Hope
I couldn’t believe my eyes, the last person that I expected to see approaching me. No, it wasn’t Princess Luna or Celestia. Not yet at least. But I’m getting ahead of myself. It was Justin, searching around in the already dim space. Occasionally he would call out my name with a great worry in his tone as if he lost his best friend or the love of his life.
“Justin, it’s me,” I called out hoping that the man with the van wasn’t nearby.
“Julie,” he called back in shock that I was still here, “Where are you?”
“Just follow my voice.”
I stayed put and called out to him, listening to see if his replies were getting closer or farther away. It was like we were playing a game of Marco Polo but with greater stakes involved. Finally I felt something bump into me and I shrieked, thinking it was our hunter.
“Julie, it’s me Justin.”
“Oh Justin, I’m so glad to see you,” I said giving my pony friend a hug.
“I’m glad to see you too. I watched you from my window, but when I saw that the man found you and you took off, I couldn’t just stay inside. So I ran past my brother and your friend to find you.”
“But why? You were safe Justin, away from that man. Now he could be chasing both of us.”
“It’s because, well, I like you Julie.”
The confession hit me like a ton of bricks. My brain just couldn’t fathom someone liking me and immediately went into a state of denial.
“What did you just say,” I asked which I admit sounded like I was either deaf or had rocks for a brain.
“I said I like you Julie. I’m a pretty good judge of people you know. Even before becoming a pony I could tell who I would get along with and who to avoid. When you first met me I felt good to be around you, even more than living with my brother if that makes sense. You probably think I’m some silly pony now, don’t you?”
“Actually,” I said, “that makes perfect sense. I actually felt the same way when I met you today. Oh sure I have Michelle who I feel happy hanging around me but you’re different. You make me feel, even better being around.”
The two of us spent what felt like an endless amount of time comprehending what we both admitted to each other. Although neither of us wanted to go so far as to admit it, it was the start of love. It sounds strange admitting our love when we first met and even stranger in such a scary time, but that’s what happen. Considering the weird things that happened to me, this was actually minor.
“So who was that man with the gun,” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Justin said, “I think I remember seeing him before when I was human. I think he was part of some kind of animal control or something.”
“You mean like a dog catcher?”
“I don’t think so. I’m not even sure if what he was doing was legal. All I remember was that my brother told me that this guy was rounding up stray pets and that he seemed like bad news. One day I think he saw me in the window and that’s why he’s been hanging out in this area. He’s waiting for me to leave the building. Oh Julie, I’m sorry that I got you into this mess!”
“Hey,” I said putting a reassuring hoof on his cheek, “Look at me, this isn’t your fault. You just were at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Thanks,” he replied still seeming like what I said didn’t help him entirely, “so what do we do now?”
“We have to get back to the apartment where Michelle and I live. That’s where she told me to run to.”
“Yeah, I don’t think my place is safe now. I think we should travel at night though, since few will be around. How about we rest now until it’s later at night and then we’ll get going.”
“Ok. Actually I feel kind of tired so I’m going to try and sleep for a little,” I replied with a yawn.
“Sure,” Justin said as he yawned in response,” I think I need to do that too.”
“Can you, stay with me? I feel safer if I know you’re near.”
“Sure Julie. I’ll be near you. We’re not going to get separated, no matter what.”
“Thanks Justin,” I said as I lay down on the cool concrete floor, “Oh and call me Quill Flourish.”
“Ok Quill,” Justin said, “and you can call me Brush Stroke.”
I quickly drifted off into sleep, letting the thoughts of such a wonderful and terrible day slip away. Before the day was over, however, I was about to receive one more surprise.