Restart and Redo

Fluttershy stepped out of her van, with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie following suit. “This is her apartment, right?” Rainbow asked.

“Of course it is, silly,” Pinkie pointed to the door, “Let me grab the keys first.” She stuck her hand into her messy pink hair, and pulled out a large string, full of keys. Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened with disbelief. “Um, Pinkie, you sure you can find the key to Sunset’s apartment? We don’t have all day.”

“Nope!” Rainbow tapped her foot impatiently as Pinkie examined each key. But Pinkie didn’t take very long. “AHA! Found it!”

She jumped as she put the key into the keyhole and turned it clockwise. The pink haired teen pushed the door open and turned to Rainbow. “See? I told you.”

Fluttershy shrugged. Pinkie Pie was Pinkie Pie.

“Look around and tell me if you can find it.” Rainbow was already on Sunset’s couch, sitting cross legged. Fluttershy glared at her. “This is important business. No fooling around.”

“Fine.” Rainbow forced herself up and the three spread throughout Sunset’s apartment.

Sunset’s apartment wasn’t very big, just 3 rooms; a living room that included a kitchen set, a small bedroom and last, a washroom. Rainbow was opening drawers and closets in Sunset’s bedroom, Pinkie was popping around the house with a detective suit that appeared out of nowhere, and Fluttershy was in the living room.

“No journal.” Fluttershy addressed. The others nodded in agreement and disappointment. “Let’s go back. Maybe Twilight would have figured something out.” Rainbow suggested.

Without a word, they retreated out of the apartment. Pinkie locked the door before hopping into Fluttershy’s van. Fluttershy stepped on the accelerator. The engine roared, and the van took off the way it came from.

***

Rarity wrote the numbers down while Applejack read them out. Applejack had decided not to disturb Twilight, as she was crouched down in a corner, her lips pressed tight.

She walked to her agitated friend and knelt down next to Twilight. “Ya alright, sugarcube?” Twilight shook her head, worry lines creasing her forehead. Applejack actually felt sympathetic for her for being the brainy nerd of the group, having to do all the thinking.

“Not yet….” Applejack was reminded of Princess Twilight stuck in the same situation, when they were thinking of a counterspell against the Dazzlings, or rather the Sirens to save their school from under their spell. She shrugged her shoulders and sat back down next to Rarity.

“What now?”

The fashionista shrugged, in a very unladylike way. But, she didn’t seem to mind. “Wait,” she answered simply. Applejack lowered her hat over her face.

***

The roar of a car engine could be heard as the sound grew louder and louder. Applejack knew that her friends had returned. Maybe they have some good news, she thought.

She stood up to greet her friends. Unfortunately, Rarity had beat her to it. “You’re back!” Rarity rushed over to the three teens and hugged them.

“Did you find the journal?” Applejack asked, but her friends’ stern expression gave her the answer. Looking at them, she noticed that Pinkie’s hair seemed to have lost a bit of color. She sighed. “Nothin, Ah suppose.”

Pinkie Pie nodded with a frown that didn’t pop up very often. Actually, it almost never comes out. This is one occasion. “So what other clues do we have except the journal?” Rainbow Dash piped.

Applejack wanted to force her brain to think faster, but her brain was at its limits. “Oh, horseapples,” She muttered out loud, “Why can’t Ah think of anythin’?”

“I kinda hope the sticky notes can help though.” said Rainbow, fiddling with a pen on the ground.

“Hey everyone! There’s something on the back of my sticky!” A yell from Pinkie Pie startled everyone. They jumped as Pinkie giggled. “What is it?” Applejack peered over Pinkie’s shoulder. “Another message? It says…. Tip: 1- 26. What the hay does she mean?”

“What includes 1 and 26? Bruh, I can’t even use English correctly now, I might need to relearn the alphabet!” Dash uttered.

“Wait,” Twilight interrupted her friend. “Did you just say the alphabet?” A hesitant nod confirmed her suspicions. “Ohhhh, so that’s what she meant. The alphabet! We’ve been barking up the wrong tree this whole time! We just need to know the number of the letters in the alphabet! Then we can see what they spell out and then we will be able to see where Sunset went off to! Oh, why didn’t I think of this earlier.”

Everyone just looked at Twilight, demented. “Err… care to translate?” Applejack asked.

“It’s pretty simple once you understand it,” Twilight explained, “So for example, the letter A is first in the alphabet, so it is the number 1. The letter Y however, is second last in the alphabet, so it is the number 25, since there are 26 letters in the alphabet. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I certainly think so.” Rarity replied.

“Uhm, I don’t really get it, sorry.” Rainbow Dash answered.

“Well, brains aren’t everything, but in your case, it’s nothing.” retorted Rarity.

“Ooohh, roasted!” Pinkie cried, laughing bubbling out of her mouth. Applejack had to put a hand over her mouth to hide her snickers.

Dash’s face was crimson red. She had to fight the urge to slam her fist into Rarity and create a nice “body structure” for her. Rarity gave her a smug smile.

Twilight chuckled. “Now, let’s match the letters to the numbers. Even if it is a childish game, it is essential in order to find out where Sunset’s been, alright?” Everyone nodded, including Dash, despite the fact that she didn’t understand.

***

“Ah got it!” A shout from Applejack announced the completion of their task. “Fluttershy, show her the letters we’ve got.”

Fluttershy read the letters out. “We have two Es, one I, A, U, T, S, R and Q. Nine letters in total.”

“Interesting. Let’s try and figure out all combinations of those letters, and see if we can find a reasonable word.” Twilight announced.

A FEW MOMENTS LATER……

“You know, there are very little words with the letter Q in it, and I just remembered something. The word “Equestria” has the letter Q in it!” Twilight shouted.

“Hooray,” murmured Fluttershy. Sometimes you can never tell if she’s happy. “Should we go to the portal?” she suggested. “If you all can’t wait.” She shared a smile with Applejack.

Twilight glanced at her watch before saying: “I don’t think we should….it’s pretty late. 10 past 9.” She began to stand up. Rarity and Fluttershy also dismissed themselves.

***

The first rays of sunlight were getting brighter by the minute, but the sun was still nowhere to be found. The sky was a mixture of dark blue of night and orange gold of day, the line between both colors a faint orange and yellow.

The Mane Six, stood in front of the Canterlot horse statue. This time, no vehicles were parked around in order to stop suspicion. “Alright girls, you ready?” Rainbow asked, sweeping her gaze across the group.

Twilight almost thought that her eyes had shone with blue light, but shook the thought away. It isn’t important now. Seeing the others nod, she also did as well. “Good.” Dash sounded a bit like the leader of the Wonderbolts Spitfire while giving orders. “Even if I really want to all charge in at once, let’s go one by one. I’ll go first.”

Twilight had to be impressed. Wow, she thought, Rainbow Dash would do anything for her friends. No wonder she’s the Element of Loyalty. She watched as each of her friends followed her friend inside.

A hand was placed on her shoulder. She looked back to see Fluttershy with a worried face. “Are you alright?” she asked.

“I’m fine. Just unsure. I kind of wish I brought my device with me to get some findings.” Twilight replied.

Her friend didn’t reply. Fluttershy gestured her hand to the portal and stepped inside, with her eyes tightly closed. Twilight also shut her eyes and lifted her hand to touch the portal.

Author's Note

List of Alternative Names for EqG Fanfic:
1. Confusion
2. The Jumbled Pieces
3. Backspace

(Deciding on title names is a hard task )