//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - 'Rainbow I...' // Story: I Will Wait // by lLoveRainbowDash //------------------------------// Twilight, ignoring the cold, bolted out of the castle in a straight line to the train station. She was running as fast as her legs could carry her and mixed a bit of flight into it to speed things up. If she were to fly the whole way, she would have definitely had to stop to take a breather and warm up. When she finally caught sight of the train station, Twilight felt her legs slowly giving in to the cold. Come on! I'm almost there, just a bit more! Twilight didn't have to worry about running into other ponies, as to there was nopony around. From what she could see, she was the only one outside at this time. This is going to be a long night... I can almost feel it, she thought, making her way up the steps to the station. Twilight went to the ticket booth and payed for a train ticket, using a few of the bits she brought with her. After receiving the ticket from the pony behind the glass, Twilight sat down and waited for the train to arrive. Before Twilight could have time to get comfy and relax, she pondered over what had just happened earlier. "Oh no..." she whispered to herself, regretting her decision of leaving the way she did. I should have told the others myself instead of sending Rainbow to do my work. That was stupid of me to leave like that, I mean, it's not like it's that bad. I'm sure Cadance would have been okay with me staying here for a little while longer, she thought. Twilight paused for a moment. She remembered how she left her friend, alone. She put herself into Rainbow's position and thought about how she would have felt if she left like that. She winced at the thought. I... Rainbow I... I'm so sorry. Twilight started to tear up and wanted so badly to go back and properly say goodbye to her friend. And at this point, maybe even tell Rainbow how much she cared for her. Oh no, what have I done? How could I have been so selfish? I should have listened to her, Twilight thought as the train was drawing near. Twilight got up from her seat and walked towards the edge of the platform. From what she could see, the train was empty. The only noticeable pony on board was the conductor. As the train stopped with a loud hiss of released steam, Twilight walked inside and picked the seat closest to the door, in case of any emergency. Better safe than sorry. The doors closed and Twilight felt the train lurch forward as it started its journey to the Crystal Empire. From the window aside her, she could make out her castle and all its beauty. "I'm sorry Rainbow," she whispered, hoping that in some way possible Rainbow would hear her. The train ride wasn't much different than others she had been on. She just read a book and relaxed, to the best she could in her state of mind. There wasn't much else to do. Twilight wasn't in the mood for anything else, so she continued to stare at the book lying in front of her. Twilight awoke to sunlight in her eyes. It looked to be early morning from what she saw. She then stretched and grabbed her bags in her magic. Completely forgetting about Rainbow Dash, she made her way off the train, out of the station, and into the crystal streets. Only two important things stuck out in her head. Find Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. And maybe also explore a few libraries along the way. Twilight finished looking through a library's stock when it occurred to her that she wasn't there for reading, but for Cadance and her brother. I'll be back next time, library, Twilight promised, taking in the beauty of the crystal library one last time. Next time. With that, Twilight left the library and headed straight for Princess Cadance's palace. The one building that stood tall, over all of the other buildings. The one that wielded the Crystal Heart beneath for all to see. Twilight wrapped herself in a scarf to keep warm. She normally would have put on a friendly face for the crystal ponies but she overlooked that in an attempt to keep as much warmth as she could. It's colder than I thought it was going to be, Twilight thought, watching as her breath floated away with the gentle breeze. Hopefully it's warm in the palace, this scarf isn't all that comfy. Twilight tried to think of an excuse to herself to stop at some markets along the way—she didn't feel like she was ready to go meet them. She wanted to stall it as much as she could, not knowing why she was feeling the way she did. As Twilight reached the entrance to Cadance's Palace, she felt her legs begin to feel wobbly under the pressure of her weight. Her heartbeat quickened as well. What is up with me? Why am I so nervous? It's just Cadance and my brother; there's nothing wrong with that, is there? Twilight began to relax after waiting a little while. Just when she thought it was over, the thought of getting up and going to greet them made her feel anxious again. This is dumb. I'm just going to go. Twilight made her way to the entrance again. Once she got up to it, she felt even more nervous. I can do this, she thought, taking a deep breath and stepping inside the main hall. At the sight of her brother pacing back and forth across the main hall, all of her worry and doubt vanished, like it was never there in the first place. "Oh, Twily, you're finally here!" he exclaimed in a relieved tone. As he walked towards her, he grumbled in a low murmur, "Took you long enough." A comment that Twilight unfortunately picked up on. "Y-yeah, sorry about that..." Twilight winced. She knew she should have been there earlier, she just felt like... she didn't quite want to. "Well, what took you so long?" Shining demanded a little impatiently, as he glared down at her irritably. "I was expecting you to show up a couple hours ago!" "I was uh, busy... doing... stuff?" Twilight answered in a timid voice, tilting her heard innocently while looking up at her brother. Shining Armor saw right through her little act, staring down at her sternly for a moment longer before relenting. "Okay," he sighed, "okay fine. Follow me." He started towards a corridor off to their side. "I'll show you to your room for the time being." "Right behind you," Twilight whispered guiltily, hanging her head in shame as she followed after her brother. "Where's Flurry Heart?!" Twilight asked, feeling herself start to panic. "Oh, don't worry about Flurry Heart, she's being baby sat by a good friend of mine. Plus, she hasn't used any of her random magic in a while. That's one of the reasons that I actually allowed her to be baby sat, and so that I don't have to keep an eye on her at all times," Shining explained, slowing down and looking back at Twilight. "Oh, here we are. This will be your room for now." Twilight walked inside. It was smaller than the room she had at Canterlot, but she wasn't going to complain. The look of the Crystal Empire always had appealed to her, maybe less so than the rustic nature of her home in Ponyville, but more so than the ivory towers and spires that adorned her fillyhood home of Canterlot. It was quaint, cozy in fact, and gave her warm feelings of being back at home, in her own castle. Twilight placed her bags down after carrying them the whole time, her horn beginning to feel strained from the prolonged usage. "So, how is Cadance doing?" Twilight asked. "She is doing fine for right now, but the nurses said it was going to get worse. I just don't know how the heart being fractured would cause her health to become unstable..." Shining Armor sat down and looked solemnly down at his hooves. Twilight went to comfort her brother and cheer him up, but before she had the chance, he stood back up. "Don't worry, Twily. I'll be fine, I'm just worried about Cadance, that's all," he said. "You must be tired from all that travelling you did. Please, get some rest." Before Twilight could object against it, her brother left, closing her door behind him as he left. So, she did as told and laid down on her bed, forgetting to even take off her scarf as she stared up annoyingly towards the ceiling, and the crystal chandelier that hung from it. She remained like that for several long moments, in the insufferable silence and alone with her nagging thoughts reminding her of how much pain her sister-in-law, once foalsister and dear friend was no doubt in right this very moment. She frowned, and attempted to close her eyes and clear her thoughts, and just... drift off to sleep like her older brother had advised her to do, but she just couldn't. She let out a slight groan in frustration, reopening her eyes and staring bitterly up at the ceiling. "Forget this," she grumbled, and rolled out of bed. "I came all this way to see what I could do to help, and Shining just expects me to get some shuteye? Nope, no way." With renewed resolve, she crept quietly for the bedroom door. "Time to do some investigating..."