The Magic Paint Brushes

by Ugly-Duckling123

chapter 4

Sarah made it down the hill and spotted a town some way off, so she decided to visit it and ask for help in finding of Eric.

She noticed that the beings running around, almost scared like, were more ponies like like Rainbow Dash. As she got to what seemed to be a market place because of all the carts, each pony was either looking at her oddly, or had gone into what was supposedly their homes, running from... 'the eclipse?' But why?

"Er... Hello?" Sarah said looking around not sure how to react.

Suddenly something very fast and very pink came around the corner and knocked her down.

"Hey," Sarah said getting up.

"Oh boy a new friend," the pink pony said hugging Sarah a bit too tightly. "My name's Pinkie Pie," she said "What's yours?"

"Sarah Jones?" Sarah said trying to get the pink mare off of her. "Look Pinkie... I'd really like to be your friend, but the boy I came here with is missing.... so I think I'll just see if I can find him."

"Can I at least show you to my other friends first?" Pinkie said giving Sarah big almost pleading eyes.

"Alright," Sarah said sighing, not really one for making friends. "But then I'd need to find Eric ok."

"Is he your special-somepony?" Pinkie asked mischief in her eye.

"My what...?" Sarah said now back on her feet following Pinkie out of the market place and down a road.

"You know the one you want on Hearts and Hooves day." Pinkie said smiling a giddy smile.

"Er... I don't think we have that back home Pinkie," Sarah said trying to work out what these sayings and holidays mean. "We have a Valentines day where people send cards to the people they love. Not that I ever got anything. And if I did it was because they thought I could get my parents to give them good grades on their report cards."

"First stop, Applejack," Pinkie said bringing Sarah back to where she was.

Looking around, Sarah saw they were at a apple farm and under the trees kicking down apples were an orange mare in a Stetson and a red stallion in a yoke.

"Hiya Applejack. Hiya Bic Mac," Pinkie called out walking over to the two followed slowly by Sarah.

"Howdy Pinkie," the orange one (probably Applejack) said wiping her forehead. Then seeing Sarah asked. "Gonna introduce us to your newest friend there Pinks?"

"This is Sarah Jones," Pinkie said in a bouncy expression, Sarah didn't really like. "Sarah, this is Applejack and her big brother Big Mac."

"Hello..." she said curtsying sheepishly.

"Sarah said she's lost somepony she came here with." Pinkie said explaining their situation.

"Well where'd you wake up Sugarcube?" Applejack asked kicking a close by tree making apples falling out of it.

"Up by that hill over there," Sarah said pointing towards the trees she saw when she woke up. "I meet someone called 'Rainbow Dash...?' But as soon as the eclipse started, she left me."

"Thinking about it," Applejack said to herself, "I don't remember either Celestia, or Luna saying anything about doing one. Do you Mac?"

"Nope..." Mac sad putting one of the baskets in a cart.

"And isn't it going on a bit long?"

"Yep," Mac said looking up at the sky chewing on the hay stalk thinking.

"Er... who are Celestia and Luna?" Sarah asked not knowing who to ask moving forward to help Mac with the baskets.

"Why they're the two Princesses of Equestria." Applejack answered readjusting her hat.

"And... Where's Equestria?" Sarah asked guessing the answer already.

"Here of course silly," Pinkie Pie said bouncing around her new friend.

"Wasn't it like this on that Summer Sun Celebration, little sister?" Mac asked kicking some more trees.

"Well yeah Mac," Applejack said "But that was because of Nightmare Moon coming back."

"Who?" Sarah asked looking around at each pony as if they were speaking a different language.

"She was a big meanie beau-beany who tried to shroud the world in eternal night, who turned out to be Princess Luna after we blasted her with the Elements of Harmony." Pinkie said speaking all of this in one breath still bouncing around Sarah happily.

"Before she came back, she was known as the Mare in the Moon, which every-pony thought was an old mares tale." Applejack said.

"Wait did you said Mare in the Moon?" Sarah asked, then after thinking for a while.... "By any chance did the moon have craters in the shape of a Unicorn with four stars always getting closer to it?" Sarah asked thinking of the paintings that Grandad Sam made and the one that bought her and Eric there.

"Just how'd you know about that Sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"The boy I came here with said he had a dream of a moon with a Unicorn on it," Sarah said "And his grandfather kept painting night landscapes with stars moving, and there was a message in those paintings saying 'Magic Paint Brushes'" she said taking out the paint brush so the ponies could see it. "And somehow as we finished it, the painting bought us here. Well I hope it did, like I said, I don't know where he is." Sarah said looking into the sky.

"You said you met Rainbow Dash when you woke up Sarah?" Applejack said walking up to her.

"Yeah," Sarah said looking down "Why?"

"She's one of our friends," Pinkie said walking up to the other side of Sarah. "She's a blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane, a bit short tempered at times, a bit stubborn, the fastest flyer in Equestria and the only pony to do a Sonic-Rainboom." Pinkie listed for Sarah about her friend.

Suddenly a stampede of little animals came running through the the trees towards them a yellow Pegasus trying to call them back.

"Angel, stop! Where are you going?" she called out.

Applejack put her hoof in her mouth and whistled, a collie came out of the house a few seconds later.

"Winona, herd them up!" she said pointing to the critters.

After a few minutes the dog had rounded up the animals and returned to her mistress, making Sarah to think of Midnight.

"Thank you Applejack something spooked them I don't know what," the Pegasus said panting then spotted Sarah and hid behind her mane her wings were clamped to her sides. "Who... Who are you?" she said barely above a whisper.

"Er... I'm Sarah," Sarah said not sure how to react to the shy mare.

Thinking it was because she was taller, Sarah got down on her knees a 'no need to be afraid' look on her face.

When Fluttershy still didn't respond, Sarah backed away a bit as well.

Slowly Fluttershy came out from behind her mane and went over to her animals to see if they were alright.

"Just like the kids back home," Sarah said changing her position to cry into her knees as quietly as she could. "I try to be nice, they just run away."

Thinking it would cheer her up, Pinkie fished a cupcake out of her mane.

"Hey Sarah, do you like cupcakes?" she said offering the small dessert.

"Not at the moment Pinkie thank you," Sarah said wiping tears away getting up. "I think I'll just find Eric and try and work out how to get home."

At the name 'Eric' Angel's ears started twitching and he waved his arms at Fluttershy and ran over to Sarah.

"Leave me alone please..." Sarah said moving around Angel to be blocked by him again, his arms waving nose twitching, and pointing at the moon and forest.

"What are you trying to say Angel?" Fluttershy asked coming up.

After five minutes of nose twitches, pointing, squeaks, hops of rage when Fluttershy didn't under stand him, and a few gasps from Fluttershy, Angel finally laying flat with exhaustion was gently picked up by Fluttershy who wore a worried look on her face.

"Well," Applejack asked biting into one of the apples "What he tell you Shy?"

"Ni.. Nightmare Moon..." Fluttershy said looking scared. "Nightmare Moon has your friend," she looked at Sarah, as Applejack spat out her apple and Pinkie gave one of her exaggerated gasps.

"Where are they?" Sarah asked looking at all three mares.

"Some... Somewhere in there..." Fluttershy pointed to the Everfree Forest where the trees all looked dead.

As Sarah made to the forest, Applejack ran in front of her understanding in her eyes. "I get the feeling you want to go help him Sugarcube. But I think you might want to meet Twilight before you go into that there forest."

"Why? I know where he is... Sort of," Sarah cried "Why can't I just go in there and help my friend so we can get home?"

"Because you don't know where he is, the creatures that live in there, or your way though it." Applejack listed the flaws in Sarah's plan.

Thinking that she was right, Sarah stepped back "Fine, lets go to see Twilight." she said looking longingly at the trees, not seeing a small blue smoke cloud as they left the farm to visit the library and meet this Twilight.

"That must be that boy's 'princess...'" it said to it's self getting stronger by the minute thanks to the eclipse she made.