Not a sound could be heard in the main hall of the castle save for the occasional *ting* of Princess Celestia's tiny pewter spoon tapping against the side of her morning tea. The same could have been said for Octavia, who was lying on the soft carpet near Celestia and Luna's throne. However, because of her nervousness, she had refrained from taking even the smallest sip. No other sign of this could be properly observed simply by looking at her appearance, but inside of her was a flurry of emotions including fear, excitement, worry and frustration.

There wasn't any doubt among anypony in the room that Vinyl, along with the rest of the Mane Six that had gathered as well, felt the same way, if not to a larger extent.

"Oh, this waiting is just dreadful... Just think about what all this worrying can do to a mares complexion!" Rarity rubbed her hooves over her face trying to find blemishes.

"Bits 'ta gravy, girl. Quit 'yer whinin. Alex and Twi are gonna show up soon enough."

"I agree." Fluttershy said in her usual hushed voice. "Princess Celestia said that they would most definitely be back soon, so I think we should trust her judgement and-"

"Judgement smudgement! There's no telling if something happened to them! Even if she says so, we still have no way of knowing!" Rainbow Dash flew around in the air frantically, but then realized what she said and landed with humility on her face. "Uh... No offense, your highness..."

Princess Celestia smiled calmly. "None taken, Rainbow Dash. However, I have good faith that Princess Twilight Sparkle and Alex will make it-"

A loud cracking noise boomed through the hall. It was a similar noise to that of a lightning strike and it continued to resonate for several moments and echo around the room. Princess Celestia got up from her throne quickly and everypony around her rose as well. They backed away from the center of the room where Alex and Twilight left. Everypony could feel the amount of energy in the air, especially everypony who had a unicorn horn and could sense magic.

Just when the noise appeared as if it were going to slowly dissipate, a bright light emerged from the center of the room and it began to emit arcs of magic that resembled electricity.

"Everypony, stand back!" Princess Luna called out authoritatively, since she herself didn't fully know the extent of the interdimensional magic being used.

They all followed orders and backpedaled several feet until their butts were pressed against the wall.

Suddenly, all of the magic that was arcing outwards from the bright light condensed and shrunk back into itself as it began to finally diminish. There was a great deal of smoke that rose from where the event occurred and it was very difficult to see through it.

All eyes were open and awaiting to see what was behind the smoke.

Just like the last time you stepped through the portal, the bright light eventually went away and it was replaced with a dense darkness. You couldn't tell which way was up or down, and you felt like you were a bullet being shot through the barrel of a gun; everything was spinning out of control. Just when you thought you were about to barf in a helicopter pattern all around you, your body hit the hard tile floor and you felt yourself slide several feet before coming to a stop.

It didn't take long for the sharp pain to come around from the impact with the ground. You groaned and looked over yourself with a wobbly head to inspect your injuries which, thankfully, weren't as bad as they felt. There was a large scratch on your elbow where most of your weight landed. It had begun bleeding a little already, but it only took off one or two layers of skin. Or, at least, that was your guess since you couldn't see your skin too well underneath your dark blue fur. Thankfully, that was the worst injury you could see or feel.

You were a bit surprised that you weren't being smothered by ponies right now, even though thinking that way made you feel spoiled rotten. However, after rolling onto your back and trying to find the ceiling among a thick cloud of dust, you assumed it was because they couldn't see you yet. The dust around you was surely a mystery and, even just for a moment, you paused to wonder where it came from. Was it just debris from crashing into the floor? No, that much dust wouldn't have come from that... Maybe it was some sort of magical side effect of inter-dimensional travel? Perhaps. Although, a sharp headache soon formed between your temples and distracted you from speculating further.

Finally, after countless moments of trying to regain your senses and balance again, you felt your body being squeezed by the soft fur of a pony. It had only been a day, but you were already starting to miss the blissful smell and feel of fur instead of skin. You instinctively brought your hoof up to run it through Vinyl's hair only to realize shortly after that it wasn't Vinyl who was holding onto you. It was Octavia. Her silky black mane lay over your chest as she wrapped her front hooves around you. Your eyes widened a little from her amount of affection and you were a bit afraid that Vinyl would get jealous if she saw. Even though she was a friend just like everypony else, the fact that it wasn't Vinyl who came to you first concerned you a bit.

"Thank goodness..." Octavia whispered and let go of you after several moments.

"Yeah! They're back! Woohoo!" Rainbow Dash started flying around in circles when the dust cleared.

Fluttershy was the second to come to your attention, even though she was closely followed by her other friends.

"Oh my goodness... Are you alright? You look hurt..." Her eyes of concern scanned over your body and inspected the scratches and scrapes that covered your arms and legs. You could never get tired of her motherly nature.

"I'm good... Nghh..." You groaned as you got back on your hooves and felt your achy legs crack a few times in protest.

"Gosh, Alex. You look like you just went through a tornado!" Applejack stood over you and looked you over as well.

"Well, that's kinda what it felt like. Where's Vi-"

"Welcome back, Sir Alex. Princess Twilight." Luna walked slowly towards you with a soft smile on her face. At this point, you had given up trying to correct the name and just let it happen. "I trust your journey was worthwhile?"

"Princess Luna!" Twilight galloped towards her and hugged her briefly. "It was amazing! I learned so much and I even managed to get some more books from the human world!"

"I am glad to hear." Luna wrapped a hoof around Twilight. You could tell that she was just as relieved as everypony else that the two of you were okay.

Twilight went back to greet her friends with smiles and laughter. There were several hugs exchanged and you felt a little left out. However, there was something you needed to take care of first. You looked around the room with an aching heart, trying to find that mare that had waited for you for so long. You got a bit anxious after not seeing her anywhere and you felt your heart start to beat faster out of anxiety. Surely, she would've come, right?

However, you turned around and came face to face with her. She had been standing behind you in silence the entire time, and judging by the expression on her face, you could see why. It was a blender of mixed emotions on her face: Anger, sadness, and even a little happiness thrown in. It was obvious that her emotional state wasn't very secure.

Just when you were about to embrace her, you felt a hoof slap you across the cheek. Hard. It stung for several seconds and the sound of it echoed through the large royal chamber. You picked up a hoof to rub it a little, and you couldn't help but just stand there with shock on your face.

"That's for making me worry..." Vinyl's voice was wobbly and you could tell that she was one shove away from breaking down in tears.

Just when you thought she was about to start sobbing, she lunged forward and wrapped her hooves around your neck. You felt her tears dampen the fur on your back as you cursed yourself for leaving your marefriend behind for so long.

"I"m so sorry, Vinyl... I didn't realize I'd be gone for this long until I was already leaving..."

"It's okay... I'm just glad you're alright..." She sniffed and pulled her head back slightly before looking into your eyes with a quivering smile on her face that warmed your heart. You leaned forward and kissed her. It wasn't that deep of a kiss, but it was sincere enough to let her know that you were glad to see her again. The guilt of what you did with Twilight didn't hit you just yet; mainly because you were just glad to see that Vinyl was okay. Though, you were sure that you'd be feeling a boat load of guilt very soon.

Everypony around you, including Princess Luna, had rosy cheeks from your public display of affection. In any other circumstance, you would've waited until it was a more private setting. But after what Vinyl went through for who knows how long, you honestly didn't give two bucks. You pulled back slowly and hugged her tight, feeling her tiny tears start to dampen your fur.

"W-well, now that that's over with..." Princess Celestia seemed to come out of her character because of the awkwardness your gesture produced. "Alex and Twilight, please come with me and Princess Luna for a debriefing. I'm sure you have quite the story to tell."

"Yes, your highness." You answered respectfully.

"Alex, please. I remember telling you several times to address me more informally."

She turned around and gestured you and Twilight to follow before you could apologize. You gave Vinyl another quick hug while whispering in her ear.

"See you soon, babe. Love you." You kissed her on the cheek.

"Okay. Love you too." She whispered back and smiled bashfully. You could never get over the fact that her "A" type personality was so easily crippled by your gentle affections. Now that you think of it, you hadn't seen her act "herself" very often since the relationship between the two of you escalated. You had always thought that she wasn't into mushy-gushy stuff, but apparently, you helped her appreciate it more and more. As long as she was loyal to you, you didn't care.

As soon as you thought that, your guilt multiplied tenfold. Here you were expecting her to stay loyal to you when you basically cheated behind her back on more than one occasion. You were a hypocrite. Worse. You were being a hypocrite to the one pony you dreamed about most, and you hated every fiber of your being for it. You turned from Vinyl and caught up to Princess Celestia while almost vomiting from the amount of self-loathing and guilt in your stomach.

Still, you had to tell her. You had to.

You didn't need to explain anything. You didn't even have to contribute to the debriefing at all. Even if you had to, you wouldn't be able to since Twilight left no gaps in her speech to interject. She had to stop for a few seconds every once in a while to catch her breath, but shortly after, she went right back to talking about every little thing she experienced on Earth. Princess Luna simply sat on one of her cloud-like deep purple pillows in the corner of the room and observed.

"Ooh! Ooh! And then, we went to the library and I got these great books on their world history and geography! I can't wait to get home and dig into those babies! Oh, and then we went on a shopping spree and we got all this stuff! We got some presents for Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash...

Celestia obviously was getting a little tired from the extreme detail, and seeing as Twilight was just about to go through every single pony that the two of you got presents for, she decided to cut her short by clearing her throat politely.

"Alex, would you mind giving a more brief account?" She smiled at Twilight to show that it was nothing personal.

"Oh, uh... Sure. Well we stayed at my place for the night and I showed her some of our technology and stuff. The next morning, we went out and got some presents for all our friends, and after that, we went back home and I showed her what the internet was."

"I see. And what is this... Internet?" It was obvious that Princess Celestia had never heard of it.

"Well, Twilight could tell you, but its basically a mass data bank of all sorts of information and stuff. Almost everyone on Earth uses it and there's so much info on there that you'd probably die of old age before you finished half of it." You chuckled a little.

"Goodness. That's quite an accomplishment for humanity." Princess Celestia said sincerely.

"Mhmm. Oh, and I also got a present for you and Princess Luna."

You pulled your backpack in front of you and dug through the piles of gifts you brought with your credit card. You grinned because of how naughty it felt to never have to pay for all of the stuff. The presents for Celestia and Luna weren't recognizable since they were both in a box with nothing but the company name on the front. You got them both from the same store and the two boxes looked identical, but you had scribbled a "C" one one and an "L" on the other.

"My, Alex. You didn't have to get anything for me. What's the occasion?" She raised her eyebrow as she took the two boxes from your hooves with her brilliant golden magic aura, floating one over to Luna.

"Don't open them just yet." You made sure to tell them just in case. They both looked at you oddly and you could understand why. "I kinda wanted to do something for you guys so everypony could see what we do for our holidays back on Earth. One of the things we do is exchange presents with one another, but only on the day of the holiday."

Princess Celestia and Luna simply sat there with curious eyes as they took in the information.

"I see." Luna paused for a second to think. "I would not like to cancel Hearth's Warming Eve for this... What is this event called, Sir Alex?"

"Christmas." You said while exhaling.

"Christmas... Because it is important that we ponies understand what happened in our past. However, I do not see any harm in celebrating this event after Heath's Warming Eve."

The next few minutes were filled with you explaining Christmas to the princesses all over again. It took a while to get them to understand since they knew just as much as Twilight did about the whole ordeal. However, you finally got them to understand. Princess Celestia actually seemed to like the idea for the most part and sounded quite enthusiastic about it. After a bit of scheduling and planning, you learned that Hearth's Warming was just around the corner. It was just over a week away and you thanked your luck for being able to get back in time to celebrate it with Vinyl and everypony else. The four of you decided to have Christmas Eve the night after Hearth's Warming Eve at Twilight's tree house. You were hoping that it would be a little more relaxing and peaceful, so you suggested that everypony keep their invitations to as few acquaintances as possible. Of course, telling Pinkie Pie to do this wouldn't be as easy especially since you knew that she would be all in your face the second you said anything about a Christmas party.

A few minutes later...

You took a deep breath as you unlocked the front door to Vinyl's house which, you guessed, could be considered your house as well at this point. Thankfully, Princess Celestia was able to limit Twilight's rambling to a certain extent. Even though it didn't annoy you too too much, extended exposure to it caused you to yawn and pinch your temples repeatedly. Your inhale granted you the pleasure of taking in the familiar scent of Equestrian air. You didn't quite notice it at the time, but now that you were able to compare the two, the air back on Earth seemed a little too polluted compared to your new home. Only after living in Equestria for several months were you able to realize how different it was.

When you left the castle, Vinyl and Octavia were right outside the main doors when you and they were smothering you from the second you left until you got home. Vinyl began clinging onto you again like a backpack and even though the three of you laughed it off a bit, she made it clear that she wasn't going to stop any time soon. You couldn't blame her for it. Meanwhile, Octavia had begun going through the list of questions that had been festering in her head ever since you left.

The first thing you did when you entered the living room was plop down onto the couch to rest your legs from walking so much. The cushions felt nice and the fact that there was still hot coals in the fireplace helped as well. After all, it had begun snowing outside yet again and the cold air seemed to leak into the house through every nook and cranny.

"So, how was it like? Did you have fun? You must have so much to tell since you were gone for so long." Octavia sat down in her usual armchair next to the fireplace.

"Oh definitely! Even though it was mainly filled with Twilight asking about every little thing we passed along the way..." The three of you chuckled. "But it was cool, but we were only there for a day."

"I beg your pardon? You were gone for nearly a month, Alex..."

"Yeah, what the buck are ya talkin' about? Did your Earth air make you sick or somethin?" You could understand why they wouldn't know.

"No, no. It's complicated, but time passes by a lot slower here than on Earth. It's only been twenty four hours since I left Equestria."

"I see... That's quite intriguing..." Octavia rubbed her chin with her hoof and looked down at the ground trying to comprehend.

"Anyways, I got you presents!" You didn't want to get drawn into the same discussion all over again, so you changed the subject.

"Really?!" Octavia and Vinyl both blurted out at the same time.

"Oh my, I can't imagine what a gift from the human world would look like... Can I see it?" Octavia poked a hoof inside your saddlebag full of presents that was laying on the floor in between you and her, but you nudged her away.

"Nope, nope, nope! You gotta wait..."

"Wait? Come on! Waiting's so lame..." Vinyl propped her front hooves on the back of the couch and she rested her head on top of yours in a cute manner. "When do we get our presents?"

"In a week or so. I have something special in mind for all of us to do. I'll explain later, but it'll be fun. Promise."

"Hmmph... Okay..." Vinyl said while flipping her tail around playfully.

A few silent moments went by and Octavia got up to poke the coals in the fireplace to make them a little warmer.

"I need a shower. I'll leave you two to talk in private." Octavia smiled and turned to head towards the bathroom.

You stomach instantly sank and your butterflies returned in full force. It sounded to you like she knew that there was something that you and Vinyl needed to talk about. She couldn't possibly know about Twilight, could she? What if she somehow did? You took a gulp as Vinyl trotted around to join you on the couch.

"Was there anything you wanted to talk to me about?" She asked as if she was expecting a specific answer.

She definitely knew something. You could tell it by the way she spoke and the look she gave you when she sat down. There was no turning back and there was no point in trying to lie about anything. If you had any chance of having a future with Vinyl, you had to start being more honest with her starting right now. Even if it could spell the end of your relationship, you had to do it anyway. You thought about what to say for a few seconds and looked down at your hooves nervously.

You sighed. "I won't ask you to not be mad, because I know you probably will be. I haven't exactly been faithful to you..." Your lips began to quiver a little from all the guilt and self-loathing that came with what you did.

"I know." Vinyl replied. She was definitely frowning, but she didn't sound nearly as upset as you expected.

"Oh..." You didn't quite know what to say.

"Octy told me right before you left. Listen, I know she's getting a little lonely and I know you didn't really commit to anything... But it just kinda bothers me... When she told me, I just felt like you didn't love me as much anymore and-"

You stopped her mid sentence and hugged her tight, pulling her head into your chest. "I'm so sorry for doing that to you, Vinyl... I really am. I've been feeling terrible about it ever since it happened and I just was too afraid to tell you. But I love you just as much as I always have. No, even more than before. So don't ever think I don't."

"Okay..." She curled into you and sniffed. You couldn't see, but you hoped that there was a smile on her face.

Your emotions were even more confused than they were earlier. On one hand, it was obvious that what Vinyl still didn't know about you and Twilight. On the other, you felt at least a little satisfied that what happened between you and Octavia was over and done with. You didn't know whether to feel relieved or stressed, but your stomach was still upset from nervousness.

You were trying to decide whether or not to tell her about Twilight too. Now definitely wasn't a good time, but you couldn't hold on to the guilt any longer.

Vinyl got up from your lap and gave you a kiss on the cheek gently. "Love you."

"Love you too, Vinyl." You said hesitantly as she got back up and turned to walk into the back hallway. You grit your teeth and groaned. You had to do it now.

"W-wait... There's something else I needed to tell you..."

Vinyl didn't move. She didn't speak and she didn't even glance in your direction, and you couldn't blame her. You were biting your lip hard because you were so mad at yourself. Even when you told her the whole story with you and Twilight, she didn't interject or say anything. She just sat there in the armchair and took all of it in at once.

You saw a single tear roll down her cheek and her mouth trembled a little as she stared down at her hooves. Seeing the tear made you want to kill yourself right at that moment. You hated yourself for how much you hurt her. Vinyl being sad was one ordeal in and of itself, but knowing that you were the one that caused her such grief was even worse.

"Vinyl... I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't... Just... Don't."

She got up from the chair abruptly and trotted towards the door. Her voice was extremely shaky from her crying and it made you start crying as well as soon as you heard it. It was like a javelin through your heart and it was at that point you truly felt like the worst person alive.

For one moment, she lifted her head and turned around. You saw her face full of sadness and it hurt you deep. She looked like she was about to say something, but she couldn't make any words come out. She opened the door to the chilly snowy night and galloped out, slamming the door behind her with her magic.

"God Damnit..." You buried your face into your hooves and gritted your teeth together to keep from breaking down into a pitiful crying fit.

"You should let her go... Trust me. It's bad to try to reason with her when she's in that kind of mood." Octavia appeared from the hallway and sighed.

"I... I guess you heard?"

"Unfortunately, yes." She looked down at you sternly. It wasn't clear whether she was just mad at you or disappointed.

"I shouldn't pass judgement on you since I've had my own troubles with this sort of rubbish... However, I hope you feel terrible for what you did to her."

"Don't worry, I do." You rubbed a few tears from your cheek.

"And I especially hope you've learned your lesson." She reached over and poked the coals in the fireplace once again. They were about to go out, so she took a few logs from the hearth and threw them in. "Oh bother... I forgot that Vinyl's usually the one to light the fire... I suppose you haven't acquired fire magic yet?"

"I can try, but I might burn down the damn town." You were in no mood to laugh at your own joke, but Octavia managed to chuckle just a tiny bit. You had noticed on a few other occasions, but it was obvious now that she was very resilient to emotional troubles when she needed to be; save for that one night when she confessed her love for you.

She gave up on the fire and sat down on the couch, sighing again. "Honestly. I hope that mare doesn't do anything rash."

Your sobbing had stopped finally, which made you feel a little better, but it was replaced with a great deal of worry for your marefriend.

"Do you think I should go? I don't want to cause you two any more trouble..."

"Oh don't think that way, Alex. I'm sure you two will be able to work this thing out." She got a grin on her face, which you noticed.

"What?"

"Well, you could tidy up the house for us. That is, if you want to do something to make up for what you've done."

"Sure..." You got up and went into the kitchen, opening cabinets and taking out a feather duster and some glass cleaning fluid. You also found a few towels and threw them over your back as well.

"H-hold on, Alex! I was only joking, you don't have to do all of that..."

"No, this is the least I can do."

Octavia leaned back on the couch and shrugged. "Alright then. It would be silly to turn down free labor." She chuckled a little more and closed her eyes as you started spraying window cleaner on the large window in the living room.

There were tiny streaks left on the window after you wiped off the fluid, but they cleared up shortly after. You couldn't help but stare out the window into the main street that cut through Ponyville. Somepony was diligent enough to shovel the snow off of the road, but there was another thin layer of it already collecting over the cobblestone.

You knew that she was probably nowhere near the house, but you couldn't help it. You looked left and right along the lamp-lit road to try and find that electric blue mane and tail, but it was nowhere to be found. A deep breath escaped your lips and you continued scrubbing the window hoping that, wherever she was, Vinyl was somewhere safe out in that vast darkness beyond the road.

Author's Notes:

If there are any grammatical or spelling errors, please send me a PRIVATE MESSAGE and let me know so that I can fix them asap. Thanks for reading! <3
~Canadianbrony91

Again, sorry for the long wait in between chapters. I had to deal with a couple of papers and an exam