"What do you mean she’s GONE?!" Twilight roared, at almost traditional royal Canterlot voice levels, her eyes flashing red for the briefest amount of time.
The question reverberated around the hospital lobby. The few waiting ponies quickly looked away, suddenly interested in anything other than the fuming princess and cowering doctor. If any of them had chosen to look carefully at the princess, they would have noticed the faintest trace of smoke rising from her mane.
"W-well, you see… sometime in the night she snuck out,” Dr. Scope stammered. “Rings was spotted at the exit when the nurse on duty was coming back from taking a patient to an exam room. She bolted when told to stop, and a chase went on for a few hours during the night," Dr. Scope spat out as he wiped a foreleg across his brow.
Twilight closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and slowly exhaled as she pushed a forehoof out from her chest. Upon opening her eyes, she noticed the dark bags under his. "We might all be at fault here. Maybe we should have put a collar and leash on her and tied it somewhere in the room, but so she could still move around. Or locked the door. Though, fully testing to see if she was sapient or not would have been better," Twilight lamented.
"Perhaps," the doctor agreed.
"Were there any incidents in her escape?"
Dr. Scope chuckled as he used a foreleg to rub the back of his neck. "If you ask a certain pegasus, he would try to tell you she used advanced combat tactics to put him out of commission and bloody his nose."
Twilight gasped. "She attacked somepony? That's no—"
"Calm down, Princess. Let me finish," the doctor quickly interrupted before continuing. "From witness accounts, he basically tried to swoop in foolhardily, then Rings just dodged and held up a board that was laying in the alley. He flew into the board and the ground all on his own. Oh, and she apparently threw a handful of dirt at him just before that, but we already knew she was prone to throw things at ponies when stressed."
"That's good to hear, then. Well, Doctor, I will let you get back to your work, and I'll let the guards know to keep an eye out for her," Twilight said, keeping her appearance calm.
Exiting the hospital, Twilight huffed in annoyance, kicked a small rock off the path, and stomped the ground with her hind leg.
"Blundering idiots," she mumbled. At least I have somewhat of an idea where Rings might be headed. Twilight put on a happy face and greeted ponies on her way back to the library.
Upon entering the library, she spotted Rarity talking with Spike.
"Good morning, Twilight. I am so glad I caught you. I was just about to leave this here with my dear little Spikey-wikey," Rarity said as she released the small drake's cheeks and gave her friend a quick hug.
Released from Rarity's grasp, a true smile dominated Twilight's face. Meanwhile, Spike appeared to be in a daze as he rubbed his cheek.
"Thanks, Rarity. I needed that. It's been a… trying morning so far."
Rarity pushed Twilight to a cushion and eagerly asked for details. As Twilight relayed the day’s events, Spike went and made the two mares some fresh tea.
"I guess we should’ve known better. I mean, Rings appears to be quite intelligent, regardless of whether she’s a new sapient race or a pet. Even our pets can escape; just look at the stuff they put the crusaders through sometimes. We’ll find her again, though," Twilight said between nibbles on a cracker.
"If you need me, do not hesitate to ask."
"Thanks, Rarity— I won’t. I have to come up with a plan to find her first, though. So what brings you here this early in the morning?" Twilight asked.
"In my haste to repair and return Rings’ clothing, I seemed to have forgotten to give you something of hers. It's a broken silver necklace— the gemstone is missing from this bent, oval pendant. I took a look at it, but I’m not able to fix it. Would you be a dear and return it to her for me?"
Twilight nodded as she took the necklace and levitated it onto the center table.
"Oh, one other thing— might I be able to borrow one of your magic power-crystals that you use in your lab equipment?” Rarity asked with a pleading look before she continued, "Sweetie Belle and her friends broke the backup one for my sewing machine while trying to earn their cutie marks as crystal installers. I am afraid to say the one in it is about to run out. "
"I don't know if I have a charged one that’s not installed at the moment. Why don't you just go visit the local alchemist?" Twilight replied.
Rarity put her tea down and asked, "You mean Topaz? I swung by her store on the way over, but it has a sign up saying 'Closed until tomorrow'. It would be ever so helpful if I could borrow one of yours. I already plan to send Sweetie Belle with a few gems that I think might be suitable to make a new one, and get my old one recharged tomorrow."
Twilight slowly pushed herself to her hooves. "Well, let me go look."
Spike immediately took Twilight's position as the alicorn descended into the basement. Spike set to asking the stylish unicorn if she needed anything while she waited. The two talked for a few minutes while they waited for Twilight to return.
"Sorry, Rarity, I don't have a fresh one,” Twilight announced, walking back into the room. “I do have this one, though. I think it's still mostly charged, and should hold you over ‘til tomorrow," Twilight said, a slight look of disappointment on her face.
Rarity's lips curled up in a smile, showing some of her teeth. "That's perfectly alright, dear. I am very grateful for you lending me this," Rarity said.
Spike let the thankful unicorn out and watched her trot away for a few moments before he closed the door. Twilight levitated the necklace behind her as she went up to her room, a plan already starting to form in her head. Partway up the stairs, she let out a soft snicker as she remembered something.
The ear-fin on the side of Spike's head twitched. Poking his head out from the kitchen, he asked, "What's so funny, Twilight?"
"Oh, nothing." The alicorn started laughing harder. "It's just that I probably should have told Rarity that Topaz might have actually been home and open."
Noticing the blank stare from Spike, Twilight continued, "Topaz has a tendency to forget things, and might have not taken the sign down."
Spike bent over and slapped his knee, joining her in the snickers, now remembering the forgetfulness of the mare in question.
------------------------------
In a small store, a pink mare lay sprawled out on a couch behind a slightly dusty counter. She lazily swished her tail as she read a book, waiting for the sound of a bell chiming to indicate she had a customer. The mare glanced at a clock on the wall and let a short huff of air escape her muzzle. It had been an agonizingly slow day so far. She usually only had a hoofful of customers or browsers a day, but so far, not even one had dropped by.
------------------------------
Cassie clutched a branch of the tree she sat in with all her might. Her morning had been a disaster almost from the start. For over an hour, she had been chased around by what she assumed to be three fillies. It was not a game of cat and mouse that she was happy to be playing. Cassie needed an escape, but all she could see from her vantage point were rows and rows of apple trees.
Her thoughts snapped back to the situation at hand as the three colorful demon spawn appeared below the tree, yelling at her again. Cassie felt a little safe in the tree, but her body still panicked some. The unicorn and normal one could not climb it. Unfortunately, there was an orange pegasus, too, but Cassie had observed that it couldn’t do more than hover a few feet off the ground for short periods.
"Leave me alone!" Cassie shouted.
The three fillies stopped yelling and seemed to huddle in a group, whispering something. Cassie took the time to gather a couple apples. Her respite from the obnoxious yelling was short-lived, as the fillies started shouting again.
"I said go away!" Cassie hollered as she hurled an apple at the fillies.
Her plan fell flat. Cassie had just thrown the apples in their general direction so they would get scared and run away. Unfortunately, the fillies ignored her action completely.
Cassie furrowed her brows and rubbed her forehead with a thumb and finger. She didn't like horses, and she didn't like these alien ponies either, but she didn't want to cause actual harm to them. After several moments of thought, she came to a conclusion.
Picking several more apples, she stared down at the yelling fillies. The blonde-coated one seemingly became more agitated with each apple she plucked from the branches.
"Last chance! Leave me alone!" Cassie angrily yelled, hoping that at least her tone would get through to them.
Cassie would never be known as a world-class pitcher. Her accuracy when throwing stuff was relegated to just the general area she aimed for. She looked directly at the filly making the most noise as she raised her right arm. In an instant, the arm whipped forward and a bright red apple bolted to the ground.
The fillies stopped yelling as they looked over to their friend. The blonde filly had apple parts and juice dripping from her coat. On the ground, a few inches to the side of the filly, was a smashed apple. Cassie didn't let their silenced reaction stop her. She launched another one, this time at the orange pegasus, but it landed about a foot away.
She then took aim at the blonde filly again. When she loosed the projectile, the white unicorn moved forward. An ear-splitting screech caused Cassie to cover her ears, and the other two fillies folded theirs down.
Quickly recovering, Cassie threw the rest of her apples at the retreating fillies. A crooked smile played on her face, and a small giggle tickled her throat at the sight of the apple impaled upon the unicorn's small horn, standing out in stark contrast to the white filly's coat.
With the fillies out of the way, Cassie climbed down from the tree and continued her journey. After several minutes of walking, she decided to make better use of her small reprieve before the fillies found her again for the umpteenth time.
Sitting down to rest her tired legs, she took a sip from one of her water pouches. She slid the back of her hand across her forehead and wiped it on her jeans. Cassie leaned back into the tree and let out a sigh as she tried to relax. She brushed the hair out of her eyes and hooked it behind an ear as she closed her eyes for a few moments.
She listened carefully for any noise that might indicate the fillies had found her. Hearing nothing, Cassie slowly peeked around the tree trunk. Time froze as she gazed into three sets of large eyes. The small white unicorn bopped Cassie in the nose softly with her sticky forehoof. Time came rushing back as Cassie screamed.
Falling onto her back, Cassie started pawing and kicking at the ground to get away from the fillies. They might have been small, but they could still bite her, and those hooves could cause injury if they kicked her. The fillies ran towards her as she tried to get up, causing her to trip on the small orange pegasus. Cassie let out a grunt of pain as her side impacted the ground, while the filly let out a yelp.
Suddenly, the white unicorn and blonde normal pony were in her face, yelling in that strange language and pushing roughly on her arms, shoulders, and back. Cassie balled her hands up and covered her face with her arms before the ponies could bite her fingers or attack her face. As she curled into the fetal position, her mind went blank, her breathing became ragged, and her heart tried its best to break through her chest. Cassie's body locked up and shook with fear, unable to get up and run from the attacking fillies. Her cheeks were moist with the tears flowing from her eyes, soft whimpers escaping her mouth.
After what seemed like hours to Cassie, a sudden deep, bass voice filled the air. The fillies’ yelling stopped, and she no longer felt their hooves pressing against her. Between the ringing of her elevated blood pressure in her ears and the whimpers of her voice, she heard the hooves retreating away. Several minutes passed before Cassie was able to summon up the courage to take a quick peek. Noticing they really were gone, she rolled over onto her back, wincing and gasping for air. After a full breath, a loud exhale of air left her lungs as her heartbeat finally returned to normal.
Cassie's eyes went wide when she tried to get up. A rope had been loosely tied around her ankles and wrapped up her legs to her waist. She easily untied the rope and let it fall to the ground. During this time, she noticed and felt the bruising on her upper arms already starting to show from where the fillies had been hitting her.
Shaking her head, Cassie pulled out her compass as she dried her eyes and cheeks with the palm of her other hand. Looking to her compass, she got oriented and briskly walked towards the dark, looming forest in the distance.
I have no idea what caused them to stop, but I thank whatever it was.
------------------------------
Ambassador White Talon reclined in his opulent, padded, redwood chair, with his lion-pawed feet resting on his large, marble-topped, walnut desk. The sun's rays bathed the room in light as they poured in through the glass-filled wall at his back. He gazed down his long, yellow beak to a clawful of papers held out at just the right length to read easily. Upon the desk lay a plate with a half-eaten salmon and a short glass with a dark liquid near the bottom.
The griffon reached a gray claw towards the glass as he mumbled under his breath. He swirled the liquid before he took a sip and set it back down, dropping one of the pages from his other claw on the desk at the same time.
Gale Wind just glanced at the older griffon while still eating her own fish. She knew the ash-feathered, white-furred griffon would address her when he was good and ready, and anything she said before then would fall upon deaf ears.
A deep, gravelly, gruff voice broke the silence. "Weeks ago, you brought me a report about some stupid diamond dogs you wasted your time watching. At the time, if you were anyone else, I would have had you plucked on the spot."
Gale Wind let out a laugh. "Surrre you would, Dad."
The old griffon dropped the papers onto the desk as he let out a laugh. "You got me. Though I’ve not seen a good plucking in a while."
"I can bring Left Claw or Right Claw in and see if they want to volunteer."
Regaining his posture after almost falling out of his chair laughing, White Talon pressed on. "I don't think the twins are zealous enough just quite yet to volunteer for that. Enough of that, though— we have more pressing matters. It appears what you thought were sickly Diamond Dogs might be something else entirely. Something has the Royal Guard on edge. An entire royal investigation team was recently sent up north to some hick town called Hoofbreak Ridge on request. The returned report was… disturbing. There are also reports of strange new devices being seen and even sold, but an inventor or company hasn’t been linked to them. That metal cave you found is now a high priority interest to the Empire."
"Wait, so that isn’t some weird joint venture between dogs and ponies?" Gale asked.
"No, it's not. They are even sending down an ARC with the investigation team. They should be here in about a week."
Gale's brain started going a hundred miles an hour. She slowly turned her head to her father and spoke slowly, already having a good idea who would be sent. "Who is the ARC they are sending?"
"Now sweetie, don't get mad. My request was shot down."
"WHO?!" Gale shouted.
"Razor—"
A shrill screech filled the room. The door opened and quickly shut as a plate sailed past the Claw brothers’ heads, shattering on the wall in the hallway as a knife embedded itself into the door. Gale's black talons glistened in the sunlight as they tore into the floor and sliced the leg off of a chair next to her.
Her father slammed a claw onto the desk. "You will calm yourself, Gale, or I will have you restrained," White Talon said forcibly.
Gale huffed and retracted her talons, leaving just an inch or so of them showing. Her feathers ruffled, and she swept a claw over her head to smooth the crest out. Venom dripped from every word when she spoke. "If he mentions going on a date or marriage to me again, I will tear his throat out and eat it while I make him watch. If he so much as looks at me in a lustful way, I will geld him on the spot and make him eat them. If he mentions him, even in the slightest, I will rip his wings off… slowly… and carve his name into his flesh with his own talons."
"Yes, I know. Hell, the entire Empire knows after your threats on the stand at his public trial. Most everyone believes he should have been roasted alive on the spit. If not for his family's wealth and influence, he would have."
"I demand a formal grievance be put in to the High Command. I don't give a flying hoot if they are using one of those national security exemptions as their reasoning and ability for them sending him. It was ordered that he never work with me by the Supreme Court!"
Gale stormed to the door. "I will do my duty, father, but so help me—"
The ambassador never heard the rest as the door slammed shut, causing the stone walls of the office to shudder.
The door reopened and a head popped in. "Should we stop her?" Left Claw asked.
"Not if you value your lives."
White Talon slumped back into his chair. "Well, that went better than expected. I even have the windows behind me still intact," he said aloud with a knowing smirk, looking at the grievance he had prepared earlier that afternoon.
I really hope the higher-ups know what they are getting themselves into.
Reaching for the quill on his desk, he pulled out a piece of official ‘Embassy of the Griffon Empire’ stationary. With a groan, he started writing his report to the Empire on the recent activities of the ponies, and asking for an updated timetable.
------------------------------
Twilight sat in a booth at Sugarcube Corner with Rarity, Fluttershy, and a bored-looking Rainbow Dash. Their usual booth in the corner of the small shop was situated next to a window, allowing them to peer out into Ponyville. Their current location also gave them a good view of the door. They were all sipping on drinks provided by Pinkie Pie, who stood at the end of the table, while waiting for Applejack to arrive.
Small talk was interrupted when three well-known fillies burst through the door and rushed to the counter.
With Mrs. Cake busy in the back, Pinkie said, "Be right back, girls," as she bounced to the counter, ready to fill the fillies' orders with a huge smile.
Pinkie had served the fillies and returned to her friends when Applejack entered the building, looking somewhat angered.
"What's wrong, AJ?" Twilight asked.
"Nothin' really. Just an apple-stealing varmint runnin’ ‘round mah orchard. It even stepped on poor Scootaloo."
A rainbow contrail filled the air as the napkins on the table flew off in a swirl. On the other side of the bakery, Rainbow hovered above Scootaloo, poking and prodding her. The mares smiled at their friend when she returned.
"What? I just had to make sure my number-one fan was okay," Rainbow said, looking to the side to hide her blush.
"What animal was it?" Fluttershy asked.
"It was that tall, two-legged thing me and Twi found the other day. Ah thought she was still in the hospital."
"Ahh, you must be talking about Rings, then, my dear," Rarity said.
Rainbow burst forth, hoof shaking in the air. "I don't care what it is or what it's called. It left Scoots’ side sore. If you want to go track it down and teach it a lesson or two, AJ, I’m with you."
Twilight put a hoof to her forehead. "Now now, calm down, girls. Yes, it was probably Rings. I doubt she tried to step on Scootaloo, and we should be somewhat happy she was smart enough to actually eat some apples on her own this time. As Rarity knows," Twilight continued with a nod towards the unicorn, "she sort of escaped from the hospital last night. I have an idea of where she might be heading, though, and I hope to track her to where she’s going to see if it leads us to her home, or if she’s a pet, to her master."
Rainbow let out a grunt as Applejack stopped her mid-flight by chomping down on her tail. "Whoa there, let's see what Twi has planned before ya rush off," Applejack said through her clenched teeth.
Grumbling, Rainbow returned to her seat and started picking at the cupcakes Pinkie had brought by. The mares all looked at Twilight expectantly.
"Before I start with my plan, can you tell us what happened on the farm that caused Scootaloo to get stepped on?" Twilight asked.
Rainbow huffed in the corner. Finishing her cupcake, Applejack rubbed her belly and wiped a napkin across her muzzle.
"Well, Ah wasn’t there. Ah got the story from them," she said as she pointed a hoof over her shoulder, "an’ mah brother. Anywho, the crusaders found a buncha apple cores in an’ around the clubhouse. Long story short, they found uhh… Rings, an’ chased her until she seemed out of energy in a tree. Somethin’ about getting cutie marks in apple-stealing monster catchers. Scoots got stepped on after Rings fell over an’ was tryin’ ta get up."
"So she didn't try to actually step on her, then?" Twilight asked.
"No,” Rainbow snorted. “Scootaloo told me it was her fault. I’m still not letting it get away with that, though."
“Rings is a ‘she’, not an ‘it’, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity commented.
"You might not know this, Rainbow, but I’ve seen her reaction to ponies, as have Fluttershy and Rarity," Twilight said as the other mares nodded. "Rings seems to be very scared of us. Just being chased by those three might have been a terror to her in itself. You chasing her probably wouldn’t be helpful to anypony."
"Yeah, well," Rainbow huffed, not having anything else to say.
The door to the store opened and Pinkie disappeared as if she was never there, only to reappear just as fast behind the counter. Twilight looked at Applejack to ask a question, then her eyebrow rose.
Softly, Twilight asked, "Is something wrong, AJ?"
The orange mare sat there a few moments. She was staring at the floor, her eyes lacking the shine of happiness from before, and her lips forming into a frown. "Ah… Ah didn't know that. Those fillies need to be told."
"AJ dear, please do tell. What do you mean?" Rarity asked, dabbing at her muzzle with a napkin.
"Well, Big Mac found ‘em pushin’ on her an’ yelling in her ears when he found them. An’ they were startin’ to tie her up. It was right after she stepped on Scootaloo."
Fluttershy's eyes went wide and she gasped. Rarity's head pulled back as her eyes followed Fluttershy's example. Twilight facehoofed and let out a long sigh. Rainbow let out a 'tsk' and shrugged her shoulders.
The mares glared at Rainbow.
"So what? It stepped on Scootaloo. It deserved to be yelled at," Rainbow said while taking a sip of her drink.
Twilight started to open her mouth before Applejack spoke up in a slow and steady voice. "You don't seem to understand. Ah wasn’t finished. When mah brother found them, she was curled in a ball an’ crying. He was disgusted with what he was seeing those fillies do to her. It was several minutes after he sent them away that she finally stopped. The only reason Apple Bloom ain’t fully in trouble is ‘cause they were only pushing on her an’ not kicking her. But she’ll have some sorta punishment."
Rainbow looked to the side and mumbled, "Okay, maybe I'll let her stepping on Scootaloo slide… this time."
Rarity's sweet voice rang through the building. "Oh, Sweetie Belle."
Sweetie Belle slowly trotted over to the table. "Yes, sis?"
"I have heard about your… adventure today. Is it true?"
"…Probably."
"Home. Now."
"Aww, come on! We said we were sorry."
"Don't get snippy with me, young lady. Home, now. Don't make me have our parents come back from vacation early," Rarity said, with no room for argument.
Sweetie Belle didn’t move fast enough in Rarity's mind. The small unicorn was wrapped up in a soft blue glow as she was hastily removed from the store and set on the ground outside. A small push of Rarity’s magic from behind, in the direction of Carousel Boutique, got the filly galloping off. The remaining two fillies went to follow, but were stopped by Applejack. Instead, they ran off in the direction of the farm.
"That's a little harsh, don't you think?" Rainbow asked.
"My sister knows better than to act like a common ruffian, and I will certainly not tolerate her tormenting somepony. I also told her about my encounter with Rings, so she should have known better," Rarity said, puffing up her mane.
Twilight spent the rest of the time explaining her plan to the girls. Once done, Rainbow flew off to find a location that fit what Twilight asked for. Rarity returned to her shop to pick up a few items, and Fluttershy was sent to the farm to find Big Mac and deliver a request. Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie went to wait at the small park on the south side of town.
------------------------------
The small park had lush, freshly cut grass. It was surrounded on three sides by trees, and a small bridge went over the river on its open end. Fillies, colts and foals ran around the park doing various activities while their shrill, happy voices filled the air. Parents sat around on the benches that dotted the park, and some even ran around with the children.
Pinkie ran among a group of fillies chasing a ball around, no doubt provided by the energetic mass of pink. Twilight and Applejack sat on one of the benches, just watching the scenes before them with smiles on their faces, engaging in small talk as they waited. From the corner of her eye, Twilight noticed a grey pegasus making her way towards them.
"Hi, Prin— Twilight," Ditzy said, stopping her bow partway.
Twilight chuckled. "Afternoon, Ditzy. How are you doing today?" she inquired.
Ditzy shook her head in an attempt to get her eyes to straighten. "I'm doing fine. I was wondering something— whatever happened to that creature I found on Ms. Applejack's farm?" She nodded at the farmer with a smile.
As they waited, Twilight and Applejack relayed to Ditzy all they knew, other than Rings’ escape. Ditzy thanked them for letting her know, and did the motions for a Pinkie Promise to not tell anypony about her. Before she trotted away to talk with another friend, Ditzy offered to help in any way that she could. She still felt bad for not being able to do more for Rings when she first found her, causing Twilight and Applejack to smile.
It wasn’t long before Fluttershy returned, letting them know that Big Mac was ‘on it’. Rainbow Dash arrived soon after, giving Twilight a location and the map she marked it on. With that knowledge, Twilight sent the two pegasi off to the farm. They would meet up at the location on the map when ready. Pinkie soon returned from playing with the fillies and colts when they had to go home, so all that was left was for Rarity to arrive.
It took about an hour before Rarity finally arrived. She let them know Steve was willing to assist, but wanted more information first before he would say yes, explaining that he did not like his skills to be well-known, and did not like using them on others unexpectedly. Rarity also told them that Fluttershy and Rainbow had just arrived as she was leaving and everything seemed in order.
With the new knowledge, Twilight and the others gathered up their supplies and left to catch up with Rainbow and Fluttershy. They chatted animatedly as they entered the very edges of the Everfree Forest, not bothered by this section, as it was tamer than the rest. Once they met up with the others, they split up into three teams and set about their task.
------------------------------
"I'm back, everyone," Cassie announced flatly.
Entering the campsite, a smile flashed on Cassie's face. She was happy to see that nothing had really disturbed the site in her absence. Sure, a small part of the wall fell down, the site had leaves littered all around it, and some small grooves had been traced in the ground from heavy rains, but those were all minor things that rolled off her mind. Getting clean dominated her thoughts as she made her way to the ship to get her bath supplies.
Her skin goose bumped and a quick shiver rippled through her body as Cassie stepped into the stream. The water wasn’t particularly cold, but a little chillier than she would have preferred. She took little time cleaning the past few days’ worth of sweat and dirt from her body, followed by some firm yet gentle scrubbing of the clothes she had worn. With her primary task finished, Cassie held onto the large, flat rock that poked out into the calm stream as she floated on her back, just enjoying the current as it flowed ever so slowly under her.
During this time, Cassie closed her eyes and thought back to the past few days. The water churned around her as she furrowed her brows and shook her head back and forth, mentally kicking herself. She was angry with herself when she realized just how much time she had wasted in the forest before. Last time she had ventured into the wilderness to the north of her site, she had spent almost two weeks in it. On the return trip, she only spent two days.
Cassie tried to rationalize that it was due to all the time she spent looking for or trying to catch food, but she knew better than that. It had been mostly that she was just unmotivated to progress forward that much or that fast with no real knowledge of what lay ahead. Having a location and reason to travel had sure helped her move along on the way back. A small laugh escaped her lips as she opened her eyes. A quick motion of her hand wiped a few strands of hair from her face, letting them spread out in the water around her with the rest.
"Then again, having a bag full of food and water did help," Cassie conceded.
She breathed in deeply through her nose and held it for a few seconds before she exhaled slowly through her mouth. That wasn’t the only reason it took less time, her brain brought up. A sudden sneeze caused Cassie to submerge. Standing up, she ran her hand over her head to push the waterlogged hair back out of her face. The droplets of water glistened across her creamy torso, the slight breeze tickling her as it evaporated the water. She made her way to the edge of the stream, picking her towel up as she exited.
A surprised yelp, followed by a loud splash, disturbed the peaceful tranquility of the area. Grumbling, Cassie blew the end of a lock of hair out of her mouth. Standing back up, she started wringing her towel out. With most of the water out of it, she placed all her wet clothes and soaps into it, holding her dry clothes in the other arm. She was not that pleased to be walking back to her camp completely nude, but she didn't feel like wearing wet clothes back, either.
Newly dressed, Cassie had the campfire boiling more water for her stores while she sat at the table eating lunch. Her mind wandered back to her two-day journey. She had come across a small rowboat soon after she had entered the forest, almost as if guided to it while avoiding the wildlife she had heard around her. For some reason, she had felt… compelled to get in it. That's when things got a little fuzzy.
Cassie could clearly remember getting into the boat, then as the sun started setting, clearly remember it coming to the shore at a nice place to camp for the night, right near the path that led down into the canyon. She could also remember that it seemed to travel at a speed much faster than the current of the river would have allowed. Everything else was a blurry haze, with time seeming to flow strangely. Cassie was grateful that it made her trip much easier, but it concerned her that her memory of it was not very accurate.
Hope I’m not coming down with some weird sickness my scanner wasn’t able to detect.
The sound of a bleeping alarm coming from the ship halted her internal musings. Startled, Cassie dropped her spoon, causing it to splash some of her tomato soup onto the table. With a look of worry, she quickly ran to the ship. Once inside, she made her way to the front consoles to see what the problem was.
"Computer, turn off the audio alarm and return the lighting to normal," she commanded.
With the alarm silenced, Cassie looked to the proximity sensor's screen. On the outer edge, it showed two dots. So far, the only wildlife she had seen were small critters and some birds, but the sensor was set to only activate if it detected a living object that was medium dog-sized or larger. The objects on the screen moved only a small distance, then stopped.
Cassie exited the ship, bringing her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun. Blinking a few times, her eyes adjusted to the brightness that sharply contrasted with the faintly lit interior of the ship. Spotting the objects in the distance, she took a deep breath.
Closing her left eye, Cassie's nose scrunched up as she concentrated. A slight disorientation accompanied the quick zoom as her cybernetic eye focused in on the objects. It was not something she liked to do very often, so she never really got used to the effect. Cassie's heart skipped a beat at the recognition of Sparks and that yellow pony she saw the first time she woke up in the hospital. She let out a lungful of air she was unknowingly holding and sucked in a deep breath.
“Crap! They followed me. Probably here to attack or capture me like the evil horses they are,” Cassie said aloud.
Calming her heartbeat, Cassie observed that the yellow one had wings, and butterflies on its rump. She decided to call this one Butterfly, and needed to remember to be extra wary of the new flying pony. She also took note that while they were looking directly at her, they were not attempting to come any closer.
Breaking her gaze, Cassie closed her eye for a few moments so it would reset to normal. When she turned to push aside the blanket covering the door, her lips pulled down in a frown upon noticing how badly her hands were shaking.
Entering the ship, Cassie shut the door and barred it. With her back pressed against the door, she slowly slid down until her butt rested on the floor. She held her head in her hands, and a small tear trailed down her cheek.
She was afraid of the ponies. She was afraid of being attacked now that they knew where she lived. She had left to get away from them, and they only followed her. In the back of her mind, she was also angry with herself.
Cassie knew full well that the food she had stolen would only last so long. She was also keenly aware that she was no survivalist— not in the least. Her previous trip through the forest was proof of that. Still, she was scared of them, and knowing that she would need to attempt to communicate with them did not help matters.
Cassie spent the rest of the afternoon working on trying to repair some of the ship’s systems, or at least trying to make them work better. She also took the time to recharge her music player and other devices. She had to shut down everything other than the lights just so they would recharge at a decent rate.
"Ugh, having only one solar panel sucks. Maybe if I can unbury some of the other side of the ship, a solar panel or two might have survived enough to still be at least partly usable. What do you think, computer?" she asked.
"Insufficient data."
"Tsk, some conversationalist you are."
It was late afternoon when Cassie turned the computer systems back online. She smiled when she saw that the ponies seemed to have gone, then her brain ruined it by telling her they were probably off to plot whatever horrible plans they were thinking of. Grabbing her hair in one hand, she pulled it back and held it at the base, then pulled a scrunchie from her wrist with her other hand to place her hair into a neat ponytail that would not get in her way.
Cassie had finished tidying up her little campsite, and was just finishing up the repair work on the fallen wall section, when she noticed an object in the middle of the ground about halfway to where she saw the ponies earlier.
She warily looked around as she cautiously approached the object. Cassie's face softened and a sigh of relief passed by her lips when she realized it was just a small box with a piece of parchment attached. Picking it up, she gingerly made her way back to camp to see what it contained.
Being unable to read the note, Cassie threw it into the fire pit to use it as starter material later. Her lips curled up in a smile as she started pulling the contents out and placing them on the table. The ponies had brought her some vegetables, fruits, and bottles of water. There were also a few paper plates and some silverware. Her eyes slightly misted when she spotted a container of lightly salted, pre-shelled peanuts.
Well, they might be terrible horses, but at least they’re not stupid. I’ll try to take it slow with them.
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The next couple of days played out the same way. In the afternoon, one or two of the ponies would come and leave a box or picnic basket about 100 yards from her camp. Cassie had noticed two new ponies come with the ones she already knew— a cyan-coated pegasus and an orange normal pony that Cassie named Crayola and Apple, respectively. Cassie was also able to give the name Diamond to the white unicorn she had seen that first day in the hospital.
Once, though, when Cassie approached the basket, Sparks and Butterfly did not stay away, but started to approach her instead. This caused Cassie to run back to the camp and hide in the ship for a few hours. Cassie was starting to trust that they were not going to attack her, but she wasn’t quite ready for them to be close to her if she could help it. The hospital had been an exception, as she had no choice.
Eventually, Cassie went back to get the box the ponies had left. It had another piece of parchment on it with some scribbles. Cassie still had no idea what it meant—possibly a greeting or apology, she mused—but she used it as kindling again.
Cassie sat at her table in the bright sun of a new day. She pored over the gemstones she had gathered recently with her hand lens. She still marveled at how they came out of the ground pre-cut, and most even already polished, before making notes in her electronic pad. Taking a break, she closed her eyes as a light wind washed over her. In the distance, she could see the ponies doing whatever ponies did. She paid them no mind, as they did not approach and stayed at what she felt was a safe distance.
Around mid-afternoon, Cassie watched Balloons pronk away from a cardboard box she had set down. Before Balloons left, she had jumped around yelling about something and pointing adamantly at the box. Once the pony was sufficiently far away, Cassie made her way to the box, noticing a cupcake rested on top.
"Thank you!" Cassie yelled in the direction Balloons went, figuring the others were there somewhere.
Sitting in her chair next to the campfire, Cassie happily munched on the cupcake. Her eyes widened in delight as a perfectly sweet and moist confection danced on her taste buds.
They might still be horrible ponies, but they sure know how to make a cupcake.
Cassie picked up the box, setting it in her lap. When she opened the flaps, a loud pop echoed through the air as she was blasted in the face with something. In a panic, she scrambled back in her chair, causing it to fall backwards as she shoved the box off her lap.
Taking short, rapid breaths while laying on the ground, Cassie felt something light landing on her face and arms. Focusing her eyes, she let out a small laugh when she saw party confetti raining down around her. Standing up, she pulled on the back side of her shirt and released it several times to try and knock the dirt off before brushing it off the back of her shorts.
While setting the chair back up, she frowned when she saw the gift from the ponies being consumed by the fire. Steam filled the air as the water in the bottles popped and hissed as it boiled away, while wax dripped from a low corner of the mostly burned box. This time, they seemed to have also sent her a few books with the food, but it was too late to save them, as they were already being consumed by the fire.
Unhappy with the turn of events, Cassie left the fire to burn itself out as she made for the ship. Once inside, she closed up the entrance and pulled out a day-old peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich to eat for dinner.
Those six ponies might not be that bad. If things continue this way, I just might be able to get over my fear enough to try actual communication soon.
Unbeknownst to Cassie, a lavender alicorn's eye twitched sporadically; its ear flopped madly and its teeth grated against each other. The alicorn tried with all its might to fly out of the brush that was her hiding spot, but two of her friends held her down.
The sandwich had not been very filling, but it did its job. Cassie walked over to the semi-repaired sink and proceeded to brush her teeth, making note to empty the collection bucket in the morning. Cassie stripped her clothes off and threw them in the corner, then she slipped into bed and snuggled under the blanket, hoping the next day would be just as good.