I woke up a few times during the night, at each stop along the way. Our bus spent nearly an hour in Knysna, the small and enchanting town hidden behind the veils of midnight. Other stops went by in short order, most of which I couldn't have been bothered to pay attention to. I was still replaying the events of yesterday over in my mind, not at all sure how I should be reacting. I meet a girl on a bus; she gives me a bag full of miniature pastel ponies, one of which subtly threatens to kill me by invading mind before knocking out my best friend. The girl has been asleep on my shoulder for about twelve hours flat and that damn bag is beginning to squirm again. By rights I should be freaking out and running away, but instead all I felt was a slow simmering anger. They didn't know what they were interrupting for me. Actually, none of them knew why this journey was so important.
I stared out of the window at the sea as the sun rose behind us, cutting through the mist. I couldn't see ahead of us at all, but I heard another passenger call out that they could see the mountain. At least that was something to smile about. The only mountain anywhere ahead of us was our destination. My small happiness was quickly shattered, however. A pressure, that certain pressure in my head, woke me up completely from my tenuous half doze. I shot a glance at the kitbag wrapped in Sarah's arms, and noticed that she was moving too. I looked down to where she still lay against me, into her emerald eyes. Funny how I didn't notice those earlier. On the other hand, she did introduce me to aliens, so I could be forgiven. I smiled to her. "Morning, sleepy head. We're nearing Cape Town."
She looked about groggily, then noticed where she lying, fully half her body resting on my chest. She quickly squirmed away, looking pointedly at the bag as she answered, "Oh...Yeah, hi. Thanks."
I decided to forgive her that, and turned to Andrew. I whacked his chest with the back of my hand, figuring that Twilight must've released him by now. He jumped, a small protestation escaping him. Then he stared at me, eyes wide, trembling slightly. "Fuck...Mate, Twilight's in the bag...Twilight Sp-"
I quickly silenced him, explaining. "Yes, yes I know. And please keep it down, okay? We're nearly in Cape Town; you were out during the night. Twilight knocked you unconscious ‘cause you were about to go nuts. I have no doubt she will do it again now, and I'm not dragging you to the apartment. You can have a fan freakout there."
He nodded, turning slowly to face the seat in front of him, eyes blankly locking to the head rest before him. "Ponies...Shit..."
He never was one for many words, I guess. Instead of messing with Andrew like I kinda wanted to, I looked back at Sarah, who had regained her composure and looked surprisingly well considering what she had gone through. Which reminded me...
"Sarah, you are going to have to tell me how...this happened, tell me what we need to do now." I waited patiently for her answer.
She rolled her neck a bit, thinking about it. "Okay...um, you know what I said about living here six months and all that?" I nodded, and she continued, "Well, my family owns a holiday house upcountry, in the mountains a bit north of Buffalo City. There's a big pine plantation right there, and I was walking to one of the waterfalls there when they appeared. Literally just appeared, in Twilight's case. She..knocked me over, did that mind trick and told me they needed help, and that was I going to give it. But I was going home the next day, flying for London with my parents. Twilight, though, she wouldn't let me leave. So I bought a ticket for Cape Town, and Twilight shrank them all down into this bag. A friend of mine was going to take me in. But I had nowhere to let Twilight break her spell. That's why I asked you...You seem to have a place sorted out, right?"
I heard her out, and realized how desperate all of us were at that point. Sarah just wanted to go home, but she had been made to run away from her parents. Twilight was keeping her friends safe in a world that I had to admit would probably be detrimental to them. And I...I now had a week to figure this out before it all went to hell. "Okay, Sarah, let me explain my situation to you. I have been lent an apartment by my uncle for one week. That's it. If we can't come up with something by Thursday, there could be trouble. I'll see if my dad can organize something for me if it comes to that. Now, for our...visitors." I looked at the bag, well aware that at least Twilight would understand me somehow. "We will be picked up by said uncle. He will drop us off at the apartment, and Andrew and I are going down to the waterfront to allow my very generous relative time to pack and set off.. Then we will return this afternoon, where we will discuss this in detail. Sarah, I know you have had a time and a half. Go to your friend, the one you spoke to. Relax for a bit, you still look spun out. Swing by the apartment at about three. Here's the address." I pulled out a scrap of paper from my backpack and scribbled down the address and directions in shorthand.
Sarah listened to my sorry plan, and nodded. She slowly slipped the kitbag down to her feet, leaning it safely against my own bag, and took the instructions. I don't know why I basically gave her a free chance to ditch the ponies on me and Andrew; I could see it was an opportunity she planned to take. She knew it, I knew it, and now, everypony in the bag knew too.
When we arrived at the bus terminal at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (Seriously, who names places like that?) I was happy to see a silver Audi parked outside under the shade of the parking lot. There stood my uncle, attempting to look resplendent in all his middle aged glory. To be fair, he could be given a lot of leeway considering how well-off he was, even compared to my dad’s side of the family. Whatever, I was getting free accommodation out of this little venture he was going on, and right now I had six reasons to be all the more thankful for his offer this week. Andrew still looked like a zombie. He nearly grabbed the wrong suitcase again, but thankfully I managed to stop him early this time, and directed him to his own. He looked at me, an almost pleading look in his eyes as he stood up holding the large case to his chest. "Mate, what're we gonna do...?"
I shook my head at him, then swung my backpack up to my shoulder. It felt heavy, but I was tired. I didn't dwell on it, rather focusing on grabbing my slightly smaller suitcase and carrying it as far from the bustling crowd surrounding the bus as I could. The conductor had waited ten minutes for people to collect their bags before simply dumping the lot out of the bus onto the ground. We were lucky to avoid the scramble. Sarah, on the other hand, had disappeared. Not a word said since our hasty plan. I wasn't surprised, but I was very disappointed. She had been nice. Under different circumstances...Well, at least I knew why my backpack was heavier.
"Hello, boys!" My uncle called out cheerily, in a way that made me want to remind him that we were out of school nearly a year already. I greeted back, nudging Andrew to do the same. We piled our stuff into the car before slumping ourselves into the comfortable leather seats, so much better than those of the bus, as we drove away from the busy terminal. I chatted with my uncle about life and the trip. Yes, I had just gotten back from Saudi. No, there weren't any new deals my dad hadn't told him about. Yes the bus was comfortable. No, we didn't meet anyone interesting...And other small lies, to keep him happy.
I didn't have much energy for climbing the stairway that led to what would be our base of operations. Lucky for me, we weren't even allowed in yet. My uncle dropped us at the gate to the parking lot of the block of apartments on the banks of the canal that backed the Waterfront, saying that he needed to clear the place first. I assumed that he meant something about security, or packing, or something like that. He threw me a keytag and a card with the apartment details before abruptly driving into the parking zone. To me, and even more so to Andrew, it was a grace, giving us some time before dealing with what we knew we'd have to face that evening. We left our luggage with a groundsman, except, for obvious reasons, my backpack, and set off towards the waterfront area
It wasn't even midday before we found ourselves, quite to our surprise, in a pub. I just sat there, staring out the door I don't entirely remember walking through, waiting for something to interrupt me. Andrew of course obliged. "Dude, seriously, tell me what's going on so I can stop feeling like my head is going to implode."
I sniggered at him. "What's up mate? You unhappy with having a bag full of cartoon characters holding you hostage?" He didn't laugh. He paled. I shook my head, deciding it was time to face this. "Okay, I'm sorry about that. Um, we are now in charge of caring for the Main Six. That's the easiest way to put it. I don't know why they are here, and we can't talk to them, only to Twilight ... Kinda. I plan on asking for a full explanation when we get to the apartment later, when they go back to normal size. Until then, I will drink. I suggest you do the same."
He nodded, but looked confused. "Okay, so is Sarah gonna bring the bag and the ponies around later, right?"
I shook my head sadly. "Mate, I highly doubt we will see Sarah again. As for the ponies, they're in my bag. Probably playing with my laptop or something."
There was a pause.
"Maybe we should get back to the apartment then, get the ponies out of the bag, an' all.” Andrew said slowly.
I nodded. "Aye, we should at that."
Another pause.
"Ah, fuck it." I swore. "Barman! Double vodka over here! And Brandy an' Coke!"
*****
Needless to say, by the time we did return to the apartment, myself and Andrew were much, much calmer. Thank you South African age limits, for being low. I stared up at the staggered tiers of balconies rising up out of the concrete banks of the canal we stood on, trying to remember if this was the right building or not, since we had started out earlier outside the parking lot, which was on the other side of the line of complexes. Only one way to find out. I stepped up the door and swiped my entrance tag over the pad in the wall. I heard the draw pins lock open, and then the door withdrew.
“Woah, snazzy”. I turned and looked questioningly at Andrew, who smiled goofily at the doorway. I couldn't help but grin at him. Growing up out on a farm had left him easy to impress. I didn't reply, but rather turned and walked though the hall to the elevator. I punched the button for what I hoped was the right floor, then boarded with Andrew.
To be fair, it only took us half an hour to find the right apartment. As I swiped the keytag over the doorpad again, it struck me that we hadn’t exactly been watching the time. When did Sarah say we needed to get back? Wait, had Sarah told me, or Twilight? Oh, right, the ponies in my backpack!
I shouldn't have had that last drink.
I looked at my watch, but didn't really read it. After all, if we were late, Twilight would've done that brain invasion thing, right? I suddenly realized that I was standing in the entrance to our apartment. I stepped in, closing the door behind a slightly bumbling Andrew, looking about in mild interest. The main door led straight into the main room of the place. In front of me, a pair of couches marked out the space to be called the lounge. the far wall was, in fact, not a wall at all, but a huge section of sliding glass doors overlooking the canal. To my right was a small table, to my left the kitchen area. On the other side of each was a door leading to the two bedrooms at either end of the apartment. I stepped up to the kitchen counter and foisted my bag onto it. I saw our luggage packed against the door of the right-hand bedroom. I saw Andrew land on one of the couches out of the corner of my eye, but decided to ignore him for the time being. Instead, I unzipped my bag, pulled out my laptop and, with movements made deft by endless repetition, flicked it open and connected it to the network. After that, I simply shoved my hand into the bag and pulled everything else out, disemboweling it. Out came a few plugs, a jacket, my spare phone (Rich international family, remember?) and my hat, which I had shoved in there.
Oh, and the ponies.
It was kind of ungracious of me, to be sure. Just as they had in Sarah’s bag, they had wrapped themselves up in the clothes in my bag. I noted that Twilight had pushed herself into the space inside my hat, giving herself some breathing room. The others were bundled in my jacket, which I may have pulled out across the counter a bit violently. That left five miniature ponies scattered across the table. I stepped back in surprise as the chorus of squeaks opened up in protest of my rough action.
Andrew jumped up and joined me in staring dumbly at the small creatures. Twilight rose regally out of my hat, spreading her wings as she stood on her hind legs, staring at me accusingly over the brim. “Was any of that necessary? Be careful-!”- Unfortunately for her, she put her forelegs against the inside of the hat, and the weight unbalanced it, tipping it over. Soon she found herself underneath it, in darkness. I swore I heard a scared ‘eep’ in there.
At least her mishap gave us time to inspect the rest of our visitors. Indeed, it was the entirety of the Main Six. I immediately saw Rainbow Dash, not just because of her insane colour scheme, but also because she was desperately buzzing her wings and jumping all over the counter and squeaking uproariously. She was the exception, though. The others all seemed a little dazed from their ordeal. I did feel bad about it, but seriously, this was hilarious. Rarity’s mane and tail looked like a pair of purple cotton balls attached the marshmallow of her body. Applejack was nosing around for something, but her balance betrayed her one too many times. And Pinkie Pie seemed to have gotten tangled in one my jacket’s draw cords. Wait...Fluttershy...Oh, there she is, zipped up in one the jacket’s pockets. It was a good hiding place, except that my pockets didn't usually shake in fright like that.
Twilight finally managed to get herself out from under my hat with a small blast of magic. She looked around for a while, taking in all the sights of the apartment, before her eyes locked onto me and Andrew. She darted over to her friends, placing herself between us and them. There she sat primly, glaring up at me. She seemed to be concentrating. Eventually, the expected pressure somewhere in my head started up, followed by that strange not-voice echoing through me; “Why did you do that?! And how did you hide your mind so well? I couldn't reach you earlier!”
Of course, thoughts don’t really have volume, but I could feel she was shouting at me. I decided to answer out loud, to avoid my thoughts jumbling up. As I was about to answer, I thought, Cool! All I have to do is get drunk and she can’t threaten me! Of course, I said something different; “I am sorry about that, I’m a little...Hm. Right, this answers your other question too. Andrew and I went and got some drinks, and now we are a little bit drunk. Nothing to worry about, we won’t get in your way. Actually,” I turned to Andrew, “Mate, how about seeing if there are some bottles of water in the fridge. Oh, and bring a bowl in case Twilight and her friends are thirsty too.”
Twilight looked dubiously at us, her eyes following Andrew as he felt his way around into the kitchen. Then she threw a flat gaze at me. “Your thoughts are both so jumbled I can’t make sense of them. Your words at least give them some structure, but really...I can’t believe you left us in that bag just so you could get drunk.”
Great. Twilight Sparkle looked down on our behaviour. I was getting the feeling she would do that a lot. I looked over the six tiny ponies on the counter, slowly turning the idea that they were here over in my mind for the umpteenth time. Twilight sat proudly, looking up at me. But the others were another story. Rainbow Dash eyed me warily from her new position behind Twilight, next to a grumpy-looking Applejack. Rarity seemed to be trying to get her mane under control, but eventually gave up and merely held it out of the way as she looked from Twilight, to me, to Andrew and back again. Pinkie stared out of the large sliding doors on the other side of the lounge, out at the bright lights on the Ferris wheel on the Waterfront. She noticed me looking at her though, and turned to me with a bright and utterly fake smile. Fluttershy at least had unzipped a section of her pocket to peak out of.
Rainbow Dash squeaked something at Twilight, who responded with a nod. Then she turned to me; “If we are safe here, can we go back to normal size? Being small is having some side effects. We will need food and water when we are done.”
A little terse, but I couldn't blame her. I took the bottle of water Andrew gave me over the counter and drank about half of it in one go as I thought about her requests. Then I put the bottle down and answered, “Uh, yeah. There should be food aplenty: My uncle left this place in readiness for us. We can eat at breakfast tomorrow, and if there isn't enough, we can order something. For now, though, Andrew and I are gonna unpack, then go to sleep. You guys can, uh...” I hadn't thought about this. New plan: “Andrew and I are going to sleep in the main room, and you six can have the guest room. There is a bathroom attached, so you don’t have to worry about privacy. The glass wall is tinted, so no own can see in. Same in here, and the main bedroom, so don’t worry about it.”
Twilight nodded, then: “The girls and I are going to need the night to grow again, so if you would take us over to our room?”
I grimaced a little, but I told Andrew to take care of them while I moved our luggage. My uncle would not be happy with me right now, sleeping in his room, but I wasn't sleeping on the couch. I saw Andrew make a sling with my jacket. Twilight hustled the others into it, and Andrew carried them into the guest room. By the time he came out, I had already dumped our suitcases in the main bedroom and was sitting in front of the TV. My best friend sat next to me, taking the glass I handed him without question. We sat there for what felt like an age, one thought running through both our minds:
What do we do next?