“Oh, shit!” Her eyes go wide. “You have a ring!”
“Yep. Forgot to mention that, I guess.” Then I tell her my story and how I got here. And how the rings reacted.
“So they are keys,” Pie says.
“I think so.”
“OK, but before we jump into some unknown trip to the PA woods, I wanna try something.” She walks back over to the closest door and plucks the hovering ring right out the air. Then slips it on her finger before I can stop her.
The door does nothing. “Huh,” I say. “What do you think that means?”
“I think my theory is right. They need a ring and a spell.”
“Then why did Granite Springs appear to me?”
“I dunno. It’s different, I guess.”
“Hmm. It’s possible that this isn’t my power. Not completely, at least. It’s possible that I have limits.”
“It’s possible I have limits, too. Let me check.” She takes a deep breath, rolls her eyes up like she’s thinking hard about something, and says, “A horn, a hoof, an eye, a bone. An open door, a place unknown.”
I point at her. “Oh, that’s good.”
“A trip to town, a candle shop. There and back in one quick hop.”
The empty door in front of us is no longer empty. Instead, it opens up to the stupid candle shop.
“Oh, fuck!” Pie takes a step back. “People!”
But it only takes a moment to realize that they can’t see the door, or us.
Pie and I look at each other. I take her face in my hands and stare into those water-blue eyes of hers. “Holy shit, you magnificent wood-nymph beast! You did it!”
“Oh, my God. This is crazy!”
“We have doors, Pie! Doors that can take us anywhere!”
“We’re free, Pell! Free!”
We both sigh and look at the door. Then she slips the ring off and the candle shop disappears. We look at each other again, smiling so big.
“Wanna go on a date to the PA woods?” I ask.
Pie giggles. “I would love to.”
I take her hand, lead her over to the door, and we walk through.
When we come out on the hillside, our hooves crunch in a layer of pine needles. But I look down at them—
“Holy good luck, Batman!” Pie exclaims. “I have feet!” She stomps them. “And shoes!” Then she pats down her body. “And clothes!”
She is dressed in the clothes she arrived in. Even the flannel. And this makes both of us snort. “You’re a slutty schoolgirl, Pie. A naughty, slutty, schoolgirl.”
“Pell! I’m human again!” Then her eyes go even wider. “And so are you!”
And yep, sure enough. When I look down, I am human.
“I wanted to burn this outfit,” Pie says. “But right now, I’ll take it. And you!” She points to me and her lips suddenly become pouty. “Is this how you always look when you go into town?”