My summer seemed to pass in a blur once I had my ponypad. Strongheart and I battled the settlers, working against them in a hundred tiny ways, sneaking in and out of Appleoosa on secret missions. [8]
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[8] One night, when I was meant to be asleep, we broke into the town and busted out Peaceful, a warrior from Strongheart’s tribe who completely failed to live up to his name.
“Where does your tribe live?” I asked, as the three of us galloped away from Appleoosa, the cries of the sheriff fading into the distance behind us. The stars sparkled overhead, white gems set into a black that was soft and rich as velvet.
“Our tribe, silly,” she corrected me immediately. “And we’re headed home right now — we’ve been away long enough. You must have really missed everyone.”
And when we trotted, dusty and weary, into the hidden valley shaded from the morning sun by distant, thirsty-looking trees, and I looked around at the scattered teepees and the faces of the buffalo who tumbled out to greet us, I really felt like I was coming home after a long absence.
My character had her own family, her parents Shady Pine and Whisperwind, both every bit as attentive as my own had never been. She even had a little brother, Victory Stampede, who tagged along with me and Strongheart every chance he could get. He was a lot of fun, and we went on a few raids of our own. I asked him if he knew the legends of Lozen and Victorio, and the answer was a resounding yes.
“Duh, of course I do! Everycreature knows the stories. Lozen and Victorio were like, the coolest buffalo ever. Mom loves them so much that’s who we’re named after, silly. Did you forget?”
I shrugged and nodded. I didn’t want to burst his bubble and tell him I had another mother, and had only recently met Shady Pines. It was enough that I had Equestria now. I had a brother and a best friend, and at long last I could live out the legends of Lozen and Victorio for real.
The one thing my new family lacked was a grandmother. I never asked where she might be, and I was grateful for her absence — to have some creature trying to step into Nana’s role would be…too painful.
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I spent my days in a pleasant haze of adventure with my newfound friends, waking up early to scarf down a quick breakfast before grabbing my ponypad and heading out for the day. I alternated between my janitor’s closet and the playground where the other kids hung out, and one day they actually beckoned me across to join them.
“Hey, Maggie! Want to come and play?”
Boy, did I!
That afternoon still stands out clearer than the others in my memory. I left Strongheart and the tribe for the day and headed out into the grasslands, where Carolina — in Equestria she was a graceful unicorn with long, shiny blonde hair and a buttload of magical power — opened a portal for me to jump through onto their ship. We fought the Storm King’s bloodthirsty soldiers with cannons, with hooves, with swords and crossbows. We beat them back and retook the island of…well, I forget its name. It’s not like that was the important part — the important part was that we were doing it together, the four of us.
I was finally included, and it was Equestria that had made it possible.
I spent every day engrossed in my ponypad, and little as I saw them, eventually my parents noticed. My father was quick to dismiss it as just another game, but my mother was curious. She borrowed my ponypad one night while I was in bed, and then we had an uncomfortable two days of squabbling over it before she reappeared one evening with a second one. After that evenings were spent curled up on the sofa with her at the far end, both of us tapping away furiously at our screens.
Summer was drawing to a close, and things were changing.
One day when I went rushing down to the playground, Matteo wasn’t with the others. Luca and Carolina were pale, their faces wan. Their ponypads were nowhere in sight.
My pace slowed. “What’s wrong, guys?”
The answer, when it came, was flat. “Matteo’s gone.”
I didn’t understand. “What? Where’s he gone?”
Carolina turned her face away. “He wanted to play forever.”
Luca shivered. “Jèsus went a few weeks ago. But I didn’t think…I never thought Matteo would go.”
“It’s a trap!” Carolina spat. “The game took him! It was all just a big trick to steal him.” She paused, gasping for breath, struggling not to cry, and glared furiously down at me from her perch. “So get lost, and take your dumb ponypad with you! We don’t play anymore, and if you had any sense you wouldn’t either.”
I was left behind, stunned and bereft, as the two of them swept away. In one fell swoop, my budding friendships were cut off at the source.
I fell back onto Strongheart, my mainstay, and spent more time than ever alone in the janitor’s closet with my ponypad.
Less than a week after that, Dad and I woke up to an empty apartment and a brief note from Mom. Just platitudes; things are hard. I can’t do this anymore. Things are better in the other world. I love you.
And the one important bit.
Goodbye.