Wanted

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.