It was cold, as far as she could tell she was cold. The sky above her draped in several tones of grey, a warning for the storm approaching. It was an odd feeling getting to her hooves, her joints and bones creaked as if she never used them. Finally right side up, her vision became partially obscured, her bangs draped over her eyes as if they've never been cut. It was odd, the only word she could use to describe it, odd.
The bangs would prove to be annoying, but not too hard to overcome, she'd just need to find a pair of sheers later. First of all, where was she? Through the mat of hair, the pony's vision was filled by several shades of pale. Pale red bricks stacked on pale gray concrete with pale blue and yellow carriages and pale green dumpster sat beside her. Surely Rarity would think it were a disaster of design.
For a moment, Twilight sat there, contemplating what had transpired previous to her waking up. Yet, the harder she thought, the more her head began hurting. The sudden rumble of thunder roused the mare from her musings, making sure she knew the weather would not stay still for long.
The pony's fist attempts at standing were met by failure, her limbs failed to coordinate. She looked down, glaring at the appendages, wondering why they wouldn't listen to her. They were thin, small dark grey hooves poking out from the long skirts draped from her ankles. Exhaling sharply, the mare rolled back to her stomach and placed all four legs facing away from her, then pushed as hard as she could until her tiny body rose. It was a slow process which took entirely too much effort, yet she endured and persevered in. . . standing.
Twilight mentally kicked herself, why was that so dang difficult? It was as if she'd woken up in an entirely different body, she felt like a foal in fact. She swayed slightly as she began walking, placing a hoof down and stopping whenever she felt she would fall. Either side of the opening stretched a sidewalk, the buildings either side stretched high above her head. She didn't even make it up to a window, the tip of her short gray horn was a long way from the sill.
As she continued her uneven walk, small drops of rain began to patter the top of her head and back. Worry began creeping into Twilight's mind, the thought of being caught in a terrible storm when she could barely walk frightened the mare. She she shrugged it off, pressing forth to find somewhere to take shelter.
As she walked, more drops fell onto her, soaking her overgrown pelt to her skin. The increasing dampness caused the mare to increase her pace, speeding up until she was near a trot when she finally tripped over her own hooves. The collision slightly concussed the unicorn, further hampering her own mobility.
Twilight groaned, but the rapidly approaching storm forced the mare up on unsteady hooves. She had landed in front of a store, the window of which was short enough for Twilight to see herself. If it weren't for her core features, Horn, Purple fur, Purple eyes, she wouldn't have known who she was looking at. The mare in the mirror was thin, almost to a dangerous degree, the horn and hooves were a dark gray, almost tar black. The fur was longer than she remembered any ponies' ever being, and her tail. It was a long purple appendage that swayed being her, irate. A long fan of dark blue hair stirred air currents behind her.
The longer she stared, the faster her tail swayed. The wind suddenly picked up, droplets coming down thicker and faster until Twilight was completely soaked. Her mane clung to her face, parting just enough for a single purple eye to stare back, the only part of her that didn't appear changed.
A flash of lightning snapped Twilight from her irritated ogling, just in time for a newspaper to smack her in the face. It covered the little unicorn, knocking her too her flanks and pushing her around and into the street. When she finally got it off, her surroundings became brighter and brighter. A carriage roared over her, narrowly clipping the tops of her ears before speeding off. She attempted to run, but her hooves refused to cooperate, forcing the mare into an awkward hobble.
As fast as she could, Twilight blindly galloped down City blocks, turning down this street and that alley, tryin got find someplace she could hide. It was all far to much, the unfamiliarity she had with both her surroundings as well as her own body, the seeming lack of magic and unknown that were her friends. Once she survived this she'd have to go find them, she could only wonder how well they were doing.
Suddenly, to her left, wood, a hole in a fence that had to have someplace dry to hide. Twilight squeezed her tiny little body through, hooves sinking slightly into the muddy turf caking the ground. She panted, her body refused to move any faster than a slow walk. Yet she continued, approaching what looked like the back door to the building, there was a small hole underneath the stairs, she could wait the storm out there.
She froze, sudden and sharp loud noises all around her, more disorienting and frightening than the large black mass rushing towards her. The black mass collided with the frightened pony, knocking her to the ground before pouncing on her leg. She felt sharp claws dig into her skin, no doubt drawing blood, followed by her being thrown against the fence. The rush of adrenaline gave the pony just enough energy to squeeze back through the fence and avoid the mass's further wrath.
Shaken, she stood still, the ringing in her ears drowning out the barking, the patter of the rain, the rumble of thunder and crash of lightning. Instead, her heart beat through her ears, the pull and push of blood the only sensation she could note. She looked down at her back leg, stiff as a board and refusing to move, sending searing needles of protest up to her brain.
She continued onwards on three hooves, dragging the forth behind her to find someplace else. Another carriage passed by, dousing the mare in a fresh coat of water, forcing momentary blindness that caused a stumble into said puddle. She felt her eyes heat up further, a pressure beneath them welling up, threatening to spill over. And spill they did, salty tears mixed with her damp fur as a pitiful whimper wracked her throat. She felt like laying down, like giving up and surrendering to the storm that raged around her. The wind picked up, threating to push her over as if were taunting her.
Twilight slowly lowered her head into the puddle, closed her eyes and waited. Everything around her blended together into a cacophony of loud, wet and pain. It was far to much for her little body and misplaced mind to handle, she surrendered. Feeling the high winds and water carry her small body off, drifting into a storm drain and passing out on the hard concrete.
Blissful silence, for the first time since she woke up it wasn't so loud. She vaguely felt her face grow ever more sore against the cold, hard concrete. Groaning, the pony rolled over, wishing she could just go back to sleep. After she turned over, a ray of sunlight pierced her eyelid, making that position as uncomfortable as the last. She willed her eyelids open, half expecting her open curtains to greet her, but instead was instead met with gray concrete.
Twilight briefly recalled the previous day, shuddering slightly at the sensations that brought. Instead of dwelling on her crappy first day, getting her priorities straight seemed more important. Standing up, she needed to figure out exactly what she could do like this. Walking around a bit, she didn't feel as stiff and uncoordinated as before, actually managing a trot before the pain in her leg swelled. While not bleeding, it would no doubt get infected without medical treatment.
Aside from that, she also felt quite famished. Wrinkling her nose at the feeling, Twilight began to lightly trot down the sewer with a checklist fresh in her mind. She needed to find a way out of the sewer, find food, treat her wound and then find her friends. No biggie. Her quest for an exit took the mare down many, many, way to many passages. It was like an awful smelling maze, but one she was determined to conquer.
She could hear things rumbling above her, dislodging a brick or small stone on rare occasions. It was... nerve wracking and forced her to stop for fear of being struck. Twilight did not want to meet what ever caused it.
As she walked, she began to feel a light draft. It was different from the drafts overhead, it drew the unicorn towards it. Bright sunlight poured from an opening in the concrete ceiling, the wall having been broken away. The opening was low, sloped dirt on either side raising to the surface. Whilst not what she expected, it was as good as any. Twilight hopped up the wall, walking up enough to see herself back on the sidewalk. There were two orange and white barriers in front of her, each with two yellow flashing lights. To her left, now behind her, stood a massive orange machine with a long arm ending in a small claw. On her right a red metallic box with an orange and silver vest on top. Behind the box, she could make out some pedestrians, minding their own businesses.
Perfect, she could get some information, she thought. Walking up to the street, she cleared her throat and spoke. "Hello, I am Twilight Sparkle. Do you, by any chance, know where I am?" She asked a pair of the creatures, both bipedal, one a light green, the other a dark brown.
"Awe, a pony!" The brown one, female by the sound of her voice, knelt down to her. "Hi, pony!" The light green stopped had stopped to look her up and down. She reached her hand out, attempting to pet the back of Twilight's head but failed when she pulled back.
"I think you should leave it." It? "We don't know what it's been in, or if it has anything." Twilight was speechless as the girl concurred, standing up sadly and moving on. It? How rude! The pony huffed, trying her luck a few more times. The pedestrians all replied either by ignoring her completely, or attempting to pet her. It was, frankly, annoying to get dismissed or be treated as an animal.
The gears slowly turned in the back of her head as she trotted, stopping every so often to catch her breath or wait for the twinges to pass. Before long, she could smell something akin to the pastries Pinkie would bake. She followed it, food being the next thing on her list and her most pressing. The smell lead her to an open door, propped open by a slab of wood just thick enough for the unicorn to squeeze on through. As she expected, the smell was coming from a pastry store's ovens. Fortunately, there was a clerk running the store. A beige woman with puffy blonde hair was preparing the displays when she spotted her.
"Hi." She called, stopping what she was doing to interact with the mare. "Awe, you're so cute. Where'd you come from?" Again, Twilight wore an expression of pure befuddlement.
"The. . . door, you left it open." She said, wondering why the girl was talking to her like you would a pet.
"Hold on." She disappeared into the kitchen, bringing back a slice of strawberry cake. "No one really like the strawberry cake, so I always have extra." She placed it in front of Twilight, who, whilst still in a state of confusion, did not reject the act of kindness. And, she couldn't taste anything wrong with it, it was rather tasty. Whilst she was eating, she felt the hand of the clerk caress the back of her head. The resulting growl that emitted from her throat shocked even herself.
The clerk pulled back, more apprehensive when she interacted with the pony. Waiting for her to walk away a bit before retrieving the plate. Twilight thanked her before squeezing back through the crack in the door. Two items down, now she needed to do something about her leg. She knew healing spells, but wasn't sure if she had the mana to cast them just yet. Glancing to the sky, she couldn't see the sun but figured she had time. She screwed her face up in concentration, lighting her horn and preparing the complex motions in her mind and sending it through with little effort. Turning to her leg, she found it had barely changed, the blood seemed a little dryer but the actual wound hadn't changed a bit.
Focusing once more, she tried to just light her horn, turning to the window adjacent and seeing no magical aura of any kind.
"Wait, no I can't. . . Where's my magic?!" She nearly shrieked, falling to her flank and trying again. The result had not changed. Angered, Twilight sat back and stormed off. "I'll just have to do it on my own." She continued on her way, turning this way and that, weaving her way through the masses of pedestrians and coming to a crosswalk. From her left, she could hear a soft humming growing louder and more vicious. From said direction, a bright red carriage sped towards her, two bright lights partially blinding her and locking her in place. Just before she was struck, the driver slammed on the breaks and managed a stop inches from Twilight's face.
A blast from its horn sent the unicorn frenzying to the other side, terrified. She continued galloping, paying the direction she was running no mind and slamming face first into someone's leg. The man shrieked, gripping his abused shin and hopping whilst swearing. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you!" She apologized.
"Damn pony." He said one final curse whilst limping off. "Why is it always my damn leg?"
"I- I said I'm sorry." She called after him, unsure if he heard her she continued on her way. Coming up on her left, some kind of park. Long stretches of grass interrupted by Baltic-red granite paths, a small lake in the center and sparsely littered by trees. Shrugging slightly, the unicorn trotted into the park, sticking near the path but not on it.
She approached the lake bed, looking down into the water to see her new face staring back. It was unnerving to see something so similar yet very different look back at her. Brushing the feeling off, Twilight lowered her head as close to the water as she could to drink. As she drank, she could hear something approach her, reaching the right side of her barrel, and sniff her. The idea, let alone the sensation, that this was now happening was so jarring she choked. Gagging on the water now in her wind pipe and nearly throwing up as a result.
"HI. I'm sorry, I'm Bean!" She heard a distinctly male voice apologized from beside her. She turned quickly, several emotions etched into her features, none of them pleasant.
"Bean?" She said, looking at the stallion that had spooked her.
"Yep, Bean." Bean was a black earthpony with a light brown mane, sepia hooves and gold eyes. His mane and tail were cut short, the hair attached just above his rear, as opposed to the weird meat rope Twilight was blessed with. He was a lot larger than Twilight, almost twice as tall whilst remaining thin and athletic. "You have cake on your face, are you going to want it?"
"What? no. . ." She said, looking down into the water, trying to find it.
"Can I have it?"
"NO!" She was back up, nearly cutting him off with her own shout. "What is wrong with you? You come up to me unannounced, sniff me, and now you want to like my face for cake!"
"The others let me do it."
"Other ponies let you lick them? Excuse me, are we even still in Equestria?!"
"OOH, I've never heard of that city. What's it like over there?!" Twilight just stared at him, wide eyed and jaw slack. Whatever program she had running in her head crashed. "Hello? You haven't even told me you're name yet." He waved a hoof in front of her face, snapping the mare out of her brain damage induced trance. "Helloooo!"
"I'm. . . Twilight. . . Sparkle. . ." She managed to spare enough processing power to speak.
"Oh, that's a nice name. It's better than Bean." Bean looked to his right, furrowing his brow for a moment. "You should meet my friends, they'd like you."
As he turned back to face her, something around his neck glimmered. "I'm sorry, what is that?"
"What's what?" He looked around, trying to see what Twilight did.
"Around your neck. It looks like-"
"My collar? Pretty sweat huh?" He raised a hoof to the brown leather collar, a silver medallion with the words 'Bean' impressed upon it shimmered in his hoof.
"Collar. . ." Twilight's voice was faint, her now over taxed brain struggled to make the connection between the subjects.
"Can I see yours?"
"collar. . ." The it started to make sense, the way the larger bipeds looked and treated her, the unfamiliar body, the way Bean acted, she was not in Equestria anymore. "I. . . don't have one. . . Bean, where am I?"
"Canterlot Park ofcourse." He said as cheerfully as ever. "Oh, you must be a stray then!"
"Stray?"
"Yeah, but you can stay with me. My family won't mind." Their ear's perked up to a woman calling Bean's name. "Oh, we gotta go. C'mon Twilight, let's go see mom." She watched him run off, reluctant to follow the stallion whilst she continued to process.
"Am I a. . . Pet?" She asked herself, looking down at her hooves with concern. "I need to find the girls, soon. There's no telling what's happening to them." She said, darting off back towards the exit. She galloped down the street, paying her aching hind leg no mind as she ran. Weaving through the horde once more, galloping until her legs simply couldn't keep up. Tripping over her own hooves and sliding along the concrete sidewalk for a few more inches.
The notion had dawned on her, with no idea of where to start how was she going to find the other girls in this big of a city? She was just wandering aimlessly, hopping to come across something that likely didn't exist. She needed a different approach, she needed help. Standing back up, Twilight began turning into alleys and looking inside dumpsters, trying to find any other animals to speak with.
After almost two hours of this, she turned into an Alley with several clotheslines, fresh drapes hung with small wooden clips. The mare sat back on her flank, her legs ached and needed a break. She feel nature's call on her spine, repressed by her discomfort at doing it in public. She'd had little luck, finding a few corvids and songbirds perched on trees, but they seemed to avoid her like the plague.
Unbeknownst to her, she was slowly being surrounded. "Hey!" A male voice yanked her attention. "What are you doing here?! This is My Alley!"
"Our alley!" Another male voice said.
"MY Alley!" The first voice shot back. "Know your place, Henchcat!" She heard a swift bop to her left, looking up as well to find the speak. He was a vibrant orange tabby, his mouth and the tip of his tail were dipped in white fur. He gazed down at her with hazel slitted eyes. Twilight stood up, looking around and counting a total of eight cats; three Tabbies, a Sphinx, two Bombays, a Persian, and a Maine Coon.
"I-I-I'm sorry, I- I'm just passing through." She said, backing away from Sphinx as she passed close to her. The hairless tail caressed Twilight's neck, making her just that little bit more uncomfortable.
"I see a lot of sitting, not a lot of walking. You mean to lie to me? Lord Peanut?!" He said, playing his act up akin to a theater foal.
"What? No I-"
"SILENCE!" Twilight squeaked at his scream. "Silence. . . Gerald, that's you're que."
"Huh? Oh." The Main Coon seemed to snap out of a trance, before walking over to Twilight and picking her up by the scruff of her neck.
"Do you know what happens to foolish animals that respect not my territory?"
"Look, I just got here. I didn't know."
"You didn't know?" He raised an eyebrow, a few of the cats behind him muttered to one another. He looked at her neck, pushing the fur aside. "Oh, you are a stray too?" She nodded. "Where's your herd? Where are they hiding?"
"No, no herd. Just me."
"How can I trust you?" Peanut paced around her and Gerald. "Mittens." The Persian, her almost pure white coat and platinum eyes made her details hard to pick out. "Open the dumpster."
"Wait, what are you doing to me?" Gerald followed Mittens, leaping to the edge of the waste bin and holding her over the edge. Mittens, for her part, was struggling to get the bin open, requesting the help of 'Blackjack' one of the Bombays. "No no wait please, I'll leave. Please don't put me in there."
"Too late!" Lord Peanut cackled, watching Gerald slowly lower Twilight towards the opening.
"HUMANS!" All of the cats froze, a particularly brown female Tabby called from the clothesline. "Scatter!" The cats, following her yell, sprinted for whatever high ground they could. A white van with 'Animal Control' pulled up beside the alley and two men in matching attire jumped out. They ran into the alley, looking to grab the cluster of cats. By the time they actually reached them, only Lord Peanut and Gerald remained on the ground.
While Lord Peanut clambered up a drain pipe, Gerald was unable to escape. His body simply to heavy to follow his leader. While one of the men approached Twilight, the other was going to grab the Maine Coon. The unicorn rushed towards the cat, knocking him out of the way and finding the loop cinched tightly around her own neck. She watched Gerald leap up to the fire escape, yet remain, watching Twilight with sad eyes.
The man twisted the pole, forcing the mare onto her side and pressing the pole against her chin. Allowing his friend to approach and grab the pony, Taking her into the van and throwing her into a cage. They locked the doors and took off, taking her to tartarus knows where.
Soon after the rocky drive, Twilight's cage was removed. They sky had long since turned black, sitting back in her cage, watching as they brought her into what looked like an abandoned middle school. She was removed from her cage, handed over to a woman and taken further into the building. She could hear noises, noises and smells that made her nervous. The air smelt like copper, sounds akin to wild screaming after a game-winning hoofball shot. She was taken to the gymnasium where an uproarious crowd cheered on a fight in the center of the court between a bull terrier and a black unicorn. Both were covered in blood, the Unicorn limped, doing whatever she could to stay away from the dog.
She was taken into another room, just as the crowd erupted into cheers at the conclusion of the fight. The noises dimmed, Twilight was lowered into a plastic box with two ponies and three kittens, each a color of the rainbow. She barely had time to get situated before they were moving again, the woman opened a slit in the wall and poured the box into it. All six fell into the arena, a few back on their hooves and paws, running after one another.
"Tonight, the match up you've all been waiting for. In this corner, our challenger from the west, he's big, he's mean, he makes the undertaker look like a puppy! Cerberus. And, our reigning champion from right here in the streets, The Tangerine Tyrant herself, give it up for Rage-Mane!" Twilight froze as the gates either side of the arena began opening, watching as a Pit Bull Terrier exited, growling quite viciously. Behind her, an orange earth pony with a shredded and unkempt blonde mane and tail walked out. Her green eyes were constricted, starring Cerberus's own down. "Place you're bets ladies and gentlemen. Begin!"
"Applejack?" If she thought bean was large, Applejack would have towered over even him. She was easily 5 times Twilight's height, like a Pomeranian staring up at a greyhound.
"I've fought your type. You're going down easy you ever hyped equine."
The earthpony's head bowed low to the ground, prowling and waiting for the dog to charge her. "I'll make ya choke on them words." And when he did, all hell broke lose, biting, snarling, kicking, Applejack beat the pit bull into submission. She had stepped on the smaller creatures, paying them no mind as they viciously fought. He had tried several times to get the upperhoof, going for AJ's neck or biting at her back legs. The former was stopped with a headbutt, the latter gained him a buck straight to his forehead.
Cerberus limped away from Applejack, his front right leg caved in completely, blood seeped from between his flews. Crouched down low, "I yield!" he shouted, realizing his mistake.
"I ain't heard no damn bell." Applejack stood over him, before rearing back, ready to end him.
"NO!" Twilight darted between the two, her body was shaking, for now several reasons. Chief among them fear, fear of what her friend was now doing. "Don't kill him!" In spite of her pleas, Applejack stomped his head in, caving it in completely. Then, she turned to Twilight, the overhead lighting making her appear even larger. "Applejack?"
"I get extra if I kill you too." The terrified unicorn back pedaled, her back quickly meeting a solid wall. Applejack was standing right over her, her face up close with Twilight's own. She could no longer hold her own fluid in, creating a small yellow pool around her legs. She barely got her hooves to move in time to dodge Applejack's enraged stomp. "Yer pathetic. Ya here me?!" Twilight continued galloping, narrowly escaping with her life, time and time again.
"Applejack, It's me! Twilight Sparkle, you're friend!" She pleaded, turning around and dashing underneath AJ's barrel. She attempted to bite and stomp her, but ultimately tripped herself onto her back. She continued running around the walls, trying to find what ever crack or crevasse she could squeeze into.
"Ya dare make a fool of me?!" She yelled, enraged. Charging straight for Twilight, time slowed for the mare as she was inches from her demise. Her blood boiled with adrenaline, her muscles itched to move. She barely registered her body lunge to the side, flopping onto her stomach and tasting hard decaying wood as Applejack crashed face first into the wall. The entire arena shook, the crowd loving the carnage, a small hole had opened from the impact. It didn't go unnoticed, Twilight scrambled to her hooves, watching her friend stumbled around concussed. "Ah. . . Where'd you go?" The earth pony called, swaying on unsteady hooves, swiveling her head before locking back onto Twilight. The unicorn was galloping right for the crack, she turned back to AJ, watching the mare move with trepidation.
Applejack swiped for Twilight, falling to her side and nearly crushing the unicorn. She rolled over, just in time to watch her prey squeeze into the crack and force her rear through. Leaving long strands of lavender fur behind. She nearly blew steam out of her nostrils, charging back at the wall with at full force. "YA WON'T GET AWAY FROM ME, YA HEAR!" She screamed. "I DON'T CARE WHERE YA CAME FROM I- I will- I. . ." Her voice lowered, quieting to a whisper moments before she lost balance. Falling to the ground and shaking the ground around her.
The frightened lavender unicorn stayed still, yet her body shook. Her breath was fast and hot, her heart beat up her ear and neck, peripheral vision all but gone and she just sat there. Trembling. She could hear them, the Humans outside gathering AJ up and cleaning the arena. Ushering everyone present out and counting their earnings. Finally, after what felt like hours, she felt something burn in her throat. It felt dry, some water certainly would be nice.
She was terrified, but she was in one piece. Getting up, Twilight approached the crack in the wall, peering out to find the arena caked in darkness. She could hear nothing, an eerie silence had set over the building. Applejack needed help, she knew that much, but the thought of seeing her after the event was frightening. A word she didn't want connected to her friend's name.
The unicorn turned around, walking around the inside of the wall, climbing its support structure and squeezing back through the slit she came in through. Flopping down to the ground, she instinctively tried to light her horn and found herself yet again disappointed at the result. Moving swiftly and quietly, clumsily navigating her way through the darkened gymnasium. Before long she could hear metal rattling, the sound of a cage door being tugged and pushed on repeatedly grew louder and louder as she pressed on. Ramming straight into a large wooden door, unsure as to how she would get in, a quick inspection revealed it being held open by a wooden slope.
Twilight entered, walls of Dogs and Ponies in cages, most trying their hardest to escape stretched before her. "QUIET!" The voice of her friend screamed, instantly quieting the walls with one word. "Ahm nursin' this bloody headache, so just, shut up." Twilight slowly approached her friend's cage, the mare was slumped against cage wall, she looked all around terrible.
"AJ?" She asked quietly.
"Now ahm hearing things. . ." She raised a hoof to her head.
"No, I'm real." She opened her eyes. "Look down." Following instructions, the earthpony laid eyes upon her friend. The one she just tried to kill. Her expression was akin to horrified disbelief, slowly reaching a hoof out to touch her chest. Feeling the slight resistance of her small frame.
"Yer. . . that was you?" Twilight nodded. "Ah- Ahm so sorry. Ah couldn't stop myself, I almost. . ."
"I'm hear to get you out, ok?" AJ nodded. Watching as her friend inspected the cage to the best of her abilities.
"Can ya use yer magic?"
"No, I can't. I need to do this manually. . . Can you lift me up to the lock?" The earthpony lifted her friend up, the unicorn fitting nicely if she sat down, to the lock. Twilight gripped the latch with her teeth, first pulling it up, the across allowing the cage door to slid open. Applejack, instead, held it closed. "Aren't we going to leave?"
"I ain't been fed yet, and Ahm not interested in their gruel." She said, a malice welled deep in her voice. "Help the others, I got a score to settle." Twilight jumped from AJ's hoof, moving about, unlocking the other cages and watching the trapped animals run free. Upon finishing, she returned to her friend, waiting for what ever she had in mind. Then, a light turned on, the door opened and a human walked in, gasping at the empty cages. AJ let her cage door swing open, exiting with her head held low. The man threw a few of the bowls at her, reaching for something on his hip before the orange mare knocked him down. "Twi, look away." She did, blocking out the sights but not the sounds, not the smells. They left shortly after, AJ holding Twilight's tiny body by her scruff, she did not want to know what the mare had done.
Before long, they stopped in an alley, AJ putting her friend down before laying on her side. She felt so very tired, her body ached from all the scratches and bites. Then, they arrived. "Well Well Well, returned with your herd I see?" Lord Peanut walked across the clothesline, alone.
"What do you want?" She asked, AJ growled behind her.
"What do I want? What do you want?" Her nose turned up in confusion. Behind the Tabby, she could see a few of the other cats poke out over the rooves. "I. . . would like to thank you, for what you did for Gerald today." The Maine Coon nodded.
"Twi, who is this?"
"I am Lord Peanut!" Applejack burst out laughing. "Stop laughing, I wouldn't laugh at your name!"
"Sorry, Sorry. Carry on."
Twilight rolled her eyes at them. "Well, We're trying to find our friends, I'm wondering if you've seen them? A Pink earthpony with a pink poofy mane, a white unicorn with a purple curly mane, a yellow pegasus with a straight pink mane, and a light blue pegasus with a short rainbow colored mane."
"Have I seen- Pony, we don't exactly get around." Her face fell slightly. "But, I think I do recall seeing one on Acorn Avenue. The second one I believe, what was it again? Doesn't matter, I'll allow you to sleep in my territory for the night."
"Thank you." She said, curling up next to Applejack. Allowing sleep to take hold, cradled in a space she felt safe.
Applejack trotted along the sidewalk, following closely behind Mittens as she lead. Twilight was, much to her chagrin, carried by the scruff of her neck once again. The region was actually starting to become quite sore, but it beat all the walking. "Here, 14107 Acorn Avenue." Mittens stopped, taking a seat next to the mailbox.
"Thank ya kindly." She said, depositing Twilight on her hooves and trotting up to the door. The house was in fair condition, but rather drab, with a gray tile ceiling and white vinyl siding it was hard to imagine Rarity being satisfied living here. Mittens had elected to stay nearby, climbing the drain pipe and siting watch on the roof. "Well, how're we getting in?"
Twilight pointed to the little doggy door cut into the wooden one. "I'll use that, then I can let you in."
"Don't bother."
"What?" The unicorn asked, turning to stare confused at her friend's statement. AJ simply nodded towards the door, ushering her in. It wasn't a tight squeeze, though the hard plastic flap proved to be quite annoying. "Rarity?!" Twilight called, "You in here?" Hooves clopped against the hard wood floor, the interior, plain at the outside, was still far more decorated.
"Just a second." The familiar sing-song voice of the unicorn lightly echoed through the foyer, making it hard to pinpoint where it was coming from exactly. Until she could see the long straight white horn and curly mane of her friend poking out through the banister, walking across the catwalk and stopping at the stairs. "Oh, Twilight! Darling I almost didn't recognize you."
"I'm glad to see you too." The white unicorn stopped in front of the lavender unicorn. She had a good bit of height on Twilight, standing a few inches shorter than Bean did.
"How have you been? You look terrible." She fretted over her appearance, relieving the mare at her familiar actions.
"It's been a stressful couple of days, but I'm doing fine." Rarity nodded. "How are you?"
"Excellent. It has been oddly quiet, but I don't find it too bad. My owner, she's a wonderful young lady, though I wish the dear would stop stressing over her work."
Twilight's brow furrowed, a worried expression on her face. "Did you say 'Owner'?"
"Why yes, is there a problem?" Rarity's hair shifted with her head, a thin purple band with an aluminum pendant hung around her neck. "Twilight, what's wrong?"
The unicorn looked down, disappointed. "I guess you won't be coming with us then."
"Sadly, no. I can't just up and leave her. You understand. . . right?" Twilight nodded. "If I may ask, did you find any of our other friends?"
"Applejack's outside."
"Applejack. . ." Rarity trailed off for a moment, before standing up and walking over to the door.
"Have you changed your mind?"
"I want to talk to her, I at least owe her as much." The door was just slightly too small for Rarity, making her exited quite undignified to watch. Once outside, she looked to her side, locating the earthpony to the left of the door. She was curled up, napping. The white unicorn cleared her throat, "Hello Applejack, it has been a while."
The mare addressed snorted, looking into the deep blue eyes of her long lost friend. "Sure has." Twilight exited the door, seeing the scene and sensing quite a bit of tension, but unsure of what to do about it. "How ya holdin' up, Rares?"
"I should ask that about you, and I thought Twilight looked awful. Ick." AJ started laughing, confusing Twilight even more than she already was. "I'm serious, you look like you've been in a fight."
"Several."
"Oh Applejack, I'm so sorry."
"Don't be." AJ pushed herself up, her frame easily towered over Rarity, horn included. "If ah wanted an apology, I wouldn't have come. Ya did exactly what I wanted, that's enough for me."
"Then you understand I can't come with you." She nodded. "Then I suppose this is goodbye?"
"Like wise." Rarity wrapped her hooves around AJ's barrel, the latter wrapping one of her own before letting her go. "C'mon Twi, let's go."
"Wait, what was that about?" The unicorn was thoroughly confused. She had assumed they had all arrived here at the same time, but there was a history here she wasn't privy too.
"Couple a months ago Rarity and I woke up here, we got attacked by Humans with long poles. Ah fought 'em off and told Rarity to run, simple as." Twilight's expression shifted to one of shock, months? They'd been here for Months ahead of her? "Where's the cat gone?"
"Probably back to the alley. We should see if they've found anypony else."
"Yup." Twilight felt AJ pick her up by her neck once more. She didn't feel like fighting it, not that she could anyways, yet it still grated on her nerves. Rather, she found herself deep in thought. What if the other's hadn't appeared yet, or appeared so long ago they simply weren't around anymore? It was a frightening prospect, one she didn't raise to her friend.
Almost half an hour of walking later, they arrived back in Lord Peanut's alley. Catching the feline off guard while he was grooming himself. They watched him tumble from the clothesline, landing in a pile of trash on his back. "Have you no manners?!" He shouted, shaking his fur out.
"Sorry Peanut."
"LORD Peanut." Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Anyways, Thank you. For the information, it was really helpful."
"Know anything else?" Twilight glared at the earthpony.
Peanut jerked his head back. "I feel like my debt has been repaid. If you want to know more, you'll have to work for it."
"Why you little." The Tabby scrambled up a drainpipe and across a particularly low clothesline at Applejack's first step. "Get down here, Ah might be gentle."
"Applejack, we need him to help us."
"I am helpin'." She retorted.
"By threatening me?! My life is not a toy." The cat screamed at her. "If you want something from me, you'll have to do something for me."
"What can we do?" Applejack growled, looking down to see Twilight's soft pleading face. A few seconds later, she laid down beside the smaller pony.
"I think myself and my cohorts would enjoy a quick meal. Get us something to eat, enough for every cat, and I'll tell you where the Blue one is." Twilight nodded, turning around to lead her friend to find the cats some food.
"Any Ideas?" AJ asked, she was irritated and wasn't even bothering to hide it.
"No, but maybe we can score something from the populace."
"Twi, look at me." The unicorn did so, confused. "I'm a big pony covered in scars and a ratty fur, do ya think anyone's gonna be generous?"
"You never know."
"Hell, I might be able to make 'em give us food."
"Absolutely not." They took a turn, Twilight nimbly weaving through oncoming pedestrians. Applejack practically plowed straight through them.
"Well, was worth a shot." Twilight vanished into a pastry shop, the same from earlier. The clerk was still there, serving a few customers out of the small line that had formed. Applejack elected to wait outside and watch, to her surprise she actually got her fair share of pets.
The unicorn puttered around for a bit, trying to get the clerk's attention. Just act cute, Twilight. She thought to herself, hopping up on a chair, then its corresponding table. And then she rolled over onto her back, mimicking what she'd used to see Winona do. Much to her chagrin, no one paid any attention to her. Inaudibly grumbling, the mare leapt from the table to trot over to a human, fresh pastry in her hand and throw herself on the ground in front of her. She stopped, surprised by the action before rubbing her stomach. She did not get the pastry.
Twilight cringed internally at her own actions. Never in a millennia would she have done what she just did, and it didn't even pay off. What was she doing wrong? It worked for other animals, didn't it? Well, if they weren't going to just give her a pastry, she was just going to take one. As another human began leaving, she trotted up to the nearby windowsill and prepared to jump. The tip of her tail wagged subconsciously before the leapt, successfully nabbing the pastry and leaving the store. "How'd it go?" Applejack asked, watching twilight pull the donut that was nearly at big as her through the crack in the door.
"I never want to do that again, that was embarrassing." She replied, taking the donut far away from the shop. "Hopefully Peanut will accept it."
"Ya know, we never gave the barn cats bread of all things." She mentally kicked herself.
"Right, Carnivores. So I did all that for nothing!" They had stopped in a nearby alley, where Twilight was covering her hot face with her hooves.
"Well we could always share it."
"I guess." They decided to split it 20-80. "Where are we going to find a market that sells meat, I mean it could be anywhere." Applejack began carrying Twilight again as her hooves had begun to ache.
"Guess we should just start lookin'." Several hours later, they came to a large building comprised of three rectangular prisms. The words 'Safe-way' embossed on its front. By this point they had looked through several others, either having nothing to do with food or having them thrown out for health reasons. They approached the doors, said doors only opened when Applejack came close. The first thing to greet them were piles of produce, held in stands and displayed for the public. Entirely out of reach for Twilight, her earthpony companion was able to reach the apples easily and pull one out.
She took a bite out of it, letting the rest fall from her mouth while she chewed. "Want some?" The unicorn took her own bite, enjoying the sweetness it had.
That was before, "Hey, HEY! No!" One of the humans that worked in the establishment, a young boy, came running towards them, holding a broom in both hands. He bopped AJ on the head with it, doing nothing but annoying her. The second bop saw the broom ripped from his hand and thrown to the floor. The earthpony hadn't said anything, simply glaring daggers at him until he left.
"Ow."
"We should probably just find the meat." A grunt saw Applejack take Twilight by her scruff once again and trot around the perimeter of the store. Following the scent of iodine, she stopped in front of a display holding seafood. Cats liked fish, right? "Hey, I think there's-" AJ bucked the glass on the case, shattering it before grabbing a raw unpeeled fish and running. Leaving Twilight dumbfounded in the middle of the store.
Applejack was posted outside the front door, patiently waiting for her friend to come back out. Still sat there, she watched the unicorn be carried out of the store and dropped on the pavement. He yelled at her before ducking back inside at the sight of the orange mare standing up. "Ya alright?"
"My tailbone." She complained, rubbing her sore tail. "You know you didn't need to break it, right?"
"S'more fun that way." Twilight rolled her eyes, hopping onto her friend's back as her mouth was occupied.
Lord Peanut squeaked at the sound of wet meat hitting the pavement. "There." Applejack said. "We got ya ya damn fish. Now, where's Rainbow?" Peanut eyed her cautiously from a top the dumpster, then the fish carelessly thrown to the pavement.
"Very well, in all actuality I don't know where this 'Rainbow' is." Applejack did not take that well, she stomped up to the cat ignoring her friend's attempts to stop her. "Wait Wait Wait! But, I know that she frequents the dog park near Cyprus Street." The earthpony stopped her advance.
"Thanks." Twilight said, already turning to leave.
"You need ta work on yer wordin'." AJ followed, picking her friend up yet again to hurrying to the park. It wasn't a big place, only about 3,280 Square feet Twilight noted. The pony could tell if it help or hurt them as on one hoof, she wouldn't have to walk to far to find Rainbow. On the other, the amount of pets in the park that were well above her own height cause the panic in her chest to throb. "Welp, best see if she's here 'r not."
"I guess so." The two walked into the park, Applejack immediately going to relieve herself onto a tree. Twilight turned and locked eyes with her, felt her face heat up and look away.
AJ returned her gaze, "Twi, ya gotta learn ta not be bothered by this stuff."
"But you are peeing on a tree in public." She began walking away. "Let's just find Rainbow Dash." Applejack sighed, but followed.
"We'd find 'er faster if we split up." Twilight watched her friend veer off and leave her behind, she reached after her and opened her mouth to say something but stopped and felt to her flanks in exasperation. A dog began licking her cheek, getting a hoof on its muzzle before the mare got up. The park was packed, dogs and ponies running around playing whilst their owners watched and talked. Over head a large glass dome to prevent the flight capable pegasi from escaping. Knowing Dash, the best place to look would be the sky. If only she had her magic.
Over head, a Frisbee whooshed past her head, giving her enough warning to duck before the one chasing leapt over her. "Gotcha!" The mare chasing the Frisbee shouted, landing with a small poof next to her. "Oh hey Twilight." Twilight turned to look at the mare, Cerulean fur, prismatic mane and feathers, feathers protruding from her tail and hind hooves, red collar. . . "Twilight?!"
"Rainbow!" Twilight launched herself at the mare, making her drop the Frisbee as they tumbled to the ground. "I'm so happy we found you."
"Yeah, I'm. . . happy to see you too. . ." She sounded uncertain, the unicorn turning her brow up in confusion.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, no, Everything's ok. I just. . . didn't expect to see you here, if ever. Where have you been? I looked over the entire city trying to find you and the other girls." Twilight shrugged.
"I don't know, I woke up in an alley right before a thunderstorm."
"Same here, but not the thunder storm bit." Rainbow's eyes suddenly widened and she buried her face in her wing, returning with a few brightly colored feathers and small amounts of blood. "Sorry, my feathers have just been really itchy lately. I think my flights are finally coming in."
"Wait, don't you already have them?"
"Isn't your horn supposed to be longer?"
"I know, its weird right?" Twilight touched the small stub on her forehead, feeling the velvety fluff that coated it. "I mean I can't be a foal again, that's just ridiculous."
"Well I know I am, only way I can explain these." She raised her wings, which seemed abnormally large for what she remember. Behind Twilight, the two heard a sharp whistle. "Oh, gotta go." Rainbow picked up the Frisbee and darted past her running to a young adolescent man with bright blue hair and green skin. Twilight began approaching nervously, she wanted to just take Rainbow and run but knew that wouldn't work. "Twilight, this is Cobalt, my owner."
"Oh. . . you too. . ."
"And who are you?" He asked, reaching his palm out for her to smell. She furrowed her brow, making a face and backing away a bit. "Aw, nervous?"
"A little." Rainbow broke free of his grasp, walking over to her curious.
"Are you ok?" She asked, approaching and recoiling at her smell. "Ugh, Twilight have you never taken a bath?"
"I've been on the streets, so no, I have not gotten a bath since I got here." He approached her once again, this time holding something in his hand. It smelled. . . alright, nothing she felt too crazy about. "You know, Rarity commented on the same thing."
"You found Rarity?!" Rainbow shrieked, flaring her wings out in surprise. "Where is she, is she here? Outside? Did you find anypony else?"
Twilight sat down on her flanks, Cobalt having ceased his attempts to get either of their attentions. Sitting back and letting them talk. "No, Rarity is not here. AJ is though, she's. . . somewhere looking for you." Rainbow partially deflated.
"Oh, I guess two out of five's ok. Where is she then?"
"Rarity?" Rainbow hummed in approval. "She's with her own owner. She doesn't want to come with us."
"Oh. . ." The pegasus anxiously fiddled with her itching wings. "That's. . . not great then?"
"You aren't coming with us either. Are you?" Rainbow froze, two tiny feathers and clumps of fluff poking out of her mouth.
"Well, you see. . . No, I know we had something- And we still do, we're still friends. But I can't just leave Cobalt, you understand right?" Twilight looked down, dejected.
"I understand." Rainbow watched her get up and leave, wishing to get up and follow her, but knowing there was nothing more to say. Twilight scanned the scenery, locating Applejack stood by the gate and trotting over to her. The mare was being blocked by the park's attendant, irritating the mare but with nothing to actually do about it, she just sorta stood there.
She saw Twilight approaching, moving across the gate to meet her. "So, ya found her? Where is she?"
"She's not coming." AJ nodded. "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"
"We'll talk an' walk." Green eyes glared at the Attendant, sending a shiver down her spine for a moment. "Twi. . . yeah, Ah figured Rainbow an' the others weren't gonna wanna leave. Least not like that, an' I don't know if there is a way ta leave. Things around here work a might deal different than in Equestria. We got domesticated, meanin' the Humans own us now. Best you can do is hope a kind one takes ya in."
"You're ready to give up, just like that?"
"Twi, it ain't givin' up if ya never had a chance to begin with. I've been here a lot longer than you, same as Rares, Flutters, I assume Rainbow an' Pinkie too. I know enough to, with certainty, say there ain't nothin' you can do. Best accept that before something bad happens to ya." Twilight looked away from the significantly larger mare, pondering to herself for a moment.
"Wait, you meet Fluttershy?" AJ shook her head. "Way to get a mare's hopes up." Her companion grunted, looking up to the greying sky and shivering.
"Gettin' might cold, don'cha think? Might be snowin' tonight."
"I guess. . . I can't really feel it, I guess that's the benefit of all this hair." She shook herself, sending her long fur flapping all over. "Ugh. I hate all this fur."
"Yeah, kinda an eyesore." Twilight glared up at her friend. "Just tellin' the truth."
"I know, that's what irritating. It doesn't help I feel like a foal being this small." Applejack sniggered. "What, what's so funny?"
"That's cause ya are." AJ picked her up by her scruff again. "Why'd ya think I've been doin' this?"
"Because I'm short."
"That's one part of it, sure." Twilight didn't respond. "Gettin' tired?" She felt the mare nod, looking around for a suitably alley and turning into it. AJ laid down behind the dumpster, placing the lavender unicorn against her stomach and curled up. "Ight, see ya tomorrow Twi."
Twilight exhaled slowly, nodding a miniscule amount into the short orange fur. Tomorrow, surely things would go better.
