The roads quickly passed by as Mark made his way to the preserve, his GPS guiding the way, and a soon-to-be sunset shining on the horizon.
There was no denying the unease he felt knowing that he would soon be returning to the very spot Fluttershy had arrived on Earth - and only minutes before being fillynapped by poachers. Even though he knew deep down there was no real threat to him - or at least no rational threat - he still couldn't help but worry. Said worry began to build as the trip went on, forming into various possible scenarios of what could go wrong.
What if the poachers were there and recognized him somehow? What if they found his address using the GPS? What if they captured Fluttershy again?
No, that wouldn't happen. That wasn't reasonable. It had been night when the whole ordeal occurred, so they couldn't recognize him. Also, why would they even be out here? What reason would they have to suspect him if they were?
All these thoughts felt more to Mark like he was convincing himself of the lack of danger than anything else. However, he was determined to do what he could to help Fluttershy find her way safely home. Something like this was fairly low-risk, so why not do it? Even if it didn't work out, it would be better than sitting around doing nothing.
Plus, he'd brought a small bottle of mace with him in case something went wrong. The pegasus had asked him what he could need pepper spray for, and though his initial thought was to joke that he was venturing into spicy foods, he felt a more honest answer was in order.
She definitely showed worry at the thought of him being in danger, but he'd managed to comfort her (and himself) before leaving. It was strange that even now he was relying on those words to ease his mind.
With only a scant few minutes left until he reached the preserve, Mark turned on a slow instrumental playlist to calm his still-frayed nerves.
Soon, the headlights on Mark’s car lit up the sign, reading “Forest Creek Wildlife Preserve”. After parking in the lot, he quickly began his search around the sign, trying desperately to sense that magical energy.
Fluttershy had described it as a sort of "sixth sense", stating it would make sense when he felt it. Unfortunately, given the lack of any unusual sensation, there was little to make sense of.
The grass surrounding the sign hadn't produced anything useful. No sensations, sounds, or strange colorations - not that Mark even knew what to look for at this point. Most especially, he couldn't see anything resembling a magical portal between worlds.
"Come on," Mark thought in frustration. "There has to be something here I'm missing."
He circled around the sign once more, this time slowly treading in as close to a perfect circle as he could manage. Perhaps that would trigger something? It was as good an idea as any.
When this proved fruitless, Mark sighed and began walking back towards the car. The last of the sunlight was nearly gone now, which would make a nearly blind search into…well, something that was somehow even less worthwhile.
His shoulders slumped slightly, his head hung in defeat. While anxiety had once been his greatest foe, this situation created a new obstacle in the form of a wave of depression hitting his brain. He felt every ounce of it weigh him down.
He'd failed, wasting time searching for nothing. He knew Fluttershy would take note of this development, perhaps even beginning to lose some hope as well. He had no idea what to do next.
And really, what could they do? This was their only lead. The next option was to wait and hope for the best - an idea that seemed to have the odds stacked heavily against them.
If Fluttershy barely escaped danger with his help, there was no telling what may occur if Twilight traveled here unattended…
A whistle pierced his thoughts.
This sudden stimulus caught Mark's attention immediately, pulling the sullen teen out of his depressive mood and directing his eyes towards the sound. His vision focused on a woman walking towards him, wearing what appeared to be a beige polo shirt, forest green pants, and a hat that wouldn't be unusual for a Boy Scout leader.
"Hi," Mark greeted as the woman closed the gap between them. "Is everything okay?"
She took a moment to think before responding. "I was going to ask you that. I saw you looking around that sign for the last 20 minutes now. Did you lose something?"
"In a sense." Mark replied, trying to choose his words carefully. He recognized quickly the fault with what he'd just spoken.
"In a sense?" The woman asked, confused. "Well, I don't know when you lost what you're looking for, but we have a lost and found at the office. Maybe that'll help?"
Mark tried to think quickly how to keep suspicions down. "Sure," he eventually decided, "that'd be really helpful. Thank you."
"You're welcome," the woman responded, "and by the way, I'm Sheila Stanford."
"Thank you Sheila, I'm Mark." he replied as the two walked over to the office.
"The place is supposed to close up in 15 minutes, so we can't stay here too long." Sheila warned, "I figured this was the least I could do, though. You really seemed determined out there."
"Thanks," Mark replied as the woman opened a closet for him. Under the indoor fluorescent lights, Mark was able to get a better look at her. She was thin with red hair, adorning an outfit that confirmed what he already knew: The woman was clearly a worker for the preserve. She wore an accompanying name tag with "Sheila" in bold text.
Sheila opened the door to reveal a supply of various odd items - coats, hats, backpacks, stuffed animals, bracelets, and much more. Mark felt it was only best to spend a few moments looking around, pretending to search for something, before leaving for the night. He did feel bad wasting her time, but it was a small price to pay to keep suspicions low.
"You never did say what you were looking for, though." The woman noted.
And there it was. Time to think fast.
"A friend of mine lost a bracelet." Mark quickly answered. "I never got a good look at it beforehand. She's just dropping by from out of town, so it's all new to me."
Mark returned to "searching" through the mess.
"And she lost it a few days ago?" Sheila asked.
A small chill ran down Mark's spine. Had he said anything about when this had occurred?
"Y-yeah," he eventually replied, turning to face the preserve worker. "It was a few days ago."
Sheila looked ready to say something, then returned to thinking.
"I think I may have something like what you're looking for in my office." She eventually spoke up, leading the way.
Unsure what to do, Mark kept a hand on the mace and followed her.
The office was…typical, in truth. There were some nature-themed posters up on the walls, alongside pictures of (presumably) the woman's family and friends, a calendar, a mini fridge, and a desk with chairs in front and back.
The two sat at the appropriate places in the room before Sheila pulled open the desk drawer and began searching. The sounds of rummaging concluded when she eventually pulled out a small envelope about the size of her thumb.
"Now don't run off with this," she warned, "but I just want to know if this means anything to you."
Sheila handed the envelope to Mark, who slowly opened it. His eyes went wide as he studied the object inside.
It was a golden coin, that was obvious. On one side was a number, presumably the value of the coin. But on the other side we're two equines circling the center.
He knew exactly what that symbol was.
"Sounds like we're on the same page." Sheila commented, "Now, I need to ask again: What were you looking for out there?"
Mark mentally chastised himself for allowing his shock to show. He was giving away his hand far too freely, and it could end up costing him dearly.
And yet, he couldn't bring himself to answer the question.
Seeing no response in the near future, Sheila continued. "A few days ago, I was working the closing shift here when I saw something very unusual on the security cameras, and it was right around that sign out there."
Mark's blood ran cold.
Sheila leaned forward. "Would you happen to know anything about that?"