Long Way From Home
Faded by time and now long lost, is a desert fittingly named The Ocean of Sand. The origin of this desert is unknown, and the lands surrounding it are strange. No-one knows or understands why, but when someone enters this desert they always enter in pairs. No more, no less, whether it be two griffins, minotaurs, ponies or a mismatch of the three. Not only that, but they are never seen again.
Two ponies will wake up in the middle of the desert, alone. Not knowing how or why they are there, only knowing that they will have to trust a complete stranger if they wish to survive the harsh environment and what awaits them beyond it.
-Midnight P.O.V-
Wearily I open my eyes and to my surprise, I see sand as far as the eye could see. I look in all around me, thinking I might see something else other than sand like a forest or a grassy area of some sort. Instead, the sandy dunes rolled on and on out of my sight.
"Just my luck!" I shouted kicking the sand or what I thought was the sand.
"Ow! What gives?" a pony cried out in pain. Said pony was a pegasus who had a dark brown coat with a dark red mane and tail. "Is that how you greet everypony you meet?" the pegasus asked as he got up.
"No, I didn't even know you were there," I answer.
"Is that supposed to justify kicking me?" the pegasus asked skeptically.
"Kinda," I say with a shrug. "What's your name?"
"Can you at least say sorry?" the pegasus asked ignoring my question.
"How about you tell me your name first?" I ask once again. "Then I might apologize to you, pony that I have never seen before."
"Fine, my name is, Sky Streak," the pegasus says with a huff. "Whats yours?"
"I never said I would tell you my name," I say defiantly.
"No, but you did say you would apologize," Sky Streak said with a grin.
"I said that I might apologize to you," I say with a gesture to his injury. "Besides you look okay now."
"It still hurt," Sky Streak said rubbing where I had accidentally kicked him.
"Alright, I'm sorry. You feel better now that I apologized to you?" I started to look around at our surroundings.
"Still hurts, otherwise, yeah kinda." Sky Streak said looking around in surprise. "Where are we?" he looked at me accusingly.
"What?" I turned to look at Sky Streak defensively. "You, think I dragged you out here?"
"Who else, there's nopony here!" Sky Streak said gesturing the surrounding area. "Except you!" he pointed at me to clarify.
"Okay, if I took you here, where-ever we are, why would I stay behind?" I asked. The last thing I need is to have the only pony here run away from me.
Sky Streak took a careful step closer to me.
"I guess that makes sense," Sky Streak said."But that doesn't mean I trust you!"
"Likewise," I say with a dismissive wave of my hoof. "With that out of the way, can we focus on the tiny issue of being in the middle of nowhere!"
"We're in the-" Sky Streak trailed off uncertainly. "-I can't seem to remember the name, but I know that this place is not a good place to be."
"You asked me where we were a couple of minutes ago and now, not only did you know, you blamed me for bringing you here!" I say skeptically."Why would I come to this desolate place? You said yourself that this is a terrible place to be!"
-Sky Streak P.O.V-
He did have a point. I thought: but, does that mean I’m going to trust him? I don't know. W are stuck in the middle of nowhere, miles away from any other pony, griffon, or dragon. So, for now, I’ll trust him. Before saying anything, I looked him over; mostly because I hadn't gotten a good look at him in the first place. He was a unicorn, with a dark blue mane and tail, and a darker gold coat.
"Okay, I get it. I was wrong to throw accusations around so quickly," I admit begrudgingly. "If I'm going to trust you, I need to know your name first."
"If you want to know so badly, it's, Midnight." Midnight said, although, he didn't seem so keen on telling me his name. "So, you know where we are right? Lead the way."
"I don't know the way out," I say biting my lip, slightly nervous of his response.
"You don't know, how? I'm pretty sure you know where we are. Can you elaborate when you say things like that?" Midnight said gritting his teeth.
"I said I know where we are. That doesn't mean I know how to get out!" I retorted. "So, setting aside my little knowledge about this place, what do we do?"
"Well, we could head in one direction, this desert has to end somewhere right?" Midnight suggested, pointing in a random direction.
"We could try," I said shrugging. It could work. And if it doesn't? a voice of doubt asked me. We'll work it out when we get there. I countered. That's what you always say. The voice responded sarcastically; then it receded to the shadows of my mind. I found it strange that I had never doubted myself in such a way; however, I felt as if the voice was not my own—that unsettled me. I'll think about it later, I concluded.
We started walking in the direction that Midnight had pointed at earlier. After a long silence, I decided to strike up a conversation.
"So, where were you before you were here?" I ask. Hopefully, he answers.
“I was in my apartment in Fillydelphia. If you want to be specific, I was reading a book in my living room," Midnight recalled with a shrug. "Not much else to tell. What about you?" Should I tell him? He did answer my question. Besides, it's not that personal.
"I was just walking around Baltimare," I answer. The conversation died after that, and we continued walking in silence until:"Hey, do you hear that?" I heard faint sounds of something I had yet to identify.
"Hear what? There's nothing out here to hear except you, and our footsteps," Midnight said slightly sarcastic manner, although he kept his ears perked. After walking forward, I could hear it more clearly.
"Running water, a river maybe!" I point in the direction from where I heard it. Midnight, without another word, made a beeline toward where I pointed. I run after him only a tail's length away. "Wait we don't—" Without warning, the ground slipped from underneath me. Before I could say or think about anything. I was falling. Thankfully, I caught and hung onto a branch that I hit on the way down. Midnight had somehow grabbed my hind legs and hung below me. What a fantastic start.
"This is entirely your fault!" Midnight shouts while hanging below me. I held back a sharp retort as I started trying to figure a way out of our current situation.
"And how would it be my fault?" I shoot back.
"You said that you heard water over here and look where that got us!" Midnight growled.
"You know, you should probably be more thankful that we’re alive!" I growled back. "And if I recall correctly, I wasn't the one who ran blindly toward where I pointed!"
"Like I said before, you said there was water. Why wouldn't I run towards it?" Midnight retorted.
"Maybe because we're in the middle of a desert that nopony thought even existed, and was just a legend. You know a tall-tale! A place that shouldn't exist, but does!" I explained.
"So, those are going to be your last words before we both die," Midnight said, "I was thinking of something more meaningful, like a nursery rhyme you heard as a kid or poetry, maybe some wise words from a parent before they died?"
"Those aren't going to be my last words if this works," I say not trying to hide my smile.
"What are you-" Midnight was cut off with a yelp of surprise when I tossed him above me.
"Are you dead?" I asked, while I attempted to climb on top of the branch.
"No," Midnight responded his voice echoing slightly.
"Okay, are you at the top?" I inquire, still trying to get on top of the branch.
"Yeah, it wasn't pretty far up, " Midnight remarked. I could hear his hoofsteps as he walked around above.
"Alright then could you levitate me up?" I ask, succeeding at climbing on top of the thin branch.
"Yes, I can levitate you up," Midnight responded his head peeking his head over the edge. My relief was short-lived. "Sort of."
"Wait, what do you mean by 'sort of'?" I ask, slightly nervous about his response.
"I mean, erm..." Midnight trailed off. "Look, it doesn't matter. I'll levitate you up here now." His horn lit up with a dark blue aura. I felt the same aura wrap around me. I, however, was not inclined to let him levitate me up until I knew the dangers. I grabbed the branch as I started to lift up in the air, although my hooves provided me with little grip it seemed that was enough to dissuade Midnight.
"Come on, why are you holding onto the branch? I thought you wanted to get out of this." Midnight said, biting his lip in the effort it was taking to pull me up.
"I need to know all the possible ways this could end; most preferably, not in my death!" I shouted, turning my head to look at him. "So please stop trying to pull me up!"
"Can't you just have a little faith in me?" Midnight asked; the magical aura around me dispersing. "Or even better, could you put those perfectly good wings to use and just fly up here."
"I told you—"I tried to say, but Midnight cut me off.
"No, you didn't," Midnight said rolling his eyes. "In fact, in the little time that I have known you, you haven't even spoken one word about anything, setting aside where you lived. All I want to know is why." Midnight stared at me expectantly, waiting patiently for an answer. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to tell him, I thought to myself, but that voice spoke. Don't be an idiot; he'll mock you just like the others did. the voice objected. I think he would understand— but I was cut off. No, he won't. Just avoid the question and keep avoiding until he asks you no more. the voice told me. I felt slightly distrustful of the "advice" "Hello, did you fall asleep or something?" Midnight's question snapped me out of my inner-thoughts. "Well, are you going to tell me why?"
"No. I don't want to talk about it," I said, slightly regretting my decision; It's better if he didn't know right?
"Still not gonna tell me?" Midnight said shaking his head with an exasperated sigh.
"Could you please just drop it?" I pleaded.
"I can for the time being," Midnight said reluctantly. I felt slightly relieved that he didn't push the issue, but judging by the look on his face, I knew he wouldn't completely leave it alone. "Now are you going to let me levitate you up?" Midnight asked, changing the subject back to our current predicament.
"Yes," I say reluctantly. "Don't drop me!"
"I won't." Midnight's blue magical aura surrounded me and started to lift me up. Once I was halfway up, he felt inclined to speak. "Hey, would it be bad if I told you that I'm starting to feel tired right now?" Midnight emphasized his statement with a yawn, his magical grip holding me starting to falter.
"This is not the time or place for a joke!" I said, terrified of the drop below me.
"Whoops!" Midnight's magical aura disappeared, and I fell only to be thrown back up into the air. My eyelids screwed shut, heartbeat going a mile a minute, and my lungs were in full panic mode, greedily drinking in as much air as they could. To my surprise, I landed softly on the sand, instead of stone. I opened one eye to look at my surroundings, only to see Midnight with a smile on his face. "For future reference, don't throw the pony you expect to help you high up in the air, alright? Alright. Now let's figure out what we should do next." Midnight said disregarding what he just did.
"You-You just tossed me up in the air!" I say completely taken aback at Midnight nonchalantly skirting by the subject.
"Yeah, it wasn't easy either," Midnight said wincing. "I'm going to have headaches for an hour or two."
"You still did it!"
"And if I recall correctly you did the same thing to me," Midnight pointed out. "So I call it even. Seriously, can we focus on getting somewhere?"
"Yes. But, I'm picking the direction," I said. "And before you ask why, it's because you picked the direction where we both almost died."
"Lead the way, then," Midnight said without arguing.
We set off again, and not much changed besides the direction. The sun still glared at us from above, the mountains of sand still had no end in sight, and conversation topics seemed to be lacking. The hours seemed to pass uneventfully, with no words spoken; which turned out to be quite dull.
"So, you read books?" I asked Midnight, kind of a stupid question, but better than nothing.
"What gave you that assumption?" Midnight asked sarcastically. "Was it the part where I told you that I was reading a book in my apartment?"
"Yeah." I answer. "It's just too quiet. I wanted to you know, talk about something, anything!"
"Alright, but I don't want-" Midnight was cut off by me.
"Favorite food to snack on? Favorite place to visit? Do you have any friends?" I asked three questions in quick succession.
"-to be bombarded with questions," Midnight finished, slightly annoyed that I had interrupted him. We continued walking in silence for a bit.
"My favorite food to snack on is crackers. I don't go anywhere unless it's shopping for food that I need. I'm not going to answer the last question," I smiled as he answered, at least he had answered. "Now, it's my turn to ask you questions," and there goes my smile.
"Alright, just don't get too personal," I said slightly wary of what he would ask.
"I suppose that's fair. You didn't ask personal questions yourself," Midnight looked off into the distance as he thought of questions for me.
"Do you have a pet?"
"Not anymore. I used to when I was younger," I answered. 'Why did I worry about what Midnight was going to ask?' I thought; 'Maybe because you still don't fully trust him.'
"Here's an easy one, favorite color?" Midnight asked me.
"I don't know. That's a pretty tough question," I say, pretending to think about my answer. "After thinking about your well thought out question, I've come to the conclusion that my favorite color is, drum roll please?"
"I'm going to pass on the drumroll," Midnight said with a chuckle.
"Green!" I answer with a smile.
"That was a lot of build-up for not a lot of stuff happening." Midnight remarked with a smile of his own. "Time for your final question; muffins or donuts?"
"Easy, donuts." Sky Streak answered. Midnight gave a mock gasp.
"How dare you! Muffins are much better than donuts!" Midnight insisted,"In fact, donuts are just circles with frosting and sprinkles on them!"
"Oh? -and how are muffins better? They are circles too!" I argue, smiling at our silly argument.
"How can you compare the unique shape of a muffin to that of a plain donut!" Midnight said. He was about to continue speaking when the light around us started to diminish.
The sun was setting. How long have we been walking?
"I guess we should keep better track of time," I remark, as the sun slowly disappears into the ground below it. The moon starts to ascend in the sky, as the sun sinks beneath the sand. Once the last ray of sunlight disappears, I immediately start to notice the temperature drop. The usually hot air and sand, turn cold, almost freezing. Midnight seemed to notice it too.
"Well-" Midnight shivered. "-it's too cold to continue, and we need our sleep for tomorrow, so I suggest we stop here,"
"Aren't you going to make a fire first?" I ask as the air continues to get colder around us.
"Do you expect me to conjure a fire with no fuel for it?" Midnight asked.
"Can't you at least make a fire that doesn't require fuel?" I asked.
"I would have to feed it magic for fuel, and I would have to stay up the whole night keeping it alive, so no." Midnight said matter-of-factly.
"Which is why I didn't mention it as an option. We're just going to have to make do without a fire for tonight. Goodnight. Don't freeze to death or anything like that," Midnight laid down on the sand, where he was going to sleep.
"Goodnight. You too," I laid down somewhat comfortably on the sand below me. I closed my eyes, listening to the shifting of the sand, and the calm evening wind.
-Midnight P.O.V-
The next morning, I woke up an hour or two after the sun rose. The cold of the night was long gone now, replaced with the sun's heat. I looked over at Sky Streak, only to find him still sleeping.
"Hey, Sky Streak. Wake up. We got a long day ahead of us," When he didn’t respond, I walked closer and attempted to shake him awake. Sky Streak didn't respond to that either. "Come on, don't mess around with me," I say, starting to get nervous. I try multiple ways to try to wake Sky Streak up, but none of them work. "Well, I'm not going to leave you here, friend," I say the last part with hesitation. Picking Sky Streak up with my magic; I place him on my back and start to walk. Hours and hours passed by, but I paid time no heed. Sky Streak needed help, and I was going to keep walking until I got him just that.
The sun dipped below the waves of sand as I continued walking.
"No, 'ya don't!" I reach back to stop Sky Streak from falling off my back. "You're going to make even if I don't." With Sky Streak being unconscious, I was left to my thoughts. I remember a time, not so long ago when I would have welcomed the silence from Sky Streaks endless yapping, but under the current circumstances, the silence felt empty and cold; kinda like this desert at night, I thought, shivering at the sudden drop in temperature.
The moon rose to its proper place in the sky, signifying it was time to sleep: however, I continued to trudge on. My walk was leading me deeper and deeper into the middle of this accursed desert. The mood I was in worsened with each step.
"Why?!" I shouted, looking at the sky accusingly. "What did I do for you to send me to this place?" I asked in a quieter voice, "Why..." I was still looking up as if I was going to get an answer or some magical way out of this. After a couple of moments had passed, shoulders slumped and head downcast, I continued my fruitless journey. The hours passed uneventfully until the sun awoke and rose to its place in the sky.
The farther I walked, the more my thoughts turned toward water and food. More often than not when I was alone, I spoke aloud about my thoughts.
"Just a little bit of water is all I want now," I said, my throat dry and begging for at least one drop of water. Once my stomach growled my priorities changed. "You know what, a little bit of food wouldn't hurt either," I said this like that of a beggar, asking and hoping to receive.
Looking back toward the ground, I took a step forward only to run straight into something. Cursing, I stood up and was about to pick up Sky Streak again when I saw that I ran into a tree. I stared at the tree for a good minute trying to figure out if it was real or not. “It can't be real. I must have finally lost it!” I thought to myself.
"Well, there's only one way to know for sure..." I said, tentatively reaching forward with my front hoof to touch it. Thankfully, fate was kind, and the tree was not fake. "Yes!" I shouted joyfully, jumping around the tree merrily. I slipped and fell in, believe it or not, water! "Water, how I missed you old friend!" speaking of friends I turned to look at Sky Streak. Since he wasn't conscious, I had to make him drink some water. Looking at our source of water now was disheartening, it was a small pond, barely bigger than one pony. I chastised myself for drifting to dark thoughts so quickly.
"Next step is taking care of you," I said looking at Sky Streak. First I dug a hole to get to the cooler sand. Once that was done, I used my magic to grab some of the leaves from the tree to create a cover over it to create some shade. Putting Sky Streak in my improvised shelter, I hoped the extra shade would aid in his recovery.
The mid-afternoon sun moved sluggishly across the sky, and Sky Streak had not woken up. The rational part of me told me that he should wake up sooner or later. Nevertheless, I was still worried.
While he was resting, I had taken some more leaves to eat; they tasted bitter, but hunger won over taste. I saved some for Sky Streak, when or if he woke up. What do you mean if, he will wake up? There's no doubt about it—hopefully, I wasn't proved wrong.
Nothing noteworthy happened while I waited for Sky Streak to wake up. Our water source dwindled, as the hours passed, and between me, and Sky Streak, I was surprised it lasted that long.
I remember how cold it was, those two past nights, and I took advantage of the nearby tree; I took some leaves and set them aside for later. The leaves alone, wouldn't last long, so I have to add a bit of magic to make sure the fire lasts at least a couple hours. With the fuel ready, all I had to do was wait for night to come, which didn't turn out to be that long. The sun was just setting, making the sand a fiery orange and yellow, and turning the blue sky into a purple color.
I took the leaves to a spot where both of us could be warm. Setting them up was easy, now it just needed a spark. My horn glowed, and a sound much like flint striking metal rang out, and fire burst amongst the leaves. The fire started eating away at the leaves too fast, so I fed it enough magic to last an hour or two, which might not have been the best idea. Walking for almost a day with Sky Streak on my back, and then feeding a bunch a magic into a fire took its toll on me.
My eyes closed and sleep took me into the confines of my dreams until morning.
Feeling, light on my eyes, I opened them just in time to see the sun peak over a mountain of sand.
"Good morning!" a familiar voice said.
"Hey, you're awake!" I said, he looked fine nothing seemed wrong with him. While I noticed what was there, I also noticed what wasn't: the tree, the small pond of water, the shelter I made, and the fire; all gone. Did I imagine it? No, I couldn't have, a whole day passed!
"Why wouldn't I be awake? It's only our second day here," Sky Streak responded. Should I tell him? No, it's better this way.
"It was cold last night, I thought you might not have been able to handle it," I said with a grin.
"Well, I'm still here," Sky Streak said smiling. "I know you want to be rid of me as soon as possible. So, let's continue onward!"
"Yeah, as soon as possible!" I say half-heartedly. Sky Streak didn't hear the tone of my voice when I spoke.
It didn't take long for the heat to become as unbearable as it normally is. It took even less time, for us or more accurately Sky Streak, to start daydreaming and complaining.
"I miss trees- no forests they’re nice and shady," Sky Streak remarked as we trekked across the sandy dunes. "Sometimes there's water near a forest, cold water. Not like this desert, nope! There's, no water for miles. It's hot during the day, cold at night, and the sand never ends!"
"I was going to list out all of the stuff you just said, I agree nonetheless," I said. "There was a tree and water! But you didn't see it." was what I wanted to say, but I had made my decision, and I was going to stick with it. I had gotten a lot of sleep, yet I still felt tired.
"Must've used too much magic last night," I muttered as I shambled along.
"Hey, you okay?" Sky Streak asked. Upon hearing his voice I temporarily shook off the clutches of sleep.
"Yeah I'm fine," I said, attempting to reinforce my statement with a weak smile.
"If you say so," Sky Streak said, although the way he looked at me told otherwise.
Neither of us spoke while we continued walking. The silence wasn't calming, no, it was more like the whole area around was holding its breath. I started to feel nervous, and couldn't help but look behind me. Right there, approaching us like a demon out of the night, was a massive wall of sand swirling around like a cloud.
"Sky Streak, run!" I warned while running.
"Run from what...?" Sky Streak turned around only to see the same thing I saw.
"Don't stand there with your mouth open. Run!" I was practically shouting at this point. It took no more prompting for Sky Streak to bolt. Running didn't seem to be working, I know this because every time I turned around it got closer and closer.
"In there!" Sky Streak veered off to a cave of sorts. Without argument, I followed. I just barely entered the strange cave, when the storm overtook us. I could hear the wind howl behind me, and sand being thrown and tossed around. "Midnight, come look at this!" Hearing Sky Streak I went deeper into the cave.
Only to find that what I thought was a cave turned out to be an entrance for something. The ceiling was a dome made out of sandstone with elegant carvings engraved in the stone. The walls shared the ceiling’s carvings, depicting all manner of things. Off to the right side of the room was a giant obelisk with strange symbols carved top to bottom on its surface. Under that obelisk was Sky Streak, digging in the sand for something.
I was about to speak when the wind decided that we had been hidden long enough and started to attack the ceiling. Tiny cracks appeared in the ceilings smooth sandstone surface. The ceiling was trying and failing to weather the sudden assault, the cracks in its surface only grew to the point where the ceiling was just barely clinging to the foundations around it.
"We need to go!" I shouted running over to Sky Streak. "Whatever you're looking for isn't important. Come on!" I gesture to the exit. Braving the storm outside was better than having a building collapse on us.
"It is important. Just give me a moment!" Sky Streak said still digging into the sand. A loud noise much like an explosion rang out, as the ceiling was ripped from its place and thrown out into the storm outside. The storm eagerly entered the now exposed structure.
The wind whipped around us, violently pelting us with bits of sandstone from the ancient structure around us. Suddenly I hear a groan, turning I saw that the obelisk had taken too much punishment from the wind, we needed to move!
"Sky Streak, we need to go!" I shout squinting my eyes to protect them from the sand.
"Give me a second! I think there might be something here," Sky Streak said, completely ignoring the danger that I had yet to point out. The pillar creaked once more, leaning dangerously close to falling. Digging around in the sand, Sky Streak picked up something. "It's a map!" Sky Streak shouted happily. "We have a way out!"
"Sky Streak move!" I shouted pushing him out of the way of the collapsing obelisk. Not only a second later, the massive pillar gave way and went crashing to the ground. Sand and pieces of the massive column flew in all directions. The little pieces of sandstone stung. Otherwise, I couldn't complain much. We were alive.
The sandstorm died down, and I looked around for Sky Streak. He was frantically looking for something. I wasn't sure what he was looking for. Sky Streaks mane was a mess, its red color had become dull, bits of sandstone and sand were hanging off of it, but he didn't seem to care. Kicking the sand angrily, Sky Streak turned to look at me: his eyes held a furious light.
"Is something wrong?" I asked him, slightly unnerved at his look.
"Is something-" Sky Streak inhaled sharply. "Yes! You made me lose the map!"
"Me? You were so adamant about staying right under that collapsing pillar just for a map?!" I say, gesturing to the fallen pillar.
"That map, if we still had it, might have been able to lead us out of this desolate hellhole!" Sky Streak shouted, moving closer to me.
"Oh, what a good a map would have been if you had died!" I shouted back, my frustration boiling over. "Why would you need a map? You can just fly away whenever you want! So, go on then-" I make flying motions with my hoofs. "-fly away!"
"Don't you even try, you lazy magic user!" Sky Streak growled at me. I flinched slightly at that. "If I can just fly away, why don't you just teleport away!"
"That's none of your business," I say, gritting my teeth.
"What’s this now? Did I say something you didn't like?" Sky Streak said mockingly. "Or tug at some sensitive strings?" I gritted my teeth as I reached my boiling point.
"Says the flightless pegasus!" I shout harshly. Sky Streak flinched as if I had hit him. My eyes open wide as I realize what I just said. "Sky Streak wait!" But he was already gone, running off into the sandy dunes, all because of me.
-Sky Streak P.O.V-
I felt hurt. What Midnight said stung worse than anything else. I ran blindly, not know or caring where I went. Hours passed by, and my running turned into walking.
The sun beat down on me mercilessly as I continued walking. My throat was parched, begging for even the tiniest drop of water, eyes closing every couple of minutes, exhausted hoofs dragging on the blistering sand. My thoughts turned to the cold that the night held; oh, how cold it was. Anything would be better than this ever increasing heat I thought, as I just barely fought off sleep.
The topic of nighttime had strangely brought my train of thought to Midnight. Halting in my walk, I felt anger well up inside me, at just the thought of his name. Why did I think I could trust somepony else? I thought bitterly. The only pony I can trust is myself, right? Yes, I'm right. No need doubting myself. But what if- no, I'm the only one I can trust, Midnight proved that right. After my thoughts quieted, I started walking again.
My nonstop walking was sapping at what strength I had left until I collapsed. I tried to get up, but my hoofs refused to work. Unconsciously my eyes closed, and sleep swiftly claimed me.
Opening my eyes, I saw the desert again. This time, however, it felt different. The stars sparkled in the night sky. The sand felt cool to the touch, and the wind was warm, unlike the cold wind that usually blew across the desolate place during nighttime. It felt welcoming and inviting.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" a mare's voice said. I jumped slightly at the sound of her voice. I turned to look at her, and to my surprise she was outlined with white lines, not a single spec of color to be seen. She giggled at my antics. "Apologies. It's been awhile since I have properly talked to anypony."
She looked at me with a smile.
"I could say the same for you too, considering you've only talked to one pony, besides me of course," she said with a knowing look. How did she know about me and Midnight? I thought, slightly alarmed. What if she's the one who put us here?
"Did you take us here?" I asked, taking a step back. She looked at me with a sad smile.
"No, I didn't," the mare answered. "I simply watch what's happening down there. It's all I can do."
"Who brought us here then?" I asked keeping my distance.
"I can't say," the mare turned her gaze back to the sky. "but, the answers you seek will lead you on a long wearing path home."
"Where are we?" I asked after a long silence had passed.
"A place that shouldn't exist, but does," the mare answered, not taking her eyes off the night sky. Before, I could ask another question she spoke.
"I said that," I said, looking at her in wonder.
"So you did, and what you said is true, to an extent," she told me. "Choices are funny things, yes? Let us say, a choice was made, and the path was changed." Before I could ask what that meant, the mare spoke. "You should forgive Midnight for his rash actions."
"Why?" I asked angrily. "I lost the map because of him!"
"While that may be true, you would not be here if he had just left you," The mare continued speaking, not waiting for me to answer. "He carried you across miles of desert, did you know that?" my anger was quenched after she finished speaking.
"No, he didn't tell me," I said. “Why didn't he tell me?” I thought. I felt pangs of regret about what I said to him after our narrow brush with death. I acted like a child, running away like I did.
"Are you going to forgive him?" the mare asked calmly, still watching the stars as they traveled across the sky.
"No, I'm going to apologize. I was in the wrong not him," I said, sure of my conclusion.
"Good, you’re one step closer," the mare said, a happy smile spreading across her face.
"One step closer to what?" I ask turning to look at her, but she was gone. "Hello? Where did you go?" No answer came, only the ambient sounds of the shifting sand around me. Without warning, I started to sink into the sand.
"Hey, what-" I tried to say, but the wind was no longer calm. It howled and moved the sand violently around. It piled up quickly around me, burying me almost instantly. I could feel the sand everywhere, in my ears, eyes, and mouth; choking and suffocating me. My lungs cried out for air. My movements got slower and slower until I couldn't move. Closing my eyes I waited for what would come next.
Eyes opening again, I saw the sun, still high in the sky; no moon, no stars, just the blinding sun and unbearable heat. One thing was different. I was being carried by Midnight. I couldn't see his face, but his dark gold coat gave it away. After the things I said, he's still helping me?
"Why?" I ask, my voice still hoarse from the lack of water. Midnight's ears perked at the sound of my voice, but he took a second to answer.
"You're my friend. I wasn't just going to let you run off like that," Midnight said hanging his head slightly. "Besides, I said some bad things too. I'm sorry."
"I said some pretty bad things as well, you know... I'm sorry too," I said. “Why did I say those things?” I think to myself.
"Hey now, don't get all emotional with me! Just because I said sorry first, doesn't mean you have to follow up with one." Midnight said with a lighthearted chuckle. "Besides, I know you. I accept your apology," a smile graced my face. “I don't think I should trust-” the voice started. “No.
Not this time. I can trust him. He proved me wrong.” The voice, that constant doubt that skulked around in the shadows of my head, would bother me no more.
"Are we back to the way we used to be?" I asked hopefully.
"I wouldn't say that we don’t still have ground to cover, literally, and friend wise," Midnight said. "Can you walk?" he turned his head to look at me.
"I think so," I answer.
I got off Midnight’s back and stood up. My legs wobbled like crazy, and my vision became blurry. I stumbled around blindly for a moment until I felt Midnight support me.
"Thanks," I say, starting to feel sick to my stomach.
"No problem. I'll support you until we find a place to rest," I nodded in agreement.
The hours passed without speech or anything noteworthy; which is standard for long adventures. We were still walking, when a question appeared in my head.
"How did you find me?" I ask half curious half for the sake of conversation.
"Well, at first I didn't do anything. I just sorta stayed back and thought about what I said," Midnight explained. "The more I thought about it, the worse I felt. When you didn't come back after a bit, I went after you, I tried to follow your hoofsteps in the sand. It wasn't easy, let me tell you that. Some of your hoofsteps were just gone. It was almost as if the desert was messing with me, or keeping me from finding you. And don't get me started on the misleading tracks of hoofsteps. Once I did find you, you were already out cold. The sand had you half buried. If I came even a couple of minutes later than I did..." Midnight shuddered. "Thankfully, I found you just in the nick of time. And there you go, all caught up. Anything happen to you when you ran off?" The thought of that strange conversation I had with the mare came to mind.
"Yeah, but it's a little weird," I warn him.
"I’ve seen my fair share of weird with this desert. It can't be that bad," Midnight said with a confident smile.
"Alright, if you say so," I smiled at his answer. "So, I woke up in the desert, but it wasn't what I was expecting..."
-Midnight P.O.V-
"Pretty strange, I'll admit that," I say surprised.
"That's all you got to say?" Sky Streak asked,"'Pretty strange?'"
"Yep, this desert has exhausted my vocabulary for strange things," I admit with a chuckle. The sky started to darken once again. Turning, I saw that the sun was setting. "Nature has peculiar timing for things,"
"I call it good timing. I'm tired. The sandstorm, our long never-ending walk, and our argument wore we out," Sky Streak said, flopping down on the sand.
"I agree," I said, laying down on the sand myself. I was about to slip into my dreams when Sky Streak spoke.
"Hey, Midnight?"
"What is it?" I asked not wanting to get up.
"Donut or, muffin?" I chuckle instead of answering and fell asleep on a high note.
The next morning went off without a hitch, and we started another long trek without anything strange happening. While something interesting happened the last time we walked like this, nothing happened this time. Which is odd, considering all the stuff that I've seen.
Squinting my eyes, I could see something rising above the horizon. It was green, and look a lot like a forest! I wasn't going to share my discovery with Sky Streak until I knew for sure that it was a forest and not a mirage. The closer I got to the strange green blur, the more and more it looked like a forest. I decided to tell Sky Streak. The reason Sky Streak didn't see it was because he was looking at the ground while he trudged along.
"Hey," I gave Sky Streak a nudge. "Look." As much as I wanted to be more enthusiastic about it, my current state prevented that.
"What is it?" Sky Streak asked, looking up. His voice was worse than mine, it sounded like sandpaper. It didn't take him long to spot what I had seen. Sky Streak started laughing which turned quickly into coughing. "A way out!" Sky Streak said, joy in his tone. At the sound of his voice, the sand shifted below us suddenly and without warning. Before I fell, Sky Streak caught me.
"Thanks. What's happening?" I asked, my head reeling.
"I'm not sure. What I am sure of, is that we need to move!" I saw the sand twisting and turning, forming a massive twister that rose up to touch the cloudless sky. It pulled at the sand around us. Without another word, we ran. The twister wasn't natural and followed us. Adrenaline was pumping through my body as I ran as fast as I could. I could see the forest now, so close, but the sand twister would catch us before we got there.
"We're almost there!" Sky Streak shouted, unaware that the twister was gaining ground and fast.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as I thought over my decision on what to do. “That could work. Sky Streak isn't going to like it, but it's the right thing to do.” With that, I started to remember the teleportation spell.
-Sky Streak P.O.V-
"We're almost there!" I shout, excited that the exit to this place was so close. Looking over at Midnight, he didn't look happy. In fact, he looked quite the opposite. I was going to speak again when his horn lit up, and his blue aura picked me up. "What are you-"
"It's too close." Midnight gestured at twister behind him. "Listen, I don't do goodbyes. All I ask is that you don't forget me, okay? Okay." He looked away from me and concentrated on something while I dealt with the shock about what he just said.
"No, you can't just do that!" I shout at him, trying to break his magical grasp. "You're the only pony I have met that is genuinely nice to me! And you're my friend." Midnight didn't respond, but I saw a tear fall from his eye down his cheek. In a blinding flash, I was at the edge of the forest. I whipped around, looking at the desert behind me. For a brief moment, I saw Midnight until he was swallowed up in the twister. It dissipated shortly afterward. The emotional and physical taxes of the day began to take their toll. My body without my consent sent me to sleep.
My eyes blinked open, looking up I could only see a wood ceiling. I was laying on what I assumed to be a bed, a very uncomfortable bed at that. My mind was fuzzy filled with things I didn't quite remember, shapes, colors, lines, all in an indistinguishable vat of memory.
"Ah, you've finally woken up!" a voice to my left exclaimed. "Now, why is a pony like you is so far from Inanimatus?" I turned my head to look at the speaker. He was a Griffin, and his feathers were brown with gray at their edges.
"Inanimatus?" I asked groggily. “Don’t you mean Equestria?”
"No, I meant what I said," The Griffin said, showing confusion at the name Equestria. “The place that your naming doesn’t exist, to my knowledge that is,” He responded gesturing to a nearby map as proof. The map showed no familiar landmarks or places. The majority of it was taken up by a place called, The Ocean of Sand. "You still didn't answer my question," the Griffin said with a light chuckle. His eyes showed curiosity but also caution. Why exercise caution toward me?
"I don't know," I answered truthfully. What else could I say? I didn't know.
"Excuse me if I find that hard to believe," the Griffin said, as the warmth in his eyes dimmed. "I saw where you came out of, don't lie to me!" The last part of his accusation was said in a strange tongue which I didn't understand. He was staring at me critically, watching my reaction. "Based on your expression, I'm going to guess that you didn't understand that," I nodded my head in agreement. He sighed in disappointment. "Oh well, I'll catch one, one of these days. Now, since you’re not one of them, then I suppose you have a justifiable reason to say, 'I don't know'. Still, it intrigues me that you just appeared at the edge of the desert just as another pony was swept up in the storm."
"There was another pony?" I asked. I dug into my memory trying to find the answers that I wanted to know, but memory is a tricky place with winding turns, holes, gaps that you have to cross to find what you're looking for. Even if you do find the memory, it begs the question: “Was it worth looking for in the first place?”
"Yes, I could barely see your companion, before the storm swallowed him up," The Griffin looked at me. "I was kind of hoping you could give insight to that."
"I'm sorry. I can't. I don't know." It frustrated me, not having an answer, but maybe I can find an answer. "Where did you find me?" Getting up, the Griffin walked over to the map and put his talon on the southeast edge of the place called, The Ocean of Sand.
"I found you here." The Griffin’s talon moved across the map. "We are currently here. Any other questions?"
"What’s your name?" I asked. In hindsight. I should have asked that first.
"I didn't tell you my name? Hmm, I seem to have forgotten my formalities. My name is Khalil. What might yours be?" Khalil asked curiously.
"It’s Sky Streak," I said, my eyelids starting to droop.
"Well, Sky Streak, it seems you are still tired so I'll leave you be," Khalil said moving away from the bed. "I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight." The light was turned off plunging the room into darkness. My dreams claimed me, showing blurry images of a pony that I didn't know.