Treble
Its been two days since we left home. They have been the longest two days of my life. We didn't get much sleep, we almost never stopped, and I couldn't write anything down in my journal. In those two days, I have gotten to know Rose a lot better. According to her, she was the best flower salesmare in Ponyville. When I asked her how she knew that, she said that she remembers being a pony before becoming a human. All I've got to go on is that I'm a singer, and the rest has nothing to do with a pony's life.
In those two days, we have been nearly run over by four different cars, chased by dogs, had to jump fences, and nearly been seen a whopping twenty times. Finally, we've reached East Hartford.
"All right, we are looking for a blue pony," I say. Dusty and Rose nod. We set off to find the pony.
I figured the pony would not have left the area. I know I wouldn't. Although more populated than Tolland, they still have well forested areas, especially on the side we were on. I decide to take a calculated risk and take off, leaving Dusty with Rose. If I get high enough, people will mistake me for a bird.
Its nice to spread my wings once again and feel the freedom from the ground. Now is not the time to revel in it, though, as I have a job to do. Flying over a lightly forested area, I see a splotch of blue that doesn't belong. I turn around and fly back to the group, landing with much more precision than I had last demonstrated.
"Its that way," I say, pointing with my hoof.
We start to move in that direction when, in front of me, flashes the blue pony we were looking for. I take a moment to look this pony over. He is a unicorn, if the horn on his head is any indication. His mane and tail are both jet black with white motes so that they look like the night sky. His coat is a dark blue, but not nearly as dark as his mane. His eyes are greyish. His cutie mark looks like one of those long exposure pictures of the night sky. He looks around, and then charges his horn, releasing a flash. We find ourselves in the woods I just flew over.
He speaks first. Really loudly, I might add. "Yo, dude! I just saw you flyin' overhead! That was wicked awesome!"
"Um..hi," I reply, rather shocked at this pony's really enthusiastic (if you want to call it that) response to seeing us.
"So, hey," he continues, "What brings you here, bro? Oops, it appears I haven't introduced myself. The name's Nightchaser. You can just call me Chase, if you like. I've been havin' so much fun, scarin' people. You should see the looks on their faces. Priceless!"
The more time I spend around this colt, the more I dislike him. I am not one for in your face ponies. This one epitomizes that stereotype.
"Could you keep your voice down, please?" I ask, as kindly as I can muster.
"I am keepin' my voice down," he says smiling, as though nothing could go wrong. Maybe he's right, but I still don't like him. "Anyways, bro..."
"And could you stop calling me bro? My name is Treble Clef. This is my sister, Lightning Dust, and my...um...friend, Roseluck. I was hoping to help you, find out about you, and take you along, but I think you'd just get in the way."
"That's too bad, dude," he says, a little quieter, "It may be fun to terrorize the locals, but I've been alone since I finished changin'. That was about a week ago. I believe it was the first. Okay, so maybe its two weeks ago, but it doesn't matter. You go ahead, and I will stay here...alone."
Suddenly, I feel bad for the guy. He's as alone as we are, and we may be his only salvation.
"All right," I concede, "Come along, then. Oh, but first, could you tell us about your pony self. No doubt you've gotten quite a lot of you're memory back, right?"
"A little."
Chase
I sort of remember bein' a night guard. It was a hard job, you know? Stayin' up late, sleepin' durin' the day. Of course, my special talent is related to the nighttime. After that, the only thing I remember is the dream I had after the changes started. It went somethin' like this.
I was up early, well, early for me. I was walkin' past Princess Twilight's chambers when a pony, who I believe was named Shining Armor, ran past me. He rushed into her room in a panic. I followed him cautiously, and turned the corner just in time to see him disappear in a flash of light. In that room stood Discord, with a smile on his face. He looked right at me.
"Well, now," he said, "Who do we have here? A member of the night guard? One of Luna's pets? Here for me?"
I looked at him with confusion, my tired mind unable to get a connection. He smiled, a terrible smile.
"Time to work my magic!
Five score, divided by four
Hard at work, never sure
Leaving this place, returning nevermore
Unable to settle the score."
That is the last thing I remember from that encounter.
Ever since the changes finished, I have been havin' fun, but now I simply need to find my way back and get Discord for attackin' me!
Treble
I stare at Chase. He seems like he is ready to find his way back home. Time to figure out how to make it to...wherever it is we're going.
Suddenly, a thought fights its way to the forefront of my mind. Two Discords. Two universes. I have no idea what it means. Perhaps it means that the Equestria I knew from my life as a pony and the one that Chase remembers are not the same place. Another idea surfaces. If that is true, then we are going to different places. I vow at this moment to help him before I help myself.
It is now high time we make our way. I open the little computer console I found two nights ago and type in the code for the rips. Another jolt of memory comes up, but this time it actually kind of hurts. It feels like part of my brain was melted slightly. The memory is of another code, which shows up on the weird holographic screen as "Equestria : Nightchaser."
Strangely, a direction, a place, and names are written. It says: "Waypoint to Equestria. Citizen: Nightchaser. Position: Sergeant, Lunar Guard. Related citizens: Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Big McIntosh, Fluttershy. Location: Muscatine, Iowa."
"Hey, guys," I say, "The place we are going is Muscatine, Iowa. Wherever that is."
"Treble," asks Rose, "Haven't you been to Iowa before?"
"We have," puts in Dusty, "But RAGBRAI didn't go through Muscatine in 2008."
Once a year, there is an event in Iowa called RAGBRAI (Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) where people from across the country ride across the state for fun. Its a huge event, and Dusty and I went with our father and grandad one summer. It was a blast. We spent the entire spring and most of the summer bicycling once a week (Dusty trained every single day, fifty miles a day. We didn't see her very often that year.)
Chase looked at the computer in awe. He stayed silent for a couple of awkward minutes, before shouting out, "Dude! That is SO AWESOME! You've got to teach me how to do that!"
"Uh...I don't know how I can do it," I say, "I just can. It opened one night while we were on our way over here. However, we don't have time to sit here. We've got to move. If we follow the map, we can get there pretty quickly. Chase, how far can you run?"
"Pretty far, man," he says, "I was a member of the Lunar Guard, and that's sayin' somethin'. Perhaps we can find a truck movin' in that direction, or somethin'. C'mon, let's move!"
Chase
"So, I just write in it?" I ask.
"Yeah," says Treble, "You know, as a logbook of yourself and your adventures."
Um...Hey, my name is Nightchaser. I..uh...
"This is kind of strange. Who's gonna read it? I mean, c'mon dude, Kinda weird."
"You'll get used to it."
Anyways, I was a mechanic. Yeah, I know what you're thinkin', 'Dude, shouldn't you be, like, an astronaut or somethin'? Your cutie mark (weird thing to call it, dude) has to do with night time.' Yeah, but we can't always be smarty pants'. That's simply my job. I never went to college, but I have always had a thing for cars, as my father was a mechanic and so was my grandfather. My hobby, the thing that always excites me, is stargazin' and nighttime photography. But nobody makes tons of money off photographs anyways.
People have tried to make sense of my accent. I suppose it could be a mix between surfer-speak and New Jerseyan, of which I am neither. Truth be told, I was born in Texas, but my family moved to Connecticut when I was very young. I almost never watched My Little Pony. That was for little girls, not for a man like me. My ex-girlfriend Vanessa got me to watch the wedding episodes and the one about the dress maker, whatever her name was, and the fashion show. That was all. We broke up after that.
I moved from Old Lyme to East Hartford because I was a suburb kinda guy. The country never did it for me.
So now here I am, in the back of a freight truck, headed in the general direction of Iowa. I don't know what we'll find out there. I am with new friends who are quite willin' to help a bro out. That's the end of this entry, because we need to find another vehicle to ride in. Um...bye, I guess.
