The filly’s hooves trudged through the underbrush, her magic being used to pry away any plants that sought to stay in her path. Twilight had been walking in circles all night with the baby dragon on her back. She could tell because she had arrived at the balloon they had made their escape in multiple times. She was tired, and was starting to get hungry. She knew she was lucky Spike had been sleeping so long, she only had two bottles for him left after they crashed.
”There’s gotta be somepony out here…” She muttered to herself. She readjusted her broken reading glasses on her snout, still couldn’t believe that the case for the was one of the things she forgot. As Twilight felt the foliage thin out in the direction she was walking, hope began to fill her heart. Finally! She wasn’t gonna end up where she crashed again! She picked up her pace into a trot, careful not to jostle Spike too much as she found herself walking out to a fence. She peeked through the gaps.
”It’s a farm!” She said joyfully. She looked around, it was sometime around midnight, so no one should be up. She steeled herself, putting on a serious face.
Then immediately had to readjust her glasses. Not that they served a purpose really.
She carefully levitated Spike over the fence as she slipped through it and landed the dragon on her back. She then enacted what was, in her head at least, super tactical and stealthily movements, but really just consisted of her quickly skittering behind objects she thought would be big enough to hide both her and spike. However her objective was clear. The barn. The nights were getting chilly and if there was a barn then there was hay that they could huddle up in and snack on.
Twilight stuck her head around the corner, no one was there so she made a quick skitter into the barn and let out a sigh of relief. Good, that was one thing secured: shelter for the night. Now she just needed some-
CLANG
Oh dang.
”Who puts a rake next to a bucket like that?!” Twilight whisper yelled as she felt Spike start to stir from the loud noise.
”Now what was that?”
Twilight, put her hooves over her mouth and was quick to jump right into one of the piles of hay. Spike was beginning to fuss, and she did her best to shush him as a voice began to grow near. She was able to start hearing the owner’s hooves touching the ground when she remembered she had a bottle for Spike and quickly stuck it into his mouth.
It was quiet outside the haystack.
Granny Smith looked over the barn with tired eyes, having been awoken by a sudden racket.
She looked to find that it was a fallen rake that had struck a bucket. She snorted with minor annoyance.
”Thought I been tellin’ them yougins’ to put away the tools properly!” She grumbled as she walked over to put up the rake and bucket properly when her hoof brushed against something. A little pair of broken glasses.
Twilight felt her blood run cold when the old mare picked up her reading glasses. She touched her face with a hoof.
“I didn't even realize they were gone!” She thought in a panic. She prayed to Celestia, and also hoped that she didn’t hear it because then she would find her, that the green pony wouldn’t find her. She quickly closed up the small hole she made to see and sat as still as possible. There was a long stretch of silence before she heard the sound of the mare leaving and closing the barn door behind her. She gave things a few more minutes before letting out a sigh of relief.
She shifted around and put down Spike, holding the bottle with her magic until he was finished.
In the meantime, she retrieved one of two books she had in her saddlebag. Her diary.
Day 1
I ruined everything
It was a beautiful evening in canterlot. Yet Twilight was still in school hunched over a book with a daisy sandwich on a plate off to the side. Spike was playing with some toys a few feet behind her. She was eager to keep growing, to keep learning and she was grateful for access to the school’s library. She had seen a teacher in one of the older classes use a transfiguration spell, changing a rock into an orange. Being young and eager the filly sought to replicate this spell for herself.
”This stuff looks a bit hard…but it can’t be that bad, right?” Twilight said, looking behind herself to Spike, who just looked back at her and giggled.
”Yeah, you’re right Spike. I can do this!”
It was supposed to be a simple change. A daisy sandwich into a grilled cheese. But what she got was a molten glob of dairy that melted and corroded everything it touched as it grew out of control. In a panic she had grabbed Spike and her saddlebags and ran to escape the ensuing destruction. Other colts and fillies screamed in terror behind her, and a few times she even heard those cries cut short. The panic in her brain only increased, and she ran faster. The building was crumbling around her as she escaped through a back door, and even after that she kept running. She killed ponies.
She killed other ponies.
She was a murderer, a criminal! She didn’t want to go to jail. She didn’t want to be banished, or even executed! She looked back as she saw the blob begin to melt into the streets, her eyes widening in horror as tears began to gather in her eyes. She didn’t mean to she didn’t mean to shedidn’tmeantoshedidn’tmeanto!
She ran into the twinkling balloon with a thud. She wiped tears from her eyes. Twilight made a realization. She was quick to put Spike and herself into the balloon. She’d only been in it for school trips but she could figure out how to navigate it fully as she went. As the balloon rose into the air Twilight had a full view of the carnage she had caused. The school was covered in a golden yellow slime that was beginning to darken and cool as it reached the streets, guards and other emergency services were beginning to arrive on the scene. She could barely make out ponies running to their parents and some that approached the mess looking for their child. She put her hooves over her mouth and slid down into the balloon’s basket. She felt Spike nuzzle into her side and look up at her.
”Oh Spike…I’m so sorry.” She murmured into him as she pulled him close for a hug. She had just ruined everything for them.
Twilight watched the sun set as they continued their journey in the air. Spike babbled idly and rolled on the floor of the basket. The lavender filly pulled out the map that was kept in the balloon along with the compass and tried to make sense of where they were going.
“If I’m reading this thing right, we’re headed toward…Dodge? M-Maybe we’ll be safe tHERE-“
The balloon jerked wildly as a mighty gust swung the balloon around. Spike cried out as he was thrown to one side of the basket.
”Spike!” Twilight enveloped her saddlebag in magic as she slid herself to Spike and wrapped her moves around him. She fastened the bag to her barrel and held Spike tightly, praying for the best.
Applejack was a smidge tired when she woke. Last night there was a racket which had startled her and Big Mac awake for about an hour. But at least waking up to some pancakes made it better. Now she got to start on farm work! As she moved on to go to the front door, she found something strange. A broken pair of glasses fit for a filly like herself, well they would be if the bridge wasn’t a bit cooked. Either way, she decided to take them with her as she walked out to head to the barn.
”Twiligh’ Sparkle…must be the brand!” She said as she inspected the spectacles. She put them on her snout, looking around at the barn through them. She walked over to get her plow when she noticed something. A purple hoof sticking out of a haystack.
She stared at it for a moment, confused. Now who could that be? She walked herself over to the haystack, readjusting the glasses on her snout and began to pull at the hoof with her mouth. With a few tugs, Applejack got her prize, a purple filly like herself staring at her dazedly. Those dazed purple eyes blinked in confusion before focusing and shrinking in surprise.
Applejack however instantly knew something was wrong with herself. She had a crush now.
Twilight sat staring at the orange filly that was wearing her broken glasses in shock. She was starting to panic as she had just been found out, she needed to grab Spike and run, but she was being stared down! Applejack’s cheeks flushed a slight bit red as she began to stutter.
”u-Uh, h-hi!” Twilight instantly zipped back into the haystack and in a fluid leap grabbed Spike and her saddle bags and exited on the other side. Where there was a wall.
”Hey wait!”
Twilight didn’t listen and tried to go around the haystack, only for Applejack to cut her off. She tried the other side for only the same outcome, so Twilight employed the simple tactic of juking her by faking going back around the other side of the haystack. She bolted and zipped out of the barn with Spike on her back, curiously looking around at the sudden action. Applejack took a moment before realizing what had happened and chased after her.
“Hang on! Git’ back here!” She called after Twilight. However she ignored the calls as she ran through the field, weaving around an older looking red colt who just stared confused as Twilight made a run for the gates.
Applejack ran past a dumbfounded Big Mac and just yelled, “She was in our barn!”
“Oh.” He said quietly before he ran off after Twilight as well.
Twilight could feel her lungs burning. This was the fastest and the most she’d ever run in her life, and she hoped she wouldn’t ever have to run for her life again. If they caught her, then they would throw her in jail. Then they would call Canterlot! THEN THEY WOULD GET CELESTIA! This was enough of a kick to make Twilight keep running a little faster. She saw that she was reaching the town this farm was connected to and kept running right into the streets. She narrowly dodged other ponies, causing a commotion as her two pursuers had to do the same.
“Leave me alone! I’m sorry!” Twilight shouted back at them. She got an idea and sharply turned a corner, whipping herself around the edge and swiftly entered the door of the building, closing it behind her.
Spike began clapping and giggling, making Twilight quickly turn to use a hoof to silence him.
“Um, hello there darling. Can I help you?” Twilight’s face blanked as she looked over at the white unicorn at a small desk by a playpen scratching onto some paper. Inside a baby unicorn babbled happily.
“…not telling on me would help.”