Our Inner Ponies

"Baby, your friend is here!" My mom yelled up the stairs of our small apartment.

"Okay!" I yelled back, closing a tab on my Toshiba laptop.

I smiled widely. It was finally Saturday, which meant that my BFFL (Best Friend For Life) could visit me. We had met in the fourth grade and ever since then we haven't seen each other in a while. A few minutes later, I heard someone running up the stairs, and I saw her. My BFFL: Zaria! Her braided hair was pulled back in a lowish ponytail and she looked really nice in her sparkly orange T-shirt and dark blue Apple Bottom Jeans.

"Yay, you're here!" I screamed excitedly, attacking her with a tight hug. She squeezed me harder and laughed.

"I'm really glad I could spend the night," she told me, settling on my bed with her tablet in her hands.

"I know. Our school just hates us," I joked, which caused us both to laugh. We didn't have any classes together at our school, and we were really bummed about it. Luckily, we still saw each other in the hallways and in the cafeteria—though it wasn't the same.

"Oh hey," I began, "you know my new obsession: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I took a quiz from it a few nights ago—"

"Oh God...!" Zaria interrupted, laughing loudly.

"Hey, it wasn't that bad!" I argued, closing my door so my mom wouldn't ask why we were yelling.

"Okay, so? You took the quiz and?"

"Well, I got Twilight Sparkle as my results," I continued. "I was really happy about it, and I...want you to take the quiz, too."

"No," Zaria replied flatly.

"Please?" I begged. "Just once?"

"No."

"Aww come on! I, I cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye that this'll be only once. Now, is that an okay promise?" Zaria rolled her eyes and groaned. But she got off her tablet and let me search for the quiz.

"Okay...oh, here we go!" I exclaimed.

Zaria slid closer to my computer screen and lowered her head to read the questions.

"Question Number Uno," I read aloud, which made Zaria flick my head. I laughed and continued reading the question. "What is your favorite slash was your favorite school subject?"

* * *

"Okay, you got....Fluttershy!" I reported, smiling.

"Great," Zaria replied sarcastically, turning her attention back to her tablet.

Don't get me wrong; we both adored Fluttershy and her little, yet rare, angry "outbursts." It's just that Zaria was the exact opposite of the shy yellow Pegasus. Oh yeah...my best friend wasn't afraid to state her opinion or decide to speak her mind; she could kick your butt if she had the option to (she took karate); she could sometimes be difficult to agree with; and she wasn't afraid to let out her super-random side.

"Aww come on, be happy," I urged her. "I thought I was gonna get Pinkie Pie, but I got Twilight. And I didn't complain, did I?"

"You are Pinkie Pie, Maya," Zaria shot back sarcastically.

"Noooo, Andrea Libman is Pinkie Pie—and Fluttershy," I wisecracked, which made Zaria groan once more.

"Oh hey, you wanna go on Cool Math?" she asked me.

"Sure," I replied, typing the website in my search engine. We spent the rest of our time playing games like Run, Fireboy and Water Girl, and Papa's Pizzeria. But something weird happened. Right in the middle of a game of Bloxorz, it just...froze!

"Hey! What happened?" I cried. "Did you pause it?"

"No," Zaria answered. "It doesn't have a pause button. Maybe your computer slowed down."

"Alright, let me just restart the page." But when I clicked the restart button, nothing happened. Nothing!

"What the heck?" I cried. "Alright, lemme ask my mom." I swung my legs over the edge of my bed and went downstairs.

"Hey mommy, my computer just—mommy?"

Yes, I call my mom mommy, but what made me stop mid-sentence shocked me. My mom's eyes were planted on the TV...which was paused. Now I know my mom can be silly like me sometimes, but I know for sure one does not simply stare at a paused TV. I went over and poked her shoulder. She didn't move. I waved my hand in front of her face. Still nothing. Is she frozen? I thought, backing away. Oh my God... I ran back upstairs.

"Hey Zaria? My mom is just...I dunno what happened, but she's not answering me. She's, like, frozen."

"Is your window open?" she asked me, and I shook my head no. Come to think of it, it was kinda cold in my room. Suddenly, I felt something blow on my neck lightly.

"Did you feel that?" I asked, touching my neck.

"Feel what?" Zaria replied to me.

"Something just blew...um, never mind," I said.

"Well, I didn't feel anything, but my back hurts," Zaria went on, laying down. I looked around my room just to make sure no windows were propped open. They were all closed tight.

"Ah geez! Now my head hurts," I complained, rubbing it. "I'm blaming you for that one."

"Oh shut up," my friend responded, hitting me with a pillow. We had a bit of a pillow fight, but we stopped when a gust of wind blew out of nowhere.

"Whoa mama!" Zaria screamed, dropping the pillow.

"Well that was really weird!" I chimed in. "What was that?"

Suddenly, this mysterious wind picked up. Papers went flying, my stuffed animals collapsed from my bookshelf, and my bedroom door slammed shut. The wind was so strong I couldn't see properly. I covered my watery eyes and reached a hand out to my friend. Once I found her hand, I held on tight to her until everything went into a painfully deathly silence...