We waited for what seemed like hours before the rain finally stopped. When the clouds were cleared, it was very late in the afternoon. Rarity had not returned and neither had the Princess -- and in fact, she hadn't even sent a letter through Spike to inform me of her progress in this matter.
"Well, Sweetie -- do you suppose we should go outside and look for Rarity now?" I asked.
"Um, I guess that sounds like a good idea," she replied. "I don't feel like being alone knowing she's not around here."
Spike climbed onto my back again as we left the boutique, but with the sun hanging low in the west, we knew we didn't have much time to look for her.
"If it gets too late out, where am I supposed to sleep? I don't wanna sleep in the house by myself," the filly opined almost fearfully.
"Well -- I suppose I could set something up for you in the library -- or we could try Applejack's farm and see if Apple Bloom might let you share her bed or something," I suggested optimistically.
"Um, the farm sounds like a good idea -- let's go there!" she exclaimed with some excitement.
"Please lead me in the right direction," I stated, noting the sun beginning to set.
"Follow me and try to keep up, Twilight!" she giggled as she took off in a quick gallop, forcing me to hustle to keep up.
"Why are you going so fast?" I asked, huffing between words as I tried to keep Spike from falling off my back, though he was clinging to my neck tightly, his claws digging into my skin. "Easy on the claws there, Spike," I admonished him.
"We gotta get there before it gets too dark!" she shouted back at me.
"Sorry, Twi, but it's all I can do to hang on! Sweetie Belle! Can you slow it down some?" the drake called out. She repeated her previous statement, adding emphasis to the last few words, refusing to slow down at all. I pushed the pain aside and continued to match Sweetie's frenetic pace -- and just before it became too much to bear, the farm house came into view.
"Whew, almost there," I sighed, slowing down to a trot. Spike released his death grip on my neck and sat up on my back, shifting his weight to keep from falling off as I took the last few steps up to the entrance. Sweetie had already knocked on the door and Apple Bloom had answered it.
"Hey, Twilight, what brings you out here?" the pale yellow filly asked. Her smile was quite infectious, eliciting a similar smile on my face. She is irresistibly cute!
"I was wondering if your sister was here," I mused. "And Sweetie's looking for her sister."
"The Princess stopped by earlier, but Applejack was already gone when she showed up," the filly replied.
"So what happened then?" I asked as worry started to creep back into my voice.
"The Princess left without saying anything."
"Hmm. What about your brother?"
"He's been doing all the work outside -- he'll be coming back in before too much longer," she replied.
"Can I stay here tonight?" asked Sweetie Belle, her expression showing just as much worry as mine.
"Sure, Sweetie -- where's Rarity?"
"I dunno -- she was gone when I got home from school -- she didn't leave a note or anything!"
"That's not like her," I mused. Spike nodded his head in accord with my observation. "Sweetie, I think I'm gonna head back to the library -- it's getting too late to do any more searching. I think we should try tomorrow -- and if we don't find her, we should contact Princess Celestia again."
"Sounds good, Twilight -- seeya later -- good night, Spike!" the filly called out as we left.
I began retracing my steps but wasn't exactly sure which way to go to get back to the library. Spike ended up helping me quite a bit, though trotting around after dark made it difficult. Eventually we made it back, but I was surprised to see some lights on inside.
"Spike, I don't remember leaving any lights on," I commented quizzically.
"I don't, either -- but maybe Twilight did," he offered. I heard the hopeful tone in his voice, which raised my hopes as well. We approached the front door and I raised my hoof to knock. "You don't need to knock, Twi," he chuckled at me. I blushed before opening the door, but was surprised to see the lights cut off. I fumbled my way inside and closed the door, grumbling about the inconsistency of lighting.
"SURPRISE!!" came a call from a whole bunch of ponies I hadn't noticed earlier. I shrieked in terror, jumping about five feet in the air from the shock of the lights being turned back on, the sight of what seemed like a hundred ponies crowding the main room of the library, and a certain very pink pony who chose that specific moment to hug me tightly. My world became nothing but pinkness as she held me to her. We dropped to the floor, my heart racing in my chest and a look of terror on my face.
"Were you surprised? Huh? Were you?" Pinkie chirruped as she bounced in place, hopping directly in front of me. Her big blue eyes filled my vision as I tried to process the scene before me. "Princess Celestia told me you wanted me to throw you a surprise party! Well, here you are!"
"Um, where's Twilight? Where's Rarity? Where's Applejack?" I asked as my heart rate slowed down a bit. The three mares I mentioned stepped forward with big smiles on their faces, causing me to brighten considerably. "Sweetie's over at the farm -- we were worried about you," I noted.
"Thanks for taking her over there, Michael," Rarity stated. "I'd hate to think I'd left her alone at home, but she's old enough to take care of herself. It's a relief to know you're kind and generous enough to consider her well-being, darling!"
"No problem, Rarity -- but the way the Princess was acting earlier --" I began before I noticed said Princess approach me, a mischievous grin on her face. I chuckled at the irony of the situation. I turned to my doppelganger at this point. "Um, Twilight, what happened while we were sleeping together? I woke to find you missing."
"Discord abducted me and took me to his lair -- but the Princess found somepony to help us and now we're back!" she replied with what seemed like a little too much enthusiasm for her.
"Who was it?" I asked. I was quite intrigued by this and definitely wanted to know the whole story.