Silence devoured the house like a hungry beast. Indeed, none of the ponies who had once been part of Twilight's life wanted to break the silence, fearing the purple unicorn would snap at them.
A few glances at her told Princess Celestia that the rest was awaiting for her to make the first move. A small part of her mind cursed the moment, a long time ago, when she had adopted that 'don't-worry-I'll-take-care-of-everything-bad' policy. It was necessary at the time, but still.
So, she took a step forward and spoke, wth everypony's eyes on her.
"We came to, er, discuss last year's events in a more peaceful and diplomatic manner."
Twilight somehow managed to glare a the solar regent, something she would have never even dreamed of doing while under her tutelage. "I don't think there's anything to talk about, honestly."
"I disagree. There are still many unresolved questions between us." The alicorn spoke in a calming tone. This seemed to calm Twilight down, for she only narrowed her eyes and didn't retort.
Celestia continued. "In order to do this in a more efficient way, I have an idea..."
The Everfree Forest had once been a sacred place, when the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters had called it home, and now a feared one, after the banishment of Nightmare Moon and its abandonment.
But even before that, the Everfree had always been considered a mystery, a place of wonders and dangers alike. Manticores and timberwolves roamed freely, along with many other monsters that didn't exist anywhere else.
The most unnerving thing had always been the silence. Everypony who willingly entered had felt the lack of sound as a sign of bad omens, and death approaching in the form of a beast.
That day, a booming voice broke it and dispersed every bird that was close to the source.
"LISTEN TO ME, CELESTIA! I. WILL. NEVER. GO. TO. CANTERLOT. AGAIN.!"
Twilight Sparkle looked through the train window, angrily. That was probably because she was going to Canterlot again.
After her vocal display, she had been as angry as now, shooting down every rason she had to come. And when it seemed like they were finally going to leave her alone, Celestia had brought up the only subject that could have convinced Twilight of returning.
Her family.
Well, not all of it. His brother didn't count.
But her parents and Spike? They were just caught in the middle and suffered the consecuences of a situation which they had no part in. Thinking back, Twilight realized she had been quite selfish. Her vanishing out of nowhere, with her brother, friends and mentor probably not wanting to talk about it, would have probably filled them to the brim with worry. And she hadn't done anything to prevent that.
Her anger was replaced with guilt and she tore her gaze from the window, trying to focus on something else. The unicorn noticed how her ex-friends were looking at her discreetly, as if they were expecting her to snap and attack them.
Twilight felt her guilt swtich to irritation quickly, and with a sneer she made everyone flinch. Turning her attention to the window again, she wondered how her family was. Had Spike grown? Did her mother publish that book she was struggling to finish? Had her dad changed that horrible carpet she hated with a passion?
She could have asked any of her once-friends if she truly wanted to know, but she decided against it. They hadn't said a word to each other since departing to Canterlot, and Twilight wanted it to remain that way. After all, they'd be there in a couple of hours, and she could ask her family herself.
That was another thing. How was she supposed to confront them? For a whole year she had gone missing, and suddenly she came back, saying hi like she was simple back from a school day? No, that'd an insult to them, discarding away their worry like that.
Twilight soon realized that there simply was no way to plan such a thing; she would have to improvise. For a pony who normally based herself in logic and tried to make plans for every situation, this idea was frustating and, although she would never admit it, somewhat scary.
Forcing herself out of those thoughts and back into reality, the unicorn looked at the not-so-distant city. Since she had left the forest, looking at anything related to her past in any way amde her feel alien and lost, like she had been gone a thousand years instead of just one.
Maybe she could ask Princess Luna about it when she arrived. She probably would understand and help her cope with the feeling. That is, if she still was her friend after all.
Would she be angry with her?
No, of course not. What would she be angry about, anyways? She'd be a bit sad about losing one of her friends, but that was it. Compared to the others, Luna would be a piece of cake.
She shook her head as if trying to rid herself of those thoughts. She didn't want to think about the problems she had with her ex-friends right now.
"You okay there?"
Twilight turned her head to see Raindrops, who was looking at her worriedly.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just a bit tired, don't worry." The pegasus nodded before returning to her seat.
For the first time since this whole thing had started, the unicorn let a small smile grace her features. She had a thousand problems, but as always, her friends were by her side. Come hell or high water, they would always be there, smiling and offering their suppport. The mere thought of them made Twilight's heart fill with joy.
Her anger cooled off, at least for the moment. She rested her head against the window and closed her eyes, experiencing a tiredness she hadn't felt before, when fury and adrenaline fueled her.
As much as Twilight would have liked to sleep the journey away, she realized she couldn't, since they were quite close to their destination. With a sigh, she opened her eyes and sat straight again, considering the possibilyty of taking a nap when she arrived at their first stop: her old house in Canterlot.
The train began to gradually slow down as it neared the city. The uncomfortable silence was replaced with the loud noises of the station. The doors opened, and everypony except the unicorn left.
Twilight got up and walked to the doors. For a second she stopped and looked back . She could hide with a invisibility spell, wait until the staff had checked the cart , and leave when it returned to Ponyville.
She sighed deeply, and followed the rest.