In the middle of the day... In daylight... Silk cantered down the road, not sure of where to go. He really hadn't thought about going anywhere; he just wanted to separate himself from his companions. "Maybe I'm the one who took it wrong..." For a moment, he stopped and looked around an intersection, flicking his tail back and forth.
No, that can't be. Those two... Those two barely know eachother... After that thought crossed his mind, he started walking again, his eyes examining the entire area.
"He has no idea of what he's doing," Hoarfrost said to Rail, suppressing a laugh as she pointed to the receding stallion. She gave a couple of steps forward before her shout of "do you need company over there, Silk?" bounced off the walls of everything nearby.
"You're very loud," said Railroad, giving her a soft tap on her mane. Hoarfrost shot him a glare and he gave a step back, flinching just a little.
Silk turned around, with a tiny, trembling and nervous smile on his face. He sighed softly before answering in a voice barely audible to the couple. "I don't think that—"
"You're not thinking clearly, mate!" the other stallion shouted, pointing at Silk with a hoof. The two trotted up to him, as Silk just looked at them with a vacant stare. "We're going with you; salt cubes and cider are better accompanied."
"But I... I'm just walking around," he replied, raising an eyebrow. "Wait, did you two think I was going to go to a bar or something...?"
"Umm, yes?" the mare answered, mimicking the brown stallion's posture. "Appleoosa is quite known for that."
The three looked at eachother for a moment, doing nothing but blinking.
"Hold on a second," said Silk absent-mindedly. He looked at the skies over him, bringing a hoof at his lower jaw. "Hmm, I think something's missing here."
The other two, at unison, questioned: "Something missing...?"
It was then that, from behind them, came a voice. It sounded nothing like their conversation; no, it didn't. They weren't nearly as cheerful as him.
"Hey there! I hadn't seen you three around here!" he half-shouted, at which the trio turned around to face him. In their faces, confusion; except for Railroad, he was already smiling at the newcomer. They shared a short look, which was interrupted by the stallion speaking up once again. "Ah, Silky Hooves, you're back, and with some pals! It's been a very long time, should I show you around the place again?" he asked, tipping his hat just a bit, grinning.
"Braeburn, I—"
"But what am I saying?" he asked nopony in particular, leaving out a laugh. "Of course I should!"
With that having been said, Braeburn proceeded to push the trio around, without even visibly straining. Not even the dirt that was suspended into the air posed a problem to him.
Rail looked at his companions, his grin barely being contained in his face, and said: "I had heard about the very enthusiastic—"
"What is the charming mare's name?" the yellow-coated stallion asked, stopping his trajectory to think of which route would be the best.
"She's Hoarfrost," replied the conductor, attempting a hoof-shake. "And I'm Railroad."
Braeburn, while not looking at the stallion's hoof, managed to, actually, shake it just fine. He directed his gaze towards the white mare, tipping his hat once again as he said: "Frost, I see. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." The hoof-shake stopped and, right after it, he brought one of his hooves towards behind one of her forelegs, at which she raised it with a rather baffled look. He could literally feel Rail's glare as he kissed her fetlock. "You better take care of her," he said jokingly.
"L-likewise," replied Hoarfrost, giving Rail a sheepish smile.
"Umm, guys—"
"Are we going somewhere nice and special? Because this place looks like it could have some of those places," Railroad said, turning his head around to face the walls that towered over him.
"You're in Appleoosa: everything is nice and special around here!" replied Braeburn, letting go of Hoarfrost's foreleg. He signaled towards the entire city in a sweeping motion with his hoof, as he said: "I could show you everything around here, but that wouldn't be any interesting, would it?"
"I guess not," the mare replied, still a little confused. "He barely knows me," she muttered beneath her breath, being almost inaudible.
Silk just stared at the other three, taking small steps at a side; they were easily spotted by the cowpony, who wrapped a leg around him, pushing him back the towards the group. "You've gotten even more energetic since we last met," he said, his voice strained by the lack of air posed by Braeburn's tight grip. "It's unbelievable, how do you manage to do it?"
"That's not very relevant, Silky," replied the stallion, giving him a friendly wink. Without even pausing to breath in, he turned his head to a side and asked: "Hey, remember that we had that problem with the buffalo when you came?"
"Umm..." Silk proceeded to give a pair of taps on the ground as he visibly strained to remember. Braeburn seemed to inch closer to him with every passing second. "Ah, I remember now. How did that go...?"
"Great!" Braeburn replied in a shout, wrapping his foreleg around Silk once again. "We've reached new terms on those grounds and now things are going smoothly."
"That's... Nice, Brae... Now if you could— could just let go—"
"Of course it is nice!" he replied, his hat jumping a bit in the air. He stomped a hoof down to the ground as he asked: "How about we go take a drink in commemoration?"
"Braeburn, I don't think that—"
"What will the pretty mare have?" he interrupted Silk again, pointing at Hoarfrost, who was just standing there, her eyes lost in the clear sky, like nothing very noteworthy was happened around her. "Wait, will you have anything? And how about the bulky stallion here?"
"Some cider would be great," Rail replied, nodding lightly.
"I guess a little amount of salt would be fine. I'll go with the salt, yes," Frost answered, her gaze still not directed towards Braeburn.
"How about you, Silky? Still unsure about this?"
"He's a softy," the mare muttered beneath her breath. "I'm sure he won't have anything."
"Braeburn, don't you h-have— umm, someplace to be?" Silk asked, his eyes passing over the houses' walls, returning to the three ponies in front of him for milliseconds before returning his gaze to anything else that could be there. "Or something to do?"
"Nope, it's all done!" Braeburn replied, never losing his cheerfulness. "I don't have a thing to do before the sun goes down again, and just standing around ain't a good idea. Say, are you still on your travels?"
Silk nodded in response, describing a circle with his hoof on the ground. "I just wish I weren't..."
"We're going to Canterlot tonight. We have time," Hoarfrost said, her tone oddly serious for such a mundane topic.
"Perfect, then!" the stallion replied, positioning himself. The trio just stared at him as he got ready for what was to come. "Let's go!" he said as he gave a step forward, his muzzle pushing Hoarfrost to a side, and with that, joining the three travelers in a group. A pair of steps later, they were being pushed around once again.
"Do you do this to all those who arrive here?" Rail asked, tempted to skip as he was pushed around, just see what would happen. He didn't think further about doing it since his eyes were too busy looking at every single thing that passed before them.
"Why do we need to go there...?"
"Only if I see them arrive," Braeburn replied, taking the trio down an intersection in the middle of the town. With the speed they were going, he didn't have much time to think of the direction they were going. It was all in his memory.
"I don't think we should, you know, go—"
"That sounds very tiring," the mare pointed out, trying her best not to focus too much on the fact that she was the one with the stranger's muzzle pushed against her. She didn't quite manage not to do so.
"Is any of you listening to me?" Silk asked, accidentally kicking a hoof down. Being the outer one of the three, he formed a small hill of dirt around his hoof, together with halting their travel down to a halt.
"Heh, great timing, Silky Hooves~!" Braeburn replied, raising his gaze towards a wooden building right on front of the four. "I have no idea of how you did it, but you stopped us right in the moment." As he said that, he cantered towards the entrance of the building, with the trio following him, each one with different levels of enthusiasm: Rail was just brimming with joy, Hoarfrost was just trying to get things done, and Silk was rather avoidant of the whole situation.
Rail peeked his head inside the place first. The door caught his neck when he tried to go back and talk to Hoarfrost, which lead to him being just pushed inside by her. Once he was inside, he said: "Ah, this is my kind of place. Brings so many memories."
"Memories..." Hoarfrost's voice has gone almost silent once again. She didn't raise her gaze too much to stare at the wooden walls; she just tried to be close to Rail at any given moment.
At the same time Silk entered the place, Braeburn half-said, half-shouted: "Saltworthy! Three ciders and some salt cubes."
"You shouldn't waste your money like that, you know," said Silk, seating himself. "It'll run out eventually."
"There you go," replied Morton, the bartender, as he laid down the requested items down on the table. "Always so enthusiastic, eh Braeburn?"
"It's a part of me, you know that very well," Braeburn replied, shrugging. He wrapped a hoof around Silk's neck and sat down by his side."Well, Silk, drink some~! You really should, you look tired and stressed."
"You should," echoed Rail, sitting on the other side, Hoarfrost sitting almost next to the wall.
"This won't end any well. No, it won't... There's no way this can go well..."
I shouldn't have let this happen... Ugh, why didn't I stop this?
Silk looked to his side, only to find Rail slumped over the bar, and finding Hoarfrost's eyes going on circles around the ceiling. Her head was going up and down with no apparent pattern. Nopony seemed to be paying attention to anything, except Morton: he was ever watching. The mare turned her head to face Railroad and, smirking, she said with surprising clarity: "Railroad, why don't you come here...?"
"Huh," said Braeburn, looking out the corner of his eye. His lips were visibly shaking, as if they were gaining a conscience of their own as they shaped into a grin. "She can't really handle it, huh?"
Oh, my. No, I need to... I need to stop this, or at least get out of here. Not... Not now. Not at this hour, please.
Railroad looked at her, utterly baffled. At least he seemed to be baffled: his eyes were fixed over her and the expression on his face expressing a deep lack of understanding of the situation. He spoke up after some seconds of passing his eyes over the wall to his left. "She took a few sips of cider after munching on salt, and now she's just being much more affectionate than before. She..."
"She's most certainly drunk," Silk muttered beneath his breath. The smell of alcohol, while not exactly disgusting to him, was repelling him from the room's ambient. "Or she's at least on her way to being drunk," he continued to say, staring at the mare in confusion. She changes her mood a tad too often... Hmm... No, it... It isn't that. This time, it isn't just that. I'm seeking something that isn't here just yet. I... I shouldn't let it best me.
When Hoarfrost brought her head down once again, the trademark blush of drunkenness was unmistakable. A somehow sly grin underlined her words as she spoke in a tone that was almost opposite to her typical speech. "I don't say this much, but you're really cute!" she said, pointing at Rail with a hoof, at which she struggled to maintain her balance. She stopped there for a moment and winked at him. The movement didn't seem to have an effect of Railroad. She hung her head to a side, her mane spilling over the bar, as she shouted: "Aw hay, you're very cute as well, Braeburn! Is that your name?" She turned her head around a last time, finding the bartender looking at her with a very calm expression, almost showing no emotions whatsoever. "And the fancy stallion behind the bar," she said as he pointed at him, almost poking him in the eye, "you're really pretty as well!"
After she said that, she let gravity take control of the entirety of her body: her face collided with the bar in a mute smack, and she stayed there in complete immobility for a long while, with her hooves wrapped around her head.
Well, on second thought, she... I don't think I'm onto something here. She might not have anything to hide, after all... I'm just being a little too—
Braeburn, who had been joyfully sipping on cider, asked: "What about Silk...?"
Hoarfrost raised her head and stared directly at Braeburn as she replied: "Nah, he doesn't have anything. His name is more like a filly's name, and he will never live that down."
"Thanks a lot," said Silk, only to receive a rather strong pat on the back. "Don't do that, Brae."
"Say, Silk, you haven't drank anything!" exclaimed Braeburn, giving an energetic hop in Silk's general direction. "You should get something, don't you think? No, there's no need to decline— here, have some of mine!"
Silk and Braeburn started to have some kind of duel in which their hooves fought to control the pint of cider. The ponies around them looked at them for some seconds, always coming back to the confusing mess of flailing limbs, with Braeburn's playful grin and Silk's stern look.
Morton, not paying the two much of his attention, got closer to Rail and said to him: "Seems like this friend of yours has had quite the change, huh?" He saw the stallion nod in response and turned his head back towards the mare. "Are you... Are you feeling okay, miss?"
Her eyes met with the bartender's with some difficulties, and she slowly nodded. "I've got Silk to keep me aware of my consciousness. If I start to cling to him at any given m-moment, I'll know there's something wrong." She kept her eyes fixed over him as he raised an eyebrow, grinning. Barely audible, she left out a "you're cute."
There's something odd about all of this. The smell, no, it isn't the smell... There's something else. I don't know what it is, but I don't feel like it's any good.
Morton turned to Railroad, tilting his head slightly. "He gets a pretty rough treatment, doesn't he?"
"Hoarfrost has been in one of these places before, so she must have been close to here at least once in her life. She left that place once. Maybe there is a relative of hers somewhere near."
The train conductor just nodded once again, turning his head at the sound of hooves hitting against eachother. Both amused and confused, he continued to stare as Braeburn decided to just continue drinking his cider like nothing had happened. Silk was slumping over the bar, his forehooves hanging off the edge of it. His eyes were lost in the middle of nowhere.
No, stop it right there. No, that's not... That's not what happened. She has no reason to lie about that. She... She probably did, anyway.
Railroad reached Silk's side in a single step and laid a hoof over his head. "Silk, are you all alright?" he asked with a soft smile. "You look like you've just seen a ghost or something."
Silk looked at the stallion before him for a long time before sighing and eyeing the door. "Rail, can we...?"
Railroad rolled his eyes before giving Silk a concerned look. He tilted his head before saying: "But Hoarfrost... I don't want to leave her."
The traveler gave a step towards the door, breathing deeply. "She'll be just fine, Rail." He turned his back to Railroad, who was standing there, unsure of whether to follow him or not. He was also under the effect of alcohol, for all he knew; he only had reacted differently. "You know, Braeburn is extremely polite when it comes to treating with the mares, even when he's a little too energetic, and Morton is the same, only much quieter." With a grin, he finished his phrase with: "Everypony else is struggling to keep themselves standing on their hooves. She'll be perfectly fine, trust me."
Railroad nodded reluctantly before accompanying Silk to the door. "But why are we going outside, Silk? Is there something bothering you again? Can't we... Can't we just stay inside?"
"No, I guess we can't," replied Silk, leaning against a wall, his eyes fixed on the afternoon sky. Time and time again he'd look at Rail for only an instant before redirecting his gaze to the firmament. "Look, Rail, I talked to that somepony I told you about, and she said that..." He stopped to breathe in, closing his eyes.
Rail was distracted watching the surroundings and kept on looking at Hoarfrost, who was just as immobile as before. "She said what...? Hm?"
Silk replied with a nervous gaze, rubbing his forehooves together. He lowered his head and, almost whispering, said: "I know you're not even going to try to believe me but... Everypony in Canterlot is gone."
"But that would be instant news!" the train conductor replied quite loudly. "The capital city's population disappearing suddenly? That thing would be spread all around Equestria faster than the Wonderbolts, don't you think?" As he said that, Silk put on a hoof over him and stared right into his eyes, or, at least, he tried his best to do that, since his eyes weren't capable of staying still.
"Rail, I was there: I saw them disappear."
"You saw that?" Rail asked, incredulous. "Wow, are you for real?"
Silk gave a step back and sheepishly replied: "Well, I didn't see them disappear, but I know that they just vanished after a while."
There was a rather long silence between the two of them. Their eyes would often meet, with Silk's facial expression becoming more and more incomprehensible as time went on. It looked more like intense pain rather than insecurity.
"Umm, Silk, are you drunk...?"
"I swear to goodness I wish I were kidding," the stallion answered, getting close to Rail once again. He didn't really seem to have a good grasp on the term of personal space. "When I got away from the city and we met, that was the second day of having not a soul around. The silence was awful, and I swear I could hear some things at night. I just couldn't take it." He sighed, turning his gaze to Hoarfrost. Is she even conscious now? He attempted to give Rail a confident look, but he only managed to make him crack up. "I'm trying to find answers for the entire situation, to know what happened and to see if there's any way it could be reversed."
"You sound like you've got plans," the conductor replied, a little smile forming on his face. "Really strange plans, might I add. Are you sure you can think correctly now? There's cider over there if you want to—"
"Rail, I'm serious!" Silk shouted, almost bumping his head against Railroad's as he took a step forward, digging his hoof into the ground. "The entirety of the capital's population, except me and the princesses, I guess, was wiped out and nopony knows it even happened." He stopped for a moment, to think about what he had just said. It really doesn't sound very credible. There's got to be a way to put that is less... Less strange. "I haven't been following the news very closely ever since, but it seems that nopony knows anything about it."
"Hmm..."
I've got to make him believe me. If he doesn't, then I'll be left to Hoafrost's will once we're back in Canterlot. That won't end any well, or at least it won't end any soon... "Say, Rail, remember that time when I told you I had killed somepony...?"
Rail nodded lightly and, with a stern voice, replied: "You acted like a total spaz, how could I forget that?"
Silk left out a sigh, once again, and hung his head low for a moment. He described a line on the ground, unsure of what to say about it. He either came out as a rambling, crazy stallion, or he made Rail believe him. "Well," he said as he raised his head to face the stallion before him. His eyes weren't looking at him. "It seems like most believed that I had, actually, killed that family. I said I was guilty back then, even when I had never been in that part of the city before. I... I just felt it was the right thing to do."
"To say you're a culprit of something you weren't even involved in was the right thing to do?" asked Railroad, tilting his head and scratching his mane with a hoof. "That's... Umm, excuse me, but... That's not smart at all."
"I also want to know what happened there," replied Silk, shyly looking at him. "I know I didn't do it, but who did?"
"Well, if you say the city was wiped out, would that matter?" Railroad asked, slowly starting to get more involved in the entire idea. "Because if you're saying the truth...They're all gone if you're saying the truth."
"Rail, I know they're not gone. They're just not with us," Silk replied, lowering his tone and getting closer to Rail. He faced in the same direction as him and started to point at random directions as he said: "I know they're out there, hiding, watching me... Watching us. They're not going to stop."
"Hey, don't get all paranoia here," Rail replied, pushing him just a bit. "No need to get all worked up over something that we're not certain of. You should just relax and have a drink: we'll have lots of time to chill and think while we're traveling, okay? You'll be fine, you really shouldn't worry."
They looked at eachother's eyes for a moment, in complete silence. They didn't really notice it.
"Now let's enter the place again, shall we?" Rail said, patting Silk on his mane softly, at which he gave a step back. "Hoarfrost must have already flirted with the entire bar like three times."
"Say, Rail, why are you coming with us?" the traveler asked, passing his own hoof over his mane. "Is it really all because of Frost?"
"Hmm, in a way, yes, it's about her. I just want to be with her. But it's also about you, mate," he said, giving him a tap on the mane once again. "I want to see how all of this plays out for you."
"Railroad, when all of this ends someday..."
"Where will I be going?"
"Exactly. Where will you be going once all of this is over?"
"I hope Hoarfrost comes with me towards my home, since she lost everything she had some days ago," he said with a dreamy tone. "That must have been really stressing, I wonder how did she manage to take it."
"I'm honestly surprised: she has seen and heard about relatives dying constantly and she still seems to have some contempt and care for the rest." Or at least she has some for Rail.. "If anything, I would've expected her to become a complete cold-hearted mare with no love for anything or anyone. B-but she's not! That's just amazing."
Railroad gave Silk a playful nudge before starting to trot over to the mare. "She is amazing, huh? You finally accept it!"
"You're lucky, Rail. Just look at me, I have nopony. You got your filly after days of meeting her, and she likes you. So much envy from here."
There was another rather long silence between the two of them. Silk stood still, looking at Rail with an unsure raised eyebrow, at which Rail replied with an inquiring look.
"Silk, I mean it, are you...? Are you drunk?"
Silk nodded as he said: "Yes, I am. Now take me home before I crash into a random house and say it belongs to me."
"I'd pay to see that," replied the stallion, chuckling. He went over to his side as gave him a push. "You can still walk."
"I'll have to pay if I do it, so don't you even try to make me," Silk replied, giggling a bit.
"First time drinking?" Rail asked as they entered once again.
"First time drinking, yeah."
The noxious stench of half-digested matter flared in my nostrils as soon as I regained my consciousness. My head and hands were hanging over the bed's edge, and I could feel as my blood failed to circulate through them.
You've got to leave, I thought to myself. I opened my eyes, finding the morning sunlight barely passing through the thick layer of clouds that covered the sky. The firmament was almost entirely white, with tiny spots where the light-blue skies could be seen in the background.
After throwing the bedsheets off me, I tried to stand up, pushing my hands against the mattress. With that simple movement, a tower of notebooks, which was next to me, went tumbling down, some of them landing over my head. I've got to get rid of these things.
After shoving the notebooks away, I got out of bed and left my room. Everything seemed to be in order, the silence in the ambient being rather comfortating. I gazed down the hallway, spotting a tiny stain in the floor, not too far from the main door. I went towards it and stared at it for a long time; not that it would have done any good, since the stain was completely black and was the only one present in the room. It didn't quite look like a droplet of anything, it looked more it had been painted on. It was around the size of my hand. Mud from outside, perhaps?
Without giving the matter much further thought, I went back, towards the kitchen. I personally think that it should be called differently, but it's the word that describes the room the best. Absent-mindedly, I threw some coffee into a cup and filled it with tap water, before sitting down at a little table that was lying around the room.
It's getting cold lately, I thought to myself as I took a sip of the coffee. Very bitter; I had forgotten to stir it, and the coffee had formed a semi-solid mass at the bottom of the cup. I could still drink it, anyway.
I gazed at one of the room's walls, my mind getting kind of lost in the ambient. Everything was completely silent, to the point my breathing came off as a bit too loud.
I should take a walk around the city. It'd help...
My eyes went towards the hallway once again. The room to my room was barely open, and a sliver of light passed through the gap. The morning was oddly dark.
Yesterday was awful. I sipped the bitter coffee once again. I should go someplace else. The park, perhaps... I could go there again. Nothing too serious could happen there.
The morning's silence wasn't the same as the other days. Instead of posing a calm ambient, the lack of sound made me feel rather uneasy. I couldn't convince myself of staying there.
For many days has this happened...? I brought a hand to my forehead and left it there for only a few seconds. Unbearably hot. Four? Maybe more, I can't quite remember...
I just can't keep on doing this. I've only felt iller and iller these days. Every new sip of coffee separated me a bit from my thoughts, its bitterness and coldness presenting themselves suddenly. I gazed at the walls once again as I held the cup in my hand, almost immobile. I should get out of here for some hours, at least. I don't know what's causing all of these things to happen, but I'm sure that clearing my mind will do wonders. It just has to.
I stood up and went towards my room again, holding the coffee up near my nose to counter the pestilence present in my room. In a few steps, I opened the balcony window and grabbed a jacket that was laying over the desk, before just leaving and closing the door. How convenient and thoughtful of me to sleep with my clothes on... I took a last sip out of my coffee and left in lying on the table. That way I can get sicker with ease. Truly thoughtful and smart, yes...
"Well, time to go," I said out loud to myself as I put the jacket on, feeling its cold touch spreading through me. I turned around once I was done, but my trajectory was halted when I found her standing in the corridor. "Not again..."
"Stay," she said, her voice severe and blunt. "We need to talk." She stood completely still, her eyes fixed on me and her mane somehow contorting itself into strange shapes. It was almost like it was trying to join the conversation.
Is she ever going to give up...? "Leave me alone," I replied as I walked down the hallway without much thought. I barely managed to squeeze through it as I felt her oppressing gaze over me. "I want to have a normal morning."
"It's the middle of the afternoon," she said, turning around to face me, without moving from her standing spot. She kept on looking at me, a smug grin appearing on her face, not a muscle on the rest of her body moving.
"I don't want to do this anymore," I said as I reached for the front door. It wouldn't open. "Why do you keep appearing!?"
"Oh, Silk, that question makes no sense," she replied with a laugh. She gave a couple of steps in my direction, ending up right on front of me. "You're very aware of that, or am I wrong?"
Her eyes. Don't look at her eyes. "Don't you have anything else to do!?" I stared at the window, which was barely visible behind her slender form.
"Don't you have anything else to do?" she echoed, raising a hoof and pointing at me with it. I could reach out and touch it; it was at only a few centimeters away from me. "That's the question you have to ask yourself. Tell me, do you?"
After a short while of silence, I answered: "I'm not doing this." I tried to open the door once again, hearing only the small clicks of the door handle on the background as I felt her gaze somehow getting more and more oppressive.
"You already are 'doing this,' as you call it." She returned her raised hoof to the floor, chuckling beneath her breath. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed it."
I wish I could just go lie down and forget about what is happening in this exact second... "I'm not doing this, I told you. I'm not following you in your little senseless game!" I replied, as I walked again from her, pointing a finger. Where to go, however? The apartment wasn't any big and there were no exits; or at least not any exit I could take.
"More senseless would be for you to just continue with what you're doing," she replied, her voice suddenly rather calm. She gave a step in my direction once again, lowering her head just a little. Her mane, once again shifting, took the shape of spikes as she slowly approached me.
"Leave me alone, for goodness sake!" I shouted without thinking much, swinging the room to my room open before entering it. The smell of puke assaulted my nostrils but I couldn't have cared less. In a couple of steps I was standing in the balcony, my gaze fixed on the empty streets of the city before me.
There was a long silence.
I think I can't hear her coming here. Either that, or she has disappeared like in every other occasion...
My gaze went down the nearest street: empty and totally silent. Damn mind... The color of the concrete walls that surrounded me seemed to ingrain itself to everything in sight. My own hands seemed oddly colorless to me.
"Let's see how long you can last alone." There it was, her voice once again, coming from behind me. I didn't even bother to turn around and, instinctively, focused even more on the void panorama outside my window.
"I won't need you," I replied plainly. "I might win this battle after all..."
"Before I go, I'll ask you just one question," she said, giving small steps on my direction. I could barely hear them, but they were there. "Where do you want to be?" Her voice, while oddly calm, still had a strong hint of malice.
"Will you leave me alone now!?"
"Answer the question," she replied severely. I could feel her right behind me. She was very close.
"I want to be left alone," I answered out of instinct. "Just go away!"
There was another long silence. I raised my gaze towards the sky, the strangely dark firmament covering everything with its opaque glimmer. The railings were as cold as they could have been, and my fingers were starting to lose sensibility. Still, I wouldn't move. I wouldn't turn around.
"I see," she said, almost whispering.
"Now go!"
"No," she replied in a growl, pushing a hoof against me. I grabbed the railing like nothing mattered. "I'm staying. There are some things I yet have to do here."
"I don't—"
"Hold onto me," she said, lowering her entire body just a little. "We're going."
"No! I—"
"I didn't ask you any question," she replied, stepping closer to me. "Now hold tight because if you fall it'll only injure you."
Before I could decline the rather forced offer, she bumped into me, at which I grabbed onto her to avoid falling off the balcony. The moment my left arm wrapped around her, I noticed how cold her coat was. It almost was like she wasn't even alive. No living thing should have that low of a temperature. With a large jump, I managed to land over her. "Hold on a second, why am I doing this...?" She spread her wings, almost knocking me out of her. She could barely turn around with the amount of space the balcony had to offer.
"Wait...!"
"Be sure to be quiet," she said absent-mindedly as she spread her wings, stepping on the railing. Her horn almost hit the upper floor's balcony. "Don't waste your energy on shouting, just be sure to be here." With that having been said, she took a step forward, letting gravity work her magic.
It all came back to me in that moment. We plummeted down to the pavement. This is it. I'm done. Without giving the matter any rational thought, I just dug my hands deep into her coat and shouted: "I can't grab your hair! O-or any part of you!"
"Then wrap your arms around me," she replied as she flapped her wings slowly, stabilizing in the air like nothing had even happened. "You really aren't any bright, are you?" she asked, not bothering to hold her laughter in. "Well, what else could I expect?" she muttered beneath her breath as she began to gain speed.
I, for my part, just wrapped my arms around her cold neck and just not to look down. That's what I've you're not supposed to do, at least. This just isn't happening. This isn't happening. The sight of the city, as seen from a random spot in mid-air, was oddly different. It was almost like I was being taken away from my normal life, towards some place where rules didn't apply. Without realizing it, I left out a very soft "I can't see anyone around here" as we gained altitude. The cold air grazed against me, and I somehow felt a strange kind of inner calm.
"That's because they're all gone," she answered absent-mindedly, turning her head around to see the surroundings. The city looked very different from up there; it looked smaller, and the mountains in the distance didn't seem like the end of the horizon. I felt like there was more to see.
"G-gone?" I asked out of surprise as the cold breeze that flowed through the city turned into a harsh blast of wind as we went higher and higher. I grasped at her neck with more force as I felt that I was slipping off.
"You really don't know what is going on, and you've been around here for a long time..."
"Don't tell me," I said, fixing my eyes on the houses below me. They all looked so tiny. And to think I could fit all of the people I know in a couple of them...
"You're supposed to find out in your own. I can't be doing everything for you."
After she said that, she fixed her eyes on a distant building that as considerably higher than the rest. She lowered her head a little before launching herself downwards, accelerating on what felt like an instant. My legs slipped right off her, at which I was left fighting for my dear life against gravity with nothing but my arms. She didn't seem to care for the fact that I was nearly choking her. She took a sharp turn for no apparent reason, at which my body was flung forwards, my arms receiving an impact that almost made me let go. She left out a loud, demented laugh as she swooped downwards, the freezing air of the skies leaving a strong ringing in my ears.
I couldn't think clearly. Everything would end up suddenly had we plummet into the concrete. Everything would be a flash and I'd be back towards my room. Maybe I'd leave out a startled scream, but there would be nothing past it; nothing like what I was feeling then.
The wind whistled past us as we rapidly descended. I could feel myself float: it was like a free fall. My mind was lost in a confusing haze of thoughts, which was routinely interrupted by my frantic breaths.
In the way down, I was very close to hitting the side of a building: my foot softly tapped against a wall that came out of nowhere, which was enough to make my heart skip not only one beat. Right after that, she took another sharp turn, one that made me land over her back on my own back, my legs just flaying around like they were filled with air.
To be completely honest, I can't remember much further of that particular event, but the sheer amount of dread I felt in that moment haunts me to this day.
With my eyes shut, I felt the both of us decelerating, before feeling that one of Nightmare's hooves had connected with the roof of that tall building in the distance. My feet hit the side of the wall, at which I raised them out of custom.
I opened my eyes once again, finding ourselves standing, completely alone, in the building's roof. I let go of her and stared at the distant skies over me. The clouds formed a thick layer that covered everything in sight. Had they been any darker, I'd have sought shelter from the imminent rain.
And, once again, a long while of silence was had. Time had stood still. The silence of the scene finally had become what I had been looking for.
How I wish I could have this kind of calm forever. No sound, no bothers. I could stand here and gaze at the clouds all day. It's only a little cold in here.
I spoke up after my breaths returned into their calm pace. "Can I ask you something...? Why are you here?" I turned around to face her, at which I noticed she wasn't staring right at me. What a surprise. Her eyes are fixed in... the skies. "Because... Aren't you from a fictional universe?"
"You know the answer very well," she replied, her gaze still in the direction of the distant cloud layer. Her voice wasn't as severe as before, and it sounded more like she was a bit concerned about me. Or, at least, she didn't loathe me with every last cell of her being.
These hallucinations are getting more and more contrived. This isn't even possible. I hope I'm not sleepwalking at home in this moment.
"This is the tallest building I can see," she mutter beneath her breath, before moving her eyes towards me once again. She seemed rather abstracted from the situation. "Now, tell me, can you explain the reason behind everything that has happened?"
I gazed upwards, smiling just a bit. "The sky looks beautiful from here, don't you think...?"
"I've never really liked the daylight skies," she replied. "They're too light for me." She gave a step forward, almost hitting me with her horn. "Let's just say somebody ran down this street and disappeared behind a corner. That has a meaning, do you know which one is it?"
"I think the daylight skies are really pretty. They're relaxing, the sky is very relaxing."
The clouds, even when formed into a thick layer, still had some holes where light entered. The sunrays were visible, and it almost was like certain parts of the city were destined to have sunlight shining over them.
"Stare at the skies all day if you want. You're only buying time, and that will only get you so far. There is no escaping from this."