Chapter Three- Sugar High
Author: Blue Eyed Melloon
MLP- Hasbro
The first thing Twilight Sparkle noticed was that it was incredibly dark. Her second thought was that the ground beneath her hooves certainly didn’t feel like tile. It was spongy and springy, not altogether unpleasant. But definitely not what a kitchen floor was supposed to feel like. She took a careful step, sliding her hoof along the ground to make sure she didn’t end up on a cliff somewhere. Her teleportation spell must have backfired, or maybe she miscalculated. Things, probably dirt, rolled and shifted under her careful hoof. There was no sudden drop, so she took another cautious step. Now that she was aware that she was in a different place than before, she could smell open air. Crickets chirped just outside of her vision as if to beckon her forward.
Twilight knew a spell for a light, but as she tried to focus on her magic, her fear rose up and bubbled into her conscious, preventing her magic from happening. What if she miscalculated again? She had a horrible flash of a vision of her bursting into flames before she shook her head and body. At this moment, the clouds moseyed away, letting the half moon shine down upon the unicorn. Shapes began to form before her eyes. Trees and bushes leapt out of the darkness at her and it took a few hurried blinks for her mind to realize that they were not creatures threatening her life. Her heart was pounding. Where had she ended up? And what happened to Rarity?
“R-Rarity?” She called out pitifully, taking one more careful step. “Rarity, are you ok?” Her voice sounded feeble among the commanding presence of the trees. These were different from the trees of Canterlot. Magic was used to aid their growth, creating delicate trunks twisted into fantastic shapes. These trunks were twisted not for beauty, but for necessity. The bark was strong, the trunks thick and proud. Aided by the undergrowth, they seemed to muffle all other sound except for the crickets. Those rang sharp and true, stunned into momentary silence by Twilight’s call. The foal cringed, took a deep breath and called out “Rarity? Anypony?” Her voice squeaked at the end, betraying her fear to anyone listening. There was no response. She lowered herself to the ground and slunk across the mossy surface to a trunk, finding a hollow space underneath. She pawed at it with her hooves until she could fit snugly inside. She crawled into her hole, curling into a ball and wrapping her purple tail around her nose. Loose dirt fell on top of her, and she sneezed to clear her nose of the debris. It wasn’t very cold, but Twilight was shivering. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she cried herself to sleep.
Sunlight across her eyes from breaks in her tree root ceiling woke Twilight after only a few hours. She blinked tiredly and lifted her head, only to smack it against a large root above her. She winced, but held her cry. Dirt cascaded down from the root, and she shook her head to clear it from her eyes. Wiggling free of her makeshift home, Twilight once again looked around at the forest she had landed in. In the wispy mist of morning, it looked peaceful.
The sunlight that slanted through the leaves sparkled with dew, and the undergrowth was wet and fresh smelling. The trunks were plastered with moss, and densely packed together. As lovely as the scenery was, Twilight knew that she was undoubtedly lost. She sighed and began searching for a path, circling around her tree trunk in wider and wider circles. Her stomach growled angrily. She was hungry, dirty and wet, and really wanted to go home! After an hour of walking, she found a dainty path between two bramble patches. It seemed relatively unused but for woodland creatures. As she passed through the brambles unscathed, for once she was glad that she was so little. The path wound around trees, leapt over a happily chuckling brook and passed under multiple mossy logs before joining a more substantial path. Twilight cheered, jumping into the air before practically galloping down the path. There had to be something ahead!
The dirt changed quickly into rock, and Twilight admired the small sign of civilization beneath her feet. Ahead she could see rooftops, some with smoke rising from chimneys to mix with, and eventually replace, the mist that still clung to some places. She ran to the town, pausing at a bridge over a larger stream that led straight into the main square. Now that much of the mist had burned off, the town was alive with ponies. They wandered from house to house, pausing to hold a minute or two of conversation before continuing on their way. Stalls were lined up next to one another, each with a sign depicting their wares and a pony behind the counter. Twilight was so happy she felt her heart might burst. Real ponies! She cheered and galloped to the main square, choosing a mare with an orange mane striped with peach. She was buying flowers from a stall run by a dusky rose colored mare when Twilight carefully sidled up to her, saying “Um, excuse me. I’m lost, can you help me?” She put on her best oh-so-sad face and as the mare turned to look down at her, she saw the pity cross her face immediately. Twilight gave a mental cheer, but kept her mouth firmly placed in sadness.
“Oh you poor dear!” she said, turning around to face the rumpled and dirty filly. “Where are you from? I bet I can tell you how to get there.”
“Well I’m from Canterlot and….”
The mare’s green eyes fastened on the almost unnoticeable horn that was peeking out of Twilight's tangled mane. Her eyes widened. Twilight looked confused. The mare backed away, narrowing her eyes back to suspicion. Twilight took a step toward the mare, while the shopkeeper quietly gathered her bits into saddlebags and placed a ‘Closed’ sign over her flowers and scampering away.
“This is a trick isn’t it?”
“No!” Twilight insisted, taking another step towards the mare. “I really do need help!”
“You’re here to make sure we are doing as you 'command' us. Look, our prices are still fair. We aren't cheating you! And we can't give you the payment until the final harvest comes in, which won't be for two more weeks. But we will! Now go home and tell that snooty Princess or King or whoever of yours that it will get there!”
Ponies were staring to stare. Twilight sat down on the ground, dejected tears again filling her eyes. “But..but…” Her protest was drowned out by a booming voice behind her.
“Junebug! I see you’ve found yourself a unicorn!”
The yellow-brown stallion trotted forward while a crowd began to gather. They were whispering, glaring in the filly’s direction. The stallion’s proclamation drew more shop goer’s attention, until it seemed half of the town had gathered to gawk at the purple filly with a tiny little horn sticking out from between her ears.
“You see her?” “What is she doing here?” “The unicorns are sending children to spy? How awful!”
Twilight couldn’t believe her ears. They thought she was a spy? But for whom? She had a flashback to class, was it really only yesterday? Miss Lemon Hearts had said that the earth ponies didn’t trust unicorns. But she was just a filly! What harm could she bring?
Junebug nodded, backing away further. “I didn’t do anything wrong Steamer, she came to me. Wanted directions home.” Her voice seemed to add ‘a likely story’ to the end of her sentence.
Steamer nodded and put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, spinning her around on the spot. His orange eyes were appraising, focusing for a moment of two longer on her horn with a mixture of disdain and fear.
“Now look here missy.” He said, lowering his eye to her level and capturing her gaze. “We don’t like being spied on, even by little ponies like yourself. So why don’t you just go back home to your little mountain side and leave us earth ponies alone?” He voice was cheerful, but his smile was sinister. Twilight shivered. She felt the anger radiating from the crowd. A couple of foals that had come to see what was happening backed away, hiding behind their mothers' legs and staring open mouthed. They wanted her to protest, demand that they treat her right. They would have no problem chasing her from town. The purple foal lowered her ears and eyes, saying “Yes sir.”
“Good. Now go on!” he released her shoulder, waving for the crowd to make a path. She slowly left through the hole in the crowd, stares burning into her very soul. Once clear of the crowd, someone shouted “Pick up the pace!” A few ponies trotted towards her, eyes full of malice. Twilight looked back and gasped, galloping headlong across the bridge while the same ponies trotted behind her, shouting jeers and insults.
At the outskirts of town, Twilight slowed, panting heavily. Her pants turned to sobs and she sat alongside the road crying. How could grown up ponies be so mean to a filly!? She felt alone and scared. And even hungrier than before. Between sobs, she heard hoofsteps. Holding her breath to keep her crying in check, Twilight dove for a couple bushes just off of the road. She imagined an angry mob following her hoofprints out of town, searching for the filly to make sure she had run away far enough. So it was to Twilight’s surprise that another filly walked down the road. Walked wasn’t the right word she mentally amended. This filly was bouncing.
She hopped down the path, humming a merry tune. Her coat was a cheery pink, and her mane was a deeper shade and impossibly curly. It stuck out at all angles, giving the plump filly a look of wildness. Her tune changed, and she bounced past Twilight and off down the path. Twilight released her breath, coming out from her hiding place.
“HI!”
Twilight shouted, leaping a foot into the air. She twisted on the spot, gazing at the same pink filly she had just seen bounce down the road. “But..but how…?” she gasped, feeling her heart beating out of her chest.
“My name’s Pinkie Pie!” the pink foal interrupted. “Who are you? I don’t think I know you and that is a super big problem because I like to know everyone! How come you were hiding in that bush? OH are you playing Hide and Seek? Because I am a master of hide and seek! I know all of the super secret places that you can hide if you need help!” Her blue eyes were practically pushed shut by the enormous grin aimed at the very confused looking unicorn.
Twilight stared at Pinkie Pie with her mouth open, expression blank. Her brain was still trying to process what the hyper foal had said a moment earlier before Pinkie opened her mouth again, placing a hoof on the unicorn’s horn.
“Ooooo are you a unicorn? No wonder the town is in such an uproar. You really shouldn’t be here. Last time there was a unicorn they” Twilight placed a hoof over Pinkie’s mouth, rubbing her temple. She took advantage of the silence to collect her thoughts, and when she spoke it was slowly, as if this poor creature couldn’t understand.
“Yes, I am a unicorn. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I accidentally teleported from Canterlot here, and I’m trying to get home. I just need to find a way up the mountain.”
There were muffled words behind her hoof. Twilight sighed and released Pinkie’s mouth, unleashing a torrent of thoughts from a high squeaky voice filled with excitement.
“I knew you were a unicorn! And you need a way up the mountain? Well that’s silly why don’t you teleport back? Of course if you could you would have. How silly of me!” Pinkie Pie practically vibrated with excitement. “I know! You can stay at my house until you find a way home!” She grabbed ahold of Twilight’s hoof, dragging her along the road. Twilight fought the grip, protesting the entire way to Pinkie’s house.
It turned out to be a rock farm outside of the town which Twilight later learned was called Ponyville. The house was three stories tall, and looked worse for wear. “A rock farm?”
“Yeah!” said Pinkie Pie, trotted in between boulders as Twilight carefully followed. Pinkie stuck her head inside the back door, casting a glance around before beckoning Twilight to enter. The unicorn filly decided to keep her opinions about the usefulness of a rock farm to herself for now. She didn’t want to offend perhaps the nicest pony in this..Ponyville. They pressed against the wall and scampered up the stairs to the third floor. Twilight noticed briefly that, for being a vibrant shade of pink, Pinkie Pie's house was surprisingly dull. Most of the furniture was the color of roughly cut wood, and there were no pictures on the walls. Most of the fabric was grey. Pinkie Pie opened her door, and Twilight was assaulted with color. The bedspread, wall decorations, carpet; all were vibrant and almost excruciatingly bright. Twilight covered her eyes, and was shoved into the room by its owner. After her pupils adjusted, Twilight uncovered her face and saw Pinkie sitting nearby, smiling at her.
“What?”
“I’ve never had a sleepover before! Unless you count when my sister Inky had a nightmare and came in my room because she was scared and didn't want to sleep alone. ”
“Is that what you think this is?”
“Well, you’re going to sleep here right? So that would make it a sleepover by definition.”
Twilight considered this, trying to find another option, then nodded in defeat.
“Alright Pinkie, this is a sleepover. Now where exactly am I sleeping?”
Pinkie wiggled over to a door, opening it to reveal a closet. Twilight's expression was unreadable.
“You’re kidding right?”
“Normally I kid a lot, but this time nopers dopers. You’re a unicorn. My family won’t like that you are here. So you have to hide until they are gone.”
Twilight looked at her doubtfully. “But how will I eat?”
Pinkie laughed and rose, walking to the door. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring you some tasty treats! But you gotta get in there. My folks are home and they don’t like to knock.” Pinkie started to leave the room, and Twilight caught a glimpse of her cutie mark. Three balloons created a triangle on her flank, all cheery colors.
“Hey..Pinkie?”
Pinkie swiveled around, tilting her head to one side. “Yes?”
“What is your cutie mark for?”
“Oh this?” she wiggled her flank, making the balloons dance. “I like to make ponies happy. I make them so happy, they fill with happiness just like balloons!”
Pinkie Pie left the room, leaving Twilight alone to assess her situation and ponder the cutie mark explaination. She was stuck living in the closet of a crazy pink earth pony until she could find a way back to Canterlot. Hopefully before the angry mob she kept envisioning found her. And she really wanted a bath. Footsteps below on the second floor sent her heart racing, and she quickly dashed to the closet, shutting the door as quickly as possible. She sat in the dark, afraid that her pounding heart would give her away. No one came upstairs though, and she eventually relaxed, searching the closet for something to lie on. Luckily, there were a couple blankets tucked in the back, and she happily wrapped herself in them. They were thick and plush, probably used when winter hit. But this year the early autumn was warm so they were pushed into the closet for a little while longer. The warmth of the fabric covered her fear, and soon she felt sleep coming quickly.
When Pinkie Pie returned, she found Twilight in the closet fast asleep even though it was barely dinner time. She smiled warmly, gently nosing a plate of fruit and a small bowl of hay just beyond the door. She nudged it almost shut, and whispered “Goodnight Twilight Sparkle. I can’t wait for us to be best friends!” before hopping out of the room to help her family move the rocks from the north field to the west.