//------------------------------// // Epilogue Four - Honest // Story: Retcon // by Beige //------------------------------// Today… … Depending on how this goes… Today I either make a friend… …or lose everything. Retcon glanced up at the sky as she stepped outside. Overcast, like the weather wasn’t sure it wanted to rain or not. She sighed. Perhaps some rain was due. It had been rather sunny for the past week, though she hadn’t left the house in that time. While she didn’t necessarily need to buy more food, it certainly wouldn’t do to not keep up appearances. That being said, even if she didn’t require solid food, her isolation was beginning to disagree with her stomach. Closing the door, she squinted up at the great grey expanse. It was harder to make out, but she thought she could see the small cloud again. It had been easier to spot that particular cloud on other days when the sky was blue and clear. She greeted the other ponies as she passed them by, and they bid her a good day in return. After all, that’s what one does when one is having a good day. There was nothing wrong. Her smile never wavered. Her wings never twitched, and her words never faltered. She was content and care-free as she made her way into town. All the same, she knew the Guardhouse was right next to the train station at the edge of town. As was the Ponyville Tourism Information Centre. Instead she would head in the direction of the Everfree. Surely if she went far enough… Besides, monsters live there. She would be safe. But it wouldn’t come to that. She nodded absently, like she had a song stuck in her head. She was sure it was a pleasant one. The walk was over sooner than she’d have liked. The branches of the great tree didn’t cast much of a shadow in the wan light of the obscured sun. Without hesitation as if it were the most normal thing in the world, she reached up to the door and knocked. “Its’s open!” came the response from within, almost immediately. Taking the invitation, Retcon opened the door and stepped inside. Having been told the tree house was a library, the fact that the shelves were stacked with books didn’t surprise Retcon. What did was the sheer number of books all around the room. She had found that she has quite enjoyed reading, but it tended to take her a while to get through them, due to having to consult her dictionary every now and then, something she found herself doing less frequently. To see so many books all in the same place was strangely daunting. Ponies wrote all this? How do they find the time? “Oh, hey!” Her eyes were drawn from the shelves to a table to one side of the room. Glancing up from papers in front of her, the Princess turned and gave her a bright smile. The quill suspended in the air dipped into an inkwell, and the magenta aura around it faded. “Retcon, welcome!” “Um,” Retcon paused with a foreleg held in the air, “Am I interrupting?” “Ah, nonsense!” Twilight stood and, with a flick of her horn, the papers on the table collected themselves together into a neat pile. “You’re not interrupting anything, I was just writing to my brother. How can I help?” “Oh, alright. Well, um, I was wondering, do you have any books on food?” “Food?” Twilight blinked. “You, hah, uhh, could you narrow it down? You mean the science of nutrition, I have some journals on physiology?” “Umm… I mean, like… anything on how to make food?” “Oh, cookbooks!” Twilight grinned sheepishly. Retcon shrugged, her wings flicking outward. “I’m not that good at cooking.” “Heh, well, you’re in good company.” Lighting her horn, the Princess trotted over to a shelf and started pulling out dozens of books all at once. The books started to orbit around her. “So, have you been cooking long?” she asked casually. Retcon took a breath. So it starts. “Princess… Do you m-mind if I speak openly?” “Please, call me Twilight.” She shot Retcon an askance look. “What’s up?” “…I get the impression you’re watching for something.” The books halted in their orbit. There was a complete stillness for several seconds, then the books started to move back to their shelves. “Well, perhaps there’s nothing to watch for,” said Twilight with a disarming smile. “I-I don’t mean to be rude. I’m… sure you have good reason.” Twilight chuckled mildly. “Maybe I’m just paranoid.” “Mmh…” Retcon chewed the inside of her cheek “…Twilight… Can you trust me to be honest?” “…Can I-…” Twilight frowned. “Isn’t the matter of your honesty up to you?” “You would be the one doing the trusting.” Purple eyes narrowed an iota. “…If, hypothetically, I were to say no, how would you respond?” “I’d… probably leave,” Retcon said with a faint smile. “…I see…” Twilight paused, then inclined her head. “Then, yes. I trust you.” Nodding absently, Retcon drew a long breath. “I just… I wanted to say; what you said before about Ponyville… It is nice. It’s quiet, and everypony is really friendly, and… I like being here. Living here.” Twilight nodded. Her expression was blank, but Retcon tasted concern. “…Thing is,” Retcon continued before the silence grew awkward, “I thought we might not, exactly, get along.” “Why would you think…” A spark of offence, quickly smothered. “We haven’t met before, have we?” “No!” Retcon exclaimed. “No, at least, I don’t think we have.” “Heh, is being a princess really that scary?” Retcon rubbed the back of her neck. “…Well… you could say royalty in general, I guess.” “Right…” Twilight paused for several seconds, looking her in the eye. “Did Witherby have a mayor?” “Of a sort.” The alicorn’s tone of voice turned casual. “What’s Witherby like, growing up there?” “Oh, pretty ordinary,” Retcon enunciated, her expression bordering on apologetic. “About as ordinary as you can imagine.” Her heart was pounding in her ears. “I suppose you’ll be visiting? Seeing family and friends?” “Never, I suspect.” Twilight almost faltered. “…No?” “I, uhh…” Retcon sniffed. “…There was a disagreement. I was, umm… I felt like I needed a fresh start.” The polite smile was gone. “…Oh…” Retcon shrugged in the ensuing silence. “You make-do, I guess.” “I was going to ask if I-” Twilight blinked. “Never mind.” Her eyes bored into Retcon’s for several uncomfortable seconds. “…Heh, maybe I am paranoid.” “Well… maybe that’s a good thing? I mean, for all you know… I could be anyone,” Retcon managed to say with a steady voice. The polite smile started to return. “And who are you?” “…To be honest… I’m not entirely sure. But…” She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “…My name’s Retcon, and… I like to read.” “Hah, mare after my own heart!” Twilight’s horn lit up, pulling a few books from the shelves. “So, what sort of cookbook are you looking for?” “Oh, um… I’m not sure,” Retcon stammered. “I mean, a friend told me how to cook something once, I wanted to know if there was more like it.” “What did you cook?” “Umm… Crab- oh, carbonara! Spaghetti.” “Ooh, Neighples cuisine, can’t go wrong with that.” The books in the air around Twilight came to a halt. After a moment, all but one of the books flew back to their places on the shelves. “Try this one,” she declared, grinning. “The chef who wrote it owns a lovely restaurant in Canterlot, but this book is all about simple, easy recipes, rather than going all fancy. Could be a good place to start?” Retcon blinked at the cover, the magenta aura vanishing as she took it into her hooves. “That’s… perfect. Thank you.” Twilight beamed at her. “You’re welcome! Anything else I can help you with?” “Umm…” I hadn’t really… She tucked the book under a wing. “That’s… That’s everything, I think. Umm, when do… when’s the return date?” Twilight waved a hoof in the air. “Ah, keep it. It’s yours.” “Wha-… You mean it?” “Sure! Let’s say… first one’s on the house, okay? I’ll order in a new copy.” Jaw trembling, Retcon nodded, holding her wing tighter against the book. “That’s really nice, thanks.” Twilight inclined her head graciously. “Oh, and uh… if you ever want to talk about continuity, you’ll always find a friendly ear here.” Retcon straightened her posture and nodded. “Thank you.” Twilight chuckled. “Thank you, Retcon.” As Retcon turned to leave, she noticed Twilight return to her desk, her horn alight. A sheet of paper flew out from the centre of the pile and was scrunched up into a ball in the air. Retcon didn’t linger. She opened the front door, stepping back outside into the fresh air, the smell of rain on the breeze. As the door shut closed behind, a wave of exhaustion wasted over her, nearly causing her to lose her grip on the book. Holding out a forelimb, she leaned against the doorframe, trying to catch her breath. …Not today, then… It had been several days since she had last seen the cloud.