My Little Pony

‘They’re all stone,’ commented Marcus. ‘The only reason the main road looks like gold is because it’s constantly maintained; it’s gold-plated rather than the real thing. A bit like this whole place, really.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Nothing has been the same since Elvis disappeared.’

‘Lemme go,’ squawked George, suspended by the neck from Daisy’s grasp.

Daisy looked down at the duck then lifted him to eye-level.

‘My union’s gonna kick your arse, lady,’ George wheezed, fighting to get his voice past Daisy’s grip. ‘The last idiots to kidnap a union member ended up double-jointed!’

‘I like ducks,’ she said with a smile.

‘Fuck off.’

‘Especially with baked potatoes.’ She widened her grin to something truly scary.

‘Hey! You’re the bint the king’s after,’ he said, suddenly recognising her. He slapped a wing over his bill; he hated potatoes; all carbs and no substance.

Marcus, glanced back to see what was going on. ‘You should let him go. He’s trouble.’

‘Crap! The fuzz,’ screeched the duck, flapping his wings madly. ‘Lemme go! My union finds out I’ve been associating with the filth they’ll do something really unpleasant! To me!’

They passed a barrel of rust-crusted effluent. Daisy extended her arm and opened her hand.

‘So when did you join the force?’ asked Daisy, ignoring the squawking in the near distance. The duck was going mental.

‘Not long after we lost Elvis,’ said Marcus. ‘Look, you know all this. I went away, remember?’

‘Ah, yes,’ said Daisy without confidence, thinking hard about the ramifications of this information. Elvis was fine the last time she saw him. Maybe this meant she had jumped up to the next level of existences? It certainly fitted the facts: Fantasy world, no evidence of BSD or Sisterhood… sitting on a horse she used to share a flat with and four weeks out of every five, vaguely fancied.

‘I blamed you for a long time,’ said Marcus after some thought.

‘What? Why?’