//------------------------------//
// Chapter 46 
// Story: Borrowed Time 
// by Gambit Prawn 
//------------------------------//

I watched, disoriented, as the blur of strangely-shaped buildings streamed by. We crisscrossed between tracks, often barely avoiding incoming vehicles. Of course, by far the weirdest part was that I was lodged in some sort of breathable, protective, weightless, tasteless (yes, I tried it) jelly. It didn't even restrain my movement that much. It was perfectly engineered for transporting ponies, leaving just one objection: it was pretty weird.
 
"Why am I on a train…" I said faintly.
 
"We’re going to school!" the little filly, House Keeper said, with excitement. A second later, gloom seemed to overcome her. “I want to show you, but it’s not fun at all... Do you like going to school?”
 
"Not really," I said quickly. There were so many things I could say, but I didn't want to stir the pot. I wanted to help her, but I had too many of my own problems. Even with the exchange ponies, I hadn’t accomplished anything just by talking to them.

“I guess there are always ponies who will tell fillies what to do all day...”

“Even for princesses,” I said absentmindedly.

I locked eyes with her and could almost feel her desperation, resonating with what I had said. 

I recoiled.
 
This is obviously a dream. I may as well just enjoy the train ride.
 
"Diane told me about trains from her world. It sounds like hers are low-tech, barbarian trains, though," she said, in a weak attempt to change the subject.
 
I almost wanted to wake myself to escape the downer mood. Looking at her gloomy complexion, it felt like more than just melancholy.

"So who are you exactly?" I asked with tempered interest. 
 
"I'm just me!" she said with conviction. "Or if you want to know my pedigree, I'm a Class 1 bridal candidate…"
 
"What's that, now?" I asked, feeling immediate regret.
 
“It means a stallion of lower status can't marry me without my father’s consent. I have to be my husband’s only. I can also have certified foals. Though, I don’t really know what that means…”

I looked away, overwhelmed by the gravity of her words.

“River, can I ask you something?”

I nodded, without making eye contact. Still, if she was going to be direct with me, I welcomed any hint about her that may come from it.
 
“Do you want to do more exciting things, like colts get to do?”

It threw me for a loop. So much so that I didn’t take my time to patiently craft a response. “Well, there’s a friend I... I play games with sometimes. It’s really fun, but I almost feel like I’m not supposed to—as a filly I mean.”

“Exactly! She replied, validated. When my brothers play with me, it’s really fun. I’m sort of jealous they can do what they want, but I’m me. It should be all right to be me I think, but it’s really hard...”

“I don’t see what’s so hard about it,” I said bluntly, trying to disarm the tension. “Of course you’re you. Colt or filly doesn’t factor into it—that’s just a matter of what you get to do and what’s expected of you.”
 
She looked at me weirdly. “Are you sure?”

“Well I—it seems obvious to me,” I said, somewhat bashful. 

“What Diane said the other day made more sense to me,” said House.

“My sis—I mean, yes, that one cat, or filly, or whatever. Yeah, she’s an interesting one. Say, aren't you ever worried about giving away information to strange dream people?"
 
She giggled. "Mom doesn't believe me when I say I have dream friends. When I told her, she said if dreamtime visitors could see into her heart, she would be in big trouble." 

Our platform casually separated from the train and glided over to the wide doorway of a beige, highly angular building. I could hear the mechanical school bell ring with changing pitch as a result of the jelly around me melting. 

“Well, we have music class first period,” House said, with measured excitement.

I took one glance into the building and saw the outline of a multi-level sprawling, immaculately clean, winding hallway.
 
"My apologies, but frankly, I get enough of that when I’m awake."
 
Through force of will, I yanked myself awake.
 
When I came to, I felt a frenetic, almost wild momentum beneath me. Sharp turns caused the floor to shift underhoof and threatened me with the prospect of rolling up the walls. I was flanked by two rows of seats, most of which were torn and looked older than Rhod itself.

“Why am I on a train?” I asked, with a hint of deja vu. 
 
I caught sight of a medium-length, brown tail at the end of the aisle.

“Hey, excuse me, do you know where I am?”

The tail’s owner snarled, neck cracking as he jerked his head around to face me. His head lunged at me like a serpent and threatened to separate from his body in its bid to devour me. After the initial jolt of horror had run its course, I felt a second, stronger jolt as I got the sensation of being pulled at once in multiple directions. When I opened my eyes again, I was face-to-face with an undead abomination: eyes of onyx, teeth that made up for their low numbers with ragged sharpness, and a long mane engulfed by an eternal blue flame.

I made a squeaking noise. “Never mind, I was just looking for the—” 

A lethal pincer of two front hooves clamped my tiny filly neck as I was jerked violently towards the demon’s mouth and his icy, cold breath.

“All abooooooaaaaard!!!” he wailed, followed by a ruthless laugh.

I braced for the end and closed my eyes to the nightmare, praying that’s what it was.

“Oh, it’s you, Alice.” A familiar, warm voice washed over me.

I opened my eyes, and the contours and colors of the disheveled train car came more clearly into view, along with the brown stallion who was holding me.

“So you’re back, huh?” I asked him. I almost would have preferred he eat me.

He nodded like the dork he was.

I sighed. “So you take over my nightmares as well?”

He nodded again, somewhat confused.

“Look: at this rate, I’m going to be too tired from sleeping to pay attention in class tomorrow. So could you just eat me, or whatever, or slap me awake, or anything really.”

“Okay!” He said with a goofy smile, as an unexpected uppercut connected with my chin.
 




I jolted awake, panting and coughing.

“As if you have anything negative to dream about,” the filly to my side said in a bratty tone.

For the third time, I took stock of my surroundings. “Why am I on a train?” I said, rather tired of this charade. “And why is Annuity here?”

“Hmph,” Annuity said, with a dismissive toss of her mane.

“Well, I’m bound to wake up one of these attempts. See you around, Annuity.”

I facehooved.

It hurt!

And throbbed. 

I winced and my surroundings felt no less real.

“You’re nothing admirable. You’re just weird. I don’t see why ponies obsess over you."

I blinked through the spinning stars in front of me. There were only foal-sized two seats, and they seemed to have been hastily bolted to the floor. Around us were various bags, meticulously labeled.

“Where are we anyway? Don’t tell me: we’ve been foalnapped in the middle of the night!?”

“It’s camp, you idiot,” Annuity scolded.

I took a second to ponder the absurdity. “I… no, I don’t really have a comment. The sheer speed—and efficiency—it’s more impressive than anything else.”

Annuity raised an eyebrow.

“Where are we exactly?”

“A train,” Annuity said caustically. She wore a defiant expression, as if daring me to keep talking to her.

I shrugged. “I guess they put us in the baggage car, then. That’s cool.”

“The princess car, actually," Annuity said with a smirk.

"But this is tiny! Celestia would hardly fit in here!" I proclaimed. A second glance around confirmed that we had none of the furnishings a passenger car would have. There was even exposed metal that looked like it had been painted at the last minute.
 
“If anyone asks, though, it’s the princess car. I kinda lied to get away from your groupies.”

How long was I asleep?
 
I shook my head, displeased about soundly sleeping through so much. "So why are you here?"
 
“I showed up late, and they load us from front to back.”
 
"No, why are you here? I thought you were going someplace—in the opposite direction—for camp."
 
She rolled her eyes. "Last minute change of plans. I'd be interested in why you didn't have a reserved spot. Did Celestia forget about you?”
 
"Maybe." I said, completely immune to the “Celestia doesn’t love me” attack.   
 
"That doesn't bother you?"
 
"No. It's a blessing. I’ll gladly take only one annoying pony to deal with. Not my first choice, but you know..."

“Hey can you two keep it down? I’m trying to sleep here!” came a voice from above.

I flinched and looked around the car again, before trusting my ears and looking up at the source of the voice. Sure enough, Alibi Align was on the ceiling, sitting upside-down... once again.

“Strike that: two annoying ponies...” Or I guess still one. I don’t know; I just got up.

From there, we were all silent, clearly unhappy with our company. We couldn’t get to Ponyville too soon. Amazingly, my wish came true, as the train slowly came to a stop.

Annuity made a beeline to the exit, and I imitated her, not particularly fancying another chat with my former, way-too-leniently-managed, foe.
 
The moment my hooves touched solid ground, I started to question that decision. I could feel the gaze of many ponies turn on me instantly. The background chatter was a happy chirp, as they admired the fascinating novelty that I was. It started with a few awkward hellos. Then… it started escalating. As the disoriented greetings turned into questions turned into requests, I quickly started to feel hot and fidgety in my fur. 

River this, River that—sometimes just “Princess.” It made me realize how well my schoolmates were doing at restraining themselves.
 
"Hey River," Spectacle said, with a smile. 

I looked at him like a found dog. 

Thank you.
 
"What's up, Spectacle?"
 
Good. Now they know I know him.
 
"Really? That's her type?"
 
"No, I hear she likes some squirt, and that's her type."
 
"Anypony can get a coltfriend like that. Why not be more selective?"
 
I glared—albeit randomly. I even formulated a forceful retort—then I remembered the tabloids.
 
"What's up?" I whispered, as if plotting a conspiracy.
 
"Oh, nothing really…"
 
He turned to leave. I put a hoof on his withers, reasoning I had a non-royal obligation to him. "No, you're my friend. You don't need a reason."
 
He blushed.
 
So glad I don't have to worry too much about my friends falling for me. It was lucky that the colts close to me already had crushes.
 
"What about Beakington?" Spectacle asked.
 
"What—what about Beakington?" I asked, frazzled.
 
"Can he also "bother" you?"
 
"Oh, that—of course—needless to say, even."
 
He smiled, perhaps also appreciating the awkwardness. "Anyway, I was just saying hi. I know we have a couple of activities together, but I hope we're in the same tent."
 
"Yeah, me too," I said.
 
I absentmindedly trotted for a couple of dozen steps; then it occurred to me that we were literally being herded. I scanned the perimeter for further verification and spotted some pegasi armed with colorful batons.
 
Some of them look young, so I don't know why—nope, not thinking about it.
 
In any event, they had it figured out here, carefully avoiding even the periphery of Ponyville. With several hundred foals involved, it felt like an early morning parade—if half the parade was congregated around the alicorn float that wasn’t enjoying a second of this.
 
 It had been a long thirty seconds, and I had yet to be accosted since I spoke with Spectacle. I took advantage of this surely temporary reprieve to wonder about the campsite. What would this campground look like? To house so many foals. I figured they would be from all over. Are there places especially designed to hold the camps? 

I felt a bop on my snout, as I bumped chin-first into somepony. It was a questionable decision to study the formation of pegasi above us while I kept walking.

"Oh, I'm sorry—oh, it's you."
 
The zebra filly looked confused.
 
"Oh, it's nothing," I said, cautiously. "I'm just surprised that I know you. Mindre, right?"
 
She smiled. Apparently, I had extricated myself from whatever faux pas I was flirting with.
 
"Remembered by the princess. A high honor," she said, somewhat tongue-in-cheek.
 
"Well, not exactly a princess. I would normally say ‘not if I have something to say about it,’ but I already get all of the unwanted attention and some of the responsibility. So what difference does it make at this point? What would be different?”
 
"I'm not sure," she said, rather perplexed at being the recipient of my stream of consciousness.
 
"Oh… so—sorry," I stammered. "Just thinking out loud. I still haven't figured all this out. If I joke about it, maybe ponies—and uh zebras too—will take me less seriously.”
 
Mindre let out a giggle, which itself seemed to have an accent. "What will be next, Princess? Will you read to me from your diary?"
 
"Well, I—yes, I suppose I'm being a bit too forthcoming. And I'm sorry for that, but I—"
 
She nudged me gently, with a smile. "Now I am the one doing the joking, yes?"
 
I tried matching her smile and laughed awkwardly. "I don't know what to say," I finally said.
 
"Not the worst thing," she said in a singsong manner.
 
It was becoming quickly apparent that she was "winning" this interaction.
 
I wanted to retreat to the back of the herd, but in my peripheral vision, I could see a couple of ponies chomping at the bit to talk to me next.  
 
"What do you think of this whole camp thing?" I asked. "It's quite an impressive effort, to say the least. It's my first time—at one this big. You have your Canterlot Second classmates I suppose, and that's true for me as well. It's just that I already see them enough."
 
Her gentle gaze encouraged me to continue.
 
"I also have something important to do: a princess obligation. Not really a princess responsibility, but it's so exhausting to deny every time that I'm at the point of making that concession. It's not like a crown will fall on my head if I don't actively ward off that label, and now I’m doing it again!" I shouted, shaking my head and pressing a forehoof to my face . She laughed politely. "But now I'm just talking about myself again. I'm not that interesting; trust me. So, I guess I'll ask what interests you?"
 
For a few moments, she was silent as we slowly trotted towards our unknown destination. After a quiet interlude, she cleared her throat softly. "You know, ponies don't usually ask me that, so I don't quite have a response. Usually they ask me where I'm from or if Equestria is different from what I'm used to."
 
I subtly recoiled. "Yeah, those are better topics," I said, momentarily getting cold feet. "But I've been talking to a Prench pony, and I get the sense he has the same conversations a lot."
 
The zebra nodded. "It sounds the same. I'm not even that foreign. I came to Equestria when I was two. But to answer your question: I like to shop around."
 
"Oh, like at the clothing boutiques?"
 
"Yes, sometimes. But what I like most are odds and ends." I got the impression that she was being patient with me.
 
At some point during our conversation, the parade of foals had narrowed and we now trotted along a path flanked by two seemingly endless rows of dense trees.
 
"So like antiques?" I finally said.
 
She nodded and hopped in place for good measure. It was a subtle bit of body language I had noticed recently. Upon pondering it for a second, It occurred to me that few colts ever did it.
 
What to say to continue this, conversation…
 
Mindre suddenly waved ahead. "I'm going to catch-up to my friends now."
 
I felt a pang of disappointment that I couldn't fully justify.
 
"But we can talk later. You're a lot different than I expected. In a veeeery~ interesting way," she said, intentionally exaggerating her mild accent.
 
She had left by the time I had come up with something intelligent to say in response. At some point in our conversation,I had started to notice some strangely rhythmic chatter behind me. It was only later that I figured out that a song had broken out in the back of the line. Meanwhile, in the front, I took in the scent of wild foliage along the narrow path. Different grasses smelled different—I knew the smells, if not the names. One of these days, I might be tempted to taste them as well.
 
I could tell her that being a princess is kind of like her situation: being tangled in others' assumptions and all. But she's not a friendship student… Besides, didn't I use that pitch already and strike out?
 
I was a tad fretful, but for some reason that interaction had put me in a good mood.
 
"Is she friends with the zebra?" I heard behind me.
 
"I wouldn't want to talk to her myself, but Princess River must be really nice to chat with her."
 
"You see: she's trying to set up diplomatic relationships."
 
I sighed. It's only a matter of time before somepony else solicits my attention, or favor.
 
The line in front of me slowed. Then I heard cheers. Ponies to my side had fanned out as we left behind the narrow path. I dashed to the front, curious as anypony at this point.
 
I smiled as I took in the sight. It was a massive estate, partially surrounded by a forest. At the center was a two-story farmhouse. Smaller facilities, which looked like recent construction, were spread throughout and formed more or less a semi-circle.
 
The foals needed no more encouragement and a flurry of hooves rushed past me to get a better look.
 
"Hmm… it's pretty amazing that a place like this exists just for us to camp at…"
 
"Actually, this land was once known as Sour Apple Acres; it's a local joke, really. The Orchard family were once well-known in Ponyville and the surrounding areas. All the children moved away in the end, and they ultimately auctioned off the land. I hear the Exquisite family is related to them, though."
 
"Hey, Thaumaturgical," I said, mildly surprised. "No luck finding Beakington?"
 
"Actually, a bunch of fillies are asking him all about Griffin country. They seem to be genuinely interested."
 
Maybe the conversation I had just now is relevant. Good thing they don't know I'm from another dimension…
 
I took a breath, readying myself for something I had been putting off. "You know, Thaumaturgical, I just wanted to say I'm sorry," I said somewhat sedately.
 
His ears perked up and he looked confused.
 
"For being a bad friend I mean," I explained. "I told you a few weeks ago that I'm still your friend, but we haven't done a whole lot together. I've—"
 
As the noon sun passed directly over us, the shimmering colors of passing ponies almost cast a glare. 
 
"You've been busy," he said warmly.
 
I nodded, trying to steady my emotions between sappy sincerity and cold detachment. My true feelings were in fact in between, but I felt—more so than I had as a human—that I could be influenced by the reactions of others.
 
"It's okay," Spectacle said simply. "I understand."
 
"You do?" I asked in disbelief. A small part of me wanted to grab that reassurance, no-questions-asked. "I've known you longer than Squirt even," I said. "I should be able to prioritize you a bit more."
 
"River," he said, reassuringly, "I get it. You have a lot of pressure now with the wings and the horn."
 
I took a breath, ready to jump in.
 
"But that hasn't given you a free pass," he acknowledged, with a smile. "No, you've still been a good friend in spite of that. You helped me with my cutie mark. I'm still figuring it out, by the way, but I really like your suggestion. Sure we don't spend the weekend together, but you invited me to play with you and Squirt last time, and that was really fun. Colt or filly you never seemed very interested in insects like I am…"
 
I felt exposed as I remembered that this pony actually knew firsthand that I was a colt before. After all, he was the one who had told Pestle.
 
"SUMMER FUNTIME!" dozens of voices sang around us, as their song once more tapped my peripheral awareness.
 
Spectacle cleared his throat. "You're doing fine River. You being a princess. You being a filly even. I hardly think about it; you're just a good friend.”
 
My eyes got slightly misty before I managed to summon enough shame to hammer down the sentimentality. "Your friendship has been an asset—no, you've helped me more than that. Our relationship is just where it should be." 

I felt a sinking sensation in my stomach. "You know, speaking of 'relationships,' it probably makes sense for me to go somewhere else before any rumors start."
 
"No problem," he said. "We'll catch up when we catch-up."
 
I smiled.
 
He nodded.
 
From there, I awkwardly navigated my way to the other side of the verdant open field. I imagined the bulk of my time with the "variety sports" activity would be spent here.
 
As our chaperones finished sculpting the mass of ponies into something orderly, an old mare with a megaphone hailed our attention from a wooden stage.
 
If there was a compliment I could give to her speech, it would be for its brevity. Though she could've stopped with "Welcome, everypony," and I would have regarded it even better. Afterwards, everyone began to filter their way to the counselors—a perfect opportunity to efficiently line up. So of course, no one did.
 
I suddenly became conscious of a bunch of eyes on me. For a sweet moment there, I had forgotten all about being the most conspicuous filly within… probably everywhere.
 
I guess they're all too nervous to strike up a conversation? "If nopony else is talking to her, there must be some etiquette rule?"
 
"Uhh…."
 
"Ummmm" I heard from a colt and filly simultaneously.
 
I stifled the urge to facehoof.
 
I just had to remark on my good fortune, didn't I? Besides, I need to save my efforts for the friendship students, so I can't just chat with anypony.
 
I felt a heartstopping chill.
 
Oh, Celestia, what am I thinking? Am I already turning into the worst kind of royal there is? I don't want to be Alicorn Paragon 2.0 either, but anything but that…
 
I suddenly felt hot in my fur—an occasional downside to the pony package deal. There had been a lot of bodies crammed together for the now concluded assembly. Both the colts and the fillies had used this as an excuse to "incidentally" touch me. As a human, I probably would have taken issue, but now it felt good. If anything, I wanted more, but asking would make me feel ridiculous.
 
At some point the crowd of ponies had started to move.
 
"What's your name, little one?" I heard faintly.
 
"Pink Plum," a filly answered.
 
"Tent 23," the adult provided.
 
Ten minutes had felt like an hour, and I started to get antsy.
 
Being processed first would have made me uncomfortable, but being last would be equally conspicuous—and I’d have to wait.
 
After a quarter of the many foals had been taken, I had finally reached the front. If I had been bolder, I probably could have marched closer and gotten preferential treatment—perhaps without even doing anything. Today, that felt like the last thing I wanted to do.

I could hear some rhythmic hoofsteps behind me. For some reason Granite Hammer had been circling behind me for a while. I didn’t trust Annuity’s friends much more than Annuity, so I was somewhat suspicious.
 
I heard the colt to my side starting to nibble at the grass. On the other side, a filly was absentmindedly combing her mane. Nopony had anything to do, and we were growing restless. A few months ago, my training as a soldier would have kicked in. But now, I was just as anxious as any other foal.
 
"Name?"
 
"Wuh, uhhh…" I stammered. "Yeah?"
 
"River Glade. Of course." The stallion with a clipboard lightly tapped his head with a hoof. "Don't quote me on this, but you'd be pretty hard to lose track of—” he smiled— ”being the only alicorn, I mean."
 
I sighed as the yellow-coated young stallion quickly scribbled something in his notes. I looked him in the eyes, and he still had a look that suggested he was still waiting for acknowledgment for his "astute" insight, or attempt at humor, or something. I couldn't tell.
 
I only needed to hear  "tent three," and my hooves were already in motion.
 
No really, I totally want to talk about unwanted, unsolicited attention. With you. Right now.
 
I found tent three in short order. I estimated about eight foals could be squeezed in.
 
What's it gonna be? A couple of mini bunk-bed racks? Or are they going to pack us like sardines?
 
"What about the adult guardian," I murmured. "It's gotta be—WHOA?! What!?"
 
I froze in place after taking a cautious two steps into the tent. I found myself in a spacious room—literally a room. My jaw dropped, and I felt a rush of data flow into my mind, as my conception of reality itself seemed to be buckling. The inside of the "tent" might have been bigger than my room at the castle, but I couldn't tell given the different organization. Two dozen sleeping bags were spread across a checkered carpeted floor. Two, in particular, stood out as bigger.
 
I took a few breaths to ready myself to look around more. At least the ceiling actually resembled the inside of a tent—except for the fact that it was eight feet high!
 
I felt a push behind me.
 
"Ow! What are you doing gawking in the doorway? You'll catch flies like that," said my favorite bronze filly, Annuity. "Haven't you seen an Expando-Tent before? Bigger on the inside than the outside?"
 
I whipped my head around. "What did you expect? I walk in here thinking I've got only a dozen steps or so before running out of—” 
 
Annuity had started scribbling on a full-sized clipboard using her magic. "I see. That's good feedback. I'm going to check on the other tents."
 
"Don't wait for my permission," I said flatly.
 
I got no answer.
 
I sighed. Annuity's presence led me to believe I was going to be stuck in a tent full of fillies. The sleeping bags offered me no clues, so I wisely cleared the "doorway" and took a tour around the room.
 
Didn’t Thaumaturgical say we would be together. Yeah, I suppose Celestia pulled some strings and put me in a tent with colts. I'm sure she could come up with some excuse.
 
Better than being with a bunch of fill—ies?"
 
I felt a chill as recollection flashed through my mind: I heard the laughs of Squirt's jeering friends.
 
Being the only filly is awful… I'll be "the" filly.
 
"Hey, River!" Came a friendly female voice from the doorway.
 
I looked towards the head of the tent and found Stardust.
 
"Hi," I said weakly, as I cleared the way for her to find her designated space.
 
I suppose it’ll painting hooves, filly gossip, or worse: mahjong!
 
I stared at the ceiling "I don't know what's worse…"
 
"What do you mean, River?"
 
I flinched. Towering over me, as usual, was the third in a line of green griffons.
 
"Beakington, are you in the right tent?" I asked in disbelief.
 
"This is three, right?"
 
I could hardly believe my good fortune. "Oh, nothing."

Of course it’s co-ed. We’re naked basically, so why would it matter?
 
We then exchanged pleasantries. It wasn't as if we had been apart for a long while, but the familiarity was nice, as I was sure there would certainly be at least some strangers in the tent three.
 
"Is there anything I can help with? Because, you know…"
 
I motioned him away from the doorway as I formulated a response. I was hoping he wouldn't mention it, but the feather oath had put me in an awkward spot.
 
"You helped me a lot, B3. I can't say I understand the significance of your griffin oath, but it served me well… thank you."
 
He smiled wider than I had expected. "Of course. It's nothing big. Honestly, it's a bit of history that became a joke in the Griffin Southeast. Sometimes it's even a pickup line, but that'll get you slapped nowadays."
 
I laughed nervously. "I hadn't even thought about local subcultures in Griffin country. I was talking to the zebra—Mindre, that is—and I'm not sure any generalizations are worth their salt anymore…"
 
He nodded his head, deliberately, as if dissecting what I had just said. "You mean stereotypes? Is that a bad thing?"
 
I shook my head energetically. "It's stupid now that I say it. But it's because I'm so busy and it's like I need shortcuts.”

“Well, Milady, when it comes to shortcuts, if you’re ever in town, I would fain give you a tour of my neck of the woods. On the ground of course—mustn't ruffle your feathers.”

I slapped him playfully with my practically decorative wing. “Hey, these things are useful!”
 
"I deserved that," Beakington said, with some pep. "But thanks for taking the time to chat with me. It's easy to look at your status and say that you’re being too good for us—I've heard whispers and wondered if it had started to become true. But talking to you, I don't know what I was thinking. That's not you. You must legitimately be overloaded right now. I suppose there's a difference between not giving people the time of day and not having the time any day.”
"Thank you." I said, feeling completely validated once more. "I wanted to be invisible at first; then, that changed when I got to choose who I wanted to surround myself with. And now, the attention…"
 
"Well, I'll support you, however, I can, so long as I can cruise to a nice cabinet position." He said with a comically sage expression.
 
I smiled and nodded my head once.
 
The interaction left me feeling happy about that friendship, but I needed to focus—that was the first thought that came to mind, but I was a little uncomfortable with it.
 
To get my mind onto another track, I approached my designated sleeping area. The satchel with my things was tiny compared to what other ponies had brought along. I doubted I needed bits, and those training weights weren't mine anyway.
 
How quickly must they move to get all this done at a moment's notice. But it'd be easy for me since I don't own much of anything.
 
This made me curious, so I approached the satchel and pulled it open with my mouth.
 
I reached in and retrieved something open-ended.
 
"Oh yeah, I bought this at the hoofball game."
 
It was a blue foal-sized ballcap with the lettering "Canterlot Nauticals."
 
It felt silly to think about, but it was probably the only thing I had actually bought for myself that wasn't edible. I smiled faintly and laid it on my pillow.
 
The next item felt like some thin string. When I had it in front of me, I laughed rather loudly. I then made a conscious effort to dampen my awareness of the judging eyes of others that I had surely conjured.
 
It was the mask depicting Annuity's face. Jill had given it to me at the birthday party.
 
There can't be much else left. I thought as I probed the small satchel with my tongue. This time I knew immediately what I had found.
 
 "I guess somepony who doesn't know me that well did the packing."
 
In a weird way I was grateful that Celestia didn't give me special treatment and had delegated it.
 
Knowing it was now useless, I absentmindedly played with the ring in my mouth.
 
What would it even do now?
 
I did feel nostalgic, but that wouldn't be prudent with ponies around me.
 
I playfully tossed the ring a short distance above me. Then, I positioned my horn underneath.
 
"Ringer!" I said.
 
However, my cheer was drowned out by the sudden sound of trumpets cutting in from nowhere.
 
I suddenly felt a cocoon of latex engulfing me following a quick magical buzz across my body.
 
Thinking quickly, I used my magic to jettison the ring onto my sleeping bag.
 
"What was that?" A filly said in a rustic accent.
 
"Trumpets? I didn't see that under the musical activities grouping," a Canterlot colt commented.
 
The unwanted garb vanished instantly. And I took a few breaths in relief. Unlike the ring I was accustomed to, apparently this one was outfitted with my superhero sidekick outfit.
 
Did I ever have a ring like this?
 
It seemed absurd enough to be plausible. I had assumed so many disguises that even I lost track.

I felt near the bottom of my bag. “Huh, I guess I still have this pendant from Bubble Bauble.”
 
Well… I think that's everything.
 
"Hey." Said one of my classmates, whom I couldn't place by voice alone. When I turned, I saw green and gold.
 
"Hi, Gilded." I said, growing the slightest bit impatient. 
 
For a selfish moment, I hoped she wouldn't assume we were friends now. Then again, the entirety of Annuity's former contingent were baffling to me lately. They were playing nice, but even when waiting on me, Pish and Posh were still a bit passive aggressive, so I was getting mixed messages.  
 
Gilded Acres opened her mouth to speak, paused and then spoke with shaky confidence: "I… wanted to let you know that your idea with the supply chain—it worked well."
 
I smiled. I had put thought into that suggestion, and it was the only time at school I had thought my "princess" advice was worth its salt.
 
"I mean, I had to modify it a little… but it basically worked."
 
"That's good," I said flatly, trying to hide my joy. Unfortunately, my wings channeled the happiness and whipped up a mini cyclone. My unwanted twister familiar darted across the room, scattering my tentmates' things.
 
"Sorry! Not used to these things yet," I said preemptively.
 
"That's all," Gilded said, before I had turned my attention back to her.
 
"Glad I could help. It can be surprisingly hard to feel useful."
 
Not knowing how to respond, the earth pony departed—even though that entailed taking all of five paces to reach her sleeping area.
 
I scanned the room until I found a clock.
 
Ten more minutes to our first activity. I'm already done unpacking, so it's either get into more random conversations or shuffle my things around in an attempt to look busy.
 
The latter was fairly appealing…
 
"Thank you, Jill," I heard spoken with utmost sincerity.
 
This voice I did recognize and my eyes confirmed it: Stardust.
 
"I'm so glad I had your perspective on this," she continued.
 
"Anyone could have told you that. It just took an outside set of eyes," the minotaur said.
 
Well, this one isn't random. Technically we are friends—I think
 
"What are you guys talking about?" I asked. I was close enough to them that I practically felt I was part of the conversation already.
 
"Oh, hi, River," Stardust greeted, zoning in on me. "Well, I suppose you should be one of the first to know."
 
More alicorn stuff. Great…
 
"Because you're a founding member of the Anti-Annuity Alliance!"
 
"Oh?" I remarked in happy surprise.
 
"We're disbanding," Jill said, cutting straight to the point.
 
I looked the pair of them over thoughtfully. We admittedly had not done much of anything lately—or ever—but Stardust didn't seem like one to wave the white flag.
 
"As you know, we've pivoted towards pranking Annuity now that she's on the defensive," Stardust explained unhelpfully.
 
I nodded, interested. Then my brain caught up. "Wait, we did?" I asked, completely confused.
 
Stardust shuffled her hooves absentmindedly. "Yeah, Annuity's friends started rethinking their position once you ascended and all that."
 
"Talk about us like we're not here, why don't you?" Gilded murmured, just out of earshot of the others.
 
"I hadn't noticed," I said flatly. It wasn't entirely true, though, because I vaguely recalled Annuity accusing me of stealing her friends back at the hoofball game.
 
"Well, this is embarrassing, but I was really into it—Annuity has bullied us for so long I mean." I nodded. "Jill here really showed what we—I was actually doing. She said that we're being exactly like Annuity!"
 
Jill nodded. "I've known other Annuities. It's never fun. Fortunately, I grew thicker skin, but when she isolates you socially it's rough."
 
I motioned her to continue while I pondered. Jill probably put on the dumb act in self-defense.
 
"The Citrus twins are really into it, but I didn’t feel right kicking them out of the Anti-Annuity Alliance. So that's why we're disbanding instead!"
 
"I get it," I said through a smile. Honestly it was a relief to have one less superfluous obligation in my life.
 
Stardust replied with an affirmative little stomp of her hoof.
 
I looked around, and the only other pony from my school in the tent was Clever Theorem. Officially neutral in the conflict, she was clearly sticking near us to eavesdrop.
 
Stardust assumed a more narrow stance with her hooves. "Ummmm… that's all… I guess."
 
"I think it's the right decision." I said simply. 

“Me too,” Stardust said, with a twinge of regret.

I took a moment to make sure the conversation was over before retreating a few steps to my sleeping area. The foals I didn't know were clearly staring, but fortunately none of them braved approaching me.
 
After a few minutes of absentmindedly shuffling the positioning of my few possessions in the small storage cube each of us was provided, an old mare strolled in and started handing out itineraries. I accepted mine with my mouth and spread out the small sheet in front of me. It was color-coded and reader-friendly, almost to a fault.
 
I knew what my activities were, but my first scheduled session threw me for a loop.
 
I sighed.
 
"Well, this is awkward."
 



 
Rainbow Dash alighted on a lectern. It was clearly out of place, both for her and for its placement outside.
 
"Welcome to Stunt Flying, everypony! Time to get fired up! Let's get those wings warmed up and ready to go. Trust me: we're going to do some awesome stuff today!"
 
The foals cheered.
 
Is she going to teach us stretches? That would be pretty useful.
 
"But first we have to get through… the boring part," Rainbow said with a sigh.
 
My peers looked at each other in concern.
 
Rainbow reached behind the lectern and placed the first of a series of posters for us to see on an easel. "That's right. We're going to have to go over the rules of the wind."
 
Literally, everypony around me groaned.
 
"Part 1," Rainbow read stiffly, "the Right of Way."
 
It makes sense. There are probably some ponies who are total beginners like me.
 
I reasoned that since Equestria's school system was deliberately designed to accommodate different levels of ability in one classroom, this had to be the case.
 
The basic principles made sense. If two ponies were flying towards a direct collision, the pony traveling North was to yield, while East gave way to West. Rainbow was running through the material quickly, but halfway through it, she realized she was going too fast and started taking her time.
 
Rainbow's bored countenance soured into disgust. "Now, for the really fun part," she said caustically, flipping the page. "Chapter 2: Clouds 101. This is a cumulus cloud... They are highly magical and a weather pony's best friend. They aren't very sturdy, so you can plow right through them most of the time. Just make sure they aren't charged with lightning first."
 
While initially optimistic about the material, boredom quickly threatened to overtake me.
 
I smirked. I still have my vigilance if nothing else. This presentation is no match for me.
 
The minutes dragged on as Rainbow droned over the required material. 

Is she joking? We're not going to retain all of this.
 
As I darted between the purple clouds, I could hear a faint voice calling out to me. A storm was brewing. "We… desperate need…your help… House… probe and…" 
 
An electric jolt shot through me, and my eyes sprung wide open. Slightly disoriented, I looked around at Rainbow's captive audience. They had had fared no better than I had in their efforts to stay awake.
 
Rainbow flipped to the last page of her presentation.
 
"And finally, this is a Yakyakistani cloud," Rainbow said, slapping the page with her pointer for emphasis. "You can identify them by the horns on top. They don't come around here too often, but you'll have a bad day if you forget about them. So always look before you land."
 
The two other foals who were awake nodded wearily.
 
"But enough of that!" Rainbow yelled. "Let's get to flying!"
 
Two thirds of the class snapped awake and voiced groggy enthusiasm.
 
She motioned upward. "All right, everypony, let's fly up there in an orderly fashion. You'll have plenty of time to go wild soon."
 
Zephyr Zap accelerated to a gallop with a very short runway and rocketed up to our destination. Those that followed simply couldn't match the enthusiasm. I looked to the back of our open-air classroom, and I saw "Alibi Align" going around slapping the stragglers awake. When we made eye-contact he saluted me.
 
I turned away. I honestly didn't know what sort of relationship I was supposed to have with this former foe, or even what I wanted.
 
I turned back around, and Rainbow Dash looked ready to take off at supersonic speed.
 
"Rainbow, wait!" I pleaded, dashing towards the lectern.
 
"Hi, River!" she greeted. "I'm so happy you signed up for my class! You're going to have an awesome time. Refine that flying you've been working on."
 
I shook my head as I fixed my gaze on some leaves blowing in the wind. "That's just it: I don't have that much experience flying. And besides, that looks high up there!"
 
The athletic pegasus mare smirked. "Don't sell yourself short. Half of flying is confidence. Let's go!"
 
Before I could react, she latched onto my neck with her teeth and launched through the top of our destination. She then put on the brakes to stop just inches above the wide cloud before setting me down.
 
I felt a moment of panic as the cloud depressed under my small body.
 
Good to know. Cloudwalking apparently takes no effort or ability.
 
The rest of the flock of ponies quickly alighted around me.
 
"Okay, now that everypony's here, let's get cracking. We're going to start small. She clapped her hooves."
 
I flinched as several rings of fire flared to life in a pattern curving upward.
 
"The name of the game is to fly through the hoops, loop around to change direction, fly back through the hoops, and land with style. One pony at a time, but don't form a line 'cause that would be lame."
 
This… is… insane!
 
"Me! Me! Me!" Zephyr Zap demanded. She took a running start and buzzed through the hoops effortlessly. She couldn't quite achieve the 180 turn Rainbow had in mind, but the instructor couldn't have been happier.
 
"That's going to be a hard act to follow!" Rainbow lauded. "Who's next?"
 
I took a few steps toward her.
 
"I'm sorry I wasn't clearer before. I've never flown before, and I signed up for this class by mistake," I whispered. "I'm scared just being up here."
 
Rainbow laughed. "I know you better than that! You can handle it."
 
Before I had formulated a response, I felt a strong push from behind. For a prolonged moment, I flailed at the edge of the cloud with my front hooves, in a desperate attempt to arrest my momentum. But I could not. In that final taxing moment, I caught glimpses of both amused and bored expressions—parting gestures and a prelude to my slowly developing doom. My eyes went wide as gravity forced me into a front-flip into the open skies.
 
I screamed and thrashed around with my four legs in a desperate attempt to do something.
 
Wait. You have wings, idiot.
 
As my wings extended, I became aware of the subtle dance between my feathers and the surroundings. I wasted a second admiring this, before it occurred to me I was dropping.
 
Now, I screamed and thrashed around with my six appendages in a desperate attempt to do something.
 
In a moment of calm, I started flapping rhythmically. Suddenly terror was replaced with certainty. This was where I was meant to be.
 
Of course that's what Rainbow had in mind. I was born for this!
 
However, in defiance of my confidence, my perfect flying instincts angled my right wing a few degrees too flat. I started flipping wing over wing, corkscrewing my way to certain death.
 
Please… I begged for my life.
 
In hopes of bottling my scattered confidence I stretched my wings taut once more.
 
I felt exhilaration. My velocity started to shift subtly as I settled into a perfect glide. Now, all I had to do was to get my head in front of me and my death plunge would be aborted.
 
Oh, there's the ground. Please not the horn…
 
I lifted my head to respect my own dying wish.
 
My legs slammed into the ground. I could feel my bones cracking as they absorbed my tremendous momentum. Then, I bounced up several times my height. My surprised expression crashed into the ground once more, and my head hop resulted in another few feet of airtime. Two mini-hops more, and my barrel finally hit the earth. Only now did I feel the pain, and it was underwhelming.
 
Rainbow landed quietly behind me.
 
"Not bad, little gal, I've seen—" she snickered. And then laughed. "Okay, that was pretty bad, but you got the hard part out of the way. It only gets easier from here."
 
Zephyr Zap landed in front of me. "Wow, River, you fly like a moron."
 
"Thanks. It was my first time," I said weakly, through a wave of disorientation. I was strangely dizzy. "I forgot you had a caustic side…" She had been so nice that I had forgotten my somewhat negative first impression of her.
 
"Oh, it's nothing personal. I just always wanted to say that."
  
I took dozens of recovery breaths in a short minute.
 
"Okay, how am I not dead?" I asked stiffly. "I'm hoping it's not that flowers and magic protect pony from harm."
 
"That's part of it," Rainbow conceded. "But there are a few reasons. For one, you weigh almost nothing already, so the impact of your collision won't be much. Also, the magic of flight reduces your weight a bit in the air. Without that, none of us would be able to fly."
 
"Hmm… it hadn't occurred to me," I replied, as my head throbbed.
 
She flexed her wings. "Yeah, these tiny things? Power isn't exactly their forte. Anyway, your terminal velocity is also very low—aerodynamics and stuff. And finally, there's evolution."
 
"Evolution?" I echoed.
 
Now she's just stringing me along.
 
She laughed. "Do you know how often pegasus parents drop their foals? It's all the time!"
 
I tried to formulate a response, but I couldn't escape the mental imagery.
 
"Besides, they don't call me Rainbow Crash for nothing. I would've died aaaaages ago if we weren't built tough."
 
Zap hopped in place. "Wow, Rainbow Dash, you're so knowledgeable!"
 
Rainbow struck a pose. "It's what I live for!"
 
I heard a little buzzing, and I turned to face a little orange pegasus.
 
Rainbow smiled. "Heya, Scootaloo. How's your practice going?"
 
Scootaloo hopped in place. "Your tips were great! I’ll be flying in no time!"
 
I looked between the two pegasi and waited a moment so as to avoid interrupting. "So, Scootaloo, you were off doing easy stuff?" I asked, trying my best to conceal my annoyance.
 
"She's in my other class," Rainbow explained. "I'm glad I only have one unit of that. It's double the amount of lecturing…"
 
"Are you sure I'm okay to be in this class?" I asked outright, unsure what I wanted at this point.
 
"I thought you'd do okay," Rainbow explained. "After all, Twilight tells me you're doing great with magic."
 
I staggered backward. "I am?"
 
"You sure are! Alicorn magic isn't easy to control. So I figured you could do this too. After all, you were brave enough to sign up!"
 
I froze. Somehow I felt guilt for outsourcing my activity choices.
 
I could hear some clamoring above us.
 
"We should probably go back…" Rainbow said. "Do you want a lift?"
 
After what felt like an eternity of deliberation, I nodded.
 
"I knew you were tough!" she lauded. "See you later, Scootaloo."
 
"Bye, Rainbow Dash!"
 
With that, the blue pegasus kicked off the ground and we instantly rocketed back to the rest of the class atop the cloud.
 
I shivered. Luna had been so careful by comparison.
 
That stuff about dropping foals seems awfully relevant right now…
 
"There she is!" one of the foals said.
 
"Was that really your first time? For mine, I couldn't even get my wings extended!" a filly added.
 
Windy Skies did a double-take, looking somewhere off in the distance. "Did anyone else see a flying unicorn?"
 
"Flying is a bit generous," teased my other classmate, Mortar Strike, pointing at me.
 
"No, really! It was a unicorn flying around…"
 
The changeling landed, and I accosted him. "Did you do anything funny to Windy?" I whispered.
 
"No, why?" he replied, puzzled.
 
I glared at him.
 
"What, the play? You need to learn to let things go. It was, like, weeks ago or something. It was just a sleeping potion anyway," he whispered quickly. "I put her in the broom closet during the play and took her place for a bit. I then turned into a filly version of Maniacal Laughter to give the real version time to take some readings. That's all I was told, and then…"
 
"You turned back into Windy to escape," I finished.
 
While we whispered off to the side, Rainbow had started coaching a filly who was clearly nervous.
 
"The nefarious device, Foals' Play, that can block adults' magic seems like it would be useful for you bad guys," I probed.
 
"I see what you're doing, but I really don't know. I would tend to agree with you, though…"
 
"Uh-huh," I said, unconvinced. With this colt, I couldn't tell which conclusion he was trying to herd me towards.
 
However, my train of thought was quickly derailed as a screaming colt penetrated through the cloud below us. Behind him a trail of fire dangled from his head, menacingly encroaching upon his coat.
 
The rest of the class looked at him weirdly.
 
"Has he really not seen faerie fire before?" Alibi chided.
 
"Yeah, it sure would take a real idiot to think that's actual fire…" I said snidely.
 
Why does nopony ever tell me these things?
 



 
Diane took a deep breath. It was a strange thing: knowing she had the capability to return to where she needed to be, if not the knowledge of how. Mental worlds were strange like that.. She had to approach it like she had all the time in the world—which she didn't! The probe would be returning to House Keeper and her brother Crafty in a matter of days!
 
Another deep breath.
 
If she failed, the backup plan was always to try and connect with House directly once more. However, she was rapidly reaching a point of diminishing returns. After all, the filly would forget 95% of what she was told in the slumbering world.
 
Finally, it crystalized: clarity of purpose and effortless connection with the unseen.
 
Her surroundings filled out like a watercolor painting, murkiness gradually coalescing into form. It would surely be a sight to see, were her destination not so monochrome. Back in Aron/Alice’s head—or something like that.
 
"Welcome back!" Auburn greeted her. The moment after, Diane could tell the filly regretted showing that much outward emotion.
 
"You can be happy. You can be however. No need to conceal."
 
"Right," Auburn said faintly.
 
The Rhod remembered her purpose and pointed toward a filament that flexed in the space above them. "Do you mind if I use that?"
 
The tendril descending from the ceiling seemed to vibrate subtly and slowly descend.
 
"You can try," said the child. "Your brother tends to have an active mind, though, so it can be hard to hear us. Of course, do it while he's asleep and he'll probably forget…"
 
Diane chuckled; the filly hardened her expression in response.
 
"Oh, it's nothing," Diane assured her. She reached towards one of the soft walls to lean against but pulled back quickly after weighing the risk of the gesture.
 
"They should be safe," said Auburn. "But don't ask me what they're made of—or worse—what they represent."
 
Diane rubbed her hands together as if summoning the courage to act. "So… are you alone here, or are there other emotions running around?"
 
"There were, but the lawyers came and chased them out with a cease and desist," Auburn said flatly.
 
"Come again?"
 
"Just a joke. No, the only other pseudo-beings in here are the odd, brown stallion, that procrastination monkey, and the Panic Monster that scares off the monkey at the last minute."
 
"I—I can't tell if you're joking…"
 
"I hadn't seen the monkey in years," Auburn explained, ignoring her. "But after his long absence, I’m seeing him occasionally again. Maybe there's more impulsivity because of the whole de-age thing. I don't know. Just because I’m one of them doesn't mean I understand the metaphysics of this whole thing."

Diane took a deep breath. "Speaking of procrastination: I think I've finally decided what I need to say. Strange as it is, I've gotten good practice at this whole dream communication thing. In fact, I know I can do it."
 
Diane locked eyes with the filly, who seemed to be enjoying the moment.
 
"I just want you to know how much I respect you," Auburn said, entranced by the moment.