Each day, Twilight produced a new trinket with joy and pride. Her hooves were covered in new shoes, a cloak rested on her back, and an amulet like the one she had worked on the first day dangled around her neck. She hadn't forgotten Spike either, giving him a belt and an bark-disc amulet of his own.
"What's the belt do?" asked Spike as he adjusted it in place and peered at its little imprint of a heart at the front. "Looks kind of frou-frou."
Twilight rolled her eyes as she raised a hoof to tap at it, "It makes you healthier, tougher, even more dragony. Don't get fooled by appearances."
"That's pretty cool," agreed Spike before he suddenly blinked, "Oh yea!" He held up a claw, ring still worn there, "Do you know what this does? I've been wearing it for days and forgot to ask."
Twilight pulled it, and Spike's claw, closer. Her eyes began to glow a soft blue as she spoke the words of power that let her see the magic at work. "Oh, it's a protection ring. Did you buy it from Sasha?"
Spike pulled his claw back and shook his head, "Sort of? She gave a discount, but didn't give me much choice in making it."
Twilight got a sly look on her face and snorted loudly, "I think somepony has a crush on somepony else!"
"What, no!" Spike defended hotly, holding up his claws, "I barely know her!"
"Not you, Spike, her. Sasha keeps giving you these... looks, and now gifts? I could be wrong, but I don't think I am." She nodded firmly, "You have a fan."
"Some gift that is, taking half my money," Spike mumbled mostly to himself, but his embarrassment was broken as the air began to bend inwards. Both sets of eyes locked on the strange disturbance as Twilight looked it over with her still blue glittering eyes. "It's a dimensional disturbance? I don't recognize the spell."
Pop! A single sheaf of letter came through the bend, then the bend vanished. Spike grabbed the paper out of the air and cleared his throat, getting right into reading them as he had in the old days, "Dear Twilight and Spike, We are overjoyed to know you are both safe. We are working to get you back home, so stay safe. Your friend, Zecora, can watch you, and it is a rare day when she and Pinkie are not keeping fast track of you. We eagerly look forward to having the two of you back with us. Don't lose hope, Princess Celestia"
Twilight looked confused at first, but then smiled, "That's terrific news! At least they know we're safe, and with more brains working on the problem, we'll figure out how to get home sooner." She noticed something and poked the paper's back, "There's more writing back here."
Making a soft huh, Spike spun the paper around, "PS. You can't spell a party without Pinkie. What's that mean?"
Twilight joined in Spike's shrug, "You never know with Pinkie. I miss them, all of them."
Spike sighed slowly, "I wonder if Rarity's found somepony else while I was away."
Twilight stifled her initial reaction as she said, "What? No, there's no way!" Hiding her face behind a fetlock as she looked away from him. "I wonder what they've been up to? I guess they're ok, or Celestia would have told us."
Spike looked a little uncertain, "Do you think I could keep some of this awesome if we go home?"
Twilight adopted a thoughtful expression before the library door swung open. Fast Shadow was there, stepping towards them. "You have a friend."
"Huh?" replied Twilight, tilting her head, "Of course we have friends, you for example."
"Closer than that," replied Fast Shadow, "An earth-bound pony was spotted in Under Score's divinations, with your same signature. Reginald dispatched someone else to go check her out."
Spike folded up the letter he was holding as he spoke, "Why didn't they send us? Oh, uh, what color was the pony?"
"Pink," replied Fast Shadow, "and if I had to guess, he didn't want personal feelings getting in the way before she's brought in, if she's brought in."
Twilight trotted up to Fast Shadow, "When did Mister Score start looking for things like us? He didn't mention anything like that before!"
Fast Shadow huffed softly, "He's old, he gets to do whatever he feels like doing. Maybe he was looking for a way to get you home."
"Maybe..." agreed the lavender spellcaster uncertainly.
Fast Shadow glanced between the two, "Enough worrying. When there's more to know, you will know it. I felt you should be aware of this, at the least." She left shortly after, leaving the two rattled.
"What if," said Twilight, "They don't let her in?"
Spike shook his head, "What? No. Pinkie's great. You can't say no to that mare."
Twilight looked upset at the idea, but let it go with a sigh.
Being unable to study while wondering if one of their friends was nearby, they mutually decided to take a break and go get some fresh evening air. There were two other Seekers in the training yard, neither immediately recognizable. The two were a human and a pegasus, both wielding great axes as they sparred. It was amazing that the pegasus could wield such a large weapon in its teeth, to say nothing of parrying and blocking with it, but the winged pony was an even match for the handed human as they traded frightful swings of the massive weapons.
As the sun sank further against the skyline, torches flared to life around the walls of the Seekers compound, shedding light enough for the two eager combatants. They were showing signs of having gone at it for some time, with some cuts being far more savage than others dotted across the two. The human, a female noted Twilight, gave the pegasus a sudden rough shove, sending him to the ground before she was on top of him. The pegasus began to laugh as he flailed and it became clear that the human woman was tickling him quite mercilessly.
"I yield, I yield!" he cried out, and the fight was over.
She helped him up in a show of good sportsponyship, and they turned for the entrance to see Twilight and Spike watching them.
"Hello," offered Twilight, "Getting in some practice?"
"Practice?" asked the pegasus, "This is foreplay."
Twilight's cheeks lit on fire as she mumbled and looked away. Spike stood there cluelessly, "Foreplay for what? You going to have a tournament?"
"Yea, something like that," agreed the woman, "Since I won, I get to be on the TOP of the bracket." The pegasus smirked up at her, and the two moved off as one. Once they were out of sight, Twilight shook her head slowly.
"I didn't think humans and ponies would be like... that?"
"Like what?" asked Spike, "Having tournaments seems pretty normal to me."
Twilight reached over and messed with his fins with a hoof, "Never change, Spike. Never change."
She wasn't entirely sure how she got here. She had gotten back to Twilight's castle and redrawn the diagram what was there, her mind full of desire to reach Twilight. When it was done... nothing happened. She was so upset she stomped around the circle until she stepped right onto the quill she had been using, owie! She plucked it free and tossed it aside, but a little cut was there. Giving a soft sigh, she had moved to leave the circle when it suddenly flared to life. She smiled brilliantly with visions of finding Twilight and Spike, and was through the rift long before she could reconsider the action.
That was then, now she was hurtling through a tunnel. She could feel familiar forces pulling and pushing at her. The rules were different where she was going. She wasn't all that good at rules! On some levels, she sympathized with Discord when it came down to lousy rules. She appeared in a brilliant flash, wielding her ten instruments that she had started playing in outright defiance. The short green things on two legs seemed quite surprised by her appearance and began panicking all around her.
She pulled her mouth away from the harmonica, "Wait!" she called, "I'm not here to hurt you guys! Do you know which way Twilight is?"
As the pony ceased playing, the figures stopped running around, looking at her funny. They spoke a strange language before barking in common, "Hey, stupid pink horse! What you want, coming into our camp and making with the noise?"
Pinkie Pie raised a hoof to direct at herself, noticing that her body had transitioned in the transport, but no worse than she had done to herself a few times. "Me? I like making friends and bringing smiles," she assured, ignoring the insult.
The short people started pulling out pointy things, some looked like funny kitchen knives and others were long sticks with the knives at the end. "We like make friends too," said one of them, grinning, "We make friends into little pieces!" At his words, the pink pony was charged on all sides by angry green men. With a squeaking laugh, she leaped high over the wave, coming down behind some of them.
They swung around, prodding and swinging at her, but she nimbly sprung around the attempts to harm her, giggling all the while. "There's no need to be rude," she chastised, took a deep breath, and resumed playing. The angry mob became suddenly docile, watching her prance and cavort, their weapons dangling loosely from uncaring fingers.
They seemed to want to follow her as she moved, but she was done playing with these particular friends. She was soon off at a springy gallop, leaving the strange green people behind her as she went. Now if she could just figure out where Twilight was hiding in this big place!