Timothy yawned, stretching as he groggily sat up in his cot. He looked around and noticed that Twilight was still asleep. He let out a sigh as he got up and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen.
"Dear Twilight.” he mouthed, mirroring the words that he wrote, “Don't worry, I'll be back in a few hours. I’m leaving to see if any of our other friends are here.
-Spike."
With that written down, the boy got dressed and left in search of their other friends. He was walking around searching for their friends. It had been an hour since then, And he wasn’t having any luck. He was just about to call it off and head back home when he bumped into someone.
“Oof!” He groaned as he landed on his back, glaring in irritation towards the figure looming above him.
“Oh. Uh, sorry.” The other boy apologized, reaching a hand towards Timothy. “You alright, kid?”
“Yeah.” Timothy responded, brushing himself off as he stood, a slice grimace flashing across his face all the while. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Neither was I.” The other boy sighed and glanced about. “I never figured I would be out here again. Did you?”
Timothy blinked. “What do you mean, ‘Out here again?’” He began, still flicking dirt off his clothes, “Was there something I missed?”
“You… Don’t remember being out here before you went into the simulations?”
Timothy shook his head.
“Of course.” The boy continued, “It seems I’m one of the few that do remember why they left this place.” He shook his head. “Anyways. What were you looking for?”
“W-what makes you think I’m looking for anything?” Timothy stammered, backing up from the boy.
“When you bumped into me, you seemed to be deep in thought. And considering you could think at wherever it is that you live, you were, and are, obviously looking for something.”
Timothy opened his mouth a bit, seemingly about to argue before he let out a sigh.
“Alright.” He began in defeat, “You got me. I’m just looking for my friends from my own simulation.”
“What simulation is that? Maybe I could help.”
“Well, I don’t know exactly what it was called…” Timothy began, “…but I do remember where we lived. It was a country called Equestria, though you’d probably never let me hear the end of it if I told you who the inhabitants were.”
Timothy let out a long, drawn-out sigh as he turned his back on the other boy.
“You… You were there too?”
Timothy paused. “Wait, wha--” he began, turning.
“Yeah.” The other boy cut off, “Tame Wanderer at your service.” Timothy chuckled as the boy awkwardly performed a mock bow. With the act complete, Tame Wanderer turned back towards Timothy. “Now then. What’s your name?”
“Timothy. Why do you ask?”
Tame Wanderer shook his head. “No, no. I mean your full name!”
“Timothy… Carter?” The boy replied, raising a brow towards Tame. “I mean, if you’re trying to ask me who I was in the simulations, then it’d be Spike.”
“Wait. Spike as in, The hero of The Crystal Empire Spike?” Tame gasped in excitement, “Really?!”
“Um... Yeah, that’s me!” Timothy nodded, striking a triumphant pose. “You can thank me later, citizen!”
“Wow…” The other boy sighed, staring in awe at Timothy, “You must be searching for the element bearers then, right? I can help you with two of them if you are, though I don’t know where the other four are.”
Timothy raised a brow. “Which ones do you know about then?”
Tame shook his head slowly. “I’m pretty sure that Applejack and Rarity are here in town somewhere. I don’t know where they currently are right now, but I’d suggest searching around the Food Hall.”
Spike smiled. “Thanks, Tame. Maybe we’ll run into each other again sometime, you think?”
“Well… bye, Spike. May Harmony shine bright upon you.” Tame saluted. As the boy promptly turned to leave, Timothy turned to set his sights on the food hall, a looming attachment protruding sorely from the otherwise monotonous Town Hall. A crowd appeared to have gathered nearby, forming a shell around some run-down tables as a repeated thump noise emanated from the area.
“You planning on arm wrestling Melissa, sonny?” An aging woman crowed, hobbling towards the boy, “I wouldn’t advise that.”
“Melissa?” Timothy mouthed, staring towards the source of the noise: A particularly determined teen engaged in an arm-wrestling match. His eyes widened with awe as she handily defeated each and every opponent that dared to face her. Not hesitating a moment, the boy strode towards Melissa, wincing as the sound of yet another defeat rung through his ears. Slowly, he reached out, and tapped the girl on the shoulder.
Melissa ignored him at first, intently focusing on her current match. With another thump on the weathered table later, she turned to face the boy. “What can ah do for ya, pardner?”
Timothy smiled. “Hi, Applejack.” He waved.