//------------------------------// // Entry 3, Part 1 (... my very best...) // Story: The Poisoned Barb's Tale // by ManlyDerp //------------------------------// ~Dear Diary~ A few days have passed since I last wrote in you. Quite a bit has happened in that time. Conferences were had, plans were made, books were re-shelved, ponies were met, and plenty of well deserved ‘sorry I made you worry, Barb,’ gems were eaten. Dusk and I have moved fully into Ponyville's Golden Oaks Library at this point. I still stand by my earlier declaration that it isn’t much of a home, but I’m sure it’ll grow on me. It’s currently night time in Ponyville, so I once again have the opportunity to write down my thoughts while my roommate, Dusk, is asleep. Midnight in this town is so serene and quiet; it’s nothing like Canterlot. I’m certainly going to have a hard time staying awake, even with a trusty cup of steaming coffee by my side. I'll try my best to press on, however, because I feel it’s important to now note how the results of my meeting with Prince Solaris has undeniably changed this world. Recording these events is the responsible thing to do, and will make things easier to place blame understand what went exactly wrong later when things inevitably potentially go south. So then, with that said written, let’s pick up where we last left the previous entry off at. As I recall, I had just shared with the Prince my knowledge of the next major villain coming up; Discord. Without a single word more shared between the two of us, the secretly one-eyed stallion acknowledged me by determinedly nodding his head and swiftly departing for Canterlot. The act was all I needed to see to confirm that he knew exactly what I was referring to. It would take a full day before I was granted the opportunity to speak to him about it. He had many other obligations to attend to, due to his disappearance and his brother's sudden reappearance, so the wait was to be expected. I’ll disclose the results of our meeting in a little bit; before this entry is complete. Firstly though, please allow me to share with you, my secret diary, how I made it back to Canterlot in the first place. The journey involved a few new faces, along with plenty of old. ◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠ “... we quickly learned that we were in for a fight! Each and every one of us were ready to throw down, so you know that Manticore didn’t stand a chance!” animatedly retells Rainbow Dash to the gathered crowd before him, here at Sugarcube Corner. This has got to be, like, the tenth time he’s retold the entire Everfree Forest story by this point. Despite this, he’s still telling it just as excitedly as he did the first time. “That’s when Butters; quiet, sweet, not-so-little Butterscotch, yelled at us to stop… and then proceeded to lift the Manticore up with one hoof, like it was a common house cat!” “There was a thorn in her poor paw,” Butterscotch whispers softly to himself… again. He’s done this every single time Dash has gotten to this part but due to how quiet he’s speaking, and how much the audience is oohing and aahing, I’m not sure if his fellow pegasus ever really heard him. All this attention must be torture for the big guy. Doesn’t help that Rainbow Dash is using him as his personal podium, forcing him to remain on stage. How rude! Still, I find myself laughing at the sight all the same as I calmly munch on my cupcake treat. Relaxing myself even further, I lean backwards into my soft personal pillow and sigh contently... Said personal pillow, for reference, is Dusk Shine’s warm barrel. … Hypocrisy, thy name is Barbara The Dragoness. My cozy pony doesn’t seem to mind at all, though, as he continues to lay down on the ground and watch his new friends happily. Bubble Berry is jumping all over the place, hoofing out treats. Applejack is helping to tell Rainbow’s story by setting facts straight. He is thankfully not perched on top of Butterscotch's head too like the main speaker. Lastly Elusive is laying down next to Dusk and I, passively combing his spiraled mane with the aid of his sparkling blue magic and a small, hoofheld mirror. It’s been three whole hours since Solaris left for Canterlot. In that time, I’ve more or less learned the entire story about my friends’ journey. According to the six of them, Nebula was crafty, and the forest was thick. These two factors combined were what caused the trip to take as long as it did. If it weren’t for Bubble Berry’s foresight in bringing food, even if it was all party sweets, and if not for the filtered water provided by a certain sea serpent that lives in the forest… well I really don’t want to think about what could have happened. Beyond this, everything else was mostly the same from the show. … Mostly. Applejack proved to again be the Element of Honesty by honestly telling Dusk that he was going to be fine when in danger; even when he was hanging for dear life to the edge of a cliff. This was just like the show… except male Applejack didn’t give Dusk a chance to let go himself and instead opted to push him over. No patience with that one, it seems… Butterscotch’s kindness shined through his rough and unkempt exterior thanks to the Manticore attack, as you just heard. His scenario was the most like the show’s from what I’ve gathered. Bubble Berry, in contrast, set the scary trees on fire. Yup. He had smashed a bottle of his special brew over the offending plant life and proceeded to use his three ear piercings (which each represent one of his brothers, as a sweet side note. Apparently he has three?) to start the spark that lit them all up. The laughter that followed the insane act convinced Dusk that BB was for sure the Element of Laughter… because reasons. This was still all done to a song about giggling at the ghostly. With the flaming backdrop and the deeper voice, I can only imagine that this world's version was metal as hell. Moving on; Elusive had pretty big horseshoes to fill when it came to calming down the sea serpent from her initial turmoil. With Rarity, she just had to fix the watery beast’s mustache by generously chopping off her tail. While Elusive has a long flowing tail like Rarity's, his was unfortunately not up to the task at fixing what Nightterror Nebula had taken from this reality’s mustache-less lady Everfree dweller. Here, the fallen Prince had used his warblade to haphazardly slice off most of the unfortunate woman’s flowing mane. From the sound of it, he had even cut it off unevenly which made it next to impossible to rearrange or restyle without cutting off even more. So… what did Elusive do then? Well he asked Dusk for a spell to shave off his entire head and tail, that's what. With her new do, the serpent was more than happy to let the six cross her river and Dusk was more than happy to give the now bald Elusive the Element of Generosity. Thank goodness the Elements regrew all that hair; I remember mourning the loss of my own in my first few years of life, so I feel his pain. Stupid dragon physiology... Anyways, the Elements didn't just do the impossible and restored Elusive's mane to it's original form, but their light also cleaned up all the scars and minor damages the journey had inflicted on him and the rest of the bearers as well... … Speaking of damage, this brings us to Rainbow Dash. He almost got everypony killed. Now don’t get me wrong; it’s comforting to know that Dusk has a friend who, when given the choice between his companions and his lifelong dream, chooses his friends every time. That said; the extreme confidence this Rainbow Dash exudes, thanks to whatever event in his life gave him the courage to present himself as a mare while still preferring to be called a stallion, needs to be simmered asap. I thought that his earlier stopping of Applejack’s charge against Nebula was an indication that he might have a good head on him; but when the three ‘Shadowbolts’ showed up and offered him a spot on their roster, in exchange for abandoning the mission, Dash’s response… was to imply that each and every one of their mothers was a 'lady of the night' who did tricks for peanuts. Their cutting retort to this was to start angrily waving swords around. A fight broke out soon after, and only halted when the bridge that it took place on snapped and sent everypony tumbling. The Shadowbolts disappeared into ethereal smoke shortly thereafter, and the boys were forced to climb back up the misty mountains in their injured states. Eventually they made it to the castle and proceeded to battle The Nightterror who, thanks to having actually been the conjured Shadowbolts himself, was still tired from their last encounter. This left him weak enough for the group to handle thanks to the aid of the newly discovered Elements of Harmony. So… yeah. I’m now really glad I didn’t go. I have no idea how I would have reacted to any of… that nonsense, but it probably wouldn’t have been pretty nor helpful in the long run. Knock knock knock A sudden banging on the door to the bakery shakes me out of my thoughts and returns me to the present. Since Sugarcube Corner is currently packed to the brim with ponies wanting to hear about their new heroes, the door has been shut tight to prevent anypony else from entering. Everypony mostly ignores the interruption but, since I’ve been waiting here for a guard with a chariot to come pick me up, I decide to leave Dusk’s side for a moment and take a quick peek outside. He doesn't even notice my absence; he's clearly still too enamored by the mere novelty of 'hanging out' with his friends to care. Working my way over to the other side of the room, I move a stool up to the door once I'm there and then open the top half of it, leaving the bottom half closed. Now able to see the outside world again, I turn to look who's knocking. I about fall right over when I see who it is. “D-dusk!” I tilt my head-backwards and whisper lowly, trying to catch Dusk's, and only his, attention. “Dusk!” To my surprise, this works. Dusk alone turns his head… … and his eyes widen when he sees a familiar white mare’s head sticking out from the entrance’s windowsill. Looking back and forth, making sure nopony spots him, Dusk stealthily gets up from his spot and heads over to the portal. Soon thereafter, the two of us head outside together and ready ourselves to address this new pony. The reason for our silence and secrecy is quite simple, you see. Dusk had told me prior his desire to introduce his new friends to his sister at a later date, once he’s gotten to know them better himself. You can imagine our shared surprise, then, when we now find a fully armored Gleaming Shield standing before us. A flying chariot, with two pegasus guardmares standing watch next to it, can be seen behind her as she… she… … fights hard not to throw up. Did she forget that air travel makes her sick? I’m betting that’s the case… “BSBFF!” Dusk squees happily, jumping up and down in place. “I’m so happy to see you! You’ll never guess the week I’ve had! You se-” “O-one sec, little Bro,” Gleaming begs, leaning over and breathing hard. “M-must have been something I ate…umph... Just give me a minute...” Dusk and I wait patiently as the captain of the royal guard, who has had a number of years of work expeditions and traveling under her belt, pants heavily in a hunched manner due to another lost battle against motion sickness. Poor girl... Before I’m given the chance to feel anymore sorry for her, or to ponder on why she’s even here, Gleaming's panting stops... but her head remains tilted downwards towards the ground. Dusk takes this as a cue to continue. “Gleaming,” he chirps excitedly. “I told you I was right about The Nightterror! And you didn’t believe me, hah! But don’t worry! My new friends and I showed him who's bos-” SMACK!!! Time slows to a crawl as I recoil in sudden horror, and my eyes take in a terrible sight. A noise, not unlike the snapping of thunder, rings out loudly in my ears as my sluggish mind tries to decipher what had just transpired. Gleaming… ... G-gleaming Shield just slapped her brother across the face. Hard. With an armored horseshoe. From his new position on the ground, having been sent flying, Dusk shivers in fear as he brings a hoof to his bright red, stinging cheek. “W-w-what?” he asks desperately towards one of the few ponies he had thought would never hurt him. Tears begin to form. Gleaming glares coldly in return. All traces of her former sickness have been erased fully from her features. “... There were thirty guards stationed at key locations throughout this town on the date of the celebrations, Dusk,” she begins to list, never once raising her voice. “Of those thirty, five were trained under me personally and were assigned to town hall for the entirety of the event, Dusk.” “G-gleaming…” Dusk shakily speaks back, shrinking under his elder sister’s scary expression. “Ponyville also had pegasus ponies and Wonderbolts trained for aerial combat on standby,” she goes on, continuing to stare aggressively. “And unicorns trained in counterspells, as well as earth ponies trained in fortress busting… But none of them knew where to go, Dusk.” “G-gleam…” “None of them could enter the Everfree without an organized assault plan, Dusk.” “BSB-” “None of them had any Intel about the Elements… But you know who did, Dusk Shine?" She asks, almost innocently. She then ominously leans closer. "... An untrained, unqualified, and unarmed civilian!” I stumble backwards as the guard captain finally raises her voice. Dusk starts whimpering as Gleaming’s hoof proceeds to poke him hard in the chest; there's nothing I can do about it either! I'm completely frozen in place and can’t do anything but helplessly watch things unfold. I-I’ve never seen her like this before in my life, and I don't think Dusk has either. “And that, little brother, is what you are,” the older mare growls, bringing her eyes close to her brother's own. “I don’t give a single, flying, feather about who your teacher is, Dusk; you are a civilian first and foremost and should have known better!” “B-but,” Dusk tries to defend. “You should have given the book to the guards!” “Bu-” “You should have let them handle it!” “You don’t underst-” “You could have been killed, Dusk!” Gleaming chokes up, but she recovers quickly; refusing to show weakness. “You could have gotten yourself and all those ponies that went with you killed. Then… who does that leave behind, Dusk? Hm? Do you even know? Well... I’ll tell you who, buster. “That leaves six families without their sons. “That leaves several ponies without their brothers. “That leaves not one, but two Princes that would miss their favorite pupil dearly. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about your old foalsitter, Dusk! And…” ~Twinkletwinkle~ Being forcefully lifted off the ground by Gleaming’s magical aura, I now find myself hovering before the yelling mare. I'm treated like an at-ready shield as she uses me as her final example. “... that leaves one baby dragon without a charge to watch over!” she finishes, awkwardly levitating me closer to Dusk’s face. “Come on, Dusk; you know she would blame herself forever if something bad happened to you. How could you do that to her?!” W-well... she’s not wrong, sadly... Regardless; this final addition causes Dusk’s ears to wilt, and he turns his head away from both his sister and I in a small attempt to escape from the guilt. “... I know…” Dusk eventually whispers. He then tries to raise his voice as he repeats himself. “I-I know, Gleam.” The magic around me abruptly ceases to be, which leads me to falling on my tail. Oomph! I rotate myself around, ready to angrily address the pony who had rudely picked me up only to drop me... ... But the sad looking pony I find instead snuffs out my ire entirely. “If you knew...” Gleaming Shield speaks tiredly, as her own angry spark slowly dies out too. All it leaves behind is a hollow husk of a mare; one who is clearly beyond both anger and sadness. “Then… why did you risk it all, Dusty?” she asks, using his foalhood nickname. “W-why would you even think to hurt us like this?” “Isn’t that what you do everyday, Sis?” Dusk shoots back defensively, finding the strength to rise back to his hooves. Gleaming shakes her head. “I’m a trained soldier of Equestria,” she explains. Her tiredness is evident in her voice. “And it’s what my cutie mark has always told me to do. It’s who I am. I’ve made peace with this life long ago, as did every guard under my command… But it isn’t your life, Dusk!” she pleads weakly. “The life of a scholar is your calling! Everypony knows that! There was no point in you risking yourse- “YES THERE WAS!” At the sudden raised voice, Gleaming and I take a step back from the now fuming Dusk Shine. His mane temporarily shifts into a flame-like form due to his anger but, with a single breath to calm himself, the fire dies out as quickly as it appeared. “... Big Sis,” Dusk speaks up, addressing his sister properly. Despite this, his head is still lowered as he tries to verbally sort his mind out. “Something... magical happened a few days ago that I don't think I can explain with my books. I saw the unthinkable; a pony of legend. I saw him attack and hurt so many foals and children… including Barb," he adds, glancing my way for a moment before resuming looking down at his hooves. "It was in that instance, as I held her still form, that I realized just h-how out of my depth I was, and how little of a chance I stood against him… “... But I still told Nightmare Nebula, to his face, to buck off.” Gleaming absentmindedly mutters “language,” probably for my sake, but it goes ignored as Dusk starts to paces about. His head begins to rise as his words pick up steam. “I told him so many things, Gleaming, that were crude, and rude, and not befitting of a student of Prince Solaris… but I said them anyways. And then I raced to find a weapon to stop him, without thinking, only to be rewarded with five others willing to die for the cause; to fight and to bleed to get the sun back. “And then…then... we just… did it! Without really dwelling on it; without overthinking it... we won. We fought and laughed and screamed and… G-gleaming Shield,” Dusk stutters, finally focusing his eyes on his sister’s own. The stallion sucks in air briefly before steadying himself, so that he may say his next words more clearly. “These last four days have taught me what kind of pony I really am. And… you’re right. I am a scholar... “... but I’m also a fighter.” With that honest declaration, coming straight from the heart, the tables have turned. Suddenly Dusk is the one glaring, and Gleam is the one too shocked to speak. I, meanwhile… … remain the same flabbergasted little dragon I was at the start of this whole ‘simple’ exchange. I guess it's safe to say that one of Twilight Sparkle's songs was full of baloney now. 'We never had a single fight' my, scaly, butt. “I'm a fighter, Gleam,” Dusk repeats once again, for both his sister's sake as well as his own. “And I’ve learned that I’m willing to fight until my last breath for Equestria, as well as for my... my friends. Was it the best option available to me? Solaris no! But... would I do it again in a heartbeat? “Yes. "Yes I would. “... I don’t see anything wrong with that, do you, Sis?” “...” “...” “...” "..." “... Why couldn’t you take more after our mother, Dusk?” Gleaming groans loudly, finally granting us her first real smile since arriving. “The worse we have to worry about from her is maybe a paper cut from a bingo card. Heh; fighting an evil alicorn, in order to save the world from eternal night, is most definitely not on one of her neatly crafted schedules. A true role model if ever there was one, haha! ” “... Hehe,” Dusk laughs back too in an improved mood, grinning slightly as well. "I’m not completely like dad now if that’s what your afraid of, Gleam. No thrill seeking for me, thank you! For example; on top of discovering that I actually have a spine, I also discovered that I handle being thrown off a bridge the same way as everypony else does!” “Really?” Gleaming snorts in amusement, taking the bait. “And how, exactly, does one handle such a thing, Dusty? Hmm?” “Poorly,” Dusk responds, delivering the punchline. The two of them crack up further over this, now thankfully back on good terms with one another. I keep my lips sealed during the continued exchange, and try my best not to muck up this lovely sibling reunion. This has been surprisingly sweet... in a weird sort of way. Thinking about it, while I wait for these two to wrap up; I barely saw anything about Gleaming Shield's other worldly half, Shining Armor, from the little amount of the show I got to watch after his introduction. Because of this, I've never been entirely sure what his relationship to Twilight Sparkle was actually like, outside of the one song about him and the few exchanges the two shared on screen... But long ago did I realize that I didn't need 'future vision' to see how strong the love between Dusk and Gleaming is. All I needed, all anybody ever needed, was two (or one, in Solaris' sad case) clear eyes to see that it's as strong as a brother/sister bond can possibly get. One little argument isn't going to break them up that easily. “Well,” Gleaming starts to say, now done whooping it up. “Guess I better finish up here and head back to Canterlot, little Bro. Things are pretty crazy up there at the moment, as you can imagine.” “Oh… Okay,” Dusk replies, sounding disappointed. “What were you even doing here anyways, BSBFF?” Gleaming hums to herself. “Well... to start…” Then, using her magic, the mare drags Dusk closer to herself and proceeds to noogie the top of his head roughly. “I came firstly to cheerfully yell at my dunderhead of a little brother!” she happily scolds. “I’m still unbelievably pissed about what happened... but I’m happy you’re okay.” “I-I-I won’t be f-f-for long,” Dusk jitters as his sister tightens her headlock and rubs his scalp harder. “His Highness only gave me the run done on what happened here, so I'll be sure to tell the folks you're okay too when I can. No need to worry there, Bro... Secondly,” she wraps up, finally releasing her grip. She then turns to address me, though her words are clearly meant for all parties present. “I came to give Barb a ride back to Canterlot. Prince's Orders.” Shaking the daze out of his eyes, Dusk takes a second to reorient himself before looking at me queerly. “Back… to Canterlot?” he asks, darting his attention back and forth between his sister and I. Oh, oops; in all the excitement I must have forgotten to tell him what I’m doing. I better correct that. “I'm just swinging by the old place and picking up a few things, Dusk,” I explain, offering him a reassuring smile. “Clothes, toothbrushes, combs… secret gem stashes… you know; the essentials!” Dusk nods' in understanding. “I see... Good thinking! That's why you're my number one assistant... Say, while you're up there... Can you als-” “I’m not bringing your book collection, Dusk.” Dusk blinks blankly at this straightforward, humorless response. “... Oookaaayyy... But what about jus-” “I’m not bringing twenty books,” I shoot back, standing firm. “Ugh! Fair enough... But how about one set instead, lik-” “I’m not bringing even five books back, Dusk.” “What?! P-please bring at lea-” “I am not bringing any books. Period," I roughly lay down the law. Gleaming snickers in the background as I go on. “You have a new library full of new books. Finish what's already on your ‘plate’, mister, and maybe I’ll bring some more over later... Deal?” “... Fine,” Dusk answers, pouting like a foal. The savior of Equestria, fillies and gentlecolts. Oy vey. “I’ll probably be gone a day or so, Dusk,” I continue, choosing to ignore his embarrassing display. My words cause him to grow up a little before my eyes, and change his expression from spoiled-child sad to just… sad sad, I guess you could describe it. This doesn't stop me from tacking on, “Please don’t stay up late reading again, and remember to eat actual food and not just snacks.” ... Says the girl whose had nothing but cupcakes for lunch, h-hehe… “A couple days?” my oldest friend asks me sadly, his ears wilting. “D-do you really think you’ll be gone that long, Barb?” At first I’m confused by such a clingy sounding question… but then I recall that this is one of the first times Dusk has ever been away from Canterlot, and one of the first times he’s been away from members of his family, myself, or members of Prince Solaris’ castle. Now no longer fueled by a purpose and copious amounts of adrenaline, he must be getting just a tiny bit nervous about being on his own... ... This... t-this is probably how things would have played out with my little Nathaniel, if his momma was still alive to see him grow up... ... ... Keep it together, Barbara. Keep it together. Breathe in, breathe out... ... L-like I was just pondering in a overly normal manner, and certainly not angsting about anything in the slightest; everyone has to leave the nest eventually, my friend. Today just happens to be your day. “You’ll be fine without me,” I reassure him kindly as I approach his side. “You were just fine last night, remember? And you won’t be alone...” As if to prove my point, a crashing noise can be heard from behind us at Sugarcube Corner. We about face just in time to see Bubble Berry’s silhouette, behind the closed blinds, bounce onto Applejack’s own silhouette and accidentally start an impromptu dog pile. Shouts can be heard as a brawl breaks out; one angry cry is full of country hollering, another is full of cheeky banter, a third has small whimpers in it, the forth has undignified sounding screeches, and the last one is full of large, jovial laughter. “... They seem nice,” Gleaming comments plainly. “They… are,” Dusk admits after a pause. Despite having to take the second to process the declaration, his words are clearly full of truth. “They really are… Please have a safe trip, Barb.” “And have as much fun as you can handle, Dusk,” I order right back. “Maybe even more than that. It’s what you deserve.” With a slight blush now on his cheeks, Dusk leans low and wraps a foreleg around my form. I wrap my own arms around his muzzle and hug him right back. We hold our place for a moment before breaking up and waving goodbye to one another. Gleaming Shield joins in, and the two of us only stop our flailing once Dusk has fully disappeared into the chaotic mess that is Sugarcube Corner. “Ready to go, Barb?” the head guardmare asks me cheerfully, now offering me a grin. "Um-hum," I chime, smiling as well. “Alrighty then! Gleaming laughs. "Let’s get going!” she orders loudly as she starts to trot away. Granting the bakery one last backwards glance, I quickly pump my legs up in down in order to catch up to my mare friend’s long-legged stride. It doesn’t take the two of us long to sit ourselves down inside the chariot, and it takes even less time than that for the two pegasus guards to flap their wings and raise up into the air. Once we're high up and above it all; Gleaming removes her helmet, and allows herself to scoot up next to me, in order to watch the peaceful scene of Ponyville shrinking further and further away into the distance. A comfortable breeze washes over us as we take it all in; flowing through my spines, and Gleaming's once helmet-pressed mane, in order to grant us both a well deserved sense of calm and peace “... That was the happiest I've ever seen Dusk be in his entire life,” my blue haired companion speaks up finally, after the momentary bout of silence between us. “And the most… driven!” A chuckle leaves my lips at this. “He’s made great friends, Gleam” I answer truthfully. “I think they’ll help him a whole lot.” “I think they already have,” she counters, now fighting hard not to cry. She sniffles slightly, and uses a hoof to wipe her eyes. “Our little Dusty is growing up…” Patting her back with a claw, I nostalgically dwell on how similar Gleamings reactions to this have been to my own. I'm betting their parents are probably going to act pretty much the same to this news as well... including having similar panic attacks over how the friendship initially kicked off. "Thanks," Gleam beams in appreciation for my patting... ... She then leans in closer, forcing the massage to end, in order to ask me a very vital question. “Please tell me you got a picture of him with his new friends, Barb!” The question causes me to blink blankly. A... picture? ...Really? A-after aaaaalllll the commotion that's happened today... Does she really think I had the time, or even the foresight to take a single... What kind of gal does she take me for??? … … ... With speed that would make even a ninja jealous, I swiftly reach into my purse and produce about twenty different photos of various shapes and proportions. “Do you want wallet sizes, or 8 X 10s?” I ask Gleaming proudly as I sort out my newly acquired collection of freshly printed group and head shots. As I look down and shuffle my new prizes in my claws, I explain that, “I met this earth pony dude with glasses and a fashionable shirt, named Snap Shot, who had one of those new instant camera thingys. He gave me a good deal for little over a bundle. I’ve got shots of them all together, and a few profile shots too! S-sorry that I have more shots of Elusive than anypony else, but I think you’ll agree with me that it was bits well spent when you see how handsome he looks at this angl-” “BLARGH!!!” "Hm?" I ask in a confused manner; having been interrupted from my sorting. My head tilts upwards as well, in response to the noise, as I glance over my pictures and see that Gleam is no longer paying attention to me, but is instead… Oh ew ew ewwww!! Grrroooossss!! One sec, BRB! … ... ... …Okay. Back. Ahem... Like I was saying; I turn to see Gleaming Shield now hunched over the edge of the chariot and nothing else happened before this. Nothing gross and nightmare inducing at all, eeyup... Right now the poor sick pony stuck here with me, for another half hour or so, is currently… um... … strategically assaulting the Everfree Forest below with a classic showing of chemical warfare! Yeah! ... ... T-this is about the nicest way I can put any of this, people. Please don’t make me say more. Being a narrator sucks in times like this. With the photos now safely re-stashed away in my purse, I decide to hold Gleaming’s mane back in my claws as she… well... does her thing. “I-I blame the mess hall’s veggie tacos,” she pathetically tries to justify herself, unwilling to point at simple air sickness as being the culprit. “I’ll have to… ungh… h-have a word with the cooks later, obviously…” I roll my eyes. “Don’t think about food, girl,” I groan. “I know I’m not going to now. Think about something else, like…” My sight drifts to the purse at my side; the photos within grant me an excellent idea. “... Like how Dusk is now friends with a farmer, a crossdresser, a suit maker, a giant, and a pony on a perpetual sugar high.” “...” Rotating her head slightly, even as I still gently held her mane, Gleaming grants me a weak smile. “I-I’d very much would like to hear more, Barb.” Heh. Your wish is my command, dear.