A/N Hi guys, I'd like to thank captainpinkiepie for giving me a hand when I got stuck and I'd love for you guys to check out my buddy's fic, The Story of Shadow Chaos; it's pretty good. And with that out of the way, enjoy chapter 23!
Chapter 23: Making Our Way Downtown
"So what now?" Fluttershy asked. "Now, we get a cab and go after them." I replied. I looked down the street for an unoccupied cab. Oh, so now I can't find a cab, but when it was just the girls, they were fucking everywhere. We stood on the curb for a full 5 minutes while I tried to wave down a cab. "This is getting ridiculous." Rarity said. "I agree, but we can't walk to the mall in time to meet the others." I said. "You have a point there." Twilight agreed. "So what do we do?" Fluttershy asked. "We can take the subway. I think I saw a station on the way here last night." I offered. "What's a subway?" Twilight asked. "Oh, a subway is a train that runs underground." I explained. "Underground trains? How unconventional." Rarity mused. "Unconventional for you. Here in the human world, large cities use subway systems to make transportation easier. It makes tons of sense in cities with a large population density." I said. "That's pretty clever." Twilight said. "I sure think so. But we'd best get a move on if we wanna get to the mall today." I said. "Right, let's move." Twi agreed.
I led the way to the subway station. It was only about a 10 minute walk, which was good, because my love for walking is inversely proportional to my love for the internet. We got to the station entrance and descended the stairs. I walked up to an open ticket vending machine. I was looking over the screen, figuring out how to get our tickets when Rarity piped up, "This is surprisingly clean for being underground." "Well yeah, it's maintained pretty well." I said, "One of the few non-wasteful uses of our tax dollars." I continued under my breath. "Sorry, what was that?" Fluttershy asked. "Nothing of consequence." I replied. Now, back to this machine… Okayyy, I'm going to the mall, which is on the yellow line… I want the mall stop. And I need four tickets. I'm paying with a debit card... aaaand there. Each thought was accompanied by a tap on the screen. I fished the card out of my jeans and swiped it. The machine spit out four cards and I distributed them amongst the three ladies and myself.
"So these are our tickets?" Twilight asked. "Yeah, now we have to wait for our train." I said. "Wait? I despise waiting." Rarity said. "So do I, Rare; just roll with it." I advised. I used this time to contemplate the sheer absurdity of the past few days of my life.
Last week, I was just some stupid kid. Now I'm standing in a subway station in Washington D.C. with Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, and Fluttershy. I certainly didn't see that coming. I wonder if Dash, AJ, and Pinkie are at the museum yet. I'll bet they are. I wish we had cell phones or something; that'd make life much easier. I think I'll stop by a Radio Shack or something at the mall and get us some phones. I'll have to get prepaid ones, though. Meh, I'll figure it out when I get there...speaking of figuring things out, I need to figure out what the fuck is going on with RD, Twi, and I. I mean, RD's fantastic in bed, but Twilight… I glanced over at the purple mare, she's just… I dunno. Stupid feelings always have to make everything so complicated. Plus, we're on a fucking mission! What are we doing!? Every second we waste plunges both worlds into chaos! That's when the logical side of my brain took over.
Dude, chillax. We're just gonna get what we need, and go find the first portal. My logical side said. But where the fuck is the first portal? My emotional side asked. Well, let's think: Technically, the first portal is Washington Monument. So knowing that, what hypothesis can we form? My logical side asked. Well, the Washington Monument is in the U.S. capital city, and it's big, and recognizable… My emotional side deduced. Riiiight...so what can we conclude about that? My logical side urged my emotional side on. The portal's a landmark? It's a landmark! And if I learned anything from terrible fanfiction, all of the portals are going to follow the same rules! (A/N Why? Because meta jokes are funny.) My emotional side deduced. Exactly. So all we need to do is go to a bunch of national capitals, and we'll find the portals; piece of cake. My logical side said. Ok, are you two done? I asked my brain. Yeah, I think so. My emotional side answered. Geddit? I think so? Cuz I'm part of your brain? It's funny bec- My emotional side started but was cut off by me logical side, He gets it. Ok. Back to the here and now; The mall. I could stand a trip to Hot Topic. Some new pony shirts sounds like a good time….wait a second. Pony shirts. With the person standing next to me on them. Oh fuck me sideways and call me a whore, I need to tell them about the show. Fuck...
Twilight nudged me, snapping me out of my mental crisis. "Brony, I'm pretty sure this one is us." She said, pointing to the train coming to a halt in front of us. "Wha-?" I said, still a bit confused after being inside my head. I looked at the board with the scrolling words on it, "Now boarding: Yellow Line. Stops are…" I saw the mall among them, but by that time, the train was getting ready to leave. "So Brony, is this ours or wh-ah!" Rarity exclaimed as I pulled her and Twi by the arms after me onto the train. Fluttershy glanced up from examining her feet and squeaked in shock. "Wait for me!" She cried, rushing after us and slipping through the now-closing doors. "Yeah, this is us." I answered a disgruntled Rarity."Well thank you for the warning." She muttered. "Well we're on the train, aren't we? Now let's sit down." I said.
For whatever reason, our car was mostly empty; even so, we still sat next to eachother near the door. I sat between Rarity and Fluttershy, with Twilight between Flutters and the door. We were silent for most of the way. All of us absorbed in our own thoughts. I was mulling over how we we're going to go about our globetrotting quest. Well, we could close the D.C. portal first and move on through the other 13… I was again confronted by the one major problem in the mission as a whole. But what do I do after the 14th portal is closed? If they have to be closed from the human side, how am I gonna get back to Equestria? And how the fuck am I going to tell them about the show!? "Arriving at next stop: National Mall Mall." I jumped a little when I heard the automated voice say through the speaker in the car. "Alright everyone. We all good?" I asked, getting up as the train pulled into the station. "I'm fine, thank you." Rarity replied. Fluttershy nodded. "Twi?" I said, crouching down. She was staring into the distance. "We're almost at our stop. C'mon." I said. Twilight's eyes focused and looked over to me. "Yeah sorry. I was thinking." She said, standing up. I stood back up as well. "I can tell." I said with a small chuckle. "But I know what you mean." I continued.
The doors opened and we exited the train. We then ascended the stairs from the underground station back into the city. We all had to squint against the light for a moment before our eyes adjusted. Once I could see, though. I noticed the massive building across the street. It took up the entire city block, it's walls were made of a dark marble-looking type deal, and it had giant windows over the glass doors. "That looks like the place." I said. Twilight nodded in agreement. We all crossed the busy street, weaving between the gridlocked cars. A cavalcade of horns assaulted our ears, but we managed to get to the other sidewalk with only minimal auditory injury.
Once we were safely across, we were able to pick out a certain, rainbow-haired, girl. "Hey girls!" I called as we walked over to them. "HEY!" Pinkie squealed, sprinting over to us and pulling all four of us into a bear hug. "Oof. Pinkie dear, please let us go; you're squeezing too hard." Rarity choked out. "Oopsies! Sorry." Pinkie Pie apologized, releasing her grip and letting us fall to the ground.
I got up, dusted myself off, and walked over to Dash. "Hey Rainbow Dash. Ya doin' alright?" I said, holding a fist out. Dash smiled and went in for the brohoof, but changed direction at the last moment punched me in the gut. "Ow! What the hell?" I asked indignantly, doubled over, clutching my stomach. "Making me wait for this-." She said; and in one smooth motion she pulled my face up to hers and kissed me deeply. "Mm!?" I exclaimed, muffled by the kiss. She pulled away and grinned. "Well. That was unexpected." I said, still in shock. "Well don't get used to it, you're gonna have to work for it from now on." She said, a mixture of coyness and seriousness in her voice. "So, we're a thing now?" I asked. "Of course we are, you idiot. I did some thinking while you four were off having a gangbang or whatever it is you were doing; and I decided that we're going out now." She said matter-of-factly. "Alright. I'm down with that." I said, smiling at her. "Good." She said, kissing me again. "I thought I had to work for it." I said. "You did." She said. "What? How?" I asked, confused. "This." She said, aiming another punch at my gut. I side-stepped and pecked her on the cheek. "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." I whispered into her ear. "You fucking smartass." She said with a smile. "That's me." I replied, grinning back. "Yeah, Ah'm sure y'all are having a great time, but can we move this along?" Applejack said impatiently. "Oh yeah, sorry about that. Allons-y!" I shouted, and walked into the mall; the girls followed me.
Once inside, we were greeted by the most stores I'd ever seen in one place. "Alright ladies, this is your official introduction to capitalism." I said sarcastically. The mane six all wore faces of confusion except Twilight, who just rolled her eyes. "Oh c'mon, Twi! That was at least a little funny." I defended myself. She then gave me the most condescending look I've ever received. "Oh, I see how it is." I said, pouting exaggeratedly. "AAAAaaaaanyway, let's check out the directory and figure out what's up." I said, pointing to a map printed on a display a few yards away.
I went over to and examined the map. Ok, I'm here, and electronics are over here, and we need clothes, so that's over there… and when am I gonna grow a pair and tell them!? I stood there thinking about it for a solid minute before Applejack put her hand on my shoulder and said, "Brony, yer sure takin an awful long time there." I looked up. "Yeah, I'm not good with malls." I said. "But I'm pretty sure I've got it figured out, and if not, we can always ask someone. D.C. people are pretty cool. Anywho, we're going to electronics first, so we can get cell phones and I can pick up a laptop." I said. "Why not clothing first?" Rarity asked. "Because I despise shopping for clothing." I said bluntly. "If we find a Hot Topic, I'll have a field day, but until then, if something catches your fancy, tell me and we can check it out; but not until I get a new lappy." I said. "'Lappy'?" Rainbow Dash remarked. "Hush, Dash. You have no idea how it feels to be internet-less for a week." I said. "Actually, I know how it feels to be internet-less for fifteen years." She shot back. Hm. I probably could've thought that out better… "We you didn't have it, and thusly are unaware of its wonders." I retorted. "Well ma-" Dash started, but Applejack cut her off, "Y'all can stop now. It don't matter, let's jus get what we need." "Speaking of needs, we need balloons!" Pinkie said. "Why in Equestria-" Rarity said, "on Earth" I corrected, "Yes, yes. Why on Earth would we need balloons?" Rarity asked. "I dunno, maybe we'll wanna have a balloon party!" She answered. "I just wanna see the critters in the pet shop." Fluttershy said, pointing to "Pete's Pets" on the directory.
"OK! We can do all that stuff, but can we please get the stuff that I need first?" I asked. "That's kind of a selfish thing to say." Twilight said. "Yeah, calm down, Brony." Rainbow agreed. Ugh, now I'm being a douche. I need to stop being so bad at talking to people. "Yeah, sorry guys. I didn't sleep a whole lot last night. But the thing is, I wanna get cell phones so we can talk to eachother." I explained. "What do you mean? We can talk already." Fluttershy said. "Yeah, but cell phones allow you to talk to someone from really far away. It turns your voice into waves of energy that it shoots into the phone of the person you're talking to, and that phone turns the energy back into sound. It's actually pretty cool; case in point, we need cell phones so we can stay in touch no matter how far away from eachother we are." I said. "Oh, that makes sense." Twilight said.
You need to think! How do you tell them? Suddenly, I figured it out. "Good. Hey, is anyone else thirsty?" I asked. I sure hope this goes over well... "Yeah, we had to wait out there for ages for y'all's slow rears to get here. I'm parched as a pig in a pie." Applejack said. "And just how parched is a pig in a pie?" Rarity asked sarcastically. "Very." Applejack answered, rolling her eyes. "I'm a bit thirsty, too." Fluttershy added. "Ok, let's head to to Starbucks first, and then we can grab cell phones." I said. "And Starbucks is..?" Twilight asked. "A cafe. Overpriced, but tasty." I said. "That sounds lovely. Let's be off." Rarity said. "Cool. This way." I said, waving my hand and walking off towards the coffee shop.
It didn't take long to get to the food court and find the Starbucks. It was actually pretty cozy. Warm, light, and smelled like cocoa. By some gypsy magic, the line didn't stretch out of the door. We all ordered drinks and sat down. "Ok, Zack. The time is now. You have to tell them. "So…I actually have something to tell you girls." I said nervously. I could feel sweat forming and my heart was beating irregularly. This is gonna be easy. Just tell them that they're in a TV show. "Yes, what is it?" Rarity asked. "Well, it's kinda...hard to put...into words." I muttered. "C'mon sugarcube. You can tell us." Applejack reassured me. "Uh, it's kinda weird…" I said. "Celestia dammit! You're gay, aren't you?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Some heads turned toward us but looked away after a second. "No! No of course not!" I said.
Now or never… I started to say it, but Pinkie interjected, "There's a thing in this world that people can watch moving pictures on and there's one moving picture show that you watch and it's about ponies who live in Equestria and learn about the magic of friendship and the show has a bunch of grown up fans who like it even though it's mostly for young girls (A/N I fully believe that MLP is for everyone, I just wanted to illustrate that from her point of view.)." She said, without even taking a breath. AJ, Dash, Flutters, Rarity, and Twi all looked at her incredulously. "Right Brony?" Pinkie asked, beaming. I just sat there and stared at the pink-haired girl for a few moments. "...Yeah. That's exactly right… How did you know that?" I asked. "Just a hunch." She said. Well… that saved some time.
"That can't be right. That's impossible...physically impossible…" Twilight said. "It's very possible. I've been watching the story of your life in Ponyville since you moved there." I said. "Sorry I didn't tell you girls sooner, I just didn't know a good way to do it." I said apologetically. " "And this was a good way to tell us?" Dash asked. "Well, I kinda realized that there wasn't a good way to tell you." I answered. "Ok, I want proof." Twi said. "I can do that." I confirmed. I looked around the cafe, searching for that one guy. I spotted my target by the door. "Hey bro." I called to the man. He was a typical twenty-something guy. Tall, brown hair, stubble. But what I wanted was the laptop on the table in front of him. "What's up?" He replied. "Can I borrow your laptop for a sec? I wanna show my friends a video I found." I asked. "Sure dude, just don't jack anything up. I'm working on a paper for class." He said. "I won't mess with anything." I assured him. "Cool. Here ya go." He said, getting up and handing the netbook off to me. "Thanks, it'll only be a moment." I said. I opened the laptop and went on Youtube.
I searched MLP ep 1 and hit enter. "So is this it? This is the picture box?" Fluttershy asked. "Sort of." I said, clicking on the video of the season one premiere. An ad for 5-Hour Energy started playing. "Goddamn ads." I muttered under my breath. I clicked the Skip Ad button as soon as it appeared. The video started and I skipped to the battle with Nightmare Moon. I fullscreened the video and turned it so that the six girls could see. It showed the face of Nightmare Moon. "You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!" Nightmare Moon's voice said through the speakers. It jump cutted to Twilight. Real Twilight gasped slightly. Pony Twilight said, "But it did! A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all… are my friends." Real Twilight mouthed alongside her digital counterpart.
The girls stared at the screen, mesmerized. They watched the pony Mane 6 rise into the air in a shining light, the Elements of Harmony activate, the rainbow beam swirl around Nightmare Moon, Twilight open her eyes to reveal only shining light where her violet irises would be, and the rainbow release the now-restored Princess Luna. I stopped the video there and closed the browser out. I handed the laptop back to its owner and sat back down with my six companions. "So…" I said awkwardly. I looked around the table at each of the six stunned faces. They may need a moment. I took a sip of my coffee. Yeah, they'll need a moment.