I should have known better. The fact that I didn’t know how to use magic wouldn't stop Twilight from trying to return home. After she dried herself, we sat down, and she started to teach me the basics of magic. Magic was the forming of thoughts into matter. The horn functioned as a catalyst to project the thoughts onto the object. It was fortunate that I was a good student by nature. In my whole school life, I never did homework and still got good grades throughout that time. My advantage was that I always could easily memorize things, allowing me recall it anytime I wished. In the middle of her small monologue, she made me bring her a pen and paper and drew something which had a faint similarity with an ancient rune or an old scripture

“This is the basic form of levitating.” She added more symbols and wrote down some explanations as well. “When you add these, the object keeps floating without further magic input. Therefore, this spell drains more power.” I just nodded. I only understood half of what she told me. Just like back in biology class. Only god knows how much I hated that subject. I turned around and faced the small log of wood we used as a test subject. In my mind, I crafted the runes from the paper, but nothing happened. During some of Twilights explanations, I doubted that I could use magic at all. I was human after all, and humans didn’t have magic. I kept practicing for a while with Twilight giving me some advice until she felt the urge to eat something.

I showed her the way to the fridge and gave a suggestion for her to get a slice of bread. I focused on the log again which I wanted to set on fire instead of levitating it, but Twilight’s screaming brought me back to reality.

“What's wrong?” I trotted over to her and took a peek into the normally empty fridge. She pointed at the salami.

“Is it what I think it is?” I knew by now that ponies were herbivores, but I wouldn't have imagined that they would have reacted that extremely.

“Well, humans are omnivores. So yes, that is meat. Salami to be exact. It’s a particular mixture of fat and meat,” I answered dryly. In Equestria, there were also animals which I assumed consumed meat. There was the manticore in that one episode and also the hydra which surely hadn’t have the intention of asking the Mane Six to pick some leaves for it.

“And you're not afraid of them?” She was shivering a bit. “I mean, did they never try to eat you?” I had gone through a lot in my life. Laughed at, beaten up, or hurt in other ways, but not once had somebody tried to eat me.

“No… why should they? There are only a few people who like horse or pony meat, and I doubt that anyone of them would eat a talking one.” That didn't really help her to calm down; it seemed to make the situation worse instead.

“There are ponies who can't talk and humans eat them?” She sounded horrified. I had really dug myself into a hole.

“How can I explain? Ponies don't have free will. They can't talk and just follow their instincts. They don't have a personality.” Small tears ran down Twilight’s cheeks.

“That doesn't give them the right to eat them! They also have feelings, and every life is precious.” In my life, I had to deal with several vegetarians, and usually I countered their speech about the morality of eating meat. With Twilight, things were different. She was exposed to the supposedly cruelty of a different world she didn't know. It didn't feel right, but there was no other way out for me.

“Twilight, plants are alive as well, and you still eat them, right? For the humans in this world, it's the same. But there are also humans who renounced the eating of meat.” I could see in her eyes that she wanted to say something, but she remained silent. I brought her the bag with bread out of the fridge, and after I opened the bag with my tongue, I passed her a slice. I closed the fridge and started to concentrate on the log of wood again while Twilight stood next to the fridge and slowly chewed her slice of bread. I don't know when, but a short time later, she fell asleep, her fur still moist from the tears she had shed.

It was one of the reasons why beings like her didn’t belong here. How terrified would she be if I told her of the misery in this world? I imagined all of this so differently. But this wasn't the time for complaining. In order to bring Twilight back home and to visit Equestria, I had to learn how to use magic. By thinking of how it would be in Equestria, my brain always got really creative. I imagined renting a small flat somewhere and spending my weekends there. I never thought of staying there forever. My family and my friends were here, and they were very important to me. In some fanfics, the protagonist always wanted to stay without worries, but I always found that to be unreal. Also, all of those persons were in some way a mental wreck, so much so that I had started to think I had to be at the bottom to get to Equestria.

The small clock on the wall said two o'clock, and I knew that my brother would soon come home. I wanted to ask him to buy salad and also to make some afterward. Speaking of the devil, the door opened, and not my brother, but Simon, one of his friends, stood in the doorstep.

“And your brother is really one of those horses?” he said, followed by a laugh. Two more friends of his came into the corridor followed by Nils. As soon as I saw Simon, I laid down still on the floor, hoping they would mistake me for a plushie, but if Nils told them everything, it would be useless.

“Dude this is gonna be fun,” said the other guy I knew as Dodi. They opened the glass door of the corridor and entered the living room. Dodi nearly stepped on me because he didn't see me. Instead of acting like a plushie, I now tried to act like I was asleep. I hoped it would hold them off from whatever they wanted to do. He picked me up as ungently as I could imagine and passed me over to Simon. Nils walked through the room and spotted the sleeping Twilight on the couch.

“Here is another one. Where did Timo find this?” He lifted her into his arms. Dodi walked over to him and lifted her tail. The only thing I could think of the whole time was ‘please don't wake up, Twilight’.

“Look here, it's a girl! Just became a pony and already has something to jack up,” said Dodi as the three started to laugh. I was raging inside, but against the three of them, I had no chance in that moment.

“Come on, guys, let's put our plan into action,” Dodi said as they mobilized.

“Where are the keys for his car?” asked Simon, who still held me in his arms. The key was still dangling off my neck, right under his nose. Of course Nils saw it and took it from me. They wanted to make fun at our cost and use my car for it? I had enough of this.

“Are you insane? What are you doing?” I hissed at Nils, whose face was just above mine

“You’ll see.” He grinned. “This is going to be fun. Don't be such a poor sport.” He patted my head and went with Twilight in his arm downstairs to the front door. Nils usually wasn't like that but those friends of his… And I was a bad influence, yeah? I wanted to free myself from Simon’s grip, but it was too tight.

“Be a well-behaved horsey,” he said to me as if he was talking to a dog. Outside on the driveway, Nils handed Twilight over to Sven, the fourth member of the group and sat himself on the driver's seat. Dodi and Sven sat on the back seats, and Simon sat on co-driver's seat with me.

Nils turned the key, and my old Cio came to life. We drove down the driveway, and about two minutes later, we reached the main road. On our journey, we drove through many small villages until I finally had an idea where we were going. I kept trying to break the Simon’s grip, but it was useless.

“Next stop: Toys'R'us!” Nils announced happily. He took the first parking spot he could find, and they got out of the car. Twilight was still sleeping, but I knew that would change soon. Some days ago, there was an advert in the local newspaper that on the occasion of the royal Canterlot wedding, “My little Pony” products had fifty percent off this week. I had actually planned to buy some, but I doubted that I would have that opportunity today. Nils and his friends headed towards the entrance, and I knew exactly what they were up to. The whole shop was crowded with little girls looking for toys. Their mothers were sitting aside in a small café which was just for them. Nils and his friends brought us to the vague center of the building. Between some Barbie shelves, they put us down, and Nils took a deep breath.

“Look kids! Two life-sized ‘My Little Ponies’ toys!” he shouted, and they were gone faster than I could look. They ran as if the devil was behind them towards the exit. A couple of seconds later, I could see them standing outside and lighting up their cigarettes. Suddenly, my view was blocked by two tiny legs and a skirt.

“Oh, this one's so sweet!” screeched a little girl and tried to pick me up. I didn't let her and trotted over to Twilight, trying to ignore the little girl as much as possible, but her high pitched voice made it impossible. I shook Twilight. I don't know whether my shaking or the scream made her wake up, but at least she was awake again.

“Eh... what?” she stammered, and then she saw me and the screaming girl. “Timo, what happened?” As fast as she could, she was on her hooves again, ready for whatever was to come.

“Twilight, run!” I yelled and ran as fast as I could. Several others joined the one little girl and started to stare at us, but they couldn't do it for long because we rushed round the next corner. In the next corridor, there were Lego and other building blocks of every color and shape.

“What in the name of Celestia is going on?” Twilight screamed into my ear.

“My brother....” We turned round the next corner and were in the computer compartment. They weren't the usual ones though, only those educational computers. ”He pulled a prank on us.”

“Why are these little humans chasing us then?” Again, we went around a corner. This time, the shelves were filled with diapers. The horde was still close on our hooves.

“Die Horde rennt sie macht alles nieder...” I sang a bit too loudly, which earned me a weird look from Twilight. “These are kids, fillies if you want, and they chase us… well, because they think we're toys.” We were now running through the department for toy guns.

“How did they come up with that?” she yelled, and it was obvious that she didn't like the idea of being a toy, especially after I had told her some hours ago that humans do, in fact, eat horse meat. A bunch of humans chasing her was the last thing she must've wanted. We went into another corridor filled with consoles, but I was more focused on what was lying ahead: the exit. Nils and his friends were still standing there and were watching how we got chased. I could see them grinning at us.

I ran down the corridor, and we were just to cross the main alley when I saw the department ahead of us: “My little Pony”. I turned right and followed the main alley to the next corridor but not without checking that Twilight was still following me. Luckily, she was, and so we went down the corridor. The cashier looked rather bored until she saw me and Twilight and, of course, the horde of little girls which were running after us. And I could swear that, to our left, there were two elderly men in the “My little Pony” corridor, who pointed a finger at us, not believing what they just saw. We ran past the confused cashier and stopped in front of the glass door which blocked our escape route.

I looked up and saw that the sensor didn't measure us. Of course, the door was configured to only open for adults so that kids couldn't leave the shop without their parents. Twilight started to panic because the door didn't open. With a look back, I saw that one of the two men slowly came over to us.

“Isn't that???” he yelled and poked his buddy with his elbow. The kids just ran past them as I got an idea.

“Hey, bronies! Come and get your little pony!” I shouted at them and spanked my flank. Twilight’s panic nearly doubled, and she was just about to run away. “Stay here; trust me,” I said to her, but she wouldn't have stayed if it weren't for my hoof on her tail. The two guys ran past the kids and the counter. It was at that very moment the alarm went off. They still had blind bags in their hands that triggered the security system, but as they ran to us, they also opened the door. Twilight and I sprang through the doors just before one security guard blocked them. I slowed down and stepped outside into the fresh air. It was afternoon by now. Nils and his friends were still standing on the left side of the entrance and were celebrating their little prank. I signalled for Twilight to follow me and slowly stepped over to them.

“Have you lost your mind?” I shouted as loud as I could. I didn't care for people that could see us in the parking lot. I was pissed off. “Do you know what could've happened?” Nils bent over to me and smiled brashly.

“Come on, Timo, that was just too hilarious. You would've done the same to me.” I pulled Nils with my hoof a bit closer so that he was the only one who could hear me.

“I don't care that you pulled a prank on me, but Twilight there....” Nils looked up and grinned at her. “She is from another world and was frightened to death.” I let go of him, and the first thing he did was to straighten his jacket. I gave him the most venomous glare I could. He rolled his eyes and pushed me aside, stepping up to Twilight. She was quivering so much that she looked like a ball on the ground just like Fluttershy did sometimes. Now I realized how afraid she must've been.

“Hey!” Nils kneeled down and nudged her. “I didn't mean any offense; I was just trying to mock my brother.” His smirk was carved into his face. Twilight slowly looked up to him, and seconds later, she was on her hooves again. The next thing I heard was a meaty thud and Nils falling onto the ground. Twilight walked past him and joined me. She had smacked him so hard that he was rubbing his right cheek. His friends became silent and looked down on me and Twilight. I guided her to the car and just before we reached it, I turned around to Nils.

“Come on, Nils, we're leaving.” I opened the rear door and climbed into the trunk. Twilight followed me, and shortly after, all of us were back inside, driving home.

During the whole drive, nobody said a word, and I was still sitting with the shivering Twilight. I didn't know how I could explain my brother’s idiotic prank, so I hoped that I would have time to think about it. Please let her be too tired to ask any questions.

Author's Notes:

* The sentence "Die Horde rennt sie macht alles nieder..." is from a German song about the World of Warcraft fraction "the Horde". Translation for this would be something like: "The horde is running and destroys everything in his way."
If you want to listen to it, here is the link: Die Horde rennt @ Youtube

This time thanks to Darth Keks for the translation.

Edited by JBL!