The neighbors that had known Inhio for years could almost swear that it wasn't the same person anymore. He rushed on past them like a child running for his birthday present, in complete contrast to the man who would just always impassively and slowly trudge up the stairs like a prisoner on death row, and yet, the two looked exactly the same.

After shutting and locking the door, Inhio didn't hesitate to untie his shoes and simply throw them aside with a swift kick, after which he grabbed his precious sphere and jumped into the couch with it. Just as he landed his back on the comfy piece of furniture, he held the crystal ball up above his head and started talking to it.

"So... whose lovely voice will I have the privilege of hearing today?" he said in a playful tone. "Do you want me to guess?" he asked after not receiving a reply for a short moment. "Very well, then... It's Rarity, isn't it? If I recall correctly, we had to cut our conversation short last time." He waited a few seconds before speaking again, "I'm wrong, aren't I? Well, then it's got to be Rainbow Dash, been a while since we've last spoken." Again, there was no reply. "I should have known... Pinkie Pie! Only you could pull off a stunt like this!" Inhio said and laughed quietly as he awaited a voice from the ball to do the same. Alas, there was no reply.

"Still wrong?" he asked incredulously. After a long sigh, he lowered his tone to make it as calm and sincere as possible. "Fluttershy... You know you don't have to be afraid to talk to me, right? There's no voice I'd love to hear more than yours." Convinced that he had gotten it right this time, Inhio waited for more than a full minute before speaking again, "Well, I know it's not Twilight or Applejack. They'd never pull something like this," he said as a last resort.

Hmm... must've forgotten I usually get back home around this time... Heck, I think I actually got back even earlier than usual, this time. He thought to himself as he placed the sphere back on its pedestal. "Guess I'll try again later."

Inhio didn't leave the ball alone for long. After taking care of a few daily needs and donning something a bit less formal, he jumped right back at it.

"Good afternoon... Ready for a chat?" Inhio's wide grin faded away quickly as silence claimed the room, once again. After giving the ball a good shake, he asked again, "Anyone there?" He held the ball up to his ear, hoping to hear even the slightest signs of life, but there was only dead silence.

Must be really busy today... He put the ball back in its place. Oh, well. There's always tomorrow.

Slightly disappointed, but generally still happy, Inhio decided to call it a day. After killing off the spare time he had left and attempting to contact the ponies again after slightly more than an hour, he went to sleep with an authentic smile on his face.

Perhaps we've been talking too often lately. A few weeks without a single day's interval... Yeah, I guess we both kinda needed a break.

Convinced that tomorrow would bring another delightful conversation, Inhio took a deep breath and fell asleep within just a few minutes.

***

Another day was slowly nearing its end, and Inhio was making his way home just as enthusiastically as on the day before. He did, however, tend to his daily needs before reaching for the sphere, this time, just to make sure he wasn't too early. Nevertheless, when he finally approached it, he found it impossible to hide his excitement.

"I know it's only been a single day interval, but I already miss hearing your voice," he gladly admitted and awaited the response that was starting to take way too long to arrive. "I'm talking to myself again, aren't I?" he asked himself, right before he answered himself, "Yep." With a loud sigh of disappointment, he carried the ball back to the pedestal.

I guess a single day long interval just doesn't quite cut it... He told himself in his thoughts. He didn't quite feel like doing anything for the remainder of the day, so he simply jumped into his bed with his hands crossed behind his head and began counting the minutes left before the day was over. Even though Inhio was deeply disappointed by this unfortunate turn of events, he could still rest easily knowing that, sooner or later, he would still get to hear the voices he so desperately wanted to hear.

He kept thinking so until the moment he fell asleep, and even all the way up to the moment he came back home on the next day and got his hands on his beloved sphere again.

"Waaazzzzaaaaa!" he shouted with his tongue sticking out his mouth right as he grabbed the ball. "Sorry if I scared you," he apologized and laughed quietly. As the already familiar silence engulfed the room, once again, Inhio let out a sigh of despair. "You're not even there, are you?"

With another loud sigh, he returned the object to its resting place and reclined in his sofa and began counting the minutes again.

As the days went by, Inhio went to sleep with a different thought in his mind, every night.

Maybe they went on a trip and couldn't take the ball with them?

Maybe one of them left the ball in their closet and forgot to pass it over to someone else on the next day?

I wonder how long until they realize that no one's used it in days?

How long has it been since we last talked? The days have started seeming so meaningless now that I can't even tell them apart!

What if something bad has happened?

What if the link between our worlds is broken?

What if... What if they've gotten tired of me? Tears had nearly begun to form under his eyes after that last thought.

As the days turned into weeks, Inhio's neighbors could recognize him again. He was just the way he was before--impassively trudging up the stairs without so much as a speck of joy in his expression.

Not only did Inhio finish his daily needs first, this time, he barely even took a glance at the sphere until the moment there was already less than an hour of sunlight left on that summer's day, and even when that moment arrived, he approached it with his head hanging low while slowly dragging his feet across the floor. He sat heavily on the couch and started staring at the ball. After a good five minutes, he finally grabbed it, although he didn't begin to speak right away. He stared deeply into it, at first, and after a few more minutes, he began to quietly whisper:

"Twilight... Fluttershy... Applejack... Rainbow Dash... Pinkie Pie... Rarity... If any of you can hear me right now..." He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the sphere. "I really miss you..."

At this point, Inhio wasn't even expecting a reply anymore. Nevertheless, that didn't stop him from hoping for one. He maintained his current position for nearly half an hour before his exhaustion finally got the better of him. Without leaving his couch, he lied down while still keeping his eyes open. No matter how desperate it may have seemed, he still had hopes of hearing Twilight or one of her friends, if only just one last time...

Hours passed, and Inhio couldn't even tell if he ever fell asleep during that time, for there wasn't anything on his mind for the whole duration. Aside from...

Silence...

...

Emptiness...

...

Nothingness...

...

...

...

"Inhio?"