Chapter 9
If I ever see another apple-themed breakfast, it'll be too soon! Officer Ford thought to himself as he followed Cadence down a hallway constructed of polished crystal. Twenty-four dishes to choose from, all of them made from apples. Who even comes up with this stuff?"
Ford didn't mind apples; on occasion, he'd pick up a bushel from the grocery store. But too much of any one thing was never good, and there were, without a doubt, too many apples at breakfast.
"We're almost at the portal, Sam," Cadence reported. She had taken to calling him Sam as opposed to Samuel, without any prompting or prior permission from the officer.
"Alright," Ford replied, inwardly jumping for joy. As soon as I'm home, I'm grilling a steak, and renting a movie. I wonder what came out on DVD recently…
A pair of grand doors opened inwardly to admit Cadence and Ford, along with the two Crystal Guards that had been trailing behind them.
"This is it," Cadence declared.
Ford looked around, trying to find a portal. But as far as he could tell, the room was totally empty, aside from two thrones, and a mirror.
"Is it like… invisible, or something?"
"Invisible?" Cadence giggled.
"Yes, invisible," Ford replied, frowning slightly.
"No, silly—it's right there." Cadence pointed with her hoof towards the mirror.
Of course, Ford thought flatly. A mirror.
Just then, Tara Swift quite literally ran into the room, eliciting a surprised glance from Officer Ford.
"Welcome to the Crystal Empire, Officer," she said, waving at Cadence.
"Is that what this place is called?" Ford glanced around.
"Sure is! Isn't it beautiful?"
Ford opened his mouth, about to ask who they invaded to establish their empire. But before he could, a glowing vortex began swirling within the surface of the mirror. Tara ran over to it, and stared excitedly.
Ford glanced at the mirror, largely uninterested. Something caught his eye though, and he did a double-take.
Is there a leg growing out of that mirror?!
The leg was, as he soon discovered, attached to a person. A person who stepped through the mirror and a person who Tara immediately proceeded to throw her arms around.
"Savannah!"
"Tara!"
The two of them were racked by simultaneous fits of laughter and tears.
"I'm so glad you're okay," the newcomer, Savannah, whispered.
Tara broke off the embrace and looked her in the eyes. "Boy, have I got a story for you!"
Officer Ford disengaged himself from the reunion. He walked over to the mirror and began to examine it—until he heard his name mentioned.
"And this is the officer sent looking for me—Samuel Ford."
Ford's head snapped around. Tara was standing next to Savannah, who looked the officer over.
"Hey… I think I remember you."
"How?" Ford asked, raising an eyebrow. Had he ever had any contact with this girl before?
Savannah regarded him, with something close to sympathy. "Before I came here, I saw your picture on the TV. It was a news report… it said you've been declared dead by the state court."
"Dead?" Ford asked gently. His hands and shoulders were relaxed, and his eyes were open wide. It was almost childlike.
Savannah nodded. "I'm sorry."
Officer Ford's mouth pulled into a tight, thin line, his fists clenched, and his shoulders squared.
"Well, that's great!" he barked. "Now there's no way I can go back!"
Ford shifted his gaze between the Savannah and the mirror, before hissing angrily and storming over to a window. He planted his elbows in the window frame and buried his face in his hands.
He was angry. And the worse part, he had no idea who he should be angry with. It wasn't the fault of any of the Equestrians, and the court wouldn't write him off without strong evidence… right?
Maybe it's my fault… I never should have touched that stupid mirror.
A short time later, Ford became aware of a nearby presence—the polished crystal acted as a mirror, and he could see Tara's reflection in it. She didn't speak; she simply stood a few feet away.
"They wrote me off so quickly," Ford said quietly, almost as if to himself. "It couldn't have been more than a few days."
"I'm sorry." Tara spoke softly.
"It's not your fault," Ford sighed, turning around and leaning his back against the wall. "Problem is, if I go back, I'll have to explain where I've been—nobody would believe the truth."
He looked at Tara, and gave a short bark of mirthless laughter. "Especially if I told them the really bizarre stuff."
Ford's eyes dropped to the floor. He opened his mouth to speak, and hesitated for a second. "I know this might sound a little crazy, but… is it possible I could say here long term?"
It wasn't an ideal solution, but it was better than returning from the dead, talking about visiting a world full of magic, talking ponies. People would think he was either lying, or crazy.
He could lie about where he had been, of course, but the analytical Internal Affairs officers who would no doubt investigate him would be able to spot at least a dozen things wrong with any cover-story he produced.
Tara though, seemed to think there was nothing wrong with the idea. "Of course! Why wouldn't it be?"
"Well… I'm in a world that looks like something from a kids cartoon show."
"Seriously, you can stay here as long as you want," Tara said. "You can even stay at Canterlot, until you find a permanent place to stay."
She paused for a second. "Just, one thing."
"What's that?"
"You stand out like a sore thumb—no offense," she said. "It's just that so far, the only human that all Ponies are comfortable with having here is me—and you look nothing like a young, female Human."
Ford shrugged. As far as he was concerned, not looking like a girl was a good thing.
"Of course!" Tara exclaimed. "Remember when I turned into my half-Alicorn body so you could see it?"
"Yes," Ford replied. "But what—"
"What if I did that to you?" she went on, cutting him off. "I can't give you too much of my Alicorn magic because a Human body can't bear it, but if I give you just enough to turn into a stallion…"
"What? Why would I want to do that?!"
"So you can walk around Equestria whenever you want, without getting weird looks and scaring everypony," Tara replied.
It was roughly the equlivent of going undercover, Ford realized, and it was probably best to have that option available to him, even if he was more comfortable as a Human.
"Alright," he agreed.
Tara snapped her fingers, transforming into her Anthro form. She stepped in close and put her hands on Ford's shoulders—then she backed up, her face reddening.
"Uh, this is how the magic'll get transferred into you… you don't mind, do you?"
Ford shrugged—he was used to being in close proximity to people.
Tara closed her eyes and placed her hands back on his shoulders. Ford glanced at one of them, realizing it had been enveloped by a glowing, purple aura. Before he could remark about it, there was a flash, and Ford transformed into a Pegasus.
He opened his wings and examined them out of the corner of his eye, flapping them experimentally a few times, before becoming aware that he was now the center of all attention in the room.
"Um… what if I want to change back?" he asked quickly.
"Just imagine yourself as a Human," Tara replied.
Ford thought about it, and a second later he was his old self again.
He did lose his balance though, and as he stumbled forward, Tara reached out, aiming to grab whatever part of his body was closest, which happened to be his hand.
Ford recovered, stood up straight, and looked at Tara, who was still gripping his hand.
"Heheh, sorry." She blushed and released him.
"You've gotta' give me some of that magic, sis!" Savannah exclaimed.
Tara nodded. "Maybe later."
Savannah beckoned her over, and the two began discussing something in a hushed whisper.
"Hey everypony!" Twilight exclaimed, and then looked at Ford and Savannah. "And everybody; can we get some breakfast now?"
"Breakfast?" Savannah asked, glancing down at her watch. "But… I came from almost midnight!"
"You know, let lag," Tara said, and the two of them laughed.
Twilight, however, looked confused. "What is… jet lag?"
"I'll explain later," Tara said, smiling and shaking her head. "Much later."
