Being on an airplane was an exciting experience, especially with a group that had never flown before. Arusha was a bit more excited than Hue, who kept looking through an old folder. From his expression he seemed to be wrapped up in his own little world, with something heavy obviously resting on his mind.
“Something wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing really,” Hue replied, obviously fibbing. “Just worried about getting to Woolpit.”
I sighed as I looked out the window to see the world below us appear drastically different than from the ground. Everything was so small from this point of view, and gave me a bit of insight as to what pegasi saw as they passed over. A part of me wished that I could see things from here forever, high above everyone else. There were no problems up here, just the clouds and sun.
“I’m just trying to take my mind off the fact that this Teal character might want us dead,” Hue said closing the folder.
“If we weren’t in public I could help with that,” I teased him, trying to keep the mood lighthearted as I took the folder from him.
“Horse fucker…” I heard a man mutter from across the seat; my ears being much more sensitive than Hue’s to the offense.
I opened the folder as my horn glowed briefly, until I heard the man scream in pain as hot coffee spilt onto his lap. A tragic accident really, but thankfully the coffee cup was still intact and hadn’t hit the floor.
Arusha was still asleep, having finally run out of steam from the day’s events. It was as if she ran on coffee, and the absence of the substance resulted in her devolving into a snoring, adorable drooling mess. As cute as she was, I was tempted to force some of the airline’s coffee down her to wake her up.
“So how long until we land?” I asked flipping through the folder’s numerous pages.
“Shouldn’t be too much longer, we won’t have a whole lot of time to mingle around when we get to New York,” Hue replied getting comfortable in his seat.
I nodded, absorbed in all of the old stories Hue had written before finally settling on me. It was still hard to believe that only a few weeks ago I was still bound to the limits of Hue’s imagination. Teal had certainly shaken up the world as she knew it, and not all for the better. While I didn’t want to make Hue worry, I had noticed the color of our world dulling.
Everyone seemed to either be oblivious to the change, their gaze held captive by their smart phones, or noticed but didn’t quite understand what was wrong. The world was dying, and there wouldn’t even be an uproar about it until it was too late. Eventually the changes would become noticeable to humans, and even more so to ponies, but by then it would be too late.
If the world was slowly dulling like a rotting apple, then I couldn’t begin to imagine what shape Equestria was in. Luna had said the Tree of Harmony was losing its color; if it died, there was no telling what might happen.
My thoughts were derailed as I turned the page to a sketch of a pony that had no mane or tail. It was clearly a mare, with the curved muzzle and feminine frame. It’s eyes were black and empty, with only a small circle on its head providing any form of individuality. Some bits of Hue’s chicken scratch hand writing adorned the sides of the pages with arrows pointing to certain parts of the pony.
“So what was this one called?” I asked, poking Hue to get his attention.
“Uh…I can’t remember the name, but it was supposed to be a doppelganger, I think,” Hue replied after looking the picture over.
“You made a doppelganger?” I raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t there changlings in Equestria lore that do the same thing?”
“Yeah, but they feed off of emotions like love and stuff, doppelgangers are different and more unpredictable,” Hue argued. “If you ever meet your spirit double you supposedly die on the spot.”
“Soo…could this pony become Celestia then?” I smirked.
“Possibly, I don’t really remember finishing her so I can’t say for sure what she could or couldn’t do,” Hue shrugged nonchalantly.
“So much unfinished stuff in here,” I commented. “…what made you not want to use her?”
“I guess…I just didn’t like where the project was going,” Hue hesitated before answering. “The ability to take up the mantel of whomever one takes the life of, and totally replace them was too great a threat for Equestria to deal with in the long run.”
“With all that’s happened, I’m kind of glad you didn’t finish her,” I said. “I’d hate to see a real one.”
“That’s the idea behind her, you’d never know who it was until it’s too late,” Hue said rubbing his forehead as he spoke.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Fine, I just don’t do well on planes I suppose,” Hue put on his best face, but I could tell he was in a bit of pain.
“Take a nap for a bit, we’ve still got-“
---
“Harmony wake Arusha up, we’re here,” Hue said, cutting me off.
“…oh come on!” I exclaimed. “Damnit Teal!”
“What?” Hue looked down at me confused.
“It happened again,” I huffed as Arusha stretched after being woken up by the commotion. “I was just about to tell you to take a nap until you turned and told me to wake Arusha up.”
“I was asleep?” Arusha asked.
“Yeah, you were talking to Harmony and just crashed. You didn’t even give any warning either, you just fell asleep mid-sentence,” Hue chuckled.
“As funny as all of that was, Teal is skipping things again,” I said, bringing the conversation back on topic.
“I didn’t notice,” Arusha commented as she followed us out of the plane. “I don’t doubt you though, as she sent us both home once with no memory of the event.”
“The last time this happened it was because she was frustrated with us, like she wanted to try to prove that everything was okay,” I said. “Why use that power now unless there’s something she wants us to see?”
“She doesn’t respect air time?” Hue offered with a chuckle. “I wouldn’t be complaining honestly, if I had a fast forward button I would use it to get past all of the boring stuff life throws at you.”
I didn’t reply as I kept working over what exactly she might have in store for us. I harbored more frustration than fear for the mare after she pretended to be a friend, albeit a creepy one. Even as we entered the lobby to await what little we had brought with us, I wasn’t able to relax. All I could think about was what Teal might do next.
Perhaps it was this paranoia that made one stallion in particular stand out amongst the humans and ponies flooding in and out of the New York airport. He just stared at me, his eyes tired and slightly sunken in. I could tell he was exhausted, and from the malice hidden within those eyes I had the feeling that he didn’t want to have a friendly conversation.
“Harmony, what’s the hold up?” Hue asked, bringing an end to my staring contest with the other pony.
“Uh,” I glanced back in the stallion’s direction, only to find that he was no longer there. “Nothing.”
“I think something to eat would do everypony some good,” Arusha proposed. “Perhaps dispel any fears or troubled spirits.”
Hue and I both agreed and it surprised neither of us that she was instantly drawn to a Starbucks. Arusha’s choice brought a smile to my face all the same, as she had enough enthusiasm about the menu for all three of us.
As they ordered, I glanced around the airport, trying to find a way to keep my mind off of where we were going. Hue had taken off work, Arusha had come through for us on tickets, but all I had contributed so far was a dream that for all I know could have been planted by Teal instead of Luna. Fortunately for me, fate seemed delighted to through a stallion my way, literally.
I had but seconds to react to the speeding pegasus who resembled the one that had stared me down earlier. Thankfully, I was fast enough to avoid getting hit, but the same could not be said for the Starbuck’s counter as the stallion’s hooves collided with it long enough to send him rocketing back in my direction.
Hue was caught in the stallion’s path and knocked to the ground, thankfully unharmed. While I had managed to avoid the stallion the first time he was much closer now. His speed put him only inches from me, and time seemed to stand still briefly as I locked eyes with him.
As time began to resume it’s normal speed I shut my eyes, awaiting the inevitable sting from the stallion’s impact. As I held my eyes shut I found myself waiting for an attack that wouldn’t seem to come and I wondered if Teal had somehow stopped time.
The sound of cheering prompted me to open my eyes. When I did, I was treated to the sight of a yellow pegasus pinning down the stallion. She had yellow fur, and a vibrant orange for her mane color. A flower served as her cutie mark. The mystery mare narrowed her eyes at the stallion and seemed to be giving him a rather harsh verbal beating.
The stallion held a straight face through the entire ordeal, almost as if he was bored. Only when he flung the mare off of him did his expression change to one of anger before speeding off through the airport.
The mare rose to her hooves and dusted herself off after being thrown from the chest of my assailant. There was something familiar about her that I couldn’t quite put my hoof on, but I dismissed it as my nerves trying to settle down. With a sigh, a nervous smile had replaced the angry stare the mare had only moments ago.
“Thanks,” I said finally working up the nerve to react to the heroine.
“It’s nothing, I can hardly believe you’re real though,” the mare replied.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I had a dream about you, but I thought you had-oh there they are,” the mare beamed as Hue and Arusha came to check on me.
“Everything okay Harmony?” Hue asked, his voice filled with concern.
“Yeah, everything’s fine thanks to…umm…” I fumbled, with the mare’s name.
“Summer Breeze,” the mare replied. “And I don’t think out meeting was an accident.”
---
The plane bound for the United Kingdoms was high above the rest of the world. Convincing Harmony to bring Summer Breeze along had been an easy enough task. Her tender heart and curiosity was her biggest weakness, and the mare intended to exploit it right up to the end.
Summer Breeze smiled as the small band of friends joked in the row behind her. Their laughter was what she longed for, her ears burning at the sound of sorrow or bitterness. Her regret for being responsible for the silence of so many voices was thankfully hidden from the others as she listened to what she could never have.
She would often fool herself as Teal that she could finally find happiness when her plans and visions were realized. Even as the world began to grow dull in color, she wished for her perfect continuation. Things needed to continue, even if they were forced. It gave her hope for a world that she could never see alone.
Harmony was the final piece to her extravagant puzzle, and she would turn the key to the door of her world herself. Of all the worlds she had seen, this was the only one that offered her a location for Equestria, and a genuine one at that.
“Soon little pony,” Summer Breeze said as she tried to get comfortable. “Soon you’ll see what I’ve tried to create.”