory. A memory which was being hidden from me on purpose. Can I talk to you face to face so I can communicate the gravity of this, Lex? Please?

DoctorEvil: Oh, sure. I’ve got a few minutes for something important.

The message had come surprisingly quick. Twilight exhaled in relief—today’s date was an important human holiday, after all.

Twilight Sparkle: Thank you so much!

A few clicks and some beeping later, and Lex’s friendly, grandfatherly face appeared on the computer screen window. He wore a multicolored sweater colored green, red and white, which was decorated with miniature fir trees.

“Morning, Twili—” He started to say, but stopped. “Holy cow, uhm. Not to sound rude, Twilight, but did you know—”

“I know, I know about it…” Twilight rolled her eyes, while trying to use both hands to pull down her stubborn bed-hair. “Sorry, I haven’t had a chance to do anything yet. I, uhm, meant it when I said things are urgent at the moment.” She coughed. “So, thank you for acquiescing to speaking on such short notice, Lex. Oh, and uhm... Merry Christmas?”

Lex smirked. “It’s nothing. And Merry Christmas to you, too,” he greeted, then furrowed his brow. “Or, shoot, what did you ponies celebrate? Heart’s Warming?”

“It’s called Hearth’s Warming,” Twilight corrected, smiling back. She ran a hand over her hair one more time in a final attempt to tame it.

Lex smiled gently. “Aah, shoot, I was close.” He chuckled. “Well, I did say I only have a few minutes, but take your time. Does this have to do with your home?” As he spoke, he kept the smile, and a bright look.

Twilight nodded. She was still exhausted on top of having to sound convincing. “Yes, now to the point. Okay, I have been wracking my brain to figure out how I could have screwed up so badly with that talent potion. But the dream... this memory I mentioned showed me the truth. If what I saw is to be believed, and I don’t exactly think it was just happenstance, then there is a very dangerous creature that may be threatening Equestria, Lex. And it is responsible for sending me here. A dragon, to be precise.”

His eyes had widened a considerable amount, but Lex slowly put on a thoughtful look. “Alright,” he prompted. “That sounds a little important, and bad.”

“Without a doubt…” Twilight continued, focusing on not getting hung up on her words, or anything else. “Things have changed. The short of this is, I can no longer wait for Princess Celestia anymore, as I had... been prepared to. I need to get home as quickly as I can or I may not have a home anymore. You’ve probably guessed that I’m here to ask for your help again. Concerning, well, looking into a means to travel worlds. A real means.” She almost paused at the slightly incredulous, slightly shocked look that the man gave her briefly. “Your assistance with the crystals and my research has been incredibly generous, but what I hope for is more than that.”

Lex nodded along, wearing a weighted look.

Twilight exhaled. “I need you to believe me about all this, as crazy as it no doubt sounds to you, and I…” She paused, her hands flexing beneath the desk. “I know you’ve said you believe me, and I trust you. If that’s the case, then believe that lives could very well be in serious danger now. It’s not your responsibility, but please reconsider things. If you don’t, I’ll need to search elsewhere, and that could take a long time that I don’t have. I mean, even with your help it could...”

Twilight considered that maybe real sleep first would have helped, or a better day, or any number of other circumstances, but it was a little late for that.

Lex seemed to be a little lost as to what to respond with, fiddling with a pen absently just in view of the camera. “Well, Twilight…” He trailed off. “So, you had a dream about this?”

Twilight blinked, then nodded her head vigorously. “It was like a dream, only I think it was more than that, like a vision, or a memory. I believe there may have been a spell keeping me from remembering what had happened. Then, it broke... And now—”

Lex was making settling motions with his hands while in the background another person, a woman, could be heard yelling prompts at him. “Just a minute!” he answered, then faced Twilight again. “Well, Twilight, I will point out that sounds a little far-fetched, but next to everything else I guess it’s still small potatoes.” He barely had a chance to chuckle once.

Twilight broke back in, sounding hopeful. “Does that mean you could tell me more about what Alice heard your friends say? Back at the University? I don’t have any proof of what I saw in the memory, but it’s the truth.” Then again, maybe I could induce another reaction like the one I had with Mary. Could I? After that I could—

Lex interrupted her thoughts. “I believe you, Twilight, even if I don’t fully understand it.” He adjusted his glasses, nodding. “And about what your friend, Alice, heard—”

Twilight felt her face redden; she still wasn’t proud of Alice’s snooping, informative as it had been. “I realize it insinuates you’re not being entirely honest with me, Lex, but I trust what Alice said about you and your friends when we last met. And I understand the state of such research might need to be kept a secret on your world, as Jo pointed out. Which is a shame because on Equestria such a thing would be celebrated openly in the science community—”

Her tirade was cut a little short as Lex broke back in.

“Whoaaa, Twilight.” Lex made settling motions. “Oh, please don’t take that the wrong way. Was that taboo? The whoa thing?”

“Woah?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “The what? I don’t understand.”

Lex seemed to be relieved by the answer. Meanwhile, someone telling him to hurry up could still be heard in the background. As it went on, he wore a deep look of thought, before finally continuing.

“Nevermind then. Well, where were we?” Lex started anew. “Ah. Your home is in trouble...” He paused again for a moment, though partly because the yelling had resumed. He spoke again when it cut off. “I’m very sympathetic, Twilight. I mean it, but I won’t confirm or deny anything about any secret research. That is to say, I can’t.”

Lex put on a neutral smirk. “Assuming everything you just said about my situation is true, anyway, that would be the case. If I were to have knowledge of helpful research I would have no choice but to deny its existence. Right?”

Twilight almost began to implore him do otherwise, but stopped, thinking twice on his choice of words. It was a half-omittance, she realized, and it surprised her. Lex had been tight-lipped for weeks on the topic.

But a half admittance still wasn’t what Twilight needed.

“That means that—! You just confirmed that there is something, and after flat out saying there wasn’t, before.” Twilight put her hands up on the desk, leaning forward. “But you still won’t help me? Are you under a contract? I guess you couldn’t say if you were...”

Lex responded, looking serious, sounding thoughtful. “Twilight, listen carefully. You could attend any University you want to and likely get onto the path towards advanced physics or any number of things. I’m sure any private research group would have to take a look at you, then. Hint. Don’t you think…? I could certainly help with that, too. But, otherwise—”

Twilight shook her head rapidly, sending a wave of messy bed-hair out to either side of her. “I can’t do that! Maybe if it’s all that’s left to me. But not yet. I just don’t have the time, even less so now.” She resisted the urge to let too much emotion show.

Lex hummed. “Right, right, the dragon thing…”

Twilight resisted the urge to groan. If I can’t get Lex to just explain this to me… what are my other options? I certainly can’t research and make a device all on my own out of mere kitchenware! That would be insane.

Twilight tried again. “You can’t say more? At least give me some definite inclination that the research would even be helpful to my goals?” Her shoulders slunked some.

Lex shifted his eyes off to the side, then exhaled. “This conversation took quite the serious turn quickly.” He wore a concentrated look again as he looked back.

“Alright,” he assented. “I guess I can do that much for you, given the circumstances. Having thought about it, lives in the mix changes things, and I do believe you, Twilight.”

Twilight straightened up some, caught between blurting out frantic, surprised thanks, and wondering what Lex would have to say. “But why do you believe me?” was what she ended up saying, instead, surprising even herself. A lightning quick hand clapped itself over her mouth a second later.

Lex twitched a smile briefly. “Well, you’re definitely too well read to be crazy.” He chuckled. “And after seeing your crystal in person… That evidence first hand… Anyway, I think this is all far too fascinating to just ignore. I hope to convince everyone else of this, too.”

Twilight was on the edge of her seat, listening intently. She desperately wanted to hear more.

Lex paused to rub the bridge of his nose, looking deadly serious, before going on. “Anyway, Twilight, about what your friend heard, things aren’t solely up to me. There are other people involved. I would have to convince them towards our side, and I would need proof to make hard-case scientists believe a bunch of fantasy-sounding stories.”

Twilight spoke up. “What about the magic you saw? Isn’t that enough? Surely you showed them the crystals.” She hadn’t necessarily wanted him advertising her crystals, but if it could get her home...

Lex nodded quickly. “I did, and in time they want me to procure them from you for further study.” He almost looked as though he would stop speaking, but continued. “We’ll still need more than just some glowing rocks that can’t be explained. But that’s not really the biggest issue.”

“It isn’t?” Twilight swallowed, wondering what could be more difficult than convincing scientists to disregard logic itself; by humanity’s standards, anyway.

Lex nodded. “It sounds like time is our biggest obstacle if I understand right. Both yours, and theirs.” He nodded again, to himself, and continued. “I’ll explain. We’ve often waited years, or decades in some of our cases, for certain technologies to develop to the point where we can employ them. Technology and resources, research techniques, even simple finances, anything really. It’s barely been more than a month since I told them about you and your ‘discovery’. I shared with them that you were likely to trade us a crystal, maybe, if we were to allow you inclusion into our association. Well, it’s not really a membership, but basically that.”

“I see.” Twilight understood, and summed it up. “They’re in no hurry, in other words, despite some of the implications of my situation.”

Lex answered after holding a thoughtful look, rubbing a hand behind his head. “Actually, as fascinated by the crystals as they were, I haven’t told more than a couple of them about… well, you. Your whole story, that is.”

Twilight blinked. “Oh.”

Lex went on. “Only a few of them have heard anything more than that you’re incredibly well read and knowledgeable about several fields of science, and would be deeply interested in our… well, project. Other than Carl, only Irwin knows that ‘the crystal owner’ is also ‘the crazy girl’ from the forum that thinks she’s a pony. Even my colleagues that never visit the site have heard of you, you see—”

“There really is a project!?” she blurted. Twilight’s eyes lit up again, hearing a word that almost sounded like it could be magic. It was even enough to ignore the term ‘crazy girl’.

Lex froze, visibly, then relaxed again, as if remembering. “Yes, there is, and it’s been around for a long time, too… but… I wouldn’t get your hopes up, Twilight.” He frowned slightly. “It’s complicated, but the bottom line is that yes, we’re privately run and, among other things, do a great deal of research into whether or not travel over great distances with complex matter, or through an exotic plane other than our own could be possible. But the difference between research and reality, like the kind you need, is...”

“Astronomical?” Twilight finished for him. She heaved a breath. “Still, it’s a spark, and without you all I don’t have anything.” The desperate nature of the situation spoke for itself, but was deafening to her when repeated out loud.

Twilight looked up after pausing and realized she’d been staring at the desk. “I’d just like to say, thank you, Lex, for telling me this. Now we just need to convince your organization that I’m credible.”

Lex chuckled; he was standing out of his chair, as if on the verge of leaving. “Well, I’ve wanted to tell you from the start, Twilight. But I had to wait, since I’m not really an authority… I guess it’s moot now, so, let’s keep this our secret from them, if that’s alright. Now, about my colleagues, I know we’ve been over this, but are you sure there’s no way you could maybe get an associate’s degree or something, first? It would go a long way with getting some of these fossils to listen…”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “I don’t have the time to get a degree, Lex.” She sighed. I can’t believe that a higher Earth education and a piece of paper might be the only thing that keeps me from getting home! If anything, I’m overqualified! “Can’t you simply tell them that I’m worthy of an exception? I mean I don’t want to brag or anything, but I’m confident I could suitably impress any of them with my knowledge of various subjects. Maybe if you got me a meeting?”

“They should see you eventually… I think.” Lex frowned for a long moment, then exhaled. “I’ll talk to them again, certainly. We’re not a business or anything, not really. It depends on what they all want, and there is sort of a waiting list. Still, there should at least be an upcoming interview of sorts eventually with my recommendation.” In the background, a woman’s voice that had been getting increasingly shrill called again. Lex rolled his eyes. “In any case, we’ll talk specifics soon, I think my time is—”

“—Sometime I’ll have to tell you how Twilight accidentally set my microwave on fire, for science.” Jo’s voice, chuckling a fair amount—at least for her—spoke over Lex from the next room as a door swung open.

“Remind me not to let her near ours, then.” The second speaker was Mary, also laughing slightly. “Oh, here let me bring that coffee to Twilight. I already said I would, and I have to talk to her about something anyway… Also, you ought to finish your breakfast.”

“Are you sure?” Jo answered. “Alright, I won’t ever say no to more free bacon. Whoa, how are you holding those with hooves?”

Without looking, Twilight rolled her eyes in response to Jo’s typical behavior. When she did look over, she felt a brief tinge of apprehension at seeing Mary approach, walking in on three legs with two cups held by the fourth.

Once Twilight noticed the second detail, her eyes lit up, and her nose caught a familiar, caffeine filled aroma.

“Hold that thought,” Twilight postponed, and saw what Mary sat down in front of her: a cup of coffee, which was just what she needed. “Ohhh thank you so much!” Once procured, she ‘mmmed’ and sipped the cup. “Sweet delicious caffeine.”

Mary blinked at Twilight’s reception, then laughed. “I don’t think I’ve seen someone that happy to have coffee in years.” She sat back on her haunches and regarded Twilight with a friendly look. “So, what is it you’re doing on the computer, Twilight?”

Twilight sipped her coffee as she thought. “Hm?” Her tired thoughts marched into line slowly in order to explain. “Oh, I’m actually trying to make some headway in getting back home by speaking with one of those friends I mentioned.”

Mary raised an eyebrow. “Already? Wh— That sounds great! Do you really think they stand a chance? And I thought you said last night that they weren’t being particularly cooperative?”

Twilight sighed. “Well, maybe, and not as of late they haven’t, no. Apparently it’s complicated… but I think things have a chance of working out. If they do… well, I’ll give you details in a moment, Lex is about to go, actually.” Turning to the side, the computer screen was mostly the way she’d left it, except for Lex’s face, which seemed to be leaning in much closer.

Twilight stared briefly at the odd sight of her friend behaving in such a way, then came to a realization. “Oh, that’s right! Introductions. Lex, this is my new friend, Mary. You haven’t met her yet but I told her all about my searching for a way home and the help I’ve gotten from everyone up until now. Oh, I have so much more to fill you in on by the way. And Mary, this is Lex.” She looked between them both as cheerfully as her tiredness would allow, gesturing from one to the other with her free hand.

Mary’s eyes widened, and she looked up at the computer’s screen, but she didn’t trade a hello.

Lex, in turn, seemed to practically have half his face pressed to the monitor on his end of the call.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at them. “Guys?” Oddly, both seemed frozen as a result of simply meeting one another.

After a minor tilt of her head and a somewhat sleep-deprived after-thought, the explanation dawned on Twilight. Slowly, without any sudden movements, she put a hand over the webcam atop the computer screen. “I probably should have mentioned earlier I was going to be on a video chat with my friend. Er, so you wouldn’t walk in while, well, you know.”

Mary stared open mouthed at the frozen man on the screen. “I-I…What, Twilight—” Her breath was catching, a sure sign of possible panic.

Looking back at the screen, Twilight noticed that Lex still hadn’t moved. She almost assumed that the call had frozen or even dropped, until he blinked.

Twilight kept her palm over the camera. “Lex? Lex are you alright? And it’s okay, Mary! Lex is a friend.” She gave her most convincing smile, but it felt as uneven as her voice had become.

“Oh, of course,” Mary replied. She didn’t seem convinced as she finally managed to turn around and briskly trot out of the room. The other cup of coffee she still held in one hoof spilled its contents everywhere as she did so.

Twilight bit her lip, considering her choices. “Lex, I'll be right back. I need to talk to her!" She stood up, ready to give chase.

“Wait, Twilight!” Lex appeared to be trying to look around the edge of the monitor. “Was that— and it looked like—” He sat back in his chair, hard. “What?”

Twilight hesitated for a moment. He is finally being up front with details, and I haven’t really held anything back from him before… She turned back to the screen and met Lex’s confused stare. “Yes, Lex, she was a pony, just like I used to be. But, if you’ll excuse me, I really should go after her. This really wasn’t planned.”

Lex only nodded absently in response as Twilight turned back and moved swiftly from the room. She was moving down the hall when an angrily muttered phrase that sounded like a human curse alerted her to Mary’s general direction. She passed by Jo on the way in, gave her a look telling her to wait, and continued onward.

Twilight found Mary in the kitchen, rubbing one of her hooves with a towel and scowling down at a broken mug and spilled coffee on the floor. She wasn’t quite sure if Mary had noticed her yet as she began discarding the shards in a nearby bin.

Twilight stayed quiet and tried to think of how to begin or what to say. When she couldn’t, she picked up another towel and attempted to help soak up some of the spilled coffee. That is, until she was confronted with Mary’s stern glare.

“Twilight,” Mary said in a no-argument tone of voice. “You are a guest in my home, and I will not have you cleaning up after my mess.”

Taken slightly aback by Mary’s reaction, Twilight tried to stammer an apology, but to what she wasn’t sure anymore. “Mary, I’m sorry, I just—”

Mary’s brow furrowed for a moment, but relaxed just as quickly. “Twilight,” she let out a sigh. “It’s fine, really.”

“I don’t know what I was thinking. I should have told you that…” Twilight trailed off when she realized Mary had already responded. “Oh.” She thought for a moment before asking, “Wait, about the coffee, or Lex seeing you?”

Mary snorted a laugh, before shrugging and replying, “Both, I guess.”

Twilight rocked back on her heels before falling onto her butt. She sat there on the floor watching Mary clean up the mess in silence, until she finally managed a soft, “Really? I mean, I’m sure you remember my explanation about him and that I do think he’s trustworthy. I told him about myself, though I don’t know if he really believes. Although… I guess he probably does, now. Maybe I could convince him you’re some sort of machine, if you’d like?”

Mary paused in her labour to look up and meet Twilight’s gaze. “No, it’s okay, Twilight, what’s done is done. And besides, I doubt telling the scientist a lie would work.” She spoke with unexpected calm. “You do trust him? Lex, right?” Twilight nodded in answer and she continued. “If both him and those others you described are really everything you’ve sold them to be, it shouldn’t hurt if they know about me. Especially if they can help us both. So, seeing me was inevitable, right?”

Twilight scratched a hand behind her hand, thinking hard. “To make an analogy, Lex spotting you was the equivalent of us playing our ‘hand’ of cards prematurely.”

Mary began to trot in a tight circle around the kitchen floor. “It’s just ‘Lex’ that’s seen me, so let him vouch for you to his friends and question his own sanity for now.” She paused long enough to study Twilight’s lingering worry. “So, how did speaking to him go?”

Twilight flashed a smile at the change of topic. “Good.” After a moment, she added, “Sooo, when he asks, may I tell him all about you?”

With a wince, Mary facehoofed slowly, still pacing. “Even though he saw me, I’d really rather if you avoided the subject, Twilight…”

“But—!” Twilight cleared her throat. “It’s just, you said it’s fine if he knew, because no one would believe him. He may as well know the full story so he doesn’t get the details wrong. Well, not the ‘full’ story, exactly, but you get the idea.”

Mary’s expression became strained, until finally she stopped her pacing and pressed her hooves to both sides of her head. “Alright! Twilight I’m trusting you on this. I just… don’t know what to think about this situation; it’s too crazy for me.”

Twilight put on a consoling look. “Not to brag, but I am pretty familiar with crazy.” She placed a hand on the stressed out mare’s shoulder. “And I’ve encountered waaaay crazier stuff than this, let me tell you.”

Twilight gave an encouraging laugh, hoping it would be reciprocated. Instead, she nearly had the wind knocked out of her as Mary dove into a powerful, rib-crushing hug.

“Thank you.” Mary squeezed her harder. “For being real, and showing up, and for helping, and—”

“I could say the same to you.” Twilight returned the hug, and gave Mary a few comforting pats to boot. “I actually thought I had imagined my life as a pony for a little while, you know. Though, admittedly it mostly was Jo that was trying to convince me of it, and the magic crystal phenomenon and crater I’d made were pretty good evidence to the contrary… but you get the idea.”

Mary pulled back from the hug and settled back on the floor, looking at least a little less perturbed. “Alright, I don’t really like to have anyone else involved in this little… problem. If it will help you, then do what you have to, Twilight. Just please keep my family and I in mind.” She took a breath. “I just don’t want to talk to him myself. Okay? ...I don’t think I could do that.”

Twilight gave a confident nod of her head. “Alright, Mary, you can count on me. And I’m sorry again I wasn’t more clear about what I was doing over there on the computer.”

Mary snorted a laugh. “Oh, it’s fine. I’ve caught Bobby doing far worse things on the family computer, so believe me I’m used to it.”

“Caught?” Twilight tilted her head at that, not quite sure she was following the other mare’s meaning. “Caught how?”

Mary chortled a bit more, though weaker. “Oh, you know. Boys at his age and the internet what with… the… You know, never mind, Twilight. It’s just occurred to me that you probably aren’t aware of some of the darker parts of the internet.”

Twilight felt her back go rigid. She even rested a hand on the near kitchen counter for support.

“Twilight?” Mary’s ears raised, likely in worry. “Are you oka—”

“Fine.” Twilight murmured, then said again, “Fine!” a bit more forcefully.

“You’re sure?” Mary adopted a somewhat unsure look.

Twilight’s head bobbed its vehement assurance. “I’m sure, yes. Uh, now where were we? Oh yes! I was about to go finish organizing our best chance at getting you changed back and myself returned home.” She inhaled a fresh breath as she said, “Away from the ‘dark’ of the internet…”

“I… didn’t catch that last part, Twilight.” Mary’s large ears twisted, punctuating just how quiet Twilight had been.

Twilight turned, a smile ready. “Oh, it was nothing. Uhm, I’ll be finished shortly, and then Jo and I can get out of your family’s hair.” She leaned out of the door and gave Jo a lopsided grin, laughing unsteadily.

Jo, minding her own business and eating, raised an eyebrow.

Mary stopped short at the kitchen doorway, still wearing uncertainty, but nodded and returned the smile with a lopsided one of her own. “Well, alright. And I guess good luck!”

Seeing Mary give a little wave with her hoof, Twilight turned and went back to sit down in the computer room, giving Jo a sheepish shrug in answer to the confused look from her friend.

There, Lex was in the middle of drinking from a cup of coffee of his own, his hand visibly shaking a little and sending little splashes of coffee onto the desk.

“I’m back!” Twilight started, turning the microphone back on. “So sorry about that, Lex. That was a complicated matter.”

Lex jolted. “Oh no, quite alright. Uh, was the… the pony upset? I think I heard you call her Mary?”

Twilight hesitated, but gave a ghost of a nod in acknowledgement.

Lex hummed, but didn’t give much outward reaction otherwise. “I see. So, that’s more proof, then. I guess along with those crystals of yours you’ve a rock solid case for my peers, at least.”

Twilight made a nervous laugh. “Yeah, uhm, about that, Mary said it’s okay if you know, but maybe we could keep the lid on her being a pony?”

Lex blinked as he drank in the details. “Now hold on, proof of, well, a pony from your world would definitely be undeniable enough to get you involved with our work. At least, it should be.” He hummed whilst scratching his chin. “This is entirely unprecedented to be honest.”

Twilight shrugged. “Sorry, Lex, Mary was quite clear on the matter. Still, with you in the ‘know’ that should be enough for us, right?”

“It might be.” Judging by Lex’s constant nodding to thin air, he was deep in thought while also speaking. “That or they’ll call the men in white coats on me.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the odd human expression, but pressed forward rather than ask for its explanation. “So, how soon until I get this meeting with your colleagues?”

Lex sighed weightily, a hand rising to rub at his temple. “Well, let me think... right now everyone on the council is no doubt busy since it’s Christmas, and it will be that way until a few days from now. I’ll talk to them as soon as I can, likely later today, and try to push them a bit to get an audition for you soon. Even at my own expense, if need be. How does that sound, Twilight?”

Twilight felt warmth and relief build within her. “That sounds great! Maybe I’ll finally have a chance to get some help.”

Lex chuckled. “Hopefully, yes. And… are you sure we couldn’t have ‘Mary’ present the case alongside you? And is Mary a typical pony name? I thought—”

Twilight broke in. “That’s complicated, too, Lex… I’ll try to explain. Long story short she didn’t used to be a pony, and we believe her being one is the fault of my being here.” Twilight kneaded her hands together nervously as she shared some of the strangest parts of her circumstances. “She’s actually a person from around here. We sort of switched places.”

Lex’s thoughtful look became a hard stare.

Twilight took quick notice and gave a sheepish shrug. “Like I said, it’s complicated. Mary and I spoke at length on the matter last night, and I think I’ve figured out how it happened, given the inclusion of the third party I mentioned earlier… Any number of magical spells or curses could have been used to—”

Twilight noticed the slightly clouded over look in Lex’s gaze, and stopped short to cough lightly into her hand. “I’ll write up a dossier on this whole thing and explain more, later. But, no, Mary doesn’t want any more people to see her.”

Lex gave a slow, solemn nod. “Understandable, certainly. I’m not sure how I’d feel if I one day turned into a cute little cartoon pony.”

Twilight frowned, and crossed her arms defensively. “You know, just because you have a cartoon about us, that doesn’t make it our origin. We’re a lot more than entertainment or ‘cute’.”

Lex began to chuckle, only for a stark expression to fall over him. “Good lord. We have a cartoon about your world? How!? Is this a clue for a trans-dimensional link? A wormhole? What could it—”

“Lex!” An earth-shattering, piercing voice brought Lex’s sudden realizations to halt mid-sentence.

Twilight was about to ask who it was, but the question’s answer presented itself seconds later.

Lex gasped. “It’s my wife.”

“We are almost twenty minutes late! What am I going to tell your kids, huh? You get off that stupid game and get out to the car this instant!” A dark shadow followed close behind the voice, and a steely hand reached out from the side of the computer screen to grab Lex’s ear.

“No, wait! Honey, five more minutes, please! This is important!” The hand wrenched him free of the seat in short order. “The fate of the world is at stake!”

“I’ll stake you!”

Lex’s cries distanced themselves into the background, until finally Twilight heard a door slamming.

“Well then.” Twilight closed the program and sat there in shock a moment longer, before proceeding to break out into a fit of giggling.

“Hey Twilight, what’s up?” Jo entered the room, a steaming cup in one of her hands and a plate in the other. “I brought you some eggs and toast. And… another coffee. I heard from Mary what happened. Is everything still cool?”

Twilight’s eyes widened at the sight, and she promptly accepted the plate and stuffed one piece of toast, topped with an egg, right into her mouth. Oh! I hadn’t even realized how hungry I was! With minimal chewing and a moment later, she swallowed the food.

Jo chuckled. “Woah, slow down there.” Then she blinked, and coughed to the side with a look of shame on her face. “Oh, uh, no offense...”

“‘ere’s that word again.” Twilight took a gulp of her replaced coffee then looked up at Jo. “Is woah supposed to be a word with negative connotations around here? Lex seemed to think it was offensive to me.”

“He did? Hm... oh... hah.” Jo smirked. “Well, it’s just that horse riders say ‘woah’ to their mount to make them slow down. At least from what I know of horse riding. I just didn’t know how to broach the subject other than apologizing.”

Twilight blinked, then rolled her eyes. “Well, I don’t find it offensive, per se. Perhaps being compared constantly to Earth’s horses will get old, though.” She sighed, then adopted a smirk of her own. “And yes, Jo, I think everything’s gone pretty well. I have got a lot to tell you about the talk I just had with Lex.”

Jo folded her arms with one eyebrow raised. “Really? Well, great. But let’s get out of here and head back to the hotel and get you some rest first, yeah? Stan explained the dream thing to me, so I understand you’re exhausted right now.”

Twilight stood up while still taking a long swallow of her coffee, the toast already long gone. “Oh, it hasn’t been that long you big baby.” She stopped to yawn. Despite having been knocked out for the entirety of the night before, along with Mary, she did feel truly exhausted. “Alright, well let’s go say good bye quickly, then. I’m dying for bed.”

Jo led the way, cheerfully saying, “Finally!”