Interviews With Equestrians

by Jmaster49


Subject 121: Off We Go

Meanwhile…

“Twilight, are you sure this is a good idea?” Sentry asked me as he watched me pack a suitcase. “Going away, on your own for who knows how long? What’ll we do without you?”

With both hooves pressed down hard, I closed the suitcase down. “You’ll be fine. But according to Inkwell, I need to rest away from my job for a while so I can come back with a clearer state of mind.” I looked up at the portrait of Celestia, Luna, and myself that I kept above my bed near the window. “The last thing I want to do is become like Daybreaker or Nightmare Moon. So overloaded with anxiety in my heart that I can’t think straight. And by then, it’ll have been too late. My mental troubles will coagulate and form into a dark, evil side that I can’t control.”

I looked over at the pegasus. His wings stood on end, and I could practically see the goosebumps along his body. “...Brrrgh...yeah, you’re right, I suppose. We’ll do what we can to hold down the fort while you’re gone. But we’re still not entirely sure who could’ve taken Neighsay’s soul out of his body. Only someone like Tirek could do that, and even then…”

Obviously. It was a scary thought with a multitude of possible answers. And with that, those answers had loads of differing variables involved. None of which were exact sciences. Regardless, I could not afford to dedicate too much time towards it. No, not because I was uninterested. It was due to my own mental health, and the fact that I needed to back away from the throne for a while so that I could gather myself. As Raven Inkwell said: if Pale could do it, so could I.

I levitated the case next to me as I walked past Flash Sentry. “Don’t worry, Flashy. I’m sure you, Spike, Starlight, and everypony else can work to find a solution to this mystery. Heck, you might even solve it before I get back, hehe!” I said with a giggle to help ease the tension.

That seemed to work since his wings retracted and I could see his chest slowly lower as he took an exhale of relief. “Well if you’re confident in us, we’ll be sure to not let you down. Speaking of which--I never asked, but where exactly are you going for this little vacay of yours?”

“Good question,” I replied with a smug look on my face. I used my horn to generate an image of a map of the world beyond Equestria. “I’m actually going to the gargoyle and centaur Kingdom. It’ll be a great way to improve international relations while getting away from home.”

He gave me a judgemental stink eye. “Don’t start working, you hear? You’re supposed to be resting.” He waved his hoof into my purple holographic projection to disable it. “Just have fun, alright?”

Of course. Sentry always needed a moment or two to comprehend an order that I gave him. But once he did, he was on my flank about sticking to what made sense. And he was right. This wasn’t a trip to do anything related to Equestria. It was R&R.

“Of course, of course. You worry as much as me sometimes--”

But he cut me off. Sentry was not going to have it. “I’m serious, Twilight,” he said with an aura of authority as he grabbed ahold of my hoof, “Don’t go off and do anything stupid. I don’t want to have to fly down there and bring you back home myself.” He let go, and looked down at the floor. “And I know you wouldn’t like that…”

He was being sincere. I respected, and appreciated it, which I displayed with a soft smile. “...Thanks, Flash. I promise I’ll keep myself out of trouble while I’m away. Just make sure you and everypony else does the same, okay?”

The charming pegasus looked up at me with a grin on his face. “Naturally. And on the first order of business. I’d like to request being the one in charge while you’re--”

“Actually…” Oh no. He was not going to like what I had to say. But I had to be honest ahead of time. “Spike is going to be in charge. B-but you’ll be second-in-command!”

I expected him to flip his feathers and unleash onto me with an annoyed rant that comprised of what he felt more deserving of such a position than Spike. But to my surprise, he was very mature about it.

“Hm…” He inhaled, then exhaled sharply. After which he nodded once. “Understood, Twilight. Have fun, and come back safe, okay?” He trotted out of my room.

“...Thank you.” I always appreciated how willing he was to speak his mind. But in that instance, I suppose he found no room for debate on the issue. Anyhow, it was time to get ready to go.


The next day…

And we were off. Cheerilee, Cozy, and I all met at the train station. We all greeted each other with glee as we bonded over the excitement that awaited us in Sire’s Hollow. Apparently, it had already begun to snow there, so Cozy was extra excited.

“Oooh! I can’t wait!” she chirped as she pulled her suitcase onto the loading platform with her. “I’ve never actually seen snow before to be honest.”

That was unexpected, but given how little time she spent living beforehoof, I could understand. Even so, I tilted my head. “Wait, you haven’t seen snow before?”

She shook her head. “Nuh-uh…”

Cheerilee looked over the contents of Cozy’s suitcase. “Did you pack a warm jacket? You don’t want to catch a cold.”

“Oh no, I packed it. And some backup ones,” she pointed to the other parts of her bag, “I wanna be extra prepared in case the conditions get pretty bad, you know?”

I pat the young mare on the head. “Good on you. I wouldn’t expect anything less from somepony such as yourself.”

She swatted my hoof away, and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, don’t hog me up, pops.”

“Yup, looks like you’re ready to me,” Cheerilee shut the suitcase, and offered it back to Cozy. “I’m rather excited for you. Since you haven’t seen snow before, it’ll be an interesting experience for sure.”

“Hehe--yeah, I’m actually looking forward to making snowponies and engaging in snowball fights...however you do those.”

I shuddered. It was always very cold in Manehattan around this time of year. They kept the roads clear of slippery ice via magic so that taxi-carriages could still function. I saluted the ponies that continued to escort people around in the freezing conditions--I really did. “Brr...where I’m from, you can’t walk two meters before you end up in snow around this time.”

Cheerilee giggled. “Oh yes, I can’t even begin to imagine the horrid conditions that plague Manehattan around this time of year. Must have been murder on you.”

Cozy looked up with a curious expression directed at me. “Hey yeah, come to think of it--the climate is fairly cold there for mainland Equestria. How did you manage during the winter, Pale?”

Good question indeed. I suppose the answer could lie in numerous things. What with being forced to trek through the snow for whatever my father asked for. There was also those street fights me and the other foals used to have in which we nearly froze each other’s faces off when dunking each other in the Central Park Pond. Or maybe the time we all raced across the frozen water to the Mare Statue (or Statue of Filliberty as it was sometimes known as), and crashed into it the base of it since none of us knew how to stop.

...My word, those were not your average wintertime memories.

It gave me a start. Initially, I didn’t know how to respond. “Erm…” I tapped my hoof for a second, and then it came to me. “Well, when you’re out in the cold very often, it can help you get used to it. I’m actually really sensitive to warm temperatures because of it.”

“Really?” Cozy raised a brow, then shrugged at my response. “I suppose one’s home biome can affect how they adapt to others. You certainly wouldn’t see penguins trying to live where antelope do, for example.”

“Oooh, I remember when I gave a lecture on that subject,” Cheerile mused back to her younger years, “Everypony in my class managed to pass the climate test. It was fun watching them learn about stuff like that….”

I gave her a nudge. “Well hey, you’re not done yet. Maybe you can still teach a certain someone a few things…”

She paused, and looked at me with a sly grin. “Oh you...keep that up and you’re going to pass my classes for sure,” she whispered to my ear.

Flattered, I was. But that was not what I meant at all. “Er, I meant you can teach Cozy a few new things.”

The purple mare blushed, and laughed it off. “Oh right! Ha...ha...yeah, that’s what I--I knew that.”

“What did you think I was referring to?”

“Uhhh...oh look, the train is here!”

Saved by the steam engine. The train came to a screech of a halt when it arrived.

As soon as the doors opened, Cozy pranced on past us. “C’mon, guys--you don’t wanna be late, do you?”

Cheerilee and I stopped and looked at each other for a moment. We snickered, then headed onto the train.

Once we got there, we took our seats, and Cozy started to talk with Cheerilee some more. I looked around--as I was wont to do--and noticed a familiar face...or three.

A pink mare with a sunhat, a white younger mare with another sunhat, and a white unicorn with a sunhat and shades. Those were all disguises but they all carried very familiar auras. And then, I noticed the unicorn pull up a brochure to read.

It was the one for Sire’s Hollow.