Cryptic made his way back without too much hassle. He passed by familiar trees and bushes, helping him navigate. He didn't really pass anyone and his walk back 'home' was in silence, leaving him more than ample time for his troubled thoughts to invent all kinds of scenarios and let them play out in the interim.
He decided to just be honesty with them. He remembered that phrase from somewhere "Honesty is the best policy." But what was his honest state? He knew so little about himself and others that nothing felt real. It was like everything felt like something he was reading in a book or a story, not something that was really happening to him.
He knew he'd have to push through it, he just didn't know how to push through the bitterness of his recent failures in friendship already. What if they hated him for running off? No, Starlight wouldn't know about that... unless Trixie told her...
With a heavy heart and now-aching legs, he made his way back to the stage coach.
He looked up and saw a little white kite flying above, some kind of fish or something. In fact, now that he squinted at it, it seemed to be have writing on it.
It said "We're Sorry, Cryptic" in terrible handwriting.
That made him wonder, but he didn't have time to process it yet. The door exploded open as soon as he was in proximity and Trixie bolted out to hug him.
"Oh, good, you are okay! We were so worried you had run off and done something rash. I was really blaming myself."
"Oh, no, I just needed some time to think. I believe I've handled stuff poorly that I could have maybe done better at not instigating."
Trixie flushed in shame and looked down. "Actually, it's us that were bad hosts. We didn't mean to drag you into something complicated. You're brand new and I should have respected the fact that you need time to adjust to this new town and people."
Starlight Glimmer strolled up, reeling in her kite as she walked closer. "Too many words. Just say sorry."
"I'm sorry," Trixie amended lamely.
"I'm sorry too," Cryptic said. "Also, Starlight, I thought you left to go see Sunburst?"
Starlight Glimmer chuckled nervously and rubbed her hoof behind her head. "Ahahaha, no, truth is, before I even got on the train, I was having second thoughts. Normally I write a letter to Twilight in advance and I thought dropping in unannounced would be rude, even if it was the castle. Normally, people make appointments through Spike and then show up the next day. And, well, I've been trying to be a better friend and how I was feeling, all mixed up inside was... pretty much the complete opposite of how a good friend would behave."
"Wow, Starlight. You came to that realization all by yourself?"
Starlight looked a little bit proud. "Yeah. Yeah I did. I've been working on myself."
Trixie wiped away a tear. "So you really have been listening!"
"I have. I thought the new me should take some time before rushing off to do things half-assedly. I should be using my whole ass, in other words."
Everyone assembled laughed.
"That's not quite how I would have worded it, but I think you're making progress!"
Cryptic held his stomach as it rumbled. All that running around and getting upset and vomiting and whatnot had made him extra grumpy and hungry now. "Hey, uh, is everyone else hungry?"
"God, yes, I'm starving," Starlight Glimmer agreed.
"Give me a moment and I'll whip something up," Trixie said.
"What were you think?"
"In the mood for sandwiches?"
"Oh, yes, that would be perfect. Can I help?"
"Yes, just get the bread and find out what Cryptic likes on his sandwiches."
"I, um, I don't know yet," he said. "Can you just give me everything and I'll figured it out from there?"
Trixie went back into the stagecoach and opened the doors and window wide. There was a clattering and banging of various cabinets and utensils and things.
Her voice carried from inside: "Do you guys want hot sandwiches or cold?"
"I'm really hungry so the sooner, the better."
"Starlight, can you give me a hand with your magic?"
"Oh, sure thing."
After several minutes, Cryptic was given a triple-decker sandwich with fresh olives, pickles, goat-cheese, mayonnaise, tomatoes, lettuce, pesto mustard, onions, fennel, and cucumber. He had trouble getting a bite into his mouth, so he got a knife and cut it into fourths. It then promptly fell apart. Starlight's purple magic surrounded his sandwich, reassembled it, and got a plate for him.
"Thanks," he said.
"Well, you did say everything," she said sheepishly. "So I added everything. Even though you can't see it, there's salt and pepper and oil and vinegar on the bread and onion and garlic powder on some of the toppings for savoriness."
Cryptic resumed eating and Starlight ate her own sandwich, which had considerably less toppings and it looked like something sweet (jelly?) in the middle. Trixie's concoction had extra cheese. Like three or four slices of cheese maybe. She also had mushrooms and onions. He wasn't judging their choices, but he remembered it for the future, in case they asked him to make a snack.
He did feel sorry imagining Starlight and Trixie kissing later though. All those onions would make for some rotten breath after they were done. He laughed silently to himself. They looked at him curiously, but he didn't share his private thought. He didn't want to make it awkward, not right where things were starting to feel relatively normal again.
Cryptic didn't want to jinx it.
"So what's the plan for tomorrow?" he asked.
"I'm going to help Starlight draft her letter and we can all go to visit Sunburst and Twilight Sparkle together. Twilight is very smart and more powerful than me, though I hate to admit it, and she'll be the best one to try and solve what happened to you. So we'll introduce you to them and see what happens."
Trixie reached out to pat his hoof and his heart soared, but he was afraid to show it. Stammering, he turned to Starlight Glimmer.
"That was a cool kite you were flying earlier!"
She brightened up considerably. "You like kites?"
"No, I know absolutely nothing about kites."
She darkened again, some of her passion ebbing away. "Oh..."
"Well, that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to hear you talk about kites. Just that I don't know a single thing about how they work. Why, if that were me, that kite would have flopped straight onto the ground."
Starlight laughed. "Yes, it's very difficult for a beginner to fly! It's ironic that you need strong winds to keep the kite up, but it pushes and pulls and fights against you. The trick is to guide in gently by using a gentle touch. You don't want to force it."
Trixie wagged her eyebrows at Starlight, making her lose her train of thought and blush.
"Oh, you!" She gave the blue unicorn a shove, nearly toppling her.
"Hey, hey! I am Great and Powerful! You are not allowed to wrinkle my cape."
"That cape is plenty wrinkled, I can see it from here."
"Maybe I can wash your cape," Cryptic offered. They both laughed a lot, for several minutes.
"Oh, wow, that is missing the point so hard. 'I'll wash your cape!' he says! Oh, Starlight, you really need to do laundry, our guest really thinks that we need his help to wash my cape!"
"Aww..."
His ears flattened and he feel like he was being made fun of. Starlight wiped away a tear and came over to console him and smooth over hurt feelings.
"We're not laughing at you. She's got like ten more capes just like that folded up under her hammock. It was just so funny! She's been wearing that one for like four days now. It's absolutely disgusting."
"Why don't you just make her put on a new one?" he asked innocently.
"Oh, no, I am not the boss here," Starlight laughed. "It might not look like it, but Trixie is definitely the one in charge."
Trixie pointed at her with a hoof. "Damn straight. And don't you forget it."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Starlight put her arm around Cryptic's shoulders and whispered in his ear. "It's okay, you can relax now. No one is going to fight with you. I don't know what happened to you, but you're safe here. And you can take a nap in the carriage while me and Trixie do some writing and work on her act. Okay?"
He nodded and went into the coach to get some rest.