Just Human, Chapter 10: Formal Introductions
As Twilight regained consciousness, all was silent around her. A gentle warmth had wrapped itself around her body. She fought back the urge to fall asleep and began to stir.
“Girls, I think she’s waking up!”
Twilight’s eyes opened slowly, to see Fluttershy watching her carefully. She smiled brightly at Twilight as she pushed herself up on her forehooves into a sitting position.
“Oh thank goodness,” was all Fluttershy could utter before Pinkie Pie ran into view and nearly tackled Twilight back down, taking her in a tight hug.
“We were so worried about you!”
A faint reddish glow came in through the window, signifying the setting of the sun. The only difference was where she lay, on a mattress that had been placed on the floor, a blanket half-covering her.
“How long have I been out for?” she asked curiously.
“The entire day, sugarcube.”
Applejack walked into sight, tipping her hat to her. Everypony was right there where she left them, running into view to watch her stand up, and she was happy to return the smiles.
“Ya gave us quite the scare there Twi’, just passing out like that. Could ya try to warn us next time?”
Twilight couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’ll try.”
Suddenly, everypony went deathly silent. A soft noise, the ruffling of sheets, began to come from behind Twilight’s friends. Alex was stirring, using one of his claws as leverage to push himself up. He sat in a position that would be painfully awkward for anything else, using one of his claws to rub his eyes. Everypony else could only stare in shock as the creature they had spent so much effort to keep safe finally woke up.
“Alex!” Twilight exclaimed as she jumped up and hurried to his bed. He turned his head to her as she stood up against his bed, bringing herself to eye-level with him, but he looked at her through squinted eyes, as though he couldn’t quite see her.
“Twilight?”
“Yes, it’s me! Do you remember?” she asked, though she began to worry when she noticed he wasn’t quite looking at her, but rather, seemed to look far past her. She waved a hoof in front of his face, the movement of which he managed to follow with his eyes, but only barely. “Are you okay?”
“Feels like I got run over, but I’ll be okay, I think. Where are my glasses?”
He was wearing glasses? Oh, that’s right! How could I forget? Greymane’s journal said he stored it here somewhere.
Twilight ran to a nearby cabinet, opening several of the drawers before finding the one that had Alex’s glasses in them. Using her magic, she took it out and carefully floated them to him. He flinched from it at first, before using his claws to grab them out of the air and place them on his nose. His eyes seemed to focus on her properly now, giving her a small grateful smile.
“Thank you.”
A shockwave blew a gust of air through the room as the door was thrown open, the magical lock Twilight had put on hit shattered instantly. A bright light shone in through the other side of the door, nearly blinding Twilight with its radiance. It slowly died down as the sound of hooves tapping the floor echoed through the room, a silhouette appearing of a tall figure with a flowing mane like the aurora borealis. She smiled gently at Twilight.
“Princess Celestia!”
“Hello Twilight. I’m sorry I couldn’t be here any faster. I was... Delayed. I see you girls have had to deal with quite the situation in my absence.”
Twilight blushed as she rubbed her neck with a hoof.
“We, uh, did the best we could.”
“I’m sure you did. Is everypony alright?”
Twilight nodded, causing Celestia to breathe a deep sigh of relief.
“I’m glad. This situation has brought enough trouble to Ponyville. The last thing we would need is for anypony else to be hospitalized as well... Which reminds me. I do believe you brought us a guest, didn’t you Twilight?”
She turned her attention to Alex, who stared silently at Celestia wide-eyed, his claws braced on the bed beneath him and his jaw just slightly unhinged. She wasn’t sure whether he was awed or terrified out of his mind.
Celestia began to walk towards him, to which Alex seemed startled. He tried to move, but pain visibly shot through his lower body as he did, causing him to inhale sharply. Celestia stopped in her tracks, looking at him pityingly from a distance.
“I promise I’ll do you no harm,” Celestia spoke softly.
To Twilight’s surprise, Alex looked at her, as though asking for advice. She gently put a hoof on his claw, feeling the muscles tensed beneath his skin.
“It’s okay. She’s a friend. She’s only here to help,” Twilight said reassuringly.
She felt his claw relaxing underneath her touch, letting go of the sheets. She could hardly believe that he placed so much trust in her, despite his fear.
Twilight stepped away from Alex’s bed and gave Celestia a nod, who took that as her cue to try again. She moved closer, making a slow half circle around Alex’s bed as she took in his appearance. Alex remained still, though he followed Celestia’s every move. Twilight noted that the muscles in his jaw were very tense. She wasn’t quite sure how to read that, but she took it as a bad omen. She wasn’t sure how far he’d allow Celestia to go, and she didn’t want to find out what would happen if Celestia stepped over some invisible line.
In a moment that made Twilight’s blood run cold, Celestia leaned forward, bringing herself closer to inspect Alex’s face. Twilight was very afraid now that Celestia was pushing their luck. She had no idea what was considered a personal boundary for his kind, and this may be pushing it too far. Celestia, however, tilted her head to the side a little, as though pondering something.
“Such a strange creature you are...” she said, more to herself than to Alex.
Alex, to Twilight’s surprise, snorted with strained laughter. “So says the magical talking unicorn. With wings.”
Celestia blinked in surprise, before bursting into a hearty giggle.
“I suppose we must be as unfamiliar to you as you are to us. I meant no offense.”
“None taken,” said Alex, though he still seemed quite tense. Twilight couldn’t help but feel relief, however, that Alex didn’t seem to react in an extreme way. From what she’s seen up till now, a couple of frightening scenarios had played out in her mind, and she was thankful that none of them had come to pass.
“My name is Princess Celestia. Do you have a name?”
“It’s Alex.”
Twilight only now realised just how strange a name that was. It could be perfectly normal for his kind, but thankfully, if Celestia found the name as strange as Twilight, she did not show it. From behind Celestia, Professor Greymane stepped into the room, adjusting his glasses slightly as he met eyes with Alex.
“Astonishing... He’s awake. And he speaks too. I would never have thought...”
“Professor, could you look him over? We need to be sure he’s fit enough to be active.” Celestia asked, to which the Professor began examining Alex. He did not have Celestia’s impressive stature, so like Twilight, he was forced to stand up against his bed to get a better look.
“Could you lift your foreleg? No, the left one. Yes, that’s right. Just let me have a look.”
As the professor inspected Alex, which seemed to cause him less stress than Celestia’s scrutinizing gaze, Celestia stepped to Twilight as her friends gathered close.
“I’d like to talk to you girls in private,” she whispered. Everypony nodded and they followed her to the corridor. It was hardly private, but it was outside of earshot of the room.
“Professor Greymane already informed me about our visitor, but I’d like to hear the story from you as well. I know you girls have a had a long day, but do you think you can bear to tell the story once more?”
Twilight and her friends recited the entire story. The strange behavior in Ponyville, each of them experiencing strange symptoms, following Applejack into the woods, all the way up to Twilight teleporting everypony to the hospital. They left some details out. None of them wanted to describe how they found Dash, or how much abuse Rarity had given Pinkie. Eventually, they reached the point where they had locked themselves into the room with Alex.
“So you were sure that Alex was the cause for the strange behavior you saw in your friends?” Celestia inquired. “How did you know?”
“I kept seeing... Things around him. Moving shadows, voices, and when I touched him...”
Twilight looked at her hoof. A painfully vivid memory shot through her of touching the black magical goop that was leaking out of Alex in her vision. The cold sensation that chilled her to the bone.
However, her story seemed to alarm Celestia greatly. Her smile was gone, and she looked into the room where Alex was still being examined by a rather noisy Professor Greymane. Twilight immediately jumped between Celestia and the entrance.
“But it’s okay now! I fixed it. It’ll never happen again, I promise.”
Celestia looked at her curiously. “How did you manage that?” she asked. There was concern in her voice, rather than curiosity.
“I... Uh...” Twilight trailed off as she realised it wasn’t just Celestia, but also her friends that were listening intently. Everypony was wondering what occurred after she passed out. This was, after all, the one part of the story they didn’t know. A moment of indecision struck her. She wanted to tell the truth, but she didn’t even want to think about the sheer madness she left behind. More importantly, she was afraid what they would think off Alex if she told them.
“We... We made a connection. I don’t think he ever meant to harm us. He just really needed a friend to be there for him.”
It was the best Twilight could offer. It was true, in a way, though it didn’t even come close to describing the entirety of events that took place. Celestia continued to give her that curious pondering look.
“Is that how you woke him?
Twilight nodded silently, expecting further probing for answers she didn’t really want to give. To her surprise, Celestia smiled brightly at her.
“Twilight, my faithful student, you continue to amaze me with how well you’ve learned your lessons about the magic of friendship,” Celestia said proudly.
It took a moment for the compliment to sink in, causing Twilight to blush when it did. “Thank you, princess,” she replied, bowing her head just slightly.
Celestia turned her attention to the entire group now. “Now girls, whilst I would love to formally welcome Alex to Equestria, the professor and I had a chat, and we believe it may be for the best if we move Alex to Canterlot.”
“But why, princess? Isn’t Ponyville safe?” Twilight asked.
“For a number of reasons. It’s where foreign dignitaries normally go for diplomatic purposes, and we’ll be able to provide him with everything he’ll need to recover. Considering that we have no idea what his species requires, it’s more prudent to go somewhere where we can tap into as many different resources as possible. Also... You may wish to look out of the window.”
Twilight raised a questioning eyebrow, before she and her friends hurried to a nearby window. Outside she could see the entrance to the hospital, and a good length of the road leading into the town. It was absolutely packed with the townsfolk, who were muttering amongst themselves.
Half the town must be out there! Twilight thought.
“I’m afraid we weren’t able to contain information regarding the creature’s stay here,” Celestia spoke from behind the group. “Some ponies got wind of a ‘strange creature being admitted,’ and well... You know how fast news travels. Considering everything Ponyville has gone through lately, I’d really like to try and avoid causing any further panic.”
“Are you sure he’s fit to travel, princess? I mean, his leg...” Fluttershy said. It struck Twilight that Alex was still quite injured. With that leg of his, she was sure he wasn’t going to be walking for quite some time.
“Indeed. It’s best if we let the professor decide if he’s able to travel.”
Before they could even move, Professor Greymane left the room to join them in the hallway. He nodded a quick greeting to the princess, before levitating a napkin to dab his forehead. It was hard to tell whether he was actually dabbing sweat from his brow, or whether it was some nervous impulse that made him do it.
“He’s stable. Better in fact than I expected. He’s certainly not the most friendly patient I’ve ever had, didn’t say a word while I examined him. However, he’s awake, alert and not in any immediate discomfort. The only thing we need to worry about is his leg, which I fear is the issue. It’ll be a while before he can walk again. Thankfully, I’m sure that he’ll make a full recovery.”
Twilight was glad to hear that Alex would be alright, but the knowledge that he didn’t immediately get along with Professor Greymane left a sour taste in her mouth. It wasn’t beyond what I should expect, she thought, but it still worried her.
“That’s good news professor. I shared our plans with the girls. Do you think it’s a good idea to move him?”
Greymane furrowed his brow as he thought, thinking his reply through thoroughly. It was clear he did not want to make a bad call. “It’s hard to say, your highness. Our knowledge of his species is unsatisfactory at best. How fast they recover or how prone his injuries are to worsen under stress are anypony’s guess. It may be worth the effort of asking him personally.”
“I’ll ask him, if that’s alright with you princess,” Twilight said. “He already knows me, so I’m sure he won’t mind as much if I’m the one asking him.”
Celestia nodded, Twilight taking that as her signal to enter.
Inside, Alex was busy cleaning his glasses on the folds of his shirt. He frowned as he realised the dirt that had accumulated on it only seemed to dull the glass even more.
“So, Alex. You met Professor Greymane?” she asked as she approached the bed. He put his glasses back on before replying.
“I did. He looked me over. Seemed nervous. Didn’t scare him, did I?”
To Twilight’s surprise, the corners of Alex’s mouth drew up to reveal his canines in a mischievous grin. She was pretty sure he was joking. Pretty sure.
“I talked with the princess, and we wanted to move you somewhere else. It’s for your own good, but we’re having trouble coming up with a way of doing without... You know, making your situation even worse. Do you have any ideas you could share?”
Alex’s gaze seemed to wander back to the door opening. Looking back, Twilight could see everypony was peeking in, no doubt unable to hold their curiosity in check. Twilight could hardly blame them, but still, they could’ve found a subtler way of eavesdropping.
“Yeah. Just get me a crutch. I’ll manage.”
“A crutch? That’s it?” Twilight asked disbelievingly. “But your leg. You can’t possibly walk on that!”
“Didn’t say I was going too. Just get me a crutch and I’ll be alright.”
“...Alright.”
Mildly irritated by Alex’s vagueness, she walked back to the group. Professor Greymane was already gone, no doubt getting Alex’s crutch.
“What would he want a crutch for? He’s not considering walking on his own, is he?” Fluttershy asked Twilight, so worried her voice shook a little.
“Would be awesome if he could, but don’t let him go too far Twi’,” said Rainbow Dash. “ I don’t even want to know what will happen if he falls.”
A few moments later, Professor Greymane came back with a whole bunch of crutches, all of different sizes. He put them down, wheezing as he did. The poor professor clearly wasn’t used to carrying that kind of weight around.
“These are all I could find. I’m fairly sure they’re all too small though, considering his impressive stature.”
“I might be able to fix that,” said Twilight as she levitated two of the largest crutches up in the air. Her horn began to glow fiercely, and with a poof, the two crutches merged to form one very long crutch. Twilight looked it over to ensure she managed to merge the materials without damaging them, before walking back to Alex and presenting him the crutch.
“Will this work?” she asked him. He grabbed it from the air, using his claw to tap it on the ground several times, testing if its strength could carry his weight. The room fell silent as he carefully moved his legs off of the bed, one at a time, putting his good one down on the ground to support his weight. He put the crutch beneath the pit of his left arm, and as he allowed his weight to rest on it, he pushed himself off the bed.
Twilight looked in wonder as Alex carefully took a step, and then another, using the crutch as a replacement leg, while keeping his injured limb from the ground. It was strange enough for him to walk on two legs without a tail to help him balance. Now, he was walking on one, hobbling about the room as he tried to adjust. He wasn't doing too well.
“Yeah, it’s fine. Just the right size. So, where are we going?”
It took a moment for the question to register with Twilight. Now that she thought about it, she realised the way to Celestia’s carriage must be blocked by a hundred or more curious ponies. She turned to Princess Celestia, who, along with everypony else, was still studying the strange way Alex moved with his crutch.
“Princess? If your carriage is out there, how are we going to get Alex past the crowd? Anything could go wrong if they start mobbing him with questions, or worse, if everypony panics!” Again, Celestia cracked a proud smile at Twilight.
“Very observant, my faithful student. I’ve been thinking of a few ways to transport him out of Ponyville unseen, but I’d like to make sure we’re choosing what’s best for everypony. Professor? If you’d be so kind to meet with me and Nurse Redheart. I have some ideas I’d like to discuss.”
“Very well, princess. I’ll be in the meeting room when you need me.” His gaze wandered to Alex, and Twilight could’ve sworn he was fighting the urge to smile like a mad pony. “I must say, however, that I’m ecstatic with the opportunity to learn more about his species. This is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery, and the implications–”
Celestia held up a hoof to motion him to silence. “I am aware it’s exhilarating, professor. Just try to keep your excitement contained until we return to Canterlot and have all had some much needed rest, alright? In the meantime, here’s what I’d like you to look at...”
Celestia quickly led Professor Greymane out of the room, leaving Twilight and her friends with Alex. Looking up at him, she could see he was frowning just slightly. He shook his head and slowly hobbled back to his bed. He sat down, taking deep breaths, no doubt his leg still giving him a hard time.
“So...” she said as she sat down next to his bed. It was strange how much height difference there was between him standing and sitting down. “How do you feel about Professor Greymane?” she asked, trying to start some idle conversation.
“He talks about me like I’m his pet labrat.”
Twilight swallowed dryly. The last thing she wanted was to start off on the wrong hoof.
“Don’t worry, the Professor means well. He’s just... Excited, that’s all, and he shows it in his own way. We’ll get you to Canterlot, safe and sound, and then everything will be fine, I promise.”
Alex didn’t respond immediately, but slowly started nodding. He seemed to have something on his mind, even if he didn’t speak it, and that bothered Twilight. Still, the going was good so far.
If everypony works together, we might just pull this off.
A loud “ahem” came from her right. Her friends had gathered in a half-circle around her.
“Twilight, dear, don’t you think you should introduce us?” Rarity inquired while raising an eyebrow. The idea struck Twilight like a hammerblow. After all of this, and she hadn’t even introduced any of them.
“Oh, I’m so sorry girls! Alex, these are my friends,” Twilight said with a wide gesture of her hoof.
“Rarity, charmed,” said Rarity with a polite bow.
“Name’s Applejack,” Applejack stepping forward. She raised one hoof to shake, but pulled it back, unsure of herself.
“Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria!” Dash said with a flex of her wings.
“I’m Fluttershy,” Fluttershy whispered, shrinking under Alex’s gaze.
A moment of silence followed. Twilight looked around, but was missing a particular pink pony.
“Where did Pinkie go?”
“Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie!” Twilight heard behind her. Much to her surprise, Pinkie was already sitting on the bed next to Alex. She had taken one of his claws into her hooves and was shaking it up and down rapidly.
“I’m so happy to finally meet you! I mean, we already met before, but you were asleep so I don’t really count that time! We haven’t even had the chance to thank you for saving us from that huge monster yesterday! I was going to throw you the super-duper-bestest party ever, but if they’re gonna move you to Canterlot first then we’re going to have to delay it! Or we could do it in Canterlot! In fact, we could invite all of Ponyville and Canterlot! You’d be the guest of honour!”
Pinkie stopped shaking his claw, but at that point, the motion seemed to stick and he moved his now empty claw up and down several more times before it came to a halt. He looked imploringly at Twilight, looking almost comically unsure of himself.
“Is... Is she always like this?”
He got a good snicker out of the group for his trouble. Shortly afterwards, Celestia and Professor Greymane stepped back into the room.
“Alex, I believe we have a plan, if you’re ready to move...”
Outside the hospital, dozens upon dozens of voices filled the evening air as the townsfolk chatted amongst themselves idly. It had been quiet these past few hours, even after the arrival of Princess Celestia’s carriage, but there wasn’t a soul who didn’t wonder at the business the princess must be attending too. Curious eyes wandered around shrouded windows, hoping to catch a glimpse of the “strange monster” that supposedly now resided within.
The front doors were pushed open, and a hush fell over the crowd. Princess Celestia stepped outside, drawing everypony’s attention immediately. She cleared her throat, before her voice began to boom, as though through a loudspeaker.
“Citizens of Ponyville, I thank you all for coming here today, and for showing such interrest in the well-being of your town. I’m sure you’re all wondering what’s been going on for these past few days, and I’d like to take a moment to explain it to you all...”
Meanwhile, a door also opened in the back of the hospital.
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Alex asked, his crutch tapping painfully loudly against the threshold of the door before he broke out into the open air. As far as Twilight could see, there were no townsfolk on this side of the hospital.
She could hear the sound of Celestia’s voice coming from the other side of the building. That was their cue to move.
“The carriage is on the other end of the road. There’s no other way to get to it. Just keep your head down and don’t make any noise, we’ll get there before Celestia finishes her speech.”
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy took flight, getting a better vantage point as the rest of the group walked around the building. As they edged towards the corner, Rainbow Dash began signalling them to move from above. The crowd was facing Celestia, thus giving them the opening they needed.
They began to move, Twilight leading from the front, while Pinkie and Greymane flanked Alex, with Rarity covering their backs. It was too much to ask for them to shroud Alex from sight, his sheer height making the effort hopeless, but he was by far the slowest of the group, and this way they’d be sure he wouldn’t be left behind. In fact, he was already panting with the effort.
However, as Twilight turned her head, she could see him eyeing Pinkie in a panicky fashion. Pinkie, as always, didn’t so much run as bounce up and down. She made as little noise as any of them, miraculously, but it was clearly worrying Alex. She wanted to calm him down, but saying anything would risk drawing unwanted attention.
“Will you st-” Alex began, but his attention was so focussed on Pinkie that his crutch failed to find purchase and slid out. Time seemed to slow as Twilight watched Alex falling. Her horn glowed as she pushed with her magical power, trying to catch him from hitting the dirt. Though she managed to steady him, he reflexively put out his injured leg. He found his balance as it hit the ground, but a muffled cry of pain got caught in his throat.
It was just enough to draw the attention of one of the ponies in the crowd standing closest to them. She turned around, gasping as she looked at Alex, drawing yet more eyes in their direction.
“Oh shit,” Alex noted.
Soon, the eyes of the entire crowd were fixed on the small group. Their whole plan was ruined, and ponies were already approaching from all directions, practically surrounding them.
“You... You’re what fought off that chimaera, aren’t you?” one member of the crowd asked.
“He’s huge! How can he stand like that?” another pony asked.
“What are you?”
“Why did you come to Ponyville?”
“Do you want somepony to show you around town? Least we can do for a guest!”
The mix of awed, friendly or even frightful questions began to barrage Alex from all sides as the townsfolk closed in, unable to help their own curiosity. Twilight found herself panicking completely as members of the crowd pushed her aside to get a closer look or ask questions. Alex himself was looking around, trying to find some gap in the crowd he could bolt through, but he was too slow with his injured leg. He just looked on blankly as more and more questioning ponies began to invade his personal space.
Think Twilight, think!
“Mister, mister, sign my stuffed animal!” a small child called out from the crowd as she raised a stuffed pony.
“Will there be an official welcome in town? Sure there’ll be! This is Ponyville after all!”
Twilight was still trying to come up with a way to fix this, when suddenly Alex let out a deep sigh. He bent forward, slowly bringing himself face to face with the closest member of the crowd, a yellow-coated mare with orange curls. Her eyes became as wide as saucers as her eyes locked with his. He cleared his throat briefly.
“Boo.”
The yellow mare screamed in fright, everypony around her joining her, a massive stampede occurring as townsfolk clambered over each other to escape from the sudden terror in their midst. When the dust settled, they were left all alone. Alex had a smug grin on his face, though Twilight couldn’t imagine what was funny.
“Was that really necessary?” she scolded, but Alex didn’t seem overly bothered.
“They’re gone aren’t they?”
“Yeah, but you spooked the entire town!”
“Works for me,” he said as he began to move again. Twilight groaned in frustration. She was sure she could’ve dealt with this better, somehow, if only she would’ve had more time to think, and it irritated her to find him acting so carelessly about what he’s done. Sure, nopony got hurt, but she questioned what would happen if Alex would ever return here from Canterlot. Wide-scale panic is what she considered, like early on with Zecora. The thought darkened her mood, and Rainbow Dash’s snickering behind her didn’t help it at all.
“Oh man, you should’ve seen Carrot Top’s face,” she said, before making a ridiculous impression of the mare’s plight, sending herself into another fit of laughter.
Celestia met them at her own golden carriage. Two extra carriages had been prepared for transport, probably more as a precaution than anything else. Judging from Celestia’s frown, she seemed to be thinking the same thing Twilight did about Alex’s “solution,” even if she didn’t voice it. Professor Greymane stepped into one of the carriages as Celestia turned to address Alex, Twilight and her friends.
“Alright girls, I can’t thank you enough for your efforts so far. You’ve personally prevented an unimaginable tragedy from happening here,” Celestia explained, to which everypony smiled proudly. “I couldn’t possibly ask for more from any of you, so if any of you want to stay in Ponyville, I’ll understand.”
“I’m coming along,” she said as she looked up at Alex. “After all, we’re friends, and friends stick together no matter what.” He nodded gratefully towards her.
Suddenly, Twilight felt Rainbow Dash putting her foreleg over her neck.
“If Twilight’s going, we’re all going, right girls?”
Everypony voiced their agreement. It warmed Twilight’s heart to see them not hesitate for even a moment, despite the weirdness of these past few days.
“Alright then girls. Find a carriage. It’s time to go.”
Everypony had scattered to spread themselves amongst the carriages. Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had joined Professor Greymane in his carriage, while Pinkie Pie and Applejack had taken place in Princess Celestia’s Carriage. Twilight was alone in a carriage with Alex, who had been nursing his leg since he sat down in the carriage. He wasn’t showing much, but she was pretty sure it was still hurting him. Maybe that, in part, explained for his behavior with the crowd just now, but there were already so many uncertainties with him, it was impossible to tell if she was right.
The golden-armored guards at the front of the carriage snorted loudly.
“Alright, we’re about to lift off. Try not to move too much.”
Alex shot her a strange look, like he was looking at a madpony.
“Did you just say, ‘lift off?’”
The carriage lurched and began to move. Alex leaned forward to look out of the window, his eyes growing wide as he began to see the town disappearing beneath them.
“We’re flying! This isn’t possible! How can this thing fly!?”
Twilight already knew this was going to be a long trip.