My Little Human: Friendship Across Worlds

Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Spike plodded wearily through yet another neighbourhood, stopping every few blocks to scan for ponies with the amulet.

“Boy, do I wish I had a car,” Pinkie groaned. She'd taken off her heels earlier and was pounding the pavement in her bare feet. “We would've found somepony by now.”

“What's a car?” Spike asked her.

“It's like a carriage, Spike! Only you don't need other ponies to pull it, they go by themselves and it's real comfy inside. My boyfriend Mike has one...” her voice suddenly trailed off and she looked sad. “When I go back to Equestria I'm going to have to leave  Mike behind! He's such a great guy too.”

“You don't belong in this world, Pinkie, and Mike doesn't belong in Equestria,” Twilight tried to comfort Pinkie with logic, as usual. “Once we beat Discord, maybe we can set you up on a blind date with somepony.”

Pinkie seemed to cheer up slightly. “Ooh, a blind date sounds exciting!”

Her voice echoed slightly as they entered a pedestian underpass. “What's a blind date?”

The sun was setting, bleeding red and pink and russet across the sky as the veterinary clinic closed up for the night. A small, squat green building surrounded by generous amounts of greenery, it housed a dozen or so patients at present, from ailing dogs to recovering cats to a horse with a split hoof. The back door, obscured from the road, opened and a short blonde woman in pale green scrubs exited, hefting her handbag over her shoulder and locking the door behind her, muffling the sounds of whining, mewling and other noises from sick and recovering animals. She started towards the carpark, then put her hand to her forehead.

“Rats,” she muttered. “I forgot the rabbit food.”

“It's getting late, we should get back to my place,” Pinkie said wearily.

“Let's give the amulet one more try.” Spike suggested.

“Okay,” Pinkie sighed.

“Fluttershy!” Spike said to the amulet. He felt a powerful tug inside him.

“I got a lock on Fluttershy!” Spike yelled excitedly. “Come on, let's go!”

The mares' flagging energy was suddenly restored by the excitement of finding another of their lost friends and they tore after Spike as he made a beeline for a building with a large sign out front reading “Veterinary Clinic”.

“A veterinarian?” Twilight wondered. “That makes sense.” She tugged on the front door handle only to find the doors locked. “Pony feathers!”

“Try 'round the back!” Pinkie hoofed it around the back to find a short blonde woman in scrubs emerging from a rear door marked STAFF ONLY, clutching a handbag and a bag of nutrient pellets. Her name tag identified her as Felicia Chapman.

“Oh!” the woman said in surprise. “I'm sorry, we're closed for the day. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Yeah!” Pinkie then paused to think of something Felicia could possibly help her with. “I have a dragon to show you!”

“A dragon? Is it sick, or did you just want to show it off, or...?”

“This way!” Pinkie made for the front entrace only to collide painfully with Twilight.

“Um... I have to go now. Bye.” Felicia hurried off to her car, a red compact.

“Ow... wait!” Twilight struggled to her feet. “Stop her!”

Sitting behind the wheel, Felicia nervously fumbled with her keys until she found the right one and started the engine. She disengaged the handbrake, pushed the clutch and stick into gear and floored it.

Twilight instinctively reached out with magic, but with no horn it was impossible to cast even the weakest of spells. Pinkie dashed out in front of the vehicle, forcing Felicia to slam  on the brakes, narrowly avoiding hitting her.

“Oh my goodness!” Felicia squeaked in terror. Pinkie pulled open the driver's side door.

“Sorry, I didn't want to have to do this,” she explained as she pulled a canister of mace out of her purse and blasted the veterinarian in the face. Felicia's screams were largely absorbed by the surrounding foliage.

“PINK-IE! What in the name of Celestia are you doing?!” Twilight yelled as she caught up.

“Desperate measures, Twilight. You know what Fluttershy's like,” Pinkie explained as she dragged the coughing, whimpering and crying woman out of the car.

“We don't even know if she's actually Fluttershy!” Twilight remonstrated her sharply, but Spike corrected her.

“The amulet confirms it, Twi. It's her.”

Pinkie, meanwhile had produced a roll of tape out of nowhere and had securely tied up the struggling woman. Twilight sighed. “Fine. I'll put her in the trunk.”

“My eyes!” Felicia wailed. “Please! What do you want with me? Please let mmmfffff!”

Pinkie slapped a strip of tape over Felicia's mouth and Twilight helped carry out the impromptu abduction by placing her securely in the trunk. Pinkie kindly wiped Felicia's eyes with some baby wipes before closing the lid. Spike watched the scene unfold before him, his eyebrow raised skeptically.

“Was that really necessary?”

“I'm not spending a minute longer looking for lost ponies!” Pinkie snapped. “We found one, let's go!”

After showing Spike how to buckle his seatbelt, Twilight and Pinkie piled in and Twilight drove back to Pinkie's house.

“Spike, keep a look out!” Twilight ordered as she and Pinkie carefully lifted Felicia out of the trunk. She had her eyes shut, the mace still stinging somewhat. Spike dutifully kept a look out for anyone approaching as Felicia was carried inside, then followed. In the living room, their captive was dumped unceremoniously on the floor, Spike removed the amulet and placed it in her bound hands. Immediately, to the trio's relief, Felicia began to convulse. After she had stopped and the amulet fell from her fingers, Pinkie unbound her.

“Oh, my,” Fluttershy said fearfully.

“Fluttershy?” Spike asked tentatively.

“Yes...” the pegasus replied hesitantly.

“It's me, Spike!” he reassured her. “That's Pinkie Pie, and that's Twilight Sparkle,” he said, indicating them.

“My eyes still hurt from the mace,” Fluttershy sounded annoyed. “Did you really have to do that, Pinkie?”

“Heh heh, sorry, Fluttershy. Guess I got a little impatient.” Pinkie had the decency to look appropriately sheepish. “Bathroom's over there, you can flush your eyes out properly.”