Our Inner Ponies 2: A Race Against Time

I felt a surge of excited energy flow through my bloodstream as I followed the four ponies (yes four, because Twilight and Fluttershy insisted they visit Applejack as well) to Sweet Apple Acres. I've seen the place a thousand times on the show, but to see it in person was kind of a big deal to me. I mean, I know it was just a farm, but the good thing is that I could see a part of the Apple family. They were always cracking me up! About a few minutes later, a giant red-and-purple barn appeared up ahead followed by a large wired arch with an apple symbol. Over to the right were tons of apple trees as far as the eye could see, though there were no ponies.

"Hey, where's AJ?" I wondered aloud. "I thought she was here."

"We'll just have to spread out and find her, then," Twilight suggested.

Eh. Worth a shot. So we all split up in different directions. I searched east, Rarity searched north, Twilight and Spike searched northeast, and Rainbow and Fluttershy searched south. I searched behind and above the trees, behind stacks of hay, behind and inside the barn, and even in a barrel full of apples! But no Zaria. I was even tempted to whisper-scream her name a few times, but that didn't seem to help at all.

Sighing, I dragged myself under an apple tree and let the sun's rays warm my face. I hope I found her soon. We still had to save the world from this whole "shredding of time" problem before anymore damage could take place! Hey, get up! Some voice urged me. I knew that voice wasn't in my head. It sounded oddly familiar, but I didn't know who it belonged to. I decided to ignore it, and miraculously it went away. But as soon as it went away, my scalp was itching like crazy and my tail was moving in not slow, but rapid circles this time.

"I seriously have to see a doctor about this," I muttered to myself.

"Tell me about it," a voice agreed. I screeched and jumped up, my tail pointing upwards in alarm. I took in a deep breath of sweet, sweet relief.

"Zaria, it's you!" I whispered, smiling widely. "I finally found you!" Zaria, laughing her contagious laugh, hugged me tightly.

"Hey," she said. "I thought I'd never find ya after I finished workin' here." I still couldn't help but laugh at her accent.

"Yeah...Uh, anyway, how's life on the farm for you?" I asked curiously.

"Terrible!"

"Cool, glad—wait, what?" Zaria sighed and nodded.

"I really should've chosen another pony today," she began, rubbing her sweaty head. "How was I supposed to know pickin' apples would be that exhaustin'? I mean, it seemed easy on the show! Can we go home now?"

"Wow. I've never seen you this tired before," I replied, hardly any emotion in my voice. Don't get me wrong, I felt bad for my friend. It's just that it sounded like she was complaining instead of expressing how she felt.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm bursting it anyways," I said, which caused a groan to slip out of Zaria's mouth. "We can't go home until we save Equestria, remember? Oh, and that reminds me! Earlier, I had this weird—"

"Oh, you found Applejack!" A voice interrupted. I turned around and saw a set of violet eyes in my face. I backed away so I wouldn't be standing directly in front of Twilight.

"Uh, yeah," I said slowly. "I found her, alright. Um, where's Rainbow Dash and Rarity?"

"I saw them over by the barn, why?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell them something. Thanks Twilight." I headed over to the barn (Zaria could deal with Twilight on her own!) and, sure enough, I spotted Rarity and Dash deep in conversation. I could've sworn I heard my name and the words "going nuts" from one of them. Whatever. I cleared my throat loudly.

"Girls? Can I talk to you?" I asked, getting closer to them. "It's about what I said at Sugarcube Corner."

"Oh, you mean about your tingly hooves and those frozen fillies?" Dash wisecracked. I glared at her.

"Don't get smart with me," I warned. "And yes, this is about what happened earlier today. I swear you guys! My whole body was shaking! And - and those two fillies were dead frozen! And this weird voice just—" Rarity put her hoof on my mouth.

"Darling, take a breath!" She advised. "Look, I know you're paranoid about this whole thing, but I guarantee things will get better. Alright?" I sighed.

"What do I have to do to make you believe me?" I asked sadly. "Get down on my hooves and beg?"

"Actually, I was gonna say don't threaten me with chocolate cake, but your way works too," Rainbow teased, smirking. Don't...start, I coached myself. Don't get upset, Maya. Don't! I grinned.

"Sure," I replied finally. "As long as we cut the lame jokes, okay Dashie?" Rainbow nodded.

"Good. We're all getting along," Rarity said, clearly pleased. "Sooner or later, Princess Celestia will have a plan all figured out, and you and your little friend will be back home safely." I watched as the unicorn made her way over to a very close Zaria and Twilight. Rainbow slowly followed her. I watched them go, sadness filling inside me once again.

"I wish you'd believe me," I mumbled to myself, running my hoof in a circle along the ground.

Then I had a second thought: They had to believe me sooner or later, right? Right! So I didn't have to go left and right trying to persuade these two to believe me. The last time I tried that, I ended up turning into Psycho Twilight and almost losing a close friend and a reputation. I didn't want that to happen again—especially not with my favorite pony.

"Well, until we get this whole time thing straightened out," I announced to myself, "I'm going to enjoy myself this time. I Pinkie Promise!" I crossed my heart with my hoof and placed it over my right eye.

Then I merrily made my way over to the rest of the group, humming Pinkie's Smile song. You can't break a Pinkie Promise, I thought in a sing-songy voice. And I wasn't going to. Not this pony!