Marcella struggled against the man, but he would not relent his grip.

The only thing in her mind was the face of her big brother, watching helplessly as the man in the black suit stole her from the cabin.

“Where are you taking me?”

They were in a white void now. The man’s footsteps echoed off an invisible floor in the white abyss. And then, he knocked.

Knock, Knock, Knock, it echoed.

The man looked at Marcella, tucked under his arm. He raised his free hand, and it turned into a black gas.

Marcella shuddered as the black cloud that was the suited man’s hand seeped into her head. She went limp and lost consciousness.

The young girl woke with a start. She was in a cold, dim room. It was sparsely lit by a torch outside a strong, iron-barred door. It looked like she was in a cave, or a room carved directly out of rock.

She shivered, still only in her pajamas from the night she was taken.

“Hello?” she coughed.

Something moved outside the door. It was a large, hunched figure clutching a spear. It looked at her, and then cleared its throat.

“Be quiet,” it barked.

Marcella backed up against the wall in fear. Her dungeon was spacious, and lacked any necessities. There was nothing but rocks and a dripping sound in the corner, as well as a torch by the door.

“Where am I?” Marcella asked the figure outside the door. “Who are you? What do you want with me? Dad! Mom! Someone get me out of here!”

The figure came closer to the torch, and Marcella could make it out now. It wasn’t human, it looked canine in appearance. A giant dog that stood on two legs clutching a primitive looking spear.

“I said be quiet. I don’t want to have to come in there…”

Marcella simply stared in shock. The canine guard didn’t seem to care, and turned back around.

Marcella checked her pockets. She still had her phone and her watch, all that was on her when she was kidnapped. She didn’t even have shoes, as she was wearing her pajamas.

Marcella had so much racing through her mind, but was too afraid to ask the figure outside.

Another figure came into view, and then the iron-bar door swung open. A canine figure walked into the small cavern dungeon. He wore a vest with a diamond-studded-collar and a jewel hanging from its neck. It had pointier ears than its colleagues. The vested canine was trailed by two guards in armor, both clutching sticks with arrowheads on the end of them.

Marcella could smell body odor wafting off him. They definitely seemed primitive.

“Wellllll,” the dog hissed. His voice reminded Marcella of nails on a chalkboard. “What have we here? A human girl? Nightmare wasn’t lying then. We have been entrusted with a most important task.”

“Who are you?” Marcella asked. “And where am I?”

“We are diamond dogs,” the vested dog spoke. “I am Rover, the pack leader. You are in our mines. We are instructed to hold you until a higher power knows what to do with you.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“We have been paid generously. We will do whatever our master commands of us. One girl, or thousands of gems. We’ll take the gems. Sorry.”

“What if you let me go? Just keep your payment, I’m not useful to you in any way.”

“You do not realize who we are dealing with, he is more powerful than even the ones that raise the sun and moon.”

“What does that even mean?”

Rover didn’t care to answer that.

“You will stay quiet, and do what you are told,” Rover said. “And I’m sure you will be allowed to go free when the ransom is paid. Or maybe not, but this isn’t diamond dogs’ concern. If you try to escape, we will only make your stay that much more miserable.”

Marcella nodded. She just wanted to get out of this as painlessly as possible. Whatever was going on, her father was surely already on it. A ransom, they wanted money or gems or something. And father has plenty of money, she would be freed soon.

The diamond dog leader and its guards turned and left the cavern, leaving the young girl alone.

As soon as she felt no eyes upon her, Marcella withdrew her phone. She frantically waved it around to get a signal, but found none. She groaned, realizing that being far underground would probably not be in cell service.

But where on earth was she? The man who had taken her took her through a white void. This was someplace else entirely. She must traveled very far.

Some time had gone by now. Marcella flipped through pictures on her phone. Photos with her friends back home in California. But mostly, she looked at the photos of her with her brother who had recently returned from military service. And her parents, lounging with her on the beach. It gave her a small amount of comfort.

She turned the phone off to save its battery, and nestled up against a softer patch of dirt on the ground.

“Eli. Mom. Dad. I want to go home…”

Bright Mind huffed, shakily coming down the stairs with his heavy saddlebags. Eli had told him to pack lightly, so he brought only the essentials. A bedroll, a tooth brush, and his entire encylopedia set of magic from his curriculum. His saddlebags were bursting at the seams.

Bright turned to his mother, realizing this would be the last time he’d see her for a while. The one pony in his life who had cared for him the most.

Merry used her magic to lay a few sandwiches on the counter, adding some daisies and hay, and then put them in a paper bag.

“For the road, Bright,” Merry smiled.

Bright frowned and looked to his hooves.

“I don’t know if I can do this, mom.”

Merry set down the bag and trotted over to her son.

“You know your father would want you to do this. And I want you to do this. Eli needs you and you know that, too. He wants to make this up to you."

Bright Mind sighed.

“Okay. I’ll give this a try. Goodbye, mom.”

The mother and son hugged for one last time. Bright’s first time really leaving home, and it was on a complete whim. Bright felt something new: Adventure.

But he feared it, too. He longed for the comforts of his books and studies, without the potential for outlaws or monsters to be chasing him through the badlands of rural Equestria with a member of an extinct race.

Bright opened the poorly rebuilt front door, barely squeezing through with his giant saddlebags on both sides of him.

The human was busy bolting something to the back of his vehicle. Bright mind could hear metal clinking.

“Oh, hey!” Eli waved. “Come help me. Just making something. You’re gonna love this.”

“Okay…” Bright Mind said. He dropped his saddlebags to the ground and used his magic to steady the object, a medium sized wooden box.

Bright could see Eli had taken the seat off. A small bag was laid out on the ground, with a few assorted tools laying on the ground.

“Where did you get this? Why are you bolting this box on the back of this thing?”

“I found it in your house. And, well, where else are you gonna ride?” Eli asked, tightening a few screws on the bottom of the box.

“What?!” Bright gasped. “I’m not riding on this death trap! It can’t even stand up on its own!” He gestured to the kickstand. “What if we fall over?”

“Oh come on,” Eli rolled his eyes. “I’m the one who’s going to be doing all the work. You get to just kick back behind me and be my GPS.”
“Isn’t there somewhere else I could ride? Do I have to ride in the box?”

“Well, I usually don’t ride nuts to butts with dudes,” Eli shrugged. “Especially when they don’t wear pants. So you could sit behind me and hold on. That’s the only alternative.”

“We really can’t just take the train?”

“I don’t know, can we? You tell me, you’re the mastermind here. I’m just the wheels.”

“My family isn’t very wealthy, Eli,” Bright sighed. “Two tickets to Canterlot, that would be more than five hundred bits. Maybe close to a thousand.”

“Three tickets,” Eli added, putting the tools into the small bag.

“Three? Who’s the third one for?”

Eli pointed to the motorcycle.

“You can’t leave this behind?”

“Hell no,” Eli shook his head. “Before I came here, my father said I would need this. We either get that cash, and put this on board as freight or buy it a seat if we have to. Otherwise, this is how we’re getting there.”

“Seriously though, what if we crash?” Bright asked.

“I’m wearing a helmet. I’ll probably be okay,” Eli shrugged.

“Ugh! Do you care about anything other than yourself?”

“Yeah, my sister. And I’ll owe you for this. Remember our deal, I’m going to use a favor from Celestia to put you in whatever school you want.”

“And why would Celestia owe you a favor? If anything, you’d owe her for her helping you to find your sister.”

Eli put the tool kit in the compartment under the seat.

“I think my father has been here before, and he was one of the humans that saved you from the Nightmare. And that’s why my sister was kidnapped, as retribution. Because the guy that took my sister didn’t want her or me. He very specifically wanted my father.”

Eli held up an envelope, which still had the two keys and the letter.

“Before my father went missing, he left me a letter. He knew this was going to happen, and told me to go find the princess of the sun. I don’t know anything else. But clearly, he’s been here before.”

“That- Makes a lot of sense. We all thought that the humans that saved us were dead, because they sacrificed themselves. But the fact you’re standing here means that may not be true,” Bright reasoned.

“We’ll talk more about this later,” Eli said. “We need to get on the road today, before it gets too late. Alright, let’s see your saddlebags.”

Bright struggled to lift them to Eli with his magic, who also struggled to hold them with just his hands.

“Jesus! What’s in these things, rocks?” Eli let the bags crumple to the ground. He opened the bags, and shook his head.

“No, no, no, no, no,” Eli shook his head. “You’re not bringing a library on this trip.“

“It’s only a few spellbooks,” Bright insisted. “So I can keep up my studies while we’re on the way to Canterlot.”

“I told you to pack light,” Eli said and turned his back to show Bright Mind. The slim, compact Camelbak backpack had a rolled up sleeping pad strapped to the bottom, and some food Merry had given him, along with a notebook and a map and the water pouch, the hose and nozzle tucked neatly on his shoulder.

“What am I going to do the whole time, then?” Bright groaned.

“I don’t know. Talk to me. Think about life. But you’re not bringing all this stuff. Bring one book.”
“Fine,” Bright sighed. “I pick this one.”

Eli took it from Bright’s levitation grip and thumbed through a few pages. It featured illustrations and instructions for very specific teleportation spells.

“Preferred method of pineapple teleportation… Preferred method of marsupial teleportation… There’s a different one for everything?”

“Teleportation is the most difficult and painstaking spell to learn.”

“Can you really teleport?” Eli asked. “That’s one of the most badass things I’ve ever heard.”

“Oh, no. Not really,” Bright looked away, secretly feeling cool.

“I still need a lot of work. It takes years of practice to be able to teleport. And those that can usually get hired as a mage for the crown, or a wealthy businesspony’s personal transport.”

Eli strapped the now much lighter saddlebags on the bike, just behind him on the seat. He was able to have one saddlebag on both sides of the bike, fitting perfectly.

“That works. And it won’t get in the way of anything,” Eli nodded contentedly, and took a step back to look at the bike.

“Yeah. This will totally work.”

Eli turned the key, and his dashboard HUD lit up. The KTM logo flashed on his screen, and then an image of a speedometer and other instruments appeared. He checked his gas gauge, remembering he had filled up before bringing the bike to the cabin. Very smart.
Eli started the bike, allowing the engine to warm up. The sound made Bright Mind jump. He didn’t like loud noises.

“What, too loud?!” Eli shouted as he revved the engine.

BRAAAAAP!

It echoed across the desert that stretched to Appleloosa and beyond.

Bright Mind held two hooves over his sensitive ears. Eli just laughed at his misery.

“I would much rather be taking the train!” Bright yelled over the noise.

Suddenly the bike’s motor quieted considerably. It turned into more of a whirring sound than the loud brapping Bright had heard so far.

“I’ll keep the revs down when I can so it’s quieter. Its more energy efficient, too.”

Bright shakily climbed into the wooden box, sitting down uncomfortably on the back of the bike.

“Ready?” Eli turned around, his helmet and goggles already strapped.

“I suppose,” Bright sighed. His chest was bursting with excitement, and regret. His mother watched from the window, and gave him one last wave.

Bright waved back, and Eli brought up the kickstand and began riding slowly at first.

Bright Mind was terrified, and began to scream.

“Stop this thing! This isn’t stable at all! I could break my neck if I fall out of this thing!”

Eli only began going faster. The rubber tires, spiked with square blocks dug into the soft ground and ensured safe travel. But Bright Mind was new to the world of human off-roading, and continued freaking out all the way into town.

“I’ve gotta make a stop real quick,” Eli cut the enduro to a stop in front of the sheriff’s office.

“Just wait here, okay? Watch the bike,” Eli hung his helmet on one of the handlebars.

Bright Mind retched and puked over the side of the bike.

“Oh. Oh, man. Of course, you get motion sickness. Just… Drink some water or something. I’ll be right back.”

Eli turned away and let out a fatigued sigh.

“What am I going to do with this guy?”

Eli opened the door and stepped into the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff sat in a chair, leaning up against the wall.

“Hm?” the sheriff opened an eye. “Oh, its just you. What can ah do ya’ fer’?”

“Hey, Sheriff Silverstar,” Eli said. “Just wanted to let you know I made things right with Bright and Merry. Bright is coming with me to Canterlot.”

“Is that so?” The Sheriff yawned. “Good on ya. How are y’all getting there?”

“My vehicle. We’re gonna take the direct route. I can’t really afford the train. Too expensive to bring everything.”

“It is a long way to Canterlot, son. You sure you’re up for that kinda’ journey? These deserts can be ruthless.”

“I’m sure. Bright will be my guide.”

“He’s a little soft. Roughin’ it will be good for the boy, Ah reckon. Won’t get that on the train. But there be’ outlaws in these here badlands. Sometimes we even get a stray hydra from the Everfree Forest. Y’all armed?”

“No,” Eli shook his head.

“Bright Mind might not be much help if y’all find yourselves in a bad situation. Wait here.”

The sheriff opened a closet, and pushed a large trunk out of it. He pushed it before Eli and opened the trunk.

A suit of armor, with a helmet shaped in the head and neck of a pony, and a red thistle Mohawk was loosely thrown into the large trunk.
“Hold on, Ah know it’s in here somewhere,” the sheriff dug through the box, clanging the metalwork around.

“Yep, here it is.”

With his mouth, the sheriff pulled a sword out of the trunk by the hilt. It was long, polished steel, and the handle was made of a shinier, yellow metal, with thread spun on the handle to give it a softer grip.

“Not gold, maybe Brass?” Eli thought.

“Might be a little small for ya, bein’ as it was made for us ponies, not humans,” the sheriff nodded. I want y’all to take it.”

Eli held the sword, sliding it out of the sheathe. It was very light, and he could wield it in one hand with relative ease. He carefully ran a finger across the double-edged blade. Very fine, very sharp. Amazing craftsmanship.

“Used to be my service weapon. Really ain’t got much use for it no more. Hope it serves y’all well. Just promise me you’ll send it back to me if y’all can.”

“I’ve never held a sword before. No offense, this is a very fine sword, but this is outdated to my people. I’ve only held weapons you don’t seem to have here.”

“Take time and practice with it. It’ll come to ya. Ya’ve got a demeanor to ya, Ah think you might find the basics of swordplay in focused practice.”

“Wow, I don’t know what to say. I’ll take good care of it. And I’ll bring it back to you, I promise. Thank you.”

Eli ran the straps from the sheathe through his belt loops, holstering the sword to his left side. It went down to just above his knee. Sheriff Silverstar briefly showed him how to draw the sword, but that was about all there was time for.

Eli said his goodbyes to the sheriff, and returned back outside to his bike and Bright Mind. The moment he stepped outside, Eli nearly snapped at what he saw.

A larger earth pony around Bright Mind’s age, with three others, were holding Bright Mind upside down. Another was sitting on his bike. All had their backs to him.

Eli looked at the small, helpless white unicorn dangling upside down by his tail.

“Look who came outside! So nice to see you again, nerd,” the larger pony dangling Bright Mind chuckled. He sounded young and snotty, like a lot of the kids Eli had gone to private school with.

“What’s the matter, your mom can’t protect you anymore? Use some magic on us, see how much good that does you, freeloader. While we’re all working, you sit in your house and read books all day.”

“Leave me alone, please! I’m leaving. Just let me go!”

Eli’s blood began to boil. He stomped towards the pony on his bike. He ripped him from the seat and threw him onto the ground, drawing his sword.

“Put the little guy down! He’s mine,” Eli growled.

The bully stopped, dropping Bright on his head. Bright scurried to his feet and stood behind Eli who protectively stepped in front of him.

“You’re the human!” the bully gasped. “The one in the bar last night!”

“And I’m gonna be the human that kills you if you don’t fuck off.”

The bully let out a whimper and ran off, the others doing the same.

“Pansies,” Eli put the sword in his sheathe and got on the bike, fixing his helmet and goggles on his head.

“Thanks,” Bright let out a sigh of relief.

“Don’t mention it, it’s what partners do.”

“Where did you get a sword?” Bright asked, incredulous.

“Sheriff gave it to me,” Eli said. “Coming?”

“Eli, I can’t do this,” Bright Mind sat back on his haunches. “If I can’t even defend myself from a few bullies, what good am I to you? I won’t last out there.”

Eli looked at Bright Mind questioningly.

“I’ve always been weak my whole life. My magic has gotten much stronger lately, but I get too scared to use it.”

“Bright, I’ll protect you, I promise. Just stick with me til’ Canterlot. You know it’s worth your while. I need you. My sister needs you. Please.”
“Not if I get seriously hurt, lost, or worse.”

“You’ll be fine. Don’t you trust me?”

“I want to,” Bright said.

“Then come on.”

Bright begrudgingly climbed into the back of the box.

“Okay, ride through the town. We’re going to follow the railroad tracks for a while.”

Eli started the bike up once more, and rode through Appleloosa’s town square. Bright Mind took one last look at his hometown, where he had grown up. So many memories, some pleasant, some not. Actually, most not. Now that he thought about it, he was quite ready to leave.

“Hey! Slow down, Eli! Hey!” Braeburn came hollering out of a building. Eli locked the back tire, sliding the bike to a stop. Bright Mind nearly vomited.

“Not even gonna say goodbye? Oh Ah see how you are,” Braeburn slapped Eli on the shoulder.

“I should be the one offended, you never saw me off," Eli took off his goggles and crossed his arms indignantly.

“Ah’m kiddin, y’all know Ah’m kiddin,” Braeburn laughed. “Ah see y’all are headed out. Bright Mind, I’m real happy you made a friend. I think you’re going to have a great time there out in the world. Your father would be mighty proud of you, ya know.”

“Yeah,” Bright nodded. “I hope he would be.”

“Ah won’t hold y’all up anymore. Eli, you take care of Bright. Bright, you guide him well. Good luck to the both of you. Go save that girl! Come see us before you leave, Eli. Bring Bright home safe, ya' hear?"

Braeburn shook Eli’s hand, and patted Bright Mind on the back.

Eli spun his tire, creating a huge dust cloud. He passed the train depot and began riding on a trail going parallel to the railroad tracks off into the desert.

“No turning back now,” Bright Mind watched as Appleloosa became only a speck off into the distance.

Eli and Bright took their first stop in the shade of a giant mesa. The rider decided it would be best to take frequent breaks at first until Bright got control of his motion sickness.

Eli sucked on the hose protruding from his backpack, drinking clean water from the Camelbak.

“What’s that?” Bright gestured to the hose.

“Water,” Eli hooked it back on his shoulder. “There’s a bag in my backpack holding it.”

“That’s ingenious, actually,” Bright remarked.

“I’ve got a question for you too. Something I’ve noticed,” Eli sipped on his water.

“Sure.”

“You don’t really seem like somebody who would get a tattoo, but I’ve noticed everyone has one. What’s yours mean?”

“My… Tattoo?” Bright Mind looked around himself in confusion.

“Oh, my mark!” Bright turned his side towards Eli so he could see it clearly. “This is something ponies get when they find the one thing that defines them in life. Its kind of a coming of age thing. Girls usually refer to it as a cutie mark.”

Eli looked at Bright’s mark. It was a sword crossed with a feather quill, and two stars with eight points on either side of it.

“When I decided I wanted to be a scholar, and a teleporter, this appeared. That was already many years ago.”

“Will it come off?”

“Of course not,” Bright said rather as-a-matter-of-factly. “Only very strong magic can remove a pony’s mark.”

“Sorry, humans don’t get a magically appearing tramp stamp,” Eli shot back to Bright’s attitude.

“Also, I have a question about your machine, here.” He gestured to the bright orange enduro.

“Sure,” Eli said. “Shoot.”

“How does it work exactly? What powers it? We have farm equipment and train engines, but yours seems much more advanced.”

“It’s a hybrid enduro. It’s part electric, part gasoline powered. And I can use other forms of fuel, too.”

Eli unclipped the seat off the bike, and withdrew a small white square from a slot. He re-fastened the seat and handed the square to Bright.
“Here, you like to read. Here’s something for you to study while we’re on the road. It’s the owner’s manual to my bike.”

“This… Isn’t a book,” Bright levitated the square and studied it top to bottom. It had a few buttons on it, a square with two small circles next to it on each side.

“Sure it is!” Eli pressed the square. All of the sudden, words appeared on the screen. Eli pushed a button, showing that the screen could be backlit or not, for optimum viewing in sunlight just like paper and ink. And it could even be read in the dark! Sliding out from the bottom was another small square with the alphabet arranged in a peculiar order.

“This is called a Kindle, they replaced a lot of paper documents where I’m from. The battery in them lasts a long time, you can leave them for years and still read what’s in them.”

“This is cool,” Bright nodded, impressed already with what little human technology he’d seen.

Soon enough, it was time for them to keep moving. The pair continued on through Buffalo territory.

On the back of the bike, in the wooden box Eli had fixed for his passenger, Bright tucked the map and compass under his arm, occasionally poking his head up to check the landscape and advise Eli accordingly. In his other hoof, he held the kindle.

Fascinated with how perfectly it had been constructed and designed, Bright admired the work of human hands in something he could directly appreciate: Literature. Even it was only an owner’s manual.

Bright turned on the kindle and began to read.

Thank you for purchasing your 2048 model KTM Hybrid 690CA Enduro 'R' Dual-Purpose/Enduro motorcycle California Model. At any time, you can enter a subject into the searchbar of this interactive Kindle Manual to learn more. Your manual can be charged with an included MICRO USB 5.0 cable, and a USB outlet can be found near the dashboard. A complete manual may also be downloaded from the KTM Motors USA website free of charge.

Your KTM 690 Duke meets the standards as regulated by the United States Environmental Standard Act of 2029. Your KTM Hybrid Dual-Purpose motorcycle is designed to be multi-fuel capable. The electric motor is capable of traveling approximately 80 miles at 8,000 RPM until depleting and relying exclusively on the main engine. It will be able to combust unleaded gasoline, propane, biofuel, hydrogen, diesel, and natural gas. Please set the fuel petcock appropriately to avoid internal damage and for your safety, do not mix different forms of fuel. Please specify on your dashboard computer which fuel type you are taking advantage of to achieve optimum performance.

By default your KTM 690 Duke is set to run off the gasoline injector. You may manually toggle this option on or off, and regulate use of the electric motor and battery by selecting the “Drive” menu on your heads-up display located on your dashboard computer.

If your battery is depleted, you may use the kickstart to manually turn the engine over. If both fuel and battery are depleted, you may manually charge the hyrbrid-electric motor by turning the kickstart counter-clockwise. You will restore an estimated 30% battery life per hour of manual-labor charging. This option is only recommended in emergency situations as it takes much physical labor to charge the battery and should only be used when fuel is utterly unavailable.

Suddenly the ground dropped out from beneath Bright Mind.

“Ah-Ah-AHHHHH!” Bright screamed.

“Whoooo!” Eli stood on the pegs and jumped a dune, launching off the slope and sending a wave of grit into the air behind him.

Upon landing, Bright smacked his head against the side of the box hard. Eli stomped on the rear brake and slid to a stop.

“You okay back there?”

“No, of course not! What were you thinking?” Bright rubbed his head. “Why would you do that? I could have been knocked off!”

“Oh, you would have been fine. The ground is soft here. Besides, I didn't see it in time. That jump was nothing if I was actually ready for it."

Bright realized there was no reasoning with him, so he compromised.

“Whatever, just warn me before you do that again.”

“Okay, I’m going to do it again,” Eli turned back around and kicked the bike in gear.

“No, wait- Gah!” Bright held on the box for dear life now.

“GOD GIVE ME STRENGTH!” Eli yelled.

Eli jumped another dune, getting much higher that time. Now that Bright was ready for it, he took the landing fine.

“See, that wasn’t so bad!” Eli turned around, giving bright a thumbs up. “Let’s do another one!”

“I’m gonna be sick!” Bright shouted. “Don’t do it, Eli!’

Too late.

“You threw up on me,” Eli washed his jacket in a creek.

“You had it coming,” Bright dunked his face in the cool water, and filtered the bile out of his mouth. “I told you not to jump the dune.”

“You told me to warn you. So, I did.”

Eli stood up, swinging his sword around slowly and practicing like the sheriff had suggested. He alternated between one-handed and two-handed use and cut a few small, withered plants.

“Yeah I’m kinda being an asshole, sorry. But hey, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?”

“If you say so,” Bright mind trotted up and down the riverbed, searching for something.

“Here,” Bright pointed. “Gather these plants. These are edible.”

Eli nodded appreciatively.

“You were definitely a useful one to bring along. Also, this seems like a pretty good place to set up camp. What do you say? Ready to call it a day?”

Bright collapsed, all hooves splayed out in separate directions.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

With their bedrolls set, a fire going, and the babbling of clean water next to them, it was enough to make Bright’s eyes heavy. It brought thoughts of home. He missed his mother, he missed his safe room.

Now that Celestia had set her sun, Bright gazed up at Luna’s beautiful night. The stars twinkling bright and the half-moon casting a pale light on the desert landscape around them.

Bright Mind saw the human doing the same. He looked at the stars like he’d never seen them before.

“Hey Eli, don’t they have stars where you’re from?”

“Yeah,” Eli replied. “But I never see them. I live in the city, too much light pollution. The constellations are different here, I don't recognize anything up there.”

Eli went back to what he was doing; cranking the kickstart in the opposite direction to charge his hybrid motor.

“So,” Eli said, looking over to Bright. “Tell me something about yourself.”

“What?” Bright asked.

“I don’t know. I’m just… Trying to be friendly, you know. Your family, tell me about them.”

“My mom and dad used to live in a town called Ponyville, it’s not too far from Canterlot. My mother was a baker, and my father was in the Royal Guard.”

“Your father was a soldier?” Eli asked. Bright nodded.

“My father was sent to Manehattan after it was destroyed two decades ago. He helped with the relief efforts while it was being rebuilt. But he spent a lot of time around the sick ponies. There was a sickness going around, leftover from the bomb that Nightmare used to destroy Manehattan. It stuck around the area for a while until they cleaned it all up.”

This piqued Eli’s interest. Something was starting to sound familiar.

“My father was perfectly healthy for years. Then he retired from the guard, and he moved my mother and him to a farm in Appleloosa, where I was born.”

“My dad died when I was ten. He started having bad health problems a year before that. It just showed up out of nowhere. There was no treating it, and he died of that contamination. Many others still suffer the same fate, too. But it’s not contagious anymore.”

“Rad poisoning,” Eli murmured.

“What?” Bright asked.

“Nothing. It doesn’t matter. Your father died helping people-ponies. He sounds like a good man.”

Bright looked at him in confusion.

“Pony. He sounded like a good pony. Sorry. I’m gonna have to get used to the differences in our language.”

“What about your father?” Bright asked. “You talk about him a lot. Tell me about him.”

“Well,” Eli continued cranking. “I came from a pretty wealthy family. My dad was a lawyer. And a damn good one, too. He was really into motorcycles, and as soon as I could walk he had me riding dirt bikes on training wheels.”

“So you’ve been riding your whole life?” Bright asked.

Eli nodded.

“It’s just a hobby, really. For my father, it was an obsession. You think my bike is advanced? You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen my father’s Ducati. Hell, even a car would blow your mind. But my dad was obsessed with motorcycles to the point where my mother had to ban him from riding one day a week just so they could do a date night. My mother did like to ride on the back, though. Much like how you’re riding with me. No homo, of course.”

“What?”

“Never mind.”

“Your dad seems like a pretty incredible guy. Maybe he was one of the humans that saved us. He raised you well,” Bright yawned.

“Yeah, I think yours did alright with you, too," Eli scratched his head. "It must have been hard on you, growing up without a dad. Maybe… I don’t know, I can teach you some of the things he wasn’t able to.”

Bright let out a snore, snoozing peacefully on his bedroll.

The battery in his motorcycle was nearly full, and he had plenty of gas left. Bright insisted he could find fuel at the next town, they had more than enough to cross the desert for now.

Eli laid back on his bedroll and closed his eyes. Marcella was still out there, and she was probably scared as hell.

“I’m coming for you, little sister. Just hold on a little bit longer.”

Eli woke just before dawn. He stretched on his bedroll, and then turned himself over. He looked to his left, the fire was still just barely smoking, but it looked to have gone out hours ago.

He looked to his right, expecting to see Bright Mind still sleeping peacefully.

There was a bedroll with a blanket on it, the kindle that contained his motorcycle’s manual, and his one book. But no teenaged white unicorn.

“Bright?” Eli dusted himself off and stood up. “Bright! You just taking a piss somewhere?”

Silence. The creek babbled, but there was no sign of any other activity.

Eli pulled out his phone and used the flashlight to illuminate the dim morning. There. A pair of hoof-prints led away from the campsite.
Carefully he followed them. They led him nearly a quarter mile away.

It led Eli to the top of a dune which offered an amazing view of the surrounding desert. On one side, Eli could see where they had set up camp by the small embankment and creek. On the other side, more breathtaking, endless mesas and sand dunes.

There were other footprints here though. Eli examined them a bit closer, They were paw prints. Not like Bright Mind’s hoof-prints, that was certain. Then a number of paw prints led down into the valley, but no hoof-prints followed.

Eli cursed. He took a photo of one of the paw prints, storing it on his phone so he could compare it later.

“Of course. He goes and gets himself picked up by something. Sheriff warned me about this. Outlaws."

Eli raced back down to the campsite and packed everything in a hurry. Once the bike was loaded up, and the fire's smoldering remains doused, he slipped on his helmet and charged up the dune, following the trail that had taken him ten minutes to walk in less than a minute.

He launched over the gigantic dune, and came down on the other side. The paw prints were getting harder and harder to follow. Eventually, Eli was just going in one aimless direction.

Lights off in the distance. Little fires burning, and pointy structures. Tents.

Eli jammed the rear tire and slid to a stop in the sand.

There was a civilization ahead. He could see figures on all fours moving around, starting their day.

Eli killed the bike, leaving the helmet and goggles strapped to his head. He parked the bike behind a pillar of rocks and snuck as closely as he could.

They were buffalo, wearing headdresses of feathers with bright blues, reds and greens adorning their heads.

The young man crept forward. This village was still mostly asleep. He could sneak from tent to tent and see if there was any sign of Bright Mind.

Carefully walking across the dusty ground, Eli peeped his head through each tent flap. But there was nothing but sleeping buffalo.

“Hey! What are you doing sneaking around here?” A voice boomed behind him.

Eli spun around. An angry and bewildered buffalo stared him down. Eli decided to take the calm, diplomatic approach. So he drew his sword that he had no experience with whatsoever.

“Back off!” Eli yelled, holding the sword defensively. “I know you guys kidnapped my friend! You picked the wrong day to piss off a master swordsman!”

Eli swung the sword around to attempt to look skilled. Instead it went flying through the air, out of his grip, and into the sand near the buffalo’s hooves.

The Buffalo gave Eli an unimpressed snort.

"I tried,” Eli shrugged, and then turned tail and ran. “Bright! Are you here? Bright!” Eli called as he was chased by one buffalo, then two, then three. Eventually, he found himself surrounded.

The buffalo were gigantic. A wall of brown, furry, horned, and angry heads encircled him.

A net was tossed over him, and swept him off his feet. Then a cloth was thrown over his head. Eli thrashed about, but they had completely tied him head to toe.

Someone was cutting the cloth off his head so he could see. Eli could see light, and took in a loud breath of air.

An agile-looking buffalo stood over him. The buffalo wore a golden necklace, with colorful beads and a magnificent feather headdress. He was on his knees, still tied up and wrapped tightly in a cloth.

“Who are you, and why do you burst into my village at the crack of dawn?” she asked in a feminine, yet commanding tone.

Eli weighed his options. Unarmed, maybe he could bluff his way out of this.

“Who am I? I am Captain America, destroyer of worlds!” Eli shouted through his helmet and goggles. “And you have made a dire mistake to kidnap my companion. Release me and I will call off the hordes of undead coming to consume your flesh!”

The buffalo managed to undo the chinstrap keeping his helmet on and lifted it off his head.

“No, you’re a human,” the buffalo looked him over. “And I am Chiefess Strongheart. You have trespassed in our village, sneaking around tents and probably looking to steal something. Look, I’ve never had to deal with a human before, so I’m going to be easy on you. Just leave my village in peace, and no harm will come to you.”

“Look, I’m going to be easy on you. If you give me my friend back. That’s why I’m here. Give me the little white unicorn you kidnapped in the dead of night and I’ll be on my way.”

“Little… White Unicorn? What are you talking about? We didn’t-“

“There’s no one else around! Who else could have done it? I found tracks all around. They looked like…”

Eli looked at her hooves.

“Oh. Whoops. Yeah, they looked like paw prints. I’m sorry. My name's not Captain America, by the way.”

“You came here because you thought we kidnapped your companion, and you were just trying to rescue her?”

“Well, him, but yeah. He’s my partner.”

“Oh, is that what they’re calling it now?”

“What? No! No, that’s not what I meant!” Eli sputtered. “I would never, certainly not with a- Look he’s just my guide! He’s showing me the way to Canterlot!”

The buffalo chiefess smiled and raised her eyebrow.

“I’m not gay! Not that I discriminate against them or anything. Stop giving me that look! Untie me or something.”

The buffalo and one of her guards untied the self-proclaimed heterosexual human and let him stand.

“Ugh, thank you. Now look,” Eli took his phone out of his pocket. He went into his photos, and pinched the screen to zoom in on a picture he had taken of the ground.

“What is this paw print? The one next to the hoofprints. That’s the last sign I saw of my friend.”

Eli held the phone up to Chiefess Strongheart.

“Diamond dogs,” Chiefess Strongheart growled. “Diamond dogs are the ones who kidnapped your friend.”

“Diamond what?”

“Diamond Dogs are a scourge in these parts. They act only as bandits, stealing from our tribe and robbing strangers in the dead of night. They tend to enslave unicorns due to their abilities to find gems underground, and it seems your friend has been taken.”

“Where would they have taken him?” Eli asked.

“The mines of the nearest diamond dogs are not far. We can take you there, and help you find your friend.”

“Really?” Eli said.

A buffalo brought Eli his sword. Eli took it with a smile, and sheathed it on his hip.

“Sounds good to me. What do you have in mind?"

Bright Mind Kicked and thrashed. All his hooves were tied. He had been blindfolded and gagged.

Eventually he felt himself tossed to the ground. He wheezed in and out on the ground, struggling to breathe through the cloth gagging his mouth. He chewed, and using his tongue he managed to breathe through the gag. Bright inhaled heavily, sucking in large lungfuls of air.
“What’s going on?” Bright Mind whimpered. “Where am I?”

There was only silence.

“Hello? Somebody?”

There was a cough about a dozen feet away. Bright Mind pricked up his ears.

“Hello? Who else is in here with me?”

They had tossed the thing into the dungeon with her. It was a small, white horse. But the most distinguishing feature was that it had a horn. A unicorn!

It had a brilliant work of art on each side of its hide legs, and its coat was incredibly white. It had a black mane and tail, looking a little unkempt, but probably due to its entrapment by the same canines as Marcella herself.

It thrashed on the ground, its hooves bound, mouth gagged, and eyes blindfolded.

It calmed, and managed to free its mouth from the gag.

“What’s going on?” it whimpered. “Where am I?’

Marcella was silent. She was too bewildered at the sight before her. First, talking canines with spears, now a unicorn? This was all too weird.

“Hello? Somebody?”

Marcella attempted to stifle a cough, but couldn’t. The unicorn’s head spun in her direction.

“Who’s there? Hello? Somebody?”

Marcella was afraid to answer. But the unicorn seemed to be in the same situation as her. A prisoner in this mine.

“Who’s here?” the unicorn asked. “I can’t see anything, they have me blindfolded and tied up. Where are you?”

Marcella began to crawl closer, determined to remove the poor thing's blindfold.

Before she could, the metal door swung open. Rover stormed in, causing Marcella to yelp and she backed up against the wall. Two Diamond Dog guards picked up the unicorn and and took it away.

“Well, interested in the same get-up as him? Rover crossed his arms. He held a blindfold and another cloth in his paw, along with some rope.

“Hold her down,” Rover instructed his last remaining guard.

Marcella’s hands bound, her eyes blindfolded, and mouth gagged, just like the unicorn that had been brought it.

“Let this remind you what I do to those that try to escape, or help prisoners escape my mines.”

With that, Rover left.

Marcella cried in her blind fold, soaking the cloth. She screamed into the cloth rover had tied around her mouth.

She sat there for hours, until she started to hear the echo of many steps. She could feel it through the walls and the floors of the dungeon she sat in. The rumbling of the walls was soon accompanied with a very familiar sound. At first it was quiet, but then it began to echo louder and louder. Marcella’s eyes went wide inside her blindfold. Her brother’s motorcycle! It was unmistakable! She was sure of that sound!

Brap.

BRAAAP.

BRAAAAAAAAP

It was so close, it boomed through the dungeon. Then, it started to fade away.

Braaap.

Brap…

And then it was gone.

“Mmmph!” Marcella cried through her the cloth gag. But her words couldn’t come out loud enough to spook a mouse.

“Mmph! Mmph! Eli! Eli!”

Bright Mind feverishly worked for his Diamond Dog captors. He had been up all night at this point. After waking up early, he took a short walk and tried to practice some teleportation spells. Far away from the campsite to avoid waking Eli, who was sleeping like a log.

He heard a rustling in the bushes, then quick footsteps. He was blindsided, and quickly tied up and brought back to this horrible place. This was exactly what Bright was afraid of, being captured by bandits, and now for the rest of his life he was a slave.

After they found out he was not useful as a gem finder, they put him to work hauling carts back and forth.

It had only been a few hours since his capture, but already his back ached. The metal girdle that pulled the cart behind him dug into his ribs.

Bright glanced the guards in armor, watching his every move.

Suddenly it felt like there was an earthquake.

The whole, cavernous mine began to shake. Stalactites fell to the ground, and several of the guards had to jump and roll to avoid getting struck with them.

BRAAAAAAAAAAAAP

And then, riding a bright orange motorcycle, Eli came shooting out of one of the tunnels in the mine followed by a dozen charging buffalo. The diamond dogs panicked and dropped their spears, but they were mowed over by the stampeding buffalo.

Eli slid to a stop just in front of Bright Mind.

Bright looked up at the human in disbelief.

“Eli!” Bright gasped. “How did you know to find me here?”

Chiefess Strongheart skidded to a halt right next to them.

“Oh, he had some help,” she panted. “So, this is your partner, hmmmm?”

“Fuck off,” Eli rolled his eyes.

Strongheart brushed off his curse, and introduced herself to Bright Mind.

“Sorry to meet you under these circumstances, but I am Chiefess Strongheart. Eli said you might need our help. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Hey, introductions can wait,” Eli removed the metal harness around Bright’s ribcage and tossed it aside.

“Wow, these look shiny,” Eli said. A collection of colorful gemstones were overflowing from the minecart Bright Mind was pulling. Eli scooped a handful of gems out of the cart and stuffed them in his backpack.

“And so can looting,” Strongheart rolled her eyes. “I’m going to get my herd out of here. I suggest you do the same.”

Chiefess Strongheart bounded away with speed Eli never had seen before from something without a motor.

“Damn, she’s quick,” Eli nodded, impressed. “Alright, come on. Let’s get out of here.”

“Thanks, Eli,” Bright pulled himself into the box on the back of the bike.

“Remember, I promised you. I wouldn't let anything happen to you,” Eli patted him on the back.

As soon as Bright Mind was situated, he tore off through the tunnels, searching for a way out. Several of the diamond dog guards were running from chasing buffalo. Eli rode through tunnels, his headlight illuminating everything in his path.

There was a fork in the mineshaft. One lead into an ironclad gate. The other had a distant light at the end. Daylight. He had found a way out of this confusing mess of tunnels.

Eli stared down the other tunnel, the one with the iron gate at the end of it. Something in his mind was driving him towards it. There was something odd about that gate. Something in the back of his mind was whispering for him to go that way and open it.

“Eli? What are you waiting for?” Bright asked from behind.

Suddenly, several diamond dogs appeared in the tunnel behind him, one getting ready to chuck his spear right at the rider and his passenger.

“Nothing, let’s get out of here!” Eli slammed on the throttle and took off, heading towards the light of day.

Outside the mine, Eli rejoined the buffalo herd that had helped him free Bright.

“Thanks, to all of you,” Eli removed his helmet and bowed his head.

“And from me,” Bright said. “I would have probably been a slave until I dropped if it weren’t for you all. Thank you. Especially you, Strongheart.”

“Don’t mention it, little one,” Strongheart smiled.

Strongheart nodded to the group of buffalo, and they turned and headed back to their villiage.

“Eli tells me you still have a long journey to make,” Strongheart looked off towards the horizon. “Many years ago, before I became the chief of my tribe, there were a group of ponies that helped us put away our differences with the settlers in this area. Your friendship reminds me of them.”

“Well, I’ve only known this guy for a day,” Eli said. “Yesterday I set his house on fire.”

“And burned my paper,” Bright Mind added.

“And burned his paper,” Eli nodded.

“There is a bond between the two of you, I can sense it, Eli and Bright Mind. I wish you the best and that you bring your sister home to safety.”

With that, the buffalo bounded away, heading back to her tribe.

“You okay?” Eli asked with a hint of concern.

“Yeah, thanks. This is exactly what I was afraid of happening though.”

“But didn’t it work out?”

“Yeah, but the odds weren’t exactly in our favor,” Bright Mind grumbled.

“And yet, we’re still okay!” Eli laughed.

Bright only looked away. Eli could see a misery and fear in his face over this whole journey. It was an incredibly new experience for him, a shut-in and an introvert.

“You want me to take you home? I will if you want to. We’re still within reasonable distance of Appleloosa.”

Bright Mind seriously considered his offer.

“But, how are you going to find your way to Canterlot? And what about your sister?”

“Look, I’m not going to force you to go with me. I’m not going to sugar coat it anymore: Based on what I’ve seen of this land so far, there’s quite a bit of a risk we’re taking here to be traveling like this. And I didn’t really count on that when we started. I don’t want you to continue risking yourself like this just because I want you to. I’ll figure something out without you if I have to.”

Bright looked at the human. He had just risked his life and heroically recruited the assistance of buffalo to save him.

“Although, I’d really rather not have to,” Eli shrugged.

“No, I’ll stay,” Bright Mind smiled. “Just please, ride this thing easy. My stomach can’t take it."

“Ha ha! That’s what I like to hear,” Eli grinned. “Where are we headed now?”

Bright pulled the map out of one of the saddlebags.

"We still have a ways to go, but we'll at least be out of the desert in a day's journey," Bright examined the map closely.

“Well, no reason to stick around this hot desert any longer,” Eli put his goggles back on. “Show me the way, el capítan.”

Bright directed Eli until he found a suitable landmark, and using a compass, headed him off towards the Everfree Forest.
Bright finally realized, he had a friend. Someone who would stand up for him when he himself was unable to. And that was worth the journey more than the future Eli had promised him.

Eli's mind was still on the tunnel he didn't turn down. His heart literally lurched in that direction when he sat there at the fork in the Diamond Dog tunnels. Eli hit a button on the side of his helmet, which linked to the dashboard on his motorcycle. Eli ran his fingers across the screen mounted above his handlebars and navigated through different menus.

He selected the music player and began listening to music inside his helmet to try and take his mind off of things.

Something really didn't feel right.

Marcella’s blindfold was ripped off, but it wasn’t a diamond dog this time standing above her. It was the man in the black suit again, with the piercing blue eyes and completely black skin.

“That was too close. Clearly, it was foolish of me to have trusted diamond dogs with a matter this important,” the man in the suit said to Rover, who looked like he was about to blow a fuse.

“He brought buffalo! What am I supposed to do when a herd of buffalo stampede my mines?”

“You got incredibly lucky. Because if he found her, this all would have been over. I haven’t been granted my power back. Not yet. Celestia and Luna cannot know that I’m still here.”

“And what if the human makes it to Canterlot before that happens?”

“I’m working on that,” the man in the suit spoke, and his hand turned to a black gas much like before. Consciousness drained from Marcella no matter how hard she fought, and it was back to the deep sleep she was so used to now. But in her heart she felt hope.

Her brother was here. And he was going to save her.

Author's Note

I had fun writing this one. I wanted to have this one out a lot sooner, but I've been busy lately and its hard to write from a phone. Half of this chapter was written with my thumbs, then emailed to myself, and then edited later on the lappy. Yep, I always find a way! (Auto correct is a bitch.)

I'm looking forward to where this story goes and having more shenanigans in this story than the last one.

Write drunk, edit sober y'all.