The sun brought warmth to Sear's face as it began its descent into the mountains. Ponyville was in a short distance, visible from the window seat she sat in. The train taking her to Ponyville was quiet and peaceful as she thought through her plan.
She planned to see an old friend, Twilight Sparkle.
In the three months since her mother died, Sear acknowledged the powers her mother told her about. She had no intention to read their minds, but since that day, it was hard to concentrate on her own thoughts without somepony's thoughts popping into her head. It made her paranoid and mostly annoyed, and she wanted to figure things out.
The train came to a gradual stop, and the second she got out, Sear began her search for Twilight. It didn't take long, though, as Twilight had been waiting at the station for her, sitting on a nearby bench. Sear ran towards Twilight, delighted to see her and giving her a hug.
“It's so good to see you again, Sear,” Twilight said with a smile.
“Me, too! So good to see Ponyville,” Sear commented, glancing around at the city. “There's so much I want to do, but... think we can just head right to your place for something to eat?” With a blush, she could hear her stomach growl.
“Of course! C'mon.”
Sear and Twilight trotted across the streets of Ponyville. And while Sear would have loved to look around more, she yawned, realizing how tired she was from the train ride. It was too early for her liking, so she considered heading to sleep, as well.
They stopped at the library and entered. Sear saw Twilight's dragon assistant, Spike, reaching for a book atop a ladder, with two books already cradled in his arms. Looking over his shoulder, he gave the guest a curious look. “Hey, who's she? She doesn't look like she's from around here,” he commented.
“Spike, this is Sear. She's a friend visiting Ponyville for a bit, and I'm letting her stay here for the time being.”
“Oh, okay!” Spike accepted this and waved at Sear. “So you left right before dinner, Twi. Are you hungry?”
“Yeah, actually, we both are. You think you can whip up something for the both of us?”
“Sure!” His chipper attitude made Sear glad she wasn't bothering the little guy. She gave him a thankful smile.
Twilight went up to him and gave him a quick nuzzle. “You're the best.”
Spike made dinner that night, and Sear and Twilight ate happily, Sear especially. She hadn't eaten much since leaving her hometown, so just about anything would satisfy her.
Immediately after eating, she yawned. “The train ride was pretty long and tiring. Is there someplace I can sleep for the night?”
“There's a guest bed on the right in the main room. I made it just for this occasion,” Twilight informed her, pointing to where she should go.
“Thanks so much!” she said with much heart in her words. With another yawn, she headed toward the room, which just had a bed and drawer with a mirror to it. Nothing special, but she sure didn't ask for much.
The second she fell into the bed, she slipped into dreamy unconsciousness.
Sear awoke the next morning early. The sun had yet to rise. Looking around, she realized she was the first to get up, not a single sound to be heard.
She decided to go out for a walk around town. After a good night's sleep, she had enough energy to take a look around Ponyville and go sightseeing. Sear opened and shut the door quietly so as to not wake up Twilight or Spike.
He watched her leave the tree house. He had been watching her since she got off of the train. It was the plan, after all.
She was his newest assignment. He knew of her power, of the gift they only discovered recently. Now he was sent to find her and take those powers. He was not given much information, only that his supervisor in Cloudsdale wanted her powers. They were almost unheard of, and they were important enough to the supervisor that he sent him here.
Taking powers was no easy task, either. In order to do so, she had to be killed, but he also had to get close enough to do it by gaining her truth. By no mean, would he get attached, since he had done jobs such as this multiple times. He was a professional, and he was confident that nothing would go wrong.
Sear trotted through the markets it town when she felt paranoia wash over her. There was a feeling, as if someone was staring at her, watching her. Turning around, however, no one seemed to pay her much attention. Shrugging, she figured it was simply her imagination.
A building caught her interest, and she remembered Twilight telling her a friend of hers worked there. The Sugarcube Corner sold many snacks and treats, which made her smile as she entered and thought about what to eat.
“Hey, there! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner. What would you like?” a bright pink pony asked with much enthusiasm.
Sear decided on a simple snack to wake her up this early and ordered to go. The pink pony nodded with the hugest grin on her face and left to get her order. Sear looked around, loving the way the place looked. It was so bright and colorful, with a few ponies sitting around, eating and having conversations with one another. The city itself seemed friendly and welcoming.
When the pink pony came back with her food, Sear handed her some bits and thanked her. She left with the bag tucked in her mouth.
Finding a nice and comfortable place to sit, she lay under the cool shade of a tree near the Sugarcube Corner. She took out a book she brought along, opened it and began reading. Every once in a while, she chewed on her breakfast. The peace and quiet soothed her, the wind whispering in her mane and the twittering birds the only audible sound she could hear.
Then she noticed somepony walking up to her. Getting up, she waved and approached Twilight.
“Hey, I wanted to show you around Ponyville. If you'd like,” Twilight offered.
Sear jumped up with a giant grin. “Totally.” With Twilight's gesture, she followed her friend around town as she showed her multiple buildings and other places like the park and the forest, which had an ominous feel to it. Just the sight of it feet away made her feel scared inside, making her turn away.
Their walk around town was something else to Sear. Every once in a while, Twilight's name got called out by a random pony, and Twilight waved back to them. Some she even had a quick conversation with, even introducing Sear, who didn't say much. She just watched them, noticing how Twilight's face lit up seeing these ponies and how casual she was around them. One was even somepony who worked at the Sugarcube Corner. She was apparently very surprised at herself that she didn't know Sear was new in Ponyville.
“You seem to know a lot of ponies here,” said Sear as they found themselves closing in on the tree house. “To think you were fairly... quiet when I first visited.” She giggled. “Even with me as a friend, we didn't hang out too much.”
“Yeah, well, coming down here made me realize how important friends were to ponies. Still, I'm sure we'll have lots more time to hang out.”
Sear nodded in agreement and glanced around the town one more time. Only one thing caught her attention, and it was not in a good way.
Not too far in the distance, somepony was staring at her. A stallion, to be percise. Just standing there, watching her. A shiver fell down her spine, and she turned back to Twilight.
“Hey, Twilight, uh, do you know him?” Sear whispered to her, pointing at the staring stallion's direction.
Twilight observed him for a moment before shaking her head. “Doesn't seem to be from around here. Maybe he's new like you.”
Sear looked at him for while, wondering why he was staring at her like that. It made her rather uncomfortable.
Once he knew she saw him, he decided to simply walk towards her. Looking clearly at her now, she was a pretty mare; even though he vowed not to let her get the better of him, that didn't mean he couldn't compliment her as such. She had a beautiful rustic brown coat and big blue eyes. She wore a pair of bracelets on her hooves, and her mane flowed a nice violet with bright green highlights.
As he approached her, he knew about her powers to hear thoughts. The threat of his assignment being revealed was acknowledged, and he was prepared for it. He closed his eyes for a minute and concentrated to shut his mind, blocking his thoughts. It took a while, and some concentration, but eventually, he felt safe and continued his walk toward her.
Sear glanced at him, her mind trying to look into his. However, it was fruitless, because he would not allow it. Several times this had happened, if a pony knew of her ability. They would shut her power away from them. This troubled her, for he knew, yet he was a complete stranger.
When he finally stood before her, a funny feeling bothered her stomach. He was the first to speak thankfully.
“Hello. The name's Silent Bolt. What's yours?”
Sear froze for a moment. Twilight kicked her to snap her back into reality. When she didn't, Twilight simply rolled her eyes and said, “Well, my name is Twilight Sparkle, but I'm sure you're here for Sear.” Twilight opened the door to the library and whispered, “I'll see you later, Sear.”
“Yes! That's... who I am,” Sear mumbled, out of her stupor, though she completely missed what Twilight said. She blushed tomato red.
“Sorry if I scared you or anything before. You just seem new around here, and I, oh, I dunno, you just seem like a nice mare. And I wanted to get to know you.”
This baffled her, nearly making her heart skip a beat. “W-wow, really?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Hey, do you want to hang out a bit? We can walk around and just talk about things.”
Sear walked around the town quite a bit already, but she did not mind one bit. There was a lot of time on her hands, after all. Her smile so wide it almost touched the sides of her face, she said, “Yeah, o-okay.”
Sear and Silent Bolt conversed as they traveled through Ponyville. There was no sightseeing; walking was simply a way to distract them as they discussed random topics. Sear stayed clear away from mentioning her gift, obviously, but even he seemed to keep quiet about things such as his job. She understood, though,
At one point, they found a bench to sit at to talk. Hours seemed to go by that they conversed or were just together, and Sear never felt so comfortable around a stranger. He was welcoming and kind, she felt.
As the day dragged on, and the sun was beginning to set, though, she wanted to return home. Once they were done talking about their childhood—though Sear kept her information slightly limited—Sear told him this. Silent Bolt stared at her, but then he nodded. “Alright, I'll take you home, then.”
She stared at him, curiosity almost overwhelming her. The longer she stared, the more cautious she felt. All day, she tried going into his mind, wondering why he was being nice to her and why he was talking to her in the first place. Yet nothing. How could be possibly block his thoughts? And most importantly, why? Was he hiding something? He hadn't even brought up her gift, or him being aware of him. It was all so strange...
Simply shrugging it off, Sear walked alongside Silent Bolt the rest of the way back to the library. When he accidentally brushed up against her, it sent a chill up her spine.
Silent Bolt eyed her, noting her expressions as she stared at him. He saw; he knew. She wanted to read his mind, but struggled to, and she was questioning it. Expecting she would react like this, he just rolled with it
At last, the library was in view. She informed him her friend was letting her stay there for a while, and he simply nodded. He didn't care; he was just here for information on this mare. And there was now way more than enough to give back to Cloudsdale. Smirking, he felt pretty good about himself on a good start on a new mission.
Sear went to the door and glanced at him, the doorknob in her hoof. “Thanks for taking me home. You seem like a nice guy. Hope I see you around more.”
“Wait!” he said before she could go in and shut the door behind him.
She stopped and turned around, the door merely ajar as she waited.
“Would you like to go out sometime?” No hesitance lingered in his voice; he was direct, even casual.
“R-really?” She faltered. Knowing she had just met him today, she felt cautious. Was she ready for this? Wondering about it, what was the worst that could happen? He seemed like a nice, kind stallion from the walk alone. Beaming, she said, “Yes.”
When she went inside, he noticed a skip in her step. The door shut behind her, and he unfurled his wings. He flew away; away from the library and from Ponyville. He had a report to give to his supervisor.