Meanwhile in Equestria...

Twilight sat inside of her room as she pondered on the words Nondis said to her. Her eyes remained fixated on a photo of them standing in front of the portal. As she looked to the picture, she couldn't avoid sighing in response. She often thought of the happiness expressed in that photo, but the only thing that ran through her mind was the obvious truth.

They both were completely different species, with completely different customs.

"Is something the matter, princess?"

Her eyes shot open as she looked to the picture, from where the sound emanated from. Scanning the photo, she saw that Nondis was standing a bit differently, almost as if he was losing his balance. But Twilight was keen to identify the reason for the change.

"Discord, get out of my room please."

The faux human continued to speak as he pulled himself from beside her and to the small dragon to the right of Rarity. "Well I couldn't help but to notice that you were in a bit of a mood. Fluttershy came knocking at the door twice to ask if you had wanted to come around and help her with the animals."

Twilight walked over to the bed and plopped herself onto it. "Why couldn't you do it?"

Discord proceeded to laugh as he poked at the frozen dragon. "I know, you would think that my being a creature composed of several other species would have that advantage. It wouldn't be hard to figure out that I was actually one of them, or at least a piece or two. But the animals haven't really gotten around to trusting me as of yet. I still get hissed or snapped at every now and then."

"Well that isn't really a problem I caused. You have to show them that you're trustworthy."

"Yes, but that would take a lot of time. I have other pursuits to indulge on over spending time with those 'adorable' furry creatures. So I recommended you, since you were the Princess of Friendship."

Twilight turned to the photo with a disapproving glare. "Is my title some sort of a joke to you?"

"Oh, no! I'm just trying to see what exactly has gotten you so locked up in here. And it's quite obvious that I'm getting warmer to the source, rather I'm burning up." He said before the image of Spike turned to him and blew green flames at him. He disappeared from the photo and reappeared as his true self just beside Twilight's bed.

"Is it that obvious?" Twilight asked in a somber tone.

"Well, nopony's heard from you since Nondis was last seen coming here. And seeing how you're staring at that picture over on your dresser, I can tell that he's the probable cause of your depression."

"...How do you and Fluttershy get along so well?"

The draconian eldritch quirked an eyebrow as he responded. "Well... why do you ask?"

"I mean I know that Nondis, Cliff, and Rickey said that things were different in their world. And I'm aware that it's not really a 'normal' thing for Nondis to be with me. But what has him so invested in keeping me out of his world? Is it because of my being a pony? I understand that he gave me a suggestion to transform myself into a human before I'd come visit again, but I've always been a pony since I've visited from time to time. And prior to this time he was just fine with it, he never told me to leave or 'hide here for ten minutes.' And now that he's with this 'Melanie' girl, I don't know if I'll ever be called something other than 'Bella' in his world."

Discord rubbed his goatee with his talons and tapped his goat's leg as he thought aloud. "What are the laws of his world exactly? Is it something different from ours? I would assume that despite the technological differences, his society would be similar to ours."

"I know, at least Cliff and Rickey were more open to speaking to us than Nondis was at first."

"Well, is there a distinctive reason why you want to visit his world so much?"

"Well, I am accountable for his safety and well-being. I should be able to explain to his family what all has happened and why it took us so long to get him back. I also want to tell them that he's doing a great service to our nation and that they should be proud of him. I mean, they should at least be open to the fact that he's a member of our military and have acquired high honors in his tenure. They should be proud."

Discord summoned a notepad and a pen and started jotting down notes, the ink disappearing on paper. "Well, I got that much. But here's a question: have you ever asked him what the rules of society are like in his world? Perhaps he tried to explain it before he left?"

"He was in a rush to leave with Melanie to his parents' house. She was a few steps away from discovering me before he intervened."

"Perhaps it's a matter of first-contact with their species. A magical being would be seen as unusual if he's from a world that has no magic."

"You may have a point, my magic works fine over there. It's one thing to go to Sunset's world and try to use magic there, but it's another thing in Nondis' world. There's a strong mana presence that allows us to transform into humans at Canterlot High, but it seals off much of our magic. With his world, there's no such presence that transforms us on the way in or to seal most of our magic away, which at first surprised me."

Discord's eyes bucked wide open as Twilight's statements started to marinate in his mind. With a smile, he casually walked to the door and took a quick exit. "Oh, good heavens. Would you look at the time, I should be getting back to Fluttershy! She and I do have a private session between the two of us. I suppose this time would be her dressed in the swimsuit."

Twilight's ears perked up as her head shot up to face the draconequus. "Wait, what?" She asked with a reddening face.

"Ooh, I simply can't wait to see what sort of perverted fantasies she would want to live out this time! She is quite the fetish enthusiast, even opting for me to sit on this wooden triangle while several─"

"OKAY, YOU CAN GET OUT NOW!" She screamed, throwing a pillow at Discord. He easily dodged it by freezing it in the air, stepping to the side and allowing it to continue along it's trajectory.

"Suit yourself. I was willing to give you two a few ideas, but I can see your interests lie elsewhere." He said before he snapped his fingers and teleported out of the room, leaving behind a flustered Twilight.

The purple unicorn shook as she allowed the thoughts of her shy best friend being so ambitious in her relationship. "Wooden triangle, him sitting on it? Fluttershy, what in Tartarus' name possessed you to fantasize about him?"

Meanwhile outside in the hall, Discord smiled fiendishly as he started to let the ideas roll through his head. "Well, I know of a better place where I can be free to express myself, I'm sure that Nondis wouldn't mind, would he?"

Summoning a copy of the photo he was possessing earlier, he looked at the human, who stared back at him with an angry glance. With a shrug of his shoulders, he tossed the picture down the hall. The picture itself shattering into several shards while the glass and frame remained intact.

"Bah, I'm sure he'd be willing to join in the fun!"

Back in Austin...

The ride out to my parent's house wasn't really a long one in the sense of time, but it was one that caused me to reflect quite a bit on the way there. As a result, I end up tricking myself that the ride was a lot longer than it should've been. Thoughts of my dad and mom being eager to hug me was heartwarming, but it was the fact that I would have to explain what happened to me. Not only that, but I missed out on so much in my absence. I honestly didn't think I was going to be able to process all of it.

There's a small bit of an indifference when it comes to processing pop-culture and international news. But when things hit a little closer to home, that's when they start to really make an impact. And knowing my dad, he wouldn't want me to skip out on any details of how I managed to return. Then my mom will question me on whether or not I've been looking for any girls since I've gotten back. Then again, it does make a shitload of sense, considering that I am a year and a half away from completing the courses required to get my graduate's degree. By now, I should've been hugged up with another girl.

...Little do they know that I'm with a girl of a different breed.

And knowing that mom will be harping on that subject, I can safely say that I will have to come up with the same song-and-dance I told Melanie. Bella-this, we met here, she's often too busy to visit, etc. I was already going down the list of excuses I was going to have to give just to make things work.

Before I had managed to re-piece my lie on my going missing, Mel said to me in a soft voice. "Well, we're here."

I looked up to find that we were parked on the street, just in front of my parents house... the home I was raised in. I also noticed that there were two other cars aside from the one mom and dad drove, and the other one that the fraternity raised the money to buy. I saw a black 2013 Mercedes Benz as well as a white 2006 Chevy Malibu. I guess they were supposed to be having some sort of company aside from me.

After we got out of the car, Melanie pulled out her remote and pressed the lock button twice, causing the car alarm to arm itself. She smiled as she eagerly pushed me towards the front steps, meanwhile I wasn't too thrilled to be shoved along. I still had to revamp my story on how I gone missing in the first place. It's one thing to hear it from Rickey and Cliff, but they'll want to hear it from my mouth instead.

And my thought process couldn't be anymore disturbed by Melanie knocking on the front door. I didn't like how I was going to have a long explanation of howcome I haven't came around the home anytime sooner than this. If I could tell them everything I did without it sounding like I was too invested in video games and had a complete mental breakdown, I would. Otherwise, it's best to keep my mouth shut for fear of being thrown in a medical center with the purpose of undergoing a mental evaluation.

The door creaked open to reveal a muscular male in his late teens, tattoos up and down his arms, wearing a tight v-neck shirt with a pair of designer jeans and Air Force Ones. His dark brown hair was done into a buzz cut, just long enough to fail a military inspection.

"Hey, Mel!" He said as he saw her, giving her a hug.

"Stanton! Oh my goodness! I didn't know you were going to be here! How are you?"

"I'm good. How about you? You look a little battered from your classes. You alright?" He asked with concern, while I facepalmed at his boldness to go after her looks off the bat.

"Well, some things happened and this guy kinda helped me out." She said, pointing back at me.

"So who is this, your new boyfriend? What ever happened to Jasper?"

She kissed her teeth and hissed a long inhale. "Well, he got into some trouble with the law. So I kinda dropped him. But no, this guy behind me is not my new boyfriend."

"Well who is he?"

I'd expected as much, considering that even Melanie had a hard time identifying who I was. I did go through a lot of changes in my absence from this world, both mental and physical. "Hi, Stanton."

My voice was all that was required for him to literally drop his jaw and pick it off of the ground. He rushed over towards me and gave me a handshake-pull into a hug. "Shit! Nondis!? Oh my God! It's you, wow!"

"Hey there Stan, what's goin' on?" I asked, hugging my larger-than-me little brother.

"Nothing much from what I already told you."

"Yeah, I got your message two days ago. Phone was off."

"I left you that message like a week ago. I was starting to think you lost interest."

"Nah, just busy."

As he pulled away from me, he looked me up and down, scanning my appearance. "And... dude, you. Lost. POUNDS! Like, what the fuck? You were at least a little overweight last time I saw you!"

"I was chubby." I corrected in deadpan.

"Sure, whatever. But seriously, what caused you to do... this?" He asked as his hand motioned at my body.

"I guess you could say I was spurned to change my appearance for the better. I can make that choice in life, it's a free country."

"This coming from the master couch potato who didn't ever speak to anyone? Seriously, I need you to do me a favor and tell me what you did with my big bro."

"I'm the same guy... for the most part. I mean I still play games, that hasn't changed."

Another voice came from within as we talked. "Stanton, close the door! You're letting flies in here!"

"HEY ALEX, COME ON OUT TO THE FRONT DOOR AND SEE WHO'S HERE!" Stanton shouted back into the house. He then turned his attention back to us. "Yeah, Alexander came on down from his place too."

So both of my brothers and my parents are here. Great, at least I can get all my questions at once. "Really, so I'm assuming he's the one with the Mercedes?"

"Yeah, he landed this huge job at an accounting firm. Dude is freaking lucky his resumes are top-notch, but he does have his wife to thank for that."

"How so?" I inquired.

"Well, not only she wrote his resume, but her dad's also the owner of the place. So all she had to do was put in a good word with daddy-dearest and he was in the door. Rumor has it that he wanted to make sure that her husband had a respectable job. If anything, he's probably an easy-in for a managing position in the later years. So as far as the car is concerned, it was a wedding gift from her folks to them."

"Oh that's pretty nice." I said it before and I'll say it again: Alex has all the fucking luck. He's charismatic enough to waltz his way into big jobs straight out of college. "So, you jealous?"

"Nope, I'm going a different route. I'm going pro and I'm gonna earn my money on the field. I know one thing, both mom and dad are going to be set for an early retirement because of us."

He's not lying. My older brother's already a big-league accountant. My younger brother had ESPN looking at him when he was still in high school, he's bound to make the draft in a few years. And to add a wildcard, I'm in a prominent military position. My family is loaded at this point and set to make an appearance in the top ten percent of wealth, all before the age of sixty. This house would be paid off in less than two years because of us.

"Alright who's at the door?" Said another man, this one a bit taller than both Stanton and I. He wore a turquoise polo shirt with a pair of dark-blue jeans and brown docksides. His black hair was done in a short pompadour. He saw Melanie and immediately thought it was her who was the guest. "Oh, hey Melanie. How are you?"

"Fine, and yourself?"

"I could be a little better if it wasn't for mom trying to give my wife some advice on maritals in the back."

Well that reminds me of a certain individual who told her daughter to swallow. "Eugh... that's awkward."

After those words left my mouth, Alex froze in place and stared at me in disbelief. He wanted to say something but he was reduced to frantically moving his hands up-and-down, side-to-side, and wheeling in as if he was trying to catch a fish.

"Yeah, nice to see you too, Alex."

Nondis' Apartment...

Discord quietly slipped past the mirror's barrier and finally set dragon's foot into the realm of humans. As he stretched out into the bathroom, he cooed with glee as he found ample room to maneuver. When he finished passing his tail through, he didn't hesitate to start rummaging through the bathroom to find something on the apartment's renter.

"Gaaaahhhhh... I do have to admit that these humans have quite the spacious interior. Though I can't help but to think that this is still a bit small for him. Perhaps this is to be a temporary dwelling place?"

Discord marched forward, past the door and into the bedroom. The room was very tidy with the exception of one specific area dedicated to a device that caught the draconequus' attention. On the desk was a set of dual rectangles with a bar of letters set upon it. He read the first row of letters aloud.

"Q-W-E-R-T-Y-U-I-O-P. Kwer-tee-ooh-aiee-op. What in Equestria's name is this? It looks like some strange typewriter, but with a lot more buttons than usual. A-S-D-F-G-H-J-K-L. Perhaps there's some hidden code to this. Z-X-C-V-B-N-M... Oh dear, I'm going to have to crack this, aren't I? Maybe it's out of sequence. I'm surprised that Twilight hasn't rearranged these letters yet. And what is this little thing?"

He noticed that there was a small, black, curved box with a wire coming out of it. The more he looked at it, the more it began to resemble a mouse. Discord grew curious and tapped at the black device, causing the two rectangles to give off light and show an active screen full of colorful tiles and a background of Nondis and his human female friend.

"Oh? So they do have females? So... how does this thing work?"

Discord pushed the mouse and found that there was an arrow on the screen that moved in accordance to the black box he shifted around. As it hit the bottom row, it began to highlight several buttons at the bottom. One button resembled a large lower-case e, another one with a circular swirl comprised of red, green and yellow spiraling from a blue dot in the center, a blue box with a cloud on it, a white box with a camera in front of it, and a black block with a piston on it. As it hovered just above it, a small query box popped up beside the mouse and read out the word 'Steam.'

"Steam? What does he need steam for?"

As he hovered over the next tile, he saw another box saying the words 'Internet Explorer.'

"Internet Explorer? Hmm, this seems to be something that could help me. Anything with 'explorer' in the name could be of some use after all."

He kept the mouse over the button, hoping that something would happen, but nothing occurred aside from the query box disappearing from the screen. Impatiently, Discord began to tap his talon against the mouse. As he tapped away, he noticed that there was a strange clicking sound it made. He grew disinterested in the larger device and sought to investigate on the other things lying about in the room. But he failed to notice that the web browser popped up onscreen. It took a while for the program to become responsive, but Discord was busy finding amusement in the similar device that had a screen much like the larger one, only this one came up to a blue screen with a box that read 'Password.'

"I suppose this one is a little more... personal. I guess I'll find some way to rummage through that one later."

When he turned his attention to the two screens, he saw that there was a page up displaying broad colorful letters.

"What in Equestria's name is Google?"

He stared as he looked at the empty search bar with the black vertical line that continued to blink every few fractions of a second. He pecked at the board, the first letter producing a long list of results.

notto disu shitto agen
new games on steam
Netflix
Navy Federal Credit Union
Norse Mythology
Nagasaki
New York City
Nerve pain

"I'm not quite sure why the first two are purple, but neither of them are in relation to Nondis." He said as he pecked at an 'O' to follow the n, yielding him more results.

notto disu shitto agen
No to drugs
No snitching
No god please no
No Game No Life

Discord followed up with another 'N' as well as a 'DIS' to finish his topic.

LOCAL BOY THOUGHT TO BE MISSING RETURNS:
Families and friends all sighed in relief as a local college student, Nondis Haines... kxan.com
(you've visited this site two times)

"Well, what do we have here?" The draconequus quietly questioned as he drug the mouse to the purple link and clicked on it. It then took him to the local news website, and just below the header was a video with the image of a fraternity house in the back. In the foreground was a girl, an older lady, an older man, as well as the face of a familiar human. The video proceeded to play on it's own, but what he also wasn't expecting was the first person that talked on the video.

"I just... *sniff* I'm just so glad he's back." Melanie said while holding back tears, standing hand-in-hand with the older woman.

"A journey of pain, long-suffering, tears, and lost hope, now transformed into a fairy-tale ending."

"We prayed that our son would come back to us safely... Praise God!" The older woman shouted with tears.

"Nondis Haines, who's car crashed into the Gulf of Mexico and has gone missing for nine months, suddenly appeared just last night at the Delta Phi fraternity house at the University of Texas-Austin."

"It's amazing that he came back from that. We all thought for a while that he was really gone." Rickey said in front of the camera while wearing his fraternity shirt.

"Officers, who have been searching for all nine months, say that his reappearance is what could be described as nothing short of a divine miracle. Harold Haines, his father, has often lobbied for law enforcement officials to 'find his son at all costs, even if it meant that they would find him in the most unfortunate circumstances.' He even went as far as to arrange preparations for the worst."

"I just wanted to see my son again. I didn't care what condition he was in, I could care less what he looked like. I just wanted to see my boy again, and that happened today. So I'm very thankful."

"Nondis Haines declined to comment on his disappearance, but did express his relief in being home. As of today, he is inside of the Delta Phi fraternity house, currently standing behind me. They are currently tailgating for the Red River Rivalry and his family has expressed their desire not to be disturbed by any further questions so that they can enjoy the company of their son. I am Janet Whitley from KXAN, Channel 36 News. Back to you Dave."

The video ended, leaving Discord with more questions than answers. "Well, now I know where the other two have been rumored to come from. And being that those two know of us and Nondis, they could be my quickest way to finding him myself. But that would only do me some good if I knew where this 'Delta Phi' house was."

He dragged his mouse to the address bar, mistaking it for a search bar and typing in 'DELTA FIE' in hopes of finding the location of the frat house. As a result, he got a page that corrected him on the misspelling of the last word. With a small amount of frustration from being corrected, he clicked on the link that lead him to a variety of pages. But he turned his attention to the word 'maps' at the top of the results page. As soon as the result of the map search came up, he smiled as the address and location was pointed out to him.

"Now I see... this thing is like a giant maze of information. Well it's much faster than the books in Equestria. I'd probably have to walk into a few in order to get what I wanted out of them. Instead, this thing just sends you to what you're looking for in the blink of an eye... This could be quite useful to us, but first I have a few other 'friends' to speak to."

As Discord abandoned the computer, he transformed himself into a bird and flew away towards the fraternity house.

"After all, if Fluttershy had gotten a chance to meet them, then why shouldn't I?"

Mom and Alex's wife, Vanessa, finished cooking dinner in the kitchen and brought all the food to the dining room table. As soon as all the food was laid onto the table, my father called for prayer. Not wanting to start a fight on the first night back home since my extended absence, I decided to just run with it and bow my head. But that didn't mean that I would go along with the 'amen' part, as there were plenty of others who would say it already. But I did manage to partake in the wonderful meal, often grabbing for as much meat as possible.

"Nondis sweetie, don't you think you could save some of that for the rest of us?" My mom suggested.

"Yes ma'am." I guess I'll have to hold off on my binge for the second round. As we continued to eat, Alex and Stanton continued to question me on the matter of my disappearance.

"So, you managed to find your way back from being stranded in the gulf to being here, back in the world of civilization? I guess all that swimming and running did trim you down a bit, but I can't see exactly how you managed to completely chisel up." My older brother said while eating his meal.

Now that I think about it, that is a bit of a gaping hole in my story. I suppose I should've thought this through a lot more and formulated a logical answer... I'm sure I'll come up with one in due time. "Yeah. In my time, I was kinda subject to amnesia." Yet even more bullshit to add to my growing lie, but it would provide a necessary buildup to how I have become who I am now. "I couldn't find out who I was or what I even was doing in the first place. But I do remember some of the details."

"Like?" Stanton asked.

"When I found civilization again, I managed to hitch a ride from a trucker to someplace close to Arlington because his delivery was set for a local store there. So after that, I was found by a kindhearted individual who wanted to help me get back on my feet. Her name was Bella, short for Isabella Armstrong." I am really reaching for this story.

"So that's how you two managed to meet?" Melanie questioned. "Because I thought you met with her after your probate."

SHIT! I thought that I wouldn't have to verify that, but now that I screwed that up there's only one thing for me to do: time for damage control. "Yeah, we did, but it wasn't really anything significant. We just bumped into each other and had a little awkward exchange after. But we ACTUALLY met-met close to Arlington. So she was kinda my caretaker for several months until I had sort of fallen for her. At first she didn't want anything to do with me in that sense, but she started to open up a bit later. Eventually, we grew from acquaintances, to friends, to clandestine partners."

My mom gushed at the thought of me falling in love in such a manner. "Aww, isn't that just romantic, Harold?"

My dad rolled his eyes. "Sounds like one of those cheesy romance movie from the nineties where the dude has the spiky blond hair."

"Yeah, it does sound a bit corny." Stanton cosigned.

"But love does what it does best, and in the most mysterious ways. Sometimes it can be romantic but awkward." Alex argued in my defense.

Vanessa lightly nudged my brother as she smiled at him. "It kinda reminds me of how you used to be such a dork when you and I were in our first stages."

Alex began to blush at the thought of being called a dork in front of both his younger brothers. We wouldn't often let him get away with being called that, but he did learn to roll with the punches overtime. "Yeah... But I don't regret it."

"I know you don't. I just miss you being a big clutz all the time."

"I operate on dork-mode part-time." Alex explained to both Stanton and I.

My little brother shook his head and turned his attention back to me as the newlyweds continued to love on one another. "Anyways while those two are mushing it up, did you two do it?"

I couldn't do much but drop my fork. I knew that this was the shit he would normally do, but after so long of not experiencing it, my guard was far from held. "Stanton Joseph Haines!" My mother screamed.

"What? We're all gonna ask it eventually." He replied.

"I hope so, I don't want my son turning out to be a fruit." My father added harshly.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, dad." I also forgot how annoying and bigoted he can be at times. "But I'd much rather keep those specifics of our relationship to myself. A gentlemen does not kiss and tell, after all." Nope, already made that mistake earlier today, not doing it again.

"Well, I'm not tied down nor do I have any plans to do so. So I'm telling it as it is: football has opened so many 'doors' for me." And my younger brother can be a bit crude at times.

My mother gave my younger brother a light smack in the back of the head. "Stanton, sometimes it is best to be sensitive about a girl's most-treasured secrets."

"Oh no, we gossip about that stuff all the time in class and at home. That's just how open we are nowadays." Melanie corrected.

My mother sighed as her shoulders sank, indicating that she had all but given up hope. "And I can't help but to keep asking how this generation continues to lose that bit of moral decency. Some things are best kept in a triangle of friends and siblings, not a circle of acquaintances and classmates."

"What she said." I mumbled to myself, knowing damn-well that I couldn't disclose anything in regards to my sex life.

My mom then turned back to me as she spoke. "So... Do you plan on bringing this 'Bella' here so that we could meet her?"

NO. "Well... maybe some other time?"

"Well I don't see why not, we haven't heard about this chick until now." Stanton stated while digging into his plate.

"And I haven't even met her yet. So what the hell's up with that?" Melanie asked as she gave me a light push.

"Isn't Bella the name of that one chick from that Twilight series you kids love so damn much?" My father asked sarcastically.

"There are girls named Bella. She was called Bella long before the books or the movies came out." I responded despondently, knowing that the name Twilight Sparkle would have more implications to that accursed series. Just add the word 'Vampire' and my brothers would have a field day.

"Oh I get it, it's just that the name is synonymous with that shitty-ass teen flick." My father stated before taking a swig of his drink.

Melanie dug around in her plate as she spoke. "I read the books and thought that the whole thing was stupid. Seriously, how does a vampire sparkle in the sun? Why do you leave the one protecting you for the other guy who's at war with the guy trying to protect you in the first place? I mean are you that thirsty?"

"Glass of water." Stanton sung with a high-pitched falsetto while holding his glass into the air.

"Just... *snrk* Shut up." Despite my growing impatience on the topic, I couldn't help but smirk at my younger brother's antics.

Alex, growing tired of the joke, decided to question me on the real subject. "Now back to this Bella, what's her folks like?"

"Well, they're kinda their own breed. They're a cast of characters, each with their own little quirks. For example, her older brother is righteously protective of her. So every once and a while, we'd get into fights." Thankfully, I'm not exactly lying there so that story doesn't ever have to change on a later date.

Stanton grew surprised to hear that I had gotten into fights again. "You mean the verbal kind or the─"

"Fist-to-fist. He even broke my arm once."

Melanie agreed as she held up my right arm. "Yeah, he's got this scar on his arm─"

"Left arm." I corrected her as she continued to hold onto the wrong arm.

"Was it your left arm? I thought it was your right."

"Left, it was my left arm he broke. Just at the mid-point of the ulna right here." I pointed to the fading scar on my left arm.

"Oh, okay. My mistake."

"So, did you get him back?" My dad asked.

"That would be a no." My older brother answered nonchalantly.

"Seriously, Alex?"

"I'm just going by what I know is likely to happen. Often times, you come up short in a physical conflict. What's your record, like zero and thirteen?" He joked.

More like seventy-three and sixteen if I include the changelings and Shining Armor. "That's the past though. I'm pretty decent now." I said, writing off his question.

"So you're speaking as if this guy kinda spurned you to learn how to fight. Can you?" Stanton asked.

Thankfully, Melanie came to my defense. "He actually knocked out Jasper in a fair fight. He landed one hit on his head and he started stumbling. After the next one, we had to take him to a hospital because he started to rattle."

"Rattle?" Alex asked with a tilted head.

"He started snoring weirdly, making that strange noise that old people make when they're about to croak." When Melanie finished explaining, my mother held her hand over her mouth and gasped.

My father smiled a bit as he nodded slowly. "Damn straight, my boy's a fighting man."

Vanessa still didn't like the fact that the guy began to snore, or rather the implications of such an occurrence. "Euugh... that's disturbing."

"So, you broke up with Jasper after this, right?" Stanton inquired.

"Actually, we broke up the night before. Nondis was just there to hammer it home, literally. Even Cliff and Rickey watched."

"Oh, so you finally got a W on your belt of L's. Progress." Alex joked.

"Hey, I can kick your ass now. In a fight, I go in with one primary advantage, and that is that I am ready to face any outcome, regardless of how dangerous it may be."

"Kinda careless, don't you think? What happens if they pull out a gun?"

"Why pull a gun during a one-on-one? That's cowardly and it shows how weak you are. That's the stupid shit that gets innocent people shot up in a club somewhere in Southside Chicago." My dad would say something like that. Unfortunately, he's not wrong.

"True. But that person holding the gun is more likely to live than the person without." Vanessa added.

"That's why you learn how to fight. You learn how to properly neutralize the threat and transform it into an advantage. Disarm the user and point the weapon back at them, they'll stop right there." I concluded. It's the primary reason why most men in the armed forces learn the basics of hand-to-hand combat so that they can disarm their opponents. I was trained under different circumstances, but the logic is still universal.

"You really think you got that thought out, don't you?" My dad asked with skepticism.

"It happened once or twice." I lied, substituting the changelings for gun-wielding perpetrators. "Each time I followed through on that philosophy, I came out on top."

"That's right, you said you work in security, didn't you?" Melanie asked, finally giving some context to how I could survive such encounters.

"Yeah I did. And it was because of those fights with Sh..." Don't say Shining Armor. "Francis, I learned how to defend myself."

"So, you work?" My dad seemed impressed with the fact that I had a job.

"Part-time. Just enough to buy the food in the fridge. From then on, I'd usually go venturing out and doing a bunch of other things with Bella and her friends." I'm not lying there either.

I felt down in my pockets to pull out my phone, only to find out that Cliff was calling me. I hit the ignore option before I placed it back in my pants. But it didn't take long for it to start ringing again. I saw that it was Cliff again, and once more hit the ignore option. But following the next call, I had gotten a picture text of... DISCORD!? WHAT THE FUCK IS HE DOING HERE!?

Melanie tried to peek over and look at what was on my phone screen, I quickly exited the message and stood. "Excuse me for a minute."

After I had left the room, the majority of everyone else ignored my sudden departure except Melanie, who only stared at the doorway leading to the foyer. The front door opened and closed as she continued to question my unusual behavior.

"What's he hiding?"

"Bruh, real talk, what the fuck is this thing? I'm like scared shitless right now."

I walked outside and closed the door, making sure that no one could hear me. "Okay, so I'm here with my family, enjoying a nice somewhat peaceful dinner and then this shit pops up. I had to walk outside to talk."

"So what the fuck do we─" Before Cliff could finish, I heard Rickey screaming in the background. "He's not here anymore! Where'd he go!?"

I instantaneously felt my stomach climb into my throat at those words. "What? What do you mean he's not there anymore?"

"Oh, I'm on the other line." Discord answered. "Give me a second, do you know how hard it is to work these things?"

I gritted my teeth as I spoke. "Discord, where are you now?"

"You know this thing?" Cliff questioned with confusion.

Before I could give my answer, Discord beat me to the punch. "Yes, we often have quite a fun time together! Oh Nondis, tell them about that one time we went to the restaurants and changed the menus out with the others all across the town!"

"Sure, at a later time. But for now, WHY ARE YOU HERE!?" I reiterated, starting to feel a bit stressed.

"Oh, well I just wanted to find out about what's going on between you and Twilight. It's very unusual to see her so despondent, staring at a picture of you... and might I add, Spike has this really nasty scowl on his face as he's peering over to you."

"Oh yeah, and the photo at Rarity's boutique has my face burned off, BUT THAT'S ASIDE THE POINT!"

"What, I just gave you my reason. That and I also wanted to see what's all the hubbub with the two other humans seen in Ponyville. Obviously, they weren't very welcoming."

"Gee, you think? I didn't get a chance to introduce you to them so they wouldn't know if you were friend or foe or chaotic neutral." And you chose one hell of a time to just pop up in front of both of them. After yesterday's runabout, it would make perfect sense that they'd be on their guard.

"Well I didn't expect my appearance to be such a bother either. But it seems that these two have tried everything in their power to get everyone that saw me that I was some sort of an animatronic plushie, whatever that is."

From what information I gathered on my last trip here, that wouldn't be a good thing to be associated by. But that was the least of my worries, as now he probably displayed himself before everyone in the frat... this could be a huge problem. "Oh shit... I'm gonna have to do some serious damage control before I head back to Equestria."

"We got you. Right now, we blazin' this bitch until we see pink shit crawling out the walls." Cliff stated. Obviously you wouldn't think shit like that would show up at your front door unless you were high. So his drug logic was within reason. But I need to make sure that a certain someone doesn't decide to take advantage of the confusion.

"Discord, that is not something for you to enact upon."

The draconequus groaned with disapproval. "Ugh! You've seem to have lost your humor nowadays."

Better that than having his appearance throwing the world into a frenzy. Global attention would not do us any good. In speaking of which... "Well, that still leaves me with the question. Where are you now?"

"I'm right here with you, where else would I be?"

"Well you could be..." Wait a minute... oh no. "Discord, I swear if you're in my phone─"

"See, that's the thing. I don't know how to get myself around because this thing is a little hard to navigate."

Somehow, I wouldn't be surprised that he would do something like that. And even doing so much as capturing an image of him would give him the ability to roam around your device. I guess the picture Cliff sent of him was the catalyst that gave him access to my phone. I've just learned to roll with it these days, doesn't mean that he'll be staying in there for long. "So... you're here with me in person?"

"Apparently so. Though I wish I could crack this thing so that I could have a little more time to─"

"Just don't go digging around and sending unnecessary messages to all of my contacts. The last thing they need to do is find out that I'm hanging around a bunch of rainbow horses, not to mention dating one of them." I was not even going to let him breed that idea without expressing my disdain for it.

"Well I personally don't see what's the big deal about it all."

Cliff offered an explanation before I could start one myself. "On the real, it's a big hell-naw to stick yo dick in anything that isn't walking on two legs and can't speak or express cognitive thought. In this country, you'd get thrown in jail for that shit and possibly labeled as a sex offender. And if you're called a sex offender, then that shit will follow you throughout the rest of your life. In some parts of the world, they'll throw yo ass someplace where they do awful shit to you. In others, they just outright kill you."

"Oh dear me. I didn't know that there was such a risk for you and Twilight to be together. I suppose I see the cause of frustration on your end." Discord said with a low voice.

"Well, now you know my half of it. You probably got the gist of the other half. The only thing I ask is that none of this Equestrian stuff feeds over into this world. I'm trying to keep them as separate as possible, not only for my personal reasons but for political interests as well." I explained further.

"Political interests?" Mused Discord.

"Hey Cliff, what do you think would happen if Rick Perry found his way in Equestria?"

Cliff started to laugh for a few seconds before he broke into detail his thoughts on such a scenario. "Hoooo no no no. The first thing that dumb nigga would say is that the ponies would be 'an abomination of God and should be eradicated from the face of America.' That's a one-sided war that would lead to some really fucked-up shit. Then he'd probably use the newly obtained land and resources as a means to secede from the union as well as restart a brand-new kind of slavery. Next up, every rich kid gon wanna have a talking rainbow pony locked in their stable for whatever the fuck reason. And let's not even talk about the experiments and dissections, they gon wanna know how the fuck they got to talking."

"Today's politicians in a nutshell. Not a good thing to deal with."

Discord began to show signs of confusion. "But I thought that the politicians would be willing to listen to the calls of others─"

"Dizzy, I'ma call you that. Lemme tell you something: This is the United States of America, our politicians don't give two shits about us until it's election time. And when they get voted in, they give no shits until reelection. They greedy asses only listen to money, and if the green ain't talking then best believe yo ass is gon be walking in the opposite direction."

"Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the electing those into a position of power?" Discord questioned.

"Do you honestly think they play by the rules?" I asked in response. I wanted to say something else to follow, but my thoughts were thrown off as I saw the door open out the corner of my eye. Initially, I jumped but took a deep breath of relief when I saw it was just Melanie.

"Hey Nondis, you okay?"

"Yeah, I-I just needed some air. I'll be back in a sec, you go on without me." I answered as calmly as possible.

She frowned a bit as she closed the door. "Okay... Just let me know if you have a problem."

"Sure."

I had noticed that she had stared at me for a bit longer before completely closing the door. My only hope is that she wasn't listening in on the conversation. "So Mel got you over there, huh?" Cliff asked.

"Dad was bugging me to come around. I didn't have a ride so I asked her to come with. Haven't really had much of an issue until now."

"Hmmm... I suppose that our conversation would have to carry on at a later date." Discord quietly suggested. "It would be a bit awkward if he were to be kept away from his family any longer."

"Yeah, but in the meantime, no fucking with my phone. Got it? I don't need you doxxing my shit for shits and giggles." And knowing him, he would do it unless I asked him not to. Hell, he'd probably do it just because I said it.

"Oh whatever, I'll be playing with this funnily shaped bird that seems to have problems flying."

On second thought, I'll let him entertain himself with Flappy Bird. He'll be too obsessed in trying to beat the high score. "Don't blow up my phone or delete anything should you lose."

"No promises."

Well that doesn't make me feel any better. Now I really have to get this guy out of my phone before he does something stupid. "...Cliff, I'll talk to you later."

"Hey, just hit us up when Rarity wants to make our suits and shit. I just wanna see if she can do it."

"11 in the morning on the day after tomorrow is your scheduled slot. Rickey is half-an-hour later. Do your best to avoid the press and make sure that the windows are either blocked, blinded or you're getting measured outside of the view. The mares are particularly thirsty for humans."

Cliff scoffed back at me in disbelief. "Bruh... alright then! Later."

Okay, now that this issue has been settled, I can only hope that he goes back and informs Twilight everything he had just heard. Otherwise, I was going to have to jump through hoops in order to explain to her why human society has a thing against dating ponies. I just didn't feel like dealing with her antics right now.

"Arrrgh! CAN YOU AT LEAST LEARN HOW TO FLAP YOUR WINGS!? IT'S NOT THAT HARD!"

Or his... "Mute you for now."

"Wait, what are y─" After I lowered the volume on my phone to silent mode, I proceeded to carry on back to the dining room. As I was on my way, Melanie quietly whispered to me.

"Who were you talking to?"

"Cliff. We were discussing things in relation to the incident with Jasper before he could go into snitch-mode." I lied.

"Oh! The things." Melanie said with a nod and a wink.

"Yeah, the things. My parents can't ever know about the things." I quietly warned her.

"Gotcha."

As we walked into the dining room, all eyes were on us. Stanton wore a sly grin as he drank from his cup. Alex didn't really pay me no mind as he just simply observed my reappearance. Both mom and dad were just looking at us as we sat back down. Picking up my fork, I opted to continue from where I had left of on the meal.

"Okay, sorry about that. Now what were we talking about?"

After dinner had come to a close, mom and I gathered the dishes and placed them inside of the sink. Unfortunately for me, she also took the opportunity to coerce me into washing them alongside her. So with begrudging participation, I assisted my mother in the cleaning of the pots, pans, tableware, cookware, and glasses. Meanwhile, dad would often walk into the kitchen to grab a beer from the fridge and walk out as if he didn't see us cleaning all of this shit.

Nope, he just left me and mom to clean up while Alex and Stanton gave their goodbyes before heading back out to wherever they had to go. I know that Stanton didn't have anywhere to go except upstairs to reconnect with some old flames for the sake of an in-town booty call. Alex and his wife were staying at a hotel while they were in town. Meanwhile, Melanie was keeping herself preoccupied while talking to dad. And... well you already know my situation.

"So, how has the past couple of weeks been to you?"

"The past couple of weeks?" I parroted.

"Yeah, you've probably been the talk of the frat since you've gotten back. I know that half the city is yaking it up with the news of your being back. I've been getting so many phone calls about you."

"Must be well-wishers." I stated as I stuck my hands into the hot, soapy waters. "Geez, this water is hot as hell!"

"You know I don't like dirty dishes. And you above all others should know better. I remember that one time you had like three plates in your room and you had them stacked at your workstation, just sitting there like you were hoping to create a brand-new species of life."

That was when I was fourteen. "That was how long ago?"

"You did it when you were in your senior year too. I even had to have a long talk about you and your hygiene practices. Unfortunately, your father wasn't any better when it came to talking to you."

"Oh yeah, we got into a fight over that."

"You got into an argument, Harold punched you in the chest, you started crying and that's when you stormed off to Melanie's house."

Yeah... I wasn't exactly the best child of the three. "Yeah, we got into a fight."

"That was one heck of a one-sided fight." My mother started to laugh. "He punched you just when you weren't expecting it and you ended up stumbling down the hall backwards until you hit the wall."

And my dad was very strict and hard on all three of us. It just so happened that I was the one who was hounded on the most. "I was walking forward and he just hit me outta nowhere with the force of a sledgehammer."

"You didn't think that Harold and I didn't argue that night?"

"Sure you did. You were upset that I left the house without warning. And you also made me walk back home since I walked all the way there."

"It worked out, didn't it? At least you came home safely."

Yeah, I was definitely hard-headed back when I was in high school. "Sure. I guess I did need the exercise."

"Sweetie, if your father had his way, he'd make you run that distance twice a day."

Ironically enough, I could actually do it now, all within a small window of time. "Well look at me now, guess he doesn't need to force me to do anything."

"I could care less what Harold has in mind, I only care that you're back here. You're safe, sane, and you're not single."

"Mom... Seriously?" I deadpanned.

"I mean it. Now when are you going to get us to meet with Bella and her family?"

Welll... uh... "I... have no idea."

"Well if you're getting into fights with her brother, then we probably need to see if it's a thing we could work out as two groups. It makes no sense to have a relationship that doesn't seem to be in good standing with her family."

Now that I think about it, are we even on good terms right now? I mean does Mrs. Velvet know about Twilight and my meddling around... she probably does, knowing her. But did she flip her shit once she found out that her daughter had to get her wings clipped? I know Shining has no earthly clue as to what all has transpired, but how long will that last? For now, I could only assume one thing... "We're in good standing, we're just working out some differences."

"Yeah, I heard about that." My dad blurted out as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed another beer from the fridge. "Mel's been telling me that you two had gotten into a little trouble with her folks. It seems that you went dipping in the pool when the sign said 'closed'. So now you and her brother seem to be at odds."

Dammit, Melanie. Don't tell him everything. "It only lasted for a short while. We're back on good terms for now."

"Also, this Bella girl must be really religious for her to get into trouble with her folks because of you. What's her religion?"

Oh no. I don't like it when he goes into that bible-thumper mode. "Uh..."

"Harold, we've talked about this!" Mom chided. "We've already established that whatever choice Nondis makes in his faith, we were not going to intervene or become combative."

"I'm just asking, Martha. From what it sounds like, she seems to be either a Mormon or a Muslim."

No, we're not doing this again. The last time we did this, you swore to God that you disowned me because I decided to cast away religious beliefs. Since the end of my freshman year at college, mom had been calling me non-stop to get me to visit again and it took me up until junior year to come by again. Rules were made, and now you want to push your weight around to break them. No, not this time. "Dad, please let's not throw this religion nonsense into it."

This phone call couldn't have come at a better time. I wiped my hands on my shirt and pulled up my phone and happily pressed the answer key, not even paying any attention to who was calling me. "Hello?"

"Hey Nondis, what's up?"

TWILIGHT? WHAT THE─ "Oh hey, nothing much." I said as I quickly glanced to my parents and covered the receiver with my other hand. "How did you get this number?" I quietly whispered.

"Well, I'm kinda in the phone. Thankfully I finally learned how to fiddle with the system in place so now I can call you at will."

Discord, you have fucked with me for the upteenth and last time. "Why in the hell are you─HEY!" I said before my dad had manage to snatch the phone out of my hand and tapped on the speakerphone option.

"Sorry, Nondis is kinda busy. I'll be happy to take a message for him." My dad said, much to me and mom's protests.

"Harold, give it back!" My mom urged as she held a soaking wet spatula.

"I pay the bill, so I own it." He said before turning his attention back to the 'person' on the other line.

"Oh... well tell him that Bella just called to check in on him."

My dad finally decided to place his aggressiveness on hold while he proceeded to change his tone of voice. "Oh, so you're that girl my son's been talking to? I'm so sorry, we were just having a conversation about you."

"Oh, well... I feel honored. If I may ask, who am I currently speaking with?"

"I'm his father, Harold Haines. You're on speaker with me, my son, and my wife. Say hello Martha."

"Forgive me for my husband, he has a bad habit of rushing to conclusions, as well as acting without consulting thought." My mom apologized.

"I'm perfectly used to it, my older brother is kinda like that too. I just learn to live with it and correct it later."

"Yeah, I heard that my son and your brother have been really getting to know one another. How's everything on that end?"

"Great! They haven't fought in a little under two weeks now. In fact, they actually made up with one another recently. They're well on their way to being good friends."

"Well that's a relief, because from last I heard, my son had actually gotten into a fight and broke his arm."

"In speaking of which, I appreciate your brother being protective of you, but if he pulls another knife on my son for the sake of 'self-defense training', I'm gonna shove that knife into his left arm instead."

Wow... Melanie, you just had to let everything go. "Hey, I did get stronger from it. And plus it's not like I died, let alone lost the use of my arm."

My mom rolled her eyes as she flicked water at my dad. "I don't know what my husband is talking about, but I do want you and your family to come down and meet with us. If you don't mind it, how does this weekend sound?"

"Unfortunately, both my mom and dad started working overseas just this past June. But I'm sure that I might be able to fit something in... say next weekend."

Okay, I can probably weave a little something in that time. I could even fix up a religious background for Twilight if she can meet me halfway and find a spell that would allow her to become a human. But next weekend is VERY doable. I'm gonna have to get her to flip the switch from pony to the human mindset in that time as well. Again, I can do that. Discord, you may have actually saved my ass on this. I owe you this one. "Sure, you think you could make the trip?"

"Of course. I'll just meet with you at your apartment and you can point me out to the house from there."

"Great! I'll keep you posted on any changes."

"Okay then, love you."

As much as I would cringe at the initial thought of telling Discord that I loved him, I find security in my sexuality to know that this is merely a show and none of it is real. Plus it's in Twlight's voice, which he was mimicking rather well. "Love you too. Take care."

"Alright then, bye-bye."

As the call ended, my mom walked up to me and gave me a quick hug as she spoke. "Oh, my baby finally found love. I can't believe you!"

"Well at least we know this Bella girl is real, in theory."

Wow dad, dick words. I know you're joking and all, but that still kinda hurt. "And you can ask her whatever you want next weekend. If you want to find anything out about her, you can find out for yourself. Don't get to know her from my account."

"I'd be more than happy to! I just wanna see who my son is getting involved with. I just hope she isn't the type who has like a million piercings with an inverted crucifix on her shirt."

I get it, the horse is a corpse. That doesn't give you a right to wack at it in hopes that it would respond. "Dad, seriously..."

"Harold, what did you originally come in here for?" My mom questioned.

He scratched his head and glanced towards the fridge. "Oh yeah, I've been meaning to get another beer. I guess I got a little invested in the conversation you and your mom was having."

"Then get what you came for and stop harassing your son."

My dad obeyed her order, but not with silence. "I get it. But I just don't know if this kind of relationship is healthy for him. He's getting hurt a lot from what I've been told."

"Well I'm not in the hospital, so apparently it's not that bad." I rebutted as I proceeded to wash the dishes again.

Before my dad walked out, he turned to me and spoke. "It's not like I'm antagonizing you, I know that the choices you make are your own. And I know that I won't always agree with them, but I do have some say in what's going on if it becomes a hazard to your health. I get that you're a fighting man now, but your mother and I don't wanna end up burying you before we get ours. I want what's best for you and that's to live a clean and healthy life, long past our years. I guess what I'm going on about is... stay out of too much trouble."

"Don't have to tell me twice." I've already been in enough and plan to get in some more. I don't think that will change anytime soon.

As my dad left the kitchen, my mom and I carried on with the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen. It didn't take us very long to finish, about twenty minutes had passed before I had tossed the gloves to the side and grabbed my keys so that I could walk out the door. My dad had finished talking Melanie to death, causing her to subtly ask if I was ready to leave. Of course I was, I was trying to get the hell out of here circa the phone call from Cliff. But Discord being in my phone couldn't have gone any worse than it did, in fact it worked out for my good.

I'm not even gonna trip over this. This worked out, but Melanie on the other hand...

The sounds of the outside world hummed and hissed by as I sat in the passenger's seat of the car. My body remaining motionless as I looked at the passing scenery. My arms remained folded as I continued to focus in on how upset I was. I don't know how it came to be, but I just found myself welling up with anger. And I knew that it had something to do with my dad talking with Melanie.

He has a bad habit of asking a lot of questions and harping on subjects for far too long. And Mel, she just has a habit of being very responsive. It's not like she has an inability to keep secrets, it's just that she often tells someone something without gaining consent. And knowing dad, he would start to delve into things when he doesn't need to. I get that he's playing the father role here, but this is something I can't disclose to him.

I should be appreciative of the fact that it wasn't Rickey or Cliff he was questioning, otherwise I'd be a done ass.

"You okay?"

I continued to look out the window, not exactly angry with Melanie but frustrated. "...You had a full conversation with this man, about me behind my back. You know how he can be at times. And I just dodged a fat one when that phone call from Bella came in."

Not a whole lot was said between us for several seconds. Instead, we continued to sit in silence as the car came to a stop before a red light. There were no words spoken until the light had turned green, almost as if we had waited for the traffic to clear before continuing. "Hey... I'm sorry." She mumbled while giving my arm a light tug.

"..." I understood that she didn't have ill-intentions, but my story is going to need some significant reinforcement if I want to make it seem as if I'm not lying about something. The hardest thing about verifying a lie is that you have to tell other lies to keep it afloat. And I'm terrified of the day where I can't keep adding to the story without the plot chewing against itself, creating a massive hole. I'm going to write myself into a corner, and it isn't going to be easy to get myself out of it.

Melanie sighed as she slowed down for another red light. Impatiently, she drummed her fingers on the steering wheel while she spoke. "I didn't think that you weren't going to tell them about the two of you. I mean, it's been─"

"Melanie, what I do on my end has nothing to do with them." I answered a bit harshly.

"You know, they really do want to see you happy."

"And their pulling at me is doing nothing but the opposite. You know my folks, they'd do anything to have me live in their stupid little system." My frustration was beginning to boil over. I should do a better job of keeping it in check.

"And I'm thinking that there's a miscommunication between you and them. They honestly do care, haven't you seen that?"

I clenched my teeth in response to her question. I was well aware of what they thought of me, but I wasn't willing to tell them the truth of the situation. I can't find any way to explain it without looking or sounding like I lost it. "Of course I do... I just know how judgmental they really are sometimes. My mom could say one thing and mean another, like how she's comfortable with how I'm living not too far from the campus, but in all reality I'm still in town. I only had to make that choice because I didn't feel like going to a school full of principles I didn't believe in. Heck, their next choice for me was Bringham Young. They know I'm not a Mormon, so why would you send me to some school like that?"

As the light turned green, Melanie pulled off and made a right turn. "Yeah, I don't think I could do with the no-sex thing either. But at least they had your best interests in mind."

"Sure they did." They had their best interests for me in mind.

"I think you're being too harsh. If you could've been there on the day you went missing, they kept praying that you came back."

I really have to stop looking at them so objectively, but I can't do anything else but keep them at a distance. I love them, honestly I do. But then who's to say that the conditions wouldn't change as soon as I tell them that I'm betrothed to an equine princess who practices magic in a mystical land? Would they see me the same way, hell no. Would they disown me? Would they be so lenient with my decision to denounce Christianity if I had brought to them THAT news? Would my brothers respect me. Would my family even love me anymore?

Coming back to a world that no longer recognizes me, that same world where you were born, raised, experienced life, and was shown compassion... That was one of my biggest fears. And it's the one thing that drives me against telling Melanie about my second life.

Could I even trust her at this point? "...I know. And sometimes I want to tell them everything that's going on, but I know that my current circumstances prevent me from doing so. Hell, I just spent a year's tuition on weapons to keep my fraternity brothers clean. If my dad found out that I had bought all those weapons, he'd probably be the first one to drag me into the station." Not to mention the ulterior motives of said purchase.

A silence grew between us for a few seconds as we made our way down the streets of Austin. "Why are you so secretive?" Said Melanie, breaking the silence.

"Because I need to protect the identities of the parties involved. I can only say that much." I will only say that much for now.

"Well, could you at least fill me in on some of this stuff?"

Should I trust her? "I will, eventually. Just give me some time to do it."

"I'm starting to feel like you're hiding a lot from me."

Unfortunately, she wasn't wrong. I quietly spoke into the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, is this Nondis?" A recognizable female voice responded.

"Yes it is, who's asking?"

"Oh, great. This is Sunset Shimmer, you know the pony that nearly wiped your memories when we first met?"

"Yeah I know it. What's up?" Okay, I'm actually surprised that I even got a phone call from her. How did she even get this number?

"Well, Twilight had said something about her and Discord having a conversation just earlier today. She also said that she had mentioned something about your world before he just up and left. So after a couple of hours, Fluttershy noted that she couldn't find him. We searched all throughout Ponyville, but there was no trace of him. They even tried to summon him, but nothing came out of that either. So we're kinda not hoping he's here somewhere."

"Where all did you look?"

"Well, he's not in the bathroom."

That was not Sunset's voice as much as it was Rainbow Dash's. "Wha???"

"Definately not in the snack drawer! But these things called Zebracakes sure are tasty!"

"Ah searched the closets, ain't found nothin'."

Oh no... please don't. "How many of you are actually there?" I whispered into my phone.

"Everypony, we're trying to find Discord as quickly as we can before he starts wrecking havoc in this world."

"Oh please, this place is a mess as is. He'll probably feel at-home." I joked.

*beep beep beep*

"Hold on, I got a call on the other line." As soon as I switched over, I discovered that there wasn't really a number. When it displayed the words 'unknown caller', I made the assumption that it would be none other than Discord. "Yes?"

"Remember, I'm not here."

"Gotcha. Don't even worry about it. Just keep it on the hush and you'll be fine." I briefly explained as I hopped back over to the first line. "Hello, where were we?"

"Discord going missing! Where are you now, we could desperately need your help!" Twilight said with panic increasing in her voice.

I looked to my side to see Melanie visually focused on the road, but heavily attentive to the conversation taking place. I decided that it would be best for me to act as if it was a casual phone call. "Uh... I'm on my way home. I'm getting dropped off by a close friend of mine."

Twilight gasped sharply. "Close friend? You don't mean─"

"Yes, I mean that. But if I see him, I'll let him know you called and I'll try to get him to hit you up."

"Hit me up?" Twilight asked with confusion.

"Yeah... Okay, catch ya later."

"Wait─"

Before she could finish her sentence, I hung the phone up to simulate the end of the call. I expressed my relief as soon as I put the phone back in my pocket. But my brief celebration didn't go unnoticed.

"So what was that all about?"

"Nothing really important, one of my coworkers asking if they had seen someone else. Also I'm supposed to be filling in for someone tomorrow morning as well as pulling my shift in the evening." I had already started giving out my excuse on why I would be unavailable for tomorrow. I didn't need her to start trying to get in touch with me in the evening, otherwise my date would have to be cut short to respond to Melanie possibly banging on my door. I made a wager with Rarity, and I will stay true to the agreement, despite the consequences that are to ensue.

"Are you getting paid overtime for this?" She asked, seeming very annoyed with the circumstance.

"Yeah! Like I would do something and not get paid for it. When my check comes in, I wanna bask in how fat it's gonna be."

"Oh, well you do what you do then." She said as we pulled into the apartment complex where we stayed.

As soon as the car came to a stop, I unbuckled my seat belt and hopped out of the car in a hurry. I didn't have any time to stick around for a conversation, as there were several uninvited guests in my apartment. "Thanks for the riiiiiiuh..." But my heart began to pound at a expedient pace as soon as I heard the car's engine come to a complete stop. Looking back to the car, I saw Melanie hop out of the driver's seat and close the door behind her. She hit the lock button on her car twice to arm the alarm. "Are you coming in?"

"I'd never thought you ask." She replied sarcastically, knowing that she had already decided on coming in either way.

I could not even begin to express the panic I felt as she started to walk up the stairs. SHIT, I CAN'T KEEP UP WITH THIS! "Wait! My place is a total mess, I really don't feel comfortable with guests walking in and it looking like a sty." I tried to convince her that I was not willing to take guests, but knowing her...

"It wasn't a mess when I came in earlier." She probably remembered when she tried to check in on me before we had left earlier.

"You were p-probably overlooking a lot of things. M-my apartment is like the equivalent of the ninth circle of hell right now." I said as I tried to beat her up the stairs. She only increased in her speed, as if we were racing.

"What are you hiding from me?" She asked with a giggle.

Shit... think of something. THINK OF SOMETHING!!! "I-I-I'm actually... also hiding a gift for you. Y-you know, of the birthday variety?"

"That's one hell of a belated birthday present. My birthday was three months ago." She answered dismissively.

"Well, I don't want you to see it until I know the time is right. How about this weekend!?" And out of desperation, I may have set myself up for more misfortune.

"You're not doing anything illegal, are you?" She jested. "You're not running a drug ring or anything, right?"

"No, like what? Do you honestly think I'm just in here reenacting Breaking Bad?"

"No... I just want to come in and talk with you." She answered flirtatiously.

"Mel─"

"And it won't take long. Just give me your ears for about ten minutes and I'll be back in my car. If you're doing something that you don't want me to know about, then just say so."

Then that would only give her more of an impression that I'm probably doing something that I have no business doing. And she likes to dig around. "That's not the point."

"Then please open this door so we can talk."

I couldn't believe this was happening. I couldn't let myself just casually open the door and say 'Honey, I'm home' and expect things to be peachy. There are going to be severe reprimands, and starting with this, I'm not going to be able to convince Melanie that I'm not some sort of sicko or deranged idiot. I haven't went over how I'm going to break the news to her yet!

As my core belief asked me that question, I continued to fumble with the keys, my hands shaking quite a bit as I placed the key into the hole. When I tried to turn it, I had noticed that the mechanisms failed to respond while the lock remained unmoved. I pulled out the key and noticed that I tried to put my Equestrian apartment keys in.

"Sorry, wrong key... heheh..." Already, I was fucking up.

"You only have like four keys. And only one of them have the word 'Kwikset' on it." She stated while picking out the key with the aforementioned brand name.

"Oh, right. I'm stupid."

I nervously stuffed the key into the lock, hearing the tumblers click and clatter as I began to turn to the left. Deep down, I felt myself not wanting to open the door, but I felt an unexpected force that pulled the door inward, my arm along with it. My eyes clenched shut as I prepared myself to face the music.

I can't believe I'm going to have to explain to this girl about Equestria.

"Nondis..."

"Yes, Melanie?"

"Uhhh.... what the hell is this?"

The butterflies in my stomach... I think I'm gonna vomit.

What have you been up to, busy. Little. Bee? As usual, a lot of music stuff. I had to play for a really, REALLY huge thing that took a week of 8-hour rehearsals to lock in the music with this band. It was AMAZING fun. But now that the summer months are winding down and schools back in, I can get back to focusing on writing again. So yes, more frequent updates (HOORAY)!

I apologize if the chapter disappointed, as my mind was everywhere at once (not only on music but the subsequent chapters). Not only that but trying to maintain continuity can be a BITCH with these epic-length fics. Personally I have so many ideas with one-shots, but I never am able to find myself to write it all down. They remain as ideas, and they would eventually come back into play as long stories (whatever my brain is feeding me at the time).

Now as for the question "what the hell is this chapter?" The answer is a closer look at Nondis. Instead of seeing his usual confident self, you get to see him at his most vulnerable. Often times, an invert can be quite nervous to family opinion, especially if they haven't been considered as the 'golden child' or have been often ridiculed for the decisions they've made in life. And those bits and pieces of insecurity are now being brought to light. He's come into his own, but there's no reasonable explanation of how that came to be in his family's eyes.

Melanie doesn't really get what's all going on, she's completely oblivious to Nondis' intentions due to him keeping her in the dark so often. This is an example of it backfiring on him.

As an additional note, the color changes are suppose to indicate the changing voices over the phone. I kept "Bella's" voice in color: Twilight Sparkle to give off the illusion that Discord was speaking in her voice. So everytime the voice changes on the phone, the text will appear in a different color, whether it's a subtle shade of gray or the colors of the Mane 6 (personally, I feel that colors are underutilized on this site). This idea may suck, but I want to know your opinion of it.

But now, we wait for the next chapter. What happens next? Stay tuned to find out.

P.S.: Our setup for the performance was legendary.