I gaze at these intelligent fillies on the other end of the table as they converse about what happened earlier…
Jessi on the left says, “Well, we’ve effectively annoyed him! Uh, are you sure that was such a great idea?”
Twinkle stares at her from the right and says, “Well, now he’s gonna be thrown off his game and therefore, easier to deal with, right?”
Jessi frowns, “Not necessarily? I mean, this will undoubtedly cause him to become more erratic! We are talking about the Lord of Chaos here, right?”
Twinkle nods at her cohort, “Well, golly gee right! But it’s also important to note that he’s more likely to make mistakes this way!”
Jessi raises her gaze and widens her eyes, “What mistakes could he possiblymake, Twinkle? He’s got us trapped in this,“ she gazes at the swirling blue miasma outside the window on her left, “this world here and we’re pretty much at his mercy!”
Twinkle reduces her gaze and I hear her say lowly, “Which is precisely why we need to be more cunning than him!"
Jessi widens her eyes, “Oh? What did you have in mind?”
Twinkle then dismounts her chair on the right towards Jessi, and leans to whisper in her left ear…
Jessi nods, “Uh huh… Yeah… Okay, that makes sense!”
I turn my neck right to look at Izzy, still sitting there with her puff ball mane, “You ever get the feeling these fillies are really smart?”
Izzy turns her head left to me and responds, “Um, usually I just get a craving for chocolate!”
I suppress a grin as Twinkle gazes from the other side of the table, “Uh, Miss Izzy! May I please be excused to my room now?”
Izzy turns her neck right to the pegasus, “Oh uh, sure Twinkle! We’ll call you if we need you!”
She smiles sweetly, “Thank you, Miss Izzy!” before squatting and launching herself to the air and fluttering her way to the back of the cottage on the left, where the red door leading into her room is.
I look at Izzy with firm concern in my eyes, “Are you sure she should be splitting up from us like that? I mean, it’s probably better that we all be together right now, right?”
Izzy frowns and widens her eyes, “Um, I guess so?”
I sigh and shake my head, “Well, we should probably call her back, right?”
Izzy blinks, “Uh, well unless she screams or something, we have no reason to believe anything is awry?”
I nod, “Well, right!” I sigh and longingly look off to the left, “I sure am glad I got you here!” I adjust my gaze to her and smile. “Being trapped in an alternate dimension is easier with friends!”
She smiles, “Aww! I like being trapped in an alternate dimension with you too, Sunny!”
I frown, “That’s not what I meant!”
Suddenly, Jessi speaks up from my front, to the left of Izzy, “Um, Miss Sunny! If we should all be sticking together, shouldn’t I go check on Twinkle?”
I look back at her, “Good point, Jessi! Buddy system!” I nod, “Twinkle is your buddy and I’ll take Izzy!”
She smiles and nods, “Uh, right!”
I nod back, “Of course! Now, go to your buddy so you’re not separated!”
She widens her eyes, “Oh uh, right!”
<*****>
I gaze at the scene with my eyes wide and I see a blue scaly 5-foot tall creature of some sort to the right of Twinkle Shine, holding a joint in his right claw and bringing it to his 8-inch long beak of a mouth underneath his long white hair as his bat-like wings visibly relax behind his shoulders and the cherry turns brighter as he inhales and stares at the burning joint with his slitted gray eyes…
I look at my friend, “Uh, who is this?”
Twinkle raises her gaze to me, although the glazed look in her eyes betrays her mental state as she says, “Oh, this is Ace! Ace the dragon! Yeah, he came in through my window!”
The dragon looks at me after exhaling from his beak to my right with his slitted violet eyes and forms what I believe is a smile on his lips and I see the two scaly fins of a darker shade of blue on the side of his head move, as if to adjust his hearing and says in a masculine juvenile voice, “Oh, what’s up little filly dude? Yeah, Twinkle here didn’t mention there were other ponies in here? I’ve been trapped in this dimension for, like, a really long time!”
I keep my eyes wide, “Are you gonna eat us?”
He frowns, “Uh, no! Why would I? You’re smart and I don’t wanna hurt anything like you! Besides, the void birds out there taste good enough!” he extends his right claw towards me with the burning joint. “Here you go, little partner! It’ll take the edge off!”
I gaze at the burning joint and start, “Uh, no thanks! I’m good! Uh,“ I raise my gaze, “how did you get here, anyway, Ace?”
He shrugs and moves his claw to the right, towards Twinkle, who soon collects the joint with her forehoof, “Oh, it was the weirdest thing, man! I just fell asleep in a cave after, well, after smoking a joint and when I woke up, I was in this strange swirling void place!” he gulps, “I’ve never seen this house here before, though?”
I gaze up at Ace, “Well, that’s probably because it’s new? Uh,” I look over at Twinkle. “you sure this is a good time to be smoking? I mean, with everything going on?”
She gazes at me with her brown eyes and calmly replies, “Well, getting trapped in another dimension is kinda stressful and so, I decided to smoke one to relax me! Uh,“ she looks over at Ace on her left. “I didn’t expect to have company, though!”
Ace looks back at Twinkle and smiles, “Sorry, little dude! It’s pretty boring out there most days and well, I just saw a house suddenly appear out here and thought I should check it out! Uh, I can leave if you want?” before frowning…
I widen my eyes when I realize that he could be useful to us and say, “Uh, no, that’s okay Ace! Uh, you two just keep doing what you’re doing! I’ll go tell the other ponies about you, so they don’t freak out!”
Ace grabs the joint-nub from Twinkle with his right claw and stares at me with his slitted purple eyes while bringing the burning stogie to his mouth, “Uh, well if there’s other ponies in here, we wouldn’t want them to freak out because of me! Good call, man!” before pursing his lips on the tip and drawing smoke in to force the cherry to glow.
I narrow my eyes and frown while whispering, “Man?” to myself.
He frowns at me as Twinkle takes her first drag with her right forehoof while narrowing her brown eyes and visibly becoming more relaxed before me, “Uh, maybe I should just go with little filly from now on?”
I consider my options and after deciding that I really shouldn’t return without Twinkle, I say, “Well, we’re on the buddy system now Twinkle, and you and I aren’t supposed to be separated!”
Twinkle smiles at me, “Which is why you’re sitting there for another contact buzz before I hug you!” before bringing the stoge to her mouth for another drag.
I widen my eyes at the other filly, “Wait! I didn’t say anything about me also getting high!”
She breathes smoke onto me and widens her eyes, “Well, not yet anyway! But you gotta admit, snuggling while stoned is better and you do seem kinda tense yourself?” before handing the joint over towards Ace again.
I narrow my eyes and frown deeply as I can only reply, “You’re a bad influence, you know that?”
Ace collects the joint with his right claw and brings it to his beak for another drag as he lowers his gaze while Twinkle lowers her own eyes and slyly replies, “Maybe, but I’m a lot of fun!”
I blink and nod, “Yup! We’re both going to Tartarus now, that’s for sure!”
Twinkle looks over at Ace, “Be sure to breathe your smoke on Jessi now, Ace! If she’s going to Tartarus with us anyway, she might as well get completely high!”
Ace brings the joint out of his beak with his claw and looks down at me with those same vertical pupil gray eyes before breathing out a particularly large cloud of smoke in my direction and I can’t help but think that he must have bigger lungs than Twinkle as he says, “Oh, okay little filly dude! Uh, her name is Jessi? That’s cool! Uh, he adjusts his gaze right towards the pegasus. “What should I call you, anyway?”
Twinkle turns her neck left to Ace and smiles, “I’m Twinkle Shine! But just call me Twinkle, buddy!”
I frown and widen my eyes when I realize this dragon was just smoking with a filly he didn’t know!
<*****>
“I think I’ve been trapped in this void for about three to five days? It’s hard to tell with no day or night! Anyway, I had literally just eaten a void bird when I saw this house just appear out of nowhere! So, being trapped in the void and having nothing better to do, I scoped it out by climbing through the window! I bet there was a door on the other side I could’ve used, now that I think about it?” I frown before fixingmy mouth, “Anyway, that’s when I met this far out little pink pegasus filly! She said her name was Twinkle Shine! When suddenly, a green unicorn filly I also didn’t know came in through the door! Yeah, it was crazy” I say to the unicorn with her peculiar dark blue puff ball mane on her head, sitting across from me. I guess that’s a unicorn style? I’m not sure!
The orange pony frowns at me from the other side of the table, to the left of Izzy “So uh, you just randomly got trapped here?”
I widen my eyes, “Man, I really wish I had an explanation, but uh,” I shrug. “I got nothing, little freaky winged unicorn dude!”
The blue unicorn smiles and giggles, “I like him!”
Twinkle turns her neck right to look at me from her position at the table, while Jessi stands beyond her, “So uh, you have no affiliation with this douche-tool named Discord, right?”
I gaze down at the filly and frown as I widen my eyes, “I don’t know who that is?”
Jessi speaks up, “Yeah, he’s a draconequus who keeps thinking he has some right to interfere and test ponies, or something!”
Twinkle nods at me, “Oh golly yeah, complete moron!”
I widen my eyes at the other filly, “Whoa! That sounds harsh?”
Suddenly, we all hear a loud vibrating masculine voice resonate within the house and say, “I know you’re just trying to irritate me, Twinkle Shine! You really need new tricks!”
She turns her head towards the table before her at nothing and grins, “Oh, there’s plenty more where that came from, my stupid draconequus friend!”
“We shall see…” The voice simply replies before growing silent…
I frown in surprise and say, “That was Discord, wasn’t it?”
Twinkle nods back at me, “Yup! He’s a douche-ball!”
I grin, “Douche-ball! I like it! I gotta use that later!” I turn towards the blue unicorn before me. “Uh, why is your mane all cottony like that?”
She stares back at me with her red eyes underneath the puff ball mane and replies, “Oh, this? Yeah, Discord gave me this look! Do you like it?”
I widen my eyes and nod, “Oh, yeah! It’s a cool look! Uh, what should I call you?”
She nods, “I’m Izzy Moonbow and this,“ she motions to the orange alicorn sitting on her right with her neck. “Is my best friend, Sunny Starscout!”
“So, I’m trapped in an alternate dimension inside a cottage, surrounded by ponies?”
Izzy nods, “Well, that’s one way to put it, yeah!” she smiles. “Your sparkle shimmers! I like it!”
I frown as I’m not sure what this funky horned pony is getting at, “Sparkle?”
Twinkle interjects while staring at the dragon, “Ace! Focus for me, here! Now, you’re telling us you don’t know who Discord is?”
I adjust my gaze to the chair at my right back down to the pink filly and shrug while frowning, “Not a clue!”
Twinkle lowers her gaze and thinks out loud, “Well, if he’s not from here either, that means there might be something near we can use against him?” She looks back up at the dragon. “Tell me! You found this cottage floating out there in the void, right? Is there anything else here that you know of?”
“Well uh, just my cave little filly! Yeah, there’s this weird silver staff in there, but I don’t know what it is or what it does?”
The pink filly’s eyes widen as a startled look overtakes her mouth, “Staff? Uh, okay! Can you show us this staff?”
I smile, “Well sure, little pegasus dude!”
The orange alicorn speaks up from her side of the table, “Uh, Twinkle Shine is just a little filly! I think I should go instead! Just in case!” she turns her head right towards Twinkle. “We don’t want her to get hurt, after all!”
Twinkle moves her head left to the alicorn, “Golly! You really care about me, huh?”
She adjusts her eyes to the pegasus, “Why wouldn’t I? You’re Izzy’s foal!”
Twinkle blinks, “No, I’m not!”
Sunny smiles, “Yes, you are!”
“I never said that!”
Sunny giggles, “Yes you did! When you were forced to tell the truth, remember?”
Twinkle turns to the unicorn and nods, “Exactly why it doesn’t count!”
Sunny frowns, “Uh, the fact that you were forced to admit it doesn’t make it any less true!”
Twinkle turns her neck back to the orange pony, “Yes, it does!”
Izzy leans towards Twinkle, “Twinkle! I care about you!”
Twinkle looks at the unicorn, “I know! And that’s new to me, okay?”
Izzy frowns, “What?”
Twinkle nods, “I just came from a lot of nothing when I was trapped in stone and I was basically alone my entire life!
Izzy nods and smiles, “Oh, okay! So you just need time to come to terms with it then?”
Twinkle smiles back, “Exactly!”
“Just like Sunny needs to come to terms with the fact that she wants to kiss me!”
The alicorn on Izzy’s right widens her eyes towards the unicorn and mouth goes agape in shock, “WHAT?”
Izzy looks over at Sunny while continuing to smile, “You’re the one who suggested it!”
Sunny’s breathing quickens, “I was joking!”
Izzy squints, “Oh, your mouth says that, but your eyes are telling a different story!” She leans towards the alicorn. “And don’t think I don’t notice what happens to your sparkle when I’m near!”
Sunny enlarges her eyes to what I think is all the way now, “What?”
Izzy keeps her grin, “It gets so bright when I’m around!”
Sunny blinks, “Well, you’re my friend and I love you!”
Izzy nods, “And you want to kiss me!”
Sunny frowns in shock! “Uh, n-no I don’t!”
Izzy tilts her head to the left, “Then why the sudden stutter then?” she straightens her neck and leans towards the other mare, “And why did you suggest it earlier?”
Sunny gulps, “It was just a weird random idea I had, okay? It doesn’t mean anything!”
Izzy giggles slightly, “Well, you say that now!”
“Don’t I have a weird magical staff to be tracking down with Ace now?”
Izzy obviously suppresses a chuckle in her throat and replies, “Well, okay! That excuse can work for now, Sunny!”
“It’s not an excuse! I really don’t want to kiss you!”
“Sure Sunny! But everypony” she nods towards me, “and dragon, in this room knows where this is going!” she keeps her eyes peeled on Sunny…
The alicorn widens her eyes and asks, “W-what?” before frowning…
Suddenly, Izzy sings, “I kissed a mare and I liked it!”
Sunny furrows her brow in a grimace, “Shut up!”
<*****>
I flap on behind the blue winged creature in silence as we both travel across a blue empty void area, away from the floating tan cottage when I notice that the brown stone platform-like structure ahead of us is getting closer, when finally, Ace adjusts his course downward to fly towards what looks to be a balcony without a railing on the side, near a darkened hole on the side…
He slows his speed as I continue to flap and follow him and he gently glides down to skid lightly to a stop with his feet-claws and I proceed from his rear to land on the same platform balcony with my hooves. I look down and stomp with my right forehoof to discover the floor is very much solid here!
Helooks over his right shoulder at me and waves towards the hole in the side with his claw as he says, “Come on, Sunny dude! This is where my cave is and I’m telling you, there’s this funky weird silver staff with runes on it and stuff!”
I furrow my brow at this dragon and reply, “Any idea why that’s here?”
He widens his eyes, “No idea! But it sure looks neat!”
I correct my eyes, “Lead on!”
He nods back, “Sure thing, Sunny dude!” he turns his neck back to the hole and starts to walk that direction.
I follow on the platform and note how the ground continues to feel solid and he goes into the cave shortly before I do…
Once inside, I light up my horn with white magic so I can see and I can’t help but notice a peculiar silver staff laying on the ground roughly 20 feet before me. I notice it quickly as it happens to be glowing and I see it has a blue gem at the end of it, held in place by a molded crevice inside one end of the staff.
I trot that direction as Ace only stands there and asks me, “What do you think, man?”
I look at the staff and say, “I don’t know, but I get the feeling this staff is why we’re all here!” as I reach it and use my golden magic to lift it up into the air before me and float it to just a mere foot and a half before my snout. I observe it carefully as I increase the illumination caused by my horn and view the mysterious markings on the side of the staff… I only recognize one of the symbols… It means opening…
(To be continued...)