As Screwball trotted to the marketplace for some asparagus, she turned around and saw Twilight Sparkle and Applejack. They both seemed to be much happier than before. First, they'd been surprised. Then disappointed when she was at Lyra's. She could see them through the window. Why they were disappointed, she didn't know.
"That's a good idea." Applejack smiled.
"Actually, not really. Did you plan how to survive?" asked Twilight.
"Nope."
Applejack's stomach rumbled.
"Too bad we don't have any food." Twilight sighed.
"Um, didn't ya have some in your bag?"
"Oh, right. I forgot." Twilight blushed, embarrassed at her forgetfulness. She pulled a packet of potato chips from her bag, opened it, and passed some to Applejack before taking a bite of one herself. Suddenly, they heard a voice of another pony - definitely not Screwball.
"May I have some of your food?" The pony's voice was low and rough, and sounded like he thought Twilight or Applejack would attack him for some reason. The two mares turned around to look at the pony. A few feet away from them was a dark grey, almost black, pegasus stallion with a blue-silver mane and tail. His cutie mark was of a lightning bolt and cloud, and his eyes were amber.
Twilight gasped as she realised that another pony was in Equestria. Applejack seemed to be too busy enjoying her food to show any signs of shock.
"Yes, just don't take too much," said Applejack. In a flash, the pony had taken a few chips and zipped back. He seemed to be less suspicious now.
"Uh... My name is Twilight Sparkle." Twilight tried to be polite. The three ponies were probably the only ponies left - other than Screwball - and they'd have to work together.
"Name's Thunderlane."
"Howdy, Thunderlane. My name's Applejack."
"Nice to meet you both." Thunderlane now seemed to trust the two mares.
"Nice to meet you too," replied Twilight.
"You know anything we can do to get food?" asked Thunder.
"Well, I can probably use a life-detecting spell." Twilight closed her eyes. Suddenly, Applejack and Thunder were blinded by a pink flash of light. Twilight opened her eyes again.
"I think there should be some trees two miles east. And... a pony. A pegasus, I think, but you can't really trust this spell."
Thunderlane looked in the direction of Screwball in the distance. "Think we should bring her too? I'm hoping not. I don't want to have a crazy pony on my hands."
Twilight nodded. "Yes. She may be able to help. She seems to be good at observing, or maybe she can read minds. She knew our names even though we've never met. And even if that was a coincidence somehow, we can't just leave her alone!"
Thunder sighed. "Fine. How are we going to get her to follow us?"
Screwball picked up a book, and opened it. She was helping a friend of hers, a filly, with her homework. She couldn't find the book at her place, so she'd asked Screwball to help.
Cities in Equestria
She flipped the pages until she found her city, on page 20.
Ponyville was built a long time ago, estimated to be about a hundred years from now, by Earth Ponies. They had tough lives. The weather was out of control. Sometimes they had droughts, sometimes it rained too much. A few pegasi moved into Ponyville years after. They helped with the weather, and occasionally with farming.
The food was bad, and sometimes it didn't grow at all because of the weather, so the pegasi made it much easier. Unicorns, too, moved to Ponyville after some time. At first, there were only a few as most unicorns preferred to stay in Canterlot. They thought that Ponyville was too uncouth. Eventually, more unicorns moved in as the city progressed.
Wow, that's really interesting, she thought. Ponyville sure is amazing! I'm never moving out.
Just then, three ponies charged into the room, breaking the door. "We've come to take you away!"
Screwball screamed, and started to attack with the heaviest things around the house that she could carry.
"You know, if we weren't in the middle of nowhere I'd be laughing at her attempt to fight back right now," said Thunder.
"Yep." More dirt covered them as Screwball tossed mud.
Applejack turned around to see Twilight struggling as she pulled on Screwball's hoof. Twilight then slipped on the mud and fell to the ground.
"How is it that we're pulling on three of her hooves, but she can still throw mud at us without any difficulty, and she seems to think she's currently throwing a table at us?" asked Thunder.
"I have no idea."
Twilight got up again and continued to pull Screwball.
"Twi, why don't ya use magic to carry her?" asked Applejack.
"I can't carry something this heavy for long journeys. And we'll be travelling two miles."
"We'll be stopping for rests plenty of times! And either way, we'll be carrying her, whether or not you use magic."
"But she'll escape!"
Applejack rolled her eyes. "Well, then at least pull harder!"
Twilight's horn glowed, and Screwball's legs stopped moving. Applejack and Thunder could now get her away.
"Come on, let's go. This spell freezes her nerves, and can cause permanent damage. As much as I'm annoyed, I don't want to injure her." The three ponies went off.
"I think we're here." Twilight released Screwball from her magic as she looked at a plant. Small strawberries were growing out of it. Around them were other plants. Blueberries and apples were growing in the surrounding area.
"Didn't ya say that there would be a pony?" asked Applejack.
Twilight shrugged. "Maybe they're hiding because they think we're going to attack."