//------------------------------// // Entry 4, Part 3 (The Ticket Master) // Story: The Poisoned Barb's Tale // by ManlyDerp //------------------------------// Decisions decisions decisions... As we travel down the twisted path of life, full of highs and lows and everything in between, each of us will be forced to make an innumerable amount of life-altering decisions before our souls will be allowed to finally rest. Life-altering decisions like whether to say yes or no to a marriage proposal. Life-altering decisions like whether to stay with your desk job or to instead branch out and pursue a career in writing. Life-altering decisions like whether to name your first born child Alexis or Ashley. And, most importantly of all, life-altering decisions… “Am I more in a sandwich, or a carrot dog mood today? Hmmm...”  … like what the heck are you going to eat for lunch. “I want to have something greasy though,” I murmur under my breath as my eyes scan the entirety of the menu held firmly in my claws.  “Hmmm...”  The Three-Leaf Chateau is certainly not the fanciest restaurant Dusk and I have ever visited. If it were to be placed alongside the assortment of other eateries available back in Canterlot, there’s little that would set this place apart from the rest. It’s outdoor dining area is haphazardly arranged with piles of hay being used in lieu of actual chairs, it’s menu is basic with only a clawful of interesting sounding options, and I’m not really sure what the deal is with the three-leaf clovers scattered all over the place. Ponies can eat the stuff, sure, but it’s kind of like if a bakery were to decorate their building with actual loafs of bread coming out of the floorboards, or placed right in the stalls in the restroom. Gross, right? Questionable aesthetics and joking aside, I’m honestly not that picky when it comes to where I’ll eat my meals. As long as the food is tasty it doesn't matter to me whether the restaurant itself is a five-star establishment... or a rundown food truck with a cook who doesn’t speak English/Ponish. Dusk thankfully shares a similar mindset to myself, so when it came down to finally settling on a place to eat the Three-Leaf Chateau had the one and only thing we were truly looking for at the time; two empty seats. High standards, I know, but the Chateau still provided. Now hopefully the rest of the dining experience will be just as accommodating. Judging by the fact that the hors d'oeuvres being served is the classic pony snack of flowers with a side of nothing, I’m not going to hold my breath. I could really go for a few dinner rolls right about now. “Sigh… Barb, what am I gonna do?” Maybe if I had even the tiniest scrap of real food in me I could provide better support for Dusk’s current dilemma. The stallion sitting across from me looks downtrodden and miserable. He hasn’t even picked up his menu yet despite clearly starving. The confrontation with his friends must have drained poor Dusk of all his energy, to which I can fully understand. He's barely become accustomed to interacting with colts his age and now he’s being sacked with such a heavy burden... It's just not fair. I’m remembering bits and pieces of this episode as the day moves forward, which means that I now know with certainty that there’s going to be a few more scrapes for us to suffer through before this roller coaster comes to a satisfying end. Despite knowing this truth, there’s little I can do to lessen my friend's struggles and there’s little I should be doing either. This is a lesson Solaris felt that Dusk needed to learn, so it’s not my place to interfere or object... … doesn’t mean I have to like it though. “All five of my best friends have really good reasons to go to the gala,” laments Dusk Shine as he lays his head on the table. With a pink flare of magic, he plucks one of the appetizer flowers from it’s vase and begins to mindlessly play with it’s pedals. “Bubble Berry and Elusive? Or Rainbow Dash and Butterscotch? Then there’s Applejack and his family… Oh, who should go with me? Which combination of friends?” Ggggrrr It’s at this moment that Dusk’s stomach decides to remind us that he's also still present and also still hungry. As if summoned by the monstrous rumbling of the rogue digestive system, a waitress approaches our table ready to assist. “Have you made your decision yet, sir?” asks the earth pony as she smiles kindly, awaiting our order. This, however, was a poor choice of words on the mare’s part. “I CAN’T DECIDE!” wails Dusk in anguish, startling both the server and the rest of the restaurant's guests. Guess these ponies will be getting dinner and a show tonight… er… or, at least lunch and a show… today. Cringing at my charge’s mistake (and maybe a little bit at my dumb joke too), I lower my menu a tad and gently explain, “Dusk, she just wants to take your order.” I can see the gears turning in the unicorn’s head thanks to these words. They’re moving a bit slower than usual thanks to his stress and hunger, but at least they're still moving at all. “O-oh,” stutters Dusk as he regains his senses. “I’ll… ahem, have a daffodil and daisy sandwich please, ma’am.” Upon recovering from the outburst, the mare resumes her smiling as she commits the order to memory. She then turns to me. I think I know what I want… buuuttt, just out of curiosity… “Do you have any sapphires?” I ask her. The only response I receive for my inquiry is a flat look. The pony is also no longer smiling. “No?” I nod disappointingly, catching the hint. Worth a shot I guess. “Okay… I’ll have some hay fries,” I order as I toss the menu behind me into the marked basket for them. “Extra crispy.” I'm not usually so forward with my orders, but I feel that you should always state your requests as plainly as possible so that both the waiter and the cook can get the complete message. It makes the server's life a hell of a lot easier when they're not constantly running back and forth with corrections. Proper restaurant manners are multiversal, folks... … That being said though, as I spy the waitress now writing our orders down on her little notepad, I can clearly see her marking mine down as just plain old ‘fries’ and nothing more... ... … Sorry, but I think this girl and I are about to start a fight here in a second. I don’t care that I barely come up to her chest in height; you do not mess with a dragon’s food order, let alone a dragoness’ order! This will not go unheard! This will not go unanswered for! There will be retribution! There will be blood. In a move that I can only assume was due to her sensing my growing anger (or, more logically, her wanting to simply do her job), the working pony chooses to smartly walk away before I’m able to properly rain hellfire down upon her. Yeah you better run. “What do you think, Barb?” Dusk Shine asks me searchingly, unconcerned with the great injustice that was about to transpire. “I think we have to try another restaurant,” I state bluntly as I glare at the waitress lazily taking our orders inside the main building. “I mean, I like grass just fine, but would it hurt anybody to offer some gemstones?” Mentally I add, “Or some better service.” On a side note; it’s not that crazy of me to assume that a town located right next to a freaking gem cave would serve a few of them on their own menus, right? Dragons aren't the only creatures who eat those things you know! Before I can ponder on this any further, Dusk scoffs at me for my words. “I mean about the gala and the tickets and who I should take!” This causes me to turn my head back towards him.  Nodding in newfound understanding, I utter lowly an exasperated sounding, “Oh,” as I shift my tail and try to get more comfortable in my seat. Maybe my own sense of hunger is impeding my judgment, but I find myself unable to care enough to filter my words as I groan out a frustrated “You’re still on that?” in reply. ◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠ In my defense for my own terrible choice of words in the heat of the moment, I was well and truly famished by that point in the afternoon. Again, snack-time is the most important time for a growing baby dragon; one that should never be missed, skipped, or taken for granted.  That’s my excuse and I’ll be sticking to it thank you. ◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠ Before I know what's happening, the table’s flower vase is knocked aside as my companion’s angry face pushes itself uncomfortably close to my own. “Barb, listen,” Dusk demands crossly, causing me to sink down deeper into my messy seat of hay. I have made a mistake. I have made a grave mistake. My frantic unicorn continues. “How do I choose?” he pleads with me. “And when I do choose… will the other three be mad at me? I-I mean, I could give up my own ticket and give away all three, but that would still leave two disappointed ponies. What… what if I-” In between the span of one breath and the other, our waitress speedily returns in record time with our individual orders. “Your food, sir.” she chimes expertly in her accent as she distracts Dusk with his long awaited sandwich. This has the unintentional side effect of freeing me from my charge’s latest bout of ire... ... … Okay… I guess I owe you one for the timely save, random waitress pony. May your immediate future be completely fire and dragon free… … at least for now. With food at last placed before me, I take advantage of the momentary break in the conversation to dig greedily into my generous helping of deep fried grass with ketchup. I find the simple dish actually quite delectable, or at least more delectable than what I was expecting it to taste like. They’re not extra crispy like I like them (or like I freaking ASKE- deep breaths, Barbara. Deep breaths), but I suppose they’ll do… Also, before you ask; no, hay fries aren’t a secret delicacy that humans would have never thought to try. I’m fairly certain that they probably taste the same on Earth as they do here in Equestria. I’m going to assume that my newfound enjoyment of them is due to the odd tastebuds this world deemed fit to gift me with and nothing more. I used to like peaches in my original body, for example, but now I can’t stand them. It's weird, but whatever. “Oh thank you,” Dusk happily chimes as the mare walks away. By this point I’m already well into my own plate; thus was the power of my hunger. “This looks sooo good!” With dulled interest due to years of witnessing unicorn magic firsthand, I watch as the flowery sandwich is ‘miraculously’ gripped within Dusk’s hued telekinesis and lifted upwards towards his awaiting lips. “I’m sure everything will be much clearer once I eat.” Well, it’s certainly working for me at least. My world is getting brighter, my thoughts are getting sharper, and I’m thankfully feeling much less cranky. My memory is also becoming clearer, which means I can now recognize this restaurant from the show and, more importantly... I think I remember this restaurant scene too! Said scene, if I’m recalling things correctly, is about to shift right about... Rumblerumblerumblerumble … now.  Sorry, Dusk, but I think you just unwittingly doomed yourself with your mere words.   As if on cue, our table and plates begin to rattle and shake as a literal stampede of ponies push their way past us and into the Three-Leaf’s inner diner. The nameless mare from earlier holds the door open for the fleeing horde and, once the last pony scuttles their way inside the keep, she calls out to us. “Em, sir? Are you going to eat your food in ze rain?” This gives Dusk pause. More importantly, it gives me pause. I definitely remember this restaurant now, and I’m pretty sure Twilight either heads home after this or instead goes over to Rarity’s place… but I don’t remember the reason why she did either of those things. Was there rain involved? Now that I think about it... the paper did say that the weather brigade was going to be triggering minor showers in the afternoon today. It must be around that time… … Oh, yeah! I can totally see the clouds being pushed into position now! Right on schedule, the rain begins to fall in blinding sheets all around us.  All around us, except for over our little lunch table. “It’s… not raining,” Dusk answers confusedly as a literal curtain of rainwater is raging as he speaks. Blinking slowly, I stare dumbfounded at my usually bright young man’s completely false statement. Wow. Just… wow.  This is what we in the O&O scene like to call ‘failing a spot check’.  Fretting that I might need to schedule a future ophthalmologist appointment for Dusk isn’t going to solve a darn thing, so I’ll just blame his reaction on the same lunch-deprived headspace that tripped me up too and leave it at that. Whatever the case may be, the waitress should have warned us about the upcoming scheduled rainfall before we even sat down. That’s what restaurants in Canterlot do at least, even the fast food ones! Remind me not to tip her when we leave. “What’s… going on?” finally questions Dusk upon noticing our strange little oasis in the middle of this wet ‘desert’. Oh, right, I guess that’s still an unanswered question. I was so distracted with Dusk’s possible need for glasses, and mentally vowing to never eat here again, that I completely forgot about our current situation. I’m going to sound like a broken record here, but was this shower in the show as well? With the weather the way it is here in Equestria I would have to assume that it did rain too, but why is our spot still so high and thankfully dry…? ... … Wait… Which one of our new friends is a part-time Weather Pony aga-  “Hi there, best friend forever I’ve ever ever had! Enjoying the sunny weather?” Oh now it’s all coming back to me! Holding back a slowly growing chuckle, I spare the sight of Rainbow Dash beaming down at us from on high a courtesy glance before resuming my lunch in earnest. I remember how this part goes down now, and I’m fairly sure that I’m not going to get another chance to eat in a moment or two here. Rainbow Dash was one of Ashley’s favorites growing up, you see, and I remember her tiny self laughing hard over this part in the show. She played it over and over again on the DVD, as children have a habit of doing, and she reenacted it countless times with her toys and a collection of fluffy pillows. Despite the changes in sexes and dimensions, I bet I can still quote most of this. Let’s try… Dusk will next say, “Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?” “Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?” Hah! I was right!  Now… Rainbow’s next words will be “Whaddya mean? I just saw the smartest, most generous pony about to get rain-” “Oooohhh I’m just holding your lunches ransom until you give Butters one of those tickets! That’s all~” My claw remains outstretched and frozen in mid hay-fry-grabbing position as I halt in place and proceed to savor the taste of my own foot in my mouth. I really need to stop pretending that I’m a know-it-all when I’m clearly not. Impressively, despite his starvation, Dusk remains calm and unmoved in the face of the Element of Loyalty’s abrupt threat. “Rainbow, I know you want at least Butterscotch to go, but strong-arming me isn’t going to sway my opinion!” Equally unthreatened, Dash strategically moves his head forward so that it’s now blocking out the sun. Whether he did this to produce a halo effect so as to appear more innocent, or to instead forcefully draw his usually feminine features into the shadows to appear more sinister I’m unsure. “Dusk,” states the pegasus in a defiant voice. “Look, man, I like you. I think you’re a cool guy! They’re your tickets and it’s your call… but you have no idea how long Butters has wanted to go to the gala!” “Rainbow-” “He talks about it every year.” “Rai-” “And sure he might be a bit bias towards who he’ll want to go with besides you… *coughcoughmecough*... b-but I’m just sticking up for somepony who never speaks up for himself!” “R-” “You had to have chosen me for that Loyalty trinket thing for a reason, Du-” “RAINBOW DASH!!” In a single loud burst, Dusk at last manages to break through to the surprisingly passionate Rainbow Dash. “Dash,” the furious stallion starts over, glaring up at the other stallion present. “I’m not going to choose before lunch, and I am not comfortable being guilted into a decision on this, so I’d appreciate it if you close up that rain cloud right now.” “Bu-” “Right… now.” There’s a pause. “... Ugh, fine.” With a sound not unlike a zipper being pulled, Rainbow Dash manipulates the darkened clouds above us with his pegasus magic until the skyline is once again dominated by a single sheet of unending grey. With a content little nod of his head, Dusk states “That’s better,” before picking his sandwich back up and attempting yet again to take his first bite. Drip drip... dripdripdripdripdrip Unfortunately, unlike the bulk of their conversation, the aftermath of Rainbow Dash’s and Dusk’s little exchange plays out exactly how I remember it did from the show. In the blink of an eye both mine and Dusk’s lunches are simultaneously ruined by our newly awarded slice of afternoon precipitation. Needless to say, Dusk is not pleased.  With sandwich ruined in front of him, and with mane laying flat and wet across his face, my friend looks absolutely miserable…   … which doesn’t stop me from giggling one bit.  I really shouldn’t laugh at his misfortune… but… well… the comedic timing of his words and the rain was legendary. Stuff like that only happens in cartoons, and while yes that’s what My Little Pony initially was for me I’ve been living here for almost eight years! This world is grounded in normal rules and expectations, despite all the magic and talking ponies. It’s why Bubble Berry’s show-quality quirks never fail to freak me out!  Seeing a gag like this in real life is, well, funny. So sue me if I laugh a little bit, even if I probably shouldn’t. … Though I’ll admit that I’m unsure if I’m supposed to be laughing at Elusive’s saddle umbrella thing as well here. I'm unsure of it's intention. The approaching stallion is wearing a collection of uniquely decorated rain equipment across his back. Though attached to the setup is a practical looking one pony umbrella, I’m unsure why it needs to be part of a rider’s saddle, or why it needs to be adorned with flowing designs and tasty looking gems. Is it in style? Jason often sewed his own patterns into his umbrellas too, sure… but that was a decision I understood even less back then! Who are you supposed to be showing that off too? The rain?? Normal people and ponies caught in the rain tend to focus on looking for places where they can go to get out of said rain! Often times they’re not taking the time to admire each other’s gear! Jason may have taught me a lot about fashion, but there’s still a lot I don’t understand even to this day. Ugh. To each their own I suppose.  “Dusk,” calls out our latest arrival. Dusk does not answer, nor does he turn his head towards the speaker. “It’s raining.” “No,” my charge retorts with venom, visibly nearing his limit. “Really?” Though I cringe at this, Elusive hardly seems to have noticed Dusk’s less than friendly choice of tone. “Come with me before you catch a cold,” the white stallion next insists, forcefully reaching out and yanking his friend from his dining spot. He then whisks him away under the cover of his umbrella towards what I can only assume is his boutique. “H-hey wait for me!” I cry out upon realizing that I’m being left behind. Digging into my purse, I produce a small clawful of bits and throw them on our table before pumping my legs and dashing after the two departing stallions… … … … Returning briefly to the table, I take back a few of my bits before turning around and resuming the chase in earnest. ________________________________ Thankfully the Carousel Boutique isn't located that far off from the Three-Leaf Chateau. By the time I catch up with everypony, I can easily spot them drying themselves off within the confines of the fancy looking structure. Following suit; I drag my dripping wet self inside, properly close the bell-adorned door behind me, and then set my purse down so that I can try to pat myself dry too. One nice thing about being technically a reptile (and nude as well, I guess) is that rain doesn’t really bother me here like it did back on Earth. I’m okay with being slightly wet so long as I’m not dripping on the floor and so long as I’m not too cold. Dragon supremacy aside; my decision to stop in place by the doorway ultimately proves to have been an excellent split-second choice, as the delay prevented me from unintentionally entering Dusk’s ‘firing range’. Shaking the water off himself like a dog, as is the norm for drenched ponies both sapient and non, the young stallion accidentally splashes his unicorn kin in a surprise shower of brisk water. Embarrassed by his mistake, Dusk weakly snickers as he squeaks out a tiny, “Oops, sorry.” I catch a slight twitch in Elusive’s eye thanks to this, but it swiftly disappears as the wet pony laughs off the inconvenience.  “Oh, no, it’s quite alright,” he replies with questionable honesty. “After all, we are…” The waterlogged stallion then side-hugs Dusk Shine and brings him in closer towards himself, producing a squishing sound. “The best of friends,” he finishes, tightening his hold. “Are we not?”  He then lets my friend go, which causes him to take an involuntary step back. Not having any of that, our host next entwines Dusk’s forelegs with his own as he stares eagerly into his captive’s eyes.  “And you know what the best of friends do?” he then asks knowingly. “Uh…” speaks Dusk nervously, his eyes darting towards me and screaming a silent cry for help. I’m… not really sure what he’s expecting me to do about all this to be honest. Being useless seems to be the sad norm for me today. Even if I did remember this part from the show, I’m too awkward when it comes to talking to Elusive. I just haven’t sorted my head out about him yet. I’ve not been granted the opportunity to talk to him about his whole deal yet either, so stepping in is completely off the table for me. I… I-I just don’t know what I would say…  So, with that having been established; I really have zero power in preventing Elusive from now shouting something odd, though not unprecedented, to hear coming from a boy’s mouth.  “Makeovers!” Guess I know now why Rainbow and him seemed like good friends already back during Dusk’s Welcome to Ponyville Part- WHAM! Hold that thought for a sudden news bulletin; apparently I also have zero power over being launched like a flipping missile through the air upon being whacked with the broadside of a levitated changing curtain. Owie. Oh how I hate hate hate physical comedy.  Also, while we’re here interacting with and addressing the handsome elephant in the room; I might as well point out how for a pony who can speak English perfectly, and who clearly knows how rare such a thing is here in Equestria, this stallion, whoever he is, seems to not want to so much as acknowledge that I’m in the same room with him today. Maybe it’s because he’s so focused on going to that stupid gala, but he didn’t even attempt to say ‘hi’ to me back when I returned to Ponyville earlier this week. Sure none of the other guys did either, but the point is that Elusive doesn’t seem to have the same sense of agency in this matter as me… ... … He... might not care about it as much as I do… ... … He might not care about me at all… … … SMACK Ah. There’s the wall.  I was wondering when I was finally going to stop sailing and hit this darn thing. Double owie. Hopefully my noggin will still be intact enough by the end of this horrible day for me to write all this stuff down. ◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠ And it was. Hurrah for dragon scales and genetically thicker skulls.  I guess that technically makes me a bonehead. ◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠ Meanwhile, Dusk was enduring a similar trial of unrequested agony to my own. His torture took the form of being forcefully dressed up by a enthusiastic Elusive, to which I’m unsure whether that’s better or worse verses being thrown directly into a wall like I was. By the sound of it, it’s worse. “Ugh, Elusive, ow, this really isn’t… I-I mean, thank you but, oH! That’s too tight…” Dusk’s cries of discomfort causes me to wince and puts my own current pain into perspective. Maybe I was actually the lucky one in this exchange. As I pick myself off the ground from where I landed, I turn and watch as the changing panel is carefully moved aside. Side note; changing panels and rooms are more traditional than practical in Equestria due to historical reasoning, but I’ll explain all this at a later date. Right now I’m more interested in evaluating Dusk’s new look. “There,” Elusive chimes as he wipes sweat from his brow in admiration of his own work. “Oh, you’re simply dashing.” You know… he’s not wrong. Dusk does look pretty dapper in that new navy blue dress shirt of his, and in that dark plum suit jacket. A rainbow of gems make up the buttons, alternating between green, yellow, and blue respectively. There’s even a little yellow tassel along the back vent… I like it! It’s pretty. I wonder if Elusive has a camera around here so I can send a picture or two to Dusk’s parents? Having been granted a moment to breathe and look himself over too, Dusk reluctantly admits the same. “Um, yeah, it is kinda cool, isn’t it?” As I continue to admire the ensemble from afar, I find myself knocked out of my thoughts as Elusive rushes hurriedly over to my side. Ah! I wanted his attention, but not that quickly!  “And you,” purrs the stallion of my dreams, making me feel uncomfortably hot. “Oh Barbara, I have a quaint little outfit for the lovely little lady.” With cheeks burning red, I take a cautious step back. This was unfortunately not quick enough to escape Elusive’s fabulous ‘wrath’. With the privacy screen now placed squarely between the two of us and Dusk, I find my wish to be alone with this suspicious unicorn surprisingly fulfilled. The stallion hums to himself as he levitates over a rack of children’s clothes and begins to take one down. “Um… E-Elusive,“ I stutter out, trying to catch his attention. “Hey, Elusive…?” My plea goes ignored. I fear that he is, as my husband used to say as well, in the zone. “Elusive?” I try again, this time whispering a little louder. “...Fro tet cra ryja du lusa pylg? Not now.” “Wha?” I ask, unsure if I had just heard something from him or not. “... Not... now...” Huh? What is he mumbling to himself? “Wh-” Before I can finish my words, I find one of my arms roughly gripped in a field of magic and yanked forward.  “Ow!” I cry as I feel fabric being forcefully draped over my arm. “Hey!” Again ignored, I close my eyes and feel it as I'm tugged and pushed every which way in order to painfully get shoved into a dress. A necklace is wrapped around my neck, a bow is being lanced onto my tail, and I think I just got dabbed with... makeup? The sensations only last for but a second or two before I feel a whoosh of air as the privacy screen is once again tossed to the side. “Oh, Barb,” chuckles Dusk to himself cheekily.  Not liking that tone, I reopen my eyes and try to look myself over. There’s a bright red ribbon wrapped around my tail now. The bodice of my dress is a blinding pink, and so is my skirt. I’ve been forced into little red heels that shine slightly, and at some point a blond wig had been placed on my head… “Now you just need a bonnet…” muses my dresser/assailant mere moments before tying a scarlet colored one to my head. Combined together with the rest of the ensemble, this getup, is… cute. This getup is… childish. This getup… … is cheap. The shoes are plastic and covered with hastily applied glitter. The wig is old and it’s inner hem is falling apart. The bonnet’s strings are thin, which makes it feel like it came off of a toy doll. Most damning of all; the dress doesn’t have any of Elusive’s usual flare. There’s no gems, the stitching looks less than rock-solid, and every inch of the dresses’ design screams ‘lack of effort.’ Every inch of it screams ‘a play dress for foals'... … But this must have been intentional, oh yes. I can tell that Elusive wasn't trying to seek my approval with this display. Not at all. If he were… then why are his eyes still glued on Dusk's? This was just a showing of generosity; a ploy to get those damn tickets for himself, just like Rainbow Dash did. I shouldn’t be surprised. I remember now that every main character is going to try to appeal to Dusk, even if I can’t recall exactly how anymore. I shouldn’t be surprised one bit… … but… it means that Elusive well and truly doesn’t care about me. I could feel it as he dressed me. His actions were completely devoid of the delicate touch I had grown to expect from my long lost love. Despite everything; despite our shared language, the sheer ramifications of its existence on this planet, and his 'promise' to tell me the truth back when he assumed I was not staying in Ponyville for more than a day… he doesn’t care. He well and truly doesn’t care about me at all. … Dripdripdripdripdrip … The sound of rain striking the Carousel’s roof envelops my mind... “... I…” … “... I-I told you I don’t want any part of these stupid grody gala games!” I declare angrily, glaring up at the two ponies present in the room. But neither of them spare me a glance for my outburst. Not even Dusk... "..." ... In anger I rip the stupid kid crap off of myself and throw it to the ground. Madly wiping the makeup off my face, I next stomp over to the entrance, pick up my purse, and spare a single glance back towards the two young stallions. Dusk continues to ignore me, as does Elusive. “... See you back at the library,” I call out to my charge, pitifully trying to gain any sort of acknowledgement that I was being heard before I left. Still nothing. "..." ... Dingalingaling Despite the rain's remaining presence outside, I open the entrance door and prepare to depart regardless of it. The sound of water splashing to the ground intensifies as I take my first step forward. Right before I do, I hear a single rough “Hah!” leave Elusive’s refined lips. I turn to look as he continues to address Dusk. “Oh, who needs her anyway-” SLAM!! These were the last few words I hear from the unicorn before I smash his blasted portal closed behind me and willingly enter the storm’s icy embrace.