Awake? (Lonely Inky)

Inky didn't know what to do with herself. She, Silver and all of Silvers friends sat around a table, on the balcony overlooking the concert hall. The floor was filled with ponies in dark clothes and makeup. Many had bright stripes in there black manes, and some even had gas-masks on.

Silver laughed at a joke, and Inky tried to as well, but it sounded hollow so she stopped. Nopony seemed to notice, but Inky still felt embarrassed.

Why am I so bad at this.

She looked around at the six ponies sitting at the table. She didn't know the others that well, and felt like a fifth wheel. Silver lay a hoof on her left foreleg.

“Are you sure, you don't want to come down and dance when they start?” Silver took another large swig of beer. “It's going to be fun.”

“Y-yes I'm sure. You go.” Inky quickly looked to see if anypony notice that she didn't want to dance. Didn't look like it.

“Are you sure MakeShift will come?”

“Yeah, don't worry about it. He said he was planing to come to the concert anyway. He should be here any minute.”

The crowd broke out in cheers. The band was walking out.

“Alright.” A skinny yellow pegasus, named Shock, got up. “Let's get down there.” He and the other pegasus grabbed Silver and a gray unicorn, and flew down to the dance floor. Inky could hear a guard shouting something about no flying.

The two ponies left, two unicorns, sat almost in each others faces and whispered. Ínky turned her half-empty beer bottle around in her hooves. The crowd was still shouting.

A tall dark blue stallion came up the steps. He looked around, seeing Inky, walked over.

“Hey” he said in a deep voice. “Names MakeShift. Your Inky, Silvers girlfriend right?”

Inky nodded. “Yes.”

“Cool. Hey there.” He lifted his hoof in a greeting to the two unicorns. They smiled at him, and returned to their conversation.

“Want something to drink?” MakeShift said with a big smile.

“N-no thanks.”

“'kay. Be right back” MakeShift went over to the balcony bar and ordered a drought-beer. They crowd kept cheering as more members walked onto the stage. Inky could see the lead singer walking along edge of the stage, slapping the hooves of the fans who held them out. MakeShift came back.

“So what do you-” MakeShift was cut of by a deep bass. It started thumbing rhythmically. He raised his beer and let out a long shout. The two unicorns went to the rail.

Inky took a sip from her beer. The music was so loud it almost rattled her teeth. How was she going to talk to MakeShift in this noise? She looked sideways at the the earthpony. His mane was a soft purple color that didn't go to well with his coat. His cutie mark was a laptop. He looked very intensely on the scene, his head bobbing to the music.

Inky turned her head to the concert hall. She would have to talk to him after the concert. Get him alone for a few minuts. She would have to tell him that whoever was sending the mails was impersonating her dead sister, but she didn't want Silver to know yet. Could she convince him to keep it secret?

Why didn't I think this through. He is bound to tell Silver. Should I just tell her? No. That can only lead to me telling about ThunderSmash. I can't do that, She'll think I'm crazy. I'm... I'm not ready. Oh Celestia, Why didn't I plan this better.

MakeShift tapped her shoulder. He was smiling and holding out his phone. Inky took it and read the screen.

How did you and Silver meet?

Inky bit her lip and wrote:

We meet at a bar, kinda by coincidence, and became friends.

She handed the phone back. MakeShift read and nodded like it confirmed something he already knew. Inky wasn't really sure what Silver had told him about her or her situation. He handed the phone back.

She tells me you want to trace an email. If it's just a regular email like from p-mail or Equestria-online it shouldn't be too much of a problem. I don't mind helping, and owe Silver a favor anyway ;P I can swing by tomorrow, around 5?

MakeShift smiled big and took a sip of his beer. Inky smiled. This was perfect. Silver had to go to her part time job tomorrow. She wrote:

That would be great. Thanks a lot.

She handed the phone back. The base halted, the music becoming a cacophony of weird sounds.

This might just work out. I just need to tell him not to tell Silver to much.

She wasn't crazy about the thought of having somepony over she didn't knew, but it was to late now.

I need to do laundry, the sheets stink and the appartment is a mess.

Something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head and saw a pony disappearing down the balcony stairs. Her mane and coat color where the same as Pinkie Pies. Inky blinked

That's impossible. It couldn't be her.

She stod up.

“I need to use the bathroom!”

MakeShift nodded and gave her a wink.

Inky almost ran to the stairs. The pink pony wasn't there.

She looked just like Pinkie Pie.

Inky hopped down the steeps, scanning the packed dance floor. The bass began thumping again. Where was she?

There!

Inky started to push her way through the mass of dancing ponies. She could see the pink pony dancing a fair bit into the crowd with her back to her. The crowd was thick and pushy, but Inky got closer. She stopped.

What if it really is Pinkie? No, I can't be. I got to find out.

She reached out to touch her shoulder. Somepony grabbed her, turned her around and gave her a big kiss. Inky almost pulled back before she realized it was Silver pushing her tongue in her mouth. Silver stopped and grinned.

“You came down to dance!”

“Yes, I just-”

Inky turned around. The pink pony was gone. She turned around and looked everywhere. Almost all the colorful ponies wore black, but she couldn't spot her.

“Who are you looking for?!” Silver shouted next to her ear. The music was deafening.

She was gone. There was no pony even remotely pink enough to be mistaken for the mare that she had seen.

“What is it!” Silver shouted, her voice strained and concerned. Inky tried to smile. She kissed Silver, then shouted.

“Nothing! I just decided that I wanted to dance with you!”

“Great!” Silver gave her a quick kiss and started dancing again. Inky tried to follow the beat, which was easy enough. But the Ponies here where pushing as much as dancing. It was a weird mix of a mosh-pit and dance hall. Silver danced very closed with her. Inky noticed the yellow pegasus, Shock, given her looks.

She kept looking for the pink pony. She had to be somewhere around her. Silvers rubbed her flank up against her, distracting her. Inky but her forelegs around her, pretending to dance with her, while she looked.

Inky stiffened, as she noticed the pink pony right next to her. Silver turned her head, feeling Inky's movements stop. The pink pony turned. It wasn't Pinkie Pie. The pony had a very angular face, and faint blonde highlights in the pink mane.

Silver looked at Inky, confusion sneaking into her eyes. Inky swung her around and started dancing around her.

That wasn't Pinkie.

Inky felt relived, yet confused. Silver grabbed her face.

“Are you okay!?”

Inky nodded and tried to smile. A new song come on, one that Inky knew. She started jumping along with everypony else. Silver joined in, but kept sending her concerned looks.

What is she thinking?

Inky put her arm around her as they jumped. Silver seemed to relax and get into the music again. Inky stayed on the dancefloor for three songs, and then went back up to the table. MakeShift was still sitting there, bobbing his head. He was on his third beer.

Inky sat through the rest of the concert. At one point MakeShift, already on his sixth beer, bought her a beer as well, but didn't try to start a conversation. When the concert ended the two unicorns went down, as Silver and Shock came up.

“The others wanted to go to Doorways, but I said we wanted to stay here. So we'll meet up with them later.”

Silver sat down next to Inky, and MakeShift brought even more beer. He kept buying drinks for everypony, saying he had to much money anyway. Shock tried on several occasions to pry Silver away from Inky, but Silver just kept hanging around Inky's neck, making out, and talking to MakeShift. After Shock figured that he didn't have a chance, he left.

Inky woke up alone, with a horrible hangover. She stayed almost the entire day en bed. Silver sent her a message, asking her if she was okay. Inky didn't reply.

MakeShift knocked on the door, a little after 5. Inky let him in. He came into the living room wrinkled his mussel a bit. Inky cringed. She hadn't cleaned or let in fresh air in weeks.

Must smell pretty bad, if your not use to it.

He set up his laptop.

“Alright, log into your mail.”

“Um... There is something you should know, that I don't want Silver to know.”

“...okay.”

“The email. It's..." Inky waved her hoof, trying to find a way to explain. "It's from someone pretending to be my dead sister. Silver doesn't know that I have another sister, and don't want to tell her just yet. Should could you please not tell her anything specific?”

MakeShift looked from the Inky to the computer and back again.

“Uh.” He scratched the back of his head. “Well... okay I guess. It's not my place anyway. I'll keep a lid on it. But Silver is more concerned than you might think. She talked to me for hours about how she is worried that you might have a stalker, and won't ask for help. She also...”

MakeShift fiddel with is packback, looking for the words.

“Well. She worried that you might be seeing someone else. She told me not to tell you, but I think you need to know, that she is really taken with you. She is a lot more insecure then she seems. It would really make her glad, if you could be a little more open. Just saying.”

Inky looked at the laptop, not really knowing what to say. MakeShift cleared his throat.

“But anyway, log in and we will see if we can trace that message.”

Inky turned to the laptop and logged in. MakeShift looked at the mail for a bit, and then started typing.

“I'm just making sure that we going through a few proxies. That way it's a lot harder to trace us. A regular e-mail is sent with a piece of information called a header. In the header should be the IP adress of the computer that sent it here.”

MakeShift tapped away at the computer.

“Then we can find the psychical location of the IP adress. That is of course if they didn't use the same proxy technique that we're using now. If they didn't, I'll send a packed script-”

“Um. I don't really get all this technical stuff.”

MakeShift rubbed his ear.

“Well sorry. What I'm saying is, that if the weren't careful it shouldn't take to long. Then we just have to wait until they download my virus. Don't worry, it's harmless. We just need them to use the internet, and-”

MakeShift stopped, and looked at the screen.

“Ha. Amateur. All right. They are using the internet right now. My virus will piggy-back in on all the information packages the request from the net. If they are streaming a video, it shouldn't take more then an hour.”

MakeShift kept clicking and typing.

“Once my virus is in, I can looked through their files. Should give us a few good clues. You can just use your own computer, in the mean time, to do whatever. I need to monitor this.”

Inky grabbed her laptop, and sat down on her bed. Maybe she should tell him that she haven’t given her email to anyone, so whoever sent it had maybe hacked into something get her email adress. Maybe if he didn't find any information. She surfed the web for bit.

MakeShift looked very concentrated, running three different windows.

“Well. I think I have something.”

Inky got up, and went over to the desk.
“There is surprisingly little information on the machine. But it seems to be set up on a farm, a good bit to the west of here. Near someplace called Rock Junction.”

Home?

“Can you find out who uses the computer?”

“Hmm.” MakeShift clicked around. “The pony uses net-banking. The accounts a registered to a Blinkie Pie. Relative of yours?”
Blinkie? Why would Blinke send her something like this.

Now she had absolutely no idea what was going on. Why would Blinkie send her something like that? She didn't even know about ThunderSmash.

Am I reading to much into the pictures of Thunders cutie mark?

“Are you okay. You look kinda pale”

Inky looked up at MakeShift. Nothing made sense. Why Blinkie?

“I... I know it's a lot to ask, but can you get more information?”

“I can try, but it will take some time. Give me a couple of days.”

MakeShift looked at the computer-clock. He got up.

“Yeah, so I need to get rolling, but I'll send you an email with what I find, okay?”

“Thanks.”

MakeShift packed his things and left. Inky sat on her bed. Should she call Blinkie? She looked at her phone for a long time, then typed in a call.

“Flick.”

“Hey, it's Inky. I have a bit of a family crisis. I'm really sorry, but can a get the next 3 days of?”

Flick grunted. Inky could hear him typing on a keyboard.

“Yeah, fine. You still got some vacation left, you can use.”

“Okay.”

“Fine. See you Wednesday.”

Flick hung up. Inky went to her computer and started checking train-tickets to Rock Junction.