Pear and Velvet: Voltergeist

As if out of a movie, Alabaster went behind his desk and pulled open a lower drawer; reaching in and hitting a button, the 'thunk' of a large mechanism unlocking sounded. Rolling his chair aside, he reached down and pulled up a hatch to expose a wall mounted ladder that led down.

“Wow,” Tanner squatted down beside the hatch. “That must have a cost an arm and a leg.”

“Practically,” Alabaster peered downward. “I’ve only been down there once to test everything after completion.”

“I’ll go first.” Wyndham volunteered, climbing down onto the ladder and descending.

“Make sure you stay behind us, Mayweather.” Alabaster reminded as he followed after.

Once everyone had made it into the dark tunnel, Alabaster accessed a utility box against the smooth wall; he removed a pair of flashlights and handed one to Wyndham as the group proceeded. Their steps bounced off the walls and echoed down the path while they traveled; despite being a straight shot to the plant, the claustrophobic walk still took nearly an hour. They came upon a dead end with another ladder leading up to a second hatch; Alabaster climbed up and undid the locking mechanism. As quietly as possible, he hefted the hatch and gently set it against the tile floor of the office. As soon as they were free of the tunnel, everyone could feel the vastly different atmosphere of the abandoned plant. It was quite the shock at this point for the townsfolk to see lights on and hear the hum of equipment in the background.

“It’s almost blinding.” Mayweather whispered.

“I thought I’d be excited to see electricity on again,” Tanner began. “But it’s kind of terrifying right now.”

“Where’s the equipment station?” Pear asked.

“Out the door and about a hundred feet down the hall in a utility closet." Alabaster detailed.

“Let’s get rid of the flashlights,” Wyndham took Alabaster’s light and laid them on the desk. “Everyone keep your eyes and ears peeled.”

“Right,” Twilight nodded. “Hopefully he won’t notice us right away.”

Moving cautiously, they stepped out of the office and made their way to the utility closet. Alabaster quickly pulled it open and accessed the large locker against the back wall. “Here, quickly.” He began passing his daughter an insulated jumpsuit, gloves and goggles; donning a set of his own as soon as she was set up. As he zipped up, he looked to Wyndham. “Alright, we’re ready.”

“Okay, you take the lead from here.” Wyndham gestured down the hall.

Alabaster led on, heading back past the office in the opposite direction and towards the eastern stairwell. They headed down to the next floor, a slew of offices and workrooms sprawled out before them. “This is the main office,” He whispered. “Phone center, management… all that.”

“Looks like everyone literally dropped what they were doing.” Twilight noted, observing the paperwork and office supplies littered about the carpet.

“I would have to…” Tanner began, cutting off as the halogen lights above them began to flicker. “Oh shit.” He harshly muttered.

“M… maybe the bulbs are just going bad.” Hibiscus said, mostly trying to convince herself.

“YOU.” A menacing voice trailed over the area.

“That doesn’t sound like a bulb to me, sugar.” Pear said grimly.

“YOU!” The voice again rang out, the lights flashing wildly. A light fixture down the hall they were in blew and a massive surge of electricity funneled from the exposed sockets. It slowly formed into its Stallion form; eyes affixed to the elderly Stallion at the group's head.

“My god…” Alabaster matched eyes with the thing. “It is you.”

“ALABASTER!” Meadow roared in distorted tone, more light fixtures bursting as if responding to his emotional state.

“What do we do!?” Tanner hurriedly asked.

“Move!” Pear saw that Meadow was raising his arm and pushed him into one of the offices, grabbing Twilight and yanking her along as she dived into a separate office. Wyndham took Hibiscus and dove into another room with Alabaster and Mayweather following suit. A powerful blast of electricity shot down the path, the force of it kicking up papers and rocking the office walls; ending with a great crash as it collided with the far end of the floor.

“KILL… YOU!” Meadow’s voice boomed around them as he vanished back up into the light fixture.

“Where do we need to go!” Wyndham called out to Alabaster.

“Straight ahead and right at the second to last hall!” Alabaster yelled back. “The second stairwell is against the south wall!”

“Okay!” Wyndham acknowledged. “Everyone get ready to move! I’m going to try to get him to show up behind us!”

“Okay!” Pear called out.

Wyndham drew his sidearm and stepped from the office, he aimed back down the way they came and started shooting out more lights in an attempt to coax him back down. Soon enough, Meadow emerged from one of the new access ports and stared down the Sheriff. “He’s out! Move!” Alabaster, Mayweather, Tanner and Hibiscus all ran from their cover and broke for the stairs.

“NO!” Meadow quickly shifted his focus once Alabaster became visible again.

“Hey!” Wyndham fired a bullet at the shape, it passed clean through and lodged in the wall.

As Meadow looked back to the Sheriff, Twilight and Pear left their spot and Twilight ran to Wyndham’s side.

“Meadow stop!” Twilight said firmly.

“What are you doing?” Wyndham glanced over at her.

Meadow looked at her a moment and then returned to the ceiling, using a damaged light that was closer to reform himself. “YOU…”

“Yes,” Twilight nodded. “You remember me, right? From Maple’s house.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the family photo. “You remember this too?” She displayed the photo. “Please Meadow, we know what happened now and we want to help. We can free you, we can let you rest.”

“REST...” Meadow calmed a bit.

“Yes, Meadow.” Twilight nodded.

“Wyndham,” Pear took the Sheriff’s shoulder. “Go after the others.”

“And leave you with it?” He asked.

“We’ll be fine, none of this means anything if they don’t reach the generators.” She insisted.

With a short growl, Wyndham nodded and began backing away to move towards the stairs. Pear joined Twilight and faced Meadow bravely. “Listen to Vel, Meadow.” She said calmly. “We really do want to help, but you have to let us.”

“We know where…” Twilight struggled. “Where you are, Meadow. We’re going there to set you free from this… existence of anger and torment. You don’t want this anymore, do you?”

Meadow looked at the picture, a longing apparent in the manifestation of his eyes; it didn’t last long though as anger returned. “NOT… YET…” He raised his arm to them. “HE… DIES… FIRST!”

“Meadow no…” Twilight started as Pear took her shoulders, she rolled around her body and planted her protected hooves firmly on the floor; the two of them left the ground as Pear took the shot to her back and landed hard on the carpet. Meadow vanished again, no doubt heading below to continue his pursuit. “Pear!” Twilight rolled her on to her back and straddled her. “Pear! Are you okay?!”

“Ugh…” Pear groaned. “Getting mighty sick of that.” She reached up and took Twilight’s arm. “You okay, sugar?”

“Yes.” She nodded; eyes welled with relieved tears. “He’s so aware, Pear; but he won’t stop until Alabaster is dead.”

“Well, it was worth a shot.” Pear got to her hooves and dusted herself off. “We’d best get after them. That trick won’t work again.”

“Right.” Twilight nodded as they ran for the stairs.

A floor below; Alabaster, Mayweather, Tanner and Hibiscus continued on towards the final stairwell leading down to the generator hall.

“I hope your friends are okay.” Mayweather huffed as they jogged along.

“They’re pretty tough.” Hibiscus said in return. “More than you’d think.”

“STOP!” Another light blew and Meadow reformed before them.

“Damn it!” Tanner skidded to a halt behind the others.

“Meadow!” Mayweather jumped before her father with arms spread.

Meadow immediately zeroed in on the girl, the contorted features of his face showing recognition. MAY…WEATHER…”

“Yes, it’s me, Meadow.” She nodded.

“Mayweather.” Alabaster tried to grab her, but Hibiscus stopped him.

“Wait, let her talk to him.” She pulled him back.

“Meadow… please…” Mayweather looked into the warped eyes of her lost lover and felt an overwhelming slew of emotion. “I’m sorry, this is all my fault.”

Meadow reached his arm out. “NO…, ALABASTER.”

“No, Meadow.” She shook her head. “You fell because of me, you…”

“KEPT… US… APART!” Meadow roared. “HIS… FAULT!” He cast his arm aside, a line of electricity sending everything nearby flying. “KILL!” His arm raised and bolts began to arc around the area.

“Get down!” Tanner pulled Mayweather back and crouched beside the others.

“Meadow!” Alabaster called from a ways back.

“ALABASTER!” Meadow leapt to a nearby copy machine and leered down at him.

“That’s right.” Alabaster motioned for him to come closer. “I’m the one you want… the one you’ve always wanted.”

“YES!” Meadow raised his arm to him.

“Daddy!” Mayweather tried to break free of Tanner’s arms, but he held her fast.

Before he could fire, a heavy stream of water blasted into his side; Meadow’s form began to go haywire, and he seemed to scream in some form of pain. He quickly shrank and disappeared into the outlet in which the copier was plugged into.

“Got him.” Hibiscus said proudly, hefting a wall mounted fire hose from an emergency fire station.

“Good job.” Alabaster breathed a heavy sigh.

Wyndham suddenly appeared down the way, running at them full bore. “Are you okay!?” He asked.

“We’re fine, I cooled him off.” Hibiscus informed. “Where’s Pear and Twilight?”

“They were stalling him, but if he came down here then they must have lost him.” He glanced back.

“We need to move.” Alabaster noted. “We’re almost there.”

“Go,” Tanner went back to Wyndham. “I’ll find them and catch up.”

“Okay,” Wyndham patted his shoulder. “Let’s go.” He, Alabaster, Mayweather and Hibiscus continued on while Tanner doubled back.

Traveling down another floor, Alabaster took over and headed towards the eastern end of the plant. Mayweather was clearly shaken by her encounter with Meadow, she had gone silent as they hurried, and her eyes were hard but damp with tears. After passing through a long corridor, they exited into the massive generator hall. The sound of the still running turbines was like a low roar and the concrete slab flooring was dotted with scattered and abandoned equipment from the mass exodus.

“We’re almost there, just…” Alabaster pointed down the way but stopped as he saw the familiar form manifest atop one of the turbines.

“ALABASTER!” The recovered Meadow glared down at them.

“Uh oh… this is bad.” Hibiscus noted. “Not only is his body here, but he’s got full access to the generators. He’s at his most powerful in this room.”

“Let me try…” Mayweather began but was halted by her father.

“Watch out!” He sheltered her as a shower of electrical bursts began raining down on them. They scattered as all of them were struck, their protective gear their only saving grace. Meadow let out a scream that managed to drown out the turbines as he fired randomly down at them.

“I think you pissed him off!” Wyndham called over to Hibiscus.

“You want to me go say sorry!” She yelled back.

Back at the entrance to the hall, Pear, Twilight and Tanner came to a stop as they beheld the electric specter atop the generator raining bolts across the room.

“Holy shit.” Tanner said with gaped jaw.

“Looks like he’s through going easy on us,” Pear shook her head as she prepared herself. “You ready, Vel?”

“Yeah,” Twilight nodded. “Tanner?” She glanced over at him.

“Not like I’ve got anything else going on.” He shrugged with a forced smile. “What’s the plan?”

“I’ll get his attention.” Pear informed. “You two find the others.” With that, she ran in and waved her arms. “Hey!” She called up. “You’ve hit me twice now, want to try for three!”

Meadow ceased his mindless attack and looked down at her. “HELP… ALABASTER… YOU… DIE!” He sent a huge surge at Pear who ran beneath the scaffolding used to service the generators, the metal framework catching the electricity.

As Pear maneuvered through the scaffolding, Twilight and Tanner headed around the opposite side of the room and found the others.

“There you are.” Hibiscus said in relief.

“Pear’s keeping him busy,” Twilight informed. “We need to get to the body now.”

“This way.” Alabaster motioned for them to follow.

They ran down the hall, the sound of Pear’s taunts and Meadow’s attacks in the background. They came upon the final generator which remained silent. Out of breath, Alabaster pointed to a large hatch on the side.

“There… he’s in there.” He panted.

Wyndham and Tanner bolted over and popped the panel off; they were startled as their eyes were met with the half-rotted remains of a Stallion. The body was folded in an unnatural position and as he decayed the flesh, bone and clothing had seemed to mold themselves against the stator of the turbine.

“Fuck!” Tanner dropped his side of the panel as he immediately threw up from the smell.

The hardened Wyndham stared at the dead boy before looking back to Hibiscus. “What now?”

“Destroy it, however you can.” Hibiscus ordered.

Wyndham reached inside and attempted to grab the body but struggled to dislodge the corpse. “Shit, he’s stuck in there.”

“NOOOO!” Meadow’s voice sounded above them; sensing his body was being disturbed, he abandoned Pear and formed himself on the adjacent generator.

“Wyndham, watch out!” Twilight shouted.

Wyndham dropped to the ground just as a massive bolt struck the generator; he and Tanner scrambled around to the other side of the machine as Meadow turned his attention to the others.

“Run!” Twilight motioned for them to spread out; sparks flew as they were attacked, Meadow now in survival mode to defend his tie to the mortal world.

“Shit, we can’t get near him.” Hibiscus looked over to Twilight. “And he won’t be drawn away again, not with his body at risk.”

“I know…” Twilight tried to think under the roar of the generators, the bolt strikes and Meadow’s angered screams. She suddenly took Hibiscus’ hand and held it tightly. “Stay here.”

“Wait, what...” Hibiscus started but Twilight left their cover and began moving across the way. She saw where Alabaster and Mayweather were hiding, and baseball slid into their sheltered spot.

“How do you start the generator?” She quickly asked.

“There’s a separate fuse box with its own main switch.” Alabaster relayed. “It’s on the wall over there.” He pointed to the wall closet to the generator.

“Pear!” Twilight called out.

“Vel!” Pear’s voice responded.

“On the wall to your right!” She continued. “Power on the generator!” A moment passed before Pear called back.

“I can’t get close!” She answered.

“He’ll stop for me.” Alabaster said solemnly.

“Daddy, no!” Mayweather took his shoulders.

“Stay here,” He looked at her with hard but loving eyes. “I love you.” He kissed her forehead and slid from the protected area. “Meadow!” He shouted, the attacks immediately stopping.

“ALABASTER!” Meadow’s rage overrode his survival instinct and he focused on his primary target.

“I won't run anymore.” Alabaster held his arms out. “Too many have died because of your hatred of me, no more. Leave them be.”

“YOU!” Meadow fired upward and knocked a piece of the metal roofing loose; it fell to the ground and he conducted his form over to it. “ALL… YOUR… FAULT!”

“If that’s what you need to think, then fine.” He conceded. “This has gone on long enough. If this is what will stop you, then take your revenge.”

“YOU… DIE!” Meadow raised his arm.

“No!” Mayweather jumped between them. “Meadow, stop it! Please!”

“Mayweather.” Alabaster tried to move her, but she did not budge.

“MAY… WEATHER…” Meadow lowered his arm.

“Please, don’t kill my father.” She begged. “I know you’re angry, I am too… at all of this.” She looked into his eyes. “All this time, what happened has been eating me alive inside; it’s been more than I can take. I lost you, I don’t want to lose my father too.”

“LOSE…” Meadow returned her gaze. “LOSE… YOU.”

“I know,” She nodded as she began to cry. “I know you did, and I’m so sorry. I was really falling in love with you, Meadow; and if you feel the same way… then you’ll stop this.”

Their attention was grabbed by the sound of a turbine beginning to spin. Meadow looked back at his mechanical casket for a moment before slowly turning back again. He looked past her at the Stallion he associated with his death and then back to the Mare that served as the catalyst for that death; even in that form, his eyes registered a degree of acceptance at her request. “LOVE… YOU…” He slowly reached out toward her, but the arm began to shake violently and lost shape. Wyndham and Tanner returned to the generator and watched as the spinning stator began to pull down and grind away what was left of Meadow’s body.

“Meadow…” Mayweather reached out to him in return. “Goodbye.”

The once fearsome and deadly spirit almost seemed to smile as his form stuttered and slowly dissipated. The only sound left was the hum of the generators as Mayweather fell to her knees and began to sob uncontrollably. Alabaster knelt down and hugged her tightly, his old eyes just a wet as his daughters as the nightmare finally came to an end.

Pear, Twilight, Wyndham, Hibiscus and Tanner assembled before the generator and looked to one another with exhausted eyes.

“We did it.” Twilight managed a small smile.

“I… I can’t believe it’s over.” Tanner held the side of his head.

“Good thing you were right about how to put him to rest for good.” Pear patted Hibiscus’ back.

“I’m just glad all my years of being into the paranormal paid off.” She made a small laugh. “But… I think I’m going to find a new hobby.”

“Thank you,” Wyndham came in. “All of you, this never would have happened without you.”

“Don’t leave yourself out of the equation.” Twilight smiled up at him. “We couldn't have done this without you either.”

Wyndham looked over at Alabaster and Mayweather. “I think it would be best if this all died here with Meadow.” He considered his words before about Alabaster handing himself over. “This town has been through enough, and so have they.”

“Can’t say I disagree.” Tanner noted.

“Yeah,” Hibiscus nodded. “I know we showed up at their door angry but… knowing they have to live with all this, I just feel sorry for them now. We’re all walking away from this with scars we’ll carry for the rest of our lives.”

“Well, that’s what scars are for.” Pear began. “To remind us of what happened and not to do it again.”

Wyndham helped Alabaster and Mayweather up, making sure they were okay before having him lead them to the main entrance so they could get back and let the town know that it was over.

It was a long walk filled with mixed emotion, but everyone’s spirits lifted as the familiar safe zone became visible. The normal activity all stopped as the townsfolk observed the bizarre sight of their Sheriff and the others casually walking in from a long unused road. They were immediately rushed by confused passersby and Wyndham managed to get across the short message that the danger was finally over. Even as those in the immediate area began to spread word, it seemed to take the town a while to truly believe that they were finally free. In the meantime, Wyndham took Alabaster and Mayweather to the station while Pear, Twilight, Tanner and Hibiscus returned to the motel to let Applewood and the other residents in on the news. The motel manager was overwhelmed by the news and took Tanner and Hibiscus to let their guests know that their involuntary stay was over at last. Pear and Twilight returned to their room; while Twilight’s phone had been fried, Pear's was still off in the luggage. Pear knew how deeply Twilight needed to hear Night Light’s voice, so she turned it on and tossed it to her.

“Here you go, sugar.” Pear said with a smile.

“Thank you,” Twilight quickly pulled up the call menu and dialed up her house from the contacts. After a few rings, the other end picked up and Twilight’s face washed over with joy as she heard Night Light’s hello.

“Pear?” He asked, as that was the name that came up.

“It’s me, honey.” Twilight said, holding back a teary laugh.

“Twilight, I was getting worried.” He responded. “Are you okay?”

“I… it’s a long story, I’m just glad to hear your voice.” She said with a sniffle.

“What happened?” He quickly asked.

“I can’t go into it all now,” She answered. “I just wanted you to know that we’re okay and we’ll be heading home as soon as we can. I know you have questions, but I promise I’ll tell you everything when I get back.”

A paused followed her promise. “Okay, honey. As long as you’re okay.”

“I am,” She assured. “I need to let Pear call Bright now, I’ll call you again when we’re on the road.”

“Alright,” He acknowledged. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Twilight blew a kiss into the phone before hanging up. She immediately started to cry as she set the phone on the bed, the relief overtaking her.

Pear sat beside her and took up the phone, putting her arm around Twilight as she made a similar call to her Bright Mac. By the time the pair made it back outside the motel, they could see lights as those in the area began to return power to the buildings in the safe zone. Just seeing lights in windows was enough to bring a smile to their faces but the resonating sound of exciting talking and cheering was welcome to their ears.

“Hey!” Hibiscus’ voice came from behind them.

“Hey, girl.” Pear took her shoulder. “Quite a sight, huh?”

“For sure.” She looked out over the buildings. “Everyone is going nuts.”

“It looks like we’ll be spending one more night here,” Twilight noted. “Guess we should get in on the celebration.”

“I could go for a drink.” Pear chuckled. “How about we huddle around a light bulb and relax for a while.” She put her arms around the both of them.

Twilight laughed and slowly nodded. “That sounds good actually.”

The wave of ease and relief that engulfed the town was unlike anything Pear and Twilight had ever seen; all sentiment of rationing was tossed to the wind as everyone indulged in the stored food and alcohol. After some time, they went to the station to check in on Wyndham who had begrudgingly been persuaded to relieve his deputies and staff of duty so they could get in on the party. He remained though; sitting with Alabaster and Mayweather who, while relieved, were in no spirit to celebrate anything.

“Figured you’d be out in the streets with everyone else.” Wyndham said as the trio appeared at his office door.

“We were,” Twilight took the last remaining chair. “But we wanted to see how you all were doing.”

Wyndham let out a short laugh. “Well, even though the danger is over, I know there’s still a lot of work to do.”

“Yes,” Alabaster concurred. “I’m still the manager of the plant, I need to report all this to my superiors and they are not going to be happy; I’m not even sure I can explain this in a way that won’t make me seem mad.” He made a long sigh. “There are going to be investigations, fines, lawsuits… it’s going to be rough.” He rubbed his daughters back.

“Not to mention the fact that once everyone leaves and starts spreading the story of what happened here, the town is going to be swarmed with newshounds, ghost hunters and social media vultures looking to ape off this incident.” Wyndham added.

“Unfortunately, he’s right.” Hibiscus said shallowly. “This place is going to become a madhouse.”

“I’d like to send Mayweather away to family,” Alabaster noted. “But she refuses to go.”

“I have to stay.” Mayweather spoke up. “No matter what gets uncovered or what happens to the town, I have a responsibility to face it for Meadow.”

“That’s mighty brave of you,” Pear commended. “But don’t feel have to make yourself some kind of sacrifice.”

“Yeah, in a way you really were a hero back there.” Hibiscus offered. “Encounters with the paranormal are so rare and what Meadow had become… well, there may well never be another case like that again. His spirit was driven by rage and vengeance, but you managed to find him underneath all of that and give him some peace before he finally left this world. I don’t think you get just how amazing that was.” She smiled. “May sound a bit corny, but It really proved that love was stronger in the end.”

Mayweather’s eyes spilled over with tears at the thought of it all; she wiped her eyes and smiled. "Thank you.”

“I’m sorry we can’t help you with all that.” Twilight said earnestly.

Wyndham shook his head. “You two have done more than enough.” He assured. “In fact, I’m going to do what I can to make sure you don’t wind up dragged into the media circus. You deserve to get home to you families; we’ll handle the rest from here.” He looked to Pear. “Tomorrow morning, I’m having some teams go out and bring in all the vehicles that got stuck outside of town. If you tell me which one is yours, I’ll make sure it gets priority so you can leave.”

“Appreciated.” Pear said graciously. “It’s a tan, extended cab Bronco. License plate says APLEFAM.”

Wyndham laughed as he wrote the information down. “Got it.” He smiled up at them.

“Don’t burn too much of the midnight oil.” Twilight said as she stood. “We’ll see you in the morning.”

That night was the first good sleep the town had in longer than most of them could remember; so good in fact that even Pear slept in. The morning moved quickly with breakfast and plans by the townsfolk to begin returning to their actual homes in the area and begin the process of repair and revitalization. As Wyndam had promised, Pear’s truck was retrieved and looked at first; the vehicle pulling up the motel about an hour after breakfast had concluded. Tanner retrieved them from their room and let them know their ride was ready; the pair packed up their things and headed to the lobby more than ready to start their trip home. Applewood was at the front desk and gave them as a smile as they prepared to head out.

“Never thought I would be so happy to see someone able to leave.” He laughed.

“Thank you for everything, Applewood.” Twilight reached out and took his hand. “We know things are going to get hairy for you here, I hope it works out.”

“Thank you,” He gently squeezed her hand. “But nothing will ever compare to what we’ve already been through. We’ll be fine, so you both take care.”

They gave him a final farewell before heading out into the parking lot; Tanner and Hibiscus were observing Pear’s truck as they came upon them. “Nice wheels.” Tanner praised. “Guy said the damage was minimal, probably because it's a diesel. They slapped a new battery in and it started right up.”

“Sometimes basic is best.” Pear quoted as she stared loading up their luggage.

“You two take care of yourselves.” Twilight looked them over.

“We will.” Tanner promised.

“You know,” Hibiscus began. “I was thinking last night that I should write a book about what happened here.” She eyed Twilight keenly.

“As long as you change our names.” Pear came in as she walked by them, making Twilight laugh.

“Aw,” Hibiscus soured. “But you two helped save the town, don’t you want recognition for that?”

“That’s sweet, Hibiscus.” Twilight smiled. “But we just want to go back to our normal lives as wives and mothers… and farmers in Pear’s case.” She chuckled. “We know what happened, and that’s enough for us.”

“That’s right.” Pear started as she came around the truck again, having finished preparations. “I don’t need a fancy title; we all just did what we needed to do; everyone in this town is a hero for staying together and staying strong. I think that’s a better message to get across.”

Hibiscus took to the idea and nodded. “That’s good too. Thank you.”

They gave the pair a last goodbye and Pear had them back on the road out of town; Twilight sank in the seat as she reveled in the feeling of knowing they would be home soon. She took Pear’s phone again and called her house as she had promised; Night Light was quick to answer and greeted her warmly.

“Yep, we’re on our way.” Twilight answered the immediate query. “This may not make sense, but I want to take a hot bath when I get home.” She laughed as he assured her one would be ready. She remained quiet for a moment as Night Light informed her of something; Pear glanced over and saw her eyes brighten suddenly. “Really, we were just talking about that ourselves the other day. I will.” She paused again. “Okay, love you.” She hung up and set the phone to the center console.

“What was that about?” Pear asked.

“Night Light said he got a call from Evershy while we were gone.” She answered.

“Really?”

“Yeah, she called Bright too apparently, but he wasn’t home.” She continued. “She’s trying to contact us about getting together with her, Windy, Stellar and Cloudy.” She looked to Pear. “Night Light said she mentioned that she had a big life change, didn’t say what though.”

“Wow,” Pear considered what that could mean. “Well, seeing them sounds pretty dang good right now.”

“I know.” Twilight concurred. “I’ll call her when I get home and let her know that we’d love to get together.”

“Heh, bet they won’t believe what we just went through.” Pear laughed.

“Between Windy and Stellar, it’ll be interesting for me to have the craziest story for a change.” She laughed along. “They used to tease me so much about having such a cookie cutter life.”

“Maybe that hero story might come in handy after all.” Pear reached across the cab and punched her shoulder.

“Maybe.” Twilight sighed as she laid her head back; she thought about not just what had happened but to what had spurred Evershy to seek a reunion all the sudden. As her mind wandered, her eyes drifted to the window as she watched the landscape speed by.