Black and Mechanical

by Ashley Hale

Chapter 7

It was the mid-afternoon. At another section of town, two kids were running, one chasing the other. The kid that is chasing seems furious at the kid running. They continue to run through the trash littered roads of southern Stoneville. This section of town is unlike the others: dirty. Every other part of town looks fine and tidy, no spec of garbage drifting from road to road, no weeds sprouting from the cracks in the concrete and asphalt, and no dilapidated buildings ready to crumble at a moment's notice. Southern Stoneville has all three of these qualities, and it broods the struggling and uncivil residents. One of the running kids lives in this section.

Both kids are white skinned. The chasing kid sports a gray short-sleeved shirt with darker gray jeans to match. The kid's hair is black and messy as if he had just got out of bed. His eyes were gray colored. To complete his array of grays from white skin to black hair, his shoes were black. The kid measured up to the other kids that Twilight has already met, and so does the running one.

The running kid wears also wears a short-sleeved shirt with a color of pink grapefruit innards with tan trousers. The second kid's hair was black like the first, but his hair is slightly shorter and curly. His eyes were also gray, but a much lighter shade. Just like everyone else in town, his shoes were black. The running boy seemed scared at the chasing one.

"Get back here Nate!" the gray child shouted. For a while the two kept sprinting through the section of town; the gray kid kept his stamina steady while Nate began to slow down. Inch by inch, he got closer and closer until he finally tackled Nate to a sidewalk. "Gotcha, you prick!" he exclaimed as he pinned Nate so he wouldn't struggle.

"Gary, I didn't mean to do it!" Nate begged for mercy.

"Oh yes you did! You were the one who got me the 2 hour detention yesterday!" Gary recalled. "Do you know what I do to snitches like you?! Huh?!" he continued to threaten Nate.

"Don't hurt me!" Nate cried.

"I'm gonna-" something stopped Gary from further hurting Nate. The gray boy looked around until he saw a familiar figure. "Stay out of this Cecilia!"

Cecilia sighed. "Put Nate down," she spoke with an bored routine voice. She and Gary have been quarreling since they were in first grade. Gary bullies and Cecilia wards him off.

"Cecilia! Oh thank god you're here!" Nate exclaimed with a raspy voice.

"You do know what's gonna happen. Well, don't ya?" She continued with a cocky tone as she raised her right hand into a fist. She slowly approached Gary.

"You know what this is?" Gary further threatened Nate, blatantly ignoring Cecilia. "The part where I kill you!" he raised his fist. Just when the fight was about to ensue, there was a flash of blinding light.

"Grr... What the hell?!" Gary complained. From the flash, a figure formed: a human female, more specifically, human Twilight. She appeared hovering above ground in fron of the three, now huddled together in fear at the sight of Twilight.

"Protect me!" Nate squealed in a more raspier voice to both of them. As the flash cleared, her colors and form came into view. Cecilia recognized the color purple and the mane.

"You're a Twilight cosplayer," she concluded. Shoving Nate and Cecilia aside, Gary made his way to Twilight.

"Who the hell are you?!" Gary demanded pointing his finger on Twilight's left shoulder. Without any break from her encounter with these kids, she simply replied swift and without hesitation.

"Twilight Sparkle. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have someone to catch," she was at her wits end. Just when she was about ready to depart, more kids showed up, four more. At the sight of more children, Twilight was caught once again in the same situation from not long ago. "How many kids does this town have?!" Twilight was about to lose her patience. Two of the four incoming kids immidiately identified the purple mane with the small pink strip and the pony that has the mane.

"That hair. Are you some kind of Twilight cosplayer?" asked one boy.

"Dave, she just appeared out of nowhere!" Cecilia replied. Right after, another boy deduced, and came up with another conclusion. "Dave, I think that this is really Twilight Sparkle in her human form," he said with a muzzled voice. "She looks different than I imagined."

"Wait. She just appeared here? She used Teleport! Yes! I don't care if it's a hoax, I'm declaring you Twilight!" David went estatic. "Quick Mark, ask her a question!" Twilight put her hand over her face in dissappointment, but not before looking at the other two kids in the background.

The first kid was a boy. His skin color matched all the other kids around Twilight: white. The boy wore a light gray t-shirt accompanied by a goldenrod vest mounted on top of the shirt unbottoned. He had brown pants that went all the way down to his shoes which were black. His eyes was a clear brown and his hair firmly pressed beneath his goldenrod cap that he wore backwards. He stood behind David.

The other kid was a girl. She had a cerulean t-shirt paired with teal pants and black shoes to finish. Her eyes were also brown like the boy next to her. Her hair was flat almost featureless except the two short pigtails that sprouted from her black hair. She stood behind Mark.

"Is that seriously Twilight Sparkle from the show?" The boy behind David asked. David turned around disgusted as if the question disheartened him.

"You got balls to ask that Tyler!" David angrily responded almost shoving Tyler. "No it's not Twilight!" he continued sarcastically.

"Are you sure?" Tyler asked right back.

"Grr... Of course it is you butthole!" David answered.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm kinda in a hurry," Twilight interrupted.

"What's the rush?" the girl behind Mark inquired. Before Twilight could answer, the figure appeared from an alley. The figure looked at the group, and only Twilight took notice of the figure as the children were hyped in the moment of meeting Twilight.

"You!!" Twilight exclaimed at the figure. "You're not getting away from me again!" By that time, the children turned to the mysterious figure. Gary was the first among the kids to lash out as he usually does to a complete stranger.

"Who are you?! What the hell is this coming to?!" Gary asked the figure, but the figure did not answer. At an instant, Twilight finally let loose and dashed towards the figure without any concern for children safety by shoving the girl in the cerulean shirt to the ground. The girl fell with a thump, and Tyler rushed to her side.

"Melissa!" he shouted as the helped her back up; Melissa payed no attention to Tyler's aid. She already had her attention to Twilight in pursuit of the figure. Intense magic radiated from both her hands, ready to blast away at the figure. Once again, the concealed person fled, ever nimble and evasive.

"Oh no you don't! Your not getting away this time!" shouted Twilight as she blasted the figure with magic, but he simply evaded them all. She continued her pursuit, more determined than ever to capture him and bring him to Celestia; she payed no further attention to the children and ran off. David began to chase Twilight.

"Wait!" David said desperately waving his arms to get her attention. "I need to ask you things!" He ran after her.

"I'm not done with you Nate Cramer!" Gary said with his teeth clinched as he shoved Nate and Cecilia aside; he ran after Twilight, compelled to lash out at her more as he usually does to a complete stranger.

"Come back here Gary!" Cecilia shouted as she chased Gary. Soon after, kid after kid began to run after Twilight for different reasons, and Twilight payed no attention to any of them. Mark grabbed Nate and in impulsive behavior, dragged him.

"We gotta follow them!" He exclaimed to Nate with a muffle that Nate could understand. The two chased after the kids already chasing Twilight. Only Tyler and Melissa were left. The two looked at each other and then at the running children. For a while they stood at the same spot and looked at each other, trying to comprehend the even that just unfolded.

"I'm serious, did that she just blast magic from her hands just now?" Tyler asked.

"I think it was," Melissa responded.

"Should we follow them sis?" he continued.

"No way! After she pushed me like that?! I'm going home!" Melissa shouted in anger. She started to walk the away from the action. Tyler followed her. They kept walking, not talking to each other which was very unusual about the two as they would always talk about their experiences whenever they would walk home.

Meanwhile, the other group of kids, led by Vender, walk towards the site where Twilight was last standing, in southern Stoneville, confident to find her. All of a sudden, something startles Vender. He puts his pointer and middle fingers from his right hand on top of his head to focus.

"She's on the move. We must hurry," he said to the group. "She's about to leave Stoneville, and if she does, I will no longer be able to track her."

"I'm on it!" Relia shouted with enthusiasm. She ran forward not knowing where to go.

"But she has to see that trick! She is not bailing on me!" Earl easily became furious.

"Relia, I didn't tell you to do anything yet," Vender lightly scolded her as he watched her turn a corner. He sighed as he rushed forward. All of a sudden, Relia came running back, alarmed. Flailing her arms, she alerted the group of two children coming.

"Calm yourself," Vender asserted Relia.

"What is it?" asked Erika, concerned with the cat girl.

"Oh me?" Relia responded as she went back to her jovial self. "It's just those two," she pointed at two incoming kids coming their way.

"Is that Tyler?" Ashley inquired. She glanced to inspect some more. Coming towards them in casual speed was Tyler and Melissa. Melissa was leading the two, a little grumpy after Twilight's shove. Tyler looked at the group of kids coming their way.

"Sis, look! It's them!" He pointed at the group. Tyler rushed forward to meet them. Only Vender walked to greet them.

"Tyler? Melissa? What are you doing?" Vender asked.

"Going home!" Melissa shouted.

"How come?" Vender continued.

"We've had an encounter with Twilight... or a cosplayer?" Tyler inserted himself with uncertainty.

"She was there?!" bursted Earl. He barged towards Tyler and Melissa, demanding to know where she went. Vender halted him before he could reach the two.

"Tyler. Melissa. Come with me if you want to see Twilight Sparkle. Trust me, she is very real, and I know where she's headed," Vender assured Tyler and Melissa.

"Yeah. It's a once in a lifetime chance to meet her!" Earl added. Tyler and Melissa thought a while. Deep down in both of them, they really did want to see more of Twilight. Tyler was the first to answer.

"Fine, I'll come. But only if it means denouncing the cosplayer!" he said.

"Grr... Fine!" Melissa followed. She only agreed to come because of Tyler. Whatever he does, she is usually there to follow him.

"Then it's settled," said Vender in satisfaction. "Everyone, follow me. I believe Twilight Sparkle is about to head out of town, and if she does, I will not be able to find her anymore," he continued urgently. He pressed on as the group trailed in his stead.

"So what happened to you guys?" Erika became curious. "Did you really encounter her?"

"Yes... yes we did," Tyler said in confidence. "And I want to have a picture."

Vender's group was now in hot pursuit for Twilight along with the other group of kids. They turned to the corner where Tyler and Melissa appeared and kept walking in urgency in the dirty streets of southern Stoneville. Their excitement for meeting her only grew more now that Tyler and Melissa told them what occured. They eventually reached the very edge of town, where civilization and wildlife meet. Beyond the town was a large expanse of woods, much like Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. In front of the group was a trail of soft dirt, flattened with footprints. Vender took off his eyepatch concealing his left eye. Orange rays burst forth to analyze each footprint.

"Do you have to scan everything?" Earl impatiently asked.

"I have to see if I can recognize these shoeprints," Vender answered. "Oh... a match. I have confirmation that David, Mark, Cecilia, Gary, and Nate are ahead."

"Those were the guys who chased Twilight and that hooded guy," Tyler remembered.

"Then let's go after them. I know they're hot on Twilight's trail," Ashley added.

"Twilight's starting to blip out on my built in map function. We need to get moving," Vender spoke in haste.

"What are we waiting for?! Let's go already!" Earl yelled.

"I'll lead the way!" shouted Relia. She jumped in excitement as she ran straight into the unknown woods. Vender shrugged and sighed at Relia as he followed.

"Stay close," Vender cautioned everyone else.

The group, one by one, entered the woods, knowing that somewhere, the hooded figure, Twilight, and the other group of kids were there. They ventured deeper and deeper until their bodies became silhouettes in the forest's backdrop. After a few more minutes into departure, they dissappeared completely.

Comments

[ParkourPoniesAndPBJ]

Looks exciting! Can't wait to read when I wake up tomorrow! (first)