“Today’s job is simple.  All you gotta do is intercept that messenger and make sure he don’t get to the drop point.”

A map was rolled out on top of Boss’s desk, and some red lines were scribbled across it.  They represented different things, such as the messenger and the thugs.  Malcolm and Ben were preparing for another mission on this surprisingly warm summer morning.  After being absent from work for almost a week, the younger thug was determined to make up for his lost time with this job.

Ben chuckled, “Sounds easy enough.  We free to keep any belongings we find?”

The crime lord smirked at his employee’s enthusiasm.  He sighed, “So long as I get that package, I don’t give two shits if you rip the fella limb from limb.  Just keep my name off the murder.”  Boss rolled the map up and tossed it into a drawer in his desk.  He nodded in dismissal, and the two thugs turned to leave the office.

The dark-skinned thug swung the door open and scoffed, “This is a piece o’ cake.  We could do this in our sleep, eh Mac?”  He nudged his partner in the side as they exited the room.

Just before the door shut behind them, the employer called, “Yo Mac, lemme talk to ya for a second!”

With a nod of reassurance, Malcolm turned back and entered the room.  Ben continued out of the office to wait for his partner at the exit of the compound.  The younger employee asked, “Somethin’ wrong sir?”

Boss sighed quietly, “How’s she doin’?”

It took the boy a few seconds to realize what his elder meant.  His eyes lit up in shock as he mumbled, “She’s a lot better sir.  Thanks to you…”

“Nonsense!” the older man scoffed.  “I couldn’t just let her die.  Not like that.  You’re just lucky Ben intercepted that rat's doctor.”

A smile stretched across the boy's face.  He sighed, “You didn’t have to do that…You lost money because of it didn’t you?”

Boss lurched forward in his chair and slapped a hand on his desk.  He groaned, “Don’t be a dumbass.  Lora’s worth a helluva lot more than a couple g’s!”

“You really mean that?”

“O' course…  You’ve done so much for her over the years.  I couldn’t just let my best employee lose what makes him the best.”  Boss smirked at Malcolm’s shocked expression.

The boy asked, “What do you mean?”

“You’re only the best ‘cause you have to protect her.  I need you in top shape to handle all this shit!”  The crime lord chuckled lightheartedly as a smug grin graced his employee's face.

Malcolm scoffed, “Right, I’m sure that’s why you did it.”  With a nod, the boy exited the office without another word.  

He owed Loralee’s life—and essentially his own—to Boss…

“It feels like so long ago, doesn’t it?”  Malcolm sighed as he and Loralee continued the prior night's discussion about Boss.

The little girl giggled, “It does.  It’s only been a few years though…”

“He always bugged me about taking you to the compound more often.  Boss was always there to protect you whether you knew it or not, Lora.”  Out of every memory Malcolm stored in his head, his years working for Boss were the most enjoyable to view…especially after his parents left.

“I know.  And when he wasn’t, Ben was.  Of everyone you could’ve worked with, you got stuck with two really nice people.”  The little girl giggled at the thought of a crime lord being a ‘nice guy.’

Malcolm decided to drop the not-so-distant past and focus on the current situation.  He asked, “You and the ponies have any plans for today?”

Loralee sighed, “Not as far as I know.  Twilight did say something yesterday about lunch in the city.”

Almost as if triggered by the statement, the boy’s stomach growled.  He sighed, “Geez…I don’t think I ate anything at all yesterday…”

“Wouldn’t be the first time you went a day without eating.”  His sister chimed.

He groaned, “Yeah, yeah...  Bring me back something when you go.”

"You aren’t going?”

“I doubt it.”  The boy shrugged his shoulders and fell back onto their bed.

Just as Loralee took a breath to scold her brother, a knocking rang out from their door.  Without waiting for a response, the door swung wide open with a rabble of ponies herding into the room.

Twilight and her friends were already fully awake and excited for a day in Canterlot.  After a series of greetings and attempted persuasions, the six ponies decided to leave Malcolm to his business and just take Loralee out for lunch instead.  Of course, just as they were on their way from the room, Shining Armor entered with some news.

The stallion explained that Princess Celestia wanted the ponies to take Loralee out for a day on the town.  However, she also requested a personal audience with Malcolm in the throne room.  He also warned the boy that she requested a fully private audience.

Celestia’s words from the prior day immediately jumped to the forefront of the human’s memory.  She had said that during a formal audience no other pony would be present.  A pit grew in the boy’s stomach as he followed the rest of the group from the room, his attention focused solely on Shining Armor and the upcoming meeting.

His arrival to the throne room did nothing to calm his nerves.  At the far end of the room, Celestia was sitting on her throne with not a single other pony in sight.  Though he wasn’t sure this was a truly formal audience, the boy couldn’t help but feel he’d be leaving the room in a different mindset than when he entered.

After reaching the throne, Shining Armor was dismissed to leave the human alone with the alicorn.  Celestia was quick to speak once the door closed behind the guard captain.  She lowered her gaze and asked, “Was your sleep pleasant last night?”

The simple question caught the boy off guard.  He chuckled, “Best one I can remember.  Room coulda been a bit cooler, but I won’t complain.”

She giggled, “It’s good to hear nothing went awry.”  Celestia smiled warmly at the human before asking, “Am I right to assume things are more peaceful here than in your world?”  Her question caused the boy to shift uncomfortably where he was standing.

Malcolm sighed, “‘More peaceful’ is an understatement, princess.”

“Do you have any idea how you and your sister ended up here in Equestria?”

The human shook his head in disappointment before scoffing, “I was actually hoping you could tell me.”

The princess took on a concerned look and said, “You mustn’t be so sad, Malcolm.  If this place is more peaceful than your world, shouldn’t you be happy to be here?”

The human groaned, “I should be.  But I’m not.  I mean, this place is amazing…but it just doesn’t feel right to me.”

Celestia stepped down off of her throne and approached the boy, much to the human’s confusion.  She lowered her head down to his and said, “That’s normal, I suppose.  After all, you are here through very extraordinary means.”

“You know why we’re here?”  Malcolm stepped back away from the alicorn, a sudden burst of curiosity flooding his mind.  “Well, do you?”

The wise pony sighed, “I’m afraid I do.”

“Tell me, then!”  The boy was beginning to get angry, much to the princess’s concern.

Celestia sighed, “You have every right to get angry.  It’s understandable anger.”  She asked, “Do you believe in magic, Malcolm?”

The boy almost saw it as a trick question.  He hesitated momentarily before scoffing, “Yeah, I guess.”

“Then you know this world is made of magic, correct?”

“Of course.  How couldn’t I, after everything I’ve seen?”

Celestia smiled, “Do you believe in wishes?”

Malcolm thought he could see where this was going.  “I used to, back when I thought they came true.”

“But you don’t now?”

“Why should I?  If wishes came true, our parents wouldn’t have died.  And those damn thugs wouldn’t have…shot me…and Lora…”  An epiphany washed over him like a waterfall, and that epiphany was obvious in his eyes.

Princess Celestia giggled, “Do you see now?”

The human was awestruck by such an obvious answer to everything.  He was still skeptical, but he stammered, “Lora’s wish in the alley…?”

When the large alicorn nodded in confirmation, the human reacted with an uncertain shrug.  Celestia sighed, “But her wish alone isn’t what brought you here.  There’s more to the story than that.”

“Of course there is…” Malcolm groaned in growing confusion.

“I’m sure you’ve guessed that your world isn’t the only one.  Your Earth and our Equestria are both connected by a magical force.  Of course, Equestria isn’t the only other world connected.  For anything one can imagine, there is world for it.  Any stories you tell in your world were probably derived from another world altogether.”

Malcolm was trying as hard as he could to understand what Celestia was telling him.  It explained a lot, but he just didn’t see how it was possible.

The princess continued, “The magic of such an innocent wish mixed with one of those magical connections, causing it to grow stronger.  You were both pulled through it into this world.  The fact that the connection was to Equestria is simply a coincidence.”

Malcolm groaned in annoyance, “So every world is connected to a bunch of different ones, and Equestria just happened to be the one to grab us?”

“That’s correct.  However, that is only the beginning of what I have to tell you.”  After a moment of silence, Celestia continued, “With each connection, there are good and bad side effects.  Your sister’s wish opened a proverbial door, letting more than just you both through.  No, you’ve surely noticed that our world is less violent and corrupt than yours.  But the connection also allows the influence of your world to mix over into ours.”

It only took Malcolm a second to realize what she meant.  He gasped, “Are you telling me that this world could end up like Earth?!”

Celestia nodded hesitantly.  She sighed, “With enough time, I’m afraid so.”

The boy shook his head and clenched his fists.  “So basically…me and Lora have to leave…or this place might turn out like ours?”

“To put it bluntly:  Yes.”  The white alicorn nodded regretfully.  “Well…” she hesitated as she let her mind wander for a moment, “…Loralee seems innocent enough.  There’s a chance that her presence alone wouldn’t be enough keep the door open…”

Malcolm asked, “So if I leave, she can stay here?”

Celestia considered her words carefully before saying, “It is a possibility.  I can’t guarantee that you leaving by yourself would fix the issue, but there is a chance.”

“Of course…  Fine, send me home!  I don’t want to stay here if it’ll just end up like Earth!  If I have to leave so Lora can stay and be happy, then I’ll leave!”  The human didn’t hesitate in his decision to return to his hellish home..

The princess was obviously taken aback by the boy’s willingness to leave.  She gasped, “I can’t simply send you home!  Not without you first discussing the situation with your sister.”

“Why do I have to discuss it with her?  No matter what she says, I’m not staying here if it’ll end up killing this place!”

“But she should at least get a chance to voice her thoughts.  What if she doesn’t want you to leave without her?”

“She’s finally found a place where she can be safe and happy.  I can’t let her give that up, not for my sake.”

“You must think rationally, Malcolm.  You can’t simply abandon your sister here; you need to speak with her about your options.”

Malcolm rolled his eyes and scoffed, “I don’t have options, princess.  I leave and let this place stay happy, or I stay and let it die.  Ain’t much of a choice, is it?”

Princess Celestia shook her head in disappointment and sighed, “I’m not going to force either of you to leave.  You’re more than welcome to stay as long as you wish.  I only wanted you to know the circumstances of your arrival here and the effects it had.”  Suddenly, a faint golden aura formed around the princess’s horn.

Malcolm watched as the golden aura reached out from the alicorn’s body and formed a small sphere of light just in front of him.  Within the ball of light, a small object materialized and levitated to the boy’s chest.  He cupped his hands together and let the object fall into them as Celestia released her magical grip on it.  The object sent a slight shiver down the boy’s spine.

It was a necklace:  a locket in the shape of a flower with a small golden chain.  The boy pressed the small button on the side of the locket in disbelief.  The face of the flower flipped open, revealing a faded picture of himself and his sister.  He switched his focus back and forth from the picture to Celestia.

“How did you get this?  It’s Lora’s…”

The princess giggled, “It was resting on the other side of the door.  It was the only thing there I could focus my magic on.”

Malcolm smiled and sighed, “She must have dropped it during those final seconds…”

“Perhaps.  I believe she may like to have it back, no matter what you both decide.”

The boy nodded in confirmation and stuffed the locket into one of his pockets.

…

Midnight.  The clock struck midnight as Loralee rested on the large-cushioned bed in their room.  Not long after this turn of the hour, the door opened slowly with a worn-out Malcolm stomping through it.  Without saying a word, the boy plopped down onto the bed beside his sister and buried his face in one of the large pillows.  There was an air of concern spinning around the boy, but Loralee decided not to question it for the moment.

After a few minutes of silence, Malcolm rolled over onto his back and let out a deep sigh.  He asked, “Ever notice just how different people here are?”

Loralee raised an eyebrow and asked, “Different how?”

“Morals are more important.  People are nice for no reason.  You know, the usual.”

“I guess so.  What’s with bringing this up out of nowhere?”

“No reason.  I just wanted to get that off my chest…  I take it your day went well?”

“It was tons of fun!  There are so many fun things to do in this town!  It’s definitely nothing like New York!”

The next hour or so was spent with Loralee describing the exact events of the day to her brother.  He decided it best to simply sit and listen, rather than share his own experience.  He’d heard a lot of information, and he dreaded the inevitable moment when he would be forced to share his knowledge with her.

Finally the stories ended, and Loralee drifted off into a blissful sleep.  Malcolm twisted and turned all night, catching very barely an hour of rest.  The dreadful circumstances he had been presented with by Celestia wore heavily on his brain… Next Chapter: The Twist of Fate Estimated time remaining: 15 Minutes