I met up with Blake and Yang just outside Rarity's store, catching the tail end of an argument.
"-just saying, I don't see why Weiss has to drag us here," Yang said. "She knows we're spending the day with Cinder and Emerald."
"I didn't say otherwise," Blake replied. "I just said you could at least keep the complaints to yourself."
"Have you met me?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
The two were in front of the store wearing their usual outfits as I walked up to them. "You two talking about how Yang can't keep her mouth closed to be polite?"
"Yeah," Blake replied. "So, you have a plan for our day out, or are we going to have to improvise?"
"I think," I said, "we should wait for Emerald to see if she has any ideas."
"Yeah, Blake," Yang said, the snark obvious in her voice. "Be polite and wait."
"Hello, pot."
"Go to hell."
"You know, at the rate you two antagonize each other," I said, "that'll be where you end up." Yang deadpanned at me and opened her mouth. "Make that sentence and the first stop we're making today is the hospital."
"You're forgetting my aura would be able to take it," she said.
"Oh? You mean like that time you let Lilly nipple pinch you when you said you could take it, and we heard your scream from across the street?" Yang reddened at that.
"Th-that was before all of this and you know it!" she shouted. A few seconds of silence passed before the three of us chuckled.
"Good to see you three are cheerful," I heard Emerald say from behind us.
"Something wrong?" Blake asked.
Emerald sighed. "That easy to read? Try I went to Applejack's farm to see if I could get some cider for our day out, but Applebloom and her friends were there, and they figured they would get their tramp stamps by capturing me and becoming "Cutie Mark human catchers". Ignoring the fact I'm black and the history that entails, it made me a little mad."
"What did you do?"
"Made a Timborwolf think their wagon and scooter was a Timberwolf puppy."
"As long as no one was harmed," I said.
"Just the timberwolf when Applejack bucked it into a cliff face," Emerald replied. "So, what are we doing for the day?"
"No damned idea," Yang said. "There any good clubs in town? Preferably those with a bar?"
"You aren't Qrow, Yang," Blake said.
"That doesn't mean I can't have a drink."
"Is there a karaoke bar in town?" Emerald asked. "I always wanted to go to one."
"There is that one DJ," Blake said. "What was her name?"
Yang snapped her. "I know her. Yeah, the place she works does karaoke."
"Then I guess we're going there," I said.
"Woo!" Yang yelled. "Let's go!"
"Do you even know where it is?" Blake asked.
"Yes I do. Onwards! To singing and getting drunk!" This was promptly met with three facepalms.
Canterlot
Celestia stood on the balcony connected to her room, this hour being the only one she had to herself on normal days. "Are you sure?" she asked someone.
"Yep," Lone said as he stepped up beside her. "We have the Acolytes in Ponyville making sure to keep an eye on them." The black unicorn stallion looked at Celestia out of the corner of his eye. "Are you sure?"
"As sure as I can be," she replied.
"I thought we agreed no cryptic answers between the two of us."
"With the fact we lost contact with the observation team up north just a day before Cinder arrived," Celestia explained, "I would rather be safe and have her and the others humans under observation than have them be the vanguard."
"Of course you would," Lone said, rolling his eyes. "Well, I've got to head south, so i'll talk to you later, princess. Don't banish anyone while I'm gone."
Celestia smiled a little. "And you'd better not get hit with dark magic again," she said as Lone turned around to leave.
"Yeah yeah."
A second of silence before, "I'm surprised you haven't revealed it to the others yet."
Lone was silent for three seconds. "No reason to," he said. "Besides, if the public knew? Well, look at how most of Ponyville reacted to a single zebra. If that's an indicator for most of Equestria? Yeah, I'd rather not have idiots calling themselves demon hunters coming after me."
"And if I were to officially give you asylum? Even if you are officially a citizen."
"Conspiracy nutjobs would say I'm controlling you," Lone commented. "Nobles especially. Much as I want an excuse to kill them, I'd rather not leave Equestria weak if he is coming back. I'll post a few cells up north. Let you know if anything comes up." With that, the creak of a door was heard before it closed, and Celestia was left alone with her thoughts.
If they are here to help, hopefully they'l be able ot bring him back.