A/N:  Don't forget, feedback is the most important thing to me!  Let me know you fellas are still reading!  :D

It was a comparatively warm summer’s evening in the ruins of New York City.  Loralee was huddled in bed with several thick blankets wrapped around her.  Her skin was pale and her breathing was heavy.  Large bullets of sweat rolled down her face as Malcolm draped an ice-cold rag over her forehead.  The older of the two had tears streaming down his face while the younger wheezed rhythmically.

The ten-year-old girl had caught a horrible post-war strand of the influenza virus, and all the symptoms were magnified tenfold.  The local ‘medic’ had explained to Malcolm that the death rate of this strand of the flu was over ninety-eight percent.  The fact that Loralee was so young didn’t help her chances any.

The older sibling was certain his sister only had a small amount of time left with him, and he did everything he could to make her as comfortable as possible for when she passed.  The girl was brave and tough, and didn’t complain about the illness or the pain.  It was the older sibling that was taking the news the hardest.

The clock struck ten at night, and Malcolm decided it was best to try and help Loralee get some rest.  Through his own sorrow, he sat right beside her on the bed and cradled her in his arms lovingly.  He told her a story from a book their mother had read them several years back.

The story didn’t last long, and her pain kept her from drifting off to sleep.  The innocent girl looked up at her brother with faded irises and asked, “Will you tell me another story, Mac?” The strained breath unnerved the boy even further than the sight of his sister’s eyes.

He chuckled with a quivering voice, “Of course.  How about ‘Little Red Riding Hood’?  Have I ever told you that one?”  With a declining nod from his sister, Malcolm started to tell the tale.

Before he could actually get started into the story, a loud banging erupted at their door.  Malcolm gently shifted his sister onto the bed before getting up to answer it.  For several minutes both he and the figure on the other side of the doorway shared words that were unintelligible to the sick girl.  When her brother finally closed the door and returned to her side, he had an unstable smile on his face and fresh tears falling from his eyes.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Loralee unable to speak through her wheezing and Malcolm trying to focus his thoughts.  He eventually wrapped an arm around his sister and leaned his head next to hers.

He asked with a crackly voice, “Do you remember the lullaby Mom used to sing to us when we couldn’t sleep?”

His sister moaned, “No…why?”

The older sibling chuckled, “She always said her grandmother taught it to her.  Would you like to hear it, Lora?”  He looked down at the sickly girl beside him and immediately remembered the lyrics to the comforting lullaby.

Loralee nodded and groaned, “Sure…”  She had a small coughing fit before snuggling beside her brother.

Malcolm started to tap the rhythm with his fingers on his sister’s arm.  He started singing gently, “Hush now.  Quiet now.  It’s time to lay your sleepy head…”

“Daffodil sandwiches?!  What the hell kinda food is that?!”

Loralee’s mind shifted immediately from memories of the past to the current situation.  She was sitting in a small chair at a metal table outside in the beaming sunlight of the Ponyville town center.  Beside her sat her brother, the source of the outburst, and the horned purple pony on the other side.  She thought about her brother’s question for a few seconds.

She giggled, “Daffodils are flowers, Mac.  That is, if they’re the same as Mom’s old picture books.”  She was met with an annoyed glare from her brother.

Malcolm groaned, “I know what they are, Lora!  But humans can’t eat flowers…”  He sent a concerned glare at their escort pony.

The pony chuckled sheepishly, “Well, you could always order something less flowery.  How about an oat salad?”  She scratched her mane nervously.

The female human sighed, “I don’t think we eat oats either, Ms. Sparkle.”  She scanned her menu determinedly.

“Really?  How about just a plain fruit-and-veggie salad?”  The pony pointed to an item at the bottom of the first page of the menu.

Malcolm perked up at that.  He chuckled, “Now you’re speaking my language, Twilight!  I haven’t had a fresh salad in ages!”  He rubbed his stomach as it growled loudly.

Loralee folded her menu and placed it gently on the table.  “I guess that goes double for me, then.” she said bluntly.

The waiter of the small outdoor café approached their table and took their orders before heading back into the nearby building.  The three were left sitting alone in a somewhat-awkward silence.

Twilight Sparkle eventually found it appropriate to start up a conversation.  “I’m glad you two are letting me be your escort!  I love learning about new species of creatures!”  As soon as the exclamation left her lips she regretted her choice of words.

Her self-assumed rudeness went unnoticed by the two humans, who were intently examining the surrounding area.  Malcolm eventually zoned in to her statement and had a curious thought.  He asked, “Yeah, I wanted to ask…  Why are you our escort?”

“What do you mean?  Is there something wrong with that?”  Twilight looked insulted by the boy’s question.

The human immediately noticed his insult and stammered, “Don’t take it the wrong way, Twilight!  It’s just…I figured that green pony would do it.  I mean, she was excited to find out we were humans.”  He took a sip of the small drink sitting in front of him.

Loralee chimed in, “He’s talking about Lyra Heartstrings.”  She sipped on her own drink before returning her attention to their colorful scene.

Twilight suddenly realized what they meant and gasped, “Oh Lyra!  We talked a bit, and she decided to let me learn about you.  After all, a most of the ponies around here listen to me and respect my opinions…”  She faded out, trying not to sound too arrogant.

Malcolm scoffed, “So if you decide we’re good people, everyone will listen.  I guess that makes sense.  But uh…what’s with the paper and pen?”  He glared down at the orange scroll in front of the pony, which had a large feather lying on top of it.

The purple pony looked guilty all of a sudden, and stumbled over her words for a few seconds.  She finally replied, “Well…I’m supposed to write about what I learn in letters and send them to Princess Celestia.  I assume learning about humans is no exception.”  An alarm went off in her head as the two humans sent her puzzled looks.

Loralee cocked her head to the side and mumbled, “Princess?”

“Who the hell is that?”  Malcolm asked in not-so-wonderment.

Twilight scratched her mane and giggled, “Princess Celestia is the ruler of Equestria.”  Another puzzled look was sent her way before she continued, “Equestria is the name of the world you’re in right now.  This town is Ponyville, and the capitol is Canterlot to the east.”  She pointed a hoof toward a large mountain east of the town.

The boy burst into laughter.  Upon seeing both girls’ uncertain looks, he decided to elaborate.  “Canterlot sounds an awful lot like Camelot.  You know King Arthur’s kingdom?”  The girl immediately had a fit of giggles as she realized the play on King Arthur’s court.

The pony, however, had no clue what either human was on about.  She cleared her throat and continued to explain, “I should explain the different types of ponies to you two.”  After the laughter subsided, both humans tuned in to her words.  She continued, “As you’ve probably noticed, some ponies have wings and horns.  The ponies without either are called Earth Ponies.  They’re just normal ponies without very many special attributes.”

“Like Nurse Redheart and Time Turner.” Malcolm mumbled in understanding.

Twilight continued, “That’s right.  A pony with wings is a Pegasus, or plural Pegasi.  They can manipulate clouds and control the weather.  One example would be my friend Rainbow Dash,” she pointed a hoof up at the blue blur zooming across the sky with a rainbow trailing behind it, “who happens to be one of the fastest Pegasi in all of Equestria.”

Loralee’s jaw dropped in childlike wonder, “Wow…”

“Ponies with horns are called Unicorns.  We can channel magic through our horns to do all sorts of things.  We can pick up objects,” she levitated her feather from the table with a purple aura, “and move them around.  That’s not all we can do though.”  The feather disappeared in a sparkle of white light before landing on the table directly beside Malcolm’s drink.

The boy scoffed, “Telekinesis and teleportation, eh?  Meh.”  He waved a dismissive hand at the magical pony.

His sister squealed, “That’s so cool Twilight!”  This outburst completely ruined his reaction, as it seemed to inflate Twilight’s ego.

The unicorn continued, “But above all of us are Alicorns.  They’re ponies with both wings and horns.  They can do everything Pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns can do.  Princess Celestia is an alicorn, and she has the power to raise and lower the sun.”  Twilight pointed a hoof at the orange orb high in the sky.

“Really?  I always assumed the sun just moved on its own…”  Malcolm sighed in disbelief.  Despite books on the subject of the Earth and Sun, he had never actually seen the star to decide whether the info was correct or not.

“Princess Celestia’s sister Luna controls the moon at night.”  When the pony didn’t receive a response, she continued, “And the only other alicorn I know of is Princess Cadence.  She has the power to manipulate and intensify the love in a pony’s heart.  And she’s my sister-in-law.”  The unicorn’s grin stretched far across her face as she thought about her brother’s wedding a few months back.

Loralee sighed, “She can control love?  What a beautiful power!”  Her eyes shined brightly in curiosity and imagination.

The older sibling chuckled, “It’s no wonder why your brother fell in love.”

Twilight was about to make a comment on his remark when their food arrived to stop her.  The waiter placed each creature’s respective order in front of them and took a handful of bits from the unicorn before trotting back into the building.  No more words were shared as the humans ravenously consumed the delicious creations in front of them.  While the two siblings tore into their salads, Twilight elegantly nibbled away at her sandwich.  She would stop occasionally to jot something new down on her parchment, but would immediately resume eating before either human could notice.

After roughly ten minutes of pigging out on the succulent fruits and leafy vegetables of their salads, the two foreigners were stuffed to the brim.  They let out content sighs as Twilight quickly downed the remainder of her dish.  With their stomachs taken care of, Twilight wanted to lead the two to her library-home so that they could speak without the presence of curious ears.  The two humans—almost ready to collapse and rest—happily obliged in following her to the tree house.

All three of them settled in and prepared for the unicorn’s personal question and answer session.  After a few minutes of gathering quill, ink, and paper for recording the exchange, Twilight was ready to ask her questions.  However, just as she descended the stairs within the library to rejoin the two foreign creatures, she noticed they had both slipped into dreamland, embracing each other with content smiles plastered on their faces.

Despite the burning curiosity and aching impatience, the unicorn decided to just let the humans enjoy their midday nap.  After all, being cast into a new world couldn’t be easy for the pair of siblings.  She levitated a blanket from one of the upstairs beds and gently tucked it around her guests before exiting the library to pursue one of her many other endeavors… Next Chapter: Bad Memories Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 14 Minutes