Missing
By: Travis Kingsley
“Hey Spike, did you bring in the mail today?” Twilight called out, not even looking up from the book she was reading.
“Nope! I checked, but there wasn’t any!” Replied Spike from another room. He was busy dusting, and reorganizing a few of the books Twilight had a habit of leaving strewn about.
“That’s strange. It would normally be here hours ago, I wonder what’s up?” Says Twilight, putting her book down and heading outside to check for herself. She found the mailbox empty, just as spike had said. “I wonder what could have happened? I was expecting a catalogue and some letters today” she wondered out loud. “Oh well, life goes on.” And with that, she returned to her book and her studies on magic.
The next day was very much the same with Twilight continuing her studies; reading about, and practicing magic. Spike continued his never ending task of keeping the library clean and organized. The two gave little thought to the mail, because this day it came as normal, several days worth in fact. In the mail was a letter from the Post Office “one of our main mail-mares has recently quit so we have been behind on our routes. We apologize for the inconvenience it may cause, but the mail will only be delivered to our customers 2 days a week until we can hire a new currier. If you need your mail sooner please feel free to visit us and pick it up in person. Sincerely, you’re hometown post office.”
“Well that explains things” Twilight thought as she headed back into her house. “But I DO need my mail more often than that, so I’ll have to go down there tomorrow and pick it up. Hey Spike, read this” she said, handing him the letter from the Post Office. “It’ll explain the whole thing with the mail these last couple of days. Seems that we will have to pick up out mail a couple times a week for a while.”
“Why is that Twilight?” Asked a naturally curious Spike.
“Read the letter silly! It’s easier than me telling you!” She says with a chuckle, smiling at the baby dragon.
“Why would anyone quit the Post Office?” Asked Spike a moment later after quickly scanning through the letter “it seems like a pretty good job from what I hear.” His young mind was obviously very puzzled about this.
“Well, there’s any number of reasons somepony would quit, but if it makes you feel better I can ask when I pick up my mail tomorrow” Twilight consoles him. He nodded his agreement and smiled “thanks Twilight, that'd be great.”
“Now lets get back to our chores, okay?” She prompted him “We have a lot to do today before we head over to Pinkie’s later, remember?”
“Awww...Okay...” he said rather reluctantly.
“Rarity is supposed to be meeting us there too” Twilight adds with a wink. And it was true of course, Twilight would never lie to Spike, or anyone else for that matter, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t use this information as a little motivation for Spike. And it worked of course. Spike's demeanor changed noticeably when he heard this, and was definitely happy rushing through his portion of the chores since it meant seeing Rarity that much sooner. Twilight chuckled at the dragon’s crush on Rarity, still unsure what she really felt about it. The day carried on just as planned. The chores were quickly finished and the two set out for some fun. The friends had a good time of at Pinkie Pie’s chatting, munching on snacks, and doing all sorts of things that young mares do. It was Pinkie Pie after all hosting the little get together, so there was some dancing and games too. Spike enjoyed gawking at Rarity as much as he could allow. While Twilight enjoyed chuckling at Spike’s behavior...
Twilight arrived at the Post Office the next afternoon to get her mail. After all she needed it on a daily basis as she was always getting new books, magazines, and pamphlets on magic, not to mention the letters she frequently received as well from various sources. “Hello there, I’m here to pick up my mail!” She said the the colt working behind the counter.
“And your name is?” he questioned politely.
“Oh how silly of me! Twilight Sparkle.”
“Okay then miss Sparkle. I’ll be back in just a second” he said as he disappeared into the mail room, only to reappear a few moments later with a small sack of letters and a single, book-shaped package. “Here you are! Sorry again for the inconvenience.”
“That’s quite alright! I understand that stuff happens you know!” Twilight smiles and turns to walk out the door “thanks again! Oh wait! Hey, do you mind telling me why the mail-mare quite? My assistant was wondering.”
“Well...” the colt’s face drooped “too be honest she didn’t really quit. We can’t find her! She hasn’t shown up to work in days, no pony can find her, and we don’t know what else to do! We said she quit because we didn’t want the town to worry, we’re certain there’s a logical explanation for it all...”
“What?” exclaimed Twilight “are you looking for her? Where is she? What happened?!”
“Well if we knew all that we wouldn’t be in this situation Miss Sparkle. All I know is that I haven’t seen her since Nightmare Night, and that was several days ago.”
“Oh no...” says Twilight “that’s terrible! Whats she look like so I can keep an eye out for her?”
The colt shows he a picture of a grey pegasus with golden hair and a crooked eye. Under the picture was written “Dee” in magic marker. “That’s Derpy!” Shouted Twilight “oh no!”
“Derpy? She hates when people call her that. You do know her name is Ditzy, but she goes by Dee, right?” The colt corrected her.
“Oh? I’ll try to remember that. Anyway, I saw her at the Nightmare Night festival, but something upset her and she took off in tears shortly after arriving” said Twilight. She was growing a little concerned with this new bit of news, as was the mail-colt. You could see on his face that he was now worried about her.
“It isn’t like her to cry, and it isn’t like her to miss work. She’s normally so perky, so bubbly and full of life...” he says, trailing off into silence. “I hope nothing’s happened to her.”
“I don’t know. I hope not either” says Twilight “I’ll be looking for her, and I’ll be sure to let you know if I see her. Thanks again for my mail, and take care” she smiled, and with that she left the Post Office. She needed to get home and take care of her studies, but also wanted to take some time to look for this missing pony. She knew that ponies around here didn’t exactly treat her with love and kindness all the time. In fact, she frequently heard the foals around town teasing her for her eye. It was all adding up, but Twilight didn’t like where it was going.
Twililight arrived home shortly. There wasn’t much distance between her house and the post office, and her nervousness only sharpened her pace that much more. She walked through her door, dropping her package just to the side, and called for Spike. “Spike! We need to talk.”
“Coming!” Her assistant replied from a distant room. But just then there was a knock on the door. Twilight moved to answer, but before she could whoever it was knocked again more frantic this time. She rushed to the door and swung it open. There stood a very frantic looking Fluttershy, panting, shaking, and visibly shaken up.
“Fluttershy! What’s the matter?” Said a very concerned Twilight.
“I....There’s... I.... its..... I.....I....” Fluttershy tried to speak, but nothing would come out, and she quickly faded off with a single squeak. She just stood there panting and shaking. Something was obviously wrong, but she couldn't get her nerve together enough to explain. Gasping for breathe she finally managed to get out “I....can’t..." she gasped for air "come...quick...” and took off running towards her meadow. “Spike! Change of plans! Meet me at Fluttershy’s place. And hurry! This is important!” And with that, Twilight took off back out the door and toward the meadow where Fluttershy had her home. The frantic running and the information from this morning continued to wear on her mind, and is starting to take a toll on her. She arrived at Fluttershy’s looking a little worse for wear. Her mane was a mess and her tail needed to be combed, but she is not one for vanity and focused on the task at hand.
“So what’s the problem Fluttershy?” She asked, worry in her voice. But Fluttershy still couldn't talk. At the sound of their talking, Rainbow Dash emerged from Fluttershy’s house. Her eyes were downcast and she refused to look up. But gestured for Twilight to follow her. Which Twilight did. The three of them entered Fluttershy’s cottage home and the site that greeted Twilight’s eyes explained everything in a single, horrifying instant...