Wanted

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

Chapter 1

My mind is bouncing crazily in my skull. I have to hide in the very trailer that Trixie and I performed our shows, but now this ‘thing’ is in my place. I do not know how this could have happened, but I will not let him take over the life that my friends had saved. Except this might not be the best idea, but what else can I do? I can’t just show myself to them, or maybe they’ll think that I’m not the real one. I clench my fists together as I anxiously wait against the wall along the doorway for this imposter to step inside the trailer. I can hear them muttering from behind the wall and can sort of make out what they’re saying. “Are you excited? Because I sure am! We can go visit Candle Light and her Mother and see how they’re doing. I’m sure she’ll be just as excited to see us don’t you think?” Trixie asks.

“Oh they sure are going to be in for a surprise. I’m sure that we’ll just brighten their day.” Says my double.

“Oh I hope so.” Suddenly there’s a silence, and then he speaks up.

“What is this for?”

“I’m just . . . so happy you’re still here.” I shake my head while trying to keep myself from barging into the stage room. I need to keep calm; I’m going to get to the bottom of this one way or another. “Well, I’m going to get us moving. You can go and rest.” Just then I hear the knob of the door beginning to turn. This is it; the moment has come. No turning back now. I take in a deep breath and try to flatten myself out as much as possible against the wall as to not be noticed. Aireal steps through the doorway and thankfully doesn’t notice me, but he will once he turns around. This is it; I need to make my move now as he closes up the trailer. Just as I am about to call to him he says something aloud to himself.

“Shine Village will sure be in for a surprise. I really think they need to ‘lighten’ up.” He chuckles, and I cover my mouth to hide my gasp and hold back the words I was about to say. Whatever he’s planning to do to Shine Village can’t be good by the sound of it. I can’t let him get there; this is it, it’s now or never. I sneak up behind him as he wiggles the latch back into place and locks the door. I wrap my arm around his throat and begin to tighten my grip. He starts thrashing about struggling for air; I find that he is much stronger than I had anticipated. He forces me to slam back against the wall as the gears and tumblers start turning throughout the wagon. My back may be a bit sore, but that’s not going to get me to let go. He jabs his elbow several times into my side as each one feels like a stab into my lungs. I can feel my grip weakening, and so does he as he takes the chance to break free and face me. I never thought that I’d have to stare into my own eyes, but now that I am, it feels like a new type of fear I have yet to experience. At first he stares at me in anger, but his expression changes to amusement. “Oh, it’s just you. How’ve you been?” I don’t even bother to answer as I hold my body in a defensive stance prepared for anything he may try. “Oh right, what was I thinking? It isn’t normal to talk to yourself am I right?”

“. . . Y-You’re not me. Just what are you?” I ask nervously.

“Not me? Not me?! I look like you, sound like you, I’m pretty sure that I am me. In fact, you might consider me to ‘new’ you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well just look at you. No offense to myself but, you’re trembling like a fearful little animal! Now look at me, do I look afraid? I’m here to replace you, we don’t need you anymore. Your time here is up, and now it’s my turn.”

“I won’t let you. Trixie is my friend and I won’t let you take her away from me.”

“You sound so confident in yourself. Trixie already believes that I am the real you, what makes you think she’ll believe you? Trixie is my friend now, this whole life that used to be yours is now mine. Except for one problem, you. So I need to make the appropriate correction, by eliminating you for good.”

“As long as I’m still standing there’s no way I’m going to let that happen.”

“Well then, let’s fix that.” In the blink of an eye he throws a kick into my side, the one he repeatedly jabbed his elbow into. I cringe in pain as he grabs me by the collar of my jacket and launches his knee into my stomach. Down on the ground I try to regain my composure as he paces around my body. Just then he throws another kick up into my stomach. “What is this? Before you were doing so much better! Now you’re not even trying. Come on, here let me help you up.” He carefully stands me back up and tries to hold me steady as I cannot keep my balance. “There, are you feeling alright?”

“Y-You won’t get away with . . . whatever you’re going to do to Sh-Shine Village.”

“Oh don’t you worry about that little place. I’m just going to brighten their day up a bit.”

“W-Why? I thought it was me you wanted?” I struggle to say.

“Yes I know, but it’s all in good fun! Now you’re in no condition to keep this up, so I think it’s time you lay back and relax.” He reaches up and unhooks the latch before the door falls and skids along the dirt path as the wagon is moving. “I’m afraid I have to say farewell for now, but don’t worry. I know we’ll be meeting each other again soon. But, do you really want to show yourself around here again after what just happened? Think about it.” With one swift punch to the side of my head I fall out of the wagon and tumble onto the dirt path as the wagon leaves. Lifting my aching head I see him gingerly waving at me before lifting the trailer door back up. I feel so woozy, but I can’t just lay here. I need help, but who can I go to? Valiari is all the way in the swamp and there’s no way I’ll be able to find it without getting lost. Ponyville, maybe I can find help there. It seems to be my only chance. Maybe that purple pony . . . Twilight, I believe her name was, is at her library. It’s the only glimmer of hope I have, and I can’t waste time laying here. I push myself through the pain and barely stand myself up. I drag myself down the dirt path back the way I came grasping my side and trying to keep my thoughts straight. This path feels like it stretches on forever, but at the first sight of the little cottages I try to painfully jog the rest of the way. Passing by all the cottages in search of that library other ponies stare at me through their windows or along the path as I pass by. I can hear them whispering to each other wondering what I am, but I ignore them all. My mind is only focused on finding Twilight hoping that maybe she can help me. With every step I take it feels like a brick is bouncing around inside my skull, and a shard of glass is poking into my lungs. Then I see it, the big tree that has been transformed into a building Valiari told me to find back in the beginning. Finally feeling some sort of relief in my thoughts, but not my body, I lean against the front door and begin to knock incessantly. Glancing back as I still feel many pairs of eyes watching me the other ponies stare at me confused.

As the front door opens I find that the little purple dragon I hid from when I first came here answers. At the sight of me he shrieks and slams the door shut before I could even utter a word. “Twilight! There’s something at the door!” He screams.

“Who is it Spike?”

“I don’t know but it’s hideous and strange!”

“Really now. . .”

“Twilight wait it could be dangerous!”

“Uh-huh, I think you may be overreacting Spike.”

“But it was freaky looking! It looked like bad news to me!” The door knob turns and Twilight opens the door with a confused expression on her face that changes to surprise.

“Oh it’s you! Spike there’s nothing to worry about it’s not dangerous. Come on in. I’m glad to see you actually knocked before stepping in instead of using the window.” Twilight jokes. I limp myself inside and Twilight quickly takes notice of my injuries. “What happened to you? I thought you and Trixie were going away to other places, so what are you doing here? Here, sit down.” Twilight leads me over to a chair and I painfully sit down.

“You know this thing?!”

“Yes, remember when I told you something broke in a while ago?”

“Wait, it was that thing?”

“That’s right.”

“And you’re friends with it?!”

“Well not necessarily, but I don’t think he’s here to cause harm. It looks like he ran into a little bit of trouble and could use some help.”

“Alright, fine. You take care of the book thief while I go and make friends with a bank robber.” Spike then storms off up a set of stairs without another word.

“Don’t mind him; he’s always a little cranky in the morning. Anyway what happened to you? Why aren’t you with Trixie?”

“I uhh . . . got separated. C-Can you tell me how I can get to Shine Village?” I ask nervously. Now that I think about it I’m not even too sure if I can tell Twilight what happened. If she were to find out how do I know she would even believe me. Perhaps I should just see if she can give me directions and I’ll figure something out from there.

“But where did all these bruises come from? I mean you can barely stand.”

“I accidentally . . . umm . . . fell out of the wagon and . . . I fell down a rough hill. Please, can you tell me how to get to Shine Village?”

“Well all you have to do is take the path out to the forest. Follow it straight, then the next right after should lead you in the right direction.”

“Th-Thank you.” I say trying to hurriedly get up and leave.

“Wait you’re hurt! Don’t you want to just rest for a while?”

“N-No I can’t. Really I . . . must be going.” I say in an attempt to escape, but she uses her magic to slam the door in front of me.

“You’re behaving very strangely and I want you to tell me why.”

“Wh-What makes you think that?”

“Well for starters you come to my library barely able to walk, I don’t think a little tumble down a hill could do that to you. Secondly you deny my suggestion for you to rest and still you’re trying to leave in a big hurry. Now why don’t you tell me what’s really going on.”

“. . . I-I can’t.”

“And why not?”

“Because you probably won’t believe me.”

“Please, you don’t know about the things that I have gone through. I think at this point I could believe almost anything. Just tell me what happened, I promise I won’t jump to conclusions.” I’m a little hesitant, my voice wants to speak up but I won’t let it. There’s no way she could believe it. “. . . Can you at least tell me what happened to get you this injured?”

“. . . Well, I did it . . . I mean I myself didn’t do it but I, n-not me, did it. . .” Twilight simply stares with one eyebrow raised trying to piece together what I had just said. As a matter of fact I myself am confused by what I had said. “. . . I see. . . Have you been feeling a bit under the weather lately?”

“No! I just . . . ! It’s really hard to explain.” Twilight at this point is looking at me with a mixture of fright and worry. She thinks I’m losing my mind and any minute now she’s about to dismiss me as insane. Okay, I just need to take a deep breath and tell her. Maybe she will understand.

“Okay I’ll just . . . go ahead and say it. Out there . . . is some kind of ‘double’ of me. He-He looks like me, sounds like me, but he’s not me. . . He’s trying to take over my life.”

“. . . And the injuries?”

“I tried to . . . he did this to me.”

“Now let me make sure I’m understanding this correctly. You have a double, and he’s trying to take over your life. You tried to subdue him I’m supposing and he attacked you. Is that about right?”

“. . . Yes.”

“I see, and you’re positive you’re not feeling ill?”

“I’m sure-please I’m telling you the truth! H-He said he was going to do something to Shine Village and I can feel time is running out!”

“. . . This is a joke isn’t it? It’s some sort of prank.”

“No! I-I’ll prove it to you! Let’s go to Shine Village and-and you can see for yourself! If I’m wrong then you can just leave me, go back home, and you will never see me again!” Twilight glances around the room thinking to herself, I can feel I’m getting closer to gaining some of her trust I just need to beg a little bit more. “Please, what else can I do for you to believe me?”

“. . . If you really are telling the truth; then why would you go after them, not only in this condition, but even after what he did to you?”

“Becau-. . .” I find myself pausing out of pain from a small movement of turning back towards her. “Because I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”

“. . . Alright, then let’s go.”

“R-Really?”

“Yes, but first let me try to ease the pain first then we can leave.” Twilight casts a spell from her horn in the form of a misty orange cloud that soaks into my body. In an instant most of the pain has subsided, and now I can breath without a stabbing feeling in my lungs. However, I can still feel remnants of soreness throughout my bones. “Now we can go, I hope I’m making the right choice by trusting you. You seem a little strange, but . . . a part of me believes you’re telling the truth. Spike! I’m going to make a trip to Shine Village! I may be back soon!”

“Oh! So now you’re going out with it?! What’s next?!”

“Spike please! . . . Okay, let’s go.” I follow Twilight out of the library until we finally get back on the dirt path leading into the forest. The sun is hanging high in the sky as it sneaks through the clusters of tree branches that stretch over us. The sounds of wind rustling through the leaves and birds singing behind the trees feel calming; but in the back of my mind I cannot hide from the questions bouncing about. I can’t stop thinking about that moment when I looked straight into my own eyes. It was like looking into a mirror, and a horrifying one at that. Along the way neither she nor I speak a word, the silence feels just so strange I feel the need to break it. Twilight was right, even if she let me go what would I have done? I was injured and in no condition to even try and fight him again, but that probably wouldn’t have been a good idea considering what he did to me the first time. I feel myself glancing continuously at Twilight compulsively for some odd reason. As if I cannot seem to keep my attention away from her.

“. . . Thank you.” I say breaking the monotony of birds chirping and wind blowing.

“Hm? Why are you thanking me? We haven’t even gotten to the village yet.”

“F-For coming with me.”

“. . . I don’t think we’ve been introduced properly. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and you are . . . ?”

“Aireal.”

“Ah, right . . . well we should be getting close. Is there anything you wanted to talk about in the mean time?” As I dig through my mind for a topic I find myself taking an awkwardly long pause. Nothing is coming to mind. All I can think about is what might happen once we arrive at Shine Village. I can only hope that it isn’t too late, but after the time Twilight kept me in her library I feel that there might not be much hope left. I can also feel that a part of me actually is a bight afraid of Twilight. She’s a completely different pony that I do not even know very well. Unlike earlier when I was trying to get my point across and explain to her everything that has happened, which ran purely off of adrenaline, I can feel my shyness showing itself. “. . . You don’t like to talk much do you?”

“I’m sorry. . .”

“It’s okay, I understand. You know I . . . Wait, what is that?” Twilight gazes out into the distance, and I find myself staring out at a stream of smoke rising from behind walls of trees. “Come on!” Twilight shouts and beckons. We run down the rest of the path until we reach the village, or at least . . . what’s left of it. The smell of smoke fills the air as every last building has been reduced to a smoking pile of ash and support beams. All the ponies are either in tears or in anger, and Twilight immediately trots to the nearest one. The mare herself is covered in a fair amount of ashes mixed with dirt. “Excuse me what happened here?” She asks frightfully.

“Our town’s been destroyed, burnt down to nothing.” The mare’s voice sounds hollow.

“How did this happen? Was it some sort of accident or . . . ?”

“I can assure you this wasn’t any accident. There is nothing that could have caused this around here. Some ponies have a few ideas, but were not too sure yet.”

“Don’t worry; we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“. . . Right.” The mare says while glaring her eyes at me suspiciously. We move away from her and begin exploring the rest of the village.

“. . . Aireal, you were right. Just look what happened. There’s not a single building left standing . . . but this doesn’t mean I’m leaving a ‘double’ as our only answer. Their needs to be a little more investigation. We should ask some of the ponies here what happened in the past hour or so.” As we walk along the ash filled pathway I spot a familiar looking filly with a beige coat sheeted in soot. Candle Light, the little filly Trixie and I brought up to the stage as a volunteer during one of our shows, and she’s just standing around glancing back and forth everywhere as if looking for someone.

“Hey! Candle Light!” I call.

“Aireal? What-where are you going?!” As I quickly walk towards her she screams at the very sight of me.

“Mommy! Daddy!” She cries.

“No, no, no Candle Light listen! I-It isn’t what you think!”

“Stay away from me monster!”

“Little filly just relax okay? We’re just here to figure out what happened.” Twilight says in an attempt to calm her, but she remains fearful.

“Hey! What’s going on here?!” A strong male voice shouts. A stallion with a vanilla white coat and a dull orange mane trots up to us standing in front of Candle Light to protect her.

“Oh, sir this is just a misunderstanding. We’re just here to figure out what happened.”

“It was him Daddy! He did it!”

“What darling? This thing?” He asks pointing his hoof at me as my heart begins to sink. “Hey . . . it’s you! You and your little unicorn friend came here earlier!”

“Now sir I can assure you he isn’t the cause. He’s been with me for the past hour.”

“What is this? Another one of your tricks?!”

“What? No sir I’m—”

“Hey everypony! I think I found who is responsible for all this, right here!” He shouts. All the ponies within the village swarm our location whispering to each other with furious faces.

“Hey it’s that thing again!”

“Who’s its friend?”

“I don’t know but I think they’re working together!” As they shout and surround us I begin to fall into a pit of fright, but Twilight still tries to use reason.

“Now everypony just settle down. We are not behind this; we just want to help.”

“Liars!”

“Get ‘em!” On that last shout all the ponies charge towards us like a herd of angry cattle.

“Run!” Twilight shouts. We sprint though an opening in the horde and take off down the dirt path with them not too far behind. The both of us are struggling for breath, until I notice something along the path. Wide indentations that dig into the soil, these must be tracks left behind by Trixie’s wagon. If we follow them we’re sure to find it! As I turn to follow the tracks I find that Twilight is not with me, but is instead headed the opposite direction. The both of us stop and turn back to each other confused. “Aireal! Where are you going?! We need to head back to Ponyville and find some help!”

“But there are tracks leading this way! If we follow them we might find their wagon! We won’t have time if we go back!”

“Aireal!” She tries to beckon me to follow her, but between the choices I believe that we could have a chance at catching them if we follow the tracks. With the mob drawing closer I choose to turn around and follow the tracks. If Twilight chooses to go back to Ponyville then that is her choice. Even if the whole mob chooses to focus all of their attention on me I will not stop; I cannot stop. I will push my body to the limit if it means outrunning them to find this Aireal and Trixie. After seeing what my double did to this poor little town I can only imagine what he could do to the next. If Twilight won’t be there to help me, then at least I will be there to try. I can hear Twilight sigh out of frustration causing me to glance back and see that she is trying to catch up to me. I feel shocked that she actually chose to come with me, perhaps she cares more than I had first thought. I thought for sure she would’ve left me since she doesn’t even know me very well or at all for that matter. From the mob one stallion seems to be trotting faster than the rest and trips up Twilight by biting onto her tail. They both fall to the ground as the rest of the group comes ever closer.

Twilight struggles to stand and run, but he continues to hold her back. I don’t understand; why isn’t she using some kind of spell to break free? Whatever the reason I can’t just watch, I need to help. With my heart beating crazily I run back and try to pull Twilight up, but the stallion will not let go, and the mob is near. Then an idea sparks in my head. I reach into my pocket in the hopes I will find what I am looking for; and once my fingers make contact with the black cloth bag inside I yank it out and toss one of the smoke balls Trixie gave me onto the ground. It creates a huge cloud of white smoke causing the stallion and Twilight to shut their eyes and cough excessively. The stallion releases Twilight as he tries to wave the smoke away from his face. The rest of the mob gets lost in the cloud and they begin to hack as well as trying to ignore it and catch up to us. With Twilight’s hoof in my hand I help her stand, and in a second we are back to running down the path. The mob is still disoriented behind us, and the ponies that chose to ignore it tire out before they even come close to us. Twilight and I escaped, but just barely. Once we are sure we are far enough from the village we stop for a moment to breath. I can’t stop asking myself why Twilight did indeed turn back for me. She could’ve left and had nothing further to do with me. Maybe she thought my decision was right, maybe she really did care about my safety, or just the safety of any other ponies that may fall victim to another catastrophe. Either way, I know now for sure that I have at least gained some of her trust, and perhaps she may believe my story.

Chapter 2

Twilight and I are exhausted, but we can hold a steady walk along the dirt path to follow the tracks. I can feel that Twilight is a bit annoyed and frustrated by her silence and her eyebrows expressing her anger. I feel I should just keep my mouth shut, but the only way to get her to calm down I think would be to apologize. “. . . I . . . I’m sorry.” I say, but she keeps her attention facing forward. Clearly she doesn’t even want to look in my general direction so much as speak to me, but the guilt in my heart is killing me slowly. I am the reason she’s stuck here and if we’re going to be traveling together I might as well try to nurture our relation, what little there is.

“Listen, you had better be right about this. I only turned back at the consideration for any other towns that could suffer the same fate as Shine Village. ‘Not’ for you, and definitely not because of your little fairy tale.”

“. . . Why didn’t you use a spell to break free earlier?”

“Because I will not use my magic against another innocent pony. Do you understand that? Now will you just keep quiet?”

“. . . There’s nothing I can say that could—”

“No. We are just going to keep walking. The town of Gallopsing should be coming up soon, and I don’t want to hear a word out of you until we get there.” I bite my bottom lip out of nervousness. I suppose I won’t even try to speak again, as I am just too afraid. Along the way I even try to keep a fair distance between her and I as we trail down the path. The hot sun beats on my body as I can feel sweat dripping down the back of my neck. It’s beginning to become so hot that steam might as well flow out from my jacket at I tug at my collar. After what feels like hours of grueling heat and walking I can see the roofs of tall buildings rising from the hill up ahead. As we climb up the hill our eyes are met with a wide flourishing city. Compared to Shine Village the buildings here are taller and much more vibrant in color, despite most of them being pigmented with beige. Out from the center of the town several white sparks fly up into the air with a whistling sound before bursting into a wonderful array of color. I can hear the slight sound of ponies cheering; they must be there at this very moment performing. “There it is, and it seems that Trixie just might already be there. We don’t want to attract attention, so we will need to stay hidden. Come on, you will follow my lead. I do not trust leaving you here alone.” She orders.

Under her command I follow closely behind her trying my best as to not be seen by any one. We make our way into the town easily as mostly every pony is gathered at the center of town to witness the show. Twilight and I hug the walls of buildings sticking to the shadows. We try to sneakily cross the concrete paved road but I stumble over the handle of a wheelbarrow carrying a load of apples; and the pony near it whips around in surprise. Twilight bites the back of my jacket and yanks me down to the ground behind the wheelbarrow. She glares at me with anger while the pony looks around curiously before shrugging and facing back towards the crowd. “What part of ‘we don’t want to attract attention’ did you not understand?” She whispers heatedly. Without an answer I stare down to the ground in disappointment of myself. “. . . Forget it. This way, and try not to make any more noise.” We step through a shadowy alley between two buildings. I gain a few moments of relief as the shade provides me with some protection from the sun’s rays. Continuing around the building Twilight stops and holds her hoof out to me to get me to halt. She doesn’t say a word, but is only staring out in the distance as she peers around the corner of the beige-bricked wall. Peering around as well my eyes gain the sight of a large crowd of ponies surrounding Trixie’s stage. She is already performing her magic act casting spell after wondrous spell, then, the moment I am glad we didn’t miss arrives.

“And now, fillies and gentlecolts! Prepare yourselves! For The Great and Powerful Trixie is about to reach out to another realm, and show you all something you have never seen before!” Trixie exclaims to the crowd. As the act usually goes pink smoke begins to fill the stage covering every last inch of it. Then the sound of a nearby door opening and ginger whistling rides in.

“Will you hurry up and take that trash out to the back!” A female voice shouts.

“I am! Guh, she’s always naggin’ at me to do somethin’. If it wasn’t for the pay this job gives me I wouldn’t even be here.”

“Somepony’s coming! Quick hide!” Twilight urges as she trots on to the back of the alley cluttered with silver garbage containers. Her horn begins to glow as she waves it around her body creating a distortion in the air. Around her forms an exact replica of one of the cans, but now I am becoming frantic as I can’t find somewhere for me to hide.

“Twilight! What about me?!”

“Find your own spot to hide!” Glancing left and right around the alley there is only one place I can hide, and that would be inside one of the cans. I lift open one of the lids and hurriedly climb inside. Thankfully it isn’t too full of trash and for the fact that these cans are just big enough for me to squeeze my body into. Closing the lid above my head I can hear his hoof steps drawing near. Suddenly the lid above my head is removed, and my reaction is to just stay still and hold my breath to keep as quiet as possible. The stallion doesn’t say anything, but I am met with the rain of garbage being emptied onto the top of my head dripping down filling the empty space in the rest of the can. He slams the lid back on top of the can and starts to walk away. It’s dark, so I cannot see the slime dripping down my face or the thin cloth that has lodged itself into my mouth. The smell is so appalling that I feel the need to plug my nose, but with whatever sludge is slipping into my palms I prefer to keep it away from my face. After a few sickening moments Twilight’s voice whispers aloud: “He’s gone! You can come out now.” I push the lid up and drop it down to the ground. As I stand myself up from beneath the trash I can now see what I have been bathing in. A napkin has nestled itself in my mouth, and there’s some kind of brown condiment splotched around my face. My jacket is stained in yellow, red, and brown as well as my pants. Some food has lodged itself inside my shoes, and my palms are covered in a clear liquid which I prefer to not know what it is. Disgusted I spit out the napkin as Twilight covers her snout. “. . . You look fine, come on.” I try to keep myself from gagging as I try to brush the small crushed box off from the top of my head. Seeing as how there is nothing else to worry about since I’m covered in guff I reach down into the can and lift up a napkin to my face carefully wiping away the fluid.

I try to lift my leg over the edge of the can to get out, but it gets caught causing the can to topple over with me still in it. A loud bang ensues with Twilight turning around out of a jolt. “Shh!” It’s not like I expected any form of help, so I crawl out from the can wiggling my body to try and shake off at least some of the slime, but instead some of it ends up trickling down inside my jacket. Giving up I take my place again to peer out from the wall and, just as I feared, the show has just ended. “Well, I didn’t see this ‘double’ of yours. I knew I should have just let you leave on your own.” Twilight stands and begins to leave abruptly. I don’t see a point in stopping her, after this I don’t think there’s any way of convincing her. I lean myself against the wall covered in trash and now truly alone. What am I going to do now? I can’t just repeat my previous plan of trying to face him alone. I’ll just get beaten to a pulp before I can even blink. I suppose he’s won, there’s no way I can take him. I guess he was right, he is superior to me. He’s brave, strong . . . everything that I’m not. Once Trixie’s wagon leaves I’ll just leave this town and go. Trixie seems to be happy with him, so as long as she’s happy that’s all that really matters to me I suppose. I should probably hide myself until every pony is gone. I walk back and tilt the can back up before I settle myself back in ignoring the stench. I will hide in here until night cramped up inside so that I can leave without being seen. I will miss them all, Trixie, Valiari, and in a way even Twilight. We may have argued all the way here, but she did care in the beginning. The only question left for me now is where will I go? Ah what does it matter? I shut my eyes as a tear sneaks out from my eye and down my cheek. Then, the sound of trotting erupts from the outside. Great, another load of trash I presume.

“Aireal! Aireal where are you?!” A familiar voice calls out. I can hear several cans being opened from the outside, and then the lid above my head is lifted to reveal Twilight looming over my can. “Oh there you are! Come on out of there!”

“No. I thought you were on your way out.” I say.

“I was but you have to listen—”

“Forget it. You might as well just go and leave me here.”

“Aireal I saw him!”

“. . . What?”

“Yes I saw him! I couldn’t believe my eyes but you were right! He went to the neighboring building with a bag and left without it!”

“W-Well I don’t understa—”

“Will you just come on out of there?! I fear that . . . !” The ground begins to rumble violently as a loud explosion breaks the barrier of the pony’s voices. “Come on; come on!” She shouts while trying to pull me out of the can. Her attempt causes me to fall over and out of the can. With the both of us now on the ground my eyes are set upon a horrifying sight. The very tall building that is next door is slowly tilting downwards towards us. I unknowingly am frozen in fear as Twilight continues to try and pull me away. It feels as though my body has accepted its fate of being crushed down into the concrete. Snapping out this trance I get up and we both start sprinting out from the alley way. The building falls to the ground as a strong burst of air pushes us out from the alley and back down onto the road. Small pieces of rubble bounce off of my back as I wait for the cloud of dust it created upon impact to dissipate. Twilight and I lift up our heads to find that the both of us escaped unscathed, and we are being watched by every pony that was a part of Trixie’s crowd. We nervously stand up with their eyes still glued to us.

“Hey, aren’t you that thing that was just on stage during the show?”

“Yeah it is! What is it doing here?” Out from the buildings more ponies come out to join the crowd.

“Wait a minute . . . I bet that thing is responsible for this!”

“No it’s not! We were just passing by and . . .”

“Yeah right!” One of them breaks in stopping Twilight from continuing.

“Hey I saw that thing sneak over there with a bag! I bet he set a bomb!”

“Monster!” My eyes are then blinded by quick bright flashes as well as Twilight’s. I rub them until the color returns to my sight and I find that a few ponies with cameras are snapping pictures of us continuously blinding my eyes.

“Aireal come on let’s go!” Twilight urges.

“B-But I can’t see!” I shout in distress trying to rub my eyes once again. I can feel Twilight’s foreleg wrap around my arm and she immediately drags me with her. I nearly trip unable to keep my balance as she is moving too fast. I can hear other pony’s voices shouting in anger and trotting after us. I can feel that they are right behind me about to grab hold of my jacket, and I doubt the garbage that is soaked in the cloth won’t be enough to keep them away. We make several twists and turns that only continues to throw me off balance, and a shock of fear bursts throughout my body as I feel something tug at my jacket but quickly loses its grip. After several blinks of the eyes the scene begins to fade in, and my heart rate rises once I notice how many ponies are chasing us.

“You know some smoke to throw them off would really help!” Now coming to the realization I throw my hand into my pocket and throw down not one but a few of the smoke balls. For some reason I can never remember that I have these on hand. We are able to gain a fair amount of distance before Twilight drags me onto another dirt path leading out of town. I slip my arm out from Twilight’s grasp and continue to run on my own. The ponies behind us give up shaking their hooves angrily at us, we may have escaped, but I feel that something worse is waiting for us in the future.

“Twilight we . . . we can stop running now they . . . they gave up.” I say since I notice that we are now far from the town and still she looks deeply frightened still trying to keep a full on sprint. “Twilight!” She snaps out of it and finally decides to slow down to a steady walk.

“Oh . . . right.” After all this running I can barely feel my legs, and I can feel my heart pumping in my chest. “I. . . I saw Trixie’s wagon go this way. Maybe we can catch up to it.” Says Twilight regaining her breath. Again we are now on the path; I don’t think my legs can keep up with this constant walking and running for much longer. Yet we continue to walk down the path without a break. As what feels like hours pass by the heat continues to intensify, and the further we walk down the path I feel that all the plant life is beginning to dwindle. There are becoming less and less plants, so much so that we actually end up leaving the forest and out onto a wasteland of dirt. I can actually see cactuses around the area and small dead patches of grass scarcely placed around the dry soil. My voice is so tired, and my mouth is beginning to become dry. I feel a bit weary about continuing this way.

“Twilight . . . are you sure they went this way?”

“Positive just look at the tracks. They keep going. We’re bound to see them soon. . .” We end up dragging ourselves through the oven as it bakes us to the very core. Turning back I can no longer see the forest, just a barren landscape. I can’t even hold my head up to see what’s ahead, but I expect it to be no different than what’s back there. At this point, it feels like we’re going to wither away out here. But a part of me isn’t afraid, just knowing that Twilight is at least with me relaxes me so much compared to if she weren’t. I feel the desperate need to express to Twilight how grateful I am that she came back for me, but my mouth is so dry and my voice is nearly absent to even mutter a sound. It feels as though I’m only a few feet away from the sun to be experiencing this level of heat. The sound of a hawk’s call pierces my ears as its shadow circles around the cracking soil. A small little grayish brown mouse crawls out from under a stone nearby; staring at it causes me to feel jealous. This little creature can survive in these conditions. All it needs to do is make a hole and it can live out the rest of its life. “Th-That’s the Desert Pocket Mouse . . . It likes to live in wide open desert areas where plant life is rather scarce. Their life span is about a year, and they mainly live off of seeds from creosote bushes like . . . that one right over there.” She says pointing to a bush which to me looks just like any old bush. But the fact that she can just identify and provide a full description for the mouse and the plant astounds me.

“You sure know a lot about animals.” I barely mutter.

“I like to read about the wildlife that inhabits Equestria, so many interesting animals. This little mouse is just one of the thousands of different species of organisms that flourish in all the different parts of the land.”

“Just animals?”

“Well I enjoy a fair amount of history, chemistry, and astrology from time to time.” As she spoke her list of other subjects she also reads about it pushes my amazement even further. She sounds brilliant, and after what she’s told me she must know nearly everything. It makes me feel much lower on the level of intelligence compared to her. As we watch this little mouse scamper about on the ground it nibbles on a little seed it’s carrying in its paws. I take one second to blink and the hawk that has been circling us swoops down and snatches the mouse right from the ground leaving behind a small cloud of dust. Twilight and I jump and watch the bird carry the helpless mouse away. “. . . A-And that was the Red-Tailed Hawk. It prefers to live in wide open areas such as plains or deserts, and mice are a part of its main diet.” We take a second to breathe in what just happened before continuing down the lonely path. Just as I am on the verge of collapsing onto the dirt Twilight calls out to me. “Hey . . . do you see that up ahead?” I painfully lift up my head and squint my eyes to focus on whatever she says is ahead. What comes into view is a few wooden buildings out in the distance.

“I. . . I think so.”

“It could just be a mirage, but what other choices do we have? We just need to walk a little bit further.” Prepared to push myself the extra mile I hear something fall to the ground. I turn and see that Twilight has dropped down exhausted.

“Twi-. . . Twilight come on . . . you can do this.”

“I . . . can’t.” This isn’t good, this little town is in sight and Twilight’s energy is all gone. What do I do; what do I do? I can’t just leave her, so I’ll need to make sure that I’m prepared for the only idea that comes to mind. I crouch down and face my back towards her.

“Here, climb on my back . . . I’ll carry you.”

“A-Are you sure?”

“. . . Yeah . . . don’t worry.” I say worriedly. She pushes herself and leans against my back with her forelegs over my shoulders. I take a deep dry breath, place my hands under her hind legs, and use a good majority of my energy to stand myself up. I realize she’s much heavier than I expected, but I think I can make it. Step after painful step I try to envision the town getting closer and closer. I didn’t think that a horse could become exhausted quicker than something such as me, but there’s no time to think about that right now. After so long I have about reached my limit, I fall to one knee and anxiously lift my head up to see how close I’ve gotten. We are right in front of the town; all the buildings are a mere few yards away. We made it, but just barely. My vision is starting to blur, but I believe I can make out figures moving about towards us. I fall to the ground as my ears catch the sounds of voices.

“Woah woah what do we have here?! . . . Lera come quick some travelers are dyin’ over here!” A stallion’s voice calls out. I can feel Twilight is lifted off of my aching back as I am dragged across the dirt and through a pair of swinging doors into a building. Twilight and I are set down across a wooden floor with a brown ceiling fan spinning above us.

“Rickert what have you brought into my bar?!”

“Lera and I found these two just outside of town go on and get me some water for these two.” The newly found shade plus the fan is already cooling my body off a great deal, but then water is splashed into my face relieving me even further. “Here, drink this.” Says a somewhat thin stallion with a red bandana tied around his neck and a white wide-brimmed hat atop his head. His coat is lightly orange and his mane is brown as well as the mustache on his snout. He hands me a glass of water and I thankfully take hold of it. Quickly I chug it down, the feeling of the cool liquid flowing down my throat is so soothing. Ahead of me is a long slick wooden table with round stools next to it. Behind the counter is a grey stallion thicker than the other. His mane is purely black and he’s wearing an apron while cleaning a glass with a white towel. To my left lays Twilight as the stallion splashes her face with water as well. When she comes to he hands her the glass. Near the door is a shamrock green mare in a white and pink plaid dress. Her mane is a mixture of red and white that sits in a swirly motion. “Ah, the both of you are awake.” Says the stallion. “What would your name be missy?”

“. . . Twilight Sparkle.”

“Well howdy Miss Spickle, and uh . . . what is that odd lookin’ feller over here?”

“Don’t worry, he’s harmless. His name is Aireal. . .”

“Howdy Cereal how are you?”

“. . . Better. Thank you.” I say.

“Oh it’s no trouble we love it when we git visitors! Mah name’s Rickert, and this here is mah wife Lera.”

“Nice to meet you two.” Says Twilight.

“Can you two stand?”

“I-I think so.” Twilight and I stand up feeling refreshed, and I can’t help but notice the stallion behind the counter staring at me frighteningly without even blinking it seems. I turn my attention away from him, but I can still feel him staring.

“Well Ah would just like to be the first to say welcome to our little town! Gee you two are sweatin’ lahk mad! And you Cereal smell lahk a skunk took a trip up yer jacket an’ gone an’ died! Come on, let Lera and Ah show you to tha bucket.”

“The bucket?” Twilight asks curiously as he guides us out of the building.

“That’s right! Tha bucket!” He guides us across the town as other ponies come out of their homes and take notice of us. “Well howdy there eveypony! We got ourselves some company!” He shouts, and soon they all gather outside and join us. Compared to the other towns Twilight and I have been to there aren’t many ponies that live here. “Well, here we are! Tha bucket.” He’s brought us to a very large silver bucket connected to a rod and a lever which are connected through two support beams of wood sticking up from the ground. “Now just stand right here. . .” He sets us underneath the bucket and trots over to the lever. “And now let’s get y’all washed up!” He pulls the lever and the bucket pours gallons of water over our bodies. The surprisingly cold water is so relaxing, and it was actually quite fun. Twilight and I look at each other smiling and laughing as the other town ponies are cheering. Twilight looks a bit silly with her mane falling over her eyes, but her smile makes me feel even happier. “There ya go! Now everypony, allow me to introduce Miss Twilight Spickle and Cereal!”

“Howdy!” They all say in unison.

“’Ey Rickert! Just what is Cereal anyways?” A pony asks from the crowd.

“You eat it all the tahm dummy.”

“No not that! I mean that!” The pony says pointing towards me.

“Oh that! . . . Well Ahm not too sure mahself, but ‘ey we’ve seen stranger things right? Remember that three-eyed Bull Winkle we saw the other day?”

“A what?” Twilight asks.

“Oh yeah, I guess yer right.”

“Now why don’t we make our guests feel welcome and let ‘em stay for the night?!”

“Oh Mr. Rickert I don’t think we can. We really need to catch up to a wagon. As a matter of fact did you see a big show wagon pass through here earlier?”

“Why sure! It went on down over yonder. But come on now you just got here! Look, the sun is headin’ down, so why don’t you two fahn fellers stay for the night?”

“Well . . . we probably could use the rest. . . Aireal? What do you think?” Twilight makes a good point. We just walked through a seemingly endless desert and nearly collapsed from exhaustion. We could use the rest, besides my legs are still aching. I just hope I’m making the right decision. Trixie and my double will need to stop and rest as well, so I think we’ll be fine.

“You’re right. We could use the rest.”

“Yee-haw! That’s the spirit Cereal! We’ll have a guest room made up for ya in a jiffy. For now why don’t you go ahead an’ git acquainted with the rest of tha townsfolk?” Rickert leaves and we begin to mingle with the other ponies. Overall they seem like quite a friendly group to be around. They are just full of jokes and cheer. It feels nice to finally come into a town that doesn’t want to run you out. To be welcomed and almost accepted as one of their own; it’s a nice change. As the sun begins to set and the stars begin to peek out onto the black blanket above Rickert calls out to us. “Hey you two! It’s getting’ late and Ahm sure you two must be tired. Come on in!” We yawn on our way over to what I assume is Rickert’s house as he gives us a quick tour of the place. He shows us the living room which has a rocking chair with thread and weaving needles resting atop the seat, a colorful decorative rug in the center of the room, and a plaid couch off to the side. “Say, before y’all head up ta bed would either you two care for a little snack? Mah wife made a batch of mini apple cakes this mornin’!”

“No, that’s quite alright.” Says Twilight.

“Are ya sure? They’re fresh and real tasty! Come on.”

“Well . . . okay.”

“Alright then follow me into tha kitchen!” He guides us to the kitchen where Lera is busy cleaning up some dishes. We find a big baking pan covered in little yellow pastries with white frosting and an apple slice atop each one. “Well go on don’t be shy!” Twilight and I decide to take one, and biting into it with the taste flowing through my mouth is actually quite incredible. The soft sponge cake and creamy frosting with the flavor of apple is really great.

“Wow, Lera these are great!” Twilight compliments.

“Why thank you dear.” Says Lera flatteringly. Unable to resist Twilight and I decide to take just one more.

“Oh see! Ah told ya you’d lahk ‘em! Come on now let me show y’all to yer room.” He leads us upstairs which has a few photos hanging from the walls of Rickert and Lera together. “And this here will be yer room for tha night.” He opens the door to a cozy little room . . . with one bed. Twilight and I glance at each other awkwardly recognizing the same thing.

“Umm Rickert? There’s only one bed. . .”

“Yeah. . . Eheh Ah fergot ta tell ya ‘bout that. But it’s all we have, this is usually our room, but you two can use it fer tha night.”

“Oh we couldn’t.” Twilight persists.

“Oh yes ya could.”

“No really I would feel really guilty about stealing somepony else’s room.”

“Yer not stealin’ nothin’. Mah wife an’ Ah insist. We’re not gonna have ya’ll scrunched together on tha couch er somethin’. Yer our guests and we are gonna treat ya the best we can. Now go on an’ make yerselves comfortable. Nighty night!” He shuts the door behind us as we stand motionless staring at the bed and then at each other.

“. . . You know Twilight why don’t you take the bed and I’ll just use the floor.” I say breaking the silence.

“No, no I’m not going to force you to sleep on the floor. Why don’t you just take the bed?”

“No, I’m going to feel bad about making you sleep on the floor.”

“Then . . . I guess we’ll just have to share.”

“Alright, that’s fine.”

“It’s fine with me too.” But still neither of us budges.

“. . . I have an idea.” I say. “Why don’t we just sleep with the bed between us? That way neither of us will feel guilty about making the other sleep on the floor since we’re both on the floor.”

“Yeah, that sounds fair. Okay then well, good night then.”

“Yeah you too.” Twilight and I lay onto the floor with the mattress between us. The floor isn’t very comfortable, but as long as it’s fair between the two of us. Suddenly the door bursts open as Rickert sticks his head inside.

“Oh! Ah fergot to tell y’all the second part of the ‘ol sayin’! Don’t let tha bed bugs bi-hey now! Just what do you two think yer doin’?” Twilight and I stare at him without an answer. “Ah don’t think so you two get up an’ lay in tha bed! Well go on!” He urges. We just glance at each other still refusing to move. “If mah wife finds out that she gave you two her room and yer not even usin’ the bed she would git upset, and trust me, you don’t want her upset.” Twilight and I then fess up and start climbing into the bed and under the white sheet. “There, now isn’t that better? You two are crazy tryin’ to sleep on tha cold hard floor. Anyway, good night to y’all.”

“. . . Thank you.” Says Twilight.

“Don’t thank me it’s just common courtesy.” He leaves and closes the door behind him, now Twilight and I are left stiff as boards. The both of us are nearly hanging off the edge as we are afraid to get any closer. Twilight’s eyes are still wide open as she continues to just look all around the room. My body doesn’t even want to move the slightest as she lays across from me. It’s obvious neither of us are going to get some sleep unless we get comfortable, so maybe a conversation can ease some of this awkwardness.

“The ponies here seem to be real nice.” I say.

“Yeah, especially after what they’ve done for us. I don’t know how we’ll be able to repay them.”

“. . . Twilight?”

“Yes?”

“I never got to thank you for coming back for me.”

“Don’t worry about it. I just . . . found it nearly impossible to believe that you had a ‘double’; but when I was leaving I just turned around for a second and . . . I saw him. Scientifically this can’t be possible. . . I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”

“But why do you put up with me? I’ve been blamed for everything and I feel like I’ve dragged you into this.”

“Well I could ask you the same question. After the things I said to you earlier today . . . I didn’t mean it.”

“You don’t have to apologize for that—”

“No I do. I just lost my temper a bit, and I don’t want you to think that I don’t care about what happens to you. But even after all I did, and what I said, you still cared about me. . . How?”

“Because I . . . I was just happy I wasn’t alone. As long as you were there I felt . . . safe. I don’t think I would have even made it this far without you.”

“Now ain’t that sweet?” Twilight and I jolt our heads up to Rickert peaking in the room yet again.”

“Rickert!” Twilight shouts.

“Oh sorry, Ah was just makin’ sher you two weren’t on tha floor agin. But come on Miss Spickle why don’t you give’em a hug er somethin’?”

“Rickert please!”

“Alright alright Ahm goin’ fer good now. G’night ta y’all.” He closes the door and we then lay our heads back down onto the pillows. Despite his interruption I can tell that my body has regressed from the tension as I am able to now lay somewhat comfortably. However Twilight is just now trying to relax by clearing her throat and fixing the blanket.

“. . . Twilight?”

“Y-Yes?”

“Before we got to Shine Village you were wondering why I didn’t talk much, and you were about to say something after that. What were you going to say?”

“. . . Oh, I was just going to say that I understand. I remember when I first moved in to Ponyville. I didn’t have any friends; and I wasn’t very fond of being around anypony. But after a while I began to give in and socialize, and now I have the greatest friends anypony could ever ask for.”

“. . . You miss them don’t you?”

“I do, but it’s not your fault. Aireal . . . I’m going to make sure we get the bottom of this and stop this double of yours from spreading any more havoc. I’m sure you want to be reunited with Trixie as soon as possible, and I’m ready to help in any way I can.”

“. . . Thank you Twilight, you don’t know how much that means to me.”

“You’re welcome . . . Now let’s get some rest. I feel we’re going to need it for tomorrow.” Twilight turns her back to me snuggling under the sheet. After this conversation I can feel a sense of guilt overcome me. I had never thought about Twilight and the separation between her and her friends. From this point on I vow to myself and Twilight that I will make sure she gets her friends back . . . even if I may not regain mine. I’m lucky to have her at my side, and I should be thinking about her as much as I am about my own ordeal. I can feel my eye lids growing heavier, and as they fall I drift away to dream. Only a second of darkness passes before I am awoken by a clicking sound and a light shining on my face.

“Git up you two!” An angry voice shouts. Twilight and I rub our eyes and jolt at the sight of Rickert and Lera with their faces full of rage. Rickert is holding some sort of device made of a long metal barrel that ends with a wooden stalk as his hoof rests against a large metal trigger at the base of it; and he’s pointing it straight at our heads.

“Rickert! What are you . . .? Is that a . . . a weapon?! I-I thought Celestia passed a law banning them!” Twilight cries.

“Well there’s been exceptions. We only use ‘em in case of trouble . . . and you two just walked right into it.” Twilight and I take a horrified glance at each other. Whatever this ‘weapon’ of his is, I feel that our lives may be in serious danger.

Chapter 3

“Now why don’t you put yer hooves up missy . . . and you put yer hands up Cereal!” Rickert commands. Twilight and I nervously follow his order. “Did you two take us fer fools?!”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Twilight pleads.

“Sher ya don’t. Maybe this can clear it up fer ya.” Rickert reaches behind him and pulls out a sheet of paper that reads: WANTED Unicorn and Creature Destructive Duo; Reward 50,000 Bits. In the center of the paper are two side by side pictures of Twilight and I. We gaze at the sheet in shock until Twilight desperately tries to explain.

“No wait! It’s not what you think!”

“Oh Ah think it is!”

“No it’s all a mistake! We’ve been framed we’re not responsible for anything!”

“Ah think yer lyin’!”

“We’re not we’re telling you the truth!”

“Yer lyin’!”

“We’re not we swear!”

“Yyyeee . . . really?”

“Y-Yes . . . !”

“. . . Promise?”

“Yes we promise!” Twilight says while cowering under her forelegs. Rickert then breaks out into a smile and starts to chuckle.

“Whew! That’s good; I actually thought you two were criminals!”

“Ricky what are you doin’? How can you be so sher their not?” Asks Lera.

“Sweetheart Ah just know these things. Ah can see it in ‘em that they ain’t no criminals. You can call it a . . . gift of mine.” Rickert then lowers his weapon and Twilight peeks out to them, and as she notices that it’s safe she sighs out of relief.

“Th-Thank you Rickert.” Says Twilight.

“Oh don’t thank me yet Miss Spickle. ‘Cause Ah don’t think ‘he’s’ goin’ to be convinced.” Rickert says pointing over to the window. Twilight hurries over and brushes aside the white curtains allowing the Moonlight to shine through the glass and upon our faces as we peer down to the ground. Near the entrance to town are a couple of stallions talking to a few of the local ponies. One has a dark brown coat with a short black mane. He’s wearing a black suit and hat with a notepad in his jacket pocket. His inner shirt is white with a black neck tie. The stallion near him is grey with a shaggy blonde mane, and he’s wearing a deep blue suit jacket as well with a white inner shirt and black neck tie. Their appearance alone suggests they are of authority, and thus fear is instilled in my mind.

“Who is that?” Twilight asks.

“His name is Detective Rhinehart if Ahm correct. He came with this here poster askin’ if we darn did see ya.”

“We’re going to need a plan to escape. This place is so wide open they’ll see us from any angle.”

“Well Ah’ve got a plan!” Rickert exclaims excitedly.

“Shh Shh!” We all attempt to get him to keep quiet with our eyes full of fright.

“Oh right, sorry. Anyhoo Ah think Ah’ve got the perfect plan.”

“And what would that be?” Twilight asks.

“Okay, so Ahm gonna pretend that Ahm about to hand you two over to mister detective, Ah’ll pretend to have mah gun malfunction and start shootin’ all over the place! My friends down there will make them keep their heads down, and while they’re distracted for as long as possible you two are gonna hurry on outta here!”

“. . . That’s actually a pretty good plan.” Twilight says admittedly. “But what if we don’t get enough time and they catch up to us?”

“Don’t worry about that, good ‘ol Rickert’s gotcha covered! Ah’ll have Lera go an’ have our friends Buckley an’ Gingerhorn get a carriage ready for you two on the other side of town. So you just run, git in, and they’ll pull ya outta town!”

“Well, alright. Let’s do it.”

“Lera, go an’ let ‘em know fer me would ya please?”

“Right away.” Says Lera before leaving the room.

“Alright y’all . . . are we ready ta do this?”

“I think so, Aireal?” Twilight asks, and I nod my head in reassurance.

“Then just stand right here in front’a me. Keep yer hooves, an’ hands, up. An’ let’s git goin’.” Rickert points his gun to our backs and urges us to move forward. We leave the house into the surprisingly cooled air towards the detective and his partner. The detective stares at me intently while his partner excitedly smiles and waves at us . . . which kind of confuses me. The detective notices his behavior and nudges his elbow into him; he then stops and tries to keep himself looking professional. I notice Rickert giving the few locals nearby subtle winks and nods.

“Well, so it’s you two that have been up to all this trouble huh?” Asks the detective.

“We’re innocent detective.” Says Twilight.

“Yeah, tell that to the two towns you destroyed. Now come with us, we’re taking you back to the station so we can—” A loud bang erupts from behind Twilight and I, and we duck down out of fright.

“Woah nelly! Look out now!” Rickert shouts.

“What are you doing?!” The detective shouts.

“Somethin’s wrong with mah gun keep yer heads down!” The few locals force the detective and his partner to duck and keep their heads down while Rickert fires his weapon crazily into the air. “Git down git down! – You two come back any time ya here? – This thing ain’t workin’ right!” In a flash Twilight and I are bolting down through the town towards the wooden carriage just ahead. We hop inside as the two stallions take notice of us.

“Hey! Stop right there!” The detective shouts while trotting towards us.

“Hold on you two it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!” One of the stallions advises. They kick up their forelegs and gallop down the steep hill ahead. Immediately we gain so much speed that with a quick glance back the detective gives up and throws his hat down onto the ground out of frustration. I turn back facing forward feeling relief, but my fear arises yet again at the sight of how fast we are rolling through the dust. I can feel my fingers digging into the wood with my teeth clenched out of fear. Twilight’s and my eyes widen with fear, but the two stallions cheer. Eventually we begin rolling so fast that the stallions fall backwards into the carriage with us as it rolls now on its own. Twilight and I are shouting fearfully, but the stallions turn around to us smiling. “Relax you two! Enjoy the ride!”

“Yeah! The best part is comin’ up! Yee-haw!” They both raise their hooves into the air as they continue to cheer. I find that the plant life is returning to the land, and I wait nervously for the “best part” they spoke of to arise. Suddenly we drop down into a creek and then back up onto the descending hill. As the water splashes over us I thought that we would still be screaming in terror, but instead Twilight and I are laughing. Soon, I find that we are cheering along with the two stallions. The trees around us thicken into bigger walls than before as we gradually come to a stop. All of our cheering settles to a short chuckle as we then climb out from the carriage. “Ha-ha! Told ya it’d be fun!”

“Will we see y’all again?”

“Yes, yes you will.” Twilight assures them as she calms her giggling.

“Alrighty! Oh, and before we go, down there is the town of Neon Brite. We hope ya find that wagon you were talkin’ about!”

“So long an’ good luck!” They shout. Twilight and I wave them goodbye as they turn their carriage away and begin to pull it back towards town.

“Thank you!” Twilight shouts. “Wow . . . that was . . . fun! But, now we’ve got a detective after us. We can’t waste any time we have to move on . . . Ah, Rickert was right, there are tracks still here. Come on let’s follow them.” Twilight and I walk the dark path enjoying the slight breeze against our faces. My body should be feeling weak and weary from the lack of sleep, but the ride has woken me up so much that I barely notice a difference. I cannot stop thinking about how much fun it was, but it reminds me of all the other times of fun I had with my only other friends. It reminds me how for the time being they are not really ‘my’ friends any longer. . . They’re ‘his’. If only I could still be with them to experience this feeling. The sounds of leaves rustling and wind whistling calms my senses helping my mind veer away from those thoughts for the time being. From the dark horizon colors begin to creep into the sky. The further we walk the more intense they become. They are like clouds shrouding the stars as they emanate from the glowing town below. This splendor of color feels like candy to my eyes as I continue to stare. “There it is; Neon Brite. Wait . . . do you see that just over there?” Twilight asks pointing near the entrance of town. Gazing out I notice a long rectangular object with not as much light except the small white lights around the border of one of its sides. The only thing I can think of it being would be . . . Trixie’s wagon. Immediately we sprint the rest of the way until we find ourselves slowing down, as the closer we get the more mesmerized we become by the sweet revelry of color.

The object we saw is indeed Trixie’s wagon, and it’s parked near a building with a sign atop the front entrance with curvy letters reading: Brite Sounds. From the outside we can hear a pulsing beat from the inside, and through the glass colors flash and explode. “Well, this is Trixie’s wagon. Maybe they went in there? . . . Try to keep a low profile. We’re going in there to look.” Following her plan we open the front door and our ears are met with a blast of music. Stepping through the front double doors feels like walking through a barrier of sound. Inside through the shadows are colorful ponies laughing and dancing under a glowing rainbow-tiled floor with flashing spotlights hanging from metal bars attached to the ceiling. Around the sides of the room are tables and chairs near drink stands. “Well . . . looks like keeping a low profile won’t be happening. Okay, we’ll split up and look for them. You search the dance floor, and I’ll search the pubs.” Twilight goes off searching around while I nervously walk to the center of the building where all the ponies are dancing crazily. Up above on the second floor is a white-coated unicorn with a wild blue mane, black earphones, and magenta tinted glasses bopping her head to the music. She’s working on some kind of metal table with a bunch of dials and knobs. Standing before the ocean of ponies I try to look over them to see if I can spot Trixie or . . . myself, but there’s just too many of them. I’ll need to go in there if I’m going to have a better chance at seeing one of them. Cautiously I stick my arm into the crowd, and eventually I’m able to submerge my body in the mob of raving ponies. As I pass through them they either don’t realize I’m there or stare at me with an excitable expression. Then, I feel something tap my shoulder. I whip around to the one thing I had hoped I wouldn’t get found by or run into. My double is staring at me with his arms folded and a smile that I want to just wipe off.

“May I have this dance?” He asks. “I see you’ve brought another pony to the party? I didn’t think you’d get over Trixie ‘that’ quickly! Say, why don’t we all get together and make it a double date?!” He asks excitedly. I don’t know how to respond to him, so I just choose to stay silent and alert. “. . . Just what are you doing here anyway? I told you to think about it; clearly you didn’t take my advice.”

“I-I’m not giving up.”

“Well you should. Look, I’ll tell you what, why don’t we just relax and settle this over a drink?” Suddenly the music stops, and the pony above grabs hold of a microphone.

“Uh-oh everypony! Looks like we got double trouble on the dance floor! Let’s give’em some room!” All the ponies back away giving us a good amount of space, and a new track of music begins. “Let’s see whose moves are sicker! Clone number one on the right? Or clone number two on the left? Let’s go!” She shouts while putting her headset back on and pumping her hoof to the beat.

“Well? You heard her. Let’s give’em a show.” He says. For some reason he starts moving to the music. I stare at him confused while slowly lowering down my defense to figure out just what exactly he’s doing, and then he kicks up into my chest sending me down in pain already. The ponies in the crowd let out an “Oooo” as they cringe once I hit the glass-tiled floor with the colors blaring near my eyes. “That was it? And you’re supposed to be the ‘real’ me? Maybe you should be happy I’m here instead of your pathetic, weak—” He begins to walk away while ranting about how superior he is, but I grab him by the ankle and trip him up. Once he hits the ground all the ponies start to cheer. I ignore the ache in my chest to stand up and take advantage of this. He starts to get up, but there’s no way I’m just going to let him get up without any repercussions. I whip my leg through the air as my shoe socks him dead in the face. He falls back down, and at this point after landing at least one hit on him I feel that I just may have a slight chance at this. Out in the pubs I spot Twilight talking to another pony, Trixie. It doesn’t really look like just talking, more like arguing. Now it appears they’re yelling at each other, and then, Trixie fires a beam of magic at Twilight sending her to the ground. It doesn’t look like she’s through as her horn continues to glow. None of the ponies in the crowd notice it as they are too focused on me and my double. Afraid of what she might do to Twilight I find it necessary to try and stop her myself.

“Trixie! Sto—” My double tackles me to the floor and grasps his hand around my throat.

“Well, it’s about time I got some fight out of you!” He pulls his fist back preparing to punch me, and I try to cover my face with my arms. Until I hear him grunt and fly back away from me. A beam of pink light shot into his side burning a hole through his jacket. I lift my head to see that it was Twilight that saved me, but she herself gets tackled by Trixie behind the crowd of ponies. My double and I get back to our feet, but he’s able to hold a smile. “Now that wasn’t fair. Well since they’re busy now, let’s finish this.” I fear what might happen next, so I slip my hand into my pocket trying to grab hold of a smoke ball. He starts running towards me, and I fearfully smash a smoke ball onto the ground. The smoke quickly starts to fill the room as he lets out a coughing fit and halts his charge. Afraid, I toss another onto the ground to keep the smoke lingering as long as possible.

“Woah! I didn’t know this place had a fog machine! That’s rad!” The pony above exclaims still oblivious to the fight that my double and I have been part-taking in, but the crowd just seems to be enjoying it. Perhaps their just too tipsy to even care. I am about to try and sneak up to my double, but his coughing suddenly stops leaving me clueless to his position.

“Why can’t you just accept that Trixie doesn’t care about you anymore? She has me, and I’m afraid it’s going to stay that way. So why don’t you just take your new friend and leave? We can forget about this whole mess.”

“. . . Because of what you’ve done. Those towns you’ve destroyed. . . Eventually they’ll find out it was you.”

“Will they now? Because I’m afraid they’ll be looking for you instead! You know they will catch you before me. . . I mean just look at you! Hiding behind your little cloud of smoke. It doesn’t even matter if you hide . . .” A sudden silence falls upon his voice forcing my heart to quiver. “Because I’m right behind you.” His voice whispers into my ear. My heart skips a beat as I jolt around to him holding his arm out to me with a thin dark barrel under his wrist. It fills me with fear as it reminds me of the weapon Rickert held to my face. He squeezes a metal handle connecting to the contraption in his sleeve to project an explosion of confetti into my face. I stagger back and he proceeds to kick me in the stomach, but before I can fall to my knees he grabs me by the collar and holds me up. “Well, this I must say was definitely more fun than the last time, but I must say goodbye for now, Trixie and I have a big show planned for tonight. And it looks like you may have other plans. You’ve got a couple more friends lookin’ for you.” Turning my head I find that through the front doors the detective and his partner burst through immediately searching the room. My double lifts me up and tosses me onto one of the tables. The table and I topple over as the drink that was resting on it spills over my head. Trixie trots over to my double worriedly inspecting the burnt hole in his jacket. His smug expression changes to frightened and distraught. He and Trixie leave the dance floor as it floods with the ponies yet again. The detective and his partner are closing in and are about to discover me if I don’t get up, but it hurts too much. Through the craze of jumping ponies Twilight is shoving her way and thankfully she spots me.

“Aireal! That detective is here, we have to go!”

“Detective! I see ‘em!” Shouts the detective’s partner.

“You two! Don’t move!” Shouts the detective as they turn to a full on sprint towards us.

“Aireal come on!” Twilight urges tugging at my jacket with her teeth.

“Freeze!” The detective shouts. I’m not too sure if I’m sleepy or losing my line of sight, because everything is fading to darkness. The detective and his partner leap towards us, but it is all shrouded in black before they can touch me. Just as it all feels so peaceful, this silent dark space, my body falls against something solid. My face has slammed onto the creaky boards of a wooden floor. Papers are scattered all around the floor, and the humidity in the air has drastically increased.

“Ha-ha! It worked!” Shouts an enthusiastic yet familiar voice. I push myself up, and not only find that Twilight is with me as well, but a friendly face that I never thought I’d see again is before me. Valiari, with his cheerful smile and energetic movements as he parades around the room for how his spell had worked, then holds his hoof out to me. “Let me help you up, Aireal.” I happily take his hoof and he helps me to my feet. “And you Miss Twilight?” He says as he helps her stand as well.

“H-Hey, it’s you. . . You’re that pony from that day.”

“Valiari, and might I just say it is a pleasure to finally become acquainted with you properly.”

“Same to you. W-Where are we? What happened?”

“You two are in my little shack in the swamp, and I just perfected my teleportation spell! So, welcome to my humble abode!”

“It definitely is . . . something.” She says while looking around the messy room.

“I don’t appreciate sarcasm Miss Twilight.” He says sternly.

“What? Oh I-I wasn’t being sarcastic I was just—”

“Just what?! Implying that my home is a pile of disgusting junk?! Well I’m sorry for not tidying up! I didn’t know the ‘Prissy Pony of Equestria’ was making a visit! Perhaps you’d rather I send you somewhere more ‘fit’ for you needs!” He shouts in her face. Twilight just stares in complete fright. She swallows nervously as her body trembles with Valiari’s furious eyes gazing into hers. Then, he breaks out into laughter. “Oh relax Miss Twilight I am only joking!” He says relaxing his enraged eyebrows and throwing his foreleg around Twilight’s shoulder. “It’s all in good fun! You didn’t really think I was serious did you Miss Twilight?”

“. . . N-N-No.”

“Well good! It is indeed grand to see you again Miss Twilight. Especially you Aireal; it’s wonderful to see you again.” He says now standing in front of me.

“. . . You really believe it’s me?”

“Of course, not only did I see and hear everything that happened just now, but I can just look at you and say: Yeah, that’s him. The real him.” Immediately I feel just so overwhelmed with emotion my eyes begin to water, and I throw my arms around Valiari’s neck to embrace him. He believes me, and I couldn’t feel any more grateful. I have one of my friends back. I can then feel one of his hooves touch my back as I tighten my grip around him. After a few moments I regain my composure and release him.

“Thank you.” I finally manage to say.

“You don’t have to thank me for knowing who you are. But soon . . . everypony will.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asks.

“Well . . . it looks like you two made the front page.” Valiari walks over to his little table and lifts up a newspaper with our pictures on the front cover. “You know, now that I think about it I don’t remember ever getting the paper all the way out here . . . odd. It’s the first one I received in ages. That ditzy-eyed mail mare must’ve been confused.”

“. . . What are we going to do?” I ask aloud.

“Mister Valiari, could please explain to me how this could have happened? It’s been boggling my mind all this time.”

“I can tell you, sure . . . it’s the solution that I’m worried about.”

“Why is that?”

“. . . Because I don’t have an answer.”