Chapter 26 : Sleeping Beauties
Bobby squared his feet parallel to one another, making sure not to let himself slip, and again pushed the snow shovel across the driveway. This sucks. It sucks. Oh my God, this sucks. It seemed like all he could remember or think about in recent memory was shoveling snow, and that he’d been stuck outside doing it for an eternity. The flakes that fell where he had just cleared seemed to be mocking him with their very existence.
He exhaled an angry breath and hurled the shovel full of snow as hard as he could over his shoulder. The sound of it landing with a satisfying thump across the street made him feel a little better.
In truth it had probably only been ten minutes, rather than even an hour, much less an eternity.
Still, as much as he didn’t want to be getting stuck doing lame work for no gain, which he already was, he refused to quit, either. Sure, his parents were probably too busy to notice if he did, at least right away, but he didn’t care much to just stop. It made sense to try instead to weather things as they were. That, and maybe nail his dad with a snowball later and blame Anna…
Smirking to himself, Bobby took a break and looked down at his mp3 player. The cheap little device was pumping a steady stream of heavy metal into the ear-buds for him to revel in. His head bobbed a few times, and mistakenly, he looked over at the porch to his house. He could see everyone standing around, including the two girls that had shown up; one of them apparently claimed to be Twilight Sparkle of all things, from Anna’s stupid, new favorite show.
Bobby stared at the taller of the two girls' back, scanning up and down her figure; dark blue or maybe indigo hair reached almost to the bottom of her overly poofy winter jacket. For a fictional character though, she’s pretty… pretty hot, even. He nodded in satisfaction at the thought, recalling the memory of her as she strutted by, all bundled up in winter clothing.
Meanwhile, everyone up on the porch seemed to freak out after a moment, and it was obvious as to why; Mary had walked outside and revealed herself.
Bobby grunted, frowning, then shrugged and turned away again, increasing the volume of his music. I don’t want to get involved, I don’t want to get involved… Not even a little bit. I mean, unless they need my help… maybe, but whatever, I doubt they’ll ever need it.
After Bobby turned, his eyes laid themselves down on the girl’s car across the road, which, he realized, was also where he had started hurling snow. “Great, fantastic,” he muttered, and scratched his head through his glove in frustration.
The weird, silver car that the two strangers had arrived in had snow and slush smacked against the windows and all over the side.
Bobby recalled the satisfying thumping he’d heard while shoveling, and frowned in understanding that said thumping had been the car. Shaking his head at his own mistake, he trudged across the street, then began dusting the snow off with one arm. “That short girl looked crazy, too. I better not get yelled at-”
For a moment, there was a flash of light out across the field.
Bobby looked up, blinking, then down both directions of the road. “Okay, that was weird,” he muttered, though he still couldn’t hear himself over the music. Shrugging again, he continued trying to hide the fact that he’d pelted the stranger’s car with snow. It had been an accident, after all.
Stan watched the happy discovery of one another between Twilight and Mary quickly turn just a little bit sour. His own hope had plummeted alongside Mary’s, which was far more obvious, the moment that Twilight expressed cluelessness over their plight. He felt every ounce of distress in his wife’s voice as she approached Twilight. The strange girl hadn’t yet admitted she couldn’t help, either, but it was easy to see Mary already assumed that to be the case.
Stan began to take a weighted breath, which turned without warning into a strangled yell, and then an angry shout.
Light from somewhere bursted out over his property, blinding him. Strangely, the only sound was a single other voice besides his own, and two thumps that shook the porch.
“What happened!?” was the first thing Stan thought to say. He pressed his back to the door on instinct to get his bearings. “Mary, are you alright?” He tried to look around, but blurriness from a purple after image kept him from seeing anything.
“Twilight!?” yelled another voice. A couple more voices from indoors raised up to join in.
Stan grunted, and continued to try and clear his vision. “Everyone, stay calm!” There was no answer from who he wanted to hear yet. “Mar? Are you okay?”
He waited a split second for an answer from Mary, but instead, the stranger’s voice answered again, sounding like a mixture of exasperation and indignation. “Twilight? What did you do?”
Stan kept blinking, fighting until his eyes just barely focused enough for him to see somewhat clearly. They immediately rested on two motionless bodies; one was unmistakably Mary’s orange, furred body, while the other was the strange girl calling herself Twilight. Both of them were lying on the snowy front porch’s floorboards.
“Mary?” Stan blinked again, hoping to see his wife pick her head up. Was that more magic? It was obvious it had been. Just what kind of magic was that? Did Twilight do this? Why would she? He looked at Twilight’s still unmoving form warily while it came into focus. One thing was certain, he definitely believed her now.
A thump against his house’s wall made him look over quickly. It was the girl introduced as Twilight’s friend, though she was human originally, not another pony in disguise. Stan couldn’t immediately remember what her name had been, or if she’d even been introduced.
“Hey. Hey, what happened?” Her expression was scrunched up into a scowl, eyes squinted as if she were looking up at the sun.
Stan frowned, likely as not he had the same look on his own face. So she doesn’t know what happened either.
“I’m not sure,” he answered honestly, and kneeled down towards Mary. “I’m guessing you don’t, either.” His hands gently cupped his wife’s shoulders, testing for response. He dearly hoped that her eyes would open straight away, that she would look right up. “Mar, hey, wake up, please.”
A lumpy flake of snow floated out of the sky and landed on Mary’s nose, where it quickly began to melt, but otherwise, there wasn’t any movement.
Stan’s thoughts weren’t focused on the strange occurrence, or an explanation, not yet; he didn’t waste them or any time thinking about what to do, either. Quickly, he pressed against Mary’s neck, searching for a pulse. Her body was different than a human’s, and he wasn’t sure exactly where to look for a pulse on a pony, but he managed to find one right away. Strangely, despite being knocked out, her pulse was racing.
Stan let out a relieved breath, then leaned over towards Twilight to do the same and repeat the process.
The short girl standing beside him spoke up, and asked, “Are they okay-?” While at the same time, Stan heard his daughter race outside to join the commotion, and interrupt everything.
A flash of movement, which resolved into Anna bolting out of the backdoor of the home appeared as if by magic right beside Mary. “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.
Herbert 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 strained to keep his voice calm. He also reached one hand up to cover his ear, a bit taken off guard by his daughter’s screech of panic. “They’re both fine, now go back inside.”
Agnes’ voice carried out from the house. “Who’s dead?”
Behind Stan, Herbert leaned back in the house and yelled back to Agnes. “It’s fine dear, no one is dead!” He moved again, intent on seeing what had happened, but instead rested his eyes out on something that simply couldn’t be ignored. “Holy cow, is that a DeLorean!?”
Stan let out an exasperated breath and rolled his eyes, unable to help it. Hello pony royalty, this is my family. Please, welcome to my home. He frowned over at Twilight. She is unconscious at the moment, I guess.
Herbert’s snapped his fingers in understanding. “I knew it. Time travel!” His thoughts all clicked into their rightful places. Ponies do take over the planet in the future!
Twilight’s friend joined the building clamor as well. “What? Twilight better not be dead... I...”
All around Stan, it seemed everyone was deciding to add their two cents. Anna continued to freak out, while his father seemed excited about the car Twilight had come in. At least Agnes seemed to be trying to calm people down from the doorway, but it only added to the noise.
The entire scene devolved into a myriad of panic and shouting.
Not waiting for the noise to end on its own, Stan raised his voice, shouting over the rest of the people around him. “Enough!” he yelled. “They’re not dead. Everyone, calm down.” He gave a pointed look to each of his family members present, and barely thought he heard Dan laughing from inside. “One weird thing happens and you all lose it.”
Line up your priorities and execute… What’s first? Quickly, he continued speaking, looking at his father. “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!”
Stan looked up at Twilight’s friend next, considering that she might want a say in things. “That’s fine, right? That we take Twilight inside, too?” He waited a moment, then frowned when it became apparent she wasn’t listening. The other girl seemed a million miles away judging by her glazed over expression. “Hey, are you there?” he asked again.
The shorter girl, Jessica or something else with a J, blinked and looked up, confirming that she had only sort of been paying attention. Still, she gave a suitable answer. “Oh, yeah, that’s fine. I- I can help, too,” she offered; her voice was shaky.
Stan studied her a moment, then nodded slowly. I guess she’s surprised by this, too. I wonder how deep in things she even really is. He was well aware that he likely knew even less, but then again, it was better not to make assumptions. At least she wants to help.
He continued, satisfied and not wanting to wait. “You and Herbert can get your friend, I’ll take care of Mar.”
Herbert gave Stan a nod of acknowledgement, which is what he had been waiting for, then hurriedly saw to Mary. She was limp, and snow was clumped against the fabric of her sweat clothes all along one side of her, but she was easy to pick up.
Mary’s body curled in on itself as Stan lifted her up; he was careful to mind her tail.
At the same time, Herbert gave a welcoming smile for Twilight’s friend. “Hey there, little lady, you can call me Herbert,” he greeted cheerfully. Sure, the situation didn’t look great, but first impressions were important as he saw it, and Twilight was spoken of Mary’s best hope.
“Uhm, right, I’m Jo,” the girl returned, after a short pause. She seemed upset.
“Ah, well, nice to meet you.” Herbert hesitated from going on, but nodded and knelt down to grab Twilight’s arms. “Alright, I’ll get her arms.”
“Yeah, sure,” the girl half responded, half murmured, and moved to grab Twilight around the knees.
Behind them all, Anna’s worried sounds dissipated, being led away by Agnes, who offered the younger girl gentle reassurances that everything would be fine. It sounded like Anna was protesting not being able to help, too, and that adults always said that, whether or not it was even true.
Stan sighed, Mary clutched to his chest, and waited to make sure Herbert and Twilight’s short friend could manage on their own. At first, the girl’s stature had almost made him think that Twilight Sparkle had arrived with a girl, rather than an adult. What with her being from an old cartoon show he had thought of a few odd scenarios… though to be honest he wasn’t completely sure of what to think overall.
Stan paid close attention until the short girl and Herbert were ready to move. When they were, he quickly stood up, eager to get inside where hopefully they could puzzle some answers out. At the moment he was just grateful that the porch was less crowded now.
The three of them lifted more or less at the same time by coincidence, but their efforts were quickly impeded.
Stan took the lead to show the way, almost; he entered the doorway easily enough, only to be tugged back by something.
Ready to cuss out Herbert right there for whatever he was trying to pull, Stan turned around, only to swallow the words before they could even form. His eyes locked onto his wife’s hoof, and then Twilight Sparkle’s hand, which was latched onto said hoof.
The short girl and Herbert were also scrutinizing the oddity, varied looks of confusion on everyone’s faces.
“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?”
Twilight’s friend looked up, wearing an indignant expression that flashed into being the moment she was addressed. “It’s, Jo! And like I would know, anyway! I don’t know anything more than you do about this magic pony stuff!” She paused, frowning.
Stan blink slightly in surprise at the outburst, taken aback. He felt compelled to apologize, but didn’t get the chance.
Jo was staring with an intense look of thought at Twilight. “That’s really weird...” she muttered, in a much quieter tone.
Stan looked at the sight as well. Whatever, nothing that a good tug won’t- He gave his wife and Twilight another pull, only for the action to jerk Herbert, Jo, and Twilight after him a second time. Won’t solve… He frowned at Twilight’s grip on his wife’s hoof a second time.
“Easy, muscles!” Jo frowned, nearly falling over.
Stan shot over a brief frown, then looked at Mary again worriedly. “What in the world? Are they really stuck together?”
Herbert shrugged back, not pretending to know.
“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 paused for a second. “I think that this glow 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. “Hey, wait, I think this is something magical, guys. Uhm.” Her brow furrowed as she spoke. “Look at her wrist. It’s glowing.”
Stan got a closer look for himself. I was afraid of that…
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, then moved in to try and give it a shot as well.
Jo knelt again and rolled her eyes, muttering something, though they couldn’t quite catch what. After a breath that seemed like her patience was a bit thin, she continued louder. “It’s glowing. I think something magical is still happening,” she pointed out, repeating herself.
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… 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 Herbert. Together, the three of them moved the two limp women into the house.
Stan led them inside, taking the unconscious Twilight and Mary first through the foyer, then the laundry room. The house branched there, into either the dining room or living room, and they took the right towards a place the two women could be situated comfortably.
Inside the living room was warm, a fire going for Christmas in one corner. It was empty for the most part, that is, except for Dan, who was planted at the dead-center of the room’s couch.
Stan guided them all towards the couch, taking careful steps to make sure no one tripped over anyone else while they were carrying Twilight and Mary.
“Dan, hey.” Stan called out, doing his best to stay calm. “Get up and make room for Mar and Twilight.” Despite years of training, and being put through stressful situations, his own wife still managed to make his heart live up in his throat nearly twenty-four-seven.
“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 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 seemed to pan his attention over the entire scene.
Stan took even breaths, focusing on ordering his thoughts; there had to be something he could do, maybe even a solution available. Deep down though, he knew that he was probably as helpless as his wife was asleep. Absently, he heard what sounded like Twilight’s friend and Dan going at it over something.
Stan’s brow furrowed. Dangit, Dan, shut up, I’m trying to think. And leave the poor girl alone or you’re gonna get clobbered again… What was I thinking? Come on, there’s gotta be something I can do here...
Dan spoke up, interrupting the train of thought further. “Well, this might be a bad time to ask, but can I take off now, boss?”
Absently, Stan realized Dan had actually addressed him. “Yeah, Dan, go ahead, and thanks for your help,” he responded in rush, then hesitantly turned to look away from Mary.
Dan continued once they made eye contact. “Great, I’d stick around if I could…” He paused, looking elsewhere. “But duty calls.”
Stan nodded in understanding. Dan didn’t mind working the holidays, for whatever reason, and he still had the rest of his patrol shift to handle.
Dan chuckled, going on. “Let me know if you need help again, and assuming I’m still invited, be back in time for dinner!” Still laughing, he backed towards the door, tipping patrol hat he had perched on his head.
“Yeah, you are.” Stan smirked, recalling how Agnes had invited him to join them for his help. He didn’t mind that, either. Maybe he was even a bit ashamed he hadn’t thought of it himself. “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.” He turned to face Mary as he spoke.
Jo looked up, wide-eyed. “Wait, what?”
Best way to make friends fast is full disclosure, eh? 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.”
He didn’t know how tight-knit Twilight and Jo were; he didn’t know them period, but he did know he wanted them on his side, for Mary’s sake.
The sound of Twilight’s friend exhaling tiredly made his ear twitch.
“Alright,” Jo said, “So what do we do now? The misfits are all together at last it looks like.”
Stan felt a little wave of relief wash over him, glad to know the one conscious stranger wasn’t upset.
Herbert was leaning over the back of the couch, standing beside Stan. He spoke up first, eyes widening as he did. “I think you would know better than us, little lady.”
Jo’s brow creased into a scowl as she turned towards Herbert.
Before his goof-ball relation could ruin things, Stan decided to step in. “Dad, let me handle this.” He cleared his throat, intent on two things, getting everyone to relax, and getting answers.
“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.”
He thought he was conveying what he wanted to know well enough to get at least a hint of things. It didn’t really seem like Jo was about to keep secrets.
“Holy crap, Mary’s your wife,” Jo burst out unexpectedly. She covered her mouth with a hand, her eyes glued to Mary.
Stan almost quirked an eyebrow, but nodded solemnly, instead. “That’s right,” he answered simply.
He exhaled a breath, considering things might be more difficult than he’d hoped to figure out.
Stan gave Jo an earnest, open look as he spoke. “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, turning to face Mary’s best hope of normalcy. “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 was quiet for a long moment, and Stan almost looked over.
“No,” she finally replied, in almost a growl. “I can’t think of anything.” She faced Twilight again, who looked as peaceful as if she really were just asleep. “Shouldn’t we take them to the hospital… or… something?”
Stan heard the H word and started shaking his head right away. If only a hospital could help. “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 too forcefully. “This is definitely not within our realm of knowledge and understanding.”
Stan settled his eyes on the shimmer of purple where the two were connected. I should have sent Mar to my folk’s place first… Something like this was bound to happen.
Herbert frowned as the room grew more quiet, and decided to make a suggestion. “We could get some smelling salts?” It had been the first thought in his mind, but he hadn’t wanted to get in the way of the kids.
The room was quiet another moment, with Jo blinking over at Herbert, until Stan sighed, and stood upright. “That might work, I guess,” he admitted, sounding somewhat open to the idea.
“But if it doesn’t,” Jo spoke up. “Then we just wait?” Her voice held a measure of doubt, and spoke aloud what everyone else was thinking.
Both of the two men turned to face her and nodded. Herbert and Stan were used to waiting out problems until it could fix itself, or a solution arrived, and both of them possessed a healthy helping of patience. The key was knowing when to use it.
Jo continued, frowning. “Well, great...” Patience didn’t seem to be her own strong point, because she leaned forward and began to pat Twilight on the side of the face repeatedly, her frown deepening.
Stan studied Jo a moment, interested in what her whole story was. Twilight was still more important due to circumstances, but if Jo had truly just helped a magical unicorn out of the blue, which he assumed for the time being was the case, then she must be a pretty unique sort of person. He’d met a lot of people over the years, and he knew more than a few would take severe advantage over a situation like that.
Then again, Stan thought, I bet Twilight would likely be able to hocus pocus her way out of situations like that…
Stan noticed Jo’s focus begin to drift away, still poking Twilight, and his own thoughts were not far from doing the same, until the unmistakable sound of a little girl entering the room caught everyone’s attention.
“Mom!” Anna’s raised voice pierced the room’s general quiet, just before she charged in. Like an uncageable wind, she rushed past Stan and Herbert.
Stan almost made to leap across the floor to catch his daughter, lest she hurt Mary, Twilight, or even Jo on accident; she had been engaging in a great many extraordinary acrobatic feats around the house lately.
At the last second, Anna diverted her course slightly over the carpet, sliding with both knees up onto the couch cushions harmlessly beside her mother.
“Mom! Mom! Mom? Moooom, wake up now. Mom!” Anna chanted on, trading between shaking Mary’s shoulders, yanking on her tail, and patting her side.
Agnes’ head poked in from the same doorway Anna had entered through, looked around, then settled on the girl with a relieved look. “Sorry, Stan,” she apologized right away, exhaling a little. “She wanted to see Mary.”
Stan gave his mom a quick look, with a ghost of a smile in it, then knelt beside his daughter at the couch—who was now busy tugging on Mary’s ears—and rested a hand on her 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?”
Stan picked his head up, already frowning, then panned around to stare at his father darkly.
Everyone in the room turned to look at Herbert as well, each wearing a different type of expression.
“What?” Herbert asked believably, a grin creeping up his face. “This is magic we’re talking about.” In truth, he was half serious about the suggestion. You never knew for sure, after all.
Anna answered her grandpa first, exhaling in 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.” The suggestion for a solution jump started his own thoughts once again. “For now, I’ll be right back. I think I have some smelling salts somewhere.” He turned to the one other remaining person in the house with some sense about them. “Agnes, come help me look?”
Agnes raised an eyebrow at him, to which Stan gave her an expectant look in return. Finally, she nodded hesitantly.
Stan walked out of the room just behind Agnes, sparing a quick glance behind himself towards where Mary lay on the couch. He left Herbert and Anna there in the room along with Jo and Twilight, hoping that Jo could keep Herbert and Anna out of trouble without his supervision. Hm, maybe I should have warned her… Well, I’m sure it’ll be fine.
Shrugging, Stan continued towards the dining room for a bit of privacy.
“So, what did you really need me out here for, Stan?” Agnes asked. She walked until she came to the dinner table, which was already set entirely with plateware and Mary’s good china, or what little remained of it. Half of the plates were similar looking replacements, their ancestors the casualties of war with her hooves.
Stan let out a breath. “Well, I do need help finding the salts. We haven’t used them in a while.” He tried to remember briefly when the last time had been, and decided it likely had to do with his dad at some point.
“But,” he went on. “I also wanted to talk to you about maybe taking the kids and going.”
Agnes raised both eyebrows this time. “Really?” She looked out in the direction of the family room. “Do you think it’s really that serious?”
Stan tapped a finger on a nearby hutch, the top of which was crowded with candles and Christmas decorations. “Something we can’t explain or hope to understand that might very well be dangerous just happened outside my house, on my property. It could be serious, but we don’t know…”
He paused, frowning seriously at the floor. “Maybe this stuff happens all the time in cartoons and stories, but this is our well being at stake, and I don’t think we have too many options.” Looking up revealed Agnes with a similar look of thoughtfulness as the one he wore, sans the frown.
“Yes, that does seem like a safe assumption,” Agnes admitted, nodding slowly. “If that’s what you want to do, dear, I can go warm up our car right now. I don’t mind having Bobby and Anna over until… whenever.” She shrugged slightly, but turned a dour look towards the dining table. “It would be a shame to let this spoil things, but I guess they’re already spoiled as it is.”
Stan joined in, staring at the table. Eventually a weighted sigh escaped him. “I was really hoping for that Christmas miracle, you know?”
Agnes looked up, smiling. She hadn’t expected the admittance. “You might still get it, Stanley. None of us are an expert, but Twilight is here now, it seems, unless I overheard everything wrong. Which reminds me! I need to pop the rolls in the oven.”
As Agnes toddled past Stan, chuckling, he rolled his eyes with a smirk.
Moms, he thought, amused. “So, you don’t think this is going to turn out to be a bad thing?”
Agnes looked over her shoulder, turning around while donning an oven mit. “Do you? I mean, I didn’t say I didn’t think that. Honestly, I don’t think we should make assumptions either way. Taking the kids might be the safe thing… but it does seem like the damage has already been done.” She hummed, sliding a pan full of doughy looking bread rolls into the oven. “You would know better than me, I think. I will point out though, if you have us take Anna… and Bobby, too, I think that they won’t like that.”
Stan blinked, a mildly surprised look appearing.
Agnes leaned up from closing the oven door, smiling. “Perhaps the fact it’s Christmas isn’t so important, but I don’t think taking them from their mom will go over easy.” She hesitated, then continued with a wry smirk. “And I’ll add in that if we do go now, all this good food will go to waste.”
Stan chuckled a little and shook his head. “So, your completely unbiased opinion is that I keep us together, then.”
Agnes hummed, smiling. “Well, if we all do turn into little ponies at least we’ll all be together.”
Stan’s expression turned to sheer horror, watching as his mother began to laugh. “Don’t joke about that, Mom.” He shook his head, feeling his blood turn to ice at just the suggestion. His words stuttered, almost not able to continue. “If Mary was awake to hear that she’d have a panic attack.”
Agnes kept chuckling. “Oh, I was just kidding. Sorry if that changed your decision, I was just joking. Still, Herbert was taking bets on what would happen and that was one of his.” She strode past Stan, still smiling. “I just won an unbelievable amount of house work out of him.”
Stan stared a moment while Agnes began pulling things out of the fridge, then slapped a hand to his forehead. Dangit, dad. He looked up at the feeling of someone patting his shoulder consolingly.
“Don’t worry just yet, Stan,” Agnes continued, laughing slightly. “I think it’s still too early to assume the worst.”
Stan sighed, leaning back against the counter. “I guess you’re right.” He looked in the direction of the living room again, and Mary. “Taking Anna away for her mom right now would be more difficult than getting Bobby out of his room on the weekend.”
Agnes chuckled again, still moving about kitchen objectives methodically. “Well, if you’re letting them stay then I suggest you try waking Mary and the princess up. They might still just have fainted, right? I heard something about magic from Anna, but I’m trying to keep my nose out of things.”
Stan shook his head, getting back on track. “Ah, that’s right. This could all just be nothing…” After a moment of consideration. “Somehow, I doubt that, but let’s hope.”
Agnes looked up from her cutting board, smiling. “Hope can always offer strength to those in need.” She held her son’s gaze a moment, then chuckled and looked down. “Those smelling salts are on the bottom shelf of the bathroom cupboard, by the way, just behind the pepto.”
Stan blinked, and it struck him that Agnes had seemed very content as they had spoken together, saying everything with a knowing coolness. He raised a hand to speak, but stopped.
The old women continued to hum, moving about the kitchen in what looked like an absent way.
“Uh, thanks, Mom,” Stan decided to say, and slowly backed out of the room. “I’ll go get those salts.”
“Anytime, dear!” Agnes called back. “Dinner’s in just over an hour, call Bobby in if he doesn’t try to sneak out of shoveling! Also, you should probably check on him, just in case!”
Stan blinked at the suggestions, already stepping into the bathroom. Hm, that might be a good idea… He found smelling salts right where they had been mentioned, then made his way back out to Mary. I hope Herbert didn’t say anything stupid… Well, I hope he didn’t say anything to get himself hurt, anyway. I guess I should only hold out hope for one Christmas miracle at a time, though...
Another thought came to Stan, and he made his way back towards the kitchen, just close enough to yell. “Mom, if you catch a break, can you come get Anna, please? I don’t think Mary or Twilight need to be bothered in their current state…”
A yell of affirmation that she would be right there came back, and Stan silently gave some thanks for having at least one other helpful adult in the house.
Approaching the other end of the house revealed a great deal of laughter, which wasn’t too surprising, but it was a little reassuring. What was surprising, was that he thought he heard Twilight’s friend amongst those laughing.
Well, I wonder what got her to lighten up. Stan wasn’t sure if Jo was just upset over Twilight or not, but she did seem to be the stony type.
Reentering the living room, he announced himself with a smirk hanging alongside his beard. “What’s with all the laughter going on in-” He stopped short, quickly spotting what seemed to be everyone in the room gathered around Mary.
Stan scrunched up his expression, still walking closer. “Anna?” He quickly caught on to what was likely going on, which seemed to include his daughter messing around with Mary.
Sure enough, Anna seemed to be pushing Twilight’s head around with Mary’s hoof, like some slightly more tame version of ‘stop hitting yourself’. At least, that’s what he assumed at first; Anna could get a little rough sometimes, which was surely a defense mechanism developed against Bobby over the years.
“Anna! Stop playing around with your mother,” Stan reprimanded. While marching on over, he also noting Herbert’s chuckles of amusement, and shot his father an unapproving look as well. “Herbert, you stop encouraging her.”
Anna and Herbert each looked over, caught with their mitts in the cookie jar, so to speak. “Awww,” they simultaneously let out sadly.
Stan shook his head in wonder, 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 of the salts, neither of them stirred.
Stan frowned as a result of the failure; smelling salts could wake up someone from the deepest sort of natural sleep. Nothing short of a coma should be keeping his wife under, or, as it seemed the case was, magical shenanigans.
“Well,” Agnes piped up in exasperation. “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 aware what’s happened to them?”
Jo looked up from frowning at Twilight to give 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 smiled gently at Stan and patted his shoulder, then began walking towards the room’s doorway.
“I’ll get back to preparing things, then!” she went on. “Anna, come help me, please?”
Anna’s expression drew down, looking regrettably at Mary.
“Oh.” Herbert began stepping lightly out of the room after Agnes, giving chase. “I’ll come along. I’m just in the way out here.” In truth, he was intent on ‘sampling’ the food ahead of time.
Anna also replied, yelling over her shoulder. “I’ll be there in a minute!”
Stan was looking at Mary. “I hope they wake up soon, too,” he murmured, mostly to himself, then continued louder now that the room was clearing out. “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 in surprise. “Oh, uhm, thanks. If it’s alright, I’ll wait out here with Twilight… Also, heh,” she chuckled, seeming to be considering something amusing.
“Twilight says she isn’t a princess like in the show. Bummer, right?”
Stan furrowed his brow at the information, then shrugged. I guess Mar was pulling out her hair over nothing, then. I guess that’s good news, at least…
Jo went on, smirking. “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!”
Stan frowned at his daughter, not surprised she had objected to the news about her newest favorite show. “Anna,” he began warningly. “Come on, there are more important things to worry about right now…” Quietly, he thought ill of Marge for opening her big mouth about the show in first place, even if it had given some possible clues.
Jo chuckled a little and apologized to Anna. “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?”
“Well,” Jo started to say, still 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, then continued. “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?”
Stan smirked. “Me, actually,” he responded.
Jo made a surprised look, as though she hadn’t expected the answer. “Oh,” she answered, then quickly recovered, giving an appreciative nod.
Stan hid his amusement as best he could. Jo didn’t seem like she was a mother or had kids herself.
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?”
The abruptness of the statement caught him off guard, but saved him the trouble of being the first one to ask for some answers. Took the words right out of my mouth. Stan leaned forward intently, arms resting on his knees, then gave the stranger a simple nod.
Jo took a breath before she spoke, her face becoming deadly serious. “Alright, well, it started a few months ago… There was this storm, and-”
Bobby shoved the back door to the house open roughly, the thing having frozen shut. “Hey! I’m done shoveling!” The house’s warmth washed over him and brought immediate relief. He had shaken most of the snow that had attached itself to him outside, and threw his coat onto a chair absently, quickly heading to warmer parts of the house.
A pleasant smell filled the room, even as far away from the kitchen as he still was.
Awesome, food’s almost done I bet. Bobby heard voices speaking, and stopped from following the smell to poke his head in at the living room. He stayed quiet, observing in silence what was going on. I wonder if mom’s back to her old self already.
Everyone in his family of course had high hopes that Mary would get fixed by the Twilight right away, assuming that she was real. The fact the stranger’s car was still across the road meant that she probably was; Dan had confirmed that much to Bobby.
However, the fact that no one had come rushing out yelling that everything was back to normal, likely meant that his mom hadn’t been so lucky.
Bobby spotted confirmation of that fact, apparently slumbering on the couch no less right beside the cute girl, Twilight. Oh, dang, that sucks… I hope she’s not pissed about still being a pony. Maybe they’re brewing up a potion right now or something. Absently, a whiff of the air confirmed there were no strange smells accompanying the delicious scent of roast ham.
Bobby hesitated from stepping away, listening absently to the sounds of the older woman that had showed up too, and his dad, both of them talking with one another. Other than the fact Twilight was apparently the actual character from Anna’s TV show, he didn’t know too much about the situation. His ignorance on the entire matter was mostly voluntary, though.
Sighing, he turned away to get up to his room. As long as I don’t get involved with this I’m happy. No doubt everyone would fill him in around dinner, whether he wanted to know or not...
Stan listened intently as Jo shared her story, starting with Twilight’s destruction of her house’s backyard. Apparently, as they came to realize, Mary had become a pony around the same time as Twilight arrived, crash landing on a stormy night. They both put two and two together right away, but all Jo could do was speculate with him, it seemed, over whether or not there was a connection.
Stan didn’t press the issue. If the girl didn’t know anything, there was nothing he could do about that.
The fact Twilight was still out cold made him restlessly tap his hand against his leg as he listened, all the way up until he shared his own side of things about Mary.
Retelling a few months worth of events concerning Mary, and any sort of information that might help had taken some time. It had been interesting, actually sharing all of Mary’s odd developments with someone else that wasn’t family, though he thought a silent promise that Jo would be the last person to know if he could help it.
Explaining how Mary could use magic to some degree had gotten an interesting reaction, but he guessed that was normal considering Jo was just along for the ride, as she had put it.
Unfortunately, nothing Stan had to share back, from the cutie marks on everyone to Mary’s strange nature magic donned any look of recognition on Jo’s face. Surprise, yes, especially over the cutie marks… but nothing that resembled her knowing any answers.
Stan flexed his hands every now and then, staying calm, and stewing in the fact that it had been hours, but nothing immediately valuable had been learned. Twilight was from another world and lost, or stranded, rather, but Jo couldn’t say much more than that; at least, that’s what she claimed.
Stan thought maybe she was holding something back at one juncture or another... but wrote it off.
Jo had been a bit unsure about what magic Twilight could do, it seemed, and focused mostly on the crystals. Her admittance that Twilight could fix Mary had come after a slight pause, too.
Stan had questioned and interviewed people a hundred times over through the years, and knew uncertainty when he saw it. What that meant, he wasn’t really sure.
His trade wasn’t a sure science, though, and he could only trust Jo, regardless. She seemed like a nice girl, too; rough around the edges as she was, she did seem friendly, certainly towards Twilight.
Herbert had come and gone a couple times, showing his serious side for once; likely because the situation was serious.
Stan kept glancing towards Mary, hoping her eyes would be cracked open each time he did, but the most he ever got was to see her let out a snore; at least she looked peaceful.
Several hours passed by in what seemed like the blink of an eye, because Agnes came by and cut the story telling a little short, trying to usher everyone into the dining room for dinner.
Stan had fended off the invitations from both his mother and Dan to join most everyone else in the dining room, and, in the end, remained out on the couch with Twilight, Mary, and Jo, who also didn’t want to leave them alone.
They ended up eating in silence, having shared each other’s details of the whole situation already. Occasionally either of them 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.
Anna kicked her legs idly under the table, stirring the dressing on her plate without really taking a bite. Everyone at the table was in the middle of digging in now that grace had been said, which Agnes had managed to convince Bobby to tackle. The thanks that Bobby had given sufficed, mostly, though he repeated a full sentence twice and mumbled for the most part.
Before that, Dan had begun eating right away, but got smacked with a wooden spoon on the hand by Agnes for his trouble.
Overall, except for the occasional jolly banter between Dan and Herbert, the cozy home was quiet. Anna was sedated and distracted, Agnes was distracted, even Herbert was a little down, and Bobby was… Bobby.
Agnes studied Anna sadly for perhaps the fourth time, watching as she poked at her plate without really eating much. The plate itself was devoid of any of the Christmas ham, steaming slightly on the table, just in case Twilight woke up. She hadn’t said so much as a peep since sitting down, and that was very uncharacteristic of her. She also had on a thoughtful look, too, as though she were thinking hard about something.
“Anna,” Agnes spoke up, and smiled the little girl’s way when she looked back. “Don’t worry, your mom’s going to be fine. Mary’s always been a lot tougher than she looks.” After a brief pause, she added, “And… that’s a really good thing, because honestly as a little pony she doesn’t look all that tough at all, even when upset.”
Agnes snickered, and hoped for a similar response from her grand daughter, only to be disappointed when she looked up flatly instead, a tired look edged around her expression.
Anna, in truth, fought against rolling her eyes, having been told repeatedly the last few hours that her mom would be fine. Instead, she quietly answered, “Yeah, I know. Nopony ever really gets hurt in the show.”
Bobby let out a terse breath from across the table, which Anna pointedly ignored, fully aware it was for her.
Oblivious, Agnes blinked, frowning a little, then leaned over and rubbed Anna’s back consolingly. “What’s the matter then, dear? Just not hungry?”
Anna frowned at her plate, and looked for something to change the subject. “No, it’s not that… I don’t want to talk about it.” She hoped the dodge would be enough to discourage her grandmother. “I just want mom and Twilight to wake up soon, is all.”
Agnes raised an eyebrow, a bit curious, but nodded. “I’m sure they will soon, dear.” She wondered what it was exactly Anna didn’t want to talk about, and thought was worth hiding.
Anna resisted sighing, and kept her eyes on her plate. Yeah… she thought to herself. But you don’t know that for sure. Besides, things never go this easy in the show… I bet Twilight can’t even help mom. Her face scrunched up into a pout, not able to fight back the emotions building up for a brief second. After a moment, she reinstilled calmness to her features. Come on, Mom…
In the back of her mind, she just hoped that Twilight would have some way to help out. Judging by what Jo had been telling her dad, which had been overheard thanks to a little eavesdropping… things didn’t sound too good.
A fire crackled nearby at one end of the living room, and the Christmas tree lights were on for the dark of evening; Stan was preoccupying himself by staring at Mary, who still slept soundlessly beside Twilight Sparkle, unmoving except for the occasional twitch of her legs or tail.
The sight did a good job of hammering the reality of things into Stan’s head, both the continued condition of his wife, and the presence of a fictional cartoon pony in the shape of a human sharing his couch. It made him uneasy, and unsure; it wasn’t something he knew he could handle.
Stan sighed, and decided he couldn’t sit still anymore for the time being. “I’ll be right back.” He stood up suddenly and reach for both his plate and Jo’s. I’ll go check on the kids… and see if Dan’s still here. I better-
Jo interrupted the train of thought, looking up from staring at the floor. “I can get it,” she offered weakly.
Stan blinked, then shook his head and kept going. Old habits over being a good host taught to him by his father, ridiculous though he was, surfaced immediately. “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…”After a moment of consideration over what the choices were, he settled on the best one that was available. “We’ll put them in our bed, I think.”
Jo glanced over at Twilight, who had slumped once again atop Mary without warning. “Yeah, I guess so...” She set down her beer, then leaned over to help her sleeping friend back to a sitting position. “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.” He hadn’t expected Jo would want to leave.
Jo nodded, though only half listened past hearing that she could stay. “Cool. I mean- Thanks.” Her response was somber, probably because of the condition her friend was in. Alien-pony from another world or not, Jo seemed pretty attached to Twilight.
“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 at the joke, trying to raise the girl’s spirits. He exhaled a moment later, his heart not fully in the attempt.
On top of that, Jo was leaning over, staring at the floor, and didn’t answer. In fact, she almost looked like she was falling asleep.
Stan watched a moment, frowning thoughtfully, then turned to go. He studied the floor on his way back through the home, absently listening to what sounded like Christmas music playing on the stereo in the next room.
The sight of his family, in addition to Dan, all enjoying a peaceful evening should have cheered him up a great deal more, but, there was a missing piece to the scene, and it fell short.
Bobby looked up as Stan entered the room, almost making to stand up. “Dad, hey, is mom better yet?”
Stan stopped a moment, the eyes in the room all swiveling over to look at him expectantly; Anna especially, definitely looked ready to somersault over the table towards the door.
Would if I could deliver some good news, for once. Stan took a breath and shook his head slowly. “Not yet,” he answered. That’s right, I hadn’t even spoken to Bobby about it yet. Did I forget anything else? As he walked by the table Herbert patted him on the arm.
Stan continued into the kitchen, listening to the sounds of various chairs being pushed out and scraping across the floor as he left.
“Hey, Stan, how are you doing?” It was Herbert’s voice.
Stan laid the plates he still carried in the sink before turning around, heading back out to Mary. “I’m holding up, Dad, thanks for asking. Sorry the holidays turned south like this.”
Herbert chuckled and shrugged at the same time, also standing in the doorway. The positioning forced Stan to a halt. “Well, that can’t be helped… Still, you shouldn’t let yourself get too down in the dumps. It worries your kids, and I get the feeling that Mary’s going to be just fine.”
Stan briefly frowned, eying the room beyond his elderly father. Why do parents always do that. Tell their kids that everything’s going to be fine if he doesn’t know? He raised an eyebrow at Herbert, then sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. How are they holding up, by the way?”
Herbert looked back out at the dining room. Somehow, everyone had vacated at the same time. It was almost as if they had all been waiting for some news before leaving that table. Agnes remained, stacking plates and organizing the mess left.
“They’re holding up,” Herbert answered plainly. “Bobby’s been takin' it pretty serious, and Anna quieted down a while ago, strangely enough… I think they both just went upstairs.”
Stan nodded solemnly, waiting for his dad to step out of the way. “Alright, that’s probably for the best until we know more… Anyway, I’m about to go move Mar, actually. I think we’ll put both her and Twilight in our bed, since they’re stuck together.”
Herbert nodded flatly, then a grin started creeping up his face.
Stan narrowed his eyes at his father. Surprisingly, the look of amusement, a sign of him about to make a too easy sort of joke, melted away. “I’ll go get Bobby, and we’ll help you carry her back.”
Stan stared a moment as Herbert stood aside, smiling cooly. “Thanks, Dad.”
Herbert smiled wider. “What for?”
Stan shrugged. “Being better at this than me,” he answered, moving on past.
Herbert deadpanned. After a moment, he burst out into laughter, both shoulders shaking hard.
Stan frowned. “Dad.” he tried to get Herbert’s attention. When that didn’t work, he raised his voice louder. “Dad, I was being serious.”
Herbert continued to chuckle, and looked up from where he’d keeled over some. “Heh, ever hear that old saying that the grass is always greener, son?”
Stan put on a confused look, that slowly dawned into wariness. “Is this going to be another joke about Mary being a pony?” he asked, deadly serious.
Herbert’s eyes bugged for a moment. “I hadn’t thought of that! Hah.” Laughing more, he patted Stan on the back, giving him a reassuring smile before he began a hunched over walk towards the upstairs. “I’ve taught you well, it seems. I’ll be right back with reinforcements!”
Stan stared blankly for a moment, watching as his old man chuckled his way out of the room, then finally cracked a smile of his own as he turned to go. Crazy old guy… After a moment, he added to his thoughts. I want to say he has a point, but I’m not even entirely sure what that point is. He chuckled, and began to make his way out to the living room to check on Jo, and get a move on with Mary and Twilight.
Stan made his way through the house, almost to his destination, only to bump into Dan.
“Whoa, easy there, big guy,” Dan laughed, having nearly careened into his boss.
Stan blinked away his surprise in just a second, and found himself shaking his deputy’s hand. “Hey, Dan, are you about to take off?” He’d almost forgotten the other man was over, usually he was the center of attention.
“Yeah, I’ll be right on my way out pretty soon. Thanks again for inviting me over, by the way.” Dan was grinning, and he had that old, telltale look of eagerness in his eye.
Stan raised an eyebrow, but nodded, wearing a slight smirk. “Anytime, brother, and thank you for… helping us like this. I don’t exactly have many options when it comes to help.”
Dan had been about to keep walking on, but paused instead and sucked in a breath. “Ah, shoot, it’s nothing, really. I’m glad to help. It makes me feel like I’m actually doing something useful or whatever... Ah, never mind, see you in a couple days.”
Stan watched Dan stride past quickly. “Hey, Dan, the exit’s over that way.” He pointed a finger, raising one confused eyebrow as he watched his friend go.
Dan smirked back at him, but kept going. "I’ll be right on my way out. I just need to talk to Agnes for a moment, and say smell you later to Herbert.”
Stan scratched a hand behind his head, a little confused. After a moment, he shrugged, chuckling. Just Dan being Dan, I guess.
Stan moved towards the family room, forgetting the oddity, and thought he heard Jo talking out loud as he entered the room. He spotted the reserved woman sitting where he’d left her on the couch.
Jo sounded like she was speaking.
“Are you talking to someone in here, Jo?” After Stan asked the question, he thought too late that maybe she was talking to her unconscious friend. “Are they awake?” He doubted the latter, but thought he’d ask anyway.
Jo looked up jerkily, maybe surprised, and with one hand pressed over her chest. “Hey,” she responded first. “No, they’re still both out cold. I was talking to… Dan, and then myself, I guess.”
Stan’s eyes widened above his beard. Uh oh. That’s what that scoundrel was doing… Dangit, Dan. “Dan? Really?” He hummed, hiding his worry about the idea of Dan poking around, and eased back down into his chair. “I hope he wasn’t too abrasive,” he continued.
Jo raised an eyebrow in return, then shrugged. “Not really,” she said simply.
Well, that’s a relief… and a surprise. 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, thinking of the day overall. “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 looked as though she were thinking 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 Bobby.
“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. Luckily, as a pony, Mary wasn’t heavier, not until recently, in any case. But that was a different concern of Stan’s entirely.
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.
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.
“On second thought,” Jo added, continuing on. Her expression had shifted to become a bit offended by the look of it. “I can get Twilight by myself…” She began to lift Twilight up, as claimed. After a moment, she grimaced, and her eyes bulged a little.
With an oof, she set Twilight back down.
Stan almost made to help her, but his arms were full with pony, at the moment.
“Not so easy, is it?” Bobby asked, smirking. He watched, a little amused as the stranger was forced to set the cartoon character made real back down.
Jo looked up, her face eerily expressionless.
Herbert knew an angry girl when he saw one, and also knew his grandson’s skill with tact. He 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 a hold 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 Bobby’s back and exhaled stiffly. Still, she seemed determined 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 spoken up, smirking over to Jo as the 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. He kept shifting his wife about, too, though he mostly carried her beside Jo. This put Stan and Jo 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 wiry, 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.
“That Halloween thing Stan told me about?” Jo smirked, and took a deep breath after. She seemed to be 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. Sonuva b- More carefully, he slowly moved onward.
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 spoke up.
“I don’t know why I didn’t say this already,” she muttered, and paused to get both Stan and Herbert’s attention before going 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 now 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.” He felt a bit ashamed he hadn’t thought to do that, himself.
“Actually,” Stan paused to readjust and heft Mary before speaking, “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. Stan hadn’t heard a peep out of the little girl in hours.
Jo took one last deep breath as she 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.”
Once Jo had left, the room was quiet once again, the sounds of her talking to someone just reaching the bedroom.
Stan didn’t pay it any mind, and instead kept his eyes glued to Mary, both of them lilting somberly. An absent thought from earlier that day crossed his mind, then, and in the moment of privacy he leaned forward, then kissed his wife, sound asleep as she was.
Stan opened his eyes and waiting, hoping hers would open alongside him.
Mary snorted a bit a breath in, but continued to sleep.
Stan sighed, and moved back towards his chair to sit down tiredly. “Well, it was worth a shot.”
The bedroom was quiet, and calm. Except, of course, for the occasional snore from Mary.
Upstairs in the Morris home was peaceful, which was very rare. There was no heavy metal playing, nor any laughing aloud or stomping.
Bobby was heading back upstairs, while his sister was already locked inside of her room.
Anna rolled over under her covers, wearing a sad expression. It melted a little bit though, trading out for a look of wonderment as she pulled a large, purple hunk of rock out from underneath her pillow.
She had meant to give it to Twilight, but she wasn’t awake. Instead, she wanted to wait until she could return it to her first hand.
The cool stone glowed at the slightest touch, lighting up the bedroom in a soft, purple glow.
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Hmm..
3740177
blondesearch.ru/img/1e/1ee/MLP_FiM_Applejack_lying_German_.jpg
Well yeah, this chapter is... uh...
3740360
It wasn't a bad chapter, but expect mixed reception.
3740444
Ah well, I have been quite the lucky wizard writing thus far. Mistakes were bound to be made eventually.
When I loaded this page, there were no comments. When I publish my comment and refresh the page, there will be comments. That said...
"He didn’t know how tight nit" - you mean "tight-knit"
"Stan studied Jo a moment, interested in what her whole story." - missing a verb, "was".
"sliding with boths knees" - both knees.
"jump started his own thoughts for one again." This is unclear.
"that’s probably for the bset" - best
"Jo frowned at the Bobby’s back and exhaled stiffly." THE Bobby's back?
3740550
Thank you for the ctaches! Catches* gah
Ah, I can fix that one.
The narrative seams a bit odd this chapter, what with it switching between Stan, Herbert, and even Jo with little to no warning.
And so Anna might end up being ponyized next chapter... that would make things... intresting.
3740695
I tend to use switching perspective like that. Ill-advised, I know, but... I just like using my characters like that.
Call me mad, if you must.
With as much as was described in this chapter, I'm not sure anything actually happened...
I can sum the whole thing up here: "Twilight and Mary are stuck to each other and unconscious. Christmas dinner comes and goes, and everyone gets a bit worried as the two heroines stay asleep. Anna keeps a hold of the magic crystal as everyone beds down for the night."
I look forward to the next chapter when things start happening again.
3740730 well usually theee is a breack in between. The characters like with Bobbies, or maybe I am remembering it wrong due to lack of sleep.
But I do know that Bobby is starting to become more mature, it is just taking a while. at the same time Anna smallvbit of depression makes me slightly worried about her.
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3740787
I don't usually address complaints. Even right ones. But I will address this one!
Sire, any story can be summed up like that. Literally, any of them. There is a good deal that gets left out when you do, as well. Subtle things, but they're there.
I do, too!
Anna, you better watch it with that glow rock.
Anna went to bed while hold the magic crystal...call me crazy but I get the strangest feeling that's gonna do something to her.
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It was a bit on the long side, though. Given nothing happened, particularly.
3741007
Thanks for the sympathy vote, Red.
I had a relative called Red, he was in the Lumus gang.
I thought it was a pretty good chapter.
You did finally get them out of the snow and cold on the porch. I did sort of wonder why you had them out there for so long even before the whole hand touch thing.
That's the best of Equestria Girls in my opinion.
Yeah, that's not weird at all. 
I believe you're missing a "was" there. Like "...interested in what her whole story was." or "...interested in what was her whole story."
I believe you mean "doughy".
Other than that, I see absolutely nothing wrong with this. At this point, I feel you've gotten pretty good at writing two sides of the same story. Seeing what went on from the perspective of Stan and the other members of Mary's family really made this very unique from the corresponding chapter in ATL. A lot of interesting details. Like Stan did try true love's kiss as a solution. (I can't help but think of Enchanted or Once Upon a Time in that regard.) And Anna now has Twilight's crystal. But I am glad that things are going to pick up in the next set of chapters. I eagerly await them as well as seeing what's going on with everypony else. So, keep up the good work.
You know, peaceful lulls in the action like this always make me paranoid. And when you say the next chapter is going to be great, I get the same feeling as when the GM starts smiling, rolling dice and refuses to say why.
13k words and the story hardly goes anywhere... Was it really nessary to drag it out this long? I really like this story, but chapters like these really kills them. I honestly skipped half the chapter because of all the pointless filler. Hopefully next chapter we get to see this go somewhere. Because this one feels like you wanted to show us how the family responded, but then it just went on and on and on. Sorry for being so blunt. I just didn't like it.
3742156
Yup, I know. I've lost my dazzle for writing.
I think you meant 'down.'
Anna's got a magic stone, some evil nutjob is plotting revenge on Equestria, please have somebody smack both Dan and Bobby over the head, and now we're stuck playing the waiting game for Mary and Twilight. So close and yet so far. Those two have suffered long enough.
Sometimes you're going to have a chapter where very little happens, and/or one that's slower than moles' asses in January. It happens.
It seems everyone forgot about that rock....
Maybe Herbert will win that bet after all....
I'll have to agree with some others that this chapter was a little too long in comparison to what actually happened, you could've probably stuck with quick descriptons of the events that were shared, since those are already covered from Jo's perspective and most of the other perspectives add nothing new to the story. The things that did add new things, like Stan and Agnes' talk in the kitchen were really nice to read though.
Don't worry though, we all hit snags now and then, and I still can't wait to see where this story goes, so keep up the good work
.
3740749
I was wondering where that purple rock got to. It sorta vanished in the last chapter of A Twilight Landing and only on this side do we find out Anna's got her little hands on it. Those purple rocks have got to play some role in the solution to everyone's dilemma.
images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/26600000/Why-can-t-I-hold-all-these-ponies-my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-26649046-500-653.jpg
Well, I found the whole chapter with the secondary stars in the spotlight quite interesting.
Very interesting. Lots of comments saying nothing happened, I don't know about that. I spotted something of significance, something important. No, I'm not talking about Anna with the rock, although that is certainly significant. A ten year old girl with a magic glowing rock, that can't end well.
3748243
It's likely partially my own fault for decrying my own work.
I'm getting kinda fed up with reading two stories that, for the time being, are almost the same. I guess it's unavoidable because you're writing in first person.
3754961
That isn't first person, actually.
Fear not, I've agreed from the beginning, I just didn't see another way to... well, do that. I've got something in mind coming up though that is hopefully far more interesting.
That awkward moment when I have 44,000 words to catch up on. I know what I'm doing the next two hours
3758292
I'm working on fixing things...
It's an amazing idea to make chapters in your story not contain the main characters. It's just really difficult to pull off! I enjoyed every minute of it though, so I think you did good. This chapter really had a "eye of the hurricane" feel to it. Everyone's awkward and nervous and frightened and uncomfortable with being packed so close to each other when tensions are rising at an impending calamity. Just like my family Christmases! :D
I can imagine you were unpleased with it, since your favorite characters weren't in it. They'll keep until the next chapter though and you can relax a bit and feed us some details of the less cool ones.
You might want to cut down on the self-aware statements Herbert is making about how "we're such a kooky family but we love each other anyway." Stan is a bit too much of a pillar of support so you might want to put him through some unusual behaviors and show a few weaknesses. Like when the comic artists take their grim faced villain, and draw OOC sketches of him being anything from bubbly and dancing to sobbing his eyes out, not because he'd do that given the choice, but just to see what is lurking behind his subtle veneer.
3764736
Hm, a wizard taking advice from a talking ferret...
Sure, why not?
3765865
A typing ferret.
3774113
No. Expect quite a few more. (at least) And better paced. I'm working on my style and details at the time being.
Also, after this story a sequel with all of the five coming together is planned. Hopefully we can get to it before summer.
3778437
Impressive! I'm glad you enjoyed the stories so much, sire.
> “Holy cow, is that a DeLorean!?”
FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT.
I thought Jo and Twilight looked of similar age.
Sorry I didn't catch any errors and post them. Been editing 130k words for another author who roped me in to help her.
"father"
Ok, I couldn't stop myself.
What did Bobby say about Twilight? Can Jo read minds?
No capital R, many of the hyphens you have should be em dashes.
This part seems worded awkwardly.
I don't think this was ever mentioned before.
3781641
In a previous chapter Bobby called Twilight a name over the phone.
Well now we know why Mary got turned into a pony now, although, I guess with both Mary and Twilight out, they both missed out on a chance to change back. I hope one of your ponies in your verse doesn't turn human from this incident.
3783224
Hah, well, if I did, I would likely start calling shenanigans were I in your shoes.
3782140
That is cause he had no idea how hot she was.
3828246
I just thought of the perfect analogy for how this chapter felt.
It was like reading Harry Potter, only for the first chapter of the climax to suddenly be ripped from Twilight.
3828246
Psch, no I don't blame you in the least for saying that. I completely agree!
I worked nearly a month on that chapter (and its counter part). Overtime, stuff changes, and in this case my writing shifted in such a way that didn't help the story (I think, anyway).
I'm hoping to salvage it soon, and I may even rewrite those chapters entirely someday, too.
As for the 'adventure' fic feel, it was intended to be a window of what was to come, and certainly 'hint' at adventure, but without actually making it one. So, I definitely understand why you get that feeling, and I'm glad you have it, but I didn't think ahead enough to realize that folks would think that's going to be a permanent tone shift.
In any case, quite sorry this chapter wasn't quite enjoyed. If you have any little suggestions that could help please feel free to send them to me! I know it's *just* fanfiction, but I do try hard to craft my tales to everyone's liking.