Chapter 87: Extensions
Part 1: Unhealing Penance
TIME: 08:21 ERST
DATE: War Day 797/11 Sextus, 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Canterlot, Equestria
I came down to see Night Lite in his cell in the palace dungeon. General Apers was elsewhere, a military prison facility - Carousel Island. I stepped right up to the bars, and looked in.
K: "Apologise to Twilight, and give me your word you won't harm my family, and I'll have the charges dropped." I nodded to him, calmly.
Night Lite: "Wh-!? ARE YOU DENSE?!" He got to the edge of the bars. "You stupid monkey.. you killed my children in your stupid war.. and you want ME to apologize to a DEAD person!?"
K: "She isn't dead. She was laying right there o-"
Night Lite: "No. NO! The Twilight I raised is DEAD! She DIED on that ISLAND, protecting YOU!" He stuck his head partway out of the cell. "WHATEVER THAT FREAK IS, THAT IS NOT MY DAUGHTER!"
K: "That's reprehensible." I simply stated.
Night Lite: "Reprehensible?! YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE IS REPREHENSIBLE?! MURDERING SO MANY MORE OF OUR PEOPLE - PONIES! FOR YOUR SENSELESS WAR! YOU WAR MONGERING, MURDERING PSYCHOPATH! IF YOUR BRAINWASHED CHUMPS HADN'T STOPPED ME, I WOULD HAVE GIVEN YOU THE SAME PAIN YOU GAVE ME!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.
K: "Okay. How?" I shrugged. "Starlight Mint was in the room, but.. Luna and Celestia were right there, dude." I shook my head. "Never mind the fact that my daughter walks around strapped."
Night Lite: "OH, YES!" He mocked me. "Let's not forget your MURDER MACHINES that make it so.. UNMAGICAL creatures can KILL us so EASILY!" He spat at the ground. "That's almost as bad as what you've done to my family.. letting those UNMAGICAL ones think they have STATION.." He snarled.
K: "So.. you think yourself superior to other Pony races?" I tilted my head.
Night Lite: "OF COURSE! We Unicorns had a MONOPOLY on FORCE until YOU showed up!" He growled. "WE were the real POWER around here!"
K: "Is that what you wanted your daughter to be? Powerful?" I gestured.
Night Lite: "My daughter was the strongest student Celestia ever had - with her might, we could have made CERTAIN that UNICORNS would be PROPERLY RECOGNIZED.. as the strongest force in the Kingdom." He sneered at me again. "But you murdered her, just like you murdered my son.. then you drag back that MUTANT FREAK WEARING HER MARK!"
Twilight finally had enough.
Twilight Sparkle: "FATHER! You.. you can't MEAN all of that!?" She rushed up next to me, and tried to get close to him, but I held her back.
Night Lite: "YOU FREAK!" He hissed at her. "Maybe NOW you can go back to that DRAGON and make more HALF-BREED FREAK BABIES, YOU WHORE!" He spit in her face. "WHORE! FILTHY, DRAGON-MATING WHORE! GO ON, GO BACK TO HIM! RAISE MORE FREAKS! BIRTH MORE FREAKS! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A DISGUSTING MUTANT!!" He eyed Spike. "You're even WORSE. You SHOULD NEVER have hatched!"
Spike and Twilight were both silently crying. I lashed out, sieizng Night by his horn, pulling him to the edge of the bars, slipping his muzzle under a crossbar, and kneeling below it, my knee jamming his snout into the bar, and making it dig in.
K: "You sick, racist, bigoted, hate-filled piece of shit." I was gently twisting his horn - I knew this caused a special kind of pain for Unicorns. "How DARE you speak to your own flesh-and-blood that way."
Night Lite: *Grunting* "Go ahead, Human. KILL ME! PROVE ME RIGHT!"
Twilight sobbed as her mother came over, and hugged her and Spike.
Twilight Velvet: "Night.. we're through." She shook her head. "I thought you were just in pain. No, you're infested with hatred. I won't stand for it. You are mine no longer." She took off her bracelet-ring, and threw it at the cell. "I will raise MY family. Love MY daughter. MY grand-son." She sniffled, on the verge of tears herself. "And accept HER FRIEND as MY FRIEND." She put a hoof on my shoulder. "K. Don't kill him. It's bad to kill.." She glared at Night Lite. "..lesser beings."
I released him, and stood up.
K: "Wasn't planning on it. I just wanted to get his attention." I shook my head. "You disgust me. Be glad my wife punched you, instead of mule-kicked you - she could have shattered your skull and damaged what little brain you've got."
Ironhide came in the room about then.
K: "Upgrade Night Lite to a Royal Prisoner. He's to be confined to the Dungeon until the end of Celestia's reign - he has stated that he will murder those of my blood line, given a chance. That includes, Duchess Starlight Mint. Therefore, the only humane thing to do is indefinite imprisonment on the order of Princess Luna and Celestia." I shook my head. "You leave me no choice."
Night Lite: "I'll be out. Some day." He put his forelegs on the bars. "And when I get out, I'm going to murder all of your children, just as you did, mine."
K: "..yeah, fine." I snap-drew my M-19, and fired a single shot at three feet, hitting him in the base of the horn, and SHATTERING it.
158-grains of Justice sent him to the ground, screaming in unearthly pain.
K: "..but you do it without your 'superior' magics, you racist little bitch."
With that, we walked away.
TIME: 12:14 ERST
I was sitting by myself, in my Quarters. Everyone that'd come with me, was with Twilight, trying to comfort her. As they'd done on the sea voyage back. With the revelation that her father was a little bitch, a racist, a bigot, and a Unicorn Supremacist, she was even more broken up.
I didn't know what to do. My own emotions were all over the place. SHOULD I have let her die? Should I have not ordered Tiamat to repay her debt, and just let her go to Pony Heaven or whatever?
I didn't know.
I sat there, staring at some of the weapons I kept in my room. Some of the things I'd invented. Like, one of the first Patton rifles, still "in the white" and unfinished - a tech demonstrator. An old Lee pistol, that I'd had in the Attack on Canterlot. A knife. A few loose bullets.
Something.. something caught my eye. A snout.. a horse snout. Right at the edge of my peripheral vision, over by my backpack.. my eye brow twitched.
Someone was here, that shouldn't be.
I played it perfectly cool. I leaned back in the chair a bit, and sighed.. and talked 'to myself.'
K: "Maybe I would have been better off leaving her dead." I said, aloud.. pretending to play dumb. "Maybe.. maybe I shouldn't have demanded Tiamat resurrect Twilight." I picked up the Lee - I knew it had a loaded magazine in it, but I knew for a fact that the chamber was empty, and I'd taken my M-19 off and put it back in the drawer with my other personal hand guns.. across the room. "Maybe.. I'd be better off." I hefted the gun just a bit.. "Maybe they'd be better off."
I was going to test the little equine interloper.
K: "They say.. if you aim up.. just right.. under the chin.. straight up. It goes through the Medula Oblongata.. and you die before you feel it. Lights out." I manually cocked the shrouded and bobbed hammer - not easy, given how I desiged the gun in the first place. "Maybe they'd be better off." I stared at the gun.
At the very edge of my vision, I could see the snout.. it had gently rooted in my backpack - for what, I wasn't sure. I could tell it was an adult, though.. and they were behind my bed. Granted, they could slide UNDER the bed and get out the door pretty fast, but I was reasonably sure I could get to the door first.
Problem? The windows. There were four large ones in my room, two of which had a small balcony attached, and we weren't THAT high off the ground. They could jump out of them, easily, and be gone before the Guards could get here.
K: "Maybe I should just let Tirek win.." I said, as coldly as I could muster - given my emotions, that was pretty cold. "..let him have this place. Maybe.. maybe this will be my escape."
At the mention of Tirek, though, the snout stopped. Froze. As in, fear.
K: "He'd probably kill the princesses after breeding them. He wants powerful offspring.. but.. he'd probably spare most of the rest. Without me, there's no need to extract the rainbow any more. He doesn't need a weapon like that." I looked the gun over. "Unless he breaches the barrier.. or wants to. Gods only know what horrors he'd unleash. Maybe that's the cataclysm that this civilization is supposed to endure, so the few survivors can get a fresh start? And if that's the case.. why am I arguing with fate? If I die, it should cut this place loose, too.. no more humans or anyone else falling into this dimension.." I gently placed the Lee under my chin, held in both hands. "..five pounds of pressure.."
???> "NO! STOP!"
I spun on one leg of the chair, racked the slide with my offhand, let the chair fall aside, got down to one knee, and aimed right at the voice, in a perfect one-hand shooting stance...
[End of Part 1]
Part 2: Shimmer
TIME: 12:17 ERST
DATE: War Day 797/11 Sextus, 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: General K's Quarters, Royal Palace, Canterlot, Equestria
K: "Don't even twitch." I sighted down the Lee's simple blade sights, but I was less than 12 feet from her.
A unicorn mare. With red-and-gold streaked hair, and a golden creamy coat.
K: "I'm aimed right at the base of your horn. And trust me, you can't stop a bullet." I didn't yell for the guards, though.
???> "..don't kill yourself." She stated, but didn't move otherwise. "Please. I.." She looked around, and realized, the jig was very much up. "..I have to be able to return!"
K: "Name." I nodded very slightly to her.
Sunset: "Sunset Shimmer." She swallowed a bit, out of fear. "Please. Don't.. if.. if you're right, and your presence is somehow stabilizing breaches between dimensions through some magical influence, and your death would seal them.. I wouldn't be able to get back. And.. if I can't get back.."
K: "I rescued your parents from Tirek's clutches." I was still aimed at her.
Sunset: "Like fun you did!" She snorted. "My real parents have been his.." She lowered her head, then looked back up. "..when did you get here?"
K: "Four years ago." I nodded. "To the day, actually."
Sunset: "I don't know who you rescued, but my parents were the ones that put me up to this." She looked at me, and the gun. "They met with someone named Cozy, who promised them Unicorn Supremacy if-"
K: "If they helped him take over the world." I nodded to her. "And they put you up to trying to steal the Elements, the jewelry that lets them access that power." I cocked a brow. "And Twilight?"
Sunset: "Oohhh.. everything came so naturally to her.." She sniffled a little. "It doesn't matter, now. I spent four years in.. YOUR world!" She nodded to me. "HUMANS! I've lived among HUMANS this whole time! And Tirek is there, too.. he's the Superintendant of Schools.. and he's connected with THIS Tirek. I know.. because he told me so, when I entered the high school there. He told me.. I was being held in reserve until I could be sent back here to get the Elemental Jewels."
K: "Interesting." I nodded to her. "How do I know I can trust you, and you're not just one of his willing agents?" I cocked a brow at her.
Sunset: "I.." She looked absolutely sickened and disgusted. "..he's kept me." And ready to vomit. "Close. So I can't run, I can't tell anyone what's going on. I can't.. I can't.. get help." She started tearing up.. she held herself, around her midsection. "He made me get rid of it."
I lowered the Lee.
K: "You can come in, now." I nodded to the door - I didn't know who was there, but I knew someone was covering the door.
Starlight Mint came in, with Rolfe, and they both lowered their rifles.
K: "Son. Daughter." I nodded. "This is Sunset Shimmer."
Starlight: "She's telling the truth, Daddy." She nodded to her.
Rolfe: "We got'cher back, Dad." He smirked at me.
K: "Rolfe, go get Chemical Lens, okay? And be quiet about it." I nodded to him.
Rolfe: "Right, Dad!" Off he scooted.
Starlight: "Want me to get Aunt Twilight?" She shrugged.
K: "No, I want your to guard her like you did Prince Hoffnungsteher." I nodded to Sunset.
Little did I know how radically her fate had changed. With Tirek's intervention, perhaps because of Cozy Glow, Sunset went from a very self-absorbed antagonist that would go through a redemption arc, to a vicitm of a FAR greater evil.
K: "Sunset, you can relax. I'm not going to kill you." I shook my head. "We've.. encountered.. situations like this before."
Sunset: "..I want to die." She laid down completely. "I feel.. I feel.."
Fluttershy: "Dirty." She floated in through the window, and set her Ridgway on my desk, going over to Sunset, and holding her. "You feel used. You feel like an object. You feel like a killer." She hugged her tightly. "You feel powerless, and alone, and isolated. But, you're not."
Sunset: "Gods..!" She sniffled, sobbed, and just cried into Fluttershy's forelegs.
Fluttershy: "Toola told me.. ah.. to check on you, though the window. Armed." She shrugged her wings, and went back to holding Sunset close to her.
Chemical Lens came in at that point, with Dusty and Ironhide.
K: "Find Sunset's parents. Detain them. Violently if needed. They're double agents at best, infiltrators at worst. If they resist, and you have no choice, kill one, wound the other, and bring the survivor to me. Otherwise, I want them alive." I nodded at Sunset. "They sold their daughter to Tirek as a rape toy."
Chemical Lens: *Ice cold* "As you order, General-Field Marshal."
Dusty: "Can I shoot her dad in the nuts, Chem?" She asked, as they departed.
Chemical Lens: "I believe we were ordered to kill one, and bring the other in damaged condition. If the situation warrants." She nodded slightly. "..Watch Sergeant." She said, coldly promoting her.
I got up, and went to where the others were.
K: "Celestia." I nodded to her, as I entered. "Sunset's parents are playing a trick on us." I shrugged. "They lied. Gotta admit, I've never seen a pony lie like that, before."
Celestia: "..what?!" She raised up.
K: "Sunset's in my room right now. I can only guess they located the Mirror and broke whatever lock you had on it, and ordered her to come in and steal the Elemental Jewels.. and bring them to the Tirek in the world she's been in." I nodded to Rarity. "Oh, and that Tirek has been violating her for the last four years. Made her get an abortion, too."
Everyone gasped in shock, horror, and surprise.
I heard thumping from up the hallway.. and a stallion cry out in excruciating pain.
K: "They sold their daughter to Tirek as a rape toy." I shrugged, totally disassociated from my rage at the moment. "And to be used as a thief whenever.. well.. they managed to get back into the palace."
Dusty, Chem, several guards, and Ironhide, dragged the prisoners into the room. Their hooves were bound with rope, and metallic clamps were placed over their horns.
And Sol looked like he'd had his nuts kicked in.
I walked over to them, and pulled Dawn up by her horn - an extremely painful thing to do to a Unicorn.
K: "YOUR OWN FUCKING DAUGHTER, YOU MISERABLE PIECE OF SHIT!!" I wagged her in the air by her horn - she was yelling in pain. "YOUR OWN DAUGHTER!! YOUR OWN UNDERAGED DAUGHTER!! YOU DISGUSTING PIECE OF SHIT!!" I spiked her into the ground, belly-flop style, as hard as I could, and I proceeded to kick her in the ribs. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE DO TO CREATURES LIKE YOU IN THE HUMAN WORLD!?"
She just coughed a few times.. she couldn't speak well, with several broken ribs.
K: "Bring him." I looked at the girls. "You want blood? Follow."
Applejack: "Hun.." She raised up, walked over to me, and - stepping on Dawn Shimmer as she passed by - hugged me around the waist. "Don't."
I stopped.. I just stopped and hugged my wife. My rage was grounded. I couldn't unleash my deep, burning rage on them any more. I just lifted her up a bit, and hugged her close to me.. and I was reminded - my wife ain't light!
Celestia: "...Commander Ironhide." She finally spoke up.
Ironhide: "Yes, Your Majesty." He nodded a little.
Celestia: "Lock them in the dungeon for now. Once our General is calmed down, and we have more information, I will decide how to proceed."
Ironhide: "Yes, Your Majesty!"
Chemical Lens: *Ice cold* "I am of the opinion that we should execute them both for everything they've done. In the most painful manner that General K--- can imagine." She snorted.
Dusty: "I'm with Chem. Hell, let's stake them out on the Air Force Bombing Range and take odds on how long they last!" She said, with a tiny smirk, going back to her Las Pegasus roots.
K: "And that's precisely why we shouldn't." I said, my head clearing. "Ponies are not violent. I should not.. feed you an addiction to being so comfortable with it."
Applejack: "Yer mad, hun. Yer mad at a lotta things, right now.. yew jes' ain't thinkin' straight! Ain't none of us in a good place right now!" She squirmed up and kissed me. "Y'all takin' the weight of the world on yer shoulders.. thinkin' y'all gonna die.. makin' us all worried.. me worried." She nuzzled my neck. "But, I knew y'all'd be fine. No matter what Toola painted." She looked at Twilight. "An' ever-one came back alive, right?" She looked back up into my eyes. "Ya ain't perfect, honey. But'cher the perfect husband fer me." And she kissed me, again.
Longer, this time.. passionately. I could feel it was a different passion.. not the lust we had, but that anchoring passion of love that kept me going, no matter what was happening around me, that kept my moral compass in check.. that kept me from falling apart, at what I saw as failures.
I was reminded, right then, why I'd married her.
[End of Part 2]
Part 3: Mirrored Emotions
TIME: 12:34 ERST
DATE: War Day 797/11 Sextus, 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Royal Palace, Canterlot, Equestria
I was seated amidst the herd. Rarity was carefully doing my hair, long has it been since I got a cut. Applejack was massaging my back. Dusty had my socks off and was washing my feet, for some reason. Norfy, Gaze, and Cosmic were getting similar pampering.
We were being groomed. My logical brain told me this was a herd stress response. The friendship side of my brain told my logical brain to chill out and go with the flow.
Celestia: "The Rainbow Factory.." She sighed. "..I can't imagine how you felt, seeing it. And.. knowing your history as a child.. being told what Sunset was suffering through.."
K: "I flew off the handle." I stated, much calmer now.
Norfy: "We don't blame you, General." He shrugged. "K----."
Gaze: "Aye, mate." He smiled a little. "Affer all, we're th' ones 'sposed to keep yer darker human instincts in check."
Cosmic: "..but I think all of us understand the need for that kind of vengeance for the sake of justice, or justice for the sake of vengeance." He put in, with a small shrug.
Dusty: "The whole Factory Incident.. scared all of us. The negative energy around it.." She shook her head. "I think we all had some kinda idea you were going to die, there.. probably kill Tirek, too.. but.." She sniffled a little.
Katrina: "None of us wants to lose any more friends, K----." She was filing my fingernails - chipped, jagged edged, long.. they were a mess.
Chemical Lens: "I admit that, perhaps, my emotional detachment stopped me from thinking about actual justice, and more towards returning the pain given to someone that didn't deserve it." She shrugged.
Fluttershy came in, about then, with Sunset.. who's eyes were puffy and red from crying, hair a mess.. she was a sight.
Sunset: "Twilight Sparkle.." She slowly paced over to her. "..everything that happened-"
Twilight Sparkle: "You're forgiven, Sunset.. and I want to apologize if I was a jerk back then. I've come to realize that I've.. I was.. I was a different person, then. Uncaring. Unfriendly. And I'm sorry." She lowered her head. "My dad.. I just learned.. he's as bad as your parents. If it hadn't been you, it'd've been me instead. I'm sure of it."
Twilight Velvet: "Nonsense. Not while I'm still alive." She was finishing grooming her daughter's newly spiky coat - it took a firmer hand with the brush to get it nice and smooth again. "Sunset, sit right here and let Auntie groom you properly - you're a sight." She said, in a warm, motherly tone.
Sunset: "Yes, ma'am." She did as instructed.
K: "Celestia.. if everyone's right about Sunset being the next best mage - or even stronger than Twilight - I think we've found the next Element of Magic." I nodded to her.. as AJ got that knot in my back audibly cracked. "OooooHhhhh..!"
Celestia: "Sunset?" She just looked at her.
Sunset: "Tell me.. everything." She lowered her head.
TIME: 17:52 ERST
Everything was explained to her in great detail, from my arrival, to what now looked as a multi-decade operation on Tirek and Cozy's parts to manipulate events and start the downfall of Pony society, along what might be a planned line of Apocalypse, which seemed to ravage the planet in waves every few thousand years.
That and, of course, my Stallion Pallions did mention off-hand what kind of a 'big splash' I made on the "social" scene - why so many Mares were heaped all over me. Of multiple races.
Ember and Somnambula both arrived during the talk, with Opalfire and a couple others, and joined in, adding in what they knew. Zorch, Teddy, Bright Eyes.. by the time Sunset was up to speed, anyone of note that wasn't in Navarre, was here in this room.
Oh, and, we didn't repeat our Hero Mistake from Ponyville - weapons were in easy reach.
Sunset: "I.. don't know what to say?" She was all groomed, now.
As was I. And full - we'd just finished a working dinner.
Twilight: "Say you'll help? Come on - we were Celestia's best two students! It doesn't matter which one of us was THE best - WE have the power to literally save the whole WORLD!" She said, cheering her former rival on.
Sunset: "I'll help, alright. But.. I need K's help, first." She looked at me.
K: "Name it." I nodded.
Sunset: "Tirek is loose in the school system over there. I'm a Senior, now.. all the others are, too.." She looked at everyone in the room. "..all of you have reflections, over there. Except Twilight, K.. and.. I don't see Pinkie, here.."
I stood bolt upright.
K: "She DID it!" I fist-pumped. "She DID IT!"
Katrina: "I knew she was special."
Firecracker: "Pinkie Pie killed Discord and took his Chaos Powers. If a reflection of HER is THERE.." She trailed off a bit.
Gaze: "Ah k'n guarantee that ain't no reflection." He smirked.
Norfy: "I agree." He nodded.
Cosmic: "It's the only thing that makes sense." He gestured.
Sunset: "Then.. that means.. he's going to go after her! We HAVE to help her!" She got up as well.
K: "Question is.. how?" I tilted my head - but I grabbed my Bradley and my field belt with my Morgan on it, and started walking. "The Mirror.." I nodded to Sunset.
Sunset: "This way."
We were led to a store room.. there was evidence that someone had been in here, and in fact, Celestia was sniffing about.
Celestia: "They made off with a few magical artifacts. I think they sent them through the Mirror.." She looked at Sunset.
Sunset: "They did, they had me bring them to.. him." She shuddered a little.
K: "Okay.. human rules.. do you have any proof that Tirek was molesting and raping you?" I put a hand on her shoulder.
Sunset: "My.. my medical records from my abortion!" She perked up.
K: "Did they do DNA testing?" I asked.
Sunset: "They said they had to.. since I was under age.."
K: "Where were you, exactly?"
Sunset: "Canterlot, Colorado - United States." She nodded to me.
K: "Colorado has a magazine restriction.." The ponies were confused, but I handed off my Bradley. "Rolfe, get Daddy's revolver rig, his old human clothes, and Daddy's thick jacket."
Rolfe: "On the way! Come on, Sis'es!" He galloped off with Starlight and Pomme.
Sunset: "You lived there?" She asked.
K: "California. Close enough. I know the laws. I need to be able to have a gun on me, but it can't be an illegal gun. Webley, I need you to Connect to the Internet, interface with Toola, and Toola, I need you to make me a Colorado Driver's License, and Concealed Carry Permit." I looked at them. "My date of birth is {REDACTED} 1981. For an address, 1202 South Chambers Road, Aurora, CO, 80017."
Toola: "..that's awfully precise." She blinked.
K: "You're literally the only one that could forge them perfectly." I nodded slowly to her.
Twilight: "Something up about that address?" She asked, idly.
K: "Late relative of mine - they lived two houses away from that address in the 1980's. I don't think there's an actual house at that address, if memory serves, but it doesn't matter. It just has to pass muster if I get stopped by a cop." I shrugged.
Toola: "Oooohh." She scooted next to Webley. "Good reception!"
And started painting.
K: "Sunset, we're going to go rescue Pinkie, and stop that Tirek. If I'm right, it's going to hurt THIS Tirek.. a LOT!" I smirked.
The problem is.. I'd be going to the Human World..
[End of Part 3]
Part 4: Reflectivity
TIME: 18:44 ERST
DATE: War Day 797/11 Sextus, 1004 C.S.
LOCATION: Royal Palace, Canterlot, Equestria
Toola was done with the fakes, and Katrina used magic to "laminate" them properly. They looked perfect. I had my M-19 on me, and since Colorado didn't have a handgun registration, I'd be fine. I couldn't bring my Morgan or any of my invented weapons, and I'd rather not bring my PA-63, since I didn't have any ammo for it.
I packed a bag of things. There was no way I would even mess with counterfeit money, so I packed some Equestrian gold coins with the stamping quickly melted off of them, so they'd look like gold round coins. I was making a wild guess on value, but it should be over $12,000 USD.
My original clothes.. a bit faded, a bit worn, but I put them on. My old boots, too.. again, worn, but better this than wearing something I couldn't explain. My clothes were cleaned, and Twilight Velvet used her magic to 'restore' my clothes as best she could - they weren't brand new, but they looked better.
Me and Sunset.
We were the only two that could go.
Applejack: "Yew be careful.." She hugged me very tightly, and kissed me on the lips. "..ah love you."
K: "I love you, too." I kissed her back, and bent down to get hugs from the kids. "You guys watch out for Mommy while I'm gone - we don't have the Element of Magic, so, you have to be on your guard."
Pomme: "Oui, PaPa!" She nuzzled my neck.
Rolfe: "I'll keep 'em safe, Dad - I have two sisters for Backup!" A tight hug.
Starlight Mint: "I'll be careful, Daddy.." She hugged me, and looked me right in the eyes. "..after all, I'm a natural born soldier."
Koringo: "I be careful, Papa!" She hugged and nuzzled my nose.
I stood up, and looked at everyone.
K: "If anything happens.." I looked at Blinda. "..take command in my absence. If I'm gone THAT long.. finish the fight in Navarre, and make sure you take out that Rocket Launch Facility if you can find it. Other than that, recruit, train, sniff out problems, and get the soldiers from the other nations some experience, if you can. I'm naming... Sacquet as Supreme Allied Commander in my absence." I looked at Celestia. "Listen to the officers that I've trained."
Luna hugged me, at this point, and kissed me deeply.
Luna: "You must return to us.." She didn't mean herself in the third person. "..to me." A hoof to my face.
K: "I will." I looked at Sunset. "Ready?"
Sunset: "Ready." She nodded to me.
We stepped up to the Mirror.. Sunset just stepped through.. and then.. I did.
I half expected to come out as a dog on the other end..
TIME: 11:02 US Mountain Standard Time
DATE: Sunday, 7 March 2004
LOCATION: Canterlot High School, Canterlot, Colorado, United States of America
I felt myself up.
I was human.
I looked down at myself, and gently caressed every part of me, to make sure that going through the mirror hadn't-
Sunset: "OH!" She blinked.
K: "Is there something on my face?" I touched it.
Sunset: "You.. look.. different." She grabbed her purse from where she'd hidden it, and handed me her compact.
I looked.. I was young again. Very young. 23, in fact.. had to be, I was missing a small scar on my hand, and my light wrinkles around my eyes were gone.
I was, in fact, younger than when I'd met J-- in real life.
K: "I'm.. so young." I ran a hand through my short hair - nope, those one or two light greys were gone.
Sunset: "Wow." She stepped up to me, and took my hand. "Heh. You look good."
K: "..that's what my human wife said, when we first met.. but I won't see her until December." I lowered my head. "But.. this isn't my world.." I caressed her cheek. "..your skin is technicolor. Mine, isn't."
I looked at our surroundings.. we were in some kind of janitorial closet.
It wasn't Meagan and Danny's world, either, come to think of it.. it was a totally different plane of existence.
Sunset: "Well.. where to first?" She tilted her head.
K: "Got a car?" I shrugged. "Pawn shop."
Sunset: "Yeah! Hey... I have to ask." She lowered her head a little.
K: "Anything." I gestured.
Sunset: "Are you tempted to go see if your human wife exists here?" She looked back up to me.
K: "If she is.. she's not the same person. She wouldn't know me. We met on the Internet in 2000. We had a relationship already. If I was able to pass through that mirror, then I don't exist here.. even if she did.." I lowered my gaze, thinking about it. "..she wouldn't be my J-------."
Sunset: "This must be hard for you." She put a hand on my shoulder.
K: "You have no idea. I mean. I'm back in a world of my kind. It's not MY world, but it's close." I looked at the Mirror. "I could just stay here.. the ponies back there already have all the tools they need to finish the war, especially if you go back and become the Element of Magic. I won't have my J--, but.. at this young of an age, I could start over. I could get my IT certifications again, or do something else with my life." I sighed. "Tempted.. but.. no, not without J--. I couldn't. I love her too much."
Sunset: "Well. I'm not your wife - er, either of them - but, I'll be your friend as best as I can." She smiled.
K: "Yeah.. I appreciate that." I smiled back. "Our goal here.. first, after the Pawn Shop, is to get in touch with Pinkie and make sure she's OUR Pinkie. Then, we find a way to either kill or have arrested, the Tirek of this world, reclaim any artifacts he stole, and once he's defeated, get back home."
Sunset: "Right." She nodded.
We exfiltrated from the school, and brought the mirror with us. Sunset explained that Tirek, for the last year or so, since her pregnancy scare, has kept her in an apartment, and didn't really visit her much - he did make it clear that when his victory was final, he would be back for her.
I made her leave her cell phone in the trash.
As we drove through the town, I could see mayoral campaign signs all around. So, that was it - this Tirek was running for mayor of Canterlot. Interesting. Mayor Mare re-election signs were up, as well, but not as many. Another interesting. Well, 2004 was an election year.
I had a feeling that "defeating" Tirek - if there were some odd "rules of the Universe" things going on here - would mean ensuring he can't become Mayor. Either through death, exposing him as a child rapist and him being arrested, or some other thing that made sure he would never be back.
[End of Part 4]
Part 5: Unintended Reflectivity
TIME: 14:45 MST
DATE: Sunday, 7 March 2004
LOCATION: Canterlot, Colorado, USA
The Pawn Broker actually had to call his cousin in, who ran a coin store. Since all the Equestrian gold coins had all their stampings melted smooth, there was nothing on them, but they were (almost) pure gold. I got $300 an ounce for them, and that was WAY more than $12,000.
I'd taken 150 of the 100-bits coins, and each one was 2.24 ounces of gold. I had over $100,000 here. I did explain that these came from an old family collection, and had brought them in the small chest they'd come in. All 21 pounds of it.
They.. gave me a cashier's check, after taking me to their bank.
I'd opened an account, and got an advance of $5500 from the bank (since it was their own Cashier's Check). Issued a bank card, after verifying my driver's license and everything.. oddly enough, I'd used my own Social Security number, and it was NOT flagged. Post 9/11 security procedures and everything, with a cash transfer of that size, they'd needed to verify everything..
..and, I knew, if my SS# had been flagged, the local PD would have had me in a cell before I got back to the parking lot, with the FBI on the way from Denver to give me a colonoscopy.
We were at the local burger joint.. and I was relishing the highly processed meat.
Sunset: "Hah.. I remember.. there's no burgers over there." She leaned in and whispered.
K: "Cow's're sentient." I shrugged. "Good meat, though."
Sunset: "So, what's next?" She shrugged. "I don't have Pinkie's address or anything."
K: "Cheap laptop, cheap cell phone with unlimited data, get on the internet, learn things." I nodded to her.
Sunset: "Mmm." She nodded back, and sucked on her milkshake. "I'm going to miss these."
K: "Mmpfh. Talk to Rose. I taught her how to make them." I smirked at her. "Pizza, too."
Sunset: "Corrupting influence!" She snickered, then froze as some people entered. "Shit.. that's Gilda."
K: "Not friendly?" I asked.
Sunset: "Not by a long shot." She frowned.
I observed Gilda and her crew walk up to the counter, and order food. "The Griffons" was on the back of her leather jacket.. I didn't immediately recognize the crew members.
It struck me that I'd have to treat everyone here like a stranger, even though I knew them.. I knew their thoughts, their fears..
I noticed two things. One, she has a gun in the back of her waistband, mostly covered by her leather jacket. Two, Rainbow Dash wasn't with her.
K: "Gilda, Lesbian?" I asked in hushed tones.
Sunset: "Nn.. not as far as I know.." She shrugged. "I don't do her social calendar."
I wolfed down the rest of the burger, and slurped the Coca-Cola. Genuine Coca-Cola, it'd been years. So good. I'd miss this, I admitted to myself.. and I'd get on the internet and see if the Secret Formula had been leaked, yet, so I could reproduce it perfectly in Equestria.
K: "Let's vacate." I nodded to her.
We managed to slip out before Gilda or her crew noticed us. Which was good - I didn't want to start anything I couldn't finish.
We buzzed by Wal-Mart, picked up a $400 laptop, $50 cell phone with a plan attached that had unlimited data for $35/mo, and some accessories. And clothes! It was cold, I needed a jacket, and some things that fit me.
I was, of course, struck by how much LOWER the quality was, compared to Rarity. Still, it would do. And Rarity hadn't mastered certain.. unique quirks of human fashion, lacking references.
We decided to make camp at a motel just outside of town - tomorrow, we'd get an apartment, in my name, or something. It was Spring Break, so, we had a week to prepare for whatever.
We got to the motel.. and.. well..
Sunset: "Ahh.. it's nice, thinking about going to sleep and.." She held herself. "..knowing I don't have to worry about waking up to him."
K: "Yeah." I nodded, and sat on the left hand bed.
We'd been given a room with no argument - $35 a night, and no questions asked. The counter clerk was from Pakistan, and he had his own troubles in the post-9/11 world. The last thing he needed to do was put his nose in the business of two Yankees.
She sat next to me, immediately, though.
Sunset: "...I'm just going to come right out with it." She shoved me back on the bed, and straddled me. "I want to know what it's like to have sex in this form, and not be screaming and crying." Her lips.. silk.
K: "Sunset!" I gently pushed her back. "Really!?"
Sunset: "Hey.. I already know I'm sexy like this - guys tell me all the time. I've been here for years, K. Just because Tirek owned me, doesn't mean I wasn't curious about stuff." She slid her hands under my head. "And.. I want to know.. what it feels like." She Frenched me.
I was trying my best to resist both her, and that un-scratched itch of being with another of my own species. Yes, Luna could make herself human in my dreams, but.. the sensations weren't the same. It was a dream, they were dulled.
Sunset: "Admit it." She got her jacket off, and pulled up her shirt, showing off her B-Cups. "Back in High School, you would've gone for me."
K: "Back in High School, you would've been so far out of my league, licking your boots would've been a pipe dream." I was honest.
Sunset: "Really? You?" She asked, incredulously, as she got her shirt off.
K: "Sunset, it took me years, and getting married, to mature to the point of even approaching 'coolness.' It's not something I was born with." I shrugged. "Ahhhh... we're fucking doing this, aren't we?"
Sunset: "We sure are. Hey, I'm 18, I'm legal - and so are you!" She got MY shirt off. "You're even still in the Five Finger Rule." She wiggled her eyebrows.
K: "Applejack is going to kill you, then fuck you, then want a threeway. Or an orgy. Remember Dusty? She got claim on my Monkey ass, too." I smirked. "And Luna, and Rarity, and Katrina when no other women are around.. and Celestia when she's needy.."
Sunset: "Surrounded by the best horse puss on the planet.." She laid down flat on my chest.. and I realized, phyiscally, I was in the same fantastic condition I was in Equestria.
She grinded on me, rubbing her tits all over my chest.
Sunset: "..but, no human. Not in years." She started kissing my chest. "You just relax.. I want to.. experiment.. at my own pace.." She gently dragged her nails down my side..
..I squirmed HARD! It had been a LONG time since someone reminded me how SENSITIVE I was, there!
Sunset: *Giggle* "Ticklish!" She smirked, and traced her tongue down along my abs.
K: "Ahh.. what the hell." I shrugged, and let her do what she wanted.
And.. I'm not going into detail about it. Nope. Sorry. That foreplay? Sure, but, I don't feel quite right going into detail about this. After all, this is now two humans "doing it." You want that, go read something else - this tale is not about that sort of thing. Besides, you've gotten to see me bang many sapient 'cartoon' horses, a cat woman, and nearly get molested by a dragon.
Enough, already, ya pervs (love you!).
{End of Chapter 87}
