The Last Pegasus

by Tealove

Missing

It took two days before the mayor made an official announcement regarding Medley. The pegasus had been missing for five days now and the news of her unexplained disappearance unsettled many of the ponies. It was also the very thing that made others step forward and mention others they hadn't seen for as much as a couple of days to as little as a few hours. Lily, Daisy, and Rose were the first to truly panic, though none of them were pegasai. They wanted to shut the town down completely and demanded a curfew but the mayor refused to be bullied and stood firm in her decisions.

"There is no need to go to extremes," she said patiently, "especially here in town. It is the pegasai that appear to be the target of attention and it is the pegasai we should would together to keep safe."

"T-target?" asked a nervous yellow pegasus quietly.

Mayor Mare frowned thoughtfully. "Canterlot still remains quiet on the issue so for now we will take the situation into our own hooves. We will be instating a buddy system for all winged ponies. No pegasus is to be by his or herself without any exception, save the obvious issue of privacy. Each pegasus should be partnered with either an earth pony or a unicorn, if not both. Pegasai should not partner up with each other."

"Because they could both be taken," Thunder Clap muttered. She stood with Pinwheel, Candy Pop, and Sugarmint Skies to the side of the gathered crowd. "Looks like we're all staying with you, Candy."

"I can't leave my family," Pinwheel negated.

"And one unicorn for three pegasai doesn't seem like it would be acceptable," added Candy Pop.

"Well if Pinwheel is staying with her family it would only be two to one."

"We can't abandon Pinwheel!"

"You wouldn't be abandoning me, really! We'll go stay with the neighbors."

As the three went back and forth, Skies looked out across the sea of ponies. She quickly found Bon Bon who practically jumped in excitement when they met eyes, but Skies quickly looked away. Seeing another familiar face made her peel off from her new friends and move through the crowd. Bon Bon started moving as well and Skies quickened her pace, weaving in between ponies until she drew up beside a pale unicorn wearing a rather chagrined expression. "Would you be my partner?"

For a moment the unicorn froze, confusion on her face. When she turned to see Skies and recognition hit, she blinked. "What?"

"You're Moonflower, right? You were in my hospital room. Would you be my buddy?"

Moonflower looked past Skies to Clap, Candy, and Pinwheel. "Not sticking with the Three Mareketeers?"

"We need another. Candy can't be with the three of us all the time."

"And neither can I. I have a job."

"So does Candy Pop, which is why we need somepony else." Skies glanced up nervously, Bon Bon almost reaching them. "Please, Moonflower. It's you or Bon Bon."

Just saying the earth pony's name seem to do something to Moonflower and the unicorn sighed heavily. "Fine. I'll do it for you and Pinwheel."

Skies chuckled quietly. "Thunder Clap isn't so bad once you get used to her."

"Yeah, that's what they say about a toothache, too." Moonflower looked up as Bon Bon broke through the crowd, the earth pony breathless with an expectant grin on her face. "I'm her partner," the unicorn barked, instantly deflating the earth pony. Skies gave Bon Bon a polite smile of apology, then nodded to Moonflower before leading her back to the other three.

"It's fine," Pinwheel was saying. "We'll be perfectly safe there."

"Moonflower is going to be my partner," Skies announced, a no-nonsense look on her face. "It wouldn't be fair for you to have to worry about both Clap and myself, Candy Pop."

"It's really not a big deal," the unicorn started. Moonflower's ears flattened.

"I knew this was a bad idea."

"No, it's not." With a patient smile, Skies looked at Candy Pop and shook her head. "It is a big deal. You can't keep tabs on two pegasai and work each day by yourself. Moonflower is just as capable as anypony to be another set of eyes." Glancing at the pale unicorn, Skies was confident in her position. "You all have been telling me for the past few days how warm and welcoming all the citizens of Ponyville are, that I'll be making new friends before I know it. Please forgive me if this sounds rude or unkind but the way you all talk about Moonflower and have treated her since I have been here has not shown me anything of warmth or friendship."

The group was silent at the gentle chiding. Thunder Clap, hovering in the air, crossed her forelegs over her chest and absently looked around at other ponies partnering up. Candy Pop shuffled her hooves and Pinwheel looked down in shame, her cheeks coloring. Moonflower, on the other hand, looked at Skies as though she was in awe. As the pegasus and the unicorn held one another's gazes, Skies offered her a small smile. She could tell just by Moonflower's expression that there hadn't been many times in her life when she'd had someone stand up for her, if ever. Deep down she knew there had been other ponies she'd known before the exact same way. Maybe Skies had been one of them herself. They were damaged and broken on the inside, desperate for acceptance and longing for love they didn't feel they deserved. Maybe that was why Moonflower was so cold toward others; it was a form of self-preservation. If you don't let anyone close enough to hurt you, you'll never get hurt.

"You're right," Pinwheel said quietly, finally breaking the silence. She lifted her head to look at Moonflower, eyes full of regret. "We're really sorry, Moonflower."

"Yeah," Candy Pop agreed. "Skies is right. It was unfair of us to make assumptions about you and write you off the way we have."

"Hello! Are you forgetting the way she talked to all of us at the hospital?" Thunder Clap threw her hooves out in exasperation. "Or when we went to her store?"

"You stormed into my place of employment and ambushed me," Moonflower argued, glaring up at Clap. "Did you want me to offer you tea and cake?"

"What about the hospital, then? After you woke her up for the second time? As I recall you had a nice attitude then."

"And as I recall you were giving it right back."

"Girls." Though she hadn't spoken very loud, Skies got the attention of all four mares. "Can we please put aside our differences just for now? Please? I'm not saying everypony has to get along and become best friends but there is something bigger than all of us going on. Forget how you were treated or how you treated each other in the past. Start over now. If you can't get along can you at least be cordial to one another?"

"Of course we can." It was Pinwheel who instantly agreed. She trotted over to Moonflower, the bell around her neck jingling, and extended a hoof to the unicorn. "Hi, I'm Pinwheel. What's your name?"

Moonflower blinked at the pegasus. "You...already know my name."

"We're starting over." To emphasize her suggestion she wiggled her extended hoof. Hesitant, Moonflower lifted her hoof as well and the two shook.

"I'm...Moonflower."

"Pleased to meet you, Moonflower! You're cutie mark's really pretty! What kind of flower is that?"

The unicorn looked up at Skies for help but the pegasus just smiled and gave a slight nod of her head, encouraging her to play along. "It's a hibiscus."

"I like it! Can I introduce you to my friends?"

"Um...sure?"

"This is Candy Pop. Candy, this is Moonflower."

Candy and Moonflower shook as well, the smile the unicorn wore being one to both humor Pinwheel and sort of apologize to Moonflower. "Nice to meet you."

"You as well," Moonflower replied. As her hoof brushed the ground again she looked up at Clap. The pegasus had an unreadable expression on her face and didn't appear as though she was going to come down anytime soon. They held each others gazes, neither wanting to be the first to look away or back down. But when Skies cleared her throat, Clap sighed in exasperation and said, "Fiiiiiiine," and landed.

"I'm Thunder Clap. There, introductions have been made. Can we get off the street now? It's getting darker."

"Come on," said Candy Pop, nodding toward the bookstore and her apartment. "I'll make us all some hot chocolate."

As the ponies headed off, Moonflower lingered a moment to speak with Skies. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For sticking up for me and giving me a chance. Nopony's ever done that before."

Skies tilted her head curiously. "Don't you have any friends?"

Moonflower shook her head, ears drooping in embarrassment. It made Skies feel sorry for her but she was careful to keep the sadness out of her expression. "You have friends now," she said with quiet insistence. "Come on, let's catch up with the others."

~~~~~~~~~~

Ponyville had never seemed so ill at ease. Thunder Clap and Sugarmint Skies rested on a cloud above the town, taking a break from their afternoon of moving storm clouds out. It seemed like every single pony was on edge. The slightest sound sent them scattering, a shadow in an unexpected place, a wind too strong through the trees. And should anypony be late for anything? It no longer mattered whether a pony was a pegasus, a unicorn or an earth pony. If someone was a second behind on when they were supposed to be somewhere a panic went up until the pony in question was spotted. One by one, everypony was falling prey to the fear that was gripping the town.

“Any word from Canterlot yet?” Skies asked her friend, watching three ponies below as they walked in a tight group from the cafe toward the library.

Clap shook her head. “Not officially. Last I heard was that the mayor got a letter from Princess Celestia saying she was looking into it.”

Noting the frustration in Clap's tone, Skies offered her a small smile. “I'm sure there's a reason why she hasn't been more visually involved. The princess may know a lot more about this than we think.”

“That's what bugs me so much! I'd bet money that she knows tons more than we do. It's that she's not sharing any of it that makes me want to spit nails.”

Skies shook her head. “Did you ever stop to think her not sharing is what's keeping this town from going completely nuts with fear? Sometimes it's good to be in the dark, especially when you know someone more capable than you is there to take care of things.”

“Speaking of dark, why do you want a night shift? Don't you like hanging out with me?”

The pale green pegasus chuckled softly. “Of course I do, Thunder Clap. It's just...” She trailed off, biting her bottom lip. “There are less ponies around at night.”

“Exactly! Wait, what?”

“I don't know if you've noticed but there isn't exactly a line of ponies waiting to get to know me better. I think they're all suspicious of me still.”

“You've been here for almost two weeks now.” Clap snorted. “I'm pretty sure if you were somepony to be afraid of we'd know already.”

Skies shrugged. “Still, I'd much rather get my work done when I don't have to feel like everypony is watching me.”

“I get that. Sorry.”

“It's not your fault, Clap.”

“This town, they can hold grudges for a long time sometimes. I hope they get over theirs against you quicker than...”

Skies looked at the dark pegasus beside her. “Than what?”

“Nevermind.” Thunder Clap got to her hooves and stretched. “Shift's over. Here come Flitter and Bubblecup. I'll fill them in if you want to head down to Candy and Moonflower. I'm sure they're ready for a break from each other.”

Skies grinned. “Sure, see you down below!” She tossed her blonde mane from her eyes and dove gracefully from the cloud, extending her wings to catch the updraft that would slow her descent. With less of the sun visible below than up as high as she and Clap had been, the evening felt darker and closer down in the village than it had in the sky. She found the two unicorns coming away from an apple stand with full saddlebags, the orange earth pony running the stand happily counting the bits they'd payed.

“We have cider!” Candy Pop announced as Skies landed.

“Two different kinds,” Moonflower added, a sly smirk on her lips. Skies didn't understand and tilted her head to the side making the unicorn's smirk only grow. “Don't tell me you've never had hard cider before.”

“I haven't.” Skies glanced between the two mares. “What is it?”

“You'll like it.”

Candy Pop shook her head and rolled her eyes before looking at Skies. “Where's Clap?”

“She's just giving Bubblecup and Flitter her report. She should be right down.”

It was Moonflower's turn to roll her eyes. “How that pony can keep lookout with her eyes that way is beyond me.”

“She wants to help,” Candy Pop scolded. “Besides, she's the best mailmare Ponyville has had in a long time. She's smart and really sweet, and she makes the best muffins this side of Sugarcube Corner. You shouldn't judge her just because she looks a little different from you.”

“You shouldn't judge her at all,” Skies added quietly. “You and I have both been on the other side of those critical glances and whispers behind hooves. We're not what ponies think we are just by the way we act or look sometimes.”

Candy Pop nodded. “That's right. Skies isn't an agent of evil just because she's new.”

“And I'm not as snobby or tightly wound as everypony thinks I am?” pressed Moonflower. When neither of the other two said anything, the unicorn huffed.

“You don't exactly make it easy,” said Candy. “We're trying, Moonflower. It's just that sometimes it feels like you have such high walls.”

“I like my walls. They are what have kept me safe since I was small.”

Skies furrowed her brow. “You don't feel safe with us?”

The question seemed to take Moonflower off guard and she blinked. There appeared to be a struggle going on inside of her causing her to look down as if in shame. When she finally answered her tone was so quiet that the other two almost didn't hear her. “No.”

“Moonflower...” Candy Pop dipped her head, trying to catch the pale unicorn's gaze. “You don't have to be afraid with us. We want to be your friends and part of friendship is accepting a pony just as they are. I don't know what happened in your past that made you so leery of others but I promise you, we would never do anything to intentionally hurt you or make you feel bad.” Moonflower lifted her gaze slightly and Candy Pop smiled in encouragement. “You have my word that from here on out I've got your back.”

“Me, too,” added Skies, smiling as well.

“I'll...try harder, too,” Moonflower promised.

Candy glanced skyward. “Don't worry about Thunder Clap. She'll warm up eventually. And as for Pinwheel... “

“I like Pinwheel.” The pale unicorn gave a half smile. “Okay, I said I like a pony. Happy now?”

Skies giggled. “It's a start.”

“Ugh, what is taking Clap so long?” Candy Pop looked at Skies. “Was there really that much to tell?”

The pegasus shook her head. “No, there wasn't really anything out of the ordinary that happened. Should I go check on her?”

“It might not be a bad idea.”

With a nod, Skies stretched her wings and was airbound. The higher she flew the lighter the sky became, and the easier to get a better view of everything around her. She flew up to the cloud she'd left earlier and gently touched down to stand and look for Thunder Clap. Flitter and Bubblecup hadn't been that far off and Clap had gone to meet them halfway. Shouldn't that mean they would have been close enough to be seen, even overheard at this height? Puzzled, Skies left the cloud behind and flew in the direction Clap had gone. “Thunder Clap? Where are you?” The sky was oddly devoid of any other pegasai and it sent a shiver down Skies' spine. “Clap?” Absolutely nothing.

Cloudsdale shone brightly in the setting sun just a ways off. Could the three mares have gone there? If they had, for what reason? Clap knew they were having a sleep-over at Candy's, she'd been talking about it all day. Why would she just disappear like that? Disappear. Skies could almost feel the word echoing throughout her thoughts. Her throat closed and panic welled inside her chest. She'd just been with Clap. Flitter and Bubblecup were there, too! Surely Thunder Clap couldn't have been taken without being seen and possibly stopped by the other two? Unless all three of them had been taken at once. Was that even possible?

Skies looked every which way feeling her heart beat faster than it had since the day she woke up in Ponyville, and for the very same reason; she was afraid of what she didn't understand. “Thunder Clap!” What was she going to tell the others? How could she have been so careless and let Clap fly off on her own? It was her fault. It was all her fault.

“Skies!”

She whipped around, startled and relieved to hear the familiar voice of her friend. Her relief, however, was short lived. Thunder Clap was flying her direction with the unmistakable look of horror on her face. Hurrying to meet her halfway, Skies asked, “What is it?” as soon as the two were close enough.

“Where's Candy?”

“She's below with Moonflower. What's wrong?”

Thunder Clap's brow wrinkled in sadness. “It's Scribes. She's been taken.”

“What?”

“Flitter and Cheerilee went to the bookstore together, they're partnered up you know, just a little while ago. They said she wasn't there.”

Skies let out a quiet sigh, relived once more. “That doesn't mean anything. There are lots of reasons why Scribes wouldn't be there.”

“She didn't lock up or anything.”

“Clap, I like Scribes just as much as you all do, but she's not the most put together pony I've ever known.”

“And there was this.” Thunder Clap pulled a piece of parchment from her saddlebags and showed it to Skies. The blonde pegasus read carefully, seeing nothing wrong with the invoice before her until the end. There whatever Scribes had been writing trailed off as though she'd jerked her head too quickly as she wrote, and used too much force; it was easy to see where the tip of the quill had gone through the parchment and tore as it was dragged. There was a big stain of ink near the bottom where the quill must have broken, and another stain that looked too crimson to be anything but blood. Skies swallowed hard.

“Nothing was out of place or anything,” said Clap, tucking the parchment away again. “Just the desk with this on it. The broken quill was on the floor and one of her ribbons was with it.”

“We have to tell Candy Pop.”

“She's going to freak out!”

“We can't not tell her.” Skies looked at Clap without really seeing her, her brain going a mile a minute. What was going on? And why was Canterlot doing absolutely nothing about it? “Come on,” she said after a moment. Tucking her wings in, she headed for the ground with Thunder Clap right behind her. It took them a minute to find the two unicorns because Skies had flown so far away in her search of Clap, and when they did the two stood waiting where they had been left.

“Well that took long enough,” grumbled Moonflower.

“You flew off, didn't you?” Candy Pop guessed, her eyes on Thunder Clap.

“Yeah, but it's not like that.”

“Clap, you know how dangerous that is!”

“It wasn't like that!”

“You could have been taken!”

“I wasn't taken, Scribes was!”

Candy froze, her mouth halfway open as she'd started to retort but was shocked into silence. Thunder Clap nodded, worry on her face. “Cheerilee and Flitter went to the library and figured it out. From the look of it, it didn't happen too long ago.”

“But that's impossible,” Candy insisted. “The bookstore always has at least one other pony in it. She's practically never alone!”

“Flitter and Bubblecup went to tell the mayor. Candy, I'm really sorry.”

Candy Pop shook her head, her brow wrinkling. “I don't believe you.”

Thunder Clap blinked. “Candy, I saw the store. I have an invoice she was writing when-”

“I don't believe you!” The unicorn turned on her hoof with determination in her eyes and sped off toward the bookstore before anyone could stop her.

“Come on,” said Skies. “We should follow her. She's going to need her friends.”

Comments

[Deathpony]

cant wait for the next

[Tealove]

1460525 Thank ya darlin'.