//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Island in the Sky // Story: Newborn Mare // by nanashi_jones //------------------------------// Inside the Motel 6 off I-75 I learned about the limits of my patience. “Work ya dang blasted-!” I fired off another kick at the AC/Heating unit. It dented easily enough, but still didn’t kick on, despite the percussive maintenance. “I’ll see about us getting another room,” Stephanie said, amused. “Don’t like highway hotels much anyway,” I grumbled, climbing up on the bed with May and Sam. “Well, we’re only here for the night,” Stephanie said, hanging her black jacket in the closet. “Once Agent Lynch gets back to me, we’ll see if there’s anything we can do.” “I still say we should’ve gone to Georgia,” I pointed out. “And you know what I’ll say,” Stephanie replied. I huffed, looking away. While I’d been helping Greg back at the rest stop, Stephanie had been talking with her IT guys. They had managed to get an address off the luggage tag in the video. It was located outside of Atlanta. Once Stephanie learned that, she had to contact the FBI. Apparently, when someone is kidnapped in Oklahoma while travelling to New York and there’s a lead in Georgia, that means you’ve crossed state lines and it turns into a “federal matter.” Last we knew, an agent had been dispatched to the address in hopes of learning something. I wanted to go down and look with the agent, but Stephanie vetoed it. I understood her reasoning. We were too close to New York for me to start running all over the country being a pony on a mission. I needed to stay close in case something happened with Discord. So, I understood why I was sitting in a cramped hotel with busted AC while my friend was in trouble. That didn’t mean I had to like it. “Are kidnappings usually like this?” May asked, breaking into my thoughts. “Wouldn’t know,” Stephanie replied, opening the top two buttons on her blouse and flopping on the other bed. “If I’m dealing with a kidnapping, I’m doing an extraction. FBI has to do the heavy lifting, and they have their own resources. Agent Lynch is good though. I checked up on him. He’ll treat this right and get back to us.” “Extraction…” May whispered. “Dude, this is the coolest week of my life!” She squeaked on the end. She apparently didn’t notice her moment of Sweetie because she plunged right into asking Stephanie all kinds of questions. I tuned them out and lay down. I was still learning who I was, and it looked like who I was I had a bit of a temper. I’d have to watch that. Flared tempers don’t care who gets hurt- they’ll just go off and take out everyone around a pony. I found that out from Fluttershy after she took an assertiveness course that sent her a little out of control. As I lay on the bed, stewing, I thought about how I’d been one of the first ponies she introduced herself to when she came to live Ponyville. I smiled at the memory. I’d been working out in the fields when I saw this yellow pegasus trotting up the path near the fence, her saddlebags full from a trip to the market. She came toward me, stopping about three feet from the fence on the other side. I’d never seen her before. These were the days before Pinkie Pie, so it still took a while for a new face to get known about town. I gave her a friendly howdy with a tip of my hat. She stared at me intensely, her legs knocking. I waited a bit then asked if she was okay. She remained quiet, save for a loud gulp. I hopped the fence and tried getting a little closer to her, but she backed right up. I stopped before she decided to run off. I apologized for scaring her, and asked if she needed anything. That seemed to get her talking and, after a few false starts, she stammered out a request for a cup of sugar. One glance at her saddlebags showed she already had a full bag of the stuff. But it was clear she’d worked up quite a bit of courage just to say hello. After a little convincing- okay, a lot of convincing- I was able to get her to the house and I got her that cup of sugar. Then, seeing as she was loaded down, I convinced her that I could walk her back to her house. Along the way, she was as quiet as Big Mac. Till I told her we had a few critters on hoof. That was the honey that brought the fly, because she opened up on the spot. From that day on, Fluttershy was Sweet Apple Acres’s go-to animal expert. Since the vet who previously helped our family had retired just a week prior, she was like a gift from Celestia. I sometimes wondered if that day was just as fated as the one when we all got our cutie marks, or when we all became Elements of Harmony. Either way, I was glad to have a friend in Fluttershy. I was powerfully worried about her, too. I once explained to Twilight that she’d come a long way just to get to the shy mare who could barely squeak out her name. She’d grown even more confident since then, but she still remained a quiet, gentle sort. The notion of delicate Fluttershy getting kidnapped chilled me. I’d only barely dealt with my kidnapping. I couldn’t imagine how absolutely terrified and alone she felt. I was snapped out of my reverie when May poked me. “What? Huh?” I said. “Yo, space hayseed,” May said. “We’re getting pizza. Any vetoes aside from the usual veggie only policy?” “Sorry,” I said, with a blush. “Um. No black olives for me, thanks.” Stephanie nodded and picked up the hotel phone. Just as she did, her cell went off. She tossed the hotel handset to May and dove for her phone. “This is Agent Chase,” she said, half-falling off the bed. I stood up next to May and Sam. My body tensed in anticipation. My ears flicked forward. “Agent Chase, hi, this is Lynch,” came the voice from the phone. I glanced at May, who nodded. Pony hearing was apparently better than we thought. “I just wanted to update you on the situation.” “Uh-huh,” she said. “What’s going on?” I asked, overeager. She held up a finger and went into the bathroom. Pony hearing was apparently not that good. After some indistinct noises punctuated with the sound of pacing, she came out. “I understand. Keep me updated.” She sighed, turning off her phone. “Well?” I asked. “Nobody was home. He’s securing an emergency court order to enter the premises, but that’s still a few hours processing time. He’ll get back in touch with us when he knows more.” I was out of the loop again. I could feel my anger heating up. I closed my eyes, taking a breath. It didn’t help much. “I’m going for a walk,” I said, hopping down from the bed. “One second,” Stephanie said. I stopped and glared at her. “I’m going for a walk. Alone, Stephanie,” I snapped. Stephanie stood where she was, halted in the middle of re-buttoning her blouse. She blinked, looking hurt. The expression disappeared behind one of professional cool. Dammit. This temper wasn’t doing me any favors. At that moment, I felt like I had unlearned everything I knew about keeping my cool. “Sorry,” I said, shamefaced. “You didn’t deserve that.” “You’re under a lot of stress,” Stephanie offered, her voice carefully neutral. “Yeah,” I said. The lock in the door whirred and Alphonse entered with a briefcase. He stopped, sensing the tension between Stephanie and me. “Can I order this pizza now?” May asked. Stephanie and I shot her equally annoyed looks. “Oh please,” May said, rolling her eyes. “I’m really scared.” Dinner was quiet with Alphonse keeping one eye out the window while Stephanie, May, and I ate. Then, when Stephanie had finished, she traded off with Alphonse so he could get some food. “I’ll take first watch,” she said. “Fine with me,” he replied, stretching. “I’m pushing sixteen thanks to all this pony business.” “I’m much lighter,” she confirmed, smiling. “You go rest.” Alphonse went to his room and Stephanie said she was fine with us having the lights off. May got in close to me on our shared bed while Sam flopped at the foot. Her paws kicked in the air as she chased dream rabbits. Sleep took a while to come, and I spent the time watching Stephanie watch the outside. I felt like I needed to tell her something more, or apologize again. Instead, I just stared while she was vigilant and protective, doing her job. The last thing I saw was her adjusting her seat for the umpteenth time so she wouldn’t nod off. I admit, I was a little nervous what I’d find in my head. Before, when I’d been both Rachel and AJ, they had gotten used to hashing things out in their minds while their body slept. They would swap notes, make sense of their previous lives, yell at each other, basically get to be better friends. Now that I was only one mind- would I just dream like I used to? As I walked through the woods of Upstate New York with Sam, May, and Stephanie by my side, I wished I had the presence of mind to say, “Well that answers that question!” Instead, I crept along slowly, and didn’t say anything about Stephanie being a pony with her gun in her mouth. “Be careful,” she said. “I’m always careful,” I replied. “You’re really not,” Jim said. “Jim, you’re dead. Shut up,” I said. He shrugged and leaned against a tree to die again. Blood poured in gallons from his chest, painting the forest floor. I squelched through the muck and May kept muttering, “Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck.” Sam started singing that it was a dog’s life. “Ugh, would y’all shut it!” I yelled. “This is hard!” “And it’s only going to get harder,” a new voice said. I blinked, turned to the voice, and I wasn’t fetlock-deep in blood any more. She was a pony, but not any that I immediately recognized. She was familiar-ish, and I thought she might be Apple Clan. Her cutie mark was three apples, she had a light-orange coat, and firm farmer’s muscle, but she also had a dark brown mane, cut more for city life, and hazel eyes framed by glasses. “Hey Rae Jay,” she said with a half-smile. “We need to talk.” “We do?” I asked, trying to place the familiarity. “Yep,” the pony said. “You, me, and your other mom.” “Other…” I peered closer and she came into focus. “Rachel?!” I exclaimed, confused. She nodded. “Yep. Not as merged as we thought,” she said, with a smile. “But how?” I asked. Glancing down at herself, she said, “Well… we’re not sure, but it looks like whatever put us together and made you kept a backup. In a way.” She turned, tossing her head. “Come on. Supper’s almost done.” I followed her across a familiar field where a two-storied house stood, the wood panels painted in alternating red and white stripes. Green shutters and dark brown shingles kept it from looking completely like a candy cane. It had a large patio and a welcome mat at the front door, on which Rachel instructed me to wipe my hooves before coming in. “This is a little surreal,” I said. “You should see yourself in a mirror,” Rachel replied. Tempting as the notion was, I kept my gaze straight ahead and avoided the hallway mirror just inside the door. The house was built to pony scale, and a heavenly aroma wafted out of the kitchen. “That her?” a familiar voice called out. “Yeah. Found her in a nightmare. It’s gonna be rough in here for a while,” Rachel said, and we crossed into a kitchen that I’d only dreamed about. Full gas-range and stove, plenty of space to chop vegetables, and every pot or pan I could want hanging on easily reachable hooks. I could only guess at the utensils available. I spotted AJ in the thick of it, her mouth wrapped around a hefty wooden spoon as she stirred the contents of a massive pot. She grinned at the sight of me. “Howdy,” she said. She spat out the spoon and came over to hug me. “It’s good to see you. Lemme look at ya girl.” “Uh…” I said as she pushed me to foreleg’s length for inspection. “I’m seriously missing something.” “You’re not,” she replied. “You sit. Rachel, help me with this here pot.” “Yeth marthter,” Rachel groaned, dragging her back hoof. I giggled. AJ rolled her eyes. “I swear, I hope your sense of humor is better’n hers,” she said, the both of them going behind the counter as I sat down. Knowing AJ’s preference for good manners, I kept my hooves off the table. She smiled at me. “So…” I said. “Y’all aren’t… gone?” “‘The report of my death was an exaggeration,’” Rachel quoted. I laughed at the joke, and she went on. “So, you remember how we were tearing down each of our houses in some big metaphor about us building a new one that combined both?” I nodded. “Well, after we finished tearing the walls down, we woke up here.” She looked at AJ, eyebrow raised, and added, “In bed. Together.” “Weren’t my idea,” AJ said, sprinkling a little salt in the pot. “I’m blamin’ that all on your youthful slash-writin’ days, missy.” Rachel rolled her eyes. “Can we focus?” I asked. “I know y’all are doing the JohnLock thing down here, but I got real troubles outside.” “We know,” Rachel said. “We’re sort of you, remember?” “So you don’t know any more than I do? Super,” I muttered, slouching. “Hey now. That ain’t totally true,” AJ said. She took a taste from her stew and nodded in satisfaction. She shot Rachel a significant look, and the other pony went to the cupboard to get out bowls and placemats, setting the table. “We know that you’re worked up and figured we could calm you down,” AJ said. “You are acting like a bit of a bitch,” Rachel said, sitting next to me and hoofing me a mug of warm cider. “Steph’s cool. She’s really going out of her way with all that she’s doing and you’re just being a jerk.” “Do you expect I could be any other way?” I snapped, rising. “My friend is in trouble and I’m just sittin’ around, chewin’ on my hat!” AJ ladled out stew that smelled richly of potatoes, carrots, and other inviting aromas. “Yeah, you ain’t goin’ anywhere for now,” she said, returning the pot to the counter. “And you’ve waited before. You’re a farmer, girl. You know patience.” I was about to snap at her again, but then I remembered her life: waiting for the apples to grow, waiting on Mac to come back with supplies, waiting for one thing or another, and Applejack Apple never lost her cool. I glanced away, taking a breath to ease my nerves. This time, it worked. “That’s right,” AJ said. “This ain’t nothin’ more than waitin’ for a crop to grow. What do we do when we’re waitin’?” She went around the table to sit on the other side of me. “Get busy,” I said softly. “There’s always work to be done.” “Damn straight,” AJ said. “Guess I’m rubbing off on you,” Rachel said with a cocky grin. “Don’t let it go to her head,” AJ retorted. Day 13 I woke with the taste of potatoes and carrots in my mouth. May snored next to me as I blinked into full wakefulness. Alphonse was by the window and smiled at me in the early light. “Morning,” he whispered. “Hey,” I whispered back. “What time is it?” “Six,” he said. I nodded. Sounded right. That was almost sleeping in by AJ’s standards. “I’m gonna get a shower before there’s a line,” I said. Alphonse nodded. As I moved off the bed, Sam thumped her tail where she lay and grinned at me. I rubbed her belly in passing and went into the bathroom. Turning on the shower, I shut the bathroom door most of the way and waited for the hot water to kick in. Climbing inside the tub, I let the shower clear off whatever muck I hadn’t got to yesterday when we first checked in. As I stood under the water, just soaking for a bit, I thought about what I could do. Getting clean was a good first step. Next I should go over my gear. I didn’t need to haul all that food any more- Stephanie and Alphonse were feeding us well. I should offer the granola as breakfast. What else…? Oh yeah. Organize my wallet so it was more hoof and mouth friendly. Then, groom Sam. We just hit her with the hose yesterday, so she still needed a proper wash. After that, call Max, update him, and see if he wanted in on this. At the very least, he could meet me in New York. I nodded, satisfied with my internal list. I could stay busy. I knew how to wait.