Our first stop of the day was to the local pawn shop, our reason being was that I needed to sell some of these gems and jewels for money. If I couldn't make anything much off of those, the I could make a little something off of the additional sack of bits I have. While Melanie drove there, she seemed to have gotten a call or two from someone, which she immediately ignored. I thought nothing of it, so I just let my window down and stuck my arm out to catch the breeze.

Stuff like this, riding around in a car, listening to Melanie singing off-key with the radio, and the dumb assholes who acted like they couldn't turn when the light was green, her reaction to said assholes─though I couldn't say shit being that I haven't touched a car in over nine months─ had all given me a bit of nostalgia for the human way of life.

I mean we still get threats from terrorists, but at least I'm not the one doing the fighting. Here I didn't have to worry about bullshit laws preventing me from having sex when I'm in a relationship, I don't have to command an entire army to guard the castle, I don't have changelings trying to bite my arms off, or an equally obnoxious girlfriend who acts controlling and seems as if I can't be trusted for shit.

...Wow, let me get my mind off of that. I'm in the human world, my mind should be on human things, like this pawn shop we're pulling into.

When we got out of the car, I saw Melanie look at me. As soon as I glanced back, she stuck her tongue out at me. "You suck!"

"For what."

"We could've been at a movie. I didn't mind treating."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "I'll treat as soon as I get this money."

"Whatever."

I opened the door for her, waiting for her to enter. She politely bowed to me and gave me a shove. "Aww, thank you servant."

"You're welcome, maid."

When we had entered, there was an older man with a scraggly beard standing behind the counter, inspecting a TV for another customer. He caught a glimpse of us walking in and spoke in a burly voice. "Hey, howya doin' today?"

"Fine, actually I wanted to sell something." I notified him while he continued to ring up the price of the TV.

"Sure thing. I'll be with you in a sec."

While he went back to tending to his customer, I had noticed a wall with guns stashed all over. Taking an interest, I had strolled over to see the prices for some of them. Of course they weren't exactly cheap, but they were pretty well-priced. I also took note of the red sign on the wall, stating that I had to have a waiting period of thirty days before I could hold on to one, provided that I produce a valid license to carry.

I guess I won't be buying here.

To my left was a section where they had a few musical items out for display. Waltzing over to the section, I began to peruse the instruments they had in stock. I walked by a few cymbals, a violin, several guitars, a few basses and a couple of keyboards. My eyes suddenly locked on to a somewhat dingy Yamaha MOTIF 8. The keys seemed to be in working order and they had it plugged in, which was unusual for a pawn shop.

"See somethin' ya like?" The man behind the counter called out.

"Oh, I was just looking at this board here. I've never seen a pawnshop have one of these in a full size, let alone plugged in."

"Meh, some church sold it to me like two days back. I guess they upgraded to better stuff. But we usually have a few people come in and play on it. I especially have this one fella who's been comin' by to showboat."

I picked on a key, seeing if it was working. When I did, I was caught off guard by a drum loop playing as well as an unusual electronic sound. I guess they also plugged it into an amp. I quickly zigzagged my finger to find any button to stop it. I just pressed one and the shop returned to silence. "Cool stuff." I said awkwardly, causing Melanie to cover her mouth and giggle at my embarrassing encounter.

"It's up for sale. I could part with it for about eight-fifty."

Hell, that's cheap as fuck. "How much for the amp?"

"I can cut you a deal and sell it with the board for about nine-twenty-five."

Hmm... If I can get this board, then I could take this with me and get with Sweetie Belle for her music, like I promised her I would. And getting this shit for less than a grand? The board would be over twelve-hundred on it's own. Good bargain. "Sounds pretty nice. But I guess I kinda need money to buy it."

"We gotta layaway plan."

"Actually, that brings me back to what I came here to do. Do you mind if I sold you something?"

"Sure, what'chu got?"

I reached in my pocket and pulled out a brown bag and placed it on the counter. "These."

As the bag spilled open, a slew of bits came flying out and slid about all over the counter top. The man looked at me with dumbfounded silence and picked up the bag.

"Holy shit!" Melanie erupted with surprise. "Where did you get this?"

"I found it on a excavation tour. Me and my girlfriend went out with one of her friends and found some pretty nice stuff. I even found a few gems too." I said reaching down to pick up my bag full of gems.

Excuse me, my second bag of bits... Oh well, more to sell.

The man at the counter took one of the coins and bit into it gently. After pulling it out, he could see the faint traces of his teeth. He looked back to me and stared for a while. "Kid, where did you find these?"

"Excavation tour." I lied. "I even got another bag to sell."

As I pulled out my second bag and left it on the counter, he saw more of the golden coins sprouting forth. His hands trembled as he continued to sort through all of the coins and found all of them identical in state and composition. He sighed heavily and slid the bags towards him.

"Kid... do you know how much you could get for these?"

I just shrugged my shoulders. "I dunno. A piano?"

I feel rich. I feel fabulously, filthy, fucking rich. I know that I got shitloads back across the portal thanks to my pay-rate, but this was fucking fantastic! How so? Let's add up the numbers, shall we?

As of now, gold is running at about twelve-hundred dollars an ounce. One bit was an ounce and some change. I gave that man up to fifty bits, or around fifty ounces of gold, estimated of course. Fifty multiplied by twelve-hundred is sixty thousand dollars. But of course being that the guy was a bit of a cheapskate, I only managed to see about forty-nine thousand.

I still can't argue that. I came out with way more U.S. currency than I walked in with. And I walked out of there with a new keyboard, with the stand and the amp to go along with it.

I was right about one thing, I could pay my tuition for next year with this money. Hell, I could get a used car under a warranty and come out on top. And after that, I could definitely get some guns and have a shit-ton of money left over.

Yeah, I know that five-figures is a low amount, but I'm a college student. This means millions to me, and the best thing about it all is that I'm sitting on piles of it back in Equestria.

So to safely conclude... I'M RICH BIATCH! TOOT-TOOT!

Wow, I got laid and rich all within the same week, and in that order. At least there's some light to all of this BS swarming around me...

Now that got me to thinking. As soon as I'd walk back through that portal, I'd still have a bunch of issues to sort through. I'm still caught up in this relationship with all of these outside limitations, I'm in the midst of a heap of trouble should Shining find out about what we did, Cadance probably already knows and would possibly hold off on telling him until later.

I know that I should be more focused on the financial breakthrough I've managed to come across today. I should be walking on cloud nine as much money that I'm sitting on, and that's excluding the gems I've got stashed away back home. But I can't help but to think about how Twilight's going to be like when I get back. Nine times out of ten, she's going to be pissed that I spent time with Melanie without her knowledge. And if last time was an indication of just how distrusting she was of me, then I can't even begin to fathom what would be going through her mind now that she knows Pinkie and I kissed.

...You know, that's a good question. Why should it? What I do here is strictly my business. If I decided to change residence to Equestria, then why the hell should anything I do here be of her concern? Hell, she practically told me to fuck off after I offered to help her. If anything, I should be prepared for her locking the portal shut behind me.

Guess I should make plans, being that I might be here for an extended stay, after all.

"You okay?"

I'm suddenly snapped out of my thoughts, being brought back to the present time and place. With a blink, I had remembered that I was sitting here in the car, rolling down the streets of the Austin city limits. I looked back to Melanie, who was busy keeping her eyes on the road while noticing that I had become silent.

"Say what now?" I asked.

"You've been looking out to the world as if you've got problems. You wanna talk about it?"

I shook my head. "Shouldn't you be looking at the street?"

"We're at a stoplight, dumbass. Light's been red for a while."

I looked up to see a glaring red beacon staring me back in the face. Feeling stupid for once, I decided to brush off my embarrassment. "Shut it."

The light finally turned green as she spoke. "I've never seen someone who just got paid seem so entranced about something. You worried about getting mugged or some shit?"

Hardly the case. "No!"

"You've never really been a good fighter."

Despite that being true back in the day, that is no longer the case. "Excuse me?"

"I'm just saying. If you're worried about someone getting to you now, then you've got me to back you up."

I let my pride get the better of me. "Are you serious? I don't need your protection."

As she continued to drive along the right side of the road, leading up to the Barton Creek Square Mall. She continued to speak while she pulled into the large parking lot. "Hey, I'm just letting you know that I'm here for you. And now that I'm getting my degree in law enforcement, I can pretty much protect you whenever you need it. Just let me know if you need anything. Okay?"

I guess I could accept the fact that she was just being a friend to me. And I could also see how she could be concerned over me. After nine months of being missing, I come up with strange scars and bruises. Even now I'm sporting some new wounds still being magically treated. My left arm has an outstanding scar reaching from three inches away from my wrist to my elbow. And I'm not exactly hiding it with short sleeves.

I don't blame her for wanting to play this role. I'm all too aware of how it's played and what it takes to pull it off. I guess I'll let her have this one as long as I'm here. "Sure."

She began to smile as she pulled into a nearby parking spot. As she shifted the gear to 'parking', she gave me a devious smile when she cut the car off.

"What are you thinking about?" I questioned.

Suddenly, her devilish demeanor gave way to childish enthusiasm. Her arms flailed lively as she leaned towards me.

"I always wanted to say this. GET OUT, FUCKER! WE'RE GOING SHOPPING!"

Of course... I suspected her to go shopping all over the mall. I anticipated her to just splurge around and go to every clothing outlet around the place. I would've expected her to just drag me along as her errand boy so she could just pick out whatever the hell she wanted to buy off of my expenses.

I was so wrong.

The first place she ran to was the nearest Abercrombie & Fitch, but only to get two pairs of jeans and a few shirts, novelty of course. After that, she pulled me into the nearest GameStop, where she picked out some new games for herself and me. She also pulled out a copy of Grand Theft Auto V and asked the guy at the counter for two of the same game. When I asked her why, she just responded with a simple answer.

"So when I get bored, I can come hunt you down on XBox live."

She also grabbed two copies of Advanced Warfare for the same reason.

...Honestly, I don't like where the games are headed after Modern Warfare 3, but I'm not turning down a free game.

After our little excursion in the game store, she dragged me towards the movie theater. Of course she thought it was a cardinal sin that I didn't get to see Frozen, so she offered to show me the movie, off of my expenses this time.

About two hours later, we walked out of the movie theater. She was still humming out loud the notorious, ear-worm, musical sequence from the movie...

I can already tell that this song was going to annoy me after some prolonged exposure. There was no way I was going to be able to 'Let it Go' after two more hours of her humming it in the car. I can already hear myself going insane from the song being on her phone, stuck on repeat... While she's constantly singing along the track without a care for the notes she'll fail in holding. I'm gonna be in for one hell of a migraine, aren't I?

FUCK YOU, BRAIN!

I can already tell that I'm gonna need to go home and watch so much more Hunchback of Notre Dame after this. I need more Frollo singing in front of the fireplace.

After our time at the movie theater, we finally settled down in the food court. Of course with my new selection of choices─outside of the usual Equestrian cuisine─I had a hard time trying to decide on what I wanted to eat. I saw some sushi just down the way, but that stuff is way too overpriced. I would like some Chinese food, but that won't last me for long. I would hit up the Taco Bell joint, but something tells me that a bad case of indigestion wouldn't be the only thing I'd catch. I could go for a burger, but hell I always get those... But I haven't had one in a while, not with all pure beef and delicious french fries on the side.

Perhaps I could go for some ice cream instead... Nah! I get enough of that in Equestria, and get it much fresher and in better quality. Five Guys it is.

After making my order and sitting at the table, I could see Melanie chomping down on a king-sized burrito.

The car ride home will not be a pleasing experience... but rather one that will summon up bitter memories of a certain fellow that gassed me to near-death in the bathroom. Well golly gee willikers, I can't wait for my next post-traumatic experience!

"So... Tell me more about her."

I stopped short of biting into my burger as I looked up to the girl in front of me, asking me about Twilight out of the blue. "Huh?"

"You know, about Bella."

Who the hell's Bella-oh. I almost forgot that I lied about Twilight's name, but it was for a good reason. I didn't want Melanie to find out that I was dating something... not human. "Oh. She's okay, I guess." I answered, accidentally letting the final part slip from my mouth.

"You guess?"

"Yeah, I mean. Our relationship is pretty decent. We get into a few scuffles here and there, but it's not all that serious." I said before biting into my burger.

"A few scuffles, huh? Well if I remember anything from last time, you said that you and her brother aren't exactly on good terms. Could that be the reason for those 'scuffles' you mentioned?" She asked, seeming as if she was interrogating me for questions.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure if that's the reason. Anything me and him do in terms of an argument or a full-physical fight, it's usually on our own. She doesn't really seem to get involved in it."

"Uh-huh. And that scar on your left arm? Looks pretty new."

I knew that she'd take notice of it eventually. "Well... He and I got into a knife fight."

"A knife fight, with like actual knives?"

Dammit, I shouldn't have said that. "Well, he calls it 'manhood training'. He always has some thing about me walking with his sister and some random stranger pulling out a knife on us. So he takes the opportunity to teach me how to deal with armed opponents."

"Cavern explorations, running off to places with no reception, knife fights, brawls with her big brother, it sounds like you're really having a hard time."

*sigh* I wish that was the reason for it. "Yeah. It's kinda hard, but I learn to deal with it." I answered, finally biting into by burger.

"...You don't seem like you're having all that much fun."

"Why you say that?" I said after I quickly chewed and swallowed my food.

"You've been quiet since you've been riding with me. Often times, you'd stare out the window, deep in thought. Sometimes I'd call your name just to see if you'd respond. But it seems like you're... distant."

Wow, I was that bad? "Really?"

"Yeah. So what's really going on in your relationship. And don't lie to me, I don't like you hiding this kind of stuff from me."

I guess now is a good time to tell her what's going on. Of course I could always change up the scenario to fit something that doesn't seem too suspicious. "Well... We're just kinda in a rut right now."

"What kind of 'rut'?"

"Well for starters, she seems like she doesn't trust me at times. I go off and do something on my own and it's like I'm marching off to die or something." Technically, this is true. I often find myself in life-or-death situations that require me to think on my feet.

"Well given the habits of her older brother, I can see her reason for concern."

"It's not just that." I corrected her. "It's... um. Okay. At one given time, this was prior to us being a thing, one of her friends and I... kissed."

Melanie stopped eating her food and stared back at me. "What?"

"But I didn't expect it to happen! It just did. We don't have feelings for each other or anything. It's just one of those instances that kinda show up, like when you're playing truth or dare." Except that it wasn't even like that. "Okay, maybe not like that, but we didn't mean anything by it."

"Nondis, you just can't kiss a girl and 'not mean anything by it'. How did this kiss occur?"

I closed my eyes and tried to retell the story in a way that was as close to the truth without revealing the elephant hiding under the couch. "Okay. She and I came back from visiting her parents. See, she works on this farm way out in the boonies. And as I was going along, she had a conversation about me with her sisters. I overheard her saying that she was wanting to say something to me, but I didn't get a chance to hear what it was until the day after. So when I got back, that's when she kinda... laid it on me."

"So, she confessed to you?"

"In the form of a kiss. But I kinda had to tell her that I wasn't interested. I know, dick move."

"Nothing dick about it." She responded. "You spent some time with her and you kinda accidentally got her to like you."

"...Not exactly."

"Okay. So what did you do to kinda convince her to like you?"

I sighed heavily, knowing that this was going to get some sort of backlash. "So, I kinda stuck my nose in someplace where I had no business being. I did something stupid that ultimately got me into a world of hurt."

"Let me guess, you tried to play the hero and beat down the bad ex-boyfriend?"

"Yeah, stupid."

"Oh yeah, very." She confirmed with a light kick to my leg. "Now continue the story."

"Okay. So from there on, I kinda got props from her sisters for standing up for her. But I did it out of my being a friend, I didn't mean anything else by it. I didn't try to lead her along or nothing, I just did what a good human being would do and stand up for another who was in trouble. Yeah, I got my ass beat from it, but I still left with brains intact."

Melanie tapped herself on the cheek as she looked at me. "I think I know what that was."

"What?"

Suddenly, a buzzing noise reached our ears. She reached down to pull out her cell phone and proceeded to look at who was calling her. After a second or two, she denied the call and turned her attention back to me. "You just had a bad case of 'mixed signals'."

"Mixed signals?"

"It's kinda like... um..." She snapped her fingers as an example finally came to her. "Got one, you remember how you used to like me?"

Yeah, and now I see where she was coming from. "Okay, I think I'm starting to get it."

"Okay then, explain."

"It's like me liking you and you liking me. In your eyes, I'm giving off the hint that I'm wanting to be friends with you. But at the same time, I perceive you to having an interest in me. And when I tried to confirm what our relationship was, it turned out to be different from what I was expecting."

"Well, at least I know that your brains are, indeed, intact." She joked at my expense.

"Oh ha-ha."

"Yes, that's the majority of it all. But that's not everything. Sometimes we can start these misconceptions out of our desire for companionship. Other times, it's just an opportunity not taken by one or the other. In rare instances, it could be that both of the parties have mutual interests, but both are too afraid to take that first step."

...That does leave me with one question though. "So I'm curious. If I were me about eight years ago, as equally mature as I am now, and not-so clingy-"

"Yes." She answered without a moment's hesitation.

"You didn't give me a chance to finish the question."

"I knew what you were about to ask. And the answer is yes."

I didn't know why, but something inside of my chest seemed to come alive. I knew it was a sort of excitement, but I couldn't just outwardly express it. My mind was racing with several thoughts, many of them about what could've been. But I didn't understand why she was just now openly confessing this. "Okay, what sold you?"

"To be honest... it was a tie between the mature part and the not-so-clingy part."

Figures, I was pretty much clasping on to her like one of those prickly plants you'd have all over your shoes socks when you walk through a field. Had I had more control over the hormones back then, this would probably be a totally different conversation. "So... Wow."

"Yeah, I know. Sometimes, we tend to make mistakes that drive us apart. And it seems like what we really need is some time away from each other to get things right."

"I guess. Was I that clingy?"

"Yes... just yes." She answered truthfully, nodding her head quickly while giggling.

"Okay. So what exactly about the... clingy-ness that kinda drove you away?"

She folded her arms as she gave me a rather perplexed look. "So any reason why you're asking me all these questions?"

"I just need to know something about myself. I need to know what exactly I did wrong and what I can do to not repeat those mistakes."

Obviously, I'm headed in the right direction.

"Well you used to get jealous. At times, I could understand why, but then you started to get a little too attached. You kinda tried to push your way into making me feel better and try and make me see you as something more rather than letting it happen. Another thing was that you had a bad habit of wondering about what I was doing with certain people. Yeah you had your hunches, but you tend to try and point it out with neon signs, and everyone noticed. Also, there was the... frequent asking about my sex life."

Right... that. Wow, I was horrible. I can't help but to cringe at that.

"I get it, you were horny. And sometimes when it was late at night, I kinda started to veer onto the topic. And I didn't need to do that, especially when I knew what you were going for."

"You know, I had completely forgotten about all of that until you had just brought it up."

"Well you said you wanted to know what all you were doing wrong."

I closed my eyes and accepted the heavy weight on my shoulders. "I know. And I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be. That's something that happened in the past that I've long forgiven you for. Though I still question how you deal with your girlfriend."

"Why?"

"I mean, obviously something's wrong in your relationship. You said she couldn't trust you because of something that happened in the past, prior to your relationship."

She changing the subject before we could get too deep in a certain topic. I guess with my past behavior, I could see the reason behind it. "Yeah."

"So what else does she do?"

"Well, she kinda told me to fuck off today."

"Really!?"

"Not in the manner of how I said it, but it was more of a shouting of 'leave me alone'."

"So what caused her to go off?"

Everything. "Well, we kinda have this limitation on our relationship, for religious reasons." Yeah, we'll go with that for now. "She and I can't procreate until we've been given the green-light from her folks, which is all the more reason why I'm kinda tolerant for her brother. We... kinda broke the rules and her folks found out."

"So was this something that you both did on accident?"

"No. Actually, we were very vocal with one another about our consent. Everything we did was within the permission of the parties involved. The only permission we didn't obtain was that of the family. And of course, she got punished for it... badly."

"So what did you do?"

"I told her that I had regretted that what we did ended up getting her into trouble. Instead, she got angry with me saying that what we did was something that she didn't regret and that I should feel the same way."

"Only you actually care about what she has to go through."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"So if she's angry with you because of that, how did the situation with the other girl spring up?"

"She and I confessed it to her. We also stated that we had no interest in building a relationship with each other. And she still blew up."

"You seem like you go through a lot of hell for her to just throw it back at you. You're practically doing everything that you need to do in your relationship to keep it healthy. It just sounds like she doesn't know how to react to it all."

Nailed it. "She doesn't."

"Is this her first time dealing with a serious relationship?"

"It's her first one, period."

"And this is your first one as well?"

"Yeah..."

"Sssss-oooh." Melanie cringed as she backed into her seat. "Yeah, she doesn't know how to react to any of it. Did she show any kind of remorse for what she did or anything she might have said?"

"At this point, I don't think so. I feel as if I've done everything I could to make this work, but I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. I don't want to deal with it because it's total bullshit, but I don't wanna seem like I was just in it for extra bases... if you know what I mean."

"Yeah." She said, picking at her burrito. "I can see where you're at. She already got in trouble for the shit she did, but she's giving you hell for being concerned over it."

"I know, I can't win." I said as I continued to bite into my burger.

After nibbling into her burrito, she gave me a light kick under the table while humming loudly. "...Actually, you can."

"What?"

"There's a way you can do this. And if things go south in the end, both the two of you can still come out on top."

I practically slammed the small corner of my burger onto the table as I urged her to explain to me what she had in mind. "How!?"

She shook her head as she gently placed the palm of her hand over her face. "First thing's first, there is no miracle way of doing things. You can't just pull a fix-all solution out of your ass and have everything magically come together. If there's anything that you can do, it's only for yourself."

I figured that was the case. "So that way of winnning 'where both of us can come out on top' doesn't really exist, huh?"

"Not a chance in hell... unless the both of you hate each other's guts."

Damn, I don't think we've managed to hit that low yet. "Well, that's not it."

"So you'd need to put your foot down. It doesn't hurt to show her that you're capable of moving on without her. If you're worried about the 'wham bam thank-you-ma'am', then she should've taken that into consideration before blowing up in your face."

"But isn't that a little mean-spirited?"

"No. It's mean spirited if you had the intentions of carrying on with your relationship for the sole purpose of sex. And as often as you wander off to La-La-Land, that doesn't seem to be the case. You care for her." She said, kinda looking off to the side as she spoke.

"So... show her that I'm willing to move on?"

"Yeah. She may feel like she's the only one entitled to you, but that's just exactly what it is: entitlement. Relationships don't work that way. It's a two-way street, meaning that the respect and concern you have for her, she should take into consideration rather than screaming at you every time you don't agree with her."

"Look... I'm not into these kinds of games."

"That's the problem. Love plays games with you all the time, why not play along? If you want to play safe, then you'll only get played out. Trust me, I know how it feels to be taken advantage of."

I finished the last of the burger and slowly started to munch down the fries on the side. "So I have to play games to make this work? This sounds like a bad idea."

"Now it starts to get risky after a while. You can still choose play, but there's one golden rule: NEVER play with her heart. You can play mind games all you want to, but don't go that far. If you feel as if you're going into some unfamiliar territory, tread lightly and carefully."

"This sounds awfully bad."

"I'm telling you what makes a possessive girl tick. If you don't want to play and just break things off for a quick moment, then that's your safest bet."

My heart isn't in it to play all these 'mind games'. I think I'll just settle with the easiest solution. I'll still show her that I'm willing to break the relationship and let her focus on what all went wrong. Not only that, but it will give me plenty of time to get to know myself a little better, get some much-needed answers to often-buried questions, and let me focus on my other obligations.

Yeah, I think I'll settle for safe. "I'll just break things off, that way it'll give us some time to cool off."

Melanie smiled a bit as she finally downed the rest of her burrito. "Okay. Then you do that. Just make sure you don't let her try and sweet-talk you into an early reentry."

"Deal."

Melanie's phone vibrated once more, this time indicating that she had gotten a text message. With a few swipes at the screen, she read the messages and sighed heavily. Immediately, she closed the message, got out of the chair and grabbed her purse.

"What's wrong?" I questioned.

"Nothing important, but it's getting late. Let's start heading back into town."

I leaned back in the chair on the ride back to the college. As we rode, I took in the sights of the city I used to call home. Much of it was still familiar to me, outside of a few developments that recently popped up in the past few years. But at the same time, I felt a strange sensation lingering throughout my mind, as if I had missed it here.

Childhood memories─the pleasant ones, of course─resurfaced in my mind, causing me to mentally relive certain events of my life. And I enjoyed them, the times I allowed myself to be filled with juvenile wonder. I could recall the times where I had watched the Disney movies in the nineties and had nightmares from them when I had gotten home. But on the car rides there, I used to sleep like a baby. My older brother would make fun of me for both being scared and sleeping on the ride home. But I didn't care, I had a Nintendo 64 locked away in my room that he couldn't play when he made fun of me.

Nostalgia, that's what it was.

I didn't have much to think about then, with the exception of how I was going to live through the next school day without getting pants'd or bullied. Then there was the schoolyard escape plans I had made up to avoid playing with everyone. Most of the time, they didn't work because of adult supervision. But on the days they did, I felt as if nothing could stop me.

I even remembered a crush I used to have back in elementary school. She called me weird and ugly, and that was the end of that. I don't know why I remember that one in particular, but I feel myself on the verge of riotous laughter when I had thought about just how easy it was for me to get emotional over the littlest things in life.

I cried when Snow White died. Dear God, how much of a pussy was I? But then again, I was just a four year-old at the time.

But now I'm grown up, complete with responsibilities, relationships, and a lack of that same childhood naivete. And the killer thing about it all is that as soon as I'm finished with my day, I'd possibly have to travel back to a world full of technicolor ponies that could fly, cast spells, and talk.

Sigmund Freud would have a field day with me. And I haven't even gotten to the guns yet.

...Oh shit, the guns.

"Hey, Melanie?"

"Sup?"

I can't believe I'm gonna ask her this. "I need to know something stupid."

"Like what?"

"Where can I get a gun?"

I could feel the car decelerate a small amount as she glanced back to me. "Why you need to know something like that?"

"Because someone tried to break into my apartment last night. I'd like to stay armed in case someone was to pay me an unexpected visit tonight." Yeah, like the occasional robber, crazed lunatic, or changeling hellbent on revenge.

"And why wouldn't you tell the cops?"

"Personally, I'd much rather have my own security. That and cops would bring me more attention than what I'm comfortable with." Again, I can't have cops wandering throughout my house and accidentally stumbling into Equestria. That's a worst-case scenario for me because then I'd have to prove that the cop is bat-shit crazy. That's not easy to do nowadays.

"Personally," she began to mimic my response. "I can't see how you can't bring yourself to trust a trained official, or someone in-training... someone like a friend you know... who just so happens to be a girl... whom you've been knowing for several years-"

"I get it! Look..." It wouldn't be any easier to have her discovering Equestria either, especially since my girlfriend isn't a human. That would be beyond awkward. "I just need a gun to protect myself."

"From what?"

"Well for starters, the world is full of ape-shit crazy fuckers who'd stop at nothing to see that they'd steal every last thing I own, regardless of what floor I'm on. And then you got the assholes who'd love to do horrible things to you while you sleep. And then there's the occasional psycho-killer who'd love to see just how red my insides are."

"Is this about the money?" She bluntly asked.

That's a decent excuse, let's go with that. "...Yes."

Melanie took a deep breath as she hit her turning signal. "...Okay. Say there was a person I knew. And hypothetically speaking, this person had actually let me rent out a few weapons of theirs while I was on my search for you. But of course, this person doesn't exist anymore."

"If you're worried about me snitching, then you can hang that one up. I'm the one asking for arms here. Hell if anyone's going down, it's me."

With a smirk, she pulled onto the street that led to fraternity row. "Okay. Now let's just say that this person who'd gave me all these weapons was someone I actually dated."

"And who would that be?"

Wow... I can't believe this shit.

Sitting here in the basement of the Delta Phi charter house was an armament of small arms and shotguns. And with a few kicks of certain areas, there were fully-customized assault rifles. There was even a sniper rifle or two. Of course, the main thing that was on my mind was just one question.

"How the hell did you get all of this down here!?"

"My dad owns a weapons shop here and my uncle owns one in Laredo." Rickey stated as he pulled out an M16, complete with laser sights. "Both of them are also ex-military and avid gun-nuts. I pretty much picked up the hobby from them."

"He actually gave me anything I needed when I was hunting you down. When you go out looking for a guy in the backwoods of Texas for nine months, you learn that it's best to have some protection." Melanie answered as she picked up a twelve-gauge shotgun.

"Remember the Chainsaw Massacre? Bet your ass won't be traveling alone without a gun then." Rickey joked. "You know, the ones that are the furthest from civilization, the ones in those towns that has a population of like twenty... sometimes they're not all there. That doesn't go for everyone, but not everyone is right in the mind either."

"World's gone to shit, I know." I openly stated as I picked up a Barrett M82, ultimately surprised of how heavy it was. "What's the price of this one?"

"Does 'your first-born child' sound like a fair price?" Rickey answered.

"Can't I just do an arm or something?"

"Has to be your arm."

Fuck, he saw right through that one. "Okay, I'm just gonna put this one back."

"No seriously, I think he can afford that one." Melanie stated.

"Okay, production sales of that one is actually eight g's. Since you're a frat bro, I can cut you a deal. How does four sound?"

I would personally love to be able to pick off changelings from a distance. All I'd have to do is chill out about eight-hundred yards back and start popping them off one-by-one. It'll be a classic turkey shoot. But there's one more thing. "How much is the ammo?"

"Three dollars per round."

Fuck that's expensive... but necessary. "Okay, so ten would be thirty?"

"Twenty-five. Save five bucks."

"Why so cheap?"

"You try running an illegal shop on a college campus without getting caught. Sell low, get business, gain community trust, keeps the narcs away."

"And I'm doing all I can to keep the trail cold." Melanie added. "Criminal justice major has it's perks, you learn how to work the system."

"You two are the epitome of awesome right now." I said as I handed Rickey the money for the sniper rifle and fifty for the ammo. I also picked up a shotgun and a side-arm for short range encounters. "How much for the shotgun?"

"Four-fifty. Ammo runs at about two bucks per shell."

"Good, I'll take twenty-five. Now how about the hand-gun?"

"Glock 42. Loads up to nine rounds, semi-automatic, lightweight, cheap-ass gun, ninety-nine bucks."

"Ammo?"

"Seventy-five cents per round."

"I'll take fifty."

As I handed him the rest of the money, Rickey couldn't help but to laugh at how much I bought from him. "Damn, what are you trying to do? Kill off a small army?"

He's not all that far off, actually. "Well, I kinda bought the sniper for dad. He likes to hunt in his spare time. The shotgun and the glock, that's for me." I lied, knowing that the sniper was for my personal usage. At least now I was more than capable of hunting down the changeling commander, injured or not. Rickey started to put on some gloves as he started to pack everything into a box.

"Well, I'll break this stuff down and we'll get it to the car."

As we made our way back to the apartments, Melanie decided to ignore what all I had bought. She seemed as if she wanted to ask, but was too afraid to do so. After confirming that I hadn't gone insane, she started to warm back up to me. Of course, I explained to her that I had always wanted to collect for the sole purpose of recreation, she started to ease up on me. But she still had a suspicion over what my intentions were.

I guess that was to be expected.

When we had arrived, I began to pull everything I bought out of the car, starting with the musical equipment. It didn't take us long to get everything moved upstairs beside my door. After I finally had everything leaned against the wall, I gave her a hug and told her how much fun I had with her. Of course, she didn't seem to like that I was unwilling to stick around for very long, but then again I had a ton of weapons hid in a box labeled as 'laundry'. After a brief hug, we parted ways and I began to carry my newly-purchased belongings into my apartment.

"What... the fuck?"

My apartment was not as I had left it. Apparently, my apartment looked like I had left some sort of maid inside to clean everything up I didn't have spruced before I left. The small amount of dishes I had in the sink were all washed neatly and sparkling brightly on the rack. My floors were immaculately clean. The carpets had been vacuumed and the shelves had been reorganized. The only thing that wasn't exactly clean was a large sheet of paper that hung on the wall with two words written on it.

I'm sorry!

I pulled off the sheet of paper to reveal a small scroll behind it. As it dropped to the floor, I had guessed that it had to have belonged to Twilight, considering that it was her seal on the parchment. When I had cracked the seal to read it, I immediately noticed that this note was more or a full-length letter rather than a two-worded note.

Dear Nondis,

I know that it has been quite some time since I have last spoke to you in a respectable manner. And I admit that I was indeed in the wrong for what I said to you. You didn't deserve what I had done to you, nor were you accountable for what was done. Everything was completely my doing, and in my ignorance, I have left you to anger.

Words cannot describe how terribly apologetic I am to you. You have done so much for me and you only wanted to see to my well-being. But in my fit of pain and anger, I shoved you off entirely. I was careless to throw you aside, and I didn't mean to make you angry. I don't want to make you angry.

The truth of what had happened was that I was left with what could be stated─in human terms─as a slap on the wrist. My title is till mine to hold, albeit with a temporary power reduction. My wings are still on my body, they're just a little clipped is all. And the portal is still open, should you wish to come back to us.

I would like for you to come back to us. I can't seem to imagine you deciding to leave us once and for all. The pain I would feel would be too unbearable, especially if I was the sole reason for your decision to leave.

I now understand that what occurred between you and Pinkie was prior to our relationship. And I know that I shouldn't be angry because of it. You have decided to remain friends with her after all and opened the way between Pinkie's and Cheese relationship. I should've kept that in mind while I was screaming at you.

And now I'm brought back to the one thing that I promised myself that I would never do to you. I screamed at you, numerous times. I distrusted you and became eager to call you out for infidelity. I just basically shouted at you without even knowing the context of the situation, nor caring to learn what it was.

And for that, I'm sorry.

Please come back home.

Forever yours,

Princess Twilight Sparkle.

P.S.: Your apartment was a mess, so I cleaned it up for you. XOXO

Somehow I figured that she would be so neurotic as to clean my apartment for me, but what I didn't expect was her coming here again. I honestly figured that she was pissed to the point of where she'd lock me out of Equestria for quite some time. But here I was getting an open invitation back. And I was more than willing to go back, but I had some things to grab.

Grabbing my 'laundry' and my musical equipment, I moved the goods towards the bathroom in preparation to take everything through the portal. After a bit of strain and painful lugging, I started to wince at the discomfort in my still-injured shoulder. I decided to strive through it and grab my things, gently carting them through the portal. As I did, I had began to notice that my efforts weren't nearly as strenuous as I would've thought it to be. Instead, I had actually gotten everything through there with relative ease. At last, I started to stick my hand through the portal.

"Okay... Now it's my tu-Uhuuurn!"

The moment I let my arm fall through, I felt something yank at me. A strong force grabbed my arm and proceeded to pull against me. For a short while, I could feel nothing but air... that is until I felt the familiar fuzziness of a pony's coat. The familiar sensation of hooves gently gliding across the back of my hand as my palm was met with moistened fur. Finally, it hit me. It was Twilight that was eagerly stroking my hand against her. Where I was touching was probably the tear-stained cheeks of her saddened face. The force that pulled my arm in─as well as my belongings─had to have been her magic.

Suddenly, I felt nothing but pure strength tug at my arm. The pain I experienced was slightly excruciating as she used every last ounce of her being to drag me back through. Without warning, I could feel my arm's resistance drop to zero. As I looked, I could see the familiar maroon flames engulfing my shoulder, spreading to my chest and crinkling the front of my shirt.

And with a final yank, I fell through the portal.

Melanie pulled up to her apartment, wearing a somewhat distant smile. And similar to her thoughts, she was off wandering about. Freely, she walked to her apartment at her own pace. Her mind was overflowing with the memories she produced with the man she accompanied just earlier that day. She didn't seem to care too much about her phone blowing up as she walked, her thought process was far too consumed by the words of the man she had known for many years.

"No mind games... Wow, you are a pretty boring person, Nondis."

Her words, critical in it's appearance, were actually quite gentle. She smiled at the thought of him, she enjoyed the time she spent with him, she even preferred to stay with him a little bit longer.

"I can't believe you actually said that, that you wouldn't play mind games with her."

Immediately, her voice got quiet and light, almost to a whisper.

"Some girls just don't know how to appreciate a good thing, I guess. It's too bad, I was kinda rooting for him to break up with her. I know it's mean..."

As she finally walked up to the door of her apartment, she continued to fantasize about him. "But I kinda had him first, in a way."

When the door opened, she was still lost in her thoughts. "I wouldn't mind if he'd actually showed that he still had an interest."

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!?"

Melanie snapped out of her thoughts, finally acknowledging the presence in her doorway. "Sorry-"

"I've been trying to call your ass for four hours! Why the hell haven't you been answering your goddamn phone!?"

"Sorry!" She shouted, seemingly annoyed with her boyfriend. "I was hanging out with a friend! I didn't think you'd mind me doing that much!"

"I already know who you been with! And I'm not cool with that shit! I don't give a fuck if he's been trapped on a desert island for nine years with nothing but a volleyball, when I call, you answer!" He commanded as he slammed the front door.

Melanie scoffed as she walked into the apartment. "Look, we're not like that. So can you just fuck off?"

Her boyfriend finally stepped towards her, getting as close as mere inches away from her face. "First off, who you telling to fuck off?"

"..." Melanie remained silent for a short while before she finally backed away from him, walking towards the bathroom.

"I'm talking, where are you going!?"

"I need to use the bathroom, okay!?"

Running to stop her, he grabbed her wrist, unwittingly in a violent manner and pulled her towards him. "Nah, you trying to avoid the question. Now who were you telling to fuck off!?"

"No one! Now let me go!"

The guy didn't say anything to her as he released her. As soon as she walked into the bathroom, she sat down and closed her ears, hoping to drown out anything her boyfriend might have to say. And for good reason. As she continued to sit in silence, a quiet knock came to the door.

"You know... I don't think your career can ever take off if you have all of these illegal firearm possessions under your record. I'm just saying. So while you're telling me to fuck off, I could just so kindly fuck you over in the same way. I mean it doesn't matter to me, it's not my career. And keeping yourself locked in that damn bathroom isn't going to help you either... In fact, what it's gonna do is make me even more angry. So open the door, and let's talk about this."

Melanie couldn't help but to hear what was going on past the door. Her hands couldn't block out the booming sound of his voice. The only thing she could do was close her eyes and prepare herself for the inevitable conversation.

"Melanie... please open the door."

After a lengthy amount of time spent corralled in Twilight's hooves, she finally apologized to me in person. As she continued to say her I'm sorry's, Sunset and Rainbow explained to me what all they had said to her. They expressed what they wanted to say to me as well, giving me an earful about how the approval process could have left her in an even worse condition than what she was already in.

Rainbow got a hint of what was going on when Twilight had left her medicine back in the park. And after she confronted Twilight about me storming down the halls, she finally explained to her what was going on. Sunset overheard some of the conversation and decided to give Twilight her two-cents about what could've been said instead of her lashing out at me.

But that didn't stop Rainbow Dash from giving me an ear-full of how hard Twilight had to work to get her current position. She also insisted that I'd follow through on the saving-grace clause should I feel that I have needs. But as soon as Twilight shot her down on that suggestion, Rainbow remained silent from then on.

After a few more minutes of speaking with Rainbow and Sunset, we both separated ourselves from the two and made our way towards the bedroom we shared. While we walked, Twilight continued to clasp at my left arm with her hooves, dragging me closer to her as she talked.

"Nondis, you know I can't begin to express how happy I am you came back. I thought after our fight, you'd probably hate me."

"No." I answered. "But honestly, I didn't like how you just-"

"I know!" She interrupted while pulling at my arm even more. "And I'm sorry. But this time will be different!"

Somehow, I'm still feeling as if she's ignoring my input. The way she cut me off seemed... desperate. It was like she was trying to forget as if what had happened had never occurred. "Twilight-"

Twilight and I stopped just outside of her door as she continued to give her response, despite my trying to speak to her. "I swear to you that we can make this work! We can't just give up on this now!"

What is she even talking about? "Twilight-"

"From now on, every moment I have available will be designated strictly to you."

"What do you me-"

Tugging me down towards her, she emphasized her desire for eye-contact. "I'm gonna spend every moment I have, waking up to you and making sure that you smile. I'm gonna do all I can to please you, even more so than anyone else ever could."

Okay, this is going in a direction I'm not fully comfortable with. "Where is this coming fro-"

She gave me a quick peck on the lips, holding my face against hers with her hooves. "I won't risk losing you again! This time, I'm gonna work hard to see that you're happy. And if I can, I will do anything to make sure that you stay that way."

Somehow, that translated to placing her career at risk again. This is doing nothing but leading up to the same issues we're dealing with now. "Twilight, that's great but-"

"Nondis, I just want to be perfect for you."

"I never asked for that." I stated with a bit of strain in my voice.

"Well I just want to be! Is that so wrong?" She argued.

...Yes! "There's everything wrong with that. Twilight, don't need to validate yourself to me. You're not perfect, that's why I chose you to begin with. I'm flawed and you're as equally imbalanced. You're trying to throw away the things that drew me towards you. And no relationship is perfect. If there's any example of tha-"

Suddenly, I'm cut off by a pair of purple lips mashing up against mine. Upon our separation, Twilight proceeded to stroke my cheek. "Nondis, I love you. I don't want you to think that I'm imperfect. I know that I'm not as attractive as some of the mares that came up to you, and I know that there are probably others who can do a lot more than I can around the home, and I know that we're different from one another. But in spite of all of that, I'm willing to do anything it takes to make up for it-"

She's not listening to anything I'm saying right now. She's saying everything that she feels will make me feel better. But in truth, it's having the exact opposite effect on me. I pulled myself away from her, placing a hand on her chest. "Twi, slow down."

Grabbing my hand, she tried to stress how much she was willing to move on. "Nondis, we can make this work! We can fix the issue and carry on! I-if you want, we can amend our vows and marry whenever, since we've already broken our approval agreement! We can even set up our wedding for-"

"Twilight!" I shouted over her to get her attention.

Suddenly, she had a sad twinkle in her eye. Her face shaped into a depressed frown as her ears fell back. She looked up to me sharply as she continued to hold my hand against her chest. "What's wrong with me, Nondis? Can't we just make us happen?"

That's the problem, us has happened way too fast. I think with as long as we've gotten to know each other, and as quickly as we've became an item, there was literally no time before she and I were suddenly thrown into an argument over marriage. I mean, yes I agreed to it initially, but now this is moving on too quickly. I've gotten myself in something that I was unprepared for mentally and emotionally. I'd be more than willing to see that we'd still have something between us, but for now... I need to back up.

I need to find out the answers to questions long-buried. I need to focus on everything else, like my job, my obligations to others, my other relationships, my friends on both ends of the portal, my college life, how I got here in the first place, everything about myself. For the longest I've just been gunning ahead, ignoring the consequences and ultimately having everything backfire. And each time I've been trying to strive towards making our relationship work, I've been letting things get piled up.

And this relationship... I'm too trapped. No matter what I do for us, we go through pitfall after pitfall. And now she's throwing everything she worked hard for to the four-winds for me, when I'm trying my best to ensure that she keeps everything. Yeah, I think it's romantic, but now we're at a point where this romance has led to some pretty ignorant moments. I fight to keep her safe, she fights to keep me satisfied at the cost of what I'm trying to save... We're doing the same thing over and over again, and the results have yet to change.

...I can't do it anymore. I'm tired of it.

"Twilight... let's talk."

Meanwhile in the Crystal Empire...

Both the prince and princess of the Crystal Empire walked along side each other, accompanied by a crystal pony holding a lengthy scroll full of proposals for the upcoming months ahead. Despite Shining's calm demeanor, he was quite peeved at hearing all of the growing lists of demands made by the Empire's cabinet members. Cadance didn't seem to mind too much, her prolonged life-span alongside her experience with politicians made her immune to the prolonged exposure. Every once and a while, the princess could see her husband roll his eyes with disdain, causing her to chuckle.

Suddenly, Cadance ears flicked as her head bolted up from surprise. A strange jolt of energy trickled from her head and down throughout her body. Her hooves stopped moving forward, freezing in place as one of her forelegs were suspended in mid-trot. She quietly gasped to herself, catching the attention of her husband.

"Cadie, what's wrong?"

The pink alicorn princess shook her head slowly, unsure on what she should say. "Nothing dear."

The others proceeded to look back to her and saw Shining trying to reason with his wife. "Cadance, something's wrong and you know it."

The princess sighed at her husband's insistence to have her tell what she was feeling, but she was reluctant to tell him what she knew. "Shining, can you handle the meeting in Vanhoover tomorrow on your own?"

Shining rolled his eyes as he groaned. "On my own? Cadance, you know I don't like to play politics."

"I know, but I need you to do this for me. Please."

The prince looked at his wife with a stern glare as he gave her his answer. "You owe me."

"One night, whatever your heart's desire."

Shining walked over to his wife and gave her a kiss. "Okay, you know what I want. And I expect you to be at your best."

"One hour of sex, another of cuddle time, I get it."

Cadance stood silently as Shining and the others carried on down the hall. As she turned around, she called out to the orange pegasus guard standing behind her. "Flash!"

"Your highness?" He responded with a low bow.

"Clear my schedule for the rest of the week. I need to check on a disturbance to the south of here."

"Love-magic disturbances again, your regalness?"

"A big one." She answered as she started to make her way opposite of where the others were headed, Flash Sentry accompanying her along the way. "This time it's hitting a little too close to home for my tastes."

"Ma'am?"

"I'll be taking the first train to Ponyville come dawn tomorrow."

Flash could already feel himself becoming a bit nervous of one certain pony in particular. "We're visiting your sister-in-law, aren't we?"

"You've guessed it."

Back to work. Now a few things.
1. Sorry if this chapter hasn't been up to par for some of the readers. I had to rework myself back into the groove, though I felt that I had to force myself to do so, otherwise this story would never see completion.

2. If you did enjoy the chapter, then please leave a comment. If not, leave one voicing your concerns anyhow.

3. For every dimension, there is a being that is similar to how we operate both mentally and physically. And if Melanie is (as Nondis would describe) similar to Pinkie Pie, then this new guy is actually Caramel 2.0. Also, I have hinted that Melanie has had a reoccurring issue with bad relationships. So I was trying my best to get you all ready for this one.

4. Weapons, eww! Yes, I know this sounds like an awesome idea to some, but to others I can understand if this is a possible turn-off. SPOILERS AHEAD: Just know that they will serve the plot later.

5. I am sorry for getting sick on you guys. Again, my thoughts have been really scrambled and it will take me a chapter or two to get back into the groove of things. As for now, this chapter helps set up a few future events that I will safely say will entertain you. But no spoilers on that today.

Again, I hope that you guys enjoyed the chapter and forgive me for the wait.

As for the Melanie's boyfriend... He will be dealt with... very soon.