"Oh, you're heading out now?" Lily asked, looking up from the newspaper in her magic. I nodded in response, taking a sip of the chai tea my host graciously prepared. Lily and I were currently sitting in her living room, with a couch on one side of the small round table, and a love sofa on the other. It was a pretty sizable room, which made sense with her being a noble and all. A dresser lined with knic-knacks and fine china on the top sat to her left, while the fire place, lit with a small ember sat on my right.
"Yeah, I figured I'd come and pay a visit before we leave. It will be a while before we come back with everyone else." I explained, sighing in alleviation. "I remembered your address, so it wasn't too much trouble." Lily nodded in understanding, taking a swig of her own tea.
"Well I appreciate that you thought to visit me before leaving," Lily began with a thoughtful smile. "I suppose I did need the company." She placed her empty tea cup on the small plate that sat on the table with her magic, folding the newspaper into a roll and placing it on the side.
"Too bad i can't stay though," I pointed out, finishing off the last of my tea, placing the empty cup on the plate as well. "But I'll definitely come over more often when all of this is said and done, your tea is amazing." I said, nodding with a satisfied smile. "Oh, and your company is nice too." Lily giggled at that, a hint of mirth in her eye.
"You really are a kind soul, Zale." My eyes widened at that, a small burning coming to my cheeks. I looked away, rubbing the back of my neck.
"I'm just being me, I guess. As I see it, being nice is kinda, well, nice." I said with a chuckle. Lily only shook her head in amusement.
"I'll definitely look forward to your visits then." Lily said with a wink. "But it's probably not a good idea to keep your friends waiting, doesn't the train leave soon?" I pulled out my phone and looked at the time. It was 2:17 PM.
"Oof, you're probably right about that, heh." I said as I stood up. "The train is supposed to be at the station at 2:30 or so."
"You better get going then Zale, or else you'll miss it." I nodded at that, walking towards the door.
"Yuppers, see ya later alligator!" I waved and walked out of the residence, starting at a brisk pace towards Canterlot station.
~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~
As I made my way through the streets of Canterlot en route to the train station, I hummed a little tune to myself, not minding the passing ponies and occasional griffons along the way. I wasn't used to this part of the city yet, but thanks to Harmony, navigation was a breeze. The station came into view as I turned a corner, and I saw my entourage waiting for me at the edge.
Canterlot Station was just as grand as the rest of the city, albeit on a more smaller scale. White marble pillars emblazoned with gold streaks acted as supports for the high reaching ceiling, much taller than I was. Various ponies were walking in and out of the station, chatter filed the area, not even ceasing as I passed through, but I did get quite a few curious glances. Word must've gotten around about me, and word sure does travel fast.
Spike noticed me walking up the stairs, and he waved me down from his position on Twilight's back. "Hey, there he is! Yo, Zale!" He called. I waved back in response, stopping in front of Twilight.
"Are you all set?" Twilight asked. I gave her a thumbs up in response, and nodded.
"Yep, I've already taken care of my business here." As I pull out my phone to check up on Harmony, the train made it's presence known with a blow of it's horn. It was visible in the distance coming down the railroad, approaching the station. I looked down at my phone and read that it was now 2:30, on the dot. I unlocked the phone and pull up my caller list, and dial up one miss Harmony.
After just one ring, she picked up. "Good evening Isaiah, what can I do ya for?" Harmony asked cheerfully.
"just wanted to check up on you is all really," I answered honestly. "You're a part of the team too now after all."
"Actually, I did want to talk to you about that." I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? What's up?"
Harmony hummed in thought for a moment before answering. "Well you see Isaiah, you don't have to treat me the way you do. You know, like an actual person." I heard Harmony sigh over the line just before the screeching of metal on metal rang from the train's brakes.
"What do you mean?" I asked sincerely.
"Asking how I'm doing, having idle chats with me, treating me like a friend; to name a few things."
"Isaiah, come on!" I heard Fizzlepop shout after me. She was already on the train. I wasn't paying attention to when the doors actually opened, and I quickly made my way inside and followed her down the car. The inside of the train looked much more spacious than what the outside of it let on. Compared to a subway tram in my world, this would probably be considered S class. Cushioned seats, tables in between most of the seats, clean and clear wide windows, giving a perfect view of everything on the outside.
I shook my head and decided to admire the train's decor later and continued the conversation at hand. "Harmony, It's really no trouble at all. I treat you the way I do because I enjoy having you around, just like everyone else." I pointed out. "I would feel terrible just treating you like.. like a tool and a slave, Harmony." A pang of guilt twinged in the back of my mind, making me wince slightly.
Harmony stayed silent for a few moments before I heard a chuckle on the other end. "You know, I guess Lily was right. You really are something else, you know that? .. Thank you, for caring about me Isaiah."
I took a seat next to Valkyrie, sliding in a bit to make room for Fizzlepop. She took the empty space on the other side and got in a comfortable position as she laid her head on my lap. Twilight and Spike sat on the other side with a table between us. "Hey, what can I say except 'You're welcome'?" I said with a smile.
I heard Harmony let out a drawn out yawn."Well, I'ma take a nap. Call if you need anything, okay?"
"Sure thing." I answered with a nod. The line went silent after that, and I put my phone away in my hoodie pocket.
"So how was Harmony doing?" Fizzlepop asked looking up at me. I smiled down at her.
"She's okay now, just had to talk to her."
"And Fleur?" I heard Valkyrie ask to my right. "How's she holding up on her own?"
"She's actually handling it surprisingly well when I went to visit her," I began with a thoughtful look. "Even though she did mentioned she needed the company then, I think she'll be alright now." Valkyrie nodded in understanding.
"That's good to hear." Twilight noted. "Spike, did you send the letters I wrote to the others girls that didn't see us off?"
"Yup!" Spike answered, crossing his arms. "But from what Celestia told me, Rarity was disappointed that she didn't get the chance to see us off."
"I have a feeling I know why.." I said, placing a hand over my hoodie. "Rarity did make this for me, and I haven't gotten a chance to thank her yet."
"That, and she didn't get to see you in it." Fizzlepop added with a smirk. I chuckled a little, before sighing and lying back in the cushion of the seat. Damn, these seats were comfy. I closed my eyes and sighed, calming myself.
"Well I'll be sure to give her my biggest thanks when we return." After a moment of silence, the train lurched into motion.
"Alright guys," Twilight began. "Here's the plan so far. We're on our way to Vanhoover, which is the closest town to the Smokey mountains. It'll be a couple of hours till our stop, but once we get there, we'll grab a few more supplies, a bite to eat, and hoof it the rest of the way." Valkyrie hummed in thought.
"That's sounds.. like a good start, I suppose." Valkyrie noted. "How shall we proceed towards the mountain itself, and what sort of strategy should we follow during the rescue?" Twilight sighed, and rubbed the back of her head with a hoof.
"Ideally we would want to get to it as quickly and safely as possible," Twilight tapped a hoof on her chin in thought. "As for a strategy, we know too little about our enemy to come up with a solid one. I can only remember so much about the terrain from the last time I was here."
"So you're saying we'll have to wing it from there, huh?" I asked, cracking open an eye.
"As of right now, yes. But if anything happens along the way or if we find any information regarding our enemy or more of the terrain, the plan may shift."
"We could ask around about recent activity in the mountains while we're in Vanhoover, if anypony knows anything." Valkyrie suggested. "It would be more beneficial to at least try rather than go in blind." Twilight blinked.
"Huh. You know, why didn't I think of that?" Spike shook his head in amusement.
"I think we should rent a room at an inn for the night as well, we'll want plenty of daylight to use during our search." Fizzlepop added.
"Alright, I guess that settles it;" Twilight began. "Get to Vanhoover, gather supplies, get something to eat, get information, and sleep" Twilight concluded. We all nodded in agreement to that, and we fell into a companionable silence.
~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~
The green grass blew along with the gentle breeze of the meadow, swaying back in forth in rhythm. I lay in the grass with my arms behind my head, eyes opened. The moon sure looked beautiful tonight, it's large circular shape taking up just a small chunk of space in the never ending night sky. Stars twinkled and danced around me, putting on a show for all to see.
I sighed in satisfaction, appreciative of the moonlit sky that blankets the land in it's eternal serenity and peace. Taking in a deep breath, I closed my eyes and slowly exhaled. I heard the sound of rustling grass beside me, someone walking up to me. I open my eyes to look back up.
I smiled when I recognized the mulberry unicorn. She laid down beside me, resting her head on my lap, just like she always did. I reached out with a hand and stroked her mane gently, closing my eyes yet again. Soon, the darkness enclosed around us, swallowing us whole, and the world I knew was no more.
With a yawn, I cracked open an eye to take in my surroundings. I was still on the train, along with Twilight, Spike, Fizzlepop and Valkyrie. Must've dozed off.. Among the three of them, only one was awake at the moment. Valkyrie, as vigilant as ever kept a watchful eye over the group. When her eyes landed on mine, she smiled.
"Morning, sunshine." Valkyrie teased. I only let out a low mumble in response, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. After a moment, I fished around in the modified saddlebags for a quick snack. Inside, I pulled out a nice chunk of apple cobbler in a container. I didn't have a spoon or anything, so I opted to just chug the damn thing. Even so, it was good , and I didn't care.
After I was done with my make-do snack, I looked over to Valkyrie with an eyebrow raised. "How long have we been out for?"
"You fell asleep first, so about an hour. The others fell asleep roughly 20 minutes after you did." I pulled out my phone to confirm my suspicions. It was now 3:47 in the evening, and it looked like Harmony was still asleep as well. She sure does like to sleep, huh? I sighed with a nod.
"Alright, so we still have an hour or so to go." Valkyrie nodded her head in response. I put the now empty container back inside the bags, and leaned back into the seat. A thought came to mind, and I looked over to Valkyrie again, this time with a worried, albeit skeptical look.
I leaned in slightly and hushed my tone.
"When do you plan on telling them?" Valkyrie froze up slightly, looking uncomfortable now. "You know you'll have to eventually, Chrysy." After a moment of silence, she looked into my eyes.
"I.. I don't know." She admitted, a guilty look crossing her face. "I was going to wait until it felt like the right time to tell them the truth."
"You know there's never going to be a 'right time'," I pointed out. "That's just how life is, and you have to take initiative." She didn't say anything again for a moment, before she took in a breath and nodded.
"I'll tell them tonight, at the inn. I promise." I smiled approvingly at that, and we fell into a comfortable silence once more.