//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: "They call me, Thi Billet!" // Story: Primordial Conflict // by Jumping Jack //------------------------------// "They Call Me Thi Billet!" Having dropped off my hoodie to the dry cleaning pony, I had totally forgotten that my courier uniform was also in the dry cleaning. Trading the pony, I went ahead and put it on immediately, brushing a fake sweat from my brow, finally back into clothing. I do't know why ponies here never wore clothes. I guess they must be pretty trusting with their community as well as each other. Strange how things usually turn out, even during those "times of the month". I sighed, feeling more depressed as I had thought this. 'I wonder what she has been up to this entire time.' I wasn't talking about my friend that had shown up out of the blue. I trotted out of the dry cleaning and made my way down the road, arriving at the Ponyville Express. While martial arts tournaments were bringing in the bits, painful as it may sound which I whole heartedly agree, I didn't want to just survive my life by just beating up ponies. If I was to live in Ponyville, I had to play my part. Everypony else did, and I didn't want to be an exception. And that's why I became a courier pony. I get to deliver letters and packages to the denizens and I get paid to do so. A win-win in my book. It is also an excuse to get out of the house. Heh, funny how it seems like I've been avoiding my house more than the ponies here. But that is just me being nitpicky. In all honesty and I have stated this before, I hate not moving around. Clocking in and trotting over to the counter, I was greeted by a cute wall-eyed pegasus. "Hi, Quiet! Ready for another exciting day of mail?" I gave a small smirk. "Of course, Derpy. When am I never ready?" the pegasus, Derpy Whooves as they called her, was more than surprisingly enough the employee of the year almost every year by the Express. No pony works as hard as her and that was something I can admire in a mare. Of course, our boss does have a little tolerance of her -ahem-... clumsy demeanor. She isn't that bad of a pony. Hell, I don't think this pony knows the definition of "bad". Lucky her. Ignoring the spiteful voice in my head, I looked around. "Aren't you supposed to be doing the rounds today?" I asked. When she isn't behind the counter for an hour, this pegasus would be flying almost all over the place. From Ponyville, to Cloudsdale, Derpy could do it all. Derpy smiled. "Oh, right. I've been meaning ask." She tapped her hooves bashfully. I arched a brow. "I have a teeny-wheeny-itty-bitty-tiny favor to ask of you." I leaned coolly on the counter and gave her a cool smile. "Hit me." I said. Derpy balked. "Oh no! I would never do that! Why would you want somepony to hit you!?" she asked, the worry clear in her voice. I waved my hoof, dismissing her assumption. "Oh no. It's just an expression. It means that... You know what? Nevermind. What do you want?" I said, hoping to not scare the mare with my "puckish rogue" like lingo. Derpy smiled. "Oh phew. I'm glad you don't feel the need to have somepony hit you. That would have been terrible!" You have no idea. Again, I ignored the voice and pat my hoof to my chest. "If it was the case, I'm a tough mare. So, what do you want to ask me?" Derpy beamed. "Oh right! Almost forgot." She went to tap her hooves together bashfully again. "I hate to put this on you since I know you are going to be busy. But do you think you can..." she hesitated. "Err... 'cover' my shift for just today?" It was my turn to give her the surprise look. "Huh, it must be serious if it is you asking that." Derpy bowed her head. "You see it's... well...¦ it's my daughter's birthday today and she has been so looking forward to spending the New Years with me and the Doc. So... oh I hate to be a bother... Y-you know, just forget I said anything." I sighed and gave her a reassuring smile. "Go see them. I don't mind covering for you." Derpy perked up. "Really? Don't you have somepony to go back home too?" she asked. I pretended to act like I was thinking of somepony. The thought of my friend who is probably getting wasted on my couch popped up. I then shrugged. "Not really. I need the extra hours anyway. This will be a good chance to finally get in the opportunity for a raise." I was suddenly lifted up in the air into a very, very, very tight hug by the mare. Her cheek nuzzling mine. "Oh thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! I promise you, I will bake you the best muffin bouquet ever!" I gave her my best smile I could, feeling the air starting to leave. "That's... okay... I already... ate breakfast... urk!" The painful sound I emitted made Derpy let go of me, giving me a sheepish smile and dusting off my uniform. "Eheh... sorry." I straightened myself and gave a small salute to her. She returned it before clocking out and hovering out the door. I stepped behind the counter and began going through the tedious routine of organizing the mail. This job usually consisted of two ponies organizing while three were out delivering letters. But since it was still the New Year holiday for Ponyville, those who didn't have families or anything "special" to do slaved away to hardly any business. As for the Express? Well, we do get holidays. But me and Derpy had volunteered to work. I guess she must have forgotten that she promised her daughter and I was the only one to come in. Busily shifting through the letters with my magic as a means to help me move letters around, I glanced over my shoulder, seeing the once busy Express to hardly anything to disturb me. Again, I felt the small twinge of envy come back to me. Ignoring it, I decided to focus more on the organizing while I contemplated on how I should handle my friend back home. Thi Billet was one of those friends that would be considered "rough around the edges". She's a good pony, works hard, makes friends and is pretty respectful to ponies she enjoys. But that would always be buried by her rebellious nature. She hated being told what to do, and she would butt horn to heads with our professors at the CSGU. Slacked off from her studies, slept in class and always skipped out Mr. Copper's lessons on dragon species. Her only interests in architecture, geology and relic research. She was indeed rough around the edges. Only having a small group of friends who tolerate her, I always figured she was only out to get attention. And when I came around, she decided to one up me with a greeting that made me wince. She spat on her hoof, held it out and smiled. "They call me Thi Billet. Your one way ticket to getting you on your way to being the best of the best of CSGU." "Oh, go stuff your horn in Copper's toupee, Thi." One of her friends called out. A strange looking stallion that was handsome, but seemed a little older to be studying under Celestia. Thi snorted and waved a hoof to dismiss him. "Not like I wanted to greet the new kid. No pony else would." I found these choice of wordings to be confusing. "W-wait? You don't want to greet me, yet you did it anyway?" I asked. I admit, I looked like a total dork back then. Mane neatly trimmed and proper to Canterlot standards, wearing the school uniform and holding a double stack of my class's text books in my leg curl. Thi, however, always wore something punkish. Black leather jackets, spiked jackets, hoof warmers, eyeliner darker than my freshly perfumed charcoal coat. She was indeed the "rebel" to her and her friends. And at first, I was a little intimidated by her when I realized I had to sit next to her in my class. She kicked back in her chair and looked bored as I opened my text books and began scribbling notes. She had this annoying habit of chewing her feather quill when she was thinking. I'm surprised the ink didn't taint her one bit. As our professor greeted us and we went through a small greeting ourselves to the class, I felt myself shudder that I had to stand up and tell my name to the class. I stood up and made a snap to attention pose. "My name is Quiet Fire. I had recently moved to Canterlot from Hoofington. I am studying magic to understand its' properties and explore more of my potential in its' art. I... also had been told to make friends so... maybe?" There was an awkward silence as a bellowing laughter next to me made me narrow my eyes. Thi hunched over, slamming her hoof twice on the table. Our professor sighed. "Miss Billet, do you have anything you want to share with the class?" I arched a brow. I guess Mr. Copper has had his fair share of Thi's rebellion in the past. Which was strange. She looked like a senior than a sophomore. Thi snorted once and wiped a tear from her eye before speaking her thoughts. "O-oh nothing it's just that..." she chuckled. "I'm sorry, I just find it funny that somepony from the Hoof is looking for friends." The professor cocked an unamused brow at her. "Is that a problem? Because if it is, I will send you to our Headmaster and maybe she will sort you out?" Thi stopped laughing and then proceeded to kick back again. "Meh, I was just sayin'. I hear the Hoof is going through a gang crisis." She glanced sideways at me, smirking casually as she did. "Bet it is something else entirely than 'being a goody-two shoe Canterlot elite who wants to make her parents proud' shtick." I was in awe at this pony. Did she just... read my mind? She proceeded to chew on her quill feather as my professor sighed. "Then perhaps you wouldn't mind flunking my class again and being held back for the third time?" Thi shrugged. "That depends. Do I get to hear the rest of what she has to say before you buck me out the door?" This pony... how could I had described her back then? Over the top, no good trouble maker who has a terrible attitude to authority and somehow thinks she can win these arguments through constant practice of ludicrous banter. Our professor growled quietly before looking at me. "Do please humor her? Then after, we shall begin class." He looked at Thi. "Without the distractions." I glanced cautiously at the ponies who were murmuring to themselves. From what I could gather in the short amount of chatting I could pick up on, Thi Billet has been the talk of the entire academy. One of the ponies whispered to his friend stating that Thi Billet was also the cause of a very drunk Princess Celestia. Apparently, she had intentionally spiked a punch drink to one of the professors she wanted to get back at and didn't realize she had poured it into the Princess's own drink. Before she could do anything to stop it, Celestia had sipped the whole glass before the intro ceremony and began swaying in her posture and slurring her speeches. I could only imagine the amusing and bible bashing reactions that were erupted afterwords. Eventually, somepony ratted out Thi Billet when the news got out about the princess being drunk at the ceremony and they immediately cleared up any misunderstandings. By having a very scared Thi Billet dragged by the Canterlot guard and thrown at the hooves of the princess and was intimidated to apologize herself for the act. I hummed in thought before continuing. "She is right. Not only do I want to practice the art of magic and study it. I also want to follow in my mother's hoof prints of being a general to the Canterlot guard." That seemed to cause even more murmurs. I even saw Thi cast a suspicious glance. I felt the nervousness catch up to me. Did I say something wrong? And why was Thi giving me this "I-doubt-you-are-telling-the-truth" look. It was the truth back then. It's what my parents told me when I was a little filly. That one day, I would become an amazing inspiration to the Canterlot people. It was a charming thought at first. But then I began to have my doubts. And it all started when Thi Billet walked up to my lone table during lunch period and sat across from me. I shrunk a little and tried focusing on my food. But the mare was insistent on looking at me with a judging expression. After taking the last bite of my buttered daisy sandwich, I finally sighed and looked at her. "Can I help you?" I asked. Thi rubbed her chin. "That depends. Do you think maybe you should just out right tell another big fat lie to sate my curiosity?" she replied. Again, the choice of words were confusing. "What?" Thi gave a small hoof wiggle at me. "Are you really from Hoofington?" she asked. I cocked a confused brow. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" I asked. She suddenly beamed and pointed at me. "Aha! That's the proof I needed. Then I bet you wouldn't mind helping me with something?" she asked. I looked hesitantly at her. I didn't know what to do. Should I deny her request? It was the logical thing to do. But I didn't want to get on this pony's bad side. Oh goddesses, what should I do?! Thi waited patiently for my response. I glanced past her and saw the other pony's looking at us suspiciously. I gave in to peer pressure and sighed. "A-alright?" I said. Thi smiled more. "Great! Listen, I am in need of some extra hooves for a throwdown I'm going to be hosting." I balked. "Wait what!?" Thi quickly put a hoof to my muzzle and made a shushing motion, looking behind her to see if anypony was listening. Fortunately, no pony wanted to make eye contact. She sat back down and removed her hoof from my muzzle. "Look, I know it may seem sudden. But I can guarantee you that it will be painless. I just need a backup pony to... what's the word... intimidate?" I glared at her. "You honestly expect me to get into a fight on my first day here?" Thi shook her head. "You see, that's what I am trying to avoid. If I can find back up with some form of toughness behind her, I can avoid it entirely. I just need to know if I can really trust you back." I snorted. "How interesting considering you were the first one to offer. Even if I come from a tough neighborhood, what makes you think I want that life here?" Thi smirked. "Because you didn't run away from me when I greeted you. That right there told me you had the balls." I blinked. What another confusing choice of words. "B-but I'm a mare." I said a little red in the cheeks at the comment. Thi arched a brow at me. "What? No, it's an expression. It means... you know what? Nevermind. Listen, if I can just get you to vouch for me, we both can walk away and you might even get someponies to not bother you and I can continue to do my own things." I eyed her suspiciously. "That's what worries me." I said. Thi smiled again. "Street wise. I can admire that." I slumped. "Look, Thi. What did you even do that everypony clearly thinks you haven't done already?" Thi rubbed her chin. "Steal Mr. Copper's toupee and glue it on his rear." I blinked once. "Wow, really?" I asked. Thi shrugged. "It's a long shot. But I think I can work it if I juuust angle it right." I don't know what came over me. But I did my best to stifle a giggle. Thi, however, caught it. But acted like she didn't notice it. "I knew there was something I liked about you. I hope that this would be the start of a beautiful friendship." She said. I looked stoically at her. "Easy there, pal. I don't want my reputation tarnished on the first day." I said. Thi cocked her head. "You have a reputation already? Is it 'the biggest dork in CSGU?' or maybe 'the soon to be Canterlot general that may or may not have a PTSD issue later on'?" I don't know why, but again, I did my best to stifle a giggle. After that, we just kind of... hit it off. Of course, I would still focus on my studies and Thi would always copy off of me. Something I entirely expected. And after failing the exam of trying to hatch a dragon egg, something even a small filly can do with ease, I found myself in a very dark and depressing situation. Something that Thi talked me out of. She showed me this bar that she would go to and introduced me to the finest drink ever and a pretty damn fine bar tender mare. Eventually, with the alcohol running through us, I didn't think I would click with anypony in my entire life. Thi is my best friend. She has always been there for me. She was there for me when I had the painful fall out with my family. The depressing break up of my first mare-friend. The second. The third. She would always find ways to bring me back from the brink of solitude. With nowhere to go in Canterlot, I had moved to Ponyville in order to live a more quiet life there. My sister had helped in the move and I was living comfortably and quietly. Of course, for the three years I have known Thi Billet after the exam, I felt empty when she suddenly took a boat ride to some far off place in Equestria and promised that she would keep in touch. And for six years, I had spent a quiet life alone. Checking my mailbox and even getting hired to see if she had sent anything to me. I bowed my head as I stopped at a letter. It was written to somepony. Happy New Year. We wish you the best! I stared at it, feeling the envy come back. I noticed the stamp stating that it was to be in the delivery bag to Cloudsdale. Stuffing it in, I made sure that I double checked that I had everything in order. I looked at the clock and saw the hour had passed by. Once again, contemplation had me do a pretty damn fine job. I then did a double take and withdrew the letter I had in my delivery bag. The address suddenly hitting me. "Cloudsdale!!" I quickly dumped the neatly organized letters onto the counter and shifted through them. It wasn't much, but it seemed that everyone of the letters were addressed to Ponyville. All except for one. An address in Cloudsdale. A sudden dread hit me. "Crap... and I promised I would cover for her..." Defeated, I stuffed the letters back in and looked at the clock. I had to find a way to deliver the letters. Especially to the one in Cloudsdale. Bu... how am I going to do that if I can't even walk on clouds! I bit my lip, struggling with idea after idea of what to do. It then hit me. I dug through the letters again and beamed. To Mr. and Mrs. Namaste. Bringing much joy to your New Years. Namaste. My martial arts coach and nurse. I remember her stating something during one of our training sessions that she had learned to walk on clouds with just a single thought. Perhaps maybe she can have an idea of what to do? I nodded to myself, stuffing the letter back in and strapping on the bag. I trotted out of the Express and began my daily routine of delivering letters. With the exception of the Cloudsdale one. ~~~****~~~ Shivering again at the cold wind of January, I made my way to the last destination. Trotting up to the mailbox of a small cottage, I opened it and stuck the mail inside. The design of the mailbox was cute, if not cringe worthy. But I'm not one to judge the mailbox. After all, her kid is slowly becoming quite the artist. I dug through my delivery bag, making sure I had delivered all the mail to Ponyville. I dreaded the next thing I was about to do. I stared at the letter with the address to Cloudsdale. The last one for the day. I looked over to the house. I flicked my ear this way and that, trying to pick up any form of noise coming from the house. She probably is just having a quiet evening with her family. I sighed and was about to turn around when I heard the sound of the door opening. I looked back and saw a snow white stallion with a blonde trimmed mane and tail. Dashing out from under him was a little filly bearing the same coat, mane color and eyes. Not long after was a mare who stepped out and closed the door behind her, glancing my way and waving. "Quiet Fire!" she called out. I rubbed the back of my mane sheepishly when the stallion and the filly looked at me. "Err... h-hi, Mrs. Namaste." I said as my pretty looking coach slash nurse trotted over to me. Despite a mare for her age, she definitely looked better than most mares I've seen back home. Must be some sort of ancient zebra technique. Namaste leaned over the fence and gave me a friendly smile. "Awww, you poor thing. Working on New Years? Don't you have somepony to be at home with?" I looked at her, seeing for any signs of realism in her question. Of course, I should have figured when she started laughing. "I'm sorry, pupil. You are just so cute when flustered." I blushed a little. "Errr... eheheh... yeah..." Namaste cocked her head at my response. "Is something the matter?" she asked. I nodded and showed her the letter. Her eyes scanned it before looking me over. "Hmm, you don't look like a pegasus to me. What about that adorable one? That always makes the most delicious muffins?" I kicked my hoof on the snow bashfully. "I err... she wanted to spend time with her family so I promised I would cover for her today." I tried my best to ignore that smile from her. "So, I take it you want to find someway in delivering it considering you lack the parts for a pony." I gave a slow nod in response. Namaste arched a brow. "Well, I'm not sure I can help you." I balked. "B-but I remember you recalling about how you walked on the clouds with just a single thought!" I said. Namaste suddenly burst out laughing. I flushed and bowed my head. I then felt a reassuring hoof on my shoulder. "Quiet, that was just an expression through meditation. You can't really walk on clouds. Unless you know some spell to allow yourself and others to do so. And I don't know anypony who can help you with that either. You ever decided on taking a chariot to Cloudsdale?" I opened my mouth to say something, but closed it. I've been living here for five years and I totally forgot that locomotive wasn't the only means of travel. The sudden realization was so painstaking. I sighed. "But don't the chariot pullers also have an off day?" I asked. Namaste stroked her chin in thought. "The chariots shouldn't be on holiday. They have to pull families around to their destinations. Believe it or not, most ponies don't like walking out in the cold." That was pretty obvious to me on the topic. But then again, I was an idiot for not even thinking about it. Namaste then narrowed her eyes. "Quiet, I know that look. What is the matter? Did something happen to you?" I blinked and looked at her. I then sighed and rubbed my foreleg. "Am I that obvious?" I asked. Namaste gave me a teasing sassy hoof wiggle. "Pupil, please be more respectful of your elders. It's unhealthy to look down upon them." She winked. That kind of made me feel a little bit better. Despite the years, she still has that fire in her. "W-well... do you remember when I brought up about a pony I hung out with back in my CSGU years?" Namaste smiled. "That mare that always got you into trouble with the wrong crowd? I remember when you came to my dojo asking to get better with your at home partial military training due to a fight you tried to avoid with her." She chuckled slightly. "Funny how she just waved away my training. But you, Quiet, were indeed the best I could have ever asked for." Again, I felt my hopes rise a little. I then proceeded to continue. "Yeah... you see... I haven't seen her in six years after she took off. No word or letter of response from her. Just... gone." I snorted sourly. "And then she decides to come back now of all times." I looked at my teacher. "She just knocked on my door, burst her way in and made herself comfortable with my liquor. Not only that, she told me that she was traveling! I mean, I get that you wanted to escape your parents and all the bad stuff, but did she really have to barge in with no form of warning?!" Namaste propped her hoof under her cheek and looked amusedly at me as I vented. "If she was traveling, she wouldn't have even come through here. Ponyville is in the middle of the map! The middle! Do you even know what she tried to pull once she told me about that?" "No clue." Namaste smirked. I continued. "She wanted to avoid the topic entirely and pulled out a baseball bat with an eye in the middle of it! She even assembled a gun in my house! It was like she didn't even want to apologize for the six years of going away!" I began to pace back and forth, putting on my best impersonation of Thi. "Oh hey, Fie! Long time no see! I'm not going to apologize because I'm too much of a badass and too cool of a friend to even say sorry. Wanna see the nifty tricks and relics I've picked up on my traveling? Oh, perhaps crack open a cold one in the morning, because that is healthy for a pony like me! They call me, Thi Billet! Your one way ticket to being the best of the best in Equestria!" I stomped my hoof, groaning in frustration. "She is just so... eeergh!! So ungrateful!" Namaste gave a reassuring smile as I huffed and tried to catch my breath. "Quiet, take a few moments and reflect upon yourself. Tell me, is this mare really all that much of a bother to you?" she flicked the little red flag on her mailbox. "From the times I saw you and her together, you two were practically inseparable. If you really thought she was ungrateful, then perhaps you wouldn't have bothered to let her stay in your house. It's your home and you have the right to kick out any unwanted guests." I shook my head. "But she isn't just anypony. She is my best friend!" I then realized what I had said and bowed my head. "At least... I thought so..." I felt a tender hoof under my chin and was forced to meet the pretty eyes of my teacher. "If you feel that she is no longer a friend, then you have every right to tell her what you think. But it is solely up to you on how you go about it. You may never know. With a mare like her, she is probably regretting having to leave you behind all these years and just wanted to see you. You can give her that much, can you?" I rubbed my foreleg again. "I-I don't know... what if she even cares anymore? She has always been stuck up in her rebellion. Does she even care at all about how I feel?" Namaste smiled reassuringly. "A friend isn't just a pony you argue with. It is somepony that will stop whatever she is doing and take that small amount of time in their busy life to spend a simple moment with you." She then patted my cheek. "You better get started on finishing up your deliveries. Me and the family are going to a New Years after party at Sugar Cube Corner and would really enjoy having you around." She turned to trot up to her family. I sighed and was about to turn away. "And Quiet?" I looked back to see Namaste put a hoof around her husband and nuzzle his cheek with their daughter in the middle of them. "Don't ever be a stranger here. We wouldn't mind having dinner with you." I felt the twinge of envy come back to me. But I ignored it, smiled and waved at them before trotting down the road. I glanced over my shoulder, seeing the three disappear around the corner of a house. You can give her that much, can you? I bit my lip. 'Was I really just being insensitive? I mean, she is guilty on her own part. But I didn't even stick around to give her a shot at catching up. I just told her to bug off and not freeload." I was suddenly dragging my hooves on the snow, feeling the guilt turn to loneliness. 'Why does my life have to go downhill?" I thought. ~~~****~~~ I decided to take a chariot up to Cloudsdale. I was surprised to see how busy they were today. New Years with the family must be busy in itself. Ignoring the nipping envy again, I trotted up to the booth pony and held up the letter and paper work showing I was under oath with the Express. She looked it over before directing me to the chariot leaving to Cloudsdale. Without any hesitation, I got on the chariot and told the pegasus the address of where I wanted to go. He then took off (with me holding on for dear life at the rough take off) and we soared high into the sky. I found myself being warmed by the small arcane fire gem emitting heat. Gem technology was pretty nifty. There were so many properties that you could use for them. There was even a pony with a rockterate stating in an interview magazine that you could probably rule all of Equestria with the right stone. Thankfully, any stone that was deemed a threat to Equestria was contained and kept under tight lock and key. Magic may make this land what it is. But it could also potentially destroy it. It makes me wonder if we were put on this land to ensure that conflict could be resolved through diplomacy and action. Shrugging off the thought and thinking I had read too many fantasy books, I shifted through my saddle bag. I was surprised that even though I had completed today's deliveries, I finished them in record time. I probably might even get to go home earlier than expected. But of course, I had to file paper work and that takes an hour in itself. I pulled out a small flask of water, taking a cool swig of the refreshing beverage before looking ahead and seeing the glorious pegasi city in the clouds come into view. The Olympian like houses and pillars donned the cloudy streets on both sides. We had pulled into a neighborhood. I scanned the houses, ensuring that I could pinpoint exactly the address I was looking for. Pegasi were hurriedly flying to and fro. While we were flying above the clouds, the bright sun warmed me with its rays overhead. In the distance, I could see two factories. A weather factory and the rainbow factory. While the rainbow factory appears to be on the down low, the weather factory was busily pumping out clouds and snowflakes. The chariot suddenly slowed to a stop. I looked to see that we had stopped at the address. It was a house that almost made me think it was a semi-mansion. The pillars holding up the small dome rooms and clouds made it a bit confusing for me to grasp the architectural design. I looked at the mailbox, a cute little design of a heart and wings painted on the side. Aside from that, I did notice a young grey pegasus colt busily messing with a bow and a quiver of arrows. I then saw a lilac colored pegasus mare with a minty green mane and a bow watching the colt as he fumbled with the arrow. "You got it, Rumble. Just ease up on the tension and you'll be fine." The mare said in a gentle voice. The colt, Rumble, struggled before spitting the arrow down and frowning at her. "Easier said than done, Flitter. Perhaps you would care to show a demonstration since you seem to be so confident about teaching me." The mare, Flitter, gave a quirky smile before hovering over to the bow. Standing on her hind hooves, she took the arrow and knocked it in the cuff of her hoof before taking aim and releasing the bolt. It struck true into a cloud. The colt was dumbfounded as Flitter flicked her mane before smirking slyly at the colt. Rumble shook out of his shocked state. "Alright, Miss I-am-a-Wonderbolt-archer. Now quit hogging my Hearthswarming gift and let me try it." Flitter chuckled. "Rumble, it is not gentlecoltly of a young stallion to show grudge to a mare. How are you ever going to get a mare-friend if you always act like that?" she teased. Rumble groaned. "For the last time, Flitter. Fillies have cooties and I don't want to be given whatever disease they have." Flitter arched a cool brow at him. "You'll learn one day, Rumble." The colt ignored her as he continued to fumble with the arrow and bow. I peeled my quiet interest in their conversation and yelped when I saw a pair of violet eyes looking at me. The pegasus arched a brow and smirked. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya'." She stroked her chin as she studied me. "I thought Derpy was supposed to be delivering today." I looked the mare over. She sported the same lilac color coat as the other mare, making me assume they were sisters. But my eyes fell on her mane. It was the same color as a nimbus and it even spiked into a strange style I have never seen a pony with before. But not only that, I noticed a pair of Wonderbolt goggles on her head. I then rubbed my mane, trying to calm my surprised heart. "I uhh... she wanted to spend time with her family so I decided to cover for her." I then held up the letter. "I then kind of panicked when I saw this." She arched a brow. "A pamphlet to an underground martial arts tournament?" she asked. I blinked in confusion before turning what I had in my magic. It was indeed that. I had forgotten that I had it in my saddle bag. But I could have sworn that I dug through my delivery bag. My heart suddenly increased and I felt a touch hot in the cheeks. "Oh no! Not that! I mean I uh..." I cleared my throat, trying my best to play it cool. I then dug through my delivery bag and held up the actual letter. The pegasus landed on the clouds and took it in her wing, reading it over. She then smiled. "Hey, sis! Mom and dad sent us a New Years card!" she called. The mare, Flitter, looked our way and smiled, flying over to us. "Aww, I was hoping they would stop by. But it's great to hear that they are doing well." The pretty cool looking pegasus blinked in realization. "Oh crap! I forgot, wait just a moment!" She took off into the cloud mansion, leaving me to stand there awkwardly in the chariot with her sister. I then looked over to the colt. "Err... cute kid you have there. Is he yours?" Flitter giggled a little. "Oh no, that's just Rumblelane. Me and my sister just foal sit him when his brother is off doing Wonderbolt reserve practices." I gave her my best smile I could manage. 'Well this is awkward.' Small talking wasn't really my forte with ponies I hardly know. But I do recall seeing these two once down in Ponyville. But of course, I was out on delivery doing so and they were pretty much doing their own thing. However, something did strike me about this mare's sister however. I recall glancing over to them as they did stretches in the park. I was more entranced with the way the mare was bent backwards, stretching her back in an arch. I never seen somepony that flexible before. And she did sport an athletic bod along with her sister. These two must be athletes in flyer competitions or something. Flitter then arched a brow at me. "Umm... is everything okay?" she asked. I blinked and looked at her. "Huh?" I said. Flitter pointed to her muzzle. "You eh... kind of drooled a bit." I did!? I quickly wiped my muzzle, feeling the cold saliva brush against my coat. Why was I drooling!? I then scrunched my muzzle. 'Okay, Quiet, get it together. You are better than this. You are a professional courier. You are under oath of the Express. You accidentally mixed up a personal pamphlet for your participation in the tournament and suddenly drooled in front of a pretty cute mare.' I then saw the pretty cool looking pegasus fly back out of the clouds, bearing a letter in her mouth. She held it out and I took it in my magic. To Mom and Dad. From Cloudchaser and Flitter. This mare must be Cloudchaser then... what an awesome name. I caught myself smiling at the name before stuffing the letter into my bag. "Oh, and make sure that gets delivered on the day after New Years. I want to surprise them." Cloudchaser said with a small smirk. Flitter rolled her eyes. "Oh, would you stop trying to be difficult to our parents? They just want to know how we are doing." Cloudchaser looked hurt at her sister. "I am not being difficult! It's just my way of showing love to them." She rolled her hoof casually. "Ya' know... in a tough love from the oldest daughter kind of thing." Flitter frowned. "I'm pretty sure I'm a few minutes older than you." Cloudchaser smiled and brushed her hoof on her chest coolly. "Pssh, not when I won second third place in the seniors competitive circuit. That right there, proved I have the greater time." Flitter gave a vixen smile. "Until you started to slack off and I started getting ahead of you." Cloudchaser shook her head. "Nah, I was just letting the other fliers get a better head start." Flitter rolled her eyes again and seemed just a tad annoyed. "And yet, Rainbow Dash managed to become a Wodnerbolt when you had the full potential of being one." Cloudchaser suddenly looked passive and shrugged. "Meh, what can I say. I felt kind of bad for her." I looked between the two and arched a brow. "Erm... mind if I put my thoughts in the say?" I asked. Flitter and Cloudchaser looked at me questioningly before Flitter smirked. "Certainly. I'm sure my air headed sister could learn a thing or two about not boasting lies." Cloudchaser frowned at her. I leaned on the chariot, propping my hoof on my cheek. "If you have the potential, why not use it to the fullest? I mean, perhaps both of you would have gotten in." Cloudchaser arched a brow. "What's to say we aren't now?" Flitter cleared her throat. "Reserves, remember?" Cloudchaser sighed dejectedly. "Right..." I smiled reassuringly. "I'm speaking this out of personal experience. I thought I was pretty good at military combat when I realized just how much I could have done with proper training." Heh, yeah. Then you went and dropped out of CSGU and tossed the dream of having to follow your mother's hoof prints. Good on ya', hypocrite. The thought made me frown sourly. "Of course... I didn't access my full potential just yet and it made me lose an... opportunity that I could have had." The two sisters exchanged glances. I sighed and stroked the chariot's edge. "What I'm saying is that if you have a dream to strive for, don't just sit by and let it dangle in front of you. You never know when that string it is holding onto will break." The two were baffled. I suddenly realized that I had unintentionally spouted wisdom and nonsense out of sheer habit. My teacher was definitely a sucker for metaphors. I panicked again. 'Dammit, Quiet! What are you even doing talking to two strangers that probably would care less about a damn philosophy! You have a job to do!' I quickly sat up and gave a small awkward smile. "Erm... sorry, I didn't mean to... I just... uhh... gotta get back to work!" I was about to knock on the chariot when Cloudchaser put a hoof on the chariot to stop me. I looked at her and she was smiling. "Hey... that was kind of cool of you to say something like that. Really, if anything, my sister needed to hear that more than I did." She looked over and I followed her gaze. I noticed Flitter darting her eyes in contemplation. I rubbed my mane in slight embarrassment. "S-sorry... I don't know why I wanted to say it..." Cloudchaser shook her head. "Meh, you are not the first pony to randomly give us wisdom. We are kind of used to it by now." Really? I wonder what kind of other ponies had told them something encouraging? But the way she smiled at me, something in the back of my mind clicked. And then it involved my heart rate increasing. Cloudchaser suddenly ducked as an arrow shot over head and struck into the side of the mailbox, piercing the middle of the heart. I wasn't fazed by it for some reason. "Rumble! Watch it!" she shouted sternly. "Sorry! Sorry!" said a panicked Rumblelane. Cloudchaser looked back at me and waved before hovering over with her sister to help the colt who was knocking another arrow. My gaze remained on them as the chariot finally jolted forward, taking off back into the sky. The semi-mansion getting smaller and smaller and the pretty cool mare and her sister vanishing from sight. With Cloudsdale finally behind me, I couldn't help but think to myself wanting to stay and chat with those two for just a little bit longer. This is strange... what is this feeling I am having? It was familiar but it was also... alien. Like something I haven't felt in a long time. Checking the position of the sun, it was almost time for supper. I sighed quietly and propped my hoof under my chin as I stared longingly out to the distant mountain tops. I was feeling hungry and tired. All the cold must be slowing down my body, as I am usually better at staying awake. I then clicked my tongue, realizing another thing I should have done. 'Perhaps after I get back and eat, I should probably go pick up my fight money.' Again, I felt like I was just trying to avoid the house. Is it really the reason? What about your friend? I snorted. 'That's to be decided some other time...' You can give her that much, can you? The voice of my teacher saying this as if she haunting my every thought made me suddenly feel guilty. My conscious was a heavy burden to bear. ~~~****~~~ Finishing up the last of the mail organization and filing the paperwork, I finally decided to close up early and lock up the place. Tomorrow should be the same old busy day at the Express. I headed over to the dry cleaners to see if my hoodie was ready. Switching it out with my uniform, I sighed in relief as the cold no longer brushed against my charcoal silken coat. Throwing on my hood, I made my way down the road and arrived at my house as the sun was just setting. I opened my door and tossed aside my saddle bags, slamming the door and planting face flat onto my couch. Fighting the need for sleep, I took a moment to adjust into the atmosphere of my home and slid off the couch and headed for my kitchen. I opened the fridge and noticed that my bottles of gwynette were running short on supply. I guess Thi helped herself to some before heading off to wherever Celestia knows. She probably already went back off to travel. And you only told her that you were going to work and she should take a walk around town. 'Shut up...' I thought to myself. 'I've had enough guilt trip for today. I don't need my own thoughts to create more problems.' But it isn't my fault you are being like this. It's her, isn't it? That friend of yours is always walking over you when given the chance. Barging into to your house uninvited and sampling your liquor like the good ol' buddy she is. I felt my grip on the fridge tighten and my anger rise. 'Just shut up!' Stop burying your own feelings! It's unhealthy to do so! Just let it all out. I can make sure the world will hear your cries. I grit my teeth. 'I said, shut up!' Do you really think you are better off being alone? That somepony really cares for you enough that they would just take the moment to talk to you? To understand how you feel? No, of course they don't. Because only I know you. I reached in, locked a hoof around a bottle of gwynette and with a loud roar, I turned around and threw the bottle against the wall, shattering the glass and making the alcohol stain where it had struck. "Just shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!!!" I huffed angrily, my thoughts racing with the intention to break something else. I then noticed a stunned pony looking in from the living room. "Uhh... I'll just come back later then." Thi said as she turned. You can give her that much, can you? I balked and called out. "W-wait, Thi!" I said as I trotted towards her. She didn't get far before turning to me. She cocked a worried brow. "L-look I..." I found it hard to gather my thoughts. Thi glanced around the room before seeing the bottle I had plucked from her and she held it up in her magic, shaking the half drunken bottle in my face. She then smiled. "I think it's time we finally caught up." She said. I looked at the bottle and then to her. I don't remember much after that. We probably went through the last of my reserves. But I remember guilt. Apologies. Happiness. Laughter. And most importantly, the feeling of loneliness no longer being a thing for just a split moment. Just the two of us, reminiscing on old times, good and bad. But more importantly, I could recall one thing she told me during our drunken states. "I'm not going anywhere for a long while, Fie. You have my word on that." I then felt sleep and exhaustion catch up as I fell into a comfy soft pillow. I don't remember my pillows making a grunt of surprised pain though.