The last pony that left the train was one who was all too familiar to me.
The mare had a royal blue coat, and a violet mane and tail with a streak of hot pink on both. Her cutie mark had a bunch of twinkles and stars swirling around, a few faint lines making it seem like they were orbiting something. Her horn was lit with a purple aura, a suitcase following her in the same colored aura.
She turned her head to look for me. When she turned her head right, she saw me sitting on the bench.
She immediatly recognized me. Her mouth curved into a smile before changing to shock.
"Prudent?" she gasped.
"Hey..." I called out with a fake smile.
I got off the bench, and Sparkle immediatly began to dash towards me, her suitcase following close behind.
I took a step forward, before Sparkle stopped directly in front of me and wrapped her hooves around me in a great bear hug. I let out a huge gasp of air as she tightened her embrace.
"I missed you," Sparkle chirped. She leaned back, and I could see the obvious worry in her eyes. "Prudent, what the hay happened?"
I really didn't want to explain why I had a bruise on my face, a black eye, and a cut on my cheek.
"I... really don't wanna talk about it," I muttered. "But what about you? We need to catch up. How about we go and get milkshakes?"
Sparkle looked at me as if she knew I was hiding something. But she gave in.
"Ooookaaay..." she raised her brow.
Ten minutes later...
I poked at the straw that was in my milkshake, which I have only drank a quarter of. I didn't look up to Sparkle, who sat on the opposite side of the table, but she was definetly drinking her milkshake more than me. Most of the time, we were silent, but we had small talk a few times.
"So, Prudent..." Sparkle said, earning my attention. "I see that you went for a change of pace on the hairstyle."
I patted my curly mane.
"Yeah... just thought I'd go for a change of pace," I replied.
More silence.
"Prudent, you can't hide," Sparkle brushed her milkshake aside. "I know something's up. It's not just the bruises on your face. You don't seem like the adorable happy mare I knew as a filly."
I put my hooves on my face and groaned.
"You wanna know the truth?" I whimpered. "Fine! Just yesterday, I have gone through, I guess you can say, a gauntlet of trauma. I discovered I was unable to conceive children, a crook stole my purse and swatted my face with it, and when I got home, I found a letter telling me that my special somepony was dumping me."
"Prudent-" Sparkle began.
"But that's not all!" I interrupted. "He found some other mare, who ended up stealing from my apartment! I got a huge load of mail minutes later. Almost all of them were bills! The only thing that wasn't a bill was a note from the place I worked at, telling me I was fired. I got mad after that and threw a jar. A piece of glass bounced off the wall and cut my face. And... the only lucky things that happened was that my family heirloom was safe and... well... I get to see you."
Sparkle had no words. She looked down at her lap and then looked back to me.
"Prudent..." she muttered, rubbing her forehead for a moment. "I am SO sorry to hear that!"
"Eh, I wasn't always the luckiest mare in the city..." I swirled my straw around my malt. "So... what happened to you?"
"Aside from magic school, not much," Sparkle shrugged. "I mean, I did get a marefriend. We're actually engaged, and planning on moving nearby. I also ended up getting a huge inheritance from my late grandfather. Rest his soul."
I sat there dumbfounded.
I then put my hooves on my face and groaned.
"What is wrong with me?" I hissed. "I mean, you, my first and greatest friend, is out there getting all the happiness, while I recently got stuck into a mood where I feel like a loser. It's not you! But I feel like at the bottom of the barrel. Sometimes, all I want is to be the one to run all of Equestria, and have all the friends! I would never be sad again, and maybe the world will have learned to respect me!"
I sighed.
"Sorry..." I groaned. "I let my thoughts carry me away. I would never do that! It's just the evil in my mind speaking. I mean, I'm supposed to not think like this! My talent is to heal the minds of those who are troubled! But I feel like I can't save myself!"
Sparkle rubbed her chin.
"You know, Prudent, maybe I could help," Sparkle offered. "If you feel like you can't calm your mind, come over to our place tonight. My marefriend's brewing skills match that of a zebras! Maybe she could make a tea that could just help you relax. Focus on a positive outlook. We can make the tea, and if you want, do other things. Play cards, go to a movie, whatever we can all agree on."
I tapped my chin.
"I'll think about it," I concluded. "I can try to therapize myself. If it doesn't work, well then... I'll see you at 7."
"You do you," Sparkle said.
"Hey could you pay?" I asked. "I'll need to pay those bills."
Sparkle smirked.
"You're lucky I have a soft spot for friends," she chuckled, opening her purse.