//------------------------------// // 07 : Secrets & Commitments // Story: The Journal // by TropicalWings //------------------------------// March 6 2012, Tuesday, 9:00 AM The train has covered a lot of ground during the night. All you can see now outside the window is the vast golden desert dotted with green prickly cacti and a few rock formations here and there; some of them were the same size as one of the train’s cars while others were as large as my library back at home. However, none of the nearby stone monoliths could compete with the ones far back on the horizon. Those were giants. Some of them were tall pillars as large as an adult fire dragon while others were large mesas capable of carrying two Canterlot-sized cities on its top. The largest of them all was Mount Buffalo, named for its massive size and its distinct peak resembling a buffalo’s prized pair of horns. Applejack told me Appleoosa was just at the other side of the mountain, at this rate, it would take only take us around one to two hours till we reach the town. Currently, I’m in the the train’s dining car with the others, Rainbow and Pinkie are busy munching down on breakfast while Rarity and Applejack were engaged on a rather tense conversation about how applebucking is better than dress designing and how dress designing is more superior than applebucking. Our meal for the morning was a simple plate of fried eggs and hay strips. Not really my ideal kind of breakfast. I’m more of a toast and tea pony, just like most Canterlotians. Anyways, I’m gonna go start packing up my things; I don’t wanna go on a rush later when we have to leave the train. 11:30 AM We’ve just arrived at the Appleloosan Train Station right now. The train has just come to a full stop and I could hear the sound of steam hissing out at the front. I’ve already gathered up my things together a few hours ago and all we’re doing now is waiting for Rarity to finish packing up before exiting the train. Sweet Celestia, that mare has no idea what the concept of “packing light” is. This is the second time we’re waiting for her this trip. I’m gonna have to go give her a little talk about that later. 1:00 PM I just settled into my room in Braeburn’s house right now. Well actually, I’m sharing rooms with my friends. It’s surprisingly still pretty spacious despite the six of us being crammed in there. The trip from the station was uneventful. Braeburn, naturally, was waiting for us at the train station platform with his goofy, happy-go-lucky attitude as usual. After all the greetings, we quickly started heading to the ranch. I noticed as we passed by that the town looked a lot larger since the last time we came here, there’s even a small (restaurant/diner[?]) nearby. Braeburn said he has a lot to show us here, “Appleoosa’s becoming quite the sight these days” he said, what with all the new ponies arriving here to get away from the rat race of city life. After we’re done unpacking our things, Braeburn’s gonna go give us a tour around the town as promised. Anyways, it is best to know what’s new around here. Especially since we’re staying here for about... a week. The train doesn’t come here much, okay? It doesn’t mean that since the town’s all prosperous now, the train’s gonna come by more often. It takes days to bring a train out here in the desert you know. I had a lot of questions popping up in my head. I slowly stroked the scarf covering the small lump on my neck, completely oblivious to what was going on around me. “Umm... Twilight...” “...Wh-what?” I asked, regaining my senses. “I was asking you to please pass me the salt shaker over there” “Oh, ah, sorry Rarity, my mind was just wandering off” I said, apologizing to her. It was already dark out and we were at a small restaurant in town thanks to Braeburn. Outside, the normally sweltering heat of the desert has changed dramatically, the temperature has dropped and the environment was now as cold as an icebox. “Are you sure darling? Are you sick?” she asked, eyeing me suspiciously. “U-uh... no” Lies. The bite mark on my neck was irritating me, I could still feel a throbbing sensation on my neck. And no one even knows I have it. Rarity continued staring at me, eyeing me suspiciously. “Twilight, Are you sure? Fluttershy could give you some medicine you know...” “Aww, let her loose Rares” Applejack called out from the far end of the table. From where I am seated, she appears to be chewing on some apple-laden appetizer dish. “Ya’ said it yerself; she ain’t made of glass” I saw Rarity pause and looked at me for a few seconds before averting her gaze. “Fine...” “That’s the spirit Rares!” I could see Rarity still cringing from the ‘horrid’ nickname Applejack’s been calling her since this morning. I heard Summerfree chuckling beside me as Rarity went back to eating the small bowl of salad in front of her with her magic. I, on the other hand, am still trying to get used to eating with my hooves; it’s still kinda hard to eat without help from my magic due to my injuries. Actually, I’m finding it hard to walk on my own again. I even need Rarity and Summerfree to support my forelegs while walking as of now. It’s a good thing that Applejack’s gonna go get me some crutches once we get back to the ranch. Speaking of which, Summerfree’s been talking with me and Rarity lately. I guess he finally managed to get out of his shell. Well, for me and Rarity at least, he’s still anxious around the others, especially Rainbow Dash. Figures, what with that pegasi’s brash attitude. “So... Summerfree...” I asked him, trying to change the topic. “Where’re you from?” I could see Summerfree lightly clearing his throat before speaking up “Well, I was born down in Mustangia but me and my family moved to Trottingham when I was around, I think, six years old. Been living there ever since, well, until now of course” Across the table, I saw Rarity’s pupils shrinking into pinpricks as she tried not to spit out the salad she was eating. “YOU’RE FROM MUSTANGIA AND TROTTINGHAM?!” she screeched back at Summerfree with high amounts of excitement evident in her voice. She was practically leaning on the table already and she was a few inches close to spilling her cup of tea on the table. Her face was a scant few inches from Summerfree’s quivering muzzle. Wow, haven’t seen Rarity this unlady-like since, well, never. I turned my attention back to the startled colt beside me “Uh...yeah?” Rarity squealed in delight upon hearing Summerfree’s faint confirmation. “I ALWAYS DREAMED OF GOING THERE!” “Um... where? Trottingham or Mustangia?”asked Fluttershy with a faint voice. “BOTH!” I watched in amusement as Rarity went back to ranting to the frightened colt beside me. “SO HOW’S TROTTINGHAM LIKE? I HEARD THEIR CUISINE IS SIMPLY DIVINE, IS THAT TRUE? HOW DO THE PONIES THERE LOOK AND ACT?” “Oh uh... well Trottingham, as everyone knows, is pretty big. Their food tastes kinda Bridltish. Most of the ponies there are paints and they have this thick snooty accent far heavier than the ones in Canterlot. Mustangia is kinda-” “WHAT’S THE BEST FOOD YOU’VE EVER TASTED THERE. I HEARD MUSTANGS HAVE THE LONGEST EXPECTED LIFESPANS, IS THAT TRUE? WHY DID YOU MOVE OUT OF THERE? WHAT WAS YOUR JOB BACK IN TROTTINGHAM? DID YOU-” “Uh... Rarity, you should go give Summerfree a chance to respond you know” I interrupted. You’re starting to act like Pinkie Pie. Rarity suddenly realized her unladylike attitude and blushed, A LOT. “Oh! uh, pardon me Summerfree, I wasn’t acting myself back there, I’m sorry.” Summerfree chuckled “It’s okay Rarity” when a big plate of pasta was suddenly placed on the center of the table. “Enough talk y’all,” I heard Braeburn call from the end of the table. “Let’s eat!” Rainbow Dash, who was sitting a few seats from me, sighed in relief. “Great, you know I couldn’t live with eating salads” and with that, she threw the lone leaf of salad on her plate behind her, not realizing that she just threw it on a passing waiter. I walked out the door of the restaurant with Rarity and Summerfree supporting me like a pair of crutches. In front of us was Applejack and Braeburn, while behind us were Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. “Welp, Ah gotta say Brae’, you picked the right place to eat; That was delicious” Applejack spoke up. “I agree, the food was very divine even though they’re not my kind of food. those hay strip salad was DIVINE.” Rarity chimed in. Fluttershy and I nodded in agreement. “Awww’ shucks girls, don’t mention it.” Braeburn replied to us sheepily “I’m just glad there was more than just salads there.” Rainbow Dash interjected behind us, a bit of sarcasm evident in her voice. “What say you Pinkie?” We all turned our gazes to the pink mare behind us, only to find and empty space. A few seconds later, Pinkie dashed out of the restaurant doors with over a dozen bags of food with her. We just stared at her with an unamazed face. She looked around in confusion. “What’cha guys staring at?” After around five to ten minutes of walking, we finally found ourselves back in the den of Braeburn’s ranch house. “...anyways Twi’, Ah’ll go get those crutches you need upstairs” Applejack exclaimed to me as we walked in. “Just stay right here with Summerfree and Rarity, okay?” “Sure, Applejack, it’s not like I could actually go anywhere you know” “Right.”and with that, we watched her trot up the staircase, leaving the rest of us in the den. Braeburn turned his attention to the young colt carrying my right foreleg. “Summers, it’s getting kinda late out, do you wanna just go stay here at the ranch for the night instead of going back to yer house in the other side of town?” Summerfree, who looked pretty exhausted, perked up. “A-are you sure? Umm... I hate to be a bother...” The older stallion laughed. “No worries Summers, you’re my cuz’ anyway. You could sleep in Twi’s room with her, as long as she doesn’t mind of course” Summerfree looked back at me with his expectant apple-green eyes. “Yeah sure, Summerfree, I don’t mind.” Summerfree nuzzled me back before the sound of hooves upstairs grew nearer and nearer until Applejack reappeared at the staircase with a pair of wooden crutches on her front hooves. “Hey y’all, what’d I miss?” “Oh, Summerfree’s staying with us at the ranch fer the night” Braeburn chortled happily. “Oh that’s good, it’s pretty dark out already anyways.” She then turned her attention to me. “Here’s the crutches you needed, Twi’. Hope it’s good enough.” she said before handing me the pair of wooden supports. Rarity and Summerfree helped me transfer to the supports before letting go of me. “So how is it Twi?” she asked me after I settled on the wooden supports. I tried shifting my weight on the crutches. It’s quite sturdy, it barely even bended. “It’s fine Applejack, thanks” I replied Applejack smiled at me before turning back to Summerfree. “C’mon Summerfree, Ah’ll go show you around the house.” Applejack exclaimed to him as they both went upstairs along with the others leaving just me and Rarity alone on the room. “...Does it still hurt Twilight?” Rarity suddenly asked me. My mind suddenly went blank “Uh, excuse me?” “I meant that bite mark on your neck, does it still hurt?” “...U-uh... What bite mark?” I answered nervously, a bead of sweat dripping from my muzzle I saw Rarity’s horn glow before something touched my injured neck and a rush of pain hit me. I winced in surprise. “...Twilight, I know you’re lying.” Rarity exclaimed, her face filled with disappointment. I lowered my head in shame. “Darling, we’re worried for your sake. Why didn’t you tell us earlier? Don’t you trust us?” “R-Rarity, I could explain” “Then explain; I’m all ears.” she asked me with a stern tone in her voice. I closed my eyes and stammered. “I-I don’t want you and the others to worry about me more, so I decided to go get some medicine from the first aid kit upstairs and treat the wound myself and not tell any of you girls.” I pulled down my scarf with a sigh and carefully touched the puncture wound on my neck. “It still hurts. I thought the antiseptics I applied on my neck just needed some time before it takes effect” I muttered. “Twilight you’re not acting like yourself; the Twilight I know doesn’t like to keep secrets from her friends.” Rarity exclaimed “Rarity, please don’t tell the others, I beg of you, they’ll freak out and I wouldn’t hear the end of it.” “Twilight...” Rarity muttered and looked at the stairs, probably deciding if she should go make a dash for it and tell the others or not. “Please Rarity. I-I could fix this...” I begged. Rarity grumbled and walked to me. “Ugh, I can’t believe I’m doing this. Twilight, I’m only giving you two days, if that horrid wound of yours doesn’t heal, I’ll be forced to go tell the others” her voice had a lot of doubt in it. I sighed in relief “Thank you Rarity...” Rarity’s face was still filled with worry “Just remember, I’m only giving you two days” I thanked Rarity out in the hallway for helping me get up the stairs with my crutches before going in my room. “Hey Twilight” a voice spoke when I opened the door. I looked around my room and found Summerfree lying down on a mattress laid out beside my bed reading a book. “Hey Summerfree, I could see you’re back from your tour of the house” “Yup!” he answered to me excitedly. “Cousin Braeburn has a really big house!” he added happily. “He even has a cider cellar! How cool is that?!” he rambled. “Yeah, amazing right?” He nodded before talking again. I went along with the conversation, but my mind was somewhere else. It was late already, the moon was high in the sky, bathing the town in its silver light. And everyone else right now is either deep in sleep or is struggling to do so. I was one of the latter. I was too busy to fall asleep. In my head, I was deep in thought. My mind began to wander. Sabotages, weird dreams, and bite marks of unknown origin... something weird is going on here. And I’m not just gonna stand here and do nothing about it. Forget about what Applejack said, I could take care of myself, and I’m gonna go out and investigate this town from top to bottom for answers. No matter what happens.